Servant of Fire (The Cloud Warrior Saga Book 7)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “That’s not what I mean,” Elle said. “Can’t you see?”

  “Clearly not as well as you can,” he said.

  “Here.” She shaped water and created something like a lens for him to see through, using her hands to hold it.

  The shaping augmented what he could see, and he realized what Elle wanted him to see. The hounds were perched atop the rock, as if waiting. There were dozens, probably as many as Tan had healed, and possibly a few dozen more trapped in a valley below. From those, Tan could tell that they were still twisted, and that the remaining hounds watched, as if herding them onward.

  Or, he realized, holding them, preventing them from moving farther into Chenir.

  “Stay here,” Tan suggested.

  “If you’re going after those hounds, then I’m coming with you.”

  “I’m not going after them. Do you see the two dozen or so down in the valley?” Elle nodded. “Those are Incendin hounds. The ones surrounding them are healed.”

  “How can you tell? You couldn’t even see them without me helping with your shaping.”

  Tan suppressed the smile. It was good to see Elle confident in her shaping ability, even if it was somewhat disconcerting. She’d been shaping for less time than him, and he hadn’t been shaping all that long. Somehow, the safety of the kingdoms rested on their ability to find a way to keep Par-shon from moving any further.

  “I can reach the fire bond.”

  With that, he shaped himself to the hounds.

  * * *

  Healing the remaining hounds had taken considerable energy, but less than the last time he’d healed so many. Then, he’d been trying to pull lisincend back into the fire bond at the same time, and now all he had to worry about was the hounds. There was an additional advantage, and one that Tan wasn’t certain would have helped. As he’d worked his healing, he’d needed to reach for fire and earth elementals to assist him. While he hated doing so with Asboel injured, the draasin had willingly added to his shaping, though he’d remained distant and in the back of Tan’s mind. The earth shaping had come not from golud or another elemental that had once lived in these lands, but from the hounds themselves.

  Elle had watched, remaining above him, as if ready to rescue him if things went awry. Possibly, she would have pulled him free, but Tan didn’t think that the healed hounds would have let the others harm him. There was a willingness to what he did, and a sense that they longed for it as much as he did.

  The massive hound bounded down from the upper rocks to stand in front of him. The others deferred to her, backing away. Tan wondered how she had managed to claim authority so quickly, and he wondered why there should be a hierarchy within the hounds. The draasin had something of a hierarchy, but it was led by Asboel, the head of the family. Tan had never had the sense that ashi or the nymid had much distinction.

  We keep seeing each other, Tan said.

  The hound circled him. Tan sensed unease from Elle and focused on trying to connect to her as they once had. I am fine here, Elle.

  The discomfort he detected from her eased somewhat, receding to a mild anxiety.

  You are an interesting one, the hound said.

  As are you. Did you bring them here, or do you keep them from moving away?

  She bared her fangs briefly. They would remain in the sun. That is not the place for our kind.

  You are of earth and fire.

  As are you.

  Tan smiled. I am of each of the elements.

  The hound sat and studied Tan with eyes that seemed to glow. Of all, but you serve fire.

  Why would you say that?

  You have restored balance to the bond. Doing so serves fire.

  I serve the Mother above all. She is the reason that I restored fire.

  The hound stood and paced around him again. You are troubled. These lands disturb you.

  Tan hesitated. How would the hound know that he was troubled? This is not how the Mother would have the elementals.

  She would see this land returned. The pack returns.

  That’s why you come here?

  The hound peeled back her lips again and a low growl rumbled from her. I come because you are troubled. The pack comes because of me.

  Why would you come because of me?

  She dipped her head and pawed at the ground. The earth split with the movement and rock tumbled away from her. Tan took a step back, uncertain what she intended. You restored fire. You restored me. This connects us.

  I restored all of the pack, Tan said.

  The hound met his eyes. This connects all.

  Tan had the sense that he was missing something. Do you understand what I must do? Will you help?

  The hound tipped her head back and bayed. The sound echoed off the rock, like the sound of a mountain avalanche, the kind of sound Tan had once feared. There was a reassuring weight to it now. As one, the other hounds picked up the call, answering in kind. It reverberated, building louder and louder, something like a drumbeat that was determined to overpower the drumming of Chenir. With the power that built from the hounds, Tan wondered if it might be possible.

  The ground vibrated with their voices and cracked in places, splitting open. Then, slowly, the sound died out again, and only the female standing in front of him still bayed. Finally, she stopped as well.

  Tan could tell that something had changed, though not what. The rumbling didn’t seem to ease, continuing like a steady peal of thunder from a distant storm. It took Tan a while to realize that the rumbling came from within him, the sound of the voices of the dozens of hounds, faint but distant.

  What is this?

  You ask for help. It is freely given. The pack agrees.

  Tan blinked, feeling suddenly woozy. The steady rolling thunder within his mind continued unabated. What did it mean that the pack agreed? And why did he hear all of the hounds in his mind?

  I am Maelen, Tan said. In many ways, the name Asboel had chosen for him suited him better and fit the connection he shared with the elementals. Asboel had been the first of the elementals that he’d bonded, and the most ancient. It was fitting that Asboel had provided his name.

  The hound waited, her eyes locked onto Tan, her nostrils flaring with each breath. She sat ready, as if expecting something of him.

  Tan understood. She had no name, not yet, and not until he gave her one.

  You have formed a pack. You have found the purpose, he said, trying to think of what name suited her. To all things, names were important, but possibly even more so to elementals, creatures of the Great Mother bonded to the elements. When he’d named Asgar, he had relied upon Asboel and Sashari to help, using their memories of the draasin. He’d pulled from his knowledge of Ishthin, finding a name that seemed well-suited to the young draasin. The one that Tan had chosen felt fitting.

  With this hound, he had nothing but his own memories of her. She had been an Incendin hound, a fearsome and terrifying creature of twisted fire, but now she was something more. She had unified the hounds, pulling them together, making her an earth elemental of much strength. That strength allowed her to lead the others, but she had curiosity in her as well. Tan had sensed that when she first came to him, seeking the connection.

  Kota, Tan said.

  In Ishthin, it meant something along the lines of Strong One, but there was a deeper element to it than that, a reflection of what he saw in her.

  There was a flash of spirit drawn from Tan as the bond formed.

  Kota tipped her head back and howled.

  20

  A Race for Zephra

  Tan ran with Kota, racing after her with a shaping of wind and earth, each step fueled by an additional shaping. Elle surfed along next to him, somehow drawing water out of the air that she slid upon. When he focused on what she did, he thought he understood, but he still marveled at her newfound control.

  The ground around them changed quickly as they made their way through Chenir. Rocks dropped off quickly, and Tan used shapings to guide hi
mself down. Kota leapt, taking a single bounding jump each time, bouncing from rock to rock. The rest of the pack roamed on either side of them, racing ahead, having no more trouble with the changing elevation than Kota.

  The sense of the hounds as a deep rumbling in his mind hadn’t changed. Every so often, they bayed, a steady and rhythmic calling. It took Tan a while to realize that their howls served to disrupt the drumming of Chenir that sought to call them back. He wondered if the hounds would be able to call the other elementals back into Chenir, but doing so would take an understanding of the calls that Tan didn’t possess.

  The bond to Kota was a solid sense within him. As with the other elementals, bonding to her had changed something inside of him. With fire, it had burned in his mind. The bond to Honl had given him a connection to wind, and increased his strength and ability there. Water had come next, but then he’d always had a certain connection to the nymid, even if there hadn’t been the bond. Now that he’d bonded to an earth elemental—and one of the hounds—he wondered how that would change him. What would it mean that he’d bonded to an elemental from each of the elements?

  The ground sloped steadily down. The rockiness to it never changed, only the elevation. From the map that Elle had, Tan knew they must be nearing the borders where Par-shon had their shapers. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel that he would be outnumbered this time.

  “Are you sure that you want to be here?” Tan asked Elle. “I plan to rescue my mother and then return the elementals.”

  Her expression clouded briefly. “Do you know where to find Zephra? Can you speak to masyn?”

  “Probably,” Tan said.

  “Fine, then you go ahead. When masyn answers, I’ll return to Doma. Until then, you need me to guide you.”

  Tan didn’t tell her that he’d already tried, but speaking to water required a distinct touch. The nymid protected him—he wore their armor—and he’d spoken to udilm in the past, but he had only the vaguest sense of the elemental that Elle had bonded. It was wispy, much like the wind, and there only at the edge of his senses. Tan suspected that he could reach it, but could he guarantee that he could, especially if his mother depended upon it?

  “Is she still alive?” Tan asked.

  Elle nodded. “She lives. I know little more than that.”

  At least there was that. If she lived, and if he could find a way to reach her, then there was a chance that he could get her to safety.

  He reached through his connection to earth, sensing the elemental strength of the hounds around him. Tan found that he used Kota instinctively, reaching through the new connection that he shared with her. It was a potent and powerful bond, almost as strong as the one that he shared with Asboel. Could it be that the process of healing her and bringing the hounds back into the fire bond had made the connection even more solid? There seemed to be more of a connection to spirit within the bond than he would have expected, though that might only be imagined.

  Through Kota, Tan was able to detect the other hounds around them and was able to know exactly where they were through a combination of earth sensing and the keen sense of smell the hounds possessed. They ran easily, their cries occasionally echoing out and filling Chenir with the rumbling roar of the hounds.

  Elle touched his arm after a while.

  Tan hadn’t needed her to point out what she detected, though he was impressed that her connection with water was so potent that she knew as soon as he did that they’d reached the edge of the lands claimed by Par-shon. Tan had sensed shapers here. Always before, the connection had been tenuous, especially when Par-shon used earth to obscure their presence. This was different; this time, Tan simply knew they were there.

  Kota, Tan said, reaching for his new bond.

  The pack knows.

  Can you hunt?

  She looked over at him and bared her fangs. You think that we have forgotten?

  Tan smiled. There was a part of her that reminded him much of the draasin and the way Asboel chased the hunt. It should be done quietly.

  Rather than letting out a howl, Kota sent a low rumble through the earth. There are others of earth bonded here, Maelen.

  Tan knew there would be. With Par-shon, they would have bonded earth to enough shapers that they would be able to hide. If they discovered the hounds, and if they learned that they were elementals, there would be a new danger to them. They would become the hunted, with Par-shon seeking to trap them and force a bond. Tan would not allow that.

  That is why it must be quick.

  It is already done.

  Tan almost lost his shaping and stumbled. Already? Even as he asked, he reached through earth, borrowing from Kota and using the earth sensing that he possessed. Through it, he detected the fallen Par-shon shapers, their bonds now freed, released back into Chenir where the steady summons pulled them back. At least they would be safe for now.

  “What happened?” Elle asked.

  Tan smiled. “The hounds. They’ve made sure that Par-shon won’t know we’re here.”

  Elle’s eyes tightened. She squeezed her hands, as if readying to make a fist. “But they will know, Tan. They’re connected in that way.”

  As she said it, he became aware of a new attack. Three of the hounds that had roamed the furthest were attacked by fire and wind. Connected to fire as they were, they ignored the fire, but the wind was difficult for them. They jumped and snarled but were thrown back.

  Can you draw them back? Tan asked Kota.

  You wanted the hunt.

  Not like this.

  Another three hounds were attacked as well. Tan barely had time to marvel at the fact that he could practically see the attack in his mind, that the connection to Kota had given him the ability to follow the sense of all them. Water and wind mixed, attacking these hounds. They separated, attacking the shapers, but they didn’t have the element of surprise as they had before.

  Worse, more shapers were coming.

  Tan sensed them as they made their way toward him. Dozens. Dozens of dozens. Would they be strong enough to fight Par-shon back?

  “How much farther is she?” Tan asked.

  Elle shook her head. “Tan, we’re only on the outer edge of what Par-shon has claimed.”

  “Show me what you know,” he demanded. He needed to see where Zephra was held. He needed to know how far he had to reach.

  “I don’t know how—”

  One of the hounds fell and didn’t move. The others howled and pulled the fallen one back.

  Tan couldn’t wait. He wouldn’t have these elementals sacrifice themselves for him. “I’m sorry, Elle.” With a shaping of spirit, he reached into Elle’s mind, surging through her, and found what she knew of masyn. As he did, his understanding of the elemental changed. He could almost hear it, but it came through Elle’s connection. Through that, he was able to locate Zephra, and knew how much farther they had to go.

  He considered what he’d seen of Chenir from the map. Too far, at least too far with only the two shapers and the elementals. They would need more help if they were to push Par-shon back from here.

  He needed help. Using the summoning rune, he shaped a request and not a demand. Only those who wanted to help would answer.

  Another hound fell, but it managed to get up weakly. Through his connection with Kota, he was able to reach it and sent a shaping drawn of water, healing it.

  The hounds howled again. The sound echoed off the rock, filling the air.

  For a moment, the Par-shon shapers were pushed back, creating a new hesitation to their attack. Kota seized upon it and sent the hounds charging forward, racing into the attack, striking at the bonded shapers, who fell before the onslaught. The hounds howled each time another fell.

  As they did, Tan realized something. No longer were the freed elementals pulled away. The hounds’ call held them in place, as if disrupting whatever effect the rhythmic sounds of Chenir had on the elementals.

  Renewed hope surged within him. Could he use those elementals?
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  “Stay back here and be ready,” Tan told Elle.

  “Tan—”

  He shook his head as he readied a shaping, pulling on the strength of the elementals around him, feeling them fill him with energy. “Elle, this might be more than you can handle.”

  She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You think that I did nothing the entire time that Par-shon attacked Doma? Do you really think that I’m so helpless?”

  Tan struggled with thinking of her in any way other than the young girl he’d met at the university, the one who’d worn dresses far too large for her and kept herself buried in books. The same girl who had relied on him to save her when the archivists attacked. But now she was different. Whether that came from bonding the elemental, or whether it was the experience that she had, Tan couldn’t deny the fact that Elle was capable.

  He nodded, taking a deep breath as he did. He couldn’t do the same thing to Elle that his mother had done to him. Elle had to make her own choices. With what she’d done to keep Doma safe when Falsheim was attacked, she’d certainly earned that right.

  “Elle . . . just be careful,” he said.

  Her mouth tightened, and she tipped her head toward him. “Par-shon thinks they know the elementals, but they don’t know masyn. They don’t know your hounds, either.” She lifted from the ground on a shaping of water, mist spiraling around her. “Let’s go reach Zephra.”

  21

  Help Arrives

  Tan followed Kota as she raced across the rocky ground. Chenir changed the farther they went, the rocky slope leveling out and leading to a flatter ground. It was colder here and covered with a thin layer of frost. Dried grasses remained, the only remnants of the summer season that had long since passed.

  Elle stayed above the ground, but Tan ran alongside his new bond. The hound jumped with such lithe grace, moving like no creature he’d ever seen. Had these hounds chased him when he’d first encountered the lisincend, he might never have managed to escape.