The Guild Secret (The Dark Ability Book 6)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Perhaps once, but when the first builders added it to the rock that became the palace, it turned into something that Master Lareth should not have been able to Slide past.” His eyes went distant a moment, and he turned to Rsiran. “Master Lareth—will you Slide us from here?”

  Rsiran held out his arms, and all three of them grabbed on. He pulled in a Slide, drawing them away from the palace and emerging in the heart of the Aisl Forest.

  The massive sjihn trees rose around them. These were not the Elder Trees, but they were close enough that Rsiran could feel the pull from them. All he had to do to access that power was step into a Slide and pause in the place between. The temptation to use that power against Venass was there, but so far, he hadn’t risked it. Doing so felt like a violation of the Elder Trees, as if they wouldn’t want to be used in such way.

  “Why this place?” Luthan asked.

  “You knew I was coming,” Rsiran said.

  Luthan glanced from Rsiran to the others with him. “There are things that I Saw that told me those close to you were coming. This woman,” he said, motioning to Jessa, “and your Sliding friend. I Saw that they would come to the palace this evening. I saw that it was tied to stopping shadowsteel, though how remains unclear.”

  “You Saw us?” Jessa asked.

  Luthan nodded.

  “Then you would have known the other times we came,” she said.

  Luthan nodded again. “Master Lareth’s protection can only extend so far. Like many things, there are limits.”

  She looked to Rsiran. “What about when Venass tries to See us?”

  “Venass would not have Seers like me.” Luthan didn’t sound as if he boasted, making it as a statement.

  “They had Haern,” Rsiran said.

  “And he is not like me.”

  “No?” Jessa asked. “We’ve seen the way that Venass augments their Seers abilities. They use lorcith and heartstone to make their Seers more powerful. Do you really think that you’re still more skilled than them?”

  “And shadowsteel,” Rsiran added.

  “Interesting that they use the implants to somehow harness abilities of the Elders to augment those of the Watcher,” Luthan said.

  “It also grants abilities of the Elder,” Rsiran added. “They can manipulate lorcith.”

  “As well as you?” Luthan asked.

  “Not as well as me, but the point is that they—”

  “Much like with your lorcith, they might add to their ability, but I do not think they could reach the same level of skill as someone born to it.”

  “Haern was born to it,” Rsiran said.

  “He was born with some talent, but strength is another thing entirely.”

  “How do you know?” Jessa asked.

  “There are many things that I can See. Strength is but one.” Luthan gazed up into the trees. The sjihn trees here stretched high overhead, spreading their branches wide. The bases of the trunks were nearly a dozen paces wide, but still half the size of the Elder Trees. “They are here?”

  “These aren’t the Elder Trees,” Rsiran said.

  “I can See that they are not. You fear showing me the trees?”

  “You can Slide. You have the same right to them as I.”

  “Lareth—” Valn started. “He’s not of the guild.”

  “The guild doesn’t own the trees, either, Valn. It’s like the crystals with the Elvraeth.”

  “Still you won’t bring me to them,” Luthan said.

  “That’s not why we’re here. I stopped here for a different reason.”

  Valn watched him, a curious expression on his face. “What might that be?”

  “Yeah,” Jessa added. “What?”

  “Wait for me.”

  Jessa frowned but nodded.

  Rsiran took a step into a Slide and paused, stopping at the place in between in the midst of the Elder Trees, needing to determine if he could hold onto this power. If he could, there would be something that Venass didn’t yet understand, and wouldn’t be able to counter.

  As he stood here, he pulled power to him, letting it fill him. Rsiran pulled on more and more, drawing all the strength he could until it practically seeped back out through his pores. He held onto it, and then Slid back to the Aisl and the others.

  Stepping out of the Slide, the energy from the Elder Trees washed away from him, slipping free as if it couldn’t exist in this world. He felt invigorated, strengthened, but couldn’t hold onto the power as he wished he could.

  “What did you do?” Valn asked.

  Jessa watched him, seeming to know what he did. “Did it work?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t think that it would, but I wanted to know for sure, especially this close.”

  “Did what work?” Luthan asked.

  “Are we ready?” The other advantage of Sliding to that place alone was that Luthan wouldn’t be able to See where he went. Rsiran needed him, but could he trust him? Della and Brusus might be Elvraeth, but Luthan was different. Not only was he Elvraeth, but he sat on the council.

  “Where do you think we start?” Valn asked.

  Rsiran nodded to Luthan. “I thought that our Seer might be able to guide us.”

  “It doesn’t work like that, Master Lareth. I might be able to See aspects of the crystal, but as I believe I told you before, it is not a map.”

  “What can you See? There has to be something that gives us an idea of where to start.”

  Luthan watched Rsiran for a moment, hands clasped in front of him. He seemed as if he wanted to argue, but nodded, his cloudy eyes going wide as he seemed to stare through Rsiran.

  “This is a mistake,” Jessa said to him.

  “We need their help.”

  “Sure. Valn’s help,” she said, nodding to where Valn paced slowly in a circle around them. He kept one hand on the hilt of his sword, and tossed his gaze around him. “But you brought one of the members of the council with us.”

  “He agreed to come.”

  Jessa watched Luthan. “For what reason? The only thing we know about the Elvraeth is what they’ve been willing to do to others of their family. What happens if he decides that he is done helping? Or if you find the crystal, and he wants to claim it for himself?”

  “Luthan wouldn’t do that—”

  “Are you sure? Can you be sure what he’ll do? What if the only reason he agreed to come was so that he could make sure he got access to the crystal?” She squeezed his arm, forcing his attention back to her. “There are other Seers we could have asked, Rsiran. Haern or Della would have helped.”

  “Della doesn’t leave the city,” Rsiran reminded her. “And part of this is about finding Haern while we search for the crystal.”

  “I still don’t like it.”

  “I know,” he said.

  Luthan let out a sharp breath and turned to face them.

  “What did you See?” Rsiran asked.

  Luthan touched crooked fingers to his forehead. “What you ask of me is difficult, Master Lareth.”

  “I understand, but even you have to know how important it is for us to prevent Venass from taking the crystal.”

  “Even me?” Luthan asked.

  “Elvraeth,” Jessa clarified.

  “I’m not sure what you intend by that statement.”

  “I intend,” Jessa said, starting forward. Rsiran had to grab her arm to keep her from getting too close to Luthan. “I intent to point out that the Elvraeth sat in the palace and did nothing while the rest of Elaeavn was attacked. You did nothing when Venass entered the city. Nothing when they hurt people of your city. Nothing to stop them.”

  Luthan glanced over to Valn who had stopped pacing and watched Jessa with interest. “The guilds ensure that we have capable protection.”

  “The guilds?” Jessa sputtered. “Just because they provide the constables, that doesn’t mean they provide any real protection. Think of what you could have done to help in the attack.”

  “What form woul
d that have taken,” Luthan asked. “Would you have me Read Venass? I think I would find that difficult. Perhaps you would like my Sight?” He smiled as he said it, stepping closer and making his eyes somehow appear even cloudier. “Would you like my ability as a Listener? The only thing that might have been beneficial would have been Seeing, but even in that, what I could See told me that I was unnecessary.” He turned to Rsiran. “The guilds forget how they have protected our people through the years. They forget their purpose. Thankfully, Master Lareth has not.”

  He turned away from them. “Now, if we are about done with discussing what I have not done, let me tell you what I might be able to do. There is a place I See.”

  “What kind of place?” Jessa asked.

  “One that is tied to you,” he said, nodding to her. “Cort. That is where we must go.”

  Chapter 27

  The Slide took them out of the Aisl Forest and to Cort. Rsiran emerged on a grassy plain overlooking the city. In the darkness of night, some candles flickered in windows, like stars in the sky, but the rest of the city remained dark. The sliver of moon overhead wasn’t enough to light the city.

  Much was dark around him. Were it not for the lorcith and heartstone his companions carried, he wouldn’t be able to see anything.

  “That’s Cort?” Jessa asked.

  “From what I remember,” Rsiran said.

  Valn stared into the darkness. “That is Cort. A strange city, and dangerous.”

  “It didn’t seem dangerous when we were there before,” Rsiran said.

  Valn turned to him. “You mean the market where we were attacked for asking questions?”

  “We didn’t know there were that many of Venass here,” Rsiran said.

  Valn shook his head with a smile. “Still don’t think we should go in at night.”

  Rsiran laughed softly. “We have to for the crystal.” Turning to Luthan, he asked, “What do you See here?”

  Luthan blinked. “It is hazy.”

  “I thought you said you were a powerful Seer,” Jessa said.

  “I am, but Master Lareth exerts an equally powerful influence. There is only so much that one Sees when he is involved. As I have told him, there are ways to See around it, but they are difficult even at the best of times, and often the meaning is obscured. What you are asking—wanting me to understand what I See immediately—requires great focus.”

  “Then how are we—”

  Rsiran touched her arm, and she turned her frustration to him.

  “You have the four of us hunting for the crystal, Rsiran, when it should be all of Elaeavn looking.”

  “If all of Elaeavn looked, what would happen if someone else found it first?” he asked softly. “What would happen if someone who sides with Venass or sympathizes with the Forgotten discovers the crystal first?”

  Jessa clenched her fists, but nodded. “Fine.”

  She turned away from him and stared down into Cort.

  Luthan made his way over to Rsiran. “I thought you said the Forgotten were disbanded?”

  He turned to the Elvraeth councilor. “I haven’t said much of anything about the Forgotten to the council.”

  “You did not, but the other guildlords presented to the council how the threat of the Forgotten had been neutralized.”

  “We stopped their leader,” he said. “Evaelyn Elvraeth.”

  He watched Luthan for a reaction, thinking that Luthan might be upset at his mentioning her name, but he only nodded. “Said to be a powerful woman. A Reader of much skill.”

  “Not only a Reader,” Rsiran said. “She Compelled as well.”

  “A dark ability,” Luthan noted.

  “Careful using those words around Rsiran,” Jessa said.

  Luthan slipped his hands up the sleeves of his cloak as he watched Jessa. “I meant no offense. Only that using the abilities of the Great Watcher in such a way leads to—”

  “To darkness?” Rsiran asked. “Like Sliding?”

  Luthan smiled. “I think you know that I would never make the accusation that Sliding is a dark ability.”

  “Some of the Elvraeth had,” Rsiran said.

  Luthan glanced to Valn before turning back to Rsiran. “How long have you been guildlord, Master Lareth?”

  “A few months.”

  “And how much time were you a part of the guilds before that?”

  Where was he going with this? “You know how much time.”

  “Yes. You were not part of the guilds before you became guildlord. You were barely a part of the city, a man with barely any abilities given to him by the Great Watcher, and nearly exiled by his father.”

  “You had better have a point,” Jessa said.

  “Trust that I do. You say that you’re descended from Danis Elvraeth, which should have given you the same connection to the Great Watcher as I have. Your Lareth bloodline ties you to the ancient smiths. You could trace those connections back centuries were you to access the archives.”

  “I know all of this,” Rsiran said.

  “You know all about your heritage, but you know next to nothing about the guilds and the Elvraeth. When you accosted the council, I thought that perhaps you knew more than you did, but the more time I spend with you, the clearer it becomes that was incorrect. Your anger stems from what you experienced, not from traditional rivalries.”

  “Rivalries?” Valn asked. He had turned his attention away from Cort and now watched Luthan with a hot intensity. “Is that what you would call it when the Elvraeth tried to eradicate an entire guild?”

  Luthan watched him carefully. “I share the same gift, young man.”

  “You might share the same gift, but you’re part of the reason that those of the guild haven’t been able to Slide openly for years. You’re the reason that people view what we can do as—”

  Rsiran gently pushed on the lorcith Valn wore, nudging him back a few steps. He had continued to stalk toward Luthan, and was nearly to the point that he looked as if he might attack him.

  “Easy, Valn,” he said. “That’s not why we’re here.”

  Valn glared at Luthan a moment longer and then shook himself, forcing a smile onto his face. “You’re right, Lareth. That will be later.”

  Rsiran glanced at Jessa, but she kept her focus on Luthan. “What do you See in Cort?” he asked again.

  “Not in Cort, but outside. I could show you, but I will need to travel there myself, I think.”

  Rsiran reached into his pocket and pulled out a lorcith coin, much like the one that they’d slipped to Haern. He handed it to Luthan, who took it and held it up to the faint glimmer of moonlight.

  “This is not approved currency,” Luthan noted.

  “It’s not currency at all. You carry it with you, and I’ll know where you go so that I can follow.”

  “Even something so small as this?” Rsiran nodded. “At what distance?”

  “Far enough,” Rsiran said. From here, he could still detect the coins Brusus carried all the way back in Elaeavn if he needed.

  “Interesting. I would ask more about your abilities if we had the time.”

  “I have no abilities of the Great Watcher,” Rsiran said. “So I doubt that you would find me all that interesting.”

  “On the contrary, I think that is the exact reason that I would find you interesting.” He slipped the coin into his pocket and closed his eyes. With a soft shimmer of light, he Slid away from them.

  Rsiran waited for him to emerge, and it took a moment for him to locate where he’d Slid. The coin seemed to be not all the far away, a quick flash of lorcith that disappeared again. Rsiran waited for it to reappear, but it did not.

  He Slid forward a step, straining for lorcith, but found no sign of the coin.

  “What is it?” Jessa asked.

  “The coin didn’t return,” he said.

  “What does that mean, Lareth?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he emerged someplace that I can’t detect.”

  “What kind of
place would that be?”

  Once he would have claimed that a lorcith mine might prevent him from finding the coin, but with his heightened sensitivity with lorcith, even that was unlikely to prevent him from finding it, especially something that he had forged. For it to disappear meant that it had either been destroyed, or there was some way of masking it.

  “There aren’t many places like that,” Rsiran said.

  “Can you find him?” Jessa asked.

  “I can find where he was. From there…” From there, he would have to see if there was anything that would give him an idea about where Luthan had disappeared. He held out his arms, and Jessa and Valn took them. Then he pulled himself into a Slide.

  He emerged inside a small brick building. Smoke trailed from a fading fire, embers still glowing in the hearth and the scent of ash on the air. The room was empty.

  “He came here?” Jessa asked.

  Rsiran readied a pair of knives, preparing to push them if needed. He hadn’t expected Luthan to disappear on them like this.

  Maybe he hadn’t. Could something have happened to him?

  “Do you see anything?” he whispered to Jessa.

  She shook her head. “There’s no one here.”

  “There had been,” Valn said. “Fire. The bed,” he said, motioning to a mattress with sheets pulled to the side. “The food.”

  Rsiran hadn’t seen the plate of half-eaten meat resting on the ground near the mattress.

  “Is this in Cort?” Jessa asked.

  “We didn’t Slide very far, and we were on the border of Cort before we did.”

  Valn stopped at the door of the small building and pulled it open a few inches. He peered through the crack, then jerked his head back. A knife struck the wood where Valn’s face had been.

  Valn swore softly and Slid.

  “Rsiran—” Jessa started.

  “Stay here,” Rsiran said. “Stay safe.”

  He Slid outside the building, following Valn.

  As he emerged, he pushed on a pair of knives, sending them away from him, choosing heartstone knives. There weren’t as many people able to manipulate heartstone the same way that Venass could with lorcith. His grandfather had managed, but he had been the only person that Rsiran had met with such an ability.