“Stories would not do them justice,” Haern said.
“Why should I help you retrieve this crystal?”
“Because Venass seeks the crystal, and I fear how powerful they would manage to become if they succeed.”
Carth sniffed. “No doubt the Hjan would use something like that in dangerous ways, but helping you might be equally dangerous.”
Haern nodded to Rsiran. “That’s why he’s here.”
“Explain.”
“The guilds protect the crystals. Or had, until Venass damaged one of the Elder Trees. Rsiran needs to return it to the guilds’ protection.”
Carth studied Rsiran. “It seems the guilds can no longer protect the crystals. Perhaps it is time for alternative protection to be arranged. How do you know the others are safe?”
“They are safe,” Rsiran said.
“Like the one that you lost?”
He shook his head. “I have placed additional protection around the others. No one can reach them.”
Carth glanced from Haern back to Rsiran. “You hoped that I would have heard something about this crystal.”
Haern nodded. “I thought it was possible.”
“Interesting. I have not. Now that I know it’s missing, I will discover all that I can.”
“That would be valuable,” Haern said.
She considered Rsiran. “I am not certain that I will share with the guild. They have lost the crystal once. If I recover it, I will find a way to keep it safe from Venass.”
Rsiran fought the urge to tell her how unlikely it was that she would be able to protect the crystal. The guilds and the Elder Trees had kept them safe for hundreds of years. Now that he knew how to use the power of the Elder Trees, Rsiran thought that he could keep them safe, but first he had to get it back. Which meant using whatever help they could get.
“That means you won’t help,” Rsiran said.
Carth barely looked at him. “I have not decided the extent of the help I will offer”—she turned her full attention on Haern—“but tell me, Haern of Hjan—why should I do this for you?”
“You want me to pay for a crime you claim I made.”
“There is no claiming. It is your crime.”
Haern’s face flushed slightly. What had he done that he hadn’t shared with them? This was a part of Haern’s plan that Rsiran understood the least. Somehow, Haern had to convince Carth that she could trust that he would go with her when this was all over. If he couldn’t accomplish that, the rest of the plan would not work.
“You want me. Do this for us, and I will go with you willingly. I will answer for whatever crime you say.”
“It is an interesting plan,” Carth said, “but it requires that I trust you, Haern of Hjan.”
“Not that you trust me, Carth. It requires that you trust Rsiran.”
“I don’t know him.”
“No. But you know his grandfather. A man who he despises and nearly killed once, and a man that Rsiran would do anything to keep from reaching the crystal.”
“Why does that matter to me?”
“Because his grandfather leads Venass.”
Carth took a step forward, eagerness gleaming in her eyes. “Danis? You can help me reach Danis?”
Rsiran glanced at Haern before turning to Carth. “I don’t know if I can help you reach him. I don’t know where he is anymore.”
“That is not a concern. I know where to find Danis.”
“You can’t reach him, can you?” Haern asked.
“He is well protected. Drawing him out would take something I do not have.”
“Something like his grandson,” Haern suggested.
Carth nodded. “If the guildlord helps with this, then I will agree. I will need some time, and then I will come to you.”
With that, she jumped, leaping higher into the air than Rsiran believed possible, and disappeared into the night.
“What now?” Jessa asked.
Haern stared into the dark. “Now, we wait.”
That was the answer Rsiran feared. How long could they wait?
Chapter 31
The knife tore through the air, whistling past his cheek. Rsiran ducked, Sliding away from the knife so that it barely missed. Another followed, and another. Each time, he Slid away, and each time he emerged, Haern seemed to know where he would be and threw another knife.
None were lorcith forged. Haern had gone back to steel, determined to prove to Rsiran how to work with metals that he didn’t have the same affinity for. Already, he’d been cut nearly a dozen times. Were it not for the fact that he’d learned he could Slide to use the power of the Elder Trees to heal him, Della would have been upset with them.
Rsiran spun, pushing a dozen knives in all directions around him. None of them hit, so he pulled them back. Somehow, Haern still managed to evade him.
Since returning to Elaeavn after meeting with Carth, Haern had fought with a determination that Rsiran had never seen from him before. He had always come off as deadly with his knives, but now he was frightening. In some ways, he reminded Rsiran of when he’d faced Isander. In others, he had a terrifying skill all his own.
Rsiran Slid, this time emerging in the branches of one of the trees. Sliding into the trees was dangerous, and put him in some danger, especially if he miscalculated the distance. There had been one time that he’d misjudged, and emerged on the branch only to have it crack and break, dropping him to the ground. Had he not Slid again, he might have been injured, but he’d managed to pull himself away at the last moment.
From this vantage, he studied the ground below. Haern would be in the forest somewhere, likely wearing the black shirt that bent the light, making it difficult to determine where he hid.
Rsiran skimmed his gaze across the forest, looking as Haern had instructed for anything that might seem out of place. He kept his eyes mostly unfocused, not letting his gaze linger in one spot for too long. Doing that only made it more likely that he would miss others that would give him the insight he needed.
Nothing moved, and nothing appeared out of place.
Rsiran sent five knives sweeping around the forest, giving off a soft glow that helped him search. Still there was nothing. Haern was there, but he remained hidden.
Could Rsiran draw him out?
Movement exposed him, and risked Haern sending one of his knives through him. They were dulled so they couldn’t cut too deeply, but they still hurt, regardless of whether he was able to reach the power of the Elder Trees.
But if he stayed here, he wouldn’t find Haern.
Rsiran Slid, making a point of moving noisily.
When he emerged, two knives whistled toward him.
Rsiran Slid again, emerging where he’d seen the knives come from. This time, he found Haern.
He clung to the trunk of a tree, nothing more than a shadow lingering against the bark. Rsiran flipped a pair of knives, sending them handle first.
Haern jumped out of the way before they hit.
Rsiran Slid as Haern moved, emerging with his sword drawn, slashing at him. Haern was forced to roll, and brought his sword up, but not before Rsiran managed to push a pair of knives that he held to either side of Haern’s head.
Haern dropped his sword and held his hands out. He let out a shaky breath. “Damn. Getting faster, aren’t you, Rsiran?”
“I’d say the same about you.” He helped Haern stand and then pulled all the lorcith knives that were scattered around the forest back to him. As Haern had stopped carrying lorcith when they sparred, they were all his.
“I’m not getting faster so much as I’m shaking off rust,” Haern said. “Still not back to where I used to be. Closer than I’ve been in years, but…”
“You want to get to that point before you go with Carth?”
“Not sure that it matters,” Haern said.
Rsiran tucked the knives he’d pulled to him into his pockets and the strap sheath he wore around his waist. Two went in wrist sheaths that he’d fashione
d. He’d found that it was easier to push knives from those sheaths, but he needed to come up with a way for them to hold more than a couple of knives.
“Why does she want you, Haern?”
“Rsiran—”
“I know you want to keep your past to yourself, but this involves us now.”
“No. It involves me,” Haern said. He slammed his sword into his sheath and glanced around the heavily wooded area.
In the last few sparring sessions, Haern had moved them away from the clearings, wanting to test Rsiran more and more. The next step involved actually fighting through a city. Not Elaeavn. It wouldn’t do for one of the guildlords to be discovered Sliding through the city throwing knives at another.
“And we’re supposed to let her take you.”
“If she upholds her end of the bargain, then yes.”
“I don’t think that Jessa will let that happen, regardless of what you might have agreed to.”
“You can’t let her come after me. She comes after Carth, and she’ll only end up getting hurt or worse.”
“Then convince me why we should let Carth take you. What did you do? Had to be pretty bad for her to chase you all these years.”
Haern smacked the trunk of the tree and started walking. “I was one of the Hjan, Rsiran. There are things I did then that I can’t undo. That’s why Carth wants me.”
Rsiran Slid and emerged in front of Haern. “What, then? The way she made it sound was that there was something particular that you did.”
Haern clenched his jaw and looked away. “There was more than one particular thing. When I left Isander, I wanted nothing more than to reach the Hjan. They recruited me, but I had to prove myself. I didn’t understand at the time that they used me.”
“Used you how?”
“To understand it is to understand that there is history between the Hjan and C’than. The Hjan are assassins serving Venass, and we know what Venass wants.”
“Power,” Rsiran said.
Haern nodded. “Well, the C’than want power as well, only… only they go about it differently. Not through death, but through subterfuge and control. They use knowledge to work their power.”
“Spies.”
“Spies,” Haern agreed. “A network deeper than even the Hjan could ever penetrate. They tried. The C’than have existed for centuries, longer than any outside even know. Venass is relatively new. They claim scholarship, but that’s a front for something else. And the Hjan have long sought the influence the C’than command, but they do so through violence.”
Rsiran watched Haern. The older man rubbed at his cheek, touching the scar that he’d earned from joining Venass. “What does knowing this have to do with what you did?”
“It will help you understand and know what needs to be done. I thought you soft, but I’ve seen that you’ll do what’s needed to keep those you care about safe. Maybe not the same way that I would do it, but you take the steps that are needed. That’s all I can ask.”
“Then why are you telling me?”
“Because you’ll need to convince Jessa. I don’t think she’ll listen to me, not about this. She’s got it in her head that she owes me something.”
“You saved her. Isn’t that reason enough for her to think that?”
Haern grunted. “Saved her. I took her from filth, and brought her to a different filth. Sometimes, I wish I never returned her to Elaeavn.”
The forest began to thin and Haern hesitated, turning to Rsiran. “If this were only about me, I wouldn’t have any qualms about hiding. Don’t matter what Carth wants. But it’s not about me. Guess it never was. Should’ve Seen that, I suppose, but then I took that damn thing out.” He smacked his cheek.
“Haern?”
“Let me finish. You have to understand. Not only because you’ve been chased by Venass and you’re stupid enough to think you can chase them, but because now, we got Carth involved. You need to know what she is. Who she is.”
“I thought you said she was of C’than.”
“That woman is of C’than, but she’s different. Isander serves the C’than. There are others, more than I know. Like I said, they deal in secrets, so it’s not surprising that there are so many secrets around them.”
Through the trees, Rsiran could make out the faint outlines of the city as buildings began to become clear. Haern walked more slowly, as if each step pained him to take.
“Haern, enough about them. What did you do?” Rsiran asked Haern. He had managed to avoid answering the question so far, but Rsiran needed to understand.
Haern sighed and leaned against the trunk of an elm tree. “Let me finish, and then I think you will understand. I’m almost there, I promise. The Hjan have wanted the C’than network. They’ve wanted access, and if they couldn’t have that, they wanted to remove it. So they started to attack. The problem was, the C’than have talents of their own. Think you saw that with Isander.”
“And Carth,” Rsiran said.
Haern nodded. “Don’t know what their secret is, only that they have some talents that are different from what we have here in Elaeavn. Nothing like our gifts from the Great Watcher, or even your other abilities. When the Hjan started to attack, they thought to eliminate the C’than, but couldn’t. Both sides fought. Many died. Finally, the Hjan and C’than came to an accord, a peace treaty of sorts. Had they not, the Hjan and C’than would have been at war, but Venass and the C’than Trivant—their leaders, sort of like the Elvraeth council or the guildlords—managed to reach an agreement.”
“They left Venass to get more powerful?”
“Don’t know that they understood all of what Venass is after. In spite of everything that we’ve faced, I don’t think we do, either. You might have faced your grandfather, and you’ve seen the lengths that they’ll go to to defeat their enemies, but Venass… well, they call themselves scholars for a reason. Venass has always been about knowledge. In that way, they’re more like the C’than than they’d like to admit.”
“Why haven’t you told us this before?”
“What does it matter? The Accords stood for nearly fifty years, Rsiran. Nothing that we were going to do would disrupt that.”
“Maybe not, but Carth is pretty interested in Danis. She wouldn’t pursue him if she wanted to maintain the Accords.”
Haern nodded thoughtfully. “That was my thought, too. That’s why you need to know this. If the Accords are broken, then there’s a different war. Probably the reason Venass decided to move on Elaeavn after all these years. They must figure they can take down the Elvraeth, but they fear the C’than. As should you. Which is why you can’t come for me when I go to Carth.”
Rsiran shook his head. “You still haven’t told me why she wants you.”
“I’ve told you enough.”
“Not enough for Jessa. Haern, you know that she’ll want to come after you, regardless of what you say, and regardless of the danger that might exist. She wants to keep you safe, the same way that you want to keep her safe.”
“She can’t. This time, she can’t.”
“Why? What was it?”
Haern pulled a knife from his sheath and began flipping it around. “Had I been smarter, I could have stayed with Isander rather than joining the Hjan. I would have learned more than the Hjan ever could have taught, but I was young, and dumb. Thought I knew more than him.”
“What did you have to do?” Rsiran asked. “That’s it, isn’t it? They made you do something to join them.”
“They needed a demonstration of my skills. Said that I needed to show them why I should be considered for the Hjan. Gave me a target, and… and I took it.”
“Who was it?”
“My target was a woman who worked for the C’than. Not like Carth. Not sure I would have been able to face someone like her with my meager abilities at that time, but one of their assets. I went after her, and killed her for the Hjan. They claimed me, offered me their protection when the C’than came after me, and claimed ignorance a
bout the killing.”
Haern’s voice trailed off as he finished.
“Carth wants you for something that you did to join the Hjan?”
“To her, I violated the Accords. I wasn’t part of the Hjan then, but they used me to violate the Accords.”
Rsiran swallowed. He couldn’t imagine what Haern had gone through, the willingness to kill so that he could gain access to the Hjan. What would have driven him to do that?
“I deserve what’s coming to me,” Haern said. “Don’t like it, but can’t deny that I deserve it. I was too willing to do anything to get what the Hjan offered. The Great Watcher knows that other have suffered because of it. Now… now, maybe some good will come of it. If Carth sticks to her side of the bargain, then it’ll be worth it.”
“Haern—”
Haern pushed off the tree and shook his head. He flipped the knife a few more times in the air before sliding it cleanly into his wrist sheath. “Not going to talk me out of this, Rsiran. And Jessa can’t come after me. You saw what Carth is capable of doing. If Jessa tries to come after me, or you foolishly think to come after me because she wants you to, then one or both of you will end up hurt. I’ll take the punishment, and this time… This time there will be some good. We find the crystal, maybe we can even let Carth and the C’than take care of Venass, especially if the Accords are no more.” He sighed and nodded to himself. “Now. Time to get back to work. And you’ve got to check in with the guild, I would imagine.”
Chapter 32
Rsiran held onto the hilt of his sword, letting the leather wrap press against his palm, and trying to ignore the rising frustration. The Elvraeth council had summoned him again, and he had grown tired of trying to determine if he should really answer the summons. This time, he would do so without Luthan present for support. The old man had simply disappeared on him, leaving them nearly dead at Isander’s hand.
Ephram met him in the hall outside the council chamber. The alchemist guildlord wore a simple cloak today that left the serpent medallion—the mark of the guildlord—hanging free outside his shirt. His eyes had a weary expression, and the deep green seemed strangely faded.
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