The Shadow Trilogy Complete Box Set

by Dayne Edmondson

  Ashley pondered her experiences from the last six months as they rode along the king’s road toward the sole gate of the city. How had she gone from a college student on Earth studying English to a magic-wielding mage on a critical mission to help save humanity? The fear she felt upon first arriving on Tar Ebon was gone, replaced by curiosity and wonder. Her heart still panged for her parents and younger brother and sister, but she had learned that focusing on the pain would do no good. She held onto the believe they would one day find their way home.

  A woman’s scream broke the rhythmic pounding of hooves on stone. Halting her horse, Ashley searched for the source of the panicked scream. The scream came again, from the direction of a nearby copse of trees. She turned toward the trees, but Captain Williams’ held up a hand.

  “Wait, my lady. Robertson, Jamison, check it out,” he ordered, pointing toward two of the older rangers. The two men galloped toward the tree line.

  After letting the two rangers get a lead, Ashley rode around Captain Williams and toward the trees. She heard him curse behind her, something about “bloody woman,” but paid him no mind. Hoof beats behind her announced the rest of her retinue following.

  One of the rangers pulled up before the tree line and shouted, “you in there, come out, now.”

  The screams stopped, turning to whimpering as Ashley drew closer. Moments later, three men and a woman exited the woods. The sight of the woman made Ashley gasp. Tattered, faded clothing hung from the almost naked tanned woman. Two of the men, olive-skinned and perhaps as tall as John, wore no shirt, but instead had bands around their biceps and tattoos on their chests. A sword hung from each of their waists. The third man was thinner and shorter than the others. Jewels adorned his neck, fingers and wrists, while fine silk robes draped over him. The men tossed the woman to the ground, where she struggled to her knees.

  “What is the meaning of this?” the man asked in accented common tongue. “Why do you bother me and my men so?”

  “What are you doing to that woman?” Ashley asked, reigning in her horse beside Robertson and Jamison.

  “Her?” he asked, gesturing to the almost naked woman and sneering. “She is my slave; do you not see the mark? I am punishing her for attempting to leave my service.”

  Flicking her eyes to the bedraggled woman’s forehead, Ashley saw a brand seared into it - a circular symbol with an inverted triangle inside of it. Anger flared in her. “Your slave? You pig. Look at her! She’s wearing nothing but rags and looks like you’re killing her. Isn’t slavery illegal in these lands?”

  Captain Williams cleared his throat. “My lady, slavery is actually legal in Stoneridge. Or at least indentured servitude is, which is what the slave owners claim it is.”

  “That doesn’t make it right,” Ashley said, rounding on the dark-haired man. “Look at her! How can you think this is right?”

  “It’s just the way of the world,” Captain Williams replied with a shrug.

  “Listen to your soldier, woman,” the wealthy man drawled. “This woman is my property. Now leave me to my business.”

  Ashley searched Captain Williams’ eyes, then looked around at the other rangers. Most looked away as her eyes fell upon them, shame evident in their postures. They may not all have agreed, but they would not do anything to help. This wasn’t right. Yes, women had different roles to play in this world than on modern-day Earth but never had she seen women treated in this manner on Tar Ebon. She knew from Earth's own history that such treatment by men toward women was common. Women had suffered much to gain rights akin to those men were given by right of birth. To see a civilization where this was not the case sickened her.

  “No,” she said, turning back to the slave master.

  “No?” The man chuckled. “You think that you can stop me, woman?” he asked with a sneer.

  “Yes, I do,” Ashley replied. Casting her mind out of her body, Ashley viewed her environment. Human-shaped bundles of vibrating molecules marked the rangers, the slave master, his guards and the slave girl. Denser clusters marked the copse of trees. Swirls of particles around her marked the wind, sunlight and even the air around her. Pushing the more superfluous particles from her awareness, such as the sunlight, Ashley focused on the earth beneath her feet.

  She imagined the particles that made up the earth coming together to form a large mass of earth. She felt the ground shake. As if drawn by a gravity well, the particles came together. Ashley used her mind as a sculptor would a chisel. She shaped the mass of earth into the shape of a human, the earth surging upward as if made of mud or wet clay. She formed legs, a torso, arms and a head. She solidified the construct and drew her mind back into her body until only a trickle of mental energy remained in the construct. The golem maintained its form and animation.

  She focused her eyes on the rich slave master before her. His eyes had grown wide, focused on the seven-foot stone golem before him. “Now, you can either leave the girl in my care or we can have my golem settle this. Trust me, you don’t want him punching you.”

  The two guards flanking their master inched backward, fear and uncertainty in their eyes.

  The slave master quavered where he stood. “I, uh,” he swiped sweat off his brow, “you can have her. Just don’t hurt me, please.” The man broke into an awkward trot toward the city gates. His silk robes made his retreat difficult.

  Ashley watched the three men flee for a moment before releasing her mental hold on the golem. The human-shaped mound of stone and dirt collapsed to the ground in a cloud of dust. Ashley approached the woman, halting as the woman shied back from her, apprehension on her face. “It’s all right,” Ashley said, holding her arms out to the side, palms toward the woman. “I won’t hurt you.” She took another step. “What is your name?”

  “I am called Leysa,” the woman said.

  “Leysa. That is a nice name. May I come closer?”

  The woman nodded.

  “One of you give me a blanket, now,” she commanded as she looked back at the rangers.

  The men looked to their commander. At his slight nod, one of the men dismounted.

  Ashley knelt beside Leysa, assessing her wounds. Bruises covered much of her body, but little blood and few bruises on her face. It was clear her master had wanted to bruise her where it would be least noticeable. She trembled as Ashley reached to touch her skin. “Everything is going to be fine,” Ashley said, trying to sound comforting.

  One of the rangers dropped a blanket beside Ashley before retreating. Picking it up, Ashley draped it around Leysa. Leysa knelt for a moment before wrapping it around herself.

  “You’re free now, Leysa. Those men won’t bother you any longer.”

  Leysa stared at the ground and did not reply.

  “Are you from Stoneridge?”

  Leysa shook her head.

  “How did you become a slave?” She refused to use the word “servant.” Ashley felt that it promoted the taking of slaves in all but name. Better to call a slave a slave than mince words.

  Leysa continued to study the ground.

  Ashley sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought. She had read of the trauma rape victims went through, how the experience could haunt them for the rest of their lives in some cases. She imagined being sexually abused and a slave would be worse.

  Hungry from summoning the golem, Ashley withdrew a hard thick hard biscuit from her pack. Tearing off a part of the biscuit, she offered a piece to Leysa. “Are you hungry?”

  Leysa snatched the piece of biscuit from Ashley’s hand, devouring it but not answering the question.

  Ashley ate her own part of the biscuit. Using magic tired her out mentally but also made her hungry. The more energy and matter she manipulated, the more food she needed to eat afterword and the more rest she would need. In the time since arriving on Tar Ebon, she had been eating more but had still managed to lost weight. Alivia explained that the extra food she ate was converted into energy that she used for manipulation of matter and
energy. It had something to do with the laws of conservation of energy, as Jason put it, though she found herself zoning out when her brother talked too much science.

  After finishing the hard biscuit, Leysa looked at Ashley. “I am from Rovark. I was captured while journeying to Tar Ebon with my family to trade our wares.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “They killed my father and mother and…” she began to sob, “they enslaved me, my brother and younger sister. I haven’t seen them since.”

  Ashley’s first instinct was to comfort Leysa. Rising, she walked around behind Leysa, sat down and put her arm around the sobbing woman.

  Instead of pulling back, Leysa leaned in and laid her head on Ashley’s chest. The tears continued to flow, accompanied by unintelligible sobs, soaking Ashley’s tunic, but she continued to stroke Leysa’s hair.

  After several minutes, Leysa’s weeping ceased, replaced by sniffling. She wiped her nose with her arm and sat up. “Thank you,” she said.

  Ashley stood, extending a hand and helping Leysa to her feet. “You’re welcome. Do you have anywhere to go? You’re more than welcome to join us on our journey. We will be in Stoneridge for a time, then returning to Tar Ebon.”

  “I have nowhere to go,” Leysa said. “I would go with you if you will have me.”

  Ashley nodded. “It’s settled then.” She led Leysa toward where the rangers waited with the horses. “Can you ride?”

  Leysa furrowed her eyebrows in a look of annoyance. “I am Rovarkian - I was riding a horse before I could run on the ground.”

  “Oh, right, I didn’t think about that,” Ashley said. Although Leysa’s claims were likely over-exaggerated, she had heard of the reputation of the Rovarkians as horse lords and did not doubt her skill. “Before you mount,” she gestured to her blanket, “let’s give you some trousers.” Removing her pack from her horse, Ashley removed a spare pair of trousers. “I think we’re about the same size,” Ashley said. “Well, they might be a little big on you,” she amended as she looked at Leysa’s skin-and-bones frame. She handed Leysa the clothing.

  While Leysa went back to the grove of olive trees to change, Ashley turned to Captain Williams. The man sat atop his stallion, watching the surrounding area. “Captain Williams,” Ashley said, drawing his attention, “please prepare your men to move out. We’re taking Leysa with us. We should still be able to reach the city by nightfall; don’t you think?”

  “Yes,” he said, glancing at the sun as it inched toward the western horizon. “If we hurry.”

  “Oh and Captain,” Ashley began, walking close to the captain and lowering her voice menacingly. “If you ever stand by as a woman is violated in a way like this again I will turn my golems upon you as soon as on the perpetrators. Do you understand?” She stared at the captain with a rock-steady gaze.

  Captain Williams swallowed hard and averted his eyes. “I understand.”

  Leysa returned to Ashley’s horse and mounted in one smooth motion. Ashley mounted behind Captain Williams and the group returned to the road. They urged their mounts to a fast trot while refraining from running. They did not want to alert the soldiers guarding the gates.

  With twilight approaching, the normal stream of people entering and leaving the city of Stoneridge was a trickle. The guards reviewed the credentials Captain Williams presented and waved them through without incident.

  “Where do you recommend we stay for the night, captain?” Ashley asked as they cleared the gates.

  “There’s a tavern I know not a block from the king’s palace named the Stoneridge Inn. Good, respectful place for ladies such as yourself.”

  “What an original name,” Ashley said. “Lead on, captain.”

  The group from Tar Ebon rode through the emptying streets of Stoneridge. They passed closed up shops and vacant vendor booths. Raucous noises from the taverns replaced the bustle of daily life in a town like Stoneridge.

  Ashley studied the architecture as they went. Most of the buildings were made of stone. Trusting that Captain Williams knew where they were going, Ashley expanded her mind and let herself feel the stone of the buildings around her. While the stone of the older buildings in Tar Ebon and the walls was seamless, with a cohesion of particles that could only be explained by magic. The buildings of Stoneridge had a natural cohesion to them - a flow of grains that enhanced the natural strength of the stone. Although not perfect, appeared to be built with care, a close approximation of the strength present in mage-built structures.

  Drawing her mind back into her body, Ashley noticed they were approaching a wide open space. She gasped as they entered the central plaza of the city. Marble statues twice the height of a man stood around the circular plaza, depicting soldiers and maidens, craftsmen and children, people from all walks of life. A baker, a mother, a blacksmith, a miner and many more. The statues faced the center where a massive marble statue of a man in armor sat atop a tall steed, sword in his hand. Sprouting from the massive statue were smaller statues of pikemen and crossbowmen. They surrounded the larger statue, depicting a war scene from some ancient battle Ashley guessed.

  “Victory Plaza,” Captain Williams said.

  “What does it depict?” she asked.

  “It depicts the first Selucid War when Valnaria gained its independence from the Selucid kingdom.”

  “Oh."

  As they rode around the massive statue, Ashley found her eyes shifting between the central statue and the outlying statues, admiring their beauty. She considered expanding her mind to analyze the works of art as she had the architecture but felt tired from her previous uses of magic. She longed for a soft bed to rest on, and soon found her thoughts drifting. What would she say to the king of Stoneridge when she met him? Coryn had given her a letter, sure, but what if he didn’t believe it? What if he refused to lend his soldiers to the aid of Tar Ebon?

  “Where is the palace?” she asked.

  Captain Williams pointed eastward. “The road up ahead leads toward the mountains. The palace is built into the stone of the mountain.”

  “I can’t wait to see it,” Ashley said and meant it. A city built into a mountain would be an architectural marvel for her.

  Exiting Victory Plaza, the group rode east toward the palace. As they went, Ashley began to make out the palace in the distance. Before she could see it clearly, however, Captain Williams reigned in the horse. Ashley looked up to see a sign depicting a mountain, with the words “Stoneridge Inn” written beneath. Raucous sounds emanated from the stone building, accompanied by the smells of food cooking. An alley ran next to the inn, and the party filed down it, arriving at a stable.

  A tired looking stable boy came out, looking at the large group as he rubbed his eyes. “Wha’ can I do for ya?” he asked.

  “We would like stalls for all of our horses,” Captain Williams said. “Can you accommodate us?”

  “Sure thing, sir,” the boy said, performing a clumsy bow. He proceeded to ferry the horses into the stables. The horseless rangers milled about in the stable yard, their packs in hand.

  After dismounting and handing Captain Williams’ horse to the stable boy, he, Ashley and Leysa approached the back door. Ashley knocked. A plump woman wearing an apron opened the door moments later.

  “Whaddya want?” she drawled.

  Ashley cleared her through. “We would like room and board for my companions and our rangers.”

  “Lemme get the innkeeper,” she said, shutting the door.

  They waited several minutes before the door reopened and the innkeeper, a thin gray-haired man with dark, suspicious eyes stood surveying them. “What?”

  “We’re looking for rooms for us and our companions.” She swiveled and swept her arm out to indicate the cluster of rangers behind her.

  The man glanced at the rangers and brushed his eyes over the three in front of him. His eyes snapped back to Leysa and narrowed further. “This be your slave?” he asked.

  Ashley stood up straighter. “No, this is not my slave. She is a free
woman accompanying me in my travels.”

  “Free? Bah,” he spat on the ground at her feet. “She be marked as a slave,” he gestured to the brand on her forehead. “I don’t serve slaves or those who ‘free’ them.”

  “So you will not aid us? I am a representative from Tar Ebon, here on a mission to see the king of Valnaria.”

  “I don’t care if you are a Founder from ancient days or the queen of Tar Ebon, you are not welcome here.” He lifted his arm and pointed. “Be gone with you and your foul ways, woman.” Without further word, he slammed the door shut. The sound of a latch being dragged into place symbolized the disgust of the innkeeper for them.

  Ashley was speechless for a few moments, before looking to Captain Williams and Leysa. “What just happened?”

  “I’m sorry, m’lady,” Captain Williams said. “I should have warned you. In Stoneridge, slaves are not allowed in any public establishment. Their masters are, but the slaves must remain outside unless they are property of the owner of the establishment. The notion of a free slave is blasphemy in this city. I would recommend that you not speak of Leysa’s freedom until we have departed the city.”

  “I am sorry,” Leysa said. “I brought this misfortune upon us.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for,” Ashley said, taking Leysa’s hand in her own. “It is the bigotry of this culture that is to blame. It’s not right and we will not bend to the will of these people.”

  Captain Williams cleared his throat. “If we want to eat, or have a bed in this town, we may want to consider pretending that Leysa is a slave to fit in.” He held up his hands as Ashley glared at him. “You saw the reaction this man had. I am afraid you will have this reaction all over the city. It is better to have Leysa act as a slave or servant than for us to be shunned for our deviance from cultural traditions.”

  Ashley hated this. Her female ancestors had fought hard, facing imprisonment and even death for the rights she enjoyed in the 21st century, yet here she was considering pretending to go along with the male attitudes toward women and slaves. It felt like a betrayal. Praying for her ancestors looking down on her from Heaven to forgive her, she spoke. “I see your point, Captain. Leysa, are you alright with this? You don’t have to. We can leave the city, take you back to Henry’s Crossing and come back.”