Shadow Games (The Collector Chronicles Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Not when it’s been like this.”

  “When was the last time you were here?”

  She shrugged. “Earlier today. It’s where I realized who the Collector was.”

  Peter looked around before heading to the kitchen. Unsheathing his sword, he pushed the door open and sucked in a breath.

  Carth hurried forward to join him. When she reached Peter, she shook her head.

  Three bodies lay in the kitchen, each with their wrists slit, much as Boiyn’s had been. A knife lay on the floor, blood coating the blade. Carth didn’t have to get too close to recognize the knife.

  It was one of Jenna’s.

  Peter crouched in front of the knife and studied it for a few moments before looking up at Carth. “Your companion carried a knife like this.”

  Carth nodded. “I suspect she carried this knife.”

  “You’re saying your friend did this?”

  “Not this.”

  “I saw the wild look in her eyes. That’s the kind of person who would snap and do this.”

  Carth frowned at him. “Do you really think that I travel with people who would slaughter others in this way?”

  Peter lifted the knife and wiped it clean on one of the dead bodies before stuffing it into his pocket. He wiped his hands on his pants and turned to face Carth. “I’ll tell you what I know. In the time since you’ve come to my city, there have been more crimes than we are accustomed to. My ships have been attacked. Fires have consumed parts of the city. And now I have three dead.” He considered her for a moment before shaking his head. “Do you know what others say about you?”

  “I know exactly what you heard. And much of it is true. I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. If that involves disrupting the order of places like Asador or Obal or Valin, I have had little compunction in doing so. But if you have paid any attention to the stories that have come out about me, you will know that I do not kill innocents. I help those who need it. Sometimes that leads me into darkness, and sometimes it takes me places that I would rather not go, but I have done so willingly because I have the power to do so.”

  Carth looked away from Peter, noting the slashed wrists of the nearest body. “There are bad people in the world. There are a great number of bad people. Some of them have as much power as I do, or more. Who would fight them if I don’t?”

  “The law fights them,” Peter said quietly.

  Carth looked up. “If only that were the case. If all places had such a strict rule of law and no corruption, perhaps I would have faith that the law would protect those who cannot protect themselves, but I have not seen that in my experience. What I’ve seen is that there are many people who suffer, and in a great many cities, those in power do nothing.”

  “And you believe the Collector is responsible for this?” Peter gestured to the bodies.

  “She is.”

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  Carth sighed. “Because my friend—someone I care very dearly for—was killed in the same way.”

  “When?” Peter asked.

  Carth’s eyes narrowed. “Does it matter?”

  “It matters,” Peter said.

  “Several days ago.”

  “And you kept this to yourself?”

  “I’m afraid my experience in Keyall has not given me the greatest faith in its legal system.”

  “On the contrary, I would think that your experience in Keyall would give you great faith in the legal system. You’ve seen how little tolerance I have for those who seek to violate our laws.”

  “And if I had come to you as I did tonight and told you that the Collector was responsible but that I didn’t know who it was? What would you have done?”

  “And now you know who this person is—that’s why you brought it to me tonight?”

  “No. If I didn’t have great need, I probably wouldn’t have brought it to you.”

  And maybe these people wouldn’t have died, she realized.

  Linsay had likely killed them to make it seem as if Boiyn’s murder had been done by Jenna, trying to tie others into discord. It was the same way that she had played Tsatsun with Boiyn.

  Now that Carth understood that, would there be any way for her to counter it?

  “Then why do you need me?” Peter asked.

  Carth glanced at Alistan, who had been mostly silent since they had reached the tavern. Carth didn’t blame him. If he was nothing more than a merchant, regardless of how profitable he was, he might not have much experience with death. Carth had unfortunately seen her share of the dead and had killed more than she cared to remember.

  “The Collector searches for something in Keyall. That’s why she had me bring her here.”

  “You brought her here, and now you claim that you know what she’s after?”

  “I know what she’s after because she has asked me to acquire it for her.”

  “And what is that?” Peter asked.

  “Were you born in Keyall?”

  Even before he answered, Carth knew that Peter was from Keyall, even more so than many of the people she had met while here. It explained his innate ability to resist her magic, the connection he had that protected him from both the shadows and the flame, though it didn’t fully explain how he was able to use his cloak, the same sort of cloak that others she’d encountered in the city had, to protect himself.

  She regarded him for a moment, noting the darkness to his skin and the slight slope to his eyes, features that identified him as someone from Keyall.

  “I am from Keyall,” Peter said.

  “And do you worship the same god as your ancestors?”

  “Why are you asking?”

  “It’s not meant to be disrespectful. It’s simply a question.”

  “My people have worshiped the god that the city was founded on for generations.”

  “And if I used the phrase Elder Stone, how would you react?”

  His eyes twitched, narrowing the slightest amount. Had Carth not been watching him for his reaction, she wondered if she would have even noticed. A man like Peter would have been a skilled gamer, able to conceal his response much better than many men could do. That ability would have served him well.

  But he wasn’t able to conceal it entirely.

  “You’ve heard of it.”

  “And if I have?” His gaze darted toward Alistan, and Carth nodded.

  “Alistan has shared with me what he has discovered of the Elder Stone,” Carth said.

  “He will not find it.”

  “No. I suspect that, were he to have found it, he would have done so before now. But this other—the Collector—she could very well find the Elder Stone. And if she does, I guarantee that she will use it. I’ve met many people from Keyall, and I suspect all of them feel the same, that they want this artifact protected.”

  “Artifact? Is that what you would consider it to be?”

  Carth shrugged. “I don’t know what else to call it. It’s an item that is believed to grant power. Would you have me believe otherwise?”

  “You know nothing about the people of Keyall. Your disregard for our customs makes that clear, much like Alistan has disregarded our customs, and this after he was granted permission to serve on the tribunal.” He turned and glared at Alistan. “I would have thought that you would have a different understanding now that you serve in a position of leadership. It is disappointing that you do not.”

  “I’ve made no secret of my interest in this item.”

  “No secret, and I imagine that your interest is what has drawn the Collector.”

  That was a possibility Carth hadn’t considered. What if Alistan’s interest and his pursuit of the Elder Stone, searching for information and lore about it, was what had drawn the Collector?

  When—and if—she ever managed to confront Linsay about it, she would have to ask.

  “Do I need to honor your customs in order to know that another would do them harm? Just because I value something different than yo
u doesn’t make my values less than yours.”

  “But you’re in our land, not yours. You would come here and flaunt your power, demanding that we follow your customs while you ignore ours. Carthenne Rel, you are exactly what I feared you would be based on the rumors that have come of you.”

  Peter glanced down at the fallen bodies. “I will have other constables come and remove them, and we will investigate what happened here, but to me, it is clear what happened. Your friend,” he said, pulling out the knife from his pocket and flashing it toward Carth, “attacked these people. I don’t know quite why, but I will find out. The punishment for this is death.”

  “And yet you still aren’t willing to at least hear me out about the Collector.”

  “I’ve heard you, but the evidence is compelling. As is your disregard for everything in my city. I don’t know that I can hold you—you’ve proven that you are capable enough to escape from our custody—but that doesn’t mean I have to assist you. If you truly care about those who cannot help themselves, you would leave Keyall.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “I will ensure that my people search for you. We are not without capability of our own.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  He stared at her for a moment. “It is a statement of fact.”

  With that, he turned and left the tavern, leaving Carth with Alistan and the bodies.

  “That went about as well as I thought it might,” Carth said.

  “What do you intend to do?” Alistan asked.

  She had been forced into a difficult situation, just the way she suspected Linsay had intended. She could leave, but Jenna and Alayna would suffer. If she remained, she would be hunted by the constables, and it was possible that she would be attacked, possibly by men who could harm her.

  How was she going to get her friends to safety?

  “Do you have any books on Tsatsun in your library?”

  “You think of gaming at a time like this? You heard Peter. If you remain in Keyall, he intends to hunt for you. I’ve seen much of your magic, so I recognize how powerful you are, but there are limits to your power against so many.”

  “I don’t intend to fight Peter or any of his constables.”

  “Then why are you looking for books on Tsatsun?”

  “Because this is a game to Linsay.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because she’s a master of Tsatsun, and to Tsatsun masters, everything is a game.” Because it had been to her, she didn’t add. Wasn’t that what her friends had complained to her about? And now they were caught in a game, and it was one they could not win.

  Alistan regarded her for a few moments and then looked down at the bodies around them. The color had leached out of his face, and Carth felt a little regret at the fact that she had doubted him. But then, he had given her no reason to believe him or to trust him.

  “I might have a few volumes,” he said.

  “Will you show them to me?”

  “If I do, will you involve me in your search for the Elder Stone?”

  Carth thought she could search without him, but having an ally would be helpful, even if he was someone whom she didn’t completely trust. At the same time, Carth didn’t think that Alistan would attempt to double-cross her. He truly seemed interested in discovering whether the Elder Stone was real and, if it was, learning more about it.

  “Tell me truthfully, Alistan. If you had found the Elder Stone, what would you have done with it?”

  “There’s not much that could be done with it.”

  “Why is that? I thought you would want it for money or for power. Are you trying to say that you would want neither?”

  “You don’t understand, Carth. All of the stories are quite clear that if the Elder Stones are taken from their land, they lose their efficacy. Even if I wanted to attempt to sell the Stone, I could not, not and have it be of any use.”

  “But you could sell access to it.”

  “Do you think that people like Peter or Durand would allow me to sell access to the Stone? How long do you think I would survive—and hold any authority—in Keyall if I were to do such a thing?”

  She stared at him. “You really only wanted it to study?”

  “To study? That’s not it at all. I wanted it because it would be proof.”

  Carth frowned. “Proof?”

  He nodded. “Proof the elders were real. That there are beings of great power that exist in the world, and that we have an explanation for people like yourself, those who are endowed with gifts that others of us cannot even fathom. That is why I want to find the Elder Stone.” He looked around the kitchen before his gaze settled again on Carth. “And yet to convince any from Keyall of that is impossible.”

  “You don’t think that your pursuit of wealth and power has anything to do with that?”

  He flushed slightly. “Perhaps it does.”

  Carth debated what she should do, but she had been watching Alistan as she spoke to him, searching for signs that he would be misleading her, and she saw none. He wasn’t that skilled at masking his emotions, certainly not as skilled as she had assumed when she’d first met him.

  In many ways, he was quite different than what she had assumed he would be—another lesson in caution for her, though after everything that she had been through, she shouldn’t need any more lessons like that.

  “I will include you in my search for the Elder Stone,” Carth said.

  A relieved smile crossed Alistan’s face and he nodded. His eyes narrowed as he turned away from her, and Carth had a fleeting fear.

  What if she was getting played by Alistan as well?

  What if Linsay wasn’t the only one who had managed to outmaneuver her?

  She pushed that thought away as she followed Alistan out of the tavern.

  28

  The stack of books next to Carth was impressive, but more impressive was the depth of game theory about Tsatsun that she had now collected. Many of the books she had read before, but not all. Several were slim volumes, but they were dense and had taken her a long time to work through, trying to understand some of the concepts presented.

  Carth had considered herself a master of Tsatsun, having felt that her capacity to think hundreds of moves in advance if necessary made her unique. She could tell that there had been others like her before, and they had documented their thought processes as they wrote books like these.

  The bottle of wine resting on the table near her was untouched. Carth didn’t want anything interfering with her thinking as she studied these books. So far, she had come across nothing that would help her confront Linsay, but she had learned new techniques that she had never even considered.

  She finished the book she was reading and leaned back, closing it and setting it off to the side. Alistan looked up from his seat beside her. He casually held a glass of wine.

  “Did you learn what you needed?” he asked. He had asked the same question with each book that she finished and seemed disappointed each time she shook her head.

  “I don’t know that it’s about learning what I need so much as it is trying to come up with different ways to think. Does that make sense?”

  “I have never had the mind for Tsatsun.”

  “How often have you played?” Carth asked.

  “Enough times to know that it is not the game for me. Choslt, on the other hand…”

  Carth frowned. “What is Choslt?”

  “It’s a game of skill with a touch of luck. It allows beginners to think they can gain an understanding, but in order to truly be a skilled player, one must understand the various maneuvers.” He stood and grabbed a book off the shelf, handing it to her. “When you are finished trying to master Tsatsun, this book should give you the basics of playing.”

  Carth flipped open the book and glanced at the first page, which showed a diagram of the game being set up. Carth smiled to herself. It was the strange triangular game that she’d seen played in one of the taverns. It wa
s a game that had more luck than Alistan was giving it credit for and required not nearly as much skill as the type of games that Carth preferred.

  “I’ll take a look. Perhaps when this is all over, you and I could play.”

  Alistan smiled. “I will not take it easy on you. I am known as a skilled player of Choslt.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of asking you to take it easy on me. Just like I wouldn’t take it easy on you if we were to play a game of Tsatsun. You can’t learn to play if you don’t get challenged.”

  “Sometimes a challenge can be so much that players are discouraged from learning.”

  Carth had some experience with that. She had seen players who had started to learn Tsatsun and had become increasingly jaded at the complexity of the game, ultimately becoming so frustrated that they gave up any attempt at playing it.

  She leaned back, taking another book and starting through it. This one was older, and Carth had come to feel that some of the older works were more helpful to her as she tried to understand other ways of playing. Some of the older techniques were similar to what she played now, but they were often less mature. Because of that, Carth was able to see variations that she hadn’t identified before.

  It troubled her that she wished to have an actual game of Tsatsun with Linsay. How long had it been since she’d been challenged—truly challenged? Too long.

  And maybe that was the problem. Maybe she had been away from it for so long that she could no longer come back to such mastery, not without training like she had when she first had learned the game.

  Carth sighed and turned to another book, flipping through it quickly. When she finished the book, she glanced up, turning her attention to Alistan. She frowned at him. “What are you reading?”

  Alistan set his book down. “If we’re going to find the Elder Stone, I thought that it would be best to read up on the Elder of Keyall.”

  “Haven’t you spent many years doing just that?”

  He nodded. “I have, but I thought that I could revisit it. There might be something I’ve overlooked.”

  “What do you think you might have overlooked?”