Carth moved slowly, searching for another sign of what she detected. It was faint but growing steadily stronger. Whatever caused it was happening now. She eased her hold on the shadows, but that made the sound harder to detect, so she increased her hold once more, pulling more strongly upon the shadows, tightening the cloak around her.
As she did, the steady buzzing became something else: a hum of energy.
Magic.
That was what she detected, and different than A’ras magic, different even than her shadow magic.
It ran along the street, traces of it that ran in a straight line away from the palace. Not only one line, but several, like spokes on a wheel, each leading away from the palace. Carth picked up on one of the lines and started following. She kept herself mixed in the shadows as she went, holding the connection so that she could follow the hum of energy more easily. The trail led her down Doland Street. Carth should have been surprised by that, but she wasn’t. The hum centered on the street, and she followed it as it radiated away from the palace grounds, eventually fading near the docks.
Once in the streets below, she froze, looking around.
Dozens of people moved, unaware that she was there. She saw nothing else that suggested there were other practitioners of magic nearby. The hum had faded, and the buzzing hadn’t returned. Whatever she’d detected near the palace wasn’t present here.
As she turned back toward the palace, she saw a familiar face.
He was older now—much like her—and his once smiling face had been replaced by a serious mask, but it was still Kel.
For a moment, she considered releasing the shadows and going to him but decided against it. What would that serve, other than to make her feel worse? She’d said her goodbye, left him where he could be safe.
This wasn’t her home anymore, if it ever had been.
Turning back up the street, she made her way toward the palace. With each step, she expected the hum of energy to return, but it didn’t. By the time she reached the palace, she’d almost convinced herself that she’d imagined it. She needed to find Invar and tell him what she had sensed. He might be the only one who would believe her. And she would need to find out how upset Trista and Devn would be that she’d abandoned them on patrol. This wasn’t an auspicious start to her first day as sai.
20
Master Invar paced in front of Carth, restrained anger seething off of him. Carth sat quietly, hands crossed in her lap, her eyes focused straight ahead on the tapestry hanging from the wall. She didn’t want to set him off any more than he already was.
“You ran off yesterday, Ms. Rel. You had an assignment, and you ran off.”
She hadn’t been able to find him until today, and she feared returning to Trista and Devn until she did. “I didn’t run off. I told you—”
He turned toward her. “You were given an assignment, Ms. Rel.”
“Don’t you even want to know what I detected?”
“There was nothing you could have detected.”
She stood, irritated, and scanned his room. Invar had summoned her to his personal quarters rather than the Master Hall, and rather than finding her outside the palace. In some ways, that troubled her more.
The one person she needed to understand what she’d sensed because he had been the one person who had seemed to understand refused to listen to her. It was bad enough that it had taken her until morning to find him, and that when she had found him, he had seemed more annoyed than interested in what she had to tell him. “Didn’t you feel it? There was a buzzing of energy. I didn’t know it was energy until I reached the palace wall, but I could feel it vibrating within the wall! But it wasn’t only the wall, it was along the streets, spreading out all around the palace. Master Invar, you have to believe—”
He turned to her, and his eyes wore a flat expression. “You should not have been able to detect that.”
Carth blinked. “You knew?”
He waved a hand at her. “Of course I knew, Ms. Rel. Why do you think the protection was placed? The A’ras flame has not been enough; the Hjan treat it like there’s nothing to it. We needed additional protections.”
“That… that wasn’t the Hjan?”
“Did you feel the nausea?”
“Well, no. But I didn’t know if that was because they weren’t flickering.”
“They call it traveling, Ms. Rel. If you’re going to study them, it would be best if you used the appropriate term.”
“I don’t want to study them. I want to be safe when they attack.”
Invar sniffed. “Safe. When the Hjan attack, you’ve seen that there’s no real safety. The only person who I’ve ever witnessed able to make a difference when they attack is you.” He rubbed his hand across his head, and power briefly surged from him. “What did you feel?”
“I told you what I felt. It was a buzzing. It started softly, but it became more intense the longer I detected it. It was most prominent near the palace, all the way around the wall.”
“Do you still detect it?”
She shook her head. The buzzing had been gone when she’d returned from chasing the strand through the street toward the dock. “Is it gone?”
“Not gone. I have added another layer atop it to conceal it.”
Would she have detected another layer on top of the buzzing? She hadn’t focused on it, but was that possible?
“What is the buzzing?” she asked him. “If it’s not A’ras, and it’s not Hjan, what is it?”
“You have already learned that there are other kinds of power in the world, Ms. Rel.”
“Like the Hjan.”
“The Hjan are one extreme example, but theirs is unique in a way. They don’t possess their power naturally, not as you and I do.”
“How do they get it, then?”
“They study power, find ways to borrow it. Some have minimal abilities that they augment, like we use the knives and swords to augment our power.”
“And the Ih-lash?”
“I’m afraid I am not the right person to ask about the Ih-lash,” he said. “They have always been secretive, as you can imagine.”
“You found Jicanl. You must know something.”
“I didn’t find him. I went looking for others who would be able to provide me with information.”
“What others?”
Invar sighed. “There are others who study power, Ms. Rel. In some ways, they are like the Hjan. They study power, learn from it, but they don’t attempt to use it the same way. They prefer knowledge of natural powers, that of plants, and of metals and colors, all that they use to add to abilities they already possess.”
“And Jicanl was one of them?”
“These others put me in contact with him, yes.”
“Are they the ones who placed the buzzing magic around the palace?”
He nodded. “They are.”
“And you didn’t expect me to detect what they did.”
“As I’ve said, Ms. Rel, your ability to detect magical presence is like nothing I have ever experienced.”
“Why? Why can I detect other magic when others can’t?”
Invar shook his head. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to offer you a satisfactory answer. Perhaps it is the shadows that grant you that ability, or perhaps it is the fact that you have lived in other places, places with power of their own. When it was only the A’ras and the Hjan, I thought I might be able to explain it, but you should not also be able to detect this power. None of the A’ras can do that.”
What did that make her? If she could detect magic that even the masters weren’t able to detect, what did that mean for her?
Carth had wanted only to have a home, to be welcomed, but the longer she was here, the more she learned she could do what others could not, she felt distanced.
Invar seemed to sense the concern within her and took a seat next to her, patting her on the arm. “You have the potential to be powerful within the A’ras, Ms. Rel. That is the reason that I cho
se for you to be sai. The Aren do not always see beyond the basic skills. You might not be the fastest, and you might still be raw, but there is much strength in you.”
“You didn’t only raise me because I can detect the Hjan?”
Invar tilted his head as he eyed her. “Is that what you fear?”
“I don’t want to be given something I don’t deserve.”
“Don’t you feel that you deserve what you were given?”
“I don’t want to have been given it. I want to have earned my place with the sai.”
Invar smiled. “Good. Know that you have earned it, Ms. Rel. Others might have a different understanding of what you’re capable of doing, but know that I’ve seen it.”
“But only because of what I can do with the Hjan.”
“That’s not the only reason. Admittedly, that is a part of the reason, and one that I will not apologize for, but it is not the entirety of the reason. You have potential. Whether you reach that potential will be up to you.”
She sensed the dismissal and stood, getting ready to leave him. As she reached his door, she paused. “The protection that was placed. You fear another attack on the palace?”
“I fear the Hjan have not abandoned their intended target.”
“The information they want.”
Invar tipped his head in a slight nod.
“Did it work?”
“We will see, Ms. Rel. Now it is time for you to return to your patrol. I believe A’ras Trista awaits you.”
A part of Carth had hoped he would assign her elsewhere, but there was no reason for that. She had her assignment and she needed to keep it, regardless of how frustrated she might be with it.
Invar turned back to the table he’d been working at when she’d first arrived, and she understood the dismissal.
Carth left his room and hurried from the palace. Would she even find Trista and Devn? It might be late enough that they’d left the grounds for the day, and without being with them, she wouldn’t be able to get through the gate. She might be able to climb the wall—though she’d have to test whether she still could now that Invar had had additional protections layered on it—but that wasn’t the way she should reach her patrol.
Surprisingly, she found Trista and Devn waiting for her at the door to the palace. Trista glared at her, annoyance already brewing within her, and Devn shook his head.
“You will not run off from us again, Rel. The next time, I’m reporting you to the Aren.”
“Still think she should have been reported this time,” Devn said.
Trista shot him a hard look and he fell silent.
“I’m… I’m sorry.” Nothing else would ease Trista’s irritation with her, so she decided not to try.
Trista slapped her hand on her crossed arms and then turned toward the gate without another word. Devn followed.
As Carth trailed after them, she caught a glimpse of Samis on the other side of the yard. He nodded to her and flashed a smile. How much easier would it be for her to remain as one of the ashai? She could bide her time in lessons, not worrying about offending the A’ras, but she would never have the same permission to leave the yard, to get out into the city where she could reach the shadows and feel the way they cloaked her. For that, she had to sacrifice, and that meant doing what Trista and Devn asked of her.
When they started their patrol—once more making a slow spiral around the city—Carth reached immediately for the shadows. This time, she held on to the connection and ignored the A’ras magic. Using the shadows didn’t take the same effort, and the shadows had been more useful to her. Besides, she wanted to learn if there was anything she might discover about the hum of energy, and she thought she’d be better able to manage that using the shadows.
When they neared the square where she’d first detected the buzzing, Devn dropped back. He had deep brown eyes and a sun-darkened face. “What did you detect yesterday, Rel?”
She shook her head. “It was nothing. I shouldn’t have gone off without you.”
Devn looked up at her. “You must have sensed something. Don’t hear about you bolting too often. Most claim you were foolish enough to run toward the last attack. Seems to me you must have picked up on something.”
They started along a street that would eventually bring them out of Nyaesh, but Trista didn’t move in a direct route, choosing to weave through alleys and veer off on less well-traveled roads. The distant city wall occasionally came into view, but they never seemed to get too close to it, always turning so that they ran parallel to it or at times moved deeper within the city once more. When Trista had claimed she knew the city better than Carth did, she hadn’t been lying.
“What was it, Rel?” Trista asked, glancing over her shoulder.
“I don’t know. A buzzing sound. Or feeling. It came from the palace, and with the recent attacks…”
Devn looked at Trista. “See? Runs toward trouble. Who does that?”
“We don’t even know that there was trouble.”
He shrugged. “If there was, and if she ran toward it, can’t get too mad at her.”
Trista said nothing.
Late in the day, they heard a commotion.
They were nearer the wall than they had been before. The sounds of shouts rang out from an alley. Trista motioned them forward, hand resting on the hilt of her sword as she did.
“Careful here. The damn Reshian think they can assault A’ras.”
“Reshian? How can they attack without magic?” Carth asked.
“Don’t need magic to cause trouble, do you?” Devn asked, unsheathing his sword. “Enough damage can be done with a sharp blade and skilled hand.”
Trista reached the mouth of the alley. Magic burned from her. Carth reached for her knife, debating whether she would use shadow magic if needed, or A’ras.
Devn followed, with Carth behind him. Shadows swallowed them.
Carth didn’t have a chance to decide which magic she’d use.
Five men appeared out of the shadows. Holding her cloaking as she did, she could feel them almost parting the shadows. No nausea rolled through her. Not Hjan, then.
Somehow Trista didn’t see them. Neither did Devn.
“Watch out!” she shouted.
Carth reached for her shadow blessing, pulling it around her as she spun with the knife, catching the blade of the man nearest Trista as he attacked. She managed to turn it and kicked, sending him flying backward. Carth spun, grabbing the wrist of the next man before he could reach Devn, and snapping it.
Trista and Devn surged into action. Their magic flowed, burning beneath Carth’s skin, leaving it tight. Devn in particular was impressive. His sword flashed with such speed, and with such power drawn from his magic, that Carth almost hesitated.
That would have been deadly.
Another three emerged from deeper in the alley.
Carth detected them through the shadows. She doubted she would have otherwise. They slipped forward and would have caught Trista in the back were it not for Carth recognizing that they had appeared.
She cloaked herself in the shadows.
Knifing forward, she reached the nearest man and caught him with her blade. He fell, and the others converged on her, somehow able to detect her in spite of the shadows.
Carth tore at the darkness around them, dragging it to her. As she did, she kicked, catching the nearest man in the leg, and he crumpled. The other spun toward her, leaping in the air as he did. Carth sliced, swinging her blade so that she caught him in the thigh, leaving him hobbled. Another kick, and he fell.
It only took another moment to finish the others.
When she was done, Trista eyed Carth. “You saw them?”
“I heard them,” she said. How else would she explain that she had known the attack was coming? She doubted Trista would believe her if she said she used the shadows, and after what she’d seen here with the Reshian, she wasn’t sure she wanted to share that.
They had used the shadows t
oo. Maybe not in the same way Carth had, but they’d used the shadows.
“What is it, Rel?” Trista asked. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“Happens after a first attack,” Devn said. “Maybe we should get her back.”
Trista watched her and nodded. “We’ve got to report anyway.”
Carth followed, looking back at the fallen men as they left them there.
“The Aren will send another crew, don’t worry,” Devn said.
Carth couldn’t tell him that wasn’t the reason she stared. He wouldn’t understand, and she wasn’t sure she wanted his understanding. All she could do was nod.
21
When Carth returned, she went looking for Samis but didn’t find him in the cosak. He’d understand what had happened, even if there was nothing he could have done to help. She found it strange that she didn’t go looking for Alison like she once would have.
Instead, Alison caught her in the hall before following her back out of the cosak. As she stood in front of her friend, she realized that she needed to tell Invar what happened. He needed to know that the Reshian had shadow magic, and she wanted to learn if he already knew.
Alison wore her narrow band of maroon around her neck like a scarf, and a pair of knives were sheathed at her waist.
“What happened?” Alison asked. “You look like you’re going to be sick. It’s not another attack—”
“Not another attack,” she told Alison. “Not the Hjan, at least,” she clarified.
“You were attacked?”
Trista and Devn approached the cosak and nodded curtly. “I’m going to give my report, Rel. Before I do, I wanted to tell you nice work out there. Had you not recognized the threat, we…”
“We would’ve been dead, Rel. You did good work.”
Carth could only nod. It was strange getting praise from them, but then, as the day had gone on, they had slowly warmed to her.
“Pretty sure the Aren aren’t going to like what happened there,” Trista said as she started away.
“You mean having the Reshian attack us so openly? Yeah, I’m thinking they won’t be thrilled.”
Shadow Cursed (The Shadow Accords Book 2) Page 15