The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  “It’s bothering me less and less each day,” she said.

  “I would think that it would bother you more.”

  “It’s not that I like it, it’s just that the pain is less each day. It’s like it’s healing.”

  “Healing in you,” he said.

  “I don’t know what the alternative is. It might be that I’m stuck with this.”

  “We find Lareth, and he’ll know how to remove it. If anyone can do it, it would be him.” It pained him that they were dependent on Lareth to save her, but it was true. Lareth would be the only one with the knowledge of lorcith to manipulate it well enough to save Lucy.

  “What if Rsiran can’t do anything about it?”

  “Then we’ll have to help you figure out how to manage it,” Daniel said. Even that would be a challenge. Would she be dependent upon things like the bracelets to prevent her from getting overpowered by voices all around her? Would she have incredible power that she couldn’t use, simply because of where the metal had implanted in her?

  Maybe she could learn to deal with it, the same way everybody in Elaeavn learned to handle their abilities. Over time, people worked with their gifts, mastering them. It wasn’t as if she had anything new. Her abilities were the same—only augmented. All she had to do was get a handle on them.

  And there were some within Elaeavn—particularly among the Elvraeth—who had significant abilities. They could go to someone like that, maybe even to Cael Elvraeth, and see what options they had. If they did that, perhaps they could get the kind of help she needed.

  And if they couldn’t…

  What then?

  She was watching him, and Daniel hated the fact that he didn’t have any answers for her. He forced a smile. “Are you hungry?”

  “I suppose I could eat.”

  “We can go down to the tavern. I’ve eaten there a few times, and the food is adequate.”

  “That’s not necessarily a ringing endorsement.”

  “I’m not sure that most come here for the food.”

  “Why would they come here?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  Lucy frowned a moment before nodding. “Oh.”

  He sighed. “It’s strange. These women offer themselves willingly, but it’s not as if they’re helpless. It’s the opposite, actually. Most of them are powerful. And Rayen—the woman who helped me get to you—is a part of whatever they do.”

  “They saved me, so I suppose that’s enough.”

  “Do you think there should be more?”

  She shook her head. “It’s not that there should be more. It’s more that I feel as if we’re out of our depth. We’ve been sheltered in the city. There is so much about the world we don’t know.”

  For so long, he hadn’t wanted to know about anything more. He didn’t know if that had changed, or if he only wanted to know enough to keep them safe until they could return. Once they were back in Elaeavn…

  That was all he wanted. Find Lareth and get the metal out of Lucy’s head, and then they could return to the city. To their home. Normalcy.

  “Come with me,” he said.

  He took her hand and guided her out of the room and down the stairs into the tavern. If he’d been asleep for hours, that would make it morning, and he expected it to be early enough that the tavern would be empty. But he was wrong. A dozen or so people sat scattered throughout the tavern, most of them leaning over plates, but others with mugs of ale, and still others chatted quietly with the women of the tavern.

  Could there really be this much activity at this time of day?

  When they took a seat at a table, Kasha came out of the kitchen. She was wearing a pale yellow dress, and her hair was pulled back in a braid. She had it pulled over one shoulder, a different appearance than she’d had the last time he’d seen her. She meandered around the tavern before making her way over to their table and leaning forward.

  “You’re finally up. Rayen said you were, but I didn’t know if you would be interested in any food.”

  “Thank you for your help.”

  “I didn’t do anything. It was Rayen.”

  Even that wasn’t entirely her. Rayen had helped, but she had only been a part of it. Daniel had been the one to rescue Lucy, and he was paying the price. Then again, it was a price he was very willing to pay.

  “How are you feeling?” Kasha asked Lucy.

  Lucy dragged her gaze away from a man sitting near them with his hand on a woman’s leg, looking up to Kasha. A flush worked over her cheeks. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel.”

  Kasha studied her for a moment. “It’ll wear off. I don’t know if Rayen told you that or not, but what they did to you will wear off. As for the other… that will have to come from within. I don’t know how to help you other than to tell you I’ve seen plenty of other women go through it before.” She looked up at him before turning her attention to Lucy. “I imagine the two of you are hungry. Let me see what I can get from the kitchen, and we can go from there.”

  “Thank you,” Lucy said.

  When she was gone, Daniel looked over at Lucy. “What was that about?”

  “It’s about what you already knew.”

  Daniel didn’t think that was entirely true. Lucy was keeping something from him. Had something happened during the attack?

  Lucy didn’t meet his eyes, and he decided not to force it.

  “I think we can rest here for another day or two, and then we need to continue toward Asador. When we find Haern, we can see what else we can come up with to find his father and get that out of you.”

  “That’s fine,” she said.

  “Just fine?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know what else to say. I agree. It’s just I don’t know what else we think we’re going to accomplish.”

  Daniel looked over at her, really looked at her this time. Something had changed in the time that she had been captive, and he hated seeing her this way. She was defeated, as if there was no chance for anything to change. And maybe that was true, but he wasn’t about to believe there was nothing they could do to save themselves.

  The door to the tavern opened, and he glanced over. A man ushered a woman in, his arm looped underneath her shoulders, keeping her steady. Two of the other servers hurried over and grabbed the woman, guiding her toward the back.

  “She was likely taken,” he said.

  Lucy nodded. “I know.”

  “Can you Read her?”

  “No, it’s just that I can see it in her face.”

  “What is it that you were seeing?”

  “Pain. Fear. Hopelessness.” She didn’t look over at him. “The same feelings I felt when I was captured.”

  23

  Haern

  Fatigue settled through him. They had been wandering the city for the best part of the day, and so far, they still hadn’t come across anyone that he thought to be Carth. Galen had been quiet, choosing to have them meander along the docks. From here, close to the water, the waves crashing along the shore were soothing. Spray misted toward his face, and he wiped his hand across his brow to clean it off. The salt in the air had a cleansing effect.

  Haern rarely walked along the shores in Elaeavn, and doing so here in Asador felt somewhat strange. It wasn’t so much that he was uncomfortable. Out in this part of the city, there was less of the commotion found deeper inland. Dockworkers and fishermen and merchants all moved, but everybody had a purpose to their step, nothing like the meandering pace in other parts of the city. He hadn’t felt threatened since leaving the tavern, as if heading away from the Dirty Sail and toward the docks protected them somehow.

  It allowed him to simply be within Asador.

  Every so often, Galen would pause and stare out at the ships. Was there something about the ships that he tried to find? He stared at some of them, watching as they moved in and out of the harbor. Some were enormous ships with massive sails that caught the air until they were lowered, while others were smal
ler and sleeker, less likely to be used for transporting goods.

  “What’s out there?” Haern asked after they had trailed along the shore for a while.

  “I’m just looking for anything that would tell me Carth is here.”

  “She traveled by ship?”

  “Almost exclusively.”

  “Is she a smuggler?”

  “She is many things. I suppose she might have been a smuggler at one point, but it’s probably not the kind of smuggling you would understand.”

  “What kind of smuggling did she do?”

  “People.”

  Haern stared out at the water, frowning. “She smuggled people?”

  “She wasn’t a slaver, if that’s where your mind is going. She rescued people.” Galen turned toward him, fixing Haern with a weighty gaze. “Not everyone outside of Elaeavn is good. In fact, there are a great number of terrible people outside of the city.”

  “And is Carth…”

  “Carth is not one of them. Like I said, she might be many things, but she’s also one of the best people I’ve ever met.”

  The longer they searched for her, the more he wondered just what kind of person she would be. His mother feared Carth, and it sounded like his father did too. Learning what kind of man Galen was left Haern thinking anyone he worked with would have been a criminal, but he spoke almost reverently about Carth.

  “Have you seen anything that would help you know if she’s out there?”

  “Not yet. It’s still too early.”

  “Are we just going to wander the shores until we come across her?”

  “I haven’t decided,” Galen said. “Are you just going to keep peppering me with questions?”

  “I don’t know what else to do. I thought we would find her more quickly.”

  Galen glanced over and chuckled. “Nothing happens quickly. The rest of the world can’t transport themselves the same way those within Elaeavn can, and because of that, most of the world requires time. Decisions take time, and action takes time. In that way, I would argue it’s better.”

  Haern played with one of his knives, twisting it in his hand. He tried to focus on the lorcith within it, using that to try to spin it, but he didn’t have enough control.

  “You need to work on your fingertips.” Galen said.

  “What was that?”

  Galen nodded to the knife. “Focus on your fingertips. It’s all about dexterity. Our kind have more dexterity than most. When I was an assassin, my only gift was that of Sight, and I still had more skill than almost anyone else I faced.”

  Galen reached inside of his cloak, and Haern realized there was a pouch hanging from his waist. He grabbed one of his darts from inside the pouch and held it in his fingertips. He twisted it, rolling it between his fingers, flipping it around. “You need to become comfortable with your weapon of choice.”

  “But I have a connection to the knife. I can use lorcith and can control it.”

  “What happens if that fails?” Galen held his gaze. Had Haern really believed that Galen’s eyes were a medium-intensity green? They seemed to blaze a deep green now. “That was one of your father’s failings when we first faced each other. He never accounted for the possibility that his gifts would fail him. It’s all about preparation. If you’re prepared for the possibility that your gifts could fail, you will never struggle when that happens. And trust me, with the kind of things you’re chasing, it’s entirely possible you will one day be separated from your abilities.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “The Forgers have many abilities, not the least of which is an understanding of medicinals that can separate you from your power. Your Sight. Your connection to the metal. And for those who can Slide, even that ability. Ask your father about that.”

  Could that be how they had captured his father? “Why my father?”

  “Because I believe he experienced the effects before.”

  “I’ll have to ask him if we ever get him back.”

  “We’ll get your father back,” Galen said.

  Haern turned away with a sigh. He wasn’t sure. And he hated that he wasn’t. Worse, if his father never returned, how much would be different for him? Not nearly as much as it should be. More than anything, he wanted his father back for his mother’s sake. She would be devastated to lose him.

  “We need to keep moving,” Galen said. “We’re being followed again.”

  “By who?”

  “That I don’t have an answer to.”

  Haern started to twist, turning so that he could see behind him, but Galen grabbed him by the arm, pulling him forward.

  “Don’t draw attention to it. When scouting, you need to look natural in all things. You can’t let them realize they’ve been seen. If they do, you won’t be able to determine what they’re after.”

  “Don’t we know what they’re after? Us?”

  “It’s possible,” Galen said, nodding, “but it’s equally possible that they’re not. I didn’t notice them until we got to the city, and we’ve managed to avoid them—other than your decision to attack—but we haven’t been able to figure out who they are and what they’re after.”

  “When did you first notice them?”

  “Shortly after we reached the city.”

  “They’ve been there for that long?”

  “The three you attacked,” he said, arching a brow at him, “were part of a larger group. I was trying to get a sense of who they were and how many were with them.”

  “That’s why you didn’t want me to bring them down.”

  Galen nodded. “After you killed the one, we didn’t have much choice.”

  “And the three who were following us after we left the tavern?”

  “They were with them, at least as far as I could tell.”

  “How many others?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “But you have an idea.”

  “I always have an idea.”

  “So? How many others?”

  “We’ve been followed ever since leaving the tavern. For the most part, they’ve left us alone, but these four seem to be trailing us much more closely.”

  “Does it trouble you that they’ve known we were in the city from the moment we got here?”

  Galen glanced over at him, appraising him for a moment. “I’m impressed that it troubles you.”

  “It means that someone warned them we were coming.”

  “That’s what I suspect, as well.”

  Had someone from Elaeavn revealed that they were coming here? If so, who was working with the Forgers within the city? Haern would never have believed that, but then again, he never would have believed that the Forgers would have been able to attack.

  If someone had infiltrated the city, it was entirely possible that they had shared the fact that Galen had left the city.

  “What do you want to do?” Haern asked.

  “Well, first, I want to ensure that they don’t capture us, and then we need to grab one of them to interrogate them.”

  “How do you expect us to grab just one of them?”

  “With you? I’m not sure that I do. Separately, I might be able to do it, but I’m not sure I can keep you safe while we do this.”

  “What makes you think you need to keep me safe?”

  “The promise of your mother.”

  “You want me to head into the city?”

  “I’m not sure that’s safe, either. It’s possible there are others I haven’t seen.”

  More than ever, Haern wanted to turn and see who might be behind them. How many were following them? Galen seemed to believe that there were four, but what if he hadn’t seen all of them? With his enhanced Sight, Haern hated the fact that he hadn’t managed to see any of them.

  “What now?”

  “Now we keep moving. Anything else will tell them that we’re aware of them.”

  “You think they could be with Carth?”

  “They aren’t with Carth.”


  “How do you know?”

  “Carth wouldn’t send someone else.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she’d worry for their safety.”

  “If they’re not with Carth, do you think they’re with the Forgers?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Do Forgers move so openly outside of Elaeavn?”

  “I suspect Elaeavn is one of the few places that they don’t move openly. Other places wouldn’t be closed to them.”

  They continued along the docks, and every so often, Galen would pause, making it look as if he were trying to study the ships while he looked behind him casually. Haern was impressed by the subtlety with which he managed it.

  Could he do the same thing?

  Haern watched Galen, hoping to learn from him. When Galen stopped, it was only for a moment, long enough to make it look as if he were peering out at the water, but then he would turn his attention behind him, looking as if he were talking, nothing else. The entire thing had a casual air to it, enough so that Haern began to participate. He tried to look back the same way Galen did, but he struggled with doing it as quickly.

  “You have the gift of Sight. Use it. Part of it is training your mind so that when you See something, you can process it after you have looked away.”

  “How have you had time to keep up with this?”

  “Training. Once you learn, you’ll never forget. Some would say it’s like swimming. Once you learn to swim, you won’t forget how if you’re thrown into the water.”

  Haern continued to try to look behind him, but the movements behind him were as casual as Galen’s.

  “They’re good.”

  “They are. And you notice the way they shimmer?”

  Haern’s breath caught. “Are they Sliding?”

  “Good. It’s faint, and I think they’re using it only to move quickly, but they are Sliding.”

  “Then they’re from Elaeavn.”

  “Do you think the people from Elaeavn are the only ones who have the ability to Slide?”