The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  “You said it—”

  Galen grunted. “When it comes to the Forgers, everything is out. They have the power to mimic all of our abilities. They’ve mastered some way of using metal and herbs and medicines, all of which they can combine in a way that allows them to do the very same things the people of Elaeavn can. Worse, they are also capable of mimicking the abilities of those not from Elaeavn.”

  “People like Carth?”

  “I haven’t seen it myself, but they might have that potential. And if they can mimic Carth, we need to be careful.”

  “You worry they would pretend to be like her?”

  “It’s possible.”

  They turned off the street running along the docks, and the air turned warmer. Occasionally, the wind gusting off the ocean sent a cool breeze toward them, but for the most part, it was almost uncomfortably warm.

  “What is this?” he asked Galen.

  “What is what?”

  “It’s getting hot.”

  Galen frowned and ducked off into an alley. The buildings were narrow, pressed together here, and Haern watched Galen, trying to imitate his posture. He was on edge, and Haern realized that his hands had gone into his pouch. Either he was gathering darts, or he had already gathered them and was doing something else, maybe loading them with poison.

  “You felt it before I did,” Galen said.

  “What is it?”

  “If it weren’t for these men following us, I would have thought it came from Carth.”

  “Carth can warm the air like this?”

  “Carth can do a great number of things.”

  “What would the purpose of it be?”

  “It might simply be her way of alerting us that she was here. But it might also mean that those pursuing us are preparing to attack.”

  “What if it’s something else?”

  “What else do you think it might be?”

  “What if they’re using it like a warning?”

  “That would be a possibility. And if they are, we need to be ready for others to come after us.”

  Haern reached into his pocket and grabbed a pair of knives. Would he be ready if he came face-to-face with Forgers? The only time he had confronted them had been inside the Aisl, when there were others around who could face them, others who were better equipped and better trained. He had gotten lucky, nothing more, and he didn’t think that would happen again if they came at him with any real numbers.

  “I doubt you’re going to need those,” Galen said.

  “Are you sure? The—”

  “If you need them, it’s going to be too late.” Galen said.

  “You don’t think I can do this.”

  “I’m not disparaging your abilities, Haern. This is more a commentary on how powerful I know the Forgers to be.”

  “How many do you think are out there?”

  “Other than the ones we’ve seen?” Galen shrugged. “I don’t know. Like I said, this was going to be a dangerous assignment any way we did it, and now that we’ve been detected, it’s probably even more dangerous.”

  “We can get away from them, though, can’t we?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Just maybe?”

  “I’m not sure that getting away from them will serve us as well as I’d like.”

  “Because you won’t be able to capture one of them?”

  “That’s part of it. I need to know where they’re staying within the city.”

  It seemed to Haern that doing anything other than trying to get away from the Forgers was dangerous. If the Forgers could Slide, they could chase them anywhere—and they could attack from anywhere.

  The idea terrified him.

  There was movement toward the back of the alley.

  Haern looked over his shoulder, and a shimmer caught his attention. Without thinking, he pushed on the dagger in his hand, sending it streaking, but aimed it low. He didn’t want to kill, only injure.

  It struck stone, the clattering too loud in the otherwise silent alley.

  Galen jerked his head around, looking over at him. “What was that?”

  “I saw—”

  Two men appeared at the mouth of the alley.

  Galen lurched forward, flicking his wrists as he went. The men started to shimmer, but not quickly enough. They collapsed.

  “Grab one,” Galen urged.

  Haern took one of the men and pulled him into the alley.

  “What did you use on them?”

  “Something that should buy us some time,” he said.

  “What is it?”

  “Don’t worry about it. We have half an hour, maybe a little longer depending on what sort of immunity they’ve built up to it.”

  “You think the Forgers have built up an immunity to your poisons?”

  “There’s no thinking about it. I know they have.”

  They waited, and Haern remained tense. There were no other sounds of movement, nothing that suggested there were other Sliders behind them.

  “Is it safe to go?” he asked Galen.

  “Not out that way. I can see two men on the far side of the street. They must have observed what we did to their partners. They wait, but I don’t know how long.”

  If they couldn’t go out onto the street, could they go back through the alley?

  “Where does this alley go?”

  “I don’t know, but it might be the only option we have.” Galen nodded to the two fallen Forgers—or whatever they were. “You grab one and I’ll grab the other.”

  “What if they come up behind us?”

  “Then we need to move quickly.”

  With a grunt, Haern lifted one of the men and hoisted him over his shoulders. The man was heavy, though not as tall as those from Elaeavn. He situated him so that he could keep him on his shoulders and not drop him.

  A part of him felt squeamish about the idea of carrying one of the Forgers. What would happen if the man were to awaken? Would he attack? Would Galen’s poison keep him motionless while they brought them to wherever it was he intended to bring them?

  At the end of the alley, Galen squeezed past and cast his gaze along the street. He motioned, and Haern hurried after him.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “We need to go someplace to question them.”

  “Where in the city can we do that?”

  “I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

  “I thought this was where you were based.”

  “Not here. I spent most of my time in a different city—Eban. It was where I built my reputation.”

  Haern tried to recall what he knew about Eban, but it wasn’t much. It was centrally located, far enough from Elaeavn that it would take several days of traveling beyond the border of the forest, but near enough that he could understand why Galen would have used it as his base of operation.

  “Do you know anyone here?”

  “Not anymore.”

  The pain in his voice struck a chord with Haern. Who had Galen lost?

  “Wait here,” he said.

  “You want me to wait?”

  “Watch these two. If they begin to move, give them this.” He handed a pair of darts to Haern. “Be careful with the tips. They are enhanced with a particular toxin that will knock you out. It won’t kill you, but I suspect the effect will linger in you longer than it will in them, and trust me when I say you don’t want them to wake up before you.”

  “How are we going to ask them any questions?”

  “I need a place where I can work. There’s a compound I can mix that should be able to give us an advantage, but I can’t do it here. So give me a moment and I will be back.”

  Galen slipped off down the street, leaving Haern with the two fallen Forgers.

  His heart hammered in his chest. What would happen if other Forgers came for them? He could use his lorcith and his knives, but if they could Slide, he might not be able to catch them in time.

  He should ha
ve pushed his father to work with him more. If not his father, then Brusus. And now that he was here, now that he was embroiled in all of this, he was relying upon a retired assassin—however skilled Galen might still be.

  Every sound caused Haern to jerk around, but there was nothing. Thankfully, no one approached.

  He started to relax.

  Moments stretched into minutes, and still Galen hadn’t returned.

  What would happen if Galen were caught by the Forgers? There wouldn’t be any way for Haern to rescue him, not without knowing where he’d gone and what had happened, which would mean that Galen would be lost.

  And he would be stuck in the city.

  Any attempt to reach Carth would fail. She would come after Galen, not Haern.

  As he leaned against the building, trying to keep his eyes on either side of him, movement caught his attention.

  Not movement. It was a shimmering.

  A Slide.

  It came from the far end of the alley.

  Haern prepared a knife, but the last time he had attempted to use one of his knives, he’d missed. When it came to someone with the ability to Slide, he didn’t know the right technique.

  His father would have.

  Then again, his father wouldn’t have been foolish enough to come here like this. His father had protected the Aisl and all of Elaeavn from the Forgers for years. He was not his father.

  Haern steadied his breathing, watching where the shimmer had occurred, but there was nothing.

  Maybe he’d only imagined it.

  But he didn’t think so. The faint, strangely translucent shimmer that always preceded a Slide was distinctive. If nothing else, his time spent in the Aisl with others of the Sliding Guild had told him how to recognize it.

  He tried to remain motionless. If he moved, he feared drawing attention, and in a place like this, without knowing what he needed to do, he didn’t dare draw any more attention.

  Except he didn’t think he could stay here.

  Galen had been gone a long time now, and if he didn’t return, Haern wasn’t about to remain here, waiting for one of the Forgers to approach and capture him.

  He glanced down at the two fallen men. Neither of them had moved, but was one of them starting to come around?

  He couldn’t be sure. It didn’t seem as if they were in the same position they had been before when they had dropped them to the ground.

  Another shimmer.

  Haern jerked his head around, and without thinking, he whipped the knife in his hand.

  Only it wasn’t the knife. It was one of the darts.

  He stepped back, moving out into the street.

  Someone grabbed him by the shoulders and he spun, shoving out with his other hand.

  Galen caught his wrist before he could stab him with the dart.

  “Careful.”

  “Galen, there was something. I saw someone Sliding.”

  Galen frowned, looking along the alley. “Are you sure?”

  “If there’s a talent I’m sure of, it’s recognizing when someone Slides.”

  Galen crept forward before pausing. “You did better than I would have expected.”

  “Why is that?”

  He dragged something from the middle of the alley, moving it into the light.

  Haern expected that it was one of the Forgers and readied for the possibility that they would somehow have to bring three with them.

  Instead, it was a dog.

  “He’s a good size, if a little scrawny. I imagine he’s not fed all that much.”

  “I poisoned a dog.” Haern crouched down next to the dog, plucking the dart free. He had dappled fur, black and brown, and ribs were showing. At least he still breathed.

  “You saw movement and you reacted. That’s a good sign.”

  “I thought I saw shimmering.”

  “And maybe you did. It could have been that the Forgers were testing to see whether you would notice them.”

  “What about those two?” Haern asked, motioning to the two fallen Forgers.

  “We need to carry them to our room.”

  “Our room?”

  “I found us a place to stay. It’ll give me an opportunity to question them.”

  “What about the dog?”

  “He’s a stray. Leave him.”

  Haern felt bad about doing so, especially after he had knocked him out, but maybe he could offer some sort of apology. He grabbed a piece of jerky out of his pocket and set it in front of the dog. Galen watched him, saying nothing. He scratched the dog behind his ears. When he was done, Haern stood.

  Galen grinned. “Are you ready, now?”

  “I’m ready.”

  24

  Haern

  The room was dingy and it stank, but so far it had been safe. That mattered most to Haern. They needed to be safe until they understood what was taking place and who was after them. It was a smallish room, far too small for four of them, though the two Forgers were both bound on the floor, propped up against the wall. If they could Slide, Haern didn’t know how effective their bindings would be, but Galen seemed convinced that whatever poison he had used on them would be enough to sedate them. And if it didn’t, he claimed to have another way of keeping them captive. All the time he spent in Elaeavn had not taken the assassin’s knowledge away from him.

  Haern leaned forward, not wanting to sink too deeply onto the bed, and Galen cast an amused glance in his direction. Sitting on a chair, Galen looked far more comfortable than Haern. He leaned in, jabbing a dart into one of the bound Forger’s shoulders. From what Haern could gather, Galen wanted only one of them awake at a time. If it were up to him, neither man would come around.

  “I’ve stayed in much worse places than this,” Galen said.

  “By choice?”

  “Every place to stay is by choice, isn’t it?”

  “You would have the necessary resources to stay anyplace in the city.”

  “It’s not about the resources. It’s about what will draw the most attention. You should know that as well as anyone.”

  “How am I supposed to know any of that?” he asked, looking over to Galen.

  “Have you learned so little from your father?”

  “My father wasn’t the most willing to teach.”

  “Considering everything he went through, I would’ve expected him to have ensured that you were prepared for any eventuality.”

  “Let’s just say that he didn’t see the necessity in that.”

  “You don’t care for him.”

  “I care for him. He’s my father, after all. It’s just… it’s complicated,” Haern said.

  “With parents, it often is,” Galen said. “And with yours, I suspect it’s more complicated than most.”

  “How long do you think we’ll have to wait before we can get answers?” He looked over at the Forgers. Neither of the two men were awake, and while he was thankful for that, he worried what would happen the moment they did come around. If they had the ability to Slide, they wouldn’t be trapped here, and it wouldn’t take long for them to call others of their kind over.

  “You need to relax. Part of this involves simply waiting. You have to be prepared for the waiting.”

  “I don’t like it,” he said.

  “You don’t have to like it, you just have to be willing to do it. A great deal of my time was spent simply observing. When you finish your observations, then you can make a plan. Once you have a plan, then you can implement the plan. And then—”

  “Then you attack?”

  “Only if that’s what your plan involves,” Galen said. “There are times when it’s better to turn away. There are times when the hardest move is to refuse to fight.”

  “I’ve refused to fight my whole life.”

  “Is that why you wanted to come on this journey? Did you think you needed to prove yourself in some way?”

  “I think I owed it to my father. He’s been going on about the Forgers my entire life, and I have
accused him of exaggerating the threat.”

  “If your father’s the kind of man I suspect him to be, he would rather you not be involved at all. It would have been easier for you to remain out of danger.”

  “He’s done that.”

  “And you resent him for it.”

  “I resent the fact that I haven’t been given the opportunity to be a part of anything.”

  “You think your father should have made certain you were an integral part of all of the fighting?” Galen smiled at him. He rolled one of the darts he carried between his fingers, and every so often, he would twist it, spinning it around as if working on his dexterity. It made Haern want to practice. “Your father likely wanted you to be safe. It’s the same thing I want for my children.”

  “Your children are safe. They’re protected by the palace.”

  Galen grunted. “You don’t think that people within the palace have enemies? The Elvraeth are nothing if not happy when they’re scheming. I used to think it was a bad thing, but the more I’ve come to know the Elvraeth, the more I think such scheming is necessary to keep them placated.”

  “Why?”

  “If they aren’t doing that, they turn their attention elsewhere. There are places where their attention is more dangerous.”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as organizing to oppose the guilds. If the Elvraeth had been coordinated, they would have tried to bring the guilds back into the city.”

  “The guilds have no interest in returning to the city. The Elder Trees are—”

  “I know the reason the guilds remain out of the city, but I’m telling you why the Elvraeth would view them as something of a threat. It doesn’t have to make sense. It just is. And were they to organize, they would bring the guilds back into the city and use them.”

  “Even when the guilds were in the city, they had a position of leadership.”

  “One that was not well known. You forget, or perhaps you never knew, but back then, the guilds were not viewed in the same light as now. People within Elaeavn now see the guilds as no less than the Elvraeth themselves.”

  Haern sat watching the fallen Forgers. His father had once said he had been attacked before because of a threat from the Elvraeth. Could a similar attack have come this time? If so, it meant that people within the city had betrayed them. It fit with his concern about how quickly the Forgers had found them in Asador.