The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  Haern lunged for him, wanting to catch him before the man fell, but Galen moved too quickly, dropping as he’d been struck. For the briefest moment, Haern wondered if this was part of Galen’s game, but seeing the blood pooling around the wound and watching Galen fall quickly to the ground below took that suspicion away.

  Where had the attack come from?

  It was within the trees, but where?

  Haern looked around. There wasn’t any good sign of where it had been, other than the brief flash of movement he’d noticed. That could be nothing.

  Another flicker of movement came from above him.

  Had he not been searching, he wasn’t sure he would have noticed it.

  It came with a shimmer, a swirl of colors that told him whoever was coming traveled by Sliding.

  Haern dropped to the branch, clinging to it.

  Something whistled through the air and shot directly over where he’d just been standing.

  He let out a shaky breath. He needed to get down to the ground and check on Galen, but if he did so without caution, he might get struck the same way.

  When he noticed a rustling of leaves, he pushed on a dart in his pocket.

  Most of the poison might have been spent, but he hoped enough remained that he could use it against whoever had attacked him.

  The dart whistled through the air, and Haern didn’t wait to see if it struck. He didn’t feel anything pushing against him, so if it was a Forger, it would have to be one who had not yet noticed he had a sliver of lorcith within the dart he could utilize.

  Even that sliver might not be enough.

  Haern crawled slowly, craning his neck as he searched around the trees, looking for any sign of additional movement.

  Nothing came.

  He paused, looking over the branch, and saw Galen lying motionless on the forest floor. Blood pooled around his wound, and a glint of metal caught his attention, piercing his shoulder.

  Great Watcher! It was a Forger, and that was the same type of weapon that had struck Lucy. Would Galen be equally injured? Could anything be done for him?

  Worse, the one person who might be able to help might be disinclined after everything they’d gone through.

  Haern glanced around before reaching the main part of the tree and wrapping his arms around it.

  As he did, a branch swayed overhead, and he pushed on a dart, pulling it from his pocket and sending it toward the swaying branch.

  This time, he did feel resistance against the dart.

  It was soft, subtle, and it might not be anything significant. For all he knew, the pressure he felt on the dart wasn’t even real.

  No. It had to be real. The Forger must have noticed that he had lorcith within the dart.

  He slid down the trunk, unmindful of the skin scraping off his hands and legs. He slowed himself, grabbing on more tightly from time to time to keep himself from dropping directly to the ground, never wishing he had the ability to Slide the way he did right now. If he could Slide, not only could he grab Galen and get him to safety, but he might be better able to attack.

  Sliding.

  That was what he needed to watch for.

  The Forgers would rely upon it, using that to move rather than any other sort of stealth. When he had faced the Forgers before, he had seen just how much they depended upon their ability to Slide, and he thought he could observe the shimmering that came before they Slid—along with the strange striations of color when they emerged.

  Haern paused for a moment, searching around for any sign of Sliding, but there was none.

  He could wait, but if he didn’t move quickly, then Galen would suffer.

  Searching one more time for any sign of shimmering, he raced toward the fallen man. He kept himself low, his back hunched over, and when he reached him, he found Galen still breathing, though shallowly.

  He grabbed onto Galen and pulled, yanking him.

  He was heavy, and in Haern’s anxiety, he managed to drag him, but didn’t know how long he’d be able to do so.

  A shimmering came from above him.

  Haern stumbled toward the nearest tree, pushing one of his knives as he did and sending it streaking toward the Forger.

  Unsurprisingly, the knife veered off, and Haern redirected it, pushing at the same time on another knife, sending it at him in a way that would distract his attention. It was possible the Forger had the ability to split his focus, but if he hadn’t trained at that, maybe Haern didn’t need to worry about his sliver of lorcith within the dart.

  He pushed on the third knife.

  Prior to chasing after his father, he had never attempted to split his focus on lorcith in so many different ways, and even now it was difficult. But he didn’t need to have exquisite skill with this. All he needed to do was send the knife at the Forger.

  All three converged the same time, all coming from different directions.

  The Forger Slid.

  Haern grabbed Galen and ran.

  He searched around him, looking for signs of shimmering, for anything that would suggest someone was Sliding toward him, but nothing else came. The Aisl was nearby, close, but could he reach it in time?

  Even if he did, there was no guarantee that Darren would help Galen.

  He would have to help. He was a healer, and that was what they did, regardless of whether or not Darren agreed with the things Galen had used his knowledge for over the years.

  Every so often, Haern paused, looking for movement, any sign of shimmering that would tell him the Forgers were nearby, but it never came.

  The clearing appeared in the distance, and he allowed himself to breathe out a sigh of relief.

  Something struck him in the back.

  Haern gasped, the lower half of his body suddenly going cold.

  He willed himself to keep moving, but his legs didn’t work.

  A Forger weapon.

  His mind raced through the possibilities, knowing that if it was a Forger weapon, he would be altered in some way.

  There wasn’t time to think about that. There wasn’t time for anything other than reaching the heart of the Aisl. When he did, someone would have to help.

  He tried shouting, but his mouth didn’t want to form the words.

  Poison. He was certain of it. He might not recognize the poison, but Galen had shown him enough poisons recently for him to be aware of it. And maybe he would have succumbed to it had he not had that experience, but as it was, he remained awake, not completely subdued, but fully aware of how close he was.

  Haern licked his lips. A dark shadow appeared near him. A face loomed down, familiar and practically gloating as he looked at him.

  “You have been difficult to capture.”

  Haern wanted to say something, wanting to shout, wanting to do anything other than let this man take him.

  “Why?”

  It was all that he could manage to get out. He wanted to ask more, but more didn’t come.

  The Forger glared at him. “To rectify a mistake. You will do well. And with it, I will finally have peace.”

  The Forger reached for him.

  As he did, Haern did the only thing he could think of.

  He reached for the sense of the lorcith that had been planted around each of the Elder Trees, and he pulled.

  There was enough lorcith that it wouldn’t move away from him, but that wasn’t what he wanted. What Haern wanted was to pull himself toward the lorcith and toward the trees.

  At first, there was little more than a stirring of movement, and he wasn’t sure whether he was strong enough, but gradually, the stirring began to intensify, and he started sliding across the floor.

  The Forger reached for him, but Haern ignored him.

  He continued to pull on the sense of lorcith, letting it fill him.

  As he glided across the ground, the cold in the lower half of his body remained, but he didn’t dare think about it.

  The edge of the forest neared, and there was movement within the clearing.
He didn’t trust himself to speak quickly or loudly enough to gather attention, but he didn’t necessarily need to. All he needed to do was reach the clearing; then he could draw the attention of the others there.

  The Forger Slid to him, attempting to block him, but Haern ignored him, pulling on the lorcith. Just a little more.

  He reached deeper within himself, straining for more power than he had ever pulled upon before, and with one last surge, he slammed into the Forger and glided across the ground toward the center of the forest.

  His head felt heavy.

  Someone approached, but he couldn’t tell who it was. He needed his father. His mother. But what he really needed was Darren.

  “Help,” he croaked.

  It was the only thing he could say, and it might not be enough.

  25

  Ryn

  The colors in the garden had changed very little in the week that Ryn had been here. Her time had gone quietly. A pleasant stretch, but it was filled with boredom. She had been offered all the food and water she wanted, and the others in the palace—and she was certain that there were others—had left her alone, ignoring her presence. It was almost as if they were offended that she was here.

  It was midday, and the air suddenly shimmered. When it was done, Olandar Fahr stood front of her. He was dressed differently than before, now wearing a snug jacket, a sword buckled to his waist, and his breeches had smears of ash on them.

  “How are you finding your stay?” he asked her.

  “How am I supposed to be finding it?”

  He cocked his head to the side, a hint of a smile playing across his lips. “You don’t enjoy your time here?”

  “It’s perfectly pleasant,” she said.

  “Pleasant. I think most would say that staying in a place like this was more than pleasant.”

  “Perhaps it would be for them.”

  “It’s not for you?”

  “This isn’t what I want.”

  “And what do you want?”

  “I want to go with you.”

  He frowned. “Do you think you are entitled to what I promised you?”

  “I’m not entitled to it, it’s just…” How could she explain to him? The quiet of this place had given her an opportunity to contemplate, and in that time, she continued to flash back to what she had experienced, the memory of losing so much staying with her, lingering in her mind, and when she focused, she’d see the faces of the dead. It was worse as she tried to fall asleep, those quiet times giving her an opportunity to remember, to recognize what awfulness she had experienced. All because of Lareth.

  “Have you considered what we spoke about last?”

  Ryn struggled to come up with what he had spoken to her about. There had been the conversation about his travels, but that didn’t seem to be what he meant.

  “The Great Ones,” she said.

  He bowed his head. “The Great Ones.”

  “What about them?”

  “If you would stay with me, you must open your mind and begin to understand.”

  “I didn’t realize that I was closed-minded.”

  “Perhaps not quite like that, but you have closed yourself off to anything other than what you want.”

  “What do I want?”

  “From what it seems, you want revenge, and yet you must allow yourself to be open to something greater.”

  Given everything that had happened to her, everything that she attributed to Lareth, she didn’t think it mattered. All that mattered was getting to Lareth, uncovering whatever he was doing, and keeping him from doing anything more. He didn’t need to harm anyone else.

  “I should open myself to the Great Ones?”

  “You should open yourself to the possibility of their power.”

  “How?”

  “That’s something that I can show you, but only if you’re ready.”

  If she stayed here, there might be quiet and comfort and luxury, but there would also be boredom. He didn’t need to explain to her that, were she to go with him, the experience could be quite a bit different. She had experienced pain and difficulty with him, and while he had always been there with her, there was something about the way he asked, the promise within it, that suggested that wouldn’t always be the case. Was she ready for that?

  For her to better understand, she thought that she had to be.

  “I’m ready.”

  “Are you sure? You are welcome to remain here. They will treat you well. There will be no suffering. And in the time that you’re here, you will be granted a greater authority than anyone other than the caretaker.”

  She sighed. The caretaker was the man who had been watching her, keeping an eye on what she was doing, and allowing her the freedom that Olandar Fahr had wanted her to have here. She could remain, and if she did, she would have peace. That was something she believed. In the time she’d been here, the peace had been almost unbearable.

  “I’m sure.”

  “Then we go.”

  “Now?”

  “Is there anything that you need to grab?”

  Ryn didn’t have anything here. Her possessions were the clothes on her back, and even those weren’t hers. They had been lent to her by the caretaker. Either Olandar Fahr would find a way to provide her with additional clothes, or he would not. She wondered if it even mattered.

  “I have nothing.”

  He smiled at her, traveling toward her with a blurring sense of movement. “Then you have nothing to lose.”

  Could that be true? Thinking of what she owned, she realized that it was nothing. Everything had been lost in Vuahlu. The only thing remaining was her life. That was it.

  And maybe that was what Olandar Fahr was trying to tell her.

  There wasn’t anything for her to lose. She had come to him empty-handed, with nothing, and when he was done with her, she might still have nothing.

  He grabbed her arm, and they Traveled. When they reappeared, there was a barren rocky landscape around them. The wind was cold and biting, swirling against her gown, the fabric far too thin for the sudden change in the weather. She would need to be better prepared if she were to continue traveling with Olandar Fahr.

  “Why here?”

  “This was a place of one of the Great Ones. An Elder.”

  “Was?”

  “The people that the Elder granted power to have not always used it wisely.”

  “How so?”

  “Most think to abuse that power, as if they were deserving of it rather than realizing that it was a gift. They felt it was their right.” He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping across the landscape. “That abuse has led to other challenges. Fighting. War. All to squabble over that power.”

  “They shouldn’t have it, then,” she said.

  “Perhaps not,” Olandar Fahr said, looking around him. “Or perhaps they only need someone to guide them.”

  “Like you?”

  He smiled. “I have been trying, but people can be stubborn.”

  “Why?”

  “They believe they know better, and yet they haven’t seen the whole board.”

  “Board?”

  Olandar Fahr smiled again. “Perhaps I shouldn’t refer to it in such terms, but long ago, my first instructor taught me a game, claiming that it held the answer to all things.”

  “What sort of game?”

  “A very special game. In it, there are questions, and there are times when you can get answers, but for the most part, it helps you to understand. To train your mind to be ready to understand.”

  “Will you teach me this game?”

  “When you’re ready,” he said.

  “What does it take for me to be ready?”

  “Many things. A willingness, which I think you possess. A strength of will, which I have seen from you. And lastly, mental fortitude. We will see if that is you, Ryn Valeron.”

  With that, he strode forward, walking across the rocky ground. She followed, wrapping her arms around herself for wa
rmth. She had a sense that this was a test of some kind, his method of determining her level of dedication. She could suffer, couldn’t she? Besides, she had suffered far more and had come away from it, so she knew that she could manage this. What was a little cold?

  “Where are we?”

  “A land far north. It was difficult for me to find, but now that I’ve been here, I still search for the secrets of the land.”

  “You still search for them?”

  “The people who once lived here thought that they could hide their secrets, that they could protect them.”

  “From you?”

  “They didn’t know anything about me at the time. No, they thought to hide them from their enemies.”

  “What enemies were those?”

  “Great and dangerous enemies.”

  “Have you confronted that enemy before?”

  “I have.”

  “Do I need to be concerned about it?”

  “You don’t. I have ensured there is nothing for you to worry about when it comes to them.”

  He reached a bridge, and the ground dropped off far below. An icy stream flowed, large chunks of ice floating downstream, the water itself looking almost painfully frigid.

  “I can’t believe anyone lived here.”

  “The people who lived here were hard. Strong. The kind of people you would think would make excellent allies, and yet the kind who also made skillful enemies.”

  “Why are we here?”

  “I come here from time to time, still searching for understanding.”

  “Of these Great Ones?”

  “The Great Ones were real. I have seen evidence of that, but what I still struggle with is finding the key to their power. Knowing of them and of their power is one thing, but finding out how to harness that power is something else entirely. I have attempted to do so for many years, and many of these Great Ones continue to elude me. But not for much longer.”

  “How have they eluded you?”

  “The ability to harness that power is what has eluded me. It’s one thing to know of it, and it’s quite another to be able to grasp it, to use it, to help others acquire and understand that power.”

  Ryn didn’t know if this was what he intended for her. Maybe he was coming here so that she could have power like that. Or perhaps there was something else.