The Forger was facing the wrong way, and Daniel brought his sword around, driving it through the man’s belly.
He spun, but Carth—along with Rsiran and Haern—was gone.
He continued to fight through the line of Ai’thol. When he reached Rayen, she grinned at him. “It’s good to have you fighting with us, Elvraeth.”
Daniel didn’t have an opportunity to answer. The Ai’thol kept coming, one after another, a flood of them. There had to be fifty or more, and there were barely more than a dozen Binders, only those who had been on board the ship. The Ai’thol all had the ability to Slide, borrowed from whatever magic they stole, however they had taken it from the Elder Stones, and they forced their way forward.
An explosion thundered behind them, though it was distant.
Daniel hesitated, glancing over his shoulder. “I’ll be right back,” he said to Rayen.
She had her shadows stretched out from her, and she didn’t answer, but then he never gave her the opportunity.
Daniel Slid, emerging near where he’d heard the sound.
Three Ai’thol were attacking the wall.
He looked past them and saw others attacking another section.
He Slid, returning to the fight, grabbing Rayen and Sliding away once more.
When he emerged, she jerked free of him. “What are you—”
Daniel pointed.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Sneaky.”
“Whatever they want is on the other side of the wall.”
“That’s where Carth kept the Elder Stone,” Rayen said.
“Behind the wall?”
“In the palace. The palace is generally secured by masters of the A’ras, and the masters of the A’ras have a deeper connection to their magic than others, one that is not dependent upon the Elder Stone, so she intended for them to continue to protect it.”
And now they wanted to break through the wall in order to get to the palace.
“They can’t Slide past it?”
“Apparently there’s something in the wall that makes it difficult.”
Interesting. Lareth didn’t have that difficulty, but then, Lareth didn’t have any difficulty when it came to Sliding. Would Lucy? With her additional abilities, it seemed to Daniel that she might be able to Slide beyond the wall just as easily, but maybe there was something to Lareth and his ability.
Regardless, the attempt to knock down the wall would give the Ai’thol an opportunity, and they needed to stop it.
Daniel Slid.
He probably shouldn’t have, but he emerged in the middle of them.
The Ai’thol suddenly turned their attention to him.
Daniel Slid again and did as he had before, flickering for a moment before returning to the metal. As before, it caught them off guard, and he managed to slide his blade into the belly of the first man, the one nearest the wall. He Slid, drawing his sword away as he did, and when he emerged, the two men spun toward him.
He wouldn’t be able to get away with that trick again. They Slid, appearing on either side of him.
Daniel reached the top of the wall. He jumped, flipping as he landed, and swung his sword off to the side. He clipped one man on the arm, not a heavy blow, but enough to force him to drop his sword. As he twisted, the other Ai’thol was bringing his sword down, swinging toward Daniel’s face.
He wasn’t able to react in time. He braced himself for the impact.
It never came.
Shadows jerked the man back, and Rayen kicked, driving with much more force than he would have thought possible. Something cracked, and the man went still.
“If you’re going to fight like that, maybe you should give me some sort of warning. You know, I can help.”
“I know you can,” Daniel said.
“Then you’d rather do it yourself?”
“I figured you would know what I needed,” he said, smiling.
“That’s a dangerous ploy,” she said.
“Only if you hadn’t shown up.”
He Slid, bringing Rayen with him. They emerged near the wall, and this time when he Slid to the center, Rayen darted forward, wrapping shadows around two of the Ai’thol, leaving Daniel with only one of the three. He twisted, swinging the sword around, sweeping his blade against the Ai’thol. He Slid, flickering for a moment before reappearing, this time behind Rayen.
The Ai’thol attempted to reach her, but shadows prevented him.
Daniel Slid, swinging his sword through an arc in the middle of the Slide, so that when he emerged, he was already sweeping his blade toward the Ai’thol.
He caught the man on the shoulder, slipping his blade deeper.
Another explosion nearby caught his attention, and he grabbed Rayen and Slid.
When he emerged, he froze.
There would be too many people to fight. There were seven Ai’thol here, and they were arranged around the wall. Each had a hand pressed up against it, and a strange energy filled the air, leaving the ground rumbling.
Rayen didn’t hesitate, and shadows swept from her, creating a barrier between the Ai’thol and the wall.
But it drew attention to them.
Daniel brought his sword around, and it was jerked from his hands, driven into the wall.
Lorcith.
He should have known better. It was a solid blade, forged by Rsiran Lareth, but with the Ai’thol’s ability to control the metal, it was a liability, too.
What he needed was a neutral blade, but one that was equally powerful.
The Ai’thol flickered toward him. Without his sword, what would he do?
He still had a pair of steel knives. He pulled those out and Slid, flickering from place to place, never pausing very long in one spot.
Each time he emerged, he felt himself growing more tired.
He wouldn’t be able to last much longer. And he certainly wouldn’t be able to carry Rayen with him if it came down to it.
She faced three of the Ai’thol, shadows swirling around them, squeezing them together, but they were fighting, attempting to chop through the shadows with their blades.
There was something different about their blades.
The metal was almost perfectly black. It appeared slick, different from the swords of the Ai’thol he’d been fighting before.
All he needed was a sword and he might be able to be a larger part of what was taking place, but how?
The key was what Rayen was doing.
He Slid, emerging near the cluster of three men, and jabbed sharply at the nearest, stabbing the man in the forearm.
He Slid away and appeared on the other side, jabbing at one of the others.
When he Slid a third time, Rayen frowned at him. “I have these three.”
“And I need one of their swords.”
She nodded and stepped forward, shadows streaking from her, wrapping around the hilt of one of blades, and it slid toward him.
Daniel grabbed it. It was slippery, and he didn’t have much time to think about why or what that might mean. He was forced to spin, rotating in an attack. Two Ai’thol faced him.
He Slid, and there was a strange resistance. It took a moment to realize that it was from the sword itself.
When he emerged, he spun, twisting the blade around, and managed to catch one man on the wrist. He severed his hand, blood spurting. When Daniel Slid again, he faced three of the Ai’thol.
They surrounded him.
He Slid but had no speed to it, not as he had before. When he emerged this time, the Ai’thol again surrounded him.
He wouldn’t be able to keep that up while carrying the blade. For some reason, it took more energy for him to Slide holding on to this sword —something it didn’t seem to do to the Ai’thol.
He Slid back to Rayen, glancing briefly at the three men she’d been holding. All of them had fallen. None of them moved.
“I’m losing strength,” he said.
“Push through it.”
“I don’t kno
w that I can.”
“Then think your way through it.”
How?
He needed to avoid the Ai’thol, but he also needed to pull them away from the wall, keeping them from attacking, buying Rsiran and Carth whatever time they needed. There might not be enough time, but he was determined to do his part.
He Slid back.
The Ai’thol followed. Daniel Slid again, moving around the wall.
Three more Ai’thol joined the others. They all turned their attention to him, and he held it, pulling them with him, Sliding again and again. Each one was harder than the last. It was difficult to even continue to hold on to the sword, but he wanted a weapon—any weapon—if it came down to it.
Another Slide, and he could hear the fighting nearby. He didn’t dare glance over his shoulder.
Were the Binders there?
They fell back. Something exploded. Fragments of stone struck him. Daniel staggered, falling, and where the wall should have been, there was nothing.
All that, only to fail.
The Binders fell back.
Heat exploded behind him, and he lifted his head to see a beautiful grassy lawn dotted by the occasional tree, and A’ras with swords unsheathed, maroon wrappings around their shoulders, holding their blades out, heat building from them.
Were these controlled A’ras, or would they remain faithful?
Heat streaked toward him, answering his question.
Daniel Slid and emerged near the Binders.
They had failed.
They needed to buy time, but there wasn’t the necessary time, and now what would Carth do? How would they be able to move the Elder Stone?
If they couldn’t prevent the Ai’thol from gaining access to it, then what would happen? They would grow stronger while the allies—at least, potential allies—grew weaker.
Heat streaked toward him, and he Slid. When he emerged, he realized that he had abandoned the Binders.
That had been a mistake. He looked over, half expecting them to have been blasted by heat and flame, but Rayen was there, somehow standing in the middle of them, shadows swirling around, protecting the Binders from the A’ras.
Not only from the A’ras, but from the Ai’thol.
How long would it last?
Not long enough for what they were facing. There was no way for it to be completely effective. There were far too many of the A’ras and the Ai’thol for them to face. And now… now he would fall and no longer be able to help with this plan.
He wished he had been able to see Lucy one more time. He wished he could have said goodbye to Rayen. And he hoped that Rsiran accomplished his goal.
But he wouldn’t give up.
If it meant falling here, if it meant his death, at least he would fall fighting.
Heat built, and he prepared to Slide, but he didn’t have the strength to do so.
He turned, looking for where the heat came from, and two A’ras approached him, holding on to a connection to heat and power. Daniel brought his sword up, ready to fight, but no longer convinced that he would be strong enough—or fast enough.
The A’ras were skilled fighters, and they didn’t rely upon their connection to their magic to fight. They had other ways of fighting, ways that Daniel wished he had spent more time training for, though he had trained, wanting to get better, needing to get better.
And he had chosen a different approach. Rather than working on his swordsmanship, he had been training with Carth. Could that have been a mistake?
He didn’t think so. Had he not worked with Carth, would they have come up with the plan? At least he’d had a hand in that. At least he had contributed. If he failed here, if he fell, at least he had been useful.
It was too bad that it had taken him until now to find a way to be of use.
The A’ras approached, and then they stopped.
Daniel stood frozen in place. He watched the A’ras, waiting for an attack that never came.
Lucy appeared. Blood stained her cloak, but she seemed unharmed, leaving him to wonder whether the blood was even hers.
She took his hand. “Come on.”
“I can’t Slide anymore.”
She smiled. “You don’t have to.”
The A’ras continued forward, stalking toward the wall, heat building from them.
Lucy took his hand and Slid him. They emerged near the Binders, and as he stood there, he realized that Carth was among them. So too was Rsiran Lareth, holding on to an enormous glowing stone. Heat radiated from it, mixed with a power that tingled Daniel’s skin. Ai’thol surrounded them, but Carth pushed them off, holding them with the shadows. Heat mixed in with her shadows, the same explosive force that Daniel had seen her use before.
“Go,” Carth said.
“Are you sure?” Rsiran asked.
“For this to work, you need to go.”
Rsiran nodded to Haern. “Hold on.”
“You could go with them,” Lucy said.
“What?” Daniel asked.
“Go. Rsiran has enough strength to carry you and Slide, too. You don’t need to stay. This doesn’t have to be your fight.”
“It doesn’t have to be your fight either.”
“It is until I understand who I’m supposed to be now.”
Daniel glanced at Carth. “I think I need to stay. I’m not finished with my training either.” He turned to Lareth. “Good luck. Stay safe.”
“Keep an eye on her, will you?” he asked.
Rsiran Slid them away before Daniel had a chance to find out whether Haern meant Lucy or Carth.
They were left with Ai’thol. They were surrounded, and Daniel had no strength left to fight, nothing within him other than a sense of exhaustion.
The Ai’thol continued to push, attacking Carth.
“It’s time for you to end this,” Carth said, looking at Lucy.
Lucy nodded.
Heat exploded.
It happened in violence so quick that Daniel was almost unprepared for it. It slammed into the surrounding Ai’thol, and they had to divert their focus from Carth to the A’ras. They continued to attack, power building, heat exploding, and the occasional explosion mixed with it, a reminder of Carth’s power.
Daniel could only stare. He was too tired to do anything else. Slowly, the Ai’thol began to disappear. For a moment, Daniel thought they were dead, dying by the A’ras attack, but he realized that wasn’t the case. They were simply Sliding away.
And then it was done.
He turned to Lucy. “You controlled them through all that?”
She shook her head. “Controlling them like that is difficult. I think that was part of the challenge. That’s why they weren’t able to regain control. I simply Pushed them back to the way they were supposed to be. I allowed them to regain control, and I helped them understand what had been done to them.”
Daniel looked around. The wall was destroyed, broken, little more than the occasional stone.
“Where is the rest of the wall?” he asked.
“What?” Rayen asked.
“The wall. When they destroyed it. There should be stone, some remnant left behind. But there is nothing.”
Carth stood staring at the palace. “We were outmaneuvered.”
“What do you mean?”
She turned to him, watching him. “What did we talk about when it came to the Elder Stones?”
“We talked about how they were power.”
“We talked about how they lent power. Think of your experience in Elaeavn. The metal. Think about what I told you about other places. This… this was their attempt to find—and take—something that also had power.”
“The wall surrounding the palace?”
Carth clenched her jaw. “The wall surrounding the palace,” she said softly. “And it was my fault. I brought the Elder Stone here, thinking to keep it protected, to prevent the Ai’thol from acquiring it. And while they don’t have the stone, they have the next best thing.”
“A
nd what’s that?” Daniel asked.
“Something that has absorbed the power of the Elder Stone,” Lucy said.
Carth nodded. “The wall itself absorbed that power. And now they have access to it.”
“So we didn’t stop them?”
“They won’t know that the Elder Stone will remain here. I have a place I can put it where it will be even more secure than where I had placed it before, though I was loath to do so before now. Yet, even placing the stone someplace more secure, the Ai’thol have succeeded.”
“What will they use the stone for?” Daniel asked.
Carth shook her head. “I don’t know. And every time I think I’m starting to understand, I find myself confused yet again.”
Rayen glanced over. “We won. At least for today, we won.”
Carth nodded. “We won, but I can’t help but think that perhaps they won, if only a little. They were successful in their plan, and despite what we have done, they still might succeed.”
“And yet you have secured Nyaesh. The A’ras will remain strong. We will have allies,” Daniel said. “If this is a Tsatsun board, it might be a setback, but we can use it.”
Carth watched him, studying him for a moment. “Perhaps you might make a skilled player.” She strode off, leaving Daniel staring after her.
Rayen chuckled.
“What is it?”
“You. Carth. You might not know it, but that is possibly the greatest compliment she has ever given.”
Daniel stared for a moment and then smiled to himself. Maybe this was what he was meant to do. After everything he’d been through, could he finally have found himself?
Lucy watched him, a smile on her face. She took his hand and squeezed.
43
Ryn
Ryn was tired. She’d been traveling for much of the day, and each time they transported from place to place, Olandar Fahr had shown her something new, some other place of power, and she had come to realize there were far more of them than she had ever imagined. Many of them were similar, such as the cave in the first place they had gone. There were other places like it, and he had made a point of taking her from place to place, traveling rapidly as the day went on. Ryn had felt a blurring sense of movement each time they Traveled. The places they went were never all that impressive, the kind of places she would not have expected to be a source of power, and yet Olandar Fahr let her know how each of them had once been a source of considerable power.
The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3 Page 100