“Your instructor is wise in keeping you from the city. Were it not for the storms…”
“The storms have passed.”
“They have passed here, Carth of Ih-lash.”
Carth sighed. There might still be hints of thunder, but the storms had passed. Why were they still not underway?
“What makes Odian so dangerous?” she asked. “It doesn’t look any different than Nyaesh.”
“Even Nyaesh can be dangerous, especially around the docks.”
“I lived along the docks,” Carth said.
“Then you know.”
Carth laughed. A particularly strong wave struck the ship, cutting her off and stealing the sound of her laughter. “I know the docks could be dangerous, but if you know your way around you can be safe enough.”
Tessa turned her attention to the city. “I suppose it would be much the same in a place like this.”
She returned to her work without saying another word, climbing up a rope ladder to check on the rolled sails. Carth remained at the railing, standing for a long time, when a scream echoed against the night.
She tensed. There had been others like it since the first time she’d heard it, the night that the screams had lived on in her dreams. This was sharper, as if the shadows made it clearer.
“Tessa?”
The other woman was too high to hear her.
Carth pulled on the shadows, stretching them in such a way that they would part, making it easier for her to hear. It was possible Tessa would notice what she did and would recognize that she had more capabilities than someone only shadow blessed should have, but as another scream joined the first, she knew she did the right thing.
Another scream.
Sound carried this time, rather than being muted as it was when she simply held on to the shadows. Through the darkness of night, she recognized the sound and traced it toward the source.
It was a child.
“Please,” the child cried. “I don’t want—”
She didn’t get a chance to hear what the child didn’t want. There came a sharp crack and the whimpering was silenced.
Carth swallowed.
“Bring her,” another said.
“She’s no use now. You’ve ruined her face. They won’t pay for her like this.”
Carth’s breath caught. Could she really have heard what she thought she had? She knew places where women were sold—they were places her parents had warned her against, and places where they had made sure that she was safe when they had to visit.
“Kill her, then. Better that than dragging her with us. We’ve got enough the way it is.”
Carth swallowed again.
“No. P-please!”
She heard the sound of metal being unsheathed. Her hand went to her side, where she’d kept her knife, and gripped the hilt. It was her father’s knife, she now knew, not one of the A’ras’s as she had long believed. Before she knew what she was doing, she had the knife unsheathed.
“Carth of Ih-lash?” Tessa asked.
“No!”
The voice tugged on her heart.
What else could she do?
She pulled on the shadows and jumped.
Wrapped in the shadows as she was, the jump carried her out and over the railing, all the way to the dock. She leapt again, the shadows helping her soar with each jump. In her mind, she heard the girl crying out for help, but she didn’t know if the cry was real or if it came from her imagination. Either way, she could do nothing other than respond. She had to respond.
Along with the shadows, fire burned within her, the remnants of her A’ras training. Anger made it burn through her veins, and she welcomed it, drawing on the sensation, wanting nothing more than to call to the A’ras fire. She didn’t know what she’d see when she reached the girl, but now she was here, committed to the attack.
A part of her feared what Jhon would say when he learned what she had done, and that she had risked herself like this, but he would have to understand. She couldn’t sit by and do nothing, not when she had the power she did and the ability that she possessed.
In her mind, there was another scream.
Carth threw herself forward, the power of shadows coursing through her. Darkness wrapped around her like it had not in quite some time. She used the energy and power from the shadows, taking it within her, filling herself with the power of the night and the darkness.
This time when she landed, she felt others around her. There had been others before, but she had detected them distantly. It was almost like the shadows wanted her to know she neared the girl’s attackers.
Carth had been in battles before, forced to use the power of the shadows, but this time was different. This time, she didn’t know the surroundings as she had before, and she had no way to escape if things went wrong.
Whatever happened, she would have to ensure that she took care of the fight quickly.
Carth relaxed the darkness, easing the connection to the shadows enough that she could see those around her.
As she did, she was aware of two men—likely the two that she’d heard—and saw another on the ground near her, unmoving.
Her A’ras training kicked in and she attacked.
The knife was like an extension of her arm, and she sliced, pressing the shadows through it. When it cut the nearest man, she loosed a hint of the shadows, enough that he fell with a scream. Carth didn’t allow herself any remorse; knowing what he had intended for the girl, there was no role for it.
The other man had jumped back. Carth remained mostly obscured by the darkness and released it so that she could see him clearly. She sliced through the other man’s arm, and he fell, shadows now coursing through him.
He convulsed, the shadows claiming him. There was nothing he could do to stop them. Between her ability with shadows and her A’ras magic, she was more powerful than most. Now that she had stopped the men, she could rescue the girl, bring her to safety, and maybe even find the others she’d overheard them talking about.
As she reached the girl, another stepped out of the shadows. He had silver hair and was thin, his slight body reminding her of Felyn, but he had a weathered face and a long chin. The shadows seemed to retreat from him.
“What are you?” he said. As he neared, she noted a long, viciously curved sword in his hand. His eyes barely glanced to the two men on the ground, somehow managing to appear unconcerned.
Carth pulled on the shadows, letting them wrap around her. As she did, she felt the soft heat of the A’ras magic in her veins. If it took stopping this man to help the girl, then so be it. They had wanted to abduct her, had been willing to treat her with violence. And now this man was with them.
“I am Ih-lash,” she said.
The man grinned, a dark expression that sent a chill through her. “That is what I thought.”
He breathed out.
That was the only way she could explain what she experienced. As he did, power pressed out and away from him, dispersing the shadows. Carth tried pulling on them again, but couldn’t. It was as if he had simply caused the shadows to vanish.
“Your expression tells me you have never seen this before,” he said. He had a hoarse voice, and his face rippled as he spoke. Eyes that were so light that they were almost clear practically shone in the night. “It has been many years since I’ve discovered one of the Ih-lash stupid enough to come here. You will make a fine addition to the collection, worth more than someone like that.” He pointed to the fallen girl, practically dismissing her and the fact that he and his friend had cut down an innocent for the simple fact that they had intended to sell her into horrors Carth couldn’t imagine.
Carth pulled on shadows again, trying to settle into them as she had been able to do before, but she failed. The shadows didn’t respond, not as they were supposed to.
He grinned, breathing out once more. This time, his breath shimmered in the air, and at first, Carth could do nothing more than watch as he sliced forward.
Then she became unstuck, drawing on the fire within her veins and sending the A’ras magic out in a torrent, burning through the shimmery light he used against her. As she did, her ability to reach the shadows returned.
She stabbed, catching the man in the stomach with her knife. It sank into his flesh, and she pressed out, sending the shadows rolling into him.
He cried out, and Carth stepped back. She’d seen what happened when she used the shadows against others, and forced herself to watch. It was brutal, but in this case, she felt it was necessary—and not wrong.
The man shuddered, and breathed out again. Light shimmered briefly, long enough for the trail of darkness she’d used on him to disappear, evaporating as if he’d burned it off. She’d seen the Hjan do something similar before.
She had been kneeling toward the girl and stopped herself, turning her attention back to the attacker. Another breath, and this time, the shimmering cloud increased. The shadows receded, and reaching them became difficult once more.
“Not only shadow blessed, are you?” he said.
In her surging anger, she pulled on the A’ras magic again and lashed out at him, sending a surge of fire toward him.
He raised his hand, and the fire struck a barrier of sorts. Carth frowned, attempting once more to attack, to use the power of the fire and the night as she struck him, but neither did any good.
“You are an interesting foe. Perhaps I will not sell you. You might make an interesting one to study. I would like to know how such a combination came to exist.”
He sliced with the sword, cutting through the darkness.
Carth felt the shadows rebound against her, almost like a physical blow. Another slice with his sword, and the fire burning in her faded.
She took a step back and stumbled on the girl, who moaned, making it clear that she still lived. She would not if Carth weren’t successful in stopping this man, but she would have to find a way he couldn’t counter, and so far, he had managed to turn away everything she did.
He stepped toward her, and Carth didn’t dare take another step back, or she would leave the girl exposed. She straddled her, one foot on either side of her body, only the shadow knife in hand.
Was there anything she could do that would overwhelm what this man could do?
Not shadow, and not A’ras magic. That left only one thing.
He brought his arm back, and she darted forward.
She used no magic, neither shadows or the A’ras magic, not wanting him to deflect her, and crashed into him. She stabbed with her knife as she did, then again when she spun, freeing herself from him. He staggered back, his sword starting to sag.
Carth threw herself at him again, this time colliding with his chest, forcing his sword to the ground, where it clattered uselessly to the stone. Rather than reach for it, he breathed out again.
The shimmery breath caught her. It smelled of sulfur and heat, bright and painful.
Carth jerked back, trying to get free of it.
She couldn’t see anything, as if the sun had seared her eyes, burning them so that she couldn’t see clearly anymore.
He laughed. “With more experience, you could be interesting. Too bad you will never gain such experience. You’re impulsive. That’s a dangerous trait in someone like yourself. Clever, though. That could have saved you, but you think with violence when you must discover a way to outmaneuver your opponent.”
“Who are you?” Carth said, trying to move back, but she tripped.
The girl.
She had only wanted to save her and hadn’t thought through what she intended, not expecting to see someone like this man here. How could she have expected to find anything like this? She was powered by both shadows and A’ras magic—how could she fall?
But this man had stopped her, even after she’d stabbed him. It was as if her attack had done nothing to him but slow his attack.
“I have gone by many names, but you may call me Ras Ahtharn.”
There was something about the name that had a vague familiarity, but she didn’t know why that should be.
Carth could feel him step toward her as he pressed against both her shadows and the fire of the A’ras.
His presence was like a winter storm that raged against her fire. Each of his shimmery breaths was like light burning off the shadows. There was nothing she could do to stop him.
But she didn’t want him to touch her. She feared the cold of his presence, and feared the light of his breathing. Would he extinguish her gifts?
She tried running, but tripped again.
Had she fallen over the girl again?
What would happen to the girl now that Carth had failed?
She didn’t have to think hard to know. Worse, they would either kill Carth, or take her and force her to do what they had done with the others.
She thrashed, trying to get free. She had been foolish rushing out here, going against not only Jhon’s warning, but against what Adam and Tessa had advised, racing into the city and risking herself and for what?
Nothing more than a sacrifice.
The cold pressed nearer.
Something struck her, and she collapsed. Blackness that was not the shadows swallowed her.
5
When Carth came around, she felt pain everywhere in her body, but mostly in her head. It throbbed, pulsing in the way it had the one time she’d ever tried ale while staying at the Wounded Lyre, leaving her with a splitting headache the following morning.
Her tongue was dry in much the same way. She tried working it free, but it felt gummed to the roof of her mouth.
Her hands were free, as were her legs.
Carth had expected to be bound after the attack. Or worse—killed. Why wasn’t she?
She opened her eyes and saw nothing but a steady glowing light around her. When she tried reaching for the shadows, she failed, reminding her of when she’d tried pulling on the shadows while studying with the A’ras.
Could she reach that magic?
With the question, she became aware of the cold in the room. Her teeth chattered as she felt the way it settled through her. Carth shivered and pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them for warmth.
“You should not fight,” the hoarse voice said. “Not here. You’ll only pull the protections more tightly around you.” He laughed softly. “I suppose you can fight, but you might not enjoy the sensation.”
“Where am I?”
The man laughed again. “You’re where I brought you. I told you that you would make an interesting study.”
“Don’t think about touching me. If you try, I’ll—”
“You’ll fight me again? I think not, Ih-lash child. You’ve already shown me what you can do. It doesn’t take long to counter someone once you know their weakness, and you are an easy read. As I said, impulsive. The anger that fuels the other magic burns too hotly, and is just as easy to stop.”
“I still cut you,” she said.
He laughed again. “You did. Interesting that you were able to reach me like that. I will be the first to admit that I was impressed.”
“What do you want with me?”
“In time, child of shadows. For now, I think we will talk.”
“I’m not going to talk to you.”
“Is that not what we’ve been doing? You would change and do something else? You would prefer this?”
The light began glowing brighter, burning through even Carth’s closed eyelids. The air in the room shifted, becoming so cold that she could barely even move. The combination was painful, and it was terrifying how easy it was for him to counter her abilities. Even the Hjan weren’t as able to counter her and dismiss her magic so easily.
Unless he was Hjan.
Hadn’t Invar told her how the Hjan studied power and sought to collect it? The A’ras had known ways to suppress the shadows, the walls around the palace grounds preventing her from reaching them. There would have to be some way for the Hjan to counter the A’
ras magic as they had, and why wouldn’t it be the cold like this?
Only, she hadn’t experienced anyone with abilities like this before. The Hjan she’d faced—both Felyn and those who had attacked the A’ras—hadn’t possessed abilities anything like this man’s.
That meant that either he was more advanced—which was possible—or he was something else entirely.
“Would you like to keep talking?” he asked casually.
The cold receded and the light stopped burning as brightly, giving Carth a chance to open her eyes once more. She still couldn’t see anything, but at least she now didn’t feel as if he were tormenting her. Even the cold no longer felt quite as painful.
Did Jhon and the others search for her? Would they be able to find her here? Jhon had demonstrated an uncanny ability to find her, but he wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for her—not when she had left the ship without so much as a word.
Impulsive, the man had said. That described her too well, as did the anger. Neither would serve her here.
“Yes,” she answered.
A little more of the cold receded, leaving Carth able to move her body more freely. Still not well, but the overwhelming discomfort she had known when she’d first awoken had faded, leaving her powerless but nothing more. She wanted to reach for the shadows, or for the A’ras magic, but she didn’t want to risk him attacking her again.
He seemed to recognize the debate raging within her, as a hint of a smile pulled on his mouth. His flat eyes stared at her, the corners edged with lines that spoke of age or experience. “What are you doing here?” he asked her.
“I’m not doing anything,” she answered.
He seemed to consider the answer, then laughed softly. “That is true enough, isn’t it, child of shadows? Why have you come to Odian?”
Carth struggled to keep her expression neutral. The training she’d received while studying with the A’ras allowed her to be mostly successful keeping her composure, but she wasn’t certain whether this man could see through her or not. He seemed able to anticipate anything she might do.
The Shadow Accords Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 42