The Shadow Accords Box Set: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  With each step, she felt pushed along, as if whatever Ras did, and however he managed to conceal his presence, also kept her from turning around. In that way, it reminded her of the power he used with the light, how he pushed it against her and concealed her ability with the shadows.

  There came a shifting to the shadows as the landscape in front of her changed. Carth reached it, discovering a steep cliff leading down to rocks far below, the sea crashing there. Occasional spits of spray reached her. Which way would she find Odian? If she could find the city, she could find the Levelan, and hopefully Jhon.

  She had two options, and neither seemed better than the other.

  Turning left, she followed the rocky cliffside, occasionally having to slow to climb over rock or around massive cracks that jutted in from the sea, as if one of the gods had grown angry and tossed boulders down on the land.

  The rock slowly changed, gradually rolling toward a grassy plain. Occasional copses of trees appeared, and she paused near one, drinking from a stream that spilled over the cliff edge and out to the sea. Carth imagined that it would be beautiful in the daylight, but she had no interest in seeing it in the daylight. She wanted nothing more than to reach Odian. Find Jhon. And then discover some way to reach Nyaesh, even if it meant she had to find a ship of her own.

  Distant lights caught her attention as she climbed another peak.

  Carth paused again, noting how the sea felt no closer now than it had before, how the cliff still loomed high over the water, and wondered how much she would have to descend to reach it. As she approached the distant lights, she began to hear the sounds of a city.

  Carth hurried along the rock, moving as quickly as she could until the rock gradually changed into what appeared to be a path. From there, it widened and she could see where boots had left their marks over time. No one walked the path. It might be late, but she would have expected to see someone; there was nothing.

  The road wound away from the rocks, veering away from the shore and curving down, a gentler slope than she would have expected. As she reached the base of the hill, the city in the distance spread out before her. Dozens of candles glowed in the night, and there was the sound of voices, mixed with the occasional shout, and even the cawing of gulls, that last almost soothing after all the time she’d spent along the shores in Nyaesh or in several of the other port towns her parents had brought her to during their travels from Ih-lash.

  Was this Odian?

  It was possible that it was not—that Ras had brought her away from Odian, and that she would find another city—but something about the fish scent mixed with the salt and the strange but real rhythm of the city told her it was.

  She followed the road as it led through the city, veering away from the heart of the city itself and making her way toward where she expected to find the docks. If Jhon remained, and if the Levelan remained, she would find them.

  She passed a row of shops, some with signs she recognized, like that of the seamstress or the candlemaker or even the herbalist, the sign marked with a sprig of what appeared to be coxberry—a strange plant to use for something like that—until she reached a row of taverns. That was how she knew she was close. Much like they did in Nyaesh, the taverns ran along the docks. It was probably the same in most cities, though Carth didn’t know too many places other than Nyaesh. She’d been too young to wander freely when she’d visited other places with her parents.

  At the docks, she pulled on the shadows, making it lighter for her and easier to see as she searched for the Levelan. She was a distinctive ship, one with a sharp prow and a masthead that looked carved like a sea creature, and during the time they had been docked in Odian, the square sails had been rolled, though she knew they were a deep brown, darker than most ships, so that when she sailed at night it would be difficult to see her.

  There was no sign of the Levelan. There was nothing but local ships.

  After all she had been through, she would be stranded here.

  14

  The inside of the tavern glowed with a warm light, the product of dozens of candles as well as the steady blaze from the hearth. Carth sat in a corner of the tavern, arms wrapped around her plate, savoring the stringy meat and the tough carrots she’d been served, not minding the exorbitant price she’d been charged for them. It wasn’t her coin anyway; she’d collected scraps from a well-dressed man when she’d first entered, deciding he wouldn’t miss his purse. She’d seen plenty of men like him during her time on the streets in Nyaesh, enough to know she’d chosen the right target.

  The tavern wasn’t as full as the Wounded Lyre used to get, but the men sitting at tables shooting dice or drinking ale all seemed much the same as she would have seen in the Lyre. A minstrel played in the back of the tavern, strumming an instrument she’d never seen. It had a bright sound, one that carried through the tavern and split through the noise around them.

  She tried to listen. What she needed was information. Not only about the Levelan, if she could get it, but about Odian, and how long she might have been trapped. If she could find out that, she might be able to figure out what had happened with Jhon and how long they had stayed in the port after her disappearance. She suspected they would have searched for her for a while, but when would they have given up?

  “Storms moving in again,” one of the men at a nearby table said.

  Carth glanced over to him and noted his narrow-set eyes and pale hair, coloring that was not seen in the north. That marked him as a southerner, though she didn’t know the southern isles nearly as well and didn’t know the lands beyond the sea at all. That was where the Hjan came from, if Jhon was right.

  “There are always storms that move through here,” another man said. “That’s why we get stuck here for as long as we do.”

  “The last time we were here, we were stuck for nearly a week,” the beady-eyed man said.

  He glanced over and Carth tried to make it look like she hadn’t been listening. She didn’t worry about them catching her, but she didn’t want to cause trouble either. Gathering information required using the shadows and being secretive.

  She pulled slightly on the shadows, drawing from the edge just a bit, enough that she could feel herself sinking into them, and enough that she had a shroud she could use to conceal herself. Even with that, she had to be careful. Pull too much, and it would be evident something was off. Not enough and she remained visible. It was a balancing act, and she was out of practice now that she had been confined for as long as she had been.

  “A week is nothing,” the other man said. “I hear there was a ship stuck here nearly three weeks the last time. Think on that, Guya! Three weeks sitting at the damn dock, with nothing but your stinking ship for company.”

  “The ship doesn’t smell nearly as bad as the men on it.” Both men laughed. “Besides, at least it gives you a chance to sit and have a few pints of ale. Not much ale flows on the ship.”

  “That you know of.”

  “The crew know better than to risk tapping into the casks. They wouldn’t do anything like that. If they did, I’d have to—”

  “You wouldn’t do anything, and they know it. You’re too soft.”

  “Ah, better to be too soft than to be too harsh. Most of those men will fight for me if it comes to it. You too, Talun.”

  Talun grunted, the sound a mixture of a burp and a hiccup, and wiped his face with his sleeve. “At least the ale here isn’t all that bad.”

  “After sitting on the ship as long as we have, anything is drinkable. Once we get these casks to Wesjan, we can crack them and have a few good celebratory pints. Asador ale. Tastes better than this, if you know what I’m saying.”

  “I know this is enough for me to keep drinking.”

  They fell silent for a while, and one of the men burped again. “Storms really coming through?” Talun asked.

  Guya shrugged. “Who really knows? We’ll try to get out before they get a chance, but if we don’t…”

  “I’m
getting a room off the ship if we don’t.”

  Guya peered around the tavern. “A room? What kind of place do you think this is? You risk him if you try grabbing for one of the girls.”

  “Not going to risk that,” Talun said. “I know better.”

  Guya studied him, a frown on his intoxicated face, as if he didn’t quite believe his friend. Then the other man belched and his head sagged forward, resting on the table. “Good,” Guya said in a whisper. “I didn’t want to have to keep you from doing anything stupid.”

  He slung his arm around Talun and lifted him, carrying him from the tavern.

  Carth sat there for a moment before deciding to follow, curiosity more than anything pushing her. She hadn’t heard of Asador—or their ales—and wasn’t quite sure where Wesjan would be found, and she wanted to see what kind of ship they were using. She found Guya outside the tavern, working his way along the dock until he came to a smaller ship. It had a narrow beam, and a strange placement of the mast, so she didn’t know quite how something like that would travel the open waters. Even the wide-beamed ship she had taken with Jhon had been rocky out on the open water. Had she not had as hard a stomach as she did, she suspected she would have been miserable. As it was, the ride had been bad enough.

  When Guya reached the sip, Carth heard a soft cry. It was the same sort of cry she’d heard when she’d gone rushing into the city after the girl and ultimately been captured.

  Guya seemed to hear it as well. He paused as he was loading Talun into the ship and looked up. For a moment, Carth thought he might have noticed her, but she retreated into the shadows even more, pulling them around her fully. This way, she would disappear completely from him. She could hear him, and she could see him, but were she to move, she would expose herself.

  The soft cry came again, this time an unmistakable sound.

  Guya noticed as well. He set Talun on the ground. The man moaned softly but didn’t move. Guya glanced back toward the tavern before hurrying off, racing toward the sound.

  Carth followed, still holding on to the shadows. She didn’t know how well she maintained them as she moved—the cloaking didn’t always work quite as well for her while moving—but she hurried after Guya, careful to stay behind him. She didn’t want him to know she followed, or to discover that she used the shadows as she did to stay behind him.

  After leaving the row of taverns, the road wound away from the city. It reminded her of where she’d been captured, and she worried what she would find here. Guya moved cautiously, a pair of knives unsheathed and clutched in both hands. His head swiveled as he walked, and his flat eyes searched into the darkness.

  Another cry, more of a whimper this time.

  Carth stopped, focusing on where the cry had come from.

  Not the direction Guya had gone. This was to the west.

  She glanced at him, then started to the west, moving off the road as she searched for the source. A cluster of stooped trees caught her attention and she froze.

  Carth held the shadows, clinging to them so that she could remain as hidden as possible. This was where she had heard the sound.

  She crept forward, moving slowly, easing toward the trees. If there was something there, she would know about it, but she didn’t want to be surprised either. She wanted to have a glimpse before rushing in and risking herself.

  Maybe Ras’s training had worked. Before, she would have raced in—the risks be damned—and then discovered what she faced. At least this time, she moved carefully, wanting information before she was willing to risk herself.

  Two men stood near the tree. Both were armed with slender swords. One of the men peered at the ground, and Carth followed the direction of his gaze, noting a small girl lying there. A bloody gash ran along one of the arms bound behind her back. She whimpered every so often, and when she did, the man staring at her would kick her.

  With the kick, she cried out more loudly. This was the sound that had drawn her attention. Carth slipped her knife from her sheath and started forward, ready to free the girl, when she heard another sound.

  She paused and looked around for what had made the sound. It had come from behind her.

  Almost too slowly, she darted behind a row of stones along the road, hiding as quickly as she could. She didn’t know if she was fast enough, or whether the movement had unraveled some of the shadow cloak she held. She didn’t think so, but it had been so long since she had tried to move with the shadows that she wasn’t sure that she had been as smooth with them as she had intended.

  “About time you made it here,” one of the men said.

  “Had to shake him.”

  Carth recognized the voice and noted Talun appearing out of the darkness. He didn’t appear to be nearly as intoxicated as he had seemed when Guya had left him on the dock. What would Guya do if he saw him?

  Unless Guya was in on it with him.

  No. That didn’t seem right. If Guya were in on it, there would have been no need for Talun’s playacting. There would have been no need for the deception.

  Then what had happened to Guya?

  Her mind raced through the possibilities, quickly calculating the likelihood that any of the scenarios she came up with might have occurred. Before her time trapped with Ras, she doubted she would have thought it through quite as quickly. Should she be thankful? Did one thank one’s captor, regardless of the outcome of one’s captivity?

  “We’ve got another one heading to him. Can you get her on board?”

  Talun glanced at the girl and shrugged. “I think that can be arranged. I still haven’t figured out how I’ll explain this to him when we get to Wesjan.”

  “That’s not really our problem. I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

  “Maybe split the take with him.” The other man had been silent, and as he turned, the shadows reflected off his face and she noticed a long scar running along one cheek. She had seen something like that before, but it had been on one of the Hjan. Was he with the Hjan? Were all of them?

  If that was the case, why did they need to smuggle the girl? She had seen how the Hjan could flicker from place to place. That seemed like it would be the easiest way to abduct someone.

  Guya and the other man didn’t have the same scar, so maybe they weren’t with the Hjan. Maybe it was simply a scar. Carth considered this and decided that it was possible, however unlikely it seemed.

  “I think I’ll keep what I earn. I am the one taking all the risk, aren’t I?”

  The scarred man shook his head. “Risk? The risk was ours in bringing her to you. You do this, and then we’re all better off.”

  The girl struggled. As she did, Carth saw a slight flash of light.

  It was brief, and so subtle that she wasn’t even sure what she had seen. Had she not spent the last… month?... with Ras, she might not have even recognized it, but she did. It was the same light he had used on her to suppress her shadows.

  Was that what they were doing? Did they take this girl because she had the ability to counter the shadows? Could she use that light to overcome the shadows of the shadow blessed?

  Then where was Wesjan? It had to be someplace where the Reshian were still active.

  She needed to do something. She couldn’t leave this poor girl here, not abused and injured like this… only, if she attacked now and removed the others as a threat, she would lose the chance to do something about whatever they might be planning.

  Wasn’t a willingness to sacrifice players a part of Tsatsun?

  Carth hated the fact that she even considered leaving the girl with them. Was that what she was to become?

  But if she didn’t, what more would be risked?

  She had seen it. It might only have been a game, but the concepts were the same. She needed to find out what they intended, and in order to do that, she would have to be willing to let this girl go with Talun. That didn’t mean that she would do nothing, only that she had to find a different play.

  Pulling the shadows
around her, she thought she knew what that might be.

  15

  The night began to lighten by the time Carth found Guya. He lay in a heap on the side of the road, a massive gash on his head oozing blood. When she reached him, she touched his neck, checking for a pulse. At first, she worried that Talun had been too aggressive as he had incapacitated his captain, but then she felt the slow but steadily building presence of a pulse in his neck.

  Carth glanced around and noted a dark shape moving toward them.

  If it was Talun, she needed to be gone from here, but why would Talun have returned to Guya? Doing so would reveal that he knew what happened to the man, and that he wasn’t as intoxicated as he had appeared.

  Carth decided not to risk it and wrapped shadows around them, pulling not only herself but also Guya into the shadows.

  Had she been fast enough? Had the change been too much, so that someone would notice that Guya no longer appeared on the road?

  She didn’t move, not wanting to risk it.

  Through the edge of the shadows, she noted the figure approaching. As it did, there came a slight surge of light, and the shadows around her faded.

  Carth scrambled for them, clawing at them to try to keep herself shrouded. If she didn’t, she would have to defend not only herself, but also Guya. She wasn’t sure she would be able to do that.

  The shadows dissipated.

  As they did, she understood why. And how.

  “Ras,” she said, standing to face the man.

  He pushed back the hood of his cloak, and his deep gray eyes peered through the night. “How is it that you have already involved yourself in this, shadow born?”

  “I’ve involved myself in nothing.”

  The corners of his eyes twitched slightly. “I find that difficult to believe.”

  Carth glanced toward Guya lying on the ground. He hadn’t moved, and she began to wonder if he would. Had he been injured so badly that he couldn’t move? She’d seen men hurt so severely that their legs no longer worked, and others who couldn’t use their arms after hitting their head.