“Are you harmed?”
“What? No. I got out before things got out of hand, but Jenna…”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
Carth slipped around the side of the building, holding the shadows. Would there be a second entrance? Many taverns had other ways in. Even a window would be helpful. Anything that would let her get inside.
She found a doorway on the back side of the building. The door was ajar and flashes of flames flickered inside.
Carth darted inside.
Heat from a spreading fire threatened to push her back. She pulled the heat away, drawing the power of the flame inside herself, dampening it. A fire blazing with this much power would be difficult to completely extinguish, but she could lessen it so that anyone inside wouldn’t be harmed.
The tavern was empty.
Scorch marks along the walls revealed where the flames had licked them, making their way toward the ceiling. Had Carth not removed the flames, the fire would have continued to spread, likely consuming the entire tavern. It still might. Some flames smoldered, and without her holding on to the S’al, drawing the flames away, the fire would grow. She would need help to prevent the tavern from going up completely.
There was no sign of Jenna.
Now-blackened tables were tipped over, and the stink of char and smoke filled the air. She smelled nothing that would make her think anyone had been caught in the fire. Unfortunately, that was an odor she had known before. Chairs were scattered and some were broken, though they didn’t seem damaged by the fire. Whatever had happened here had happened prior to the fire.
When she noticed movement at the front—likely the owner attempting to return to see if they could quash the rest of the flames—Carth made her way out the back again.
She stood in the street, breathing clearer air. She would have to release the heat she’d drawn out of the tavern before it exploded out of her. Looking skyward, she sent it sizzling into the air, and steam erupted like a fountain.
Where had Jenna gone?
It was unlikely that she would have left Linsay. Even intoxicated, Jenna wouldn’t have left. That meant that whatever had happened with the brawl had taken Jenna away from the city—and away from where Carth could easily find her.
12
An occasional wave sent the ship rocking, pressing into the dock. Carth sat at the table, leaning over the map that she had spread out across its surface, staring at it. So far, no word had come from Jenna, though she hadn’t given up hope that the woman would return. Alayna had gone into the city, thinking that she could use her particular ability to help find Jenna, leaving Linsay and Boiyn with Carth.
“You haven’t learned anything about the Collector?” Boiyn asked.
Carth shook her head, keeping her eyes fixed on the map. Keyall sat at the southernmost promontory, separated from so much of the rest of the main continent that it might as well be on an island. It had taken them weeks to reach this place, time that she had been away from the rest of her network, and she had a growing suspicion that it was time for her to return.
But not without Jenna.
“Other than that he has gathered power? No, I haven’t learned anything about the Collector.”
Carth finally looked up and studied Boiyn. In the confines of the ship, he didn’t bother keeping his hood up, though he always wore his cloak. His eyes had a ring of red around them and the lantern light reflected off his pale skin, which practically gleamed. He studied her, and she wondered what went on behind his eyes. What did he think of when he looked at her?
“I saw you leaving the ship,” Carth said.
Boiyn frowned. “I’m curious what you mean by that, Carthenne. It sounds almost as if you are making an accusation.”
Linsay glanced from Carth to Boiyn. “Carth wouldn’t do—”
Carth raised her hand. “I’ve sailed with you a long time, Boiyn. You rarely leave the ship. What did you learn?”
Boiyn took a place across the table from her and rested his elbows on it. He leaned forward and stared at the map. After a while, one long finger reached down and traced a trail along the coast, running from Ingal all the way down to Keyall. “This is a strange place, Carthenne. For some reason, I feel it.”
“You feel it? You’re the least magical person I know, Boiyn. I wouldn’t expect you to claim to feel anything like that.”
He flashed a smile. Carth had long ago managed to overcome how grotesque that expression looked on him. “It’s nothing quite like that. It’s more of an unease. Considering everything that we’ve seen, what is taking place here is nothing like we’ve experienced in other places.”
“Even in Thyr?”
“I wasn’t with you for most of that. Your experience there is nothing I can grasp.”
“I’ve told you all about that. I told you about Danis and the Hjan and—”
Boiyn nodded, his brow knitted in concentration. “Please. We don’t need to go through that. That threat is neutralized, is it not?”
Carth nodded. “For now. Eventually—”
Boiyn studied the table. “Eventually, each of us will take on a different task. Yours will require you to face someone powerful—perhaps more powerful than even you, Carthenne—while mine is something not quite as terrifying, at least not in the magical sense.”
“You’re almost starting to sound like Alayna,” Carth said.
Boiyn shook his head. “As I’ve told you, I don’t have any magical abilities. Certainly no ability with foretelling, as she has. This is merely a matter of seeing what we’ve faced and recognizing that there will be more to come, and that when it does, each of us must be prepared for the role we must play.”
Carth stared at him for a long time, thinking as she often did when Boiyn made statements like this that she would love for him to have an interest in playing Tsatsun. It was times like this, comments like the one he’d just made, that made her wonder whether he might ultimately be able to defeat her. He certainly had the mind for it, and with his ability to recall everything he’d ever seen, it was likely that he would remember moves that she made and probably learn quite quickly.
Footsteps on the stairs caused Carth to stand.
She reached the doors at the same time that Alayna entered. Her face was drawn and her green eyes seemed darker than usual, though that might be the light in the room. She shook her head when she entered and threw herself into a chair.
“I don’t know what happened to Jenna. I can’t find any word of anything, and I don’t See anything.”
“What did you learn?” Carth asked.
“The man she was sitting with works for a merchant. A man by the name of Alistan Rhain.”
Carth groaned.
“You’ve heard of him?”
“He’s the Collector.” Carth looked at the map, wishing that she had more information about the city. It made her own personal game board incomplete, and made it so that she didn’t know what she needed to do next. Information. That was what she needed right now, but it was the one thing that was difficult for them to acquire.
“Do you think they even know that Jenna is with us?” Linsay asked.
Carth sighed. “He asked about me.”
“Who?” Alayna asked. “The Collector?”
Carth nodded and told them about her conversation with Talia. As she described the woman’s injury, Alayna’s face became clouded, the way that it did anytime they encountered women who were abused. Alayna shared Carth’s mission and the desire to help everyone they could, to see if they could bring them to safety. It stemmed from some abuse that Alayna had endured but would not talk about. Eventually, Carth hoped that she could get Alayna to share, but there was no need to push.
“And you believe this woman?” Boiyn asked.
Alayna shot him a glare. “If the woman was attacked and bruised as Carth said, why would she not believe her?”
Boiyn raised his hands placatingly. “You know that I mean no offense, Alayna. Only, how do w
e know that she wasn’t using Carth?”
Carth shook her head. “I don’t think she was using me. I’m not unskilled at determining when someone is being honest with me.”
“I would never accuse you of that, Carthenne. It’s just that you have gained a reputation. Your particular reputation is one such that others know that you have a soft spot for abused women. Don’t you think it’s at least possible that this Collector has made the connection between a woman who can use both shadows and flame and Carthenne Rel?”
Carth didn’t think that it was likely, but she had learned that she couldn’t ignore any possibility. If Talia—and the Collector—had heard of her, it was possible that they had used that knowledge to try to play with her sympathies. But with what intent? She couldn’t envision a move where that would be necessary.
“I need to speak with him,” Carth said.
“And what do you hope to accomplish?” Boiyn asked.
“First, I need to know what happened to Jenna. And then I need to know what he’s after. He might have power here, but it’s incomplete. If he had complete power, he wouldn’t have someone like Talia stealing from merchants’ shops.” That was what troubled her. She didn’t know enough about the city to understand what the Collector might be after, or whether he was only after power, as Talia had said. Something told Carth that Talia had been honest with her, but she wouldn’t dismiss what Boiyn had suggested, as it was possible that Talia was playing her. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been played.
“How do you intend to find out?”
Carth could wander the city and try to find others who might share what they knew about the Collector, but doing so would take time, and as there was another place where she knew information could be gleaned, she wasn’t sure that taking that time was necessary.
“Alayna, I need you and Linsay to remain in the city. Keep your ears open for any word about Jenna, and if you find anything, see if you can’t rescue her.”
“And what of you?” Alayna asked.
Boiyn watched her with an interested expression. She hadn’t mentioned him intentionally. She would need Boiyn’s help for what she intended, though she wasn’t certain whether it would work.
“I intend to return to the smugglers’ village.”
“Carth—” Alayna began.
“It’s the only way that we can find out what we need.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Boiyn said.
“No? What other option would there be?” Carth asked.
“You know where this Collector has his compound. You could break in, have some words with him, and—”
Carth laughed, cutting him off. “I’ve seen the compound, Boiyn. I could make it past the gate, and I suspect I could make it through most of the yard, but I have no idea what he has at the house, so no way of knowing what fortifications he might keep there. Even if I managed to get through them, I don’t know enough about the Collector to know what he might be capable of.”
After experiencing the easy way the captain of the ship and the men with him had ignored her magic, she didn’t like her odds of making it all the way to the Collector unharmed. Even if she did, there was no telling what would happen when she attempted to depart.
“I only say it to suggest that there might be other things that you haven’t considered,” Boiyn said.
Carth nodded. “Consider me informed,” she said.
“When do you intend to do this?” Alayna asked.
Carth glanced from Boiyn to Linsay. “I’m not willing to leave Jenna for too long.”
“You intend to go now.” Alayna frowned at Carth, shaking her head. “In the middle of the night, knowing the dangers that we encountered when we tried going through there the last time?”
“The middle of the night is when I’m the most dangerous,” Carth said.
Alayna stared at her. “You know that’s not true.”
“I do?”
Alayna nodded. “You’re dangerous any time of day or night.”
13
Carth set the anchor near a pair of rocks that jutted out of the river. They were barely visible against the night, little more than blackened fingers poking above the surface of the water. She used the shadows to help her navigate and knew that with what she intended, she put her ship in danger. Not only her ship, but Boiyn.
He stood next to her on the deck, looking out at the night, a frown twisting his face. “You should take this,” he said, handing her a small vial.
“What is it?” Carth asked, taking the vial and bringing it to her nose. She took a deep breath. It smelled pungent and had hints of mint to it. It was nothing like what he had demonstrated to her before, though Boiyn was constantly experimenting, so she wasn’t surprised that he would have something new for her to try.
“I thought it would be best to try and improve your reaction time.”
“You think I’m too slow?” Carth asked with a smile.
“Not too slow, but without knowing what you might face, I thought that would be the best option to help. You have considerable strength with the shadows and with your flame magic, and I’ll admit that I have not discovered a way to enhance either of those abilities, not in a way that would be… safe. This, on the other hand, I think would be beneficial to you.”
Carth didn’t always like the idea of taking enhancements, especially not knowing how they might interfere with her natural abilities, but the last time she had been here, she had very nearly been captured. She had been able to force her way free and had never lost her connection to either the shadows or the flame, but to find answers—and be able to help Jenna—she needed to do more than simply escape from the smugglers. She needed answers to her questions.
Carth tipped the elixir back, drinking it in one gulp. It tasted just as pungent as it smelled, and she suspected the mint was only there to dilute the awfulness of it.
When she was done, she handed the vial back to Boiyn. “That’s awful.”
“It’s unfortunate that the things that work the best often taste the worst,” Boiyn said. “I wish it were different, but…” He shrugged. “The effects should begin in a few moments.”
“How certain are you that this will work?”
“I tested it on Linsay.”
“I recall. I was there. My concern is whether this will work for me.”
“There’s no reason from a physiological standpoint that it shouldn’t work for you. You are no different than Linsay.”
Carth arched a brow. “I think I’m a bit different than her.”
“Not from the standpoint of the elixir. It will enhance you the same way that it enhanced Linsay. The only difference is that you have your other abilities to account for.”
“How long will it last?”
“Linsay reported that it lingered for nearly two hours, but…”
“But?”
“This is where you might be different. You have proven the ability to burn off poisons. I suspect if you use your magic too strongly, you’ll burn off the effect of the enhancement as well.”
“Do you have others?”
“Only these two,” he said, handing her a pair of vials.
Both smelled the same as the first. She slipped them into her pocket. She would have to be careful that she didn’t break the glass, but that shouldn’t be too hard, just as long as she didn’t end up in a fight. And if she did, she would have to protect that side—or drink the elixirs.
“Stay with the ship. If anything comes aboard, you’re going to need to push them back.”
“I won’t fight, Carthenne.”
She smiled, though she didn’t know whether he could see it. “I’m not asking you to fight. I’m asking you to defend the ship.”
“They aren’t any different.”
“They are if you intend to get back.”
Boiyn studied her a moment without saying anything. “Be safe, Carthenne. I do not have the skills to navigate the ship back to the city.”
S
he stepped to the top of the railing, pulled on the shadows to strengthen her, and jumped.
Sailing through the air powered like this was always an interesting sensation. Wind whistled past and the darkened shape of the village loomed in front of her, though she couldn’t tell if anyone remained in the village or not. Had her attack on it caused the others to leave?
Carth landed on the sandy shore. It was farther than she had jumped the last time, though she didn’t know whether that was from the connection to the shadows or because of the enhancement Boiyn had given her. When she had been here before, Carth had been tired from swimming in the sea for hours before her rescue. This time, she’d had some rest.
The village was quiet.
She made her way forward, keeping herself cloaked. When she did, there was always a muted sense around her, but also an enhanced ability to hear things around her. She heard nothing that would make her think that anyone remained.
Carth focused on the connection to the flame, searching for others who might be in the village. Carth made her way from building to building, searching, but she found no sign of anyone else.
Had she wasted her time coming here?
Doing so put Jenna in greater danger and also risked Alayna and Linsay spending time alone in the city.
She hurried toward the tree line, where the ships were hidden, and found them missing. Without the ships, it was likely that the smugglers were gone.
Carth wandered back through the village, stopping in several of the buildings and finding most of them empty. A few random items remained, mostly scraps of clothing, though she found some food and, in one of the homes, a strange-looking knife. Carth ignored that, concerned that it might be poisoned, before moving on. She found the small building where she had discovered the captives. Blood still stained the floor and when she passed through the narrow doorway to the storeroom in the back, the hole she had blasted through the wall continued to let in the night.
Maybe there was something here that she could follow.
She hadn’t really expected the smugglers to have remained, not after what she had done to the village, but was still disappointed that there was no sign of them.
Shadow Hunted (The Collector Chronicles Book 1) Page 10