Shadow Hunted (The Collector Chronicles Book 1)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “I will try it,” she said. “How much should I use?”

  “I think… I think only a sprinkling will be necessary. You see, I think it’s a combination of the—”

  Carth raised a hand, silencing him. “I don’t have time now, but I am happy to hear about it later,” she told him.

  Boiyn nodded.

  Carth glanced at Alayna. “You have the helm?”

  Alayna waved her away. “Go.”

  Carth used shadow and flame and exploded to the next nearest ship. This one had greater flames engulfing it, and, using a combination of the shadows and the flame, she had to create a barrier around herself to seal herself away from the power of the heat. She unstoppered the jar and began dusting the ship. At first, nothing happened. The flames continued to burn, and continued to push on her, threatening to overwhelm her ability to compensate.

  Then they began to flicker and die out.

  Boiyn had been right.

  Carth smiled to herself. She hurried along the ship, sprinkling the powder, and the flames began to be extinguished. She found someone moaning near the railing and ignored them, wanting to put out the flames before helping. She raced below, continuing to sprinkle the powder, and when she was done, she raced back above deck. The Goth Spald pulled alongside now that the flames had died.

  “There are several people aboard,” Carth called over. “I need to keep using this powder to see how many more I can help.”

  Alayna looked up at Jenna and the mast, but one of the smugglers stepped forward. He was an older man with deep wrinkles around his eyes and darkly tanned skin. He wore an earring in each ear, large golden hoops that were nearly the size of his eyes, and there was a seriousness about him.

  “Let some of us stay. You helped us; let us help them.”

  Carth nodded quickly and the smugglers climbed aboard. When they finished, Carth returned to the Spald and searched the harbor for another ship to help. When she found the next nearest, she sent an explosion of shadow and flame, landing on board.

  As with the last ship, she began to sprinkle the powder, working from deck to deck as she went, putting out the flames. It happened quickly, much more quickly than Carth would have been able to do with her own connection to magic, and the flames flickered and died. As they did, the Spald pulled up alongside her and several of the smugglers climbed aboard, taking over much as they had the last time. Carth nodded to each of them briefly before jumping back onto her ship.

  She turned, searching the harbor. There were probably eight ships remaining, all of them in various states of destruction. She searched, knowing that she had to plan this just right. If she didn’t, if she chose the wrong ship, people would die.

  Carth tried to envision the various ships as pieces on the Tsatsun board, playing them out. How could she achieve the objective that she had in mind: keeping the ships from sinking?

  She watched for a moment, long enough to see how the flames burned.

  Then she jumped. She moved along the ship, dusting it with Boiyn’s powder, and the flames began to be extinguished. With each ship she put out, more smugglers came on board, helping to secure the ship and aiding those who were injured. On each of the ships other than the first, she found people alive, though most were suffering from smoke inhalation or other injuries.

  By the sixth ship, Carth was mostly reacting. She had jumped to it and started dusting the deck when she saw a woman pop out from below deck and point a crossbow at her.

  “I’m here to help,” Carth said.

  “I know.”

  The woman triggered the crossbow and the bolt streaked toward her.

  Carth sent a surge of flame toward the bolt, but it failed.

  The bolt struck her in the stomach and she screamed. She sent a surge of flame through the injury, trying to seal it off, but it didn’t work the way it normally did. She reached for the bolt and tore it back out of her, tossing it into the water. Flames burned her insides. Carth scrambled, reaching for the pot of powder that Boiyn had concocted, and dusted her injury. She doused the flames and then was able to push her connection to the S’al through it, removing the rest of her injury.

  Only then could she look up. She found several women aiming crossbows at her. Carth recognized one of them.

  “You.”

  The woman smiled. “You probably shouldn’t have helped us,” she said.

  “You work for the Collector.”

  “They made the mistake of attacking us.”

  “They didn’t kill any of your people,” Carth said.

  “No. We took care of those who thought they would share more than they needed to.”

  Carth’s eyes widened. The smugglers hadn’t harmed anyone at all. It had been the Collector and his people. “Why?”

  “You won’t live to understand.”

  Carth sent an explosion of shadow and flame, pushing it out in an ever-expanding band around her, such that the explosion forced the three women away from her. If nothing else, she wanted to prevent them from firing their crossbows.

  She was weakened. The hit in her stomach had sapped her strength, and Carth wasn’t sure that she would be able to fight were it necessary. Her best bet was to escape, but she looked around, searching for help, and there was none. Anyone who might come to her aid was not here.

  She swore under her breath as she pushed through the shadows and the flame, trying to draw on strength from her magic and finding that it failed her. It never failed her.

  That wasn’t true. It had never failed her prior to coming to Keyall. Not without someone poisoning her. Since coming to Keyall, her magic had failed her far more often than she cared to admit.

  Carth managed to stand and look around, but the women were missing.

  She heard a solid twang, the sound of a crossbow bolt being fired. She surged on her magics and leapt into the air. Where she had been standing, two crossbow bolts struck. Had she not moved, one of them would have connected. Would she have had enough magic to extinguish them? Both were burning, and if she did nothing, the flames would consume the ship.

  But why?

  There was only one answer that Carth could come up with, only one objective.

  They had intended to draw her here.

  Which meant they had another ship.

  Carth jumped, clinging to the mast. When she did, she looked down and saw not one ship but two approaching. In the distance—far too distant for her liking—was the Spald. Alayna wouldn’t reach her in time, and Carth wasn’t certain that she had the strength to make the jump back.

  She reached into the jar that Boiyn had given her and dusted herself with the powder. If nothing else, she would keep herself from being burned by another crossbow bolt. She thought that she could at least do that. On a whim, she dipped her finger into the powder and licked it. A strange tingling washed over her. For a moment, her connection to the flame wavered, and then she managed to solidify it. Had she extinguished her connection to the flame by using this powder that would counter it?

  If she lived, it would be something to consider.

  She dropped to the deck and searched for the women. She saw no sign of them. The two other ships approached, neither of them burning. How had she missed them in the harbor? Carth knew the answer. She’d been so focused on the burning ships that she hadn’t looked for any that might not be on fire. She might have seen them but not registered them. She’d been far too focused on this aspect.

  And she knew better. This was a part of the game that she played well when she was the one to place the distractions.

  Could she do it now?

  She was weak, but somehow, she needed to buy time until the Spald reached her and she could go for help. Carth had no qualms about unleashing Jenna upon them.

  What she could do was what they had pretended to do in the first place. Carth could damage the ship before the others arrived.

  She sent an explosion through the deck, sending it through the lower levels and allowing the ocean to su
rge into the hull.

  She was rewarded with a shout. Carth raced toward the sound and found the women on one of the lower decks, trying to seal off the damage but failing.

  “Who is he?” Carth asked.

  The nearest woman glanced over at her and then turned back to her work. Carth sent a surge of shadows toward her, trying to wrap her in them the way that she had so often in the past, but the shadows shifted away as if she had no control.

  “Who is he?” she asked again. This time, she added a hint of the flame to the shadows and sent an explosion at the nearest person. She staggered, but not nearly as much as Carth would have expected. Did she have some way of resisting Carth’s magic?

  Others within Keyall had shown resistance to her magic, so she wasn’t surprised that this woman might, but if she worked for the Collector, that would be surprising, especially as those within Keyall who shared resistance did not work for the Collector.

  Water continued pouring in.

  Her magic wouldn’t work against these women, not without using significant force, but could she try a different strategy?

  Carth focused on the side of the ship and sent another explosion of shadow and flame through it. A massive hole formed and water rushed in. The three women all turned toward her. The nearest pulled out a pair of knives and flicked one toward Carth, but Carth ignored them, twisting so that she could duck out of the way. The other two pulled swords.

  “Who is he?” she asked.

  The women started toward her, not saying a thing.

  Carth sighed and jumped.

  She reached the top deck and looked over at the oncoming ships. Both were near enough that she could reach them. She sent an explosion through the hull of the nearest, much as she had with this ship. Water began surging through it, and movement on board told Carth that they were aware of what she was doing. A few crossbow bolts streaked toward her, but none came close to hitting her.

  She found two women, both youthful in appearance, and neither of them among the women that she had seen in the smugglers’ camp. The nearest was dark-haired and had hazel eyes, and she was dressed in tight-fitting breeches that accentuated her curves. The other wore a plain dress and glared at Carth with deep brown eyes.

  “Who is he?”

  Neither woman answered, both unsheathing swords as they started toward her.

  As she prepared an explosion, something struck the ship and sent Carth staggering to the side.

  She looked over and saw that the ship she had attempted to sink with an explosion had rammed the other.

  That wasn’t quite right. They hadn’t rammed it with the intent of sinking it; they had rammed it with the intent of unsettling Carth.

  The two women both started toward her.

  Carth jumped off to the side.

  The women moved quickly, countering.

  Carth summoned shadows, attempting to wrap the women in them, but they dissipated. Between her magic failing and the strength that she had needed to use to keep herself alive, she was growing increasingly weak.

  She heard the firing of a crossbow.

  Carth couldn’t wait. She flung herself into the water.

  As she dove, she went deeper and deeper, trying to get beneath the attack, giving herself time before the Spald appeared. She held her breath, feeling her lungs burn, and waited. She would stay as long as she could. She would buy herself as much time as possible.

  Carth lost track of time. She stayed below the water until her lungs no longer burned, and then stayed even longer.

  Eventually, she had to come to the surface.

  When she did, she felt hands reaching for her. At first, she struggled, until she realized that it was people she recognized.

  Jenna pulled her onto the deck of the Goth Spald.

  “Go. You need to destroy—”

  “Rest,” Jenna said, cupping her hands on Carth’s stomach.

  “I’m fine. I sealed off the injury. But if we don’t get to them, we don’t have any way of finding the Collector.” That wasn’t quite true, but it was near enough to it.

  Jenna’s eyes widened and she stood briefly before returning to Carth. “They were with the Collector?”

  Carth nodded. “They were. There were three ships.”

  Jenna sighed. “There is one, and it’s leaving the harbor. If we chase it, then we lose the chance to help the other six ships burning here.”

  The answer was easy, but at the same time it was difficult.

  “Save these ships.”

  “Are you sure?” Jenna asked.

  “We have to save the ships. And we can let the ship that returned to the Collector know that Keyall is under the protection of Carthenne Rel.”

  “That would be more impressive if you hadn’t nearly died.”

  Carth laughed softly. “Many things would be more impressive if I didn’t nearly die.”

  “True.” She helped Carth to sit. She looked around, noting that the Spald was emptier than it had been in days. All around her ship were the others, those that she had saved, now captained by the smugglers she had rescued. She had created a fleet, enough of a threat that it had scared the Collector’s people away.

  Carth smiled to herself. It wasn’t the kind of threat that she had intended, but it would be enough. It had to be enough.

  She clasped Jenna in a hug and then made her way toward Alayna. “Thank you,” she said.

  “For following you?”

  “For not letting me die here in the harbor of Keyall.”

  “I don’t think you’re ever in any danger of dying.”

  “I’m not so certain of that. They have some resistance to my magic. And they have elixirs—or other concoctions—that are much like what Boiyn creates. It makes them more dangerous than anyone we’ve faced.”

  “Even more dangerous than the Hjan?”

  Carth shrugged. “Maybe not quite that dangerous, but for these people, they are.”

  “What now?” Alayna asked.

  “Now we will try to convince the constable that we can help. We will try to convince the smugglers that they should help.”

  “I don’t think that will be quite as difficult as you think,” Alayna said. She was pointing toward the city, and Carth looked over to see the constable standing at the end of one of the docks, surrounded by several other constables. He stared out at the harbor, a deep frown on his face. Eventually, his gaze returned to Carth, and though he didn’t appear angry, he didn’t appear pleased, either.

  “I’m not sure that he is all that excited about our presence here.”

  “Maybe not,” Alayna said. “But his city is intact. His harbor is intact. And once we send word to the merchants we’ve encountered, trade will resume in Keyall. Maybe it doesn’t matter if he’s pleased with your presence.”

  Carth smiled. Alayna was right. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that the people of Keyall no longer suffered from what the Collector had done. All that mattered was that the Collector had recognized that attacking the city would not be done without consequence. She was here, and she would protect the city.

  Boiyn approached, the hood of his cloak pulled up over his head, and she embraced him briefly. “Thank you.”

  “It worked. I thought it would, but Linsay didn’t.”

  “Why would you question yourself?”

  “Normally, I wouldn’t, but Linsay had also been the one who thought that my elixir for Jenna wouldn’t be effective.”

  Carth understood. And she had been right. “It worked. All that matters is that it worked.”

  “What now? Do you intend for us to return to Asador and the rest of the Binders?”

  Carth looked around at the sea and the smugglers who were now arranged around her. There were six ships, each with various levels of damage, but they were salvageable. They still floated. Altogether, they created a fleet of sorts. If she pushed, she was optimistic that she could convince the smugglers to assist her, and all she wanted was to prevent the Colle
ctor from continuing to obstruct trade.

  But she would need to remain here to ensure that it was effective.

  “Eventually, but not quite yet. We’ll send word. And we still need to find out more about the Collector, including who he is. When we do, then we have to stop him.”

  And she had a question of Talia. She had known where Carth was going. Was she responsible for inviting the Collector into Keyall?

  Carth stared at Boiyn for a long moment. “I will need your help. I will need the help of all of you to do this.”

  “We’ll help. Of course we’ll help.”

  “Even if it means the constables don’t want us here?”

  Boiyn grinned. “I’m not sure that anyone has ever wanted your presence, Carth. At least, not until they needed it.”

  She laughed. At least now, she believed that she would have help in Keyall. It wasn’t quite the same help that she was accustomed to having—and it wasn’t her Binders—but it was help. Now she somehow had to find a way to get the constables to work with her. Then she could truly begin to feel comfortable with their position within Keyall.

  “Carth?”

  Alayna handed her a spyglass. Carth took it and followed the direction of her pointing finger.

  “I Saw something, but wasn’t sure what it meant,” Alayna said softly.

  “What did you See?”

  “Just look.”

  High overhead, near a set of ruins that Carth had seen when exploring the city, she saw a figure looking down at the sea. Talia.

  And she wasn’t alone.

  Standing next to her, watching from her side, was the merchant Alistan Rhain.

  Carth shivered.

  Could she have been wrong about him?

  As she watched, they turned away, fading back into the city.

  Carth set the spyglass back down with a sigh.

  “What are you going to do?” Alayna asked.

  “I don’t know. There’s something more here than what I understand.”

  “Which is even more reason to stay.”

  “It is.”

  “We’ve stopped the Collector, Carth. We should feel good about that,” Alayna said. “Trade can resume and we can get word to the Binders in the north. That’s enough, isn’t it?”