Shadow Blessed (The Shadow Accords Book 1)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Carth paused and pulled on the darkness. There was the sense of power against her, but now it seemed to emanate from deeper in the city again. Had she been mistaken? Had she missed something with the A’ras and somehow followed the wrong path?

  She wished Jhon were with her to help guide her, but he wouldn’t have allowed her to come with him. He didn’t think she should risk herself using the shadow magic, but Carth was meant to learn it. Her father had to have been teaching her that, hadn’t he? If she was shadow blessed, that meant that she could use the power of the darkness, that it was her birthright. Didn’t it?

  If only her father were still alive to teach her, to help her to understand why she could manipulate the shadows. Maybe he would have taught her using other games, thinking she would learn to control the darkness the same way she had learned to follow her mother, or find her father when he followed close behind her.

  There had been no game of shadows, nothing like the lessons he had worked on with her. Carth wondered when he would have begun teaching her those lessons—unless he had brought her to Nyaesh to keep her from them.

  She followed a narrow path leading along the river. This was where she had detected the A’ras magic, even if she didn’t detect it now.

  Voices drifted in the night and she froze. Carth considered pulling on the shadows, but decided against it. If Jhon could detect her when she did, others could as well. Rather than using her shadow skills, she crept slowly forward, trying to remain hidden in natural shadows. Moonlight shone brightly overhead, and she wore a gray cloak, one that would better fade into the shadows of the daylight rather than the blackness of night. She feared that the moonlight reflected off her cloak too brightly.

  Carth shrugged it off, standing only in her brown dress. This was better, but it was still too obvious. Better than with the cloak, though, and she tucked her braid down the back of her dress, wishing she had nevern oil and choclem leaves like she’d sought when she’d helped Kel mask his bruising. The choclem might be too dark for him—and for her—but it would help obscure her.

  The voices came from the other side of a small rise. The land was flat here, with little slope to it, barely enough to prevent anyone from noticing she was here. Were there any rocks, or anything else to hide behind, she might be able to make her way forward, but she had nothing to use.

  Only, there was one place she could hide as she made her way toward the voices.

  She glanced at the river. It rushed through here more violently than it did near the docks. Massive rocks lined the shore leading down toward the water. She’d been in the river twice before and could have died both times; should she really risk the river a third time?

  The sound of the voices came closer.

  Carth had to go somewhere. If she stayed here, whoever came along the street would discover her. If she tried racing back to the city, she likely wouldn’t make it before whoever was coming discovered her.

  As she climbed onto the rocks, she held on carefully. They were massive, and slick with water and algae. Another option came to her. She didn’t have to climb into the river, not if she could hide among the rocks. If she was willing to risk it, she could pull on the shadows and hide herself, but she feared someone like Jhon with the ability to detect her using that skill.

  As she pressed herself against the rock, she realized her mistake. Her cloak lay on the ground, near the path where she’d shaken it off.

  Swearing softly to herself, Carth climbed off the rock and back to the path. She snatched up her cloak and hurried back to the shore, where she slipped as she tried getting back into a hiding place between a pair of enormous slick rocks.

  The voices she heard paused.

  Had they heard her?

  Carth froze, fearing the worst. If they heard her, she might have to shroud herself with shadows to keep safe.

  The soft murmuring resumed.

  She started along the rock, pulling herself carefully so that she wouldn’t make too much noise. She climbed from rock to rock, pausing in the darkest spaces between the rocks and listening before moving on. Eventually, she got close enough that she heard the voices clearly.

  “You should be more careful.”

  Carth recognized Jhon’s voice and lowered her head. Would he be angry that she’d followed him here?

  “As should you. I am allowed in the city.” A woman spoke in a terse fashion. Carth had heard the voice before but didn’t know where.

  “My presence is tolerated.”

  “Tolerated is not the same as welcome,” the woman said.

  Carth wanted to know when she had heard the woman’s voice before. Peeking her head above the rock, she saw Jhon walking with the woman. He was dressed the same as when she’d last seen him and stood near a small wooden building that seemed out of place here, beyond the edge of the city.

  She glanced back toward the city and realized that it would be difficult—if not impossible—to reach the building other than by climbing the rocks as she did.

  The woman had her back to Carth and wore a long, plain cloak. Deep brown or black hair hung in waves beyond her shoulders, tied up with a dark ribbon.

  “You know why I came.”

  “As I said, you should be more careful.”

  “What of you? Are you careful?” Jhon asked.

  “As careful as I can be given the circumstances. You know as well as I what we face. They have proven more troublesome than we expected.”

  “Only because you expected nothing,” Jhon said.

  “There is that.”

  “I have found one of their men, but not the other.”

  “You think they have only come in a pair?” the woman asked. She paced slowly back and forth in front of the building before pausing in front of Jhon.

  “I would know if there were others.”

  “I am not convinced that you would,” she said.

  “Have you discovered anything from the other?”

  The woman began pacing again, always managing to stay out of the moonlight. Did she control the shadows the same as Carth? Was that why he had come to her?

  “He refuses us so far. That will change.”

  “Have you discovered how you caught him?” Jhon asked.

  That seemed a strange question to ask, but stranger still was the woman’s answer.

  “We found him on the street, staving off death. We have not discovered the trick of that yet, but we will. Then we will find the other.”

  “He is more skilled than you can understand.”

  “Do you think I don’t know that?”

  The woman started moving again, this time putting more space between herself and Jhon. She made her way toward the river, and still Carth couldn’t make out her features, leaving her covered in darkness. As the woman approached, Carth felt a twinge of energy in the air. She’d felt it before, but always when there were A’ras around, and this woman… could she be one of the A’ras?

  She continued toward the river.

  Carth ducked down, trying to hide herself. Over the sound of water rushing along the river, she heard footsteps. The woman came close.

  “They seek to draw those with A’ras ability from the city,” Jhon said.

  “We would know if that were the case.”

  “Would you? How many have you lost? They smuggle the Reshian as well, using the guise of common thieves. Had I not seen it myself…”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “Perhaps nothing. I tracked them here for us to see ourselves.”

  “That wasn’t why you called me here.”

  “No. There’s another reason. You never told me that she was to be tested.”

  “Would it have mattered?”

  “I would have brought her to you. Leaving her along the docks…”

  The woman paused and peered into the darkness. Had she seen Carth?

  Carth pulled on the shadows, reaching for the barest edge as she sunk into the darkness, trying to hide her entire body not
only between the rocks, but also beneath the blanket of shadows.

  The sense of energy in the air increased and her skin grew tight.

  Carth held her breath. There was no question now that one of the A’ras was here. Was it the woman? Could Jhon have gone to them? But why?

  Then again, what did she really know about Jhon? He had mysterious knowledge and skills, but he hadn’t shared anything about himself. Maybe he sided with the A’ras. Yet she had seen him attack the A’ras, hadn’t she?

  The other possibility, that the A’ras had discovered Jhon, seemed less likely. He would have known, wouldn’t he?

  “What is it?” Jhon asked. His voice came through to her in a muted fashion, the strange pressure on the air from the cloaking of shadows obscuring it somewhat.

  “I feel… something.”

  “What do you feel?” Jhon asked.

  He had approached, making his voice louder, but still muted while Carth hung in the shroud of shadows.

  Had the woman detected her using the shadow cloaking?

  She eased away some of the shadows, still holding on to them, but with less of a connection than she’d had before. The strange, muted voice changed as well.

  The energy in the air increased, and Carth’s skin felt stretched even tighter.

  Definitely an A’ras.

  Why would Jhon be with her?

  “Perhaps it was nothing,” the woman said.

  “What did you feel?” Jhon asked again.

  Carth wished she could recede into the depths of the shadows, pulling away from the A’ras and from Jhon, but where would she go other than into the water?

  “There was a surge of power. It is gone now.”

  Carth heard footsteps along the rocks nearest her and recognized them as Jhon’s. She tried moving, glancing back to see the dark outline of a boat in the water. As she did, a chill washed over her and then was gone, faded as if nothing more than her imagination.

  As it faded, someone grabbed her shoulders and lifted her easily.

  Carth resisted the urge to cry out. Doing so would do no good. Then Jhon set her onto the ground facing the A’ras, the same woman who had chased her through the city after she’d found the herbalist shop destroyed. Carth glared at him, unable to believe that he had betrayed her.

  24

  Carth stared at Jhon, who looked at her with an unreadable expression. “Why?” she demanded.

  He arched a brow as he frowned. “You shouldn’t have come here. If he catches you—”

  “This is her?” the A’ras said.

  Carth couldn’t take her eyes off the A’ras and found her gaze drifting to the slender sword sheathed at her side. Where she’d been, along the water, she hadn’t been able to see it, but now… now the blade almost pressed upon her senses.

  She resisted the urge to reach for the knife in her pocket.

  “This is her,” Jhon said.

  Carth needed to get away, but Jhon would know, wouldn’t he?

  Only, there were other things that she’d discovered about her ability.

  Reaching for the shadows, she started to sink into them.

  The A’ras stepped toward her, reaching for her sword.

  Jhon darted toward Carth.

  She couldn’t wait. As she relaxed into the shadows, she jumped.

  The last time she had done the same, she had managed to jump much farther than she’d thought she should. This time, the jump carried her over the A’ras. She cleared the woman’s head and landed close to the small wooden building.

  Carth ran.

  Jhon called after her, but Carth didn’t hesitate. Instead, she pulled on the shadows, for the first time feeling them coalesce around her as she moved, managing to maintain the connection as she ran. But it was more than running. She flowed within the shadows, a part of them in some ways. The jump had been a part of the shadows, using the insubstantial power from within the darkness to carry her beyond Jhon and the A’ras.

  At the building, she had started to weave around the side when she heard a familiar voice.

  “Taryn?” she whispered.

  Carth slammed into the door, pressing through it, all while holding on to the darkness. Wrapped as she was in the shadows, she easily kicked the door open and ran into the room.

  And froze.

  Taryn wasn’t the only person here.

  Carth lost control of the shadows. They drifted away from her, quickly easing back into the night.

  Had Jhon known?

  She spun, pulling the knife from her pocket as she faced the doorway. Jhon stood watching her, the A’ras woman behind him. Carth was surprised to see that her sword remained sheathed.

  “Why did you do this?” she whispered to Jhon.

  “This is not what you think.”

  “That’s your answer?” Carth snapped. “This isn’t what I think? What is it, then?”

  Jhon stepped to the side. “This is about why you came to Nyaesh.”

  “Why I came… I came because my parents brought me here.”

  “They did,” Jhon said.

  Carth couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. She stood outlined against the night, and Carth realized the ribbon in her hair was the maroon of the A’ras. Her hand rested on the hilt of her sword. “Why would you pretend to help me?”

  “I have been helping you,” Jhon said.

  Carth risked looking over her shoulder at the three children huddled there. Taryn met her eyes, but the others looked away, frightened.

  “Helping me? It looks like you’re doing the same as the others. What is it about the children of the city?”

  When she looked back to Jhon, she noted the angry glint in his eyes. He managed to mask his emotions well, so for him to show such emotion made her nervous. “Power converges here, Carthenne, power that many would like to harness. I hadn’t known about it until you brought me to the docks. I have you to thank for revealing what they intend.”

  “You’re working with the A’ras!”

  “As you would have.”

  Carth shook her head. “I never would have worked with the A’ras. My parents—”

  Jhon’s eyes softened, only a little. “Brought you to Nyaesh to work with the A’ras. They were in contact with Avera—”

  Carth couldn’t stop shaking her head. “The A’ras killed my parents!” She held the knife out in front of her and her hand trembled. “I saw what happened to them! I was there when the A’ras killed my mother!”

  The woman took a step toward Carth, and Carth jabbed at her with her knife. There was little she could do to protect herself if the A’ras attacked her, but she would try, even if it meant using the A’ras weapon against her.

  The woman raised her hands.

  Carth froze. Would the A’ras use her magic on her?

  “We did not harm your mother,” the woman said. “Another did.”

  “I was there!”

  “You saw what came after. You were to be tested. Your mother came to us, wanting you trained. After what happened in Ih-lash, and the fighting with Reshian, she wanted you to be trained. But entry to the A’ras is difficult, even for those educated within Nyaesh, and you were an outsider. Few were willing to offer testing; fewer still expected you to pass. She thought to teach you more before the testing.”

  “No. I saw what happened. I saw my mother—”

  “You saw what Felyn did to your mother,” Jhon said.

  Carth shivered at the mention of his name. Felyn had been there the day her parents were killed—the one who had dispatched three of the A’ras as easily as if they had no magic, and the man Carth had sought for weeks after her parents died, hoping she could ask for his help in getting revenge.

  “That wasn’t him,” she said. “I saw—”

  “You saw him attack the A’ras,” Jhon said. “Your mother was gone by the time they arrived. He’s been working with the Thevers, smuggling those with A’ras potential from the city. You would have been a valuable find.”

&
nbsp; “Why?” Carth still clutched her knife and held it out, wanting nothing more than to stab the A’ras as she had stabbed the others.

  “Because of who you are,” the woman said.

  “No. I don’t believe—”

  “There is no believing or disbelieving. Only what happened,” the woman said.

  Carth shook her head, struggling with what they were telling her. Could her parents really have brought her to Nyaesh so that she could work with the A’ras?

  Her father had taught her to fear the A’ras… hadn’t he?

  Do not let them see you. There is power in hiding. Use the shadows.

  His words drifted into her mind as if he were standing right next to her. Would her father have wanted her to work with them?

  “Your mother sought our help in your education,” the woman went on. “There are many who come thinking that they can learn from the A’ras, but few actually manage it.”

  Carth looked past the woman and focused on Jhon. “You taught me to hide from them!”

  “I helped you find your ability. That is all I did.”

  “That’s not what you did. You showed me how to reach the shadows and how to use that to conceal myself.”

  “You already knew those tricks. I only allowed you to see the extent of what you were capable of doing. I am not shadow blessed, Carth of Ih-lash. I would not have been able to teach you what you can do, or how to advance your skills, but the A’ras can.”

  It all still seemed too much. Jhon had helped hide her from the A’ras. He had explained what the A’ras intended, and how they used their magic. Why would he work with them?

  She looked back at Taryn. It had to do with her, didn’t it? Whatever Jhon wanted had some connection to Taryn. Maybe not only Taryn, but to Stiv, and the others who had gone missing.

  “Why do you have her here?” she demanded.

  “They would use them,” the A’ras said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know what is meant. You have seen him and seen what he is willing to do.”

  “Felyn?”

  “That is the name he uses in these lands.”