And another Slide, this time crossing the plain. In the distance, the terrain seemed to rise and get rocky.
Another Slide took him to the rocks. The air smelled… wet? He paused. He should return to Jessa, but was that the sound of rushing water he heard?
He Slid again, and this time, he emerged on a rocky slope. Massive stones scattered around him, lit by pale, silver moonlight, looking as if some enormous creature had thrown them around. Below him, a wide river flowed, splashing and burbling loudly in the otherwise silent night. Rsiran hoped this was the Thyrass.
This was as far as he was willing to go. He’d been gone from Jessa for moments, but he didn’t like the idea of her left without him, not with a stranger she barely knew. Even if Brusus trusted Thom. And now that he’d been here, he could Slide back fairly easily once he had Jessa and Thom.
He listened for the sense of lorcith, waiting for the pull of Jessa’s knife to call to him. For a moment, he couldn’t sense it. Something seemed to blanket his sense of lorcith, as if diffusing it. He couldn’t get a clear fix on the knife.
Panic rose up in him, similar to what he’d felt when Josun had taken her. He steadied his breathing. Likely a simple answer rather than something sinister. He’d never tested sensing for lorcith on her from a distance, especially now that he’d crafted her a chain out of the heartstone alloy. Perhaps the heartstone blocked him in some ways.
He strained, pushing through the strange fog obfuscating the sense of lorcith he knew was out there. And then, distantly, he sensed it.
Using it as an anchor, as he often did with his forged pieces, Rsiran Slid.
When he emerged, he had two of his blades ready to push at whatever might be blocking his sense of the lorcith knife. He stood within the trees again, just past the border of the forest. An owl hooted. Leaves rustled around him.
His panic returned when he couldn’t see Jessa. He reached for the charm he knew she’d be wearing and felt it not ten paces from him.
“Jessa?” he whispered.
A shadow materialized. Had he been Sighted, he might have been able to see her before now. She stood, long-bladed knife in hand. When she approached, he noticed a wild and anxious expression in her eyes. Thom wasn’t nearby.
“Rsiran?”
“Where’s Thom? I think I found the Thyrass River. He said we could follow that to Thyr.”
She shook her head. “There’s something out here. When you Slid, we heard it moving in the trees. Thom went to look. I haven’t seen him since.”
Rsiran frowned. He couldn’t have been gone more than a few minutes. In that time, they lost Thom. The one person he knew who might be able to help them reach Venass and find a way to reach the antidote.
“Where did you go?” he asked.
“I heard something and thought I could find him.” She shook her head. “This place is strange, Rsiran. The trees seem to work against my Sight. Shadows slip around everything.”
He frowned, wondering how that was possible. “Let’s get out of the forest and give Thom a chance to reach us.”
“If he doesn’t?”
Rsiran didn’t want to think of what they’d need to do if Thom didn’t return. He wouldn’t give up on helping Brusus—not now—but their chance of success went down without his help.
They Slid back through the trees. When they stepped past the edge of the forest, almost a hard line where the trees ended and the grassy plain began, a knot loosened in his chest that he hadn’t known was there.
Rsiran spun, turning to face the trees. A faint sound, almost a rustling of leaves, fluttered but no wind blew across his face. A sense of movement flickered in the forest. He had the vague crawling sensation on the back of his neck again.
Jessa was right. Something was there.
Rsiran readied his knives, but he couldn’t do anything if he couldn’t see anything. And so far, all he had was the sense of another presence.
“What’s in there?” he whispered to Jessa.
She stood next to him, one hand gripping the sleeve of his shirt. She knew from experience how quickly he could Slide them to safety. He always felt secure when she was by his side.
But she wasn’t always there, was she?
She hadn’t been there when his father had first pushed him out, telling him he wasn’t welcome… that he was cursed. She hadn’t been there with him in the dark of Ilphaesn, nothing but the sound of hammers striking at distant mines, only the call of lorcith for company. She hadn’t been there when the shackles held him in place on Firell’s ship, preventing him from moving. She hadn’t been there when the terrifying fear of failing her had nearly overwhelmed him. And she hadn’t been there when he’d had to confront…
Rsiran shook his head. Where had those thoughts come from?
He felt a tug on his arm and turned to see Jessa slowly sinking to the ground. A look of horror came across her face, making her eyes wide. Her mouth worked wordlessly. A light sheen covered her forehead. She stared into the forest, otherwise frozen in place.
Rsiran grabbed her hand to keep her from pulling away from him. What did she see?
What did it matter? He couldn’t see anything. Always blind. And Jessa made sure he knew that. Just like everyone else—his sister, his mother, his father, probably even Brusus and the rest of them. Made him wonder why he even bothered coming here, so far from everything he knew, risking his life, exposing him for… what, exactly? When had Brusus ever risked himself for Rsiran? Or Jessa…
But Jessa had risked herself for him. Why would he think these things?
A cold sweat washed over him as he understood. With an effort, he slammed a barrier in his mind, and then added to it the sense of heartstone. Doing this was different from using a lorcith barrier. With that, the barrier in his mind had always seemed imagined. Using the alloy—adding heartstone—felt like he dragged it from deep within him, an effort that he never had when pulling on lorcith.
Without waiting another moment, he Slid.
They emerged on the rocks near the bank of the river. The air smelled clear and crisp, no longer holding the edge of the forest, the sense of decay from fallen leaves. Now a gentle wind did blow steadily at him, fluttering against his clothes and rustling his hair.
He listened, waiting to see if the terrible thoughts and fears would return. They didn’t.
Hesitantly, he lowered the heartstone barrier. Holding that in place was more difficult than simply the lorcith barrier. Working with lorcith nearly daily, sensing it constantly, made it a part of him. He had no idea how he used it to enforce the barrier, only that when he discovered how to add heartstone to his mental barrier, even Della hadn’t been able to Read him. With heartstone added, he suspected it acted much like the alloy, preventing even the most powerful Readers from entering his mind. Or more than that.
Jessa blinked slowly, as if awakening from a dream. Her eyes slowly narrowed, and she wiped a hand across her head. She let out a shaky breath and turned to look at him. She didn’t let go of his hand. “You’re leaving Thom?”
He let out a pent up breath. It came out as a jagged sigh. “Not leaving him. Not yet. But there was someone—or something—Pushing on us.”
Jessa frowned. In the moonlight, he saw her bite her lip as she did. No flower was woven into the charm tonight. She’d taken it out before they left, not wanting the scent to risk giving them away. One hand fingered the hilt of the knife tucked into the band of her pants. “Pushed? Like what you do with lorcith?”
“Not like that. This is different. Like what Brusus does with everyone, but stronger. Darker.” A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold worked through him.
Her eyes widened, and he knew she understood. “How do you know?”
He looked back toward the forest. Part of him could sense that darkness back there, as if it still dipped toward his mind, threatening to Push the dark thoughts back into him again. The forest was nothing but a memory from here. He closed his eyes, thinking of the Slide, li
stening for lorcith. At first, he’d thought maybe Jessa’s heartstone chain had diffused his ability to sense it, but now he realized that wasn’t it at all.
The strange diffusion of his sense of lorcith was still there, like a mist shrouding everything. He focused, trying to strain and pierce through the fog. This time, he had nothing to anchor to and he failed.
Rsiran swallowed. “Didn’t you feel it? The pressing fear working through us?”
Jessa’s eyes widened slightly, and he knew she’d felt it as well. He wondered what scared Jessa. Not the same as scared him. Did she fear being stranded in the dark, trapped within Ilphaesn with no way to escape, only her Sight keeping her from going mad? Or did she fear Josun’s taunts, words meant to frighten? Rsiran had little doubt the man had said plenty to torment her, but Jessa spoke nothing about those experiences. Maybe the fear she’d felt was older, tied to whatever had brought her and Brusus together in the first place.
Whatever she’d felt, the way her face twisted told him she’d felt the same as he had.
“How… how did you know?”
“Those thoughts weren’t mine,” he answered. Not thoughts of Jessa abandoning him. She would not do that, not after all that they’d been through.
But what had she seen? What left the edge of horror in her eyes?
“We left Thom behind us. In there… with whatever did that to us.”
Rsiran hated the idea of leaving Thom there alone. Would he be as susceptible as they had been to whatever Pushed on them or was he left alone?
But worse than that, without Thom, neither of them would know how to reach Thyr in time. Neither of them would be able to find Venass. Certainly not before morning. And Brusus didn’t have any more time for them to spare.
Rsiran turned to Jessa, but her face reflected what he felt. Both were already resigned to the fact that they’d failed.
Chapter 9
“I have to go back for him,” Rsiran said.
Jessa looked over at him, shaking her head as she did. “You can’t go back. What happens if whatever is there…”
He touched her hand and offered a smile. It felt forced, especially not knowing what he would have to face. Something with the ability to Push darkness on his thoughts.
“I can barrier my mind.” He spoke more confidently than he felt, but he would have to try.
Jessa shook her head. “No, Rsiran. We can’t go back there.”
“Not we.”
She grabbed onto his hand, as if afraid that he’d Slide from her without warning. “You’re not going anywhere without me,” she said.
“I can’t protect you from this. And we need Thom to find Venass.”
“He told you how to find it. We can just—”
“Leave him?” Rsiran finished. “Sacrifice him for Brusus? What would Brusus say if he found out that we did?”
She glanced to the ground. “We wouldn’t have to tell him.”
Rsiran pulled her to him. “You can wait here. I won’t be gone long. I’ll Slide, see what I can find, and search for Thom.”
Her body tensed and she shivered. “What if you don’t—you can’t—return? What happens to me then?”
Rsiran couldn’t leave her here. Not without knowing she would be safe.
He squeezed her hand and Slid, emerging in the heart of the Aisl Forest. The damp earth smelled clean and healthy compared to the forest where they’d lost Thom. A howl erupted, and Jessa jumped, twisting to look around her.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“Wait here. I’ll return after I find Thom.”
“And if you don’t return?”
Rsiran didn’t want to think about what would happen if he didn’t. It likely meant that whatever darkness existed in the forest had swallowed him as well. He didn’t think that he could withstand it if his barrier failed, not without more strength than he possessed.
“If I don’t, then you’ll go to Della’s, and be there for Brusus in the time he has remaining.”
He hugged her close and kissed her forehead before releasing her. She let go of his hand slowly. When he Slid, the colors swirling past him, he could almost see the pain on her face.
When he emerged from the Slide, the forest loomed in front of him. He made certain to emerge where the forest started, and stood, watching the steady swaying of the trees for a moment. As soon as he emerged, the darkness started to Push on him, but this time, Rsiran had been ready. He pressed the mental barriers into place, fortifying them with heartstone.
With a Slide, he passed beyond the border of the forest.
Pain shot through his head. Rsiran held onto the barrier, forcing it to remain in place. If it failed, he didn’t doubt that he would succumb to the effect of the darkness Pushing on him.
Shadows shifted in the night. Rsiran resisted the urge to Slide away, holding a pair of knives ready for him to push away. The sense faded, and he Slid deeper into the trees.
He wasn’t certain what he looked for, or what he hoped to find. Had Thom carried one of his lorcith-forged knives, he might have been able to find him more easily, but without the knife, he was searching blindly.
Maybe it didn’t matter. Thom had told them how to find Venass. Follow the Thyrass River, make his way north… and then? What would they find?
And if he didn’t? What would really change for him? After what Brusus had done, how he’d pulled Jessa and him into his plan to find the Forgotten, could they really forgive him? The Forgotten—at least Josun—knew about what Rsiran could do. Would they come after him, and Jessa? Would they ever really be safe? Maybe it would be best if Brusus did die.
Rsiran shivered, recognizing that somehow the Pushed thoughts had made it past his barrier. He focused, pulling on the sense of lorcith, fusing it with that of heartstone, and felt the barrier solidify.
He realized Sliding had changed it. He couldn’t Slide and hold the connection to the barrier.
Now that he knew, he would focus as he Slid, make certain that when he emerged, he reinforced the barrier.
But how to find Thom?
Worse, what was out here in the forest?
He needed to work quickly. Not only because he didn’t want to remain within the trees any longer than necessary, but also because Brusus depended on him. Regardless of what the thoughts Pushed on him wanted, Rsiran wanted Brusus alive. If the Elvraeth were after them, they would manage that together.
A search. That was what he needed. And he could Slide, moving quickly through the forest. He’d practiced Sliding, so that doing so alone shouldn’t be too taxing, but he would need to work quickly so he didn’t waste time.
And maybe, if he emerged fast enough, he wouldn’t have to focus on his barriers quite as much.
It was worth trying.
Jessa said that Thom had gone deeper into the forest. Rsiran started by Sliding along the edge of the forest, stepping quickly, emerging long enough to search for Thom before Sliding again. Thankfully, enough moonlight trailed through the trees for him to see the forest floor.
He pushed up the barrier again. He had to be careful. Thoughts that were not his drifted in, slipping over his barriers, or around them when they were lowered long enough to Slide.
When he reached the end of the forest, he Slid forward a dozen feet before starting back, Sliding quickly. Each time he emerged from the Slide, he glanced around and then Slid again.
Rsiran lost count of how many times he’d Slid. Occasionally, he caught sight of movement, but it was never there when he Slid toward it. He forced up his mental barriers, and the dark thoughts never fully returned. Maybe he Slid fast enough that it didn’t matter.
He was near the center of the forest when he saw a shape lying on the forest floor.
Rsiran pushed a pair of knives in front of him, holding them in place. He took a step forward, moving carefully. Another step. Without realizing it, he Slid with each step.
Thom lay on the ground, face down. A pool of blood spilled out around him, sta
ining his shirt. Rsiran couldn’t see the injury, but no one could survive that much blood, not without Healing.
Could he take him to Della? The Healer might be able to help… but if he did, Brusus would be left to die. Besides, that much blood… there was nothing that he could do, not for Thom.
The slender steel sword that Thom carried rested on the ground just out of reach.
Rsiran sighed. Now what would he do? Thom was going to lead them to Venass, and guide them toward where to find an antidote, but without him, how would they find it?
Brusus would be lost. He might be able to follow the river toward Thyr, but then what?
He knelt next to Thom. The man had told him to go north to find Venass, but how would they know what they were looking for?
Rsiran reached for Thom’s sword when he felt shadows shifting around him.
He stood with a start and pushed a pair of knives away from him, out into the darkness of the forest. They whistled through the air, but he didn’t hear them hit anything.
As he turned back to Thom, he thought he saw the shadows shift again.
Rsiran didn’t have enough knives to waste on darkness.
A howl erupted in the night.
Hating what he did, he Slid away, emerging back in the Aisl.
Jessa paced the small clearing, and relief was plain on her face when she saw him, but it faded when she realized that he’d come alone. “Where’s Thom?”
Rsiran shook his head. “I found him…”
“But what?”
“He’s gone, Jessa. Something attacked him. I don’t know what it was, but there was a lot of blood and I knew we couldn’t save him. As I knelt beside him, I saw shadows of it moving in the forest. I couldn’t risk staying behind.”
She grabbed his wrist and caught his eyes. “We can go back, but after. When it’s light. Then we can give him a proper burial.”
Rsiran let out a frustrated sigh.
“What now? We go back? Tell Della we failed?”
The Tower of Venass (The Dark Ability Book 3) Page 6