The Tower of Venass (The Dark Ability Book 3)

by Holmberg, D. K.

  Haern leaned toward him. “You held one?”

  Rsiran couldn’t tell if there was accusation or a question to what he said. “I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t get out of there, and it seemed one of the orbs wanted me to hold it.” That was the only answer he’d been able to come up with for why the orb had stopped pulsing after he touched it. If only he knew what that meant.

  Haern leaned back and rocked on his heels. Had the room grown lighter or had his eyes finally adjusted to the dark? Now he could practically make out the look on Haern’s face, the way his jaw clenched while he contemplated what Rsiran had said.

  “Can you get us out of here?” Jessa asked.

  “I think so.”

  “Better hurry,” Haern said.

  Rsiran stood and readied to Slide. As he did, a heavy pounding came from a nearby wall.

  He looked toward Jessa and Haern. The Elvraeth knew they were here.

  “Haern—”

  Haern stepped over one of the boxes on the floor and grabbed Rsiran’s hand. Rsiran held Jessa close. He tried taking a step and Sliding but couldn’t.

  “Rsiran…”

  He tried again. Again he failed with his Slide.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong. I can’t Slide us.”

  Jessa tensed next to him. Haern only grunted.

  Chapter 39

  “You were able to Slide to us, weren’t you?” Jessa asked.

  The pounding came louder and now mixed with a scraping sound. Rsiran imagined the door slowly peeling away until they were exposed.

  “I did, but it was different.”

  Haern turned to him. He still held onto Rsiran’s hand, as if he hadn’t given up on the possibility that Rsiran could Slide them to safety.

  “Different?”

  “Like in Venass,” he explained to Jessa. “When the lorcith surrounding me kept me…”

  He stopped and looked around. Lorcith surrounded him here much like it had in Venass. The only difference there had been that the walls seemed infused with it, whereas here, the walls were lorcith. He didn’t know why that should prevent him from Sliding, but it seemed to work that way. When he’d been in Venass, he’d been able to listen for one of his forgings and use it to anchor, to pull himself rather than step into the Slide.

  Rsiran focused on the lorcith around him as the pounding built louder and louder. As before, he pushed it away, ignoring the immediate lorcith. He was left with the sense of heartstone alloy coming from Jessa’s necklace. Ignoring this, he listened for his forgings, knowing hundreds were scattered around the city.

  The faint sense of one of his forgings pulled on his senses. Rsiran listened, trying to ignore the pounding that seemed almost in the room with him, as he focused on this forging. But he couldn’t tell what it was. Possibly a knife—the Great Watcher knew he made plenty of them—or something small like that. Definitely not the sword, though he didn’t know why he wouldn’t feel the sword. Always before he’d been especially attuned to it.

  Rsiran gripped Jessa and Haern and then pulled on the sense of lorcith.

  At first, he didn’t know if it would work. Then, as light pierced the darkness of the room, he felt them move.

  The Slide was different, slow and thick, but picked up speed as they moved.

  And then they emerged.

  Rsiran blinked, looking around him, surprised at where they were. In spite of the darkness, there was no mistaking where he’d Slid them. The Barth.

  They stood in the kitchen of the Wretched Barth. A massive hearth that usually burned brightly was cold and dark. Cook pots lined one wall. A shadowed counter stretched in front of them. The scent of stale bread and meat filled the air.

  “Why did you bring us here, Rsiran?” Haern asked. He pulled away from Rsiran and made his way to a corner. He worked silently for a moment and then orange light spilled around the room from a small lantern. Haern held it out and twisted around.

  Rsiran shook his head. “I had to use lorcith to anchor. This was the first thing I sensed.”

  Haern turned the lantern toward him. It nearly blinded Rsiran, and he put his hand up in front of his face and turned away. “What?”

  The bowl he’d once made Lianna hung on the wall near them. That was what he’d sensed, what he’d used to anchor to. Rsiran pointed to it.

  Haern lifted the lantern to look at the bowl. He grunted again. “Couldn’t just take us to Della’s house?”

  Rsiran shook his head. “I can now. But I think I’m lucky I was able to sense anything.”

  Jessa pulled on his arm. “Rsiran…”

  He turned toward her. The lantern light played with the shadows across her face, leaving her looking lean and haunted. Her dark brown hair fell past her shoulders. The flower she’d been wearing had faded.

  “There’s someone else here,” she whispered.

  Haern’s head snapped around. “You saw something?” He spoke softly and set the lantern on the counter in a swift motion, another knife appearing in his hands as he did.

  Jessa shook her head. “Movement only.”

  Rsiran listened for lorcith, using his ability to try to determine whether they had anything to fear. He couldn’t sense any lorcith other than what they’d brought with them.

  But there was something else.

  He almost missed it, and realized nearly too late what it was: heartstone.

  Not the alloy, though. This was pure heartstone like they’d found in the Forgotten Palace.

  Rsiran quickly worked to clear his mind of lorcith. It was the only way he knew to sense heartstone. As he did, he knew Jessa was right. They weren’t alone.

  The heartstone was behind him.

  Rsiran turned, twisting with Jessa to take advantage of her Sight. As he turned, he grabbed two knives from his leather belt, and held them ready.

  A deep laugh echoed from the shadows near the door.

  “Impressive.”

  A figure stepped forward and Jessa gasped softly.

  Thom.

  “You were dead,” Rsiran said.

  Thom smiled. The long scar tracing up the side of his face twisted with it. “Was I?”

  An image surged in Rsiran’s mind, that of Thom lying on the ground, blood pooling around him. He’d been Pushed.

  Rsiran released the sense of heartstone alloy, but not before realizing it wasn’t somewhere near Thom. Rather, what he sense seemed to come from within him. He readied to use his knives.

  “Brusus didn’t send you to guard the house.”

  Thom’s smile widened. “I never said he did.”

  Rsiran frowned, trying to think about what Thom said when they’d first met. Had Thom been the one to mention Brusus’s name or had he?

  “Why are you here?” Jessa asked.

  Thom turned to her, his smile fading. “Why? The same reason as you, I suspect.” His eyes narrowed as he studied her. “I know your secrets the same as I know his.” He jerked his head to the side, to where Haern had been creeping closer. “And now it’s time we know his,” he said, motioning to Rsiran. “Consider this your summons.”

  Before Rsiran could answer, Haern stepped forward, holding onto his knives. “Most know my secrets,” he said softly. “Much as I know yours.”

  Thom tilted his head. “You really think so?”

  Haern frowned and pursed his lips. “They know about my past. Don’t change what I need to do now, does it? Doesn’t change that I can’t let Venass summon the boy.”

  “No? Then it wouldn’t matter to you if Brusus knew where you studied before you returned to Elaeavn?”

  Haern grunted. “That’s how you knew.”

  Thom tapped his head. “We’re more alike than you know.”

  Haern shook his head. “If you’ve studied there, then you know we’re nothing alike.”

  Thom smiled, his lips peeling back to show his teeth. “Perhaps.” He turned to Rsiran. “You’ve been busy. When I met you near the Aisl, I never expected you’d be so�
�� resourceful. I’ll admit that I didn’t think you would be the one to reach it, but the others thought you might. And when you traveled within Venass, then I was sent to watch.” He laughed. “You’ve proven to be quite interesting, Rsiran.”

  “Rsiran?” Jessa whispered.

  Thom didn’t take his eyes off Rsiran. “If you are to refuse the summons, then I will have what you took from the palace.”

  “I didn’t take anything from the palace.”

  Thom took a step toward him, moving in that dangerously graceful way that he had while one hand rested on the hilt of his sword. Rsiran had no doubt that Thom knew how to use his sword. He didn’t know if he’d be able to reach him with his knives.

  “We know you were in the palace. And then you weren’t. Hand over the crystal.”

  Rsiran frowned. When he’d Slid to find the orbs, hadn’t he still been in the palace?

  But would he have known if he had Slid from the palace? The Slide had been different from any other he’d done.

  “I’m not going back to Venass.”

  “You made a bargain.”

  “Consider it broken,” Rsiran said.

  Thom smiled. “What did you take from the palace?”

  “We didn’t find anything,” Rsiran said.

  Thom angled to keep Haern in view and twisted toward Rsiran. “Now I know you’re lying.”

  Haern shifted and Rsiran glanced over at him. “How do you think you can stop all of us?”

  Thom shook his head. “I don’t have to stop all of you. Just one.”

  “There are three of us. I suspect you know what Rsiran can do, so you know how dangerous he is.” Thom tipped his head slightly. “And you know my history.”

  Thom sniffed. “That’s two. And this one?” He nodded toward Jessa, his hand still on the hilt of his sword. He hadn’t tried to draw it yet and seemed completely at ease. “You think I should fear your sneak?”

  “More than you know,” Haern said.

  He made a movement to come around Thom, but Thom raised a hand and wiggled a finger. “Didn’t I say I only had to stop one of you?”

  Haern suddenly jerked and stood up straight. The knives he’d been holding dropped from his hands, clattering to the ground.

  Rsiran turned. Haern wore a blank stare much like when he had one of his visions. “Haern?”

  Thom chuckled. “One down.”

  What had Brusus said about Thom? That he was a skilled Reader, one who could Compel even more strongly than Brusus.

  Rsiran made certain his mental barriers were in place, drawing on heartstone to fortify them.

  He grabbed onto Jessa. If he needed to Slide, he would at least make sure he got her to safety.

  Thom laughed again. “You’d leave him behind?”

  Rsiran didn’t think he’d Read him, but didn’t know for sure. Sometimes Della seemed to Read him even when he thought he’d fortified his defenses. “I’d get us to safety.”

  Thom smirked. “Thought I’d read you differently. I never expected you to be so callous.” He took a slight step forward, edging closer as he did.

  Rsiran pushed on one of his knives. “Don’t. Not any closer.”

  Thom paused. “Are you fast enough?”

  “With the knives?”

  Thom shook his head. “Sliding.”

  Thom lunged toward Jessa, slender knives appearing in his hands.

  Rsiran had been ready.

  He Slid faster than he ever had before, anchoring to a knife in Della’s home as firmly as he could.

  Everything blurred as he tore Jessa through the Slide. Air whistled past his face, colors surged. The air smelled of burning lorcith.

  He emerged long enough to drop her near the hearth. Della sat in her chair and looked up at him with a deep frown. Then he Slid back to the Barth.

  He had moved quickly enough that Thom still moved in his lunge.

  When Rsiran emerged, Thom spun, flinging one of the knives at him. Rsiran helplessly tried pushing on it, but it wasn’t lorcith made. He hadn’t expected it would be; Thom wouldn’t make that mistake.

  Rsiran Slid a step to the side, ducking away from the knife. It whistled past him and sank into the wall. Another knife followed and Rsiran Slid again, back a step.

  He ended near Haern who still stood staring blankly.

  Thom looked at him and as he did, Haern grabbed toward Rsiran’s arm, gripping tightly.

  “Haern!”

  It had no effect.

  Another pair of knives appeared in Thom’s hands, so smoothly that it reminded him of Haern. Rsiran hesitated. As he did, a knife nearly struck him.

  Then he anchored again and jerked Haern with him into a Slide.

  Pain shot through his arm as he Slid. He glanced down to see a knife protruding from his upper arm.

  Rsiran ignored it long enough to complete the Slide, emerging again in Della’s home.

  Haern let go of his arm and grabbed his neck with both hands, squeezing with a suffocating grip.

  Rsiran tried pulling away, but couldn’t. Between Haern’s grip and the pain in his arm, his vision faded. He thought he heard someone call his name, but he couldn’t be sure.

  Chapter 40

  Rsiran awoke to blurred vision and warmth. Pale blue light glowed somewhere nearby. For a moment, he thought he’d returned to the room with the orbs. Then his vision cleared. As it did, he felt the gentle pull of lorcith all around him.

  He sat up quickly and looked around.

  A lantern glowing with a deep blue light rested nearby. Unshaped lorcith filled a bin. His forgings practically spilled over the table along the far wall. His smithy.

  But how had he gotten here?

  “You’re awake.”

  Rsiran pushed up. Pain shot through his arm, and he remembered Thom’s knife hitting it as he Slid with Haern. He swallowed, feeling his throat burn as he did. An injury he hadn’t expected.

  He looked over to see Della sitting next to him, her legs tucked under her as she sat along side his thin bed. She sipped from a steaming mug. He smelled mint.

  “Who let you in here?”

  Della’s eyes sparkled a deeper green for a moment. “You nearly die, and your first question is about the safety of your smithy?”

  “Yes.”

  She nodded. “Perhaps that’s good.” She leaned toward him. Her silver hair twisted atop her head. A colorful scarf, slashes of blue and green and orange, twisted around her neck, the only colors she wore. Otherwise, a flowing tunic of white draped to her ankles. “I brought you here.”

  “With Jessa?”

  He looked around the smithy but didn’t see her. She was the only one with a key, though Brusus had already proven he could pick the lock. Except, when he’d left for the palace, Rsiran had barricaded the door, slipping the heartstone-forged blade in front of it to prevent anyone from sneaking in.

  His eyes flickered to the door, and he saw the barrier remained in place. “Not Jessa,” he said. Rsiran leaned back, shaking his head. His arm throbbed, and he wondered why Della hadn’t simply Healed him.

  “Not Jessa,” she agreed.

  Della laid a hand on his arm, and a sense of calming warmth worked through him. The pain persisted where he’d been struck, but he didn’t fear pain.

  “Did I Slide us here?”

  “In a way.”

  Rsiran grunted. “You guided me. Like the time before.”

  She nodded. “It seemed safest. I cannot Slide on my own, but my abilities allow me to guide you as you Slide.”

  He remembered the first time it had happened. He’d appeared at Della’s home unexpectedly. That was when he learned she could sense him Sliding. Not just sense it, but influence it. Another weakness of his abilities.

  “How?”

  She smiled gently. “I asked.”

  Something about the way she said it made him think of how he forged lorcith, the way he asked the lorcith to take a different shape than it wanted. It was how he’d made his kni
ves, even before knowing what it was he did.

  “What of Haern?”

  Della’s face tensed for a moment. “Haern will be fine. Brusus helped clear the compulsion.”

  “And me?”

  “You will live. The blade was poisoned. Tchaln powder. Had we not already had the antidote…”

  Rsiran blinked. That meant she used the antidote he’d been given in Venass, the one meant for Brusus. “You couldn’t Heal me?”

  “It is a fast-acting poison. I stabilized you, but without that antidote, even my skills wouldn’t have been enough.” She frowned. “I haven’t seen tchaln powder used in many years. The making of it is mostly forgotten, a mixture of several different poisons, each with a distinct effect. Taken together…” She shook her head. “You are lucky.”

  Rsiran could think of a place where the making of such a poison hadn’t been forgotten. A place where Haern—once an assassin—had trained. “It was Thom. When we left the palace, I couldn’t Slide at first. Something blocked me. I anchored to the only thing I could sense and pulled us from the palace. We emerged in the Barth.”

  Della took a sip of her mint tea. When she set the mug down, she was frowning. “You did not have the same difficulty the last time you went to the palace?”

  Rsiran shook his head, understanding what she was getting at. “I sensed the sword and used it as the anchor. And when we left the palace the first time, I used what I sensed in your home.”

  “You were less skilled then.”

  She was right. Rsiran’s skill at Sliding had increased significantly since he first entered the palace. Now, even the heartstone alloy didn’t limit him. But something had.

  He thought of the way Thom had been waiting for them at the Barth. The idea that he’d been Compelled frightened him, but what else would explain it?

  “Could Thom have blocked me?”

  Della took a deep breath. Worry crinkled the corners of her eyes. “If he managed to Compel you to believe he was dead, it’s possible that he managed to do other things as well.” She hesitated. “I understand he pulled you there as a summons.” When Rsiran nodded, the worry in her eyes deepened. “And you refused?”