The Tower of Venass (The Dark Ability Book 3)

by Holmberg, D. K.

  “I’m not going back there,” he said. “The last time… the last time, I was lucky to get free.”

  “Not luck, I think. But you made the right choice.”

  Rsiran sighed and rested his head back on the bed. “You know what happened in the palace?”

  “I know what Jessa told me.”

  He turned to look at her, wondering if she would be disappointed that he hadn’t returned with whatever it was the others sought. The source of power Della had told him about. He’d come away with nothing. It would have been better had he never gone. As it was, he’d risked Jessa and Haern for nothing. For him to be trapped in the orb room and to hold the orb and have a vision.

  She studied him, as if expecting him to say more.

  “I never planned to take anything from there,” he admitted.

  Della surprised him by laughing softly. “I know.”

  He struggled to sit up again. “You know? You didn’t try to stop me?”

  “Would it have mattered what I said? Had I told you that the crystals can’t be removed but that they are the reason that Venass and the Forgotten seek your abilities? What would you have done?” She paused, and her eyes seemed impossibly green, depths there that he didn’t fully grasp. “You needed to go, to understand. It is something that can only be experienced, not explained.”

  Rsiran blinked. Crystals. That was the same term Thom had used. “You knew I would go?”

  “I suspected.”

  “And you’ve seen them.”

  She nodded. “I’ve seen them. And like you, I suspect, have held one.”

  He pushed the barriers up in his mind, but suspected he was too late. It probably didn’t matter anyway. Della seemed to Read him regardless of what he did to protect himself from her. And if she could, did that mean Thom had Read him as well? Hadn’t Brusus commented on Thom’s skill?

  “I think you already know what I did.”

  She smiled and sipped her tea. “I didn’t Read you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Rsiran frowned.

  Della set the mug down and fixed him with a direct gaze. “The great crystals are said to be items of power gifted to our people by the Great Watcher himself.”

  “What are they? What do they do?”

  “Power,” Della said. She took another long drink of her tea. “The Elvraeth call them crystals, but they are more than that.” She glanced toward his forge. “As each of the Elvraeth are born with varying degrees of all the abilities of the Great Watcher, these… crystals… concentrate that power.”

  “I don’t understand,” Rsiran said.

  Della smiled. “Few understand what they are. Even the council doesn’t fully know what they possess. They are power, but more than that. They are a way to speak to the Great Watcher. It’s why those who have held them call them sacred crystals.”

  Rsiran didn’t know what to say. A way to speak to the Great Watcher. If true, he understood why the Forgotten and Venass would seek them. “And they think to reach them now—”

  “Because of you.” She set her mug down and met his eyes. “I am surprised you were able to reach the crystals,” she said, her eyes flashing even darker before brightening again. Rsiran caught a hint of—surprise? Fear?—in her tone. “And with that kind of power… the crystals change you. Speaking to the Great Watcher changes you.”

  “But I didn’t speak to the Great Watcher.”

  “Are you so certain? Do you think the Great Watcher would use words like you and I?”

  Rsiran thought about his visions, the steady glow of the white lights in the distance that switched to the deep blue glow. And then the immense presence. Had he witnessed the Great Watcher?

  “I see you aren’t certain. That’s good.”

  Rsiran sighed. He needed to share what he saw with someone, and Della would be the most likely to help him understand what he’d experienced. “When I held the orb—the crystal, I had a vision. White light, massive amounts, that spread below me. With the light, I could almost make out cities, as if the light represented people.” Or something else. At the time, he’d wondered if the light represented lorcith. But that meant the dark blue light represented something else. Heartstone. And Rsiran didn’t think there was any source remaining. “Then it was gone. I was left in darkness. Nothing but night surrounding me.”

  Della listened intently, nodding as he spoke. When he finished, she looked over at him. “When I reached the Heart, I saw the crystals likely the same as you.” Her eyes went distant, reminding him of what happened to Haern when he had a vision. “This was many years ago. Much has changed since then, but I doubt the crystals are any different. There was one, different from the others, and it pulsed slowly, pulling me to it. It wasn’t until I held it in my hands that the pulsing stopped.”

  Rsiran shivered. What she described mirrored his experience.

  “And then… then I saw a vast expanse below me, as if I sat within the stars. I saw no glowing lights, nothing but darkness. As I sat there, I felt connections… I had no other word for it and still don’t… form between me and distant places. Like you, I felt the presence. I did not see anything. When it was done, the crystal had returned to its place among the others. I remember standing among the crystals, uncertain which of them I held.”

  She fell silent and took another sip of her tea.

  Rsiran thought about the similarities of their experiences. “Why do you think you spoke to the Great Watcher?”

  Della smiled. “I don’t think I spoke to him. I do not doubt that he spoke to me.”

  “And what did he say?”

  “Those connections I felt, I feel them still. Every day, I am aware of the connections I first felt when I held the crystal.”

  “What are they?”

  “They are people I’m meant to help. That was what I was shown. And given the ability to do so.”

  The words took a moment to settle into him. “Given the ability? You’re saying your abilities changed after you held the crystal?”

  Della nodded. “There is much about me I do not share, Rsiran, but I didn’t always have the abilities I have now. Without that experience, without holding the crystal and feeling those connections form, I would never have gained them.” She smiled at him. “I would never have been able to Heal you when Brusus first brought you to me. I would never have been able to Heal you when you Slid to me on your own.”

  “The Great Watcher added to your abilities?”

  She shrugged. “Or simply allowed me to access what I already possessed.”

  “You think the same will happen to me?”

  “I don’t know the will of the Great Watcher, Rsiran. Few can claim they do. But I know what I experienced. It is the reason the crystals are so well protected and why Venass cannot be allowed to possess them.”

  “Just Venass?”

  “I don’t think the Forgotten would do anything more than what you were able to do. Even were they able to reach the crystals in the first place—which isn’t possible for most—they would find that, like you, they wouldn’t be able to remove them. The crystals are well protected.”

  “But Venass?”

  Della’s eyes narrowed. “Venass studies many things, twisting what the Great Watcher has made. The crystals… they are the purest form. I fear what would happen were they to possess even one of the great crystals. How they would twist what was meant to remain pure. And I fear that whatever Venass sent in those crates, whatever device they thought to bring into the palace, would give them the ability to reach them.”

  Had this been about Venass the entire time? If Venass managed to bring him toward Thyr, using Brusus’s poisoning to convince him that he needed to Slide north, what else had they been involved in? Had they convinced the Forgotten that they needed to obtain the crystals?

  Rsiran shivered again. Venass intended to use him too.

  “You see the difficulty.”

  Rsiran nodded. “I’m not sure I can do anything against them
. If they managed to Compel me…”

  Della smiled. “That, I think, is why the Great Watcher chose you. Your specific combination of gifts protects you from them.”

  “But it doesn’t. They drew me north. I was trapped within Venass—”

  “Were you? Didn’t you tell me you managed to Slide out of the cell they placed you in?”

  He nodded slowly. “They let me go. Released me.”

  “They tried to bind you to them. They wanted to convince you that you needed to return.” Della’s eyes hardened. “I think the scholars knew they could not truly trap you. That’s the reason they thought to convince you otherwise.”

  “If Thom Compelled me once, making me believe him dead, what keeps him from doing it again? What protects me from that?”

  She sighed. “I don’t think he Compelled you. Perhaps Pushed. I am not certain one such as you can be Compelled.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Only that nothing protects you other than the defenses only you know how to build. For you to be safe—for us all to be safe—you must learn to shield yourself at all times. But doing so is difficult and will make Sliding more challenging.”

  “You think I need to stop Venass from reaching the crystals?”

  “Once I would not have thought it necessary. But now… now I think you’re the only one who has a chance.”

  Rsiran thought about how hard it had been for him to even reach the crystal room. But if the scholars Pushed him, even if they didn’t Compel him, he doubted he would be able to prevent them from using him to find it.

  “What do I need to do?”

  Della shook her head. What she said next struck fear through his heart. “I don’t know.”

  Epilogue

  Rsiran sat on the anvil, staring at the door to his smithy. The sword that he’d used to block the doorway now rested against the wall. He hadn’t bothered to slip the lock. Since Della had left, he’d stared at the door, waiting for Jessa to return. What did it meant that she hadn’t?

  He didn’t know what he needed to do, but felt that everything he thought he understood was wrong. The Elvraeth protected the crystals. After holding one—and now hearing Della’s experience—he had to agree they should be kept safe. Who better than the Elvraeth, gifted by the Great Watcher with all the abilities?

  Rsiran blinked. Beyond what had happened in the palace and the attack afterward, he’d promised Brusus he would help him find the Forgotten. Brusus wanted to find his mother, but attempting to find her exposed him to capture by both the Forgotten and Venass. Whatever Della might say, he wasn’t as convinced he could escape if they managed to catch him again.

  Finally, the lock turned and the door opened. Jessa slipped in followed by Brusus. Haern came in a moment later. Once through, Jessa slipped the lock back into place.

  Haern approached slowly. The long scar across his cheek seemed tight and twisted as he made his way toward him. The blue lantern light reflected off the scar, sending shadows streaking down his face.

  He stopped a couple of paces from Rsiran. “Need to apologize for what happened.”

  Rsiran shook his head. “I don’t think you do.”

  “You brought me out. You could have left me.”

  “No. I couldn’t.”

  Haern grunted. “Wish I could See you better, Rsiran. It would make all this easier for me, knowing what’s to happen. Maybe then I would have been able to avoid Thom’s control.”

  Rsiran watched Haern and came to a realization. “It’s happened to you before, hasn’t it?”

  Haern blinked. One hand fumbled with a dronr, flipping it from finger to finger. He had the other hand behind his back. Finally, he nodded. “You remembered what he said.”

  Rsiran nodded.

  Jessa came alongside Rsiran and put her arm around his shoulders. “What did he say?”

  Rsiran kept his eyes on Haern. “Haern studied with the scholars. And so did Thom.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Rsiran saw Brusus near the long table covered with his forgings. He stiffened with the question. Brusus already knew.

  “What is it, Haern? More than just scholars there, isn’t it.”

  He swallowed and then nodded. “More than just scholars.” The dronr paused along his knuckles. “I wasn’t born in Elaeavn, not like the rest of you. Not Forgotten either, but a generation removed. Venass keeps an eye out for those like me. Most of us want nothing more than to understand our abilities. When you don’t grow up in Elaeavn, you don’t really understand why you have these visions or this sight or…”

  Rsiran nodded. “They offer to teach you.”

  “They offer to teach. But there are conditions attached. Some are born with abilities. Others get them over time. But even those with abilities can have them strengthened, augmented if you will.”

  “That’s why you’re such a strong Seer,” Rsiran said.

  Haern nodded.

  “What did they do to you?” he asked.

  “Not a what, so much as why,” Haern began. “Forced me into lessons, always giving me more and more to learn, assignments that were increasingly difficult. Taught me about poisons and tactics and…” He touched his forehead as he frowned. “Don’t matter anymore. That’s behind me. Or was.”

  Rsiran thought of Thom and the heartstone that he’d sense within him. “Did they…” He hesitated, uncertain how to finish the question.

  Haern tapped his scar. “Tried. Maybe it worked, but what do I know?” he asked. He fell silent and glanced over to Brusus. “Thought this was all gone. That I wouldn’t have to think about this anymore.”

  “So did I,” Brusus said.

  “What does it mean?” Rsiran asked.

  Neither answered. Rsiran realized that neither had an answer. That troubled him more than anything.

  * * *

  Rsiran emerged from his Slide with Ilphaesn rising above him. The sense of lorcith swirled all around him, stronger than it had been before. Distantly, he felt other collections of lorcith. From the vision he had while holding the crystal, he could close his eyes and know where they were.

  Other senses tugged at him, as well, ones he’d once had to clear his mind to focus on. Now he felt them easily. Heartstone, both pure and in the alloy. That was the other vision gifted to him by the Great Watcher.

  But why?

  Rsiran didn’t have the answer. And maybe that was the point.

  He inhaled deeply of the salty air, gripping the canvas sack of jerky and bread he’d brought for Josun. He’d debated leaving him trapped within the mines but decided that was no different from the torture the Forgotten had inflicted upon him. Rsiran would not be like them.

  Jessa waited for him back in the smithy. He felt the lorcith charm she wore hanging from her neck. Had he wanted, he suspected he could pull on it from here. Strange how attuned to lorcith he now felt. And he had thought his connection strong before.

  Rsiran Slid, emerging in the mine.

  He looked around. Since holding the crystal, his Sight had improved. Now, along with the maze of lorcith he sensed within the walls of the tunnels, he saw shades of grey. Not as sensitive as what Jessa managed, it allowed him to see enough in the darkness that he could move safely through the tunnel.

  Rsiran made his way toward where Josun would be hiding. As he did, he realized something was off. Heartstone alloy didn’t pull on his senses.

  As he reached the end of the tunnel, he looked around. Josun was gone.

  Rsiran didn’t bother searching the tunnels for him.

  He Slid to the peak of Ilphaesn and looked out, listening for the alloy of the Elvraeth chains. He felt it distantly, like a bell tolling on his senses.

  Without hesitating, he Slid.

  When he emerged, he stood atop the deck of a ship. Wide sails swept open, the wind gusting against them. Spray spit over the bow, slicking the decking.

  Firell.

  “I’m sorry, Rsiran.”

  He turned and saw the smuggl
er looking at him. His face had changed during his time in captivity. Now it was drawn and worn under a stubbled beard. One eye streaked with red. A steel sword hung from his waist.

  There was no lorcith on his ship. Only the chains.

  Rsiran pulled them to him. They slipped across the deck, and he grabbed them from the air.

  Firell’s eyes widened.

  “You released him.”

  “He gave me Lena back.”

  Firell nodded toward something behind him, and Rsiran looked over his shoulder to see a young girl, probably no more than twelve or thirteen, standing on the deck of the ship. She smiled as she stood with the air blowing against her face, her dark black hair fluttering in the wind.

  “Do you know where he went?”

  Firell shook his head. “I promised him the chains again if he ever came after me.”

  Rsiran didn’t know if Firell could capture Josun to place him in chains, but smiled. Then he pushed the chains back to him. “Keep them. You need them more than I do.”

  “You’re not angry?”

  Rsiran shrugged. He could sense Jessa still in his smithy. Even if he couldn’t, they had to make their own choices, as Firell had made his. “I’m glad you chose your family.”

  Firell looked back at Lena. “What are you going to do now?” Firell asked.

  Rsiran could feel the pull of lorcith and heartstone. They glowed all around him in his mind. Then there was the change to his ability to Slide. He didn’t understand what it meant—not yet—but he began to think that he would.

  “They think they can use me,” he started. “But they will find that I am not going to be drawn into their fight.”

  Firell glanced to Lena. “If only it were that simple, Rsiran.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Firell sighed and shook his head. “With everything you’ve done… the palace, the smithy, the lorcith… the Great Watcher knows I probably don’t know the half of it.”

  “What are you saying?”

  Firell smiled sadly. “You don’t see, do you? It’s more than just a simple fight. War is coming. And you’ve already been pulled into it.”