Before they destroyed Samkara.
One evening Fen was in the practice yard going through his forms. Dusk had fallen and night was coming on, shrouding everything in shadows. Fen was lost deep inside himself, observing the glowing ember of his power. Lately he had a feeling that he was getting very close to his objective. Only this morning he’d managed to blow on the ember enough to make it flare slightly, but not so much that it got away from him.
Now he was ready to try once again.
He gathered himself, sharpening his concentration to a razor’s edge. Then, trembling on the edge between control and abandonment, he summoned his anger at the Ankharans and fed it into the ember.
The Stone power inside him flared into life. Power surged through him, running through his muscles and along every nerve. He had a hold on it, but he knew he couldn’t hold it for long. The power needed release, and if he didn’t release it willingly, it would find its own way out.
In one corner of the practice yard was a thick log hanging from a chain that the soldiers used as a practice dummy. Making a sudden decision, Fen gathered the flare of power and fed it down his right arm. As he did so, he spun and swung at the log, releasing the power into his sword at the moment of impact.
There was a silent concussion as the sword met the wood. The log exploded in a spray of wood chips that flew everywhere. Fen’s arm was left numb, but otherwise he was unharmed.
Fen stared at the remains of the log in disbelief. It was close to two feet thick. The hardest blow did no more than knock off a few chips. But it was obliterated, not just cut in half, but exploded, as if the Stone power had burst it from the inside. He could only imagine what would happen if he did that to a person. It was both awesome and horrifying.
“How in the world did you do that?” a voice behind him asked.
Chapter Twenty-six
Fen jumped and turned, his heart in his mouth. It was Cowley.
“I didn’t see you there,” Fen stammered, totally flustered. He’d thought no one would come out here this late.
“I got that,” Cowley said. “You about jumped clear out of your skin.” He moved past Fen and looked down at the scattered pieces of the log. Then he looked at Fen and asked again. “How did you do that?”
“I…uh…” Fen thought fast, but none of the ideas he came up with were any good, so he said the first thing he thought of. “I think it was kind of rotten, you know, it’s been up for a while, all through the last winter. Between that and so many people hitting it, it was probably just ready to break.”
“Sure,” Cowley said. “That sort of thing happens all the time.” He pushed the wood chips around with his foot, then he looked up. He set one hand on Fen’s shoulder and leaned in close. “Bullshit.”
“What? But you…?”
“Fen, that log exploded. I saw it.”
“It’s kind of dark,” Fen said weakly. “You didn’t see clearly.”
Cowley ignored him. “Stuff like that doesn’t just happen. Except around you.”
“Why don’t we talk about it later? It’s been a long day and—”
“No. Now.”
“It’s really nothing. One of those strange things that just happens is all.”
Cowley ticked off the points on his fingers. “First, the earthquake that day of the executions. Then, fighting off two thugs without getting a scratch. Saving that woman and her daughter, again without a scratch. And, don’t forget, knocking down a stone tower on your enemies. Did I miss any of those strange things that just happened?”
“I told you, the tower fell because the crab-thing broke through the floor.”
“Nope. Not this time. This time you’re going to tell me what’s going.”
“I can’t,” Fen said, pulling away from his friend and starting to walk away. “You have to trust me on this. It’s better that you don’t know.”
Cowley hurried after him and grabbed his arm. “You let me decide what’s better for me. I want to know what’s going on and I’m going to know.”
Fen jerked his arm away. “Good luck with that, because I’m not going to tell you. Not that there’s anything to find out anyway. It’s like I said, things happen. Don’t make something out of nothing.” Again Fen started to leave.
“It’s something to do with what killed your father, isn’t it?” Cowley said. “The old lady said there was an earthquake before he died.”
Fen spun on his friend. “The old lady didn’t know what she was talking about. Listen to yourself, Cowley. People can’t cause earthquakes. You know better than that.”
“I’m not sure what people can do. I know the Fist can do things no one should be able to do. I know there’s a lot of weird shit going on with those Ankharans. And I’ve seen some weird things around you. Now tell me what’s going on.”
“It doesn’t concern you. It’s best if you leave it alone.”
“And yet, I’m not going to. You know that. I’m never going to stop. I’m going to keep picking at this until I discover your secret. You know that.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you have to be like this? Can’t you let it be like a normal person?”
Cowley shook his head. “Can’t. Maybe it’s an illness. Tell me what’s happening.”
“I don’t know what it is, okay?” Fen snapped suddenly. “But it’s dangerous and I don’t want you to get hurt. That’s why I don’t want to tell you.”
“Well, we’ve gone from, ‘there’s nothing to tell’, to ‘I won’t tell you’, to ‘I don’t want to tell you.’ That means we’re making progress. Only one more step to go.”
Fen stomped away and Cowley followed. “There’s nothing to tell you. There’s no big secret. You’re imagining things. Now leave me alone. I’m going to meet Ravin.”
Suddenly, Cowley snapped his fingers. “That’s it!”
“What is?” Fen asked wearily.
“That’s why you two split up, isn’t it? I knew your breakup didn’t make sense. You two are disgustingly sweet and cute together. Then suddenly she leaves you. I could never understand it. But now I know. It’s because you wouldn’t tell her your secret.”
“You have quite the imagination,” Fen said.
“But when you rescued her and knocked down the tower, then she found out. Once she knew your secret, there was nothing keeping the two of you apart any longer. That’s why you spend so much time with her now.”
“Do you realize how crazy you sound?” Fen said.
“Now you might as well tell me,” Cowley said. “I’ve all but figured it out.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“If you don’t tell me yourself, I’ll bug Ravin until she does. I’ll get Amma to help me even.”
“Don’t say anything to Amma. I’m warning you.”
Cowley gave him an innocent look. “I thought you said there was nothing to tell.”
“I hate you sometimes, you know that?”
Cowley shrugged. “I can live with that.” He patted Fen on the back. “So, you going to tell me now?”
Fen pushed him away. “Why is this so important to you?”
“Because we’re friends. You have to tell me.”
“Why? You don’t tell me everything about your life.”
“I will if you want. What do you want to know? Open book. No secrets.”
“Forget it. I’m happier not knowing.”
“Well, I offered. And now comes the part where you tell me your secret.”
Fen sighed. There really was no way he could keep this from Cowley any longer. If Cowley kept digging long enough, he’d find it. And he might inadvertently let others know while he was at it.
“Come here.” He led Cowley off to a quiet spot behind the blacksmith’s. Then he told him everything, what happened the night the city was sacked, how when the man who’d attacked Ravin stabbed him it didn’t do anything, what really happened when he saved the young woman and her daughter. He t
old Cowley how he brought the tower down. He told him everything except the hands he’d seen reaching out of the shadow that night after the battle and touching the Fist, or the way the Fist had drained the assassin’s life.
When he was done, Cowley was actually shocked into silence for a minute. Finally, he said, “Oh, boy. And that’s what you can do when you’re holding back! Imagine what you could do if you didn’t hold back. You’d be unstoppable.” He shook his head. “Unbelievable. If it was anyone other than you telling me these things, I’d say you were lying, but…” He whistled. “What else can you do?”
“I don’t know.”
“What is this power? How did you get it?”
“I don’t know that for sure either.”
“What do you know?”
“When I went to see that old healer down by the docks he told me something interesting. He said that there are these beings called Shapers and they live in the three Spheres of Stone, Sea, and Sky. They’re immortal and powerful, which is why people think they’re gods. He thought that one of the Shapers of Stone might have passed this power onto me.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea.”
“You should ask one, one of the Shapers I mean.”
“That’s a great idea. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Don’t be sarcastic, Fen. It doesn’t wear right on you.”
“How am I supposed to do that then?”
“I don’t know. They live in the stone, right? So go where there’s a lot of stone. Like that old quarry outside the city.”
“And do what? Knock?”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“I’m open to ideas.”
“That’s better. Now that I think about it, knocking doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Not like knocking on a door, you know? But what if you did that thing I just saw you do and released some of your power into the stone? It’d be kind of like knocking. You might get someone’s attention.”
Fen started to tell him that would never work, then paused. “That might not be a terrible idea.”
“Of course it isn’t. It’s my idea, isn’t it?”
“First I need to learn to control it a little more, I think.”
Cowley nodded. “Probably not a bad idea. I’m not sure anything good would happen if you did to stone what you did to that log.”
╬ ╬ ╬
Fen kept practicing his control, working at it every chance he got, not just when he had time to do his forms either, but whenever he had a few minutes to himself. Now that he knew where to look for the power it was easy to find, and he didn’t need to be lost in the deep concentration of his forms. Gradually he got to the point where he was aware of it always. He could feel it as he went about his day, waiting in the center of his body. He got better at calling it forth in controlled bursts.
After Cowley caught him, he was more careful when he used his power. Always assuming he was being watched, he made sure to never let out enough power to draw attention. Mostly he used his power to bolster his attacks, but he also began experimenting with using it in defense also. He learned to focus the power into a specific part of his body. When he did so that part felt like stone. It felt hard when he touched it. But he wasn’t sure how well it was working until one day when he asked Cowley to help him test it.
“Go ahead. Hit me with your sword.” Fen looked around to make sure no one was watching. He turned back to Cowley and held up his right forearm.
“You want me to chop your arm off, is that it?” Cowley asked, drawing his sword.
“I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.”
“You sure about this?”
“Mostly. Hurry up. I don’t want anyone to see.”
“Okay.” Cowley swung his sword and struck Fen on the arm. His blade bounced off with a ringing sound. Cowley’s eyes widened. “Wow.”
Fen was looking at his arm. “There’s no mark.”
“That’s going to be handy in battle.”
“As long as I can control it. It’s one thing to control it here where there’s nothing else going on. In the heat of battle…?”
“How quickly can you focus it in another area?” Cowley asked.
“I don’t—” Fen began, then fell back as Cowley suddenly attacked him again, this time swinging at his left side. Quickly Fen refocused his power. He was almost too late. The blade cut into his arm and he fell back with an exclamation of pain.
“Ouch! Why’d you do that?” He looked at his arm. There was a cut and it was bleeding, but it was shallow. He’d managed to get his defenses up in time to avoid a serious cut.
“How do you know what you’re capable of if you don’t push your limits?” Cowley said, unconcerned.
“You could have cut my arm off!”
“I have more confidence in you than that, old friend. I knew you could do it.”
“No, you didn’t. I didn’t know!”
“Well, now you do.”
Fen spent most of his time working on fine control, summoning only the precise amount of power he needed. While sparring with Strout one morning they ended up with their blades locked against each other, straining to push each other off balance.
Realizing this would be a good opportunity to test his control, Fen released a tiny bit of power into his off hand and struck Strout with the heel of his palm, right in the chest. Strout staggered backwards, almost falling down.
“How’d you do that?” he said angrily, righting himself. “You’re not that strong.”
“I think I just caught you off balance,” Fen said.
“That’s crap and you know it. There’s nothing wrong with my balance.”
Fen shrugged and they resumed sparring.
╬ ╬ ╬
That afternoon, when he was cleaning up at the trough, he found a small, discolored spot on his chest. It was reddish and about the size of his fingertip. He went cold inside. He knew before he touched it that it would feel as hard as stone. There was no feeling there at all.
The thing he had long feared was happening. His power was consuming him, turning him to stone.
How long did he have? he wondered. Was it going to progress faster now that he was using his power more? It seemed likely that it would.
But what choice did he have? Who else could stop the Ankharans if not him?
Lukas came walking up then, surprising him. “What are you looking at, Fen?” he asked curiously. “Is that a bruise?”
Fen quickly pulled his shirt on. “Yeah, that’s all it is.”
“I guess it’s no surprise. The way you’ve been fighting lately.” He shook his head. “It’s like you’re possessed or something.”
“We’re running out of chances to practice before it gets real,” Fen said.
“Don’t remind me,” Lukas groaned. He looked around to make sure they were alone. “I know I’m not supposed to say this, being a corporal and everything, but I’m…” He broke off and looked away.
“What? You can tell me.”
Lukas swallowed. When he spoke, his voice was low and hesitant. “I feel bad admitting it, but I’m scared, Fen. I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if I can fight in battle. I wake up at night and it’s all I can do not to scream.”
Fen put his hand on Lukas’ shoulder. “You’re not the only one who’s feeling it. Trust me.”
Lukas gave him a sidelong look. “I know you’re only trying to make me feel better.”
“That’s not true. Every time I think of going into battle I feel sick. The others are feeling it too. Haven’t you noticed how Strout’s been extra grumpy lately?”
“I did, but I didn’t think anything of it.”
“And Noah? I’ve never seen him pick so many fights before.”
“You think it’s because he’s worried too?”
Fen nodded. “I’d bet on it. If you haven’t noticed, Cowley has been drinking more than usual. Gage ha
rdly talks at all. It’s affecting all of us, Lukas.”
“Even the brothers?”
“Wallice and Eben? I don’t know for sure. I still can’t figure out what’s going on inside those two.”
“Thanks, Fen,” Lukas said. “I feel better now. I mean, I still feel like running off screaming, but I feel better. I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I knew you’d be able to help. I guess that’s part of why you’re lieutenant, right?”
He walked away and Fen stood there wondering who was going to make him feel better.
╬ ╬ ╬
Later that night Fen sat with Ravin on their favorite bench under the willow tree and told her what he’d done against Strout that day. “Aren’t you worried others will figure it out?” she asked. She was leaning up against him, holding his hand in both of hers.
“I think it will be okay as long as I’m careful,” he replied.
“It seems risky.”
“I’m going to have to take a lot more risks before this is over.”
“Just be careful.”
“I have to push it. I have to know what I’m capable of. I don’t have much time.”
“It bothers me when you talk like that. I don’t believe that what happened to your father is going to happen to you.”
Fen thought of the hard spot on his chest, but said nothing. Partly he didn’t want her to worry. But also he was worried she would tell him to hold back and he knew he couldn’t do that. The Fist seemed to being getting crazier every day. The Ankharans walked around like they owned the place. And while he thought he’d stopped whatever it was they were doing in that cavern, he couldn’t be sure. He remembered the others passages leading into it. They might not all have collapsed. The cavern might not have collapsed at all. They might still be kidnapping people and taking them down there.
Sea Born (Chaos and Retribution Book 3) Page 31