The Heartstone Blade (The Dark Ability Book 2)

by Holmberg, D. K.

  How was it that he would already lose what he’d only just gained?

  “Brusus can fix this.”

  Rsiran sighed. “Not this.” They couldn’t bribe their way past this. Not anymore. It had gotten too big for that. Too many pieces. And now, too many people knew about him. About his ability. Better just to leave. Exile himself as his father had once done to him. Only this time, it wouldn’t be safe for him to return to Elaeavn.

  “Leaving will keep you safe,” he said. “That’s all I want. You shouldn’t suffer because of me. Haern will be fine, and Brusus…” Brusus apparently had enough connections that he would be fine as well.

  “How would leaving me help anything?” The hurt hung heavy in her voice. “You’re an idiot sometimes. You won’t know anything if you go without me. You’ll be just as in the dark as you always are without me.” She punched his chest and her voice caught. “And besides, I seem to remember how much you needed me the last time you decided to do something on your own.”

  That she was right did not make what he had to do any easier. But she needed to know everything. This time, he wouldn’t hide it from her. “I intend for him to come after me.”

  She frowned. “Who? Josun?”

  Rsiran nodded. He hadn’t fully worked out how he would manage to do it, but he needed to try. He still didn’t understand the connections, and how they worked into whatever Josun planned with his rebellion, but the parts were there. They had been from the beginning. Lorcith disappearing from the guild. His father’s shop closing. The lorcith on Firell’s ship. Maybe even what Shael asked him to forge. And now Josun had made it appear like Rsiran broke into the palace.

  “Then you’re a fool. Dying won’t help any of us.”

  “I don’t intend to die.”

  “None of us intend to die. Sometimes the Great Watcher turns away just long enough…”

  Rsiran sighed. Arguing with her did no good. “After what he did to Lianna—”

  Her grip softened on his hand. “Is that what you think? That I’m some delicate girl who needs you to watch over me?”

  “I know you’re not delicate.” He met her gaze and looked away, his eyes catching the flower hanging in the charm. “That doesn’t mean I want to be the cause of you getting hurt.”

  “I did pretty well before I met you.” She sniffed at the flower and her eyes calmed slightly.

  “I know.”

  She hung onto him for a while, saying nothing. Rsiran kept his arms around her. They swayed in place. Just holding onto her felt comforting. Felt right. Maybe Jessa was right. He always had been stronger with her.

  “Why do you think you have to draw Josun out anyway?”

  “I think he means for me to come after him. He took the sword,” he started, pointing to where it rested, “and brought it back as a message for me.”

  And he thought it hidden. Nothing was really hidden from someone who could Slide. He might be able to lock the door, but that wouldn’t keep Josun out. But once in the smithy, Rsiran hadn’t thought anyone would easily find the sword.

  Jessa let go of his hand and picked up the sword. After twisting it carefully, she looked at him and frowned. “Why would he take this?”

  “That’s the second time he’s taken it. The first time, I went to him and took it back. This time, he returned it here. Both times tie me to what happened in the palace.”

  “And the third time?”

  “I don’t mean there to be a third time.”

  Jessa nodded slowly. “But he already knew about the sword since he’d taken it from you before. Others would have seen him wearing it.”

  Rsiran took the sword out of Jessa’s hands. The jeweled hilt made it more valuable, but its real value came from the lorcith of the blade. And from the fact that such creations were forbidden by the council.

  “I don’t know that he did. Brusus said the tchalit had never seen a lorcith-forged sword, but we know Josun had this sword in the palace. He wore it when we saw him in the warehouse, but maybe that was the only time.”

  “Rsiran—we can’t win when we’re dealing with one of the Elvraeth. They don’t just rule over the city. The Elvraeth are revered in the other great cities as well. Places like Asador and Thyr where we still trade. They can make whatever decisions they want. And going after Josun is… well, it’s just dumb.”

  “But I don’t intend to go after Josun. I just want to get him away from the city. Keep him from people I care about. Brusus. Haern. Della.” He pulled her toward him and hugged her tightly. “But mostly, from you. Then we need to prove his rebellion is real. That’s the only way we can get out of this. The only way to keep us safe.”

  “Do you really think you can prove his guilt to the council? Think about what you’re saying!”

  Rsiran sighed. “Even if we don’t prove his guilt, I need to get him away. Maybe that will be enough.”

  “You think that by leaving, he’ll come after you for some reason. That you can keep the rest of us safe.” When he nodded, she pulled her hands out of his and rested her palms on his chest, pushing lightly against him. “You’re an idiot.”

  “Why? Because I think I can do something to help? That I want to do whatever I can to keep everyone safe? How is that so different from what Brusus does?”

  She laughed. “Have you considered that leaving is what he wants you to do because you know he plans something? What if all of this is a way to simply scare you into disappearing?”

  “If that’s all he wanted, he could have just attacked me like he did with Lianna. But that’s not what he’s done.”

  “But if Josun has decided to reveal you, why now?”

  Rsiran shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t figured that out yet.”

  “Like I said, you’re—”

  “An idiot. I know. I just can’t shake the feeling that if I leave, he’ll come after me.” And, at least then, he wouldn’t have to fear the alchemists coming for him. There were so many reasons for him to leave. And really just one to stay.

  “Or just keep doing whatever he wants you to do. Only now, he’s the only person in the city with the ability to Slide.”

  Maybe Jessa was right. Maybe he was foolish to think that leaving would keep them any safer. But staying only kept them in danger. “What would you have me do?”

  Jessa smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “Well, at least now you’re thinking straight. If Josun wants you to leave, make him think that you left. And we can keep working to figure out what he’s up to.”

  “What if he learns what we’re doing?”

  “How would that be any different from the situation we find ourselves in now?”

  Rsiran didn’t want to tell her. If Josun learned what they were trying, he might do more than simply make it look like Rsiran Slid into the palace. Josun already knew how much Jessa meant to him. As Della said, Josun would consider that a weakness. But Rsiran would do anything to keep his friends safe.

  “I see what you’re thinking.”

  He laughed softly. “I would almost think that you can Read me.”

  She pushed on his chest again. “Don’t need to Read you. I can see the way your eyes change. Or how the corner of your mouth twitches. You give yourself away when you do that. I know you’re thinking something you don’t want me to know.”

  As much as he could fortify the barriers in his mind, he couldn’t prevent Jessa from knowing what he was thinking. And even if he could, would he want to?

  “What about the alchemists?”

  “Did they see you?”

  Rsiran frowned. “They saw me Slide away. But if they learn of someone Sliding out of the palace, they’ll make the connection. Eventually it will come back to me.”

  Jessa patted him on the chest. “Eventually. That means you don’t have to worry about it now, so let’s take care of one problem at a time. Maybe we can even tie them together, convince the alchemists that Josun was the one to enter their guild house.”

  Rsiran too
k a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was right. The alchemists should be the least of his worries right now. Once they figured out what to do about Josun—if they managed to figure out what to do—then they could focus on the guild, maybe even do as Jessa suggested.

  “Besides, if we fail, you don’t really have to worry about them,” Jessa said with a laugh. “So… where now?”

  “We have to make it look like we’ve left. I’ve already cleaned up what I can from the smithy. I want to move a few of these other lorcith items so that it looks like I’ve really gone. And then…”

  “Where do you want to take the lorcith?”

  “Well, we want to play into his expectations, right? Wouldn’t he expect me to take it to Brusus?”

  Jessa smiled and nodded. “Good. And since he’s still sleeping off the orphum, you have time.”

  Rsiran bundled up the remaining lorcith-forged items scattered across the table, not bothering with anything made of iron or steel. Only the lorcith would be valuable if discovered, and Josun would expect him to take it. After stacking them, he looked at Jessa.

  “Wait for me.”

  She frowned. “You’re not leaving without me.”

  “No. Just going to take this to Brusus. Then I’ll be back for you and we can decide what we need to do next.”

  “Together.”

  Jessa’s eyes flickered brighter as she studied his face. He wondered what she saw there. But he wouldn’t leave without her. More than anything, he needed her.

  He nodded. “Together.”

  Chapter 27

  Rsiran emerged from his Slide empty handed. Thankfully, Brusus had been asleep. He made certain to hide the items in a corner where Brusus would see them, but not so openly that anyone could discover them. Then, as promised, he returned to his smithy.

  “Jessa?”

  He didn’t see her. Daylight started to fade, leaving a hazy gray light, but not nearly enough for him to see. He turned to the table, searching for the lantern, but didn’t find it. Rsiran frowned. Why would Jessa have taken the lantern? But as he turned, he realized something else was off. The sword that had been resting alongside the table was missing.

  With his focus on Sliding to Brusus’s house and returning, he hadn’t paid any mind to the sword. Jessa wouldn’t have taken the sword from the smithy; he had intended to keep it with him.

  Worry knotted his stomach. Jessa had been the one to want him to wait for her, but now she was gone. Rsiran had only been gone a short while. Long enough to drop off the lorcith items at Brusus’s home, but not long enough for her to have gone far.

  What if someone had come by the shop? Shael had come by several times over the last few weeks. Could he have stopped by? Or Haern, returning from whatever he intended? When he’d stopped at Brusus’s house, he’d heard him snoring off the effects of the orphum vapor. And Della had never visited his smithy. She likely didn’t even know how to find it.

  Rsiran steadied his breathing. He could find Jessa easily. Pushing away all other distractions, he listened for the lorcith in her charm. Normally, he sensed it easily.

  There was nothing.

  His heart skipped. What would make him unable to find the charm? The alloy could mask it, but she’d have to have gone some place with enough of the alloy to hide it. And coals hot enough could probably destroy it, but Jessa wouldn’t do that.

  But there was another possibility. One that scared him the most.

  He would not be able to feel the lorcith from a great distance. Certainly not a piece as small as the charm.

  Hurrying to the table, he sorted through it until he found one of the iron lanterns he’d made. After quickly filling it with stale fish oil from a dusty bottle in the corner, he lit it. Soft orange light flickered to life, pushing back some of the shadows within the smithy.

  He carried the lantern over to examine the door. It was unlocked. He frowned, twisting the lock until it clicked. Jessa would not have left without locking the smithy. Unless she didn’t leave of her own accord. But he still should be able to detect the charm he’d given her.

  The sword. Of all the things he’d made, he could always feel the sword.

  Closing his eyes, he listened for the sword. Long moments passed before he finally heard it, someplace far away.

  He almost Slid, chasing the sword, but then he thought better of it. Jessa’s warning sounded in his mind, reminding him to think things through more carefully. No answers came. If someone like Haern, or even Shael, had come, she would have waited for him, knowing that he would soon return.

  As much as he hated to think it, he knew Josun had taken her. Hell, he might even have been hiding near enough to Read or Listen to them as they planned. If she were still in the city—and she couldn’t have gotten too far on foot in the short time he’d been gone—then he would have been able to sense the charm. That he couldn’t meant Jessa was in danger.

  He needed advice. What he considered doing—following his sense of his sword, Sliding blindly until he found it—would be dangerous. But who could he ask?

  Brusus still slept. And even were he to wake him, he didn’t know whether he trusted Brusus’s judgment right now. With what happened to Lianna, would Brusus remain able to carefully consider what he needed? For that matter, could Rsiran?

  But he knew who could.

  Rsiran glanced around the smithy for a moment, debating whether he should take anything else with him. Other than the crate of lorcith, mostly untouched since Shael brought it to him, there was nothing that couldn’t be easily replaced.

  Then he Slid.

  Rsiran emerged in Della’s house. A soft smoky scent hung in the air, mixed with a sharp, clean odor. Nothing like the soothing scent of mint he’d noticed when last here. He glanced at the chairs angled in front of the hearth, but they were empty. The fire glowed a warm red rather than crackling wildly in the hearth. Rsiran spun, looking for where she might have gone. He doubted she would leave her home with the fire still burning.

  Noise near the back caught his attention. He waited, one hand slipping near his pocket to remind him of the lorcith knives hidden there. Della came from the back, grey hair standing up all around her head, a turquoise shawl hanging loosely around her shoulders. She frowned when she saw him.

  “You were not to come tonight.”

  He thought the comment strange, but ignored it. He had other concerns. “Jessa is gone.”

  She paused and crossed her arms over her chest. “Gone?” Her eyes went distant. “Tell me what happened.”

  Rsiran shook his head. “We were… we were planning on making it look like I’d left the city. I had taken some of my projects to Brusus, and when I returned to the smithy, she was gone.”

  “You intended to engage Josun Elvraeth.”

  “I intended to do what was needed to keep my friends safe. One of the tchalit told Brusus about a palace break-in.”

  “Only now they are speaking of this?” Della seemed puzzled. She stepped behind her counter and began pulling out small glass jars from some hidden shelving.

  “This was different. They saw someone with a lorcith sword who then disappeared.”

  Her hands faltered, and she fixed him with a hard gaze. “And this was not you.”

  “I would not have gone back to the palace, and certainly not with my sword.”

  She closed her eyes and her breathing changed. “You think this was Josun.”

  “Who else knows how to Slide? Who else knows of the sword?”

  Della let out a soft sigh. “You also went to the alchemist guild.”

  “Did Brusus tell you?”

  She shook her head. “Not Brusus. He didn’t need to.” She sighed out a long breath. “A dangerous thing you did. The alchemists… You should know they are not like most other guilds. Ancient—as old as the smith guild, and there are those of the smiths who can trace their bloodlines back to the first of our kind. What did you hope to learn?”

  “I wanted to learn a way to pro
tect myself from Josun.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “And you think going to the alchemists would aid you in this?”

  “If I can keep him from Sliding to me…”

  Della turned away, tipping one of her jars for a moment. “That is what the Elvraeth once thought.” She picked up another jar off the counter and looked over at him. “And did you find anything?”

  “Haern was injured, and I think they saw me and—”

  “So not only does Josun Elvraeth pursue you, but now the alchemists will as well.”

  He nodded. “Jessa thinks that we can figure out a way to tie Josun to the alchemists.” But first he had to find her.

  “Rsiran,” Della started. “I wish I could tell you how this will turn out. Unfortunately, I cannot See anything other than a danger swirling around you.”

  “Della—” She had just revealed that she was a Seer to him.

  Her eyes opened. They were a bright green, deeper and darker than anyone he had ever seen before. “Do not ask, Rsiran. These are questions with answers you are not yet prepared to hear.”

  If Della didn’t want him to ask, then he wouldn’t. “What sort of danger?”

  She smiled at him tightly. “Would that I could answer that, Rsiran. But as Haern has told you, your ability to Slide masks you in certain ways. There are things about Sliders not easily Seen. That is why he struggled as he did with Josun when Brusus first began working with him, though he did not understand it at the time.”

  “Don’t the Elvraeth have all of the gifts of the Great Watcher?” That was what he’d learned as a child, the reason the Elvraeth could rule. They were given that right by the Great Watcher.

  Della just shook her head. “Each of the Elvraeth has some small amount of the gift, even if they never learn how to use it. This makes all the Elvraeth difficult to See, though it is nothing compared to one strongly gifted such as yourself.”

  “Haern Saw me more clearly when I went to the alchemists. That’s how he knew where to find me.”