Tan stood among the trees and inhaled deeply, smelling the crisp scent of the forest all around him. A steady breeze blew through the trees, playing at his hair and swirling around his shirt. Strange that he should return to Galen in such a way.
He looked around. Below him, a broad valley stretched in the distance. A long lake settled in the middle, blue water tinged with a hint of green. On the distant mountains, the peaks were covered with snow.
Tan had been here before.
This was the place of convergence.
Did you know we returned?
Asboel turned and looked at him. This is a place of the Mother. There are but a few like it. How would I not know?
What did it mean that they returned here? Had Amia led the Aeta to this place or had they come accidentally? When he found her, he would have so many questions.
But first, they needed to find the youngest.
Shapers attacked you.
Asboel sniffed. They tried.
Tan suppressed a laugh. Asboel was too proud to admit to the fear he felt during the attack. Tan recognized the terror at the possibility of recapture, the way he’d fought against it with everything in his being. Had Tan not been there, had he not somehow managed his shapings, Asboel might have fallen.
They will search for her as well.
Not only the shapers, but Incendin. Twisted Fire.
Tan had nearly died that last time he’d been here with the lisincend. Had it not been for the nymid and the draasin, he would have. And the artifact would have fallen into the hands of Lacertin. Tan didn’t know what Lacertin intended to do with the artifact, or how he would use it against the kingdoms.
They needed to find the draasin first. And Tan needed Amia’s help.
He crouched, looking through the trees toward the lake as he waited for a response. Asboel squatted on his haunches, wings folded around him. Somehow, he reminded Tan of the lisincend and Fur in particular, especially the way his head and eyes flickered all around, his wide nostrils flaring as he scented the air. Steam rose from his nose as he breathed.
Amia still had not answered.
Tan felt her, though, and knew she was near.
He waited.
He felt movement from the connection to Amia, but her silence told him something must be wrong. When they found her, he would learn what it was.
Your people will soon come for us.
Tan looked over at Asboel. His golden eyes blinked slowly and his tail twisted around one of the trees. My people would not attack you.
He sent the thought with more irritation than intended, but how could he feel anything else? Roine knew how the draasin had saved them from the lisincend, yet it seemed he still chose to attack. And without he draasin, the king wouldn’t have the artifact that so many had been lost trying to reach. Whatever else, they were not his people.
Asboel snorted. And the Daughter?
Tan shook his head. He didn’t know what would happen when he found Amia.
He didn’t have to wait long.
The soft sound of tinkling bells made their way through the forest.
Tan looked down toward the narrow path running through the trees. Only the topmost part of the wagons was visible. They were brightly painted, some in yellows and others in reds. Flashes of other colors were visible through the forest: fleeting glimpses of the wagon drivers or other Aeta. He heard no voices or laughter, nothing like he expected to hear from a joyful people like the Aeta.
Still, there came the sense of Amia, but he heard nothing to tell him she knew he was here.
Careful, Maelen.
Tan turned and looked at Asboel. What is it?
He sniffed at the air softly. Do you not sense it?
Tan shook his head.
Fire. Powerful.
The youngest?
If she had awoken after her fall, they risked another attack. Tan didn’t know what he had done the last time but didn’t think he would be able to replicate it, not enough to save both of them again.
And if she attacked, the Aeta were in danger. The youngest would probably not even realize if she destroyed a wagon full of Aeta. Amia had already lived through that once before. Tan would do what he could to protect her from it again.
Not the youngest.
Tan stared toward the Aeta wagons. Twisted Fire?
But he didn’t think it likely. A buildup of heat marked the lisincend presence. When they had come to Galen before, the forest had become unseasonably hot and dry, nothing like the cool breeze blowing through now.
But if not the lisincend, then what did Asboel sense?
Tan crouched behind a tree as the wagons wound below them. Watch over me, he sent to Asboel.
You think to command me again?
Tan shook his head. Not command, but we work together.
Asboel snorted. A sense of amusement came through the connection. I will watch.
Tan nodded and turned back toward the Aeta wagons. Time spent in the forests around Nor gave him skill moving stealthily through the trees. Earth sensing ability allowed him to recognize when he disturbed the sense of calm through the forest. Tan used both as he made his way down the slope, working carefully so as not to disturb loose soil. He stepped lightly, avoiding obvious branches and letting his feet settle before moving onward. Each step carried him closer to the Aeta. And with each step, a sense of dread grew within him.
At first, he couldn’t place what he felt.
His skin prickled as if dry and tight. His ears popped, though he didn’t know whether that came from a change in altitude or a shaping. A nagging, raw sense irritated him at the back of his mind. And the wind gusted strongly.
As he reached a slight overhang where rock jutted out, he crawled atop it, clinging to the surface as he stared toward the wagons. What bothered him about the Aeta here? Why did Amia’s lack of communication worry him so much?
A small shape emerged from one of the wagons and looked around the forest. Tan recognized the shape and almost gasped.
He had seen her before, though the last time had been deep within the archives. He had only caught a glimpse of her then, but it had been enough, burning a memory of her into his mind. And he understood the fire Asboel sensed. She had nearly captured him once before.
An Incendin fire shaper traveled with the Aeta.
CHAPTER 26
Shaping and a Friend
Tan backed off the rock and crouched among the trees, thinking about what he knew.
The Aeta traveled toward the place of convergence with Amia. He could not reach Amia, but sensed something was wrong. An Incendin fire shaper rode openly with the Aeta. And the draasin twisted by either a spirit shaper or Incendin lay somewhere in the forest.
And then there was Roine and the other shapers. They were here as well. Had they chased the draasin here or had they come for another reason?
It couldn’t all be a coincidence.
But why?
What would bring both Roine and Incendin back to this place?
He could think of only one thing that would.
Tan needed to find the youngest and do what he could to break whatever had happened to her. To do that, he needed Amia, but if she was here with Incendin, he feared her trapped or injured. Anything he did would draw the attention of the Incendin shaper. And then Roine and his shapers would move in, determined to attack the draasin.
There were too many parts for what they needed to be successful.
He made his way back up the slope toward Asboel. As he neared the draasin, there was a heavy pulsing in his ears. A shaping built, and it was close.
Tan moved quickly, running up the slope as quietly as he could.
Shapers are near!
He sent the warning as quietly as he could, directing it with as much skill as he had.
Tan reached the pines where Asboel had been.
The clearing was empty.
He felt a pulse in his mind—nothing more—and looked up. Asboel rested in the
upper branches of the pine tree, clinging to it with his massive claws, his wings still folded around his body. Enormous nostrils flared wide, spreading out and diffusing the steam that billowed out.
He felt shapers nearby. Were they kingdom shapers or Incendin?
Tan focused, holding his breath as he did. Hold on. He sent a request to the wind as he let out a breath.
Wind suddenly gusted, tearing through the trees.
Someone nearby shouted. Thunder rumbled. The ground shifted beneath his feet. Tan pushed out a request for it to flatten. He steadied himself before asking the ground to push out in a rolling wave, building it within his mind similarly to how he spoke to the udilm. At the same time, he shifted his focus, asking the trees and the earth to obscure Asboel.
The ground rolled out and away, fading into the forest with a rumble.
“Lacertin!”
The shouted name pierced the wind, which then settled, dying slowly down as if it had never been whipping around him.
The shapings he had attempted failed.
Tan stood in the middle of loose needles and branches. He tried pushing on the wind again, but it didn’t answer, not as it had before. And the ground, now solid, would not respond.
How could he think to go against fully trained shapers? He barely knew what he was doing. His only skill was the ability to speak to the elementals. That didn’t translate to strength or skill in shaping.
“Not Lacertin!” Tan shouted.
Thunder cracked again and Tan’s ears snapped with it, bursting with a sudden explosion. A streak of lightning shot from the sky, blinding him. When his vision cleared, Roine stood before him. He held his sword in hand, runes catching the light of the forest and casting strange shadows.
Roine waved his hand and the wind died completely. The air fell still and silent. He looked at Tan with a hard glare, anger clear in his eyes.
“Tannen. Why have you come here?”
Tan flicked his gaze around the small clearing. How many shapers had Roine brought with him? Enough to capture or kill Asboel? Given how difficult a time the draasin had staying in the air with the shapers focusing on him, it might be enough.
But only if Asboel was allowed to attack; doing so would confirm everything Roine feared from the draasin.
“I won’t let you destroy them, Theondar.” Calling him Roine when he stood in the place of convergence, determined to destroy the draasin, felt wrong.
His eyes narrowed. “We have been through this. You saw what they did in Ethea. The world is dangerous enough without the draasin free.”
“It was not the draasin in Ethea,” Tan said.
Roine snorted. “Not the draasin? I saw the creature with my eyes, Tannen! I chased it from the city. Do not think I can’t tell the draasin.”
Tan shook his head. Movement to either side told him there were shapers there, but the change was subtle and masked somehow. He felt a void in his ability to sense the forest and suspected the earth shaper responsible for that. Could Roine have brought Master Ferran?
But it was the Cloud Warrior standing before him he should fear. If Roine decided to attack Asboel, there was nothing Tan could do to stop the draasin from fighting back. And that would only weaken the kingdoms more than they already were.
“How many draasin did we free?”
Roine blinked and frowned at him. “What? You know how many we freed.”
Tan nodded. “Tell me, then. How many?”
Roine looked around the clearing, and Tan sensed him searching for Asboel. Probably the earth senser did as well. Could the shaping Tan worked around the tree hold them off long enough to convince him?
“There were three.”
Tan nodded. “Three. And how many did you follow here?”
Roine fixed him with a glare. “What are you getting at?”
“Only that you have followed one of the draasin—the youngest at that. Do you know where the other two draasin can be found?”
Roine’s eyes narrowed. “Do you?”
Tan nodded.
Roine took a step toward him. That small step carried with it the subtle hint of a threat.
This was about more than the draasin, but what else? What had he missed?
Tan raised his hand and took a slow breath, letting it out with a request to the ground. The earth rumbled softly in response. “Don’t.”
The shaping served a dual purpose, not the least of which was drawing the attention of the earth shapers. They turned and quickly settled the rumbling.
Roine shook his head slightly. “You have learned to shape.”
“I have learned to ask,” he answered. “Which is why I know Incendin is responsible for the attack on Ethea. The tool may have been the draasin, but not the intent.”
“Tannen…”
Tan shook his head. “No. The draasin were trapped for too long. And now they are free. I must live with the repercussions, but you need to know the draasin did not attack Ethea.”
“And I know I’m as much at fault in releasing the draasin,” Roine said. He paused, letting his words sink in fully. “Incendin would not be able to reach Ethea, Tan. You know the barrier—”
“I know the barrier could not hold the lisincend. All of Nor learned that lesson.”
“Tan—”
“No, Theondar. You don’t believe the—” he lowered his voice so it didn’t carry to the other shapers “—shaping will hold the draasin, but I feel it.”
“And I have seen what the draasin can do. I saw the way the draasin attacked Ethea. I know what the archives tell us the draasin were like before they disappeared.”
“From archivists who work with Incendin?”
Could the archivists have an ulterior motive? He still didn’t know why the archivist had let the Incendin shaper into the archives. And what of the archivist Athan? Was he corrupted as well?
Could they want the draasin gone?
But why? What purpose would that serve anyone?
“Why have you come here?” Roine asked him.
Tan took a deep breath, thinking about how to answer. What would Roine believe?
“I came to help the draasin,” he answered. “I believe Incendin has twisted the youngest, forced her to go against her nature. And I’m here to do what I can to help.”
Roine watched Tan for a moment and then shook his head. “I’m sorry, Tan. The king made his decision, and it’s one I agree with.” He took another step forward. “And I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”
Tan sensed Asboel’s concern for him and he sent a nearly silent plea for patience. Follow me quietly.
Roine frowned slightly. “Where is it? Where is the draasin?”
“You should know there is an Incendin shaper looking for her as well.”
“Incendin?” He blinked and his face seemed to change for a moment before hardening again. “How do you know?”
“I saw her. She’s the same one who attacked us in the archives. She’s with the Aeta.”
“The Aeta? Why would an Incendin shaper travel with the Aeta?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t we go and find out, Theondar?”
Tan felt the earth shaping disappear with a soft pop. Now gone, the other shapers waiting near Roine were suddenly visible. Tan counted at least five but knew there must be more. Three fire shapers alone had attacked Asboel while they flew toward this place.
The two small wind shapers watched Tan carefully. One of the men, a bald man named Alan he remembered meeting near the palace, watched him warily. The other seemed more interested in looking around the forest. Ferran turned out to be the earth shaper hiding them. Tan tried carefully sensing to learn who else might be waiting in the forest, but something obstructed him. Ferran watched him with a hard expression.
Roine took him by the arm and led him away from the clearing and the watching shapers. “When the king learns of this—” he started and then lowered his voice as they reached the edge of the towering pines. “I saw the attack,”
Roine whispered.
Tan frowned. “What attack?”
Roine turned, his mouth tilting into a tight smile. “The draasin fighting. I saw what happened.”
Tan’s heart raced. “If you saw it, then you know I’m telling the truth about them. Why else would the draasin attack each other?”
They made their way down the slope. Tan’s ears popped slightly. Roine shaped.
“Something is off here, Tan, but I’m not certain I know what it is.”
“Wait—” he started, and then realized how loud his voice must be. “You believe me?”
Roine took a sharp breath. “I thought the draasin attacked Ethea. I saw one of the creatures shooting fire upon the city. But when we chased it here…” He shook his head. “Why would the draasin return to this place?”
Tan waited.
“I believe you speak to the draasin, but I hadn’t believed they could be trusted, even with what you claim Amia shaped.”
“Roine—”
He smiled. “Not Theondar now?”
Tan snorted. “Roine is my friend. Theondar—”
A smile tugged at his mouth. “It’s as useful a distinction as any.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I saw you riding the draasin.”
“And?”
“I have never heard of anyone riding one of the draasin. I have rarely heard of anyone even speaking to the draasin. When I saw that, I realized there was much I didn’t fully understand. And if I didn’t understand, I couldn’t hunt them, not without knowing for certain.”
Tan stopped. He stood on the outcropping of the rock, looking down at the narrow road the Aeta had traveled through, listening for Amia—or something that would tell him she was at least alright. He felt her as a quiet softness at the back of his mind but dared not reach out to her, not while knowing the fire shaper was among the Aeta. And if the Aeta welcomed the fire shaper, might they know, too, about Amia’s ability and think to use it somehow?
He sighed. Once, the Aeta had given him joy, but since meeting Amia, he had known nothing but sorrow around them. And now the soft tinkling of their bells had long since faded. He sensed their presence within the forest not far from here. They neared the water but were moving quickly—far faster than he would expect. From there, they would continue toward the rocky mountains. And once there…
Bound by Fire (The Cloud Warrior Saga Book 2) Page 20