Shadows Within the Flame (The Elder Stones Saga Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Are you suggesting that I form the same sort of connections?”

  “I’m saying you already have. It’s obvious that you care for Lucy. Having that connection strengthens you. That’s the sort of thing I don’t want you to forget. And it’s that sort of thing that Tsatsun can help you understand.”

  Daniel smiled. “How can a game help me understand how my connections might make me stronger?”

  “As I said, it’s not just a game, not when it comes down to it. It’s more of a strategy, a way of thinking, and in doing so, making yourself stronger.”

  “A game makes you stronger?”

  “A game strengthens the mind. Not all games are equal.”

  “Like dicing?”

  Carth reached into her cloak and pulled out a pair of six-sided dice, shaking them in her hand. “You don’t think you can learn anything from dicing?”

  “It’s chance. Random.”

  “Is it?” Carth cocked a brow, shaking the dice. They landed up two ones. Watcher’s Eyes. She shook her hand again, and the same roll happened. She rolled a third time and again got the same result. Carth shrugged, taking the dice and twisting them to show Daniel that they were normal, at least from appearances.

  “Those were weighted.”

  “What advantage would there be in weighting dice toward ones?”

  She handed him the dice, and he rolled them in his hand and came up with the four and five. He shook them again and came up with a two and a six. Doing it again resulted in two more different numbers, but never once did he roll Watcher’s Eyes.

  Not weighted, then.

  “You were using your abilities on them.”

  “Possibly,” she said with a smile.

  “That makes dicing unfair.”

  “Life is not fair, Daniel Elvraeth. The sooner you begin to recognize that, the sooner you will stop complaining when things don’t go as you plan.”

  “You’re suggesting the lesson I can learn from dicing is that people cheat?”

  “I’m suggesting that there are many different ways of playing the game,” she said.

  “But cheating isn’t playing the game.”

  “Isn’t it? I would argue that cheating plays the game in a very particular way. Is it the way that you would play?” She grabbed the dice and rolled them into her hand again before flashing a pair of ones and stuffing them into her pocket. “No. I can see from your expression that it’s not the way you would play, but that doesn’t mean others won’t look for any opportunity they can get. It’s the same as in life. You might not think you need to cheat your way through it, but others don’t share that sentiment. And rather than complaining about it and raising a fuss, you could work to negate such advantages.”

  “How do you know to negate the advantages if you don’t know someone’s cheating?”

  Carth tapped her forehead. “That’s the real question. How indeed? When you gather information, you place yourself at an advantage. The more you learn and the more you can be prepared for, the better off you’ll be when it comes to someone who might be trying to game you.”

  “What other lessons would you have dicing teach me?” Daniel asked.

  “Sometimes you get a bad roll. Sometimes you get lucky. Unless you have skill, you have no way of deciding which it will be. Do you want to gamble on a lucky roll, or do you want to gamble on one where skill might be involved?”

  His gaze drifted down toward her pocket, where the dice were held. He thought he understood what point she was trying to make. He might consider it cheating, but she had skills and abilities that allowed her to influence the game, to tilt the odds in her favor.

  Was that cheating, then?

  It probably was, especially when it came to something like dicing.

  “Do you cheat in all games?”

  “You’re asking if I cheat at Tsatsun?” He shrugged. “If you played, you would realize there is no cheating. The game board is open. As long as your opponent is paying attention, they will see every move you make. The real challenge, the real key, is showing your opponent how you move, and still surprising them.”

  “I don’t know that I understand what you’re getting at.”

  “Perhaps not. Maybe you wouldn’t be a useful Tsatsun player.”

  She turned her attention back to the helm, continuing to steer the ship. Daniel had a sense that she had just insulted him, though he couldn’t be sure.

  He watched Carth for a few more moments before turning away. He went to stand at the stern of the ship, watching the activity on board. He felt useless. Everybody else seemed to have a task, an assignment, but he had none. Instead, he felt almost as if he were in the way.

  Lucy joined him. “What were you talking about with Carth?”

  “Games.”

  Lucy arched a brow. “Games?”

  He nodded. “She was explaining games that she plays that help train her mind.”

  “Interesting,” Lucy said with a whisper.

  “She claims that these games help her strategize.”

  “You should work with her,” Lucy said.

  “Why?”

  Had she been Reading him? Did she know that he felt almost as if he didn’t have a place within the Elaeavn? He didn’t think so. As he glanced over to Lucy, he didn’t think she knew that troubled him.

  “Because you have a mind for it. You always have.”

  “I’m not sure I have the same sort of mind as Carth.”

  “You don’t have to have the same sort of mind. You just have to have yours, and learn what you can from her. Besides, the kind of strategy she can teach is greater than even your father’s.”

  One of the other Binders called Lucy’s name, and she patted Daniel on the arm before hurrying off to join the women. Already Lucy had gained knowledge and seemed to be much more comfortable working the lines than when they had first come on board. Maybe it was nothing more than her Reading the other women, but perhaps they were teaching her, helping her to find her place on board.

  He needed a place, especially if he was going to stay here.

  As he stared at Carth, she turned back to watch him and nodded, almost as if knowing his thoughts.

  He frowned. Carth couldn’t Read him, could she?

  14

  Lucy

  The ship rocked beneath her feet, a steady rhythmic sense that pounded on the sides of the ship and threatened to toss her to the deck. Lucy didn’t have the same balance that Carth managed so easily, shifting from one foot to the other as the waves slammed against her. Carth made it look effortless, as if she didn’t struggle at all to maintain her footing, and considering what Lucy had uncovered about the other woman and the fact that she had spent most of her life sailing, it probably wasn’t much of a challenge for her.

  “I need you to try again,” Carth said.

  “I have been trying,” Lucy said. “It’s difficult to return when I have Slid away.”

  “I’m aware that it’s difficult, but if we can master this, it opens us up to other possibilities.”

  “Such as leaving and not telling others.”

  Carth looked at her without saying anything. Lucy understood the implication. It wasn’t so much that Carth didn’t want Lucy to question her; it was simply that she wanted Lucy to take the next step, to attempt what she asked, and when she did, then she could have her questions answered.

  She took a deep breath, focusing on her Slide. This was to take her back to Asador and then return her to the ship. If she could get a handle on this, she would have fewer limitations while traveling.

  “Can Rsiran do this?”

  “Lareth has ways of Sliding that are different. From what I understand, he uses his connection to the metal. Do you have a similar connection to it?”

  Lucy shook her head. “Nothing like that. If I did, I think it would have been valuable.”

  “I think the source of that ability is different.”

  “Some of the Forgers have that connection, thoug
h.”

  “They do, but I suspect that is tied to the way they place their augmentations.”

  Lucy knew she was wasting time, just as she knew that Carth knew she was. If she could do this, it would be valuable.

  “Is there a way for you to lock on to something else?”

  “Without a connection to metal, I don’t…” She frowned. Did it have to be the metal that she locked on to? One aspect of her abilities that had increased significantly was her ability to Read. Could she use that in order to track where the ship was going?

  She smiled to herself. It was something she hadn’t considered before, and yet, she knew she should have thought of it long before now. The fact that it was only coming to her at this point made her feel foolish.

  And here she’d thought she wanted to be a caretaker, a scholar for the Elvraeth.

  “I should’ve thought of that before now,” she said.

  “There are many things that come to us much later than we think they should. Ideas that seem obvious at the time are often discovered after passing on multiple other ideas. What have you discovered?”

  “Reading.”

  “You would use your connection to someone else’s mind to ensure that you could Slide to them?”

  “It would have to be someone I can latch on to easily.” She studied Carth for a moment. That effectively ruled out Carth, though she had begun to have a slightly greater understanding of the other woman and the way she thought. There were snippets, little pieces that filtered through her mind, and when they did, she was able to grasp part of what Carth was thinking. Then again, Lucy still didn’t know if that was intentional or not. Given what she knew of Carth and the way she planned, it was possible that the other woman had complete control over what and how much Lucy could Read from her.

  “Find someone familiar enough to you that you can use their mind.”

  The obvious answer was Daniel. She had grown up around him, and because of that, she had a familiarity with his mind and the way he thought. Even as a child, she had been able to Read him from time to time; he would lose control or intentionally lower his barriers, giving her the opportunity to slip in and Read some of his thoughts. Since having the augmentation placed, she had an even greater ability to Read him. He would try to place barriers, but they were never strong enough to resist her. She tried not to Read him too often, knowing that Daniel didn’t care for such an intrusion, but at the same time, it was relatively easy for her to do.

  As she thought of him, she opened herself up to Reading him. Thoughts drifted in, and she recognized that he was working with the sword, training with Rayen. It was something he did often. She could detect the way that he respected Rayen. Rayen intrigued him, partly because of her abilities, but partly because she was different from anyone he had known before.

  At times, Lucy still marveled at the fact that Daniel remained outside of Elaeavn. Everyone within the palace had known he was going to take his father’s place on the council, that it was only a matter of time. The fact that Daniel now remained out of the city, as one of the strongest advocates for continuing to explore and understand what the Forgers were after, surprised her.

  “I think I can do it,” she said, continuing to focus on Daniel. The challenge would be in doing so while Sliding.

  Carth waited, and Lucy knew she needed to take the first step.

  Taking a deep breath, she Slid to Asador. She emerged inside the room she had taken within the tavern. It was a comfortable place. Nothing like her room in the palace, but certainly comparable enough that she hadn’t wanted for anything. The women in the tavern had treated her well, welcoming her, and it was their first lessons that had helped her understand how to block out the voices, the never-ending thoughts around her. The Binders had a way of ignoring her ability to Read them, and that had reduced the overwhelming sense of someone that she had to shut out.

  She looked around the room, taking in the sight of the bed, the wardrobe with her clothes inside, and focused on Daniel. He was out there, his mind distant to her but still detectable. The longer she focused, the clearer his voice—his thoughts—became.

  She gave it a moment, long enough for the ship to have moved, and prepared to Slide. If she missed, she would end up in the water. It was unlikely that she would end up anywhere dangerous, and as long as she wasn’t gone for too long, she suspected she would be able to land once more aboard the ship.

  Lucy Slid, focusing on Daniel.

  She emerged on the rocking surface of the ship, Daniel still battling with Rayen, and quickly Slid to Carth’s quarters.

  When she emerged, she breathed out heavily.

  “You returned so quickly.”

  “It worked,” she said.

  “You weren’t sure it would?”

  “I didn’t know whether or not it would.”

  If she could Slide on board the ship like that, it meant she wasn’t limited in where she could travel. If she could latch on to someone else’s thoughts, she could use them to help guide her to them. That would be even more powerful. If she could find someone she recognized, perhaps she could Slide to them even if she didn’t know where they were.

  “Good. Now you need to keep testing it.”

  “Why is this so important?”

  “Because we will have need of this ability, I fear.”

  Lucy gathered herself. It wasn’t that she was tired from Sliding—she rarely grew tired any longer. It was more that she was nervous. Even that shouldn’t scare her. She no longer needed to take a step to Slide, so if she had to Slide from the water, she thought she would be able to do so.

  Where would she go now?

  The answer came to her quickly. Elaeavn.

  She took a deep breath, Sliding away.

  When she emerged, she paused long enough to ensure that she could still detect Daniel. Strangely, holding on to what she could Read of him became easier the longer she did it. She could use him to tie herself to the ship, to anchor to it, as it were.

  The city stretched out beneath her. She had Slid to the wall surrounding the Floating Palace, not having been here since leaving the city long ago. Lucy tried not to think about why she had chosen to come here. It wasn’t as if she had ties to the palace the way Daniel did. She was never going to serve on the council, though she had trained to be a caretaker.

  And it wasn’t because of her ties to her family. Since losing her sister, Lucy hadn’t felt the same connection to her family as she once had. That was part of the reason she’d spent so much time in the forest. It wasn’t that she felt at home there, though she had felt more at home in the forest than she ever had within the palace. It was more a matter of her wanting to be away.

  She should return, but now that she was here, she was curious. Lareth could Slide into the palace, unimpeded by the protections placed upon it. Could she do something similar now that she had her enhanced abilities? It was something she hadn’t tested before, but she had to wonder if perhaps she could.

  And if she could, then she could return to the palace anytime she wanted. Maybe there would be other places she could go that wouldn’t restrict her. The C’than strongholds had prevented her from Sliding inside, but maybe other places wouldn’t be off-limits to her.

  And wouldn’t it be valuable for her to try?

  Where would she attempt to go in the palace?

  The answer came to her at the same time as she attempted to Slide.

  There was resistance, the sense of pressure against her, but she felt as if she could overpower it. Lucy kept pushing and emerged inside the library.

  It was dim, only a single lantern lit, and no sign of any caretakers inside the library. Even though it was dim, she was able to See everything quite clearly. It was easy for her to do. She looked around the rows of shelves, her gaze sliding along, wondering if there might be something in here that would help her understand more. And perhaps there was, but it would have to wait. Right now, she would need to return to the ship, mostly so that
it didn’t get too far away and she didn’t lose track of Daniel’s mind.

  As she started to Slide, a voice caught her attention, and Lucy hesitated before pushing through it, focusing on Daniel as she Slid, and emerging briefly on the deck of the ship. When she did, she hurriedly Slid again, emerging once again in Carth’s quarters.

  Carth studied her for a moment. “How did that go?”

  “Easier. It seems as if I can hold on to someone’s mind better the longer I do it.”

  “Where did you travel this time?”

  “To Elaeavn.”

  Carth smiled. “Homesick?”

  “I think I did it mostly to find out whether or not I could.”

  “And now that you have proven you can?”

  “I’m not restricted the way I was before.”

  “Were you worried that you were?”

  “There is value in knowing that I wouldn’t be limited.”

  “It’s my understanding that it’s difficult for people with your particular ability to travel into the palace.”

  “It always had been before.”

  “It’s not now?”

  “I was able to push past it. The heartstone was no longer limiting as it once had been.”

  Carth watched her, and Lucy could feel a sense of amusement within her. It practically radiated from her, the only emotion she could Read from the other woman.

  “You wonder if you might be able to push past the protections the C’than place around the strongholds?”

  “I do.”

  “It’s possible that with enough time you could.”

  Lucy took a deep breath, “Are you ready to come with me?”

  Carth frowned. “Not yet. I think you should practice a little bit more before you attempt to bring someone with you.”

  “I think you’re just trying to get me off the ship.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “I have no idea, but this is about more than practice.” More likely than not, it was all part of some game Carth was playing, similar to the board she sat next to.