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

by D. K. Holmberg

  All three converged the same time, all coming from different directions.

  The Forger Slid.

  Haern grabbed Galen and ran.

  He searched around him, looking for signs of shimmering, for anything that would suggest someone was Sliding toward him, but nothing else came. The Aisl was nearby, close, but could he reach it in time?

  Even if he did, there was no guarantee that Darren would help Galen.

  He would have to help. He was a healer, and that was what they did, regardless of whether or not Darren agreed with the things Galen had used his knowledge for over the years.

  Every so often, Haern paused, looking for movement, any sign of shimmering that would tell him the Forgers were nearby, but it never came.

  The clearing appeared in the distance, and he allowed himself to breathe out a sigh of relief.

  Something struck him in the back.

  Haern gasped, the lower half of his body suddenly going cold.

  He willed himself to keep moving, but his legs didn’t work.

  A Forger weapon.

  His mind raced through the possibilities, knowing that if it was a Forger weapon, he would be altered in some way.

  There wasn’t time to think about that. There wasn’t time for anything other than reaching the heart of the Aisl. When he did, someone would have to help.

  He tried shouting, but his mouth didn’t want to form the words.

  Poison. He was certain of it. He might not recognize the poison, but Galen had shown him enough poisons recently for him to be aware of it. And maybe he would have succumbed to it had he not had that experience, but as it was, he remained awake, not completely subdued, but fully aware of how close he was.

  Haern licked his lips. A dark shadow appeared near him. A face loomed down, familiar and practically gloating as he looked at him.

  “You have been difficult to capture.”

  Haern wanted to say something, wanting to shout, wanting to do anything other than let this man take him.

  “Why?”

  It was all that he could manage to get out. He wanted to ask more, but more didn’t come.

  The Forger glared at him. “To rectify a mistake. You will do well. And with it, I will finally have peace.”

  The Forger reached for him.

  As he did, Haern did the only thing he could think of.

  He reached for the sense of the lorcith that had been planted around each of the Elder Trees, and he pulled.

  There was enough lorcith that it wouldn’t move away from him, but that wasn’t what he wanted. What Haern wanted was to pull himself toward the lorcith and toward the trees.

  At first, there was little more than a stirring of movement, and he wasn’t sure whether he was strong enough, but gradually, the stirring began to intensify, and he started sliding across the floor.

  The Forger reached for him, but Haern ignored him.

  He continued to pull on the sense of lorcith, letting it fill him.

  As he glided across the ground, the cold in the lower half of his body remained, but he didn’t dare think about it.

  The edge of the forest neared, and there was movement within the clearing. He didn’t trust himself to speak quickly or loudly enough to gather attention, but he didn’t necessarily need to. All he needed to do was reach the clearing; then he could draw the attention of the others there.

  The Forger Slid to him, attempting to block him, but Haern ignored him, pulling on the lorcith. Just a little more.

  He reached deeper within himself, straining for more power than he had ever pulled upon before, and with one last surge, he slammed into the Forger and glided across the ground toward the center of the forest.

  His head felt heavy.

  Someone approached, but he couldn’t tell who it was. He needed his father. His mother. But what he really needed was Darren.

  “Help,” he croaked.

  It was the only thing he could say, and it might not be enough.

  25

  Ryn

  The colors in the garden had changed very little in the week that Ryn had been here. Her time had gone quietly. A pleasant stretch, but it was filled with boredom. She had been offered all the food and water she wanted, and the others in the palace—and she was certain that there were others—had left her alone, ignoring her presence. It was almost as if they were offended that she was here.

  It was midday, and the air suddenly shimmered. When it was done, Olandar Fahr stood front of her. He was dressed differently than before, now wearing a snug jacket, a sword buckled to his waist, and his breeches had smears of ash on them.

  “How are you finding your stay?” he asked her.

  “How am I supposed to be finding it?”

  He cocked his head to the side, a hint of a smile playing across his lips. “You don’t enjoy your time here?”

  “It’s perfectly pleasant,” she said.

  “Pleasant. I think most would say that staying in a place like this was more than pleasant.”

  “Perhaps it would be for them.”

  “It’s not for you?”

  “This isn’t what I want.”

  “And what do you want?”

  “I want to go with you.”

  He frowned. “Do you think you are entitled to what I promised you?”

  “I’m not entitled to it, it’s just…” How could she explain to him? The quiet of this place had given her an opportunity to contemplate, and in that time, she continued to flash back to what she had experienced, the memory of losing so much staying with her, lingering in her mind, and when she focused, she’d see the faces of the dead. It was worse as she tried to fall asleep, those quiet times giving her an opportunity to remember, to recognize what awfulness she had experienced. All because of Lareth.

  “Have you considered what we spoke about last?”

  Ryn struggled to come up with what he had spoken to her about. There had been the conversation about his travels, but that didn’t seem to be what he meant.

  “The Great Ones,” she said.

  He bowed his head. “The Great Ones.”

  “What about them?”

  “If you would stay with me, you must open your mind and begin to understand.”

  “I didn’t realize that I was closed-minded.”

  “Perhaps not quite like that, but you have closed yourself off to anything other than what you want.”

  “What do I want?”

  “From what it seems, you want revenge, and yet you must allow yourself to be open to something greater.”

  Given everything that had happened to her, everything that she attributed to Lareth, she didn’t think it mattered. All that mattered was getting to Lareth, uncovering whatever he was doing, and keeping him from doing anything more. He didn’t need to harm anyone else.

  “I should open myself to the Great Ones?”

  “You should open yourself to the possibility of their power.”

  “How?”

  “That’s something that I can show you, but only if you’re ready.”

  If she stayed here, there might be quiet and comfort and luxury, but there would also be boredom. He didn’t need to explain to her that, were she to go with him, the experience could be quite a bit different. She had experienced pain and difficulty with him, and while he had always been there with her, there was something about the way he asked, the promise within it, that suggested that wouldn’t always be the case. Was she ready for that?

  For her to better understand, she thought that she had to be.

  “I’m ready.”

  “Are you sure? You are welcome to remain here. They will treat you well. There will be no suffering. And in the time that you’re here, you will be granted a greater authority than anyone other than the caretaker.”

  She sighed. The caretaker was the man who had been watching her, keeping an eye on what she was doing, and allowing her the freedom that Olandar Fahr had wanted her to have here. She could remain, and if she did
, she would have peace. That was something she believed. In the time she’d been here, the peace had been almost unbearable.

  “I’m sure.”

  “Then we go.”

  “Now?”

  “Is there anything that you need to grab?”

  Ryn didn’t have anything here. Her possessions were the clothes on her back, and even those weren’t hers. They had been lent to her by the caretaker. Either Olandar Fahr would find a way to provide her with additional clothes, or he would not. She wondered if it even mattered.

  “I have nothing.”

  He smiled at her, traveling toward her with a blurring sense of movement. “Then you have nothing to lose.”

  Could that be true? Thinking of what she owned, she realized that it was nothing. Everything had been lost in Vuahlu. The only thing remaining was her life. That was it.

  And maybe that was what Olandar Fahr was trying to tell her.

  There wasn’t anything for her to lose. She had come to him empty-handed, with nothing, and when he was done with her, she might still have nothing.

  He grabbed her arm, and they Traveled. When they reappeared, there was a barren rocky landscape around them. The wind was cold and biting, swirling against her gown, the fabric far too thin for the sudden change in the weather. She would need to be better prepared if she were to continue traveling with Olandar Fahr.

  “Why here?”

  “This was a place of one of the Great Ones. An Elder.”

  “Was?”

  “The people that the Elder granted power to have not always used it wisely.”

  “How so?”

  “Most think to abuse that power, as if they were deserving of it rather than realizing that it was a gift. They felt it was their right.” He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping across the landscape. “That abuse has led to other challenges. Fighting. War. All to squabble over that power.”

  “They shouldn’t have it, then,” she said.

  “Perhaps not,” Olandar Fahr said, looking around him. “Or perhaps they only need someone to guide them.”

  “Like you?”

  He smiled. “I have been trying, but people can be stubborn.”

  “Why?”

  “They believe they know better, and yet they haven’t seen the whole board.”

  “Board?”

  Olandar Fahr smiled again. “Perhaps I shouldn’t refer to it in such terms, but long ago, my first instructor taught me a game, claiming that it held the answer to all things.”

  “What sort of game?”

  “A very special game. In it, there are questions, and there are times when you can get answers, but for the most part, it helps you to understand. To train your mind to be ready to understand.”

  “Will you teach me this game?”

  “When you’re ready,” he said.

  “What does it take for me to be ready?”

  “Many things. A willingness, which I think you possess. A strength of will, which I have seen from you. And lastly, mental fortitude. We will see if that is you, Ryn Valeron.”

  With that, he strode forward, walking across the rocky ground. She followed, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. She had a sense that this was a test of some kind, his method of determining her level of dedication. She could suffer, couldn’t she? Besides, she had suffered far more and had come away from it, so she knew that she could manage this. What was a little cold?

  “Where are we?”

  “A land far north. It was difficult for me to find, but now that I’ve been here, I still search for the secrets of the land.”

  “You still search for them?”

  “The people who once lived here thought that they could hide their secrets, that they could protect them.”

  “From you?”

  “They didn’t know anything about me at the time. No, they thought to hide them from their enemies.”

  “What enemies were those?”

  “Great and dangerous enemies.”

  “Have you confronted that enemy before?”

  “I have.”

  “Do I need to be concerned about it?”

  “You don’t. I have ensured there is nothing for you to worry about when it comes to them.”

  He reached a bridge, and the ground dropped off far below. An icy stream flowed, large chunks of ice floating downstream, the water itself looking almost painfully frigid.

  “I can’t believe anyone lived here.”

  “The people who lived here were hard. Strong. The kind of people you would think would make excellent allies, and yet the kind who also made skillful enemies.”

  “Why are we here?”

  “I come here from time to time, still searching for understanding.”

  “Of these Great Ones?”

  “The Great Ones were real. I have seen evidence of that, but what I still struggle with is finding the key to their power. Knowing of them and of their power is one thing, but finding out how to harness that power is something else entirely. I have attempted to do so for many years, and many of these Great Ones continue to elude me. But not for much longer.”

  “How have they eluded you?”

  “The ability to harness that power is what has eluded me. It’s one thing to know of it, and it’s quite another to be able to grasp it, to use it, to help others acquire and understand that power.”

  Ryn didn’t know if this was what he intended for her. Maybe he was coming here so that she could have power like that. Or perhaps there was something else.

  Either way, she didn’t know that it mattered.

  “What does it have to do with me?”

  “You will observe.”

  “Just observe?”

  “Would you do something else?”

  “I don’t know that there’s anything else for me to do, but I…”

  Olandar Fahr turned to her, smiling as he did. “If you serve well, Ryn Valeron, you will be offered the opportunity for much more.”

  She could only nod.

  “Now, follow me here.”

  He Traveled, transporting himself across the stream but leaving Ryn behind. She trailed after him, watching, but in order to follow him, she would have to scramble down the face of the rock, and in doing so, she would be in some danger. She wasn’t dressed for a climb, and perhaps she should have asked Olandar Fahr for an opportunity to return to her room and change into better clothes, or perhaps she should have asked him what sort of clothing she would need for this journey. But instead, she had said nothing.

  And he had let her get away with it.

  Another lesson, she suspected. It was unlikely that he intended to cause her any harm, but at the same time, the fact that he had not warned her of where they were going served as a reminder.

  Forcing herself down the side of the rock, she ignored the pain in her hands from gripping the cold rock. Sections of it were slick, covered with ice, leaving the rock unpleasant. Her slippered feet slid along the rock, and she struggled to maintain a safe footing, though was careful about it, not wanting to drop to the ground.

  As she went, she cursed to herself. Olandar Fahr waited on the far side of the stream, and with him waiting like that, she knew that this was his challenge, his test for her, and it was the kind of test she wanted to pass. She didn’t like the idea of letting him down and hated the thought that he would be disappointed in her.

  Reaching the bottom, she slipped, barely managing to catch herself. Part of her sleeve tore, and Ryn tore the rest away, tossing it into the stream with irritation. When she did, she realized her mistake. She could have used that scrap of fabric, wrapping her hands to keep them warm. She grabbed another section of fabric and wrapped that around her hands.

  All that remained was for her to cross the stream, to reach Olandar Fahr, and as she tested the water, she cried out. The water was bitingly cold, unpleasant, and it would involve her stepping into it in order to make her way across.

  He waited. Watching. If she didn’t do t
his, or if she failed, she would disappoint him. She didn’t want to disappoint him, and she also didn’t want to fail, not when it came to something like this. She wouldn’t fail.

  Ryn steeled herself, gathering herself together, and stepped off and into the water. The stream wasn’t deep, but it was incredibly cold, the icy water washing along her, and she hurried through, stepping from stone to stone, bracing herself as she went to avoid slipping and falling into the water. If she did, not only would she be drenched, but she would be so cold that it might be more than she could withstand.

  Taking another step, Ryn moved cautiously, holding her hand out to balance, and as she did, she started to slip.

  Cursing herself, she tried to take another hurried step, wanting to get across, but she started to slip again and then fell with a splash into the water.

  Cold swirled around her so that she couldn’t breathe. Everything went numb, and she struggled to move.

  A chunk of ice slammed into her, and she thrashed to get to her feet. The weight of the wet gown was too much, overwhelming her, and she splashed while trying to stand, but as she did, she felt herself pulled along the stream.

  She wasn’t going to fail Olandar Fahr like this. She was going to get out of the water.

  Ryn dragged herself forward. She managed to get her head above water long enough that she could take a gasping breath, and as she did, she sucked in a lungful of cold air.

  She lost track of which side she needed to go out on.

  What would Olandar Fahr want? He would want her to steady herself, and to keep calm.

  Could she do so?

  She knew that she could. There was no other choice.

  Ryn focused on where Olandar Fahr would be. She found him on the far side of the stream, but the opposite side of where she had thought he’d be. He was there, and as she pulled herself out of the water, dragging herself and lying there, he simply watched.

  After taking a moment to gather herself, she got to her feet, staggering toward him. Water streamed off her, dripping down the gown. Olandar Fahr only watched her, saying nothing.