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

by D. K. Holmberg

  “I’ll remember,” Haern said.

  “I thought you said he would return to the others.”

  “Maybe he did and there are other Forgers around,” Haern said.

  “How many Forgers do you think are still around here?” Galen asked.

  “I don’t know, but he shouldn’t have stayed, not with the cuffs that I placed on him.”

  “Can you still detect them?” Haern asked.

  His father frowned. “I haven’t been able to detect them since he crossed the barrier. That’s how the barrier works. It prevents me from detecting much of anything, but it prevents others from detecting us, too.”

  “But if the barrier has been damaged—” Haern started.

  His father frowned, and he slapped his hands against his thighs. “It shouldn’t be like that.”

  Rsiran made a circuit, walking along the outer edge of the forest, keeping just on this side of the barrier. Haern didn’t blame him, especially after the attack, and he kept a circuit of knives spinning around him, swirling all the way around his body.

  Haern reached for his own knives and prepared for the possibility that he might need to push on them. But if he sent them beyond the barrier, would he still have the same control over them? He wasn’t sure whether the protections his father had placed in the lorcith he used here would prevent him from maintaining that connection.

  “I don’t See anything,” Galen said.

  “You won’t.”

  “Was it a mistake to release him?” Galen asked.

  “He shouldn’t have been able to attack us. He was confined.”

  “Was,” Galen said.

  His father shot the other man a hard glare. “Was, and should have remained that way. With the lorcith I’d placed in his cuffs, there shouldn’t have been any way for him to escape.”

  “Why is that?” Galen asked.

  “Lorcith is keyed in a certain way.”

  “I’ve seen your son use lorcith.”

  “He can push and pull on it, and he’s aware of lorcith’s presence, but what I’m talking about is something different. It’s a connection to the metal, and it’s one that requires a person to truly understand it in order to release it.”

  “You don’t think the Forgers have that ability?”

  “They have an ability to use lorcith, but they don’t understand it the same way we do.”

  “By that, you mean the way you do.”

  Rsiran held Galen’s gaze. “The way I do.”

  “And what if they do?” Galen asked.

  “Then it’s possible he managed to escape,” his father said.

  Galen approached the barrier and stood with his face practically pressed up against it. Haern didn’t need to approach it nearly so closely to feel the presence of the barrier. It was there, an awareness that pushed against him, though others of Elaeavn would also have that awareness. It would come from the way his father had fixed the barrier in place, wanting others to know of its existence. It created a tingling sensation, and with that, he didn’t even need his connection to lorcith to know how to find it.

  “I can almost See something as I stand here,” Galen said softly.

  “The Forgers?” Haern asked.

  “The barrier.” He turned to Rsiran. “It was always invisible before, and now there’s a swirl of color. A hint of purple, hues that should not be there.”

  “Like I said, I think they attacked the barrier,” his father said.

  “And you also don’t think this should have been possible,” Galen said.

  “What do I know about what’s possible anymore?”

  He turned away and continued to make his way along the edge of the forest, pausing every so often at one of the lorcith rods, holding his hand above it briefly. Haern could feel the metal shifting, though he wasn’t certain what his father did. Maybe he was listening to the song of the lorcith and using that in a way that drew him closer to it. Maybe it was nothing quite so amazing. It could be that he was only checking the metal.

  When he was done, he returned. “All of these will need to be modified,” Rsiran said.

  “Even modified, do you believe they will hold?” Haern asked.

  “They should, but it does make me wonder if perhaps all of this has been something of a mistake. Maybe we needed to focus more on concealing the trees, wrapping them in lorcith rather than going after this man.”

  “If this man is the key to everything that happened, if he is responsible for all the attacks, then going after him does have value,” Haern said.

  “My wife was attacked. I’m not going to stand here indefinitely.” He glanced from Haern to Rsiran. “And any others who think to cross through the barrier will be in danger. Do you intend to attack, or do you intend to continue to work your way around the barrier?”

  Rsiran glared. “If they have chosen to attack from another direction, it might not even matter.”

  “Then we don’t need to fear,” Galen said.

  He held out his arm, waiting for Rsiran. Haern joined him, wishing he had more time to train, but knowing it might not matter. If there were only one or two Forgers, there shouldn’t be an issue, and he felt the same as Galen. They couldn’t simply leave the Forgers to continue to assault the barrier, and they couldn’t leave it if they were willing to attack anyone who came through it.

  Rsiran nodded.

  He Slid to them, grabbing both of them, and then Slid again.

  Haern wasn’t always aware of movement when Sliding, but this time he could feel it. It was a surge of power and a sudden fluttering of motion, far faster than any he had experienced when Sliding before. When they emerged, it was brief, barely a moment, and Haern tried to See everything around him, taking in the landscape. But then they Slid again, emerging briefly one more time, and then another Slide, and then another.

  When they were done, when they finally emerged and Rsiran released them, they stood on a sloped hillside with the Aisl forest in the distance. A stream burbled nearby. The sun shone overhead, wisps of clouds swirling in the air. A breeze fluttered against his skin, cool and pleasant.

  “What was that about?” Galen asked.

  “What did you See?” Rsiran asked.

  “You Slid too fast for me to See anything,” Galen said.

  “There was the forest,” Haern started, thinking about what he had Seen each time they had Slid and then emerged. “There were three people. Maybe four? We moved too quickly.”

  “Which one was that?” his father asked, looking over at him.

  “It was the first Slide.”

  “Good. What about the second?”

  “The second there was no one. There was a sense of something. Maybe lorcith?”

  His father nodded. “I felt it, too. What about the next?”

  “The next one there were only a few people. Two, maybe three.”

  “You saw that in that brief period of time?” Galen asked.

  “It was a glimpse, nothing more,” Haern said. “I wasn’t even sure what I was seeing, but it was the sense of lorcith I kept focusing on.”

  “I wasn’t sure how safe it would be to emerge for longer than a moment. I figured one of you would be able to See something.”

  “How?” Galen asked.

  “Jessa used to be able to do the same. It was how we managed to handle the Hjan before. I would Slide and emerge, and she would tell me what we were dealing with.”

  “What does it mean that you saw anywhere from four to six different Forgers?” Galen asked.

  “It means they have attacked from more than one front.”

  “And the lorcith Haern detected?” Galen asked.

  “Those were the cuffs I had placed on the Forger,” his father said.

  “I thought he wouldn’t have been able to remove them?”

  “I didn’t think he would be able to remove them. With other Forgers, it’s possible that they overwhelmed the lorcith, the same way they do when they attempt to use it.”

 
; “What now?”

  “Now we can either choose to attack or we can remain hidden.”

  “Where would we attack?”

  “We would attack where we can,” Rsiran said. “And we would take out the easiest targets first.”

  Galen looked over to Rsiran. “And what constitutes an easy target?”

  “The fewer attackers we have to deal with, the easier it will be to confront them,” Rsiran said.

  “That still doesn’t make it an easy attack.”

  “If there were three of them and three of us, it is certainly even odds, but that’s only if Haern feels he’s ready to confront the Forgers.”

  His father looked at him, and he didn’t know the answer. Was he ready to confront the Forgers like that? He didn’t know if he had the necessary skills, especially when it came to using his ability with the metals, but perhaps he didn’t have a choice in the matter anymore. It was time for him to take on this responsibility, to do what he had trained for, and help protect Elaeavn and the people within it.

  “I’m ready.”

  “Good. Because they’re coming.”

  Haern looked but didn’t see anything. “How do you know?”

  “Because I can feel them. Listen to the lorcith. Hear how it screams.”

  “Screams?” Galen asked, arching a brow.

  “The Forgers force the metal in ways that it would fight. There is only so much the metal can do against the Forgers, and it screams, trying to oppose what they demand of it. It’s one thing I doubt the Forgers have ever understood about lorcith, as much as they understand. The metal must be worked with, and you must accommodate what it needs, not forcing what you need.”

  Galen could only shake his head. “One of these days, I think you and I will need to sit and talk about this, but today is not that day,” Galen said.

  “Fine, but you can’t deny what I can feel.”

  “Where are they?” Galen asked.

  “There,” his father said, pointing.

  In the distance, he saw the Forgers. They were searching, as if looking for where Haern and his father had gone, and he didn’t recognize any of them. Thankfully, none were the man they had held captive. He wasn’t sure how he would react if faced with that man again. He thought he would be able to withstand him, and that he would be able to avoid hesitation, but that man had left him with questions. And he didn’t have the answers he needed, not yet.

  His father Slid, and he emerged near the Forgers, forcing their attention on him. The Forgers reacted immediately, facing his father.

  Galen’s hand dipped into his pouch, flipping through his poisons.

  “If you’re ready, then we should do this, but I don’t want you to do it if you’re not.”

  “I don’t know that I have much choice.”

  Galen studied him for a moment. “Good luck,” he said.

  With that, Galen went racing forward.

  Haern took a deep breath, and then he pushed on one of his knives, sending it behind him, and pushed again, flying into the air, pulling on the knife, drawing it to him before pushing once again. He used a combination of pushing and pulling to carry him higher and higher in the air, and as he soared overhead, he had an idea.

  He pushed on his knife, sending it down toward the skull of one of the Forgers.

  It crumpled the man’s head.

  Haern tried not to think about the fact that he had destroyed someone so easily, but it was difficult. The Forgers had attacked without any provocation and had nearly killed so many. Why should he feel remorse?

  Haern dropped to the ground.

  Three other Forgers had appeared.

  Five fighters remained, and his father handled two of them while Galen took care of two others. One turned his attention to Haern.

  Haern pushed, using the knife he had crumpled the skull of the other Forger with to get airborne, and he hovered. The Forger aimed his weapon, and Haern reacted, pushing again, getting more distance.

  He pulled on the knife, trying to bring it toward the Forger, but the man Slid away from the attack.

  Haern landed and then pushed again, getting back into the air and turning his attention toward the Forger. Each time he pushed off, the Forger seemed ready, and he Slid again.

  Haern would need to try a different approach. Could he distract him?

  With enough of a pull, he might be able to use another knife on him. Haern pushed, flying overhead once again, and as he started to come down, the Forger began to Slide. Haern pulled on a different knife, and it went tearing through the Slide. The Forger stumbled forward.

  When he landed, there were only two Forgers remaining.

  Galen and his father were facing off with Forgers, and it took Haern a moment to realize that his father confronted the same Forger they had captured.

  He had returned.

  There was a determination in the face of the Forger, and he glared at Rsiran as he fought. His father Slid easily, moving from place to place, unmindful of the fact that he confronted this other Forger.

  Galen looked to need more help.

  Haern turned his attention to Galen.

  The Forger Slid from place to place, and Galen made a steady circuit, turning in place as he watched. Every so often, he would throw a dart, but the Forger Slid, escaping before the dart managed to hit.

  How long would Galen be able to withstand the attack?

  He didn’t know, but he doubted the other man would survive for very long against a Forger that was able to control his Slide that much. Each time the Forger emerged, he pointed his slender rod-like weapon at Galen. Galen managed to duck and roll out of the way each time, but the tense look on his face told Haern that the other man was growing tired.

  He had to intervene.

  He pushed on a knife, flying into the air, and when he came down, he pushed on another knife, sending it at the Forger.

  The Forger turned his attention to Haern, watching him for a moment before moving on, redirecting his focus on Galen.

  Haern sent a pair of knives at the Forger, and they were stopped in midair, the effect of the Forger and his control over the lorcith enough that he wasn’t able to overpower the man.

  He tried again, this time directing the knives from above, trying to angle them down, but once again the Forger pushed against him.

  He Slid, and when he emerged, he was behind Haern and Galen.

  Haern spun, and the Forger angled his weapon at Haern. It was going to strike Galen.

  He wasn’t about to let Galen get hit that way. He pushed a knife in between the attack, and it was deflected, twisting away.

  The Forger turned his full attention to Haern.

  He was a youngish-looking man and had flat green eyes, the kind that signified he could have once been from Elaeavn, but there was nothing in his face that said he felt remorse for attacking others of Elaeavn.

  He Slid, and when he emerged, he did so near Galen.

  Haern pushed off on one of his knives and threw himself into the Forger. He crashed into the man, and they tumbled.

  The Forger Slid and emerged only a few steps away.

  Haern fought, pushing again, and this time the Forger Slid before he managed to reach him.

  Haern pushed upward. When the Forger emerged, he pulled on the knife, and it went toward the Forger but stopped in midair. As it stopped, Haern pushed down again, sending himself upward and the knife down to the ground. While in midair, he redirected the force and pulled on the knife, and it streaked toward the Forger.

  It struck the man, ripping through his stomach. He collapsed to a heap on the ground.

  Haern lowered himself, checking on Galen. The other man looked uninjured, but he was staring over Haern’s shoulder, his gaze fixated on something else.

  Haern spun around and realized that his father still faced the other Forger. One of their strange barbs pierced his back, and he tried to Slide but couldn’t. He staggered off to the side, the Forger angling his weapon at Rsiran.

/>   “No!”

  Haern pushed, and it carried him up into the air. He landed next to the Forger. The other man glanced over at Haern. There came a flicker of emotion, but it passed quickly. When it was gone, he Slid, jamming his metal rod into Rsiran’s stomach, and Slid again, disappearing.

  Haern sank to his knees. He looked around. Everything was gone. Everything he had been after was gone. And he had failed. Not only had they failed to discover where the other man had gone, they had lost his father. Again.

  And this time, Haern didn’t think his father would find a way to escape.

  What would happen?

  He looked around at the fallen Forgers. None of them moved. They were dead. Too many gone. Too many lost because of these attacks. And now he was responsible for more deaths. He had come intentionally, wanting to face the Forgers, wanting to end the fighting, and what had he accomplished?

  Nothing. He had lost his father. They had lost the one person who would be able to help end the Forger attacks. And short of finding Carth, there didn’t seem to be any way of getting help.

  Galen reached for him and helped him to his feet. Haern looked up at him, his eyes rimmed with tears. “It’s my fault.”

  “Is it?” He shook his head. “You did what you could. There’s only so much that you could do at this point.”

  “He’s gone.”

  “For now.”

  “They’re going to kill him, Galen.”

  “I’m not sure they will. They value him for some reason, maybe because of everything your father has said about his connection to lorcith. Maybe they recognize their shortcomings when it comes to that metal. And if they do, then we have a chance.”

  “I don’t know how.”

  “Do you need to know how?”

  “This is my father.”

  “Your father, but he worked with you. You had an opportunity to train with him. And now you need to carry on his legacy however you need to.”

  Haern stared at the bodies of the Forgers. They had fought more than he realized. There had been seven Forgers and only the three of them, and somehow they had survived, lasting long enough to overcome the attack.

  And it wasn’t over.

  The more experience he had with the Forgers, the more he wondered if it ever would be over. What would it take for them to finally end this?