The Fragment of Water (The Shattered Soul Book 1)

by Ben Hale

  “No eavesdropping.”

  “You think I would do that?” Shadow asked, raising his hands.

  “Yes,” Elenyr said, and then smiled. “I need you to trust me, and wait out here.”

  She looked at each in turn, waiting until they nodded. Then she looked to Mind, who held her gaze, his expression thoughtful. Eventually he nodded and she knew he would obey. With a nod of gratitude, Elenyr turned and joined Ero and Lira in her home.

  Stepping through the front door, she strode into the main hall of her private quarters. Originally intended as a training hall, the large chamber was open to the second floor, where several doors looked down on the main living area.

  Couches and chairs were positioned throughout the space, which could have accommodated twenty, yet hadn’t had more than six in ages. Paintings of castles and oracle descendants adorned the walls, while a painting of Alydian hung above the mantle, her smile one of joy, a baby girl in her arms.

  The moment Elenyr stepped inside her smile faded. “How bad is the breach?” she asked.

  “Skorn’s wife and son are here,” Lira said.

  Elenyr’s heart sank. She’d hoped it was just a random krey that had discovered Lumineia, but this was worse. Wylyn knew about the Eternals and wanted to destroy what they protected. If she succeeded in revealing Lumineia to the Empire . . .

  Elenyr shuddered. “When?”

  “Nine days past,” Lira said.

  Elenyr shook her head. “How did this happen?”

  “She has been searching for Skorn since his disappearance,” Ero replied. “And wants vengeance upon me. Unfortunately, she did not come just for me. She intends to open a Gate to her house, and bring her army to take the people of Lumineia as slaves.”

  Elenyr frowned and glanced at Lira. “Does she have such an army?”

  Ero sighed, his shoulders hunching. “She does.”

  “You must find her,” Elenyr said.

  “That will be a challenge,” Lira said. “As you know, the Eternals protect Lumineia, but few have lived here in many years. None know the current world, and we need a guide.”

  “One that knows about the Eternals,” she said, realizing what Lira meant. “You want me to help.”

  “You and Draeken,” Lira said. “Wylyn has come with four patrols of dakorians, and enough weaponry to stop even you.”

  “The fragments are not ready,” Elenyr said.

  “It’s been five thousand years,” Ero said.

  “I know,” she said, “and they are just now controlling their magics.”

  “Why has it taken so long?” Lira asked.

  Elenyr felt a surge of irritation, as if the woman doubted Elenyr’s ability to teach. “You think you could do better?”

  The woman shook her head. “I mean no disrespect. But is he not a mage?”

  “No,” Elenyr said. “He is a guardian.” She motioned east, to where the ruins of Verisith continued to decay. “The guardian spell was meant to create a powerful protector. But it granted too much power, and the magic consumed the wielder, frequently within months of their creation. The longer they remained conscious, the quicker they fell to madness.

  “Draeken should have fallen to madness ages ago,” she said. “And if that had occurred, it would have been my duty to destroy him. Instead, each fragment has spent millennia learning to control their own magic.”

  “They are all fragments of a single being?” Ero asked.

  “They are,” Elenyr said. “As fragments they are powerful guardians, but when they are one . . .” she shook her head and looked away.

  “No mother thinks of her children as ready for war,” Ero said. “Nevertheless, he seems ready.”

  “Not as Draeken,” she said. “They have spent nearly the whole of their lives apart, and as Draeken they cannot control their power.”

  She recalled the last time Draeken had been whole. The merging consciousness always left Mind in control, but the power was still too much, and the scars from the attempt had taken years to regrow. There was still a blackened section of rock on the cliff from the combat, a legacy of when Draeken had burst back into the five fragments.

  Ero nodded as if he’d expected the answer. “We do not know Wylyn’s location or plan, so perhaps it’s best you separate, with Lira to join your ranks.”

  “Her?” Elenyr asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I’m capable in a fight, I assure you,” she said.

  Elenyr’s first impulse was to reject the idea. But Ero’s point about motherhood was too accurate to dismiss, and Elenyr realized just how much she’d sheltered Draeken. As she considered the prospect she looked back at the last century, at the rising sense of impatience displayed by the fragments. On the most recent journey Water had not displayed his usual lightheartedness, and she realized she’d been remiss in her duty. Perhaps joining this endeavor would be a final test to see if the fragments were ready to become Draeken.

  Elenyr looked to Ero. “Do you remember when you asked me to be an Eternal?”

  He offered a faint smile. “Shortly after Alydian died. I remember you refused, and said you had not fulfilled your duty to Draeken.”

  “Are you asking us to be Eternals?” Elenyr asked.

  “Perhaps,” Ero said. “But all Eternals must prove themselves, for much is at stake. In you I have no doubts, but Draeken is another matter. Do you believe he is ready?”

  Elenyr sighed and looked out the window, to where the fragments still stood talking. Shadow was absent, and despite his avowal, was probably listening by now. As an oracle, Elenyr had known she would only ever have a daughter, so to have sons was a privilege she’d never anticipated. A tightening in her chest accompanied her next words.

  “He’s ready to find out,” she said.

  Ero nodded in gratitude and turned to Lira. “Although you are the Eternal, Elenyr must lead this endeavor.”

  “Why?” she asked, obviously surprised.

  “She knows the people, the kingdoms, and the fragments. You know our enemy.”

  Lira obviously didn’t like being relegated to a supporting role, but she nodded, her features tight with disappointment. A flicker of self-doubt was also present, and Elenyr wondered if there was more they were not saying.

  “We shall begin the hunt tomorrow,” Elenyr said, and raised her voice. “Shadow, would you please summon the others?”

  There was an impish laugh and the shadow behind the shelves flitted out the window. “Of course,” he called.

  Ero turned to Lira. “I wish I could stay, but there are other Eternals in danger, and other threats that must be quelled.”

  He said his farewells and then pulled a pocket mirror into view. It activated at his touch and flowed into a mirror that blocked the fire in the hearth. Nodding to Lira and Elenyr, he stepped through the glass and the mirror faded from sight.

  Chapter 8: Breached

  Elenyr stared at the empty wall, her thoughts distant. Then she turned and strode to the rear of her home, where a door led to her personal archives. After a moment’s hesitation, Lira followed her inside.

  Books lined the chamber, rising for four levels. Alcoves dotted the space, while the center of the chamber contained a large fireplace. The chimney rose through the center of the room, the large hearth cold and dark. On a raised section of floor around the fireplace, couches sat with tables and desks for study.

  “You have more books than a king,” Lira said.

  Elenyr nodded absently as she ascended a staircase to a small archive set at the back of the room. She frowned as she sought among her only tomes that spoke of the Dawn of Magic. Many of the archives in Lumineia had material that spoke of that time, but most of the books had been written by historians many years after. She was one of the few with books and archives actually written by witnesses.

  She carefully lifted a large tome down from the shelf and carried it to the desk near the hearth. As she opened the cover, the fragments filed in, and Fire gestured to the hear
th, sending a current of flame to ignite the wood.

  “Thank you, Fire,” Elenyr said.

  She leafed her way through the pages, her fingers brushing across the air magic that protected the parchment from damage. When she found the right page she turned to Lira and the fragments.

  “The krey have discovered Lumineia.”

  The fragments exchanged a look, and Mind frowned. “How many?”

  “Wylyn, Skorn’s wife, and Relgor, her son, have come with four patrols of dakorians,” Lira said.

  “We know what they are,” Mind said, motioning to her archives. “What is her goal? She wants the truth of her husband?”

  “Hardly,” Lira scoffed. “The krey are not known for their love. She wants what he and Ero created, the wealth of this world.”

  “And we are to stop them?” Water asked.

  “We are,” Elenyr said, and pointed to the book. “The challenge is in finding her.”

  “Surely they will be noticed,” Shadow said.

  “They will,” Elenyr said. “The dakorians resemble rock trolls in size and shape, while the krey resemble the race of man.”

  “Their greatest weakness will be their pride,” Lira said. “They view the people here as slaves. They will not be able to resist killing, without regard to age, race, or station. We should be able to follow the destruction to locate them.”

  “Find them and kill them,” Fire said, folding his arms. “Sounds simple enough.”

  “These are unlike any foes you have faced,” Lira said. “Just one dakorian can destroy a legion of men.”

  “We are not normal men,” Shadow said with a smirk.

  “I hope not,” Lira said. “Because you have no idea the threat you face. The krey have technology you cannot imagine, their weaponry beyond anything you possess.”

  Mind scowled. “You underestimate us.”

  “You underestimate your enemy,” Lira said.

  “We do not know our enemy,” Mind said. “That is why you are joining us, is it not?”

  Lira held Mind’s gaze, a frown creasing her features, but Elenyr nodded her approval. Mind had a gift for perception, and intuition. When others saw what lay before them, he saw what lay ahead. Still, the slight tension between Mind and Lira did not bode well, and Elenyr considered who to send with the Eternal.

  “Guardian or man, the dakorians will slaughter you all,” Lira said. “And if they open a Gate to Wylyn’s home, she will be able to bring her entire army.”

  “How many?” Mind asked.

  “Many times the population of Lumineia.”

  Light, who’d been playing with a dagger of light, looked up in surprise. “Surely there cannot be that many.”

  Lira folded her arms. “That’s just her house guard. If she brings the armies of the allied houses, the number will be far greater.”

  “So why has she not opened a Gate already?” Mind asked.

  “Gates come in several types,” Lira said. “The smallest of which connects to a single exit. The largest can connect to other worlds, and that is what Wylyn and Relgor will seek to build. I destroyed their gravity sphere, so they will need a source of power. They will also need a specific mineral that all Gates are built from.”

  As Elenyr listened, a plan began to take shape. They needed answers from across the kingdoms, and the faster they discovered Wylyn’s location, the better. But who to send with who?

  “So we know what she wants,” Fire said. “Let’s stop wasting time and go find her.”

  “We must hasten,” Elenyr said, nodding to herself as she mentally selected the groups. “Light, can you give us a map, please?”

  “Of course,” Light said.

  Light dismissed the knife he’d been twirling and stepped into the center of the group. The chamber darkened as he pulled on the illumination to create a globe of light in their midst, the light bending and twisting into a map, the contours of the islands displayed in intricate detail.

  The great blue lake was a shade darker, the rivers connecting to its banks. At Lira’s request, Light added script, the letters showing Talinor to the south, Griffin to the east, and Erathan to the west. The dwarven realm was shown in the mountain of the northwest, while gnomes, orcs, and trolls lived in the north. The reclusive barbarians lived in the southeast, the closest neighbors to their current refuge.

  “It’s beautiful,” Lira remarked, causing Light to flush.

  “It’s nothing,” Light said.

  Elenyr strode around the map and pointed to the western kingdom of Erathan. “Water and Light, I want you to go to Erathan. Find the Ear. If anyone knows where Wylyn is, he will.”

  “You don’t want to see Jeric yourself?” Water asked, his lips twitching into a smile.

  “No,” Elenyr said.

  “Who’s Jeric?” Lira asked.

  Fire grinned and pointed to Elenyr. “He’s the one that fell in love—”

  “Fire,” Elenyr said, her voice tinged with warning, “that’s enough.”

  Elenyr looked between them, but the amusement on the faces of the fragments brought a frown to her own. Shadow put his lips together like a kiss. Elenyr’s irritation mounted, and she stabbed a finger at Lira.

  “You’ll find out for yourself,” Elenyr said to Water. “Lira is going with you.”

  “What?” Water asked, his smile disappearing. “Why? I mean, I’m happy to have her with us . . . but we can, I mean . . .”

  “I don’t mind,” Light said with a broad smile.

  Shadow drifted close to Elenyr and lowered his voice so only Elenyr could hear. “Nice deflection.”

  Elenyr hid a smile and turned to Water. “While the three of you go to Jeric, I’ll travel with Mind and Fire to Herosian. If reports have come in of strange outlanders, King Porlin will have heard of it.”

  “One group to find out what the people know, one to find out what the nobility has heard.” Mind nodded his approval. “What about Shadow?”

  Elenyr turned and stepped to the open book she’d retrieved. Summoning Light, she pointed to the small map on the paper and Light nodded. Pointing to the floating map, he added pinpricks of light across the surface. No more than a dozen, they were placed in every region and land, even the unclaimed continent and the Dragon’s Teeth to the south.

  “These mark the only known Gate sites,” Elenyr said. “Each is a place where Wylyn and her companions could have arrived.”

  “There’s not too many,” Mind said. “Why don’t we just search them all, pick up the trail from the source?”

  “Lira?” Elenyr motioned to the map. “Care to answer that?”

  “Because this is not complete.” Lira stepped forward and pointed to one Gate location out to sea. “As is their custom, the krey built hundreds of Gate sites throughout the region, allowing them to instantly travel to their various outposts. In their war, many were lost, while others were destroyed.”

  “So she could have arrived anywhere,” Fire rumbled, folding his arms.

  “Fortunately a map was created near the close of the Dawn of Magic,” Elenyr said. “The map should reveal the location of all the Gate sites that survived. It was kept in the archives of the first elven queen until it was stolen by the Thieves Guild. It hasn’t been seen since.”

  “You think they still have it?” Shadow asked, his eyes lighting with anticipation.

  Elenyr nodded. “That is my hope. While the rest of us seek Wylyn, Shadow will go to the Thieves Guild and attempt to find the Gate map.”

  “Why do we need it?” Fire asked. “Surely she will not stay where she arrived.”

  Lira shook her head. “You’re thinking like one who is hunted. But the krey view themselves as superior beings, and Wylyn will not wish to sleep in the dirt. Many of the Gate outposts would have the luxuries of a krey structure. She and her son would be loath to abandon them for a bed in a human inn.”

  “Pride will be her undoing,” Mind said with a satisfied nod. Then he frowned. “Would one of the Gate sites
have a source of power for the Wylyn’s Gate?”

  “Not one of sufficient power,” Lira said. “To Ero’s knowledge, all the gravity spheres large enough for a World Gate were destroyed in the Dawn of Magic.”

  “There is one problem with my assignment,” Shadow said. “The Thieves Guild is currently in turmoil. A rival guild has arisen, one with more brutal tactics. Answers will be difficult to gain in such a conflict.”

  Elenyr regarded Shadow, measuring the excitement on his features. She’d sent him alone before, but did so with caution. Of the fragments, he was the most prone to mischief, and an extended assignment alone could lead to disastrous results.

  “Shadow,” Elenyr said, “can we trust you on your own?”

  “Me?” Shadow feigned a wounded expression. “What have I ever done to merit such doubt?”

  “Dozens of examples come to mind,” Fire said with a laugh.

  “It’s true,” Water said, his tone apologetic.

  “I’ll go with him,” Light exclaimed.

  Elenyr shook her head as Mind did the same. “No,” he said, his lips twitching in humor. “I don’t think we need to deal with the damage the two of you would cause.”

  Shadow laughed and acknowledged their doubt with a bow. “I’ll find the map.”

  “Without intrigue?” Elenyr pressed.

  “You wound me,” Shadow said. “But I swear any intrigue I am involved in will be necessary.”

  Light laughed lightly. “All intrigue is necessary. Isn’t that what you like to say?”

  Shadow smirked, and Elenyr sighed. “Shadow . . .”

  “Fine,” Shadow said. “I promise to not be fun.”

  Elenyr doubted his oath, but there was little that could be done. She needed Water to speak to Jeric, and if he encountered Wylyn he would need help from Light and Lira. She would send Fire or Mind with Shadow, but she would need both if she encountered the krey. Realizing she would just have to trust Shadow, she turned to the others.

  “Time is against us, so hasten your journeys.”

  “What do we do when we find Wylyn?” Mind asked.

  “We regroup,” Elenyr said. “And then we strike.”