Shadow Cross (The Shadow Accords Book 5)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Carth frowned.

  The top deck of the ship was empty, with no sign of Guya or Dara. Carth hadn’t expected to see Dara, especially with how sick she’d been when they’d left, but Guya rarely left the topside while in port. He feared what other sailors might do. Piracy didn’t only happen on the sea.

  Had something happened to Dara?

  That was the only reason Guya would have left the ship.

  Not the only reason, she had to admit.

  There had been Guya’s reluctance to return to Asador. It was his home, but he’d resisted coming back, willingly spending whatever time Carth had wanted to travel around the north to search for the remaining blood priests. And then there had been the way the healer had disappeared the moment Carth had mentioned the ship she’d come on. Had she sent word to someone that Guya had upset?

  “This isn’t right,” she said, though it was mostly to herself.

  Lindy nodded, her mouth pinched into a tight frown. “Have you noticed anything?”

  Carth tipped her head to the side. “Nothing. Do you detect anything?”

  Lindy closed her eyes and pulled on the shadows, fading into them. What Lindy did was different than the way Carth used the shadows. Whereas Carth used them more like cloaking herself, something that Jhon had taught her, Lindy used them in a way that lessened her but didn’t shroud her completely. Carth didn’t know if that had to do with the fact that she was shadow born and could see through them, but had decided that it must actually be different.

  When Lindy opened her eyes, she shook her head. “They’re gone.”

  “How do you do that?” The shadows were powerful, but they shouldn’t be able to give her that kind of insight. With the S’al, Carth could detect differences in heat… could that be how Lindy had known? It intrigued her that she continued to learn about the shadows, and she appreciated having Lindy with her to help her discover the different connections.

  “It’s nothing more than an understanding of the power within the shadows,” Lindy said.

  Carth focused on the shadows and sank into them. There was a time when she had called it cloaking, but this was somewhat different than what she had done when she had cloaked herself. This was almost as if she faded into the shadows themselves. Others who were more skilled could truly fade into them and disappear completely as they did. They didn’t even need the same shadow-born ability Carth possessed.

  The shadows let her know there was a difference here, a variation among the shadows, but no sign of Guya or Dara.

  Lindy laughed softly. “If you ever come to fully understand the shadows, you are going to be very powerful.”

  “I have you to teach me.”

  “I can’t do what you do.”

  “You know enough. The rest I can figure out over time.”

  “You could have gone with the Reshian,” Lindy started. Carth arched a brow at her. “Fine. Ignore the fact that your father was willing to work with you.”

  “I wasn’t willing to pay the price that would have required.”

  “There’s always a price to pay for power. Haven’t you taught me that?”

  “I’ve taught you many things.”

  “And this you taught yourself. From the look on your face, I can tell you succeeded without anyone showing you how. It took me two years to learn how to do that, and I still can only do it in confined spaces. You… you managed to simply discover it.”

  “It’s similar to what I can do with the S’al.”

  “They shouldn’t be similar enough for you to use the same skills.”

  Carth chuckled. Lindy had been around her long enough to know that she shouldn’t make statements like that, but her time in Isahl and within Ih-lash had been enough to keep the old ways of thinking ingrained in her head. “They’re not as dissimilar as most think.”

  “Not as different? They are entirely different.”

  “Can you use the power of the S’al?”

  Lindy frowned. “You know I cannot.”

  “Just know that they’re similar.” She pulsed through the power of the flame and used that to reach for differences in temperature below deck, but found nothing. She hadn’t expected to, especially once she’d realized there was nothing with the shadows, but she wanted to check anyway.

  “Let’s see if they left any sign of where they went,” Carth said.

  Lindy’s brow was furrowed in a frown, but she nodded.

  When they went below deck, they searched for Guya and Dara, but the rooms were empty. Dara’s bunk had the sheets thrown back. Guya’s door was locked. The other rooms were empty as well. There was no sign of anyone here.

  Carth couldn’t shake an unsettled sense she had within her. It wasn’t that the rooms were empty, but that Carth had no way of knowing where they would have gone.

  “Look here,” Lindy said, pointing to the floor outside of Dara’s room.

  Carth studied the floor and noted a slight streak of blood mixed with vomit.

  “He went to get help,” Carth said.

  Lindy nodded. “I think he must have. But why would he have brought her with him? Why not go for help and bring them to her? She wouldn’t have been well enough to come with him, at least not very far.”

  “Unless she got too sick to stay behind,” Carth said.

  But Carth and Lindy would have seen them, wouldn’t they? Wouldn’t he have brought Dara to the same healer they’d just visited?

  They wouldn’t know the streets as well as Guya. He’d spent significant amounts of time in Asador and would have known where to go.

  “I should have known,” Carth said.

  Lindy frowned. “How were you supposed to know? She said she wasn’t that bad.”

  “I know, but I should have known. She wasn’t acting herself, especially the last few days.”

  “She thought it was seasickness.”

  “She only said that to have an answer. Dara knew it wasn’t seasickness.” That would have made sense had they only recently left, but Dara had been sailing with her for a while now, long enough that she should have gotten accustomed to the sea.

  Carth looked from the pile of vomit and wondered if this was something that had happened recently. They been gone most of the evening, but Dara could’ve deteriorated fairly rapidly. Carth leaned down, getting close to the vomit, ignoring Lindy’s protestations and the slight sound of her gagging.

  Carth didn’t have the same weak stomach and didn’t mind getting too close to the foul-smelling liquid, especially if it meant that she could determine what had happened to her friend. She owed that much to Dara.

  The blood was dry. The vomit itself was hardened, and though there was an odor to it, it wasn’t quite as bad as it would have been when fresh.

  Carth frowned. Where would they have gone?

  She stopped in front of Guya’s door, testing the lock and then surging a hint of shadows through it, forcing the lock open. She hated violating Guya’s trust this way and had never done so during their time sailing together, preferring to allow him his privacy, but she needed to know what had happened here.

  Unlike Dara’s bed, where the sheets had been pulled back, leaving the bed unmade, Guya’s bunk was neatly made. She scanned his room and noted the lantern next to the bed, the stack of books in the corner, and the trunk at the foot of the bed.

  The trunk was cracked open.

  Carth wondered about that. Why would Guya have left the trunk open?

  She flipped the lid up and found it empty. It had a slight bitter odor to it, one that reminded her of some of the medicines she now carried with her.

  Carth turned to Lindy, who stood in the doorway, watching her. “I don’t like this.”

  “I don’t either. I know you’re worried about Dara, but we’ll find out what happened when they return.”

  Carth nodded, but didn’t feel comfortable with that answer. Something inside her, instinct or a hunch, told her that there was more going on than she realized.

  She cl
osed her eyes so that she could almost see pieces of the game board being moved around her, and asked the question she always asked when trying to understand something: What was she missing?

  There had to be something, but what was it?

  Carth made her way back up to the deck and stood staring out at the sea. There was something peaceful about the sea, and she often thought she could find answers more easily while staring at the water. Answers didn’t come to her today.

  She turned her attention back to the ship and noted a trail of blood she hadn’t seen before. There were scorch marks she’d overlooked as well.

  Had Dara used her ability?

  Carth followed the blood, wondering whose it was, when a soft moaning caught her attention.

  It came from the dock.

  Carth jumped, reaching the dock, and found Dara lying sprawled near its edge. One bad roll and she would have splashed into the water.

  “Dara?” Carth said.

  Her friend said nothing. A sheen of sweat coated Dara’s forehead, and even in the moonlight, it was obvious how yellow her skin had become.

  Carth knew what that meant: Dara needed help, or she would die.

  4

  Carth carried Dara, hurrying along the street. Dara lolled against her, her head rolling as if the muscles in her neck had failed her. Lindy had offered to help carry her, but Carth had declined, preferring Lindy to take a forward position to keep an eye on them. She could mask them with the shadows, just enough that it would obscure them from others’ eyes.

  In the shadows, she couldn’t see how washed out Dara looked and didn’t see any signs of the yellow in her skin, but she noted the sickly odor, a mixture of vomit and whatever illness it was that consumed Dara.

  How much time did they have before Dara could not be helped? The woman had barely eaten for the last few days, and she grew increasingly weak. If they didn’t get her help—real help—and soon, Carth didn’t like the odds of Dara’s recovery.

  “Where should we go?” Lindy asked.

  Carth considered bringing Dara back to the healer Guya had recommended. The timing of their visit with Guya’s disappearance made her uncomfortable. They would have to find another healer, one who wouldn’t have the same bias, but perhaps one without the same level of skill as the one Guya had recommended.

  No option was good.

  Dara moaned softly, and Carth cupped her friend against her, wishing there were some way she could do more than comfort Dara. She couldn’t take the risk that she would find a healer of enough skill to help her friend. That left her with no other option than to bring Dara back to the other healer—even if she was responsible for what had happened to Guya.

  They made their way through the streets, passing people out for the evening, some already intoxicated, others likely on their way to the taverns. Some appeared to be part of the city’s underworld, their dress dark and their furtive glances making it clear they looked for signs of those who might report them. Carth had grown accustomed to seeing men like that when she’d lived on the docks.

  Dozens of children were found around the streets as well. Many wandered without parents, all of different ages, making Carth wonder whether they were orphans or whether they were involved in some nefarious activity, much as Carth had once been.

  When they reached the yellow door of the healer’s shop, they found it locked.

  A lantern burned behind the glass window, and Carth saw flickers of shadow moving there as well. She frowned, knowing that it was too late for the healer’s shop to be open, but something had to be done for Dara. She debated whether to knock or simply barge in, but decided that attempting a politer approach would likely give her the best chance of getting the help she needed.

  Carth nodded at the door, and Lindy knocked.

  They stood waiting for a moment until the door slowly opened.

  An eye poked out, though not one belonging to the healer they had met before. A youthful face with smooth features over her deeply tanned skin, with eyes that were almost as black as the night, widened slightly when they noticed Carth carrying Dara.

  She pulled the door open quickly and motioned them in.

  Carth hesitated. This wasn’t the same woman they had seen before, but maybe she trained under the other, and maybe she would be more accommodating. She was young, about the same age as Carth, and had a determined set to her jaw as she studied them.

  Inside the herbalist shop, the lantern cast a soft glow. It was not enough to disperse the shadows completely, but enough for Carth to note the rows of jars on the shelves and the glittering of oil within clear basins as well. The woman pointed to the back corner of the shop, and Carth carried Dara obediently. She found a small cot there and set Dara upon it.

  “What happened to her?” the woman asked.

  Carth glanced to Lindy, not certain whether this woman was to be trusted, but for Dara’s sake, she needed to be as forthright as possible.

  “Vomiting. Several days of vomiting. She hasn’t been able to keep anything down.” She decided to leave out the part about her trying the elixir, especially since the other woman had questioned her more pointedly after hearing that.

  The woman nodded. “Her skin has a slight jaundice to it.” She lifted Dara’s lids and looked at her eyes before nodding to herself. She leaned in and smelled her breath and then raised each arm before lowering them once more.

  The woman hurried to the back of the shop, quickly gathering some supplies. She placed several different powders in a small bowl and began mixing, tapping her finger on the side of the bowl as she did. After a while, she went back to the shelves and found a vial of oil that she added to the mixture.

  “What kind of oil is that?” Carth asked, unable to help herself.

  “This is dalin oil,” the woman said. “I need something to bind these agents together; otherwise, they remain powdered. I don’t want to dilute them too much or they lose potency, so the dalin oil should do the trick.”

  Carth breathed out a sigh of relief. This woman seemed to know what she was talking about. It reassured her, but didn’t completely take away the edge of worry that nagged at her, or the concern she felt wondering why the old woman had been so unwilling to work with them. It didn’t take away the troubled sensation that gnawed at her stomach when she wondered about what had happened to Guya or why Dara had attempted to crawl off the ship. Guya wouldn’t have simply left her, not knowing how sick she was, which meant there was another answer.

  The healer continued mixing her concoction. When she finished, she tipped it to Dara’s lips, forcing her to drink. It was an awful shade of orange, one that almost glowed, and Carth imagined it tasted horrible, especially with the smell it had once mixed. It was a sharp scent, one touched with a hint of soot and smoke and mixed with something she would describe as a rot—likely the dalin oil—and wished there might’ve been something else that would help Dara so that she didn’t need it.

  The healer nodded to herself. “That’s done. Now all we have to do is wait.”

  “How long?” Carth asked.

  The other woman shook her head. “It is unpredictable. There are many things that can cause jaundice such as your friend experienced. It could be something as simple as what she ate, an illness, or something that she might have been exposed to. What I gave her will help allay the symptoms and give her time to recover if she can. She needs time. If it was food, time will allow her to recover. If an exposure, it will wash out of her system. If an illness… there might be little that can be done.”

  Carth stared at Dara, hoping that time was all that was needed for her to recover. “How much do we owe you?” she asked.

  The woman shook her head again. “I don’t know how long she’ll take to recover. I think she should remain here until she awakens. I can continue working with her and provide whatever medicine she needs.”

  Carth glanced to Lindy. Neither of them preferred leaving Dara here—especially considering the way the first healer had t
reated them—but what choice did they have? It would give them time to look for Guya, and they wouldn’t have to worry about Dara being cared for.

  Carth sighed and pulled a gold coin from her pocket, setting it on the counter. “See that she is well cared for. I’ll check back in the morning.”

  “Of course. Before you go, tell me her name in case she awakens.”

  “Dara. Her name is Dara.”

  “And you?” the woman asked.

  “I am Carthenne Rel.”

  The woman stuck her hand out and waited until Carth shook it. “I’m Abigail. I’m only an apprentice, but I’ve seen things like this before, and I’ll make sure my mistress gives her all the attention she needs when she returns.”

  Carth hoped that when the mistress returned, she wouldn’t be angry about the fact that Carth had brought Dara to her for healing. Most healers wouldn’t object when faced with someone as sick as Dara, but if there was something between her and Guya, some reason the healer refused to help him, she didn’t want to chance it.

  If that was the case, though, why would Guya have sent her to this healer?

  The pieces on the game board didn’t make sense. Carth had to arrange them and see if she could puzzle out the answers. For now, she needed to make the next move and find Guya. Then she could make the one after that. And then another.

  “See that she gets all the help she needs. We can pay whatever it takes.”

  Abigail waved her hand. “The cost is not an issue. Come back in the morning, and we’ll see how she’s doing. If she’s doing well enough at that time, she can return with you. Otherwise, she may need to stay here until she recovers completely.”

  Carth crouched next to Dara and leaned towards her friend, whispering in her ear. “We’ll return, Dara. Get well.”

  She touched her on the forehead and then stood, motioning for Lindy to follow her out of the shop.

  Back out on the street, they stood in front of the healer’s shop until Abigail locked the door behind them. There was a finality to the sound, one that made Carth worry that she wouldn’t see Dara again. She hoped that leaving her with the healer had been the right decision.