Farseer

by Griffin Asher

  Contents

  Front matter

  Farseer

  My birth was ordinary; full of a woman’s pain and...

  More by Griffin Asher

  Beneath a Broken Sky - blurb

  Beneath a Broken Sky - Chapter 1

  In the Twilight Between - blurb

  In the Twilight Between - Chapter 1

  Author’s Note:

  About the Author:

  Every effort has been made to make this text...

  Farseer

  By Griffin Asher

  Copyright © 2015 Griffin Asher

  Smashwords Edition

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover design copyright © 2015 by Griffin Asher

  Farseer

  My birth was ordinary; full of a woman’s pain and blood. I didn’t mean to kill her, but I was frightened and I was dying.

  I’m told it was a hard pregnancy from the beginning. That’s why the Souleater was there. That’s why I was discovered so early.

  You never call a Souleater that to their face, even though it’s partly true. Guardians they call themselves, and I suppose that is partly true as well.

  Some Guardians are Healers, using the souls they collect to mend bones and wipe away disease. Some are Defenders, trained warriors who enforce the law and maintain order.

  I am a Farseer. The rarest of our kind. I only have one purpose.

  To kill.

  ~*~

  “He just turned down the ally!” Someone shouted ahead of us. I paused in the street, hard packed dirt firm under my boots. The Defender acting as guide for me took three steps more before he realized I had stopped. The ally ahead lead back towards the woods. The man must be trying to reach the shelter there.

  I turned down the nearest street. I didn’t know this town like the locals did, but I had studied the map in detail. And I knew Gillec Niryall. I had investigated him for over a month. The man was a coward who prayed on children. He wouldn’t risk a direct confrontation.

  “Farseer! We need to go this way. If he’s doubling back to his house we-“

  “He’s not going that way.” I didn’t slow my pace or turn to look at him. If he decided not to follow me that was his choice. I was not his supervisor, and he was not mine.

  The thud of boots told me when he started to trot to catch up. “We’re going to lose him.”

  “No, we’re not,” I said quietly. Even with his panting there was no need to speak louder.

  We came out at the edge of town, a clean line of buildings stopping just as abruptly as the forest began, a span of a hundred yards between both lines. I stopped just clear of the buildings. From here I had a clear line of sight for almost the whole length of the town.

  I waited.

  The sun was near setting and there were no oil lamps this far from main street, but there was enough light to see. Calls rang out in the cold evening air from the other Defenders. The one next to me shifted his weight from foot to foot, choppy breath clouding around him. At least he was silent. I didn’t really care about his discomfort. Or his doubt. I had learned, when my instincts pulled me, I should follow. And right now they told me to wait.

  A long moment passed. I centered, ready.

  Deep breath.

  Two.

  Three.

  The calls were farther away now.

  I didn’t smile as a figure slowly emerged from the shadows. He took a tentative step towards the woods, glancing right, then left.

  As his face turned towards me I released. Like an arrow shot from a bow my vision zoomed towards him, until that face was all I could see. Dark short beard, equally dark eyes, scar above his left brow. He matched the sketch I had been shown. I finally had the man I had been hunting so long in my sight.

  I let my vision fuzz on the edges, seeing past the man’s skin to what lay beneath. Wispy, white, the thin gauze outline of his soul was clear.

  The man took off running towards the trees. If he reached those, if he was able to escape my line of sight, he would be free, but it was far too late for that.

  The bindings of the soul to the body are many, but they are thin. Wires as fine as spider webs. I severed them with a sweep of thought and the man’s body fell, his momentum causing him to slide into the dirt, limbs flopping, lifeless.

  His soul twisted as I gathered the thin layers into a more compact bundle dragging it back to me. I was used to the impact of absorption. The trick was to let out a breath as the energy entered. I barely shuddered as the man’s soul disappeared through my heavy wool overcoat and into my body.

  It was over.

  I drew in a deep breath. The bite of cold cleared my head. I turned to the Defender still standing next to me. His eyes were fixed on the body lying sprawled halfway across the clearing to the woods.

  “I trust you can take care of the body,” I said, more to snap the man out of his wide eyed stare than to really ask the question.

  He glanced at me and swallowed hard when he realized I was looking at him.

  “Yes, Farseer.”

  I turned away from him and walked back down the street. I could feel the energy of a new soul trickling down through my limbs, but not the rush I used to feel. Perhaps I was becoming jaded, but all I felt at this moment was tired.

  ~*~

  A woman in riding skirts and a thick traveling cloak standing in the inn’s common room didn’t surprise me. That she cringed and averted her gaze when she saw the silver eye medallion pinned to my collar didn’t surprise me either. The fact that she still approached me, that was the first surprise I’d had all day.

  “Farseer-” her voice cracked and she coughed before trying again. “Sir, may I have a word with you?”

  She still didn’t meet my gaze. Most people didn’t look a Souleater in the eye. My eyes would be particularly bright right now, even after siphoning off most of the energy to the local Healer.

  “Not now,” I told the woman and swept past her towards the stairs. I needed quiet. Stillness. I wouldn’t get that with this woman’s fear vibrating the air.

  She took one step towards me as if to follow, another surprise, but she didn’t take a second and I ascended the stairs to my room without anymore interruptions.

  ~*~

  The room was cold when I rose. The servants hadn’t been in to light the fire, but it was still early, even for servants to be up. Even if the inn keeper could find one of his people brave enough to come into my room, I preferred to take care of my own needs. There was no need to frighten years off of people who were only trying to make a living the best they could.

  After lighting the fire to start warming the room I opened my door, intending on reaching the kitchens to retrieve a cup and kettle for morning tea, but there was a dark shape laying in the hall that blocked my path.

  I paused, holding still and silent as I let my eyes readjust to the darkness that was deeper now after looking away from the fire.

  The shape slowly formed into legs sticking out into the hall and a body leaned up against the wall. Several loops of long brown hair had fallen from the bun at the back of her head and now partly covered her face. I crouched next to her, settling on my heels. Yes, it was the same woman as the evening before. If nothing else I had to give her points for persistence.

  I reached out light fingers and brushed back the stray hair from her
face to take a better look at her. She was handsome, not pretty. There was a tan to her skin that told of working under the sun. My eyes traveled down to her cloths. Simple, practical shirt colored the deep brown of damp earth, the cuffs slightly frayed, but still neat. Her riding skirts were the same brown, pooling across the floor around her legs, the hem stained, but any mud that had been on them brushed away. Her boots were equally well used, but cleaned.

  I straightened and stepped silently over her. The inn was fairly new and in good working order, so the boards didn’t creek as I descended the stairs. I had looked about the place when I first arrived, so I knew where to go. Once in the kitchens I found the kettle I sought hanging from a peg near the cooking stove. I snagged two cups from the drying rack next to the wash tub, filled the kettle with water and headed back up the stairs.

  She was still asleep when I stepped back over her. The fire had warmed the room nicely. It didn’t take long for the water to heat. I threw in the tea leaves to brew before I returned to the sleeping woman.

  I frowned as I stood above her. The last thing I wanted was to scare her so badly she was incoherent. I finally decided the direct path was the best and nudged her thigh with the toe of my boot.

  To her credit she snapped awake at once, taking only a few blinks to orient herself. I stepped back a few steps into my room to keep from looming over her. She still flinched when she saw me.

  I turned away, pretending not to see and tended to the tea. It was done brewing by now. I hated over-brewed tea.

  Her boots scuffed the floor as she rose unsteadily to her feet. I didn’t turn to look as I strained the tea, pouring out two cups. My room had a small table near the window. Predawn gray barely touched the sky and the tiles of the building across the street. I sat with my cup and placed the second cup at the seat across from me.

  The woman hesitated at the door, but that was as much of an invitation as she was going to get from me. I didn’t have to talk with her at all if I didn’t want to. She should have gone to the local Defenders or one of the Governor’s clerks. Most of the time the only normal humans I interacted directly with were those I was sent to kill.

  After a moment of straightening her clothes the woman entered and sat slowly down across from me. I leaned back and took another sip of tea.

  She swallowed, hands folded in her lap. Her tongue moistened her lips and she swallowed again before any words came out.

  “Farseer, I need your help.”

  Obviously. There was no other reason for her to be here. I took another sip and waited for her to get to her point.

  Another swallow. “I- Well, there was a murder in my home town, Kimbrel.” She licked her lips again. “You’ve probably never heard of it.”

  I hadn’t, but that was no surprise. The northland was full of small towns.

  “He was found on the side of the road,” she continued. “His throat slit, pockets emptied.”

  “Bandits?” I asked.

  “That’s what everyone thinks, but I know he was murdered.”

  “And why have you come to me? Doesn’t your town have a Defender?” I frowned slightly, even small towns had a Defender assigned to them, even if he or she split their time between two or three places. There was a chain of command for such things. Defenders love order.

  The woman chewed her lip for a moment before answering. “There is.” She hesitated again before blurting out. “But he doesn’t believe me and-and I think he may have something to do with the murder. I don’t think he killed him directly, but I think he was bribed to look the other way. You’re a Farseer, with your rank you can come make him tell the truth. Make him do something about Father’s murder.” Her words ran out. She was panting slightly.

  I set my cup down. “No.”

  “But I--”

  I cut over her words with a soft voice, forcing her to stop talking if she wanted to hear me. It worked just as well as yelling. “No, I cannot make your Defender do anything. I am not a higher rank than he is.”

  She blinked. Apparently this wasn’t an answer she was expecting. “But Farseers are always in charge when they’re brought in.”

  I doubted she had seen any Farseers before me, I barely had, but I didn’t question her. “We are brought in for special cases, and for those cases we have free rein, but I am not above the local Defender.”

  The hope in her eyes dimmed and died. I should have left it at that. Just because this woman thought the local Defender was corrupt didn’t mean that he was. The words came out my lips anyway. “There is a Lieutenant Defender in Glaecen that could help you. Her name is Runi Magall. Good woman.”

  “Glaecen?” She frowned slightly. “That’s another five days from here. I-“ she snapped her mouth shut. “Thank you, Farseer, sir. I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.” She stood and gave me a bobbing curtsy.

  “You’re going?” I asked, suddenly reluctant for her to leave. How long had it been since someone sat and had tea with me? Years at least.

  “Yes, sir. It’s a long journey and I should start.” Another curtsy and she turned on her heels.

  I should have watched her walk out the door. I had done what I could, more than I needed to in fact. Lieutenant Magall would see her straight. If she had the men and the time. Time would be her biggest enemy. Finding and bringing an outside Defender back home before any more evidence of her father’s murder was washed away, by malicious hands or time it didn’t matter.

  No, it wasn’t my problem. She should go to Magall. That’s who she should have gone to in the first place.

  But she hadn’t. She’d come to me.

  “Wait.” The word sprang out and I teetered for another moment of indecision as she turned to look at me.

  Her eyes met mine and I could see the stubborn determination there. That pushed me over.

  “This isn’t a good time of year to be petitioning anything from Lieutenant Magall. It will take her weeks to get to your case. I’ll go with you to Kimbrel and see what can be done.”

  She blinked, processing this surprise, but recovered quickly. “Thank you, Farseer, sir.” She took a small step towards me. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  I thought she had thanked me quite enough, considering I hadn’t done anything yet and there was no guarantee that I could, but I just nodded.

  Without another word she spun back around and started for the door again.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, puzzled.

  “To the stables. I’ll be ready to leave within the hour. I can wake the stable boy too and have him get your horse ready as well-“

  She stopped when I shook my head. “Enough time later when everyone’s up. Sit.” I nodded towards her untouched tea cup.

  She hesitated glancing back at the door then to me.

  “There are things I must settle before I leave here. There’s no point in rushing when you don’t need to. Sit.” A twinge of guilt pulled at my chest. I should have told her she could wait in the common room or even the stables for me, I don’t like making people stay around me when they are uncomfortable, but for once I didn’t want to be alone for my morning tea.

  “I’m Aesic Dyonn, by the way.” If we were going to be traveling together I’d rather have her use my name.

  She blushed a little, probably realizing that, in her rush to get my help, she hadn’t given me her name.

  “Valin Amatta.” She held out her hand out of habit before realizing what she’d done. I waited a beat for her to drop it again, but her jaw firmed instead and she pushed it a little higher.

  Interesting.

  I took her hand and gently clasped it before releasing. I admired her bravery at being willing to touch me, but there was no need to prolong her discomfort. Maybe this journey wouldn’t be so bad.

  I waved to the seat across from me again and she took it, gingerly lifting the cup of now slightly tepid tea.

  “What kind of tea is this?” she asked after taking a sip and realizing I wasn’t going to
strike up a topic of conversation.

  “Darjeeling, bergamot and orange peel,” I said.

  She nodded, not questioning me further.

  The silence stretched out and for once I started to feel awkward. She probably expected me to say something else, but nothing came to mind. Normally I didn’t care if the other people I was with were uncomfortable with my silance or not, but there was something about this woman. Something I couldn’t put a finger on.

  She added another surprise to her growing tally by giving me a small amused smile. “You’re not a big talker, are you?”

  I resisted the urge to squirm in my chair. “No.” I shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t have anything to say.”

  Her smile deepened a little. “My Grandpa was like that. Wouldn’t use two words when a nod would do.” Her eyes got that far away look of remembering. “People thought he was stupid, but that’s because they didn’t take the time to listen. He was the smartest man I knew.” Her smile faded and turned sad. “He died when I was fifteen, but a Healer was there, so his soul was saved. A year later I broke my arm falling off my horse. When the Healer came and healed me, I like to think some of my Grandpa’s soul was in that.” She paused and anger flashed in her eyes as well as a sheen of tears. “There was no Healer there for Father. He’s gone now.”

  “You believe that?” I asked quietly. “That a soul not taken by a Souleater at death is lost? Gone forever?”

  She frowned. “Yes. Don’t you?”

  I didn’t know what I believed. I knew I felt the energy of a soul enter me when I took it, but it dissipated, mixed with my own energy. Was that still a soul if it blended with all the rest? I didn’t have an answer. No one did.

  “How far is it to Kimbrel?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “If we leave as soon as we can today we should reach it in three days ride north of here. It’s almost to the mountains, but not quite.”

  I nodded. So it was one of the border towns. As far as I knew there were no settlements at all past the mountains and only a few brave fur trappers ventured that far north, and only then in the spring. Not much survived the long winter of the far north.