The Paper Dragon (The Chain Breaker Book 5)

by D. K. Holmberg

  The Paper Dragon

  The Chain Breaker Book 5

  D.K. Holmberg

  Copyright © 2021 by D.K. Holmberg

  Cover by Damonza.com

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Author’s Note

  Series by D.K. Holmberg

  Chapter One

  Gavin smiled as the pair of thieves made their way towards him. From his vantage on the side of the street, it was obvious they were enchanted. Their movements were jerky, suggesting they weren’t completely comfortable with the power. Had he not followed them, he would’ve wondered if they were working with the constables, but the constables wouldn’t be caught sneaking into a warehouse in the section of the city he’d been monitoring.

  He stuffed the dagger that he’d pulled out of his pocket back into its sheath, preparing for whatever they might try with him. An unarmed spar would be better for him. Gavin needed one.

  He didn’t expect to have much of a challenge from a pair of enchanted thieves, and certainly not out here on the edge of the city, where they had probably thought they were going to be able to sneak away into the night without anyone noticing them. Only a single lantern glowed at the end of the street, casting a faint, shimmery light. Thanks to the turquoise ring on his left pinkie, Gavin could also see the man more clearly in the blackness.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he called to them.

  One of the men was tall and muscular, and his gleaming head looked freshly shaved. He would probably have strength, and if he was smart, he would augment that with speed. There were dozens of different combinations of enchantments that could be used.

  Then there was the other man.

  Unlike his companion, he was small and thin, and he lumbered strangely.

  The closer they came, the more Gavin started to question whether he had been mistaken about them. He had believed them to be a pair of thieves, and he wouldn’t have cared had it not been for the fact that they had gone into his warehouse. At least, what he considered his warehouse.

  He tapped on the enchantment in his ear. “You paying attention, Wrenlow?”

  Wrenlow’s voice piped up, slightly distant. “I’m here. You know, I would be more than happy to be out on patrols with you.”

  Gavin grunted. “It’s not like this is some sort of patrol where I’m trying to protect the city,” he muttered.

  He doubted the constables would appreciate what he was doing very much. But he had been looking for magic. He had promised his protection to the city, and Gavin was determined to keep that promise. That was the reason he was out here now, but all of this felt off.

  The cool air brushed his face, carrying a hint of the north with it along with the scent of the forest. What he wouldn’t give to be working with Anna, rather than dealing with this. These days, most of his afternoons were spent practicing with her, trying to understand his core reserves and master the magic he possessed. Gavin wasn’t mastering it nearly as well as what the El’aras woman wanted, but he was getting better. That was what he kept telling himself, at least.

  “What did you need?” Wrenlow asked.

  “Has Gaspar heard anything lately?” Gavin said. “Something about a new thieving crew?”

  “He hasn’t said anything, but you know he shares this enchantment with us. You can ask him.”

  Gavin chuckled. “I could, but Gaspar never listens.”

  The two men were still coming toward Gavin, but they made no effort to move quickly. They were marching steadily, and the longer they took to get to Gavin, the more he realized that something about them was very much off. He hadn’t been able to determine what it was, but he had a feeling there was something he should have recognized by now.

  “You know how he goes off with Imogen as often as he does,” Wrenlow said.

  Gavin nodded. “I know.”

  “I don’t know what he’s been up to, but…”

  The muscular man started to make his move toward Gavin, approaching quickly for someone his size.

  The ground trembled, and something began to build around Gavin: a sense of pressure that suggested a magical source; a cold sensation that washed over him when power was used around him. He suspected that if he were to unsheathe his El’aras dagger or sword, he would find it flashing with blue energy.

  Maybe this was more than just an enchantment.

  He took a deep breath and started to focus on his core reserves. He had wanted a challenge, hadn’t he? He might as well take advantage of it.

  As the two men reached him, he pushed off the ground. It was a simple technique where he would jump, twist, and land between them, giving him leverage.

  The taller of the two grabbed him in midair. He was impossibly fast, and he had an incredibly firm grip. Gavin jerked, but he was forced to draw upon his core reserves in order to break free. He swung his hand down, chopping on the man’s forearm, and if he had not been calling on the power within him, his hand might have shattered.

  Not only had this man enchanted himself for strength and speed, but he had used an enchantment to make his skin impervious as well. It was one Gavin was far too familiar with. He didn’t care for this kind of enchantment. In fact, he rather disliked it. Taking down someone with that kind of enchantment often proved far more difficult than he preferred.

  The man dropped him and Gavin spun, sweeping his leg so that he could kick the man down and incapacitate him. The thief jumped, as if sensing Gavin’s movements.

  Gavin darted back, twisting, and nearly ran into the other man. He was even faster than the first, a blur of movement.

  Two attackers. Different speeds. Both fast.

  He settled on the Jinat fighting style, which he could mix with Nor and Sudo.

  And then he fell into a pattern.

  He spun, kicking out and driving his heel toward the shorter of the two, then twisted and brought his knee up, crashing it into the chest of the other man. He turned in place, and as the smaller man came back around, Gavin was already starting his next round of attacks. He drove his foot out and caught the man in the side of the head, causing the man to stumble off to the side and crash into a building.

  He was left with just the bigger of the two, the one with the impenetrable skin.

  Gavin unsheathed his dagger. Though the two men were unarmed, he didn’t feel shame at using a weapon. They had been the ones to come at him. Then again, he had been the one to track them in the first place, so perhaps this was partly on him.

  The attacker lumbe
red toward him. The streetlight flashed briefly, illuminating the man, and Gavin frowned at the unsettling sight in front of him. The man’s face was almost featureless, remarkably smooth. Though he had what appeared to be eye sockets, there were no eyes within them. His nose was a misshapen lump on his face, and there was no mouth to speak of.

  Gavin groaned. The man himself was the enchantment.

  An incredibly detailed one, and quite lifelike. He didn’t know if Mekel was responsible for it, but it was exactly the kind of thing the enchanter would’ve used. Then again, he typically made animals, not humanoids.

  And Gavin doubted Mekel would’ve attacked him.

  He shifted his focus. No longer did he have any reason to hold out. He wouldn’t be able to interrogate an enchantment. He spun and kicked, but the stone enchantment grabbed his leg and whipped him up.

  Gavin twisted, trying to regain control over the spin. As he came down, he sliced his dagger into the enchantment’s shoulder. The stone shattered and the arm cracked, but it didn’t fall off.

  “What’s going on?”

  Gavin didn’t need the distraction of Wrenlow’s chatter in his ear, but at the same time, maybe Wrenlow could give him information. He ducked behind a bells tree, careful to avoid the sharp leaves.

  “I’m apparently facing a pair of stone enchantments that look like a man,” Gavin explained.

  “The two enchantments look like one man?”

  “Like two different men,” he clarified. “One big, one little—both trying to kill me.”

  “Can you stop them?” Wrenlow asked.

  “What do you think I’m trying to do?”

  “I don’t know. I’m just trying to offer advice.”

  “I doubt you can offer me any advice from where you are,” Gavin said.

  The smaller of the two had gotten back up.

  Of course he had. He wasn’t human, so he didn’t have to recover.

  Gavin switched to his sword. He wasn’t as comfortable fighting with the sword as he was by hand, but if he was going to have to bring down a pair of stone enchantments, it was going to be with the sword. He swung the blade, trying to keep the two off of him, at least to give himself enough space. He needed to figure out what was going on here.

  “How long have you been following them?” Wrenlow asked.

  Gavin frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Well, an enchantment like that would be challenging to make, wouldn’t it?”

  “It would be,” Gavin agreed, nodding as he said so.

  “If it’s hard to make, don’t you think it would take a skilled enchanter?” Wrenlow asked.

  “I’m not sure there are too many enchanters who have the skill to make these,” Gavin said. “Let alone control them like that.”

  The larger enchantment lumbered toward him, and Gavin brought his arms up, blocking a strange underhand punch. It wasn’t how any human fighter would have come at him. He had to twist, swinging his blade, and almost crashed into the smaller enchantment.

  “I don’t think Mekel is responsible for this,” Gavin added.

  “What about any of the others who work with Zella?”

  Gavin jumped, spinning, and tried to stab down on the larger of the two with the sword. But he missed, only managing to push him in the back. His stone clothing was difficult to penetrate with the sword, and the blade bounced off uselessly.

  “She doesn’t have anybody who can do anything quite like this,” Gavin said.

  He thought of Alana. She worked in paper, though, and her enchantments were incredibly powerful.

  “When you finish this, you could go ask,” Wrenlow said.

  “Thanks. You’re really helpful.”

  “Well, I suppose I could send out word myself.”

  Gavin jumped onto the larger man and tried to stab him but was jerked free. He twisted while in the air, landing on his feet. “Oh, now you want to help?”

  “Don’t be like that,” Wrenlow said.

  Gavin ducked a blow coming at him, bringing his arms up and then carving with the blade. It struck the stone, which shattered. He spun again and kicked out, sending his heel into one enchantment’s belly.

  At least now he had a better handle on what he was doing.

  He put his back up against one of the nearby warehouse buildings. It was darker here, and the shadows would have made it difficult for a regular attacker to see him clearly if they didn’t have enchanted eyesight like he did. These weren’t human, though, and he didn’t know if they had any real limitations.

  He kicked his heel back out again, catching the smaller of the two enchantments as he tried to come at Gavin. He followed it with a fist and then jabbed with his dagger.

  This time, there was a reassuring crumble of stone. The enchantment started to crack, and Gavin drove his knee into its chest. The enchantment shattered completely.

  He nodded to himself.

  That hadn’t been so—

  Something grabbed him from behind.

  Balls.

  The larger of the two trapped him. Gavin’s arms were trapped on either side of him, and he couldn’t move. He couldn’t even breathe as the stone enchantment used its powerful grip to squeeze him.

  Gavin tried to kick, but he couldn’t get enough momentum to drive power behind it. And if the enchantment kept holding on to him like this, Gavin wasn’t going to be able to get free.

  He had to try something different.

  He wanted to twist, turn, but even that wasn’t going to work. The only other option he had was to focus on his core reserves. He needed to control the power within him.

  Gavin concentrated, worried he didn’t have much time. This stone enchantment was crushing him, squeezing with everything it could. Gavin didn’t know how much longer he could hold out. If it broke him, he would heal—faster than most would—but he wasn’t sure he could get away.

  As he called upon the core reserves, he tried to think about the technique he needed to use. He was not breaking through magic, at least not directly. This was about using the energy within him to explode outward and break free of whatever binding this enchantment had around him.

  He would be the Chain Breaker.

  Or, more aptly, he would be the Stone Enchantment Breaker.

  He felt the power filling him. He hadn’t mastered the energy of the El’aras ring he wore, which he couldn’t take off, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be useful. All he needed was a hint of that strength.

  He tried to tap into it. All too often, that strength was like a fleeting promise of power, but not anything he could actually reach for and utilize when he wanted to. He felt it there, the promise of something more, but it was also not anywhere near what he wanted.

  This time, it surged through him. There was no control over it.

  Anna had warned him. She had been trying to help him gain control over the power of the ring, and over himself, but that hadn’t been successful. Not yet.

  He exploded outward, and the stone enchantment was thrown back.

  Gavin was freed.

  The power of the ring fizzled out again. At least it had helped him escape.

  Now he had only his core reserves. That was better than nothing.

  He darted forward. The enchantment still hadn’t shattered like the other. Gavin wasn’t about to leave something like this out in the street, not without knowing what it was and why it was here. He flung his fist into the stone enchantment and immediately regretted it as pain throbbed through his hand.

  Even with his core reserves empowering him, there were limits to what he could do.

  He backed away and then thrust his blade into the enchantment. He tried to strengthen the El’aras sword with his core reserves, but he hadn’t been able to call on enough power to send it through the blade. Still, Gavin heard a shattering sound.

  Closer. Just a little more and I can break it.

  He jumped back, bringing his El’aras sword up, and then slammed it fo
rward again. This time, he was able to channel enough power within him to push it through the blade. Energy crackled.

  This time the stone enchantment started to crack, brittle now.

  Gavin leapt back once more and then drove forward with the heel of his foot in as powerful a kick as he could muster. He must’ve been calling on his core reserves as he had because the enchantment finally shattered, sending stone fragments all throughout the street.

  He swept his gaze around, looking for any other attackers that might be close by, but he didn’t see anything. Out here on the outskirts of Yoran, that was the way it should have been.

  Gavin took a deep breath. His hands ached where he’d hit the enchantments. His shoulders throbbed from trying to stab his sword into the stone. He doubted the blade was blunted in any way, being enchanted by El’aras magic, but he would still need to check. He might even need to try to sharpen it.

  “Are you going to get back to me?”

  He hadn’t realized Wrenlow had been talking to him.

  “Sorry about that,” Gavin said. He slipped his sword back into the sheath, then stuffed his dagger in as well. “The stone enchantments are down.”

  “That took you longer than I expected.”

  “They were more powerful than I expected.”

  There was a moment of silence on the other end. “Where were you when you first saw them?”

  “I detected a surge of magic to the southeast of the city,” Gavin said. “When I got there, I followed them here.”

  “You didn’t see the source of the magic?” Wrenlow asked.

  He shook his head. “Not really. I could feel it, but I didn’t know where it was coming from.”

  Wrenlow was quiet again.

  Gavin furrowed his brow. “What’s going on?”