The Earth Awakens (Elemental Academy Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Your objection has been duly noted.”

  She growled at him, and her shaping stretched outward. As it did, it wrapped around the figure. They stopped suddenly, completely tense.

  For a moment, Tolan thought that was all they would need to do. They could hold him and figure out who he was and what he was after. Academy shapers could come and they wouldn’t have to hold them any more.

  Then the shaping Ferrah held exploded.

  There was no other way of describing it. It forced her back and Tolan lunged for her, grabbing her before she struck the ground. He looked up, half afraid the man would be coming in their direction.

  Instead, he found him staring at them. The face buried in the folds of the cloak was difficult to see, but Tolan had seen it before. It was a face he recognized.

  Why would Master Daniels be involved in the explosion?

  12

  Tolan paced in front of the opening to the Grand Master’s room. He was convinced he’d seen Master Daniels, but if that was true, why was he here? He was supposed to be getting his refresher, whatever that meant, and shouldn’t have been seen out in the city. More than that, he shouldn’t have been anywhere near the attack on the palace.

  Ferrah had warned him against coming to the Grand Master, thinking he had imagined Master Daniels, but Tolan didn’t think so. He was convinced that was who he had seen. If it was Master Daniels, he needed to understand more about why.

  Summoning the courage to knock was the hardest part. He had been here once before, so he knew where to find the Grand Master, but then, he had been dragged here by Master Sartan and hadn’t come of his own accord. Coming this way meant no one else would be there with him for support.

  Maybe he should have convinced Ferrah to accompany him. He didn’t think he needed it but having her with him might have made this much easier. Before losing his nerve, Tolan quickly knocked on the door. He took a step back, waiting.

  Voices came from behind him, and Tolan glanced back to see Draln walking with one of the other master shapers, someone Tolan didn’t recognize. Draln smirked when he saw him, giving him a look that seemed far too knowing.

  How much would Draln be able to piece together? The attack in the city had taken on a life of its own, and there was a flurry of conversation about what had happened. Even within the students’ quarters, people were talking about it, most giving voice to various theories about who and how many had attacked. Considering Tolan and Ferrah had been there and only seen one person running, the idea that it might be more than one involved was possible, but not fitting with his experience.

  When no one answered, he knocked again.

  This time, the door opened quickly.

  Master Wassa popped his head out, glancing at Tolan. “What is it, Shaper Ethar?”

  “I was hoping to have a word with the Grand Master.”

  “The Grand Master is a busy man, Shaper Ethar. Surely you’ve heard about the attack in the city.”

  “I have, which is why I—”

  Someone came up behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Master Irina approaching. She regarded him for a long time, the vague sense of a shaping washing over him. As it did, he attempted to push against it, trying to resist whatever it was she was doing to him. The whole thing left him questioning whether she’d spirit-shaped him.

  As the sense of the shaping passed over him, he attempted to push against it, trying to resist whatever it was she was doing to him.

  Tolan had no idea whether it would even be effective, not knowing whether there was anything that he—someone not very skilled at shaping—would be able to do to oppose a master spirit shaper, but he wasn’t willing to sit back and do nothing.

  “Shaper Ethar. Are you once again embroiled in things you should not be?”

  “I’m not embroiled in anything, Master Irina.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  Tolan blinked and realized he had an opportunity. If Master Daniels was involved, then wouldn’t the Grand Inquisitor know? “I have a question about one of the shapers from Ephra.”

  “What of it?” Master Irina said, glancing over his shoulder and toward the Grand Master’s quarters. Master Wassa had left, returning to the meeting going on inside the Grand Master’s room.

  “You sent Master Daniels to the city for a refresher.”

  That drew her attention, and she looked at him, frowning. “I did. He neglected his understanding of the elementals. When the elemental attacked in Ephra, he wasn’t able to properly identify it.”

  “Why him?”

  She frowned and a shaping built, sweeping over him. What was it she was trying to do to him? Was that all about spirit? He pushed against it, not sure whether it made a difference or not. “What is your point, Shaper Ethar?”

  “My point is, why did you send Master Daniels for refreshing rather than Master Salman?”

  He hadn’t given it much thought at the time. There had to be some reason she had chosen Master Daniels rather than Master Salman. Was it because Master Salman had identified hyza? As a fire shaper almost exclusively, it wouldn’t be all that surprising, but then again, Master Daniels, as an earth shaper, should have known hyza was partially of earth.

  “There are times when shapers prove they need an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with lessons gained during their time in the Academy.”

  “What’s involved in it?”

  “It involves study.”

  “What kind of study?”

  Master Irina held him with a firm gaze. “What are you getting at, Shaper Ethar?”

  “I don’t mean any offense. I’m just trying to understand the nature of Master Daniels’ assignment in the city. I was thinking of checking in with him.”

  Tolan wasn’t sure why he felt the need to deceive her, but there was something about the fact she seemed dismissive of his question. And there was something uncomfortable in the way she looked at him.

  “You would be best served leaving your Master Daniels to his studies.”

  “He should know I made it to the Academy.”

  “I can send word to him,” she said.

  “There’s no need for that. I’m happy to go and let him know myself.” Why was he pushing her like this? He knew better than to pressure one of the master shapers, especially one who was the Grand Inquisitor, but here he was, finding himself antagonizing her in a way that would only lead to more trouble.

  Another shaping built, and this time Tolan was more certain than ever that it washed over him. He had no idea what the intent was behind it, but he felt a certain residual effect as it left him, as if she had tried to do something to him with her shaping, but it had failed.

  “You will leave Master Daniels to his studies,” Master Irina said.

  She stared at him, her dark eyes practically burning a hole into his mind, and Tolan nodded. He didn’t need a shaping of spirit to let him know it would be a mistake to go against her wishes on this. Then again, he didn’t know why she would have used such a shaping on him in the first place.

  “Would you care to tell me why you had come to see the Grand Master?”

  Tolan licked his lips and swallowed. “I just thought to inquire about the attack on the palace.”

  “There’s no need for the students to be concerned. We have it completely controlled.”

  He stared at her for a moment, wondering why she had chosen to deceive him, but decided not to push the issue. Instead, he started away, and when he reached the end of the hall, he turned, attempting to look over his shoulder without getting noticed, and saw both the Grand Master and Master Irina looking his way. Tolan hurried off, and when he started up the stairs toward the student section, he shivered, shaking away the sense he had barely avoided something awful.

  What was taking place? Why was Master Irina hiding something about Master Daniels?

  When he reached his quarters, he found Jonas dressed in his loose pants and shirt, sitting on his bed. He was flipping throu
gh pages, looking at a note, and he looked up when Tolan entered.

  “What is it?”

  “What do you know about spirit shaping?” Tolan asked.

  “You’re asking that because I was questioning about the Inquisitors?”

  “I just thought I would see what you knew about spirit.”

  “I know about the same as anyone else. It’s the hardest element bond to reach, but when you do reach it, there’s significant power to be found.”

  “How can you protect yourself from someone with significant power?”

  “I don’t think you can protect yourself.” Jonas smiled. “I don’t mean it in some way to offend you, it’s just you don’t have enough skill with shaping to do that. The Great Mother knows I don’t even have enough skill with shaping. It’s some way of securing it, using the power of the element in a mixture so the spirit shaping is deflected. At least, that’s what I’ve always been told.”

  “Are there other ways of avoiding a spirit shaping?”

  “You’re asking the wrong person.”

  “Is there anything in the books you’ve been researching that would tell you otherwise?”

  Jonas glanced down at the book. “I have to admit they are quite interesting, but the history of the Inquisitors is different than I expected. They were used as part of the advance force when Terndahl was first formed. They were soldiers. I never knew that before looking through these histories. Now they’re something else.”

  “Terrifying,” Tolan said.

  “Only if you draw their attention. Now we’re at the Academy, there’s no reason the Inquisitors would even pay any attention to us. They want us trained the same way we want to be trained. There is a benefit to it.”

  “I’m not so sure they want us trained the same way,” Tolan said.

  “Why not? The Inquisitors are involved in the Selection. You had the Grand Inquisitor as part of your Selection, something no one else did. They want us to reach for that ability.”

  “I don’t know. When I think about what Master Irina did during the Selection, I’m not so sure she is all that interested in me shaping.”

  “Why would you even say that? She allowed you to come here.”

  Tolan considered telling him about Master Daniels and what he had experienced with Ferrah but didn’t know if that would only upset his friend. He didn’t need to worry about what might happen to him.

  Hadn’t Ferrah’s irritation with that been enough of a lesson? He didn’t want to anger Jonas along with Ferrah. He deserved more than that.

  “You remember how I told you about the master shaper I was apprenticed to.”

  “Yeah. You had that woodsmith you were working with. I still can’t believe you were apprenticed rather than spending time in one of the shaping schools. Think about how much time I wasted in Velminth, only to realize I could have been Selected regardless.”

  “Anyway, the master shaper I worked with was sent to Amitan for a refresher.”

  “Whatever that is.”

  “Supposedly, he needed to be reminded of the elementals.”

  “Supposedly?” Jonas grinned. “You don’t agree with what Master Irina did?”

  “It’s not a matter of agreeing with it so much as it’s a matter of whether or not it was necessary.”

  “And why wouldn’t it be necessary?”

  “How much do you think the master shapers in Velminth know about the elementals?”

  “I don’t know. We don’t have too many elemental attacks, so they haven’t really had to deal with it. I suspect if there were an attack, they might prove what they know. But then, they all trained here. All of them would have the same knowledge every shaper who comes in here has.”

  “What have we learned about the elementals so far?”

  “What’s this about, Tolan?”

  “Just humor me. What can you say you’ve learned about the elementals in the first part of this year?”

  “We’ve learned names of elementals. We learned what part of each element they tend to prefer.”

  “Some of that we’ve learned because of what we’ve researched on our own.”

  “That’s still us learning,” Jonas said.

  “Think about it. If the master shapers are expected to remember all of the elementals they’ve encountered, wouldn’t they all be at risk of needing a refresher the same way as Master Daniels? Master Salman didn’t know anything more about the elemental than Master Daniels.”

  “Okay. So, let’s say he didn’t. Why does that matter?”

  “I don’t really know, only… When the palace was attacked, I think I saw Master Daniels.”

  Jonas sat motionless for a moment. “You were there? Tolan—this isn’t a good look.”

  “Ferrah and I were there, but not intentionally. We didn’t chase the attack this time.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Tolan glared at him. “We didn’t. There was the attack, and I could feel the power building, but we didn’t know what was taking place.”

  “So, you did chase it.”

  “I didn’t chase anything. Like you said, I just—”

  “You just followed the sense of power that ultimately ended up being an explosion that leveled the entirety of the ruling palace, forcing the Council to move into Terenhall while the palace is rebuilt.”

  Tolan hadn’t heard that. “The Council is moving into Terenhall?”

  “Unfortunately. It means some of the master shapers are getting displaced, and from what I’ve heard, there has been more than a little grumbling about it.”

  Tolan could imagine there would be. Why here? There would be other places they could go. Unless they feared for their safety.

  Terenhall would be safe. It would be a place not easily penetrated, not by any shaping attack, which meant it would be the kind of place the Council would come.

  “I hadn’t known that.”

  “What does this have to do with spirit?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that when I saw Master Daniels, it didn’t seem as if he recognized me.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t him. That could be your explanation as to why he didn’t recognize you.”

  “But if it was him, I still don’t understand why he wouldn’t have recognized me.”

  “I can help you look,” he said.

  “Thanks. I don’t know if we’ll find anything, but when I asked Master Irina about it, I—”

  “Wait. You asked her about whether Master Daniels was involved in the attack on the city?”

  “No. I wouldn’t be as stupid as that. I just asked her about his refresher and whether I could visit him.”

  Jonas started laughing. There was a slightly hysterical note in his voice. “You need to be careful, Tolan. You’re dealing with an Inquisitor! The Grand Inquisitor! Just think of what would happen if she were to decide to spirit-shape you.”

  “That’s just it, I think she tried. Like she did after the last attack. It didn’t work.”

  “Are you holding out on me, Tolan?”

  “Holding out what?”

  “Holding out knowledge of how to protect yourself from a spirit shaper.”

  “I’m not doing anything like that. I just felt the effect of the shaping.”

  “I would believe that if you were a master shaper. It wouldn’t be terribly surprising for you to have some way of protecting your mind, but even then, you’re talking about the Grand Inquisitor. That’s way different than just a simple spirit shaping. If anyone would be able to overwhelm you, it would be her. And if she did that, there’s no way for you to have been able to ignore it.”

  “When we went to the Convergence and came back, she shaped both you and Ferrah, but I wasn’t shaped. She said I would be. I remember the conversation. But… I don’t remember losing anything after that.”

  “If you were spirit-shaped—and let me tell you that I think you would have to have been—you wouldn’t remember. That’s the nature of the Grand Inquisitor. The Great Mothe
r knows I didn’t even remember being spirit-shaped until you said something.”

  “Do you remember it now?”

  “No. All I remember is having conversations with you, and…” He closed his eyes and started shaking his head. “I remember hearing the person responsible for the elemental release was captured. Nothing else. And then we dropped it.”

  “We dropped it because the Grand Master wanted us to drop it.”

  “Then we should drop it.”

  “If I don’t have the necessary shaping skill to protect myself, and let’s assume I was able to ignore her shaping, then how was it possible?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe there’s some sort of bondar. Or maybe someone else spirit-shaped you to protect you from another spirit shaping.”

  Tolan sat on his bed, leaning back. He didn’t think it was a bondar. Those had to be actively used, and if nothing else, he was certain he wasn’t actively trying to shape to protect himself, though if he knew what she was attempting, he might have done so. And then, he had pushed against her shaping, though he didn’t expect it to do anything. He had resisted, trying to fight off the possibility she would shape his mind and make him forget. If nothing else, he was determined not to forget.

  But then, there were the memories of his parents. There were plenty of memories that he’d had before he had lost them, times when he had been happier, not worried about what others might accuse him of doing, times before he had gone to Master Daniels and apprenticed. More than that were the memories that had come to him during the Selection. He had never had those before, and in those memories, he had seen his father making something.

  His father had always tinkered, but in this case, what he’d been tinkering with was something with meaning. If only he could step back into those memories some way, and if only he could recall what it was, but he couldn’t.

  “Is it possible someone could be spirit-shaped to protect another’s mind?”

  Jonas looked up from his book. In the silence that had passed, he had turned his attention back to his studies.

  “I don’t know much about spirit. Only the Inquisitors do, and other spirit shapers, and they don’t really talk about it. There have been stories, though. When I was growing up, we would tease each other that we were spirit-shaped and try to make the others believe they weren’t in control of their own choices.”