The Darkest Revenge

by D. K. Holmberg

  She shrugged. “I don’t know anything about the safety of the crystals.”

  He frowned at her. “You still have not taken the opportunity to go and experience them yourself?”

  “I haven’t had the need.”

  “Need? It’s not about need. It’s about the opportunity to experience what the Great Watcher would provide for us. Each of us should be given the opportunity to handle one of the sacred crystals, if only so that we may fully understand our connection to him. Think about what might become of you if you were able to hold one.”

  She smiled. “That’s the reason I haven’t.”

  He smiled. “Perhaps if you would, you might gain greater insight. When I held one of the crystals, it allowed me to understand connections within the library in a different way. It was almost as if the crystals themselves opened my mind.”

  “I’m sure they did.” There was one of the reasons she was so tempted to go to the crystals now. If she were given the opportunity to handle one of the crystals, what might she experience? Would she experience the same connections as Jamis? Perhaps not. It was possible that she would find nothing other than increased eyesight, or perhaps some way of having greater ability to Listen. It was part of the reason she wanted to wait, if only because she would rather not know what sort of abilities she might be granted.

  “Why have you come to the library, then?”

  “The same reason as always,” she said.

  “Answers aren’t always found in books, Lucy Elvraeth. There are times when we need to explore the world to get the answers we seek.”

  “That’s interesting coming from you.”

  “Why from me?”

  “Seeing as how you have never left the city. Have you even left the palace?”

  He huffed. “I have spent more than my share of time outside of the palace. I have made many ventures to Ilphaesn, so even in that, I imagine I have done more than you. And that was traveling by foot, not with any ability such as you have,” he said, waving his hand.

  Lucy smiled again. She had visited Ilphaesn before and had even stood near the peak. That was one of the benefits of being able to Slide. She wasn’t limited in how far she could travel as she was by horse or by foot, but even when she Slid, she had only visited the boundaries of Elaeavn, unwilling to travel beyond them. It was dangerous to do so, not only for her, but because there was the possibility that she might not be able to Slide back.

  “Have you ever spoken to him?” she asked, glancing to the book Jamis clutched to his chest.

  “Who?”

  “Rsiran Lareth. Have you ever spoken to him?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure Lareth is interested in speaking to an old caretaker like myself. Besides, I have interviewed plenty of people from that time, and I have a pretty good sense of what took place.”

  “Why haven’t you spoken to him?”

  “Lareth is… well, I suppose he is intimidating, if you want the truth. I don’t know what I would ask him. Do you know that he is the only person who can Slide into the palace? And here we thought we had protected it against people like that. Well, like you as well.”

  Lucy forced a smile. “Rsiran is the only one within the Smith Guild who has the ability to manipulate heartstone, too.”

  “Yes. That particular ability is also unique. I do wonder if it was augmented by his opportunity to handle more than one of the sacred crystals or if it was simply part of him. Perhaps the Great Watcher made him in such a way that he would always have such potential within him.”

  “I’m sure he would be willing to meet with you if you are interested.” She wasn’t actually sure if he would be or not, but she had never offered to have any of the caretakers meet with Haern or others from within the forest. That seemed to her to be a missed opportunity. They could gain the chance to speak with Rsiran, possibly even hear what he could share about what he’d gone through during the fighting, something that she knew Jamis was keen to discover.

  “Perhaps I might take you up on that offer.”

  She smiled, knowing that he would be unlikely to do so. It was a shame. So much could be gained by their people working together, and yet so few of the Elvraeth felt it necessary to work with the people within the forest.

  “I can leave you to your studies, Jamis.”

  He nodded absently, turning away from her. Lucy looked along the rows of shelves. From here, there was so much knowledge and possibility, but at the same time, much of it was hidden here, knowledge that came without any real experience.

  That was one thing their people lacked. It was troubling to her, and yet how did she ever expect to leave the city?

  Making her way from the room, she meandered through the palace. Regardless of how much time she spent outside the walls, the palace remained her home, and though there were times when it didn’t feel as welcoming as she wanted it to, it was the only place she had ever really known.

  When she reached her family’s rooms, she paused before entering. Depending on what type of mood her father was in, she might be better off staying in the library. For that matter, she might be better off staying in the forest.

  Pushing open the door, she found the room empty.

  That wasn’t altogether unusual. At this time of the day, her parents could be found many places within the palace. Her father was usually off trying to meet with others as he worked to rise up and sit upon the council, and her mother would join with other wives and gossip. Neither much cared what she did, so long as she didn’t draw too much attention to them, at least negative attention. They were all for her gaining notice, but they wanted her to do so in the right way.

  It was also the reason her parents continued to try to pair her off with Daniel Elvraeth. He was nice enough, and he was certainly better than some of the other options she might have, but if she were to accept the pairing, she didn’t know if she would even be permitted to continue her studies within the library.

  Though Reading wasn’t a potent ability of hers, it was how she had always known that Daniel Elvraeth was good and kind despite trying to act the way his father wanted him to. In a different situation, she might be willing to engage in the type of relationship he wanted, but she wasn’t prepared for that.

  Lucy took a seat near the window, angling the chair so that she could look out upon the courtyard. A gentle breeze blew in through the heartstone bars, and she found it comforting. Pulling a book from her pocket, she started reading. If nothing else, she would spend a little time here, and then return to the forest and to Haern.

  She lost track of how long she had been sitting there when the door opened. She got to her feet, turning to see her father standing in the doorway. He was a heavyset man, and his belly protruded outward as if he had a ball trapped underneath his robes.

  “Lucy. I would’ve expected you to be working on your studies.”

  “I am,” she said, holding up the book she was reading.

  Her father frowned. “I’m glad you are here.”

  “You are?” Most of the time they didn’t care whether she was around or not. It had been that way for so long that she no longer took offense to it.

  “Yes, well considering the attack…”

  “What attack?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “What attack?” she repeated.

  Her father frowned. “There was some sort of skirmish within the forest. I don’t know—”

  Lucy didn’t wait for him to finish. She Slid to the entrance of the palace, hurrying outside into the courtyard, where she Slid again, emerging within the forest.

  As her father had said, something had happened. She could see dozens upon dozens of people within the clearing, and many surrounded fallen figures lying motionless. There was something different about the trees, though she wasn’t quite certain what that was. She didn’t really want to take the time to discover it, either.

  Where was Haern?

  When she found him on the far side of the clear
ing, she let out a relieved breath, until she realized that he had been injured. She hurried over to him but was not in time. He disappeared before she had the chance to catch him.

  As she looked around, she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened here. More than that, she didn’t know if it had anything to do with the body they had discovered in the forest. The timing was far too coincidental. But if the two incidents were related, what had happened?

  8

  Haern

  They ducked into the healer’s home, and Brusus carried Jessa to a cot near a hearth at the back of the room, settling her on it and standing over her, keeping his hands pressed down on the wounds, his jaw clenched. Haern couldn’t take his eyes off his mother. She was breathing, but the breaths were shallow. How much longer did she have?

  The entire room smelled of a sharp spice mixed with blood. There was already activity within the home, and Haern wondered how many had been injured in the attack. More than should have been. They should have been better prepared. And if his father had been there, they would have been better able to withstand an attack. But his father had gone off on his pursuit of the Forgers and left them unprotected. And now… now his mother had suffered.

  The healer appeared from the back of the home. He was a younger man and normally had a quick smile, but today he wore a look of sadness.

  “Brusus. What have you brought me now?” Darren asked. He had a gentle way of speaking, but there was strain in his voice today.

  “It’s Jessa.”

  Darren blinked and motioned for Brusus to step aside. He pressed his hand upon Haern’s mother and closed his eyes. Haern didn’t know much about the type of healing Darren used, only that it was somehow connected to the Great Watcher, his gift from holding one of the sacred crystals. He had trained under the great master healer Della, a woman Haern had never gotten to know. He had memories of her from when he was a child, but little more than that.

  “They nearly succeeded with her,” he said without opening his eyes.

  “You can help her?” Haern asked.

  “She’s not lost, if that’s what you fear,” he said. “The injuries are deep, and were she not so strong, they might have been enough, but… I think she will be strong enough to pull through this.”

  Brusus tapped Darren on the shoulder. “Do everything you can. You know how he would react if anything happened to her.”

  Darren nodded. “I will. But, Brusus, if something happens and I’m not able to save her, we—”

  Brusus flashed a pained smile. “No one will blame you. Just do everything you can to save her.”

  Darren turned his attention back to Haern’s mother, and Brusus grabbed Haern, guiding him out.

  “We need to let him work, and the two of us need to figure out what happened here.”

  “It was Forgers. We’ve been at war with them.”

  Brusus grunted. “I’m not so sure that we have been at war with them so much as that your father has been at war with them. I worry that…”

  Brusus never finished, instead heading toward one of the massive Elder Trees. He stopped in front of it. This was the tree that represented the power of Sliding that had been given to his people. The Elder Trees were viewed as sacred, nearly as sacred as the crystals. Dozens of the spikes pierced the entirety of the tree, circling it.

  Haern tried pulling on the spikes but couldn’t form enough of a connection to them. It was as if they slipped past him.

  Brusus plucked at one, trying to pull it free, but it didn’t come out. “They shouldn’t be so difficult to remove, especially seeing as how the ones that went into flesh were easy to pull out.”

  “Mother believed it was some sort of unique Forger alloy.”

  “I imagine that’s something your father believes, too.”

  Haern shrugged. “I’m not really sure what my father believes about them. They keep that from me.”

  “Only because they want to protect you. It has nothing to do with their confidence in your abilities.”

  “It doesn’t seem like that.”

  Brusus smiled. “You’re a lot like him.”

  “My father?” There were times when Haern wanted to be like his father, but most of the time he didn’t. His father was obsessed, too caught up in his perceived mission, and had been absent for the greater part of Haern’s life. He had only spent a few weeks at a time with his father, never enough to have any sort of continuity. If anything, Haern wanted to be nothing like the man.

  “You have a little bit of him in you, but that’s to be expected.” Brusus flashed a smile that even Haern could tell was forced. “But I’m referring to your namesake. You’re a lot like him. He had a single-minded approach to things, too.”

  “I didn’t realize that I had a single-minded approach to anything.”

  “Maybe that’s not quite the right way to phrase it. Tenacity might be better. The problem is that you don’t know what to focus that tenacity on.” He turned away from Haern and resumed trying to pull the barbs free from the tree. “If these are some sort of lorcith alloy, then considering the way they’re placed, I think they were—”

  “They were meant to destroy the tree.” Haern could feel it. There was something about them that carried a destructive energy. This hadn’t been an attack on the people of the Aisl. This had been an attack on the Aisl itself. “You said this was what they attempted before.”

  “They did, but they weren’t successful. They shouldn’t have been successful this time. Your father has placed various protections around the city.”

  “I’m well aware of what my father has supposedly placed, but I’m also aware that whatever he tried to do has failed.”

  “Haern…”

  Haern shook his head. “Let’s just figure this out, Brusus. If we can find a way to remove these spikes, we can help the trees.”

  “I’m not sure there is anything that can be done to help the trees.”

  Haern turned around and saw the Smith Guild master approach. Jordan was a large man, with broad shoulders earned from his years spent working the forge, and he had deep green eyes that blazed as he looked around. He had become the guild master after Haern’s father and had served in that role for the better part of ten years. He had a strong enough connection to lorcith that he could practically forge without even lifting a hammer, something only the strongest of the Smith Guild members were able to do.

  “Come on, Jordan. There must be something that can be done,” Brusus said.

  Jordan held his hand out in front of one of the spikes. He focused on it, and for a moment, it seemed as if the spike trembled, but then it stopped moving. “As you can see, there doesn’t appear to be anything we can do. We’ve already tried with the others, and each of them is the same. The spikes are simply the wrong kind of metal.”

  “Can we remove them manually?” Haern asked.

  “We tried that, but something within them seems to hold them into the tree. The only time I think we’ll be able to remove them is when the tree is dead.”

  “That’s not acceptable,” Brusus said.

  Jordan grunted. “Do you think I don’t know that? There’s nothing we can do until his father returns.”

  Brusus clapped Jordan on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’re doing everything you can.”

  He guided Haern away, and they continued in a steady circle around the clearing, stopping at each of the trees. Members of the respective guilds were examining each tree, and with each one, Haern could tell the belief that they would be able to save the tree was fading.

  “What happens if the trees die?” Haern asked.

  “Your father believes that the trees are tied to a greater power, and that by destroying the trees, there is the possibility of destroying that power. I’m not so sure I believe that, but I do know these trees grant certain abilities somehow.” He flashed a smile. “Don’t worry, Haern, we will figure this out.”

  “If we don’t?”

  “If we don’t, we need
to come up with some way of protecting the city that doesn’t involve the power of the Elder Trees.”

  Haern looked around the clearing. He could feel something changing. Mostly it came from his connection to lorcith, and how there was a difference between the connection to the tree now and what it had been before. How long did they have before the trees failed altogether?

  He couldn’t tell. All he knew was that the power from the trees was changing. Were the leaves beginning to droop, or was that from the changing of the seasons?

  Elaeavn was home to him, but even more than Elaeavn, the Aisl was home. He had been here his entire life, and though a part of him longed to see the rest of the world, he didn’t want anything to happen to the city.

  “What are we going to do?” he asked Brusus.

  “I’m not so sure there is a ‘we’ for this assignment.”

  “I can help. It wasn’t as if I sat by when the attack came.”

  Brusus glanced down to the knives stuffed into Haern’s pocket. Had he seen what Haern had done? Did he know that he’d used knives in that way? It was similar to how his father had fought, so Brusus should be familiar with it.

  “I saw what you did. And you don’t have control. I have advised you to practice, but I don’t know that now is the time for you to begin. Now is the time to regroup, to send our strongest, and to—”

  “Why the strongest?”

  “Because this attack likely means something happened to your father, Haern.”

  “Then I should be the one to go after him.”

  “I’m sure you’re concerned about him. I’m concerned about him, too, but we need to be smart about how we approach this.”

  “You don’t think that I can be smart?”

  “I don’t think that you’re ready.”

  He resisted the urge to argue. What point was there? Like so many in the city, Haern had believed the threat of the Forgers was long past, that his father had managed to suppress it. All that time he could have spent preparing, training for what was to come, he had spent… doing nothing.