The Fates of Yoran (The Chain Breaker Book 3)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Balls.

  He slowly backed into the trees. The outskirts were not nearly as mystical as the depths. There were areas of the forest that were incredibly strange, almost as if the forest itself tried to pull someone in. When he’d dealt with the sorcerer chasing Cyran, he hadn’t known whether that feeling came from the sorcerer or from the forest. Maybe both.

  He sheathed the El’aras dagger and pulled out the sword. He paused a moment, looking around him. No sign of the strange smoke.

  “Wrenlow?”

  There was silence from the other side of the enchantment. Wrenlow had been there only a moment before, and that he’d suddenly gone silent suggested something worrisome.

  “Wrenlow?”

  As before, there were no sounds from the other side of the enchantment.

  Gavin gripped the sword, glancing down. The blade glowed softly, though he wasn’t sure if it had been glowing the entire time he’d had it unsheathed or if it had only just started.

  He would loop around. If nothing else, he could use the forest to conceal himself.

  Gavin jogged through the trees, keeping low. There wasn’t a path. Anything he did now would be creating his own path, and as he wound through the trunks, Gavin searched for anyplace he might be able to hide.

  Every so often, he felt a presence near him. He wasn’t sure if that presence was the smoke or some other magical entity. The first time he felt it, he thought he was detecting something in the forest, but there wasn’t anything else when he paused. The second time he felt it, Gavin realized that what he detected was real. By the time he felt it again, he no longer knew what to make of it. He moved more carefully, sweeping the sword around in an arc as he moved through the forest.

  There wasn’t anything. Only his racing heart.

  The smoke had followed him into Cyran’s home. It hadn’t attacked him, though it had followed him. That seemed significant, only Gavin wasn’t entirely sure why.

  He reached into his pocket and gripped the jade egg.

  Thankfully, he had the enchantment on his wrist, which gave him the ability to move much more rapidly than he normally would. Because of that, he’d probably stayed ahead of the smoke. He’d been running and using the enchantment, but he hadn’t paid as much attention to having it on.

  Movement in the distance caught his eye. It seemed to be streaking through the trees to his left. Gavin veered right.

  Every so often, he felt movement on one side or the other. He couldn’t help but feel as if the slipping movement were trying to corral him, guiding him.

  At one point, he paused. He was in the center of the forest near a stream, and from here he thought he could fight in the open. But what if this was where this strange magical smoke wanted him to go?

  If so, then Gavin had to switch things up. He had to try to turn it to his advantage. He swung the sword around, and he started moving along the stream in a different way.

  “Wrenlow?” He whispered his name again, this time with more urgency, not that the urgency in the enchantment made a difference. Gavin gritted his teeth.

  He looked for signs of movement, signs of the smoke, but he didn’t see anything as he ran. He paused near another stream. It seemed as if he had just been here. He had to head back out of the forest.

  Gavin spun and immediately began sprinting. By the time he reached the first stream, there was a strange stirring sensation as though he was getting closer to whatever it was that tried to corral him.

  He jumped the stream, and he kept moving. The farther he went, the faster he felt himself going. He kept his head low, holding his arms up to prevent the branches from smacking him. He trusted that his instincts were right and that he knew where he was going. He trusted that he could use that knowledge and find his way back to where he had been before.

  Gavin couldn’t see the smoke. With as fast as he ran, the enchantment pulling him along, he could no longer make out anything other than the trees and the branches whipping past him. The farther he went, the more he felt a pressure that seemed to squeeze him.

  The Fate. It had to be, and that fit with the strange smoke that had left the couple unconscious the way it had the constables.

  The way it would leave him it if struck.

  There had been darkness around the Fate when he’d attacked.

  This had to be some part of his magic.

  The enchantment gave him strength and speed, and Gavin pulled upon his core reserves. He hadn’t attempted to use both the enchantment and that core energy together before, but now that he did, he could feel that power coursing through him. He felt a surge of power that was different. The core reserves seemed to work with the enchantment in a way he hadn’t expected.

  Gavin streaked through the forest. There was movement around him, but now he seemed to be outrunning it. Even with as fast as he went, he still felt that movement near him. The edge of the city became visible through the trees. The pressure continued to build.

  Energy flowed into him, and then he burst out of the trees. He didn’t stop. He let the power of the enchantment and the power of his core reserves carry him. The combination was such that he could race through the street. Then he was among a crowd.

  It slowed him a little, but powered as he was, he sprinted faster and faster. Something was moving alongside him. Was it the same smoke? It was a strange energy that pushed up against him, as if trying to squeeze in on him.

  It was the middle of the day, early enough where there were quite a few people out. Gavin had to twist and turn through the streets, swinging his body from side to side, avoiding the crowd—carts rolling through the cobbled streets, merchants at wagons near markets.

  He jumped. Using the core reserves, along with the enchantment, the jump carried him up to one of the rooftops. Gavin scrambled along it, then slid down, landing on another street.

  The farther he went, the more he began to question whether running like this was the right strategy. If he kept running, and if he stayed ahead of this smoke, would he only be drawing it back to wherever he ended up going?

  He couldn’t go back to the Dragon. If he did, he would put his friends in danger.

  As he ran, his gaze darted around the city. There was the fortress, the place the Captain had lived. There were other enchantments there, though Gavin didn’t know how to use them, but the building would be fortified. Gavin could find Zella and the other enchanters but didn’t really want to put them in danger.

  There was another place he could go, but he hated doing it.

  Gavin jumped to another rooftop. Again he scrambled along it, slid down, and landed on another street. He ran through the city like that, up and down rooftops, sweeping through the city in a way that carried him. He ignored everything else around him. He focused on trying to get past the people, moving where he could, and getting as far ahead as possible. The farther he went, the more Gavin knew he was heading in the right direction.

  And then he saw it.

  The building that held the constables’ barracks was not too flashy. The squat building made of stone filled an entire block near the center of the city. It was a single level and not nearly large enough for as many constables as Gavin had seen in the time that he’d been in Yoran. The windows blazed with bright light, and the people in the street tended to avoid getting too close. Strangely, he detected some soft energy in the air as he got closer to the barracks. The entire structure was compact, almost as if it were trying to remain concealed.

  The constables—

  Gavin stumbled. He staggered to his feet.

  The strange wisps of smoke swirled around him, getting close. Gavin realized he was still holding on to his sword, and he swung. The smoke parted around the blade.

  The blade glowed brightly—magic was near.

  The Fate?

  He didn’t see any sign of him, though.

  Maybe this was his way of attacking from a distance.

  Gavin raced toward the constables’ barracks. He had no idea if Dav
el or any of the constables would help him, but he could negotiate with the jade egg.

  He jumped, which cleared him over the smoke and carried him toward the entrance to the barracks. Gavin pushed open the door without hesitating and stumbled inside. He slammed the door behind him.

  He tried to catch his breath, then turned and looked around him. Five constables were there, all of them with weapons unsheathed. Some were slim. One was taller than Gavin and incredibly muscular. Another man was even flabby, a rarity with the constables. He suspected that all of them had enchantments on them. They were dressed in gray jackets and pants.

  Gavin glanced down, realizing that he was still holding on to the glowing sword.

  “Get Davel,” he said.

  The constables stared at him for a moment.

  “Get Davel. There’s a sorcerer out in the streets.”

  That had the desired effect. The constables started moving. Two of them came to the door and took up positions on either side of it. Gavin backed into the barracks. The entrance was plain. Paneled wood ran along the walls, on which weapons were hung. A desk near the back corner drew his eye.

  “What happened?”

  Gavin swung, and Davel caught Gavin’s blade with his own. He lowered the sword. “There’s something out there.”

  “Apparently. Otherwise you wouldn’t have come here.”

  “I don’t know what it is, only that it looks like smoke chasing me.”

  Davel started to grin.

  Gavin shook his head, flicking his gaze toward the door. “I wish I were making it up, but I’m not.”

  “Smoke that’s chasing you?”

  “That’s the only way I can describe it. I saw it with one of your people—”

  “What do you mean you saw it?”

  Gavin should have shared that sooner, but between Davel asking for the egg and Wrenlow’s need, he’d been distracted. “I saw your constables attacked by something similar.” He shook his head, holding Davel’s gaze. “At the time, I didn’t know what it was. We haven’t been on trusting terms, such as it is.”

  “You still should have come to me if you knew what it was.”

  “That’s just it. I didn’t know what it was. And when I saw what it did, I realized that it had to be the same thing.” And probably the Fates, though why would they use smoke like that in such an indiscriminate fashion?

  That didn’t seem the way that he had expected the Fates to attack.

  Gavin realized that he had to be careful about sharing too much with Davel. If he revealed that he had gone to Cyran’s home and that the sorcerer’s lair was there, then he would reveal where he had been going.

  “Where did you see this?”

  “Near the edge of the city,” he finished. “I don’t know what to make of it, and I don’t know whether it’s anything to be concerned about, but the way it makes the sword glow suggests it’s magically powerful.”

  Davel glanced over at the sword. “Come on.” He turned and headed deeper into the barracks.

  “Aren’t you concerned that this smoke will get into the barracks?”

  “You said it was magically created?”

  “If it’s from the Fate, then it is.”

  “Then we have time. Not sure how much time if it’s one of the Fates, but the barracks are protected. You have the egg?”

  It was a simple question, but one that posed challenges.

  The enchanters had waited twenty years to get the egg away from the constables. Now Gavin would be the one to bring it back?

  The Fate and the smoke attack lent this a greater urgency.

  He had to do this. Not just for himself. For the city. Which he would protect.

  “I do.”

  “Good. Then follow me.”

  Gavin headed down the stairs, descending into the barracks and feeling as if he were descending into danger.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The room where Davel brought him was enormous. It was cold, with stone walls rising around everything and metal tables situated throughout. Gavin had little doubt that this was the constables’ version of a sorcerer’s lair.

  Gavin looked around the room. Unlike in the sorcerer’s lairs where he’d been, this one was sparse. There were no shelves along the walls, only the stone. The metal tables, which had nothing on them, took up much of the room. Gavin suspected the tables were used when the constables created the enchantments.

  “If you want me to help you with the smoke,” Davel said, and there was a hint of irritation in his voice at Gavin—likely because he hadn’t come to Davel sooner—“you need to do what you agreed to as well. I will have the egg.”

  Gavin let out a frustrated sigh. “I never agreed to do it here.”

  He had come here looking for the constables’ help.

  Maybe if he learned how to use the jade egg to create enchantments, he might be able to use it for himself. Except that Gavin wasn’t sure he wanted to. He’d seen too many enchantments used over the years in dangerous ways.

  “What do you intend to do with it?” Gavin asked.

  “I told you what I intend to do with it.”

  “I’m not letting you keep it.”

  Davel cocked a brow at him. “You aren’t letting me?”

  “You can push back if you want, but if it comes down to it, I’m going to fight my way out of here.” Through constables. Then through the Fate.

  Not good odds.

  “You came here on your own,” Davel said, his voice low and dangerous.

  “I did, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to let you simply abuse this.”

  “You seem to forget that we’ve had the egg for—”

  “For decades,” Gavin said. “I didn’t forget that at all.”

  Davel glared at him.

  Gavin debated what else he might be able to do or say, but he simply stared back, holding his gaze.

  Finally, Davel turned away. “Pull out the egg, and let’s get this over with.”

  “What sort of enchantment are you going to make?”

  “It seems as if I need to see if there’s anything else magical around us.”

  “Don’t you already have enchantments for that?” Gavin asked.

  “We did.”

  “I didn’t do anything to them.”

  “You didn’t. Others did,” Davel said.

  Had the enchanters been active? Gavin hadn’t noticed that, but it would make sense.

  Davel made his way over to the far side of the room, and he grabbed something from a section Gavin couldn’t see quite as easily. He came back with a small spool of metal.

  Gavin glanced at it. “Is that what you use?”

  “Haven’t you tried to use the egg?”

  Gavin shook his head. “There hasn’t been any reason.”

  “You really aren’t interested in creating enchantments.”

  “I can see the value in them, but I haven’t had any reason to do so.”

  “You are an interesting man,” Davel said.

  “I think that’s a compliment.”

  Davel shrugged. He started to unwind the length of metal, and then he rolled it over the table, winding it from one end to the other. “The egg.”

  Gavin frowned at him. “What are you going to do with it?”

  “I’m going to use it. Isn’t that the entire purpose of this?” Davel snapped.

  Gavin pulled the egg out of his pocket and set it on the table.

  Davel stared at it for a moment before turning his attention back to Gavin. “The egg allows those with the right knowledge to push power through it. In doing so, not only can we layer that power upon the construct we want enchanted, but those with the right knowledge can force the type of enchantment we want.”

  “Force it?”

  “There is an element of force involved.”

  “Why?” Gavin asked.

  “I’m not entirely sure.”

  Davel turned his attention back to the metal. He ran his hands along the sur
face of it, and then he lifted it up, setting it into a different pattern. “We had to experiment with this. When they provided us with the egg, they didn’t provide us with knowledge about how to use it, or anything else.”

  “They being the enchanters.”

  “They being they,” Davel said.

  Gavin shook his head. “You don’t even want to acknowledge what you did to them?”

  “Acknowledge what?” Davel paused and turned toward him. “You assume you know so much about the city, yet you’ve only been here for the better part of a year. I don’t think that amount of time has provided you with any greater insight as to the workings of the city than anyone else.”

  “I know that the constables worked with enchanters to expel sorcerers from the city. I know the constables ultimately betrayed the enchanters.”

  “Do you know that the enchanters decided they wanted to rule?” Davel fixed him with a hard stare. “After the sorcerers were gone, the enchanters thought that might be their opportunity to take power. There are many cities where enchanters are allowed to take power, and in their mind, they thought they would use that opportunity to assume control.”

  Gavin hadn’t heard that. He would have to check with Zella if that were true or not. “You betrayed them because they tried to overpower you?”

  “You call it betrayal, but I call it protection.”

  “Protection?” Gavin looked around the room. “Is that what this is?”

  “Do you really think we want to do anything that would harm those in the city?” Davel asked.

  Gavin grunted. “I don’t really know. The only thing I know about you is that you continue to use the kind of power you railed against.”

  “We railed against the sorcerers’ power. Not enchanted power.”

  “Except you don’t want others in the city to know you still embrace magic.”

  “The people feel better knowing they are protected from magic. Think about it. Most of the people who lived in the city during the war twenty years ago remember what it was like when the sorcerers were fighting for control. There were factions of them, all trying to overthrow the Triad.”

  “The what?”

  “Three sorcerers who had ganged up and taken power over the city. I’m sure that with your extensive experience in the world, you have seen how sorcerers fight for power.”