It was different than what he knew in Elaeavn. The Elvraeth had always been powerful, though wasn’t that capability tied to the fact that his people had had access to the sacred crystals all these years? Those crystals granted their people the abilities of the Great Watcher, strengthening the bonds.
“I wonder what I would have been able to do if I had been there. I’ve often considered what it would’ve been like had I been raised in my homeland. Just how much would I have been able to accomplish? Just how much power would I have been able to summon?” As she said it, she used the shadows, wrapping them tightly around her. Daniel marveled at her control, as he often did, amazed at how much she could do already.
“Have you ever considered returning?”
Rayen nodded. “I’ve contemplated remaining in those lands, but every time I consider it, I realize it’s not my destiny anymore. I have another purpose.”
“The Binders.”
“That has been part of it,” she said.
Daniel rested his head, looking outward as he did. There was something quite comfortable about sitting with Rayen. They weren’t isolated, though it felt that way. Regardless of where they went, he always had the knowledge that he could return. Surprisingly, as he lay there, he realized his strength was replenishing more rapidly than he’d expected. Perhaps Rayen was right, and his connection to the shadows did grant him additional strength.
He glanced over at Rayen. “How did you and Carth meet?”
“It was chance, nothing more. She has long served the role that she does, protecting the Binders, and there was a time when she came across me. I didn’t have much purpose at the time. I was using my shadows in ways I probably should not have been. Carth recognized something in me. That’s not surprising now, but at the time, there weren’t many who had ever seen anything useful about me.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I didn’t have an easy childhood,” she said.
Daniel waited for her to elaborate. In all the time he’d traveled with Rayen, he had struggled to get her to open up, and she had always been reluctant to do so. He had known not to push. There was no reason for him to do so. Pushing would only drive her away, and he enjoyed her company.
“I think that isn’t all that unique,” Rayen went on. “When I hear Carth talk about her childhood, I recognize a shared trauma, though she came out of it strong. I came out of it broken.”
“You don’t seem broken.”
“Not now, but I was.” She let out a heavy sigh. The shadows swirled around her, colors flickering. “My parents died when I was young. We were travelers, sailing on massive ships that spent most of their time out at sea.” She nodded to the distant ocean, and a hint of a smile curled her lips. “Those were happy memories. I can easily recall my father working the wheel, guiding us through storms and swells, my laughter as we rolled through seas that could claim us. My father shared in my laughter, never minding the storms or the wind or the waves, not the way Mother did.” Rayen swallowed, and she wiped the corner of her eye. “Life was good. But then, life on the sea is unpredictable. That’s something I’ve seen even in the time I’ve been traveling with Carth.”
When she didn’t go on, Daniel looked over at her. “What happened?”
“Not everyone who sails is kind. It’s the same as what you find throughout all lands. It’s the reason for the Binders. We offer protection to those who need it, and we offer safety, especially as so many don’t have it.”
“Were you hurt?”
“Many times,” she said. “I didn’t have an understanding of the shadows at that time. I think I was aware of them, sort of like someone can be aware of the night, but even if I knew what I was able to do, I had no control over it. They were deep within me, buried. My parents didn’t have the shadow gift. They may have been blessed, but if they were, they didn’t know how to use it either.”
It was interesting how she spoke of her parents. She, who had been given joy and happiness but had not been guided on the use of her powers, still spoke fondly about them. Then there was Daniel, who had been trained by his father, taught to plan, to prepare, to use the powers the Great Watcher had given him in order to lead in Elaeavn when it came time. Even though he’d been taught, he had no happy memories from that time. There had always been a sense of disappointment, a sense that he had to perform in order to please his father and convince him he was worthy.
Where had that gotten him?
He had never considered it a tormented childhood, but perhaps it was. Perhaps his childhood was just as difficult as Rayen’s, though for different reasons.
“When did Carth find you?”
“I lost my parents when I was seven or eight. It’s hard to remember, but there were several years where I can fondly remember the ocean and the waves and the ports we visited. I recall the games my father taught me, a way of passing time as we traveled, and even Mother would get in on it. She didn’t love the games the same way Father did.”
“My father liked to play games, but they were ones where he wanted me to try to figure out what he was thinking and how to manipulate others.”
“A form of Tsatsun,” she said.
“Maybe, though he never called it that, and I don’t know that I would have considered it Tsatsun at the time.”
“When my parents were killed, I was taken on board another vessel. We traveled for several years, and each day was a new sort of torment. I went from knowing the freedom of being with people who cared about me, the freedom of wandering the ship, climbing the mast, exploring below decks and enjoying every port we visited, to being confined to a single room and trotted out at each port for a very specific purpose.”
Rayen shuddered, and the shadows swirled back inwardly for a moment before she breathed out, releasing her hold on the shadows.
“It was in one of those ports where Carth found me. I was young. Twelve, maybe thirteen, I don’t even know anymore. She rescued all of us. Offered us her protection. A promise of safety. Perhaps something more. When she slaughtered the captain, I wondered if that promise was an empty one or if it really was a chance to hope for something more.” Rayen trailed off near the end, and she turned away from him. “I don’t talk about it. Carth knows, and I suppose the women who were rescued with me know, though very few of them stayed on to serve the Binders. Most were content to be freed, and they were resettled, given an opportunity to have a new life. For the most part, they wanted that and were more than happy to take advantage of that new existence. I wanted something different.”
“What did you want?”
“At first, revenge.”
“Only at first?”
“Eventually, Carth got through to me. Revenge is hollow. When it’s over, what are you left with? What I needed instead was purpose, and she gave that to me. And then I very nearly betrayed her.”
“You were trying to protect your people,” Daniel said.
“I should have known that Carth deserved my trust. She had earned it dozens of times by that point, and yet, I still abandoned her, and in doing so, I…”
Rayen sat with her back to him, and Daniel got up, scooting around and slipping an arm around her shoulders. “Thank you for sharing with me.”
“I didn’t share with you so you would pity me.”
“Why would I pity you?”
“Because of what I told you.”
“You told me you experienced trauma. I can’t say I have any idea what you went through, nor can I say I understand. All I can say is that I’m sorry. And I guess I can say you’re strong.”
“I won’t allow it to happen to me again.”
He thought he understood now why she acted the way she did, and how she had grown. It certainly made sense that she shared Carth’s sentiments about the Binders.
“It’s too bad that in all the time you were with Carth, she didn’t make you a better Tsatsun player,” he said.
She turned toward him. Her eyes were reddened, and the corners we
re moist. She rubbed a knuckle in her eyes and started to laugh. “That’s your takeaway from all of this?”
“I guess I would have expected you to learn something from her during all the time you spent together.”
“I did learn something.”
“Really?”
She sent the shadows swirling around him and pulled him toward her.
The suddenness of it was disarming, and he chose not to resist. There had always been something appealing about Rayen, though it had been hard for Daniel to move past Lucy. Then again, Lucy had made it clear she was not open to such advances. His entire young adult life had been spent pining over Lucy Elvraeth, wanting that connection. He had let himself believe that it was his choice, and that he was attracted to her because of who she was. Having known Lucy as well and as long as he had, he couldn’t deny there was an appeal. Yet, the more he thought about it, the more he wondered how deep his feelings truly were. He found Lucy both more and less appealing now that she had been given her augmentation and had changed as much as she had.
It was different with Rayen. When he looked at Rayen, he saw strength despite what she had gone through. He saw a powerful woman. He saw a woman who still found humor in the world despite everything she had experienced and seen. He saw someone who understood strategy, regardless of her skill at Tsatsun.
This was someone he found appealing now.
How much had he changed since leaving Elaeavn?
He might have ventured into the chamber of shadows, but there had been other changes within him. It might not have been as stark as what had happened to Lucy, but he had changed.
“Why have you told me all of this?” he asked.
“You didn’t want to know?” Her voice was soft, husky, and she was close to him. He could smell her breath. Feel the heat of it. The warmth of her body radiated off her along with the strange sense of the shadows.
“I’m glad you finally shared,” he said.
“We have been traveling long enough I thought you should know.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“What other reason should there be?”
Daniel leaned toward Rayen and kissed her.
She was the one who had pulled him close to her, and he suspected she was open to affection, but he wasn’t certain how she would respond. That was part of Rayen’s appeal. Not knowing what she might do, or how she might react.
She kissed him back.
As she did, he could feel the shadows swirl around them. They pulled him closer to her, drawing them together. They stayed close, wrapped in shadows, lying on the seashore, the sound of waves crashing around them, winds swirling everywhere around them.
33
Daniel
The city of Keyall rested along an impossibly high peak. Daniel stared up at it from the shore, ignoring the ships behind him, many of them lining the docks, the sounds of sailors and merchants and seagulls all mingling together. Instead, he looked up at the rock towering high overhead, amazed.
“This is Keyall?”
Rayen remain transfixed, looking up the same way as he did, her jaw clenched as she stared. She had grown somewhat quieter the farther they had come, as if she had disliked the idea of coming to Keyall. She hadn’t said, but he had to wonder if perhaps this was the place where she’d been abducted.
“It’s an interesting city,” Rayen said. “Carth spent quite a bit of time here when she was younger, and I think she even found herself imprisoned here.”
“What would it take to imprison Carth?” Knowing Carth, he couldn’t imagine her being easily subdued.
“The magic of the Elder Stone here.” With that, Rayen strode forward, heading along the shore until they reached the road going up. It wound past merchants, dozens of them, many of them simply sitting outside of their shops, occasionally hollering at passersby, otherwise staring blankly as if they had nothing to say.
It would’ve been easier for him to Slide up to the rest of the city, but Rayen wanted them to walk, and so they did. There had been a closeness between them since that afternoon spent on the shores, and yet it had not been repeated. Neither of them spoke about it, though they would need to address it eventually. For now, he enjoyed the closeness with her.
When they reached the top of the cliff, he looked back the way they had come. It was incredibly steep, a surprising place to build a city, but what was more surprising was the way the city spread out from the top of the cliff. Most of it was here, and he marveled at the sheer size of Keyall.
“I don’t know anything about this city,” he said.
“Keyall is isolated here. It’s the way they like it.”
“Like Elaeavn?”
Rayen shook her head. “The people of Keyall don’t keep themselves closed off to outsiders. You saw how many ships were out there.”
“I did.”
“They have dozens of merchants moving through each week, and all of them have items to trade. Because of that, Keyall gets word from outside of the city. They might be separated geographically, but they aren’t isolated from the world.”
Daniel stared down at the shoreline. From here, he could make out the ships more easily. There were dozens and dozens of ships. Some were making their way toward Keyall, while others were sailing away, the wind catching their massive sails and guiding them out and away from the city. Most of the ships were in different styles, and he marveled at the fact that many of them were quite a bit different than even those found in Elaeavn. Most of those were narrow, with sleek hulls designed to travel along the shoreline rather than in the deep water. When he had been in Asador, he had seen other sorts of ships that had other purposes, and these were even different than those.
“Where do we need to go here?” he asked, turning back toward Keyall.
“I’m still not completely convinced this is the right plan.”
“I thought you agreed with me.”
“I agreed to accompany you, but that doesn’t mean that I agree with you. The caretakers in Keyall can be very protective about the Elder Stone they possess.”
“Is there a way for us to get to it without their knowing?”
Rayen’s mouth twisted in a frown. “It won’t be easy.”
“Which means there is.”
She nodded. “There is, but I think it’s better if we approach the caretakers and see if they would be willing to allow us access.”
Daniel wasn’t about to argue with Rayen when it came to this. She would know better than he, though he wanted to know if he was right. The first step would be getting to the stone and spending some time around it. Once he did, he could determine if there was anything about him that changed after handling it.
It was possible nothing would change. When he had been around the chamber of shadows, he hadn’t known that anything had changed for quite a while. Even now, his connection to the shadows continued to evolve.
What would happen when he managed to reach the stone here?
So far, Rayen hadn’t even told him what the stone in Keyall was like.
“What’s the best strategy for approaching?”
“When I came here before, I came with Carth, and even that visit was brief.”
Daniel glanced over at her for a moment. “You do know how to find the Elder Stone here.”
She met his gaze for a moment before shaking her head. “Unfortunately…”
Daniel laughed. “All of this and you don’t even know how to find it?”
“I know that the stone is in Keyall. Carth has been protective of its location.”
“Which means we have to find it now.”
“It seems that way,” she said.
“You know, it would be easier if we simply found Carth and asked her.”
“Do you think you can?”
Daniel shook his head. “I have no idea where she’d be. Even if I did, I don’t know that she’s going to offer us much help.”
“That would be typical for Carth.”
He lo
oked around the city. It wasn’t all that dissimilar to places like Asador and Elaeavn, though the buildings were spaced a little farther apart. They all seemed to be made of a dark stone, and there was something strange about it. It seemed to give off shadows, but at the same time, it swallowed them.
Looking over to Rayen, he watched as she used her shadows, letting them swirl around her. She often did it without any awareness of her actions, letting the shadows stream away from her. It was a unique feature to her, and he suspected it was a way to ensure that they were safe, to maintain her connection to them, but the more he had come to know about her, the more he wondered if perhaps there wasn’t another reason for her to use the shadows like that.
“Do you notice anything about this place?” Daniel asked.
“What should I be noticing?”
When her shadows reached one of the nearest buildings, they disappeared. “Look at what your shadows are doing.”
Rayen turned her attention from him and focused on her shadows. They swirled out from her with increased power, drifting until they reached one of the buildings. When they did, they faded again.
“I suspect you’re not doing that?”
Rayen clenched her jaw before shaking her head. “No.”
“That’s why Carth didn’t tell you anything about Keyall.” He looked around again, curious if he could even Slide, and tried, slipping forward, but as he attempted to do so by using the shadows, that connection failed. He could Slide, but he couldn’t use his new connection to them in order to do so. “Why was Carth imprisoned here?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I do know that whatever she experienced here was tied to Olandar Fahr.”
“We need to find someone who might be familiar with Carth and her time here.”
“How do you propose we do that?”
“What is one place Carth always goes regardless of where she is?” Daniel asked.
Rayen grinned. “Taverns.”
It was something he always found amusing about Carth. She did visit taverns in pretty much every place they went. There had to be some reason for it, though with Carth, he was unlikely to be able to discover that key. She kept things like that to herself, though according to Rayen, it had something to do with what she had experienced as a child.
The Coming Chaos Page 32