The soldiers ignored Carth and headed toward Olandar Fahr. Somehow, he used a surge of power that parted the soldiers on either side, sending them scattering.
He stopped directly in front of Carth. She tried to use shadows, but he managed to ignore them. There was an explosion of heat, but that didn’t seem to faze Olandar Fahr, either. He was far too powerful for anything that Carth might throw at him.
“You won’t reach the Elder Stone,” Carth said.
Olandar Fahr grinned at her. “Do you think that’s what I care about?”
“I know you’re after power.”
“I have power. Why would I need to chase even more?”
Carth held the shadows out in front of her. It occurred to Lucy she was using them as a barrier as much as anything else, as if she were nervous about what Olandar Fahr might attempt. “The same reason you’ve been chasing power for as long as I’ve known you.”
“You can’t begin to understand what I’ve been doing,” he said.
“I might not, but there’s one who does.”
Olandar Fahr smiled tightly. “I will have him brought back to me.”
“Are you so certain?”
“Do you think your small ability to influence someone else’s mind matters to me?”
“It matters when it prevents you from using your soldiers against us,” Carth said.
In the distance, others began to appear on the beach. They were strangely dressed, wrapped in silks, carrying spears, and they were moving with incredible speed, racing along the shoreline.
Lucy stared. She’d never seen anything like it, but with the way they moved, she could barely keep track.
An image floated into Lucy’s mind, and she understood what Carth wanted of her. It came with resounding clarity.
Carth wanted her to take them away from here.
Why, though?
It was more than just wanting her to take Carth away. She wanted to bring the Architect away.
But they had Olandar Fahr.
As she watched, she realized they didn’t have Olandar Fahr. Everything Carth was doing, all the power she was throwing at him, wasn’t enough.
They had no way of stopping him. That was the point Carth was trying to make. Even though he stood in front of them, the first time she’d ever seen him, they wouldn’t be strong enough.
Which meant that they had to find some other way.
If they could anticipate what he was doing, the way that he might attack next, then perhaps they might be able to stop him.
There was something else Lucy might be able to try.
She focused on Olandar Fahr, trying to Read him.
It was like ramming into a wall.
She’d never felt a mind so secured. She’d encountered others with an incredible ability to prevent her from reaching into their mind, but his was like nothing she had ever experienced.
Worse, she was aware of these others racing toward her.
She Slid, grabbing Carth, and Slid again, emerging briefly, grabbing the Architect, and then Slid again.
She emerged for a moment back near the battlefield, but the battle was over. There was no one there. Daniel and Rayen had gone somewhere else, and even Lareth had disappeared, going off to wherever he was traveling.
“Where to?” she asked Carth.
“The tower,” she said.
Lucy nodded, and they Slid.
They emerged at the base of the tower, and Carth pushed open the door, heading inside, leaving Lucy to Slide the Architect. He remained unconscious, the Push enough to keep him sleeping. With him out, she used her ability to Read, rifling through his mind, but even now, there was resistance.
Once inside, she looked to Carth. “Where do we take him?”
“There is someplace inside here.”
Ras appeared on the stairs, and he looked down at Carth. “I don’t think this is wise.”
“It might not be, but we can use him to get the answers we need.”
“And what if he uses us to get the answers he needs?”
Carth frowned. “Do you feel that you are so incapable of protecting yourself from someone like him?”
“I don’t know anything about him. It’s possible he is far more capable than anyone we have ever encountered here.”
“I’m sure you will manage well enough.”
Another image appeared in Lucy’s mind, and this one was here, but a place that she had never visited.
She Slid, carrying the Architect.
She emerged within the cell and released him.
Stone walls rose all around him, and there was a sense of energy here that came from the shadows, but also from something else. It was likely from some of the other Elder Stones, though she had no proof they had any power here. The walls were unadorned, and the entire place was cold, though she wondered if it were intentionally so. Most of the rest of the tower was warm. She backed away from the Architect, leaving him. In the time that they had been here, he had yet to move. She was prepared to Push on him if necessary, but there hadn’t been the need.
It took a few moments before Carth got there, and once she did, she remained for a moment, looking around at everything within the cell. “This was supposed to hold Olandar Fahr,” Carth said.
“Do you think it would?”
“I don’t know. There was a time when I thought we would’ve been more evenly matched, but that wasn’t the case today.”
“Who are those others coming along the shoreline?”
“I don’t know. I suspect they come from Ceyaniah, and yet, unless I have an opportunity to ask Daniel and Rayen, it’s possible we’ll never know.”
“What about the rest of the Ai’thol?”
“You had Pushed most of them.”
Lucy nodded.
“Then they will do as you asked.”
“I had them defend me. And you.” She looked up from where the Architect lay on the ground, and met Carth’s eyes.
“It’s unlikely they will survive this,” Carth said.
“Will it be worth it?”
“We won’t know until he begins to share.” Carth crouched down, staring at the Architect. “I imagine you have attempted to Read him?”
Lucy nodded. There was no point in denying it.
“And were you successful?”
She shook her head. “He blocked me from his mind.”
“That’s unfortunate, but not unexpected. We have other ways of obtaining information from people like him. He will share, whether or not he wants to.”
Lucy shivered, and yet, after everything the Architect had done to her, he deserved to be questioned. He deserved to be the reason they found out what they needed to in order to stop Olandar Fahr. And he deserved whatever fate would befall him.
She hoped she was strong enough to see it through.
52
Daniel
Shadows caught Daniel’s attention, lingering near the edge of the forest. When he emerged from the Slide, he found Rayen with Alistan just at the edge. “What are you doing?”
“I thought I saw someone coming in here.”
Daniel looked through the trees, following the shadows. From here, he could trace the movement.
They would need to get to the tree first.
The Slide carried them through the forest and directly into the massive tree. The abruptness of it—and the energy required—was staggering. Daniel had grown accustomed to not feeling weakened by Sliding, and the fact that he did this time surprised him a little.
He took a deep breath, releasing Rayen and Alistan, and looked around the room. A lantern resting on the table glowed with a soft light.
“What is this place?” Alistan whispered.
“Apparently, this is the Council of Elders.” Rayen made her way around the table, looking at each of the seats. Without having their escorts here as they had the last time, there was more freedom for them to move about. “From what we understand, there are other places like this scattered thro
ughout the world.”
“Tables like this, or chambers like this?” Alistan asked.
“Perhaps both,” Rayen said.
Alistan made his way toward the seats and the table, but the strange barrier prevented him from getting close. “Where are we?”
“Someplace inaccessible other than by Sliding,” Daniel said.
“How did you find it?”
“With some difficulty.”
He looked up, and Daniel followed the direction of his gaze. The tree opened up high overhead, creating a domed ceiling. There was nothing else in the chamber other than the table.
“Where are we?” he asked again.
“Inside of a tree,” Daniel said. Alistan watched him, and Daniel shrugged. “Strange, I know.”
“What else is strange is that these symbols match up with symbols I’ve seen for the elders,” he said.
“What symbols?” Daniel asked.
Alistan motioned for Daniel to follow him, and when he did, he realized what the other man was pointing to. Each stool had a symbol worked into the top of the seat.
Daniel hadn’t noticed that, but when he’d been here before, he’d been focused on the strangeness of the place. “Do you recognize them?”
“I don’t, but I think I could find them.”
“Back at your place,” Daniel said.
Alistan nodded.
It felt as if they were going back and forth, and he still had not restored himself completely from the Slide here. He needed a little bit longer, and yet, within this place, his connection to the shadows seemed stronger than it had been in a while. Within Keyall, the shadows were gone, and the connection that he had to them, the strength they lent him, was missing.
Daniel sank down on one of the seats and breathed out.
“You should not be here.”
He looked up, and Charlanna stood with her arms crossed in front of her, two of the men with spheres on either side of her. “Charlanna. We were just—”
“I know what you were just doing. We have just prevented another from trying to reach a place where they should not have been.”
Another? Had they stopped Olandar Fahr?
What about Carth and Lucy?
Even if they had prevented Olandar Fahr from reaching this place, how long would they be able to do so? If he now knew that this was the location of the Elder Stone, it wouldn’t be long before he returned, better prepared. And if he succeeded, what would happen?
That was the question, wasn’t it? None of them knew what would take place. Olandar Fahr wanted access to the Elder Stones in order to utilize that power, but they didn’t know what would happen if he succeeded. Would he be granted the power of the Great Watcher?
Charlanna took a step into the room and realized Daniel was seated at the table. Her eyes widened slightly. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry. I was tired after reaching here. I know I shouldn’t have presumed that I could sit.”
“You should not have been able to.”
“What?”
She approached him and stood just behind one of the other stools. “You should not have been able to sit.”
“I don’t understand.”
She moved forward as if to take a seat and was rebuffed by the barrier in place around it.
“You should not be able to sit. What have you done to the table?”
“I didn’t do anything.” Daniel got up and glanced over to Rayen, who was moving forward, trying to get closer to the table and meeting with the same sort of resistance as Charlanna had.
“I can’t either,” Rayen said.
“Have you damaged the Council of Elders?” Charlanna asked.
Daniel stayed close to the seat, confused. What had happened? It didn’t make any sense, but then again, he wasn’t sure it was supposed to make sense to him. None of it had any reasonable explanation, and considering how old this table had to be, and the fact that it represented something he didn’t fully understand, it was possible that he couldn’t comprehend it.
“I didn’t damage anything,” he said.
He stepped away, and the seat he had taken began to lower.
It was a strange thing to observe. The seat slowly descended, dropping silently into the ground as if being pulled under.
“What… what just happened?” he asked.
Charlanna’s eyes went wide. “One of the Council has been chosen.”
The Elder Stones Saga continues with book 5: The Depth of Deceit.
A dangerous plan might be the only way to defeat Olander Fahr.
With the threat of another attack, Haern must use his new abilities to make a dangerous gambit. Doing so requires he trust someone who has betrayed him once before, and count on others who still don’t fully understand the nature of their abilities. If they succeed, they might finally be able to stop Olander Fahr before he manages to acquire another of the Elder Stones.
Daniel struggles to understand his connection to the shadows along with what it means that he can sit at the Council of Elders. When a new threat appears, his unique understanding of the shadows might be the key to survival.
Lucy continues her search to discover the longer game. With the Architect now imprisoned, she has access to someone who can guide her to where Olander Fahr might attack next, but they remain a step behind. A growing fear that someone has deceived her leads her in a new direction, but it’s one that will require her to make a dangerous choice.
Isolated within the city of Lexa, Ryn must continue to serve the Great One, but a new challenge to her authority forces her to look for power in a different way.
Plans unfold, but for the first time, all begin to wonder if the one behind them is different than who they had believed. And if not Olander Fahr, who is the real threat?
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading The Coming Chaos. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would be so kind as to take a moment to leave a review on Amazon or elsewhere, I would be very grateful.
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D.K. Holmberg
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Also by D.K. Holmberg
World of the Dark Ability
The Elder Stones Saga
The Darkest Revenge
Shadows Within the Flame
Remnants of the Lost
The Coming Chaos
The Depth of Deceit
The Shadow Accords
Shadow Blessed
Shadow Cursed
Shadow Born
Shadow Lost
Shadow Cross
Shadow Found
The Collector Chronicles
Shadow Hunted
Shadow Games
Shadow Trapped
The Dark Ability
The Dark Ability
The Heartstone Blade
The Tower of Venass
Blood of the Watcher
The Shadowsteel Forge
The Guild Secret
Rise of the Elder
The Sighted Assassin
The Binders Game
The Forgotten
Assassin’s End
The Dragonwalker
Dragon Bones
Dragon Blessed
Dragon Rise
Dragon Bond
Dragon Storm
Dragon Rider
Dragon Sight
The World of the Lost Prophecy
The Teralin Sword
Soldier Son
Soldier Sword
Soldier Sworn
Soldier Saved
Soldier Scarred
>
The Lost Prophecy
The Threat of Madness
The Warrior Mage
Tower of the Gods
Twist of the Fibers
The Lost City
The Last Conclave
The Gift of Madness
The Great Betrayal
World of the Cloud Warrior Saga
The Cloud Warrior Saga
Chased by Fire
Bound by Fire
Changed by Fire
Fortress of Fire
Forged in Fire
Serpent of Fire
Servant of Fire
Born of Fire
Broken of Fire
Light of Fire
Cycle of Fire
The Endless War
Journey of Fire and Night
Darkness Rising
Endless Night
Summoner’s Bond
Seal of Light
Elemental Academy
The Fire Within
The Earth Awakens
The Water Ruptures
The Wind Rages
The Book of Maladies
Wasting
Broken
Poisoned
Tormina
Comatose
Amnesia
Exsanguinated
The Coming Chaos Page 50