The Shadowsteel Forge (The Dark Ability Book 5) (24 page)

“You don’t side with Venass because you control them, don’t you?”

His grandfather tipped his head. “Control would imply something along the lines of Compelling. I do not have the same gift with that particular ability as my sister does. Or did.” He smiled again. “I’ll admit that I was surprised that you managed to overpower her. She had always thought that her abilities were superior, but when she met you, she finally came to me, searching for help that I was all too willing to offer.”

“But you were exiled as well. You’re one of the Forgotten!”

“Exiled. What a pleasant phrase for what they put me through. No. I was never exiled in the same way. I
chose
my exile. Why remain here, with the illusion of power, when I could find the real source of power?”

His grandfather smiled and nodded to Thom. “We can talk more later. Take him.”

Thom glided forward, moving almost in something like a Slide, only it was not a Slide.

Rsiran
pulled
himself back, dragging his sword with him as he did, emerging long enough to reach Haern, and then Slid, departing Della’s home.

T
hey emerged in the Barth
. For a brief moment, he feared that his grandfather had managed to send another attack into the Barth while he and Haern had searched for Della, but they were all here, including the trapped assassin of Venass.

When he emerged, Brusus saw them first. “What happened?”

“Thom. And my grandfather.”

Alyse gasped and covered her mouth.

“Where is Della?”

“I don’t know. Gone. There was a body near the hearth and blood in her room, but she wasn’t there.”

“Then she got away,” Brusus said.

Rsiran hoped that was true. He couldn’t imagine how he would feel if he discovered that something had happened to Della, and because of his grandfather. But then, he was her brother. She had more of a claim to him than Rsiran.

“We can’t stay here,” Rsiran said. “They know about the Barth, and they know about Della. I’m not sure how much longer we have before they make another attack.”

“Where would you have us go?” Jessa asked.

He considered his smithy, but that wasn’t safe enough. Not after what he’d seen from his grandfather. It was possible that the heartstone alloy wouldn’t limit him, and that might not even matter. They could knock down the door and get in.

“The Hall of Guilds,” Rsiran said.

Brusus closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “Might be the safest for now. How many trips do you need to take us all?”

He counted, considering whether he could take everyone at once or whether he would need to make another trip. Even leaving the man from Venass—there was no way that Rsiran was going to take him into the Hall of Guilds, or anywhere near the guilds—what he intended would require Sliding five, including himself.

“One,” he said. Jessa shot him a look that he ignored.

“What about him?” Brusus asked.

“We can’t take him. I don’t want to risk someone from Venass reaching the Hall.”

“Good point. Let’s go. Need to get Haern some help, anyway.”

They all gathered, with only Alyse remaining back, as if reluctant to join them. Rsiran went over to her and took the sjihn sculpture, and her hand.

“You need to come with us if you’re going to be safe.”

“I haven’t been safe since you made Father leave,” she said.

Rsiran sighed. “I didn’t make Father leave.”

He was beginning to think that their mother had been the reason that their father had left the city, but now wasn’t the time to try and convince Alyse of that fact. Now, he only wanted to get them to safety, which meant getting her away from here. The Barth
should
have been a safe place for them, but it no longer was. Not with his grandfather after them.

“Keep this,” he said to her, handing her the sculpture. “It seems to keep you safe.”

Had she even noticed what had happened when she swung the sculpture? Probably not, or she wouldn’t take it from him as willingly as she did.

She followed him reluctantly, and they joined the others. Rsiran hesitated, then went and grabbed one of the blackened blades the Hjan carried. Whatever else, he needed to study and see if he could understand the shadowsteel.

Then he took Jessa’s and Brusus’s hands, with Haern and Alyse holding onto his arms. They Slid,
pulled
into the Slide as they reached the Hall of Guilds. Ephram was there, as were dozens of others. This was where the guilds finally came together to coordinate their attack on Venass.

Alyse looked around, her eyes wide as they stepped free from the Slide. She glanced to Brusus and then to Rsiran. As she did, she reached into her pocket and pulled something out.

Rsiran recognized the spheres immediately.

He had feared bringing the other Hjan assassin, but it was Alyse that he should have been concerned about. He had presumed that his mother’s comment about not being able to Compel her for the last few years had been true, but what had changed?

“Everybody back!” Rsiran said.

He dove toward Alyse as she began to bring the lorcith spheres together.

Jessa screamed.

Rsiran ignored it. He had to, if he wanted to keep them all safe.

He grabbed Alyse, and then Slid.

This time, he Slid to Ilphaesn.

Within the mines, light bloomed all around. He barely had time to register it.

He focused on the spheres and
pushed
with all the energy that he could muster. Within Ilphaesn, he found strength easier to access, and the spheres flew from Alyse’s hands and hit the walls, where Rsiran pinned them.

Alyse cast her gaze around her, eyes wild as she did. “What did you do?” she demanded. “Where are we?”

Rsiran stepped away from her, and shook his head. “Of course you wouldn’t recognize it. It’s the place that Father sent me. I seem to remember you had no trouble with that then.”

She looked around, her eyes still wild. “You’ve brought me to the
mines
? How could you?”

Rsiran Slid toward her. “How could
I
? I’ve done nothing but try to keep you safe. And this was how you repay me?” He stopped directly in front of her. “How long have you been working with Venass?”

“Venass? I haven’t—”

Rsiran motioned to the spheres he’d pinned to the walls. “No? Those would suggest otherwise.”

Alyse looked over to the spheres and her eyes widened. “What… what are those?”

“Those are what nearly killed me once. Those are what you brought to the guild to destroy everyone gathered there. Venass thinks that they can end the battle with the guilds. They believed that
you
would destroy everyone in the Hall of Guilds. They have failed again. You have failed.”

Alyse shook her head. “Rsiran… I wouldn’t. I’ve never seen those before!” She lowered her voice and met his eyes. “They must have forced me. You said they have that ability.”

Rsiran frowned. “Mother made it sound like she couldn’t Compel you any more, so why should I believe that they somehow suddenly managed to force you to do what they wanted?”

“Believe whatever you want, but I didn’t do this, Rsiran. I would never hurt others, especially… especially…”

She didn’t need to finish. Rsiran knew that she had developed feelings for Brusus. Real feelings.

But if she didn’t want to attack, that meant that she
had
been Compelled. How could that be, if her mother couldn’t do it? Who would have Compelled her now?

He needed someone who could help discover the depths of what had happened. With Della missing, he knew of only one person he could ask.

That meant that he either took her back to the Hall, or he brought Brusus here. Rsiran didn’t want to risk leaving her here, but at the same time, he feared taking her back, exposing others to potential danger.

“Take off your cloak.”

Alyse looked at him incredulously. “What are you going to do to me?”

“If you want me to take you back with me, take it off.”

Alyse hesitated, and then pulled her cloak off her shoulders and tossed it toward him. “Now what?”

He listened for lorcith that might be on her, but detected nothing. “Do you have any pockets on your dress?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Your shoes. Take them off.”

She scowled at him, but complied, and kicked her shoes over to him. Rsiran studied her, looking for anything else that might pose a danger.

Something that he expected to find was missing.

“Where is the necklace that Father made for you?”

She shook her head. “After you told me what he did, I took it off.”

Rsiran frowned. “How long ago was that?”

“Why?”

“How long, Alyse?”

“After… after you took me to the Barth. At first, I didn’t believe, but you’d said nothing that would make me think that you were lying to me.”

“Where is the necklace now?”

“In the Barth. I… I couldn’t throw it away, regardless of what he’d done.”

Rsiran stared at the walls around him. Could it be that their father had made the necklace to
protect
Alyse? If that were the case, then he had known—or at least suspected—what their mother did. But then, why had he tried to send Rsiran away?

“Come on,” he told Alyse.

He Slid, emerging in the upper level of the Barth. Noise from below rose up to him, and he raised a finger to his lips to silence Alyse.

They Slid into her room, and he mouthed, “Where is it?”

She grabbed the necklace off a table next to her bed.

“Put it on,” he said.

She frowned. “Why?”

“Put it on,” he whispered.

Alyse snapped the chain around her neck at the same time the door to her room slammed open.

Their grandfather stood in the doorway, with their mother behind him.

Rsiran
pushed
all the knives that he had on him at them.

Their grandfather waved a hand and they dropped. “Strange that you would return.”

“You failed,” he said to them.

His mother’s eyes widened.

“Your spheres are now harmlessly hidden away. Once I understand how they’re made, they won’t be a threat to me anymore.” Rsiran
pushed
on the knives again, drawing from the memory of Ilphaesn as he did, using the strength of the mountain to send the knives at their grandfather.

His grandfather
pushed
against him, but Rsiran held onto his connection, bound more tightly than he ever had been. The five knives moved with more force and strength than Rsiran had ever attempted.

Seeing that he couldn’t stop them, his grandfather stepped to the side.

Three of the knives sank into Rsiran’s mother.

She shivered and dropped.

Alyse gasped.

Rsiran should have felt sadness, sorrow of some kind, but after learning how she had used his sister, had attempted to use him, and all that she had put their father through for the sake of Venass… he had a hard time generating any emotion.

His grandfather glanced at her, and shook his head. “You really are the monster she always thought you would become. Look at what you do. You have killed your own mother.”

“Stop,” Rsiran said. “Do not think that you can Compel Alyse.” He glanced back to his sister and she stood, shivering, but otherwise unable to move. “I realized that Father protected her, and it wasn’t until she took off his protection that you were able to manipulate her. But she has his protection again. More than that, she has
mine
.”

Rsiran
pulled
on the knives again, and sent them at his grandfather.

This time, one of the knives struck.

His grandfather sucked in a breath. With a cry of anger, he
pushed
on the knives, sending them toward Rsiran.

The knives moved quickly, but Rsiran was connected to them. They were his forgings, and it was his connection. His grandfather might be able to manipulate lorcith, but he wasn’t a smith. And Rsiran wondered if he possessed control over lorcith naturally, or whether he had implants that augmented his connection much like the rest of Venass.

Rsiran grabbed the knives from the air.

He Slid to Alyse, grabbed her, and then Slid away from the Barth.

W
hen they emerged
into the Hall of Guilds a second time, Rsiran made a point of staying by Alyse. He didn’t
think
that she would do anything again, but he wasn’t about to risk that he might have overlooked something.

“I’m fine,” she whispered to him.

Brusus was the first one to run over to him when they emerged. “What… what happened?”

Rsiran glanced to Alyse, and then took her hand and placed it into Brusus’s. “She was Compelled. And my father apparently knew that she was in danger. She should wear this,” he said, pointing to the lorcith necklace that their father had made her all those years ago. Rsiran had once thought that she had been treated differently and given a much more expensive gift than he would ever have received, but then his father must have known that Rsiran wasn’t in danger in the same way, that he couldn’t be Compelled the same way.

“Father did this?” she asked, fingering the necklace.

“I’m thinking Father was more complicated than I gave him credit for,” Rsiran answered.

“I saw… I saw what you did to mother.”

Rsiran swallowed. “That wasn’t my intent. You have to know that I didn’t want to—”

Alyse placed her hand on his arm. “I do not blame you. Not anymore, Rsiran. You did what you had to do.” She looked over to Brusus with a pained expression. “And I’ve never thanked you for helping me,” she said to Brusus, “and for giving me a chance to… a chance to…”

Brusus pulled her to him and hugged her.

Rsiran turned away and looked for Jessa. He found her by the lorcith in her charm. She stood with Ephram and Sarah.

“Where did you go?” Jessa asked upon his approach.

Rsiran glanced to Sarah and then to Ephram. “The spheres. She was Compelled. I think they wanted to destroy the guilds.”

“And how do you know that she’s safe now?” Ephram asked.

“I don’t. But she doesn’t have anything else with her. She’s as safe as she can be. Besides, I couldn’t leave her behind, not with my grandfather making his way through town and every place that we’d ever been.”

“Yes,” Ephram said, “it seems that Venass is moving more openly now that they’ve been discovered. We have done what we can to slow them, but…”

“What can I do?” he asked.

Ephram watched him. “You’re not too injured? Della warned me that you shouldn’t exert yourself.”

“I can help,” he said.

Ephram looked around the others before his gaze settled back on Rsiran. “Then you have to—”

Ephram didn’t get the chance to finish. An explosion suddenly rocked them.

“Venass,” the guildlord hissed.

Another explosion came, this one louder, and stronger than the last. Someone—probably Alyse, Rsiran thought—screamed. Debris rained down from the ceiling.

“We can’t stay here,” Rsiran said.

Ephram shot him a hard look. “What would you have us do? You know what we protect,
why
we remain here. Otherwise, the guilds would have left Elaeavn long ago.”

Rsiran hadn’t known. He glanced around him, wishing he had Della. He had questions, and she would have answers, even if they were answers that were Seen. But she was gone, either lost, or abducted, or… or something he didn’t want to consider. Once, he would have looked to Brusus, but his friend was out of his depth here, and his attention focused only on Alyse. Haern was injured, maybe fatally.

Of all his friends, that left him.

“You can lead the people deeper into the tunnels,” he suggested.

“And when they breach the guild?” Ephram asked as another explosion came.

The concern was valid. Rsiran knew the strength of Venass all too well. More than their strength, they possessed knowledge that gave them an edge. “What of the Elvraeth?”

Ephram grunted. “The Elvraeth? Have you ever known them to leave the palace if they did not have to? And that is how the guilds like it. If the attack is here, on the guild houses, the Elvraeth will not move. They have wanted to reduce our influence for centuries. Likely they have sent the tchalit, to investigate, but…”

Rsiran didn’t need him to finish. The palace guards wouldn’t be able to do anything against Venass, not if they attacked in full. And with the guild losses… that left few able and willing to face Venass.

He
had to do this.

Jessa pulled on his sleeve. “No. Rsiran, I see what you’re thinking.”

“It’s my grandfather,” Rsiran said. “If I can do anything to stop this, I need to.”

“This isn’t your fight!”

He closed his eyes. “Maybe it shouldn’t be, but I can’t let Venass win, not if there’s something that I can do.”

“Then I’m coming—”

He kissed her gently on the lips. “Not this time, Jessa. I will need to move quickly.”

“You’re not Sighted.”

“And you can’t see lorcith.” He sighed and met Ephram’s eyes. “How many remain? Of your fighters, how many remain?”

Ephram glanced to Sarah. “A dozen all together. When we were searching alone…” He didn’t need to finish for Rsiran to know that Venass had taken advantage of the fracture within the guilds to destroy them. “Maybe a few more. We were never strong enough.”

“They’ll be enough.” They would have to be.

* * *

W
hile Rsiran waited
for the remaining fighters to gather, Jessa and Brusus went with the others into the depths of the tunnels. As she passed Rsiran, Jessa mouthed, “I love you.” It was almost enough to make him reconsider.

Valn approached wearing a long leather cloak that covered steel mesh. A short sword hung at his side, and he carried a leather helmet under his arm. He tipped his head to Rsiran. “This is all we have.”

Rsiran pulled his eyes away from Jessa and looked at the men and women with Valn. There were thirteen, all dressed similarly, and each carrying a sword, or crossbow, and some had knives. A few had lorcith-forged weapons, and Rsiran noted that most were made by him.

“How many can Slide?” he asked.

“Half.”

“What guilds?” he asked.

Valn’s eyes narrowed. “You care about guilds?”

“I care to know who will be with me.” He leaned close to Valn. “I know how Venass infiltrated the guilds. How do you know that everyone here is with you?”

“Because Della Read each of them after your attack.”

Another explosion sent more debris settling into the tunnels. Was that a small crack that formed overhead? They couldn’t wait much longer here. Every moment that they waited was another moment that Venass could attack the guild house. If they managed to breach the walls, they would have access to the tunnels beneath the city, and through them, to the crystals.

“What will you do?” Valn asked.

Rsiran had thought about what needed to happen. He knew little about Venass, but he’d seen how his grandfather led. Only, he didn’t know if he was strong enough—or capable enough—to stop him.

“We need to draw them away from the city,” Rsiran said.

“What do you have in mind?”

Rsiran considered where they could go. Where would Venass
not
have an advantage? He considered Ilphaesn, but that might risk the others, and if Venass had control over lorcith, they might be better suited to attack than the guild soldiers. Where else then?

Only one place came to mind, but how would he draw them there?

But… maybe he didn’t have to draw them
all
there. Maybe he only needed to pull his grandfather away. If he managed that, would the guild soldiers be able to hold the rest of Venass back?

“Come with me,” Rsiran said.

Valn frowned, but locked eyes with a petite woman with a sword nearly brushing the ground, and then nodded. “Where?”

Where could they go that Rsiran would be able to see the attack?

“The palace wall.”

Valn grunted. “They’ll know when we Slide.”

“Not when I Slide,” Rsiran said.

He grabbed Valn’s arm and
pulled
into a Slide, emerging atop the palace wall. He’d been here twice before, the last when he had gone after the crystals. This time, he had a different type of urgency. Rather than trying to break into the palace, he wanted to prevent its—and the city’s—destruction.

It was late in the day, with the sun already dipping below the horizon. Streaks of color filled the sky, and heavy, thick clouds threatened to roll in from the sea. The distant sound of thunder rumbled.

“You’re Sighted as well?” Rsiran asked.

Valn nodded. “I am.”

“What do you see?”

Valn stared toward the guild house as another explosion struck. Rsiran didn’t need Sight to know what happened. A building near the Alchemist Guild house trembled, and then collapsed. A cloud of debris and a shower of dust were all that was left where the building had been.

“Probably the same as you,” Valn said.

Rsiran nodded. All around the guild house, other buildings had fallen. It was as if Venass intended to bring the entire street down. Somehow, the Alchemist Guild house still stood. “Where are the other guild houses?”

Valn shook his head. “Most no longer keep a true guild house. They meet in the Hall—or did before all of this—but the guild house itself has become unnecessary.”

“Why the Alchemist Guild then?”

“They guard the entrance to the Hall.”

Rsiran didn’t have to ask
why
the alchemists would be able to guard the entrance. They knew the secret to creating heartstone, and through that, they would be able to prevent Sliding, which made unauthorized access to the Hall almost impossible. Venass wouldn’t be able to Slide there.

He sensed the building pressure of the next attack and watched as the explosion shook the guild house. It stood alone now, with no other buildings around it to deflect the blast. How much longer would the walls stand?

“You will need to start your attack there,” Rsiran said.

“Why there?” Valn asked.

As he waited for the next attack, he listened for the sense of lorcith. Distantly, he detected a familiar sense, one that had nearly killed him. When the explosion came, Rsiran expected it.

To stop Venass, he would have to confront his grandfather. He would somehow have to stop him. And even if he did, the guild soldiers would still have to succeed.

“Because that is where I will draw him away.”