A City in Ruin (The Dark Sorcerer Book 2) Read online

  A City in Ruin

  The Dark Sorcerer Book 2

  D.K. Holmberg

  Copyright © 2021 by D.K. Holmberg

  Cover by Damonza.com

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Want a free book and to be notified when D.K. Holmberg’s next novel is released, along with other news and freebies? Sign up for his mailing list by going here. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

  www.dkholmberg.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Author’s Note

  Series by D.K. Holmberg

  1

  There was a faint trace of magic from the temple in the distance, though nothing moved near it. The stone was crumbled, broken, a sign of age—the destruction, however, was newer.

  Jayna twisted the pale dragon stone ring on her finger, probing as she often did for Ceran. She could activate the ring by pushing power out through it, which would help her reach Ceran, the Sul’toral she was connected to, but he still hadn’t answered.

  It had been weeks since he had.

  Still, there had been a faint surge in the ring. It suggested dark creatures, which was why Jayna had come out here, but she'd found nothing.

  “Would you stop looking at that?” Eva said.

  Jayna tore her gaze away from the temple, looking over to the dark-haired woman walking alongside her. She had on a pale yellow dress today, and two silver enchantments, items the held magical power, in her hands that were not yet active.

  “I keep waiting for it to signal to me,” Jayna said.

  “That's not the only reason you're looking at the ring,” Eva said.

  “You don't have to come with me.”

  “I'm not leaving you, especially with your insistence on chasing after Asymorn—”

  “I'm not chasing after Asymorn.” At least, she didn't intend to. That would be for Ceran. If Asymorn appeared, Jayna wasn't sure she would be able to do much of anything. He would be far too powerful for her. “I'm looking into Gabranth.”

  “Who's dead.”

  Jayna turned back toward the temple. It was situated on the edge of the city of Nelar, near enough to the border of the forest that surrounded the western side of the city. There was much less moss along the surface of the temple than there was on other buildings in the city. The air here was humid and heavy, which she had become accustomed to since staying within the city. That surprised her as much as anything.

  “He might be dead, but there have to be others who served with him.”

  Eva stopped, looking over to Jayna, and holding her with the irritated gaze Eva often wore. “Why must there be?”

  “Because he wasn't alone.”

  “He wasn't, but he led them. Now he’s gone.”

  “And somebody else can replace him.”

  “Is that how you think these things work?”

  “I know it's how they work,” Jayna said. “My brother has been a part of the underground scene for my entire life. When somebody falls, another rises up and takes their place.”

  Eva slowed, then looked over to Jayna. “That's what this is all about. Your brother.”

  “No.”

  Eva chuckled. “I've been trying to figure out if it was about what Ceran asked of you, or if you were just scared about what happened,” she said, glancing down to Jayna's ring. “But it's neither of them. It's your brother.”

  Jayna opened her mouth to object before deciding against it.

  “Gabranth’s gone,” Jayna said. “I didn't even get a chance to find out what he knew about Jonathan.”

  “What if he didn't know anything?” Eva shrugged, motioning toward the temple.

  The stone inside of it had collapsed where they had crashed through during the battle with the Celebrants of Aysmorn, so the lower level where she had ultimately killed Gabranth was no longer visible. She could still almost see the space in the air where the rip in the fabric of the sky had been—where Gabranth had intended to free Asymorn. There were times at night when she did see it and worried it was real.

  “My brother had Gabranth’s symbol on the letter he left me,” Jayna said.

  “So?”

  “So he knew something.”

  “Or Jonathan just worked for him.”

  “It's more than that,” Jayna said.

  Eva regarded her for a long moment. “The problem is you don't know that.”

  “I don't know that,” Jayna said softly.

  Maybe that was her trouble. She had been hoping Ceran would provide her with answers, but he’d been absent. She needed lessons. If she had to deal with dark sorcerers, she needed to learn how to use her magic more effectively so it wouldn't be so difficult to withstand their attacks. He hadn't even offered that. Nothing more than instructions to remain in the city and be prepared. He’d said he would teach when he could, but so far, there hadn’t been time for it.

  “Would it be easier if I had Raollet send more of his thugs in your direction?”

  Jayna glanced over to Eva. “You would have him do that?”

  “I'm sure I could convince him to send more men to you. He's not far from here.”

  “His shop—”

  “He rebuilt. Or is rebuilding. I haven't stopped by to check.”

  Jayna shook her head. “I'd rather not deal with him again if I don't need to.”

  Thankfully, she hadn't seen any sign of Raollet's people in the last few weeks. Either he was too busy with whatever new plan he had, or he had simply given up on her. Jayna didn't care which one it was.

  The ring started vibrating again, a faint tension in her finger.

  She looked down at it.

  “Is that Ceran?” Eva asked.

  There wasn't much daylight left, and she preferred to do this when she could see, rather than trying to use magic to light her way to him. Chasing dark creatures and dark magic in the actual darkness put her at a disadvantage.

  “Not him.”

  She moved forward, following the steady vibration in the ring that was meant to guide her.

  It was the gift of the Toral ring—and the curse, if she were honest with herself. The ring itself granted power. It connected her to Ceran, and his Sul'toral magic, which made her powerful—certainly more powerful than she would have been had she remained in the Academy practicing sorcery. There were limits to sorcery. Limits to the knowledge she had while studying sorcery. There didn't seem to be the same limits with the Toral ring. It gave her power, but there was a part of her that worried it tapped into a dark power.

  She moved her hand from side to side, getting a sense of the direction, and wasn't surprised that it guided her into the forest.

  “The western side of the city?” Eva asked with a frown.

  Jayna nodded. She was thankful Eva was with her, for all her snarkiness. Eva could help, ev
en though she often seemed obstinate. “Why?”

  “Well, this side of the forest is closer to the El'aras lands.”

  “The El'aras haven't come through here in centuries,” Jayna said.

  “So the fairies you saved from Raollet were my imagination?”

  “Fine. They have come through the forest recently, but they don't come here with enough frequency to be of any real threat to dark creatures. Is that better?”

  Eva shrugged. “I don't really care one way or another. I'm just commenting on how unusual it is. We've dealt with the dark creatures around the city over the last few weeks, and they have all been on the eastern side. What does it mean that they have moved to the western edge of the city?”

  Jayna shrugged. “It's not as if we have confronted hundreds of them.”

  “Even a few attacks is more than I think this city is accustomed to,” Eva said.

  She wasn't wrong, but Jayna didn't want to admit that.

  They followed the pulsing and vibrating of the ring deeper into the forest. The trees were dense here, the air carrying the humidity all the way in, and the farther they went, the more humid it seemed to be, almost as if the forest itself was its source.

  Jayna was prepared for the possibility that they would encounter some dark creature at any moment, but part of her worried somewhat about what Eva had said.

  What if this were something else?

  Maybe this wasn't a dark creature. Maybe this was a dark sorcerer.

  She needed to be better prepared if that were the case.

  She started to slow, weaving underneath a large branch, and stepping farther into the forest.

  “We should be a little more careful—”

  Jayna never had the opportunity to finish.

  The ring suddenly squeezed more tightly on her finger. It came regularly, quickly, and painfully. Whatever had triggered it was close.

  She started to focus on the dragon stone ring.

  She might need its power to defeat the dark creature. Sorcery often wasn't enough. It would work to a certain extent, but depending on the dark creature or dark sorcerer she had to deal with, it might not be powerful enough.

  Next to her, Eva had activated her enchantments, piercing her skin with the enchantments. Blood dripped from her palms, and as it did, smoke swirled outward.

  “Can you feel it?” Jayna asked.

  “There is something here I’ve noticed before,” Eva said.

  “Sorcery?”

  It surprised her that Eva would have detected anything that Jayna would also detect. Usually, Eva felt a different type of magic.

  “I'm not sure what it is.”

  They moved carefully.

  There was a break in the trees, letting more sunlight through, but the air felt even more humid. Jayna tried to ignore the pain flickering in her finger, and the way the dragon stone constricted, as if demanding her attention.

  She had to move carefully now. She didn't see anything.

  Then she felt it.

  She raised a hand. Not sorcery.

  If it were a dark sorcerer, Jayna would have detected something different. She was certain of it. Besides, what dark sorcerer would spend their time in the forest like this?

  This was some dark creature.

  “What have we dealt with recently?” Jayna asked. She needed the distraction as she prepared a spell. In the trees, the starburst pattern wasn't necessarily safe. She didn't want to burn half the forest down while destroying the dark creature. She could target it carefully, and if she lost a little bit of control over it, Eva might be able to put the fires out, though she'd never challenged her with that task before.

  “Banewig.”

  “Not for several weeks,” Jayna said.

  “Lark. Osifahn. Mavluv. And—”

  “Shisii,” Jayna breathed out.

  She could smell the stench of the creature. The shisii were one of the worst she had dealt with. They fed on the blood of other animals, and just as often, on that of dark creatures.

  She paused, traced out a quick pattern for a spell that would offer a layer of protection around her, and then pushed outward. At the same time, smoke swirled away from Eva, spreading across the floor of the forest. She looked over to Jayna, frowning.

  “There shouldn't be any shisii here,” Jayna said.

  “Shouldn't be?”

  “We’re too far from their lands.”

  “Where were we when we encountered them before?” Eva asked.

  “We were . . .” She frowned, sweeping her gaze around, looking for any sign of the shisii. She didn't see it, but she could smell it. It had to be close. The ring continued to throb, hurting her finger, telling her that whatever was out there was coming close. She knew she had to take action quickly. The shisii could latch onto her, and if it started feeding, the strange paralyzing agent in its bite would incapacitate her. “Probably on our way to Nelar.”

  “Exactly. We were on our way here. Close enough that it's not terribly surprising they would be here.”

  Jayna moved forward, then stopped.

  The air seemed to crackle with an unusual energy.

  Her ring continued to constrict, growing tighter and more painful on her finger.

  “It's got to be near here,” she mumbled, and Eva nodded, readying her own power. “Where are you?” She whispered the question and didn't really expect an answer.

  She was surprised when there was a soft hiss.

  It was to her left.

  Jayna swung her ring and blasted power outward with the blade of light spell. The shisii was close enough that if it were to suddenly surge and attack them, she wanted to have some defenses ready.

  The blade of light spell illuminated the forest floor, striking a tree, where it surprisingly did very little damage. That was almost enough to make Jayna pause.

  But she’d caught sight of the horrible, hunched-over form of the shisii.

  They were not tall—barely up to Jayna's knee—but they were small and twisted, with bulbous heads, large eyes, and strange, spindly arms. Their legs looked to be made out of twigs, but they moved fast. Impossibly fast.

  And there were two of them hunched over some other creature lying on the ground thrashing. The creature was still alive as they fed on it.

  “Is that—”

  “A banewig,” Jayna finished.

  The shisii were feeding on a banewig.

  “Your ring didn't tell you about that.”

  “Maybe it did. That could be the reason we’re here.”

  Or it could be because of both types of dark creatures. She couldn't wait.

  “Are you going to help?” Jayna asked.

  “I told you, this isn't the kind of thing I get involved in.”

  “You tried to tell me that once before, but we both know that wasn't true.”

  “It was as true as it should have been,” Eva said.

  Jayna clenched her jaw for a moment, and she focused on the nearest of the shisii.

  But she couldn't focus only on one. She had to deal with both of them.

  There were different sorcery spells that might be useful, but destroying the dark creatures would require something more than just sorcery.

  She would have to use the dragon stone.

  She didn't want to call upon that power unless she absolutely had to, but maybe if she did, Ceran would detect that she had tapped into it, and perhaps would decide she needed his help.

  She braced herself for the painful cold she experienced each time she used the ring. She hurriedly traced the snake spell.

  The pattern was simple, and the spell straightforward, and far more powerful than she thought it had a right to be. She was thankful again that Gabranth had used it against her. Had he not, Jayna would never have learned such a useful spell. She had been forced to utilize it several times in the month since the attack, and recognized the benefit of it. It didn't harm the person it held. It merely constricted around them. With enough tension, though, she
could squeeze all the way through them, and wondered if it might even be fatal if she pulled tightly enough.

  In this case, it permitted her to pull all the way inward, then she could activate her dragon stone ring. As the snake spell looked around the shisii, they hissed again. The spell caught one, and she tightened it down.

  The other managed to jump. It was fast, and it wriggled free of her snake spell. The shisii climbed through the tree. It was moving quickly, and coming directly at them.

  “Eva,” Jayna said. She activated power through the dragon stone ring, sending as much as she could through it, and the other shisii popped, exploding with the power of the ring.

  Jayna looked up, trying to find the one that had gotten away.

  She readied another snake spell, but that wasn't going to be effective here.

  What she needed was . . .

  She hurriedly changed over to the starburst spell.

  “Be ready to put out fires in the forest,” Jayna said.

  “You intend to burn the forest down to take out one creature?”

  “That's not my intention, but if it happens, then so be it,” Jayna said.

  “You aren't going to do that.”

  “If you aren’t going to help me catch this creature, then I'm going to need to do whatever I can.”

  Eva frowned at her, and smoke streamed away from her.

  She caught a blur of movement—little more than that—then the shisii jumped. It was falling toward Jayna.

  She reacted.

  She pulled more power through the dragon stone ring—it was instinctive—and she called upon far more power than she had intended. As that creature tumbled out of the tree toward her, she blasted it with her Toral magic.

  She missed.

  The shisii landed on her, and Jayna felt a moment of panic. If the creature bit her, she would be paralyzed. She had no chance of trying to burn off that poison—not dark creature-based poison.