The Guild Secret (The Dark Ability Book 6) Read online

  Ephram tilted his head to the side. “Do I? Or is it you, Yongar, who has forgotten what role that you play?”

  Rsiran almost ended the Travel, so surprised was he that Ephram actually seemed to rebuke the Elvraeth.

  “Interesting choice of words, don’t you think?” Naelm asked.

  “Which one?” Ephram said.

  “Forgotten.”

  “Interesting in that you are responsible for them, or that you have ignored the danger they posed until now?” Sarah asked.

  The comment was brash for her, especially when directed at the Elvraeth. Sarah was the youngest of the guildlords—or had been, before Rsiran. And though he’d only been present during a few of their gatherings, she’d always chosen to be relatively quiet around the others. Except for her father. With Ephram, she had been willing to stand up for herself, but then, she had alchemist blood, too. If only she would use it to determine what the guild knew about shadowsteel.

  “Careful, guildlord. Your position is tenuous at best,” Sasha said.

  “Do not presume to know the will of the guilds,” Ephram said.

  “Do you speak for all of them now?” Naelm asked. “Has so much changed that the guilds have unified?”

  The other two Elvraeth remained silent. One of the men, a very elderly man with rheumy eyes that barely looked up at the others, rested with his head on his fist. Every so often, his head would bob, as if he struggled to stay awake. Why would the council keep a man so old among them when he could barely stay awake for their meetings? The other Elvraeth was a beautiful younger woman with black hair and blazing green eyes. She rested her hands on the table and drummed her fingers as she did.

  “The guilds have always been unified,” Ephram protested.

  “The guilds have never been unified,” Naelm said. “That is why we have the predicament that we have. Had you managed to coordinate your efforts, there would never have been need for those without your bloodlines to reach the crystals, would there?”

  “That no longer matters.” The old man barely moved his head when he spoke, but somehow managed to send his gaze across to each person in the room. Rsiran even managed to feel the weight of it and almost returned to his body. He had listened to enough to know that the guilds were not intimidated by the Elvraeth as he had expected.

  Everyone turned to the old man.

  “The smith guildlord has held one of the crystals.”

  “You don’t know that, Luthan,” Naelm said. “We haven’t been able to See—”

  Luthan turned his cloudy gaze on Naelm. “I still See well enough. I might not be able to See him, but I can see what has changed. As can you, if you would only shift your focus.”

  “He’s here,” the younger Elvraeth said.

  Ephram nodded. “As we agreed, I have brought him to the council. He is not like the rest of the smiths. He was not brought up through the guild in the same way that most have been, so you will find him—”

  “That is not it,” the woman said. She turned and focused on where Rsiran hovered near the wall. “He is here. Now.”

  Ephram’s face blanched.

  Rsiran quickly returned to his body, and rather than waiting for the council to summon him into their chamber, he Slid beyond the door—noting a hint of resistance that he barely struggled to overcome—and emerged next to Sarah.

  She pressed her lips together and almost frowned, but he saw the glimmer of a smile in the corners of her eyes.

  “I am here,” Rsiran said.

  Now that he was in the room, he noted that the sculptures along the back wall were lorcith made, and done with exquisite skill. Had they been from a time when the smiths still listened to lorcith? Would he ever reach that level of skill?

  “Lareth,” Ephram whispered, the agitation plain in his tone. In spite of his firm stance with the Elvraeth, he still remained fearful of them. “I warned you to wait.”

  The Elvraeth all started talking at once. Only Luthan did not.

  Rather, he stood.

  He had a stooped back, but even bent over as he was, it was clear that Luthan had been incredibly tall, even for someone from Elaeavn. He weaved his way around the table, leaning on the back of each chair for support as he did. His eyes seemed to look past Rsiran, as if he attempted a Seeing continuously.

  “You are him,” Luthan said.

  Rsiran nodded. “I am Rsiran Lareth.” His voice was stronger than he would have expected, and it felt good to be able to speak so openly about himself, and not fear his ability. If nothing else, he would no longer fear what he could do, and who he had become.

  “The smith’s son, but also much more,” Luthan said. He reached toward Rsiran with a withered hand and grabbed Rsiran’s arm.

  Not knowing what to do, Rsiran stood transfixed. He didn’t fear the man Reading him, not with the heartstone bracelets that he wore, but he didn’t know what else this man might attempt. He was Elvraeth, and Rsiran did not trust any of them.

  “You have the Blood of the Watcher,” Luthan said. The rest of the Elvraeth had fallen silent, and each stared more at Luthan than at Rsiran.

  “My grandfather is Danis Elvraeth,” Rsiran said.

  Naelm looked at the others. “Was that name stricken from the Elvraeth?” he asked.

  The dark-haired woman nodded slowly. “I believe he was Forgotten.”

  Rsiran turned to him with Luthan still clutching his arm. “You might have exiled him, but I can assure you that he is not Forgotten.”

  “You side with the exiles?” Naelm said.

  A surge of anger clouded Rsiran’s face, and he shook his head. “Danis Elvraeth attempted to destroy my family, nearly killed me, and has attacked the city.”

  Naelm frowned. “That is no answer.”

  “No?” Rsiran asked. “It is all the answer that you will get.” He shook his wrist away from Luthan’s grasp and stepped away from him. “The Forgotten have attacked this city. Venass has attacked this city. And the Elvraeth do nothing, much like you have done nothing for many years, when it’s been well within your power to help.”

  “You would allow him to speak to the council this way?” Sasha directed the question at Ephram, but his face remained neutral.

  “He doesn’t allow me to do anything,” Rsiran said. “I have done more to protect this city from threats that this council has been ignoring than any of you. I have held one of the great crystals twice. I know how powerful they are. And I am the reason they remain protected.”

  Tia actually smiled. It was the first time Rsiran had ever seen her smile. Gersh clenched his jaw. Rsiran hadn’t expected him to do anything different. The miners were nearly as dependent upon the Elvraeth to maintain their wealth as the Smith Guild. The other guilds did not depend on the council for protection. As far as most within the city knew, there was no such thing as a Thenar Guild or a Travel Guild.

  Yongar looked at the other Elvraeth, his neck growing increasingly red. “The crystals can only be held once. If this… boy… claims that he has held them twice, then what else has he lied about? The smiths should be advised that he makes claims like this—”

  Luthan watched Rsiran, his eyes still seeming to see through him. “I cannot See whether what he says is true.”

  As the woman watched Rsiran, he realized that her eyes went distant in the same way that Della’s and Haern’s did when they attempted a Seeing. All of the Elvraeth had the ability to See, only some were more skilled than others. Luthan likely was a powerful Seer, and he had suspected Naelm was as well, but what if this woman had the ability?

  “He Travels,” she said.

  “I think we all saw how he Slid into the room,” Yongar said. His gaze drifted to Tia, and it was clear from his expression how he viewed Sliding.

  “Not Sliding, though he should not have managed to Slide into the chambers as easily as he did, but Travel. A lost Talent.”

  Luthan blinked. “Is that how you reached the crystals? If so, that is dangerous, indeed. We thought th
ey were protected from such an ability.”

  “Not Traveling,” Rsiran said. “At least, not the first time. The first time, I Slid to them.”

  Naelm jerked his head to Ephram. “Your protections are so weak that he could Slide to the crystals?”

  “I think you will find that when it comes to Mr. Lareth, any protection is bound to be weak. He is… unique… in ways that I’m still not certain of.”

  “This is why the guild chose him,” Luthan said.

  Ephram shook his head. “They chose him because he is the most competent of the smiths.”

  Yongar laughed. “Competent? The boy can barely be twenty! How could he be more skilled than smiths who have worked with metals for twice as long as he’s lived?”

  “Because he has not forgotten how to listen to the potential of the lorcith,” Ephram said.

  “There’s that word again,” Naelm said.

  Ephram cocked his head. “Forgotten? Lareth does have a point, regardless of the angry way that he made it. He has been the reason the crystals remain protected. After the last attack, it is even more critical that we have someone with his ability to offer protections. I presume the council would like to keep access to the crystals?”

  “What kind of question is that?” Yongar asked.

  “The same kind of question you’re asking the guildlord,” Tia responded.

  No one spoke for a moment, and then Ephram nodded. “As is custom, we have brought the newest guildlord before the council. I think we have accomplished all that we can today.”

  He turned to Rsiran and motioned hurriedly to the door. The other guildlords all followed as Ephram made his way across the tile.

  Luthan grabbed Rsiran’s wrist before he had a chance to follow. He leaned in and spoke in a whisper. “The guilds need to come together or everything fails.”

  Rsiran stiffened. “The guilds are together.”

  “More than they have been in some time,” Luthan said, “but that is still not the same. I See that you can unify them. Perhaps you can do more, but I cannot See you clearly enough for that.”

  Luthan released Rsiran’s arm. “Careful. There are those who would prefer that the guilds not be unified. There are those who would prefer the old ways fail, and the guilds lose control over the crystals.”

  He leaned on the table and began to weave his way back around to his seat. Rsiran watched him for a moment, and then Slid outside the palace, emerging into the morning sunlight. After his time in the palace, even the sun didn’t feel as warm as it should.

  Chapter 17

  “You said what to the council?” Brusus asked.

  Rsiran flushed. Retelling what had happened left him feeling more foolish than ever. As frustrated as he might have been with the council, maybe he should have been more careful. Luca sat silent, and Jessa shook the pair of dice in her hand, sending them across the table over and over. Rsiran stood behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

  All around them, the Barth bustled with activity. A couple of servers rushed in and out of the kitchen, carrying steaming trays of food and drink. A lutist played near the back corner, the bright sounds of his instrument mixing with the steady strumming from the bandolist. A singer added her voice, but wasn’t able to drown out the cacophony of sound from dozens of conversations around the Barth.

  “I probably shouldn’t have spoken so freely,” he said.

  “You’re the…” Brusus leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You’re the guildlord. At least the council knows what that means, even if most of the Elvraeth do not.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that I should have been more cautious,” Rsiran said. Ephram claimed he wasn’t upset with him, but had said nothing when he left the palace. Sarah had smiled, and even Tia had offered something of a nod. Gersh had been the hardest to read. The Miner Guild had returned to Ilphaesn, and lorcith flowed once more, but Rsiran knew they didn’t care for the fact that he could pull lorcith from the walls of the mines without the approval of the guild.

  “You speak for each of the guilds now,” Brusus said.

  “Not all of the guilds.”

  “No? You can Slide. You detect the lorcith better than the miners and the alchemists. You’re descended from the smiths. And you’ve as much as admitted that you’ve begun to develop the ability to detect Sliding. You’re practically from each of the guilds.”

  “Like the Elvraeth,” Luca said softly.

  Brusus turned to the boy and frowned a moment. He rubbed at his pale green eyes. Every so often, they flashed a darker green, as if Brusus lost control of Pushing, before fading once more. “Like the Elvraeth. I hadn’t thought of that before.” He looked at Rsiran. “The boy’s right, Rsiran. You have abilities from each of the guilds. That makes you like the guild version of the Elvraeth.”

  “And none from the Great Watcher,” Rsiran said.

  Brusus considered him as if seeing him for the first time. “No. Strange, I think. You should at least have something, even if it’s nothing more useful than Sight.”

  “Hey!” Jessa said.

  “Well, maybe she’s not the best example,” Brusus said. “Damn girl can see in the darkest of nights. But you should have something. Everyone born in the city has something. Besides that, you’re supposedly descended from one of the Elvraeth. Even if your abilities were diluted, most descendants of the Elvraeth have aspects of multiple abilities.”

  Rsiran saw his sister moving in the back of the tavern carrying a tray laden with food. Alyse could Read and was Sighted. He’d always thought it amazing that she was gifted with two abilities while he had only Sliding, but it turned out that even his ability wasn’t what he thought. Now it turned out that he hadn’t been given any of the Great Watcher’s abilities. Instead, he’d been granted the ability from the Blood of the Elders, and in such a way that even the guilds didn’t understand what he did.

  “It’s fine, Brusus.” Jessa watched Rsiran, and he noted the way the corners of her eyes twitched, the same way they did when she worried about him. The flower tucked into the lorcith charm she wore had large purple petals that fell outside the cage of the charm. Every so often, she leaned into the flower and sniffed. “Rsiran can do more than most of us. He doesn’t need the powers of the Great Watcher.”

  “He has a mixing,” Luca said.

  Luca held the lorcith sculpture of Ilphaesn that he’d made him. For Luca, the sculpture gave him a sense of reassurance, and helped him to still hear the song that he heard in Ilphaesn. Without it, he had an edge to him, and the wildness returned to his eyes.

  “What do you mean by a mixing?” Brusus asked.

  Luca shrugged and set the lorcith Ilphaesn onto the table. Light flickered off the sides, giving it the appearance of the sun setting on the mountain. “I can’t say exactly, but Master Lareth has something like a mixing of abilities, doesn’t he? He can hear the song, but he can sing back to it as well.”

  “What’s he talking about?” Brusus asked Rsiran.

  Rsiran motioned to the Ilphaesn sculpture. “He’s talking about the ability to hear lorcith. When I work with it, sometimes I speak to the metal.”

  Brusus shook his head. “I know that already. You’ve made a point of sharing that more times than I’ve needed to hear it, when all I really needed was for you to give me something I could sell. And now that you’re reputable again, you shouldn’t have any problem making me things I can sell. But now it doesn’t make a difference.” He made a face, something between a glare and a half-smile as he looked around the tavern. “What’s he doing calling you Master Lareth?” Brusus asked, the grin spreading across his face.

  “You’re an idiot,” Jessa said as she tossed the dice across the table. They came up a one and a two. She scooped them up quickly. Rolling a Bladen Curse was unlucky. She rolled the dice again and sent them skittering across the table. One of them fell off the edge. The other came up two again. Jessa’s jaw clenched, and she swept her long hair back from her neck. “Where
’s Haern?”

  Brusus shrugged. “Haven’t seen him in a few days.”

  “Not since that woman came here?” she asked. “And given what she wanted, you don’t think that’s a problem?”

  “He’s still in Elaeavn,” Rsiran reminded her. She’d asked him about Haern at least five times already today. Each time, he could focus on the location of the coin that she’d slipped onto him, and each time, it had still been within the city. The last time, Rsiran had even Traveled to him, and found him sitting quietly in a small home on the outskirts of Lower Town, sharpening knives. That had bothered him, and he hadn’t shared with Jessa that it appeared Haern was making preparations.

  “You know that, but Brusus didn’t. You’d think that he’d care about what happened to his friend.”

  “I care. Haern and I have an understanding. I don’t interfere in his business, and he doesn’t interfere in mine.”

  “That was fine when your business was smuggling and thieving, but now, your business is this tavern,” Jessa said. She slammed the dice into a cup on the table, and Luca jumped.

  “What does that mean?” Brusus asked.

  “Only that Haern still hasn’t found his way, not completely. First you make an honest man of yourself, then Rsiran gets recognized by the guild, and even Della turns out to have chosen to be outside the palace. Where does that leave Haern?”

  “What about you?” Brusus asked. He crossed his arms over his chest, the smile fading from his face. “I seem to remember that you were a skilled sneak at one time. Now, you’re all domesticated to the point where you’re fretting about Haern?”

  Jessa jumped to her feet. “You know what he did for me!”

  “I know what he did for you. Just as I know that he wants more for you than to just sit by and watch Rsiran while he gets the recognition he deserves.” He glanced at Rsiran. “Don’t get me wrong. I love it that I don’t fear the constables anymore and that we’re friends with the guildlord, but Jessa here makes claims about Haern and seems to forget that she’s lost something of herself in all of this.”