Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer Book 3) Read online

  Besides, even though Jayna might grumble about it, having an opportunity to peruse these spellbooks, searching for answers, did appeal to her. She wanted to know more about the kind of magic they described—magic she had not had the opportunity to study because she had departed the Academy so quickly—and with this, she figured she could at least get a taste of that kind of magic. She might even find a way to understand it, though doing so was still complicated for her.

  While working, she found herself looking around. Topher hadn’t yet returned. He often disappeared for long stretches at a time, and Jayna didn’t bother trying to figure out where he was going or what he was after. There was no point in it. He was trying to better understand his enchantment abilities, and it was something Jayna hoped he would learn. She suspected they might need his skills before everything was finished.

  “What are you doing?”

  Jayna glanced over to see Eva sitting up, tracing her hand through her long black hair. Her skin glowed subtly from the fire, the warmth radiating off of her, but she had no sheen of sweat on her like Jayna would have had if she were to lie in front of the fire for that long. Given all the smoke magic Eva put off, she would’ve expected the woman to absorb the heat.

  “I’m just studying,” Jayna said.

  “Studying.”

  Jayna closed the book and slid it across the table, turning to look at Eva. “Well, I was waiting for you.”

  “Why?”

  “We were going to visit your contacts,” she said carefully. “Remember?”

  Eva took a deep breath. “I suppose we could do that. I do need to go out and find more wine.”

  “Why does it always have to be about wine?”

  “Don’t you think it should be?” She inhaled deeply, looking around the room. “Where’s the other one?”

  “Don’t tell me you actually miss Topher?”

  “It’s not that I miss him, it’s just . . .” She shook her head. “I’m hungry.”

  “You could get up and make your own food.”

  “He’s been cooking for me.”

  “That’s why you like having him around?”

  “‘Like’ is such a strong word.”

  “That’s why you tolerate having him around?”

  “Yes.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sure he will be quite pleased to learn that.”

  “I don’t care what pleases him.” Eva stood, wiping her hands along her dress, and frowned at Jayna. “Are we going?”

  Jayna just chuckled. She took the books back to her room, slipping them under the bed to hide them, figuring that was better than the cabinet in the kitchen where she had kept the other spellbook, and joined Eva before stepping out in the street. The evening air was cool—at least, cool for the usually warm city of Nelar—but the heavy humidity remained, making it difficult for Jayna to take a deep breath.

  “Everything feels so wet,” Eva said.

  “Maybe because you were sitting by the fire all afternoon.”

  “Not sitting.”

  “Lying,” Jayna said, laughing. “And whatever else you were doing. I wonder if perhaps that has made it more difficult for you to tolerate the humidity of the city.”

  “I tolerate it just fine.”

  They hadn’t gone very far before Jayna felt a tightness around her skin. It was similar to the precursor she felt when she detected magic, though she wasn’t sure that was what she felt now.

  “Do you detect anything?” she asked Eva.

  Eva glanced over to her. “What am I supposed to detect?”

  Jayna frowned, shaking her head. “I’m not exactly sure.”

  There had been such strangeness in the city that she didn’t even know what to make of the sensation, and the strangeness was not only with the attack on Char, but the actions of the dular since the attack on the manor homes.

  “Just stay alert.”

  “I’m always alert,” Eva said.

  “Other than when you have a full bottle of wine.”

  “I’m alert enough,” Eva said.

  They continued making their way through the streets, though every so often, Jayna would turn, looking around her, searching for any signs of something suspicious but finding none. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a strange energy out there, nearby, though she had no idea what it was or if it was anything to even be concerned about.

  They moved quickly, but soon a flicker of shadows caught her attention. She pointed to it. A pair of people moving near a darkened building.

  “What do you think they’re doing?” she asked, motioning to Eva.

  “Stealing, most likely,” Eva said.

  Jayna shook her head. “That’s odd.”

  In this part of the city, it was unusual for there to be much in the way of theft. Mostly because there wasn’t much here that was all that valuable. They were in the older section of the city, the stone covered by thick layers of moss that glowed with the dim light in the growing darkness.

  “Come on. I want to see what’s going on,” Jayna said.

  “You’re going to get us in trouble, aren’t you?”

  “We can go visit Telluminder anytime.”

  “He was expecting us,” Eva said.

  “At this time?” When Eva didn’t say anything more, Jayna shook her head. “Let’s check on this, and then if Telluminder is still even open, we can visit with him this evening. Otherwise, I’m going to need you to wake up earlier tomorrow.”

  “You’re going to need me to?”

  “It would be helpful if you could be a participant in this,” Jayna said.

  “I am a participant,” Eva said.

  “An active participant.”

  “I can’t promise that.”

  They turned down another street, following the dark shadows she’d seen and pausing every so often as she caught sight of more movement, but it was more than just that. The strange, powerful feeling of energy in the air continued.

  “Enchantments,” Jayna whispered.

  Eva glanced over to her, and Jayna nodded. “I can feel it. I don’t know—”

  Something struck her, like a fist to the back. It was quiet and she’d heard nothing. The strike sent her staggering forward. Jayna spun, rolling over, and held out the dragon stone ring, already beginning to draw power through it.

  She got to her feet and Eva stood next to her, hands clenched at her side, smoke starting to whirl around her. It was times like these when Jayna appreciated that Eva had not been drinking too much wine. Not that she had ever seen Eva unable to get up for a fight.

  “That’s an interesting enchantment,” Jayna muttered.

  It had been violent, but not terribly so. It hurt, but wouldn’t kill. There was a role for enchantments like that. Immediately, she began to think of various possibilities.

  Whatever the thieves were up to, they wanted to hide from notice. And they didn’t care whom they targeted.

  Given what she’d seen earlier, she didn’t want to be caught unawares.

  Holding them off required more than sorcery, but she could start with a familiar spell. She created a pattern of the magic ball around her, and pushed the energy of the dragon stone ring through it, crafting a practically solid barrier that shimmered up from the ground.

  Jayna moved forward carefully.

  “What do you care about this?” Eva whispered.

  Jayna glanced over to her, and noticed a faint streamer of smoke trailing from her. It curled around her hands, and she suspected Eva had used the spikes in her palms to pierce the skin and activate her smoke magic.

  “Curiosity.”

  She grabbed Eva, and they headed down a nearby alley, though Jayna maintained her hold over the protection she had placed around herself. She added a little bit around Eva as well, though she didn’t know if that was necessary. Eva had her own way of protecting herself.

  “Why here?”

  Jayna motioned all around her. Something struck again, this time from
behind, but with her barrier in place, she was protected. She glanced over to Eva, who stared into the darkness, the smoke drifting gradually around her, but with increasing speed.

  “There’s something familiar here,” Eva said, not looking back to her.

  Something familiar might mean that smoke they’d seen in the forest. Or the dark sorcerer who had been stirring up trouble in the city. Or even someone Jayna had angered before. Master Raollet, the shop owner whose shop Jayna had wrecked not too long ago, hadn’t sent anyone after her in a while, but she wouldn’t put it past him to keep taps on her.

  She needed to know who or what this was.

  Tracing a quick pattern designed to help track magic, Jayna sent a swirl of energy into the distance. She could feel it flowing away from her, drifting, and as she pushed power out, the effect granted her understanding of the power that had blasted them. A force enchantment. Dular magic, nothing more, which she had suspected—and the kind she’d seen used in the city before.

  “I can block this kind of enchantment,” she said.

  She strode forward, sending a glowing orb of light ahead of her. It streaked forward, floating, illuminating the alleyway.

  Three faces cowered in the shadows. But there was a fourth that didn’t. One that looked defiant.

  “Matthew?”

  “Who’s asking?”

  She froze for a moment. She had seen him, her brother’s former best friend, around the city since he had helped her before, but then she had used the memory bowl to erase his memories of that time. If it had worked the way she intended, he wouldn’t even be aware that she was in the city, nor would he have any recollection of what had gone on or his role in it.

  “It’s Jayna Aguelon.”

  He stepped forward. He was dressed in a black jacket and pants, the color blending into the shadows. He carried something in his hand, a heavy item that glowed softly and seemed to be filled with a sort of energy.

  That was the force enchantment she’d felt.

  “What are you doing here, Jayna? It’s not safe. Especially not for you. There’s something going on in the city with the sorcerers.”

  She glanced behind him, looking toward the faces she had seen, but they had disappeared.

  “You should get going,” Matthew said, stepping toward her and lowering his voice. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, and I don’t know that I can protect you here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Jayna—”

  Jayna had known he was in the city for a job that he hadn’t completed. He’d gotten sidetracked with the bloodstone, but maybe this was why he had come to the city.

  “Maybe we should talk about what you’re doing.”

  Matthew glanced behind him before turning and looking at Eva for a long moment, appraising her, then looking back to Jayna. “Not here.”

  “I have a place we could go.” Matthew had been there before, but wouldn’t remember. Hopefully Robert wouldn’t make it awkward.

  “No. I have a place.”

  Matthew guided them along the street, heading past where they’d come, moving out to where the merchant section typically had been, up until the merchant tax. This part of the city was quite a bit different than the dular market. There were traditional items sold here. Most of the shops had brightly painted signs indicating the kind of stores they were. She saw metalsmiths, bakers, seamstresses, wax workers, and a few she didn’t quite recognize. Maybe a general store mixed in. The people here were dressed less flamboyantly than some of the dular who loved bright colors, and more like the bland gray and browns preferred within the rest of the kingdom.

  “There’s not much out here anymore,” she said, though it was mostly to Eva.

  “I know. Ever since the damn Society . . . .” He glanced over his shoulder, shaking his head. “Sorry about that, Jayna. But ever since the Society decided to impose the tax, the merchants had to move.”

  “What do you mean, the Society imposed the tax?”

  “That’s who’s responsible for this.”

  “I thought the ruling dular imposed the tax.”

  “Only after the Society forced their hand. The dular needed to recoup their costs, and considering that the Society had invoked a higher tax, it forced them to react.” He shook his head again. “I’m not here to talk about politics. Gods, I shouldn’t even be here with you at all. What are you doing in Nelar?”

  Jayna looked over at Eva. “I’m with the Society.”

  “I know you’re with the Society. Remember? I was with your brother when you told him. You shouldn’t have come out to Nelar though.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Everything’s complicated in Nelar,” Matthew said.

  He glanced down one of the side streets, tipping his head to the side, then darted forward. He moved quickly, and with a strange, surprising grace. Eva remained silent, though she knew Jayna had lied to Matthew.

  “What are you concerned about?” Jayna asked him.

  “I’m concerned about you, Jayna. I might not have promised Jonathan that I’d take care of you, but I can’t let something happen to his little sister.” He glanced over to her. “Well, not so little anymore, but you were once somewhat like my sister too.”

  He stopped along a darkened storefront, tipping his head to the side again, and held his hand out.

  It occurred to Jayna that he was using an enchantment, though she wasn’t exactly sure what the purpose of it might be.

  Finally, he turned back to her. “You’re going to have to keep it down in here.”

  “Keep what down?”

  “You. What you are.”

  “And what exactly am I?” she asked carefully.

  “A sorcerer, Jayna. Gods.” He pushed open the door, and a pale light drifted out. Jayna followed him in carefully, already starting to carefully draw on the energy from the dragon stone, but it wasn’t necessary. It was a tavern.

  Not a very loud or active or boisterous one, but it was a tavern. Massive partitions separated each of the tables, arranged in such a way so each table had privacy from the others. She couldn’t even see the faces of most people gathered around. She leaned forward, trying to peer around one of the partitions, when Matthew grabbed her wrist, shaking his head.

  He nodded to a booth in the corner, and Eva and Jayna took a seat. Matthew disappeared for a moment, returning with three mugs of ale. Eva looked at hers, shrugging, then took a long sip.

  “Can’t believe you’d come to the city at this time. I knew they were calling power here, but this is ridiculous. Bringing people barely out of the Academy?” Matthew lowered his voice, then looked around. “Not that I wouldn’t expect the Academy to act like that. They always did have a cruel streak.”

  “What are you going on about?”

  “You. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

  “Why?”

  “Because the Society has been calling power back to Nelar. Or calling power to Nelar, such as it may be.” He frowned at her and asked again, “That’s your purpose here, isn’t it?”

  “I . . .”

  The door to the tavern opened, and Matthew leaned out just a little bit, slipping his head off to the side so he could look out of the booth, then he leaned back, shaking his head.

  “Why are you so jumpy?” Eva asked.

  Matthew frowned at her. “We haven’t met. I’m Matthew Veran. I’ve known Jayna since she was about this high,” he said, raising his hand about waist-high off the floor. “She used to chase me and her brother around as we pulled jobs back in—”

  “I know who you are,” Eva said.

  Matthew frowned at her. “Do you, now?”

  Jayna glanced over to Eva, wanting to remind her not to say anything to Matthew. He didn’t need to know she had stolen his memories. Eva caught her eye and looked away.

  “You haven’t said anything about why you’re here,” Jayna said.

  Matthew shook his head again. “I shouldn’t eve
n be here with you, and if you weren’t Jonathan’s kid sister, I wouldn’t be, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Why would something happen to me?”

  “Because of the fighting. There’s been upheaval in the city.”

  “I’m aware,” she said.

  “If you’re aware, then you should know that the upheaval is a little different than other times.”

  “I don’t know about any other times,” Jayna said.

  Matthew just grunted. “Me neither, and that’s the problem. This is something, though.”

  “Why don’t you start telling me what it is. You brought us here,” Jayna said, looking around. The partitions between the booths allowed for quiet conversation. It would be perfect for thieves like Matthew, she realized. Maybe that was why he had brought her here. He wanted to have a chance to have a conversation that couldn’t be overheard.

  “It’s just a place I know,” he said. “And one where I know they won’t talk.”

  Jayna regarded him for a moment. It had to be about more than that, and Matthew’s reason for coming to the city had to be about more than he acknowledged too.

  “All I want is for you to get to safety,” Matthew said to her, holding her gaze for a long moment. “I know you probably think I’m not the right person for you to trust, but I know what I’m talking about. The Society isn’t going to be able to protect you with this.”

  What more did Matthew know?

  “You obviously want to help me,” she said, trying a different tactic. “You can tell me. I’m not going to go run off and report you.”

  She almost slipped up and said that she hadn’t reported him when she had first seen him in the city.

  Matthew leaned back, fidgeting for a moment and looking over her shoulder again. “I don’t like this. I don’t like any of this. And had I known what the job was going to be . . .”

  Jayna just frowned.

  Maybe she should’ve pushed before, trying to figure out just what Matthew had gotten himself involved in, but his job had been his own.

  He had helped her, as well. And then she had wiped his memory.

  “You should just know that it’s dangerous,” Matthew said. “That’s enough.”