Endless Night (25 page)

“Not for that,” he said. “But a task no less dangerous.” He pulled his focus back to Reyanne. “Now. Will you come with me?”

She stared until Calan disappeared on a bolt of lightning. Ifrit lingered, her lips moving silently, making Eldridge wonder how tightly she had connected to the elementals because of Volth’s healing, and then she shaped herself away.

Only then did Reyanne answer. “I’m not sure I have much choice.”

A
lena sat in her dorm
, watching the draasin as he climbed over the obstacle she’d made of a chair and a small rock, wanting to give the hatchling something to distract him. Otherwise it would be her that he climbed all over, tearing at her neck and ripping small gashes in her flesh with his tiny—but sharp—talons. She doubted he harmed her intentionally, but she was not a draasin, and though she could use earth to toughen herself, she preferred to leave him on the ground where she could watch.

The fire dancing in the hearth blazed brighter than most, as if having the draasin in the room with her made it stronger than it would be otherwise. She stared at the flames, almost convinced there was a pattern swirling there. Her fingers tapped on the arm of her chair, and the fire surged.

Alena shook herself, trying to clear her head. Shaping the fire—even unintentionally—would do no good. Neither would simply watching the draasin. She needed to get herself moving. There were other things in the barracks to worry about now that she’d recovered her ability to shape, not the least of which was how to keep the hatchling hidden. The others in the barracks feared the draasin, and for good reason, but they wouldn’t be afraid of the hatchling. And she didn’t know what they would do to the little one if given the chance.

Then there was what Calan might intend now that he knew of the draasin and Tenebeth. She needed to bring him around. Or Cheneth needed to bring him around. Calan was a skilled hunter, but more than that, he was a powerful shaper. If anyone could help in the days ahead against a threat so powerful as Tenebeth, it would be Calan.

A hard pounding at the door caused her to look up.

She glanced at the draasin, wishing he would hide.

The draasin stopped crawling over the rock and started toward her bed in the corner, crawling up onto it and burrowing beneath the covers.

Had he understood her?

The pounding at the door came again.

Stay hidden
. She didn’t know if the draasin could hear her like the older ones did or if it mattered, but if the elemental could stay out of sight, then he would be in less danger.

Cheneth stood on the other side of the door. He wore his usual cloak, his glasses hung low on his nose, and he carried with him a short walking stick. “Are you alone?”

“The draasin is here,” she said.

“Good.”

Cheneth pushed into her dorm and closed the door. Using a shaping more complex than she would have managed so quickly, he placed a seal around the room and then tapped his walking stick on the ground once as if to emphasize what he did.

Power surged.

She stared at the walking stick. “That’s like Ciara’s spear, isn’t it?”

“They are similar but not the same.”

“She said you taught her father.”

Cheneth made his way into her dorm and stopped in front of the fire, propping up the chair she had tipped over for the draasin and pushing the rock out of the way. When he sat, he tapped the walking stick on the ground twice in sharp succession, and the draasin popped his head out of the blankets on her bed.

“I thought you said you can’t summon the elementals.”

“Summoning is a very different thing than what I can do. When I know they are present…” He tapped again, and the draasin kept his head up, eyes swiveling around. His tiny wings unfurled and he attempted to flap them.

“Enough,” she said, going to the draasin and patting him on the head. “Don’t get him too worked up, Cheneth. I don’t want others to know he’s here.”

“There are enough who know that it no longer matters.”

“It matters,” Alena said. She could defend the draasin from only so many people. If they came for him, how far would she go? Would she be able to prevent Ifrit from reaching him? Calan? How many others would she be able to stop if it came to it?

Not enough, she knew. Not nearly enough.

Cheneth took the walking stick and set it over his legs. He pulled his glasses off and tucked them into his pocket. “I taught Ciara’s father,” he said. “The war had only just begun. Ter attacking in Rens, making a play for the border cities. Hyaln had sent me away, asking me to observe and report back.”

“Is that what you’re doing, then?”

He smiled. “I think they would be disappointed in the level of service that I’ve provided, but I’ve done what I thought was necessary.”

“By creating the barracks.”

Cheneth leaned forward and fixed her with his hard gaze. “I didn’t create the barracks.”

“I thought—”

“No. You know the barracks were created by Nolan with the intent to hunt the draasin. That much is true. That was the reason men like Wyath and Calan were recruited. It wasn’t until I came that the mission of the barracks shifted, as did those we recruited.” Cheneth leaned back, his gaze drifting over to the hatchling. “I wanted to understand the war and find some way to end it. I thought… It doesn’t matter why I thought. What matters is what we’ve discovered.”

“The war continued, and Nolan demanded his hunters. Wyath knew that we had to find a way to end it and did what he could. And then you after Wyath was harmed, injured so that he couldn’t continue. The war shifted, Ter pushing against Rens, driving them from their cities. Even the ala’shin I trained weren’t enough.”

“They weren’t like Ciara.”

He shook his head. “None like Ciara. I had not expected to see power such as she possesses, and so naturally. But her father… he learned to summon the draasin quickly. That was the pattern I knew the best, the easiest to teach.”

“How did you know such a pattern?”

Cheneth turned. Firelight danced in his eyes, giving him a haunted appearance. “Hyaln once summoned the draasin. There once were riders who filled the air, calling to the draasin.”

“What changed?”

“Hyaln changed, it seems.”

“The summons?” she asked.

“The summons itself is not dangerous, and I think the summoners the key to stopping what has happened.”

Alena looked over to the draasin. She would not have survived binding to the egg had she not shared a connection and had Volth not possessed his connection to water.

“How? We don’t even know how we can stop it, and if you’re right, and now Atenas is involved.”

“Yes. Spirit concealed them from me before. I should have expected it, but made a mistake.”

Alena started to smile, prepared to tell him that there was no such thing as a spirit shaping, but the intense expression on Cheneth’s face told her otherwise. Instead, she said, “No one can shape spirit.”

“None of the warriors of the order have ever shaped spirit,” Cheneth agreed. “But that doesn’t mean that others cannot.”

“What can shapers of spirit do?” Alena asked.

“There are many things that shapers of spirit are capable of doing, but it is the connection to the elementals that creates the most opportunity.”

“You shape spirit.”

Cheneth nodded. “I shape spirit. Not as strongly as some. When I learned of what happened in Atenas, combined with what I’ve feared now that we’ve discovered Tenebeth is freed, I stayed to learn. I needed to know.”

“Why not return to Hyaln for answers?”

“I would not be welcome there. I was not supposed to demonstrate the summoning to the
ala’shin
. Such a thing was considered forbidden. Now I am something of a pariah to Hyaln.”

“So you can’t return.”

“I cannot, but still I needed to understand.”

“What are you saying?”

“I am saying that those who freed Tenebeth likely trained in Hyaln.”

“You sent Jasn there!”

He nodded. “Because I had to know. If any could survive, it would be the Wrecker of Rens.”

W
ind whipped suddenly
, hot and violent. Thunder rumbled and lightning crackled.

Alena raced forward to the shaper circle, determined to get there before Cheneth.

When the dust and wind settled, Eldridge stood next to a dark-skinned woman who reminded her of Ciara. Another rested on the ground at their feet.

Alena gasped.

“What are you doing bringing her here?” she asked.

“Nice to see you too, Alena.”

“Blast you, Eldridge. Don’t you know what you’re doing?”

She glared at him, but he only shrugged. “Alena, this is Reyanne.”

“Reyanne?” she asked, confusion rising within her. “That’s not what I asked.”

“I know that it’s not, but that’s the answer you’re getting. Now help me carry this one to Volth. She needs healing, and I suspect he’s the only one who can do it.”

Alena stared at the person at Eldridge’s feet. Blackness swirled around her, nearly as dark as night even though the sun shone brightly. She wore leather of a similar darkness and held a sword that looked nothing like those of Ter.

“You brought a servant of Tenebeth to the barracks?” Alena hissed.

“I brought someone in need of healing,” Eldridge countered. “Now, you shape earth and water better than me, so will you help move this one for me?”

“You can’t touch her,” Reyanne said.

Alena ignored the comment. “What are you thinking?” she demanded of Eldridge. “We’ve barely survived an attack from Thenas—twice—and now you bring another with the same power here!”

“Thenas was here?” Eldridge asked.

“He came for the draasin. Ciara chased him off.”

“Ciara? That the girl from Rens?” Eldridge asked.

“Yes.”

“And she managed to run off one of Tenebeth’s servants on her own?”

“There’s something about her spear,” Alena said.

Eldridge glanced to the woman at his feet. “Then she might be needed, too. We’ll need both of them.”

“But Eldridge,” she said, “they’re gone. Cheneth sent them to Hyaln.”

As he let out a frustrated sigh, the figure at his feet stirred.

Reyanne shaped earth with vast control to wrap her more tightly, securing her in place.

“You can’t leave her out here like this,” Alena said.

“No. And she can’t be killed. Not until we have answers.”

“I don’t know that any of Tenebeth’s servants will provide you with the answers you seek,” Cheneth said, striding forward.

Alena faced him. “Did you know he was coming with… with
this
?”

Cheneth crouched in front of the person and waved a hand overtop of her, making a point of not touching. “Damn you for always being right, Eldridge.” He looked over to Alena. “The person she was remains intact, only buried.”

“That’s why I brought her here,” Eldridge said. “Thought that Volth with his unique abilities might be able to help, but Alena tells me the nya’shin might be even better.”

“She’s
ala’shin
,” Cheneth said.

Reyanne snapped her head around to look at Cheneth. “You have one of the
ala’shin
here?”

“Did. Until she returns, I will do what I can with this one, though we may have no choice but to destroy her.”

“We can learn much from her,” Eldridge suggested.

Cheneth glanced up to Alena and then sighed. “Perhaps we can. I think the pen should be secure enough,” he said to Alena. “We will need to free your friend, but then I doubt he will travel all that far from us.”

Alena focused on the draasin in the pen. He listened, as if waiting for what she might intend, almost as if knowing that she would reach for him. “Are you certain that is wise with Calan—”

“What of Calan?” Eldridge asked.

“He might have decided he no longer wishes to be a part of the barracks,” Cheneth answered.

Eldridge whistled softly. “A dangerous game you’re playing here, Cheneth.”

“It’s no longer a game. As the summons I answered on your behalf will attest.”

“Summons? Atenas?”

Cheneth nodded. “I’ve helped stave off some of it, but I think you will be needed there, my friend.”

“I will help take care of this one first and then will go.”

Alena didn’t remain to listen to anything more, hurrying onward to the pen. The draasin greeted her as soon as she pulled the door open, standing in the doorway, wings spread as if ready to take flight at that moment.

Lren
.

Your den is needed. There is a servant of Voidan brought here who will need this space.

The draasin snorted.
You still think you can save those Voidan has tainted.

We saved the female.

You did, but think of the effort it required.

I am. I saw how Ciara nearly scoured Tenebeth from Thenas,
she said.
And if she can use her spear for that, maybe she can help this other.

What would you have of me, Lren? You would release me to return to Rens, where I will be hunted by your other?

I would rather that you remain.

You have bonded another, Lren. You do not need me.

What bond?

You will understand in time. But for now, I will stay with you. Perhaps your forest will provide an interesting hunt.

So long as you don’t burn it down.

You think I have so little control over fire?

Alena smiled.
No. I think you have all the control that you wish. May you hunt well until I see you next.

The draasin lowered his head and regarded her with his dark orange eyes for a moment, then he climbed from the pen and, with a powerful flap of his wings, he leapt to the air, disappearing into the forest.

Once the draasin had departed, she sensed the sustained connection to the elemental within her mind. The draasin remained a strong presence, and she felt as if she could call to him, though the link wasn’t at the same level as what she experienced with the hatchling. She didn’t understand why, but the connection there was even more powerful than what she shared with the other draasin. Had she formed some sort of bond with the draasin?

“Has he gone?”

She turned to see Cheneth coming toward her. The dark shaper came on a shaping of earth and wind, secured between Eldridge and Cheneth.

“He’s gone. But not departed.”

“Good. We may have need of elemental power.”

“Why? What’s changed?”

Cheneth nodded toward the draasin pen. Now it would be Tenebeth’s pen, or at least his servant’s. “There is a stirring on the air. Change is coming, Alena, and it comes more rapidly than we may be ready to deal with.”

“And that’s why you went away? Why you went to Atenas?”

“I went to Atenas because Eldridge was summoned. But that is not where I have been the whole time. No, there is more taking place than even I realized.”

“Even as enlightened?” Alena asked, following them as they brought the dark shaper into the pen and set her on the ground. The stone chains were placed overtop of her, and then Cheneth used a shaping she didn’t recognize to seal them to the ground, holding her in place. With what she’d seen of Thenas, she wasn’t sure that would be enough.

“Serving as enlightened doesn’t give me any more insight than any other. And I had been away from Atenas too long. It was good that I returned.”

“Why did Oliver call?” Eldridge asked.

“I begin to understand why Tenebeth has returned. And perhaps we are in more danger than we even realized.”

The words hung in the air.

“How can we be in
more
danger,” Alena asked. “We’ve seen what happens with his power, the way that Thenas could not be stopped. That seems bad enough.”

“Oh, it is,” Cheneth agreed. “But there is more. And I will share with you my concerns, but after. First, we must find help for this one. I might be able to stabilize her until Ciara returns, but the rest will be up to our
ala’shin
.”

“Why does it matter so much if you stabilize her?”

“Because this, Alena, is Bayan.”