The Shadow Of What Was Lost (60 page)

Aelric made as if to follow, then
stopped, frowning. He turned back to Caeden. “What was that all about, then?”
he asked. There was nothing untoward in the question or his demeanour, but
Caeden could sense the underlying tension.

Caeden gave an awkward shrug.
“The princess offered to show me around the palace.”

Aelric scowled openly now.
“That’s not what I meant.” His eyes narrowed. “Yesterday, she could barely
stand the sight of you. Now she’s talking to you like you’re her best friend?”
Caeden breathed a sigh of relief. It at least sounded like Aelric had not seen
Karaliene's hand on his arm, however brief it had been.

Caeden gestured, indicating
ignorance. “I don’t know why she changed her mind.”

Aelric stared at him for a few
seconds in silence. “Very well,” he said eventually, “but let me make this
clear.” He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “If I find out you’re using some
sort of Augur power to influence her, I will end this.” He looked conflicted.
“I have no wish to see you harmed, Caeden. I believe that there is something…
special about you. But if it means protecting Karaliene, I won't hesitate to
tell Elocien and the king about you.”

Without
anything further, he spun on his heel and stalked off, leaving Caeden to stare
after him worriedly.

Davian's stomach rumbled as he
walked into the tavern.

The smell of stewing meat dragged
him forward, despite knowing he didn't have enough coin in his pocket to pay
for it. He'd covered a lot of ground over the past week and now he estimated
that at the same pace, he was only a few days away from Ilin Illan itself.
Fortifying his body with Essence had given him stamina he'd once only dreamed
of; whenever he began to tire, he simply drew more from the world around him.
He'd slept twice since leaving Deilannis, both times only briefly, and more
because he was worried about the effects of staying awake for so long than
because he needed to.

The one thing Essence hadn't been
able to do, however, was stop him from being hungry. His stomach growled again,
sucking at his insides. He glanced around. The village was small and so was the
tavern; there were only a few patrons tonight, mostly farmers from the looks of
them.

"Evening, friend." A
pretty girl planted herself in front of him. "Can I help you?"

Davian grimaced. He knew how he
looked - dishevelled, clothes ragged, a pack on his back that was clearly
empty. More like a potential thief than a customer.

"I'm out of coin," he
admitted. "But I'm willing to work for a meal. Anything you need doing.
You don't have to feed me until after I'm done, but -"

"That's fine." The
girl's expression softened. "We'll work something out later. You look
exhausted. Take a seat and I'll see what cook has to spare."

Davian gave her a grateful smile
in return. The girl was striking, with long legs and green eyes that seemed to
shine in the firelight. For a second, she seemed almost familiar... though he
couldn't say whom she reminded him of.

He collapsed into the nearest
chair, relieved to rest despite knowing he didn't need it. It wasn't too long
before the serving girl was back, placing a large plate of steaming meat and
vegetables in front of him.

Davian looked at it in
astonishment; at the few places that had been willing to trade food for work,
the meals had been stingy at best. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate
this," he said sincerely.

"Times being what they are,
we can all use a little help."

Davian nodded, his expression
serious. He'd heard about the invaders at the first big town he'd come across
after Deilannis, and had pushed himself hard ever since. He had abilities now -
a way to help Wirr and the others, help fight whatever was coming from the
Boundary. He had to get to Ilin Illan before it was too late.

"Any word on the
invasion?" he asked between mouthfuls.

"Folk are saying King Andras
has sent out troops, but... a lot of people are getting out of the city."
The girl flashed him a pretty smile, sliding into the chair opposite him.

Davian paused mid-mouthful,
suddenly aware of just how attractive the girl was. Her tight-fitting outfit
showed off her full figure to good effect, and he forced himself to focus on
his plate as she leaned forward.

"That's good the king is
sending troops," he said, a little distracted. Then he remembered his
vision, the one from Deilannis, and grimaced. "Hopefully."

"Hopefully," agreed the
girl with an easy smile, amusement dancing in her eyes. "I'm Ishelle. You
can call me Shel."

"Nice to meet you, Shel. I'm
Davin. Davian." Davian shook his head, flushing as he corrected himself.
His mind was sluggish.

Ishelle's smile changed, and she
looked... sad. "You don't remember me, do you?"

Davian frowned. He opened his
mouth to ask what she was talking about, but suddenly his tongue seemed thicker
than usual, and the only sound that came out was an odd gurgling. He tried to
focus on Ishelle's face, but everything seemed blurry.

With a rising panic, he realized
the expression on her face had not been sadness. It had been guilt.

He tried to stand, but the hard
wooden floor of the tavern rushed up to meet him.

Everything faded.

***

Davian shook his head, then
groaned at the motion.

His skull felt as though it were
about to split in two, and movement seemed to only make matters worse. His
mouth was dry and his eyelids gummed, but when he tried to move his hands to
rub his face, he found that they were tied to his sides. He turned his head,
looking around blearily from his position on the bed.

The room he was in was
nondescript. The bed and a couple of chairs were the only pieces of furniture
that he could see; otherwise the timber floors and walls were bare. A small
window provided what little light there was, the illumination clearly
originating from a street lamp, indicating that it was still night.

Vaguely, he began recalling the
events of earlier in the evening. Ishelle had clearly drugged him with
something – why, he had no idea – but if she believed she could keep him tied
up, then she was going to be surprised.

He closed his eyes, reaching out
with kan. There were sources of Essence everywhere – including people - but he
chose to draw it from the fire that burned in the kitchen. He only needed a
little, not even enough to extinguish the flames.

He solidified the Essence, made
it razor-sharp and then sliced through his bonds, grimacing as he remembered
where he’d learnt that trick. Once free he stood and stretched muscles stiff
from disuse, feeling almost casual as he surveyed his surroundings.

Absently, he realised he had a
Shackle around his arm. It made little difference to him – it only stopped
Essence being drawn from within, something he couldn’t do anyway – but it was
an irritation. He concentrated for a moment, intrigued. The Shackle was just a
layer of kan, containing Essence within the body. Of course. He pushed at the
metal on his arm with kan for a few moments, experimenting. The Shackle
suddenly retracted, falling to the floor with a clatter.

He grinned to himself.

He strode to the door, drawing a little
more Essence from the fireplace to ease the ache in his muscles. Immediately
they felt looser, stronger. He reached for the door handle.

“Very impressive,” came a voice
from behind him.

He spun, ready to defend himself.
A man stood in the corner of the room; Davian was certain he had not been there
a moment ago.

“Who are you?” Davian drew in the
remaining Essence from the fire, as well as a little from the heat of the
kettle that had been boiling atop it. Not much, but enough to do some damage if
required. “Why did you take me prisoner?”

The man smiled. “Prisoner?” He
sighed. “I must apologise for Ishelle’s… less than subtle method of delaying
you. She had strict instructions to keep you here until I arrived. I’m afraid
she was a little overzealous.”

Davian scowled. “You haven’t
answered my question.”

The man sighed again. “My name is
Driscin Throll. I am an Elder from Tol Shen,” he said, offering his hand. When
Davian didn’t shake it, he dropped it with an impatient roll of his eyes.
“You’re not a prisoner. You are here for me to make you an offer, nothing more.
All I ask is that you hear what I have to say, and then you may continue on
your journey.”

Davian gave him a suspicious
glare. “Very well.” He concentrated, pushing through kan and searching out
Driscin’s mind. He would find out exactly what this man intended before he
agreed to anything.

As he stretched out, though, he
found himself blocked by an invisible barrier. He frowned, probing the shield,
trying to push past it, but it was no use. Driscin’s mind was being protected
by another source of kan.

Driscin saw the surprise on his
face and smiled. “As I said before. Impressive,” he said thoughtfully. He
glanced towards the door. “You can show yourself now, Shel.”

Davian turned, expecting to see the
door swing open. Instead there was a shimmering in the air, like a mirage in
the desert; in an instant Ishelle stood before them, having seemingly appeared
from nowhere. Davian took a half-step back.

“Haven’t seen that one?” the
young woman asked with a cheeky grin.

Davian’s eyes widened. “You’re an
Augur?” It was the only thing that made sense. Essence alone couldn’t make
someone invisible, he was certain. Ishelle must have been using kan
somehow.
She’d been the reason he couldn’t Read Driscin, too, no doubt.

“Surprise,” said Ishelle.

Davian stared at her for a
moment. “You drugged me,” he said, his tone accusatory. His head was beginning
to clear of the effects of whatever she had given him, but he was still a
little foggy.

Ishelle made a face. “I had to
make sure you didn’t go anywhere. Driscin was only a few hours away, but you
have a nasty habit of disappearing for long periods of time.”

Driscin waved his hand
dismissively. “We’ll get to that later,” he said. “Sufficed to say, we know who
you are, Davian.”

Davian leaned forward. “And who
is ‘we’?” He focused on the strange man. He’d know if they lied to him, at
least, even if they tried to mask it.

“The sig'nari. You might know of
us as the Prefects,” replied Driscin. “We serve the Augurs, are their eyes and
ears, carry out their wishes. And search out new Augurs, when they appear.”

Davian’s eyebrows rose. “The
sig'nari?” he said dubiously. “I’ve heard this story before.”

“It's the truth,” supplied
Ishelle. “I’d heard rumours about them for years before they found me.”

“At the beginning of the Unseen
War, we went into hiding,” continued Driscin. “But we kept watch. We waited.
When one Augur dies, another is born within a few years; that is the cycle. So
we knew that on that night, when the war began, new Augurs would soon be
brought into the world. We have been vigilant ever since.”

Davian frowned. “Let’s say I
believe you, at least for the moment. How did you find me?”

“Talmiel.” Driscin watched him
closely. “A man there of… somewhat unsavoury repute helped two young boys
across the border into Desriel. He robbed them, but immediately afterward he
collapsed. Almost died. Three days later he awoke with no memory of the
incident at all, and two years of his life missing into the bargain.” Driscin
shrugged. “Talmiel is a superstitious town at the best of times. Word spread,
and one of my men heard the tale. From there, we managed to piece together your
journey as far as Thrindar.”

Davian grunted. “And after that?”

“I found you,” spoke up Ishelle.

“Shel has an unusual gift, even
for an Augur. One touch, and she can know where someone is for the rest of
their life,” explained Driscin.

Davian stared at the young woman.
“I remember you,” he said suddenly, eyes widening. “The girl from the market. I
bumped into you, knocked you over.” Ishelle smiled, and Davian sighed. “Or so
it seemed.”

Ishelle leaned forward. “I
tracked you all the way to Deilannis, but once you entered the city it was like
you just… vanished. We knew you were on your way to Andarra so I waited here,
assuming you’d come along this road eventually.” She scowled. “Waited here, in
this backwater village, for a month. A
month
. I was only days away from
leaving when I felt you again.” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. “How
did you do it? I’ve never had
anyone
disappear from my tracking before.”

"Maybe I'm just
special," said Davian.

Ishelle made a face at him and he
restrained a smile, relaxing a little. Whatever their methods, he was beginning
to believe that these people had no intention of harming him.

Davian leaned back. “So how many
Augurs have you found thus far?”

Driscin shifted. “Including you
and Ishelle? Two.” He held up his hand. “Understand, this is no easy task. It
was difficult enough back when the Augurs were ruling; it’s a thousand times
harder now that the Treaty exists.”

“I suppose I can see that,”
Davian conceded. He crossed his arms. “So. You were going to make me an offer.”

“Come with us.” It was Ishelle,
her voice pleading. “Help me find others like us, Davian. We can teach them; we
can teach each other.”

Davian shook his head. “To what
end?”

"This invasion came from
Talan Gol," said Driscin seriously. "We don't know much about it yet,
but it seems clear the Boundary is weakening. Without the Augurs, there will be
no way to strengthen it against whatever threats are beyond."

Davian hesitated. "And I do
want to help with that," he admitted, " but the invasion hadn't
started when I was in Thrindar." Driscin wasn't lying, but he clearly
wasn't telling Davian everything, either.

"True," said Driscin.
"I suppose that has been a more recent shift in our focus. Originally, our
aim was simply to gather the Augurs - to keep them hidden from Administration,
let them learn from one another. Then, to eventually pave the way in the Assembly
for the Treaty to be changed. Maybe have the Augurs return to a semblance of
power one day." He shrugged. "Ultimately, that's still our
goal."