Delver Magic: Book 05 - Chain of Bargains (35 page)

"Just sore... my back
hurts."

"From Strog's kick?"

Ryson was surprised by the
question.

"You know about that?"

"I saw it."

"How?" Ryson asked,
recalling he was alone with the dwarves in a locked room at the time.

"A sight spell. Before I left
you in Sterling, I placed an anchor
on you."

"An anchor? What are you
talking about?"

"It is a spell that creates a
point of energy, a reference point, somewhat like the beacon stones, but it
does not send out a signal in the same way. It allows me to link a spell to you
so that..."

Ryson erupted.

"You put a beacon on
me?"

"Not a beacon, an
anchor."

"I don't care! Is it still on
me... this spell, is it still there?"

"Yes."

"Take it off!"

"It can't hurt you."

"Now!"

Holli did not understand the
delver's outburst, but his outrage was clear. She focused on a spell of removal
and withdrew the anchor from the delver.

"It is gone."

"Are you sure?"

"Why would I lie to
you?"

Ryson's anger, as out of character
as it was, actually swelled. His voice was almost trembling as his outburst
grew in intensity.

"Why would you cast it in the
first place? What were you thinking?!"

"I had to keep track of
you."

"You wouldn't have had to
keep track of me if you didn't just run off. I can't believe this!"

"Something was not right...,"
Holli explained, as she thought she might have understood the delver's fury,
though only slightly. She did leave him, but she felt it was the best strategy.
She tried to explain. "...not right in Sterling,
I mean. There was no reason for Ulet to meet us with the goblin scent bag
unless she was trying to hide something. Then, there was the mine itself back
in Huntston. We both saw that it was relatively new, but still dug by dwarves.
Why would dwarves build a mine shaft under a human town so recently... and then
abandon it? I was concerned the goblins might be a threat to the dwarves, but I
realized that was ridiculous. Regardless the size of the horde, goblins would
never raise the courage to attack a dwarf city. If anything, I should have
questioned why goblins would risk entering dwarf mines, not worried about
warning dwarves."

Ryson looked past the explanation
and focused on the results.

"So you knew something was
wrong and you didn't tell me? And then you put some kind of spell on me?!"

"I only suspected something
was wrong. No matter what I did to try to force everything together, it
wouldn't fit. I could not be sure of anything."

"Even so, why didn't you at
least say something?!"

Holli found the delver's rage
beyond inexplicable, it was also interfering with clear thinking. She tried to
point out what she saw as the obvious.

"When? Should I have said
something while we walked through Sterling?
I already expected Ulet was hiding something from us. Do you think she would
have allowed us a private conference? What would have happened?"

"I'll tell you what wouldn't
have happened. You wouldn't have had to cast that spell on me and then I
wouldn't have been taken prisoner. You used me as bait!"

"No, you were never bait. You
were going where you thought you should."

"Where
I
thought? It was
you
who
wanted to go to Sterling, and then
you abandoned me, and cast this... this spell to make a target out of me!"

"I was just keeping our
options open in case my suspicions proved correct."

"And you let me walk right
into Sterling Palace!
How is that not bait?"

"I was protecting you at all
times."

"What about when I was locked
in the room with Strog?!"

"I was very near. I used a
shadow spell to conceal myself as I followed you into the palace. I was right
behind the door."

"The door was bolted!"

His lack of faith felt almost like
an insult to the elf guard, and she found the need to defend her abilities.

"I can handle locks. You are
well aware of that."

"And can you handle a room
full of dwarves?"

"I could have saved you, if
the need arose. I have sufficient magic."

"I don't want you to use the
magic on me!"

At last, Holli began to see.
Ryson's fury was not based purely on Holli's actions. Normally, he would have
understood her strategy, but there was one common thread that tied together his
uncharacteristic behavior.

"Is that what this is all
about... the magic?"

Ryson raged with anger, and
something more, but said nothing.

Holli remained quiet for long
moments as well, not only to allow Ryson a chance to gather his emotions, but
for her to consider the magic as he saw it. Tracing back the recent events, she
recalled Ryson's incident with the inferns. Ever since that moment, he had been
concerned with magic and enchanted items.

Yes, Ryson had managed to escape
the demon flames, but it seemed as if they still haunted him. The elf did not
think it was danger that alarmed the delver. Holli knew that Ryson had been
very close to death before, but it was danger he had entered of his own will,
by his own actions. He often disregarded his own safety—especially to save
others—but he did so through his own talents. He used his speed and his
agility. He used his abilities as a delver.

Recently, he had come to grips
with the fact that being a delver meant he was something more, something
special, something
magical
. The
magic, however, was beyond his senses, and for a delver, that was near torture.
Combined with the experience he encountered with the inferns, it was no wonder
he wished to distance himself from energy that was instilled in the sword or
from a spell cast upon him without his knowledge.

Then Holli thought of her own
predicament. It wasn't exactly the same, but there were enough similarities.
She was no sorceress, she was an elf guard. That was who she was, but wasn't allowed
to be. The magic was becoming a part of her, a larger part than she desired.
Could she blame the delver for reacting so angrily against something she
herself found nearly intolerable?

"You are right," Holli
finally allowed. "I should not have cast the spell on you without telling
you. I am sorry. Though it does not matter, I did it in order to protect
you."

The apology surprised the delver.
Slowly, he began to place his anger under control.

"I know you did. It's just
that..." He looked away from the elf. He didn't want to make the next
admission, but Holli made it for him.

"You are afraid of the demon
fire, aren't you?"

He still wouldn't look at her, but
he found no anger within him. He would also not deny the truth.

"Yes," Ryson admitted in
a whisper.

"I don't blame you, but you
have to believe me when I tell you that the anchor spell could not have been
used in the same way against you as the beacon stones. The inferns held to one
stone and you held to the other. That is how they managed to sense you from a
distance. Without the direct connection of the two stones, they never would
have been able to target you. Magic in itself will not open you to danger,
neither will the magic within you. You have to understand that the magical
essence is not bound by the same principles as the body. With all my heart, I
don't know of anyone's spirit that would be less endangered by demon fire than
yours. It was my fault you were in jeopardy."

"I couldn't get away from the
fire," the delver acknowledged as he recalled the incident with the
inferns, his voice breaking at the end. "No matter how fast I ran, I
couldn't get away."

"As I said, it was my mistake
not yours. You need to forgive me for that. You also have to forgive me for
leaving you in Sterling, but I
believed it was the best choice. One of us had to get away, if we both tried to
run, they would have sealed off every entrance."

Ryson broke his mind away from
inferns, demon fire, and magic to recall the magnificent city of Sterling.
Despite the industrious abilities of the dwarves as he understood them, the
feat of closing off the entire city seemed an impossible task.

"They can do that?"

"Yes, they can. Think back to
the time before the magic. How do you think they survived so long without
humans, or delvers, ever finding them?"

"I guess they can. Well, I
forgive you. It's mostly my own fear that was the problem. You just... got in
the way."

"I have my own admission to
make," Holli offered. "I have been unsettled in my position. It was
always in my heart to be an elf guard, but how do I guard a wizard more
powerful than any spell caster in all of elflore? I have no wish to be the
sorceress he hopes I can be. It is not what I am. So it seems we both have been
running from the magic."

"But you're more than just a sorceress,
and you use the magic to help you. That's why you're out here with me, not
because you can cast spells, but because Enin trusts you to protect me."

"That is why I was happy with
this mission. That is why I wanted to succeed, probably why I looked for
answers in places where I should have been asking more questions. This was a
chance for me to do what I was trained to do—to do what I
want
to do—but no matter how I tried, I could not find the answers
I wanted."

"When you saw Strog kick me
in the back, did you hear what he said?" Ryson asked.

"I did."

"Well, it seems we have a lot
of answers now."

That was true to a point, but
Holli would not make the same mistake again. Some of the pieces fit together,
but others did not. She wouldn't force it.

"To some extent." Holli
agreed. "We know why the goblins are here and what they plan to do. We
know they have been buying their way into favor with humans of influence. The
assistance of the dwarves has been critical to them, and it is dwarf planning
that has kept the goblins in check across the valleys, not just inferns."

"We also can guess how the
soldiers in Huntston knew about us and about the sword's powers...," Ryson
added, 'because Strog knew. Ulet found us before we even entered the valleys.
She told Strog and he must have warned the goblins we were coming. He had an
idea of the sword's enchantment from when I was in Dunop, but he probably told
the goblins it was dangerous. He wanted it, so maybe he put a price on it. The
goblins told the humans— probably told Prilgrat directly—and he sent out the
notices to have us captured and the sword taken. It had nothing to do with my
fame."

The logic was not forced and Holli
could not argue the points. She did, however, hold to other concerns.

"Unfortunately, there are
still things which do not make sense."

"Such as?"

"The main force behind this
for the humans remains a complete aberration. Why would Prilgrat risk his
status as regional steward to allow goblins to invade his lands? Perhaps they
are paying him a great deal, but wealth is nothing compared to power. He could
not be that shortsighted. You saw him. He wants people to underestimate him. I
will not make that mistake. He stands to lose much more than he would gain, and
he would not make that kind of mistake... not when it is so obvious."

"I agree that doesn't make
much sense. Anything else?"

Holli once again pointed to the
bane of both her and Ryson.

"The magic. It bends into
Huntston and Ashlan, and I have no idea why. A human fire mage in Ashlan
speculated that it was a reminder, but again, that seems a forced explanation.
I have nothing to substantiate it."

"Reminder? You mean like some
kind of message?"

"That is what he
believes."

"Maybe he's right,"
Ryson offered. "You felt it in Ashlan and Huntston, right?"

Holli nodded.

"That's where the most goblin
activity was," Ryson noted. "Maybe the magic is keeping the goblins
in line."

"That would then beg the
question of who is twisting the magic to serve as a subtle message to goblins.
Certainly not the dwarves, and not Prilgrat. I am certain of that."

"What about the
inferns?"

"It is possible, but the
inferns were not in Huntston. In Ashlan, they maintained control over the
goblins by their presence, not by magic. There is an inconsistency there."

Ryson had to agree. The pieces
just wouldn't fit together. Something was missing. He also realized something
was missing on him. His war blades were gone, and the Sword of Decree was not
on his back. He saw the handle of the blade over Holli's shoulder.

"Let me have my sword,"
he requested. "Please."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Holli slipped the sheath from off
her back, leaving the blade untouched. She held out the strap for Ryson and
allowed him to take it without objection. She watched curiously as the delver
did not immediately strap it over his shoulder and across his back. Instead, he
held the sheath in one hand and took hold of the handle in the other.

As Ryson pulled out the sword, the
light magnified around them over a hundredfold. The delver knew they were giving
away their position, but it was something he had to do. An image came to mind,
a building he knew very well. While he wasn't sure why, there was no question
in his mind of what they had to do.

"Can you teleport us to
Connel," he asked of the elf.

"I have the ability, but not
the energy. Not yet anyway. If given a few moments of concentration, I should
be able to cast the spell, but is that the wisest direction? I admit I do not
know where we should turn our attention, but we do not yet have all the answers.
Are you seeking to return to Enin?"

"No," Ryson announced.
"We have to go somewhere else. The sword showed me. We have to go to the Church
of Godson."