The Guild Secret by D.K. Holmberg

Author:D.K. Holmberg [Holmberg, D.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BluA
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2016-07-31T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

“Impossible,” Ephram said from the doorway.

Rsiran stood just beyond the doorway, inside the chamber. He was the only one who could reach this side of the doorway, something that he found surprising. The rest of the guildlords stood on the other side, each peering inside, trying to determine which of the crystals had gone missing.

“Not impossible. One of the Elder Trees was destroyed,” Tia said. “The protection is gone.”

“We have kept this chamber under guard,” Ephram said.

“I walked here and didn’t see anyone,” Rsiran told him.

“No one? Sarah was to watch—”

Rsiran looked to Sarah. Her face flushed. “I have watched, Father. There was no one other than Rsiran. As one of the guildlords, there was no reason he would be denied access this chamber.”

“The farthest crystal is missing. Which tree does it correspond to?” he asked.

“That doesn’t matter,” Ephram said. “We have long suspected that the crystals somehow move, that there is no connection to the Elder Trees other than for protection.”

Rsiran studied the remaining crystals. They glowed steadily, much like they had the first time he had come to this place. That time, one of them had pulsed, practically drawing him to lift it, so he had. Now they all glowed with the same intensity.

Would the missing crystal still have the same light, or would it have faded when taken from this chamber and away from the power of the Elder Trees?

That was a question he wasn’t sure how to ask. Did the crystals have power of their own, or did they draw it from the Elder Trees? Since learning of the power of the Elder Trees, power that had healed not only him, but also Della, he had begun to wonder if they were more connected than most realized. What if the crystals drew upon and stored the power of the Elder Trees, concentrating it in some way? But if that were the case, then damaging the Elder Tree would have destroyed the crystal, and he suspected that he would have heard about that from the other guildlords before now.

“We will have to tell the council,” Gersh said.

Ephram blanched. “I suppose we won’t be able to keep it from them for long.”

“How would someone have reached the crystal?” Rsiran asked.

“Other than you?” Ephram asked. “No one has ever proven capable of Sliding to this chamber. Even after the Elder Tree was damaged, we haven’t managed to Slide anyone here.”

“You tried this?” Gersh asked.

“We had to know whether it was possible,” Tia said. “No one was successful.”

“What other ways? Could they have come through the mine?” Rsiran asked.

Gersh frowned. “There is no access through Ilphaesn.”

“None? I can detect the mine, and feel the way the lorcith presses on me in the tunnel. I might not have understood it the first time I came through, but it is the same as in Ilphaesn. The tunnels can connect. Whether or not they do is a different matter.”

Gersh crossed his thick arms over his chest. “They do not connect.”

No? As he watched Gersh, Rsiran decided he would have to check later.

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