The Heartstone Blade (The Dark Ability Book 2) by D.K. Holmberg

Author:D.K. Holmberg [Holmberg, D.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2016-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

“You think Josun still lives?”

Brusus reached out dirt-stained hands to help pull Rsiran to his feet. Brusus’s eyes flashed with more heat than Rsiran had ever seen from him. “I have wondered that for some time, yes.”

“You told me not to worry about him. That Haern saw him dead. That the Elvraeth fight among themselves so often that he would not be missed, that—”

“I did. When I thought him gone.”

“But you don’t know.” Jessa ignored Brusus’s extended hand and scrambled to her feet.

“No. I began to suspect shortly after I recovered. No rumors came from within the palace of a deceased Elvraeth. Nothing that indicated he had ever died. And no word of a rebellion,” he said, looking to Rsiran.

“And you would hear from the palace?”

Brusus hesitated, glancing at Jessa. “Why do you think I’ve asked you to make so many knives, Rsiran?”

The question took him aback. “I thought you wanted the money.”

Brusus breathed out heavily. “That, but there is another reason.”

Rsiran thought about what Jessa had told him about Brusus, how he had spent time in Upper Town. “You used the coin for bribes?”

Brusus shook his head and Rsiran frowned. “I’ve used the knives for bribes,” he said. “The Elvraeth have enough money, but they don’t have knives like you make. A thing like that… well, a thing like that is worth information. After what happened with Josun, after what he showed me when he took me to the warehouse and used me, information was worth more than anything.”

“And you haven’t heard that Josun died.”

He shook his head and sighed. “We need to get back. Can you…”

“Not for a while. Getting us all here took too much out of me.”

“Then we walk.”

Brusus started into the forest, heading west, back toward Elaeavn. Rsiran didn’t question how he knew which direction to go. Standing in the dense forest, for most, one direction looked much the same as the other. But Rsiran felt the lorcith in the city like a distant awareness in his mind, just enough that he knew which direction to go to. Either Brusus simply guessed right, or he knew a different way to determine how to reach the city.

They walked a while in silence. Jessa kept near him, careful to ensure he had enough strength to keep going. Brusus stayed ahead of them, picking his way through the forest. At times, they had to climb over massive tree trunks or weave around thick thorn bushes. Once, they were forced to wade through a wide stream. From when he was a child, Rsiran knew the streams eventually all ran together, twisting into the Lneahr River that eventually dumped into the sea.

“How long have you known?” Jessa asked Brusus when they stopped at one stream.

Rsiran cupped water to his mouth to drink. Fatigue from the walk mixed with his exhaustion from Sliding to the Aisl, but he felt his strength returning, slowly building back to where he might be able to Slide himself if needed.

“I didn’t know, not with any certainty.

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