The Relic's Secret (The Queen's Blade Book 10) by D.K. Holmberg

Author:D.K. Holmberg [Holmberg, D.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2024-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

For a moment, everything went dim. My heart hammered. I began to pick up on a vague sense of power, even though I wasn’t able to identify what it was.

“There’s something here,” Lijanna said.

“There is,” I agreed. “It might be the shiverpaw—the fox creature.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ellie and I found a creature outside the city. It had some power to it. And I’m concerned about what that might represent, whether other creatures like that are prowling the city’s outskirts.”

It hadn’t attacked. There was no evidence of any sort of attack, so even if there was something dangerous to this creature, it had decided to leave us alone.

For now.

“I’m going to change the lantern,” I said, keeping my voice down. “And you might need to be ready to fight.”

“Fight a fox?”

I nodded. “I realize how that sounds.”

“I don’t think you do,” she said, “because what you’re talking about is⁠—”

“I realize how it sounds,” I said again. “I’ll do what I can, resist as much as I can, but that’s all I can promise.”

I adjusted the dial on the arcane lantern, and more light suddenly spilled out, spreading into the chamber. I looked around. There was no sign of a fox, but a little energy lingered, some residual power.

“It’s gone,” I said.

“You sound disappointed.”

“I guess …” I frowned, and then I noticed something.

Not far from us was a darkened shape. I motioned toward it and approached carefully, sword unsheathed, my heart still hammering.

I slowed when I realized what it was.

A body.

“Oh no,” I muttered.

I crouched down as I studied the fallen form of an Empyrean. I didn’t recognize the man, but he had a mark of his rank on his shoulder. This was a commanding officer. His blades were still sheathed, and his protective fabrications were still on him. Those should have allowed him to escape attack.

“What happened to him?” Lijanna asked, flicking her gaze down before sweeping the chamber. “Did this fox creature attack him?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t see any blood. He’s just⁠—”

“Is he dead?”

“He is,” I said.

“You don’t know what happened?”

“I don’t,” I said.

I used the techniques that Jamie and the army had taught me to check for a pulse. And once I felt sure, I straightened.

“If the fox is willing to attack, we need to remove it,” I said.

“So now you want to go hunting creatures in a cave system that you don’t know?”

“We need to be certain about what has happened, but if it’s attacking people, we need to be ready.”

“Or we just need to get out of here and bring backup. Just two of us might not be enough.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“All right. What’s the easiest way out?”

Lijanna looked around. “Probably back that way.”

I took a deep breath and had started to follow when I noticed a surge of power.

This one was back in the direction that we’d come from.

It was subtle, and had I not been focusing and somewhat attuned to it, I might not have noticed it.

Taking a deep breath, I turned in place and struggled to discern what was there.

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