Read Online Blood of the Watcher (The Dark Ability Book 4) by D.K. Holmberg - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: D.K. Holmberg
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to join her.
“What happens if we go after them?” she asked. “What then? I worried about you when we went for the Forgotten, but what you intend to do here is different. We can’t stop them, Rsiran. We’re not enough. Not strong enough, not many enough, not… just not enough. I didn’t agree with how we hunkered down in the smithy before, but I do now. I understand the value in having a place like that to keep safe, where we don’t have to worry about what might be coming after us.”
“But it’s not safe,” he said. “If there’s someone able to—”
He cut off, detecting the sudden appearance of lorcith. The sense of it came from down the street, nearer the rest of Lower Town and away from the docks. The suddenness of it made it almost certain that someone had Slid to them.
“What is it?” Jessa asked.
He focused on lorcith, shifting his attention to the knives that he carried. If needed, he could push them from him, but he didn’t want to have to attack if he didn’t need to, not until he knew if there was anything to be worried about. Maybe this was nothing but lorcith that had been there all along, and he’d not detected it before, but Rsiran didn’t think that likely. Had there been lorcith before, he would have noticed.
Strangely enough, this was not one of his forgings.
Still, he could pull on the sense of lorcith, could draw on it if needed. Lorcith that he forged always answered him better, but all lorcith was attuned to him in some ways.
“Lorcith,” he whispered. He dropped to the rock, pulling Jessa with him. He didn’t want to Slide, not until he knew whether this was the person able to track his Sliding.
Jessa rolled on the rock to get a better view, and tilted her head toward him. “Where would lorcith have come from?”
Rsiran shrugged. “Same place it did when I was in the Aisl.”
Jessa pieced what he said together quickly. “If it’s them, can you Slide us to safety without them following?”
“I don’t know.” There seemed to be something that he’d done that she hadn’t been able to track, but Rsiran wasn’t sure what that was. When he’d Slid from the Aisl, he’d made a few different jumps, each time emerging only long enough to get his bearings and then take off again. It would be different were he to try the same with Jessa with him. Not slower, but he suspected that whatever ripples he formed would be louder, and easier for the other woman to follow.
“Then we sneak,” Jessa whispered.
She slid off the rock, moving silently. Rsiran followed her, keeping low, suspecting that if whoever was after them was Sighted, they’d easily be able to see them, but Jessa slipped across the street and stopped in a pool of shadows left by a small tree. She held a hand up to silence him, not that Rsiran needed the warning here.
Rsiran knew that Jessa was incredibly skilled as a sneak, but he’d never had need for her to prove it before. Always before, he had been able to Slide them to safety. And he could Slide them now, but he didn’t want to risk it.
He needed to know if it was the same two people that he’d seen in the Aisl earlier. If it was, the next step was learning why they had come for him, and then if they were responsible for what happened to Alyse. Maybe if he could get close enough, he could find out whose side they were on. Or, as he’d feared earlier, if he had a new enemy altogether. That would be valuable to know. And if they had taken Alyse, could he capture them and force them to tell him where they’d taken her?
Jessa pulled on his sleeve, urging him onward. She raised a finger to her lips, keeping him quiet. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
“I’m…” He stared down the street, trying and failing to get a clear view of who might be down there. The sense of lorcith remained, but didn’t move any closer. At first, that reassured him, but what if they knew of his ability with lorcith? Josun did, which meant that the
“What happens if we go after them?” she asked. “What then? I worried about you when we went for the Forgotten, but what you intend to do here is different. We can’t stop them, Rsiran. We’re not enough. Not strong enough, not many enough, not… just not enough. I didn’t agree with how we hunkered down in the smithy before, but I do now. I understand the value in having a place like that to keep safe, where we don’t have to worry about what might be coming after us.”
“But it’s not safe,” he said. “If there’s someone able to—”
He cut off, detecting the sudden appearance of lorcith. The sense of it came from down the street, nearer the rest of Lower Town and away from the docks. The suddenness of it made it almost certain that someone had Slid to them.
“What is it?” Jessa asked.
He focused on lorcith, shifting his attention to the knives that he carried. If needed, he could push them from him, but he didn’t want to have to attack if he didn’t need to, not until he knew if there was anything to be worried about. Maybe this was nothing but lorcith that had been there all along, and he’d not detected it before, but Rsiran didn’t think that likely. Had there been lorcith before, he would have noticed.
Strangely enough, this was not one of his forgings.
Still, he could pull on the sense of lorcith, could draw on it if needed. Lorcith that he forged always answered him better, but all lorcith was attuned to him in some ways.
“Lorcith,” he whispered. He dropped to the rock, pulling Jessa with him. He didn’t want to Slide, not until he knew whether this was the person able to track his Sliding.
Jessa rolled on the rock to get a better view, and tilted her head toward him. “Where would lorcith have come from?”
Rsiran shrugged. “Same place it did when I was in the Aisl.”
Jessa pieced what he said together quickly. “If it’s them, can you Slide us to safety without them following?”
“I don’t know.” There seemed to be something that he’d done that she hadn’t been able to track, but Rsiran wasn’t sure what that was. When he’d Slid from the Aisl, he’d made a few different jumps, each time emerging only long enough to get his bearings and then take off again. It would be different were he to try the same with Jessa with him. Not slower, but he suspected that whatever ripples he formed would be louder, and easier for the other woman to follow.
“Then we sneak,” Jessa whispered.
She slid off the rock, moving silently. Rsiran followed her, keeping low, suspecting that if whoever was after them was Sighted, they’d easily be able to see them, but Jessa slipped across the street and stopped in a pool of shadows left by a small tree. She held a hand up to silence him, not that Rsiran needed the warning here.
Rsiran knew that Jessa was incredibly skilled as a sneak, but he’d never had need for her to prove it before. Always before, he had been able to Slide them to safety. And he could Slide them now, but he didn’t want to risk it.
He needed to know if it was the same two people that he’d seen in the Aisl earlier. If it was, the next step was learning why they had come for him, and then if they were responsible for what happened to Alyse. Maybe if he could get close enough, he could find out whose side they were on. Or, as he’d feared earlier, if he had a new enemy altogether. That would be valuable to know. And if they had taken Alyse, could he capture them and force them to tell him where they’d taken her?
Jessa pulled on his sleeve, urging him onward. She raised a finger to her lips, keeping him quiet. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
“I’m…” He stared down the street, trying and failing to get a clear view of who might be down there. The sense of lorcith remained, but didn’t move any closer. At first, that reassured him, but what if they knew of his ability with lorcith? Josun did, which meant that the
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