The Stone Wolf (The Chain Breaker Book 4), page 1
The Stone Wolf
The Chain Breaker Book 4
D.K. Holmberg
Copyright © 2021 by D.K. Holmberg
Cover by Damonza.com
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Author’s Note
Series by D.K. Holmberg
Chapter One
The streets of Yoran were quiet, though there was energy in the air that left Gavin’s skin tingling. He’d been feeling the trembling sensation of magic used throughout the city more often these days, ever since the enchanters had been able to operate more openly.
“Do you see anything?” he whispered into the enchantment.
He crouched along a building that was tucked up against one of its neighbors, feeling the stone pressing through the thin fabric of his dark shirt. The row consisted of mostly shops, some of them with signs hanging out front to advertise their wares. A few tall, narrow wooden buildings looked like they’d been added in between, filling the gaps where previous buildings had crumbled and collapsed. Occasional light from lanterns or candles glowing softly inside forced Gavin to be even more careful here. It was a partially residential area, which meant that he had to be cautious that he didn’t raise the alarm.
Eventually, he would alert the constables that they had come through here, but he didn’t want to do so until he knew exactly what they were dealing with. Head constable Davel Chan was temperamental about the idea of magic within the city, especially with the increased magic presence in the city. Gavin had tried to reach out to him earlier, but Davel sounded busy with another attack. That left Gavin even more on edge.
He watched the street, looking for signs of activity the way he had been trained to do, but saw nothing. Even the shadows were still.
“I don’t see anything,” Wrenlow said, his voice more high-pitched than usual.
This was one of the first times Gavin had asked Wrenlow to come with him out into the city—mostly to get him out of the Dragon, but partly so he could begin to implement some of the things they’d been working on. This was to be a fairly straightforward assignment, enough to give Wrenlow the opportunity to explore the city and get a feel for tactics he needed to use, though not so much that he would place himself in any danger.
“Remember what I told you,” Gavin whispered. The scent of a nearby bells tree drifted to him, and he wrinkled his nose.
He appreciated that he didn’t need to speak loudly with the enchantment. The thin metal earpiece that was curled around and tucked into the hollow of his ear was incredibly light, though surprisingly warm, regardless of how cool the night air was. A narrow chain ran down from the earpiece and ended with a small metal plate on his chest. With that, Gavin could adjust the volume, but he could also mute it so he didn’t have to hear Wrenlow. There were times when such a thing was necessary, though he didn’t want to admit that to his friend.
Tonight, Gavin doubted that he would mute anything. He needed to be there for Wrenlow to ensure he was safe.
“I remember,” Wrenlow said. “You’ve been making sure I have no choice but to remember, so don’t worry about me.”
Gavin resisted the urge to chuckle. “Just get moving. Clear the street and I’ll follow you.”
He looked to the north. They had come to the outer edge of the city because there had been rumors of magic users that were not associated with the enchanters. Since the last time there’d been significant magic in the city it had been tied to Tristan, Gavin wanted to investigate each occurrence to make sure he hadn’t returned.
Eventually he would return. As would the Fates.
That was Gavin’s other fear. The only thing holding them back was the threat of the dark egg, but he didn’t even know if he’d be willing to use that if the time came to do so. It was better to head them off and create the threat of his willingness to use it. Then he might keep the city safe.
There had been no trace of his old mentor, though. If he remained in the city, if he had anyone here on his behalf, he had not shown it. Gavin knew he should feel relieved, but with everything he’d gone through with Tristan, how could he?
His mind kept going back to the fight they’d had and how he’d nearly died. Tristan was still a skilled fighter, and given that he was part El’aras—the same as Gavin, really—Gavin doubted such fighting skill would ever wane.
Which meant that Gavin had to continue to improve.
Tristan had trained him and tested him, and his old mentor was still testing him. He wasn’t training him any longer, though. Now this was on Gavin.
A different figure separated from the shadows near the end of the street and hurried away. Wrenlow crouched, trying to keep himself minimized, though in the darkness Gavin didn’t think it even mattered. It was one more thing to keep working with him on. He really should have asked Gaspar to help train Wrenlow when it came to sneaking. Gavin was skilled enough, but Gaspar was a master thief. There were things even Gavin could learn from Gaspar.
“Stay along the buildings,” Gavin whispered.
A soft grunt came in reply.
Gavin stepped away. He stayed in the shadows as his gaze skimmed along the street, constantly concerned he might encounter something or someone. But the streets were empty.
It wasn’t late enough that people would have all turned in for the night in other parts of the city. In some places, the taverns would be busy, filled with the activity and revelry of men and women out for ale and wine. In this part of the city, though, all was quiet. There was nothing. Only them.
Gavin held out his El’aras dagger, which was a better weapon for this kind of sneaking than the sword. Still, he kept the sword sheathed at his side in case he needed its magical blade.
“I see something. Olivia’s enchantment really helps,” Wrenlow whispered. “I’m sure she can get you another—”
“Stay off to the side of the street,” Gavin cautioned.
“I do understand the concept.”
“There’s a difference between understanding the concepts you were taught and implementing them. You’re accustomed to being the one observing and not scouting.”
And now that was Gavin’s job. At least on this one.
“I know what I’m accustomed to doing.” Wrenlow darted forward suddenly.
Gavin cursed under his breath. “Balls.”
He lunged forward, hurrying along the street to catch up to Wrenlow before he did something too foolish. His friend had disappeared.
“Where did you go?”
There was no response.
Gavin swung his gaze from side to side. Nothing had suggested that Wrenlow would be in any danger, but there was the possibility he could have been surprised by someone. Gavin hadn’t seen anything, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything out here.
The likelihood was high that there was something here, especially because of the reason Gavin had come here. There was magic. He was certain of it.
Standing in place, he could feel the tingling in the air, the cold washing of power over him that still flowed here. He just had to discover the source of it. Not enchanter magic, he was sure. Maybe sorcery, but would there be another sorcerer in the city already?
They’d dealt with far too many recently, and now Gavin had to believe that the Fates would leave them alone, especially with the threat that he might use the dark egg and release the semarrl.
“Wrenlow?” he tried again.
There was still no answer.
Balls.
For Wrenlow, this was supposed to be scouting. He wasn’t supposed to get into any trouble. Gavin slipped along the street, looking at each of the buildings for anything that might be out of place. The buildings were taller here, mostly two stories and made of stone and wood. A few trees lined the street, as if someone had thought the razor-sharp leaves of the bells trees might deter activity here. Under normal circumstances, they might.
Gavin skimmed the roofline but didn’t see anything. Many of these buildings had peaked roofs. They would be far too difficult for Wrenlow to have scaled without Gavin noticing.
Where had he gone?
“Wrenlow, if you’re there, I need some sort of signal.”
A faint breeze drifted along the street, carrying with it the smells of the forest just beyond the border of the city. The odor of the earth mingled with that of pine and the strange jestel trees that were scattered throughout the forest, though it wasn’t the trees that carried the odor so much as it was their berries.
“I’m here,” his friend said softly.
Gavin breathed out a sigh of relief, hating that he felt so unsettled and also that Wrenlow had put him through this.
“What were you doing?” Gavin asked, slipping back and following along a nearby building. This one was a low warehouse that stunk of dung and ash.
“I saw something and decided to investigate,” Wrenlow said. “You said scout, so I’m scouting. Shouldn’t I want to be more involved? That’s what you’re training me for.”
Gavin could only shake his head. It was the same thing he would’ve done, so he couldn’t get too angry with Wrenlow, especially as Gavin had been training him to be more independent. But he needed Wrenlow to recognize his limitations as well. Losing his friend and having him sneak off like that on a job where he was still trying to learn his skills left Gavin worried.
“Which building did you go into?” Gavin asked.
“It’s not far from where I was. Looks like a warehouse. I saw the door swinging slightly ajar.”
Gavin frowned. He was near a warehouse, though obviously not the same one Wrenlow had disappeared into. As he looked along the street, he found where Wrenlow had slipped off to.
“We were supposed to find information and then go in together.”
“Come on, Gavin,” Wrenlow said. His voice still sounded hushed, as if he was concerned about what he uncovered. More than that, he sounded uncertain. Maybe unsettled. “I just poked my head inside the warehouse. Besides, we came here to find information together, didn’t we?”
“Together,” Gavin snapped. He could imagine Wrenlow grinning, and he shook the thought away.
He darted down the street, staying crouched and moving in the shadows of the night. At the end of the street, he could see only a bit of movement—barely enough for him to understand just what had caught Wrenlow’s attention, but he realized why Wrenlow would’ve gone in. It was an unusual-looking building.
Gavin had explored quite a bit of Yoran in his time here. He couldn’t be effective at his job otherwise, but he didn’t remember this warehouse. It would have stood out to him. Warehouses were found all throughout the city, only most of them were made of wood. This looked to be made of a gray stone, almost completely smooth. There was something off about it, and it took a moment for him to realize what it was.
Magic.
These days, he was far more aware of magic around him than he had ever been before. Often, he could feel when it was used near him. The sensation was that of cold water washing over him. At least it invigorated him when he felt it.
Detecting magic was useful, though.
There were enchantments upon the building. Gavin would wager on that.
But why would there be?
In a place like Yoran—where magic had been exiled and where the constables had long had enchantments that enabled them to find magic—he would’ve expected that they would have sniffed out something like this. The constables wouldn’t have tolerated any sort of magic like this in the city.
“Have you found the warehouse?” Wrenlow whispered.
“I think so, but it’s strange.”
“Because it’s stone?” Wrenlow asked.
Gavin looked over to the door. There was just a hint of moonlight glittering through the clouds tonight, enough that he could make out Wrenlow standing in his dark jacket and pants, only a trace of the moonlight streaming down on him.
“Not stone,” Gavin whispered. “It has more to do with the enchantments within the stone.”
He headed toward Wrenlow. The time they’d been working together had given Wrenlow more of a muscular build, and the enchantments he carried granted him more fluid movement than he would have otherwise. Still, there was a jittery nervousness to him. This was a test, but nothing more, and Wrenlow was not supposed to have gotten involved in anything too dangerous yet.
Not like the magic Gavin detected out here.
He traced his hand along the wall, feeling for the enchantments.
Gavin hurried to the door and skimmed the rest of the building. There were no windows. The roofline was completely flat, low enough he thought he could jump and grab the lip of it and race across the top. Everything about the building itself screamed of a time before people had filled Yoran.
“It’s an impressive structure,” he said.
“You think all of it is magically enchanted?” Wrenlow asked.
Gavin tore his hand away from the building, and he turned to the doorway. “I think most of it is.” That was unusual in Yoran. There were plenty of enchantments in the city, but he’d not seen many buildings that were themselves enchanted. If only he had enough control over his own magic to determine what those enchantments did. “Did you find anything when you looked inside?”
“Just the darkness. I figured I should wait for you.”
“Now you decide to wait for me?”
“Maybe I should’ve waited for you before.” Wrenlow grinned at him.
“We can go in together,” Gavin said.
He slipped his hand into his pocket and reached for one of his own enchantments—a ring. The only other enchantment he used with any frequency was the one that allowed him to communicate with Wrenlow and Gaspar.
As soon as he slipped the ring on, his eyesight became enhanced and everything illuminated. Gavin appreciated this enchantment because he hated being trapped in the dark, even though Tristan had long trained him to operate and fight in it.
“So you didn’t see anything?” Gavin asked, glancing over to Wrenlow.
Wrenlow had his own enchantment, which had come from the same source—the same enchanter. Though Gavin didn’t like to rely on it, which was part of the reason he’d been willing to sneak through the city without the enchantment, there were times when he knew the enchantment offered him a benefit he couldn’t have otherwise. By using this ring, he didn’t have to be limited by darkness and could navigate through the warehouse far more effectively.
“It’s empty, other than that door back there,” Wrenlow said. “But for the most part, there’s nothing.”
Gavin took a step forward and could feel something shifting. It took a moment to realize what it was, but as soon as he did, he felt the power working around him.
He held his hand up. “More magic,” he whispered.
He was thankful for the enchantment, thankful he didn’t need to speak loudly, thankful that Wrenlow had the sense to stay close to him.
“Where?” Wrenlow asked.
Gavin shook his head. “I don’t know. Everywhere.”
It was different from when he’d gone looking for enchantments with Gaspar.
This was real power.
He immediately began to focus on the energy buried within him—his core reserves, a power he could reach for when needed. But it was a power Gavin hesitated to draw on often. While he could summon that energy and use it, weakness washed over him if he used it too much. He’d learned he needed to be careful.
Power filled Gavin. For a moment, the El’aras dagger flared brighter, but he tamped down his connection to the power and the blade stopped glowing as much.
“What do you want to do?” Wrenlow asked.
With as much magic as Gavin felt around him, he didn’t want Wrenlow to stay here. Or even in this city.
He also didn’t think they could leave.
This was what he had promised Davel Chan. Gavin was going to stay and protect Yoran. Ensure that magic used against the city would not succeed. He was the reason that some of the powers had come here. He wasn’t going to be the reason the city fell beneath the thumb of magic again.
“We need to keep moving,” he whispered. “Be ready to fight.”
“Do you really think it’s going to be necessary?”
“I don’t know.”
