Jayna watched him for a moment. “Sorcery.”
He nodded slowly. “Sorcery has been the ally of the kingdom ever since it emerged.”
“The Society existed before the kingdom.”
“Perhaps. That is beyond my knowing.”
She watched him for a moment and frowned. “You mentioned that people celebrated the El’aras king as a god. Were there any other gods that people celebrated?” If Telluminder knew about the gods, maybe there would be something more she could understand. Maybe she could learn about the dark god, and the power that the twelve followers of Sarenoth could access.
She wasn’t sure what gods were celebrated here. There were no temples as there were in some parts of the world, and she had not heard anybody speak of their religion, though given how close they were to the forest, and the history of El’aras in the city, maybe whatever god was celebrated here was somehow tied to the El’aras.
“You aren’t the first to have raised the question.” Telluminder shrugged. “There have been others who have looked for information recently.”
“Others who have looked for information about the old gods?”
“Such information can be difficult to acquire, especially in places like Nelar. Not many have such books.”
Jayna glanced over to Eva, who shrugged. “Either it’s the Society, or if you’re talking about in Nelar, then it would be the dular who have that kind of books. There is a ruling class here who could be as responsible as anyone for what has happened.”
“Perhaps.” He leaned back, sweeping his gaze around the inside of his shop. “Unfortunately, my supply of enchantments has waned. I hope you won’t be in Nelar much longer to prevent my business from thriving.”
“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be in the city,” Jayna said.
“That is fortunate,” he said.
Jayna locked eyes with Eva. She had stood, straightening, and she looked around the shop, bits of smoke trailing around her, as if she were unsettled, then she breathed out, increasing the amount of smoke.
“Who did you sell the book on the gods to?”
“Unfortunately, I must keep that to myself. My clients expect a measure of privacy, as I’m sure you could appreciate.”
Jayna watched him. She knew Telluminder knew something, was hiding something from them. She knew from the way he watched her, the expression in his eyes, the way he shifted.
She nodded to him. “Perhaps we should go.”
She had discussed payment with him, but he hadn’t really offered her enough information to be useful, so Jayna decided to keep her coin in her pocket. Not that she had much anyway.
Eva remained silent as she regarded Telluminder.
Jayna started past, then paused, looking down at the shield. “How much for the shield?”
“I’m afraid that is not for sale.”
“Are you not willing to sell it to me, or are you not wanting to sell it at all?”
Telluminder just shrugged. “It is not for sale.”
“What about the spear?”
Telluminder flashed a tight smile. “I’m afraid that is not for sale either.”
“How many of the items in your shop are not for sale?”
“Most are,” he said. “But not all.”
Jayna frowned at him a moment before leaving the store and waiting for Eva to join her outside. “What was that about? Why was he like that? It seems like he was upset about something.”
“He’s upset about us.”
“I’m not sure that’s all it was,” Jayna said, flicking her gaze over to the shop. “And we still haven’t learned what we need to know.”
“There’s another place we can go,” Eva said.
“I know. I was hoping we could avoid it, but given the reaction we had from Telluminder, I’m not so sure we can.”
“It’s going to be worse there.”
Jayna took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, then nodded as she started along the street. How were they going to figure out what they needed to know if they had to deal with people like Telluminder and Master Raollet?
“Let’s get going. I want to get this over with.”
They made their way through the streets, and as they finally neared Master Raollet’s shop, Jayna slowed.
Smoke drifted around it.
The same kind of smoke that drifted from Eva now.
8
They approached the smoke carefully, moving slowly and steadily toward it. The energy within the smoke and the flame coming out of the shop reminded her of Eva, though she wasn’t going to say that to her. There was something about it that was off, some aspect of it that was not quite the way she expected it to be, but it was familiar enough that she thought perhaps Eva would recognize it. Yet when she looked over to her, Eva didn’t show any sign of recognition.
“Any suggestions?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“Because this is—” Jayna cut herself off. “I don’t know what this is, but I know there is some sort of dangerous energy here. And given the dark sorcerer and smoke I saw over near the market earlier this week . . .”
“You’re afraid that somebody else is inside?”
“What do you suggest?” Jayna asked, studying Eva, wondering if she might be able to feel something.
“This might simply be a fire,” Eva said.
Still, she squeezed her hands. A droplet of blood dripped from either hand, striking the cobblestone, and a burst of smoke began to swirl upward.
“I might have a spell I could try.”
Jayna started forward and neared the outline of the smoke.
It was that smoke which she worried about more than anything else.
There was a spell she’d seen when going through the spellbook that could create a dangerous flame, but it was going to take practice to enact it effectively, and she didn’t know if she had enough control.
The advanced spellbooks were exactly that—advanced. Jayna had not reached that point in her studies at the Academy, and using that kind of magic now, when she’d barely had an opportunity to study and practice it, might be a mistake.
She stepped forward again and started forming the pattern in the air, a complicated twisting of her fingers. It involved tracing a specific shape, almost an exacting one, and given Jayna’s lack of experience, doing so was difficult. It was a series of interlocking patterns. She focused as much as she could, holding on to her energy, and traced the pattern, pushing power out through it.
A gust of wind burst along the street. It worked.
“That was new,” Eva said, as the smoke around her was dragged by the wind.
“I wasn’t expecting it to work quite like that,” Jayna said. “I saw this in the spellbook, and I didn’t know if I had enough control to create it.”
“You have to stop doubting yourself,” Eva said.
“It’s not a matter of doubting myself. It’s a matter of recognizing I don’t have the same kind of knowledge as those who’ve studied within the Academy. The books have helped, but I think I need more time with them.”
She strode forward into the wind that gusted along the street. The doorway leading to Master Raollet’s shop was slightly ajar.