Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,64
. .”
“Char. You know better than that.”
“I know that things are unsettled right now.”
“I’m aware of that. That’s sort of why I’m here.”
“Sort of?”
Jayna shrugged. It was more than that, though she didn’t know how to even broach the topic with Char. What would he think if he were to learn the real reason for her visit?
She had to get to it. These days, she had to have many difficult conversations, but she continued to find herself avoiding them, which did her no good.
“Before I got caught in the riot, I planned on coming to talk to you about something I uncovered.” She remembered the dark sorcerer who had been left dead outside of the market. “Well, two things, really.”
He frowned, his brow furrowing. “What exactly did you find?”
“Besides more dark sorcerers in the city”—he arched a brow at her and she shook her head—“something that leads me here, of all places.” She smiled, but Char didn’t react. He knew her too well, so he must have known she was trying to placate him, to get him to fall into a false sense of security. “Fine. I’m not here only because of what happened yesterday.” It was partly that, but she needed other answers. “Part of what I’m looking into is the founding of the Sorcerers’ Society.”
“The what?”
“I need to know more about the founding of the Society. I figured if I came to the outpost, I could find some records that would help me learn more about it.”
“Of course there are records here,” Char said, “but why would you need access to them?”
“It’s a long and a complicated story, but if you would permit me to have a look at them, I should be able to—”
“I don’t know if I can show you what you’re looking for, Jayna. I want to help you. I really do. I just . . .”
“Char. I’m not trying to do anything here that is going to harm the Society. I’m just looking for information to help me understand what’s taking place here in Nelar.”
That was near enough to the truth that she didn’t feel guilty lying to him about it. “And everything I’ve found leads me to question the founding of the Society. If you would help me with that, I’m sure we can find something that will provide an explanation.”
Char leaned against the door, shaking his head slowly. “I feel like there’s something more here. You’re not telling me everything.”
“I’m telling you everything you need to know.”
“That’s not the same as telling me everything,” Char said.
Jayna watched him, waiting, anticipating that he might argue with her more, but he didn’t.
Finally, he sighed. “You can come in, but I don’t need you causing any trouble for me.”
“When have I ever caused trouble for you?”
“Every single time I’ve seen you since you’ve come to the city,” Char said.
“That might be fair,” she said.
“Might? It’s true. You’re constantly getting caught up in some dark sorcerer issue, and . . .” He looked over his shoulder, back at the building, tipping his head to the side. “And I shouldn’t even be talking about this out here. If Master Agnew finds me doing this, I don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s already concerned about my relationship with you.”
“Relationship?” Jayna asked, arching a brow.
“I know we don’t have a relationship,” Char said hurriedly, flushing slightly. “But he’s concerned about the fact that the two of us have been spending time together. He feels like it’s detracting from my studies. And, to be honest, he’s not wrong. The time I’ve spent working with you, and trying to understand more about your friend Eva, has been taking away from my studies. As much as I feel like I need to know what’s going on with you so I can help, I’ve also been finding myself drawn into much more dangerous things than I’d ever expected.” He shook his head. “You know I came to Nelar to learn how to heal.”
“I know you did,” Jayna said.
“And you know that has been difficult. Especially since the Society has been viewed with a lot more skepticism now than they had been before. People haven’t been coming here for help.”
“Where have they been going?”
“Ever since the attack on the manor homes, people have been going to the dular, as if they would offer them more than what we can provide.”
“Maybe they can,” Jayna said.
“Not you too.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I know you’ve given up your ties to the Society, but I would’ve