Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,76

had been used, something else was strange about it. There were enchantments here, but it was more than that.

She pushed out with the Toral ring, using a bit of power from it to try to detect what else was here.

Surprisingly, there came a soft reverberation of energy.

Dark power.

Could it be that the Order of Norej had changed the outpost more than she had realized? Jayna had known something had happened, that there was more taking place than she knew about, but now she had to wonder if perhaps they had left some sort of permanent, persistent residual energy.

Why would they have done that? There had to be something to it that mattered to them, some aspect of it that would grant them more power.

Jayna didn’t have time to figure it out now. She heard a shout, an angry tone, and felt a buildup of magic coming from the end of the hall, near enough that she could practically follow it. She traced it forward, tracking through the hallway, when a double door seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Jayna had been continuing to draw smoke off from around her, even though more and more smoke formed in its place, drifting near her. How much force did this Ashara dular need to use in their attempt to do whatever it was they were intending?

Jayna drew upon the dragon stone augmented by the bloodstone and pushed power out from her, using a bit of wind along the hallway to try to clear it out. She continued pushing, drawing power away, and feeling that energy flowing around her.

She stopped at the double door. This had to be where she would find Master Agnew, though why would the Ashara dular have come here?

She stormed forward.

Power surrounded her. She used her power and created a barrier, holding it as solidly as she could, then called the smoke into the ring.

It came slowly, but it gradually began to dissipate, revealing the room around her.

It was a massive chamber with a tall ceiling and a large, circular table situated in the center. A crackling hearth near one end put off a glowing heat, and it seemed to build. The Ashara dular stood near the fire, seemingly growing stronger.

He used the heat.

She’d been thinking this was nothing more than a dular. After the attack on Raollet’s shop, that was what she’d believed, but after seeing him standing in front of the fire—and seemingly growing more potent—she was left with only one real possibility.

This wasn’t a dular.

It was one of the Ashara.

Like Eva.

It made a certain sort of sense. Eva had always sat by the fire after she had used considerable power. Jayna had thought it was only to push back the humidity, but she realized now that Eva had used that heat and energy to restore herself, filling herself back up with the fire of the Ashara.

Master Agnew had put the table in between him and the Ashara. He had on a long, flowing, maroon robe, and he held his hands out, twisting many complicated patterns to form power that he pushed toward the Ashara, keeping the smoke at bay.

“You don’t need to do this,” Jayna said, keeping her attention on the Ashara.

Master Agnew swept a quick flick of the wrist toward her, but wrapped as she was in the energy of the dragon stone ring, it bounced harmlessly off the barrier.

Well, not quite harmlessly.

Jayna was forced back a step, and she gritted her teeth, glaring at Master Agnew. Didn’t he know she was helping?

It wasn’t as if Master Agnew didn’t know her. He had seen her in the city working with Char, and he knew she was only trying to help. Gods, she had helped save the city, even.

“Sorcerer,” the Ashara snapped.

“Yes. He is a sorcerer. I am not.”

The Ashara didn’t turn toward her.

Jayna needed to do something different, but she had no idea if she had enough strength to stop the Ashara. Seeing him standing in front of the fire, pulling the energy off of it as the smoke billowed behind her, she began to worry that she might not be able to pull enough smoke out of the air.

She had to call Ceran.

Maybe he would answer, maybe not, but she needed to try. She focused on the dragon stone and pushed through it, trying to create a pulsing of energy.

Master Agnew looked in her direction, frowning.

Another whipcrack of power streaked toward her from Agnew.

Jayna braced, holding on to the energy within her, and prevented his power