Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,87
the spell Topher had left for her was fading.
She needed to use everything she could one more time, blast it through, and maybe . . .
Maybe she could get Char’s attention.
Jayna harnessed the last of the energy within the coin. The vibration eased before falling completely still.
She held that power within her, then she sent one last cry.
“I need your help, Char.”
After that, the power was gone.
Now that it had faded, she no longer knew if she would find a way out. She no longer knew if it was even possible. She sat in the cell, looking around.
Topher and Eva would know she was trapped, but could they reach her? She had no idea if Char knew anything about what happened, and didn’t know if her attempt to call to him had even worked, but even if it did, would he come to her?
Could he?
Trapped as she was in this place designed to hold sorcerers, she couldn’t help but feel as if something else was happening, beyond what she had ever understood. She couldn’t help but feel as if the answers to the questions she’d had since working with Ceran were right there at the edge of her understanding. All she had to do was find that knowledge. But she didn’t know how. It was there, but she had no answers.
She sat back, staring at the door, twisting the dragon stone ring, trying to tap into power, trying to summon Ceran, trying everything she knew how to do and failing.
It was the first time in a long time that she’d been powerless.
Completely powerless.
Worse, she was powerless in a place that she shouldn’t be powerless—a place where she should be connected to her sorcery, a place that should be safe for her.
The longer she was here, the more likely it was that the dular and the Sorcerers’ Society would face each other, and the more likely a battle would wage that she could do nothing about. If that happened, she had a feeling the darkness would win.
20
Jayna drifted again, and she jolted awake to hear a strange thumping. Her heart hammered, and she wondered if maybe that was the thumping she had heard, but as her heart slowed, the hammering did not.
It was distant—a steady pounding sound.
She got to her feet. The air was even colder than it had been before, cold enough that she started to wonder if something about these enchantments was designed to suck her lifeforce, take her energy away, and keep her from responding in some way. But would that even be possible?
There had still been no response from Char.
The longer she was down here, the less likely she thought Char would find her. He might have heard her plea for help, or maybe he hadn’t. She didn’t know if he could reach her across the distance that way, but even if he could hear her, would he know what it meant? Would he know to come looking for her?
The thumping persisted.
Jayna attempted to reach for power through the Toral ring again, knowing that if she could find a way to tap into that energy, then she might be able to call upon something more, something that had been separated from her. But each time she tried, she found it faded, faint.
She turned in place.
How long had she been trapped here?
It may have only been a few hours, but she’d drifted off, sleeping from time to time, which made her wonder if perhaps it had been longer than that. What if she’d been here for days?
The outpost and the sorcerers within, primarily Master Agnew, believed the dular had attacked. She suspected the Society would continue to press the dular, and would likely attack them because they felt threatened.
The thumping built up deep within her, a pressure that felt like it was coming from outside her cell. It was a buildup of energy, a staunch power that continued to beat against her, a steadiness and a constant rhythm. It wasn’t coming from her heartbeat, but it did seem to tap into some distant and deep part of her.
For a moment, Jayna thought maybe it came from the Toral ring, but she couldn’t feel any reverberation within it, even as she focused on it. Maybe that wasn’t it at all. She didn’t know what it was, nor how she would respond.
But she had to respond in some way.
Escape.
She closed her eyes, thinking about that drumbeat thump. The pounding came from within her mind.