Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,40

you?”

“He wasn’t.” She looked over to Eva, and she thought she understood why Master Raollet would believe the attacker was with them. “We just came upon him. We were coming for information.” She watched him as he wobbled in his seat before sitting up, looking around for a moment, and finally relaxing again.

“I should have known there would have been difficulty,” he said. “We have seen far too many enchantments like that recently.”

When she had faced the man earlier, it seemed as if he controlled the smoke the same way Eva had, but there were enchantments that could do incredible things. It was possible that was all it had been.

“Why like that?”

“I don’t really know why anyone would want to make it seem like the Ashara attacked, but . . .” He waved his hand.

Jayna frowned. “What do you mean, ‘the Ashara’?”

He shrugged. “That’s what the smoke is supposed to look like—at least, that’s how the stories make it seem.”

“I’ve never heard of Ashara.”

“Well, since you are in Nelar, you should know some of the old tales.”

He slipped off the stool and headed around the counter, making his way over toward them, where he leaned down, resting for a moment, then grabbed something off of a low shelf in front of the counter. He pulled it up, rested it back on the shelf, then stopped. “Unfortunately, I am still a bit weakened after everything that has taken place.”

“I can see that,” she said. “I might be able to offer some help—”

Master Raollet waved his hand. “No help. Not that kind.”

“You don’t have to be afraid of it,” she said.

He frowned again. “It’s not fear. It is more a matter of not needing it.” He shook his head and tipped it off to the side, regarding her for a moment.

“You said Ashara,” Jayna urged.

“That’s the only thing I could think of. Stories, mostly, but they fit. Oh, they fit.” He sighed.

“What are the Ashara?”

Raollet flipped open a book and traced his hand along one of its pages. “Just stories. Myth, mostly. But after seeing what I have these days, myth starts to feel a little more real.” He snorted. “The Ashara are supposed to be ancient beings—powerful, and filled with a specific type of power.” Jayna looked at a drawing he pointed out in the book, one that reminded her of the sculpture she’d seen in Telluminder’s shop. It had wings, a long serpentine body, and a tail that swirled around it. “Some have called them demons. Others, sorcerers. Still others have called them dragons.” He chuckled. “Stories, like I said. I had never expected to see stories come to life like that.”

Eva stood completely still, looking at the book, her hands clenched at her sides, and a deep frown formed on her face.

Jayna looked down, studying the book. “I haven’t heard of anything like this. The Sorcerers’ Society has not mentioned anything about Ashara.”

“Because they’re stories. Or that’s what they’d have you believe.”

There were other stories the Society wanted people to ignore.

Sul’toral.

What if the Ashara were real?

And what if Eva was one of them?

“Why would the Society care?”

“Who knows with any certainty?” He turned a few more pages. “There are some stories that claim the power of the Ashara opposes the magic of the sorcerers, while others claim it eats it, or that the Ashara eat sorcerers.”

The entire book was written in a language Jayna couldn’t read, though from the way Master Raollet skimmed the page, tracing his finger along its surface, it was clear he could.

“But then, something happened,” Raollet said, continuing to read the page. “According to one account, the Sorcerers’ Society banished them, or perhaps the El’aras prevented them from gaining power, or perhaps even the dular.” He shook his head. “Either way, these enchantments are meant to remind people of the Ashara.”

“What are they?”

“The El’aras? I figured that even you would know about the El’aras. Especially given that you are—”

“I know about the El’aras,” Jayna said. There were aspects of them she didn’t fully know, but overall, she understood them about as well as most within the kingdom would. She had experience with them and had seen how they used their power; she even thought she understood the intricate nature of it. Unlike sorcerers, the El’aras possessed a natural connection to magic. Innate. Powerful.

“You called them beings, the Ashara?” Eva asked, stepping closer and redirecting the conversation.

He looked up at her, regarding her for a long moment before turning his attention back to the book. “Well,