Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,99

me about the job.” She jabbed him again, sending another vibrating pulse into his chest, and Matthew just watched her, his eyes narrowing. “We don’t have much time. This is getting out of hand, and if I can’t figure out how to stop it . . .” She glanced over to Eva. “It’s got to be about more than just the sorcerers and the dular,” Jayna said softly.

Matthew regarded her, frowning. “What did you get yourself involved in?” he whispered.

“Apparently something big,” she said.

Matthew took a deep breath and grabbed her hand, pulling it back. She tried to push a bit more power into him, but he had an innate resistance.

Jayna wondered if he even knew what he was doing.

“You don’t want to be involved in this,” he said. “You don’t want to get caught up in the fighting.”

“I’m not going to get caught up in any fighting beyond what I’ve already been involved in. I’ve seen what the Society has done, and I’ve seen what the dular have done. Neither side is innocent here.”

She still didn’t understand why. The Society generally had not acted in such a way before, so for them to do so now was shocking. Even the dular had not acted in such a way before, preferring to stay more reserved, to avoid fighting. The only thing she could come up with was the possibility that something or someone instigated this.

And there was only one reason that would be desirable.

“Listen,” Matthew started. “I was hired to make a bargain. I had to acquire some items from a difficult-to-reach source.”

Jayna frowned as she looked at him. “What item, and what source?”

“I can’t say.”

“Matthew, if this will help stop a war, you need to say.”

He looked as if he wanted to resist, but Jayna was prepared to use sorcery on him to coerce him into answering. He finally shrugged slightly. “There’s an ancient temple to the north of the city. I had to meet someone there.”

“An ancient temple? That would be . . .” She frowned, glancing over to Eva. “El’aras lands.”

“I know. I had to gather some stones from within the temple. It was supposed to be an easy job, but . . . well . . . it would’ve been easier had your brother been there.”

Jayna wished she could get the details of that from Matthew, but a different concern began to fill her.

Stones.

If Matthew still had his memory from what had happened in the city before, maybe he would’ve made the connection, but she had taken that from him.

Perhaps Eva was right. Maybe it would’ve been better for her to have left Matthew’s memories.

“I need to see them.”

It had to be bloodstone, didn’t it?

Matthew shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

Maybe she could convince him in a different way. If not, then she wasn’t above forcing him. If it meant stopping war, she would do it. “After you acquired the stones, what happened?”

“Everything went to shit,” Matthew said. “I just want to get out of here. I don’t want these damn stones anymore, and I didn’t even need the money.”

“You still have them?”

“I was supposed to use them around the city. Just that.”

“What do you mean, ‘use them’?”

“Just toss them into a few different stores, all around the city, and . . .” He shook his head. “That’s about it.”

Jayna stared at him for a few moments. “I need them, Matthew.”

Matthew frowned at her.

“This is bigger than a job,” Jayna stated.

“Jayna—”

“Matthew, I’m not going to argue with you about this. I’m going to need those stones.” She started forward, pressing her hand out, already beginning to hold on to the spell that would hold him.

Matthew stepped back, raising his hands. “You can have them. I already got paid for the job.”

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pouch, and he held it out to her.

Jayna took it, glancing inside. Bloodstones. They were all small, some incredibly so.

She pulled one of them out. It had been enchanted. There was a faint tracing, a swirl of a pattern along its surface. Jayna couldn’t tell the intention behind the enchantment, but as she ran her finger around the stone, she could feel the energy within it.

“Who were you meeting with?”

“Now you’re asking too much.”

Jayna shook her head. “No, Matthew. I’m not. I need to know who you were meeting with. Who had you looking for these?”

“You’re not going to be able to find them.”

“Why not?”

“Because they don’t like to be found.” Jayna started to smile, but she