The Stone Wolf (The Chain Breaker Book 4) by D.K. Holmberg (digital book reader TXT) 📕

Then again, Gavin hadn’t been spending that much time with Gaspar lately. Not because he didn’t want to, at least not entirely, but because the type of job that Gavin had started to do—the urgency that he had as he looked through the city for evidence of Tristan—had taken him away from pulling jobs with Gaspar. The old thief also didn’t need to get caught up in anything like this. Why should he get dragged into dealing with magic when it would force him to deal with power that he’d already told Gavin he wanted nothing to do with?

Gavin settled onto the small chair that stood across from a table. A few items were stacked on the table, most of them enchantments that Gavin had collected over his time in the city. He’d left them there, partly to ensure that he had additional connections were they to be necessary. He didn’t like the possibility that he would need anything like that, and he certainly didn’t want to rely on enchantments, but he’d learned that, if nothing else, being prepared was the only way to protect himself.

The dark egg also sat on the table, and Gavin could practically feel its presence. He avoided touching it, not wanting to run the risk of inadvertently freeing the semarrl, though Gavin didn’t even know if something like that was possible. As far as he knew, the dark egg needed to be intentionally activated.

He still wasn’t entirely sure how to keep it protected. At least, not completely.

He would need to offer some real defensive measures for the egg, primarily to make sure that others didn’t use it. More importantly, he had to ensure Tristan didn’t come back for it. There was the possibility that he would make a play for the egg again, either to target Yoran or to go after the Fates.

Gavin unsheathed his El’aras sword and set it on the table. The absence of a glow reassured him that there was no magic in the room, but he also knew that wasn’t a guarantee. He didn’t know if it was possible to shield magic from the sword and the dagger, preventing them from detecting the use of power around him. Enchantments seemed to trigger it, though not nearly as potently as those who used magic intrinsically, like enchanters or sorcerers. The dagger hadn’t glowed nearly as much as it should have earlier, though.

Despite his exhaustion, resting in the chair wasn’t going to give him the sleep he needed. Neither would thinking about how Tristan was still in the city.

A small jar resting on the table caught his attention. Within it was the sh’rasn, but he had no interest in using that substance. It would allow him to tap into a greater source of power, but there were consequences to using it that he wasn’t ready to endure yet. Were he to use the powder, Gavin would eventually be out for days.

It was better just to sleep; a natural way of restoring his connection to magic. There was no desperation here, though perhaps if he were to keep drawing upon power, he might find a need for the sh’rasn.

The draw of sleep called to him, and he started to question just how much of his power he’d really used. Gavin didn’t have control over it, not nearly as much as he needed to better understand that magic. He could feel the energy in the core reserves and had drawn on that power enough times that he knew how to do so, but drawing on it and controlling it were two different skills.

It seemed to him that the dagger and the sword helped him focus the magic, but when he had pushed power out and exploded the boxes, along with his attackers, he hadn’t used a focus like he had other times.

That had been the first time he’d done anything like that.

Hadn’t it?

Gavin got up and paced, but soon had to stop as he felt a wave of weakness wash through him. He leaned on the table for support and then frowned to himself.

When he was the Chain Breaker, his abilities had involved magic. Gavin was certain of it now. At the time he’d first learned to do it, he’d thought it was tied to something within him, the core reserves of strength that empowered him.

Now he knew that Tristan had been trying to test him all along. Tristan had wanted him to use that power, had wanted him to find a way to access that magic, but there had to be some purpose behind it. Why would Tristan have taught him to reach for power that would only be able to be used against him?

It was times like these when he wished Anna was here with him. He reached into his pocket, holding the marker she’d given him. It was the same size as a coin, though it was warm to the touch.

He was tempted to use it. There had been several times since he’d defeated Tristan where he’d felt a desire to call to her so he could learn more about his magic, but it had also been a need to learn more about the El’aras. Were it not for his promise to protect the city, Gavin would have gone with her.

He had to be honest with himself, though. He wanted to learn more about Anna, not just the El’aras. And he suspected she felt the same way. She had stayed behind to watch over him after he’d been injured. That had to mean something.

But she was royalty. She was powerful among the El’aras, even though she had hidden in Yoran and stayed here until Gavin had been hired to bring her out of hiding. There had to be some reason that had kept her from returning to her people before, some answer Gavin did not know.

He took a deep breath and pushed away the thought of going to her.

A narrow bed that Gavin