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

that it filled him. He headed down to a set of closed double doors, and he pushed out a bit of power through him to trigger the enchantment required to open the doors.

Once he did, he saw three constables sparring with each other inside the room. They were nearly moving faster than he could track. They were all enchanted with speed and strength, and they appeared to have enchantments that made their skin nearly as hard as stone given the way knives bounced off them harmlessly.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Davel asked.

Gavin glanced down at the shorter man with a balding head. His muscles showed through his gray jacket and pants, but he had no weapons on him.

“How often do they spar?” Gavin asked.

“Quite a bit. Considering what we’ve been dealing with, it’s been necessary.” Gavin frowned, and Davel went on. “There have been more magical attacks within the city. We keep waiting for the Fates to return. My interrogation of the Keeper has suggested that they will.”

“Have you still been working with Zella?”

“She has been involved. She’s less interested in questioning the Keeper than we are, though I think her reticence is understandable.”

“What have you learned from the Keeper?”

“Very little. We have tried to push to find what the Triad intended beyond their simple attack—”

“Simple?” Gavin grunted. “I would argue that using the jade egg to create the dark egg to summon the semarrl to destroy the Fates is anything but a simple plan.”

“Perhaps not simple. Straightforward, I should say. And it is not just about them, is it?”

Gavin clenched his jaw. It wasn’t. It was about Tristan and whatever he planned, though Gavin had no idea what Tristan intended to do. He was still after something; Gavin was sure of it.

Maybe Tristan still wanted the dark egg. But without the Fates being able to attack, there might not be anything that Tristan needed the egg for.

Davel shrugged. “I don’t know anything about this man, so I’m not sure.” It seemed as if Davel read Gavin’s mind. “Most of the time, we detect the magical intrusion as soon as it happens. As it’s often nothing more than the intrusion, it feels like they’re testing our ability to detect them, rather than planning any real attack.”

“That’s probably what it is,” Gavin said.

“They haven’t been able to do anything, though,” Davel said. “They might have gotten past us a few times, but we stopped them as soon as they pressed too deep into the city.”

“Did you detect a magical attack last night on the northern edge of the city?”

Davel looked over. “No.”

Gavin frowned. “I thought your enchantments were designed to ensure that you picked up on all sorts of magic.”

“You know that isn’t how it works.”

“Can you sense when I use any power? I used power last night,” Gavin admitted.

“Let me guess. Because of this man you feel is targeting the city.”

Gavin watched the fighting in front of them, which he found incredible. This was what he needed to be working on. This was where he needed to be practicing.

“He was there,” Gavin said. “I don’t know what he was after, but he targeted me.”

“If he was targeting you, then he would’ve brought real force. We didn’t pick up on anything.”

“He brought eight men from Jind.”

Davel frowned. “Jind? That’s a long way away, and they prefer the style of… Anyway, we haven’t seen any evidence of them.”

Gavin chuckled. “That’s how they like it. They’re all skilled, but…”

“You took care of them? I don’t need you leaving bodies throughout the city, Gavin.”

“I doubt there were any bodies left. There was a fire in a warehouse on the north side.”

“I received word,” Davel said.

Gavin nodded. He remembered that much from leaving the warehouse. Wrenlow had seen to it that the constables would be informed so the fire wouldn’t spread too far into the city. “What did you find?”

“It had burned out by the time we got there. It didn’t spread, if that’s what your concern was.”

“A bit,” Gavin said.

“If that’s what you were worried about, then you could have reported the fire.”

“I had somebody report it. I was busy recovering from the fight, which is why I’m here now.”

Davel cocked his head, turning his full attention to Gavin. “You’re here because of the fight?”

“I’m here because I realized something after the attack last night.”

“About this man?” Davel asked, motioning to the constables behind him. They continued their sparring, though the intensity of the fighting increased.

“More about me.”

Davel turned back to Gavin. “Are you leaving?”

Gavin smiled. “You don’t have to sound so eager to get me out of Yoran.”

“The longer you stay here, the more likely we face additional attacks. I realize you offer your own sort of protection, but there’s been more activity in the city ever since the Fates targeted us. The enchanters are doing what they can to prevent any more attacks. They’ve been making enchantments that offer us a level of protection, far more than they had before, but there’s still a danger in how many we’ve been fending off. Eventually, they may overwhelm our ability to protect the city.”

It was the first time Gavin had heard Davel talk about that. “I can help.”

Davel frowned. “I thought you were helping.”

“I can do more to help,” Gavin said quickly.

Davel grunted. “I thought you were.”

Here Gavin had been worried about the Dragon, Jessica, and the people within the tavern, but maybe that wasn’t all he needed to be concerned about. He needed to be more worried about the others in danger here. Not just those he cared about in Yoran, but also the city itself. Hadn’t he promised to ensure its safety? Maybe there was no way for him to do that while he was here—not while Tristan continued to target it.

“I have been,” Gavin said, “which is why I need something from you.”

“And that is?”

Gavin looked over, smiling slightly. “It’s something I’m sure you’ll enjoy.”

“Then I’m guessing I won’t.”

“I need you to fight me.”

Davel pressed his lips together, studying Gavin. “Fight you?”

Gavin nodded.