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

stayed in the shadows as his gaze skimmed along the street, constantly concerned he might encounter something or someone. But the streets were empty.

It wasn’t late enough that people would have all turned in for the night in other parts of the city. In some places, the taverns would be busy, filled with the activity and revelry of men and women out for ale and wine. In this part of the city, though, all was quiet. There was nothing. Only them.

Gavin held out his El’aras dagger, which was a better weapon for this kind of sneaking than the sword. Still, he kept the sword sheathed at his side in case he needed its magical blade.

“I see something. Olivia’s enchantment really helps,” Wrenlow whispered. “I’m sure she can get you another—”

“Stay off to the side of the street,” Gavin cautioned.

“I do understand the concept.”

“There’s a difference between understanding the concepts you were taught and implementing them. You’re accustomed to being the one observing and not scouting.”

And now that was Gavin’s job. At least on this one.

“I know what I’m accustomed to doing.” Wrenlow darted forward suddenly.

Gavin cursed under his breath. “Balls.”

He lunged forward, hurrying along the street to catch up to Wrenlow before he did something too foolish. His friend had disappeared.

“Where did you go?”

There was no response.

Gavin swung his gaze from side to side. Nothing had suggested that Wrenlow would be in any danger, but there was the possibility he could have been surprised by someone. Gavin hadn’t seen anything, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything out here.

The likelihood was high that there was something here, especially because of the reason Gavin had come here. There was magic. He was certain of it.

Standing in place, he could feel the tingling in the air, the cold washing of power over him that still flowed here. He just had to discover the source of it. Not enchanter magic, he was sure. Maybe sorcery, but would there be another sorcerer in the city already?

They’d dealt with far too many recently, and now Gavin had to believe that the Fates would leave them alone, especially with the threat that he might use the dark egg and release the semarrl.

“Wrenlow?” he tried again.

There was still no answer.

Balls.

For Wrenlow, this was supposed to be scouting. He wasn’t supposed to get into any trouble. Gavin slipped along the street, looking at each of the buildings for anything that might be out of place. The buildings were taller here, mostly two stories and made of stone and wood. A few trees lined the street, as if someone had thought the razor-sharp leaves of the bells trees might deter activity here. Under normal circumstances, they might.

Gavin skimmed the roofline but didn’t see anything. Many of these buildings had peaked roofs. They would be far too difficult for Wrenlow to have scaled without Gavin noticing.

Where had he gone?

“Wrenlow, if you’re there, I need some sort of signal.”

A faint breeze drifted along the street, carrying with it the smells of the forest just beyond the border of the city. The odor of the earth mingled with that of pine and the strange jestel trees that were scattered throughout the forest, though it wasn’t the trees that carried the odor so much as it was their berries.

“I’m here,” his friend said softly.

Gavin breathed out a sigh of relief, hating that he felt so unsettled and also that Wrenlow had put him through this.

“What were you doing?” Gavin asked, slipping back and following along a nearby building. This one was a low warehouse that stunk of dung and ash.

“I saw something and decided to investigate,” Wrenlow said. “You said scout, so I’m scouting. Shouldn’t I want to be more involved? That’s what you’re training me for.”

Gavin could only shake his head. It was the same thing he would’ve done, so he couldn’t get too angry with Wrenlow, especially as Gavin had been training him to be more independent. But he needed Wrenlow to recognize his limitations as well. Losing his friend and having him sneak off like that on a job where he was still trying to learn his skills left Gavin worried.

“Which building did you go into?” Gavin asked.

“It’s not far from where I was. Looks like a warehouse. I saw the door swinging slightly ajar.”

Gavin frowned. He was near a warehouse, though obviously not the same one Wrenlow had disappeared into. As he looked along the street, he found where Wrenlow had slipped off to.

“We were supposed to find information and then go in together.”

“Come on, Gavin,” Wrenlow said. His voice still sounded hushed, as if he was concerned about what he uncovered. More than that, he sounded uncertain. Maybe unsettled. “I just poked my head inside the warehouse. Besides, we came here to find information together, didn’t we?”

“Together,” Gavin snapped. He could imagine Wrenlow grinning, and he shook the thought away.

He darted down the street, staying crouched and moving in the shadows of the night. At the end of the street, he could see only a bit of movement—barely enough for him to understand just what had caught Wrenlow’s attention, but he realized why Wrenlow would’ve gone in. It was an unusual-looking building.

Gavin had explored quite a bit of Yoran in his time here. He couldn’t be effective at his job otherwise, but he didn’t remember this warehouse. It would have stood out to him. Warehouses were found all throughout the city, only most of them were made of wood. This looked to be made of a gray stone, almost completely smooth. There was something off about it, and it took a moment for him to realize what it was.

Magic.

These days, he was far more aware of magic around him than he had ever been before. Often, he could feel when it was used near him. The sensation was that of cold water washing over him. At least it invigorated him when he felt it.

Detecting magic was useful, though.

There were enchantments upon the building. Gavin would wager on that.

But