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

Somebody who wasn’t here to hurt him.

Gavin stayed ready with the sword and pressed his hand up against the door. As he pushed power through it, he pulled the door open.

Gaspar waited for him on the other side. “Are you going to just stand there dripping, or are you going to let me in?”

“What are you doing here?”

Gaspar grunted. “You think no one knew where you were?”

“I figured you had some idea,” Gavin said.

“Some.” Gaspar shook his head, then looked down the length of the tunnel before turning his attention back to Gavin. “You aren’t so hard to follow, boy. I started keeping track of you when you stopped going to the Dragon. Figured I ought to know if you decided to leave.”

“I told you and Davel that I intend to protect the city.”

“You did,” Gaspar said. “But you go about it in your own sort of way, and how are we supposed to know what you intend to do to protect the city?” He offered a hint of a grin. “Now, are you going to let me in, or do you just plan to stand there looking goofy and dripping.” He took a deep breath and wrinkled his nose. “And you stink.”

“Great.”

Gaspar pushed through him, and Gavin stepped off to the side, letting him in. He closed the door and sealed it again, then turned to Gaspar. In the darkness, he couldn’t make out anything more than a shadow.

“You were just fighting in the dark?” Gaspar asked.

“Practicing,” Gavin said.

“Why?”

“I needed to clear my head.”

“Clear it like you cleared out of Desarra’s home?”

“I wasn’t needed there,” Gavin said. “And I think she would’ve been happier with me gone.”

“What makes you think that? She didn’t send you away, did she?”

“That’s not funny, Gaspar.”

“She’s fine, boy. Imogen brought a healer, and we got her awake. She’s at Jessica’s place now. I’m not exactly sure what happened to her, and neither is she, to be honest. She doesn’t remember a whole lot. Somebody went to her home and knocked her out. When she came around, well, that’s when we were there.”

“Did she know anything about Wrenlow and Olivia?”

“No, other than that they had been there.”

“So Tristan took them from Desarra’s home?”

That didn’t make sense. Gavin wouldn’t expect Tristan to break into someone’s home.

But then, it probably wasn’t Tristan who had pulled the job. He would’ve had somebody else do it. Tristan had someone attack Gavin, and then another person had brought Gavin the message about what had happened to Wrenlow, so it only made sense that he would’ve hired somebody else to take Wrenlow and Olivia.

“Did she remember anything else?” he asked.

“What’s there for her to remember? Somebody attacked her, and that’s about it. She don’t remember much of that, and I don’t expect her to either. Not with what she went through. At this point, you just have to get past it.” Gaspar stopped on the other side of the table and grabbed the lantern, quickly lighting it and casting the room in a faint glow. “Unless you intended to take off. Is that what you’re going to do, boy?”

“I’ve got to do the job if I want to get them back. I’m the reason this is all happening, Gaspar. I’m the reason that Tristan is even attacking.”

“That might be true, but that don’t mean you got to do this by yourself.”

“You don’t want me around. You’ve made that clear.”

“Well, I can’t deny that you’ve been a pain in my ass, but you have done a few good things in the city.”

Gavin sighed. “I’m the reason Cyran was here. I’m the reason the Mistress of Vines came.”

“And you’re also the reason the constables aren’t chasing down enchanters any longer. Gods, you might even be responsible for getting me back with Desarra.” Gaspar shook his head. “Not that I’d ever really give you credit for that. But it’s not all bad. Not like anything is all bad. There’s always a little bit of good if you dig deep enough.”

“I know Tristan,” Gavin said.

“You told me. You might not think you’ve shared a whole lot, but in the time you’ve been in Yoran, you’ve talked about him endlessly. Almost too much, if I’m honest—at least, that was what I would’ve said before he decided to make himself known. Now that he has, now that he’s targeted people we care about, it changes things, don’t it?”

“I need to do this by myself,” Gavin said.

“Is that what he would expect out of you?”

“Yes.”

“Even more reason for you not to do it like that, then, isn’t it?”

Gavin grunted. “If anybody else comes with me and tries to get involved in this, I know what Tristan is going to do.”

“You think this man is some sort of super powerful person, but he can be beaten, just like anybody can be beaten.”

“I have enough experience with him to know just what he’s capable of.”

“Capable, bah!” Gaspar waved his hand. “I’ve seen what you can do, so I’m not terribly worried.”

Gavin started to smile. He didn’t know if that was an insult or a compliment. Either way, it still made him laugh.

“That kid wanted to be involved,” Gaspar went on. “He’s been trying to get involved ever since you came to the city, or haven’t you noticed?”

“I’ve noticed,” Gavin said. “To be honest, I resisted training him for the longest time. I knew he wouldn’t be able to handle some of the things I have to.”

“Why did you think he had to handle the same things you do?”

“I suppose he doesn’t.”

“Exactly. You got a kid who can dig into things better than anybody else I ever met.” Gaspar rapped his knuckles on the table. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

“Look at you, getting soft. Ever since you got a woman—or got your woman back, I should say—the edge within you is gone.”

“I still got plenty of edge,” Gaspar said, flourishing his knives and spinning them for a moment before pocketing them again. “It’s just something Jessica pointed out to me.”

“What’s