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

“I’ve seen enchanters with power that exceeds some sorcerers I’ve dealt with,” Gavin said.

“You have, but not everybody has that same benefit, and not everybody has the same beliefs as you do, Gavin Lorren.”

“She’s dangerous,” he said, shaking his head.

“It seems to me it’s not danger that troubles you.”

Gavin smiled. That was true enough. “I’ve faced dangerous people before, so you’re probably right. I think what bothers me is something I saw on her. A ring. I’ve seen one like it before, though it’s been years.”

“A ring? That could be a simple enchantment.”

He nodded. “You’re probably right, but this is stone and smooth. And it’s similar to one I was supposed to get years ago.”

Zella stiffened and sat up, looking over to Gavin. “What do you mean, a stone ring?”

“Just that. She was wearing a stone ring.”

“Oh no,” she whispered.

“What is it?”

“A Toral,” she said softly. “And somebody we shouldn’t have in the city. The protections here should have prevented her from entering.”

“I don’t get the sense that the type of magic she used is the same kind you have, nor is it the same as other sorcerers have.” He tapped the El’aras dagger. “This blade doesn’t glow the way that it does around you when you use your magic.”

“Then she must be a Toral,” she said. “She’s dangerous, Gavin. But then, I suspect you know that. Do you know what she’s after?”

“She said a t’ranth. I think it’s the dark egg.” He hesitated. This would be asking even more from her. “That’s the other favor I have of you. I need you to keep a particular enchantment as secured as you can make it.”

She frowned. “It will be dangerous for that to be here.”

“It’s safer here than anywhere else in the city.”

Zella squeezed her eyes shut. “You have done so much for us.” She nodded. “I will do this. There is a place only I can access. I hope that will be satisfactory?”

“That’s probably for the best. I don’t want anyone to be tempted.”

She nodded. “When we get your enchantments, I will place it in a secured vault.”

“Thank you.” He relaxed. The egg would be safe. Mekel had proven the enchantments could deflect the woman. And Tristan couldn’t get in here. Not with all the enchanters protecting it. “What can you tell me about a Toral?”

“You haven’t experienced them before?”

He frowned. “I’ve seen a ring like that before. I was even tasked with stealing one from somebody once, but I’ve never known what it meant.”

“If you’ve seen that type of ring and came away with it, then you have done something unheard of that no one else has accomplished. You separated a Toral from their source of power.”

“The ring is the source of the power?”

Zella nodded. “I don’t know much about it. None who are not Toral—or Sul’toral, their masters—know much about it. It’s just spoken about in rumors.”

“How is it that you know anything about this, then?”

“When we were dealing with the attack on the city all those years ago, we were looking for ways to defend ourselves. Somebody suggested calling one of the Toral to come and help.”

“Are they like that? Are they like the sorcerers you used?”

“No,” Zella said. “And those who were wiser recognized that, so they knew better than to do so. But that didn’t change the fact that others believed that the Toral might offer us a measure of safety that we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Gavin thought about what he had dealt with when facing the sorceress. “So, if I separate her from the ring, I can separate her from her power.”

“Maybe. But most of the Toral have other ways of using power.”

“Sorcery,” Gavin said, and Zella nodded. “So she was a sorceress as well.”

“Probably, based on what you have described. And that particular combination of magic is dangerous. We can’t withstand that in the city.”

It was even more reason for Gavin to leave, which meant that he might actually be helping the city by taking Tristan’s job and fulfilling that obligation. It was a strange thing to think about, and stranger still to realize he might need to take the job in order to keep something worse from happening.

Another test, probably.

“What else do you know about them?” he asked.

“I just know that you don’t want to tangle with one.”

“Well, I’ve survived twice now.”

“Yes, but look at you,” she said.

Gavin frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you look exhausted, Gavin.”

He was exhausted. He’d been sitting and talking with Zella, and he had managed to ignore some of the fatigue, but there were limits to how long he could do so. Eventually, that fatigue would continue to overwhelm him, and he would reach a point where he couldn’t tolerate anything more.

“I had to tap into more of my potential than I have in a while,” he said.

“That’s dangerous. I don’t know anything about your magic.” There was a hint in her tone that suggested she knew more than she let on, which wouldn’t surprise Gavin.

Zella had an obligation to the other enchanters. She worked on their behalf, which made her feel as if she had to do everything in her power to help defend them, protect them, and ensure that they did not face the dangers in the city without support. She had been used to leading them, and Gavin still needed for her to do that.

“But you need to be careful when you draw upon that much magic,” Zella continued. “Each person has a limit to how much power they can summon. Magic is part of the natural order of things, and most enchanters, along with sorcerers, come to recognize the limitations they have. But you are something different, aren’t you?”

“I don’t exactly know.” That wasn’t completely true, but he didn’t know how much she knew about him.

“I worry about the city in your absence. I think even Davel will worry, though he would never say that.”

“How about this: you provide me with an enchantment that allows us to communicate, and