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

the stone wolf’s back, wanting to reassure himself. He kept his El’aras dagger unsheathed but saw no indication of magic.

The enchantment remained in his ear, and he waited for it to crackle and make noise to indicate some sign of Wrenlow, but so far there had been nothing.

“How deep into the forest do we have to go?” Gaspar asked, sweeping around one of the trees.

There wasn’t much undergrowth here. The pine trees left the forest littered with needles, and the aroma filled Gavin’s nostrils, though it was not unpleasant. It struck a memory for him, and he remembered everything he had gone through at that time.

“Not much farther,” Gavin whispered.

The afternoon sun sent shadows streaking across the forest floor by the time they reached the clearing. He tapped the stone wolf on the back, and the creature paused at the edge of the clearing the way Gavin had once paused with Tristan. He looked at Gavin, waiting.

The paint on the shutters of the quaint wooden house had faded over time. Grass and weeds grew unchecked around the home, but it still looked cozy. Comfortable. No smoke drifted from the chimney. A trampled path led to the doorway, suggesting that others had been here recently.

“Here?” Gaspar murmured.

Gavin nodded. “This is it.”

“Why do you think he would’ve brought Wrenlow out here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, if we’re going to be out here, we might as well go and see what they’ve been doing.”

Gavin breathed out a slow sigh as he stared at the house, but he doubted that he could do anything other than keep moving. He stepped forward, and as soon as he did, the skin along his arms grew tight and started to tingle, leaving him awash with an uncomfortable sensation.

He held his hand out, but it was too late.

Gaspar grunted and became frozen in place.

“Magic,” Gavin said, glancing off to the side where Imogen was still making her way through the forest, staying a few steps behind them. She hadn’t stepped forward through the strange, shimmering barrier that created the power that had enveloped him.

She unsheathed her sword. In the fading daylight, it seemed to glow.

That had to be his imagination. Why would her blade be glowing?

“You need to get me free, boy,” Gaspar said. “We’re going to do this together.”

Gavin focused on his core reserves, and instead of only using that, he decided to try something different. He grabbed one of the enchantments for strength and pushed a connection through it. He took a step. It felt like he was plunging through mud, but he was able to move.

“He’s trying to deplete my magic,” Gavin said.

“All of this is to weaken you?”

“All of this is to try to draw me out.” Gavin looked over to the house. Would Wrenlow even be there? It was worthwhile for him to find out, but if he was there, Gavin didn’t know if he would be able to do anything.

“Try using your enchantments,” Gavin said.

He turned and backed toward Gaspar, trying to focus on the power within him and attempting to use as much as he could to reach Gaspar. But Gavin didn’t know how he was going to be able to free him once he got to him. Removing that power around Gaspar was going to be difficult, if not impossible. The old thief would have to find a way to fight through it himself.

“There’s some sort of magical trigger here,” Gavin said. “I don’t know what it is, but we have to figure it out.” He glanced over to Imogen, who stood among the trees. “Do you think you can figure out what’s holding us?”

She nodded.

Gavin turned back to Gaspar. “Imogen is going to help you.”

“Dammit, boy, don’t you go leaving me here.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Gavin said. “I’m just going to see if Wrenlow is inside.”

“We’re a team,” Gaspar snapped. “That’s how we pull this off. That’s how we surprise him.”

Gavin stopped. He took a deep breath, and he looked back. “You’re right. We’re a team.” He continued pushing on power through the enchantment, using as much energy as he could to force himself forward, trudging through the mud that made it so that he could barely move.

He reached Gaspar and looked around him. Gavin didn’t see anything that looked like it was holding him in place, but he could certainly feel whatever it was that had him trapped. He was all too aware of it.

“Do you have any magic of your own?” Gavin asked.

He had questioned Gaspar about it before, especially after having learned of the constables and their magic, but he had never really pushed Gaspar. He didn’t know if Gaspar had magic, and if he did, whether Gaspar even knew. Davel certainly didn’t believe that he had magic, even now that he worked around it as often as he did. If he chose to accept that, he would learn to use it. If he chose otherwise…

Gaspar stared at him and shook his head. “You know I don’t.”

“Then you’re going to have to draw upon heavy enchantments.”

“I’m not as opposed to that as some people are,” Gaspar said.

“If they fade…”

“If they fade, they fade.”

Gavin reached into the pouch and pulled out several different enchantments. He handed Gaspar three for speed, two for strength, and one for the impermeable skin. Then he moved away.

Gaspar clenched his jaw for a moment, and then took a step. Then another.

“Dammit,” Gaspar muttered. “Not going to be able to sneak around with these kinds of enchantments, now are we?”

“I think that’s the point,” Gavin said.

“You don’t have to seem so happy about it.”

“This isn’t my happy face,” Gavin said. “This is me recognizing that Tristan is trying to weaken us. When the enchantments fade, I have only one other way to get through this.”

“Then let’s hope the enchantments don’t fade,” Gaspar said.

They crept toward the house. Gavin moved slowly, intentionally drawing upon the enchantment. The longer he did that and the more he pulled on power through the enchantment, the harder it was going