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

ring. Now that I’ve faced the Toral, I understand it was a Toral ring. He wanted me to acquire it for him.”

“The Toral have a unique sort of magic,” Anna said. “Distinct from others. It is drawn from a greater power, though it takes immense control in order to hold on to it.”

“Is that why she was a sorceress?”

With a frown, she turned her attention to the house, and she held her hands out from her. A bluish color began to spiral out from her hands and headed toward the building, washing through it before withdrawing again. It happened quickly, in little more than a blink of an eye. As she used that magic, Gavin felt the way she poured that power out from her, even if he had no idea what she was doing.

Anna glanced over to him. “You could do that, you realize, Gavin Lorren.”

“I don’t think that I could.”

“You underestimate yourself, but you need not. You have the potential. You’ve already proven you do. All you need is the willingness to utilize that power.”

“It’s more than just a willingness,” Gavin said.

“Are you afraid of it?” she asked.

“Should I not be?”

“It is a part of you, no different than your heart or lungs.”

“I can’t choose whether or not my heart or lungs work,” Gavin said.

“Then perhaps it is a part of you no different than the fighter you have become.” She smiled slightly. “That might be the better comparison, after all. You can learn to use it, much like you can learn to become the fighter. It just takes time.”

“I’m not so sure that I have the time necessary right now to do that.”

“You have chosen not to.” She looked over to him and studied him. “There will always be another assignment, Gavin. That is how you were trained, and that is how your mind works. I know men like you, and I know you view yourself as needing to take on the next task, and then the next. You have rarely paused, to continue your own education, since leaving your mentor.”

“I find I need to continue my education during my journeys,” Gavin said.

“Only you haven’t journeyed, have you?” Anna asked.

“What is this about?”

“It is about nothing more than what I have said. You must be challenged. I can see that, unfortunately. It seems that, regardless of what approach we take, fate has something in mind for each of us.” She said the last part softly, and when she looked up, she held his gaze. The strange, sad expression lingered in her eyes before she blinked it clear.

“Maybe when we solve this issue with Tristan.” Gavin didn’t know if he would have the time that he needed even after that, or whether he would still find himself drawn into something else, something more than what he’d already done.

She smiled at him. “Perhaps.”

“It would be easier if I didn’t have to go to the El’aras lands.”

“Easier, but not better for you.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because you would not be given the opportunity to learn what must be learned. You cannot do that here.”

“Why not?”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “So many questions, but you have done nothing to find the answers.”

“I’ve been trying to understand the power I have,” he said.

“Let me guess. You use it with bursts of energy.”

“Well…”

She laughed again. “It is uncontrolled. When you use it in that way, you have no finesse. You will find you use far more energy than is necessary, and that lack of control becomes detrimental.”

“I know,” Gavin said. “I’ve had to use the sh’rasn several times.”

“Dangerous,” she whispered.

“I understand the consequences.”

She watched him, her mouth pressed in a tight frown. “Your training gives you a certain ability to withstand what most would not. It also places you in danger others would not be in. Because of your training, you run the risk of drawing upon more energy from yourself than you should. It puts you in a position where you might overwhelm yourself.”

“I know,” Gavin said.

“But it also places you in a unique position where you might be able to do more.” She shook her head. “Unfortunately, I don’t know what to tell you, other than that you must be careful, Gavin Lorren.”

“I don’t have much choice,” he said. “I’m running out of the sh’rasn powder, anyway.”

“I might be able to do something about that.” She reached underneath her dappled forest-green cloak and pulled out a jar, which she handed to him. “Be careful with it, though. As you’ve seen, there are limits, even if you know how to push past them.”

“I know there are,” he said. “Just as I know that I have to find my way beyond them.”

“There are some limits that you will not be able to push past. Not easily. I caution you.” She turned her attention back to the house. “I wonder why your mentor would’ve gone after a Toral ring. He would not have been able to access that power without appropriate training.”

“Given Tristan’s resources, it’s possible he had that training,” Gavin said.

Anna frowned. “It is something for me to consider,” she said, shaking her head. She turned back to him. “If there is nothing else, I will depart.”

“You could help.” Gavin reached out and touched her on the wrist. “Find my friend Wrenlow. And Olivia. Help me stop Tristan.”

She smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, it was difficult enough for me to slip away as it is. Had you not assisted me with what you had done before, I would not have come, but you have proven your value to my people.”

There was something in the way she said “my people” that suggested it was more than just hers, but also his. Gavin didn’t feel like the El’aras were his people, but she certainly seemed to.

“And I must be leaving,” she said. “It is time for me to return to what I must do, and you must be ready for what you must do.”

“What’s going on?”

She hesitated, then breathed out slowly. “Perhaps you should know. You may be