Asunder: A Gathering of Chaos by Cameron Hopkin (children's ebooks free online .txt) 📕

“Yes,” she said. “But not as quickly or for as long as this one,” she qualified, pulling another phial out, “which is what I’ve been using so far. I hadn’t thought to switch so soon, but it seems you’re hardier than we thought.” With a shrug, he opened his mouth and accepted the tincture. “Besides, I’m sick of helping you piss.”

“What’s the addictive element?” Guyrin sounded genuinely curious and not at all resentful, which Gamarron could hardly credit.

“Ghost cane extract,” Renna said. “It’s my own formulation. I’ve managed to eliminate almost all effects other than a mild euphoria and, of course, the dependency aspect. Also, uh, you should avoid spicy food, or your anus will bleed. Still working on that. It’s mixed with painkillers for the hash withdrawal and chemical salts to draw out the toxins. And a sedative.”

“Sleep doesn’t sound so bad,” the haggard boy admitted. He sat in silence for a moment, and then ventured, “I’d like to thank you all.”

Nira coughed on the bit of sausage she had stolen. “Are you serious?”

He looked up at her, timid and confused. “I think so. Why wouldn’t I be?”

The girl sputtered and looked to her companions, trying to find someone who shared her outraged bewilderment. “Because you...!” She faltered, seeming to be unsure of what she should say to this seemingly-gentle wretch. “Do you not remember us? How we met?”

Guyrin spread his hands in apology. “I can’t seem to recall very much from the last several weeks. Months? Are we still in Lotus?”

“First week of Mandar,” Kest said.

The chaos wielder shook his head. “Goddess take me. It’s all a blur. They were feeding me so much hash. Those noble boys have an appetite, I tell you, and they were always there. They could go home and sober up, but when they did there was always another group showing up to party. I got so paranoid – I’d wake up sweating and only the smoke helped.  I’d think the shadows had faces, that they were hunting me.” He paused, a look of wonder on his face. “I don’t feel it anymore. What did you do?”

“I’ve been drawing it out of your system since you first joined us,” Renna said proudly. “The joint pain may linger, but the effects on your mind should already be fading.”

Guyrin stared into the fire, eyes suddenly shining with unshed tears. “Thank you. I’ve been so scared. I couldn’t trust my senses. I even thought the Atrillmers were trying to kill me.”

“Sooo...” ventured Nira, poking into the fire again with her stick. “You don’t remember us at all? Or how you came to us?”

The chaos wielder shrugged. “Not a thing. I assume you kidnapped me. I was told that sort of thing happens.”

“You don’t mind?” Kest asked, incredulous.

“Maybe I should, but... do you know how people come to wield the Chaos?”

Gamarron leaned forward. “I have heard tales, but I thought the secret was closely guarded.”

The young man nodded, tousled curls bouncing. “Oh, it is. Most chaos wielders I’ve heard of would rather kill you than tell you how they gained their power. But it turns out I’m not a very good chaos wielder – I haven’t got the balls for it. So who cares? It’s my secret. I’ll tell it if I please. Who’s going to stop me?

“I got myself into a truly stupid amount of debt before I was even twenty and managed to betray, offend, or scare off anybody that could have helped. My father still thinks I’m responsible for my mother’s death. I’m not, by the way, but I am guilty of pretty much any other thing you care to think of. I was on the run, hiding from debt collectors, the City Watch of Hyden, and also this one girl’s very angry fiancé. I was out of money, out of luck, and I happened to duck into a tavern where a chaos wielder was being transported by his masters. The guards were drunk and so was he, and I stole a tankard and sat with them. Had no idea who I was talking to at first, but he liked to brag, this one. I got to thinking that maybe I should go out looking for the Chaos. Who would dare trouble me then, right?”

“So I asked the fellow. Worst thing to do, knowing what I know now, but I was desperate and stupid. And, it turns out, he was in a talking mood. He told me where he had found the Chaos. It can surface anywhere, but there’s one spot out in the wilds where it happens more often.”

“Where?” asked Renna avidly.

He gave a weak laugh. “I’m far too sober to tell you that. But I went, and, and, and… I found it. A pool of liquid shining like the sun, no deeper than my hand and small enough to step across. I didn’t even stop to think; I just stuck my face in and drank it up. Stupid. It can kill you, did you know that? Roll of the dice.”

“Chosen by chance,” whispered Nira, eyes distant.

“Not a bad way to put it. When I saw that I had lived and my mind was working right again, I went to Megalith. The other one, he’d told me how it works: you find someone powerful and demand to be taken into service. They give you what you want and protect you. It was everything I needed. I knew the Atrillmers were the most powerful family in the city, so I marched up to the gates and told them I wanted girls and wine. The hash came later. I never was any good at making a deal.”

He looked back to Kest. “The point is, I don’t care that you took me. Kidnapped me. Whatever. I gave up on being in charge of my life a long time ago. You’re already treating me better than the Atrillmers did. They gave me things, yes, but they looked at