Serpent of Fire (19 page)

“It seems our only protection is replacing the barriers, not lowering them,” Roine said. “With the barriers, we can keep this elemental out of the kingdoms.”

“Or trap it inside,” Tan said.

“Then you will need to draw it away,” Roine suggested.

“And leave the other nations in danger?” Tan asked. It wasn’t even the idea of leaving others in danger that bothered Tan. It was the idea of leaving the elementals exposed to kaas, knowing what the fire elemental would do. “How would the delegation from Chenir would react if they heard that plan?”

“My responsibility isn’t to the other nations,” Roine said. “And neither is yours.”

“We can’t abandon the elementals, Roine, not even if it means our safety.”

“Tan—” he started.

Tan shook his head. “I will do everything I can to keep the kingdoms safe, but my responsibility is to more than this,” he said, raising the hand with the ring. “It’s to all of this.” He swept his hand around the room, drawing briefly on the elementals. Power surged as he did. Wind gusted, the ground trembled, water slicked the walls, and fire bloomed in his hand. “If we replace the barriers, you will force me to choose. Please,” he said, “don’t ask that of me.”

W
hen the morning came and he again made his way through the streets toward the archives to try and find something that might help them stop kaas, Tan felt shaping near the university.

It was a different sense than anything he’d ever detected before. There was strength and power and control, but the way the elements wove together in the shaping was unique. There was a certain layering to them that Tan had never sensed from the kingdoms’ shapers.

He wrapped himself in a shaping of fire and kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, uncertain what he might find. Not Par-shon. It seemed improbable—though not impossible—that Par-shon would have made their way this far into the kingdoms only to demonstrate their shapings. That meant another type of shaper.

There was only one other explanation that Tan could come up with.

As he reached the university plaza, passing beneath the restored arch that marked the entrance, a gathering of people awaited. A thin man of average height stood near the shapers circle, working with earth. He was dressed in baggy brown leggings and a jacket that hung open, revealing a scarred chest. A younger woman stood next to him in a matching dress, a plunging neckline revealing more than most in Ethea would think proper. She controlled water, adding it to the man’s shaping. The four others standing along with them, each with similar matching clothes, simply watched.

Chenir shapers.

Tan had suspected there would be shapers from Chenir, but had not yet encountered them. Their use of the elements was different than what kingdoms shapers used, different even than what he’d seen from Incendin.

Shapers of the kingdoms stood watching, all master level: Ferran, Cianna, Alan, Nels, and Dolf. Not Zephra or Roine, Tan noted.

Near the back wall stood Seanan. He watched with an interested expression, fire burning brightly in his palm. Tan noted the way he flickered the shaping, twirling it around his fingers, using more control than he’d seen from him yet. Every so often, Seanan would pause and twist the fire shaping again before releasing it.

When Seanan saw him watching, he tipped his head slightly and released the shaping.

Tan turned his attention back to the Chenir shapers. What were they doing here? A demonstration, like the drumming last night, or was this something else?

As he watched, he noted that the man began tapping his foot. The earth shaping didn’t change, but there was a low and steady movement that came as he tapped. Had Tan not seen the performance the night before, and had Ferran not made the observation that he had, Tan doubted that he would recognize what he saw. The earth shaper summoned golud into the shaping.

This was what he’d been sensing the last few days.

Tan frowned. Was he
speaking
to golud? The music from the night before certainly had elements of it, but this was different. This was shaping, and drawing the elementals into the shaping, much like Tan did when he had saa assume control of a fire shaping.

Using spirit mixed with earth, he searched for signs of a Par-shon bond but found nothing. That didn’t ease the anxiety rising to the surface of his mind.

Would the water shaper do something similar?

He noticed that one hand rested on her chest and tapped, though not with the same rhythm that the earth shaper used. Tan was attuned to water and could speak easily to the nymid. Because of this, he was able to detect something of what the tapping over her heart did, but not all of it. The rhythm was that of her heartbeat—that of the blood flowing through her veins—a steady tapping, one that could almost remind him of waves on the shore. Nymid would be drawn to it as well.

A rising thrill came to him. Did they know how they worked with the elementals as they shaped, or was it accidental? Even if it was accidental, it seemed to Tan that the kingdom shapers could learn from Chenir.

What of wind? And fire?

He waited, but the earth shaper continued his demonstration. Water continued to weave into the shaping, adding to it. What they created was much more powerful than what they would have been able to do alone.

And it reminded Tan of the way the nymid supported golud deep beneath the city. There was the same sort of combination there, the same support. Water and earth, much like fire and air. Together, they were stronger.

That was important, Tan suspected.

But kaas was fire and earth. They should be opposites, not working together, not able to support each other. Earth always tempered fire, but in this case, it seemed the elemental had aspects of both.

Asboel must have known, but why keep it from him?

The shaping slowly started to taper off. Tan realized that he’d come too close and now stood between the Chenir shapers and those of the kingdoms. Both sides watched him.

Cianna laughed softly and covered her mouth.

Ferran tilted his head toward Tan. “Athan,” he said respectfully.

To Tan’s surprise, the other kingdoms’ shapers all copied Ferran’s nod.

Tan forced a smile. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I sensed the shaping here and…” He trailed off, glancing at the Chenir shapers.

The young water shaper watched him, her dark eyes narrowed as if trying to solve a puzzle. “You sensed the shaping? Then you are a water shaper?”

Ferran took a step forward. “This is Tannen Minden, Athan to Theondar, King Regent of the kingdoms.”

He spoke it formally and made a motion toward Tan with his arms that he augmented with an earth shaping.

Tan stood in front of the Chenir shapers, not certain what he should say. The water shaper continued to study him while the earth shaper held his arms close to his chest, his foot tapping softly. Tan noticed that the water shaper continued to tap at her chest. A soft whispering floated in the air, and Tan felt the tug of a wind shaping as well. Not ara, and not ashi. There was none of the painful buzz of ilaz. That left wyln, though Tan had never spoken to that wind elemental. And then, there was the soft draw of fire, different than saa or the draasin.

He closed his eyes, reaching for the fire bond. Once connected, he sensed the way that fire was shaped, drawn from a shaper with short black hair and a long, hooked nose. The elemental summoned was different than any Tan recognized. Not saldam. Cora had described what saldam would look like. That meant inferin. The elemental was wispy, but real, not drawn by fire—not like saa—but surrounding the heat of the shaper’s body, layered over him like a blanket. Tan couldn’t tell if there was a bond or not, but the elemental responded regardless.

I’ve never seen inferin,
he said in a whisper to the elemental. His time working with Asboel and trying to understand saa had given him an understanding of fire elementals, more than any of the others. Studying the way inferin clung to the shaper, he recognized how it added to heat, and now that Tan had seen it, he wondered if he might have seen it other places as well.

The elemental shifted, becoming briefly brighter and then fading to a lighter yellow. Through the fire bond, Tan was able to see it, almost as if he were looking through Asboel’s eyes. The elemental tried hiding, but Tan pushed through the connection he shared with fire.

I am Maelen
, he said to inferin.

The colors swirling in the elemental became motionless and then brightened slightly. It was only a moment, long enough that Tan knew that inferin recognized his name.

What did it mean that all of fire recognized him?

“What is this?” a booming voice asked from near the end of the university.

Tan pulled away from his connection to inferin. A wide man, thick with muscle his flowing robe of deep blue couldn’t hide, approached the Chenir shapers. His eyes narrowed as he approached. Before Tan completely separated from the fire bond, he recognized the way inferin pulled back from the man. Even the drawing of golud from the steady tapping eased. The wind shifted, blowing cool again, ara’s influence returning.

The water shaper bowed her head. “We came to this place of power so that we might find him—”

The man shot her a dangerous look and she fell silent.

No one spoke for a moment. Tan realized that he would have to break the silence.

“I am Tannen Minden, Athan to Theondar,” he said. “It seems our shapers were,” he paused and glanced back at Ferran, who met his gaze for a moment and then looked down, “sharing with each other.”

The man stopped near Tan and leaned closer than was comfortable. He sniffed at the air, drawing a shaping of wind. “You are young to serve such a role. You must be Theondar’s heir.”

Tan frowned. Already he didn’t care for this man. “Theondar has no heir,” he said.

“You don’t know who this—” Ferran started.

Tan silenced him with a shake of his head.

The Chenir man grunted and pushed past Tan, bumping up against Tan’s arm, as if deciding that he wasn’t important. Tan felt strength to him, more than would be explained by his size.

The man approached the Chenir shapers and spoke to them in hushed breaths. Wind shaping kept their words from carrying. When he was done, the shapers and turned away from the university, ushered by the man without another word.

Alan and Nels started into the rebuilt university. Dolf stared after the Chenir delegation for a moment, and then followed, moving into the street and disappearing. Only Ferran and Cianna remained.

“Who was that?” Tan asked.

Cianna laughed. “For all that you know, you can still be stupid.”

“Inform me,” he said.

“That is Tolstan Vreth, Supreme Leader of Chenir,” Ferran answered.

Tan hadn’t realized that the Chenir leader had come to the kingdoms. Roine had mentioned ambassadors only. “Why would he need so many shapers with him?” Tan asked.

“Protection. When King Althem lived,” Ferran said, and Tan noted how he still gave the honorific. “He would never travel without a shaper escort. Many times, he had Theondar with him, though he was known as Roine then and few knew that he was a warrior shaper. I suspect the Supreme Leader feels much the same as King Althem,” Ferran finished.

Tan snorted. “And much like with Althem, protection isn’t really needed, is it?”

“Why would you say that?” Ferran asked.

“You didn’t recognize what he did?” Tan asked.

Cianna shook her head. Ferran frowned and scratched at his chin. “You think that he shapes as well?”

“Not just shapes. He’s a warrior shaper,” Tan said.

Ferran’s eyes widened slightly. “You must inform Theondar.”

Tan nodded. “It’s possible that he already knows. That might be why Theondar welcomed them to the city.”

The timing troubled Tan even more now that he knew. Why would Chenir visit at the same time Par-shon, through kaas, attacked? It was possible that the reason was simply tied to a desire to meet Theondar now that he had assumed the title of king regent, but Par-shon had attacked Doma, Incendin, and the kingdoms. Why would Chenir be any different?

“Did you sense how their earth shaper called to golud?” Tan asked.

Ferran’s frown deepened. “I sensed… something. I could not place what it was and golud would not explain.”

Tan wondered if the tapping had been unintentional or if they had known what they were doing. Likely they had known. “Did golud still respond when they were here?” Tan asked.

Ferran nodded. “The connection remains.” There was still relief in his voice as he said it.

Tan shifted to look at Cianna. “And you. Did you see anything from their fire shaper?”

Cianna titled her head. “They claimed they didn’t have a fire shaper.”

Why would they keep that secret from them? Did they think that the kingdoms feared fire shaping? Or were they trying to keep a secret their way of reaching fire?

“Inferin,” Tan said. “The elemental was wrapped around the man with the pointed nose.”

Cianna’s eyes widened.

“What will you do with this, Athan?” Ferran asked.

“Nothing, for now. Keep your eyes open. We will need to learn why Chenir came. And we need to know how they speak to the elementals.” That might be useful to other shapers in facing Par-shon.

Cianna glanced toward the street. “You think they work with Par-shon?”

“Anything is possible,” he said, but he’d seen no signs of the forced bond from them. That didn’t mean they didn’t help Par-shon, only that the bond was not clear. “If they do, and with their shapers within Ethea, we need to be prepared.”

“And you?” Ferran asked.

“I’ll do what I can to learn why they’re here. The elementals will remain vigilant for us.”

T
an followed the sense of fire shaping, letting it pull him through the streets. Night had fallen, and with it, the sounds of the city changed, coming alive again in ways that it hadn’t in so many months. If he let himself—and were Amia with him—Tan thought that he could simply enjoy the sounds around him. He wanted the chance to simply wander, to enjoy the minstrels playing at street corners, or pause and eat from one of the meat vendors or bakers with carts pushed out near the gathering squares. A part of him wanted to return to how it had been before he knew about shaping and the elementals, but he couldn’t. His responsibilities precluded taking that time for himself.

A soft tinkling of bells caught his attention, drawing him away from the sense of fire shaping. Tan turned to it, recognizing the sound of the Aeta bells. Had one of the families finally come into the city to trade? After the Par-shon attack that had claimed several of their wagons, they had come into the city briefly, but departed again as soon as it was deemed safe.

He made his way toward the sound. Mixed with it was the steady, rhythmic sense that he’d come to recognize as the Chenir shaping with the elementals, but he saw no sign of Chenir shapers. The crowd around him thickened, and he pushed through slowly. He could leap to the wagons on a shaping of wind, but that would do nothing but scare off the traders. When he finally reached the wagons, he saw the splashes of color marking them, though dark curtains covered one. Something about the wagons was off, though he couldn’t quite place what that might be.

Tan stopped at the opening in the circle. A line of people waited for access, and Tan didn’t force through here. He had no need. Most saw his sword and parted, giving him clearance. Some nodded as he passed, almost as if recognizing him.

When he reached the front of the wagons, two men stood screening the potential traders. It reminded Tan of when Amia had come to the Aeta in Ethea, before she’d been captured and brought from the city. One of the men spoke softly with a man dressed in dark leathers.

Tan used a shaping of wind to listen.

“We have cannot risk much longer here,” the leather-clad man said.

“The others grow restless. It’s dangerous this close to the city. How much longer will the drawing require?”

“I don’t know. The songs are complicated and we can’t risk leaving before we know—”

“And we can’t risk staying. Not with this many of their…” He paused and glanced around, noting Tan watching him. With a shake of his head, he waved the other man off.

As Tan approached, the men studied him. “No weapons,” one of the men said.

“I could leave it behind, if it would please the Mother,” he said. Tan wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving his warrior sword behind, but he needed to learn what about these wagons made him uncomfortable. If not for him, then for Amia.

He made a point of reaching for his connection to her, letting the spirit bond draw her into his consciousness. She was never far from him, the connection never that distant. He had a sense of her sitting near the Great Fire and shaping. Teaching. Mixed with it was a sense of contentment. Tan hated that he would disturb that.

“No weapons,” the man said again.

“How long will you trade?” Tan asked. There was something about the conversation he’d overheard that he felt was important. If he could only get past and speak to them more, he might understand why.

“We leave in the morning,” the man said, not meeting Tan’s eyes.

“To join the other families?” he asked.

The man looked past Tan, only increasing his anxiety.

“You have seen the First Mother?” Tan pressed. “They’re camped outside the city. The Great Fire welcomes all families.” He made a point of using a phrase he’d heard from other Aeta.

The man didn’t respond to him, instead nodding to the next person in line. He made a point of ignoring Tan, looking past him. The other Aeta would not look at him either.

Rather than forcing the issue, Tan turned away.
There is something amiss
, he sent to Amia.

I will come.

No. Follow this wagon as it departs,
Tan suggested.
Be prepared.

He sensed amusement from her.
If they are of the People, I can manage them.

Standing in the street, he focused again on the sense of fire shaping that had drawn him initially, listening for the Chenir shaping. At first he heard nothing, as if Chenir was aware that he listened and had stopped whatever shaping they attempted. Distantly, he heard it. The sound was there, somewhere in the city. Mixed within the fire shaping was the strange Chenir call to the elementals.

Tan followed the sense of the shaping, trailing after it. It drew him through the streets, pulling him away from the crowds and into parts of the city where the rebuilding took longer. Homes still showed signs of the damage done to them by the draasin and the attack from the lisincend. Some had crumbled completely, falling into disrepair, leaving piles of ash and fallen stone littered along the street. Efforts had been made to move the piles back away from the main thoroughfare, but much still encroached, spilling out and onto the roadway.

How had the rest of the city been rebuilt, but this part left untouched?

There weren’t any people moving in the streets at this time of night, at least not in this part of the city. Tan made his way slowly, letting the sense of the fire shaping draw him. Maybe there would be nothing.

He reached a section of the city where even the sounds of the minstrels had faded away. Tan paused, wondering if he should keep going. A part of him felt uncomfortable, and he hated that he should feel that way in the city.

Fire surged again, this time closer. Tan continued, turning at an intersecting corner, always feeling like the sense of fire was a few steps ahead of him.

Then the street widened again, letting back out into the crowds, where street noise and music reached him again. Here the sense of fire faded, disappearing as if he’d never sensed anything at all.

He stopped, turning around and trying to get his bearings. Nearby was a well-developed part of Ethea. The homes here were massive and sprawling, and some had walls built around them, setting them apart from the rest of the street. The damage from the attacks months ago didn’t seem to have reached here, or if it had, the people living here had the means to promptly make repairs.

Where had the fire shaping gone?

Tan listened, focusing as he had learned to do to the fire bond, but came up with nothing.

It was time for him to return to his home. As much as he hated it without Amia, he needed rest.

Heading back to the main thoroughfare winding through Ethea, he began to have the sense that someone trailed him. Tan continued, uncertain what he detected and resisting the urge to shape his way back home.

Instead, he paused and stretched out with a spirit sensing that he pulled through his sword.

The sense of spirit gave him awareness of everything around him. Most of the people wandering through the streets moved with purpose, enjoying the night, the sounds of music, the festival-like mood the city had taken on, and the return of something almost like normalcy.

Tan pushed beyond that connection, reaching to find the vague sense that he was being followed. As he did, he recognized what bothered him.

He spun. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he added water sensing to the touch of spirit.

He found her standing at an intersection, pressed up against the buildings, hiding from the light streaming from the lanterns. The Chenir water shaper watched him, her eyes not showing any sign of fear. From spirit sensing, Tan recognized that she was more curious than afraid.

“Are you following me?” he asked.

She took a step toward him and tipped her head. One hand patted her chest as she did. Tan recognized the way the movement called to the nymid.

“Not following. I saw you and wanted to know how you shape water.”

Tan frowned. She seemed to want to know more than that, but he didn’t say it. “What do you do when you tap your chest like that?” he asked.

This close to her, he could smell her, a mixture of salt water and fresh rain, an interesting combination. The tapping she did over her chest hesitated. As it did, the nymid sank back and away from her, drifting back into the bones of the city.

“It is nothing more than a habit,” she said.

“A habit you use to summon water elementals?” he asked.

She tensed and started to turn. He touched her shoulder and pulled her back to face him.

“Does it work with all water elementals, or is the rhythm different?”

“What do you know of the elementals?” she asked.

Tan considered denying his connection, but doing so would keep him from learning what he needed. If there was anything the Chenir shapers could teach him about reaching the elementals, then he needed to take it. “You call to the nymid with your tapping,” Tan said.

He thought she might deny it, but she turned back to him and nodded. “How is it you know this? Have you studied in Chenir?”

“Not in Chenir.”

“Then how?”

“Because I speak to the elementals. And I can feel what you do when you summon them. It’s the same with the drumming and golud.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re a warrior.”

“I am.”

She backed away from him, starting to turn down the street. “I should not be here with you.”

“Why? What are you afraid of?”

“Afraid? Not afraid of anything. Only that I risked too much coming here alone.”

“I don’t understand.”

The woman hurried away from him, leaving Tan staring after her with more questions than he had before, and still uncertain if Chenir worked with Par-shon.