James Islington - The Shadow Of What Was Lost

“He knows more than he’s saying,” said Asha, tone cold, still not looking around.

“No doubt,” said Nashrel wearily, “ but he’s said enough to damn himself, and this need not get dangerous. We’ll get the rest from him, don’t worry about that.” He stared at Ilseth with a mixture of sadness and disgust. “I defended you when Ashalia made her accusations.”

Ilseth looked as though he were about to protest his innocence, then, seeing the expression on Nashrel’s face, spat in his direction instead. “You are a fool, Nashrel,” he said, making another furious attempt to free his hands. “And you have no chance of getting information from me. You should have let the girl torture me.” He gave Asha a leering smile.

Asha stepped forward and pressed the black disc against Ilseth’s neck.

The Elder’s face and body immediately went still.

“What are you doing, Ashalia?” Nashrel asked. His tone was curious rather than worried.

Only Ilseth’s eyes seemed to be alive now, rolling between her and Nashrel as they spoke. Nashrel didn’t know. All she had to do was to place a finger against that disc, let it tap her Reserve, and Ilseth would suffer the same fate as he had given her.

She raised her hand… and then let it fall again.

“It was the only way to improve his company,” she said, taking her eyes from Ilseth’s face for the first time since she’d entered. She glanced across at Nashrel. “You’ll send word to the palace of any information you get, as we agreed?”

“Of course.” Nashrel watched Ilseth with a thoughtful expression. “This will stay between you, me and a few select Elders I know I can trust. But if we have word of your friends, we will tell you immediately.”

“Thank-you, Elder Eilinar.”

She looked at Ilseth again, pinned helplessly to the wall. Suddenly feeling sick, she turned and left the room.

She did not look back.

Davian cracked his knuckles, giving Malshash a confident grin.

“I’m ready.”

Malshash smiled, shaking his head. “You’ve spent half your life trying to use Essence. What makes you so sure you can do it now?”

Davian shrugged. “That wasn’t really my fault. I was being taught to look for it in the wrong place,” he pointed out. “At the school, I was always told that the only way to access Essence was to tap into my Reserve - the internal pool of Essence that every Gifted’s body produces. But I’m not Gifted; I don’t even have a Reserve. As an Augur, I needed to be extracting it from the world around me instead.”

Malshash inclined his head. “True enough, but knowing that isn’t even half the battle. You still need to learn to control Essence, to harness it properly. Remember it’s an energy, active, a force in and of itself. Nothing like kan.”

Davian smiled. “I’ve probably studied more about the nature of Essence and how to use it than any Gifted my age,” he said wryly. “I’ve always felt that if I could just access it, I could use it as well as anyone.”

Malshash grinned. “Very well. This is the final skill I can teach you, so let’s see whether your abilities are a match for your confidence.”

Davian took a deep breath and reached out, feeling the kan all around him, permeating everything. It had been almost indistinguishable at first, but now – only a couple of weeks into his training - he could touch it, grasp it almost without needing to think. Malshash never said so, but Davian could see the look in his eyes after he’d picked up the basics of a new skill in an afternoon, an hour. He was good at this. Very good. It came to him as naturally as breathing.

He concentrated, extending his senses using kan, looking for the telltale glow of Essence. Malshash pulsed with it, but he knew better than to try and extract any from him – Davian would likely just end up hurting his teacher by accident.

He focused harder. A little way down the road, he caught the faintest glimpse of a glow through the mists, which seemed especially heavy today. He moved forward, concentrating on the luminescence.

Slowly the haze around the light thinned, revealing a tall oak tree. Its glow was far from bright, but it definitely had Essence running through it. Davian reached out.

Something blocked him.

He pushed against it, gently at first, but with increasing frustration. There was a space of a few metres around the tree that he could not seem to enter with his kan-enhanced senses. He scowled, opening his eyes.

“I can see the Essence flowing through the tree,” he said in irritation, “ but I can’t get to it.”

Malshash crossed his arms, a smile threatening to creep onto his face. “But you were so confident a moment ago.”

Davian made a face at him. “Fine. I don’t know everything yet,” he said in as humble a voice as he could muster. “What am I doing wrong?”

Malshash raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t wonder how there are trees growing here, healthy and well-maintained?”

Davian looked again. Sure enough, the oak trees lining the street were neatly trimmed; they were clearly set there as part of the city planning. He frowned. “You’re right. They should all be dead, surely?”

Malshash shrugged. “They’re like the books in the library. Preserved in their original state.” He gestured around. “This place was built to absorb small amounts of Essence from almost everything except the human body, then channel it to the Jha’vett. Because of that, there were a few things the Darecians had to shield against kan. If they hadn’t, I doubt the trees would have grown here in the first place, let alone survived unchanged for a couple of thousand years.” He slapped Davian on the back. “Anyway, all you need to do is go up to one and touch it. That will put you inside the shield, and you won’t be blocked.”

Davian rolled his eyes. “So I wasn’t doing anything wrong after all.”

Malshash grinned. “Not as such, I suppose.”

Davian began walking towards the nearest tree but then hesitated, turning back.

“How am I still alive?” he asked quietly. “I thought you said I had to get Essence from outside my body to live.”

Malshash was silent for a moment. “You’re getting it sporadically from what I can tell,” he admitted. “I’ve tried to see on a few different occasions, but the lines of Essence are so fine, so thin, that even I have a hard time making them out. And I actually know what to look for, so that is quite an accomplishment.” He sighed. “I’d rather hoped you wouldn’t wonder too much about this. You draw some from the fire each night and each morning. The library is shielded from the rest of the city; when you’re in there you draw it from the Adviser, I think.” He paused. “Occasionally, when you run low, you draw some from me.”

Davian stopped mid-step. “From you?” It obviously hadn’t hurt Malshash, but the thought of stealing someone’s else’s Essence – their life force – made his skin crawl.

Malshash made a reassuring gesture. “Tiny amounts,” he said. “And you’ve needed it to help you concentrate.”

Davian blinked. Now that he thought about it, he’d barely slept these past couple of weeks. An hour or two each day, perhaps? How was that possible? His brow furrowed. Why had that not occurred to him before as being odd?

He sighed, focusing again on their topic of conversation. “But if I were alone, without a fire, on these streets for long enough….”

Malshash shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. My recommendation is to not put yourself in a situation where you find out.”

Davian grunted. “Good advice,” he said, his enthusiasm dampened as the reality of the dangers he faced struck home once again. Malshash had been pushing him harder and harder these past few days; though he’d said nothing, Davian knew the time must be approaching when he had to return, go back through the grey void. He twisted the ring on his finger nervously. Despite Malshash’s apparent confidence in Davian’s abilities, he’d pulled no punches when it came to the perils of the rift.