The Shadow Of What Was Lost (77 page)

He focused. Drawing enough
Essence to weaken Caeden without harming him would be difficult, but after what
he'd already done over the past few hours, Davian was confident he had enough
control. He didn't want to cause any harm - just keep Caeden immobile, keep him
here until he'd better explained himself.

As he reached out, though, he
almost faltered.

Caeden's Reserve was more than
just a pool. It was something... immense. An unending ocean of energy and
light.

For a second he hesitated,
wondering if it was wise to proceed. He wasn’t even sure he
could
empty
a Reserve that large.

Then he thought again about
Caladel, about all his unanswered questions, about the months of not
understanding what part he was supposed to be playing in these events.

He closed his eyes and hardened
the kan bridge between himself and Caeden.

A sudden torrent of Essence
slammed into him, causing him to physically stumble from the shock. There was
so much.
So
much. It just kept coming, a river of white energy, until
Davian wasn’t sure he could hold it any longer. He forced his gaze to meet
Caeden's, wondering if the drain was taking effect yet.

Caeden just smiled sadly back at
Davian.

Suddenly the Essence Davian had
been drawing into himself reversed direction, inexorably flowing back to
Caeden. It gathered in a glowing nimbus around the young man's hands, then
along his forearms, his torso, his head. Davian struggled against the current,
tried to stop the flow, but Caeden was too strong. The other man’s expression
had barely changed, as if what he was doing took only a minimal effort. As if
Davian’s attack had been little more than a nuisance, a buzzing insect in need
of swatting.

Within moments, everything Davian
had taken was gone again. He dropped to his knees, still shaking from the
effort, and looked up at Caeden in stunned, disbelieving silence.

Caeden stared back at him for a
long moment. Then his eyes flicked up for a few seconds, towards the Andarran
lines. Davian got the distinct impression he was examining people's faces,
scanning the crowd for someone.

Whoever Caeden was looking for,
he evidently didn't find them. The young man's eyes flickered with
disappointment as he closed them, pouring the Essence he’d retaken from Davian
into the box in his hand.

There was a roar, and a tunnel
that seemed made of pure fire exploded into existence.

Caeden turned to Wirr,
unperturbed by the raging vortex.

“He’s coming, Wirr,” he shouted
over the thunder. “Tell Taeris to make sure everyone is ready, because I don’t
know how long it will be before I can return.”

Before anyone could move he
turned. Leapt forward, into the swirling flames.

He vanished.

***

Wirr stared as the tunnel of fire
faded and darkness reclaimed the street.

He turned dazedly to Davian,
ignoring the stares of those around them and helping his friend to his feet.
"Are you okay?"

Davian didn't respond for a few
moments, eyes fixed upon the spot where the vortex had been. Then he shook his
head.

"I did everything I could,
and it didn't even bother him," he said softly. "He's
so
strong, Wirr. It's terrifying."

Wirr followed his friend's gaze.
"Given what he just did for us, we should probably be glad about
that."

"Maybe." Davian turned
to look at his friend, and Wirr could see the frustration on his face. "I
know he said he was only able to save us because of where that box took him,
but after what I saw in Tenvar's memory... it just doesn't make sense." He
rubbed his forehead, expression worried. "I feel like there's something
we're missing. Something important."

Wirr sighed. "I don't disagree,
Dav, but there's not a lot we can do about it now. Let's just hope that Caeden
knows what he's doing." He glanced back at the Andarran lines; a few of
the men were still gaping in their general direction after Caeden's spectacular
exit, but it seemed everyone else had already gone back to worrying about more
immediate things. "I need to find Karaliene, start organising the recovery
effort. We can sit down and figure out what to do about Caeden later."

Davian grabbed Wirr's arm before
he could walk off. "Can we? People saw me fighting, Wirr.
Administrators
saw me fighting. If they haven't already figured out what I am, they soon
will."

Wirr paused, then grimaced.

He hated to admit it but Davian
was right; despite everything else that had just happened, it wouldn't take
long for Administration to come after his friend. And though Wirr was now
technically the Northwarden, the ban on Augurs was a part of the Treaty - which
superseded the authority of any one man.

Besides which, if he were being
honest, Wirr didn't even know whether his authority as Northwarden was going to
be recognised now that everyone knew he was Gifted.

"You may have to lie low for
a while," he conceded, trying to evaluate what was likely to happen over
the next few weeks. "But once everything's settled down, people are going
to realise that we need the Augurs to strengthen the Boundary again. And when
we get to that point...."

"The Assembly will have to
amend the Treaty. Remove the ban," finished Davian, looking suddenly
thoughtful.

Wirr blinked; Davian had come to
that conclusion faster than he'd expected. "Yes," he said slowly.
"There's a good chance they will."

Davian hesitated, then shook his
head. "I hope that happens, Wirr - I really do. But I can't stay. I can't
risk getting caught just for a possibility."

Wirr stared at his friend in open
surprise. "Where else would you go?"

"Prythe. Tol Shen." He
held up his hand as Wirr made to protest. "I'm not joining them
permanently. I've agreed to help them find a way to fix the Boundary - and they
already have another Augur with them, so it seems like the place I can do the
most good for now. But once the Boundary is secure, if things really are
different here in the city, I'll come back." He gave Wirr a tired, rueful
smile. "Besides, from what I've seen, you're going to have your hands full
enough without having to worry about protecting me too."

Wirr stared at Davian for a few
moments in silence, heart sinking. There was no refuting his friend's logic,
but it made it no less painful to lose him again so soon after getting him
back.

He nodded slowly and clasped
Davian by the shoulder, swallowing a sudden lump in his throat. "Fates. I
understand. I hate it, but... I understand." He glanced around again, this
time realising just how many blue cloaks were amongst the crowd. "Does
Asha know?"

"Not yet." Davian
looked at the ground, pain flashing across his face.

"Then you should go and find
her, before it's too late. You've probably got an hour, maybe two until anyone
recovers enough to worry about you. I'll keep the Administrators occupied with
other things for as long as I can."

Davian hesitated, then inclined
his head. "Thank-you," he said sincerely.

Wirr just nodded back, the lump
in his throat returning. "Just... fates be with you, Dav. Stay safe."

"You too, Wirr. I'll see you
around," said Davian, his voice catching. He gave Wirr a tight smile, then
spun, heading in the direction of the palace.

Wirr watched him go for a few
seconds, then took a deep breath and refocused, scanning the crowd for any of
the people he needed to talk to. The battle was over, but his jubilation at the
victory was already fading.

The real challenges were about to
begin.

***

Davian sat on the palace steps,
doing his best to fend off exhaustion.

Asha sat shoulder-to-shoulder
with him, occasionally shifting her weight but always touching, as if to
reassure herself he was really there. He understood the sentiment. The past few
hours – the past few
days
– had gone by in one stunning blur, and it was
only now that events were slowing, allowing him time to process everything
properly, that it was beginning to set in. Asha was alive. She was
alive
.
It was a miracle.

Davian knew he should already
have left, but he once again pushed that uncomfortable thought to the back of
his mind. Despite their emotional and physical tiredness, he and Asha had spent
the last couple of hours exchanging their stories, determined to spend some
time in each others’ company. For a short time, the horrors they had just
witnessed faded into the background as they smiled and laughed together; even
after the months apart they had fallen back into an easy, comfortable rhythm in
their conversation, allaying Davian’s fears that things might have changed
between them.

Eventually, though, the trials of
the day had taken their toll, and the conversation had died out. Now, they just
looked out over the broken city in contemplative silence.

It was an absorbing scene. The
hellish red of the fires in the Lower and Middle Districts still illuminated
the city, some of the taller buildings below silhouetted against the flames.
Soldiers were hard at work bringing the various blazes under control, though;
as little as a half-hour ago the entire Lower District had seemed to be ablaze,
but now only a few smaller sections by the docks appeared to be alight.

Though it was mostly invisible
against the night sky, Davian knew that black smoke was billowing overhead,
blotting out any stars that might have been showing through the clouds.
Fortunately a gentle breeze seemed to be pushing most of it away from the Upper
District, but the smell had still managed to saturate everything. He’d almost
grown accustomed to it by now, but sometimes still winced at the acrid taste at
the back of his throat when he inhaled, the slight burning in his lungs.

Soldiers and civilians alike
still dotted the blackened palace grounds in front of them. The last of the
wounded were being treated by a combination of Gifted and physicians, and those
who had some lesser medicinal knowledge were also helping where they could.

Despite everything, the mood was
noticeably upbeat. Even attitudes towards the Gifted seemed to have shifted a
little; passers-by would often smile at red-cloaked men and women, some even
stopping for an apparently genial conversation. The friendliest smiles were
reserved for the Gifted from Tol Shen, though. The soldiers all knew who had
been there from the start, and though everyone still acknowledged Athian's
contribution, it was Shen who were receiving the accolades.

Best of all, no-one appeared to
be overly concerned that the Tenets had been changed – in fact from what Davian
could glean, it was a matter of some relief for a lot of people. It seemed that
there would be at least one positive to come out of tonight.

"So what are you going to do
now, Asha?" he asked.

Asha bit her lip. "I'm not
sure yet. I'll have to talk to Michal... assuming he's okay. I saw him on the
Shields a while back, but not since." She stared into space worriedly at
the realisation. "Other than that, there's probably going to be an
investigation into how the Shadows ended up with all those Vessels. The Tenets
may have changed, but the Treaty certainly hasn't. Administration are going to
want answers."

"They're going to want
blood, you mean," said Davian quietly. He glanced over to where Wirr was
talking with a group of noblemen in the distance. "I'm sure knowing the
new head of Administration will help."

Asha followed his gaze.
"Maybe," she said. "But everyone knows he's Gifted now.
Administration are going to resist every decision he makes." She turned to
look at him. "What about you?"

Davian hesitated, but he'd been
avoiding this moment for too long already. "I have to leave. Soon."

Asha's expression was suddenly
sad, but she inclined her head. "I wondered about that," she
admitted. "So you're going to take up the offer the Shen Gifted made
you?" Concern made her tone heavy.

"Just until the Boundary is
strengthened," said Davian quickly. "Then I'm coming back. I
promise."

Asha gave a slow nod. "Just
make sure you do," she said. "Those stories the Elders used to tell
us about Shen... I've heard some of the same things here, and I've got no
reason to doubt they're true. Power really is all they care about, Dav. Once
they have someone like you working for them, they're going to do everything
they can to keep you. You'll be too valuable for them to just let you walk
away."

Davian grimaced.
"Maybe," he said. "But the Boundary's weakening and from what
Caeden said, stopping it from failing entirely might be the most important
thing I can do. Fates, it might be the most important thing
anyone
can
do, right now." He sighed. "If things were different, I'd choose to
stay here with you and Wirr in a heartbeat. But Caeden says there's something
else coming - something worse than what we saw tonight. If that's really the
case, then I have to go where I'm going to be of most use."