Page 80 of Shardless
He should go to them—help tend to the wounded and find the Gate Watcher leadership. That was what his sense of duty demanded of him.
But as he pushed himself to his feet, wiping away a trickle of blood from a cut on his chin that was ever-so-slowly knitting itself back together now that he barely had enough aether to soothe his ragged breaths, he could only think about one thing.
Taly. Where is Taly?
Chapter 17
-An excerpt from the Practical Guide to Hyaline Harmonic Analysis
A relic from the Age of the Faera, the scrying relays enable long-range communication by taking advantage of the harmonizing properties of hyaline. Though hyaline crystal does not conduct aether, its frequency can be tuned in such a way that it will connect with another relay set to the same frequency.
Over time, this technology has been adapted to include glamour interfaces as well as data transfer capabilities, and improvements in the harmonizing efficiency of the hyaline crystals have dramatically increased the communication range. Unfortunately, the dimensional gates on Tempris still pose a major problem to long-range signal transmission. When the gates are open, there is no impediment to the relay signals, and communication between worldsis possible. However, when the gates are closed, the discrepancies in the flow of time between realms makes tuning the hyaline harmonizing prisms almost impossible. It has been theorized that the incorporation of a time crystal into the interface might overcome this impediment, but Queen Raine’s researchers were unable to produce a viable prototype prior to the Schism.
During the 25,658thyear of our Lady Raine, the first handheld communication system was introduced. Most historians agree that, without this device, House Ghislain’s victory at the Battle of Raporum would not have been possible.
Taly sagged against the side of a building, one hand pressed against the gash on her hip. She held Zephyr in her free hand, her thumb hovering over the tiny crystal switch that would deploy a gale of air magic at a moment’s notice.
She’d finally managed to shake the mob of undead creatures that had been pursuing her, but in doing so, she had ended up somewhere unfamiliar. Just before she’d come upon the market square, she had almost run straight into a veritable horde of thosethings,and she had been forced to duck down a side street to avoid drawing attention to herself. She’d had a hard enough time with the smaller group she’d fought off when she wasn’t exhausted and wounded. If the burning in her lungs was anything to go by, she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to muster any more magic if she was forced to face off with another group of those creatures.
Not that she felt she could reliably summon her aether at this point anyway.
The clatter of boots echoed off the walls of the burned-out buildings, drawing closer. Ducking behind a crate, Taly clutched Zephyr in a white-knuckled grip. She saw their shadows first—elongated distortions of obscured light that crept around the corner. Eventually, a group of hooded figures emerged, their swords held at their sides. They were silent as they marched through the middle of the street, their heads darting side-to-side as they surveyed the area.
Holding her breath, Taly shrank back against the nearby wall, willing her hands to stop shaking as she thumbed the small toggle. She had no way to tell if this group of strangers was friend or foe, and she didn’t want to risk finding out.
For a moment, it looked as though they were going to pass by her without incident, but as the last of the small troop filed past, the wind changed direction. A cool breeze ruffled Taly’s hair, making her skin prickle, and the figure closest to where she hid stopped. He tilted his head, raising a hand as he murmured something to the others. Taly couldn’t hear what he said, but his comrades halted and readied their swords.
She depressed the switch—not enough to fire off a blast but enough that she could feel the magic start to stir. She needed to be ready to defend herself, just in case…
In a blur, the hooded figure rushed at her, flinging aside the crates like they weighed nothing. A gale of air spiraled out from the tip of Taly’s dagger, hitting the attacker square in the chest. She heard a muted grunt, but he didn’t even stagger as he continued moving forward.
Taly didn’t have anywhere to retreat, so when he was in range, she thrust her dagger at his belly. She felt the firm resistance of armor beneath the tip of the blade and heard the rip of fabric. Digging her heels into the ground, she threw her weight behind the attack, a grim smile playing at the corners of her mouth when she felt a warm trickle of blood drip across her hand. She moved to depress the toggle again, but the figure’s hand shot out in a lightning-fast movement and grabbed her wrist. He gave her a rough jerk, unsheathing her dagger as he twisted her arm around and shoved her against the wall. The shadow crystals in Zephyr’s grip started to cool as the aether drained away.
Taly’s entire body trembled as the hooded figure leaned in and gave her a long sniff. His breath felt warm, and his sharp exhale ruffled the loose tendrils of hair at her neck.
“Stand down! It’s just a human!” a male voice called out.
She felt the man shift behind her as he leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I’m going to let you go now. Please don’t stab me again.”
As soon as he released her arm, she shoved him off, whirling around and holding her dagger at the ready. The man backed up a step and held up his hands in surrender. In the dim light, she could see that his face, though pale and drawn, was flush with life.
Never thought I’d be glad to see a fey on the other end of my dagger.
“Woah now,” he said, his warm russet eyes trained on her blade. “I’m on your side.”
“So you say,” Taly muttered. “Who are you?”
The man pointed to his hood before cautiouslypulling back the covering to reveal a shock of brassy hair. There was a smattering of freckles decorating his nose, making him look boyish and young. The stark, unnaturally vibrant color of his eyes, however, told Taly that he was probably anything but. “My name’s Kit,” he said. “I’m with the Gate Watchers.”
Taly felt the air leave her lungs in a whoosh. “Thank the Shards,” she panted. “My friend, Skye… no, Lord Skylen Emrys… he’s with the Gate Watchers. The last time I saw him, he was headed to the compound. I need to find him.”
“Well now,” Kit drawled, his accent smooth and refined, “it sounds like you have some friends in high places. I know Lord Emrys by reputation, but I can’t say that I’ve seen him. But then again, I haven’t been back to the compound since this morning.”
“We need to keep moving.” A woman moved to stand behind Kit. Her pale violet eyes and white-blonde hair stood out in stark contrast to her flawless umber skin.
They’re both highborn, Taly thought warily. In fact, most of the small group of men and women crowding the narrow street stared at her through eyes that were just a little too bright in the dim evening light.
“I’m aware, Adanna,” Kit said, glancing at the strikingly beautiful woman. “But the girl is scared. Give me a moment.”
