The Dark Ability (7 page)

T
hat night
, he scooped his mush and moved his blanket even farther away from the light of the lantern, almost to the far wall of the cavern. His back throbbed and occasional spasms sent shooting pain down toward his toes. A soft tapping echoed distantly. Had the other men near the lantern watched him even more closely tonight? Did they know about his find? He thought others watched him more closely, but he wasn’t sure. At least along the back wall of the caves, they wouldn’t see him as well. It was better for him that way.

“You got careless again.”

Rsiran squinted against the darkness. The boy crouched out of reach, leaning forward on his hands. “I didn’t mean to.”

The boy laughed. “You and I could have finds like that every day if we wanted. The others,” he said, flicking his head toward the lantern, “barely manage that once a month if they’re lucky. You’ve now done it twice since you came. Things like that get noticed.”

“Foreman said nothing of much size for months.”

The boy shrugged. “Maybe months, who knows, really? Dangerous for us.”

Rsiran ignored the pain in his back. “Who has the highest price?” The question had bothered him since handing over the day’s find to the foreman. He could not be certain, but it seemed that the same person had attacked him both times, but why not turn in the lorcith that first day?

The boy shrugged. “That’s not really talked about here. Least, not to me. I stay away from the light as much as possible. Stay away from them as much as I can. Less they see me, the less they think of me, I figure. They already think I’m too lucky as it is.” He paused, looking from the men sitting around the lantern, their voices muted this far back in the cavern, before turning back to Rsiran. “Well…they did until you came.” He laughed, and the sound bounced strangely off the walls. “Now they might leave me alone.”

“Thanks.”

The boy smiled. “Your own fault. Warned you to be careful. Small nuggets. Avoid the song. The mines are full of finds like you had today. Let someone else be the one to make them. You’ll earn enough if you’re careful.”

“Why haven’t they been found by others?”

He shrugged, skittering along the ground on hands and feet, his eyes darting around the darkness making him look wild. “How should I know? Bad luck, probably. Great Watcher doesn’t want them found?”

Was he right or was there another reason? And did it matter? He still hadn’t decided if finding lorcith would please or anger his father. What lesson did he intend for him to learn? If he mined more lorcith like today, would he survive another attack? He shifted and the pain in his back shot through him again. He bit back a cry.

“Let’s see it.”

“See what?” Rsiran asked.

The boy moved up to him. This was as close as he had ever come when not around the other miners. “See your cut. What did they use? Knife? Shovel?”

“Pick, I think. Couldn’t see.”

The boy nodded as Rsiran slowly turned, letting the boy look at his back, knowing he needed to know how badly he was injured.

The boy lifted his shirt slowly. Crusted blood clung to it, sticking to his back, and Rsiran winced as the shirt lifted away. Small fingers worked along his back. There was a sudden shot of pain, and the boy jerked his hand back and dropped the shirt.

“Sorry,” he said.

Rsiran turned carefully. “So?”

The boy bit his lip and shook his head. “It’s deep. Probably needs stitching. And it’s too dark to tell if it’s infected. You’ll need a healer. No physicians here or down in town, though there is local woman who dabbles in healing most end up seeing. You’ll have to show one of the Towners your back before they’ll get you to the healer, but they will. Can’t have someone dying in the mines.”

Rsiran nodded. “And no foreman until morning.”

The boy shook his head. “Nope. The mine is locked until morning. At least you won’t have to worry about ignoring the song from the ore tomorrow.”

Rsiran grunted softly. “There is that.”

“Try to rest. I’ll watch for you tonight.”

Rsiran looked at him. The boy was thin, his hair scraggly and long, an outcast as much as he was but in a different way. This was his protection. “Thanks.”

As he curled up on his blanket, careful to keep pressure off his back, he saw the outline of the boy crouching out of reach. For the first time since he had been in the mines, he fell asleep quickly.

T
ossing and turning
, Rsiran dreamt he was back in Elaeavn. Rather than dreaming of his home or his father’s shop, he dreamt of the ocean, the waves crashing along the bay, and of sitting in a tavern. Distantly he was aware of pain and darkness. It seemed a strange song sung quietly in the background, but he couldn’t make out the voice.

When he awoke and saw the dimly lit cavern, the single lantern barely giving enough light to the far reaches, he felt empty. The boy rested nearby, sleeping with his arm nestled under his head and one of the blankets now balled up under one arm. Rsiran always thought he looked young, but lying helpless and snuggled into his blanket, he wondered how old the boy actually was.

Rsiran pushed himself up, wincing as pain streaked down his back. He felt hot and sweaty. His shirt and thin blanket were soaked. How late was it? Usually he struggled so hard to fall asleep that he awoke to the morning whistle. Now, other than an occasional snore, the cavern was silent. Everyone slept, resting as peacefully as possible on the hard ground.

The air was still and heavy. He felt none of the usual soft breeze that seemed to blow steadily through the tunnels and wondered what that meant, if anything. The stink of sweat hung over everything, cloying at first, but now Rsiran only noticed it occasionally. Mixed with his sweat was the rotten stink of his drying blood, and he breathed through his mouth to avoid the smell.

Fatigue that had not left him since he first left Elaeavn made it difficult to know how much sleep he had gotten. In the cavern, every moment looked the same as the last with only meals and work giving meaning to time. For all he knew, it was early morning, before the whistle and breakfast and almost time to return to the caves. Or it could be after midnight, much of the night in front of him.

He tried lying back down but stared up at the ceiling, longing to see stars. The pain in his back and the steady nocturnal tapping that came each night made it difficult to return to sleep. Finally, he decided to stand and limped around the edge of the cavern, dragging his hand along the stone. He felt deposits of lorcith even here where the mine seemed to have begun.

There were no other blankets around the periphery of the cavern. Other than he and the boy, most kept closer to the lantern, preferring the light and the comfort of others sleeping nearby. Even those who did not want to sleep next to the light still kept their blankets close together. Rsiran preferred the solitude.

A voice drifted through the cavern, seemingly coming from the entrance to the mines. Rsiran paused, resting his hand on the wall and listened.

“Not much found these days,” the voice said. “I think the guild does something to prevent it.”

There was something familiar about it, but he didn’t know what.

“You know that they want all they can find.” This was from another voice, deep and harsh.

“Yeah, well so do I.”

“Your price will be paid when you—” The voice cut off suddenly.

Rsiran backed up, afraid that he might have been seen. He pushed against the wall, pain shooting through his back. What had he overheard? There shouldn’t be anyone near the entrance to the mines, not at night after the guards left. What were they talking about?

He reached the end of the cavern where it led into the main tunnel of the mines. The hushed voices resumed, but Rsiran feared getting too close. He wanted nothing to do with whatever he’d overheard.

Then there was the strange tapping. It didn’t get louder as he walked. He never heard it during the day. If he wandered far enough, would he eventually reach whatever made the sound?

He hesitated. Sleep was precious, and his tired body certainly needed more rest, but he couldn’t stand lying awake as he stared at the shadowed roof for the rest of the night, and he didn’t want to risk whoever was at the other end of the cavern. So he started down the tunnel.

He touched the wall as he walked, dragging his hand along the stone to guide his way. The slope dropped off as it carried him deeper into the caves. A fearful thought threatened to overwhelm him, that of being lost, wandering the caves in the dark, before he remembered he could simply Slide out if needed. He almost laughed to himself; perhaps his father would get his wish and he would simply abandon that ability, forgotten by his time in the mines.

He reached the flat area where the foremen weighed and logged the collection each day, his feet rather than his eyes telling him where he was. The tunnel breeze blew across his face, rising up from each tunnel. His back throbbed from the effort of walking down the slope.

How badly was he hurt? The boy had dropped his shirt awfully quickly when he saw the wound. With a mirror, Rsiran could at least see the injury himself, not that he could do anything about it, trapped as he was in the mine. Had he been in Elaeavn, he could seek out a healer, even at night.

Why couldn’t he simply Slide to Elaeavn? He could find a healer and return before morning. The boy would have questions, but Rsiran could fend those off.

But if he were discovered—if his
father
discovered—Rsiran would never be able to return to his apprenticeship. He’d never be able to work in front of the forge. And then what would he do?

He wandered. The steady tapping seemed to be coming down one of the darkened tunnels.

Rsiran usually went into whatever tunnel seemed to have the fewest miners. Less people trying to talk to him that way. Now that he had been mining for over a week, few even bothered to try. He had never mined in the tunnel where the sound seemed to emanate.

Curiosity spurred him on.

He moved toward the tunnel, drifting into deeper darkness. When he found the first step, he nearly fell. His back sent out a jolt of pain as he caught himself.

Rsiran should not be here. Not at night, not in the dark, and certainly not injured, but something about the strange tapping drew him forward.

He continued down the steps. The farther he went, the darker everything seemed to become, soon leaving him immersed in pure black. Only his hand along the wall and his boots on the steps connected him to the world, anchoring him. His heart fluttered, and he considered turning around, returning to the sleeping cavern, but the draw of the tapping proved too much to overcome.

He had gone only another dozen or so steps when he felt something on the steps with him. He couldn’t be certain, and in the darkness he saw nothing, but he froze and listened.

There was only the tapping.

Rsiran took another step, cautiously now.

Air blew against his face. He could not be sure that it was only the usual breeze. Something about the air felt different. Warmer perhaps. Wetter.

He panicked.

Trying to turn, his back spasmed, and he could barely move. The feeling of something near him, overpowering him in the dark, made his mind race. He did the only thing he could think of.

He Slid.

One moment, he stood frozen in fear on the stairs deep within Ilphaesn Mountain. The next, he stood along the waterfront in Elaeavn, waves crashing along the shore and the salt breeze blowing in his face.

Stars shone brightly in the sky. The moon was a thick curl in the sky overhead, almost too bright.

He staggered forward and fell.

He couldn’t push himself back up. He hurt all over. His heart hammered, fear and the jolt from Sliding causing it to race. Waves of nausea coursed through him, and he heaved once, leaving whatever was left of the soft mush from the evening’s meal lying on the stones near the shore.

A gull cawed overhead, circling slowly. If he rested too long, the gulls near Elaeavn would become aggressive and peck at his flesh. More questions he’d have to answer.

Somehow, he crawled along the shore. Back aflame, his brow dripping with sweat, he didn’t know how far he could walk. Sliding still took focus and a fair amount of energy—energy he just expended reaching Elaeavn. He needed healing. That meant moving into the city, risking questions, but if he didn’t try, he wouldn’t be able to make it back to the mines.

Ambling along the street, he was startled to realize where he was. Awareness slowly sifted into him, like a film pulled away. Waves splashed along the docks farther to the north, a few ships moored for the night along the docks themselves with more anchored farther in the bay. A wide street led toward the main of Lower Town, toward the massive market that provided the only reason for most in Upper Town to make their way to the water’s edge.

At night, the market was still and silent. Wind flapped the canvas covering a few of the stalls. A bright-eyed cat prowled near the shadows, watching him as he struggled along the street. Dim lanterns glowed with a warm orange light along street corners, different than those within the mines. With the bright stars and the glowing moon, such light was not truly necessary tonight. Most nights Rsiran felt as he did in the caves, wishing for Sight. Tonight he was thankful he could Slide.

He stood, staring into the market. For a moment, he forgot what he needed to do.

Wind blew up from the sea, caressing his face. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he was back in the mines.

With another jolt, he started forward. Now he had no doubt—the injury was severe. Likely infected. Pain throbbed, gripping his back angrily. If he didn’t get attention from a healer, he wouldn’t survive.

He recognized the street meeting the market but could not recall why. Rsiran shook his head, hoping to clear the fog that had fallen over his mind for a moment.

Something grabbed his ankle, and he stumbled. The cobbles of the street tore at his face, his arms and hands. He struggled to push himself back up, but pain and weakness pinned him to the street.