{"id":5117,"date":"2026-01-04T01:07:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/the-dark-ability-03-the-tower-of-venass-holmberg-d-k\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T01:07:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:07:54","slug":"the-dark-ability-03-the-tower-of-venass-holmberg-d-k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/the-dark-ability-03-the-tower-of-venass-holmberg-d-k\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Ability 03 – The Tower of Venass – Holmberg, D K"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Preview<\/h3>\n
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Chapter 1<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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R<\/span><\/span>siran Lareth stood<\/span> before the sloped roof of the freshly painted wooden building. It was new construction, and unlike most buildings in Elaeavn, made of wide rough sawn timbers rather than block or stone. A building like this was meant to be temporary.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran turned to Jessa. Her face still hadn\u2019t lost that haunted expression, the aftermath of what she\u2019d gone through when Josun had abducted her, and her normally flushed cheeks looked pale. Brown hair hung longer than it had since he first met her, passing her shoulder. A length of ribbon tied it back. She pulled on it, bringing it around her shoulder and twisting it between her fingers. Another nervous tick she\u2019d acquired. A yellow flower was woven into her lorcith charm, the first day she\u2019d worn one in many weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t come here since I learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like you haven\u2019t been busy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rsiran sighed. Since returning from rescuing Jessa from Ilphaesn, he\u2019d spent his time fortifying the smithy he\u2019d taken over. Bars of the heartstone alloy now lined the inside of the walls, worked together as a barrier. He\u2019d not risk Jessa\u2019s safety again and let someone like Josun reach her. Now, no other Sliders would be able to enter the smithy, keeping them safe from the threat from the Forgotten for now. As far as Rsiran knew, only he could Slide past the alloy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still should\u2019ve come before now,\u201d Rsiran said.<\/p>\n

She grabbed his hand and turned him toward her. Her green eyes seemed especially bright under the full moonlight. Were he Sighted, like Jessa, he might see the tight lines of worry around her eyes that had been present since he\u2019d rescued her from Josun. Instead, his ability was different. Once thought to be a dark ability, he\u2019d finally come to accept his gifts from the Great Watcher.<\/p>\n

A hard-packed path led away from the building, winding back toward the rest of Elaeavn. This was separate, almost on the edge of the Aisl Forest, and surrounded by enough trees that you had to know where to look to find it. In spite of that, the steady sound of crashing waves carried even here, bringing the scent of salt air to mingle with the earthy odor of decay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy? What has he done to deserve that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of answering, Rsiran checked the knives stuffed into his pockets. He didn\u2019t need to touch them to know where they were. The lorcith pulled on him, connecting to him in a way he still didn\u2019t fully understand. Like his father, he had lorcith in his blood. That was part of the reason he\u2019d come tonight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need answers. Della only has so many.\u201d He thought about what Della had told him of his ability and of the Elvraeth, remembering her hesitation. \u201cAnd some she won\u2019t share.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think she\u2019s trying to hide something from you?\u201d Jessa didn\u2019t chide him as she once would have. Neither of them felt completely comfortable with what had happened to them. Risks taken that had kept them in the dark and pulled them into a fight that was greater than either of them.<\/p>\n

The lorcith charm he\u2019d made her hung openly from a small chain of the heartstone alloy around her neck. That had been the first thing he\u2019d made after rescuing her. Delicate work that he\u2019d asked the lorcith allow. After losing her once, Rsiran would do anything to keep Jessa safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not so certain of that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRsiran\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much did Brusus keep from us? He knew what he had me doing\u2026 he knew the risk he asked of me and did it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould we have done anything differently?\u201d<\/p>\n

He sighed again and shook his head. Brusus was family to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t do this. Let\u2019s return to the city. By the time we get back, maybe Haern will be at the Barth. We can dice and have some ale\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head. Since Lianna had died, the Wretched Barth hadn\u2019t felt the same. Maybe that wasn\u2019t right; since learning that Josun hadn\u2019t died as he thought, nothing about the city felt the same. The Elaeavn he\u2019d known was different now. Darker. The only place he felt comfortable was the smithy. Even there, he jumped every time he heard a strange sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to see him. He deserves that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes he? After what he did to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran squeezed her hand. \u201cIf he hadn\u2019t, I never would have met you.\u201d He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Meeting Jessa was one of the few good things that had come from what his father had done to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I would have found you eventually. The Great Watcher would have seen to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran didn\u2019t argue. Only the Servants claimed to know what the Great Watcher intended. After everything that had happened to him, how could the Great Watcher have a plan with him? \u201cReady?\u201d<\/p>\n

She squeezed his hand, signaling that she was.<\/p>\n

Rsiran Slid past the door.<\/p>\n

There came the familiar rush of stale air, reminiscent of the bitter scent of lorcith. Flashes of color streaked past him as he felt movement, though took only a single step.<\/p>\n

Such a brief Slide took little energy. Since facing Josun again, he\u2019d taken to Sliding everywhere, building up his stamina so that Sliding great distances wouldn\u2019t challenge him. When alone, he practiced Sliding rather than walking. In the weeks since he\u2019d left Josun trapped inside Ilphaesn, he Slid everywhere.<\/p>\n

Bringing Jessa with him took only a little more effort. From the beginning, he\u2019d Slid with her. First, throughout Elaeavn as they made their way through the city. Later to Ilphaesn and back or out to Firell\u2019s ship. Usually, having her along comforted him. Today felt different. Today, she would meet his father.<\/p>\n

Rsiran emerged from the Slide to see a shadowed room around him. Hard-packed dirt formed the floor, more evidence of the temporary nature of the building. A lantern with weak orange light streaming from it rested on the floor near the far wall. A small raised platform for a bed tucked into the corner. A low counter served as a makeshift kitchen. The place stank of a mixture of smoke and sweat.<\/p>\n

Everything seemed more welcoming than the man living here deserved.<\/p>\n

A small fire pit set away from the wall. Three logs that had burned down to glowing coals sent smoke drifting toward a hole cut in the roof. A stump rested near the fire pit and a lean man sat atop it, staring into the coals.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure about this?\u201d Jessa whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing more he can do to me,\u201d Rsiran answered.<\/p>\n

He took a step forward, Sliding without thinking about what he was doing. Jessa held his hand as they Slid, but said nothing. She had grown accustomed to him Sliding everywhere. Often, she preferred it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said you would come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice came from behind him and Rsiran spun. He should have realized there was someone else in here with them. Brusus wouldn\u2019t leave him unguarded, not until he fully understood why his father had been in Asador. The Forgotten had taken him there, but they still didn\u2019t understand why.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t recognize the man near the door. Brown eyes looked back at him. Not of Elaeavn.<\/p>\n

Dressed in thick leathers, he carried a short sword\u2014forbidden in Elaeavn except for the constables\u2014made of steel. Rsiran frowned at it, thinking it might be one of his forgings, though it was difficult to tell. Working with steel gave him a way to practice the skills lorcith taught him, to see if he could carry it over to other metals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat else did they say?\u201d Rsiran asked.<\/p>\n

The man grunted. He wore hair shorn close to his scalp, revealing the end of a long scar. He shrugged. \u201cThat I wasn\u2019t to interfere with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran narrowed his eyes. Did Brusus actually think this man could interfere with him? \u201cAnd that\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n

A smile split the man\u2019s face and reached his eyes. \u201cAlso said I should run if I saw one of your blades. Figured that was a joke.\u201d He shrugged again as he studied Rsiran.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know Brusus?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man tilted his head, considering him a moment. \u201cWe\u2019ve worked a few jobs together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Elaeavn?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man shook his head. \u201cMostly in Thyr.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran tried to hide his surprise. Thyr. One of the great cities, though far enough away he\u2019d never thought to be able to visit until he learned he could Slide. Rsiran knew little about the great cities. He\u2019d only Slid to Asador once, and that was because he searched for Jessa. Like Asador, Thyr was home to a university. This man looked nothing like a scholar. But how had Brusus managed to reach Thyr? He couldn\u2019t Slide like Rsiran, which meant he had to travel using more conventional methods. He\u2019d never heard Brusus mention leaving the city before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d He wanted to know who Brusus assigned for this duty. Until recently, he\u2019d felt removed from Brusus\u2019s work. Even now, he didn\u2019t think he fully understood everything Brusus had in motion.<\/p>\n

The man tipped his head slightly, revealing more of the scar. It stretched from the top of his forehead all the way back along his skull.<\/p>\n

How had he survived a blow like that?<\/p>\n

\u201cThom L\u2019alin.\u201d The man waited, as if expecting Rsiran to recognize his name. When he said nothing more, the man chuckled again. \u201cAnd you must be Rsiran Lareth.\u201d He turned, eyes slipping over Jessa. \u201cJessa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran frowned. How much had Brusus shared with Thom about Rsiran? Enough to know he could Slide. To Thom, it would appear as if Rsiran simply appeared in the room. Had Brusus said anything about Rsiran\u2019s other ability?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like some time alone here,\u201d he said to Thom.<\/p>\n

A dark hunger shone in his eyes as he looked at Jessa. \u201cGuess we\u2019ll be going then?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head. \u201cI stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thom shrugged. \u201cTell me when you leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran nodded and Thom turned to the door, twisting the lock quickly and slipping outside. Jessa released Rsiran\u2019s hand long enough to hurry to the door and lock it again.<\/p>\n

Now they were alone with his father. Perhaps Jessa was right\u2014maybe he shouldn\u2019t have come.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou finally come to finish me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran turned and looked at his father. He stared at the glowing embers. His face appeared long and gaunt, wasted compared to the muscular man Rsiran knew, but the beard that had been there the last time he\u2019d seen him\u2014the beard that prevented Rsiran from recognizing him\u2014was gone. Lantern light reflected off eyes that had once been a brighter green.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinish you? I\u2019m the one who brought you out of Asador,\u201d Rsiran said, Sliding forward a step. \u201cI saved you.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father still didn\u2019t turn. \u201cYou should\u2019ve left me there. Then I wouldn\u2019t have to see what you\u2019ve become.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran blinked slowly, hating how his words could still sting, even after all this time. \u201cI\u2019ve become what you made me. What the Great Watcher made me. Nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father finally looked toward him. His eyes were deep hollows. \u201cIf that\u2019s what you wish to believe, but don\u2019t think to lie to me. I\u2019ve seen your work. The forgings you made. Dark works, things the Great Watcher never intended a smith to make with lorcith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran tensed. How had his father seen his forgings? \u201cI make what the ore requests.\u201d<\/p>\n

He snorted and looked back toward the fire. \u201cYou should be better than that, but I\u2019ve seen what you\u2019ve made. Was forced to study it. \u2018Recreate it,\u2019 they said.\u201d He shook his head. \u201cLorcith never calls like that unless you want it. Had you stayed and learned, you\u2019d have understood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without thinking, Rsiran Slid forward to stand in front of his father. He would make him look at him. He felt Jessa as she neared, the lorcith charm pulling on his senses. Even the heartstone chain around her neck pulled at him, though its call was soft, and barely there. He had to focus on the heartstone to hear it fully.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything I learned of lorcith, I learned by working with it. Had you only been willing to listen, you might have understood how I made my forgings. The lessons the ore taught\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDark lessons,\u201d his father snapped. \u201cDangerous and forbidden.\u201d His eyes looked past Rsiran and over at Jessa, lingering on the heartstone chain. They widened slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cForbidden by who? The Elvraeth? Or the Great Watcher?\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked back at Rsiran. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran shook his head. Why did he let his father push him like this? \u201cThe Elvraeth only want to keep power. That\u2019s why they control the lorcith so tightly. That\u2019s why they created the myth of the dark ability.\u201d He Slid forward, just a step, remembering when Josun told him how the Elvraeth worked to eliminate Sliding. Identifying the ability as a curse went a long way toward that end. Rsiran had lived nearly a year thinking he needed to hide what he could do\u2026 and when his father had learned of it, he punished him. \u201cI\u2019ve learned much since you banished me.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father blinked. \u201cAnd forgotten much, as well, it seems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d Rsiran heard the word \u201cforgotten\u201d and thought of everything he\u2019d feared since learning of his ability. Banishment from the city, sent away from everything he knew. But by sending him to work in the mines, it was his father who had banished him, not the Elvraeth council. Exiled from everything he\u2019d ever known. Forgotten, just as much as if he\u2019d been sentenced by the council, until he\u2019d decided he wouldn\u2019t accept the exile.<\/p>\n

More than that, he thought of the Forgotten. He knew little about them other than that they were out there, searching for a way back into Elaeavn and back into power. Josun had worked with them to achieve their goals, until Rsiran left him in the mine he and Jessa had discovered on the other side of Ilphaesn, chained, unable to escape.<\/p>\n

His father leaned forward. Once thick arms had lost much of their muscle. Skin seemed to hang where before it had been taut and youthful. \u201cYou reach too far, Rsiran.\u201d Was that a note of concern in his voice? \u201cThere are things we weren\u2019t meant to make. Had you chosen to listen\u2014to learn\u2014rather than being so stubborn, you might have understood. Instead\u2026\u201d He shook his head and turned his eyes back to the fading fire.<\/p>\n

Rsiran sighed. Arguing with his father would not get him the answers he sought. Better to confront him directly. Rsiran no longer needed his approval.<\/p>\n

Drawing on the sense of the lorcith knife in his pocket, he pushed it out and hung it suspended over the fire. The knife was simply made, the blade solid lorcith and forged in such a way the dull grey metal still appeared liquid. The knives he carried with him were weighted for pushing. Small enough to flick with a thought but dangerous enough to harm.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould you teach this?\u201d he asked his father. Rsiran knelt, leaning so his father had to meet his eyes. \u201cDid you keep this secret from me?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father blinked. For a moment, Rsiran thought he felt pressure on the knife, but maybe that was simply his imagination. Then his father\u2019s eyes flickered up to Jessa, brighter than they\u2019d been before. \u201cYou\u2019re with him?\u201d<\/p>\n

The question carried a certain weight, but Jessa didn\u2019t hesitate as she nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen it falls on you to keep him safe.\u201d He looked at the knife but made no other movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom who?\u201d Jessa\u2019s voice came out like a whisper. Rsiran heard the uncertainty in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran pulled the knife back toward him and snatched it out of the air. He thumbed the smooth edge of the blade, running his finger along it. Why had he come here? To taunt his father? To find the answer why he\u2019d been pushed away from his family? He glanced at Jessa. Those answers didn\u2019t matter anymore. Not like they once had.<\/p>\n

But there were other answers he did need.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho took you to Asador?\u201d Rsiran asked, wanting confirmation that it was the Forgotten. He slipped the knife back into his pocket, feeling foolish for letting his emotions get the best of him. Seeing his father took him back to all the times spent within his smithy, times when he\u2019d feared making any wrong move while hoping to impress him enough that he\u2019d allow him to work the forge. Now it didn\u2019t matter. Rsiran had his own forge and access to a supply of lorcith his father once would have longed for.<\/p>\n

His father stared at the crackling coals and said nothing.<\/p>\n

Rsiran stood and took a deep breath. He wouldn\u2019t get angry\u2014not again. \u201cWhy were you trapped there? What did they want with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments passed with the only sound that of the coals snapping. Finally, his father shook his head. \u201cThey wanted you.\u201d He spoke softly and didn\u2019t look over at Rsiran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy? What would they want with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you started this. You began making weapons of lorcith again. For centuries, that had been forbidden.\u201d He looked up, and a distant look crossed his eyes. \u201cYou think you control the lorcith? You think me cruel for forcing it to become what I want rather than letting the ore work through me? You think you have learned so much, that you know what it means to have the blood of the smiths run through you, but you are nothing more than a child playing at the forge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran swallowed and leaned forward but felt Jessa\u2019s hand on his arm. She squeezed, pulling him back before he did or said something more foolish than he\u2019d already managed. He looked over at her, saw the way she bit her lip, her chin tilted toward her flower as she sniffed softly, and knew she\u2019d been right. He shouldn\u2019t have come.<\/p>\n

He took her hand. \u201cThis was a mistake,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve made plenty,\u201d his father said.<\/p>\n

Rsiran sighed. \u201cMaybe I should have left you in the cage in Asador with the Forgotten. You would have been happier then, if you\u2019ve ever been really happy. At least I wouldn\u2019t have to wonder if I did right by bringing you back to Elaeavn.\u201d He turned and looked at Jessa. \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked over at his father as if she wanted to say something but bit her lip again. She held his hand, squeezing.<\/p>\n

Rsiran Slid toward the door. He wouldn\u2019t give his father the satisfaction of hiding the ability from him. Not after everything he\u2019d been through. At the door, he hesitated. Without looking back, he said, \u201cAlyse thinks you left her and mother. Should she think you\u2019re dead too?\u201d<\/p>\n

His father sucked in a quick breath. \u201cYou\u2019ve seen Alyse?\u201d<\/p>\n

It hurt that Alyse meant so much to him. \u201cI\u2019ve seen her. She works in Lower Town now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2026 how was she?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rsiran snorted and shook his head. Perhaps he should have started with word on Alyse. Maybe then, he would have gotten the answers he wanted. \u201cAngry. But well.\u201d Rsiran looked back. His father stared at the wall rather than the fire. \u201cIf I see her again?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever else happens to them, it\u2019s better for them that I be dead.\u201d He looked over to Rsiran, and his eyes softened. \u201cLet them have that,\u201d he begged.<\/p>\n

Rsiran stared, debating his answer. Finally, he nodded and then Slid past the door.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Book Preview Chapter 1 Rsiran Lareth stood before the sloped roof of the freshly painted wooden building. It was new construction, and unlike most buildings in Elaeavn, made of wide rough sawn timbers rather than block or stone. A building like this was meant to be temporary. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to do this.\u201d Rsiran turned … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[342],"class_list":["post-5117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-d-k-holmberg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}