The Dark Ability by D.K. Holmberg Read Free Book Online Page A

lorcith hung on the air, so thick Rsiran could taste it. Only when they reached the mouth of the mines did the man leading them speak.
    “Your entire sentence will be served here,” he said. His voice was thin and high, as if rarely used. “Davin will show you where you will sleep.” He nodded toward a man emerging from the wide mouth of a cave on the side of the mountain. “You earn one percent of all that is mined. No more than that.” He grunted. “Work harder, and your time here is shorter. Work slower…” He shrugged. “Food will be brought in twice a day and members of the mining guild will be present, but unseen.”
    “Didn’t say anything about luck,” one of the convicted men muttered.
    “There is always an element of luck. The Great Watcher gives what he gives. Lately, he hasn’t given all that much,” the other guard said, waiting until Davin neared to turn and started back toward the village.
    Davin looked at them carefully. His eyes widened when he saw Rsiran wore no bindings on his wrists. “What is this?”
    Rsiran glanced at the other men. “My father sent me here to work,” he answered softly.
    One of the convicted men from Elaeavn snickered. He was thin, his eyes a pale watery green, and his hair shorn close, revealing a long scar along his scalp that he seemed to wear with pride.
    Davin frowned. “Neran sent word,” he said. “Didn’t think he was serious that he was sending his apprentice to work in the mines. Didn’t know you were his son too. Did he tell you how much you needed to earn?”
    Rsiran shook his head, confused.
    “Gryn told you one percent is earned,” Davin said, nodding toward the man walking back toward the village.
    Rsiran stared ahead. His father had said nothing about how long he would need to serve, saying only that he needed to learn to control the lorcith. Perhaps when he managed that he could return.
    The thin man snickered again.
    Davin shot him a look. He had eyes of a medium green and an intense stare that dared the other man to challenge him. “Then you’ll work until we hear from him. Don’t expect special treatment. Neran was clear about that. You’ll work the same as the others. Share the same sleeping quarters. Eat the same food. The mines are meant to be punishment.”
    Rsiran only nodded.
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    T he sleeping quarters turned out to be a large hollowed out section within the mountain. The stone along the walls was rough and damp, and the air smelled heavily of the bitter lorcith mined deeper below. A single lantern glowed with a soft orange light somewhere in the cavern, but Rsiran could not see where it was. Shadows shifted around the edges of the cavern, strange and twisting, and—not for the first time since leaving Elaeavn—an uncomfortable feeling worked through him.
    They were given a pair of thin blankets to sleep upon and a battered metal bowl and cup. Other blankets were scattered across the floor of the cavern, clustered most heavily near the single light, almost overlapping. Rsiran took his blanket and set it down away from many others, unwilling to sleep so close to men he had not met. He set his bowl and cup next to him.
    He looked around, taking a quick count of the people. Nearly one hundred men moved around the cavern. Supper had recently been served, and most still ate, sitting atop their blankets. His stomach grumbled at the sight of the bread and the bowls of stew, but he tried to ignore the sensation. They had not been fed well while traveling, mostly jerky and stale rolls. The last good meal he had eaten had been the breakfast with Alyse. Strange that he should have a fond memory of her.
    The floor was dry and dusty as he unrolled one of the blankets. He had not brought anything with him other than his clothes. His father had made it quite clear that was not allowed. In the darkness, surrounded by others he knew to be criminals and thieves, it was the lorcith-forged knife he missed the most.
    The walls of the cavern seemed