Changed By Fire (Book 3) by D.K. Holmberg Page A

side, but someone had been through and stacked the contents that had fallen.
    “Who was here?” he wondered.
    Cianna shrugged. “Archivists, likely.”
    “They were exposed. They would not have stayed. And you said they were gone.”
    “You think all the archivists were to blame? How many spirit shapers do you think there are hidden in the archives?”
    Tan shrugged. “How many fire shapers have come from Nara?”
    She cocked her head. “Why?”
    “We don’t have any idea how many spirit shapers the archivists hid. Besides, had this been archivists, they would have righted the shelves.”
    Tan made his way toward the door at the back of the archives. Behind the door were restricted works and then a staircase leading down. It was there that the valuable works were kept.
    Cianna moved to block him. “Those are restricted.”
    “They are, but I’ve been there before. I’ve been trapped there before.”
    “That was you?”
    Tan nodded.
    “Roine—Theondar—never said who reported the attack in the archives.”
    “The archivist wanted Amia and brought the fire shaper to capture her.”
    Cianna frowned. “Are you sure they wanted her?”
    He nodded. “She was the one captured by the archivists.”
    “But you’re the one who speaks to the draasin.”
    Tan hadn’t considered that. What if the archivist hadn’t been after Amia? What if they had wanted him instead? Had they used her to get to him? Could he have done exactly what they wanted?
    The idea gave him shivers. What would have happened had they succeeded? If they would have reached—and accessed—the pool of spirit in the cavern at the place of convergence?
    Now that Cianna suggested it, the idea made a twisted sort of sense. Amia might have shaped the draasin, but he was the one who spoke to them. Would they have known?
    Of course they would have known. Jishun would have heard from the king what Tan had done.
    Maybe he was as stupid as Cianna teased.
    She opened the door to the restricted section of the archives. With a quick shaping of fire, all of the lanterns here suddenly blazed brightly. The air smelled musty but there was another scent to it, like that of rot and decay. Her nose wrinkled at the smell.
    “Was it like this before?”
    The shelves were intact here, not tipped like they were in the main section. A few small tables rested at the end of rows of shelves. Stacks of paper and a few rolls of parchment perched on the tables.
    “It looked the same. Didn’t smell like this.”
    “Well? What did you want to see here?”
    Tan pointed toward the door along the back wall. The last time he’d been here, Roine had to shape it open.
    Cianna hurried toward the door. She touched the lock and performed a quick shaping.
    Tan felt the pull of the shaping differently this time, almost as if he could see what she did. With a jab of fire, she shaped through the lock on the door, destroying it. Cianna pulled it away and dragged the door open. Darkness greeted them.
    “Any lanterns?” she asked, peering into the darkness.
    This might be a shaping he could do. Shapers lanterns only required there be a shaper, not any particular shaping. With a focus of effort, Tan lit them. A steady white light lit the way down the stairs.
    Cianna snorted. With a quick shaping, she flickered the lanterns on, then off. “More than I’m used to seeing.” She turned and looked over at Tan. “There are a couple in the university, but not many. How do you know how to light them?”
    “They lined the cavern in the place of the cavern…” He trailed off, not wanting to remind Cianna of that time.
    Cianna’s face tightened for a moment and then she nodded. “I think I remember. Too much of that time remains blank for me. Ever since your girl lifted the shaping, there are gaps.”
    Tan frowned. “Was it like that for the others?”
    “Don’t know,” she said, shrugging. “Most of us didn’t talk about it much. Too proud. Too stupid, maybe.”
    Tan wondered what