The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (18 page)

Madren gave a happy smile and nodded his
head. “You got it, Shade, it’s a date,” he agreed happily.

“No.” Christian, Lex, and Leah all spoke the
word at once, and Jala felt herself jump a bit. She glanced between
them and back at Madren. The boy was looking a bit sheepish but
nodded slightly.

“It is not a date, Madren. You are helping
her learn. That’s it, understand?” Christian asked carefully and
waited for the boy to nod again before he seemed satisfied. He
turned back to Jala. “All right, I had planned to take you to the
opening of the Spring Games, but I can’t ignore this summons. So,
if you have no objections, Madren will help you get up to speed on
things in the morning, and when I get back we can go watch Lex
fight in the first round of swords.”

She nodded, still curious at the reaction
they had toward Madren, but decided to ignore it. “That’s fine with
me, as long as Madren doesn’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Madren called
happily.

Christian pushed his chair back and stood
slowly. “Leah, plan on sticking around here tomorrow. I want you
here just in case they need anything.”

Leah gave him an amused smile and a nod of
understanding. “You got it, Shade,” she said with a smirk.

“Nice to meet you, Jala, and welcome to the
Academy,” Lex said quietly as she stood to follow Christian.

“Nice to meet you, as well, Lex. Goodnight,”
Jala replied with a smile and followed Christian into the hall.

“They all call you Shade,” she said as they
left the room. She hadn’t mentioned it in front of the others, but
it struck her as odd. “Is it a nickname?” she asked.

He gave a slight nod. “It is. I actually
prefer it. Only my parents and strangers call me Christian anymore,
and I tend to answer better to Shade,” he explained.

“Then I’ll switch to Shade, too, if you don’t
mind,” she offered.

He nodded with a smile and led her quietly
down several doors before stopping. He leaned against the wall
beside the door and smiled at her again. “I’ve never actually had a
Jimpa before. I saw them in a Merro market once when I was visiting
there with my father,” he said quietly.

“Bliss is very close to the border,” she said
with a shrug.

He gave a slight nod and reached over to turn
the door knob. She couldn’t read from his expression whether or not
he had accepted her answer and he was apparently willing to drop
the topic. “This will be your room. The bed should be made, but no
promises. It’s been empty for about five months, but it has spells
in place to keep it fresh inside.”

She glanced inside and then back to him.
“Will the owner be returning? I don’t want to take someone’s room,”
she asked. If it had only been empty five months, there was a
possibility they would be returning for admissions.

“No, he died in a duel,” he answered, and his
expression showed he would rather not continue the discussion.
Given how often he had let her steer away from uncomfortable
topics, she was willing to let it go.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. Of
course, you wouldn’t give me someone else’s room,” she mumbled.

He gave her a shrug and let the door swing
the rest of the way open and motioned down the hall a short way.
“The blue door is mine. The one to the left of it is Leah’s, and
the one to the right is Lex’s. Directly across the hall from mine
is Oma’s, who you will meet tomorrow. As a general warning, she
doesn’t talk to anyone but me. Please don’t be offended by that.
I’ll explain when we aren’t exhausted. The one at the very far end
of the hall past the parlor is Madren’s. If you need anything try
my door first and then Leah’s.” He pushed off the wall and gave her
a smile. “I think that about sums it up. Goodnight.” He gave her a
wink and headed toward his own room.

She watched him for a moment and then stepped
into her room. With a yawn, she closed the door behind her. The
room darkened dramatically with the door closed. She frowned and
considered hunting for the light but decided she was simply too
tired to care. She gave her eyes a minute to adjust and then moved
toward the darker shadow of the bed. With a soft grunt, she dropped
boneless onto the edge of it and removed her sandals. She shrugged
out of her coat and crawled to the center of the bed without even
bothering to remove the fine silk dress. Sleep took her the moment
her head touched the pillows, and for once in a very long time it
was dreamless and peaceful.

“Tell me why any self-respecting person would
build their damn city underground?” Havoc growled. They had left
their horses above hours ago and had been making their descent
through the twisting narrow tunnels since then. The Warrens was
perhaps one of the best named places in all of the lands. It was a
maze of narrow, low tunnels with more dead ends than one could
count. They had encountered at least three such dead ends in the
last hour, and they had a map of this place. Anyone coming down
here unprepared would likely die of starvation before ever seeing
the light of day again. Magical transport was not an option either.
There was Barllen lining the walls in random places, and anyone
foolish enough to try using magic, would likely end up lost in
transit or stuck in a wall. So you either knew where you were going
here, or you didn’t go. Victory had assumed the map had meant they
knew where they were going, but as he stood staring at yet another
dead end he began to wonder.

“I’m going to find the scout that drew our
map and drown him,” Havoc snarled, already turning to retrace their
steps.

Victory looked back down at the map and
frowned. “Wait a moment. Havoc, come here.” He handed the map over
as Havoc approached. “I know I’m not exactly a navigator by trade,
but I do believe I can read a map. And correct me if I’m wrong, but
given our path, shouldn’t we be here?” He indicated a place on the
map that showed the southern entrance tunnel to the subterranean
city.

Havoc studied the map and glanced over his
shoulder as if that could somehow help him in the deciphering. He
looked ahead and studied the rock wall before them and then met
Victory’s eyes. “Doesn’t really matter what the map says, that’s a
wall, Vic, not a gate.”

“What if it is a hidden gate?” Victory asked,
pushing the topic.

Havoc seemed to consider that for a moment,
then shrugged. “I’m no rogue,” he replied. He raised his hands
before him, and the little heat that was in the tunnel seemed to
vanish. Victory’s eyes went wide as he realized what his partner
was doing. With a curse, he moved quickly back the way they had
come just as Havoc’s hands began to glow. He felt the concussive
shock as he rounded the first corner. He pushed himself flat
against the wall as a rush of heat flooded from the dead end he had
just evacuated. With a worried groan, he looked up to the ceiling.
It was doubtful that Havoc had considered the structural
implications of his actions. Havoc was impulsive, not often giving
thought to the long-term effect of his actions.
They partnered
me with him to keep him alive
, Victory muttered to himself and
glanced around the corner. Dim light came from the molten remains
of the rock wall, and Havoc was looking out through the newly made
hole. “I wonder if they realize how impossible he makes that task
at times,” he asked the shadows about him.

“You were right, Vic, it was a hidden door.
Nice,” Havoc called back to him.

“Do you think perhaps we should have tried to
find the release for it rather than blowing it apart?” Victory
asked, irritation clear in his voice as he stepped back around the
corner to stand beside Havoc. The air was thick with fumes from the
melted stone, and the heat was still close to unbearable for him,
but Havoc seemed unfazed

“That would have taken too long. I’d rather
this be done with it,” Havoc replied.

A sharp click drew their attention to the
area beyond the hole, where four guards stood fully armored in
black steel and chain mail, with crossbows leveled at them.
Slightly behind them stood a woman wearing robes so dark blue they
seemed black. She had dusky skin and hair the color of deep steel
grey, pure and unblemished. Her face bore the look of youth as most
Immortals did. She was glaring at them, her hands on her hips.

Victory forced a smile. “Hello, Jenna, so
good to see you again. We were hoping to have a word with your
father.” He greeted her by name hoping to win a bit of mercy. He
hadn’t actually seen her since his days in the Academy, and they
hadn’t been friends then, but there was always a slim chance.

“I’m sure he will have several words for
you,” she shot back and motioned to the guards. “Disarm them and
bring them along.” Two of the guards moved forward at her command.
The other two kept their crossbows trained. Despite what all was
said of the mercenaries of the Warrens, they were quite well
trained.

With a hand raised for them to pause, Victory
quickly unbuckled his sword belt and handed it over to the closest
guard. “We have no desire to fight. We only wish to speak with
Graves,” he said calmly and motioned for Havoc to follow suit.

“Not as if I really need weapons to kill
you,” Havoc said with a shrug, as he removed his own swords and
daggers and handed them over readily.

“Did you really need to add that fact?”
Victory asked him through clenched teeth.

“Not really, I suppose. The bloody big hole
in their gate should pass that fact on nicely enough,” Havoc
replied, nonplussed.

“That gate held Barllen in it. I’m sure my
father will be curious to know how you managed to bring it down
with magic,” Jenna cut in before they could continue their
discussion.

“I’m Firym,” Havoc replied to her with a
scoff as if he couldn’t believe she would ask such a foolish
question.

Victory let out a long sigh and looked to
Jenna. “Milady, would you please escort us to your father now? We
will do our best to answer whatever questions he might have.”

“Escort? That sounds so nice and polite,
almost as if you were guests. You attacked our gates, Victory. That
makes you unarmed enemies, which are now my prisoners.” She smirked
and motioned to her guards. Without another word, the closest man
seized Victory and brought his hands roughly back behind him,
binding them quickly with shackles. He felt the cold metal bite
into his wrists and then the deeper cold as the magic began to seep
out of him. Barllen shackles he realized and cursed the inventor of
the damned metal. He would be lucky if he could open a scry by the
time they reached Graves.

“Victory might be so nice and obliging, but
if you try to put those on me, I’ll cook you,” Havoc warned the
guard approaching him. “I may die, but I promise you that you will
die first, and likely your three friends as well.” He looked to
Jenna and smiled. “You know I will, too, so call off your dog, and
I’ll walk along peacefully.”

She seemed to consider him for a moment, and
Victory saw her eyes flicker to the ruined mess of the gates.
“Leave him unshackled but keep a close eye on him. He is
dangerous,” she said with resignation.

Havoc let out a snort and smiled.
“Obviously,” he agreed.

Victory kicked him lightly in the shin.
“Diplomacy you ass,” he hissed.

Havoc raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t kill
anyone,” he pointed out. “That is about as diplomatic as I get.
Don’t blame me for this. Blame Caspian. He is the one that made you
bring me.”

“If I survive this, I’m requesting a new
partner,” Victory grumbled, sounding childish even to himself.

“Sure you are, just like you were going to
when I got us arrested in Avanti, or when I started that brawl on
the docks in the Greenwild. Or how about that time I set the entire
southern district of traders on fire in Norvan.” He continued to
drone on, and Victory blocked him out. He kept his attention on the
tunnels they were being led through, rather than his partner’s list
of idiocy. That particular bit, he knew all too well. He saw Jenna
glance back a few times, each time her expression growing a bit
more concerned, as Havoc continued his list of deeds that had
earned him his name. Victory suppressed a smile. If Havoc meant to
unnerve her, he was doing an excellent job. By the time they
reached Graves, she would either demand him killed on the instant
or have them both expelled from the city.

They hadn’t gone more than a quarter of a
mile from the gate before the tunnel opened into a cavern so large
the ceiling and walls were lost in shadows. They were on a slight
rise and the area commanded an impressive view of the entire city.
It had been divided into neat districts with perfectly straight
streets running through them. It was a welcome sight after the maze
above to see such order. He could clearly pick out the merchant
district as well as the housing, and closest to them was obviously
the military quarter, where troops were training below in perfect
precision.

A thick musk rose from that area as well, a
sure indication that the Warrens Calvary was quartered there.
Grave’s mercenaries were famous for the beasts. He scanned the area
until he found one of the creatures. He had never actually seen one
before. He had read of them, of course, but that was hardly the
same. Overall, the creature had the build of a very large wolverine
with thick grey hair covering its body, hiding the tightly
compacted muscles below. He searched his memory for the proper name
for the beast and after a moment was rewarded for his years of
study at the Academy. Zyvrine, they were called. A creature from
beyond the barrier, and according to the history books they were
capable of tunneling through stone faster than most horses could
run. He found that hard to believe but decided here was not the
best place to dispute the fact. It was said Graves could have his
Zyvrine riders under a battlefield, and not even a skilled earth
mage could detect them. It was their crowning glory as well as
infamy. It was well known that the mercenaries of the Warrens did
not fight fair.