The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (36 page)

She brushed a hand back through her hair,
grumbling slightly as the brown curls tangled around her fingers,
and settled for just pushing it back for the moment. She let her
eyes travel the landscape before answering, not sure exactly how
she wanted to phrase her words.

Hawk raised an eyebrow at her and offered her
a leather tie for her hair. He remained silent. He would, until she
answered, she knew. Even if she didn’t give a reply until tomorrow,
he would wait. He had patience like no other. She took the tie and
bound her hair back sloppily. At the moment, she really didn’t care
what she looked like. She just wanted it out of her face.

“I’m worried. I suppose that is about the
only way I can put it. Those men back there were rangers and
trappers and were simple farmers. They knew the dangers of where
they lived and they were still caught unaware. I just don’t want to
lose you,” she said at last, her eyes still locked on the distant
fields.

“We are a bit more than common trackers,” he
pointed out quietly.

“I couldn’t get a scent off those tracks,
Hawk. Nothing. All that I could pick up was blood, I don’t know if
I’ll ever get the scent of blood out of my nose.” She looked back
at him as she spoke.

He gave her a halfhearted smile. “But they
left tracks, and that’s enough,” he said.

“They left tracks near their victims; they
didn’t leave any leaving the village. We are riding blind right
now, hoping we have guessed which way they are heading. We don’t
even know how many there are.” she protested.

“Four, I think, and the direction we are
going is the right one; I can feel it,” Hawk replied.

“How do you know?” she pushed.

Hawk gave a rueful chuckle and smiled at her.
“Because every instinct I have tells me to ride the other way,” he
answered with a shrug.

“Well I’m not worried anymore,” she said in a
voice barely above a whisper. “Now I’m scared, and that’s not
something I’m used to.”

He took her hand again, cupping it in his
larger callused one. With a smile, he raised it to his lips and
kissed it lightly. “If you are scared, imagine how these people
must feel, knowing what waits in the dark for them. We will find
it, and stop it. We are Fionaveir. We are their shield.”

Solace closed her eyes and clutched his hand.
Her instincts told her to turn around, as well. She had learned
long ago to listen to those instincts. They had kept her alive this
long. With a nod, she pushed her mare forward and continued toward
Briarford. The village wasn’t a large one, perhaps sixty people,
and mostly farmers. It was as far as they had guessed from the map,
the next likely place for a massacre.

“You are gloating,” Jala pointed out with a
frown. Finn gave her an innocent look and smiled. He carried the
smaller of her two trunks balanced easily on one shoulder while the
other bobbed gently behind her, carried by magic.

“Me?” he asked in mock disbelief. “I never
gloat. That would be unseemly.”

“Of course not,” she agreed dryly. “Exactly
how far into the maze is your hall?”

“It’s not exactly my hall, per se. It’s more
of a common hall for first circle with no house affiliations,” he
clarified. “And it’s not much farther. They keep us in the back
where we won’t start too much trouble.”

“Does that work?” she asked.

He considered the question and shook his
head. “No, not at all. There are certainly a few of us who know how
to behave. Those that I’m friends with, not at all,” he answered
with an unapologetic shrug.

They rounded another corner and he turned to
head up a set of wide stairs. This part of the building looked
older than what she had been staying in, but it had a certain charm
to it. Most of the old stone had been covered with ivy, and small
blue flowers lined the ground on either side of the stairs. The
dark wood door had a sigil on it that seemed much more recent than
the door itself. “Is that the mark for the arena?” she asked as she
stepped up behind him.

Finn flashed her a grin and nodded. “You will
meet the others. We decided it was the best way to mark where we
lived, considering.”

“Considering what?” she asked, following him
through the doorway and into the dimly lit corridor.

If he responded, she didn’t hear it. No
sooner had the door closed, than a loud squeal came from a nearby
room. Jala froze, unsure of what to expect. A door was flung open
with a bang and a half-dressed girl stumbled out, her auburn hair
in complete disarray. She let out a giggle and fell back against a
wall as a half-dressed man followed her out. He was barefoot, and
wore only trousers which were halfway unlaced themselves, she noted
with a blush. An empty bottle of wine was clutched in one hand, and
he seemed to be swaying a bit. He half fell toward the girl,
catching himself at the last moment with one hand against the wall.
With another wild giggle, the girl wrapped both arms around the
man’s waist and rose to kiss him.

Jala slowly looked from the drunken couple
blocking the hall, to Finn, who was looking a bit sheepish and
scratching the back of his neck. “Interesting entertainment for so
early in the day,” she said coolly.

He gave her a smile and motioned toward the
man. “Jala, this is Valor, a very good and apparently very drunk
friend of mine,” he said, by way of introduction. With a frown, he
leaned down slightly trying to get a better look at the girl and
then shrugged. “I have no idea who she is, however, and it likely
doesn’t matter.”

Valor broke away from the embrace at the
sound of his name and stood upright still wavering somewhat. He was
taller than Finn by a couple of inches and in about the same
physical shape with a well-honed body. Aside from the fresh scratch
marks lining his back, he appeared to be without scars, as well. He
brushed a lock of silver hair from his eyes and squinted toward
them. “Finn!” he called happily, once he had apparently recognized
his friend. “Oh, that’s a nice one you have there. Wait, is that
Shade’s kitten?” he asked in a voice thick with drink.

“My kitten now, Val, her name is Jala. How
much have you drunk today?” Finn replied easily, and ignored the
scathing look Jala was giving him.

“I’m not your kitten,” Jala hissed. He, of
course, ignored her comment as much as he had her look and
continued to regard his drunken friend.

Valor looked down at the empty bottle and
gave it a slight shake. He frowned at the lack of wine and tossed
the empty bottle back through the door they had stumbled out of.
The girl had pushed off the wall and wrapped her arms around his
waist, almost knocking both of them to the floor. “Not really sure,
three, maybe, perhaps six,” Valor answered with a shrug.

“Between three and six? Well done, Valor,
well done. Any chance you and your lady will clear the hall for us,
so I can get Jala set up in a room and introduce her to the
others?”

Valor gave a nod and another smile and waved
to Jala. “I’m sure we will talk again, maybe I will even remember
the conversation,” he said with a thick slur as he half-carried the
girl back into his room.

“They aren’t all as fun loving as Valor,”
Finn assured her and continued down the hall.

“He didn’t even notice Marrow,” Jala pointed
out, glancing back at the Bendazzi standing close behind her.

Finn looked back at Marrow and gave a shrug.
“Valor rarely notices such minor details as a man-eating predator
when beautiful women are in the same vicinity.” He motioned to a
door as they walked by. “That’s Neph’s room. He is about as good at
magic as Sovann and closer to hand. I’ll introduce you to him
later, so if you need help with spells you will know him.”

She looked at the door and frowned. There was
a sigil carved into the wood and it wasn’t one she recognized. From
the looks of it though it had been put there with a very dull
knife. “What does that sigil mean?” she asked.

“Cursed, but it’s just a joke, pay it no
mind,” Finn replied easily. He paused outside a door and sat a
trunk down. With a slight grunt, he pushed on the door. It resisted
for a moment and then opened with a sharp crack. Jala looked down
at the splintered lock and then up to Finn in confusion. “You, get
out. You have a new room assignment,” he called inside and took her
key from her hand. With a casual toss, he threw the key at the
inhabitant of the room.

She stared up at Finn in disbelief. “What are
you doing?” she demanded.

“Getting you set up in a room,” he answered
as if it were obvious. He glanced back through the doorway and
frowned. “I’m not playing, so move your ass or I’ll move it,” he
called in a louder voice. Abruptly, a younger man rushed past them
from the room clutching the key and bundled clothes in his arm as
he hurried down the hall.

“I’m sorry,” Jala called after him and
smacked Finn. “You are such a bully,” she hissed.

Finn rubbed his arm and smiled. “And you are
just now noticing this?” he asked. With a shake of his head, he
lifted the trunk back onto his shoulder and moved into the room.
For having just been vacated, the room was remarkably bare of
possessions.

Jala looked around in surprise and then to
Finn. “How did he gem everything so quickly?”

Finn shook his head. “That guy hadn’t been
here long, maybe a week, and I warned him not to get too
comfortable. I don’t like anyone in the room right next to mine,”
he explained and sat her trunk down once again.

“Then why am I in the room next to yours?”
she asked.

“Because you aren’t anyone, you are Jala.
That’s different,” he answered and looked around the room sniffing
lightly. “Does it smell a bit off in here to you?” he asked with a
frown.

Jala watched him a moment longer and sniffed
the air. “A little,” she agreed and worked a quick spell to clean
the room. The magic washed over the walls and floor leaving it all
polished. She grinned. “I remember spending hours doing that by
hand at the Temple,” she sighed, and waved a hand at the bed,
cleaning it, as well.

A rattle came from the door behind them, and
Jala turned to see a dainty, dark-haired girl standing there. She
was fiddling with the broken lock shaking it back and forth. She
stood just over five feet and had the strong look of the Fae about
her. She looked up then and met Jala’s gaze with a smile. Her
features were so delicate and her frame so small, it looked as
though a strong breeze could carry her away. Jala shifted slightly,
self-consciously. She felt like an ox in comparison. The girl
turned her bright green eyes to regard Finn and cleared her
throat.

Finn glanced back and smirked. “Jala, may I
present Wisp. Wisp, this is Jala.” He spoke the introduction with a
formality that shocked her.

The girl curtsied and stood beaming a smile
again. “Wisp is a nickname of, course. My real name is Amelia. Nice
to meet you, Jala.” Wisp moved quickly across the room and gave
Finn a quick hug. “Thank you so much for bringing another girl
here,” she blurted as she broke the hug off.

Finn gave a light chuckle and nodded. “Wisp
has been the only girl in this hall for just about two years. Well
other than warmers, that is,” Finn explained.

“Warmers?” Jala asked.

“The bed warmers they drag home,” Wisp
replied with a roll of her eyes. “But now you are here, and he is
moving you into a room and the one right beside him. So you can’t
be a warmer. You must be going to stay,” she said in a tirade of
words, her voice sounding almost ecstatic.

Jala nodded and broke into a smile. She
couldn’t help it. Wisp was bubbly, and it was apparently
contagious. “Thank you for the warm welcome.”

“We are going to be the best of friends, I’m
sure of it,” Wisp replied, fairly bouncing. “Do you want help
unpacking?” she offered suddenly, her eyes landing on the trunks.
She seemed to notice Marrow then and abruptly fell silent, green
eyes going wide. “A Bendazzi,” she breathed in a voice barely a
whisper.

Jala gave a slight nod and rested her hand on
Marrow’s back. “His name is Marrow. He is my Familiar,” she
explained.

Wisp’s jaw dropped and her delight was
obvious. “Oh how perfectly marvelous,” she chirped and clapped her
small hands together. “I want to be there when Cassia sees him.”
She did bounce then and looked to Finn. “You. Out of here. Your
work is done, and the heavy lifting is over. We will call you if we
need furniture moved,” she ordered and pointed toward the door.

Finn raised an eyebrow and looked ready to
protest, but Wisp gave him a solid push toward the door. “Out! Girl
time. Go,” she repeated, making each word a command as she shoved
him again. Still looking somewhat stunned, Finn left the room with
a final glance. Wisp quickly closed the door, mumbling something as
she did so. The wood on the door gave a slight creak, and the
splintered part of the lock popped back into place. Happily, Wisp
bolted the door and turned back to Jala.

“I’ve never actually seen anyone bully him.
It’s always the other way around,” Jala said, trying to contain a
laugh.

Wisp gave a delicate snort and waved in
dismissal. “Finn is easy to bully. Just catch him when he isn’t
angry and give him a shove. He is pretty much like Valor. Neither
of them would consider raising a hand to a woman.” She gave another
snort, this one filled with amusement. “Well, not in anger anyway.
It’s actually rather difficult to find either of them without a
woman in hand.” She looked around the room and nodded approvingly.
“It doesn’t smell like old cheese in here, anymore. Not sure what
it was about that last guy, but it did smell odd around him.” She
pulled her dark hair up and with a quick twist tied it in a bun,
then brushed her hands together as if getting ready for serious
labor. With a light step, she moved to the first of the trunks and
flung it open. Jala tried not to stare at the pointed ears, but
Wisp seemed to notice anyway.