The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (41 page)

“Oh how I will miss you, you poxy whore,” he
sighed, speaking to the city itself. It was true that Sanctuary was
one of the most dangerous places one could be, if you chose the
wrong area of the city of course. But to Charm, a city-bred rogue,
it was safety. No matter if Hemlock ruled here, or if starvation
drove many to desperation in certain quarters, he knew he could
melt away into the shadows here and know safety. The shadows of the
wilderness were a much different story. Trees didn’t conceal the
way alleys did, and the common theory “if you could hide in one
shadow you could hide in any shadow,” was only true for those that
actually held shadow magic. He did not. His skills at hiding were
perfectly natural with no arcane involved, and most importantly,
had been learned in a city.

With a last wistful look at Sanctuary, he
pulled on his cloak and removed a ring from the depths of a pocket.
He slid it onto his finger and brought the memory of Lutheron to
mind. The ring was standard issue for field operatives, and in
moments, he could see Lutheron standing in a grove of ancient
trees, holding the reins of two horses. His expression did not look
the least bit patient, and Charm found himself wondering how long
the man had been waiting on him. He called on the ring’s magic once
more and felt the tiled roofs and the safety of the city wash away
from him in one silent wave of magic.

He stood blinking a few moments in the
dappled shade of the forest and looked to Lutheron. “Sorry to keep
you waiting. I slept later than I expected,” he said, as Lutheron
silently handed him a set of reins. Charm regarded the horse with a
critical eye. He wasn’t much of a horseman, but he knew a bit about
the beasts, and this one seemed quite fine. Better than the
standard Fionaveir horse, given that a fine horse attracts
attention. There were exceptions of course, such as Victory’s
horse, Avalanche, but the common man kept a common horse. This was
a fine boned gelding with a coat the color of dawn mist. His muzzle
and legs were a darker grey with fine dappling on his sides in the
same color. His mane and tail hung thick and were brushed to a
gloss without a single burr in them. The tack was exceptional, as
well. Freshly oiled black leather with bright silver buckles. He
looked to Lutheron’s mount which was a dark blood bay of the same
quality. With a raised eyebrow, he glanced at Lutheron.

“The horses are courtesy of Lord Blackwolf.
He wishes us the best of luck on our mission,” Lutheron replied
quietly.

Charm looked back at his own mount with a
smirk. The idea of the High Lord of Glis providing him with a horse
was a rather amusing one. Previous to the barrier, the only thing
Lord Blackwolf would have considered giving him was a noose, and he
had done his best to avoid the man during their captivity inside
the barrier. It all went back to some paltry matter involving a
black pearl necklace or maybe a diamond ring, at this point of his
career it all tended to blur together.

A faint rattle of leaves drew his attention
to the edge of the grove, and he found himself eye to eye with a
wolf the size of a pony. That, of course, was not unusual in Glis,
but it was unsettling, especially considering the High Lord had a
tendency to turn into such a creature himself. This beast, however,
was a brown variety with hints of grey in its coat. The High Lord,
much as his name implied, shifted to a very large black wolf; a
very bad tempered black wolf, if Charm remembered correctly.

“One of our escorts, there are three of them,
all wolves and all young,” Lutheron said as he mounted the bay.
“Shall we go? I’d like to make it as far as Briarford by nightfall.
That was the direction Solace was headed in her last report.”

Charm gave a quick nod and mounted the grey.
The saddle was a comfortable one, padded in the seat, and the bags
that hung behind them swung heavy with the promise of packed food.
Perhaps he was judging Lord Blackwolf harshly
he mused.
there was a chance the man wasn’t quite as bad as he had seemed
all those years before.

“Any idea what we will be facing?” Charm
called ahead to Lutheron who had already guided his horse from the
grove. The ancient trees were thick here and partially obscured
him, prompting Charm to push his own mount into motion. Pine
needles gave slightly with the occasional snap of a twig beneath
the horse’s hooves, but other than that, the area was silent. Not
even the hint of the typical birdsong hung in the area. Charm
frowned and looked up to try and see if any birds were actually
around. He wasn’t a woodsman by any means, but the forest seemed
unnaturally quiet.

“Something capable of wiping out an entire
village in one day and handling Solace and Hawk two very seasoned
Fionaveir,” Lutheron called back. “You believe them dead then?”
Charm asked, a bit shocked. He knew Solace and Hawk well. The
couple worked better together than any team in the Fionaveir, and
they were known to be talented too, so talented they were often
relied on for the more difficult missions.

“If Caspian thought them alive he wouldn’t
have sent me,” Lutheron replied. “He sent me to find whatever
killed them and get make sure it dies.”

Charm wanted to ask why, exactly, Caspian had
sent him with Lutheron, but judging by the coolness in the man’s
voice, it wasn’t the time to ask. So, they were here for killing
that seemed simple enough. With luck, they might even be able to
find the ranger’s remains. If the bodies were fresh enough, a
skilled life mage could return them to life. If not, then they
could at least see their friends properly buried. Being a
Fionaveir, properly buried meant a good retirement. A rumble
sounded above him, and he looked up toward the sky. It was
difficult to see through the tangled limbs of the ancient oaks and
pines, but the sky looked a bit dark to the south. Gaelyn was south
of them though he had no idea where Briarford was. It would seem he
was riding toward a rather wet day in the wilderness.

“What a perfectly wonderful way to start a
perfectly wonderful day,” he sang again lightly, getting a rather
odd look from the wolf pacing a few feet to his left. He ignored
the Shifter and continued whistling the song under his breath. His
gaze moved from tree to tree and along the fern-lined trail they
rode on. While it wasn’t the pristine gardens of Sanctuary, it did
have a certain feral beauty to it. Soon enough he would be in
hostile country, getting soaked through by a storm while hunting
very proficient killers with a very proficient killer as company.
For now, he would make the best of it and whistle if he damn well
pleased, while enjoying the serene beauty around him. Only the
Aspects knew when he would be able to do either again.

Jala sat up in her bed with a start. Her body
was covered with a thin film of sweat and her breathing came quick.
She blinked a few times and looked around her room until she was
fully awake. She was used to nightmares, but that had not been a
nightmare. She felt a blush heat her cheeks and wondered if she had
made any noise, suddenly conscious that the object of her dream
slept just on the other side of her wall.

I wonder if his empathic abilities are
always active, or if he just senses your emotions on occasions.
Would be interesting to know what he dreams of tonight
,
Marrow’s voice was filled with amusement as he spoke in her mind
and she felt herself tense at the words. She hadn’t even considered
Finn sensing her mood. With a rush of panic, she turned and
regarded the wall with an expression of dismay. Just the thought of
explaining her dream to him made her blush deeper.

Her door cracked open a bit, and she nearly
fell out of bed onto her face at the sound. She looked over to find
Finn leaning through the crack with a look of concern. Seeing her
awake, he stepped the rest of the way into her room and she found
herself grateful for the darkness of the room. At least he might
not notice her blush. He crossed the room silently, wearing nothing
more than pants that had obviously just been put on, as they were
not even laced properly. She couldn’t see his expression, given the
darkness, but she could sense his concern.

“Are you okay? Did you have another
nightmare? I could sense panic,” he whispered and knelt by her
bedside, so close she could smell the scent of him, a mixture of
soap and sweat, and that certain spice that seemed his alone. He
ran a hand down Marrow’s back as he waited for her answer, seeming
to relax when he noticed the Bendazzi’s calmness.

“I’m fine, the trip today has just put my
nerves on edge, I suppose,” she replied quietly, and it wasn’t
entirely a lie. She was rather nervous at the prospect of traveling
to the Tolanteer forest. He reached up and squeezed her hand giving
her a smile she could barely make out in the darkness.

“Nothing to worry about. You will have Marrow
and me with you, and I believe Wisp plans to go, as well. If
something actually makes it past us, Wisp will put an arrow through
its eye,” he said, his tone reassuring.

“She mentioned going yesterday after classes,
but I didn’t know she had decided on it,” Jala said. Her blush was
receding now and she felt her pulse slowing. She gave a glance
toward the window. It was still full dark out with stars shining
brightly. The moon itself wasn’t visible, but she guessed dawn was
still hours away. “I’m okay, really. You should get back to bed
because it’s bound to be a long day. By the end of it, I’m sure we
will both regret my waking us,” she urged, though she doubted she
would ever regret seeing Finn at any hour of the day.

Finn looked away from her and down to Marrow
and made an amused sound. “Not a bad idea at all,” he murmured with
another gentle stroke down the Bendazzi’s back. Marrow stretched
out fully on his side and from what Jala could sense he seemed far
too pleased with himself.

“What did he say?” she asked, hoping her
voice hadn’t actually squeaked as she thought it had. She frowned
down at Marrow and once again found herself regretting that he
could speak with others. He seemed to prefer to send his brief
little comments to Finn more than anyone else though. It might be
that Finn was simply not afraid of him and hadn’t shown any
concern, since she had told him Marrow was her Familiar. It might
also be that the Bendazzi had a very sadistic sense of humor and
liked making her squirm. Of the two choices she strongly suspected
the latter.

I have nothing but your best interest in
mind, you know this. Quit fussing
. Marrow’s words were mildly
scolding, but still held far too much amusement for her to quit
fussing as he put it.

Finn released her hand and stood with a
slight stretch he seemed to examine her bed and then lifted the
covers and laid down beside her. She looked at him with wide eyes
unsure if she wanted to object or rejoice. “He said I should just
stay in here given there wasn’t much left of the night, and in the
event that you had another dream, I would be close if you needed
me,” he answered at last. With a contented sigh, he shifted his
position to a more comfortable one and draped an arm across her
waist before closing his eyes. “All in all, I would say your
Familiar is a very wise one,” he whispered and pulled her over
closer to him.

“Indeed,” she replied a bit breathless, and
forced herself to relax. She had slept beside Finn before and not
had erotic dreams. Of course, that had been right after visiting
Merro and the memories of her past, and that was far from stimulus
to lust. She paused at the word, and searched deeper in her mind.
Was it lust? That seemed a word more for Finn’s warmers. She didn’t
really know what word was right for her in this circumstance. She
had only known him a few months but the world seemed empty when he
wasn’t nearby. She had missed Shade when he had gone off to do
errands, but when Finn left to do something, or she had classes and
he wasn’t around, everything was darker somehow. That hardly seemed
a proper description for lust.

“What are you thinking about?” His voice was
barely a whisper in her ear and his breath was warm on her
neck.

She stiffened slightly. She thought he had
gone to sleep. He was so still and his breathing so soft, she
couldn’t believe he’d been lying there so quietly. Finn was not the
sort simply to lie still. He was always either talking or moving.
“I thought you were asleep,” she admitted.

“That doesn’t answer the question,” he
pressed. His eyes were still closed and his expression seemed
peaceful, from what she could see of it.

“Do you sense my emotions all of the time? I
catch yours from time to time but not often,” she asked. It was, of
course, not what she had been thinking of, but he didn’t need to
know that.

“Only on occasion, and it seems to be mostly
when you are distressed,” he answered.

“I usually catch your amusement. I don’t
think you are angry often enough for me to know if I sense that
regularly. but I did catch that from you at the Arena,” she
replied. Shifting her position slightly she turned more to face him
and rested her hand on his chest. The skin was warm and soft to the
touch with the strength of stone in the muscles relaxed beneath it.
“Is that normal? I have never sensed anyone’s emotions before,” she
asked. It was a question she truly hoped he would answer, and she
prayed he would say it wasn’t normal. It seemed like a special
connection to her, and if he said he sensed the emotions of others,
it would steal the magic from it.

“Not normal at all, unless you are an Empath.
I’ve never sensed anything off anyone before, not even my own
brother,” he replied, and she felt a surge of joy at the words. She
carefully removed the beaming smile from her face and thanked
Fortune that his eyes were still closed. She saw him smile then and
heard him give a slight chuckle. “Now that was much better than the
emotions I usually get from you,” he said opening one eye to regard
her. “Maybe it has to do with how close I am to you,” he suggested
with a roguish grin and pulled her even closer. She was pressed
against him fully now, flattened to his side gently from shoulder
to legs. “I always move closer when you are upset, maybe I should
start moving closer when you are happy to balance things.”