The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (45 page)

“Mucking about?” she asked with peaked
curiosity.

“Two years in the Firym army, let me tell you
that is not easy for one outside of their nation to accomplish.
When I had finished my enlistment there, I spent a year on a
Serpent Ship and earned my armor. I never could have afforded
Serpent bone if I hadn’t helped kill the bastards.” His voice had
taken on a bardic tone as he spoke, and she found herself watching
him in fascination.

“So that puts you at nineteen. There are
seven years unaccounted for,” she prodded.

“Well, after I had proper armor, I decided I
needed proper steel, so I went off to Arovan. The Hai’dia make the
best metals, though the Firym will argue. Of course, the Firym will
argue about anything, so that’s really beside the point. I enlisted
in their army for about two years and learned the proper way of the
Cavalry according to their beliefs. Which, by the way, is quite
different from the Firym beliefs on Cavalry.” He took another sip
from the flask and shifted his position in the saddle a bit,
patting his horse’s neck. “That’s actually where I got this brute
from. He is an Arovan courser. Since I had joined the army, I got
the arms free for my two years of service and bought the horse with
the coin I had earned. Then I decided since I was in the land of
Knights anyway, I might as well learn to Joust.”

“I didn’t know you could Joust,” she broke in
excitedly. “I didn’t see you in the Joust at the Spring Games.”

“Ahh, yes, well I was getting to that. By the
time I went in for lance training, I was twenty one and had an ego
that required its own living space. It was my first day on the
training field, when I met someone around my own age that was quite
possibly worse than I was, as far as arrogance goes. It was hate at
first sight and every second of every day we were at each other’s
throats and constantly competing. I was by far better with swords
and he was unquestionably better with lances, though I never would
have admitted it at the time. Luckily for me, he was attending the
Academy and was only there for his break. I finished my training in
the time he was away, and then I myself went on to Sanctuary.” His
smile had widened as he told the story and he glanced over at Jala
and gave a light chuckle.

“I hadn’t been in Sanctuary more than a week
before I bumped into my bitter rival in a bar. I was already in my
cups when he entered and didn’t quite notice the rather large
individual sitting at a corner table. Naturally, I had to open my
mouth, and it wasn’t long after I did that the entire tavern was in
a brawl. In the course of it, I found myself pairing off against
the big brute, and when I woke up all three of us were sitting
comfortably in a Justicar holding cell, and my head felt like it
was going to fall off. Not wanting to start another fight when I
was outnumbered and had already been beaten rather badly, I tried
another route and simply started a conversation. By the time we
were released, Valor and I had come to the agreement that I
wouldn’t enter the Joust and he wouldn’t enter Swords, and neither
of us would ever brawl with Jail again.”

“But you and Valor are best friends; I can’t
believe you hated each other,” she protested.

Finn gave a slight shrug and looked ready to
reply but fell silent and held up a hand. He cocked his head and
seemed to focus and then looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Jingling metal and footsteps,” he explained and pushed his horse
up by Madren’s and signaled a halt for everyone.

I will watch from the shadows. If you have
need of me, I will be close,
Marrow said to her and moved
swiftly from the trail, disappearing almost instantly into the
gloom. Jala watched him go and swallowed back any protest. It was
probably best that he be unseen, for Bendazzi were not welcome in
many places.

“Nice to have him watching our backs,” Wisp
offered quietly.

Jala gave a nod of agreement to Wisp and
glanced back to Shade and Leah before urging her own mount forward.
If what they had explained was true, the only people they would
encounter in this forest were the witches. With only a bit of
trepidation, she pushed her horse past Finn and Madren. This was
her quest, after all, and it was only right that she face whatever
was heading their way. She heard the rest of her group move forward
and stop, but she didn’t look back.

Ahead of them on the trail a figure was
emerging from the gloom. A tall woman in a faded scarlet dress
approached slowly leading a small donkey behind her. She wore a
hooded black cloak and walked with her head bent slightly, and at
first Jala thought she was old. She straightened as she neared them
and pulled the cloak back, revealing dark hair hanging loose about
her shoulders. Small coins were braided into the locks and made a
faint jingling noise as she moved. Her skin was dusky and smooth,
and her large dark eyes surveyed them with open curiosity.

“Oh by the Aspects, she is still beaut…”
Madren began, his voice cut off sharply with a loud crack followed
by a thump. Jala looked back quickly to see Madren lying sprawled
beside his horse and Finn shaking his hand slightly as he examined
his knuckles.

“What in the name of the Aspects was that
for?” Shade demanded as he dismounted and moved quickly to Madren’s
fallen form.

“What? Did you want to wait for him to break
out a box of drugged chocolates and propose to her? Better to stop
him before he got himself killed,” Finn snapped.

“Um…guys, witch, remember,” Wisp said
quietly, looking pointedly at the woman ahead of them.

Jala turned her gaze back to the witch
deciding to let her friends work out their differences considering
the company they were in. The dusky skinned woman looked amused at
the spectacle and Jala took that as a good sign. She dismounted
slowly and moved closer to the woman. “My name is Jala, I’m looking
for the Oracle,” she said in a respectful tone, bowing her head to
the woman.

“I am called Myzra the Traveler,” the woman
replied with an answering nod. She eyed Jala with interest and
dropped the lead to the donkey as she moved closer. “You have been
brushed by death, little sister. You are nearly one of us,” Myzra’s
voice was low and melodic.

“I have seen far more death than I like,”
Jala agreed, trying to keep her eyes on the woman who was slowly
walking a circle around her. Her gaze flicked to Finn, as he moved
past the two of them and stopped by the little donkey, scratching
the beast behind the ears and casually glancing at the bulky packs
it carried.

“Are you one of the mages of the Tolanteer
forest, Myzra?” Jala asked, hoping to keep the woman’s attention
from Finn’s snooping.

Myzra gave a slight nod and stopped in front
of Jala once more. “I am one of the five. I am not the one you
seek, however. You want the Oracle, then. You wish to see Anthae
the Seer.”

“Can you tell me where to find her?” Jala
asked. She could see Finn behind the woman trying to catch her eye
subtly. Carefully she turned her gaze toward him while trying to
seem as though her attention was still focused on the witch. Finn
nudged the donkey slightly with his hip giving her a better view of
the packs and pointed down. Fingers protruded from below one of the
canvas coverings, and Jala had to struggle to keep her expression
from changing. Finn raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a look
that held warning. He lightly tapped a sword to signal he would be
ready if needed. If her other companions had noticed Myzra’s cargo,
they gave no indication. Both Shade and Leah seemed occupied by
trying to wake Madren quietly, and Wisp simply sat on her horse as
silent as the trees beside her.

“He trespassed where he was not welcome,”
Myzra said calmly when Jala’s eyes came to rest on her again.
“Those who do not belong in Tolanteer do not live long.”

“We do not mean to trespass. I simply wish to
speak with the Oracle. If that is not possible we will leave at
once,” Jala replied, unsure what else she could say.

“For you who are nearly sister to us, it is
possible. These others I will allow to live with the agreement that
your young friend removes his hand from his sword now,” Myzra said
in her same soothing voice and glanced back to give Finn a smile
that held no warmth in it at all.

Finn moved his hand from the sword and gave a
slight nod before moving from the donkey, as well. With a shrug to
Jala, he returned to wait by the horses. “My apologies, Lady,” he
said to Myzra as he passed.

Myzra gave a toss of her hand as if it were
no concern. She looked back to Jala and then to Finn, and a flash
of amusement crossed her face. “You will need a coin for passage,”
she said to Jala. Jala blinked in confusion and started to reach
for her coin purse, but the witch stopped her with a laugh. “No
child, not that coin, one of these.” She reached up to her hair and
pulled one of the small copper discs from a braid and handed it
over to her. “Carry it on with you and if you see another of my
sisters show her the coin and tell her who you seek and she will
allow you to pass. You will find Anthae at the cottage just ahead,”
Myzra said and moved away quietly to gather the donkey’s lead
again. “Be careful what you ask of Anthae. Answers are often
dangerous.” The witch smiled and began walking again, her gaze
flickering across each in the group as she passed.

Jala watched her go and looked down to the
worn copper coin in her hand, then moved back to her horse. As far
as she could see there was nothing special about the coin other
than it was a bit melted on the sides.

“Do you know what that is?” Finn asked
quietly, his gaze on the coin, as well.

“A copper from Goswin, I suppose, though I’m
not sure,” Jala answered as she dropped the coin into her cloak
pocket.

“A dead man’s coin. They place them over the
eyes before they bury or burn a corpse. Some cultures do anyway,”
he corrected.

“She was wearing dozens of them and she had a
bloody corpse on the donkey,” Jala said in a hoarse whisper, her
nerves from earlier returning in a rush. Her eyes traveled to the
path ahead of them, and she felt goose bumps rise on her arms. She
wondered what, exactly, she had led her friends into.

“Yep, she was easily the creepiest woman I’ve
ever met,” Finn said and nudged his horse forward. He glanced back
at her and gave her a devilish grin. “She had a sweet ass
though.”

Jala groaned at the joke and rolled her eyes,
giving a nervous chuckle. She looked over her shoulder and saw that
they had managed to revive Madren and get him back on his horse.
Shade gave her a nod, and she pushed her horse forward to ride
beside Finn.

“Now where were we? Ah, yes, my male bonding
with Valor and Jail,” Finn began.

By the time they reached their destination,
Finn had once again fought away her nerves with his conversation.
To her relief, they had not encountered any of the forest’s other
denizens on their way, nor had she seen any sign of Marrow, though,
and she was growing worried. The small cottage stood sheltered in a
grove barely big enough for the six horses. Despite the long years
since Goswin had fallen, it was in remarkably good repair with what
looked to be fresh paint and a tidy thatch roof. Just beyond the
edge of it, she could see the hint of a small garden and the faint
smell of mint and thyme drifted to them on the breeze.

Jala rode forward, stopping a few feet from
the cottage, and glanced around the grove once more just to be sure
she hadn’t missed anyone in the shadows. She had been hoping to
catch a glimpse of the Bendazzi, as well, but if he was nearby she
saw no sign of it.

The door of the cottage opened as she
dismounted. A slender woman stood framed in the doorway, the soft
glow of candles behind her. She was taller than Myzra, with a proud
bearing. Her silver hair was tied back from her face with a few
braids hanging loose to brush her cheek. The coins of dead men
dangled from the braids and Jala had to suppress a shudder as she
watched them glint in the candlelight.

Stepping a few steps closer, Jala bowed her
head respectfully. “Milady, my name is Jala. I am seeking Anthae
the Seer.”

“And you have found her. You may enter. Your
companions must wait,” Anthae said, her voice soft and barely above
a whisper. The candlelight behind her gave shadows to her face and
made it impossible to see her expression, but her voice had a
welcoming note to it.

Jala nodded and handed her reins to Finn. He
frowned at her as she turned toward the cottage and caught her
hand. She looked back at him and smiled. “I’ll be fine,” she
assured him, hoping she was, in fact, telling the truth.

“You have any problems, yell and I’ll bring
the door down,” he promised, and gave her hand a light squeeze
before letting her go. Jala bit her lower lip and gave him a quick
nod then headed toward the door. Anthae moved aside and let her
pass before pulling the door shut behind the two of them. Jala
looked around as she entered and felt herself relax a bit. The room
was well lit by candles and a small fire burned in the fireplace.
The cottage was tidy with comfortable furniture and the pleasant
smell of drying herbs. It had a comforting feel to it and reminded
her of her long ago home in Merro. Anthae motioned her to a chair
and sat down across from her. Silently, the witch poured tea for
the two of them and slid a cup toward Jala.

“Thank you,” Jala said, accepting the tea and
trying hard not to stare at the woman. Her face was delicate with
high cheekbones and full lips. She must have been beautiful in her
youth, but some tragedy had made a ruin of her eyes. Terrible scars
covered them from one side of her face to the other, and the eyes
themselves were a solid milky white.

“Fingernails, I clawed them in a fit of
madness after the failing.” Anthae said in her whispery voice as if
she could feel Jala’s eyes upon her.