The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (65 page)

“Focus stones actually and yes they do
faintly glow. I was planning to show them to you when we got back
to Sanctuary. I’d like you to have some,” Sovann clarified.

“What do they do?” she asked curiously,
falling into step beside Sovann and Finn as they led the way toward
Arjuna’s war room.

“Do you remember when I was separating the
magic from the sword the night we met?” Sovann asked quickly
warming to the topic. Beyond everything else, she had found Sovann
cherished talk about his work and studies the most.

She nodded. “The crystals you were filling,
yes I remember.”

“I’ve broken them down more perfectly,” he
explained and held out his open palm to her. He concentrated for a
moment and the faint glow of blue and green and then red came from
just beneath the skin in a circle on his palm. “The blue is for
water, green is earth, and red is fire obviously. They enhance
magic from any of those schools. Since I’m so wretched at battle
magic, I chose to use elemental stones to enhance my weak areas.
Elemental magic is quite effective in any fight,” he explained.

She took his hand and ran a finger across one
of the glowing circles. “Does it hurt?” she asked curiously. To her
amazement, even Finn had stopped and was looking closely at
Sovann’s hand with interest. Finn rarely showed interest in
anything magical in nature unless it was a weapon.

Shaking his head Sovann smiled at her. “No,
not at all, and I’ve saved some stones for you. The ones I thought
you would like. There is arcane, healing, spirit, and all four of
the elemental ones I have so far. You could put three in one hand
and four in the other for now. I will have other stones worked up
later but I’m not sure how many you can safely place in a palm
without disturbing the muscles and bones. They are small but I’d
rather not risk limiting your mobility.” He fished into his pocket
and pulled out the stones to show her. Each one was perfectly cut
and smaller than her little fingernail. At a glance, they resembled
little more than gem stones ready to be set in jewelry.

She offered her hand to Sovann and nodded
toward the stones. “Put them in,” she suggested.

“Wait,” Finn broke in and looked at his
brother closely. “Have you tested these?” he asked watching
Sovann’s face.

Sovann shrugged and gave a slight nod. “No
serious breaking point testing but yes I’ve used them with average
magics. As long as she doesn’t decide to move mountains I don’t
think there is any danger,” he replied.

“You don’t think there is any? Think? If you
are going to put your magical creations anywhere on my wife let
alone under her skin, you had better be sure,” Finn snapped.

“Well, go on then,” Jala urged, waving her
palm at Sovann.

Finn’s gaze abruptly snapped to her and he
shook his head. “Uh, no. You just heard him say he didn’t think
they were dangerous,” he said, emphasizing the word think far more
than needed.

“Finn, don’t be like this. We don’t have time
to argue over this now.” Jala gave him a kiss on the cheek and
nodded to Sovann. “C’mon then, I trust your work.” She waved her
palm once ore and Sovann took it hesitantly his gaze fixed on Finn
and wary. “Finn, tell your brother you aren’t going to stop him
because I want him to do this,” Jala said rolling her eyes and
looking to Finn.

“I won’t stop you from doing this, but if
those stones explode or injure her in any way I’ll remove your legs
and drop you in the middle of a Genji hive,” Finn agreed with a
smile that held no warmth at all.

Sighing heavily, Sovann flicked his gaze up
to Jala. “This is why I was going to wait and tell you in
Sanctuary,” he admitted and began resting the stones in a triangle
pattern on her palm.

He muttered a few words under his breath and
waved his hand over the stones. There was a slight tingle and then
they seemed to melt down into her flesh. She watched in amazement
absently handing him her other hand for the remaining four stones.
Flexing her free hand a few times, she held it up to the light and
tried to find the stones beneath her skin.

“You can’t see them unless they are in use,”
Sovann explained before muttering the incantation once again.

She looked over in time to see the remaining
four gems disappear under her skin and nodded slightly. “How do I
use them?” she asked.

“Why did you have to wait to ask that until
he had already set them into your skin?” Finn asked with a
sigh.

“Focus on the corresponding stone and prepare
a spell in that school,” Sovann explained ignoring his brother as
usual. “The stone will light up if you have done it properly. Go
ahead and give it a try. You can always drop the spell without
finishing it and the stone will return to a dormant state.”

Holding up the hand with the three stones,
Jala did as directed and smiled at the bright white light shining
through her skin. “Very nice, Sovann, thank you,” she said with a
smile.

Reaching over to take her hand, Finn ran a
finger across the point of light and shook his head. “Well, at the
very least you won’t be stumbling around in the dark anymore, your
hand is a bloody mage light now,” he said with a bit of disgust
toward his brother.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Jala said happily
and gave him another kiss on the cheek. “Excellent suggestions,
love.”

Finn regarded her dryly and she snickered in
response. “Shall we continue to the war room?” he asked. She gave a
nod and he stalked off down the hall with a muttered comment about
Sovann’s true genetics.

“You aren’t really spawned by Kali are you?”
Jala asked conversationally as they followed after Finn.

Sovann gave her a smile and a shake of the
head. “No, not that I’m aware of, but that’s much better than when
I was smaller and Finn tried to convince me I was a goblin orphan.
It might have worked too, given how young I was, but Mother caught
him at it and he spent the next few hours bitching about the taste
of soap.”

“When we have kids I will never make them
place soap in their mouths,” Finn called over his shoulder with his
tone firm. He continued walking, his stride relaxing and his
muttering changing to soap rather than his brother.

“Between the age of five and twelve, Finn
tasted every type of soap available in Avanti,” Sovann explained,
his tone mild.

“To this day I still hate lavender,
chamomile, and lilac,” Finn muttered a bit louder.

“If you will notice he normally favors
unscented soap,” Sovann added with a grin that disappeared
completely when Finn glanced over his shoulder with a dark
look.

“I have never actually tasted soap,” Jala
said with a smile. “Perhaps our children will take after me and be
sweet and innocent,” she suggested and Finn snickered. She frowned
at his back and glanced to Sovann. “I think he might have just
suggested I wasn’t a sweet child,” she said with a sniff.

“Do you know that saying that mothers have?
‘I hope your children are ten times worse than you are’ Mother said
that to Finn so many times it became a mantra,” Sovann replied.

“Right, so my children are going to be
bloodthirsty holy terrors that are in mischief from the time they
leave my womb,” Jala said her tone a bit less conversational.

Name the first born Snack and the next
Lunch,
Marrow suggested narrowly dodging her half-hearted smack
in his direction.

Finn came to a stop outside large double
doors engraved with two rearing horses. He looked over to her and
straightened his posture. He had chosen a well-tailored suit in
neutral colors rather than the Firym house colors. Running a hand
through his hair, he nodded slightly to her. She moved forward to
stand beside him and tried to remember everything Madren had told
her about the houses. Judging by Neph’s personality, it would be a
stretch to hope to get along with the heir of House Delvayon. Other
than Oblivion, which she had obvious difficulties with, the other
Lords shouldn’t prove too much of a difficulty.

“Right then, and here we go,” she whispered
to Finn and placed a hand on one door and pushed as he pushed on
the other. The doors parted easily and all eyes inside the room
rose to watch them. Jala recognized several in the room at first
glance.

Symphony sat at the head of the table with
Arjuna to her right. The man to the left was Lord Faydwer judging
by his resemblance to Victory. Lutheron leaned against the wall
behind Symphony and Havoc sat on a chair nearby him. On the other
side of the table loomed a dark haired man in black plate mail. His
dark blue eyes regarded her with all of the emotion of a stone.
Oblivion, she reasoned. Madren had told her how the power of
destruction had also removed the emotions of the remaining
Veirasha. Across from him sat a blond man nearly as large as Jail.
He wore leather and chain armor and by the paleness of his hair and
skin he must be the Delvayon heir. She moved into the room beside
Finn, her gaze lingering on the last man. He was Jail’s father
beyond any doubt. He wore his hair in the same fashion with the
tattoos on the sides and back of his skull. His skin was swarthy
and his expression was quite amused. Beside him sat a large man in
shining plate. His long dark hair was braided down his back and his
expression was neutral giving no indication of what he thought of
his current company. He looked nothing like Valor so he must
actually be Lord Arovan himself. From what Madren had said the
General of Arovan Lord Troyelle Hai’dia usually traveled on behalf
of his lord for such meetings.

“So, this is the lady we swore an oath to
hide the identity of,” Lord Han’shy said, his voice holding more
amusement than his expression. “Forgive me if I’m wrong but this is
also the girl that has Cassia Avanti in such a fit of outrage.”

“I am. Cassia has a bit of a jealousy
problem,” Jala agreed taking a seat near the end of the table. Finn
declined the seat and leaned against the wall behind her, opposite
Lutheron.

“I am informed that you wish to speak with
me,” Zachary said, his voice monotone and deep.

“For the love of all Aspects, drop some
oblivion Zach you sound like a golem,” Havoc objected.

Lord Dark turned to look at Havoc with what
appeared to be annoyance and then exhaled slowly, a dark black fog
drifting from his lips. His eyes seemed to lighten to a lighter
shade of blue with the action and his posture grew more relaxed.
Jala watched with curiosity. Of everyone sitting at the table, she
had been the only one to not lean back away from the black fog.
Even Arjuna had moved his chair a bit.

“Raw oblivion, pure destruction energy,” Lord
Han’shy explained to her as he moved his chair close to the table
again. “As you may have guessed, I am Lord Han’shy, but I’d greatly
prefer you to simply call me Jin, or whatever four letter word you
choose once we know one another better.” he bowed his head to her
and motioned across the table. “The blond chap is Kadandelvayan.
Yes, that’s right, the Delvay don’t separate surnames from first
names but I’m sure he will allow you to simply call him Kadan.” She
nodded and he pointed next to Zach. “Black, gloomy bastard also
known as Zachary Dark. Over there is Jaradon Faydwer and beside me
is Lord Arovan himself. It’s a special occasion when you actually
get to see Elijah. He usually sends his arrogant bastard of a
general out on business. I believe you should know the rest,” Jin
finished and took a small sip from his drink as she nodded to each
lord in turn.

“This is Jaladene Merrodin, gentlemen,”
Symphony said speaking up at last. “I’ve asked her to join us
tonight given that she should know of our plans. She will have a
seat on the High Council soon enough.”

“Our plans?” Kadan objected. “I have agreed
to nothing.”

“We do hope that you will by the end of the
evening, Lord Kadandelvayan,” Symphony said with a slight bow of
the head.

Jala watched the exchange and marveled at how
easily Symphony managed the man’s name. There was no way she was
going to even attempt it. To call him Kadan would surely be less
insulting than butchering the pronunciation of his name.

“I wish to know what a Merrodin wants with
me. My house has no love for anything spawned in Merro,” Zachary
prodded once again, his tone holding more emotion but none that
boded well for her conversation with him. She locked gazes with him
and steeled herself. She would have to trust Madren’s description
for the Lords of Oblivion and pray he had spoken the truth. “You
hold the souls of my people and your magic infests my land. I want
you to withdraw your power from Merro so that I might restore it
and I want the souls of my people back,” she said bluntly, her eyes
never wavering from his.

“And why should I care a whit about what you
want?” Zachary asked, his tone growing colder.

“Because, as I understood it, despite your
little jaunt into Oblivion, you still hold the same honor as House
Veirasha is renowned for. That is not your land you taint and those
are not your people, any more than I am one of the Merrodin’s that
wronged you. To punish me for their crimes would scarcely be
honorable,” she replied.

Zachary regarded her and seemed to consider
her words. “To return the souls to you would be to return the
guilty,” he said at last.

“I have no interest in those that started the
war. I want the innocents of my land. I want those that simply
followed their orders and had no say in it. I want the farmers and
merchants that weren’t even a part of the war. Keep those you deem
guilty, I don’t care about the fate of their souls. I will have the
rest though if I have to take them by force,” she said, her last
words holding a warning that she sincerely didn’t think she could
back up.

“Take them?” Zachary asked with amusement in
his tone. “Do you realize the lands of Oblivion themselves will
fight against you. From the moment you step into my lands, the fog
will begin to destroy you. First your clothes and then your body
itself,” he explained.