The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams (16 page)

“I don’t know where Finn is. I suppose I
could try to warn him with a mental link but if he is drinking …,”
she trailed off with a helpless shrug.

“He is at the Pits,” Neph said, eyeing her
jewelry once more. “And if we go there it may get interesting
unless you change.”

“What are the Pits?” she asked, already
removing her jewelry and dropping it into her book bag
carelessly.

Glancing around the courtyard once more, he
flicked his gaze back to her. “A rather rough place that I would
rather not take you to,” he said before returning his gaze to the
courtyard. “I don’t suppose she would let me see her would she?” he
asked.

Jala paused in removing an earring and
shrugged. “I don’t know really. Emily will you let Neph see you?”
she asked the empty air. She wasn’t sure at all where the child was
or if she was even in the garden still.

“I don’t know if I like him,” Emily’s soft
voice came from several feet behind them.

“Everyone says that when they first meet
Neph,” Jala replied with a soft chuckle. “I will vouch for him
though. I trust Neph as much as I do Finn.”

Neph turned to look at her with an arched
eyebrow. “Do you now?” he asked, sounding amused.

She met his eyes fully and smiled. “I do,”
she said simply and winked at him.

“In all honesty you should probably trust me
more. I don’t have the tendency to lie, drink, and kill as your
husband does,” Neph replied with a smirk.

“Finn is honest,” she replied rolling her
eyes.

“When it suits him,” Neph agreed dryly.
Turning his attention back to where the voice had come from he
crouched low to the ground and crossed his arms over the top of his
knees. “If you are guarding Jala then you have nothing to fear from
me. I would like to be able to recognize you, though,” he said
quietly in a soothing voice.

“By Fortune, Neph, you almost sounded nice,”
Jala said with a smile and nudged his back with her knee.

“Shut it tart,” he grumbled with a slight
smile.

“Don’t call her that,” Emily said quietly as
she slowly became visible. With eyes locked firmly on Neph, she
approached silently and stopped a few feet from where he
crouched.

“Cat’s eyes, claws, and fangs. Brings an
interesting mental image to the phrase
Easy as taking candy from
a babe
,” Neph said, his gaze roving over the Blight child as he
spoke.

“Go ahead, try to take her candy,” Jala said
with another chuckle.

“I don’t have any candy,” Emily pointed out
to the two of them with a frown.

Neph snorted in amusement and stood slowly.
“So the Blights hunting in the city are adults?” he asked, looking
to Jala for answer.

“I don’t know. All I know is that Emily
senses more of her kind in the city,” Jala explained.

“Most likely adults. They probably have a
hive set up somewhere in the city. I would guess the sewers or a
ruined building that is remote,” Emily said and faded back to her
camouflage state.

“Better camo than the Bendazzi has,” Neph
noted, flicking a gaze toward Marrow who glared back at him with
deep yellow eyes. “Admit it. cat, you can’t hide that good.” With
another snarl, Marrow stalked off to sit at the edge of the
courtyard.

“She could pass for Elder Blood if you hid
her claws,” Jala said quietly.

Neph nodded his agreement and reached up to
flip the earring she had forgotten. “Get that put away and we will
go warn the two idiots,” he said as he gathered books and dropped
them carelessly into a leather bag. With a sigh he swung the bag
over his shoulder and looked at her again. “The Pits are in the
worst part of town, by the way, and the environment there is always
disgusting. There is a very good chance that we will be inviting
attack by going to such a place. Please be prepared to defend
yourself,” he said, his tone filled with warning.

“You think we might be attacked?” she asked
doubtfully. Neph was dressed in his customary leathers which were
finely embossed and obvious high quality. That, combined with his
natural beauty, marked him clearly as Elder Blood and from high
ranking. Not many would consider openly attacking an Elder Blood,
let alone one of status.

“I think I’ve heard at least three times in
the last week that the Assassin’s guild has contracts for you and
if I were an Assassin I would not pass up such a golden
opportunity. If we are stupid enough to travel to the Pits this
late in the evening we should expect someone to act on that,” he
clarified, watching her as he spoke as if he expected her to change
her mind.

She gave a slight nod and cast a quick spell
over Neph, then Marrow, and finally herself. “Protection wards from
missiles. If they are going to kill us they won’t do it from a
distance,” she explained as she noticed Neph’s look of
confusion.

“No, that’s not what boggled my mind,” Neph
objected, staring at her in disbelief. Slowly, he shook his head
and rolled his eyes. “Jala, from now on, first thing in the morning
when you crawl your scrawny ass out of bed, cast that spell. Don’t
wait until someone is about to take you to the worst dive in the
city. Someone could shoot you with a crossbow bolt anywhere,” he
said, his tone filled with exasperation. “I can’t believe you
didn’t already have that ward on,” he grumbled as he began making
his way from the courtyard, waving impatiently for her to
follow.

“You think someone would shoot me in class?”
Jala called after him as she hurried to catch up with his longer
strides.

“Embrace paranoia, Jala. Hug it, love it, and
live it. Paranoia will keep you alive,” Neph said, draping an arm
lightly across her shoulders. “Expect them to be able to shoot you
inside your room and you will live longer for it.”

“Life was so much simpler in Bliss,” Jala
said with a sigh.

“Your life will never be simple again. The
sooner you accept that the easier it will be on you. From this day
forth, someone will always want you dead and there will always be
someone that you would like to see dead,” Neph said quietly.

“I don’t want anyone dead,” Jala
objected.

Neph glanced at her and smirked. “Really?
Yes, of course, I’m sure you have nothing but the fondest wishes
for Cassia Avanti. She has after all been such a beacon of kindness
to you,” he said sarcastically.

“Treat others as you wish to be treated,”
Jala replied quietly using a phrase she had often heard from Father
Belson as a child.

“Rubbish,” Neph grumbled. “Treat others as
they deserve to be treated. Cassia deserves to be filling a corner
of some compost heap. At least then she might do something to
benefit someone. Corpses make excellent fertilizer, or so I
hear.”

“That’s disgusting,” Jala replied, wrinkling
her nose.

“That’s Sanctuary, Jala. Don’t doubt for a
minute that she wouldn’t leave you rotting somewhere if she thought
she could get away with it. You are going to have to learn to be as
brutal as they are,” Neph said, shrugging one shoulder. With a sigh
he began to guide them toward a portal stone and glanced down at
Marrow. “I go through first. Wait two minutes and then follow with
Marrow ahead of you. I don’t expect there will be trouble but make
sure the Bendazzi crosses before you do, anyway,”

“All right,” Jala agreed quietly, her eyes
roving over the portal stone. It wasn’t a district she was familiar
with. “Where are we going? I mean, I know the Pits, but what
district is it in?” she asked before he stepped through.

“This used to belong to Goswin. It belongs to
Graves now. While Hemlock rules most of the city, the Lord of the
Warrens rules here. Not even the Justicars really go to this
section much, Jala. We aren’t only giving them opportunity, we are
sending invitations,” he said with a smirk and pressed his palm
flat against the arch activating the transport magics.

* * *

Mage lights filled the streets, illuminating
the crowds in a hellish red light. Jala looped her arm through
Neph’s and tried to stay as close to the imposing Delvayon as she
could. He stood several inches taller than most of the people here
and his expression was dark enough to send all but the drunkest
scurrying from his path. Her gaze flicked from building to
building, reading the swinging wooden signs.

“Neph, what’s a donkey and dog show?” she
asked, her eyes lingering on a wooden sign that portrayed a widely
smiling donkey. The building seemed quite crowded with rather rough
looking men gathering on the porch waiting to get through the
door.

Neph glanced down at her and then toward the
building. With an amused snort he pushed his way through the
streets pulling her past the establishment a bit quicker. “It’s a
form of animal cruelty considering the women that work there. Even
dogs have standards,” Neph said, once they were out of the thick of
the crowd.

“Why is it so packed here. Who are all of
these people?” Jala asked, deciding it was best to ignore his
animal cruelty remark. She wasn’t likely to get a better answer
from Neph.

“These are dock workers, sailors, thieves,
and just about every other sort that enjoys low brow entertainment.
It’s always crowded here at night. Graves provides them with every
sin they could want at an affordable price,” he said with a
smirk.

“And Finn is here?” she asked in a bit of
disbelief.

Neph let out a short burst of laughter that
caused her to stumble in shock. Still chuckling, he helped her
regain her balance and continued on. “Finn practically lived in
this district the first year he was in the city. He is probably the
most famous man here aside from Graves himself,” he explained.

“How did he get famous here?” she asked, eyes
roving over the brothels and bars.

“The same way he did in the arena. By killing
people. I really hope you don’t think he is a nice guy, Jala. Finn
is probably the coldest blooded person I’ve ever met,” Neph
explained quietly as they came to a stop outside a large warehouse.
The roar of a large crowd came from inside the building followed by
yells and a high pitched scream. “Well, here we are,” he said
dryly, waving a hand toward the crowded open door.

“He has never seemed cold blooded to me. He
has always been charming and sweet,” Jala said quietly, eyeing the
doorway with dread. From the looks of it they would have to force
their way inside and she doubted Marrow would set a paw in that
place.

“That has always struck me as odd, how nice
he is to you that is. I mean Finn is charming when he wants to be,
but he can smile at you one moment and kill you the next. I’ve seen
him do it before. But with you it seems genuine love,” Neph said
absently and shook his head lightly. “I will never understand him.
He is a thug,” he added with a sigh and began making his way toward
the door with Jala close on his heels.

I will be above watching. If you have
desperate need of me call and I will come inside,
Marrow told
her as he quietly padded off toward an alley. He lifted his muzzle
as he went and gave the air a long sniff. With a snarl he shook his
massive head.
With the way that place reeks of blood and piss
though, you had better be dying if you make me come in there
,
he added as he disappeared into the Shadows.

I’ll be with Marrow. I’m too hungry to be
around that much blood scent. I think you are safe with Neph,
though
, Emily said, adding her own mental voice to Jala’s
mind.

Nodding slightly, Jala gazed at the alley
they had vanished down before stepping into the dimly lit building.
Neph was just a few feet ahead now but already she was losing sight
of his back in the push of the crowd.

“What we got here?” a harsh voice slurred as
she moved inside. Rough hands grabbed her from behind and pulled
her back.

“Let go of me,” she snapped, trying to pull
back from the grip. She twisted around to get a look at her
assailant and found a grubby bearded face looming inches from her
own. “Let go of me now,” she demanded. His hand moved up her side
and squeezed her breast roughly and he began to chuckle at her
struggles.

“Fiery one eh,” he mumbled, leaning his face
closer to hers. Her eyes began to water at the stench of his
unwashed body mingled with cheap alcohol. “So pretty too,” he
added, his rank breath thick on her face. Twisting again, she tried
to get a hand up to slap him but he held her wrist firm.

“Hey, find your own,” the drunk objected
loudly as Neph pulled her out of his grip. With a snarl, Neph’s
larger hand settled over the man’s face. There was a bright flash
followed by the overwhelming scent of burnt flesh. The man crumpled
to the floor, his face a ruin of charred flesh and his eyes burned
from their sockets.

“You killed him,” Jala muttered, stepping
back from the corpse and closer to Neph. His arm still gripped her
tightly and he pulled her back farther from the body as those
surrounding the corpse began to scavenge. She watched in mute
horror as the man’s pockets were emptied and the most serviceable
clothing removed. Numbly, she allowed Neph to lead her out of sight
and deeper into the building.

“I did,” Neph agreed glancing back at her.
“You are obvious Elder Blood, Jala. You are too beautiful to be
anything else. If he had the gall to treat you that roughly,
imagine what he did to commoner girls who couldn’t defend
themselves. Treat others as they deserve to be treated. He deserved
to die,” Neph said, his voice a low growl. He maneuvered them
through the crowd, moving ever closer to a large circle of people
near the center of the building. “You are going to have to learn to
kill, Jala. It’s kill-or-be-killed” and you aren’t allowed to die,”
he said in voice that was almost gentle.

“But he was drunk. Maybe he wasn’t like that
when he was sober,” Jala objected feebly.