The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams (17 page)

“I hate it when people use intoxication as an
excuse. Alcohol doesn’t create a desire, Jala, it simply removes
the inhibition. If you don’t rape women when you are sober but you
do when you are drunk it isn’t the alcohol that created a rapist.
The drink simply removes the fear, the desire was always there,”
Neph said, his expression disgusted. He paused in step and scanned
the crowd quickly as the people near the center let out another
loud roar.

“What is over there?” she asked quietly, her
eyes locked on the jostling people. Their full attention was on
whatever lay in the center of the circle and they seemed almost
feverish with excitement.

“Your husband, I’m sure. I’m looking for
Valor at the moment. One idiot never travels without the other,”
Neph replied. “Ahh, there he is,” he mumbled and began to pull her
away from the circle and toward a rickety looking set of stairs.
“Should have known he would be gambling”

Jala allowed herself to be pulled along
willingly but kept her attention on the ring of people behind them,
trying in vain to catch sight of Finn. “I can’t see any sign of
him,” she said to Neph as they reached the first of the stairs.

“You will be able to from the balcony. He is
in the pit right now,” Neph assured her. “Though I doubt you will
like what you see,” he added in a quieter voice.

Frowning at the words, Jala followed him up
the narrow stairs and paused, looking back over the side once they
had reached the top. The ground just beyond the ring of people
dropped away into a massive hole about thirty feet in diameter.
Mage lights hung suspended at intervals and illuminated the
occupants of the pit in bright white light. There were perhaps ten
figures in the pit, six of which lay unmoving on the ground with
growing pools of blood beneath them. Finn stood in the center, bare
chested as always with one sword held in defense. His other arm had
been tied behind his back. Blood and sweat coated his body and his
breathing seemed labored. She watched in frozen horror as the
remaining three figures circled him like a pack of wolves. They
wore armor and held viscous looking weapons at the ready as they
waited for the perfect chance to skewer her husband.

“What is he doing?” she asked in a hoarse
whisper.

“Winning, by the looks of it,” Neph replied
quietly. “Nine to one. I’m sure the odds on that fight were
spectacular despite his reputation.”

Silently, Jala studied the figures circling
Finn and her gaze lingered on one. He looked young and didn’t
appear to have any Elder Blood. She felt a nagging feeling in her
gut as she studied the young man and tried desperately to determine
what it was. She watched Finn rush another of his opponents and
slice the man from groin to throat in one fluid stroke. The young
man backed off farther and she could see his axe shaking slightly
in his grip as his companion fell limply to the dirt.

Finn rounded on the last two with a predatory
smile. He raised his eyebrows at them twice and the smile widened.
“Shouldn’t pick a fight you can’t win, boys,” he said in a low
humorless voice, an echo of the words he had used on Cassia.

Jala’s gaze followed the young man as he
strove to move behind Finn. His companion was edging in and looked
as though he meant to attack. Jala shook her head in disgust and
wrote the man off as dead, her eyes traveling back to the young
one. He was familiar somehow but she couldn’t place him. She
certainly hadn’t seen him at the Academy and she didn’t think she
had met him in the market. The thought struck her just as Finn
wheeled toward him, his blade arching in a silver streak toward the
boy’s throat. “Finn! No. Don’t!” she screamed, though she knew it
was too late. She had to fight to keep her eyes open as the death
stroke came.

A strangled sob broke from the young man as
Finn’s blade came to a stop resting firmly on the side of his
throat. A slow trickle of blood ran down his neck and Finn
smiled.

“You should thank my wife,” he said with a
smile, his words barely reaching Jala’s ears over the roar of the
crowd. The young man let out another sob and fell back into the
dirt one hand rising to clutch at the wound on his neck. “Hello,
love, didn’t expect to see you here,” Finn called up to her with a
pleasant smile.

Numbly, she waved back down at him, still
shocked that he had managed to stop the sword blow. “Hi, Finn,” she
called weakly and lowered her hand to grasp the railing.

“What the hell was that?” Neph asked, leaning
on the railing beside her.

“I know that man. It took me a long time to
place him but I remembered at the last moment. He was a childhood
friend of mine. His name is Joseph Walker,” she explained quietly
and glanced over to meet Neph’s curious gaze. “I want to know how
he is still alive. I didn’t think anyone else survived,” she added
quietly, her gaze slowly returning to Finn who was climbing quickly
from the pit. “Damn I hope he isn’t mad at me,” she breathed and
rubbed a hand across her face.

“Doesn’t look mad,” Neph offered with a shrug
and pushed off the railing. “I’ll be by Valor if you need me,
though I doubt you will,” he said with a gentle pat to her shoulder
as he moved off.

She watched Finn take the stairs two at a
time and smiled weakly as he approached. “Are you mad?” she asked
quietly as he stopped beside her. He was still breathing heavily
and the scent of blood was thick on him. “How much of that is
yours?” she asked with concern.

He glanced down at himself and shook his head
absently. “None of it. Would you mind untying my arm please?” He
turned slightly, offering her a view of the trapped appendage and
she nodded quickly. He flexed the wrist and smiled the moment she
had him released and shook his head at her slightly. “Nah, I’m not
mad. I am a bit curious though. Why did I just spare him? And why
are you here?” he asked.

“I don’t understand why you were killing any
of them but you spared that one because I know him. He grew up
where I did,” she explained, adding emphasis to the last.

He nodded in understanding and wiped an arm
across his sweaty brow before leaning on the railing. “I killed
them because they were dumb enough to get in the pit with me. Even
with one arm tied behind me, they should have known better. I
needed to test something before tomorrow and this was the best
place to do it,” he explained, letting out another long breath. His
breathing was slowly returning to normal but she still watched him
with concern. She had never seen Finn this winded from a fight,
even the hour long bouts he had with Valor each free day.

“Are you okay?” she asked, wiping a bit of
blood and sweat from his face with the sleeve of her dress.

“Oh Hun, don’t do that. I’m filthy,” Finn
said with a shake of his head pushing her dress away gently. “Yes,
I’m fine. I just need a minute.” Turning his gaze to her, he
frowned and shook his head. “You shouldn’t be here, it isn’t safe
here. I thought you had training with Neph tonight. If I would have
known you wanted my company I wouldn’t have come to the pits. We
could have gone to dinner or to a nice fest hall. This is a
horrible place for you to be.”

“I did have training with Neph tonight. It’s
just that something came up and I had to talk to you and I wasn’t
sure if I could reach you through a mental link. So, Neph brought
me here,” she explained.

“What came up?” he asked curiously.

Fishing the note out of her bag for the
second time that night she handed it to Finn. He frowned when he
saw the writing and glanced at her darkly. With an incoherent
grumble, he unfolded the note and began to read. He paused halfway
through and looked at her in disbelief. “So, let me get this
straight. Shade finds a man-eating creature that he barely knows
and sends it to you?” he asked with a bit of an edge to his
voice.

“Well, I suppose he assumed that I would be
fine with it, considering who I’m married to and what my familiar
is,” Jala responded dryly. “Keep reading Finn,” she urged and
flipped the paper lightly.

Grumbling once more, he finished the note and
handed it back to her. “This could have waited until I got home.
You didn’t have to come here to tell me this. Why did Neph bring
you here?”

“I thought you said you weren’t mad?” she
said, watching him closely.

“Do you feel any anger from me, Jala? It’s
concern, not anger. I don’t want my wife in this part of the city,”
he said, glancing over to the card table. “I’m leaving, Val, I’m
taking Jala back home,” he called in a louder voice.

“I’ll be joining the two of you,” Neph said,
rising gracefully from the table.

“Just a moment,” Valor called back, gathering
his winnings quickly before standing. By the expression on his face
it was obvious Valor was not at all pleased with his surroundings
either. “I’ve got to gather our winnings from the bookies,” Valor
said as he brushed past Finn.

“Have someone gather that kid I left alive in
the pit and have him sent to The Copper Penny. I’ll pay for his
room there,” Finn said as Valor headed down the stairs. Glancing
back at Jala, he looked up to Neph. “She is walking between the two
of us until we are back in the Academy grounds. If anyone even
looks at her funny, kill them,” he ordered.

“No, don’t kill them for looking at me
funny,” Jala objected quickly, falling in behind Finn as he headed
down the stairs.

“I will use my own discretion, Jala. I’m not
homicidal,” Neph assured her, giving her a gentle nudge to speed
her progress.

They reached the floor quickly and Finn began
clearing a path, roughly shoving any who moved too slowly from his
way. To her amazement, no one objected to the treatment. As soon as
they saw who had shoved them, they moved farther from his path.

“Are they all scared of you?” she asked
quietly.

He gave a snort and nodded. “As they should
be,” he replied, not pausing in his progress toward the door.

When compared with the close confines of the
warehouse, the night air was fresh as the country to her. Inhaling
deeply, she cleared the smell of sweat and blood from her senses
and looked toward the alley for Marrow.

We will catch up with you. Head for the
Academy. We are hunting
, the Bendazzi’s voice came the moment
her thoughts had turned to him.

What are you hunting
? she asked him,
half afraid of his answer.

One of Emily’s brethren. She sensed it
near the pits. She says he was drawn by the blood smell. We are
tracking him to find the hive
, Marrow explained.

Be careful please
, she urged, though
she knew the words were needless. Marrow was a seasoned hunter. He
would of course be careful.

I will see you soon
, Marrow assured
her and his voice faded from her mind.

“Jala?” Finn’s voice broke through her
thoughts, and from the tone of his voice she guessed it wasn’t the
first time he had said her name.

“Sorry, I was talking to Marrow. He will
catch up with us,” she explained and looped her arm through
Finn’s.

“Use that cleaning spell on me,
Vezradesh
, I don’t want to get you filthy,” Finn urged and
she quickly cast the spell. Nodding his approval, he wrapped an arm
around her waist and began guiding them back toward the portal
stone.

“Do you have any idea where Jail or Wisp are
tonight?” Neph asked, quietly glancing at Finn.

“Jail is in jail. He punched a Justicar
earlier,” Finn answered with a light chuckle and Neph rolled his
eyes in response.

“Why? And for how long is he in jail?” Jala
asked, her voice filled with concern.

“The Justicar said something he didn’t like I
suppose,” Finn replied with a shrug. “He won’t be in there long.
Don’t worry. He is a Mind mage. At most it will be a couple of
days. He does this shit all of the time. I think he just likes
messing with them,”

“I think he craves attention. Perhaps he was
neglected as a child,” Neph offered, his tone sarcastic.

“Wisp, on the other hand, I think I saw her
with Sovann earlier, not positive,” Finn said, his words drawn
out.

“Then we should go to Sovann’s,” Neph
concluded.

“Shouldn’t we be waiting for Valor?” Jala
asked, glancing over her shoulder toward the Pits as they neared
the portal stone.

“We will wait for him at the stone. He is a
big boy. They won’t pick a fight with him,” Finn assured her and
looked over to Neph. “Why should we go to Sovann’s? Have you seen
where he lives now?” he asked, his tone filled with distaste.

“Because we need to warn everyone and if Wisp
is with Sovann it would be easier to talk there,” Neph replied.

Jala kept her gaze on the Pit door as they
spoke, watching closely for any sign of Valor. She didn’t like the
thought of anyone being in there alone and Valor always dressed
finely and wore jewelry. He would be the perfect candidate for
robbery.

“He is fine,” Finn assured her again
following her gaze. “He is just gathering our money,” he added and
then motioned toward the entrance. “See, there he is and he is
fine,” he said with a smile.

Jala nodded slowly, watching Valor step from
the door of the Pits, the crowd falling back from him quickly. With
a quick snap of his arm the knight shook blood from his bare sword
and carefully wiped the blade clean before replacing it in his
scabbard. “Am I the only one that doesn’t kill people nightly?” she
asked quietly.

“I don’t kill people nightly. I usually stay
home,” Neph objected with a snort of amusement.

“Mmm, someone probably tried to rob him,”
Finn said with a shrug as he watched Valor approach. The knight’s
expression was dark with anger as he grew closer. “I’d say they
did, he looks pissed.”

Stopping a few feet from them, Valor motioned
down the front of his tunic. “Look at this shit, ripped down the
side and splattered with blood. That’s real gold thread the bastard
cut through. This tunic was probably worth more than that damn
building. I’m telling you, Finn, this is the last time I’m coming
here. I hate this part of the city,” Valor snapped, his words
coming out in a tirade.