The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams (18 page)

“Ahh, Val, I’m so sorry, man. I mean a tunic.
By the gods, you only own about three hundred of them,” Finn said,
his voice thick with amusement.

“That isn’t the point. The point is, I prefer
to drink where bastards don’t try to gut me as I’m leaving,” Valor
shot back, his annoyance growing.

“Speaking of fine establishments, can we go
to Sovann’s now?” Neph asked, his hand flicking toward the
archway.

“Sovann’s. Why in the bloody hell are we
going to Sovann’s. Do you know where he lives now?” Valor
demanded.

“That’s what I said,” Finn nodded and looked
toward Neph.

Rolling his eyes, Neph glanced at Jala and
then at Finn and Valor. “Can we at least get out of this district
and then you two can whine?” he asked in a mockingly patient
voice.

“Fine,” Valor snapped, and moved toward the
portal stone, his posture rigid. “We go to Sovann’s, then maybe
another drunk would like to gut me there.”

“I know someone sober that is getting the
urge to,” Neph grumbled, following Valor.

Grinning at her, Finn winked and led her
toward the archway as well. “Ahh, friends,” he murmured softly and
squeezed her waist gently.

* * *

“All the lights are off,” Valor said in
disgust, staring up at the three-story brick building before
them.

“Thank you for paying homage to the Aspect of
Obvious,” Neph said dryly.

Cocking his head slightly, Finn regarded the
building and then burst out laughing, stumbling back from the
doorway and raising a hand to cover his mouth.

“What?” Valor asked, as the three of them
turned to stare at Finn in confusion.

Shaking his head slightly, Finn regained his
composure and stood up straight, taking care to remove his smile.
“I believe the two of them are, uhh, occupied,” he explained,
motioning toward the building. “Though I’m not sure if that girlish
moan I heard was my brother or Wisp,” he said, the words thick with
contained laughter.

“No,” Valor breathed and looked back toward
the building, then to Finn again. “Wisp is molesting your little
brother?” he whispered, a grin forming on his own face.

“Oh, grow up,” Neph snapped at them and shook
his head. Glancing to Jala, he shook his head again. “It might be
better to come back tomorrow,” he said, glancing at Finn and Valor
and then back to her, letting her draw the same conclusion. She
gave a slight nod in agreement, not wanting to embarrass Sovann or
Wisp.

“No, no wait. You two said this was
important,” Finn objected, holding a hand up to stop them both from
turning. “If it truly is, we should tell them now,” he urged,
fighting down another wave of laughter.

“I am in full agreement. If it was important
enough for us to come here, then we should tell them now,” Valor
said, doing a slightly better job than Finn at keeping a straight
face.

“You two are immature asses,” Neph said,
looking between the two of them.

“Damn I wish it were Jail with us instead of
Neph,” Valor sighed looking at the mage in irritation.

“I’m on Neph’s side here. I think we should
tell them in the morning,” Jala said firmly, eyeing the two of them
with narrowing eyes.

“Your wife spends too much time with Neph,”
Valor said with disapproval, looking toward Finn.

“I won’t be mean, I promise, Jala,” Finn said
with a charming smile. “I just want them to be safe,” he added in a
sweet tone.

“Just looking out for their welfare,” Valor
agreed in a voice equally sweet.

“Don’t believe them,” Neph warned with a
slight shake of his head.

“Don’t listen to Neph. He is an asshole
remember?” Finn said, quietly glaring at the mage.

“Oh Fortune, really Finn, you really want to
torment Sovann that much?” Jala asked with exasperation.

“No it’s mostly Wisp we want to torment,”
Valor clarified earning his own glare from Finn. “Remember, earlier
I was telling you we were bullies. Well yes, we are,” he added,
dodging as Finn tried to elbow him.

“But I don’t want you to torment Wisp or
Sovann,” Jala objected, keeping her tone mild.

“And sadly life often disappoints us and we
often don’t get what we want,” Valor replied glancing toward Finn
who was half way up the stairs to the building.

“Finn …,” Jala objected again, her voice
trailing off as she watched him push the door open.

“Victory is ours,” Valor said with a wink and
hurried to join Finn as he entered the building.

“Would you believe that both of them are at
least seven years older than I am?” Neph asked her quietly,
watching the two of them disappear inside.

“No, not really,” Jala answered and let out a
heavy sigh.

“Wisp quit molesting my brother!” she heard
Finn call loudly inside.

“Dirty child molesting Fae!” Valor
echoed.

“No, I really find it quite hard to believe.
One would think they would be more mature,” Jala said shaking her
head.

“You married him,” Neph pointed out, glancing
toward her.

“Quite happily, and I love him despite his
faults. Neither of which means I have to approve of everything he
does,” Jala replied and moved toward the building as the sound of
commotion inside grew.

“I really can’t imagine that either Wisp or
Sovann is going to be in a very good mood,” Neph warned as he
followed her up the stairs.

“I really can’t say that I blame them,” Jala
responded lightly and shrugged. “I suppose we will do what we can
to soothe them.”

A loud crash of something breaking echoed
from an inner room and Jala frowned. “Damn Sovann must be pissed,”
she whispered to Neph.

“What the hell is that thing?” Valor’s voice
echoed back to them as another crash sounded from the room
beyond.

“I think we have misunderstood the
situation,” Neph muttered as he quickened his pace toward the door
ahead.

“Oh Fortune,” Jala gasped as she ran after
Neph.

“Look out!” Neph bellowed, pushing her aside
as the door in front of them exploded. Valor tumbled past them
rolling to a stop amidst the debris of the door. He rose quickly to
his feet, his sword still clenched in his hand and blood pouring
from one side of his face. With a muttered oath, he rushed back
into the room, sword held at the ready. Neph moved to follow,
keeping Jala behind him. The room beyond was pitch black with
sounds of movement echoing off the walls.

“I can’t see a fucking thing in here Finn,”
Valor called from nearby. “Where is it?” he asked.

“Dead I think. Neph give us some light,” Finn
called back, his voice softer.

Neph muttered quietly beside Jala and a soft
blue light began to grow in the room. Finn stood by a back wall his
swords still in hand. A mangled form lay before him, nearly cut in
two. Cautiously Jala stepped into the room and glanced down as
dampness soaked through her shoes. Fearing the worst she examined
the pool and let out a sigh of relief as she realized it was
wine.

“Busted vat,” Neph said, quietly motioning to
an Essence wine vat that lay on its side along the wall.

“What happened?” Neph asked Valor who stood
closer, dabbing a cautious hand at the cut on his head.

“We followed the noises and came in here.
Barely got the door open before that thing sprang on us,” Valor
explained, motioning toward the unmoving form.

Jala glanced toward Finn and then around the
room. “Where are Wisp and Sovann?” she asked quietly, her throat
clenching as her imagination raced with possibilities.

“I don’t know,” Finn said quietly and looked
toward the far side of the room. “I don’t know who that is but she
is too big to be Wisp,” He said quietly motioning toward a
body.

Jala followed his gaze and her eyes lingered
on the woman’s body. She hadn’t noticed it when they had first
entered the room. Moving slowly she approached it more to assure
herself that it was not, in fact, Wisp. Finn moved to join her and
knelt beside the body. Claw marks gouged both of the woman’s sides
with deep rents along her hips. Her eyes were closed and her mouth
slightly parted. What remained of her clothing hung off of her in
ragged shreds but beneath it Jala could see a faint rise and fall
of her chest.

“She is still alive,” she whispered to
Finn.

“Barely. Her name is Isador. She is
Fionaveir. I recognize her now,” Finn said with a shake of his
head. With one hand he flipped the remains of her dress away from
her left arm showing Jala the tell-tale tattoos there. “I have no
idea what she was doing here, though.”

Kneeling beside Finn, Jala carefully placed a
hand on the woman’s chest and called on the healing magic. Warmth
flowed through her hand and into the body below. She closed her
eyes and focused on the wounds, sending her power into every tear
and urging it to heal.

“I’m going to check the rest of the building
for Sovann,” Valor said grimly and headed for the hallway.

“Take Neph with you,” Finn ordered glancing
over his shoulder as they left the room. He looked back to Jala as
she slowly moved her hand from Isador’s chest. Chewing on her lower
lip she met his eyes. “I take it this is what you wanted to warn us
about? That Emily isn’t the only Blight in the city?” he asked
quietly.

She nodded silently and leaned over to rest
her head on his shoulder. “I’m so glad you didn’t listen to me
about coming back tomorrow. If you had she might be dead now,” she
whispered, wrapping an arm through his.

He shifted himself, carefully adjusting his
balance and gave a slight nod. “If anything has happened to my
brother, I’ll hunt every one of the little bastards down,” he said,
his voice a low growl.

“Fortune, I hope they are all right,” she
said, her concern for her friends growing by the second. “I wish
she would wake up. Maybe she knows where they are,” she added,
glancing down at the still form of the Fionaveir. Frowning, she
looked up from the woman to Finn and raised an eyebrow. “How did
you know who she was?” she asked quietly.

“She introduced herself to me when you were
still living in Shade’s hall. It was a brief meeting and more of a
warning to me. About Cassia, that is,” he explained and shook his
head slightly. “I didn’t realize she was still in the city, though,
and I have no idea why she was here. This makes no sense,”

The sound of approaching footsteps drew both
of their attention to the door. “There is no sign of anyone else in
the house,” Valor said as he stepped through the doorway. “Neph
contacted Sovann through a link. He and Wisp were apparently
working on another building, an orphanage or something. They are on
their way here now,” He moved closer as he spoke and removed what
remained of his cloak. “Here, you can cover her with this,” he
offered, handing the cloak over to Jala.

She nodded silently and draped the cloak
across Isador’s still form. Standing slowly, she took hold of
Valor’s tunic and gently pulled him toward her. With a critical
eye, she examined the wound on the side of his face and plucked a
splinter of wood from it drawing a sharp gasp from the knight. “Let
me heal that,” she said as he started to pull away.

“It’s nothing, head wounds always bleed a
lot,” he objected.

“Let me heal it anyway,” she insisted,
tugging more firmly on his shirt. With a sigh, he bent closer and
allowed her to place a hand over the wound. She drew carefully on
the magic again and mended the cuts, scrapes and bruises as she
found them. With a slight nod she released him and glanced at Finn.
“Are you hurt?” she asked quietly.

Looking up, Finn shook his head and held his
arm out for her inspection. “It raked me good in the beginning but
it’s healed already,” he explained and stood slowly.

“Wish I healed that fast,” Valor muttered and
looked around the room. “All of this damage isn’t from our fight,”
He said his eyes lingering on the broken wine vat. “That is going
to piss Sovann off. I shudder to think how much money was lost
there.”

“Around two hundred thousand, gold,” Finn
muttered, his expression concerned. “Did they say how far away they
were from here?” he asked Neph. The mage shook his head and
shrugged in response and Finn paced to the window. “Do we know how
many of those things are in the city?” he asked, his voice
quieter.

“No,” Jala answered simply and moved to join
him. “How did you kill it? No one else can sense them, Finn, only
Neph has even known one was present.”

“Killing is what I do best,
Vezradesh
,” he said softly, his gaze still searching the
street beyond for his little brother.

Fionahold

Sunlight filtered down from the towering
trees, leaving a dappling of shadows across Remedy’s tanned face.
He was leaning against a tree, watching her, with a sprig of mint
dangling from one corner of his mouth. Symphony moved passed him
and lowered herself slowly to the stream bank and pulled her boots
off. Setting them off to the side, she dangled her feet into the
rushing water and stared down through its depths to the rocks
below.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong or
shall I play the guessing game,” he said at last, when the silence
had stretched for several long minutes. “Is the new dress you’ve
ordered the wrong shade and won’t match your sword belt properly?”
he asked as he dropped down into the grass behind her and chewed on
the mint once more. “The sky is too bright, the weather too warm,
the breeze not quite breezy enough,” he pressed further.

“Those sound more like your complaints than
mine,” she said softly.

“I’ll have you know my new dress is a
splendid shade and will match my belt perfectly,” he said his tone
sounding indignant.

Glancing over at him she met his smile and
rolled her eyes. “The breeze is perfectly fine and I haven’t
ordered any dresses for years,”