The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams (23 page)

Jala watched him approach but her gaze was
drawn back to Zachary Dark who was pale with rage, his expression
stony. “High Lord Arjuna, Lord Zachary, how good to see you both,”
she said with a faintly rueful smile.

“We will have you out of here shortly, child.
This is ridiculous. I can’t believe they have you locked away like
a common criminal,” Arjuna assured her, his expression looking
disgusted.

“I had thought it was agreed that your
identity would be concealed until you attained proper strength.
Have you achieved proper strength in the two short weeks it has
been since I saw you last?” Zachary asked as he approached.

“I didn’t have much choice in the matter,
Lord Dark,” Jala responded and managed to keep most of the bite
from her words. “They were rather intent on killing my Familiar and
possibly my Faydwer companion as well,” she added and turned her
attention back to Arjuna. “Finn is dueling Kithkanon in less than
an hour. I’m worried sick for him,” she said her voice quieter.

Nodding grimly, Arjuna let out a long sigh.
“I heard as much. I wanted to check on your welfare, though.
Dueling is nothing new to Finn. I’m sure imprisonment is new to
you. I see that Nephondelvayon has things in order here, however.”
He nodded respectfully to Neph as he spoke and turned his attention
back to her. “I will see that the council meets tomorrow morning.
By afternoon you will either be free or the Hall of Justice will be
rubble.”

“Just curious, Neph. When you were in trouble
as a child, did you mother use your full name to yell at you?” Jail
asked quietly.

Rolling his eyes at Jail, Neph moved closer
to the two high lords. “The sooner we get the vote called the
better. If we can have the council tomorrow as you say we should
have the votes to clear her name. If it takes too long others might
find interest in this,”

“The exact conclusion I had reached. You have
been studying politics,” Arjuna replied with a smile and nod.

“Someone in my family should. It’s obvious my
father hasn’t,” Neph grumbled. Turning his attention to Jala, he
nodded toward the two lords. “The fact that Lord Dark is here
changes things, Jala. We will have the vote and you will be out of
here tomorrow. I’ll do what I can to make sure Kadan doesn’t
return. With luck, my father doesn’t even know what is going on yet
and the council will be over by the time he does.”

She nodded her understanding. She watched the
lords as they continued to discuss the council for a moment, and
then moved back away from the bars. With a deep breath she opened a
small scry on the Arena and watched as Finn lit a cigarette his
gaze focused on the sandy ground. His expression looked calm and
confident but she could see worry in his deep green eyes. Glancing
up from the sand he gazed around the area his eyes searching. His
eyes flicked back behind him as Valor approached. Slowly Finn stood
stretching his muscles. “Any sign of her?” he asked.

“You aren’t going to like this,” Valor said
slowly and leaned against the wall beside Finn.

“Don’t tell him now. Valor shut up. Don’t
tell him,” Jala whispered urgently to the scry though she knew they
couldn’t hear her.

“What?” Finn asked, his expression growing
concerned. He stood slowly, eyes locked on Valor.

“She has been arrested for impersonating a
high lady,” Valor explained. Cursing, Jala almost lost the scry as
she slammed a hand into the wall in frustration. With a deep breath
she regained her composure and glanced at the nearby lords. Zachary
was regarding her with interest but Neph and Arjuna were still deep
in conversation.

“He will be fine Jala,” Jail assured her,
though his tone didn’t hold as much confidence as she would have
liked.

Nodding slightly, she remained silent and
returned to the scry of her husband.

“Is someone with her?” Finn was asking, his
expression a bit sickened. “I can’t go there right now, Val. I have
to fight him.”

“Jail and Neph are with her right now. Is
your honor really more important than your wife Finn?” Valor
demanded, irritation bleeding through into his voice.

“I can’t explain, Val. Not right now,” Finn
muttered and swallowed heavily. “Here, take this, in the event that
all of the Aspects are against me today, open it. If I live don’t
bother,” Finn said quietly handing a sealed letter over to
Valor.

“You said you always win. What do you mean
if you live
?” Jala hissed at the scry wishing she could
reach through and slap him.

Valor looked down at the letter and then back
up to Finn slowly. “Finn, you said this was guaranteed. You
promised me you could beat him,” he said, his voice taking on an
edge of anger.

“Get him Val, drag him out of there. He told
me the same damn thing,” Jala urged quietly.

Smirking, Finn shrugged at him. “Is anything
in life really guaranteed, Val?” he asked sweetly.

“It’s guaranteed that if you win, I’m going
to kick your ass for this,” Valor growled back angrily.

“What, no celebrating my victory?” Finn asked
sarcastically and tossed his cigarette butt to the side. “And it’s
show time,” he said pushing off the wall slowly as Kithkanon made
his way into the Arena. Grinning at Valor, Finn removed his vest
and tossed it to him lightly.

“I really wish you would wear armor,” Valor
protested.

“Can’t disappoint the crowds now can I? They
all expect me to fight unprotected as usual,” Finn replied with a
wink, motioning to the packed stands above. Already the roar of the
crowd was rising in volume with just the appearance of one of the
duelists.

“Bloodthirsty bastards,” Jala said quietly
and shifted her scry for a better look at Kithkanon. He stood
taller than Finn by a couple of inches and was of slight build with
dark hair that was pulled back. “He looks quick,” she muttered with
disgust. Speed was one of Finn’s strong points. If Kithkanon was
his equal, this would be much more difficult for her husband. Her
eyes roved over Kithkanon’s polished chain armor and gleaming
swords. “Why do you have to be such a stubborn ass, Finn. Listen to
Valor. Put on some armor,” she whispered.

“He is wearing armor,” Valor pointed out
motioning to Kithkanon.

“He is a bitch, then,” Finn replied and
grinned at Valor. “See ya after the show,” he said with a wink and
popped something in his mouth. Frowning, Jala watched him for some
sign of what he had just taken but saw none. With his usual grace
Finn crossed the Arena floor and drew his swords holding them up
for the crowds as he mockingly bowed. The volume of the roar
increased again. Turning back to Kithkanon, Finn nodded his head so
slightly the move was barely perceptible.

“Ready to live up to your name, Sovaesh?”
Kithkanon asked coldly.

Finn shrugged in response but remained
silent, his attention turned to the Arena judge as he approached,
and he listened to the traditional words with a smirk.

“Jail, what does Sovaesh mean?” Jala called
quietly not taking her eyes from the scry.

“As with most Firym words it has several
meanings. Death, exile, ending, really it isn’t a very positive
word at all,” Jail replied.

“Wonderful, and I’m just learning this now
because …,” she said dryly letting the words trail off. All
thoughts of conversation dwindled as the Arena judge stepped back
from the two duelists and motioned for the fight to begin. Her
breath caught in her throat as Kithkanon moved in for the first
strike with unbelievable speed. Finn twisted back away from the
blow at the last second, dodging most of the strike, but a thin
trail of blood showed where he had been grazed.

Breaking back away from the man, Finn began
circling. His eyes flicked to the cut on his side momentarily and
then back to Kithkanon. “Tevrae on the sword eh?” he asked with a
smirk. “Are you afraid you can’t kill me without bleeding me
first?” he added his tone mocking.

“No, I know I can kill you. I just want to
give the crowd a good show first,” Kithkanon shot back his
expression icy.

“Jail, what is Tevrae?” Jala called over her
shoulder as she watched Finn move in for an attack. “Kill him baby,
kill him quick,” she whispered, not really believing she was
wanting someone dead as badly as she did.

“Tevrae is an herb that slows regeneration in
Immortals. Kithkanon is known for coating his swords with it,” Jail
replied moving over closer to the bars. “How bad is it?” he asked
quietly.

“It’s just started but Finn already has a
wound,” she replied, stepping closer to Jail so he could see the
fight as well.

Her breath caught again as Kithkanon parried
each of Finn’s blows easily and shoved him roughly backwards,
drawing another line of blood across his stomach. Stumbling, Finn
barely managed to keep his feet and clumsily dodged another attack
from Kithkanon.

“Two wounds,” Jala corrected, her hopes
sinking as she watched Finn struggle to hold Kithkanon off of him.
He was breathing heavily again as he had last night in the pits, as
if he was already winded from the fight. “Finn has better stamina
than that, Jail, what’s wrong with him? Are the blades
poisoned?”

“No, the judges wouldn’t allow poison. Tevrae
is legal but just about everything else is banned,” Jail said with
a shake of his head. “I’m not sure if he is playing the crowd or
not. If he is, he is doing a spectacular job,”

“I don’t think it’s an act,” Jala whispered,
her eyes going glassy. Hemlock’s words echoed through her mind as
she watched Kithkanon draw another line of blood across Finn’s bare
chest.
I, of course, already know how it’s going to end but I
don’t want to miss the expression on your face when you see it
.
“I don’t know anything about Kithkanon. Can Finn be brought back if
he loses?” Jala asked Jail quietly.

The crowd gave another loud roar as Kithkanon
managed to knock Finn from his feet. Rolling quickly, Finn barely
dodged Kithkanon’s blade as it sank into the sand beside him.
Kicking up with one leg Finn managed a savage blow to the other
man’s knee, giving him the precious seconds he needed to get back
to his feet.

“See the swords Finn is using, Jala?” Jail
asked quietly and Jala turned her attention to the black blades her
husband held.

“Oh, I thought they were his Barllen blades.
I didn’t look at the hilts,” she muttered, unsure how it mattered
what Finn fought with. The blades on these looked the same as the
Barllen but the hilts held large sapphires in them instead of the
silver sculpted women.

“Notice how Kithkanon’s are the same dull
metal only a bit lighter in color than Finn’s?” Jail asked.

“Yes,” Jala replied, her gaze following Finn
as he locked blows with Kithkanon again sending sparks flying from
the clashing blades.

“Both sets of swords are Soulblades. They
capture the spirit of who they kill. Finn’s are dark because he
keeps the souls trapped there. Kithkanon’s are lighter because he
burns the souls for magic. If Finn dies on those swords there is no
coming back,” Jail explained softly.

“Oh Fortune,” Jala breathed, her chest
lurching painfully. Swallowing heavily, she nodded. Finn was
backing off from the fight again, bleeding from a dozen wounds and
breathing in heavy rasps. Warily he kept both swords up for defense
and seemed to be trying to buy time to regain his strength.

Kithkanon circled him with barely a gleam of
sweat on his dark skin. Smiling, he flicked a sword in Finn’s
direction. “Almost over, pretty boy. What was that you were saying
all over town, that you would slaughter me?”

Please have a little more faith,
Vezradesh. I can feel your despair from here
, Finn’s voice
broke through her thoughts and she caught her breath again.

Damn it Finn concentrate on the fight. I
do have faith, but I have never been so scared in my life. I love
you
, she sent the thought to him praying she didn’t distract
him more and felt tears welling in her eyes.

“Almost over,” Finn agreed and launched a
final assault, his swords blurring with the speed of the attack.
Kithkanon met him blow for blow and then everything slowed at once.
Jala stared at the scry in confusion as she watched both men frozen
in place and then let out a sob as a dull gray sword point pushed
through Finn’s back slowly. Blood welled at the corners of Finn’s
mouth and it looked as though he was trying to speak. His legs
began to tremble and then one knee buckled. His beautiful face held
such a look of bewilderment on it that another sob broke from her
throat and tears began pouring down her face.

“Oh gods, Finn,” she whispered, watching as
Kithkanon slowly backed away leaving his sword protruding from
Finn’s chest, lodged just under the ribs and angling up sharply. It
had to be through a lung and dangerously close to his heart she
knew. There was no way a wound like that wasn’t mortal. More blood
ran down Finn’s chin and he blinked in shock and pain. The crowd in
the Arena was as silent as death and Finn’s head began to bow.
Smirking, Kithkanon raised his remaining sword to the crowd turning
slowly away from his dying adversary.

In that moment Finn moved with the speed she
was so used to seeing from him. His sword plunged up through
Kithkanon’s neck and into the skull just as the duelist was turning
quickly back to face him. Ragged and panting Finn spat blood into
the dead man’s face, his expression frozen in shock. “Now it’s
over,” he muttered. “Make sure your opponent is dead before you
gloat, fucker,” he added, looking to the judge, pain clear on his
face. “Would you kindly announce me the winner so I can get a
fucking healer?” he growled.

Nodding slowly, the judge approached Finn,
his eyes locked on the sword blade running through him. “You should
be dead,” the man whispered as he took one of Finn’s arms and
raised it high. “Finn Sovaesh is the victor,” he yelled loudly to
the crowd. A roar that made the others seem faint filled the Arena
as the judge dropped Finn’s arm gently, still staring at him with a
bewildered expression.