The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams (61 page)

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“Jala, wake up,” a soft voice called from
what seemed a thousand miles away.

Jala forced her eyes open and blinked at the
darkened room. It took her long moments to remember where she was.
Anthe was leaning over her with a lantern held carefully in her
hands. “I’m awake,” she mumbled and rubbed her eyes.

“Good, now see if you can wake him up. When
you do join us outside. We are ready.” Anthe waved a hand past her
and set the lantern down carefully on a table. “We moved you in
here while you slept. I didn’t think you would appreciate sleeping
on the floor. It is a good thing the Bendazzi broke your fall or
you would be covered in bruises now. The protection magics have
already been cast upon you. All that remains is to open the gate.
We will begin the spell when you are both ready.”

Jala turned her head slightly in the
direction Anthe had indicated and stared at the sleeping form of
Valor for a long moment before her mind began to work fully again.
They were lying on a quilt covered bed in what she guessed was
Anthe’s own room. She couldn’t imagine the Witch having a guest
room made up so comfortably. “That is some very impressive tea,
Anthe,” she mumbled and reached over to shake Valor lightly. “Val,
wake up.” He shifted slightly and shook his head before rolling
away from her. Sitting up, she grabbed his shoulder firmly and
shook him again. “Val, come on, wake up,” she said in a louder
voice. He mumbled something incoherent.

He drank almost the full cup. I’m amazed
he isn’t in a coma
, Marrow informed her dryly.

Nodding, Jala turned on the bed and placed a
foot in the center of Valor’s back. With a quick shove she pushed
him off the bed. There was a loud thump followed quickly by a curse
and she leaned over to see Valor glaring up at her. “Oh, good, you
are awake,” she said sweetly smiling down at him.

“I will remember that,” Valor promised and
climbed slowly to his feet, his eyes still fogged with sleep. With
another muffled curse he rubbed the back of his head and gave her a
mild glare.

“They are ready to open the gate,” she told
him quietly.

His expression cleared and all traces of
sleep fled his dark blue eyes. With a nod he stretched and she rose
to join him. “Well then let’s get Finn,” he said with a faint
smile.

“Are you scared?” she asked, watching his
expression.

“Nervous. I wouldn’t say scared, though,”
Valor replied and raised an eyebrow at her.

She nodded and waved a hand toward him.
“Nervous, like you said,” she said with a faint chuckle. Turning,
she made her way to the door and lifted her pack onto her
shoulder.

Valor followed after her silently as they
left the cabin and stepped out into the cold night air. The witches
had built a bonfire in the clearing and the flames fought back some
of the chill, but not much. Valor let out a quick breath and pulled
his cloak tighter around him before going to retrieve his
horse.

He spared a quick glance toward the small
group of women near the fire as he walked but quickly looked away.
Jala smiled in understanding. Of the five witches by the fire,
Anthe was the only one wearing clothing.

“We are taking him with us?” she asked in
surprise as he led the animal back to stand beside her, his eyes
still carefully averted from the fire.

“Of course,” Valor replied with a smile and
ran a hand down the horse’s neck. “I would never take Vanguard on
such a journey, he is a tournament horse. Valorous is an Arovanni
though. His sole purpose is for things such as this. The Arovanni
are sacred and are only used in the most dire of times,” he
explained.

“I see, well we will most definitely be back
within three moons then,” she said with a smile and turned to watch
the witches as they began to chant. Anthe stood at the northern
side of the bonfire, her hands upraised and her eyes closed. Her
voice was the first to begin the chant but the others quickly
joined their voices. Moonlight glinted off pale skin as they swayed
in place. The air thickened as the spell grew stronger and the
clearing seemed to grow thicker with shadows.

“So, Neph never taught you this kind of magic
eh?” Valor asked quietly with a bit of a smirk.

She grinned at the mental image of the somber
Delvayon casting anything naked in the moonlight. “No, I’m afraid
he didn’t,” she replied with a bit of a chuckle. Her nerves were on
edge and she could feel her adrenaline rising as the shadows
thickened more and began to form an archway over the fire.

“Valor.” She paused and looked over at him.
He met her eyes and arched an eyebrow in question. “What are you
scared of?” she asked. She was yet to see the knight balk at
anything. Even now he stood calmly as if he was simply awaiting a
table at a café.

“Failure. The thought of failing those I care
for terrifies me more than anything,” he replied softly.

She nodded slowly and looked back toward the
shadow gate. By the looks of it the spell was nearly complete. “I’m
afraid of loss more than anything. Everything I care about, I
lose.” Taking a deep breath she knelt down and hugged Marrow,
kissing him on the top of the head and then stood slowly again
looking back to Valor who was watching her silently. “Don’t add to
that fear, Valor. We walk in there together and we walk back out
together, OK?”

He offered her his hand and she took it,
keeping her gaze on him. “We walk in together, and walk back out
with Finn,” he said with a smile and looked back toward the
witches.

“Thank you for going with me Valor,” she
whispered as Anthe nodded for them to step forward. Jala stared at
the writhing shadows of the gate and tried to ignore the
shadow-wrapped faces that stared back at her. A sound like a
thousand voices whispering echoed through the archway.

“What are friends for,” Valor said with a
faint chuckle and shook his head at the gate before looking down at
her. “If any of those faces bite me as we walk, though, you better
be ready to heal.”

“Oh gods, you see them too,” she whispered.
She had been hoping they were a trick of the light.

“Step through quickly, the dead fight to
close the way!” Anthe called to them, her voice sounding
strained.

Squeezing her hand again, Valor stepped
forward with her. Valorous was close behind the two of them,
snorting softly in displeasure. Jala turned her head quickly and
looked back to Marrow who crouched on the porch watching her with
fear clear in his eyes. “I’ll be back Marrow I promise,” she called
as they stepped into the ring of shadows surrounding the arch. The
whispering grew louder as the darkness closed over them and she
gripped Valor’s hand tighter as they stepped fully into the arch.
The ground seemed to sag beneath her boots and the air grew
painfully cold.

“I envy Finn right now, Jala,” Valor said
softly as the last of the light vanished behind them. “This is
something that bards will sing about for centuries to come.”

“If we live,” she whispered quietly.

“They will sing regardless, if we die it will
be a tragic song, if we live it will be a romance,” he replied with
a soft chuckle.

“I’ve had enough tragedy, Valor. Let’s make
sure they sing a romance,” she replied as the whispering grew
louder still.

She could see bodies moving in the shadows
now rather than simply faces. They were circling the three of them
like wolves as they moved. She watched them as the shadows began to
lighten to the color of twilight and slowly released Valor’s
hand.

“I don’t think those are spirits Val,” she
whispered as the creatures moved in closer. Their bodies were gaunt
and taller than any human with black skin stretched tight over
bones. Jagged teeth protruded from overlarge mouths ending in sharp
cruel points.

She heard Valor draw his sword beside her and
drew upon her own power. “Father had been a soldier and he had
thwarted the plans of a Sorcerer. So for revenge, the evil Sorcerer
had stolen her away to the Darklands. Father had been a soldier,
though, and he cut the demons of the Darklands down with his
sword,” she whispered to herself reciting the story she had pieced
together in the ashes of Merro so many years ago. “Now we are the
heroes, though, and heroes always win,” she added in a softer voice
as the first of the creatures rushed in.

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