The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams (9 page)

“We have learned that these Blight children,
as they are being called, have effectively wiped out a majority of
the population in Gaelyn. The city of Eldagar is overrun and most
of the villages are destroyed. They have begun crossing the borders
into Glis recently and we expect they will soon be affecting Arovan
as well,” Caspian explained. He motioned toward the back of the
room and Charm dropped down from the rafters. “Charm can explain
more to you,” Caspian said.

Sitting back in her chair, Symphony watched
Charm pace the room, and listened once again as he described the
nightmare creatures he had been living among for nearly three
weeks. How he had managed to survive she couldn’t guess but her
respect for the rogue had grown considerably after hearing his
tale.

Remedy shifted in his chair and leaned over
toward her. “I was in Gaelyn not three days ago. Blackwolf is
calling his son back as well as most of his reserve soldiers.
Chastity will be in charge of the Glis district until this is
over,” he whispered to her. The scent of mint washed over her with
every syllable and she smiled. Remedy had a tendency of chewing on
the herb to keep down his cravings for tobacco. Every other week he
was quitting or starting anew depending on how stressful the
current situation was. From what Charm described, she had no doubt
Remedy had been smoking like a chimney in Glis.

“Any word of what Arovan is doing?” she asked
in equally hushed tones, not wanting to disrupt the discussion on
the other side of the room. Having Kiernan Morcaillo’s support was
too important to offend him.

“He has sent a few scouts to help in Glis
where he can, but his main military is simply not suited for this
sort of combat. He controls heavily armored knights for the most
part, as well as his navy. Perhaps their elemental magic would be
of use if they could find what they were supposed to use it on.
Kali has truly out-done herself this time.”

“Do they have any ideas on how to stop these
things?” she asked, glancing back to watch the expression on
Kiernan’s face as Charm finished his report. As she had expected,
he wore the same grim look the Fionaveir council had.

“So far, the best idea I have heard is to
burn Gaelyn and that won’t work. The creatures will simply migrate
north. Better to keep them in Gaelyn as long as they can,” Remedy
replied.

“May I speak?” Shade asked, once Charm had
fallen silent. Symphony turned to look at him as did every other
person in the room.

“You may,” Caspian said after a considering
pause.

“I’m not sure how you will get them out of
the wilderness but I can take care of the ones in Eldagar if you
can spare a few resources,” Shade said, standing slowly.

“He is insane,” Charm muttered, though there
was a grudging respect in his voice.

“I do not have the men to spare to help you
and I wouldn’t give you command of them even if I did,” Caspian
said flatly and started to turn back to Kiernan.

“I don’t actually need men. It won’t require
an army,” Shade pressed, unwilling to be ignored.

“You are going to destroy a hostile force in
an impregnable fortress city alone?” Lutheron asked sounding mildly
amused.

“Well no, not exactly,” Shade said, pausing,
and frowned slightly.

“What resources do you require?” Symphony
asked, her curiosity peaked. From the way she saw things any idea
was better than none.

Shade tapped his chin thoughtfully and gave
her a weak smile. “About two hundred pounds of raw meat, the
services of a very good Alchemist, Charm, and Lutheron,” he said,
drawing mutters from the room.

“Do you know of this plan?” Caspian asked
Charm.

Nodding slowly, the rogue ran a hand through
his thick blond hair and gave Caspian a sickly smile. “Yes, and we
both agreed to not discuss the details with anyone else so it
couldn’t be tampered with if you allowed it. While I think he is
insane, the plan does have merit, and very little risk to anyone
other than Shade and myself,” Charm said with a sigh.

“I really wish you would stop saying I’m
insane,” Shade muttered.

“I really wish I wasn’t endorsing your plan
but it’s all we have at this point,” Charm shot back quietly.

“Meat, Alchemy, and me. Interesting. Well, I
have to say I’m intrigued,” Lutheron said and glanced at Charm.
“Mostly by the fact that this one is scared while Shade is not at
all frightened. I say we let them run with it, Caspian. If it
works, then we have destroyed a major hive. If it doesn’t, then we
can laugh at the two of them if they live, and drink to their
courage if they die”

Caspian nodded slowly and glanced at Faramir
who nodded as well. Looking over to Symphony’s table Caspian waited
for the slow nod from both Vaze and Remedy. With a heavy sigh, he
turned his gaze back to Shade. “Very well, we will provide you with
all that you ask for and not question the plan, though I will say I
have heavy doubts,” he said at last.

“If you knew the plan your doubts would be
heavier,” Charm said with a smirk.

“It will work,” Shade said with a smile and
nodded his thanks to Caspian before sitting back down.

“Let me know if it does, I’m quite curious
about what you are up to, nephew,” Kiernan said quietly and looked
back to the Fionaveir council. “I will continue to look for Myth,
though I am not hopeful of finding her. For all I know, she is a
squirrel wandering through Morcath right now. A changeling in
hiding is a very dangerous thing.” He turned to Symphony as he
spoke and regarded her with a level stare. “Beware any who try to
befriend you now, Symphony. You are in a position to gain much
power soon. That will attract Myth’s attention. Be wary of any who
seek to get too close to you.”

“I will. Thank you for the warning Kiernan,”
she said with a nod. His words rang heavy on her mind and she found
herself trying to remember every person she had talked to in the
past few weeks and to review those conversations. While it was
possible Myth was in the Fionahold, she truly doubted it. To even
find the hold, you had to know a Fionaveir and her people were
quite paranoid. The only new members they had acquired in the past
few months were Shade and his friend Oma and neither of them seemed
a likely candidate. Lutheron himself had examined Shade, and Oma
seemed too damaged to be dangerous. She would have to keep her eyes
on everyone, though. A warning such as the one Kiernan gave
shouldn’t be ignored.

Sanctuary

Leaning back farther against the wall, Jala
did her best to remain unnoticed. The bar was crowded to the point
that Marrow wouldn’t even come inside. She watched Finn and Valor
play the crowd. Finn would brag about how Kithkanon didn’t stand a
chance and then Valor would play his own dramatic denial. Judging
by the crowd around them the show was entertaining. With a sigh,
she lifted her glass and took another sip of the wine. It was
proving impossible to get images of the Merro district from her
mind. She stared down into her glass and wondered how everyone had
let it go for so long. Even if she wasn’t responsible for those
people she still would have wanted to help. It didn’t help her
mood, either, hearing Finn and Valor talking so much about the
coming duel. Just the thought of it brought back to her mind images
of Death nodding to Finn and her dread increased.

The harsh grating of a chair being pulled
back raised her eyes. Glancing over, she expected to see Finn or
maybe even Valor, not the stranger seating himself beside her. He
was shrouded completely in a dark grey cloak with no hint of his
face visible at all.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to be rude but I’d
rather be alone. Surely there are other tables with empty chairs,”
she said quietly and frowned as the man reached across to her
bottle and lifted it to his lips. “Well, by all means then, no
sense in getting a glass or perhaps ordering your own,” she said
dryly.

“You know, most seek my permission before
they change anything in the city,” his voice was cool and low,
barely a whisper in the crowded room.

“I haven’t changed anything in the city. And
why would I need your permission? You don’t look like a High Lord
to me or even a Justicar,” Jala said, wondering if it was the
earlier sights making her so snappish or the wine she had been
drinking. She stared down at the glass thoughtfully for a moment,
wondering if she should write off drinking completely. She didn’t
seem to have much luck with it.

A low chuckle came from under the cloak’s
hood and the bottle tilted again. He sat it down on the table with
a solid thump and wiped his mouth with the back of a gloved hand.
“No, I’m not a High Lord, not even close. But I think perhaps you
have heard of me anyway. Hemlock. Does the name ring a bell?”

She felt the color drain from her face and
took a sip of her own wine. As subtly as she could, she glanced
over Hemlock’s shoulder in the direction of Finn and Valor hoping
that one of them had noticed she was no longer alone.

“Ahh, you have heard of me,” he said sounding
amused. Turning slightly in his chair he glanced at Finn. “You know
it really isn’t good for him to be drawing so much attention. The
both of you have already drawn far too much attention.” Slowly he
shifted back to his original position and traced a finger across
the table top smearing a bit of spilled wine into a long trail. His
head tilted up and she could feel his eyes upon her, though she
still could see nothing but shadows from the hood. “Here is a
question for you. Should I kill you? I’ve been offered a lot of
money to. I’ve also been offered money not to. Sadly, though, you
have more enemies than friends right now.”

“No, you shouldn’t,” she replied without
hesitation, drawing another chuckle from the Assassin.

“And why is that?” he asked, not sounding the
least bit interested in whatever answer she gave.

“You asked if you should, I said ‘no.’ You
didn’t ask me to have a reason,” she said dryly and tried
desperately to come up quickly with a reason he might actually
listen to. “Because if you wait and let me accomplish what I have
planned, I’ll be worth a lot more money dead,” she said finally,
not really believing that was the only quick reason she could think
of.

“Ahh, now, that is one reason I’ve never
heard before. So you are saying I shouldn’t kill you now but should
kill you when you are worth more money. I’ll have to give that some
thought. Do you have a reason I shouldn’t kill your husband? I’ve
had more offers for his death than I have yours.” He leaned forward
on the table as he spoke and propped himself on his elbows as if to
hear her answer better.

“Well, the same reason for me could apply for
him as well but you want something new. How about if you kill him I
will bring Sanctuary to its knees,” she said with more confidence
than she actually felt.

“Will you now? And how exactly would you do
that?” He sounded genuinely amused.

“In every possible way that I can,” she
replied smoothly and took another sip from her wine, hoping her
hand wasn’t shaking visibly.

“I don’t think you would. Too many innocents
here. And if you are as kind hearted as Shade says you are, than
that isn’t an option for you.” Taking a single finger he twirled
the wine bottle slowly and shook his head. “Horrible vintage, by
the way. I would have thought Finn would have left something better
for his wife while he was busy flirting and pandering to the
crowd.”

“He isn’t flirting,” she said defensively and
ignored the fact that the majority in the crowd surrounding her
husband were women.

“Give him a message for me. Tell him he
shouldn’t leave his wife alone. There is no telling who might
decide to keep her company,” he said and dipped his head in a
slight bow. “You have my permission to change Merro’s district,
Milady,” he added as he stood smoothly and left the table.

“Wait. Are you going to take the contracts,”
she called after him but he gave no answer. Not that she had really
expected him to. The knot in her stomach grew tighter and she
downed the rest of her glass in one swallow and considered pouring
another. The rumors about Hemlock adding poisons to everything he
ate or drank kept her from it.

With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair
again and contemplated the odd visit. It didn’t seem typical
behavior for an Assassin. Shade had mentioned him asking about her
as well. It seemed she held a particular interest for the Assassin
and the thought sent cold chills through her. Having Cassia Avanti
obsessed was bad enough. She didn’t want Hemlock too interested in
her as well. Rubbing her face, she watched Finn and Valor for a
while longer and then slowly stood. Quietly she made her way
through the crowd surrounding them and moved close to Finn.

“Finally in the mood for company?” he asked
and gave her a kiss wrapping one muscular arm around her waist and
pulling her closer to him. She caught a few glares from the crowd
but ignored them. Public opinion of her was quickly becoming a
secondary concern.

“No, I’m going home. I just wanted to let you
know before I left,” she said quietly and rested her head against
his shoulder for a moment. The scent of dozens of liquors was thick
on him, mingled with the lighter brushes of perfume. Though she
hadn’t seen him approach any of the women in the crowd at least
three of them had given him hugs or clung to his arm.

“I’ll go with you,” he offered and started to
set his drink down.

“No, you don’t have to. Marrow is just
outside and it’s not far. You are enjoying yourself and I don’t
want to ruin that,” she said quickly and gave him another kiss.

“Are you saying I wouldn’t be entertained if
I went home with my wife?” he asked sounding amused.