The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (13 page)

“Why are they in this mix if they are worth
their salt? What vices do they have?” Neph asked, his gaze moving
from figure to figure as Bridgette spoke.

“Savy was caught trading her personal favors
for favors from the Supply officer. Noble has a gambling problem
and Foster’s mouth works much better than his ears do,” Bridgette
explained with a bit of a smile.

“What’s your vice? Why would you ask for this
assignment? Are you craven and wanting escape from the Blights?”
Neph asked letting his eyes fall on her once more.

“You are such an ass,” Emily whispered to him
as she watched fury flash across the Lady knight’s face. To her
credit, though, Bridgette regained her composure quickly. Emily
grinned and nodded with approval. Neph hated it when people
wouldn’t rise to his remarks.

“My vice is loyalty. If you are asking why
I’m here, I owe my armor and knighthood to Valor. I am here to
serve him,” Bridgette explained stiffly.

“From what I’ve seen, Valor is much better at
getting women out of armor than putting it on them,” Neph replied
with a smirk.

A spark of emotion flashed across Bridgette’s
face but it was gone too quickly for Emily to identify it. Clearing
her throat the knight nodded slightly and let out a short breath
before speaking again. “I heard that he had become a raving drunk
and spent more time whoring than fighting. I thought it was rumor,
however. There is truth to that gossip, then?”

Neph shrugged slightly and glanced at Sovann
before answering. “I think I’ve only seen him raving a couple of
times. As to whoring, well I don’t think any of them were actually
charging him for sex. Had they been charging, I doubt he could have
afforded a gold bit for his horse or all of his pretty
clothes.”

Bridgette nodded but kept all emotion from
her face as she looked back toward the waiting cavalry. “Well, I
suppose I will see for myself upon his return. Until then, I will
accept you as the commanding officer. What orders do you have,
Sir?”

“You’ve shown me the best three. Now show me
the worst three.” Neph said, moving to stand beside her, his
attention on the knights once more. Apparently he had decided that
he wasn’t going to get a rise out of this woman and had given up
pursuit of it.

Surprisingly, once Neph figured out he
couldn’t get under your skin with his words he was actually fairly
easy to deal with. That fact had taken Emily until very recently to
figure out.

“Jesson. He is the slender man near the
wagons. He is violent and has several charges against him that
could never be proven. Nob. He is the rather large man also by the
wagon…” Bridgette’s voice trailed off as she leaned a bit to get a
better look at the man she was speaking of. “He appears to be
eating a ration of horse grain,” she continued, sounding baffled.
She shook her head slightly and sighed. “He isn’t violent but he is
quite thick and very lazy and usually drunk. I’m amazed he is still
allowed in armor but I think he has become somewhat of a mascot for
the disgraced. The last would be Tessa. She is the one closest to
Jesson. They are friends for a reason. Jesson is a jackal and she
is a viper. They work well together.”

Neph nodded silently and motioned for her to
follow as he made his way toward the wagons. Bridgette glanced
toward the town before turning to follow Neph with a puzzled look
on her face.

“Well, let’s not miss the fun,” Emily said
softly to Sovann, and followed along quickly. She studied the
knights as she passed, noting the looks of distaste that they gave
to Neph as he moved through their ranks. That in itself was a bit
confusing to Emily. Usually people had to get to know Neph before
they had disgusted expressions on their faces at his approach. Neph
was pleasant to look on and was always clean and well dressed, even
if he did prefer his dark somber leathers. Most women found him
handsome. Until he opened his mouth, of course. Once the first
words were out of Neph’s mouth all attraction ended.

Neph stepped up on the closest wagon and
moved to the highest point atop several stacked grain bags. With a
hand he motioned for the knights to assemble closer. Emily quickly
hopped up beside Neph as the knights began to close in and watched
anxiously until Sovann secured a place on the wagon’s bench well
away from the crushing mass of war horses. Bridgette had regained
her own horse and watched silently from the edge of the crowd with
the same puzzled expression on her face.

“Pay attention because I will only say this
once,” Neph began in a loud voice, causing the area around him to
fall silent aside from the shuffling of horses. “High Lady Merrodin
and Lord Valor are not currently in Merro. They are on a quest and
should return soon. Until that point I am in charge of Merro and
therefore in charge of you all. My name is Nephondelvayon. As you
all well know the Delvay think that Arovan knights are a bunch of
armor clad bitches and Arovan knights typically think that the
Delvay are rude assholes.”

The crowd of knights shifted again and there
was a good deal of disgruntled murmurs from their ranks. “Silence
while he is speaking,” Bridgette bellowed, though by her expression
Emily guessed she had a few choice words she would like to say to
Neph herself.

Nodding slightly in her direction Neph
continued in the same loud voice. “Due to that difference in
opinion I am going to assign temporary officers to your ranks until
Valor returns to sort this shit out himself.” Neph paused and
scanned over the crowd and then pointed toward Bridgette.
“Bridgette will be the Officer in Charge until Valor decides
otherwise. She is the only one of you bastards that is authorized
to speak to me unless I initiate the conversation. Is that
understood? Just nod. Don’t bother speaking. I don’t have time for
it.”

Grudging nods issued through the crowd as
Emily dropped down on the bench beside Sovann. “Whose idea was it
to put Neph in charge again?” she asked quietly.

“Jail’s, I believe, or Neph’s. One of them
anyway,” Sovann replied with a shake of his head. “He certainly has
a way with people doesn’t he?”

“If that’s what you want to call it,” Emily
replied with a soft chuckle.

“There will be three officers below
Bridgette,” Neph continued, once the grumbling had died down again.
“Noble, Savy, and Foster. That is your chain of command for now. If
you have questions or problems take it to one of your officers. If
you have a problem with one of the officers take it to Bridgette.
If you have a problem with Bridgette, fucking wait until Valor gets
back. I’m sure he will care, I don’t. Are we clear? Just nod.” Neph
paused again his eyes scanning the crowd of knights once more. His
gaze lingered for a bit on the two closest to his wagon that
Bridgette had pointed out as being dangerous. “That said, let me
tell you what will happen if I have a problem with you.” Neph began
once more, his gaze still lingering on the two knights who were
glaring at him in turn. “If it is a minor problem, I will speak
with Bridgette. If it is a major problem, I will bury your ass and
point out the gravestone to Valor on his return. In Arovan you
answer to a military tribunal; here you answer to me. If I have
proof of your guilt, I will not hesitate to act and I may not warn
you in advance. The safest course you have is, if you think it is
wrong and you may get in trouble for it, don’t fucking do it.”

“They are praying for Valor’s swift return.
You know they are,” Emily whispered in amusement.

“May I ask exactly where Lord Valor is?” One
of the knights near the wagon called with anger thick in his
voice.

Neph glared down at the man and looked over
the crowd once more. Pointing a figure toward the man he cleared
his throat. “Here is a perfect example of not listening. I clearly
stated that if you have a question take it to one of your officers.
I am not one of your officers. If you are speaking to me, chances
are you are screwed and I’m about to put you in a hole. Bridgette
is appraised as to Valor’s current location. If she feels like
telling you all, you will know.” Neph paused and lowered his hand
as he shook his head in disgust. Letting out another deep breath he
motioned toward the town. “As you can all see we are in a process
of building right now. My priority is building shelter for the
commons. If you all want a cozy place for your pretty ponies
outside of the snow you will be building it yourselves. We have
materials available but we do not have the manpower to spare. I
know most of you are noble brats and don’t know which way to hold a
hammer, but I highly suggest you try to learn. There are no
barracks, either, though if you build a stable that may not bother
you. From what I hear the knights of Arovan sleep with their
horses. Suit yourselves on that matter.” Neph shrugged and dropped
down from the grain sacks then paused and looked to Bridgette. “If
you would like materials for building you can find me near the
center of town. I will see that you get all that you require.”

“Think they are going to lynch him?” Emily
asked softly as she watched Neph drop down from the wagon and turn
back toward town.

“Or trample him.” Sovann suggested. “I came
with him, however, so I’m following now before they get the
mistaken belief that I echo his sentiments toward them. I can see
Jail and Madren at the edge of the crowd. I’m going to follow Neph
just long enough to reach them and pretend I don’t know Neph if the
knights go for their swords,” he added softly as he dropped down
from the wagon and moved quickly to follow in Neph’s wake.

Emily watched him go but remained sitting
perfectly still where she was. There was no doubt in her mind that
interesting conversations would follow that speech.

“Bloody bastard,” a woman sighed loudly,
followed by a sniff of disgust. “Surely they have enough commons to
build barracks.”

“Lord Neph, a moment please,” another woman
called loudly over the buzzing of the crowd. Emily turned quickly
in that direction in time to see the woman Bridgette had named as
Savy dismounting from her horse and approaching Neph with a smile
on her beautiful face. Her long red hair was pulled back neatly and
her armor shone brightly in the fading sunlight. To any other man,
her appearance alone would have brought a smile. Neph however
simply glowered at her.

“I was wondering perhaps if there might be
some sort of arrangement we could come to in regards of Officer’s
quarters,” Savy purred, giving Neph a smile that would have melted
most men in their boots.

Neph let out a long sigh and glanced back
toward the town. Pointing at the small crowd of onlookers Neph
looked back toward Savy. “Do you see that goat the boy over there
is holding?” Neph asked in a voice filled with mock patience.

“Yes,” Savy answered, sounding a bit confused
as she glanced between Neph and the goat the pretty smile faltering
on her lips.

Emily clamped her mouth shut tighter to keep
from laughing aloud. She knew Neph well enough to know what was
coming next. The Delvay mage was crude and reliably an asshole even
to perfect strangers such as the poor unsuspecting woman before
him. Sovann apparently knew what was coming as well as he was
edging quickly back to stand beside Jail who didn’t look all that
pleased himself.

“Well Savy, if given the choice between
bedding you and bedding that goat, I would choose the goat, for the
simple reason that I know where that goat has been. You, on the
other hand, I can only guess where you have been, and it is a very
long list that does not flatter you at all. So, as to any special
arrangements you might like to make, just remember in my mind the
goat ranks higher,” Neph said with exaggerated kindness and patted
her gently on the cheek before turning to walk away once more.

“I have a house! I’ll make arrangements!”
Madren yelled loudly as he stepped forward toward Savy waving a
hand to get her attention.

Neph planted a firm hand on Madren’s chest
and shoved him back toward Jail as he walked past. “By the gods,
Jail, I thought you fixed that,” he grumbled.

“I helped him overcome his lack of confidence
and his fears Neph. Not even the greatest Mind mage can overcome
the fact that he is nearly forty and still a virgin,” Jail sighed
as he took Madren by the arm and pulled him back toward town.

“Wait, Jail, wait! I don’t mind sharing my
house with their officers. Wait! Let go!” Madren protested, his
feet dragging in the dirt as Jail continued to pull him along. “I
have a house!” Madren called over his shoulder loudly, nodding with
enthusiasm toward Savy.

“That’s seven minutes and fifty-four
seconds,” Noble called loudly to the assembled knights. “I bet
under ten minutes before she was offering her charms. So pay up you
bastards. The next closest bet was fifteen minutes and that is
nowhere near mine.”

“For the love of the Aspects, Noble at least
let the Delvay get out of earshot before calling out the bets,”
Foster sighed and pushed his horse forward toward Bridgette who was
rubbing her face with her hand.

“Not at all what I expected.” Bridgette
sighed as she lowered her hand and inhaled deeply. She watched with
a weary expression as Noble made his way through the crowds
gathering coins from his various companions. “He really bet on that
then?” she asked Foster with a frown.

“And on whether or not they would take her up
on the offer,” Foster explained with a smile.

“What else did he bet on?” Bridgette asked
sounding a bit worried.

“If Valor would be a drunk. If Lady Merrodin
is as generous with her charms as the rumors in Sanctuary imply and
if Nob survives the first week in Merro,” Foster answered as he
leaned back in his saddle.

“Why would Nob not survive the week?”
Bridgette asked with an upraised eyebrow glancing toward the large
man that was still happily eating grain.