The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (2 page)

“
Imagine your drive to fix the world
combined with Shade’s desire to change things. He never could while
under Myth’s thumb, but married to you as High Lord Merrodin he
would have answered to no one but you. Combine that with the fact
that he is a very powerful Changeling and the two of you become a
force that no one wants to deal with. So they formed a soul bond
with a dashing young man that had a very short life expectancy.
Even before meeting you, Finn Sovaesh was courting Death daily.
Understand better now?” He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow
and motioned to a bench near the gardens.

Jala nodded and took a seat. “You are saying
they sacrificed Finn to me to occupy my heart long enough for them
to get Shade out of the picture.” She spoke hesitantly, not wanting
to accept that Finn had died for something so petty.

“
Essentially. Notice Shade joined the
Fionaveir? So ironic eh? I promise, Lutheron didn’t factor in your
trip to the Darklands, though. You are supposed to be mourning
right now.” He clicked his tongue against his teeth and shook his
head at her in a mock scolding. “Arrogant child, don’t you know how
to properly follow plans?” he asked with a chuckle.

“
I won’t be their puppet any longer,” Jala
declared firmly.

“
Good to hear. Now all we have to do is
teach you to recognize intrigue. I am going to ask you a delicate
question now. Please try not to get too upset. If your emotions
rise, you will wake. How well do you trust your companions? They
swore fealty so quickly to you. Did they mean their vows or are
they part of the puppet show?”

“
I don’t want to doubt any of them, but
you are right. They did swear fealty quickly and before they truly
had a chance to know me. I had wondered at that, but I thought it
was for Finn. But now Finn is dead and they still stand by me. Are
you saying that my friends are not truly friends?” Jala asked, her
stomach clenching at the thought. She forced her emotions back to
calm and let out a slow breath.

War worked his jaw from left to right as he
pondered the matter. “Sovann, I believe, is genuine. He has no ties
elsewhere that I’ve seen. Valor is disgraced in Arovan and because
of that has no ties elsewhere. Jail… Well now, he is a tricky one.
Watch him and decide for yourself. Neph, he is Delvay. I can’t
believe that he is following you honestly and I highly doubt he is
anyone else’s lackey. Wisp, as with Jail, I have suspicions on. Her
brother is Fionaveir and her House works with them very closely.
Watch her. I don’t like your new addition of Joseph Walker, either.
It was rather convenient that he showed up in Sanctuary wasn’t
it?”

“
Valor is disgraced? Why?” Jala asked,
dumbfounded by the thought.

“
By his knightly order, not by his family.
Suffice it to say that in recent years he has broken more than one
of his knightly vows. Drunken debauchery being his most frequent
sin. You latched onto that quickly enough. Care to explain why?”
War asked as he plucked a flower from behind them and shifted to
sit cross-legged on the bench.

“
If not for his help in the Darklands, I
think I would already be dead. It just doesn’t seem possible that
he is disgraced, but I suppose if it is from debauchery, then I
understand it. I’ve certainly witnessed enough of that in
Sanctuary. I just need someone to trust right now, and Valor is all
I have. Without Finn and Marrow I feel lost,” Jala explained,
trying to ignore the irony of her words. Even with Valor she was
lost, literally. They had been in the Darklands for close to two
weeks now and still had no idea of where they needed to go.

“
Don’t let it trouble you. It’s Arovan and
they have changed quite a bit in their captivity. Beyond the
barrier they were Warlords. Here they have become Nobles. You can
get disgraced in Arovan by passing wind in the wrong room. Very
prickly these days. I think it all started getting worse with the
fall of Veir. Arovan apparently decided that someone needed to fill
the void of the Holier-than-Thou pricks in plate mail.”

“
I have a question for you,” Jala began
and watched him until he met her eyes. “What do you want from me?
Why are you helping me? I have a hard time believing it’s simply
our Blood tie.”

His smile broadened and he nodded to her.
“Well, of course I want something. Everyone does. I’ll let you in
on a secret, Jala. Life is one big manipulation. From your mother
telling you scary stories to get you to behave, to your husband
buying flowers to sweeten your mood. It is all individuals out to
get what they want from you. However, what I want from you is
exactly what you want, so my advice is the only bribe I need offer.
I want my namesake, Jala, I want war.”

“
You are going to get that regardless.
Delvay is already fighting against Rivana. Even if they weren’t,
though, how could I possibly provide that for you? I have no
armies,” Jala replied in a disgusted voice.

“
I didn’t ask for one tomorrow, Jala. Let
me tell you how it will happen if you don’t prepare soon. You can
trust me on this as well. I know the forces fighting and I can see
the broader picture. The Blights are going to pick off Arovan and
Glis like Assassins. Nerathane and Rivana will destroy Delvay. The
Blights will weaken the Firym and Faydwer enough that Morcaillo and
Avanti will crush them. Then Han’shy will surrender and house
Morcaillo will step forward as King or Emperor, whichever title he
decides he prefers.” He plucked petals from the flower as he spoke
casting each down as he listed the falling houses.

“
What about Oblivion?” Jala asked.

“
They might stir, but let’s look at the
full picture there as well. Oblivion is actually worse off than you
are. Zachary and Tyber are the only living occupants of the
country. Beyond them there is nothing but tainted souls in their
population,” War explained and tossed two petals down onto the
bench in front of her.

“
You didn’t mention house Merrodin in
that, at all. Who is going to kill me off, then, if I don’t
prepare? Couldn’t I simply surrender like Han’shy?” Jala
countered.

“
Could you surrender to Avanti?” War asked
with a look of amazement on his face.

“
No,” Jala hissed and had to calm her
emotions once more. Perhaps if he would have named any other house
she would have considered it, but she would rather die than bow
before an Avanti.

“
Well, if you don’t prepare, it will be
Avanti that eliminates your house. They have a large enough
population to roll across the Greenwild and crush the little
settlement that represents all of Merrodin right now,” War
explained.

“
So how do you suggest I prepare?” Jala
asked with a sigh.

“
First, you defeat Death and retrieve
Finn. He has strong ties with the Firym, though I doubt they will
be much help in times to come. Then you remove the curse on Goswin,
but don’t release the souls back to Death. Break the curse but hold
the souls there and raise them. That will take immense amounts of
power. Go prepared. Place Madren in control of them. As the last
high lord of Goswin he is the rightful heir. Then have him swear an
oath to be ally to you.” War spoke slowly, though she could see the
excitement building in his eyes. “Ensure that Arovan sends you the
knights that were promised to Valor. A solid cavalry is the
foundation to a fighting force. Begin training militia the moment
your people are fit for it. Expect a third of Merrodin’s total
population to be returned to you. Train what you are able to from
that number. Do not allow your commanders to be sexist on this.
I’ve seen women that can outfight most men. Sort the best from
those ranks and train them for true military. By the end of the
spring, you should have close to twenty thousand under your command
if all goes well on the raising of the dead.”

“
Aside from placing Madren in control of a
country, that sounds exactly as I had planned to do. Care to
explain why I should place him in charge of Goswin and not Anthe?”
Jala asked, genuinely confused by his logic. While Madren was the
rightful heir to Goswin, Anthe had actual experience in
leading.

“
I said put him in control. I didn’t say
let him lead. Give him the country and give Anthe the role of
Advisor and they will be fine. Madren has been crippled by fear and
insecurity. Give him purpose and watch him shine,” War corrected
mildly.

“
To me, control implies leading,” Jala
returned dryly.

“
Well then, you have a lot to learn on
politics, don’t you? Simply because someone’s name is on the desk,
doesn’t mean they are in control,” War chided.

“
I suppose, though, I can’t say that I’m
looking forward to that aspect of leading,” Jala agreed with a
sigh. “If what you say is true about the Fionaveir, should I really
help them gain power?” she asked after another long pause.

“
It’s politics, Jala. You choose the
lesser of two evils. The Fionaveir are the lesser evil here.
Symphony is not corrupt yet. She is just being kept as a mushroom.
The only other alternative is that you step forward. Do you really
want to do that?” War watched her closely and smiled as she
shuddered at the thought. “That’s what I thought.”

“
What do you mean, she is a mushroom?”
Jala asked finally.

“
Kept in the dark and fed shit. She
doesn’t know half of what is going on right now. If she is truly
going to lead, she will need to step forward soon. At this point
she is as much of a puppet as you were,” War explained with a
grin.

“
Crude, but accurate I suppose,” Jala said
with a slight shake of her head. “Any other advice or warnings?”
she asked.

“
Pages and pages, but nothing that we have
time for. For now, take this as my guideline to you. Defeat Death.
Build an army. Remember calm heads prevail, and above all else,
don’t die.” He paused in his words and his expression sobered. “One
more thing, Jala, remember this well. Life is full of difficult
choices. You are going to reach many crossroads in days ahead where
no path looks good. In some there will be no happy choice. You
simply have to make the choice you can live with.” War stood as he
finished speaking and smiled down at her. “If you don’t wake soon,
Valor is going to start funeral arrangements for you.”

“
What if I need to speak with you again?”
Jala asked as she stood.

“
I suggest you learn to Dream walk. It’s
not so hard. It’s best that I don’t approach you in flesh. If I do,
they will watch you more closely. They have written you off for
now. Let them continue to do so. It will give you an element of
surprise.” War reached a hand out hesitantly and touched her cheek
lightly. “You show more of my Blood than any other child of my
line. Remember that and kick her ass, Jala.” War dropped his hand
back down slowly and winked as the city faded around her.

The Darklands

War’s words rang in her mind as her eyelids
fluttered open. She had expected to awaken on the horse as it
trudged through the bleak landscape, but instead she was lying
flat. Lifting up on her elbow she looked down to the cushion of air
she lay on. At a glance it seemed as though she was hovering inches
off the ground, but she could feel the solid shape beneath her. Her
armor lay in a tidy heap beside the make-shift bed, neatly folded
and freshly oiled. Just beyond it stood Valorous, his head lowered
as he rested. The Arovanni watched her as she moved, but made no
sound.

Jala moved the tangled blanket and sat up
slowly. Her hair fell forward over her eyes in an untidy tangle and
she pushed it back with a sigh. Looking around the camp she spotted
Valor crouched several feet away with one hand extended before him.
Wind stirred his long silver hair, though the air was still around
her. Jala rose slowly and glanced down at the tunic she wore. It
was black and silver and hung well past her knees.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were going
to wake up. I hope you excuse me for removing your armor. I thought
you would rest better without it. I figured after the weeks we have
spent in here that we didn’t have much privacy left between us
anyway.” Valor’s voice was soft, barely above a whisper. They had
learned in their first days to keep silent. Their voices seemed to
attract the demons and so conversations had been limited.

“I don’t mind,” Jala whispered as she moved
to join him. His words held enough truth to them that she found she
wasn’t embarrassed in the least. The first few days had been the
most difficult. Body functions were of course necessary for both of
them, but the Darklands offered no privacy for such things. In
light of having to tend to such business around Valor, the idea of
getting upset over his making her more comfortable seemed
laughable.

In another time she probably would have
laughed. Right now, though, even the effort of a faint smile was
too much. If any sound broke from her lips it would likely be a
sob. The loss of Finn had become a constant ache in her chest, as
was the despair of their current situation. They were lost, with no
bearings and very little hope of success. If something didn’t
change soon, they would have to abandon the mission to keep her
promise to Anthe.

“Careful,” Valor warned as he held out a hand
to stop her.

Jala frowned and looked down at his warning.
The ground fell away just beyond Valor, though the darkness and
gloom made the chasm difficult to spot. She felt her chest tighten
again at the sight of their newest obstacle.

The wind died down and Valor looked up at
her, studying her expression. His own face was somber and he looked
exhausted. “I’ve found a way down. We seem to be on a plateau,
though it’s difficult to gauge the actual terrain. There doesn’t
seem to be another side to this, though, so just a quick trip down
and we go from there.”