The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (25 page)

“That’s three times now that you have helped
me when no one else in their right mind would be willing to,” Jala
whispered.

“My father chose the name Valor instead of
Wisdom for a reason. He always said I had more balls than brains,”
Valor whispered back with a faint smile. He squeezed her hand
lightly and then slowly released it. “I’ll be there every time you
need help, Jala. I don’t keep count. I simply listen for the
request,” he added softly, the slur still present in his voice.
With a faint bow of his head he stood shakily and started to head
to the door.

“In that case, Valor,” Jala called weakly and
he stopped and looked back at her. “The bottle that waits for you
will have to wait longer. I don’t have time to grieve and you don’t
have time to drink. I need an army, Valor, and I depend on you to
build it.”

It was a struggle to sit up but she forced
herself to do so, her gaze slowly moving around the room to each of
her friends. Aside from Valor, they all wore expressions of shock,
but it was Wisp that broke from the trance first. With a gasp of
delight, the Fae rushed toward the bed and wrapped Jala in a hug
that nearly sent her crawling back for the safety of the
blankets.

“I can’t believe it! Your fever is gone are
you truly feeling well enough to sit up?” Wisp asked, her hand
moving from Jala’s forehead to her cheeks.

“I don’t feel like moving much more than I
have, but yes, sitting up is fine for now,” Jala replied calmly,
though in truth she was gaining strength with each breath. With the
borrowed power and Death’s spells sundered, healing herself was no
longer a difficulty, and her spells were already fast at work on
doing so.

“You want me to build an army from what we
have out there?” Valor asked as he moved back toward the bed.

“To start with and then add to it with what
we bring back when I free Goswin from the curse,” Jala replied, her
eyes watching Valor’s expression as it shifted from disbelief to
dismay.

“I have a very large collection of thieves,
whores, gutter rats, and cowards and that’s not even touching on
the dysfunctional lot of knights that I’m supposed to be
commanding,” Valor continued, his hand waving toward the window as
he spoke.

“And I have at least four nations that will
want Merro to fall. I need an army, Valor. Try to look at what they
could be instead of what they were. This is a new start for all of
us. Give them a chance,” Jala pressed. She brushed a strand of
curls back from her face and forced him to meet her eyes. “If you
listened to the talk in Sanctuary, I’m no more than a peasant
whore. Yet you gave me a chance to prove myself otherwise.”

“She got you by the balls there,” Neph said
with a smirk. The Delvay settled back against the wall and crossed
his arms over his broad chest watching Valor with amusement on his
features. Of all of her friends, Neph appeared to be the best
rested and least troubled. His blue eyes were bright and his
clothing was fresh. The others in the room didn’t look in nearly
that good of condition. Even Wisp had the dark circles under her
eyes and pale skin that spoke of too little rest.

“Where we have thieves we could train
rangers. The whores could be spies. The gutter rats, well I don’t
know anything with survival skills like a gutter rat. I swear those
children could survive in any terrain or circumstance,” Sovann
offered with a shrug.

“You did just say you would be there any time
she asked for help,” Wisp pointed out in a calm practical
voice.

“I said to help, not grant bloody miracles,”
Valor grumbled, but his expression was growing more thoughtful and
less frantic. He turned and looked out the window once more and
rubbed his chin. “There are a few that I might be able to do
something with. My knights I can handle. I simply haven’t had the
will to attempt it yet. My mind was more focused on the fact that
you appeared to be dying,” he mused.

“I wasn’t dying. I was simply taking a
vacation from good health,” Jala said with a slight shrug. “I
wouldn’t ask you for a miracle if I didn’t think you could grant
it, Valor.”

“You are quite possibly the only one that has
that kind of faith in me anymore, Jala.” Valor’s eyes locked onto
hers once more and he shook his head slowly in amazement.

“I know you better than they do, Valor. I’ve
seen what you are capable of,” Jala replied, her voice holding a
note of respect that was audible to all in the room. Valor watched
her for a moment in silence and then moved to stand at the window,
his back to them all. Slowly, Jala looked around the room once more
and frowned as she noticed the missing faces. “Where are Jail,
Madren, and Emily?” she asked.

“Jail is babysitting the other two for the
time being. We didn’t want to let Madren in here until you were
strong enough to smack him and we were afraid Emily would suffer
Marrow’s fate,” Neph explained, his eyes flicking to the Bendazzi’s
limp form beside her.

Jala frowned and ran a hand down Marrow’s
back nodding slightly. “I wish I hadn’t had to drain him so much,
but I was too weak to do what needed to be done alone.” Her spells
of healing were already at work on the Bendazzi and he was sleeping
peacefully now. He had earned the rest with his diligence of
guarding her, but to the others he must appear to be on the verge
of dying.

“You will explain what exactly it was that
you did won’t you?” Sovann asked with a curious light in his
eyes.

“I will, but later. For right now there are a
few things I would like to cover and then if it’s not too much to
ask I’d like to have private words with Valor and then rest,” Jala
said, her gaze once again traveling over their faces. Jala had been
half afraid her words would offend them, but there was no
indication to show that they had. She felt a pang of regret that
she had to send them away. She knew they wouldn’t accept what she
had to do, though, so she had no choice.

“Well then, what do you want to cover? Best
to get it out of the way. You likely do need your rest,” Sovann
said quickly. Of all of them he looked the most exhausted and she
could see grief written clearly in his features. He was doing a
very good job of keeping it from his voice though. She wondered
briefly how much he blamed her for Finn’s loss, but quickly pushed
the thought away. She could focus on that pain later when she was
alone. For now it was best to try not to think of Finn and her
failure. There were so many things that she needed to do. Her grief
would have to wait for now.

“Where do we stand, population wise? Do we
have enough food? How is morale in the city?” Jala asked.

“About nine thousand, not including the
bitches in plate mail. We have enough food if we continue to ration
it but it’s mostly grains and it’s a poor diet. Morale is rather
low. Most want to go back to Sanctuary. It’s all they have ever
known and there is security in what is familiar. That, and with the
condition you arrived in, most of them think you are dead or dying.
Not much point in living in Merro without a Merrodin leading, eh?”
Neph answered, his words as usual were blunt and clear spoken.

“The problem with the food is fairly easy to
explain. I’ve restored most of the surrounding land, but that’s
soil and plants. I can’t do anything about the wildlife that should
be here. If we had the animals we could hunt to supplement, but I
can’t create them as I do trees and grass. So we are left with
buying our goods from the Greenwild and they don’t have much to
spare,” Wisp said with a sigh. The Fae dropped down lightly on the
edge of Jala’s bed and frowned. “We bought most of grains from
Brannaford, but the merchant we purchased it from mixed sawdust in
with some of the bags to make it stretch farther. Then Neph went to
visit him and now he won’t talk to us again. So we are on rations
until we find another source.”

“Imagine that, a visit from Neph and he will
no longer talk to us,” Valor said sarcastically and earned a rude
gesture from Neph.

“You try keeping this place in order for a
while, Valor. I’ll lay a heavy wager that in one week with you in
control we would have utter chaos, no food, and you would be too
drunk to notice,” Neph snapped.

“Give me time to think on this. In two days
we will have another discussion on the matter. That should give me
plenty of time to regain my strength,” Jala said with a nod, her
eyes flicking back and forth between Neph and Valor. The knight had
turned back to the window once more and Neph was watching her
again. So she let the comments slide without any words of her own
on the matter. In truth, she wasn’t really sure what to think about
it at any rate. In the Darklands, Valor had been the picture of
quiet competence and had barely drunk any wine. Here in the sunlit
world things were apparently different, however.

“Fair enough,” Sovann agreed and nodded
toward the door. “Let’s allow her to speak with Valor and rest.
There is plenty of time to discuss everything later.”

Wisp nodded and gave Jala one last hug before
rising from the bed. With a smile she moved to Sovann’s side and
they quietly left the room. Jala watched them go and tried to
ignore the twinge inside her chest. Sovann looked so much like his
brother it was difficult to see him without thinking of Finn.

“Don’t keep her awake long, Valor,” Neph
warned and nodded farewell to Jala as he moved to the door and
quietly closed it behind him.

Jala watched the door for a long moment and
then turned to look back at Valor. The knight was leaning against
the window frame watching her with a cautious expression. “Why do
you look nervous?” she asked as she threw the blankets back from
her legs and swung them over the side of the bed. Frowning, she
looked down at the short linen shift she wore and searched the room
for any sign of her clothing.

“I was curious as to what you wished to speak
with me alone about and now I’m simply wondering what in the hell
you think you are doing,” Valor said, his voice incredulous.

“Oh, there are several things I’d like to
talk to you about but they can wait. For now, we have to get to
Glis,” Jala replied as she stood shakily and moved to the trunk at
the foot of the bed.

“What?” Valor demanded, moving to her side
and trying to guide her back to the bed. “Jala you shouldn’t even
be standing,” he scolded, his eyes flicking to the door once
more.

Jala looked at him with a raised eyebrow but
didn’t allow herself to be moved an inch. Reaching up she took his
chin in her hand and forced him to meet her eyes. “Valor, listen,”
she ordered. “Death is a petty vindictive bitch and your
brother-in-law is near death. I severed the ties she held on him
for now, but once she recovers she will kill him. If I can get
there before she does I can heal him. I know I hurt her badly this
time but I am not fool enough to think I killed her. So stop
wasting time and find my boots.”

“So you had the others leave because you knew
they would stop you from doing this and you kept me because I go
along with everything,” Valor sighed.

“Yes, they would stop me and I kept you to
stop the Shifters from ripping my face off when we appear out of
nowhere. They know you. They do not know me,” Jala explained as she
lifted the trunk lid and sorted through her clothing quickly.
“Valor,” she said as she stood back up clutching a tunic and
breeches.

“Hmm?” Valor raised an eyebrow at her and
dropped her boots down in front of the bed.

“There is actually something I do need to
talk with you about before we go. Do you know what they did with my
old grey cloak?” Jala began slowly, her eyes searching the room for
any sign of the ruined garment.

“Neph burned it, but the things you had
inside it are on your dresser,” Valor replied with a look of faint
confusion.

Jala nodded and chewed on her lower lip.
After the disaster with Finn’s spirit stone she wasn’t sure she
wanted to walk down this path, but Valor had a right to know.
Silently she moved to the dresser and sat her clothes on the edge
before picking up the gold coin. Turning it over in her hands she
stared down at the imprint of the black swords and then the badger
before finally looking back to him. “Do you remember when Vaze took
us out of Death’s palace and he mentioned not being able to find
Chastity?” she asked quietly.

A pained look crossed Valor’s face and he
nodded faintly. Guilt showed clearly in his blue eyes and he let
out a slow breath. “I do, and I have no idea how to tell Sebastian
about it or even if I should tell him.”

Jala crossed the short distance between them
and took his hand. With another glance down at the coin she placed
it carefully in his waiting palm and closed his fingers over it.
“Vaze couldn’t find her because my last spell was placing her soul
in this. I didn’t have another gem to use, but Ash said it only
required an item of value. To others, that coin may look like a
simple gold piece but to me it is worth more than any gem.
Chastity’s soul is there, but after what happened with Finn,” she
let her words trail off and released his hand, moving back to pick
up her clothing once more.

“You barely knew Chas. You had only met her
once and you used the last of your strength to save her from that
place rather than striking another blow at Death?” Valor asked
softly as he turned the coin over in his hand and then looked up to
her, his eyes searching.

“I didn’t do it for Chastity. I know how much
you loved your sister and I wouldn’t leave someone you loved in a
place like that. It was horrible enough watching Death use that
love against you once. I didn’t want to see it happen again.
Another strike against Death was a gamble if I would even hurt her.
Saving Chastity was something I knew I could do. I don’t regret the
choice I made at all,” Jala explained as she pulled the tunic on
over her shift and frowned at its tightness. It wouldn’t be long
before none of her clothes would fit over her growing stomach.
“Saving Sebastian is something I know I can do, too,” she added as
she tugged on the loose pants and slipped her feet into her
boots.