The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (51 page)

“At least it has one available,” Jala mumbled
through another yawn and headed off toward the end of the hall. She
would have to summon clothes to wear and she hated to waste the
magic to do it. There was no other choice, though. If any of her
possessions had been salvaged from the ship wreck they were yet to
be returned to her. The loss of her clothes wasn’t truly troubling,
but the loss of her staff made her sick. It had been so lovingly
crafted especially for her and she had lost it on her first outing
with it. It was possible that one of Kithvaryn’s scouts had found
it, however, and perhaps if they negotiated well today it would be
returned.

With a sigh, she opened the door to the
bathing room and froze, staring at the half naked form of Valor
standing in front of the small mirror. The muscles in his back
tensed at the sound of the door and she realized she was still
staring with what had to be a stupid expression on her face. “I,
uh, didn’t know you had a tattoo,” Jala muttered lamely as she
struggled to come up with a reason for her slack-jawed expression.
Her eyes fixated on the delicate form of the female devil on one
shoulder holding a bloody sword and the crumpled form of an angel
on the other shoulder. It was obvious that the tattoo was from his
days of debauchery in Sanctuary rather than anything he might have
gotten in Arovan.

“That’s because you’ve only seen me in this
state of undress once before. I was drunk and you were averting
your eyes, as I recall,” Valor replied with a hint of amusement.
“It’s not a tattoo I care to show off either. It’s the result of a
too much alcohol and too little thinking.” Stepping back from the
mirror he grabbed a shirt off the rack behind him and bowed his
head to her. “The room is yours,” he said with a motion of his hand
toward the bathtub.

Jala nodded slightly, her eyes still
following his every move. He had the same lean athletic figure that
Finn had possessed with only a bit more muscle. It was the scar on
his stomach that was holding her attention, now that he had turned
to face her. Every other inch of Valor’s skin was flawless and pale
aside from the ragged claw marks. He had earned that wound saving
her life and she had never even realized he still bore the scar
from it.

“As soon as you move out of the doorway that
is,” Valor added after a long moment of waiting for her to move.
The expression on his face held curiosity and a bit of
amusement.

“Oh bloody hell. Sorry. I’m not awake yet,”
Jala mumbled and stepped quickly out of his way, hoping he didn’t
notice her blushing. She had no reason to be blushing either which
was even more infuriating. Her gaze dropped to the floor and she
closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. “Sorry, Val. Long night.
Very little sleep,” Jala added quietly as she moved past him into
the room and quickly closed the door behind him as he stepped out.
Leaning back against the door frame she stared at the mirror and
let out another sigh. “You are a complete idiot,” she whispered to
herself.

Vaze was waiting for her when she opened the
door to step out from the bathroom. He watched her carefully as if
trying to judge her mood before he spoke.

“I don’t hate you, Vaze. I don’t like you
very much for what you did.” Jala spoke quietly as she adjusted the
skirts of her dress. She held up a hand before he could speak and
shook her head slowly. “I know you did what you did with the best
of intentions and that is the only reason I don’t hate you for it.
It’s like a wound that won’t heal and the sight of you salts the
wound,” she finished.

“I don’t know how many times I can say I’m
sorry to you, Jala,” Vaze said softly. “If it’s the sight of me
that bothers you, though, you won’t be troubled much longer. I’m
here to take you back to Kithvaryn and then I must leave. Unless
you would rather take the stairs than the shadows of course.”

“No, I would appreciate your help with the
shadows,” Jala sighed and felt a pang of guilt at his words.
Perhaps she didn’t have the right to be angry with him. Maybe his
way had been the best way. It was all a jumbled mess in her mind
and nothing she had time to examine now. In truth, it was nothing
she truly wanted to examine closely. As it was in her mind now,
Vaze shared the blame for the failure to save Finn. She had acted
rashly and rushed the spell. He had sent Finn back to hell. If she
admitted that Vaze had acted in the best way, then the only one to
hate was herself.

“Your friends are waiting in your room,” Vaze
said quietly in a voice that seemed far too humble for the man she
knew him to be.

“Do you have any idea what Kithvaryn has
decided?” Jala asked in the most conversational voice she could
manage.

“None whatsoever. Kith is hard to judge. I’ll
cross my fingers for you, though, kid,” Vaze replied with a faint
smile.

Nodding, Jala stepped into her room. Valor
stood gazing out the window in a long coat of dark purple. Silver
embroidery lined the trim in shapes of tiny Bendazzi. He looked
every inch the noble, from the tips of his well-polished black
boots to his short silver hair.

Sovann on the other hand bore the appearance
of a scholar. His clothing was practical as always with more
pockets showing than she could count. He sat waiting patiently in a
chair with Legacy balanced carefully on one leg and an expression
of dread on his face.

“It won’t be that bad. I’m sure, Sovann,”
Jala offered with a faint smile as she crossed the room to take her
child.

“It’s not the meeting with Kithvaryn,” Sovann
mumbled with a slight shake of his head.

“Ash is waiting in the city for you. Word
arrived while you were bathing. Apparently he plans to take ship
from here directly to Seravae,” Valor explained in a steady voice,
not bothering to turn from the window.

“But I have to raise Merro still. I hadn’t
planned on going to Seravae until my people were living again,”
Jala objected with a frown.

“I suppose you will have to take that up with
your fiancé after our meeting with the General,” Valor said dryly
as he turned toward Vaze. “Ready when you are Vaze. The sooner this
day is over with, the better.”

Vaze nodded slowly to Valor and looked back
to Jala with a questioning expression on his face.

“I’m ready,” Jala agreed and moved closer so
that he could transport them all more easily. Legacy squirmed
briefly in her arms before contenting himself with wrapping his
tiny fingers in a lock of her hair.

Vaze stared at her for another long moment
before nodding slowly. He glanced to Valor and then Sovann before
looking back to her once more. “I really hope you know what you are
doing with Seravae, and I really hope you have considered all other
options first,” he said softly as the room darkened with his
summoned shadows.

Kithvaryn sat waiting in the same chair he
had occupied the night before. Kithkara stood behind him, leaning
against the wall near the weapons racks. The expression on the
woman’s face suggested she would like to make use of those weapons
as the group entered the room.

“Good morning, General Kithvaryn, Commander
Kithkara,” Jala spoke the greeting politely and bowed her head to
Kithvaryn with respect.

“You look more the High Lady today than you
did on our first meeting,” Kithvaryn returned with a note of
approval in his voice. He gazed at her son for a long moment before
nodding her toward one of the empty chairs.

“I regret the condition I arrived in. I’m
afraid under the circumstances of yesterday’s events that it
couldn’t be helped,” Jala replied with a small apologetic shrug.
Carefully she pulled the long silk skirts of her newly summoned
dress out of the way and sat down in the indicated chair.

Kithvaryn waited patiently for Valor and
Sovann to take places behind her before nodding toward her son.
“Finn’s child, I assume. I had heard rumors that you were with
child, but the news seems too fresh for a child his age.”

“I was in poor condition when I returned from
the Darklands, so I used magic on my son to insure that he
survived,” Jala explained, leaving out as many of the details of
the event as she could. There was no reason for anyone other than
her friends to know what bad condition she had been in.

“I see,” the general responded in a tone that
suggested he didn’t want to hear all of the details any more than
she wanted to speak them. Exhaling heavily, he leaned back farther
into the cushions of his chair, resting his elbows comfortably on
the arm rests. “I’ve considered your offer and I have a counter for
you. As it turns out, I didn’t care much for Hexian’s offer and we
couldn’t reach terms that we both agreed on. As for Morcaillo, I
don’t like nor trust the man so I don’t plan to take contract there
either. That leaves you. If we can reach terms that is.”

Jala struggled to keep the look of hope from
her face and nodded slowly. “What is your counter, General?” she
asked in a reserved voice.

“First, my company will keep any spoils of
war that are gained in defending Goswin. That is the full and
complete spoils. Goswin will not get a share regardless of whether
they fight beside us or not,” Kithvaryn began in a formal tone.
“Second, my son’s soul is to be returned to me before we move our
troops to Goswin. If there is any deceit in that transaction, the
contract between the two of us will be void. If it is not truly my
son that I raise, I will not only void the contract I will remove
the leash from Kithkara that is keeping her on such remarkably good
behavior.”

“Understood and agreed upon,” Jala said with
another nod when he fell silent once more. She had expected his
terms to be much worse, but so far he had said nothing that she
couldn’t live with.

“I’m not finished,” Kithvaryn said firmly and
cleared his throat. “Third, you and I will exchange blood for safe
keeping. If at any time you should move against me, I will not
hesitate to use the blood against you. You will have a vial of my
own blood as well, should I fail in the contract.”

“You are out of your mind,” Valor snapped,
cutting Kithvaryn off before he could finish.

“Valor, please,” Jala pleaded and gave
Kithvaryn an apologetic look. “Forgive him please. It is his duty
to protect me and I fear I’ve made that a rather difficult chore
for him. His nerves are on edge, which doubtless caused that
outburst.”

“I would guess it has quite a lot to do with
the Soulreaver waiting at my port for your company,” Kithvaryn said
dryly before casting Valor a withering look. “The blood is not
negotiable, Lady Merrodin. We will exchange vials and hold them
until the end of the contract or there will be no contract. At the
end of our contract, which will be the end of the war by your
request, we will once again exchange the vials. Which, if we have
both kept faith, should still be sealed. The fourth and final
condition of the term is that you pay for the three goats your
damned Bendazzi ate while you have been in my Fortress. I have not
seen the hell-spawned creature myself but I know enough about you
to know what it is preying on my livestock.”

You ate three goats
! Jala exclaimed
through a mental link with the Bendazzi while she nodded politely
to Kithvaryn. “I apologize for my familiar. I expected him to be on
better behavior.”

Kithvaryn glanced over his shoulder at
Kithkara and nodded faintly with a tight smile. “How well do I know
that pain. We always expect the best behavior of those we
trust.”

They only counted three
?
Perhaps
you shouldn’t deal with these people if that is as high as they can
count. You will end up purchasing the services of six thousand
troops and only getting three,
Marrow returned in an amused
tone.