The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (59 page)

“Of course, Jala, but I thought they were two
days off,” Wisp said a bit of confusion in her voice.

“Apparently not,” Jala said with a shrug as
she kicked her horse once more to get a look for herself. The road
before her twisted back on itself through a small stand of trees
and then opened up onto a vast open field. The front ranks of her
army were stopped at the edge of the woods with her husband at the
front. All of their gazes were locked on the far side of the field
where the rows of the waiting army could just barely be seen. The
Avanti lines stretched as far as she could see in both directions,
in numbers that she couldn’t even fathom.

“How in the bloody hells did our scouts miss
that the first time out?” Noble asked quietly from the back ranks
of the Arovan knights.

“We sent the spook scouts out first and had
to wait for the real scouts to go out later and actually do their
jobs,” Foster suggested with a faint smile.

“Silent in the ranks!” Bridgette barked, her
voice wiping the smiles instantly off the men’s faces.

“They used magic to gain their ground,” Valor
said softly with a glance back at his men. “They likely waited
until our first scouts passed through and then moved giving them
several hours before another patrol,” he said before turning his
attention back to the army. His gaze paused on Jala as he turned,
but he said nothing, not even bothering to nod in her
direction.

“They outnumber us five to one,” Jexon
announced with a shake of his head. Turning to the officer beside
him he nodded back to the army. “Give orders to strike camp here
and send an envoy to the Avanti camp. We will see who is in charge
over there and determine what to do from there,” he ordered, his
gaze falling across her as he turned his horse. She watched his
eyes narrow at the sight of her in the front ranks but he kept his
silence. He always did until they were alone.

Pulling her horse to the side, Jala watched
as rank upon rank of her army moved forward to begin breaking camp.
There were so many people and yet the Avanti still had more.

There will be Blights. You know there
will
, Emily whispered in her mind, her yellow eyes focused on
the woods behind them as if she expected an attack at any
moment.

The archers are all equipped with the
glasses Sovann crafted. If there are Blights we will see them
,
Jala assured her. She had her own set of the glasses as well and
briefly considered putting them on under the veil. With a sigh she
shook her head slightly. It was hard enough to see clearly through
the dark silk without adding shaded glasses to the equation.

Her gaze rose as a rider left her camp riding
for the Avanti lines with a parlay flag tied securely to the end of
his lance. It was a Soulreaver, she noted dryly. Jexon rarely even
acknowledged the rest of her army, using his own men to do
everything. She couldn’t really blame him, though. She was guilty
of the same thing, she supposed.

“I highly suggest we attend that parlay,”
Jail’s voice came from beside her and once again she jumped in the
saddle. He smiled over at her from the back of his bay mare and
bowed his head slightly.

“By the gods, you are sneaking up on me on
horseback now,” Jala sighed and shook her head slightly. “I have
every intention of attending that parlay, though I doubt my husband
will approve.”

“On the contrary. I don’t think he will even
notice,” Jail said with a wink.

“I’m so glad you are on my side, Jail,” Jala
said quietly. Pausing she looked back at Jail and then glanced over
to where the knights of Arovan were camped. “Jail, do you scan
everyone’s mind?” she asked softly.

“Of course not. That would be an invasion of
privacy and strictly against the Mind Mage strictures,” Jail
replied looking a bit indignant at the suggestion.

He does too. Don’t believe him
, Emily
told her with a shake of her feline head at Jail.

“Lying cat,” Jail muttered and raised an
eyebrow at Jala before glancing over to the Arovan camp. “You want
to know if I scan Valor’s mind?” he asked quietly.

Jala chewed on her lower lip for a moment and
then nodded slowly. “Does he hate me, Jail? He avoids me and the
only time I’ve actually spoken with him since Seravae I pissed him
off,” Jala said, her voice reminding her of a frightened child.
With a heavy sigh she rubbed her temples and shook her head.
“Forget it, Jail. I shouldn’t even have asked and I hate the way
that sounded,” Jala mumbled and was glad the veil hid her
embarrassment.

“Jala, I’m fairly certain that you could walk
over there and kick Valor in the balls, call him any name you chose
to use and stab his horse and he still couldn’t find it in himself
to hate you,” Jail said with a shake of his head.

“I would never,” Jala gasped, her voice
trailing off in shock at his suggestion.

“No, you wouldn’t, so we don’t have to worry
about his hating you now, do we. However if you don’t want to take
my word for it simply place a hand on his Arovanni. They are bonded
creatures. What you feel through the horse is what Valor is
feeling.”

“He hasn’t summoned Valorous at all that I’ve
seen,” Jala said with a sigh. Every time she had seen Valor since
they left Merro he had been mounted on Vanguard. She wasn’t
entirely sure how he had gotten the horse back, but she hadn’t had
a chance to ask him about it. As far as she knew Vanguard had been
left in Sanctuary when they fled the city.

“He will before this is over,” Jail said as
he nodded toward the field. “Our envoy is returning with an Avanti.
Let’s leave the horses here and see what they have to say,” Jail
suggested as he dismounted and waited patiently for Jala to follow
suit. He took her hand in his as she moved over to him and
carefully pulled her along after him as he headed for the
commanders tent.

“Be silent until we leave and they won’t even
know we were there,” Jail whispered to her as they drew closer to
the tent.

Jala started to reply but fell silent as a
loud roar split the air from the Avanti’s lines. Freezing in
mid-step, she watched mutely as a massive form took to the air
above the Avanti camp, its wings beating strongly as it gained
altitude. Behind her the sound of panicked horses filled the air as
the animals spooked. She couldn’t blame them in the least. The
dragon was very large and at first sight she had felt the fleeting
desire to run as well. “Five to one and a dragon,” Jala
whispered.

“Don’t forget the Blights they doubtless
have,” Jail returned softly.

“And Blights,” Jala agreed her hopes sinking
a bit further.

What was it Havoc said about your Father’s
name. They called him Badger because of how fiercely he fought. The
greater the odds the harder he would fight. Something like
that
? Marrow asked, his words quenching the despair that had
been growing in her chest instantly.

“Never pick a fight with a Dazzi,” Jala said
softly, choosing to focus on Valor’s words rather than Havoc’s.
Both had merit though and both bolstered her spirits enough to tug
Jail along once more. Dragon or not, Merro didn’t have a choice
here. It was either fight or surrender and she would not
surrender.

They both paused at the entrance of the tent
while Jail scanned the minds of the guards closest to the
opening.

“And what exactly would the terms for that
be?” she heard Jexon say from inside.

“For a full surrender? Well, we will have to
have prisoners to ensure your good behavior. Lady Merrodin, of
course. Lord Avanti will insist on that I have no doubt,” the envoy
returned, his Avanti accent sounding almost musical next to Jexon’s
harsher voice.

“Naturally. I would agree that my wife must
be among the prisoners, but I must insist that I keep the child. He
is far too young for such treatment,” Jexon replied smoothly and
she could almost hear the pleasure in his voice.

Turning quickly on her heels, Jala strode
back toward their camp her fury growing with every step. She could
hear Jail behind her but didn’t bother to slow her steps. Reaching
up with one hand she tore the veil off and dropped it on the ground
as she walked. “Stupid, cowardly, traitorous.” She snarled a word
with every stride.

“What’s going on?” Neph demanded as he fell
into step beside Jail at the edge of the camp.

“Arrogant, backstabbing, craven and
worthless,” Jala continued, her words gaining volume with every
syllable spoken. She could feel her magic coiling inside of her.
The swish of wings drew her attention upwards and she watched as
the dragon circled the field, the last rays of sunlight glinting
brightly off its green scales.

“She is reciting all of the charming
qualities her husband holds that makes her marriage such a blissful
one,” Jail informed Neph quietly.

“Jala, is everything OK?” Wisp asked as she
approached where they had stopped cautiously. The Fae was watching
her. Jala could feel her gaze, but her eyes were still locked on
the dragon as her mind worked together a plan.

“What the hell is that thing doing?” Jala
asked as the dragon turned for another pass over their camp.

“Trying to intimidate our men, spook our
horses, and generally cause chaos in our camp,” Jail explained.

“Are those things protected from arrows?”
Jala asked Wisp as the rest of her friends formed a group around
her. No doubt curious as to why she no longer wore the veil and had
a look of pure fury on her face.

“Uh, no, but then an arrow can scarcely hurt
one seriously,” Wisp said, her words faltering slightly as if she
couldn’t quite believe Jala was truly that stupid.

Nodding slightly, Jala reached over Wisp’s
shoulder and pulled an arrow from the Fae’s quiver then nodded
toward the dragon. “Shoot it Wisp,” she ordered as she turned to
face Ash. “Can your shamans pull a spirit from a dragon?” she asked
as Wisp carefully bent her bow back, aiming for the dragon with an
expression on her face that showed how pointless the Fae thought
the endeavor was.

“They can, but it would be difficult,” Ash
said cautiously.

The twang of the bow behind her brought a
smile to Jala’s face and she nodded slightly to Ash. Turning she
locked her eyes on Valor, holding his gaze for a long moment before
speaking. “I need you, Valor. Jexon is negotiating a surrender. If
we don’t strike now he is going to hand me over to the Avanti and
Merro will fall,” she said carefully, her voice filled with her
desperation. Valor always stood by her no matter what. If he
refused her now, there was no doubt in her mind that the others
would as well.

“Jala, we are outnumbered and they have a
bloody dragon,” Neph protested with a shake of his head.

“I have to agree with Neph here, Jala. Our
best course is to run,” Sovann said softly though she could hear
the disgust in his voice.

Valor watched her silently, his dark blue
eyes locked with her violet ones. Neither of them bothered to
acknowledge the protests from the mages. “Valor, I whored myself to
a man I despise for this army. I have sacrificed everything I have
for my land. I traded Finn’s life for the people of Merro. I cannot
walk away and I cannot surrender. Will you stand with me?” Jala
asked

“Always,” Valor replied with a firm nod.
Turning he looked to the others one by one and smiled. “And they
will, too. They are just having a moment of scared little bitches
right now,” His eyes settled on Neph and his smile widened. “What
was that you said, Delvay? Did I hear you say retreat? When did
your balls fall off, Neph?” Neph fumed at the words which just
seemed to amuse Valor more. Turning slowly he let his eyes fall on
Sovann and he raised an eyebrow. “Sovann, did you actually say you
wanted to run from the bastards that had your brother killed?
Surely I didn’t hear you right.”

“Valor, look at the odds,” Sovann protested
feebly.

“I see a bunch of conscript slaves in pretty
armor. Some green as hell knights that have more ambition than
training. And one big ass lizard. The odds don’t look so bad to
me,” her father said with a grin, his hand dropping lightly to his
sword hilt. “I’ve never fought in an army before, Curly. I look
forward to the experience.”

“My people will fight as well. Those that
follow me, that is,” Ash assured her, his gaze flicking to the
commander’s tent. They didn’t have long before the parlay was over.
If they didn’t move before Jexon left the tent they wouldn’t be
able to move at all.

Jala nodded at Ash in understanding and
looked back toward Valor. “Move your knights forward as quickly as
you can. Ash, inform your Shaman that they are to rip the dragon’s
soul out on its next circle over the Avanti camp. I don’t want that
bastard falling on us,” Jala said quickly as the shadow of the
dragon passed over them once more. Holding her hand out to the side
she summoned Wisp’s arrow back to her hand and glanced down at the
point of it. Dark blood covered the very tip of the silver
arrowhead. It hadn’t been a deep wound, but it was enough. “Nice
shot, Wisp,” Jala said with a smile as she handed the arrow to Ash.
“The blood should help with removing its soul,” she said with a
wink as he stared down dumbly at the dragon’s blood.

“Quite,” Ash murmured with a quick nod.

“Wisp, I want you to divide your archers into
two companies. Place them at each side of our lines to watch for
Blights. Sovann, Neph you are with Wisp. I want one of you with
each Archery regiment. Make sure you get the Blights stopped before
they reach our archers. Ash, once the shamans have the dragon down,
their only duty is to keep our people from passing onto the
Darklands,” Jala continued, the orders flowing out of her as
naturally as if she were discussing the weather. “Valor, wait until
the signal and then charge. Ash, have your Soulblades ready to back
up the knights. Badger, you have command of the militia. They know
you better than the rest and they will take commands from you
better. Use them as you see fit. Jail, you are with me,” she
finished turning on her heel to head for her horse.