The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (65 page)

Avanti

Lightning flashed, illuminating Wesley’s form
as his lips traced a path down her side. Jala fought back the
shudder of revulsion and called on her magic to cleanse her body of
the poisons the man had fed her. The crash of thunder hid her gasp
as another flash of lightning shattered the darkness and she caught
the briefest glimpse of the shadowed form standing in the tent
behind Wesley.

“Hello, Jala,” Seth whispered. The sound of
his voice brought Wesley’s head up sharply. The healer staggered to
his feet, a look of guilt covering his face as Seth closed the
distance between them. The glint of bare steel flashed once in the
Assassin’s hand as lightning lit the sky again. Seth drove forward
hard against the healer and Wesley’s scream was lost in the thunder
outside. “He said I had to bring you alive. He didn’t say how alive
though,” Seth hissed, his dagger buried to the hilt in the man’s
stomach. Wesley stumbled to his knees, his arms wrapped tightly
around his stomach, and a sobbing whine bursting from his
throat.

Jala stared down at the man with no trace of
mercy in her heart as her magic healed the countless wounds her
body held. “Traitor,” she hissed as she staggered to her feet. Her
eyes fell to Marrow’s still form with the next flash of light and
the pain from seeing Finn turned to fury. “I want him dead,” she
whispered to Seth, her balance still too unsteady to take action
herself.

“He will be soon, I promise. He must suffer
first, though,” Seth said calmly, seizing the man by his hair. “You
have matters to attend to outside, Jala,” Seth said as he tossed
the soulgem down on the bed before her. “You might want your
Bendazzi with you to face it, though,” he added with a faint smile
as he dragged Wesley to his feet by his hair.

“No, no, please. Jexon forced me. I didn’t
want to betray her. I had no choice,” Wesley whined his voice
rising with every word.

“I’m not the one you should be begging for
mercy. I’m taking you to him now,” Seth said coldly, his gaze
rising to Jala once more. “The runes on a Soulreavers back are what
keep the spirit from passing to the Darklands, Jala. If you destroy
the tattoos they end up in the Darklands like everyone else,” Seth
said as he backed toward the shadows dragging the sobbing healer
with him.

“Tell Finn that Jexon will be there shortly,”
Jala promised softly as she picked the soul stone up from the bed.
Moving as quickly as she could she knelt beside Marrow and healed
his body of the poison and wounds Wesley had given him. Carefully
she broke open the stone and urged his soul back into his body,
wishing Ash was there to help her. She didn’t know at all what she
was doing. Marrow stirred under her hand, his yellow eyes opening
slowly.

I cannot even begin to describe how much I
want to kill that little bastard
. Marrow’s voice was weak in
her mind, but she could sense his rising fury.

“Wesley is beyond our reach now, but Jexon
isn’t,” Jala said softly as she rose to her feet once more.

Turning, she moved for the door to the tent,
her stride gaining speed as her strength slowly returned. She heard
Marrow move behind her as she pushed the flap of the tent back and
stared out into the storm filled night. She could see a cluster of
people standing near the center of the encampment and the faint
noise of ringing steel sounded above the wind. Letting her hand
fall back to her side, Jala stepped out into the rain, her bare
feet sinking in the mud. The wind and rain pelted her, whipping her
hair and torn gown as she silently approached the crowd. They
parted before her as the spectators of the fight stared at her in
shock. Still silent, Jala continued past them, her eyes locked on
the two combatants. Neither had seen her approach. Both men were
too consumed with the fight to notice the shifting of the crowd.
Pausing at the edge, Jala watched as Valor brought a vicious blow
down across Jexon, his face a mask of grief and fury. Jexon parried
hastily, his feet sliding in the mud as his sword caught Valor’s
blade at the last moment.

“Jexon!” Jala called loudly, her voice rising
over the storm. Both men froze, their swords dropping in shock as
they turned as one to gaze at her. Her eyes locked on Jexon as she
stepped forward into the circle. “Betrayer,” she hissed her eyes
narrowing.

Jexon staggered back, his eyes widening at
the sight of her. “You were dead. I saw him kill you. There was no
one that could have raised you,” Jexon stammered. The expression on
his face was one of pure terror and his sword shook in his
hand.

Jala nodded slowly in agreement as she took
another step forward. “Had you shown me kindness, Jexon, I might
have cared for you.” Jala spoke the words slowly as she took
another step forward. “Had you spoken to me, I might have
understood you,” she continued as she advanced once more. “Had you
shown me courage, I might have respected you,” she said, stopping
just in front of him. “Instead, you have shown me nothing but pain
and treachery, and you have my hatred in return,” Jala finished,
her magic rising swiftly as she pointed a hand at him. Jexon’s look
of fear changed to agony as her spell shredded the flesh of his
back ruining the protective magic. “Kill him, Valor,” she commanded
as she stepped back giving her knight room.

Valor moved with no hesitation, his sword
rising in a single graceful arc as he brought it down hard on
Jexon’s neck. Blood sprayed across her face as she watched her
husband’s body fall to the ground, his legs kicking feebly in the
mud. “A widow again,” Jala said softly as she turned back toward
her tent, her hand dropping to rest on Marrow’s head as she walked.
The crowd around her was deathly silent and she noticed a few of
the Soulreavers dropping to their knees, their heads bent in
submission as she passed.

You have mastered the art of scary bitch,
I’m proud to say. Your eyes glowing, the wind tossing your hair
around like that, the blood covering your chest and gown. I’m
impressed and I think at least a few of them pissed themselves when
you approached
, Marrow said, his voice light in her mind as he
attempted to make her smile.

“Jala, wait,” Valor’s voice called out behind
her, but she didn’t have the will to face any of them at the
moment. Not even Valor.

Silently she pushed the tent flap open and
stepped into the darkness before the first of the tears filled her
eyes. Swallowing heavily she dropped to the floor and pulled her
knees up against her chest. Crossing her arms around her legs, she
lowered her head and let the pain wash over her in choking
sobs.

“Jala,” Valor called softly as he stepped
into the tent and knelt before her. “Jala, please, what's wrong.
Are you hurt?” His voice was near panic.

Looking up, Jala could see the confusion
written clearly on his face. He didn’t have a clue what to do in
this situation. Wiping her eyes, Jala swallowed heavily and let out
a choked breath. “He isn’t dead, Valor,” she whispered her voice
hoarse.

“Jexon? He is, Jala. I promise you that,”
Valor said sounding even more confused.

“Finn. He isn’t dead,” Jala corrected, her
head dropping once more to her knees.

“Then why isn’t he here?” Valor demanded, his
voice sounding nearly as hoarse as her own.

“I’ll see him again soon, I’m sure,” Jala
muttered darkly, her chest tightening at the thought. After the way
Finn had acted she wasn’t sure if she could face him again. He had
been so casual, so calm. It was like a knife in her chest. She
heard Valor stand, but didn’t bother to look up. Another sob tore
through her as more tears flowed down her cheeks. “It was the
enchantment for him, Val. He never loved me,” she whispered, the
words almost sticking in her throat.

He’s gone, Jala. He left the tent
,
Marrow informed her quietly as he lay down beside her and wrapped
his body around her legs.
Give him time. I’m here for you until
Valor comes to his senses. He doesn’t understand at all. Give him
time and then explain.

The sound of the tent flap opening drew
Jala’s attention briefly from the scout reports. She watched for
half a breath as Jail stepped into the tent. With a nod and a faint
smile, Jala turned her attention back to the paperwork before her.
The reports she had so far were good. Over the past few weeks the
war on the western coast had taken a dramatic turn as Oblivion
joined the fight. From what she was reading, Avanti’s army that had
been staged in Han’shy was all but destroyed. The Han’shy had risen
the moment Oblivion attacked Morcath and victory was nearly
complete for her allies. All they had to worry about now were the
Blights.

“Did you hear about the amulets?” Jail asked
as he sat down across the table from her and folded his arms
against his broad chest.

Jala nodded without looking up. “I’ve heard
that it was decided that my soldiers must be given a choice on
returning from death. I understand those that wish to be raised are
wearing white amulets and those that don’t have black ones,” Jala
said as she flipped another page in her stack of papers.

“It was necessary, I’m afraid. There were
several that were having difficulties returning. Their minds were
starting to fray,” Jail said his tone conversational.

“Understandable,” Jala agreed with a faint
nod, her eyes scanning a map detailing the Avanti troop movements.
There didn’t seem to be much left standing between her and the
Capital city. If she pressed hard over the next few days she could
be standing at the High Lords’ gates.

“Did you know Valor is wearing a black
amulet?” Jail asked, his tone gentle.

“What?” Jala demanded, the papers dropping
from her hands instantly. She looked up sharply, her eyes locked on
Jail who simply nodded in reply. “Watch Legacy,” Jala ordered as
she rose from her seat. She had barely seen Valor since the night
she had spoken of Finn, aside from his passing during their
marches. For the most part he had taken to riding with his knights
and she had noticed that Bridgette had started joining him in his
tent nightly as well. Emily and Marrow started to rise to follow
her as she strode from the tent but Jala shook her head sharply.
“Stay here with Legacy,” she snapped as she stepped out into the
chill night air.

Light still showed from Valor’s tent as Jala
approached and she could see Bridgette’s horse tied outside. With a
heavy sigh she shielded her eyes with a hand and stared straight
down at the ground as she stepped through the tent flap. “I’m
sorry, I know you two don’t get much time alone but I need to speak
with Valor now,” Jala said quickly trying to keep the blood from
rising to her cheeks as she continued to stare at her toes. She
hated the thought of interrupting them, but this was something that
simply couldn’t wait until morning.

“Jala, what exactly are you doing?” Valor
asked calmly from the far side of the tent.

“I didn’t want to interrupt, but I need to
speak with you. I’m sorry for barging in,” Jala continued.

“I meant, why exactly are you shielding your
eyes,” Valor clarified, and Jala slowly lowered her hand to look up
at him.

Jala had expected to find them in bed. She
had expected them to be upset with her intrusion. What she hadn’t
expected at all was to find them sitting calmly at a card table
watching her with expressions that suggested they thought their
High Lady had gone mad. Blinking stupidly, Jala watched as
Bridgette tossed her cards down on the table and rose.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Valor,” Bridgette
said as she turned to leave. “Goodnight, Milady,” Bridgette added
politely as moved passed her to leave the tent.

“Goodnight,” Jala muttered with a faint nod.
She wasn’t sure what to say in light of her entrance. It was
difficult to begin a serious conversation after making yourself
look like a fool.

Valor continued to watch Jala as he raised a
glass slowly to his lips and took a drink, obviously waiting for an
explanation. “Have you grown shy about gambling?” Valor asked when
the silence stretched between them.

“I didn’t realize it was cards that kept you
both entertained each night,” Jala mumbled as she inwardly cursed
Jail. She knew the Mind mage had known the truth of the situation
and she was sure beyond a shadow of doubt he also knew what she had
assumed. He had set her up for this and she had stumbled headlong
into it.

Valor nodded slowly and waved a hand toward
Bridgette’s vacant chair. Her cheeks flaming with embarrassment,
Jala crossed the tent and sat quietly. “So what is it that you need
to speak with me about so badly?” Valor asked as he raised his
glass to his lips once more.

Jala closed her eyes and settled more
comfortably into the chair. Jail apparently wanted her to settle
things with Valor, and she had to admit it was past time that she
did so. She had meant to bring the topic up sooner, but it wasn’t
something that was easy to speak about.