The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (69 page)

“Oh shit,” Neph whispered beside her and
Jala’s eyes snapped back up to the air in time to see Nigel hit the
larger dragon from above forcing him from the air, and directly
toward the small hill they watched from.

“Move now!” Valor bellowed to those behind
them as the two dragons plummeted. Jala stared in silence as Nigel
raked at the other dragon with his hind legs while his massive jaws
locked tight around Margundrak’s throat. At first she had thought
Nigel would break off the assault and the aerial fight would
continue. Now she could see he was ending the fight one way or
another. Jala could hear the soldiers behind her retreating but at
the speed the dragons were falling it wouldn’t be fast enough to
get everyone clear. Silently she dropped from her saddle and moved
forward, her magic already flowing through her. Raising both hands
she summoned a wall of force. That in itself wouldn’t do alone,
however. The walls of force spell was designed for stopping small
objects such as arrows and they were attached to their caster such
as a soldier’s wooden shield would be. If the dragons collided with
the single wall the full impact would be reflected on her. Quickly,
Jala wove a wind wall and then another wall of force repeating the
process as many times as she could as she watched the massive forms
grow closer by the second. If she could get enough layers it might
cushion the blow that was reflected back on her. If not she was
about to shatter every bone in her body in an effort to stop the
dragons.

Margundrak hit the ground with such force
that the earth beneath Jala bucked in protest. Time seemed to slow
as she watched the two dragons slide toward her, their bodies
tearing a trench through the earth as they slid out of control.
Frantically, Jala added another layer to her cushioned wall and
then dropped to one knee, her hands held out before her as she
braced for the impact. By the nature of the spells she would feel
them hit, there was no avoiding it. The wall of force spells were
not designed for such use, but it was the only spell she knew that
would stop everything. She might have managed to raise the earth to
form a barrier to stop the dragons themselves, but then the debris
from the impact would have rained down over her people. Margundrak
hit first and his massive body seemed to fold in on itself. Pain
shot through her and Jala squeezed her eyes shut as the dragon’s
body rolled hard against her barrier forcing her back.

“You are fucking insane!” Neph bellowed
behind her.

Her hands shaking, Jala rose to her feet and
let her spells fade. Slowly she opened her eyes and stared at the
lifeless body of the dragon that lay inches in front of her. With a
nervous breath she stepped back, testing her arms as she moved.
Nothing seemed to be broken. “Check our dragons in the forest. If
they are still alive they will need to be healed,” Jala called over
her shoulder as she moved toward Nigel’s massive form. To her
relief she could still see his sides rising and falling as he
struggled for breath. He was injured and most likely dying, but he
was still alive and that was all she needed. “You know when I was
younger, I always wanted to see a dragon,” Jala whispered to Nigel
as she carefully laid her hands on his scaled sides and called on
her healing spells.

The white walls of Avenesh gleamed in the
morning light. The stone that had been used to build the city was
heavy with crystal, making the entire place seem to shimmer before
her eyes. “It’s beautiful,” Jala said softly, her mind reflecting
back on the fallen cities that War had shown her. They had been
beautiful as well. Now they were nothing but rubble, and soon
Avenesh would join them if the Avanti chose defiance. “Wait here,”
Jala ordered and kicked her horse forward. She stopped the gelding
just out of arrow range and stared up at the gates of the city.
Pulling on her magic she cast a simple spell to amplify her voice.
“I give you one hour to surrender the city. If the gates are not
opened within that time I will bring them down and any who fight
will die. This is the only warning you will get and I will show no
mercy to those who stand against me,” Jala called, her voice
ringing clearly through the morning air. Turning, she rode back to
join her friends.

“Why exactly are we giving them an hour to
prepare?” Neph asked with a frown.

“They’ve had two bloody months to prepare,
Neph I don’t think another hour is going to hurt us,” Jala replied
dryly as she turned back to watch the city. If Sovaesh kept his
word it was possible that Truce would surrender. After the reports
she had received this morning she was really hoping he would. If he
didn’t, she had no choice but to finish Avenesh as quickly as
possible and that meant brutally. She couldn’t afford to waste time
on a siege if her information was accurate. Delvay had fallen to
the combined forces of Nerathane and Rivana and if she didn’t get
to Arovan soon to stop the Blights they would fall as well.
“Valor.”

“Hmm?” Valor moved his horse up beside her
and waited patiently for her to continue.

“I need this city as quickly and painlessly
as we can possibly get it. If they don’t open those gates in an
hour we have to unleash hell on them,” Jala said quietly.

“Is there a reason for it?” Valor asked, his
voice as low as her own had been.

“Shade sent me word from Sanctuary. Sebastian
Blackwolf is there on behalf of Glis and Arovan. The Blights are
beyond them in numbers and Seravae is raiding their coasts. They
don’t have the strength to fight both and they don’t have supplies
to feed their people. If we delay here, we won’t get there in time
to save them,” Jala explained.

“Save them? Jala, if you take your army to
Arovan who will defend Merro?” Valor protested, but she could see
the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“I’m sending Jail with the majority of my
forces back to Merro. We will go to Arovan with a small specialized
force and deal with the Blights. The Blights won’t face us in
numbers so we won’t need an army,” Jala explained and smiled at
him. “Did you really think I would leave your home to fend for
itself?” she asked softly.

“Merro is my home and every other High Lord
would and have left us to defend ourselves,” Valor replied with a
faint smile.

“Your father was there for me when I needed
him at the trial. Lord Arovan granted me the first of my army with
his gift of your knights. I don’t leave friends to rot and I
consider Arovan and Glis friends,” Jala said as she turned back to
the city. “Come on and fold,” she whispered.

“I thought you said Margundrak would deal
with them,” Cassia whined as she stared down at the summoned image
of the army outside the gates.

“Shush, Cassy,” Donrey muttered, his eyes
fixed on the tiny image of Jala Merrodin as she called her warning
to the city. “Arrogant bitch,” he growled and let out a heavy
breath. “Sovaesh, summon the reserves and tell them to prepare for
battle.”

“Father, perhaps we should consider what she
says. We have not fared well in any engagement against her forces,”
Truce protested.

“You want to surrender?” Cassia snarled,
whirling on her brother.

“I think it’s an option we should consider,”
Truce pressed, his eyes flicking to his father’s face.

“Sovaesh did you not hear my command?” Donrey
snapped, his eyes fixed directly on his son with a look of disgust
on his face.

“I did.” The Assassin pushed from the wall
and walked slowly to the desk. “There is something I think you
should take a look at first though,” Sovaesh said as he dropped a
folded parchment down in front of the High Lord. Truce leaned
closer to get a look and frowned as he recognized the blue and
silver seal of Morcaillo. The wax had been broken and it was
obvious the document had been read.

“What is this?” Donrey demanded as he
snatched the letter from his desk and unfolded it quickly. “Why
wasn’t this brought to me before being opened?” he demanded. As his
eyes scanned the document his expression turned to disbelief. “What
is this?” he repeated, sounding confused.

“Every sin you have committed in my sight and
enough poison to kill a horse,” Sovaesh answered calmly as he
watched the High Lord spasm in his chair.

“Traitor!” Cassia screeched as she stumbled
back from her father’s desk. “Kill him daddy. Use the chain and
kill him!” she screamed.

A ragged breath tore from his father’s throat
as Truce watched in sick fascination. Blood was beginning to fleck
around the man’s lips and his skin was turning a dark red as if he
couldn’t breathe. Calmly Sovaesh reached into the pocket of his
coat and produced a silver chain. Pulling down his mask he smiled
coldly at Donrey. “This chain?” Sovaesh asked as he dropped it to
clatter on the desk. “You killed my son. You threatened my wife.
You sent me to kill my own mother. Did you honestly think there
would be no reckoning?” Sovaesh snarled as he stalked around the
desk, stopping just behind Donrey’s chair. With a gloved hand he
seized Donrey by the hair and pulled his head back savagely. “Do
you see this?” Sovaesh snarled as he held a slender silver dagger
before Donrey’s eyes. The weapon was finely crafted and more ornate
than anything Truce had ever seen the Assassin use.

“Stop him, Truce. He is killing daddy!”
Cassia sobbed, her eyes wide with terror.

“This is the dagger you skinned your daughter
with, Donrey,” Sovaesh finished as he drove the dagger hard into
the High Lord’s eye. The body bucked beneath the Assassin’s grip
and Sovaesh released his hold on the man with a look of
satisfaction on his face. Turning back to Truce, he smiled again.
“Surrender to Merrodin, Truce, while you still have time, and rule
better than your father did. He earned that death a thousand times
over. Now call your guards and have me arrested. As you sister
says, I am a traitor.”

Numbly Truce stared at the Assassin for what
felt like eternity before he managed to shake his head slowly. “I
don’t want to have you arrested, Sovaesh,” he whispered. In truth
he wanted to hug the man or thank him at least.

“You have no choice, Truce. I just killed the
High Lord. Your people will expect justice for that,” Sovaesh
replied, his voice pitched for Truce’s ears alone.

“Guards!” Cassia screeched from the door, her
voice rising like a banshee’s wail. “Guards!” she repeated as she
fled the room.

“Thank you,” Truce whispered to the Assassin
as the sound of running footsteps filled the hall.

“If they made their house any bigger they
would have to set up campgrounds in the hallways for visitors that
were trying to get from one side to the other,” Neph grumbled.

“In Delvay, they live in huts and you can
spit across the room. Delvay don’t need big houses because they are
manly,” Valor mocked in a parody of Neph’s deep voice.