The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (7 page)

“May I ask what that was about?” Jail
inquired softly, his eyes locked on Neph.

“Bloody Fionaveir wanted Jala to return to
the city with her people. He says it is by Lutheron’s orders. I was
kind enough to point out that none of us here have tattoos that
read
I’m Lutheron’s bitch
as he does. Then he demanded to
speak to Jala and I said I’d send him straight to her. At that
point Wisp started screeching something about not killing her
brother,” Neph explained and waved a hand in dismissal.

“I thought you were supposed to have
political training. Did the thought of diplomacy ever once cross
your mind, Neph?” Jail asked in a tired voice.

“Nope, not once,” Neph replied as he drew a
cigarette out of his coat pocket and glanced in Emily’s direction.
“More therapy, eh?” he asked.

“How do you always know where I am?” Emily
hissed in frustration. No one else ever seemed to have a clue as to
where she was, but Neph did. It was infuriating to her and no doubt
the largest reason she hated to be in the man’s presence.

“Well unless Jail has taken to walking with
his arm at that jaunty little angle all of the time, it was a given
that you are here. That and the fact that your grip on his arm
tightened when I started speaking and he now has little indents
from your claws in his arm,” Neph replied in his typical sarcastic
voice and Emily felt a growl building in her chest.

“She is having issues with feeling like one
of us, Neph. Please don’t make it more difficult for her,” Jail
said with a sigh.

If the instincts hit me when Neph is
around, I make no promises. Chances are, I’ll have him arranged
into cutlets and steaks by the time you hit the door
, Emily
warned Jail through their link.

Chances are that I will move slower to
save Neph than I did for Sovann, so you will likely have your first
steak eaten by the time I arrive to stop you
, Jail replied with
a bit of amusement.

“So what did you end up telling him to get
him to leave?” Jail asked in an attempt to change the topic.

Neph glanced past them to the direction
Victory had gone. “The truth. Jala didn’t say to be silent and I
don’t see that they can do anything now. I told him Jala was in the
Darklands on a quest and if he wanted to speak with her I’d be more
than happy to send him to hell for the meeting.”

“No wonder he looked so out of sorts.” Jail
sighed.

“Nah, I think he got that expression when I
told him the Fionaveir have no rights to order Jala, regardless. If
not for her, they wouldn’t have the bloody city. That, and if it
were up to me, they would hand the city back to her upon her
return,” Neph said as he raised the cigarette to his lips and took
a long drag.

“The truth can be painful, especially when
you are the one delivering it, Neph,” Jail said quietly.

“I support Jala. If she decides that she
wants that city rather than letting the Fionaveir keep it, I will
help her win it back,” Neph said bluntly and nodded his head to
Jail as he turned to go. “At least I watched her fight for it. I
wonder where their nominee for Empress was. I’m afraid I didn’t see
her at the fight.”

Jail watched him go and let out a long sigh.
“Many more are going to share that sentiment as this continues. I
hope Lutheron and Caspian know what they are doing, for all of our
sakes.”

“None of you know what you are doing,” Emily
said with a chuckle. “You are worried about who is going to lead
your world when this is all over. At this rate, it’s going to be
the Blights that will be leading, because the rest of you will be
dead for ignoring them in favor of your other enemies.”

“There is more truth to your words on that
than I care to admit, Emily,” Jail agreed softly and then tugged on
her arm. “Come on, let’s see what we can do about taming your wild
side again. Perhaps if you have time I can teach you a few card
games. Madren is nearly driving me mad with cards and it would be
nice if he had someone else to play a game or two with. Without his
library, I’m afraid he is as lost as you are without Marrow.”

“They are coming back, aren’t they, Jail?”
Emily asked quietly and tried to ignore how much her voice sounded
like Devony as she spoke the words.
I’m not a scared little
child anymore
, she reminded herself sternly.

“I think right now we all qualify as scared
children to a point Emily, and yes they will return. Keep faith in
them,” Jail said with another gentle squeeze to her arm.

“Faith,” Emily echoed softly as she followed
after him. Faith was one of the human concepts she had the most
difficulty with. The entire concept was lost on her, but it seemed
to mean a great deal to her companions. “I’ll try to,” she
offered.

Sanctuary

The metal panel opened with a loud crack and
Shade staggered forward as the pressure he had been applying gave
suddenly. Straightening slowly, he wiped sweat from his brow and
surveyed his spell hawk with mixed feelings. On one hand it looked
only slightly better than a wreckage heap at the present. On the
other, it would keep him distracted from the ruin of the city for
several more days while he repaired it.

Tossing his crowbar down beside the panel, he
moved closer and examined the welds on the ship. The frame itself
was still solid. It was simply a few panels and the view screen
that would need to be scrapped and replaced. He leaned farther into
the hole he had created in the side of the ship and examined the
neighboring panels closely. Two more on this side and three on the
other, he decided, and reached to pick up his crowbar once more and
frowned. It wasn’t on the ground where he had dropped it.

Looking up, he found Charm sitting
cross-legged on top of the ship with the crowbar balanced neatly on
his lap. The rogue was dressed plainly today in a simple green
tunic and brown breeches. The change of attire made him seem oddly
normal. With the exception of his long blond braid and the delicate
features of an Elder Blood, Charm could have passed as any of the
workmen in the city in his current clothing.

“Planning to help with repairs?” Shade asked
skeptically. If the rogue had any mechanical inclination he had
seen no sign of it yet. “You appear to be dressed for it. I’m not
used to seeing you in any color other than black.”

“Actually I came to get you. Lutheron would
like to have a word with both of us, and its grey I prefer rather
than black. Grey blends with the shadows easier,” Charm replied,
tapping the crowbar lightly on his leg.

“Is he finally going to admit that there is a
traitor in the Fionaveir?” Shade asked dryly. He had expected that
something would be done, once the fighting in the city was over, an
investigation at the very least. As far as he had seen, though,
nothing had changed. If the Fionaveir elders even acknowledged that
they had problems, they weren’t admitting it to anyone.

“I don’t think you truly understand the
nature of leadership, Shade. You see, Lutheron is our superior in
the Fionaveir, so when he says jump, we don’t question why we
should jump. We simply jump, and hope it’s high enough to please
him. So you see, I didn’t ask what he wanted to talk to us about.
He said fetch you and I jumped,” Charm explained calmly, though
there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Ahh. I have no problem with jumping for him,
Charm, as long as he can promise me that no one is going to put a
bear trap under me while I’m hopping around,” Shade returned with
equal sarcasm and a charming smile. “I understand leadership all
too well, Charm. Myth taught me the lessons clearly. I’ve also
learned that when your leaders are corrupt it’s simply best to walk
away.”

“Are you going to walk away then, since you
believe our leaders are corrupt?” Charm asked, tapping the crowbar
once more as he stared down at Shade.

“Are you going to hit me with that if I say
yes?” Shade asked, motioning toward the bar.

“I’m considering it regardless of your
answer,” Charm returned with a smile.

“Ahh. Friendship is such a beautiful thing.
To answer your question, no I’m not planning on walking from the
Fionaveir yet. I’m going to give them time to see if they will sort
out the problems. I know I’m low ranked and not privileged to
certain information. So I’m going to give them the benefit of the
doubt and believe they are working to find the traitor and I’m
simply not high enough rank to know about it,” Shade said with a
sigh and glanced back toward the Justicars hall where the Fionaveir
had set up their headquarters. It was difficult to keep his eyes
from straying to the charred buildings or the wagons that were
loading the dead. Sanctuary had been his home for most of his life
and seeing her in this state was painful. The clean-up had been in
progress for days now and they were still finding dead under the
rubble. So far, he hadn’t heard an actual body count but he knew it
was high.

“C’mon Shade,” Charm said quietly. By his
tone it was clear that he understood Shade’s feelings perfectly. He
dropped the crowbar back to the ground and then jumped down from
the ship.

Shade flicked his gaze from the crowbar to
Charm and raised an eyebrow. “I think that’s the most noise I’ve
ever heard you make, well aside from all of the bitching when we
bombed Eldagar.”

Charm gave him a scathing look and moved past
him with a shrug. “I don’t like it either, Shade. None of the
Fionaveir do. Symphony will be sick when she sees the state of the
city. I want you to remember that we aren’t the ones that caused
the majority of this damage and we didn’t kill most of these
people. Your friend did on her little rampage. Her spells were
aimed at the Justicars, but the destruction she unleashed is what
caused the buildings to collapse. Havoc started the fire in the
Upper Market. Jala and Valor did most of the rest.”

“I haven’t seen Havoc since the fight. Did he
not survive?” Shade murmured in a faint effort to change the topic.
He didn’t like to consider that Jala had changed that much in the
short time she had been with Finn. The Jala he had known and helped
would have never created such a disaster.

“He is serving penance for the fire,” Charm
said, his expression growing grim. He turned his gaze away from
Shade, his mouth firmly closed.

Shade nodded silently and followed the rogue.
He wasn’t sure if Charm was upset with Havoc or upset with Havoc
serving penance, but it obviously wasn’t a topic he wished to speak
of. His steps slowed as he watched two Fionaveir pull a body free
from a pile of timbers. The girl looked to be in her twenties, with
long dark hair. One side of her head was caved in but the features
were still recognizable and painfully familiar. “I knew her. She
worked at the Millstone Café on Trader’s way. I had breakfast there
every morning and she always knew just what to bring me without my
asking.” He watched them move the body to join the others lining
the road. “Her name was Elise. She was saving money for her
apprenticeship with a tailor.”

Charm had stopped walking as well and was
watching Shade with a look of sympathy. “No matter how hard you
try, Shade, you can never save them all. Death demands her due and
she is a greedy bitch. Remember her. That is the best you can do
now. “

“I’ll be remembering quite a few, I suppose.
I knew most of the people in the inner city,” Shade said softly as
he continued toward the Hall.

“We all will be, Shade. Most of the
half-blood Fionaveir are from Sanctuary. You are remembering
acquaintances or perhaps a few actual friends. They are remembering
family and childhood playmates. It isn’t just you that is finding
this painful,” Charm scolded gently as he fell into step beside
Shade once more.

Shade nodded in acknowledgment as he pulled
open the door to the hall. A few people milled inside and from the
expressions on their faces, something was wrong. He watched the
furtive glances toward the double doors on the back way that led to
the office Lutheron had chosen and then glanced back at Charm again
in question.

“Is he busy?” Charm asked to the closest
Fionaveir.

The woman blanched slightly and nodded.
“Victory returned. There has been some yelling. I’m not sure what
is going on, but Lutheron is not pleased at all,” she said softly
as if she was afraid Lutheron could somehow overhear her words
through the thick oak doors. Nervously, she brushed a stray lock of
blond hair from her face and looked hopefully at Charm. “You have
good news for him though? I really don’t want to make my report
until he is in a better mood.”

“I’m here for assignment, not to report. I
doubt he will be in a better mood from that, but I’ll do what I
can, Gretchen.” Charm assured her with a smile.

She brightened a bit at the gesture and Shade
had to fight the impulse to roll his eyes. It seemed as though
every Fionaveir somehow believed Charm was capable of any miracle.
It was even worse with the women. If the rogue so much as smiled in
their direction, it was as if the Aspects themselves had arrived to
offer blessings.

“Just out of curiosity, where was Victory
returning from?” Charm asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Merro. From what I gather, he was supposed
to bring the Merrodin girl back with him,” Gretchen answered
softly.

Charm nodded and bowed his head to her
slightly. “Thank you Gretchen. I’ll see what I can do to sweeten
his mood.”

“You aren’t going in there now are you?”
Gretchen asked, quickly grabbing his arm before he could take a
single step.

“I had intended to.” Charm began slowly with
another smile forming on his lips. “I’m sure it will be fine and
Victory will no doubt appreciate the back up,” he assured her,
patting her hand lightly before freeing himself from her grasp.
“Come on Shade. He needs a new victim and you are perfect for the
role.”