The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse Read online

  “Why is Kes here, Kadan?” Neph asked cautiously as he spotted another scout on the other side of the road. Kes herself was the leader of the Delvay scouts and by all rights she should have been south watching the borders. His brother continued on in silence, either pretending he hadn’t heard the question or simply choosing to ignore it. “Why is Kes here, Kadan?” Neph demanded as a sick feeling began building in his gut.

  “You know what the punishment for cowardice is, Neph,” Kadan answered in a low voice.

  Panic washed over him at the words and Neph dug his heels painfully into the cat’s sides sending it leaping forward on the path and past Kadan. Snow churned beneath the creature’s massive paws as it scrambled up the steep trail. “No, no, no,” Neph mumbled as the trial grounds grew closer. He knew it was futile, though. In his heart he already knew what he would see.

  The smell of blood reached him before he had cleared the last of the trees. With an incoherent groan he stumbled from his saddle and staggered past the last of the pines and into the trial grove. A circle of guards surrounded the clearing and he could hear them move to block his way back out of the grove, but he didn’t bother to look back. His eyes were locked on the body swinging from the center post. Her pale blond hair was matted with blood and her clothes were shredded from being drug up the mountain side. His throat tightened as he moved quickly to her side. They had bound her wrists and hung her from the post as if she was a deer to be bled out. Tears burned at his eyes as he stared up at her pale bruised face.

  “Neph.” The word was mangled by her swollen lips, but it still sounded like music to his ears. She was alive. There was hope.

  Carefully, Neph wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her until the rope slipped from the post. “It’s OK now, Zyi, I’ve got you,” Neph whispered, his voice harsh. His eyes rose to stare hard at the circle of guards. “She has suffered her punishment. She needs a healer now,” he growled.

  “Cowards do not receive mercy from Delvay, neither do traitors.” The voice cracked through the clearing and Neph turned slowly to face his father. “Did you help her, Neph? Are you a traitor to your people?” RenDelvayon demanded.

  “He didn’t help her father,” Kadan replied before Neph could open his mouth. “I spoke with him on the ride and I will swear by the Aspects and Divine that Neph is no traitor.”

  Neph stared hard at his brother before slowly turning back to face his father. Zyi shifted in his arms and he could feel her blood soaking through his armor. “She needs a healer,” he repeated struggling to keep his voice calm.

  “Return her to the post. We do not heal cowards. You know the coward’s fate well enough to understand that,” Ren said coldly. “She is your daughter!” Neph bellowed, his panic and anger fueling his voice.

  “That creature is not of my blood,” Ren snapped in disgust and pointed once more to the center post. “Place her back on the post or share her fate Neph.”

  “Do it, Neph. Let me die. Don’t fight for me, please,” Zyi begged weakly. Her hand moved to his arm and her pale blue eyes flickered open. “Please, Neph.”

  “Save your strength, Zyi. You will need it for the ride back down the mountain,” Neph whispered and kissed her gently on the forehead. Carefully he sat her down at the base of the pole and pulled off his cloak. Gently he wrapped the thick wool around her and slowly stood once more, facing his father. “You want her back on the pole then come and put her there yourself,” Neph snapped as he pulled his sword slowly from its scabbard.

  “You would challenge me for a coward?” Ren demanded his anger rising in his voice.

  “My sister,” Neph corrected firmly and squared his shoulders as he brought up his strongest shields. “Consider it a challenge if you want. I really don’t care. All I’m saying is, she is going back down the mountain with me and if I have to fight you first, so be it.”

  “I always knew you had a weak heart,” Ren snapped as he drew his own blade. Stalking forward he shook his head in disgust.

  “At least I have one,” Neph growled as he moved to meet his father’s first attack. Metal screamed as he parried the blow. Stepping back quickly he dodged the next swing and struck low with his own blade. His sword grazed across his father’s armored leg. Frantically Neph called on his magic to lend him speed as he parried another bone jarring blow that had been aimed at his head.

  “You can’t win here, Neph,” his father growled as his own magic flared to life and his attacks doubled. “You may have strength, but it isn’t honed. One day you might be stronger than me, but not today,” RenDelvayon was the High Lord of Delvay for one simple reason: he was the strongest. No one in Delvay could match him at swords or magic.

  “I’d rather die than see her hang again.” Neph gasped the words as he struggled to keep pace with his father’s sword. Blow after blow rang down on him and it was all he could do to parry or dodge. At this rate, his father was right. He didn’t have a chance. He needed a break in the assault, just one chance to strike a solid blow.

  Back stepping quickly, Neph circled his father and pulled on his magic once more. It was dangerous to speed himself more than he was already, but he had no choice. His accuracy would suffer and he knew it, but it was the only chance he had at landing a blow. His sword flashed out again striking sparks from his father’s breastplate and he felt his hope rise. His father had been so sure of the fight that he hadn’t even bothered to put up shields. That was the second time he had scored a line in his armor. Now all he had to do was hit flesh.

  “False hope, Neph,” his father growled as he renewed the assault with a savagery that Neph had never before seen.

  Staggering back under the attack, Neph parried his father’s blade as quickly as he could, his sword flashing like a hummingbird in the morning light. His fingers were growing numb with the ringing of his blade. Pain flashed down his arm and he barely had time to register the wound before he was blocking another blow.

  “Sloppy, Neph. Too much speed for you to handle,” Ren scolded, sounding almost bored as his blade bit deep into Neph’s side.

  Bright red droplets stained the snow in a spray as Ren tore his sword free once more and continued to advance. Desperately, Neph parried the next blow and spun bringing his sword up sharply for his father’s neck. His father dodged the brunt of the blow, but his blade still managed to score a thin line down the side of the High Lord’s face. His small victory was lost in the pain, however. Stumbling back Neph stared down stupidly at the sword stuck through his side. His own blade slipped from his fingers and his knees buckled beneath him.

  “Such a waste, Neph. You had so much potential,” Ren sighed as he moved forward and kicked Neph’s blade out of reach. “I’ll tell you what, though, Neph. They say I don’t have mercy, but I will prove them wrong today. If you can make it back down the mountain I will forgive your sins and forget this ever happened. Prove you are worthy of the name Delvayon.”

  “Fuck you,” Neph growled as he pulled the sword from his own side. With a snarl he forced himself back to his feet and glared in defiance at his father. Wiping one hand across his face Neph steadied himself and raised the blade shakily toward his father. “I’m not done yet,” he growled, though he could feel his strength fading quickly as his blood colored the snow below him.

  “It would be wiser to use that strength to crawl back down the mountain and beg forgiveness, Neph,” Kadan called from his place near the entrance to the grove.

  “Leave him be,” RenDelvayon called to the surrounding guards and motioned for them to leave the grove. Turning back to his son he smiled coldly. “If only your judgment was as sound as your determination, Neph. You could have been a son I would have been proud of.”

  Neph ground his teeth and willed his body to move. Raising his sword over his head he sprang at his father with every ounce of remaining strength he had. Pain shot through his limbs as the sword rang hard against metal. His father’s gauntleted hand was wrapped around the blade holding it firmly in pl
ace.

  With a smile, Ren twisted the blade, wrenching it from Neph’s weakened grasp. He shoved hard against his son’s chest, sending him crashing back into the bloodstained snow. “Better judgment, Neph,” his father repeated as he flipped the blade around and replaced it in his scabbard. Turning he walked back toward Kadan without another glance back. “Leave them both.”

  Swallowing heavily, Neph watched as the grove emptied of people. Most wouldn’t look at him and those that did had expressions of disgust written plainly on their faces. Not even his own brother would meet his gaze.

  “I didn’t want you to die with me,” Zyi whispered, her voice weaker than it had been before.

  “Neither of us is going to die. I will get us out of here,” Neph mumbled as he pulled himself closer to her.

  “How, Neph? Neither of us knows spells to transport yet,” Zyi’s voice was filled with despair and she sounded close to tears.

  “Just give me a minute,” Neph muttered as he pulled his dagger from his boot and began to cut strips from the end of his cloak. Clumsily he wrapped his wounds as best he could and placed the dagger once more in his boot. “Ready?” he asked softly as he pulled himself to his feet once more. It took every ounce of will he had to remain silent through the wave of agony, but he wouldn’t allow himself to make a sound. She was in worse shape than he was, and he needed her to keep hope. If she knew how wounded he was, she would argue with him, and he didn’t have the strength to spare for that. Carefully he leaned over and picked her up. Pain tore through him with a wave of dizziness as fresh blood soaked his bandaged side.

  “Leave me, Neph,” Zyi begged as she struggled weakly for him to put her back down. “You don’t have strength enough for yourself.

  Taking me will just kill us both.”

  “Neither of us is going to die,” Neph repeated through gritted teeth. “I will get us both down the damned mountain, and it will be the last either of us see of Delvay. I’ll even let you decide where we go, Zyi. As you said, anywhere is better than here.”

  “It wouldn’t be like this if mother was still here. None of this would have happened. Why didn’t she take us with her, Neph?” Zyi muttered softly. Her head dropped limply against his chest as she spoke.

  “He would have hunted for us, Zyi, and she knew it. We are his children. He never bothered to look for her, but she knew he w ould hunt for us. I can’t blame her for leaving after what I’ve seen today.” Neph paused and tried to force more cheer into his voice as he continued. “Maybe we will find her out there in our travels. She could be living in Sanctuary, or maybe Arovan. I’ve heard Arovan has mountains too, and she always loved the mountains.” He didn’t really believe the words as he spoke them, but maybe they would give Zyi more hope to cling to.

  Their mother had left years ago, and there had been no word since. At the time it had been a betrayal in his eyes. She had abandoned them, and Neph had never wanted to see her again. Today, however, had opened his eyes to a lot he hadn’t known about his father. He had always known RenDelvayon to be cold, but he had never before seen him as cruel. He could only imagine what his mother must have endured beyond the sight of others. Despite the words he had spoken to Zyi, after today he wondered if Ren truly had let their mother go. As coldly as he had left his two children to die, Neph could well imagine Ren sending hunters after his runaway wife. It wouldn’t have been to bring her home though, and he knew it. Zyi didn’t need to think about any of that now, however, and neither did he. There were more important things for him to focus on now.

  “Love you, Neph,” Zyi mumbled, her words barely coherent. Her head hadn’t moved at all from where it rested against his chest and her eyes were no longer open.

  “Love you too, Zyi. Now save your strength and quit talking. There will be plenty of time to talk once you are stronger,” Neph mumbled as he stared hard at the crooked path leading out of the grove. Gently he shifted Zyi’s small body in his arms and willed his feet to move forward.

  It was a three hour ride from the city to this grove. He could only imagine how long it would be walking wounded. He did his best to keep from stumbling as they left the sheltering circle of pines that surrounded the grove, but it was impossible once he was beyond the trees. The path was steep and slick with snow and loose rocks. Each slip of his foot sent agony through his body and it was all he could do to keep from making any noise. Zyi was resting as far as he could tell and as weak as she was, she needed all the peace he could give her. He wasn’t sure what they had done to her beyond the dragging, but he knew she needed a healer as soon as he could reach one. Zyi was so weak that every moment he delayed might be her last. With that thought firmly in his mind Neph forced himself to continue long past the point where his body gave up. Wounds didn’t matter. Pain didn’t matter. Zyi mattered.

  * * *

  Night was falling as Neph rounded the last corner in the path. The lights of Delvay shone brightly through the trees below him. His mind was so fogged with exhaustion that he almost giggled in relief at the sight. Carefully, he leaned back against a massive oak and it was all he could do to keep from sliding to the ground. It was the first break he had allowed himself and it was only willpower that had kept him moving this far.

  His strength had failed him hours ago. Gently, he shifted Zyi and her head lolled against his chest to hang limply over his arm. “Zyi,” he whispered as he moved his arm to cradle her head back against him. “Zyi,” he repeated as panic rose in his chest. Her face was lax without even the flicker of an eyelash. Fumbling, he pulled the cloak back away from her and allowed himself to slide to the ground as he pressed his fingers against her neck desperately searching for a pulse. Her body was still warm to the touch, but there was no sign of life from her. “Zyi, please,” Neph pleaded. “Zyi, we are there. Please just open your eyes, make a sound, damn it, Zyi, please.” His words poured out of him in frantic gasps as he struggled to find any signs of life in his sister.

  “She is dead, Neph,” Kadan’s voice was a whisper in the night, but still it froze Neph in place.

  Tears were pouring down his face and he had been whining like a child. If Kadan chose to act he would have full right to kill him for his weakness. He hadn’t even heard his brother approach, and yet when he looked up there he was looming against the twilight sky in his dark plate armor.

  “Leave her body and follow me,” Kadan ordered. The expression on his face was like stone. If he felt any grief at Zyi’s passing it wasn’t showing.

  “I’m not leaving her,” Neph hissed through clenched teeth. He had managed to stop the tears, but there was nothing he could do about the tightness in his throat. They had been so close. If only he had been able to walk a bit faster. Zyi would be alive if he hadn’t been so weak.

  “He will feed her body to the cats, Neph. Do you want to watch that? You know what the penalty for cowardice is,” Kadan said in a level voice.

  “She wasn’t a coward, Kadan!” Neph bellowed as he staggered to his feet. “Do you know how much courage it took to defy father?” he demanded as he cradled Zyi’s limp body closer to his chest. “Do you know what kind of strength of will it took for her to beg me to leave her behind? She was willing to die alone, Kadan, and not once did she plead for help. You will not call her a coward again.”

  Kadan watched him silently, his dark eyes flickering once to Zyi’s body then back to Neph’s face, his expression still neutral. He shrugged as if the point wasn’t one worth arguing over. “Say what you will about it, Neph, but Father is the one that will determine what is done with her remains, and he sees her as a coward,” The cold practical logic of Kadan’s voice burned through Neph’s mind.

  “Why are you here?” Neph demanded. His temper was burning so hotly now he didn’t even consider his wounds anymore. Carefully, he sat Zyi’s body down behind him and turned to face his brother once more. Kadan was older and better trained, but Kadan was predictable in his fighting. If his brother answered poorly, Neph would guarantee he bor
e the scars for his words for the rest of his life.

  “I was waiting for you,” Kadan explained calmly. “Father said you would die. I knew better. Technically, you have accomplished the task he set for you. You have made it back down the mountain, and I can assist you to the healer now.”

  “Assist me in burying our sister, Kadan! Do that much and I might find a shred of forgiveness for you,” Neph snarled.

  “I don’t seek forgiveness, Neph. I’ve done nothing wrong. You are the one that broke our laws. A coward hangs, you know that, and Ren declared her a coward,” Kadan replied with another shrug his eyes moving past Neph to scan the forest behind them.

  “I told you not to call her that,” Neph snarled as his fist slammed into his Kadan’s jaw with bone breaking force. His brother’s attention had been elsewhere, and technically it was a sucker punch, but that didn’t matter at all to him at the moment. All rational thought fled his mind as he hammered his anger into his brother’s flesh. Neph didn’t bother to defend himself when Kadan started fighting back. All that mattered was delivering punishment to his brother. He didn’t care if he was wounded further. It was their fault that she was dead. Kadan had left her to die, and Neph had failed to save her. Both of them deserved to feel pain now.

  * * *

  “As stubborn as your mother was.” The voice echoed through his mind from what seemed like a thousand miles away. “You almost died, you know,” The words continued and slowly Neph’s fogged thoughts registered the sound of Kes’s voice. A damp cloth brushed at his face and he lifted his arm feebly to brush it away. “Stop it, Neph I’m wiping the blood from your face. Or what’s left of your face anyway. What were you thinking picking a fight with Kadan when you were already wounded?”