The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes Page 2

  “You didn’t mention house Merrodin in that, at all. Who is going to kill me off, then, if I don’t prepare? Couldn’t I simply surrender like Han’shy?” Jala countered.

  “Could you surrender to Avanti?” War asked with a look of amazement on his face.

  “No,” Jala hissed and had to calm her emotions once more. Perhaps if he would have named any other house she would have considered it, but she would rather die than bow before an Avanti.

  “Well, if you don’t prepare, it will be Avanti that eliminates your house. They have a large enough population to roll across the Greenwild and crush the little settlement that represents all of Merrodin right now,” War explained.

  “So how do you suggest I prepare?” Jala asked with a sigh.

  “First, you defeat Death and retrieve Finn. He has strong ties with the Firym, though I doubt they will be much help in times to come. Then you remove the curse on Goswin, but don’t release the souls back to Death. Break the curse but hold the souls there and raise them. That will take immense amounts of power. Go prepared. Place Madren in control of them. As the last high lord of Goswin he is the rightful heir. Then have him swear an oath to be ally to you.” War spoke slowly, though she could see the excitement building in his eyes. “Ensure that Arovan sends you the knights that were promised to Valor. A solid cavalry is the foundation to a fighting force. Begin training militia the moment your people are fit for it. Expect a third of Merrodin’s total population to be returned to you. Train what you are able to from that number. Do not allow your commanders to be sexist on this. I’ve seen women that can outfight most men. Sort the best from those ranks and train them for true military. By the end of the spring, you should have close to twenty thousand under your command if all goes well on the raising of the dead.”

  “Aside from placing Madren in control of a country, that sounds exactly as I had planned to do. Care to explain why I should place him in charge of Goswin and not Anthe?” Jala asked, genuinely confused by his logic. While Madren was the rightful heir to Goswin, Anthe had actual experience in leading.

  “I said put him in control. I didn’t say let him lead. Give him the country and give Anthe the role of Advisor and they will be fine. Madren has been crippled by fear and insecurity. Give him purpose and watch him shine,” War corrected mildly.

  “To me, control implies leading,” Jala returned dryly.

  “Well then, you have a lot to learn on politics, don’t you? Simply because someone’s name is on the desk, doesn’t mean they are in control,” War chided.

  “I suppose, though, I can’t say that I’m looking forward to that aspect of leading,” Jala agreed with a sigh. “If what you say is true about the Fionaveir, should I really help them gain power?” she asked after another long pause.

  “It’s politics, Jala. You choose the lesser of two evils. The Fionaveir are the lesser evil here. Symphony is not corrupt yet. She is just being kept as a mushroom. The only other alternative is that you step forward. Do you really want to do that?” War watched her closely and smiled as she shuddered at the thought. “That’s what I thought.”

  “What do you mean, she is a mushroom?” Jala asked finally.

  “Kept in the dark and fed shit. She doesn’t know half of what is going on right now. If she is truly going to lead, she will need to step forward soon. At this point she is as much of a puppet as you were,” War explained with a grin.

  “Crude, but accurate I suppose,” Jala said with a slight shake of her head. “Any other advice or warnings?” she asked.

  “Pages and pages, but nothing that we have time for. For now, take this as my guideline to you. Defeat Death. Build an army. Remember calm heads prevail, and above all else, don’t die.” He paused in his words and his expression sobered. “One more thing, Jala, remember this well. Life is full of difficult choices. You are going to reach many crossroads in days ahead where no path looks good. In some there will be no happy choice. You simply have to make the choice you can live with.” War stood as he finished speaking and smiled down at her. “If you don’t wake soon, Valor is going to start funeral arrangements for you.”

  “What if I need to speak with you again?” Jala asked as she stood.

  “I suggest you learn to Dream walk. It’s not so hard. It’s best that I don’t approach you in flesh. If I do, they will watch you more closely. They have written you off for now. Let them continue to do so. It will give you an element of surprise.” War reached a hand out hesitantly and touched her cheek lightly. “You show more of my Blood than any other child of my line. Remember that and kick her ass, Jala.” War dropped his hand back down slowly and winked as the city faded around her.

  Chapter 1

  The Darklands

  War’s words rang in her mind as her eyelids fluttered open. She had expected to awaken on the horse as it trudged through the bleak landscape, but instead she was lying flat. Lifting up on her elbow she looked down to the cushion of air she lay on. At a glance it seemed as though she was hovering inches off the ground, but she could feel the solid shape beneath her. Her armor lay in a tidy heap beside the make-shift bed, neatly folded and freshly oiled. Just beyond it stood Valorous, his head lowered as he rested. The Arovanni watched her as she moved, but made no sound.

  Jala moved the tangled blanket and sat up slowly. Her hair fell forward over her eyes in an untidy tangle and she pushed it back with a sigh. Looking around the camp she spotted Valor crouched several feet away with one hand extended before him. Wind stirred his long silver hair, though the air was still around her. Jala rose slowly and glanced down at the tunic she wore. It was black and silver and hung well past her knees.

  “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to wake up. I hope you excuse me for removing your armor. I thought you would rest better without it. I figured after the weeks we have spent in here that we didn’t have much privacy left between us anyway.” Valor’s voice was soft, barely above a whisper. They had learned in their first days to keep silent. Their voices seemed to attract the demons and so conversations had been limited.

  “I don’t mind,” Jala whispered as she moved to join him. His words held enough truth to them that she found she wasn’t embarrassed in the least. The first few days had been the most difficult. Body functions were of course necessary for both of them, but the Darklands offered no privacy for such things. In light of having to tend to such business around Valor, the idea of getting upset over his making her more comfortable seemed laughable.

  In another time she probably would have laughed. Right now, though, even the effort of a faint smile was too much. If any sound broke from her lips it would likely be a sob. The loss of Finn had become a constant ache in her chest, as was the despair of their current situation. They were lost, with no bearings and very little hope of success. If something didn’t change soon, they would have to abandon the mission to keep her promise to Anthe.

  “Careful,” Valor warned as he held out a hand to stop her.

  Jala frowned and looked down at his warning. The ground fell away just beyond Valor, though the darkness and gloom made the chasm difficult to spot. She felt her chest tighten again at the sight of their newest obstacle.

  The wind died down and Valor looked up at her, studying her expression. His own face was somber and he looked exhausted. “I’ve found a way down. We seem to be on a plateau, though it’s difficult to gauge the actual terrain. There doesn’t seem to be another side to this, though, so just a quick trip down and we go from there.”

  “I don’t like the sound of a quick trip down a cliff,” Jala returned dryly as she settled beside him on the ground. Leaning forward a bit she stared down into the inky blackness, though it was a pointless endeavor and she knew it. It was hard enough to see three feet in front of her in the Darklands, let alone down a cliff side.

  “Well, we can have a slow trip down if you prefer. I had planned to ride, but we can walk if you like,” Valor said with a shrug.

  Jala glanced at
him and then back to the cliff side. “You mapped it with the wind didn’t you? That’s what the breeze was when I woke.” She hadn’t had opportunity to study much of the Elemental magics beyond her Windblade spell, but Sovann had managed to explain it to a point.

  Valor nodded and plucked a pebble from the ground beside him. Turning it over in his fingers he motioned past her. “Two hundred yards that way and there is a rather narrow path leading down to the base of this cliff.” He paused and motioned in the opposite direction. “That way? Well, the only way I can find down is to jump, which, if our magics were working more reliably, wouldn’t be a bad plan. I don’t like the idea of only one way down. That pretty much guarantees a fight at the bottom. There will be a guardian.”

  “Ahh. You are optimistic. You said Guardian as singular. I’m going to guess it will be plural. I’m not feeling optimistic in the least,” Jala replied, struggling to keep the bitterness from her voice at his reminder of her magic. She had assumed that it would work the same in the Darklands as it had in the land above. That assumption had nearly gotten them killed in every fight so far. It was sporadic, to say the least. In some situations her spells worked flawlessly. In others, they simply didn’t work. For him to say “our magic,” was a kindness. His magics seemed to be working fine. It was her failing that he was concerned about. Despair clawed at her once again and she had to fight the urge to weep. She wouldn’t allow herself that, though, not after she had dragged them both into this. If she knew they would find Finn it would be different. She would have no regrets at all then, but if all of this was in vain…

  Valor watched her for a long moment, his expression unreadable and then slowly nodded. “This place gets to you after a while doesn’t it? Constant darkness, limited conversation, and I’ve begun to think it actually feeds despair into you. Somewhat like an Empath, I suppose.”

  “It doesn’t need to feed me despair. I have a ready supply,” Jala said quietly and brushed her hair back from her face once more. “It’s too much like Merro here. All that is missing is a storm and it would be the same as the day my parents died,” she mumbled, looking up to the sky and half expecting to see thunderheads forming.

  “I’m glad to hear that. It’s quite reassuring,” Valor said softly.

  Jala turned her gaze from the sky and looked over at him in bewilderment. “What?” she asked in confusion.

  “I hope it’s exactly like that day here. As I recall from the little bits I’ve been told and from the fact that you are sitting beside me, you defeated Death that day. She wanted you dead and yet you live. If you can do it as a toddler, it should be a simple matter now.” He smiled as he spoke, but the expression seemed forced.

  “I had the protection of a god, remember?” Jala pointed out dryly. The very same god she had disavowed a few short weeks ago. Fortune was manipulating me, and it’s his fault that Finn is dead, she reminded herself.

  “I fail to see what has changed,” Valor replied with a smirk as he stood and patted his sword hilt. He offered her a hand up and she accepted it, shaking her head at him with the barest hint of a smile touching her lips. “There is some food prepared near where you were sleeping. Eat something and we will continue. I’d like to get the descent over with as soon as possible. The longer we delay, the more my imagination will paint into the coming fight.”

  “Have you even rested, Val?” Jala asked bluntly as she looked over his disheveled form. His armor was battered and filthy and his once pristine cloak hung in tatters behind him in a constant reminder of the fighting they had faced in the first days here. His face was drawn with dark circles heavy under his blue eyes. If he had slept, it certainly wasn’t showing.

  “I slept for a time when we stopped,” Valor replied and motioned to the food once again. “Eat.”

  Jala nodded silently and returned to her pallet. A plate had been left near the head of it, carefully covered with a cloth. Her stomach growled in response to the sight of food. “I’m amazed I didn’t notice it right off,” she said as she sat and broke off a piece of the fried bread.

  Valor shrugged as he moved to his horse. “I would guess your first thoughts revolved around where the hell am I,” he offered as he began systematically checking the straps and buckles of the Arovanni’s tack.

  “Something like that,” Jala agreed as she hastily broke off another bite. The food was dry in her mouth but tasted divine after days of dried beef.

  “Catch.” Valor called to her and she looked up in time to see him toss a flask to her. She caught it and nodded her thanks before taking a long drink. The water was tepid and stale but it was the best they had aside from Valor’s wine.

  “Val, can I ask you something that has absolutely nothing to do with our current mission?” Jala began cautiously between bites.

  He glanced back over his shoulder and nodded before resuming his inspection.

  “Why did you swear fealty to me?” Jala asked, her tone still cautious. The last thing she wanted to do was offend him. His hands slowed as he continued to tug on the straps and test the buckles. “It’s not that I doubt you. I can scarcely do that, considering where we are right now. It’s just… You barely knew me.”

  Valor dropped the last strap and turned back to face her. He rubbed his face absently and moved to sit across from her. “At first, there were two reasons. The primary reason being that Finn wanted me to, bad enough to play the daddy card. I always knew he wanted something from me badly if he mentioned my father. The second was for the very slim chance that I might actually be able to get a fresh start. At that time I didn’t know you and so I saw the chance as a slim one.” He paused and seemed to be trying to organize his thoughts. “It wasn’t heartfelt then, Jala. I won’t lie to you about that, but after you started restoring Merro, I began to see a glimpse of what could be…” He trailed off again and met her eyes. “What you are building is my fresh start. I’ve squandered what I had in Arovan. There I would be lucky to retain my rank as Captain. The only reason I still have it is because I haven’t gone home. If I do return home I will lose my knighthood as well as my military commission. It wasn’t heartfelt then, but it is now.”

  Jala nodded slowly and cleared her throat. There was another matter that she had to clear up and it would be more delicate. Once it was settled, however, her mind would be free of doubts on Valor and she would have one person she could trust beyond all others, aside from Finn of course. “When we came back from Sanctuary, Kali kept you longer. You seemed unsettled when you discovered Emily had witnessed your talk with Kali. Why?” Jala pressed gently. She wasn’t sure if he would answer this one, but sincerely hoped he would. The idea of any of her friends being manipulators was painful, but she couldn’t afford for Valor to be one, not right now. She needed his support here too much to risk relying on someone that wasn’t genuinely a friend.

  Valor frowned and rose again. Pacing back to the horse he pulled another flask from the saddle bags and moved back to join her once more. The smell of wine filled the air as he removed the stopper and took a long pull. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and let out a long sigh. “Before I answer, may I ask what has raised these questions?” His tone was formal, without the faintest hint of warmth. “Have I given you reason to doubt me?” Valor asked, before she had time to answer.

  Jala glanced around the camp and looked back at him. Letting out a long sigh of her own she pulled on her magic and prayed that it would work this time. She wanted to answer the question for him desperately, but knew she couldn’t if others could overhear. A warm tingle brushed her skin as the wards fell into place around them. Her shoulders sagged with relief. Had the protection spell failed she would have had to refuse him and that could have damaged their fragile friendship beyond repair. She could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was upset, though she couldn’t tell if it was actual anger or not. His moods were so much more difficult to judge when he wasn’t around Finn. Around Finn, Valor had been an open book with every emotion worn op
enly. Without him, the knight was guarded and reserved. “I had a dream while I slept. He called it a waking dream. It was a warning, I suppose, and I was reminded how many times I had been manipulated without even realizing it. Then it was pointed out that my friends could be part of it. I want to trust you, Valor, and in most ways I do, but I’ve trusted poorly before.

  “Who said it was a waking dream?” Valor asked, his tone sounding even more guarded. His blue eyes had narrowed and he was watching her closely.

  “War, my grandfather,” Jala answered without hesitation. By the way he was acting she wondered if he had the same doubts about her. “We live in a very twisted society you know. You joined me in hell. That alone should speak volumes for trust. I’m sorry, Valor I shouldn’t have pressed you.” She shook her head slowly and broke off another piece of bread.

  “No, you should have. Were I actually manipulating you, I could be delivering you to their doorstep. Others might, I wouldn’t.” Valor said quietly.

  Jala’s chewing slowed and she watched him with a raised eyebrow. He seemed uncomfortable and shifted, not meeting her gaze. She swallowed heavily and tilted her head, still watching him. “Valor, is there something you want to tell me?” she prompted gently.

  “Not really,” Valor mumbled and let out a long breath. “Kali wanted me to ensure that Finn didn’t come back.” He began slowly and met her gaze once more. “She said that Finn was never meant for you and that the two of you would bring devastation to the world. I found that sickly ironic, considering how she is constantly trying to kill us all off with her creations. When I mentioned the fact, she laughed at me and asked if I had never heard of a common enemy before. Nothing breeds unity like strife, I suppose. Her words were still fresh in my mind when we tried to raise Finn.” Valor fell silent and shifted again and rubbed his face. “I didn’t mention it and I should have. With her words breeding doubt in my mind… What if I helped the spell fail? I couldn’t help but feel doubts about it then. I know Finn. I love him like a brother, but what Kali said is true. He is cold. He is brutal, and he is utterly without remorse. That influence combined with your power is terrifying, Jala.” She started to speak but he held up a hand to stop her. “I should have given you more credit, though. I was wrong in that. I have doubts of Finn, but I shouldn’t have doubted you. It’s your power, and how you use it is your choice. So I’m here to bring him back no matter what. I failed him when the spell was cast. I failed you when I doubted your convictions. I will not fail either of you in this.”