“I can help you, Seth. Don’t be so hasty,” Yasny pressed.
“I have never needed anyone’s help. Not now. Not ever,” Seth replied stubbornly.
“Fine. Be that way,” Yasny sniffed indignantly. Her voice was much closer now. A hand brushed across Zoelyn’s face, moving her hair back and the faint smell of roses mingled with Seth’s spicy scent. “She will be a pretty little thing when you get her fixed. I thought you said she was from Glis, though. She doesn’t look Shifter at all.”
“She has about as much Glis blood as I do,” Seth replied and Zoelyn could hear the smirk in his voice. “I don’t know where she is from, but I will find out,” he added as he shifted her once more in his arms.
Zoelyn didn’t struggle at all in his arms. She didn’t think they realized she was still awake. If she remained limp and silent they might continue to talk. The more she learned of Seth’s plans, the better chance she had of pleading with Finn later.
Seth balanced her for a moment with one arm and the faint click of a key turning in a lock sounded clearly in the hall. “Goodnight, Yasny,” Seth murmured and Zoelyn wondered if he had read her thoughts. It seemed too much of a coincidence that he had ended the conversation at the exact moment she had been hoping he would continue it.
“We will talk tomorrow,” Yasny said in a tone that suggested the words were closer to an order than a request.
“Most likely,” Seth replied nonchalantly. The air grew warmer around them as he stepped into the room and closed the door. He shifted her once more in his arms and chuckled faintly. “Give up little Undrae. Give in to the Dreamsweet and admit I’ve won. I know you can still hear me, no matter how hard you try to pretend. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t have used Dreamsweet. That particular poison is a royal pain in the ass to gather. All I want from you is sleep and you have my word you won’t be harmed.”
“Bastard…liar,” Zoelyn mumbled as he lowered her to a chair. The soft velvet seemed to cradle her and her body screamed for her to listen to Seth and give in to rest. Sleep crept closer as she slumped farther into the cushions.
A faint rustle of feathers sounded to her right and she could feel Seth crouched beside. He lifted her hand from her lap and slowly pulled her glove off. The sensation of warm skin against her own flesh was almost enough to pull her back from sleep. His fingers traced a gentle path across her palm and her breath caught in her throat for a moment. It was the first time she had ever felt flesh against her own without her wretched curse killing someone.
“I am a bastard in every sense of the word. At the moment, however, I am your best hope for survival. Jala is talented with magic, but she has limits on what she can or will do. I don’t, little Undrae. Remember that.” His voice was as gentle as his touch as he lowered her hand back to her lap and slowly removed her other glove. “We are each other’s salvation,” he added softly as he stood and moved away from her chair.
Chapter 9
Sanctuary
Everywhere Hemlock looked, his city was changing. For centuries, he had been a power player in Sanctuary, and now the Fionaveir and their wretched Empress were destroying it all. More screams erupted from the street below and he leaned forward on his roof top perch for a better look. The Copper Penny was as good as gone. For years, the Tavern had functioned as a safe haven for thieves and cut-throats and now the Fionaveir were cleansing it. Three members of the Ravens guild already stood in manacles while the Fionaveir still fought inside to bring more of the rogues out. It was the third district of the city that had been purged in less than a week. It wouldn’t be long before Empress Symphony was looking in the direction of his own guild.
With the Justicars, Hemlock had known everything. That organization had been so corrupt that infiltrating their ranks was child’s play. The Fionaveir, on the other hand, were impossible for him to infiltrate. Everyone knew everyone among their ranks and the damned tattoos they wore couldn’t be duplicated. He was just as clueless about what was going on in his city as the average citizen, and he hated it. The only advantage he had over the commoners was his talent with Time magic. That was chancy at best, though. The future was constantly changing and while he could look forward to see the possibilities, he had to guess which future was most likely. It had been days since he had even bothered to use his magic, though. The last three visions he had called had been unsettling, to say the least. In two of the three he had died; in the third he had been stripped of his powers. So he was stuck gathering information the old fashioned way, by sitting on roof tops and watching.
With half a night wasted watching petty thieves suffer, the only truly useful information he could say he had gathered was the fact that certain key people were missing. Hemlock made it a point to know the power players of every organization. It was simply good business when you never knew who you might have to kill. The Fionaveir had several people that were on his list to be wary of, and several of them had been missing from the city for weeks. Vaze being the foremost of his concerns, and Charm a sharp second. Both men were dangerous, and both seemed to have vanished from the city entirely. There were others as well: Isador, Remedy, and Lex. The last two could have been incredibly useful if the gossip that was circulating was correct. By the rumors, Lex was, in fact, the younger brother of the Empress and Symphony was apparently in love with Remedy. Either would have made an excellent bargaining chip, if he could manage to find them.
Even his gift with Time magic hadn’t helped him locate those that were missing, however. Vaze was always elusive and Charm was completely out of the picture. His luck with the others had been equally disappointing. All in all, life was not going in a direction he liked.
We need to talk. The voice was a whisper in his mind, but Hemlock was moving before the words were fully spoken. It wasn’t often that Kali contacted him through links, and he never ignored her when she did. Kali was dangerous, and somewhat unstable. Most importantly, though, Kali was the only ally he had. With Symphony purging the city and his visions showing his death, he needed Kali now more than ever.
* * *
It took only minutes for him to reach the portal stone to her home, and she still looked annoyed when he arrived. It was obvious she had been pacing, which meant she would be extremely irritable tonight. Silently, he stepped fully into the room and gave her a questioning look. find my home.” Her tone was filled with irritation and Hemlock knew exactly how she felt. The Fionaveir were destroying his city one district at a time and it seemed that not even Kali would escape their notice.
“They raided The Pits last night. Close to thirty of Grave’s people were arrested. It’s possible the mercenaries will take a stand in retaliation,” Hemlock offered with a heavy sigh.
“After the losses Graves suffered in Avanti, he is likely kissing the Empress’s ass right now,” Kali snapped. “What do you see for us in the future, Hemlock?”
The question caught him off guard and he knew he flinched at the mention of his visions. Kali rarely showed interest in his talent with Time magic, and now when she did have an interest, he didn’t have anything pleasant to share.
“Death, mostly,” Hemlock admitted quietly as he moved to sit in a chair. With a sigh he pushed his hood back and leaned back in the cushions as she returned to pacing. “The Veyetta are coming back and I don’t know how. It’s not Jala, I’m sure of it. In fact I believe Jala may be our only hope at standing against them.”
“Jala, the one we prodded through the war and tormented. Ahh, yes. I’m sure she is very inclined to help us,” Kali purred as she shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“It was better to prod her than allow Myth to win,” Hemlock retorted.
“Myth is still active. Don’t forget that. I’m sure by now he has realized how little control I truly gave him over the Blights. He thought I was going to let him kill everyone off with my beauties,” Kali grumbled.
“They served their purpose well in shifting the balance of power. This will have everyone off balance
for years and keep their minds off of the Barrier for a while at least,” Hemlock offered. He rubbed his chin for a moment and watched her pace across the room twice in silence. “We need to confront Symphony,” he said at last, and Kali stopped dead in her tracks.
“Are you out of your mind?” Her voice was a hoarse whisper as she slowly turned to look at him with disbelief written clearly on her pale face. “I am an exile and wanted dead by every nation and you are the bloody leader of the largest Assassin guild in Sanctuary. We can’t simply demand a meeting with fanatics such as the Fionaveir. They are so goody-goody it makes my skin crawl. We would barely get to the Pardon me before they were whacking our heads off our shoulders,” Kali added, her voice growing louder with each word.
“We can if we have something to offer her in return for amnesty,” Hemlock pressed. He had been giving the matter thought for the past week and it was the only solution he had managed to come up with. The only other options were declaring war openly on the Fionaveir or leaving the city, and in his visions, both of those paths had led to his death. Confronting Symphony had led to his loss of power, but it was possible that he could change that future. Still, loss of power was far better than loss of life. He knew what was waiting for him in hell and Seth would be far from merciful.
“And what should we offer her, then?” Kali demanded. She was staring at him fully now with both hands on her hips. Her lips were drawn in a tight line and her eyes narrowed. In his experience in dealing with her, the combination of that expression and posture had never been a good thing.
“What if we tell her the truth about what we have been doing?” Hemlock offered quietly. Her expression grew more stormy and he tensed in his chair, every muscle ready to spring if he needed to move quickly. Kali was an incredibly powerful mage with a very volatile temper.
“I will not have the Fionaveir mucking up what I have been working on for centuries. There are certain lines that must be crossed to accomplish what we have to do and they will not cross them. I will not allow them to fuck it up!” Kali hissed and the air around her surged with magic.
“If they knew what you truly are, though,” Hemlock pressed. The air around him filled with magic and he barely moved before the chair he had been seated in burst into flames. Thick smoke choked the small room as he pressed himself flat against a wall and moved quickly to the other side of the room. “Kali, please be reasonable,” he growled as he ducked another burst of flames that had been aimed at his head.
“No! No! Bloody no! I will not work with those lily white pansy bastards!” Kali screeched, flames dancing from her fingers with each word she spoke.
“Fine!” Hemlock bellowed back in response as he ducked and weaved his way through her magical temper tantrum. When the Barrier had gone up, Kali had been slightly off in the head. Over the year, she had gradually gotten worse. Now, the only term he could use to describe her was a flaming nutter. She was a powerful nutter, though, and the only one he could count on for help when he needed it. If he phrased his request well, which apparently he hadn’t this time. “Calm down, and let’s sort this out, Kali. We have enough enemies without fighting each other. Remember?”
The flames died abruptly and Hemlock stood upright, slowly gazing around at what remained of the small sitting room. Most of the furniture was destroyed and parts of the walls were still in flame. Kali, however, seemed calm once more. He raised an eyebrow at her and carefully watched the expression on her face for any sign of anger. Her moods shifted so quickly that she was nearly impossible to predict.
“We could kill Symphony and replace her with a clone that I have manipulated the mind of,” Kali mused, her tone peaceful once more.
There was no sign whatsoever of the fury that had held her moments before and Hemlock had to force back the desire to choke the woman. Kali was likely the strongest reason that he never allowed himself to form attachment to women. He was certain at some point the crazy bitch had been sweet and alluring like Jala. Kali was simply the advanced version. She was living proof of what other Immortal women would become, given enough time and power, and that single thought had kept Hemlock free of attachment for years.
“I don’t think that is an option this time, Kali,” Hemlock replied cautiously. The last thing he wanted to do was set off another tantrum, but from what he had seen of the Fionaveir her idea simply wasn’t plausible.
“Probably not,” Kali sighed with disappointment. “It is so much easier when I can just clone someone and tell them what to do rather than having to deal with actual people,” she added wistfully.
“We need something Symphony truly wants or cares about. Remedy or Lex would work, but I can’t locate them. This is the first thing we must deal with, and quickly before the Fionaveir come down on us. Soon after, though, we must determine how to keep the Veyetta at rest. If the Shadow Walkers reawaken they will continue their plans to bring down the Barrier and then we are all dead, regardless.” Hemlock sighed and rubbed his face again. It was a habit of his when stressed, and with the way things were going his face was going to be raw before the week was over.
His eyes landed on the chair he had been sitting in minutes before, and he pulled gently on his magic as he waved a hand in its direction. The air shimmered around it as he reversed time just enough to return it to its former condition. Crossing the room once more, he dropped into the chair and eyed the rest of the damage in the room. It would be a simple matter for him to repair everything as he had the chair, but as far as he saw it, Kali had created the mess, and she could clean it up.
“Perhaps you should tell me what you have seen in regards to the Veyetta while I think about the matter with Symphony,” Kali said. Her hand flicked out behind her and she dropped back to sit balanced neatly on the empty air behind her. He had known countless mages in his life and all but Kali hoarded their magic. Kali threw magic around as if it were nothing, and it often left him wondering exactly how large her reserves were. He had never seen her run low on power, no matter what the situation.
“NephonDelvayon is involved, but it is vague as to how. I always see him in the visions before the rise of the Shadows. I see Jala, as well, but I think she is standing against the Veyetta. There is another there, but I can’t see him. It’s nothing but darkness when I try to look closely and I think it may be Vaze. He is the only one I know that can obscure himself so well from my power. The vision begins in the mountains and I’m confused on that. Veyetta covers valleys south of Arovan and I can’t determine why the mountains are involved,” Hemlock began in a hesitant conjured raised a dozen questions rather than answering one.
“Delvay is in the mountains, but it is controlled by the Rivasans right now,” Kali said thoughtfully. She leaned back in her conjured chair and tapped one slender finger against her full lips as she gave the matter further thought. “Vaze is formidable but the other two are pups,” she mumbled.
“Jala is a very powerful pup,” Hemlock warned. It was possible that Kali hadn’t kept track of the war raging outside the city, but he had. From what he had seen Jala Merrodin was not one to write off as a child. He had known she would be powerful, he hadn’t expected her to prove it so quickly, though.
“Powerful, yes. Wise, no. Jala can be manipulated. Just look how easily we separated her from her gods. With one swipe of a knife we moved her from being Fortune’s toy to ours. All it took was a few pretty words and some finger pointing in Fortune’s direction,” Kali murmured. “War was on the battlefield, so was Fortune. I watched that entire battle and I saw three gods present. We didn’t separate her from them; we simply gave her less respect for them. I wouldn’t call her our toy, either. Jala has gained a great deal of wisdom in a very short time. She isn’t nearly as trusting, either. Jexon saw to that with his idiotic betrayal in Avanti,” Hemlock countered.
“Pish posh,” Kali muttered with a dismissive wave of her hand. “What did you tell Jala about the Veyetta?” she asked, her pale eyes once again locking with his in a manner tha
t was entirely unsettling. Kali had an intensity to her gaze that very few could master.
“The truth of my visions. If the Veyetta reawaken, someone she loves will die. She has seen the strands of darkness, Kali. She knows I’m not lying and she knows if she doesn’t act when the time arrives, that it will cost her dearly,” Hemlock answered quietly.
“Jala is such a sweet little sentimentalist. That works so well in our advantage. The same could be said for Symphony, I think. Also, you need to take a trip to Merro and find some more puzzle pieces. While you are doing that, I will focus on fumbling the magical threads to hide my home a while longer so I can find out which heart strings Symphony obeys. Love is always the best puppet string to pull. I just have to figure out who our Empress loves the most and make a puppet accordingly,” Kali mused.
“If I leave the city now, my guild is in more danger than it will likely survive. If the Fionaveir discover where the NightBlades reside they won’t rest until they have destroyed everything I have,” Hemlock objected calmly.
“Well, I’d say place someone you trust in charge, but we all know you don’t trust anyone,” Kali said dryly and sighed heavily. “Send someone else to Merro, then. If Jala is involved with your visions there will be answers there. Someone needs to gather them unless you can manage to summon a vision that isn’t filled with riddles.”
“I’ll see what arrangements I can make,” Hemlock offered with obvious reluctance. He hated leaving the city. Sanctuary was his home and his security. It wasn’t that he feared the lands outside; it was the simple fact that he didn’t hold power there. Still Kali had a valid point. He had visited Jala not too long ago, but it had been a short visit in the early hours of the morning and he hadn’t bothered to gather information while he was there. That was before his Time magic started failing him, though Things had changed now. For the first time since he could remember, he had to do things the hard way. With a weary sigh, he stood and nodded to Kali. “I’m not sure how long I will be out of the city, but I will contact you when I return. I think I will have to leave the Guild to fend for itself for a time. This is too important to leave in someone else’s hands. I’d rather see the NightBlades fall than the Barrier.”
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse Page 20
