The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams

by Melissa Myers

  Emily took them hesitantly and looked them over then watched as Jala crossed the room to her own closet. “Are you going to tell him I’m here?” she asked cautiously.

  “Who?” Jala asked, unsure if the child meant Sovann or Finn since they were about to go and see Sovann.

  “The ass …” Emily paused and cleared her throat. “Err, Finn,” she said and began tugging the clothes on quickly.

  “Yes, I am. I don’t keep secrets from him,” Jala replied, selecting a long-sleeved deep green dress from her wardrobe. “He won’t be upset, especially when I tell him you are going to help guard me,” Jala assured her and quickly began getting dressed.

  “What if he wants me to leave?” Emily asked, her expression concerned.

  “He won’t ask you to leave, I promise,” Jala reassured her and selected a pair of sandals from her wardrobe. Sitting lightly on the edge of the bed she lifted her skirts lightly and slipped her feet into the shoes.

  Emily watched her silently as she laced up her sandals. With a small hand she pointed at the shoes with obvious concern. “Do I have to wear those?” she asked, a frown growing on her face.

  Jala looked up from the lacings and raised an eyebrow. “I did forget to make you shoes didn’t I? No you don’t have to wear shoes like this. I don’t think they would last long if you did.” With a sigh she finished tying the strap and stood again. “You aren’t used to wearing shoes are you?” she asked.

  Emily shook her head slightly and continued to stare at Jala. “I see why he likes you so much,” she said quietly.

  “Finn?” Jala asked, her confusion growing from the rapidly changing topics. She glanced at Emily as she quickly pulled her hair up. She was running out of time. Sovann would be wondering what was wrong by now.

  “Shade,” Emily corrected. “You are so pretty, it’s no wonder he likes you,” she added softly and seemed a bit embarrassed.

  Pausing in what she was doing Jala shook her head faintly. “Shade doesn’t look at what is on the outside. Shade likes people that are pretty on the inside. I doubt he ever cared if my hair was fixed properly or noticed what dress I wore,” she explained quietly and then shrugged. “But there are those that care now, so I do,” she said with a sigh, remembering when she was a less filthy version of Emily, when she never would have considered wearing shoes that laced half way up her leg or dresses that had so many layers to their skirts. “Come on, Sovann will be waiting for us and I don’t want him to think something has happened to me. We will worry about shoes later. At least for now you are dressed.” Heading for the door, she grabbed her book bag as she went. She truly doubted she would have time to come back here before her classes started for the day.

  Nodding slightly, Emily fell in behind her and disappeared once more. Grumbling lightly, Marrow fell in behind her to the right and looked around, his yellow eyes scanning for any sign of the Blight.

  “I’m sure we will both get used to it,” Jala said with a smile to the Bendazzi and left the door open behind her a bit longer than normal. She glanced at the hall behind her and wondered how she was ever going to be able to tell if Emily had made it through a doorway before she closed it. She didn’t care much for the thought of continually smacking the child with doors.

  “I go through before you do, when you first open it,” Emily whispered in a voice so quiet Jala could barely make out the words. Silently, Jala nodded and wondered if her thoughts had truly been that obvious. With a quick glance down the hallway to make sure no one else had noticed her delay, she turned and headed toward the courtyard where Sovann waited.

  “I was beginning to worry,” Sovann said as he stood. He was dressed as usual in loose fitting tunic and trousers but looked a bit more rumpled than normal. Dark circles hung under both of his deep green eyes and his hair was a bit tousled as well.

  “You haven’t slept have you?” Jala asked as she stopped a few feet from him. Several books lay open on the ground beside him as well as a dozen or so memory crystals that he used for reference.

  “I had a lot to do at home and I’ve been trying to research on how we are going to lift the curse in Goswin,” he explained with a sigh and brushed a lock of brown hair from his face.

  “Any luck?” she asked hopefully.

  He shook his head grimly and motioned vaguely at the books and crystals. “Not in any of those but there is a possibility I might find a method in another book. It will take time to research.” He let out a deep sigh and looked her over with a frown. “What happened to your arm?” He asked, motioning at the sleeve of her dress.

  Following his gaze Jala looked down at her own arm and frowned. She had chosen a long sleeved dress to hide the bandage but apparently that wasn’t going to work with her friends. “A little cut it’s nothing,” she said in dismissal.

  “Why didn’t you just heal it?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Jala stared at him a moment and looked up to the sky and then back to him. “Because I’m an idiot and I didn’t even think of healing myself,” she admitted in disgust. “It’s really no bother though. It’s not a deep cut,”

  Sovann looked away with a nod and it was obvious he was fighting back laughter. “That’s beautiful. You heal my brother from near death, repair his eye and then forget you can heal when you yourself get hurt.” He shook his head slowly as he spoke in obvious amusement.

  “So what are we going to work with today?” she asked in an effort to change the topic.

  “I thought we’d try a bit of channeling. I think you are closer to a weaver than a Channeler but we will see. Since you can draw off of Barllen, it’s obvious you can channel, so let’s see what else you can draw from,” he replied with a smile.

  “All right, sounds easy enough. What first?” Jala asked as she dropped her bag down into the grass and stretched her shoulders.

  “Let’s try something basic at first. Getting magic from something magical,” he said, producing a mage stone from his pocket. Tossing it lightly to land in the grass he looked back at her and smiled. “Typically you hold a mage stone and draw it into you as it is intended to be used. This time I want you to try to channel some of the magic out of it. It’s a mage stone you yourself created so that should make it easier.” With a slight gesture of his hand, he motioned for her to begin.

  Taking a deep breath Jala focused on the stone and tried to pull magic from it. After a long moment she held her hand outstretched toward it as she had on the battlefield in Rivana. Putting her will behind it she pulled again and then frowned at Sovann. “I’m doing exactly what I did in Rivana,” she said with a sigh.

  He chewed on his lower lip for a moment and nodded slowly. “You were desperate there,” he said quietly and seemed deep in thought. “Maybe it was because you didn’t have any magic at all of your own,” he said after a moment and fished in his pocket again producing a dull grey stone. “If you don’t mind filling a mage stone this early, we can see if that is the difference.” He offered her the stone with a shrug.

  Jala nodded slowly and took the stone, looking down at the rock with dread. Filling stones always left her a bit light headed and she had a long day ahead of her. “If you let me keep this stone to recharge before I see Neph this evening, you have a deal,” she said, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

  “As long as you wait a bit before you reabsorb it there shouldn’t be a problem. You don’t want to flux your magic from full to empty and then back again too quickly. It isn’t good for the body,” he warned.

  Nodding her agreement, she focused on the empty stone in her hand and felt her magic pouring into it. When they had first started doing this two weeks ago the stones she had filled had been about the size of her little fingernail. This one was the size of a small bird’s egg. Sovann had said her reservoir was building quickly and if this stone’s size was any indication he believed it had grown again. The stone began to pulse in her hand and turn a dull violet shade, slowly darkening to a deep rich purple that seemed to glow
from the inside. Her head began to spin as the color darkened and she had second thoughts about spending half the day in this weakened state. If not for the knowledge that Marrow and now Emily would be with her the entire day she never would have agreed to this.

  At last, she nodded to Sovann and handed him back the stone. She could feel only the barest wisps of magic remaining to her and Sovann had warned her too many times for her to drain that off as well. To drain all of her magic meant the risk of what he called burn out, where a mage could no longer access his magic at all. She had never actually pointed out that she had already drained her magic completely once before and hadn’t burned out. She knew him too well. He would simply point out how stupid she had been to do it at all.

  Looking down at the stone in his hand, Sovann glanced back up at her and nodded. “I had a feeling you had built it up more. You didn’t drain yourself dry did you?” he asked with a bit of concern.

  “Of course not. I listen to your warnings,” she replied, her voice faint to her ears. “Give me a minute and I’ll try again. I’ve got the spinning-head thing right now.” With a sigh, she leaned back against a tree and waited for her body to adjust and then stood again, giving Sovann a nod. Stretching her hand out toward the stone once more, she tried pulling on the magic she knew it held. “Damn it,” she hissed and refocused herself, pulling with everything she could. The stone remained untouched, without so much as a trace of its magic coming to her. Dropping her hand in frustration, she looked at Sovann. “Why can I draw from something no one else can but I can’t draw from something everyone can?” she asked, hoping the frustration she felt didn’t carry into her voice as well.

  Sovann frowned down at the stone and looked up to her with a slight shake of his head. “I have no idea,” he admitted and searched the garden, his gaze thoughtful. “Close your eyes and try channeling. Focus on whatever you can and try to draw in magic. Maybe it’s that you have no affinity with the stone, though you should since you are the one that created it,.”

  Doubtful that it would work, but still willing to try, she closed her eyes and focused. She sought magic with her mind though didn’t focus on a source, simply willing the magic to come to her. Forcing her will, she tugged roughly and felt a surge of magic at the same time as she heard a gasp from Sovann. Eyes flashing open she found the mage kneeling one arm across his chest breathing heavily. “Are you OK?” she asked frantically, dropping down beside him and staring at his pale face in fear.

  “Yes, just give me a minute,” he said coughing slightly. Looking up at her, he smiled ruefully. “I really didn’t expect that and you really don’t have a gentle touch for it. It was somewhat like being hit in the gut with a club,” he said, his voice weak yet amused.

  “I really didn’t mean to. Are you sure you are OK? Should I get Neph?” she asked her eyes wide.

  Sovann shook his head and smiled at her, bracing himself on her shoulder as he stood. “No, Neph would just laugh. Give me a minute to get a bit of my energy back and let’s try that again. If you can perfect it before classes you can use it on Neph tonight.” He said the last with a wicked smile and winked at her. Drawing on his Weaver talents she watched him pull a bit of energy from the trees, then the grass, and finally the mage stone. He was gentle with the pull taking care not to damage anything he touched.

  Looking back at her he nodded. “OK, try it again, only this time focus on me and let’s see what happens. Don’t worry about hurting me. I have a larger reservoir that you do right now and even if you fill yourself completely off of my magic you can’t truly hurt me,” he said, shaking his head at her look of distress.

  “Are you sure about this?” she asked with obvious hesitation.

  “Quite sure, now do as your teacher tells you to,” he ordered and seemed to brace himself.

  “I really wish you didn’t look like I was about to punch you,” she said dryly and focused herself again. With a frown she pulled from Sovann and felt magic rush into her like a tide. She reeled for a moment, her body euphoric with the sensation and barely noticed Sovann propped against a tree wheezing. “Normal magic doesn’t feel like this,” she said, her voice faint in her own ears. “Oh, Fortune this is wonderful.” Her words came out breathless as the tingles of the stolen magic washed over her, filling her with renewed energy.

  “By the Aspects, Jala, I don’t think we will do that again, ever,” Sovann gasped, pulling himself upright once more for another round of weaving. “That wasn’t like a club that was like a damn wagon falling on me,” he said faintly.

  “I’m sorry, Sovann, are you OK?” Jala asked with concern, though she knew the smile was still on her face and she doubted it was too reassuring to him.

  “Will be fine in just a minute. That’s the plus side of being a Weaver, never out of energy for long,” he replied, his voice already regaining some of its former strength. “So now we have to figure out why you can draw on Barllen and people but apparently not items intended to have magic drained from them, though. That isn’t a bad trait, though. If you can draw energy off of your enemies you are a step ahead.”

  “I’d like to drain Cassia down to a more humble level,” Jala muttered quietly, drawing a dark look from Sovann.

  “If you do, she will have the Justicars down on you. It’s considered a magical assault and the penalty ranges from imprisonment to death,” he warned.

  “As if anyone actually obeys laws here, Sovann. Just yesterday I saw Cassia and her brother beating the hell out of Madren and no one did anything about it. That is supposed to be a crime punishable by death, too, but no one does anything about it,” she said back, her voice filled with disgust.

  “Not when it’s Cassia doing it, but I guarantee if it’s you doing it everyone will say something. They are looking for a reason to get you in trouble. Don’t give them one,” Sovann said, his voice firm and his look almost parental.

  “I won’t. Besides, I don’t even know if it would work on anyone else,” she said with a sigh.

  “That’s why you are going to try using it on Neph tonight, to find out if it works on others,” Sovann replied happily.

  “You look far too pleased with that idea, Sovann. Should I make a memory crystal for you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Sovann smiled at her and nodded. “Please do. I will look forward to seeing it tomorrow. For now, though, you had best be off to your first hour. You arrived late so the session isn’t what it normally is.”

  “I’m sorry about that. I just had a few things come up. I will be on time tomorrow, I promise,” she said and picked up her bag with a sigh. Walking over, she gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Sovann, you should go get some sleep. You look like you could use it.”

  “I will very soon,” he assured her and moved to gather his books and crystals as she left the courtyard heading for class.

  “You are going to be thrilled, Emily. My first hour is basic geography,” Jala said quietly once they were out of earshot of Sovann. She spoke partially to see if the Blight was still with her and partially because she expected the class to drive the child insane. Geography was a topic that interested her a great deal. Yet the teacher of the class had a way of speaking that made her nearly fall asleep every day.

  “I could probably teach you more about geography than they can. My mother had been everywhere and I know everything she knew. Have they told you about the Crystal Spires yet?” Emily’s voice was a hushed whisper just off to her left.

  “What are the Crystal Spires?” Jala asked. It wasn’t a term she had heard mentioned in any class or read about in her book. She was three chapters ahead in her reading of what they were talking about in class discussion.

  “It’s in Nerathane. Hundreds of crystal columns that rise up out of the southern desert. They are every color - blue and yellow and red, and there is a river that runs through there that the whole bottom of is filled with little fragments of the spires that look like a rainbow stones,” Emily explai
ned, her voice a bit louder than before.

  “It sounds beautiful. I didn’t think anyone was allowed in Southern Nerathane,” Jala replied trying to mentally picture what the child described.

  “My mother was. She went everywhere in Sanctuary,” Emily said, a bit of pride in her voice as well as sadness. “I wish I hadn’t hurt her,” she said after a long moment her voice fainter.

  “I lost both of my parents too,” Jala said quietly, unsure what else to say. Perhaps if Emily knew she could understand the pang of loss, it would make it a bit easier for her. Misery did seem to love company.

  “She loved me. That’s what makes the difference between me and the other Blights. Their mothers despised them and everything they got when they scanned minds was hate and loathing. I scanned and found love,” Emily said, her voice dropping back down to a whisper.

  Jala nodded thoughtfully and ran a hand through Marrow’s thick fur, silent for a long moment. “I think that’s what makes a difference for all of us Emily. There are quite a few in this world that are not Blights but are still monsters,” she said quietly as they reached the stairs to the main hall.

  Conversation ended as she headed up the stairs and through the thick double doors. Marrow walked along behind her silently and she hoped Emily was still close but had no way of telling. Ignoring the looks from the other students she headed into the Geography lecture hall and climbed to the top row of the seating. It was more difficult to hear at these heights but few other people sat on the top row. She had an advantage, though, even if she missed something the teacher was saying Marrow wouldn’t and could tell her what was said. Dropping her bag lightly in the chair beside her she sat down and looked over the mostly empty room. It was still several minutes before class and most were still in the hall gossiping. All of the friends she had were more advanced in their schooling, though, and she truly had no desire to gossip with strangers. It would be a safe bet that most of the gossip in the hall right now was about her, a topic she really didn’t care to pay attention to.