The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams

by Melissa Myers

  Leaning heavily on the desktop she looked down at the small circle where the teacher would stand and tried to make out what land they would be discussing today. As usual the map for the day was already up and she could make out the small scattered forms of the Seravae Isles. Smiling, she leaned back in her seat and took out her notebook. With a quick toss of the cover she flipped it to the notes she had made when she read the chapter in the book on the islands and quickly read over them.

  “That’s not right,” Emily said quietly beside her.

  Jala looked up from the notebook and glanced to the side of her where the voice had come from. “What’s not right?” she asked quietly taking care to make sure no one else was nearby. The last thing she needed was a rumor to start about her talking to herself.

  “What they say about Seravae, all of the islands are inhabited not just three of them. All five of them have people. It’s just the two smaller ones are …” She trailed off as if searching for a word. “Uhh, not big houses I guess. They are different, more elite, only certain people can go there,” she finished.

  Reaching into her bag Jala pulled out her book and flipped it open to the page showing the Seravae isles and studied the island chain. “It’s all supposed to be ruled by the House of Reavers,” she said after quickly scanning over the text to make sure her notes were correct.

  “It’s not. The big island to the south is controlled by the Soulblades, the one just above it is controlled by the Spiritcallers, and the one in the north is led by the Wraiths. They are three separate orders, even though everyone else calls them houses, they aren’t,” Emily explained in a flood of whispers.

  “It doesn’t say anything about that in the book,” Jala protested quietly flipping pages and scanning over the words quickly. “If they aren’t houses what are they?”

  “The Soulblades are warriors, the Spiritcallers are Shamans, and the Wraiths are rogues. In order to become a Soulreaver you must pass through all three islands of training and attain at least three circles of each. The smaller island to the east is called the Reaver’s Island, even though the Official ruling house of Seravae is on the Soulblade isle, which is called the Wendesha isle by them by the way, in honor of one of the first Soulblade to reach ten circles on Sanctuary,” Emily explained. By her voice Jala guessed she was seated in the chair next to her and looking over the book as well.

  How is it that she doesn’t know to brush her hair but she knows the advanced history of the Soulreavers? Marrow asked dryly.

  I think when she scans minds she looks for the most valuable information and glazes over what we see as trivial mundane knowledge, Jala replied keeping the conversation mental to avoid insulting Emily.

  “I still scan minds, and the two of you project your thoughts very loudly. The instinct is to go for information on magic, fighting, surroundings, and such. It didn’t occur to me at all to look for hygiene in my scans,” Emily said, not sounding offended in the least. “You know the Seravae islands are the reason the Academy calls its training circles. In Seravae, when a child passes a certain level of training, a circle is tattooed on his back. The left shoulder for swords, the right shoulder for stealth, and the center of the back for shamans training since to them the mastery of spirits is considered the most important,” she explained further, obviously enjoying the fact that she had more knowledge on the subject than the book did.

  “How many circles are there for each?” Jala asked, flipping her notebook to a fresh page and taking notes once again.

  “Ten for each island, though there hasn’t been anyone to fully master all three since they were locked inside the barrier. Usually the current Reaver only has three of each tattoo, though the leaders of the individual islands of course have ten circles in their own specialty,”

  “What’s on the other small island?” Jala asked indicating the last piece of land in the Seravae isles chain.

  “That’s the Isle of Souls where the bodies of the dead are sent. In some cases they keep their spirits. In others they don’t. If it was a hero or well respected figure in their society the soul continues on with the body. There is nothing worse to them than to allow the spirit to continue on to Death. They despise the goddess of Death and believe if a Soulreaver is strong enough he will return from the isles alive once more. If they are not well loved in their society, their soul is devoured by the Keepers of the island and the body is wrapped and burned with whatever ashes and bones remaining entombed in the cliffs,” she explained and fell silent as the room began to fill with people.

  Jala looked up as the sound of grating chairs and murmurs filled the hall, making sure no one was approaching her perch and then quickly wrote down what Emily had told her. Flipping the pages back and forth she compared the two sets of notes and shook her head slightly. There was so much more detail in what the Blight child had told her. “Emily,” she whispered, hoping the Blight could hear her over the surrounding noise.

  “Yes?” Emily asked, her voice coming from very near Jala’s ear.

  “Later when we have time will you go over the other cultures that I’ve already studied and tell me what I’ve missed? I think your mother was a very wise person and I’d like you to share the knowledge if you would,” she asked.

  “Of course,” Emily replied, her voice holding a note of true happiness. “My mother was a very wise person and she would have wanted me to share what she knew,” she added quieter.

  “Today we are going to speak of the Seravae Isles,” the teacher’s voice droned from below and Jala shifted in her seat to get a better view. From the way the man spoke, she could almost believe Shade’s story about most of the teachers being constructs. She could very easily picture him propped against the wall during winter break, gathering dust.

  “The Seravae isles rest just off the coast of Arovan in the Deverish Gulf,” he continued, his voice still a heavy monotone. Jala heard Marrow yawn off to the side of her and silently cursed the Bendazzi as she fought back her own yawn in response. Settling back in her chair she did her best to keep her mind alert, comparing what he said with what Emily had told her and wondering why the Academy left so much out.

  “This is going to be a very long hour, what is next?” Emily whispered to her.

  “Mathematics. The teacher is much better but the subject is less entertaining,” Jala replied quietly and shrugged. “Just wait until we get to science. I’m sure you will love that.”

  Chapter 7

  Oblivion

  Shade glanced over toward the passenger side for the fifth time and was relieved to see Charm still sleeping soundly. He wasn’t at all sure what the rogue would do if he woke now and saw where they were. This hadn’t been part of the plan that he had explained but it was a necessary step. Turning his attention back to the view screen he gave a muffled curse and jerked hard on the controls of the spell hawk narrowly avoiding a rock snag. The spotlight on the front of his ship wasn’t doing quite as much as he had hoped it would and the area ahead was incredibly murky. With a sigh, he slowed the ship’s speed farther and leaned back into his seat. He had been hoping to be out of here within a few hours. At this rate the herbs he had added to Charm’s dinner would wear off before he even found what he was looking for. A dark form moved past the view screen and he watched it for a moment, amazed at the size of the creature.

  “Did I just see a fish swim by?” Charm asked, his voice thick from sleep.

  “Shark actually, and yes,” Shade replied calmly as if that were perfectly natural.

  “Why in the bloody hell did I just see a shark swim by?” Charm asked, his voice sounding more alert.

  Flicking a gaze at the rogue, Shade shrugged and turned back in time to dodge another rock protrusion. “Because we are underwater and this particular part of the sea is overrun with sharks,” Shade explained, glancing at the rogue again. Charm was looking around with growing unease at the seams of the ship. “And serpents,” Shade added in a quieter voice hoping Charm was distracted enough not to
really pay attention.

  “Are spell hawks even made to go under water?” Charm asked as he sat fully up in his seat and stared through the view screen. “Where exactly are we, which part of the sea?” He demanded.

  “I built my spell hawk. I know what she can do and water is no problem for her,” Shade replied a bit defensively. “As to where we are …,” Shade trailed off and watched a twisting coil of a serpent go past above them. The dark green scales glimmered in the spotlight as the creature swam past. The ship rocked slightly in the creature’s wake and Shade let the speed falter more. “We are, uhh …, damn that thing was big,” Shade said, his voice filled with a bit of awe. The serpent above them had easily been twice the size of the one he had seen outside of Sanctuary and that one could have swallowed his ship whole. He shook his head and glanced at Charm who was staring at him with an unreadable expression. “We are off the coast of Oblivion,” he said quickly and turned back to the view screen, taking care to guide the ship away from the direction the serpent was swimming.

  “You are insane,” Charm said quietly and slowly nodded. “Why are we underwater off the coast of Oblivion? I don’t remember this being part of the plan.”

  “Well, it was part of the plan. It just wasn’t a part that I told you about,” Shade replied and smiled as his spotlight finally landed on what he was searching for. “There, do you see that?” he asked, pointing toward the view screen where a jumbled pile of debris could barely be seen.

  “Yes, but I have no idea what I’m seeing,” Charm snapped back.

  “That, my friend, is the remains of the Stormrider, one of the Merrodin battleships,” Shade explained happily.

  “And why do we want to find it?” Charm asked, his tone dubious.

  “Because the Merrodin ships were all lined with Barllen and we need a lot of Barllen,” Shade replied patiently.

  “The idea of having Barllen on a ship that functions off of magic does not seem like a good one Shade. Just off hand, I would say that would be insane,” Charm said, looking over at Shade with an expression of extreme doubt.

  “I’m not actually going to bring it on the ship. I’m going to drag it out of the water with towlines,” Shade said, his eyes roving over the ship remains.

  “Why do we need Barllen?” Charm asked.

  “Because one of Eldagar’s best defenses was a set of runes that prevented anything from entering the city by sky. You can leave in a spell hawk. You just can’t arrive that way. For our plan to work we have to be able to access the city by air. Installing a Barllen trim on my ship will cancel those wards,” Shade said as he rose from his seat, leaving the ship to drift slightly in the current. “I’ll be right back. Just have to check the chains. It looks heavier than I guessed it would be. I kind of thought the wood would have rotted away by now. It’s been ten years.

  “If you install a Barllen trim on your ship, won’t it drain the magic from the ship?” Charm asked as he rose to follow Shade.

  “No, because I’m going to have it on lead struts. Lead blocks Barllen,” Shade explained as he lifted a hatch near the back of the ship. Looking back at Charm he smiled reassuringly. “Have a bit of faith. I really have thought this through. If I hadn’t there is no way I would have ever trespassed on Oblivion’s borders. They really are touchy about visitors you know,” Dropping down to sit on the flat of the ship’s floor he dangled his legs into the hatch and bent over to check the weight of the chains below. Originally they had been added for lighter lifting but he thought they would hold.

  “Won’t the lead add too much weight to the ship or unbalance it?” Charm asked, his tone more thoughtful than doubtful now.

  “I’m going to balance it out by adding more weight to the rear as well. I’ll have to have a thin layer of Barllen on the wings too. All total, I’d say I’m adding about two thousand pounds to the ship’s weight but it shouldn’t be anything I can’t handle. All spell hawks fly off of the mage’s strength. The stronger the mage, the faster and tougher the ship. I’m a strong mage, Charm. This will work,” Shade said without bothering to glance up. With quick confident hands, he arranged the pulleys and the chains properly and examined the hooks for a last time. He wouldn’t get a second chance at this. The Lords of Oblivion didn’t take kindly to thieves and they would consider this robbery. Though the ship was worthless to them they would still consider it their property. Trespassing was bad enough in their eyes. To trespass and steal would have every Harvester in their control swarming his ship, not to mention their notorious hatred for Morcaillos. It was doubtful that they would take into consideration that he had left his house and so technically wasn’t Morcaillo.

  “Are you sure that will hold a ship?” Charm asked, eyeing the hooks and chains. He seemed more interested than skeptical now and Shade simply shrugged in response. Easing himself down on the other side, Charm examined the hooks with a practiced eye. “Good metal, it’s strong,” he said lifting the hook and testing the weight.

  “I have no idea how much a water logged, half rotted ship weighs,” Shade admitted.

  “Well, we really only need the railing right? If I remember correctly, that’s where a majority of the Barllen on the Merrodin ships was.” Charm dropped the hook and looked back up at Shade with a raised eyebrow.

  “There was some on the hulls as well, to keep the ships balanced, but a good portion of railing should be more than enough,” Shade replied.

  Nodding, Charm rose again. “For railing those should hold. For the entire ship, I’m not sure,” he said.

  “I’m really not insane. This will work, Charm, I promise,” Shade said as he rose and dropped the hatch back into place.

  “There is a fine line between madness and genius. I think you dance along that line Shade,” Charm said with a smirk.

  “Ahh, but I’m an excellent dancer,” Shade replied with a grin and moved back toward his pilot seat.

  “We shall see,” Charm said, quietly dropping down into the co-pilot seat.

  Shade gave a slight nod and smiled faintly. “Yes, we will,” he mumbled and took the controls of his ship once more, carefully guiding it over the wreckage. This was the touchy part, getting the hooks to fall where he needed them to, despite the current, and ensuring they caught hold firmly. Despite the confidence he had used with Charm this was the first time he had ever actually had his ship underwater. He doubted the rogue would find that knowledge reassuring, though, so he kept it to himself. Moving one hand slowly over the pulley control he eyed what remained of the railing below and tried to take into account the distortion of water as he released the hook. A loud grinding came from the back of the ship as the heavy chain dropped. Frowning in concentration, he moved the ship forward slowly and felt the hooks catch. Smiling, he glanced at Charm and began to guide the ship up slowly. The tension on the chains slowly increased and he felt the drag on his ship push past what he had expected. The water began to cloud more as the wreckage shifted in the silt.

  “Here,” Charm said quietly and gestured toward the view screen. Brighter light flooded the sea floor as a mage light bloomed to life below them. “I’m not much of a mage but I can manage that much,”

  “You are more of a mage than you let on, but I won’t push the topic. Thank you, Charm,” Shade said, his words a bit broken with distraction. It was taking most of his concentration to keep the speed of the ship slow and even. If he pulled too sharply on the tow chain, the wreckage would likely break apart. They were only about thirty feet from the surface now. The tricky part would be getting it out of the water. By the amount of drag he was getting off of the chain now he wasn’t sure his chains would hold, airborne.

  “Are we going to be able to get it out of the water?” Charm asked, his thoughts apparently mirror to Shade’s own.

  “I hope so. I’m not really sure, though. I think we have more than I had planned on hooking on the end of that line. From the weight I think we have the entire Stormrider. A low groan filled the air and Shade felt his muscles c
lench in response.

  “Was that the chains?” Charm asked glancing back at the hatch.

  “Uhh, no,” Shade said quietly, eyes searching the view screen. The groan came again followed by a sharp tug on the ship below. Cursing, Shade fought back on the controls and added a bit of speed to the ascent. A loud crack filled the air and the ship jerked violently.

  “What the hell is that?” Charm demanded, one hand clutched on his armrest as he stared back into the hold.

  “That’s the serpent,” Shade explained his voice a bit strained. Not many would recognize the sounds of the beasts but he did. He had spent countless hours watching them off the coasts of Sanctuary. Typically they didn’t come close to the city but the groans and wails they used for communication carried for miles. Another sharp pull on the chain came and he fought the controls to keep the ship steady. He could see daylight filtering down through the water, they were so close. “Ya like fishing, Charm?” Shade asked with a nervous chuckle.

  “Not in this fashion,” Charm replied, his eyes still glued to the back of the ship as if he expected to see the serpent bite through the thick metal at any point of time.

  “Almost there,” Shade said, his voice rising a bit. Another crack came from the water behind him and he felt the pressure on the ship lesson. “Bloody hell, I think the bastard broke my chains,” Shade growled as the front of his ship punched through into the open air. Sheets of water poured off of the ship, the bright sunlight turning the droplets into thousands of sparkling rainbows. Intent on altitude, Shade kept the ship climbing, hoping that by some miracle he had at least part of the ship still. Another crash sounded behind them and he felt a heavy strain on the ship again. With a flick of a finger he opened a separate view screen showing the area behind the ship. Trailing on a chain behind them swung a good portion of the Stormrider, followed closely by an enormous green scaled head.