“Although we should have, for all of the trouble he has been,” Valor growled.
Neph raised an eyebrow at the two of them and looked back to the cringing form by the wall. “Too much for you?” he asked his tone mocking.
“He hid under the fucking bed and then started screaming ‘Murderers’ at the top of his lungs when we drug him out,” Valor said with disgust glaring at Madren.
“Which wouldn’t have been a problem if it hadn’t drawn the attention of the Academy guards as well as the Justicars that were looking for me,” Finn added and then cocked his head looking at Jala. “What happened to you?” he asked with a frown.
Her eyes widened slightly and she raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” she asked innocently looking down at herself and then back to him. “You seem to be the one in rather tattered states.”
“Your hair is burnt short on the right side,” he began and looked around the room then back to her. “Were there riots here? Are you OK?” he asked.
“There were a few riots by the gates to the inner city but Neph and Jail took care of it,” she replied, hoping to evade the topic of the duel until later.
“Neph set her on fire before the Barrier went up,” Wisp offered, earning glares from Jala as well as Neph. The fae shifted slightly and shrugged her delicate shoulders. “He was going to find out anyway, Neph. Jala doesn’t lie to him,” she added quietly.
“You what?” Finn demanded rounding on the big mage.
“Her shields dropped during a duel. She is fine. What the hell took you so long to get here? She was worried sick,” Neph replied, his voice calm.
Valor looked between his furious friend and the mage and cleared his throat quietly. “We had to evade the guards and the Justicars and ended up getting caught in one of the riots near the market square. They killed Finn’s horse and drug me from mine before we managed to break free of it.” He rubbed his face, wiping some of the grime from his pale skin. Looking down at the filth on his hand with disgust, he sighed again. “We went through the closest gate we could to get away from that mess and ended up in the Avanti quarter,” he added shaking his head.
“Did you know Cassia is back in the city?” Finn asked, his tone cheerful but filled with bitter irony.
“Hadn’t heard that yet,” Jail said with a snort of amusement. “Did she offer you Sanctuary from the Justicars?” he asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Hmm. What was it she said, Val?” Finn asked raising an eyebrow at the knight.
“I believe it was Kill those fucking bastards now! in a screeching voice,” Valor replied.
“So, the Avanti guards swarmed us and in the midst of the fighting Madren took off on Jala’s horse,” Finn said, glaring at Madren who cringed closer to the wall. “We broke free of the guards again and had to chase him down.”
“While riding double on Vanguard with two different sets of guards hunting us as well as the bloody Justicars,” Valor added wearily.
“So you guys had a great time,” Jail said clearly amused.
“We hid out with Chastity for a while and then made our way here,” Valor finished and looked around the room. His gaze fell on an empty chair and he crossed to it and dropped down into the cushions with another sigh. “I had to leave Vanguard with Chastity for fear of being recognized on him,” he added, sounding miserable.
“I could really use a drink, Sovann,” Finn said and dropped cross-legged to the floor.
His brother nodded quietly and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll get one for you too, Valor,” he said, earning a grateful nod from the knight.
Jala moved from the window and sat down on the floor beside Finn, looking up into his face with concern. “Are you sure you are OK?” she asked as she wiped some of the soot from his cheek.
“Fine,” he assured her, leaning back on his arms. His gaze fell on her shortened hair again and he glared at Neph once more. “I can’t believe you set her on fire,” he grumbled.
“I’m OK, Finn. It was an accident,” she cut in before Neph could reply. “Thank you for getting Madren,” she said and gave him a light kiss on his freshly cleaned cheek.
“You are fixing whatever is broken in that bastard’s head, Jail,” Finn said looking over to the Mind mage.
“Only if he is willing,” Jail countered.
Finn’s head snapped around to Madren and his eyes narrowed. “You are willing or I will kill you,” he warned.
“It doesn’t work like that, Finn. He has to be truly willing, not simply terrified,” Jail said with a faint chuckle.
“He is willing Jail. I’m not dealing with his mental issues as well as everything else that’s going on,” Finn pressed his tone firm.
“I’m willing,” Madren choked out, his eyes locked on Finn. His fear was written clearly on his face.
“You don’t have to be scared, Madren, Finn won’t hurt you,” Jala said calmly, then elbowed Finn roughly as she noticed him nodding to Madren. “He won’t,” she assured him, turning to glare up at Finn.
“I will,” Valor muttered. “Cowardly little bastard,” he added shaking his head.
“Valor!” Jala snapped.
Valor looked away from Madren and toward her. “We lost a good horse because of him, Jala,” he said quietly with fury in his voice.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean to,” she replied.
“No, he didn’t mean to, Jala, it happened because he doesn’t have enough spine to stand up to his own shadow. He is a waste of air and space,” Valor shot back, his anger building.
“Val,” Finn said quietly, and the knight fell silent and leaned back in his chair.
“Not everyone is brave,” Jala said quietly and offered Madren a faint smile.
The kitchen door opened and Sovann returned with the drinks. He handed Valor a glass and then Finn before setting a tray of tea down on the table. With steady hands he poured a steaming cup and offered it to Jala.
“Thank you, Sovann,” she said taking the cup. The scent of mint and chamomile rose in the steam and she inhaled deeply. Both were herbs meant to relax and as tired as she was now it was possible Sovann would have her snoring on the floor before the cup was empty.
“I suggest we all get some rest and then have a bit of a meeting to discuss what we are going to do. Isador and Joseph are both sleeping now so they should be able to keep guard while the rest of us sleep,” Sovann said as he poured himself a cup.
“Do you actually have space for everyone to sleep here?” Neph asked skeptically and looked around the warehouse.
“The entire basement has been made into guest rooms. I had a feeling I might need more space before long,” Sovann said. He blew on his tea lightly and frowned. “Although, I must admit I never thought it would be for this reason.”
“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” Wisp said sadly. “I hope my Father’s quarter of the city is OK.” Her gaze traveled to the window as she spoke and she sighed.
“Has anyone seen Emily?” Jala asked, looking around the room.
Jail snorted in amusement and smiled. “Does anyone ever see Emily?” he asked.
She frowned at him and blew out her breath loudly. “You know what I mean, Jail,” she grumbled.
“I’m here, I followed the idiots until they made it safely here,” Emily’s voice came quietly from the doorway.
Jala let out a sigh of relief and smiled in the direction of the voice. “I wish I could have contacted you, I’ve been worried about you all day.”
“I will stay here while you sleep and help them keep guard. I promise I won’t go anywhere until you wake. We really need to talk,” Emily said, her tone dead serious.
Jala nodded slowly and glanced to Finn who shrugged. “We’ve told you everything that happened to us. I’m not sure what happened to her. I don’t even know when she started following us,” he said quietly.
“I’m not sure if I like how she always refers to Finn and me as the idiots,” Valor remarked to no one in particular.<
br />
“Get used to it. I doubt my opinion will change anytime soon,” Emily said, her voice coming from closer to the window.
“I doubt it as well. Mine still hasn’t and I’ve known them for years,” Neph said with a smile.
“And our opinion of you will likely always stay the same, as well Neph,” Valor replied dryly. Tilting his glass back he finished off the last of his drink and looked to Sovann. “The rooms downstairs have baths?” he asked, rising from his seat.
Sovann nodded in response. “I designed them along the lines of the Academy. Really it shouldn’t be too different for any of you.”
“You have my thanks, Sovann, and I bid the rest of you good day. I am in dire need of a bath and several hours of sleep,” Valor said as he headed for the stairs.
“Go ahead and go you two, I’ll keep an eye on things,” Sovann said, waving to Jala and Finn.
Finn stood slowly and stretched, offering a hand to help Jala up as well. “Not something I’ll argue with,” he said with fatigue heavy in his voice.
Jala nodded her agreement and followed Finn down to the basement. Doors lined each side of a narrow hall at the bottom of the stairs. The air smelled strongly of new pine and fresh paint. “I can’t believe how much work he has done here,” Jala said as Finn pushed open the first door he came to.
“It’s not just here. You should see what he has done with the rest of this district. You forget Sovann is very well funded. He has the gold to hire the workers,” Finn said. He examined the small room with a slight nod but didn’t seem too impressed.
Jala regarded the rough furniture with acceptance. It wasn’t much to look at but it was still finer than what she had grown up with. The bed especially looked perfect to her eyes. “I can’t wait to sleep,” she murmured and moved fully into the room.
“Go ahead go to bed, Vezradesh.I need a bath and then I’ll join you,” Finn said as he closed the door and began stripping out of his ruined clothing. Her eyes lingered on the silver scar that traced a path just below his ribs. It was the only scar on his body and a gentle reminder to her of how close she had come to losing him. “You stare at that every time I take my shirt off,” Finn observed, his gaze locked on her face.
“It’s one of the few reminders I have that you aren’t invincible Finn,” she said with a faint smile.
He snorted in tired amusement. “Should be the opposite there, Jala. I won that fight and lived through a wound that would have killed anyone else. I’m about as close to invincible as you can get,” he said with a wink and headed toward the smaller door marking the bathroom.
She watched him go, and with a faint smile, looked down at Marrow who was curling up on the rug. “I think I worry too much,” she said to the Bendazzi. With a yawn, she pulled her outer dress off over her head and kicked her shoes loose.
I think you have too much to worry about. I’m not sure about the worrying too much, Marrow replied and rested his head on his massive white paws. His yellow eyes watched her as she crawled into the bed.
Turning over on her side she smiled down at the Bendazzi. “You may have a point,” she conceded and allowed her eyes to droop closed.
* * *
“I have no idea how they managed to get the rings.” Jala stirred silently at the words. It was Finn speaking and his voice was hushed. She kept her eyes closed and listened, curious as to who he was talking to.
“Do you have a way out?” A deep voice asked and it took her a moment to place the speaker. It was Havoc, though he sounded distant.
“It’s possible that I could get us out if I talk to Graves,” Finn said, his tone sounding skeptical. “I don’t know that he wouldn’t sell us out though.”
“I don’t like the idea of asking Graves for anything. I don’t trust mercenaries,” Havoc replied.
“I know,” Finn said dryly. “I don’t know what else to do, though. We can’t stay here.”
“Do you think Jala will leave?” Havoc asked, his tone sounding doubtful.
“I don’t know that either. I think, considering all things, she might,” Finn replied.
“Considering all of what things?” Jala said sitting up slowly in bed. While she was curious to hear more from the two of them, she didn’t like the thought of eavesdropping on Finn. It felt wrong to her.
Finn sat cross-legged in the center of the floor with a metal brazier, similar to the one they had used for the wedding ceremony, balanced in front of him. This one however was smaller and looked to be made of a dark black metal. A tiny fire danced inside it and an even smaller image of Havoc stood in the flames. The Fionaveir had obviously been at rest from his appearance. His hair was disheveled and he wore nothing but loose fitting pants. Her eyes lingered briefly on the tattoos covering the left side of his body. The marks were distorted by the flames of the illusion, but the sight brought back memories of her father.
“I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m sorry,” Finn said, looking a bit chagrined. She wasn’t sure if the expression came from waking her or getting caught speaking about her.
“Hello, Jala.” Havoc’s image in the fire waved a small hand with the words.
She stared at the figure for a moment and then hesitantly waved back. “What manner of spell is this?” she asked, her curiosity of the magic making her forget her earlier question.
“Firym magic. The bowls make it much simpler but you can use the same communication through common flames,” Finn explained. He turned back to the small brazier and smiled at Havoc’s image. “I’ll think up something other than Graves, but for now I need to speak with Jala. I’ll contact you again when I’ve worked something out,” he said.
“Understandable. Keep in contact with me even if you don’t work something out. If nothing more than to let me know you are both well,” Havoc said and the small figure in the flames bowed slightly to both of them. “Good night to the both of you and be safe.” Jala watched as the small figure disappeared into the flames and then the fire itself died out as if Havoc’s presence alone had kept it burning.
“You didn’t have to end your talk with him. I’m sorry I interrupted. I just didn’t feel right overhearing the conversation without your knowing I was awake,” she said quietly.
“I don’t mind you overhearing what I say Jala. Anything that I might have wanted to keep secret I’ve already told you about,” he said with a smirk and moved to join her in the bed, leaving the fire brazier where it was. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this worn down,” he mumbled as he lay down and pulled her closer to him.
“Considering all what things Finn?” she asked again before he had a chance to drift off. He had told Havoc he wanted to speak with her, after all, and she wasn’t about to let him off so easy.
“Considering our enemies control the city and it’s not just us you are looking out for now,” he said quietly and let his hand slip down to rest lightly on her stomach.
She considered his words for a breath and then felt her eyes widen. She had suspected she might be with child but hadn’t breathed a word of it to anyone, not even Marrow. “How long have you known?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“Long enough to start serving you tea and grow even more protective about any harm coming to you,” he replied in a voice as soft as her own had been.
“I didn’t know for sure, I thought I might be …,” she trailed off and sighed. While the idea of a child was a pleasant one, now was simply a horrible time to contemplate having one. “I thought you had protections against it. I mean you’ve slept with every woman in the city, I think, and I don’t see little Sovaesh bastards running around,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. She could feel tears welling in the back of her eyes and fought them back. It was not the time to break down crying, no matter how worried she was.
“I had a ring. I stopped wearing it when we were married. You follow Fortune after all and I thought if it was meant to be, it would be. I didn’t quite expect things to take the turn they have though,” he repli
ed and she heard a bit of hesitation in his voice as he spoke.
“And?” she pressed, unsure what, exactly, he was avoiding saying.
“And when I found out you were, I was thrilled. I thought it might be the perfect way to convince you to let me get you out of this mess we are in,” he said quietly. “I love you, Jala, and I love the thought of having a child with you, but we are in a serious mess right now, all of us. We need to get out of this city and retreat to somewhere safe. It is not the time to try to stand alone. We simply aren’t strong enough. If we try to rebuild Merro right now they will tear us apart.” He paused again and rubbed his face, not looking at her as he spoke. “While it wasn’t the only reason I was happy about the prospect of being a father, I thought that maybe you might listen to reason if it meant protecting our child.”
“You think I’m being unreasonable by wanting to help these people?” she asked, trying to digest his words and sort through the roiling emotions they created. From the way he spoke, it sounded as if he wanted her pregnant to use the child as leverage. She felt a sick feeling in her stomach and pulled back away from him.
“Jala, please don’t,” Finn began as she climbed from the bed. “I don’t think I phrased that well. Please let me explain better,” he said, sitting up in the bed and watching her closely.
She shook her head slightly, not wanting to look at him. “No, I don’t want to fight with you Finn and I need to think. I think I understood you perfectly and …,” she trailed off and shook her head. Hastily, she pulled her dress back on over her head and left the room, ignoring his quiet protest behind her. She heard Marrow rise and follow but didn’t spare a glance back to the Bendazzi.
The hall was silent as she closed the door behind her. Apparently everyone else was resting. She made her way quietly up the stairs, brushing at the tears that were threatening to fall. With luck she wouldn’t run into any of her friends. Right now she simply wanted to be alone to think. The idea of explaining what was wrong to anyone, brought a lump to her throat. Pausing part way up the stairs, she summoned a spell to her mind. Magical transport was a dangerous proposition, but at the moment it sounded better than talking to anyone. She began the spell hastily before she changed her mind.
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams Page 32
