“Finn, wait,” she said, trying to grab hold of his arm before he could go. She knew him too well. His idea of getting Valor out of there would include a lot of bloodshed, and chances were good that he would end up in custody as well.
“There isn’t time, Jala,” he said, already striding toward the stable. “Jail, keep her safe until I can get back,” he called over his shoulder and Jala watched him go with a dry expression.
“I love how he listens,” Jala sighed. She glanced down at the Bendazzi beside her and motioned toward the stables. “Marrow, go delay Finn getting his horse saddled for a minute or two,” she said sweetly and watched him stalk off toward the stables. Most horses found the Bendazzi unsettling but this newest mount of Finn’s particularly hated the cat.
Turning back to Jail she sighed again and smiled faintly. “I have no intention of allowing this to happen, but I will not allow my husband to attempt a one-man rescue mission either. They will hold judgment today. How long until they punish the condemned?” she asked. While her companions were doing their best to continue her education after learning that they couldn’t return to the Academy because of the Blights, there were still some things she wasn’t clear on.
Jail watched Marrow for a moment and looked back to her, his expression clouded with worry. “I’m afraid they will enact their punishment today. Normally there is a delay of several days when the guilty is a member of a high house. It usually requires the vote of a council. This isn’t normal, however, and Valor isn’t of a house that is favored by High Commander Kellis.”
“Then we don’t have much time. Fetch Wisp and Neph. Tell Sovann to keep things in line here. I’ll get my horse and we will all go together,” Jala said and turned on her heels to head for the stable.
“Jala, they won’t listen to you as a High Lady. What are you planning to do?” Jail called behind her.
“Repay Valor. He saved my life and now we will save his,” she replied. Her mind was working frantically to form a plan. There would be five of them. That wasn’t good odds against the assembled might of the Justicars. Then, of course, there would be Cassia and Devron. She sincerely doubted either of them would miss the chance to watch a rival executed.
Loud cursing echoed out from the stable as she approached. Stepping inside she found Finn holding the tether to his mare as she reared back from Marrow her eyes rolling. By the way the floor was churned she had been throwing a bloody fit from the moment Marrow entered.
“Marrow, if you don’t get the hell out of here I’m going to skin you!” Finn roared and his grey mare backed away from him quickly, her muscles tensed to bolt. He hastily began to croon softly to her and held a hand out to steady her. The mare stood quivering the indecision clear in her large brown eyes.
As you wished she is not saddled. I’m going to wait outside now before that vein in his forehead bursts. He really does have an impressive temper, Marrow said, rising from where he had been sitting and letting out a feline yawn as he sauntered toward the door lazily.
“Did you send him in here?” Finn demanded, his voice low but filled with irritation. She could feel his emotions coursing through their link and felt a moment’s guilt. Finn’s concern for Valor was almost overwhelming and made his anger seem pale in comparison.
“I did, so you would wait for me,” she replied as she led her black gelding from his stall. As always the horse was steady and unconcerned with all of the commotion. She wrapped the tether around a post and went to fetch her saddle, only to find Finn blocking her way, his frantic mount dancing at the end of her lead once more. He held the rope firmly with one hand but his attention was fully on Jala. Jala raised an eyebrow at him and started to step around him. He moved, blocking her way again, his expression stormy.
“You aren’t going,” he said firmly. “They are begging for a reason to arrest you and I won’t have you anywhere near them. I will handle this.”
“We will handle this and I am going. We don’t have time for this argument, Finn. Valor’s time is dwindling with every word we speak. So, unless you intend to knock me out as he did you, I suggest you move,” Jala shot back, her voice every bit as firm as his had been. Her violet eyes locked with his green ones and for a moment they simply stared at one another, willing the other to back down.
“They won’t listen to you,” Finn said finally, his voice calmer and she hastily cut him off with a raised hand. He blinked at her in shock but she ignored his stunned expression. Stepping around him, she calmly picked up her saddle and carried it back to the gelding.
“I don’t intend to ask them, Finn. I’m working the details out now but as far as I see it there are only two ways into my district - through the portal stones and through the main gate. I am provisioned for a siege if they push me,” she said calmly as she placed the saddle on the black and began to cinch it. “You are wasting time we don’t have, Finn. Now saddle that half-trained bitch and let’s go.”
Finn blinked again at her tone and words and nodded faintly. “You would risk a siege for Valor?” he asked quietly as he picked his own saddle up from the dirt.
“Or you, or Wisp, or any of my friends,” she said. “I will not simply sit by and allow something like this to happen. I cannot fathom what Chastity did to get arrested, but I cannot imagine it is any worse than what Cassia Avanti does on a daily basis.”
“I really hadn’t considered that option. Do you think we can hold them out?” Finn asked, sounding intrigued.
“That is why I’m leaving Sovann behind. If it comes to that, I’ll have him disable the portal stones and begin the wards on the walls to keep the bastards from climbing. They can drain our magic if we use it directly against them. I don’t think they can drain wards,” she explained and leaned back waiting for him to finish with his mare.
“I had planned to simply cut him free and escape,” he said as he pulled the girth tight. His mare snorted and danced away but he seemed oblivious to her antics. “That had a lot of risk to it, though,” he added thoughtfully and picked up his bridle.
“You think?” she asked dryly and shook her head at him. “I plan to see Chastity safe as well. Your plan didn’t factor her in did it?”
“Well, if I could get to her, it did. Valor was my main priority though,” he said, a bit chagrined.
The others are approaching, Marrow informed her politely and she mounted motioning for Finn to do the same.
“Jail and the rest are here, let’s go,” she said, already turning her gelding toward the stable door.
“Command sets well on you, Jala,” Finn commented with a smirk and mounted the skittish mare who seemed to walk more on her hind legs than all four as she exited the building.
Her companions watched her expectantly as she approached and she marveled at how swiftly they had prepared. Wisp and Neph were fully armored and the small Fae had her bow strung across her back. A full quiver of her deadly black fletched arrows was tied to the saddle and she looked ready for war. Jala raised an eyebrow at the swords that Neph wore but the mage simply raised an eyebrow at her in response, offering no explanation. She had never seen him carry blades before, but the sight was reassuring. With magic being limited it was nice to know that the mage had back-up defenses. “What’s the plan?” Wisp asked, once Finn had joined them.
“If Kellis won’t listen to reason, than we retrieve Valor and Chastity in whatever way we can. I doubt they have Devony there but if you see the child she is to be rescued as well. We can’t use magic directly against them but we can use it on the surroundings for advantage. If possible, Neph, I would like to divide our enemies if it comes to a fight,” she said, her voice calm despite the churning in her stomach. There was so much that could go wrong today and the thought of losing one of her friends in the fight made her sick. There was no other option that she could see, though, aside from letting Chastity and Valor die, and that simply wasn’t an option in her eyes.
Neph nodded his agreement and cocked his head to one side watching her
. “And then what? Once we have stirred the hornet’s nest what do we do?”
“We retreat back here and you and I seal the main gates. If it comes to that, Sovann will disable the portal. He is working with Emily today so she can guard him while he does so. If anyone manages to get through the portal before he can seal it, she will make short work of them,” she explained and turned her gelding for the gates.
“So we put ourselves under siege then,” Neph pressed as he nudged his horse up beside hers.
“Do you have a better plan?” she asked, hoping he would. She didn’t like the thought of sealing them into a corner of the city with enemies on all sides.
He shook his head slowly and turned his gaze toward the inner city. “If we do this, we will have to plan on finding a way out of Sanctuary very soon. We can hold siege for a while but our enemies are no fools. They will find a way in sooner or later.”
“But where do we go once we are out?” Wisp asked from behind them. Neph looked to her with a raised eyebrow but it was Finn that answered.
“I’ve put thought into it. Once we are done with today, Wisp and Valor can leave the city. I can get the two of them out without much difficulty. They can work quietly on restoring a bit of the land in Merro. Once they have had a week or so at that, we work on getting out everyone that wants to leave.”
“It might be best to send you, as well Finn. They already have warrants for your arrest and after today they will want you more than ever,” Jala said, quietly not liking the thought of being parted from him at all but realizing it was for the best.
Finn snorted in amusement. “If you think I’m going to leave you here without me you are mad, woman. Besides you will need me here for the contacts I have in the city.”
Jail nodded his agreement. “None of us have the connections Finn does with the Underworld of Sanctuary, and escaping here will require the help of the smugglers, I’m afraid.”
“Do we even know what they were arrested for? Chastity is from Arovan. I can’t imagine her breaking laws,” Wisp said as they passed into the inner city. Even from the gates of the Merrodin district they could see the crowds surrounding the Hall of Justice.
“It’s going to be tough getting horses through there,” Neph muttered as he surveyed the milling people.
“Valor was arrested for killing Justicars. Why he was fighting them to begin with, is anyone’s guess. I’m not sure as to the charges against Chastity, however,” Jail said.
“We will find out soon enough,” Finn said as he pushed his mare up past all of them and headed for the crowds at a light canter. The mare was shaking her head in protest at the crowds and began to dance sideways as they neared the people.
“Well that will clear the way unless they wish to be trampled,” Neph said dryly. “I believe I miss his old horse more than he does. May the bastard who killed it burn in the Darklands.”
“It’s Valor’s doing. He is the one that found this one for Finn,” Jala said, urging her gelding into a trot toward the path Finn was creating. She glanced down at Marrow and motioned toward the crowd. “Give us more room please.” The Bendazzi paused in his steps and let out a loud roar that had people falling back in such haste she worried some would be trampled. Without hesitation, Neph and Wisp fell into place on either side of her and Jail took the spot behind. Marrow coursed ahead of them snarling and growling whenever the onlookers were too slow in moving.
Jala surveyed their surroundings cautiously and noted that on this side of the square the majority in the crowd seemed to be commoners. Closer to the dais in front of the Hall however, stood ranks of armed guards in Avanti and Rivana house colors. “Bloody hell,” she muttered. It had been too much to hope that it would just be Justicars they had to contend with.
“Clear the way for High Lady Merrodin,” Finn called loudly as they neared the thickest of the crowds. “Clear the way now!” he bellowed again when the people continued to mill in confusion. His horse began to dance in place obviously unhappy to have so many people near her, and between that and an added roar from Marrow the crowds backed away quickly.
Jala pressed her gelding into the vacated space and nodded her thanks to Finn. She could see Chastity now between two Justicars. The woman’s pale blue dress was ripped and stained, but her expression was defiant. It took her longer to locate Valor, but found him eventually toward the back. He was being held up by two Justicars and from the looks of him she doubted he could stand on his own. His head hung limply and blood soaked his outer tunic.
“I hope some of that is the blood of those he killed. If not, he could already be dead,” Neph muttered beside her. She nodded her agreement and searched the dais for any others she recognized. Cassia stood looking resplendent in a red and white dress near High Commander Kellis and just behind her was Devron Rivana dressed in his customary garish style. Both were maintaining a bored expression but she could see the gleam in their eyes. They were enjoying this immensely. There was no sign of ally houses however and she felt her heart sink. She had hoped to spot someone that might help them in this endeavor.
Valor are you awake? she asked cautiously through a mental link. The knot in her stomach relaxed a bit at the fact that she was able to establish the link at all. If the knight had been dead the magic would have failed.
Jala, go back home. It isn’t safe for you here. Valor’s response was weak but he did respond. That was also a very good sign.
Don’t move. I’m going to try something before we start this. Show no reaction if you can manage it, she said hesitantly. She wasn’t sure if it would work or not but it was worth a try. Holding the link between them she pulled on the healing magic and sent it toward Valor. Warmth spread down her limbs as the magic pulled from her reserves and she felt light headed for a passing moment. She smiled at the drain however. That meant it was working.
What are you doing? Valor asked in amazement and his voice held a bit more strength.
Getting you ready to kill more Justicars. Stay as you were for now though. Let them continue to believe you are too weak to stand. If they won’t allow me to resolve this peacefully, we are going to get you out of there in whatever fashion we must, she explained. She wasn’t sure what the Justicars were waiting for but she was grateful for the delay. Cutting the link between herself and Valor she pushed her horse forward again, closer to the dais.
“Careful, don’t get yourself blocked in,” Finn muttered as she moved past him.
“That horse of yours will keep an escape route clear I’m sure,” she said with a faint smile. Stopping just below the dais she looked up to Lady Chastity and made certain the woman wasn’t injured. She gave her a reassuring smile and then turned her gaze to Kellis. All trace of good will draining from her features. “What is the meaning of this. By what charges do you hold these two?” she demanded in a voice that carried well over the crowds.
“Looks like they are going to hang three today. This one is serving herself up,” One of the guardsmen to her left joked to a man near him, but she ignored the remark.
“Do not think to interfere with the justice of the city, girl,” Kellis called back to her, his tone filled with contempt. He stood a bit straighter as he spoke, pushing his shoulders back as if to draw attention to his fine armor and seal of office that hung around his neck.
“If you claim this is justice, than name the charges,” she returned, showing no reaction at all to his display.
“Lady Chastity Blackwolf stands accused of smuggling and attempting to breach the Barrier of Sanctuary. She has threatened the very safety of the city with her actions. Lord Valor Hai’dia stands accused of murder and the assault of honored Justicars,” Kellis replied, his voice drowning out the murmurs of the crowd around her.
“My husband must have those supplies you ass. He is in the middle of a war! Valor is not guilty of murder either. He defended his people when your apes in armor attacked us!” Chastity screamed back, her barely contained fury showing clearly. One of the guards elbowe
d her roughly and she turned to glare at him with a look of pure hatred.
“Is this true? Is it considered murder now to defend?” Jala asked, drawing more murmurs from the crowd. The Justicars were not well loved by the commons and she was counting on their outrage as help. “Does this mean that we must comply with your every whim or have our necks stretched by what you term as justice?” she asked in a louder voice, speaking more to the crowd than Kellis.
“Had he not resisted the Justicars in their attempt to protect the city, he would not be in the position he is now!” Kellis yelled back, his eyes flicking to the milling crowds. He had to be getting nervous now, Jala knew. With all of the riots that had been in the city in the past month, allowing this many people in one area was growing very dangerous.
“Valor is in my service and if you wish to see him punished for what you view as a crime, then I demand a trial for him. I will not allow you to punish him without proof and witnesses to his crimes,” Jala replied and was encouraged by the yells of support behind her.
“You will not allow? I rule this city while the Barrier is up. I need no permission from you, girl,” Kellis roared back and Jala smiled in response. His gaze flicked to the crowd and he seemed to realize his misstep immediately. Sanctuary was not a city that was accustomed to being ruled by one man. All of these people had their own loyalties, and they were not to Kellis. To hear him proclaim himself higher than their chosen Lords and Ladies was a match to the tinder box. Angry yells began to echo behind her and her smile widened.
“I highly suggest you release your prisoners before this gets ugly,” Jala warned in a voice pitched just loud enough for Kellis to hear.
“After the riots at the Spring Games, one would think he would figure out that he shouldn’t hold public executions,” Neph muttered just behind her.
“Thank god he isn’t that smart,” Wisp said in the same low voice.
“If he doesn’t show signs of releasing them in the next few minutes, be ready to act. We need the crowd on our side if we are going to escape with our lives,” Jala said, turning her head so those on the dais couldn’t read her lips. Her eyes sought out Finn to make sure he had heard and he nodded slightly with a smile. From the look on his face she guessed her husband was hoping the prisoners wouldn’t be released.
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams Page 37
