“Simple. I’ll tell him it’s a duel for the lady’s affections. He will accept before he realizes what he has done,” Finn replied easily.
“This can be dealt with at a later time. Do you know where you wish to go in Merro, Jala?” Sovann asked.
“Exactly where I wish to go,” she said, the image of a long dead Jimpa tree and a small brook already filling her mind. Home, she told herself, I want to go home.
“Then I will simply reinforce the spell and you will do the casting. Safer that way. Let me gather a few things and we will go.” He rose as he spoke and made his way from the room.
She watched him go, and when she looked back, Finn was watching her. “Why would you kill Madren for me? You barely know me,” she spoke finally, breaking the silence between them.
“Do you remember the first time I brought you here?” Finn asked. She gave a slight nod unsure what this had to do with her question. “Sovann said my Fate line touched yours,” he said.
“And you said that wasn’t possible,” she reminded him.
“And even I am wrong from time to time,” he countered. Their eyes met at his words, and Jala felt his sincerity. She didn’t see it, she felt it. She held his gaze and remained silent, confused at the emotion that obviously wasn’t hers and unsure of what to say.
“Not words I would ever expect to hear from you,” Sovann said as he entered the room and his voice seemed to shatter whatever had passed between them.
Finn stood slowly, set his cup back down on the table, and looked to her. “Shall we? It will be dawn soon and we both have classes on the morrow,” he said.
She stood and looked to Sovann unsure. “I’ve never actually used a transport spell before. I took you for your word when you explained the dangers of someone interrupting my spell,” she cautioned.
Sovann gave a shrug. “Cast it anyway, if I feel you faltering, which I don’t expect to, I’ll bolster the spell,” he said with no concern whatsoever.
She gave a slight nod and offered a hand to each of the brothers and closed her eyes. She cleared her mind of everything and focused simply on the spell and her home. She felt the air shift around her changing from the warm parlor to an almost icy cold. Small drops of rain pelted her, and goose bumps began to rise on her arms. She opened her eyes and looked upon the wasteland of her nightmares. She hadn’t been back here since the Fionaveir had rescued her.
She felt Sovann gently remove his hand from her grip and she loosened her hold on Finn as well, without looking at either of them. Her eyes were locked on the landscape. It was still night here, and she wondered if the sun ever came out in Merro now. Thick and brooding storm clouds filled the sky. Faint flickers of lightening echoed through them. The ashes had long ago blown away, and all that remained was charred, dead ground. Swallowing, she forced herself to look at it all, to realize no ghosts remained here.
A bit of white on the black ground drew her attention, and she let out a strangled sob as she realized what she looked on. A small pile of bones lay strewn near a dip in the ground where a brook had once flowed. Memories flashed through her, of a small white fluffy pup with a black mark on his head and back. “He looks like he is wearing a cap, Daddy,” she heard her child-self saying. She remembered late nights when the nightmares had come, and he had curled up tight against her and licked her face when she cried. The last memory was the most bitter. Cap sitting below the tree warning her, his loyalty and love for her so strong he wouldn’t run without her. She blinked back tears and realized she was kneeling by the bones. She didn’t remember moving. She could hear Finn or Sovann speaking to her, but her mind was racing too fast to focus on their words.
Her gaze went to the hill and dread filled her. Wordlessly she scrambled to her feet and ran north, terrified of what she would find. She knew Finn and Sovann followed her but didn’t pause to explain, for she couldn’t explain. She searched the landscape frantically until her eyes locked on bones once again. Buck had been a large horse in life, and in death he seemed no smaller. She slowed her pace as she approached and swallowed heavily. She had thought them destroyed, turned to ash like the rest of Merro. Her eyes scanned the ground for what she most dreaded, but there were no bones of her father here. She dropped heavily to her knees beside what remained of Buck and picked up a tarnished buckle that had once been a part of a saddle, now long rotted. She lowered her head and let the tears fall as they would. There was no point in holding them back. She already had a lot of explaining to do to the Sovaesh brothers.
She felt Finn kneel beside her and strong arms pulled her closer. She buried her face in the green silk shirt and cried. He remained silent, simply holding her while she cried.
“We are not alone here,” she heard Sovann say in a voice barely above a whisper. She pulled back from Finn and wiped her eyes before looking around. Finn already scanned the darkened fields. One arm remained around her protectively, while the other rested easily on his sword.
“What do you sense?” Finn asked in a hushed voice.
Sovann shook his head. “I’m not sure, Finn, it’s strange. I don’t think it’s human,” he answered, his voice cautious.
Jala gave a shiver as she thought of the reason she had come in the first place - ghosts.
“Finally you come,” a deep voice said, and she realized with alarm she heard it in her mind and not out loud.
She must have jumped because Finn’s arm tightened around her and he looked at her with concern. “What?” he asked. She shook her head and remained silent, not wanting to say she was hearing voices.
“I don’t understand why bones cause you so much pain,” the voice spoke again. She shuddered and tried to determine how to answer. If she spoke out loud, they would both think her mad, and if she answered in her mind she wasn’t sure the voice could hear her. “I can hear you,” the voice assured her.
“What are you?” She asked it mentally.
“Sense me as I sense you,” it replied. “I have waited long for you, and there is no food here. Nothing but bones.”
She tried to focus on it as it spoke in her mind and to her surprise she did sense something. She wasn’t sure what. She knew that it was nearby, though her eyes showed her nothing. She stood slowly on shaking legs and began to move toward whatever it was she sensed. Finn stood as well, but she motioned for him to wait and he remained behind.
“Why do the bones cause you pain?” the voice asked again.
“Because they are the remains of those I loved,” she answered still moving toward the presence. She saw shadows coalescing into a solid form before her and had to steel herself to move forward. A shape slowly rose from the ground. It was huge, as big as a small pony. Cat-like in basic build, but with a longer muzzle; more like that of a wolf. A thick ruff of long black fur ringed its neck and traced a path down its spine with shorter grey fur covered its body. The creature fixed its yellow gaze upon her and seemed to be regarding her with the same curiosity. A long thin tail ending in a thick tuft of black fur, waved lazily behind the creature. She couldn’t believe such a large creature had been lying so close to where they had been, and not even Finn had seen it.
“It is in my nature not to be seen when I do not wish to be,” the creature spoke again in her mind. The mental speech no longer seemed so strange to her.
“Jala, that is a Bendazzi, step away from it,” Sovann called in a near-panicked voice behind her. She heard the sharp rasp of swords being drawn.
“No wait!” she called back, knowing any moment Finn would be rushing in to kill the beast. She had read about Bendazzis in the Beastiary at the school. Bendazzis were considered to be the top predator in all of the lands. They had magic resistance that made them nearly impossible to kill with a spell, and stealth that made hunting them a dangerous proposition. It was said they could shift their color to suit their environment.
“Why did you want me to come here?” Jala asked it in a whisper.
“You called to me first. I sought your home in you
r dream, and this is what you showed me so I came,” the creature explained.
“I didn’t call you,” she objected, her voice still hushed.
“You did, and I answered,” the Bendazzi insisted.
She remembered Sovann’s words then, and she stared at the creature in shock. “You are my Familiar?” She asked in disbelief. Familiars were supposed to be a reflection of your inner self from what Sovann had told her. What did it say about her that her Familiar was a creature with a reputation as dark as his coat.
The Bendazzi sat, his long slender ears came forward, and he cocked his head to one side. “Look into my mind and judge me on what you see, not what they say,” he urged.
She focused and tried to do as he suggested. Memories waited for her there on the surface. She saw fierce protectiveness over what he considered his territory, cunning, and intelligence beyond what she had ever thought an animal could possess. He guided her through his journey to Merro, and she witnessed tenacity and determination beyond what she had ever seen in any animal. He had swum the Black Sea to reach this place, a feat she could barely fathom. Lastly, she saw the loyalty that held him here for so long, despite the lack of game and shelter. He had waited weeks for her. She could see the gauntness of his body now, and the ribs that showed through his fur.
“How are you my mirror?” she asked in wonder. She could sense his puzzlement at her words. “I was told a Familiar is the echo of your soul, a mirror for what you are inside, and you are so much more than I am. You can’t be my mirror,” she explained, her voice still hushed.
“Jala, you really should consider stepping away from the large man-eating beast,” Finn called from behind her. She had thought much longer had passed, but it must have just been moments.
“I’m ok,” she called back to them as she dropped carefully down onto a knee in front of the Bendazzi and looked at him with wonder. So much for a bird or kitten for a Familiar.
“I was not puzzled by the term Familiar. I know much of the human ways. I was puzzled that you could not see yourself in me. I looked into your mind as well, Jala. I saw a little girl look terror in the face and ignore it. I saw a little girl that survived the death of a country. I see a woman who has forgotten this before me right now, but perhaps you only needed a reminder of that child to feel her strength again,” he spoke gently and with affection. Soundlessly, the creature rose and paced slowly to stand inches from her. She watched him as he approached, watching the powerful muscles shifting just below the skin, still amazed at the beauty of the beast. He sat back down in front of her and looked her square in the eyes, with more intelligence and wisdom than she had seen in most human’s eyes.
“What is your name?” she asked, as she reached out a hand to touch him. The fur was as soft as velvet, but the body beneath seemed more stone than flesh. She wondered idly what Shade would think when she showed up with a Bendazzi the color of pitch. What shade of grey would he see her as then?
“Bendazzi do not have names, we know each other by scent,” he replied. “My color still disturbs you, though, yet I don’t understand why. It’s camouflage. Nothing more.” He gave a slight shake and his fur rippled. The color seemed to leach out of it as each hair rose, and when he was still again, the long ruff around his neck was the color of fresh snow while the shorter hair on his sides and belly turned a silvery grey, like my coat, she realized with a start.
The Bendazzi let out a snort that almost sounded like rough laughter. “Exactly, my coat to match yours,” he agreed.
“You need a name,” she said and her mind began to sort through the possibilities.
“If I must have a name I will name myself. I’ve seen in your mind, and I will not be saddled with a name like Cap, as you did that dog.” The Bendazzi cut her off before she had thought of more than a few names.
“He had a black cap, and I was six when I named him,” she muttered lamely in her own defense.
“And I’m now white. What would you call me, Snowball? I think not. I will be Marrow. If you must call me something, call me that,” his voice sounded somewhat indignant.
“Marrow,” she whispered, trying the name. “Marrow. For the bones that mean so much to you, and for the dead land you call home,” he explained. “Speaking of which, if that man doesn’t put away those blades we will be leaving more bones here,” he added, looking past her toward where Finn and Sovann waited.
She looked back over her shoulder and stood slowly. Both brothers wore expressions of disbelief. “My Familiar,” she explained as she walked back toward them with Marrow pacing easily at her side.
Finn grinned widely and gave a light chuckle. “Well now, things will get interesting fast,” he said and flipped both swords around and slipped them easily back into their scabbards.
“Your what?” Sovann’s voice was nearly a gasp.
“Familiar, his name is Marrow,” she repeated. She felt herself shiver a bit and realized she was soaked through. She hadn’t even thought of the rain between the bones and then Marrow. Now, however, she felt the cold keenly.
“She is soaked and half frozen, Sovann, get us back home,” Finn ordered. He moved toward her, not the least bit wary of Marrow now, and took a place on the opposite side of her.
“Wait! The bones. I need to bury them.” she objected through chattering teeth.
“Done already, I did it when you first started to wander off. They obviously meant too much to you to leave rotting,” Sovann said calmly. He approached with more caution than Finn and his eyes never left Marrow.
The Bendazzi, for his part, seemed quite bored by the two of them and simply sat there on his haunches looking out over the wastes. “I will not miss this place at all,” he told her as Sovann began to cast his spell.
A shiver washed over her again and she closed her eyes remembering the beauty of Merro before its destruction. Images of vast green fields of knee high grass and the bubbling brook passed from her to Marrow. She fed him images of the Jimpa tree and the wild forests that lined the border between Merro and the Greenwild. Her mind filled with more memories as she waited for the spell to take her back to Sanctuary.
She felt Sovann’s magic wash over her and sighed in relief at the sudden warmth of his parlor. Marrow let out a contented noise that sounded half growl half purr. She opened her eyes in time to see Sovann take a hasty step back from them and survey the Bendazzi from a distance.
Finn let go of her hand and gave a sigh. “A hot bath for you now and some dry clothes. Then we talk,” he said in a voice that would book no arguments. “Sovann do you have something she can put on?” He asked. Sovann gave a slight nod and headed from the room, obviously glad to have a reason to be away from the Bendazzi. Finn turned his attention to Marrow and he smiled enigmatically. “He looks a bit thin, I’ll see if Sovann has some sort of food for him,” he said after a moment, and walked off through the door whistling lightly.
“I like him. He is bringing food,” Marrow said, with eager anticipation in his tone. She could sense his hunger now and was amazed he hadn’t actually tried to eat one of her friends.
Finn returned first with a large haunch of meat balanced on one shoulder. He dropped it lightly on the wooden floor near the Bendazzi and stepped back a respectful distance. He didn’t show any signs of fear, but he wasn’t stupid enough to get between a three hundred pound predator that was near starvation and a haunch of meat. Sovann entered a few moments later and motioned for her to follow him. “I’ve prepared a bath and laid out some clothes for you. We will wait in the parlor,” he explained as he led her to a door. He motioned her toward it and turned to leave but paused and looked at her. “I don’t know what exactly happened tonight, but I’m glad you took us with you, Jala. Whatever pain that place holds for you, well, that is not something that should be faced alone.” He squeezed her arm gently and left her there. She watched him disappear down the hall then pushed into the room.
Finn was sprawled on the couch with an arm over his eyes when she r
eturned to the parlor. He was dressed in simple pants now, and, by all appearances, was asleep. Marrow lay sprawled nearby on his side, a bare bone the only sign of the meat he’d been chewing on when she left for her bath. She gave a faint smile, as she could well understand their slumber. She’d had a long nap earlier and could barely keep her eyes open.
Sovann sat in the corner of the room in an oversized leather chair. Of the three of them only he remained awake. He looked up at her from the book in his lap and gave her a smile. “I hope the clothes will suffice for now. I’m sorry I didn’t have something more appropriate,” he said quietly.
She looked down at the long nightshirt she wore; it was oversized and fell well past her knees and was made of fine dark linen. With a smile, she nodded to him. “It will serve until my own clothes are dry, thank you,” she replied.
Finn took in a long breath and sat up stretching. He let out the breath slowly and turned to look at her. “Better?” he asked, his voice thick and quiet.
She gave a nod in reply and he motioned her to the couch. She moved carefully around Marrow and took a seat on the far end of the couch, folding her legs back under her. Finn leaned forward to the table and poured her a cup of tea. “Okay, now explain,” he said as he handed it to her.
“Finn, don’t push her,” Sovann objected. “She will speak if she wants to. This is a tender subject. Don’t be an ass, though I know that is difficult for you.”
“Sovann, shut it,” Finn said, his eyes never leaving Jala. “Explain,” he said again, his tone was gentle, yet firm, but she knew this was not a topic he would drop.
She took a sip of her tea and gave a sigh. She knew he wasn’t speaking of Marrow. “How about I show you instead? It will be faster and easier for me,” she offered.
He seemed to consider it for a moment and then gave a nod. “As long as you agree to answer questions if I have any,” he said.
“Finn, this is not our business,” Sovann objected once more.
The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey Page 23
