The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey

by Melissa Myers

  Jail gave a slight nod and shifted his shoulders, sending the muscles rippling down his back visible even through the linen of his shirt. “Neph, I told her you would be nice. If I have to tear out your tongue to make that possible, I will. Sit down, shut up, and listen. Once you have listened, you will understand why we’re here.” Jail’s voice was calm, but judging by the clenched muscles in his arm Jala had no doubt he would carry through with his threat. After all, she had shown herself a competent healer. If she could heal Finn’s numerous wounds, surely she could reattach a tongue.

  The mage shifted his stance, his shoulders loosening, and he regarded them both again with a look of annoyance. “Fine, spit it out and then leave,” he snapped and dropped back into his chair.

  “Why, exactly, are you friends with him again?” Jala asked, unable to remain silent any longer.

  “Shut it, tart, Jail is speaking, not you, and then you are both going to get the hell out,” Neph snapped again, his voice cracking like a whip.

  “Neph,” Jail said, making his name a warning. Neph glowered and remained silent motioning for Jail to speak. “I already talked to Sovann about this. He was unsure, so I’m going to ask you. I’ve gotten the entire story directly from Wisp’s and Finn’s minds, so I know this to be fact. The details are the same, so there is no denying this. Understand?” Jail began and waited for Neph to nod agreement. “She healed Finn. Wisp showed me the condition Finn was in. He should be dead, Neph. Even with a Life mage there, it would have been a close thing. Yet, he is lying in bed without so much as a scar and his eye is whole again. Wisp said the right eye had been burned away completely, but it’s there now and whole.” He paused, waiting for Neph’s acknowledgment.

  “So she is a healer of rare skill. I’m not a healer, what does this have to do with me?” Neph asked, breaking into the silence.

  Jail settled himself against the desk and shook his head. “Not done explaining. Midway through the healing, Wisp said Jala began to bleed from eyes and nose. Wisp says the blood was gold, not red.”

  “Gold?” Neph cut in showing interest for the first time. He leaned forward in his chair and seemed to regard Jala in a new light.

  “Gold?” Jala repeated. She had never noticed her blood being gold before. This was news to her.

  “Still not finished,” Jail sighed with exasperation and continued once again. “Wisp then says that not long after the bleeding started, Jala’s eyes opened and they didn’t look quite right. She says it was as if they were glowing. I saw it in her mind, and it did seem to me that her eyes were giving off light. Wisp says Jala looked around as if in a daze and then began to draw magic from the Barllen on Finn’s swords.”

  “Impossible,” Neph blurted, falling back into his seat and shaking his head. “Bloody fiction there, Jail, you can’t draw from Barllen it’s like a sponge to anything magical. That is the whole purpose of it after all.”

  “I did draw from the Barllen. I knew it held magic, and I needed magic,” Jala cut in, drawing the stares of both men to her. “Well, it worked,” she pointed out defensively when they continued to stare.

  “Do you have any idea how hard it is to rebuild an eye?” Neph asked her, his attention full on her and nothing else.

  She shook her head and started to speak, but he cut her off before she could even begin.

  “Do you know what gold blood means?” he asked, his eyebrow raised now and once again not giving her a chance to answer. “Do you know why it is impossible to draw magic from Barllen?” he asked.

  “Do you know what manners are?” she snapped back at him, tired of being bombarded with questions and not being allowed to speak.

  Jail gave a chuckle and shook his head. “No, his parents taught him everything but that. Fighting and insults are valued more highly than manners in Delvay.”

  “Well, if you would care to answer any of those questions I would greatly appreciate it, Neph. I admit I have no idea on any of them. I only did what I thought I must at the time,” she replied, keeping her voice polite and emphasizing her courtesy.

  Neph eyed her for a moment, as if trying to decide if she was serious or mocking him. “An eye is one of the most difficult things on a body to rebuild. Most healers won’t even attempt it. There are so many difficulties on the repair that it seldom works well when they do. If Finn was seeing things poorly, though, I’m sure Jail would have mentioned it by now. Given that he is a duelist, you most likely saved his career as well as his life.” His voice was calm and almost polite. He paused and rose from his chair moving to a table and pouring wine into three glasses. He offered one to Jail and then brought one to Jala, as well. She took it, a bit taken aback by his courtesy, and waited for him to continue. Neph took a long drink from his own glass and eyed her silently.

  “Was the gold blood a side effect of the magic I was drawing?” she asked at last, unable to take the silence.

  He shook his head and inhaled deeply. Setting his wine down, he pulled a knife from his belt and handed it to her. “I want to see the gold before I continue. A little cut should do, just enough to break the skin.”

  Her eyes widened and she looked down at the knife and then to him. “You seriously expect me to cut myself to humor you?” she asked in disbelief.

  Jail shifted his position and looked at Neph. “I tend to agree with Jala here, Neph, why is this necessary?”

  Neph chewed on his lower lip and narrowed his eyes. He seemed to be trying to decide on something. “Jail, look at her Familiar.” Neph motioned toward Marrow and waited until Jail did, as well.

  “A Bendazzi. I agree that is unusual,” Jail said with a slight nod.

  “A full adult Bendazzi, and a big one at that. Then the healing with no training whatsoever, the fact that she lived through it, and we won’t forget the channeling from Barllen. What does that tell you Jail?” Neph spoke calmly, listing off the various points on his fingers as he recounted them.

  “That she is one hell of a mage. That’s why we are in here, Neph, to get you to explain what we don’t understand,” Jail said, his tone unsure. He shrugged one of his massive shoulders and gave Jala a look that showed he was just as confused by Neph’s demands as she was.

  Neph eyed him with a dry expression. “And you are a Mind Mage, how terribly frightening. Well, yes, Jail, it does mean she is one hell of a mage, but beyond that, just a single one of those things would be incredible. To combine them all into one person is unreal.” He turned from Jail and took a deep breath as if trying to compose himself. “I have to see the gold blood. It will confirm what I suspect. Just humor me, a prick on the damn finger.” Neph looked back to her and gave her an imploring look. “Do it, and I swear I will never be rude to you again. Hell I’ll even stick up for you if needed,” he said, his tone pleading.

  “You should have said that to begin with. If it will get you to be civil I’ll put the knife through my hand. In the long run, it would be less painful than dealing with you,” Jala replied and drew the knife in a short line across her palm. The blade was well honed and cut easily with a light kiss of pain. Blood began to well along the cut in thick droplets. Even in the gloom of the room the deep gold color of it was obvious for all to see.

  Neph barked a word in a language she was not familiar with and mage lights flicked on around the room blinding her momentarily. She closed her eyes and opened them again quickly as she felt warm hands cup her wounded hand. Neph crouched beside her, cradling her hand, his expression unreadable. “It’s truly gold,” he said in a hushed voice.

  “Just like I said. Now what does it mean?” Jail prodded gently. He had moved closer for a better look and was eyeing the mage now as if he had gone a bit mad.

  Neph waved a hand absently around the room and barked off more words that had the distinctive ring of magic to them. The air seemed to coalesce for a moment and then the sensation faded. He leaned back on his heels and looked up at her with an expression still neutral, but his blue eyes were shining. Almost reluctant
ly, he released her hand and ran his fingers through his blond hair, sending it into a state of dishevelment she had never seen on him before. Shaking his head with a bit of a chuckle, he dropped back off his heels and fully onto the floor. Crossing his legs under him, he looked up at her without a trace of his usual venom showing.

  “What was the spell you just cast?” Jala asked quietly, more to get him to speak again than any true curiosity. She had a suspicion of what he had cast but to have him confirm it wouldn’t hurt.

  “The room is secure now. No one can hear anything we say or scry on us without my knowing,” he replied. With a flip of his hand, he motioned Jail to take the chair he had so recently vacated and ran his fingers through his hair again. Jail sat, obviously bewildered by his friend’s change of attitude, and waited for Neph to speak again. Neph took a deep breath and smiled at Jail. “Sovann couldn’t answer this question, eh?” he asked. Jail shook his head in reply and Neph gave a weak chuckle and nodded. “Doesn’t surprise me, that line was never very religious.” He cleared his throat and searched for his wine absently, nodding his thanks and taking a deep swallow when Jail handed it to him.

  “What exactly does religion have to do with it?” Jala asked, her confusion growing.

  Neph finished off the last of his wine and set the empty glass down beside him. He gave another slight chuckle and sighed. “Do you know what a Divine is?” he asked. They both shook their heads in answer and Neph rolled his eyes. “Heathens, the both of you. A Divine is a god in truth, not an Immortal playing at god for the commons. A true honest Deity. A Divine can be known by its blood, which is the purest of silver.” He paused and looked to both of them making sure they were paying full attention. “A half-blood will have blood that is pale gold in color. A child of theirs will have a rich gold blood and so on. The red slowly returns to the blood each generation making it darker until the silver can no longer be seen. Most Immortal lines descend from one of the Divine, though it isn’t an easy thing. Often the child is too powerful for the mother and the birth will kill them both. Which is why finding anyone with any hint of silver in their blood, is so rare. I have read stories of it from books beyond the Barrier.” He paused and looked at Jala with what seemed to be reverence. “For her to have gold blood means a Divine is imprisoned with us. That’s the only explanation, if anyone in the High Houses had gold blood we would know.”

  “So, Jala has Divine blood,” Jail surmised and looked Jala over with a nod. “I could see that from what I’ve gotten from Finn’s mind. She does seem to be rather exceptional.”

  Jala blinked under the appraisal and shook her head. “No, my blood was red before the healing,” she assured them. “This must have something to do with the magic I used or something. I promise you that neither of my parents were Divine.”

  “You weren’t fully awakened before the healing. You had never even entered a trance before. Sovann spoke with me about your difficulty with concentration,” Neph cut in before she could offer further objections. “I’m not sure what triggered it, but something did. Your Divine blood is awake now, and if Sovann thought you were powerful before, he is about to be overwhelmed. It’s like magic, Jala. The Bloodline will lie dormant. If you never awaken it, you never develop the powers.” He turned to Jail and shook his head in frustration. “That’s not the worst of it though. If anyone else finds out what she is, the High Lords will either be screaming for her death or demanding her hand in marriage. It’s a good thing Finn got her out of Morcaillo’s hall before this happened. If High Lord Morcaillo had learned of this, he would have killed his own wife to take Jala.”

  “So we keep others from finding out,” Jail offered.

  Neph gave him a look of annoyance. “That is going to become more and more difficult to do, especially with Rivana wanting her dead now. From what I understand, there was a Soul Reaver present when she healed Finn. He will have talked of it by now to someone and the Rivasans will know when they bring their dead back. It’s going to take more than Finn to keep her safe, Jail. It will most likely take all of us, Valor and Wisp included.”

  “Why would you help me, Neph? You don’t even like me,” Jala spoke quietly, her eyes locked on the drying blood covering her palm.

  “I never said I didn’t like you. I simply didn’t expect you to be around long, so I wasn’t going to waste my time befriending you. Now, however, I myself will ensure you will be around, so it’s okay to be nice to you. I don’t care if Finn loses interest, you will remain in this hall. Unlike the rest in this hall, Jala, I am not a heathen. I have the highest regard for the Divine,” he spoke with finality in his voice

  “Okay, so we need to get everyone together and discuss this quietly. Not now, though. She just woke up, and I think she deserves some time to sort this out. This can wait until Finn is awake and she feels better,” Jail said, and Neph nodded his agreement.

  Jala smiled up at the big man with gratitude clear on her face. “Thank you, Jail, and thank you for explaining everything, Neph. I think I will go back to my room now. I have so much to think about,” she said, her voice soft and already distant. Between Anthae’s words and now Neph’s revelations, she thought the only safe course ahead of her was to find a dark corner off the charted maps and hide. Hiding wouldn’t bring her family back, though, and it wouldn’t restore Merro. If she wanted her home back, she didn’t have much of a choice. There was still the matter of speaking with the Lord of Oblivion, as well. She wasn’t sure how she was going to go about accomplishing that. Not only did she not want to speak with the man responsible for destroying her home, she sincerely doubted he would have any desire to speak with her.

  Chapter 28

  Sanctuary

  The one who left us is outside the window, I can smell his scent on the air, Marrow’s words drew her back from her contemplations. She had been pacing her room for what felt like hours. Frowning, she crossed the room and pulled the curtains back. Evening had fallen, and the garden beyond her room was thick with shadow. Pausing only long enough to glance back at Marrow, she flipped the locks on her window and pushed it open. Leaning outside, she looked left and right. The night breeze brushed against her, blowing strands of her hair across her face. Brushing it back, she looked around again and spotted him not far away, unmoving and silently watching her.

  “Shade, what are you doing here?” she hissed. While she understood why he had left, she wasn’t sure if her companions in this hall would. This was not the safest place for him to be at the moment.

  He crossed the ground quickly, stopping near her. He looked over his shoulder as if he had come to the same conclusion and was on guard. “I came to see you to make sure you were OK. I’m so sorry, Jala, really. I should have stayed. I should have defied him. I have been kicking myself for leaving since that day.” His words came out in a hushed flood, thick with raw emotion.

  “I understand why you left, Shade. I’m not angry with you. That wasn’t your fight,” Jala assured him and stole a glance over her shoulder. “Marrow, watch the door and warn me if anyone approaches,” she whispered to the Bendazzi and looked back to Shade.

  I should tell them he is here, Marrow grumbled. While she had forgiven Shade, the Bendazzi apparently had not.

  “Shade, you shouldn’t be here, it isn’t safe.” Jala warned him, hoping Marrow’s threat had been an idle one. He nodded and took her hand lightly in his. “Jala, it isn’t safe here for you either. You need to get out of Sanctuary. I’m leaving tonight. I only stayed to speak with you first. Come with me.”

  Caught off guard by his words, she spent a moment just staring at him. Shaking her head, she blinked and shook her head at him again, more emphatically. “I can’t leave, Shade, and I can’t explain why. At least not yet, but I can’t leave.” She bit her lip and tried to make him meet her eyes, willing him to understand.

  “Jala, they want you dead or in their control. I overheard my father speaking with Lord Avanti. My own father wants me dead, as well. I’m going to the
Fionaveir, come with me. Finn can’t protect you, Jala. It’s only a matter of time before they get him exiled and once they do he is as good as dead. Please listen to me, I know you care about him, but staying with him will just make his life more dangerous. They will be more determined to kill him to get to you.” Shade’s voice was desperate as he spoke and his grip on her hand had become painful.

  Measuring his words carefully, Jala tried to sort them in her mind. From what he said it sounded as if the High Lords already knew far too much about her. Still, if she left now, she would be giving up Merro and Finn. She shook her head again. “Shade, I can’t leave. You don’t understand. I wish I could explain it to you, but it’s too dangerous. I have to stay here,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

  “Jala, please,” he pleaded, and his tone brought glassiness to her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much Shade cared about her. “I don’t want to leave you here. If you have to, wake Finn and I’ll get him out, as well, if that’s what it takes,” he offered finally.

  Lowering her eyes, she shook her head once more and felt the first of the tears trickle down her cheeks. They had sent her to the Academy for a purpose and until she knew the reason, leaving here might destroy future chances. She couldn’t leave now. She had to know more. “I can’t,” she said again, her voice barely audible.

  His grip on her hand slowly loosened, and she felt his hand fall away from hers. She didn’t look up. She didn’t want to see the look on his face right now. “Then take care, Jala, and remember my warning. You are not safe here,” he said finally, his tone filled with defeat.

  The night fell silent, and she didn’t need to look up to know he was gone. Leaning heavily on the window sill, she brushed the tears back from her face and hoped she had done the right thing. Maybe Fortune had sent Shade to get her out of here, or maybe he had just come. There were simply too many things she didn’t know right now. Pushing back from the window, she closed it and locked it back. Not bothering to reset the curtains, she left her room silently with Marrow padding behind her like a second shadow.