“That should do it,” the red-haired man muttered leaning back on his heels and watching Finn with interest.
“Are you sure you didn’t just kill him?” Damon asked in his flat monotone voice that suggested he could care less if the man had.
“No, he is ascending. It can be a bit traumatic I suppose. Lutheron’s ascension was worse than this.” The first man spoke quietly, his gaze locked on Finn’s eyes. The man’s eyes were dark purple, Finn realized, and nearly laughed at the fact. It seemed absurd to be in such agony and still noticing such details. The pain began to ease gradually and he forced his body to uncurl. His breath slowed and he shakily pushed himself to a sitting position. Both men watched him as if they were children that had discovered an interesting new bug.
“Thank you for whatever you did,” Finn mumbled and wiped his hand across his sweaty face. His body still felt wrong but it no longer hurt. Now it was simply coiled as if every muscle was eager for release. “Lord Veirasha, I have to get out of here. I have to get to Jala. Do you know how to escape the Darklands?” His voice was frantic as he clambered to his feet but Damon Veirasha simply watched him silently.
“A bit thick isn’t he,” the red-haired man muttered as he stood as well. “I don’t think you want to see Jala right now young man,” he said with a faint smile motioning slowly around the empty throne room.
Finn stared at him a moment and then glanced around the room, before looking back at both of them in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I want to see Jala? Death is gone. I killed her. There is nothing here to threaten either of us anymore.”
Damon stood slowly and dusted his plate mail lightly before looking directly at Finn. “Do you know what the word ascension means, Finn?” he asked quietly.
“Rise. To, uh, move upwards?” Finn asked dumbly.
“Yep, thick,” the red-haired man said with a nod and began pulling his gauntlets back on.
“Who in the hell are you?” Finn snapped, his rage rising once more. Neither of them seemed to realize how important it was that he reach Jala. Either that or they simply didn’t care. They hadn’t heard the pain in her words though. They didn’t know how the memory of those words was ripping through him just as the tendrils had. He had to reach her; nothing else mattered. All it would take to silence that pain would be wrapping his arms around her. His throat clenched at the thought and his frustration grew.
“He is War, Finn, and I haven’t been called Veirasha in years. I know what it is you are feeling right now. I know how your heart is twisting in your chest with the ache to see her face. Why do you think I keep myself as I do? Why else would I sacrifice all emotions other than to silence that ache. Every time I thought of my sons or my home I felt that twist of agony like a blade in the chest. There is no going back, though, Finn. That isn’t the way it works.” Damon’s eyes flickered with a hint of sadness as he shook his head slowly. “You killed her. Now you must take her place. You have ascended. You are Finn Sovaesh no longer. Now you are Death.”
“What? No, how do I take it back? I can’t be Death. For one bloody thing, I’m alive. Jala raised me,” Finn stammered and then thrust his arm out between them. “Look! See, there is a pulse!”
War looked down at the offered arm and chuckled faintly. “You scarcely needed to show us your arm for that. Did you not realize you are butt naked at the moment?”
Finn withdrew his arm quickly and glanced down at himself then back at them. Shrugging he motioned around the throne room. “Do you see anything that resembles clothing here? I am how I was sent. When that bastard sent me through the shadows I was naked.”
“When that bastard stopped you from killing your best friend and then your wife, you mean?” War asked with a raised eyebrow.
Finn’s arm dropped once more to his side and he stepped back away from them, guilt washing over him like a flood. “Death was controlling me,” Finn said quietly and then nodded. “But yes, when he stopped me from killing them,” he added as he covered his face with both hands and rubbed at his eyes. Slowly he pulled his hands down across his face and let out a long breath. “So, I’m Death now,” he muttered. Nodding slowly he resisted the urge to scream in frustration and simply paced the room instead. Anger, desperation, shock, and grief warred inside him as the full implications of his new role in life began to settle in his mind.
“It doesn’t matter if you are alive, Finn. You are Divine now. You are Death. There is no changing that fact. Perhaps once you have learned to master your strengths there might be a chance of passing the mantle on to another, but as it stands, the only way to change what you are is for another to kill you and take your place,” Damon explained in a droning voice. The knight shifted, his armor creaking on his tall frame. With a loud sigh the Lord of Destruction looked around the throne room and then back to War. “Where is she? He will need to learn and I haven’t the time to teach him with everything crumbling in the Sunlit world. I remember this one as a child and I remember how he shunned his magic lessons in favor of blades. He has so much to learn and no time to learn it.”
War shrugged, then leaned to look back out the doorway. Standing straight once more he shrugged again and motioned half-heartedly toward Finn. “If you were a spirit, would you want to be around him right now? The scant few that were in the throne room were destroyed in the first moments of Death’s fall. I can’t say that I really blame her for being hesitant to show up.”
“Who?” Finn asked looking back and forth between them. He paused in his pacing to watch them and then looked toward the door himself. A woman stood outlined there now. She was clad in white plate mail with a bloody cloak wrapped tightly around her. Her expression showed flickers of nervousness as she watched him with dark eyes.
“Fiona, come in,” Damon called without bothering to turn toward the door. “He has much to learn and there is no time for you to waste.”
“Father, he has no control over his power. I can see it leaking from him. If I approach too closely, I may not last long,” Fiona protested in a soft voice.
Damon raised an eyebrow at him and let out a sigh. “Finn surely you paid enough attention to your magic lessons to at least contain your magic properly.”
Frowning, Finn searched through his memories to the sunlit days in the gardens of Avanti. Sovann had always been so attentive to their aging teacher. Finn however had always found other entertainments. Birds to watch, pictures to draw, anything to keep his mind off the boring prattle of the old woman and his little brother’s enthusiasm. His chest tightened again as he realized how much he would give to see his brother right now. Sovann was a genius with magic. Hell, his little brother could probably even determine a way to get him out of the mess he had gotten himself into. His brother always had a way of getting him out of binds. Sovann’s voice broke from his memories in the familiar lecture that he reserved for the worst of Finn’s messes. Really Finn you should think things through before you act. Do you honestly have to be so spontaneous all the time? One of these days, you are going to get yourself into something that you can’t get out of. That, or die, and I don’t want to see either, Finn.
Slowly, Finn shook his head at Damon and let out a ragged breath as his eyes grew glassy. “No, I don’t guess I did, Lord Veirasha. There are a lot of things I should have done that I didn’t, though. So what’s one more on the list?”
War shifted where he stood, his gaze traveling upwards. His eyes poured over the ceiling and he stepped back. “Delvay is moving in force,” he murmured, his eyes dropping once more to Damon. “The middle of bloody winter and the drums of war are beating loudly.”
Damon nodded slowly, his eyes still on Finn. “Let me give you incentive to learn Finn. The sunlit world is about to be ripped apart and Death has been hoarding the souls of your wife’s allies. There have not been rebirths in those lands in years. Meanwhile her enemies have been breeding like rabbits. They are outnumbered and outgunned and if you don’t get your affairs in order their souls will be lost in the D
arklands when they die. If you can manage to master your strengths you can spare some that might otherwise die. The power of life or death is quite literally in your fumbling hands right now.” His words began softly but gained volume with each breath until he was nearly shouting.
“Let me give you incentive that you might actually care more about,” War broke in with a faint smile. “If you can manage to contain your power, Fiona will show you a scry of Jala as a reward. With each lesson that you learn you can see another glimpse of the world above until you master that skill yourself,” he offered.
“That seems more like torment than reward,” Damon began but trailed off as he noticed the gleam in Finn’s eyes.
“A bite of food for a starving man,” War said watching Finn closely.
Finn pulled the memories back once more and focused with all his mind on everything that revolved around magic. Pieces of fragmented lessons flittered through his mind and he collected them quickly and sorted the information until he had something that bordered on useful. Closing his eyes he let out a soft breath and searched inside himself for the magical strength he had never had any use for. With a patience he had never known before, he gathered the power and carefully pulled it back. It took nearly all his focus to hold it in place, yet he did so without complaint. Looking up slowly he locked his eyes on the spirit of Fiona Veirasha that still stood in the open doorway. “Show me Jala,” he ordered through clenched teeth.
“Food for a starving man,” War repeated with a faint smile and nodded to Fiona. “Good luck girl, I’m sure you will need it,” he added, as he headed for the door.
“Your role here is extremely important, Finn. Do not forget that. Those in the sunlit world above depend on you now,” Damon said quietly as he, too, turned to go.
Finn ignored them both, his gaze still locked on Fiona as she hesitantly approached him. Grinding his teeth he forced the magic to remain locked safely away and nodded for her to continue. She stopped several feet back from him and held out both pale hands between them. The air stirred faintly and slowly an image began to take shape. His breath caught in his throat as he recognized Jala standing in her white coat, her arms wrapped tight about her. Valor stood just beyond her, his black and silver cloak pulled up against the snow buffeting the two of them. Everything surrounding them was shrouded in a blinding curtain of falling snow.
“Where are they?” Finn asked softly, his eyes searching the terrain for any landmarks he might know. He wasn’t familiar with Merro at all, but the place they stood looked nothing like Merro. Heavy snow rarely touched the southern lands and what they stood in resembled one of the northern blizzards.
“They stand on the border of Glis and Arovan,” Fiona informed him quietly, her attention focused more on him than the scry she held open.
“Why?” Finn asked. His breath caught again as Jala turned to look up at Valor causing her hood to fall back from her face. Dark circles hung under both of her violet eyes and she seemed far too pale. Her Bendazzi moved beside her and she rested a hand gently on his back. Jala’s face was normally so animated and filled with life. Her eyes had always gleamed with vibrancy and yet now she seemed so empty. The wind stirred a lock of her beautiful wine colored hair and she raised a hand to brush it away. In mute horror Finn stared at the mangled remains of her hand as it moved across her drawn face. Two of the fingers were gone completely and the rest of it looked little better.
“To save a life.” Fiona’s voice pulled his attention back from the image and the scry flickered out between them. “One that you could have spared had you more control over your power. She shouldn’t be where she is now. There is too much danger there. If you don’t learn swiftly she may be one of the lost souls roaming the Darklands very soon,” she added.
Finn nodded slowly, the last image of the scry still strong in his mind. Looking up he met Fiona’s gaze and nodded again more firmly. “Then teach me.”
Chapter 13
Glis
The wind tore at her coat as Jala struggled to blink the snow from her eyes. Valor moved carefully in front of her shielding her from the worst of the blizzard. Wrapping her arms tighter around herself she moved closer to Valor.
“Can you do anything about this wind?” Jala asked, her voice nearly a scream as she struggled to be heard over the gale.
Valor shook his head slowly and leaned back to speak to her. “It’s a weather casting. I’d have to break the spell to end it. Until I know why they want a blizzard, I don’t want to ruin their casting,” he explained. “Where are we?” he asked in a slightly louder voice as the wind picked up once more.
“In Glis,” Jala replied with a shrug. “This is where I sensed that he is,” she added to clarify her reasoning for being here.
Marrow tensed beside her and dropped to a crouch. Jala looked down at the Bendazzi and then quickly around them. Beyond the blinding snow and the mostly obscured trees she saw nothing else. Ears twitching, the Bendazzi scanned the area before letting out a vicious snarl. The spines on his back sprang forward and his tail lashed in threat.
“What is it?” Jala gasped, her eyes still searching in vain for whatever the Bendazzi was sensing.
Duck! Marrow’s voice echoed off her skull with the force of a command and she staggered forward into Valor’s back, pushing them both into a snow bank as a massive black furred claw crashed into the ground where they had been standing. Marrow sprang forward with a snarl toward their attacker as Valor rolled back to his feet.
“Wait, Korv, you know me!” Valor yelled, struggling to free himself from his tangled cloak as the attacker lunged toward him again. The creature resembled a bear in most respects but stood straighter with a more human posture than any animal could manage. “Korv, it’s Valor Hai’dia!” Valor bellowed as he dodged beneath another swiping blow from the brute.
“Valor dead. Not Valor,” Korv snarled, his words mangled by his current form. The bear-like muzzle apparently lacked the essential elements for clear speech.
“I’m not dead, Korv, I’m right here. Please stop and listen!” Valor objected, holding both hands up in front of him to show he was unarmed.
“Valor always in metal. You not,” Korv returned, his next attack delayed as he struggled to find the white Bendazzi in the blizzard. It was obvious that the Shifter knew of Bendazzi and even more obvious that he considered Marrow a bigger threat than the unarmed man before him.
“My armor was damaged and my sword lost, but it’s me, Korv,” Valor insisted taking the break in the assault as opportunity to shift his position. With careful steps he placed himself between Jala and the Shifter, taking care to keep his back toward Jala at all times.
“Korv, stand down and let them approach the gate.” A woman’s voice broke through the wind in clear perfect notes. Jala shifted in the snow bank, struggling to get a look at the speaker.
“Blue!” Valor gasped, his voice filled with relief. His shoulders sagged as he backed another step toward Jala and offered her his hand.
She accepted it gratefully and dusted the worst of the snow from her coat. With chattering teeth she glanced back behind them once more, then to Valor. “Blue?” she asked in confusion.
“Blue Bess, a friend of mine. She is our savior here trust me. Korv wouldn’t dare cross her,” Valor explained as he tugged on her hand for her to follow.
Jala stole a last look at the bear as it backed away from them and disappeared into the blizzard, then scanned the area until she spotted Marrow’s form as he returned to her side. “Thank you,” she whispered as she ducked her head from the worst of the wind and followed blindly after Valor.
The wind continued its ferocious assault for several more feet, and then dropped abruptly. Jala looked up in shock and stared at the immense wooden wall before her and the dark trails of chimney smoke beyond it. They had been within ten feet of a village and she hadn’t even realized it.
“If you truly are who you claim to be, you will have no trouble proving it to me.” The
woman’s voice came again and Jala looked around until she located the speaker perched above the gate. To say she was beautiful was an understatement. Long silver hair tumbled down across her shoulders, the ends tipped in a snowy white. She wore an elaborate vest of velvet and brocade sewn in green and gold that was cut short enough to reveal her flat well-muscled stomach. The matching pants and thigh-high boots were of the same quality and the first impression she gave was truly breathtaking.
Blue’s dark eyes were filled with amusement as she regarded Jala’s slack-jawed stare and Jala quickly looked away, only to glance back once again when the woman turned her attention back to Valor. It wasn’t so much the magnificent clothing or the woman’s natural beauty that held Jala captivated, as it was the tracery of small blue runes that covered the woman from her neck down on every surface of skin visible. There was obvious magic in the markings but Jala couldn’t tell exactly what their purpose was without a scrutiny she was sure the woman wouldn’t appreciate.
“My Lady Merrodin, may I present Blue Bess, acclaimed bard of Glis as well as Arovan and Herald for High Lord Blackwolf,” Valor said with a formality she was unaccustomed to from him. He bowed slightly to the woman and smiled at her. “Tell me how to prove it and I will, Blue,” he said as he stood straight once more and then smiled roguishly. “By the way, did you mean to make that rhyme or have you been a bard for so many years you can no longer speak without spewing out verses?”
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes Page 20
