You no longer look like the village idiot, Marrow offered helpfully.
Jala narrowed her eyes at him and her frown deepened. “I thought you said the village nutter before? That implies simple insanity rather than stupidity.”
Right, nutter, that’s what I meant, Marrow corrected with a bit of sarcasm to his deep voice. He gave her a feline grin as he stretched and crossed the room to sit at her feet. Cocking his massive head from side to side he examined her slowly. Calm and sad would be my estimation, but that is world’s better than insane. We will work on the dignified and poised,he surmised at last.
Jala let out a harsh breath and glanced back at the mirror again. Her eyes fell almost instantly to the mangled hand. The scars on her side she could live with. Even with the Firym style dresses she wore on occasion they would barely show. The wound on her neck had barely left a mark, but her hand… No matter what Valor said, it wasn’t a badge of honor in her eyes. It was hideous. Pursing her lips she lifted it for a closer look and studied the roughly healed patches that covered what remained of her two fingers. Technically she couldn’t heal what was already healed. With a click of her tongue she moved to her dresser and retrieved the small ruby hilted dagger Havoc had given her, and then crossed the room to sit by the window. Glancing over to the crib she assured herself that Legacy was still deeply asleep before removing the dagger from its worn leather sheath.
Granted that is not the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen I sincerely doubt cutting it off is going to help you much, Marrow remarked in a dry tone.
“I’m not going to cut it off, though, despite what you say, I think it might in fact be an improvement if I did,” Jala replied easily, her eyes narrowing as she examined the lumps under her skin that lined her palm as well as the back of her hand well past her wrist. “I don’t understand why he left it like this,” she said with a sigh.
Pulling on her magic she deadened the nerves in her hand and carefully pressed the tip of the dagger at the edge of one of the lumps. The blade was still razor sharp and cut through her flesh with ease. Pale droplets of blood began to well around the shallow cut and Jala stared down at them with a frown. The blood didn’t seem quite as golden as she remembered it being. Making a note to ask Neph about it later, she pushed the matter aside for the moment and continued to pry at the lump until it at last gave free and dropped to the table with a solid thump. Setting the dagger aside, Jala picked up the lump carefully and turned it over in her fingers, brushing the blood away from it. Holding it up to the light of the window she nodded slowly as she recognized a chunk of one of the focus stones.
Two weeks ago you would have thrown up at just the thought of cutting chunks of your own flesh out. Now you are examining it like a child that’s found a new bug, Marrow said as he moved closer and tilted his head to get a better look at her hand.
“The question is, why would a healer leave chunks of debris in wounds?” Jala said with a sigh. Setting the stone aside, she focused on her magic once more and willed the cut to heal. She felt the spell take hold and watched in annoyance as the skin started to heal and then split back open as the magic failed. “Well that could be the reason,” she mumbled, raising her hand for a better look at the wound. It was, of course, possible that she had missed some of the stone fragments from the cut. Carefully she wiped away the pale blood and examined the wound critically. With a sigh she pulled on the magic once more and tried to sense for anything foreign in the cut, but the spell once again failed.
Having issues? Marrow asked with a feline grin. He was seated by her feet now and seemed to be finding rather too much enjoyment in the expressions playing across her face.
“Aside from my smart ass cat? Not really,” Jala murmured in response as she let out a sigh and stared down at the wound.
It’s going to be really embarrassing when you have to go to the same healer that fixed that hand the first time and ask him to fix it again, Marrow smirked.
Jala glanced up at him and fixed him with a withering glare. “I’ll cut it off before I do that,” she informed him dryly. Leaning back in her chair she held her hand up before her and forced herself to focus on the threads of magic. It took longer than she expected, but eventually the strands and weaves of magic came into focus and she smiled faintly. The difficulty was obvious now. Surrounding each fragment of stone was a broken web of magic. The flux of the broken webs was simply disrupting her spells. So, if she removed all the fragments entirely and then tried to heal, it should work. Grimly, she picked up the dagger once more and began carefully to pry the stone shards from her hand.
That makes perfect sense. You can’t heal the first cut so you continue to carve yourself up. Brilliant. This way you won’t have to ask him for healing as you will be passed out on the floor from blood loss, Marrow said with a shake of his massive head as he settled back down to the floor, his yellow eyes intent on her every move.
Jala smiled faintly again but ignored him. It took too much focus to maintain her view on the webs of magic to spare time for chit chat with the Bendazzi. The tiny pile of gem fragments grew steadily on the table until her hand was slick with blood and she could no longer see the flux of magic shrouding her hand. There was still a rough lump on her palm however, but there were no strands of magic attached to it. Pursing her lips once more Jala shrugged. What was one more cut to heal? As carefully as she had removed the rest she pried the last ridge from her hand and heard it hit the table with a light tap. Setting the dagger down once more, she picked up the object and held it toward the light. It hadn’t sounded the same as the focus stones had when it hit the wooden table. She wiped the blood free with her thumb and stared down in shock at the pale white fragment of bone. It was smooth on one side and slightly rounded and far too wide and thin to be part of her hand.
What is that? Marrow asked curiously, standing up for a better look.
“I think it’s part of her skull,” Jala said quietly as she dropped the fragment down to the table and pushed it farther away from her. Shuddering slightly, she looked down at Marrow. “Now that is truly disgusting,” she said with a shake of her head.
And carving your flesh to pieces isn’t? Marrow asked in amusement.
Jala raised an eyebrow at him and stuck her tongue out. “I know, very mature, but also very appropriate,” she said with a sniff and began the process of healing her hand once more. She could feel the flesh knitting with her magic and watched with approval as each of the bloody patches healed over with fresh new skin. “Much better,” Jala said slowly turning her hand over for a better look. “One last thing to do,” she added, letting her voice trail off as she picked up the dagger once more and brought it down hard across the jagged nub of her finger slicing the tip neatly off.
Oh and the skull fragment is disgusting. Ugh, Marrow snapped as he backed away from the table quickly.
“Squeamish for a predator, aren’t you?” Jala teased as she neatly chopped the end off the stump of her second finger.
Tearing apart prey is one thing. Self-mutilation is quite another, Marrow grumbled back in defense.
“I want my fingers back Marrow and I can’t heal what has already been healed. It has to be an untouched wound,” Jala explained calmly as she focused on the magic once more. Rebuilding a bone was beyond most healers, but Jala had no doubts that she could do it. Rose had trained her on the essential magic needed to do it. She simply hadn’t had opportunity to try it before now.
The sound of the door opening behind her nearly broke her concentration, but she kept her focus and willed the fingers to grow. Slowly the pale white of bone become visible at the ends of her fingers as her magic took effect.
“Interesting and disgusting at the same time,” Jail said in a mellow voice as he crossed the room. “Don’t bother with answering, we will talk when you are finished,” he added as he sat at the table opposite her and regarded the scattered shards of crystal and the blood soaked dagger.
Jala waited until she was sure the healin
g spell was fully in place then glanced up at him and smiled faintly. “I missed my fingers,” she explained with a shrug. Her eyes moved past him to the large package he had brought with him. It was roughly six feet in length and wrapped fully in brown paper. “Might I ask?” she began and nodded her head toward the package.
“A gift for you from Valor and Sovann. Valor crafted it. Sovann added the finishing touches and then asked me to deliver it,” Jail replied with a faint smile. Turning slightly in his chair he started to hand it to her but paused as he glanced at the still healing hand. With a sheepish smile he shrugged and sighed. “Shall I open it for you or would you like to wait?”
“Open it please,” Jala said and then paused. “May I ask why they didn’t deliver it themselves? It’s not that I mind a social visit from you of course, but are they avoiding me?”
“Valor is at work in the forges night and day trying to replace his sword and armor and Sovann…” Jail’s voice trailed off and he glanced up from where he had been unwrapping the paper. “Well, Sovann feels that it is painful for you to see him given how much he looks like Finn. He is giving you time before he visits,” Jail finished in a softer voice. Looking back down, he continued with the unwrapping. Slowly the form of a black staff became visible. Typically, the weapons were made of basic wood. This one however had the sheen of metal about it and was covered from top to bottom in golden runes.
Jala nodded slowly and leaned back fully in her chair. “He is right you know,” she said softly and frowned at the admission. It was hardly Sovann’s fault that he looked so much like his brother, but emotions rarely had logic to them. “I don’t see how it is going to get better with him avoiding me though. It will be something that I will have to overcome.”
Jail nodded as he tore the last of the paper from the staff and handed it over to her. Taking it carefully in her good hand Jala nodded her thanks and admired the gift. The top of the staff was crowned with a large deep purple globe that appeared to be glass though she couldn’t be sure. Gold runes lined the staff as well as mana stones. The sheer amount of detail that had gone into the piece was astounding. It looked more like a work of art to her eyes than anything she would ever actually learn to fight with. “Is it for when I am at council?” she asked hesitantly as she traced a finger over one of the gem-like mana stones.
Jail smiled and shook his head. “It is for when we are kicking nine levels of hell out of Avanti,” he said with a wink. “Look. See the gold tracings in the center of the staff?” he asked as he indicated the area with his hand. Jala nodded and he smiled wider. “Put one hand above that and one below and twist.”
Jala raised an eyebrow in question but did as directed. The twin parts of the staff rotated in her hand and the runes on the side shifted from bright gold to a dull grey. “Is that Barllen?” she asked softly as she stared at the staff in amazement.
“It is. This weapon was solely crafted for you Jala. With that much Barllen you should be able to absorb any spell thrown at you with the staff and only you can access the energy stored in Barllen. I’m truly not sure how Valor managed it. Typically, only commoner smiths will work with Barllen as the metal drains magic whenever you touch it,” Jail explained. He smiled and carefully adjusted his tunic before leaning back to watch her.
“But when I twist it back,” Jala began as she twisted the staff once more to show the gold runes. “You can’t sense any Barllen on it at all. It must have lead lining in it,” she finished as she stood and lifted the staff, testing its weight. “And it’s really not that heavy at all,” she said after a moment, looking to Jail with delight on her face. “This is truly amazing, Jail. I can see runes of protection all over this thing. Sovann and Valor must have worked day and night to finish it so quickly.”
“Then you should probably thank them, and be sure and let Sovann know that you don’t want him to avoid you while you are at it,” Jail returned with a faint smile.
Jala nodded her agreement and started to speak but fell silent as a flash of light through the window caught her eye. Frowning she moved closer and peered in the direction she had seen it. A long moment passed before she caught it again, the gleam of sunlight on metal.
“Is something wrong?” Jail asked softly as he rose, his eyes flicking from her face to the window.
“There is a Spell Hawk approaching and it’s coming from the north. The only Sky ports in that direction are Brannaford which no one uses,” Jala said, her voice trailing off as the Spell Hawk grew closer. There was no doubt that it was headed for this town. There was simply nothing else in this direction.
“And Avanti,” Jail finished for her. “Well this should prove interesting. Perhaps they are bringing you a welcome back home gift,” Jail said dryly as he turned toward the door.
“Marrow, Emily, watch Legacy please,” Jala ordered as she quickly followed after Jail.
No one will get in here that doesn’t belong, Emily promised, her voice holding only a hint of drowsiness to show that the Blight had been resting. As far as Jala could tell, today was the first day that Emily had actually allowed herself to rest since the baby was born.
“I suppose it’s a good thing you decided to actually get dressed and fix your hair today. That, combined with the staff and you truly look like High Lady Merrodin,” Jail teased as they made their way quickly down the stairs.
“Bloody hell,” Neph snarled from the open door. Glancing back over his shoulder he spotted Jala and Jail as they descended the last few stairs. “Avanti approaching. Do you want to allow them to land?” Neph asked, his expression showing clearly that allowing them landing was the last thing he wanted.
“A single ship?” Jala asked as she approached the door, glancing once more at Neph and taking note of the specialized glasses he wore. They were identical to the ones he had left in her room that allowed the wearer to see Blights. If he was wearing them now then he must be expecting Blights to be on the Avanti ship. I probably should have thought of that myself and worn mine, Jala scolded herself mentally as she turned her attention back their approaching enemies.
“Their flag ship. That will be the High Lord himself or one of his sons,” Neph replied as he stepped back to allow her past him.
Jala nodded faintly and moved out onto the porch of the house her gaze locked on the circling Spell Hawk. “They have a flag of parlay up. Allow them landing,” Jala ordered, her gaze moving quickly from the ship to sweep over the crowded streets. Everyone had stopped work to watch the approaching ship and it was clear whatever Avanti had come to say, they would have an audience for it.
“I don’t think you quite heard me. That ship has their High Lord on it. This is a golden opportunity. The bastards have served themselves up,” Neph growled softly, his fingers twitching slightly with the urge to cast magic.
Jala smiled grimly and glanced over at him. Reaching up slowly she patted his cheek and sighed. “And no one wants to kill them more than I do, Neph, I promise you, but they are flying a flag of parley.”
“Fine,” Neph grumbled and stepped quickly from the porch to clear room in the crowded streets for the Spell Hawk.
“Why do you think they are here?” Jala asked softly as she heard Jail approach her from behind.
The Mind mage paused just beside her and glanced down. “Because we are weak and they want to try to spook us into submission,” Jail offered with a shrug to show he was simply guessing.
“I’d rather die than submit to them,” Jala hissed. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the ship slowly descend toward her city.
“Be sure of that before you speak to High Lord Avanti. They have us outnumbered and out-equipped. It may be prudent to listen to whatever they have come to say and then make a choice,” Jail warned softly.
“Their numbers are mainly slaves, Jail, and equipment doesn’t mean everything,” Jala returned softly as the ship landed fully and the door began to open.
“It means a lot,” Jail pressed, his expression concerned.
“But it doesn’t mean everything,” Valor broke in as he pushed his way through the door and moved to stand beside Jala on the opposite side of Jail. As usual, Valor was dressed perfectly in fine clothing and a long dark purple coat that nearly matched her dress in coloring.
Jala smiled and glanced up at the knight with gratitude clear on her face. “You cut your hair. Now I won’t be able to tell you apart from Honor at all when your back is turned to me,” she observed quietly.
“Look for the one wearing your colors and it’s a safe bet it is me,” Valor said with a smile and glanced toward the Spell Hawk as the first of its passengers started to disembark. “Wisp is on the roof with her bow in case we need her and Sovann is with Legacy,” he informed her softly as he turned back to look at her once more.
“You have an earring now too,” Jala said, her eyes locked on the shiny black hoop in Valor’s right ear rather than the approaching delegation from Avanti.
“Avanti here, remember?” Jail reminded her softly. The big mage shifted slightly beside her and nudged her a bit sharply with his elbow.
“Mm. Hmm. I remember. They are simply farther down my priority list,” Jala said as she studied the earring closer. It was shining black metal on both sides of the hoop closest to the ear with silver near the center and a decent sized violet gem at the exact center. “What warranted the change, Valor?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes Page 26
