A dim glow began to emanate from the door and Seth scrambled to his feet. He was waiting the moment the door cracked open, and hastily pushed his way into the hall. With a sigh he leaned back against the wall as the room sealed behind him, locking away his entire life within.
“Penance. That’s an unusual past time for you,” Yasny murmured from the shadows near his door. She was watching him with a look of cool amusement on her perfect face. As a dragon, Yasny was terrifying with dark red scales and spines that covered her skull and shoulders. In her human form, however, she preferred seduction as a weapon and it was well honed. Her long dark hair flowed over her shoulders like silk, while her full lips held just enough of a smile to tease. It was an expression that worked well on most men. It had never worked on him, though. He knew Yasny too well. She was cruel and ruthless and had most definitely earned her place in the Darklands.
He didn’t want to kill her, though. Making friends had never been easy for Seth in life, and in the Darklands it was impossible. The best he could hope for was finding the few individuals that he could hold a conversation with that didn’t end in him attempting to devour their soul. Yasny was one of the few that he had found that fit that criterion. Tonight, however, she was testing his limits. He had too much to do before Zoelyn woke to waste effort on Yasny and her petty games.
“Not even a response? Just a glare?” Yasny sighed with an obvious pout.
“I don’t have time for this, Yasny,” Seth replied bluntly, hoping the admission of truth would satisfy the dragon. “You want to know what is in the room. You want to know what I’m doing with the girl. You want to know so much and you know I’m not going to tell you anything, so please, can we just cut the crap for tonight and I will go on my way. If we must play, then we can play this game tomorrow night, but right now I honestly do not have time,” he added the moment he noticed her back stiffen and her expression growing stormy. Yasny could be difficult when irritated and he didn’t like the thought of leaving Zoelyn alone while she was feeling petulant.
“I want to know why you can be so charming when dealing with others, but I always have to deal with the bitchy Seth,” Yasny grumbled, though her posture had relaxed.
“Because I want something from them, so I’m charming. That should reassure you, Yasny. It means I’m not trying to use you,” Seth muttered as he moved past her in the hall and started down the stairs.
“It would be nice once in a while, Seth,” Yasny snapped from behind him. “Can’t you be charming without wanting something from someone?” she added in a louder voice as he crossed the landing toward the slender window.
Seth paused and looked back up at her with a smile on his face. It was the smile he had always reserved for women when he wanted something. The smile that seemed to make their thoughts slow and their knees weaken. Yasny had been about to speak, but the words died in her throat the moment he looked up at her. She stared at him with a shocked expression on her face clearly at a loss for words. Nice to know it works on dragons too, he mused.
“Yasny, I have never tried to use my charm on you simply because I believed you were too intelligent for that approach. I didn’t want to insult you with the same droll behavior I use on the lesser women. You are my equal, not a pawn to be played. If I treat you poorly, I apologize. I simply need someone that understands, to vent to.” Seth’s voice had dropped to the low tones. It was a habit that came with the special smile. Women always responded well to the calm quiet voice. Even the Undrae seemed to be affected by it.
Yasny frowned and blinked then smiled faintly before rubbing her face. Shaking her head quickly she smiled once more in a more genuine expression. “Do what you have to do, Seth. I will be around when you get back and I will make sure Fiona doesn’t come into the tower. The Undrae will remain undisturbed until you return,” Yasny promised, and let out a quick sigh. “If only you would have explained it sooner, Seth. I wouldn’t have been nearly so grumpy with you over the years,” she added as she waved a hand at him to go.
It was difficult not to laugh at her reaction, but Seth fought back even the faintest hint of amusement. He had thought she was resisting his magic when she had frowned, but it had clearly worked on her. He had developed a knack for detecting lies and Yasny was not lying. She was truly going to play guard dog for him until he returned. It was almost too much for him. Part of him had actually believed she was superior to the rest, but she had just proven that she was just another stupid bitch. Nodding his head gratefully, Seth gave her another special smile before shifting to his crow form. Bloody hell, he hadn’t expected her to actually believe the words he had spewed, but then she had been the one that asked for charm.
Typically, the souls of the Darklands lost the magic they had held in life. Seth, however, had not. Death had allowed him to keep his talents for one simple reason. It was another form of torment to remind him what he was. In life, he had never known who his father was. He had been slave-born in Avanti and that was all he had ever known. In death he learned the truth of it all, and the Divine had delighted in reminding him of it at every turn, even if it meant allowing him more power. Donrey Avanti had been charming when he tried to be. He had been an amateur compared to his son, though. Seth knew how to charm people better than anyone else. He could earn trust, love, or favors with nothing more than a smile and a hint of magic, and it had never been difficult. It was simply easier to kill them than to waste time with words most of the time. There were those that were too useful to kill, however, and those were the ones he reserved his smiles for.
* * *
There was nothing quite like spring in Firym. The lush jungles seemed to explode with life at this time of year and the fragrance of the flowers was intoxicating. The humidity and heat were enough to suffocate you as well, Seth decided, as he settled into the upper branches of a tree near the outskirts of the busy city. His eyes scanned the crowds, finally settling on a well-dressed young man making his way through the market with an expression of determination on his face. He carried several bundles tucked under one arm and to the casual observer he looked to be running important errands for his house, or perhaps he was a master tradesman. He was dressed well enough to be important, but the fact that he was managing his own shopping meant he was not important enough to be well known. It was a good disguise and a clever one. The average hunter would have been fooled by it. Seth wasn’t, and neither was the old man that was slowly making his way through the crowd browsing at various stands while still managing to keep the boy in sight.
Had he been in his human form, Seth would have smiled. He kept his eye on the pair of them moving from tree to tree as he silently followed them across the city. The boy seemed nervous and checked behind him several times as he turned corners or crossed busy streets. His shadow, however, was well trained and despite the boy’s obvious paranoia, he remained oblivious to both of his stalkers.
Nearly twenty minutes passed before the boy finally took to the backstreets and Seth wanted to strangle him for it. Time passed five times as quickly in the Darklands as it did in the Sunlit world. Every minute was precious if he was going to make it back before Zoelyn woke. Below him, the boy’s pace quickened and Seth glanced back toward the man shadowing him. A faint smile was creasing the old man’s face and if the hunter was worried about his quarry escaping, he was showing no signs of it.
Pity I can’t let you keep your prey, after all the effort you have gone through. Seth mused as he dropped down from his perch to land in one of the alleys near the boy. He shifted form and stepped farther into the shadows as he waited. The paranoid boy might look harmless, but Seth knew better. It was best to catch one of his kind completely off guard and strike quickly. If you gave them time to act, it could get ugly quickly.
The boy’s footsteps grew louder and Seth’s dagger slipped into his hand in response. His breathing slowed as he waited, silently counting the footsteps. Three more and the boy would be in the perfect spot. He caught a glimpse of the boy’
s blue eyes as he glanced down the alley. Morcaillos never seemed to hide their eye color, and in situations such as now, it made them all the easier to spot. The Firym people typically had green eyes, brown and red were fairly common as well, but blue was extremely rare. Seth moved the moment the boy’s gaze turned back down the street, one hand sliding quickly under the boy’s chin, pushing his head up sharply, while his dagger plunged upward at the base of his skull. The combined force of the maneuver buried the dagger to the hilt, killing the Changeling instantly. Silently, Seth half carried, half dragged the corpse into the alley as the older man turned the corner, his eyes scanning for any sign of his prey.
Seth lifted the boy’s corpse more to keep the still kicking legs from alerting the man, and waited in utter silence as the second hunter approached. He wanted to test the man to see if he would notice the faint scuffs and droplets of blood on the cobbles. Most wouldn’t have noticed, but the old man did. With a genuine smile, Seth pushed the body from the shadows and watched the old man slide back with more grace than anyone his apparent age should have possessed as the changelin’s corpse hit the cobbles before him. A knife was gripped lightly in the man’s hand, ready to be thrown at any moment. His dark eyes scanned the alley, searching frantically for any movement, but there was no fear there, only anticipation.
“Glad to see I didn’t waste my time with you,” Seth murmured in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
“Master,” the man gasped as his form shifted almost immediately to his true shape. It was a risky endeavor, considering where they were. Sovaesh was an exile here and if he was spotted it would mean his death. If the Firym could manage to catch him, of course. Sovaesh glanced down at the body, then back into the ally, before glancing behind him toward the busier streets. “This is the last place I expected to see you and I have to admit I’m rather confused. Did you have a grievance with this man?” Sovaesh asked quietly as he lifted the body effortlessly and moved into the alley once more.
“I needed life energy and I needed to speak with you. It seemed easier to kill two birds with one stone,” Seth explained with a smirk as he leaned back against the wall. It never ceased to amaze him how much Sovaesh and Finn resembled each other. Perhaps that was why he was willing to tolerate so much from Finn, even if the boy’s ignorance made his life more difficult.
“What do you need of me, Master?” Sovaesh asked as he dropped the boy to the ground and gazed up at Seth with searching eyes.
“It has been several centuries since I taught you, Sovaesh. I think you can quit calling me master now,” Seth said with faint shake of his head. It was difficult not to smile, both from Sovaesh’s words as well as his actions. Seth had been forced to train others while he served Avanti, but Sovaesh was the only one he had ever trained by choice, and he had never regretted doing so. Sovaesh was clever and noticed details that others would overlook. He was perfect for his role in life and every time Seth watched him work, he was proud.
“When I know for a certainty that I am superior to you in the arts and there is nothing more that you could ever teach me, I will cease. I think I will be calling you Master for a very long time,” Sovaesh replied softly and bowed his head with respect.
“Fair enough,” Seth chuckled. “How is Davahni?” he asked in a softer tone. It, of course, wasn’t what he was here to speak of, but he always asked about her first. The only contact he had with his daughter was through Sovaesh. She had been an infant when he died, and by the time he had enough strength to leave the Darklands he was cursed with the life of a Demon and Davahni was fully grown. Too much time had passed to consider approaching her then, and even if he had, what could he have possibly said. I’m sorry I let your mother die. I just wanted you to know that I love you, but better not trust me since I am Death’s lackey now.
So he had waited, and opportunity had eventually presented itself in the form of Sovaesh. The young Firym had wanted Davahni, and Seth had wanted her to be safe. The easiest way to attain both of their goals was to train the boy. It made Sovaesh useful to Avanti while giving Davahni a shield. The fact that Seth had arranged for Sovaesh to meet Davahni and used a bit of charm magic to ensure the Firym was interested in her was entirely irrelevant. The Changeling blood had been too useful to ignore, and it made Sovaesh the perfect protector. A Changeling could escape from the Avanti slave chains. No one else could.
“Davahni is better than she has ever been I think. Merro agrees with her and the fact that Donrey is dead has relieved much of her stress. Despite everything I did to keep her away from him, he still terrified her. I suppose I never noticed how much he scared her until after I killed him. It wasn’t until he was dead that I finally got to see her truly happy,” Sovaesh answered after a long moment. By the crease of his eyes above the mask Seth could tell he was frowning.
“She held that fear from before the time she met you, Sovaesh. Donrey never laid a finger on her while she was in your care. Of that I’m certain,” Seth said quietly.
“I should have killed him sooner,” Sovaesh sighed. “But at least it’s done now. I’m sure you didn’t come all the way to Firym to discuss this, though. You look as though you are in a hurry, too. So what is it that you need?”
Seth smiled again. He hadn’t shown any signs of impatience that he was aware of, but Sovaesh noticed every detail. “I didn’t, and I am. As always, you are correct. I need to know what you know of Zoelyn, Jala’s ward. Where did she come from? How long has she been with Jala?”
Sovaesh’s frown deepened for a moment and he shook his head slowly. “I’ve only met her once, so I don’t know much of her. She has been with Jala for two weeks or so that I know of. Jala brought her back from Arovan, though I think the girl might have actually been from Glis. From what I understand, Elijah was keeping her as a ward in his keep and Jala thought she would have better luck helping the girl in Merro. When Zoelyn spoke to me she seemed to have a Glis accent to her voice so at the very least she is from one of the border villages.”
“But you don’t know where she is originally from?” Seth pressed. He had known she was from Glis by her reaction to him. Glis and Arovan were the only two countries where the locals still spread hearth stories about him. That was thanks to Death. The Divine had ordered him to work in both of those countries far more often than the others.
“Originally?” Sovaesh repeated thoughtfully. He tapped his chin for a moment as he seemed to consider the question. “It’s difficult to say, going off of her looks. She is so sickly that her features are obscured by her condition. I wouldn’t hesitate to say she is full Elder Blood if she were healthy, but the sickness suggests she is weaker so perhaps half-blood. She is obviously not a Shifter and with her pale hair she could be of Arovan blood,” he paused and gazed back at Seth. “What makes you so sure she isn’t actually from Arovan?”
Seth frowned as he watched Sovaesh and shrugged a shoulder in answer. He had thought Sovaesh would have known what an Undrae was, but apparently he didn’t. The creatures had been extinct for some time, he supposed, but Sovaesh’s mother had been the High Mage of Firym. She should have trained her son better.
“I suppose if she is from another land it could be anywhere. I can check into it if you like,” Sovaesh replied hesitantly.
Seth shook his head quickly with a faint smile. “The job Jala gave you is more important. Better that you finish hunting down the Changelings and free the Blights from their control. I will look into it more myself,” Seth glanced down at the Changelings body and nudged it lightly with the toe of his boot. “I do have another favor of you, though, and it’s one I’m not sure you will agree to.”
“Ask,” Sovaesh said without hesitation or sign of suspicion.
“I’d like your dagger. I will trade you my own for it.” Seth smiled and motioned toward the large blade that was still sheathed at Sovaesh’s side. It was an unusual request to be sure and Sovaesh’s eyes widened in shock at his words, but it was necessary. Sovaesh’s dagger was a Drin
ker, or in better terms, enchanted to absorb life energy. With as many people as he had killed recently the blade would have more than enough energy to revitalize Zoelyn.
“Not at all what I expected, but of course.” Sovaesh was already unbuckling the blade from his belt as he spoke.
“It’s temporary Sovaesh. I need the energy that is stored within it. I will return it to you when I can. You have my word,” Seth assured him as he handed over his own dagger. It was a touchy thing to ask and he hadn’t been sure Sovaesh would agree. To any warrior, weapons were important, but to an Assassin, their daggers were more. It was a calling card in a sense. He had essentially just asked Sovaesh for his identity, and his former student was handing it over without question, and all it had taken was a smile.
Chapter 11
Glis
His breath frosted in the air before him as he stepped from his ship. With a frown, Shade pulled his jacket on and stepped down to the thick grass. Turning slowly, he surveyed his surroundings, his eyes searching for any sign of life. The forests of Glis rose to the west of him, barely visible through the morning fog, while the grasslands of Arovan could be seen faintly to the east. By Jala’s directions, he should be sitting right beside Nigel’s guard post. The dragon was supposed to be protecting the Blights from an invasion from Arovan, and yet there was no sign of him anywhere.
“Wonderful,” Shade muttered as he gemmed his ship and dropped the stone into his jacket pocket. He had been counting on information from Nigel to help him in his search. The dragon had been stationed here for close to three weeks. There was no way he could have avoided contact with the Blights in that time, unless of course he wasn’t actually here.
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse Page 23