“Like dueling Kithkanon,” Valor said dryly. Both of his siblings turned and looked at Finn in disbelief and Jala watched Valor sigh in relief.
“Are you insane?” Honor demanded.
“When?” Chastity asked, her voice equal parts disbelief and interest.
“Two days from now. Give me a few hours and the entire city will be talking about it. You should stop by. It will be quite the fight,” Finn said casually and smiled at them both.
“You are going to die,” Honor said slowly, drawing the words out.
“I never lose,” Finn objected mildly.
“You are about to,” Chastity said.
“I won’t,” Finn said firmly and gazed past both of them as Micah approached. He carried a letter in his hands and even from the distance Jala could make out the array of seals on it. There was no doubt it was an official document.
He stopped nearby Valor and handed the letter up to him. “I’m not sure what it is regarding but father was adamant about me getting it to you as soon as I saw you next,” Micah said and took a place on the rail once more.
“Finn is going to fight Kithkanon,” Honor blurted, once the lord was seated.
Micah regarded Finn thoughtfully and nodded. “When? I’ll place money on you,” He said calmly.
“What? Finn is obviously out-classed here,” Chastity said her tone filled with disbelief.
Micah shook his head and smiled down at Chastity. “Finn has more tricks up his sleeve than anyone gives him credit for. He is one of the best I’ve ever seen with a sword and Kithkanon is predictable. Finn will win,” He said with true belief in his words.
“See, Micah has faith,” Finn said with a smirk.
“By the Aspects,” Valor said in a breathless tone. All eyes turned to the knight whose gaze was locked on the open document before him.
“What is it?” Jala asked. From his expression she couldn’t tell if it was good news or bad.
He looked up and smiled widely at her. “High Lord Arovan has just granted me command of my former Cavalry regiment. I now command a thousand lancers to be used as I see fit. They will remain on call in Arovan, awaiting my summons,” he explained, his voice holding a strong note of disbelief.
“He is parting with troops now?” Sebastian asked, his expression incredulous.
“My father has a substantial Cavalry and armed knights aren’t doing much good against the foes we currently face. If he believes they will benefit Valor more he is most likely right,” Micah said and bowed his head to Valor. “Congratulations, Valor, now you can put to work everything you have learned from your father and from all of those military strategy courses you take at the Academy.”
“Thank you Micah, and thank your father for me. I’m shocked. This was the last thing I expected,” Valor said, his voice still faint.
“If we want to finish everything we had planned to do today we had better go, Val,” Finn said gently, drawing the Knight’s attention back from the document.
“Yes, of course,” Valor replied distractedly and carefully handed Devony back down to her father. He fished in his pocket for a moment and pulled a folded paper out. “This is the list of things I will be needing, Honor. I’d appreciate it if you would let me know when it makes it to the warehouses.” He handed the paper to his brother and carefully tucked the letter from Lord Arovan into his coat.
“It was nice to have met all of you,” Jala said with a smile and turned her horse to follow Finn who was already departing slowly.
Valor lingered to share a few words with his siblings but followed soon after. “To Merro’s district then?” he asked as he caught up.
“For a few hours and then to the gambling houses,” Finn said with a nod.
“I have training with Neph tonight so I suppose I’ll part ways with you two after we are done in my district,” Jala said with a sigh.
“You will need a drink after you see the district. Skip a night’s practice with Neph and join us,” Finn said giving her a sympathetic look.
“It can’t be that bad,” she objected. Both Valor and Finn looked at her for a long minute but remained silent as they rode, apparently deciding it would be better to let her see for herself.
* * *
She wasn’t sure exactly what she had been expecting from the Merro quarter but it wasn’t this. Everywhere she looked was ruin and decay. Garbage filled the alleys and the buildings looked on the verge of falling down. Even the roads were barely serviceable. Sullen faces stared out of doorways, watching them as they passed. She wished they had thought to change to plainer clothes. Valor was drawing the most attention and she half expected him to be mugged by the time they left the district.
“I’ve got a lovely time for ya pretty,” a hoarse woman’s voice called down to them from a balcony. She wore a ragged dress that had faded to a dull grey and her hair was tangled about her shoulders. Her smile drew the skin on her gaunt face tight giving her a cadaverous look.
“Well, you have a plentitude of very frightening whore houses. Not really sure what those sores are around her mouth and that particular part of the anatomy definitely isn’t supposed to be that color. Damn,” Finn observed, looking up at the woman with a sickly expression. “Healers. You need healers desperately.” He shuddered slightly and turned his attention back to the street ahead.
“I may turn celibate after witnessing that,” Valor murmured, swallowing heavily.
“You shouldn’t have looked,” Jala said mildly and carefully kept her gaze from going back to the whore above.
They had planned simply to ride through the district and decide what to fix first, but seeing all this and doing nothing was gnawing at Jala. She wanted to change it now. She hated the thought of leaving these people in this condition any longer than she had too. “Why did Merro’s fall hit them so hard? Couldn’t they have found a way to live without Merro?” she asked quietly, not understanding at all what had happened here.
“Most of them depended on Merro for supplies and imports. A few craftsmen were able to continue but they moved to better parts of the city. What you are looking at are the dregs, the lower class that had nothing else beyond the simple labor their home country provided,” Valor explained.
“Dock workers, warehouse men, and the whores that served their like. Each district has a surplus of that sort and most of these didn’t have the money to move. Some of them turned to thieving for the Nightblades. A lot just do what they can simply to survive,” Finn said carefully steering his horse around a large pile of garbage blocking part of the street. Angry squeaks arose from the pile as his horse’s hoof dislodged a board.
While I’m not opposed to hunting, even I won’t eat a rat I find here. I’m afraid of what they have been eating, Marrow told her as he skirted wide around the refuse, eyeing the rats with suspicion.
“I don’t blame you,” she said, feeling a bit sick. She could see an arm protruding from the bottom of the pile and from the size of it the owner hadn’t been very old. “There are bodies in the streets,” she said quietly, looking to Finn.
“It only gets worse the farther in we go, Jala. We can turn back now and come back when we are prepared to fix things,” He offered.
“No, I want to see it,” she said, hardening her resolve.
“Where exactly is Sovann planning to relocate himself here. I hope it’s near the entry gate or he will likely be dead in a week,” Valor said quietly.
“He says he found a good place on Breaker Street near the old market. He has already moved into it from what I understand,” Finn said, keeping his voice low as well.
Valor frowned and glanced at Finn quickly before turning his attention back to the darkened alleys they were riding past. “Isn’t Breaker street part of the old Slave quarter?” he asked.
“I really couldn’t tell you. I had no dealings with Merro when the country still existed. I hated Merro. In truth, I wouldn’t even buy anything made by their craftsmen,” Finn replied with a shrug.
“Why are there so many children here and no sign of parents? They can’t all be orphans can they?” Jala asked as she watched yet another child disappear into an alley.
“Gutter rats. The streets are thick with them. Most of the time they are unwanted children of whores but occasionally it’s a case of their parents simply dying and they had nowhere else to go. All of the poor districts are filled with them. It’s not just Merro,” Finn explained.
“There are too many orphans in Sanctuary. Our world is a dangerous place and it’s far too easy to die here, especially for the commons,” Valor said with a sigh.
“I want to build them a place to go, somewhere they can sleep and get food and feel safe,” Jala said, her eyes already searching for a building that would serve.
“I doubt there is anywhere you can make them feel safe, Jala. They have grown used to living on the streets. They will never feel safe,” Finn said gently and motioned toward a child with wide eyes watching Marrow pass. “That one is trying to decide if the Bendazzi is going to eat him, or if he can eat the Bendazzi.”
“Run Marrow,” Valor urged quietly gaining a low growl from Marrow.
At the noise, the boy disappeared back into the alley and their group fell silent as they rode. The district grew progressively worse as they neared the center, with the rambling buildings gradually giving way to burned out ruins and shacks built from whatever the occupants could find available. She could feel eyes on her as they passed and Marrow paced with a continuing growl echoing from him. Glancing at Finn, she saw his hand resting lightly on his sword and frowned. Flicking her gaze to the right, she saw Valor rode in the same posture with his hand loose over his long sword.
“We can go. I’ve seen enough. Whatever is left to see, Sovann can tell me about,” she said quietly and both men wheeled their horses with obvious relief.
“So glad to hear you say that. I’m not a coward but I don’t want to be here when evening falls,” Valor said quietly.
“It will be different soon,” Jala said, the words more of a promise to herself than any reassurance to the men she rode with.
“It will be,” Finn agreed and gave her a smile.
“Because it certainly can’t get worse,” Valor said with a nod. “I need a drink or a bottle. I can’t decide which. I think the bottle. Gods above, but this place is wretched. Makes you glad for what you have, doesn’t it?”
“This could have been my fate,” Jala said quietly, fully aware of how close she came to living in filth and squalor. If not for Victory and Havoc she likely would have starved or been a gutter orphan in Brannaford if she had made it that far alone.
“But it wasn’t, and now you can improve theirs,” Finn said and took her hand gently in his own.
She glanced at him and smiled weakly at his attempts to cheer her and noticed that he had dropped his reins rather than release his hold on his sword. Nodding slightly, she squeezed his hand and forced herself to smile wider. “Thank you, Finn,” she whispered.
“There is a man on the roof watching us, Finn, to your left,” Valor whispered, his voice barely carrying over the steady thump of the horses hooves.
“Don’t look, Jala. He has been watching us since we got here. I’m amazed he let you see him, Val,” Finn said, not turning his attention anywhere but the road ahead of them.
“You knew he was there?” Valor asked incredulously.
“It’s Hemlock. Just keep riding,” Finn said and Valor urged his horse into a faster walk.
“Why is he watching us?” Jala asked quietly. Even she knew who the leader of the Nightblades was.
“Most likely he is curious or he has a contract on one of us. Regardless, if he was going to do something even I wouldn’t have noticed him,” Finn said calmly. “Still, it is never a good idea to look directly at him. He takes it as an insult or a sign of disrespect.”
Nodding, she continued to ride and prayed to Fortune it was simple curiosity. She had read and heard stories about Hemlock. In every tale, when he had a contract the victim didn’t live or return to life through magic. What Hemlock killed, stayed dead.
Chapter 4
Fionahold
“I’m pleased you could make it,” Symphony said as she fell into step beside the large red haired man. He was dressed in dark colors as always, with a flowing cloak concealing most of him. The hood was down allowing her to see the dark expression on his handsome face. “The council waits in the next room along with two scouts that have just returned from Eldagar. I believe you know one of them,”
“There aren’t many Fionaveir I don’t know,” Kiernan Morcaillo said with a faint smile. He always had a way of making his smiles seem anything but friendly. No matter the occasion, there was always a faint coldness to the expression.
“This one you know better I think,” she said and pushed open the heavy wooden door leading to the council room. Caspian, Faramir, and Lutheron sat at their customary table while Vaze and Remedy sat at another, sharing a pitcher of ale. In the back of the room at a table by himself sat Shade while Charm lounged in the rafters above. She moved aside from the doorway and allowed Kiernan to pass, drawing stares from all in the room. It was unusual to have so many council members together at once and even more unusual to bring to the meeting a man not even in the Fionaveir.
“Have good news for us?” Vaze asked, his voice a slow drawl common to the southern region of Morcath, though Symphony knew for a fact he rarely ever set foot in that country. His hair was a dark grey which hinted at Arovan blood while his eyes were so dark they appeared black. No one was quite sure what Vaze was, other than a talented fighter as far as she knew. There were, of course, rumors about him, but Lutheron was the only one that truly knew. He had brought Vaze to the Fionahold when he was barely days old and had raised him like a son.
Remedy, on the other hand, everyone knew well. He was Han’shy and Avanti by birth a highly unusual combination that he had proven could be quite dangerous. With equal skill in Mind magic as well as Enchantment the young man was formidable.
Kiernan paused in the center of the room and let his gaze fall across everyone there. Turning at last to Vaze, he shook his head slightly and then looked at Caspian. “It’s not her. I’ll stake my life on it,” he said bluntly.
“What makes you so sure?” Caspian asked leaning back in his seat.
“I’ve been watching the house for months and what I’ve seen has been pathetic. It’s what I would expect from poorly written street theatre. Every time I hear Myth planning, I expect it to be followed with dramatic maniacal laughter. It simply isn’t her way. Myth wouldn’t be so blatant,” Kiernan explained.
“Wait, her who?” Shade asked leaning forward with a confused look on his face. His voice drew dark looks from the council at his interruption but his eyes were only on Kiernan.
“Myth,” Kiernan replied patiently and sighed at seeing his nephew’s confusion grow. “Mythandry, or as you know her, Mythandar. My sister,” Kiernan explained patiently.
“What?” Shade exclaimed in shock. He shook his head and stared at his uncle as if expecting the man to chuckle and say he was joking.
“Mythandry was born a woman but chose to turn to male after the fall of her bloodline. A woman can only produce a child once every several months depending on the species. A male can procreate much more effectively,” Lutheron said impatiently and motioned for Kiernan to continue.
“Myth is pure changeling, Shade. Whatever a true changeling becomes, they in essence are. Be it switching gender or species, we function as that form was intended to,” Kiernan spoke gently to him but quickly turned back to Lutheron.
Symphony watched the exchange quietly and felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. His entire life had been rearranged in the past few weeks and it seemed he still had quite a few surprises in store. Moving quietly across the room she took a seat beside Remedy and smiled up at
the auburn haired man. He was her closest friend in the Fionahold ,though she had rarely gotten to see him recently.
“I won’t move at all until I know where the true Myth is. She is too dangerous. I’m not sure what exactly she is playing at, but that creature in Morcath isn’t her. She could be anywhere,” Kiernan continued, his eyes flicking from face to face in the room.
Lutheron nodded slowly and scanned those present. “She isn’t here, I will promise you that,” he said quietly.
“How can you be sure?” Kiernan asked, his tone skeptical.
“I can sense some type of fear from everyone here, I have never been able to sense fear on Mythandry and I have been close enough to her several times to try. She is the one individual other than myself that I can say is fearless,” Lutheron explained.
“Do we have any guesses as to where she might be?” Symphony asked quietly, watching all of their faces. Most were blank but Lutheron looked thoughtful while Kiernan simply seemed guarded as usual.
“From what I know of Myth, she will be where she believes the most action will be. That puts her one of two places - here, or Sanctuary,” Lutheron said and looked to Kiernan.
“The one thing I’ve learned of my sister in our years together is to never try to predict what she will do. It was hard enough to guess her next move before her mind fractured. Now it is nearly impossible,” Kiernan said with a shrug. “What have you learned from Gaelyn?” he asked, looking to Caspian. “I do believe Myth was involved in that plot, though not actually directing it. Perhaps if I learn what she has helped create, I’ll get a better idea of what she is after,”
“We have learned that these Blight children, as they are being called, have effectively wiped out a majority of the population in Gaelyn. The city of Eldagar is overrun and most of the villages are destroyed. They have begun crossing the borders into Glis recently and we expect they will soon be affecting Arovan as well,” Caspian explained. He motioned toward the back of the room and Charm dropped down from the rafters. “Charm can explain more to you,” Caspian said.
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams Page 6