Chapter 29
Sanctuary
Flames from the burning buildings lit the streets in a hellish glow. Jala gingerly stepped over a blood-covered corpse, her eyes scanning the empty streets for anything living. They seemed to be the only thing still moving in this part of town, however.
Ahead of her Marrow paused to sniff the air and then continued apparently satisfied. His muzzle and sides were stained red with blood. That, combined with the firelight glinting on his gold eyes, made him seem a creature straight from nightmares.
I doubt I look much better, she mused, and glanced down at her torn and blood-stained dress. Her hair had been in wild tangles since the ride from her district and hung in tangles matted with blood now.
“I think we can consider that dress ruined,” Valor said quietly, apparently having noticed her self-inspection.
“It’s going to take you a year to get the blood out of the filigree on your armor,” she replied in the same quiet tone. He snorted in bitter amusement and kept walking. She had lost count how many people they had killed after she had sent Neph and the others on to Merro.
From what she could tell it had been their fighting that had turned the tide of battle for the Fionaveir. When they left the inner city the fighting was all but done with, the Fionaveir showed as the clear victors. It wasn’t enough, though. Despite how much rage she had vented on their enemies, her anger still burned hotly.
“How much farther?” Valor asked.
“I wish you would take off that helm when we aren’t fighting. You sound like you are talking through a tube,” she sighed and motioned ahead with a hand. “Two more streets, perhaps. Marrow showed it to me once before, but Finn said to leave it be.” She wished now she had ignored Finn then and killed Hemlock when she had the chance. Of course, she doubted she would have had the spine to do it then. Lutheron had all but crippled her with the barrier he had ordered Remedy to put on her mind. She glanced aside at Valor as he pulled his helm free and tucked it under his arm. “Thank you,” she said with a slight nod.
He shrugged in response and glanced around the streets. “Is Emily still with us?” he asked.
“I am,” Emily replied from ahead of them. “Watching for my kind. With this much meat available and so much blood in the air there is sure to be a feeding frenzy somewhere. I want to make sure we don’t walk into it,” she spoke just loud enough for her voice to carry back to them. It was one of the few times Jala had actually heard her speak aloud in the past few weeks and the voice no longer held any hints of a child.
“I appreciate your efforts, then. I have no desire to walk into a Blight feeding ground,” Valor replied with a nod in the direction that Emily’s voice had come from.
Jala smiled, knowing the Blight was no longer anywhere near that area. Emily always moved after she spoke and usually in the last direction you expected her to be in. For all they knew the Blight was behind them now.
Almost there and I sense nothing in the area. Most of the corpses I see belong to our enemies. So either all of your people went to your homeland or they are very good at hiding, Marrow said as they turned another corner.
We will hope they went to my homeland and aren’t hiding in this mess. I think half the city might burn by morning, she replied, her eyes going once again to the flame-lit horizon near the inner city.
“I can’t believe the entrance to his lair is in your district,” Valor muttered. His eyes were roving over the buildings they had spent the past month repairing.
“Lair, that sounds so perfectly ominous,” she said with a smirk.
“What should I say, cozy abode?” Valor asked dryly, flicking a glance in her direction.
“How about grave?” she suggested and he actually smiled as he nodded. It was a bitter smile with no warmth to it at all but that seemed the only kind either of them was capable of now.
They both slowed to a stop as Marrow paced up to the transport stone and looked back at them. The area showed no signs of fighting and other than the smell of smoke in the air it seemed as peaceful as any other night.
Valor looked from the stone back to her and raised an eyebrow. “Well, how shall we proceed?” he asked calmly.
“I’ll go in first, the rest of you follow,” she replied in the same calm voice.
He shook his head and thumped a gauntlet against his breastplate. “Walking body shield. I go in first, you follow with Marrow and Emily behind you,” he corrected.
“Well why did you even ask, then?” she replied dryly and waved a hand forward toward the stone. “By all means then, Sir Body Shield,”
He smirked and pulled his helm on again. “Give me one minute and then follow,” he said as he moved toward the stone.
I will go in with him. He will never notice I’m there, Emily said and Jala nodded silently with a smile. She wasn’t overly worried about Valor anyway, with the heavily enchanted suit of armor he wore he was invulnerable to most weapons. Knowing that the Blight child was with him, however, removed all concerns. It would take something very impressive to kill the two of them in under a minute. After that, whatever they were facing would have to deal with her and Marrow as well.
Valor paused just before activating the sigil and looked around him. “If you are going in with me Emily, stay to the left. If it’s tight confines and I have to fight I don’t want to strike you by mistake,” he said quietly and then touched the stone.
Can he sense her? Marrow asked, sounding dumbfounded.
I don’t think so, Jala replied equally mystified. Perhaps he saw my smile. I don’t know, she said with a shrug and moved forward to the stone herself.
Crouching low she examined the rune, trusting Marrow to keep watch for her. It was smaller than the rest of the runes on the archway and looked so faded that most wouldn’t even notice it. It was hidden very well in plain sight. If Marrow hadn’t followed Hemlock here, she wouldn’t have had a clue how to find the Assassin.
With a quick glance at Marrow, she activated the rune and touched the Bendazzi lightly as she stepped through. Vertigo washed over her as it always did and she steadied herself against the Bendazzi until her eyes adjusted.
“It hasn’t been a minute,” Valor said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Jala shrugged at him and quickly scanned their surroundings. It looked like the entry hall to a large house from what she could tell. The floor was a mosaic pattern of tiles done in a rose vine theme. Murals of seascapes covered the walls in between the two doors leading out of the room. Set perfectly center between the two doors was a small table carved in the Fae style with a vase of flowers resting on top of it.
“I see by your expression you are as dumbfounded as I was,” Valor whispered.
“It’s uh, not exactly what I expected,” Jala replied, glancing between the two doors. With another shrug she moved to the one on the right. Valor followed walking as silently as he could in his armor. The effect was less than stealthy. She flicked a glance back to him and he shrugged, pointing down at the tile floor.
“Chances are he knows the rune has been activated and sneaking is pointless, regardless,” Valor said.
“True, so you might as well stop tiptoeing,” Jala replied quietly.
They emerged from the entry hall into a sitting room. Overstuffed chairs in pastel hues formed a small circle around a table that was loaded with books. Shelves lined the walls, loaded with various trinkets as well as more books.
Valor stared down at the pink hued carpet that was traced with red roses along its border and looked directly at her. “OK, I think we might have the wrong address,” he said quietly and lowered his sword from the on guard position to simply resting at his side.
Someone is coming, Marrow informed her crouching low.
“Well unexpected guests,” a female voice called merrily as a door on the side of the room opened. “Let’s see, we have the puppet girl, one of my beautiful creations, and the Stormlord’s brat. How interesting.” The woman was dressed in
tight black dress that accented her every curve as well as her exotic looks. Her skin was as pale as cream, with black stripes across the arms and shoulders that didn’t have the look of tattoos about them.
“Where is Hemlock?” Jala demanded, unsure who this woman was or where they were for that matter. Marrow had seen the Assassin use the rune however and she had no doubt this woman knew him.
The woman clicked her tongue and shook her head slowly. “Poor manners, Puppet. First breaking and entering and now demanding. I thought they raised you better.” Her voice was filled with amusement at the last and she seemed about to burst into laughter.
“That is Kali,” Valor said quietly, his sword once again rising to the on guard position.
“Ding Ding, the brat is quite correct. This is Kali,” she dropped into one of the over-stuffed chairs and turned her attention to Marrow. “You know by the guidelines I created you with, you should have eaten the puppet not bonded with her,” she said in a mock scolding voice, shaking a finger lightly at the Bendazzi.
“Where is Hemlock?” Jala demanded again. The woman’s antics were doing nothing to improve her temper.
“And why do you want Hemlock, Puppet? To avenge your dead boy?” Kali asked, some of the amusement gone from her voice. “He is the tool that one kills with, not the one that kills, Puppet. If you want vengeance find the one that hired him.” She eyed them both and then smiled widely. “He sure called you, didn’t he, Puppet. Blood soaked and screaming for more death,” she purred, her smile growing wider as Jala frowned at her words. “Forgot about that in your little rampage tonight, did you? Well sweetling, you have probably killed more people in the past five hours than Hemlock has killed in the past five years. How many widows did you make tonight, Puppet?”
“Do not compare honest battle with an assassin’s work. The two are nothing alike. Those we killed, we faced honorably. We didn’t sneak in the shadows and stab them in the back,” Valor said crisply.
Kali laughed with genuine amusement. “Honest battle, you say?” she asked, fighting her laughter back down as she spoke. “Truly, is that how you saw it? I saw a massacre.” She turned her gaze to Jala and raised an eyebrow. “How honorable is that, Puppet? Those were not Elder Blood you fought. They barely had a trace of Elder blood in their veins. You slaughtered them like sheep.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?” Jala asked, her anger draining away quickly with the woman’s words.
“What? Puppet? Well that is what we call pretty dolls that dance when others pull their strings, sweetling, and you do dance so very well for them,” Kali replied sweetly. “The only thing I can’t quite figure out is who exactly pulls your strings, the Fionaveir or the Aspects. You seem to dance for both of them.” She relaxed back in her chair and crossed her legs, sighing deeply.
“I am not their puppet,” Jala objected, wishing she could put more confidence into the words.
Kali laughed again. “Not even you believe that, Puppet. You have been dancing for them since the day you were conceived and we both know it. Anthe showed you how quickly the Fionaveir saved your mother.” She leaned forward a bit in her seat and smiled sweetly. “Let me ask you, Puppet. How many slave farms do you think the Fionaveir raided in Merro? Or a better question might be, how many raped slaves do you think married Fionaveir? Then of course there is the matter of the gods. The infallible luck you possess. The healing ability you have. With the genetics you have, child, you should barely be able to bind a wound properly, and here you are repairing lost eyes. Then, of course, there is the matter of your soul bond with the Sovaesh boy.” She paused in her words, watching Jala’s expression closely. “Oh my, you thought he truly loved you didn’t you?” she asked.
Jala held her arm up before her showing the woman the Firym tattoo. “He did truly love me or I wouldn’t have this,” she snapped. Kali’s words were cutting too close to the surface. Part of her wanted to flee while the other part wanted to kill the woman, just to end the conversation.
“He truly loved you because the Aspect of love enchanted him. You know I speak the truth. Your mind is already recalling every instance when someone commented on how odd it was the Finn fell in love with you so quickly,” Kali said quietly.
“It’s said that my father defeated you in combat. Keep speaking, witch and we will see how much I truly learned from my father,” Valor warned, leveling his sword toward her chair.
Kali grinned and shivered slightly. “Oh, scary. If I were you I would pray you didn’t learn much from that bastard. He truly is obnoxious and quite full of himself,” she said with another, too chipper smile. “I speak the truth to you, Puppet, and your comrade wants to kill me for it. How odd, don’t you think, Puppet. Perhaps he is afraid I’ll speak a bit of truth about him?”
“There hasn’t been a word of truth that has poured from your mouth. You are spewing poison,” Valor snapped.
Jala shook her head and took a step back. “Finn truly loved me as much as I did him. I am not enchanted. You are lying,” she said, her voice faint.
“N, you aren’t enchanted child. You were so desperately lonely when you came to this cesspool of a city that had you not been attracted to Shade you probably would have fallen in love with poor Madren. They didn’t need to enchant you, Jala. At the first hint of offered love, you seized it willingly and fell right into their hands again.” Kali’s voice was almost gentle as she spoke and the expression on her face seemed genuinely sad.
“Do not listen to her, Jala,” Valor hissed as he pulled his helm off. He tucked it under his arm quickly and seized her arm with the marriage tattoos holding it up in front of her face. “Look at this. Look at the color of those marks. He loved you. I don’t know what she is playing at, but I knew him better than anyone.”
Jala nodded slowly, her eyes locking on her arm and then nodded again with more confidence. Raising her other hand she wiped at her eyes and looked back at Kali. “I’m not sure what you have to gain from this, but I’ve heard enough.”
“Oh, have you now, Puppet?” Kali asked. “Well it seems to me that you broke into my house and you will leave when I permit it.”
“I warn you witch,” Valor began and moved forward a step, his sword still lowered.
“Your father won a fight against me in the great outdoors where he had full access to the elements. He wasn’t fool enough to attack me in my own home where I have the advantage. If you truly want to join your friend in death, by all means proceed,” Kali cut in, her voice going as hard as stone.
Jala pressed a hand against Valor’s arm and shook her head slightly. She knew all too well from her lessons with Neph and Sovann what a mage could do to protect his home. “Say what you want, then and let us go,” she said quietly.
Kali let out a long breath and frowned. “Well, you just took all of the fun out of that,” she said with a bit of a pout to her full red lips. Waving a hand lightly she rolled her eyes and tilted her head back and forth. “Where was I …,” she murmured quietly. With another wave of her hand she motioned to Jala. “Well, bugger it then, ta ta,” she said with another sigh and darkness enveloped Jala’s vision.
* * *
There was a moment of vertigo and then the world snapped back into focus. Sunlight dappled down on her from a bright blue sky above. She sat in deep grass under the shade of a tree. Marrow stood and stretched beside her, his yellow eyes scanning their surroundings with a predator’s caution. Jala looked around frantically and then back to the Bendazzi.
“Where is Valor? Is Emily with us?” she gasped, still not quite sure where they were themselves.
Emily is not here. I suppose they are still with the Creator, Marrow answered, his voice sounding much calmer than she herself was at the moment.
“We have to go back for them!” Jala said, her voice rising with panic. Staggering to her feet she looked around again trying to get her bearings, and then paused as the bubbling of water drew her attention. Turning slowly she walked to the far side of the
tree and gazed down at the small brook. Her eyes rose from the water to the tree above her and she studied the leaves. It was a Jimpa tree. Her eyes widened as recognition set in. Turning quickly she looked back to where the farmhouse had once stood. “I’m home,” she whispered, wondering if this was some kind of trick of Kali’s. “Is this real Marrow?” she asked quietly as she stared in wonder at the thick stand of trees in the distance.
It is, as far as I can tell. I do not think this is a mind trick or a dream, Marrow replied, pacing forward to stand beside her.
“How could Wisp have repaired so much in one night? I don’t see signs of ashes anywhere,” she mumbled.
The prickle of magic touched her senses and she froze, her mind quickly sorting out the type of spell. It was a translocation she realized just before Valor came into view staggering toward the tree. He threw one hand out in front of him to brace himself and stood, shoulders bent and staring at the ground.
“Valor! Are you all right?” Jala cried and rushed to his side. She could see no sign of injury on him but he was deathly pale when he turned to look at her.
He raised a gauntleted hand toward her and nodded slowly. “I’m fine. It’s just the vertigo,” he said quietly but his voice seemed to hold a bit of a tremor. “Is Emily with you?” he asked, his blue eyes holding a bit of a frantic gleam.
She shook her head slowly and started to answer when Emily appeared beside the tree. The Blight was dirty and disheveled, with a torn tunic and breeches that looked as though they might have been scavenged from the dead. She held a large bundle in one arm and her dark eyes were locked on Valor.
“I was with you, Valor,” Emily said quietly, her words almost sounding like an accusation. Her expression betrayed nothing, but Jala could sense the tension between the two of them clearly enough.
Valor nodded slightly and seemed to pale even more. “I see,” he managed at last and nodded slowly.
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams Page 43