“I hope you are really inventive with names,” Valor whispered as he shifted again in the saddle.
“Me too,” Jala replied quietly. She had never expected there to be so many. The sight both impressed and saddened her. To have so many to help them breach Death’s city would be more than she had possibly hoped for, but to know so many had been utterly forgotten by everyone was incredibly depressing. “One at a time please, I cannot understand you all at once.” She spoke loudly as she carefully swung down from the horse. Valor dismounted quickly as well and stood by her shoulder, keeping a close watch on the dead surrounding them. She wasn’t sure what exactly he planned to do against so many, but she knew if any of the Forgotten moved against her, he would fight.
The dead grew silent and then all began speaking at once again. With a sigh, Jala held up a hand for silence and the air grew still once more. “You, tell me your story. Not all of it, mind you. Tell me what you remember best about the sunlit world,” she said as she pointed to the blond haired girl with the cold blue eyes.
“I remember pain. I remember yelling. I remember cold, hunger, and dark rooms,” the child hissed, her gaze unwavering on Jala.
Bloody hell Jala thought as the child stared up at her with those hate filled eyes. There was no good name for such memories so she chose the first one that came to mind from the child’s words. “I name you Misery for your suffering in the world above and thus I will remember you,” she promised and hoped she would never have to remember another child in such a fashion again. “You. Tell me what you remember best,” Jala said motioning to a slender woman with dark hair and darker eyes. It was going to be a very long night. Of that there was no question.
Chapter 5
Merro
Sunlight filtered down through the clouds granting feeble warmth to the day. Emily moved to sit on the edge of the flat roof and watched the people below scurry about their errands. The town itself had grown considerably in the short time they had been here, but still there was so much to be done before the snow fell. With a silent sigh Emily turned her gaze toward the northern road, hoping, but not truly expecting to see Jala returning. Sunlight flashed on the hillside and she froze, thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her, showing her what she wished to see. Valor’s armor flashed like that in sunlight. Leaning farther over the edge she focused her vision, willing to see the flash of light once more.
“Well this pair doesn’t work,” Sovann said with a disgusted sigh behind her. There was the sound of him sorting through his bag and more mumbling.
Emily ignored him and continued staring hopefully toward the distant trees. Another flash came followed by several more. Faint shapes were visible now, just coming down out of the trees. Far too many to be Jala returning, her hopes sank even as her curiosity grew. “Sovann,” she called quietly.
There was a heavy sigh behind her. “Well this pair doesn’t work either apparently. Unless you are no longer on the roof, that is.” Sovann grumbled followed by the sound of him shuffling through his possessions once more.
“Sovann,” Emily called a bit louder, her eyes still intent on the approaching soldiers. There were more visible now and judging by the speed they were progressing they were mounted, though they were still too far away to tell for sure.
“Well at least you are still here,” Sovann said with a sigh. “Two more pairs to go and then it’s back to drawing board for both of us.
Emily turned with a disgusted sigh to stare at the mage as he pulled a pair of goggles on. The lenses were shaded so dark she doubted he could see the sun if he stared right at it. The lenses themselves were not the project however, the runes carved into them were. Those combined with his magic and her blood had been what they had spent countless days attempting to perfect. “Sovann!” Emily snapped loudly, attempting once again to get his attention. When he was focused on his work it was like talking with a wall.
“Emily! They work!” Sovann crowed happily, still oblivious to her attempts at gaining his attention. “I see you perfectly. You are right on the ledge. Well not perfectly, per say, but I do see you! Emily, why are you not wearing clothing?” Sovann’s voice trailed off into puzzlement with the last but he was still staring right at her.
“Sovann! If you can see me then look at what I’m pointing to!” Emily snapped and whipped her arm in the direction of the approaching soldiers that were close enough now to tell that it was far more than a patrol.
“Actually I can’t see anything other than you. I made the lenses dark enough that I wouldn’t be distracted by others while attempting to see you. You didn’t answer my question however. Where in the bloody hell are your clothes?” Sovann said, his voice holding more distress than she thought was actually called for over such a trivial thing as clothing.
“Jail said I should be comfortable and I am, but Sovann take off the damned glasses and look at the northern road,” Emily said in exasperation as she turned back to scan the town for Neph. By the calm mood on the streets no one else had noticed the approach yet.
“Soldiers.” Sovann said in a stunned voice as he moved to stand behind her. “Why didn’t you say something sooner? Neph must be warned, go find him quick.”
“And Jail wonders why I wanted to knock you in the back of the head,” Emily grumbled as she stood and dropped down from the ledge of the roof. There were only a couple of places Neph was likely to be at this time of day. Without so much as a glance behind her, she sprinted toward the closest of them.
“I said, raise the god damned timber, not drop it on my fucking head,” Neph snarled ahead of her and she felt herself break into a smile. While his constant snarling did make her want to knock him in the head as well, it did make him easy to find. She slowed as she rounded the corner and paused long enough for Neph to secure the beam of the house into place with his magic before moving up behind him.
“Neph,” Emily whispered, trying to get his attention without alarming the men working with him on the construction.
“I’m busy, find Jail,” Neph grumbled quietly.
“Jail is with Wisp in the fields while she restores the land. This requires you, anyway,” Emily replied in a slightly louder voice and jabbed him in the back with a talon to emphasize her point.
“Everyone take a break, there is something I must attend to,” Neph said loudly to his work crew. “Like breaking your damned finger. Now what is more important than this?” he added in a much softer voice as he turned away from his men.
“There are soldiers approaching from the north. I have no idea whose they are but there are a lot of them,” Emily explained quietly.
Neph’s expression changed at once. With a muffled curse he dropped the blueprints he had been holding onto a stack of wooden beams and moved off quickly toward the northern side of town. “How many would you estimate?” he asked quietly.
“Well over a hundred, all mounted,” Emily replied without hesitation. Normally the fact that he knew she was still around would have annoyed her into sullen silence, but somehow it didn’t bother her at the moment. Perhaps it was simply her preoccupation with the soldiers approaching, or maybe Jail was right and she was getting used to Neph’s personality.
“Did you see any banners?” Neph asked, his strides lengthening as they grew closer to the northern road.
A small crowd was gathering at that end of town. The soldiers were close enough now that the sound of hoof beats and clanking armor echoed through the streets.
“By the size of the dust cloud, I’d say we are looking at close to three hundred, if they were riding two abreast? Were they?” Neph said, a bit distracted as he shook his head at the gathering people. “Idiots, if it’s a hostile force they have lined themselves up for the slaughter.”
“I didn’t see any banners. They weren’t wearing red and gold like the Avanti. They wore silver armor and yes, they were riding in two ranks,” Emily answered quickly before they reached the onlookers. Once they were among the people she would have to fall sile
nt again. After seeing Devony’s fear at her disembodied voice she didn’t care to think how the average citizen might react. Devony was Elder Blood and should have been used to the unusual simply from the amount of magic she had been subjected to in her life. The majority of Merro’s common folk had witnessed very little magic and had a plentitude of horror stories about the Blight infestation that would guarantee her a painful death if they found out about her.
Neph pushed his way through the crowd and came to a stop near the edge of town. “Bloody hell,” he whispered, though she wasn’t sure if he was actually talking to her or not.
“What? Are they hostile?” she asked, practically breathing the words in his ear to keep from being overheard by the closely gathered people. Neph absolutely despised it when she used a mind link with him. It didn’t seem to bother any of Jala’s other companions, but Neph hated it.
“Worse. They are Arovan. Why are they here now?” Neph grumbled in a disgusted voice as he watched the column shuffle to a halt just outside of town.
“Valor’s knights, I would imagine by the look of them,” Sovann said as he pushed his way through the crowd to stand beside Neph.
“So it would seem,” Neph grumbled.
A woman dismounted from one of the lead horses and handed her reins to her companion before turning to approach them.
“Brings a whole new meaning to breastplate doesn’t it,” Sovann said quietly as the woman drew nearer. Emily snickered quietly while Neph simply glared in response.
The woman was quite favored by the gods if the shape of her armor was any indication of her true form. Though covered with dust from the road the armor was obviously of fine make with intricate details tooled into the polished silver. She removed her helm and shook out long chestnut hair as she drew close. Stopping several feet away she bowed her head in greeting looking between Sovann and Neph as if she was trying to determine who to address.
“Welcome to Merro, Lady knight,” Sovann said, and bowed his head in return.
She smiled and seemed relieved that he had chosen to speak first. “Thank you. I am Bridgette of the Order of the Phoenix here to report to Lord Valor.”
“Sorry, he isn’t here.” Neph said curtly, his eyes scanning the knights lining the road behind her. “From what I understood, he was expecting a thousand knights. Are there more on the road behind you?”
Bridgette blinked, looking first to Sovann then to Neph, and shook her head slightly. “No, I’m afraid this is it. Pardon, but did you say he isn’t here? We were informed that Lord Valor left the city of Sanctuary for this land over a week ago. We set sail the very day the word was received.” She spoke politely, but Emily could hear dismay clearly in her voice.
“I’m afraid he is in hell at the moment. Who is in charge of the knights currently and why aren’t there a thousand?” Neph replied, ignoring her distress as well as the expression that crossed her face with his newest words.
“I suppose I would be in charge at the present time. Most of the division requested reassignment when they learned what our orders were to be and who would be in charge. Given the current state of unrest in Arovan most preferred to remain fighting at home. The three hundred and forty-seven left in this particular division are the less desirable, I’m afraid,” Bridgette explained, looking desperately toward Sovann as if she hoped he would show some sign of superiority over Neph and take control of the conversation.
“Less desirable? Explain.” Neph snapped, his eyes flashing back to her.
“The craven, the lazy, the dishonored. May I ask exactly who you are and what exactly you mean by Lord Valor is in hell?” Bridgette said with a bit of bite to her own voice.
“Oh, this could get good,” Emily whispered to Neph, whose expression darkened further.
“Which are you?” Neph asked, raising an eyebrow and ignoring her questions completely.
“Pardon?” Bridgette replied sharply.
“Craven, lazy, or dishonored? Which are you?” Neph asked, speaking slowly as if to a thick witted child.
“Dishonored I would suppose, I left my position with my own regiment to join this one. I’m afraid my superiors were not pleased and my current rank reflects that displeasure,” Bridgette snapped in response as she shifted her position to rest one slender hand on her hip, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Neph. “Now my answers if you please?” she said in a voice that was close to demand.
“My name is Nephondelvayon. I am currently in control until High Lady Merrodin returns from her quest with Valor in hell,” Neph replied sweetly, then turned his attention back to the knights.
“Of course. A Delvay. That explains it,” Bridgette sighed and relaxed her posture as if there was no point in fighting any longer.
“I’ll ignore that remark,” Neph grumbled, still searching through the knights as if looking for a familiar face. “You say they are mostly culls. Can you name three in that mix that are worth their salt?” Neph asked in an almost conversational voice.
“Savy, that’s the woman holding my horse currently. She is probably the best lance among them all. Noble. That would be the dark haired man just behind her, and Foster, the blond man on the black mare three ranks back,” Bridgette answered without hesitation.
“Why are they in this mix if they are worth their salt? What vices do they have?” Neph asked, his gaze moving from figure to figure as Bridgette spoke.
“Savy was caught trading her personal favors for favors from the Supply officer. Noble has a gambling problem and Foster’s mouth works much better than his ears do,” Bridgette explained with a bit of a smile.
“What’s your vice? Why would you ask for this assignment? Are you craven and wanting escape from the Blights?” Neph asked letting his eyes fall on her once more.
“You are such an ass,” Emily whispered to him as she watched fury flash across the Lady knight’s face. To her credit, though, Bridgette regained her composure quickly. Emily grinned and nodded with approval. Neph hated it when people wouldn’t rise to his remarks.
“My vice is loyalty. If you are asking why I’m here, I owe my armor and knighthood to Valor. I am here to serve him,” Bridgette explained stiffly.
“From what I’ve seen, Valor is much better at getting women out of armor than putting it on them,” Neph replied with a smirk.
A spark of emotion flashed across Bridgette’s face but it was gone too quickly for Emily to identify it. Clearing her throat the knight nodded slightly and let out a short breath before speaking again. “I heard that he had become a raving drunk and spent more time whoring than fighting. I thought it was rumor, however. There is truth to that gossip, then?”
Neph shrugged slightly and glanced at Sovann before answering. “I think I’ve only seen him raving a couple of times. As to whoring, well I don’t think any of them were actually charging him for sex. Had they been charging, I doubt he could have afforded a gold bit for his horse or all of his pretty clothes.”
Bridgette nodded but kept all emotion from her face as she looked back toward the waiting cavalry. “Well, I suppose I will see for myself upon his return. Until then, I will accept you as the commanding officer. What orders do you have, Sir?”
“You’ve shown me the best three. Now show me the worst three.” Neph said, moving to stand beside her, his attention on the knights once more. Apparently he had decided that he wasn’t going to get a rise out of this woman and had given up pursuit of it.
Surprisingly, once Neph figured out he couldn’t get under your skin with his words he was actually fairly easy to deal with. That fact had taken Emily until very recently to figure out.
“Jesson. He is the slender man near the wagons. He is violent and has several charges against him that could never be proven. Nob. He is the rather large man also by the wagon…” Bridgette’s voice trailed off as she leaned a bit to get a better look at the man she was speaking of. “He appears to be eating a ration of horse grain,” she continued, sounding baffled. She shook her head slig
htly and sighed. “He isn’t violent but he is quite thick and very lazy and usually drunk. I’m amazed he is still allowed in armor but I think he has become somewhat of a mascot for the disgraced. The last would be Tessa. She is the one closest to Jesson. They are friends for a reason. Jesson is a jackal and she is a viper. They work well together.”
Neph nodded silently and motioned for her to follow as he made his way toward the wagons. Bridgette glanced toward the town before turning to follow Neph with a puzzled look on her face.
“Well, let’s not miss the fun,” Emily said softly to Sovann, and followed along quickly. She studied the knights as she passed, noting the looks of distaste that they gave to Neph as he moved through their ranks. That in itself was a bit confusing to Emily. Usually people had to get to know Neph before they had disgusted expressions on their faces at his approach. Neph was pleasant to look on and was always clean and well dressed, even if he did prefer his dark somber leathers. Most women found him handsome. Until he opened his mouth, of course. Once the first words were out of Neph’s mouth all attraction ended.
Neph stepped up on the closest wagon and moved to the highest point atop several stacked grain bags. With a hand he motioned for the knights to assemble closer. Emily quickly hopped up beside Neph as the knights began to close in and watched anxiously until Sovann secured a place on the wagon’s bench well away from the crushing mass of war horses. Bridgette had regained her own horse and watched silently from the edge of the crowd with the same puzzled expression on her face.
“Pay attention because I will only say this once,” Neph began in a loud voice, causing the area around him to fall silent aside from the shuffling of horses. “High Lady Merrodin and Lord Valor are not currently in Merro. They are on a quest and should return soon. Until that point I am in charge of Merro and therefore in charge of you all. My name is Nephondelvayon. As you all well know the Delvay think that Arovan knights are a bunch of armor clad bitches and Arovan knights typically think that the Delvay are rude assholes.”
The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes Page 9