The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes

by Melissa Myers

  “Failing at this quest,” Jala answered quietly, unsure where he was leading her.

  “Lutheron didn’t want me to retrieve you from here. He was adamant about it. This might confuse you because when you bring Finn back you will fear losing him again, right?” Vaze asked.

  “I know I will. If I lose him again there is no way I could ever get him back. Death will not be robbed twice,” Jala said, her voice filled with misery. “I am so bloody sick of manipulations. I would like to think there is at least one aspect of my life that isn’t a plot of some kind.” Rubbing her face, she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to hear what else Vaze had to say.

  “Do you know what happens when you are forced to confront your fears too often?” Vaze asked.

  “You become apathetic to them,” Valor answered for her.

  “Tell me Finn Sovaesh has learned his lesson here. Tell me that when you bring him back he will live a sedate life and retire as a swordsman.” Vaze looked to both of them.

  “I can’t say that. I don’t think Finn would.” Jala said quietly.

  “So you are saying she is going to lose him again?” Valor asked with a glare.

  “I’m saying the possibility is so high that Lutheron wasn’t willing to gamble. If you do lose him, Jala, are you going to curl into a ball and cry yourself into oblivion or are you relentlessly going to go after whoever killed him?” Vaze asked.

  “So I would be feeding War and Death but not Fear,” Jala surmised with a faint nod. Everything was clicking into place and she could see the manipulations War had hinted at, but hadn’t actually mentioned.

  Vaze nodded slightly and clicked his tongue. “You got it, kid. It’s a balancing match between them. And you are a risky bet for Lutheron right now. Better to let you die here than risk your feeding War. He has been starving the hell out of War for years. A skirmish here or there is natural of course, but what’s coming…” Vaze paused and shook his head at both of them. “No, Myth got him good with this one. Lutheron wanted the threat of war. He wanted everyone scared, but he thought he could nip it in the bud before it bloomed. Then Myth hit him with the coup de grace of the Blights,” Vaze smiled bitterly. “The best part is, Lutheron helped raise Symphony for bloodless revolution. He has been planning this for years and Myth bent him over the table in one quick move.”

  “Myth is in league with War then?” Jala asked cautiously. She wasn’t sure if she fully understood all of the strings being pulled yet, and if she was going to avoid being a puppet in the future she needed to know who was on what side.

  “Nope, Myth has a little theory going and I think she is trying to test it.” Vaze began and turned the meat once more. “You see Myth believes that the Barrier surrounding this world is so strong because it feeds off all of us. We essentially power it by our existence. So if you kill us all off…” He trailed off and looked up at both of them.

  “The Barrier falls and Myth is no longer a prisoner,” Valor finished, shaking his head slightly. “And I thought House Politics were complicated.”

  “Ahh. You optimistic boy. It hasn’t gotten complicated yet. I’m getting to that part now,” Vaze said with a grin. “OK, Jala, you and I are of War's bloodline, right?” She nodded and he smiled and continued. “Offense is our specialty because of that. I know you have noticed that it is easier to hurt that heal by now. Me, I can’t heal at all. Frankly, I’m amazed you have the ability. Now the more we kick the shit out of others, the stronger our Divine blood grows. With me?”

  “So, by War provoking me into starting a fight, he is enhancing my Divine blood which in essence makes my prayers to him stronger,” Jala said hesitantly.

  “You got it. This makes the Divine sound like horrible manipulating creatures, I know, but you have to look at their nature. They aren’t evil. They aren’t good. They represent their namesake. Don’t hate them for prodding you. Understand that it is their nature to do so, and make your own decisions. In essence they have the mentality of a child when it comes to their Aspect. They want more candy. That’s all there is to it,” Vaze said and shrugged at her.

  “The way War explained it, though, I really don’t have a choice in the matter if I want Merro to survive,” Jala protested.

  “Jala, they will always make it sound like that. They are bullies. Sit back and look for other options. Sometimes they will be telling the truth and there really is no other alternative. Other times they are just trying to weasel more candy from you.” Vaze smiled at her and gave her another wink then turned to Valor. “This is where you come in, pretty boy. I am Fionaveir, and because of that I won’t be around often. You need to be her confidant on these matters. If she can’t see another way out, look for one for her. This cannot become common knowledge or the Divines will get pissy, and a pissed off Divine is an ugly thing. Keep this between the two of you.”

  “What about Finn? Surely I can tell him.” Jala protested.

  Vaze stared at her for a moment and then sighed. “Jala, I know you love him and I respect the hell out of Sovaesh for what he has made of himself with nothing to start on, but hun, let’s face facts here and be brutally honest. What is Finn’s common approach to problems?”

  “Kill it,” Valor replied with a smirk.

  “Or intimidate it,” Jala offered with a sigh.

  “Not a whole lot of examination toward the nature of the problem though, eh?” Vaze shrugged. “A lot of times that is OK. In most issues it can be solved with that approach. It’s messy, but it works. In the case of determining the motives of the Divine, though, I suggest you use a bit more discretion in your choices,” Vaze finished.

  “Can I ask one question?” Valor said quietly, glancing to Jala once quickly and then to Vaze.

  “Feel free,” Vaze replied with a shrug as he began cutting strips of meat from the haunch and stacking them carefully on a trencher of bread.

  “Magdalyn, whom I’m guessing was Jala’s mother, was from Goswin. Does that mean Jala is related to Madren?” Valor asked quietly, taking care to avoid looking at Jala as he asked.

  Vaze snorted in amusement and bit his lower lip to keep a smile from forming. “As funny as that would be to say yes. No, they are not related. Magdalyn’s mother was a refugee from Gaelyn, actually, and raised in Goswin. Twice damned, I suppose.”

  “It wouldn’t have been that bad. At least Madren would have stopped flirting with me,” Jala sighed. “I feel sorry for him. I really do. He is always so scared and it’s obvious how lonely he is. I know what it’s like to be lonely. Granted, I didn’t handle it quite the same as Madren does.”

  “Well now that we have the suspicion hopefully out of the way and you understand why I’m here. May I explain why I asked if you had water as an element, Valor?” Vaze began as he set the meat carefully down by the fire and wiped his hands.

  “I’ll admit I was rather curious,” Valor said with a raised eyebrow.

  “Because you have both been in here for over forty days without a bath and while I am used to rough crude warriors you both reek. Not trying to be rude but it’s the god’s honest truth and if you can manage the water, I can manage the shadow screen that will allow you both to bathe very close to this camp so you aren’t in danger from the denizens of this plane,” Vaze said looking up at them.

  “Are you serious?” Jala asked, leaning forward hopefully.

  “I’d rather do that than use arcane magic to clean you and tell Death right where we are. The shadow magic is innate as is his elemental magic. It shouldn’t trigger any alarms at all. With the way you both smell currently, the demons will know when you are within a mile of the city. Not only will it improve your mood to be clean, it will help with the element of surprise,” Vaze said with a shrug and pulled a set of clean clothes from his bag holding them up before her. “They will be big, but they smell like soap rather than blood and bile,” he offered.

  Valor smiled at her expression of hope and stood, slowly looking
around. Selecting a place near the rocks he wove his hands in an intricate circle and the wind around him picked up slightly. Nodding with approval he focused again and drew his hands upwards slowly. The air in front of him shimmered slightly and water began to seep upwards through the ground to pool in the funnel of air he had shaped. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated. The water began to swirl slowly and then faster until the bottom of the make-shift tub was darker than the top. Pulling his other hand slowly downward he drew the darker water out of the pocket of air and then allowed the swirling motion to subside. Steam rose from the water as he motioned her toward it. “Purified and heated.” he said as he sat down once more.

  “Thank you so much,” Jala breathed, moving toward the water quickly.

  “Hey,” Vaze called behind her. Turning to look back she barely caught the package he threw to her. “Soap and such. Enjoy the bath.” Vaze explained as the shadows around her began to thicken blocking out the campsite from her view completely.

  She could hear them speaking softly but paid no attention to what they were saying. Since they had entered the Darklands she had only been able to sponge bathe a few times and that hadn’t been any time recently. Their water supply had become too low for such niceties, and while there was water in the Darklands, neither she nor Valor was inclined to drink it. As far as bathe in it…the thought of stopping for a bath had never even crossed her mind until Vaze had suggested it. There simply hadn’t been any place that seemed safe enough, until now. The knowledge that both Valor and Vaze sat only a few feet away gave her the security she needed to simply slide into the water and close her eyes. All fears had fled her mind as Vaze had explained everything to her. Not even the impending fight with Death seemed too much anymore. After all, as Vaze said, conflict was her birthright. It would all be over soon. Within a day or two she would be back in Merro and Finn would be raised. She allowed herself a faint smile and sunk lower in the water. “Just a bit longer, Finn, and we will have you out of there,” Jala whispered.

  “You know I don’t really know why I feel inclined to point this out now, other than perhaps so you understand in the future. But you do realize Vaze sees through Shadow screens as easily as I do water and air right? So that little bit of privacy you just had wasn’t truly private at all,” Valor said softly as he helped her back onto the horse.

  Jala paused and looked back at him. “Did you just say you both watched me bathe?” she asked in a dumbfounded voice.

  “I didn’t, but I could have. I don’t know if he did, but he could have. It’s just good knowledge to have in the future I suppose,” Valor replied.

  Jala nodded and shrugged. “Even had there not been a shadow screen and the area had been well lit, I still would have bathed. I feel twenty pounds lighter now and ready to face whatever may come,” she said and was surprised to realize it was the truth. She was less than half a day from facing Death and a fortified city held by demons and she wasn’t concerned in the least. Vaze would deal with Davrian; the Forgotten would deal with the demons. That left only Death for Valor and herself. In comparison with how it had seemed at the beginning of their quest, this was actually going to be easier than either of them had thought.

  “Are you sure we shouldn’t wait for Fiona?” Valor asked looking back at Vaze before he actually mounted.

  “We don’t need her as a guide and she won’t be helping in the fighting,” Vaze pointed out with a shrug.

  Valor nodded slowly and climbed onto the horse behind her. “Which way then?” he asked as Vaze picked his pack up from ground and swung it onto his back.

  Looking up, Vaze smiled slightly and shook his head. “Oh, I’m afraid I don’t have time to give an actual walking tour, Valor. Listen close both of you. I will open the shadows for travel. Ride through after me. I will engage Davrian. Jala, call the Forgotten once I have, and allow them to assault the city first. Once the gates have been breached, ride hard for the center of the city. You will find her there. Don’t wait for me, I will follow to help if I can, but do not wait. You can’t afford to risk the Forgotten losing the fight and missing your opportunity. You cannot face Death and her host of demons at once. You must engage her while the Forgotten are still fighting. You will not be able to kill her; she is Death. You will be able to weaken her though and that is when you strike. Take Finn back and leave the Darklands with all haste. Understood?”

  “Understood.” Jala agreed and felt a flutter in her stomach. It wasn’t fear she realized with a faint smile. It was excitement and anticipation. They were so close to their goal now. She glanced back as Valor whispered something and raised an eyebrow at him. “What was that?” she asked curiously.

  “A prayer.” Valor replied with a shrug.

  “To who?” Jala asked, turning to face him fully with a look of astonishment on her face. She had never heard Valor pray or even show reverence toward any of the Aspects.

  “To you, for you, I’m not really sure how to explain it,” Valor said with a shrug. “You are Divine blooded so it can’t hurt.”

  Jala stared at him for a long moment, then blinked and shook her head. “Well, uh, I suppose you are right, it can’t hurt,” she said after a long pause and turned back in the saddle again to find Vaze watching them both with a bit of a grin.

  “It would seem Valor paid particular attention to our talk,” Vaze said with a salute to Valor. “Long live the Hai’dia. They are a clever line and the world would be a poorer place without them. Good luck to you both. May we meet again under the sun.” He bowed with a flourish to the pair of them. As he stood, he drew the swords from his back and brandished them in front of him in a graceful arc. The shadows before him seemed to thicken as they slowly wove into a tunnel. With another brief nod to them, Vaze stepped into the center of the swirling mass of shadows and disappeared.

  “Valor, is failure still your biggest fear?” Jala asked as the knight guided their horse toward the tunnel at a swift trot. Her heartbeat had increased and she could feel her blood pumping strongly.

  “More than ever,” Valor answered quietly as the shadows enveloped them.

  Chapter 8

  The Darklands

  “Behold Despair, capital of the Dark Lady’s domain.” Vaze gestured toward the massive walled city that stood in the distance. “Not really sure if that is the name she gave it, but that’s what the shadows call it.”

  Jala nodded absently, her attention fully focused on the city before them. The walls surrounding it were so large that they seemed more like a cliff looming against the horizon. If not for the soft glow the city was emitting, she doubted she would have been able to see the walls at all. Their stone was as black as the rest of the Darklands. She had given up trying to fathom what was creating the glow beyond the wall. She somehow doubted it was the customary lights that most cities held. Her eyes were now riveted instead on the sea of dead that seemed to surround the massive gates. Thousands of spirits milled as they waited for entrance to the fortress city. She had expected the gates to be sealed with a barrier. She just hadn’t expected a barrier of the dead.

  “How big is the city?” Valor asked softly.

  “Not as big as Sanctuary, but larger than any other city in the Sunlit world. If either of you have second thoughts, now is the time to act on them. Once we pass this point, there is no going back,” Vaze said, looking between the two of them.

  Jala shifted in the saddle to look back at Valor. He met her gaze and shook his head slightly. Nodding, she shook her head at Vaze. “No, we’ve come too far to turn back now. We will finish this,” she said and looked back toward the city. “Are those the dead of Glis?”

  “The ones toward the front of the gate likely are. The ones near the back are the dead of Sanctuary,” Vaze answered as he stood straight and flexed his grips on his swords.

  “So many from Sanctuary, but those don’t look like soldiers, Vaze,” Jala whispered. She couldn’t see many details from their current distance, but many of the forms in the crowd were
small or appeared to be women in dresses.

  “You can’t unleash the kind of devastation you did without casualties, Jala. Your quarter of the city was evacuated, the rest wasn’t. The buildings you crushed had people hiding within,” Vaze explained gently. He watched her as he spoke, his expression filled with concern.

  “I did that,” Jala breathed as her eyes raced across the spirits, her mind frantically searching for a number. There were so many and constantly shifting. It was impossible to count the dead accurately, but she knew it was in the thousands. “By all the Aspects,” she whispered shaking her head in revulsion. “I didn’t know…” She let the words die in her throat. She wasn’t sure really what she had been about to say. She hadn’t known they were there, but that seemed a pathetic excuse. She had known Sanctuary hadn’t been evacuated beyond her quarter. She had seen civilians in the streets running from the fighting. She should have guessed they were hiding there as well.

  “We did that,” Valor corrected. “I destroyed as much as you did.” His voice was hoarse as he spoke.

  “This is what happens when you unleash your power carelessly, Jala. Take it as a lesson, not as a burden. You don’t have time for the guilt right now,” Vaze spoke firmly and elbowed her knee lightly. “Make their deaths meaningful with your actions. Build something better than what they knew.”

  Jala nodded slowly and looked down at Vaze. “I feel like a monster right now and you are telling me to build something better from this.”

  “Feel like a monster, eh? Well, congratulations. You are finally becoming a High Lady. When you know for sure you are a monster you have fully attained your title. High Lords and Ladies don’t have the luxury of guilt or remorse for their actions. On one side of the war you have the lords that have done what they had to do, no matter how much they hated it. On the other side you have the ones that don’t give a rat’s ass what they have done. Be one that does what has to be done no matter the cost, Jala, and we will be fine.” Vaze smiled at her and winked before flexing his swords once more. “Now if you will excuse me, I believe I need to find Davrian. If I’m guessing correctly, he is near the city gates. Let me engage him and then summon the Forgotten.” His armor began to ripple around his neck as he spoke. Vaze closed his eyes and tilted his head back as the inky black metal crept up his neck and then face. Within moments the armor had covered his head completely, leaving only a shiny black mirror where a visor should have been. There was no sign of eye slits or holes for air. The final effect was wholly unsettling. He twirled his swords once and bowed to them in farewell.