The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (23 page)

“C’mon, Lex,” she heard Shade whisper as Finn
circled Lex below. As if Lex had heard the encouragement, he made
his move the next time Finn darted in. The smaller man was
delivering his flurry when Lex abruptly switched to a one handed
grip on the two handed sword and gave a sharp twist to the hilt,
turning the point of his blade toward the ground. She could tell by
the falter in Finn’s blows he was as shocked as her. To her
amazement, Lex’s blade split in the center and a smaller sword
dropped into his waiting hand leaving a slit in the two hander’s
blade straight up the middle. With another quick twist, Lex caught
one of Finn’s dancing blades in the split, taking care to keep the
trapped blade well away from himself as he parried Finn’s second
sword with his other smaller blade. Shade gave a yell of
satisfaction, and she saw Finn’s left leg buckling. She hadn’t even
seen him get hit. She realized with amazement that Lex must have
struck him with the tip of his two handed blade while he was
trapping Finn’s blade. Lex was bringing his second smaller blade
around for the finishing cut when Finn abruptly dropped both his
swords, grabbed Lex by the front of the armor roughly, rolled onto
his back, and used his momentum to throw Lex over him and out of
the circle. Lex landed lightly and rolled to his feet, his swords
held out away from him as he tumbled, lest he impale himself.

The crowd roared around them, and Shade sat
back in his chair heavily. “I thought he had him,” he admitted with
disgust. “That was a nice trick he added to the sword, though. I
wouldn’t have thought it would work like that. I would have been
afraid of weakening the main blade,” he added.

“I thought he had won,” she agreed. She chose
to remain silent on the matter of the sword. She had no idea on
such things and would rather be quiet than look foolish.

Finn was standing shakily now using one of
his swords to balance himself. She could see his blood pooling on
the dirt and was relieved when healers quickly arrived to help him
off the field. She didn’t know him, and by Shade’s reaction toward
him doubted she wanted to, but she had no desire to watch anyone
bleed to death.

“Ahh…well, there is always the possibility he
won’t be here next year,” Shade said with a sigh.

“Is he about to graduate?” She asked. He had
looked Immortal to her and she had guessed he would be first
circle. If he was about to leave, though, she must be wrong.

He gave a slight snort. “No, he is very close
to getting exiled from Sanctuary. He is prone to duels and fighting
in the city. While dueling is legal, the last brawl he was in was
with an off duty Justicar, and they have made it very clear he is
on thin ice. You remember when we arrived I told you bloodshed in
the city itself meant death or exile? He keeps the duels to the
arena, but the brawls will be what get him. I give him another few
months and he will be gone,” he said.

She gave a slight nod and went back to
watching the fights. As far as she could tell after the first few,
she had already seen the best contest the day had to offer.

Charm perched like a gargoyle on the edge of
the Justicars hall, carefully placed to be in the shadows of one of
the building’s countless eaves. He had sent word back the moment
the information reached his ears. If High Commander Kellis planned
to kill Fionaveir, Charm meant to see it didn’t succeed. Caspian
had, of course, told him to keep his focus on the girl, and he
would take care of it.

Isador was watching the girl now, though, and
the first of the executions was due to start any time. A crowd was
already gathering below. A large crowd. Nothing draws attention
like the promise of blood, he thought with disgust. They had set up
a small stage below the stairs. From what he understood from
taproom gossip, they had three Fionaveir in their custody and all
three were to be beheaded. He scanned the crowd again, hoping for
some sign of Caspian’s intervention but saw none. There were too
many people packed into the square to notice small details. He
shook his head in disbelief. The first day of the games and three
executions. It didn’t bode well for the remainder of the
festival.

“A beautiful day for beheading, isn’t it?
There’s not a cloud in the sky, with a nice cool breeze. If I were
going to be executed, I think I’d prefer a day such as this.”

Charm looked up sharply at the voice and
found Fortune sitting balanced on the wall beside him. He sat in
plain sight, not sticking to the shadows. “Get down,” Charm
hissed.

Fortune looked at him with a raised eyebrow
and looked down at the crowd below. He was dressed in bright blue
with a black bowl shaped hat balanced neatly on his golden hair. A
large blue feather was pinned in the band around the hat and waved
merrily in the breeze. “Looks pretty crowded down there, and it
would make it rather difficult to talk to you,” he objected.

Charm repressed a growl, certain that at any
moment that damn waving feather would draw the attention of someone
below. “Not down there, but beside me and out of sight,” he
clarified.

“While you are an amazingly attractive man
and no doubt desirable to the ladies I believe I will abstain from
cuddling. Don’t worry, Shadow hopper, they won’t see me. With luck,
no one will even look up.” Fortune gave him a droll smile and
looked back down at the crowd.

“Why are you here?” Charm asked, deciding
that arguing with an Aspect was about the biggest waste of time he
could devise.

“Same as you, Charm. I want to see the show.
I think it will be a performance the Justicars aren’t likely to
repeat. A one-time deal if you will, and I want to witness this,”
Fortune answered with a cryptic smile.

The man always seemed to be smiling, Charm
realized in annoyance. It was as if the world were a great joke to
him. “I’m not sure if it will be as you hope, Fortune. Caspian
hasn’t had much time to counter this. I only received word of it a
few hours ago. I didn’t expect them to act so soon.”

“Oh, Caspian is nothing if not punctual. Just
watch and see, for it will go my way,” Fortune assured him with
that same damn smile.

They were leading the prisoners out now. He
studied the placement carefully. If he had friends below he would
have to be able to move fast if needed. While he was quite possibly
the sneakiest individual in the prison, with the exception of
perhaps Hemlock, he wasn’t much of a stand up warrior. And if it
came to one-on-one with an armored Justicar, he didn’t have much
chance of winning. There were six Justicars that he could see,
placed at the bottom of the platform, their silver armor gleaming
beneath their snow white cloaks. Two more stood on the platform
itself, and another three escorted the prisoners. Eleven then, not
good at all.

He sighed and tried to get a better look at
the prisoners. He knew most all of the Fionaveir and their
abilities. Depending on who was down there, he might have help in
the fight. With a frown, he realized he didn’t know any of them.
While it was possible that he might not know one Fionaveir, it was
highly unlikely there would be three that he didn’t know. The
Fionahold was not that large, and he was social with his order. It
was simply good policy to know who you worked with and what they
were capable of.

“Isn’t it sad when the Justicars have to sink
to such levels,” Fortune mused.

“They aren’t Fionaveir,” Charm said
quietly.

“Of course they aren’t. Those are lovely
tattoos, though, aren’t they?” Fortune replied.

Charm frowned deeper. Even from here he could
see the tattoos were wrong. He found it somewhat amazing that the
Justicars had no actual idea of what the tattoos should look like.
As long as the two orders had been at odds, one would think they
would have noticed that rather important detail.

“They are going through all of this trouble
just to turn the commons against us?” Charm asked in disbelief.

“The commons are hardly likely to help your
people if they think you’re rapists and murderers. As long as you
maintain the appearance of fighting to help them, they will hide
you. If Kellis can undermine that, the commons will be turning your
people over left and right for the reward alone, and feel no guilt
about it at all,” Fortune explained, his smile gone at last.
“Kellis is a bastard. Too bad it’s not him on the block.”

They were leading the first prisoner forward
now, and Kellis himself was reading off the man’s crimes in a loud
clear voice.

“This man before you stands accused of two
counts of rape as well as the murder of both women. He is accused
of the molestation of no less than three children and the
defilement of a holy Temple to the gods,” Kellis called.

“Oh, he is a busy one, isn’t he? A child
molester, rapist, and Temple defiler.” Fortune sounded amused and
made a tisking sound.

“That’s Danny from down in South Town. He
ain’t a Fionaveir. I’ve known him since he was in swaddling
clothes,” a voice rose from the crowd and Charm quickly tried to
find the source. The Justicars were looking, as well, but with the
sheer number of people one could tell a direction but not the
individual. Several other voices rose in objection, one ringing
loud enough to be heard over the clamor. “Those ain’t real tattoos
either.” It was a man’s voice, and rough with the harsh accent of
the lower class.

“Silence. How dare you question the voice of
Justice!” Kellis boomed, his words causing a temporary hush to the
crowd.

“When exactly was the voice of Justice
speaking?” another man’s voice called, his tone clear and rich and
one that Charm did recognize. He inhaled sharply and watched as a
cloaked figure pushed through the crowd. Lutheron moved carefully,
not jostling the commons, and they quickly cleared a path for him.
Their attention was now fully drawn to this newest turn of
events.

“Seize him,” Kellis demanded. Charm smiled as
he watched the crowds thicken around the Justicars trying to follow
their orders. There was no way they were getting through that crowd
without cutting people down and that would bring a riot.

Lutheron stopped about ten feet from the
platform and pulled his cloak down allowing the crowd to see his
face. A general murmur washed through the people. Caspian was not
the only one who had a statue in his honor. Lutheron’s was in the
arena, as was fitting. There were few in Sanctuary that didn’t know
his face. He was a legend, one of the only individuals to win every
one of the Spring Games, from jousting to mage craft. He had not
only won that year, he had won easily. making it look to be child’s
play. “Your mockery of our tattoos are insulting, Kellis,” Lutheron
called and removed the clasp to his cloak. The thick black wool
fell away to be lost in the milling crowd. Lutheron stood bare to
the waist now with his tattoos showing clearly. They began at the
wrist on his left arm and rose up to cover most of his chest and
back. “These are true Fionaveir tattoos,” he called to the
crowd.

“Stand aside at once, this man is a
criminal,” Kellis demanded of the crowd, his voice cracking with
fury. Their eyes, however, were locked on Lutheron, and they
ignored Kellis. The Justicars continued to try to push through the
crowd to reach Lutheron, and Charm wondered how stupid the men must
be. How long could they expect to live if they did reach him, their
armor wouldn’t count for much against a man of his skill.

Lutheron turned his back on the Justicars and
addressed the crowd with his action speaking more loudly of his
contempt for them than words ever could. “Each of these tattoos was
earned defending people such as yourself. A Fionaveir does not
rape; he kills those that do. A Fionaveir protects children and
stops any who would harm them. A Fionaveir has honor. Do not be
fooled by these pathetic attempts. They mean to turn you against us
with their lies. They think you are simple enough to be fooled by
such antics,” he called to them, his voice louder than Charm had
ever heard it. The crowd roared in answer, and the Justicars found
themselves being pushed back with more force as the mood
turned.

“Your day will come, Kellis, and you will be
judged for your lies,” Lutheron called once again, his voice rising
over the roar.

“Cease this at once or I will have you all
arrested,” Kellis threatened, and Charm smirked. Not the wisest
thing he could have done. The crowd surged again, breaking over the
platform and knocking the Justicars back toward their hall. “You
will all find yourselves in chains for this defiance,” Kellis
called again as the commons surged even closer.

“Just a guess, but I’m going to say Kellis
cancelled the executions he had scheduled for tomorrow,” Fortune
said with a wistful sigh.

Charm chuckled lightly and searched the crowd
for Lutheron. He had vanished back into the mill as the crowd
pushed forward and now he couldn’t locate him. He nodded his head
in approval. Kellis’s threats were hollow ones. There was no way he
could arrest so many people. His Justicars would disperse the crowd
soon, once they had been rallied from the halls, but they had no
holding space for so many prisoners. Even if they shipped them all
off to the slave markets, it would be impossible. Lutheron had
handled it neatly. He started to say as much to Fortune and
realized the Aspect of Luck was gone, as well, leaving him alone on
the rooftop. He smirked and stood to leave. Isador would find this
highly amusing, no doubt, and likely the Fionahold would be ringing
with this story for years to come.

“Our girl is exactly as I feared.” Isador
said in way of greeting as Charm seated himself beside her. They
were balanced on one of the statues that ringed the arena. “She is
sweet, naïve, and beautiful,” she added and handed him a flask of
wine. “Did you stop the executions?” She asked.