The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (25 page)

She gave a soft chuckle and watched the
waitress when she returned with the wine. She was all smiles for
Finn, but the look she gave Jala seemed a bit darker. She waited
for the woman to leave again and looked at Finn with a frown. “Is
that your girlfriend?” She asked in disbelief, amazed he would
bring another woman to have drinks where she worked.

Finn gave a sharp bark of laughter and nearly
missed the glass as he poured the wine and shook his head. “Aspects
no, I don’t believe in commitment for the most part. I’ve slept
with her, but I can say that about most of the single women of
Sanctuary,” he answered, with amusement thick in his voice.

She stared in disbelief, first at him and
then at the wine he pushed her. It was glowing and appeared to have
vapor rising off it. “You don’t actually expect me to drink that,
do you?” she asked.

“Just try it.” He urged and raised his own
glass to his lips, taking a healthy swallow as if to prove it safe
to her. “You’ll love it, once you try it,” he assured her.

One drink turned into two, and then two into
four. All the while Finn kept a constant flow of conversation
going. She had long ago relaxed in his company and was enjoying the
witty banter quite a bit by the time they finished off the bottle
of wine and left the inn.

“So, what circle are you in anyway? Maybe we
will have a few classes together,” Finn said as they stepped back
out onto the street.

She gave a snort of amusement. “Maybe none if
I don’t get a few things figured out. I’m supposed to be first
circle, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” she replied with
a sigh. Her head was a bit light from the wine. She hadn’t realized
it had been that strong.

“Such as?” Finn pressed. If the wine had
fazed him at all, she couldn’t see any signs of it.

“Magic,” she admitted, her tone as depressed
as she felt on the topic. “I can’t seem to cast even the simplest
spell no matter how hard they try to teach me. They swear I have
magic, but so far I’ve seen no sign of it,” she finished.

Finn stopped mid step and she stumbled.
Without hesitation, his arm was around her waist, steadying her and
then he stepped away again and smiled at her. “You lucky girl, you.
I can be of help then, and I’ll feel better, thanks for your
assistance earlier, than a few shared drinks,” he said, his smile
widening.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “How so?” She
asked with a bit of hope. If he could help her figure out what was
wrong with her magic, he wouldn’t be clearing his debt to her. He
would be reversing it, and she would owe him.

“My brother, Sovann, is a savant with magic.
There is absolutely nothing about magic he doesn’t know. If he
can’t fix the problem, it can’t be fixed,” he answered.

“Could we visit him before admissions?” she
asked, hoping her tone didn’t sound pleading.

He gave a short laugh. “We can visit him now,
Jala. Let’s find a portal stone and I’ll take you to see him.” With
that, he was tugging her along lightly. She felt herself smiling
widely and mentally thanked Fortune. Lucky girl, indeed.

She stumbled as they stepped away from the
portal stone and looked back at it with wide eyes. She had been
wholly unprepared for the experience. It looked to be just a simple
stone arch. Finn had pressed a rune on it and pulled her through,
and then dizzy blackness. She looked around her, bewildered, as
Finn held her arm to steady her.

He was giving her a thoughtful look. “You’ve
never used one before, I take it?” He asked mildly, indicating the
arch behind them. She shook her head in response and instantly
regretted the action. She wasn’t sure if it was the wine or the
transport that made her this light-headed.

He chewed on his lower lip with a thoughtful
expression. “You don’t drink often either, do you?” He asked.

“Umm no. I tasted beer once and it was
awful,” she answered, and wondered why the words sounded so
strange.

He gave a slight snort of laughter. “You, my
dear, are drunk,” he announced.

“I think it might have been the transport. I
didn’t feel this wobbly when we left the inn,” she objected.

“I think the wine hadn’t hit you fully yet,
and it’s only now caught up with you,” he corrected gently. “The
transports cause a moment’s dizziness, but my dear you are wavering
on your feet and slurring your words,” he said gently. She frowned
up at him, and he offered his arm to her. “Here, until you are
steadier. We have a bit of a walk, and there is a possibility that
Sovann has something to sober you up.”

She took his arm, and he began to lead her
through the streets. “We are in the Morcaillo district,” she
blurted, once she had noticed the color of the lights.

“You know this area?” He asked, sounding a
bit shocked.

“No, not at all, but I live in
Shade’s…err…Christian’s wing.” She stumbled a bit on the name. She
had gotten completely out of the habit of calling him Christian at
all. Finn’s arm seemed to tense for a moment, and she wondered why
she had even said that. She knew they didn’t get along well. “You
are related to him, though, aren’t you? You bear some resemblance,”
she added, wondering if he would even answer.

“Distantly.” He gave a sigh. “My great
grandfather on my father’s side is Shade’s uncle.” He clarified and
gave her a slight smile. “You can call him Shade. Not many bother
with Christian unless they are addressing him directly and are not
close friends. Everyone knows his shades of grey theory,” he
finished.

“You don’t get along with him either, I take
it. I had wondered if it was mutual or one sided,” she said, a
little depressed at the thought because she enjoyed both of their
company. She stumbled again on a cobble, and Finn paused to let her
regain her balance.

“He doesn’t approve of my lifestyle, and I
don’t care. That pretty much sums it up. It’s not that we hate each
other or anything. We simply choose not to be around each other. He
is still somewhat upset with me about a duel last year, as well,”
he explained.

“He was really hoping Lex would beat you. I
thought he had, till you threw him,” she mumbled. She felt her eyes
widen as she realized what she had said. She looked up at Finn
anxiously hoping he hadn’t taken offense.

He gave a snort of amusement at her
expression. “My dear, I am not a High Lord. I don’t judge every
word and weigh it for insult. Of course, Shade wanted Lex to beat
me, Lex is a good friend of his, that’s natural,” he said gently
and stopped. With care, he leaned her back against a wall and made
sure she was steady. “I’m going to knock and make sure he is up.
Wait right there.” He watched her to make sure she had understood,
and quickly went up a few stairs and banged hard on a door.
“Sovann!” he called, in a voice loud enough she was sure the entire
neighborhood had heard.

She looked around to make sure lights weren’t
springing on around them and was amazed to discover there were no
houses around. They were in what seemed like a warehouse district.
“Your brother lives in a warehouse?” she asked warily.

He glanced back down at her and seemed about
to answer when the door in front of him opened. A slender young man
in loose fitting tunic and breeches stood lined in light from the
room behind him. His expression was one of complete exasperation.
Jala looked between the two brothers with amusement. Sovann was
lean where Finn was muscled, and his hair was long where Finn’s was
cut short. It was as if the two of them had resolved to look
opposite the other.

“What?” Sovann demanded. He gave a slight
sniff in his brother’s direction. “Are you drunk?” he asked, his
tone annoyed.

“No, but she is. Have anything to fix that by
any chance?” Finn replied mildly and motioned for Jala to join him
on the stairs. She gave him a questioning look, and it was obvious
Sovann didn’t want their company. “It’s OK, he is always like this.
He is my little brother. It’s all right for me to push him around.”
As if to emphasize his words, he gave Sovann a gentle but solid
push on the chest, knocking him back a few steps into the room.

“Why are you bringing your women to my place
now?” Sovann growled from inside the door.

“She isn’t my woman, she is apparently
Shade’s whom I believe is your current business partner. She needs
help, and you are going to help her,” Finn replied. He glanced back
at Jala again and made another slight motion with his hand. “C’mon,
it’s OK. He is always this prickly. Personally, I think he
needs…”

“You not to worry about what I need,” Sovann
cut in before Finn could finish. “Bring her in while I’ll get
something to sober her up.” His voice faded slightly, and she heard
the sound of his footsteps as he disappeared back into the
warehouse. She climbed the steps unsteadily, and Finn quickly held
out his arm.

“No worries, doll, you will be walking
straight in no time,” he said as she reached the top step.

Finn led her inside with the care one would
give to an invalid. They passed by several darkened halls branching
off from the dimly lit main hall and then entered a huge room.
Enormous vats lined the walls, and she could see steam rising from
the top of them. The center of the room held several tables all
cluttered with an assortment of bottles and beakers. On the very
back table, closest to the wall, she could see what looked like
streams of very thin light in different colors rising from the
table, where they seemed to be swallowed by crystals suspended in a
semi-circle in midair. She was gawking openly when Sovann reentered
the room.

He took one look at her face and then
followed her gaze and looked back seeming pleased. “It’s my latest
project. Here, drink this and I’ll show you, and then Finn can
explain what in the Aspects is going on.” He handed her a small
glass vial as he spoke and abruptly turned to cross to the waiting
crystals and lights. She looked at the vial and then to Finn who
nodded, and she gave a shrug. With a quick twist, she removed the
lid and downed the vial and promptly gagged. It was the foulest
tasting substance she had ever even smelled, let alone tasted. Had
she examined it closer before putting it to her lips she never
would have considered drinking it. She fought her roiling stomach
for a moment, and noticed Finn’s hand was still steadying her.

“I really think he does that on purpose,”
Finn whispered in sympathy. “I think he makes it taste like that to
torture me, since I’m usually the only one ever drinking it.”

She gave a shuddering breath and noticed her
head beginning to clear. She stood a bit straighter and shook her
head at Finn. “Next time, I’ll stay drunk,” she gasped.

His expression was one of complete
understanding. She gave another quick shudder and wished she had
something to wash her mouth out with. To her delight, Finn handed
her a flask. “Just take a sip or we will have to repeat the whole
process,” he cautioned.

“What is it?” She asked with obvious
hesitation.

“Jimpa Brandy,” he replied.

His eyes were roving around the warehouse, so
he didn’t see the surprise on her face. She took a small sip, and a
warm sweetness filled her mouth. She could taste the Jimpa fruit
clearly in the alcohol and savored the familiar flavor. It had been
so long since she had tasted that. “I thought Jimpa only grew in
Merro. How did you get brandy made from it?” she asked
cautiously.

“My father serves House Avanti. I get perks
from that. The High Lord there stockpiles wines and various other
liquors to age them for ungodly amounts of time. In this case, a
little over ten years,” he explained as he took back the flask and
tucked it into his pocket.

Sovann cleared his throat and Finn gave her a
smile. “He either wants to show off his new project, or he wants to
hasten us out of his warehouse. Either way, shall we?” He said and
waved his hand gallantly toward where his brother stood
waiting.

To her relief, keeping her balance was no
longer a difficult act, and she crossed the room quickly, filled
with curiosity as to whatever his project was, and if he could
actually help her with her magic. She could see a sword balanced in
the center of the table when she got closer. It was balanced
carefully on several metal pegs and the streams of light seemed to
be originating from its blade.

Finn looked down at it unimpressed. “You
really need to get out more, Sovann,” he said dryly.

Sovann gave him a withering glare and looked
to Jala where his glare diminished at the sight of her obvious
interest. “This sword is a mage killer. It absorbs magic from its
blade pierces,” he began. His slender fingers motioned to one of
the beams of light. “What I am doing is separating the magic inside
per type of magic,” he finished, sounding rather pleased.

“Why?” Finn asked. Both his voice and his
expression suggested he thought the whole idea a complete waste of
time.

Sovann flicked his gaze toward his brother
and ignored the question. “I am then storing it in crystals and
classifying the different types of magics I find. From what I’ve
discovered so far this sword predates the barrier. There are
magical energies here that are simply not found in Sanctuary. With
luck and a lot of study, I’ll be able to master the magics I find,”
he explained, his attention fully on her as if Finn no longer
mattered.

“I didn’t even know such a thing was
possible,” Jala said in a bit of awe. She could count at least
twenty crystals. She had believed magic was magic. The idea that
there were different kinds of magic was a bit overwhelming at her
current level of knowledge.

“Now, what was it you needed help with?”
Sovann asked her politely, still apparently ignoring Finn.

“I’m supposed to be studying at the Academy
this year, in the first circle, and I can’t seem to master any
magic. I understand I’m supposed to be able to cast the most basic
spells just to pass Admissions, and at this point I can’t even
summon a small light,” she answered miserably.