The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (52 page)

“Why, what did I do?” Shade asked. Just
minutes before he had been ready to hurl his signet ring into his
father’s face, but now when confronted with this, he felt nothing
but despair. It was one thing to disown a child or your family, but
to kill your own blood was betrayal beyond what Shade had ever
contemplated.

“Because you had the audacity to think for
yourself too many times, Shade. You have always been obedient but
you are showing signs that make him nervous. He will eliminate you
and put his mind at ease by doing so,” Kiernan replied, his voice
filled with disgust.

“Why are you helping me?” Shade asked with
suspicion. He barely knew his uncle in truth and this sudden
appearance seemed too convenient. This could be a test on his
loyalties. That was something his father would do. He knew that
from experience. Push him as far as he dared and then test him to
see if he would break.

“Because if I don’t, Myth will kill you,”
Kiernan replied simply. He shook his head at Shade, his expression
sympathetic. “Don’t look at me with that suspicion, Shade. This is
not one of Myth’s mind games. This is serious. He is pushing hard
against the other houses, as you heard. He doesn’t have time to
worry about you betraying him while he plots war, so he is
betraying you first.”

Shade nodded slowly as he heard the truth in
his uncle’s words. That, too, was something Myth would do, strike
first before the other was prepared. No wonder Temare had shown so
little respect, the Sword Master must have known he was as good as
dead. “Why don’t you stop him?” he asked his uncle. If Kiernan had
been spying as often as Shade thought he had, it was likely he knew
everything Myth planned to do. If anyone was in the perfect
position to stop his father, his uncle was.

“Because I don’t even know if that is truly
Myth. The first rule of Changeling survival is never be where they
expect you to be. For all I know, that is one of his supposedly
dead children playing at being him. I have to know for sure before
I strike. With Myth, I won’t get a second chance,” Kiernan replied,
his gaze moving back to the house. “You need to go, Shade, before
he learns of this, and I need to be watching and listening.”

Shade gave a silent nod and looked to the
prone body of Temare lying beside his spell hawk. His uncle
followed his gaze and shook his head slightly motioning Shade on.
“Thank you again, Uncle,” he whispered and gave one last glance at
the house he had grown up in. It was possible he would never again
see it. Setting his shoulders, he turned and jogged back to
The
Shade
without further hesitation. He ignored the curious looks
from his friends as he pulled the signet ring from his hand and
quickly stored it in a gem. Wordlessly, he dropped it into his
pocket and reached across to tear the locator crystal from his
dash. Still silent, he gemmed it as well and dropped the stone into
the pocket with the ring. It was illegal to fly without a locator
crystal and he wouldn’t be able to land directly in Sanctuary
without one, but he couldn’t risk being tracked by his father now.
He had to go back to Sanctuary. He had to get Oma and Lex. Most
importantly, he had to know what had happened with Jala or he would
never sleep peacefully again. If Rivasa held her, he would find a
way to get her back. It was his fault if they had her. If he had
stood his ground then she would be fine.

“Shade?” Leah said, making his name a
question. The concern was obvious on her face as she moved forward
in the ship and sat down in the chair across from him.

“Nothing but Shade now, Leah. Christian
Morcaillo is as good as dead,” he said, his voice quiet. As if the
words themselves held magic. He felt years of strain fall from his
shoulders. His mouth set in a grim smile as he turned the ship
toward Sanctuary one last time. “Just a few things to tidy up and
then who knows what from there. Maybe I’ll join the Fionaveir if
they’ll have me. It would be nice to know that I was doing the
right thing and have no doubts.”

She watched him silently, her eyes full of
questions. She gave a slight nod and settled back into the seat
with a thoughtful and distant expression.

Telling her brother through a link that I
have lost my mind, no doubt
, Shade mused silently, and the
thought made him smile.
Gaining one of my own is closer to the
truth
, he decided. It was best that she explain everything to
Lex now, before he got to the city. He wouldn’t have to waste time
explaining it himself, and he could focus on the important things.
Like finding out if he had caused the only person to die he had
ever met with an aura like snow.
What shade of grey will I be
then, if my obedience cost her life?
It wasn’t a thought he
cared to focus on, and pushed it aside to turn his attention
instead to the minor detail of where he would land the spell hawk,
if not at the sky port. It wasn’t so much the landing on rough
terrain that was a problem. He could do that. I was the landing on
rough terrain without being seen that presented the obstacle.

“Lex says if you were serious about the
Fionaveir, he will take you to them himself,” Leah’s voice pulled
him back from his thoughts and he repeated the words over in his
mind. “He says they could use you now, things are difficult for
them. To the point that he doesn’t think he will be staying in the
city much longer, either,” Leah continued when he remained
silent.

“Honestly, I’m not even sure what he was
doing in the city. I didn’t know the Fionaveir attended the
Academy. Is that normal? Are there others there?” Shade asked,
voicing questions he had never quite found the right time to
ask.

“You know I’m not one myself, so I don’t know
everything they do. I know Lex was there to observe the High Lords
children. Why he was sent to watch them, I don’t know. He thinks
well of you, though, Shade. That much is obvious if he is willing
to take you back home with us,” Leah explained with a shrug. Her
dark eyes were still filled with concern. “Are you going to tell me
what is going on? I know you are upset about leaving them. I am
too. There wasn’t much we could do in that situation though. I can
fight, but no one can survive those odds.”

Her words stung, and Shade winced at them.
She was more than likely right, of course, but it had been Finn
Sovaesh facing those odds. As much as he despised the man, Sovaesh
was probably one of the few that could survive that situation.
“There is a chance Finn pulled it off,” he said quietly.

“A very slender one. You know those soldiers
would have been protected from range weapons. All armies are. Wisp
would have been useless in that battle, and Jala just learned she
had magic a month or two ago. She was far from a battle mage,” Leah
returned, her voice gentle.

“I know they probably didn’t make it, Leah. I
don’t need you to point out all of the reasons I should have
stayed,” Shade sighed, the guilt bearing down on him with more
weight than the name
Morcaillo
had ever held.

“I’m pointing out the reasons we had to go,
Shade,” Leah corrected and leaned over to take his hand. “There was
nothing we could have done there, other than die beside them.”

Shade looked at her, watching her expression
and the look in her eyes. She thought he was helpless, as well. She
had never even seen him with a sword, and like the rest of them in
Sanctuary. She believed he couldn’t use one. After all, if he were
a swordsman why would he need guards? He shook his head at her
slowly and frowned. “It’s all in perspective, Leah. You see reasons
I couldn’t have helped, and I see all of the ways I could have.” He
gave her hand a gentle squeeze and mentally resolved that one day
he would dispel all of the thoughts that had been formed about
him.

“Jala, it’s time to wake up,” The sound of
her mother echoed from downstairs. She snuggled back into her
quilts, pretending she hadn’t heard the call. Cap snuggled in
closer beside her, sharing his warmth. She ran her fingers through
the thick fur and rested her cheek against his back, secure in the
fortress of blankets she had built.

“Jala, it’s time to wake up,” the voice
repeated, deeper now, and louder. Jala forced her eyes open a crack
and realized it was Marrow she burrowed against. The Bendazzi,
seeing her eyes move, nudged her with his nose, his yellow eyes
watching her closely. She took a deep breath and worked her mouth
open and closed. Her lips were cracked, her throat was dry, and her
eyes were blurry. She sat up slowly, a bit lightheaded, and looked
around the room, blinking. She was in her own bed in the Hall of
Champions. A man was seated beside her in a chair pulled close to
the bedside. She looked at him groggily, trying to remember if she
knew who he was. He had dusky skin and dark almond-shaped eyes. She
returned his stare, her mind still trapped partially in sleep.
Stretching her muscles tentatively, she tried to remember why she
felt so horrible. Her entire body felt like one large bruise, and
she was far stiffer than she could ever remember being.

“Are you really awake? You don’t look it.” It
was the same voice that had called her from the pleasant dream.

Jala watched the man speak. His mouth moved
and then came the sounds, as if his voice were delayed. She raised
a hand to the back of her head to check for a wound. That would
certainly explain her disorientation. She gave a hesitant nod in
answer. She was awake, or at least she thought she was. Everything
seemed rather out of focus.

“My name is Jail. Well, it’s actually Jalon
Han’shy, but you won’t hear anyone calling me that. I know this is
an odd way to meet for the first time, but the others were
concerned that you might have damaged your mind.” She nodded
slowly, still silent as she looked him over more closely. She
remembered Finn telling her about Jail, but he hadn’t actually
described the man accurately. Finn had said he was large. That
simply wasn’t the proper word for Jail. He was, in fact, huge, far
bigger than Finn or Valor with biceps the size of her thigh. He
leaned forward in his chair and even in that position he would have
been nearly as tall as her, standing. His head was shaved around
the sides with the top part pulled back in a long braid. Tattoos
ran around his skull in strange patterns that made her eyes hurt,
just looking at them.

He raised a hand to her head and placed a
finger on her temple, apparently concerned by her silence and
staring. Jala fought back a chuckle as she imagined what she must
look like to the man. Fine first impression indeed, her hair would
be a wild tangle so soon after sleep, and her stare must have been
positively vacant. “I’m alright. Really,” she murmured and gently
pushed his hand back. Raising a hand, she rubbed her face and
sought for the memory of what had brought her to this state. She
could remember Anthae clearly and the ride back toward Rivana, but
the memory faded from there. Absently, she tried to smooth her
curls back into order and frowned at the fog in her mind.

Marrow looked up at her with his yellow eyes
locking onto her violet ones with a vice-like stare. His mind
linked with hers, filling her with the scenes of battle, and
lifting the fog from her mind. She wasn’t sure if she had blocked
them away or if she had, in fact, damaged her mind with the magic.
It was all clear to her now, though, vivid and terrible. “
You
healed him, he is fine. The Fionaveir returned us to the city and
left,”
Marrow assured her, sensing her rising panic.

“Ahh, there is recognition. So you remember
everything now?” Jail asked, the concerned look fading from his
face.

She gave a quick nod and looked around the
room as if she might have missed seeing Finn the first time. It
didn’t seem right that Jail was here and Finn was not. If he was
truly OK, she was sure he would be here. “Where is Finn?” she
asked, pushing the blankets back and moving to stand.

“Easy. Finn is resting. First, you and I need
to have a talk and then I’ll take you to him. Okay?” Jail calmly
pushed her back toward the pillows.

“Talk about what? Did I damage my mind?” she
stopped all attempts at getting from bed and stared at him waiting
for an answer.

He shook his head slightly and frowned at
her. “No, your mind is fine, but there is the matter of my checking
it, though. I am one of the best Mind Mages there are, with the
exception of my father and brother. I am certainly the best among
the High Houses. I had to look into your mind to see that nothing
had been damaged,” he paused, holding her gaze with his own. “I see
no damage at all, Lady Merrodin,” he said, once he was sure he had
her full attention. Her eyes widened at the name and she stared at
him, her mouth parted slightly. “So you see the problem. You don’t
know me at all, and yet I know a very big secret about you. So we
need to decide what we will do. It was not my intention to discover
your secrets, but that one was fresh in your mind and rested very
near the surface,” he finished and leaned back waiting for her to
speak.

It took her a moment to gather her composure.
With a slight nod, she looked to Jail and gave another nod, her
decision made. “There is nothing to debate here. I will trust you
with my secret. Finn trusts you and that is enough for me. He says
you are honorable and he has never lied to me. Not even when it
would have been in his best interest to do so,” she said her voice
steady.

Jail stared at her in disbelief. “Just like
that? You just meet me and decide to trust as if it’s the simplest
thing in the world?” he asked, with what she thought was amusement
thick in his voice.

“It’s a circle, I suppose,” she said and
shrugged. “Finn trusts you. I trust him. So I, in turn, trust you.
All goes around, I suppose. By that own measure, I suppose I trust
Valor, Wisp, and Neph, as well. Though I must say, you seem much
nicer than Neph.”