The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (5 page)

Movement toward the trees drew her attention
and Jala watched silently as a larger shape moved forward. The
smaller creatures parted like water before it as it lumbered
through their ranks. “I’m going to guess that,” Jala replied,
motioning toward the thing. It began to grow as it neared them.
It’s body contorting in sickening jolts. At first it had resembled
a mangy dog. Now it was taking on more human-like aspects. Its gait
changed from four legs to two as it finally stopped no more than
twenty feet from them. Yellow eyes glinted from the canine head.
Its black skin was stretched so tight over its bones it seemed more
skeletal in appearance than living.

“A bloody shifter,” Valor hissed beside
her.

Jala raised an eyebrow and studied the
creature closer. She had never seen a shifter in battle form
before, though she doubted this was an accurate representation of
what a living shifter would look like. It stood perhaps twelve feet
at the shoulder with a hunched human posture. Its arms seemed far
too long for its body, almost ape-like, though the long talons that
tipped each finger were certainly not ape-like. Smiling down at
Valor, she winked and then looked back toward their monstrous
adversary. “We have no quarrel with you. We seek Death. There is a
matter I must speak with her about,” she called in a loud voice,
her words echoing off the stones around them clearly. While she
sincerely doubted the creature would back down from the fight, it
never hurt to try.

“It amazes me how you shift emotions from
terror at a ride down a cliff to perfect calm in the face of a
twelve foot demon and a horde of his minions,” Valor commented
dryly, his sword still held in the guard position. From his posture
he apparently didn’t expect the Shifter to back away from the fight
either.

“Die,” the shifter responded, his voice so
guttural even the single word he spoke was difficult to understand.
There was no mistaking the intent, however, as he spread his talons
and rushed toward them. Valor moved quickly to meet the charge,
placing himself between the creature and Jala. His sword rang off
the creature’s talons with a metallic hiss as he parried its first
attack and neatly ducked under the creature’s second wild
swing.

Jala hesitated in joining the fray, keeping
her eyes focused on the smaller creatures instead. She had no doubt
that Valor could handle the shifter, but they would both be dead if
the smaller demons rushed them while their attention was focused on
the leader.

The smaller forms ducked and shifted where
they crouched. Their desire for blood was obvious, but they showed
no sign of making any moves toward the fight.

Jala started to turn back to the fight but
paused as she caught a glimpse of white in the corner of her eye.
Turning in the saddle quickly she spotted a form well off from the
demon horde, standing pale against the shadowy landscape. It wore
armor and a mottled white cloak, but was too far away to determine
much else. Jala kept her gaze on it a long moment as the sound of
Valor’s fighting shattered the silence of the night behind her. She
let out a low growl in frustration. She was torn between the need
to help Valor and keeping an eye on their audience.

A low grunt of pain from Valor made her
decision instantly and she turned back to the fight. Several slash
marks showed on the creature’s body though there was no sign that
the wounds were impeding its fighting. Valor had fallen back a bit
and was moving forward once again, his sword upraised in defense. A
jagged line tore through his armor on his left arm and she could
see the dark wetness of blood across the metal.

The shifter lunged once more at Valor with
claws extended and mouth spread wide to bite. Valor nimbly dodged
to the side of one arm while driving in closer for a strike at the
creature’s neck. Summoning her power quickly, Jala sent a bolt of
force straight into the creatures gaping jaws. A howl of anger
burst from its throat as its head was snapped back and broken teeth
went flying. Valor seized the opportunity immediately and delivered
a savage swing toward the creature’s neck. The blade glanced from
the creature’s skin and drew a ragged tear down its shoulder.
Letting out a muffled curse, Valor danced back from the Shifter’s
returned blow.

The creature let out a savage snarl but
didn’t advance again. Yellow eyes filled with hatred flicked from
Valor to Jala and it motioned quickly with one taloned hand and
uttered another guttural word. This one Jala couldn’t understand at
all but she could feel the tingle of magic that followed clearly
enough. The ground rumbled beneath them as the rocks began to
shift. Valor moved quickly to keep his balance as the creature
lunged again.

Valorous danced beneath her and Jala shifted
in the saddle, alternating her gaze from the ground to the
creature. She couldn’t tell what spell it had cast. It was possible
the only result of the spell would be the shaking ground, but she
doubted it.
No countering what you don’t understand. Suck it up
and keep fighting. Learn from the fight and counter the next time,
if you live for a next time
. Neph’s words sounded in her mind
and she summoned another spell to hurl at the Shifter. There was no
countering whatever it had done. Best to follow Neph’s advice and
suck it up and pray they lived. The wind began to pick up around
Valor as she sent bolts of ice toward its legs. With luck she would
damage the joints there and at least slow the creature down. Valor
was calling on his own magics with the wind and she had no idea
what he planned. She kept part of her attention focused on him. If
she could determine what he cast she might be able to amplify
it.

The shaking of the ground increased again and
Valor had to fight to keep his footing. Valorous let out a loud
snort of unease and she felt the horse tense beneath her as the
ground below them exploded in a shower of rocks and dust. The horse
lunged to the side and Jala had to grab the saddle to keep her
seat. She could hear the snarls and ringing metal that told her the
shifter had attacked once more but she could see nothing through
the cloud of choking dust around her. The Arovanni continued to
dance away tossing his head in frustration at the shaking
ground.

Jala tried to grab the reins to force him
back toward the fight but something latched onto her wrist as she
moved. Pain lanced through her as she looked down at the thick
black tentacle that circled her arm. Another wrapped around her
ankle and she felt herself torn from the saddle. Valorous let out a
furious scream as the tentacles pulled her up into the air.

Not tentacles, roots
, she corrected
herself. Her gaze flicked to the gnarled trees for half a breath as
she tried to assess her situation. The ground where they had been
fighting moments before was a rubble strewn waste. Dozens of black
roots waved in the air below her seeking anything they could grasp.
Valor had shifted his fighting away from the cliff to avoid the
roots and his back was now exposed to the smaller demons that
crouched with bloodlust clear in their eyes.

The pain on her wrist grew more intense and
she had to fight back a scream. That wouldn’t help Valor at all
now. He needed to focus on the shifter and she needed to solve her
own dilemma without distracting him. Her eyes watered as she
examined the root on her arm as best she could. They had lifted her
unevenly and she was balanced with her head tilted toward the
unforgiving black rocks below with most of her weight supported by
the root entrapping her ankle. From what she could tell, the roots
were coated in a sort of slime, that judging by the burning on her
wrist, was acidic.

She swallowed heavily. “Well, at least when
the acid burns through and they drop me, I won’t have to worry
about being crippled,” she whispered, her imagination providing her
with a splendid image of her body lying broken on the rocks below.
“Use every advantage,” she whispered, repeating a lesson Neph had
pounded into her skull over and over. The only advantage she had as
far as she could see was height now. Her view of the battle was
perfect. “Help Valor kill it and this spell will end,” she
whispered as the roots pulled at her, stretching her body to a
painful angle. “Then die horribly on the rocks below as the roots
vanish,” she added in a pained growl. Options were limited, though,
and helping Valor seemed the best course available.

The leather on her boot was giving away and
she could feel the acid reaching her skin there. Jala inhaled
deeply and tried to summon her power but concentration had never
been her strongest virtue and it was nearly lost in the pain now.
The pressure on her body increased again and she felt her ankle
give with a sickening pop. A gasp of pain exploded from her lips
and she had to fight back tears. Training with Neph had been
painful, or so she had thought. In reality she hadn’t really known
what pain was until now, she realized.

The roots shifted their hold on her once
again and she found herself staring straight down at the ground.
The pressure on her wrist fell away and her heart rose to her
throat as she swung free, dangling from her broken ankle. Spots
danced before her eyes as the pain ripped through her. “Don’t
faint, fight. Don’t pull a Rivana. Don’t fail Valor as you did
Finn,” Jala hissed through clenched teeth. She summoned her power
once more, her eyes locked on the Shifter below. Another of Neph’s
lessons sprang to mind and she was praying it would work. Though
who she was praying to, she couldn’t really say at this point. She
supposed it was anyone that would listen. Valor had noticed her
predicament and she willed him to ignore her and keep fighting. His
right hand flicked toward the roots that held her as the Shifter
surged in again.

Jala released her spell just as the
creature’s jaws opened to bite. Everything blurred together as the
Shifter’s huge clawed hand hit Valor full in the chest. Despite her
wish for him to ignore her, he had been distracted. His boots dug
trenches in the ground as he was forced back, but he managed to
keep his feet as their combined magics took effect. The shifter
staggered back clutching its skull as her spell unleashed and the
roots holding her hostage crumbled beneath her. She began to
plummet, the black rocks racing up to meet her. A sob broke from
her lips as the wind whistled in her ears and then she was slowing.
The wind cradled against her, easing her plummet to a gentle
descent. Jala forced her eyes open once more as she dropped gently
to the ground beside Valor. Her ankle gave at once and his arm was
around her supporting her weight in an instant.

“Nice catch,” she whispered, the spots once
again dancing in her eyes. The pain was making her light-headed and
nauseous.

“Nice, whatever the hell you did to him.”
Valor replied motioning feebly toward the still twitching Shifter
that lay sprawled on the ground several feet from them.

“I healed him,” Jala gasped with a faint
chuckle at the bitter irony of that. It didn’t seem fair that her
healing was sporadic when she tried to use it to help her and
Valor, but she could use it to kill with. Valor gave her a puzzled
look but didn’t question her. The countless bruises and pains were
fraying her wits and it must have shown on her face. Hoof beats
sounded faintly as Valorous returned snorting his displeasure at
both of them. Valor motioned him closer and Jala grabbed onto the
saddle to support herself. Nodding his thanks, Valor stepped back
and bent, bracing his hands on his knees, his shoulders shaking
with his ragged breathing.

“Are you OK?” Jala asked ducking her head a
bit to try to get a look at his face.

“Broken ribs. Breast plate is bent back on
them. Rather uncomfortable,” Valor replied, his words choked. He
stood once more, slowly, and she could see the aftermath of the
last savage blow the Shifter had delivered. His breastplate was
caved in as he had said with jagged holes punched through it where
the talons had found flesh. Blood seeped from the holes, though he
didn’t seem to be paying any attention to his wounds now. His gaze
was focused on the figure approaching them, dressed in white plate
mail and a mottled white cloak. Long dark hair showed from under
the hood as well as a delicate pale face.

“Symphony?” Jala whispered as the woman drew
closer. It made no sense whatsoever for the future Empress to be in
hell with them, but this woman was a mirror image of the girl she
had met in Firym. The white armor looked battered and the cloak
wasn’t mottled she realized suddenly, it was bloodstained.

“Fiona Veirasha,” Valor breathed as the
legendary knight of House Veir continued to approach in deathly
silence.

Merro

“But I don’t want to go in here, it’s
haunted,” the little girl objected, bracing her hands and feet
against the door frame. Her silver hair hung in beautiful ringlets
around her pale face and her blue eyes were wide with terror.
Despite the tantrum, Devony was the same as all immortals Emily had
met so far – perfect and beautiful, even at her tender young
age.

Emily started to object to being referred to
as a ghost but she wasn’t sure if pointing out that she was, in
fact, a Blight, would make the child feel any better, so she
remained silent and simply watched. Wisp was behind the child
trying to force her through the door, with little success. The
small Fae was barely bigger than Devony, despite the fact that the
Arovan child was only six or seven. Emily wasn’t exactly sure on
the child’s true age. For all she knew it might be closer to five.
The Immortal children were difficult for her to judge. They grew so
slowly in comparison with the Blights.

“It’s not haunted, Dev, that voice is Emily.
We have talked about this before,” Wisp assured her. The Fae had
managed to pry one small hand loose from the door frame and was
working on the second. “I need to talk with Sovann and I can’t
leave you alone,” Wisp insisted, redoubling her efforts on the
second hand as Devony scrambled to secure her hold better.