The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (57 page)

Silently, Jala pushed herself back away from
the table, her eyes locked on Valor who looked ready to face the
entire Seravae nation if need be. It wasn’t his friendship I
sacrificed, Jala realized sadly. It was his faith in me.

Blind. So gods-be-damned blind
, Marrow
muttered quietly in her mind.

Merro

The world beyond her window was one made of
chaos. Everywhere she looked, people rushed by in preparation for
the coming march. “I’ve had my people back for less than three
months and now I’m sending them to war,” Jala said quietly.

And they are going willingly because none
of them think too highly of life as an Avanti slave
, Marrow
replied smoothly.

Jala’s eyes settled on the dark form of her
father and she closed her eyes. “What if Jexon refuses to let me
go. How can I spare them from death if I’m not there?” The question
had filled her mind since the first scout reports of Avanti
movement had arrived. In her planning, she had never once guessed
that she might be left behind. Jexon, however, didn’t even like to
let her leave the house on simple errands.

Her contact with her friends had been limited
as well by his command. Jexon didn’t like her male friends to visit
the house and she had barely seen Wisp more than twice since her
return to Merro. That part had been Jala’s doing, though. The looks
Jexon gave Wisp made her skin crawl and she didn’t want to see her
friend hurt. Jala knew full well how rough Jexon’s attention could
be and the thought of the delicate Fae staggering away from one of
his blows made her sick. She had kept her word, though, and
remained obedient, despite how much she missed her freedom. Now she
was watching as he kept his promise to protect Merro.

The soldiers that Jexon had brought with him
were the only organized part of the army beyond. Each division was
lined up in perfect ranks with their preparations for marching
already done. But the Merro militia and the knights of Arovan were
still struggling with the supplies. Not that they had much in the
way of supplies. Most of what they were packing was spare weapons
and feed for the horses.

The essential supplies of food and medicinal
stores were being sent from Seravae. Merro quite simply could not
provide those things. Her people had been on rations throughout the
winter and even then it had been mostly grains. According to Jexon,
ships would arrive in Brannaford with provisions and the army would
march from there. That was, of course, if everything went as
planned. Which, in her life, Jala had come to realize nothing ever
did.

A flash of purple caught her eye and Jala
watched in silence as Valor rode through the ranks, calling orders.
It was the first time she had seen him since they had returned.
Neph had visited her when he could spare the time and Ash was a
constant presence when Jexon wasn’t home, but Valor had never even
approached the house.

He has been working for weeks on that
barding so that it was in your colors
, Emily said quietly from
the floor beside Jala. It had been quite a shock to return home and
find another Bendazzi waiting for her. Though it was a bigger shock
to Marrow she was sure. Both of them had gotten used to the new
arrangement, though, and Jala had to admit it was rather nice to
have a Bendazzi on either side of her when faced with an angry
spouse. Jexon never raised a hand toward her when the Bendazzi were
with her.

“He looks quite the commander. Leave it to
Valor to be the best dressed in the army,” Jala said with a faint
smile. The armor he wore and the matching barding on his horse did
look quite striking. He stood out from the army like a songbird
among sparrows. Even the Arovan knights in their fine silver armor
seemed shabby next to him in the purple plate with the sigil of the
Bendazzi blazoned across it.

They are all going, you know, even Wisp.
As far as I understand, it’s only going to be a skeleton crew
guarding the city
, Emily said with a heavy sigh.

“And he will try to leave me here,” Jala
mused as she let her head fall gently against the window frame, her
eyes still searching the ranks of the army for familiar faces.

He can’t leave you here
, Emily
said.

“Why?” Jala asked, her gaze dropping to meet
Emily’s golden eyes. Emily had chosen to keep the dark fur rather
than alter it to match Marrow’s shining white coat which Jala was
rather grateful for. Both Bendazzi were equal in size and had they
matched in color it would have been difficult to tell them apart at
a simple glance.

Because you aren’t with child yet and if
you die while he is off pretending to be a warrior the land goes to
Sovann. He can’t afford to risk that, Jala
, Emily explained
with a feline grin.

Jala’s eyes widened and she nodded slowly.
That was actually logic that Jexon would listen to, she was sure of
it. The only problem was how to relay it to him without it actually
coming from her. He never bothered to listen to anything she said
and this was too important to risk his inattention. “Jail,” Jala
whispered with a smile. The Mind mage could slip the thought into
Jexon’s mind so subtly that Jexon would believe it was his own
choice.

Jexon won’t let Jail anywhere near him.
The moment Jail enters a room Jexon leaves it
, Marrow reminded
her.

Emily rose from the floor and stretched, the
feline grin still showing on her face.
Get packed, Jala I’ll see
to the rest. Jexon may avoid Jail when he notices him, but in all
that chaos out there. I doubt he will see him and Jail doesn’t need
to be close. Just within sight
, Emily said with a flip of her
tail as she turned to leave the house.

And Legacy
? Marrow asked
cautiously.

“Goes with me. Seth warned me once about
leaving those I love behind. I do not need to be warned twice on
that account,” Jala said firmly. It was risky, of course, taking
her son along, but then her mother would likely be going with
Nathan, and he was still young. The supply wagons and the camp
followers wouldn’t be anywhere near the actual fighting. She could
simply leave Legacy in her mother’s care during the actual
conflicts. The rest of the time he would be with her and far safer
than he would be if she left him behind in the city.

Her gaze moved to the window once more, only
this time with a smile on her face. Things were finally falling
into place and she was about to receive the reward for her
obedience over the past three months. Avanti was about to fall and
every bruise and insult would be worth it.

Her horse shifted under her and Jala leaned
to the side to pat the gelding lightly on the neck. She couldn’t
really blame the horse for being restless. She was sick of waiting,
too. Badger let out a long sigh beside her and relaxed more in his
saddle, one hand loosely holding his reins. Her father had been her
constant company during the trip north, and only left her side in
the evenings to seek out his wife and leave her with Jexon.

Glancing over at her, he smiled reassuringly
and let out another sigh. “I really hate that veil you know,”
Badger muttered sourly. “I’ve been back among the living for three
months and I’ve only seen my daughter a handful of times before
this march and I’ve yet to see her face. I can’t even tell what you
are thinking with that thing on.”

“I’m wondering why we are still standing
here. They should be calling people forward to unload the ships by
now,” Jala returned lightly, her gaze moving to the wooden gates of
Brannaford. Jexon and several of his officers had ridden into the
city hours ago and they were yet to receive word back from
them.

“My guess would be that the ships haven’t
arrived yet. Though I would have thought someone would have sent
word to strike camp by now,” Badger said with a shrug.

“I think I may ride through and try to
determine the problem,” Jala said hesitantly. She knew she should
stay with the main army but Jexon hadn’t officially told her to
wait. Though there was, of course, the chance that he would simply
ignore her when she asked what the delay was, and he would no doubt
be furious with her for coming to find him.

“You missed your friend riding through those
gates half an hour past didn’t you?” Badger asked with a grin.

“Which one?” Jala asked, quickly turning back
to look at her father. She hadn’t noticed anyone approach the gates
though she had been keeping most of her attention on the city.

“The big one with the tattoos around his
head. Jail, I believe his name is, though why anyone would name
their child that is beyond me,” Badger replied with a smirk.

“He probably used a mind fog to keep anyone
from noticing him,” Jala mused quietly and looked at her father
with surprise. “You shouldn’t have been able to see him,” she
pointed out in a slightly louder voice.

“Aren’t you glad I did, though? Saved you
from approaching that horse’s ass that you married. Now we can just
wait and see what your friend has to say when he gets back.” Her
father grinned at her as he spoke and she felt herself returning
the smile. He was exactly as she remembered him from childhood.
Calm, logical, and able to make everything better with a few simple
words.

“You shouldn’t call him that, daddy,” Jala
scolded quietly without much enthusiasm toward her husband’s
defense. Her gaze lingered on Badger for a long moment before
looking away. It seemed strange to call him daddy or to even think
of him as father when she truly looked at him. When Jala was a
child, Badger had seemed old. Now she realized he wasn’t much older
than Finn had been when she married him. His hair was still dark
and only the small lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes
showed the hints of his age. Had he been full Elder Blood she
doubted he would have looked any older that she did.

“Quite right. It insults horses,” Badger
agreed with a grin and nodded his head toward the gates. “See your
friend is already on his way back. Not so long to wait, eh.”

Jala turned her attention toward the city and
stared hard at its gates before turning back to look at her father
with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t see a thing,” she muttered
dryly.

“Well, he is walking right toward you. Are
you blind girl?” her father teased, raising his eyebrows at her
twice with a grin on his face.

“Jala,” Jail’s voice came from directly
beside her horse and Jala jumped in the saddle at the sound,
despite the fact that she should have been expecting it. Looking
down she met the Mind mage’s eyes and scowled at the faint smile on
his face. “Sorry I should have given you warning,” Jail whispered
in a voice that wasn’t the least bit apologetic.

“No worries, Jail. What is it?” Jala said
calmly and resisted the desire to glare at her father for the
chuckling behind her. It wouldn’t do much good to glare at him
anyway. With the veil he would have no way of seeing the
expression.

“Issues with the ships. They aren’t here and
from the gossip I’m hearing in town we shouldn’t be expecting them.
I overheard Jexon saying something about returning to Merro,” Jail
explained and all amusement vanished from his face.

“We can’t. The Avanti are already in the
Greenwild,” Jala protested.

“I know, Jala, but we can’t very well march
without supplies either,” Jail returned with an exasperated sigh as
he crossed his arms on her saddle and leaned against her horse
looking up at her. “So what do you want to do? I don’t think we
have much time before he gives the orders to turn back.”

“Do you know where the biggest merchant in
town is?” Jala asked, her gaze returning to the city once more. She
wasn’t even sure if Brannaford had enough supplies for an army the
size of theirs but she had to try. The real problem was money. She
had gold in the bank in Sanctuary, but everything she had brought
with her from the city had gone to Kithvaryn to pay for his
contract. If the merchants would accept a promissory note with her
seal there was no problem, but she wasn’t sure if a town as small
as Sanctuary had any merchants that would be willing to do
that.

“Not offhand but I can find out easily
enough,” Jail said with a shrug.

“Do so,” Jala ordered and sat forward in her
saddle once more. Taking her reins up once more she turned her
horse and rode back to Wisp who sat with Legacy and Sovann in the
grass near the road. “I’m going into the city. Keep Legacy with
you, please. There is a bit of a problem with supplies and I’m
going to see what I can do to fix it,” Jala told them, waiting just
long enough for Wisp to nod before turning her horse once more
toward the city.

The sound of hoof beats behind her caused her
to glance back and she nearly fell off her horse in shock as she
recognized Valor among the small escort that followed her. She had
expected her father to come as well as Ash, but Valor was a
complete shock. She slowed her horse and allowed the other three to
catch up and turned toward Valor with a questioning look. Which he,
of course, couldn’t see, she realized with a heavy sigh.