The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (12 page)

Pulling lightly on his magic he summoned a
spark of flame and lit the tiny candles lining the altar one by
one, whispering the names of the Divine as he did so. Just because
they hadn’t given him a sign, didn’t mean they weren’t listening.
He had to keep faith. The Aspects were about the only thing he had
left to turn to for solace. Bowing his head he closed his eyes and
began his nightly prayers. His body relaxed with the routine and
his anger slowly faded. There was a certain peace to the ritual
that couldn’t be replaced by anything else.

“What are you praying for Neph?” The voice
was barely loud enough to be heard, but just the sound of it nearly
stopped his heart. Jala was dead. He had seen her body and yet it
was her voice. There was no mistaking it. If this was a trick,
someone was about to die horribly.

“A lot of things. My loudest prayer was
possibly just answered, though,” Neph answered cautiously. He
didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t want to see that it wasn’t truly
her. Had he snapped? Was he only imagining her voice? He didn’t
feel insane, but then he was relatively sure no one insane ever
truly realized they were.

“Possibly? You aren’t sure it was?” Jala
asked her voice still near a whisper.

“You are dead,” Neph pointed out bluntly.

“Mmmm, I kind of was for a bit,” Jala mused,
her voice a bit louder. The soft scuff of footsteps sounded behind
him followed by the squeaking of the springs on his bed as someone
sat down. “I suppose I bit off a tad more than I could chew and
well, lesson learned,” s he sighed heavily.

“You bit off more than a dozen dragons could
chew, Jala,” Neph snapped, his eyes flashing open at last. He had
to see her. He had to know if it was truly her. She sat on the foot
of the bed watching him, her violet eyes sparkling in the dim
light. She was dressed in a gown of dark purple silk, cut
dangerously low in the front and split on the sides to reveal her
legs. Silver sandals laced up her calves and jewels covered her
wrists and fingers. Her hair had been braided into intricate
patterns and a net of silver chains held it in place. His eyes
lingered on her face and the web work of purple tattoos that began
above her right eye and traced a delicate path down to her
cheek.

Jala smiled at the direction of his gaze and
raised a hand to touch the marks. “It’s a new addition. I hope it
is artistic enough to hide its true purpose,” Her hand dropped back
to her lap and she gazed around his small room. “Do you remember
when I was wounded by the Blight in Avanti? It was because I
couldn’t get my glasses on fast enough. I probably should have been
wearing them the entire time, but the tunnel was so dark it wasn’t
practical,” she shrugged and motioned at the tattoo once more. “No
glasses required now.”

“Just because you know some of Jala’s life
does not prove you are Jala,” Neph pointed out in a neutral voice.
His heart was thudding so painfully in his chest that he was sure
she must be able to hear it. He wanted so desperately for her to
prove it truly was her, and yet he feared to press the issue. If
this was a hoax. If she couldn’t prove it… He let the thought fade
in his mind. He didn’t want to think of it not truly being her.
“Valor warned me that you wouldn’t believe. I came prepared,
though. I suppose I should cut myself and show you gold blood, but
then you would likely say that could be faked too. So turn on your
mage sight and watch my magic reserves, Neph. I don’t want you to
accuse me of faking this, so tell me when you have done so,” Jala
smiled as she spoke and the sight nearly brought tears to his
eyes.

Neph wasn’t sure exactly what she was
planning, but he couldn’t see any harm in what she asked. Pulling
on his magic once more he cast the spell and nodded to her.
“Ready,” he said quietly, his gaze never leaving her even for a
breath. In truth, he was fighting back the urge to even blink in
fear that she would be gone again when he opened his eyes once
more.

Casually, Jala lifted her hands before her
and summoned mage stone after mage stone more quickly than he
thought possible. She dropped them on the floor before her one by
one until a small pile formed by her feet. Her reserves were slowly
draining as she created the stones, but not nearly as fast as they
should have been, given the amount of stones she had created. His
eyes widened slightly as he realized exactly how much power the
woman before him must possess to fill so many stones with so little
effect. She gave a wistful sigh and continued to drop the stones
until the pile of gems spilled over onto one of her feet. Pausing
she met his eyes once more. “Is it obvious that my power is drained
down a bit now?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Neph nodded slowly, his gaze moving to the
mage stones and back to her. “Jala did not have larger reserves of
magic than me,” Neph began slowly.

“I do now, sweetie, so deal with it,” Jala
chirped in a tone that sounded far too smug. Lightly she kicked one
of the stones toward him and smiled again. “Go on, test it, you
cranky skeptic. I don’t want you to have any excuse to say I didn’t
pass the identity test. I want your trust back and I swear if I
have to fight a constant battle with you to prove who I am, I will
smack you upside the head.”

Neph smiled at the words and lifted the
stone. Magic brimmed inside it and there was no denying that it was
a true mage stone. “You certainly sound like Jala, and yes, this is
a legitimate stone.” He set the stone back down on the pile and
gave her a questioning look.

“Ahh, I love that expression on your face.
It’s the
what now
look. Well here is what now Neph,” Jala
said and reached behind her on the bed. Carefully she lifted her
staff from behind her and held it out for Neph to see. The metal
was melted and the stones had cracked from heat, but it was Jala’s
staff, of that he was certain.

“I haven’t seen that since the night you sent
me from Arovan,” Neph whispered his eyes locked on the weapon.

“Valor found it by my body and kept it safe
for me. He was afraid they would try to bury it with my body,” Jala
explained and then paused cocking her head at him. “He took me to
see my grave in Arovan earlier. Do you have any idea how strange it
is to stand on your own grave, Neph? No, I suppose you wouldn’t,
but let me just say it is not a happy feeling.” She shook her head
and shrugged again before offering the staff to him. “It doesn’t
turn anymore as it was intended to, given that it’s half melted but
the Barllen is still there and functioning. Go ahead, Neph, take it
and examine it. As I said, I don’t want there to be a shred of
doubt in that thick skull of yours.”

Neph smiled again and took the staff, his
eyes scanning the familiar runes and stones lining it. It had been
a thing of beauty when Valor gave it to Jala, and even now in its
damaged state it was still impressive. Slowly he ran a finger up
the side of the staff until he felt the bite of Barllen draining
his magic. “It is exactly what it appears to be. This is Jala’s
staff,” he said firmly as he handed it back to her.

“Still have your mage sight on?” Jala asked
and waited for him to nod. “All right then, watch closely,” she
ordered and placed her hands firmly on the Barllen part of the
staff.

Her eyes narrowed as she focused and Neph
watched with held breath as her reserves filled once more. All
doubt vanished from his mind at the sight and he was on his feet
before he realized it. Only Jala could draw power from Barllen. It
was the proof that he was so desperately craving. Within a breath
he had her lifted from the bed and wrapped tightly in an
embrace.

“Breaking ribs,” Jala gasped, though the tone
of her voice was amused.

“Don’t you dare ever do anything that stupid
again, Jala. I thought you were gone forever,” Neph whispered as he
loosened his grip and rested his chin on the top of her head. “You
have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” His voice had grown thick
as he struggled to fight back the tears threatening to pour down
his face.

“I have a better idea than most would, Neph,”
Jala answered quietly as she rested her head against his chest. “I
swear by the Divine that I will never again risk myself so
carelessly. I promise you I will do everything in my power to live
as long as I possibly can. I have so much in my life that I never
want to lose again.”

Stepping back from the embrace, Neph looked
her up and down and shook his head at her with a smile. “You went
through an awful lot of trouble to get rid of scars, Jala. You know
most women would have just used magic to hide the blemishes, but
not you. You had to create an entirely new body you damned
egomaniac.”

“Well, you know,” Jala replied with sarcasm
thick in her voice and smiled at him. Taking his hands in her own,
she looked down and studied the two rings he wore. On his left hand
was the signet of Merrodin and on his right he now wore the signet
of Delvay. She ran her thumb lightly across the scarred metal of
the Merrodin ring and pushed at it gently forcing it up on his
finger a bit. “Good. You haven’t taken it off and the callous
proves that,” she murmured then lifted her eyes to meet his once
more. “Get dressed in something pretty, Neph. I want to take you
out and show you off,” she ordered flippantly with another
grin.

“You have Valor to use as eye candy,” Neph
returned dryly.

“And Valor is waiting outside for us. Hurry
up. I’m not kidding. Get dressed nicely, Lord Delvayon, we have a
party to crash. ” Jala prodded him gently with her hand and turned
for the door. “I’ll wait outside your room,” she informed him as
she hefted her staff in one hand and pulled the door open.

“Jala are you going to explain what is going
on?” Neph grumbled as she started to close the door behind her.

Glancing back, Jala gave him an impish grin
and shook her head lightly. “No,” she chirped and pulled the door
shut behind her.

Neph let out a deep sigh of irritation, but
couldn’t quite manage to keep the grin off his face. Everything had
been spiraling out of his grasp, and then, with just the sound of
her voice and the sight of her, it was all fixed. Jala Merrodin had
returned and no matter how dire the situation looked, he would face
it head on and without doubt. When Jala was involved, any miracle
was possible, even saving Delvay.

It took him less than five minutes to dress,
though Neph doubted she would approve of what he had chosen. He
wasn’t like Finn had been, or Valor was. He didn’t own silks or
velvet. For him, dressing nicely meant putting on the leather armor
that had the least amount of scars and no dried blood on it.
Pausing at the mirror he studied his reflection and smoothed his
short blond hair a bit. His eyes lingered on his face and he shook
his head slowly at the wide smile that still showed. It wasn’t an
expression he was accustomed to wearing, and he would have to get
rid of it before Shade or Madren saw him. The last thing he wanted
was for Madren to lose his fear of him.

Jala was leaning against the wall, twirling
her staff between her two hands when he stepped from his room. She
looked up quickly, her eyes scanning him and nodded once. “That is
about as well dressed as I’ve ever seen you,” she said
agreeably.

“Anything more and I will be the one doing
the identity tests,” Neph said with a shrug. “So, where are we
going?” he asked as they walked side by side to the door.

“To get Valor and Madren,” Jala replied with
a grin that had him rolling his eyes.

“After that?” Neph pressed.

“Out of Goswin,” Jala replied glancing up at
him as she pushed the door open and stepped out into the cool night
air.

The sound of childish laughter echoed through
the garden and Jala’s answering smile was positively radiant. She
moved swiftly in the direction of the laughter ending his chance at
any further questions. Neph sighed and followed her quickly down
the winding paths that led from the guest house to the Manor
itself.

Valor was the first one Neph spotted as they
approached. The knight stood by the entrance to the path. His
purple and silver armor had been polished to such a shine it
gleamed like a mirror. The sound of their footsteps drew his
attention and Valor turned to watch them with a look of such utter
devotion on his face that Neph shook his head. Neph wanted to make
a smart ass remark, but he knew he couldn’t. While his expressions
were more guarded than the knight’s and Neph typically wore a
scowl, he could relate with that expression perfectly. The only
difference they had in their feelings for Jala was that Valor was
in love with her while Neph simply loved her. She was a sister to
him and he was just as devoted as the damned Arovan was and he knew
it.

The childish giggle broke through the
stillness of the night once more and Neph paused beside Valor and
Jala until he located its source. Legacy sat in the grass near one
of the garden pools with an overly large white rabbit on the ground
before him. The creature was sitting on its rump with both hind
feet splayed out before it. As Neph watched, the rabbit rocked back
on its haunches and its cheeks puffed out with air as its eyes
crossed. More giggles erupted from Legacy as the rabbit’s ears grew
limp and all of the air exploded out of it in a rush that sounded
far cruder that a noise one would expect from an animal.

“What the hell?” Neph mumbled, glancing at
Valor. “Wait until he dances,” Valor whispered back.

“Dances?” Neph raised an eyebrow and turned
his attention back to the strange little creature as its body began
to shift. Within a breath, Shade sat in the grass before Legacy
with a stupid grin on his face.

“That’s all for now, little man. Shade needs
a smoke and bunnies can’t have cigarettes,” Shade said with a grin
and ruffled Legacy’s hair as he stood. Reaching into the pocket of
his coat he produced a slender silver case and fished a cigarette
out. He seemed to notice Jala and Neph then and bowed his head
slightly to them in greeting.