The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (19 page)

“Your home?” Neph said, staring hard at Vaze
in confusion. “I thought you were a council member of the
Fionaveir? Shouldn’t you be living in Sanctuary?”

“Retired council member. I promised Symphony
I would see her as Empress, and I did.” Vaze shrugged again and
waved a hand toward the city. “This is where my focus lies now.
This is where my focus always should have been. Jala is my
blood-kin. I turned my back on her when she needed me and I regret
it more than words can express. Now when she needs me, I will most
likely be standing somewhere nearby.”

“And the Fionaveir simply accepted your
resignation with complete understanding?” Neph asked dryly. He eyed
the man for a moment, his gaze moving from the sleek black armor
that Vaze always wore to the four swords crossed on the man’s back,
as well as the two that hung from his waist. Vaze was an asset to
the Fionaveir. His talents were well known in all of the High
Houses and he was easily one of the most feared men alive. Neph
found it difficult to believe that the Fionaveir would simply let
him walk away so easily.

“Symphony cried. Lutheron blustered. Faramir
grew suspicious. And Caspian understood. I didn’t get a chance to
see Remedy before I left the city, but I know he would understand
as well. The simple fact is, the ones whose opinions I truly value
understand my choice, and the ones who didn’t understand are scared
of me.”

“I like that philosophy,” Neph murmured with
a smile, his eyes moving from street to street as he tried to
memorize the lay-out of the city. “She didn’t use the wagon wheel
pattern for the streets,” he noted absently. From what he could
tell, the basic plan for the city was on grids rather than the
concentric circles that most nations favored.

“Ten major roads running east to west and six
running north to south. Each road has a name and is clearly marked
on each corner,” Vaze explained, his hand rising to point at the
neatly painted sign post on the corner of the street they were
walking on.

“This comes from her getting lost in
Sanctuary so often,” Neph said with a chuckle and nodded. “It’s a
good sign that she is taking what is wrong in other cities and
correcting it in her own.

Vaze slowed in his steps for a moment and
then laughed, shaking his head at Neph. “It’s amusing how you
think. It’s just her city she is planning to correct. Wait until
after you speak with her this morning, Neph, and then we can have
this talk again.” His voice was thick with amusement as he spoke
and he simply shook his head at Neph’s questioning look. “Just
wait,” he urged with a wide smile and continued toward the
house.

* * *

Neph paused in the doorway and leaned against
the door frame. Vaze had directed him toward the kitchen before
parting company to attend to his own concerns and Neph expected to
find the High Lady directing servants. Instead he found Jala with
her hair braided up like a farmer’s wife, elbow-deep in flour. She
had replaced her dress from the night before with a black tunic
that looked to be about four sizes too large for her. If not for
the belt that was holding her faded trousers up Neph had no doubt
the tunic would have fallen well below her knees. His eyes trailed
down the patched legs of her trousers to her bare feet and he
fought back the urge to laugh.

So far she hadn’t noticed him and she was
rather amusing to watch. Between her outfit and the flour coating
her arms as well as a few splotches on her face she reminded him
more of a child at play than the leader of one of the most powerful
nations on Sanctuary.

She paused in her labors and snatched a chunk
of fruit from one of the bowls. Humming happily to herself, she
popped it in her mouth and returned to whatever task she had been
attending to. Neph couldn’t truly say what it was that she was
doing, beyond making a mess. He had never spared much time for the
art of cooking. It had always been easier to buy the food prepared
than to worry about its preparation.

Turning, she brushed a bit of flour from her
hands, which resulted in more coating her clothes, and then froze
as she spotted him. Her face split into a wide smile and she waved
him into the room. “When did you arrive and how long have you been
standing there?” Jala demanded as she waved him toward the
table.

Neph smirked and dropped down into a seat
with a shrug. “Long enough to realize you should hire servants,” he
said.

Jala rolled her eyes at him and frowned as
she poured a cup of tea and sat it down in front of him. “That’s
the same rubbish Sovann is always going on about. I don’t see
servants in his house, though,” she muttered sourly.

“He isn’t a High Lady,” Neph pointed out. He
eyed the tea for a moment and then reached to the center of the
table for the sugar dish. Still watching Jala, he dropped several
spoon-fulls in and began to stir slowly. “So Vaze tells me you have
a lot to talk with me about,” he began slowly and watched several
emotions flash quickly across her face at his words. Excitement had
definitely been the strongest, but there had been a touch of fear
there as well. That sight alone gave him pause.

“We should see to getting your people settled
before we worry about anything like that, Neph. I told Ash to make
sure we had room in the Barracks for your men, but none of us were
really sure exactly how many people you were bringing,” Jala said
as she pushed a pan into one of the massive ovens and joined him at
the table.

“You just need to worry about me, actually,”
Neph said with a smile. She stared at him in confusion first and
then dismay as he carefully took a sip of his tea. He leaned back
in his seat and ignored her continuing stare as he tried to guess
what herbs she had added to the tea leaves. There was a very strong
trace of mint and another somewhat bitter flavor that he couldn’t
quite place.

“They wouldn’t follow you?” Jala demanded,
once she realized he wasn’t planning to explain more.

“They are with me,” Neph said vaguely and had
to resist the urge to laugh as her frustration with him grew more
obvious. Lifting the cup, he inhaled deeply, still trying to puzzle
out what the odd flavor was and frowned. “I recognize the mint and
the tea leaves obviously, but what else is in this?”

“What do you mean your people are with you
but I don’t need to worry about housing them?” Jala stormed and let
out a loud breath.

“Really, do you think I honestly want to
discuss the tea mixture right now?”

“Do you see how irritating that is now, Jala?
When you desperately want to know something and your friend is
being annoying and cryptic. Doesn’t it just make you want to choke
them? Like, say someone returns from the dead and drags you out of
your home in the middle of the night for a secret meeting that they
won’t explain?” He let his words trail off and smiled at her in
smug satisfaction as he took a long drink from the tea.

“Willow bark. Vaze said you were bruised and
looked a bit worse for wear. I thought you would refuse healing so
I added painkiller to your tea,” Jala explained quietly, then
stared in shock as Neph spat the tea he had been drinking into the
floor between them.

Quickly, he pushed the cup back away from him
and rose from the table, crossing to the sink in hurried steps.
Without a backward glance at her, he leaned his head down to the
faucet and rinsed his mouth out several times until he could no
longer taste the slightest hint of the tea. Slowly he stood back
upright and turned to look at Jala who was staring at him slack
jawed.

“Are you allergic to willow?” Jala asked
quietly, her gaze moving from the tea splattered floor to him in
utter confusion.

“I’m a channeler, Jala,” Neph said slowly,
his pale blue eyes locking on her violet ones. Honestly, he had
thought she knew what his focus was, but it was apparent now that
she didn’t. Painkillers were devastating to him and had he finished
the cup he would have been crippled on magic until the herb’s
effects wore off. “I’m bruised and scraped and my body aches and
I’m more powerful because of it,” he continued and saw the light of
recognition flicker to life in her eyes.

“Pain, Neph? You chose pain as a bloody
focus?” Jala demanded. She shook her head at him and then glanced
at the cup and back to him. “Bloody hell. It wasn’t much willow. I
barely added any at all. I knew you never use painkillers so...”
Her voice trailed off and she shook her head at him again. “Of all
things, Neph, why did you choose pain?”

“Because it is the most constant thing I
know, Jala,” Neph answered quietly and watched as her mouth snapped
shut once more. Jala leaned back heavily in her seat and rubbed her
face with one delicate hand smearing more flour across her cheek in
the process. Now didn’t seem to be the time to point that out,
however. His words had darkened her mood and he doubted teasing her
would help much. “It’s fine, Jala. I can’t feel any effects and I
barely took two drinks before you told me,” Neph assured her as he
pulled a rag from the shelf and moved to clean up the mess he had
made on her floor.

“Pain should be a rarity, Neph. Life should
not revolve around suffering and loss with happiness as the
fleeting part of our existence,” Jala said softly as she folded her
hands on the table and stared down at her arm where Firym tattoos
had once been.

Rising slowly, Neph dropped into his chair
once more and tossed the rag on the side of the table. He leaned
forward on his elbows and let out a long breath as he watched her.
It was obvious that there was more to this display than anything he
had said, but how much more he had no idea.

“I want to change that, Neph. I don’t want
Legacy to grow up in this world. I don’t know anyone who speaks of
what a happy life they have lived. Everything is pain and suffering
or loss and loneliness. I want Legacy to look back on his life and
smile rather than cry,” Jala continued, her eyes moving from her
arm to his face. “Vaze is right. I do have so much to talk with you
about, but please tell me what you mean about your people. I need
to understand where all of the nations stand before I can continue
my plans.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be Symphony’s job,
Jala? Your focus is supposed to be Merro,” Neph said calmly. He
knew all too well what Jala was like when she got obsessed with an
idea. “You paved the road, remember? You don’t have to continue
down it. You have shown others the direction they need to
move.”

“You saw the council last night. They won’t
simply walk the path I point in. I will have to goad them the
entire way like a herd of pigs,” Jala grumbled. She rubbed her face
and waved a hand in irritation. “Symphony is supposed to do it,
yes, but that missive that was sent out is proof that she isn’t
doing it. Delvay, Glis, and Merro were left off that list. Does she
really think if she simply ignores us we will sit peacefully at
home and hope she does what is right? Those are three names from
our side of the alliance. Without us at the High Lord’s council to
vote, our enemies have the majority.”

“Are we even sure our vote will count for
anything? Symphony may plan on simply using the High Lords as
advisors,” Neph pointed out. “Well then, whichever one she is
taking advice from right now needs to be smacked upside the head,”
Jala grumbled. “I have three months to get everything straightened
out before the first council in Sanctuary. After that I will know
how much work I have to do on the rest of the world.

If Symphony impresses me, I will focus on
Merro alone. I won’t hold my breath for that, though.”

“I will hope she impresses you, then. Your
focus needs to be here, Jala.” Neph sighed but couldn’t help
smiling at her. “Bloody Dasharrans. It’s never enough with your
kind,” he grumbled as he shook his head at her slowly.

“I don’t know about Dasharrans, but I know
it’s not enough for me. Have you gotten any reports from the other
nations at all? It’s all so depressing and I’m just not sure where
exactly to begin,” she sighed and frowned at him. “You still
haven’t told me where you stand with your people. I thought
reclaiming Delvay would be our first move, but now I’m not sure,”
Jala said with a frown.

“They follow me and acknowledge me as leader.
I began the debate with them about coming to Merro and they pissed
me off so I stoned them. The people of Delvay are in the bottom of
my travel bag at the moment,” Neph explained with a shrug.

“Neph!” Jala gasped her eyes widening. “Neph,
you can’t do that!” she added with a bit of alarm. “That is not
leadership, Neph. When your people upset you, things must be solved
logically. You can’t just say bugger off and put them in a rock
until it’s convenient to deal with them.”

“Why? They are out of the way for now and I
can focus on what I need to do without their hassle. Besides, I’m
Delvay. By our laws, I do exactly what I want because I’m the
strongest. I want them all in storage stones and out of my sight
for a while,” Neph replied with a smirk.

Jala’s eyes widened again and she shook her
head at him. “No, Neph, that’s just bad,” Jala murmured still
shaking her head at him with a dumbfounded expression. “You have to
let them out now, Neph,” she added firmly.

“Mmm. No,” Neph replied with a smile. “They
really, really pissed me off, Jala. Let’s just think of this as
time out for the kids and leave it alone for now. What else do you
have planned other than reclaiming Delvay? I have to admit my
homeland is my highest priority. There are things about Delvay that
no one realizes and I have to reclaim it before the Rivasans
discover them. It’s possible that there is something you have in
mind that is more urgent, though.”

“You are just trying to change the topic,”
Jala frowned at him, her expression still filled with
disapproval.