The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (20 page)

“True, but you wanted to tell me about it
anyway so I’m not asking for much,” Neph agreed with a shrug. His
smile faded as the kitchen door opened. He stared at the girl for a
long moment before he recognized her from the camps in Arovan. Her
long leather coat was wrapped tightly around her and the heavy hood
was pulled up concealing most of her pale face.

Jala smiled and waved for her to enter the
kitchen but the girl balked and started to back out of the door.
“Zoelyn, it’s OK. This is Neph. He is a very good friend of mine,”
Jala said calmly and waved once more for her to enter.

“She knows me, or at least she has seen me
before. I believe I was ripping a man’s tongue out before breaking
his neck when we met,”

Neph explained with a smirk.

“Well, that explains why she looks ready to
bolt,” Jala replied dryly.

“Valor said to tell you that Lord Dark is
here with Havoc,” Zoelyn said quickly and Jala lurched from her
chair at her words.

“Here? Now?” Jala gasped, her hand flying
first to her hair and then to her tunic with a look of panic.

“I wouldn’t forget the flour on your face,
either,” Neph added calmly and it was nearly impossible to keep the
amusement from his voice.

“Hence, why I say you need servants.”

“Bugger it all,” Jala growled and looked from
the oven to Neph then back again before turning to Zoelyn. “Please,
Zoey. I know you are unsure of Neph, but please just stay in here a
few minutes to get the tarts from the oven. I can’t greet them like
this.”

Zoelyn nodded and stepped hesitantly into the
room, barely clearing the doorway before Jala was through it. She
moved slowly toward the sink and leaned against the cabinets
watching him.

“So, I scare you then?” Neph said with a
smirk and leaned back in his chair propping his feet out before
him.

“No, dislike does not mean fear,” Zoelyn
answered simply.

“Dislike, then? You don’t know me at all,
girl. Wait a few days before you pass judgment on me and you can
skip the dislike part and go right to hatred,” Neph replied in a
voice that typically silenced further conversation from anyone.

“If you are a close friend of Jala’s, I fail
to see how it would benefit me to try to hate you,” she replied
without the slightest quaver in her voice to suggest his tone had
disturbed her.

“Bloody hell. You are using logic. You won’t
fit in here at all, kid.” Neph chuckled and rose from his chair.
She was smaller than Jala and more petite. At his full height he
towered over her like a child, but still she simply stood and
watched him. “You didn’t seem this confident in Arovan. You
reminded me of a cornered mouse when Valor called you out,” he
observed.

“In Arovan, I was a cornered mouse. Here, I’m
simply a bored girl listening to an ass bray,” Zoelyn replied with
a shrug. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her fingers
idly against one sleeve of the heavy leather coat.

Neph blinked once in surprise and for a long
moment he was at a complete loss for words until it slowly dawned
on him what was going on. A smile broke across his face and he
chuckled. “Emily you bitch! Where are you?” he demanded.

The kitchen door parted once more and the
black Bendazzi strolled in with a feline grin showing clearly on
her face. She paced across the room and sat down heavily between
Neph and Zoelyn and he could see the girl visibly relax, though she
hadn’t seemed tense moments before.

“So you told her to talk tough to me and I’d
leave her alone. Is that it?” Neph asked.

I told her you were a complete asshole and
if you got too far out of line I would have Delvay for dinner
.
Emily’s voice echoed through his mind and despite the words he
could hear the joy in her voice.

“Glad to see you too, pussy,” Neph replied
with a smirk that earned a savage growl in response.

I never thought I would admit it, but I’m
glad you’re back, Neph. Valor won’t rein her in. Sovann can’t talk
her down. And Jail is in the city governing our quarter in
Sanctuary. Jala needs a voice of reason. She is getting pretty
obsessive about certain things
, Emily said with a shake of her
head.

“Marrow isn’t doing his job of keeping her in
line then?” Neph asked with a sigh as he sat back down at the table
once more. Things were not sounding good. Emily was probably the
most brutally honest person in Merro other than him, and she was a
staunch supporter of Jala. If she was talking this way, he needed
to figure out quickly what Jala was planning.

Marrow is as fanatic as she is now. He
tries to keep her from pushing herself too hard, but he is as
obsessed as she is about bringing peace to the world whether they
like it or not. When she first came back, she was content with just
Merro. Then after reports from the other nations started coming in
and she realized there was still fighting going on, she started her
plotting
, Emily explained.

“And the girl? Where does she fit into all of
this?” Neph asked, his eyes moving to Zoelyn once more. She had
fallen utterly silent and was simply watching him.

Jala’s crusade to save everyone, I
suppose. Her opinion of the Blights has completely reversed, Neph.
She keeps saying that we need them as allies not enemies
.
Emily’s frustration poured into her voice and Neph nodded.

“Has anyone bothered to remind her that they
are allies with our enemy? Did she totally forget that they only
attacked the nations we consider friends?” Neph asked. Glancing
back to Zoelyn once more he waved a hand in the direction of the
massive oven. “Tarts, girl, remember?”

“I can’t,” Zoelyn replied with a slight shake
of her head. “What?” Neph snapped in response.

“The oven is magical. I can’t touch it
without my gloves on, and I’m not stupid enough to reach into a hot
oven with metal covering my fingers,” Zoelyn explained.

“Then why in the bloody hell did you nod to
Jala?” Neph demanded as he rose from his chair and grabbed a towel
from the rack by the sink.

“Because she was in too much of a hurry to
listen to why I couldn’t,” Zoelyn replied calmly.

Rolling his eyes, Neph pulled the oven door
open and carefully grabbed the pan with the towel. Moving quickly
he closed the door and dropped the pan onto the countertop, glaring
at Zoelyn. “Next time, attempt to explain to her. Never agree to do
something you aren’t capable of doing. It’s a bad habit to get
into.”

“I was capable of doing it. I simply had to
use your hands rather than my own. Had you not mentioned the tarts
I would have reminded you and the task would have been accomplished
either way,” Zoelyn said as she relaxed against the counter once
more.

“Is she always like this?” Neph growled, his
gaze dropping to Emily.

I told her to stand her ground with you
and she would be fine. I warned her to not let you be a bully or
you would be completely unbearable. Normally, she doesn’t speak and
simply watches others. Of course, she has only been here for one
night, so her “normal” is judged on a very short time-frame
,
Emily explained with another feline grin.

“Ignore what Emily told you. Do not stand
your ground with me. It would be best if you simply duck your head
and scamper away when I approach. I don’t like children and it
would be less painful for both of us if we don’t have to deal with
each other,” Neph growled as he reclaimed his chair once more.

“I’m older than Jala,” Zoelyn pointed out
calmly.

“What?” Neph choked, his eyes scanning her
once more. It was hard to determine much about her appearance
through the coat and gloves, but he wouldn’t have guessed her much
more than twelve by her size.

“I’m twenty-three. Jala is eighteen,” Zoelyn
said softly. She shrugged her slender shoulders and the back of the
coat bumped heavily against the wooden cabinets. Sighing she pushed
off from the counter and looked down at her coat.

Neph couldn’t see her face, but he could
imagine the look of irritation that must be there. He had been
about to make a smartass comment but bit it back and simply looked
her over again with new insight. The noise the coat had made
suggested there was lead sewn inside the leather. Her gloves were
bulky with metal plates covering each finger in such a fashion he
wondered how she was able to do anything with her hands. Her boots
were the sort that dock workers usually wore, bulky things to begin
with, and then the added weight of the iron plates on top of that.
In sword training his master had started him off with a sword
filled with lead to build his strength. The girl’s entire life was
a lead blade. Despite her size, she had to be strong, and without
the garments she would doubtless be quick. With the garments, she
was miserable and despite her silence on the matter, it showed.

“Tell Jala how much you hate those clothes
and she will see that you have others,” Neph said quietly as he
stood from his chair. He headed for the door and didn’t bother to
look back at Emily or Zoelyn. He had enough things on his mind
without the extra weight of the girl. She was Jala’s project, not
his.

“Neph!” Jala exclaimed in surprise as he
nearly knocked her over with the door. The black tunic and patched
leggings had been replaced by a violet and silver dress and her
hair was once again immaculate. In the manner of a few minutes she
had transformed herself from a farmer’s wife to a High Lady once
more. She stepped back and smiled widely at him. “I was just coming
to get you,” she admitted and waved toward the back door of the
house. “I think it would be easier if I explain my plans to
everyone at once. They are waiting in the temple,” she explained
quickly as she headed for the door.

“The temple?” Neph asked as he fell in step
beside her. Jala had revered Fortune when he first met her, but she
had never been truly devout.

“It’s an odd meeting place I know, but I
trust it more than anywhere else to discuss things of this
importance. My secrets will not be spied upon in the temple,” Jala
said with a shrug.

“That depends on who is favored by the
Aspects involved,” Neph pointed out mildly as he followed her
across the courtyard toward a small building set to the side of the
house. “You have a private temple? I was thinking a city temple,”
he muttered as he realized where they were headed.

“There is a city temple, as well, but this is
the House Temple, and the Divine involved favors me,” Jala
explained as she pulled the massive doors open and stepped inside
the dimly lit room.

Neph followed her inside, closing the door
quietly behind him and then froze as he recognized the red-haired
man from the battlefield standing just to the right of the
door.

“I favor her,” the man agreed with a smile
and winked at Jala.

“Grandpa, what are you doing here in the
flesh?” Jala gasped as her face broke into a smile once more.
“Important meeting. I will be in the background and I promise I
won’t interrupt,” the man assured her.

Neph stared at him then to Jala as he quickly
took in his surroundings. There were only two symbols in the entire
temple and he knew without a doubt that this wasn’t Death standing
before them. “You call the Divine of War
Grandpa
?” Neph
stammered, his eyes flashing back to Jala once more.

“Well, he is,” Jala said with a shrug and
hugged the Divine lightly as if he were simply one of the Elder
Blood. “Don’t stay in the background; sit at the table. It’s Havoc
and Zach. You know Zach will understand your presence and, well, I
will just smack Havoc if he objects.” “You support Jala in her
plans?” Neph asked before the Divine could begin walking.

War regarded him for a long moment with dark
eyes and slowly nodded. “How much faster do you think Jala would
work to regain Delvay if she knew what resided within the House
Vaults?” War asked softly.

“Much,” Neph replied grudgingly. While he
understood why the Divine of War knew his House secrets, he didn’t
like it even being mentioned when there was a possibility of others
over-hearing. Delvay had guarded their vaults jealously since the
Barrier was raised around Sanctuary and Kadan had nearly destroyed
his people trying to protect them. It was not a topic to be spoken
aloud and the look he gave the Divine said as much.

“Then consider this: Perhaps Jala has secrets
of her own that are fueling her, but perhaps, like yourself, she is
unwilling to speak of them. Listen to what she says with both ears,
Lord Delvayon, and consider how well you know Jala. Watch her face
when she speaks and ask yourself what is motivating her right now,”
War said with a wink and turned to follow after Jala who was
already sitting down at the small table near the back of the
temple.

The memory of the fear in her eyes earlier
that morning returned to him and Neph sighed heavily. He didn’t
need to watch her now to determine what was motivating her. He’d
already seen a brief glimpse. Now all he had to do was figure out
what was scaring the most powerful mage he had ever seen. Though,
in all honesty, he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know what scared
the Lady Bendazzi.

“Zach, Havoc I hope you don’t mind if Neph
joins us. He is a bit clueless as to what is going on right now and
I’d like to go over everything with him here,” Jala began, her
violet eyes moving from Zach to Havoc.

“It would be more efficient,” Zachary Dark
said agreeably and nodded to Neph. “Join us, please,” The
candlelight flickered across the black enamel of his gauntlet as he
motioned toward an empty chair. Neph nodded with a faint smirk as
he realized Jala was the only one in the temple that wasn’t armed
or armored. Lord Dark wore his plate mail as always and Havoc was
geared in the leather and chain armor that was favored by the Flame
riders.