The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (25 page)

“I say the same thing every time I come
home,” Seth said wistfully as he continued down the street at the
same ground-eating pace.

* * *

“Seriously, Seth? Really? You didn’t have
enough to do tonight so you decided to throw in kidnapping and
murder for extra entertainment?” The man’s voice cracked through
the throne room with enough anger that Zoelyn cringed back against
the wall. He was dressed in black armor and a long hooded cloak,
but she could still make out enough of his features to realize he
looked like a twin of Sovaesh. The only true difference she could
see was that this man’s face was free of the brand marks that
Jala’s friend bore on each cheek.

Seth shrugged as he dropped Vaze’s body onto
the floor before the throne and he smirked. “Does the Lord of Death
require me to point out that Vaze is not actually dead?” he asked
with sarcasm lacing his words.

“Wait, what?” The man froze in place and
examined the body on the ground before him critically before
looking back up at the Assassin. "OK, so he isn’t dead, the
kidnapping accusation is still valid, though,” he amended as he
approached Vaze’s still form and prodded him gently with the toe of
his boot. “What did you do to him?” he asked with more curiosity
than anger in his voice.

“I drugged him, Finn. Well, I also stabbed
him of course, but it was a non-lethal wound and I have no regrets
about it. He earned it when he annoyed me,” Seth explained calmly.
“I brought the girl for you Finn,” he added as he glanced back at
Zoelyn.

“You know I was joking when I said the
temples needed to start the virgin sacrifices again, right?” Finn
asked cautiously, his gaze flicking between her and Seth. “She is
kind of young, too, Seth. I mean it’s been a while and all, but I’m
not into child molesting. Sorry.”

Seth sighed heavily and rubbed his face.
Moving past Finn he carefully placed Legacy on the throne and shook
his head. “Your son could sleep through anything. There has been
yelling and screaming and jostling and he is still snoring.” Seth
shook his head and straightened once more as he walked over to
stand at Finn’s side and draped an arm loosely across his
shoulders. His attention returned to Zoelyn and he pointed a finger
at her. “I didn’t bring her here for you to fuck, Finn. Look at her
closely with the eyes of a god rather than the eyes of a lecherous
mortal.”

“I preferred life as a lecherous mortal,”
Finn grumbled.

“So did I, but we must let go of our past and
serve the present,” Seth replied in a consoling voice.

“Why can’t I see her soul? I don’t sense any
of my power attached to her at all, and from the looks of her, I
really should. She looks ready to die at any moment in her current
condition.” Finn sounded puzzled and Zoeln tried to shrink back
farther against the wall to escape his stare.

“She is Undrae Finn,” Seth explained as he
dropped his arm from Finn’s shoulder and stood straight once more.
“She looks starved and terrified, but she doesn’t look like a
monster to me,” Finn observed with a glance to Seth.

Seth sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes.
“Monster is not the true definition of the word
Undrae
.
Originally the word meant her kind,” Seth informed him as he
pointed casually toward Zoelyn once more. “In the beginning, the
proper word was
Uindraely
named in honor of the mage that
created her kind. They are also called
Broken ones
or
leeches
.” Seth paused and watched Finn closely for any sign
of comprehension.

“Still lost, keep going,” Finn prompted and
waved his hand for Seth to continue.

Seth nodded with a smirk. “There is a spell
among the forbidden magic that can raise the dead. With a sacrifice
of equal value you can return life to the fallen. Uindraely
Merrodin discovered long before the Barrier that if you
intentionally use a sacrifice that is not equal, you can create a
Broken one
,” Seth paused and motioned toward Zoelyn. “The
creature that returns from the grave is not whole or truly alive.
She exists on the borders of both, Finn. An Undrae does not
remember its former life as she would if the spell worked properly.
They are not the person they were before the grave. They siphon
life as well as magic in a desperate attempt to make themselves
whole. Uindraely Merrodin grew infamous in her practice of raising
them in armies. Uindraely has been dead for hundreds of years,
however, and yet here is one of her creations.” Seth paused again
looking at Finn meaningfully.

“I’m trying to picture her as a threat, Seth,
I really am, but the way she is cuddling the wall is killing my
imagination for that,” Finn said dryly as he continued to watch
Zoelyn.

“They are as they are taught Finn. This
Undrae
was formed of a young girl on both sides of that
spell. The sacrifice as well as the fallen would have been innocent
of nature. Imagine another raised in this method, though. Imagine
one that was created with a darker purpose. This one is harmless, I
will agree with you on that, but someone is creating them and it is
stealing from you when they do. It’s possible that this girl was a
test, a practice if you will. The next one raised could be much
more dangerous,” Seth explained calmly.

“So how do we find her creator?” Finn asked
after a long moment. “I can’t sense anything about her so I can’t
trace it through magic,” he added thoughtfully and glanced at
Seth.

“I will help this one if you will allow it.
Perhaps when I have her in fit condition again her creator will
come forward. If not I may be able to gather clues from her that
will answer our questions. All I need is time and I will find the
one that needs to be punished,” Seth answered with a smile.

“Do it then, but do it on the same rotation
as Legacy. Jala is extremely pissed right now and I really don’t
want to push her further. You can gather the girl or help her or
whatever you need to do when you bring me Legacy,” Finn ordered and
turned back for his throne. He paused beside Vaze’s motionless body
and his shoulders slumped. “And, Seth, take Vaze back home and
maybe, just maybe, Jala won’t realize you stabbed her Uncle. If she
does, I am going to relay every prayer I get from her directly to
you, and I’m using the term prayer lightly. They really aren’t
prayers, Seth, not even close,” he added with a shake of his
head.

Seth nodded quickly and moved forward to pick
Vaze up by the belt once more. “I will return for the girl in a
bit,” he announced with a nod.

Finn glanced back at him and smirked. “You
are so lucky I dismiss Fiona on the nights that Legacy is here. She
would be bitching for days over this and I would have you running
the most tedious disgusting assignments I could think of as
punishment for having to listen to her.” “If only you would dismiss
her permanently,” Seth sighed as he disappeared from the room with
Vaze.

Finn chuckled and his gaze returned to
Zoelyn. She had been watching them both in utter silence afraid to
make even the slightest sound.

Slowly she straightened against the wall and
returned his gaze. “You tried to defend my son,” Finn said quietly.
“I didn’t understand,” Zoelyn whispered hoarsely.

“Seth terrifies you and yet you still tried
to defend Legacy,” Finn mused as he carefully picked his son up and
sat down in the throne. He balanced the child in the crook of his
arm and watched him sleep for a long moment before his eyes found
hers once more. “Legacy is the only thing I have left of my former
life. I have severed all other ties. He means more to me than
anything and any who defend him I consider friend. You have no
reason to be scared of me…” His words trailed off and he raised an
eyebrow at her. “Zoey or Zoelyn? Jala used both when she was
ranting and I’m not sure which you prefer. I think I favor Zoey
myself. It’s less formal.”

“Zoey is fine,” she agreed as she moved
cautiously away from the wall. “Why is he still asleep through all
of this? Is he OK?” she asked hesitantly.

Finn grinned widely and nodded. “That was one
of the reasons that we specified that Legacy be awake when Seth
arrives. This child could sleep through the end of the world. It’s
amazing really,” he chuckled.

“I don’t want Seth’s help. I want to go home.
Please? I just wanted to help Legacy and I see now that he doesn’t
need my help.” Zoelyn wasn’t sure if he would listen, but he seemed
kind enough. He was certainly not what she had expected from the
Lord of Death. It was obvious now that Legacy was in good care. She
wasn’t sure about herself, though, and she knew she only had
moments before Seth returned.

“If I thought Seth intended to harm you, I
wouldn’t have agreed to his request, and while he may have made you
sound like bait for your creator you won’t be. I won’t allow that.
I will make a deal with you, however. Considering that we are
friends, now.” Finn paused as he waited for a response.

“What kind of deal?” Zoelyn asked
cautiously.

“Humor Seth for the duration of Legacy’s
visit. If you still despise him by the end, I won’t let him bring
you back again, and you can continue with Jala’s attempts to help
you. Seth knows what you are, though, and Jala doesn’t. It’s very
possible that Seth knows how to help you and it may take Jala
months to figure it out,” Finn answered calmly.

“Will you ask him to stop calling me Undrae?”
Zoelyn asked.

“Call him
demon
in return if he does.
He hates to be reminded of what he is as much as you do,
apparently. I suppose none of us achieved what we wanted from life.
I never once wanted to be called Death and yet everyone but Seth
uses that title for me now,” Finn sighed.

“He is a demon?” Zoelyn choked her eyes
widening. None of the stories had ever described the Crow King as a
demon. He had seemed like nothing more than Elder Blood to her. The
demons in the stories were hideous and covered in scales with fangs
and claws, yet Seth was beautiful. Even his golden bird like eyes
had seemed normal to her after living for years on the Glis border.
Most Shifters had animal traits in their human forms.

“The prettiest one I have,” Finn agreed with
a grin.

“Ahh. You flatter me so, Finn.” Seth’s voice
broke through the shadows with sarcasm lacing each word. “Did Jala
notice?” Finn asked, his head snapping upward in the direction of
Seth’s voice.

“No, and I doubt Vaze will tell her. That was
likely an experience he will go a very long way never to mention
again. I humiliated him,”

Seth answered as he dropped down from the
rafters landing gracefully on the stone floor a few feet from
her.

“You heard our deal?” Finn asked.

“I did. Apparently, if I want to abuse her
and devour what’s left of her soul, I need to do it quickly,” Seth
replied with a grin.

“Way to reassure a frightened girl, Seth. You
are truly a lady’s man,” Finn said dryly.

“I try,” Seth murmured, his gaze moving to
Zoelyn once more. “Follow me or be dragged, you choose,” he said as
he turned to walk from the room.

“I’d follow,” Finn urged with a quick nod.
“He meant that part about dragging.”

“I never accepted your deal,” Zoelyn pointed
out, her eyes flashing between Finn and Seth as the Assassin paused
in the doorway, looking back at her with mild annoyance.

Finn chuckled and shook his head at her. “You
didn’t have to. It’s all you are getting from me. Sorry, hun.
Friend or not, I told Seth he could help you. I can’t send you back
without breaking my word to him, and he is the only friend I have
in this wretched place. I’m not about to break my word to him.”

Zoelyn stared at him for a long moment and
nodded. She could understand Finn’s logic and couldn’t fault him
for it despite how much she wanted to wail like a child. Turning,
she headed for the door with resignation written clearly on her
face. Finn had been her last savior from Seth’s attention and he
had offered her limited hope. She had no choice but to face
whatever Seth had in store for her and could only hope she survived
it.

* * *

Firelight danced on the dark stone walls as
she followed Seth toward another flight of stairs. The lamps were
set at each landing, leaving the areas between thick with shadows.
Zoelyn paused, reluctant to continue. The path behind her was just
as foreboding, however. Seth continued ahead for a few moments in
silence, then slowly stopped and turned to look back at her. His
expression was equal parts question and annoyance.

“This is the third flight of stairs we have
climbed. How much farther are we going?” Zoelyn’s voice was barely
above a whisper, yet it still seemed to echo like a scream down the
hall.

“Two more flights,” Seth answered calmly as
he watched her. The questioning part of his expression had faded,
leaving only the annoyance.

Her gaze returned to the shadows and she
nodded reluctantly and forced herself up the few stairs that
separated them. She had expected him to continue, but he held his
ground and watched her approach.

“There is nothing in the entire Darklands
that would attack me directly, little Undrae. As long as you walk
behind or beside me you have no reason to watch the shadows so
closely. While you may not know what is there, I do, and it is all
terrified of me,” Seth said with a faint hint of amusement. He
didn’t bother to wait for her to respond; he simply turned and
began walking once more up the seemingly endless stairs.

“Why won’t you call me by my name? You know I
hate that word,” Zoelyn muttered as she stumbled after him. Fatigue
was quickly overcoming her fear of Seth. She had been awake nearly
twenty hours and even when fully rested she was weak compared to
others. Her stamina had never been an issue before, though. Dominic
knew she was sickly and never asked much from her, and with Jala
her life had been even simpler. Jala asked nothing of her at all,
beyond the attempts to learn about her powers. Seth, on the other
hand, seemed inclined to push her until she dropped. Her feet were
already raw and bleeding from the barefoot journey through the city
and palace.