The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (42 page)

“Ahh, Neph. Welcome to Sanctuary,” A musical
voice rose from the behind the guards. More people shuffled out of
the way as Victory Faydwer stepped into view. Sunlight glinted off
his polished plate mail as he stopped in front of Neph and smiled.
His green eyes danced with amusement as he regarded Neph and it was
obvious from his expression he was trying not to chuckle. He shook
his head once and let out a long sigh. Glancing over to the two
Fionaveir guards he rolled his eyes. “Arrest Lord Delvayon and
escort him to the holding cells,” he ordered in an amused voice.
Glancing back at Neph, Victory smiled ruefully. “I will send word
to House Merrodin of your arrest,” he informed him politely.

“What exactly is the penalty for insulting
the Empress’s half-ass job of ruling?” Neph asked as the guards
clamped manacles over his wrists.

“It varies depending on the severity. Yours
will be monetary I’m sure. You haven’t actually threatened Empress
Symphony’s life, so it should be a trivial matter,” Victory
answered with a shrug.

“So there is a fine for speaking the truth.
That’s cute. It sounds like something Avanti or Morcaillo would
think up. Is the Empress using either of those houses as Advisors?”
Neph asked in an overly polite voice.

“I hope you have a lot of money, Neph. I have
a feeling your fine will be increasing the entire way to the
holding cells,” Victory sighed. “I hope you have really impressive
holding cells if you expect them to contain me,” Neph replied
coldly.

Victory blinked a moment and shook his head
slowly as he sighed. “On second thought, I will escort Lord
Delvayon personally. Return to your posts,” he informed the guards
with a mild look of annoyance on his pale face.

“You’ve got balls, Victory, if you think you
can stop me by yourself. I have business in the Merro district. If
not for your stupid security check I would already be done here and
back home. As I recall, the districts belong to the houses and you
should have no jurisdiction over me there,” Neph growled as he
pushed his way through the crowd toward the gates.

“You haven’t been in the city since the
changes were made, have you?” Victory asked quietly. Neph glared at
him and Victory shook his head once more. “Neph, the old laws no
longer apply in the city. Symphony deemed that the citizens of
Sanctuary would be safer if she held power over all districts. They
have been cleaning the city for the past three weeks and arresting
anyone that is considered a threat.”

“Well that solves all of my problems, then.
See, I was concerned about a certain Assassins guild in Sanctuary,
but from the sound of it, your Empress has already taken care of
the Nightblades so I shouldn’t have to worry,” Neph said with
sarcasm dripping off his every word. “Oh, wait, we had Nightblades
in our country two days ago. So I guess that means that rather than
bothering with something as harmless as Assassins, the Fionaveir
have been focusing on people being mean and saying nasty things
about your Empress.”

“You are such an ass, Neph. Be sure and
inform Jala that she owes me for helping you today,” Victory
sighed. “We haven’t been able to locate the Nightblade guild house
yet. We have managed to eliminate four thieves guilds, six slavers
and at least thirty illegal gambling and fighting
establishments.”

“Gee, I feel so much safer,” Neph responded
dryly.

“Look, Symphony is doing the best she can
considering the forces she has. It’s not as if we have an army to
turn to. The entire Fionaveir barely equal one regiment of the
Rivasan forces, and if we lose the city, we lose our power,”
Victory explained in a level tone.

“You were there in Arovan so I can forgive
you, Victory. You are an exception among the Fionaveir. What I want
to know is this, though.

What is Symphony going to do when everyone
that supported her dies? With her current leadership, everyone that
she considers ally is losing, and when the dust settles she is
going to be surrounded by enemies.”

Victory slowed his pace and shook his head
slowly. He glanced around them examining the crowds and then looked
to Neph and shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. That point has been
raised several times, and every time we have been told we have to
hold this city. If I could be out there fighting right now, I would
be. So would a lot of the others. Hell, Havoc never came back to
Sanctuary after the battle in Arovan. As far as I know he is still
fighting the Blights.” His voice was quieter and it was obvious
that he didn’t want anyone to overhear their conversation. “Look, I
won’t repeat anything that you have said to me in private, but I
can’t promise we aren’t being overheard. So please, Neph, watch
your words. I know you are a close friend of Jala and I really
don’t want you in deeper trouble than you are already in because of
that.”

“So, everything Shade said about the
Fionaveir was accurate,” Neph surmised with a nod.

“Don’t mention his name in the city,
especially not in the holding cells, Neph. Shade has become the
scapegoat for just about everything that has gone wrong for the
past year. If you even hint that you might know where he is, not
even Jail will be able to get you released before questioning, and
the questioning is not pleasant even for an Elder Blood,” Victory
warned in a hushed voice.

“Do you believe it, Victory? Do you think
Shade turned on the Fionaveir?” Neph asked coolly, but kept his
voice low enough for only Victory to hear.

“What I think matters very little, Neph. It’s
what others think that is listened to,” Victory replied quietly and
glanced toward the looming palace in the distance. “Maybe things
will get sorted out at the council. That’s what we are all praying
for anyway.” “The council is still two months away,” Neph pointed
out.

“And it’s all we have as hope, so don’t take
it away,” Victory returned gently and nodded toward the large stone
building tha t had served as Sanctuary’s prison for as long as he
could remember. “The holding cells are in here. I will take care of
the paperwork as quickly as I can and get word to Jail that you are
here. With luck I will have it done before they process you to move
to the prison.”

“What?” Neph snapped whirling to look at
Victory. “What do you mean move me to the prison? This is the
prison.”

“This was the prison, Neph. There isn’t
enough room in this building to contain everyone that has been
arrested recently. As I said, Symphony is cleaning the city and
making it a safer place. These are the cells where prisoners wait
until they are processed. Then they are either fined and released
or sent to the main prison,” Victory explained calmly.

“I thought you said mine would only be a
fine?” Neph grumbled.

“Right now it is,” Victory agreed with a nod.
“But I know you too well, and I don’t think it will remain just a
fine for long. By the time Jail arrives here to get you out, you
will likely be facing a life sentence in the Black cells.”

Neph snorted in amusement and nodded faintly.
“Ya, I could see that happening. So tell Jail to hurry.”

* * *

The smell of the cells was thick with mingled
scents of urine and vomit. Holding his breath against the stench,
Neph shouldered his way through the crowded space to the small
window and leaned against the filth covered wall. He had only been
waiting for twenty minutes by his best guess, but the idea of
blowing a hole in the wall was sounding better and better with each
breath.

“Delvay to the front,” one of the guards
bellowed from the hall and Neph stifled a snarl as he pushed his
way back to the bars once more.

“This better be a summons for release,” he
growled at the guard as the man regarded him through the thick iron
bars.

“Watch your words, Delvay,” the guard warned
as he pulled a heavy set of keys from his belt and proceeded to
unlock the door. He stepped aside as the door swung open and
motioned Neph through with his free hand. “Wait there till I get
this door closed and then follow,” the guard ordered in crisp tones
that suggested any fuss would result in injury for one of them.
Apparently the man wasn’t having a good day either.

Neph nodded and snapped his mouth shut. It
wasn’t often he decided to hold his tongue, but he really didn’t
want a personal war with the entire prison guard. He glanced back
at his fellow prisoners who were watching him with sullen eyes and
let out a disgusted sigh. Perhaps one in twenty of them looked to
be actual criminals. The rest were nothing more than terrified
commons. Now was not the time to point out the injustice, though.
It could wait until he was in a position that offered more
power.

The guard turned wordlessly when the door was
secured and started back down the hall at a quick pace. Neph fell
into step behind him, his gaze moving from cell to cell as he
walked. Most of the people seemed to be from the lower class and
their poverty showed in their clothing and health. Every once in a
while, though, he spotted someone dressed well with the fine
blemish free skin that spoke of an easy life. They were likely the
ones arrested for speaking ill of the Empress, he decided, as the
guard continued up a set of stairs to the main floor of the
prison.

Neph searched the room silently, looking for
Jail and paused as his gaze found Dresharn in the crowd. He was
easy to spot in his finely tailored black suit and well-polished
boots. Neph could only imagine how the man must despise being in
such a filthy place. From what he remembered of Dresharn on the
Avanti campaign, though, he doubted the dragon would complain to
him. He had seemed to be a very calm and rational person, which was
exactly what was needed at the present, because Neph certainly
wasn’t feeling rational. Dresharn nodded politely to him and turned
back to the clerk to sign papers.

“You are free to go. He paid your fine,” the
guard announced as he removed the manacles from Neph’s wrists and
turned to return to the cells.

Neph watched him for a moment and moved
closer to Dresharn with a look of curiosity. It should have been
Jail that arrived for him, and the fact that Dresharn was here
didn’t bode well for Merro. Of course, given Jail’s nickname, it
was possible that the big Han’shy was waiting in one of the holding
cells as well. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” Neph offered in
greeting as Dresharn turned from the clerk to face him.

Dresharn smiled and shrugged one shoulder
before motioning to the door. “I will explain it all once we are in
a more fitting place. I detest the crowds in here. Too much noise
and jostling for a conversation,” he replied quietly. The dragon’s
low cultured voice seemed so out of place that Neph almost
smiled.

“A lot has changed in the city since the last
time I was here,” Neph said neutrally as they stepped out of the
stuffy confines of the prison to the bright sunlit day. His gaze
shifted to the massive white palace and then back to Dresharn who
was taking care to keep all expression from his face.

“Indeed. There is quite a lot I should inform
you of once we are comfortably back in our district. A nice tumbler
of brandy and a discussion of laws. What could possibly be a better
way to while away the afternoon?” Dresharn replied with a slight
smile. He raised a black gloved hand and waved toward one of the
coaches before glancing back at Neph. “I apologize for taking so
long to respond to your difficulties, but I was at the palace when
Victory brought the word to Merro’s district.”

“May I ask where Jail is?” Neph spoke quietly
and watched Dresharn for any hint of trouble.

The dragon turned to look at him, but his
dark glasses concealed any emotion that his eyes might have
revealed. “There were matters that needed to be addressed at the
palace, and Jail remained behind to finish with them. He will be in
Merro shortly I’m sure. He was quite curious as to what brought you
to Sanctuary,” Dresharn answered with a faint smile and motioned
toward the coach as it rolled to a stop at the bottom of the
stairs.

Neph nodded in understanding and headed
silently for the coach. It was obvious that Dresharn wasn’t willing
to speak of anything important in their current surroundings. By
the way the man was acting and his vague responses, it was as if he
thought they were being spied on, which Neph supposed was very
possible. It seemed far too convenient to him that someone as
powerful as Victory Faydwer was posted at a menial assignment such
as the security check. Most likely the Fionaveir had several of
their powerful members positioned all over the city in the event
that someone such as he appeared. Most Elder Blood were far more
subtle than he was, though, so spying would be the only option to
discover their intentions.

His gaze flicked to the Bendazzi symbol on
the coach door as he stepped inside and he smiled faintly. Jala had
always refused to ride in coaches and the idea that she had one
waiting for her in Sanctuary was rather amusing. “Does she know she
has a coach?” Neph asked quietly as Dresharn seated himself across
from him and closed the door.

The dragon shook his head with a smirk, and
settled farther into his seat. With a glance toward Neph and a
quick smile he removed his dark glasses and carefully began
cleaning them. To the casual observer it looked as though the
dragon’s full attention was on polishing the lenses, but Neph
caught at least two glances toward the window. After several
moments, Dresharn raised the glasses for inspection and nodded in
silent approval before looking up at Neph once more. “Felicity Dawn
was the spy in that particular quarter. I doubt you have had an
opportunity to meet her, but she is a rather big thorn in the
backside. She isn’t actually a member of the Fionaveir, but a
rather a freelance mage. She is very good at her job, and delights
in finding gossip on the pure bloods. Especially when they are
connected to a major house such as you are,” Dresharn informed him
with a disgusted sigh.