The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (49 page)

She stared at him in mute outrage, her eyes
blazing. “Well, would I have had anything to say about that?” she
snapped.

“If you were the typical girl, yes, and it
would have most likely been, ‘Oh god, Finn, do that again please,’”
he replied, his grin appearing once more.

Jala narrowed her eyes, giving him a stony
glare. “I am not typical,” she growled.

“I know. I had every intention of bedding you
the night you helped me at the Spring Games. You had virgin written
all over you, so I took you out for drinks thinking that it would
make the process easier.” He slowed his horse again giving their
companions an even greater lead. “The fact that you were Shade’s
new kitten was simply icing on the cake. While I don’t hate Shade,
he is a bit too self-righteous, and it was obvious he was rather
taken with you. He’d been dragging you around with him everywhere.
Nothing sweeter than bedding his kitten while he was busy being
sold to the Avanti, as far as I thought, at the time. It wasn’t
until I talked with you for a while that I decided not to. I
decided I cared what you thought about me and chose to try
friendship instead. That’s not a path I generally consider. As I
said at Sovann’s, I don’t have female friends. I have women I
haven’t slept with yet,” he said in a quiet voice.

She stared at him unsure if she should be
shocked or angry at his confession. “What about Wisp, she is your
friend,” she pointed out coldly.

“Wisp started out as Jail’s friend, and after
I got to know her better, I accepted her as one of us and stopped
sleeping with her,” he replied casually.

Jala’s jaw dropped open and her gaze flicked
between Wisp and Finn and then settled on Finn. “Stopped?” she
asked dumbly.

Finn smirked and nodded. “That was about two
years ago. Wisp generally keeps her exploits out of the hall now.
Less complicating that way.”

“Am I the only one that isn’t sleeping with
someone?” she asked in amazement. Where she had been raised, both
in Merro and in the Temple, people waited until marriage, or if
they didn’t wait, they certainly didn’t let it become gossip.

“I’m pretty sure Shade is still as pure as
new fallen snow. That would explain why he is so bitchy all the
time. He will end up waiting until marriage, though, and won’t do a
thing unless his daddy tells him to,” Finn replied. “And Madren,
oh, Madren is definitely a virgin.” His gaze falling on the distant
riders. He gave a shake of his head and shuddered. “And will likely
die that way,” he added after a moment.

“Why would you admit to this? Why would you
tell me all of this? Surely you know this is going to change how I
act around you now. I was kissing you yesterday morning. Now I
can’t even think about kissing you without wondering if you are
just looking for entertainment.” She shook her head at him, wishing
he had just kept silent. With a long sigh, she looked away from him
and chewed on her lower lip. She should have known better than to
allow herself to think of Finn in any way other than a friend. This
wasn’t his fault. He had been honest with her from the beginning.
She was upset now, and it was no one’s fault but her own. She still
couldn’t understand why he would do it, though, had he noticed her
attraction and was trying to warn her.

Finn gave her a nod and a smile. “My
confession has probably made my life a lot more difficult in the
near future, but I was trying to prove a point to you. If I can
admit to what I just did, surely you can tell me what the witch
said. It can’t be worse than what I told you, and I want to know
what she said that upset you.” He gave her another wink. “I told
you there wasn’t anything I would hold back from you, Jala. I’ll
admit to what I am and what I do without question. I may not be the
best person in the world, but I am honest.”

“Damn. I thought we had moved past that,”
Jala muttered. There was really no avoiding it now without outright
refusal, and after his confessions it seemed rather petty. She
rubbed her face and looked at him again, wondering what he meant
about making his life difficult. “You know you just ensured I won’t
ever sleep with you, right?” she asked.

Finn shrugged and gave her a smile. “If
that’s what you want, I’ll respect it. Just don’t choose Valor .All
right? I’d end up having to kill him.” His voice sounded completely
serious with no hint of a joke at all.

“I highly doubt you would kill Valor. He is
your best friend,” she pointed out dryly.

“I killed someone for calling you a whore. I
know Valor is my best friend, but he wouldn’t just call you a
whore. He would treat you like one, and I’d drop a black coin on
him for it.” He sighed and rolled his eyes. “And Valor is governed
by his pride enough, he would pick the damn thing up, and I’d end
up killing him.”

“I really thought you had other reasons for
killing Devron that you weren’t saying. I thought you’d had
problems with him in the past, and the insult was simply the final
straw.”

“Nope, I’d barely even spoken with him before
that incident,” Finn replied. “Now the witch?” he prompted.

Jala sighed and gave a faint nod. She was
beginning to realize why Sovann never argued with his brother. He
might bicker but he never pushed a point. “She said one of my
companions’ bears the Betrayer’s blood. I don’t think it’s you and
I’m not sure who the betrayer is. I’ll tell you what she said, but
I won’t tell you now, okay? I want to be back in Sanctuary where I
know you and Sovann are the only ones I’m telling. I trust you both
with my life.”

He gave a nod, seeming satisfied with the
answer. “I’d tell you who has the bad blood, but you would think I
was being petty,” he said. “You know the moment we are back in our
hall I’m going to get an answer out of you, right?”

“I know. I’m quickly learning not to argue
with you,” she replied in a resigned voice.

He gave her a smile. “Don’t do that. You are
about the only one aside from Valor that will still argue with me.
Every time I argue with Valor it ends up in drawn steel. I rather
like having someone who will talk back without a sword.”

“Look, the trees are thinning ahead. Surely
we can’t be at the border already.” Jala pointed ahead and turned
in her saddle to look back the way they had come. Behind them,
standing majestically beyond the saplings, she could still see the
ancient trees of the Tolanteer. When they had ridden through on the
way to the witch, it had taken them most of the day simply to clear
the new growth.

Finn pivoted in his saddle to look behind
them and then to the south. “I think we are far closer to the
Nerathane border than Shade thought. We will be lucky if we cross
into Rivana at all.” He sat back down in his saddle and urged his
horse into a faster walk.

They rode the rest of the way in silence with
the intent on reaching the clearing. While she had been excited at
the prospect of seeing more of the world, she was more than ready
to be home now. Finn seemed to share her eagerness, and by the time
they broke into the open grasslands they had caught up with their
companions.

Shade was looking around with a frown and
seemed to be trying to get his bearings. “I don’t know if we are in
Nerathane or Rivana,” he admitted finally and dismounted from his
horse.

“Neither is a good prospect. Best we get the
ship loaded and leave quickly,” Wisp said with a shrug and
dismounted, as well.

I smell more humans,
Marrow said,
raising his head and sniffing the air.

Finn looked down at the Bendazzi, and before
Jala could say a word he was motioning Wisp to hurry. “Get the
spell hawk loaded now,” he barked, and the others jumped to
obey.

Jala felt a slight tremor of magic across her
back and turned to see riders in the yellow and orange of Rivana.
They stood in a semi-circle between her friends and the border of
Southern Goswin. Toward the back of their ranks were two riders
dressed differently, and from what Jala could see, they were
unarmored. While apparently part of the Rivasan group, they stood
slightly apart from it. One, a powerful looking man dressed fully
in white on a white horse, watched in silence as the other, dressed
in blue and silver, pushed his horse forward toward the spell hawk.
The one approaching was half-blood if Jala guessed right. His
pinched face didn’t quite have the perfection of a full Immortal,
but he was certainly no commoner. An expression of annoyance
covered his features and his whole manner spoke of disapproval. His
thin dark hair was pulled back severely, and combined with the
crisp starched clothing he wore, he reminded Jala of a military
officer.

“Christian, we are leaving here now; get your
household on the ship.” His voice was severe and cold, which added
volumes to his demeanor of disapproval.

Shade turned to regard the newcomers and
blinked in surprise at the man addressing him. “What is the meaning
of this, Master Temare?” he asked, obviously trying to regain
control of the situation.

“Your father has sent me to collect you. He
is very disappointed that you allowed yourself to become involved
in this scandal,” Temare replied, his tone at the last word
amplifying how distasteful he found the current situation.

Shade’s gaze flicked to the Rivasan soldiers
and then to Jala and Finn. “The girls have nothing to do with any
troubles the Rivasans might have with Finn, allow me to take them
as well.”

“No, I won’t leave Finn here alone,” Jala
objected loudly. Shade gave her a pleading look, and she felt Finn
squeeze her arm. She planted her feet more firmly in the ground,
determined not to be moved from Finn’s side. She had no doubts what
the Rivasans intended to do with him, and there was no way she
would leave a friend to that fate.
Especially not Finn
, a
small voice in the back of her mind added.

“If they allow you to leave, do so,” he
hissed in her ear. “They intend to kill me, and they will likely
kill you as well if they don’t rape you first.”

“I won’t leave you,” she repeated through
clenched teeth. Marrow crouched low beside her, his lips beginning
to curl up in a snarl as he eyed the Rivasans.

“I had been told the girl had left your
protection and now lived under the roof of Sovaesh.” Temare eyed
Jala with an expression of disgust. She returned the glare, hoping
she was displaying her sentiments to him just as clearly.

“She is still a friend of mine, Temare, and I
will not leave her to Rivasan mercy,” Shade replied, his posture
stiffening.

“I assure you the ladies will be fine,” a new
voice cut in. Jala turned to the speaker and watched a rider in the
Rivasan colors push his horse forward. His features were so close
to Devron’s, he had to have been close kin to the dead boy.
“Please, Lord Morcaillo, these are matters between Finn and myself.
We really do not want this to turn into more than it already is.”
His voice was oily and full of arrogance. Jala bit her lip and
fought back the urge to speak up again. It might be better to let
Shade speak now. He, at least, was on equal footing with the
man.

“Get on the ship, Christian, with your two
comrades.” Temare waved his hand toward Leah and Madren and sniffed
with distaste as his gaze fell on Jala. “The girl is no longer our
concern. She has made her choice of allies, and the Faydwer girl is
of no concern to the House Morcaillo, either.” Temare spoke with a
tone of authority and pointed at the ship. “Your father will not be
pleased if you cause difficulties with an allied House. House
Rivasa has never had a quarrel with House Morcaillo, I highly
suggest you do not start one,” he added when he noticed Shade’s
lack of movement.

“Come on, Shade, that’s a Soul Reaver in the
back,” Leah said, her voice a bit urgent. She tugged at Shade’s arm
and he allowed himself to be moved a step or two before planting
his heels once again.

Jala watched him with hope and truly believed
he meant to stand beside them before Temare spoke again. “If you do
not wish for your father to show here I suggest you get on the
ship. Be aware, I will inform him of the difficulty you have
already caused,” he snapped and Shade seemed to wilt before the
words like a child. With a final apologetic glance her way, he
stepped onto the spell hawk followed closely by Leah and Madren.
Temare bowed respectfully to the Rivasan lord. “My apologies,
Milord, It was never House Morcaillo’s intent to inconvenience
you,” he said and then stepped onto the ship, as well, without so
much as a glance back.

Finn watched them disappear onto the ship and
pulled his silver cigarette case from his pocket. Silently, he lit
the cigarette and took a long drag as he eyed the Rivasan intently
before exhaling the smoke through his nostrils. “What now Dendric?”
he asked, his voice low.

“You killed my brother and dared to trespass
on my lands. What do you think happens now, Sovaesh?” The Lord
replied, his tone mocking. “You will die, the Faydwer will get a
grand visit with my father, and your little kitten there will
become a slave.”

Jala shuddered at the word, her mind flashing
back to images the witch had shown her. She tried not to picture
herself beaten and bloody in her mother’s place. Setting her jaw,
she pushed the images back and felt her back stiffen. She would die
before it came to that, she decided firmly. Marrow snarled beside
her and his hair began to rise. Spines rose from his back as he
crouched lower, thick curving black protrusions from his shoulders
and along the ridge of his back. For a moment, the sight stunned
her out of her determination and she simply stared down at the
Bendazzi in shock.
She hadn’t known he had spines
. She
scolded herself mentally for the distraction and pushed the
thoughts away. Sovann was right; she really did need to work on her
concentration.