The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (14 page)

“You poor bastard,” Neph whispered to Madren
who had simply closed his eyes and slumped against the wall as
Shade spoke.

“He used to be eloquent and diplomatic,”
Madren sighed.

“Not anymore,” Shade announced loudly his
eyes moving to the table. “So where do we sit and what did we miss
you guys talking about.” “I will not tolerate his antics,” Nicoli
announced firmly.

“Aww, and we just got here and you are
planning on leaving already? Well, see you next time, then,” Shade
said sadly and waved briefly at Nicoli who scowled at him in
response. Smiling widely, Shade dropped into a chair beside High
Lord Han’shy. He looked up slowly at the lord and his smile faded.
“Mind mage, eh?” Shade nodded in greeting and began to look around
at the other empty chairs.

“You are amusing me for the moment, boy. Get
any more annoying and you might want to find another seat, but for
now you are fine,” Jin assured him and motioned Jala forward. “Have
a seat. We were discussing the Blight problem, actually.”

“Good. That is a matter I have interest in,”
Jala replied with a smile and glanced back toward Madren and Neph.
“Come on, gentlemen, it’s going to be a very long night without
more delay.”

“Actually, before we continue that discussion
I would be very interested in knowing how, exactly, Jala returned.”
Lord Arovan’s voice was soft, but all fell silent as he spoke.

Neph studied the man as he sat down at the
table. The Lord’s eyes were locked on Jala with an expression that
seemed almost desperate.

He wants his son back, Neph realized, and
felt a stir of pity for the man. He knew without a doubt there was
no bringing Micah Arovan back. It had been the same with Zyi. Both
of them had been pure souls and had evaded the judgment of death on
that account. Micah’s spirit could have been called back on the day
of his death, perhaps, but after this long he would be in the life
stream awaiting rebirth and far beyond the call of magic.

Jala was silent in her chair for a long
moment as she returned Elijah Arovan’s gaze, but it was sympathy
written on her face rather than pity. Slowly she shook her head at
him and Neph watched in silence as the desperation that had been on
the man’s face faded to poorly concealed grief. “I tried to win
Honor as well as Micah back from Death when I returned, Lord
Arovan. Seth informed me that they had already returned to the life
stream. I’m so sorry, but there is no calling them back now.”

“How, exactly, is it that you are on such
good terms with the Herald of Death?” the High Lord of Faydwer cut
in sharply.

Jala didn’t bother to turn to look at the
man. Her hand rose to her chest and she pulled a necklace from
under her dress. She held it up allowing it to swirl in the air
inches above the table giving everyone a clear view of the symbol
of Death that adorned one side and the symbol of War that covered
the other. Her expression softened further and she placed her free
hand on Valor’s. “I didn’t know either of them as well as I would
have liked to, Lord Arovan, but I had the utmost respect for your
son. I cannot help you bring him back, but I can offer you the same
comfort that I gave Valor to ease the pain of losing his brother.”
She paused and squeezed Valor’s hand giving him a faint smile
before she continued. “They are in the life stream now awaiting
another life. They died in a world filled with bitterness and pain,
but if we truly work together here, we can give them a world filled
with peace to return to. They won’t remember us when they return,
but we will always remember them. With every moment we spend
rebuilding Sanctuary we will think of them and know that wherever
they are, they are safe because of what we are doing now.”

“How touching. I believe the question was how
did you return, though. I truly hope you don’t expect us all to
believe Death simply released you due to the fact that you revere
her now,” Nicoli Blackwolf spoke the moment she fell silent and
Neph wanted to slap the man for the derision in his voice.

“Death didn’t have to release me. As I said,
I wasn’t dead,” Jala replied in a tone filled with irritation. “For
those of you who were at the battle, I’m sure you saw the pillar of
light I became,” she began in a quieter voice and let out a long
breath. Leaning back in her chair she toyed with the holy symbol
and shrugged one shoulder. “That pillar of light was raw magic that
I called upon. I drew strength from the Barrier itself and it
destroyed my body. I knew it would and I fully expected to find
myself before Death because of it. I was desperate, though, so I
did the only thing I thought would save my people and help
Arovan.”

“But you didn’t find yourself before Death?”
Jin Han’shy pressed when Jala remained silent for a long
moment.

Neph could see the indecision in her eyes as
she glanced around the table. She had been rather vague explaining
to him about what had actually happened and now she was being
cornered on the topic by people she couldn’t simply ignore.

“I was drawn into the Barrier, actually,”
Jala began calmly. The holy symbol fell from her hand and she
leaned forward on the table with a thoughtful expression on her
face. “I don’t truly expect any of you to believe me on that
account, but that is what happened. At first I was confused, but
then when I started to examine my surroundings I realized where I
was. The magic had pulled me back to the Barrier and somehow my
mind held together,” she shrugged and glanced at Jin. “You may
check my mind to verify I am speaking the truth if you wish,” she
offered and eyes widened around the table. To offer to let a Mind
Mage freely into your head was an act of trust that Neph himself
would never contemplate.

“I believe you. While I’d love to see into
your mind to learn the knowledge that you hold on the matter, I
won’t put you through the pain to sate my own curiosity,” Jin
replied with a smile, but his eyes lingered on her with such
interest that Neph wondered if the man was reconsidering his words
the moment they left his mouth.

“I have a question for you,” Arjuna began
politely and waited until Jala had turned to look at him before he
continued. “How did you know about this meeting? It’s not that I
object to your being here. On the contrary, I’m pleased to see you.
It’s just that this meeting was to be kept in the utmost secrecy.”
His gaze turned aside from her and settled on Vaze who had propped
himself against a back wall and he raised an eyebrow.

“I informed her,” Zachary Dark announced
before Jala had a chance to answer the question. He smirked at the
expressions of shock on several faces and motioned at Jala. “She
needs to be here and we need to discuss matters of more importance
than how she is here. We are wasting time with this
interrogation.”

“You expect us to simply accept her story.
You want me to believe she was in the Barrier? Do I look like a
fool to you?” Nicoli Blackwolf snapped.

“I know that question was addressed to Lord
Dark, but can I answer it please?” Shade broke in, his hand raised
in the air as if he were sitting in class at the Academy.

“Please Nicoli. If not for Jala Merrodin your
son would be dead now. Perhaps if she had been with Micah, my son
would still be alive. Zachary is right. We need to move on to more
pressing matters.” Elijah Arovan’s voice stilled the room once more
and Nicoli slowly nodded and leaned back in his seat. “Forgive him
please, Jala. Nicoli is aggressive on a good day as one would
expect from a Shifter and today is truly not a good day. It isn’t
personal against you. It is his attitude toward the world at this
time.”

“His name was left off the list of
invitations to the Empress’s council meeting,” Jin Han’shy informed
her calmly with a glance to Neph as he spoke the words. “It would
seem that if you don’t hold your land you are no longer a High Lord
in anyone’s eyes. Foolish, really, when you consider it closely. We
are High Lord’s because of the power we hold and the people that
follow us, not because of what lands we control.”

“Merro didn’t receive an invitation either.
Sovann Sovaesh was not approved as Regent of my land and my son is
too young to claim it. If I had not returned Merro would have been
considered neutral lands such as Gaelyn or the Greenwild was before
I claimed it,” Jala explained with a nod to Nicoli. “I hold no
resentment or anger for your sharp words. We have all been insulted
and we have just under three months to turn the scales back to our
favor if we wish to attend the first council meeting,” Jala
finished and folded her hands in front of her. “Which brings us
back to the matter of the Blights and how to get them out of Glis,”
Arjuna sighed.

“With the glasses to see the creatures it
shouldn’t take much to simply wipe them out,” Lord Faydwer offered
in a voice that was far more reasonable than the one he had been
using previously. Neph watched him carefully and noticed how close
attention the Fae lord was paying to Nicoli Blackwolf. He was
trying to buy favor with the Shifters apparently, though Neph
couldn’t see why. There was no profit to be had in it at the
present time. Glis was simply too weak now.

“Actually I’d rather not wipe them out,” Jala
said carefully. To her credit she didn’t shrink back in the chair
when the looks of fury darkened several faces. Clearing her throat
she held a hand up in a peaceful gesture. “As I said, I was in the
Barrier,” she began hesitantly. “I…”

Her voice trailed off and she shifted in her
seat. “I know you all think they are monsters, but they aren’t.
Before the Barrier, I was in Arovan for the sole purpose of killing
them all. But I understand better now and we can’t. They aren’t all
monsters.”

“Tell that to the widows and orphans of my
land. Tell that to the souls of the young women who died birthing
creatures spawned of rape. Tell that to my people that have no home
now Lady Merrodin,” Nicoli hissed. Every muscle in the man’s body
was tense and Neph slid his chair back from the table just enough
to rise quickly if needed. Shifters were not known for rational
behavior when angry and Nicoli Blackwolf looked well beyond
angry.

“We are all linked to the Barrier. Each
creature living has a strand of magic connecting them to this
world. I planned to kill them all, once I realized it connected
them. It was the perfect path past their immunity to magic. I
simply bypassed their flesh and targeted their souls and minds
directly with my power,” Jala explained.

“Then why didn’t you?” Nicoli demanded, his
voice booming over hers and drowning out all other noise in the
room.

“I think she was getting to that if you would
shut up,” Neph snarled in return. He had been doing his best to
keep silent. All of the years in the Academy had honed his mind for
politics, but he could only stomach so much.

“Please,” Jala’s voice rose and she held up
both hands her gaze moving between the two of them. Slowly she
lowered her hands once more and sighed. “I was about to unleash the
magic, Lord Blackwolf, when I brushed against the mind of one of
the creatures. It wanted safety. It wanted rest and peace. It was
the same frame of mind I would expect to find in any of our people.
It was not the mind of a monster. I tested each strand then and I
did eliminate those that held darkness in their hearts, but I left
the ones that were innocent to live.” Her eyes roved the table once
more and settled on Arjuna. “In Merrodin, it is said that the Firym
steal children from other lands and feast upon their flesh. There
are stories about the Beastmen of Glis that gave me nightmares as a
child. I was told that the barbarians of Delvay throw their weak or
sickly children to their cats. We are all monsters depending on who
you ask and while the Blights have qualities that I despise, that
is not their fault. They can’t help the way they reproduce. They
were created that way by no choice of their own. We have to find
compromise with them.” Her words poured out from her and the room
remained silent while she spoke.

“They have invaded my land and I will kill
them all. You may think you know them, child, but I doubt you have
the knowledge of them that I do. They are unthinking bloodthirsty
brutes. If you try to reason with them they will devour you.”
Nicoli’s voice had grown cold and by his expression Neph guessed
the man was hoping she would insist on visiting a Blight Hive
herself.

“Emily, show them,” Jala spoke so softly that
Neph almost missed her words. The black Bendazzi stared up at her
impassively and yawned. “Emily, your entire race depends on you
now,” Jala’s voice rose a bit as she stared down at the Bendazzi
who simply regarded her with indifference. “Emily!” Jala snapped as
she kicked the Bendazzi lightly in the butt.

A snarl erupted from the cat as it moved back
from the table and shifted to the human form Neph had so rarely
seen. On the few occasions he had managed to spot her, Emily had
been ragged to say the least. Typically the Blight was dirty and
naked, but today she was clean and well dressed. Emily glowered at
the assembly who simply stared at her in dumbfounded shock.

“Emily has lived with me since I attended the
Academy. She is Blight and she is not a monster. They can be
reasoned with and they are intelligent creatures, not bloodthirsty
brutes. If not for Emily, I would have been dead long before I ever
marched against Avanti,” Jala informed the room quietly.

“You brought a Blight into this council
room?” Nicoli roared as he rose from his chair.

“Actually, I didn’t. I left my Bendazzi at
home. I didn’t bring them until Lord Faydwer requested to see
them,” Jala replied loudly as she rose from her own chair, her
expression filled with resolve. “I don’t want to fight you, Lord
Blackwolf, but if you take one step toward Emily, I will kill you,”
she warned.