The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey (57 page)

“Is something wrong?” Sovann asked, eyes
flicking to Jala with concern.

“No, nothing is wrong. She made an offer that
I intend to act on before she can change her mind,” Finn replied,
grabbing her hand and pulling her over to him. “Marrow, move closer
if you are coming. Sovann take us to Fallanor,” Finn ordered.

Jala looked down at Marrow beside her and
then back to Finn and finally to Sovann as the mage began casting a
spell. “Where is Fallanor?” she asked dazedly, still not quite
believing this was happening.

“Capital city of Firym. My great uncle lives
there,” Finn explained as Sovann finished the spell and the room
around them faded.

“Set the ship down here. We will have to go
the rest of the way on horseback,” Lex said, motioning to a
clearing below.

Shade glanced at him and checked the map as
he began to ease the ship down. “This is Faydwer,” he said glancing
at Lex again in confusion.

Lex gave him a slow nod and smiled. “Yes, I
do, in fact, know my way home, Shade. This is the Faydwer Firym
border, actually. The Fionahold is in the Rilken Mountains,” he
said grinning at the expression his words brought to Shade’s
face.

“That’s not even four hours from Morcath by
spell hawk,” Shade stammered. The ship settled in the grass of the
clearing, and Shade moved his hands from the controls. “Are you
telling me that the infamous Fionaveir practically live in my
former backyard?”

Nodding, Lex stood from his seat and walked
to the back of the ship and lifting two of the crates containing
the horses, he headed for the door. “Get the other two horses and
I’ll be showing you that they live in your former backyard.”

Leah rose from her chair and stretched her
arms over her head and gave him a faint smile. “Help Oma, Shade,
and I’ll get the horses,” she offered.

“It will be rather nice to be out of the city
won’t it, Oma?” Shade said forcing a smile on his face. He offered
her a hand and helped her from her seat. The Empath had been quiet
and shaking since they had left the city. Between his wild emotions
for the past few days and the turmoil of leaving Madren, Oma had
been overwhelmed by Shade’s emotions. He had tried to convince
Madren to come, practically begging him. That had gone as well as
his attempted rescue of Jala. It was rather difficult to save
someone who didn’t want to be saved, he had realized. He knew Oma
needed him to keep his emotions steady now. He turned his thoughts
away from everything he had left behind in Sanctuary. “I don’t
think I’ve ever actually been to Faydwer. My father didn’t get
along too well with their High Lord. It will be something new for
both of us,” he said trying to get some reaction from her. She
didn’t even look at him as he spoke, just followed along behind as
he led her off the ship.

“We still have Jala’s horse here. I think we
should put Oma on him. He was steady in the Tolanteer,” Leah said
as they approached. She handed him the reins to the black and white
gelding and gave Oma a smile. “He didn’t even spook around the
Bendazzi,” Leah told her with a reassuring smile.

Oma regarded the horse with a blank
expression and nodded silently to Leah. Frowning, Shade helped the
girl into the saddle and handed her the reins. “Give me just a
minute to get my own horse and I’ll be back,” he told her.

“She isn’t doing well,” Lex said as Shade
approached. “I’m not sure how she will take Fionahold. It’s full of
people and there is always stress,” he warned.

“I couldn’t just leave her in Sanctuary.
Maybe there will be a mage there that can help her somehow. I’ve
never been able to find anyone she would trust enough to help her,
and I don’t know the first thing about Empaths.” Shade sighed and
took his reins from Lex. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at Lex’s
chosen mount. “Finn’s horse?” he asked.

“It’s a good horse. I’m not going to leave it
to rot on the ship. Besides, his cousin is a Fionaveir, he can get
the animal back to him along with Jala’s,” Lex replied with a
shrug. “Gem the ship and let’s go. I’d like to get up the first
pass before its dark.”

Nodding his agreement, Shade stored the ship
and led his horse back over to Oma. Patting her gently on the leg,
he looked up at Oma with a smile. “It will be okay, Oma, I promise.
The Fionahold hasn’t been found in three hundred years. It’s bound
to be safer than Sanctuary.”

She gave him another silent nod and turned
her gaze toward the mountains. Shade followed her gaze and wondered
just how far into the Rilkens they would have to go. From what he
could see, their road was thick with pines and black stone cliffs.
It didn’t look as though it would be an easy ride, and the thought
of navigating it in the dark was not a pleasant one. He had never
been much for the outdoors and greatly preferred flying to riding.
“You know I could probably find a place to land deeper in the
mountains. I am the best pilot there is,” Shade called over his
shoulder to the twins.

“Not possible. Magic isn’t allowed near the
Fionahold,” Lex said with a smile as he rode past at a light
canter. “Get on your horse, Shade, daylight is burning.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘magic isn’t
allowed?’” Shade yelled after him, quickly getting on his horse and
kicking it into a trot to catch up with Lex. He glanced back once
to make sure Oma’s horse was following but otherwise remained
intent on catching up.

“I mean they don’t allow us to use magic at
the Fionahold, not even Mage Lights. With as many people as we have
living there, the signature it produced would be clear to anyone
with mage sight. It’s a security measure, Shade. Don’t worry you
will adjust. It won’t really matter anyway if you are field
operative. You won’t be there enough to notice,” Lex said once
Shade had gotten within hearing range.

“You think they will accept me then?” Shade
asked.

“I’ll speak for you. They will accept you,”
Lex assured him and slowed his horse back to a trot.

“There is a bit of a confession I need to
make, Lex,” Shade began. Pausing, he looked over his shoulder to
see where Leah and Oma were on the trail. Satisfied that they were
out of hearing range he looked back at Lex. “About what I am. I
don’t want to go into this new life swimming in secrets like I was
before. But it may change your willingness to speak for me, so I
need to tell you now.”

“I doubt it will change my speaking for you,
Shade. I don’t care what you are, it’s who you are that counts, and
I’ve known you long enough to figure that out,” Lex replied.
“Still, if you need to get it off your chest spit it out.”

“I’m a Changeling, Lex,” Shade blurted out
and was amazed at how easy the words were to speak. He had been
taught his whole life to guard that secret, and it had just rolled
off his tongue. “It’s not just a trace of Changeling blood either,
Lex, not like I can just shift forms. I am full blown
straight-out-of-the-scary bedtime-stories Changeling,” he added
after a moment of Lex’s silence.

“So you can imitate people perfectly just
like in the stories?” Lex asked, his tone curious rather than
suspicious, as Shade had feared it would be.

“If I know enough about the person, yes,”
Shade replied.

“So you could imitate me?” Lex asked, his
voice still calm.

Shade frowned and nodded slowly. “Yes, I know
you well enough for that,” he answered somewhat hesitantly.

“Good, my mother lives at the Fionahold. If I
find myself on her wrong side, you can imitate me and take the
lecturing. That should make us even for my speaking for you to the
council.” Lex grinned at him. “Like I said, Shade, I don’t care
what you are. I know who you are. I’m not worried in the least
about you betraying us. Besides, I knew you were a Changeling
already.”

“You what?” Shade gasped turning to look at
Lex in shock.

Lex laughed and shook his head at Shade.
“They sent me to the Academy to learn everything I could about the
children from the High Houses. I was living in your bloody wing. If
I hadn’t figured out in the time that I was there that you slipped
out of your window to slum it as a commoner, I wouldn’t have been
much of a spy,” he explained.

The first genuine smile since the trip to
Tolanteer slowly crept across Shade’s face and he nodded his
understanding. “I’ve never actually been lectured by a mother; it
would be interesting, I suppose. My own mother spent most of her
time drunk or hysterical, or both on holidays,” he said
quietly.

“You say that now. Wait, I will offend her
somehow and you will regret those words. My mother could convince
the Aspect of Honor that he wasn’t worthy to breathe,” Lex warned
him with a light chuckle.

The mountain air was crisp and a refreshing
change from the smells of a city as large as Sanctuary. Leaning
back in his saddle, Shade inhaled deeply. Glancing back he checked
Oma’s progress and then glanced to Lex again. “So, what’s it like?
The Fionahold, that is.”

Lex leaned over the side of his horse and
plucked a branch from a plant. Sticking it in his mouth, he chewed
on the end while considering the question. “Crowded, rustic,
beautiful, violent, all of those words could describe it. I simply
use the word home when I think of it though.” He chewed on the
branch again and looked around the forest with fondness. “I grew up
here, and learned to hunt in the mountains. When they first sent me
to Sanctuary, I thought I had landed in the Darklands. Everything
smelled so foul to me after being here, and the noise. You can’t go
anywhere in Sanctuary for silence. Even the gardens there are
noisy.”

Shade snorted in amusement. “My father raised
me in Sanctuary mostly. I grew up in our quarter. There were a few
months that were spent in Morcath of course. For the most part,
though, my childhood was spent learning to govern the city.”

“Are you going to tell me what happened with
him?” Lex asked. The road was becoming steeper, and the Fionaveir
took the lead, letting his mount choose its own path up the narrow
rocky incline.

“My uncle was there when I arrived. I had
every intention of throwing my ring in my father’s face and telling
him to bugger himself. My uncle stopped me and kept me from showing
myself.” Shade paused and ducked beneath a low hanging branch,
trying not to notice how steeply the side of the trail dropped away
on his right. “He let me overhear my father speaking with Lord
Avanti. After hearing their words, I realized I had no value in my
father’s eyes anymore and that he is much darker grey than I ever
knew. I didn’t realize what I was helping when I worked to
strengthen Morcath.” He let his voice trail off at the last,
wondering just how much damage he had done to the rest of the world
by helping his father gain finance and power in Sanctuary.

“Love is blind,” Lex replied with a shrug and
fell silent, as well.

They passed the next few hours traversing
country Shade never would have believed a horse capable of. The
paths were almost nonexistent and fallen trees and loose rocks kept
Shade’s attention fully focused on the task of staying on his
horse. It stayed narrow as they moved farther into the Rilkens,
making riding single file essential. Keeping his eye on the sun’s
slow descent, Shade found himself praying to any Aspect that would
listen, that Lex would call a halt before darkness fell. He wasn’t
sure about how good his mount’s night vision was, but had decided
if they continued after dark, he was using his birthright and
shifting to something more suitable to this terrain.

“Campfire ahead,” Lex’s voice broke the
seemingly endless silence and Shade jumped at the sound. He had
been listening intently to a call in the forest, trying to decide
what sort of animal made that trilling noise.

“Should we leave our, umm, path, though I’m
not really sure this should be called a path. Should we leave our
goat trail and hide?” Shade asked.

Lex gave a snort of laughter and shook his
head. “Both Houses on this border know we are here. There are
certain High Lords that actually like the Fionaveir, you know.”

“No, actually, I didn’t know that. I thought
you were hunted by everyone,” Shade admitted quietly.

“Given our location, I’d say its Fionaveir
camped ahead. With luck, they will have food,” Lex said and kicked
his horse into a faster walk.

Shade watched him move off and glanced down
at the trail. With his gaze locked on the loose rocks on the trail
and the ever-present drop off to his right, he shook his head,
looking down at his horse. “No, I think we will be late to supper.
This speed is just fine with me,” he said quietly.

Lex was dismounted and seated by the fire by
the time they caught up with him. Dismounting, Shade tied his own
mount by Lex’s and turned to help Oma down. He glanced over his
shoulder toward the fire, curious about the two cloaked figures Lex
was speaking with. By the cut of their cloaks and what he could see
of the clothing beneath, the man and woman were definitely not
rangers. The colors were vibrant and the fabric costly, and looked
quite out of place in the wilderness.

“That’s Symphony, our older sister and
Lutheron, the second in command of the Fionaveir. Not sure what
they are doing out here, but I’m sure we will find out soon,” Leah
whispered as she tied her own horse near his.

“You have a sister? You’ve never mentioned
her before.” Shade kept his voice as quiet as her own had been and
gave her a sidelong glance.

“Aye, a brother too. Other than Lex. Our
family is a big one. My mother loves my father very much. Symphony
is the eldest, though,” Leah explained with a grin.

Shade stole another glance at the woman
trying to get a better look under the hood of the cloak, but her
face was too shadowed by the distance. She seemed slighter than
Leah, with more of a willowy build. Looking back at Leah, he found
her grinning at him.