The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes (71 page)

“When you can, will be too late, Symphony,”
Shade pressed, shaking his head at her. With a heavy sigh, he
chewed on his lower lip as he made up his mind. “I can turn into
anything, Symphony. With the Changeling blood, I can take on any
form I want,” he began, his words drawing her eyes back up to him
once more. Calmly he rolled the sleeve of his shirt up and stared
down at the Fionaveir tattoo. “There is just one thing that I have
never been able to be, no matter how hard I’ve tried.” Raising his
eyes to look at her once more he smiled sadly. “I want to be the
good guy for just once, Symphony, and seeing this has made me
realize that I never will be as long as I follow others. I hope one
day you follow your instincts. I’ve talked with you enough to know
you are a good person, you simply have bad counsel,” Shade said,
his gaze flicking to Faramir with the last words. “Good bye, Sym,
and good luck,” he added quietly as he turned for the door.

“Shade, please don’t go,” Symphony called
behind him. “Please, Shade, I don’t have many friends and I don’t
want to lose the ones I have.”

“I’m sure the people of Glis feel the same
way about their friends, Symphony. If you won’t help them, I will,”
Shade said as he paused at the door.

“And just what exactly do you think one man
can do to make a difference there?” Faramir asked in a mocking
voice.

“One man’s help is a hell of a lot better
than no one helping at all,” Shade said with a sigh as he stepped
into the hall and closed the door behind him. He forced himself to
walk down the hall without glancing back. It was tougher to do than
he cared to admit. He had spent well over a month in Symphony’s
company and he considered her a friend. This had to be done,
though, and with luck it would be a wake-up call for Symphony.
Silently he moved down the stairs and through the main entry of the
Justicar’s Hall. A few Fionaveir watched him with curious looks,
but no one spoke.

With mixed feelings welling in his chest,
Shade made his way to the boarding house where he had been living,
though he hadn’t truly spent much time there. Really the room was
little more than storage for the few belongings he had other than
his Spell Hawk. It might have been a better idea to leave his gear
on his ship, but the boarding house had been closer to the
Justicar’s hall than the Sky port was.

She should have helped. Shade repeated the
words over and over in his mind as he climbed the stairs to his
room and unlocked the door. How could anyone ignore the expression
of desperation on Sebastian's face? Shade wondered as he pulled his
spare clothing from the drawers and shoved them into his bag.

“What the hell did you do?” Charm demanded
from the hallway as he entered the room swiftly and glanced back
over his shoulder.

“I asked her to help Glis and when she
refused, I left. I told her I would help them if no one else
would,” Shade explained, not bothering to look up as he continued
to pack.

“Faramir has declared you a traitor. She says
you mean to leave the city and she is strongly hinting that you
were likely the one slipping information to our enemies,” Charm
said, his gaze going to the door once more. “It won’t be long
before they come for you, Shade. You have to leave now!” The rogue
barked as he grabbed Shade and shoved his half packed bag into his
hands. “I know you better, and perhaps a handful of others do as
well, but most will believe Faramir,” Charm added as he shoved
Shade toward the door.

“How in the hell could anyone believe that? I
have been fighting beside you all since I arrived at the
Fionahold,” Shade objected, half stumbling as Charm propelled him
along.

“Because you are Morcaillo and Faramir is
Caspian’s wife,” Charm snapped. The sound of footsteps brought them
both sharply to a halt as several Fionaveir rounded the top of the
stair way their eyes searching until they spot Shade. “Shit,” Charm
hissed as he shoved Shade back toward his room. “The window,” he
hissed as they retreated back into the room.

“What? So they can shoot me in the back?”
Shade objected as he watched Charm fumbling in his pockets. “What
are you going to do, Charm, pay them to leave me alone?” he
asked.

“Shut up and get out the window,” Charm
snapped as he produced a small gem from his pocket. Kissing it
lightly he leaned back out the doorway and cracked the stone. “I
hope you are still pissed, sweetheart,” Charm mumbled as he pulled
the door shut behind him and looked back at Shade. “The window!”
Charm barked.

“Was that the Assassin lady I put in the
storage stone?” Shade asked in disbelief.

“Yes, and I doubt she will hold them long. I
was banking on the shock of a naked woman to slow them,” Charm
hissed as he pulled his coat free and tossed it on the bed. With an
incoherent grumble he shoved Shade through the window and followed
quickly. “Run for your ship. If more catch us, I’ll hold them as
long as I can,” Charm ordered, his hands busy at unlacing his
ornate bracers as they ran.

In all of the time that Shade had known the
rogue he had never once seen him without his bracers on, though he
typically had them hidden beneath the coat he always wore. He had
never seen the rogue fight directly, either. Charm was rogue
through and through. He avoided direct confrontation like the
plague.

Shouts erupted from behind them and Shade
glanced back to see another group of Fionaveir running toward them.
“Run!” Charm bellowed as he pulled the second bracer free.

Shade sprinted forward then faltered as he
realized Charm was no longer behind him. His heart pounding he
dodged into an alley as he tried to decide what to do. Charm
obviously wanted him to escape, but he couldn’t bear the thought of
the rogue dying on his behalf. Glancing back out the alley he
stared in shock at the rogue.

Charm stood square in the middle of the road
his arms held out to his sides with a pale sword in each hand. He
had never seen the rogue with anything other than daggers before,
but that wasn’t the most shocking part of it. Wings extended
proudly from Charm’s back, the bright white feathers catching the
afternoon sun with a rainbow gleam. Shade could barely see Charm’s
face, but the rogue’s features seemed different, harsher somehow.
Small curved horns rose from his forehead, barely visible through
the rogue’s thick blond hair. Raising one hand before him Charm
aimed his sword at the approaching Fionaveir. “You will not pass
me,” he warned in a voice that didn’t even sound like the man Shade
called friend. It was deeper and seemed to echo through the street.
The Fionaveir slowed in their approach with evident caution.
Apparently they had never seen this side of Charm either.

“And that is why Charm hides his true form.
He can’t stand the looks of fear any more than he can stomach the
sight of himself in the mirror like that,” Vaze’s voice broke from
the Shadows and Shade whirled to look at the man, praying Vaze
hadn’t come to stop him. If Vaze attacked, Shade knew he was done
for.

“I’ve never seen a celestial before. I
thought they were all dead,” Shade mumbled, his eyes on Vaze.

Vaze moved forward to stand beside him, his
eyes on Charm’s back. “He is only half-celestial. His mother’s
side, actually. She was raped by a greater demon during the war
beyond the barrier. Charm is the result,” Vaze explained in a flat
voice his eyes locked on Charm.

Shade stared at the man then slowly looked
back to Charm. The rogue had lowered his sword and his wings had
lost the pristine white coloring and seemed a dull grey to his
eyes. “His wings change colors?” Shade asked in confusion.

“No. He has altered them to metal with magic.
I’ve heard of that trick in stories about him, but I’ve never seen
it. I’ve heard he uses them to fight with like extra blades and
that every feather is razor sharp. I wish I had time to see it,
though I don’t truly want him to use them on Fionaveir,” Vaze
sighed. “Charm has worn the bracers since I have known him and I’ve
never even seen his wings before,” Vaze said, a note of respect in
his voice. “Seeing this has made helping you almost worth the
trouble I’m going to get into for doing it.”

“You are helping me?” Shade asked
hopefully.

Turning Vaze looked at him and smiled
wickedly. “In a fashion. I’m helping you get out of the city, but
I’m sending you to a place that I shudder to think of going myself.
I would not want to be in the presence of the man you will be
seeing for anything in the world,” Vaze said his tone low and
ominous. The shadows began to rise as he spoke shrouding him in a
dark fog.

“Remember when I called you scary, Vaze,”
Shade mumbled and pointed a finger at him. “This is why. This right
here. Your people skills suck, Vaze,” Shade said, shaking his
finger at Vaze in further accusation.

“Your ship, Shade,” Vaze said as he tossed a
storage stone toward him.

“You got my ship too? Wait, how did you gem
it with the Barllen on it?” Shade asked his eyes flashing back up
to Vaze as he caught the stone.

“Simple. I ripped the Barllen off,” Vaze said
as his summoned shadows began to wrap around Shade. With a faint
smile he waved to Shade in farewell.

“Wait! Where are you sending me? What do you
mean a man you wouldn’t want to see?” Shade called frantically as
the darkness rose around him. Vertigo washed over him as the
transport faded. Staggering forward Shade rested his hand against a
wall and looked around frantically trying to determine where he
was.

“Shade. What are you doing here?” Madren
asked from behind him.

Slowly Shade turned and looked at his old
friend with a raised eyebrow. They stood in a small room furnished
with no more than the basic requirements of a bed and a dresser.
Shade stared at the rough furnishings then looked back to Madren
and shook his head in answer. “I have no idea, Madren. Is this
Goswin?” he asked dumbly.

“It is. This is one of the rooms for the
Delvay refugees,” Madren replied, giving Shade a worried look. “Why
did you leave Sanctuary if you don’t know why you are here? Did you
intend to go somewhere else?” Madren asked, his voice filled with
concern.

“I left Sanctuary to help the people of Glis,
but Vaze sent me here instead. Wait, Madren, you mean there were
actually survivors from Delvay? I had understood they were wiped
out completely,” Shade said in confusion.

Smiling Madren nodded. “That is exactly what
I wanted them to think. The Warrens Mercenaries moved a great deal
of their soldiers from Northern Goswin to Avanti after the High
Lord there signed a contract with them. So in their absence I used
their tunnels and made a few modifications to get under Rivana
without being noticed. I couldn’t get Kadan to retreat. He was
stubborn to the last. I did manage to get most of the ones that
were either too old or too young to fight as well as a decent sized
escort of Spellblades to protect them, however. It isn’t much,
compared to what Delvay used to be, but it is something,” Madren
explained, his voice calmer than Shade could ever remember it
being.

“That’s great, Madren. I can’t believe you
saved Delvay and no one even realizes it,” Shade said with a shake
of his head. Smiling, he nodded his approval at his old friend.
“I’m impressed, Madren, and proud of what you’ve done.”

Madren blushed faintly and shook his head
faintly. “I’d rather have your help than your praise Shade. If you
want to help, that is,” Madren said without a trace of the
nervousness that he had showed constantly in Sanctuary.

“I’d love to help, Madren. Show me what you
need done,” Shade said with a nod. He would head for Glis as soon
as he could, but for now Delvay needed him. That had to be the
reason Vaze had sent him here. Perhaps the refugees were in greater
need than Glis. Either way, Madren had asked him for help and as he
had told Symphony, you couldn’t simply ignore a plea for help.

Arovan

The sun was sinking in the sky as her small
column turned off the main road and onto the cobbled lane. Slender
trees lined either side of the road at regular intervals, their
branches just beginning to show the first spring blooms. Beyond the
trees were fields of open grass that spread as far as Jala could
see in both directions.

“The last time I was here, the horse herds
filled both sides of the road,” Valor said quietly beside her. His
Arovanni walked sedately, its head held low as if he too was
mourning the change in Arovan. They had arrived in Gaelyn the day
before and had not encountered a single person on the ride north to
Arovan. Every village they passed was deserted and filled with
graves so fresh the spring grass had barely begun to show on the
turned earth.

“Do you think anyone will be here?” Jala
asked quietly, her eyes still scanning the deserted fields. The
grass was waist deep from what she could tell and showed no signs
that livestock had been in the fields since long before winter.

“If they have a southern base of operations,
it will be here. This is the safest place anyone could hope for
near the border,” Valor answered though his voice didn’t hold much
hope.

“But you don’t think they will be here,” Jala
concluded, her eyes watching his face.

“I think if they were here, riders would have
already arrived to meet us,” Valor said with a sigh. He gave her a
faint smile and shrugged. “At least we can use it as a secure base
until we locate my people or the location of the Blights.”

“I’m not sleeping in a damned stable,” Neph
grumbled from behind them.

“Neph, I’m sure the Arovan don’t truly share
their homes with their horses,” Jala sighed glancing over at Valor
for some sign of the truth.

“Every story I’ve ever heard about the Arovan
says they keep their horses in their houses,” Neph said firmly.