The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (2 page)

“I will never lead Delvay, Zyi,” Neph said
with a faint smile and watched as she stepped away toward the door.
“How are you going to get out of here without them noticing?” Neph
asked quietly.

“They are drinking downstairs aren’t they?”
Zyi asked, pausing by the door.

“Aren’t they always?” Neph snorted in
response.

“Then they should be sleeping by now. I added
a little something extra to the mead tonight. Nothing that will
hurt them of course, but they will get a very sound night’s sleep
from it.” She smiled impishly and winked at him. “I will miss you
so much, Neph,” Zyi said softly as she stepped out into the
shadowed hall.

With a final glance around the room Neph
carefully picked the kitten up once more and balanced it in the
crook of his arm as he blew out the candle and headed for his own
room. Delvay would be a darker place without her, but he knew in
his heart it was for the best. Still, that didn’t silence the voice
screaming for him to go after her, to stop her, to go with her, to
do something. A lump was growing in his throat and he could feel
his eyes burning with unshed tears. With a heavy sigh, he stepped
into his own room and leaned back against the door. The kitten
stirred in his arm and he absently ran a hand through its thick
fur. For the first time in his life, he was truly alone. There was
no one left in Delvay that he could confide in, or show weakness
to. Zyi never judged him for emotions. “I should have gone with
her,” he whispered to the cat as he sat it down carefully on the
foot of his bed and began to strip out of his sweat stained
clothes. Tomorrow would be a long grueling day, and it would be
best to be well rested before facing it. Not that he truly believed
he would sleep tonight. With a heavy sigh, he glanced back at the
hallway once more. He doubted he would ever sleep soundly again,
knowing she was just as alone as he was in a world that was much
crueler than Delvay. The Academy might have been safe, and he could
only hope that was where she was heading.

* * *

Morning sunlight filtered down through the
trees as Neph guided his cat carefully up the steep mountain path.
By tradition, the trials were held on the tallest peak of the three
mountains surrounding the capital. His gaze rose to the snow
covered heights ahead of him and then to his brother who rode
beside him. “Are you going to say anything to me, Kadan?” he asked
finally. Kadan was typically quiet, but today was extreme even for
him. His brother had barely even looked in his direction since they
had ridden out.

“Did you know she was running away?” Kadan
asked, his voice low and filled with anger. His dark eyes locked on
Neph and narrowed. “Did you help her run away?”

Neph watched him for a long moment and shook
his head slowly. “I didn’t know she was going to do it, but I’m
glad she did. I didn’t help her, but I would have had she
asked.”

“I know she wouldn’t have left without
speaking with you, Neph,” Kadan snapped.

“She said goodbye,” Neph agreed, his gaze
moving once more to the mountain. Kadan would tell their father
everything he said and he knew it. By the time he faced his father,
however, he would be past the trial and could no longer be punished
as a child.

“You should have stopped her, Neph. She is
weak and has proven herself a coward by her actions,” Kadan’s voice
rose and Neph turned to regard him again.

“She is our sister, Kadan. She is gentle and
kind and has shown nothing but love toward us. You scorn her
because she doesn’t wish to fight,” Neph said and shook his head
slowly in disgust. “In my eyes, she should never have to fight,
Kadan. She has two brothers that should have been more than willing
to fight for her.”

“She is Delvay,” Kadan snapped, as if the
words explained his anger completely.

“She was Delvay,” Neph corrected. “And Delvay
didn’t understand her at all. Maybe she will find others that do,”
he added hopefully. “Idiot,” Kadan growled as he pushed his cat
forward into a lope. “C’mon. I’m eager to put this day behind
me.”

“You and me both,” Neph agreed as he urged
his cat forward. There was perhaps an hour left of riding and then
the trial. He had no doubts he would pass his tests. As Zyi had
said, he was one of the strongest in Delvay. His spells were
perfect and his shields were stronger than anyone he had faced so
far, including Kadan. With a faint smile he followed his brother in
silence as they crossed through the thick pine forest surrounding
the base of the mountain peak. Snow began to show on the ground and
the air cooled drastically as they continued to climb, but he was
used to the cold. He was Delvay and the mountains were as much a
part of him as his own flesh.

Movement to the side of the trail caught his
eye and Neph stared hard into the trees. His gaze locked on the
woman crouched in the snow at the base of one of the massive pines.
He knew her well enough, but he didn’t understand what she was
doing here. He nodded in greeting and frowned when she looked away
without returning the gesture. He knew she had seen him. Their eyes
had met.

“Why is Kes here, Kadan?” Neph asked
cautiously as he spotted another scout on the other side of the
road. Kes herself was the leader of the Delvay scouts and by all
rights she should have been south watching the borders. His brother
continued on in silence, either pretending he hadn’t heard the
question or simply choosing to ignore it. “Why is Kes here, Kadan?”
Neph demanded as a sick feeling began building in his gut.

“You know what the punishment for cowardice
is, Neph,” Kadan answered in a low voice.

Panic washed over him at the words and Neph
dug his heels painfully into the cat’s sides sending it leaping
forward on the path and past Kadan. Snow churned beneath the
creature’s massive paws as it scrambled up the steep trail. “No,
no, no,” Neph mumbled as the trial grounds grew closer. He knew it
was futile, though. In his heart he already knew what he would
see.

The smell of blood reached him before he had
cleared the last of the trees. With an incoherent groan he stumbled
from his saddle and staggered past the last of the pines and into
the trial grove. A circle of guards surrounded the clearing and he
could hear them move to block his way back out of the grove, but he
didn’t bother to look back. His eyes were locked on the body
swinging from the center post. Her pale blond hair was matted with
blood and her clothes were shredded from being drug up the mountain
side. His throat tightened as he moved quickly to her side. They
had bound her wrists and hung her from the post as if she was a
deer to be bled out. Tears burned at his eyes as he stared up at
her pale bruised face.

“Neph.” The word was mangled by her swollen
lips, but it still sounded like music to his ears. She was alive.
There was hope.

Carefully, Neph wrapped his arms around her
waist and lifted her until the rope slipped from the post. “It’s OK
now, Zyi, I’ve got you,” Neph whispered, his voice harsh. His eyes
rose to stare hard at the circle of guards. “She has suffered her
punishment. She needs a healer now,” he growled.

“Cowards do not receive mercy from Delvay,
neither do traitors.” The voice cracked through the clearing and
Neph turned slowly to face his father. “Did you help her, Neph? Are
you a traitor to your people?” RenDelvayon demanded.

“He didn’t help her father,” Kadan replied
before Neph could open his mouth. “I spoke with him on the ride and
I will swear by the Aspects and Divine that Neph is no
traitor.”

Neph stared hard at his brother before slowly
turning back to face his father. Zyi shifted in his arms and he
could feel her blood soaking through his armor. “She needs a
healer,” he repeated struggling to keep his voice calm.

“Return her to the post. We do not heal
cowards. You know the coward’s fate well enough to understand
that,” Ren said coldly. “She is your daughter!” Neph bellowed, his
panic and anger fueling his voice.

“That creature is not of my blood,” Ren
snapped in disgust and pointed once more to the center post. “Place
her back on the post or share her fate Neph.”

“Do it, Neph. Let me die. Don’t fight for me,
please,” Zyi begged weakly. Her hand moved to his arm and her pale
blue eyes flickered open. “Please, Neph.”

“Save your strength, Zyi. You will need it
for the ride back down the mountain,” Neph whispered and kissed her
gently on the forehead. Carefully he sat her down at the base of
the pole and pulled off his cloak. Gently he wrapped the thick wool
around her and slowly stood once more, facing his father. “You want
her back on the pole then come and put her there yourself,” Neph
snapped as he pulled his sword slowly from its scabbard.

“You would challenge me for a coward?” Ren
demanded his anger rising in his voice.

“My sister,” Neph corrected firmly and
squared his shoulders as he brought up his strongest shields.
“Consider it a challenge if you want. I really don’t care. All I’m
saying is, she is going back down the mountain with me and if I
have to fight you first, so be it.”

“I always knew you had a weak heart,” Ren
snapped as he drew his own blade. Stalking forward he shook his
head in disgust.

“At least I have one,” Neph growled as he
moved to meet his father’s first attack. Metal screamed as he
parried the blow. Stepping back quickly he dodged the next swing
and struck low with his own blade. His sword grazed across his
father’s armored leg. Frantically Neph called on his magic to lend
him speed as he parried another bone jarring blow that had been
aimed at his head.

“You can’t win here, Neph,” his father
growled as his own magic flared to life and his attacks doubled.
“You may have strength, but it isn’t honed. One day you might be
stronger than me, but not today,” RenDelvayon was the High Lord of
Delvay for one simple reason: he was the strongest. No one in
Delvay could match him at swords or magic.

“I’d rather die than see her hang again.”
Neph gasped the words as he struggled to keep pace with his
father’s sword. Blow after blow rang down on him and it was all he
could do to parry or dodge. At this rate, his father was right. He
didn’t have a chance. He needed a break in the assault, just one
chance to strike a solid blow.

Back stepping quickly, Neph circled his
father and pulled on his magic once more. It was dangerous to speed
himself more than he was already, but he had no choice. His
accuracy would suffer and he knew it, but it was the only chance he
had at landing a blow. His sword flashed out again striking sparks
from his father’s breastplate and he felt his hope rise. His father
had been so sure of the fight that he hadn’t even bothered to put
up shields. That was the second time he had scored a line in his
armor. Now all he had to do was hit flesh.

“False hope, Neph,” his father growled as he
renewed the assault with a savagery that Neph had never before
seen.

Staggering back under the attack, Neph
parried his father’s blade as quickly as he could, his sword
flashing like a hummingbird in the morning light. His fingers were
growing numb with the ringing of his blade. Pain flashed down his
arm and he barely had time to register the wound before he was
blocking another blow.

“Sloppy, Neph. Too much speed for you to
handle,” Ren scolded, sounding almost bored as his blade bit deep
into Neph’s side.

Bright red droplets stained the snow in a
spray as Ren tore his sword free once more and continued to
advance. Desperately, Neph parried the next blow and spun bringing
his sword up sharply for his father’s neck. His father dodged the
brunt of the blow, but his blade still managed to score a thin line
down the side of the High Lord’s face. His small victory was lost
in the pain, however. Stumbling back Neph stared down stupidly at
the sword stuck through his side. His own blade slipped from his
fingers and his knees buckled beneath him.

“Such a waste, Neph. You had so much
potential,” Ren sighed as he moved forward and kicked Neph’s blade
out of reach. “I’ll tell you what, though, Neph. They say I don’t
have mercy, but I will prove them wrong today. If you can make it
back down the mountain I will forgive your sins and forget this
ever happened. Prove you are worthy of the name Delvayon.”

“Fuck you,” Neph growled as he pulled the
sword from his own side. With a snarl he forced himself back to his
feet and glared in defiance at his father. Wiping one hand across
his face Neph steadied himself and raised the blade shakily toward
his father. “I’m not done yet,” he growled, though he could feel
his strength fading quickly as his blood colored the snow below
him.

“It would be wiser to use that strength to
crawl back down the mountain and beg forgiveness, Neph,” Kadan
called from his place near the entrance to the grove.

“Leave him be,” RenDelvayon called to the
surrounding guards and motioned for them to leave the grove.
Turning back to his son he smiled coldly. “If only your judgment
was as sound as your determination, Neph. You could have been a son
I would have been proud of.”

Neph ground his teeth and willed his body to
move. Raising his sword over his head he sprang at his father with
every ounce of remaining strength he had. Pain shot through his
limbs as the sword rang hard against metal. His father’s gauntleted
hand was wrapped around the blade holding it firmly in place.

With a smile, Ren twisted the blade,
wrenching it from Neph’s weakened grasp. He shoved hard against his
son’s chest, sending him crashing back into the bloodstained snow.
“Better judgment, Neph,” his father repeated as he flipped the
blade around and replaced it in his scabbard. Turning he walked
back toward Kadan without another glance back. “Leave them
both.”