The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (21 page)

“Have you figured out how they were being
controlled, Vaze?” Jala asked, glancing toward the shadows behind
her as Neph took his seat.

“Yes, but you won’t like it,” Vaze replied
calmly. The darkness that had been cloaking the temple lightened,
revealing Vaze sitting perched beside the altar to Death. Sovaesh
sat on the opposite side of the altar, leaning back against the
wall. Both men wore solemn expressions and Neph felt a chill down
his spine at the sight of it. These two men were not known for fear
or insecurity.

“Tell me anyway,” Jala pressed. All smiles
and laughter were gone from her demeanor now. She was the High Lady
of Merrodin and nothing else.

“It’s not through devices as we thought. It’s
through Blood magic. The Blights are subject to obey those of a
certain bloodline,” Vaze explained, his frown deepening.

“What Bloodline?” Jala asked quietly.

“Morcaillo,” Sovaesh answered with disgust
evident in his quiet voice.

“So anyone with Morcaillo blood can control
them?” Jala asked, her expression growing thoughtful.

“Shade could through his link to Myth.
Sovaesh can’t. His line is through Kiernan and he is too far
removed from Myth. It seems to only work for Myth’s direct line. We
tested it earlier and Sovaesh nearly got his face ripped off for it
by a Blight in Glis,” Vaze explained.

“Pity the Blight failed in that,” Havoc
growled. The Firym shifted in his seat and folded his hands on the
table, looking directly at Jala. “I want to work with you, Jala,
but I won’t tolerate that man being in my presence much longer. He
killed my Aunt, if you care to remember, and it is taking every
ounce of will I have to keep from drawing steel.”

“Avanti killed your Aunt. Sovaesh was the
knife they wielded. I understand how difficult it is to accept that
logic, however, and I appreciate the restraint you are showing,”
Jala said calmly, her eyes moving from Havoc to Sovaesh. “Kill
them,” she said in a voice that was nearly as cold as the words she
spoke.

Neph watched her for a long moment frozen in
shock. The idea that Jala Merrodin had just ordered death by
Assassin was difficult to grasp. Jala hated hired knives and yet
she was sending one out herself.

“I cannot condone this path.” Zach leaned
back from the table and started to rise from his chair but paused
when Jala raised a hand.

“Please, allow me to explain why I gave that
order.” Jala glanced back at Sovaesh and nodded and the Assassin
rose quickly to leave the room. Turning back once more she looked
at Zach and then to Havoc, her eyes finally coming to rest on Neph.
He stared back at her and he knew his expression must have been
painful to her by the look in her eyes. He couldn’t help it,
though. Assassins were the coward’s way, and he had never
considered Jala a coward before now.

“I’d love an explanation,” Neph said quietly,
his eyes searching her face for any remorse for what she had just
done.

“The Morcaillo are Changelings,” Jala began,
her eyes following Sovaesh as he disappeared through the temple
door. “I don’t harbor ill will toward them for that sole reason,
however. As I say, often I judge by merit, not by blood. These
Changelings, however, have proved themselves enemies with their
manipulations. I would face them in honorable combat or challenge
them directly if I could. They won’t face me, though, and everyone
in this room knows it. They have existed the entire war in hiding
and they will remain in hiding. The Blights failed to kill us off
so they will find another way to attain their goal.” She paused and
dropped her hand firmly to the table. “I cannot allow them to stab
us in the back again. The only way to stop them is to kill them and
the only way I have to do that is Sovaesh,” Jala finished, her eyes
moving from man to man once more and then settling on Neph again.
“It is cowardly in your eyes to use an Assassin and I regret that I
may have lost your respect by doing so, but as far as I see it, I
have no choice. You are the one that taught me magic, Neph. You
drilled it into my skull for countless hours that you use the most
efficient magic to preserve your strength. I could waste my own
time attempting to find these creatures and then pray that I would
be able to pin them down in a fight, but I can’t waste the
strength. Sovaesh is the most efficient way.” “Vaze found them,”
Havoc pointed out with anger still lacing his words.

“I did not find the creatures. I found the
method that was used. It would take me months to track down a
Changeling in hiding if I wanted to put forth the effort. I spent
nearly a year trying to find the true Myth Morcaillo and while I
have my suspicions, I still can’t say for a fact that I know where
she is,” Vaze corrected.

“How is Sovaesh going to locate them, then?”
Havoc demanded.

“He is one of them. He thinks like them and
he has more experience in locating his prey than they have in
hiding,” Vaze answered.

“Once Sovaesh has eliminated the controllers,
Shade will move into Glis to make contact with the Blights. I have
arranged a territory for them to call their own that will not put
any other lands at risk with their presence,” Jala said, her words
pushing the conversation past the objections.

“What territory?” Zach asked as he settled
into his chair once more. The expression on his face wasn’t one of
acceptance, but for the time being he seemed willing to tolerate
the situation.

“Tevonale,” Jala answered simply.

“The cursed isles? While I agree that is a
fitting place for Blights, I doubt you are going to convince them
to stay there,” Havoc observed dryly.

“I raised Tevonale. The territory is no
longer cursed,” Jala informed them quietly and the room fell
silent.

Neph shook his head slowly and rubbed his
face. “When?” he asked a bit sharper than he intended. So much was
going on that he had absolutely no idea about that his frustration
was hard to contain. The Jala he knew before never kept so many
secrets from him, and yet here he was finding out everything at the
last moment.

“After the council meeting last night,” Jala
answered gently.

Jala watched him for a long moment and Neph
could see the pleading in her eyes. She needed him to support her,
but she was making it damned difficult for him. Neph nodded
silently and motioned with his hand for her to continue. He
couldn’t summon appropriate words at the moment. In all honesty, he
wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled for all of the vague
and cryptic behavior she had shown him recently.

“I understand the harsh feelings the other
High Lords have and I, too, felt the same way about the Blights at
one time. I was wrong and so are they. I knew the moment I left
that council that the Blights must have a land without borders to
another country. Tevonale is just that. They will be isolated until
they find acceptance.” Jala’s voice rose with her conviction and
she let out a long sigh. “We have to have peace and we need the
Blights as allies for the exact reason that Arjuna argued we should
kill them. They are strong and their numbers will grow swiftly and
by all of the Divine we need them. We are so weak right now that
another push from our enemies and we will be gone.”

“And if the Blights grow too powerful and
turn on us?” Neph asked. He couldn’t understand Jala’s complete
reversal on the creatures. She had explained about the Barrier
threads, but that didn’t change the basic nature of the creatures.
They might be innocent in the same way an animal was, but that
didn’t make them good allies.

“I have already proven I know how to bypass
their natural immunity to magic. If they do turn on us. I will
eliminate them all,” Jala said firmly.

“It required you to destroy your own body to
achieve that ability,” Neph snapped.

Jala nodded slowly and met his eyes with a
look of pure resolve. “Hemlock visited me four days after I
returned from the Barrier. I was ready to kill him on sight. You
know how much I hate him, Neph. The first words out of his mouth
gave me pause, though. He sm iled at me and motioned toward the sky
and said.
You saw it didn’t you. The reason you have suffered so
much
. I didn’t have to ask him what he was talking about. I
knew. He said that everything I have been through has been nothing
more than honing the blade. He said that the trials that are coming
will make this war seem like sitting down to tea. He said Myth is
going to win unless I act.” Jala paused and tapped the table before
her. “I’m acting and Myth isn’t going to win. The Barrier isn’t
coming down and Sanctuary will not fall. I am honed and I am ready,
and if you aren’t willing to help me save this wretched world, then
bugger off.”

“And saving the Blights will save the world?”
Zach asked quietly, his expression thoughtful.

“It’s a common tactic to turn your enemies’
strength against them. If you are fighting a dragon, you use its
size against it. The Blights are one of Myth’s strengths,” War said
with a smirk as he finally joined them at the table. “I would guess
that you are asking yourselves why Jala believes anything that
Hemlock would say. The answer is simple. She believes him because I
agree. Sanctuary has many secrets. There is more locked away in
this prison than any of you know. The Guardians built this world to
lock away all that would destroy the worlds beyond and not all of
it is awake. History tends to repeat itself, gentlemen. We have
fought these evils before. The difference was, we weren’t locked
down when we faced them. We could retreat and we could hide. On
Sanctuary, neither is an option. When we fight here it is to the
death. You might make peace with your current enemies, but you
won’t find peace with what Myth awakens.”

“What exactly is coming?” Havoc asked softly,
his gaze moving from Jala to War. There seemed to be a bit of
concern in his expression, though the Firym were typically
fearless.

“I wish I had a single answer for that,” War
said wistfully and smiled at them all. “Until Myth is stopped, the
question isn’t what is coming, it’s what is coming first. As I
said, there are many secrets on Sanctuary and not even I can say
what we will face first. All I can say for fact is Myth wants you
all dead and Kali has failed with her creations. Myth’s next step
will be a more drastic one. Myth is arrogant enough to believe she
will survive the ancients if she wakes them. I’m not.”

“The only option we have is to pool our
strength. My army proves that we can work together if we try. Now
all I have to do is get everyone to put their differences aside
before it’s too late. I am preparing, gentlemen, and I have no idea
how much time I have. So, to put it bluntly, my boot will be up
your asses until I have you exactly where I think you need to be.”
Jala smiled at War as she settled back into her chair. “I’m so glad
you chose to join us at the table, Grandpa,” she added with a
wink.

“So, tell me where Delvay needs to be. I’ve
seen how pointy your boots are,” Neph said with a sigh as he
settled more comfortably into his chair. From what he had heard so
far, it was going to be a long night. “I don’t understand half of
what you are saying, Jala, but, as always, I’ve got your back.”

Merro

Zoelyn leaned back from the table and
regarded the heaping plate of food before her with frustration.
There was no possible way she could eat this much food, but Jala
had become convinced she was underfed. Even Valor’s arguments that
you didn’t overfeed the starving didn’t save her from the mountains
of food at every meal.

Her gaze slowly moved to Neph and she fought
back the desire to kick the man. Had he not mentioned her clothing
to Jala, the High Lady would have never made her remove her coat
and no one would have ever known how thin she was. The sight of her
jutting ribs and too thin arms had sent Jala into such a fit of
anger it had taken both Neph and Valor to keep her from returning
to Arovan to vent her anger on Dominic.

“Quit glaring at me and eat your damned food
like a good little girl,” Neph growled, his eyes never leaving the
courtyard where Jala was sparing with Vaze.

“It does no good to glare at Neph. He is
immune to the emotions of others,” Shade observed casually as he
leaned closer to Neph. “Does Valor look a bit twitchy over there or
is it just me?” he asked in a quieter voice.

“Valor never lasts through Jala’s sword
practice. He always loses his temper with Vaze,” Sovann informed
them with a sigh. Zoelyn hadn’t been given many chances to be
around the mage, but from what she had seen of Sovann so far, she
liked. Unlike most of Jala’s companions, he was soft spoken and
always polite. Every time she saw him, however, he was busy with
something and always distracted. Even now, his eyes were locked on
several sheets of paper spread out before him and he hadn’t even
bothered to look up when speaking. Frowning, he tapped his quill
against the table and shook his head. “The portal stones Jala wants
created need to have security measures, but I’m not sure how to set
them,” he mumbled and glanced up at Neph.

“Keystones?” Neph suggested with a shrug.

“Not practical. Jala wants them for everyone
and making that many keystones simply isn’t practical. She intends
for caravans to use these as well as commons. I was thinking
perhaps a portal master who judges who passes through the stones,
but maybe a parameter that controls how many pass through in a day
would be better.” Sovann sighed and rubbed his face a look of
frustration clouding his features.

“The control of numbers wouldn’t work,” Neph
said with a shake of his head. “What if we needed help and our
allies could only send a set number of soldiers through per
day?”

“I will have a very difficult time finding
people that are trustworthy to function as Portal masters,” Sovann
complained and tossed the quill down onto the stack of papers.