The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (23 page)

Smiling faintly, Zoelyn slid inside the room
and closed the door as quietly as she could behind her. “You are
supposed to be asleep now.

Do you know how late it is?” she whispered to
him. Honestly, she was amazed the child wasn’t red-eyed and
wobbling. It was close to midnight by her best guess.

Legacy smiled at her again and set the knight
aside as he shifted to sit cross-legged on the floor. “Being
quiet,” he offered with a shrug of one tiny shoulder.

Zoelyn grinned at him and nodded her
agreement. “You were being very quiet. I almost didn’t notice you
were awake. If you don’t sleep now, though, you will fall asleep at
breakfast tomorrow and land face down in your oatmeal,” she
informed him gently.

“Eew,” Legacy responded, wrinkling his nose
in disgust. “Momma never gives me oatmeal,” he added with a quick
shake of his head.

Chuckling quietly, Zoelyn shook her head at
him. “You are so smart for your age, Legacy. I shudder to think of
trying to outwit you later,” Her gaze traveled around the room and
settled on a small bookshelf. Moving forward slowly she tilted her
head quickly scanning over the titles. “How about a story?” she
asked, glancing back at him. His expression lightened at once and
he nodded quickly. She knew how well he loved stories from
listening to Jala nightly. She also knew they always put him to
sleep before the end. She doubted the poor kid knew how a single
one of his books ended. “Crawl into bed then and tell me which one
you want to hear.”

“A knight story,” Legacy responded quickly as
he picked his wooden knight up once more and crawled into his bed.
Within a breath he was tucked under his blankets with only his
small face showing as he watched her select a book from the
shelf.

Carefully, she scooted the majority of the
toys from beside the bed and sat down close enough that he could
hear her clearly if she spoke quietly, but not close enough that he
could reach her. The idea of Legacy accidently touching her was
almost enough to keep her from going near the child. In all
honesty, though, he was the single person in the house that she
felt comfortable around. Legacy wasn’t a typical child. He was
quiet and thoughtful, with more intelligence than most adults she
had met. He was always smiling and she never felt out of place
around him. There was no judgment in his eyes, simply acceptance
and kindness. It wasn’t that the others in the house were
judgmental or cruel, well, aside from Neph. It was that they were
all intimidating in their various ways. Legacy wasn’t.

Legacy shifted in the bed and propped his
head up on the pillow, more to peer over her shoulder to look at
the cover of the book. Smiling, she held it up so he could see the
picture. With a grin, he snuggled farther down into his blankets
with his toy clutched close to his chest.

“You are going to regret choosing to sleep
with that if you roll on it tonight,” Zoelyn informed him with a
grin as she opened the book and began to read in a soft voice. She
heard him toss and turn a few times behind her, but by the time she
had read five pages into the story, it was silent behind her.
Closing the book partway, she glanced behind her to find him sound
asleep.

Smiling, she leaned back against the end of
the bed and opened the book once more. The artwork inside was
beautiful and she skipped through the pages admiring each of the
carefully inked illustrations. She couldn’t remember if she had
ever owned books such as this as a child. All memories before
Dominic were lost in a fog.

A scratch at the window drew her attention
from the pages and she froze, listening carefully. There were no
trees near Legacy’s room, so it hadn’t been a branch against the
glass. The noise came again and the window creaked open slowly.
Breath held, Zoelyn stared hard into the inky darkness, desperately
trying to locate the intruder. A ruffle of feathers sounded and she
stared in confusion as a crow hopped off the window ledge and into
the room. It settled on the floor quietly and stretched its wings
as its form slowly shifted to a man. Hearth-stories flooded her
mind as she realized who she was seeing. The black feathered cloak
was unmistakable. It was what he wrapped around the children before
he carried them off to the Darklands. Zoelyn swallowed heavily as
she tried to rationalize what she was seeing. He wasn’t supposed to
be real. He was a figure from the stories to frighten the children
of Glis into behaving. Slowly she stood on legs that didn’t want to
support her and straightened her back as she turned to face the
Crow King.

He had been distracted with closing the
window, but at the sound of her movement he turned and stared at
her with curiosity. His gold eyes trailed across her and then to
the door. With a sigh, he smiled and raised a slender dark eyebrow
at her in question.

“You can’t have him,” Zoelyn whispered, the
words tight in her throat.

“Really?” he asked in amusement. “I think
that I can,” he added as he took a step closer to the bed. He moved
with a predator’s grace and in utter silence.

“You claim children that sin and Legacy is
innocent. You can’t have him,” Zoelyn said in a louder voice as she
quickly unbuckled her glove. The realization of why Jala was wary
of crows hit her full force and the memory of the High lady’s
sadness banished her fear. She could do this. With one touch she
could destroy the creature haunting Jala. She could drain him and
save Legacy. All she had to do was touch him and the curse would do
the rest.

The Crow King watched her pull the glove free
and his head cocked to one side. With slow measured steps he moved
from the child’s bed toward her. “Are you going to stop me then?”
he asked in a low voice that would have been seductive coming from
any lips but his.

Swallowing heavily, Zoelyn nodded and held
her ground. He stopped just inches from her, so close she could
feel his breath. “Just go away and leave him alone. I don’t want to
hurt you,” Zoelyn gasped, as her fear came creeping back in. She
could smell the blood on his armor and the intensity of his gold
eyes made her want to bolt for the door. She wouldn’t abandon
Legacy, though. She couldn’t.

“How sweet of you. I’m afraid I can’t do
that, though,” he purred as he smiled down at her. His breath
smelled of mint and spices, far more pleasant than she had expected
from a creature of nightmares.

“I tried to warn you,” Zoelyn whispered as
she flattened her bare hand against his chest and closed her eyes.
For the first time in her life she willed her curse to work
swiftly, and for the first time in her life it didn’t work at all.
She could feel the warmth of his flesh through his armor, and yet
she wasn’t draining him. She felt nothing through the contact aside
from the solid muscle of his body. Slowly she opened her eyes and
stared up at him in complete confusion.

“What now, little Undrae?” he asked softly,
his head tilting to the side once more. His smile returned and it
seemed far colder than it had before.

Quickly, Zoelyn pulled her hand back and
stepped away from him until her back pressed against the wall. He
advanced with each of her steps and flattened a hand against the
wall on either side of her face. Leaning closer, he raised an
eyebrow once more. “Weren’t you going to stop me?” he asked in
amusement.

“Honestly, Seth, do you have nothing better
to do than terrify young girls?” Jala’s voice cut through the room
like a knife and the Crow King pushed off the wall with a smile on
his face.

“If you would stop using them as guard dogs
for your son, I would stop tormenting them,” Seth replied in a
voice that was far more friendly than any he had used with her.
Silently, he moved away from her, once more pausing beside Legacy’s
bed.

Zoelyn slowly turned to look at Jala in utter
confusion and willed her heart back to its normal pace. “You know
him?” she gasped, once she was sure she could speak again.

Jala nodded and stepped into the room,
closing the door quietly behind her. Pulling her night robe tighter
around her, she nodded once more and looked at Seth. “He is a
friend, and I knew he was coming for Legacy,” she explained softly.
“He was supposed to be awake and alone,” Seth pointed out in a
conversational tone.

“He was the last time I checked on him,” Jala
countered.

“I didn’t understand. I’m sorry,” Zoelyn
began, still wretchedly confused.

“As it turns out, this works out well,” Seth
cut in with a smile before Jala could respond. “What?” Jala
frowned, her expression growing confused as well.

Seth gently picked the sleeping child up and
advanced on Zoelyn once more. “I didn’t know about the girl. Now I
do, and I’m taking her with me as well,” he answered as his hand
wrapped around her wrist tightly and yanked her closer to him.
“Goodnight, Jala.”

Zoelyn tried to pull back from his grasp but
it was like a vice on her arm. “Settle down, little Undrae,” he
whispered in the same low voice that made her heart race. Vertigo
washed over her as the shadows darkened around them. In a panic she
realized her curse was not absorbing his magic either. Transport
spells had never worked on her before, and now when she desperately
wanted them to fail they were working.

“Seth, no!” Jala’s voice echoed through the
shadows. She had been just a few feet away moments before, but now
her voice sounded a thousand miles away. Fear welled in Zoelyn’s
chest and she tugged against his grasp again.

The air around them darkened further and Seth
pulled her closer. “Stay close, little Undrae. There are things in
the Darklands much more frightening than me.”

Merro

Neph settled against the wall, his gaze on
Legacy’s bedroom door. The draw of magic had caught his attention,
and then Jala’s entrance had prodded his curiosity past ignoring.
He waited in silence until the bedroom door opened once more and
Jala stepped into the hall looking almost frantic. Her pale hand
was over her mouth and it took several moments for her to even
notice him. Eyes widening, she looked from him to the room behind
her, reminding him of a startled hare in every movement.

“This requires an explanation,” Neph said
simply, his gaze moving to the empty room behind her.

“Neph,” Jala murmured and her shoulders
slumped. Swallowing heavily, she pulled her son’s door closed and
leaned back against it. “You want my secrets, then?” she asked
after a long silence.

“As close as we are, I wouldn’t have thought
there would be many. It appears I’m wrong, though. I won’t pry them
all out of you, but I want to know why the herald of Death just
took your son without a fight from you,” Neph replied stubbornly
and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Are you going to trade me secrets? I’d love
to know what War was talking about something in your vaults.” Jala
crossed her arms in a mirror of his own and he could see the
stubborn glint in her eyes.

“Fine, but not in the hallway. Let’s go to my
room,” Neph shot back and waved a hand back down the hall. “The
temple,” Jala suggested.

“My room,” Neph insisted and narrowed his
eyes. “I may revere the gods, but that doesn’t mean I trust that
they are on my side. The Divine watch over all, and I’ve never been
anyone’s favorite.”

“Fine. Your room,” Jala relented and followed
him quietly down the hall.

Neph waited for her to step inside and closed
the door. With a flick of his hand, he activated the protection
wards on the room and crossed to his chair. With a sigh, he dropped
into the cushions and propped his feet up on the small table while
watching her. She still had a frantic look to her eyes, but seemed
to be calming a bit. “Why did Seth take your son?”

Jala swallowed heavily and gazed around the
room. Her eyes settled on a half-full bottle of wine and she
crossed to it in silence. Raising it to her lips she took a long
pull and gasped as she lowered it. “It’s a long story in truth, but
I will try to condense it,” she began slowly as she walked back to
his bed and sat down on the foot with the bottle dangling from her
hand. Eyes downcast, she turned the bottle and stared at the label
for a long moment before speaking again. “When Jexon killed me, I
didn’t expect to come back. Death despised me and I knew once I was
in the Darklands I was finished. Within moments of arriving there,
however, Seth appeared and took me directly to his master.” She
paused and took another drink, swishing the bottle as she lowered
it. “It was Finn sitting on the throne.”

“What?” Neph blurted before he could stop
himself.

Jala shrugged and nodded her head. “Pretty
close to my reaction. I was stunned and speechless and devastated
all at the same time. Did you know, when you kill a Divine you take
their power and their place?” she asked with a bittersweet smile
and chuckled darkly when he shook his head. “Neither did Finn, so
now he is the Lord of Death,” she said as she pulled the holy
symbol from her night robe to dangle it before him. “Hence, my
reverence for Death now.”

“That bastard is responsible for my afterlife
if I die?” Neph grumbled and shook his head in disbelief. “Shit. I
have seen Finn forget to dress fully before leaving the hall. I
shudder to think of my soul in his care,” Leaning back farther in
his chair he rubbed his jaw as Jala took another long pull from the
wine bottle. She didn’t drink often, but when she did, it usually
ended poorly. “So, Seth takes Legacy to see his true father in
hell. That’s got to be mentally scarring to a kid,” Neph concluded
dryly. “Was this your idea, or Finn’s?”

“Seth’s idea,” Jala said miserably. “And now
he has taken Zoelyn and I don’t know why and he kept calling her
Undrae
. The Shifters in Glis despise her for her powers,
Neph, and Seth is a Shifter. What if he kills her? There is nothing
I can do to protect her there and she was in my care. She doesn’t
deserve to die. She was trying to protect my son from him.” The
words poured out of her and she fell back onto his bed, the wine
carefully balanced in one hand while her other rubbed her face.