The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse (5 page)

“I haven’t forgiven you for allowing it,
Kadan. You should have spoken up regardless of strength. Maybe if
the two of us had stood together, he would have listened.” Neph
stared hard at his brother as he spoke, but Kadan didn’t so much as
flinch, instead he smiled with approval.

“I don’t expect you to ever forgive me, Neph,
and if you do I’ll be disappointed. I doubt I’ll ever forgive
myself. Don’t expect me to say more on the topic, Neph. Let it lie
between us as it is. You never know when you are being watched, or
by whom.” Kadan turned with those words and walked silently back
toward the trees where he had dug the grave.

“Fetch the body, Neph,” Kay said softly as
she followed after Kadan.

(Seven years later.) Southern Goswin

The sound of footsteps rang through the early
morning darkness outside his tent. Neph glanced up briefly as the
regiment passed. The faint gleam of their armor was barely visible
through the crack in his tent flap, but still he recognized them as
Goswin forces. Turning back to his table he opened his bag and
began pulling his dueling armor from its depths. The leather had
been stored for nearly a year without being oiled, but it was still
soft and supple and the metal studs that lined it shone as just
polished. Systematically, he began removing the leather armor he
typically wore, dropping it piece by piece into his travel bag. On
a normal day, he wouldn’t have bothered switching his armor out.
Today wasn’t normal, however. Today the odds were set so far
against them it was almost laughable. He needed every edge he could
get today. Jala’s life depended on it. Flipping the leather vest
over, he examined the inside, carefully checking each metal stud
for any sign of filth. Satisfied that it was as clean as he could
make it, given the circumstances, he pulled the vest on over his
scarred back. The sharp metal points jabbed into his flesh as he
laced the armor and he seized the pain in his mind.

Other channelers generally chose the elements
for their focus. He, however, had chosen pain and the anger it bred
in him. Fire could be doused. Wind was a gamble. Pain, however, was
always in ready supply, either from his armor or simply from the
world itself. Sanctuary was filled with pain and Neph had never had
difficulty summoning anger. Both of his focus elements were as
constant as the sun and sky and had never failed him.

He laced the bracers on next, followed by his
gloves. Each piece of armor bit at his skin, the pain more an
irritation than anything else. Over the years he had developed a
pain tolerance that would have impressed any masochist. Today,
however, he needed more than irritation. He needed to channel
everything he could. Flexing his hands, he tested the spikes
digging into the back of his arms and inhaled deeply. A small smile
spread across his lips as he slammed his two arms together driving
the spikes deep into his flesh. Agony tore through him and he
seized it, opening the full channel to his magic. His reserves
soared as his focus narrowed on the pain.

“I finally see why you have such a sunny
personality,” Shade whispered from the tent flap and Neph turned to
glower at him.

“What do you want?” Neph snarled as he shoved
the rest of his discarded armor into his bag. It was bad enough
having Madren in the camp, but Shade Morcaillo was almost too much
for him to stomach. Shade weighed every action on a moral scale
before doing anything. He actually had the audacity to argue
against going to Arovan. It had been a combination of Neph
reminding Madren that he wouldn’t have a country to protect if not
for Jala, and plain intimidation that finally decided the
matter.

“Madren sent me to get you. He says the
witches are ready to begin the portal and well…” Shade paused and
smirked at Neph. “You scare the hell out of him so he sent me to
get you. Probably a good thing too, if he had seen you pounding
spikes into your skin he might have fainted. May I ask why,
exactly, you did that and how you intend to shroud the entire
portal spell? According to Madren, you are going to hide the entire
army from the Rivasan mages and I frankly think it’s bullshit.”

“No, you can’t ask and I don’t give a shit
what you think,” Neph growled as he pulled the bag over his
shoulder and shoved his way past

Shade into the chill of the early spring
morning. The sun was just beginning to show itself for the day,
which meant he didn’t have much time. The Rivasans were giving Jala
until morning before they attacked and if they were literal in
their words they could already be starting the assault. There was
no help for it, though. The preparations had taken most of the
night. It had been a chore in itself to gather the Delvay and
prepare them. Most had no stomach for fighting after their failure
to protect their own homeland. Once again, Neph had called upon
intimidation and his pathetically small army had gathered and
prepared.

The Goswin forces had been the time consuming
part. Madren simply didn’t have the temperament to bully his forces
and the debate on his side over whether they should actually
participate in the battle had taken hours. It likely could have
been decided much sooner had Shade simply kept his mouth shut, but
then as long as Neph had known Shade, the man had never been very
good at that. For every action, every choice, and every dream,
Shade Morcaillo had an opinion and it was usually opposing whatever
was suggested by others.

“I haven’t given up talking him out of this,
you know,” Shade began conversationally as they crossed the
camp.

“If you succeed, I will personally rip you
apart. I thought you were supposed to be Jala’s friend,” Neph
responded coldly.

“I am. That’s why I’m trying to respect her
decision. She sent you here to live, not to run back to die,” Shade
said firmly, repeating words that Neph was utterly sick of hearing.
It had been the same argument all night.

Stopping in his tracks, Neph whirled on Shade
and stepped closer to him. Staring down hard at the smaller man,
Neph summoned his darkest glare and almost smiled when the slighter
man simply stared back up at him without the slightest hint of
nerves. While it would have been nice if Shade would have cowered
like everyone else did when they glimpsed his temper, Neph had to
give the boy credit for his nerves. Even if he was a self-righteous
prick with too many opinions, Shade Morcaillo did have spine.

“This might actually work on others, Neph,
but it isn’t working on me. I can be intimidated, but it takes
someone a hell of a lot scarier than you. Vaze might have been able
to do it. You want to call him back?” Shade offered in the same
conversational voice.

“Vaze has more important things to do than
silence you. He is summoning the other nations to support Jala,
which leaves me the task of shutting you the hell up. So, let’s see
if I can actually accomplish that, Shade,” Neph began, his voice
low and filled with warning.

“Doubtful, but you are welcome to try,” Shade
sighed with a slight shrug and stared back up at Neph, matching his
glower with a curious relaxed expression.

“We are going through the portal and we are
going to help Jala. I know she wants us to live. It’s possible she
wants us to live almost as much as I want her to live, Shade. The
key to friendship is that you respect their wishes when you know
their choice is the right one. Jala’s isn’t, so I’m not respecting
it. Jala chose to sacrifice herself to save others.” Neph paused
and shook his head at Shade. “The problem with that, she needs to
live to save others. Without her, everything falls apart, Shade.
Look at who has rallied behind her. She has Soulreavers and Arovan
working together, for the love of the Divine. She has dragons at
her call and the Firym on her side. Even Oblivion calls her friend.
No one else could do that. She has me willing to die for her,
Shade. I wouldn’t die for my own blood kin. Jala Merrodin is the
lynchpin that could hold everything together and possibly stop the
endless wars, and she is about to die. Salvation for all of our
people is at hand and you want to let it slip away. I don’t care if
every man and woman I take through that portal dies as long as Jala
lives. I will see this world become a better place, Shade, and Jala
is the key.”

Neph paused in his words again and stepped
closer to Shade until they stood barely inches apart. He let his
glower fade and stared hard at Shade, willing him to see past the
anger to see the pure conviction in his eyes. “We are going through
that portal and we are going to do everything in our power to see
that Jala Merrodin lives, and if you get in my way one more time on
this, Shade, I will kill you. When I kill someone there is no
coming back. I’m not blustering. I’m not threatening. I’m promising
you. Not even Rose will be able to call your soul back if you open
your mouth one more time to say we should let Jala die. Are we
clear?”

“So the spikes in your armor are your focus,
aren’t’ they? Pain as a focus; that’s pretty clever,” Shade
murmured with interest and patted Neph lightly on the shoulder
before stepping around him. “Well said, Neph, you should have
explained it that way last night. We are wasting time, you know.
The Witches have been ready to open the portal for about twenty
minutes now. I’m sure they are tired of waiting,” Shade called over
his shoulder as he strolled off toward the center of camp.

“If the Rivasans don’t kill him today, I’m
going to kill him myself,” Neph growled as he followed after the
rogue, trying desperately to ignore the jaunty tune Shade was
whistling.

* * *

“How long can you hold the shroud over us?”
Shade asked softly, his eyes locked on the distant Rivasan
forces.

“For as long as I need to,” Neph replied
quietly. The relief at seeing the Rivasan forces still preparing
for their assault had been so overwhelming, he had nearly smiled.
Given his current company, though, that would have been a horrible
idea. Both Madren and Shade would have gotten the wrong impression
and likely not even the Divine could have silenced their chatter
had he shown anything resembling good humor.

“Look at how many there are. I have to admit,
I’m terrified,” Madren whispered from his other side. Madren
fidgeted in place and turned to look at Neph. “Aren’t you scared?”
he asked.

“No,” Neph answered firmly and let out a
sigh. From what he could tell the Rivasans were about to make their
first charge. That, in itself, would be a blessing. He’d much
rather be fighting than listening to either of his companions. He
tried his best to ignore Madren’s stare but finally sighed and
looked over at the smaller man.

“Truly?” Madren asked, once he knew he had
Neph’s full attention. His gaze locked on Neph with an intensity
that was unnerving.

Madren shook his head in amazement when Neph
answered with a simple shrug. “If I were you, I’d be witless with
terror. I mean you are a complete and total asshole, Neph. I don’t
know anyone that is a bigger ass than you. Even the Rivasans are
nicer. There is no way you will escape penance in hell. There are
probably demons in the Darklands that have committed fewer sins
than you. If you die, you are going to be condemned for decades. I
mean, I’ve seen you kill people for getting in your way. Hell, you
killed two people last night and I don’t even know why. I will
probably just pass on through the life stream and begin a new life,
but you are completely screwed, Neph. I can’t believe you aren’t
terrified. To think of the endless torments you will face in the
afterlife makes my skin crawl. I mean, they say you have to serve
five years penance for every drop of innocent blood you shed. If
that’s true, you will never see sunlight again, Neph.” The
sincerity in the man’s expression and voice was so overwhelming
that Neph couldn’t decide if he wanted to laugh or choke the little
bastard in response, so he settled for simply glaring at
Madren.

“Uh, Madren, you are getting kind of loud
with your tirade,” Shade broke in and it was obvious from his tone
he was struggling to contain laughter.

Neph continued to glower at Madren for
another long moment before turning his attention back to the
Rivasan forces. They were sending front lines forward and by the
look of the soldiers, they were planning to open with Hellfire. It
was a typical Rivasan attack, and Neph had no doubt that Valor
would have Jala more than prepared for the tactic. His muscles
tensed as the first wave of fire washed through the valley to pour
over Jala’s forces. “That’s it, when they move for the third wave
we hit them hard on the flank,” Neph said firmly as he turned back
to join his own forces. A long wavering note faint on the wind gave
him pause and he turned his head to stare in the direction it had
come from. The noise was similar to a wolf’s howl and it brought a
smile to his face.

“What in the name of the Divine was that?”
Madren hissed, his gaze moving from Shade to Neph.

“Glis battle horns. The Shifters will be here
soon and I’d wager Arovan rides beside them. Help is on the way,
girls, so you can quit your trembling,” Neph answered, the
satisfaction clear in his voice. With the smile still firm on his
face he swung up onto his snow cat and glanced back at his ranks.
For a Delvay force, his numbers were pathetic. Kadan had sacrificed
nearly everyone in Delvay trying to hold the capital. Neph couldn’t
blame him for it, though. Without their Capital, Delvay had no hope
whatsoever.

“Good luck on the ground,” Shade said with a
sigh and turned to leave the small stand of trees they had chosen
as cover.

“You aren’t fighting with us?” Madren asked,
turning to watch Shade go with a look of bewilderment.

“There are dragons on the field. I’m going to
be fighting where I function the best,” Shade answered as he tossed
a storage gem into the air and caught it. Looking back at them he
smiled and winked at Madren. “I will be looking out for you from
above,” he promised as he tossed the gem once more and caught it
lightly.