The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 3 From the Ashes

The Elder Blood Chronicles – Book Three

by Melissa Myers

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2011, 2012, 2013 Melissa
Myers

This book is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places, and incidents are
the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously.

Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or
persons living or dead, is coincidental.

All rights reserved, except as permitted by
U.S. Copyrights Act of 1976.

No part of this publication can be
reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior
written permission of the author.

Stars lit the sky with a brilliance that
seemed blinding after countless days in the Darklands. Jala paused
on the cobbled street and stared up at the night sky as she tried
to remember why she was no longer in the Darklands, or where Valor
was, for that matter. Her mind was fogged and sluggish. The last
she could remember was exhausted riding toward something they
didn’t know how to reach. Her gaze moved from the stars to the red
moon rising in the sky. Her father had called that a blood moon. By
hearth tales, it meant someone would die.

“
Will it be you or her?”

The sound of the man’s voice brought her
attention swiftly from the heavens to the strange city around her.
It had seemed deserted before. He stood leaning in the doorway of
one of the buildings, his face mostly obscured by shadows. The
armor he wore was mismatched – a chain shirt, plate mail pauldrons,
leather gauntlets. It was as if he had scavenged a battlefield to
dress. He stepped out into the street as she studied him, allowing
the dim light to bathe him. Two swords hung crossed on his back and
she felt a memory stir at the sight before the fog of her mind
thickened. Confusion welled in her again and she tried to force her
mind to work. Should she know him? He acted as though he knew
her.

“
It was called Shaedrin when it still
stood. Nothing but rubble and ruin now,” he said as he turned, his
gaze traveling over the shadowed city.

Jala frowned and looked at the buildings
around her. They were hardly what she considered rubble.

“
This is how it looked when it stood,
Jala. This is a waking dream. I apologize for your confusion. I’m
afraid that’s my doing. I can’t let your mind work too quickly, you
see. If you grow alarmed, you wake up. I can’t reach you in the
sunlit lands. The others guard you too closely and my power isn’t
what it once was. There are things we must speak of though.” His
voice held a note of sadness and he let out a long breath.

“
They guard me?” Jala asked, wondering who
exactly he was speaking of. Her friends?

He looked back at her and a smile warmed his
youthful face. “Guard implies they protect you doesn’t it? I’ve
chosen the wrong word. Let’s say they shelter you then. I didn’t
even know a child of my blood had been born. It wasn’t until very
recently that I realized you existed. They have hidden you from me
since your first breath. Had I known…” His voice trailed off and he
sighed wistfully. “Well, spilled milk now I suppose, and no use
crying over it. Let us see what we can salvage from what they have
done.”

“
You are Merrodin?” Jala asked dumbly and
started to step back.

He laughed and shook his head quickly. “No,
no. I’m not Merrodin, Jala. I’m related from your mother’s side.
Your Grandfather, I suppose the mortals would call it. To me it is
simply a blood tie. You are my line.”

“
I thought my family was all dead.” She
spoke slowly, still watching him closely. “What is your name?” She
wasn’t sure exactly why she asked. Her mother had never spoken of
any of her family, so even if he was speaking the truth she
wouldn’t recognize it.

“
True name? Not even I can remember that
far back. I’ve traveled by a variety of names through the years. It
depends on what land I’m in for what name I call myself. When they
speak of me, however, they all use the same name, War.” He grinned
again and winked at her shocked expression. “You knew the gold
blood came from your mother’s line. So why do you look so shocked.”
He motioned ahead with one hand and raised an eyebrow at her.
“Would you like to see one of the most beautiful cities ever built?
The Veyetta spared no expense when they built Shaedrin. The murals
and statues here are exceptional. I almost felt bad when it was
destroyed. Almost.”

Jala nodded and fell into step beside him.
Her eyes roamed over the architecture as they walked. Each building
was carved from black or deep grey stone with beautiful scroll work
lining the doors and windows. “What did you wish to speak with me
about?” she asked when the silence stretched between them.

“
Partly of your journey in the Darklands
and what you hope to accomplish there, and partly of those you
believe allies and how they have fucked you,” War replied, his
voice calm.

“
I’m in the Darklands to retrieve Finn’s
spirit. That is all I wish to accomplish. As to the other, I’m not
sure which allies you are speaking of.” Her mind had cleared a bit.
Despite that, however, his words were still confusing.

“
Let’s discuss the first and then move on
to the second,” War suggested, and motioned to the side toward a
statue. “High Lady Veyetta. She was a remarkable woman. Beautiful,
graceful, deadly, and completely and utterly insane.”

Jala gazed at the statue. Whoever had crafted
the piece had been a true master. Lady Veyetta stood poised on a
pillar overlooking her city, her posture looking both regal and
elegant. The stone had been cut so cunningly that it seemed a
strong wind would stir her long hair. “It’s beautiful,” she agreed,
glancing back at him. He was watching her closely and the light
shining off his dark eyes revealed their true color of deep
purple.

“
She is a lesson for you. That’s the
reason I chose this place for our meeting. She wasn’t born mad. It
wasn’t a genetic fault in her line, Jala. Lady Veyetta’s madness
came from too much pain and too much power. She held every loss and
every grievance close to her heart and over the years they took
their toll. At the end, she was seeing enemies everywhere and
punishing before crimes were committed. It was one of her own line
that finished her finally. Ironically, I believe you travel with
his son now.”

“
What was it that broke her finally?” Jala
asked, her gaze locked on the statue. Jala could understand the
woman’s pain all too well. The night in Sanctuary after Finn’s
death had been her own brush with madness. She couldn’t even guess
how many Justicars she had killed as she vented her rage.

“
I’m not sure if it was the strikes
against her, or her own failures to stop them. The Veyetta were
lords of darkness you see. They had a saying ‘The Shadows know
all.’ That was actually House Veyetta’s motto. The shadows
whispered to them and brought them news of their enemies. Despite
that, Veyetta still suffered loss. Her son first, then later her
husband. Despite her attempts, Death would not release their souls
back to her, and unlike you, she was forced to accept their loss
and her own failure. She never thought to challenge a Divine. She
was arrogant, but not quite as arrogant as you.” He seemed amused
as he spoke, despite the harshness of his words.

“
You think I’m arrogant?” Jala asked,
turning from the statue to meet his gaze.

“
Undoubtedly, and more so than I’ve seen
in anyone else in a very long time. You are truly a child of my
line,” he replied with a grin.

“
I call it determined,” Jala
countered.

“
Call it what you will. My question is a
simple one. Can you win against Death? You’ve barely had time to
train in your magics and while your skill is impressive, it is
rough. She will not release his soul without a fight, Jala. You had
guessed that, though, I’m sure.” There was no trace of scolding in
his voice, simply a question.

“
If I want Finn back, I suppose I had
better win,” Jala replied softly.

“
Not good enough. You risk three lives in
this endeavor as well as an Arovanni, and while I’m not opposed to
risks I am opposed to throwing lives away needlessly. Death is
corrupt. You saw how the Rivasan boy returned, but others don’t.
Death has either gone mad or has been seduced by your enemies. If
you die, or Valor, or your unborn child, there is no retrieving the
soul. You will be trapped here in the Darklands as countless other
souls are. Death is not sending them back to the life stream or to
their gods, as she should. There is no rebirth in death, only
eternal darkness. Now I ask again, can you win?” He raised an
eyebrow and waited for her answer.

“
No, not alone, but with Valor I can,”
Jala replied after a long moment’s consideration. The thought of
being forever trapped in the Darklands was terrifying to her. She
had, of course, known it would be dangerous to come after Finn, but
the thought of actually failing hadn’t yet crossed her
mind.

War nodded slowly and began to walk once
more. “I suppose that will have to do. At least you have enough
wisdom to know you shouldn’t attack a Divine in a fortified city
alone.”

“
Actually it was Valor that insisted on
coming. Credit him with the wisdom. I was going to come alone,”
Jala admitted.

“
Jala, there are few enough people in this
world that will give you a compliment. Accept them when you receive
them, even if you don’t truly deserve them.” War chuckled at her
with a faint smile. “Now, as to the second matter. Do you have any
idea how much they have manipulated you, or are you only seeing the
fringe of it all?”

“
I’m not even entirely sure who you mean
by ‘they.’ Are you speaking of the Fionaveir or the Aspects?” Jala
asked. “If it’s the Aspects, I know they used magic on Finn,” she
added with a bit of disgust.

“
Let me paint a broader picture for you as
to the current events and we will see if you can answer that
yourself. I’ll lessen the fog on your mind for this, but do not
over react. Serenity in the face of complications will get you
farther than anger.” He paused and winked at her.

“
That doesn’t seem like a very war-like
attitude,” Jala pointed out mildly.

“
On the contrary. The best commanders have
the coolest heads. It’s those that lose their temper that generally
lose the fight. What did you expect from the Divine of war, a
bloodthirsty testosterone filled ape?”

“
Well yes, actually,” Jala admitted
bluntly.

War snorted in amusement and shook his head.
“Not from me. It’s nearly impossible to force me to lose my temper
anymore, but Lutheron has come close this time.”

“
Lutheron? The Fionaveir?” Jala cut in.
She had her own grievances with Lutheron for the mind block he had
saddled her with as a child.

War snorted again louder and shook his head.
“He is so much more than that, but I will explain it later. For
now, let’s look at what they have done so far. The patronage of
Fortune as your guardian was a hoax. While Fortune may have
actually guarded you as he could, it was arranged to mask your own
natural abilities. Merrodin is a Bloodline that thrives on luck.
The wish magic they held was the most powerful of their gifts, but
not the only gift. You have the ability to manipulate the odds as
much as Fortune himself does. If you can learn to use the gift,
that is.”

“
Why would they not want me to know that?
If I’m truly their ally, surely that would help both of us?” Jala
asked quickly before he could continue. They were walking by
gardens now and the scent of the night blooming flowers reminded
her of Firym. She closed her eyes a moment and inhaled while
silently wishing she was back at that point of her life.

“
They don’t want you to become too
powerful to control. They have a healthy respect for my line, and
you are not quite as far under their thumb as they would like. As
to why they didn’t keep you closer to them, the only reason I can
determine is that you couldn’t have close connections with the
Fionaveir when you took over the Merrodin lands,” War explained
with a shrug. “Now past Fortune masking your innate skills, we have
other manipulations. Shade, for example. Did you notice how quickly
they replaced him when it appeared there was mutual interest there?
Do you have any idea why?”

“
Shade? He is my friend, or was, anyway. I
will admit, when I first arrived in Sanctuary I was attracted to
him. He lost my interest when he left us to rot in Rivana. I
understand why he did it, but it didn’t earn him any of my
respect,” Jala explained.