From the Ashes (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #3)(123)

“Understood and agreed upon,” Jala said with another nod when he fell silent once more. She had expected his terms to be much worse, but so far he had said nothing that she couldn’t live with.

“I’m not finished,” Kithvaryn said firmly and cleared his throat. “Third, you and I will exchange blood for safe keeping. If at any time you should move against me, I will not hesitate to use the blood against you. You will have a vial of my own blood as well, should I fail in the contract.”

“You are out of your mind,” Valor snapped, cutting Kithvaryn off before he could finish.

“Valor, please,” Jala pleaded and gave Kithvaryn an apologetic look. “Forgive him please. It is his duty to protect me and I fear I’ve made that a rather difficult chore for him. His nerves are on edge, which doubtless caused that outburst.”

“I would guess it has quite a lot to do with the Soulreaver waiting at my port for your company,” Kithvaryn said dryly before casting Valor a withering look. “The blood is not negotiable, Lady Merrodin. We will exchange vials and hold them until the end of the contract or there will be no contract. At the end of our contract, which will be the end of the war by your request, we will once again exchange the vials. Which, if we have both kept faith, should still be sealed. The fourth and final condition of the term is that you pay for the three goats your damned Bendazzi ate while you have been in my Fortress. I have not seen the hell-spawned creature myself but I know enough about you to know what it is preying on my livestock.”

You ate three goats! Jala exclaimed through a mental link with the Bendazzi while she nodded politely to Kithvaryn. “I apologize for my familiar. I expected him to be on better behavior.”

Kithvaryn glanced over his shoulder at Kithkara and nodded faintly with a tight smile. “How well do I know that pain. We always expect the best behavior of those we trust.”

They only counted three? Perhaps you shouldn’t deal with these people if that is as high as they can count. You will end up purchasing the services of six thousand troops and only getting three, Marrow returned in an amused tone.

How many did you bloody well eat? Jala demanded while keeping her expression as neutral as she could.

Four goats, one calf and a dog, Marrow replied, sounding quite pleased with himself.

It’s only been one bloody day Marrow! Jala fairly yelled the words back to him before smiling at the General as sweetly as she could. “I agree to your terms General with one exception.”

“And that would be?” Kithvaryn asked his tone growing colder.

“That you change three goats to four goats, one calf, and a dog and allow me to make restitution for the updated list of snacks,” Jala said quietly, wishing she could have simply left it at three goats which was bad enough as far as she was concerned.

“I can’t imagine the feed bill you must get monthly for that creature if he reaped that much damage here in one night,” Kithvaryn said as he shook his head slowly in amazement. “I accept the terms and if all is settled I will write the contract up and we can both turn our attention to other duties.” Jala nodded in agreement and watched the General rise from his chair. “I will return shortly with the paperwork, then. Feel free to have a drink while you wait. I will have the servants send up breakfast now.”

“Thank you, General,” Jala said with a faint smile as she watched him and Kithkara leave the room. Turning in her seat she looked up at Valor and found him glowering down at her.

“Guarding a child with a hatchet,” Valor grumbled shaking his head in disgust.

“I have to agree with Valor here, Jala. I don’t like the idea of you giving your blood to anyone,” Sovann said quietly.

“Everything has a price, Sovann. Kithvaryn’s was lower than I thought it was going to be after the initial meeting. I count myself fortunate that he is willing to exchange vials rather than simply demanding one from me,” Jala sighed and watched with a growing frown as Valor poured himself a large tumbler of whiskey. He had been doing so well at avoiding drinking, and she knew it was her actions that were pushing him back toward the bottle. There was hardly anything she could say to make it better now, though. Not with Seravae looming so close in their future.





Chapter 25





Delvay





Dark forms circled the camp, dotting the smoke filled sky with a scattering of black. Havoc watched the ravens as they approached and shook his head before glancing at Victory. The scout’s camp should have been far enough from the borders that they would have been safe until the arrival of the main force. From the looks of things, they had been wrong, though.

“Thirty ravens at least. That’s far too many for just a few dead,” Victory said quietly. The Fae looked as haggard and miserable as Havoc had ever seen him and he felt a twinge at the sight. Victory had taken several wounds in the last conflict and they had no healers left. The healers were always the first to die in any conflict and the war in Delvay had proved to be no exception.

“Kes was in this camp. It was her patrol,” Havoc said quietly, his gaze flicking over to the small boy riding behind them. No matter how many times Havoc had argued that the boy was too young for war, the Delvay had ignored him. This was his first actual ride from the city and it was likely that the boy’s first taste of war would be the sight of his mother’s corpse.