From the Ashes (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #3)(44)

“Call the Forgotten,” Valor urged her with a gentle nudge to her back. “He said to waste no time.”

Jala pulled her gaze from the fight and quickly wove a message spell to all those she had given names. “It’s time.” She felt their response echo back in the form of raw fury.

The air in front of them shimmered and the gentle murmurs of the shuffling spirits before them was drowned by the banshee squall of the Forgotten as the tormented dead appeared on the road ahead of them. Demons poured through the gates in an effort to keep the Forgotten from the city. The gentle spirits that had been milling calmly, exploded into chaos as the first of the fighting erupted. The Forgotten ignored the frantic spirits completely and threw themselves at the demons with a savagery that made her skin crawl.

“We are supposed to ride through that?” Jala asked in disbelief. From her vantage, there was no way through the mass of dead.

In answer, Valor pressed his heels deep into the Arovanni’s sides and the horse sprang forward. He leaned forward, forcing her toward the horse’s neck, his armor digging painfully into her back. “Stay low,” he ordered, though there was no need for the words. She had no choice but to stay low with the way he was pushing on her.

Hands reached for her as they thundered by, their icy grasp tracing paths across her armored legs. Jala shrank back farther against Valor and willed the horse to run faster. There were too many faces among the recent dead that she recognized, and that itself was far more painful than the chill of their grasping hands. She heard Valor let out a rough chuckle behind her and tried to look up at him but couldn’t turn her head from the way he pressed on her.

“What in the name of all of the Aspects are you laughing about?” Jala demanded. Her own emotions were ranging from disgust to anger. There was certainly no amusement in anything she saw.

“Devron Rivasa was back there. His spirit made a rather rude gesture to you. I don’t think he cared much for the results of your brief duel with him,” Valor answered as he slowly lifted the pressure from her back.

“May he rot here eternally and if fate is generous I’ll send Cassia to keep him company soon,” Jala hissed as she sat up cautiously. They were through the gates now and past the worst of the fighting. More spirits milled in the streets here, but they seemed inclined to let them pass without threat. Glancing down at her legs Jala noted the crystals of frost coating her armor. She could still feel the cold in her skin below, but it was passing quickly. Just a brief touch had left ice however. Should one of the spirits decide to do more than brush against her, she would have problems.

“Of course there would be,” Valor muttered behind her as he turned his horse toward the center of town.

“Would be wha…” Jala began but her words died as she realized what he had been speaking of. Ahead of them, rising above the rest of the city, loomed what was no doubt their destination. The palace stood looming above the rest of the city, its high roof crowned with crystal-peaked spires. The spires were the source of the glow she had seen from beyond the walls. Forms circled the palace in the air, though she couldn’t tell what they were, between their speed and the blinding glow.

“Of course there would be dragons,” Valor repeated, his voice filled with disgust. “If they land for a fight, continue on. I’ll deal with them alone while you get Finn.”

“Out of the question,” Jala snapped, the words out of her mouth before she had considered what she was saying or what tone she was saying it in.

“If we both stop to fight, we waste time, Jala. Vaze said to move quickly before the Forgotten are defeated,” Valor reminded her gently.

“Bugger the Forgotten and the dragons and the demons and Death her bloody self, I’m not leaving a friend behind,” Jala growled daring him to object again. “You promised me, Valor Hai’dia. We come in together, we leave together with Finn,” She reminded him firmly.

“Damn, nearly my full name. I feel like my mother is here suddenly. Well, we are running out of time to argue. What do you propose if they land?” Valor asked with a heavy sigh.

“I propose we make quick work of them together, and continue on together, and rescue Finn together, and leave together!” Jala replied angrily.

“Sounds perfect. Let’s hope it goes that way,” Valor agreed.

“It will,” Jala snapped, her eyes following the path of the creatures above the palace. They didn’t seem to show any inclination to land, which seemed a very good sign to her. Unless, of course, they landed after Jala and Valor entered the building, thus trapping them inside with Death.

“I will have to dismiss Valorous when we reach the doors. I can’t leave him alone out here,” Valor informed her as they neared the front steps.

The spirits were thicker in this area and Jala shuddered at the thought of passing through them on foot. Valor was right, though, they couldn’t leave the Arovanni alone. “How about you dismiss him on the stairs,” Jala suggested as the spirits began to move toward them.

“Deal,” Valor agreed without hesitation as he reined his horse directly toward the palace with no indication that he planned to slow from the dead run before they reached the stairs.

Icy hands grasped at her legs and arms as Valorous plowed through the spirits. With a massive push the Arovanni launched himself toward the stairs clearing more than half in the single leap. His hooves skittered on the stones as he scrambled for purchase on the too narrow stairs and she felt him sliding back as he lost his balance. Valor dropped quickly down from the saddle and pulled her down beside him as the Arovanni’s hind legs lost their purchase. The massive horse let out a squall that echoed through the city as he crashed down to the stone stairs.