The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4)(106)

“Please stop,” Zoelyn whispered behind them and Seth bowed his head at once his hands moving instantly from his dagger hilts.

“The Elder Blood are such savage creatures. We snarl and growl like the most primitive animals,” Seth said with a sigh and his smile lost all hints of the former coldness he had shown Dray. “If you are waiting for me to hurt Zoey, you have a very long wait, Dray. I am trying to help her,” he added in a kinder voice and winked at her.

“You see, Dray, I will be fine,” Zoelyn added as relief surged through her. With the way Seth was acting, she had thought there was going to be a fight.

“You are good,” Dray said quietly. “I am immune to charm, though,” he added in a softer voice. “I will wait for you, Zoey, and when you see him for what he truly is, I will be ready.”





Chapter 14





Glis





Sunlight filtered down through the tree tops leaving dappled patterns across the thick undergrowth. Shade paused and listened closely, praying for any sign of movement. The dead silence was unnerving him more than he cared to admit. He had never been anywhere so completely devoid of life. Not even a trill of a bird stirred through the darkening forest. As far as he could tell, he had perhaps two hours of daylight left before another pointless day ended. So far, his search had tallied four days without even so much as a hint of the Blights.

“I’m not sneaking here!” Shade called loudly and turned in a slow circle watching the forest closely. His voice echoed off the trees, but nothing moved or made a noise in response. “I just want to talk to you. That’s it! Look, I’m not even armed!” His voice echoed once more and he leaned heavily back against a tree with a grunt. “Even if you do want to fillet and devour my flesh, I’d still welcome the conversation while you are getting the dinner table ready,” he mumbled half-heartedly. The frustration of his search combined with his loneliness was beginning to take a toll on him.

The forest around him remained still and lifeless and Shade pushed himself off the tree and turned back to the path he had been following. Nigel had suggested the creatures would be near the lakes, and according to his map he still had close to ten miles before he reached them. He had considered flying directly there, but had decided against it. He had no proof of Nigel’s theory and if the creatures had moved south spotting them in the thick forest while flying would be next to impossible. The Blights almost always moved in camouflage, which meant you had to remain alert for noises or moving brush. Sometimes even that was rare. He had a pair of the glasses Sovann had fashioned to spot the creatures, but in the darkening light of the forest they weren’t very useful.

“So the loneliness of this mission was really something I should have considered before accepting it,” Shade muttered as he pressed on once more. He had always been a social person, and never spent much time alone. Even after he left the Academy, he had Charm as a constant companion, not that he was sure the rogue had appreciated that fact.

He frowned as he considered the man, and wondered how much punishment Charm had faced for helping him escape the city. He hadn’t seen or heard from him since the night Vaze sent him to Goswin, but surely Symphony hadn’t punished him too severely. She had always seemed to favor Charm, and Shade knew the man was well regarded by the other Fionaveir.

So the only issue would have been Faramir, but then that was a rather big issue in itself. Faramir was the primary reason he had left the Fionaveir in the first place. Her influence on Symphony had been unshakable, and her cold disregard for their allies had been too much for him to stomach. Shade let out a heavy sigh and regretted not checking on Charm sooner. “As soon as I am done here,” he promised himself as he gazed around at the vacant forest. If I am ever done here,” he added silently.

As it turned out, destroying the creatures was much easier than negotiating with them. The bombing of Eldagar had taken less time if you didn’t consider the weeks he had spent capturing the goblins. He froze as the thought crossed his mind and his gaze trailed slowly down to his pocket where he kept the stone. Slowly he pulled it from his coat and stared down at the black gem. He had never meant to keep the creature in stasis for so long, but then, there had never been a good time to release it before. There had always been someone nearby and he knew no one, but perhaps Jala would give the creature a chance. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if Jala would be willing to give a goblin a chance. There was no one around now, though. His gaze rose to scan the forest once more before returning to the gem.