The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(31)

Seth settled back where he stood and rubbed the back of his neck for a moment. “Well, that moment is gone,” he muttered with a heavy sigh as his posture relaxed. He raised an eyebrow at Jala and smiled faintly. “You called?” he prompted with a faint smile as he waved back at Legacy.

“Oh, by the Divine, that was classic!” Shade exclaimed as he burst out laughing loudly. “Oh kid, I love you. You are my favorite person in the world right now!” he continued as he leaned forward and ruffled Legacy’s hair.

Jala sighed dramatically and slowly turned back to look at the assembled High Lords. She shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “Well, so much for a grand entrance,” she said and waved a hand toward Seth. “He is the servant of Death, directly. No one in Sanctuary knows better than Seth who is dead and who isn’t.”

Seth glanced at Jala, raised an eyebrow, and then looked to the High Lords with a dry expression. “As the fact that she is here speaking to you implies, Jala Merrodin is alive. She was gone for a time, but not dead. That is something I cannot explain beyond telling you that her life essence was not among us for a time. Now it is.”

“Did my Nephew really just applaud and then wave at the man that is supposed to terrify small children with the hellish bedti me stories that are told about him?” Arjuna asked slowly, his eyes flicking from Seth to Jala and then finally to Legacy.

“Well…yes,” Jala answered slowly, her gaze moving from lord to lord as she tried to assess the mood of the room.

“I am oddly proud right now,” Arjuna announced as he dropped lightly back into his chair, a smile on his face. “That is Firym blood there, gentlemen. He is truly fearless.”

“And happy,” Shade added as he stepped fully into the room and leaned against the wall.

“This does not change the fact that they have broken into Lord Arovan’s home and disrupted a very important and private meeting,” Lord Blackwolf’s voice cut through the room like a knife evaporating the smiles on most faces.

“A meeting that I believed I would have been invited to, had you known I lived,” Jala replied sharply, her tone every bit as serious as Blackwolf’s had been.

“Of course you would have been invited had we known,” Arjuna broke in as he scowled at Blackwolf. “You are an ally Jala, you have proven that time and time again,” he assured her.

“If it’s truly Jala Merrodin, where are the Bendazzi that accompany her everywhere?” Lord Faydwer inquired, his expression still filled with doubt.

“They were asleep on my bed when I left, actually,” Jala sighed and looked back toward the doorway. “Vaze, please?” she asked with a frown.

Vaze nodded slowly and the shadows around her darkened once more. Within moments the forms of two Bendazzi could be seen clearly as the shadows faded away. Looking up, Marrow yawned widely and rose to his feet stretching. He scanned the room once with his large yellow eyes and slowly sat back on his haunches beside Jala.

“Satisfied?” Jala asked the room in general.

“Satisfied that you are who you say you are, but that doesn’t explain the company you have brought with you,” Lord Blackwolf replied sharply.

Jala frowned deeper, her eyes moving back to Neph and Madren. Neph could tell by her expression that she was fighting back her own sharp reply. She motioned toward him with a casual wave. “I had thought you would all remember Lord Delvayon as well as Lord Goswin. They were, after all, at the battle that saved Arovan and Glis from Rivasa.”

“Nephon is not lord of Delvay, or so the Empress says,” Blackwolf corrected.

“I’m leaving now before I’m too tempted to take a souvenir back home with me,” Seth informed Jala quietly, his eyes lingering on Nicoli Blackwolf.

“Thank you for answering, Seth,” Jala replied with a nod before turning back to face the High Lord of Glis once more. “Lord Blackwolf, we have never really had a chance to speak before today and this is not getting off to a good start. I want to work with you and I want to make this alliance work, but allow me to speak bluntly in terms you will understand clearly.” Her hand dropped to rest on the top of Marrow’s head and she stared hard at the High Lord. “I have earned the name Lady Bendazzi through more than just the presence of my Familiar. It was given to me to acknowledge my talent for dealing with arrogant *s that refused to listen to me. So let me ask you this, Lord Blackwolf …” she paused, emphasizing the last of his name as she stepped forward closer to the table. “In a fight between a Bendazzi and a wolf, who wins?” she asked coldly.

A loud noise similar to an angry cat rose from the back of the room and Neph turned to look at Shade as the rogue made a scratching motion with his hand. “Get him, Jala. My money is on her if anyone is taking bets here,” he said loudly as he noticed how many people were watching him.

“Why exactly is he here? He isn’t the current lord of Morcath as I understand,” Arjuna sighed leaning forward on the table for a better look at Jala and motioning toward Shade.

“I’m his advisor, actually,” Shade informed them, pointing directly at Madren who from what Neph could tell looked ready to crawl off into a corner to hide. “See, Madren is competent at leading his own people and incredibly smart, but you bastards intimidate him and, well, I gave up really caring about who says what about me or tries to kill me a while back. I tried being rational and law abiding and was kicked in the nuts for it repeatedly. So now, I advise him for the time being and work as his voice when he needs to address bullies like you guys.”