The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(64)

Even his gift with Time magic hadn’t helped him locate those that were missing, however. Vaze was always elusive and Charm was completely out of the picture. His luck with the others had been equally disappointing. All in all, life was not going in a direction he liked.

We need to talk. The voice was a whisper in his mind, but Hemlock was moving before the words were fully spoken. It wasn’t often that Kali contacted him through links, and he never ignored her when she did. Kali was dangerous, and somewhat unstable. Most importantly, though, Kali was the only ally he had. With Symphony purging the city and his visions showing his death, he needed Kali now more than ever.





*





It took only minutes for him to reach the portal stone to her home, and she still looked annoyed when he arrived. It was obvious she had been pacing, which meant she would be extremely irritable tonight. Silently, he stepped fully into the room and gave her a questioning look. find my home.” Her tone was filled with irritation and Hemlock knew exactly how she felt. The Fionaveir were destroying his city one district at a time and it seemed that not even Kali would escape their notice.

“They raided The Pits last night. Close to thirty of Grave’s people were arrested. It’s possible the mercenaries will take a stand in retaliation,” Hemlock offered with a heavy sigh.

“After the losses Graves suffered in Avanti, he is likely kissing the Empress’s ass right now,” Kali snapped. “What do you see for us in the future, Hemlock?”

The question caught him off guard and he knew he flinched at the mention of his visions. Kali rarely showed interest in his talent with Time magic, and now when she did have an interest, he didn’t have anything pleasant to share.

“Death, mostly,” Hemlock admitted quietly as he moved to sit in a chair. With a sigh he pushed his hood back and leaned back in the cushions as she returned to pacing. “The Veyetta are coming back and I don’t know how. It’s not Jala, I’m sure of it. In fact I believe Jala may be our only hope at standing against them.”

“Jala, the one we prodded through the war and tormented. Ahh, yes. I’m sure she is very inclined to help us,” Kali purred as she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“It was better to prod her than allow Myth to win,” Hemlock retorted.

“Myth is still active. Don’t forget that. I’m sure by now he has realized how little control I truly gave him over the Blights. He thought I was going to let him kill everyone off with my beauties,” Kali grumbled.

“They served their purpose well in shifting the balance of power. This will have everyone off balance for years and keep their minds off of the Barrier for a while at least,” Hemlock offered. He rubbed his chin for a moment and watched her pace across the room twice in silence. “We need to confront Symphony,” he said at last, and Kali stopped dead in her tracks.

“Are you out of your mind?” Her voice was a hoarse whisper as she slowly turned to look at him with disbelief written clearly on her pale face. “I am an exile and wanted dead by every nation and you are the bloody leader of the largest Assassin guild in Sanctuary. We can’t simply demand a meeting with fanatics such as the Fionaveir. They are so goody-goody it makes my skin crawl. We would barely get to the Pardon me before they were whacking our heads off our shoulders,” Kali added, her voice growing louder with each word.

“We can if we have something to offer her in return for amnesty,” Hemlock pressed. He had been giving the matter thought for the past week and it was the only solution he had managed to come up with. The only other options were declaring war openly on the Fionaveir or leaving the city, and in his visions, both of those paths had led to his death. Confronting Symphony had led to his loss of power, but it was possible that he could change that future. Still, loss of power was far better than loss of life. He knew what was waiting for him in hell and Seth would be far from merciful.

“And what should we offer her, then?” Kali demanded. She was staring at him fully now with both hands on her hips. Her lips were drawn in a tight line and her eyes narrowed. In his experience in dealing with her, the combination of that expression and posture had never been a good thing.

“What if we tell her the truth about what we have been doing?” Hemlock offered quietly. Her expression grew more stormy and he tensed in his chair, every muscle ready to spring if he needed to move quickly. Kali was an incredibly powerful mage with a very volatile temper.

“I will not have the Fionaveir mucking up what I have been working on for centuries. There are certain lines that must be crossed to accomplish what we have to do and they will not cross them. I will not allow them to f*ck it up!” Kali hissed and the air around her surged with magic.

“If they knew what you truly are, though,” Hemlock pressed. The air around him filled with magic and he barely moved before the chair he had been seated in burst into flames. Thick smoke choked the small room as he pressed himself flat against a wall and moved quickly to the other side of the room. “Kali, please be reasonable,” he growled as he ducked another burst of flames that had been aimed at his head.

“No! No! Bloody no! I will not work with those lily white pansy bastards!” Kali screeched, flames dancing from her fingers with each word she spoke.

“Fine!” Hemlock bellowed back in response as he ducked and weaved his way through her magical temper tantrum. When the Barrier had gone up, Kali had been slightly off in the head. Over the year, she had gradually gotten worse. Now, the only term he could use to describe her was a flaming nutter. She was a powerful nutter, though, and the only one he could count on for help when he needed it. If he phrased his request well, which apparently he hadn’t this time. “Calm down, and let’s sort this out, Kali. We have enough enemies without fighting each other. Remember?”