The Elder Blood Chronicles – Book Three(121)

“Marrow, come here!” Jala gasped as the wind rose in strength. Quickly she wedged the Bendazzi between her and Valor and clung to the knight with both arms as she squeezed her eyes shut. “I trust you, Valor,” she whispered as the ship lurched once more and gained more speed.





Jala sat up slowly spitting sand from her mouth and blinked the salt water from her stinging eyes. Lightning filled the sky, illuminating the broken outline of their small ship just long enough for her to see the extent of the damage. While Valor’s trick with the wave may have spared them all a very cold dousing in the stormy sea and possible drowning, it certainly had not spared them the pain of a ship wreck. Blinking her eyes once more she staggered to her feet and stared along the coast for any sign of her friends.

Never again. I don’t care what the purpose. You will never again get me on a ship, Marrow snarled in her mind and she felt herself release a sigh of relief. There was sign that one of her companions had survived; now all she had to do was find the other two.

“Jala!” Sovann’s voice rose above the howling wind just long enough for her to hear the single frantic call.

“I’m all right!” Jala called back, hoping he could hear her. Slowly she began to walk in the direction she thought the call came from. In the current weather, it was difficult to be sure.

“Is Valor with you?” Sovann called again, his voice louder and closer.

“No,” Jala replied as loudly as she could while her mind raced with images of Valor lying broken on the beach somewhere. With a muffled curse she picked up her pace toward Sovann, her eyes scanning the ground around her as she moved.

I haven’t located him yet. If I do I will tell you at once. I am trying to determine exactly where we are at the moment, Marrow informed her.

“Valor!” Jala called, her voice breaking as she contemplated the heavy armor he had been wearing. Even with Valor’s strength, swimming in all of that steel would have been next to impossible. “Damn it, Val why did you leave the armor on,” she hissed as she blinked rain back from her eyes. Another violent gust of wind drove hard across the beach and she clenched her teeth against the cold. She’d lost her cloak at some point on the journey and the sheer material of her dress was no match for the weather.

“No sign of him yet?” Sovann asked as he approached her quickly, his cloak pulled tight against the wind.

Jala shook her head and chewed on her lower lip as she continued to stare hopelessly at the beach. “I think magic is my only hope here. I’m too damned blind in this murk and rain,” Jala informed him and let out a long sigh.

“Let me. I doubt you have had a chance to rebuild all your power from Goswin and you may need what little you have for the negotiations with Kithvaryn,” Sovann offered with a frown.

“Well, look for my staff as well as Valor, if you would please. Valor first, though,” Jala agreed and rubbed her face with both hands. This was not exactly how she had planned to make an entrance to the isle of Kithvaryn. From what she had learned of the man, Kithvaryn was a meticulous person with an eye for details that made most seem blind.

“This way,” Sovann urged after a long pause and she followed after him quickly as he moved toward the ship wreckage. He stopped just short of the main body of the ship and began frantically pushing the tattered remains of their sails from his way. “He is under here somewhere,” Sovann called over his shoulder.

“Is he living? Can you tell?” Jala asked frantically as she dropped to her knees and began pulling the cloth back as quickly as she could.

“He is pureblood Immortal, Jala. It will take more than a simple ship wreck to kill him,” Sovann assured her, but the expression on his face said otherwise. “Here, Jala I’ve found his arm,” Sovann exclaimed and Jala moved quickly to his side.

Pushing past Sovann she forced the remainder of the wreckage back and stared down at Valor’s pale face and the streak of coppery blood that tracked down from his temple. “He is alive, but he will need healing. Give me a bit of room please,” Jala said, her words coming out in a rush as her eyes lingered on the color of his blood. It was too dark to be sure, but it didn’t quite seem red. It wasn’t gold she could tell that much, but it still wasn’t quite the right color.

“Should I look for Marrow as well, or just the staff?” Sovann asked as he stepped back away from her.

“Marrow is fine just the staff please,” Jala replied softly her eyes never leaving Valor.