The Elder Blood Chronicles – Book Three(153)

“Could you explain to me why, exactly, Jexon would do this, please?” Jala asked. She had only met the man once at the council in Sanctuary and he hadn’t seemed too fond of her then. She couldn’t imagine why he would want her as a wife after that meeting.

“Politics,” Valor said from his seat at the prow of the ship. She hadn’t even been aware that he could hear them speaking until now. Standing slowly, Valor stretched and walked over to join them. “If he marries you and places a lackey of his in control of the isles, he effectively has control of both. From what Ash is saying, whoever is the master of blades, is his lackey,” Valor said with a look of misery on his face. He stared down at her with a look that held both resignation and accusation in it.

“Scythe is in charge of Blades right now. He has always been a staunch supporter of my father and Valor is likely right about their goals,” Ash agreed and leaned heavily back on the rail.

“But you aren’t going to listen to us when we tell you to go home are you?” Valor asked, though his expression showed clearly that he already knew the answer to his question.

“I’m not going to go home without speaking with them first,” Jala answered carefully. It seemed as though vengeance was going to have a very high cost. Possibly her friendship with Valor, if she wasn’t careful. “You don’t understand, Valor. Every plan I have is contingent on Spirit mages. I have to have Seravae in this,” Jala sighed.

“Make new plans,” Valor suggested. “I’ve never met Jexon personally but I’ve heard enough of him to hate the man,” he added in a lower voice.

“Rumors, Valor. We both know how viscous rumors can be,” Jala returned in a voice that was sharper than she had intended.

“In my Father’s case, they may not all be rumors,” Ash offered hesitantly.

“Maybe you should listen to the son that had to exile himself to keep his father from killing him?” Valor added, his voice gaining volume with his anger.

The cold drizzling rain began to fall in heavier sheets and Jala sighed. Pulling her cloak tighter she looked up at the sky and then to Valor. “Really, Val, as if the day wasn’t bad enough,” she grumbled.

“Like I’m bloody well doing it on purpose!” Valor snapped back as he pulled the hood up on his cloak. “Maybe you shouldn’t have done whatever you did to my magic. Or maybe, just maybe you should stop pissing me off.”

“I feel inclined to mention that it isn’t exactly anger you are radiating right now, Valor,” Ash said quietly.

“Shut the hell up, spook,” Valor growled, his voice low and dangerous as he whirled to face the Soulreaver.

“OK, now it’s anger,” Ash amended quietly as thunder cracked in the sky above them. “We should probably get the child below until landfall,” Ash suggested to Jala, giving one last glance at Valor and the worsening weather.

With a heavy sigh, Jala nodded and moved toward the ship’s hold. “I never try to piss you off, Valor,” she murmured though she doubted he could hear her through the rain and wind. The smell of fish hit her the moment the heavy door was opened. “I really don’t want to go down there,” Jala sighed with a glance back to Ash.

“I apologize for the ship, Jala. It was the best I could do on short notice. There aren’t many passenger ships left on the water and there were no Spell Hawks available,” Ash said with an apologetic shrug.

Moving another few steps down the stairs, Jala found a perch that was reasonably dry and sat down. She heard the sound of the hold door closing and then Ash was beside her. “Valor is being stubborn, eh?” she asked softly. She hadn’t really expected him to come into the hold, but she had been hoping he would, regardless.

“Hurt, angry, defiant, grief stricken, but not stubborn,” Ash corrected as he took a seat beside her. He wiped the rain from his face and brushed his long white hair back from his eyes and looked over at her with his pale, almost colorless gaze. “May I speak bluntly without offending you?” he asked cautiously.

“Will it involve a typhoon if I don’t say what you want to hear in reply?” Jala returned dryly.

“You know it won’t,” Ash said with a smirk.

Jala sighed again and nodded. Then looked around in shock as she realized Marrow hadn’t come down with her. She’d been about to lean up against him, but he wasn’t there. She turned her head to gaze up at the hold door, a faint pang in her chest at the realization that Marrow had chosen the cold and rain rather than her company.