The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams (37 page)

“They are preparing for war with Delvay.
Kedravon will be brimming with soldiers,” Charm corrected mildly as
they stepped into the ship.

Shade shook his head in disagreement. “No,
they will have them at Bladeview,” he said and dropped into his
pilot seat.

“Bladeview?” Charm asked.

“Border fortress,” Shade answered, a bit
distractedly, his attention focused on the controls before him.

Nodding, Charm dropped into the passenger
seat and tapped his fingers on the arm rests. “If he is alive, how
difficult will it be to get him out? You seem to know the Rivasans’
lands better than I do.”

“Virtually impossible. If he is alive, they
will have him in the cells below the fortress in Kedravon. The
wards there are thick, the guard is heavy, and the floor is lined
with Barllen. The only prayer we really have is if they plan to
publicly execute him and we can pull him from the gallows,” Shade
explained.

“They hang people in Rivana?” Charm asked in
disbelief. “Hanging won’t kill the average immortal. It seems like
they would have a more effective method.”

“They hang them with chains and slow roast
them in Hellfire. I’ve seen one execution in Rivana and I vomited
on my father’s shoes at the sight. They eviscerated the poor
bastard and then cooked him. I was seven or eight at the time and
had nightmares for weeks afterward. I can still hear the screams
when I think about it, and the smell,” he shuddered slightly at the
memory. The smell had easily been the worst. The oily black smoke
had tainted everything with its stench and hours later he had still
been able to smell the dead man on his clothes.

“What crime did he commit to earn a death
like that?” Charm asked quietly.

“He struck a guard,” Shade replied and kept
his gaze fixed on the view screen. There had been more to the
crime, of course. The guard in question had found too much interest
in the man’s daughter. The man had defended his family and died for
it. He remembered objecting to his father about the crime and he
clearly remembered the look on Myth’s face. That was the first time
his father had ever looked at him with disgust. He shook himself
back from the memory and glanced at Charm. “I’m sure the punishment
for being Fionaveir is much worse than striking a guard. I have no
idea how they will kill your friend but it will be horrible.”

Charm nodded his understanding but remained
silent. Shade couldn’t really blame him, though. He hadn’t felt
much like talking when he thought the Rivasans had Jala, either.
Better a friend be dead than in the black cells under the Kedravon
Fortress.

* * *

Shade circled the city by several miles and
landed the ship carefully in a small ravine. He had counted nearly
twelve spell hawks on patrol near the borders, but had managed to
evade the notice of all of them. It paid to have a dull grey ship
at times, it was much easier to blend in with cloud cover. He
leaned back in his seat as the ship powered off and looked over at
Charm. The rogue had been silent for most of the flight, no doubt
worried about his friend.

“I’m not familiar with Kedravon’s layout. I
don’t suppose you have a map?” Charm said quietly.

“I don’t, sorry. Look Charm, I can do the
scouting here. There is no need for both of us to go,” Shade
offered. He wasn’t sure if the rogue would take him up on the offer
but he had to try. There was a good chance they would learn that
Remedy was already dead and there was no sense in both of them
risking their lives for news of a corpse.

“I will not over-react if the news is bad,”
Charm assured him and stood slowly.

“That’s not what I was saying,” Shade
objected and followed Charm from the ship. The dry heat hit the
moment his foot touched the ground and he shook his head. It was
always hot in Rivana and today it seemed positively horrible. It
would be a miserable walk to Kedravon, there was no question about
it. “I was saying I could fly there and be back with news by the
time we walked there together,” Shade explained, his eyes roving
the sky above. It was close to twilight now, the damned heat should
be dying down.

Charm seemed to consider the option and
nodded slowly. “That does make more sense, but I don’t like the
thought of sending you in alone.”

Shade grinned and shrugged at his partner.
“Look at it this way, if they capture me, I have value to Morcaillo
so they will likely toss me into the cell next to Remedy.”

Charm gave him a dry look. “Not reassuring
and not funny,” he said quietly.

“It should be. No one in Rivana knows I’m
Changeling. If they toss me in a cell beside Remedy, I’ll be able
to get us both out before morning,” Shade grinned wider and
examined the sky again. “If you decide soon if we are both going,
or if I’m going, that is.”

“You go, I will wait. If you aren’t back by
morning I’ll come for you,” Charm said, though by his tone he
wasn’t happy about the decision at all.

“I will be back well before morning, Charm,”
Shade assured him and began to shift his form. It felt strange to
actually use his gift in front of another person. For his entire
life, he had been warned not to. Within moments he fluttered wings
and hopped lightly away from his ship. Twisting his head around, he
examined the form and cocked his head at Charm.

“A Raven, how perfectly fitting for this
land. The Aspects know there is certainly enough death here,” Charm
said with a faint nod.

Shade gave a loud caw of agreement and pushed
himself into the air, his wings beating heavily as he gained
altitude. Kedraven was barely three miles away by flight and a
Raven wouldn’t be considered an odd sight at all. He resisted the
urge to look back at his ship and found himself hoping Charm would
think to camouflage it. A spell hawk in a ravine would be
considered a very odd sight.

* * *

“We should execute him at once. He is
Fionaveir,” a woman’s voice rose from the window. Shade moved
cautiously toward the opening, hoping to get a look at the speaker.
Spying such as he was doing now was tricky. While it wasn’t unusual
for a bird to land on a window ledge, it was unusual for the bird
to take notice of conversations. With well-honed practice, he
mimicked the movements of a Raven and cocked his head just enough
to give him a glimpse of the speakers. At the very least, he knew
Remedy still lived. If he was lucky, they would tell him where he
was.

“Avanti has offered us a great deal for this
one. Apparently there is some kind of scandal surrounding this
particular ruffian,” Lord Rivasa said. He was seated in an
oversized chair near the far wall. As usual, his clothing was
garish and by his expression he was very pleased with the
situation. His attention was focused on the woman standing across
from him and he didn’t even spare a glance toward the window.

“We dare not risk keeping a Fionaveir alive
here. What if more come? We cannot afford the disruption now. Too
many wheels are already in motion,” the woman said, frustration
filling her voice. She paced as she spoke, her head bent as if in
thought. Shade watched patiently, waiting for her to turn to face
the window or at least give him a decent view of her profile. From
this vantage all he could make out was the dark color of her dress
and long pale hair. The voice was not a familiar one, but then he
didn’t know most of the noble courts by voice alone. If he could
get a decent look at her he could determine how legitimate this
conversation was. There was a possibility she was no one of
significance and so the High Lord wouldn’t bother sharing further
information with her. If that was the case, then he needed to find
others speaking of Remedy. That in itself wouldn’t be difficult.
The city was likely awash in conversation about the captured
Fionaveir. The trick was finding someone talking that was important
enough to know facts instead of gossip.

“We won’t be keeping him long,” Lord Rivasa
assured the woman.

“Then we will be executing him soon?” she
asked, turning fully to face the High Lord. She was tall and blond
with features that screamed Elder Blood. She was also a complete
stranger to Shade’s eyes. He stored the image away carefully in his
mind. By the way she was speaking to Lord Rivasa and by the way she
held herself, she had to be someone. Perhaps Charm would know
who.

Lord Rivasa shook his head slowly and seemed
to be growing bored with the conversation. His eyes were locked on
the woman’s tight laced gown. “No, the Avanti will be arriving
tomorrow to retrieve him,” he said casually, his voice distracted.
“Surely there are other things that would entertain you better than
talk of a prisoner,” he offered in what Shade was sure was meant to
be an enticing voice.

Carefully Shade maneuvered back from the
window in the slow hopping gate of a bird. He couldn’t take flight
directly in front of them. Even Lord Rivasa would notice a Raven
flying at night.

* * *

Charm paced back and forth by the ship, his
eyes flicking from Shade to the distant glow of Kedravon. “Are you
sure it was legitimate?” he asked for the third time.

“I don’t know who she was but yes I believe
it was legitimate,” Shade replied patiently for the third time.

“How in the bloody hell are we going to get
him out of there with Rivana and Avanti guards? Do you think it
would be easier to get him from the Avanti lands?” he paused in his
pacing and turned to stare at Shade.

Shade shook his head slowly. “No, we want him
before he gets to Avanti,” he began and chewed on his lip as he
thought it through. “They won’t use magic to transport him. There
is too much risk that someone might steal him that way. They will
use spell hawks. From the way Rivasa talked, Avanti wants him
badly. Can you explain that for me, please Charm? Why exactly does
Avanti want a particular Fionaveir so badly?”

“Remedy is a bastard of House Avanti. I’m not
sure exactly who his mother was beyond relation to Lord Avanti, but
I know she ran off with a soldier from Han’shy. The Avanti hunted
them down and killed the soldier in the process. Lutheron managed
to save the woman by happenstance and helped her escape,” Charm
explained.

“Lutheron?” Shade asked with a raised eyebrow
and snorted in amusement. “He really didn’t strike me as the damsel
in distress sort.”

“It was more like opportunity to kill Avanti,
but he did save the woman in the process,” Charm said and his gaze
returned to the city. “I’ve known Remedy since he was a babe at his
mother’s breast, Shade. I will not leave him in there.” His voice
was firm, as was the look in his pale blue eyes.

“Do you think you can get on the Avanti
transport without being noticed?” Shade asked as he dropped
cross-legged to the ground. Leaning back on one arm, he lit a
cigarette and stared up at his partner.

Charm considered the question and nodded
slowly. “It’s not the getting on it that would be rough, it’s the
getting back off that will be difficult. Remedy will be wounded and
I doubt I will have opportunity to heal him, so he should be
considered incapacitated and not factored into planning,” Charm
frowned and shook his head. “Loading a prisoner will draw a crowd.
There is no way I can get him off the ship and away from his guards
with a crowd present.”

Shade grinned up at him and took a long drag
from his cigarette. “We aren’t going to remove him on the ground
Charm. All you have to do is get on the transport and find him. We
will remove him enroute.”

“How?” Charm asked, his gaze dropping once
more to Shade.

Shade exhaled the smoke into little rings and
smiled again. “I’m still working that part out. Don’t worry,
though, I’ll have it figured out by morning. I have no doubts the
ship will be warded against teleportation spells so you will need
to be in the city when the ship arrives. Keep a mental link with me
so I know when to move.”

Charm’s eyes narrowed and a frown grew on his
face. “I’m going to call you insane from this plan aren’t I?” he
asked, his voice cautious.

“Most likely, but then you generally do, so
there is no big surprise. Better get to walking Charm,” Shade
replied lazily. He knew his plan was possible. There were just a
few minor details that he would need to know before he could
determine how possible it was, such as how many would be flying
escort for the transport. Charm didn’t need to worry about that now
though. It was clear the rogue was already worried enough.

He waited until the rogue was out of sight
and rose, slowly stretching. Dropping the cigarette butt on the
ground in front of him he crushed it with his boot and examined the
spell hawk with a considering look. There were advantages to having
built
The Shade
himself. He knew her secrets and he knew
what she was capable of. He walked over to the ship and ran a hand
lovingly along one of the wings.

“Time to get some fangs milady,” he murmured
and pulled a lower panel from the wing revealing brackets that had
never seen use. He hadn’t actually considered ever using this
feature of his ship when he built her. With a final glance to
assure himself Charm was indeed well on his way to Kedravon, Shade
moved into the ship. Sighing heavily, he moved two panels from the
floor and pulled a heavy metal crate from beneath it. The hinges
squeaked in protest as he opened it and admired the contents. The
long barrels gleamed faintly in the ship’s light. Reaching down he
lifted one of the weapons out for inspection. He hadn’t even
glanced at the guns since the day he had loaded them into his ship.
It was strictly forbidden by all lands for a civilian ship to mount
weapons. But it was strictly forbidden to fly without a locator as
well. With a grim smile he replaced the gun and shut the case
again.