The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams (50 page)

“That horse of yours will keep an escape
route clear I’m sure,” she said with a faint smile. Stopping just
below the dais she looked up to Lady Chastity and made certain the
woman wasn’t injured. She gave her a reassuring smile and then
turned her gaze to Kellis. All trace of good will draining from her
features. “What is the meaning of this. By what charges do you hold
these two?” she demanded in a voice that carried well over the
crowds.

“Looks like they are going to hang three
today. This one is serving herself up,” One of the guardsmen to her
left joked to a man near him, but she ignored the remark.

“Do not think to interfere with the justice
of the city, girl,” Kellis called back to her, his tone filled with
contempt. He stood a bit straighter as he spoke, pushing his
shoulders back as if to draw attention to his fine armor and seal
of office that hung around his neck.

“If you claim this is justice, than name the
charges,” she returned, showing no reaction at all to his
display.

“Lady Chastity Blackwolf stands accused of
smuggling and attempting to breach the Barrier of Sanctuary. She
has threatened the very safety of the city with her actions. Lord
Valor Hai’dia stands accused of murder and the assault of honored
Justicars,” Kellis replied, his voice drowning out the murmurs of
the crowd around her.

“My husband must have those supplies you ass.
He is in the middle of a war! Valor is not guilty of murder either.
He defended his people when your apes in armor attacked us!”
Chastity screamed back, her barely contained fury showing clearly.
One of the guards elbowed her roughly and she turned to glare at
him with a look of pure hatred.

“Is this true? Is it considered murder now to
defend?” Jala asked, drawing more murmurs from the crowd. The
Justicars were not well loved by the commons and she was counting
on their outrage as help. “Does this mean that we must comply with
your every whim or have our necks stretched by what you term as
justice?” she asked in a louder voice, speaking more to the crowd
than Kellis.

“Had he not resisted the Justicars in their
attempt to protect the city, he would not be in the position he is
now!” Kellis yelled back, his eyes flicking to the milling crowds.
He had to be getting nervous now, Jala knew. With all of the riots
that had been in the city in the past month, allowing this many
people in one area was growing very dangerous.

“Valor is in my service and if you wish to
see him punished for what you view as a crime, then I demand a
trial for him. I will not allow you to punish him without proof and
witnesses to his crimes,” Jala replied and was encouraged by the
yells of support behind her.

“You will not allow? I rule this city while
the Barrier is up. I need no permission from you, girl,” Kellis
roared back and Jala smiled in response. His gaze flicked to the
crowd and he seemed to realize his misstep immediately. Sanctuary
was not a city that was accustomed to being ruled by one man. All
of these people had their own loyalties, and they were not to
Kellis. To hear him proclaim himself higher than their chosen Lords
and Ladies was a match to the tinder box. Angry yells began to echo
behind her and her smile widened.

“I highly suggest you release your prisoners
before this gets ugly,” Jala warned in a voice pitched just loud
enough for Kellis to hear.

“After the riots at the Spring Games, one
would think he would figure out that he shouldn’t hold public
executions,” Neph muttered just behind her.

“Thank god he isn’t that smart,” Wisp said in
the same low voice.

“If he doesn’t show signs of releasing them
in the next few minutes, be ready to act. We need the crowd on our
side if we are going to escape with our lives,” Jala said, turning
her head so those on the dais couldn’t read her lips. Her eyes
sought out Finn to make sure he had heard and he nodded slightly
with a smile. From the look on his face she guessed her husband was
hoping the prisoners wouldn’t be released.

“I think Jail is working on the crowd. They
are getting rather rowdy considering how many guards there are
about,” Neph said, glancing over his shoulder at the commons that
were now pushing closer to the dais.

“It’s going to be hard to get out of here
without trampling people. What the hell is Kellis waiting on?” Wisp
grumbled.

Jala ignored the banter as she watched a
Justicar climb onto the dais to whisper something in Kellis’s ear.
She couldn’t make out the words from here but knew Marrow had heard
them clearly from the way his ears were cocked.
What did he
say
? she asked the Bendazzi through their link.

They have been searching for Chastity’s
daughter as well as a few others. They have not found them and are
concerned that they may have breached the Barrier
, Marrow
replied quickly, his head still cocked and listening.

“Are you going to release the prisoners,
Kellis, or are you going to continue this farce?” Jala called
loudly.

“If you continue your harassment, girl I will
find you guilty of obstructing justice,” Kellis warned, his face
turning red with anger.

“This is talking, Kellis,” she said calmly as
she drew her hands up before her. Pulling swiftly on her magic she
summoned a force blast and sent it crashing into the dais. Wood
splintered as the platform broke down the center sending those
standing above tumbling to the ground. “That is obstructing,” she
added quietly and the world exploded into chaos around her.

She was dimly aware of Finn spurring his
horse toward where Valor had fallen before the guards surrounding
her swarmed in. “Get Chastity!” she bellowed to her companions, but
didn’t take the time to see if they had listened. Snarls erupted
from Marrow as the Bendazzi tore into the closest guards.

Taking her reins tightly in one hand she used
another force blast to push the remaining guards back from her
horse and searched around wildly for Kellis. If she could just
manage to kill that bastard, the Barrier on the city might come
down. She knew he was the center of all of their troubles. A flash
of bright yellow caught her eye and she saw Devron pulling himself
back onto what remained of the platform. His expression was one of
pure fury as he glared at her before disappearing back into the
Hall of Justice. There was no sign of Kellis, however, and she
suspected the coward had retreated at first signs of trouble.

A wave of fire sprang to life behind her and
she glanced back to see Neph pushing the guards away with the
flames. There was no sign of Wisp nearby and she desperately hoped
the Fae had gone for Chastity. Angry screams rose from the crowds
beyond and the sound of fighting was everywhere. She had never seen
a riot before and wondered briefly how many people she had killed
by starting one today.

“How did I ever think we could make it back
to my district in this,” she whispered as she summoned more magic
for a spell. A guard staggered back against her leg and she kicked
him hard away from her. The man spun as he fell and blood from his
torn throat sprayed across her leg and horse. His stomach was torn
in jagged strips where Marrow had raked him. Bile rose in her
throat at the sight and she turned back to the fighting willing her
breathing back to normal.

Wordless shrieking arose nearby her as Marrow
drug another victim to the ground and she hastily called a
Windblade to cut down another guard raising his sword against her
Familiar. The spell sliced the man in half as it stuck and she
looked away quickly from the gruesome sight.

With effort, she closed herself off to the
suffering and fell into a steady rhythm of fighting. Her side was
gradually getting pushed back as the guardsmen rallied against the
commons. They needed to get out of here soon and she knew it, but
she still saw no signs of Finn, Valor or Chastity.

“Jala, look out,” Neph called behind her.

Looking up sharply she saw two Justicars
moving swiftly across what remained of the platform toward her.
Magic was no good against them and she struggled to think of a
spell to help her. One staggered and dropped with a black arrow
shaft protruding from the slit in his visor and Jala silently
thanked Wisp. The Fae was deadly accurate with her arrows.

“We need to withdraw!” Neph yelled, his words
almost lost in the ringing of swords.

“I know, but I don’t know where the others
are!” she yelled back, unsure if he had heard her. The second
Justicar was almost upon her and she still hadn’t decided what
spell to use. Movement from her left drew her eye and she watched
in amazement as Finn plowed hard into the Justicar that was nearly
on her. She hadn’t even seen where her husband came from. The
Justicar recovered quickly and rounded on Finn with his broadsword.
Finn deftly dodged the cumbersome weapon and drove in hard with his
twin blades flashing. Sparks flew off of the Justicar’s armor as
Finn pushed him back with a flurry of blows. There weren’t many
that could match him in speed and the Justicar was overmatched.

“Follow Valor, Jala!” Finn yelled back to her
as he continued to press his opponent.

Looking around frantically, she spotted the
knight mounted on Finn’s grey mare. He was cutting a swathe toward
her with brutal efficiency. She could make out a crumpled bloody
form laying across the saddle in front of her. By the pale blue
fabric she knew it must be Chastity and her heart sank as she
realized the figure wasn’t moving.

“Jala, move now!” Finn yelled again, his
voice frantic. More Justicars were rushing out of the Hall of
Justice toward them.

Jala shook her head at Finn in refusal. If
she left him with that many enemies he wouldn’t have a chance.
Taking a page from Neph’s book she called on one of the simplest
spells he had taught her. The far side of the fractured dais
glimmered in the sun as her magic coated it in several inches of
ice. The area covered wasn’t large, but it was more than enough to
send the approaching Justicars tumbling back off the side in a
tangled heap of armor and swords.

With a muffled curse, Finn finished off his
Justicar and slammed his blades back into their scabbards. He
scanned the area quickly for enemies and then ran toward her.
Without a flicker of hesitation he launched himself onto the back
of the gelding behind her and grabbed the reins from her hand. With
one arm wrapped tightly around her waist he kicked the horse into a
run toward Valor. Jala glanced back quickly to make sure Marrow and
Neph followed and was relieved to see her friends close behind.

“Where is Wisp?” she asked, struggling
frantically to catch sight of the Fae in the chaos of the square.
Everywhere she looked there was fighting and blood. The ground was
littered with corpses of guards and commons alike.

“Already free of the crowd I would guess. She
has a good deal of common sense,” Finn growled. She could smell the
scent of blood thick on him and wondered how much of it belonged to
his enemies.

“Did you really expect me to leave you there
alone, Finn?” she snapped and used a wind spell to knock a cluster
of combatants back away from the charging horses.

“Well it would be nice if you would listen on
occasion,” he grumbled but there was no anger in his voice, only
concern.

“Less talking, more retreating! They have
their mages back there now!” Neph yelled behind them as the ground
ahead split apart.

“Fix it!” Finn yelled and she wasn’t sure if
he was talking to Neph or her. Her gelding began to slow as it
approached the chasm but Valor’s mare thundered toward it, maddened
by the scent of blood. Jala pulled on her reserves once more and
flung a hand toward the gaping road just as Valor’s horse made the
impossible leap. Chunks of rock and earth flew up at her command
and hastily fused together forming a make shift bridge. The mare
landed roughly as the spell was still weaving and nearly careened
off the side, barely managing to regain her balance. Jala watched
with held breath as Valor twisted in the saddle and leaned hard to
the right to catch his sister’s body before it could fall from the
saddle. The fact that he had remained with the horse at all
astonished her, and yet there he was, leaving the bridge and
bringing his sword up for another stroke.

Her gelding thundered across the bridge and
Marrow streaked past them, a white blur against the stone. With a
roar the Bendazzi leaped onto the armored form of a Justicar as he
was preparing to swing on Valor’s back. The two of them went down
in a tangle of fur and metal and Jala quickly lost sight of them as
they raced by. The smell of ozone filled the air as Neph called
lightning down upon an advancing group of guards in the Avanti
colors.

“Hurry! Sovann almost has the wards done!”
Wisp urged from the edge of the riot. She raised her bow over her
head and waved it back toward the gate urging them on.

Valor was the first through, with her and
Finn close behind. Jala turned to look back, desperate to see
Marrow but didn’t see the Bendazzi anywhere. There was no sign of
Jail, either, and she wondered how much her rescue had cost them.
Finn slowed their horse and turned it quickly back toward the riot.
He dropped down from behind her and looked up to Neph. He motioned
at the open gates and turned back to Jala.

“Are you OK?” he asked, his eyes scanning her
quickly for any signs of wounds. They stopped on her blood
splattered leg and his concern washed over her.

“It’s not mine,” she hastily assured him and
looked back through the gate. “Where is Jail? We need to close the
gate and I still don’t see him or Marrow,” she said.

“Close it anyway, we can’t wait,” Finn urged
but Neph stubbornly shook his head.

“Not until they are here. We can hold them
off if needed,” The mage assured him.