“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.
“Jexon is a son of a bitch. He is ruthless and cold, Jala. He loves power more than anything else in this world and you will be nothing more than a stepping stone for him,” Ash began slowly and Jala felt her hopes sinking farther. “However,” Ash said and paused until she looked up at him. He exhaled heavily and gave her a faint smile. “However, if you are set upon this and you need the shamans. I think I might have a plan that will work,” Ash said slowly, each word spoken grudgingly.
“What?” Jala asked after a long pause.
“You have to tell me why you need the shamans first, Jala, and then I will decide if it is worthy of what you will suffer to attain them,” Ash said as he leaned back against the wall. He looked even more like one of the Darklands’ spirits in the shadows of the hold. His white clothing and pale, almost translucent skin made him seem more dead than alive to her eyes. The sight only strengthened her resolve.
“I go to war in the spring, Ash. There is no question of that. The Avanti will march and I will face them.” Jala paused as she tried to find the right words. If she phrased this poorly Ash would abandon her just as quickly as Valor and Marrow had. “I need the Shamans to hold my people in this world, Ash. There will be those that fall. I know that, but I won’t let them die. I will give her nothing, Ash, nothing. She has already taken too much from me and I won’t let her claim a single soul. There are three Divines in this world, Ash. I will only feed one of them. I will not fear and I will not die.” Jala spoke the words with such vehemence that Ash simply stared at her. “Will you help me?” she asked softly.
“Are you sure you wish to involve the Divine in this war?” Ash asked cautiously.
She could see the doubt in his eyes clearly and she knew how the Soulreavers felt about Death. It was a gamble telling him her plan, but she needed his support.
“The Divines helped create this mess. They involved themselves in it. I’m simply the one calling them out,” Jala replied with a shrug.
Ash nodded slowly with a thoughtful expression and let out a long sigh. “I won’t tell my people what you have told me. They would call you mad and there is a possibility they might try to cleanse you.”
“Cleanse me?” Jala asked in confusion.
“It typically involves an angry mob hurling rocks at you violently. After the mob is dispersed and the body is removed the officials claim it was a cleansing of a tainted soul,” Ash explained with a smirk.
“Lovely,” Jala mused and shook her head.
“OK. Well, this is my plan,” Ash began with hesitation in his voice. “I can’t win the votes so if you marry me, it will be just me you get in the bargain. There will be no political advantage. We both know that and understand that. Jexon will sue for your hand because he wants your land. He will see you as disposable once he is settled in Merro.” Ash gave her an apologetic look as he spoke and she nodded her understanding. “I pretend to fight him on the matter and draw the council out for a day or two at least. In that time the allies I have on the isles can make provisions as to who goes in the army with Jexon. He will be allowed to take a set number from each Circle. The Masters decide who is to be in that number, though. If I stage it correctly we could have an army comprised of my supporters led by Jexon and I doubt he will be any the wiser. He will pay attention to his officers, but not the common soldiers.”
“He won’t move against me until he is sure of his hold on Merro,” Jala mused as she turned the plan over in her mind. “How many officers do you think he will have?” she asked after a moment’s consideration.
“That depends on the size of the force he plans to take. Jexon will want to guarantee he can overwhelm your own forces in Merro. So I would guess ten thousand common soldiers at the least, perhaps three hundred officers if you include the low ranked ones. Jexon won’t bother with knowing the low ranking officers, though. He will pay attention to the top tier. So perhaps twenty that we have to watch,” Ash surmised.
“This plan has merit,” Jala said with approval.
“It’s dangerous, though. He won’t acknowledge the child you have now. He will want an heir of his own to secure him in Merro,” Ash warned, his gaze dropping to Legacy who was peacefully asleep.