“Originally?” Sovaesh repeated thoughtfully. He tapped his chin for a moment as he seemed to consider the question. “It’s difficult to say, going off of her looks. She is so sickly that her features are obscured by her condition. I wouldn’t hesitate to say she is full Elder Blood if she were healthy, but the sickness suggests she is weaker so perhaps half-blood. She is obviously not a Shifter and with her pale hair she could be of Arovan blood,” he paused and gazed back at Seth. “What makes you so sure she isn’t actually from Arovan?”
Seth frowned as he watched Sovaesh and shrugged a shoulder in answer. He had thought Sovaesh would have known what an Undrae was, but apparently he didn’t. The creatures had been extinct for some time, he supposed, but Sovaesh’s mother had been the High Mage of Firym. She should have trained her son better.
“I suppose if she is from another land it could be anywhere. I can check into it if you like,” Sovaesh replied hesitantly.
Seth shook his head quickly with a faint smile. “The job Jala gave you is more important. Better that you finish hunting down the Changelings and free the Blights from their control. I will look into it more myself,” Seth glanced down at the Changelings body and nudged it lightly with the toe of his boot. “I do have another favor of you, though, and it’s one I’m not sure you will agree to.”
“Ask,” Sovaesh said without hesitation or sign of suspicion.
“I’d like your dagger. I will trade you my own for it.” Seth smiled and motioned toward the large blade that was still sheathed at Sovaesh’s side. It was an unusual request to be sure and Sovaesh’s eyes widened in shock at his words, but it was necessary. Sovaesh’s dagger was a Drinker, or in better terms, enchanted to absorb life energy. With as many people as he had killed recently the blade would have more than enough energy to revitalize Zoelyn.
“Not at all what I expected, but of course.” Sovaesh was already unbuckling the blade from his belt as he spoke.
“It’s temporary Sovaesh. I need the energy that is stored within it. I will return it to you when I can. You have my word,” Seth assured him as he handed over his own dagger. It was a touchy thing to ask and he hadn’t been sure Sovaesh would agree. To any warrior, weapons were important, but to an Assassin, their daggers were more. It was a calling card in a sense. He had essentially just asked Sovaesh for his identity, and his former student was handing it over without question, and all it had taken was a smile.
Chapter 11
Glis
His breath frosted in the air before him as he stepped from his ship. With a frown, Shade pulled his jacket on and stepped down to the thick grass. Turning slowly, he surveyed his surroundings, his eyes searching for any sign of life. The forests of Glis rose to the west of him, barely visible through the morning fog, while the grasslands of Arovan could be seen faintly to the east. By Jala’s directions, he should be sitting right beside Nigel’s guard post. The dragon was supposed to be protecting the Blights from an invasion from Arovan, and yet there was no sign of him anywhere.
“Wonderful,” Shade muttered as he gemmed his ship and dropped the stone into his jacket pocket. He had been counting on information from Nigel to help him in his search. The dragon had been stationed here for close to three weeks. There was no way he could have avoided contact with the Blights in that time, unless of course he wasn’t actually here.
With a heavy sigh, Shade turned toward the forest and shifted his body to the Blight form. He wasn’t really looking forward to searching the entire country of Glis until he stumbled across a Blight hive, but it didn’t really look as though he had much choice. “Scour the country to find the creatures. Somehow make an alliance with them. Convince them to move to a formerly cursed country, and if you could, do it in less than thirty days. Gee thanks, Jala, I love you too,” Shade grumbled as he began to walk toward the distant trees. “Hey Glis, not sure if anyone told you, but its bloody spring. It’s supposed to be warm,” he added in a louder voice as the wind rose around him.
“Strange little thing isn’t he?” The woman’s voice stopped him cold in his tracks and Shade whirled to find three women sitting at a table and watching him with expressions of utter amusement.
“What the…,” Shade muttered, his eyes scanning the table and the obvious camp behind it. Each of the women wore brightly colored gowns and looked better suited to a fine gambling hall in Sanctuary than the wilderness of Glis.
“I thought Shade Morcaillo was famous for his paranoia. Didn’t Jala say he used to wear the glasses that detected the invisible?” the woman in red mused as her counterparts in green and blue watched him with playful smiles.
“He used to. One would think now that he is an outlaw, he would be even more paranoid,” The sound of Nigel’s voice spun Shade around once more and he found himself nose to nose with the dragon he had been seeking. Nigel smiled faintly and bowed his head to Shade in greeting. As always, Nigel was dressed impeccably in a finely tailored suit. Sunlight reflected off the dark glasses he wore, as well as the rings on his fingers. The expression on his face was a mirror for his female companions and filled with amusement. “Might want to start wearing those glasses again, Shade,” Nigel suggested as he sauntered past Shade toward the table and the waiting women.
“Jala said you would drop by,” the woman in blue drawled. She swirled her wine in her glass a moment then took a dainty sip as she waved a long delicate hand toward an empty seat at their table.
“Have you had a chance to meet the Three Sisters Shade?” Nigel asked conversationally as he motioned toward the three women.
“Can’t say that I have,” Shade replied neutrally. It was irritating to know they were seated a few feet from where he had landed and had decided to simply let him wander off before they actually let him know they were there. It was enough of a relief, however, to know he could get information, that he didn’t really want to complain about it.