The Elder Blood Chronicles Bk 1 In Shades of Grey by Melissa Myers Read Free Book Online Page A

cast him a sharp look. With a look of chagrin, Havoc gave
her an apologetic shrug. She looked back down at her feet and tried
to ignore them. She didn’t even know what an Aspectvar was and
didn’t care much for the thought of them leaving her anywhere. She
had just lost everything, and even the simple fact that they had
known her father, reassured her.
    “His sister was a priestess. I remember her
well. She followed Fortune.”
    Havoc gave another snort of disgust. “And
look where that brought her. As I recall, she lived in Merro as
well.”
    “Damn it, Havoc, show a bit of compassion. We
may be used to loss and the death of friends but the child is not.
That is her family you speak of.” Victory’s voice was as sharp as
his rebuke and silence once again followed.
    Jala swallowed heavily and wiped the tears
away again. “My Aunt Carissa was a priestess, she gave me this…”
her voice trailed off as she tugged her tunic down a bit to pull
out the amulet, which wasn’t there. She gave a slight cry as her
hand brushed across her skin and pain flared. Dimly she remembered
the amulet glowing before the flash. She brushed her hand across
the skin winced again at the pain and tried to make sense of it.
Had her amulet burned? And if so, why would it just burn?
    “Here, let me see.” Victory had moved to her
side at her cry of pain, and he carefully pulled her hand away. He
studied the skin near her collarbone for a moment and waved Havoc
over. “Here, have a look.” Havoc cast him a skeptical glance and
moved closer, his expression changed as he saw the area Victory
indicated.
    “What’s Fortune playing at?” Havoc asked
quietly.
    Victory shrugged. “I’m not sure. But that’s
about as clear an answer as you can get,” he replied.
    “Why? What’s wrong with me?” Jala tried in
vain to look down at the wound they were looking at, but it was at
the wrong place on her chest for her to get a clear look at it.
    “You have the mark of Fortune burned into
your skin, child. It’s not a bad burn but the symbol is marked
quite clear,” Victory answered, his expression thoughtful. “So
Fortune claims you, and now all we need is to locate an Aspectvar
of his.”
    “I don’t know what an Aspectvar is, but he
has a Temple near here. Aunt Carissa used to talk of it. It’s by a
village called Bliss,” she said, trying to be helpful, even though
her words condemned her to being left behind.
    Victory smiled and leaned back. “An Aspectvar
is what we call a Temple. We ourselves do not believe in gods. We
call them Aspects. As they represent an aspect of life, such as
Justice or Healing or Luck as in the case of Fortune.”
    “Why don’t you believe in gods?” she asked, a
bit dumbfounded at his words. She had never heard such
blasphemy.
    “Because we are Elder Blood and hold enough
magic to be considered gods ourselves if we wished it. The only
thing that separates us from your god, Fortune, is the path we
choose to walk,” Havoc replied to the question. His voice was mild,
and his manner did not seem that of a braggart. She eyed the two of
them, trying to see the lie, if there was one. Victory simply
nodded his agreement and moved back to the fire to check the meat.
Havoc studied her for another moment, looking steadily at her eyes.
“Did you notice her eyes are violet colored, Vic?”
    “I did, and her hair appears to be a dark red
under all that ash. She doesn’t have Badger’s coloring at all, or
Maggie’s if I remember correctly. I only met her once. But she
knows the names and the tattoos, so there can be no doubt.”
    “Badger was half-blood, wasn’t he? And Maggie
was commoner, right?” Havoc pressed, still looking her over. He
waved his hand at her and muttered something quietly. She felt her
skin tingle for a moment and looked down at herself in amazement.
She was clean, entirely clean, and not just her, her clothing was
spotless, as well. Her eyes widened, and she looked back up at
Havoc. With