The Crow King's Wife (19 page)

“Bitch.” Seth snarled. The expression on his
face was murderous as his hand closed around her throat. Her body
convulsed at his touch and a soft glow began to form around his
hand. Her scream turned from fear to raw agony as Seth slowly
drained her power with as much pain as he could inflict.

Finn regarded the assembled crowd silently
and watched their expressions of hunger slowly turn to concern. It
was too easy for them to imagine themselves in Yasny’s place, and
the death Seth was delivering was anything but merciful. “I have
Firym blood and was raised by the Avanti. Mercy is not in my
vocabulary, and I have been taught to take every advantage against
my enemies. If you want to defy me you will follow in Yasny’s
footsteps. No matter how clever you think you are, I am one step
ahead. If you serve loyally you will be rewarded, if you betray
me…” Finn’s voice trailed off and he turned back to Yasny once
more. He didn’t need to say anymore. They could see what would
happen clearly enough. He allowed them to watch for another few
minutes before waving his hand toward the door in a dismissal.

The room emptied quickly leaving only Seth,
Fiona and Exodus. It was obvious the rest wanted nothing more than
to be away from him as quickly as they could manage it.

“That was well played. You didn’t really
strike me as the sort that ruled by fear.” Exodus observed with a
smile. She rose from the table she had been seated at with only a
brief glance to the flickering remains of Yasny.

“They didn’t really give me much choice. My
predecessor ruled by fear and so that is what they are used to. It
tried to play nice with them, and look at where it got me.” Finn
replied with a shrug.

“So now you are going to be a hard ass?”
Exodus asked with a raised eyebrow. Her expression was doubtful and
her smile suggested she didn’t think he could pull it off if he
wanted to.

“When I have to be.” Finn agreed with a faint
shrug. “I shouldn’t have to be by the time today is over though. I
still have a few more things to cover, and I hope you will forgive
me but I’d rather finish in private.” He glanced at Seth
meaningfully and Exodus nodded once in understanding.

“Till next we meet then. Which I hope won’t
be long Lord Death.” Exodus smiled and bowed in a mocking imitation
of a noble court before fading away.

Fiona frowned at her departure and looked
sharply at Finn. “That very closely resembled flirting. Be careful
with that one, she is not one to get too involved with. The other
Aspects are not very fond of her.” As always Fiona’s voice held the
chiding of a disapproving parent and Finn had to suppress a
sigh.

He nodded to her and waved toward the door.
“Retire for now Fiona. I will need to speak with you later, but for
now I’d like a few words with Seth in private.” Fiona scowled at
his words but left the room walking so stiffly he couldn’t help but
notice her displeasure.

He waited patiently until the doors had
slammed closed behind Fiona before approaching Seth and stopped
just a few feet away. Yasny had faded completely, but Seth still
stood where he had drained her with a look of frustration on his
face. Finn smiled faintly and waited to speak until Seth met his
gaze. “That was revenge Seth. How was it?” he asked quietly.

“Not enough.” Seth muttered. With a heavy
sigh he paced to the table Exodus had been seated at and dropped
heavily into one of the chairs before looking back at Finn with
expectation.

“It never is Seth. If that torment you served
Yasny wasn’t enough, how can you possibly believe anything you do
to Hemlock will repay him for all of the misery he has caused you
over the years?” Finn kept his voice gentle. He knew the discussion
was going to be a painful one for Seth, but it was a point that
needed to be made.

“I have been thinking along those lines since
our last talk.” Seth said with obvious hesitation and waved to the
chair across from him. “I’ve been trying to gather the proper words
for this for days, and I’m not sure I have, but we are both here so
I might as well attempt it.”

Finn nodded and sat in the indicated chair.
He’d been wondering at Seth’s extended silence, and it appeared he
was about to get his answers without the prompting. It was entirely
possible that the day might end on a good note after all. He’d had
doubts this morning as he was planning on how to best deal with
Yasny and bring Seth back to his side.

“My mother was a slave. She served as a whore
to Avanti. He had a tendency of rewarding his men with the use of
his harem, so I never knew Avanti was truly my father. It could
have been half a dozen men in his service.” Seth began slowly.
“When I was very young he rewarded one of his minor lords in that
fashion, but the lord found interest in me rather than the women in
the room. I typically served by fetching food and drinks for the
girls, or changing sheets, whatever I could be told to do that I
was capable of doing really. I had never been asked to serve anyone
in this fashion though, and I ran and hid when the man approached
me. The minor lord took offense, and in apology Lord Avanti gave me
to him. My mother bid me to go, she pleaded with me to behave and
serve him well. By the end of the first night I despised her for
it. It never occurred to me that she was trying to save my life.
All I could see was the fact that she had given me to someone who
hurt me and made me feel worthless.” Seth paused and rubbed his
eyes before letting out a heavy sigh. “I nurtured that hate for
weeks. I directed it at everyone in the house. I hated them all and
blamed them for allowing my torment. They didn’t speak up. They
didn’t stop what was happening. So they were guilty. I killed them
all right down to the guard dog. I punished every living soul in
that house that had witnessed my humiliation.”

Finn nodded slowly and pulled a flask from
his cloak pocket. He took a small sip before offering it to Seth
who shook his head in response. He wasn’t really sure where Seth
was going with his story, but he didn’t dare interrupt. Most of
what he was being told he knew from examining the room Death had
designed as penance for Seth, but this was the most he had ever
heard Seth speak about his past. If he spoke now there was a chance
the Assassin would fall silent, and that was the last thing he
wanted. He needed Seth on his side once more. With every day that
passed he became more convinced that Fiona’s loyalties were truly
with War, and there was no one else in the Darklands he would
consider giving even a fraction of trust to.

“They put me in the Arena for my crimes.
Everyone expected I would be dead within a day given my age. When
two years had passed and I still hadn’t died Avanti himself came to
watch me fight. I’d earned a reputation in the pits by then for
being bloodthirsty and it was very well deserved. I had to be kept
separate from the other prisoners to keep me from slitting their
throats for the slightest insult. I lived on hatred and blood. I
think it sustained me more than the gruel they served for food.
Avanti watched me for three fights before he took me once more into
his service. The next fight he sent in my mother. He had her
masked, but when she spoke to me I knew without a doubt who it was,
and that she didn’t know the first thing about fighting. I gutted
her and made sure she died slowly.” Seth paused again and met
Finn’s eyes once more.

There was no sign of regret in his gaze and
Finn found himself wondering if he had gotten through to the man at
all in their last talk. It was possible he had misjudged Seth
completely, but he didn’t think so. Too many things pointed toward
Seth. There had to be a reason for that. No matter what Seth was
saying Finn truly believed someone wanted the man redeemed. All of
the signs were there. He just had to find a way to force Seth to
accept it.

“Avanti had me trained after that and every
time he needed a lesson taught, he sent me. I had learned about
calling cards by then, and I adopted the crow feather as my own. I
gathered one for every person I killed and left one on those that I
assassinated. I leveled cities, villages, noble houses, whatever he
sent me to eliminate I did. I killed right down to the household
pets and the horses in the stables. By the time the second year had
passed in his service I had my cloak finished and had earned the
title of the most despised man in Immortal society, despite the
fact that I wasn’t even fifteen yet. I justified it by every wrong
that had ever been done to me and how no one had ever lifted a
finger in my defense. In my eyes every person alive was corrupt,
and their lives held no value to me because of that. Every man I
killed was my former master and every woman was my mother. The
children I was doing a favor. I killed them before they could
suffer in life as I had.” Seth leaned back in his seat and folded
his hands on the table. He shook his head slowly at Finn and let
out a long sigh. “If you would have asked me if I loved Dashara
when I first arrived here I would have sworn to ever god that I
did, but after so much inner thought I realize I didn’t. In
retrospect she was a possession. She was important to me because
she was mine, but in honesty she was just another path of revenge,
another way to hurt those that had caused me pain. I protected her
and the children because they were mine, but my hatred for Hemlock
revolves around the fact that I lost to him. I want to kill him,
because he killed me not because he killed her. So in essence the
only thing I have ever truly loved in my life is myself and the
suffering of others.” Seth finished and stared down at the table
with a frown.

“And now?” Finn prompted. He still wasn’t
sure where Seth was going with his conversation, but the outlook
wasn’t good, and he wasn’t about to let Seth leave it at that. He
needed to know how far he could trust the man, and if Seth ever
planned to serve again.

“And now you tell me that Fate has something
grand in store for me and that I should be redeemed, but I have to
object. I believe it’s something inside that makes a hero, Finn,
and I don’t think I have it. Every choice I have ever made in life
has been the darkest one. I am not the protector, I am the reason
protection is needed. I have always been the villain, and I don’t
think I have what it requires to be anything else. When I am pushed
into a corner and forced into making a choice, my answer is written
in blood.” Seth answered quietly and met Finn’s eyes once more.
There was nothing but resignation on his face, and for the first
time since Finn had met the man he looked defeated.

“So this is your surrender? This is you
telling me you aren’t going to try for redemption anymore?” Finn
pressed.

Seth swallowed heavily and nodded slowly.
“This is me saying that I give. I have served here for so long that
I know I will never be free. With the small taste of freedom you
gave me I have lied, cheated, and killed. You gave me the
opportunity to be more and I was too blind to see it. I wasted my
chance and I don’t care to try again. I don’t even want to face the
world anymore, and I think the world should find relief in that
fact. The only thing I have ever given anyone is misery. I’d rather
you grant me an existence like the rest of the demons. Give me some
mindless patrol in the Darklands. I don’t want the position I have
spent so long fighting for anymore. Give it to someone you can rely
on.”

“Can I point something out before we continue
down this path?” Finn asked with a raised eyebrow. Seth nodded
without a trace of enthusiasm on his face. It was obvious the man
had already had enough of his opinion, but Finn chose to ignore
that fact. His next words were a gamble. They would either bring
back Seth’s fire or destroy him. There wasn’t much room for middle
ground with his current frame of mind. “I already knew the basics
of everything you told me from the room Death made for you, and
frankly the fact that you have been chosen as an apparent hero
scares the hell out of me. Consider everything you have told me
Seth and try to imagine what must be coming if you are the best one
to face it? You are the oldest Immortal inside the barrier that I
personally know, and rabid bears have more mercy than you. I can’t
think of a single person that is more dangerous than you, not even
Hemlock.”

Seth snorted with amusement at the bear
analogy but remained silent otherwise. If he had found any concern
over Finn’s words he didn’t show it. After a long silence he met
Finn’s eyes and slouched further in his chair to stretch his long
legs out beneath the table. “The problem with this line of thought
is Heroes have to care, Finn, and I don’t.” Seth muttered, but
there was a trace of bitterness in his voice that said he did care.
He just didn’t trust his own actions enough to do anything.

Finn nodded once and let out a slow breath
before leaning toward Seth and folding his hands in front of him.
“You say you don’t have a conscience, and I say one was given to
you. She had a beautiful smile and in her eyes you were nothing but
a hero. You saved her life, and it scared you because you realized
there was something you cared about other than yourself. You
stumbled, and you don’t have the balls to ask her forgiveness. Let
me point this out for you though Seth. Hemlock didn’t seek Yasny’s
help just to make you miserable. He may hate you, but not enough to
go to those lengths. He did it for a purpose, and I think it was to
separate you from Zoey. Hemlock fears you. I’ve seen how fast he
disappears when you show up. The only reason I can think that he
would want you away from her is so he can kill her without worrying
about you showing up.”

Seth’s eyes locked on him and the Assassin
stiffened in his seat. His expression shifted from resignation to
confusion then to anger in under a breath. “Why in the hell would
he want Zoey dead?” he demanded.