The Crow King's Wife (25 page)

Jala seemed to deflate a bit and her
expression grew uncertain. She took another slow step back from
Shade and Zoelyn and turned to look at Valor. “Do you think he is
right?” she asked softly.

“You know I’m right, Valor. Micah’s son will
have to prove himself before he ever considers returning to Arovan.
If he goes now with nothing more than the stigma of being a Blight
resting on his shoulders than only those who felt true loyalty to
Micah will give him a chance.” Grim paused and turned to Dray.
“It’s harsh, but that’s the way it is. I’m sorry.”

To Zoelyn’s amazement Dray didn’t look
unsettled by the attention. In fact he was smiling faintly. He
nodded slowly to Grim and then looked to Jala. “I understand what
you are trying to do for me, Lady Merrodin. Don’t think I don’t
appreciate it, but he is right. I don’t want to go to Arovan. I
think my presence there would herald the fall of my family.”

“It would depend on how Elijah handled the
knowledge. I think he would do what is right by Dray, but he would
still have to move carefully to avoid unrest amongst his remaining
people. It would require intrigue, and even then it would be
difficult.” Valor said quietly and shifted his stance toward Jala.
“Regardless of that however this isn’t worth the fight, Jala. Dray
doesn’t wish to go, and Grim won’t allow it. To state it bluntly
love, I would lose in a fight with Grim and I know it. You might
win, but I’m not entirely sure of that. Choose your battles for the
best of Merro, Jala, and realize this isn’t one of them.” There was
no fear in Valor’s voice. His voice was calm as if he was simply
stating facts.

Zoelyn watched in silence as Jala turned to
regard Grim once more. She could see the High Lady reassessing him
and wondering what she had missed. Grim was a large built man, but
to the casual observer he carried no weapons. Only those that knew
him very well realized he didn’t need weapons at his side.

“I suppose I lose then.” Jala sighed.

“I’m amazed you didn’t choke on those words.”
Grim observed with a snort of bitter amusement.

Valor took a half step forward and opened his
mouth to speak, but Jala held up one slender hand and he remained
silent. The High Lady watched Grim for another long moment and then
smiled sadly. “When Finn died I wanted to lash out at everything
too. My emotions were so close to the surface that every word
seemed to chafe on my nerves. I’m sorry for your loss, Caleb, and I
hope you find peace in Rivana.”

“We will.” It was Dray’s voice that broke the
unsteady silence and all eyes turned to regard him. He smiled
faintly at Zoelyn and bowed his head to her. “I wanted you to be
safe, and you will be in Delvay. I’m going with Shade and Grim.
They killed my father before I ever had a chance to meet him. Grim
isn’t the only one that owes them Kevala’drin.” He informed her
quietly.

Zoelyn nodded slowly. It wasn’t what she had
been expecting from him, but it did explain his obsession with
training. “I won’t say I like it, but I will say I understand.” She
couldn’t think of better words to offer, but both men seemed to
accept them. The idea of losing two friends, possibly even three if
Shade didn’t return weighed heavily on her, but she knew better
than to try to talk them out of it.

Jala’s eyes rose to the storm darkened sky
and then looked to Shade. “When do you think you will be able to
leave out?” she asked with concern.

“Now.” Shade replied with a smile. He glanced
toward the lightening in the distance and his smile widened.

“Shade you will have to fly directly through
that to reach Delvay.” Jala protested.

“I know, and it’s exactly what I need. If
nature herself can’t stop me how could anything in Rivana possibly
have a chance? My ego took a heavy blow, Jala. I need to get my
confidence back fully.” he looked ready to say more, but fell
silent at the sound of a bowstring twanging loudly behind him.

All eyes shifted to Dray once more as the
Blight calmly lowered his weapon and walked toward a crumpled black
form in the grass. Kneeling slowly he picked up the crow’s body and
drew his arrow from it. “They make good fletching.” He offered in
feeble explanation as he noticed their attention. It was only after
he had spoken that Zoelyn realized every arrow in his quiver bore
black feathers.

“We will get along just fine.” Grim said with
a slow smile. He nodded his head slightly and looked to Shade. “We
have an appointment in Rivana to keep. Let’s quit wasting time and
get it over with.” Turning back he smiled at Dray once more. “I’ll
tell you about your father on the flight.” He offered as the Blight
moved to stand next to him.

“Really not sure if you should have killed
one of Death’s minions right before we fly through a massive storm
on our way to an impossible mission, but ah well. What’s a bit more
challenge?” Shade said with a sigh before turning back to Jala.
“I’ll let you know the moment I head for Glis.” He promised
her.

“I will meet you there.” Jala agreed, but her
eyes were still lingering on the dead crow.

Zoelyn couldn’t blame her. The sight of the
creature was holding her attention as well, and she only hoped Dray
hadn’t noticed the look of horror that had crossed her face when he
had picked it up. It was like seeing Seth dead, and a part of her
was wailing like a child at the sight of it. She knew how Dray felt
about Seth however, and she knew she should feel the same way after
all of the charm magic the demon had used on her. That didn’t mean
she did though.

“It’s just a bird, Zoey. He doesn’t suffer
when one of them dies he only loses his sight into our world for a
time.” Shade whispered to her in a reassuring voice.

“How do you know that?” She returned softly
in a voice she hoped only he could hear.

“It’s a guess based on the fact that Dray is
still walking around with a quiver full of black arrows. If Seth
suffered when a crow died I think he likely would have killed Dray
with the first dead bird.” Shade replied with a faint smile.

“Why can’t my friends just get along?” Zoelyn
sighed heavily.

“My sentiments exactly.” Shade grinned and
draped an arm lightly across her shoulders. With a gentle tug he
began leading her toward the Spellhawk. “It comes with power I
think. The more powerful you are, the harder you are to reason
with. It’s kind of funny when you think about it though. The higher
up the evolutionary ladder we climb the more base and primal we
become.”

“Why aren’t you difficult to get along with
then? Jala says you are more powerful than most you just don’t show
it.” Zoelyn asked softly.

Shade smiled widely and too her amazement
gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. There was a faint tingle as
her curse nipped at his life force and she mentally scolded herself
for not controlling it in time. She hadn’t been expecting Shade to
touch her on bare flesh though, but if Shade minded the fraction of
lost power he didn’t show it at all.

“Thank you for that. My ego can use all of
the bolstering it can get today.” Shade said with genuine
gratitude. With a faint chuckle he shrugged one shoulder and gazed
toward his ship. The goblin was already milling by the steps and by
its agitated stance it had been waiting there for a while. “I don’t
follow any of the rules I suppose. I think that’s why I can’t seem
to find my place in this world. I keep looking for others that
think like me, and I’m slowly realizing I’m a broken mold. There
aren’t any others like me. Jala is close, but I still find myself
shaking my head at her. She is doing what she has to in order to be
a High lady, and I understand that. It simply tells me that I could
never be a High Lord.”

“So what are you going to do after you deal
with Rivana and rescue the prisoners in Sanctuary?” Zoelyn asked as
they paused beside the ship.

Shade grinned at her and dropped his arm from
her shoulders. With a heavy breath he shrugged then opened the door
and motioned them all inside. “Damn good question. I’m sure I’ll
think of an answer when the time comes. I’m good at impromptu.” He
spoke cheerfully, but Zoelyn didn’t miss the glint of sadness in
his blue eyes as he turned away. His words were positive, but she
could see clearly that Shade didn’t fully expect to survive to the
end of it all and so he hadn’t bothered to consider what he would
do after it. He dropped his arm from her shoulder before she could
press the subject and she watched in silence as he opened the door
to his ship and disappeared inside it. There was no hesitation or
fear in him at all. Her eyes moved from the door and followed Grim
and Dray as they moved toward the ship. Neither of them looked
concerned either, only determination lit their faces and she
wondered how many friends she would watch die before Sanctuary
finally knew peace. “Even one would be too many.” Zoelyn whispered
as she stepped into the ship.

The Darklands

The throne room was hollow silence aside from
the steady tapping of Finn’s finger on the table top. Seth watched
with growing impatience as the Lord of Death stared down at the
game board between them. It had been Finn’s turn for nearly ten
minutes and Seth was beginning to wonder if Finn was truly
contemplating his next move. He leaned back in his chair ignoring
the creaking of his leather armor and wondered if he should even
bother trying to bring Finn’s attention back to the game pieces. It
wasn’t that he truly had an interest in playing, Fiona had informed
him that Finn needed to be occupied and so he was trying his best
to occupy the man. Ever since his visit to Jala, Finn had been
morose and barely spoke to anyone. Even his judgments over the dead
had slackened and once more the spirits awaiting his time were
lining the streets.

With a heavy frown Seth kicked the table leg
harshly sending the carved pieces scattering in all directions.
Finn sat abruptly back in his chair and watched one of the pieces
roll to the floor before turning his annoyed glare to Seth.

“Why don’t you just tell me what is eating
you and we can both drop the pretense of having any interest in
this?” Seth grumbled as he waved a gloved hand over the table
top.

Finn’s eyes narrowed and his finger resumed
its infuriating tapping. He remained silent for another long moment
then met Seth’s eyes squarely once more. “Why didn’t they just put
you in charge here if they needed to replace a corrupted Divine?
Why did they steal my life for this duty?” he asked in a voice so
low it was barely audible. “You have mastery of magic and know how
the Darklands work. It just seems as though it would have been more
practical than wasting so much time training me.”

With a bitter chuckle Seth smiled at Finn and
raised an eyebrow. “Do you want the blunt truth Milord or do you
require sweet words today? You have been sulking like a little girl
so I’m not sure how to respond here.”

Finn’s glare intensified and sparks of anger
rose in his eyes, but it was far better than the depression he had
been wallowing in as far as Seth was concerned. “You are a fine one
to speak of sulking. A few weeks ago you were talking suicide as I
recall.”

Seth shrugged his smile still firmly in
place, but remained silent.

“The blunt truth you ass.” Finn snapped
finally and Seth had to resist the urge to chuckle again. There
were so few people left that were brave enough to insult him.

“I would have devoured most of the souls and
War knew it. I’m not sure how fully you understand our delicate
little balance here so I will explain fully. Our Lifestream is a
cheap facsimile of the one beyond the barrier. It cannot produce
souls as the true Lifestream can. Beyond the barrier if a soul were
destroyed it would be replaced in a manner of hours. In here it
takes years for a new soul to form. We are dependent on the
reincarnation of our dead, and with me in control, well…” Seth’s
voice trailed off and he raised both hands in a helpless gesture.
“Let’s just say I hate too many in the sunlit world to allow them
to have what I cannot. Why should I give them a second chance when
I won’t get one?”

“Maybe if you showed one shred of redemption
you would get a second chance.” Finn muttered sourly. He leaned
forward on the table and to Seth’s vast relief finally stopped the
constant tapping of his finger. With an idle flick of his finger he
set one of the game pieces to spinning and stared at it
dismally.

“With you, yes that is possible, but we were
speaking of me coming to power without you in the equation.” Seth
said quietly. “After dealing with the Lady bitch for as long as I
did I promise you fair judgment would have been the last thing on
my mind.”

“Even if I gave it to you now I have nothing
to go back to.” Finn whispered and there was a glint to his eyes
that almost looked like unshed tears. “I had so much and I never
truly realized how precious it was until it was gone.”

Seth stared hard at him and shook his head
slowly. “What happened to your belief in destiny? Haven’t you been
spouting that crap at me for months?” he demanded. He had thought
the harshness of his tone would snap Finn back to anger, but the
Lord of Death showed no reaction at all beyond a faint smile.

“I held that which I most desire for a few
breaths and pushed it away from me again.” Finn whispered. “If this
is destiny I’m going to kill the Aspect of Fate.”

Despair hung about Finn like a shroud and
Seth fell silent once more as he considered his lord. He wasn’t the
right man for this sort of situation. Finn needed someone with a
gift of words, and without his charm magic Seth knew words were
woefully inadequate. “I suppose I could kill Valor for you.” He
offered at last, when no other suggestion came to mind.

“I fail to see how your offer to kill my best
friend is supposed to lighten my spirits.” Finn grumbled. He
flicked the game piece once more and sent it spinning from the
table before collapsing back into his chair to glare at Seth once
more.