The Crow King's Wife (28 page)

“Continue.” Finn prompted. The book he had
picked up was lying forgotten in his lap and he was watching the
bard with interest. He glanced at Seth and raised an eyebrow. “I’ve
never heard this tale. I had no idea you spent your spare time
luring peasant girls into pampering you.”

Seth snorted with amusement and waved a hand
at the bard. “You heard your master. Continue.” He ordered
quietly.

The bard took another deep breath and bowed
his head slightly to Finn before his rich voice rose once more.
“For days she cared for the creature and often carried it with her
on her wanderings never realizing what she truly held. To her the
crow was a creature of the forest, an innocent animal that had been
wounded cruelly, but in truth it was far more than a crow. It was
in fact the Crow King himself that Karalea devoted so much kindness
to and had she simply killed the creature when it was weakened the
world would have been a brighter place, and perhaps that small
village would still stand today. That was not her nature however
and over time the creature healed until it once again had the
strength for flight. Her heart lifted to see it survive such a
grievous wound and with a loving hand she released it back into the
wild. For days all was peaceful and her life returned to normal.
Then in the still of night the first dream came to her and in her
sleep she saw truly what she had saved. The Crow King himself spoke
to her and tried to lure her to him with sweet words, but Karalea
refused his charm. She was no fool and she knew the danger of the
Crow King. He was a creature of hell with the blackest of souls and
no matter how sweetly he spoke she knew it was lies. For many
nights he plagued her dreams with temptations until the folk of the
village began to see the haunted look in her eyes. They begged her
to tell them her troubles, but she was not the sort to burden
others with her pain and so she kept her silence until the tempting
dreams turned to nightmares. As his sweet words shifted to threats
she went first to her mother and told her all. In ignorance her
mother bade her be silent and hold strong. She didn’t want her
daughter to suffer, but she was foolish enough to believe the Crow
King could only haunt dreams and that he had no strength over the
pure of heart.”

Finn held up a hand to still the bard and the
spirit fell silent at once. Turning in his seat he regarded Seth
for a moment. “Didn’t you dreamwalk to Zoey a few days ago?” he
asked cautiously.

Seth smiled at the memory and nodded his
head. “I did and it was sweeter than I could have hoped. She was
already dreaming about me when I stepped into her thoughts and
while it wasn’t exactly an accurate image of me it was still a
flattering one.”

Nodding slowly Finn watched him with a
dubious look on his face and then nodded to the bard once more.
“Continue, and do exactly as Seth told you. Tell it in the Glis
fashion and as honestly as you can remember. I have a feeling there
is more to this story than I am going to want to hear.”

The bard’s expression never shifted as he
bowed his head to Finn, but Seth didn’t miss the dark glance the
spirit gave him before continuing. “With the nightmares and threats
came the crows in flocks such as the folk had never before seen.
They gathered about the village devouring every bit of food they
could find from the gardens and surrounding forests. The air was
constantly alive with their calls even in the dead of night. For
days they lingered and tormented the peaceful village with their
noise and thieving nature. Karalea felt pangs at seeing her friends
and family suffer the nuisance, but kept her silence as her mother
had bid her and worked all the harder at her gathering to provide
the village with what the birds had stolen. Her silence and refusal
infuriated the Crow King and he realized that his minions were not
enough to frighten her. Karalea was strong of heart and spirit and
he knew by watching her endure his minor torments so stoically that
it would take more to break her will, and so the nightmares faded
away and the flocks of crows left. For a time she believed he had
given up, and for the first time in weeks she slept in peace. It
wasn’t until the next night that she knew the truth. In the dark
hours of early morning there was a noise outside her door. Thinking
it was her mother or father she rose to see what had brought them
from their beds so early. The air beyond her room was chill and it
was not one of her beloved parents waiting for her. The creature
was hideous with the marks of the grave still upon it. Once perhaps
it had been human, but no trace of humanity remained in the glowing
eyes it set upon her. In terror she stumbled back into her room and
braced herself against the door as the nightmare beyond slammed its
strength into the rough wooden planks. For what seemed like hours
it clawed at the door snarling and growling as it hissed threats in
a low guttural voice. Only with the Crow King would she be safe it
warned her, but through her sobs and cries of terror she held it
back and refused the newest threat. It fled with the first light of
dawn and Karalea sagged in exhaustion. Only by sheer force of will
did she manage to drag herself to her parent’s door. She expected
to find them dead, for the had not responded to the noise of the
night, but to her vast relief they lay sleeping and with only a
gentle nudge she roused them. Through tears she told her father
everything and watched as his face darkened with anger and then
paled in fear as her story unfolded. His reaction was as different
from her mother’s as night is from day and within but an hour of
hearing her troubles he had gathered the entire village to his
home. He told them all of the Crow King’s torments toward his
daughter. Another place might have turned Karalea away and banished
her from their village, but that was not the sort of place she
dwelled. Instead the folk rose in righteous outrage and vowed to
protect her and see her safe until help could be summoned even if
they must petition the High Lord himself.”

“Seth I don’t like where this is going.” Finn
warned in a low voice. He had shifted in his chair and the book was
once more on the table. Apparently the Lord of Death had lost all
interest in his research for the time being.

Seth smiled and remained silent simply waving
his hand for the bard to continue. It was a dark story, he knew
that, but it was a story Zoey would know given how long she had
lived in Glis. Once she realized what he was doing she would know
what to do, and as clever as she was it wouldn’t take her long to
piece together his plan.

The Spirit hesitated his gaze flicking
between Seth and back to Finn until he was waved to continue by
Finn as well. His voice faltered at first and then regained the
rich tones he had no doubt been famous for in life. “At first
guards were placed in an attempt to protect her from the spirits
that came to torment her, but after several brave men suffered
dearly for their service she was moved to the temple. When even the
holy ground failed to keep the torments at bay Karalea began to
rest under the protective light of the sun and remained awake and
terrified during the long lonely hours of the night. As the
troubles continued first one messenger then another was sent to the
capital to beseech help, but no answer came, and not a soul that
was sent returned. The days progressed and her suffering increased
as did the pain of her village. The game that had always been
bountiful in the forests fled and for many days the hunters
returned to their family with empty hands. Then one by one the
hunters began to disappear as well. Karalea’s heart swelled to
breaking as each life was lost for she knew it was because of her
that they suffered. She vowed to her people that she would
surrender herself to the Crow King if he would end their torment,
but her village loved her so that they refused her brave offer. As
the guilt grew in her she insisted it was the only way and so to
protect her they began to lock her inside the temple and prayed
every night that salvation would come before all was lost. It
wasn’t until her own father was lost on one of his hunts that
Karalea truly lost all hope and knew that if she didn’t act the
entire village would fall to ruin. Already her people were
starving. For with the theft from the crows and the lack of meat
from the hunters there was nothing left to them. So it was that in
the dark of a moonless night that she climbed to the rafters of the
small stone church. She knew that they had locked the doors and the
windows fast below, but they had not considered the small window
near the roof. As quiet as a mouse she crept through the window and
down to the narrow porch below it. She could hear the fearful
whispers of the men who guarded her below, but she was the daughter
of a hunter and so knew how to move as silent as a shadow. Without
light to guide her she made her way into the deep forest to a glade
that she knew from her wanderings and there she called upon the
Crow King. He came without pause to claim the prize he had worked
so dearly for and so it was that Karalea was never again seen by
those she loved so dearly and the Crow King won his wife. The
village that she had sacrificed herself to protect faded with her
for no one that dwelled there could remain without thinking of the
beautiful sweet girl that had been stolen from amongst them and the
torments they had endured on her behalf. To this day that land lays
barren, and to this day the people of Glis are wary of all
creatures they do not know as their own, especially crows.”

Finn stared at the bard for a long moment and
then turned slowly to regard Seth. “So you plan to romance her by
sending her nightmares, dead people, and cursing her home?” he
asked in an incredulous voice. Shaking his head slowly he stared at
Seth then rubbed his face quickly. “Tell me that isn’t a true
story. By the look on his face I think it might be.” Finn added and
waved a hand toward the bard who stood glowering.

“Karalea lived in Glis some time ago. The
sleepless nights and haunted look came from a tryst she was having
with what she thought was a wandering hunter. The lad was handsome
and Karalea was naïve. The dead that haunted her were sent by a
mage and most of them were illusions. The crows were summoned and
the game was scarce because her lover had a large group with him
that was preying upon the same forest for their own comforts. The
story she gave about the Crow King was rubbish to hide what she
truly did in the moonlit hours, and when she disappeared it wasn’t
because I kidnapped her. It was because she had finally run off
with the slaver that had been seducing her for months. The hunters
that disappeared were victims of the same group and all of them
eventually found themselves in Nerathane as slaves. The men I’m
sure died from the labor, but Karalea still lives there. She had
enough Elder Blood in her veins to lead a long life and has existed
as a courtesan for years.” Seth explained calmly. He leaned back in
his chair and grinned at the Bard who was watching him with
doubt.

“What about Zoey? Why don’t you just go to
her in person? Why would you put her through torment when you could
simply go see her and apologize?” Finn pressed with a note of
frustration clear in his voice.

“I can’t go to her in person right now. She
is with Ryvenken so it isn’t safe. I should have before, but as you
remember I was busy sulking and angry with Jala. Now it’s too late.
So either I wait for Ryvenken to leave or I convince her to come to
me. The latter is the faster. I have a feeling he will linger
around her for a while. He knows what she truly is now and he will
want to keep an eye on her because of it.” Seth sighed and tried to
ignore the confusion on Finn’s face. He would have to explain more
and he knew it, but decided to hold his tongue until Finn forced
him to speak. He gave a meaningful glance to the spirit that
lingered beside them and silently prayed Finn would send the bard
away before he forced him to speak. What he was going to share
wasn’t something he wanted to become common knowledge.

Finn sat silent and seemed to be considering
his words carefully. He waved the bard away from them as he looked
up and settled his dark green eyes on Seth once more. “I’ve never
seen you show hesitation over confronting anyone before. Even
Hemlock doesn’t seem to scare you.” He observed quietly.

“I didn’t say I was scared, I said it wasn’t
safe, and so I’m showing caution.” Seth corrected a bit too
sharply. To even suggest he was feeding Lutheron was an insult,
though he didn’t think Finn realized that.

“I don’t know the name Ryvenken, but you have
never shown hesitation around Shade or Dray so I’m assuming you are
referring to Caleb Faulklin, but I have a very hard time believing
he is at threat to you. Granted he is formidable, but Seth you are
terrifying when you fight.” Finn spoke slowly and Seth could see
the confusion still present in his gaze.

“Ryvenken the Keeper is not a person it is a
thing. It is a sword to be precise and quite possibly the most
powerful weapon within the Barrier. Caleb carries it. He plundered
it from one of the fallen Veyetta cities and it has accepted him
and bonded with him. Don’t judge him by his age or by his family,
he is more than that now. Ryvenken was crafted for one of the
Divine, and one of the most dangerous Divine at that. It holds
memory and power and it grants those gifts to whoever it bonds
with. At the same time it drains power and memory from those that
wield it until they are one. Every time Caleb uses that sword he
gives more of himself to it and it becomes more of him. Who he was
will eventually fade into the blade and his body will be a shell
for the combined memories of the sword. As much as he has already
used it in battle I would venture to guess that very little of his
original mind remains and his power has grown to nearly match
yours. Ryvenken knows me, I have faced that blade in battle before
and I know what it is capable of. I don’t care if a three year old
child holds it. If they are bonded I am cautious, and Caleb
Faulklin was formidable before the bonding.” Seth kept his voice
low as he spoke but laced every word with sincerity. He didn’t want
Finn to ignore the warning in his words.