The Crow King's Wife (30 page)

She could hear cries of alarm from within the
city and the sound of running boots. It wouldn’t be long before
they were swarmed by guards. Yet she seemed to be the only one
troubled by that fact. Dray had faded from view with his camouflage
and neither Grim nor Shade looked the slightest bit concerned. “I
somehow doubt they are going to be happy.” She whispered to Dray,
or at least where Dray had been. For all she knew he had already
moved inside the city and she was talking to herself.

“He should have installed a bell or knocker
or something if he didn’t want his gates broken.” Shade observed
with a smile then strolled toward the gate with a nonchalance that
she most certainly didn’t feel. “Damn, Caleb. You broke the bar
holding the gates closed in two and It’s the size of a bloody
tree.”

“When he repairs it he will put up more than
one bar and reinforce it with iron.” Grim replied calmly. He
motioned for Zoelyn to follow with a casual wave of his hand as he
adjusted the backpack once more then stepped into the shadowed
halls of Valemuir behind Shade. There was a flurry of movement by
her legs then the goblin was past her in its frantic haste to catch
Shade with the dirt covered rock once more clutched in its
hands.

“Definitely the ugliest child I’ve ever
seen.” Dray grumbled and she started slightly at his voice. He
hadn’t replied to her earlier comment so she had thought he was
already inside the city. “And you still jump when I speak.” He
sighed and cuffed her gently on the shoulder. “C’mon might as well
see what is going on. It would be nice to know if Shade is going to
get us thrown into a Delvay prison.”

“The gates are actually intended to open
outwards.” A man’s voice was announcing from inside. It wasn’t Neph
talking. Zoelyn was certain of that. She had no doubt that her
brother would have chosen more colorful language as a greeting.
“And the wards should have killed whoever touched them.” The man
added in a concerned tone as she stepped up behind Grim and peaked
around him to get a look at the speaker.

She had seen him once before she realized
with a start, and he wasn’t Delvay. He had been at the last stand
in Arovan, and it had been his voice of reason that had prevented
the alliance from falling apart there. She couldn’t remember his
name, but she was grateful for his calm manner now. By the
expressions on the guard’s faces around him they did not share his
opinion on how to deal with the intruders. The man was dressed
genteel in a long dark coat and his brown hair pulled back loosely
at his shoulders and tied with a neat black ribbon. Compared to the
burly armor clad guards beside him he looked harmless, and yet he
seemed to hold authority over them despite how the Delvay typically
despised anything refined.

“Well now you know that they can open inward,
that you need better wards and more than one bar across the gate,
Madren. Better to learn those facts from friends than enemies.”
Shade’s voice was pleasant as he spoke but there was a trace of
confusion to his voice. “Why are you here?” he asked after a
moment’s pause, obviously deciding that it was better to get the
question out of the way quickly.

Madren Goswin
, the name returned to
her in a flash. The man before them was the High Lord of Goswin,
and she found herself just as confused by his presence as Shade
was. Grim had stiffened at the name and she pressed a gloved hand
to the back of his arm. She wasn’t sure why his expression had
darkened at the High Lord’s name, but she sincerely doubted
attacking the only peaceful person in sight just after breaking
down the entry gates was the best course of action.

“Delvay and Goswin are allies. Delvay needed
support, Goswin answered.” Madren replied quietly and his gaze
moved past them to rest on the gates. With a flick of his hand he
motioned to the guards behind him. “Get a work crew up here and see
to the repairs. Inform our builders of how easily the gates were
breached and see that improvements are made. I will show our guests
to Lord Delvay myself. I’m sure he will be eager to speak with
them.” Madren’s tone shifted from casual to commanding without any
hesitation and with a quick nod he motioned for them to follow as
he turned toward the city.

Zoelyn had expected the guards to balk at his
orders, but they moved to Madren’s command without hesitation. She
noticed the continued scowls on several faces, especially when they
saw the goblin, but it wasn’t their expressions that brought the
frown to her face. It was the fact that she didn’t recognize any of
them. She was home amongst her own people and they were all
strangers to her. When she had been planning to come to Delvay it
had been a secret homecoming in her mind. None of them would or
ever could know her, but she had believed she would know all of
them.

With a quiet sigh she pulled her mind back
from those paths and fell in step beside Grim. There would be
plenty of time to figure things out later, for right now she had
more important things to worry about. Such as controlling Grim
until he was out of Delvay. The memory of him so casually
suggesting he might have to kill her brother was still very fresh
in her mind, and the look she was giving the Lord of Goswin wasn’t
much better.

“I thought Neph hated you?” Shade said. He
was matching pace with Madren and looked perfectly at ease, but
then it was Shade and he seemed to treat everyone with the same
friendly acceptance he was showing now. From what she had seen of
the man she knew she couldn’t trust his assessment of people. To
Shade there was no such thing as a stranger, and he seemed to trust
everyone until they gave him a reason not to. In her mind trust
wasn’t something given freely. It had to be earned.

“We have an understanding between us now.”
Madren replied casually. All trace of command was gone from his
voice and posture now that the guards were no longer in sight.
Madren glanced back at Grim as he walked then looked to Shade.
“Caleb Faulklin?” he asked apparently deciding that Shade was the
friendlier of the two considering Grim’s continued scowl.

“Old prison buddy of mine.” Shade offered
with a boyish grin.

Madren’s steps faltered, but he quickly
regained his composure and glanced once more back at Grim. “The
Sanctuary prison?” he asked hesitantly.

“Aspects no.” Shade shook his head quickly.
“Glis. I paid a social call to the Blights and as it turns out they
aren’t too social. They decided to keep me as an ornament in an old
barn, and Caleb had the good fortune to be my roommate there.”

“I see. Perhaps we should wait until we are
with Neph to discuss this further then. If it involves the Blights
it involves Delvay as well.” Madren said and his pace seemed to
quicken with his words.

As both men fell silent she found her
attention straying to the city and some of her tension eased. The
guards had been strangers, and the outer city had been recently
rebuilt, but the area she walked through now was as familiar as an
old friend. This was the oldest part of Valemuir and she doubted
the Rivasans could have destroyed it even if they had wanted to.
When the original city had been built her people had used the
mountains themselves as the foundation. Each of the massive
buildings around her was carved into the stone itself. Only the
outward facing walls were mortared stones. The rest of the
structures were raw stone walls that had been smoothed and shaped
to fit the Delvay needs. To bring down one of the buildings would
collapse part of the mountain itself. Valemuir was as solid as the
people that built it, and just as enduring.

A smile formed on her lips as the sigil of
Delvayon loomed before them carved deeply into the walls of the
city itself. Two more turns down the wide stone hall and she would
be standing before the door to her home. Her heart fluttered a bit
at the thought and she closed her eyes for a moment trusting her
memories to keep her from bumping into the walls as she walked.

“Are you ok?” Dray’s voice broke the silence
with a whisper that was barely audible and she nodded silently in
response. “You haven’t spoken a word since we entered the city.” He
pressed.

“It’s like walking through a dream.” Zoelyn
said after a long moment. “I know it all, and yet it isn’t me that
knows it.” She kept her voice low and there was hesitation to her
words. It wasn’t really a good explanation for what she was
feeling, but it was the best she could manage without speaking the
truth where Madren might over hear. He seemed like a nice person,
but she didn’t know him, and she had a hard enough time trusting
people she did know.

Madren’s steps had slowed as they drew closer
to the door to House Delvay. The High lord rubbed the back of his
neck and then glanced to Shade. “I’m not sure what kind of mood he
will be in. He has been distracted for days. I believe Zoelyn’s
presence will improve his mood drastically, but I can’t promise
that.”

Zoelyn blinked in surprise and stared at the
man. She had been concerned about him discovering who she truly
was, but with what he had just said it was obvious he already knew.
A twinge rose in her chest as she realized there was only one way
he could know. “Neph told you?” her voice was soft but carried
easily through the quiet hall.

Madren nodded once and gave her a faint
smile. “There are only a few that he can trust his secrets with,
but I believe I am the only one in the city that knows this
particular secret.”

She nodded slowly and watched him with new
found interest as he turned back to the door and slowly pushed it
open. Neph liked people even less than she did, and if he found
this man trustworthy it would likely be in her interest to learn
more of him. The world was filled with enemies. It was allies that
were in short supply.

“Neph, are you busy? Shade has arrived and he
brought Zoelyn.” Madren called in a cautious voice. He peeked
around the edge of the door, but seemed unwilling to actually enter
the house without Neph’s permission.

“Damn Madren are you still scared of him?”
Shade sighed as he brushed past Madren and pushed the door open
fully. “Neph! I am short on time and we need to talk.” He called in
a louder voice as he disappeared inside the room.

Zoelyn hung back as Grim followed Shade in
and glanced at Madren who was still eyeing the door skeptically.
“What has he been distracted with?” She asked calmly.

Madren started to reply but fell silent as a
flurry of movement sounded from within the room and the door
crashed shut in front of them with a resounding boom. Muffled
curses echoed through the wooden door and Madren shoved his weight
against it in a frantic effort to get inside. “Damn it!” He hissed
through clenched teeth.

With growing alarm Zoelyn added her weight to
the door and pushed her way into the room before Madren had a
chance to move past her. Shade had been the obstruction holding the
door closed she realized as she watched him stagger toward one of
the walls. He seemed dazed and his jaw was hanging at an unnatural
angle. Her gaze flashed quickly to the other side of the room in
time to see Grim drawing his fist back. Neph was pinned against the
wall, but judging by the bruise forming on Grim’s face he was
giving as good as he was getting.

“No!” Zoelyn’s voice rose to nearly a scream
as she sprinted across the room and launched herself at Grim’s
upraised arm. He was already beginning the swing as she threw
herself on him and her weight pulled his arm downward to crash into
the stone wall rather than her brother’s face. Squirming
frantically Zoelyn wrapped herself more tightly about his arm and
braced both feet on Neph trying to force the two men apart. Snarls
rose from the ground below her as the goblin launched itself onto
Neph’s leg. Apparently it had decided that her actions were an
invitation to join the fight. “Dray! Help me!” she bellowed as she
tried to nudge the goblin back with one foot while still bracing
Neph far enough away to keep him from striking Grim.

“What in the bloody hell is going on?” Madren
demanded with the air of command in his voice once more. His words
did no good though, both men were obviously too angry for simple
conversation to satisfy them.

Dray had managed to get a firm hold on the
goblin and was trying to pull it back, but it was taking all of his
attention and she could feel the muscles of Grim’s arm tensing once
more. She wouldn’t be able to hold him back and she knew it. She
had one of his arms pinioned, but he was more than capable of
throwing a solid punch with either arm.

There was a scuff of movement behind her, but
she couldn’t spare her attention to see who it was coming to help.
She doubted either Shade or Madren had the physical strength to
break up the fight completely, but maybe with their help the men
could at least be restrained. A hand moved gently past her to rest
on Grim and she felt the muscles in his arm go slack at the touch.
With a squeak she realized she was falling as Grim collapsed, but
strong arms caught her before she could hit the floor. Neither Grim
nor Neph were so fortunate however. Both had fallen boneless to the
cold stone floor. Neph had the benefit of sliding down the wall,
but Grim had hit hard. In a daze she stared up at Shade’s face and
her eyes widened at the look of cold fury lighting his features.
She had never seen him angry before and the sight was more
terrifying than Neph’s temper had ever been.

He didn’t spare a glance for her as he gently
sat her on her feet behind him and knelt before the two men. Calmly
he turned both of their limp heads to face him and stared down at
their dumbfounded faces. “I am so bloody sick of watching my
friends attempt to kill each other and finally I’ve reached the end
of my patience. I don’t have time for this kind of idiocy.” Shade
began in a low voice with tightly restrained anger lacing each
word. “You both consider me a pussy because I don’t participate in
your male dominance crap. Well guess what? You are both lying
helpless on your backs and as far as male dominance goes, you are
both my bitches. I could kill you with the flick of a finger.” He
traced a clawed finger across both of their throats to emphasis his
words. “I’m not a complete ass though, and as much as I would like
to simplify my life by doing so it’s because I’m pissed and I’m
rational enough to realize that.” He pulled his hands back from
them and leaned back on his heels. With a heavy sigh he rubbed his
face and flexed his jaw as if testing it to see if it was fully
healed. “I’m not sure exactly why you greeted me with a right hook
Neph, but if you ever strike me again without warning you will wake
up with the words
Shade’s Bitch
carved into your forehead.
As for you Grim, while I do appreciate your support I can handle my
friends. This is the third time today that you have torn into one
of them, although the first two times it was only verbal assault.
Where my enemies are concerned I am grateful for your support, but
leave my god damn friends alone.” Shade’s last words came out as
more of a snarl and he took another moment to rein his anger in.
Letting out a long slow breath he pulled a hand down across his
face much as a frustrated parent that was faced with a wayward
toddler. “Neph may be a complete ass, but I am more than capable of
handling him as you can see. I know you are frustrated and angry
due to other circumstances, but if I can’t trust you, I will leave
you behind.” He finished in a voice that was only a bit calmer.