The Crow King's Wife (37 page)

“Are they trained birds?” Dray whispered and
Zoey shook her head in silent answer her eyes locked on Caleb as
the man chittered to the hawk on his arm.

Shade glanced up at the second bird. It
seemed to be circling lower as well and by the way its head was
cocked toward Caleb it looked as though it was listening to its
companion’s conversation. After what seemed like just a few moments
Caleb nodded and smiled to the bird as he withdrew a small pouch
from his coat pocket. To Shade’s amazement the hawk seized it in
its claws and took flight as Caleb tossed a second pouch to the
ground a good distance from where he stood. The larger bird that
had been circling swooped down and snatched the leather purse
before it had managed to tumble more than a couple inches and was
back in the sky once more before Shade could draw a breath.

“The female didn’t trust me enough to even
land.” Caleb sighed with what looked like sadness on his face. “The
birds of Glis are more social. I can only imagine how the Rivasans
must treat nature though, so I suppose they are wise to avoid
people.” He added as he turned back to his companions.

“So you just hired birds.” Shade observed
mildly and nodded his head once. “I don’t understand how you hired
birds or what they would do with coins, but can I ask what exactly
you hired them for?”

“I didn’t hire them I gave them pouches of
the seeds to scatter over the city. I intend to do the same with
the rats once we are inside the walls. They will spread them
farther than I could manage on my own and what I offered in return
was far better for them than coins.” Caleb corrected as he glanced
toward the ship then back to Shade.

Shade nodded in understanding as he stored
the ship in a stone. He wasn’t about to leave it in the middle of a
dry river bed and they would need it to make their escape from the
city.

“What did you offer them?” Dray asked
quietly.

“To eliminate the humans from their land.”
Caleb answered as he began the slow climb up the sandy bank toward
the road leading to Prendington.

Zoelyn smiled faintly and nodded her head
once as if in confirmation. “I always thought he leaned more toward
the ways of a Black druid than anyone else in his family.” She
spoke softly and then seemed to notice the confusion on their
faces. “A true Druid seeks harmony with nature by finding balance
with the humans and animals. A Black druid prefers to eliminate the
humans to grant the animals harmony. It always seemed strange to me
that he was the Marshall for Amdany when he doesn’t really like
cities. I suppose it was just another sacrifice he made for Nel.
It’s hard to imagine a love so strong that you would give up
everything that you are to see them smile.” Her voice trailed off
as she turned from them and started after Caleb.

Shade glanced toward Dray just in time to see
a flash of emotion flicker across the Blight’s face before the boy
raised his camouflage and disappeared.

“I don’t think that kind of love is really
that uncommon.” Shade said with a faint smile then grunted as
Dray’s elbow connected solidly with his gut. “I mean look at Jala
and Valor.” Shade added trying to keep his voice normal despite the
air Dray had knocked out of him. He glowered toward the area that
Dray had vanished in and shifted his bag on his shoulder. “It’s
also possible that he was Marshall for Micah. You’d be amazed what
some people will do for friends no matter what it costs them.”

* * *

Shade shifted silently where he stood and
tried to ignore the ankle deep filth in the alley. He wasn’t sure
which was less appealing, the stench from the garbage or the smell
drifting from the slave quarter of the city. It might have been
bearable had he been in his true form, but in order to remain
hidden well he had switched to the Blight form for its camouflage
abilities. Unfortunately while the creatures were adept at hiding,
they also had remarkable senses, and his sense of smell was about
to make him vomit. With an effort he pushed his nausea back down
and tried his best to refocus his mind on something besides his own
discomfort.

His attention moved across the rotting
produce and various other items he didn’t want to contemplate to
settle on Caleb. The man was crouched deeper in the alley with a
small swarm of rats surrounding him. All of the rodents were
attentive and some even stood on hind legs as if to hear Caleb’s
various squeaking noises better. In another time or place the sight
would have been comical; today he couldn’t even summon a faint
smile. Too many other concerns echoed through his thoughts, the
foremost being how exactly Caleb would manage to explain what he
was doing if they wrong sort of person walked by the alley before
he was finished. Rivasan were talented with arcane magic, not
druidic powers. Amongst the Elder Blood the Fae and the Shifters
were the ones that excelled in the natural magic and neither of
those would be welcome in Prendington.

The squeaking conversation died down and
Shade let out a slow breath of relief as Caleb began handing out
tiny bags of seeds to each of the rodents. He didn’t understand
this part of the plan at all, but Caleb didn’t seem inclined to
elaborate on any of the details of his plan so Shade had no choice
but to follow blindly.

“Keep close to me and don’t get lost. I won’t
pause for you I’m running out of time.” Caleb whispered as he stood
slowly. He turned toward the west and began picking his way
carefully through the alley taking care to avoid the clogged
gutters that ran alongside the sandstone wall of the building.

He led them through alleys and backstreets
for several blocks and gradually the filth lessened as well as the
stench. With each turn they seemed to be moving into better parts
of town and by the time Caleb stopped once more Shade couldn’t
detect even a hint of the slave markets in the air. With a frown
Caleb pulled a rag from his backpack and leaned back against the
alley examining his boots with a critical eye.

Realizing they were going to be stopped for
at least a few minutes if Caleb intended to remove the filth from
himself Shade moved quietly to the mouth of the alley and glanced
at the street beyond. Everything as far as he could see in both
directions was clean and orderly. The southern area of the road
seemed to be a merchant’s quarter and he could just make out the
bright banners of an open market in the distance. To the north the
shops and cafes gradually gave away to houses and apartment
buildings crafted in the same reddish sandstone that seemed to
comprise most of the city. Neither direction seemed a likely place
to locate Derrick Rivasa. Shade glanced back at Caleb who had just
finished wiping down his boots and wondered if he should even
bother asking what they were doing here. Chances were good that
Caleb would ignore that question as easily as he had ignored the
other dozen questions Shade had asked on the way to the city.

“You should stay here. I doubt any of you
will approve of this part of the plan.” Caleb murmured as he
stepped from the alley into the bright sunlight of the open street.
A few well-dressed passersby slowed to watch him with looks of
distaste on their fine faces, but no one openly rebuked his
presence.

“What part of the plan would this be?” Shade
whispered just loud enough for Caleb to hear him and crossed his
fingers that no one else in the area had hearing good enough to
detect his words.

“Luring Derrick out. An eye for an eye and
all.” Caleb returned softly before setting off at a brisk pace
toward to southern end of the street.

“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Dray mumbled from somewhere to his left.

“I haven’t a clue, but I’m not interested in
skulking in alleys and waiting.” Shade replied quietly. Carefully
he stepped from the alley and ghosted after Caleb. It took most of
his attention to avoid the scattered people on the street as well
as anything on the road that might give his presence away. Even
something as trivial as kicking an errant pebble could draw
attention to him. While he didn’t think anyone in this particular
area of town would notice something so small, he didn’t want to
take any chances.

Caleb crossed the street swiftly with a
determined stride and it took every ounce of skill Shade had just
to keep him in sight. There was little chance of losing him in the
crowd however even if he did manage to lose sight of him for a
time. Caleb’s dark cloak and plain grey chainmail stood out like a
crow in a songbird cage amongst the Rivasan nobles.

His steps veered toward one of the nicer
store fronts and Shade felt a moment’s hesitation at the sight of
the guard standing beside the door. The man eyed Caleb with
suspicion, but Caleb simply bowed his head and whispered something
before continuing toward the door. Shade hadn’t been close enough
to hear whatever was said, but it seemed to do the trick as the
guard didn’t protest Caleb’s entrance beyond a disgusted nod.

The door had barely closed completely behind
Caleb before a woman’s scream erupted from inside. The guard at the
door fumbled for his sword and rushed for the doorway just as Shade
himself was gaining the stairs. With a sprint he slid inside the
building behind the guard and managed to flatten himself against
the wall before anyone had a chance of bumping into him.

The scene inside was pure chaos and Caleb
stood at the heart of it all. Two guards lay dead on the floor to
either side of the door and a third was sprawled across a display
case. Caleb whirled as the last guard closed and delivered a
backhanded blow to the man’s head that sent him stumbling to his
knees. With a quick kick to the man’s face Caleb dropped him
completely to the floor and then turned toward the clerk who was
screaming in pure hysteria.

“Shut up or die your choice.” Caleb snarled
glaring at the woman with more hate than Shade had ever seen on a
person’s face. The clerk gave a hiccupping gasp and managed to
stifle her screams as Caleb’s attention left her and turned to
regard a woman crouching beside a display table of fabrics. His
sword arm relaxed as he gazed past her to the small boy clutching
her skirts and then finally came to rest on an older woman who
stood tight lipped and pressed firmly against the back wall.

Shade stared at the three apparent hostages
and felt his mouth go dry at the sight. All three were Elder Blood,
and all three had the very distinct features of House Rivasa. He
had no idea how Caleb had known the women would be here, but his
earlier words now made perfect sense. An eye for an eye, it was far
more fitting to say a wife for a wife. Derrick Rivasa had killed
Caleb’s wife and sister and Shade had the unsettling feeling he was
about to witness Caleb returning the favor. Shade’s stomach soured
at the thought. At the very least Evanell Faulklin had died
fighting for her life. Rivasan women were not trained in fighting
at all though. These women would be slaughtered like lambs. The
most useful magic skill a Rivasan woman typically learned was a
mending spell, and even that was considered unseemly for a noble
woman.

A small voice inside him screamed at the
thought and Shade found himself wondering if there was anything he
could even do that wouldn’t result in them all dying. He could
disable Caleb, but then the women would call the guards and he
doubted he could escape with Caleb before they arrived. He could of
course leave Caleb to the Rivasan mercy and escape alone, but he
would be better off driving a knife into his own chest and he knew
it. If he allowed the women to call down the guard on Caleb and
left him to die he would never sleep peacefully again. The only
option left was to remain silent and try to think of something to
say that might force Caleb to reconsider his plans.

“Kalleria Rivasa.” Caleb spoke the name in a
cold voice that sounded more like an accusation than a greeting.
His gaze was locked on the woman by the fabrics once more.

“I don’t know who you are, but you are quite
possibly the biggest fool I’ve ever seen. Do you have any idea what
the penalty will be for accosting members of the High Lord’s own
house? My brother rules this entire land and he will not tolerate
such disrespect!” It was the older woman by the wall that had
spoken rather than Kalleria, and even as the words came out of her
mouth she was straightening her posture and smoothing her skirts
with the indignation that only a pure noble could muster in this
sort of situation.

“A Mother for a Sister. That seems fair.”
Caleb muttered with a faint shrug of one shoulder. He was moving
before Shade could even open his mouth to protest. His sword
flashed once and the old woman’s last words faded into a gurgling
sob as blood began to spurt from her throat. Her hands clutched at
her neck in a vain attempt to stem the blood, but Shade had seen
the edge of the Shadowsteel sword and he knew there was no hope
there. With that single slash Caleb had likely cut to the bone
though the strike had looked like little more than a flick of his
wrist.

The clerk began to wail once more and Shade
silently crossed the room toward the woman. He doubted there was
anything he could do to save Kalleria, but he could silence the
clerk and she at least would survive.

“Please. What do you want? I don’t know who
you are or what you want.” Kalleria’s voice trembled as she spoke
and her hands grasped the boy at her skirt closer. Her dark eyes
were wide with fear and her tanned face had paled to a sallow
color.

The twisting in Shade’s stomach grew worse at
the sound of the woman’s desperation, and he nearly turned back
toward Caleb. The reason Caleb had advised him to remain in the
alley became abundantly clear. This was an act of pure evil in
Shade’s eyes, but it was for the greater good if it stopped
Derrick. At least he hoped it was. No matter how much he tried to
convince himself that it was worth it if Derrick died the words
were ringing hollow in his mind.