The Crow King's Wife

by Melissa Myers

  “For some of us this is the only world we have ever known and there is a hell of a lot up there that is worth fighting for. You don’t see the beauty because you are too bitter to look for it. You are the one with blinders on.” Finn growled. His bronzed face was contorted in frustration. He seemed unsure if he wanted to throttle Seth or punch him.

  “Then by all means Milord, remove the blinders and show me what is worth saving.” Seth said quietly.

  “I think I hate you. I know I’ve been baited, but I think there was a bit of truth in what you said. I don’t think you engineered that all just to rouse me.” Finn grumbled as he folded his arms over his chest in a mirror of Seth’s own stance.

  Seth smiled at him and shook his head slowly. “It was all truth and none of it was engineered. You are right I am blinded by bitterness, and I no longer have any desire to see the truth.”

  “So by sending you after Zoelyn I have damned her.” Finn rubbed his face and shook his head slowly as he turned away from Seth.

  “That all depends on Zoelyn. She is Delvay. She might break me before I can enlighten her.” Seth corrected with an amused smile.

  “And I will assist her in any way I can.” Finn promised. His gaze was roving over the throne room as he spoke. “You’re right. Part of my difficulty is this dismal place. It is impossible to keep focus when surrounded by shadows and gloom.” He said quietly and glanced back at Seth. Finn’s anger had faded once more, but there was no sign of the depression that had been haunting him. “Congratulations. You succeeded where Fiona failed miserably. You have managed to draw me back.”

  Seth smiled grimly and bowed his head slightly to Finn. “What are friends for?” He turned for the doors before Finn could respond. Finn was back, but there was still a lot to do before everything was safe once more. He hadn’t realized the Lord of Death had been so oblivious to his domain, and he knew the demons would have taken advantage of it. There would be a lot of blood to spill before the Darklands were secure again, and it was best to see to it himself and allow Finn to focus on less depressing things.

  Fiona was milling just outside the doors as he emerged and her eyes flew to him expectantly as if he were required to report to her.

  “Is he well?” she demanded when he tried to walk past her.

  Seth paused and turned to her. He despised the woman, but knew she was needed for now. “Am I reporting to you or War?” he asked coldly. Fiona might pretend she served Death, but he knew better. He was certain Finn realized it too.

  “Just answer the question.” Fiona snapped in irritation and glanced back toward the double doors that led to Finn’s throne. It was obvious that Finn had banished her from his sight or the woman would have already been inside and directing her questions to Finn.

  “He is angry which is better than depressed, and I am busy so skulk in the shadows a while longer and maybe he will summon you.” Seth replied coldly. The feathers of his cloak fluttered as he turned quickly and he ignored her as she called after him. There will be a time when Finn’s patience with her wears as thin as mine has and he will give her to me just as he did Yasny. Seth promised himself silently. The thought brought a smile to his face as he stepped from the warmth of the palace into the cold air of the Darklands.

  His hands dropped reflexively to his belt as he surveyed the city and his fingers wrapped lightly around his dagger hilts. There were several that he would have to check on tonight. He knew the troublemakers amongst the demons, and he knew the ones he would have to kill. The rest would require reminders of who held the power, but no more than that. A bit of pain and they would be cowed once more. He was the top of the food chain and by morning they would all remember that.

  As long as he supported Finn the Lord of Death’s reign was secure. That thought gave him pause, but he didn’t allow himself to focus on it. Finn was the first man he had ever willingly given his loyalty to. In the past his loyalty had always been forced and he had spent all of his time plotting escape, and now his energy was turned toward preserving his master. It was unsettling if he dwelled on it, so he pushed it aside. For now he was loyal and it was as simple as that.

  * * *

  His steps slowed as he neared the palace. He had only been gone for a few hours and yet the entire landscape of his home had changed. The forbidding black stone walls had become soft grey stone work with wide sweeping windows. Dark vines twisted over the entry gate and rose along the stone wall of the building itself. What had been a stronghold now resembled a noble’s country manor.

  Seth’s eyes rose slowly to the upper stories where his tower had once been. There was still a spire there, but it was graceful rather than foreboding. Balconies lined the upper stories as well as wide open windows. He could see curtains of gauze flowing through some. His mouth went dry at the sight. There was no way to defend this building. Invaders could swarm the palace and find entry at a hundred different points.

  “He has gone mad.” Fiona declared loudly from the wide double doors.

  Seth gazed at her in dismay. He hadn’t even heard the doors open. The doors of the old palace had been made of two foot of oak and iron and they had groaned as they creaked open. He watched in silence as Fiona stepped lightly down the curving stairs toward him. Her mouth was set in a grim line and her gold eyes were flashing with fury.

  “It’s not just this he plans to change. He intends to shift the entire Darklands.” She informed him acidly. He could see the tension in her muscles as she drew closer. Had Fiona Veirasha still lived her face would have been red with anger. She waved a hand back at the palace and a look of disgust formed on her features. “Does this look like the Palace of Death to you? How can he possible believe the condemned souls will respond to this? It looks like they are taking a bloody vacation in the country rather than being judged for their sins.” The words poured out of her in a flood as she stared at him in accusation.

  Silently Seth composed himself and studied the building once more. With a slow breath he folded his hands behind his back and gazed down at Fiona. She was only a few inches shorter than him, but what she lacked in height she made up for in temperament and skill. She was one of the more powerful creatures in the Darklands, but it wasn’t her strength or anger that was unsettling him, it was the fact that he agreed with her. Their opinions were usually so different that he could barely stand to be in the same room as her, and yet, she was right. Finn had chosen very unwisely, and it was all because of his suggestion to change his home to suit him.

  “Did he give a reason for his choice?” Seth asked carefully in a neutral tone.

  “Of course he didn’t.” Fiona snapped and her eyes narrowed. “He said you suggested he make some changes and that he thought it was an idea with merit. I warn you Seth if you are trying to weaken his defenses with this so that you can gain...”

  “I have just spent the past three hours dealing with his problems to secure his power.” Seth interrupted in a snarl before she could finish the threat. “Where is he?” he demanded before she could even begin to rant again.

  “In what used to be his throne room. It looks more like a parlor now.” Fiona growled and looked ready to say more, but Seth stalked past her before she could even draw breath to begin.

  He took the stairs two at a time noting how even this aspect of the palace had changed for the worse. The old staircase had been narrow and steep giving barely enough room for two men to walk abreast to the doors. Now there was room for a full infantry squad and a battering ram. Not that they would need one. The doors at the top were made of mahogany and carved with intricate designs. They were beautiful, and fragile. A stout kick from a booted foot would shatter the frame.

  The room beyond was open and bright with tapestries hanging on the walls and a sweeping staircase that dominated the center of the hall. Seth let out a harsh breath and fought back the urge to curse. He couldn’t see a single fixture that represented defense. If the demons rose against Finn in numbers they would pillage this place in
minutes.

  He halted before turning for the throne room and forced his emotions back down. Closing his eyes he willed his breathing to slow and rubbed at his temples. He couldn’t fathom why Finn would leave himself so open for attack. It seemed too much idiocy for Finn. He knew the boy wasn’t a fool, but everything about his changes screamed otherwise.

  With calm Seth didn’t feel he moved toward the throne room once more and considered the music echoing faintly on the air. It was relaxing and sweet. Something about the notes tugged at him, and Seth finally recognized it as he pushed the doors inward. It was an old song, older than the barrier itself. He hadn’t heard it played since before the fall of Tevonale.

  He paused once more at the door way to survey the room before him. The bard was seated on the dais where Finn’s throne had once been. She wasn’t one of the spirits Seth recognized, but then that wasn’t unusual. The Darklands were filled with thousands upon thousands of souls, and the only ones he paid attention to were the ones he considered threats. Finn was across the room from her leaning over a table that was so thickly cluttered with books and scrolls that it looked ready to collapse to the floor. Chairs were pushed back in a circle around him with more books stacked haphazardly on their seats. A young man leaned against the wall beside the Lord of Death and seemed to be speaking quietly, but if Finn was paying attention to him it didn’t show. Other spirits milled in the room and Seth could feel their unease growing as he closed the doors behind him and began to stalk toward Finn. He didn’t know the spirits, but apparently they knew him and just his presence had stolen the peace from the setting.

  He stopped at the edge of the table and his eyes swept across the books as he waited for Finn to notice him. Most were history books, and he could see a few maps amongst them as well. The closest to him was of Tevonale. Most of the books had yellowing pages and looked far older than anything he would have expected Finn to find interest in.

  “Twenty-two.” Finn said quietly as he flipped through the pages of a book. His gaze never left the pages before him and his brow was furrowed in thought.

  “Twenty-two mistakes you made when crafting your palace this way?” Seth offered with sarcasm dripping from his words. He had counted at least a hundred just on his way up the stone path.

  Finn frowned and looked up at him. The lines deepened on his forehead as he shook his head slowly. “You killed twenty-two demons.” He corrected calmly.

  “I didn’t keep count.” Seth admitted and his eyes scanned the books once more. “What is this Finn? What are you doing?” he asked and tried to keep the frustration from his voice. Behind them the young man was still speaking, and in the silence that followed his words Seth realized with a start he was telling a story, and a very old story at that. The land he was describing was from beyond the barrier.

  Finn lifted a stack of books from one of the chairs and dropped lightly into it. His green eyes roved over the table before turning his attention back to Seth and he smiled faintly. “Taking your suggestion.” He answered with a faint shrug. “I am making this place my own, and as I changed the palace it occurred to me that people aren’t the only things that die. Places die too, and all of these books describe them. If I am Death than I will have everything that is dead. I will have fallen cities instead of barren rock plains. I will have forests and oceans and…” His voice had been gaining volume, but dwindled off at the end and his smile grew wider. His eyes locked on Seth’s and he let out a long sigh. “I will have what everyone above wants so damn badly. I’m building what they destroyed outside the Barrier.”

  “By the Divine, Fiona was right. You are mad.” Seth sighed heavily and shook his head slowly. “Finn you can’t spend your power like this. I meant add a few bloody lamps and some new curtains not rebuild a world and leave yourself in a defenseless position. You have to change the palace back. This isn’t safe.”

  “I can’t?” Finn asked loudly. He rose from his chair once more and waved a hand to the storyteller behind him. The young man abruptly fell silent as Finn moved around the table to stand before Seth. They were nearly equal in height and frame, Finn was slightly taller than him, but he had him on muscle. “Look Seth.” He ordered.

  With a gasp Seth stepped back as Finn loosened the grip on his power and allowed it to show. The Divine radiated strength like the Barrier itself. Seth could hear cries of dismay from the spirits in the room and had to turn his gaze from the raw magic. He wouldn’t cringe as the spirits were doing, but he couldn’t look directly at Finn either.

  “You have been cleansing my enemies and so have I.” Finn informed him casually. The aura of magic faded around him as the Divine once more reined his power back in. “I absorbed them. The ones I knew would never find redemption.” He explained as if he were describing the weather. “With the fighting still raging above and the energy I took from the fallen I am holding more power than I can hope to contain.”

  “Finn you are supposed to judge the souls and give them penance. You can’t simply decide they can’t be redeemed and devour them.” Seth objected and to his dismay his voice cracked on the words. He knew the expression on his face was one of horror, but surely Finn could realize why. For centuries he had been considered unredeemable, and now Finn was feasting on his kind.

  Laughter rose in the Divine as Finn moved back to his chair once more and settled comfortably. “Who made the laws for the Divine?” he asked quietly.

  “The holy circle of Divine gathered together and formed the binding laws.” Seth answered without hesitation. Everyone knew that answer and he wasn’t sure why Finn had bothered asking the question.

  “The holy circle of the Divine.” Finn repeated with a chuckle and nodded. “The holy circle that is currently outside the Barrier and can’t get to me to enforce its laws.”

  Seth stared at him in disbelief and shook his head slowly. “But the Aspects Finn…” he began but Finn simply laughed.

  “Are a cheap facsimile just like everything else you pointed out to me. There are only two other Divine here aside from myself, Lutheron and War. Beyond them the Aspects are nothing more than Elder Blood with a very specific focus for their magic. War won’t move against me for the same reason he wouldn’t put you in power. If he attacks me I will gather strength from the souls here. My actions today have proven I will cross that line if I have to.” Finn grinned like a child that had just mastered his letters. “You gave me the freedom I needed Seth. Thank you. I’m not restrained by their laws any longer, because I have what they don’t. I am seated on a font of strength and if they force me to use it they destroy themselves in the process. They were forming me into their tool. War set Fiona to watch me like a hawk and chastise me when I don’t do as they wish. Now she will report what I’ve done and when they question me I will explain it all. I’m not corrupt, I’m not a tool, and I finally have the freedom to control things here as I wish. I will build what I want, govern as I want, and I will be involved in the politics above just as I had planned.”

  “They have you outnumbered.” Seth warned cautiously.

  “No they don’t. I have thousands in my domain and once I am done they will fight to the bloody end for me. My predecessor believed sins should be paid for in pain and misery. I don’t think that is the way to redemption for most, and as I see it that is my purpose here. I judge them so that they can return to the Lifestream cleansed. I believe I should teach them rather than torment them. I was redeemed through kindness and it worked, had someone tried to teach me with misery I would have been defiant and bitter, just like you.” He paused and let out a long sigh before waving a hand at the room around him. “Look at these spirits Seth. They were all serving penance and yet their sins are pathetic. I am not simply changing the landscape. I’m changing everything. I am rewriting the laws of judgment. I am not going to torture someone for Adultery if it was done in love. That is a law for a country not for the afterlife. I will not penalize for theft if the thief was stealing food to survive. I am not a High
Lord, I am the Divine of Death and my laws will reflect that. I will not redeem them through pain. I will show them what life could be if they walk a different path.” Finn’s words were filled with such emotion that Seth found himself smiling. With a start he let the grin fade and let out a long slow breath.

  “You are treading in dangerous water.” Seth warned once more but there wasn’t much conviction in his words. What Finn was describing was tempting, and he couldn’t deny his interest.

  “It is.” Finn agreed and locked his gaze on Seth once more. “Will you help me keep the sharks at bay until I’m finished?”

  He was moving before he realized what he was doing. The stone beneath him was cold as he settled to one knee before Finn. “How may I serve you? My loyalty is yours to command.” The words flowed easily from his lips and Seth felt his pulse quicken as he spoke. It was the honest truth he realized with amazement. For the first time in his life he was swearing his loyalty and actually meaning it.

  “Clear some books from a chair and join me. Listen to the stories I’m being told and tell me if my bard is misspoken. You have actually seen what he describes. For now that will be enough.” Finn picked up a book from the table and then glanced up at Seth once more. “Perhaps you will tell me your plans for Zoey as well, and then of course there is also the matter of Jala and speaking to the Empress for me, but that can wait until later.”

  Seth cleared the books silently and glanced up at the bard leaning against the wall. “Take a break from your stories of history and tell the Lord of Death one that is more recent. The Crow King’s wife if you know it.”

  The young man nodded slowly and glanced to Finn for permission before clearing his throat hesitantly. “I do know it.” He said cautiously.

  The look on his face was one of dread and Seth nearly laughed at the sight of it. He could imagine how anyone would fear telling him this particular story. It certainly wasn’t one that shone him in a good light, but it was typical of all of the rumors and legends about the Crow King. Some of the stories were well founded, this one was not, but it was one of the most widely known story involving him.