The Crow King's Wife

by Melissa Myers

  “You don’t have to whisper her Azashy. No one can hear you. It’s just like a dream and everything we say is in your mind. Unless there is a mind mage more skilled than I am nearby, everything we say is safe.” Remedy assured her. He was rather hoping it might prompt some sort of confession or confidence from her, but the expression on her face was skeptical.

  “I can’t even begin to guess what Myth is capable of.” Azashy replied in the same soft voice. Apparently his words had done little to soothe her. “But then I doubt there is much I could say that Myth wouldn’t know.” She added in a mildly disgusted voice.

  He let out a slow breath and gazed toward the cottage. It was unremarkable in construction with the typical stucco walls and thatch roof. Even the tiny blue flowers growing near the door were common to most lands. “How exactly did Myth manage to find you, Azashy? Given the detail of this place I’m going to assume this is your home from before your prison days, and it does seem rather remote.”

  Azashy frowned and gently replaced the spider back on its web. Her dark eyes met his once more and to his astonishment they held the glassiness of unshed tears. She let out a quiet sigh and wrapped her arms around herself before stepping back from the web. He watched her as she took another step away from him chewing on her lower lip. He had nearly given up on an answer when she finally did speak.

  “When I fled my homeland Myth offered me safety. He was kind and always polite, and I was terrified. I found security in the fact that a High Lord as powerful as Myth Morcaillo was guarding me. All he asked in return was information on occasion, and I saw no harm in the questions he asked me at the time. I realize now that what he asked then was the prelude to the current disaster of our world.” Her voice trembled slightly on the words and her arms tightened around her stomach. His expression must have shown his confusion he realized as she smiled sadly at him. “You don’t even know who I am do you?” she asked quietly. Remedy shook his head slowly and a bitter laugh rose from her. “Azashy of the thousand eyes.” She said once her laughter had died. “The betrayer of Glis. I am the former spy master of Nicoli Blackwolf.” She informed him as she bowed her head mockingly toward him.

  “I heard of the scandal, but your name was never mentioned. All I heard of it was that the Spy Master of Glis revealed Nicoli’s affair and Blue Bess was nearly exiled. I thought the spy master had died after that though.” Remedy spoke as gently as he could. He knew the topic itself was painful enough to her and didn’t want her to read anything into the tone of his voice.

  “Not dead, though I wish I was. If Nicoli had killed me I wouldn’t be where I am now.” Azashy said wistfully.

  “But the Shifters of Glis are primarily druids, and I don’t see how you could possibly gather your information with those talents.” Remedy pressed. He had a rough idea of how she knew so much, but he wanted to keep her talking. The more she told him about herself the better chance he had of figuring out what to do next.

  Azashy waved an idle hand toward the spider web. “One of my thousand eyes.” She explained with a shrug. “Most Shifters find affinity with predators. My predator just happens to be very small. I think I may be the only Shifter to ever bond with spiders, but they have always fascinated me. If I focus I can see through their eyes or hear what is around them, and there are very few places in our world that hold no spiders.”

  “It’s the first case I’ve ever heard of. Though I will freely admit that I haven’t put much time into learning of Glis or its people. My talents were primarily needed in more difficult lands.” Remedy admitted with a grin.

  “Remedy Lutheron, adopted child of the Fionaveir’s second. Diplomat and socialite in an otherwise undiplomatic or social organization. You don’t know me, but I do know you.” Azashy returned before turning toward the cottage. “Fictional tea in our little pretend world sounds rather pleasant. Shall we retire inside and I will do my best to explain to you what is going on so that you can figure out what needs to be done?”

  “Fictional tea sounds lovely.” Remedy agreed and felt his muscles relax at her words. He had expected to have to pry information from her in small bits, but apparently she was going to serve him answers on a silver platter. All that left him to do was sort the truth from what she told him, and given what he already knew of the Fionaveir’s troubles that task shouldn’t be too difficult.

  The interior of the cottage was bathed in shadows with only faint light shining through the tiny windows. A small table rested in the center of the room and aside from the tiny kitchen and a sleeping pallet near the wall the house was empty. He didn’t even see a storage chest for clothes.

  “Watch the webs.” Azashy warned him and he ducked his head and stared up at the ceiling. The rafters were encased in the silken strands and even in the dim light he could see the scuttling black forms of what seemed to be hundreds of spiders. “Of course they aren’t real so I don’t know why I bothered to warn you to watch for them. Force of habit I suppose.” Azashy sighed and motioned toward the small table as she continued toward the kitchen.

  “I don’t know much about spiders.” Remedy admitted hesitantly as he eyed the imaginary versions of what he was sure filled Azashy’s house in reality.

  “Those are Ebony Damsels on the ceiling.” Azashy informed him casually and Remedy found himself crouching lower despite the fact that the creatures weren’t real. Damsels had a very painful bite that would leave a strong man convulsing on the floor for what seemed like an eternity. “That’s a Wraith spider by the window. The silk on his web is exquisite isn’t it? It almost looks like crystal when the sun hits it. And over by the sleeping pallet there is a small nest of Sweet Whispers.”

  “Every spider you named is deadly in some fashion.” Remedy observed quietly. As softly as he could he approached the window and gazed at the Wraith spider. It was the closest he would ever willingly come to one of the creatures and the only reason he was doing so now was the assurance that his physical body was safely tucked away in a prison cell in Sanctuary. The Wraith spider had venom so toxic it could kill a horse in little more than a breath. From what he understood of the process it was a painful death, and the venom was difficult for even a talented healer to counteract given how quickly it acted. Once bitten by a Wraith the victim was as good as a ghost himself.

  “To others perhaps, but not me.” Azashy replied distractedly. She was rattling around in the cabinet in search of cups as she spoke and didn’t bother turning to face him. “I’m immune to them all no matter how vicious the bite. Not that they would attack me at any rate. They understand me as much as they are capable of understanding and they know I mean them no harm.” The clatter subsided as she produced a heavy stone cup. “Hah!” she proclaimed triumphantly as she waved the cup toward him. “I knew I had another one. As you can see I don’t have company often. Well at least not company that cares to come into my house.” Within a breath she had water on to boil and was wiping both of the stone mugs clean. “Mint or Chamomile?” she asked glancing back toward him with a raised eyebrow.

  “Mint.” Remedy replied without hesitation as he moved back to the table and took a seat. It was difficult to keep his eyes from straying to the mass of spiders on the ceiling or back to the window, but he forced his attention to Azashy and refused to wonder about the third nest of spiders by her bed. It wouldn’t do to be distracted. He needed to listen to everything she was willing to share and remember exactly what she said and how she said it. “Can you take the form of spiders? I’ve heard that Blackwolf can become a wolf.”

  Azashy smiled faintly and shook her head slowly as she opened a canister of tea. “There are varied degrees of Shifters. The weakest can only communicate with their chosen animal. The strongest can assume not only the animals shape, but a hybrid form between animal and human as well. I am toward the bottom of the ladder as far as strength goes. I can command them, speak with them, and I’m immune to their venom, but no I cannot be them.”

  “I find that oddly reassuring c
onsidering we are roommates at the present.” Remedy returned with what he hoped was a charming smile.

  “Are you scared of spiders Fionaveir?” Azashy asked and her smile grew wider.

  “Scared? I wouldn’t say that is the appropriate word. I respect the dangerous ones, and I tend to ignore the lesser ones. I can’t say they are something that I would ever go out of my way to be around any of them though.” Remedy answered as carefully as he could and tried not to think of the countless spiders he had intentionally crushed or swatted in his lifetime.

  “Most people do ignore them, if they ever notice them in the first place. Which is why I am useful enough to lock away in a dungeon. The term To be a fly on the wall applies very well to my talents. I hear and see so many things that are meant to be private.” Azashy sighed then pulled the boiling water from the stove and joined him at the table with the cups. Carefully she filled both mugs to the rim and the smell of mint bloomed in the stale air.

  “So you are the reason that the world is in such chaos. Through your talents Myth has an idea of what we are going to do before we begin to do it. Every time we plan something he knows what it is.” Remedy observed with a frown.

  “Partially.” Azashy agreed sadly. “I’ve told Myth so much about certain individuals that I find myself wondering how they are still alive for me to gather information on. I know Myth knows enough about them to kill them, but he doesn’t move against them. He is biding his time for something, but I don’t know what it is. As far as your plans go, well I’ve told him just enough to keep my skin intact, but I’ve tried to spare the details as much as I could. Once I figured out what exactly he was up to my relations with him became…” She paused and a bitter smile creased her lips as she searched for the correct word. “Strained. We will use that word for now, though I’m not sure it is quite descriptive enough. Myth is a monster in every sense of the word. I’ve seen him do things that would sicken Death herself.”

  “Who holds the most interest for him?” Remedy asked as he accepted the mug from her and nodded his thanks. He wanted to ask what she had seen Myth do, but he needed to get as much information as he could while he had time. If he managed to ask all of the important questions before Myth’s daily visit to the cell he could go back for details, but for now it was better to have the bones of everything than the full picture on a few things. Raising the cup to his lips he carefully blew on the contents and took a cautious sip. The flavor of mint washed over him and he allowed himself a small smile before nodding his thanks to her again. There was something so soothing about mint that he found himself relaxing despite the fact that he knew the tea wasn’t even real.

  Azashy watched him for a moment and took a small sip from her own tea. “It’s amazing how our minds can fill in all of the blanks so perfectly. I know this is not my house and I know this is not really tea, yet I can somehow trick myself into finding comfort in just the memories of it all.” She let out a long slow breath and smiled. “That’s not what we need to be talking about though, so I will get back to the answers you are seeking.” She paused once more as she settled back in the smooth wooden chair and cleared her throat as if she expected it to be a very lengthy conversation. “At first it was the Fionaveir. Given the fact that they were outlaws I assumed he was trying to bring them to justice. I told him what I could of Caspian, Lutheron and Faramir. Vaze was more difficult to gather information on, and you have a horrible tendency to kill any spiders you see. So spying on you was touchy as well.” She smirked at him and he felt himself blush in response to her words. “Then he began asking me about a young girl at the Academy. He even went so far as to have one of his servants deliver spiders to the rooms she stayed in. As it happened she was staying with his son, and it became increasingly obvious that what I told Myth about his son upset him more than the knowledge I gave about the girl. I never understood that.” She shook her head sadly and ran a thumb absently around the rim of her steaming mug. Her eyes rose and she met Remedy’s gaze fully. “Shade Morcaillo was a son any man would have been proud of. He was honorable and compassionate. He strove at his studies as well as his duties to his family with a zealot’s devotion. Everything he did was in an attempt to please his father, and yet all it seemed to do was anger Myth more. Myth called him weak and simple minded, then Myth stopped visiting me for a week or so and when he came again he was different. I was confused at first until I figured that out. I still watched the girl you see, and I had spent so long watching her that I knew those around her fairly well. So I noticed quickly when Oma started acting a bit strangely and it didn’t take much to put the clues together. Myth had become Oma, and something less than him was paying me visits in his guise.”

  “So Lex led Myth straight to our stronghold.” Remedy sighed heavily and rubbed his face. “I didn’t know the exact details there. I knew Faramir was different, but I didn’t know if she had always been Myth and was just now showing cards or if Faramir had been replaced and I had truly lost a friend. No one knew very much about Faramir beyond the fact that Caspian trusted her with his life and secrets. No one really knows where she came from or how Caspian found her, so it was possible she could have been Myth all along.” Remedy explained and felt something tighten inside his chest. He had kept himself from dwelling on Faramir, and some part of his mind had decided she had been a traitor all along and so he had pushed away any thoughts of mourning for her. Faramir had been with the Fionaveir long before him, and she had been the one to cleanse his cuts and read him stories as a child. She had nearly been a second mother, and now she was gone. He couldn’t decide which was a more painful thought, losing your mother or knowing she was a traitor and deceiving you all along. He had chosen the latter for the simple fact that it bred more anger than agony, but Azashy’s revelations stole that small bit of solace. Faramir had never been a traitor; she had been betrayed by her own blood. Though Remedy sincerely doubted Lex had any idea what he had done.

  “Myth killed Faramir and took her form. It wasn’t too difficult for everyone to believe that Oma had run off and disappeared given how broken her mind was. The only one that might have been confused by that story was Shade, and he conveniently wasn’t there when it happened.” Azashy spoke gently. The look in her eyes told him that she understood the pain he was hiding, but there was no way to soften the truth.

  “And with the trust everyone felt for Faramir Myth had an easy time with corrupting our ranks.” Remedy concluded sourly. He leaned forward in his seat and propped his elbows on the table before shaking his head at Azashy. “I don’t understand though. How did he turn Symphony so completely? Not even Lutheron is acting the same and I don’t understand at all. None of them would abide by what is going on if they were thinking clearly. Is Myth a mind mage as well?”

  “It’s called conditioning, and as far as I know Myth is not a Mind mage. There are herbs that weaken a mind though and over a long course of time if you are told the same thing over and over you will believe it, especially if it’s something that already concerned you. Symphony worried that she wasn’t fit to rule over all, and with the use of herbs and soothing words Myth convinced her that it was true. Now Symphony will not make a single judgment without consulting Myth, and she doesn’t bother to check on the after effects of her decisions. She trusts every word she hears from Myth and believes the world to be exactly that way without looking for herself. Lutheron was simple to manipulate. He had to see a threat and once Myth showed him one clearly he was distracted from her actions. Caspian…” Azashy trailed off and stared down at the table.

  “That is truly Caspian isn’t it?” Remedy demanded as she fell silent. He spoke more sharply than he intended to, but Caspian was more to him than Faramir had ever been. This entire mess was painful, but the thought that Caspian was dead too made it nearly unbearable.

  “It’s Caspian.” Azashy replied softly. Her dark eyes trailed back down to her tea and she shrugged one shoulder. “He was an outlaw to most but to others he was a true hero. S
eeing him so far from his path breaks my heart. The knowledge that I’m the one that brought about his fall is a guilt that crushes me whenever I dwell on it too long.” She rubbed absently at her temples and shifted in her seat before continuing. “Caspian was conditioned with his own failure. Myth used his time as High Commander of the Justicars against him and combined the memory of Fiona Veirasha’s death to lead him down his current path. Caspian is focused on cleansing the city of everything remotely wrong and he is going to an extreme that is going to get him killed. You cannot keep so many people imprisoned without repercussions. It is coming and it will be bad.” She met his eyes once more and smiled sadly. “And Sanctuary will lose another Hero and only a few will even mourn his death. Myth has taken Caspian’s shining honor and tarnished it beyond repair. No one will ever look at him with respect again, not even his own people.” Her gaze dropped once more and she slowly shook her head. “And it’s my fault. So many things are my fault and it’s a lesson I should have learned long before. What I did at Glis should have taught me to keep my mouth closed, but Myth has such charm when he chooses to use it. I didn’t even realize what I was doing, and now…” She fell silent and raised her tea cup to her lips.

  “I can fix it Azashy. I am a Mind Mage. I can take the brainwashing and cleanse it from them and return them to what they were.” Remedy spoke into the silence and tried to keep the hesitation from his voice. What he suggested was risky and he was sure even Azashy knew that. In order to repair their minds he would have to guess what their true feelings on the matter had been before Myth’s tampering. There was a very good chance that he wouldn’t actually repair the damage but would simply change it to a different kind of damage. It was nearly impossible to keep personal sentiment from such work, and the odds that he would implant his own beliefs into their heads were very good.