The Crow King's Wife

by Melissa Myers

  “I could shatter this cup and glue the pieces back into place as I believe they should go, but the cup would never be the same again. There would be some cracks and chips that no matter how hard I tried I could not repair.” Azashy returned gently. “What is broken will never be properly mended. You can attempt to mend it, but there will be cracks that show and chips that are missing. Too much has been done to repair it fully and we both know that.”

  “I won’t write them off.” Remedy said firmly. “There may be cracks showing but that is better than leaving something broken. They are my family.”

  Azashy nodded her agreement and started to open her mouth then closed it abruptly. “He is coming. Can you stay here? Can you keep part of me back from him?” her voice was frantic and he could see the fear growing in her eyes.

  “I can, but I don’t understand why. You face him daily Azashy and I’ve never seen you look this terrified of it before.” Remedy reached across the table and took one of her hands. He could see her trembling and the hand he held was icy to the touch. Her dream self was a reflection of her form in reality and he knew she was shivering beyond the dream. With a gentle nudge he sent a wave of calmness toward her. It wouldn’t do to have Myth see her trembling in cold sweats when he entered.

  “When I betrayed Nicoli I destroyed a child’s life. Because of me he was raised as an orphan and far from his true home. I tried to redeem myself and I did everything I could to make his life easier in an attempt to make amends for what I had stolen from him. I told him secrets, I taught him magic, and I showed him where to find things of value. He is on his way to Rivana as we speak to avenge the death of his loved ones. If Myth learns of my Godson’s existence or what he is about I will betray the boy again. Myth thinks he is dead, Myth believes he died in Amdany and I would rather die than betray him again. I would rather die a thousand times in agony than cause him more pain, and I know what Myth is capable of.” The words poured out of her with such conviction that he couldn’t think of what to say in return. Her hand clamped tightly around his and she no longer trembled. Dark eyes locked on his and he could see the determination filling her. “Keep the part of me that knows such things here with you Remedy. Hold it tight and no matter what Myth does to try to steal my secrets do not let go of them.”

  “Azashy, he threatened to cut off your fingers last time you refused him. Do you honestly expect me to sit idly by while he mutilates you?” Remedy objected. He could feel his stomach coiling at just the thought of watching Azashy tortured. There was a fragile friendship building between them, and he wasn’t the sort to sit silently by while a friend was in pain.

  “My suffering is a very small price if the Bloody Huntsman succeeds today. Please Remedy. Please promise me that you will help me in this. Myth is more powerful than both of us. We can’t win against him, but others can. He won’t kill me. I’m too useful to kill. He will try to break me, but with your help I won’t be truly broken.” Azashy’s voice took on such a note of pleading that he found himself nodding slowly.

  “The Bloody Huntsman is your Godson?” He asked softly. In the world beyond their shared dream he could hear the sliding door opening followed by Myth’s soft footsteps. There was a faint sound of bedsprings as Azashy sat up from the cot she had been resting on. His own body was tucked safely away in the far corner and well hidden by the mind fog.

  “He is.” Azashy confirmed proudly. Her dark eyes flashed as she smiled widely at him. “He is the most beautiful mistake I’ve ever made. He is the sort of hero that Caspian himself could never equal, and he will be one of the lynch pins that holds this broken world together. If he survives today that is, and I will do everything in my power to see that he does.” Her words rang with promise as she turned her gaze away from him. She stared toward the web filled window and her eyes locked on the slowly crawling form of the Wraith spider. “Help me spin a beautiful web of lies little one.” She whispered as her attention faded from the dream.

  Azashy hadn’t waited for more than his nod before focusing on Myth. Perhaps she had glimpsed the resignation in his eyes Remedy reasoned as he forced his own mind to stop whirling. He had a lot to focus on and very little time to focus. Myth was dangerous and he had to work quickly if he was truly going to help Azashy protect her secrets.

  “I have a few questions Azashy.” Myth’s voice rang loudly through the small room beyond the dream.

  Remedy closed his eyes and focused his mind on Azashy. With practiced ease he moved past the dream they shared and into her mind itself slowly gathering her secrets to him and locking them beyond her reach. Once he was done she would not be able to betray her loved ones no matter what Myth did. The information simply wouldn’t be there. Even if Myth forced her to gather it anew Remedy would be watching and the secrets would vanish before Azashy could even open her mouth. This was not a new game for him. He knew very well how to keep secrets from being shared. He had performed this exact service for Vaze a hundred times or more. Only then it had been against Lutheron, and if a Divine couldn’t force the truth, Myth didn’t have a chance of succeeding.

  Chapter 13

  Rivana

  The ship settled uneasily into the sandy riverbed. It was far from an ideal landing spot but it was the closest he could get to the city without risking his ship being spotted by scouts. They would still have a substantial walk to reach Prendington, but it was the only option he had seen that offered any hope of stealth. With a sigh Shade leaned back from the controls and turned to Caleb with a pleading look. He had tried to talk reason to him before they left Delvay, but the man hadn’t listened. Now was his last chance, and he had spent the entire flight inventing ways to manage the day without Caleb dying. He had several ideas and he was certain they would work even if they weren’t conventional plans. The difficult part would be getting Caleb to listen.

  “No.” Caleb snapped before he could even open his mouth to speak. The Arovan rose from his seat and stretched with a look of mild irritation on his handsome face. He had changed from his uniform the moment they had left Delvay and the chain mail he wore now rattled softly as he moved. He wore no insignia on the armor, and Shade couldn’t even determine where it had been crafted. It had no special touches to it whatsoever and as far as Shade could tell it wasn’t even magical. It seemed too common for a man like Caleb, but when Shade had questioned him about it Caleb had only shrugged in response.

  “But Caleb we could…” Shade began quietly.

  “No Shade. There is too much you don’t understand about this.” Caleb cut him off coldly before he could finish. With a heavy breath he gathered his cloak from the back of his seat and walked toward the door.

  “I understand my friend is about to suicide for the sake of his honor.” Shade snapped as he rose as well. No matter how much thought he put into it, Shade couldn’t figure out why Caleb was so set on the path of Kevala’drin. The knowledge that his daughter was still alive should have given him a reason to live, but it hadn’t.

  “Leave off Shade. We do things my way. Syrah’s life is at stake and I refuse to take risks of any sort.” Caleb replied with forced calmness. With an angry snap of his wrist he shook his cloak out and fastened it around his shoulders. “I go into the city. You, Zoey, and Dray follow me through the gates invisible. I will lure Derrick to us and ensure he brings Syrah. Once Derrick arrives Zoey and Dray head off to find the prisoners while you wait for a chance to kill Derrick. I will make it look as though I’m sending Syrah away with magic but I will simply send her to you, Shade. I can’t actually teleport her out of the country, and even if I could I wouldn’t. I’m not strong in arcane magic and there is a very good chance they will have several mages waiting for me to send her off so they can snatch her from the transport. She will be safer if you find her a place to hide before you kill Derrick. The moment you have the man’s head gather Syrah and go to meet Zoey and Dray. Once you have all of the prisoners on the ship, you leave.”

  “And just abandon you to die t
hen?” Shade snapped as his frustration with the plan crested. It was the same thing he had done to Jala when she needed his help and the fact that Caleb was suggesting he repeat the mistake was salt in an old wound. There was no way for Caleb to know that however, and that made the argument that much more difficult. He didn’t have time to explain his objection to Caleb now, and when he had tried earlier Caleb had ignored him. It was all so damn frustrating it made him want to snarl and curse like Neph.

  “Easier to argue with a stone and you would have more chance of winning.” Zoelyn mumbled as she rose from her seat. The expression on her face was one of defeat and Shade could tell just from looking at her that she was already imagining Caleb dead.

  “I like the plan right up until the point of me abandoning a friend.” Shade grumbled.

  “I don’t care if you like the plan, Shade. I care if you follow it.” Caleb snapped. His glowered at Shade and took a half step forward. “And you will follow it. I saved your life in our prison and I’m calling in that debt. You will pay me back today by saving my daughter.”

  “You are a stubborn ass.” Shade snapped before giving a grudging nod. “Fine, if everything plays out the way you expect it to then I will follow your plan. If something unexpected happens I will make my own choices without wasting time to consult you.” He added firmly and found himself silently praying that something unexpected would happen. He had no desire to follow the plan at all and today was quite possibly the only day he would ever cheer complications arising.

  “I suspect that is the best I’ll get from you so I accept it. I will hold you to your word Christian Morcaillo.” Caleb’s voice was low and Shade could clearly hear the hidden threat.

  “Fine, now explain to me how you are going to simply walk into the city. I may not have recognized you as the Bloody Huntsman, but I bet there are a few in Rivana that will.” Shade said lightly. There was no real reason to press the point of Caleb’s plan or his threat. Zoey was right, the man was unreasonably stubborn.

  “I find myself more concerned with how you expect us to keep a very young child silent while her father is dying. We will need her to be quiet to sneak off and I don’t see how we can ask that of her.” Dray said calmly before Caleb had a chance to open his mouth.

  Shade seized the moment and pointed quickly at Dray. “He has a very valid point. Are you expecting me to club your kid to keep her quiet, because I won’t.”

  A faint smile formed on Caleb’s lips as he shook his head slowly at them. “Syrah is my daughter. She will understand what I am doing.” He spoke with such sincerity that Shade found himself at a loss of words. “As to the other question…” Caleb began as he pulled a small black dagger from his backpack. At first glance it looked like polished obsidian but as Caleb lifted it free of the last leather strap on his bag it began to writhe in his hand.

  “Shadowsteel.” Shade breathed as he watched the dagger elongate and shift until it was vaguely sword shaped. It was nearly impossible to keep himself from reaching to touch it. He had been obsessed with Vaze’s armor and only the thought of actually touching Vaze without permission had kept him from pawing over the Shadowsteel then. He wanted desperately to know more about the metal, but now was not the right time to ask. Even knowing everything that was about to happen and what he should be focusing on Shade still found himself envisioning his ship covered with the beautiful black gleam of the sword before him. With a mental curse Shade forced his hands behind his back and clasped them tightly as he watched the edges sharpen and small details begin to appear along the blade until the object in Caleb’s hand solidified into a long sword. It was a weapon unlike any Shade had ever seen before. There was no groove where the blade met the hilt and the details of the weapon were breathtaking. Each rune on the blade was too perfect to have been crafted by human hands and the gleam along the edge spoke with deadly clarity. He had no doubt that Caleb’s sword would slice through armor as easily as a hot knife through butter.

  Caleb’s expression was guarded as the shadows of the blade rose and swirled around him. The white tips of his hair darkened to pitch black while his skin changed from pale to sun baked bronze. His features blurred for a moment and then reformed into something far cruder eliminating all trace of his Elder Blood. The armor that had seemed too common just minutes before now suited him perfectly. To the casual observer he looked like nothing more than a simple mercenary. There was no trace of Caleb Faulklin left at all in the leathery skinned warrior standing before him.

  “Won’t they see through illusion?” Zoelyn asked hesitantly.

  “This is Shadow magic. The only one that could see through this disguise is Vaze and I highly doubt he will inform the Rivasans who I truly am.” Caleb replied quietly as he removed the common steel blade from his sword belt and slid the beautiful Shadowsteel sword into its place. With a sigh he tossed the steel sword onto one of the empty chairs and adjusted his cloak to cover the fine black hilt at his side. Without a word he lifted his bag from the floor and turned for the ship’s door.

  “Caleb.” Shade said urgently as he frantically searched his mind for some last words he could offer that might save his friend.

  “Leave it, Shade. Please.” Caleb’s voice was soft and he didn’t bother glancing back or slowing his steps.

  Shade closed his mouth and bit back the words he had been about to speak as he watched Caleb step from the ship taking the last opportunity to talk sense with him as he left. “Well that’s that then. We have our orders.” Shade muttered as he glanced back to Zoey and Dray.

  “Stubborn as a rock.” Zoelyn mumbled as she shouldered her own bag. Dray rose beside her and they both smiled weakly at Shade as they headed for the door.

  “Hate to do this to you buddy.” Shade sighed as his eyes moved to the goblin. The creature was crouched near the pilot’s seat and had stayed unusually quiet from the moment they had landed. “What I’m going to be doing today is incredibly stupid though and you will be better off staying out of it.” He crouched down in front of the creature and it moved closer to him with a hopeful expression lighting its dark face. “Is there ever a point you aren’t hungry?” Shade muttered as he pulled a piece of jerky from his coat pocket. He had taken to stashing the stuff everywhere since the goblin never seemed to be full and he never knew when he would need to offer it food to keep it on good behavior. The creature took it greedily and was instantly absorbed in gnawing small pieces from the dried meat. “Bet you are going to be pissed when I wake you up again.” Shade muttered as he summoned magic and stored the creature in a stone.

  He stood slowly and dropped the stone into his pocket as the loud screech of a hawk rose from just beyond the ship’s door. Curiously Shade walked to the edge of the steps and leaned against the door frame just in time to see a shadow pass over the ground. He gaze moved upward as the bird circled once more and after a moment he caught a glimpse of a second form in the sky. It was slightly larger than the first but still birdlike in form. The hunting screech rose again and to Shade’s astonishment he realized it was Caleb making the noise rather than the birds. He stood several feet from the ship as well as his companions and his attention was focused entirely on the hawks above him. The shadows passed across the ground once more as the birds circled lower and Caleb lifted one of his arms in response. With a faint screech the smaller of the two birds dove and landed heavily on Caleb’s outstretched arm.

  “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 st
ood. 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.