The Crow King's Wife (39 page)

“I looked for you at Amdany.” Derrick Rivasa
announced loudly and his horse danced under him at the raised
voice. With a frown he yanked on the reins and pressed Syrah closer
to him. “They all said the Blights had done for you, but I didn’t
believe it. To believe you dead I will have to see it. I’m so
pleased you made that particular experience so convenient for
me.”

“Release my daughter and once she is safely
to my side you may have your son.” Caleb called loudly ignoring the
man’s taunt.

“So you can teleport away? I don’t think so.
You murdered my wife and mother if my guard is to be believed. You
will have to die for that of course.” Derrick returned in a voice
that held no remorse whatsoever.

“I have no intention of running. I declare
Kevala’drin
on you and all who follow you. Amdany and all
who fell there will be avenged.” Caleb’s voice rang clearly
throughout the street without a trace of hesitation. Several of the
guards laughed at his words, but to Shade’s ears the laughter was
edged with nerves.

“How traditional.” Derrick scoffed. “Give
your word you will stand your ground and return my son. I know your
pretty little code of honor will bind you. Everyone knows the Black
Bastard always keeps his word.”

Caleb’s jaw clenched at Derrick’s words but
he visibly forced his temper back down before speaking. “I give you
my word that I will not harm your son and I will release him once
Syrah is safely away. I will not flee or attempt to escape. By the
Aspects and Divine I swear I speak the truth and will abide by my
words.”

“Good enough.” Derrick agreed with a shrug as
he shoved Syrah from his saddle. The girl twisted in the air and
Shade had to bite his lip to keep from cursing out loud as she
landed hard on the cobbles by the horse’s massive hooves. Derrick
loosened the reins on his horse and leaned over his saddle to gaze
down at the child with a wicked grin. “I thought Shifters always
landed on their feet?” Amusement filled his voice as he spoke and
several of his guards laughed in response. This time Shade detected
the nervousness in their voices quiet clearly.

Syrah remained silent as she picked herself
up from the ground and narrowly avoided the large grey’s hooves as
it began to dance in place once more. She crossed to her father
with her head held high despite her scraped knees and bleeding
hands. Caleb dropped to his knees as she drew closer, still
managing to keep a firm grip on his hostage despite the boy’s
frantic attempts to escape him. For a moment Syrah looked as though
she was going to burst into tears, but she clenched her jaw and
bowed her head deeply to her father. Without so much as a slight
embrace she turned on her heels and pointed back toward Derrick
with a steady hand.

“He killed Lord Micah, and he killed him
slowly. Our lord died screaming in agony, Father.” She announced in
a high clear voice. Her hand moved slightly to the right and
settled on a young man in plate mail. “He killed Lord Honor and
made Grandma Blue cry nearly every night. She wouldn’t speak of the
violations he forced on her, but I know he treated Grandma
cruelly.” Her tiny hand shifted once more and settled on a woman
who stood just behind the line of horses and Shade felt his breath
catch as he followed the child’s motion.

He knew the woman Syrah was pointing at,
though he had no idea what she was doing in Rivana. He hadn’t seen
her in well over a year, and the last time he had seen her she had
been deep in her cups. Grace Morcaillo looked to be stone cold
sober today however. Her long auburn hair was pulled back in a
tight braid and the expression on her normally relaxed face was
severe. It was the first time he had ever seen his mother in
anything but a dress. Today however she wore leather pants and an
armored jacket. The sort of clothing a warrior favored, though he
had never known his mother to be anything but a drunken fool.

“She killed Mother and Ryven.” Syrah’s words
barely reached his ears as Shade tried desperately to determine why
his mother was with the Rivasans. As far as he had known she was
still safely back in Morcath draining her bottles of wine for
entertainment. Yet here she stood looking every bit as cold and
cruel as Caleb had as he cut down Kellaria Rivasa.

“Yes, yes, though it hardly matters you
little brat. Your daddy is about to die as well. Life as an orphan
shouldn’t be too bad though.” Derrick taunted in a voice that held
more annoyance than amusement.

Shade barely managed to peel his gaze from
his mother as Syrah turned back to her father and placed a tiny
hand on his cheek. His mind was reeling and he wanted nothing more
than to charge out of the store and demand his mother explain
herself. That was a foolish whim however and he knew it was the
last possible thing he should consider doing. He needed to keep his
eyes on Syrah so he knew when she was heading his way. He would
hide her, and then he would figure out what Grace was doing here.
Her appearance most definitely qualified as the unexpected in his
eyes, and while he didn’t think his mother was trained in combat he
doubted Caleb realized how dangerous even an untrained Changeling
could be. Very few people did.

“Momma says the pain we have faced would
destroy most. Some it would make stronger, but you it will make
strong enough to destroy.” Syrah said and for the first time since
she had started speaking Shade detected a tremor in her voice.
“Kill them all.” She added in a louder voice that was filled with
more anger and hurt than a child her age should have been able to
muster.

Caleb leaned forward and pressed his lips
gently to her forehead. His grey eyes met hers as he drew back from
her. “Though my heart doth bleed with a suffering such as I have
never known I will not falter, for only in the blood of the wicked
will I find peace.” He intoned the words as if speaking a prayer
and his daughter’s back straightened in response.

Syrah’s chin tilted upwards once more and a
faint smile creased her lips as her father fell silent. “And so I
will cleanse their filth from this world. In my righteous fury I
will teach their children a fear so true that they will never again
stray from the path of light.” She finished the verse with the same
formality as her father.

“Live in peace Syrah and know that you were
always loved more than life itself by both of your parents. I
promise you love I will teach them fear and I will make them pay
dearly for their sins.” Caleb’s voice was so soft Shade doubted
most of the Rivasans could even hear what he was saying. If not for
the heightened senses of the Blight form he wore he doubted he
would have heard it. Caleb’s hand moved to rest on his daughter’s
shoulder and her form shimmered under his touch. To everyone
watching it looked as though Caleb had cast a teleportation spell
upon the child, but Shade knew he had done nothing more than grant
her a temporary invisibility to get her safely into the store. He
wasn’t sure when Caleb had informed Syrah of what she was supposed
to do, but guessed it was a mental link between the two of
them.

A soft scuff sounded on the wooden floor
beside him and Shade glanced down as Syrah’s form began to slowly
fade back into view. Without hesitation he reached down and took
the child’s hand so that his Blight camouflage would conceal her as
well.

“Did your father tell you I would be waiting
for you?” He asked as softly as he could. Voices were raised in the
street once more, but Shade didn’t bother paying attention to the
words. By the tone of it Derrick was blustering again and he
doubted the man had anything to say that was worth hearing.

“You are Shade. You are supposed to kill
Derrick and then we flee.” Syrah returned in a soft voice that was
barely audible.

“A bit of a change of plans, but we will
discuss it once we are in a safer place.” Shade corrected as he
pulled her gently along behind him toward the back of the store.
With luck there would be a back door, without luck he would make a
back door. He wasn’t about to risk taking Syrah out onto the street
where fighting might erupt at any moment.

Fortune was smiling on them. The store had a
back door as he had hoped and it wasn’t locked or guarded. With a
quick push Shade shoved it open and hurriedly boosted Syrah to the
roof ledge. With a quick hop he latched onto the edge of the gutter
and scrambled his own way up in less time than it took most to
mount a horse. Silently he took Syrah’s hand once more and
carefully guided her up to the arch of the roof just in time to
watch Derrick Rivasa sending his son off with a small escort of
guards. Caleb still crouched in the street watching Derrick with a
grim expression on his face. His grey eyes were locked on the Lord
of Prendington with the patience of a predator. He was waiting for
the right moment to pounce and Derrick didn’t even seem to realize
it.

“Was that a prayer to the Divine of Fear that
you and your father intoned?” Shade asked softly. If it was a
prayer and Caleb truly was an anointed priest perhaps his god would
listen to him, because with the odds Caleb faced the man could
dearly use a bit of Divine intervention. Caleb obviously wasn’t
scared, of course a Priest of fear wouldn’t be, but Shade was
certain that he was feeling enough fear for the both of them. His
stomach was tied in so many knots that he doubted he would be able
to eat properly for at least a month.

“That was Kevala’s Drin. The last oath she
gave to her people before she marched on the Dark Brotherhood
during the thousand year war.” Syrah explained quietly. “It was one
of the first things Daddy made me learn when my schooling started.”
She added in a voice that was thick with pain.

“Ready to die Bastard?” Derrick called in a
voice that was filled with forced cheer. With one hand he motioned
Grace forward and pointed toward Caleb. “Kill him.” He ordered
casually and then glanced to his guards. “Help her and ensure it is
done properly.” He added with distaste as he carefully backed his
horse away from the open street.

Caleb leaned forward pressing his palm firmly
to the ground as Grace started forward and magic roiled in the air
around him. She had barely taken two steps before the entire city
shook violently. Cries rose from the guards and the horses screamed
in panic, but Grace simply stopped walking and narrowed her eyes at
Caleb. Cocking her head she turned to gaze toward the heart of the
city where buildings were shaking visibly. A cold smile curved
Caleb’s lips and the tremors increased dramatically as vines
wrapped around the distant buildings nearly covering the sandstone
walls. Screams rose from further inside the city as the seeds Caleb
had ordered scattered sprouted to life with more devastation than
Shade would have ever believed possible. Even the walls surrounding
the main fortress were giving under the punishment of the
Stonevines, but he could tell how much magic it was draining from
Caleb and prayed fervently that the man would stop while he still
had enough energy to fight.

“This city will crumble and burn before I
draw my last breath.” Caleb announced as he rose to his feet
unsteadily. “Your men will bleed and die before you, and all that
you have been charged to protect will be destroyed.” He added in a
louder voice as the tremors of the city slowly subsided.

“You are only one man.” Derrick pointed out
loudly then seemed to notice the hesitation on the faces around
him. “He is only one man!” he snarled loudly and jabbed a finger in
Caleb’s direction. “Kill the gods be damned bastard before he has
time to work more magic.” He ordered as Caleb drew the black long
sword from his belt and moved into a fighter’s stance.

“And that is my cue. Stay right here Syrah.
Unless of course your Daddy looks ready to destroy this building
and then you should move to the next one over very quickly.” Shade
whispered as he rose to a crouch and made his way silently toward
the roof ledge closest to Derrick.

He caught a glimpse of Grace moving toward
Caleb once more and then his attention settled on Derrick. He had
to trust Caleb to take care of himself for just a few minutes. Once
Derrick was dead he would help him anyway he could, but killing the
lord of Prendington was essential for all of their plans.

* * *

Zoelyn moved to follow as she heard Shade’s
footsteps leaving the alley, but a tug from Dray’s hand brought her
to a stop. She turned and eyed the Blight curiously as he shook his
head slowly. Worry creased his face and he ran a hand through his
long brown hair and bit his lip before speaking.

“There was a reason Caleb told us not to
follow. Shade might ignore it, but I won’t. We need to stay here
and away from whatever he is going to do. It will be our only hope
of staying clear of the fighting so that we can locate the
prisoners.” Dray’s voice was a soft whisper by her ear, yet somehow
he managed to emphasize his words to the point of command.

Wordlessly she nodded but moved a few inches
closer to the alley mouth to watch Grim’s dark clad form as he wove
his way through the streets. Nothing she had seen from him in the
past week was what she remembered of her friend. It was as if his
grief had transformed him into something far more violent and cold
than he had ever been before. There were stories about him in Glis
of course, but she had always believed the tales of the Bloody
Huntsman were exaggerated; now she wasn’t so sure. It was possible
he had always harbored a darker side and she had simply never
looked closely enough to see it. He was her friend, or had been at
one time. She wasn’t sure anymore, but it was a concern she didn’t
have time to face. Perhaps if they both survived the day she could
speak with him about it, if Grim would speak with her about
anything. He had been tightlipped for most of the trip.