The Crow King's Wife (5 page)

The sound of the door latch broke his
concentration and Shade collapsed back onto his pallet breathing in
ragged gasps as Caleb entered their shared prison. The Arovan was
trussed so tightly in chains that his steps were mincing. The
Blights that had been acting as escorts for the knight pushed him
the rest of the way into the room silently and the thick door
thudded shut behind him followed by the clicking of several bolts
being thrown into place.

Even with the chains the Blights didn’t trust
Caleb to stay where they put him. Shade knew for a fact their
security measures weren’t meant for him. Every one of the guards
knew how poorly he moved now and that escape simply wasn’t an
option. If he was going to get out of here, it would have to be
from Onvalla’s release.

He watched Caleb expectantly waiting for the
man to speak first. The Knight had been trying to secure a meeting
with Onvalla on his behalf, but by his expression it didn’t look
positive. Caleb was typically mellow from what Shade had seen, but
at the moment the man looked like he was barely containing
fury.

The silence between them stretched as Caleb
slowly crossed the room his expression growing darker with each
chain rattling step. Wordlessly he sat down a few feet from Shade
and stared hard at the thick iron chains around his ankles. His
breathing slowed and the muscles in his shoulders relaxed as he
visibly forced his temper back down. After another long moment he
looked over at Shade and nodded his head faintly. “You have your
meeting.” He announced quietly in a voice laced with disgust.

Shade watched him carefully noting the anger
that still lurked in the man’s eyes. He didn’t know Caleb as well
as he knew some, but after days in the same small prison he knew
the man well enough to know something was seriously wrong. “What
did it cost you?” he asked softly.

One corner of Caleb’s mouth turned up in a
half smile and he raised an eyebrow at Shade. “Another man might
have started off the conversation with a thank you, or babbling
about what they should say at the meeting. You however look at me
and ask me what it cost.” Caleb observed in a calm voice.

“I’m already up to my balls in debt to you
Caleb. I’d like to know if the debt has risen to my neck. By your
expression it wasn’t an easy feat to accomplish. As for the Thank
you, well that is probably how I should have started, poor manners
on my part. Thank you Caleb, but I’d still like my question
answered. Do I owe you another life boon for this?” Shade returned
softly.

“When you leave I go with you and we are
even. I don’t care if I have to carry you out of Glis on my back. I
leave when you do and there will be no debt between us. I’ve lost
too much time here already.” Caleb replied. He leaned back against
a pillar and his gaze rose to the shadowed rafters above them. “You
were at the last stand weren’t you? The final battle in
Arovan.”

Shade blinked a moment at the abrupt change
in topic and nodded silently. He frowned as he realized Caleb’s
eyes still hadn’t left the rafters and he cleared his throat
quietly. “I was. It was a nasty bloody brutal affair.”

“When you were near the Arovan camps did you
hear any mention of survivors from the fall of Amdany?” Caleb asked
as he continued to stare above them as if the shadows themselves
held the answers to his questions. “Granger returned with reports
from Arovan today and he says the entire city was lost. I want to
know if he is speaking the truth. Has Arovan really fallen so
far?”

Shade’s frown deepened as he tried to
determine the best way to answer the question. He couldn’t read the
expression on Caleb’s face, and his voice was utterly devoid of
emotion. “I’m not exactly on speaking terms with many Arovan. I am
Morcaillo after all. I didn’t hear any word of survivors, but then
I didn’t hear much from any Arovan aside from Valor Hai’dia and
Valor wasn’t exactly in his right mind at that point.”

“Little Valor survived and Honor died. What a
sick twist of irony that is.” Caleb sighed and shook his head
slightly as his eyes closed. “Don’t get me wrong. Valor is one hell
of a fighter, but Honor had more spine than his brother from what I
remember. Valor backed down too easy and was always being pressured
into stupidity.”

“I only met Honor once in Sanctuary. I didn’t
know him or Micah well, but I know Valor well and he has a spine
now. You might be impressed when you see him next, I was. I hated
what he was with Finn. Valor was a drunken womanizer with no mercy
in his heart for anyone, but beside Jala he is like an entirely
different person. I think he was lost in Finn’s shadow and it took
Jala to pull him into the light.” Shade said with a heavy sigh.

“I met Finn twice. The first time he lost,
the second time I lost, and Micah forbade a third meeting.” Caleb
opened his eyes once more and smiled sadly. “Now Micah is dead,
Finn is dead and we are stuck in this hell hole. What I would give
to have the simple problems of my youth back. If my biggest concern
right now was an arrogant Firym I would feel blessed.”

“It could be worse.” Shade offered with a
faint smile of his own. “My father wants to kill me, I’m outlawed
in nearly every land, and Jala sent me on a suicide mission.”

“My family was in Amdany.” Caleb returned in
a somber voice that wiped the smile instantly from Shade’s
face.

“Mother and father?” Shade asked quietly. It
was a delicate topic and he didn’t really know if he should pry,
but sometimes talking about a problem was the only way to help.

“My wife and two children as well as my
sister.” Caleb corrected softly. His gaze returned to the rafters
once more and he took in a long slow breath as if trying to steady
himself. “I would have had them safely from the city, but Micah
called me back to active duty before Arovan was ever in jeopardy. I
have been fighting in Glis since the beginning of this all, and
haven’t been home in over a year. Then word reaches me that I don’t
have a home and my two closest friends are dead and I can’t even
return to Arovan to learn the truth about my family. They might
have escaped, they might have died, and I have no way of
knowing.”

“I didn’t know you were married, though I
should have guessed by the short hair. That’s an Arovan tradition
that I tend to forget. You have my sincere condolences for your
losses and I will pray that they were survivors and I simply didn’t
hear of them. As I said, I’m not exactly a popular person in Arovan
and they might have simply not spoken of it while I was around.”
Shade spoke softly and watched Caleb with new found understanding.
All of those quiet moments he had caught Caleb staring off into the
darkness with such a bleak expression suddenly made sense. Shade
had thought the man had been grieving for his lost friends, but now
he understood the full extent of the man’s pain and his composure
through it all was mind boggling.

“The short hair is only popular in some
regions and it’s not a well-known tradition.” Caleb murmured and
his hand rose to his ear. “They took my earrings when I was
captured. I’m not sure if they simply wanted the silver or if they
thought I could somehow make use of them to escape. Perhaps they
thought they held magic that would assist me, I don’t know. The
Blights are not generally good with using magic or identifying it.”
Caleb added with a trace of bitterness and let out a heavy sigh.
His gaze turned to Shade once more. “I will do whatever it takes to
get out of here. If Onvalla is unwilling to listen we will find
another way, but I can’t take living in ignorance any longer and
you are strong enough to escape now. Between the two of us we might
be able to outwit Granger. I have to know for a certainty if they
live or if they are dead.”

“I can barely walk Caleb.” Shade objected
weakly. By the sound of Caleb’s voice he didn’t think the man would
listen to logic on the matter, but he had to try.

“As I said, I will carry you out of Glis on
my back if I have to. You still have your magic don’t you?” Caleb
pressed firmly.

Shade nodded, but remained silent. He
recognized the look in Caleb’s eyes. It was stubborn determination.
Nothing he said at this point would talk the Arovan out of escape,
and in all honesty if Onvalla didn’t listen to reason then escape
likely was the best option for them both. Even if they died in the
attempt it was better than rotting away in their pathetic little
prison.

“Then I will do the running and you use magic
to slow our pursuit. If I can make it to the Gaelyn border then not
even the Blights can stop us. I know Gaelyn better than anyone
alive.” Caleb said softly as his gaze turned to the locked door.
“And if any of you little bastards are listening, run and tell
Onvalla my plans. Maybe, just maybe it will make her more inclined
to listen tomorrow.”

Or maybe it will make them more inclined
to kill us tonight
. Shade mused, but kept the thoughts to
himself. From what he had seen in the past few days, Caleb had
enough trouble sleeping without thinking along that path.

* * *

The sunlight of the morning was nearly
blinding after weeks in the shadowed prison. Shade blinked quickly
to clear his eyes and studied his surroundings. It had been late
evening and his mind had been clouded with pain when Granger had
first dragged him in, but now he had a clear view of the Blight
Hive and what he saw amazed him.

To the casual eye it looked like any other
village, and likely it had been just that before the Blights had
invaded. Small houses dotted each side of the road, and from what
he could tell his prison had once served as a barn. Trees
surrounded the entire clearing and flanked the sides of the path in
regular intervals. It looked too serene for Blights. Everything he
had seen of the creatures before mirrored the goblins in behavior,
but this place was well maintained and mirrored human behavior.
Judging by what he knew of the creatures and from what he had seen
in Eldagar when he had rescued Charm from the hive there, it made
no sense for them to be living in this fashion.

The rattle of chains behind him drew his
attention and he watched in silence as Caleb was led from the barn
by four Blights. Two stood behind the man holding chains attached
to his ankles while the two on each side of him had a firm grip on
the arm chains. Shade shook his head slowly and silently noted the
wary expressions on the Blight’s faces. Even with the measures they
had taken against the man, Caleb still unnerved them. He made a
silent note to ask the Arovan what exactly he had done to earn
their respect so thoroughly, but that seemed a topic better kept in
private. He doubted the Blights would appreciate that particular
line of conversation.

“Start walking Morcaillo.” One of the Blights
ordered roughly and pointed toward the tree lined path. She was a
stout woman with broad shoulders that were thickly corded in
muscles and Shade knew without a doubt she would have been a tough
fight for him when he was in his prime. In his present state he
would be nothing more than a minor annoyance for her if it came to
a fight.

With a slight nod he studied the dirt path
leading further into the village and silently cursed the tangled
tree roots that crisscrossed it as far as he could see. Letting out
a slow breath he began hobbling in the indicated direction. Within
two steps his foot tangled in a root and it took everything he had
to remain on his feet. Biting back several colorful words Shade
steadied himself once more and began walking again, trying
desperately to ignore the muffled laughter behind him. He could
feel the blush on his face and knew if they could see his
humiliation it would only increase their amusement. The only choice
he had was to ignore it and continue on if he wanted to keep any of
his dignity.

“And you wonder why I call you monsters.”
Caleb snarled behind him with genuine fury in his voice. “Remove my
chains and allow me to help him. You know I’m not going to run. I
set this damn meeting up, why would I run from it?”

“Not on your bloody life bastard.” One of the
Blights hissed and all sounds of amusement behind him faded
away.

Shade smiled faintly and silently thanked
Caleb. Once again his voice had silenced tormentors. It seemed to
be a talent the Arovan held. “I’m fine Caleb. I can do this.” Shade
assured him quietly as he continued on. Though in truth he wasn’t
entirely sure that he was fine, each step wrenched at the scars on
his back and leg painfully. He knew the exercise was good for him.
The wounds were too far healed for the movement to help much, but
maybe it would grant a bit more mobility if he was lucky.

Noise to the side of the path caught his
attention and Shade watched in amazement as a Blight moved a small
herd of goats past them. The simple sight of a Blight caring for
animals rather than devouring them was enough to keep his attention
riveted on the spectacle rather than the trail and it cost him
dearly. His foot caught in another root and the muscles in his back
screamed in protest as he went down hard on one knee.

Cursing himself for a fool Shade remained
frozen in place as he inventoried his newest pain. His knee was
split open he could tell that without looking and the muscle in his
back was torn again. Slowly he drew himself back up and stretched
his back to its fullest despite the flare of pain it brought.

This could be a blessing in disguise he
realized with a faint smile. He didn’t have Tevrae in his blood
anymore and it was possible that his regeneration would heal the
muscles in his back to a point that walking would be easier. He
would still be lame in his leg, but without the added burden of his
back wound it would have to be better. It was almost worth the
renewed laughter behind him, and if his suspicion about his back
was correct it might be the answer to their escape. If Onvalla
didn’t listen to them, he could possibly improve the condition of
his leg, with a bit of self-mutilation and regeneration. The
thought sickened him, but it was an option he had to keep an open
mind about. If Caleb had to carry him from Glis their chances were
slim, but if they could both run there was a chance that escape was
possible.