The Crow King's Wife (6 page)

“May you all rot in the Darklands.” Caleb
snarled and his words were punctuated by the snapping of chains.
Within a Breath Caleb was at his side and his arm was bracing him.
Broken chains dangled from his wrists and ankles and the expression
on his face was positively murderous. “Bloody heartless bastards.”
Caleb muttered as he ducked low enough for Shade to get an arm over
his shoulder.

Once again the laughter behind him had died
and Shade glanced over his shoulder to the Blights and then back to
Caleb. All four of the guards wore nervous expressions, and none of
them seemed inclined to recapture Caleb. “You mean you could have
broken your chains at any point and yet you are still their
prisoner?” Shade whispered.

“How far do you think I could have made it
with the forest this infested with Blights with no provisions or
weapons?” Caleb asked quietly as he half-carried Shade down the
trail.

“Valid point.” Shade murmured his gaze
dropping once more to the ground. Twice was enough, he wasn’t about
to let another tree make a fool of him.

“Two hundred miles in case you were genuinely
curious on that point. I’ve escaped three times so far, and that is
likely the only reason you are alive currently. If Granger hadn’t
been hunting me down, he never would have stumbled across you.
That’s the reason I wasn’t in the prison the night you were brought
in. Your arrival bought me extra time and I was five miles from the
Arovan border before he caught me that time. That was the two
hundred mile jaunt, the other two times I barely made it fifty
miles. Three escapes and all three times it was Granger that caught
me.” Caleb said with a smirk.

“You sound half way fond of the man. I
thought you hated all Blights.” Shade observed quietly.

“I hate some of them for what they do. I
don’t hate the race itself. Granger has been decent to me despite
the trouble I’ve caused him, and I have to respect his skill. There
aren’t many that can track me down when I don’t want to be found.
I’m not saying he is a drinking buddy, but I don’t despise him by
any means. All three times he has accepted my surrender without a
fight. Had I been closer than five miles to Arovan, I might have
fought him the last round, and I really can’t say which of us would
have won. Granger is formidable and I was unarmed.” Caleb explained
as he carefully hauled Shade over a washed out spot in the path.
“Careful here the rocks are loose.” Caleb warned quietly as he
lowered Shade fully back to the ground once more.

“I miss paved roads.” Shade muttered sourly.
It was humiliating to be in the state he was in, and Caleb’s
presence was the only thing that made it remotely bearable. If not
for the Arovan he would be crawling to Onvalla’s door and he knew
it. If he had even managed to get a meeting with her in the first
place, and that in itself was doubtful. He wasn’t sure what Caleb
had done to secure this meeting, but the Blights had given the
Arovan the opportunity to try and they barely gave him a second
glance.

“I miss more than I can bear to think about.
My family and friends, my city, good hot meals, bathing, soap, by
the Aspects I miss soap. Clean clothes, my weapons, and my horse.”
Caleb’s voice trailed off with a sigh and he shrugged his free
shoulder. “We will have some of it back soon though.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone speak
so lovingly of soap before. It was almost like a yearning in your
voice. You could sing love ballads that would have women weeping
and all you would have to think about would be soap.” Shade teased
in a pathetic attempt to pull Caleb’s mind back from the depression
he could see growing in the man’s eyes.

“I’ve been in captivity for months Shade. I
have creatures living in my clothes and hair that have been
thriving there so long I’ve got names for them. I do love soap and
I could sing ballads for it right now. I would settle for a dunk in
a watering trough if the bastards would allow it, but they seem to
delight in keeping me in filth. I’m so envious of the mages that
learned cleaning spells right now it’s pathetic. I will learn every
spell of that nature I can once we are out of here.” Caleb replied
dryly.

“If any of your pets crawl off onto me would
you be so kind as to tell me their names so I can tell them to
return to you?” Shade asked with a smirk.

“Bitey and Itchy have already migrated and I
doubt they will return. You are greener pastures than me at this
point, too much competition over here and you likely smell better
than I do.” Caleb returned with a completely serious expression on
his face despite the bizarre nature of the conversation.

“You could tell me the sky is purple and it
was raining frogs yesterday with a straight face couldn’t you.”
Shade mused with a faint smile.

“Lizards, the frog rains don’t hit Glis until
closer to winter.” Caleb replied calmly and glanced at Shade his
expression still serious. “It’s an art that too many Elder Blood
master. I can lie like a dog and make it sound the honest
truth.”

“Not a very knightly sentiment.” Shade
replied with a snort of genuine amusement. He could see Caleb
becoming the closest friend he had very easily. The man never
ceased to amaze him, and someone with his talents would be a very
good ally to have.

“I never once said I was a knight Shade. You
just assumed I was. Every time I’ve heard you refer to me as a
knight I’ve had to repress a chuckle. I couldn’t even pass the
knight exams with my magic. I don’t qualify as a knight for several
reasons.” Caleb smirked and shook his head at Shade with a hint of
a smile on his face.

“But you said you were in Micah’s honor
guard.” Shade objected.

“That doesn’t make me a knight Shade. You
really don’t know who I truly am, do you?” Caleb asked and his
smile widened.

“Caleb Faulklin.” Shade offered dumbly with
an expression of utter confusion written clearly on his face.

“Strangers call me Caleb. My friends called
me Grim, and everyone else knows me by other titles. If we live
through this I’m sure you will hear them from time to time.” Caleb
returned cryptically.

“Which do you prefer?” Shade asked as Caleb
drew them both to a stop in front of a two story house. His gaze
lingered on the brightly colored flowers beside the stairs and he
shook his head silently. It seemed so wrong for daisies to be
sprouting near the house that belonged to the most dangerous woman
in Glis.

“Caleb is fine for now.” Caleb announced
quietly and he glanced behind them at their Blight escort. Turning
back to Shade he nodded toward the house. “Don’t let her appearance
fool you Shade. Be on guard in here. Onvalla is not as she appears.
She is a serpent and she is deadly.”

“Watch your tongue Faulklin or I’ll cut it
out.” The stout guard warned as her hand dropped to her belt to
settle around her dagger hilt. She seemed the most vocal of the
guards and Shade decided she must be the leader of the squad or
simply the biggest fool. With the caution the other Blights had
shown it was obviously a very bad idea to pick a fight with Caleb,
but then they were close to Onvalla’s house now. It was possible
the entire area was filled with Blights and they just couldn’t see
them. That could very easily explain the woman’s new found
boldness.

“I’d love to see you try that, Liadra.” Caleb
shot back with venom lacing every word. His grip on Shade loosened
as he half-turned to face the Blight. “My opinions are my own and I
will voice them as I please. You have taken everything else that I
have, but that is still mine and I won’t surrender it.”

“Is now really the time for this?” Shade
asked quietly. The last thing he wanted was his meeting for peace
with Onvalla to start with a brawl outside her front door.

“At the risk of sounding petulant, she
started it.” Caleb muttered sourly.

“I’d say childish was a more fitting word
than petulant, but as you like.” Shade sighed and pulled back from
Caleb as he turned to face the stairs. He let out a rough sigh and
hobbled closer to grip the railing as he studied the rough wooden
slats and pondered exactly how he was going to accomplish this
without further humiliation.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to have
help with that?” Caleb asked quietly.

“I will be damned if I am going to be carried
into this meeting. I don’t have much pride left Caleb, but I have
too much to stomach that. I’d rather swallow a dagger than be
carried.” Shade snapped in a tone that rang with more petulance
than Caleb could ever match.

“As you like.” Caleb replied and Shade could
hear the smirk in his voice without even turning to look.

Shade’s foot had barely settled on the first
step when Caleb moved swiftly up behind him and tossed him over his
shoulder like a sack of grain. Blood rushed to Shade’s face as
embarrassment and anger warred for control of his mind. In two
quick steps Caleb cleared the rickety stairs and swung Shade down
from his shoulder.

“Dignity aside Shade you are not as capable
now as you once were, and the sooner you come to terms with that
the better off you are. You will need help from now on, and we
don’t have the time to waste for you to learn that lesson on your
own.” Caleb spoke before Shade could even open his mouth.

Anger roared in Shade’s mind, but he forced
it back down. No matter how much he hated it and wanted to deny the
words there was a bitter truth to what Caleb said that he knew he
couldn’t ignore. Swallowing heavily he bit the inside of his cheek
until his anger faded. Nodding slowly he cleared his throat. “Thank
you, Caleb.” His voice was colder than usual, but the words were
genuine. It was difficult for him to say, but he knew it needed to
be said. Had the Arovan been trying to humiliate him it would have
been different, but Shade knew Caleb had acted with good
intentions.

Caleb stared at him for several breaths and
shook his head slowly. “You are a strange one, Morcaillo. Even
Micah would have punched me for that.” He said quietly.

“Just Shade please. Don’t call me Morcaillo.
I’m not the sort to lose my head to anger, even when I probably
should. You were helping me, and no matter how hard it is to
accept, you are right. For now I am crippled and for now I do need
help.” Shade managed to keep his voice calm despite the bitterness
the words summoned in his mind. It wasn’t Caleb’s fault he was
crippled and it wasn’t right to take it out on him. He had no one
to blame for his problems beyond himself, and Onvalla. If not for
her Tevrae doses he would have healed, but he couldn’t dwell on
that. He was here to make peace with her for Jala’s sake and he
couldn’t allow his own personal grievance to risk his mission.

Turning slowly he pushed open the door of the
house and froze as his eyes landed on the woman inside. She had
been standing near the window when the door opened, but turned to
face him at the sound. He had been expecting someone in armor and
perhaps with facial hair by the sound of her voice the night she
had visited the prison, but the woman before him was stunning. Her
long golden hair fell in waves across her shoulders and her face
was that of an innocent maiden with perfect full lips and pale
skin. Wide blue eyes followed his every movement as he stepped
fully into the room. She looked too delicate to wrestle a child to
the ground and yet she was the current leader of the most savage
race on Sanctuary.

Her long skirts swished silently against her
legs as she stepped closer and then froze as Caleb entered the
room. Her full lips curved into a smile and her face lit with
delight. “Ah how the mighty have fallen. Did you enjoy yourself
Caleb when you were arranging this meeting?” she asked in a honey
sweet voice.

“I did what I had to do and nothing more.”
Caleb replied in a voice so filled with hatred that Shade cringed
at the sound of it.

He glanced back at the Arovan and wondered if
he should have asked the man to wait outside. This conversation was
going to be difficult enough without Caleb’s anger, and the man had
already declared he wasn’t willing to keep his opinions to
himself.

“Oh Caleb don’t be like that.” Onvalla
purred, but her expression was anything but friendly. She was
gloating and it was obvious that she was enjoying Caleb’s anger. It
was like watching a child bait a bear, and Shade knew it would end
just as poorly if he didn’t do something soon.

“Milady Onvalla I know you and Caleb have bad
blood between the two of you, but I really think we should press
onto business rather than prodding each other’s wounds. What I am
here to discuss is important to everyone in this room and more
important than personal grievances.” Shade spoke just loud enough
for his voice to carry and took pains to keep his tone as
respectful as possible despite his own feelings. In truth he wanted
to punch her in the face for taunting Caleb almost as much as he
wanted to stab her for leaving him hanging in a barn to rot. He
sighed heavily and silently prayed she wasn’t scanning his mind, by
her expression though she didn’t seem to be, unless of course she
was as good at acting as Caleb was.

“Such pretty words.” Onvalla snapped her eyes
flashing back to land on him. She did nothing to hide the loathing
she felt for him and Shade felt his hopes sinking further.

She had too much prejudice in her heart to
hear anything he said unless he could think of something really
good, really quickly. He had dealt with hard negotiations in
Sanctuary before during his time as the ruling lord of his quarter
of the city, but he had never entered into a negotiation with so
many cards against him. He was disfigured, stunk worse than a
sewage soaked corpse, and was wearing torn and filthy clothing.
There was no way he was going to charm anyone in his current state,
especially not someone that already hated him simply for the blood
pulsing through his veins.