The Crow King's Wife (16 page)

“I honestly fail to see how this is in anyway
helpful, unless of course you happen to know the spell to release
them from stasis.” Neph said in annoyance.

Fortune smiled faintly and shrugged one
shoulder. “My twin brother Tyvosh as well as my mother were caught
in that stasis spell.” He continued as if Neph hadn’t voiced any
complaint at all. “Originally the plan was to lock them into stasis
and destroy them while they were defenseless. My beloved
volunteered to act as a conduit to cast the stasis spell, and they
would have used her to destroy those caught by it as well, but she
had a fatal case of my sword through her chest before they had a
chance. I was supposedly there to protect her while she was
defenseless during the spellcasting, but my family was trapped by
that spell. It was her or them, and I had already tried to talk her
out of it. So I made my choice. With that action I became betrayer
in the eyes of Delvay as well as the Guardians, and thus had to
make a few changes to myself in order to hide.” He waved a hand at
himself and smiled bitterly at Neph.

Neph’s frown deepened and he folded his arms
over his chest as he considered what he was being told. Essentially
his true father not only snuck into the beds of married woman, but
he was a two time traitor as well. The information did not bode
well for a good relationship between the two of them. There was
only so much respect one was due for simply being an Aspect, and
Fortune was rapidly losing what he had acquired on that merit.

“This little tidbit of my life may have you
confused, but it explains why Ren kept you alive. He tested you
time and time again to try to determine who your true father was,
but he kept getting the same thing. His life magic always showed
that you were of Delvay blood and nearly identical to him in life
patterns. It never once occurred to him that you actually were
related to him, because he didn’t know the bit of history I just
told you. My little sister who sympathized with the Guardians never
actually left Delvay. Her husband was the leader of the country,
she couldn’t leave. She had no choice but to hide her affiliation
and remain behind. When news of the Barrier arose she helped gather
the heroes and did everything she could to help the Guardians trick
the Delvay into retreating peacefully. Once the Barrier came up she
settled in for what she hoped would eventually be a peaceful life,
and finally allowed herself to become a mother. KayDelvayon and
RenDelvayon were the names she chose for her children.”

“My Grandmother?” Neph demanded
doubtfully.

“Technically your Aunt actually.” Fortune
corrected mildly before continuing. “Even if I had wished to remain
outside beyond the Barrier I had little choice in the matter. The
Guardians were hunting feverishly for me, and my entire family was
here. So I willingly stepped into the trap. I wandered aimlessly
about the lands for a while, before I realized without a house or a
nation to call my own there was only one way I could still try to
help end the fighting or at least ease some of the pain. So I
Ascended and chose Fortune as my Aspect. It was pure luck that had
kept me alive or from being caught up until that point, so it
seemed fitting. That and there was very little chance that anyone
from Delvay would ever pay much attention to an Aspect such as
myself. Things were wonderful aside from the constant wars and the
unfailing attempts to tear down the Barrier by nearly every house.
So I set about trying to find a way to bring peace to Sanctuary in
a more civilized manner than the Guardians had chosen.”

“Neph please quit glaring at him that way.
Aside from me, you are the only person he has ever trusted this
knowledge to, and I promise if you just hear him out it will all
click into place and make sense.” His mother spoke in a tone of
pleading and Neph did his best to wipe the scowl from his face.

Neph wasn’t sure why he was humoring her, and
it wasn’t something he wanted to question. It wasn’t his nature to
forgive and forget easily, but with her it seemed as though he had
already forgiven. He no longer felt anger toward her, and he knew
if he put much thought into he would. There were so many choices
she had made that could make him hate her if he allowed himself to
dwell on it, but the simple truth was, he had lived most of his
life without a mother, and the thought of losing her again was
gut-wrenching. She wasn’t alive, and she wasn’t truly dead, but he
was desperate enough to take what he could get. At least this way
he might possibly have a chance to know her.

Fortune glanced at him once more and pushed
Neph’s beer toward him. “I wish it were a short explanation, but
for you to fully understand I can’t spare the earliest details.” He
sighed and shifted in his chair before he seemed to abandon all
hope of getting comfortable and simply leaned forward to rest his
arms on the table. “My first attempt was Dashara. I thought that
ending slavery would be a wonderful way to alleviate some
suffering. Seth buggered that project from all angles. Fiona
Veirasha was my second attempt, and once again an outside force
buggered it to all hell. Then a priestess of mine among the
Fionaveir sent a prayer to me asking for help for a woman who was
abused at the hands of the Merrodin.” Fortune paused and another
faint smile lit his face for a moment. “That was the first
knowledge I had of Jala Merrodin; A prayer for her before she was
even born from one of my most devout servants. So I joined the
Fionaveir in their crusade for a revolution. Originally it was
planned that certain houses would have to find new leadership if
peace was ever to come to Sanctuary. To my delight RenDelvayon’s
name was on that short list. House Merrodin was to have a new
leader as well, a tiny little girl that had just been born while
the plan was being made. Myth tried to bugger that plan as well but
I clung to it with tenacity as I never had before. When Merro was
destroyed I sent more power to that child than I had used in
centuries to keep her alive, then ensured that she would be found
by those that would keep her safe. Over the years I shielded her as
best I could, but my true power over the situation was limited. I
couldn’t interfere directly because I’m an Aspect, and there was a
Divine involved that is much more powerful than I am. So when she
arrived in Sanctuary I did my best to ensure she would stay safe,
by sending her directly to Finn at the first opportunity and thus
into the hall my son lived in. I wasn’t sure about Finn Sovaesh,
but I knew once you had given her a chance to prove herself to you
that you would protect her.”

“So you turned her from Shade and set her up
for heart break with Finn.” Neph broke in coldly. “Do you realize
how much Jala and Shade have in common? They share the same desire
to save the world and the same idealistic view of how things could
be. If she hadn’t turned to Finn the world might be better off and
one of my friends might still be alive today. Finn died for Jala
not for her dreams, and he is one of the fallen that we could truly
use alive right now.”

Fortune sighed heavily and the last of his
smile faded away. “Anthe Jendoshay has been a very good friend of
mine for some time. When I act on something this big I consult her
before I do anything. Had Jala stayed with Shade, Myth would have
killed them both according to Anthe’s visions. When I questioned
her about Finn in the beginning it was happily ever after. The
Fionaveir are the ones that soured that milk I’m afraid. It wasn’t
the Avanti that had him killed as Jala believes, but that is
neither here nor there at the present. He is dead, and there was
nothing I could do to stop it. I gave him the luck to evade
Hemlock, and he ignored it as so many people often do. Finn chose
to finish his mission rather than survive, and he has my respect
for that.”

“Madren’s witch?” Neph asked in confusion. He
didn’t think Anthe was a common name, but he had never heard Madren
use her surname before.

“She is one of the Tolanteer witches, but I’m
not sure she would appreciate being labeled as Madren’s witch.”
Fortune corrected mildly. “I’m not sure exactly when it happened,
but at some point the Fionaveir strayed from our intended path. I
fell out of the loop and they stopped informing me at all before
they made their next move. Now things are truly in a world of shit
and I’m not sure if there is anyone left to trust from the original
arrangement. In the beginning there were several High Lords helping
us. Damon Veirasha, Elijah Arovan, Nicoli Blackwolf, Arjuna Firym
as well as Jaradon Faydwer; they all knew of the plan and supported
it. Damon is dead as far as the rest of the world is concerned.
Elijah’s country is nearly crippled. Nicoli’s country is crippled
and he appears to be going a bit mad. I no longer trust Jaradon
Faydwer I think he may be suffering from the same issue the
Fionaveir appear to be having, so that leaves me with Arjuna and
you.” Fortune gazed at Neph with a smirk and then chuckled
bitterly. “And I’m not at all certain about you.”

“What about Jala? Or Jin Han’shy?” Neph asked
sharply.

“Jala wouldn’t listen to me if I dropped to
my knees before her and begged. She blames me for Finn’s death as
well as several other things I tried to prevent. I hold no
grievance toward her for it, but I also cannot depend on her
because of it. As for Jin, well I have never truly trusted his
motives. I knew him outside the Barrier and while everyone in here
is a bit of a bastard, Jin is the king Bastard of them all. To make
matters worse he is a mind mage so you never truly know what is
really happening when dealing with him.” Fortune explained
sadly.

“We have a few cards left to deal, but we
have to know where you stand before we can share more Neph.” His
mother added quietly.

“I chose my alliance, and I’m not turning my
back on it. My only interest right now is seeing that those I sided
with survive.” Neph said firmly.

“Then there are a few very important things
that you must know. Things that no one else realizes and could very
well change the course of things in days to come.” Fortune said
calmly as he withdrew a pouch from his jacket and sat it down on
the table before him. He fumbled with the silk ties for a moment
then withdrew a small square box. Neph knew the sort well enough
from his days at the Academy that it didn’t hold his attention
long. It was a smoker’s kit, and it would contain nothing more than
tobacco and paper, neither of which held the least bit of interest
to him. Finn and Valor had both carried them, but Neph himself had
never developed the habit of smoking.

“Let us start with the most problematic. Have
you heard of Azashy of the thousand-eyes?” His mother began the
moment Fortune had fallen silent.

Neph shook his head slowly at the name and
looked between the two of them. Fortune seemed content to let her
guide the conversation for the time being and was intent on rolling
a small sheet of paper filled with tobacco. His mother was watching
him intently with a look of concern on her face that Fortune didn’t
appear to share at all. The Aspect seemed perfectly relaxed without
a hint of nerves, despite the tone of the previous
conversation.

“Azashy was formerly the spy master in Glis,
long before the difficulties with the Blights arose.” His mother
began and glanced once at Fortune as she spoke, but the Aspect
still seemed to be entirely absorbed with his cigarette project.
She rolled her eyes and Neph found himself smiling despite his
stress. “Azashy was to be executed in Glis, but given the nature of
her services she was able to flee before they had a chance to
arrest her. She has lived in hiding for some time now, only
offering her services to a select few. She is likely the single
most talented information broker on Sanctuary, and now she is
missing. Fortune believes she is the key to our enemies being one
step ahead of you, Such as the ambush here in Delvay. With Azashy
feeding your enemies information there is no way to surprise
them.”

“How do you know she is missing and hasn’t
simply gone back into hiding? Or maybe she is allied with our
enemies.” Neph broke in before his mother had a chance to
continue.

“Let me field this one Cora.” Fortune said in
a mildly distracted voice.

Neph seized on the name immediately and
watched his mother as he repeated it over in his mind.
Cora
It was the single most valuable bit of information Fortune had
given him since the conversation had begun. Everything they had
told him so far was useful of course, but that had been the one
thing that he had wanted to know that he couldn’t quite phrase a
question for. He should have known her name without asking, and it
was too awkward for him to admit that he hadn’t.

“Damn it.” Fortune muttered as the thin paper
crinkled as he tried to roll the cigarette. Cora rolled her eyes
once more and pulled the smoker’s kit toward her as well as the
mutilated cigarette Fortune had been so intent on. The Aspect gave
her a grateful smile as she began the process of rolling a fresh
paper and then looked at Neph with a grin and a wink. He cleared
his throat quietly and glanced toward the cupboard behind Neph.
“Cora of course doesn’t drink, but I do.” He prompted quietly.

“Just full of vices aren’t you.” Neph
muttered as he rose from his chair and fetched a bottle of brandy
and two cups.

“Vices make life interesting and I do hate to
be bored.” Fortune said with a shrug. He watched Neph long enough
to ensure he was going to pour the drinks and let out a quick sigh.
“Now as to the point of Azashy, she won’t be working willingly with
our enemies, because she is a very special case. She isn’t truly a
bad person. There was simply an unfortunate event in Glis that led
to her downfall. You know the Black Bastard?”

“Caleb, yes I know him, and I know he doesn’t
exactly appreciate being called the Black Bastard.” Neph said in a
mildly reproachful voice. Caleb Faulklin had been close to
finishing his term at the Academy the year Neph had arrived at the
school. Neph had shared a few classes with the man and had never
found complaint. For the most part Caleb was quiet and observant,
until you pissed him off. Grim as his friends called him had a
temper to rival any Firym and easily match the Delvay.