The Crow King's Wife (18 page)

Neph glanced toward his mother as she rose
from her chair as well. His gaze trailed over her face and the
sadness in her eyes and his expression softened. She had risked her
heart for a chance to see him, and in return for that he had
essentially spit in her face with his attitude. There was no way he
could let her leave without attempting to set things right between
them. If not for her visit, he might have never learned the truth
about what had happened to her. He cleared his throat quietly to
catch her attention and held her gaze for a long moment before
speaking. “My greatest fault may very well be my pride. It blinds
me to many things, and I often assume I know exactly what is going
on. I was young when you disappeared, and I should have realized
when you arrived today that the circumstances were special. The
mother I remember wouldn’t have abandoned her children, and you
have my apologies for accusing you of that. I’m sorry I treated you
so poorly when you arrived, but it has become my nature to treat
everyone poorly I think.”

Cora stared at him for a long moment and then
her eyes grew glassy once more. “Neph.” She spoke his name with
such reverence that Neph felt even worse for the way he had treated
her.

He rose from his chair slowly and walked
toward her feeling more awkward than he had in ages. “I remember
you and how you loved us, and I’m so sorry for what happened. Had I
known, I would have killed Ren myself. You have no idea how much
Zyi and I missed you.” He said quietly as he hugged her lightly. He
couldn’t think of anyone else he had hugged in the last decade
beyond Jala, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Her arms
wrapped around his chest tightly and she returned the hug with far
more enthusiasm than he had expected.

“That was well done.” Fortune said with
approval clear in his voice.

Neph looked up slowly and met Fortune’s eyes
and the faint smile that had been on his face faded. “You however I
have no apology for. I respect you as an Aspect, and I am grateful
for the information you have shared today, but it in no way erases
the fact that had you been more responsible I would be hugging my
mother not her spirit. I won’t assume I know what truly happened
between the two of you, but from the facts I see it comes down to
this. You bedded a married woman and she died because of it. We
have a long way to go before we are on good terms and even further
before I will consider you my father.”

“Spoken like a true Delvay.” Fortune said
with approval still lacing his words. “It’s good to have a goal in
life. I suppose mine will be to make proper amends to you and your
sister, though I dare say Zyi will be much easier to find
forgiveness with.” He added with a faint chuckle as he held his
hand out to Cora. She unlaced her arms from Neph’s chest with faint
tears still tracing down her face and moved to his side silently.
The sadness was gone from her eyes, replaced with a look of such
vast relief that Neph almost smiled again himself.

“Thank you Neph.” Cora spoke quietly and
smiled at him. It was something he hadn’t thought to ever see
again. It was the smile she reserved for only her children, an
expression that was so filled with devotion and love that words
were not needed. She wrapped her arms tighter around Fortune and
rested her head against his shoulder with a look of contentment on
her face.

“Forgiveness is such a powerful thing. It is
the essence of love in so many ways.” Fortune said softly and
cradled Cora close to him. “I am far from perfect Neph. What little
I told you of my life should have proven that for you. I did make a
mistake, but you and I aren’t seeing the same one. You believe my
love for your mother was wrong, I believe letting RenDelvayon live
was. We may never see eye to eye on the matter, and if that is the
case so be it. I was irresponsible, and I do regret what happened
because of it more than you will ever know. Learn from my mistakes
and prove you are more responsible and rational than I am Neph.”
Fortune said quietly as the two of them faded from the room.

“That shouldn’t be hard.” Neph muttered as he
gazed down at the sacks once more and let out a heavy sigh. There
was far too much for him to think about, but his mind kept circling
back to the same thing…Rivasa. The idea of letting Caleb and Shade
go into Rivasa without him still wasn’t sitting well in his mind,
but he would force himself to give it more thought. Frowning Neph
glanced up at the ceiling and glared. “You didn’t tell me how to
use someone as a conduit you ass.” He grumbled. The knowledge was
likely in one of his books and there was a chance that he would
find it before Caleb arrived. He didn’t have the patience to even
start the search with his mind as scattered as it was currently
though.

His gaze moved from the bags on the table to
the painting of his mother on the wall and he slowly crossed the
room. He hesitated a long moment before lifting the painting from
the wall. The stone beneath was smooth, but after running his
fingers over the wall he found the grooves of a hidden compartment.
It took him several more minutes to find the release mechanism.
With a faint rumble a small piece of the wall slid back revealing a
narrow shelf, and Neph stared in silence at the heavy metal urn
within. “When I see Sovaesh next I’m going to thank him for killing
you Ren.” Neph muttered and hoped by some twist of the fates that
RenDelvayon’s spirit was still tethered enough to these rooms that
he could somehow hear the words. “My only regret about your death
is that Sovaesh had the honor of killing you. That gift should have
been mine.” Neph added softly as he lifted the urn from its hiding
place and stared down at his mother’s ashes. She deserved a better
burial than what Ren had given her, and it was something he could
do while still thinking on the other matters that he had to
consider. Tucking the urn carefully under his arm he started for
the door and then hesitated. His gaze returned to the urn and he
slowly turned back to the table. Carefully he sat the urn down and
slid back into his chair once more. It needed to be done, but it
could wait for Zyi. Cora had been taken from both of them, and it
was only fitting that they both had the chance to pay their
respects.

The Darklands

Whispers rose from every corner of the throne
room like a swarm of angry bees. It was quite possibly the most
irritating sound he had ever endured Finn decided as he stared at
the creatures he had summoned. Every one of them served him in some
fashion, from the demons to the lowliest spirits. Most were
watching him as he sat silent on this throne, but he saw several
glancing curiously toward Exodus who was seated primly at a table
beside a shroud covered body. The more attentive of his servants
had long since stopped caring about Exodus however and were gazing
upwards. It was unusual to not hear the steady swoosh of wings from
above, but the air was silent tonight. They were no doubt wondering
where Kaverax was. Yasny was with them in the throne room, but
there was no sign of her mate and Finn knew it had quite a few of
them troubled. The dragons above the citadel were as much a part of
the Darklands as the Divine of Death. They had been here since the
beginning, and now one was gone.

“How much longer are you going to let them
stew, Finn?” Fiona asked quietly from the right side of his throne.
She wore her white armor as always and was standing as rigid as a
palace guard beside him. Finn glanced at her and shrugged one
shoulder before slowly looking to his left. Seth stood silent
there; the perfect opposite of Fiona dressed in dark leathers and
slouched against the wall. His expression was unreadable, and he
didn’t seem the slightest bit nervous, but then Seth never did seem
nervous. He glanced at Finn and raised an eyebrow in question, but
remained silent. It was his general attitude lately. Seth had
barely spoken five words to him since their talk behind the crow
carved door the night Zoey had left.

Finn sighed heavily and turned his attention
back to the crowd. In all honesty he had expected Seth to take care
of this problem long before now, but the Assassin seemed intent on
doing nothing but sulking. He wasn’t even sure that Seth had known
there had been a betrayal in the citadel. Slowly Finn stood and the
room around him fell silent as all attention riveted on his
movement. Demons and spirits alike watched him with expressions
ranging from fear to contempt. Finn studied the latter carefully
and noted the ones who seemed the most defiant. He had been kinder
than his predecessor and it seemed to have given his servants the
wrong impression. Too many of them seemed to believe his kindness
meant weakness. He intended to correct that matter today.

“Yasny, come forward.” Finn commanded and his
voice rang off of the stones so loudly that a few of the lesser
spirits shuffled back further.

To her credit, Yasny did not cringe. She
glided forward with hips swaying gently as if she were a queen
amongst peasants. Her long black hair fell across her shoulders as
smooth as silk and the red gown she wore hugged her perfect body in
all of the right places. She smiled at him with a look of pure
invitation written on her face. “How may I serve Milord?” she
purred in a voice that would have had most men undressing before
she had fallen silent.

Finn watched her display with a faint smile
and had to resist laughing. She actually seemed to believe she
could seduce her way out of this one, or she thought he was just as
oblivious as Seth apparently was. “You may serve me by answering my
questions honestly Yasny.” Finn began in a cold voice. All eyes in
the throne room shifted to Yasny with hunger. There was nothing the
creatures of the Darklands enjoyed more than watching someone else
suffer more than they were. “It is not like you to help another
Yasny. In fact I don’t think I have ever seen you help anyone,
aside from Zoelyn. You helped her the night she left the Darklands
and I want to know why.”

“She wished to catch Seth’s attention better.
I have a bit more experience with men than the poor girl did. So I
lent my advice.” Yasny answered carefully.

“By arranging her clothing and hair to mirror
Dashara?” Finn pressed.

“I was trying to help her see him for what he
was. Seth is a monster. She was innocent and blind to his true
nature. I did what I could to break the charm he had over her and
allow her to truly see him for what he is.” Yasny’s voice was
filled with so much sincerity that Finn almost laughed again.

“So you took your actions to save her from
Seth then?” Finn concluded dryly. He kept his gaze locked on her
with a dark expression on his face, but she didn’t so much as
flinch.

Yasny nodded slowly, but her attention was
focused on Seth now. The Assassin was no longer slouching against
the wall, and his hand was resting lightly on his dagger hilt. Finn
flicked a glance back to him and smirked. Seth truly had been
oblivious then Finn realized. His actions now were proving it.

“If that were the honest truth Yasny I would
say you are redeemed. I would say your penance was at an end.” Finn
began in a kinder voice as he slowly stepped down from his dais and
began walking toward Exodus. “Kaverax found redemption you know. I
sent him on to the life stream this morning. In all truth he likely
found it long before now, but Death never saw fit to release him. I
suppose dragons do make good lawn ornaments though.” Finn paused
beside Exodus and stared down at the shroud covered body. He smiled
faintly and winked at Exodus. “Nix is good; it takes talent to
steal from Kali.” He whispered as he slowly turned back to look at
Yasny.

“Nix is the best and I hope this favor
balances my mistake of summoning Seth without permission?” Exodus
whispered behind him.

Finn nodded once his gaze still fixed on
Yasny. “I don’t think it’s the honest answer though Yasny. I
believe you took your actions because of the deal you made with
Hemlock on my rooftop. In a bargain for this masterpiece.” Finn
pulled the shroud back as he spoke revealing the pale body beneath.
It was a perfect duplicate of Yasny in every way. Kali truly was a
master with her magic to recreate a dragon that had been dead for
centuries down to the last hair. “I just wanted to hear what
bullshit you would spew to save your own hide. I am not quite as
stupid as everyone present seems to believe.” Finn informed her
with a smile.

Yasny stared at the body in silence with her
lips parted in dismay. Her eyes flicked back to Seth once more and
she took a hesitant step toward the body. “Anyone in this room
would have taken that bargain.” She whispered hoarsely. Her eyes
locked on Finn’s in desperation and she took another step toward
him. “I betrayed Seth not you!” she said more loudly and her voice
broke with the words.

“You betrayed Seth and tried to cheat me.”
Finn corrected coldly. His hand dropped gently to rest on the cheek
of the body. “I won’t be cheated.” He announced as he summoned his
magic. The pale flesh beneath his hand began to wither and turn
black.

With a wail of pure agony Yasny rushed
forward as the first of the flesh began to slough off of the body.
Finn raised his other hand before she could close the full distance
between them and held her frozen in place as his magic destroyed
what remained of her hopes. There was nothing but crumbled bones
remaining by the time he walked toward her.

“Serve your penance and I promise you will
find peace.” Finn began his eyes moving over the crowded room.
“Betray me and I will destroy that which you most desire before
your eyes.” He finished coldly his eyes once more focused on Yasny.
She writhed before him, but couldn’t summon enough power to break
the hold his magic had on her. She was pinned neatly in place with
no prayer of salvation. “You thought I was a fool.” He informed her
with a grim smile. Ever so gently he brushed his hand across her
pale cheek. She trembled beneath his touch and likely would have
pulled away if he had given her that luxury. “I was watching the
entire time Yasny. Had you turned away from Hemlock I would have
rewarded you, but you chose the other path instead. Now you get to
pay the full price for that choice.” His hand dropped away from her
side and he smiled at Seth. “Since I have taken over the domain of
Death you have been waiting patiently for a reward for your
service. You prefer souls over penance.” A low wavering cry began
to rise from Yasny as she realized what he was about to do. Finn
paused in his words and nodded once to her. “That’s right
sweetheart.” He whispered and winked at her. “She is yours Seth.”
He finished loudly and walked back toward his throne. Yasny’s voice
rose from a soft cry to an inhuman scream as Seth closed the
distance between them.