The Crow King's Wife (32 page)

She doubted anyone else at the table could
hear the lie in his voice, but Zoelyn could read it clearly. Neph
wanted them to live and whatever was in the bags was proof of that.
If he truly didn’t care he wouldn’t have offered any assistance at
all.

“What can it hurt to look?” Shade asked when
Grim still showed hesitation.

With a resigned sigh Grim leaned forward and
pulled the closest bag over to him. His expression shifted from
suspicion to shock as he stared at the contents and then looked up
sharply at Neph. “Who do you drink tea with?” he demanded. He
slipped his hand into the bag and lifted a handful of what looked
to be black gravel from her vantage point across the table. Still
watching Neph he let the handful spill slowly back into the bag and
glanced to Shade who looked thoroughly confused. “These are
Stonevine seeds from Glis. Typically they are in very short supply
and the amount in front of me is worth a small fortune in
gold.”

“Uh, how exactly are seeds going to help us?”
Shade asked with obvious hesitation. He still looked confused but
there was a faint gleam of hope in his eyes at Grim’s reaction to
Neph’s gift.

Neph, Zoelyn noticed with amusement had
remained utterly silent on the matter of how he had gained the
seeds and from his expression he didn’t look inclined to speak of
it anytime soon. Her gaze shifted back to Grim once more as he
lifted another handful of seeds and let them trail from his hand
back into the bag. She could see the gears of his mind turning and
the glint of determination that was slowly forming in his dark
eyes.

“I can disable the city with these.” Grim
whispered and Zoelyn wasn’t sure if he was answering Shade or
talking to himself. His eyes were still focused on the small
treasure before him. “We sneak into the city and scatter these and
then I will lure Derrick Rivasa to us and ensure he brings Syrah
with him. Once Syrah is safe I will activate the seeds. That should
cause enough of a distraction for you to kill Derrick as you
promised Onvalla while I see to his remaining guards. The part I’m
unsure of is how to rescue the prisoners. We will be working with
limited time once I attack the city. Someone there is bound to have
enough skill to mind link for help with a neighboring city.” Grim’s
voice trailed off and he began to slowly drum his fingers on the
table as he continued to contemplate the matter.

“It’s simple. Dray and I will go with you and
while you and Shade are seeing to Derrick we will retrieve the
prisoners from where ever they are being held.” Zoelyn said
quietly.

“No.” Neph snapped at once and Zoelyn smiled
in response. She had known he would hate the idea, but it was the
most logical solution to their problem.

“Dray can you camouflage Zoey or does her
curse absorb your magic as well?” Shade asked quietly before Neph
could continue in his objection.

Shrugging one shoulder Dray rose from his
chair and moved closer to her. Zoelyn watched his face closely as
he extended a hand toward her, but there was no trace of the fear
that typically showed on the faces of others who touched her. She
could feel the weight of his hand through the leather of her coat,
but no trace of the tingling that always accompanied her curse when
it drained magic. With a frown she glanced up at Dray and raised an
eyebrow.

“Are you going to try it?” She asked softly
and he smiled at her in obvious amusement.

“I did and it is working. You can still see
me because of the contact between us.” Dray explained with a wink
then reluctantly pulled his hand back and nodded to Shade. “There
was no drain of my powers. Perhaps it’s due to the lead lining of
her coat or maybe the Blight immunity to magic protects my talent.
I’m not sure why it works, but it does and that is all that
matters.”

“Zoelyn you just arrived here. How can you
possibly expect me to allow you to go?” Neph growled with clear
annoyance. His pale blue eyes were alight with anger, but he was
controlling it. She wasn’t sure if it was due to Shade’s earlier
threat or if her brother still remembered how poorly she reacted to
his temper. She had always been the more rational of the two of
them, and in the past she had chosen to simply ignore his tantrums
until he conceded to rational conversation.

“Neph, how can we ask them to rescue our own
people without offering help? I understand why you can’t go, but
can you give me one solid reason why I shouldn’t beyond your
concern for my safety?” Zoelyn countered calmly.

“You are a pacifist for one.” Neph said
raising one finger. “You aren’t trained to defend yourself even if
you decided you wanted to.” Neph continued raising a second
finger.

“I’m going Neph.” Zoelyn cut in before he
could raise the third finger. “I know a bit about defending myself
and I can heal. There is a very good possibility that particular
talent will be required.” She added firmly and gave him a glare of
sheer stubbornness.

“So everything as I said it before and add
the fact that Zoelyn will be rescuing the prisoners while we deal
with Derrick.” Grim said with a nod of approval. “There is a
distinct possibility that this might actually work. Can you stone
the ship again Shade so that you will have a quick escape once
Zoelyn returns?”

“I can stone the ship so that we can have a
quick escape once she returns.” Shade corrected with heavy emphasis
on the word
we
.

“No time to argue it now.” Grim grumbled and
rose from his chair. He carefully lifted each of the bags with the
same tender care most handled newborn babes and nodded to Neph.
“Give her more credit and respect her courage.” He suggested in a
none to gentle tone.

“I respect her courage and condemn her idiocy
in the same breath.” Neph growled and rose from his chair still
glaring down at her.

Zoelyn smiled in response and shrugged her
shoulders at her brother. “I will be far safer than you give me
credit for.” She assured him quietly. The entire idea of venturing
into Rivasa made her stomach clench with nerves, but the knowledge
that if things went too horribly bad Seth might appear was enough
to keep her from trembling. She wasn’t at all certain he would show
up, especially after the trouble his appearance in Delvay had
caused, but just the possibility gave her the extra boost of
strength she needed.

“I will guard her with my life.” Dray
promised solemnly and bowed to Neph. From anyone else the words
might have seemed noble tripe, but Zoelyn could see the sincerity
written in every line of Dray’s face. He meant what he said, and
the thought unnerved her even more.

“You better.” Neph grumbled through clenched
teeth.

“Better yet I will guard myself and then you
can focus on helping me gather the prisoners and keeping yourself
alive.” Zoelyn suggested hopefully.

“Argue about it on the way. The more time we
waste the longer my daughter is in Rivasan hands.” Grim snapped as
he turned for the door without a second glance back.

“Light a candle to Fortune for us.” Shade
said with a nod to Neph before turning to follow Grim.

Neph stared at Shade’s back for a long moment
then glanced to Zoelyn as she began to ease toward the door. “Make
sure you make it back in one piece Zyi.” He whispered just loud
enough for her to hear him.

“I promise I will Neph.” Zoelyn smiled at him
and considered crossing to give him a hug, but as reluctant as he
had been over her leaving she was half afraid he wouldn’t let go of
her and Grim would force Shade to depart without her. “With every
Delvay child that still lives.” She added as she stepped through
the door and headed toward the Spell Hawk with Dray at her
side.

“Perhaps by the end of this mission you won’t
need to find strength in thoughts of a treacherous demon. Maybe
once we are safely back within these walls you will realize that
strength lies closer at hand and Seth isn’t worthy of your
devotion.” Dray spoke the words so softly that she almost missed
them.

Silently she glanced over to him and wondered
just how often he scanned her mind. “Does it matter what I use to
bolster myself?” she asked quietly.

Dray met her eyes for a moment and shrugged
his shoulder in response. His face was free of all emotion and
there had been no hint of what he was thinking when he looked at
her, but she had the unsettling feeling that somehow her answer had
disappointed him deeply.

The Darklands

Wind whistled through the limbs above him,
but beyond the soft whisper of the leaves the grove was silent. She
didn’t make a sound as she approached, but he knew she was there.
He had known the moment she had entered his domain despite her
stealth. Since the day Seth had pulled him from the mire of
depression and been forced to kill to preserve his seat of power
Finn hadn’t let his guard down once. He knew every whisper, every
move, and every soul within his domain with an unwavering
certainty. No one could sneak in or out of the Darklands without
him knowing, not even Exodus the Mistress of thieves.

With a long silent breath Finn stared up at
the black barked trees and watched the oak leaves dance. He didn’t
know if she realized he could sense her, but didn’t turn to face
her. Let her wonder a bit longer and keep her silence as long as
she would. He had very little doubt as to what had brought her to
visit him. She had heard the rumors of his insanity and had come to
judge for herself if he had indeed gone mad. It was a topic he
would broach once she spoke, but until the silence was broken his
mind would remain with the grove and his current project.

His cloak shifted slightly as he stepped
forward and pressed a hand against his newest creation. The bark
was cool beneath his touch and he felt a pang of disappointment.
There was no pulse of life beneath his hand, and there never would
be. He could create the image of a tree and give it leaves to
flutter in the wind, but it would never grow and it would never
bloom or change with the seasons. It was the image of a tree and
nothing more. A true tree required sunlight and water and most
importantly the spark of life, none of which he had to give. The
water of course could be managed, but the other two requirements
were quite beyond his talents.

“Has the Lord of Death taken to gardening?”
Exodus asked softly. She had ensconced herself in one of the trees,
tucked neatly against the trunk with her legs propped daintily on a
thick branch in front of her. Her short dark hair fluttered in
mimicry of the leaves and an impish smile curved her lips.

Finn stared at her in silence for a long
moment his gaze locked on the bright blue of her silk shirt against
the constant twilight of the sky behind her. The color she wore was
the blue of a cloudless summer day, another aspect of his domain
that he couldn’t master. He had tried to lighten the sky, but the
effect had been both unnerving to his subjects and too draining on
his power to maintain. So it was twilight again, and always would
be. He let his hand fall from the tree as he straightened. His
cloak settled straight across his shoulders once more as he pulled
his gaze from her and studied each of the trees in turn before
looking back up at her. Her smile had faded and he could read
concern in her face as she watched him. He felt the corners of his
own mouth tug into the fraction of a smile in response. It amused
him to no end that everyone seemed to think he had gone mad when he
was finally thinking clearly for the first time in his life. He
knew exactly what needed to be done, and this little project of his
was just the first step. The changes to the Darklands unsettled his
servants, and when they were unsettled they were not plotting. He
needed them complacent while he sorted out the rest of his plans
and started taking the steps needed for his true goals.

“Taken to gardening and lost your tongue. It
hasn’t been that long since I parted company with you, but
apparently I missed something very important.” Exodus said with
forced levity and he watched as she attempted to summon another
smile and failed miserably.

Finn let his own smile widen fractionally and
lowered himself slowly to the moss covered ground. Still silent he
adjusted the fall of his cloak and leaned back against one of the
massive oaks. He let his attention wander for a moment toward the
distant grass covered hills that rose closer to his city then
glanced up at her once more. “I don’t think that you are a regular
guest at War’s table so I’m going to assume the rumors of my
madness have spread throughout all of the Aspects by now.” He began
in a calm voice. For some reason speaking in low tones seemed to
reassure those that questioned his sanity. It didn’t make much
sense to him, but he wasn’t going to knock it. He would take every
advantage he could get.

“A few people are talking.” Exodus agreed
hesitantly. She eyed him curiously as if she couldn’t quite believe
he wasn’t frothing at the mouth and rambling then seemed to relax a
bit on her perch above him. “You don’t sound mad though even if you
do look a bit nutty.” She added in a brighter voice.

Frowning Finn gazed down at his immaculate
armor and traced a hand through his hair. He knew it was wind
tousled, but that couldn’t be helped. Beyond his hair however he
was perfectly respectable in appearance.

Exodus laughed softly at his self-inspection
and shook her head quickly. “Not in appearance, but in action. You
are planting a bloody forest in the Darklands after all.” She
amended with a grin.

“I’m recreating the city of Evagale. It was
surrounded by thick forests on three sides. The city itself was
built in a bit of a valley and was famous for the scholars and
artists that dwelled there. I’ve read in three books by different
authors that say Evagale was the most precious gem lost in the
thousand year war.” Finn explained with the same patience that he
had used when explaining his projects to everyone else that doubted
him.