The Crow King's Wife (34 page)

“Give it a moment and it will pass.” Finn
assured her as he picked the fallen vial up and tucked it carefully
back into the pocket in his cloak. He couldn’t seem to pull his
gaze from her and was a bit shocked by the stir in his own blood at
the sight. Her head was thrown back and her breath was coming in
short quick gasps. He couldn’t tell if it was pain or ecstasy, but
the effect was the same regardless. For the first time since Jala
had shared his bed he was admiring another woman and the stir in
his blood was lust. He had thought he was beyond that emotion and
the fact that he wasn’t unsettled him more than he cared to admit.
He knew better than to consider Exodus in those terms however and
so he pushed the thoughts away as she slowly regained her
composure. He needed her as an ally without anything between them
that would confuse things. She was not a bed warmer, and at the
same time she wasn’t someone he could keep. By her very nature she
wouldn’t allow herself to be tied down.

“That was the most exquisite bliss and yet
the most excruciating pain.” Exodus gasped and folded her arms
around her tiny frame. Shaking her head she smiled at him as her
breathing slowed. “It seemed to last an eternity and yet ended too
soon.” She added and then laughed breathlessly. “And I’m not making
any sense at all.”

“It’s not something you can put into words
easily.” Finn assured her with a smile.

“Was it like that when you killed Death and
took her mantle?” Exodus asked softly.

Finn shook his head slowly and let out a
quiet sigh. “There was nothing about that experience that I would
ever consider blissful. It nearly tore my body apart and the only
thing my mind could focus on was what I was losing rather than what
I had gained. I had no preparation for what was coming, and I
wouldn’t wish that on anyone, not even an enemy.”

“If you could go back and change things would
you? I mean if you could avoid gaining the mantle would you give it
up?” Exodus asked quietly and he could tell by the tone of her
voice what she wanted to hear.

The answer she wanted was already forming in
his mind. For years he had conditioned himself to tell women
whatever they wanted to get his way, but he pushed that part of
himself aside and nodded slowly. “If I could have everything back I
would change things without hesitation.” The blunt honesty seemed
to shock her and he shrugged at her widening eyes. “I never wanted
power in life and I don’t truly want it now. The only reason I am
attempting to gain it is the simple fact that I don’t trust anyone
else to have it. If I don’t gain the upper hand now that leaves War
or Lutheron on the top of the ladder and I will not be their
puppet. The only other option is to make them mine.”

“So where do we start?” Exodus asked
cautiously. He had seen the flicker of hesitation on her face at
his mention of puppets, but chose to ignore it. Once he had a few
more of the Aspects on his side she would relax.

Finn grinned at her as he rose to his feet
and offered her a hand up. Her fingers were warm in his grip and he
felt a brief flash of lust rise once more. “A trip to a fest hall I
think. There is a man I’d very much like to play a round of cards
with.” He answered as he pushed away the urge to pull her closer.
I’ve been alone far too long
. He realized grimly but let
nothing of his inner turmoil to show on his face.

“Fortune then.” Exodus agreed with a smile
and nodded her approval at the suggestion. If she noticed anything
amiss with him she didn’t give any indication. “Are you sure you
want to leave your domain? I could speak with him for you.”

“Seth is here. Everything will be fine.” Finn
assured her and winked. “You were the first Aspect I offered the
vial to, not the first friend. Seth was more than capable of
handling anything in my domain before he drank the blood. Now
nothing here has a bloody prayer against him.”

Exodus blanched a bit and nodded quickly. “He
was terrifying before.” She agreed quietly.

“To everyone but me.” Finn sighed and waved a
hand toward the twilight darkened sky above them. “Shall we? I
could really use something to drink.”

Sanctuary

Pale sunlight filtered through the strands
making the droplets of dew sparkle like jewels scattered across the
web. Remedy admired the effect for little more than a breath before
his attention was drawn back to Azashy. She stood just on the other
side of the web with adoration filling her dark eyes and a faint
smile creasing her full lips. Her eyes traced the path of the
spider as it climbed further up its maze of silk and for a moment
she seemed oblivious to his company.

He had given her full creation of the
illusion they shared, and she had created a cottage at the edge of
thick forest. The details on the cottage itself and the trees told
him this was a real place, but he couldn’t determine what land it
was. It could have been Glis, but then it could have just as easily
been Faydwer or Morcath. He had thought she would create a place he
knew if he gave her control, and perhaps he would be able to glean
information about who she was, or where she was from. Instead she
had created the cottage, and a simple spider seemed to hold her
attention more than anything else around them.

“Do you see how precise everything is for
them? There is no other creature like them. They are perfection of
nature.” Azashy whispered. She raised a slender finger to the web
and coaxed to spider onto her hand. With deliberate slowness she
lowered her hand and gazed at the creature with longing. “I wish
this were all real.” She whispered.

Remedy followed her gaze and frowned. “It’s
as real as I can make it. I’m sorry Azashy. I’d love to be able to
grant your freedom, but until I find out how the door opens I
cannot release either of us.” It had taken him days before he had
dared to scan her surface thoughts, and another week before he had
mustered the courage to trust her enough to speak. In that time
Myth had visited twice, and each time had left Azashy more
wretched. If he didn’t figure out how to rescue them both soon she
would give up on life. Every question she answered for Myth seemed
to be a wound to her.

“I’m grateful for what you have given.”
Azashy spoke softly as if she was afraid of being overheard. Her
attention returned to the spider once more as the tiny creature
made its way down her arm toward her elbow.

“You don’t have to whisper her Azashy. No one
can hear you. It’s just like a dream and everything we say is in
your mind. Unless there is a mind mage more skilled than I am
nearby, everything we say is safe.” Remedy assured her. He was
rather hoping it might prompt some sort of confession or confidence
from her, but the expression on her face was skeptical.

“I can’t even begin to guess what Myth is
capable of.” Azashy replied in the same soft voice. Apparently his
words had done little to soothe her. “But then I doubt there is
much I could say that Myth wouldn’t know.” She added in a mildly
disgusted voice.

He let out a slow breath and gazed toward the
cottage. It was unremarkable in construction with the typical
stucco walls and thatch roof. Even the tiny blue flowers growing
near the door were common to most lands. “How exactly did Myth
manage to find you, Azashy? Given the detail of this place I’m
going to assume this is your home from before your prison days, and
it does seem rather remote.”

Azashy frowned and gently replaced the spider
back on its web. Her dark eyes met his once more and to his
astonishment they held the glassiness of unshed tears. She let out
a quiet sigh and wrapped her arms around herself before stepping
back from the web. He watched her as she took another step away
from him chewing on her lower lip. He had nearly given up on an
answer when she finally did speak.

“When I fled my homeland Myth offered me
safety. He was kind and always polite, and I was terrified. I found
security in the fact that a High Lord as powerful as Myth Morcaillo
was guarding me. All he asked in return was information on
occasion, and I saw no harm in the questions he asked me at the
time. I realize now that what he asked then was the prelude to the
current disaster of our world.” Her voice trembled slightly on the
words and her arms tightened around her stomach. His expression
must have shown his confusion he realized as she smiled sadly at
him. “You don’t even know who I am do you?” she asked quietly.
Remedy shook his head slowly and a bitter laugh rose from her.
“Azashy of the thousand eyes.” She said once her laughter had died.
“The betrayer of Glis. I am the former spy master of Nicoli
Blackwolf.” She informed him as she bowed her head mockingly toward
him.

“I heard of the scandal, but your name was
never mentioned. All I heard of it was that the Spy Master of Glis
revealed Nicoli’s affair and Blue Bess was nearly exiled. I thought
the spy master had died after that though.” Remedy spoke as gently
as he could. He knew the topic itself was painful enough to her and
didn’t want her to read anything into the tone of his voice.

“Not dead, though I wish I was. If Nicoli had
killed me I wouldn’t be where I am now.” Azashy said wistfully.

“But the Shifters of Glis are primarily
druids, and I don’t see how you could possibly gather your
information with those talents.” Remedy pressed. He had a rough
idea of how she knew so much, but he wanted to keep her talking.
The more she told him about herself the better chance he had of
figuring out what to do next.

Azashy waved an idle hand toward the spider
web. “One of my thousand eyes.” She explained with a shrug. “Most
Shifters find affinity with predators. My predator just happens to
be very small. I think I may be the only Shifter to ever bond with
spiders, but they have always fascinated me. If I focus I can see
through their eyes or hear what is around them, and there are very
few places in our world that hold no spiders.”

“It’s the first case I’ve ever heard of.
Though I will freely admit that I haven’t put much time into
learning of Glis or its people. My talents were primarily needed in
more difficult lands.” Remedy admitted with a grin.

“Remedy Lutheron, adopted child of the
Fionaveir’s second. Diplomat and socialite in an otherwise
undiplomatic or social organization. You don’t know me, but I do
know you.” Azashy returned before turning toward the cottage.
“Fictional tea in our little pretend world sounds rather pleasant.
Shall we retire inside and I will do my best to explain to you what
is going on so that you can figure out what needs to be done?”

“Fictional tea sounds lovely.” Remedy agreed
and felt his muscles relax at her words. He had expected to have to
pry information from her in small bits, but apparently she was
going to serve him answers on a silver platter. All that left him
to do was sort the truth from what she told him, and given what he
already knew of the Fionaveir’s troubles that task shouldn’t be too
difficult.

The interior of the cottage was bathed in
shadows with only faint light shining through the tiny windows. A
small table rested in the center of the room and aside from the
tiny kitchen and a sleeping pallet near the wall the house was
empty. He didn’t even see a storage chest for clothes.

“Watch the webs.” Azashy warned him and he
ducked his head and stared up at the ceiling. The rafters were
encased in the silken strands and even in the dim light he could
see the scuttling black forms of what seemed to be hundreds of
spiders. “Of course they aren’t real so I don’t know why I bothered
to warn you to watch for them. Force of habit I suppose.” Azashy
sighed and motioned toward the small table as she continued toward
the kitchen.

“I don’t know much about spiders.” Remedy
admitted hesitantly as he eyed the imaginary versions of what he
was sure filled Azashy’s house in reality.

“Those are Ebony Damsels on the ceiling.”
Azashy informed him casually and Remedy found himself crouching
lower despite the fact that the creatures weren’t real. Damsels had
a very painful bite that would leave a strong man convulsing on the
floor for what seemed like an eternity. “That’s a Wraith spider by
the window. The silk on his web is exquisite isn’t it? It almost
looks like crystal when the sun hits it. And over by the sleeping
pallet there is a small nest of Sweet Whispers.”

“Every spider you named is deadly in some
fashion.” Remedy observed quietly. As softly as he could he
approached the window and gazed at the Wraith spider. It was the
closest he would ever willingly come to one of the creatures and
the only reason he was doing so now was the assurance that his
physical body was safely tucked away in a prison cell in Sanctuary.
The Wraith spider had venom so toxic it could kill a horse in
little more than a breath. From what he understood of the process
it was a painful death, and the venom was difficult for even a
talented healer to counteract given how quickly it acted. Once
bitten by a Wraith the victim was as good as a ghost himself.

“To others perhaps, but not me.” Azashy
replied distractedly. She was rattling around in the cabinet in
search of cups as she spoke and didn’t bother turning to face him.
“I’m immune to them all no matter how vicious the bite. Not that
they would attack me at any rate. They understand me as much as
they are capable of understanding and they know I mean them no
harm.” The clatter subsided as she produced a heavy stone cup.
“Hah!” she proclaimed triumphantly as she waved the cup toward him.
“I knew I had another one. As you can see I don’t have company
often. Well at least not company that cares to come into my house.”
Within a breath she had water on to boil and was wiping both of the
stone mugs clean. “Mint or Chamomile?” she asked glancing back
toward him with a raised eyebrow.