The Crow King's Wife

by Melissa Myers

  Glancing up Zoelyn expected to see a storm such as Valor summoned, but instead her eyes found swarms of creatures she had no name for flying so thickly that their tiny forms blotted out the sunlight like the leaves of a thick forest. Even as she watched more of the tiny forms appeared in the sky and she squinted her eyes in a vain attempt to determine what the creatures were.

  Shade’s eyes opened slowly and all warmth was gone from the dark blue depths as he dropped his hand to point toward the remains of Prendington. “Destroy.” He hissed and the creatures filling the sky above him descended like a swarm of locusts on the city. Shade watched them for a moment then glanced at her. “He wanted it leveled like Amdany. It will be leveled.” He promised quietly as he began walking toward the ship.

  Zoelyn nodded slowly her eyes following the tiny darting creatures as they tore the city apart stone by stone leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. Shaking her head she jogged after Shade and slowed her pace once she reached his side. “What are those things, Shade?” She whispered as she glanced quickly toward the city then back to his pale face.

  “Every raw nerve in my body given physical form.” Shade replied bitterly and the edge of his mouth turned up into a faint smile that didn’t hold a trace of warmth. “My anger, my grief, and my despair manifested. They don’t have a true name as far as I know and they won’t stay in this world long enough to need one. Once this city is gone they will fade as well.”

  Nodding slowly Zoelyn stared at Shade for a long moment before stepping onto the ship. She had been studying magic with Jala as well as Seth for months, and her brother was one of the most powerful mages she knew of, but the spell Shade had just used was not one she had ever heard of. It had to be forgotten magic from beyond the Barrier or she would have heard of someone using it in some story. For the first time since she had met Shade she could see a dark side, and she knew what he had just shown her was only a pale glimpse of the true power he was hiding. The spell had to require immense energy to cast given how devastating it was, yet Shade didn’t look the slightest bit worn, which meant his magic reserves were well beyond what most mages possessed.

  “All of the slaves, three Snow Cats, and a horse that belongs to Grim now.” Shade informed her as he motioned to the back of the ship on his way to the pilot’s seat. “I had no choice but the shrink them for transport. There were too many people to fit on the ship otherwise.” He explained softly as he dropped into the seat and pressed his hands over the control panel. A soft hum ran over the ship as Shade prepared for takeoff.

  Zoelyn’s gaze moved to the stack of crates near the back of the ship and she felt relief well in her until her gaze landed on Grim. With a gasp she crossed quickly to his side and dropped down beside Syrah as she swiftly inventoried his wounds.

  “Can you help him?” Syrah whispered in a pleading voice. Her wide grey eyes were full of tears and the expression on her fragile face was positively wretched.

  Smiling softly Zoelyn nodded her head and hugged the child carefully taking care not to touch her with bare flesh. “I’ll do everything I can for him.” She promised as she pushed all other thoughts from her mind. Grim needed her full attention and she knew it. She didn’t have time to contemplate Seth or Shade’s strange behavior, and she was almost grateful for the distraction.

  “I’m glad you didn’t go with him.” Dray’s voice was barely a whisper and she could hear a thickness in his voice that spoke of tears.

  “I think I am too.” Zoelyn agreed softly.

  Chapter 15

  Delvay

  Gnawing hunger tore through her as she bent lower over Grim’s body. She could feel the curse eating away her willpower, but she knew Grim was too weak to withstand even the feeblest draining if she gave into the desire. She had managed to stabilize him on the flight home, but there was still so much healing to do. The flesh beneath her hand was far too hot and clammy and she knew she would have to put every skill Dominic had ever taught her to the test if she was going to save his life.

  Grim’s hand rose weakly to push her away as he tried to sit up for the fifth time since she had begun removing one of the arrow heads embedded deeply in his side and she had to stifle a curse. On the ship he had been unconscious, but he had woken shortly after they had moved him to a room in House Delvayon and he had been a thorn to work on since.

  “I am never going to get this arrowhead out if you don’t stop, Grim.” Zoelyn muttered through clenched teeth as she firmly pushed him flat onto the bed once more.

  “Shade.” The name was barely a whisper through his lips, but somehow Grim turned the single word into a demand.

  “I don’t know where he is, Grim. I’ve told you that. I promise once I have you patched up properly I will go find him.” Zoelyn sighed. He sprawled under he hands once more, but she knew he hadn’t given up. His fever was so high he wasn’t thinking clearly and he was obsessed with finding Shade. Once he had enough energy to attempt to push her away again he would, which meant she only had a few minutes to remove the remainder of the quills from his side.

  “He shouldn’t be alone. Do you know what he did? Do you know how he saved me?” Grim mumbled. He turned his head to stare up at her and the expression on his face was desperate. She had never seen Grim act this way no matter what the situation had been.

  “I know he saved you. Syrah told me.” Zoelyn replied calmly as she pulled another quill from the wound. Of all things men used to kill each other the Serpent tooth arrow was the one she despised the most. Each tiny quill that lined the edges of the arrow head was designed to break off on impact and typically they were coated in poison. She was certain the quills combined with the potion he had drunk before the battle was to blame for his current condition. The Heroes folly was a potion intended to keep a warrior on his feet long past the point he should have fallen by boosting stamina as well as natural regeneration. The effect had sealed all of the arrow quills deep in his flesh to putrefy and poison his blood.

  Grim’s hand rose once more and pushed at her just as she locked onto a stubbornly buried quill with her tweezers. He tried once more to sit up and she fought back the urge to curse as she lost her grip on the quill. Leaning back she took a deep breath and glanced at the small girl sitting at the foot of the bed.

  “Syrah, What would your mother do with a patient like this?” Zoelyn asked in the calmest voice she could muster. Between Caleb’s constant interference and the gnawing hunger of her curse her patience was nearly gone. Much more of this and she was going to strangle the man to speed him on his way to Finn’s door.

  “Summon Daddy and have him knock him out so she could work in peace on the wound.” Syrah answered in the same rational voice, but the look she was giving her father was one of stern disapproval. Her tiny mouth was pursed into a tight frown and she shook her head in reproach.

  “And what should I do since the unruly patient is your daddy?” Zoelyn asked sweetly. She had known how the child would answer. Evanell had taught her daughter well and it showed in Syrah’s every action. When Syrah spoke it was Evanell’s wisdom in a child’s voice.

  “Find him Shade so his mind will be at peace.” Grim snapped before Syrah had a chance to reply. With another grunt of effort Grim heaved himself into an upright position and wobbled unsteadily before dropping his legs over the edge of the bed.

  “You can’t possibly believe you are going to be able to stand, Grim. It took two guards just to get you into this bed. You haven’t been conscious more than an hour since you fell in Rivana.” Zoelyn objected with every bit of righteous indignation she could summon to her voice.

  “He killed his own Mother. He shouldn’t be alone now. Shade wears his guilt like a noose and this much will strangle him.” Grim’s voice was strained but she knew the look of stubborn resolve on his face far too well. He wouldn’t give this up, either she would have to find a compromise with him quickly or watch him stumble out of the room and most likely to his death. He needed the quills out now to s
top the poison.

  “Lay back down and let me remove the quills and I will send Dray and Syrah to find Shade, alright?” Zoelyn offered.

  “It won’t do any good to send me. Shade isn’t in Delvay. He left the moment the children were off the Spell Hawk, and no one can say where he has gone. Neph has been trying to find him for hours.” Dray pointed out from his perch by the door and Zoelyn had to resist the urge to slap him for it.

  “What? How long has he been gone?” Grim’s voice grew hoarse as he struggled to his feet. “Where is my sword? I have to find him.” Even as he spoke his knees were wobbling as if they would buckle, but the man seemed to be too stubborn to admit to his own weakness.

  “The only thing you will be finding is your pillow.” Zoelyn grumbled as she rose from her chair and moved to stand in front of him. He glared down at her in defiance but one solid push from her hand send him crumbling back onto the bed. A flicker of agony crossed his face as the wound in his side tore open further and she felt a moment’s regret for her roughness. “I’m trying to save your life, Grim. Shade can take care of himself well enough. The sooner you let me finish, the sooner you can go find him.”

  “If he suffers from my delay I will not forgive you for this.” Grim promised in the same hoarse voice, but didn’t try to rise again. His jaw clenched as he closed his eyes and turned his face toward the wall.

  Zoelyn stared down at him in bewilderment for several breaths before she realized he was finally going to submit to her healing. Silently she returned to her chair and leaned over the wound once more. It was almost impossible to keep from glancing at his face. She had never seen Grim act so strangely, but decided it had to be from the fever. Dominic had said that the fever mad rarely made sense in their ramblings. Her tweezers found the quill once more and she carefully pulled it from the wound doing her best to wipe away the puss and blood it left in its wake. With patience she didn’t feel in the slightest she pressed at the open wound and searched for more of the quills. She had only managed to find four so far and most Serpent tooth arrows held ten.

  “Shade really did kill his Momma to save my Daddy.” Syrah’s soft voice broke the silence and Zoelyn glanced up at the child in amazement. “I could see the look on your face when Daddy said that, and I guessed that you thought he was fever mad. He isn’t though. Shade really did do it. I saw it, and I saw him cry when he gathered her body, even though he tried to hide that.”

  “What was his mother doing there?” Zoelyn whispered in confusion as she looked from Syrah to Dray who simply shrugged in response.

  “She was helping the Rivasans. She told Shade that his Father sent his regards. I think that was supposed to make him give up, but it didn’t. She turned into a dragon and attacked Daddy, and Shade killed her for it.” Syrah answered softly. He large grey eyes settled on her father once more and for a few breaths she actually looked her age as her lower lip trembled.

  “He will be ok Syrah. Once I find all of the quills he will start healing on his own again.” Zoelyn promised and silently prayed she wasn’t lying to the girl. It all really depended on what manner of poisons had been on the arrows. There were certain poisons that were powerful enough to permanently damage an Elder Blood, but they were few and far between and usually too expensive for a common soldier to use.

  “Even if Shade was saddled with guilt from killing his mother it doesn’t explain why he left like he did. I saw him glance back at Grim at least ten times during the flight. You would think if he was that worried he would have stuck around to make sure Grim would be ok.” Dray grumbled.

  “Maybe he went to get Jala?” Zoelyn suggested hopefully. If Shade had in fact gone to get Jala, Grim was as good as saved. She had seen Jala work before and from what she had witnessed it was possible that the High Lady of Merrodin was a better healer than even Rose in Sanctuary.

  “It wouldn’t take Shade nine hours to get Jala, and that doesn’t explain why he took the bulk of the slaves with him when he left. Neph is furious right now. Two of the missing slaves are Arovan girls. From what I overheard Neph already made arrangements to return the children to Lord Elijah and now two of them are missing thanks to Shade.” Dray said in a hushed voice.

  Zoelyn turned to look at Dray in time to see him glancing back from the door. She smiled faintly and nodded. He wasn’t speaking quietly in hopes that Grim wouldn’t hear. Grim was a Shifter and could likely hear what was going on three rooms down the hall. Dray had been eavesdropping on Neph and didn’t want anyone outside the room to overhear the stolen knowledge. “It’s Shade. I’m sure he had a good reason for what he did, and he will explain it when he returns.” Zoelyn said with a shrug as she returned her attention to the healing.

  “If he returns.” Dray added doubtfully.

  “Let me up.” Grim snarled and pushed at her hands once more. His eyes were locked on her with more anger burning in their light grey depths than she would have believed possible in his condition.

  With a weary sigh she flattened a hand firmly on Grim’s chest and glared at Dray. “If you can’t stay positive than shut up please. He is already behaving like a child and your words are only encouraging him.”

  “A child?” Grim snarled as he feebly pushed at her hand. “It has been nine hours if he was coming back he would have been here by now. Let me up now!” She was sure the words would have been screamed at her if he had the strength, as it was Grim barely managed to speak louder than a whisper.

  “Fear is a weapon to use against your enemy. To allow its blade to pierce your own heart is blasphemy.” Syrah intoned quietly from the foot of the bed. Grim’s expression shifted at once from anger to what looked close to despair as he collapsed back into the sheets once more. “Allow her to finish her work, Daddy.” Syrah commanded in a voice that mimicked her mother’s own patient tones so completely that Zoelyn felt the edge of tears burning in her eyes.

  “If Nel was here you wouldn’t even think of fussing this much.” Zoelyn whispered as she pulled another quill free of his flesh.

  “If Nel were alive he wouldn’t have been chasing Kevala’drin and wouldn’t be wounded at all.” Shade’s voice rose from the corner near the door and all eyes turned to regard him in amazement as he dropped the camouflage he had been using.

  He was dressed better than she had ever seen him with fine clothes that would have humbled all but an Avanti lord. His hair was freshly cut and styled and rings flashed on each of his fingers, but despite the changes he still looked wretched to her eyes. His skin was far too pale and there were shadows under his eyes as he moved closer to the bed to gaze down at Grim. The smell of cologne washed over Zoelyn as he approached and she stared up at him in utter disbelief. He was attired as if he were attending a formal ball. As far as she had known Shade was destitute after being cut off from his House and finances. She had never seen him wear anything other than his leather armor or a worn tunic and trousers before now.

  “Shade.” Grim breathed the word with such vast relief that Zoelyn could do nothing more than simply look between the two of them in a hopeless attempt to determine which one was behaving more strangely.

  “The door didn’t open. Have you been in here the entire time listening to us?” Dray demanded sounding more than a little offended.

  The thought of Dray being offended by eavesdropping was almost enough to make her giggle despite the tension in the room. Dray was famous for eavesdropping. He could hardly condemn anyone else for it. It didn’t seem like a good time to point that fact out though so Zoelyn bit her lip and fought to keep the grin from her face.

  Shade shook his head slowly and motioned to the crack under the door. “I arrived about the time Syrah was chiding her father on fear. I wanted to know who was in the room before I showed myself. I’m afraid I have a bit of explaining to do, and I wanted to see Grim before Neph had a chance to sink his talons into me.”

  “You came under the door?” Dray asked with annoyance and his gaze moved automatically to examine the t
wo inch gap with a critical eye. She could already see the gears turning in the Blight’s mind as he contemplated how to blockade off a room against further infiltration of that nature.

  “Changeling, anything I want to be and all that.” Shade returned softly but his eyes were focused on Syrah rather than Dray. He offered a faint smile that seemed to hold more sadness than anything of amusement and shook his head at her slowly. “I’m not sure that you have ever been a child, Syrah. You seem so adult and set in your ways that I hate to correct you, but I have to disagree with your logic on fear. I’m not familiar with the dictates of the Order of Fear, but as far as I’ve seen from life, to be governed by fear might be blasphemous, but to feel fear proves nothing more than you care. We all feel fear whether we show it or not. I myself have been so terrified of what I faced that it is amazing I managed to accomplish anything. The difference is how we face it. Your Father faces fear head on and to even suggest he is cowardly is insulting.”

  “I didn’t mean that!” Syrah protested in a squeaking voice. She shook her head quickly and her wide grey eyes settled on her father. “I didn’t mean that. I just wanted you to behave.” She added desperately.

  Grim forced a smile onto his face and nodded once to his daughter in reassurance before turning his attention back to Shade. “Where have you been?”

  “Errands that I had to attend to. I went to Sanctuary.” Shade replied casually as he pulled a vial from the inside of his jacket pocket. Turning it over he examined the label for a moment then handed it to Zoelyn. “I brought that from Rose. I explained the circumstances and she says that will help counteract the Folly and promote good healing.”