The Crow King's Wife (60 page)

As far as Finn could tell it was a hopeless
endeavor on her part, but he wished Jala luck with her attempts.
She was trying to order High Lords about as if they were soldiers,
and the simple fact of the matter was that High Lords did not take
orders at all. Each and every one of them would fight this battle
separately and if Fortune was smiling they might manage to survive.
Shifting slightly Finn glanced under the cowl of the man beside him
and frowned as he realized Fortune was not smiling at all.

“Smile damn you.” Finn hissed in a voice too
low for Jala to hear. He wasn’t ready to announce himself yet and
he knew his presence would distract her from everything she needed
to be focusing on.

“There are several hundred Spell Hawks and
Dragons bearing down on us and we have a grand total of twenty
defenders. I don’t want to smile.” Fortune snapped back in the
grumpiest voice Finn had ever heard the Aspect use.

“Fortune smiles upon us and luck abounds or
so the commons believe.” Finn prompted hopefully and nudged the
Aspect lightly with his elbow.

“Fortune is frowning and considering what
kind of flowers would suit his gravestone best since there isn’t
enough luck in the entire world to keep us from being buggered
bloody today.” Fortune grumbled and folded his arms across his
chest.

“That’s not very Delvay of you.” Exodus
pointed out in a teasing voice as she edged closer to Finn and
peaked around him to peer impishly up at Fortune.

“Neither is walking about without weapons,
but the only thing strapped to my side is a coin purse and a set of
dice. I haven’t been Delvay for some time as you recall.” Fortune
returned dryly.

Finn started to open his mouth for a smart
ass reply but snapped his jaw shut as a dark form appeared on the
steps a few feet ahead of him. His jaw clenched shut and he
struggled to remain silent as Seth carefully unwrapped his
feathered cloak from Zoelyn and straightened his shoulders.

“Isn’t he supposed to be guarding your domain
in your absence?” Exodus enquired softly as Zoelyn rushed down the
steps to Jala’s side.

“Yep.” Finn replied dryly and folded his
hands behind his back before nodded slowly. “He sure is.” He added
rocking back on his heels. “Do you think it would be considered
unseemly for a Priest of Death to kick Seth very hard in the ass?”
he asked quietly.

“It would likely be a bit out of character
for a Priest to kick the highest servant of his god in any part of
his anatomy, but we are going to unveil ourselves soon enough
anyway so go ahead if it will make you feel better.” Exodus replied
with a bright smile of encouragement lighting her delicate
face.

“Seth is here for love. He shouldn’t be
punished for acting on the heart.” Fidelity murmured in a wistful
voice. The Aspect of Love stood just behind Fortune and was gazing
at Seth as if the hero of a ballad had just made his grand
entrance.

“I still have doubts that Seth actually has a
heart. I think I should cut him open and see if you are right.”
Finn muttered irritably as he glowered at his servant’s back. This
had not been part of his plan, and the idea of his domain sitting
unguarded was not resting well in his mind.

“What is that noise?” Exodus asked turning to
stare back over her shoulder toward the inner city.

Finn’s brow creased as he cocked his head and
listened. “It’s a Spell Hawk from the sounds of it, but none of the
enemies have reached the city yet. We still have at least ten
minutes of peace.” He replied hesitantly all thoughts of Seth
forgotten.

The faint hum grew steadily louder and Finn
felt his shoulders sag as he recognized the dull grey hull of the
Spell Hawk when it passed over the palace at blazing speeds. Cries
rose from the crowd as the wind from the passing ship howled around
them, but it was Jala’s voice that drew Finn’s attention.

“Shade! No!” The words burst from the High
lady as an agonized scream and Jala ran several steps forward as if
she could somehow stop Shade with her pursuit. “No!” Jala screamed
again as she stumbled to a stop shoulders slumping in despair.

A small hand gripped his arm and Finn
realized he had been moving toward Jala without even considering
his actions. His heart hammered in his chest and he watched in
silence as Valor moved swiftly to Jala’s side.

“It’s not your place to comfort her anymore.”
Exodus reminded him gently and Finn nodded absently in response as
he returned to his spot beside Fortune.

“I wasn’t thinking.” Finn replied quietly.
Shaking his head he forced his eyes off of Jala and focused on the
dull grey of Shade’s Spell Hawk instead. “I think we are out of
time for procrastination. I think Shade has just signaled us to
act.”

“I agree.” Exodus said. Silently she stepped
back from Finn and began unbuckling the Priest robes she wore
revealing the bright blue of her silk garments beneath.

With a heavy sigh Finn stepped forward to the
center of the stairs and untied the belt of his own robes.
Shrugging it from his shoulders he tilted his head upward and for
the barest moment savored the feeling of sunlight on his skin. A
few confused murmurs rose from the people around him and Finn
summoned his most arrogant smirk. The polished rings of his black
chainmail caught the sunlight as he stepped forward to the very
edge of the stairs to stare down at the stunned faces of the
gathered High Lords.

“By the looks of things you all have a rather
nasty fight ahead of you.” Finn observed loudly. “It’s one that you
won’t win alone I’m afraid, but fortunately you aren’t alone.” He
added. Shifting ever so slightly he motioned Fortune forward and
the Aspect of Luck shrugged out of his Priest robes and stepped
instantly to Finn’s side. “Today we remind you why Gods are
revered. When you survive this fight remember that it was not by
your own merits that you lived. The Divine will no longer blindly
turn aside from the destruction of this world. From this day
forward we will have a voice, and today we will show you why you
will listen.” Finn’s voice rang off the stones and for the first
time since the council of the High Lords had learned of the attack
silence filled the air around them. Every complaint and suggestion
the High Lords had been voicing had died on their lips as they
stared up at Finn with mixed emotions written on their faces.

“You honor us Divine one. My praises to you
Lord of Death.” Jala’s words broke the silence as she bowed low to
Finn with a bittersweet expression on her pale face. Finn could see
the edge of tears in her violet eyes and for the first time since
he had begun building power for the gods he felt a flash of guilt
for his dramatics.

Nodding to her he smiled faintly and pushed
the guilt aside. He had already started down this path now was not
the time to regret it. “Fortune grant them your luck for the day.”
Finn said loudly and the Aspect standing beside him obediently
stepped forward.

Spreading his hands wide Fortune poured his
strength into the gathering and Finn could see the look of wonder
blossoming on the faces below him. Most of the Elder Blood scoffed
at the idea of Aspects, but they had never truly felt the hand of
one upon them before with the exception of Jala herself. In the
face of the raw power Fortune was bestowing they couldn’t help but
acknowledge the blessing and therefore the god that bestowed
it.

“Fidelity remind them what it is they fight
for.” Finn commanded and as rehearsed the Aspect of Love flowed
forward her gossamer dress swirling about her as she waved a hand
over the High Lords. Determination flared in the eyes below as
Fidelity’s power filled their hearts with love for Sanctuary
itself. It was a tawdry bit of magic and Fidelity herself had
objected to it at first, but Finn had insisted and he could tell by
the reactions he was seeing his instincts had been correct.

There hadn’t been much warning about the
pending attack, but it had been an opportunity that Finn couldn’t
pass up. If he had simply warned the High Lords what was coming
none of them would have shown their faces in the city today. So
Finn had held his silence and gathered the few Aspects he had
managed to bind to him through blood. The war needed to end. The
world was growing too weak to survive from the endless fighting and
this was the first step in bringing peace back to Sanctuary. With
the Aspects involved in the fight even Rivasa would surely see the
sense in a truce, or so he was hoping.

“Rose watch over them as they face their
enemy and keep them strong.” Finn spoke the words loudly and it was
nearly impossible to keep the amusement from his voice as
recognition lit Jala’s face. He could sympathize with her
completely. His own shock when he learned Rose was truly the Aspect
of Healing had been so great he’d polished off half a bottle of
Firewater before he had managed to being his negotiations with
her.

Smiling widely Rose moved to his side and
bowed her head to the familiar faces below her. “I will not let you
fall.” She promised sweetly as her power crested to the surface for
a breath and brushed softly over the crowd to remove any doubts
they might have had regarding her.

“Lutheron ease their concerns so that they
can face their enemy with clear minds.” Finn commanded and kept his
face carefully neutral as he stared past the High Lords to where
Lutheron had been watching the display with an angry glare. This
was the only part of his plan that was a gamble. He had no ties
over Lutheron and Finn had no idea how the man would react to his
demand. If Lutheron refused the High Lords would remember it, but
if he obeyed he was publically admitting that Finn had the power to
command him. Their eyes locked and Finn could see the seething
anger boiling in the Divine of Fear, but after what seemed like an
eternity Lutheron bowed his head ever so slightly and waved a hand
over the assembled High Lords.

Finn’s shoulders relaxed and he let out a
silent sigh of relief as Exodus moved up beside him. Glancing down
he smiled at her. “I wasn’t sure it would work.” He admitted
softly.

“It worked spendidly, but you seem to have
forgotten me in the theatrics.” Exodus replied and frowned at
him.

“I haven’t forgotten you. Shade simply
changed your role in things with his blatant stupdidity. So no loud
proclamations for you my dear, I’m sorry for that, but this crowd
can’t properly appreciate you anyway. So rather than waving your
hands over a bunch of arrogant High Lords please do everything you
can to ensure that idiot doesn’t end up in my domain.” He added
dryly as he waved a hand toward the distant Spell Hawk.

Exodus looked up and nodded once. “He is
about to engage them.” She observed softly. “So it’s too late to
keep him out of the fight completely.” Nodding once more she
stepped back and faded into the shadows of the palace. “I will do
whatever it takes to ensure he does not die Finn. You have my word
on that.”

“And you have my eternal gratitude for
sparing me an eternity with Shade Morcaillo annoying me.” Finn
replied as he shifted his attention back to the High Lords.
And
so it begins
. He mused silently as he narrowed his eyes and
watched as the first blow of the battle was struck by Shade.
Shaking his head slowly he felt a smile form on his lips. “You have
balls of solid stone Shade, I’ll give you that.” He whispered to
the empty air around him and wondered if anyone below him would
have had the courage to face two armies alone.

Sanctuary

Metal screamed in protest as the Spell hawk
that had broken rank to pursue him slammed into one of its sister
ships in the process of turning about to fire on him. With a flick
of his wrist Shade poured more magic into
The Shade
and sent
her racing above the roar of flames that burst from the entangled
ships. The flash of debris caught the edge of his vision and he
reacted without thought even as he dodged under the sweeping strike
of a dragon.

He could hear the steady fire of his ship’s
guns but didn’t spare a moment of his attention to concern himself
with Grim’s accuracy. It would be a fortunate coincidence if Grim
managed to bring some of the enemy forces down with his shots, but
it wasn’t required. All they had to do was distract the enemies and
his chaotic flight through the middle of their ranks was succeeding
splendidly at that.

Dark scaled forms rose below his ship and
Shade reacted instantly bringing his ship hard to the right. His
reaction speed was flawless when linked with his ship, but he
doubted the Spell Hawk that had been heading toward him could say
the same. If the other pilot didn’t manage to correct his course
within the next breath he would be cuddled tightly with a rather
unhappy dragon.

Shade’s gaze moved over the crowded stretch
of sky and he calculated his flight with the precision of a dancer
as he wove through their ranks darting from side to side like a
hummingbird. He had no choice but to stay in the thick of them. If
he broke away or rose too far above or below them he would be an
open target for them to fire upon. They couldn’t use their ranged
weapons against him as long as he was in their ranks without the
risk of hitting one of their own.

The only concern he had for the moment was
the Dragons, and they were more than enough of a challenge for him.
Not only did he have to evade claws and teeth he had to worry about
their tails which with the larger ones meant dodging a thirty foot
whip that didn’t always seem to consider the proximity of its
allies as a concern.

Bright flame filled the sky behind him and
Shade had no choice but to climb as swiftly as he could to avoid
the Dragon’s breath. True Dragon’s breath would melt his hull as
easily as butter on a warm stove. The sound of gun shots filled the
air around him and Shade spun his ship from left to right before
diving again as he neatly evaded the dragonfire as well as the
attacking Spell Hawks.