The Crow King's Wife(116)

The first archer died soundlessly and Shade gave him silent thanks for it. The man’s comrades were fixated on Caleb and neither of them seemed to notice their companion die quietly beside them. The second was standing too close to his fellow for Shade to kill him without being noticed.

With a frown he pulled another dagger from his belt and studied the men carefully. There was a wall behind them with just enough room for them to draw their bows. It would be a tight squeeze to get behind them both and he would have to time it perfectly. If either of them stepped back or brushed against him all stealth was lost. The only other option for killing them both without a fight was to stand directly before them, and he wasn’t keen on the idea of placing himself directly in the path of their arrows.

The one closest to him had an arrow knocked and his bow drawn on Caleb. Shade’s mouth twitched in irritation as he shifted his form. He was still a Blight, but a much smaller Blight closer to Syrah’s size than a man’s. Eyeing both Archer’s warily Shade slid along the wall under the man’s bent arm until he was perfectly centered between the two of them. It only took a moment for him to shift back to the proper height, but in that time two more arrows were sent toward Caleb. Maybe I should have taken Hemlock up on his offer for Assassin training. Shade mused bitterly as he drove both of his daggers home simultaneously in lethal blows that dropped the Archers with no more resistance than their cries of pain and shock.

Shade wiped his daggers on his pants without a second glance toward the dead men at his feet. He didn’t want to see his handiwork. Twirling the daggers he slid them home at his belt and studied the fight before him. Caleb was hard pressed by three swordsmen though one seemed to be wounded. Not nearly as wounded as Caleb appeared to be however. As Caleb parried a man’s blade and dodged away from another blow Grace moved in for an attack with deadly speed. Caleb darted aside barely missing her claws but the effort put him too close to the third swordsman. The Rivasan crowed with delight as his short sword sank deeply into Caleb’s side and the priest grunted in response, but didn’t slow in his fighting. Grace backed away from the fight once more and circled the men.

It took an effort of will to rip his eyes from the fight, but Shade forced himself to acknowledge the other threats. There were at least eight more swordsmen, and all of their attention seemed to be focused on the fight. They were waiting for an opportunity to draw the Black Bastard’s blood, but they were too well trained to throw themselves into the fight. Too many men in one battle were a hindrance and they knew it. Shade wasn’t sure if any of them had even noticed Derrick’s fall. If they had they weren’t showing any signs of remorse or rage over their fallen lord. If they hadn’t noticed, he still had an edge. They wouldn’t know he was here.

His gaze moved back to the fight as Grace moved in once more and landed a savage blow across Caleb’s back. Teeth gritted in frustration Shade made his choice. He needed to stop Grace and he knew he couldn’t drop a fellow Changeling with stealth alone, especially not with as much as Grace was moving. His mother never held her position for more than a breath.

“Grace Morcaillo step away from this fight!” Shade’s voice rang through the open street as he slid once more into his true form. There was no point in keeping the Blight form any longer if he didn’t need stealth. The fight waned for a breath then regained its tempo as the Rivasan’s took advantage of Caleb’s shock. Shade cringed inwardly at the expression of fury that lit Caleb’s features at his words. If he had been following Caleb’s plan he would have been safely away with Syrah by now, and Caleb would be dying faster.

Two of the idle Rivasan’s closed on him and Shade summoned claws in response. A sword would give him more range, but the venom he could summon to his claws would drop a man with one scratch. The downside to that plan was that the venom wasn’t a Changeling trait; it was something he had borrowed from various creatures on Sanctuary. A concoction of his own devising that was difficult to summon and part of his concentration would be lost on maintaining it. He used the last spare moments before the swordsmen were closed on him to enhance his speed and regeneration.

“Derrick is dead Grace! You have no reason to continue to follow his orders!” Shade yelled once more as the first of the swordsmen sprinted forward for the first attack.

The Guard underestimated his speed and Shade spun easily away from the blow still managing to land a blow across the man’s cheek as he passed. The guard’s sword fell from his hand the moment the venom touched his skin and the second swordsman slowed to a cautious approach as his comrade fell. Foam began to speckle the fallen man’s lips and his legs kicked feebly against the cobbles.