The Crow King's Wife(43)

“Spirits cannot, she can. I grant her as much life as I can without actually stepping on the toes of my fellow Aspects. I cannot give her true life and I will not surrender her to death, so she exists as this for the time being.” Fortune said from behind him and Neph shifted in his chair to face him at the sound of his voice.

The Aspect was dressed in a fine black suit in the latest fashion and his attention seemed to be fixated on a dusty book at the top of the bookshelf. Neph hadn’t even bothered to look at the books that were there and had no idea what the Aspect was so interested in. He knew Ren hadn’t kept any books of magic in his rooms, and those were what held Neph’s interest as far as reading material went, aside from the occasional book of poetry.

Fortune plucked the book from the shelf and blew on the cover scattering dust through the air. Turning he walked back to the table with a grim expression on his face. “Time for a history lesson Neph. Too many secrets have been kept from you and it’s time to shed some light on things.” He dropped the book to the table with a heavy thud and frowned at the high backed chairs. Rolling his eyes he pulled one closer to the table and sat down gingerly in it. “I will never understand why Ren favored such furnishings. Living in discomfort doesn’t make you a stronger, it makes you bitchier.” He grumbled as he flipped the cover open and scanned through several pages quickly.

Leaning to one side Neph glanced at the heavily yellowed pages and frowned. From what he could tell it was a genealogy book of the houses of Delvay. “I know the houses of Delvay. I don’t need a lesson on my own people.” Neph informed him dryly.

Fortune looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and then returned his attention to the book wordlessly. He scanned through several more pages and then nodded faintly to himself before he removed his suit coat and sat back in the chair further. Still silent he began to roll the sleeve of his silk shirt up until well past his elbow. His eyes narrowed and slender ridges rose in his skin forming a spiraling design with a shield near the center. The flesh gradually darkened around the markings until they stood out like a dark grey tattoo against his paler flesh. “Do you know what this is Neph?” Fortune asked as he held up his arm for Neph to get a better look at the marking.

Neph studied the sigil carefully before shaking his head slowly. It was tempting to make a smart ass comment, but Fortune was an Aspect, and due respect regardless of the current situation.

“It’s the sigil of the Guardians.” Fortune informed him quietly. The marks began to fade from his skin as he lowered his arm and his attention turned back to the book before him. “I was with them in the beginning. When the split came to Delvay, before they fled the city. I was one of the first to join the movement actually.” His hand slid slowly across the book in front of him and sigils began to glow softly under his touch. The air above the book shimmered and an image formed of a powerful built man in badly scarred armor with two swords across his back.

Neph stared at the image and then back to Fortune with narrowed eyes. The Aspect had the same coloring as the illusion of the man, with pale blond hair and blue eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. Fortune was wiry and slender where as the man in the book was tall and heavily muscled across the chest and shoulders.

“Kadren Zengael.” Fortune said as he waved a hand toward the image. His brow furrowed and he chewed his lip for a moment before he continued. “Who I used to be, but I can see the disbelief written clearly on your face so allow me to elaborate. I was nearly the only one in my family to follow the Guardians path. My younger sister did as well, but I often wonder if she didn’t simply do it to follow in my footsteps. My brother and my mother were staunch Extremists, were my father still alive when the division came I have no doubts he would have been Extremist as well. I might have been too, but the woman I loved was pure Guardian. I believed in peace, but she was a fanatic about ending all fighting no matter the cost. In the end she was the one that devised the plan to stasis the heroes.” Fortune paused once more and glanced up at Neph.

“I honestly fail to see how this is in anyway helpful, unless of course you happen to know the spell to release them from stasis.” Neph said in annoyance.

Fortune smiled faintly and shrugged one shoulder. “My twin brother Tyvosh as well as my mother were caught in that stasis spell.” He continued as if Neph hadn’t voiced any complaint at all. “Originally the plan was to lock them into stasis and destroy them while they were defenseless. My beloved volunteered to act as a conduit to cast the stasis spell, and they would have used her to destroy those caught by it as well, but she had a fatal case of my sword through her chest before they had a chance. I was supposedly there to protect her while she was defenseless during the spellcasting, but my family was trapped by that spell. It was her or them, and I had already tried to talk her out of it. So I made my choice. With that action I became betrayer in the eyes of Delvay as well as the Guardians, and thus had to make a few changes to myself in order to hide.” He waved a hand at himself and smiled bitterly at Neph.