The Crow King's Wife(88)

“I’ve dealt with Hemlock before.” Shade pointed out calmly before sliding into a chair as well.

“In conversation or in actually moving against him?” Neph asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Conversation.” Shade admitted with a frown. He ran a hand through his auburn hair sending it into a tousled mess which only seemed to add to the look of frustration that clung to him.

“Hemlock is a master of time magic. Even if you manage to rescue the child there is a chance he can manipulate time and counter whatever measures you took to be successful in your mission.” Grim pointed out coldly as he joined them at the table. His dark eyes flicked from Neph to Shade and then lingered on the whiskey. He seemed about to pour himself a drink but looked away after a long moment. It spoke volumes for the stress he was under. Zoelyn knew he only drank alcohol when he was at the end of his wits.

“So even attempting it is pointless? Is that what you are saying?” Shade asked in exasperation.

“Unless you kill Hemlock first it is.” Grim replied calmly.

“I don’t even know who Kali or Hemlock are.” Zoelyn pointed out calmly as she joined them and motioned Dray and Madren to do likewise. “By the way you are all acting I’m assuming they are very bad.” She added lamely as she looked at each of them in turn.

“That’s putting it mildly.” Madren sighed as he took a place beside her and rubbed the back of his neck. It seemed to be a habit when he was stressed, and by the expression on his face the skin on his neck would be raw by nightfall. “Hemlock is the leader of the largest Assassin guild on Sanctuary. He is a man with no moral grounding at all and a very sadistic nature. Kali however is the more dangerous of the two. She is chaos incarnate with a knack for life magic that makes every other life mage on Sanctuary pale in comparison. She devotes herself to the creation of new creatures and is responsible for the Bendazzi, the serpents, the goblins, as well as the Blights.” His eyes moved to Dray with his last words and he gave a mildly apologetic shrug.

“And with the Changeling gene she can create new enemies that can hide themselves flawlessly amongst us. The Blights nearly destroyed three countries with their camouflage. Can you imagine how well they would have succeeded had they been able to mimic our leaders?” Grim added sadly.

“Why would she want to destroy us though?” Zoelyn asked in confusion.

“Because she is bloody well insane.” Neph grumbled.

“She was a pariah amongst the Elder Bloods even before the prison was built. It may be some sort of revenge.” Madren offered quietly.

“Because the magical energy from the Elder Blood is what holds the Barrier around Sanctuary and if she can manage to kill all of us off it will weaken the barrier enough for her to escape.” Shade said in a matter of fact tone. All eyes turned to regard him and he shrugged on shoulder in response. “That is my Father’s goal at any rate so I assume it’s what Kali is after as well.”

Zoelyn leaned back in her chair and listened in silence as Madren and Shade debated his theory. If what they said was true than Seth could almost be considered a hero. Hemlock was his mortal enemy and she knew Seth would do anything he could to kill the man. Which in essence made Seth one of the good guys despite his dark reputation. The thought almost brought a smile to her lips but she caught herself at the last moment. Given the topic being discussed currently a smile was not the expression she should be wearing. Her gaze flicked between Madren and Shade and then came to rest on Grim. He was looking far more agitated than the conversation warranted and his gaze kept moving to the door. She was surprised Shade hadn’t noticed his impatience yet, but by the expression on her brother’s face Neph had.

“Kali is a Guardian. I sincerely doubt she wants to bring down the Barrier she helped build.” Grim announced loudly in a voice that rang with annoyance. The room fell to silence at once as everyone turned to stare at him as if he had gone mad. He shifted in his seat and glanced at the door once more before letting out a resigned sigh. “I believe her general philosophy is to keep us too weak to escape by pitting us against each other and her creations. If Kali truly wanted to kill us she is more than capable. She earned the start of her dark reputation by creating a symbiotic creature that dominated its host. If she were truly out for our blood why not just recreate that monstrosity and have us all as her puppets?”

“How do you know Kali is a Guardian?” Neph asked with suspicion clear in his tone.

“I have tea with her every week and chat with her about her life and goals for the future.” Grim returned sarcastically before looking directly at Shade with a glare. “While I understand this is an important conversation it also seems to be one that will keep for a time. Will the rest of our business today keep?”