The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(104)
The door exploded inward sending shards of wood flying in all directions but rather than scatter as they should have they seemed to hang in the air as they spun slowly into the shadowed room beyond. Frowning Zoelyn blinked and stared stupidly at the pieces of wood as a dark shape stepped forward into the doorway with blinding speed. She saw Havoc’s hand reach for his sword but the movement was far too slow to block the flashing blade that tore across his throat. With a curse the Firym staggered back into her and the world seemed to explode into motion once more as the shards of wood spun off into the darkness. Blood gushed from Havoc’s torn throat and Zoelyn frantically tried to stem the flow with her gloved hand as she drug him further from the grey cloaked figure filling the doorway.
“Hello sweets. So very nice to finally meet you.” The man’s voice was low and filled with amusement as he stepped from the room and into the hall. “Lord Dark I wouldn’t draw that sword if I were you.” He warned as his head tilted to look past her.
Swallowing heavily Zoelyn drew on the healing magic stored within her and used the faintest touch to seal the flesh at Havoc’s throat. She would need to examine the wound closer to know how much healing he truly needed, but she couldn’t leave him bleeding as she drug him along, and she had to get him out of range of the approaching man.
Something brushed against her side and she glanced up to see Dray stepping in front of her with a determined look on his face. “You will not harm her.” Dray growled as his hand dropped to his own dagger. He seemed a pitiful guardian considering how quickly the man had dropped Havoc, but Zoelyn forced herself to keep silent. There was a small chance that Dray would give the man enough pause for her to get Havoc to safety just with his presence. Nearly everyone in Sanctuary knew of the Blight’s now, and there weren’t many that were willing to fight one of the creatures. Of course most Blight’s had a bloodthirsty nature and the instinct to kill, Dray had neither from what she had seen.
“Stand down Dray! Did you see how quickly he dropped Havoc? Did you somehow miss how the wood hung in the air like that? That is Hemlock before you and that was time magic he used to cheat Havoc.” Zachary barked the words like a field commander and Zoelyn watched mutely as Dray’s shoulders slumped a fraction, but the Blight didn’t budge from where he stood.
“I would die to protect Zoey.” Dray proclaimed in a voice that only shook slightly.
“Then you are a fool, because once he has finished with you he will continue after her. Don’t throw your life away, Dray.” Zachary snapped as he pushed past the Blight to stand before Hemlock with one hand on his sword hilt. “What do you want here Hemlock? As far as I knew the Rivasan’s don’t hire your kind. It’s considered too dishonorable even for their tastes as I understand it.”
“I am here for my own reasons Lord Dark.” Hemlock drawled as he slowed to a stop and leaned back on his heels to regard the taller man. “You know that knife I used on Havoc was rather well poisoned. It was the same mixture I used to kill Finn in Sanctuary. I doubt the girl has the skill to heal it, but Jala likely does. I’d say the Firym has about fifteen minutes of life remaining with the dosage I used, so that leaves us with a bit of a quandary. Do you waste his remaining time dying beside him or do you escape and attempt to get him healed?”
“I will not leave here without the children.” Zachary declared firmly.
“Noble to the marrow aren’t you? Well fine then. Let’s make a deal. I will allow you to take Havoc, the Blight, as well as the children and flee without giving you the slightest trouble for your efforts.” Hemlock spread his hands before him and cocked his head to one side as he presented his offer then tilted his blood stained dagger toward Zachary. “Or I kill you, the Blight, and then the girl and still have time to watch Havoc die slowly and painfully before I sell the children at the first slave market I can find. Which would you prefer?”
“You are here for Zoey?” Zachary asked incredulously.
“The more honorable they are the thicker their skulls I think.” A woman purred from inside the room. Slow measured steps echoed through the room as the speaker moved to the doorway and leaned against the frame. From her vantage behind the others Zoelyn could tell little about the newcomer beyond her pale hair and white clothing, but she remembered enough of what Neph had said to guess who the woman was.
“Kali too.” Zachary observed grimly and his hand tightened on his sword hilt. “Zoelyn we have a problem. I will have to draw on Oblivion to face these two at once. Hemlock I might have been able to handle without drawing on more power, but not both of them.” He said in a tightly controlled voice. She couldn’t see the expression on his face, but his knuckles were white on his sword hilt and the set of his shoulders spoke of pure fury.
“And Oblivion destroys sentiment, so when I make the same offer to an Oblivion soaked Lord Dark he will leave you here with me without a second glance.” Hemlock finished with a faint chuckle.
“Unfortunately that is correct. Without personal grievance toward me I won’t fight them once I hold enough Oblivion to win against them, and I promise you they won’t provoke a fight with me once I draw on my power.” Zachary agreed sounding thoroughly disgusted with himself.
“Take Havoc and Dray to find the children then. I don’t want anyone to die on my behalf.” Zoelyn said in the calmest voice she could muster as she gently laid Havoc against the wall and straightened were she stood. Summoning what she hoped was a confident look to her face she drew her other glove off and tucked it into her belt. “Kali won’t be a problem for me, and neither will his time magic. I will manage on my own.” She added with forced bravado.