The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(38)
“So you turned her from Shade and set her up for heart break with Finn.” Neph broke in coldly. “Do you realize how much Jala and Shade have in common? They share the same desire to save the world and the same idealistic view of how things could be. If she hadn’t turned to Finn the world might be better off and one of my friends might still be alive today. Finn died for Jala not for her dreams, and he is one of the fallen that we could truly use alive right now.”
Fortune sighed heavily and the last of his smile faded away. “Anthe Jendoshay has been a very good friend of mine for some time. When I act on something this big I consult her before I do anything. Had Jala stayed with Shade, Myth would have killed them both according to Anthe’s visions. When I questioned her about Finn in the beginning it was happily ever after. The Fionaveir are the ones that soured that milk I’m afraid. It wasn’t the Avanti that had him killed as Jala believes, but that is neither here nor there at the present. He is dead, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I gave him the luck to evade Hemlock, and he ignored it as so many people often do. Finn chose to finish his mission rather than survive, and he has my respect for that.”
“Madren’s witch?” Neph asked in confusion. He didn’t think Anthe was a common name, but he had never heard Madren use her surname before.
“She is one of the Tolanteer witches, but I’m not sure she would appreciate being labeled as Madren’s witch.” Fortune corrected mildly. “I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point the Fionaveir strayed from our intended path. I fell out of the loop and they stopped informing me at all before they made their next move. Now things are truly in a world of shit and I’m not sure if there is anyone left to trust from the original arrangement. In the beginning there were several High Lords helping us. Damon Veirasha, Elijah Arovan, Nicoli Blackwolf, Arjuna Firym as well as Jaradon Faydwer; they all knew of the plan and supported it. Damon is dead as far as the rest of the world is concerned. Elijah’s country is nearly crippled. Nicoli’s country is crippled and he appears to be going a bit mad. I no longer trust Jaradon Faydwer I think he may be suffering from the same issue the Fionaveir appear to be having, so that leaves me with Arjuna and you.” Fortune gazed at Neph with a smirk and then chuckled bitterly. “And I’m not at all certain about you.”
“What about Jala? Or Jin Han’shy?” Neph asked sharply.
“Jala wouldn’t listen to me if I dropped to my knees before her and begged. She blames me for Finn’s death as well as several other things I tried to prevent. I hold no grievance toward her for it, but I also cannot depend on her because of it. As for Jin, well I have never truly trusted his motives. I knew him outside the Barrier and while everyone in here is a bit of a bastard, Jin is the king Bastard of them all. To make matters worse he is a mind mage so you never truly know what is really happening when dealing with him.” Fortune explained sadly.
“We have a few cards left to deal, but we have to know where you stand before we can share more Neph.” His mother added quietly.
“I chose my alliance, and I’m not turning my back on it. My only interest right now is seeing that those I sided with survive.” Neph said firmly.
“Then there are a few very important things that you must know. Things that no one else realizes and could very well change the course of things in days to come.” Fortune said calmly as he withdrew a pouch from his jacket and sat it down on the table before him. He fumbled with the silk ties for a moment then withdrew a small square box. Neph knew the sort well enough from his days at the Academy that it didn’t hold his attention long. It was a smoker’s kit, and it would contain nothing more than tobacco and paper, neither of which held the least bit of interest to him. Finn and Valor had both carried them, but Neph himself had never developed the habit of smoking.
“Let us start with the most problematic. Have you heard of Azashy of the thousand-eyes?” His mother began the moment Fortune had fallen silent.
Neph shook his head slowly at the name and looked between the two of them. Fortune seemed content to let her guide the conversation for the time being and was intent on rolling a small sheet of paper filled with tobacco. His mother was watching him intently with a look of concern on her face that Fortune didn’t appear to share at all. The Aspect seemed perfectly relaxed without a hint of nerves, despite the tone of the previous conversation.
“Azashy was formerly the spy master in Glis, long before the difficulties with the Blights arose.” His mother began and glanced once at Fortune as she spoke, but the Aspect still seemed to be entirely absorbed with his cigarette project. She rolled her eyes and Neph found himself smiling despite his stress. “Azashy was to be executed in Glis, but given the nature of her services she was able to flee before they had a chance to arrest her. She has lived in hiding for some time now, only offering her services to a select few. She is likely the single most talented information broker on Sanctuary, and now she is missing. Fortune believes she is the key to our enemies being one step ahead of you, Such as the ambush here in Delvay. With Azashy feeding your enemies information there is no way to surprise them.”
“How do you know she is missing and hasn’t simply gone back into hiding? Or maybe she is allied with our enemies.” Neph broke in before his mother had a chance to continue.
“Let me field this one Cora.” Fortune said in a mildly distracted voice.