The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(39)
Neph seized on the name immediately and watched his mother as he repeated it over in his mind. Cora It was the single most valuable bit of information Fortune had given him since the conversation had begun. Everything they had told him so far was useful of course, but that had been the one thing that he had wanted to know that he couldn’t quite phrase a question for. He should have known her name without asking, and it was too awkward for him to admit that he hadn’t.
“Damn it.” Fortune muttered as the thin paper crinkled as he tried to roll the cigarette. Cora rolled her eyes once more and pulled the smoker’s kit toward her as well as the mutilated cigarette Fortune had been so intent on. The Aspect gave her a grateful smile as she began the process of rolling a fresh paper and then looked at Neph with a grin and a wink. He cleared his throat quietly and glanced toward the cupboard behind Neph. “Cora of course doesn’t drink, but I do.” He prompted quietly.
“Just full of vices aren’t you.” Neph muttered as he rose from his chair and fetched a bottle of brandy and two cups.
“Vices make life interesting and I do hate to be bored.” Fortune said with a shrug. He watched Neph long enough to ensure he was going to pour the drinks and let out a quick sigh. “Now as to the point of Azashy, she won’t be working willingly with our enemies, because she is a very special case. She isn’t truly a bad person. There was simply an unfortunate event in Glis that led to her downfall. You know the Black Bastard?”
“Caleb, yes I know him, and I know he doesn’t exactly appreciate being called the Black Bastard.” Neph said in a mildly reproachful voice. Caleb Faulklin had been close to finishing his term at the Academy the year Neph had arrived at the school. Neph had shared a few classes with the man and had never found complaint. For the most part Caleb was quiet and observant, until you pissed him off. Grim as his friends called him had a temper to rival any Firym and easily match the Delvay.
“Yes well, it was Azashy that told the Lady Blackwolf who Caleb’s true father was. It was a na?ve action, and it changed the face of the Glis court. Caleb was exiled to Arovan. Blue Bess was exiled from Lord Blackwolf’s company. She was given the choice of leaving Glis with her son, but chose to continue to serve House Blackwolf at Sebastian’s side rather than his father’s. In retaliation for Azashy’s actions Nicoli Blackwolf had intended to have her quietly silenced before she could reap more mischief. Azashy found out and fled. Since that day she has been in hiding and only parts with information to the few individuals she approves of, and none of the information she has parted with has ever been about Glis.” Fortune pulled the glass of brandy to him the moment he fell silent and took a small sip. He nodded with approval at the vintage and glanced toward Cora.
“Given the nature of her exile from Glis it stands to reason that if Azashy was going to turn to the enemy she would have done it then. Why wait until now after all? If she was going to hold a grudge she has had years to betray Glis.” Cora said as she slid the perfectly rolled cigarette toward Fortune and gazed at Neph once more.
“So if I can manage to find out where they are hiding her I can end them being one step ahead of us constantly.” Neph concluded with a nod. It was useful information, and would be even more useful if he could pass it onto Jala. Until she decided to speak with him again though that was rather impossible. He wasn’t really sure what he could do with the information alone, but Fortune seemed to believe he could somehow benefit from it.
“The next bit of useful information is discretionary. Use it as you will or don’t use it at all. The choice is entirely yours.” Fortune sipped from the brandy once more and leaned back in his chair. “Several months ago, not long after Jala announced to the world who she was, there was an attempt on Shade Morcaillo’s life. At least that is what Shade assumed. It was a Nightblade assassin that attacked him, and Shade placed her in a storage gem in return for it. I don’t actually think she meant to kill him however given the circumstances. She seduced him, and then attempted to stab him while he was still in a daze over the loss of his virginity.” Fortune paused and smirked at Neph. “He wasn’t wearing a Bachelor’s ring however, and she stabbed him through the hand. Not only did she manage to get a sample of his blood she quite possibly managed to get pregnant as well. The Nightblade’s and Kali are on very close working terms which means Kali may very well have Morcaillo blood to use in her creations as well as Shade’s child to train. The Assassin in question was released from her stone when Shade fled the city of Sanctuary. No one has seen her since.”
“Why would Kali want Morcaillo blood? I haven’t seen anything too impressive from Shade yet. He is a fairly good Spell Hawk pilot, but I know quite a few that can claim that.” Neph objected after a long moment. He had turned the information over in his mind and failed to find the least bit of interest in it, but Fortune seemed to think it was quite important.
Fortune stared at him for several breaths and then smiled widely. “By the Aspects I think you are quite possibly the last person to learn this. It used to be a very well-kept secret, but Shade has let the information blurt out several times. Neph, the Morcaillo are Changelings.”
Neph stared at him with a slack jaw as the ramifications of what he had just heard sank home fully. Kali was deadly enough with her creations, but when you added in the potential of her creations being able to turn into anything or mimic anyone, it became an entirely different level of deadly.