The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(6)

Finn followed the direction of Fiona’s hand and smiled faintly at the indicated woman. She was exactly how he had imagined she would be, with long dark hair and a flowing dress that seemed almost transparent. Vines twined around her arms and neck with soft hued flowers accenting the dark green leaves at intervals. Two bright colored little birds flitted around her occasionally landing on her shoulder or upraised hand. If not for the scowl that was painted on her delicate face she would have been the picture of serenity. Obviously Fiona knew what she was talking about in regards to the Aspects, and it was just as obvious that he couldn’t count on the Aspect of Nature for support.

His attention moved past her and through the crowd once more. There were no friendly faces that he could see, and even the ones dressed darkly were scowling at him. With a sigh Finn glanced back at Fiona and motioned to the pit. “Is that the speakers circle?” he asked quietly.

Fiona snorted back laughter and shook her head at him sharply. “No Finn. That is where they will rip you apart if you displease them. The sand is there to absorb the blood so it can be gathered more easily. Silver blood is valuable even to the gods.”

“Well isn’t that sweet.” Finn whispered bitterly. His attention moved once more to the assembled Aspects until he found War amongst the crowd. He wasn’t sure which of the Divine had summoned him, but it had been Divine and not an Aspect. There had been too much power in the demand for an Aspect and as far as Finn knew War was the most powerful Divine right now aside from perhaps himself.

Stepping forward Finn cleared his throat and squared his feet. With a faint smile he calmly reached into his cloak and produced a cigarette. He always smoked before a fight. It was a habit from life that he couldn’t shake. Despite Fiona’s words he knew there was no way to charm this crowd, so that only left one option.

“I’m not sure which of you decided to waste my time, but one of you did. I’d rather keep this as short as possible so can the one who summoned me please speak up so we can get this farce over with?” Finn spoke as loudly as he could without yelling and his words echoed through the room.

“Finn!” Fiona hissed behind him with panic thick in her voice.

Glancing back Finn smiled at her and winked. “That was respectful in Firym.” He whispered before lifting his cigarette to light it. Angry murmurs rippled through the crowd at his words, but he wasn’t concerned. From what he had seen so far the Aspects mirrored the Elder Blood in their behavior, and very few Elder Blood were ever willing to back up their complaints with actions. It was the outspoken ones that acted, and he had never even heard of most of these Aspects which meant they weren’t outspoken.

“You broke the treaty with the Elder Blood.” The voice came from the back of the room, and it was a familiar one.

Finn’s eyes settled on the speaker and he did his best to keep the look of shock from his face. He didn’t know the man well, but he did know him. He had never realized Lutheron was Divine though. “I answered a prayer.” Finn replied after a long moment of silence. “That isn’t breaking the treaty as far as I’m concerned.” He added as the crowd began to mutter in discontent.

“Your demon slaughtered an entire city of Rivasans and you claim it was the answer to a prayer?” Someone shouted from the crowd, but Finn couldn’t spot who it had been.

“Victory in battle and Death to my enemies were Jala’s exact words and it was sent as a prayer to me. She even kissed her holy symbol. How could I resist such a heartfelt plea?” Finn spoke casually and allowed himself to slouch a bit where he stood. If they realized he had no fear of them it would give them pause. Anyone in their right mind would be terrified right now, but oddly enough he wasn’t.

“Then you claim Seth acted on your behalf? I was under the impression that you didn’t realize what he was doing until it was done.” War’s voice rose above the crowd and the Divine stood from his bench. His eyes were locked on Finn and his expression was demanding. It was clear that Fiona had already reported to him and War knew the truth of the matter.

“Miscommunication I’m sure. Seth acted exactly as I wished him to and I have no regrets for his actions. Three prayers were sent from that battle and he answered all three with his attack.” Finn replied in a tone that brooked no argument on the matter.

“You have put all of our temples in danger with this!” A voice screamed from the crowd.

“There is no way we can stand against the Elder Blood if they turn on us.” Someone else offered from the opposite side of the room.

“Kill him and appease the Elder Blood.” A woman yelled from the back and Finn gave up trying to see who was speaking. There were simply too many people in the crowd.

“I support his actions.” A blond haired man bellowed over the noise and rose to his feet. The crowd silenced at once and all eyes turned to look at the newest speaker. He was dressed in a fine blue suit and he looked too slender to offer much help in a fight, but his voice was clear and filled with power. He bowed his head slightly to Finn and offered a faint smile. It was the first hint of good will that Finn received since he had arrived, and he took it as a very good sign.

“Fortune?” War asked in confusion as he turned to look up at the Aspect. “You support breaking the treaty?” War paused and shook his head at the Aspect in obvious confusion. “Fortune you have more temples than any other Aspect. You have more to lose from this than anyone else.” He pointed out calmly as if Fortune must have somehow misunderstood what he was doing.