The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(86)
“No.” Caleb snapped before he could even open his mouth to speak. The Arovan rose from his seat and stretched with a look of mild irritation on his handsome face. He had changed from his uniform the moment they had left Delvay and the chain mail he wore now rattled softly as he moved. He wore no insignia on the armor, and Shade couldn’t even determine where it had been crafted. It had no special touches to it whatsoever and as far as Shade could tell it wasn’t even magical. It seemed too common for a man like Caleb, but when Shade had questioned him about it Caleb had only shrugged in response.
“But Caleb we could…” Shade began quietly.
“No Shade. There is too much you don’t understand about this.” Caleb cut him off coldly before he could finish. With a heavy breath he gathered his cloak from the back of his seat and walked toward the door.
“I understand my friend is about to suicide for the sake of his honor.” Shade snapped as he rose as well. No matter how much thought he put into it, Shade couldn’t figure out why Caleb was so set on the path of Kevala’drin. The knowledge that his daughter was still alive should have given him a reason to live, but it hadn’t.
“Leave off Shade. We do things my way. Syrah’s life is at stake and I refuse to take risks of any sort.” Caleb replied with forced calmness. With an angry snap of his wrist he shook his cloak out and fastened it around his shoulders. “I go into the city. You, Zoey, and Dray follow me through the gates invisible. I will lure Derrick to us and ensure he brings Syrah. Once Derrick arrives Zoey and Dray head off to find the prisoners while you wait for a chance to kill Derrick. I will make it look as though I’m sending Syrah away with magic but I will simply send her to you, Shade. I can’t actually teleport her out of the country, and even if I could I wouldn’t. I’m not strong in arcane magic and there is a very good chance they will have several mages waiting for me to send her off so they can snatch her from the transport. She will be safer if you find her a place to hide before you kill Derrick. The moment you have the man’s head gather Syrah and go to meet Zoey and Dray. Once you have all of the prisoners on the ship, you leave.”
“And just abandon you to die then?” Shade snapped as his frustration with the plan crested. It was the same thing he had done to Jala when she needed his help and the fact that Caleb was suggesting he repeat the mistake was salt in an old wound. There was no way for Caleb to know that however, and that made the argument that much more difficult. He didn’t have time to explain his objection to Caleb now, and when he had tried earlier Caleb had ignored him. It was all so damn frustrating it made him want to snarl and curse like Neph.
“Easier to argue with a stone and you would have more chance of winning.” Zoelyn mumbled as she rose from her seat. The expression on her face was one of defeat and Shade could tell just from looking at her that she was already imagining Caleb dead.
“I like the plan right up until the point of me abandoning a friend.” Shade grumbled.
“I don’t care if you like the plan, Shade. I care if you follow it.” Caleb snapped. His glowered at Shade and took a half step forward. “And you will follow it. I saved your life in our prison and I’m calling in that debt. You will pay me back today by saving my daughter.”
“You are a stubborn ass.” Shade snapped before giving a grudging nod. “Fine, if everything plays out the way you expect it to then I will follow your plan. If something unexpected happens I will make my own choices without wasting time to consult you.” He added firmly and found himself silently praying that something unexpected would happen. He had no desire to follow the plan at all and today was quite possibly the only day he would ever cheer complications arising.
“I suspect that is the best I’ll get from you so I accept it. I will hold you to your word Christian Morcaillo.” Caleb’s voice was low and Shade could clearly hear the hidden threat.
“Fine, now explain to me how you are going to simply walk into the city. I may not have recognized you as the Bloody Huntsman, but I bet there are a few in Rivana that will.” Shade said lightly. There was no real reason to press the point of Caleb’s plan or his threat. Zoey was right, the man was unreasonably stubborn.
“I find myself more concerned with how you expect us to keep a very young child silent while her father is dying. We will need her to be quiet to sneak off and I don’t see how we can ask that of her.” Dray said calmly before Caleb had a chance to open his mouth.
Shade seized the moment and pointed quickly at Dray. “He has a very valid point. Are you expecting me to club your kid to keep her quiet, because I won’t.”
A faint smile formed on Caleb’s lips as he shook his head slowly at them. “Syrah is my daughter. She will understand what I am doing.” He spoke with such sincerity that Shade found himself at a loss of words. “As to the other question…” Caleb began as he pulled a small black dagger from his backpack. At first glance it looked like polished obsidian but as Caleb lifted it free of the last leather strap on his bag it began to writhe in his hand.
“Shadowsteel.” Shade breathed as he watched the dagger elongate and shift until it was vaguely sword shaped. It was nearly impossible to keep himself from reaching to touch it. He had been obsessed with Vaze’s armor and only the thought of actually touching Vaze without permission had kept him from pawing over the Shadowsteel then. He wanted desperately to know more about the metal, but now was not the right time to ask. Even knowing everything that was about to happen and what he should be focusing on Shade still found himself envisioning his ship covered with the beautiful black gleam of the sword before him. With a mental curse Shade forced his hands behind his back and clasped them tightly as he watched the edges sharpen and small details begin to appear along the blade until the object in Caleb’s hand solidified into a long sword. It was a weapon unlike any Shade had ever seen before. There was no groove where the blade met the hilt and the details of the weapon were breathtaking. Each rune on the blade was too perfect to have been crafted by human hands and the gleam along the edge spoke with deadly clarity. He had no doubt that Caleb’s sword would slice through armor as easily as a hot knife through butter.