The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(88)
Zoelyn smiled faintly and nodded her head once as if in confirmation. “I always thought he leaned more toward the ways of a Black druid than anyone else in his family.” She spoke softly and then seemed to notice the confusion on their faces. “A true Druid seeks harmony with nature by finding balance with the humans and animals. A Black druid prefers to eliminate the humans to grant the animals harmony. It always seemed strange to me that he was the Marshall for Amdany when he doesn’t really like cities. I suppose it was just another sacrifice he made for Nel. It’s hard to imagine a love so strong that you would give up everything that you are to see them smile.” Her voice trailed off as she turned from them and started after Caleb.
Shade glanced toward Dray just in time to see a flash of emotion flicker across the Blight’s face before the boy raised his camouflage and disappeared.
“I don’t think that kind of love is really that uncommon.” Shade said with a faint smile then grunted as Dray’s elbow connected solidly with his gut. “I mean look at Jala and Valor.” Shade added trying to keep his voice normal despite the air Dray had knocked out of him. He glowered toward the area that Dray had vanished in and shifted his bag on his shoulder. “It’s also possible that he was Marshall for Micah. You’d be amazed what some people will do for friends no matter what it costs them.”
*
Shade shifted silently where he stood and tried to ignore the ankle deep filth in the alley. He wasn’t sure which was less appealing, the stench from the garbage or the smell drifting from the slave quarter of the city. It might have been bearable had he been in his true form, but in order to remain hidden well he had switched to the Blight form for its camouflage abilities. Unfortunately while the creatures were adept at hiding, they also had remarkable senses, and his sense of smell was about to make him vomit. With an effort he pushed his nausea back down and tried his best to refocus his mind on something besides his own discomfort.
His attention moved across the rotting produce and various other items he didn’t want to contemplate to settle on Caleb. The man was crouched deeper in the alley with a small swarm of rats surrounding him. All of the rodents were attentive and some even stood on hind legs as if to hear Caleb’s various squeaking noises better. In another time or place the sight would have been comical; today he couldn’t even summon a faint smile. Too many other concerns echoed through his thoughts, the foremost being how exactly Caleb would manage to explain what he was doing if they wrong sort of person walked by the alley before he was finished. Rivasan were talented with arcane magic, not druidic powers. Amongst the Elder Blood the Fae and the Shifters were the ones that excelled in the natural magic and neither of those would be welcome in Prendington.
The squeaking conversation died down and Shade let out a slow breath of relief as Caleb began handing out tiny bags of seeds to each of the rodents. He didn’t understand this part of the plan at all, but Caleb didn’t seem inclined to elaborate on any of the details of his plan so Shade had no choice but to follow blindly.
“Keep close to me and don’t get lost. I won’t pause for you I’m running out of time.” Caleb whispered as he stood slowly. He turned toward the west and began picking his way carefully through the alley taking care to avoid the clogged gutters that ran alongside the sandstone wall of the building.
He led them through alleys and backstreets for several blocks and gradually the filth lessened as well as the stench. With each turn they seemed to be moving into better parts of town and by the time Caleb stopped once more Shade couldn’t detect even a hint of the slave markets in the air. With a frown Caleb pulled a rag from his backpack and leaned back against the alley examining his boots with a critical eye.
Realizing they were going to be stopped for at least a few minutes if Caleb intended to remove the filth from himself Shade moved quietly to the mouth of the alley and glanced at the street beyond. Everything as far as he could see in both directions was clean and orderly. The southern area of the road seemed to be a merchant’s quarter and he could just make out the bright banners of an open market in the distance. To the north the shops and cafes gradually gave away to houses and apartment buildings crafted in the same reddish sandstone that seemed to comprise most of the city. Neither direction seemed a likely place to locate Derrick Rivasa. Shade glanced back at Caleb who had just finished wiping down his boots and wondered if he should even bother asking what they were doing here. Chances were good that Caleb would ignore that question as easily as he had ignored the other dozen questions Shade had asked on the way to the city.
“You should stay here. I doubt any of you will approve of this part of the plan.” Caleb murmured as he stepped from the alley into the bright sunlight of the open street. A few well-dressed passersby slowed to watch him with looks of distaste on their fine faces, but no one openly rebuked his presence.
“What part of the plan would this be?” Shade whispered just loud enough for Caleb to hear him and crossed his fingers that no one else in the area had hearing good enough to detect his words.
“Luring Derrick out. An eye for an eye and all.” Caleb returned softly before setting off at a brisk pace toward to southern end of the street.
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” Dray mumbled from somewhere to his left.
“I haven’t a clue, but I’m not interested in skulking in alleys and waiting.” Shade replied quietly. Carefully he stepped from the alley and ghosted after Caleb. It took most of his attention to avoid the scattered people on the street as well as anything on the road that might give his presence away. Even something as trivial as kicking an errant pebble could draw attention to him. While he didn’t think anyone in this particular area of town would notice something so small, he didn’t want to take any chances.