The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)(90)
“I want my wife and son alive once more and I want my daughter returned to me. Since the first two are impossible I will settle for your death and your son as a bargain chip for my daughter.” Caleb returned coldly as he slowly closed the distance between him and the terrified woman.
Shade cursed silently as he clubbed the clerk in the back of the head dropping the woman unconscious to the ground. “Caleb wait! It would be a better bargain if you used them both for trade. Surely Derrick would listen better if you had them both.” Shade said in the loudest voice he dared. He had no doubt that other guards were already on the way and he had no desire for anyone beyond the store to know that Caleb wasn’t working alone.
“I told you to wait in the alley.” Caleb observed quietly as his sword lashed out once more. The boy erupted into sobs as his mother crumpled beside the table pulling most of the fabric down with her as she fell. She hadn’t even tried to step away, or shield her own throat. Shade noted silently as bile filled his mouth.
“Momma! Momma!” The boy’s cries rose to hysterical shrieking as blood began to pool under the woman.
Shade hadn’t had a clear view of the killing blow, but by the woman’s silence he guessed it was another slit throat and Kalleria was still in the process of dying a very messy death before her child’s watching eyes.
“The boy will be enough to get Derrick’s attention.” Caleb informed him in a monotone voice. He eyed the child for a long moment before apparently deciding the boy wasn’t going to do anything stupid. With a nonchalance that made Shade’s skin crawl Caleb dropped down to a knee and pulled a bolt of fabric from beside the dying woman’s side. Eyes locked on Kalleria’s face he wiped his sword free of the blood and then slowly turned his face to meet the frantic child’s wild eyes. “Stay here by your mother and help her cross into the Darklands. If you leave her side I will cut your legs off at the knees.”
The boy cringed back away from Caleb as the man rose and walked toward the fallen guards. By his size Shade guessed the child wasn’t more than eight. Judgment wasn’t the best at that age, and Shade found himself moving to stand between Caleb and the child just in case the boy mustered enough courage to bolt for the door. An eight year old child might be fool enough to believe he could make it to the door before Caleb could stop him, but Shade knew better. Both of the blows Caleb had struck against the women had been lightning fast with deadly accuracy. The boy wouldn’t make it three feet from his mother’s side before Caleb kept his promise and left the child crippled and bleeding.
Shade’s nausea returned at the thought and he found himself staring after Caleb in disbelief. He never would have believed the man could manage such cruelty. His name is the Bloody Huntsman you na?ve fool. The thought came from the same part of his mind that had taunted him in his prison in Glis, and Shade pushed it aside easily. It was too late to cry about it or allow shock to settle over him. For the moment he had to focus all of his concentration on making sure the boy didn’t move.
“Kalleria went through two maid servants a week. All of them were slaves of course so she disposed of them as any civilized Rivasan would. If their infractions were minor she sold them off to a brothel. If they had offended her deeply she had them thrown into the pits to die in whatever way was fashionable that week.” Caleb spoke quietly as he shifted the guard’s bodies with his foot and eyed them critically.
“To the Rivasan slavery is a way of life.” Shade muttered. He didn’t like the thought of speaking in the woman’s defense any more than he liked watching Caleb murder her. “She was raised to treat them that way. Did she deserve to die from it? Do you feel less pain from Evanell’s death after killing Kalleria?”
Caleb froze and glanced toward the sound of his voice with narrowed eyes. “I warned you that I was going to level this city Shade. Kevala’drin as I said. I will have vengeance for Micah, Honor, Nel, Ryven, and Chalice. Did you honestly think Derrick would be the only one to die? Amdany burned and still lies in waste. I will see that Prendington suffers the same fate. Thousands will die today, just as they did in Amdany.” His voice was low and filled with promise as he turned his attention back to the fallen guards. Crouching down he leaned back on his heels and checked the pulse on the last guard he had dropped. With a faint smile Caleb slapped the man hard and shook him until he moaned.
“The other guards will be here any minute Caleb. We should take the boy and go.” Shade whispered as he glanced toward the door. He was rather amazed that the guards hadn’t already arrived and was grateful for the distraction of worrying over them. He didn’t want to dwell on the city burning or think of how many innocent lives would be claimed if Caleb did manage to succeed in his vengeance. Zoey might be able to free the Delvay and Arovan prisoners, but Prendington was quite obviously slaver town and there would be countless people chained in the lower parts of the city with no hope of escape.
“You should have stayed in the alley.” Caleb observed sourly as he slapped the guard again and drew him to his feet. “Wake up or I will slit your throat and find another messenger.” Caleb growled as the guard’s eyes flickered feebly. The man tried to rally at Caleb’s words and his eyes fluttered open several more times before he managed to keep them open. “Good.” Caleb nodded with approval as he shoved the man against a wall. “In about two minutes I’m going to shove you out of that door.” Caleb informed him as he pointed casually toward the only exit the store offered as far as Shade could tell. “You are going to inform everyone outside that if they move toward this building I will kill your Lord’s son. If they set fire to the building, I will kill your lord’s son. If they stare too long at the building, well you get the picture. Once you have ensured everyone outside is going to behave you are going to run your little ass off to reach your lord before I get annoyed with waiting on you. You will tell him the Bloody Huntsman has come and has his son. You will inform him that if he wants his child back alive he will bring me my daughter alive and well. Are we clear?”