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

He had come to Sanctuary with every intention of rescuing Charm and facing Myth, but his ambitions had faded the moment he had touched the gem. It had been delivered to him on the first day and now four days later he still hadn’t bothered to search the prison for Charm. There were three reasons for his hesitation, but he couldn’t say for sure which was motivating his procrastination the most. The first reason was the realization that Charm was bait for him. The second was the simple fact that after viewing the gem he honestly didn’t think he could get inside the prison and out again without Myth catching him. The third and final reason was the last faucet of the gem. It hadn’t contained a memory, only a message for him. Wait until the council to move. It is the only chance you have to succeed. Myth will be occupied that night. He knew the message itself might be a trap, but combined with the other two reasons he found himself ignoring the potential danger and biding his time in a rotting Inn.

So he sat listlessly with a bottle of cheap wine, half a dozen cigarettes, and enough memories to haunt him for weeks waiting for either his chance to move, or Myth to find him, whichever happened first.

He pushed idly at the gem and took another swig from his bottle. It was bitter stuff, but it was cheap, and spending large coins drew attention that he didn’t need. With a sigh Shade dropped the bottle carelessly down beside him and drew one of his remaining cigarettes from his case. A fresh noise drew his attention as he lit the cigarette and took a long drag. Cocking his head toward the inn door Shade heightened his hearing and listened carefully as the thud of boots grew louder. Someone was climbing the stairs toward him. He calmly pushed away the impulse to jump to his feet and settled back against the railing instead. The footsteps grew closer as he folded his knees before him and picked his bottle up once more.

If it was Myth there was no real point to attempting to fight. He knew that much from what he had seen in the gem. If it wasn’t Myth and simply someone searching for a place to rest it was probably best if he didn’t greet them with a drawn dagger.

The door of the balcony shifted slightly and Shade watched in bitter amusement as the dark clad figure of a Priest of Fear stepped from the shadows of the inn. He wore the traditional ankle length black coat with tiny silver skulls embroidered down the sleeves and spiked pauldrons that covered his shoulders. His features were all but obscured by the deep cowl that was pulled low over his face, but even so Shade recognized Grim easily, though he wasn’t fool enough to believe it was truly Grim. He had never seen Grim bother with such formal dress aside from the Marshall’s uniform he had worn to Merro, and Shade was fairly certain that had been for Valor’s benefit.

“I guessed you would choose to be Jala for this. You must have been paying closer attention to me than I thought.” Shade drawled as he smiled widely up at the priest. He still didn’t bother with standing. There was no point to it as far as he could see.

The priest silently pushed back his coat with a gloved hand to display the hilt of a Shadowsteel sword at his belt, then shifted slightly so the the coat fell back into place as he pushed back his cowl to reveal his face. His expression was carefully neutral, but Shade could see emotion boiling in the pale grey depths of Grim’s eyes.

“So it really is you. I doubt even Myth could mimic Shadowsteel for a disguise. I’d love to know how you found me. I’d hate to think condemned buildings are considered my typical haunts.” Shade said casually before lifting his bottle for another swig of the dreadful wine. He let out a sigh as he dropped the nearly empty bottle to the floor once more and smiled bitterly at Grim in what he hoped was a perfect example of callousness. “So did they send you to kill me or drag me back to Delvay?” he asked coldly.

“Everyone that I have ever answered to in the past is dead. I take orders from no man.” Grim returned softly. He eyed Shade for a long moment before lifting his hand and tracing a quick pattern with one finger. Shadow trailed behind his hand and for a breath a perfectly formed rune hung in the air before the city itself grew pitch black around them.

Shade shot to his feet as the air temperature plummeted and all noise from the city below faded away. Wide eyed he stared around at Sanctuary in bewilderment before glancing back at Grim who stood perfectly still and silent with a look of patience covering his face. Apparently he was content to allow Shade time to adjust before he bothered with explaining what was going on.

As far as Shade could tell they were still in Sanctuary. Even the balcony he stood on seemed the same aside from the shadows that seemed to cling to everything around him, but the people he could see on the street below were blurred pale outlines rather than the brightly clad figures they had been moments before. He was in Sanctuary, and yet he was not, it was a very unsettling realization.

“You can drop the pretense now. I’m not sure who you were acting for, but I know it wasn’t me, and it is a waste of your breath to continue it. I don’t believe what they say of you in Delvay anymore than I believe the contempt you were showing me a moment ago. No one can hear or see us here. This is the realm of Shadows and what passes between us here stays just between us.” Grim explained calmly. With a weary sigh he shrugged out of his coat and tossed it carelessly over the balcony rail before turning back to Shade. He pointedly lifted one arm making sure he had Shade’s attention as he did so and gestured to a leather band strapped tightly around his wrist. “That is how I found you. There is a blood stone secured inside the band. I crafted it the night after we repaired your eye in Merro. It led me straight to you.” He explained as he settled back against the wall.