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

Taking several steps back Shade watched in fascination as the wards on the door crackled with bright light and faded into the ink black runes that seemed to be writhing just under Grim’s skin. He could see the Priest’s pain in his clenched jaw but Grim didn’t make a sound as he calmly tore the door from the hinges as easily as he had the others. Casting it aside Grim headed for the cell containing Charm without a moment’s pause.

Shade shook his head in silent amazement before turning to Lex. “I don’t expect you to fight the Fionaveir, but are you in good enough shape to keep up with us while we get you out of the prison?” Lex had always been in peak physical shape for as long as Shade had known him. He had never been the sort of narcissist that Grim and Finn were, but Lex had been in prime fighting shape, now however his body was pale and the muscle tone he had once possessed seemed wasted.

“I will keep up.” Lex replied firmly and Shade could see the emotions warring in his old friend’s eyes. He could imagine the sort of betrayal Lex must be feeling knowing that the people he considered family were the ones that had brought him to the sorry state he was in.

“Good then. I don’t think Charm will be able to so I will be supporting him. If you are willing to help Grim clear a path I would be grateful, but I won’t ask it of you. That’s your choice to make and not a favor a friend should ask.” Shade said with a quick nod as the crack of another broken cell door echoed through the room.

“Do you want the woman too, Shade?” Grim called back to him and Shade turned in confusion.

“What woman?” Shade asked pausing in his steps to Charm’s cell.

“It’s Ingrid. She tried to get Charm out of here a few weeks ago and was caught before she could even examine the door properly. Faramir has been torturing her in attempts to get information from Charm. Are you sure she is even still alive? She didn’t look like much the last time they shoved her back in her cell.” Lex explained with disgust dripping from every word.

“She is living. Her hand moved. If we take her she will need a healer as soon as possible, and she will have to be carried.” Grim explained with obvious hesitation as he looked back at Shade and sighed. “Of course we are taking her. Why did I bother asking?” He muttered the moment he saw the expression on Shade’s face. Once again the Priest set his shoulders and wrapped his slender fingers around the cell door without bothering to wait for Shade’s response.

“I’ll take care of her.” Shade promised. He understood Grim’s hesitation perfectly. It wasn’t that he truly wanted to leave Ingrid behind, Grim simply saw her as an inconvenience they couldn’t afford. He knew Shade would be helping Charm along, and Lex was too weak to carry anyone, which meant as far as Grim could see it he would have to carry Ingrid and still somehow manage to defend them if they ran into trouble.

“Going to carry two people up all those stairs then?” Grim asked as he tossed the third door aside and gazed down at the crumpled figure on the floor. “Bloody hell. Carry one and a half people that is. There isn’t much left of her.” He amended in a sickened voice.

Grimacing at the description Shade nodded once as he stepped calmly into Charm’s cell. He had expected the rogue to come out the moment the way was clear, but there had been no sign of movement. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dimmer shadows inside the cell, but he froze the moment he did. Every surface of the walls was covered in dark script. On the first wall the writing flowed as if a scribe had begun to pen a book on the stone, but as the writing progressed it became shakier and by the time Shade’s eyes reached the broken figure huddled near the wall the words resembled the scratching hand of a child new to his letters.

Shade’s throat tightened painfully as he stared down at the rogue. The man wore little more than a filthy loin cloth and every inch of skin Shade could see was burnt, bruised, or scarred. His long blond hair had been shorn off to rough stubble, but it was the broken wings that caught Shade’s horrified eyes and held them. He had only seen Charm’s wings once before and they had been magnificent, like the angels from his childhood stories. Whoever had tortured Charm had taken the time to pull every feather from the wings and the bones themselves looked broken. Not broken, poorly mended. Shade corrected himself silently. He could tell the bones had been broken at one time, but they were healed now and painful to even look at. Someone had taken measures to ensure that they healed badly and by the way they jutted from Charm’s back Shade doubted there was any position that was comfortable for him to sit in.

“Charm?” Shade ventured quietly and wasn’t surprised in the least by the lack of response in the rogue’s vacant eyes. Nodding absently Shade approached him slowly and knelt. “Charm, it’s Shade. I’ve come to get you out of this place.” He said gently as he wrapped an arm carefully around the rogue’s waist and raised him to his feet taking care to not disturb the broken remains of his mutilated wings.

“Shade, we need to go!” Grim bellowed from the outer room.

“Coming.” Shade replied as loudly as he could manage in his sickened state. “It’s ok Charm. I’ve got you now and I’m getting you out of here. Can you walk at all to help me or do I need to carry you?” Shade asked gently as he took the first step toward the door and realized the rogue was nothing more than dead weight in his arms.

“Leave me.” The words were mangled so badly that it took Shade a long moment to decipher what the rogue had been trying to say. Charm’s face crumpled with shame and his head bowed as he struggled against Shade in an attempt to regain the shadowed corner he had been huddled in.