Author's Note: Another short-ish chapter with quite a bit of dialog taken from DAO (thank you Bioware!). I am now treading into sections of the story that I have not fleshed out as much, so my next update might take a while. Thank you to everyone who has added me to alert and favorite lists - I must say that's rather exciting! - and to those of you who have commented. I welcome reviews/comments. Cheers!

I See Your Crow and Raise You Nine

They walked to The Pearl, where they expected to find a courier, and along the way they found Tania, another soldier's widow. That encounter had not gone as badly as it could have, but their next did. By chance they happened upon Layson, a Blackstone Irregular gone rogue, who had stolen from his guild on the way out. In spite of an offer of mercy – and Kallian wanted to beg him to give her a reason to spare his life, so she would not have to kill him, because she really did not want to – he refused to surrender the guild's inventory and attacked them. He did not last long.

In order to spare Wynne the indignity of being in The Pearl for very long, Kallian planned on making the visit a quick one (this prompted more than a few fits of giggles amongst Leliana, Kallian and Alistair), and she was lucky enough to find the courier in the entrance hall. As they headed back to the Market, they found two more couriers.

Kallian's mood was lightening up and as they walked down one of the city's more deserted alleys she chatted with Leliana, pondering ways to apologize to Zevran for being so rude to him earlier in the day. Quite suddenly, or so it seemed to her companions, Kallian stopped moving, mouth half open in an unfinished sentence, hands on her daggers. Something felt wrong. The others froze, keenly attuned to her lead after months in her company. Kallian turned her head slowly to the right, to look up a flight of stairs to what appeared to be a dead end. Indeed, they had wandered into yet another dead end. A man dressed in studded leather armour stood there, smiling down at them.

"And so here is the mighty Grey Warden at long last." Kallian knew by the daggers he carried that he was with the House of Crows.

"Oh, this is not good." Alistair muttered under his breath. "This is really not good."

"The Crows send their greetings once again. And where is Zevran? I don't see him with you. That is very disappointing."

"I didn't bring him with me, obviously." Kallian replied through clenched teeth. She had let her guard down, and they had walked into a trap. She wanted to slap herself. However, this did settle the question that had been nagging at her for a while now. The Crows knew Zevran travelled with her, no doubt about it.

"Hmmm. Then I shall need to seek him out once we are done."

"Here I am, Taliesin." Zevran stepped into view at Kallian's right. "Tell me, were you sent or did you volunteer for the job?"

Kallian swallowed hard, trying to read his expression out of the corner of her eye. He must have been following them, but how…? She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

"Oh ho, and so he makes an appearance! I volunteered, of course. When I heard that the great Zevran had gone rogue, I simply had to see it for myself."

"Is that so? Well, here I am in the flesh."

"You can return with me, Zevran. I know why you did this," he said as he gestured to Kallian with a smile. "And I don't blame you. It's not too late. Come back and we'll make up a story. Anyone can make a mistake."

"Zevran no longer needs the Crows," Kallian snapped.

He finally looked at her, that smile of his spreading across his face. "I think I shall do quite nicely without the Crows."

Alistair's relief was obvious. "Thank the Maker; you had me worried for just the smallest of moments, Zev." Zevran could not help but notice that and considered it a good sign.

Taliesin's gaze shifted around the alley as he exclaimed with mock dismay "What? You've gone soft!"

Zevran looked back at Kallian, his eyes darting around the alley, before he raised his voice to address Taliesin. "I am sorry my old friend, but I am not coming back...and you should have stayed in Antiva."

At least nine of Taliesin's men and women, most of who had been hiding around the alley, or in the narrow entrance to it, attacked. Alistair's war cry pierced the air and he charged forward, Cailan's shield flashing in the sun, Maric's sword coming down hard on the nearest enemy, moving on to the next when the first fell. The air crackled with Wynne's magic as she cast protection spells on her allies. Conjuring up great boulders, she hurled them at their enemies, killing two archers immediately. Leliana's arrows fired straight and true, finding purchase in Antivan flesh, even as she yelled "You should run while you still can!".

Zevran found himself immediately set upon by a young Crow recruit he recognized from his journey to Denerim so many months ago now and killed him easily. How the poor boy had managed to make it this far was beyond Zevran. Kallian stared at Taliesin just long enough to think that this man represented everything and everyone who had robbed Zevran of his youth, happiness, a chance at a life of his own, and she wanted nothing more than to put an end to the man, to give her lover a chance at something better. Zevran's sparring lessons came back to her, like pictures flashing through her mind, and she launched herself up the stairs and attacked Taliesin.

They fought a few minutes before they were joined by Zevran. He could see that neither of them had inflicted much damage to the other, which was a blessing as Taliesin generally poisoned his blades. Zevran and Kallian danced around Taliesin. Kallian was twisting and turning at a dizzying pace as she ducked and dodged around his every move, distracting him with little cuts here and there, and Zevran took a chance and thrust his arm out. Time seemed to stop. Zevran caught Taliesin under his left arm, in a small weak spot of the armour, puncturing the artery there. Taliesin's face fell and he began to crumple.

Grabbing him by the throat, Zevran put his lips close to Taliesin's ear and whispered "That is for Rinna," as he lowered Taliesin to the ground, blood quickly pooling around him.

Barely mindful of what was going on around them, the sounds of battle diminishing in their favour, he turned to Kallian. She stood near him, splattered in blood, pale, staring down at Taliesin.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her lightly. "Kallian, are you hurt? Are you all right?" His hands flew over her armour, checking for any breaches, checking her exposed skin for wounds, before they moved up into her hair, holding her head steady so she had to look at him. "Kallian, please speak to me."

Her eyes focussed on him. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

They stared at each other for a moment and then he burst into laughter and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I am just happy you are well, mia cara, and could forgive you anything right now. I cannot believe he did not cut you." Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her.

"Don't worry, we've got it all under control," Alistair panted.

"Oh, I think it's cute." Leliana called out in her singsong voice as she checked the dead assassins for valuables.

Zevran stared down at Taliesin's body for a while before turning back to Alistair. "Could you give us a moment?"

"Oh...um, yes. Of course." He took Leliana by the elbow and steered her toward Wynne who had taken a seat on barrel a short distance away, looking rather tired.

"Where did you come from?" Kallian asked when they were alone.

"I was following you. I was on the ramparts of the estate and happened to see you leaving the market. Three Crows followed you, others joined them as you wandered the city, and a few were hidden here. The night we arrived, I overheard Loghain tell Howe to call the Crows and I knew it was only a matter of time. The Crows have masters here."

He pulled away from her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "You know, you really must work on your shadowing. I am surprised you and Leliana did not notice that you had several Crows on your tail and were walking into an ambush."

Kallian thought this was an odd thing, the two of them having a moment like this in a dingy back alley as they stood over a dead man whose blood was slowly seeping into the ground.

She was feeling a bit sheepish about the ambush. It really hadn't been that long since she'd given Alistair a lecture about being careful. "Ah, well it's been a weird day for me and we were talking…wait, you knew Howe was going to alert the Crows to our location and you didn't tell me? That's why you wanted me to stay at the estate. Zevran..." Her voice was soft, almost sad.

"Please do not change the subject my dear." She responded by wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing a little. She was touched more than angry.

Zevran cleared his throat and turned his attention turned back to Taliesin's corpse. "There it is. Taliesin is dead and I am free of the Crows. They will assume I am dead along with Taliesin. So long as I do not make my presence known to them, they will not seek me out."

She couldn't help thinking let me know how that goes for you and wondered who was being more naïve. "And that's a good thing, right?"

"A very good thing...it is in fact what I have hoped for ever since you decided not to kill me. I suppose it would be possible for me to leave now, if I wished. I could go far away, somewhere the Crows would never find me. I think, however," he pulled her close again. "I could also stay here. I made an oath to help you, after all, and saving the world seems a worthy task to see through to the end, yes?"

"Yes. Zevran, I want you to stay." She hugged him again, not wanting to let go of him.

"Then stay I shall. I am with you to the end. Come, we must leave this place before guards arrive."

xXx

Zevran had struggled with himself as he had chased after Kallian and the others. What would happen if he kept going, perhaps sought passage from Ferelden with Isabella, Captain of The Siren's Call? The thought sickened him once it had formed in his mind. How could he possibly do such a thing to his lovely Warden, when she had done nothing but show him mercy, acceptance and trust? She spoke of wanting him to have a life of his own when others had sought to control and use him his entire life. When he caught up with them and saw her facing Taliesin, he had been filled with pride and just a bit of lust because she looked radiant, fierce. He knew then that he could not leave her, would never leave her as long as it was in his power to stay.