Conspiracy of Ravens (Crawford Investigations Book 1) Page 11

  Oh, gag. “They’re all bad.”

  Megan refocused and studied Raven. After a second or two, she reached for her mug and took a long drink. The steam fogged up her glasses. “Not all men are assholes, Raven.”

  “You’re right.” Raven mirrored her friend and drank some more coffee. Megan made it just the way she liked it—enough milk to make it beige. “Your husband, my dad and my brothers aren’t so bad.”

  “Actually, I’d argue that Bear is an asshole,” Megan said.

  “Just because things didn’t work out between—”

  Megan clutched her mug in one hand and held out the other. “This has nothing to do with that. You warned me I’d end up as another notch in his belt, and I thought I’d be different. You were right, I was wrong. I’ll admit, getting dumped by him hurt but that was a long time ago. I’m happily married now. I have two kids. I’m not angry at Bear anymore. At least not for myself.”

  Raven scrunched up her lips and stared at the top of her coffee mug. “For who?”

  “You,” Megan said. “Bear’s an asshole because of how he treats you and your family.”

  Raven’s hands tightened on the mug. Well, crap. She’d expected Megan to list a number of Bear’s well-known faults and exploits. Raven hadn’t anticipated Megan pointing in her direction.

  A loud bang made them both jump. Even Theo paused in his gleeful squealing.

  “I’m okay!” Megan’s oldest son’s voice yelled down the stairs.

  Her friend rolled her eyes. “Honestly. I had no idea children were so hell bent to greet death until I birthed them.”

  Raven grunted.

  The bright summer sunshine streamed in from a nearby window, illuminating Megan’s grave expression. “Seriously, though. Bear’s distanced himself from the family. Don’t pretend his absence doesn’t cut you. I see the pain in your face. Little by little, he pulls farther away. And little by little, he breaks your heart. The shine in your skin and the light in your eyes are gone.”

  Raven grumbled. Okay, so she wasn’t going to win a skin modeling campaign anytime soon.

  “Don’t try to tell me it’s only exhaustion from work and the stress of your debt.”

  Raven clamped her mouth shut. There goes the witty retort.

  Megan continued. “And Bear treats the man who loved and raised him as his own with cold disdain, or indifference at best, acting as if your family shunned him instead of the other way around. He also takes the very jobs your dad refuses to consider due to ethical or moral reasons. He’s trying to make a point and spite your dad. A giant fuck you to the very people who love him.”

  Raven set the mug down. Megan had excellent points. She couldn’t deny any of the things she said. Her friend knew her family well, but Megan didn’t know everything. As a non-supernatural being, or a “reg,” Raven and Bear kept specifics regarding their abilities to a minimum. Not because they didn’t trust her, but because she had no natural defence if someone came looking for the twins one day. They had no idea who their biological father was, but from the way their mom acted, they didn’t want to risk Megan’s life and take a chance. They heavily guarded their secrets. Megan didn’t know what made Bear the way he was. “He has his reasons.”

  Odin’s nutsack. That sounded lame, even to her.

  Megan’s oldest son squealed something unintelligible upstairs. More thumping. A giant bang.

  “I’m okay!” he yelled again with less enthusiasm and after a longer pause.

  Megan shook her head and picked up her youngest to bounce on her knee. “I think the only person Bear cares for is you.”

  “He cared about you, too.”

  Megan glared at her.

  “As much as he could, at least,” Raven quickly added.

  “He didn’t like me enough to whisk me away to his secret hook-up place, and I was one of the ‘luckier’ ones who he actually referred to as his girlfriend and kept around for longer than a week,” Megan said, matter of fact.

  “Excuse me, what?”

  “Well, we probably only lasted as long as we did because he took some time trying to figure out how to dump his twin’s best friend.” Megan shrugged.

  “You’re giving him too much credit, and yourself too little. I think you scared the crap out of him, or his feelings for you did.” Raven thumbed the handle of her mug. “But that’s not what I was asking about. What did you mean when you said his secret hook-up place?”

  “What do you mean, what do I mean?”

  “Did he have a special place he took his lady friends? Like a make-out spot on Burnaby Mountain, or something else?”

  Megan put her coffee down and looked at Raven oddly.

  “What?”

  “I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.”

  “Tell me what?” Raven loved her friend, but she might throttle her if she didn’t spit it out soon.

  “He had some sort of hideaway. A ‘special place’ to get away from all the ‘noise.’” Her friend used air quotes and dropped her voice to imitate Bear and the way he spoke. That was why they were friends.

  “I only know about the place because he slipped and mentioned it once to Marcus in front of me,” Megan continued. “Must’ve forgotten I was there.”

  Marcus had been Bear’s best friend since they were three and discovered they both shared the same love for farting and jumping off any object they could climb. The three of them grew up together. “A special place?”

  Megan nodded. “Probably to escape the horde of disgruntled women who follow him everywhere.”

  “He’s not that bad,” Raven said. Special place? What special place?

  Megan picked up her coffee and took another sip. “If you say so.”

  Was Bear’s special place a safe house? She’d have to dig into that later. If Bear had a safe house, he could be hiding there. Good thinking, Brainiac.

  Her gaze snagged on a brochure resting on the nearby desk. She stood up and plucked the glossy folded paper from the smooth surface, “Regulators?”

  Megan sighed somewhere behind her. “It’s a group of regs who meet once a month.”

  “I know who Regulators are,” Raven snapped, maybe a little too harshly. Of course, she knew about the group of regs who hated anyone with an ounce of fae blood. She took a deep breath and tried for a softer tone. “What do you discuss when you meet?”

  “What don’t regs have to talk about?”

  Raven flipped the pamphlet open and skimmed through the material. “They want to rebuild the barrier?”

  “Don’t you? We need to do something to keep the Others from our realm and away from our children.” Megan’s usually soft voice grew harder.

  Raven’s heart pulsed as if stabbed. “You sound like a politician.”

  Megan grunted.

  “Next, you’ll claim they’re taking all our jobs.” Raven dropped the pamphlet on the desk as if it suddenly burst into flame and turned to her friend.

  “Not our jobs, our lives.” Megan pursed her lips. “This isn’t about separating us from another country, Raven. This is about separating the sheep from the wolves. It’s about protecting us from a magical realm full of power-thirsty despots.”

  “Despots? You mean people like me?” Her spine straightened and her skin itched.

  Megan recoiled. “Of course not! You’re not one of them. I’m not talking about shifters or witches or any of the supernaturals who coexisted relatively peacefully with regs prior to the barrier getting ripped down.”

  “Things aren’t that bad.” Raven bit her tongue. Maybe they should’ve told Megan more about themselves. Maybe she’d view the situation differently if she knew Bear and Raven were part Other, as well.

  Nausea rolled in her gut.

  Or maybe Megan would treat them differently instead. Did Raven want to find out the truth? Her throat tightened. Maybe she should tell Megan now. Admit to years of lies and see if their friendship could withstand Megan’s hatred toward the Others and Raven’s duplicity.<
br />
  “Look around you, Raven. They nearly wiped us out. They damaged our cities and towns. Their wars, and our wars with them, ravaged the ecosystem and we’re still scrambling to rebuild. How long before they knock us back down? They let us thrive just enough to prevent a rebellion but keep us desperate for their presence and help at the same time.”

  Raven cringed. Maybe she’d tell Megan later. Raven couldn’t face losing a friend right now if Megan turned out to hate Raven’s nature more than she loved her as a person. Instead, Raven said, “Odin put a stop to the wars.”

  “Odin’s done shit.” Megan slammed down her mug. “People think he saved the regs, but all he’s done is successfully contain the humans in a tidy pen for future minion duty.”

  Raven’s mouth dropped open.

  “I have two children, Raven. Two beautiful babies without any special powers besides their inherent awesomeness. What kind of future will they have? All that stands between them and servitude is the word of a narcissistic warmonger who sits on a throne of skulls. They have to have a way to defend themselves.”

  Raven stood speechless. What could she possibly say to assuage Megan’s realistic worries as a mother? She’d visited her friend to catch up, provide company and have a selfish moment of friendship without fixating on her current problems. Instead, she felt hollow with no idea how to fix anything currently combusting in her life and the lives of those she cared about.

  “I see your point,” she said when she could think of nothing else to break the silence. She saw Megan’s point, all right. She saw the point as the sharp tip of a sword aimed at her heart. She swallowed her uneased and pushed the troublesome thoughts away. “How are your parents?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I don’t mean to brag, but I just broke my personal record for the longest consecutive time lived.”

  ~Raven, every day, trying to stay positive

  Water dripped from Raven’s still wet hair and the short robe stuck to her damp skin. After her visit with Megan, she ran some errands to let her heart mend and her brain run through options. Since Mike’s background checks came up empty for Cole and Luke aside from what the textbooks said, she needed to figure out her next move.

  She stepped out of her bathroom, and a cloud of steam flowed from the tiny room with her, billowing out to the rest of her small apartment. Heat still tingled her skin and the tension from her limbs had long since fled, leaving her languid and a little boneless. She smiled and continued to dry her long hair with the towel. In the shower, her thoughts had repeatedly drifted to Cole. If he was with her, would he touch her here? Would he stroke her like this? Kiss her with passion? Explore her body with his tongue? She’d remained warm with devious thoughts of the Lord of Shadows long after the hot water ran cold. Even now, standing outside her bathroom door in a thin robe, the heat danced along her skin.

  The steam cleared, snaking out the open window into the dark night. The shadow of a large man stood in the middle of her apartment.

  Raven gasped. The towel dropped to the floor with a splat.

  Cole?

  Her heart rate picked up and new heat spread through her body. Had she gasped his name in the shower? Had he heard?

  Her cheeks warmed. Her lips parted.

  Did he visit to make her wicked dreams come true?

  The remaining steam cleared, and the man turned around to face her. The lone light from the kitchen illuminated his face.

  Not Cole.

  Luke.

  Her stomach sank.

  Luke Bane.

  She pulled her worn robe tight around her.

  Bane, Lord of War. In her apartment. Here. Now.

  The heat raced from her skin, replaced with prickling ice. “What are you doing here?”

  Luke’s gaze travelled up her body. His smirk spread. “I think that’s obvious.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Luke let out a long exasperated sigh, as if to say, “Mortals are so tiresome.”

  She waited.

  “You chose the wrong fae lord to work with. I’m here to remedy the situation.”

  She rocked back on her heels. “You want to work with me?”

  Bane scoffed. “Not at all.”

  Moisture trailed down her face and neck from her wet hair. A small puddle of water pooled at her feet. She’d intended to dry off and get dressed, not stand around talking in circles with a dark fae lord. At least she hadn’t peed herself. Yet.

  “It’s late. I’m tired. Just tell me what you want.”

  “You’re coming with me.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “That wasn’t a request.”

  “Just because you want something, doesn’t mean you get it.”

  Bane’s smirk twisted into a cruel smile. “I’m the Lord of War. I always get what I want.”

  Raven glanced over her shoulder. Her front door was two lunge-worthy steps away. Bane was three in the other direction but had considerably longer legs than her, and undoubtedly faster reflexes. He’d grab her before she cleared the front door. Once someone placed their hands on her, it made it more difficult to shift. Somehow, physical skin-on-skin contact, especially with an Other, disrupted her own dark energy.

  Her skin prickled. Why would Bane want her? The same reason he tried to nab Mike with the trap? A bargaining chip?

  Raven’s decision to work with Cole might turn out to be a mistake but going with Bane would be disastrous.

  Like he gave her a choice.

  “Abduction isn’t going to make me want to help you,” she clarified.

  “I waited until you finished your lengthy cleaning ritual. I could’ve barged in, you know.”

  She opened her mouth to thank him and stopped. She clamped her mouth shut. Had she really almost thanked the Lord of War for waiting to kidnap her? Idiot! Grandma Lu would be pulling her gray hair out right now.

  Anger suffused her skin. She balled her hands into fists.

  Calm down. Think.

  Bane took a threatening step forward.

  The window over his right shoulder was open wide enough for clearance.

  “Stop looking around. You won’t find any escape routes.” Bane took another step forward, placing himself within slapping distance. One step away, now. “This will go easier for you if you don’t fight.”

  Instead of replying, Raven untied the sash to her bathrobe, letting it fall open.

  Bane straightened. A dark eyebrow rose. “Seduction will not get you out of this.”

  “No,” she agreed, calling the corvid energy to her. “But it will get me out of here.”

  Bane’s eyes narrowed. He lunged forward.

  Raven’s power snapped in place. Her mind fractured and her body split into multiple birds.

  Bane’s hands snatched at empty air.

  She drove the birds toward the open window. One bird dive-bombed Luke and took a swipe at his face. He growled and smacked the bird away.

  Pain lanced through her collective mind—like someone snapped an elastic band against her brain. The birds faltered but evaded Luke’s follow-up strike. They flew out the window and into the night, all of them. She hadn’t lost a bird. Phew.

  She settled the group in the tree outside her apartment and waited. The summer evening air washed over the birds. They gripped the rough bark so hard with their talons, the wood groaned and splintered. Minutes later, Bane strode from her building. He stopped at the base of the tree and looked up, his dark Other gaze two black pools in the night.

  She turned all her birds’ beady eyes to him. How many would she lose if she attacked his pretty face? She couldn’t defeat him in any way but scratching him up would feel nice.

  Instead of looking shocked or thunderous as expected, the Lord of War appeared thoughtful. A small smile tugged at his cruel lips, and his eyes crinkled.

  Unease flittered through the conspiracy of ravens.

  “An interesting development,” Bane crooned.

  She croaked a bird equival
ent of “Fuck you.”

  His gaze laughed at her. If he didn’t understand raven-speech, he still somehow grasped the intent. “Until we meet again, little raven.”

  He threw a glowing disc at the ground. The air snapped as the power formed a portal. A blast of dark energy rushed past her. Within a minute, Bane disappeared to who-cared-where and the normal non-fae vibe of her neighbourhood returned.

  What should she do now? She glanced at her apartment’s window. Bane left it open. With a single thought, she directed the birds back to her home. Bane’s unwelcomed visit obliterated the lingering effects of her hot shower and any enjoyment she’d gained from the twenty-minute guilt-free me-time. That alone was reason enough to hate him.

  She shifted to human and pulled on long, baggy pajama pants, and a T-shirt. She found her phone and hit Cole’s contact information. She gripped the smooth device and held its cool surface close to her ear. Her hand shook a little. The call went to voicemail.

  “Camhanaich.” His rich seductive voice preceded a loud, annoying beep.

  “It’s Raven. Bane tried to kidnap me in my apartment and failed. Call me.”

  She hung up and waited. What if he didn’t call back? What would she do? Where would she go?

  The dead bolt on her apartment’s door stared back at her. Useless. It hadn’t stopped Bane from gaining entry to her place the first time, she doubted it would be triumphant a second time. Bane could evade her measly defenses, and now he knew her little magic trick. The next time he came for her, he’d be prepared, and she’d be screwed.

  Should she go to her parents? Yes. Cole promised to protect them, so she should be safe there. One location was easier to protect than two, but it also created a giant all-encompassing target composed of her entire family.

  Her phone rang in her hand. She jumped and dropped it.

  “Odin’s scrotum!” she cursed. Swiftly scooping the phone from the floor, Cole’s name appeared across the undamaged screen. She sighed. She couldn’t afford a new phone.

  She answered. “Hello?”

  “I’m coming over.”

  Before she could reply, Cole hung up. Raven kept the phone to her ear and listened to the dial tone. Yeah, right. Like a magical voice would suddenly start explaining stuff to her over the airways. Her brain scrambled.