Raven: Book Three

by Abra Ebner

  At times I tried to dream of him, but it was useless. I was no longer welcome in that world.

  When we migrated back to the cities and the lush shores of the Puget Sound, we left the tree behind in the forest. There, it lived as it should in the place where it truly belonged. I was no longer stitched to nature as I once was, and though it fought with me, I learned to eventually cooperate with it.

  In my older years, I finally saw the beauty in humanity. I had never understood it growing up, the feeling void from my life. Emotion was a powerful thing: to cry, to laugh, even hate. But above all that, it was love that truly mattered. All I wanted was the love of a man and the love of family. In the end, it was the most powerful weapon we could ever possess against evil.

  Now in my true eighties, I had found the gift of living. I’ve learned that it’s one thing to fear life, but another thing to allow it to happen and be happy along the way. When I was so lost and empty, I did not see things outside of my own world. In that darkness, I only saw the hurt. But now, I understood. Now, I could finally go.

  WAKING

  “Hello.”

  I was playing with my doll on the stoop of our house when the voice interrupted me. I looked up, my eyes meeting that of a man I did not know. His hands were clasped behind him, his leather coat dangling from his broad shoulders. I looked away and back at my doll.

  “Well, aren’t you going to say hello in return?” the man asked.

  I began to hum, ignoring him.

  “Samantha?” The man said my name.

  I stopped humming, looking back up at him. I frowned at the strange man. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers,” I said frankly, tucking my black hair behind my ears. I heard the front door open behind me.

  “Sam?” My mother’s voice echoed in my ears as she called my name. I turned to look at her. She took one step down the stoop before noticing the man as he stood half hidden behind the brick wall and mailbox. She froze as her eyes met his. My mother held the door in one hand and I watched as her grip on it tightened. She swallowed.

  “Yes?” the man replied.

  I turned and gave him a nasty glare. “She was talking to me, mister.”

  The man laughed. “Maybe, but I think that now you’re mommy is thinking that it was meant for me.”

  “I—” My mom could not speak.

  The man rocked onto his toes. “Margriete, it’s great to see you again.” He addressed my mother in a way that seemed old fashioned, giving her a small bow.

  I looked back at the strange man, seeing his face was twisted into a smile, like a clown. He did not look at me, so I continued to observe.

  “Sam—” my mother’s voice cracked.

  I turned back to face her, but the man was right. This time she was not referring to me. Their eyes were locked in a stare, neither one blinking.

  The man let his hands fall to his sides. “Margriete, you were, well, not much the last time I visited. You’re mother was just a few weeks along at the time. But, I heard you in there.”

  My neck was getting sore as I kept looking between my mother and the man.

  The man tapped his head with one finger. “I heard you,” he repeated.

  My mother laughed as her face suddenly became bashful. I did not understand what was happening, now completely forgetting the game I was playing with my doll. I watched my mother’s grip on the door relax, her hair catching in a bit of fall wind.

  Since I was very young, I had begged my grandmother to tell me the stories of her youth. For ten years now, she had filled my head with fairy tales of angels and living forests, magical birds and dreaming. I never believed her, but something about this strange man made me want to, something about it made me believe.

  “So, then it’s really time. It’s really real.” My mother’s voice sounded sad.

  “Did you ever doubt it?” The man replied. “No—no, you always believed.” He nodded

  “Is he—” my mother began.

  I watched as the man smiled and took a step forward. “May I see Elle?” He distracted her from what she was going to say.

  My mother did not move for a long while, as though rolling the man’s question over and over in her head. At ten, it was still hard for me to understand adults, but I knew enough about my mother to know that she seemed nervous and scared. Being that I was the granddaughter of to the most important person of recent history, I had been raised to be proper and educated. But, I also knew that it came with its consequences.

  My mother swallowed. “Yes. You may see her.”

  I watched as the man made his way up the step, touching my mother on the arm and leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. He brushed past her and went inside as my mother’s eyes dropped to me.

  “Samantha, come along.”

  I hated it when she called me Samantha, but since there seemed to be some sort of name confusion, I went along with it. My mother had a stern look on her face and I was in no mood to be defiant. I followed her into the house and down the hall after the man. We entered my grandmother’s bedroom on our tiptoes, afraid to wake her too suddenly. I watched, now far too curious to even blink.

  My grandmother was asleep in her bed with the TV on. My mother was quick to rush in and shut it off, crossing her arms against her chest as I watched her eyes begin to well with tears. She was shifting her weight from one foot to the next. I licked my lips, not knowing what else to do as I walked up to her and put my arms around her waist. She sniffled, placing one hand on my back and rubbing it.

  “Mamma, what’s happening?” I whispered, looking up at her, now building on her energy as my heart began to race.

  The man named Sam looked at me. “Samantha, there is no need to be frightened.”

  It was then that something began to protrude from his spine, unfolding like a fan. My mother gasped and I looked up at her, watching as her hand covered her mouth. A tear fell down her cheek. I looked back at the man, not believing what I saw. Memories of my grandmother’s stories flooded my mind and I recalled why his name felt familiar. “Sam,” I uttered.

  His eyes glanced at me with a glimmer.

  My grandmother woke then, her eyes fluttering open as we all froze. She stared at the ceiling for a moment, the look on her face indicating that she knew he was there, even before she saw him. She slowly dropped her gaze to meet Sam’s, her eyes glimmering with a tear. Her lids closed as a smile grew across her wrinkled face, her long white hair twisting about her ears.

  Grandmother let out a soft chuckle, opening her eyes. “Old friend,” her voice was low and melodic.

  The man snorted. “Look at you! You look like a grape left out in the sun.”

  My mother laughed through soft sobs.

  Grandmother laughed as well, lifting her weak arm and giving the man a soft nudge on the arm. “You arse.”

  Sam looked at her with fond eyes. “It’s been a long time, Elle.”

  Grandmother nodded slowly. “Too long, my dear, too long.”

  Sam lifted his hand and touched my grandmother’s face, causing her to gasp. “So cold,” she shuddered.

  He looked at my mother and then me, causing my mom’s body to tense. He turned away and back to grandmother, slowly bringing his hands to her sides as he lifted her gently from the bed. He cradled her in his grasp, as though she were nothing but a child. I had never seen my grandmother smile so widely, chuckling ever so lightly as she watched Sam’s face.

  He looked at us again, his golden eyes telling us to follow as he turned and left the room. We followed him back down the hall to the door, but as I rounded the entry into the living room, another figure caught my eye.

  I froze, my mother catching up to me as she again gasped, grabbing my shoulder with a hard hand. The figure in the living room was staring at my grandmother, his eyes as blue as the sea. I turned to ask my mother who he was but she refused to let me move. I looked at my grandmother instead, seeing her stare back at the man. Her face was no longer smiling, but showing so
me other expression I had never seen from her before. I tried to place the look on her face, finally realizing that it was the same look I’d seen from my mother when she’d looked at Father.

  Sam walked up to the other man as he placed my grandmother into his arms. I saw them shake with fright as the man took her from Sam. I kept my gaze on my grandmother, watching as she watched the man, her face unchanged.

  The man also cradled her with one arm, as though she were as light as air. Something black began to fan from his back then, just as they had with Sam. This time, it was me that gasped. The black wings spread the length of our living room, like black curtains. The man touched her face with the tips of his fingers, smoothing them across her skin. I watched in disbelief as he seemed to wash away her age, her face growing taught and her hair beginning to glow.

  The woman I saw moments later was not the woman I grew up knowing. My mother’s sobbing grew worse as we watched, grandmother’s hair now cascading in luscious locks of blonde, her skin like porcelain. My grandmother giggled then, her voice like music to my ears.

  The man’s mouth curled into a smile as he leaned close, kissing her softly as he set my grandmother down on her feet. I hadn’t seen my grandmother stand in quite a few years, but the way she stood now was unlike anything I’d seen. She was tall and thin, her shoulders back and her chin up. A glow surrounded her.

  Grandmother gazed at the man for another moment, and then slowly turned to face me. Her bright blue eyes blinked a few times, her smile full of happiness and youth. I looked at my mother, seeing her hand shake as it rested on her heart, attempting to hold back tears. Grandmother stood still while the man finally moved, his large black wings retracting behind him. He walked up to me, his gaze fluttering between my mother and me.

  I felt my mother’s hand drop from her mouth. “Father,” she whispered, almost too low to even hear.

  I was shocked by my mother’s words and what she had called him. I had heard my mother talk about my grandfather many times, always wanting to know more from grandmother, and I did too.

  He was a mystery to us, someone my grandmother spoke of in a voice I could not explain. I knew he was a powerful man, but not a man to fear. I was gawking at him. I knew it was rude to stare, but I couldn’t help it. The man smiled.

  My mother let her grip on my shoulder relax as she stepped around me, the man walking into her and giving her a hug. They remained in that embrace for a long while as I watched my grandmother, gazing upon her as though she were art. She was still and calm like a ghost, somehow at peace. Her eyes were so bright they were hard to look at, her skin glistening as though dipped in pearl paint.

  My mother finally let go and stepped behind me, placing a hand on the center of my back. She cleared her throat. “This is your granddaughter—Samantha.”

  The man’s gaze broke from my mother’s and fell to me. His mouth sank into a solemn line. He slowly knelt until our faces met. Feeling frightened, I watched his black eyes, moving like storm clouds and glittering like an opal. He leaned in then, kissing me on the forehead as I shut my eyes.

  His lips were like ice as they touched my skin, and I felt a cold sensation sink in. The sensation spread across my head, flooding my entire body as it rushed through my veins. Something inside me burst open then, blooming like a flower in my heart, warm like a smoldering flame. I shuddered as he stood tall once more, saying nothing as he turned and made his way back to my grandmother’s side.

  Sam cleared his throat. “I love a good family moment, don’t you?” He stole the energy from the room, causing my mother to relax as she laughed. “Time to go, Edgar.” Sam was watching us.

  I had nothing to say. I was too speechless by the whole thing to even believe it was really happening. Edgar, I repeated his name over and over in my head, holding on to the sound and cherishing it.

  “Goodbye, mother. Goodbye—father.” My mother was barely able to whisper her valediction.

  Grandmother smiled as Sam came to her side, taking her hand in his. Grandmother raised her other as though to wave, but as I watched it—it slowly disappeared like dissipating smoke.

  She was gone.

  My mother knelt down beside me, wrapping her arms around me as her black hair curtained my face. She sobbed hard as I rubbed her back. Magic was real, I thought. It all was real.

  ESTELLA

  I felt his hand in mine, so cold, but so sweet. I saw the world I had known for the past eighty years disappear around me. In the bright light that followed, my skin glistened with a youth I had all but forgotten. I heard myself giggle, as though it was not my own.

  A hand touched my chin, coaxing me to turn my gaze. My eyes met his, eyes I had seen in the darkness of every dream, burned there by a love so deep, I could never forget.

  The corners of his mouth curled. “Welcome home, Estella.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, familiar sounds and smells invaded my senses. I took notice of the new surroundings, seeing the meadow, seeing home. The sun was shining, but it was the sun I recognized seeing long ago, deep down through the caves. I smelled the lush grass below my feet, and the flowers on the wind.

  Edgar’s finger traced the length of my arm, causing it to shiver. His face was as striking as I remembered, every feature just the same as it always was. He lifted his hand and brushed the back of his fingers along my jaw line and past my ear. His other hand was laced behind my back. He pulled me against him, holding me in the arms I had longed for. He leaned close, his eyes so real and so sharp, that I could not deny the fact that this was really happening.

  He leaned in, whispering as his nose nuzzled mine, “You’re all mine now.”

  I smiled, feeling the chill of his lips hovering so close to mine. “No, Edgar.” I denied. I saw his eye glimmer. “You’re all mine.”

  He pulled me into a kiss, his cold sugary lips the drug I had been craving. A warm feeling filled my chest, the same warm feeling I swore to fight for, to find at any cost.

  I had finally found my way home.

  I was in Heaven.

  SAMANTHA

  I never understood exactly what happened that day or why, but that was the day I began to understand what the world was like Before. All that I know is that when my grandmother left, a part of her was left behind, in me. She was once a great leader, once a great sorceress. I still hold on to her stories as though they were my own, her journals and belongings the tools I now need.

  My grandfather’s kiss awakened something inside me, something that wants out.

  That day he came, I fear he opened a doorway to my soul, a door that was never meant to be opened. Since, nothing has been the same. My horrid luck and the death of my parents was no accident. They were murdered. The images of blood never leave me, their last breath a chilling echo that whispers through my soul. I know what I saw that day, and I know that something is coming back…

  My name is Sam, and I am Gifted…

  THE END

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  Also check out her other book:

  Parallel: The Life of Patient 32185

  Coming Soon

  Knight Angels Series

  with Book One

  Book of Love

  …

  Knight Angels Series

  Book of Love

  - - - -

  When seventeen-year-old Jane Taylor witnessed her father’s death, something happened to her. Ever since, her thoughts have been consumed by death, going so far as to foresee the ever-changing deaths of those around her.

  Sixteen-year-old Emily Taylor resented her sister’s closeness with their father, who died when she was six. With the strange ability to read min
ds, she drowns the voices out with drugs, sending Jane over the edge.

  When seventeen-year-old Wes Green was adopted, he moved in next door to Jane, finding in her a childhood friend turned high-school crush. All summer, the pain in his bones seemed unwarranted. He was done growing long ago. When senior year starts, however, the pain only gets worse. The foreseen changes are not expected, and far to animal for his taste.

  When Max Gordon found himself standing above her dying body, he saw in her eyes something he hadn’t seen in the century he’d spent roaming Earth. Her father was already dead, but there was hope to save her. Jane was her name, and already she was all he ever wanted. It was his job to bring her back – the biggest mistake of his life.

  When these four teens enter Glenwood High senior year, no one but Max could understand the future ahead of them. Drawn together by blood and friendship, they each hide a dark secret that will soon bind them together.

  When the face Max hoped to never see again shows up at school – his twin brother, Greg – he knows that coming back was the wrong thing to do.

  Max has to protect Jane, Jane wants to be normal, Wes wants Jane to love him, and Emily just wants the voices to stop…

  And Greg… he just wants everyone dead.

  Diary of Maximus Gordon

  I was too young to die, and I was not ready to leave… above all else, I was not prepared to be murdered. Because of my fight to live, I was cursed to roam somewhere in the in-between, somewhere that’s cold and lonely—a choice I’ve regretfully made.

  It wasn’t long after my decision to stay behind that I started to hear the cries of the dying souls. I wanted to help them, but I knew I couldn’t save everyone. No matter how hard I tried, it was never enough. The guilt drove me to insanity, and I was forced from the place I called home in order to escape the grief.