Conspiracy of Ravens

by J. C. McKenzie

  Cole’s dark Other gaze flashed through her memory, intense and focused as he held her in his arms and made her body sing.

  Her heart convulsed. Sharp stabbing pains attacked her stomach. She pushed the painful memory away. She didn’t want to revisit thoughts of Cole any time soon.

  “To answer your question, dear,” Mom said. “We’re celebrating your decision to move back home. We’re all very excited.”

  Mike coughed.

  “That’s not true,” Juni blurted.

  Everyone’s heads snapped to her direction. Raven froze. What did Juni mean by that?

  “Not the excited part, the first bit,” Juni explained.

  “You need to start making sense,” Raven said.

  A wicked smile spread across her sister’s face. “Dad’s exact words were, ‘We’re celebrating Raven’s decision to stop being a stubborn mule.’” She deepened her voice to impersonate their dad perfectly.

  “Sounds about right,” Raven said.

  Their mom sighed. “She didn’t need to know the precise wording, Juni, dear.”

  Juni and Mom glared at each other.

  “Oh, come on.” Her dad beamed. “Dig in. We’re going to have a halibut time.”

  Raven and Mike groaned, loudly, while Dad crumpled in a fit of giggles. Juni and Mom cancelled their staring contest and turned to Dad with wide eyes.

  The banter continued as they ate. The sun set outside, casting the dining table in the soft glow of the chandelier above. Mom had begged Dad to buy one for years and he finally relented last winter. He hated the fixture and referred to the light as a monstrosity when Mom wasn’t around.

  If anyone else noticed the bruises and swelling on Raven’s face, the blood staining her shirt, or Bear’s continued absence, they didn’t comment. Evidently, they were content to focus on the good in their lives instead of the lurking, but ever present, unknown.

  Mom had cooked the halibut perfectly. The tender white fish melted in her mouth with buttery goodness. Raven sat back in her chair and soaked up the feeling of having her family surround her. Utensils scraped almost empty plates and the conversation lulled periodically while everyone focused on eating.

  Juni gave up “healthy” eating five minutes into the meal. The remains of the “repulsive green things” pushed to the side, she now focused on shoving garlic and cheese mashed potatoes into her mouth with wild abandon to feed her fit and lean figure. If Robby Featherbottom, or whatever his name was, didn’t like Juni for the awesomeness that she was, he could go kick some boulders with bare feet.

  When did she become a young adult? Only moments ago, she was a rampaging child expressing every single one of the five thousand thoughts flying through her brain and asking Raven what her third favourite dinosaur was.

  Mike grunted and tossed in burns whenever the conversation needed it. Although he’d always be her baby brother, Mike was well on his way to becoming something greater than she could ever hope to be. He just needed a shower.

  Though the dining table lacked the ominous empty chair, one voice, one presence was notably absent. No one asked Raven for an update on the investigation. Bear had stopped attending Sunday night dinners almost a year ago, but now his absence was involuntary, and as much as his withdrawal stung before, his current absence bore a hole in her chest. It hurt.

  Her gut twisted. Stomach acid bubbled up her throat. If she didn’t find a way to extract Bear from the evil clutches of the Corvid Queen, she’d lose her brother forever.

  She gripped her dinner knife. No. Losing Bear was unacceptable.

  “Raven, dear. What’s wrong?” Mom asked.

  Everyone stopped talking and turned to her.

  “I, um.” She forced her fingers to uncurl and placed the knife gently on her empty plate. “I miss—”

  A knock on the front door interrupted her.

  “I’ll get it.” Juni leapt from the table and bolted to the front door with a grace and speed defying the amount of food she inhaled.

  The front door opened and cool air from the summer night flowed into the dining room. The sound of voices murmuring traveled down the hall.

  “Raven!” Juni called out. “It’s for you.”

  Raven frowned and pushed away from the table. Who the heck would come to her parents’ place for her? One, she didn’t have much of a social life to begin with, and two, the few friends she did have would text her, not show up unannounced during Sunday night dinner. This time with her family was sacred.

  Her chest tightened. Cole? Had he changed his mind? Or did he decide to patch things up after their argument?

  She turned the corner and walked down the hall. Juni moved to the side, her smile wide, her gaze gleaming with a side of crazy.

  What was wrong with her?

  Two warriors stood at the threshold. They wore similar fae garb as Cole, but not as fancy, and certainly not as dangerous looking. Their dark Other gazes assessed her coldly as she completed the final steps to meet them. The air thickened near the door and she moved through a soft bubble of space. Magic billowed around the entrance.

  Wait. Why had she kept walking? Why hadn’t she cried out a warning?

  The answer hit her in the face. Because a skulk of foxes wouldn’t hold up long against two experienced fae warriors, and she knew her family well. They wouldn’t run. Not when Raven or Juni faced danger.

  Her scalp prickled more and more with each step she took toward the dark fae warriors and the Underworld energy radiating off them.

  “The Corvid Queen commands your presence,” Warrior One said in a deep gravelly voice. Unlike Cole’s sensual voice, which held dark promises, this guy’s voice sounded like it had been beaten up one too many times during sword practice. He didn’t whisper. Nor did he peer over her shoulder to check for the cavalry. The entrance must be spelled.

  “Come with us now, without a fight, and we’ll leave your family unharmed,” the second warrior said in a matching tone.

  Raven glanced at her spelled sister and gulped. Dark Other magic curled around Juni’s throat in a silent threat.

  Raven stretched up on her toes to peer over the warriors’ shoulders to the dark yard outside. No spite goat. No Cole. No guards.

  “Camhanaich’s assassins will be of no help to you,” Warrior Two said.

  Well, fuck. What did that even mean? Had Cole pulled the guard detail in a silent tantrum, or had Lloth’s warriors neutralized them?

  “Decide now.”

  There was no decision to make. Raven stepped to the side and kissed her sister on the cheek. “I love you.”

  Juni blinked and her smile widened.

  With her heart wedged like a giant, halibut bone in her throat, Raven straightened her spine, pulled her shoulders back and stepped forward.

  Chapter Thirty

  “It’s Thursday...or as I like to call it: ‘Day four of the hostage situation.’”

  ~Unknown, but probably a fellow hostage

  Raven’s neck ached as she looked up and took in the tall, dark towers. The black brick gleamed in the moonlight. The nearby ocean crashed against the rocky shore. The castle perched ominously atop a cliff, which dropped down to the tumultuous water below on all sides save the entrance. The offshore breeze teased her hair like a lover’s fingers and carried hints of the sea and soft summer florals. Ravens, magpies, jays, crows and other birds she didn’t recognize circled the spires and entrance to the stronghold of Lloth, the Corvid Queen.

  A loud groan echoed across the ravine. Wood creaked and chains clanked as the drawbridge shuddered and lowered.

  The birds croaked and continued to soar overhead.

  Raven smoothed her sweaty palms down her shorts. With this setting, she would’ve preferred something more fae-ish, like a glorified bustier, some kickass knee-high leather boots and a cape. Definitely a cape, and definitely not sporting bedhead while wearing some ugly shorts and a shirt soaked with dried sweat and old blood. She needed a wardrobe overhaul. Sure, it was summer, bu
t she wore the same look almost every day.

  Her scalp prickled. Odin’s dried nuggets...she was turning into her dad.

  “Come,” One said. “The Corvid Queen awaits.”

  Raven shook her head. She should be worried about survival right now, not clothes. Why couldn’t she focus like normal people? She ran through her mind and made a list of why the Corvid Queen shouldn’t chop her head off.

  They pivoted without another word. Raven’s legs refused to move. She froze where she stood, lock-kneed and tongue-tied. The warriors on each side of her gripped her arms tighter and hauled her down the bridge. Her lead feet dragged against the iron and stone. Her heart hammered in her chest. Cole’s constant warnings played through her mind. She shook them away. After Cole’s refusal to seek an audience with Lloth or help infiltrate her lair, she’d decided to find a way to sneak in and steal her brother. Now, she didn’t have much choice in how she met the big, bad, and psychologically unstable Queen.

  Time for Plan C, whatever that was.

  Stay positive. Her brother might be here, and she wanted, needed, to see him safe. There still might be a way out of this. She needed to keep her head clear and not dwell on the circumstances.

  They walked in silence through the courtyard and grand hall entrance. The ceiling opened to the night sky and natural red moonlight shone down. Though open to the outside, the delicate smell of flowers faded, overpowered and replaced with iron and something menacing. Pillars and walls of black brick and flooring of midnight granite composed the ominous décor. Their footsteps echoed ahead of them. Beady eyes of the corvids perched on the ramparts tracked their progress.

  She’d never seen so many ravens in one place. Their essence pinged against hers.

  Her heart convulsed. Bear? Had he called them here as a sign, or had the Corvid Queen? Although she intended to visit this court, she’d planned on fully researching Lloth before making an entrance.

  Did Lloth know what skills Bear possessed? Dread slithered up her spine. The Corvid Queen fed off raven energy. The implication of Cole’s words smacked her in the face. If Lloth learned of Bear’s ability to call the birds to him, she’d never let him go. He’d provide her with a bird buffet of power.

  At the end of a black runner, a woman sat on a throne constructed of large metallic feathers. They fanned out behind her. When she stood, her black gown flowed around her, seeming to melt into the floor like a cascade of falling ink. Her black hair, pulled up behind her in intricate braids, accentuated her severely angled brows and stern expression. Her black Other gaze remained trained on Raven.

  Familiarity smacked Raven in the face. The snooty mystery woman from the restaurant. The Corvid Queen had lowered herself to enter Dan’s Diner to scope out the competition, and Raven had been so clueless she tried to serve her.

  “Branwen Crawford.” The queen’s silky-smooth voice rolled down the steps to meet them. A voice of seduction and dark promises. She could lure young men to their demise with her sultry voice.

  Raven gulped. Bear? No. No. She refused to believe her serial-dater of a brother would fall for a sweet voice. Grandma Lu raised them better than...Cole’s voice strummed her memory. She gulped again. Or maybe not.

  “We haven’t officially met. I am Lloth, the Corvid Queen of the Shadow Realm. Welcome to my court.” She reached down and plucked a large scythe with a skull etched into the metal from where it rested against her throne. The blade was as long as Lloth’s body and probably just as dangerous.

  Raven nodded. This chick didn’t seem so bad, so far. Her fashion choices were on point.

  Silvery gray mist streaked through the room from the walls and crashed together a few feet from her. A familiar forest scent flooded the air, along with blood. Cole stepped out of the shadows, wearing a scowl and similar attire as he had to Odin’s court. This time, instead of the male embodiment of fatal shadows, he appeared more regal, the matte black metal replaced with shining silver.

  He studied Raven and his jaw clenched. His mysterious scent flooded the room.

  What was he doing here? He said it himself—if they walked into Lloth’s lair, they’d walk into a trap.

  His hand clutched the light brown, blood-caked hair of a severed head. The man’s glazed-over eyes were wide, and his mouth gaped open in a perfect “O.” Blood dripped from the cross-sectioned neck and hit the dark stones with tiny splats. He looked vaguely familiar.

  “And who’s this?” Lloth tittered and pointing the scythe at the decapitated head. Light reflected off the sharp point of the weapon.

  “A former employee tasked with guarding something of importance to me.” Cole chucked the head down the black runner. The surprised expression on the dead man’s face turning over and over as the head tumbled along the ground with sickening wet thumps until it settled at the base of the stairs to Lloth’s throne. “And a traitor.”

  Raven winced with each thud. At least she no longer had to wonder how Lloth’s men got past Cole’s assassins.

  The queen studied the severed head before turning to Cole. “Camhanaich.”

  “Laidain.” He hissed.

  The queen smirked and sat back in her throne, resting her arms on each side. “Beul na h-Oidhche gu Camhanaich, Lord of Shadows, master of darkness...” She paused, letting her voice trail off in the middle of his accolades.

  Cole grunted.

  She continued. “Minion of the Corvid Queen.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “I have licked the fire and danced in the ashes of every bridge I ever burned, I fear no hell from you.”

  ~Nicole Lyons

  Raven’s heart plummeted. Her stomach twisted into a knot. Cole was Lloth’s minion? A foul taste coated her mouth. Betrayal. So, this is what it tasted like. No wonder he refused to help her.

  She swallowed and avoided Cole’s gaze when he turned to her. Heat flooded her cheeks. Her hands balled into fists. Her muscles tensed. Memories of their time together flashed through her mind. Had it all been a lie?

  Lloth’s gaze moved from Cole to Raven. “Oh, don’t worry, little raven. Or should I call you Einin, like he does?” She leaned forward and squinted. “You’re not the one betrayed here.”

  Wait, what?

  Surprise shocked the overwhelming pit of sadness pulling down her heart only moments before. Cole hadn’t betrayed her? What did that mean? She whipped her head toward Cole.

  His jaw clenched.

  He’d knowingly walked into a trap. For her.

  “You appear confused.” Lloth smirked.

  “Uh.” Huge understatement. Raven balled her hands in the thin cloth of her shorts.

  “When I learned of your abilities, I asked Cole to bring you to me.” She paused. “He didn’t.”

  Raven gulped.

  “When asking didn’t work, I ordered him to bring you to me.”

  The fire in her veins cooled.

  “He still didn’t obey and chose instead to ignore me. Then I compelled him...”

  A hollow pit grew in her stomach. Cole had warned her about the Corvid Queen and her questionable sanity. He may as well have double-dog-dared her to go ahead as planned, though. Fear of the unknown paled in comparison to fear of her brother’s death.

  Lloth rose gracefully from her chair again. “Even then, my minion defied me. Turns out, he was my minion in name, only, and somehow evaded my control. His formidable acting skills granted him access to my court, and...sensitive information. I don’t know why he needed this ruse, but I intend to find out. I should thank you, little raven. I never would’ve discovered his betrayal and duplicity, otherwise.”

  The Corvid Queen shook her head and slammed the end of the scythe against the stone floor of the dais. The sound echoed down the grand hall.

  Cole drifted toward her while Lloth turned away. His gaze raked Raven’s body, as if searching for damage. His eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched again.

  A door to the left opened and guards ushered two figures into the room. The red-tint
ed moonlight illuminated the black cloth bags over their heads. The large brawny man she recognized on sight. Raven didn’t need to see her brother’s face to know him. The dark energy inside her vibrated with more intensity the closer her twin got. It always did that. She’d recognize him in a dark room, blindfolded.

  He stood stiff with his shoulders slightly hunched. He wore a pair of jeans, but no shirt. Bear rarely flaunted his muscles. They must’ve shredded the clothes from him. Black ink marked his body with symbols. Raven leaned forward. She had minimal knowledge of runes, but they looked like amplifier and connection symbols from her textbooks. Not good.

  The other figure, long and lean, with ebony skin and snow-white hair cascading down her back from beneath the hood, walked with a lithe grace. The Claíomh Solais. Cole’s twin.

  She wore jeans and a tank top. Unfamiliar runes in white marked her arms and collar bones.

  Cole swore under his breath. “Chloe.”

  The woman straightened and her covered head snapped in their direction.

  “You would use absolute light to control him?” Raven risked another glance at Cole. The Lord of Shadows’ eyes blazed.

  “The brightest light casts the darkest shadow. She cannot control Cole, she empowers him.” Lloth considered Cole, gaze raking his body up and down. “The only reason Camhanaich doesn’t rule this realm is because he chose not to, and it was my price for helping him. Now, I will harness his power and bolster my own claim.”

  This woman was really crazy if she thought she could control Cole. Raven paused. If Chloe’s power couldn’t be used against Cole, then why had the trinket Luke threw on the floor like a kid in mid-tantrum worked? Maybe momentary surprise? Raven replayed Lloth’s words. Cole’s explanation of soulmates pinged along her neurons. That’s what he was getting at. Did Bear empower her as well? He certainly couldn’t be used to control...Oh. “You’ll control him by threatening to harm his sister?”