Three For A Funeral (Black Crow Chronicles Book 3)

by Jen Pretty

I collapsed to my knees and coughed hard several times until my throat felt raw.

  "Colvin!" I screamed, the blue sparks of my magic slithering farther down the hall, clearing the air.

  A vampire raced toward me, one I recognized from the school as a teacher.

  "Selena!" she called out. "We have to go! There are too many of them!"

  "Too many of whom?" I asked as she passed me, heading down the hall toward the cafeteria.

  "Monsters!"

  My skin grew cold, but I forced myself back to my feet. The monsters from Nevermore were in the school.

  I raced forward, my hand on the wall for support as I tried to regain my balance. The hall seemed to go on forever, but the yelling died down the closer I got to it. Finally, I rounded the corner and could see into the cafeteria where several warlocks and witches were battling against the monsters. Some were already dead, but in the middle of the room, among the overturned chairs and tables, stood Niri. His magic was bright red and floating like clouds around the room.

  It was diving and swooping, one cloud at a time towards the monsters. A snake-like monster slithered forward in a quick movement and bit at Niri's leg. As Niri moved his cloud of magic to intercept the beast, a lion-shaped beast with a barbed tail moved in from behind him.

  I shouted, "Niri!" and for a split second, the old man's eyes met mine. A small smile played at his lips, then the beast leapt from an overturned table, aiming straight for Niri's back.

  I threw up my hands, commanding all my magic to stop the monster.

  It gathered and pooled, quickly launching for the evil monster. I knew I could kill it. I just need a second more.

  I remembered it from the book. I just had to cut off its tail and its head and it would be dead. I could kill all the monsters now. If I just had enough time and magic.

  But time was not on my side. Niri's red cloud grew sharp and sliced open the snake at his feet, but he didn't have time to defend himself from the attack from behind as well.

  Just as my magic reached them, the lion's teeth bore down on Niri's neck from behind.

  Niri's eyes grew wide as a scream tore from my throat. The monster drove Niri to the ground. The sickening thud of their bodies hitting the floor was like a cannonball firing.

  My blue sparks sliced clean through the lion, leaving him in two pieces, blood as black as night exploded from the monster.

  I raced forward, my body empty like a vacuum had sucked me dry. I had used all my magic and found my legs hard to control.

  But I had to reach him. I could help. I knew it in my bones.

  My legs crumpled as I passed a table. The bright red of Niri's blood like a flash of light in the dark. I grappled at the broken chairs around me, trying to get traction. A voice screamed out behind me, but it didn't register. I just had to get to Niri.

  I was shoving myself forward with my arm, climbing over the lifeless body of the snake, finally getting close enough to see Niri beneath the broken pieces of the lion. Niri's white hair was red, saturated by the blood that was gushing from his neck. There was so much of it, I couldn't tell how big the injury was, but figured it had to be big. He wasn't moving.

  My vision started to stutter, like the end of an old movie reel; the edges went black and lacy, but I shook my head and cleared it. My legs wouldn't move, but I pulled myself forward into the warm blood that coated the floor around Niri and grabbed his shirt, rolling him toward me.

  His pale eyes were open, but no spark lit them from within. I shook his shoulder. "Niri, wake up."

  Voices from behind me called out my name, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Niri. I pressed at the spark of magic fire left inside me, but it flickered like a candle in a hurricane. The door wasn't far. I could get outside and get more magic if I could make my legs move.

  Frantic, I pushed myself past Niri and toward the broken door.

  "Selena!" Falcor's voice broke through the fog in my mind, but I couldn't stop my forward movement, or I was afraid I'd never get moving again. Then Niri would be lost forever.

  A sob wracked my body and I collapsed to my elbows, then flat to my stomach, but I still managed to move another foot, dragging myself through the pebbles of broken glass. The doorway loomed ahead like the open mouth of a cave. The sound of a battle still raged behind me, but I couldn't let go of my plan. I would get magic and I would heal Niri and he would be fine.

  I needed him.

  Who else would take care of us?

  My fingertips stretched out, landing on the cold steel of the door frame, broken glass tinkling as I swung my arm farther, trying to reach out past the sill.

  I wiggled forward a few more inches, my vision finally going black. I closed my eyes and expected a sudden flood of too much magic, but instead, it began to trickle in like normal magic.

  I pulled at it for a long breath, dragging magic from the world outside back into myself. My vision returned before my strength.

  I pushed to my knees and then to my feet and finally turned ready to save Niri.

  Instead, as I spun around, I found Niri's wraith hovering over his body with a look of sadness cut deep into the creases of his face. My knees gave out again and I crashed to the floor.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  "Selena!" Falcor's voice pulled my attention away from Niri's wraith. He was fighting some kind of horned horse. The beast's nostrils were flared as it repeatedly lunged toward Falcor, horns first, in an attempt to skewer him. I pushed to my feet. I couldn't help Niri, but I could help Falcor.

  "I need my knife," I muttered.

  Falcor disappeared and the horse thing rammed straight into the brick wall. The floor shook with the impact and stone dust rained down, coating the monster as it spun around looking for a new target.

  "Oh shit," I whispered, taking half a step back.

  The beast struck the ground hard with its foreleg, then lowered its head so I could just see the whites of its eyes as it sized me up.

  I started to take another step back but bumped into someone. Falcor.

  He took my arm and pressed the handle of the blade into my palm. My brain had a few seconds to think clearly as I turned back to the monster and it rocked back on its haunches, its horns now aimed at my chest.

  "Good luck," Falcor whispered before vanishing again.

  The horned horse thing was in the book, I remembered. But the words were a jumble. The monster finally launched itself forward, its hard hooves echoing off the tile floor of the cafeteria. It leapt easily over a fallen table, its massive, dagger-sharp headgear never wavering from my direction.

  It was only a stride away when I remembered I had to stab it in the stomach. Instead of moving backward, I leapt forward directly into the path of the thing as it screamed some kind of battle cry.

  I landed hard on the floor, sliding across some scattered papers and missing its horns by inches.

  "Argh!" I screamed out as I thrust the blade straight up into the abdomen of the monster.

  It let out a cry that rang so loud, I wanted to cover my ears, but I couldn't get my hands back fast enough as the beast collapsed on top of me, its bulk landing on my legs and pinning me to the floor.

  It kicked out once, clipping the side of my head and throwing stars into my vision, but then lay still and let out a final breath.

  "Fuck!" I screamed as I pulled, trying to get my legs out.

  Its black slimy blood oozed all over me, thick and hot. The more I struggled, the more slippery the area got and the harder it was to move at all.

  "Gross," Falcor said as he appeared beside me.

  "Help me you jerk!"

  "Okay, hold on." Falcor let out a string of his magic and lifted the dead beast off my legs and I was able to scramble out from under it. My pants were soaked in black slime; I wiped my hands on my shirt, further coating myself.

  I glanced up at Falcor, but he was staring behind me. I turned and found Niri's wraith still hovering above his body, the same passive, sad expression on his face. The
air left my lungs again as if I had been punched in the gut. All the adrenaline crashed, leaving me weak.

  "Niri," I whispered.

  The corner of his lip lifted in a sad smile.

  I pushed to my feet and slid through the blood of the beast, then yanked the blade from its stomach.

  "Selena," Falcor said. "We should go."

  "We have a minute," I replied, crossing to where Niri hovered and dropping to my knees again. I wasn't sure exactly where we needed to go, but I couldn't force my mind away from my friend long enough to think about anyone else. I brought the blade to my arm and sliced, letting my blood fall on Niri's lifeless body before dropping the blade and sitting back on my knees to stare up at the old man. His beard and hair were perfect as a wraith; snow white and styled as he always wore it. His usual clothes had been replaced by a golden robe that made him look like a wizard. Or a genie.

  "Hi," I said, unsure what to say now that he could speak.

  "Selena. I'm so sorry."

  I scoffed. "What do you have to be sorry for? I'm the one who couldn't save you."

  "You were never meant to save me, dear. Don't blame yourself." His hand reached out as if to touch me, but now that he was a wraith, he wasn't solid. His hand stopped at my shoulder, but I couldn't feel his fingers.

  I shook my head, words lost to me.

  "You have bigger battles ahead. It's time to let me go and move toward your destiny."

  Tears chased each other down my cheeks; there was no point wiping them away. I was frozen in place.

  "I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you sooner. I would have liked to watch you grow but watching you this last little while was enough to convince me that you will be more than capable of taking the reins. Now. Go with Falcor, find your vampire and save the world."

  Niri's form was wavering as if he was trying to disappear, but I didn't want him to go. I'd never had a father, but if I had, I wished he had been like Niri.

  Niri smiled one last time and I finally managed to bring my arm up and squeeze a drop from the cut on my arm.

  "I'll miss you," I whispered on a sob.

  Niri smiled. "I'll miss you, too, Black Crow."

  Niri's vanished as the drop of blood fell, mixing with the mess of blood surrounding his cooling body. His reminder of my name, Black Crow, was enough to snap me out of my sorrow. I would have time to mourn later. But there was someone missing that I needed to find.

  I rose and dragged my eyes away from Niri, searching out Falcor's sad eyes across the ruined cafeteria. "Where are the children?"

  "Colvin took them away from here. One of his weird portal things."

  I wondered if they had gone to Nevermore. It had looked like it when he opened that portal, but if he was there, and the monsters were here, perhaps he was safer there.

  Would the White Crow hurt them? I had no doubt he would try. He was a bastard. But if the kids had been there, I would have seen them on our way back. I wasn't so sure about that, but for some reason, it felt right. Something in my soul told me the kids were fine.

  "There are more of those monsters," Falcor said, pulling me back from my thoughts.

  "Where are they?"

  Falcor pointed to the broken door.

  "Great." Somewhere out there were a bunch of monsters running around terrorizing people. Or maybe they were people by now. That weird thing where they used a human’s body could have already happened. They could have gone anywhere.

  "Where are the rest of the teachers?" I asked, picking up the fallen napkin dispenser and yanking out several to try and clean myself up a bit.

  "Some of them went with the children. Others... tried to fight the things."

  Crow flapped into the cafeteria, did a slow lap past Niri, and landed silently on the edge of an overturned table.

  “Nice of you to join us," I said, sarcastically.

  Crow didn't reply, he just blinked at Niri's still form for a moment.

  I looked down at him, too. He was even more pale than normal now. Forcing my eyes away, I returned my gaze to Falcor, who had taken some of my napkins and was wiping the blood spray off his face.

  "What about Jax?"

  "What about me?" Jax asked as he stepped into the cafeteria. "I'm tougher than I look." He grinned at me, his face covered in dried blood, but he didn't look injured. Though with vampires, he could have nearly had his head ripped off 20 minutes ago and I wouldn't even know now.

  He crossed the room and slung his arm over my shoulders, pulling me close to him. "You alright?"

  I shook my head and sighed.

  Jax scanned the carnage and I could tell the moment he saw Niri because his body went rigid for a second before all the strength seemed to drain out of him.

  "Shit. I should have gone with you," he said, looking at Falcor.

  "It was already too late when I got here," Falcor said. "Selena tried to save him, but he was gone."

  "I didn't try hard enough," I said, pressing away from Jax's embrace. I didn't deserve comfort.

  "I'm sure that's not true," Jax said softly.

  "Whatever," I replied. "We should bury him or something."

  "The Department of Paranormal Investigations will be here soon," Falcor said. "I called them as soon as the things showed up and started trying to break through the outer perimeter.

  As if Falcor's words had summoned them, the building was suddenly full of yelling men and women in full battle gear aiming guns at us. Since it wasn't my first time in that particular situation, I just raised my hands and dropped to the floor. I couldn't get any dirtier. I lay among the rubble of the cafeteria in the middle of what was once the sanctuary and waited for the DPI people to clear the building. If some tears fell and sobs wracked my body, nobody said anything, and I was thankful for that. It had been a traumatic day and it was long from over. I was long from a time when I could properly mourn my friend and had no idea if Colvin was safe or not. It all accumulated there, while I lay on the floor and I let myself take the moment.

  But when we were told we could get up, I didn't rise as Selena. I wasn't the helpless scared little girl anymore. I rose as the Black Crow, with only vengeance on my mind and my heart cold and dead. That was the only way I would be able to keep moving.

  And I had to keep moving.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  "Hello, my name is Mr. Havisham," the man in a business suit said from behind Niri's desk. "I'm CEO of Department of Paranormal Investigations and I'll be the interim head of the Sanctuary."

  I didn't like him sitting behind Niri's desk. I narrowed my eyes at him, and his eyes grew wide. The tension grew thick as I waited. The man was a warlock. But I wasn't impressed by how clean and pulled together he looked. He hadn't fought any monsters; in fact, I doubted he could fight a beast without peeing his thousand-dollar pants.

  "If...if that's alright with you, Black Crow?"

  He said it as a question, but I wasn't in the mood to answer. He had summoned Jax, Falcor and I to this office as if he was in charge. As if he had any say in what would happen from here.

  "I will allow you to manage the cleanup since I have better things to do. But you are not in charge of the Sanctuary."

  I wasn't exactly sure where my attitude came from. Probably Crow's fault or maybe some kind of coping mechanism to deal with everything by not dealing with anything. But the man paled and nodded.

  "Of course," he said.

  "Good. Now, if you will excuse us, we have actual work to do. Please wait for us to return to bury our dead. These are our people and we will bury them."

  The man nodded. Crow screamed once from his perch above the door. Then we filed back out.

  "That was badass," Jax said while checking his sword was adjusted properly at his hip like we were in some kind of movie with knights and kings. My blade sat comfortably hidden beneath my coat, which I had dug out when I showered and changed.

  "I talked to my father," Falcor said. "He is sending his army to help us flush out the monsters and
kill them."

  "Is that a good idea?" I asked. "They could get killed."

  "They know what they are signing up for. The witches and warlocks who enlist in the army are powerful and ready to lay down their lives.

  I gave one nod and we turned to pass through the cafeteria once more on our way outside. Since Niri's death, magic had begun to trickle back into the building. The magic that was holding the perimeter had collapsed completely.

  "Is the auditorium secure?" I asked as we stepped outside to find the sun rising as if it was a normal day.

  "Yes," Jax replied. "I put several vampires on guard inside and outside the door."

  I nodded. I wanted to make sure that space was safe in case Colvin returned. For some reason, I knew he wouldn't be back soon, though. Something deep down gnawed at me, telling me he was safe but wouldn't come back for some time.

  I remembered the look on his face as I said goodbye before going to Nevermore with Crow. His sleepy eyes, his soft hair flopping over his forehead. No, I would clean up the world and settle the feud before Colvin would return. That would be my job. To make the world right for the children.

  We stepped past the place where Niri had died and out the door as the sun peeked over the horizon turning the clouds bright red.

  "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning," Falcor said.

  "Forget the sailors," I replied. "The monsters better take warning."

  Falcor grinned and grabbed my elbow. He pulled Jax closer and the Sanctuary disappeared. I caught a glimpse of small figures huddled around each other before we were unceremoniously dropped on a city street.

  "Jesus, Falcor," I complained looking up and down to make sure no one had seen us.

  "Oops," he said before he strode forward. "Don't want the humans to see anything weird." He pointed across the street to a giant hog that was snuffling in a tipped over garbage can.

  "Holy shit."

  The hog backed out of the can and his beady little eyes landed on us a half-second before he charged across the dead street, aiming right for us. I guess that answered the question of if they had taken over human bodies or not.