by Amos Cassidy
“Wow, someone should tell the makers of Most Haunted.”
Flo snorted. “That programme’s a load of crap if you ask me, all that running around in the dark and heavy breathing. They’d shit a brick if they came across the real thing.”
Everyone laughed.
Rose turned back to Maxwell. “So let me get this straight. Until the attack on me, you didn’t have proof that a higher level demon was around?”
“That’s correct. It’s given us a solid lead and the council is questioning all registered summoners in the city and around the country. So far, no joy, but they’re also looking at any summoners that might have travelled into the country in the last two months. It’s a long process but they’ll find them, and once they do we can put a stop to this.”
“And get Thistle back.” Roman added.
There was an awkward pause, which Raven finally broke. “It’ll be the first thing we’ll do,” he said sincerely and Rose shot him a grateful look.
Throughout the whole discussion Harold had sat silent, listening intently. Now he put down his mug and addressed the group. “So this summoner brought forth a demon to terrorize the city? First that warlock guy gets attacked and taken, then some humans are targeted.” He looked at Maxwell for confirmation.
“Yeah, lucky for them they weren’t home when the projectile demon hit.” Maxwell added.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me, there’s no pattern.” Harold shook his head. “I mean a warlock then a human household and then Rose is attacked. Did the summoner know she wasn’t human? And how the hell does Thistle fit in? It makes no sense. What’s the objective here? And have you all forgotten the rogue wolf? What the hell was that about? Could it be connected?”
“The strongest link we have is Rose.” Raven pointed out. “Although there have been other supposedly random attacks, I found out a few hours ago that a clairvoyant woman has also gone missing, once again the council are certain it’s a demon attack. Rose is the strongest link simply because there have been two attacks on her– demon and wolf.” He paused, thinking through his theory. “Something or someone is quite specific about wanting Rose. We just need to figure out why and how the attacks fit in.”
“Thistle was with her both times too and now she’s gone. Maybe this thing, whatever it is, wanted Thistle and Rose just happened to be there.” Roman suggested.
“No.” Rose shook her head. “I’m pretty sure it was me the wolf was after. Even Thistle agreed at the time, and the demon…I can’t explain it but the way it looked at me…” she trailed off, blinking away the disturbing vision of glowing eyes.
“This is such a mind fuck!” Kris ran a tired hand across his face.
“Yeah, it looks that way to us,” Maxwell said. “Maybe because that’s the way it’s supposed to look. But trust me on this, whoever is doing this, they have a plan. Summoning and controlling a demon takes a huge amount of energy and willpower. It’s not something a summoner does lightly, especially not a higher level demon. Finding the summoner is the first step. Once we have them the rest will fall into place.”
“And the rogue wolf?” Harold refused to be put off.
Maxwell shrugged. “Don’t know. But he’s dead so we ain’t getting any answers there.”
Harold snorted in disgust.
Rose sat back, trying to process everything she had just heard. Summoners and demons and rogue wolves, the words swam around inside her head. “Is there anything else I should know about?” she asked half-jokingly. “Like what other supernatural beings might I have the pleasure to come across? Zombies? Selkies? Fairies at the bottom of the garden?”
Maxwell grinned. “Zombies? Not likely unless you happen to trespass upon a necromancer ritual. Necromancers tend to keep themselves to themselves, though, mostly self-employed, working on a contractual basis for other corporations with ties to the council and the supernatural world. Selkies? Never seen one. Don’t know if they exist. And fairies, or the fey as they’re called, quit the council a long time ago, preferring to retreat to their sidhes underground. I think they may have returned to their homeland.”
“Oh.” Rose sat dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected such a full answer.
Raven’s phone vibrated in his pocket signalling the arrival of a text message. He opened the message and read it while the conversation progressed around him.
IT’S BRANDON. I NEED TO TALK TO YOU URGENTLY. MEET ME BY THE UNIVERSITY MAIN ENTRANCE.
Raven hadn’t spoken to Brandon since what happened at the university that day. He’d seen him around campus and tried to say hello, but Brandon hadn’t even acknowledged him. He felt really bad about hurting his feelings and didn’t want Brandon to hate him, but there was little he could do about that. It was obvious that Brandon didn’t want anything further to do with him.
Roman turned to Maxwell. “So we just wait for news then?” His face was a stony mask.
Maxwell nodded.
“What, and hope that Thistle hangs on in the mean time?”
Kris looked warily at Maxwell, shaking his head imperceptibly side to side, a warning to tread carefully.
Maxwell, however, not a fool, and accustomed to the wolves, read Roman’s body language for what it was– werewolf on the edge. When he spoke his tone was calm and sincere, his body language open and unthreatening. “I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling, Roman. But trust me– the council is working as fast as they can. The vampire community is not one to give up on its own, and Thistle is dear to many people. We will figure this out.”
Roman swallowed back a lump of emotion, dropping his gaze so he was staring at his hands clenched into fists in his lap– the only outward sign of his pent up emotion. Rose realised how hard this must be for him. Just sitting and waiting for someone else to do something. Not having the power to make things move faster. It rankled her too but, as Maxwell said, there was nothing more they could do for now.
“I’m afraid I have to leave.” Raven stood fluidly moving toward the door.
“Everything okay?” Harold asked, his expression alert, a pack member ready for duty.
“Yes, everything’s fine. I just need to get back.”
“All right then, luv.” Flo stood to give him a hug. “Take care.”
Raven kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you for a lovely meal.”
“Anytime, sweetheart.”
He hugged everyone goodbye. While he was putting his coat on, Harold approached him again and asking him if he was sure everything was okay.
“No. Just a personal issue I need to sort out.” Raven patted him on the shoulder. “Make sure Roman is okay before you leave.”
“Will do.”
With a nod, Raven walked into the night.
“You came,” Brandon said from his position by the main entrance of USL.
Raven noticed he looked uneasy. He was shivering, hands wrapped around his body, dressed only in a T-shirt and jeans. “Why don’t you have a coat on? It’s freezing.”
“Concerned are you?” Brandon said nastily through chattering teeth.
“Don’t be like that.”
“Walk with me.”
Raven hesitated. “I think you should get inside.”
“I don’t want to go inside. I want you to walk with me.” He gritted his teeth to stop them chattering.
Raven sighed. He guessed he deserved this. He should have been more careful. If he’d allowed himself to look, he would have seen that Brandon was clearly not the kind for a fling. This man was into more than sex being sex, he was looking for love. In a selfish haze of need, the need to obliterate Ossian from his mind, Raven had grasped onto the first available and willing body. Maybe it had been the answering need, the softness in Brandon’s eyes that had drawn him. It didn’t matter, Raven had done this and it was up to him to put it right. “Do you want to wear my jacket?”
Brandon laughed harshly. “Doing the chivalrous thing are you?”
Raven sighed.
“Never mind. L
et’s walk.”
“Where are we going?”
“For a walk along the canal. In Hackney.”
“Hackney? Its miles away.”
“And your point is?”
“It’s cold, Brandon, look at you, you’re freezing.”
“I don’t care.”
“Lets-”
“You hurt me,” Brandon said, almost choking on the words. He took a stumbling step backwards. “You really hurt me.”
“I’m sorry. I had no intention of hurting you.”
Brandon snorted and continued walking.
Raven followed. This was bad. Brandon was acting unstable. What if he threw himself into the canal when they got there, or froze to death on the way? It was Raven’s duty to make sure he was safe, and if that meant taking a walk on a freezing night and listening to a little abuse then so be it. A couple of minutes went by during which Raven noticed Brandon’s shivering intensify.
Raven tried to reason with him again. “Let’s go inside and get you warm, we can talk there.”
“I want to go to the canal.” He sounded like a petulant child. His slight frame was wracked with tremors and he wrapped his arms around himself for warmth.
“You’ll get ill.” Raven reached out and touched his arm. It was as cold as ice. “Brandon, you’re freezing!”
Brandon spun to face him, grabbed him by the face and kissed him hard on the mouth.
Raven pulled back. “No, Brandon, that’s not want I want,” he said clearly and calmly, trying to penetrate the haze clouding Brandon’s gaze.
Brandon stared at him, his eyes wide and welling with tears. He turned and carried on walking.
“Brandon!” Raven tried to keep up with Brandon’s hastening pace.
“We’ll talk when we get there. I just want to get there.”
“To the canal?”
Brandon nodded.
After getting off the bus he’d convinced Brandon to board, Raven followed Brandon in silence down the steps onto the towpath running alongside the canal. Brandon didn’t stop. He carried on walking until they were under a bridge.
Once at their destination Brandon seemed to physically sag. He fell back to lean against the wall. Raven stood in front of him, waiting.
“I’m so cold,” Brandon said.
“Take my jacket, please.”
“I don’t want it.” Brandon shook his head rapidly, his eyes glistening with tears.
“Please take it.” Raven sighed.
“Hold me.”
Raven sighed again. This was getting worse.
“Hold me, Raven. All I’ve wanted for so long was for you to hold me. I’ve had so many dreams about being in those arms.” He gestured towards Raven’s arms. “And they did hold me, didn’t they? They held me in bed and in the club. And you kissed me and swept me completely off my feet. My hero, my prince…he finally saved me.” He started to sob.
“I was never your hero or your prince, Brandon.”
“Yes you were.” Brandon whimpered as his tears began to fall. He started to slide down the stone wall.
Raven’s senses picked up the scent of blood. Grasping Brandon, he pulled the man toward him. “Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself.”
Brandon buried his face into Raven’s chest, breathing in his scent. “I’m in your arms,” he whispered longingly.
Raven gently extricated himself and Brandon let out a pained wail. “I thought we had found each other.”
“Brandon, we’ve been through this. What happened between us was the two of us having fun.”
“NO!” Brandon’s nose was running now, his face wet with tears. “It was supposed to be love!” His face was suddenly filled with rage, transforming his expression into that of a fierce gargoyle.
Raven took a sunned step back, shocked by this sudden change in demeanour. He quickly recovered his wits, injecting a soothing tone to his voice. “We need to get you home…” He slowly withdrew his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call a taxi to take us back…” He stopped, his head snapping up as he detected a new scent in the air.
Brandon collapsed onto the ground as if someone had cut the strings holding him up. “You really hurt me.” His slight frame shook with sobs.
Raven stood, captivated by the strange yet familiar, almost cloying cologne in the air. It was almost nauseating in its intensity yet it sent a throbbing thrill through him. “What is…Brandon…?” The scent was overwhelming now.
He staggered back, dropping his phone as he lost his balance. The phone crashed against the concrete, scattering into pieces. He braced himself for the impact, for the sensation of cold water, his body suspended in a strange anticipatory free-fall as he fell helplessly backwards. And then he was being yanked forward by the lapels of his coat. His knees met concrete hard, pain flaring up through his kneecaps. He coughed, trying to purge himself of the syrupy scent, bracing himself with his hands as he fell forward onto all fours. Spluttering, he pushed himself back into a kneeling position, scraping his palms on concrete, trying desperately in frantic gasps to take in some air that wasn’t tainted by the cologne, but he was to be handed no reprieve. Thick phlegm filled his mouth and he hawked and spat it out. With his watery, hazy vision, he looked up to see two legs standing by him. He turned his head and hawked again, trying desperately to clear his lungs. Beyond those legs Brandon sat weeping, looking woefully at him.
Raven slowly lifted his head upward to see violet eyes watching him.
37.
IN PIECES
“I’ll be coming down after Halloween– I’ve managed to book a few days off.” She spoke into her mobile phone tucked between her ear and shoulder, while she pulled on her bath robe.
“That’s great, hun, I can’t wait!’”
Her dad sounded genuinely excited and she felt a stab of guilt. She hadn’t kept in touch half as much as she should have, but she’d make it up to him. “How’s mum?”
“The same.” He sighed. “The specialist was encouraging but I can read between the lines. They were never able to diagnose exactly what was wrong with your mother, or why it happened. A medical first, they said. A waking coma, and there’s no way to predict if she will ever come out of it nor to say that she won’t.” He sighed again. “I just wish I’d seen the signs, acted sooner.”
“You mean her memory lapses?”
“Yes. She started to have them before we discovered she was pregnant with you, I just wrote them off as stress. She was preparing for a big show at the time, working really hard to get her paintings ready for the gallery opening. Even though, I just wish…”
“It’s not your fault, dad. You couldn’t have known,” she said firmly.
“You’re right, I know that but still…” he trailed off. “Look, we’ll talk more face to face when I see you.”
“Over some Chinese?”
“Whatever your heart desires.” He chuckled.
“Give mum a kiss from me…tell her…tell her I’ll see her soon and that…that I love her.” She blinked back unexpected tears. It was stupid really, she didn’t really know her mother, only what her father had told her, and the picture she had painted in her mind, but she loved her nonetheless, maybe more because her mother wasn’t able to reciprocate. She loved for the both of them. “See you soon, dad.”
He sighed. ‘Bye, hun.’ He rang off.
Padding into the kitchen after a quick shower and change, Rose prepared to make herself a hot drink. The gym had been manic all day due to a new promotion they were running– discount membership and free trials on the self-defence classes. It meant extra work and no extra pay. A few weeks ago this wouldn’t really have bothered her but now, well, now things felt different. She’d discovered a new side to herself, a new world and a new life. The gym in comparison felt completely mundane. She had the house to herself. Roman still wasn’t back from work and Flo had taken Erin to the cinema.
Plucking a large black mug off the draining board she carried it over to the kettle, placing
it on the edge of the work surface. Turning to flip on the kettle, she accidentally knocked the mug, sending it over the edge where it crashed to the floor.
“Shit!” She bent to retrieve the pieces of ceramic, cursing under her breath.
“That was Raven’s favourite mug,” a voice intoned from behind her. She gasped in shock.
“Roman, can you please not use your super stealth around me.”
“He uses it every time he comes over.” He was staring at the broken mug with a horrified expression on his face.
She frowned– maybe Raven had some kind of primitive animal possessive value for the mug. “Um, don’t worry, I’ll replace it. Good as new. I’ll ask Flo where she got it. I’m sure Raven won’t rip my throat out over a mug.”
Roman looked up at her as if she was crazy, and then shook his head. “Bloody hell, Rose, forget the mug, it’s not…Raven’s missing…the mug…well it just seemed like a portent or something.”
“Portent?”
“You know, a sign.”
“I know what portent means, I just didn’t think you did.”
“Look, we can trade insults later, right now we need you.”
“Me?” Raven was missing and they needed her. Raven was missing! It finally sank in. “Raven’s missing?” She gasped.
“Yeah, we’ve covered this, get dressed, and grab a coat. We need to move.”
It didn’t occur to ask how she could help. The fact that Raven was missing, and that Roman felt there may be something she could do to help, was enough of a reason to burst into action.
Ten minutes later and they were on their way.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they strode toward the tube station.
“Canary Wharf.”
“It’s still going to voicemail,” Kris cried, clutching his mobile as if it were the culprit responsible.
“Stop it, Kris!” Harold made a swipe for the mobile but Kris ducked out of reach.
“I think we can safely assume he’s not going to answer,” Richard said solemnly. “He hasn’t checked in all day, his apartment hasn’t been slept in and he hasn’t been to work today. It’s safe to assume that wherever Raven is, he is unable to get to a phone.”