by Skye Knizley
Raven could feel Levac's eyes on her, then she felt his lips on hers, gentle and tasting slightly of mustard.
"I hate mushrooms," he said, parting the kiss. "Get some rest, partner. I'll see you in the morning."
Raven opened her eyes and watched Levac leave, wishing he would stay.
* * *
It was late the following evening when Raven woke the second time, part of her hoping it had all been a bad dream. The single rose on her nightstand with a card that read:
I'll forgive you if you forgive me,
Rupert
Made it clear it had all been real.
She slid out of bed and peeled the bandages off her ribs. The deep slashes were now nothing more than minor bruises. She probed them with her fingers and confirmed that while they were tender, they wouldn't hinder her movements.
In her private bath she stared at her reflection. She was pale and gaunt, but that was to be expected. Whether she wanted to or not she would have to sup on claret to bring herself back to full strength. Right now her body was busy feeding on itself to keep her breathing. It was sort of ironic that her body killed itself to keep her alive.
She smiled slightly and set about removing the bandage from her throat. The surgical tape hurt worse than the cuts had, but eventually the bandage was off. The wound beneath had healed completely.
"Score one for Mom's blood," she said to her reflection.
She stretched with catlike grace, wincing as her freshly healed ribs popped back into place, and then set about getting human. She still had work to do.
Feeling almost human, Raven left her room an hour later dressed in black leather pants, a green sweater and her favorite over knee boots. Her Automag was concealed in a holster at the small of her back and she had spare magazines, including one loaded with cold iron, in the tops of her boots.
She strode into the dining room in search of claret to help her finish healing. Like most of the house, the family dining room was decorated in Victorian style, with a twelve place table made of oak, hand-carved chairs that looked heavy, but weren't and paintings of family members in antique frames.
Valentina looked up when Raven entered. "Hello, my love."
"Hi, Mom," Raven said, pouring a glass of claret and sitting at the table next to her mother, who unusually was wearing a white nightgown and slippers. She looked as if she'd been crying and her hand was shaking when she reached for her own goblet.
"Mother? What's wrong?" Raven asked.
"You always could tell my mood, couldn't you, my sweet one?" Valentina asked. "While you were healing there was another attack on the grounds."
"Why didn't someone wake me?" Raven asked, her hand tightening on her glass.
Valentina shook her head. "There was little you could have done, child. You were almost gone yourself. Detective Levac and Lord Du Guerre's men helped to defend the house and all of the renegades were defeated."
Raven shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask what Du Guerre was still doing here. But I know we lost someone. Who was it?"
Valentina wiped tears from her eyes and sipped from her goblet. "We didn't lose anyone in the fight. It was before. Your sister Gemma is gone. Her ashes were delivered minutes before the battle."
"Gemma?" Raven asked in surprise. "Why her? She's harmless! She just came home, for God's sake!"
Valentina shook her head. "Maybe because she was harmless and I was stupid enough to let her go out alone!"
Raven leaned forward and knelt next to her mother. "You are not stupid, Mother. Gemma going out by herself was stupid, but you didn't make her go. We have guards, Thad, Pandora, Rieken, Selene, any number of family could have gone with her. She made the mistake, Mother, not you."
"Thank you, Ravenel, but it is my responsibility as Mistress," Valentina said.
Raven snorted and stood, draining her goblet. When she was finished she wiped her mouth on a napkin, leaving a smear of lipstick and blood. "Then maybe some of the others need to start taking some responsibility, Mom. They are all of your blood, either pureblood or Embraced. Your blood flows through their veins just like it does through mine, yet they sit back, hide behind you, hide behind me and the guards and wait to see what is going to happen next. It makes me sick."
Valentina smiled at her youngest daughter and Raven saw the light come back into her eyes. "You are so much like him," Valentina said.
Raven frowned. "Like who, Mother?"
"Your father. He hated their cowardice as much as you do. But understand, child, they are your elders, but they are not Mistresses or Masters. They are not as powerful as you or I."
"Ugh! Mother, you know that is sheer bullshit," Raven said. "It is an excuse they hide behind. Maybe if they were watching each other's backs instead of whining about how strong they were, Gemma would still be with us."
Valentina smiled. "What if the mistake Gemma made was believing she was stronger than she really was?"
Raven gave up. "Fine, Mother. Let them hide behind levels and protocol. Let them hide behind your youngest child. I've got work to do before I have no one left to protect."
Raven turned and left the room. She heard her mother say, "I'm sorry, Raven.", but she didn't turn back. It was an argument she would never win.
* * *
The Bass 770 sat quietly in the family garage beneath one of the yellow sodium-vapor lights. Whoever had parked it had been very careful and the parking job was perfect. Next to the black muscle car was Levac's Nash. He was leaning up against the side enjoying one of his rare cigars. When he saw Raven coming he tossed the butt aside and gave her a charming smile.
"I heard you were up and around," he said. "I've been waiting for you."
Raven smiled in spite of herself and shook her head. "In the cold? The house has heat, you know."
"I know, just wasn't so sure you'd let me in," Levac replied. "And I wanted a stogie."
Raven stopped near him and folded her arms. "Rupe... I was pissed about what happened, but more at Du Guerre than you. Knowing he still cared and had helped you rescue me didn't change the way I felt about what he did. In some ways, maybe it made it worse."
"What do you mean?" Levac asked.
Raven shrugged. "Now I know for sure he threw me to the wolves on purpose basically to save his own neck and that caring for me didn't change anything."
"And me?" Levac asked.
Raven smiled and stepped closer. "You saved my life, Rupe. I've saved yours. It's what partners do."
Levac shoved his hands in his pockets. "Is that all we are? Partners?"
Raven walked around Levac and toward the Bass, which unlocked as she got close with the key in her purse. "That depends."
Levac followed her, walking toward the 770's passenger side. "On what?"
"On what you said when you thought I was dying."
Levac looked uncomfortable. "Come on, Raven, that's not fair!"
Raven shrugged and started the car. "You don't answer my question, I don't answer yours."
Before Levac could answer, Raven put the car in gear and roared out of the garage, enjoying the engine's throaty growl.
Levac buckled his seatbelt and leaned back. "I see being unconscious for two days hasn't changed your driving style. Where are we going?"
Raven shifted and began moving through traffic like the other cars were standing still. "A couple days ago Aspen tipped me off to the possible location of a dark altar out by Sag Bridge. We're going to go check it out before I take everything to Marie for her best guess as to what is going on and what that thing in DeGrey's apartment was."
Levac gripped the armrest again, not caring if he left fingerprints behind. "I was wondering about that. It said it was hungry, do you think it ate DeGrey?"
Raven shook her head and drifted the Bass through the next intersection, the muscle car's tires leaving a wide trail on the pavement. "I doubt it. It was more than likely something she conjured. But it had definitely eaten someone, there were bones all over the place.
"
"I had Aspen's team gather what she could, they are putting a composite of those remains together as we speak," Levac said. "We should know who the victim was by morning."
With the car's engine roaring, Raven climbed the onramp to the outer Chicago Loop and headed toward Sag Bridge. "Hopefully the dead guy will provide another lead. If that doesn't work, all I have is to find Riscassi and hang her out a window by her ankles until she squeals."
"I'm not sure how much that would help and I would kind of like to hang on to my badge," Levac said.
"It might not help," Raven said. "But I'm sure she has it coming."
* * *
The ancient St. James church had once been a peaked-roof building made largely of stone cut and carried in by masons in the mid 1800s. Raven had seen pictures and knew the building had once been beautiful, placed in the middle of the cemetery rather than beside it because the river flowed only about fifty yards from the church's western side. Now, it was a crumbling wreck. The fire that had destroyed a large section of the city had burned everything, but the graves and the stone shell. To this day everything was covered with a fine layer of soot that, when the sun set behind the church, made the building look like it was still burning. Forty-five parishioners had been trapped inside and burned to death in the fire; ghost hunters from all over the country had investigated the site and insisted the spirits were still there, burning.
Raven thought it was a load of marsh gas.
She parked the 770 behind the purple van that was parked in front of the old church and the two detectives climbed out. Aspen Kincaid exited her van and skipped over to hug Raven.
"Hey, Ray!" she said excitedly. "I knew you were coming here tonight!"
"Hi, Aspen," Raven said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
Aspen raised her crime scene kit. "I have news. That sword you found was definitely not the weapon used to kill Shevlin. The blade is the wrong shape. I'll give it back to you when we're done here."
"That's good to hear, but you didn't have to come all this way for that," Raven said. "You could have called me."
Aspen looked sheepish. "I also kind of figured you could use a hand if you found anything down there."
Raven frowned, but Aspen was right, next to Ming the kid was the best forensic technician on the force. "Alright, you can come," she said. "But if any shooting starts you stay behind me."
"Pfft, I will be gone, Ray. I'm a lover not a fighter," Aspen replied with a grin.
Raven shook her head and led the way through the snow-covered churchyard to the catacomb entrance.
The square building looked very much like any other tomb save it was sloped at the back, indicating stairs within. The entrance was barred by a large iron gate padlocked shut with what appeared to be the original lock. Raven inspected the gate and lock for a moment, holding the lock in her hand like she'd seen it before.
"Aspen?" she asked. "Do you have that key we collected from Shevlin's belongings?"
Aspen rummaged in her kit and pulled out the bagged key. "Right here."
Raven retrieved the key and tried it in the old lock. While its iron matched the lock, the key wouldn't turn.
"Is this weirding out anyone besides me?" Levac asked.
"Just you," Aspen and Raven said in unison.
Raven handed the key back to Aspen and gripped the lock, pulling it free with little effort. She then opened the gate, which squealed like a witch's nails on a chalkboard and the small group entered. Aspen clicked on her Maglite as they proceeded down the crumbling steps, shining it alternately on the black lichen growing on the walls and on the ice-slick steps.
The stairs emptied into a foyer with several corridors branching off in different directions. Raven started in one direction, but was stopped by Aspen's light touch on her elbow.
"Let's try this way, Ray," the girl said.
Raven looked at her, her detective instincts clicking on, but she sensed nothing, but the helpful kid of whom she'd grown so fond.
"Lead the way, Aspen," she said after a moment.
Aspen nodded and turned right, heading down a sloping corridor that went toward the old church. After about thirty yards Raven stopped and reached up, touching the foundation stones of the old building. They felt strangely warm.
"Aspen, are you sure you know where you're going?" she asked.
"Yes," the girl replied. "We're under the church. The stones always feel warm, I don't know why."
"Wait, you've been here before?" Levac asked.
Aspen nodded. "I told you, I wasn't always a crime scene technician. I used to play down here with some of the other kids from the orphanage."
"Nice playhouse," Raven said. "At least it would have been warm."
They continued to follow Aspen deeper through the catacombs. The young woman stopped periodically to get her bearings and then continued, eventually reaching a door made of ancient English oak. It had been bound with black chains sealed with another black padlock.
Raven grabbed the chains and pulled, tearing them free of the door.
"Eat your Wheaties again, partner? Levac asked, nodding toward Aspen.
"I always eat my Wheaties," Raven replied. "Besides, I don't think much will surprise our Aspen, now will it?"
Aspen smiled faintly but didn't say anything.
The door opened on recently oiled hinges to reveal a large chamber that overlooked the river through a wall of smoked quartz. A black stone carved with occult symbols and covered in melted candles and jars of herbs, spices and crystals was placed before the quartz. A single black candle flickered in the breeze coming through the door.
"I guess we found our Dark Altar," Raven said, feeling black magik tingle on her skin and make her hair stand on end.
"One of the darkest," Aspen said. "This is an altar Angul and it rests on leylines, dark power if I ever saw any."
"What's an Angul?" Levac asked.
Raven frowned and began poking around the altar, looking for anything that might be a clue. "He's a demon who kills people for fun, if you believe in such nonsense."
Levac pushed between Aspen and Raven. "Ray…a couple days ago you fought a thing that just rose up out of the floor. I think I am starting to take a few things on faith, here."
"You should," Aspen said. "A spell was cast here, you can feel it in the air. These candles and herbs, they are all the things needed to request a boon from Angul and from the look of the altar it has been cast several times."
"So what…someone was asking several favors from a demon?" Raven asked.
"That's what it looks like," Aspen confirmed.
Levac looked at all of the items scattered across the altar. "Favors from a demon…you know, working with you two isn't exactly normal police work."
Raven shrugged. "No matter how weird they seem, in the end all crimes are human ones. No matter what the means used, every homicide has a human motive like love, hate or plain old revenge."
"Raven? Come take a look at this," Aspen called.
She was standing next to another, smaller altar upon which burned two candles. A poppet wearing a blindfold sat in the middle of the altar, next to a photograph of Lieutenant Frost.
"What the hell is this thing?" Raven asked.
Aspen pointed at the poppet, "I think that is what is keeping Frost from seeing you didn't kill Rayne DeGrey. I think it is a very powerful blinding spell."
Levac joined them next to the flat rock. "Seriously? This little doll is why Frost is being an idiot?"
"To hell with that," Raven said. She blew out both candles and pulled the blindfold from the poppet.
"Not exactly how I would have ended the spell, but effective," Aspen said.
"So Frost should be coming out if it and letting Raven off the hook?" Levac asked.
Aspen nodded. "Any time now, if I'm right about the spell."
Raven nodded and looked back at the other altar. "What about all this other crap?"
"The demon has already be
en summoned," Aspen replied. "The candle indicates it is under someone's control and will remain so until the candle burns down."
Levac reached toward the candle, " so what happens if we snuff the candle?"
"Don't touch it!" Aspen yelled.
Raven reached out and grabbed Levac's arm, pulling him away before the candle went out. "Why not?" she asked. "How bad could it be?"
Aspen pointed to several sigils that meant nothing to Raven. "The demon is out and doing the witch's bidding. The candle and these markings are what keep it under her control. If you put out the candle there will be an uncontrolled demon running loose in the city until its magik runs out."
Levac frowned, his eyes searching the altar. "I'm way out of my depth here. If we can't just put it out what do we do?"
"Kill the witch that summoned it," Raven replied.
Aspen nodded. "Kill the witch that summoned it. That will end the magik and send the demon back to wherever it came from."
"Great, now if we only knew who that was," Levac said wryly.
* * *
Aspen's attempt to gather trace evidence from the jars and candles turned up only a partial print which she collected and tagged; she would run it through AFIS in the morning. She had also bagged and tagged the poppet and the group had chained and locked the door with a fresh chain from Aspen's van to keep any snoops or the witches out and Levac had called in a patrolman to guard the catacombs in general.
The sun was coming up by the time Raven and Levac returned to the car and by then Raven had a message from Frost to report to the precinct. They arrived shortly before 7:00 a.m. and the homicide office was quiet and almost empty. Frost leaned out of his office as they approached.