by Skye Knizley
"All of them, Ravenel?" the woman asked, turning to follow Raven. "I daresay you know only a handful. Our parents were creating progeny for a hundred years before you were even born. There are many you do not know, though I am one you should."
The tall redhead backed away from the woman and reached for Valentina. A purple spark leapt from the pillar, shocking her and blowing her off her feet.
"Please do not do that again, sister," the woman said. "Another blast might kill you and poor father has plans for you."
Raven shook off the impact and climbed back to her feet. "If you mean that pile of dust and bones next to you, I'll pass. Newsflash, bitch, that nut ball isn't my father and he isn't coming back."
"You are wrong on both counts, sister," the woman replied. "He is as much my father as he is yours and when the spell is complete he will live once again and ascend to the throne!"
"Not going to happen," Raven said. "I killed him once, I will kill him again. That…thing is not going to be Master of the City."
The woman pulled her mask off and tossed it into the wind. "Why can't you see, sister? Your whole life has been a lie!"
Raven looked at the woman across from her and smirked. "Is it supposed to be a surprise you look just like me? I figured that out when you got caught on video trying to frame me. Too bad Riscassi's people blew me up and gave me a nearly perfect alibi. I bet you were pissed, huh? That I didn't end up out of the way and in prison? It probably would have been a lot easier to get to the rest of the family if I had been locked up. It was a good plan…what is your name, anyway?"
The woman frowned but answered. "I am Sable Tempeste Von Strohm, your younger sister."
Raven shook her head, again moving toward the pillars. "You can't be my sister. I am the only child of my parents and Strohm was in the ground before you could be conceived."
This time it was Sable who smiled and shook her head. "You are far too trusting, sister. I was born exactly fourteen months after you. Wulf Crane and Lady Valentina were as much my parents as they were yours."
Sable turned and walked out of the circle toward Valentina. "But mother didn't want me, did you mother? You told father I was dead and left me at St. Jude's."
Raven felt the pieces fall together and she laughed. "Bullshit! Oh, Gemma that is one hell of a story, but if you'd been here you would know I can't enter St. Jude's and if I can't neither can any sister of mine!"
"Aye, but I can," Sable said, turning to face Raven.
Raven rolled her eyes. "Your magik is failing outside the circle, sis. Your Scottish accent is back."
She drew her katana and sliced through the ropes holding Pandora to the pillar. Pandora dropped to the ground with a thud and sparks crackled along the pillar before discharging into the sky.
Sable frowned and dropped her disguise, her black hair being replaced with Gemma's ginger tresses and her weapons changing, becoming a simple Smith and Wesson revolver and a Scottish broadsword.
"How did ye know?" Gemma asked, drawing her sword.
Raven shrugged, knowing that talking would get her closer to Thad. "Xavier beat the crap out of Thad, but never laid a hand on you. And you pulled my hair when you hugged me. I'm guessing you needed a piece of me for your spell."
Gemma nodded. "Ye've got yer father's talent for deduction, lass, but without his pistol I'm betting yer helpless as a babe."
Gemma charged toward Raven, her sword held over her head. Raven flipped over Gemma and ran toward Valentina. She could hear the older vampire's heels clicking on the stones behind her and knew she wouldn't make it. She turned and flipped backwards, landing in a crouch with the katana held over her head in a classic guard position. Gemma continued her charge and the pair exchanged a flurry of blows that left sparks flying from their weapons. The exchange ended with Gemma punching Raven in the face with the guard of her sword and kicking her in the stomach.
Raven staggered backwards. She regained her footing and turned the stagger into a back handspring that landed her next to Thaddeus. She cut him loose and spun just in time to block another attack by Gemma.
"Looks like dear ol' dad was lax in yer fencing training, eh lass?" Gemma cackled.
Raven brought her katana around with one hand. Gemma blocked the attack with ease…and Raven struck her in the nose with the hardened palm of her right hand, shattering the delicate bone.
"Or maybe Bowen taught me more than to just swing a piece of steel around with no finesse," Raven replied.
Gemma cupped one hand to her broken nose and pulled, straightening the bone with a whimper of pain.
Raven took the opportunity to run to Selene. The tall brunette was still conscious, though only barely. Raven cut her loose and helped her down.
"What's happening?" Selene asked, her eyes changing from brown to vampiric blue.
"Oh, the usual, Gemma and Xavier decided to try and revive that psycho Strohm using some strange magikal contraption and all the vampires in our family," Raven said. "I'm fighting her and trying to keep everyone alive while the magik slowly destroys Chicago."
Selene nodded as if this all made perfect sense and drew a knife from her boot. "You keep Gemma busy, I will rescue the rest of the family and get them out."
Raven smiled at her sister. "Good luck, sis. It should be clear to the lobby and you can grab weapons from the guards I killed. Whatever you do, get Mom out of here and don't stop."
Selene hugged her younger sister and then pushed her aside as Gemma's blade sliced between them. Raven kicked Gemma's sword away and rolled backwards. Selene mirrored her roll and the two women went in opposite directions with Gemma pressing her advantage, forcing Raven to back toward the edge of the building. She stepped up onto the parapet and held her sword in front of her. Gemma closed, her longer, heavier sword pointed at Raven's head. Above them, the clouds continued to boil, crackling with lightning that struck with such force the whole building shook.
"I will raise Father from torpor and he will take his place as the Master of the City with me as his Fürstin!" Gemma cackled, her eyes wild.
"He's dead, Gemma!" Raven said. "He's not coming back and if you don't stop what you're doing there isn't going to be any city left either! Look behind me! Your spell is drawing power from all over Chicago!"
Gemma looked, but never lowered her guard. Behind Raven the city was indeed going dark, save for fires that were spreading out of control from the repeated lightning strikes from the magikal hurricane. Behind Gemma, Selene was guiding the rest of the family down the stairs. Once everyone else was clear, the tall woman raised the Mp7 she had taken in salute and disappeared through the door.
Unaware of the escape, Gemma shrugged. "The weak will be culled, making the city stronger and Strohm's return that much sweeter."
"You're insane, Gemma!" Raven said.
Gemma snarled and attacked. Raven kicked the blade aside and spun, her own sword whistling through the air, only to slice through Gemma's clothes as she flipped backwards, mimicking one of Raven's moves.
"You're a quick learner, sis," Raven said, approaching cautiously. "But I'm still going to kick your ass!"
The two joined blades for the final time. Lightning struck around them as the spell began to fail. Both women ducked and dodged around the magik circle, their blades flashing in the purple light. The night echoed with the sound of thunder and the metallic clash of swords as the pair fought. Minutes passed with neither woman gaining the upper hand until Gemma's blade found an opening and sent Raven's katana through the air and over the edge of the building.
"Going to kick my arse are ye little one?" Gemma asked.
"Absolutely," Raven replied, her eyes locked on her sisters.
Gemma sneered and attacked, her blade aimed at Raven's neck. Raven stepped forward into Gemma's guard, her left hand catching the other woman's wrist, her right hand encircling her throat.
"I never said I was going to use a sword to do it," she said above the crackle of thunder. She squeezed with her left
hand until Gemma screamed and dropped her sword. She then picked her up by the neck and glared into Gemma's eyes. "Surrender to mother's punishment and forget this stupid quest to restore Strohm," she said.
Gemma struggled for a moment and then nodded. "Aye, I surrender to the judgment of court."
Raven continued to look into Gemma's eyes for a moment. Satisfied the surrender was genuine, she tossed the vampire aside and backed away toward the slab upon which Strohm lay. She bent down near one of the ashed guards and picked up a grenade and her discarded pistol. She pulled the pin on the thermite grenade and dropped it into the skeleton's grinning mouth.
Behind her, Gemma screamed in horror and scooped up her blade. She charged blindly as Strohm's remains burned white-hot.
Raven turned her head and looked at her sister. All she saw was madness; insane loyalty to a dead vampire who was never coming back. She gritted her teeth and squeezed the Automag's trigger. Her father's gun spat thirty caliber justice, punching a hole through Gemma's heart. The vampire disintegrated in a shower of sparks and ash, her blade eventually being stopped by Raven's boot. She scooped it up and rammed it through Strohm's chest. The blade was as good a grave marker as any.
Epilogue
Raven sat next to Levac's hospital bed, a magazine clutched in her hand. She woke to the sound of his voice.
"Hey you," he said, his voice raspy and weak.
Raven smiled and put the magazine aside so she could take Levac's hand. "Hey you. How do you feel?"
"Alive…tired…and very confused," he said. "How come I'm not dead?"
"Because I brought you here," Aspen said, entering from behind Raven.
"And where exactly is here?" Levac asked.
"Mercy general," Raven replied. "You've been in a coma for a few weeks. Aspen? Will you let the quacks know our boy is awake?"
Aspen nodded and left the room.
"I thought I was going to die," Levac said.
"So did I, partner," Raven replied. "I did CPR on you till you came back to us and the kid managed to get you here while I dealt with that other business."
Levac closed his eyes and leaned back into his pillows. "So we won then?"
"We won, Rupe," Raven confirmed. "Thanks to you."
"You did the heavy lifting, Ray," Levac said.
Raven was about to reply when the doctors entered. She backed away to let them do their thing. "I'll be outside, partner."
Levac didn't answer, but she knew he was in good hands. For the first time in sixteen hours she left the room. Aspen was leaning against the wall outside and the two began to walk down the corridor together.
"Coffee?" Raven asked.
Aspen smiled. "I'll take a tea."
"Tea it is, then."
They entered the cafeteria. At four in the morning there was no one there, but a maintenance man polishing the floor, headphones blasting reggae as loud as they could. Raven smiled at him and got a black coffee and a cup of Earl Grey tea and joined Aspen at one of the small round tables. They sat quietly for a moment, sipping their drinks. Finally, Aspen looked up at Raven.
"So… are you going to tell him?" she asked.
"Tell him what?"
"That he is your familiar and that's why he's still alive," Aspen replied.
"Someday," Raven replied.
"But not today?" Aspen pressed.
Raven shook her head and looked out the window at the waking city. The hurricane had passed weeks before and the city had begun to rebuild like it always did. Chicago had withstood fires, storms, vampires and zombies and this had been just one more "unexplained event".
She looked back at Aspen and shook her head. "No. Not today."
The End
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my editor Elizabeth A. Lance for a job well done.
Many thanks to SJ Davis and my wonderful publishing family, I love you!
Thank you to the City of Chicago for answering lots and lots of questions
and as always, thank you to the Gamers.
RAVEN STORM WILL RETURN IN STORMWIND
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
Acknowledgments