Raven and the Rose

by Knight, Charisma

  Raven and The Rose

  By

  Charisma Knight

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  ®

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, businesses, and incidents are from the

  author’s imagination, or they are used fictitiously and are definitely fictionalized. Any

  trademarks or pictures herein are not authorized by the trademark owners and do not in

  any way mean the work is sponsored by or associated with the trademark owners. Any

  trademarks or pictures used are specifically in a descriptive capacity.

  No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form (electronic or print) without

  permission from the author. Authors do have permission to reproduce content and or

  characters they have contributed to this anthology, but may not use or reproduce sections

  of other authors’ works from this anthology without that author’s permission unless it is

  to promote the anthology as a whole. Please do not participate in piracy or violating the

  author’s rights.

  Cover Art: Charisma Knight

  Editors: Wicked Muse Productions

  Shannon Williams

  Chapter One

  With the power of her mind, Gypsy Rose McQueen opened The Book of Whispers to study

  each page and search for a spell to heighten and maintain her power. The Blood Moon curse had

  begun. This moon occurred once every one hundred years, affecting the descendants of Clara

  Rose. It was now taking a toll on their abilities.

  Closing her eyes, she focused her mind and listened. Her ancestors’ whispers had grown

  faint over the last several days, after the death of her cousin, Seneca. Her Gypsy strength had waned. Along with her powers and she no longer possessed the ability to see into Queensville,

  thanks to the Blood Moon.

  Kezzie, her raven familiar flapped her wings and squawked several times. Flames danced

  high from the large pillar candles she’d lit in preparation of communing with her ancestors.

  “Quiet, Kezzie. I need to concentrate,” she whispered sharply to the bird, as the pages began

  to turn slowly on their own. “Seneca.” She fought back a few tears. Her cousin’s death had been untimely while she aided the younger witch in battling and containing an incubus terrorizing the women of Queensville.

  Her aunt Viola had been beside herself with the loss of her only child, but in a matter of

  days, the older woman had finally pulled herself together.

  After the Closure Ceremony, her mate, Storm accompanied Seneca’s spirit to the afterlife.

  His duty was typical and traditional as a shaman, creator and a raven shifter, just as Micah

  Ravencloud’s duties were to his mate, Clara and the rest of the McQueen’s of the 1800’s.

  Focusing on the task at hand, she concentrated her powers on the book, but the pages ceased

  their actions, and Rose could barely hear the whispers. Everything had become a gnarled mess,

  with the exception of the glyphs changing and moving over the crinkled brown pages.

  What were they trying to tell her?

  “No,” she whispered, as she mentally turned the pages. “There has to be something to stop

  this. Or at least help me acquire more power.” She squinted at the words on the last page of the magic book, but couldn’t quite make them out. “Need, embrace? Dark? What are you trying to

  tell me?” she asked the book. Her voice filled with frustration and despair. Rose didn’t want to embrace the fact that all inhabitants of Raven’s Falls could possibly meet their end if she didn’t strengthen her powers.

  With the recent activities occurring, she tried every spell known to the McQueen family and

  failed miserably. An enemy walked among them, and for now, she was powerless to do anything

  about it.

  Rose was the strongest of all the McQueen witches and the heart of them all. When she

  weakened, so did they. Resting her head in the palms of her hands, Rose allowed the book to slam shut. Tears of anger stung her eyes as she fought to clear her mind. She needed to remain calm.

  There were too many lives depending on her.

  She heard the raven squawk and the sound of her feathers flapping. She looked up at Kezzie,

  shooting her a piercing gaze. “I’m sorry. I just needed to concentrate.” A few moments of silence passed. “Kezzie, there is something you can do. I need you to fly into the next world to be my

  eyes and ears. On wings of flight, I implore you, bring to me information on those who would

  fight against a McQueen witch.”

  Kezzie squawked several times before disappearing.

  Rose sighed. She’d exhausted herself and needed to recharge her energies, or what was left

  of them.

  Suddenly, a knock came at the door. “Who is it?”

  “Tobias. Rose. It’s urgent.”

  “Come in.”

  Her cousin rushed into her chambers, his face darkened with worry. Sweat beaded his toffee

  skin, and strong emotion lingered in his hazel-brown depths. “Ah, so you have the book. When

  you’re finished with it, please return it to the Hall.”

  “I had planned on it,” she assured him. “What’s wrong?”

  “We have a problem.”

  “On top of all the problems we already have?” She rose from her altar, shaking her head.

  “Those break-ins are becoming even more gruesome. A few hours ago, a family of dragon

  shifters were brutalized by four wolf shifters, but only one was detained,” the young witch

  informed her. “They’ve been stirring up trouble all over town.”

  “Is the family all right now?”

  “Depends on what your definition of ‘all right’ is.” Tobias folded his arms across his chest.

  “Rose, their children are shaken and the parents are beyond pissed. The father was injured while battling the wolves. It was a pretty nasty scene. He had to shift and fight off the pack with

  flames.”

  “As they should be,” she gasped. “Tobias, I need more time to strengthen my powers. Yes,

  it’s normal for a McQueen witch’s power to fade a bit during the blood moon in preparation for

  The Heightening, but to have our town open to outside elements is something totally different.

  My powers are almost non-existent at times and I don’t know why.”

  “Council meeting is tomorrow evening. I know of no other McQueen witch in this century who has dealt with such an issue. Clara Rose herself didn’t even deal with this sort of dilemma,”

  he informed her. “We need to come up with answers and put our citizens at ease. Until then, we’ll exhaust our powers if we continue concentrating on the seals to keep us hidden. We need to

  transport ourselves into Queensville to see if everything is okay there.”

  “I’ve already sent Kezzie to bring us the information we need.”

  “You and I must take a trip down to the police station tonight. Louis Rosseau has been

  released from the hospital and the officers aren’t getting anywhere with him. He was arrested last week for breaking into Pearl’s house and attacking her.”

  Rose already heard about the break-in at Pearl’s. “Pearl Gordon?”

  Tobias nodded and ran a hand over his short black wavy hair. “I’m sure he has the

  information we need and only we can obtain it from him.”

  Rose grinned. “And we shall.”

  “I’ll meet you there in half an hour.” To
bias turned on his heel and left the room.

  Rose walked to her terrace that overlooked the waterfalls. She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind. “Clara, give me the strength to find my way. Please. I’m listening but you’re not

  speaking. None of you are speaking. Why is this happening to me? What have I done wrong?”

  She peered up into the sky, awaiting an answer from her ancestors.

  A soft breeze embraced her as energy rushed in from the top of her head to the soles of her

  feet. She inhaled quickly and sharply exhaled. “Thank you,” she whispered, knowing her power

  and time were limited.

  * * *

  At the police station, Rose and Tobias were greeted by Luke Matriano and Leslie Shapiro.

  “Right this way.” Luke escorted them into Louis’ cell. “He’s been a real dick, and so has the

  wolf, Nelson we caught several hours ago.” Leslie gestured to the cell across from Louis.

  Rose peered at Nelson.

  He returned her gaze with a ferocious snarl.

  “He’s under some sort of mind control,” she told to them as she peered into the man’s

  faraway gaze. “Tobias, you question him, I’ll deal with Louis. It’s almost midnight, and I need to look into some other things.”

  “Sure thing.” Tobias waited for Leslie to open the wolf’s cell. “Wait, I want to see Louis for

  myself before I question Nelson.”

  Leslie nodded. “Louis has been making threats against Pearl even though the poor woman’s

  done nothing to him,” Leslie stated. “The man’s quite sick in the head.”

  “How is Pearl?” Rose asked as she stepped inside the cell.

  “She’s fine,” Luke answered.

  Louis winked and smiled sheepishly at her as he sat in the cell. “Ah, the infamous Gypsy

  Rose and her cousin Tobias. What can I do for you this evening?”

  “First off, you’ll tell me how you managed to slip into Raven’s Falls.” Rose’s tone came out

  low, calm and almost hypnotic.

  “Ah, Ma Cherie, I cannot tell you of such things.” He smiled and leaned against the wall.

  “We can, however, discuss how you and I will rendezvous when I am released from this dreaded

  place.”

  “Ugh, you turn my stomach, termite. And don’t call me Ma Cherie.” She glanced at the

  officers. “Please leave. I have no time to dick around with this man. I need answers and I need them now,” she seethed in a low voice.

  Both officers nodded and vacated the room. “Tobias, whenever you’re ready, I’ll open

  Nelson’s cell,” Leslie told him.

  Tobias rose and paced the floor before walking up to Louis. The witch frowned as he crossed

  his arms across his wide chest. “Tell my cousin what she wants to know.” With that, he strode out of Louis’ cell and to Nelson’s where Leslie was waiting.

  Louis swallowed hard, then turned his attention back to her.

  Rose simply smiled.

  “Do you think Tobias will get anything out of him?” Louis laughed. “You witches can’t

  harm me…I’m not afraid of any of you.”

  “Apparently, we’ll have to use force.” Snapping her fingers with a sigh, she forced Louis

  into a hypnotic state. She smiled satisfactorily. “Look into my eyes, Louis.”

  Louis returned her smile. “Yes ma’am.”

  “How did you arrive in Raven’s Falls?”

  “Vampires, ma’am.”

  Her breath caught and she narrowed her eyes, then glanced over at Tobias, She turned her

  gaze back to Louis. “Which vampire coven?”

  Louis shook his head. “I’m sorry ma’am, I dunno.”

  Rose sighed. “Did these vampires share blood with you, Louis?” When the man nodded, she

  cursed softly. “Louis, I want you to be my eyes and ears. If anything happens, you will not

  hesitate to relay the message to the nice officers or myself and Tobias. Do I make myself clear?”

  Louis nodded. “Yes ma’am. I will report everything I know.”

  “That’s a good boy.” Rose snapped her fingers.

  Louis shook his head and grinned. “Like I said, Ma Cherie, you’ll get no information from

  me.”

  “Sure,” she scoffed with a soft smile as she rose to her feet. “Have a good evening, Louis.

  That will be all.” She and Tobias walked out to the lobby of the station and were greeted by

  Leslie and Luke.

  “You get anything out of him?” Leslie asked.

  “He’s shared blood with vampires. That doesn’t bode well,” Rose informed them.

  “That’s the same story Nelson told me,” Tobias mumbled. “I’m not liking this, Rose.”

  “It doesn’t measure up,” Luke interjected, with a puzzled look on his face. “Louis terrorized

  Pearl because she rejected him several months ago. That’s his motive. That’s why he came here.”

  “Pearl told him she lived in Raven’s Falls?” Tobias asked

  “Apparently. Someone else knew, as well.” Rose frowned.

  Leslie squinted at her. “Rose, with all due respect, won’t you tell us what’s going on? My

  men are getting restless and some have even discussed moving out of town. Is this something you can put a stop to?”

  “I assure you, my family and I are working on these issues.” She couldn’t very well tell the

  citizens of Raven’s Falls they were in danger because her powers were waning. How would that

  make them feel? She owed them so much more, like a solution to end the problems once and for

  all.

  “We know it’s something more than just break-ins,” Luke offered. “If you need any

  assistance, I’ll call in my pack. We have many generations in Raven’s Falls and this is my home.

  I refuse to move anywhere else.”

  Tobias placed a heavy hand on the officer’s shoulder. “Thank you for your support. If we’re

  in need of your assistance, we won’t hesitate to let you know.”

  Luke nodded, extending his hand to shake theirs. “It’s a pleasure to live and serve in a

  wonderful community. I’m sure this will be resolved quickly.” With that, he turned and walked

  away.

  Rose glanced over at Leslie. “Hold Louis here before releasing him to the outside police

  force. We need to observe if anyone makes contact with him and find a way into his memories.”

  “Will do.” Leslie nodded. “I just hope things don’t spiral out of control any worse than they

  already have.”

  When Leslie left them, Tobias released his breath as he and Rose strolled out of the police

  station. “What are we going to do now? Vampires are sharing blood with outsiders and clearing

  their minds. For what?”

  “The memories are hidden in their blood, but we need a vampire to obtain them.”

  “Oh, don’t tell me...”

  “If we want to find out what and who we’re dealing with, we’ll have to invoke Niall’s

  assistance.”

  “Rose…” Her cousin’s voice rang with apprehension.

  “He’s been a pain in our family’s ass for years. But we need to do this, Tobias.”

  “And of course, there will be a price to pay for his damned assistance.” Tobias snorted as

  they walked the cobblestone streets of Raven’s Quarter Blvd.

  “Unfortunately. But, I’ll handle him.”

  A twig snapped, averting both their gazes into the thick brush of the woods.

  “Are you sensing that?” She gripped Tobias’ wrist.

  “Yeah.” Tobias squinted in an attempt to see what lurked in the woods. “Who’s there?” he

  called out then pointed. “Look, do you see it?”
>
  Rose managed to catch a glimpse of a dark form moving swiftly among the trees. She balled

  her fists as feral yellow eyes stared in her direction. Immediately, she hurled a bolt of energy at the thing spying on them. The sound of thunder clapped through the night as a large branch fell from the tree.

  “You missed.”

  “Shut up, Tobias.” Tight lipped, she hurled another, and felt satisfied when an eerie death

  wail split the silence of the night.

  “Sorry.”

  “My powers are fucked up but give me some credit.”

  They both ran towards the woods, while hearing a rustle in the trees.

  “Do you see anything?” she called out to her cousin while peering into the black of the

  forest.

  “Nothing.”

  “I hit the damned thing,” Rose sneered bitterly while searching the ground for blood but

  found nothing. “Dammit!”

  “Calm down, Rose. Come on, it was probably just the wolves.”

  She shook her head in disagreement. “Tobias, what we saw just now was far from a wolf.

  And before you say anything, it wasn’t a vampire, either.”

  “What was it?” Tobias breathed the shaky sounding question out.

  “Let’s pray the Book of Whispers can tell me something because I don’t know,” she stated

  as they quickly exited the woods and headed back to McQueen Manor.

  “I’ll check things out,” Tobias suggested. “You need to reserve your energies. If it runs too

  low, you’ll pull more energy from everyone else. Take your time, take it easy and get some rest.

  Promise me?”

  Although she didn’t want to, Rose would heed his suggestions. She couldn’t afford to take

  any more chances. “I promise, Tobias.”

  Chapter Two

  Beneath the light of the full moon, Gypsy Rose slipped out of her black and red robes to step into the tepid, healing water of Raven’s Falls. When she and Tobias returned from the police station, she looked and listened to every passage in The Book of Whispers to no avail.

  Tobias suggested she take the night off while he contacted Niall and searched for an

  explanation of what they saw in the woods.

  She walked away from the bank until the water covered her bosoms. She bathed in blessed

  herbs while the beams of moonlight caressed her bare skin until she felt powerful enough to