A Conspiracy of Ravens: A Raven Saga Book 1

by Crymsyn R. Hart

  She looked around and was in a small cabin filled with books, candles, and she even smelled some herbs. In the room was a bed, nothing more than a pallet with a mattress on it. Underneath appeared to be a chest of some kind. Her gaze returned to her captor who stood in the doorway.

  "So are you going to watch me the whole time?” she asked as she sat down on the bed.

  "Caleb told me to watch you."

  She chuckled. There was a faint trace of an accent in Darius's voice. It sounded Irish or Scottish. “No. He told you to make sure I wasn't harmed. That's not the same thing as watching me."

  The vein in his forehead throbbed. His eyes took in her form, caressing every curve of her body, making her feel dirty. “You mock me woman?” He stepped forward. The muscles in his arm tightened as did the grip on the dagger. Linnea knew better than to mess with him anymore. He might have been told not too harm her, but he was like a caged animal, and holding in his anger was not something he seemed good at.

  "Sorry,” she muttered.

  He said nothing, but she felt his gaze on her as she looked around the room and ran her fingers through her hair. As she did, she realized she still had Maili's necklace in her front pocket. Pulling it out to examine it further, she heard a gasp from her caretaker.

  "Where did you get that?"

  The outburst surprised her. He swooped in like grabbing prey from her hand. Linnea swiped at it, but he held her away from him and stared at the musical note. The look of shock on his face turned to one of darkness. “You stole this, didn't you? Where is the princess?"

  He grasped her wrist hard tugging her into him. The look of hatred on his face made her heart run cold. Realization came to her as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Maili was going to tell me something the other night at the theater. Oh shit! All this has to do with her being a banshee? She must have known I was a witch, but she's aged. Something's not right. I bet the Jenny Greenteeth and the other dark figure were after the necklace. That was why the assassins were sent after me because it was in my house. Oh shit. The color drained from her face. There was more to the story than Maili being a princess and a vocal queen. None of it fit. Why would someone want to kidnap her? What does that necklace do? Why is it so important that she sent it to me? She must have known someone was after her or she would've never sent it to me. Well, it explains why her mother and she never talked.

  "I said where did you get this?” Darius grabbed a handful of her hair and began to pull her towards the door.

  Linnea yelped at the sudden burst of pain. She tried planting her feet into the wooden floor, but Darius was stronger than her.

  "I told you. Maili gave it to me. I don't know where she is. If I did, I would've contacted her and not gone to her apartment where I was attacked. An evil fairy was looking for it. They ransacked her apartment and her dressing room. And—"

  "Lies. You will answer to the queen for this. You've been wrapping our brother around your little finger, witch! I'll make you pay myself if he dies. I bet you orchestrated the attack.” Darius balled his hand and hit her. Linnea didn't have time to protect herself or even get her hands in front of her face. It all happened so quickly. His knuckles connected with her lower lip and cheek. Pain broke the surface of her lip, and she heard a crack from the impact of his fist on her cheekbone. She was knocked to the ground. Before she could get up, Linnea felt another blow on her abdomen as he kicked her. The breath left her as she tried to crawl away. Her fingers cracked against the wooden floor as she clawed the grain. Hot tears slid down her aching cheeks as she tasted blood on her tongue from her slit lip. Her eyes were already starting to swell shut. Before she could get away, her caretaker grabbed her leg drawing her back to him.

  "Good for nothing, damnable witch! If the princess is hurt, you don't deserve to live. Your kind is scum.” He kicked her again, this time catching her wrist. Searing agony shot up her arm as the his boot connected with the fragile bones and broke them. Linnea curled it into her body not expecting this kind of treatment. She bit her lip to keep from crying out more than she already had. However, she couldn't keep the cries inside as he stomped on her leg and the pain of her injuries got the better of her. Stars swam on the outside of her vision.

  "Darius!” She recognized the voice as Caleb, their leader. The pummeling ceased. She lay there trying to swim through the haze of agony wracking her body. Part of her was devastated. She might not be able to play her flute again if her wrist was too badly damaged. It felt like it had been pounded on with a bag of bricks.

  "What do you think you're doing?” Caleb shouted. Linnea felt his hands trying to help her up. It took her a moment, but she made it up to her feet. Caleb's eyes were kind even though his expression was stone. He touched her wrist gently as she hissed in a breath through her teeth. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. He also touched her lip and wiped away a line of blood. “Are you okay?"

  She could barely speak she was so shaken from what had just happened to her. Never in her life had she been treated like this. Everyhing about her wanted to crawl under a rock and hide. After a few swallows, she found her voice steady enough to talk. “I-I think so."

  "Caleb, the bitch is a liar. She—"

  The leader calmly turned to the Warrior and stared at him until he quieted down. Linnea felt the cool presence of authority from him and wanted him to hold her and protect her from the world. Her gaze slid to Caleb now he was closer, but it was still hard for her to see since one eye was half closed. She made out that he was also dressed in dark clothing and carried a sword.

  Darius shifted and stared at the ground. He crossed his arms over his wide chest and took in a breath before speaking through clenched teeth. It took all his control to act rationally. The hatred in his look flayed her, and if he could have, he would have burned her alive with it. For a moment, she felt like some of her ancestors who had been tried in the Inquisition and had burned at the stake for being witches.

  "Caleb, she had this.” Darius held out the necklace. The leader took it and examined it. He looked back at Linnea and his Warrior before tucking the object into a pouch at his waist.

  "I'll deal with you later, Darius. Come with, please. We have much to discuss.” Caleb gave Linnea a halfhearted smile. She sensed he didn't trust her, but was trying to keep an open mind. The witch nodded and followed him in the night. She looked up at the moon. A pregnant orb rose over a lake, glistening on the flat surface like reflecting off a large mirror. On the breeze she smelled the faint scent of apples. Stars twinkled overhead. The more she looked at them, the more she realized they were not the stars she recognized. The constellations were in different positions than what she was used to. Her entire body was in pain, but she tried to focus through it while limping after Caleb. She was not sure what the leader was going to say, and she had many questions swimming in her head besides wondering if he knew where Tremain was. As she crossed the compound to Caleb's cabin, she counted twelve other cabins besides his. There were thirteen warriors in all.

  Linnea sat down as Caleb motioned for her to sit in a high back wooden chair. On the wall across from her was a huge faded tapestry which covered the entire wall. It showed an ocean view from on high looking down at an ancient city. The details were so precise it seemed the sea moved and the whitecaps splashed against the rocks in the cove.

  "What am I going to do with you, Linnea?” Caleb pulled another chair out, placed it in front of her and straddled it. Now they were face to face, with her one good eye, she saw his hair was not purely silver just streaked with it. The leader's eyes were even the light color as she stared at him realizing he had power, more than she did or ever dreamed about. His features were delicate, but underneath lay his strength. His hair was shoulder length. Long and slender fingers were tipped with sharp short nails. Angled cheekbones met full lips. His eyes were spaced apart and his nose could have been on a Roman bust. Her heart thumped in her chest, and she had an instant crush on him. Her cheeks flushed red.
Then she heard a moan coming from the behind the closed door. Her mind instantly switched back to Tremain. Remorse, shame, and grief washed over her as if she had been unfaithful to the man and she didn't even know him. God what is it with him? Why do I feel like I've known him forever? All of this is seriously screwed up.

  "So what are you going to do with me?” Linnea heard something in her cheek crack as she slurred her words.

  He smiled. “Give me your wrist."

  Linnea didn't argue and gave it to him. He cradled it gently in one hand and with the other laid it centimeters over her wounded one. Instantly, she felt warmth from his hand flow into hers. A jolt of pain and a crack made her gasp as the bones snapped into place and the pain melted away. Caleb took a deep breath before letting her wrist go and then looked up at her slowly. He then repeated the motion by resting his hand the same distance over her cheekbone and eye. The warmth flowed over her face, reaching to all the marred flesh. Her eyes fluttered shut as the power demanded it. She took in a deep breath feeling her own power awaken at the touch of his. Without her wanting to, it merged with Caleb's, and she felt her flesh and bone mending. It even traveled down to her leg and her stomach healing all of the wounds Darius had inflicted upon her. Finally, the power receded and hers died down as well. Her eyes opened so she could stare into the leader's. The wrinkles around his eyes were deeper and more pronounced.

  "All better. You are a most powerful witch. You will be an asset to the magickal community. Your lack of magick before this has been very misleading. We have judged you too quickly I think. Now, Linnea, tell me how you wound up here with Tremain and with the princess's necklace."

  Linnea took a deep breath and was about to start her tale when she heard Tremain groan again. It was louder this time. It seemed like he was in more pain. She looked at Caleb, but didn't say a word and went to the door. She was about to lift the latch, when he grabbed her newly healed wrist. His power washed through her mind, but she met it with power of her own. Anger welled in her at the spark. He was trying to invade her thoughts. She was tired of everyone walking all over her. Joshua at the theater had been doing it for months. Even Maili had been taking advantage of her, getting her involved in something which she had never dreamed. She hoped her friend was alright, but Maili should have told her the truth long ago. She had been beaten up by Darius. Tremain had been rude to her. Now this guy, leader or not, was trying to dissect her brain like she was a lowly servant or something. She was not lowly, not something to be ordered around. She was a witch from a great line in her family, and if what she had been taught was true, she was descended from the greatest of them all. All the way back to ancient times. They were stories, but at the moment, she felt the unbroken line of her ancestors threaded through her and she met Caleb's stare and intrusion into her thoughts with a wall so thick it would have kept out the sacking armies of Troy. She gritted her teeth as needles of pain drove through her brain as their two wills battled. The Warrior was stronger than her, she knew that, but she was not going to give up without a fight. Behind the force of his will, she felt the vastness of his power, stretching out like a shimmering sea. It crackled around them like an energy storm, until finally he let her wrist go and his power dropped away.

  "It is true. You are a powerful witch. Now I understand why Darius was so abrupt with you."

  "Abrupt? He would have beaten me to death if you hadn't interfered. What's up with him?"

  Caleb sighed. “What Darius did to you is inexcusable. He became the way he is now, the way all of us are now by being cursed, by a witch because he scorned her. He despises all witches. Will you please tell me how my Warrior has gotten hurt? He was nearly dead when you pulled him here, you know."

  A cold chill went over her soul at the statement. She knew Tremain was bad off, but she did not know he was at death's door. Something whispered inside her that if she had lost him, she would have regretted it for the rest of her days. Her hair fell in front of her face as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, she was exhausted, wanting the safety only a loved one could give. A tear slid down her cheek, and she shook her head and wiped it away before looking back at Caleb.

  "Is he going to be okay?” she asked softly. She turned to the door and laid her palm flat against it. The wood was smooth, and the sheen had been perfected by buffing it with sand it was smooth. A lot of craftsmanship had gone into honing just the one plank. She even laid her cheek on the cool surface and closed her eyes. Tremain's breathing was raspy as she heard the struggle for him to pull in breaths. She wanted to be in the room with him and not out here going over semantics.

  "Why do you care so much about him? You could have left him to die by the poison running in his veins? The dagger was a dangerous artifact to bring back here. I could kill you just for doing that as an act of war. But I feel you are sincere when you ask me about him and had no intentions of trying to kill any us with it. I'm normally a good judge of character. So tell me what it is you know about Tremain and the rest of my Warriors."

  Linnea sighed. “Look, all I know is that he saved my life. I went over to my friend's house this morning, and she was gone. Tremain was in her ransacked apartment, holding the head of this ugly, green slimy fairy. He was rude to me and tried to push me out of the door. Then this other guy comes out of the shadows. They struggled. He gets stabbed but kills the guy. Tremain doesn't want my help and shoves me outside of the door. So there I am with the spirit of a ghost boy on the steps, which mind you I just found out yesterday morning I could see ghosts and had magick finally, have had these dark shadow assassin things come after me and, oh yes, my life has been turned upside down. So besides the craziness that has caused. I don't really know much about you except I couldn't just let him die since he saved my life twice now. First by killing that dark-robed figure and then the shadow things. He carries a sword, barely says a decent thing to me, gorgeous as hell, is a great kisser, and I have to stop before I get myself into anymore trouble. My life was simple. Then my best friend went missing, and I got her necklace in the mail this morning. I opened it and had all these strange visions in my head about a green-and-black court and a hag in front of me. Then I passed out. Tremain banged on my door and saved my ass. It was the least I could do. I stepped through a portal, or at least I think it was a portal in my attic, hoping to get to the Old Cronies, and ended up here. Satisfied?"

  Caleb chuckled. “For now. I have other questions, but I can see you care about Tremain. I find that interesting."

  "Why is that?"

  Caleb's lips pursued for a second like he was contemplating telling or not telling her something, but Linnea waited patiently. Hell, all of this was new and unfamiliar to her so she had to wait to discover anything. “Tremain is not the easiest to get along with. His heart has been hardened for a long time."

  "Sounds like he's had it rough."

  "Not more than any of the rest of us. Some of us deserve to be here, and others are here by rash decisions. Tremain is one of them. In some form, he is paying for his sins. We all pay for them here. He just doesn't like authority, and it has gotten him into a lot of trouble. You can go into see him if you like.” Linnea caught the sadness in his voice and something else. It made her heart twist to find out what had happened to the Warrior.

  Linnea took what Caleb said and lifted the latch. She wondered what exactly the Warrior was talking about. Heck, she had no idea what the Warriors did or what they were for. She had an idea Tremain was sent to watch over Maili, but that was about the extent of it. The room inside was very Spartan. Only the bed, a small chest of drawers, and a bright blue rug was on the floor. Tremain was on the same kind of pallet bed she had seen in Darius's cabin. Sitting next to him on the bed was another man. He had blue-black straight hair pulled back into a long braid. There were two swords, which looked like ninja swords, resting against the wall as he sat, and he was dressed in some kind of black kimono. When he turned to look at them, she realized he was of Asian descent because h
is eyes were almond shaped and his gaze was intense. He stood and gave a small bow. He was considerably shorter than Caleb or Tremain and came up to her shoulders. So about five-four. Around his wrist she noticed a set of onyx and silver Buddhist prayer beads.

  "The poison has been removed, but he is getting no better. I do not know what will cure him. It is in the hands of Izanami."

  "Thank you, Jet. This is Linnea. She would like to sit with Tremain for a while."

  Jet's gaze traveled from her to Caleb as if he was making sure it was okay. There was a long silence between them and the expression on Jet's face brightened. He looked at her again and then bowed low. “It is an honor."

  Linnea was dumbstruck and watched as the Asian Warrior walked out of the room. She looked at Caleb, who motioned for her to sit next to Tremain. As she did, she studied the man who had saved her from the shadow assassins. He looked horrible. Sweat had plastered his hair to his face. She moved a few strands aside and listened to him mumble something. It was incoherent, but her heart split in two. His shirt had been removed so she could see his sculpted chest. On his right side, there was a raw wound about an inch long under his ribs. Red ribbons of poison spread out from it. The wound was still pus-filled and purple. Faint vines of the infection were splashed across his skin. His breathing was shallow. With a trembling hand, she reached out and touched the side of the wound. It was hot as if it had been incubating the poison. Jet had said it was out of his system, but Tremain was losing the battle from the damage he had already sustained. She pulled her hand away as he jumped, not expecting him to feel the pain in his unconscious stupor. Slowly, she studied his face seeing the delicate eyelashes and dark eyebrows. Even though his forehead was furrowed, she saw how handsome he was. As her fingertips passed over his flesh, she felt her own power stirring as it mingled around his aura. She jumped at the spark, surprised it had happened, and felt warmth swirling in the center of her palms in the energy point there. Something tugged on her as if part of her knew she could heal him.