Call of the Raven

by Shawn Reilly

  “Well it’s not like Asher’s held a whip over them during his leadership. They should be thankful he’s ignored them so much,” Kennedy retorted. Ari started the truck and pulled forward bouncing off the curb and into the street. “You along with the Pillar Council are the only thing that’s held the Union together,” she quickly added.

  “That may hold some truth since Asher’s been a pinhead the majority of the time,” Ari explained, “and it is true he banned some fowlers for reasons of his own, but he wasn’t the one that kicked Steve Barton and his merry men out of the Union, Grant did. I’m not sure of his reasons though, but whatever it was, it’s still a matter of bad blood, and Steve and I haven’t exactly been best of friends either.”

  “Dude you’re sleeping with his wife,” Nixon boldly stated.

  “Ari! Trisha’s married!” Kennedy gasped and then quickly redirected. “He was talking about Trisha right?”

  “Yes, he was talking about Trisha,” Ari snapped. “I don’t typically date more than one woman at a time.” Kennedy and Nixon chose not to reply and Ari let the subject matter pass. After some awkward silence Kennedy focused her attention on Nixon in the backseat.

  “Wait…he’s the older brother, isn’t he?” she asked. Ari glanced in the side mirror just in time to see Nixon nod. Other than that he didn’t budge. Instead he kept looking out the window, eyes distant and vacant.

  Kennedy turned back around and contemplatively watched the road. After a few moments she twisted her body so that she was facing him. “I guess if Nixon won’t tell you then I should. The reason we know about Grant’s kid is because the night you were taken, Nixon got into a bar fight at Steve’s pub. The place was full of outcasts and they started a fight with Nixon. They told him then that Grant had a kid and they planned to find him.”

  Ari looked in the rearview as Nixon angrily sent an elbow backward into the leather seat. “You were planning on telling me, eventually right?” he asked.

  Nixon sent another elbow backward. “I didn’t know that Grant even knew Steve.”

  “Nixon, whether that is true or not, you still should have told me about the fight and being in Steve’s pub.”

  Nixon shook his head defiantly. “Why didn’t Grant ever shoot straight with me, I mean about the kid?”

  “I don’t know Nixon, maybe it was because you were just nine-years-old,” Ari reminded him. “Even I didn’t know he had a kid. I knew he had a girlfriend that was all.”

  “I didn’t even know that.”

  “I was older and I took up a lot of slack for Asher. I served them both and Grant trusted me. Whenever he went on a date he left me to look after you guys, and that was the only reason I knew about her. I have always looked after you, but I guess I really messed up because you should have never been in Steve’s Pub. I told you the last time I found you there that I didn’t want you to go back. Why do you constantly do this? Do you hate me that much?”

  Nixon met his gaze in the rearview. “Why would you even think that?’

  “Because it was Asher you followed around like a lovesick pup. Grant and I tried to be nice to you but even when he was the cruelest to you, you still would do anything for him and you still do. You run his errands, you buy his clothes, and when he beats you to a pulp you let him.”

  “He doesn’t beat me,” Nixon uttered, “he teaches me.”

  Ari pulled over in front of the Plaza and slammed the truck in park. Turning around in the seat he allowed his eyes to fall hard on Nixon. “He teaches you what, to beg?”

  Nixon scooted toward the door. He put his hand on the handle and acted as though he would get out but instead he looked back, and Ari saw the emotion in his eyes, just as he had in the studio.

  “Each time Asher knocks me to the mat he stands over me and asks me, are you strong now? I never knew how to answer him because I didn’t know what he meant until now. He doesn’t beat me to punish me. He’s teaching me how to be strong so the next time I face my dad, I won’t be afraid anymore. And as far as Steve goes, he wasn’t one of the fowlers in the bar that caused the fight. He wasn’t anywhere near your car. He wasn’t even with my dad at the cabin. I don’t know how he fits into all of this, but I do intend on finding out.”

  Nixon jumped out and slammed the door so violently, the truck swayed from side to side. Moaning, Ari leaned over and braced his forehead on the steering wheel and instantly felt Kennedy’s hand on his head smoothing his hair back from his face.

  “You shouldn’t have gotten on him like that,” she said. “He would have told you eventually.”

  “I know, but I just don’t understand it. The nicer I am to him the farther away from me he gets.”

  “Then stop being jealous of Asher.”

  Ari sat back and rolled his head so that he was looking at her, and Kennedy was looking back at him. “I’m sorry I didn’t know I was jealous of Asher.”

  “Ari you took care of us even before Grant died, and it’s only natural for you to want us to respect you more.”

  Ari saw the valet had finally gotten around to noticing them but he couldn’t blame him since it wasn’t everyday someone pulled up in front of the Plaza in a fourteen-year-old four-wheel drive.

  “Mr. Lake, I apologize,” the older man said, opening the door. “I’m not used to seeing you in this—”

  “It’s a truck Felix. I crashed my car a few days ago. So you probably ought to get used to seeing it around.”

  Ari got out and pulled his duffel bag from the back, along with Kennedy and Nixon’s totes. After handing them over to the bellboy, he led Kennedy inside the warm lobby. A Celine Dion song was playing over the lobby’s stereo system. The song was familiar and comforting. Holly the night clerk was a big fan and she often played Celine’s music to help her get through her nine hour shift.

  Ari thought about that. The fact that he could tell by the music which employee was working testified to the fact he spent far too much time at the hotel. He quickly glanced around for Nixon, but except for an Asian woman sitting in front of the fireplace sipping on a Starbuck’s cup, no one else was present.

  “Do you think he’ll be all right?” Kennedy asked. The elevator doors shut in front of them and Ari shrugged his answer. “That’s not much help,” she said.

  “I’m sorry Kennedy. My minds just a little distracted.”

  “Are you still thinking about what I said?”

  Ari took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He took the keys from his jean pocket and after finding the right one, put it in the lock on the floor panel. The hotel had twenty-five floors, but the top floor belonged to the Lake’s alone, and the only way of getting there was with a key. He didn’t feel like talking but he answered anyway. “You use to do it to, follow him around. I bet you don’t even realize you do it now.”

  “You’re a fool,” she exhaled. When the elevator door opened she quickly left him behind and walked to her room and went inside.

  After he heard her slide the lock in place, he crossed the hall and did the same, and went straight to his bed. The room was spacious with two large bedrooms, a dining area, stocked bar and two large bathrooms. Ari shared his with Asher but his bedroom was seldom used. Kennedy shared hers with Casin, and Nixon was with Cade. Ari couldn’t recall the last time the twins had left Lake Manor. Ari however had spent plenty of nights in his and most of the time he wasn’t alone. He plopped down on the bed. This night he wished he wasn’t alone.

  He thought about calling Trisha. But the last night he had spent with her, Trisha had started asking him all sorts of questions, and Ari got the idea that she thought their relationship was deeper than it actually was. She was a pretty girl and her body was out of this world, but Ari didn’t feel anything when he held her close, at least nothing emotional.

  Hearing a noise in the bathroom, Ari quickly sat up. By the time he got to the edge of the bed, he saw it was only Nixon.

  “Sorry man I had to take a leak,” he said.

  “You have yo
ur own bathroom.”

  “I needed to talk to you alone.” Nixon crossed to the window and looked out.

  “Umm, Nixon just out of curiosity, just how did you get in here?” Ari asked. Nixon waved his hand in the air. At first Ari didn’t understand but as the meaning set in his jaw automatically dropped. “You’re a member of the Pillar Council you little rebellious snot. You know apart from using magic to shift it’s not allowed.”

  “I’ve seen you use it before.”

  “Technically I’m not a member of the Pillar Council either,” Ari retorted and then added. “Just don’t let anyone catch you.”

  “Whatever man, sometimes the rules of the archives are just ridiculous.” For several seconds Nixon continued to look out the window before he asked, “Did you know you could see your office from here?”

  Ari nodded. The view wasn’t great with the corporate office, a towering skyscraper of a building just across the street, but during the holiday season the shop windows below were decorated and Christmas lights lined the streets. On occasion a horse drawn buggy would pass by and it was then Ari would contemplate taking a girl for a ride, but so far though he had never met one that appealed to his romantic side.

  Generally when he started thinking about something other than a one night stand he began to reflect back on his relationship with Tess, and that just hurt far too much. With his feet still planted on the ground, Ari rested back on the bed and turned his head so that he was looking at Nixon.

  “You wanna tell me what’s eating you up before you bust? If it’s what I said below, I really am sorry. I shouldn’t let things get to me so much. Kennedy said it’s because I’m jealous of Asher,” he laughed. Nixon didn’t. “Wait, do you think I’m jealous of him to?”

  “I’m not sure jealously is the right word to describe how you feel about Asher but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway. It’s me being at that bar. I didn’t go to hang out with my friends. I went because I was invited…to the meeting in the back.”

  “What are you trying to tell me?” Ari asked.

  “I’ve always been mad at Asher without really knowing why, so sometimes I say things when I’m drinking I don’t really mean. I said a few things in front of Kurt, Steve’s little brother so he invited me. But honestly Ari I didn’t have a clue what it really was about until I got there. I just thought—” Nixon exhaled. “Truthfully Ari, I wasn’t thinking about anything and that’s what got me in trouble. That’s what always gets me in trouble.”

  “So what happened?”

  “There were fowlers there. I’ve never met any before so it was the first time in years I didn’t feel so alone.” After a brief pause Nixon continued. “Steve started off the meeting and a few guys stood up with the typical complaints against Asher. You know how the song and dance goes. They didn’t do anything wrong but because of what they were—meaning fowlers; Asher threw them out of the Union. And then two other guys stood up. They were together, they were fowlers but they were different. I could tell from the moment they took over the meeting that they had their own agenda for being there. These two guys suddenly turned on me.”

  Nixon turned around and put his back to the window. “They wanted me to use my position on the Pillar Council to spy for them, but that’s about the time I started swinging. These guys were tough Ari, real tough. Anyway, I got thrown out so I headed home. End of story until I picked up one of those two guys next to your car—the Asian you pulled the badge off of.”

  “Yeah,” Ari contemplated. “He was tough. He gave Asher a real run for his money until he got a taste of his roundhouse.”

  “I’m sorry for being stupid. I should have never been there like you said.”

  “I’ve been young and stupid many times but we both know you’re not stupid Nixon.” Ari yawned behind his hand. “Still, from now on maybe you might want to stay clear of places like that, at least for the time being. You’re not the only one questioning the rules.”

  Nixon walked to a high back chair but instead of sitting down, he pulled it over the carpet until it was positioned next to the bed, and to Ari. “Then you’re not mad at me anymore for not telling you about Steve?”

  Ari shook his head. “I wasn’t mad as much as I was disappointed. Remember when you first came to the manor, how every time I got too close, you either kicked or bit me?” Ari arched his brow when Nixon smiled. “You find that funny?”

  “Only because you were a pansy that went running to Grant every time I did.”

  “Well, it’s sort of like that now,” Ari frowned. “I want you to trust me instead of always going to Asher.” Shifting uncomfortably Nixon looked away from him, back to the window. And even though Ari knew he couldn’t make anything out other than the big yellow glowing sign that read Lake Inc. across the street his eyes lingered there. “Wow,” Ari said looking up at the ceiling, “I guess I am jealous of Asher.”

  “Ari,” Nixon said softly, “I respect you but this thing with Asher and me, it goes deeper than even I fully understand but the second—the very second I can talk about it, I swear I will.”

  “Ok then. In the meantime I’ll try not to be jealous, even though I’m not sure that is the right word either,” Ari laughed. He pulled his legs up onto the bed. “My brother has been cold, heartless, bitter and quite selfish since Grant died but I do love him and that’s why I gave everything up to serve him. And I do serve him.” Thoughtfully Ari touched his ring. The silver felt warm under his finger.

  “Then you’re not mad at Asher for not telling you about Grant’s kid anymore?”

  “Oh, I didn’t say that,” Ari said. “I may not have known about Grant having a child, but I did know about his girlfriend. Actually, a few days before Grant’s call he came into my room and asked me to take care of her if anything should happen to him. I didn’t think much of it. I was in the middle of studying for an English test and I let the request go in one ear and out the other. The Raven’s curse didn’t seem real to me then, not like it does now.”

  Ari sat up and dropped his legs over the side of the bed. His guilty conscience was getting the best of him. “I didn’t keep my promise. I got caught up in grief and selfishness. I was angry at Asher for shutting me out and I ran. I’m ashamed of that now. The way I see things is I’m just as much to blame if not more than Asher. Grant knew he couldn’t depend on him, but he trusted me and I let him down.”

  Rubbing his tense shoulder muscles, Ari deeply breathed. “Anyhow, I’m not sure what part Steve Barton plays in this, but I should probably find out.” He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and saw that it was just a little before six. “I think I’ll take a shower and then head over to the office to use my computer. I think the faster we find her the better.”

  “But Martaugh said that she couldn’t find any trace of her in the company’s records,” Nixon reminded him.

  “We keep everything. When Asher took over it became a strict law. I’ve been going over years of financial records, I should know. I guess I’ll just have to see what I can dig up myself. You get a little rest and then wake up Kennedy. We’ll meet up for breakfast in two hours.”

  Nixon started for the door. “Ari,” he said turning back, “I really am sorry.”

  “I know Nix,” he said.

  Once he was gone Ari headed for the bathroom. Shutting the door, he pulled his shirt up over his stomach and was startled by two blue eyes staring back at him in the full length mirror. Strange, he thought as his heart rapidly thudded in his chest, they appeared to be his own but his eyes were brown. Stepping closer he put a finger on the reflection of the left eye, and noticed it close at his touch. His eye, his real eye was still open. And then he noticed the black ring around the iris. Ari wasn’t looking into his own eyes, but instead his brothers.

  Sure he was still suffering the effects of hitting his head, Ari started to turn away, but again he was taken by surprise when Grant’s image slowly materialized before him. When the image began to fade, Ari
panicked. He stepped closer and slapped both hands on the mirror’s surface. There was so much he wanted to say.

  “Grant, come back please,” he begged and as tears fell quickly from his eyes, the words of the wolf were once again impressed into his mind.

  “He must call the Raven or my sacrifice will be in vain. You need to help Asher before it’s too late and he’s lost to himself. Don’t forget the promise you made to me. It’s more important now than ever that you find her.”

  ***

  Asher stood in front of the mirror gazing into the reflection that was not his own, but instead his brother’s. Ari stood with his hands flat against the surface as though he were looking at him through a glass window and not a bathroom mirror. Reaching out Asher placed his palms over those of his brother’s. They matched in size down to the very length of their pinky fingers, but on Ari’s ring finger he wore the ring of a guardian, which was the very link that bound them together in spirit, and was the ball and chain that had made him a prisoner his whole life.

  Asher pulled on his magic, guiding and directing the flow into his left hand, more specifically his ring finger, until Ari’s ring transferred to his own. Realizing the ring was gone Ari suddenly pulled back and frantically started to look for it. He searched the floor and the tub next to where he stood, and then feeling its loss, he dropped down onto the tile floor. He pressed his head against the mirror and started to cry. Lowering down before his brother’s image, Asher put his back to the mirror and closed his eyes. He could almost feel the weight of Ari’s head as though it rested on his very shoulder.

  “No longer brother will you be bound to me. Today is a new dawn. Restitution starts here with you.” Without looking, Asher put his hand behind him until he felt the coldness of the mirror under his palm and once again he uttered the dreaded words. “The procedure is painless, but some things are better left forgotten…”