Destiny, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #3)

by Michelle, P. T.

  I never did fall back to sleep. I just laid there for two hours, staring at the ceiling and wondering if “dream Danielle” was right. Am I holding Ethan back? Is he better off not worrying about us? The thought of not being with Ethan hurts so much I shake my head and blow out a breath to settle the tension in my stomach just as the door swings open.

  “Hello, Nara.” Mr. Wicklow smiles broadly. “I’m so glad you finally came.”

  I’m still not sure if what I saw in the middle of the night was some kind of waking dream or real, but good, bad—or somewhere in between—the Order is part of the Corvus’ history. I need to know what they know if I’m going to do…well, whatever it is I’m supposed to do.

  Raising my chin high, I say in a no-nonsense tone, “I’d like you to answer one question, and please answer honestly.”

  His expression turns serious and he nods.

  “What is the status of the Order/Corvus relationship?”

  Mr. Wicklow grins, pride overshadowing something in his eyes. “It’s a wonderful relationship.”

  My heart sinks and I give him a curt nod. “That’s all I needed to know.”

  I start to turn, but he calls out, “Wait, Nara. Please forgive me. That was wishful thinking on my part. The general status of the Corvus/Order relationship is…tenuous, but it’s getting better bit by bit, and my hope is that it will one day be back to the collaborative, supportive, and rewarding one it once was.”

  I stare into his eyes and try to validate the sincere look on his face. “What happened?”

  “Why don’t you come in and we can talk about it?”

  I cross my arms and wait.

  Exhaling a heavy sigh, he runs his hand through his close-cropped gray hair. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I was fairly new in the Order and didn’t understand the politics going on at the time. All I know is that the Master Corvus went berserk and destroyed the sanctuary where Corvus and the Order have always found even ground with each other. Our leader, the only person who might’ve known what triggered the Master Corvus, was killed. That day, every Corvus around the world collapsed and the spirit inside them left their bodies.”

  Reaching up, he rubs the back of his neck. “We’ve been trying to recoup ever since and eventually we developed ways to discover newly created Corvus. We know there are many more out there, operating on instinct and without the one thing that grounds them to this plane. It’s been slow and time-consuming to uncover new Corvus, but we are making progress so we can help them.” He stops speaking and spreads his hands wide. “That has always been our only goal.”

  I blink several times, shocked by his honest answer.

  His brow creases. “I really hope you’ll come in and hear what I have to say,” he says, stepping back to gesture to the foyer.

  As if I really have a choice. Danielle keeps haunting my dreams. My effort at an appreciative smile feels more like a grimace. “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”

  He smiles encouragingly, pulling the door wide. As I step past the entrance, he glances outside. “Such odd weather for winter. I’ve never seen the temperature fluctuate the way it has here. Is this normal for Virginia?”

  I shake my head. “Seventy degrees is definitely not normal for this time of year. The weather people are saying it might snow again in a couple of days, so…” Shrugging, I pluck at my cap-sleeved shirt. “I’m enjoying it while it lasts.”

  “Agreed. Why don’t you come with me to the office?”

  I follow him down the hall and as we enter the first room on the right, he says over his shoulder, “This is why I love this room.” He walks right up to the blinds to quickly draw them out of the way. “Come closer and see.”

  I move behind the desk and stare out the window. The sloped backyard dips straight into the pine forest below, a sea of deep green treetops standing tall, defying winter’s grip. “That’s a great view. I knew there were woods behind this house, but I’ve never seen them from this perspective.”

  He tilts his head, eyeing me for a second. “You’re unlike any Corvus I’ve ever encountered. Direct, but reserved. Open, yet closed.” Clearing his throat, he gazes back outside. “The owners were very smart. This house’s higher elevation really lets you get the most of that fantastic view. Makes me wish I could stay longer than a few weeks.” With a regretful sigh, he spreads his hands toward the two leather chairs in front of the huge mahogany desk. “Choose whichever one you prefer. I’m going to put on some water for tea.”

  Before he walks out, I slide a suspicious gaze his way. “Are you really here on business with the university?”

  My question makes him smile. “I am a professor, so the answer is yes, I’m here on business with the university, but you’re the main reason I’m here.”

  He walks out, leaving me more tied up on the inside than I was when I walked in the room. I take the seat closest to the door, but I don’t lean back. My nerves are wound so tight, by the time he returns and takes a seat across from me, I feel like I might throw up.

  Sitting on the edge of his seat, he reaches out to touch my tightly clutched hands, but pulls his hand back as if I might bite him. “Why don’t you say what’s on your mind and we’ll go from there, yes?”

  I unlock my fingers and square my shoulders. “This is a big step for me to come here. For now, I hope you’ll just tell me what I want to know.”

  Amusement glitters in his gaze. “You’re such an interesting contradiction. I hope I’ll get to ask you some questions too, Nara.”

  “I’ll answer if I can, but only if I can.”

  “That’s fair,” he says as he props his elbows up on the chair and folds his fingers together under his chin. “What do you want to know?”

  “The other day you mentioned ravens, a feather, and the Order as if you knew I was aware of all of it. How did you find me?”

  “Ah.” Steepling his fingers, he nods. “Your Internet searches. We tap into the Tower of London’s website and filter any keywords that fall under certain parameters. You’d be surprised at how many people click on the Tower of London seeking information about ravens. Considering the Tower’s history of raising ravens and its old tale of the Tower falling if the ravens ever leave it, it makes sense so many searches would reach the Tower’s servers. But with the amount of traffic the Tower’s website gets, it’s been easy enough to use their website and add our own keywords. We just make sure certain search phrases that go to the Tower are then are erased from their cache once they’re rerouted to us.”

  He points to my shoulder. “That’s how I knew. You typed in the phrase ‘feather on the shoulder blade,’ which routed you to the Tower. Sure you didn’t find what you wanted, so you moved on to another website, but that was enough to alert us.”

  “The Tower doesn’t know you’re using their website? Isn’t what you’re doing illegal?”

  “It’s for the overall benefit of mankind. I sleep well at night.” Shrugging, his lips twist downward. “This isn’t the way we prefer to find new Corvus. We used to have a much easier method…” Trailing off, he points to me. “But if I found you, I guarantee demons will eventually find you too. Because you’re fighting your Corvus and not accepting its knowledge, you’ve unwittingly painted a target on yourself. You might not think you need help, but let me assign you a Paladin to help you learn to accept the Corvus inside you.”

  “I’m not Corvus.”

  His eyebrow hikes. “Do you have a feather tattoo on your shoulder that just appeared from nowhere?”

  “I don’t have a black feather on my shoulder,” I answer honestly.

  He smirks. “I didn’t say it was black. How did you know that it was?”

  “You mentioned ravens, so a black feather makes sense.” I barely resist drawing my finger in the air: Nara - 1, Order - 0. I sit up straighter, wondering about my own feather. “Are there other colored feathers?”

  He chuckles. “No. Just black…well, until it changes. Has your feather changed yet?”


  I don’t want to discuss my feather. Its existence freaks me out. I’m glad it’s on the back of my shoulder where I can’t see it unless I make an effort to look. Then again, if it has changed to black that means I might be Corvus. Maybe it’s best to let him assume what he wants for now. This Paladin sounds suspiciously like what Danielle is to Ethan. “Tell me more about the Paladins. How do they help a person accept their Corvus?”

  His shoulders relax and he leans fully back in his chair, pleased I seem interested. “A Paladin is a person who has dedicated his or her life to the Order with the sole purpose of helping to keep the Corvus grounded to our world.”

  “How does this Paladin help keep the Corvus grounded?” I ask, my tone sharp, doubtful.

  “Ah.” Mr. Wicklow raises his finger, wagging it back and forth. “Not just anyone can be a Paladin. A Paladin has to also have some kind of special ability that’s beyond the human norm. It can be anything: telekinesis, telepathy, precognition, automatic writing…just something that sets them apart. Otherwise, the Corvus will have a hard time accepting them because they can’t relate. Due to their nature most Corvus just tolerate their Paladin, but they wouldn’t even do that if the Paladin wasn’t special in some way.”

  “That didn’t really answer my question. Exactly how does a Paladin do that for the Corvus?” I can’t believe how direct I’m being, but I’m anxious for answers.

  By his chuckle, Mr. Wicklow doesn’t seem surprised at all by my terse impatience. “They help the Corvus come to terms with the spirit inside them. They’re there for them if they need someone to spar with, to debate with, have a pint with, whatever. The Corvus most likely won’t become close friends with their Paladin—they’re not wired to accept help—but their Paladin is there in whatever capacity they need. If the Corvus doesn’t have human interaction from someone who understands what they go through, all the demons that the Corvus fight will eventually darken him or her, contaminating the Corvus.”

  “Contaminating?” That word jumps out at me, churning my insides.

  He puts his hands together, then unfolds them like a book. “Think of the Corvus as two halves of a coin—light and dark. It’s all about balance. As long as the Corvus maintains some human interaction via their Paladin, that helps keep the light and dark mostly balanced. If not, Corvus are like sponges. It’s what makes them good at what they do, killing demons, but it’s also what can make them go dark. They absorb all that evil until their human body is so polluted it can no longer take it. If the Corvus goes too far down that path of darkness, they’ll be lost forever.”

  I grip the edge of the chair. “What do you mean ‘lost forever’? What happens?”

  He shakes his head, his face sad. “The human dies and the Corvus spirit leaves the body, a broken shadow of itself where it’s absorbed back into the Master Corvus. But the Master Corvus won’t recreate a new Corvus to replace that one for a very long time. That poisoned part of his spirit has to heal first.”

  Worry for Ethan floods through me while hundreds of questions fly through my mind. I shove back my fear, determined to learn everything I can.

  “Do you know how the Corvus are chosen?”

  He shakes his head. “That’s known only to the Master Corvus, and he’s very picky. In my lifetime I’ve only seen him once.”

  “You can see the spirit? Is that your ability?”

  “No.” He gives me an indulgent smile. This is my ability, Nara.

  My eyes widen. His mouth didn’t move, but I heard his words in my head. “You can speak in people’s minds?” Worry grips me. “Can you read my thoughts too?”

  This time he laughs outright. “No, I can’t. What I meant was that I saw the Master Corvus in a human. He usually only shows up once Lucifer has returned, remaining solo—no Paladin or Corvus to back him up—until his job is finished.”

  I grip my hands to keep them from shaking in my lap. “Return? I thought Lucifer ran free in our world.”

  This time his eyes widen slightly. “Can you imagine the chaos and destruction he would reign down on us if he were around all the time? No, Nara. The Master Corvus is the only Corvus powerful enough to cast God’s fallen right hand angel out of our world. Do you really think Hitler killed himself in that bunker? Or Stalin or Vlad or Attila, or so many more before them?” He shakes his head. “That was the Master Corvus, sending Lucifer straight back to Under.”

  I blink in confusion. “But all those leaders reigned before you were born or when you were a small child. How could you have seen the Master Corvus then?”

  “The one and only time I saw the Master Corvus was around thirty years ago. It was the only time he interacted with the Order, or humans in general. I’m honestly not sure why he appeared to us at the Order’s sanctuary. Thinking back, there seemed to be no eminent threat, no leader in power who could destroy our world. The day we learned he wasn’t just Corvus, but the Master Corvus, that’s the day he destroyed everything.”

  “What happened?”

  He lifts his shoulders. “I walked in on our leader and the Master Corvus arguing, and then he just lost it. We’ve been trying to pick up the pieces ever since. We’ve had to rebuild our network, and do our best to discover new Corvus being created so that we can assign them Paladins before they go dark.”

  The conversation swinging back to Paladins freaks me out. What kind of future will Ethan have if he continues to work with Danielle? Her views are completely skewed from Mr. Wicklow’s way of thinking. “Do you know all of your Paladins personally? Have they been trained in the same way to help the Corvus?”

  Mr. Wicklow laughs. “I know them all, and yes, they’re all trained how to deal with Corvus.”

  “Have you assigned a Paladin named Danielle to anyone here in Virginia?”

  His brow wrinkles. “There are no Paladins assigned here yet, and we don’t have any named Danielle.”

  Then that means Danielle can only be one thing; she has to be Corvus, just like Ethan. The glint of silver I saw this morning must have been her sword slamming into my headboard. Though it feels like her sharp blade sliced into my chest instead. I’ll never be able to compete with that kind of connection, but I have to confirm my suspicions.

  “Why don’t Corvus train other Corvus? I mean, wouldn’t it be easier for one Corvus who’s already made it through the transition to help another newer one through it?” I gulp, then twist the blade deeper. “Wouldn’t they understand each other on a deeper level?”

  Mr. Wicklow quickly leans close. This time he doesn’t hesitate as he clasps my hands. “No, Nara. A Corvus training another is a bad combination. Think about what I just said. If one Corvus could grow dark fighting demons, imagine how two Corvus would be together. They would—”

  “—pull the light right out of the darkness,” I finish in a whisper.

  A shrill sound rends the air, making me jump.

  “That’s the teapot.” He squeezes my hands. “I’m so glad you get it. You are truly unique. Corvus are usually so difficult to talk to. That’s why it takes a special person to be a Paladin.”

  I tug my hands from his. “I need to go. Thank you for talking to me, Mr. Wicklow.”

  “But there’s more you need to know.”

  The teapot continues to get louder, setting my nerves on edge. “I can’t right now.”

  As I quickly stand, he follows. “You need help to accept everything about your Corvus. Let me assign you a Paladin.” He pauses. “And I want to know why you asked about a Paladin already being assigned.”

  I take a deep breath, then slowly shake my head. “I’m not Corvus.”

  The wrinkles around his eyes deepen. “That can’t be. You know so much.” Waving to the chair, he says, “Stay so we can talk more. Let me get the tea.”

  I’m too anxious to sit, so I wander over to the huge office globe in the wooden floor stand next to the desk; it’s one of those vintage old world kind that spins on its axis and makes me think of sea captains and pirates ba
ttling over treasure. Smiling, I spin the globe and watch the markings fly past. I lightly touch the spinning ball, and as it begins to slow under my finger, I think, Were they adventurous enough back then to spin the globe and wherever it stopped, that’s where they would go next? When the globe stutters to a stop, I lift my finger and lean over to see where I would have taken my trip.

  As soon as I get close to inspect the map, the medallion against my chest suddenly lifts toward the globe, T-shirt and all. It doesn’t attach to it, just hovers very close. Fascinated, I pull the medallion out of my shirt and move it close to the top of the globe. It doesn’t appear to be attracted any more. “Weird,” I mumble as I slide it back to the first area, where I definitely feel a hard tug between the globe and the metal. Releasing the medallion, I stare in utter captivation as the disk not only hangs in the air pointing to that spot on the map, but the lighter raven on the medallion appears to be giving off a dim light.

  Shattering china jerks me upright. I turn to see Mr. Wicklow standing in the doorway, broken porcelain and tea splattered around his feet, his face pale.

  “Where did you get that?” His cheeks flush as he moves into the room, his eyes bright as they lock on the medallion now lying against my chest.

  I clutch the disk in my hand, then tuck it back inside my shirt, tension creeping along my spine. “A friend gave it to me.”

  He licks his lips and takes a step closer. “I didn’t think another one existed. This is amazing.” Snapping his gaze to mine, he asks, “Can I see it?”

  The excitement in his eyes makes me nervous. I step to the side, edging toward the door. “I need to get going.”

  He holds up his hands, his gaze imploring. “You don’t realize what you have, Nara. This is important!”

  I shake my head. “I really need to go now.” Before he can move or say another word, I bolt, jumping over the mess he made in the doorway and heading down the hall toward the front door.