Conspiracy of Ravens (Crawford Investigations Book 1)

by J. C. McKenzie

  Mike had apparently craved a night run in fox form after doing some work for Dad—something he’d probably second guess in the future. That thought alone infuriated Raven.

  The early dawn light cast long shadows down the stairs. Dew clung to the air, and birds chirped to greet the day. Most of them would head south soon. No sign of the goat.

  The Lord of Shadows and Vanquisher of Slimy Exes trailed behind them. Keenly aware of his presence, Raven reached the landing and held her breath. She reached for the door handle.

  The front door flew open and Elizabeth Crawford stood on the other side with narrowed blue eyes and crossed arms. Her tan Capri pants with a pastel blue blouse, and red hair pulled into a smooth ponytail fit perfectly with her refined image. No one would guess at her wild past; instead, they saw a human resources manager who rocked a pantsuit and the evil eye.

  “What in the Underworld?” Mom demanded. Her lean frame tensed. Her gaze adopted that shrewd-mom-look where Raven swore she read minds and gleaned all her secrets.

  Raven knew how it appeared. She wore dirty and ripped clothes. Her hair had clumped together with unknown goo, and she’d scraped her hands badly. Instead of her normal healthy glow, the colour from her face had drained and she resembled an extra from a post-apocalyptic movie. Raven was exhausted and smelled of rotten food. But her appearance wasn’t what shocked or concerned their mother. Her baby boy stood beside Raven, bruised, scraped and bandaged.

  “Get in,” Mom hissed. Her tone made it clear not to argue.

  Cole’s hand pressed into Raven’s back. He took a step back into the shadows, away from the impending tsunami of a mother bear’s rage.

  Mom’s head snapped to Cole. Her gaze narrowed again. She raised a stiff index finger and jabbed it in the air toward the Lord of Shadows. “You, too.”

  Raven startled. Mom would’ve noticed his eyes and felt his potent Underworld energy. Apparently, Mommy Dearest didn’t give a wit about who or what he was.

  Her mom’s previous days as a party animal actually aided her in her current role as a manager, wife and mother. At least according to her. Mom read people, well. Extremely well. Some would say disturbingly so. Her mom understood what made people tick and could exploit their weaknesses ruthlessly if she chose to do so. Whatever she gleaned from Cole’s expression empowered her to boss the dark fae lord around.

  Mom’s glower encompassed all three of them on the landing. “Inside, now.”

  They stepped into the home and the savoury smell of juicy bacon greeted her. Home. No matter how long she lived on her own, stepping into the warmth and smell of this house put her at ease. Raven inhaled deeply and kicked off her shoes without untying the laces.

  “Animal,” Cole whispered in her ear. He took a seat on the padded bench by the door and clinically untied and removed his boots.

  Raven stared at the well-behaving assassin for a second before turning to Mom. “Bacon and eggs?”

  Mom stopped glaring at Cole and turned to her. “Everything’s better with bacon.”

  With one last glare at Cole, Mom gathered Mike in her arms and squeezed.

  “Mom!” he wheezed, eyes bulging.

  “Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” she whispered.

  Mike’s expression softened and he sank into the hug, wrapping his one good arm around her.

  Dad thumped down the stairs. He wore his usual attire—crisply ironed khaki pants and a polo shirt. He owned about four or five pairs of the same pants in slightly different shades and eight or nine shirts in the same style, different colours. Raven had snuck into her parents’ bedroom once with Juni when they were younger. The identical clothes, pressed and hung evenly spaced in the closet, had horrified them. They ran from the room screaming. Raven swore to never venture into her parents’ room again.

  “About time you got here,” Dad said. His gaze settled on Cole, who stood between the group and the door. His steps faltered. “And you brought a guest.” His tone remained chipper, but his shoulders tensed.

  Cole stood and held his hand out to Dad. “Sir.”

  Dad’s gaze snapped between Cole’s hand and face. “You’re the one who kidnapped my daughter.”

  How’d Dad figure that out so quickly? She must’ve described Cole well. Her cheeks warmed. The Lord of Shadows certainly made a lasting impression on her and his face certainly played a recurring role in her dreams.

  The fae lord rocked back on his heels. His white teeth flashed. “And returned her unharmed.”

  Mom sucked in a breath, squeezed Mike harder, and glared at Cole over his shoulder.

  Mike wheezed. Poor little fox.

  Cole remained relaxed, arm extended, and waited. His gaze cut to Raven and his smile broadened. Did the memory of abducting her make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

  “Dad,” Raven said.

  Dad grumbled and reluctantly shook Cole’s outreached hand. Thankfully, neither seemed inclined to do the over-compensating man-squeeze, tug-a-war handshake some men tried to do.

  Cole placed his boots neatly beside Raven’s haphazardly strewn flip flops on the mat.

  “This way,” Raven said and led him down the hall to the kitchen and dining room.

  Juni sat at the dining table, her hair somewhat tamed. With cheeks puffed out like a greedy chipmunk, she’d stuffed her mouth full of bacon. When Juni spotted Raven, she froze mid-chomp. She lowered her fork and gave Raven a nervous smile—thankfully, with her mouth closed.

  Yeah, that’s right. We both know who tipped off Mom and Dad. Juni never stood a chance, really. Their dad was a PI. He could ferret out a secret better than, well, a ferret. At least Raven didn’t have to lend one of her only nice outfits anymore.

  Cole stepped up beside Raven at the foot of the table.

  Juni’s eyes widened when her gaze landed on their guest. Her mouth dropped open. “Whoa.”

  Dad’s gaze snapped between his youngest daughter and Cole. He pursed his lips and his expression darkened.

  “There’s bacon, Dad,” Raven said.

  “Your mother’s idea,” Dad spoke with a dry tone.

  “Everything’s better with bacon.” Juni stuffed more in her mouth but kept watching Cole with large, round eyes. At her rate, there’d be no bacon left by the time they sat down. She paused to scan Raven again. “What’s up with your hair?”

  Raven patted down the curling frizz. “Apparently, dark fae energy provides extra body.”

  Juni stopped gnawing on food and her gaze riveted to Cole. She connected the dots and swallowed the mouthful of bacon. “How come your hair didn’t curl around Bear, then?”

  Raven shrugged. “I must be impervious to his energy somehow.”

  “You going to tell us what’s going on, Rayray?” Dad interrupted their conversation.

  Mike pulled out of their mother’s arms. “Dad, chill. Let’s eat before Juni takes all the bacon.”

  “You snooze, you lose,” Juni said. She spoke through another mouthful of food, so it came out garbled. They’d heard her utter those words enough, though, that they didn’t require an interpreter.

  “Personally, I prefer sausage,” Raven said.

  Cole paused on his way to the table and looked over his shoulder at her. His lips twitched.

  Heat flooded her face. “Breakfast sausage.” Pervert.

  Cole shook his head and chuckled.

  “There’s sausage in the oven.” Juni may have spoken to Raven, but her gaze had remained trained on Cole. She cleared her throat. “Are you going to introduce us?”

  “This is Cole. Cole, this is my family. My mother Elizabeth, my father Terry, and my sister Juniper. Obviously, you already know Mike.”

  Cole nodded at each person as she pointed and named them.

  “Cole?” Juni’s face scrunched up with a skeptical look only a fifteen-year-old girl could pull off.

  “Beul na h-Oidhche gu Camhanaich,” he said.

  Juni gagged.

  Raven turned to her sister.


  Juni swallowed. Her face paled. “The Lord of Shadows?”

  Mom tensed beside Raven. Dad’s eyes narrowed.

  “We’re learning about you in school.”

  Geez. Maybe Raven should’ve paid more attention in class. She didn’t recall learning anything about Beul na h-Oidhche gu Camhanaich.

  “Nothing but good things, I hope.” Cole winked and pulled out a chair. He turned to Raven. “I told you there’d be a chapter on me,”

  “There’s a whole section,” Juni piped up. “It covers the Shadow Realm, the creation of the Assassin’s Guild, alliances with other courts and how Fm in the Shadow Realm pulls from both the dark and light realms, making it not only unique, but arguably more potent in Other energy than the other domains.”

  A slight smile tugged at Cole’s lips and he sat down without comment.

  Juni picked up her plate and scurried to take the seat beside him. She moved the unused dishes out of her way and dropped her plate on the placemat. Raven hadn’t seen her sister move that fast since the sample shoe sale downtown last year. Raven had watched her sister dodge and weave around other shopping hopefuls and shoe enthusiasts, throwing an elbow or two in the fray to get a mean pair of designer boots at a non-designer price. If Raven had less monstrous feet that fit the sample sizes, she would’ve joined the fray. Instead, she was relegated to the sidelines to act as a chaperone and cheerleader.

  Juni eyed their guest with the same pining look she’d cast at those boots a year ago.

  Raven rolled her eyes and sat beside Mike. She slid into the worn dining chair and leaned back into the cushion. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath of savoury breakfast goodness surrounded by the din and clatter of her family around the table. Home.

  “Honey, dear,” Mom said.

  Raven’s eyes pinged open.

  “When was the last time you spoke to Megan?” Mom asked. “I ran into her today. She didn’t have the kids with her. Poor thing looked exhausted. I remember those days. She probably needs some adult conversation.”

  Raven’s stomach dropped. She was a bad friend. She’d meant to visit her bestie sooner rather than later, but life kept getting in the way. And now her brother was missing, dark fae lords kept popping up like prairie dogs, and Mike got injured. “I’ll go see her.”

  “You better.” Mom nodded. “You don’t have many friends.”

  “Geez, Mom!”

  “Well…” Mom looked away and her gaze resettled on Cole. Now two of the three Crawford women stared at the fae lord.

  Dad grumbled and sat down at the end of the table with a thump. He looked ready to leap up and pounce at any moment. He’d once said he didn’t need to get a shotgun to protect his daughters from men; that he raised them to be independent and good judges of character; that he trusted them to make good decisions. Right now, he looked as though he regretted those words.

  Juni wrinkled her nose and scowled. “What’s that smell?”

  Cole laughed, his deep voice rumbling and stirring all sorts of feels deep within her.

  Raven sighed. “It’s me.”

  Juni snorted. “You smell worse than Mike’s room.”

  “Hey!” Mike looked up from his food to scowl.

  Juni giggled. “You smell like a trash bag.”

  “Raven, dear,” Mom said. “Do you want to shower before eating? Or borrow some clean clothes perhaps?”

  “Absolutely not.” Raven folded her arms in front of her chest. “There’ll be nothing left.”

  “I could set something aside,” Mom said.

  “I fell for that once. Never again,” Raven said.

  “You do smell…” Dad grimaced.

  “Ripe,” Mike finished.

  “Well, tough. I had to endure you going through puberty.” She jabbed a finger at her brother. “And both of you crapping your diapers.” She waved her finger at her siblings.

  Mike shrugged. “I’m used to it.”

  Cole nodded. “Me, too. Fully acclimatized.”

  “Gross.” Juni’s mouth turned down.

  Raven’s mom pulled out a pan full of sausage goodness from the oven and placed it in front of Raven on a trivet. The tubes of sweating fat sizzled and spat. Raven’s mouth watered.

  “Fine, but eat fast,” Mom continued. “I don’t want to get used to that smell.”

  Raven bit back a laugh. Her mom might complain about the smell, yet, she let Mike live in the cesspool he called a bedroom.

  “Okay, what gives? I bring home your pride and joy, bruised and broken, and you feed me breakfast sausage without hosing me off first. Are you trying to fatten me up for the slaughter or are you working some other angle?”

  “No angle.” Mom huffed and took a seat. “You’re all my pride and joy.”

  Raven and Juni rolled their eyes.

  Her sister reached for more bacon, and Mike slapped her hand away before plucking some meat from the plate for himself. After the brief food-induced interlude, Raven’s sister resumed her unsubtle admiration of Cole.

  “Is it true you pulled the shadows from dark and light to create the Realm of Shadow? To spite your father?” Juni asked. She somehow managed to blink dramatically about fifty times during her questions. “Did you kill him as the textbook suggests? No one’s seen him since the creation of the Shadow Realm, and the experts think you used his life force to form the realm somehow.”

  “Juni! You can’t just ask someone if they murdered their father at the dinner table,” Mom said.

  “Yeah,” Raven said. “If he used his father’s death magic to fuel the creation of a separate realm that’s his own—” Wait, what?

  “Is it true you’re the Patron Fae of Assassins and have your own personal army of killers?” Juni interrupted, leaning in.

  What else would an army consist of? Raven scrunched her face. Cole’s presence had somehow turned her intelligent sister dumb. Yet, her teenaged sister knew more about their guest than she did. What did that say about Raven?

  She slumped in her chair and scowled. That lovely thought knocked the wind right out of her sails.

  Cole shifted in his seat to create more distance from Juni. He glanced at Raven.

  “Please, oh, Great One.” She leaned forward and rested her chin on her laced fingers. “Tell us more.”

  “I will tell you anything you wish to know,” he said.

  Liar. He told her earlier knowledge was power. Like he’d hand it over now for—

  “For a price,” Cole finished.

  Raven snorted.

  Dad cleared his throat. “How about one of you, and I don’t care who, tells us what in the Underworld is going on? For free.”

  Juni pointed a fork at their father. “Technically, you’re paying them with bacon.”

  Raven leaned back, grateful for a legitimate reason to break eye contact from Cole’s smouldering gaze. Did someone raise the temperature in the room? She glanced at the oven. Nope. Mom hadn’t forgotten to close the door or turn off an element.

  Mike put his fork down and started talking.

  While half listening to Mike’s explanation, Raven grabbed her fork and reached forward to stab a couple of sausages. She loaded them on her plate, skipping the scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. She’d essentially ran a marathon last night. She deserved sausage. The hot juices exploded in her mouth with the first bite. Mmmmm.

  Mom folded her arms across her chest while her youngest daughter gorged on bacon and continued to ogle their guest.

  Raven pretended to listen raptly as Mike recounted the tale from his point of view, but really, she watched the Lord of Shadows as well, but unlike her sister, she managed to watch him more covertly. At least, she hoped she was more subtle.

  She glanced at her sister again. A red blotch on Juni’s neck, right by the collar of her T-shirt stared back.

  “Is that a hickey?” Raven blurted out.

  Juni choked on her food. She swallowed with a loud gulp and slapped a hand against her nec
k. The conversation at the table stopped and everyone turned to Juni.

  “No!” she burst out.

  “Then what is it?”

  “I…” Her gaze darted back and forth. “I…”

  Raven folded her arms.

  Juni’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know.”

  Mike reached across the table and pulled Juni’s hand away. “Looks like a rash.”

  “A rash.” Mom pushed away from the table so abruptly, her chair tipped backward. She tittered before she caught herself on the edge of the table. With absolutely no shame, Mom launched off her chair and scuttled over to her youngest daughter.

  Juni shied away.

  Mom ignored Juni’s attempt to swat her away, grabbed her head and leaned in close. “This looks like it could get nasty.”

  “Mom!” Juni’s face turned bright red.

  Cole pushed his chair back, so her mom’s ass wasn’t right in his face.

  “It could be a heat rash,” Raven suggested.

  “Or it could be contagious,” Mom said.

  “Or it could be a reaction to the new laundry detergent,” Mike suggested.

  “We need to get this looked at right away. Maybe the walk-in is open,” Mom said.

  “Now, now.” Dad leaned back in his chair. “Let’s not make any rash decisions.”

  Raven choked on her sausage.

  Mike reached over and gave their dad a high-five. They started laughing.

  Cole used their distraction to shovel more bacon onto his plate, gaze darting between Juni, the bacon monster, and his food.

  Mom straightened and folded her arms. “This isn’t funny.”

  “Oh, I disagree.” Mike chomped off the end of a bacon strip.

  Mom pursed her lips and looked around the table. The only other person not laughing, or smiling was Juni. If she turned any redder, she’d combust.

  “If it looks worse tomorrow, we’ll get her into the doctor’s office,” Dad said.

  Mom grumbled but walked back to her seat.

  “I want more details about tonight’s events, but I’ll get those later.” Dad’s eyes narrowed at Raven.