Black Crow

by Jen Pretty

  Little shit.

  He cawed at me, his neck elongated and his beak wide.

  “Fine, let's go,” I said, standing up and dusting my knees. The sun had fallen enough to cast the graveyard into twilight. I could still make out Nick’s shape, but someone else was in the cemetery now too. Nick was watching my approach as the person further away disappeared and then reappeared behind Nick. The stranger's arm went around Nick's throat, and I called out, but the man quickly vanished.

  Nick fell limp to the ground as the man disappeared. I burst into a run. Sliding on my knees the last few feet, I rolled Nick onto his back and froze as I watched the blood pour out of a giant gaping wound in Nick's neck.

  The grotesque gasping noises he made only added to my horror, but a loud caw broke my shock, and I wrapped my hands around the slice. Blood oozed through my fingers, making my grip slippery, but I held on.

  “Nick,” I said. His eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open as blood bubbled from his lips. I looked around, but there was no one else. As my magic rose, I tried to hold his neck with one hand, then rummaged through his pockets till I found his phone. My hand on the phone was sticky, and I smeared the screen when I touched it, but I flicked it on and found his contacts.

  I clicked on a name that was under a smear of blood.

  It rang, and I thought I heard a phone ring in the trees behind me. I turned my head but there was no one there, and the phone just kept ringing. I hung up and tried a different number. My fingers smeared blood across the whole phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Peran!” I yelled. His voice was easy to recognize. “Nick is hurt!”

  “What? Where are you?”

  “The graveyard up from my apartment. Someone came in, a warlock, and slit Nick's neck. Please, hurry!” I threw the phone down and wrapped my hand back around the slice in Nick's neck. It was slowly closing up, but there couldn't be much blood left in his body.

  Kai and Peran appeared in the graveyard. Peran dropped to his knees beside me as Kai scanned the area, holding his blade.

  “He was just standing there, and a guy popped up behind him, and then he fell, and there is so much blood.” My hands were shaking, but my grip on Nick’s ruined neck didn’t falter. Peran covered my hands with his.

  “Selena.” His voice was firm and calm. My eyes caught on his and I stopped. “Let go,” he said.

  I looked down at Nick. Blood sunk into the ground making a muddy blood puddle all around him. I took a deep breath and took my hands away. A slow ooze of blood came out through the small center of the slit before it closed up and the blood stopped. My arms were red halfway to my elbows and still shook as I tried to wipe the hair from my face with the back of my forearm.

  Nick’s breathing smoothed out, and his chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm.

  “What do we do?” I asked Peran.

  “He just needs a meal.” Peran took his shirt off and handed it to me. I tried to grab it with my arms, so I wouldn't get it covered in blood. “It’s for you to wipe your hands on, Selena,” he said with a grin. I wasn’t sure how he was grinning at a time like this, but I wiped my hands on it, anyway. The blood was sticky and the more it dried, the stickier it got.

  I was watching Peran as he went through his pockets. “Do you have a knife? I can feed him.”

  I huffed out a puff of air. “You want to feed him here?” I asked.

  “Kai is looking around. I can get Nick back on his feet. Unless you want to do it.” His tone didn't change. It wasn’t a challenge. It was a simple question. Did I want to slice my skin for Nick?

  I sliced my skin all the time. Reaching into my pocket, my fingers found the knife, unfolding the blade.

  “You need to slit your wrist, this way,” He indicated with his finger a slice that ran up the inside of my wrist. “He needs more than a few drops.”

  I nodded and tried to stop the shake in my hands. One last deep breath and I made the cut. It stung more than on the back of my forearm and blood came out in a gush instead to a drip. I dropped the knife and leaned forward, resting my wrist on Nick's mouth.

  After a moment, a steely hand slammed up, grabbing onto my forearm. Nick’s eyes remained closed, but I felt a pull as his mouth latched on and he sucked the blood out. I let go of my magic too, pouring it all into Nick. I felt a pinch and heat ran from my wrist, up my arm and directly to my brain. Dizziness overtook me. I lost track of where I was or what I was doing, but, next thing I knew, I was in Peran’s arms, in a motel room.

  “How did we get here?” I slurred; my voice didn't sound like my own.

  “Kai brought us back. He is just grabbing Nick.”

  Kai appeared in the room a second later, Nick's arm over his shoulder, but the vampire was standing upright, mostly.

  “I’m sorry, Nick,” I said.

  “It's not your fault,” he said with a crooked grin as he eased down to sit on the bed. He peeled his sticky shirt off and tossed it in the small garbage can beside the bed and then stood, a bit wobbly.

  “I’m just going to have a shower.” Nick chuckled as he made slow steps towards the bathroom. When the door snicked shut behind him, I turned my eyes to Peran and raised an eyebrow.

  “What is wrong with him?” I whispered.

  “I heard that!” Nick called from beyond the door.

  “He is drunk on blood and magic. He’ll probably have a hangover tomorrow.” Peran smiled, and Kai let out a laugh.

  God, I had just watched him bleed out, and now he was drunk. I was getting whiplash from the drama.

  “Is this your motel room?” I asked.

  “Hold on, I’ll get you one,” Kai said, disappearing. I wanted to sit down, but I was disgusting and didn’t want to put more blood on the bed. There was already a smear from Nick.

  “Do you want to borrow some clothes?” Peran asked.

  “Yeah, that would be good. I have none left.” Remembering my ruined apartment was the icing on the cake.

  Kai appeared as Peran was rummaging through his bag, holding a keycard in his hand.

  “They don’t have adjoining rooms, but this is for the one next door,” Kai said handing me the card.

  “Thanks.” Peran handed me a bundle of clothes which I tucked under my arm, then stumbled next door. I dropped the clothes on the soft blue blanket on the bed and turned on the shower in the small bathroom. The motel room wasn’t as nice as the hotel in Canada, but it was clean and tidy. A queen-size bed, tv and tiny glass-top table with two wicker chairs and a minibar. The mini bar was looking good right about now, so I popped it open and grabbed two tiny bottles.

  The alcohol burned down my throat as the hot water burned my skin. When both tiny bottles were empty, I stepped out of the shower and stumbled, forcing out a small giggle. I got dressed in Peran’s t-shirt and jogging pants. Even pulling the drawstring as tight as it would go, it was still a fight with gravity to keep the pants on as I stumbled out of the bathroom and fell face first on the bed. A small chuckle from behind me made me roll over and look to see who was laughing at me.

  “Hey, Nick. Are you still drunk? Cause I'm getting there,” I said, holding up the two tiny empty bottles in my hand.

  “Nah, I’m not drunk,” he said as he swayed before joining me on the bed. He collapsed on his back and rested his hands beneath his head. The long lines of his body were on display through a t-shirt he must have put on before drying himself after his shower. It was damp and clinging to him.

  “How do vampires get fit?” I asked. “Aren’t you dead? You shouldn't be able to get nice muscles.” I rolled onto my back, matching his position on the bed.

  “You think I have nice muscles?” he asked with a snort.

  “You know you do.” I could see his silly smile out of the corner of my eye. I realized my hair was still wet and soaking into the blanket, but was too numb get the towel.

  “Well, you see, vampires stay as they were when they became vampires. Since I was a smoking hot dude, I will stay t
hat way forever.”

  “Smokin’ hot dude?” He was so old. I got a case of the giggles. I got them under control, just to lose it again and laugh till I had to curl up on the bed because my stomach hurt.

  “How many of those tiny bottles did you drink?” he asked, looking at me with one eyebrow raised.

  “How do you do that?” I reached out and touched his eyebrow, feeling the muscles underneath relax as his face when back to normal.

  When I moved my finger, he raised it again. I tried to do it but just ended up closing one eye and opening the other. I probably looked like a crazy person, but it made him laugh. His laughter was deep and ridiculous. A big bad vampire, drunk and laughing at a necromancer. What a strange pair we were.

  When we finally settled into a comfortable silence, I lay on my back, staring at the plain white ceiling and twisting my hair around my finger. It was still damp and cool. I thought back to the graveyard, and a chill ran up my spine. I envisioned Nick laying there in a puddle of blood. And the way the blood smeared across Nick's phone from my bloody hands. That was the moment I remembered the ring I heard in the trees after the first call I made.

  I sat up on the bed. “Where is your phone?” I asked.

  “My phone? I don't know. It wasn't in my pocket.”

  “We have to go get it! I called someone before I got a hold of Peran… I’m not sure, but I heard a phone ring in the trees. Like I had called someone who was standing near us. It could have been the person who attacked you.”

  Nick's eyes went wide then he rolled up and grabbed his boots.

  I pulled my shoes on, and we were out the door.

  Nick pounded on Peran and Kai’s door.

  When the door swung open, a half-asleep Kai stood in the doorway. He was wearing fleece plaid pajama pants and an old ratty tank top that sat crooked on his shoulders, adding to his disheveled look.

  “We have to get Nick’s phone,” I said.

  Kai’s bleary eyes focused on me. “We can get it in the morning.” He started to shut the door, but I stopped it and pushed it open.

  “I think I accidentally dialed the person who attacked Nick. I heard a ring in the forest.”

  Kai rubbed his eyes and then scratched his head. He pulled the door open and backed up to let us in. Peran was fast asleep on the bed, snoring softly.

  Kai sat on the corner of the bed and pulled on his shoes. His eyes were still heavy as he stood and put a hand on each of us, sifting us back to the graveyard. I stood still to get my bearings, but Nick lurched forward in the darkness, head down, searching for the phone.

  Kai flicked on his own phone’s flashlight, and we all moved around the area, searching. The grass was dry; it should be fine as long as it wasn't sitting in the puddle of blood.

  “Here it is,” Nick called. I hurried over, and he pressed the button to turn it on. As the screen lit up, it displayed a gross smear of dried blood. Nick scrapped at it with his fingernail, and it flaked off, raining to the grass like grotesque snowflakes.

  He tapped the screen a few times and look up at me. Then his eyes shifted to Kai.

  “She dialed Falcor.”

  chapter seventeen

  We all stood in stunned silence for a minute.

  “Why would Falcor do that?” I asked.

  “He’s an ass, but I don't think he would cut my throat,” Nick said.

  “All the women who died washed up on the shore had their throats cut,” I whispered.

  Kai put a hand on each of us and sifted us back to his motel room where Peran was still snoring. I was getting used to travelling that way. It hardly affected me at all, this time. I went to the bed and shook Peran’s shoulder. His snoring stopped on a quick snort, and his eyes flipped open and focused on me.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, his eyes darting around the room to rest on Kai and then Nick.

  “Caw,” Crow appeared on the headboard of the bed. He had something clasped in his talons.

  “What is that?” I asked reaching out towards it. As my fingers touched in, he unclasped his long nails, and a watch fell into my hand. “Where did this come from?”

  Crow launched himself off the headboard, circled the room and then dove straight for my chest. I tried to back up, but it was too late. His feathered body slammed into me, disappearing into my chest and magic exploded, sending blue sparkles through the room.

  Dry heaves wracked my body, but my vision shifted, and I was suddenly standing in the graveyard at the edge of the trees. I hopped forward and let out a caw. My mind spun until it put the pieces together and I realized I was seeing what Crow had seen.

  There in the underbrush was something shiny, reflecting the moonlight. I hopped forward and pecked at it. It was clean and new looking as if someone had just dropped it on the fresh leaves. I picked it up in my beak and turned back out of the brush. My eyes could make out three figures standing near a grave in the place we had been moments ago.

  I heaved again and coughed until my eyes watered before reaching into my mouth and pulling free a long black feather.

  “Are you ok, Selena? Selena!” Nick's voice sounded urgent. I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked up at his worried face. I was laying on the floor but didn’t remember falling.

  Crow cawed from the bedpost.

  The watch was still in my hand. I inspected it as I caught my breath. God that was gross. I held up the feather that had been down my throat. “Was that necessary?” I asked the bird.

  He bobbed his head up and down like a lunatic.

  “Crow found this in the graveyard. It was near where we were.” I held up the watch.

  “I’ve never seen a watch like this before. Certainly not on Falcor,” Nick said.

  “Could it have been a coincidence I heard a phone ring at the same time as I dialed?” I asked, taking the watch back from Nick and trying to remember if I had ever seen a watch like that before.

  Everyone stared at it in my hands. “We have to go talk to him, anyway. We need to know for sure. Is there any way to know if he was at the school during that time?”

  Kai hummed. “Well, if he was teaching a class or with someone, he would have an alibi, but if not, the school doesn't keep track of comings and goings.”

  “Let’s go,” Nick said.

  Kai grabbed his arm and disappeared. He returned a moment later to grab Peran who was still in his pajamas and sock feet. He grabbed my arm too and a moment later we were standing in the school cafeteria with Nick.

  I checked my pocket to make sure the book had made it through the sifting and sighed with relief. I didn't like the school at night. The lights were low except for the marked security exits, and there was absolutely no sound.

  I could feel the magic seeping out of my pours with every moment. It was uncomfortable, but I was holding so much magic, I figured I had a while before I needed to get out of there. Still, the feeling of losing magic provided an urgency that had me marching out of the cafeteria and down the hall towards the dorms.

  “Selena,” A tiny voice called from behind me.

  I spun back, my magic tugging in the direction of the voice, not that I needed it to tell me who was behind me. The tiny boy came charging down the darkened hallway and flung himself at me. His magic wrapped around me tighter than the serpent had in the graveyard in Canada.

  “Hey, Colvin. How’s it going?” I asked, his vibrancy lightening my mood and bringing a smile to my face.

  “Good, I’ve been waiting for you to come back. Mr. Denner said you might not come back because the school magic wasn’t good for you.” His big brown eyes blinked up at me from the frame of his white hair.

  “I probably won’t stay long, but I’m glad you were here to greet me.”

  “Colvin. You should be in bed,” a tall, lanky vampire said as he rounded the hall and caught sight of us.

  “Look, Mr. Denner. Selena came back.” Colvin’s enthusiasm was over the top.

  The vampire shook his head and smiled. “That d
oesn’t change the fact it’s the middle of the night and you should be sleeping.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, scooping up Calvin in a hug. The weird connection between us made me want to keep him close to me.

  Crow appeared in the hall and hopped over to where I stood with Colvin wrapped awkwardly in my arms, his legs hanging down towards my knees. Crow hopped up to nip at Colvin's shoelaces that hung limply from his sneakers.

  He and I laughed as his teacher approached. “Hello Anick, Peran, Kai. How are you all doing this evening?”

  The guys replied in a jumble of positive statements followed by “Mr. Denner,” and I assumed they had all been a student of his at one point. It was funny how teachers never lost the Mr. or Mrs. before their name, no matter how long you were out of school.

  I set Colvin’s feet on the ground and smoothed his hair back.

  “Will you be here for breakfast?” he asked.

  I didn’t want to lie, but something inside me wanted to get to know him. “Maybe.”

  He smiled at me, then turned and ran past the guys towards the dorms — his shoelaces whipping along at his feet.

  “It’s nice to see you all back. You must be Selena,” he said extending his hand to me. I shook his hand but held my magic captive, so it didn’t hop into the vampire. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

  “Nice to meet you too,” I said.

  “So, what can I help you with?” he asked, his blue eyes intense like a hot summer sky.

  “We came to talk to Falcor,” I said.

  “Oh, I guess you wouldn't have heard, he left the Sanctuary. He wasn’t content to be a teacher.”

  I caught Nick’s eye. His face looked dark as if he had the same thoughts as I did. If Falcor wasn’t here, he could be anywhere.

  “Do you guys want to stay here for the night? I think someone who should be sleeping would like you to stay,” he said in a louder than necessary voice, looking past us down the hall. When I spun around, I saw a flash of white hair disappear around a corner.