The Raven Series 2 (15 page)

“He has another brother?”

“Yeah,” I replied flatly.

“Now I know you’re lying. Zane, I could have believed. You’ve been making googly eyes at him and fawning all over him since I got here. It’s sickening.”

“I do not make googly eyes.”

He crossed his arms. “At least admit how you feel.”

“Fine. I have feelings for him. Is that what you want to hear?” I yelled.

Hurt slashed across his eyes. I reached out, intending to lay a hand on his forearm, but he stepped back. Pivoting, he stormed off the dance floor.

“Shit,” I swore to no one in particular. “Parker!”

His didn’t even break his stride.

Chapter 16

How did I ever find myself caught in a love tangle? Not with two guys, but three? WTH? In high school, I couldn’t even get a date to prom. I felt stupid as shit. I could have handled the situation with more care. Parker was my oldest friend, and it wasn’t his fault my feelings had shifted in a big way. Or that I was as unavailable as someone could get.

I was afraid of losing him.

Without a second thought, I took off after him.
Where did he think he was going to go?
I caught a glimpse of the back of his shirt as he barreled through the doors. The last thing I wanted was Parker running around the streets of Raven Hallow at night. Alone.

Pushing my way through the crowd, I had both hands on the metal door when I felt someone following me. It didn’t stop me. Outside, the sky sparkled like crushed diamonds in space, and the air was cool and clean as mountains. Yet, it wasn’t the unexpected crisp air that caused my skin to goose bump. “Zane, I don’t need your help,” I said over my shoulder, not slowing my pace.

He ambled out of the shadows and into my line of sight. “Of course you do.”

“You’ll only make things worse.”

“Tough shit,” he said, sounding a bit sharper than normal.

“You don’t understand. I hurt him.” My voice caught as the fast techno beats faded in the distance.

“Oh, I saw. The whole club saw. Anyway, he’s a big boy, princess.”

I stopped in my tracks, and it took him a step or two further to realize we weren’t shoulder to shoulder. “I wouldn’t expect a jerk like you to understand.”

He wore that damnably knowing expression. “A jerk, huh? You didn’t think so last night.”

“Argh! You’re driving me crazy.” My eyes scurried along the street in front of me. Buildings lined both sides of the intersection, but there was no Parker in sight. There were, however, quite a few intoxicated partiers stumbling around, making me slightly nervous. “Where the hell did he go?”

Zane never got the chance to utter the snappy comeback on the tip of his tongue. Out of nowhere, a figure flew from around the corner and bum-rushed him. At first I thought it was a hallow or a reaper. But…
It couldn’t be
. My eyes widened in disbelief.
Parker?

Sure as shit. Parker’s fist shot in the air, zooming past Zane’s cheek as he sidestepped out of the way. I blinked, about to intervene, but Zane beat me to it. He had Parker pinned against the wall, his eyes going smoky, the veins circling them the color of ink.

I stood there for a moment with my mouth hanging open. What was going on? I felt like I’d walked into an alternate universe. Someone must have slipped something in Parker’s drink. He was never aggressive or physical. My eyeballs couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Feeling seven shades of awkward, I stood there dumbfounded at two very different guys for whom I cared deeply, just different kinds of deep.

Zane pressed his forearm into Parker’s chest. Parker groaned in pain as he pushed against his restraints.

“Zane! Let him go,” I finally said.

“I’m keeping him from hurting himself,” he replied.

Parker didn’t seem to mind or notice his feet weren’t touching the ground. “This is what I don’t get, Pipes. What do guys like him have that I don’t?”

Zane’s eyes roamed down at Parker’s shirt and then back up. “For starters…a fashion sense, and a decent haircut.”

“Zane,” I snarled. “Shut up.”

“What? He asked,” Zane retorted.

Parker laughed, but not in a good way, more like he was about to lose his shit. “You don’t deserve her.”

Zane narrowed his eyes. “That, we can agree on.”

If Parker noticed anything odd about Zane’s eyes, he did an impeccable job hiding it. “She was mine first,” he barked.

Zane growled.

“Whoa,” I said, stepping up so I was in both of their faces. “Hold it right there. I am not and will never be someone’s possession. Is that clear, you Neanderthals?” I glanced back and forth between them. I contemplated knocking their heads together to get my point across, but by the looks on their faces, I doubted it would have made a difference.

They ignored me.

Parker rolled his shoulder, but it did no good. He wasn’t going anywhere Zane didn’t want him to go. “Get your hands off me,” Parker hissed.

Danger shadowed Zane’s face. “Why, so you can make a fool of yourself?”

A thread of fear finally showed in Parker’s eyes.

Wow. This was not the kind of birthday I’d had in mind. Fighting with my best friend. Zane and Parker butting heads. What next?

I decided it was time to call it a day and hope tomorrow this would all be a bad dream.

A girl can fantasize.

It became clear bringing Parker had been a mistake. The knowledge of that mistake was painful. I was making them in abundance, one right after the other. “Okay, here’s the deal. Parker and I are going home, and I’m going to try to forget this night ever happened.”

Footsteps echoed down the side street behind me, but I didn’t think anything of it, not until the breath from my lungs turned cold, billowing in the air. My eyes immediately found Zane’s and saw the same alarm register in his.

Hallows.

Oh, goodie gumdrops.

“I think your birthday surprise just arrived,” Zane muttered dryly.

Time stopped, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose. I looked up, knowing what awaited us. Or so I thought.

Estelle stepped out under the streetlight, her almond-shaped eyes twinkling under the glow. There wasn’t an ounce of warmth or kindness, emphasizing my confusion. Behind her were a few Casper the not-so-friendly ghosts.

“Estelle?” I said stunned. “Where have you been? Crash has been looking for you.”

“Ah, the devoted older brother. He worries for nothing.” I didn’t like the sneer in her voice, and neither did Zane.

He dropped Parker to his feet, positioning himself in a way so he stood between Estelle and me. “Considering the kind of company you keep, I’m thinking he has a right to be concerned.”

“That’s the thing.” Static crackled in the air, and a reddish-white light radiated from Estelle as the four hallows closed in ranks behind her. “You never know what you have until it’s gone. Mortals always take advantage of life.”

My stomach twisted. “You and I both know I’m no mortal.”

“Piper?” Parker rasped. “What the hell is going on?”

“Oh, I know,” Estelle said. “You’re the White Raven.”

Well, shit
. There went my element of surprise.

I’d been warned that rumors had been circulating about my newly gained status, but there was something in Estelle’s hazel eyes that led me to believe she knew more than she was letting on. It made me leery. Revealing I was the White Raven was risky, but in order to keep Parker safe, I was willing to take the risk. “Am I supposed to be impressed you figured out my secret?”

Her lips curved in a sickening grin. “It was never much of a secret. Not to me. One raven down and one to go.”

I felt the shock of what she implied quake through me—Zane’s and mine—it jolted inside me. “Y-you killed Rose,” I accused, hardly believing it was possible. My brain stopped functioning. Estelle had been a friend; at least, I thought she’d been.

But, as I let the idea simmer, all the cracks and missing pieces came together.

Parker head was bouncing back and forth, trying to understand what was happening.

Zane’s jaw locked, and his stance changed. He was coiled tight, ready to strike. A chorus of hisses rang from the four ghosts at her side. Things were getting hot up in here.

Estelle clucked her tongue, eyes on Zane. “Don’t get any ideas, Death Scythe.”

“All I’ve got is ideas…on how to kill you. And I promise you, if you touch her, I will kill you,” he said darkly.

“Kill?” Parker echoed. “He’s not serious, is he?”

Estelle pretended as if Parker didn’t exist. “No, I don’t think you will. It’s why I brought these guys. To keep you busy.”

He flexed his fingers. “Only four? I’m offended.”

Once the disbelief wore off, the force of it slammed into me, burning a hole of outrage and anger so bright I knew my entire body was lit up like the Chicago skyline. My ears roared with uncontained fury. Someone was calling my name, but I was past the point of hearing.

Her hazel eyes darkened, turning the color of coal, and I knew from the flickering of her outline what was about to happen next.

Death shrouded Zane as he stepped in front of me, easing me behind him in one smooth motion. His muscles coiled beneath the skin. “Piper,” he cautioned.

The second his skin touched mine, clarity filtered through the red haze. I took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart. Right. We needed to be smart about this. There were more of them than us, and plus I had Parker to consider. I couldn’t go ape shit on her like I wanted. It didn’t change the fact that I had a score to settle with this bitch. Not to mention, I was still learning. Estelle had the advantage here.

But I had one thing she didn’t.

Zane.

He locked eyes with the bigger hallow. “We can stand here all night making googly eyes at each other, or I can start the massacre, because I
will
take your souls.”

“Okay, I’m out of here,” Parker informed. “There’s no way I’m going to be a part of whatever this is.”

“What are you doing?” I mumbled to Zane under my breath.

“Ending things before they get out of hand. Stay back with What’s-his-name, and”—his icy eyes flashed to mine for of a moment, a multitude of unspoken words, but all he said was— “don’t die.”

“
Die
?” Parker squeaked.

Then the murderess attacked.

She was a phantom reaper and had the ability to transform into whatever her black heart desired. I wasn’t sure what she was, but it didn’t matter when she shot a green ball of what looked like plasma directly at my head.

Zane wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me against his chest. He spun, shielding me with his body. I pressed my face into him, clutching his shirt. There was no place I felt safer than in his embrace.

A cool mist traveled over my body as a series of intense bolts of light shot over our heads. “Stay down,” Zane instructed and took up a fighter stance.

Parker was huddled down beside me, his hands over his head. “Oh God, Pipes. The world is under attack.”

A dry rasping laugh echoed down the road. “Your pet is funny. I promise to make his death painless, unlike yours.”

Just thinking about Parker dying left a metallic taste in my mouth. “I hadn’t realized you were a psychopath,” I snapped.

Zane stretched out his muscles, pure power radiating off him. He took off, speeding toward the four rabid spirits like a bullet to the brain. As I followed his movements, my eyes lost him from time to time. His form moved in and out of the shadows.

By the time he reached the hallows, Estelle had shot off another round of fireballs. I pushed Parker to one side and threw myself to the other, letting the light whiz between us. Parker, in his less than coherent state, skidded across the ground, but I wasn’t worried about a few cuts and bruises. I was worried about his soul.

Slick tendrils of pitch-blackness expelled from Zane, wrapping around the throats of two hallows. Knowing his skills, I figured he could handle the ghosts as long as they didn’t phone a friend.

And that left me with Crazy-pants. My pulse was all over the place, and since I lacked Zane’s awesomeness, I decided to use the one weapon I had. My voice. “I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?” I asked.

“I thought it was obvious. Power. Control. Power. Blah. Blah. Blah. You get the idea,” she answered.

Heart pounding, I backed up against a wall, keeping her eyes focused on me. “Not really.” I could hear the scuffling and fighting, but I was afraid to take my eyes off her.

“That’s your problem. You lack vision.”

I’d thought Estelle was trustworthy. She had been the first person to make me feel at ease. This girl in front of me was a stranger. I didn’t know how to talk to her or what the right words were. It felt like no matter what I said, I was putting my foot in my mouth. “Fuck you.”

A weak and demented smile crossed her lips. “You know, I’m not going to enjoy killing you as much as I did Rose. It’s a pity. I actually liked you.”

Parker flinched, and it was enough to remind Estelle he was there.

Dammit Parker.

Because I needed to keep her focused on me, I moved in away from Parker, drawing her eyes to me. “Too bad I can’t say the same.”

Her eyes flashed, and the veins around them darkened to a deep red.

So much for reasoning. I moved away from Parker, closing the distance between Estelle and me. I didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me before. Newsflash. I was a freaking banshee.

I screamed—as loud and sharp as I ever had. The sound vibrated into the night, carrying over the entire island until my throat went dry. I had no clue what I’d just done, but it felt significant.