Chronicles of Steele: Raven 3: Episode 3 (8 page)

Raven
gave one nod but raised an eyebrow. How did Monroe reminded her so much of her
father? In all honesty, the man even resembled him, except her father stood
taller, and Monroe was thinner. The beard obscured the man’s features, but his
blue eyes held the same joy. He even seemed proud when he looked at her.

After
her last bite, Raven stood and headed to the counter with her plate. The wooden
bowls from the night before sat in the sink, dirty and unattended, as did the
plates from the breakfast. She stared at them, fighting the urge to begin
cleaning. It took all of her strength to set the plate on the counter with the
others and walk away. The thought of the plates remaining dirty while they
started their trip irked her all the way to the door and niggled the back of
her mind like a worm.

Marietta
fluttered between the door and the closet, handing the members of the guard
extra coats and blankets for the road. The carriage driver stood inside the
doorway and wrung his hat nervously as the group stood around him. “I’m sorry
I’m late madam. I hope to be getting on the road soon. I’ll take you to the
bottom of Cirrus Mountain. Since the trip will take us the better part of the
day, I’ll be needing to stay at the inn?”

The
witch shot Grant a questioning glance. He cleared his throat. “Not a problem,
we will all stay at the inn tonight, at the duke’s expense.”

Relief
washed over the coachman, and his shoulders relaxed. He smiled wide and took
the last blanket from Marietta’s hands. “Right then. Let’s be off!”

Monroe,
Colton, and Rupert started after the coachman, their arms loaded with blankets
and fur coats. Grant stayed back just a bit, balancing the stack he held
between his chin and his arm as he checked his pocket and took inventory of his
coins. A look of satisfaction crossed his face and he closed his eyes and took
a deep breath. When his eyes opened again, he met eyes with Raven and smiled.
“After you?”

Raven
stepped up to him and took the top two blankets from his stack.

“I
was fine. You don’t have to do that.”

“I
want to. You do know that women don’t always want to be a burden to the men
around them, don’t you?”

Grant
pushed the two blankets he held under one arm and said, “Most of the women I’ve
met would call it chivalrous when a man offers to do everything for them.”

 “Well,
I’d call it ridiculous.” Raven smiled at the wide eyes he made at her and
turned on her heel for the door.

The
bumpy ride in the back of the carriage actually lulled Jack to sleep. When the
coach pulled to a stop, he noticed he wasn’t the only one. Colton and Rupert
both sat up and rubbed their eyes. Marietta turned toward them in front seat
and announced, “We’re here.”

Monroe
hopped out of the carriage and into the ankle-deep snow first, gathering up the
blankets quickly. With Raven’s assistance, they folded them and piled them back
into stacks. Jack set a hand on the elder reaper’s shoulder. “Let’s roll up one
each to take with us up the mountain and maybe an extra fur coat each as well.”

“Great
thinking,” Marietta said with a wink. “I brought along extra belts to hold the
rolls.”

Clouds
and mist shrouded the mountain, obscuring the top from view. The inn was a
rectangular two-story building with a thatched roof. Frost clung to the black
rock walls and icicles hung like white fingers. The path in front of the door
had been swept clean. It seemed a well-kept place where it mattered. He pulled
one of the furs over his shoulders, as did the rest of the group.

The
sun had ducked over the other side of the mountain. He’d thought they should
have had another hour or so of daylight, but the light had a dusk-like glow to
it. The coachman lead the horse to the livery stable next to the inn, and the
rest of the group made their way inside.

Radiant
heat from dual fireplaces embraced them the moment they walked in. Boots stomped
on the brick floor in the doorway, knocking the snow from toe to knee. The
scent of fresh furs and old fires filled the room.

Jack
stepped up to the wide mahogany counter and nodded to the wide-eyed keep. The
innkeeper scratched his chin. “We seem to be attracting the strangest of folks
this weekend. You do know the almanac is predicting a blizzard tonight?”

Colton’s
face turned grave as he asked, “What do you mean strangest folks?”

“We’re
unaccustomed to receiving people from New Haven here, and those brown coats
declare it your origin. Duke’s Guard, correct?”

Jack
nodded. “Right, but who else have you received this weekend?”

“Well,
I’m not one to put my nose where it does not belong, but there was a very old
woman here yesterday with a dazed young man. The boy just sat there,
unresponsive, wouldn’t partake of our generosity in any way. Meanwhile his
grandmother ate everything in sight. More than you’d think a woman of her size
capable of consuming. What made her most strange though was she appeared to be
blind, but never once ran into anything. It was like she could see just fine.”
He leaned toward Jack as though confiding a great and ponderous secret. His
eyes were wide as he nodded.

Jack
swallowed hard, certain it was them. “Yesterday, you say? Are they still here
at the inn?”

“No,
sir, they left first thing this morning. I warned them not to go. We’re
expecting a blizzard, like I said.”

Colton
and Rupert both gave Jack a stern glance, but no words were exchanged. They
weren’t necessary. He turned back to the inn keeper. “I’ll need to reserve a
room for the coachman and care for the horse and carriage. Any chance you have
dinner available now for the rest of us?”

“Well,
usually we don’t serve dinner until six pm. It’s only 4:30.”

Jack
slid the gold coin across the counter. “If you can conjure something up, you
may keep the change.”

The
innkeeper’s eyes grew wide again, and he palmed the coin. He called over his
shoulder as he started toward the kitchen. “Of course, I’ll have something
ready momentarily.”

Rupert
set a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Should we even wait for a meal?”

Jack
nodded. “The way I see it, our endurance will remain high if we have some fuel
to go on. I slept in the carriage, so hopefully we all have had enough rest to
keep going.”

“I,
for one, am ready to stretch my legs.” Colton stretched his arms before eyeing
the two women. “But will the ladies mind?”

Raven
gave him a severe look. “Of course not. Like Rupert, I’d be happier if we left
now.”

Jack
smiled. Rupert and the female reaper failed to get along because they were too
much alike.

Marietta
shrugged. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

The
small group found a table and stripped their fur coats. Jack's cheeks flushed
from the change in temperature. True to his word, the keeper returned with a
tray of breads, cheeses, and sliced meat.

Marietta
and the three guardsmen feasted in an attempt to consume as many calories as
possible. Monroe and Raven pecked at their food like birds. Jack wasn’t the
only one to notice.

Rupert
tore a large bite from the sandwich he’d made. “You two must be hungry. Why are
you acting as though you couldn’t eat another bite?”

After
she set her cup of tea back to the table, Raven just glared at him with no
answer. Monroe smiled and shrugged. “It’s a reaper’s way. During a mission,
where battle might be engaged, a reaper tries to keep it light. No need to be
weighed down by a full stomach.”

Rupert
set his sandwich down slowly and downed his tea in one gulp. Afterward, he
didn’t eat heartily, but took smaller bites. Jack even found himself eating
less than he would have. He couldn’t argue with sound advice.

The
group finished their repast in record time and started for the door. Outside,
dark clouds gathered in the sky. A golden sepia hue fell upon everything,
making the scene outside surreal. Vapor clouded in front of Jack’s mouth before
he covered it with the scarf attached to his fur coat. Flurries weaved and
danced around them. Raven didn’t wait another moment, but gathered her coat
while she started the trek toward the mountain path. The remaining group
trudged through the snow in her determined wake.

Snow
pelted Raven’s face. Like icicles, the flakes stuck to her eyelashes, but she
trudged on through the knee-deep snow. She ignored the burning sensation in her
exposed skin while the wind blew at her back. Wisps of hair pulled free from
her bun and lashed about her face. The snow glowed seemingly of its own accord,
lighting the winding mountain trail. An easy and wide path of six feet
separated a wall of sheer rock from the drop off to her right.
At least a
trail existed.
Raven would have hated climbing the forsaken mountain in
this weather.

“Up
ahead, there is a three-sided shelter set up by the hikers of this mountain. We
should stop there and camp for the night.” The roaring wind whipped at
Marietta’s voice, breaking up her words.

Raven
would rather keep going. Whispering accusations and desperate pleas carried by
the wind drove her on. How would she redeem herself if she lost Darius? She’d
never killed—never would kill—a child. The tears she shed froze and cracked on
her face. Was it selfish of her to be thinking about her needs while Darius
suffered under the hands of the witch? Raven’s heart broke more as she thought
about what a terrible person she had become.

She
could hardly do more than stare at her black boots. Her numb toes froze within.
The momentary worry of frostbite crossed her mind, but she chided herself for
her continued train of selfish thoughts. If she was this cold, how could Darius
feel right now?

Up
ahead, the path widened a bit, and the shelter came into view. Smoke trickled
from under the roof. Raven paused and the rest of the party came to a
standstill beside her.

The
trail of smoke dissipated high above the small cabin. Raven's heart beat faster.

In the face of uncertainty,
training comes into play.
When training fails, it’s best to rely on one’s partner.
A reaper was never meant to be alone.

R
AVEN spun to face the remainder
of the group and hunched down, motioning for them to stay quiet and do the
same. The men reacted to her position immediately, but Marietta stood there
asking, “What’s going on?”

Monroe
pulled the woman down and put a finger to his lips. Raven knelt on one knee and
faced the group crouched around her. Grant peered over her shoulder. “The
shelter is occupied. It might be them. Do we have a plan?”

Raven
pulled the other glass tube from her bun and her hair fell freely, whipping
away from her. “I’ve got this, but I’d have to make sure it hits a hard spot
and breaks on the first try. It will knock out the baron as well.”

“Not
to mention we still don’t know for certain that it’s them. We need to be sure,
somehow.” Grant gritted his teeth and started to stand..

Raven
grabbed him by the arm and shook her head. “I’ll do it. You’re so loud–it’s
like a bull coming around the corner. A reaper is trained for stealth.”

Grant
glared at her but gave a curt nod.

Marietta
suddenly had a hand on Raven's shoulder. “Don’t forget to think positive. If
she discovers you and begins to set that curse on you, do not struggle against
it. Break the curse’s hold. Do not let doubt or fear overwhelm you.”

Raven
glanced at her briefly and nodded. After twisting her hair back into a bun and
pushing the glass rod through, she crept toward the shelter. A shiver ran
through her body. The nervous energy crackled on her skin.
So close.
The
reality that she didn’t need to look around the corner to know the witch would
be there nearly suffocated her.  Her heart pounded like a drum, and surely
everyone could hear her, even over the wind’s howl. After inching the last few
steps, Raven took a slow, deep breath, and peered around the corner of the
shed.

Teal
light struck her in a blinding fury. With a whistling sound, the pulse of light
walloped her like a shockwave, blowing her back two meters from the mouth of
the shelter. Her muscles grew stiff, and no longer heeded her command. Then the
voices came.

Relax,
she told herself. Don’t listen to them. The very idea that she shouldn’t fight
to free herself went against every fiber of her being. It didn’t even feel as
though it was working. Even when she did her best to relax the muscles in her
body, it made no difference. Nothing changed.

More
whistling pulses of teal light brightened the air around her like blue flame.
Snowflakes landed on her eye lashes, blocking her vision. She couldn’t blink
them away. The snow melted from the heat of her body, dripping cold, burning
droplets of moisture into her eye.

You’re
worthless. Worse than worthless. Father killer. Child killer.

What
would your father say about what you’ve become? If you were worth the training
he put into you, you would have been able to save him.

It’s
all your fault.

The
words fractured Raven’s glass heart. She tried her best to ignore them, but
they wormed their way under her skin like parasites. What could she do? She
couldn’t plug her ears. She couldn’t drown them out. Tears flowed down her
cheeks, unabated, and without her ability to blink. The pain in her chest and
in her eyes overwhelmed her. She tried to ignore it like her father had taught
her, but she failed miserably.

Now
the baron will be killed. The witch will eat his heart and you couldn’t stop
her. Worthless. Child killer. Weak.

Her
muscles remained tense, not listening to her command to relax. They wouldn’t
heed any order, not even that simple one.

If
you were a son, your father would have been saved. Weak. Woman.

The
snowflakes on her lashes no longer melted. Snow began piling over her eyes so
that all she could see was their tiny, white, ice bodies.

Not
worth marrying. You’ve proven what a horrible mother you would have been. You
couldn’t even care for a nine-year-old. How could you have cared for Gregory’s
baby? He knew it was impossible. That’s why he married another.

A
sob escaped her chest. True. It was all true. How could she counteract
something that was true?

“Raven.”
A gravelly voice drew closer. “Raven it’s not true. Don’t believe the lies–they
are paralyzing you.”

Arms
lifted Raven’s torso, but she still could see nothing but the ice frozen to her
eyes. Warm hands cleared the white from her eyelashes and she stared into the
face of her father. But he had a beard. No it was Monroe. He rocked her back
and forth.

“You
were a good daughter to your father. He loved you so much. He was proud of you.
He never stopped talking about how you were the best thing that ever happened
to him.” His voice was barely more than a whisper.

Nothing.
You are worse than nothing.
Accusations
continued to pierce her skin with its sharp words.

“He
told me once that he didn’t know how he could have ever lived without you. You
are the strongest woman I have ever seen. Better than any of the guard. Almost
your father’s equal. Given time, I’d bet you could surpass him.”

Lies,
all lies. You’d never be good enough to deserve such praise. You are worthless
and your father knew it. He knew you’d betray him one day with your cowardice.
Coward. Weak little girl.

“Daddy’s
little girl.” Monroe whispered it in her ear, his breath warm on her neck.

Raven’s
ear flicked, and the tension in her shoulder’s loosened. His voice sounded like
her father’s.

Monroe
repeated it. “Daddy’s little girl.”

Worthless.
Weak. Coward.
The accusations couldn’t pierce her skin.

“Daddy’s
little girl. So strong, so brave. He loved you so much.”

She
melted and blinked. Her voice croaked. “Daddy?”

The
voices had stopped, but the teal light remained. She peered into the man’s
face, truly studying him for the first time. It had been three years since
she’d seen her daddy, but how could she forget his eyes. Did the scraggly beard
really hide him so well?

His
blue eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, Raven. I’m not your father, but I’m
his brother and I know how much he loved you.”

Raven
blinked the tears back and spoke over the lump in her throat. “Of course not,”
she said. But the look in his eyes was so familiar that it calmed her and she
was comforted. “But how?”

Where
could she begin—so many questions…?

A
cry came from behind him, and Monroe whipped his head in that direction. His
gaze returned to hers, and he pulled the glass tube from her hair. “I promise
I’ll explain it all later. Right now, we have a mission to complete. Help me
get Darius to safety.”

Raven
nodded. He leapt to his feet and started for the shelter. She stood, her eyes
scanning the area. The bodies of the guardsmen littered the area around the
shelter, half buried in the snow. Marietta stood, leaning against the shelter,
looking sapped of strength when her eyes met Raven’s.

Raven
put a finger to her lips and crouched behind her uncle. As they drew closer to
the shelter, she ducked to the side where Marietta stood. “Are you all right?”

She
nodded feebly. “How do you look unaffected?”

“I
found something greater than my self-hate—my father’s love.”

The
redheaded alchemist furrowed her brows quizzically.

Monroe’s
voice boomed. “Release the boy, Witch. Your parlor tricks have no effect on
me.”

Raven
tipped her head around the corner of the shelter. The Wood Witch had grown
older since she’d seen her last. Her cheeks drooped like saddlebags. Blue varicose
veins weaved across her arms in a network of lightning bolts. The teal light
emanated from them. Her eyes were completely glazed over with cataracts like a
cloud of spider webs. She cackled.

The
woman’s laughter sent a shiver through Raven’s body and heat rushed to her
cheeks. She locked her jaw and remained silent though she wanted to gasp.

Monroe
set his jaw and glared at the woman.

“What
quarrel have I with you, reaper? I’m only doing as the duke asked. I’m just
getting rid of the boy’s condition.” The witch set a hand on Darius’s shoulder.

The
boy stared blankly, his eyes almost black because his pupils had engulfed his
irises. He wore no coat, just the same canvas overalls with red suspenders from
Gregory’s farm and a button shirt. Anger filled Raven. The witch didn’t seem to
care if the boy froze to death.

Like
a jaguar, Raven pounced toward the boy, tackling him in a full embrace before
the witch could blink her eyes. With a kick off the ground, Raven spun through
the air and landed with her back slamming against the other side of the
shelter. The boy’s skin felt like ice under the thin flannel shirt. She gripped
his arm and scooped up his legs, spinning on her heel. Without pause, she
dashed for the door.

Monroe
drew back his arm and made a throwing motion toward the back of the shelter.
The witch squealed in fury and the familiar whistling sound whipped through the
air around Raven. With a bright flash of blue light, she was knocked off her
feet again and thrown through the air to a snow drift. Glass shattered behind
her.

After
a momentary stiffening of her muscles, they relaxed and she stood up with
Darius in her arms. The boy shook with massive trembles. She thought he’d shake
himself free of her arms. He stammered, “Rrrraaaaavvvveeen?

Raven
set him down to strip the fur from her body when strong arms took him from her
and wrapped him in a blanket. She gazed into Grant’s smiling green eyes and
nodded. A momentary trouble darkened her thoughts. Darius was safe. But how
long would he remain that way in a guardsman’s care?