Raven (17 page)

“
I’m sorry that you have to do all this on your own, but it’s true. Margriete has lost all her power. Otherwise, you would have had her to help, but—” I knew he was going to speak of Matthew but refrained.

“
If you died, Edgar, then I would be very strong, wouldn’t I?” The question sounded ominous but I was trying to understand. I looked him in the eyes as he brushed my hair away from my neck, his fingers grazing across my skin. I relished the feeling, now something that felt rare and fleeting.

“
Yes, you would. I suppose that was why the god’s wanted to keep me dead, but at the same time, I think they knew that if they did that, you would not want to cooperate.” He leaned in slowly, pressing his lips against my neck.

I laughed. “I would hate them so much.
Let them die,
I’d think. They were smart.” I brought my hand to his face, feeling as my touch grazed across the rough stubble on his chin.

“
Exactly. But you will be alright without me.”

“
It’s only temporary, after all,” I added. I was justifying, trying to make myself less afraid.

His nose trailed up to my cheek. “I’m sorry for everything, I know that seems like the only thing I say anymore, but I am.” His breath tickled my ear. “We’re at the end of it now, and I promise there are no more secrets. I have shown it all to you, everything I’ve ever kept. I am completely exposed now.”

I laid back and away from him then, my body wrapped in the blanket like a cocoon. “I can see why you did it now, and kept all those secrets from me. In truth, I think that was how it was supposed to happen. If I had never gotten angry with you, I would have never gone to Seattle. Without witnessing that tree first hand, I don’t think I would understand how this is meant to happen. I can also understand your denial. If I had known that we had to be apart for all this, then I too would try to deny that it was even real, like you have.”

“
Exactly.” He lay beside me, his head propped up on his hand. “I didn’t want any of this.”

The house rumbled then, causing both Isabelle and Henry to squawk and hop around on their perch.

I looked to the windows. “Things are getting really bad out there.” Then I looked Edgar in the eye, hoping he could say something of comfort to me.

“
Yes. It is. But just think, Elle. No matter what happens,” his gaze dropped from mine, “just remember that we have lived long and beautiful lives, even in the bad times. What people don’t understand is that you have to know the bad to appreciate the good.” He sounded uncomfortable saying this, but still heartfelt, revealing a side of him we rarely saw, but I knew could exist. “Every moment is epic, even the smallest. And every moment is a new chance to change and live the life you want.”

His romantic side was showing. “I know that, and I honor that idea everyday.” His eyes began to filter to black as he leaned his body against mine. He kissed me, his hand tracing behind my ear, my blonde hair lacing between his fingers.

Our lips intertwined for a moment before I put my hand to his chest, wanting to say something more. I had been thinking of the possibilities and outcomes, the prophecy and the way it had shown me the end. I could die from this, and I knew that. But I did not want to dwell on that fact.

“
If I die—” I licked my lips.

I heard Edgar grumble as he rolled away from me.

“
Edgar—” I put my hand on his arm, making him listen.
“If I die,
I don’t want you to worry about me. I don’t want you to be unhappy, or suffer. Please, just live. Promise me?”

His eyes rolled back to meet mine. “Yes, Elle. I know.”

I squeezed his arm even tighter. “Edgar, you have to promise me.”

He laughed. “Elle—”

A smile grew on my face then as I used my strength to press his wrists away from me, rolling him on his back as I trapped him there beneath me. I leaned down, kissing his neck.
“Promise me,”
I whispered against his skin.

His laughed again. “Yes, Elle.
I promise.
”

I laughed back, touching his nose to mine. “Find someone else.”

He snorted then, overpowering me as he rolled us in the other direction. He loomed over me with blackened eyes. “There can never be someone else. I would never allow that.” One side of his mouth curled into a sly grin. “You are my
wife,
but more than that, you are my only soul mate. Everyone else pales in comparison to you.” I saw the prophecy hover over us then. I rolled my eyes as Edgar became distracted by its presence, trying to swat it away. The cube hit his hand then, flying across the room and bumping into the wall where it fell to the ground with a thud.

I yelped. “Edgar! That wasn’t very nice.”

The cube lifted itself back off the ground before dimming its light, as though hurt, and then left the room. Edgar had a satisfied look on his face, bringing his attention back to me as he caressed my arms. “It had bad timing.”

I giggled as his fingers tickled my skin, trailing to my neck where he leaned in and kissed my skin. I stopped breathing, the feeling of his mouth making me forget that anything else even existed. He kissed my chin, my bottom lip, kissing me with a passion I had learned to love and an edge of danger I craved. I let our bodies become one, willing myself to remember this, and us.

He stopped himself when he reached my neck, our hips pressed so close, that I knew we were nearing a dangerous point.

“
Don’t stop,”
I begged.

He laughed. “Too bad.”

I felt his body pull away, his muscles tense and his spine steeled.

HEAD OUT

Estella

I was scratching Isabelle on the head in the morning when I woke, alone. Without fail, she slept at my feet every night, her graceful snoring something I had grown accustomed to in order to fall asleep with the roaring wind and rain. Hail had also started now, coming down in sheets of steeled ice, leaving everything white until it later melted.

I felt saddened as I felt Isabelle’s feathers between my fingers, knowing that she too would have to leave me. Since the day I had gotten her, she’d changed, becoming immortal as I was. I felt bad that I never gave her the choice of being immortal or not, selfishly pressing it upon her instead. She had never complained, or rather, I doubt she even understood. She clicked her beak at me, feeling content as her feathers ruffled.

I slowly crawled from bed and made my way to the shelf that contained my journals. There were so many memories here, so many things I had found important to record, now left to be destroyed. I looked at the sheer mass of it all, amazed that it had all been me. They had served their purpose, though. They had brought me back to life.

Edgar entered the room then, holding a cup of what smelled like coffee as the steam awoke my senses. My tired head invited the aroma, my eyes still weary. I turned and walked up to him with a smile, my eyes fixed on the cup.

“
Thanks.” I took the cup in my hand.

“
What were you doing?” His eyes looked at the shelf.

I took a sip of coffee, letting the bitter flavor wash across my tongue. “Just remembering is all. It’s unfortunate that all this will likely be destroyed.”

“
How so?” Edgar tilted his head, his brows pressed together.

I took another sip of coffee before nestling the cup between my hands. “From what I saw from the prophecy, I think that everything man-made will be destroyed. It will all wash away, leaving nothing but the humans to start over.”

Edgar laughed. “True, but I was actually planning to take the house with me.”

Surprised, my eyes became wide.
“Really?
Oh. Well, I guess that changes things then, doesn’t it?” I felt dumb for feeling so nostalgic all of a sudden.
“Really? You can do that?”

He chuckled some more. “Of course I can! The house is invisible already. It’s not very hard to collapse when it’s like this and take with me, though it is quite heavy.”

I giggled then. “Are you serious, or are you just trying to make me laugh?”

“
No. I’m serious. It collapses, but the weight remains. It was the heaviest marble ever, if you ask me.”

“
Really?
Wow.” I felt sad then, as though taking it made this meadow no more than a meadow again. It would be strange and empty, like it was meant to be.

“
So, what are your plans for today?” Edgar asked, changing the subject to something new.

I cringed when he said it, hating the question as though it meant I’d had a plan, which I didn’t. I had avoided thinking about what was coming in the hopes of relaxing, though that was hardly the case. I had tossed all night, which explains why Edgar had gotten up extra early, tired of my body thrashing about beside him.

“
I hadn’t really thought about it,” I lied. I brought the mug back to my lips, hoping it would give me an excuse not to have to talk.

Edgar nodded slowly, suspecting my avoidance. “I see. Well—”

“
How long do you think I have?” I looked at him over the rim of my mug.

He thought for a moment. “About a week, I suppose. The evergreens are no longer green. That’s usually a bad sign.”

I exhaled sharply with a smirk, looking out the window of my room as Isabelle lay motionless on my bed. His remark was funny, but when put into perspective, it suddenly lost it’s punch.
“Hmmm.”
I was thinking dramatically. “It’s probably a good idea to get the ground rules straightened out with the gods then.” I still had not told Edgar about the plan. I was afraid he’d be angry. I knew that Sam knew. I only hoped that he hadn’t told Edgar. Banishing us from this Earth was a major thing; we could never come back. “I suppose I should go get them. What do you think?”

Edgar nodded with enthusiasm. “Not a bad idea. If you ask the griffins, they should be able to relay the message.”

Edgar confirmed what I was dreading: another journey to the entrance of the caves. It’s not that I didn’t find it fascinating—I did. I just didn’t have my whole heart in this, a sense of dread floating above me like a dark cloud.

What if this didn’t work? What if I said goodbye to Edgar, and it was finally for the last time? Even the gods still did not know my plan to banish them, but I did not doubt that they would agree to it. Things were desperate now. I could feel the fear all around us, even from below. They would agree because they had to.

I placed the mug on the nearby side table and walked to the closet where I dug for some clothes. I pulled a thick wool coat from within and knee-high socks. I grabbed my jeans from a pile on the floor where I also managed to rummage for a turtleneck. I was tired of being wet and cold—I was ready for the warmth. After fighting all of it on, I began to sweat, feeling even more anxious as the heat began to irritate me.
Relish it now,
I thought.

Edgar had been watching me. “Will you go with me?” I asked, looking at him with eyes that were begging.

He smiled, walking up to me and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “Of course.”

I felt better as he said it, and together we made our way downstairs to pack a few more things and gather Margriete and Sam. I wanted them to come. I needed as many witnesses as I could find.

SUMMONING

Estella

The prophecy was hovering around the library as I walked by it on my way to find Margriete, looking at books and minding its own business.

“
Hey, where’s Edgar Poe?” I saw her as I entered the kitchen. I hadn’t heard Edgar skipping about like a mad man this morning, something no one could miss.

Margriete looked up from the fire where she was boiling a pot of water for tea. “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him.”

Sam let out a sharp snort. “He left late last night. Said he had to get back to feed his chickens. He also said something about the food here being atrocious.”

I gave him a strange look of skepticism, agreeing with him. “He sure is a strange little man, isn’t he?”

Sam nodded with enthusiasm. “You could say that again.”

Margriete poured the hot water into a mug and added a tea bag. “So what are you up to?” She looked me up and down. “What’s your plan?”

I took a seat next to Sam on a stool. “We—Edgar and I—are going to the caves to summon the gods. Want to come?”

Margriete looked intrigued. “Yeah, of course I do. I love that place.”

I snorted. “Well that makes one of us,” I uttered under my breath. “Get ready, then. We’ll leave in just a few moments. I want to get it over with.”

Sam laughed to himself.

I looked at him. “What’s your problem?”

He stopped laughing. “Just you, is all. I know what you’re doing. It’s good to know that this time you’re doing it right.”

I gave Sam a warning glare. I knew he knew my secrets, but still. “Five minutes, let’s go.”

-

Six minutes later, we all stood in the field, the wind threatening to whip us off balance. “We’ll be going up the hill, so this should be easy,” I yelled. “Just like last time.”