Raven (6 page)

“
So, tell me—” She leaned in close, staring at me from under her brows with a smirk on her face. “How far did you guys get?”

I snorted. “Not a story for little girls like you.” I crossed my arms and stuck my nose in the air, taking a stool at the copper bar in the kitchen. I looked down at my reflection as I always did, seeing it seemed to change everyday, depending on my mood.

Sam had his back to me as he stood by the fire, humming to himself. Margriete skipped behind him, running her fingertips down his back with a smile.

“
Wasn’t that a wonderful wedding?” She grabbed two mugs from the cabinet, her voice loud as though she were hinting at something.

Sam stopped humming and stood up straight. “No.”

Margriete pouted. “Why not?” She frowned.

“
Because weddings are dumb. If you love someone you love someone, there’s no need to declare it to the world.”

Sam had a point, but I sided with Margriete.

She shook her head. “You’re so
new age
.”

Sam laughed. “No. I’m just not one that believes it has to be sealed with a ring. And for what? So the gods can laugh at us? I think marriage seems pointless when you’re immortal.” Sam looked at me. “No offense, Elle.” He then looked back at Margriete. “The god’s are practically our friends. I don’t need them teasing me.”

Margriete snorted. “You have a skewed sense of friendship. Last time I checked, we were enemies.” She grabbed the coffee from the coffee maker and filled the two mugs, adding sugar and milk to mine before handing it to me. She rolled her eyes, her back to Sam.

“
I saw that.” He was still facing the fire, stirring something that smelled familiar, and cheesy.

“
Let’s go into the other room.” Margriete hissed over her shoulder, grabbing my hand and ripping me from the stool, dragging me down the hall to the library.

“
Hey,
don’t go!
I made this for
you
—” Sam’s voice trailed off as we left him behind.

I wriggled from her grasp and escaped to the couch. Rubbing my arm, I sat, leaning into the soft leather and tucking my legs under me.

“
That man is impossible,” she whispered.

“
I can still hear you!” Sam yelled.

Margriete burst into a fit of laughter, shaking her head. “If he wasn’t so cute, I wouldn’t be with him.” She turned her head to speak over her shoulder. “
That’s for sure!
” she yelled back.

I took a deep breath and blinked, thinking I was far too happy to deal with their playful bickering. I prayed that Edgar and I never got like that, hoping we had better ways to handle indifference. I repositioned my back against the side cushion, wiggling my feet as I sat on them, trying to warm them up. I brought the coffee to my nose and breathed deep, shutting my eyes.

Margriete sunk into the chair opposite me. “Dreary day, isn’t it? Seems weird for summer.”

I opened my eyes and looked out the window. “Yeah, seems strange.” I looked over the grasses of the field to the forest, noticing the way the trees seemed yellowed, the grasses sad. I looked at the sky, covered by thick layers of clouds, making it feel like night.

“
I get this weird feeling, you know—” She tried to think of the right thing to say. “I mean,
do you feel that?
”

I shrugged. “Feels like a rainy day to me. Though I will admit it’s been happening a lot more than normal.”

Margriete’s face pursed, as though trying to concentrate on the feeling that was right on the tip of her tongue. “No. No, it’s like I hear something. Like a buzzing noise. Sort of like putting a bunch of bees in a thick jar and closing the lid.”

I half-heartedly tried to listen more closely. “So, like a beehive?”

She looked at me with a face that seemed like she was giving up. “Never mind.”

I shrugged. “Sorry.”

Margriete changed the subject. “So what did Edgar tell you about what happened?”

I took a sip of coffee. “He says he doesn’t remember. He thinks he was somewhere between sleep and death. But I think it’s apparent that, somewhere along the way, he did die, but like he said, I think they made a bargain with someone to bring him back. It just seems odd that they’d go through all that trouble just to get that stupid dagger.”

“
He doesn’t remember anything?” She let out a sharp disgusted breath. “Well, that tells us nothing.”

“
What were you thinking he’d say?”

Margriete thought for a moment. “Well, I figured he’d tell you why it was he got to come back. What the real reason was, because like you said, it seems a little weak that they’d go through all that trouble just to get a dagger. I mean, no offense or anything, but I really didn’t think they’d let him go. It’s not like them to act like that—merciful.”

I nodded, trying to follow. “Yeah. I mean, like they said, anyone killed by the dagger dies, even them.”

“
Exactly. He should be dead. End of story.”

“
Well—” I sat up a little. “I mean, they kept him because I had the dagger, and they brought him back so that I’d give it to them.”

Margriete shook her head in a sharp, annoyed manner. “It just seems like an awfully generous trade to me. Maybe that’s what they want you to believe. As far as I’ve known, they’ve never let anyone out of Heaven like that. In a way, they admitted defeat by doing so.”

“
Well, Edgar is a guardian angel, and they let them out.” I kept trying to thwart her speculations, believing it was what it seemed: a simple trade. The last thing I wanted was to believe something else was coming. I was prepared to relax and enjoy life for once.

“
Yeah,
yeah.
But who does he protect? Certainly he’s not
your
angel. You have Sam, and I have no angel at all, nor do I want one.” She laughed to herself in a thankful manner. “Guardian angels only leave Heaven when they have a soul to protect, and he has none.”

“
I think you’re reading into this too much.” I took another sip of coffee.

“
No, I think the god’s are buttering you up for something. They’re gonna come back and ask for more. That’s what beings like them do. Just watch.”

“
What makes you think they aren’t content with what they’ve got already?”

Margriete glared at me. “Come on, girl! They’re never content. And besides, you didn’t sign anything.”

I tilted my head. “Should I have signed something?”

“
Did they have something for you to sign?”

“
No.”

Margriete sat up suddenly. “Then,
yes!
You should have signed something, anything, a napkin for goodness sakes. You needed to draw out a contract stating
‘this is it, don’t ask me for more’
.”

I began to get frustrated. “Well, you were there. Why didn’t you tell me this?” I barked, feeling I was being attacked.

Margriete sat back, finally tasting her coffee. “I had other things to worry about.”

I could tell she felt mildly guilty, but at the same time, what was I to do? I had been inundated by many emotions that day, and now she tells me I should have signed a contract, too? That I should have sat there longer, and drawn something up like a bunch of lawyers at a divorce hearing? I don’t think so.

“
So, pretty much you’re telling me I’m screwed?” I began to feel foolish, as though I should have known.

“
Well, maybe. Maybe not. You just better hope they don’t need you for something, because if they do, then yes,
you’re screwed
.”

Her words held little comfort as I remembered the way the gods had treated me, as though I was someone they needed alive, but why? What was in store for me that I did not yet know about?

Edgar walked down the stairs then, and all I could think about was my future and my imminent loss. “Edgar? Should I have signed something?”

His pace down the stairs slowed, pressing his brows together. “Signed something? For what?”

“
When I traded you for the dagger. Should I have signed something saying they need to leave me alone, and that they can’t come back and ask for more?” I searched his face as he made it to the bottom of the stairs, the sound of his feet echoing through the empty hallway.

“
Maybe.” He looked as though I’d caught him off guard.

“
Well, they won’t want me for anything that you can think of, right? I mean, I’m nothing special. It’s not like I can move mountains like you can.”

I heard Sam walk from the kitchen, probably intrigued by the conversation. “Yeah, Edgar. I mean, she has nothing to worry about,
right?
” He echoed me.

Edgar looked from my face to Sam’s, and then back to me, shrugging. “No, I think you’re safe.”

Sam stared at him, but I couldn’t quite understand the expression. What was he referencing? Was there something he knew? My heart leapt in my chest.

Edgar walked toward the kitchen then, Sam following.

“
Do you think he’s lying to me?” I whispered. I sat up, looking at Margriete with a steady stare.

She looked even more lost than me. “No.” Her face twisted. “At least there better not be. Sam and I don’t keep secrets.” Her expression was one of displeasure.

I ignored her. “I mean, we just talked about how we wouldn’t lie anymore.”

Margriete lifted her brows. “Of all the people in the world I could never understand, Edgar was always on the top of the list, so don’t ask me. I’m likely the last to know what he’s thinking. When I think he’s mad, it always turns out that he was really happy.”

I sank back into the couch cushion, looking outside and wondering if I should trust him or not, wondering if his promises were fake. After all, he certainly didn’t have a sterling record, so to what degree should I be so quick to trust him? Love was not the best reason. Loyalty had to be proven.

“
He’s your husband, you should trust him,” Margriete finally concluded.

I looked back toward her. “Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

REPRIMAND

Edgar

“
What are you doing? Why didn’t you tell her?” Sam whispered behind me, following me into the kitchen.

“
What? She caught me off guard. What was I supposed to do? Announce it to the entire group?
Oh, hey Elle, the world is dying and only you can save it.
Yeah, Sam. That would have gone over real well.” I refused to turn around and look at Sam, instead grabbing a book and sitting on the lounger in the sitting room across from the kitchen. I was avoiding the subject at all costs.

Sam pounded his fist on the copper counter. “
Damn it
, Edgar! She needs to know. This isn’t one of those things you just stumble upon and suddenly find the strength to handle. This is something she needs to prepare for.”

I dropped the book into my lap, angry as I glared into his golden eyes, his hair a brighter red than usual. “I’ll get to it. Just give me some time to think.”

Sam whirled around on one foot and stormed toward the fire. “She doesn’t have that time, Edgar,” he snapped.

“
Just do me a favor and stay out of this, Sam.” My teeth were clenched, and I could feel the blood rushing to my face, my eyes turning a deep black.

Sam opened his mouth but quickly shut it, knowing full well what I could do to him. The ego grew inside me and my wings stretched out to my sides, flaunting the fact that I was stronger than he ever would be.

“
Fluff your feathers all you want, old friend, but you know as well as I that this is not up to you, so stop pretending it is.” Sam gave me one last long glare, and left the room, his footsteps fading into the hall. I heard the front door slam.

I winced, then pulled the book up to my face and continued to read. Though the book was anything but interesting, I didn’t care. The last thing I needed was to think about what I knew, and what Elle still didn’t. Avoidance would make it all go away, or so I hoped.

COMING TO AN

UNDERSTANDING

Estella

My feet sank into the deep mud of the trail toward the college, the smell of damp sage filling the air. “Do you think this rain will ever stop?”

I looked back at Margriete as she trudged behind me. “I don’t know.”

This was meant to be a hike for exercise, but it had turned into much more than that. By now we were knee deep in mud, and it was more about survival at this point. Walking was an understatement as sweat beaded across our skin, my muscles weak and tired.

“
What do you think Edgar is hiding?” I looked down at my feet, one boot suctioned to the forest floor.

“
So you do think he’s lying?” Margriete challenged.

I yanked on my ankle with one hand, managing to pull free and place my foot on more solid ground. “Well, I mean, I think he was acting weirder than usual. What else would it be but the fact that he is hiding something? You know what he’s like.”