Page 11 of Shiny Things

The fresh air was good and gave me time to clear my head.

I waved to the men and women on shift at the fire station as I passed by but didn’t stop to chat. I was going to be late as it was.

When I got to the Diner and walked in, the “Closed Section” sign was still up, and my things were still strewn out on the table I’d abandoned.

I walked over and packed up my stuff.

“Where’s Kim?” Gia asked.

“She’s not back yet?”

“No. I thought she was with you.”

“She was, but she kicked me out and said we’d talk later. I have a Council meeting in ten minutes. You’re telling me she didn’t return yet?”

I was starting to panic as I imagined the worst possible scenarios.

“Go. I’ll check on her. Did you guys have a fight?”

“Not exactly,” I said vaguely.

“I don’t even want to know what that’s supposed to mean.”

“I’ll swing by and make sure she’s okay first.”

“No, you’re late. Let me do it. You’ll never hear the end of it if you’re late to yet another meeting.”

“Then Mom and Dad should have had Ryan first.”

She laughed. “You’re ridiculous. David will hold the fort down here while I run and check on her. I’ll text you and let you know she’s alright.”

I nodded, still feeling hesitant about it all, but knowing she was right.

“Okay, but text me.”

“I said I will. Now, go.”

It took a lot for me to walk out, get on my bike, and drive across town instead of straight towards her. But I forced myself to do it.

As I was walking in to take my seat, my phone buzzed. No one was ready and the meeting hadn’t been called to order yet, so I pulled it out to check.

GIA: She’s fine. Now pay attention to your meeting.

That was easier said than done. I wanted more than just a “she’s fine,” but there would be no time for that.

“Gentleman, I call this meeting to order.”

Kim would have to wait.

*****

The afternoon had dragged on and slid into early evening before the meeting was adjourned. Aside from noting a raven disappearance out of the Southern Flock, there wasn’t much to interest me. We’d been getting reports lately of mysterious disappearances from around the world. No one was stopping to connect the dots because they seemed sporadic and unrelated. I feared it was a Collector at work, but no one wanted to talk about that.

Collectors were these horrible humans who collected witch shifters. All ravens were witches, so over generations the Collector had come to be the bogeyman for ravens, a myth. But in the human world, shifters were myths too.

We’d always assumed the Collector was just one man. That was the legend at least. One man who passed his collection down from generation to generation. To an extent that wasn’t wrong, but we knew so much more now thanks to a budding relationship with a wolf shifter faction out in California. From them we now knew there were a lot more than just one and they weren’t just after ravens, but all witches. This group called themselves Westin Force and made it a point to monitor all shifter activities across the globe, so they knew what they were talking about.

This didn’t sit well with everyone, but the open communication I’d been able to set up with them had more than proven beneficial. It also opened our eyes and helped to restore interactions with other Flocks.

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