Page 4 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

Magic hummed through the air and electricity traipsed along my veins as a distant whisper carried on the breeze. That was unusual.

“Can you hear that?” Rook asked, his voice unsure.

“Yes,” I replied. The chanting grew louder and more intense. “Something’s wrong.”

A clash of thunder sounded overhead, and a melody of ravens cawed around us. That was ominous. Ravens were an omen of death and bloodshed. This couldn’t be good. I knew tonight would bring something new, I could feel the stirrings of new life in my vision, but new life heralded by an omen of death couldn’t be a good sign.

“Watch out!” Nox said and I felt the touch of feathers against my cheek as the ravens swirled past me. They swooped around us. Masses and masses of birds flew through the air, their feathers brushing against me. There must be hundreds of them, maybe even thousands. The cacophony of their caws intensified, and I could sense the birds converging on the altar.

“What’s happening?” I shouted above the screeching birds.

“They’re gathering on the altar,” Casimir yelled. “But I can’t see what they’re doing. There’s too many of them.”

The wind still howled around us, thunder clapped overhead, and I could feel the lightning crackling in the air. Something was coming to a head. Something bad was going to happen. I ducked down and covered my head, sensing the other guys doing the same. A roll of thunder boomed so loud that my eardrums popped.

Then there was only silence.

“Rook?”

A hand clasped mine and the familiar scent of bergamot and spices filled my nose. “I’m here, Korbin.”

“The fuck was that?” Nox said, his footsteps moving closer.

Rook helped me to stand, and I squeezed his hand. “What can you see?”

He swallowed. “The birds. They’re all dead.”

“That’s not all,” Casimir grumbled as he stood next to me. “There’s something on the altar.”

My gaze whipped over to the large slab of stone, even though I couldn’t see her, I could feel her. Such rage. Such hatred. Such vengeance. It all tumbled around her, surrounded by a darkness that was angry and frightened.

Oh boy. We were going to be in for a wild ride with this one.

I smiled. I couldn’t wait.

Chapter Three

Raevyn

My mind was sluggish, and my thoughts drifted through the mud of the sleepiness that clung to me. What a nightmare. The horror of it still lingered and images flashed through the forefront of my mind as I tried to remember what had happened. My mother crying, my grandmother coated in blood. The coven chanting and singing right before—

I opened my eyes as a gasp rushed from me. An unknown night sky stared back at me. I was dead. Shit. Where was I? Heaven? Or… I gulped. Was I in Hell?

They’d done it. They’d killed me and now I was dead. I’d left everything behind. True, it wasn’t much of a life, but it was mine. I’d never see my friends, never sit under the giant weeping willow, and hide away from the world with my nose buried in a book. At twenty-one I’d died, and I’d barely even lived.

Tears slid down my cheeks as I cried for the life I’d left behind.

“Get up.”

I tried to move, my body obeying the sharply whispered command before my mind had a chance to catch up. Not that I managed to move. My arms buckled beneath my weight and my elbows scraped along a stone surface.

Where on earth was I?

I spread my fingers and felt the surface beneath me. A shudder passed through me as I found the edge of the slab not too far away. I whimpered. Fuck, I was on a stone altar. Great. Just fucking peachy. Not only did I die on a stone slab I seemed to be starting my afterlife on one too.

“Get up,” the deep voice said again, this time with more of a snap. But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t find the strength within me to even bother. Why should I?

A face appeared upside down above me and I gasped. His skin was pale, and his hair was dark but had this blue shimmer to it. His eyes held mine and they were impossibly blue orbs filled with manic glee. I could feel it pouring from him like a torrent.

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