Page 4 of Black Bird

Thump-thump … thump-thump … thump-thump …

The pain eased and something slightly warmer than death began trickling through his veins. The faint whisper of the same female voice sounded through his clouded mind, though he couldn’t make out a word. His breaths were ragged and shallow, and he looked down at the body in astonishment.

“Who … orwhatare you?” He gasped, pushing off the wall and clutching his chest. He cautiously stepped toward her, wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve and leaning down to check her pulse. He fit two fingertips over her small wrist. “Wereyou …” he corrected, closing his eyes. His fingers moved to reveal a tattoo along the inside of her wrist—a raven. “Nevermore …” That same scraping feeling along his bones seemed sharper in that moment and his chest now ached not just because the heart inside had started strangely beating, but because it had broken harder this time. For the immortal life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. “I’m sorry …” he whispered, stroking her hair. His eyes caught the glint of something laying against her as lightning flashed around them.

He reached for it, finding a pendant that had to have been hidden beneath her shirt before his attack that claimed her life. He tugged it with enough force that it snapped from around her mauled neck and held the stone in his palm. There was something off-putting about it. Something that resembled the feeling that overcame him of her scent … her blood. He closed his fingers around it and raised to shove the necklace into his pocket, tearing himself away from the strangest encounter he’d ever had. The voice in his head once again begged him to look back at her—and this time … he did.

CHAPTER 2

THE COLDEST CASE

Athan awoke to the sound of his alarm clock blaring next to him on the bedside table. 5:00 P.M … time to head to the precinct. Two nights ago, he’d drawn the blackout curtains before dawn and for the first time in two centuries—he had dreamed. Dreamt of that girl … her face. He knew he was still a vampire. He had tested that theory with the immortal gifts that he still possessed. Even found courage enough to pass his tattooed hand through a swatch of sunlight—at noon, no less. He didn’t burn. Didn’t even feel any pain from it but was still afraid to risk stepping outside to see what Boston looked like in the daylight. Something he hadn’t seen in what seemed like an eternity. He slammed a palm over the snooze button and raised himself to sit.

It was Monday night. The beginning of a week that might end with a request to switch shifts for the first time since he’d come to Boston. If it turned out that walking in the daylight was safe, this could turn a new chapter in the way he was going to crush his coven beneath his heel. He still couldn’t figure out how, or what had been so different about that girl in the alley that left him with a gift he didn’t deserve. He wanted to know who she was. Wanted to go to her funeral. Find out what she was like from the people that were going to miss her. All because he couldn’t fight off the hunger for her life essence. Athan wondered how long she’d laid there before someone found her and beneath the ink that splayed across the skin of his bare chest, his new heart ached.

He slid a thumb over the ointment that coated the fresh tattoo over his breast—a raven that matched hers, the word“Nevermore”across it. As if it had summoned him, the racket of cawing sounded from a large cage in his living room. Athan slid from the edge of the bed and padded into the hallway flicking on a lamp as he entered the den. A soft knock at the door had a muscle in his jaw feathering as he opened the door to Poe’s cage. The large raven hopped onto his arm and stared at the tattoo as if looking into a mirror. Athan brushed the back of his finger across the breast of the bird.

“I know you’re up, Kane. If you’re not gonna answer the phone, then answer the door.” Rhaena’s muffled voice said from behind his front door. Poe squawked as Athan set him atop his perch stand next to the leather couch. Rhaena knocked again, harder this time. “Kane!” He slid the chain lock aside and unlatched the deadbolt, opening the door to meet her stare. Rhaena tossed her hands up in front of her and shook her head with eyebrows that shot to her hairline. “What the hell?” she asked, resting her hands on her hips.

“Morning, Rhaena,” Athan said, rolling his eyes as he turned away from her and made his way into the kitchen. The door started closing on her and she pushed into it, letting herself in and slamming it shut behind her.

“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling you for two days.” The heel of her boots clicked softly against the tile floor as she followed him in and slunk down in a chair at the small dining room table.

“You of all people should know that as a sign that I wanna be left alone.”

“Why? What happened?” Rhaena asked, watching him take a strip of meat from a container in the fridge and toss it through the breakfast nook into the living room. Poe dove for it, catching it in his beak and taking his time to devour it. Athan shut the refrigerator door and slowly turned to face her, leaning against the counter with both hands gripping the edge. Rhaena spotted the fresh tattoo above his nipple and her face slackened. “Oh…” She raised her eyes back to his. “Shit.”

“… Yeah …” he breathed, lowering his gaze to the floor.

“When did this happen?”

He took a long moment before he answered, his eyes never reaching her face. “Friday night.” A deep sigh escaped him as he pushed off the counter and swept past her to make his way back to his bedroom. Rhaena didn’t ask as she followed and Athan reminded her of that mistake when he slammed the door in her face. She leaned against the wall in the hallway, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Are you okay?”

Athan shuffled between the shirts hanging in his closet trying earnestly to block out the sound of the heart beating off-rhythm in his chest. Trying not to think too long on the face of the woman he left in that alley. He washed up and got dressed, pulling on a studded leather jacket as he strode for the bedroom door. As he pocketed his keys, cigarettes, and phone from the dresser he knelt down to grab his motorcycle helmet and stopped dead—his hooded coat lay discarded near the bathroom door. He swallowed as he tucked the helmet into his elbow and reached into the pocket to pull out the necklace he’d taken from her. It dangled from his fingers, a faint whisper echoing wordless nonsense in his mind. Something tugged deep within him as he laid it carefully into a small box in his top drawer and quietly pushed it shut.

Rhaena was waiting for him when he reached the living room, sucking on the side of her finger and sneering at Poe with a fierceness in her deep brown eyes. The bird blatantly ignored her and puffed out his chest as Athan entered.

“Your pigeon hates me,” she drawled, inspecting the small cut on her finger.

“Can’t imagine why.” Athan clicked his tongue and held an arm out. Rhaena winced as Poe flapped past her and landed on his extended limb. “Tastes like shit, doesn’t she?” He smirked, earning a muffled chirp from his pet as he locked him back into the cage.

“You’re such a dick.” Her heels dug into the carpet as she prowled toward the front door, Athan following close behind. They lingered in the hallway of their building while he locked the door. “Cap wants to see us as soon as we get there. I didn’t know it was that kind of weekend … you should have called.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. Locking myself up doesn’t make it go away, Rhaena. I wasn’t as fortunate as you.” Athan replied without looking at her as he pulled the key from the door.

“Being born with the problem doesn’t make it easier. I could have been here for you, at least.” They started trekking to the elevator.

“You know when to expect your change. I can’t set my clock on it. You and I both know the only way to satisfy the monster is to give it what it wants.”

“You held out longer than last time,” she offered, pushing the button.

“Only by a few weeks.” The elevator bell dinged, and they stepped in, grateful to have it to themselves. It was quiet for a moment before she spoke again.

“You aren’t raging like the last time. Last year I nearly beat a hole through my wall with your thrasher music going all day. This time you just seem—”

“We’re not talking about it, Rhaena.”

---