Page 111 of White Raven
The raven feathers in the blanket—a blanket that she’d carried everywhere, as the biggest comfort…likely a gift. Ababygift.
John Allan was a vampire. An old one. Maybe it was a gift fromhim. His only way to feel close to the daughter he thought he’d never know. But if that was true, then why send threatening messages to the front door of her house?
The messages.
She tore through her bag, pulling the file she’d been carrying, and holding the note from the gift box that was still inside the plastic baggie.
No identifiable prints…other than Ryan Sykes.
“Oh, my God.” She laid the note down next to the glass panel, and the unrolled scrap of paper. The handwriting…looked…the same. The same curl to the A’s. The same stubby shape to the capital letters. Unnecessary tails on different lines of the script. “Oh, myGod…”
Sarah jerked Athan’s phone from her pocket, and pulled up the message John had texted—a message clearly left for her. Another clue. Another poem. Another piece of the puzzle.
“A fountain and a shrine,” she breathed, almost in disbelief. “The Poe House.” She dropped everything to the counter. “He took you to the Poe House!”
“Heaven doesn’t grant wings the color of nightshade. Tell me. Do you feel your bond?”
“The bond…” She could still feel it. That tether. That stronghold that kept them tied to each other’s lives. Her heart sank at the slight weakness of it. The raw bitterness to it that she could almost taste in her mouth. How far could they be to still speak through it?
Athan? Can you hear me?
There was nothing. Just emptiness, and the dreadful quiet of this apartment…the home they were building together.
If you can hear me…I’m coming for you. I know where you are.
Sarah scrambled through the space, throwing clothes, and necessities into a duffle bag. Some were hers…some his. Wherever he was, she knew he’d need it. He’d been taken with nothing more than the t-shirt, and jeans he’d been wearing. She took his jacket. His keys. His cigarettes. That lighter he flicked anytime he was peeved. They’d talked about this place. This vacation. This time together while solving one of the biggest mysteries of her life. It was never supposed to be this way. Now it was a rescue mission, and likely somebody’s death sentence—but it wouldn’t be Athan Kane’s.
Sarah slung the bag across her body, leaving the valuable artifact behind to rot on the kitchen counter. She jerked the window back open, looking out to make sure nobody was out there, and then leapt, landing on steady feet. A far cry from the ankle-popping train wreck of an escape when she was stillhuman and hanging from a drainpipe. A few blocks down, she hailed a cab to the airport. They’d likely be checking there next, if they hadn’t already. She’d have to use every instinct she had, that they didn’t. Driving would take too long. A bus would be even longer. A train ride…no. Athan might not have that kind of time. She’d take her chances and put up the fight she’d warned them about if they tried to stop her. Sarah doubted the 12th would be in favor of her making another scene. Foster might be a little harder to deal with. Time to check in with Wren.
“Hey, are you safe?”
“Yeah. Is thisconversation?”
“Yeah, I’m with Brandon over at Rhaena’s. Your boss is here. Said you sent him.”
“Is it working?”
“Don’t know yet. He just started. Any word?”
“No word, but I think I might have figured out where Athan is.”
“Shut up. Where?”
“I think they took him to the Poe Museum in Richmond. There’s more, but I want more proof before I make an ass out of myself. I’m heading to the airport. I need you to keep Foley and Foster off my tail. Can you ask Brandon if he’ll sweep up my footprints?”
“He said he will. Did you find Sykes?”
“No.”
“Sarah, you need a gun. I’ve been waiting for you to reach out. Foster thinks Sykes is some weird hybrid.”
Sarah’s skin itched, and she went still. “What? Wait…how?”
“Born that way. At least that’s what she believes. And she thinks there’s more. She also thinks that Sykes is trying to figure out a way to get out from under whatever it is she’s doing for your dear old dad.”
“Jesus…I’ll have to get more details from you later. I’ll call you when I land.”
“Please be careful, Sarah. You don’t know what she’ll do.”
