Page 13 of White Raven
“Why in the fuck not?” Devin asked, forking cabbage into his mouth. “I can’t wait to get rained on.”
“Well, that’s one of the reasons we asked you here,” Athan said, taking another hit as Sarah stiffened at his side. She had gotten a bit quiet. “We’ve got some leads to follow up on before we travel anywhere.”
Tony drew his brows together. “I would have figured that you’d be done with the detective stuff now that the coven went their separate ways.”
“Did they go their separate ways, though?” Sarah asked. “Is there any possibility that Black Bird wasn’t just in Boston?”
Athan swore Decclan turned two shades paler. “Why would you think that?” he asked.
“When we executed Dahlia…do any of you remember hearing her say something to me? Right before she went up in flames?” Sarah sat straighter.
Tony nodded. “She told you about John.”
Both Decclan and Devin turned their faces towards the old bartender. It was Decclan that spoke first. “John? I always thought that was just bullshit.”
“Who is he, Tony?” Sarah asked.
Tony cleared his throat and lit a cigarette of his own. The entire table went silent. “I wish I could tell you it was bullshit, but that was definitely something I’ll never forget. A really long time ago, the coven ended up in Scotland. Early 1800’s I think it was. I was tending bar, like usual. But there was this one night. This kid—just a curious little shit. He snuck in and I saw himwatching. He didn’t think I’d noticed him, but I kept eyes on him for a little bit. He seemed interested in all the happenings in the pub we were at. I thought he’d try to sneak a dram or two. He never did. Dahlia was on the hunt that night. She had an eager one and ended up taking him to her room in the back. Well…he followed her.”
“The John we’re interested in wouldn’t be a little kid,” Athan interjected, earning curious looks from both Decclan and Devin. “You’re not about to tell us she turned a little boy, are you?”
“She didn’t,” Tony amended. “But, just so we’re on the same page…who would he be to the two of you?”
Sarah leaned forward. “John Allan is my father. Supposedly.”
Tony swallowed. “Has he made contact with you?”
“Yes,” Athan offered, putting his cigarette out. “He left a dead black bird in a gift box on Sarah’s doorstep Christmas morning.”
Decclan cursed under his breath. “If that’s true and he’s in Boston, I’m catching a plane tomorrow.”
“I thought you said it was bullshit?” Athan glared. “I’ve never heard anybody mention anything about a John Allan. Ever.”
“Yeah, well…I assumed because I’ve never seen the bloke, that it was just some story Dahlia used to keep us in line. I chalked it up to a myth over a hundred years ago.”
“What did she say about him?” Sarah asked.
Devin answered that time. “From what I’ve come to understand, John Allan was the man who sold us out to foreigners when we first came to the states. Dahlia’s story is that he took the threat she intended for other vampire covens here and made himself a king among them. But how could somebody not consider it a tall tale if nothing ever came of it?”
“Our ship almost burned that night,” Athan added, looking at Decclan. “You’re telling me that washisdoing in the port?”
“I dunno,” Decclan answered.
“Yes.” Tony’s face was hard, his jaw tight. “His intention was probably to make sure she never set foot on American soil. He’d already made a name for himself among vampires here.”
“What happened that night in Scotland?” Sarah asked, situating herself in the seat.
“Well…like I said,” Tony started. “The kid followed Dahlia and had seen too much by the time I got to him. He saw her bleed a guy from a crack in the door, and I tried to scare him. I got rough with the kid and threw him out. I thought he’d spook enough to heed the warning. He kept trying to tell me that there was a man in there that needed help. I told him to forget what he saw and to never come back. He ended up running off, but Dahlia found me and asked about him. My understanding is that she caught up with the kid and was planning to kill him to keep him quiet, but as he wasn’t a permanent resident, she felt it would be better suited for him to send a message overseas. She told him to relay that message to other covens in the Americas that she was the queen, and when the Black Bird coven came, they’d bow to her.”
“But they didn’t?” Sarah urged.
Tony straightened. “By the time we finally decided to leave Europe and set sail, John Allan had grown up. People apparently thought he’d gone mad. Most thought he was insane, but he persisted, according to Dahlia. Told all manner of folks that vampires existed among them, and that she was coming. Eventually, the right people heard him and considered him in great service to the covens already here. They sort of adopted John. He remained human for a time, but eventually fell ill, and was turned. They made him one of the most powerful vampireelders in the world. It could be just legend, but now that this has come out…I doubt it very seriously.”
Athan’s jaw twitched, and he ground his teeth hard enough that he was surprised he didn’t crack a molar. “So…if all this is true, and John Allan really is a powerful elder, he betrayed Dahlia when she tried to use him as a messenger boy, and took that crown for himself?”
“Precisely,” Tony nodded, taking a long draw from his cigarette.
“What I wanna know is how you know all this shit?” Devin asked, turning up another glass of whiskey. Tony only smirked.
