Page 33 of White Raven
He didn’t ask any questions, or try to tell her it may be a bad idea. Athan dutifully stood, fetching the pocket-watch and bringing it back to her side. Maybe it was because of the death that now haunted it. Maybe it was the iciness of murder by her own hands. Maybe all of it was in her head, and she was completely losing it. But the chill of that metal against her palm,she felt in the marrow of her bones. His cries of pain rang in her ears and flashes of what happened slowly came back to her. So did the night of her own attack. The black blur. The force of her head hitting the wall. The life leaving her body.
“Was it Poe?” she asked, closing her fingers around the watch. Athan drew his brows together. “Was he with you that night in the alley? The haze of black I remember seeing?”
Athan slowly shook his head. “No. He’s never been there when I fed from a human. The haze you saw was me. Over the years, I’ve made an art of not being the last thing anyone sees when I’ve already robbed them of so much.”
“Why was he in the tunnel?”
“I don’t know. He was caged when we left earlier for the funeral. I locked him in myself.” Both their heads turned at the sound of footsteps traveling up the steps to the apartment door. There was a pointless knock before Rhaena opened it and she and Brandon stood in the doorway.
“Hey,” Rhaena frowned, holding up Sarah’s missing shoe by the heel. “We need to talk.” It was the sight of that shoe in her hand that matched the scuffed opposite on the floor by her bed that made Sarah want to vomit. Made it all the more real. It made that watch in her hand feel colder—almost blistering cold—her knuckles turning white from her grip as Rhaena started forward.
“You found it,” Athan said, rising from the edge of the bed and setting his mug down on the coffee table.
“No…one of the men that live in that tunnel found it. He was wearing it when I left, and I convinced him to hand it over.” Rhaena’s worried tone matched the utterly shaken look on her face. “Cap was in the subway terminal when we got there. We got lucky with the heel, but…I’m pretty positive he suspectsyou, Kane.”
“Well, now that he knows the coven disbanded, he probably suspects them, too.”
Rhaena shook her head, but it was Brandon that spoke up. “If he did suspect them, he probably doesn’t anymore. Forensics tagged evidence before we got there. There was a raven feather next to the body in a puddle of blood.”
“Not the first time we’ve found a bird, or a feather at one of these crime scenes,” Athan argued. Rhaena stepped forward.
“The other birds were Starlings. Starlings don’t pluck people’s eyes out, Athan. He knows you have a pet raven.” Her eyes went straight for the cage. “Where’s pigeon?”
Sarah straightened, waiting for his answer, and meeting his eyes when he turned his head towards her. He looked…sad. “He’s gone.”
“You need to start talking. Now. Because this isn’t gonna be an easy one to cover. What the hell happened? And why was that bird attacking this vic?” Rhaena tossed the shoe to the floor and Sarah jumped at the sound it made when it hit. Athan growled at his partner, setting Brandon on a protective path in front of his woman. Rhaena’s arm sliced through the air moving him aside and faced off with Athan as they stood in the middle of the apartment. “Stop yourshit. I’m trying tohelpyou. We’ve got a lot more than this situation that we need to talk about tonight, and as you’ve chosen to part ways with the precinct right now, you’re throwing all this onme. Growl at me again, Athan Kane, and I’ll walk out that fucking door and you can clean up your own mess.”
They stared at each other for what seemed like forever, and Sarah eased off the bed, clutching the blanket around her and making to step between them. “Stop. Both of you. I did this.” She reached for Athan’s hand, pressing the watch into his palm. It was like whatever snapped in him for a moment, instantly shattered and what was left in its wake was an achingcalm. His shoulders sagged and his eyes returned to that blue that dried her throat. “She’s right. We need to lay everything out and see what connects, if anything. The common denominator in this shit is John Allan. I don’t think my sudden urge to hack somebody apart had anything to do with him, but it definitely adds to the chaos.” She turned towards Rhaena. “I refuse to let you clean upmymess. So, let’s sit the fuck down and figure it out.”
Deep breaths sounded around the room and Athan took a spot next to Sarah on the end of the bed, while they faced Rhaena and Brandon, who lowered themselves onto the leather couch. “Sorry, Rhaena,” Athan sighed, shaking his head.
“I’ve dealt with worse from you. Sorry I snapped off.”
There was a short pause, and he leaned his elbows on his knees. “Sarah lost control in the car when we were heading home. I didn’t know what else to do. If she got out of that seatbelt, she would have attacked the first person she came across. So, I made a hasty detour to the subway. I know uniforms have arrested dealers, and several junkies that have offed each other for drugs down there. I thought it’d be a safe bet that whoever she got to wouldn’t be missed. The vic was huddled up against the wall in his newspapers, and before I even let go of her, Poe came out of nowhere and attacked the guy.”
Rhaena’s face crumpled in confusion. “But why? How?”
Athan shrugged. “I have no idea. It surprised the fuck outta me, too. As soon as he dove, Sarah went for the man.”
“Wait,” Sarah interrupted, raising a hand between them. “I have flashes of that. I spoke to Poe before we…” She couldn’t find it in her to finish.
“You did. You recited a line fromThe Raven. Asked him what his name was. He answered you, and then you were gone.”
“What do you mean heansweredher?” Rhaena asked.
“Christmas morning, after Athan tried to burn down the house, Poe spoke,” Sarah offered, tugging the blanket down her arms. “He said the word ‘nevermore’ before we left to head to your house. I was so proud of him. I told you; ravens are extremely intelligent. That’s what he said when we…killed the guy.” She bit down on her lip.
“I didn’t realize ravens could mimic,” Brandon said, raising his brows.
“Most don’t, but they can. In all the years I’ve had him, he’d never done it before that morning. Just his regular racket.” Athan glanced longingly at the empty cage, and then back to their friends. “Sarah started feeding and Poe flew behind me…back towards the exit. Sykes was standing there. It’s like he knew her. I’m guessing she followed us, I’m not sure. But she definitely isn’t a cop.”
“I knew there was a reason,” Rhaena bit, shaking her head. “I didn’t feel right about her ever since she strode to my desk that morning and looked at me like a snack. What did she say to you?”
“She must know something about vampires. She outright scolded me for not thinking to let Sarah feed from a human host. I drew my weapon, and she didn’t seem scared at all. Said she wasn’t there to hurt us, and when I tried to get Poe to return, she made it sound like he’d never been mine. She mentioned something about him being finished with his assignment and that he’d go back where he came from. Seeing as he’s not back…” He trailed off sadly and hung his head.
“Assignment?” Sarah echoed, meeting eyes with Rhaena who seemed to concur the question. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means she’s telling you that the bird wasdispatched. Sent to you for a reason?” Brandon shuffled the idea aroundthem, studying everyone’s faces. All of them ended up focusing on Athan, who suddenly seemed like he understood.
