11. Raven

Raven

M y fingertips bit into my palm as I stepped back into the ship’s galley. Diana was exactly as she had been when I’d left to correct the ship’s course. Curled up in a blanket in the corner, that same, broken expression on her face that made my chest ache. Maverick took an untouched cup of tea from her trembling hands and set it on a nearby table.

I couldn’t fault her for her reaction. It’d been a task just to wrap my own head around it. I’d seen battlefields with less gore, less blood.

I set the bowl of bread rolls I’d warmed next to Diana wordlessly, but even Myrr didn’t reach for them.

I cursed myself inwardly for not noticing the scene first and finding some way to shield Diana from seeing something so awful. A broken sob cut through the silence, and I dropped to the seat beside her, knowing there was nothing I could say or do to mend such a wound and fucking hating every second of it.

She had dove into the sea instantly when it had become clear what we were looking at. Floundering through the bodies…so many bodies…screaming Xefia’s name as she searched the faces of the dead. The first child with green hair we’d seen hadn’t been her.

I’d followed an instant behind to join the search for the girl mermaid or any other survivors but to no avail. Diana would probably still be searching now if I hadn’t dragged her back. Whatever evil Lilis had unleashed had killed hundreds of them, from grown men and women to children. And the carnage had been brutal. Limbs and severed tails in a sea of crimson. The chances of Xefia surviving the onslaught were slim to none.

The laughter that had floated through the air as we’d searched had solidified the truth.

Lilis had done this.

A wave of revulsion rolled through me as a memory flashed through my mind’s eye, just before I’d dragged Diana from the water.

The tiniest tail, so fucking small and helpless…

The mangled body of the infant mermaid it had belonged to.

“Ah, gods, the fucking babe…” I ground my teeth together to keep from roaring.

I cursed myself as Diana lurched to her feet, cupping her hand over her mouth until she reached the sink to retch. I moved to follow, but she waved me off, pausing to rinse out her mouth before trudging right back to her nest of blankets.

“And I thought the spiders were bad,” Theo said, staring straight upward into the ceiling above.

Kevin padded over to Diana as she sat, curling up against her leg. Her hand shifted to his head, and she reached toward the tea with the other.

“I dreamt it, but I didn’t know…I thought it was just a nightmare,” Nicholas murmured.

My mind refocused in an instant, and I fixed my eyes on him, but Diana was first to speak. “You what?”

“I saw it. The bodies–” he broke off and cleared his throat, his eyes looking as haunted as I felt. “I saw it exactly as it was. I woke up when I heard Diana screaming.”

Myrr eyed him, raising an eyebrow. “Even I didn’t see it coming…”

As if his powers around reading people’s minds hadn’t been creepy enough when he’d just been able to see into people’s pasts. Now he was seeing the future, too? The realization struck me like a blow to the head. “Fucking hell. Probably from drinking Myrr’s blood.”

He nodded, “One could assume. Still…strange. And unnerving, even for me.”

It was amazing, truth be told, but of little help here. The Oracle couldn’t force a vision, and Nicholas’ had been far too late to help Xefia and her people. On a regular day, Nicholas’ revelation would’ve prompted dozens of questions. Would his visions of the future be permanent? Could we use it somehow to find Jade or help our case?

But today was not a regular day.

Maverick cut in next, sliding a hand through his hair. “Diana… If we stay here much longer, we’re going to be in the drink beside them. We’re low on water, food, everything. I know you’re grief-stricken, but?—”

“Grief-stricken?” She sucked in a breath, then tossed the blanket aside, shoving herself to her feet. Her hair was a mass of dark curls, her eyes full of wild fury, like some avenging angel. “The bitch who did this should be so lucky. You know what I am, Mav? I’m done .”

I watched as the sadness melted away under the growing flames of her rage.

“Lilis has pushed me too far.” She strode toward the door, tearing it open and sticking her head outside. “Do you hear me, bitch?” she bellowed. “We’re going to foil your psychotic plans and restore the Veil. Then, I’m going to find you. And when I do, know this: I will make you pay for all the pain you’ve caused. You will find no mercy in me! ”

Her words were carried off by the winds and the room held its breath as we waited for Lilis’ reply. But none came.

Diana slammed the door shut before whirling to face us. Her eyes were bright with determination despite the tears streaking down her cheeks. She’d never looked more beautiful as she pushed past me marching to the center of the room. Heartsick, vulnerable Diana had disappeared, leaving Queen Frostbite in her place.

“Let’s get this ship patched up and make haste to the Demon Territory. Theo, I’d love to take you somewhere safe in the Human Realm before we go, but I don’t even know if we’d make it given how quickly things have escalated…”

Theo blew out a weary sigh. “I’ve been part of this twisted, middle ground since the Veil fell. I don’t fit in the Human Realm any longer. I know too much. I don’t even know what a normal life looks like anymore.” He shook his head slowly. “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I think.”

She gave him a quick nod. “We’ll revisit that down the line, but for now, we’re in agreement. Raven and Nicholas, you two focus on the rest of the damage caused by Bathsheba and check the hole from when you dislodged the boat. The rest of us will right the mess around us and take stock of our supplies.”

I nodded in agreement, gesturing for Nicholas to follow. It was a relief that she’d managed to shelve her sadness for a time, but seeing the stonewall protecting her firmly back in place was like a kick to the groin.

One step forward last night, and two steps back today. And rightfully so. Her loyalty and commitment to those she cared about were unmatched. But it also meant that she would have one, and only one, focus right now. Necessary or not, it stung that she could cut the cord between us so easily. All I could do was help her on her mission and hope she would find her way back to me again when it was over.

The final fixes to the ship went more quickly than I’d expected, and we were on our way before the sun was high in the sky. By the time it was beginning to set once more, we were already docking in a port on the far edges of the Demon Territory.

I was the first to step off the ship, and a wingless demon came up to meet me almost immediately. He took a heavy pull off a squat stub of a cigar, blowing the acrid smoke directly into my face as he spoke. “This way, this way.”

My muscles tensed, but Diana’s hand on my shoulder stopped me before I could react. “Yes of course, we will follow you,” she cut in, pushing to the front of our group.

I kept my eyes on the dozen or so dock workers as we passed. Kevin whimpered, pulling closer to Diana as we approached the large Cerberus style three-headed dog they were using to haul materials. The more humanoid demons carried barrels of supplies into a nearby ship, glancing curiously over at us every few seconds.

“Think they know who we are?” Nicholas whispered, turning toward me.

“Doubt it. I just think we probably look like some sort of circus. We’re going to get strange looks.” A werewolf leading a group of vampires, humans, and a hell-hound was a rare sight. The territories didn’t work together, not ever as far as I remembered.

The vampires and the werewolves were two of the worst as far as rivals went for supplies and land. To see us all together would be a sight for sure.

“Just follow the hallway all the way to the end.” The creature that’d greeted us yawned, baring a mouthful of rotten teeth as he shoved open the door to the huge building positioned at the end of the dock. A sign emblazoned with the word ‘Customs’ written in gaudy, gold lettering hung above the doorway.

I looked around as I followed Diana. Demons were the most varied of any of the supernatural creatures, lower classes without wings, higher classes with wings. And the caste system also dictated how well they lived. They’d been stuck in the dark ages for a long time, but clearly had decided to get with the times as this little customs setup felt rather familiar...

“Hell of a lot different from the last time I came here,” I muttered.

“You’re telling me,” Maverick cut in, glancing all around.

I suppressed the spike of irritation that came whenever he spoke, eyeing the security checkpoint ahead. The wiry demon running the show had exposed, dagger-like teeth that would’ve been terrifying if not for his turtleneck shirt and the thick-framed glasses perched on his nose. A cluster of burly, warrior-types stood on either side, awaiting his command.

The thin one with the glasses waved us forward with raised eyebrows. “And what brings you to the Demon Territories?”

“We have business with Malach,” Diana answered.

He swallowed a chuckle as he scribbled something down on his clipboard. “Right. So, I doubt he’ll actually meet with you, but that’s not my problem, is it? Let’s get you checked in. Who wants to go first?”

Theo stepped forward first, and a few of the sturdy, soldier types stepped closer to keep watch on the proceedings. “State your name and species.”

Theo did so, and he scribbled it down.

“Any weapons or contraband?”

“No.” The demon got to searching. A quick pat down focused on the upper back, and a trip through an x-ray machine, and Theo was waved through.

More lenient than I’d expected, which was a relief. I’d been given more grief from TSA agents flying from Seattle to LAX.

Myrr stepped up next.

“Name and species,” glasses droned in his nasally voice.

She scowled. “Myrr, the Oracle.”

He penned her in, without even blinking. “Any contraband?”

She folded her arms over her chest and shook her head. “Nope.”

He patted her down for only a second before pulling back, gesturing for one of the thicker, taller agents. “This woman has something?—”

Myrr pulled what looked like an entire, cured ham haunch from the front of her loose-fitting shirt. “Is this really what we’re doing here? Denying an old woman her food?”

Glasses gestured for a large trash bin to the side. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to pass with it. We can’t bring in any fruits or meats from other territories. Too much potential for agricultural contamination or disease.”

Her eyes lit up with disbelief. “Agricultural contamination? The whole place is a fucking desert!”

“And still...” Glasses took hold of the ham hock, but Myrr, held on tight. They got into a full-on tug-of-war as she lifted one leg to use the turnstile for leverage. I kept my gaze trained on the closest guard, ready in case he started feeling aggressive, but, thankfully, it didn’t take long for Glasses to best the old Oracle.

She jabbed her greasy finger into his chest. “Bully for you! Well guess what? You’re going to die 93 days from today, and I’m not going to tell you how. But I can tell you that it won’t be pleasant. You’ll scream like a pig.”

He sputtered, wide-eyed, and then waved her away, turning to the nearest of the sturdier demons.

“Finish checking her over and strip her of any other contraband.”

“We’re letting her through after she wrestled you over meat?”

“If she really is the Oracle, Malach’d never let me hear the end of it if I turned her away.” He turned back toward us, shooting us a sour look. “Next.”

Mav stepped up. “Maverick Wilder. Human.”

“Are you?” Glasses eyed him closely, pulling on a new pair of gloves to replace the ones that’d been soiled by Myrr’s ham. “You do look human…” He paused to stare long and hard at Maverick’s mismatched eyes, but then shrugged. “Any contraband?”

“None.”

Glasses patted him down before ushering him into the x-ray machine. Still looking unsatisfied, he turned to the demon who’d just finished checking Myrr. “Bring Rathmon, we’ll need to check this one a little more closely. Something’s…off.”

I couldn’t agree more. But I could see Diana getting restless. We’d known that Maverick had gained some sort of longevity and strength from either his time with the demons or some other misdeed, but we hadn’t been able to suss out the nature of it fully yet. I, for one, was riveted to the action and wondered dispassionately if they would relieve him of his head for his false declaration.

More than half-hoping they would.

The hell-hound they brought over a moment later put even Kevin to shame, though cross-eyed Kevin didn’t seem to know it. His rumbling growl rolled through the room, and I eyed the larger hound closely, wondering if I was going to have to intervene.

“That’s enough of this. We need to get on our way now.” Diana said from the sidelines. “I’d hoped not to call attention to us, but I am Diana, Queen of the Werewolves and the caretaker of the Southern Alpha Territory, and I vouch for him. Malach will understand. Can you please get this charade over with?”

My fangs sliced into my inner lip. Vouching for a fucking thief?

Glasses’ eyes widened, looking like he’d been struck as he eyed her up and down. “M–my apologies, Your Highness. We didn’t know–”

A low rumbling echoed all around us, shaking the walls of the small space. My hand found the hilt of my sun-dagger on instinct.

“What’s going on?” I demanded, but the answer came before Glasses could speak.

A troupe of crimson-winged demons descended on us from above. Moving at alarming speeds, each one was larger than the last. And every one of them looked like a true warrior. From their lithe, muscular builds, to the regimented way they flew in formation, it was immediately obvious that they weren’t to be toyed with.

“Easy, Raven,” Diana said, and I let my hand fall to my side. “They’re the King’s Guard. They will bring us to Malach.”

Three sets of hands gripped me at once, and, as they yanked my hands behind my back, I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d just made a huge mistake. We’d get our audience with Malach, but it was far from the cordial welcome we’d been expecting.