Raven (9 page)

Margriete looked shocked by my question. “Yeah! Why?” Now she was the one overreacting.

I looked in the direction of the kitchen, dropping it. “Do you think I should ask Edgar?”

Margriete shrugged. “It’s worth a try, but be careful. You know their temper.” She seemed bitter when she said it, leaving me with bits and pieces about their relationship that I could put together on my own. “And besides, Sam didn’t say anything in front of Edgar for a reason, so… I don’t figure it’s something to talk to him about. He might snap.”

I laughed. “I can handle it, trust me.”

“
Shall we clean up all this?” She looked down at the piles of books.

“
Yeah.” I knelt down and began to gather them, placing them back onto the shelves. I blew off each cover, moving pile to pile. It was then that I picked up a red book and dusted it off, suddenly intrigued by the title:
Armageddon
.

“
Did you pull this one?” I showed it to Margriete and she narrowed her eyes, putting a book on the shelf before giving me her full attention.

“
Oh, I guess I did.” She let out an uneasy laugh. “Sort of fitting, isn’t it?”

“
That’s what I thought.” I pulled it to my chest, feeling the tonnage of the subject in my hands. “I think I’ll keep this one.”

Margriete shook her head in disbelief as her hair fluttered around her. “Not a bad idea.”

I stacked it with the iridescent book about our kind, and set it aside. After placing all the books back on the shelves, Margriete and I both looked at each other as our stomachs growled in unison. We laughed for a moment and then slowly headed down the ladder to the kitchen to rummage for some food, the supplies getting lower every day.

We found the room empty, leaving me secretly disappointed. What had happened to Edgar and I? What had happened to the fairy tale love that seemed to bloom before? It was as though he no longer missed me as he had, the intoxicating touch we once shared, the electricity of our existence. I used to hover in that dream world forever, and a part of me still wished I was without our soul. I wished I could depend on him again, like before.

Margriete dropped a copper pan onto the granite floor, the sound reverberating in my ears, bringing me back to the present. I shook away my sadness, feeling more independent with every day I spent in this separation with Edgar.

I sighed, opening a cabinet. I began to push around empty boxes, hearing only bits of grain or crackers rattling inside. Today was eventful, despite the tension that had grown even thicker. Later I would confront Edgar—I had to. His ignorance and distance had infuriated me for the last time and I would not allow it to continue. What Matthew had done to Margriete was never far from my thoughts, leaving me hoping that Edgar was not headed for the same jealous doom.

I finally found a can toward the back of the cabinet, heavy with it’s contents. “Here.” I tossed it to Margriete. She caught it behind her back with one hand, as though she’d expected me to throw it. I laughed.

She poured the contents into the copper pan and placed it by the fire. When it began to bubble around the edges she poured the soup into two bowls, too anxious to wait for a rolling boil. Besides, it was always too hot that way.

As Margriete and I chatted over the meal, I saw in her the best friend I had always wanted, and the family to love. Though Edgar was stuck somewhere I could not see, I knew I would have her at my side, like a sister. The coming task sat in the pit of my stomach like a ball of dough I could not yet digest. I was not ready to lose this again, and I sensed that what was coming was bound to be my fight—yet again. I had faced one challenge after the other in this world, and though I had never asked for it, it was my burden to bear.

VISITOR

Edgar

“
What are you reading?” I walked through the door of Elle’s room where she lay on her bed. Her feet where crossed at her ankles and a she had a book in hand, resting on her stomach. Seeing her like that made a small flicker in my heart ignite, my mind flashing back to when she used to gaze upon me with such adoration. She glanced away from the page and at me, her eyes full of disdain. I felt an invisible knife stab my heart.

I was acutely tuned into her movements as her lips parted and she spoke. “A book.” She looked away from me and back to the page. I was no more than a fly on the wall to her—an annoyance. I began to wonder what Sam had told her, wondered if she knew just how much of a scum bag I really was.

“
Well, I can see that,” I replied, trying to laugh to lighten the mood, but I got no reaction. I locked my hands behind my back and sauntered across the room, feeling awkward and unwelcome. Reaching her bed, I bent down and tried to kiss her on her forehead, hoping that at least that would work. She shied away from me, not even bothering to give me as much as a polite decline.

I felt my bones fill with fury as I exhaled and stepped back. “Okay. What did I do?”

“
Nothing.” Her voice was sharp.

I tried to decipher her reply, cursing the female mind for being so full of loaded remarks. “Okay. So if I did nothing, why are you mad?”

She slammed the book shut and rolled her eyes, her body now rigid with anger. “Exactly, Edgar. You did
nothing
,” she snapped. Her voice was low and contained.

I nodded, remembering that remark and noting that it literally meant,
‘nothing.’

Elle sat up, placing her bare feet on the floor. She stood on her toes, her nose just inches from mine. My lips quivered, longing to grab her and kiss away our aggressions, but I knew that now was not that sort of time. She pointed her finger between us, treating it like a fence. I looked down at the book in her other hand, recognizing the fiery red of the cover as my stomach sank.
Sam had told her.

“
You know about all this, don’t you?” Her arm flailed as she slammed the book against my chest. Air heaved from my lungs. I took it in my hands, looking at the cover though there was no need. I already knew what it was.

“
Elle, I—” I didn’t know exactly what Sam had told her, so I tried to remain vague. “What did Sam say?”

She blew up then, shaking with anger and grumbling like a mad woman. “It doesn’t matter what
Sam
said, Edgar. You lied to me. Why didn’t you want to tell me the world is
dying?
”

I took a deep breath, rolling the thoughts over in my mind as I looked up and out her dark windows. The rain streaked down the glass at a slant, the wind howling around the invisible peaks of the house. I struggled to find something to say as anxiety rippled through my bones. What was the right thing?

I finally parted my lips, trying to steady their shaking, to hide my sadness. “It wasn’t time for you to know yet.” I winced as I said it, knowing how arrogant that sounded and knowing she would have a remark.

“
Wasn’t time yet for me to know?
Who are you to decide when I come to know of things? Especially something this big! Edgar, you cannot hope to keep me safe by leaving me in the dark like this!” I watched her lip tremble as mine was. “I fear what you are becoming, Edgar. I fear that you’ll be just like
Matthew.”

My jaw clenched as the name filled the room. Just watching her innocent rosy lips form the syllables pained me. She did not deserve what he’d done to her, to us. I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the bitter taste his name gave me.

In truth, I did see her side of it. I had all along. The reality of the matter was that there was no real explanation as to why I hadn’t told her, other than my own selfish jealousy. Thinking it made me see the Matthew in myself. I felt like stabbing my own heart. The look on her face was one I had never wished to see when referring to me. I had always wanted her view of me to remain pristine, keep her madly in love with me. But then, what was I doing?

“
I’m sorry, Elle.” The word stuck in my throat, coming out in a hoarse whisper.

“
You’re
sorry!
” she screamed, pushing me in her anger.

I grunted, surprised to find myself flying through the air and landing on the floor a few feet away. I slid a few feet before coming to a stop, slamming against the wall. As I did, I thought about how startled I was to be in this position.

Elle gasped and brought her hand to her mouth, her expression horrified and her hand shaking.

I propped my hands under my body and sat up.

Elle took one step forward, her hand still over her mouth in surprise. “Edgar, I—” She let out one flabbergasted breath. “I’m so sorry. I… I never thought I could do that. I—”

A smile began to form on my face. Our argument had reached a breaking point. I saw her fear subside as she watched me. “Elle, it’s okay. I deserved that.”

She ran toward me and knelt down, her eyes checking over my whole body and straightening my coat. “Oh, Edgar, I’m so sorry—”

Her touch was almost unbearable as my body reacted in delight, attuned to the aggression of what had just occurred. I grabbed her face and stared into her eyes. “Elle, I’m sorry. I know I’ve lied. I was jealous and selfish.”

She ran her hand down my arms, adding to my desire. “How did I do that?” she whispered. “I thought you were stronger than me?” She straddled me now, her legs tight around mine.

She clearly no longer cared that I had lied to her, too distracted by the fact that for the first time, she had managed to overpower me. “Elle, it’s just—”

There was a sudden crashing noise in the hall, and I exhaled, cursing whatever it was for stealing this moment from me. Elle’s legs got tighter as the whole house shook, creaking as though the wind was tumbling it across the meadow.

“
What was that?
” Elle sunk to the floor beside me.

I further cursed myself. There was no hope for reconciling the moment.

Elle grabbed my arm as though I could protect her, though we both knew that it was likely her future had already made her stronger than me.

“
I don’t know.” I sensed something in the air, something familiar. It was then that I heard the music begin to play, a light violin that was accompanied by a flute. I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off the floor, offering Elle my hand as she took it. I pulled her back to her feet and we both regained our composure.

We walked to the door, cautious. Elle hid behind my back, her head peeking around my shoulder. When we reached the door, I opened it and we both looked out. I scanned the space. Margriete and Sam were in the hallway downstairs, both as frozen in shock as we were. Elle looked to Sam and Margriete as they looked up at us, their eyes searching ours for answers, but there were none.

I whispered down to Sam. “What’s going on?”

Sam blinked a few times, setting his mouth into a straight line and shrugging.

Opening the door another few inches, Elle and I both now saw that the bookshelf at the top of the stairs, where Edgar Poe’s book once resided, had toppled over. Books were thrown across the landing and strewn down the stairs, decorating the room with words.

Sam stood on his toes to try and see what I had, his angle from below skewing his view. Margriete changed into a cat, running up the stairs, the pads of her feet keeping her steps quiet. She sniffed the books and then looked at Elle and me with wonder.

There was a crackling then, and our eyes shot to the wall where the shelf had previously been. Something began to grow there, like a plant, though not quite that organic. Our mouths fell open in amazement.

“
Edgar,
look
!” Elle pointed from behind me and over my shoulder, also seeing what I had.

We both watched in amazement as the thing continued to grow and something that resembled brass popped from the wall, finishing the transformation as it all stopped. We stood in awe, Sam staring at me as he remained out of the loop.
There’s a door,
I thought, keeping him informed. There was a door, a big red one, now filling the wall were the bookcase had previously been.

Elle’s fingers dug into my skin. “What is it?” she whispered.

Smoke began to billow from the jamb in thick ringlets, filling the air with the scent of tobacco. The violin and flute that we had heard before began to play for a second time, still muffled by the intricately carved red door.

“
Edgar, what is it?” Elle shook me gently, asking for a second time as though I had the answers.

I swallowed hard, knowing exactly what it was as the scent and sound was something I could never forget. “I don’t know,” I replied falsely, not wanting to face the facts. I was hoping that if I disregarded it, it would go away, and Elle and I could go back to what we were doing.

Feeling the need to take control, I took one step forward. Sam followed my lead and began to climb the stairs, meeting Margriete as she remained in her feline form.

“
Stop,” I hissed. I put my hand up and they halted. “Let Elle and I handle this.”

I saw Sam smirk as he reached down, scooping Margriete into his hands. He was glad to see me snap out of my vegetative trance, so he didn’t interject. Margriete gave him a curious but angered look of disapproval, her tail twisting back and forth and her claws extending into Sam’s arms. Margriete did not like being told what to do about as much as Elle did, so I understood her anxiety.