Reaper: A raven paranormal romance (Crookshollow ravens Book 2) (22 page)

W
e raced towards the marquee
, changing into our bird forms at lightning speed. We reached the edge of the upper lawn just as the birds descended upon the marquee, tearing open the canvas and pouring inside. Screams echoed across the lawn as we swooped low. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Ingrid broke off to take down a bird on the edge of the flock. They toppled to the grass, and in one swift stroke, she tore its throat out.

I dived at the nearest bird, my talons grabbing it on the back. I threw it into the nearest pole, sending it hurtling to the ground in a mess of feathers and blood. My eyes scanned the chaos.
Where was Belinda?
I had to find her. I had to make sure she was OK.

I couldn’t see her anywhere, nor any of her friends. Something red flashed in the corner, and a tray of crostini crashed to the ground as a giant fox leapt over the buffet table and grabbed one of the birds between its teeth. The fox shook the bird violently, then dropped it on the ground, rising up on its hind legs to take a swipe at another that tried to get close.

There’s Ryan, but he looks awfully busy.

I rolled to the left as another bird flung itself at me, my outstretched talon ripping a nasty gash along its side. The bird crashed into a towered floral arch, sending the whole thing crashing to the ground.

“Keep your eyes open,” I called to Byron. “I need to find Belinda. And Morchard is here somewhere.”

“Why would he come here?” Byron cried as he sliced his talons through another bird’s throat. “He’d be risking his own life. These birds are out of control.”

“He loved to torture birds in his aviary. Trust me, he wants to watch this carnage.”

I scanned the marquee. No, he wouldn’t be there. That was chaos. He’d have no guarantee that he wouldn’t be bitten. But then where? The hedges in the garden were all too low to hide a man, unless he were lying down in the grass, and that wasn’t Morchard’s style—

The house. Of course. I scanned the windows on the side. In the top right I thought I saw a tall shadow move, and a curtain flapping.
Found you, you bastard.

As I rounded the side of the marquee I spied a flash of red making its way across the lawn towards the parking lot. It was Elinor, and Eric. Elinor was clutching her shoulder, and I saw blood pooling between her fingers.
No, not her.
Alex and Bianca were with them. I dived towards them.

“Stay away, you bastard!”

I ducked as Eric swung a chair at me. It missed by a less than an inch.

“Don’t hurt him, that’s Cole!” Alex grabbed me and cradled me in her arms. “You can tell because of the ring around his wing. That ex-boyfriend of hers dragged her off towards the house. But Cole, she’s been—”

I didn’t let her finish that sentence. I broke free of her grasp and zoomed towards the hall.

“I’m coming for you!” I screamed in caw tongue, and took off, heading straight for the window. Morchard saw me hurtling towards him, for he backed away from the window and disappeared into the room.

At the last minute I changed my flight path, and headed for an open window in the room next to the one he’d been in. I flew through the guest suite and out into a hallway, just in time to hear a door slam on my right. Footsteps pounded up the stairs. He was heading up, heading for the rooftop deck.

As I flew up the stairs after him, the door to the deck slammed shut. I fluttered down onto the doorknob, but of course I couldn’t move it. I forced a shift, grabbed the knob, and stumbled through the door.

“Well, if it isn’t Cole Erikson in all his glory.” Morchard’s beady eyes flickered down my naked body, his thin lips forming a long grin. “I wasn’t expecting a show, or perhaps it’s all a mating display for your little Nightingale over there.”

His gaze fell over my shoulder. I whirled around. Belinda sat in a chair near the opposite edge of the roof, her wrists, ankles, neck and waist bound tightly. Behind her stood a dark-haired man with the bloodshot eyes and red-stained lips of a vampire. If I had to guess, I’d say that was her bastard ex-boyfriend, Ethan.

“Get your hands off her,” I growled. In response, Ethan grinned, baring his long incisors, and leaned in close to Belinda, who shuddered away.

“Touch her, and die.”

“Temper, temper.” Victor Morchard said, taking a step towards me. “I’d have thought your new master would have tamed your disobedient spirit by now.”

“This is the most ridiculous revenge idea.” I jabbed my elbow at the edge, where the screams of the wedding guests and the croaking of the ravens floated up to meet us. “Any copper worth his salt will connect this crime to you. You’re going down for this, Victor. It’s murder. It’s an act of terror.”

“Now you may be right about that, but you’re wrong about the revenge thing. This is not ridiculous, it is actually quite genius.” he said. “I have infected all those birds with a new, more virulent strain of the Morchard Virus. It’s extremely fast acting, and deadly. Anyone who is bitten or scratched by them will be infected, and none will survive more than ten hours. A completely natural, utterly tragic event, but not one that can be traced back to me.”

“You’re disgusting,” I said, my hands in fists at his sides. “You would kill all these people to take revenge on me. You think I’m the monster, because I wanted to escape you, but this proves that you are the monster.”

“You let my son die in the hands of that vampire scum.” Morchard spat. “You should have been the one killed, instead.”

“Sir Thomas didn’t kill Harry, and neither did Cole.” Belinda cried out. “Ethan did.”

What?
I spun around, looking at Belinda’s stricken face.
How did she know that?
Looking into Ethan’s eyes, I knew it was true.

“Shut her up!” Morchard yelled. He was getting flustered.

“Sir Thomas wasn’t anywhere near Harry that night. He had no reason to kill Harry. The deal you made over Cole’s life hadn’t even gone through yet. Tell him, Ethan.”

Ethan looked from Belinda to Morchard, momentarily stunned. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do.

This was my chance.

As quick as I could, I streaked across the roof and grabbed the vampire by the collar. He craned his neck to snap his teeth at me, and I punched him in the nose. He cried out as blood pissed down his face. My knuckles stung, but I ignored the pain as I dragged the snivelling figure to the middle of the roof, dumping him at Victor’s feet.

“Talk.” I commanded. Ethan spat blood at me. I gave him a swift kick in the ribs. He moaned, and I went to kick him again.

“I killed Harry!” Ethan moaned, clutching his ribs.

“This is not true,” Victor squeezed his eyes shut. “Sir Thomas killed Harry, because Cole had escaped.”

I forced Ethan to his knees. “Tell him.”

“I killed the boy,” Ethan sobbed, clutching his hands to his chest. “Please don’t hurt me, I didn’t know. But we’re friends now. Harry and I, we just want to help each other. Please sir, I wasn’t in control of myself. I didn’t kno-ow-ow …”

Victor’s face twisted with pain, as he realised he had let his son’s killer into his own house. Ethan clutched at his leg, still sobbing and begging for mercy, but Victor kicked him away, staring down at the vampire in disgust.

“We’ve both had a loved one killed by a vampire,” I said, taking a step forward, cracking my knuckles together, trying to look as menacing as possible. “That might be the only thing you and I will ever have in common. But now, I have to stop you from ever creating something like this again.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Victor laughed, but his laughed sounded high-pitched. His eyes darted nervously between me and the door. “I am the only one who knows how to create the antiviral. I see your girlfriend has a wound on her arm. It looks as though you still need me, after all.”

I whirled around. Belinda’s lip quivered. I rushed to her side and undid her bonds. She fell into my arms, sobbing. “Is it true?” I whispered, my heart hammering against my chest. ‘Show me.”

Gingerly, she pulled down the scrap of tablecloth she’d wrapped around her arm. Beneath it, a long, jagged cut oozed a trail of blood.

“No.” My blood burned with rage.
Not Belinda. She can’t be taken from me like this.

“It’s OK, Cole,” she whispered. “I’ll be fine.”

But she wouldn’t be fine. She was going to die. The best thing that had ever happened in my entire life, and Victor Morchard had taken it away from me, once again.

“You,” I barked at Victor, all the fury inside me welling up, pressing against my skin like a dam ready to burst. He must’ve seen something in my eyes, for he backed away, his hands raised in supplication.

“Now, Cole. Let’s not do anything hasty—”

I flung myself towards him, a deep growl escaping my throat. He tried to duck around me, but I was too fast. I grabbed him around his neck, lifting him off the ground. His feet kicked at the air as his fingers fought to prise mine from his throat. Those beady eyes bugged out of his head. There was no smugness there any longer, just terror.

“You’ve taken everything from me,” I growled, dragging him towards the edge of the roof. “You won’t take Belinda, too. You give me that antiviral, and then I’ll decide if I’ll spare your miserable life.”

“Caaa—” Victor choked out.

“What’s that, Victor?” I lifted him higher, backing him right up against the railing, so his back leaned out into nothingness. Full-blown panic flooded Victor’s face. He thrashed wildly against me, but my rage held my arms taut, my fingers tightening against his throat. I wanted to see him suffer, to
feel
the fear he felt as I sapped the final eddies of life from his veins.

“Cole, no.” Belinda sobbed, from somewhere behind me. “Don’t do it. Don’t become a killer, like him.”

Don’t become a killer like him.

She was right, damn her. Damn my beautiful, kind, wonderful girl. It took every ounce of self-control I had, but I unlocked my fingers from his throat, dropping him like a stone at my feet.

“I will never be like you,” I rasped, stepping back to catch my breath.

“Then you will all die,” he croaked out, crawling to his feet. Before I could stop him, he launched himself at the edge of the building, and toppled over the side, taking with him the only means to cure the virus.

As I leaned over and saw Victor fall, a long string of white light burst from his chest, coiling through the air like a rope unfurling. I didn’t even think. Instinct kicked in. I vaulted the railing and leapt into the air.

“Cole!” Belinda screamed.

As I fell towards Victor, I forced a shift. The ground rushed up towards me. I stretched out my wings, and the wind whipped through my feathers. I turned in the air as I gained control of my descent.

Victor saw me coming; his eyes grew wider, even as he fell. He knew exactly what I was planning to do. He reached up his hand and it looked as though he would try to take a swing at me. But before he had the chance, he hit the patio below with a sickening
CRACK
.

I grabbed the end of the white cord in my beak, and
pulled
.

I had only done this once before, and never for a human. As the older brother, Byron had the honour of escorting Victor’s father and mother to their final resting place after they’d died, and since Harry was technically undead, he hadn’t needed escorting. But Byron hadn’t been there when our mother died, and so I had taken her cord and travelled with her on the plains.

And now, I would have the pleasure of dragging Victor’s black soul into the next world. I spread my wings wide, allowing the warm currents to push me up, uncoiling the white cord of Victor’s life behind me.

Above me, I became aware of a woman screaming from the roof. It was Belinda. I wished she didn’t have to see this. Hopefully Ryan or someone else would drag her away from the edge. I had an important job to do.

I passed the edge of the roof, and continued up into the clouds. The cord pulled taut. Below me, Victor bellowed out in pain. I flapped my wings harder, and a weight dragged on the cord. I adjusted my grip, holding the cord with my talons as well as my beak, and pulled again, half expecting the weight to snap the cord. But it held firm, and I lifted Victor’s heavy soul from the ground and dragged him through the air.

Up ahead, the clouds parted, forming a white pathway across the sky. I followed it, ignoring Victor’s bellows from below as he dangled helplessly on the end of his cord. When I looked down, I couldn’t see him through the thick cloud. I couldn’t see the Hall or the rest of the village, either – only a fluffy blanket of white.

I opened my wings and poured on speed. As I did, the sky around me shifted, the clouds evening out, changing colour beneath me. They became a blanket of white tendrils, then faded into grey-gold swirls of dust. They swirled and shifted, bunching together to become solid – an endless dusty desert, stretching across the heavens towards a horizon laced with orange fire. Up ahead, the skeleton of a long-dead tree loomed out of the dust. We’d reached our destination.

I dropped the cord, and Victor rolled across the hard earth. He cried out as he bounced twice, then lay still in a heap at the foot of the tree. I flew down and settled on a low branch. The dry wood creaked under my weight.

“Where am I?” Victor demanded, gazing up at me with blazing eyes. “I demand you return me at once.”

“Not going to happen,” I said in caw-tongue, knowing that in this place, he would hear every word I spoke. “There’s no going back from this place.”

I wasn’t sure exactly what would happen now, but I didn’t have long to wait to find out. Above Victor’s protests, a faint whistle on the breeze caught my attention. I turned towards the fiery horizon. A dark cloud rose up from the dust, and moved towards us at alarming speed, humming with a strange energy, a rumbling sound that started faint, but grew more intense. As it drew closer, I realised it was not a shadow at all.

It was a flock of birds. Thousands of them, all flying in close formation, the wind from their flapping wings stirring up the dusty sands of the plain. Parakeets flew next to twittering sparrows. Graceful mallard ducks flew alongside pied wagtails and exotic waterfowl. Along the ground hopped several chickens, brown shavers with injured legs and bald patches across their backs, and black Orpingtons descending like shadows. Garden warblers added their distinct calls to the cacophony, and greenfinches, kestrels, and red-legged partridges bore down on us with malicious intent. And at the rear, hundreds of ravens drew up their ranks, their large black wings shrouding the flock, their beaks pulled back into sinister grins. My people, my family. The birds that Victor had tortured and killed.