The Raven Lord | Book I

III. The Plan

"Wait tomorrow by the oak tree just outside of town. At midday, I will come for you." Those were the last words that the stranger spoke to me last night before disappearing into the darkness outside. 

I had sat down and reeled over my decision. Had I really just made a deal with a Stygian? And no doubt a powerful one, if he had the resources to fight in this war. 

After waiting for the sun to come up, I began to pack my things. Not that I had much to pack in the first place: everything that really and truly belonged to me fit in the leather satchel slung over my shoulder. Then, I began my walk to the oak tree. 

The ancient oak was bent from its years withering in the sun, creaking and moaning as the wind blew and rustled its leaves. It had become my favorite spot in the week that I had spent hiding away here. Somehow, I felt as though the creaking oak understood me and the world that I lived in. 

"You're early," a cocky voice chimed from a branch in the tree. Shielding my eyes from the sun, I looked up. The stranger perched atop a thick branch, a small book in his hand. Had he been reading? His attire was completely different from the night before. As opposed to the rugged cloak and fighting leathers, he now wore more casual attire, sporting a loose black top and bottoms and the mud stained boots from the night before. 

"I had nothing else to do," I replied dryly. I was, in fact, an hour or two early. 

"Or-" he jumped down from his perch with ease "-You just couldn't stay away from me." 

I rolled my eyes as he approached. "No, I just have nothing to do. And aren't you early as well?"

He frowned before waving his hand in dismissal. "Never mind that. Are you ready, little dove?" He extended his hand to me, cocking his head to the side. Yet again, I was his helpless prey that he was waiting to ensnare. 

Before I could reject his hand, he pulled me close to him and wound his arm tightly around my waist. I immediately fought against him, but he held me fast. 

"Relax, I don't bite," he whispered. "Unless you ask politely." 

"Let me go!" I squirmed but he merely tightened his steel grip. 

"I think you will want to hold tight for this."

I looked up at his smirking face just in time to see it get swallowed by shadow. Before I could make a noise, I too was gone. 

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Seconds passed and I simply did not exist.  That is the only way that I am able to describe it. I was a thread floating through the universe, feeling and unfeeling, being tugged in every direction all at once. I was one with darkness, flitting from shadow to shadow, unseen and unheard. 

Suddenly, a blinding beam of light barreled toward my consciousness and I was tumbling onto a cold, hard, marble floor. I hit a sturdy pair of legs and looked up. 

"I told you to hold on tight." The stranger laughed as he watched me struggle in a messy heap on the floor. 

"Lord Corvus, you have returned!" A female voice sounded from the end of the room. 

Lord. Did she just say Lord?  So he wasn't just a man with resources. He had power.

I gathered my wits and my jaw from the floor to look around me. We were sitting- or rather, I was sitting, on a black marble floor in a large domed room. Great stone pillars circled the outer edges and through them I could make out hallways leading to other parts of the building. A large chandelier hung overhead and glowed dimly with candlelight, casting beautiful dewy light through the cool, grey room.