Northbound Pilgrimage - Second Book Extras

Mum's the Word II - Cracks in the Slab

High risks, high rewards.

Seeing Jules was like a high-stakes card game.

Raven had promised himself that he would never do this again. That he would never let himself get close to someone like this again. Not after the last time. Not after Mercer delivered him the severed hand of the girl he loved with a smug smirk and a warning glare.

The fear was always there. Raven could not get it out of his head. Something bad would happen. He just knew it.

But Jules kept reassuring him.

Raven couldn't resist. He couldn't resist getting tangled up in the overwhelming whirlwind whenever he felt like this about someone. He couldn't help himself. Whenever he was with Jules, all those fears just didn't seem all that important. Even if he knew they would come creeping back to him the second he left his presence. It was too risky. Too risky to be involved with someone under everyone's noses like this. It wasn't even a secret! Everyone knew about the two of them.

Mercer didn't say a word about their relationship. But that just made Raven even more nervous.

Especially since he was doing the same thing again.

It was so easy to confide in Jules. He made it so easy. Raven always needed this, he always needed someone to listen, to be honest with when his days were spent pretending and fooling people. First, he thought a stranger would be safer. Then he thought someone from the Guild would understand. But it never worked. Mercer always found out and it always ended in tragedy. But these urges, these feelings, they were stronger than Raven. He needed someone. And how could something that made him feel so at ease be wrong?

He knew almost instantly. He was in love. Every time he saw that smirk of his, every time he watched him scratch his jaw in contemplation or that wide grin on his face when he was teasing someone, Raven could practically melt on the spot.

Lately he had barely been able to concentrate on anything else. Someone was talking to him and he was barely listening. The people around him were whispering and he didn't even think to eavesdrop. Mercer seemed to be a bit peeved at him, at times, but Raven couldn't bring himself to care.

But despite that, each day, Raven started to notice some... little things.

Something was wrong at the Guild and he didn't know what. At first, he just thought that the strange feeling was his own sudden disinterest in the happenings around the sewers. But more and more now he was starting to notice a very strange atmosphere permeating around.

Tense.

Strained.

Maybe he should be paying more attention. And he should definitely come down from his high and focus on placating Mercer. He needed to make sure that Jules didn't end up like the rest of them. There was no chance in Oblivion he would let that happen.

He needed to be obedient. He needed to do whatever Mercer wanted just to keep Jules safe. There was no other way, no matter whom Raven had to rat out, to spy on, it didn't matter. He wouldn't give him any reason this time.

And after a time spent entirely absorbed in Jules, Raven was determined to get back into things, to do his job well and without any risks.

That was easier said than done, but he was trying.

He started to notice the subtleties more. He started to hear the words whispered behind closed doors again. But the atmosphere was starting to make him nervous.

There had always been dissent. There were always people complaining about Mercer's tactics and tasks. There were always people disgruntled about how the Guild was run. Raven heard a lot of this. He said a lot of it, but what Mercer didn't know was that Raven had actually kept the vast majority of it to himself. People were complaining about the same treatment he was complaining to Jules about. How could he ever rat them out for that? How could he ever blame them for that?