A Raven's Darkness (Book 1)

Chapter 2: Magpie

Raven's Point Of View:

I laughed and put my knife in my thigh pocket. "Who could forget you? After all, you saved my life." Racon roared. "Best not to forget, eh? Come, let's take this elsewhere." He picked up his knife from the ground and put it into his robe pocket. He then looked over at the stranger's corpse. "But first, I will take care of him." He looked at me and I nodded. I watched him walk over to the stranger. He picked him up and dumped him in a nearby river. Not the best way to dispose of a body, but we were short on time. He ran back over and extended his arm. "Shall we?" I smiled and rolled my eyes as I led him toward the backyard of my temporary hideout. We walked through the rose covered fence and we stopped when we came to the window. He allowed me to climb the roof to get to the window first, with him following shortly after. Once he entered, I shut the window and managed to trip on my own feet and into Racon. I mumbled an apology, dusted myself off, and flew onto the floor unconscious. My dream was about my mother, who was murdered by the Cravens during the war ten years ago. The Cravens are the red-stripped black robe clan members, and yes, that included Racon. I knew it was their Queen, Cynthia, who murdered my mother. This woman also happened to be Racon's very own mother. Before me, I saw my mother's ghostly form, and she had a white misty veil around her. I heard the faint sound of waves from beside me. I felt around in the darkness that surrounded me. As my fingers glided across the interior of the ground, a sharp painful sting hit my finger. My mother came closer, revealing what stung my finger.

It wasn't an animal that stung me, for it was my own mother. I looked down, guided by my mother's light, and saw two small marks appear on my forefinger. Suddenly, my finger grew and swelled purple. Bubbles started to erupt on the marks and it flowed toward my palm. The two small marks disappeared and on my palm appeared a small mark with a swirly pattern. My palm ached in uncontrollable pain. I screamed and fell to my stomach, the ground covering my yelling. As my pain accelerated, I brought my knees up to my stomach. "Raven, my daughter, you are marked." I grunted, rolled over, and looked into her eyes. "No!" I yelled uncontrollably. My mother put her ghostly hand on my eyebrow. "May you be gifted with my blessings, future Raven Queen." My eyebrow started to sweat then subsided after a few seconds when the pain stopped. I woke up, in a bed, with Racon was beside me. "Calm down, it was just a dream." My breathing slowed and my hand flew up. The mark was still there. I sighed. It was real, all of it. I was marked and it was a memory. "Yea..." I mumbled, trying to clear my head. With my mother dead, I was supposed to be in charge of being the Raven Princess. I am a royal female and the only child of Queen Magpie, so I had to do what I felt was best for my clan. I decided to be on the run and protect my clan since the war, with my cousin Darth hiding me until I was old enough to run away on my own. If I took my place as the Raven Princess and Queen Cynthia killed me, then my clan would be taken over.

Racon shuffled through the dresser as I gazed quietly down at my golden cross necklace. I remembered that after I received my mark from my mother as a child, that she told me to never take this off. I realized that with it on, that I am still able to use my waterpower. However, my power was weak. Could this necklace be the cause of my weakness? The sheets covered my arms, revealing my neck. I had the dream of my mother again. It would come to me every time I slept and it wouldn't stop. "Racon?" My voice cracked. He turned his head toward me. "Are you alright?" He mumbled as he came over and sat by me on a black chair. I rubbed my temple. "How long was I out this time?" He grabbed a cup of hot chocolate from the bedside table and handed it to me. I smiled and took a sip. "A month." My eyes widened and I spat out the hot chocolate all over the bed. "What!" I yelled in surprise. He chuckled and then his face turned serious. "You had the dream again?" I slowly nodded and he sighed. He reached into his pocket with his right hand, making a swish noise. He handed me a violet paper with the same swirl pattern as the mark on my palm. I recognized it before he took his shirt off. I traced the mark on his neck with my right hand. I stopped, with my hand still on his neck, and looked up at him. "What does it mean?" I asked. He caught my hand, and turned it over, revealing the mark on my palm. "I found out what our marks represent and how we are connected." I raised my eyebrows in curiosity.