A Raven's Darkness (Book 1)

Chapter 9: Cynthia's Secret

Racon's Point Of View:

I could not fathom how Cynthia got her hands on my father's amulet. Also, I don't know how I didn't see it around her filthy neck. Since we all wore the same clothes since we were on the run, Raven was washing them for us. She washed them in a nearby river and hung them to dry on the inn's drying line that ran across the back of it. Then, after we all cleaned ourselves in the river, we took turns in the bedroom to put our now dry clothes back on as the others were waiting in the river to prevent any accidental viewings. It felt good to be clean. Darth agreed to Luciano's suggestion about braiding each other's hair, so they went into the bedroom. Raven and I went into the dining room and watched the leaves fall from the window. She turned to me with a glint in her eyes, saying, "You clean up well." I got a real chuckle from that. "You're not so bad yourself Raven." She blushed and pulled me into a hug. "Promise me you'll always protect me." She whispered into my ear. "I promise Raven." I held her for a good while afterwards. My day didn't seem so ugly anymore. Then, I felt a ringing coming from my belt. Raven jumps away with her hand on her heart. We both saw it was my black treble clef musical note shaped communicator and that black blinking light could only be from one person. Rater.

Cynthia's Point Of View:

Everything was going according to my plan. I grinned at the thought of taking the Raven's Clan as my own. All I must do is kill the princess and victory will be mine. I could see my hidden prison from my bedroom window. That is where I will lead those Ravens' to their doom. Oh, what a sweet blood bath. I rubbed Barchur's amulet, which is upon my neck, with my left hand. The red beads holding the bird symbol were smooth to the touch. That fool left his communicator with Racon instead of me. No matter, I now possess it and I plan on making him pay for betraying me. There will be no mercy for those who dare defy me. For, I will win. As I was enjoying the thought of their deaths, I felt an annoying pain in my body. Blank ink poured from my body, twirling up my back, wrists, ankles, and neck. When the ink stopped moving, I noticed it had embedded itself into me as a tattoo. A barbed wire pattern appeared around my wrists and ankles. Chains held the barbed wire together with a single black ink line upon my neck and Sozar's name across my shoulder blade. These tattoos symbolize death. I will wear each name of each protector that dies upon my back (since one has died). Sozar has fallen. He was too weak, just as I thought. I will handle this myself.

Cynthia's Point Of View:

I picked up my long dark red dress and started to move down the staircase. She better not make the same mistake Sozar did, I thought as I turned down the long hallway. Several doors down, I found Sandra's room. I made a "hut hum" noise, and said, "Make yourself presentable for your Queen." Almost immediately, Sandra flung the door open and bowed. "I'm sorry malady." She was twenty-eight years old and stood at 5' 4'' tall. She had chestnut brown eyes and short curly brown hair. She wore a dark brown shirt with a black swirl pattern in the middle, dark brown shorts that were at her thighs with a single black swirl pattern on the both legs, dark brown ankle boots, and wore her Craven cape with a single red stripe on it upon her back. She came from another clan, but I made it mandatory for her to wear my Clan's color so long as she served me, as she is now my brother's widow. I grunted and walked into her room. She shut the door behind me, offered me a chair around her small oak table, and sat across from me. I saw that her eyes were swollen from crying over Sozar's death. After all, she is his wife and my so-called sister-in-law. Unworthy slave, more like. She was staring at my tattoos with pain in her ugly chestnut brain eyes. "You do know why I am here, do you not?" I was getting steamed. She bowed her head. "Yes malady." I straightened my back in my chair. "Let me get this through your pathetic skull. If you want your daughter to live, you will bring her to me. Or, you will both die slowly while you watch each other suffer." I leaned into her ear and whispered, "If you fail me, I will make sure she is broken beyond repair." I licked my lips and laughed.