Shadowwalker - Under Review For Now

14. Raven

Amber hurried through the evening rush towards the familiar abandoned warehouse, and went straight to her own private corner, barely greeting the house spirit on her way in and narrowly avoiding walking through the poor thing in her hurry.

She hastily searched through her things, throwing random articles of clothing, papers, odd nicknacks and the moons knows what else all around. She let out a short squeak of satisfaction when she finally found what she was looking for. 

Amber blew the dust off an old, hand held mirror. It's frame was carved out of wood, with a few specks of golden paint that told the story of it's wear and tear. The mirror itself was made out of Silver Glass oil, which was extremely uncommon in those parts of Moglux. Usually, it was reserved for the nobility, or the celebrities. 

Amber kneeled. She then took a deep breath, and gazed into the mirror. Green eyes stared back at her.

"Raven, come forth," she said, softly yet firmly.

"Raven, I'm calling you. Come forth, we need you to be in control," she continued.

Nothing.

"Raven, come now, I tell you! It is your turn to take over," she demanded anxiously, for besides the recent intervention at seemingly nothing she had not truly felt Raven's presence in a long time. She feared she had surpressed her for too long, and, for a moment, Amber was scared that not giving up control she might actually LOSE Raven.
A strange notion, especially since she remembered a time when all she wanted was to be free of her.

An oddly feeling came over Amber, as though she was turning around inside her body, being pushed to the background, and being plopped onto a chair of sorts as though she was a small child.

Looking into the mirror, violet eyes looked back at her.

She ran her hand through her hair, turning the silver strands pitchblack as the darkest of nights, with deep red highlights, as though it were stained with the fresh blood of the victim of a most vicious murder, as though her hairs were actually red hot coals in a dying fire, stubbornly refusing to go out. 

She turned towards the window. It was broken, and the glass scattered inside had remained unstirred for many seasons.

Raven got up, and slowly walked towards it. She stood before the opening in silence, watching the world outside with thinly veiled curiosity. She turned her head slightly, and gazed up at the night sky. At the infinite stars. At the two moons. At the red moon, of blood and fire, of fertility and raw emotions. And at the blue moon, of icy clarity, of purity, focus, and intellect. The green moon, however, of healing, kindness, strength and success, was nowhere to be seen.

She closed her eyes, feeling the light on her pale face, and slowly opened them. 

Raven grabbed a different cloak. This one was a dark shade of red, with a large, pointed hood, and a large black clasp. She fastened it, and hurried into the night, to try and find the assassin.

The moment she stood outside, she paused, breathing deeply, the fresh night air instilling her with all sorts of strange energies.

She began climbing the side of the warehouse, staying clear of the many broken windows and crumbling panes. Her fingers started aching, the sharp edges digging into her soft hands, but she persevered. Finally, after several agonizing minutes, she reached the flat roof.

From up there, the view was amazing. One could see further than from most places in the harbour, and Raven adored the view. Sadly, she couldn't stop and smell the roses today.

There was work to be done.

She took a running start, and threw herself off the roof, over the edge, and rolled to soften her landing on the next building. She repeated it, again and again, running faster and faster until she no longer had to roll. It felt like flying. 

If she weren't on business, she would have laughed out loud, whooping with each rush of air as the adrenaline surged through her veins.

Raven neared the docks, and began to slow down. The buildings were lower here, and when she eventually came to a halt she then silently dropped down the side of the last building.

A dark, threatening figure stood in the middle of the streets, looking out at a small boat entering the harbour. 

She snuck over, and hid behind a few crates.

The figure was peering out to the see, and glanced about a lot.

'Maybe a guard of sorts?' she wondered.

She edged closer, and promptly tripped over something.

She let out a muffled "Oof!"   and froze.

The figure ahead turned around, and seemed to be looking straight at her.

After a few tense moments, he took a step towards her, and then turned around again.

Raven let out a slow breath she hadn't realised she was holding, when she realised that what she tripped over wasn't a what, but a who.

She turned to look, her senses going into overdrive as a fight, flight, freeze, threatened to overwhelm her.

Finally, she looked up, gazing into the stranger's eyes.

Shocking violet met electric blue.