The Raven and the Wraith Book 2 (Completed!)

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 7

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 7

"Wow! I can't believe it! All these years, all the searches. And then a human shows up and he finally finds his apprentice!"

I grimaced. That didn't sound like he was going to be willing to help me convince Dak to leave me alone.

"I hate to break the magic of this wondrous moment, but I am not going to be trained by him."

Dallin's stunned look was enough to make me chuckle, but then his strange purple eyes seemed to darken.

"I'm sorry Rahvin. But you don't have a choice."

"You'd be surprised at my ability to have a choice, when I want."

Dallin's expression shifted to mischievousness. The look of someone plotting something. A familiar look to me.

"Ok. I look forward to seeing you...trying your choices." He said, then looked thoughtful. "Hey, I might even help! This place is too boring, we could use some excitement."

He turned and began to jog away, calling after us to hurry up and stop being lazy. After a few minutes of jogging, we stopped at two openings on two of the thousands of twisting trunks that formed the base of one of the improbably massive trees.

"I can't guide you any further. From here the Branches will guide you." Dallin said, standing to the side, motioning for us to each enter one of the openings.

I looked at him, seeing the slightest edge to him. A new tension that hadn't been there before.

"This will be a test, then?"

"Hm. You're not supposed to know that before you enter. You're good at reading others, huh?"

I shrugged. I could read this particular tension in Dallin mainly because I had already run into it in one form or another over the years. Growing up on the streets meant honing the ability to read others, simply to stay alive.

"Do you know the difference between a trap and a surprise test?" I asked him.

He shook his head.

"The difference is how pissed off I am when I get out." I said darkly as I stepped into the small, tunnel-like opening.

The shadows here were unusually thick, defeating even my predator-keen night vision. It made my skin crawl, which made me pull my blades before I had even thought it.

"So it's going to be one of those kinds of tests." I muttered, stalking forward in a ready crouch.

Then my foot struck something and I felt my balance pitch forward. Instead of just falling into whatever trap this may be, I hurled myself into a front flip. In my experience doing something completely unexpected when in a trap was usually the best choice.

Stunning impact on my back early into my rotation made my teeth click together and stars flicker in front of my eyes. By the shape of the angled surfaces underneath me I had just ungracefully did half of a front flip directly onto some upward steps, landing square on my back.

"That's the strangest way to take the stairs I've ever seen. Is that how you traverse steps in your realm?"

A girls voice. I opened my eyes, surprised that I could now see in the darkness. A girl was on the steps above me, looking down in amused consternation.

I blinked, then felt my mouth go dry. She had the same light black skin as Dallin, but her eyes were a single, burning red. Her dark skin, her angular features and tall, pointed ears, along with those fierce, red eyes, should have made her terrifying. Or at least extremely otherworldly.