Corbeau

Chapter Two: Avalon

Raven was in shock. She couldn't deny what she had just heard, and yet it was impossible.

"No way, that thing's possessed," Sky cried, "you gotta throw it out," he insisted.

"But it's a gift...I can't"

"Then I'll do it for you," he replied expressionless. Sky rushed to the kitchen to find a pair of tongs and hastily pick up the supposedly haunted necklace, only to be stopped by Raven. She snatched the necklace from the tongs grip.

"What do you think you're doing? Surely there has got to be a reasonable explanation for this." She racked her brain for answers but she could think of no explanation. Perhaps it was a prank? Maybe it was some sort of new technology to trigger certain effects, but on the other hand, she knew her mentor despised pranks. Surely she would not have inflicted one like this on purpose. Still, everything has a logical explanation and so should this scenario; Raven was sure of it. They just needed to think harder.

At Least half an hour had passed now but the siblings were still not even remotely close to determining the reason. Raven shook her head in annoyance, she was getting impatient at all the crazy theories they had both come up with.

"Admit it Raven, there's no possible earthly reasoning behind this," Sky snapped.

Raven ignored him, lost in thought as her mind whizzed with more theories, each more absurd than the last. What if someone from outside had called her name but they thought it was from the necklace? Raven walked up to the window and took a peak. There was not a soul in sight, and it could not be there aunt; she was on a 24 hour shift at the hospital where she worked at. Maybe it's like a walkie talkie and Ms. Ethelde was trying to get a hold of her. She shook her head, this was getting out of hand.

"Ok how about we pretend like this ever happened," Raven said in exasperation. "Let's forget all of this because clearly we're going nowhere with this mess. Sky looked hesitant at first but eventually gave in.

"You're right, we're probably just imagining this and making a big deal of this," he laughed. Raven smiled, she was glad that they were both on good terms again. Just as she believed she could finally take a break and relax, a new problem had arisen. Currently a whirl of black smoke seemed to be... materializing from nothing. It was gentle at first, arising playfully, but soon plumes of vapor were arising. It danced around and started to devour the floor area, inch by inch like a great hungry serpent.

"Uhh, Raven is something burning?" Sky asked nervously. There was no signs of any fire however; the smoke was not suffocating nor was there an inferno in sight.

"I don't think this is normal smoke, Sky." Raven slowly backed away, eyes wide in fear. She was worried if whatever was going on was dangerous; she had to get herself and her brother out of harm's way. Just as she was about to grab her brothers hand and make a dash for it, the smoke died out as quickly as it formed, but the most peculiar thing that stood out was the boy who emerged. He seemed no older than the siblings, but his height said otherwise; he towered over the room and was probably at least a head taller than Raven who was nearly 6 feet tall herself. He had the kind of hairstyle that every typical boy at school fashioned, except it was adorned with shocking white highlights. His eyes darted around quickly around so it was difficult to get a close look, but when they finally made eye contact, it was a sight she would never forget. The strange boy's eyes were one of the most gorgeous shade of blue Raven had ever seen in her life. It reminded her of the cobalt periwinkle flowers that grew in the garden of their old house- in Wisconsin before they had moved to San Francisco. They shone with such intensity and curiosity that seemed quite intimidating. A million thoughts whizzed through Raven's mind, yet all she could do was gawk. Sky seemed to be doing just as bad as she was; he looked so bewildered that he may start to cry any second. In the end, it was the boy who had to break the uncomfortably long silence.