Helion Rising

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Unbelievable. That was the only word I could muster otherwise I was completely speechless. Not only was the raven chained to the chair in Nathaniel’s office, still unconscious but Nathaniel was under the impression that Seth had lured and captured her. That it was his idea to ‘summon her’. While I was stuck outside listening through the keyhole of the thick, mahogany door that separated us. 

Were they completely mental? There was no way the Raven would respond kindly to their actions. All chances of getting the skull back and flown out the window! Suddenly the door opened and I stumbled forward, the figure on the other side catching me slightly. I ungracefully regained my balance and huffed angrily at Seth who shrugged and closed the door. He leaned in and tucked some of my hair behind my ear then whispered, “I thought you at least deserved to be here when she woke up.” Outraged, I smacked his hand away and growled. 

“This was all my idea!” I whispered.  Seth placed his index finger on my lips and shushed me. Before I could pummel him, the Raven began to stir. Nathaniel was instantly alert, I remained by the door while Seth moved to casually sit at the open bay window. The Raven tilted her head and groaned. Then an intense sense of anticipation filled the room. Had the Raven ever been captured be for? 

The Raven’s head turned to either side, taking in her surroundings, she shifted her wrists, restrained by strong, steel and titanium handcuffs. Her arms tugged then slumped back onto the armrests of the fancy, teak chair and she heaved a long sigh. “For the record, this wasn’t part of my plan,” I stated bluntly, holding my hands up in surrender. The Raven scoffed but I swear I saw a ghost of a smirk from under the shadow of her hat.  Casually, she crossed her left leg over her right in a rather masculine manner and leaned further into the chair, seemingly unfazed by the situation she was in. 

She stilled, her demeanor calm and relaxed, seemingly waiting for us to make the first move. Nathaniel strode towards her and leaned back against the large wooden table so he was directly in front of her. “Hello, Raven,” he greeted pleasantly, munching away on a biscuit like he was a detective on some cop show. I rolled my eyes. 

“Nathaniel,” she answered, her voice deep thick with mystery. 

“You know her, personally?” Seth asked suddenly. The Raven chuckled. 

“No,” she answered him, “I know things. Its my job to know things. Its also public knowledge, or did you forget that you’re public icons?” Seth’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment and he remained quiet after Nathaniel shot him a very unpleasant glance. “Go easy on the boy, Nate. He’s only as good as his teacher,” she chided. I sniggered, Nathaniel scowled and Seth glared at his foot that was propped up on the sill. 

Nathaniel sighed through his nose and gripped his hair tightly as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I want the skull and I’m willing to pay.”

The Raven scoffed, “You can’t afford me.” Nathaniel opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off. “You would have been able to afford me. I am -at times- reasonable. However after your little lapdog over there,” she gestured to Seth with a flick of her head in his direction “my prices have increased, substantially.”

“We’ll pay the increased fee no less-”

“Trust me. You can’t afford it. I know what your bank accounts look like. It seems Providence has shown you no mercy.” At that bit of knowledge, Nathaniel gapped like a fish out of water and my curiosity was peaked. How could she possibly know that? “And for the record, I don’t appreciate being bashed on the head,” she snapped her hidden gaze in Seth’s direction. 

“We’ll just have to keep you here until you agree to our terms,” stated Nathaniel. The Raven barked with laughter. 

“You will do no such thing.” In a puff of dark smoke her form melted into a black mass and a Raven as black as night cawed then  swooped through the open window not before pecking at Seth’s head. The Raven was gone. 

Nathaniel, Seth and I remained frozen in our spots, staring at the open window then back at the now empty chair, the handcuffs hanging uselessly from the arms. Eventually Nathaniel broke the stunned silence. “Bloody hell, Seth, you had one goddamn job! Guard the goddamn fucking window!” He shoved me out the way to storm out his office. Has he yanked the doors open he turned and said, “Stop bloody influencing him! He was competent before you came along.” Then Nathaniel left. I turned to Seth and shook my head as he glowered at me, fury etched into his brow. 

“Karma,” I said sternly before heading to the canteen for dinner. Our chances of getting the skulls back had indeed flown out the window. 

*****

Noah listened to my endless rant about the days events, nodding where appropriate but I was certain he was paying more attention to his chocolate dessert than me. I didn’t mind. As long as I got to vent. The canteen had emptied out and we were the only ones left, at some point Seth had joined us. He hadn’t said a word to me apart from scoff when I greeted him. 

“Then he said I should stop influencing the moron!" I continued in outrage, Seth grumbled lowly from where he sat next to me. Noah barked with laughter.

“Don’t listen to Nathaniel,” Seth and I agreed with Noah, “besides, we all know anything that had boobs would influence Seth.” I was crying with laughter when Seth rose form his seat and grabbed Noah by the shirt collar from across the table while Noah laughed relentlessly, holding his arms up in surrender as his little brother threatened him. Seth and I had one think in common, we were prideful. Jokes were not taken lightly. 

That night sleep came quickly, that was until I was rudely interrupted. The knocking on my door continued loudly, then eventually stopped when I refused to leave my bed to open the door. The familiar ‘click’ of the lock opening woke my mind up while my body remained sleepily unresponsive. Eyes still closed, I listened as someone’s feet padded along the carpet. There was a thump and hushed swearing then my light blinded me and my blanket ripped from above me. I hissed and curled into a ball, blocking the light from my eyes with my arm. A quick glance at my alarm clock told me it was 12:16AM. I was not impressed.