The Raven and the Wraith Book 2 (Completed!)

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 51

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 51

I had a small, lightning bolt scar on my left cheek. Everyone was staring at it. At me. So I took a huge breath, and began to talk.

I told them everything. Starting with my earliest memories of my mother, and when she left. I told them of life on the streets. Of hunting, fighting. Killing.

I told them about Genevieve and the Council. I told them about Possum Hollow, how I had gone there to die. I held nothing back. And many hours later, when I finally finished as I told them about Riva and our journey to this Star Point, I felt empty and exhausted. I lifted my eyes and searched the faces throughout the room. Searching but not knowing what I was searching for.

Everyone was quiet. Shanna stood, and walked with her natural, predatory grace around the table. I didn't tense up, I didn't allow my street-honed instincts to prepare me for battle, as they usually would. I could see it in her eyes.

Compassion.

It was beyond bewildering. I viewed the cozy farmhouse dining room as if from a far way off, from a gray land, an icy, indifferent land. I no longer cared. I had laid open the oldest, deepest scars for all to see, and it was both freeing, and paralyzing. I no longer knew what to do next, how to act or react. I no longer even trusted my oldest, strongest instincts at the moment.

"The Vampyre has hunted you your entire life, but you are not his own. You are no puppet. Go back to Possum Hollow, go back to the place where the Vampyre hurt you the most. Go and face who and what you really are."

I looked at Shanna. I had finished my story with a theory, backed by a few examples, that there was a singular Vampyre somewhere, trying to manipulate me. Trying to control my entire life. She believed me? I wasn't sure that made me feel any better, not when I had been hoping someone would tell me I was just imagining it all.

I stood, then, and moved woodenly towards the door. Conner beat me to it.

"Wait Rahvin! You need a guide, you can't simply walk through a Star Point on your own."

Riva looked at me, and I understood. "It's ok Conner. I have a guide."

Conner looked at Riva skeptically. "This Familiar? She can navigate a Star Point?"

I nodded. "She's very capable."

"Aw! A compliment! The first one since I've met you." Riva said.

I glared down at her. "She's still a real pest, though."

Conner laughed, eying Riva with a mixture of respect and caution. "Ok, well good luck. Don't forget, your Path from here will be tied to who you are, where you've been, and where you want to go. That's what this Star Point is for."

I considered that moment of wisdom, that moment of perfect patience I had seen in him earlier. Conner and his family were much more than they appeared, just like this place.

"Will I ever come back here?" I asked him.

Conner looked thoughtful. I could tell he was weighing how he wanted to answer that. It grated on me instantly.

"I'm a big boy, I can handle the full truth."

"Ok. You may visit this Star Point again in the future, depending on how this next step goes. If it does not go well you will never Travel again."

I looked down at Riva. She softly swished her feathery tail and looked back at me with as innocent an expression as any cat could muster. I snorted at her.

"Fine. I hope to see you again. I've got questions."

Conner shook my hand. "Best of luck, Werecat. I hope to see you again, too."

I turned and walked out of the farmhouse, Riva gliding along next to me. The night was quiet, the moon gleaming far above, lighting the long, straight pathway with a welcoming, yet lonely glow. The moment the door shut behind me I felt a deep melancholy settle over me, an aching line tracing down through the pathways of my memories, strumming it's ghostly fingers over the strings of old emotions.

Riva heard me sigh, her head swiveling to look up at me. I kept walking, kept my gaze straight ahead. I couldn't bear to look in those deep, emerald oceans right now, I couldn't bear to imagine her seeing what I was feeling, when I barely knew what I was feeling myself.

"You're leaving a piece of yourself behind. You're moving forward. Accept it, own it, and know this is the best Path for you now."

I growled at her. It was meant to sound like a frustrated warning, but instead it came out sounding too much like a lost, confused kitten. Her tail swished the air as she walked next to me, but at least she had stopped staring up at me.

I scented the night air, wondering at how familiar it smelled. I caught hints of soft rosemary, brilliant lilacs, and the soothing warmth of honeysuckle. The arrow-straight path led off into the darkness, and I was only vaguely aware of how impenetrable that darkness was.

I was no longer scenting the air. Those flowers, the scents of clean soil, the gentle night air itself, had all pulled at my earliest memories. I was walking down a path I had long forgotten. A path I had shoved down, down, far behind my running thoughts.

The path to happy times before my mother left.

The darkness about me flickered, a cold shimmer speeding off into the distance, and suddenly I found myself walking in a narrow canyon. The walls were a colorless gray, almost achingly empty. Every inch of them were ornately carved, with immaculate detail. Faces, people, places.

I saw Genevieve's face. Luna's face. Kiera, Melika, Talia, Chan, Dallin, Tad, and many others. The faces were carved in the gray stone, but they still seemed active, like they were holding still only long enough for me to look away, before springing to life.