Ravens and Crows

Chapter 1 ~Adam~

It was a month before graduation. A month before Aglionby was behind me and I started my next step toward the life I wanted. Though there were some days where that vision got a little cloudy. Ronan had finally remade Cabeswater and once again I would go to the forest when it needed me. I also helped Maura and Calla with readings every once in awhile, thought being a psychic wasn't something I would proudly put on my resume.

Gansey, Blue, and Henry were happily planning there country wide trip and counting down the days till school no longer had to be a looming thought. As for Ronan, well he was Ronan. Working around the Barns like he loved and not going to school. Gansey had managed to get out of the deal he made with our principle and got Monmouth back. That meant, naturally, Ronan was defiantly not getting a diploma.

~-~

I woke up early in the morning with a deep sense of unease.

Cabeswater.

But something was wrong. Someone was wrong. There was someone in Cabeswater who wasn't supposed to be there.

I jumped out of bed, got dressed, and ran to my car. I had to get Ronan, we needed to figue out what was going on.

I pushed the speed limit in the 'Hondayota' as much as I could as I made my way to the Barns.

I flew into the driveway and knocked on the door as loud as possible. "Ronan!" I banged on the door. "RONAN!"

The door opened. "What the fuck, Parrish? It's 1 in the morning." Ronan yawned in my face.

"There's something wrong with Cabeswater."

"What do you mean?"

"I think someone's in it."

That woke him up. "Let's go."

Ronan ran out of the house with me and Chainsaw in tow. We ran into the woods that surrounded the Barns at top speed, bursting through the trees while the branches slashed at our arms. Ronan tripped on a root and swore as his leg got cut up.

I picked him up and we kept going. The feeling of unease in my chest only grew.

"Cabeswater," Ronan heaved. "quid emin mali est?"

We ran for awhile before we heard an answer.

Paenitet, Greywaren.

Ronan stopped in his tracks. "What does that mean?" Ronan yelled. "What did you do!" His eyes widened as he pulled out his phone. He dialed a number in and then hissed at it. "Pick up you little twerp."

Apparently the little twerp picked up.

"Ronan, you need to stop calling me so early in the morning."

Ronan let out a sigh of relief. "Matthew. Yeah, sorry about that. Good morning, bye."

He hung up.

"So, what's wrong?" Ronan asked. "What happened.

I took me a moment to realize he was asking me. "I don't know." I answered.

"I thought you were one with the trees."

"Lynch, you made this place. Twice."

He huffed.

Then I felt it. Cabeswater. It was bracing me. Whoever was here, they were near me and Ronan.

"Hello?" I called into the woods.

"Show yourself you asshole!" Ronan yelled.

A man stepped out from in front of us. He was wearing a rather outdated outfit. A trench coat, suit, weird under cut hairstyle, and a crow cane.

"Gentlemen," He greeted. "You mind telling me where the hell I am." It was more of a demand than a request.

Ronan glared at him. "Henrietta, Virginia."

"Where is Virginia?" He asked.

"What do you mean where's Virginia? It's in America dumb ass."

"Where are we in relevance to Ketterdam?"

"Where's Ketterdam?" I asked.

He looked at us baffled. "Where's Ketterdam? Don't be idiots."

"We aren't," I assured him.

"Then tell me where I am."

"We did," Ronan growled.

The teen sighed. "You two are really getting on my nerves."

From a tree Chainsaw called Ronan. "Kerah,"

Ronan turned to me. His eyes read be ready.

For what?

Things to get dirty. His smirk answered.

"This has been a lovely conversation and all," the man wrapped up. "But I really must find a more useful source of information.

"Try what you want," Ronan warned. "But this is my forest."

"Your forest? What does that mean?"

Ronan smirked. It was dangerous, conniving, and snake like. "Test me, and you'll find out."

The man's smirk matched Ronan's in bone chilliness. "Such big talk, but can you hold on to it?"

He yelled "Now!" as Ronan yelled "Praesidio!"

From the right a knife flew at Ronan, from the left a bullet flew at me. Both were blocked by a shield of roots bursting from the ground.

The man's jaw dropped in shock.

"I'll say this one more time." Chainsaw landed on Ronan's shoulder. "Who the fuck are you and why are you here?"

The man went for something in the back of his coat.

Another gun.

"HOLD ON!" A scrawny, strawberry blonde boy popped out from the tree line. One hand out to stop the older boy. "Calm down. This isn't the Barrel, Kaz, we need to be civil."

The teen named Kaz rolled his eyes.

"I'm Wylan." The boy continued. "Wylan Van Eck. This is Kaz Brekker. That," He pointed to a tall dark teen who holstered two revolvers as he came out from the left. "Is Jesper Fahey. Nina Zenik," He gestured to a girl in a red dress with brown hair. "And Inej Ghafa." A dark skinned girl swung down from a tree at the mention of her name. "Sorry to intrude."

"I'm Adam Parrish, this is Ronan Lynch." I introduced. The boy reminded me of Gansey. His soft skin, pale complextion, easy talking. Wherever they were from, this one was from an even different place. "Where are you guys from."

"Ketterdam." Nina said.

The word still meant nothing to me. "Where is that?"

"Not here," Inej stated. "Defiantly not here."