Call of the Raven (29 page)

Only when they passed her apartment building
did she beg him to stop. The look of reluctance on his face told
her he didn’t really want to. Then, the only reason he more than
likely relented was to gain her silence. Walking the gap he had
created back to her, he removed the glasses from his pocket and put
them on. A second later he cursed and threw them to the ground.
They must have been broken in the fight.

“I just need to check something. It will only
take me a second, please?” Elle begged, “It’s everything I
have.”

A frown appeared on his brow. He looked to
the burned building and then with a sigh, nodded an approval. Elle
slowly walked to the area where she had seen the suitcase last.
Ducking under yellow tape she carefully walked over heaps of
shifting fallen shingles.

With the toe of her white Dollar Store
sneakers she poked around in the rubble, while behind her, Asher
exhaled heavily. When she turned back to look at him, he stood with
his head lowered, and he was removing the mint tin from his coat
pocket.

“Just what are hoping to find?” He didn’t
look up when he asked. He just sounded bothered.

“I was leaving an abusive boyfriend when all
hell broke loose. I dropped a suitcase…” Elle allowed her words to
trail off the very instant she spotted the suitcase where it lied,
open, upside down and emptied of its contents. After a brief look
around she spotted several articles of clothing that had belonged
to her, scorched and tattered. There was no point in anything she
was doing.

She turned around just in time to witness
Asher spit out a mint. He pulled something off his tongue and then
angrily tossed the tin at the dumpster.

“I assume it’s a lost cause,” he grumbled and
spit again. “Then, if you’re finished I need to find a bird.”

“Bird?” Elle hurried again to match his long
strides. “You mean that bird-guy in the leather coat that attacked
Mary and me?”

“I can only guess you mean Steve Barton the
leader of the Blackbirds but in this particular case I am not. I am
referring to a different bird, another Lake.” He scanned the sky.
“This one’s a falcon and he’s missing.”

“Yes, you’re brother mentioned him. The last
time I saw him he was flying above that building.” Elle pointed to
the roof across the alley. Asher thoughtfully nodded, pondering the
apartment building before him.

“Do you know how to get up there?” he
asked.

“I’ve never been in that building but the
layouts probably the same as mine. And if that’s the case, the only
way to get in is the front entrance, other than the fire
escapes.”

Asher visually inspected the rusty ladders
attached to the brick building and then discounted the idea. Even
Elle could see that some of the brackets that were supposed to
attach the ladder to the side of the building had broken loose.
“What a horribly bad design. It would be better for you to go in
the front,” he said moving on. “Let’s just be quiet in that
endeavor. I would rather not draw attention to myself if
possible.”

Elle casually glanced over her shoulder to
the ugly brick building that had been her home for the last five
years. In that moment she realized there wasn’t a morsel of sadness
in the thought of leaving Julio or the apartment behind, not when
he made sure that she held no attachment to anything inside, even
him.

Hesitating Asher looked back. “Are you
coming?” With a nod, Elle started for him. She noticed how his eyes
seem to analyze her as she approached. “I could carry you. You
couldn’t weight much more than a hundred pounds,” he said.

“Thank you, both for the compliment and the
offer, but I’m already starting to feel better.”

“Too bad, you don’t look it.” He turned and
started walking. Elle chose not to be offended by the comment, when
she knew she more than likely looked just as bad as she felt. This
time as they walked, his pace seemed deliberately slower, which
allowed her to keep up with him.

They walked in silence to the end of the
alley, and then turned right along the side street, working their
way to the front of the building. Noting that he seemed a little
uneasy, she decided to talk anyway, even though he didn’t seem to
be inviting conversation.

“So, you can tell if someone’s around then,”
she asked.

Asher nodded. “I have a strong sense of
smell.” He cast a look in her direction and wrinkled his nose. “You
smelled bad before but now you smell of smoke and whatever else you
were digging in.”

“T-thanks.” She closed her arms tight over
Julio’s jean jacket that was far too big for her. “You really know
how to make a woman feel good.”

“Must run in the family then,” he grunted,
“but to better answer your question, I, more than others of my
kind, am acutely aware of everything around me.”

“I saw that, back there.” Elle blushed when
he glanced in her direction. “I don’t believe I’ve seen anything
like that before. I guess your some Karate master or something too
along with being a magician?”

He exhaled long and deep before he spoke.
“Magicians pull rabbits out of hats and pull quarters from behind
the ears of little girls. The proper word for me so you’ll stop
demeaning me with the childish names is a mage. But yes I am a
master of many arts. That however back there wasn’t Karate but a
form of it known as Shaolin Kung Fu, and the primary strategy of
Kung Fu, is to surprise your aggressor from opposite directions.
That way they have little time to counteract an attack. I followed
protocol, nothing more. However, in the light of that, and not to
lessen my abilities, yes I heard them coming.” He ended his words
with a matter-of-fact shrug.

“So you do both, play with your blue
lightening and your…body.” The moment the last word escaped Elle’s
lips in an awkward sort of squeak, she wished she could take it
back. Asher stumbled as he fixed eyes on her.

“The
blue lightening
,” he emphasized,
“is
magic
and even though I know your words were a slipup, I
will inform you that I don’t play with either my magic
or
my
body.”

At the sound of a whistle loud and piercing,
Asher stopped and spun around. Elle stepped closer to him as she
noticed the man heading their way in the light of the streetlamp.
Once she realized that it was Asher’s brother Ari, she relaxed and
so did he.

“Did you hear
him
coming?” she
asked.

Asher flashed red frightening eyes her way.
“I guess I was a little preoccupied with our illuminating
conversation,” he snapped.

Ari eyed her intently as he approached. “I
hope my brother’s been treating you well. He’s not being too
disagreeable is he?” At Ari’s words, Asher hastily wheeled around
with a grunt and assumed walking without them. “Glad that you’re
safe, brother,” Ari said to his retreating back. “I am too. Thanks
for asking!” Grumbling under his breath, Asher increased his speed
and kept going. Returning his attention to her, Ari asked, “Where
are we going?”

“The bird, I mean the falcon—your brother is
searching for him. I told him the last place I saw him was flying
above the roof of that apartment building.” Elle pointed.

A concerned look crossed Ari’s countenance.
“Then we should go. I had to lead some uninvited guest to the party
away and haven’t had a chance to look for him yet.” After a few
quiet steps, he spoke again, “I am glad to see you feeling better.
I guess this has been a real shock for you. I saw your face when
Kennedy changed. I thought you would faint right then but you
didn’t. You held on like a trooper…well till the end when Mr. Tall
Dark and Brooding showed up. ”

“I was more shocked to wake up and realized
that I wasn’t dreaming. I was just looking at the abandoned Dairy
Queen a few days ago from the window of Mary’s apartment admiring
the way the sun was setting over the roof, so it was a little
strange to wake up there and find him watching over me, but he
wasn’t exactly the reason I passed out.”

Ari nodded solemnly, as though he guessed her
reason for that. “Then he kept you safe…while you were there alone
in that abandoned building?” As she relayed the story to Ari about
the men, the phone ringing and Asher knocking them both out, Ari’s
eyes grew wide and stayed that way. Finally he stopped her by
placing a hand on her wrist, while up ahead, Asher hurried into the
night. “Asher circled you in magic and you saw it….and it was
blue
?”

“Yes, why’s the color so important!”

Ari laughed. “I was just curious but hey at
least I know now why he was so angry when he called back. The call
that burst his bubble was from me.” He looked again in Asher’s
direction. “We should catch up.” Elle looked at the proffered hand
he offered, shoved her hands into the pockets of Julio’s coat, and
started walking.

“So ani-shifts really exist?” she mused
aloud.

Ari gestured his hands over his body with a
flirtatious sort of a wink. The army coat hung open in the front
and she could tell that he was put together in all the right
places.

“Living proof before your eyes,” he said,
“but then don’t go shouting the news to everyone you meet. We
prefer existing apart from the outside world if we can. You don’t
seem all that shocked.”

“I’m still wondering when I’ll wake up,” she
laughed.

Ari chuckled in turn. “Well in the meantime,
I’m glad to be a part of your dreams. In case you are wondering,
I’m a dog—a Labrador to be more precise in my animal form. Dogs are
typically the lowest animal on the shifter totem pole but I was
born as a spirit twin to him,” Ari pointed in the direction of
Asher walking ahead of them. “In other words I’m his guardian so
that makes me special.”

“In other words, you’re a watchdog,” she
smiled.

“Aah,” Ari laughed, “a woman with a sense of
humor. So, don’t you think it’s time you tell me your name,
neighbor lady?”

“My names Elle.”

“Like the letter L as in l-o-v-e,” Ari
spelled out the letters with a playful grin. Ari was a handsome man
and he had a nice full lipped movie star kind of appeal. There was
no doubt about that but unlike his brother Asher who spent most of
his time evading her gaze, Ari had spent all of his, every second
since stepping out from under the streetlamp staring straight at
her.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, you’re one
of
those
men.”

Elle came to a complete stop, so fast she
thought she would tumble forward. Even though she was tired and
frazzled, the pain had subsided. The reaction alone was nothing
more than a trigger response.

Asher sat on a step leaning forward with his
arms draped over his knees. His hair hung down enough to conceal
everything but his lips, and those lips that mirrored his brothers
were widely smiling over a set of very white teeth. Knowing both of
them were watching him he looked up. Light from the lamp above
reflected into his eyes giving them a luminescent glow.

Ari stopped behind her. “Asher’s smiling, now
that’s a rare sight,” he said.

“I can’t help it,” Asher laughed. “In just
the short time since your arrival brother I have learned a
significant lesson that not all women fall subject to your
charm.”

“We just met,” Ari said in his defense, “give
it some time.”

Standing Asher spread his arms wide and as he
did his coat fell open to expose a black tee-shirt that was
stretched taut over a muscular chest. That broad chest tapered down
to a thin waist, thick black belt and black jeans. “By all means
take all the time you need.” Turning around, he headed up the
steps. The gesture had seemed to imitate Ari’s earlier invite to
look him over, and Elle couldn’t help but blush since in fact she
had looked Asher over, quite thoroughly.

She would know Julio’s car anywhere, the
revving motor and the loud obnoxious music that screamed disrespect
to all the people sleeping inside their homes. He was at the street
light a block down and the light was about to change.

Hurrying up the steps past Asher holding the
door open she planted her back against the wall behind him. Ari
followed her in and stood on the opposite side of the entry. The
pea green mustang passed by with the thumping Eminem song, clearly
depicting his derogatory views on women, loudly playing over the
expensive Boise speakers, and the glass doors and walls vibrated.
Elle knew then she could never go back.

“Boyfriend?” Asher took a step back as Julio
looked their way, which put him up close and personal to her chest.
Again she caught the scent of musk and leather.

“He was never my boyfriend.” She placed a
hand on his elbow and he tensed under her touch. “Please take me
away from here. I have to get away.” Elle recognized the
desperation in her own voice and it shamed her.

Turning his head sideways Asher looked down
at her hand. His eyes narrowed. “First, tell me what you did to
deserve such treatment.”

“Asher, I’m not sure that’s the right
question,” Ari quietly said.

But it was too late. His answer and delivery
was enough. Elle got his meaning and she was instantaneously
embarrassed. A woman like her couldn’t be trusted. A woman like her
that got kicked out of her home at the age of seventeen, who had
lived through hardship and poverty and through abuse must have done
something to cause her to be in such a situation, and Asher knew
about her pregnancy. She wasn’t sure how he knew but he did and to
him she was trash.

“I didn’t do anything but buy a book, a
stupid book!” Elle shoved him forward into Ari and hurried up the
stairs. She wanted to run away from them, from Julio, from everyone
and everything, but she had no place to go. A light flicked on
under a door. She was being too loud but people in her neighborhood
were used to loud arguing voices.