Raven (Legends Saga Book 2) (20 page)

“In her defense that grinning clown
sign atop it
was
terrifying,” Rip interjected.

If she heard Rip’s barb she ignored him
. Shaking her head, Ireland gnawed on her lower lip. “Maybe we should go back? See if there’s anything we missed?”

Noah stopped short and spun on his he
el, a mischievous glint adding golden sparks to his hazel eyes. “There’s another way. Spirits want to whisper all sorts of nasty things in
his
ear.” He nodded in Ridley’s direction. “Turn him loose, see if he can
scare
us up any leads.”

Ridley stepped well inside Ireland’s personal bubble. Catching a lock of her hair, he gave a gentle tug before running two fingers down the length of it. “Anything to get my hands o
ff her, huh?
Tsk, tsk, tsk
. Not a shred of confidence in the sacred bond of your relationship. What a pity.”

“
You wanna keep that hand?” Ireland muttered, casting a pointed look from him to his wandering digits and back again.

Hooking his thumbs in his belt loops, Noah puffed his chest in full male bravado.
“I have complete confidence in us
and
the fact that you are exactly the kind of d-bag she hates.”

Running his tongue over his teeth, Ridley made no attempts to hi
de the glee that crinkled the corners of his striking blue eyes. “And yet, she and I share a deeper, more tragically uniting bond than you two ever will. Seems that knowledge would sting a bit.”

Truth be told, their posturing barely pinged Ireland’s annoyance radar in light of everything else they were facing.  There were far bigger
issues at hand than boys and their delicate egos. That made it all the more surprising when their voices faded, as if tumbling down a long infinite tunnel, drowned out by the demonic cackle of her beast within.

In any
previous transformation, Ireland found herself at the mercy of a rising wave of darkness that would eagerly consume her unless she clung to the steadfast buoys that kept the storming essence of the Hessian at bay.

This time was different.

The ground of sanity crumbled beneath her feet, sending her freefalling into the realms of madness. Her pulse drummed a hypnotic beat in her temples, hushing her to bite back the pain and be still as the beast ripped his way out. No time to cry out. No chance to stop it. The Hessian birthed forth in the tightening of her skin stretching taut over bone. Her lips ripened, plump berries ready to be plucked. Veins bulged, weaving intricate patterns that framed her eyes with a wicked twist. Metal winged around the bend, slicing the air with a foreboding whistle. Sunlight caught the blade, illuminating it with a halo of divinity. Turning her wrist to receive it, Ireland allowed the hilt to nestle into her waiting palm.

“
What the—” Noah’s question cut off the second he glanced over and caught the full magnitude of their suddenly dire situation. His hand plunged into the front pocket of his jeans as he locked stares with Ridley. “Dude, step away from her.
Now
.”

A man thrown in a pit of sleeping lions, Ridley attempted to extract himself as quickly and quietly as possibly
—only to feel her unrelenting grasp tighten.

Her head turned on her
struggling captor. Peering at him from under her lowered brow, venom radiated from her glare. “This is Poe’s little stooge?”

Ridley’s free hand rose and fell to his side with a
n exasperated slap. “Is there an answer I can give here that will make you drop the sword?”

“Not likely,” she hissed and lunged for him.

A flick of her hand and flawless steel whipped in a wide circle at her hip. Ridley backpedaled as far back as her bear trap grasp would allow, only to get tangled in his own feet. A malicious smile twisted across her face as she followed him down, pinning him to the pavement. The edge of her blade pressed to his throat, bobbing with his deep gulp.  

“
The spirits whisper that you’re some sort of messiah,” the Hessian murmured through Ireland, his fleshy vehicle. “I wonder if your touch could set me free? Release me from this hellish prison?”

Ireland’s pointy-pink tongue dragged across Ridley’s top lip, despite his best efforts to pull away. The pressure of her blade ke
pt the threat of death unmistakably real.

“
Mmmmm
.” She relished the taste of him as if contemplating a fine wine. “Not what I hoped for, but possibly something even better.”

Taking advantage of the distraction,
Noah caught Ireland in headlock with one arm and used the opposite hand to press the talisman flat against her forehead. Even as the skin sizzled and an anguish wail tore from her throat, he held firm. The whites of her eyes grew, rolling back in her head. Noah grunted and shifted his restricted arm to around her torso as her body fell slack, giving Ridley the opportunity to stumble free.

“
That was … invigorating,” Ridley’s chest rose and fell with each panted gasp, “and somewhat arousing in an incredibly confusing way.”

“
That pretty much describes every day spent with Ireland Crane,” Noah admitted with a subtle cock of his head. Easing her sleeping form to the ground, he brushed a lock of hair from her face and watched the Hessian’s hold slowly relent. The peachy hue returned to her lips. Dark, scrolling veins were hidden by life, plumping her skin. The black, bruise-like circles around her eyes faded, leaving no trace behind they had ever been.

She came to with a start, bolting upright with her body quaking in fear. “
What happened
? Did I hurt anyone?”

“No
.” Noah gently caught her chin with his hooked index finger and tipped her face to his. “Everyone is fine.”

Her eyes sparkled with a flood of tears she tried,
unsuccessfully, to blink away. “I lost control so fast. I couldn’t even—”

“Hey, that’s why I’m here with that nifty piece of jewelry, remember?”
The chain rippled from the side of his palm before the talisman caught and swung from Noah’s pinched fingers. “Consider this you adding purpose to my life.”

Her own self-loathing t
ook the form of a steady pounding between her eyes, forcing Ireland to press the heel of her palm to forehead. “And Ridley thought hanging with me was the safer option than the voices and visions.”

“Ah, he was being an arrogant prick
.” Pocketing the talisman, Noah offered her a hand and hoisted her to her feet. “Maybe this was a learning experience for him.”

The minute the treads of her
boots hit the ground a thought jolted through her, snapping her spine straight and clenching both her hands on Noah’s forearm. “That man in the hospital! Whatever he injected me with could be responsible for me losing control! I mean, I couldn’t even
attempt
to stop it! What if next time—”

“
Ireland
!” Noah barked in stern interruption, despite the deep creases between his brows that mirrored her own concern. “We have enough life-and-death crap to deal with right now without playing ‘I think we might have another problem.’”

“I hate to interrupt,” Rip called, his hand tentatively
rose to get their attention. “However, I think we might have another problem.”

“It’s like I’m talking to myself,” Noah mumbled, throwing his palms skyward as he turned.
 

The new issue wasn’t hard to spot. Ridley
stood statue still, his unblinking eyes drained milky white. The petals of his lips moving in an inaudible chant.

Ireland puffed her cheeks and scratched at the back of her head. “Some couples order Chinese food and watch movies on the couch.”

“And us?” Noah smirked in expectation of her answer.

“We go see what the catatonic stock broker is mumbling about.”

The trio inche
d closer, turning an ear toward him. Their cautious steps pausing only when the hushed syllables began to make sense. 

“
Moonlight comes with dark intent.

Caution sinners, ye must repent
.”

Ireland’s head spun in Rip’s direction,
her cherry-cola colored bangs falling in her eyes. “Is that..?”

“Eleanora,” he finished for her. His expression
rivaling her own on the stupefaction meter. 

The long dead witch, easily recognizable by her habit of only speaking in rhymes, had helped Ireland once before
. However to utilize her services on that occasion they had to perform an intricate summoning spell inside a crypt. This time she found her
own
doorway in. The questions of how and why sent a tingle of unease skittering down Ireland’s spine.

“
A curse released with a raven’s flap,
” the spirit continued in her chilling death rattle.

“N
ow the mortal coil threatens to snap.

An infamous love, destined nevermore,

for death could not claim the enchanting Lenore.

She walks the earth, a plague on mankind,

searching for he her rotted heart doth pine.

Combine the forces of dark and light

to overcome this monstrous plight.

Yet,
ye be warned, as the raven doth fly,

for the rest to live … one must die
.”

“You know what I didn’t miss having in my life?” Ireland said, her fingers combing through her hair to push her bangs behind her ear. “C
ryptic rhymes.”

“
The last part of the message was quite clear, and not the least bit uplifting.” Rip cringed and stifled a yawn behind his hand.

Ridley lurched forward a step, the motion appearing more mechanical than human.
“
A tool gifted by the dead, revealing the path you must be led.
”

Noah, Rip, and Ireland all matched his advance with wide steps back.

“Like a supernatural compass?” Ireland’s uneasy tone rose to a breathless squeak. “That could be helpful, right?”

One hand fumbled in his pants pocket as Ridley’s form was stiffly forced forward another step.
“
A lone being, split to two. Only
one
will lead to the devilish shrew
.”

“Okay, that one I didn’t get at al—
whoa
!” Ireland’s statement was cut-off by Ridley forcefully shoving her into Noah in his dive at Rip. All the air left the shocked old man’s chest in a wheeze as Ridley’s forearms hit him mid-chest and rode him straight into the sidewalk.

“
Get off me you crazy nit
!” Rip slapped at Ridley’s hands, which had caught his bearded cheeks and pinched his mouth into fish lips.

Noah steadied Ireland on her feet then stepped around her, intent on breaking up the
tousling twosome. Her one step to follow instantly jerked his arm, blocking her path. “No way. You stay out of this. Turn around, meditate, whatever; just stay nice and Zen. Your involvement would turn this birthday candle event into an erupting volcano.”

“Good analogy
.” She nodded her approval and jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll be over there.”

“Al
l right, little buddy,” Noah said through gritted teeth. One hand grasped Ridley’s collar, the other looping around his belt to hoist him off Rip—whose eyes were beginning to roll with the threat of an impending snooze. “Off ya go!”

A second before being yanked out of arm’s reach, Ridley scrambled with whatever it was he had dug from his pocket and forcefully shoved it
between Rip’s puckered lips. The shock of the intrusion set Rip over the edge, his body sagging as sleep claimed him ... with the mysterious item still lodged in his mouth.  

Ireland’s head pulled back in a disgusted cringe, while conflicting gross interest inched her closer a couple paces.
“What the heck did he put in his mouth?”

Sparing the delicate touch, Noah dropped Ridley to the ground with a heavy
thump
. “
Really
trying not to think about that just yet.”

“They’re teeth,” Ridley’s own voice filtered up, muffled by the
concrete sidewalk his face was mashed into. Rolling to his side, he sat up, still blinking away the effects of his spiritual overtaking.

Every level of confusion swirled across Noah’s chiseled features, his mouth opening and shutting like a land-bound cod. “
Wha … how … whe
..?”

“Start with why,” Ireland suggested
. Crouching beside her snoring friend, she pulled his top lip up to take a peek. “Why you would ever put what looks like antique dentures into another person’s mouth?”

“
An incredibly demanding spirit was insisting on it.” Ridley rubbed the side of his cheek where the pavement had kissed it to a bright pink. “I tried to fight her, but the psychotic witch commandeered my body!”