Nevermore

by J. C. McKenzie

  “I know it’s a gun,” Raven said. A sig P226 to be precise. “Why do you have one of Dad’s guns out on the bed?”

  “Well, we hardly need to worry about a toddler stumbling upon it. Besides, it’s your favourite. Your dad trained you how to shoot properly and you have a restricted gun licence.” She took a deep breath. “I think you should carry it with you.”

  “What? Why?” And holy banshee was it loaded? Mom diligently followed protocol for correct gun storage since…since forever. Apparently, gun safety went out the window. It only took some passive aggressive dark fae lords making vague threats to her safety during Sunday dinner.

  Mom’s hip jutted out, giving way more attitude than someone wearing tasteful fall colours and dress pants should muster. “Because the Underworld knows you now. You can’t count on Cole for protection. You shouldn’t. You have no official alliance and he’s serving his own purpose. Besides, Crawford women stand on their own.”

  Somewhere, Grandma Lu cheered.

  “Mom.”

  “Others don’t do things out of the goodness of their hearts, Rayray.” Elizabeth’s harsh expression softened.

  “I don’t have a conceal to carry, or even an open carry permit for that matter. No civilian does. Not even Dad. This is Canada.”

  Mom snorted. “No one’s paid attention to that law since the collapse. Others can die from a bullet, same as a reg.”

  “Mom.”

  “Take it.” Mom picked up the gun and held it out to Raven, grip first. “It will ease my mind.”

  Raven stepped forward and took the firearm from Mom. Her hands curled around the familiar, cool grip. Gun oil and powder tickled her nose. Keeping her finger off the trigger, she pointed the muzzle at the corner of the room and ejected the full mag. Mom had officially lost it. “Odin’s scrotum, Mom. This was loaded.”

  “Why wouldn’t it be loaded? What good would it do you empty?”

  Once Raven removed the ammunition, she observed the chamber, verified the feeding path and examined the bore. Empty.

  Mom’s hand wrapped around her forearm. “Others don’t bluff, Raven. They don’t know how. Never forget that.”

  Chapter Ten

  “God made everything out of nothing. But the nothingness shows through.”

  ~ Paul Valéry

  Raven relaxed into the driver’s seat and dropped her head back onto the headrest. “Are you sure you don’t mind tagging along?”

  Megan pulled another chip from the cardboard tube. “I’m just happy to be child free. I don’t care what I’m doing.” She tossed the chip in her mouth and closed her eyes as she chomped. The salty potato smell erupted in the small cabin area of the car and made Raven’s mouth water.

  Raven chuckled. Her best friend could eat a department store worth of chips if she let herself. “Yeah, but you finally get child-free time—No non-stop talking destruco-boy or squealing baby. Shouldn’t you be somewhere with your feet up getting pampered?”

  Megan shrugged. “I have my feet up.” She wiggled her toes on the dash. “And you brought me chips, so pampering is covered as well.” Her friend’s brown curly hair bobbed as she nodded to herself.

  “It’s just not that exciting.”

  Megan narrowed her blue eyes. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  “Not at all. I love company on a stakeout.”

  Megan smiled and popped another chip in her mouth. “I’m not even sure why we’re staking out this chick if your brother already set up cams.”

  “That’s the thing. He hasn’t yet. We’re staking her out manually to figure out when she’s gone so we can set up the cams.”

  “So, why isn’t Mike here?” She crunched down on another chip. Odin’s scrotum she was a loud chewer. Good thing Raven parked far enough away. The sound couldn’t tip off the target.

  “He’s still in class. He should be here in half an hour.”

  Kelly Clementine lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in the middle of suburbia. Her basement suite sat below a large West Coast style house that had been divided into four units to serve as an income property. The owner lived in the West End, collecting his riches in rent cheques while Kelly inhabited the bottom left unit. Streetlights cut through the inky darkness of mid-October, illuminating a path down the side of the building. Green shrubs of some kind lined the cement walkway to the target’s front door.

  “Ooooooo!” Megan sat up in her seat, spraying chip crumbs everywhere, and elbowed Raven in the ribs. “Look!”

  Raven grunted and rubbed her side. Megan would make a terrible PI. Her overreactions would alert any nervous or paranoid target. Thankfully, Kelly appeared oblivious to her surroundings and hopefully she’d remain that way.

  “I see her.”

  Kelly walked down the path with long, confident strides. Tight dark denim jeans accentuated her long legs and a low cut, bustier-style top emphasized her considerable cleavage. Her heels clacked against the pavement and echoed into the night.

  “Doesn’t look like an invalid,” Megan muttered. “Or a teacher.”

  Raven agreed, with the first comment, at least. She tried to block all her memories from school. She held a monopod with a small video camera attached to the end and zoomed in on Kelly’s face, perfectly illuminated by the overhead lights. Girl found her light, but Raven doubted she’d appreciate her glowing features when they showed the feed in court.

  Kelly’s cheeks held a natural healthy flush. Her lash extensions looked thick and recently applied, or she was an expert at applying the fake ones. Raven never mastered that particular skill. She always ended up with the lash glue smeared through her eye makeup. Getting extensions held a lot of appeal until Raven saw the price tag. That kind of beauty didn’t come cheap.

  Megan held up her binoculars and let out a low whistle. No self-respecting PI whistled in the car. Holding up the binos was bad enough. “Nice lashes.”

  “And nails,” Raven added, watching Kelly off the camera screen.

  “And hair.”

  Kelly Clementine didn’t hurt for money, and on a reduced income, that raised a red flag all on its own. Maybe she had a sugar daddy? Or a successful side business?

  Once Raven captured Kelly’s face, she zoomed out to get a head to toe shot with a little extra above and below and followed Kelly as she sauntered to her car and slid into the driver’s seat without a single hitch in her step.

  Years ago, Mom threw her back out from tripping over one of Mike’s building blocks. Not only did she demonstrate some colourful language, she hobbled for weeks. She certainly didn’t strut her stuff in heels or throw herself into a car to drive off into the night.

  Before Raven ditched the camera, she zoomed in and got a shot of the licence plate. Kelly maneuvered the car from the corner and the vehicle slipped into the darkness.

  “Why don’t you just use your phone?” Megan eyed her set-up.

  “The Canadian court system still hasn’t upgraded to this century. Though the resolution is almost the same, there’s an inherent distrust among jurors for videos and photos taken by a phone. Although I vehemently disagree with that, collecting evidence on my phone when and where I could’ve used a camera or video camera, makes me look less professional.”

  “That’s dumb.”

  “Completely.”

  “If you have to use the video camera, why don’t you use a tripod?” Megan asked.

  “The monopod is still steady, and I find it more versatile. I don’t have to prop it on anything.”

  “Huh.” Megan turned to face Raven, some straggling crumbs falling from her chest. “Go time?”

  Raven laughed. “No one says that.”

  “Well, sorry, Miss Professional PI. Not everyone has your expertise.” Megan bristled. “They say it in the movies.”

  “I’m sorry. You’re doing fine.”

  “Damn right I am.”

  Raven shook her head and placed the monopod on the backseat. She popped open the car door. The hinges of Jean Claude g
roaned in protest. She winced. If she had the money, she’d replace this hunk of junk. It stood out too much and made too much noise. Blending in was key to good surveillance. Luckily, she rarely conducted stakeouts or tails in cars.

  With her phone on vibrate and stuffed in her jeans’ pocket, Raven walked down the street and along the path toward Kelly’s door. The soft soles of her black sneakers padded on the pavement. Juni called them her B&E sneakers.

  The white veneer of the target’s entrance stared back at her. She knocked, not expecting an answer. Preliminary research didn’t turn up any significant others, love children, friends or siblings with no respect for boundaries. If someone did answer though, Raven had an arsenal of covers.

  Hearing no footsteps or the usual hollering accompanying an unexpected visit, Raven turned to the wood fence opposite of the door. She slid a small wireless spy cam from her pocket. About the size of her thumbnail, the outdoor covert tech didn’t have the longest battery life, so she needed to place it so the motion detectors didn’t constantly get triggered and drain the battery.

  Pinching the protective cover between her fingers, she peeled back the plastic to expose the adhesive and stuck the camera low on the inside of the post where natural shadows would conceal it and the weeds from the overgrown garden wouldn’t trigger the sensors with every gust of wind.

  She stuffed the plastic film in her pocket. Her phone vibrated. Raven froze. She told Megan to text her if anyone pulled up to the house. Her phone vibrated again. Crap. It was one thing to talk to an unexpected guest in the house, and another entirely to run into the target. She didn’t want to meet Kelly unless there was no alternative. Even with an arsenal of excuses, once Kelly saw Raven’s face, Raven’s chances of sneaking around unnoticed for future surveillance drastically decreased.

  Raven turned to the backyard, which was separated from the walkway with a solid wood gate. The smell of cedar tickled her nose. She slipped through the entrance and quickly closed the gate, careful to lower the latch manually instead of letting it click shut.

  Raven stepped into the backyard with an overgrown lawn and an unmaintained garden. She couldn’t be caught in the target’s fully enclosed backyard. The “I lost my cat” excuse only went so far.

  The far end of the yard backed onto an alley. Raven silently groaned and jogged toward the cedar fence to gain some momentum.

  She grabbed the top of the fence with both hands and hoisted her body up. She clenched her teeth and swung her legs over. Her foot caught the edge. A dog barked. Her arms screamed. With a low grunt, she threw herself over the fence and braced for impact.

  Plastic and cardboard crunched. Air whooshed from her lungs. She landed on full garbage bags.

  Ugh.

  As thankful as she was not to land straight on pavement after vaulting a five foot fence, the ripe stench of garbage left out in the sun too long was not appreciated.

  The gate by the house clicked. Had Kelly heard the racket? Did she decide to investigate? Raven froze. She couldn’t move now. If she did, Kelly would hear the bags crinkle. With a silent groan, Raven kept her body relaxed against the super stuffed garbage bags. Her gag reflex pulsed. Her head rested against the haphazardly tied opening and the edge of a milk carton dug into her cheek through the thin bag. The smell of sour milk infiltrated her nose. Something wet soaked through her pant leg.

  Raven continued to hold her breath to stay quiet and prevent the overpowering stench from further assaulting her nose.

  After an eon or two, the gate clicked shut and the heels click clacked up the stairs toward the street. Raven let out a long breath. She rolled off the garbage bags and wiped her jeans, even though no trash actually stuck to her, and a gentle brush wouldn’t be enough to get rid of the garbage juice saturating the material covering her right leg.

  Something scuffed the pavement behind her. Raven whipped around and bit back a shriek. Her heart lodged in her throat and her vision swam from the fast movement.

  Two large eyes glowed under the alley lights. A fat raccoon stood four feet away, patiently waiting for Raven to remove herself from the proximity of his or her dinner.

  Raven eyed the garbage. Pretty stupid to leave the trash out at night. These creatures were pretty wily and ruthless when it came to getting their next meal. They could open the childproof containers that gave Raven a hard time.

  The trash panda stepped forward. With a large fluffy body and a clean, healthy coat, this one didn’t struggle to find food.

  Raven always thought raccoons were cute, but after Dad got in a fight with one while in his fox form, Raven realized how vicious they really were. Well, everyone told her growing up they were mean, but now she knew for certain.

  Dad would’ve lost the fight if he hadn’t shifted back to a human and scared the crap out of the other animal.

  The raccoon hissed. The tail puffed out. Like this one needed to look any larger.

  “Okay, okay,” she whispered. “I’m going.”

  Apparently, she had overstayed her welcome. Raven spun to go the other way and walked into a wall of muscle.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Instant gratification takes too long.”

  ~ Carrie Fisher

  Raven bounced off the hard chest and stumbled back. Strong hands reached out, gripped her arms and steadied her. Air infused with a deep magical forest caressed her skin.

  Cole.

  Her scalp prickled in warning. Gee, thanks, faedar. A little late on this one.

  “Raven.” His deep voice punctuated the stillness of the night. Everything else around her faded into the distance. The raccoon, the target, the potential mugger lurking around the corner. All that existed was the man standing in front of her.

  “Beul na h-Oidhche gu Camhanaich,” she whispered.

  His hands tightened on her arms briefly before falling away.

  Did her presence affect him in the same way? Did her voice conjure images of their time together?

  Cole wrinkled his nose. “I prefer when you smell of the rain.”

  Awareness of her surroundings crashed back. The garbage. The smell. The giant dark fae lord in an alley. Oh crap.

  She would’ve preferred to smell like anything other than soiled trash, but the world always conspired against her.

  A small smile cracked Cole’s serious expression. His teeth shone under the streetlights, while his porcelain skin glowed. The rest of him was mired in darkness—jet black hair and clothing made him all but disappear.

  “Why are you here?” she asked.

  “Can’t a man admire the finesse and grace of an expert fence vaulter?”

  She snarled.

  “I particularly enjoyed how you stuck the landing.”

  “Now you’re just being mean.” She folded her arms. “Why are you really here?”

  “It’s time for your crash course on the Queen of Corvids and Underworld courts.” He stepped forward, undoubtedly to gather her in his arms again and whisk her off to the Other Realms.

  “Um…no!” She jerked back and stopped him with a hand on his chest. His heart beat slow and steady under her palm.

  His dark brows pinched in.

  “My friend is waiting for me.”

  “The one in your car?”

  She narrowed her eyes. Exactly how long was he watching her? “Yes.”

  “Text her later.” He reached forward.

  Raven slipped from his grip and danced backward on her tiptoes. “I can’t text her later. There’s no reception in the Underworld. She’ll think something happened to me and call in the cavalry.”

  “The cops?” Cole sneered.

  Well, okay, snob. Apparently, the VPD didn’t have any street cred with the patron fae of assassins.

  “No.” She unfolded her arms and placed her hands on her hips. “My mother.”

  Cole paled. Though his interactions with her mom were limited, and positive, Cole still picked up on the crazy simmering beneath the tanned surface of Elizabeth Crawford
’s skin.

  “Text her now. I’ll wait.”

  “Hang on.” Raven pulled out her phone and texted Cole instead of Megan.

  His pocket buzzed and he pulled out his phone from his dark jeans. He read the screen, his gaze snapping back and forth while he held perfectly still. His eyebrows shot up. “No?”

  She winked and spun on her heel. The raccoon hissed at her again, this time with a partially eaten chicken leg clutched in its paw.

  Cole didn’t reply, but the shadows pulled around her and brushed her skin before flowing down the alley. Just like that—gone.

  Her feet slapped the pavement as she walked around the block and made her way back to the car. The cool air pushed against her skin, making her eyes water a little. Megan waited inside, vibrating with eyes the size of Mom’s favourite display dish. If Raven paused long enough, she’d probably hear all the questions tumbling around in her friend’s brain. Luckily, Megan waited to voice them until Raven slipped into Jean Claude and shut the door.

  “How’d it go? Did you plant the spy cam? Did Kelly see you?” She paused to brush the chip crumbs stuck to her sweater off her chest. “Did you get busted? How’d you get away? Why do you smell like garbage?”

  Raven sighed and turned the key in the ignition. Her car’s engine sputtered to life. “It’s a good thing we have a long drive home.”

  Megan’s face scrunched up. “I’m not so sure lucky is the right word. Ugh. The smell is getting worse.”

  Raven laughed and pulled the car away from the curb. Her stomach twisted as she recounted the events to her friend. She enjoyed sharing the details with Megan and laughing away the tension knotting her shoulders and neck, but a cloud always loomed over her when she shared information with Megan. And the cloud just got bigger and bigger, darker and darker.

  Raven left out any mention of Cole and the dark courts of the Underworld. She’d lied to her friend for years. Sure, it was by omission, but if the truth ever came out, if she ever owned up to it, Megan wouldn’t see the distinction.