by Aliya DalRae
“Come on man,” Viper was saying. “You know this isn’t my thing, and Tas is tied up right now. I need you to come back, to talk to me. I’ll do my best to help you through, but damn. I’m not good at the talking guys down thing. I need your help here.”
Come back? Where does he think I am? Perry’s arms were heavy and he was exhausted, which made no sense either. It wasn’t that late, and he’d just fed when he and Heidi…
Heidi.
Perry looked down, and saw again the form of his lover bleeding in his arms. A fresh wave of grief flooded through him and he collapsed to his knees, clutching her to him with one arm as he stroked her blood-streaked hair with his free hand. He knew he was crying, in front of a Warrior no less, but he couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to.
When Viper approached him again, he didn’t react, didn’t object, and he only resisted slightly when the Warrior took the fragile body from his arms, leaving him feeling emptier yet.
“I’ll do right by her, Perry. I promise,” Viper said, and when their eyes met Perry nodded. “Why don’t you head back to the barracks? Get some rest. I know Mason’ll want to talk to you, but first things first, man. I’ll stall him until you’re ready.”
“Thanks,” Perry whispered, grateful that Viper was the one to respond. He was a straight shooter, said what he thought no matter how unpopular his opinion. The fact that he was making an effort at nice spoke volumes about how Perry must look.
“You okay to get back on your own?” Viper asked. He had laid Heidi on the ground and gently closed her eyes. Perry nodded again. His eyes were focused on the ruined body before him, but his mind was on what he had to do. Viper was still talking, his words so much noise, but when Perry felt the Warrior clap him on the shoulder, he rose and looked the male in the eye.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, and he meant it. As soon as Raven’s blood mixed with Heidi’s on Perry’s hands, he would be more than fine.
Chapter Fifty-Two
I woke with a start, a scream stuck in the back of my throat. Malcolm was on my chest, rubbing his head against my chin, and there was a loud banging coming from somewhere. I scrambled to a sitting position, clutching Malcolm in my arms. My breathing came in gasps, and though the night was cool, I was drenched in sweat. Tears were streaming down my cheeks, and when the pounding sounded again, I jumped. Christ on a cracker, somebody was at the door.
Not now, I begged silently, my shoulders shaking with each tear-filled gasp. Malcolm let me squeeze the living hell out of him—another reason I loved this cat—and I choked back another sob as the persistent banging continued.
“I’m coming,” I yelled at whoever was trying to tear my door down, but I think it came out in a squeak. I reluctantly set Malcolm beside me, climbed out of bed, and grabbed my robe off the chair by the closet.
Though I ran downstairs as quick as I could, Malcolm fast on my heels, the pounding had become non-stop.
“Okay, okay,” I yelled as I unlocked and unchained the door. I swung it open, still wiping tears from my cheeks as I tried to come to terms with another damning vision of Raven. “I’m here, alright. Hold your damn…”
What the hell?
I don’t know who or what I expected, but this wasn’t it.
Perry was standing on my porch, at least it looked like Perry, but I had never seen him like this. His eyes were sparking like molten lava, and his clothes, his hands, even his face and hair, were covered in blood. And he looked like pure fury.
That’ll teach me to open the door in the middle of the night without asking who’s there.
“Where is he,” Perry hissed at me, pacing the small space of my porch, his head swinging back and forth like an agitated lion.
“W-where’s…who?” I stammered, taking a step back inside my kitchen and wishing like hell that Vampires had to have an invitation to enter.
“Raven.” He nearly roared the name, and I stumbled back another step. Malcolm jumped into the doorway, separating me from the mad Vampire on my porch. I reached for him, to keep him from harm’s way, but he hissed and nipped my hand, so I let him be.
“He—he’s not here,” I had no idea why Perry was looking for Raven, and frankly I didn’t want to. “Perry?” His head snapped in my direction and he stopped pacing when he locked my gaze, his eyes shimmering with pain.
He stood in a soft halo of porch light, and the patterns on his cheeks looked remarkably like my own tear-streaked face. Only his were in blood. Perry had been crying?
Oh, no. No, no, no!
“Have to find him,” he said, banging the screen door on his way back out into the night.
“Perry,” I cried, and like a fool, I ran after him. “Perry wait. Please, tell me what happened.”
“He killed her,” Perry shouted into the darkness, wheeling around and glaring at me, his anguish unmistakable. I was shaking uncontrollably, but not from fear. No, this was far worse. My legs felt like rubber bands, unable to support me and I fell to my knees, fresh tears burning my cheeks.
“No, Perry. No. Please tell me it wasn’t Heidi.” I had never met the Were, but whenever I saw Perry he talked about her non-stop. He was completely and irrevocably in love with the girl. The girl I had the unfortunate displeasure of seeing shredded at my own lover’s hands.
“You know,” Perry growled, and his fury returned, replacing the pain. Moonlight reflected off one of his fangs, and I should have been afraid, but I was too devastated. I just sat full on the ground and cried.
“You know,” he screamed again, and before I could blink he was on me, pulling me to my feet, his grip on my shoulders keeping me vertical. Perry was small for a Vampire, not too much taller than me, so his searching, accusing eyes bore directly into mine until I squeezed my lids shut, not wanting to see the truth.
Raven had murdered Perry’s girl, and Perry wouldn’t rest until Raven met the same end.
Chapter Fifty-Three
“P erry! Let her go!” Someone was shouting. It was too late for all this noise, what with my head still spinning, and my lungs not working properly. Perry still had me by the shoulders, and I opened my eyes again, reluctant to see the hurt on his bloody-tear stained face, but unable to continue hiding.
“You saw her too?” I asked, virtual knives stabbing at my chest, and the spark in his eyes faded a bit.
“I found her,” his gaze fell behind me, and I knew he was reliving the moment. I swayed, his panicked grasp the only thing keeping me on my feet, because I knew exactly what he was seeing.
I felt more than saw the two figures approaching from the drive. I hadn’t heard the SUV pull in, but when they moved toward us, I thought I knew who it was, and I shook my head hoping they would understand not to come any closer.
“I’m so sorry, Perry,” I whispered, and I raised my hands to his shoulders, mirroring his hold on me. I gave a slight tug, and before I knew it I had the full weight of him in my arms, and we both fell to our knees, lost in shared sorrow.
“I tried to help her,” his voice was small, lost, “but it was too late. She couldn’t drink.” I had an idea what he had tried to do, and my already shredded heart twisted. He had tried to heal her with his blood, like Raven had healed me. God, what a mess.
Fortunately, Perry was too lost in his grief to notice that the male he sought was mere feet from him. I thought Tas was probably throwing out some of his emo mojo to keep Perry calm, and as I held him I hoped I was helping the cause. But any minute now he was going to realize that Raven was there, and all hell was going to break loose.
“You did what you could,” I reassured the male as Raven and Tas approached but Perry’s shoulders tensed, and I knew the jig was up.
“Rapist,” Perry growled without looking, and now I tensed, waiting for the Clash of the Titans to play out in my front yard. Perry was out of my arms and on Raven before any of us could react. His fists were flying more quickly than my human eyes could follow, making contact again and again with Raven’s face as they tumbled
to the ground.
And Raven did nothing to protect himself.
I jumped to my feet, helpless, as he lay on the ground and let Perry pummel the shit out of him. Not exactly the reaction you would expect from a guy who could filet a women and laugh the whole time. In fact, he had no emotional reaction at all. No spark. No fang. Nothing.
I watched as Tas tried to separate the two, Perry clearly not planning to stop until exhaustion took him. Eventually, Tas was able to calm the situation, though, probably by expending more of his abilities than he ever had, before grabbing the Soldier and pulling him off of Raven.
Raven lay there for a bit, and I nearly ran to see if he was okay. Then I remembered why all of this was happening and wished that Tas had let it go on a bit more.
Perry was still screaming at Raven, hurling accusations and threats, and Tas was holding him back, trying to keep him under control.
Raven stood, blood streaming from his nose and a multitude of cuts on his face. He walked past us to my picnic table and sat on one of the benches with his back to the house, resting his head in his hands with a shattered sigh.
“He didn’t do it,” Tas was yelling at Perry, but I couldn’t be hearing that right. I watched as the two argued, and snuck a look back at Raven, who looked like his entire world had imploded. If I didn’t know him better, I would swear he had given up. Maybe now, with Heidi’s death, he would admit that he was out of control and needed help.
“She saw him,” I heard Perry insist, and looked back at the two as Tas turned a questioning eye on me. Raven looked up as well.
“I did,” I said, my focus completely on Raven, and his shoulders sagged further, if that was possible. He blinked once before averting his gaze.
“I don’t know what you saw, Jessica, but I swear to you, Raven did not kill Heidi. He couldn’t have. I was with him the entire time.”
“What?” Perry and I said together.
“He didn’t even know who I was, or who he was for that matter,” Tas went on, still holding the struggling Soldier. “He could barely walk a straight line, let alone hurt anyone. Someone or something else is doing this, setting him up to take the fall.”
“I don’t understand,” Perry said, easing up a bit on the struggle.
“Neither do I,” I said, hope a weak blossom deep in my soul.
“Perry, you were in the car with Heidi for a while, yes?” Perry nodded, too many emotions crossing his face at once.
“Right, well, as you walked back in the side door at Buzz’s, Raven walked out the front.”
“That’s impossible,” Perry spat, angry again. “I saw him in the shadows, by the side door.”
“That’s right, he was there,” I said, thinking of the dark shadow who had watched Perry & Heidi as they, well. You know.
“And I’m telling you, it wasn’t Raven. Our Raven was coming out the front, and walking down the highway. I’ll refrain from pointing out how this wouldn’t have happened if you had been watching him,” Tas said, and Perry winced as though Tas had delivered a physical blow.
“I followed him for a while, and when it was clear that he had no idea where he was going, I pulled up and tried to get him in the car with me. He mumbled something crazy and kept walking. I followed him for nearly half an hour before he stopped walking, shook his head and looked around. I pulled up beside him again, and he asked where the hell I’d come from—had no idea I’d been with him the entire time.”
“The last thing I remember was being in the bar. Perry and Heidi had gone outside. Next thing I know, Tas is hauling my ass into the Escalade. Christ, my head hurts.” Raven clutched his skull, in obvious discomfort, though apparently not from the beating Perry had given him. His voice sounded gravelly, like he’d been on a smoking binge, and he never looked up.
“I tried to take him back to the Legion, but he insisted on coming here.”
“Felt something bad—Jessica hurting.” He brushed his fingers across his chest, like it was aching, and looked up at me. “Are you okay?” he asked. I nodded, and he put his head back in his hands, resuming the staring-at-the-table routine.
“But if it wasn’t Raven, then who?” Perry asked.
Wasn’t that the million dollar question.
“I don’t know,” Tas said. “But this is proof the male’s been right all along. Someone’s screwing with him, big time. Someone who knows his past, knows his former style.”
“And by someone who looks exactly like him,” I added. In this vision I had seen his face clearly, heard Heidi call him by name. There was no doubt in my mind that it had been Raven tearing Heidi to shreds. No doubt.
And yet Tas was with Raven while Heidi was off being murdered. I looked over to where my Vampire sat, his face and hands smeared with his own blood from Perry’s attack. His hulking frame made my picnic table look kiddie sized, and the entire picture was entirely too tragic.
Perry, like me, was having a difficult time wrapping his mind around this new revelation, and his jaw set defiantly in spite of this new evidence.
“Maybe the Sorcerers are back. They could be glamouring someone to look like Raven,” Tas suggested.
“But they couldn’t glamour my visions,” I said. Could they?
“Who knows what those bastards are capable of,” Tas replied. “All I know is Raven’s got some kind of asshole doppelganger out there, and he needs to be stopped. I know Merlin’s been digging into Raven’s past. Hopefully, he’ll find something soon that will help us get to the bottom of this.”
“Before someone else dies?” I asked, and Raven cringed. Perry made a strangled sound.
Tas loosened his hold on Perry and clapped him on the shoulder, using the gesture to guide the shattered Vampire toward the Escalade.
“We can hope,” he said.
Chapter Fifty-Four
A s Tas led Perry to the Cadillac, Raven laid his head on his folded arms. Tas asked him if he wanted to ride with them, but Raven hesitated. He really wanted to talk to Jessica, but wasn’t certain he would be welcome. Sure, Tas had all but cleared him of suspicion, but the words would never be able to remove the images from her mind.
“Jessica?” he asked, raising his head. She looked at him, her eyes a collage of conflicting emotions. Her tears had etched salty tracks down the length of her face, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss them away, to regain her trust, but how?
“He can stay,” she said it more to Tas than to Raven, but he’d take it. She would hear him out, maybe even let him stay the day.
“Mason will want to talk to you, Raven. Try and be back by dawn.” So much for spending the day in Jessica’s arms. Was probably too much to hope for anyway.
“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled as Tas helped Perry into the vehicle, climbed into the driver’s side, and took off down the road.
That left him alone with Jessica, a place he hadn’t been since this whole thing started, since she walked out on him. He wanted to be angry with her for not trusting him, but how could he be? She had visions for chrissakes. What did he expect her to believe—what he said, or what she saw with her own eyes?
She walked to the porch door and hesitated a moment before changing directions and joining him at the table, taking the bench across from him.
“Raven, I…”
“You don’t have to say it,” he said. “You don’t even have to feel it. I’m so damn tired.” He scrubbed his face with his palms, felt the blood from his cuts smear across his cheeks.
“No, I need to say it. I know I doubted you, but…”
“No buts, you saw what you saw. Hell, I don’t know what you saw. I don’t even know what I did from the minute I left the bar until Tas picked me up. I knew he was following me tonight. Was a little pissed that Mason had sent a second babysitter after me. Now I’m going to have to thank him.” He paused before adding, “I’ve been losing time a lot lately.”
“More than twice?” she asked.
Raven nodded and looked away. How could he confess su
ch weakness to the woman he loved? How could she still want him after this?
Raven often wondered if he would have been better off if the curse had never been lifted. There would have been no doubt of his innocence, especially none of this self-doubt he was so unfamiliar with.
Plus, he would never have known what a broken heart felt like.
“But only two bodies have been found,” she said, and he knew what she was asking. If he’d lost time more than that, were there more bodies out there? Gods, he hoped not.
“I wish I had answers for you, mi amante. I truly do. But I’m afraid my innocence only raises more questions.”
“Yeah,” she said, and it was like a whisper on the wind. She folded her arms on the table in front of her and rested her chin on her wrists, her eyes staring at nothing.
“Dare I ask where this leaves us?” his voice was low, but he hoped she heard. Hoped she would respond.
Jessica sighed and sat up straight, her icy blues met his sapphire gaze and she held it, searching for a long moment.
“I don’t know,” she said, and that ache in his chest flared up again, the ache that had been torturing him since he’d first sensed her fear. She reached across the wooden table and pulled his hand toward her, studying his fingers as though she had never seen them before. As though he had never used them to touch her, to hold her. To pleasure her.
“It’s hard,” she said, “looking into your eyes and seeing the eyes of the man that committed those murders. Looking at your hands, and knowing how lethal your claws can be.”
Raven looked away again, knowing that if she looked into his eyes now she would see the shame that had taken up residence there. It may not have been him physically committing these recent crimes, but that didn’t change what she saw. She had seen him as he used to be. It was no longer just words, a story confessed as their love was budding. It was reality and she had witnessed it through her visions. And that changed everything.
