The Ravenswynd Series - Boxed Set

by Sharon Ricklin Jones

  Lindy had a faraway look come over her. “He seemed like a nice guy when we danced together, still in our costumes.”

  “Well, he’s not. He is a self-centered, egotistical, vindictive fiend. And he’s dangerous. He’s what Emrys calls a rogue vampire, but he’s much more than just deceitful and unreliable. He pretended to be Emrys while I went through the transition. He snuck into my room and attacked me.”

  Melinda’s face fell as she stared at me wide-eyed and she grabbed onto my hand. “Are you saying that he tried to rape you, Lizzy?” Her voice low and braking off.

  Nodding slowly, I said, “Yes, and he almost succeeded. If it wasn’t for Emrys’ ability to read my thoughts, I wouldn’t even be here. I would belong to him - to that monster, Rohan.” I shuddered again.

  “So your dreams weren’t far off, Lindy. Tell me exactly what you remember.”

  “Well, in one dream you were in a little cottage near the ocean. I could see you sitting by a fireplace with Emrys, eating dinner. Someone was hiding in the bushes outside, waiting…just waiting for an opportunity for you to be alone.” Lindy frowned and went on. “He was so full of anger, so hateful. That’s what scared me the most. I thought he wanted to kill you.”

  All the hair on my arms raised up as Lindy spoke and I felt like I had to run inside and tell Emrys.

  “I told Gavin the dream,” she continued, “and he said he’d be sure to discuss the security of Ravenswynd with Emrys. Supposedly, we are secure here. As it is now, all the suites have their own locks, and no one can even come over the stone bridge without being seen by the gatekeeper. Actually, there are two gatekeepers. They both do twelve-hour shifts. You already met one of them. He ate with us tonight: Matthew. The other one is Royal. I was told that each month they switch shifts so that they don’t tire of the tedious job. It certainly can’t be hard.” Lindy rolled her eyes. “All they have to do is sit in that little building next to the bridge for twelve hours.” She shook her head, blinking wildly. She always went off on a tangent whenever she was nervous about something, and she drew herself back to the subject at hand. “But seriously, whoever was out there was so…”

  “Revengeful?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, Lizzy. But he sure has a black heart.”

  I glanced around anxiously. In the gathering twilight, far out in the distance on the other side of the pond, I spotted a gazebo. It was beautiful, at least twenty feet wide, painted white with a real shingled roof and a weather vane on the very top: most likely a lovely place to sit and gaze out into the ocean, though in all reality, my mind only saw it now as another place for an unwanted visitor to hide. Just like all the gardens and trees and bushes that surrounded us. None of our so-called security gave me any peace of mind and I felt an even stronger urge to go back inside immediately.

  I stood at once saying, “I need to find Emrys.” I could not seem to catch my breath.

  At first Lindy argued and said, “Lizzy, we didn’t finish catching....”

  “Now!” I pleaded with a forced exhale.

  The uncharacteristic fear, coupled with the horrified look I gave her, caused her to jump up and grab my arm, saying, “Okay! Let’s go in.”

  Her eyes flickered around, checking the area as we hurried over to the doorway. She no longer doubted my fear, and she now knew first hand just exactly how angry and vengeful Rohan really was. Not only was he the cold-blooded brute that nearly killed her, we had both come to the same conclusion: Lindy’s scary dream was about him, and no one else. He must have followed us to Prince Edward Island, waiting for an opportunity to attack again! Thankfully, there was not one moment in time that Emrys had left my side while we were there, at least not when we were outside of our chalet.

  Every single cell in my body screamed out the necessity to be with my husband, at his side, right now, at this very moment. I touched my medallion as Lindy slammed the door and locked it behind us. Goose flesh rose up all over my body, my heart began to pound, and I felt sick to my stomach. In my mind, I shouted Emrys name, grabbed my sister’s hand, and we began to run.

  CHAPTER 7

  EVERY GOOD GIFT

  Just before we arrived at the smoking lounge, Emrys had stepped through the door. A concerned look creased his brow as he peered down the hallway toward us. I ran into his arms as Lindy explained our sudden return. My breath caught in my throat in a giant lump of fear and I realized I had stopped breathing. His arms wound around me like a safety net. He kissed my forehead and stroked my hair as he listened to Lindy relating our conversation. I started to breathe again, so fast in fact, that I became light-headed, and my hands and feet felt numb. Without a word, he lifted my head up and looked into my eyes. I relaxed immediately and began to breathe normal again after a long sigh. And as my jumbled thoughts began to clear from the knotted mess they had been, Emrys nodded his head.

  “We were just discussing security issues when I heard you call to me, Elizabeth. I assure you, you will be safe here. Gavin told me about Melinda’s dream. If Rohan was anywhere near us in Canada, I think we would have seen him.” He turned to Lindy, “I do not wish to invalidate your dream, Melinda. I am simply saying he never got close enough to hurt your sister. I never let her out of my sight. I learned my lesson at the gathering and I believe he must have taken note of that. I doubt he will try anything again.”

  I shivered and asked, “But how can you be so sure?”

  “If he observed you in Canada, he had to have seen that I was with you at all times. He will not come near you while I am around.” Emrys shook his head. “His biggest fear is to end up like his father. And, as I said, we were just discussing security here at Ravenswynd. We will keep you safe, my sweet wife. No worries.” He squeezed me tighter.

  Melinda let out a loud sigh. “I hope you’re right, Emrys. For some strange reason, this Rohan prick seems to have it out for you two. I honestly don’t know what he wants, but the feeling I got was that he wants to destroy what you have together.”

  I felt Emrys tense up as she spoke. “That is exactly what he wants. He holds me and my entire family accountable for his father’s death even though it was brought on by Idris’ own actions. Rohan vowed he would get even one day. I never should have allowed him to join us at the gathering, but it had been so many years, I really hoped he had let go of the past.” He shook his head and held me away from his embrace then, a determined look on his face.

  “Listen my beautiful wife, I must finish my meeting. I promise I will not be much longer, and in the meantime, you should have your sister take you up and show you to our quarters.” He turned to Lindy and asked, “Are you familiar with the layout of the building yet?”

  “Well, sort of… Gavin did take me on quick tour. I’m sure I could find it if you aim us in the right direction.” She smiled at me and I could see she wanted to finish our conversation that was so rudely interrupted by my fear. Emrys explained that our suite was on the second floor, just past the library. He reached into his pocket and handed me a key.

  “Oh yes, I remember the upstairs library.” She beamed. “Come on, Lizzy; let’s go see your new home.”

  Emrys smiled and bent to kiss me once more. Lindy took my hand, and we again found ourselves winding down hallways and passing many rooms until we came to the grand stairway and started up. At the top, on a large open landing, the hallway went in two opposite directions, and another set of steps went up yet again. We took the hallway to the right, passed by several doorways, some open and some closed, and finally walked past a large, wide open arched doorway, granting views of the wall to wall bookcases, a few desks and chairs scattered here and there, and a fireplace in the far corner: the library.

  At the end of the hallway was one more door, and just as I was about to put the key into the lock, we noticed the doorknob begin to turn. I grabbed Lindy’s arm and we both gasped, taking two steps backwards as the door flew wide open. I must have let out a scream, though I don’t actually remember it, because Kelsey’s face becam
e white as snow and she looked as though she’d had a heart attack. She grabbed her chest and jumped back a few feet, startled even more than we were. Lindy started to laugh then, and I had to chuckle at my own nervousness. Kelsey’s mouth actually formed a small grin as she began to apologize profusely.

  “Oh! Mrs. Bertrand, begging your pardon ma’am. I am so very sorry.” Her mousy voice made her appear even more timid than her actions; she fidgeted with her apron and with a key that hung from her neck on a long brass chain. She looked as though she was about to run, but I caught her by her arm as she came out of the doorway, and smiled at her. More than anything I wanted her to trust me and understand that I wasn’t going to be one of those hard-to-please types.

  “Kelsey, would you mind terribly if I asked you to call me by my first name?”

  “Oh, surely ma’am, I mean Miss Elizabeth, if it pleases you.” She could barely look me in the eye as she spoke.

  I glanced at Lindy and saw her look of concern matched my own feelings. “Please, all my friends call me Lizzy. And I expect we shall be great friends in no time at all.” I bent my head down to catch her eye.

  Kelsey’s face went blank for a moment, and then her eyes opened wide when she realized my meaning. “Why, thank you ma’am...I.... I appreciate your kindness, but I’m not sure if I am allowed...”

  I interrupted her before she could finish, “Nonsense, I say you are allowed, and that’s all there is to it. I will not take no for an answer!”

  She cleared her throat, still nervously fidgeting with her key, and finally looked up at me. “Alright. If you say so...Lizzy.”

  A large grin formed on her face, and her eyes lit up bright and beautiful. “I’ve unpacked all your things for you, ma’am...er...Lizzy. If you would be so kind as to let me know if things are where you’d like them, and if not, I would be pleased to rearrange them for you as well.” She began to back down the hallway, saying, “I thank you again for your kindness.”

  “Thank you, Kelsey. I’m sure everything is just fine. Can we meet tomorrow after breakfast?” I asked.

  A puzzled look crossed over her face for one brief moment. “Of course, ma’am. I will be glad to meet with you to receive further instructions.”

  “Well, that was not my reason, Kelsey. Of course, I will be happy to answer any questions you might have, but what I actually wanted to do is spend some time getting to know you better. After all, Emrys has insisted I have a mistress appointed to me, and I have no idea what that even means. You see, this is all new to me, and I’m hoping you can help me understand what is expected of me. And actually, I would much prefer to call you my assistant.”

  She stopped all her fidgeting. A genuine look of surprise came over her face, and she asked rather sheepishly, “Do I understand you correctly, Miss Lizzy? You want to know what is expected of yourself, ma’am?”

  “Yes.” I gave her a wide grin.

  “I don’t know if I am the one who can answer that, but surely I can tell you what I would want should I ever find myself in such a position as yourself. With all due respect, ma’am, I am quite sure there are others here who are better suited to help you. I am merely here to do laundry, fetch things from the kitchen, and keep your quarters clean. Of course, unless there is something else you and Master Emrys would require of me.” Her eyes averted back to the floor in such a subservient manner it made me cringe.

  I glanced at Lindy to get a reading on her thoughts. She gave her head a slight shake and rolled her eyes. I wasn’t quite sure if she felt the same as I did, or if somehow this lifestyle was beginning to go to her head, but I’d have to deal with that later.

  “I can see we have lots to talk about, Kelsey. Can we chat again after breakfast tomorrow?”

  “Certainly.” She looked up then as though she had to wait for me to allow her to leave.

  “Good, I am looking forward to our next meeting. Thank you, Kelsey.”

  She nodded her head, turned, and scampered away in a rush. I simply could not understand her strange attitude and had to find out what made her act like a lowly servant. It would make more sense if she was merely a human that was hired off the street, but I could not see myself treating a fellow Raven as though she were somehow below me.

  Lindy sensed my feelings and said, “It must be weird for her to see new Ravens being brought into the society that she has to work for. Isn’t that why they hire humans? Well, that and the blood.”

  I ignored the second part of her comment and said, “Exactly what I’d like to know. I think I’ll ask Emrys about her later; he must know her story.”

  I pushed open the door, and within seconds forgot all about Kelsey. We had entered an elegant foyer. Just in front of us stood a tall narrow mahogany table displaying a gorgeous blue and green colored Tiffany lamp on the one side and a sculpture of a raven on the other. A large ornate mirror hung above the table. To the right of the table there was an antique armchair of dark wood, upholstered with a green floral design, and beside that a large potted palm tree. The dark leaves stood out against the cream-colored wall, and I couldn’t imagine how it grew here at all, seeing there was no natural sunlight. To the right was a set of double doors that were wide open to what looked to be yet another hallway. Directly adjacent to the doorway was another beautiful antique table. A large crystal vase containing two dozen red roses stood in the center of this one, and on either side of the matching mirror hung wall sconces holding tall white candle lamps.

  We walked toward the double doors, and I noticed a coat rack and a small closet. Once through the foyer, to the left was a large archway that led into a living area, but we turned right and walked down a short hallway. A doorway at the end took us into the bathroom. Not only was it gigantic in size, there were mirrors all around, an oversized walk-in shower, double sinks and plenty of storage space. I spotted another doorway leading to a semi-round room where a hot tub sat smack in the middle. Windows lined the outer circle of the room with brightly colored padded window seats, and on the inside wall, a huge fireplace. The walls were painted bright yellow, giving everything a warm glow even in the dim evening light filtering through the sheer curtains. I flipped on the light switch. It was as bright as a sunrise.

  Lindy’s eyes widened and she said, “Wow. And I thought our suite was classy!”

  “Are you kidding me? This is really mine?” I was having a hard time believing what I was seeing. It was like a dream. This place was larger and more elegant than I ever imagined.

  Another door near the last window led into the bedroom. Upon entering the room, I spotted another fireplace, but soon realized that it was actually a two-way fireplace. I bent to peek into the glass doors and saw clear through to the hot tub. Sure enough, we had left the lights on, and the yellow room still glowed brightly.

  I glanced around my new bedroom, taking it all in. There was a king-sized bed, large dressers and chests, nightstands and beautiful gold lamps, a small sofa and two chairs, and at the foot of the bed was an upholstered seat that matched the color of the bedspread. All quite masculine, of course. On the far wall beyond the bed was a huge, square wood-framed double doorway adjacent to another room. On closer inspection, within the massive archway I discovered hidden sliding doors to separate the bedroom from the rest of the suite, which meant we could potentially entertain guests without them ever entering the privacy of the bedroom.

  Stepping into the enormous multiple purpose room we found there were two sofas, two lounge chairs, bookcases, a dining table and chairs, and a fully loaded bar with a sink and a microwave. I discovered the main entryway, putting us back in the hallway with the roses - which meant the whole suite was one gigantic circle of rooms.

  We wandered around one more time. The bedroom and living room had beautiful plush carpeting, the hallway and foyer had shining oak floors, and the bathroom was tiled with ceramic stone, except for the space around the hot tub which had an area rug just in front of the fireplace.

  We finally collapsed on one of t
he sofas in the living room area after exploring everything in detail. The only thing I was less than ecstatic about was the bedspread; the dark brown and black stripes had to go. I could definitely spruce up the bedroom with some color, but I absolutely loved the hot tub room exactly as it was.

  Lindy nodded her head in approval. “It’s very nice. I certainly could live here!” She smiled and winked.

  “Okay, so now that that’s settled, tell me where you’re staying? Are you by yourself, or with Gavin?”

  “Promise you won’t get all judgmental on me?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

  “Well, that answers my question right there. What brought this on? Don’t you want to at least get to know him a little before you jump right in?”

  I tried to sound curious rather than critical, but the look on her face told me it didn’t come off that way.

  “Here we go! You’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you? And, without even hearing the whole story. Oh, and besides, look who’s talking! You’re not one who should talk about getting to know someone first.” Lindy scoffed and frowned, defensive now.

  “Melinda,” I said, putting a hand on her arm. “This is completely different. Don’t you remember the Signatus? I really didn’t even have a choice. I was drawn to Emrys and fell in love with him. And besides, during the quickening I did get to know everything about him.” As soon as I spoke the words, I realized she had experienced nearly the same thing.

  “Well, if you recall, I also went through the quickening.” She gave me her little annoyed head shake, and went on saying, “And maybe I didn’t get chosen like you were, but I think I have a pretty good handle on Gavin and know everything about him. Oh, and for your information, we have not slept together.” She had used her most self-righteous voice, and then gave me her holier-than-thou look.