A Conspiracy of Ravens: A Raven Saga Book 1

by Crymsyn R. Hart

  "Please don't let him find me. Please don't let him come looking for me. Oh God, I hope he's not on the train. I can't do it anymore. Maybe I should just kill myself and get it over with. Then he won't have me to push around anymore—"

  Linnea blinked her eyes as a wave of dizziness left her breathless. She shook her head and looked around her. There was no one next to her talking in her ear because she was near the tunnel entrance at the end of the platform. Yet, she had heard the girl's voice as clear as day. In the distance, the thunder of the train to her left was deafening. The thick yellow line in front of her warned not to step too close to the edge, but it was the best view, in her opinion, to watch the mice scurry underneath the train tracks and the third rail looking for breadcrumbs people threw down.

  My hearing has not grown that much. It's got to be part of my expanding powers. I don't think Grammie heard thoughts. She could read auras and sense emotions, but this goes beyond that. Maybe somewhere in my line someone could. Grammie always said that all of the powers are passed down through the lines, normally through the female. I don't know much about Mom. Dad was pretty much a fluke since there aren't many male witches born. Oh God, what am I going to do? I'm going to go crazy if this keeps up. I definitely have to go see the Old Cronies now. Hopefully they'll have some answers.

  The train's horn blared on the other side of the platform as the opposite subway blew past as an express. She took a whiff smelling the musty, mold tainted air of the tunnel that the train stirred up. It was the unique perfume of all the Boston subways. The approaching single headlight of her train seemed like a beacon in the darkness of the tunnel. More people had filed in toward her. Deciding to open her mind up, she was bombarded with passing thoughts and noise.

  "...want to make it work. The stupid dog..."

  "...God, what am I going to have for dinner."

  "...psychic said he would be handsome, but if this is the guy he's a total dork..."

  "...ten times five is fifty. Ten times six is sixty..."

  Linnea blinked as the train roared, mashing on its breaks in front of her. Its white and red exterior came into focus as it stopped so the double doors could open in front of her for the last car. People piled out, but her head had started to pound, and she figured it was not a good idea for her to be looking into people's heads. The noise and senseless thoughts were amazing. She wasn't sure she could deal with it all the time. Listening to ghosts was bad enough.

  Maybe every once and a while. Why are my powers waking up now? I'm twenty-five. You would think they would have woken up ten years ago when Grammie was still around. Now she's not here. If I start talking to anyone outside of the families, they'll think I'm crazy. What am I going to do? There's so much weird stuff going on, and as far as the crazy stranger, what am I going to do about him? Then there's Maili. Something's up with her. I bet it has to do with what she was going to tell me. What was she going to tell me?

  Linnea rested her head against her hand, which was wrapped around the metal pole as she stood in the last car of the subway. Surprisingly, not many people got off the Harvard Square T-stop. All the seats were taken so she stood and waited the four stops where the Red Line met the Green Line. There she got off and climbed onto the E Line, which would take her back to her house. The train ride was long, but at least she was able to look out the windows and stare at the passing scenery, most of which consisted of hospitals and colleges. Finally, near the end of the line, she got to her stop and climbed down to the street, waited for the train to continue along the street, and tried not to trip over the raised tracks as she traversed the sidewalk to head back to her house.

  Linnea looked at her watched. It was near three. Where had the day gone? At least she didn't have to go to the theater. That would have sucked. Sighing, she walked the distance to her house glad it was nestled in the back neighborhood where the sounds of the traffic were muffled. As she crossed over the threshold of the house, she felt a change in the atmosphere which made her pause. Her house seemed clearer than the outside, the air crisper like passing through a fine gossamer veil. She moved her hand into the doorway and feltthe energy, again, tingle along her palm. Her grandmother had always told her she had wards on the house to keep out anything supernatural and any human evil. Their house had not been broken into in years. She smiled knowing she was protected and her power picked up on her grandmother's magick. It was time for her to try her hand at it as well.

  Linnea went up the stairs and stopped at her grandmother's room. She had left it the way it was the day her guardian had died. All of her jewelry was in the same space, and a fine sheen of dust had settled over the coverlet on the bed, the furniture, and even the curtains. As she looked at the windows, she saw the intricate designs of fine spider webs glued over the windows. She should come in and clean. Maili had asked her once if she wanted help cleaning out the room, but she had refused. She had not been ready to part with her grandmother's things. Now she had a feeling it would soon be time to get rid of the things not necessary. The witch crossed the threshold of the room and fished through her grandmother's jewelry box. Inside there were old trinkets that had been passed down through the generations. The most valuable one was from a distant ancestor who had been a noble woman who had been burned at the stake in the Burning Times all because she had some power and wealth. The only thing she had been able to save from her stash of riches was the ring. It was a heavy, ancient thing with a large ruby the size of her thumb nail in a boxy gold setting with several small diamonds along the edge of it. Some had been lost over the ages, but the deep blood-red hue of the ring still shone like it was new.

  The most important thing she was interested in was an old tarnished brass key, which kept the door locked to the third floor where all of her grandmother's magick tools were, along with some of the stuff the Old Cronies had left behind. She mounted the stairs and took a deep breath. She hadn't been up to the room in over a year. It was like her grandmother's bedroom. She had not wanted to disturb anything in it and didn't think she had the right to. Now, with the weight of the key in her hand and after all that happened, she figured she did. Slowly, she put the key in the lock and turned. At first, nothing happened. Linnea held her breath. Then the lock clicked, and the door swung open. She peered inside. It had been so long she had almost forgotten what it was like in the room.

  Taking a long inhale, she got the mixtures of cedar, must, lavender, jasmine, and the spicy hint of smoke from the incense last burned in the room. Inside there was a large chest of drawers from the early 1800s. Each drawer was filled with various kinds of herbs in glass bottles and labeled in flowery scripts her grandmother and the Old Cronies had kept for ages. One of the Cronies had a beautiful garden filled with lots of different kinds of plants which had restocked the jars. Her grandmother and she knew tons about the uses of herbs, but when they tried to grow some, it seemed they had a black thumb and killed everything. Linnea chuckled at the times she had tried to keep a cactus. Even that died.

  Chairs were stashed in the corners of the room. A large chest rested against the wall in front of her laden with altar clothes, candles, fist-sized quartz crystals, different chalices, athames, and other supplies they used for circles. Despite the clutter around the edge, the room was left largely clear. There was a circle drawn on the floor with chalk and a pentagram inside that. The circle itself was over six feet wide. Around that circle was another circle drawn around that to make sure the whole room was included in the circle. And then there was the one which went around the house so in total there were three circles. When she stepped over the first line, the air grew thicker.

  At the points of the pentacles were different crystals—rose quartz to symbolize healing, jade to show cleansing, onyx for grounding, lapis for the connection to the sky, and garnet for fire. Inside the second circle, there was a long wooden table with a black cloth spread on the top. Empty candlesticks sat empty on the altar with dribbles of wax still stuck on their brass bases. A small law
n statue of the Virgin Mary had been turned into the representation of the Goddess as one of the Old Cronies had insisted on mixing some of her Catholic beliefs into the circles as well. Her grandmother had dealt with it knowing all representations were one in the same, and it didn't matter, even though she was more partial to Celtic and Greek mythology. Linnea followed her grandmother's beliefs. Maili knew she was a witch, but her best friend hadn't known she was descended from a line of true powerful, honest-to-god, magick-producing witches. Until last night, Linnea assumed she was just like all the regular pagans walking around Salem thinking they were all high and mighty because they had bought some fancy charm that was supposed to ward off nerdy and poor guys. Now, she knew different. As she thought about it, the witch wondered if Maili knew more about her heritage than she had let on. Did her best friend really know she was a true magickal witch?

  She had to if whatever it was had come after her. What was her mother really like? What don't I know about my best friend? I thought I knew everything about her, but looking back at her now I guess I didn't. The stranger was not from around here, so how does he know Maili? When I find her ass, I'm going to make her tell me what the hell is going on. Now where is that book Grammie had? I know I've seen that thing I saw in Maili's apartment before.

  Linnea moved around the second circle, careful not to disturb the last circle her grandmother had drawn, to the other side of the room where a large bookcase was lined with all different kinds of volumes. They were divided by category. Two shelves were dedicated just to herbs. Another two devoted to crystals. A smaller shelf was overflowing with books on ghost stories, old folk legends, and anything else that went bump in the night. There were journals from her ancestors, and even her mother's was there telling about her experiences with Ouija boards and the ghost stories of the family. As she lovingly turned each page, Linnea felt a connection to her parents she never had before. Within the pages of the diary, she discovered her mother possessed the ability to call upon storms. Her father could summon fire. Linnea was delighted to know even these little tidbits about her parents she had never known. All the collective knowledge of the coven was here, and nothing had been done with it for almost a year. Running her fingers over the shelves, Linnea remembered the last words her grandmother had said to her. It had been in the bed downstairs. It was her wish to die at home surrounded by her friends and family. Tears formed in Linnea's eyes as she thought about it. It still hurt because she had been the shining star in Linnea's life for so many years, the mother she never really had.

  "Why are you so sad?” her grandmother asked.

  Linnea wiped the tears from her eyes and forced a smile as she sniffled. Her grandmother had lost the round appearance she always had, but her eyes were still filled with the light she loved. Her skin was soft and wrinkled, but had an unnatural chill to it as she held her hand. They both knew it was coming down to the end. “I don't want you to go. I want you to stay here with me forever."

  A small smile curled on her grandmother's lips. The scent of patchouli incense covered up the tinge of death perfuming the room. It seemed the dark angel had taken up residence with them in the past couple of days. Linnea knew her grandmother had made peace with her life, wanting to move on to the next adventure as she called it, but Linnea was not ready to give up the only family she had left. She had already lost her parents. What more did the Goddess want to take from her? It was bad enough her family's lineage was going to die with her grandmother since Linnea had no power, would never have any power even though her grandmother reassured her when the time was right it would kick in. It was different for their family than for the other witch families. Their power ignited in them at times when someone needed help, and then she would have all the knowledge at her fingertips.

  "I know you do, sweetie, but my time here is up. I've had my adventures in this lifetime. Now is your turn to shine. From what I've seen, you're going to shine through to the next world and make the ravens speak."

  "What does that mean?"

  Her grandmother raised her hand and caressed her cheek. “You'll find out. Remember the triple and silver ravens, my dear. Now it's time for Azrael to take me to the next realm. You have all of my knowledge, the knowledge of your ancestors, and everything you will need to carry you into the other world..."

  Her grandmother's hand fell from her cheek and landed on the sheet with a soft thud. She breathed her last breath and then closed her eyes. Linnea wiped the tears from her eyes and kissed her grandmother on the cheek. She left the room and let the Old Cronies do whatever it was they wanted to do with her body before they called the funeral home. The little bit of information her grandmother had given her made no sense. Whoever heard of a silver raven? She shook her head feeling the ache in her heart, wondering if she would ever have any more love in her life again.

  Linnea wiped the dust away from her face and came away with wetness as she realized the memories had brought tears again. The subject was still sore. She did not dwell on the past. She had to think on the future, of Maili, and of the strange things which had happened over the past twenty-four hours. Her fingers ran over the spines of the books until she came to one that was purple, pulled it out, and flipped through well worn pages. About halfway through the book, she came to an entry, the one she was looking for. There was a picture of the exact thing which had come into the apartment. A surge of fear went through her.

  The book said Jenny Greenteeth. An evil and dark fairy who pulled children or the elderly into the water and drowned them. She was often described as green-skinned, with long hair, and sharp teeth. A shiver of recognition caressed her as she stared at the drawing in the book which was almost identical to the fairy she had seen in the apartment.

  Linnea flopped down in one of the nearby chairs with the book open in her lap. This was a thing of fantasy now revealed to her as fact. Okay, she had just seen it only a few hours earlier, but it was different now knowing that fairies were real. She read through the rest of the book, but did not find out anything on the hooded figure. Finally, the she gave up her search and took a few minutes to catch her breath. She checked her watch realizing she had been at her exploration for hours and had found nothing. After listening to the rain on the windowpanes, something caught her eye. The air around the inner circle shimmered. She stared at it and saw a wisp of smoke. Fright kept her in her seat, but she watched as it danced, beckoning her toward the inner circle, but she did not go into the middle. However, she watched and wondered. The stones on the points of the pentagram emanated power as well with a force pushing against her aura. The longer she was in the room, the more alive it became. The atmosphere and the very air were getting thicker. It was not draining her. It seemed to only be making her stronger.

  Linnea got up and stretched. Sighing, she decided to get something to eat and went downstairs. As she did, she saw the package on the downstairs table she had spied earlier, but didn't have time to open. There was no return address however she recognized the handwriting as Maili's. Opening it, she discovered inside her best friend's necklace. It slid out of the plastic-bubble lined envelope, silver chain first and then the black onyx stone music note. Once it struck her flesh, her mind was overtaken by images.

  Linnea stumbled. The note pendant in her palm was on fire. The fire leeched into her skin and veins, overwhelming her. It became hard for her to breathe. She fell to the floor, clutching the note as the images overtook her.

  She saw a green and black court. There was mold and ivy covering the walls and floor. In the background was eerie music like her flute music mixed with piano and violin and a blend of ghostly singing. Before her was a black onyx throne with a hag sitting in it wearing a green dress and no legs. However, the horror she should have felt was not there, but replaced with a wave of love. Another image came into her mind. She was outside a theater, but in the back alley by the stage door where all the other actors entered. She was looking up onto the building across the street and saw the largest raven sh
e had ever seen. Something about it seemed familiar, but she had no idea why. It was just a rather large bird. Yet in her mind, it seemed like she should have been able to communicate with him. The vision changed, and she was sitting back in Maili's apartment before it was ransacked. The hag she had seen before hovered in front of her. The woman was more like a motherly figure. Other random images went by her until finally her brain overloaded and she went into blackness.

  Pounding on the door woke her up. It took Linnea a moment before she realized she was back at her house and not in the onyx and green throne room of which she had been dreaming. Stiff, she got up slowly. Rain still pattered on the windows, and she was hungry. The rapping on the door was incessant, making her ignore her hunger. She checked her watch. She had been unconscious for four hours. It was almost sunset. After a moment, she opened the door. Outside in the rain, leaning on the door, was the stranger from Maili's apartment. He looked haggard and soaked. Dripping strings of his dark hair hung in his face. He stared at her through dark intense eyes, which were sunken into his face. He was paler than before and a little gray, but it was hard to tell in the fading light. He leaned against the doorframe, the arm he rested on supporting his weight. His shoulders were shaking from the sheer task. “Linnea—” His voice was a gravely whisper.

  "How in the hell did you find me?"

  He shook his head. “Can I come in? Please?"

  She eyed him suspiciously. He looked like hell, but he had saved her life, even though he had shoved her out of the apartment. It was rude to keep him in the rain, but part of her wanted to see him suffer for a little bit. She wondered where his sword was. Finally, Linnea couldn't watch him tremble anymore and moved away from the door. Maybe he had come back to take her up on her offer for help. “Come on in, ah—what is your name anyway?"

  He looked up barely meeting her eyes. “Thank you."

  Linnea watched as he looked around and saw as his eyes followed the line of the stairs. She wondered if he felt the power emanating from the circles upstairs. It would make sense, considering she had a feeling he was not exactly the run-of-the-mill guy himself. Oddly enough, after everything that had happened, that he was different did not scare her. All her life Linnea had been brought up to accept preternatural beings and things. Magick was a part of her everyday life. Even if she could never do any of it, it didn't mean it did not exist.