High Priestess

by Wendy Hewlett

  “Don’t be. It’s true.” Raven leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The sound of squealing tires had them flying open again. She looked out the windshield to see LaCroix’s SUV pulling a U-turn. Mick slowed down and swung the car around to follow as Raven’s cell phone began ringing.

  “Bowen,” she answered.

  “Rave, put Mick on,” LaCroix said in a crisp tone.

  Why the hell did he want to talk to Mick and not her? “She’s driving.”

  “Put her on.”

  Raven huffed, but handed the phone to Mick hoping she’d be able to hear LaCroix’s part of the conversation.

  “Yeah,” Mick said.

  Raven strained to hear, but couldn’t make out LaCroix’s words. Mick’s eyes widened and she glanced over at Raven and winced. Shit, what was happening?

  “Yep. I got it.” Mick handed the phone back to Raven and hit the switch to turn on the emergency lights.

  “Tell me for fuck sakes,” Raven spat. LaCroix was driving pretty damn fast and he had his lights on now, too. She watched as LaCroix made a turn onto Riley’s street and everything fell into place.

  “Oh, fuck,” Raven sat up straighter in her seat, no thoughts of being tired now. She wanted to be at the wheel, passing LaCroix to get there faster. They pulled into Riley’s apartment building and came to a screeching halt in front of the main doors. Raven was out of the car before Mick had it in park. She pulled the outside glass door open and rushed past the plain-clothes officer, Christopher Matlock, standing at the intercom.

  “I’ve been trying to get the super to open the door,” he said in a panicked tone. “Tate followed a lady inside, but I didn’t get here in time to catch the door. The super’s not answering.”

  Raven stuck her key in the lock, threw open the door, and shot to the stairwell. LaCroix yelled her name behind her, but she ignored him, taking the stairs two at a time, pulling her Sig out of its holster. LaCroix, Mick, and Matlock’s boots clambered on the stairs behind her, but she couldn’t wait, not with the thoughts hammering her brain with what Tate might be doing to Riley. She ran down the hall to Riley’s door, put her ear to it, and listened.

  LaCroix, Mick, and Matlock approached the door. Raven’s eyes locked to LaCroix’s and he gave her a nod. She inserted her key in the lock and it wouldn’t turn. Shit, had Riley changed the lock? Pulling the key out, she looked up at LaCroix again and he motioned for her to step aside.

  Ena’s words from her deathbed played in Raven’s mind. You have great powers, Rave. You’ve only to open yourself to them.

  “Wait,” Raven said. She closed her eyes and reached out psychically, spreading further and further through the apartment, reaching for Riley. “She’s not there. No one is in the apartment. Oh, my God. He’s taken her,” Raven wailed, collapsing in Grayson’s arms.

  “Hold on, Rave. Let me call Riley’s cell.” LaCroix pulled his cell off of the clip on his belt while continuing to support Raven and dialed Riley’s number.

  It was probably only a matter of seconds that passed while they waited for Riley to answer, or not, but it seemed like eons.

  “Riley, it’s Grayson LaCroix. Can you tell me your whereabouts?”

  Raven couldn’t hear Riley’s response. LaCroix nodded as his eyes met hers. “I need you to stay there. I’m sending an officer over.” He mouthed to Raven that Riley was fine. “I’ll explain when I get there, okay?” He nodded again. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I’ll speak to you soon.” He ended the call. “She’s fine, Rave. She’s at work. It looks like Tate pulled a fast one to drop his tail.”

  Raven took a step out of LaCroix’s arms and leaned against the wall, forcing her lungs to take in some air.

  LaCroix put a hand on Mick’s shoulder. “Head over to emergency at the hospital and stay with Riley. I’ll run Raven home and meet you there.”

  Raven was about to protest and insist she went to the hospital then thought better of it. She had to get used to not being around Riley.

  * * *

  As they approached Raven’s cottage, Raven sat up straighter in her seat. Something was off. The cottage was shrouded in darkness.

  “My porch light is on a timer. It should be on by now.”

  “Maybe the bulb’s out,” LaCroix said as he turned into the driveway.

  “I just replaced it last week. And I always leave the stove light on. There’s no light in the kitchen window.”

  “Power out maybe?” LaCroix put the SUV in park, turned it off and removed the key from the ignition.

  The hair on the back of Raven’s neck stood at attention and a chill ran down her back. “Something’s not right.”

  LaCroix made no move to exit the vehicle. He turned slightly in his seat to face Raven. “Are you sensing something?”

  “Something. Yeah.” She opened her door and got out of the car. LaCroix was beside her before she hit the porch steps. Raven got her key ready and reached out with her psychic powers, moving infinitesimally further out, testing the waters.

  “Tate’s in the woods. Watching,” she whispered. She turned the key in the lock and opened the door, slipping into Tate’s mind for a peak as she stepped into the foyer.

  She didn’t get two steps inside the house before she realized she’d made a huge mistake. She’d opened herself for Tate’s attack. Sharp, searing pain stabbed into her head as if a knife rammed into each of her temples, over and over again. She sunk to her knees, bent forward, and dropped her head to the floor, her hands pressing against her temples. She knew how to block Tate’s attack, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than the pain. Sick. Goddess help her, she was going to be sick.

  Raven barely registered LaCroix’s movements beside her. She knew he was speaking, but had no idea if he was speaking to her or into his phone or police radio. She crawled along the floor on her elbows and knees, hands still firmly against her head as if it would explode if she didn’t hold it together. She got to the powder room just in time to deposit the contents of her stomach in the toilet. Goosebumps prickled her skin as a bead of sweat trickled down her back. She curled onto her side on the floor. Focus. She tried to take deep breaths and relax her tense muscles, but the pain was unlike anything she’d ever experienced.

  “Raven? For Christ’s sake. Tell me what you need,” LaCroix yelled.

  Raven took another deep breath and threw up a block. It was more like an old, rusty gate creaking closed, but once it clicked into place, the pain ceased.

  “Thank the Blessed Goddess,” she groaned. “The bastard got in my head.” She pushed herself to her feet and turned on the cold water tap, splashing her face and rinsing her mouth. Still bent over the sink, she asked, “Did you lock the door?”

  “No, he didn’t.” Tate stood in the doorway, grinning, with a gun pressed to the back of LaCroix’s neck.

  Raven dropped her head. He wouldn’t know she blocked his spell and that was to her advantage. With a flick of her hand, Tate’s gun went flying across the hall into the living room.

  LaCroix was quick. He spun around and grabbed for Tate’s arm, but Raven flicked her hand again and sent Tate soaring across the living room. He landed with an oof on the floor in front of the sliding glass doors.

  “What the hell was that?” LaCroix whispered.

  Raven nudged by LaCroix, stalking her prey across the living room.

  “Get her away from me,” Tate yelled. He crab crawled backwards until he pressed up against the glass. “Sarge? Get her the hell away from me.”

  Raven wanted to laugh. He was a pathetic, cowering bastard. She reached down and grabbed him by the shirt front as his face paled several shades. Hauling him to his feet, her ice blue eyes pierced his. “You murdering, low-life bastard. You’re no better than the creep you call a father.”

  “Rave,” LaCroix said in a soft tone. “Let him go.” His hand rested on Raven’s shoulder. “He’s not worth it.”

  He was right, but she wanted to make Tate hurt as much as the innocent women h
e violated. The rest of his life in prison didn’t seem enough to pay for the lives he snuffed or ruined. She murmured a spell as she stared into Tate’s eyes, repeating it three times.

  “What did you do?” Tate asked with his eyes bulging from their sockets. “You put a spell on me. What did you do?”

  Raven smirked. “Don’t worry, Tate. It was just a simple three times three spell.” She ensured everything bad he’d done would come back to him threefold. That would be a bitch while he was sitting in prison.

  “Break it, damn you.” His voice rose several octaves. “Break the spell, you bitch.”

  “Cuff him.” She turned so that Tate’s back was to LaCroix. LaCroix pulled his cuffs from his duty belt and braceletted Tate’s wrists.

  Raven released Tate’s shirt and he staggered into LaCroix. LaCroix gripped his arm and led him out to his SUV with Tate quick stepping beside him, as if he couldn’t get away from Raven fast enough.

  Raven sank into her easy chair and dropped her head into her hands. Her head didn’t hurt anymore, but it was like she had a headache hangover. Goddess, help her. She wanted so badly to hurt Tate, she could have torn him to shreds with her bare hands.

  “You okay,” Mick asked. She’d been halfway to the hospital when she received LaCroix’s call and sped to Raven’s with lights and sirens. She laid her hand on Raven’s shoulder and squeezed.

  “No,” Raven croaked. Her chest heaved with the first gut wrenching sob. “I had the power to heal her,” she wailed. “If I hadn’t been such a selfish, judgmental brat and blocked my powers, I could have saved her.” What she wouldn’t give just to have Ena’s voice back in her head.

  Mick settled onto the couch next to Raven and pulled her into her arms. “It’s not your fault, Rave. If you need someone to blame, lay it on Adara, Tate and Paigo.”

  “Adara was able to use my own powers against me because I allowed it, because I tuned out. How could I have been so unforgiving all these years? What happened to me wasn’t Ena’s fault. I blamed her for not seeing it, yet I was the one hiding it from her. If it wasn’t for my own stupidity and selfishness, none of this would have happened.”

  “Shhh,” Mick cooed, stroking her hand over Raven’s hair. “If all of this didn’t happen, you wouldn’t have that beautiful baby girl in your belly.”

  Raven shook with the force of her sobs. “But, I’d have Riley.”

  “You have to tell her about the spell, Rave.”

  “You made me a promise. You can’t tell anyone.”

  “Oh, Rave. Riley wouldn’t tell Jax.”

  She never would have thought Riley would tell Kiran about Paigo raping her, but she had. “I can’t take that chance. I can’t.”

  CHAPTER 20

  IN A WORN t-shirt and yoga pants, Raven sat in the lotus position on her deck facing the water. Her eyes were closed as she listened to the waves rolling into shore. Another few weeks and the leaves would fill out the trees and she’d be able to hear them rustling in the breeze. She imagined she could here them now. Birds chirped and whistled back and forth, calling to each other. Soon those playful calls would translate into nests of baby birds, mouths agape, waiting for their regurgitated meals. The thought nearly made her smile.

  Seven days ago she cast a healing spell to mend her broken heart. It hadn’t worked. It wasn’t that she sucked at spells or that she was out of practice. The Goddesses simply wanted her to experience this pain. There was a lesson she needed to learn from this experience. The sooner she could figure out what that lesson was, the better. She even conjured a ball of healing energy and hovered it over her heart, to no avail.

  Raven tilted her head back, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face. It was surprising how much she missed Ena’s voice in her head. Now, more than ever, she needed someone to talk to, someone to help her through this endless heartache. She understood now why Ena took so many lovers to her bed. She was trying to cope with her own heartache over losing Kiran. It wasn’t how she would deal with the heartache, but she understood it.

  She heard the tires on the dirt road long before they turned into her driveway. So much for her peaceful morning.

  One car door opened, then another before they closed simultaneously. So, he’d brought reinforcements this time. Raven huffed out a breath and opened her eyes, staring at the sunlight sparkling off the surface of the lake, and waited. She almost laughed listening to him banging on the front door.

  “Raven? Open the bloody door or I’ll break it down, aye?”

  Raven huffed again. It was a reinforced steel door. He’d probably hurt himself trying. She uncurled her legs, stood up, and walked over to the side railing.

  “I’m back here.”

  Kiran rounded the corner with Simone close on his heels. His face was red, his eyes narrowed, but Simone was suppressing a grin, her eyes lit with a mischievous twinkle. Kiran marched to the base of the steps leading up to the deck and glared up at her. Raven’s hands tightened on the railing, bracing for his wrath.

  “You haven’t been answering your calls or your door, haven’t been into work all week, haven’t bloody well been seen or heard from. Have you no respect for those who care about you?”

  “I took some vacation time.”

  His hand shot through his ebony hair, leaving it askew. “Ah, well. That’s fine then, aye? Do you not think we’d worry about you? Do you know how many times I’ve been over here?”

  Okay, now she was getting pissed. “Yeah, actually, I do. I’m entitled to take some time out if I want it. I don’t have to answer to you or anyone else.”

  “Kiran.” Simone’s hand slid down Kiran’s forearm. “This isn’t helping.” She brushed by him, her lithe body rising up the stairs as if she was floating. When she got to Raven, she covered one of her hands on the railing with her own. “First and foremost, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I just needed some alone time.”

  “You’ve heard about Riley?”

  Odd that the sharp pain in her chest just wouldn’t ease off. The mention of Riley’s name brought it into crisp focus. “I heard.” Of course she heard. Mick sent her dozens of texts every day, pleading with her to tell Riley about the spell. She’d even sent her a picture of the spell from Adara’s Book of Shadows.

  Riley was packing up her apartment. She’d taken a nursing job in Toronto and maybe it was for the best. At least Raven might be able to heal if she wasn’t running into Riley on a daily basis. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t left her cottage in a week.

  “So, you still have some contact with the outside world then,” Kiran said. He muttered something and stalked off to the back of Ena’s car and opened the hatch.

  “Why can’t he just give me some time?” Raven asked.

  “He knows you’re hurting and that hurts him.” Simone patted Raven’s hand then placed both of her’s on the railing. “He has the Hayes’ psychic powers, but not the same way you experience them. He doesn’t see visions or hear thoughts. He’s an empath.”

  If there was anything worse than hearing what people were thinking, Raven imagined feeling their emotions had to be it. “That’s gotta suck.”

  Simone laughed, a light musical sound that drifted away on the breeze. “I’m sure it does. I guess we all have burdens to bare.”

  True that, Raven thought. Some more than others. They stood there silently watching Kiran heft a large box up the steps. Raven raised an eyebrow at him. “Moving in?”

  A low, rumbling laugh rose up from Kiran, easing the tension between them. “I want to get to know my daughter, aye? But, I don’t think us living together would be good for our health.”

  Raven resigned herself to having visitors and opened the sliding glass door for him. He set his box on the coffee table and asked if it was alright if he made coffee. Raven shrugged. “Help yourself.” She made herself comfortable on the couch and Simone sat next to her.

  “How’s the morning sickness?”

  “It sucks.”

&
nbsp; “Raven?” Simone sighed.

  Raven rolled her eyes. “It’s only first thing in the morning, so I can deal with it.”

  “That’s good. Did you get the prenatal vitamins?”

  “Shouldn’t I make an appointment for this?” She knew she was being defensive and had no idea why, except that they were infringing on her personal time. “That way you can bill for your time.”

  It wasn’t a glare that Simone gave her, but it was close. “Is it really so hard for you to let people care about you?”

  No, but the one person she did want to care wouldn’t. Or couldn’t. “I’m not sure I’m worthy.” Where the hell had that come from?

  “Of course you’re worthy, love,” Kiran said as he carried a tray of coffee cups in and set it next to the box on the table. “You’ve been through a lot these past few weeks, but you needn’t be so hard on yourself.”

  Raven was saved from this line of conversation by a knock at the door. “Don’t answer it.”

  “Och, no,” Kiran said, heading for the front door. “You’re not going to lock yourself in this house and avoid dealing with the outside world.”

  Raven surged to her feet. “You have no right to decide how I live my life. No right. I’m a grown ass woman and I’ll do what I damn well please. Do not answer that door.” She charged down the hall after him, but wasn’t in time to stop him from unlocking the deadbolts and swinging the door open. She could see the Purolator van in the driveway and studied the man standing there with a Purolator envelope in one hand and one of those electronic signature devices in the other. He had waves of sandy brown hair and a days growth of fuzz on his face. His hazel eyes were wide, flickering back and forth between Kiran and Raven.

  “Raven Bowen?”

  “Aye,” Kiran answered, waving towards Raven.

  She could have throttled him.

  The man handed her the machine and a stylus pen. “I just need a signature.”

  Raven grabbed the device and the pen, scrawled her signature across the screen then shoved it back at the man. She took the envelope, slammed the door and turned, glaring at Kiran. “Do I come into your home and dictate what you do?”