The Girl and The Raven (13 page)

I feel dizzy all of a sudden and sit heavily on the couch, my trembling legs no longer able to support me.

“How do you know all of this?” My voice sounds thick. I press my fingertips to my temples. Thinking is harder than trudging through quicksand.

Jude sits beside me. When he reaches out to touch my shoulder, the shock zaps me instantly.

“Stop that!” I leap from the couch and stumble out of reach, rubbing my shoulder. “What is that? And what do you want from me anyway?”

“Sorry about that. You’ll get used to it, I suppose.” He rises from the couch and walks over to the window, focusing on something outside for a moment before returning to my side. “I needed to confirm it was really you. I have a long history with your family, Lucy. You and I are going to see each other again and often.”

He strokes my cheek with his thumb and my knees buckle.

What’s happening to me? Why did he know my grandmother? I want to stay, ask more questions. I feel pulled to Jude, but no. I’m going to be sick. I have to get away. “I…I’ve got to go…”

“Oh, Lucy…” Jude’s voice is gentle.

I pause, my hand on the doorknob.

“Happy Birthday.”

What? How does he know stuff about me? My head spins. I can’t think. I have to get out. I glance over my shoulder to see if he’s following me. The look on his face is shocking and yet all too familiar. I see it on Sheldon and Bernard’s faces all the time. Love.

By the time I make it downstairs, the strange buzzing in my head is gone. I can think clearly again. I feel a little embarrassed about falling apart in front of Jude. Did I really feel that bad or is it a leftover reaction to being thrown from the roof? I force a smile as I join Sheldon and Bernard for dinner.

“Hey kiddo,” Sheldon tugs at my hair before sitting down. “You’re looking a little pale. Everything okay with lover boy?”

He and Bernard grin at each other.

If only they knew, I shudder and then laugh quickly to mask it.

As soon as the meal is over and I’ve cleaned the kitchen, I head to my room and collapse on my bed. I grab the ear buds and my phone and within seconds Marcus’ music mix fills my ears. Every song conjures images of him, of our time together. From my birthday party, to the night he slept in my room, to our night on the roof and his steely embrace as he saved me. I hug my pillow as I envision him sitting in front of his stereo, plotting the perfect combination of songs. He did this for me. A delicious shiver races through me, washing away the rest of my encounter with Jude. I will meet with him again. I’ll find out what he knows about Gram. How he knows so much about me.

I need to tell Marcus about him.

I grab my phone from beside my pillow and text him.

A few minutes later, Marcus is at my front door. I join him outside, ignoring my uncles’ amused expressions from the couch.

On any other day, I would’ve enjoyed the sunset and the chorus of crickets and cicadas. I sit on the porch. Marcus looks down at me with a strange expression, then scans the street before sitting down. He brushes sawdust from his jeans.

“What’s up?” He moves his shoulders back and forth as if to loosen them.

There’s no sense beating around the bush and I’m not going to waste time on the fact that he’s been avoiding me. “Do you know a man by the name of Jude Morgan?”

“What?” He jumps to his feet, his expression frantic. “Why?”

“Is that who you were talking about the night of my birthday, up on the roof?”

His lips curl cruelly and his eyes bulge at me. “Don’t mess with me Lucy,” he growls. “Where is he?”

“He…he’s in your apartment. I met with him a little while ago.” Veins stand out on his neck. I’m pretty sure his head is going to explode if he doesn’t calm down. I want to tell him about the hypnotizing thing or whatever it was that happened, but this might not be the time.

“He’s in my apartment?” Marcus asks through clenched teeth. He closes his eyes and stands perfectly still. His eyes open again. “He
is
in my apartment. That explains it.”

“I just said that. Wait… explains what?”

He takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” I’m alarmed to find he’s shaking. “Marcus, what’s wrong? Are you in pain or something?”

“Yes,” he says tightly. “But I’m not leaving you until Jude gets the hell out of here.” There’s a dangerous sparkle in his eyes. “And you and I are going to talk later about why you met with him in the first place.”

“Stop trying to control me,” I snap. I handled the situation with Jude just fine. Okay, maybe not fine, exactly, but well enough. “If you knew about Jude, maybe you should’ve told me about him instead of keeping secrets.”

A burning sensation chases down my arms. Not again. I cross my arms tight to my body, fisting my hands.

Marcus jerks his head up and stares at the door.

“What is it?”

He steers me toward the door. “Get inside.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Now!” He roars, shoving me. I run to my apartment.

My uncles aren’t in the living room, so I assume they’re watching TV in their bedroom. I stand behind the closed door, my pulse pounding in my ears. The door to Marcus and Aiden’s apartment closes and footsteps descend the stairs, slow and deliberate. Jude.

I hold my breath and squeeze my eyes closed as he steps off the final stair. My head rests against the wooden door, my hands clench in fists against my chest. Finally, his footsteps resume and he leaves the three-flat. I exhale, sneak out to the foyer and crack open the door so I can see. Jude stops in front of Marcus.

“Marcus.”

“So, you know my name.” Marcus’ voice is full of contempt.

“I’m learning all sorts of things about you.” Jude’s tone is cold, sharp as steel. Wait. Learning about Marcus from who? Aiden? “I’m guessing you know plenty about me.”

Every muscle in my body tenses. I’m prepared to fly out the door if he tries to hurt Marcus.

Jude rises up to his full height, though he still falls several inches shorter than Marcus. “Let me give you a friendly piece of advice. Stay the hell out of my way.”

“I have every intention of getting
in
your way. I will be the biggest pain in the ass you’ve ever met,” Marcus leans toward Jude. “You can’t have her.”

Jude throws his head back and laughs. I can only see him from behind, but when his laughter dies away, he stands stock-still. I can only imagine the stare he fixes on Marcus. I shiver.

“If you know who I am, then you know what I’m capable of. And you know what happened the last time someone stood in my way.”

“Oh yeah, I know what you did to her. Undetectable—clever of you.”

I press a hand over my mouth to cover my whimper. Horror grabs hold of my heart and squeezes. I can’t catch my breath. Images flicker through my thoughts. Jude beaming at me, his hands spread wide in welcome. The look of love aimed right at me. Suddenly the vision changes. Hypnotic eyes. Whispery words. Forked tongue.
Demon.

“She’s dead.” The cold rasp in Jude’s voice makes me cringe. “You’re no longer bound to her.”

“I’m honor bound and that’s never going to change. But you wouldn’t know anything about honor, would you?”

I feel the hatred rolling off them as they glare at each other.

Jude breaks the silence. “I’m afraid this is going to end badly for you.”

Jude lunges for Marcus and grabs hold of his arm. Marcus flounders, trying to pull away. He arches his back, hissing and grunting through clenched teeth. I open the door several inches, about to tear down the sidewalk to help him when his gaze burns into mine. He shakes his head and then slides to his knees.

“That’s just a taste, young one. Interfere again and you won’t walk away.”

Jude walks down the sidewalk toward a sleek black sedan. Opening the driver’s side door, he pauses and stares past Marcus. With a gasp, I realize he’s staring right at me. I don’t care. I fling open the door and race to Marcus’ side. 

“Are you okay? What did he—?”

Marcus rises unsteadily and watches until Jude’s car is down the street.

“Get inside,” he says roughly, pushing me ahead of him.

Once inside the foyer, I see the bloody gash on his arm.

“He did this?” I gasp. “How? Did he stab you?”

I agreed to meet with Jude here. This is my fault.

“I need to go,” he pants, shaking me off as he rushes up the stairs.

“Marcus!” I pause for only a second before I run after him. He tries to slam the door, but I catch it with my foot. I swear under my breath from the sharp pain, my foot throbbing. I shove the door open in time to see Marcus throw himself through the open window leading to the balcony. I limp across the room and climb out after him.

“Marcus!” He leans against the brick wall, fingers clenched as if trying to crush the bricks, all the muscles straining across his back and down his arms. His head is bent and his body shudders with heaving breaths.

“Go away!” he moans.

Marcus’ back arches sharply and he cries out. He jerks his shirt up and over his head, flinging it to the ground. Large chords throb beneath the skin on his back. He howls as the pulsating skin splits. Giant white and gray wings burst free.

His breathing is ragged. A river of sweat runs down his spine between the crest of each wing and his shoulder blades.

“Get out of here, Lucy.” His voice is low and his chin touches his still heaving chest.

I’m breathless as I watch his wings rise and fall several inches, like they’re itching to fully extend. “Did…does that hurt?”

He nods. “Today was worse than normal.”

“Marcus, please turn around.”

He moves away from the wall, his wings quiver and compress against his back. His body is slick with sweat. His chest heaves and trembles and I’m guessing the pain of his transformation takes some time to fade away.

I reach for him. “I’m amazed. You’re…beautiful.”

He scowls. “Beautiful?”

How can I convince him? I take his hand and pull him to me.

“Remarkable…dazzling…” His eyes meet mine and I smile. The corner of his mouth twitches a little. 

“Stop it. You’re embarrassing me.”

“But it’s true!”

His face droops and I realize he’s exhausted. I reach for him again and this time he doesn’t back away. He steps into my embrace, winding my hair around his fingers. I pull away only after I feel his heartbeat slow to a normal pace. The big ugly gash on his arm is already scabbing over.

Jude did that to him.

“Earlier…downstairs…you looked like you were fighting against something. On my birthday, I thought you willed the change to come on, but now I’m thinking that’s not true.”

“It’s both, actually.” His voice is thick with fatigue. “In the beginning, I had no control over it. Eventually, I learned how to make it happen if I needed it to.”

“What makes the change come on?”

Marcus frowns. “When I’m in close proximity to evil—big time evil—it comes on and it’s impossible to stop.”

“It’s Jude. He’s a demon.”

Marcus nods.

“Is he the one that broke into my room?”

“No.”

No? A painful knot forms in my stomach. Two demons. “I don’t understand. The change is brought on by demons. Is it a matter of good versus evil?”

“It’s not that simple. The intruder that broke into your room…he’s also a demon, but he didn’t bring the change on.” His gaze fixes on me. “Jude’s stronger, more powerful than any other demon we know.”

I close my eyes for a moment and rub my temples against the headache coming on.

“Witches and demons.” I open my eyes. “And then there’s you.”

His shoulders slump and his arms hang at his sides, the mere act of standing is almost too much for him. I circle him and cautiously run my finger along a row of feathers. Marcus flinches and I jerk my hand back. “Does that hurt?”

“No.” His voice is soft.

“What does it feel like if I do this?” I press my hand against a row of feathers, pushing them against his back, but not too hard.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

I run my fingers along row after row, fascinated. Marcus shivers. A thought occurs to me. “There’s something else. I’ve felt it. When you hold me, not only do I feel safe, but…”

“Comforted.” He finishes my sentence. “That’s how it’s been described to me.”

“Exactly…” I glower, wondering who else has been in his embrace. 

I continue to study his feathers. The quills are very much like those of birds, but larger and sturdier. The feathers themselves are softer, fuller. The white ones are my favorite. They’re bright and beautiful like fresh snow. I frown and turn away as flashes of my conversation with Jude come back to me. “Jude knew my grandmother, but he never got around to telling me how.” From the corner of my eye, I see his wings flutter. “You knew her, too.”