Murder of crows, p.1
Murder of Crows, page 1
Murder of Crows
SCOUT THORNE
BOOK TWO
N GRAY
Copyright © 2023 by N Gray
All rights reserved
No part of this ebook may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without express written permission from the publisher. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Murder of Crows is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published in South Africa by Cutman Press
Cover by Deranged Doctor Design
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
FREE short story
Special Mentions
From Me
Thanks for Reading
Also by
Chapter One
“What do you mean Antarctica?” I said, not understanding how River arrived there or who had left him there. He had disappeared while we were in the Underworld. Him being in Antarctica made little sense.
“The same reason, Scout,” Dad said with a hint of sarcasm. “The person responsible for wanting me dead wanted River out of the way.”
“But why?”
“Because together, he and I are stronger.”
I pursed my lips. Someone wanted my father dead, and it wasn’t just the assistant. Someone had hired the assistant to do his dirty work for him. I shook my head in shame. I’d been so focused on River and his disappearance that I didn’t ask Victor if he ever found out who had started it all.
“Do you know who tried to destroy you?”
Mom stood closer, folding her arms across her chest. She stopped near my left-hand side and slightly in front of me in a protection stance. I didn’t think she wanted me to leave with Victor again, and suspected every time he visited a trigger reaction occurred and she became a fussy-mother-hen over me. I didn’t blame her. Each time he took me away from her, it was for long periods of time.
“I thought you said you shared your power with River and now with me. Do we take power away from you, or does it just double?” I needed to understand what Vic meant and the only way was to ask like a five-year-old.
Victor rounded his shoulders, and his eyes flitted from Ralph to Mom, and then to me. He exhaled a breath, and I suspected he’d filled that sigh with annoyance.
“I’ve never shared this with anyone,” he said gravely, staring down at me with intense eyes. “And if either of you,” he pointed at Mom and Ralph, “say a word to anyone, I will destroy you.”
“Stop threatening my family,” I said, grabbing his index finger and lowering his hand. “Nobody will say anything. Now tell us.” I was about to roll my eyes when Dad’s features turned sinisterly and then returned to his devilish human demeanor.
“Whomever I share my power with doubles my power, and when we use it together, it’s that much more powerful. My brothers and sisters hate that I can do this because none of them can.”
“You mean they can’t share their powers with anyone?” I asked, intrigued.
“No,” Vic said, his shoulders dropping slightly. “And because of this, I always have a target on my back.”
“Would your family hurt you?” Mom asked.
“Definitely. Seth tried to kill me when I was an infant. Our sister almost drowned me. But the point is, it could be either of them or something else entirely who used the Mask of Immortality against me. And now they have River…” he fell silent for a moment. His metallic armor twinkled as the shadows from the branches and leaves moved across his chest like ghostly fingers trying to touch him.
The waterfall in the distance slapped harder against the water's surface, pulling my attention away from Victor. I leaned on my left leg and peered around Father’s broad shoulders and black wings and flinched.
A mermaid sat beneath the spray of the waterfall and washed his body. He had long, knotted hair and large, dark eyes. When he glanced up, he smiled; his enormous mouth had sharp teeth, and he blew a kiss before diving into the water.
“Scout?” Victor said, pulling me back into the present.
“Yeah?” I glanced up and smiled.
Victor glanced over his shoulder. “What are you looking at?”
“Just the mermaid who was there.” I pointed at the spot where he was.
“Don’t antagonize the water creatures, they don’t play fair.” He warned. “Anyway, you need to go to Antarctica—”
“No,” Mom said, with anger in her voice. “I forbid it.”
“Mom,” I said, crossing the distance between us and wrapping my arms around her shoulders. “I’ll be fine. You know I’ll be fine. And you know I must do this.”
“Why can’t you go?” she asked Victor, ignoring me, but she still put her arms around me and squeezed me tightly against her body.
“You know I don’t do well with humans or other supernaturals.”
Mom snorted. “Yeah, true, especially with your temper tantrums.”
I glanced up to see Dad’s features morph into his more evil look, and then he calmed down.
“See, you can’t even handle me teasing you.”
“Exactly, Blaire, I have demons who do the dirty work for me.”
“Does that include your own daughter—”
“Mom!”
She patted my shoulder. “It’s okay, honey. The adults are having a conversation.”
I pushed away from her and stood beside Dad.
“You know she wants to find River, so I’m giving her the opportunity. If I send my demons to find him, they always cause chaos. The last thing we need is another war between us or worse, they kill River. This way, if Scout goes by herself, she’ll do so quietly.”
“I’ll be okay, Mom, I promise.” I smiled, but she wasn’t looking at me. She was glaring daggers at Dad.
“I hate this, Scout. You aren’t ready to do all this by yourself.”
“I know you want to keep me safe, but you know I can handle anything that comes my way.”
She glanced at me, cocking her head to the side, and raised an eyebrow.
“If you aren’t back by the end of the week, we’ll join you and phone me every single day, or I’m flying out there to bring you home.”
“Fine,” I said. But what I didn’t say was I’d do anything not to have her in my face while trying to do something on my own. My mom meant well, but sometimes her love smothered me.
She gave me a long hug and kissed my cheek. Ralph hugged me too and patted the top of my head; I swiped his hand away before he could do that a second time.
“Ready?” Dad asked, holding out his elbow for me to take.
“Sure,” I took his arm, and we walked together toward the lagoon. We approached the lapping crystal-blue water when three heads popped up, each mermaid smiling. But instead of entering the water, we stepped out onto the freezing snow.
Chapter Two
“Dad, you forgot to stop for winter clothing for me,” I said. My teeth chattering as I hugged myself. A snowflake floated in front of my face and settled on my hand. The pretty patterns were crystal clear with the sun behind me.
“Here,” he said, snapping his fingers and handing me a large thick coat, warm pants, fluffy socks, and boots equipped for slippery snow. “Over there is the town,” he pointed in the distance. I squinted, but all I saw was white, “but be careful. They don’t take kindly to supernaturals. And...” He left his word hanging.
“What?” I asked nervously. “And what?” I pulled on the jacket, and I sighed as it warmed me instantly.
“There’s a reason we don’t come here,” he started. “The residents don’t want supernaturals in their space, so hide your talents.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, the lines between my brows deepening.
“They’ve lived here for a while and that’s just the kind of tribe they are. Call your crows to guide and protect you.”
“What?” I said, feeling even more confused than I did a few moments ago. “Why must I call my crows?” I asked and, in my head, called out to Jake, the leader of my crows and my spirit animals. He’d be here as soon as he could.
“You’ll see,” he said with a smile, “but they’re harmless unless they feel threatened. So don’t threaten them. Just go in there, look for River and get out again. It should be that easy.”
“Well, that sounds easy enough,” I said sarcastically and glanced in the general direction of the town, but only saw snow. “Are you going to wait for me? ”
“No, I’m still investigating who started this mess, and I have demons to torture,” he said sinisterly. His smile widening that much more, frightening me. I did not want to be on the receiving end of his harsh treatment.
I opened my mouth to ask another question when the air popped in my face, and he disappeared. “Blasted,” I mumbled to myself and started dressing, placing my other clothing in the bag that Dad had left. “Damn, it’s cold.”
I trudged through the thick snow, each step I took, my legs sunk deeper into the soft white ice. My lungs burned with each breath I took and although the clothing Victor had given me could be worn in freezing conditions, I was cold and wet. Luckily, my feet remained warm and dry in the fluffy socks and boots.
The hike up the hill felt like it took me forever. The sun stayed bright and would continue shining for another month when the sun sets completely for six months.
I rounded an ice boulder when the tips of buildings came into view, along with smoke coming out of chimneys. Exhausted from the hike, I choked up with happiness. I was one step closer to finding River and then we could get out of here.
‘Why couldn’t Victor just leave me here instead of dropping me all the way over there?’ I thought to myself as I passed the town sign that read White Devil Hills, Antarctica, EST 1779, POP 999. The name was fitting for the snowy conditions; it was an utter pain in the bum to get here though. It was the population numbers that left an unpleasant taste in my mouth and hoped it was now 1001 now that River and I were here.
Once I passed the sign and my boots struck a hard, flat road, I continued the path toward the town that sat between two majestic mountains. Not wanting to miss anything, I stopped to admire the scenery, taking a snapshot with my cell phone.
I stared at the rocky mountains on either side of the town that seemed to arch inward slightly, as if it cupped the town. It reminded me of hands protecting something special. I cupped my hands in front of my mouth to warm my fingers and blew into them; my breath was a cloud in front of me then disappearing just as quickly.
The town itself looked large enough for at least two-thousand people, even though it was only half of that. There was one enormous building in the middle of it I assumed was a hotel, which was strange for a small town here where there were little tourists. Then, surrounding the hotel were double- and single-story homes with smaller containers between them. There was a main road going straight through and out the other side. I couldn’t see whether the road ended or if it carried on beyond the ice wall.
One thing I noticed the town did not have was a church or a chapel. There was nothing that screamed religion was being taught here like one would usually see in a town. And on the right-hand of town stood a frozen pond with trees circling half of it on the far right-hand side. I found it strange that trees grew here considering it snowed all year round.
“Can I help you, miss?”
I flinched and spun around, coming face-to-chest with a large man. He wore a tweed jacket with a waistcoat and black pants tucked into snow boots. I glanced up to see his face, but his hoody bathed him in darkness.
“Um, hi, I’m looking for someone.” I wrinkled my nose and stepped away from the man to put some distance between us. The stench of his smoke-filled clothing stole my breath, and I sucked in fresh air.
“Well, miss, you’re very far from home.” He removed his hoody, revealing his youthful face. He glanced over his shoulder, then back at me. “How did you get here? Never mind,” he said with knitted brows, and not waiting for me to answer. “I don’t think anyone in town is waiting for a visitor,” he said and smiled, revealing sharp, rotten teeth.
I took another small step backward and to the side so that it looked like I was just standing at an angle instead of trying to get out of his rancid breath.
“I’ve been told my friend is here and I would like to find him. Perhaps you’ve heard of a man named River—”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “There’s no man named River, but…,” he said, pinching his sharp chin between his index finger and thumb. His eyes rolled to the left, then the right, before focusing on me once more. It was unnerving to witness, like his eyes were loose inside his head or didn’t quite fit him.
I took the time to look at this strange man. His hair was short and disheveled, three-day stubble on his jaw, and strange colored eyes; they weren’t blue or green but dark in-between. He was an entire head and shoulders taller than me, with powerful hands. If I had to take a guess, I’d say his large hands could snap a bone in two with little force.
“A lost man arrived a few weeks ago not knowing his name,” he continued. “It’s been so long it feels as though he’s already one of us.”
“Oh,” I said, sounding sadder than I wanted to. Something else must’ve happened to River if he didn’t know his name, and hoped he would trust me enough to bring him back home for medical attention. I glanced at the town and then at the man, stepping slightly to the side and a little away from him. “Do you know where he is?”
“Ol Henry took him under his wing and gave him a job at the hotel bar,” he said, pointing at the largest building I’d correctly guessed was a hotel. “Would you like me to accompany you there?” His eyes rolled to the left, then right, before settling on me again.
“Uh, sure,” I said with a smile. “I’d love that. Then you can tell me all about the town and how long you’ve lived there.” I started walking toward the town.
“Do you really want to know about my town?” he asked earnestly.
“Yes, of course,” I said, still smiling at him. The more I understood about this town, the better it was for River and me.
“I haven’t shared that with anybody in so long,” he said, catching up to me. He swung a fishing rod and rope I hadn’t noticed before over his shoulder and walked beside me.
I glanced at the man’s back and noticed someone had roughly sewed the hoody to the tweed jacket. It was primitive yet neat. He reminded me of an explorer-librarian.
“My name is Scout,” I offered.
“Neville,” he said. His smile reached his eyes as he faced forward and walked at a brisk pace. “I can’t remember the exact date I arrived or where I’d been, only that this place had always meant to be my home. And come to think of it, I don’t remember having parents either. I only remember my days from that first day when I walked this path, much like we’re doing now.”
I glanced behind me at the path, which disappeared around a bend. “Where did you come from now?” I asked. “Were you fishing?” I jerked my chin at the rod over his shoulder.
“What, this?” He held up a piece of the rope and tapped the fishing rod. “Nah, no fishing here. What is fishing?” He furrowed his brows.
“We use a fishing rod, like the one you’re holding now, to catch fish that swim in water. And then we cook and eat the fish.”
“Oh, that, well no, I don’t use this for fish, nor do I think we have fish in the pond.”
When he didn’t elaborate, I continued, “What did you use the rod for?”
“Back there is… uh… to feed the well.” He moved the fishing rod to his other side so that I couldn’t see it properly.
“What do you feed in the well?”
“The folks here are very nice. We’re quiet, down to earth, and hard workers,” he said, ignoring my question. He remained quiet as the wind kicked up a notch, blowing through my short hair and making me shiver. “But we don’t hurt anyone.” He blurted.
I didn’t know how to respond, so thought it best to keep quiet.
“It’s very peaceful here. You’ll enjoy it.”
“Do you work?”
