Chapter 31 Raven
Raven
Kenji rolled around in the snow as we waited for Maverick to fetch our bags from the boat.
The captain had agreed somewhat unwillingly to return in five days.
Zane whispered something to him before he turned white and nodded his head vigorously.
I assumed Zane was issuing some kind of threat, but I didn’t have the energy to yell at him for acting like a dick.
We didn’t need two dickheads in our crew.
Alaric filled the dickhead slot nicely.
Kai hovered on my right side, his hair beads jingling each time he moved his head to check out the people milling around the harbor. My merman had barely left my side since I woke from a restorative nap after the serpent-monster tried to drown me.
Part of me wanted to sulk that it took a near-death experience to make him like me, but mostly I was just grateful he’d saved my life.
Maverick continued to act like an overbearing shifter mate. He’d cuddled me for the rest of the night, refusing to let me go even when Zane joined us on the small cot.
The only one keeping his distance was Alaric. Not even the prospect of my untimely death was enough for him to be nice to me.
I watched as he rolled his eyes at a group of children throwing snowballs at each other.
“Fuck’s sake, what’s taking him so long?” he huffed when Maverick still hadn’t appeared. Then he dug his phone from his pocket, stared at the screen, and hurried away to take a call. I tried to listen to what he was saying, but my hearing wasn’t sensitive enough.
“Why’s the mage so horrible to me?” I asked Kenji, who’d finished playing in the snow. He’d been a snark-free zone all morning, which I appreciated.
“Ever think it might not be about you, witch? Not everything is,” came Kenji’s reply. This time, it was me rolling my eyes. Goddess save me, was it too much to ask to expect some sympathy from my familiar?
“Yes. If you want sympathy, ask the bear. For some strange reason he’s besotted with you.”
“The mage is an asshole, pet. Ignore him. We don’t need him.” Zane’s words in my head made me realize he’d heard my conversation with Kenji.
“Oh my goddess, can I please have some privacy in my own head?!”
“Try maintaining a decent mental shield, witch, like other half-competent witches.”
“No need, pet. I love listening to your endless internal monologue. It’s highly entertaining.”
“I don’t.”
Storm clouds brewed over our heads. When I glanced back at Alaric, his conversation had ended, and he was busy staring at the ocean, anger radiating from him in waves. The longer he glared at some unseen enemy, the darker the sky grew.
The kids playing nearby looked up anxiously and then scurried away toward the huddle of houses surrounding the harbor. Thunder rumbled, making me sigh.
Great. Someone had pissed off the mage, and now we’d have to deal with his angry storm. Like I wasn’t already tired, worried about the vampire, and not enjoying the prospect of a long hike.
“Hey, Alaric, do you think you can chill for a bit?” He spun on his heels and glared at me. I pointed up at the sky. “I’m guessing that’s you. If it is, please tone it down. I’m not in the mood for a storm. Not today.”
He clenched his jaw before stomping over. “Excuse me for being in a bad mood because I’m exhausted after puking for twelve straight hours, cold, and not exactly excited at the thought of hiking up a fucking mountain either!”
I blinked.
“Um, you didn’t have to come on this trip.”
“You’re right. I didn’t.” He stared at a patch of snow between us while I tried not to admire the way he filled out his winter jacket or the cut of his pants where they stretched over strong thighs.
“So why did you?” It occurred to me he’d not actually explained his presence. From the way he ground his teeth, I concluded it wasn’t because he loved my sparkling personality.
“Because your control of your magic is shit, and I figured if I wasn’t around to help you, someone would probably die.”
“Ouch.” Kenji clapped his paws to his chest and rolled over in a fake death slump.
“You really think I’m that useless?” I kind of knew he did but hearing him say it was all kinds of hurtful.
“In a word, yes. You really are that useless.”
“Wow, please don’t sugarcoat it.” I laughed, but it took some effort.
Zane and Kai stood behind me, silent. Did they agree with Alaric? It sure felt like it. Was I the most useless witch who ever lived? Apparently so.
Yay, me.
“Your bear shifter might be sappy enough to fill your head with nonsense, but I will always tell you how it is,” Alaric continued.
“And the truth is, Raven, you have zero control over your magic, which is a concern because you have a lot of untapped power. Unless you get a handle on that power, someone will die. Hopefully not one of us, but…” He shrugged, implying he strongly believed it might happen.
“Have you quite finished?” Zane pulled me back against his chest. “She’s doing her best in a difficult situation. We let you come on this trip to help her, not tear her down.”
“You let me come?” Alaric repeated before barking out a humorless laugh. “Nobody lets me do anything, incubus. I’m the most powerful mage alive. You couldn’t stop me if you tried!”
“Really? Shall we test that theory?” Zane pushed me aside and squared up to the mage. Thunder rumbled while lightning slammed into the stones a few feet away, filling the air with the scent of ozone. A man stacking crates of fish by the wall yelled in panic and ran away.
“Males will be males,” Kenji muttered.
“You’re a male,” I pointed out.
“Yes, but I’ve evolved.”
“What the fuck’s going on?” Maverick dropped our bags and stared at the two idiots posturing and spitting insults at each other.
“A dick-measuring contest,” Kai replied, to my surprise. He usually stayed out of the drama.
“Alaric was being mean.” I pushed down my hurt and steeled my spine. “He can stay here if he wants. We don’t need him.”
Alaric snapped his head in my direction and sneered.
“You’re right. I can stay here where it’s warm and dry.” To my surprise, he shoved Zane out of the way, grabbed his bag, and strode off toward a brightly lit inn on the waterfront.
“Now that we’ve gotten rid of Debbie Downer, shall we set off?” Zane grinned at me and took my hand in his. “Don’t worry, pet, you can’t kill me with your magic. It’s impossible to kill one’s own soul-bonded mate.”
“Not impossible, just very difficult,” Kenji said cryptically.
Maverick sighed, strongly implying we were all unruly children in need of a time-out.
“Come. I’ve hired some snowmobiles from a seal shifter. Let’s get a move on before the weather worsens.” We all looked up to see more storm clouds brewing.
Unless the mage calmed down, he’d end up killing us all in a severe weather event. Or maybe that had been his secret plan all along.
It sure felt like he hated me enough to want to kill me sometimes.
Except for the time in the pizzeria when he was nice and I thought for a hot second he actually liked me. But I shoved that thought down because it had been a delusion, and delusional was my middle name.
“Hold on tight, little mate.” We set off along a trail leading away from the harbor.
Maverick had insisted on taking me on the back of his snowmobile, which was wise given I’d never ridden one before and would probably crash if I had to steer my own.
Kai and Zane followed, each with their own snowmobile.
“Being shoved in a backpack is unacceptable for a kitsune of great standing in the community,” Kenji grumbled over my shoulder, but we’d concluded this was the best way for him to travel.
Alaric had disappeared, but I could still feel him in my chest. The tether between us ached, like the bond knew I was leaving him behind and wasn’t happy about it. But since he was the one being a dick, I refused to feel bad.
I’d tried so hard with him, but he’d acted like an asshat ever since I met him. I was done with the mage.
He didn’t deserve me.
“How far is it?” I yelled into the frigid wind, grateful for Maverick’s body acting like a space heater in front of me.
“A few hours at least, maybe a day. Kai isn’t too sure, as he’s not been to this island in years.”
The place on the map where the spell left a mark was to the north.
Thick forest lay ahead, but from what I could gather from listening to Maverick and Kai, there were hunting trails crisscrossing the island, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to make our way to the valley at the foot of the tallest mountain.
Maverick seemed to think we’d find my vampire in a cabin in the valley, but I was unconvinced. All my dreams of Rasmus showed him in an underground room carved from stone, with no windows. I was no expert, but to me that looked like somewhere within the mountain, not a cellar beneath a cabin.
It would be easier if he were in a cellar below a cabin or similar, but I doubted fate would make my quest so easy. Not after she’d tried to murder me several times already.
I shivered at the memory of being dragged underwater, then shivered again for an entirely different reason at the memory of being with Kai and how it felt when he held me close. Maverick patted my hand, sensing my chaotic emotions.
As the mountain grew closer, more snow fell from a leaden sky, until soon we could barely see a few feet ahead. Eventually, even the snowmobiles struggled with the terrain.
The few hours of daylight had long since faded, but we continued on, moving far slower than we had at the start of our trip. The trees gradually thinned as the trail narrowed, and just as I was about to ask my bear for the millionth time whether we were nearly there, the trail ended and we stopped.
Since I couldn’t see the way ahead, I jumped off the back of the snowmobile to check.
I heard Maverick yell, but the howling wind swallowed his voice as I took a few steps forward. The ground beneath my feet fell away sharply, and I almost slipped as the sound of roaring water floated up through swirling snowflakes.
I realized then why we’d stopped. The only way forward was on foot, and it involved crossing a rickety rope-and-timber bridge over a steep gorge.
My heart dropped at the thought of doing it in this weather. It reminded me of a human book I’d read last year, about a girl who had to navigate a parapet to join the Rider’s Quadrant at some fantasy war college with dragons and sexy dragon riders.
I’d spent an entire week wishing dragons were real before reminding myself I’d literally pee my pants if I met one.
There were no dragons here, but I had a nasty feeling there might be a pissed-off serpent monster looking for revenge.