Chapter 8 – RAVEN
RAVEN
Morning arrives too quickly, streaming through the narrow ventilation shafts that provide the black market with odd slivers of natural light.
I fasten the last of my bags, finally finished with my careful, methodical packing.
Half my supplies for this insane, self-inflicted expedition may be outright luxuries, but I've never seen the point of survival without style.
The markets will be stirring now, merchants setting up stalls to barter and haggle over pre-war trinkets and necessities alike. A world away from what we're about to attempt.
My hands linger over the collection of weapons I've selected. Three pistols, two knives, a garrote wire disguised as a decorative bracelet, and enough ammunition to take down a small army.
Or at least make a decent showing before we're slaughtered at the Surhiiran border.
I zip the bag closed and survey the room one last time. Most of my clothes are staying behind. Traveling fast means traveling light, and we'll need every advantage.
There's just one thing left to do, and I've been putting it off all morning.
Saying goodbye to Geo.
It's not like it's the first time, but somehow, this time is harder.
My stomach twists at the thought. I can already picture his face, that carefully constructed mask of indifference that never quite reaches his eye. He'll grunt and wave me off like he couldn't care less.
I wish pretending came half as easily to me.
I sling my bag over my shoulder and head out into the corridor. The living room is empty, though I can hear Knight's low growls and Nikolai's irritated muttering from down the hall. Cosima's soft laughter floats between them, the sound making my heart do a strange flip in my chest.
Gods, I've only known her face to face for a matter of days, but I'd follow her into hell itself.
Which is exactly what I'm about to do.
Geo's quarters are strangely empty. No sign of him in the kitchen, his office, or his bedroom. I check the rooftop access, remembering how he likes to brood under that toxic wasteland sky he inexplicably loves, but find only empty vodka bottles and cigar butts.
Is he avoiding me? The thought stings more than it should.
As I make my way back through the tunnels, I pass a door I've only seen open a handful of times. Geo's private collection. His "museum," as he sarcastically calls it. The sanctum where he keeps all the pre-war treasures and oddities he's salvaged from the wasteland over the years.
Sure enough, a thin line of light spills from beneath the heavy steel door.
I hesitate, my hand hovering over the handle. Geo guards this space jealously. Even I'm rarely allowed inside without explicit invitation. But today of all days, the normal rules don't seem to apply.
I push the door open without knocking.
The room beyond is a strange hybrid of military bunker and eccentric art gallery.
Glass cases line the walls, filled with artifacts from the old world.
Pieces of technology whose purpose has been long forgotten.
Trinkets and treasures from civilizations obliterated in the war.
Fragments of weapons that might have once helped bring about the end of days.
And there, in the center of it all, sits Geo in a battered leather armchair.
The only source of light is a single lamp positioned to illuminate the empty glass case directly in front of him, and I know exactly which trophy it's meant to house.
His broad frame looks incongruously gentle in the soft glow, one large hand wrapped around a tumbler of what's undoubtedly his best scotch.
He doesn't look up when I enter, but I know he's aware of my presence.
Nothing gets past Geo. Ever.
"I'm surprised you haven't gotten that damn thing by now," I say, nodding toward the empty spot in the case before him. "I gave you all but the GPS coordinates on that flash drive."
The Harbinger. The skull of a beast so legendary, it may as well be a cryptid.
Tracking it down required calling in countless favors and more than a bit of bloodshed.
It was the only bargaining chip I had when I first came back, desperate for his help to find Cosima.
A prize he's lusted after for longer than I've known him, and yet he's made no move to obtain it when it's finally within his grasp.
Geo grunts, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. "I'll get around to it." He takes a slow sip, then adds, "Assuming we come back from this alive."
I freeze, the casual plural stopping me cold. "'We?'" I echo.
He finally looks up, his single eye reflecting the dim light like a predator's eye in the darkness.
"Your brilliant suicide mission to Surhiira.
" His mouth twists into something that's not quite a smile.
"But I figure at least the omega will make it out.
Surhiirans worship them, and you're close enough to being one that you'll probably be fine. "
I don't even have time to decide between being insulted and touched. My mind still stuck on the first part of his statement.
"I—wait, what do you mean 'we'?" I stammer, suddenly feeling off-balance. "You can't go with us. You've got a market to run."
Geo barks out a harsh laugh. "I'll do as I damn well please.
" He takes another sip of scotch, his eye never leaving my face.
"Been meaning to get out of this shithole for a while anyway.
" Something darker enters his gaze. "And if you think I'm letting you run off and get yourself killed, you're crazier than I thought. "
My heart does a strange little flip in my chest that I immediately try to suppress. This can't be happening. This isn't part of the plan.
"Geo, you've already done enough," I say, stepping closer to his chair. "I've already gotten you far more involved in my bullshit than you ever wanted to be."
It's true. From the moment I stumbled into his brothel after running from Nikolai, lost and broken, Geo has been cleaning up my messes. And what have I given him in return? A flash drive with information about an artifact he probably doesn't even care about anymore.
More trouble than I'm worth, as always.
Geo sets his glass down on the small table beside him, the crystal making a sharp clink against the metal surface. Then he rises from his chair with the grace that always catches me off guard. For such a big man, he can move like a predator just as much as leaner alphas like Nikolai.
Before I can react, he's backed me against the wall, directly beneath the empty spot where the Harbinger would sit if he ever finds it. His hands plant on either side of my head, caging me in without actually touching me.
"You don't get to waltz in, fuck up my perfectly predictable life, and then decide when you walk back out of it," he growls, his face close enough that I can smell the scotch on his breath. Feel the heat of him against my skin. "Where you go, I go. Period."
I stare up at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. We've always had a complicated relationship, Geo and I. Mostly because of the feelings I thought I'd buried a long damn time ago. Sometimes he says shit that almost makes me wonder if he's trying to dredge them up, but I know better.
"I can't make any guarantees we're coming back," I murmur, forcing myself to look away from his intense gaze before I do something stupid. Like beg him to come. Or beg him to stay. I'm not even sure which anymore.
Geo grunts, the sound rumbling through his chest as he finally relaxes his posture, letting his hands slip from the wall behind me. "What else is new?"
"What, you're not going to kiss? Boring."
Cosima's voice from the doorway startles us both.
She slinks into the room with that feline grace that makes my mouth go dry, her silver hair shining as it cascades over her shoulders.
Behind her looms Knight, his massive frame keeping him from following her in, glowing blue eyes watching from behind his silver mask.
I force a breathless laugh, slipping out from behind Geo. "Didn't see you there, goddess. Are we ready to go?"
Cosima's violet eyes dance with clear amusement, darting between Geo and me. "Yes, all packed. Does this mean Geo is coming with us?"
Geo straightens, adjusting his eye patch with a mild scowl. "Someone has to look after you lot. Not one of you has a lick of common sense." He gestures vaguely in her direction. "You included, princess."
Her lips curve into that half-smile that makes my heart stutter. "The more, the merrier." She glances around the room, taking in the collection of oddities with open curiosity. "Nice junk room."
With that, she turns and glides back out, Knight a hulking shadow at her heels.
Geo's expression goes blank and his face turns beet red. "Brat," he grumbles half-heartedly, following her out.
I linger for a moment, looking back at Geo's treasure trove and everything he's leaving behind. I make a silent promise to myself that no matter what, he'll come back alive. And if anything happens to me out there, he's the only person in this world I trust to take care of my treasure.
With a soft sigh, I turn out the lights and close the door behind me.