Chapter 2

*Two weeks later*

It was a pleasantly cool day at the end of September as I arrived at Luna's to check on Sakura's repair. "What's the word, hummingbird?" I said as I opened the door, the scent of gasoline and motor oil filling my nostrils, "ah, nothing like the smell of perfection in the morning." After my previous encounter with Mr. Auros a few weeks ago, my life had been relatively calm for once.

My gash was nearly healed and would only reopen if I overexerted myself. My arm had turned out not to be broken, but a minor sprain, the crack had most likely come from Mr. Auros hitting the ground and thanks to Luna, the school board believes that quit without leaving his two weeks. My life was finally going normal. And that terrified me.

Though my outside area had been calm, inside I had been panicking like crazy. I was worried over the fact that there hadn't been any attacks in the past few weeks. Though I should have been happy that I could finally relax a bit, I had become severely paranoid, always on my guard to prevent any attacks. And then there was Mr. Auros's message. What had he meant by, "Beware the raven, beware the raven."?

"In the back Mel," I heard her shout, "feel free to come on back."

And I did just that, weaving my way through the stacks of parts and order forms, I slowly made my way to the repair den. After only stumbling once over a set of handle bars, I finally made it into the room. "How is she Luna?" I said with concern in my voice. Though I hadn't had her long, she was one of my most prized possessions.

"Turn around and ask her yourself," she said while cleaning the oil off of her hands.

And I did just that and was shocked by what I saw, dropping my bag on the floor besides me. Right in the middle of the den sat Sakura, looking brand new. I rushed over to check her out, and I found not a scratch on her. "How did you do it?" I asked, so happy the one of my only friends was in pristine condition once again. I was all but bouncing in glee. As I slowly felt my breathing increase, I could feel a coughing fit coming on.

"First off," she said as she tossed my bag to me, "calm down and take a puff before you have an attack again and then I'll continue."

"Fine," I grumbled as I pulled out my inhaler, though I could defeat demons without breaking a sweat half the time, any type of over excitement brought on an asthma attack. Be it due to sheer anger or excitement, it's the same every time. After I had taken a breath and let it settle, I motioned for her to continue.

"It was easy," she continued after she was satisfied with my breathing, "a few spells and a new paint job and Bam! Good as new."

"What do I owe you," I said as I took out my wallet, hands shaking slightly due to the medicine beginning to take effect.

"Mel, you know your money isn't good here," she said chuckling, "just try to keep her in one piece for more than three weeks this time."

"If you say so," I said putting my wallet away, "and I'll try but you know my line of work." I felt myself waver a bit as a heat flash made its way through my body.

"Yes. I know, just be careful though," she said before turning around to face me, "Are you ok? You look a bit pale."

"Yeah, just not feeling up to snuff," I admitted.

"Ah, so that the other reason you came here," she chuckled once again, "you don't want them to find you and force you to visit a doctor. If they come here, I won't say a thing."

"I'm not sick, just feeling a bit off," I assured her before asking the question I was dying to ask. "Is she good to go," I asked in hopes of being able to feel the freedom of the open road once again.

"Yup," she beamed before tossing me the keys, "she's all yours. But be careful, things have been too calm lately," she warned.

"I know, it's spooking me too, maybe the pendant's putting out a stronger signal then before," I said as my hand subconsciously went up to grab the pendant, only to meet with air. "Ah hell, I left it on my nightstand," I said annoyed.

"Then be extra careful," she said with obvious worry on her face, "something's going to happen today, I have that feeling again."

"Good or bad?" I asked, hesitant to know the answer.

"I honestly can't tell," she admitted, "but be alert and don't let your guard down. Now get out of here," she said tossing me my helmet.

"Thanks Lu-Lu bird," I said as I wheeled Sakura outside. I was hurrying to put on my helmet when I heard a caw from behind me. I whipped my head around to see a large black raven perched on the shop's roof. "A raven," I murmured in shock, before shaking my head, "it's just a coincidence Mel, Relax." And with that, I hopped on Sakura and took off.

If only I had stayed behind a few extra moments. If I had, I would have seen the crow fly off towards the nearest, tallest tree, and perch on someone's arm. "Did you find it?" the black figure asked the raven. The raven merely cawed in response. The figure gave an ominous fanged smile. "Excellent," he said as he absorbed the raven back into his body.

A few moments later, a tall, slender man made his way down the tree. The sun glinted off of the man's short, raven colored hair. He was currently dressed in a plain black suit, not like a business person's outfit. More like…a butler.

After checking his watch, he spoke once again. "We shall meet again soon my master," he said as he obtained a lock on the person he had been trying for nearly a century to track down. He began towards his desired location, hoping that the fates weren't playing a cruel joke on his once again. "This is it," he assured himself, "this damn thing has gotten away twelve other times. This has to be it, lucky number 13."