Sorry this took so long I've been very busy. I just quickly want to point out that somebody asked me if Raven and King are gonna have a romantic relationship and the answer to that is NO! They are both simply just victims of circumstance as you will learn in this and upcoming chapters, but there is not romantic relationship brewing there.

-With love Ophelia

Chapter 14

Where Evil Ruled At Night

"There's a black house burning in the moonlight
We're standing at the door and there's no one in sight
This will all be over tonight"

-The Birthday Massacre

Raven looked back at King, noticing the suddenly look of dismay. "What is it?" She questioned nervously.

King winced at the question, but replied anyway, "He's behind you."

Raven turned quickly, fear present in her eyes, but found nothing waiting behind her. Still, she felt a cold chill run up her spin as something lingered on her flesh. "There's nobody here, is there?" She asked cautiously.

"He's not there anymore." King replied and looked away. "We should probably keep moving."

Raven looked back at him and slowly moved away from where the shadow man stood only moments ago. She followed King's suggestion and nodded, trying to cut the hold that seemed to coil around her. Looking ahead she began to take in the view of the fearscape as the trees tunneled inward. The moonlight was elegant, though fearsome, as it crept through the darkened branches and embodied them in shadows.

"Can you see anyone?" Raven asked, taking her attention off the overgrown path.

King looked through the tree line, the sound of branches snapping under footsteps filled the air with questions, burrowing beneath their skin. "Yes, would you like to see them as well?" He asked walking passed her, taking sight of something that was beyond Raven's vision.

"I don't have that ability." Raven replied.

"You don't need it, just take my hand."

Raven paused and looked back at him as she was caught off guard by his suggestion. King held out his hand not even looking back at her, his attention captivated by something across the still river. Raven looked down at her thin hand as it remained ungripped for the moment. She didn't like making physical contact with other people, especially strangers, but she swallowed her pride and placed her hand in his. His solid grip made Raven feel uneasy, there was an immediate sense of vulnerability as though a veil had been lifted from her eyes. Raven looked out across the black river and took sight of something that appeared unreal. From across the body of water at the very edge of the tree line appeared strange shadows taking form between the trees. They were of different heights and had human like qualities to them. More appeared with each passing moment until there were nearly twenty silhouettes in view beneath the deep moonlight. Raven gasped letting her disbelief free from her lips. She'd never seen anything like it before as her eyes were now open to the dead.

"Who are they?" She questioned with fragile words on the breath of discovery.

"They are, but those who no longer walk our plane. They live in the past, but these silhouettes you see are not possessed in one's memory. They only live in the shadow of the moon, and the distant light of stars we will never see. They are simply forgotten."

Raven felt her heart sink into her chest as King let her hand free and walked on, "Why are they here King?" She asked trying to catch up to him. "And, how can you do that?"

"You may not be a medium, but you are sensitive. All I did was tap into your abilities and allow you to see what I do." King stopped and looked back at the empath, "As for the shadow figures, they're here because they are bound by the same curse that binds you to Trigon."

Raven looked back at the young man with bewilderment, "How?"

"Because your ancestor made a deal with him and promised him a bride so he could produce an heir."

Raven stopped dead in her tracks, unsure of what to say, "But I thought my mother-"

"Forget what you were told Raven, there are so things you don't know," He said, his voice venomous. "Like how your mother was sold by your grandfather after he tried escape your family and his name."

Raven's face fell and her eyes became pained at his tone, "Why would they lie to me?" She fumed.

"I don't know, to protect you from the truth? Maybe they thought it didn't matter, maybe they just didn't want you to know who you are." King said turning away. "The truth is never easy and it can hurt more than the blade can wheel."

Raven crossed her arms with questions burning in her mind. It appeared a great deal of what she'd been told was a lie and her reality began closing in on her even more than it already had. "King, where are we going and why are you taking me there?"

King didn't stop this time he just kept moving as Raven follow intently behind him waiting for his reply. "We are going to the home Count De La Fay built for him is and his wife after he was exiled from France in 1873."

"Why was he exiled?"

"He was accused of treason. However, it could not be proven so instead of executing him, he was stripped of his title and position then banished from French soil. There was also a rumor he'd been practicing the dark arts and devil worship, but again, none of that could be proven."

"But he was, wasn't he?"

"Do I have to answer that?" King said with a nod, confirming her inquiry. "He came to America with his young wife who had little choice in the matter. Shamed and depressed the Count craved to have his power back after his failure and humiliation. He built the Le Fay home out here because no one knew of him or his transgressions. He insisted his servants still refer to him by his former title, hell bent that he'd regain his losses."

"He started practicing again didn't he?"

"Yes, only this time he began to conjure things far more powerful than anything he'd ever provoked before, he called-"

"My father." Raven said finishing the verse before King could breathe another word.

He nodded and continued, "Trigon told him he could gain back his position and wealth. All he had to do was promise the soul and body of a daughter born on a 7th year on the 7th day of July."

"My mother." Raven said in a grave tone once again looking out beyond the water.

"Trigon also needed a blood sacrifice from someone the Count truly cared for."

Raven winced at the thought of her father making a godforsaken deal with the mad Count. But the fact someone had to die to assure her existence, only defeated her more. She froze a moment as she heard something stir beyond the trees. The wind howled, leaving a cold chill in the air, taking Raven's unpinned hair in its hold. Her locks blew across her face and lifted into the night as she once again heard the sound of the something moving through the dense trees. Her violet eyes caught nothing, but the sound found life somewhere in reality. Most would attribute the disturbance to the wistful cries of the wind looking for things lost long ago and still unfound. But the feeling that accompanied it was eerie and sinister.

Raven began to question her sanity and her overall sense of existence. She was now aware of how artificial her origins were and for all she knew there was more to come and more to be lost.

"Are you coming? We are going to be late." King called now more than ten feet away.

Raven let his words take her attention and nodded. She moved forward, catching up to him in a few bounds. She looked up at the young man, the thought of how he'd come to be a servant of Fate resting on her mind with a heaviness.

"How did you get this gig anyway?" Raven asked looking out over the ominous river.

King looked down at her with a dark look in his eyes, "I didn't really have much choice in the matter." He replied with a light air of bitterness. "Then again when it comes to the work of Fate, none of us do."

"Yes, but what is your story, we all have one. What brought you to this point?"

"The same thing that brought you to yours, and will beyond this moment." King looked forward and avoided any eye contact.

"You have a demonic father too?" Raven said sarcastically and rolled her eyes at his illusive response.

"No, just a horrible grandmother," King Replied, "she's the one I inherited my gift from."

"What made her so horrible?"

"She wasn't much different from the Count; she was willing to throw away her family. Only she had little to gain it."

"She sounds horrible."

"She was the most evil woman I ever knew." He moved on in silence and didn't breathe another word, leaving Raven with questions of how it all came to be.

The two continued on, traveling the path as they were followed by ghostly footsteps and shadows moving through the dark shades of blues. Raven pulled her coat closed as the wind howled, tying it neatly. The air was becoming harsher and its cries became reminiscent of those made by the dying. The deeper they traveled, the more the essences of the night began to change, leaving little beauty to the world.

As they began to approach the end of the path, Raven noticed several tall stones standing along its edge in a small clearing. They wore a strong look of age and the words carved in them had begun to fade away with time.

"Are those…"

"Head stones," King said cutting her off, "yes they are."

Raven's eyes remained cast on the stones that marked the forgotten graves of those who lay beneath them. "Can you… hear them?" She questioned, her still eyes upon them.

King looked back at her and took sight of the stones once again. "No, they're no longer attached to their physical forms. That part of their existence is over."

"But they're here aren't they?"

"They are, but only because they are still bound to this place, not their bodies."

Raven took a deep breath, taking in the realization of mortality and how unattached one's life actually was to the physical world. The thought she too could eventually walk between the plains of existence was surreal and even frightening. Yet she knew theafter that awaited her was even more frightening and Hellish than anything she could imagine.

Ahead she could see the path begin to open as the moonlight became brighter and the old remnants of a rusty gate come into view. A rush of fear ran through her as she realized just where she was going. An old street lamp lit itself without assistance and flickered as though it were an old flame threatening to die. Raven felt her throat tighten and her body began to tremble as she found herself reliving the nightmare that started it all.

In the distance stood the shadow of an old house, standing broken and uncared for beneath the sorrow of dark skies. Its windows were blindly nailed shut and its body stood bound by both time and vines. Its only company was an old willow tree that had died many years ago and longer breathed life. To her right lay a fallen structure which she believed to be an old barn. It sat in absolute ruins and could only provide shelter to things she had no desire to discover.

She looked over at King who seemed hesitant and fearful to even take another foot forward. His eyes appeared lost in the remains of the old house and his emotions stirred with great chaos just waiting to erupt.

"What is it King?" Raven asked trying to gain his attention.

The young man looked at her as though catching his breath. He composed himself, but she could still see the fear in his eyes, though he tried hard to force it down. "I'm fine," he replied, "just too many unwanted memories is all."

"I can relate to that." Raven said looking back at the one before her.

"Are you ready?"

"No, but I don't think I have any choice in the matter."

"You'd be right."

The two both hesitantly moved forward, inching closure to the image of the living nightmare ahead. The wind still howled into the fall air, causing the branches of the old tree to moan in agony. The sound chilled Raven to the bone and made her blood extinguish any fire that burned in her veins. She could feel invisible eyes watching her as they crawled along her skin and made every last hair stand on end.

Once they were about 50 feet away she could make out a dark figure standing in the shadows. The figure was barely visible against their shelter and was outlined ever so slightly by the moonlight. For a moment Raven questioned its presences and found herself looking quite hard at it as though daring it to move. Once at the foot of the front steps she looked up at the cloaked figure that stood deathly still. Its gloved hands were cupped neatly behind its back making the figure even less visible from where Raven stood. Her nerves began to dance as they wistfully awaited what was to come next. Her eyes remained fixed on the unmoving figure as she cautiously placed her foot on the first step which cried under her weight. Raven looked up to see the figure unfazed as if lost in a distant thought. She continued up the steps until she reached the porch where the form only stood but 5 feet away. Its stillness frightened her, yet it had done nothing to warrant the feeling that gripped at her. She looked back at King who remained at the bottom of the rotting steps. Not wanting to keep her eyes fixed on him she turned her head back to the shadow only to find it had vanished. Startled, Raven gasped, panic holding her in its grasp. She turned quickly to retreat, but found herself face to face with the cloaked being. Raven tried to pull back, calling out King's name. The figure reached out a hand and delicately gripped the girls arm, yet forcefully pulled her back.

"Now, now my dearest Raven, you mustn't let darkness consume you." Said a voice Raven immediately recognized. The figure gracefully pulled down her hood, revealing the long black hair beneath it. "Didn't you mother used to tell you such things?"

"My mother only told me such things." Raven replied, still shaken, but composed. "Was that really necessary?"

The young Fate smirked at Raven as her black hair blew in the wind, "No, not really. I just wanted to set the tone is all."

"What tone?" Raven asked bitterly.

"Oh my dear Raven, you mustn't get so emotional. We all have a stake in this. Only yours is far greater as you still have plenty to lose after tonight." Abigail smiled and removed a metal object from her cloak. "You see my dear we've all come for closure and you are the only one who can grant such a gift." She reached out her hand and let free the object that now dangled from its chain.

"The Eye," Raven mused for a moment as her eyes fell on the hideous necklace."Why me?"

"Because you're the one thing Trigon needed from this family and humanity. If it weren't for you none of us would be standing here." Abigail replied still holding the necklace.

Raven looked back at the both of them still trying to understand if The Fate meant what she thought she did. Slowly she reached out her hand and let her fingertips grace the metal's cool surface. The air had grown cold, leaving her exposed skin pink from its touch. Gently she took the item into her hands and Abigail released the chain into Raven's possession.

Raven looked down at it, the creature still out stretched in furry. She recalled the vision she'd had about the little girl named Molly, the girl's fright still present in her mind. "Will I find out who Molly is?"

Abigail turned with a look of surprise that turned to intrigue, "No, not here my dear, not on this night and not till birth is near."

"What does that mean?" Raven asked unhappy with the strange riddle. "I thought you three only spoke in verse when you were together?"

Abigail giggled and took Raven's chin in her hand, "We may speak as three, but when alone, we speak thrice the unknown"

"Is she really gonna speak in verse all night, because if so, I'd rather she go… great now I'm doing it." Raven scowled, looking back at King.

However, the young man was too occupied in the presence of the dying structure before him and paid the two women no attention.

Abigail moved passed Raven and stepped in front of the door, turning to her once more, "Behind this door awaits the secrets of your past, present, and future. There are things you may never wish to know and were possibly never meant to, but what is lost dear Raven must one day be found. Even for those whose loss may rest in the ground."

Raven remained silent as the smoke from her verse choked out her sound. Abigail placed her hand on the nob and let the door creak open, its aged hinges crying in pain as it did so.

Before stepping forward, Raven looked back at King who still stood frozen at the bottom of the steps. "King, aren't you coming?" She asked in a weak voice, still trying to keep herself gathered.

He looked up at her with his eyes heavy and conflicted, "No, I can't. I can hear them in the attic."

"Who?" Raven questioned looking up into the darkness.

"Missy and his dearly departed grandmother." Abigail said from the doorway. "Now come along King, you are needed inside."

"No, you said I had to bring Raven to the house, you never said I needed to step foot in that Hell!" King snapped pointing to the doorway.

"You'll do as I tell you, I didn't remove you from that horrible hospital for you to disobey me."

"Hospital?" Raven questioned with wide eyes.

"Yes, King spent most of his childhood in a psychiatric facility."

"But why?"

"Why don't you ask him, or better yet ask his grandmother. She's waiting for him in the attic."

Raven looked back at King only to feel a rush of fear and hurt wash over her as she nearly drowned in his pain. For a moment she became overwhelmed and could hardly breathe, being crushed beneath the waves that stirred deep in Hell. More havoc dwelled in her heart which began to race with his, both colliding with each other's in harsh melodies.

King quickly noticed the look reflecting in her eyes and threw down his veil trying to shut Raven out of his thoughts. Suddenly Raven envisioned a door slamming shut in her mind and the waves of turmoil no longer crashed against her shores. However, the veil King had conjured could only keep the living free of his person, not the dead. The voices of those long passed and lost to time still carried on in great favor of his abilities. Those he no longer wished to hear still spoke as though they'd never felt the cold hand of death, and death did little to contain them.

"Please Abigail, I'm begging you." King pleaded. "They're too loud, I have no way of shutting them out."

Abigail gave little way in her expression keeping her eyes set on the two, "Precisely, you are just as much a part of this as Raven and I are. Now come, there is much to be discovered before the morrow comes within the hour." She turned to the door again and placed her hand on its frame, "The spirits that are bound within these walls are trapped and forced to relive each ghostly memory of the very moments that led them to their end. In your presence they may be able to find new motivation to temporarily be liberated from their retellings, but I cannot guaranty such things. Some of them may welcome you, while others may find your presence bothersome or even spiteful. The Eye will give you the ability to see and hear their secrets. Feel free to go where the spirits take you. In death they know much about the secrets these old walls hold and hopefully they will lead you to the past that needs to be dug up."

The dark haired woman stepped inside leaving the pair to the moonlight, "Please King," Raven said looking down at him, "I can't do this alone. You brought me here, you know this place better than I do."

King looked away unable speak. The worlds around him still crashing together as life and death began to meet. Like Raven he'd also felt her fear, though hers read more of discovery and the bleak void of the unknown. His, however was dripping with recognition and represented memories that composed nightmares he dare not speak. Still, her loneliness was heavy and her need for her friends who were not at her side was overwhelming.

"Fine, I'll come, but only because I know how it feels to walk these halls alone."

Raven gave a weak smile, her gratitude great, but her regret still shackled to her like a burden. The two entered the old house as they were greeted with the sound of the old floor boards whimpering beneath their feet. To their right was a grand fire place that stood strong, though it was beginning to crumble from the outside. Time covered everything and was thick in the air as it rose from its long sleep. The dust lifted from the floor like smoke, its scent prominent and heavy. Before them stood a high grandfather clock that once held great beauty and prominence. King remembered the old antique and marveled in its ruin. It was no longer capable of performing its labored task and sat idle in irony. Raven too found herself captivated by the old clock though hers had more to do with the moment it was forever trapped in.

"I take it there is a reason the clock's final strike was 3?" She asked feeling mocked by the two unmoving hands.

Abigail turned and smiled, "In a house ruled by death there is little need for time, but this house is also home to Hell, so in that hour it stay locked. For within these halls, it is always 3 O'clock.