The first thing Ben thought upon waking was how wrong he had been a couple days earlier, waking to think that how he was feeling then was sore.
This was friggin' sore. His head felt like it was trying to stage a mutiny, tiny pirates hacking away at his brain on a mission to defeat the evil monster of consciousness.
The evil monster of awareness prevailed, and Ben lifted his head, a thick crust of blood pulling at his scalp. His head was heavy, limbs sodden with a sudden sea of numbness. His ribs ached, lines of agony with each breath.
Needless to say, he wasn't having fun.
Feeling came back with a rush of pins-and-needles, and Ben almost wished it hadn't. He felt like jumping out of his skin to get away from the horrible prickling. He blinked frantically, trying to clear his sight and find something else to focus on besides the nerves ripping themselves apart.
It was then he realized he was slumped against a concrete wall that did not belong in his apartment, staring at a wall that was nothing like anything he'd seen before. If he had to try and place it, he'd say...
And Ben groaned loudly, ignoring the fire dancing in his ribs. The walls matched the overly flowery descriptions in the book to a T. Putrid pink tulip wallpaper, scored with gigantic talon scratches.
His brain started to catch up with him, and Ben grimaced as everything clicked into place. The case. The homicidal ravens. The wall. Unconscious.
It followed Toltenmy and Arcadia's journey perfectly. Only, him and Amy weren't sickeningly in love. If anything, she was an irritating, overly intelligent, older sister he never wanted. He enjoyed being an only child, thank you very much.
In the back of his mind, the voice, again. Faded and indistinct, watery and pained. Overheard from miles away, eons away. He was my brother. And I can't save him. Can't even try.
Ben shook off the sudden melancholy, stretched his mind back to the events of THE RAVEN WIZARD. What had Exelharberd done next?
The door in the right wall burst open with a clatter, door slamming itself into the wall with great gusto. A man stood in the doorway, framed by a cloak of wings. The wings were still attached to a slightly smaller than gigantic raven, hanging on his back and looking less than amused as Exelharberd flung its wings about with great grandeur.
"Egads!" Exelharberd exclaimed, flinging his wing-cloak out to the side. The raven squeaked, and the man frowned and continued gesturing. "Forsooth! Verily, for I have capturedth thee!"
Ben sighed heavily. Yes, he remembered this part. He wasn't totally sure what he was supposed to say, whether or not to follow the story.
Of course, the story had also been from Arcadia's point of view, and Ben wasn't a girl. Best to just wing it.
"Why have you captured me?" He asked. "Don't you already have another couple here to torture?"
Exelharberd whipped his raven wing to cover his face, not unlike Dracula. His skin was rough canvas over rocks, protruding cheekbones and jaw bones and lumpy muscles. Not attractive, and not welcoming. His beady little eyes seemed to stare straight through Ben, to the flowers scored by claws behind him. "I haveth none other youngeth personas..."
Ben squinted at him. Man, how he hated this book. Character. Author. Case. Life. "You kidnapped two girls."
Exelharberd reared back as if a cannon had been fired into his stomach, the Raven-cloak pounding the air with his wings to keep him upright. Stale smelling air rushed over Ben's face, and he coughed, ribs searing.
"Doth not speaketh of the heathens!" He screeched. "They dost noth inith love!"
Ben tried to take a deep breath, but the pain tore at him until he had to close his eyes again against the bright lights. The villain continued angrily muttering in fake Shakespearean, giving Ben a massive pounding headache.
Whatever Ben had originally expected from hunting, this wasn't it.
Exelharberd wound up his little rant with an approximation of a dying raven, and Ben blinked his eyes open even though it felt like he was stabbing needles through his eyes, one after another after another. Again, he saw the ravens bobbing behind the villain in the doorway, far more threatening than bodyguards could ever be.
He remembered trying to kill it, the way even Amy's knife hadn't deterred it.
Ben jolted. Amy. "Where's Amy? The girl I was with?"
Exelharberd began rubbing his hands together, a frightening look on his face. "Yon littleth girlfriend is fineth. Dost thou liketh to seeth her?"
Girlfriend? "Yes I'd like that." Surely she'll have a plan.
Exelharberd snapped, and the ravens popped to attention, heads tilted at angles that made Ben feel sick. "Taketh the boy to thine girlfriend!"
They were gentler this time, barely. Either that or Ben was already in so much pain the rest didn't register. He careened down the hall in the raven's grip, trying to catch sight of any other doors or windows or exits but it was a hopeless case. His eyes were watering with the pain and it felt like he was trying to see through a rainstorm.
Amy would have a plan.