The Fury of the Night
Chapter 18: Bullets and Burning
Raven watched David from her hidden spot amongst the tall branches of a tree in Kelley Park. She shifted her position to get a better view and took pleasure in the feel of the rough bark against her cheek. Silently, she balanced on her still-bare feet and dropped into a crouch as she moved further out on the limb. David had told her this place was dangerous, well, for mortals, and she could see why. It was a large park with an entertainment area at one end and many trails that roamed around the rest, including alongside a small creek. Dark trails with scant lighting and many trees; trees that made for excellent observation points as well as endless hiding spots.
She smiled as she thought of the way her dark prince had danced her through the night air and had tackled her playfully repeatedly as they flew to this place, inducing laughter that sounded to him like music in the darkness. At one point during their flight when he would have sent her spinning, she had twisted herself in the air, wrapping her arms and legs tightly around him, trapping him to her and making herself dead weight. David hadn't been phased at all; he had simply adjusted for her slight poundage and flew them higher still. Capturing her lips briefly, he gave her a crooked grin, flashing the dimples that she adored and rumbled,
"You'll have to do better than that, Little Bird." Raven giggled and set her fangs to his chest, causing him to withdraw momentarily and loosen his grip. "Better indeed…" she playfully huffed with an upturned nose and broke away from his grip, sailing up into the blackness. David chuckled as he sensed her far above him, beginning to dive. He would not try to elude her, he thought; it was far too pleasurable to have her soft curves against him. Flying on as if he were oblivious to her oncoming attack, he let the air currents tell him of her descent. Reaching out with his mind, he saw himself through her eyes and knew her position instantly. He immediately changed his flight and rocketed himself directly at her. David had a moment to catch the look of surprise and delight on her face before their bodies crashed together, a sound not unlike a sonic boom radiating out from them through the night sky as indestructible object met unyielding force. They summersaulted, both stars and lights from the ground far below became trailing blurs in the dark. Neither could breathe, not that they had need to, in the wake of their collision and they found themselves face to face, limbs entangled, eyes of ice blue looking deeply into those of blood red.
Slowly, Raven freed a small hand and reached up to cup David's cheek. Her thumb traced it's ridge gently, so gently, and then she slid her arm behind his head, her fingers twisting in that white-blond thickness that she loved as she pulled his head to hers. She watched his long dark lashes lower as she pressed her lips to his. Her own eyes closed as she took in the feeling of his lips, firm and sensuous, against hers. He let her lead in the kiss, and she chose to keep it slow, luxuriating in the closeness. Purple sparks danced all around them as David slowed their spin to stillness. He kept her tight against his chest, letting their bodies turn slightly with the high air currents. To an observer, if there had been one, they were two lovers kissing in the midst of a slow dance in the middle of a starry sky. Raven slowly withdrew from the enchantment of her midnight lover's lips and cocking her head playfully to one side asked teasingly, "Better?" David leaned in and rubbed his nose against hers.
"An 'A' for effort." he had replied, smacking her backside. Raven pouted playfully and the two had flown on side by side to their destination, where she now watched David slowly roam along a dark tree-lined path, pretending to stagger now and then as if he had perhaps had too much to drink.
"This is taking forever." his voice popped into her head. "It's usually wayyyyy more lively around here."
"Don't give up hope, my Dark Prince. I think someone is taking notice. Three of them, actually. About 200 feet behind you and to your right, walking on the grass." Raven answered silently. She knew David didn't need her help; he had already smelled his prey and heard their footsteps.
"Mmmm. Only three. How boring. Well, it'll do I suppose. Shall I save one for you, my Dark Princess?" Raven could hear the jest in David's voice and picture the invisible smirk on his handsome face.
"Thank you kindly, M'lord, but you know I find no pleasure in having my meals served to me. The harder the hunt, the sweeter the meat." she answered silently as she froze on her perch, letting the would-be thugs pass almost directly below her never knowing the death that was all around them.
David barely caught himself from laughing aloud at Raven's retort and found himself struggling to seem as if he were having a coughing spell instead. As she watched from her perch, Raven held her hand to her mouth to stifle her own giggle as she edged her way further out along the limb.
David had taken a cigarette from the pack always present somewhere on his person and pretended to search his pockets for a lighter. He turned himself so that he was now facing the three young men approaching him.
"Hey…hey…one of ya got a light?" he slurred as he staggered slightly.
The three boys laughed amongst themselves before the tallest one stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and David. Placing a hand in his jacket pocket, he seemed to be fumbling for something.
"Yeah, sure, buddy. I'll take care of ya."
David took a few steps forward, meeting him halfway. Raven watched, unsurprised, as the other two boys moved slightly past David, effectively surrounding him.
"Hey, thanks man, 'preciate it." David said, convincingly unaware of the threat.
Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind by both of the boys who had moved around him. The boy in front pulled his hand from his pocket and instead of a lighter, held out a wicked looking knife. Raven's eyes narrowed as she sensed the boy's intent and she positioned herself in preparation to spring from the tree but David spoke inside her head.
"Don't. Stay where you are. Let him."
"Get his wallet." the boy with the knife ordered the other two, and they immediately began to search David's pockets, coming up empty but for the almost empty pack of smokes. David pretended to put up a drunken struggle and let the boys shove him to the ground where they leaned over him menacingly.
"What the fuck? You got no fuckin' wallet? Nothin', man? No fuckin' watch, no fuckin' nothin'?"
Raven dropped soundlessly to the ground and crouched a few feet closer to where the boys stood over David. She caught his eye for a split second and he audaciously winked at her. She smiled back, her fangs shining in the dark.
"I'm gonna have something in a minute, if you'll just wait…" David said, his hands raised in a warding off motion.
"Yeah? What you gonna have?" the tallest of the boys asked in a mocking tone. "What the fuck you gonna have, Blondie?"
"That knife. In a few seconds, I'm gonna have that knife." David said in a strong, sure voice, his head coming up as he lowered his hands.
"What? What did you just say?" the boy questioned, as his friends began to laugh.
At that, Raven stood and began to stroll towards them, unconcerned with concealing herself any longer. She watched in admiration as David sprang from the ground, grabbing the boy's wrist and plucking the knife from it without even looking at it. He tossed it towards Raven who effortlessly caught it in the air even as she continued to stroll towards the group. She balanced the blade point down on her palm and found the weight to be off only slightly. The handle was inset with ivory though and she found it to her liking. Tucking it into a side pocket of her leather pants, she turned her attention again to where David was in the middle of the three boys. The three were all attacking him at once, even the one with the wrist crushed beyond repair, realizing that this was no ordinary victim. A roar rose from the middle of the circle and Raven watched, smiling, as David's true face emerged. He was holding one of the boys aloft with one hand while with the other he slashed out with claws much sharper than any knife, slitting through the boy's throat with ease. Blood spurted up in a crimson arc that made Raven lick her lips, her thirst suddenly tenfold. The third boy had taken off running literally for his life and she watched him go, mentally calculating the distance he could get before needing to be intercepted and finding she had time to dally a few moments and watch David drink.
He had placed both hands now on either side of the would-be mugger's head and was slowly crushing his skull even as he lowered the boy down to eye level. The boy's eyes were wide with terror, having never encountered anything as frightening as this yellow-eyed beast with fangs that growled low in it's throat even as it chuckled. The mix of the two sounds coming from the same being at the same time added to the boy's terror, but then it spoke.
David continued to hold the boy by his neck with one hand while with the other he took the cigarette that was most always tucked behind his left ear and placed it in his mouth. Speaking around it while smiling at the boy with fangs on full display he said, "Now about that light…"
"Stop playing with your food." Raven merrily interrupted. "I've got you, Angel Eyes." The boy in David's grasp heard a woman's voice, but it was unlike any woman's voice he had ever heard. It was soft and lilting, sensual and teasing. Then she came into his line of vision. For a fleeting moment, the boy thought of crying out to her for help, but when he saw her eyes flashing red like beacons from hell, he knew it would be to no avail. Raven flared her fingers and held a small flame up to David. He lit his cigarette, pulling on it deeply, then removed it from his mouth handing it to her.
"Would you mind? Hold this a minute?" he said lightly as he exhaled, all the while ignoring the boy who he held suspended in air. Raven took the cigarette and gave it a sniff before wrinkling her nose in pretend distaste. David turned his attention back to the boy and without pausing, sunk his fangs in deeply, pulling the boy's blood into himself in mere moments. The body seemed to shrink in on itself and what fell to the ground was more like mummified remains, a sign the boy had not been well.
"A disease of the blood?" Raven questioned as she and David looked down at the body.
"Yes. Hemophilia. He had a Desmopressin injection recently. It tastes terrible." David replied, spitting to one side. "Unfortunately, there is a component in it that hides it's smell, otherwise I wouldn't have drank from him."
"Will it make you sick?" she asked with a concerned tone.
"No. Not sick. I'll just have a foul taste in my mouth for a few hours."
"Drain the other one; perhaps it will help." Raven said, pointing to the second boy's body which lay bleeding out from the throat close by.
David turned unconcernedly and knelt over the other boy. Putting mouth to neck, he made short work of feeding and stood before Raven before a minute had passed.
"Where will we hide them?" Raven asked, reaching out to run a slender finger through the blood on David's chin and then place it in her mouth to suck the sweet nectar.
"There is a dumping station not far. We'll put the bodies up in the trees for now and come back for them after we get the one that ran." David replied. He pulled her head to his for a fiery kiss and noticed when she pulled her head back slightly, then he grinned and said, "I told you, Sweet Raven, the medicine taste is most foul."
Raven, to David's delight, wound her fingers in his hair and forcefully pulled his head to hers, taking his lips by force, thrusting her tongue deep in his mouth. When she broke the kiss, she grinned. "No taste will ever be foul enough to make me not partake of my Night God." He grinned and nipped at her shoulder, capturing her flesh, and moaned as her taste filled his senses.
"You'll be the death of me, Princess."
"Possibly, but not tonight." Raven teased before bending down and throwing one of the bodies easily over a slender shoulder, then turning and running toward the near trees. David shook his head with a smile and scooped up the remains of the other boy and followed.
They deposited the boy's bodies in the thickest covering of branches, twining their limbs about so that the likelihood of them falling was slim and leapt down to the ground. Both of their heads tilted back as they searched for the third boy's scent on the breeze that had picked up. David caught it first and took off running, dodging through the trees with Raven on his heels.
The smell of fear and panic intensified the closer they grew to their prey, making it even easier to track him. Raven sent a thought to David telepathically as they ran. "He's keeping to the alleys for the most part. But he's thinking of taking a lit street soon."
"No worries, my Dark Angel. We'll have him before then."
Raven watched with admiration as David jumped lithely over a dumpster ahead of her and then leaped up to run along a low building edge for a short distance. His body moved like that of a jungle cat, supremely sure of his footing, no movement wasted. His boots barely made a sound as he ran, leading the way down a short twisting street then dodging into another alley. If anyone had been watching, they would have thought they had seen a shadow not attached to a body flitting past with a smaller shadow a step behind it.
The boy crossed another street, then paused, grabbing onto a street light pole for support as he gasped for breath. He was still a ways away from home but if he had to, he knew of a garage he could hole up in until it was daylight, which wasn't that far off. His mind was too panicked to process what he thought he had seen when they had jumped that blonde guy in the park. It couldn't have been real, he thought. It must have been the light or the shadows from the trees or something. There was no way the drunk guy had suddenly become sober and slit his friend's throat and there was definitely no way he had fangs. It had to have been the way the shadows fell across the dim path. But the way he had lifted Chris up in the air like that…with one hand…and those teeth…those fangs…they were real; he'd swear on it.
"Hey you! Hey, kid! What are you doin' out here this time 'a night?" A man's voice cut through the quiet air, surprising the boy and making him jump.
David came to an abrupt halt just inside the mouth of the alley opposite where the boy leaned against the lamp post, holding his arm out to stop Raven. She snugged herself up behind him and dropped into a crouch, wrapping one arm around his leg as they watched from the blackness that concealed them.
"I said what are ya doin' out here this time 'a night?" the voice again asked from closer by.
The boy looked to see a uniformed patrolman coming straight at him down the sidewalk, and he did not look to be in a pleasant mood.
"Great. I just wanna go home. He's gonna know somethin's up and I can't explain any of what happened; he'll think I'm high on somethin' and lock me up…fuck it." And with the end of that thought, the boy darted into the dark alley on his side of the street.
"Hold it! Halt! Police!" the officer shouted as he ran after the slender young man, disappearing into the dark mouth of the narrow alley as Raven and David watched from the opposing side of the street, still hidden in shadows.
David reached down a hand and Raven took it, springing to her feet and dashing across the street and into the next alley. David had sprang onto the roof of the building adjacent and she could hear him as he raced along above her. Night vision that showed her surroundings as brightly as the sun at noontide allowed her to see that this alley was a dead end, and the boy they were all chasing had come to the end of it. The boy, with limited human eyes, found himself at the base of a fifteen foot concrete wall and spun around, helpless and trapped, knowing he had nowhere to run.
"Hold it! Hands up! Hands up or I'll shoot!" the officer yelled, shining his light into the boy's eyes, making the boy squint as he lifted his arms in defeat. Raven heard the sound of the safety on the 9mm being clicked off and it angered her. How dare this…this human law officer interfere with hunting (though this was the weakest form of it she had to admit, herself preferring to stalk her prey for lengthy periods, one adversary she had hunted for years before growing weary and ending the chase) and fun with her Dark Lord. Just another body to have to dispose of, she sighed to herself.
At that moment, as the lawman was reaching for his handheld radio, his gun still trained on the young man, a shape dropped down from above, snatched the boy and they both had disappeared in the blink of an eye. The officer's mouth fell open in shock, but then he caught himself, his gun and light moving rapidly from corner to corner of the alley, up and down, side to side, but there was no one there. The boy had disappeared, along with whatever had taken him. He went down to one knee as a feeling of faintness came over him, but kept his gun trained toward the concrete wall where the boy had been, almost frantically zipping it in all directions.
Raven picked up his thoughts and was amused. To him, there had been a boy, then the suggestion of a shape, then both were just gone. To her, each movement had been captured frame by frame. The lightness of David's hair as he had peeked over the edge of the building top in contrast to the darkness all around him; the perfect form he presented as he lightly jumped down landing right beside the boy; the way his biceps had flexed beneath the arms of his black t-shirt as he snatched the boy up, having forgone wearing a jacket this night just as Raven had forgone wearing her boots; the power in his coiled muscles that stretched out as he leaped onto the next rooftop and sprinted to the other side. Having never been human, Raven thought it must be most tedious to be confined to such limited abilities as human eyesight. She would have to ask the boys how they had perceived the change in their abilities when they turned, she thought. It would be interesting to know. She had often wanted to ask the questions of other humans she had known who had been turned, but somehow had thought it would be rude. The boys wouldn't mind, she knew, and tucked the thought away for later as she stepped silently forward and stopped behind the man who was still pointing his gun in all directions and who now was beginning to shake a little as he stood.
"Now, now. Put that away. You're likely to hurt someone." Raven spoke in a quiet voice that sounded like it came from a megaphone to the frightened officer. He spun around, the barrel of the 9mm Glock pointing directly at her chest.
A small scream had fled his lips as he had turned. He was a seasoned officer and had never had anyone sneak up on him as this small woman had done. His training remained with him though, and he began to issue commands to her, never lowering his weapon and taking a few large steps back so he could assess the situation better.
"Hands up! Hands up now!" he barked at her, moving his light over her quickly from her head to her bare feet and back up again. She was a tiny thing, he realized, and her tight clothing left nowhere to the imagination where a weapon might be stashed unless it was in her waistband at her back.
Raven, with a small grin on her face, raised her hands above her head, closing her eyes briefly as she picked up the distinct sounds of bones crunching as David finished his meal on the rooftop.
"Turn around slowly! Keep your hands up! Move it!" the officer ordered. Raven complied, moving slowly, taking in all the smells and sounds this alley offered. She was not in the least concerned with the gun pointed at her, and refused to miss the fragrance of a potted jasmine on a balcony one street over, or to hear the almost silent mews of a batch of baby kittens safely tucked into an old orange crate behind a pile of discarded tires. The poor mother cat would be disturbed here shortly, she thought; the gunshots were going to be very loud in the narrow alley. But she would not leave her kittens, Raven saw, glancing into the future. She was a good mama. Animal's futures and fates were difficult to see, and most of the time all she could obtain from them was a feeling of great panic when they sensed the apex predator hidden behind her human appearance, but cats…well, cats were different. They were half-in, half-out of the mortal world anyway. They were worshipped in ancient Egypt for a reason and roamed the Underworld freely still, never coming to harm. The little beasts were easy to pick up on, and even the larger ones she had a kinship with. Yes, this mama would stay with her kittens and raise them well, in spite of the gunshots.
As Raven completed her turn, the officer noticed her eyes were closed and that she seemed to be smiling. "Oh, fucking hell. Great. She's on something." he thought briefly. But at least she was being compliant.
"All right," he said gruffly, "Hands behind your back." He moved to release his handcuffs from his belt and snapped back to attention when the woman actually took a step toward him.
"Don't move! I mean it! Hands behind your back." he ordered, still pointing his gun directly at the center of her chest. To his astonishment, the small woman took yet another step toward him and laughed.
"Don't fucking move, lady! I'm serious. I don't want to shoot you, but I will if you don't stop. Now turn around! Do it, now!" he shouted in his loudest voice, trying to decide whether to drop the cuffs and go for his radio for backup instead.
"Neither one is a good choice. Dropping your cuffs means you lose your only way to secure me. And even if you make a radio call, it won't make any difference. I'll be long gone before anyone gets here. Don't worry, Officer Donaldson, it's almost over. Your wife, Annette? No, that's wrong. Annette was your first wife. She died of cancer a long time ago. Eileen. Yes. Eileen is your wife now. She'll get her widow's pension and live comfortably on your savings for a long time. She and her friend…" Raven's brow wrinkled for the briefest of seconds before she plucked the name from the man's mind. "Charlotte…yes. She and her friend Charlotte will even go on a trip to Hawaii. She's always wanted to go, but you've been so busy; so focused on saving for the future…"
"SHUT UP! What the fuck are you TALKING about?! Just SHUT UP! How do you know my name? How do you know my WIFE'S name? Who ARE you?" the big man yelled, stepping forward until the business end of his gun set tight against Raven's chest. His mind was reeling with the things that had come from this woman's mouth. Who was she? How did she know these things? How could she possibly know any of these things? What in God's name was happening here tonight?
David was perched on the lip of the building looking down at the scene below him and listening as Raven flipped through the policeman's mind, pulling bits and pieces out at random and flinging them at him. It was something she seemed to enjoy doing before she killed, he thought. Actually, at other times as well. When she simply wanted to unsettle someone she would travel through their mind at lightspeed, pulling out secrets from cobweb covered hidey-holes in their subconscious, things that a person may never have spoken aloud, things never uttered to another soul, yet she would find them and drag them into the sunlight, so to speak, where they were exposed. Sometimes, it was the most innocent of information, like at the bank when she had purposely mentioned the teller's name when she had no way of knowing it. At other times, she would pull the most demented thoughts or deeds from a deranged mind and spit them forth with delighted vengeful force. His Raven was delightfully deranged just a bit, as he himself was he supposed. Weren't they all, the night creatures? The Underworlders especially? To carry a slight madness with them was the way they remained sane.
David laughed at his own musings and dropped to the alley below, landing rather heavily on purpose. He knew the man's gun sat right against his Midnight Bird's delicate chest and had thought to turn the man's attention to himself. He knew she was for the most part, indestructible, but the gun was large and could still do much damage and it was aimed right at her heart.
Officer Donaldson's nerves were shot, what with the kid disappearing right in front of his eyes and now this crazy little woman who somehow knew everything about his life and his wife and she had walked right into his gun…When he heard a thud behind him and footsteps coming his way, he'd only meant to turn to lay eyes on the new threat, but somehow his finger had squeezed a minute fraction too tightly on the trigger and the explosion was huge and echoed repeatedly off the alley walls. He looked with horror into the face of the woman who stood directly before him and watched her eyes widen as she fell backward, her arms out to her sides. His mind didn't know which direction to make his body turn, but after what felt like hours, which in fact was less than five seconds, he turned around to face the threat from behind. But there was no one there…He whipped around to face the girl again, took in her body laying on the alley floor, arms spread out to her sides, eyes wide open staring up at the night sky, a huge black hole cascading red over her chest and down her sides, and then back again, to the empty alley behind him. There HAD been someone there; he had heard the footsteps. What the hell? When would this all end?
"Woooohooooo! That had a little kick to it, Donaldson!" a very feminine, very alive and energetic voice said from behind him. He spun back around to see the woman he had just shot point blank spring to her feet, looking unconcernedly down at the gaping bloody hole in her chest. He tried to raise his gun again towards her, but he was going into shock, and his body wouldn't cooperate.
"Damn it! This cami is totally ruined, and it was one of my new ones." the woman exclaimed, pulling blood-soaked fabric out away from her chest, bits of flesh coming with it.
As the officer's focus remained on the bloody decimated chest of the small woman before him, another voice came out of the darkness behind her.
"Don't worry, Princess. I'll buy you another one." David's low baritone sounded. "Are you all right?" He knew she was, but it angered him to see her hurt in any degree, and especially when he'd been the cause of it, even if by good intent.
John Donaldson's body decided he needed to sit, and sit now and it did so. The big man with roughly 30 years of experience on rough streets did not know what had happened, what was happening, what to do, or what to think. So he simply sat.
"I think so. How's my back? Through and through?" Raven questioned David lightly, lifting the camisole that was dripping with red.
"Hmm. No. Not through and through. You've still got it inside somewhere. I'm amazed. That close, it should have went through clean. Do you feel it?"
Raven stood still for a brief moment, taking internal stock of her body, her eyes flickering as she traced the projectile's path through herself.
"It's in my left lung. I'll cough it out later or you can dig for it when we get home." she nonchalantly answered. "It's in there tight."
The cop sitting on the dirty alley floor shook his head. He was imagining this whole thing. He must have had a heart attack or a seizure or something and was in a coma, experiencing some sort of wild dream, because there was no way in hell he was seeing or hearing any of this. He tried to move his arm to shine his light and his gun clattered to the ground.
"Oh, Officer Donaldson, I'm sorry. I forgot you were there." Raven knelt by the man's side. "Let's get rid of this, shall we? Guns are dangerous." she shook her head as she tossed his weapon over the rooftop. "Now don't you worry, I'm not the least bit angry that you shot me. It really wasn't your fault. My companion here startled you. If I'm to be upset with someone, it should be him." She winked at David as he moved to stand over her. She knew he was growing concerned with the amount of blood she seemed to be losing, though most of it was actually venom, and the bodies they still had to dispose of, not to mention the time; sunrise was fast approaching and they were quite a ways from home. Raven sighed a little dramatically and continued talking to the policeman. "It's just that I can't be upset with him because I really am quite fond of him. Well, it goes beyond fondness, I guess you'd say…"'
"My Dark Bird, we really don't have time for…" David began to cut her off.
"Oh, all right, all right, all right." Raven sighed again with a smile. The man sitting on the alley beside her was looking up at her in a daze, shock having set in completely. "Officer Donaldson, you've served long and well at your profession. You've never once taken a bribe, written a wrongful ticket, or treated anyone unjustly. I'd like to thank you for that. I'd like to give you a kiss if I may…just a kiss on the cheek."
John Donaldson didn't know what was happening. He was on auto-pilot. Responding to courtesy with courtesy. As the beautiful woman's head descended towards his, he tilted his cheek up to her. Her lips were cold like ice on his face, and he found the sensation oddly pleasant.
"I'm sorry I shot you." he whispered.
"I know." Raven whispered back. Her cold lips briefly touched his cheek again, then his jaw. Ever so gently, she sunk her fangs into his carotid artery and drew his life from him in a matter of a minute. He lost consciousness long before she drew the last drop, and when it was done, she slowly lowered his head to the asphalt.
"He was a good man, not that it matters." she said quietly, looking up at David.
David held out a hand to her and pulled her gently to her feet.
"It matters if it matters to you, Princess. Now we have to get you home. I want you to head that way now and I'll take care of the bodies."
"I am fine, my Night King. I can…"
"You will obey me in this, though you are not bound to. You will obey because you know it is only my fondness for you that makes me issue you a command at all." David said firmly, with a ghost of a smile. Raven looked at him, a brief thought of refusal flashing through her mind. Instead, she lowered her head- a quiet "by your command" crossing her lips.
David looked her over, reassuring himself that she was more than capable of getting back to the cave on her own, and placed a light kiss on her brow.
"Off with you now. I'll see you at home."
Raven gave him a dazzling smile and launched herself into the sky. His use of the word "home" made her feel so good.
David moved quickly but thoroughly, disposing of the bodies from the alley even before the first street people began to approach the scene, curious about the gunshot. He then flew quickly back to the park and collected the bodies from the trees there, disposing of them deep in the city dump where they would never be found. He felt a little unsettled as he flew through the darkness. Last evening had been very productive as his boys along with Star had learned much and had decided in favor of giving counsel and assistance to Raven. His hunt with her had been off, though. Their prey had been much too easy and even though his Dark Bird had drank, he felt she hadn't been satisfied. She needed to truly hunt, to catch sight of prey of her own choosing and either stalk it or entrance it into coming willingly into her arms. He felt the same, but had taken the easier route this evening just to quench their thirsts quickly and it had ended with Raven being injured and by his own fault. He knew she was nearing the cave and was no worse the wear for even now he knew her body was knitting itself back together. There was just a feeling of unease, of something not right, and he hastened his flight, also sensing the sun barely hidden below the eastern ridge.
Raven had felt only the vaguest pressure when the bullet had entered her chest, and now had the rather irritating feeling of her tissues fusing back together, something much akin to a human itch. She could feel the foreignness of the projectile lodged in her lung and it was merely an annoyance-the feeling of something not herself deep within. She set herself to ground beneath the protection of a group of ancient redwoods and began to cough forcefully in an attempt to dislodge the bullet before her tissues healed further around it. Raven knew if she could not cough the metal up, David would have to cut open her chest and remove it later, and she did not wish to trouble her Night King. Plus, it would be a strain on him to have more of her blood exposed. She had noticed how his nostrils had flared when her blood had poured out in the alley and didn't want to make him more uncomfortable. She thumped a small fist against her chest repeatedly and coughed as harshly as she could and finally felt the annoying object move. With a feeling of relief, she set to making herself cough even more intently.
David landed at the mouth of the cave and started inside, but realized Raven's scent was not strong as it should be had she entered recently. He turned and stood for a moment, seeking her with his mind. He sensed her location quickly and started out for her immediately. The sun was moments from casting it's first rays and though she was now sheltered by towering trees, she would have to face Ra's wrath to make it the rest of the way back to the cave. He called to her but felt her brush his voice aside as she was so intently focused on dislodging the irritating piece of metal from within herself. David could feel the heat from the east and as the air began to tingle around him he shouted into her mind, "THE SUN!"
Raven had been doubled over in her coughing effort but now she whipped upright, her head tilted back to the sky. Her skin was beginning to tingle already and as she frantically sought to calculate her distance to the cave, David snatched her up into his arms.
"David! I'm so sorry; I lost the time; go now and get back! I'm right behind you!" she exclaimed, briefly tussling with him when his hold only tightened.
"Hush. Keep your head down." he said brusquely, tucking her head into the crook of his shoulder.
She added her velocity to his, but smoke had begun to rise from the exposed skin on them both and as the first ray hit, they both snarled and shrieked in pain and rage at the burn. To be born or reborn of fire and yet susceptible to the sun's rays would seem to be one of the greatest contradictions, yet they both knew the truth of it. Fire from the Underworld was pure and healing while the sun's rays came forth from a gaseous giant, toxic and deadly while they held their vampire forms. Raven struggled free of David's grasp right before he slid, smoldering, into the safety of the cave mouth. She hovered in the air, arms thrown wide, head back, roaring in rage directly into the burning ball showing itself over the horizon. Her skin burst into flames that were not her own and her clothing melted into her skin as she snarled in defiance, finally turning and diving blindly to the shadows where David stood. He had known it would be futile to try to force her down with him and he also knew she was only following her instincts as he watched her rage against the sun. Had he not done the same thing before out of pure frustration, even knowing the consequences could be fatal? He jumped and caught her as she dived blindly, thick milky cataracts having formed over her blistered eyes. She fell back into his strong arms that were still smoking and soot-covered, her charred face turned up towards his.
"Much damage, M'lord?" she wheezed, smoke puffing out of her mouth with every word.
"Nothing that will not be healed soon, M'lady." he breathed, gently cradling her against his chest, caring not that it felt as if a hot branding iron had been taken to his face and arms. "And you? Much damage?"
"Not a thing, M'lord. I am merely scorched and blinded, with a bullet in one lung. Nothing that will not be healed soon." David shook his head at her teasing reply and then placed his swollen, burned lips to her searing forehead when she continued, "Perhaps I'll be more mindful the next time you yell into my head…or maybe you'll buy me a watch." Raven snorted smoke from her nostrils as she laughed at herself. Her entire body felt as if it was still aflame and the pain was fierce, but she insisted David set her down so that she might walk under her own power into the cavern where they sensed the boys and Star were still awake and waiting on them. David walked in front of her, his large hand over her small one that rested on his sturdy shoulder. Smoke was still rolling off of Raven and David's skin had blistered horribly by the time they stepped down into the main cavern.
Star was the first to react, jumping up from her seat at the table. "OH MY GOD! What HAPPENED to you?" she cried.
The boys immediately had moved toward their leader but simultaneously froze when Raven stepped out from behind his broad back. She heard them all gasp and also heard Star as she collapsed, a small scream working it's way from her throat.
David took Raven's small hand in his and she closed her other around it and he felt her lean heavily on him. He knew she was beginning to rapidly lose strength as she was no longer in fight or flight mode. Hell, she had no 'flight' mode, he thought to himself. She was pure fight, through and through. But she had been wounded badly by the sun, if not the bullet.
"Come now; it can't be as bad as all that, can it? I mean, I may need to wash my face and brush my hair, but really?" his girl tried to joke. She turned her head in the direction she caught Dwayne's scent coming from and tried to coax a response. "Dwayne, you'll tell me true. Am I that much of a mess?"
David shot Dwayne an unnecessary look of warning before the dark haired lost boy replied in a deep, gentle voice. "You are beautiful, Mistress Raven. I would not tell you false."
Raven grinned, her lips splitting open as she did. "Ah, that's why I chose you to answer. A true gentleman no matter what the circumstance. Camille would indeed have been fond of you."
The other boys stepped back, hearing David speak in their minds that they would talk later. Star gained her feet and Paul placed an arm around her. Raven caught the sound of her shuffle and turned her face in that direction.
"Star," her voice cut through the air, hoarse but strong, "What is the first lesson?"
There was silence for the briefest of moments, then Star's voice came back to Raven, low but sure.
"Sunlight." she answered.
Raven gave as much of a smile as she could manage through her pain. "Sunlight. Good girl."
David caught her then as she lurched forward bent nearly in half as a huge cough racked her small body. She put a hand to her mouth and then straightened herself slowly up. She held her palm out towards David, a surprisingly large chunk of bloody metal in it.
"See? I told you I'd get it." she breathed, seemingly pleased with herself.
David looked at her and even though her eyes were blinded, she could sense the admonishment.
"Princess, you have to lay down now. You have to rest."
"As do you, my Night King." she replied. "Your injuries are not insignificant."
"I'll tuck you away and be right beside you in a few moments." David said, trying to appease any worry she might have for him, even as he felt his strength escaping him.
Through the searing pain that racked every inch of her body, Raven pulled herself up straight, her bearing becoming regal even though it appeared as if she had just crawled from the mouth of hell and was still smoking from it's flames.
"David, you will forgive me the impertinence of issuing commands in your house; you may chastise me later. For now, Star…" Raven's voice brooked no denial and no one dared challenge her as she turned her head in the girl's direction. "Run ahead and throw clean blankets or towels over your master's bed." Her head turned again toward Marko's general direction. "Marko, fetch the bottle that holds your creator's nectar and drink deeply from it-all of you drink. Paul, assist your maker to bed. He will NOT argue." she emphasized, giving David's hand a brief squeeze. She felt him trying to hold onto the strength he still had even as his body fought to retreat into resting mode so that it might heal. She felt David's hand slip from hers and heard the movements as David threw his arm over Paul's shoulders, giving up some of his weight as they moved toward the passage leading to David's room. Raven's head tilted toward the remaining boy, whom she had trusted from their first meeting.
"Dwayne…would you please take me to David's chamber? I cannot see and I fear I am growing a little weak." Her voice trailed off as her knees began to buckle, but Dwayne was already there. He scooped her up as gently as possible, settling her small body against his chest and the last thing she heard was his voice saying softly, "It is my pleasure to serve."
Consciousness fled quickly and gone from her were thoughts of bullets and burning.