His metal boots made a sharp clap with each deliberate step.
He descended the ancient stone stairs at a leisurely pace, as if well acquainted with the way. His hand gripped a flaming torch aloft.
The flickering light cast shifting shadows in the underground chamber, and the air in this secret library was musty with the scent of decaying books. Spider webs gleamed glossy white in the corners.
Walking purposefully toward a shelf near the back, he scanned the fading titles of long-forgotten tomes until his eyes came to rest on one in particular.
Capturing the Beast: The Tale of Rorek of Nol
He pulled it out of its place, dusting off the front cover and opening to the first page.
"Awaken, Malchior. Concede to my instructions, and revenge on the witch will be ours."
A cold chuckle filled the room, and an incantation was spoken in a dark tongue, the words rolling with a foreboding power. A flurry of pages from the book swirled around the chamber, and a figure slowly emerged from their fluttering wake.
Slade eyed the flimsy paper form of Malchior, his voice dripping with displeasure.
"No, no. That will never do." He began speaking another incantation, this one more rapid, the spell rising and falling in pitch as he chanted it aloud.
There was another blinding flurry around the paper-mummified Malchior, but this time when he emerged, it was as another form entirely—Rorek's.
His body was real flesh and blood, his long white-blonde hair flowing past his shoulders, his startling irises electric-blue.
Malchior looked down at his solid form, astounded. He fell upon one knee before Slade, bowing.
"Thank you, my lord. Give me your bidding and it shall be done."
Slade surveyed him dispassionately.
"Put these on," he ordered the dragon-sorcerer, tossing a bundle at him. "It's typical clothing from this world."
Malchior nodded his assent. "As you command, my liege. My gratitude—"
"And stop blabbering in Old English. Learn to blend in, fast. I want you to wreck a little havoc in this beloved city before our mutual friend discovers you're in town," Slade hissed.
Malchior stood, holding the clothes in his arms. His eyes glinted maliciously.
"I understand."
Xxx
The morning dawned grey and overcast, the air heavy with the anticipation of approaching thunderstorms.
Raven awoke later than she normally did, her mind feeling like it swirled with thick fog. She rolled over onto her back, staring at the blue canopy ceiling. Her bed sheets were twisted up around her, evidence of a restless night.
I really need to meditate. I've been letting it go and my mind isn't as clear as it should be, the empath thought, chastising herself for her neglect.
Azarath, Metrion…. An image of Jason rose up in her mind's eye and she could suddenly feel his warm breath on her neck, his entwined fingers pressing lightly against her scalp. Raven realized her chest was exhaling a little quicker than normal.
Focus! She told herself angrily. Stop being a damned fool and learn to control these feelings.
When had she last felt like this?
When Malchior stood in this very room, Raven answered herself somberly.
Let it serve as a reminder to me. Remain focused. Remain controlled. Azarath, Metr—
And then he was there, standing in her bathroom doorway, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, the rivulets of water streaming down his chest, that smug look on his face—
Groaning, Raven smothered face in her pillow, trying to block out all the mental images of him that kept rising up.
"Stupid," she muttered into her pillow, punching the soft feather down.
Finally, with a sigh she pulled herself up out of bed and padded out to the kitchen. Surprisingly, she was the only one up. It was only when she had sat her tea water on to boil that the other members of her team shuffled in, stretching and yawning.
"Who wants blueberry waffles?" Cyborg called out cheerfully, already donning a flower apron and chef hat.
"Ooh, I do!" cried Starfire delightedly. "With extra hot sauce, please!"
"Count me in," added Robin good-naturedly as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"How 'bout you, Rae?" Cyborg asked her, stirring the bowl of batter. "I know you love you some waffles."
"Yeah, alright," Raven agreed, a small smile curling on her lips. She sat down at the table with the others, sipping her tea and feeling unusually… close to her small group of friends.
"Speaking of things Raven loves," Beastboy drawled suggestively, sitting down beside her and draping an arm behind her chair. "How was that date? Steamy? Romantic? Sweep you off—"
"Where did you meet this admirer, friend? Was it perhaps at the festival of Glorfbum?" Starfire cut in, shoveling ungodly amounts of waffle into her mouth and squirting more hot sauce on the top of her plate.
"Does he tell good jokes?" Beastboy interrupted. "Is he as funny as me?"
"Is he handsome?" Starfire continued, talking over BB. "Does he have the sparkles in his eyes? Can he tame flaming snorgfritters?"
"I—uh—what?" Raven choked on her food upon hearing that last word. "Star, what exactly is a flaming snorgfritter?" she asked, but before the Tamaranian could answer, Robin spoke up.
"I still don't trust this guy," he mused darkly, taking a drink of coffee.
Raven began to protest, but their leader held up a gloved hand to stop her.
"I only want what's best for you," he clarified. "As my friend and teammate, I want to make sure you're safe at all times."
Raven sighed, stabbing at a piece of waffle.
"I met him at a tea shop. He enjoys jokes, like you, BB," she nodded toward the green changeling. "And motorcycles, like you, Robin. I don't know about taming snorgfritters Star, but he is… handsome," Raven forced herself to admit.
"And when will we get to meet him?" the masked wonder inquired, raising an eyebrow skeptically.
Raven's face flushed. "I don't know him well enough yet. Definitely not enough to bring him around here."
Cyborg took that moment to dump another plateful of steaming blueberry waffles on the table, offering a welcome distraction.
Xxx
After breakfast they met around the massive titan computer for a brief meeting. Robin was pacing up and down agitatedly as he explained the most recent series of reports.
"That's the third girl gone missing this past week," he said, pointing at the photo of a teenager that had been projected up onto the screen. "Our sources all indicate that these disappearances are directly related to some kind of black magic."
"Sick," Cyborg muttered.
"It is," Robin agreed soberly. "Which is why we need to find and apprehend this psycho before he strikes again. I've arranged for us to patrol the city in teams today. We'll each be taking shifts at different times. That way we'll be able to look for our suspect on the ground while still retaining some firepower back here at the Tower."
Robin went on to explain the pairs and their time slots. "Beastboy, Starfire, you'll be patrolling today from noon to three. I'll be out from three to six, with Kid Flash as backup. Cyborg, Raven, you have the six to nine night shift."
The titans nodded in understanding and dispersed to begin their daily tasks.
Xxx
Raven and Cyborg treaded through a neighborhood in one of the nicer areas of Jump City, keeping their eyes peeled for suspicious activity. They were dressed in street clothes so as to not stand out amongst civilians, and Raven was glad it was still chilly enough for her to be wearing her jacket hoodie.
The two were just finishing their last patrol, ready to end the shift and call it a night, when Raven's senses told her someone was in near proximity to them— trailing behind, just out of sight. Her first instinct was to whirl around and confront them, but a soft, low whistle convinced her otherwise. She'd wait.
"That's it for tonight," Cyborg sighed, checking the map on his robotic arm one last time. "You ready to head back, Rae?"
The sorceress glanced behind her shoulder quickly. "Ah—no. You go on. I'll be in later."
Cyborg gave her a strange look, but didn't press the matter. Turning, he headed for the T Car and left for the Tower.
Shortly after the half-robot left, a rustling came from behind some bushes. Jason emerged in jeans and a t-shirt.
"Fancy meeting you here."
"You were following us," Raven pointed out exasperatedly.
"I was merely, ah, enjoying the fine view this city has to offer."
Raven's lip curled. "I bet you were," she said under her breath.
Red x merely smiled gallantly, as if he were above retorting. He offered his hand to her. "Walk with me?"
Raven nodded but didn't take his hand. Instead, she fell in step beside him.
Raven looked at him through the side of her raised hoodie.
"Aren't you getting a little lazy in your work?" she asked wryly. "I haven't had a warrant out for your arrest in weeks."
Red x clucked his tongue reprovingly, as if schooling a small child.
"My plans are masterpieces that take time and careful execution. Just because you don't know anything about them doesn't mean there isn't something going on." He winked and Raven swatted at him lightly.
"You know X, I'm starting to think you're all talk. I bet you don't even steal things for a living," Raven teased, giving him a challenging look.
Red X raised his eyebrows. "Oh really now?" he said. "That's strange, because in Robin's book I'm pretty sure I'm the Big Bad Wolf."
Raven laughed, and she took a moment to wipe a trace of tears from her eyes.
"You know what I think?" she said, stopping in her tracks and looking at him matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips. A playful smile ghosted around her lips.
"What's that?" X asked, turning to face her. Their eyes met like two outlaws at a showdown.
"I don't think you're the Big Bad Wolf at all. You're all bark and no bite," Raven declared, her tone triumphant.
Red X took one long step toward her and was suddenly very near. His hand grabbed the front of her jacket and yanked her close. His chest pressed against hers, and she could feel more of him than actually see him.
His head dipped over her shoulder, his cheek brushing her jaw.
"If that's what you think, all bark and no bite, you obviously haven't spent a night in bed with me," he growled in her ear.
Raven abruptly stiffened, recoiling under his touch. She looked up at him icily.
"No, I haven't," she said, her voice stone cold.
Red x released her in surprise and stepped back a bit, suddenly aware of his mistake.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly, his hand running through his thick ebony hair. "That was out of line." He shook his head to himself. "Sorry, Raven."
Raven carefully composed her face into a blank mask. "It's fine," she muttered.
When Red X had spoken those words, the implication of previous encounters had been clear. Raven was immediately reminded of who she was dating: a notorious criminal, a lowlife of the underworld, a schemer and a rogue. He wasn't a gallant prince, a righteous knight. She had chosen to go along with someone whose morals were ambiguous at best.
But worst of all, she had allowed herself to become enchanted with an imaginary notion of a "noble villain".
Stupid, stupid, she thought to herself angrily. It's your own fault for losing sight of reality.
"It's not fine," Red X sighed, tentatively reaching out to take her hand. "Let me make it up to you. A trip to your favorite tea shop."
Raven walked along quietly for a moment, unsure she wanted go anywhere but back to the sanctuary of her own room.
"Alright," she reluctantly agreed.
Xxx
During the whole walk toward downtown, X kept up a steady stream of stories and humorous quips. He was putting forth the extra effort to bring a smile to her face, and although Raven resisted as much as she could, she eventually cracked one. She even chuckled at his tale about stealing a pair of soiled underwear from a crime scenein order to help out an unlucky billionaire.
A sudden vibrating noise cut through their conversation, and Red X reached hastily into his back pocket, pulling out a phone.
"Shit," he swore, looking at the text message on the screen.
Raven watched him inquisitively. "What is it?" she asked.
"I—well— a client wants to meet up at the drop off point, right now," X confessed, looking apologetically at her.
Raven looked surprised. "The drop off point?" she asked, slightly taken aback.
"Yeah. The place we agreed to meet up to exchange the money for the goods. I'm sorry," he added, looking it. "I didn't expect the meeting to happen until later tonight. I promise I'll make it up to you another—"
"Can I come?" Raven cut in, feeling interested.
Red X looked stunned. "You want to come?"
"Did I stutter?"
"Well—I mean, it's a public spot, so nothing dangerous, I just—geez Sunshine, are you sure you don't want to switch over and join my team?" he asked, half laughing and half incredulous that a titan would ever accompany him on business.
"In your dreams," Raven snorted, giving her signature eye roll.
Red X flashed a cocky half-smile. "Let's get moving, then."
Xxx
A/N: How roguish of Raven, tagging along on thief's business! :o This is the first half of a longer chapter, so please continue to Malchior pt. II ! And don't forget to drop a review, if you can. :)