Judgment
Part 4
[All standard disclaimers apply.]
Damian glared at his laptop.
Despite what he told Raven on the rooftop, he had been looking into the boy and his grandmother. The boy had come to live with his maternal grandmother after the death of his parents in a car accident. The grandmother had immigrated from eastern Europe while in her later teens. She worked primarily as a seamstress.
There was nothing to suggest that the grandmother had any ties to the occult. She was a member of a local church and seemed to attend services there fairly regularly. She and the boy lived in a modest apartment in a mundane building in an unremarkable section of the city.
He shouldn't be surprised. There was nothing to tie Raven to her civilian identity of Rachel Roth. Nothing to suggest that Rachel Roth was a powerful sorcerer. It could be that the grandmother could be hiding a similar secret.
He drummed his fingers on his desk. He needed a way to find out more. However, he wasn't ready to use the Bat computer and risk drawing attention from his father. Especially since he didn't know if the old woman actually posed a threat.
His phone beeped. He picked it up to find a text from Raven. She was on her way.
He secured his laptop as a portal opened in his room. He rose from his desk as Raven entered his room. "Raven."
"Damian." The portal closed behind her. "Working on something?"
"Nothing important."
He crossed the room to her. She was dressed in a pair of sleep shorts and a camisole. She was dressed for comfort rather than seduction. He was okay with that.
"How are you, Raven?"
"Tired," she admitted. "It's been a long day."
She had gone up against the robbers. Then she had healed the boy and tried to stop his grandmother. She had expended a lot of energy.
"Then let's go to bed."
"To bed?" She toyed with the hem of his shirt. "'Or to bed?"
He caught her hand. He brought it up and pressed a kiss to her palm. "To rest. You're not the only one who is tired."
She cupped his cheek. "Then let's go to bed."
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Raven was disoriented as she woke up suddenly. It took her a moment to realize that she was in Damian's room instead of her own. There was no alarm blaring through the Tower.
She tried to find what woke her up. Beside her Damian was groaning as he thrashed in his sleep. She shook his shoulder.
"Damian."
He turned unto his back. His face was contorted in a grimace. His hands clenched the sheets.
"Damian!"
His eyes flew open as he suddenly sat up. Raven scooted back in spite of herself as he whirled toward her. She was suddenly glad she made the no weapons in bed rule. She was pretty sure she would be facing a blade otherwise. "Damian? Are you okay?"
He took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face. "Yeah."
She cautiously placed a hand over his. "Nightmare?"
"I...I don't remember."
She brought her hands up to his face, turning his gaze to hers. "Do you want me to help? I can help steady your emotions."
"No." He brought his hands up and gently squeezed her wrists. "Just...just give me a second."
They sat there in the dark. His breathing eventually evened out. Then he nodded. "I'm okay."
He pulled her with him as he laid back down. She settled against his chest. He pulled her closer to him.
"I'm okay, Raven. You can go back to sleep."
She leaned back to look at him. "You first."
"Seriously?"
"Your heart rate is still elevated."
He sighed as he began to run a hand through her hair. "Let's both try to get back to sleep."
She studied him for a moment before laying her head back on his chest. He continued to play with her hair. She snuggled further into him with a sigh. She eventually drifted back to sleep, lulled by Damian's hand in her hair and his now steady heartbeat under her ear.
Damian's hand slowly stilled as he followed her in sleep.
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Raven squinted at the sunlight pouring through the window. She usually didn't sleep in. Usually just after sunrise she was on the rooftop mediating or in the training room with Damian.
She was surprised that she didn't wake up when Damian left to work out. He was an earlier riser as well. And she was generally a light sleeper.
She pushed her hair out of her face and sat up. She froze as she felt something, someone against her back. "Damian?"
He was still beside her. For a moment, she thought he was still asleep. But he didn't even twitch at the sound of his name.
She placed a hand on his chest. "Damian."
She fought back a sense of panic as he continued not to move. She shook him. "Damian!"
Still no response.
"No." She crawled up by his head. She gathered her power and placed her hands on his temples. She poured her magic into him.
She could feel traces of dark magic on him. Some part of the curse had taken affect. She couldn't immediately make out the exact nature of the curse. But it was definitely there.
And he was fighting it. Whatever the curse was, it was inflicting some kind of psychic distress on Damian. But he was fighting back.
Raven pulled back. She quickly arranged herself more comfortably against the headboard of the bed. She settled Damian's head in her lap and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
"Hold on, my love."
She took a deep breath. She murmured her mantra as she gathered her magic again. She placed her hands on his temples.
She closed her eyes and sent her magic back into him.
