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“Your suggestion remains an option, I simply don’t advise it. I just wanted you to be able to make an informed decision, no matter what path you choose to take.” I rolled my eyes and leaned back off my knees into the chair again.
“Well, what options do I have that aren’t suicide?” Meredith, despite my hostility, smiled at my rephrasing.
“I think your best option would be to learn how to control your newly discovered gifts and become acquainted with your daemon. It will take a great deal of time and it will be a challenge to keep you safe while you train.
“However, from what I can discern, this is most likely the best plan of action. We must hurry though. Since you let out that burst of energy today, it is likely the entire Dominion of Sin is hunting for you, and not just Prince Amon.”
From the way she said his name, I shuddered. Her voice lowered as if she were afraid he would hear her and show up at her doorstep. Was he really that powerful?
I guess it was also a fair thing to wonder why these witches had tried so hard to find me. Meredith’s chime-like voice rang even clearer with my eyes closed. She replied to my silent question about the intentions of the witches first.
“The magick folk on the Board have dedicated themselves to maintaining the balance between species for centuries. You falling into the wrong hands could mean a complete spillover from The Veil. If Ash Nevra were to decide to harvest your power instead of merely killing you, she would not only be in a position to take control of all seven courts, but she could overthrow the Board, and overpower every other being on the planet.”
I groaned and curled further into myself. I didn’t want to have to deal with any of this. All I wanted to do was finish high school, and maybe enroll in a community college. Then settle into a long eventless career of some sort. I almost snorted at the thought of me wearing a pantsuit and sitting at a desk.
I drew my knees up onto the chair and rested my head on them. All of a sudden , I had a splitting headache. Meredith stood up and flowed around the table, coming to where I sat and Conrad stood next to me.
“This is a great deal of information for you to process all in one day, and I understand that you are overwhelmed.” She reached out to touch my chin and lift my face to meet hers, but when her fingers touched that same spot that Amon had brushed against in the library, she jerked her fingers away. Conrad made eye contact with her, and the grave nature of their silent exchange put my teeth on edge.
“What is it?” I sighed. They both glanced at me with matching expressions.
“He touched you,” Meredith whispered, clearly disturbed.
“Mi shouldn’t have left yesterday.” Conrad slammed his hand onto the counter. A muscle in his jaw started to pulse. My own tumultuous emotions suddenly seemed small and secondary. As much as our meeting had been planned and staged by a bunch of old people I had never met, my heart hurt to see Conrad so upset.
“Conrad I’m fine, ” I said as I stood up. I placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned and met my gaze. True honest to God anger was burning through his eyes.
“Yuh might nuh be next time.” For the first time since I’d stepped into Meredith’s house, I felt a sense of resolve starting to build in my chest.
“It’s not your fault,” Meredith said calmly. “As powerful as you are, it would take a full coven to keep Prince Amon away from Raven. Even that might not be enough. He has slaughtered armies and burned entire cities to the ground. If he has his sights set on her, the best we can do is make sure that she is prepared.”
Her sky-blue eyes dropped to that spot on my chin that he had touched. “And it seems that his sights are indeed set.” She finished gravely. I touched my chin gingerly.
“Why is his touch so dangerous?” I asked.
“All daemons, yourself included, use touch in a unique way. Once one of them touches you, they have power over you. They can track you almost anywhere. Prince Amon has left his mark on you, and you have never been more vulnerable.” I gaped at her but it was Conrad who spoke up, his voice cracking.
“Goddess Mer, could yuh be a little more abrupt?” He looked as nauseous as I felt.
“There are precautions we can take.” Meredith continued sagely. She reached around her neck and removed one of her many silver necklaces. The pendant was a perfect circle, with three loops that crossed each other in the middle. She pressed the tiny silver charm between her index and forefinger and exhaled.
The cool metal glowed fiercely for a moment before dulling again. She leaned forward and fastened it around my neck, and it fell slightly lower on my collarbone than my ring of ravens. Her attention fell onto the tiny ravens and she ran a finger over them, much the same way I did when I was nervous.
“I have just given you a Triquetra. It wards against the type of power that daemons typically call from. It is not foolproof, but it is the best we can do for now. It will be more difficult for daemons to track you as long as you are wearing it.”
The necklace felt heavier around my neck than it should have, and my chin burned at its proximity. Meredith’s expression became apologetic as she read my thoughts as easily as I read words from my many books. “You will get used to the side effects… hopefully.”
At least she hadn’t gone back on her promise to be honest with me. She fingered my ring of ravens again.
“This is the Origin’s emblem.” She said thoughtfully. “It marks you for what you are as plainly as your aura does,” I remembered Amon’s cut green eyes as they drifted down from my mouth to my tiny ravens. I moved suddenly to take the necklace off, the necklace that I had worn my entire life. Meredith’s hand stopped me.
“This too offers you protection, though the magick is old. Due to your…outburst earlier, every creature on the continent already knows where you are and who you are. It will be more of an aid than a hindrance in the future.” It occurred to me for the first time how much these two people, witches, whatever they were, were risking, just to be in the same room as me.
“Speaking of that…” I said, shuddering again at the thought of the dead birds that had littered my front lawn. “Why did that happen? Why now?” Conrad spoke, leaning against the counter.
“Yuh have so much untrained power Raven, yuh human body cannot contain it. Someone as powerful as yuh needs to constantly be using der powers throughout the day, or it will build up an’ spill ovah at dangerous times.”
He paused as if he were drawing strength from some internal well. “Mi sorry. Mi had no idea how quickly yuh powers have been manifesting. Mi thought we had more time or I would have warned yuh.” His normally happy-go-lucky attitude was nowhere to be seen, and I could almost feel the guilt radiating off of him. I touched his hand.
