Page 70 of Black and Brown

To the absolute shock of the other three Ravens, Meridian removed his black hood and showed himself. He’d never thought this day would come.

The fiercest, bravest man he’d ever known had prophesied this pivotal moment in his life.

He’d told Meridian to remember him…as his name would be the only way to save his life.

It was the birth name of the ghost that invaded the nightmares of men for decades. A myth. A man of no allies and no allegiance.

He was the beginning of them all.

The one true Master of War. The honorable one, the Alpha.

Meridian whispered the name he was unworthy to say.

“Daskshaun Armand.”

Meridian

Both ninjas eased out of their fighting stances at the mention of that name.

With narrowed eyes, the large one growled, “How do you know that name?”

“It’s the name of the greatest man I’ve ever known.” Meridian sheathed Whisper. “He told me that when I faced a master who fights until the end…to speak the name of the beginning.”

Meridian was away for one of his times of peace and rest.

He was well-known in the small village a few miles from his hideaway in the Aydos Forest.

The people knew him as the dark keeper of justice, and he always came to their aid when called.

Ahmet, a sweet kid who ran errands for him, barely made it to the outskirts of his property, where Meridian was meditating, before he collapsed.

Meridian hefted the young boy in his arms a second before he fell. Careful of Ahmet’s numerous bruises and cuts, he ran as fast as he could to his home.

When the kid managed to speak in his thick Turkish accent, his voice was barely audible through his cries of pain as he pleaded, “Black one…my home…help…please.”

Meridian laid him on the dozens of pillows on the floor, cloaked himself in his Raven colors, put Whisper in her compartment, threw on his hood, and took off toward Velibaba.

He pulled himself from the memory and relayed to them what had happened that day.

“When I reached the bottom of the mountain, the raiders had already destroyed and killed so many. Violating the women, stealing, and torturing. But there’d been a man in black warding off the insurgents from the elders and children. He was hurt on his left side and fought with one arm, taking hit after hit, but he never fell.”

Meridian closed his eyes, reliving every detail.

“I could tell he was their champion. I stood beside him, fought on his right side.”

This guardian had stared at Meridian through a midnight mask, revealing midnight-colored eyes lined in black kohl.

“I deflected bullets aimed at him, shot and killed the ones who refused to retreat. Once the threat was neutralized and the elders and children were safe, their champion dropped to his knees. His clothes were soaked in blood, his arm broken at the elbow and dislocated at the shoulder. He’d been fighting a long time before I arrived. I knew he was someone important, so I didn’t leave him.”

The serpent came closer. “I know of the time you speak. We encountered an American legion who called themselves the Beastmasters. It was twelve to two. The odds were not in our favor. I was able to retreat underground, but I lost Alpha.”

“I got him to our healer, a shamanist I trusted and knew would hide him, but I stayed with him, guarded him in case others came,” Meridian said.

“And he told you who he was?” the big one asked.

“No,” Meridian answered. “He was unconscious for days but alive.”

Ex moved closer to him, giving him his silent presence. It was a story he’d never told him either. Not because he didn’t trust Ex with the memory, but because… Meridian sighed. He didn’t know why.