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Raven
Raven didn’t mind being underestimated.In fact, it often worked to her benefit on the streets. She was thin, due to years of never knowing where her next meal would come from, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t strong. Or cagey, as she liked to think. She’d even been taught how to leverage her body to use it as a fulcrum to flip people over her shoulder.
Thatparticular move had been learned when she’d been busking on a corner near a jujitsu studio. She’d become so entranced with watching the students through the wide glass window at the front of the training center that the teacher had finally taken notice of her. One day, he’d come out to have a chat as she played. She’d hoped he was coming to drop coins in her case, as she was starving, but instead, he’d surprised her.
“You seem interested in our classes.”
“I am. It’s fascinating, actually,” Raven had admitted. “You really throw people around, don’t you then? It’s funny when the small ones do it to the big guys.”
“You can do it too, you know.” The instructor had squinted down at her.
“Maybe.” Raven had just shrugged, dismissing the idea. “But I don’t have the money for it.”
“Would it help you? For your safety?” the instructor had pressed, and Raven had paused in putting her guitar away.
“It would, I’m certain of that. Though I’ve learned a few moves of my own along the way.”
The instructor had cracked a smile at that.
“I don’t doubt it. But a little thing like you? You should use all the tools at your disposal. Here’s the deal. You keep playing out front, because I like your music, and people stop to listen. When they stop to listen, they see my gym in the back. It’s good for business. So, if you keep playing out front, I’ll train you. No charge.”
“But…but…” Raven looked down at her boots and back at the gym. Most of the students wore expensive exercise clothes or traditional pants with a robe-like top. She couldn’t afford that. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Don’t worry about it. Plenty of clothes lying about. If you show up, I’ll train you.”
With that, the instructor had returned to his gym, and Raven had started her training. She’d quickly risen to the top of her class, far exceeding anyone else in her ability to gauge an opponent’s next move. She was agile, quick, and cunning—all instincts honed on the streets.
Now, as the arm closed around her throat, Raven’s training kicked in. Turning her hip into her assailant, she bent and neatly flipped the man over her shoulder, immediately dancing backward when he hit the ground with a large thud.
“To your right!” Buzz shouted, and Raven pivoted, blade already in hand. Without a second thought, she thrust the blade into the side of the man who launched himself at her, and then gasped when he dissolved into a silvery puddle on the pavement.
“Shite. Aliens!” Buzz crowed as Raven stepped carefully back from the silver puddle of what she presumed was blood. It was much like when the other one, Kellen’s friend, had died on the street. Except his blood had been purple. The silver ones had to be the bad guys that the Fae prince had warned her about. Had she been an idiot to ignore him?
A flash of silver was her only warning before another Fae darted at her, but Raven was already kicking her leg out, tripping him as he lunged for her. Without a second thought, she dug the blade between his shoulders as he fell, and he, too, dissolved into a puddle of silvery blood. Her hand shook as she pulled the blade back.Holy shite. What did she just do?
She’d never killed before.
While her life had largely been an uneasy and difficult one, Raven had managed to eke out a place for herself on the streets of Galway, connecting to a network of others much like her. For every person that meant her harm, there’d been several more who had her back. It was an unspoken agreement between the night walkers, those relegated to the underground or edges of society. Fringe family, Raven considered them, like a tenuous spiderweb. Easy enough to break, yet surprisingly strong when needed.
A few times, when Raven had found herself in a particularly troubling situation, her fringe family had shown up, helping her out and then fading back into the darkness. Which meant she’d never been forced into drastic measures like the action she’d just taken.
Was it really murder if the person wasn’t human?
Those were contemplations for another time, Raven realized, as Buzz shouted a warning. Dancing backward, Raven turned, her stomach plummeting as dozens of silver men poured from the street vents, materializing like genies from their bottles. She raised the arm with the switchblade and dug her hand in her pocket, for a moment forgetting where she’d put her other blades. Heart hammering in her chest, Raven held still while her eyes darted to where the shadowy street corners filled with Fae.
Something warmed to her touch, and belatedly, Raven remembered the medallion she’d taken from the fallen Fae. It sparked under her fingers, as though urging her to use it, and Raven wrapped her hand around the small disc. It seemed to shiver in her palm, warming and pulsing, and a sparkling sort of energy flowed into her. While the medallion was warm in her palm, the energy was cool, like stepping into a waterfall on a hot summer’s day. Raven wanted to drink in the power, like her body craved it, and when she refocused on the army of approaching army of Fae, her fear faded away. Instead, Raven lifted her chin and gave the group a lazy smile.
“Hi ya, fellas. Out for a stroll this morning?” Raven said.
“Banphrionsa.” A Fae at the front bowed his head, and Raven’s eyebrows shot up. What did that mean? Was this a trick? Just moments ago, one of their kind had his arm around her throat, and now another was bowing his head to her? Well, it wasn’t going to work. While Raven didn’t have extensive knowledge of the Fae, she’d found what she could on her visits to the library through the years. While accounts of the Fae wildly differed, the one thing Raven had learned was that they were tricksters. She certainly wasn’t going to view these lads as her buddies now.Or were they servants?
“We’ve come for you, Banphrionsa.”
Raven reached for the power she’d discovered years ago, enhanced now by the magickal Fae object in her pocket, and took a deep breath.
“Back the hell up.” Her words echoed through the alleyway and bounced off the walls of the quiet buildings lining the street. She needed no microphone, for her power amplified her voice. Relief washed through her when the army of Fae stepped backward. Raven wasn’t entirely sure how long she could hold them off, as her power had always been more of a lark to her, and she’d never tested it in such a manner. Frankly, she’d never even confidentlycalledit her power before. It was just a weird thing she’d learned she could do.
People responded to what she told them to do. Butonlyif she spoke in a certain manner.
