Nightraven Read online

  Raven hurried through the back door and out into the night. Seattle’s ever-present drizzle had become a full-blown thunderstorm, complete with flashes of lightning so intense it made Raven shield her eyes against the glare. Levac’s Government issue Charger was parked in the alley along with a handful of cars that belonged to staff, but there was no sign of Levac.

  “Rupe? Where the hell are you?” Raven asked.

  There was no answer, and Raven realized her radio was now so much crushed plastic. Cajsa’s attack had done more than leave her ears ringing.

  Rupe? Come on, partner, give me a sign here, she thought.

  She turned, rain pouring down her face as she looked for any sign of Levac. When there was still nothing, she closed her eyes. Her connection with Levac was intentionally weak, but it was there nonetheless. She felt him somewhere not far away and ran in that direction. The alleyway emptied into an abandoned street surrounded by storefronts that had once held businesses such as a drug store with soda fountain, Five and Dime and a small chain department store. The buildings were now dark and empty like most of this side of the city. Raven was surprised that Seattle’s vampire elite hadn’t taken over the buildings and wondered, as she ran past, why the Master hadn’t. But it wasn’t her problem.

  Her bare feet slapped on the sidewalk as she ran, homing in on the feeling coming from Levac. She reached the end of the block and turned down another alley. This one was empty save for some discarded garbage cans and a dumpster with a dent like it had been hit by a truck. Raven winced as she had a flash of Bloodstone throwing Rupert into it with bone-breaking force. A nearby fire-escape ladder was bent and pulled closer to the ground, and Raven started up it as fast as her legs would carry her. It rattled and creaked beneath her, but held her weight all the way to the top, where she vaulted onto the roof of the building, which had once been a department store. Elevator vents and air-conditioning units sprouted from the roof and Raven moved between them, her senses stretched taught. She rounded one of the elevator shafts and spotted Levac in a clearing not far away. He was fighting a lycan two feet taller than he was and looked somewhat the worse for wear. His tie was flapping in the wind, his shirt was torn and there was blood around his mouth, yet somehow his trademark trench coat was undamaged.

  Raven ran forward, but was too slow. The lycan tossed Levac aside, where he crashed into an air conditioner, and started toward the edge of the building. Raven drew her pistol and aimed.

  “Bloodstone, stop! You’re under arrest!”

  The lycan roared over his shoulder, but didn’t slow. Raven shrugged and shot him through both thighs with careful skill. The lycan squealed, a high-pitched keen of pain, then pitched forward onto the stones. He slid to a stop near the edge of the roof and his cries became more human as the silver in his system forced him to shift.

  Raven kept her weapon trained on him and squatted next to Levac, who was shaking the cobwebs away.

  “Did we win?” he asked.

  Raven smiled. “Yes, we actually made three arrests in one night.”

  Levac started patting his sodden pockets. He pulled out a cheeseburger that was wrapped in plastic and took a huge bite. “That has to be some kind of record. How come you didn’t shoot Bloodstone?”

  “I did. Twice,” Raven said.

  Levac glanced at Bloodstone. “Yeah, but he’s still breathing. Did you miss?”

  Raven made a face. “King said to make an arrest, so I did.”

  Levac finished the burger and pulled himself to his feet. “You missed, didn’t you?”

  Raven wiped soaking hair from her face and turned toward Bloodstone. “I didn’t. Bloodstone, you’re under arrest. I’ll read you your rights on the way, I’m sure you know what they are, you were just arrested last week. Prague police want a few words with you about the three men you hurt in your escape.”

  Bloodstone was rubbing at his legs, steam was rising from the ugly wounds in his thighs where the silver specials were doing their work. “This is police brutality! You can’t use silver, why would you use silver?”

  “Stop whining, you’re still alive,” Raven snapped.

  She pulled another set of cuffs out of her jacket and cuffed Bloodstone to the roof rail.

  “You missed, admit it,” Levac said when she was through.

  “I didn’t miss, will you drop it?”

  “She didn’t miss,” Bloodstone whined. “I want to make a complaint!”

  Raven kicked him in the thigh, causing him to whimper in pain. “Don’t agree with me!”

  Levac stuffed his tie in his pocket. “I still think you missed. I can’t remember the last time we actually arrested someone.”

  Raven sat on the edge of the roof and rang water out of her hair. “Shut up and call King.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  343 Wolf Point, Chicago, IL

  Raven Storm stood at the window, looking out at the river and the city. Her city. She loved the way the lights glittered silver, red and gold, like a sort of Christmas tree when seen from the 43rd floor of a high-rise. It was a breathtaking view that stretched the length of the river and out to the bleak, black spot called The Dark, which from here just looked like the edge of the city, where the lights faded away. Though she and Aspen had technically been home for over six months, their assignments had kept them in Seattle, Boston and New York, so much that they had barely seen the inside of the re-opened field office or their own apartment.

  Their apartment. That used to sound weird, now she couldn’t imagine not sharing a home with Aspen. Over the two years since their first kiss in Levac’s old apartment, she’d learned to love again. After Francois, she hadn’t thought it was possible to both love and trust, not without putting someone else in jeopardy. It was why she had pushed Levac away, he hadn’t deserved to have to live in two worlds nor had he been prepared for the reality that was Raven’s life. It was better that he was her best friend and could go home to someone who loved him. The fact Sloan was a were-eagle didn’t bother her, not anymore. Were-eagles and Sloan in particular avoided the underworld like a plague, choosing to live more or less human lives.

  Aspen was different. She was already in both worlds, she was part Fae and a witch. She knew all about the real world and the monsters that lurked in the shadows. Raven didn’t feel like she had to hide anything from her, and that meant a lot. She trusted Levac and always would, but there were things she couldn’t share with him that she could with Aspen, and that trust was worth more than all the wealth in the world.

  Raven sighed and her breath condensed on the window, a silver-grey cloud that crossed over the city like a storm. She wiped it away and caught her own reflection in the glass. It was the same face she’d seen thousands of times, with porcelain skin, eyes so green they almost glowed even when her vampire was carefully hidden away and a waterfall of hair the color of heart’s blood. She’d dressed in a blue camisole and leather pants matched with a pair of boots with “sensible” heels and a jacket that she’d hung over the back of a chair.

  She was still looking when she saw a reflection behind her. Aspen, with her violet hair, pointed ears and mischievous smile, was standing in the archway to the kitchen. She was dressed in a similar manner to Raven, though she had more earrings, belts and scarves than Raven felt was necessary. Now that the cat, as it were, was out of the bag, Aspen was letting her colorful Fae side show. On most days she looked like a Faerie Gypsy in leather pants.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Aspen said.

  Raven turned. “It smells delicious, what did you make and what was so important I had to rush home? I left Rupe doing paperwork.”

  Aspen leaned against the doorframe. “I made tofu tacos, nachos and lemongrass soup. The rest I will tell you at the table. Get the wine? I left it in the fridge in your office, it was the only free space in the house.”

  Raven sniffed again. “Tofu?”

&
nbsp; Aspen smiled. “Yeah, tofu with a Fae twist. Try it, I promise you won’t know it’s tofu.”

  Raven made a face, but retrieved the wine from the fridge in her office and carried it into the dining room. The apartment, which Valentina had given her as a coming home present, was a twelve hundred square foot monstrosity complete with two bedrooms, an office space and a formal dining area. The table, which had belonged to Valentina, was made from dark wood accompanied by chairs of the same, covered in red satin that matched Raven’s hair.

  Raven opened the wine and poured two generous glasses then sank into one of the chairs. Aspen entered a moment later with a tray laden with two plates, bowls and sundries that she placed on the table like she worked at a five star restaurant.

  “What is all this, Asp?” Raven asked.

  Aspen set the tray aside and sat next to Raven. “It’s called dinner, the first one we’ve had together since you arrested Bloodstone.”

  Raven sighed. “I’m sorry, Asp. Things have been−”

  “Busy. I know, Ray. But we need to make time for ourselves. Our wedding is coming up and we haven’t even picked a venue yet,” Aspen said.

  Raven rolled her eyes. “Can’t we just use the ballroom at Mom’s?”

  Aspen took a bite of one of her tacos. Raven had to admit, it looked and smelled delicious.

  “I’d rather not,” Aspen said after she’d swallowed. “Your mom would take over and I want a wedding that is about us, not Court.”

  Raven sampled her own taco. It smelled better than it tasted and she washed the bite down with a long draught of wine. When she was done, she set the glass aside and looked back at Aspen.

  “She means well, Asp. But you’re right, she will take over and it will be a Court affair instead of a party for us. What did you have in mind?”

  Aspen grinned and snapped her fingers. A violet file-folder appeared in her hands with a soft “pop” noise.

  “I’ve found a few places. Neither of us can do churches, at least ones on holy ground, but I thought−”

  Aspen was cut off by the first few bars of the Imperial March echoing from Raven’s phone. Raven pulled her battered smartphone from her pocket. She knew before she looked it was Abraham King, Agent in Charge for Section Thirteen. It was his ringtone.

  Raven shot Aspen an apologetic look and answered. “Storm.”

  “You and Levac just picked up a new case. Murtaugh and Pocock will meet you at the scene, but it’s your case. Levac is already on his way,” came King’s rough voice.

  “I just got home−”

  “The job doesn’t care, Storm.”

  King rattled off an address that Raven recognized as being within blocks of The Dark, and hung up. Raven put the phone back in her pocket and stood to put on her jacket.

  “I’m sorry, Aspen, duty calls. I promise we’ll find a place later, okay?”

  She kissed Aspen’s cheek and hurried out the door. She was in the elevator before she realized that Aspen hadn’t said a word since the phone rang.

  Aspen? Are you okay?

  Fine. Go save the city, we’ll talk later, was the short reply. It was flat and emotionless.

  The doors opened on the parking garage and Raven started toward the Shelby which was parked nearby.

  Aspen, I’m sorry, the job−

  I know about the job, Ray. See you later.

  Raven sighed and cut the connection. Aspen knew she loved her. She had to, Raven had dropped everything, risked everything to come for her time and again. She had to know, right?

  Raven slid behind the wheel of the Shelby and guided it into the night, her thoughts on Aspen and their looming wedding. A wedding they couldn’t find time to plan.

  *

  The Dark, North Elleston Road, Chicago, IL

  The Dark, leftover from a preternatural war, was a section in the middle that was the Chicago Metropolitan Sprawl where electricity didn’t work and almost nothing grew. It was, for all intents and purposes, abandoned. Only the desperate, drunk or stupid ventured into the area even in daylight. The official story was that a chemical spill had left the area uninhabitable. The truth was far more sinister.

  Raven cruised along the outer edge, guiding her black and red 1967 Shelby Mustang down North Elleston until she saw the red and blue lights and police tape. She stopped behind Levac’s battered beige Nash and hung her FBI badge over her neck so it hung just below her breasts. Any higher and no one noticed it, their eyes went elsewhere.

  She found Levac sipping coffee watching Harvey Pocock work on a victim she couldn’t see. Pocock had lost weight over the intervening months, but he was still heavy, sweaty and sounded like he had trouble breathing when he bent over. His greasy black hair was pulled into a loose man-bun and sweat was seeping through his lab coat even in the winter chill.

  “What’s the scoop?” Raven asked.

  Levac glanced at her. “Hey Ray. It’s a weird one, but we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t. The victim’s name is Domino Carmichael, twenty nine years old from western Arizona. Harvey found a key for the Elysium Hotel in her purse along with her sundries.”

  Raven whistled through her teeth. “That’s a pricey hotel, any idea what she did for a living?”

  Levac fumbled in his pocket and brought out an evidence bag. “I found this in the gutter, it’s already been processed. From where it was, I think someone wanted us to find it.”

  It was a small plastic identification card, somewhat larger than a credit card. The photo was of an attractive woman with black hair and green eyes and it was for the State of Arizona Judicial Department.

  “Pretty girl. She’s an attorney?”

  Levac nodded. “Looks like. I’ll make some calls in the morning to confirm and see if they know why she’s here in Chicago.”

  Raven handed the bag back. “Have you seen the vic?”

  Levac met her eyes for the first time. “It’s bad, Ray.”

  Raven could see in his face that he meant it. Raven steeled herself and squatted next to Pocock. He was sorting through evidence he’d collected from the victim, who lay on her side. There was so much blood on the white shroud that covered her that the scent made Raven queasy.

  “What do we have, Harvey?”

  Harvey wiped his brow with a blood-smeared handkerchief, leaving more blood on his skin.

  “Let me show you. I can’t…”

  He trailed off and tugged at the sheet over the victim. It came away with a sound like tearing silk, revealing a blood-soaked shape. It took Raven’s mind a moment to realize what she was seeing.

  The victim had indeed been female, based upon her hair, size and clothing, but it was hard to tell. The skin from her face had been removed, leaving a ragged cut that started at her left cheek and went counter-clockwise, ending in a jagged tear near her chin. The muscles and bare tissue beneath made Raven’s eyes water and she had to force herself not to be sick. She swallowed and looked at the rest. Her skirt was torn and Raven could see vicious cuts and bites along her inner thighs and along her waist and symbols or runes were cut into her legs from knee to hip. Raven didn’t recognize the words, but she knew the symbols were ancient. They were in the Totentanz as well as a variety of occult texts.

  “Was she…”

  Harvey shook his head. “No. There are no signs of sexual contact, but given the circumstances I’ll ask Dr. Zhu to double check.”

  Raven sighed. That was something, at least. “How did you identify her?”

  Pocock jerked a thumb at Levac. “AFIS field scan, her thumb is in the system.”

  “Okay, so we know we have a positive identification. What else did you find in her purse?”

  “Not a lot, Ray. Hotel room key, purse with about three hundred in cash, a few credit cards and a stack of receipts,” Pocock said.

  Raven frowned. “Rupe, do me a favor
? Check the receipts for a recent taxi slip. There are no cars nearby and she didn’t walk here.”

  She straightened and moved closer to the body, which was still waiting for transport.

  “What are you doing? I haven’t photographed her yet,” Pocock said.

  “My job,” Raven said.

  She stepped over the body, careful to avoid any of the blood on the sidewalk, and concentrated on her vampire senses. The scent of blood was overwhelming and she again swallowed bile rising at the back of her throat. She pushed the scent away and savored the other odors that clung to the victim. She detected sweat, undeniably female mixed with the tang of expensive perfume, fabric softener, soap, all scents that she sorted and pushed into the back of her mind. And there it was, a strong odor that didn’t belong. She traced it to the victim’s shoes. She’d been wearing stiletto heels with red soles, unusual for this part of town. They had fallen off during the struggle and now lay next to a yellow crime scene tag waiting to be photographed and cataloged.

  Raven stepped away and pointed at the shoes.

  “Harvey, photograph these so I can look at them.”

  “Whatever you say, Agent,” Pocock said.

  Levac joined her. “You smell something?”

  “A scent I can’t place. Sort of earthy with midtones of clay and death,” Raven said, her voice pitched low.

  Pocock’s camera flashed once, twice and then a third time from a different angle. In the third flash, Raven caught something on the pavement and she stepped forward before Pocock’s feet destroyed what might be a vital clue.

  “Harvey, stop! Stop moving and come toward me,” she said.

  Pocock blinked in surprise and lowered his camera. “What?”

  Raven kept her eyes on what she’d seen. “I said come this way, you’re about to step on a clue.”

  Pocock did as she asked and Raven aimed her flashlight at the sidewalk. The images were hard to see, they were dark on a dark-stained sidewalk mixed with pieces of broken mirror, but at the right angle they were visible. Symbols that matched the ones carved into her legs and body were written beside her in blood.