CHAPTER 7
~ A Raven & A Prophet ~
After a few hours of interrogating the prisoners, Blood finally summons his enforcers, their mates who are active in MC enforcement activities, Callie, and the Morrígan to the meeting room. While the Twin Ravens have thoroughly embraced their cover as outlaw bikers, they don’t buy into a lot of the traditions so prevalent among true MCs. Blood steadfastly refuses to call the gathering of his soldiers “holding church” as most outlaw MCs are prone to do, even though he does call the room where they gather the Sanctuary. Instead, he thinks of leading his brethren as exactly that, a Brethren. A united band of Brothers and Sisters, intent on a single goal. Protecting the human realm and keeping the secret existence of supernatural beings from those same humans.
Blood sighs his frustration when Nyle, the Celtic shifter, snarls at la Fey for being glued to Callie’s side. It’s irritating as hell, but he can understand the Celt’s concerns, Morrígan does have a bad rep in the paranorm community. In fact, she is reviled far and wide. Some of that bad rep is well earned since she can be truly vicious in battle. However, most of the bad rep is just a vicious pack of lies and carefully plotted subterfuge intended to hide her true mission. Whatever in all the nine hells that mission might be, exactly. But Blood knows who the Raven serves so faithfully, so he trusts her mission is for good and not evil.
When Callie enters the Sanctuary with Gin and Morrígan flanking her on either side, Nyle beckons her over to sit between himself and Kazar. Blood had to suppress his amusement. He did not need to read either enforcer’s thoughts to know that Kazar and Nyle think that Callie might be the key to completing their mate bond. Blood has long suspected that the males were intended to be part of a mating triad, and that is why their bond never fully formed.
Nothing else makes sense, there is no doubt, those two males are meant to be together as mates. Perhaps the pretty little human will complete them and form a mating bond the males so desperately long for. That would certainly solve the problem of how she will raise a hybrid child. Once bonded to the males, she will become stronger. Even if she remains human, she will live longer and be more resilient than an average mortal.
Callie looks at the two males with undisguised longing flashing briefly in her eyes, only to be immediately replaced by uncertainty, and then profound sadness. Blood wonders what the hell that was about, but Blood had learned his lesson with Gin. That stubborn and very tough female still keeps him at arm’s length because of what she calls his past unwarranted invasions of her private thoughts. If Callie comes to feel as though she cannot trust the leader of the MC because he invades her private thoughts at will… well, it likely won’t go well for building the lasting connections to the supernatural world that the human will need.
Just as importantly, Blood is confident the girl poses no threat to the MC or anyone else, for that matter. She seems to prefer for the rest of the world to ignore her very existence. That bit of knowledge saddens Blood. If the girl is going to survive the birth and rearing of her vampire hybrid child, she will need the support of the Twin Ravens. The TRMC must help her become a part of the larger community of paranorms, and not just sit quietly in a corner and watch as she always seems to have done in her human life.
The leader of the MC hides his smile when Callie ignores Nyle’s growling and sits between Morrígan and Gin. He wonders if the human instinctively knows how powerful those two females truly are. Fortunately for Callie, both women are entirely honorable, and will always stand to protect Callie and her child. It’s just what they do, each in their own way.
Just as Blood opens his mouth to call the rowdy gathering of enforcers to order, Tara saunters in with a bottle of her best hooch and several glasses. If that female was a human, Blood would worry about her drinking all the time, but Tara truly just loves the taste of her top shelf hooch. He notices that the snarky vamp has a smirk on her lovely face, and wonders what she knows that he does not. He’s immediately enlightened by the minx herself.
“Trinity showed up with Miron.” She chuckles. “That little female has got some mad tracking skills. He was in the Neo-Phasic Dimension.”
The vamp is shaking her head in wonder as she assumes a seat beside the club’s VP and offers him one of the empty glasses before delivering the rest of her news. “Miron is in the infirmary recovering, and a certain young warlock refuses to leave his side.” The saucy enforcer seems absolutely delighted by this new turn of events and Blood can’t help but wonder if yet another MC enforcer has found his fated. But the leader’s thoughts are roughly yanked from such pleasant musings by a very uncharacteristic outburst from the ancient Egyptian vampire.
Kazar leaps to his feet to confront Tara, demanding to know why Trinity, the appointed guardian of Callie, left his human unprotected. “She was not unprotected,” Blood growls in a rare show of impatience. Fucking mating hormones make even the most rock-solid Immortal act stupid! Despite his vexation at his enforcer, Blood’s tone is calm when he continues. “Dimensional Jumpers have the ability to get the drop on almost any of us.” The leader’s mouth forms a grim line as he glares balefully at his enforcer, who is thinking with his guilty conscience, rather than his brain. “Fuck, Kazar, you know this shit. Don’t let your unnecessary remorse cloud your thinking.”
At first, Blood’s censure fuels the Egyptian’s rage, but he recognizes the truth of his leader’s statement and reluctantly takes his seat again to stew over his inability to protect his human. Blood watches his enforcer thoughtfully, knowing that the ancient vampire male is always evaluating the evidence and thinking ahead, rarely one to react without thought. Perhaps his days as a very successful General for the Roman Empire taught him the skill and perhaps it is just a byproduct of living for eons. Either way, the brash lashing out at Tara about Trinity is out of character, and Blood resolves to find out what is going on with the male. He suspects the Stone Cold is suffering from PTSD after being tortured in the Nihility by Nyx’s beast form for almost five years.
And who wouldn’t have a touch of post-traumatic stress after enduring that hell?
“Well, me boy-os, all this drama is mighty interesting and all, but we got bigger problems to deal with right now.” The stern pronouncement by the female, who almost everyone in the supernatural world calls the Brythonic/Celtic goddess of war and death, gets everyone’s attention. “I have been sent to act as Cocidius’ proxy in the claiming of Callie Boyd as his own.” The redheaded warrior stands and moves to the front of the room where everyone can see her. She opens her mouth to speak again, but Callie’s strong, clear voice halts the goddess before she can utter another word.
“Claim me? I’m not a bit of baggage on an airport turnstile. What do you mean, claim me?” Callie stands abruptly and causes a shift in her blood pressure, making her lightheaded and unsteady on her feet. Gin easily steadies the human and helps her to sit back down before she passes out.
“Easy, Callie. Your spirit is strong enough to take on these pushy supes, but your body is under enough stress without you leaping to your feet in your irritation. You can chew ‘em all out from a seated position just as effectively.” The tall woman with raven black hair and sapphire blue eyes smiles engagingly at her new friend. “They are stubborn as mules and act like their poop don’t stink, but they will listen.” She looks around at everyone gathered in the room and adds; “Or else.”
“Fine,” Callie huffs her frustration. Not at Gin, but at her own physical limitations. She directed her glare at her other friend, Morrígan. “What do you mean someone named Coke-a-dishus has claimed me? And who the heck is this guy to go around claiming random people as though we are lost mittens?”
Blood chuckles and moves to take a seat beside Tara, who grins and pours her leader a drink of her fine scotch. The MC’s leader smirks at the Morrígan and says; “Well, Irish Raven, you wanna answer the lady?”
Morrígan suppresses a smirk over the little human’s spunky reaction to learning an unknown god has laid claim to her. In truth, she doesn’t blame Callie one little bit for being irritated. All the secrecy and game playing tends to get on the Raven’s nerves as well. “I told those jackass gods to let me bring her into the fold years ago, but nooooooo. Why be practical about this shit? Instead, let’s just dump a crap-ton of life changing revelations on the poor girl when she’s at her weakest!” No one in the room doubts the Raven is pissed to be put on the spot like this, but Callie is completely unmoved by her friend’s rant. She simply raises an eyebrow and taps an impatient staccato on the table top with her fingernails.
Morrígan gets the message and begins to explain. “Cocidius is the name of the Brythonic/Celtic god of war, woodlands, the hunt, and a whole bunch of other crap. He’s the creator god who brought dragonkind and shifters to the Celtic pantheon.”
“Ooookay,” Callie says uncertainly. “What does any of that have to do with me?”
Morrígan gives Callie a sympathetic look and says; “You were intended for a destiny much more important than you can imagine.” Callie simply scoffs and glares cynically at her friend. “This is not your first lifetime, Callie Boyd.” Callie gasps, but Morrígan presses on. “I think it’s your fifth or sixth. Maybe?” She shrugs. “I’m not sure. Big Papa guards his secrets well. But he handpicked your spirit in your first incarnation, and has just sort of had me and a few others watching over you until such a time as you were prepared to meet your destiny.”
“So, now I am supposed to believe in reincarnation on top of all of the other strange stuff I’ve learned of since I was attacked by that vampire?”
“Well, it don rightly matter if ya believe in it or not, dearie. It is what it is.” Morrígan simply shrugs and grins at her friend. “I’m telling ya this stuff so that you will be prepared. Your life is about to take a decidedly strange turn.”
“Stranger than being attacked and impregnated by a vampire? Stranger than learning gods, goddesses, shifters, werewolves, warlocks, witches, and mages are real?” She laughs almost hysterically. “Really? It gets stranger than all that?”
“Aye, darlin’, for you, it will likely get much stranger than that.” No one in the room misses the look of sympathy that flashes across the Morrígan’s lovely face before she dons her mask of impassivity.
“Likely? So that means I have a way out of whatever this Cock-a-did-e-us has in mind for me?” Callie sounds nearly hysterical, prompting Nyle and Kazar to move in one accord to sooth her. Kazar sits beside her in the chair abandoned by the Morrígan and takes one of her hands into his own, while Nyle stands behind her, with a protective hand resting on her shoulder. Callie is too overwhelmed to wonder why these two gorgeous, but wholly unavailable men, are behaving so protective of her.
“Aye,” Morrígan agrees solemnly.
“Great! Just tell me what it is and I’ll do it,” Callie demands eagerly.
“You can avoid your destiny in this incarnation by dying,” Morrígan says solemnly.
Callie laughs, and this time there is no mistaking the panic lurking beneath the surface. Everyone in the room is well aware that this is a woman who is on the edge. A precipice that she might easily tip over into the oblivion of madness. When she places her hand protectively over her distended belly, she vows; “I may do just that, but not until I safely deliver my daughter.”
Morrígan shakes her head sadly. “It’s a tough situation which the Fates have laid at your door, dearie. Your life has become one giant paradox. If you die, you’ll just be reborn later and have to endure even more until you are ready to embrace your destiny. If ya are not strong enough of mind and spirit to embrace your destiny in this lifetime, you won’t be strong enough to birth that child. You’ll both be dead before the month is out. If you do not give birth to the child…” Morrígan sighs. “Hell, let’s just say it will set a lot of crap into motion that will have far reaching consequences.”
“Stop terrifying the girl!” a stranger booms from the door way. Honestly, the man kind of looks like a half-crazed homeless guy, or one of those ancient prophets from the Bible who just stumbled out of the Wilderness to make some world changing proclamation. But that’s not the strangest thing about his appearance. He’s transparent. Callie shakes her head to clear it because it’s just not normal to be able to see through people.
“Elijah?” Blood questions uncertainly. “I thought you were dead? Or is that why I can see through your old ugly ass?” The behemoth leader of the MC has jumped to his feet to stride over to examine the newcomer. “Are fucking ghosts really a thing?” The awe in his voice surprises Callie. She would have thought that nothing could surprise the leader of the Twin Ravens MC.
The specter cackles, begins speaking in what sounds like gibberish to Callie, and waves the long wooden staff in his hands as though lashing out at something no one can see but himself. After a moment or two, he seems to come out of some kind of fog and answers the massive shifter guardian standing before him. “No, you stupid cat. Ghosts ain’t a real thing. At least, not that I know of. I’m on the Astral Plane.” He snorts and mutters something about smart males behaving like dumbasses.
“If you are on the Astral Plane, why did you project yourself here?” Blood demands. “What purpose does such a visit serve?”
“I have been called to help rescue a human you refused to help.” The look he gives Blood would have made a lesser male cringe.
“I had no choice. The UCI said stand down, that it was being taken care of,” Blood snaps angrily, knowing exactly who his odd friend is talking about. It’s still a sore subject around the MC. The MC doesn’t like to take orders from outside their brotherhood. However, because of current tensions between the United Council of Immortals and various enforcement groups on the human realm, Blood felt it wise to simply monitor the situation from the shadows. But every TRMC member knows, if Wick and his rag tag band of friends can’t handle Glaceau and his freak goddess, the MC will step in to wipe the problem out of existence. UCI and their stupid orders be damned!
Elijah continues as though Blood had not even spoken. “I could sense the unease in this girl’s spirit, and I knew she needed my help.” He shrugs and says; “So, here I am. I had to use the Astral Plane because even I cannot be in two places at once.”
Without another word, he strides forward, walking straight at Blood, never faltering in his steps, until his non-corporeal body passes through Blood without even slowing down. Blood shivers as though the experience was rather unpleasant, and twitches his nose in distaste, but he doesn’t say a word as the one called Elijah approaches the human female.
Kazar and Nyle have taken up protective stances before the girl and are snarling at the newcomer. “Oh, do shut up,” Elijah snaps. “It’s not like you can lay a finger on me or stop me from doing what I came here to do, unless you can find me on the Astral Plane.”
He can tell the vampire and shifter are well aware of this truth, but they are still unwilling to move out of his way. “I am not here to harm her.” He laughs like a loon and declares; “I don’t hurt people. Ever.”
“Then what do you intend?” Kazar demands.
“To offer the girl assurance that she will be okay. That her glorious destiny is pre-ordained. She was created for a glorious purpose and has the ability to see these challenges through until the end.”
Morrígan snorts; “Aye, well I coulda told her that.”
“Well, you did not, did you?” the prophet snaps. “You scared the poor thing half out of her mind.”
Morrígan looks a bit shamefaced and nods. “Yeah well, what did anybody expect? I’m not exactly wired for this touchy feely shit. I’m a damned warrior mage not a nurse maid.” She casts an apologetic glance at Callie and says; “Not that you need a nursemaid, dearie. You are stronger and more able than you can imagine.”
“And your masters are fools for not preparing her before now,” Elijah snaps. Morrígan simply nods her agreement. “I have a spell that will help her access that part of herself that is ready to embrace the challenges ahead. It will do no harm. I’m simply opening up her third eye so that she might see the truth about herself as the Fates reveal it.”
Kazar looks to Blood, who simply shrugs. “He’s crazy as a fucking loon at times, and other times his magick surpasses any I have ever encountered. Right now, he seems fairly lucid.” The massive male jams his hands into the front pocket of his jeans and appears thoughtful for a moment before saying; “What he says makes sense. And I know Elijah would not hurt Callie or anyone else deliberately. If the choice were mine, I’d go for it.”
“Well, the choice is not yours,” Callie says firmly. Blood simply nods and returns to his seat, thinking that a wise male never argues with a pregnant female.
Callie extends her hand toward the apparition, but Nyle tries to block her way. She uses her elbow to try and nudge him out of the way. But, of course, the massive shifter doesn’t budge. “Move it, you overgrown fur-ball,” the human snaps her irritation. “He’s not here to hurt me. Even I can see that.”
Elijah smiles warmly at Callie as Nyle reluctantly moves out of the way. The apparition rests his gnarled and filthy looking hand in Callie’s before saying; “When you wake up, you will leave much of your human insecurities behind and conquer your future with confidence.” He begins chanting in a language which none of the supes in the room recognize, as he places the thumb of his right hand on her forehead, and warns Kazar to catch her just before she passes into oblivion.