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When Raven got back to the house, there was a note taped to the door, and she marvelled at the elegant penmanship for nearly a minute before even reading what it said.
Raven,
I had to run a few errands and check on things at the house. I’ll be back after lunch. Try not to get into trouble while I’m out.
Malyk
Where did he learn to write like that? She wondered as she took down the note and set it on the kitchen table. No one wrote with such painstaking elegance anymore. She’d almost swear he’d done it with a fountain pen too, though she knew she didn’t even own such a thing.
One more mystery to add to the growing pile of things about him that just didn’t add up. Raven shed a layer of clothing and started foraging through the fridge for food, gathering a plateful of this and that as she pondered the outcome of the past few hours. She’d spent another two hours with Jacob, and what had started off as a bad morning had morphed into something much more promising. A man with years of business experience and savvy, he’d made several suggestions about how to raise revenue and increase her visibility as an island attraction. She’d never considered it before, but she’d agreed to meet with him again soon over lunch, as well as have him bring his wife Lydia by to see the sanctuary and ease her mind about everything that went on there. By the time he’d gotten off the phone with Lydia, his wife was more than ready to admit that she might have imagined the entire thing and felt even sorrier than Jacob had about all the trouble she’d caused.
She reheated the plate in the microwave and had just started eating when the kitchen door opened, and a head of grey curls popped around the corner.
“Raven? Oh good, you’re here. I thought maybe I’d have to go fetch you out of one of the enclosures.” Raven’s friend Samantha came in the rest of the way and took off her jacket with a grateful sigh at the warmth. “It’s too cold out there for an old lady to be wandering about. I had thought to tackle some of that correspondence and pick up the latest invoices for Tom to look through.”
“Sam, you’re not old, so give it a rest. You’ll likely be chasing your chickens around the island long after the rest of us have taken up knitting in our rocking chairs.” Raven left her meal to start a fresh pot of coffee as Samantha started gathering up various papers from the table.
“Oh ho!” Samantha’s voice was almost gloating, and Raven turned around to see what she was so pleased about.
“I see you’ve met my neighbour, Malyk. Isn’t he something?” Sam was holding up the note he’d left for Raven, grinning from ear to ear as she gave Raven an intent look. “Are you the reason he’s not been home for two nights then?”
Raven blushed and spun around to fiddle with the coffee maker for a long moment as she tried to come up with an answer that wouldn’t make her blush even worse.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Sam chortled. “He’s gorgeous, just like his brother. You never met Alistair, did you? No, you wouldn’t have. He and Keri were too busy falling in love to get out much, and then they were off to his family’s home for the winter.”
Samantha settled herself into one of the kitchen chairs and beamed at Raven. “So, details! Spill it, girl, entertain a nosy neighbour for a few minutes.”
Raven laughed and sat down as the smell of freshly brewed coffee started to fill the kitchen. “Someone got onto the property and let Ares and Topaz out. By the time I tracked Ares, he was on the far side of the sanctuary.”
Samantha nodded. As a gifted psychic herself, she’d recognized Raven’s abilities almost immediately and was helping her to learn more about them. “So that Carter fellow is getting pushier, is he? We’re going to have to do something about him, honey, you know that right?”
“I made a report to the RCMP the next day. They messed with my fuse box again too, which is why it took so long for me to figure out who had been let loose.” Raven smiled at the memory of how she’d found Mal and Ares. “When I finally caught up to Ares he was sprawled in Mal’s lap like a spoiled kitten. Can you believe it?”
“Oh, I can.” Sam gave Raven an oddly knowing smile. “How did he explain it?”
“He’s gifted too, not like me, though,” Raven explained, knowing this was the one other person who wouldn’t laugh and dismiss it all as nonsense. “At first, I thought maybe he was one of those shapeshifters my grandmother used to tell me about, but he said he can sense feelings in people and animals, and sometimes heal them.”
“Well, well,” Sam muttered, looking pleased. “I’m glad you have someone here with you. Tom and I have been worried about you, all alone with everything that’s going on.”
“He’s staying with me, but only until things are dealt with. He has made that very clear, Sam. Once the sanctuary is safe, he is leaving.” Raven stood and went to fetch them both coffee, continuing their conversation while she poured. “I’m just grateful to have him here, for now, he’s been a blessing.”
Sam reached out and took one of the offered mugs, taking a sip before commenting. “Keri and Alistair asked me to watch out for him while he was here. I’m not sure of the specifics, but he’s here because his family is deeply worried about him and they hoped that a change of scenery would help. I think they’d be very happy to know he’s found someone to spend time with.”
“Don’t make more of it than there is Sam, whatever brought him to the island, it’s not something he’s ready to let go of.” Raven shrugged and tried to ignore the way her heart twisted at her own words.
Sam merely laughed. “I’m starting to think the brothers have more in common than just their penchant for whirlwind courtships and stunning good looks.” She waved a hand. “Oh, don’t ask me to explain, just trust me, nothing is set in stone, not yet.”
“This is not a whirlwind courtship, and you know I’ve asked you not to read me, Sam.” Raven chided softly, assuming her friend had used her gift to take a peek into Raven’s life and future.
Sam arched a silver brow. “It’s a whirlwind something Raven, even I can see that. The lad hasn’t been home in two days! I don’t need to be a psychic to see something is going on. Now, what else is happening around here? Anything I should know about?” Sam changed the subject and leaned back in her chair, her coffee cradled in her hands.
“Oh, nothing much. Dana was a spy hired by Carter and Jacob Jenzen was here less than three hours ago with the police claiming my cats were hunting his chickens last night, that’s all.”
As Sam’s mouth dropped open Raven began to fill her in on everything that had happened in the past few days. It took two cups of coffee to get it all out and answer all Sam’s questions, and when it was done, she felt better than ever.
“You’ve had a hell of a few days haven’t you?” Samantha came around the table to give Raven a motherly hug. “Still, things seem to be working out. Dana’s gone, and Jacob’s ideas for fundraising and awareness are really quite good. I’m going to call him later and see if he and I can’t work out a preliminary plan while you deal with that bastard, Carter.” Samantha tugged at Raven’s ponytail as she stepped back to let the other woman stand. “I’m glad Malyk’s here. It seems the universe doesn’t want either of you to be alone at the moment, and I’m in full agreement. I’ll worry less knowing he’s here too.”
“Yes, Mom.” Raven grinned at her friend and shooed her toward the door. “Don’t you have a husband and chickens to get back to?”
“Speaking of mothers, phone yours!” Samantha shot back. “I bet you’ve not told her half of what’s going on around here. You know you’ll catch it if she finds out after the fact that you were having trouble and didn’t tell her.”
Raven smiled as she thought about her mother. “She’s got enough to deal with already. The business is booming and as it is. Daniel says she’s not getting enough sleep. He says she spends half the time they’re in bed muttering about new recipes and planning her next sales pitch.” Raven laughed. “New samples are coming over in a week or so, I promise to save you some. I know how much you like the blackberry shampoo I sent over last time.”
“Fine, ignore my sage advice and then bribe me to stay quiet.” Samantha laughed and finished zipping up her jacket. “When your mom and stepfather want to know why you didn’t tell them, don’t come complaining to me!”
The two women said their goodbyes and Raven glanced up at the clock as she started working out a plan for the rest of her day. But in the back of her mind she noted the time and couldn’t help but wonder where Malyk was, and what he was doing.
* * * *
He had left Raven and the others and headed back to the house, out of sight. He had a few things to look into alright. He was tired of playing defence. It was time to take this fight to the ones who had started it and make sure they understood once and for all to leave Raven and her sanctuary alone. With the beginnings of a plan already forming, Malyk had gone home. After several thousand years of life, Malyk had walked other worlds and experienced countless cultures, and from some of them, he had taken more than just memories.
He headed to the back of his home and opened a room he had not stepped into for years. Two walls were decorated with weapons, some untouched and others worn and well used. The rest of the space was taken up by shelving and cabinets, every surface stacked deep with books, tomes and sheets of parchment-like material written in a myriad of languages and styles.
It took several hours to find everything he needed, and every few minutes he’d curse at himself for never getting the place organized. He was fitting a tri-bladed dagger to his belt when a soft giggle interrupted his thoughts. Without even turning around, he sighed.
“How long have you been there mother?”
“Not long.” Molla laughed again, a musical sound that he knew most found enthralling. In his experience, though, it usually meant his mother was up to something.
He finished with the dagger and turned to face her, one blonde brow arched in query. “Something I can do for you? Or are you just here for an update?”
“Can’t a mother come visit her son without a reason?” Molla crossed the room and gave him a hug, standing on tiptoe to brush a kiss to his cheek.
“Alistair is right about you.” Mal grinned down at his mother. “You can’t leave well enough alone.”
“Alistair only says that because I had to set him straight about things he should have seen for himself. If I’d left him well enough alone, he’d still be alone and trying to live without Keri. He’s too much like his father in that respect.” Molla stared up into her son’s eyes with a look of deep concern. “Just as you have too much of your father in you.”
“I don’t want to talk about him.” Malyk stiffened and turned his gaze away from his mother’s questing eyes.
“Would you rather we discussed Sanaya?” Molla asked, her tone firm.
He growled, his stomach twisting at the mere mention of that name, “No, I would not.”
“It was so long ago Malyk, why do you let her haunt you still? Not every love is forever, you know that.”
“It felt like a forever love to me.” He started pacing, his tension high. “She should have been my mate for all time, but she refused me! We had something that should have been eternal, and she let it go.”
“I know. And since then you’ve been alone. No mate, no love, no one in your life, just like your father.” Molla sighed. “His choices were not my fault or yours. He should have stayed and watched you grow up. He should have been less selfish. And now I’m watching you walk the same path he did.”
He opened his mouth to argue, to deny it, but then he realized she was right. The truth stunned him back into silence.
“Ah, you’ve finally seen the truth of it.” Molla smiled, but there were tears in her eyes. “Your father ended his existence because things did not work out as he wished. He left you without a father because he was angry and hurt by my choices. Sanaya made her choice too, and you’ve never forgiven her for it. It’s time to set that aside Malyk. Forgive him, forgive her, and get on with your life.” He gaze dropped to the dagger at his waist. “Go protect what is yours.”
“She’s not mine, Mother.”
“Maybe she could be,” Molla replied. “You won’t know unless you ask her.”
He snorted with laughter. “Only you can make it all seem so simple.”
“It is simple, or it would be if my sons would stop trying to make everything more difficult than it actually is.” A shimmer of light accompanied Molla’s laughter. “Lecture over. Your interfering mother will leave you alone now.”
“No, she won’t.” He hugged her goodbye. “She’s never left me alone in my life, I wouldn’t want her to start now.”
Molla ignored the door and simply faded away to the sounds of laughter, leaving Malyk alone with his thoughts.
He paced for a long time, mulling over everything. When he came to a stop, he was standing by one of the cabinets. He reached far over his head and drew down a box from the top shelf; it was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, and elaborately carved from wood that gleamed dark and rich even beneath its coating of dust. He wiped it off carefully and slipped it into a pocket without opening it. He knew what was inside, the most powerful talisman he had ever come across. He knew too that no matter what happened with Raven tonight, he wanted her to have it. She was going to need all the help she could get.
