18 Unexpected

Chapter Eight

"So, Darling, you're coming to my birthday party, aren't you?"

Raven looked up from the journal he was bent over.

"Your birthday? Why would I?"

The remark caused Ebony to throw a book at him, which he easily blocked with the one he was holding in his hands.

"Because," she emphasized,  "I asked you to and as an ambassador from the church, it's only natural for you to come."

"Well, if it's 'only natural' then why ask me? If I'm told to go, I'll go," he said evenly as he read the manifest in front of him.

He saw Ebony smile at him out of the corner of his eye.

"So…" she began as she flipped through some pages, " How is your body doing?"

Raven flicked his eyes up to her then back to his work. "After almost two weeks, I am doing fine. In another few days the rest of the bruises will be gone."

The vampire nodded. "That's good. I'm glad you didn't receive any permanent damage."

The rest of the words dropped away because he saw something that caught his attention. His heart skipped a beat as he read it. He stood up suddenly.

"Lady Ebony, look at this," he said with excitement. He brought the book over to her and let it fall heavily in front of her.

He pointed a finger at the spot he wanted her to read.

" ' A stranger came to court today, requesting a private audience with their Highnesses," Ebony began to read. "The man offered up his unique services to the crown and it was agreed upon that he is to live in the castle.' "

They looked at each other before she took the next few pages and leafed through them with shaking hands.

"Again, there's mention of the fellow. Apparently he was treated as an important guest. Whatever these 'services' were it isn't mentioned but there were payments made as well."

Ebony leaned back and grabbed another volume. "I'm sure this is what we are looking for but let me study at this more closely. Aleksandr, this is the subsequent record for this one. Please go through it and mark the entries you think are important."

Raven took the book and was about to turn and go back to his spot when he was stopped. Ebony grabbed him by the tie and yanked him down to her eye level.

Before he could ask what she was doing, the vampire kissed him. It was a closed mouth kiss but it was aggressive. She pressed their mouths together so hard he thought he was going to cut his lips on his teeth but it was enjoyable in a kinky kind of way.

The thought caused a blush to bloom across his face and Ebony mistook it as something else.

"Well, Aleksandr, are you thinking of something more ravishing?" she teased.

Raven looked at her soft pink lips. "No," he replied, but it sounded like a denial even to his own ears.

He straightened up and with an awkward cough, he sat back in his spot with Ebony watching him, especially his backside, and quickly got back to the task at hand.

After a few more hours of searching the manifest and finding several more references to the nameless man, Raven stood up to stretch his cramped body.

Ebony was now fully absorbed in finding the information that she was desperately seeking. Raven could hear her muttering to herself as she scribbled down the information she needed to know more about.

"Want to share with the class what's going through that scary brain of yours?" Raven asked and sat on the edge of the table. He was also curious at what Ebony was going to do when she got what she was looking for.

Regardless, if this led to the head of Black Circle, there was going to be a bloodbath. The cult was recruiting a lot of the top warlocks, witches, demons - even humans into its ranks because money was a need as well as a good base of operations. With such accomplished magic users, the church knew the cult had multiple bases in the human world and in the Otherworld, too.

That was why it was so hard to pin the head of the cult. The earliest mentions of it started over a millenia ago, so the head of the cult was always changing. Their secrecy was unrivaled and members were inducted through hellish means. Whatever the initiation was, left unyielding loyalty and mania amongst its members.

Of course the church had been fighting it since its creation but with a limited number of resources up until their acceptance into the pact it had been difficult.  It was still a new concept for many of the older members of the church, so that's why younger people like Raven were used as advocates of sorts. It was a goal that the newer generations could build a good relationship and work together with the other clans.

In fact, the first time Raven met Ebony had been at an annual celebration for the pact. It was a few years before, when Raven was still just a ward of the orphanage, but he joined the church under a scholarship soon after and they saw it as an opportunity to have him as a possible envoy.  Ebony had liked him and made it a point to work together ever since.

He might have been attracted to her since he first saw her- who wouldn't have been- but he had a hard time accepting her advances at first. There were alot of things wrong with it, one, being she was technically an enemy of the church. The church knew it was necessary  to work with demons but it didn't mean that they liked it.

Two, Raven had joined the church for a reason. He wanted nothing to steer him away from his goal, and he probably was more desperate than Ebony when it came to finding the Black Circle.

Three, the fact that they were totally different species, and ages to boot should have been a deal breaker but oddly enough he liked Ebony because she was Ebony.  The fact she was a vampire had been a put off at first but now he didn't know who she would be if she wasn't.

And though it wasn't as if these things weren't still true, but Raven could admit that being with Ebony made him feel free. He could forget who he was when he was with her, as cliché as that sounded, and he considered her a friend at the very least. He didn't know if he was letting his emotions control him or if he was under some kind of spell, but he knew he would do almost anything for her.

Ebony shook her head.

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"I don't know what I'm thinking. This is all so confusing and the more I read, the more annoyed I get, " she admitted with a frown.

Raven put down the book he had marked in front of her.

"Listen, my lady, I understand that you are frustrated, but they aren't going anywhere," he took her hands in his. Their frosty temperature seeped into his own. He brought them to his lips.

"We will figure it out together."

She gave him a tired smile. "Of course," she agreed. "But I am afraid that by the time everything is figured out, it will be too late."

Raven let go of her hands and looked at her with confusion. "My lady, what do you mean by that-"

The question was interrupted by a laugh and the door to the study opening.

Raven was shocked into stillness when he saw who walked through the door.

"Kyou!" He said with surprise.

Kyou, who had walked in backwards, seemingly leading someone in, turned around with a start.

When he recognized Raven his eyes widened.

"What are you doing here?!" He asked in bewilderment. He turned to who was behind him and he saw it was Ebony's brother, Aloys. "What is he doing here?"

Raven stepped forward and pulled Kyousuke toward him by the shoulders.

"I should be asking you the same thing!" He replied roughly in response. "Everyone's been looking for you! They said your appartment was empty, your phone was shut off and Mika hasn't talked to you in months!"

Kyousuke stiffened for a moment and then shoved Raven's hands off of himself.

"And why the fuck should I care you suddenly give a shit about me?! Mika was the only one that kept in contact with me after I left!"

The Kyousuke that Raven remembered was different yet the same. His mouth and attitude were as shit as ever but there were thin scars on his face and neck and a look Raven couldn't decipher. Something was off.

Aloys stepped into the room at this point.

"Sister, I thought I told you not to come today," he said sharply and gave Raven a look of disgust.

Ebony stood up and with an attitude Raven had never seen before walked right passed Kyousuke like he didn't exist and smiled coldly at the male vampire.

"And I thought I told you not to keep trash in the house. It turns out you are blind as you are stupid, dear brother. I told you nothing good will come of you carrying on like this."

Aloys turned his scowl on her. "How dare you say that to me, you hypocrite."

Ebony scoffed and continued on past him. Raven wanted to talk to Kyou but he recognized that now was not the time.

He looked at Kyou.

"We will talk later," he said with no room for argument before he rushed out after Ebony.

He caught her at the bottom of the steps.

"Lady-" he began but she put up a hand to silence him.

"Close your eyes, Aleksandr," she said curtly but seemed to catch herself by adding, "Please."

He did as she asked and soon they were out the door and out onto the street. After a few more minutes she asked him to open his eyes.

The night air was getting colder day by day but Raven's clothes kept him warm as well as the brisk pace he had adopted to keep up with the vampire. Now that they were alone, he tried to talk to her again.

"Lady Ebony, the man with your brother is a friend of mine. How do they know each other?"

The vampire let out an unnecessary sigh to show she didn't appreciate the question.

"Damned if I know. Aloys is a big boy and when he falls on his face I will relish in laughing at him."

Raven was even more concerned and confused by her words.

"What does-" he began, but Ebony just continued her brisk walk. He let out a noise of frustration and grabbed her by the arm. "Ebony! Tell me what you mean by that? How is Kyousuke involved with Aloys?! Answer me!"

It was the first time he had ever raised his voice at Ebony in such a serious manner but he needed her attention.

When their gazes met Raven felt ice form in his soul.

"Ask your friend for yourself. I am afraid I must go. Good night, Aleksandr," Ebony said and with a strength she never relied on in public, took her arm back forcibly from Raven and in a blur disappeared into the night leaving Raven alone to his own devices.

He had never seen Ebony act like that; he knew something was wrong. He also knew she wasn't telling him something and that left a pit in his stomach.

Raven stared at the spot she had just been with more questions forming in his mind. After a long moment he looked around and recognized the street he was on. He began to walk back to the church, intent on getting the answers he needed from Kyousuke.  He would find a way to talk to him again- even if that meant sneaking into Aloys' home.