B.O.E.- Chapter 18: Isaac

 Where could she be? He growled as he eyed the time. She said three days. She said she would notify me about now. Did she lie? Have I failed?

Just then his phone rang and he sped to answer it.

Instead of Raven, he heard Ruben,

“Isaac, she’s back.”

“Where?” he was already reaching for his loaded jacket.

“At the college,” Ruben reported.

“I’ll be right there,” he didn’t even set the phone down as he pulled on his coat and tapped into his speed.

“I wouldn’t scare her. She’s holding something,”

Ruben’s voice barely registered with him as he sped toward the college.

The past three days were hell. He could hardly sleep thinking that she was spilling information about their location. Or the other scenarios that his mind came up with. What if the Disciples had gotten to her? What if they killed her or worse, infected her completely? What if they were torturing her for information on them?

He felt the night air brush past his hair as he moved and finally slowed down when he was close enough to Anise’s dorm. He glanced around and noticed her figure walking along the quad, holding a large flat box. He quickly moved forward and came up behind her, catching a strange scent on her. He hung up the phone before Ruben spoke again and set a hand on her shoulder to stop her but she immediately bent forward.

He froze, confused, when her leg suddenly came up and swung into his left cheek. He stumbled more out of shock than actual pain before she whirled around again and pushed him further aside with a side kick. Then they both straightened up and she took a stance against him.

Isaac raised his hands in peace and watched her green eyes suddenly recognize him.

Raven sighed and crossed her arms, frowning at him. “Sneaking up on me? How’d you think that would go?”

He could hear Ruben’s chuckle from the neighboring shadows but ignored him. “Sorry. Just wanted to talk.”

Raven turned from him and bent to pick up the box. She turned back to him and he caught the strong whiff of melted cheese.

“Pizza?” He asked, his nose wrinkling.

“Anise was hungry,” Raven shrugged. “Who’s got watch tonight? You?”

“Ruben,” he corrected.

“Tell him to take the night off. I’m spending the night here,”

“You are?”

“I am,” her eyes narrowed.

“Where have you been?” he watched her shift as if suddenly uncomfortable.

“I had business. It’s handled. I was gonna text you once I got settled in with Anise,” she replied.

“You were supposed to check in earlier,” he reminded her.

“I tend not to text and drive,” she tilted her head coolly and he fought his growl of annoyance at her dismissal.

“If it was only business, why’d you shake Connor?” he felt a strange fire in his gut but wasn’t sure what it was.

“Why’d you have me followed if we were supposed to be building trust?” she countered before taking another step back.

Isaac stared. She was acting differently but he couldn’t put his finger on it. She obviously wanted to get away from him but was it because she wanted to get to Anise… or something else? “Where did you go these past few days, Raven?”

Raven suddenly snapped her head to the left as Ruben moved to join them and Isaac felt his eyes zero in on her neck. There was a new mark but she’d tried to cover it with makeup… was that a fucking hickey?

Before he could get a closer look, the wind picked up and blew her hair over her shoulder while simultaneously sending a waft of cheese at him.

“Hey, Ruben,” she greeted when the male neared them. “Good news, you have the night off. I’m staying with Anise tonight.”

“Great,” he gave her a soft smile. “She’s been doing yoga for a while now. She has great balance for such a small figure.”

Raven glanced between them and shifted the box, taking another step back. “Can we continue this tomorrow? The pizza’s gonna get cold.”

Isaac was about to argue when Ruben cut him off.

“Of course, we’ll see you tomorrow. Enjoy your girls’ night,”

Raven stared and Ruben winked at her.

Isaac watched her back away from them before she turned away to enter the dormitory. Then he turned to Ruben with a frown.

“Demanding answers from her isn’t going to get her to open up, Isaac,” Ruben muttered before he spoke.

Isaac let out the growl he’d been holding. “Thought Liam was the psychic?”

Ruben chuckled. “And yet even the blind could see what’s going on.”

Isaac frowned at his flannel wearing Brother and followed him as they moved to his car. “I think I’ll stick around for a bit.”

“Being creepy and clingy isn’t the best route either,” Ruben sighed, rolling his eyes. “Want my suggestion?”

Isaac frowned at him, debating his own answer. Something was up with Raven but she wasn’t going to tell him anything. He nodded.

“Let’s go buy the ladies a bottle of wine so they can enjoy their night. I’m pretty sure Raven didn’t bring any in that tiny pack of hers,” Ruben suggested. “We’ll drop off the bottle at the door and leave them alone. She’ll come back to the house tomorrow.”

“You’re sure about that?” Isaac asked and knew he sounded challenging.

Ruben smirked. “Bet money on it?”

Isaac sighed. “Like I’d help your dirty habit of being right.”

Ruben chuckled and they went to the nearest liquor store. They had a quick moment of figuring out which would be the best wine with pizza when they settled on a sweet bubbly Moscato. Isaac quickly wrote a note and delivered the bottle to Anise’s dorm himself. He set the bottle on the floor and knocked, speeding away before they answered it.

Then he forced himself into Ruben’s car or he’d never leave the college.

“How about we scout the town nearby?” Ruben suggested as he drove them away from the college campus.

Isaac grunted his consent, hoping a few disciples were nearby.

 

The next day, he woke up at the usual time and made his way down to the kitchen for breakfast. He felt his cell phone go off and read the text from Liam.

‘She’s in the garage. Connor said she wants to talk to you.’

He frowned and replied, ‘Why didn’t he text me?’

‘He was on his way to work.’

The cop had avoided him since he failed to follow Raven.

Isaac sped to the garage and slowed to enter through the door calmly. She was leaning on the same Rogue she’d left in, typing something into her phone. Just then his phone buzzed again and he checked to find a text from her.

‘Can you meet me in the garage?’

He chuckled softly as he moved closer, holding the phone visibly as she looked up at him. “Good afternoon,” he greeted.

Raven put away her phone to cross her arms as she considered him. Then she moved closer and he froze, a little apprehensive at her strange tranquil expression. She met his eyes for a second before lifting her left hand, a folded piece of paper between her fingers. “‘Sorry. Enjoy your night and I’ll see you tomorrow’?” she recited, a smile playing on her lips.

He briefly wondered if she was making fun of him. “Wrong wine?”

She let out a quick breath almost like a laugh and pocketed the note. “No, she loved it. Drank more than her share. Thank you… oh, and thanks for the car.”

He relaxed slightly as he took back the car keys. “No problem.”

She glanced away and that was when he noticed that her clothes were different, she had showered and her pack was gone.

“What happened to your other clothes?” he asked curiously and her face immediately closed off.

“I must have left them at Anise’s,” she half-shrugged. “We already ate breakfast at the college so I’m just going to head to the gym for a while.”

He nodded and let her brush passed him out of the garage. He smelled the lily scented soap but it was wrong. There was some strange spice to it that made his stomach tighten. Shaking the thought away, he followed to head to the kitchen to eat.

B.O.E.- Chapter 17: Raven

Raven climbed up the steps from the subway and glanced at the clock on her own cellphone. The ride was only an hour so she wasn’t late as she followed a few riders around the corner. She kept her face placid but inside, her stomach was in knots.

Why was Conner following me? Had Isaac sent him? This definitely isn’t helping him with the trust thing, she thought angrily.

She briskly walked to the next corner and waited for the light to change.

With a quick glance around, she eyed the others around her, noting how they all had the same somber expression. Most of them were staring down at their phones, paying no attention to the world around them as they moved through their day. She briefly wondered how they would react if they knew what she did.

The light changed and they all began to walk across the street.

She’d never been able to block the world with her phone but she also didn’t know a whole other world of vampires and inhuman soulless monsters were at war. She’d never have believed she’d be dragged into the middle of it either. Yet, here she was.

With a deep breath, Raven ducked into an alley, breaking away from the clueless public. She moved passed a few buildings before using a wall to grab onto a fence. She pulled herself over it and ducked down to peek around a picket porch.

The neighborhood was quiet and orderly, the lawns were all mowed and the town homes were massive. No one would suspect anyone with a sordid past to live here in this walled off utopia.

The sun set cast a long shadow beside every home and she used it to make her way to one near the end of the block. She eyed the large double doors at the top of a few pristine white steps, a chill running down her spine. The sun continued its descent as the wind began to pick up, almost as if pushing her to get this over with.

With a steadying deep breath, she climbed the stairs and knocked on the door.

The door on the right opened and she was greeted by the barrel of a gun.

“Calmly, place your bag and your cell phone in the box to your right,” a voice ordered.

Raven slowly removed her bag and placed both items on the box just inside the door. She stepped over the threshold when beckoned but didn’t move forward.

“Take off your shoes,”

Raven slipped out of her running shoes, wishing she could put them to use.

“You know where to go,” the woman who’d spoken said behind her when she was done.

Raven already had her eyes on the door to her left. Focusing her face muscles, she pushed herself onward and lead the way to the room as the woman with the gun followed carefully.

She entered the large dimly lit room and refused to look at the man leaning on the desk across from her.

“You were almost going to be late,” he said, his voice sliding over her like oil.

Raven didn’t reply or let her face betray anything but she could smell the whiskey he was already drinking.

He gulped a big swing. “Strip.”

Raven unzipped her thin jacket and tossed it aside. Next, just to get it over with, she undid the buttons on her jeans and stepped out of them to also toss them onto the polished floor. She reached for the hem of her shirt next. As she pulled it over her head, she could practically feel his eyes raking over her body.

“Those are new,” he pointed out, his eyes on her side.

Raven didn’t respond as she dropped her shirt next to her pants. She didn't let herself shiver as the damn AC sent an icy breeze over her exposed skin. She pulled on the inner fires of her hatred to warm her as she stared at the insult to humanity as he sipped his drink.

His eyes traveled back up to meet her eyes with a smirk. “You know what I want,” he chuckled.

Raven fought the urge to take the gun away from the woman still standing behind her to shoot at his hideous smirk. She took a deep breath before letting her legs buckle, her knees hitting the hard, cold floor. She set her hands on her lap and kept her eyes on her knees, trying to ignore him as he let out a breathy groan.

“Beautiful,” Kurt muttered. “Now, we may begin.”

Raven felt herself tense just before a needle dug into her neck from behind.

The world began to spin without her and she clung on to the feeling, welcoming the blackness. She just wished it would last the next three days.

Raven ran into the living room, her necklace bobbing around her neck, and hid behind the sofa as she heard Anise counting in the next room. She was only three so she couldn’t count properly and Raven pressed her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing. Just then her father stormed into the room from the kitchen and her mother moved up to him.

“Honey, calm down,” she hissed, her eyes glancing toward where they heard Anise count.

“They found us, Grace,” he muttered, his voice a growl. “They want to take you away from us. From me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” her mother promised, trying to meet his eye. “I chose you and I do not regret a moment.”

Her father’s hands fisted. “That won’t stop them.”

“Then we leave. We find a new place to make our home,” she held his head and forced him to turn to her. “John, we’ve created two miracles. I will not let anything happen to my family.”

He dragged in a deep breath. “I could call in a few favors to help us get started. We’ll leave before the month is out.”

Her mother smiled widely and planted a kiss on his lips. “I’ll make the girls’ favorite to tell them the news.”

She moved back into the kitchen as her father sighed.

“Ready or here I come!” Anise shouted, her voice trembling as she ran into the room. “Hi, daddy. Have you saw Raven?”

“She’s behind the sofa, babe,” her father answered and Raven gasped, her heart hammering in her chest as she moved out of her hiding spot. She met his eyes as Anise rushed to her. Then her father winked at her and went to his study.

“Found you!” Anise giggled, throwing her arms around her middle.

Raven forced herself to smile down at her sister as the sunlight from the window glimmered on her identical necklace. Then she tickled her, “Okay, now you hide.”

She watched Anise run away from her before staring after their dad. How did he know she was there?