Chapter Two: Chaos Spreads
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Lynne cursed. Something she thought she would never do in her sixty odd years of life. Her entire world had been upended, her religious beliefs turned on their heads, everything she thought she knew absolutely rewritten in the span of a few years.
“You know.. you don't have to view it that way. You could view it as confirming everything you knew.” Cern commented casually, leaning against the wall.
“Would you stop doing that?!” Lynne hissed at him angrily. He had a habit of appearing and disappearing frequently. A habit her niece Emma said was nothing compared to what Bel had been like. Lynne winced. Her niece was still in mourning over Bel. They still had no idea where he was, but there was something more Emma wasn't telling Lynne. A hint of fear when Emma spoke of him. Something there that made Emma, Cern and Luci worry.
“Well, I could stop popping in, but then you'd be on your own and I think you missed something.” Cern jerked his chin to indicate something behind her and Lynne jumped, spinning around in her chair. She barely caught the shadow sinking into the wall behind her and she moaned.
“Another one?” Lynne complained. “Why now? You know my boss is still watching me after that last fiasco.” Lynne winced. Half the office had practically exploded, and her boss thought it was some sort of practical joke gone wrong. The only reason she hadn't been fired was because she had been a model employee and had never done anything remotely like that before. Cern shrugged.
“There's not much you can do about it, they follow you because they sense the Darkness within you.” Cern remarked.
“Lynne! Who is this?” Her boss suddenly snapped from behind her. Lynne felt her shoulders tense and rise towards her ears. Cern watched her warily for signs of her losing control.
“This is my niece's.. acquaintance..? He's been helping her while her partner's been missing.” Lynne offered questioningly. Cern's eyes narrowed. “He stopped by to update me on the search in case they have to leave town suddenly.” Lynne indicated the door with her eyes. Cern scowled.
“Right. Well, I should be going. I'll see you later. Hope the rest of your day goes well Lynne. Nice to meet you sir. Don't jump at any shadows now.” Cern turned towards the office door and walked out slowly, turning towards the parking lot as if going to his vehicle. In all honesty, he opened a portal into the room behind Lynne's reception area in search of the Corrupted Spirit, making sure his Form was invisible to all but Lynne this time. He heard Lynne and her boss talking on the other side of the wall as he leaned casually against it, waiting. Eventually, the shadows moved and he pounced, gripping the Spirit in his hands and tossing it from the building, following after it.
“Let's see what we have here...” He growled, examining the Corrupted Spirit and then blinked, when he discovered it was a human soul. “How did you get left behind?” He murmured. “Sadly the woman cannot help you. Nor can I, however I know one who may be able to.” Cern pulled the Spirit within himself and opened a portal back to his Emma. She may be able to send the soul on where it belonged. If not, he knew someone else who could dispose of it, although he'd never let Emma know their son was consuming Corrupted Spirits Cern had been capturing for him.
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“Phoebie!” Marian squealed, jumping onto the bed and waking her from her afternoon nap. Marian laid her head on Phoebie's stomach and listened carefully. “Shh! The babies are sleeping.” She whispered loudly and Phoebie raised an eyebrow.
“I think you're the one being noisy now, miss.” Phoebie remarked, and struggled to sit up. “Damn, I'm going to have to throw myself off the bed to sit up.” She grumbled.
“Oooh, you said a dirty word!” Marian accused, pointing a finger at her. Rafe came in with a tray of food.
“Trust me Marian, there's nothing a pregnant woman can say or do that is wrong, isn't that right Bee?” He teased with a chuckle.
“Damn straight.” Phoebie remarked and held up a hand, waving it at him until he helped pull her up so she could sit against the headboard. “Thank you.” She panted.
“What do you have to eat?” Marian asked, looking at the tray as Rafe settled it next to Phoebie on the bed.
“Oh no you don't, you get back downstairs where your snack is.” Rafe picked Marian up and she squealed with laughter as he spun her around and carried her towards the door. Phoebie picked up a grape and popped it in her mouth with a moan. Rafe scooted Marian towards the staircase before turning back to Phoebie with a small grin.
“I know you've been craving fruit lately.” He commented.
“Must be the bird diet.” Phoebie mumbled around another bite of grape.
“Now wait a minute-you know Ravens have-”
“A rich and varied diet, yeah yeah. Scavenger.” Phoebie spoke over him. He growled lightly and tackled her, making her yelp, and squeal about the food. Rafe kissed down her neck and then over the swell of her stomach.
“One for each baby.” He remarked, kissing her three times.
“Oh three, is that all you think is in there? Good Lord, look at the size of me already. What's it been, a month?” Phoebie rubbed at her stretched skin and Rafe leaned over her to retrieve the lotion the Healer had sent to keep her skin soft.
“Yes, about that. You're probably a little overdue by Raven standards.” He said with a frown.
“Hello, they're mixed magical children, who the Hell even knows when they'll be born.” Phoebie griped, grabbing a slice of melon off the tray and shoving it angrily in her mouth. Rafe tugged up her shirt and began to rub the lotion into her skin and Phoebie couldn't help herself, she felt her body relax under his touch. She sighed.
“How can you do that to me?” She moaned, letting her head fall back against the wall.
“Raven charm.” Rafe remarked, kissing her exposed neck before resuming rubbing in the lotion. “I've spent a lot of time conditioning you to respond to my touch.” He teased.
“Oh my God, you've trained me like Pavlov's dog.” Phoebie groaned and Rafe chuckled.
“Exactly.” He said, standing to give her a kiss on the mouth. “Now eat your fruit.”
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“Is there any way on this planet you have good news for me?” Emma asked Cern as he walked through the field. She spoke softly, but he understood her. Their son looked up and happily yelled for his father.
“I found another Corrupted Spirit hanging around your Aunt. But this one is different. It's... human.” Cern stopped short of the porch. A gate had been put up to prevent their son from falling down the stairs, and Emma looked at him fearfully. Cern wasn't worried the Spirit would hurt their child, but he wasn't ready yet to expose their son's secret to Emma, so he was hoping she would react the way she did.
“Sage honey, stay right here, Mommy and Dada are gonna talk in the grass, ok?” Emma quickly teleported herself to stand beside him. “Is this far enough away do you think?” She worried, looking back at their child, who now stood pressing his face against the gate to stare at them.
“It should be fine. He has two powerful gods for parents Emma, it's just a human soul...” Cern turned her face to look at him and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Now stand back a bit, I had to let it hitchhike a bit to bring it along.” Emma looked confused and then worried.
“You let it possess you?” She nearly screamed.
“Emma, god. It cannot do me any damage.” Cern ran his knuckles down her cheek, then motioned her back as he took a step back himself. He let the Spirit pour forth from him just as Lucian rounded the corner of the house in his wolf Form to back Emma up. He snatched her back further with his teeth, a growl pouring from his throat as he did so.
“I can't believe you did that so close to her!” Luci's arms were suddenly around Emma, his angry glare fixed on Cern.
“Luci, it's ok. It's human.” Emma struggled in his grip.
“That makes it all the worse!” Lucian growled, squeezing her tighter. “You're more susceptible to your own kind!”
“Luci.” Emma turned in his arms and patted his face gently. He blinked down at her. “I haven't been human in a long time.” She murmured softly.
“I know. I meant your former kind.” Luci let her go with a shake of his head. “I... don't know what came over me.” He mumbled. “I know you can handle this.”
“Not without you.” Emma replied quietly, gripping his hand. The Bond between them tightened like thorny vines, twisting in his chest, making him want to howl.
“Yes Mistress.” He bowed his head, unable to deny her, despite the pain.
“Now what are we to do about this Spirit?” Emma asked Cern, and Cern explained his idea.
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