The Good Neighbor's Daughter

Chapter 15; Atwood Fairweather

"It's a bird," Erin said from behind me. She was staring at the same thing I was, but she didn't see what I saw. It was a woman, cloaked in pitch black feathers. Her hair was just as dark and cascaded down her neck like a black river. Her thin, white face was deadly beautiful, but I had become accustomed to her beauty over the years.

"No, it's not," I said. Of course she could see what I saw. She was just human. Crow would have to peel away the glamour covering her to reveal herself.

I wanted to run to Crow. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and never let go. She was here and alive. She was my last shred of home. But I didn't run to here. I kept my feet planted as I stared, wide eyed.

"Crow," I said again.

"Nw—Penelope," Crow said as she stared at me too. She cocked her head to the side as she took in my appearance, and I stopped as she said the word.

Deer and Crow never called me Penelope. It was always Nwella. It made me shiver the way she said my name now. I looked at her like she was someone else. Was she my Crow? Where was Deer?

"Wow," Erin said and I realized the glamour had dropped. She could see her too.

"Get away from that mortal," Crow said. It was as if she just noticed Erin in the room beside me. I didn't even have a second to move before Crow lunged for Erin, tackling her against the glass door.

Crow gnashed her shark-like teeth at Erin and dug her claws into the Siren's skin. My heart pounded wildly as I tried to find some way to pry them off of each other. I wanted to scream, but it was caught in my throat.

Crow went from Erin's throat, and she held the good neighbor back with both hands as Crow fought for a clear shot at her. When Crow was getting to close to Erin's neck, she switched to one hand to hold her back. I realized what she was doing too late. Erin reached for the gun hidden in the back of her pants. Suddenly, it was out and trained close to Crow's head. With a click the safety was off and she was ready to shoot Crow.

The look of determination on Erin's face told me she was fully prepared to shoot. To her, Crow was a monster. Crow froze at the feel of the gun against her head. She was still smiling when Erin gritted her teeth, ready to fire.

That gave me the push I needed. I pulled a knife from under my shirt and plunged it deep into Crow's spine. She fell, the antler hilt still sticking out of her back. On the cold tile, dark red liquid began to drip, staining the white tiles.

Crow was shaking and mumbling something under her breath, so I knew she wasn't dead, but she was hurt. Once I took out the blade, she would be back up and back at Erin's throat. I needed to do this carefully.

The look on Erin's face wasn't the same fear and shock I was feeling. She returned her gun to its hiding place and pulled my toward her, wrapping me in her arms. She kissed me hard and quick before pulling away with a warm smile.

"That was so hot," she said. The sparkle in her eyes caught me off guard. I might have just saved both hers and Crow's lives, but she didn't know the whole story. Neither did I.

I looked down at Crow shaking on the ground. What had happened to make her do this? What made her so animalistic? Maybe it was Erin. If Crow had somehow sensed her connections to the Siren Bounty, she could have attacked to protect me. But if she could sense that Erin was a Siren, couldn't she sense that Erin had left them?
"So I assume you have a good reason for not letting me kill her," Erin said, pulling me farther away from the neighbor on the floor.