Ghost Bird

15: The Food Chain

Silas and I walk into the main hallway of the school. Off to the left, camera crews are busy rigging lighting and other equipment to the balcony and ceiling. To the right, Fell appears to be juggling blueberries with startling dexterity. And in the center, well...

A young woman with raven hair has her arms wrapped around North's shoulders. Her blood-red lips whisper tantalizing lies into his ear, oblivious to the scowl marring his face. Nathan has a hand on her arm, gently tugging her backwards, but the woman clings to North with unwavering determination.

"I can see why he called for backup," Silas mutters after North starts coughing on some raven hair that got caught in his mouth. I nod in agreement. The woman—Jade—seems to have a personality that matches her name, and the overbearing willpower to sink her claws into whomever she wants.

By now, Kota and Victor have joined Nathan in trying to pull Jade off. Owen watches them with a frown. He's on the phone, presumably summoning security. With a warning glance at me to stay put, Silas approaches the fray. I remain in place for a few seconds before following after him.

Now that I'm closer, I can better hear what Jade is saying. "I know a great taco place," she whispers seductively. "They drench their meat in queso. Best of all, it's not very greasy, so we won't need any bathroom breaks if you know what I mean."

Gross. That's her dirty talk? Even I could do better than that.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a large man hurtling toward us. I step aside just in time to avoid getting run over. I turn back to North and Jade, only to gasp as Jade is yanked off of North and tossed to the side. She screeches, but manages to land on her feet.

"You guys wouldn't last a minute in Russia," the man says in a thick Russian accent. His black t-shirt shows off the plethora of tattoos weaving down his arms. With his muscular frame, biker boots, and cold gaze, he has Jade shaking, and I would have already ran away were it not for the security logo on his shirt.

"Took you long enough," North grumbles. He stretches his arms and pops his neck, all while maintaining his ferocious glare.

"We were about to get her off," Nathan says at the same time.

Jade has recovered enough from her shock to regain her haughty air. "No, North was just about to get me off," she purrs. She inches back up to him, her eyes oozing lustful promises, only to stop when the man places a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you see a fruit cup? No? So back off. Mouse doesn't want you." With that, the man gestures for Jade to leave the room. She eventually takes a hint, but as she passes me, she drags her fingers along my arm. A shiver runs down my spine.

"Nice to meet you, Sang," is all she says. Despite the nice message, her words are shadowed with anger. I want to throw some snark right back at her, but Silas's warning look has me opting for a polite smile instead.

I follow her with my eyes as she's escorted out by the man. "Who was that?" I ask once they're out of earshot.

Kota pushes his glasses up on his nose. "Raven. He works with Marc and Corey."

"Why did he call North a mouse?"

"Ravens eat mice," Victor says with a Russian accent. He rolls his eyes. "After listening to Raven say it about a dozen times a day, you'll be able to rattle that and his other various sayings off in your sleep. 'Professional Russians don't yield on left turns' and 'Salad dressing is made of hamburger tears' are some of my favorites."

I start to laugh, but in the process I hiccup and it ends up coming out as a rather unattractive sounding snort. That only makes me laugh harder, and in a matter of moments, tears are streaking down my face. My neck muscles begin to cramp from the vigorous exercise.