The Raven And The Wraith (Completed!)

Chapter 22

The Wraith
Chapter 22

I saw Gary stiffen up, holding himself rigid and proud, and then a moment later, Genevieve entered the hall.

Seeing her, that familiar casual saunter, that beautiful, brilliant red hair, those storm gray eyes, brought an unexpected flood of memories. They were so very bittersweet, a collection of happy, carefree times, filled with the open laughter of youth, and also filled with dark anger, searing betrayal, and loneliness.

I felt like screaming at her. I felt like turning and slipping away, off into the hills, into the wild, to live there and never see another person again. In the face of this seething, confusing emotion, the idea of never seeing another person again was a fierce pull.

Genevieve had been the first, and only, person I had ever really talked to. She had been the first girl I had ever kissed. She had been the first one to know my hopes and dreams and fears. And she had used every last piece of that to try to force me to obey the Council.

Of course now I understood that she was trapped by the Council. But seeing her, remembering her, remembering the pain, still stabbed deep into those half-healed scars. 

Then, as I watched her walk down the hall, I saw Gary's eyes following her. Everyone in the castle knew he hoped to date her. But everyone also knew she had always kept a cool distance between the two of them.

Now, right as she walked past Gary, a delightfully devious idea popped into my head. I looked down at my hand. At the link between me and all living things on this world, the Werecats gift to me. My mind was filled with the image of teenage, red-haired beauty, so the first link wasn't Genevieve alone, as I intended.

Instead I found myself looking at tens of thousands of beautiful, red-haired girls. I blinked and the link focused on Genevieve. Focused on Genevieve's butt, to be exact.

And the moment she walked past Gary, I reached through the link and gave her a solid smack, making sure to quickly withdraw my hand from the link.

Genevieve whirled around, her eyes flashing, her expression shocked and murderous. Gary backpedaled frantically, his hands up as he shook his head back and forth.

"You dare...!" She hissed.

"I didn't..It wasn't me!" Gary spluttered, his face beet red. When he saw Genevieve's incredulous expression at that, he continued. "I saw a hand.."

"Yeah, and I felt that hand!"

"No, I mean it wasn't my hand! I saw a hand appear and then smack you, and then disappear!"

At that, Genevieve instantly looked even more furious, and I saw Gary's face get even redder, which was actually quite impressive.

I thought I might fall off my narrow, wooden perch I was trying so hard to hold back my laughter. This was better than I expected!

Unfortunately, I let out a snort, and both Genevieve and Gary looked up at me. I dropped down from the wooden beam, landing lightly, with a small flourish.

"Hello Genevieve. Hello scumbag." I greeted them mildly.

Gary had his sword out in an eye blink, placing his body protectively between me and Genevieve. I was actually impressed at his speed and reactions.

"You!" Gary growled, his sword point unwaveringly ready, even after he recognized me.

"Rahvin?" Genevieve breathed, her eyes huge and her cheeks more pale than normal.

Her reaction was reassuring, and worrisome at the same time. To me, she seemed shocked, relieved, and scared to see me. I could deal with shocked and relieved, but fear...not much scared Genevieve. So if she was scared, there was usually good reason.