Clouded Heart 11 A Task

Part Two

Chapter One

Raven adjusted his gla.s.ses as he followed the group of men and women he was with across the open plains that lead up to the lonely castle silhouetted against the gray sky. He breathed in the fresh air and looked around them as they walked cautiously up to the outer courtyard of the castle.

Everything appeared to be fine, and he was once again surprised by the quiet beauty that seemed to be a theme  throughout the castle grounds. One would not think a vampire to be thoughtful and thorough when it came to decor, especially outside where they would not be able to see it, but then Raven could safely a.s.sume that they did not know Miss Ebony.

The Keiran castle was very gothic in its structure and appearance, courtesy of its current tenant of course, but it was not without its modern conveniences. The gate that barred the group from entering let out a small chirp before opening up and letting them proceed into the inner courtyard.

Ebony Keiran, the lady of the castle, was somewhere inside waiting for the group to arrive and discuss the impending threat of the Circle lead by a warlock lord that seemed h.e.l.lbent on a plan that the church intelligence had yet to figure out.
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Raven and the others were meet in the courtyard by a tall man dressed in formal clothes.

"Glad to see you all arrived safely. Please follow me," He said softly before he turned and quietly lead the group down a series of hallways before he stopped at a large set of double doors.

He knocked and paused briefly. "Ma'am?"

There was no answer for a long moment and the kids beside Raven began to squirm with nervousness. He rolled his eyes and mentally counted to five before the doors burst inward and a beautiful woman stepped out of the dim room.

She was beautiful, her long white blond hair reached past her waist in a thick french braid, and her skin was pale and smooth as polished ivory with just a hint of pink to her cheeks  and lips on her china doll face. Her dark blue dress was made of crushed velvet and lace from the high collar that covered her pale throat to her large skirt, as was popular in the 1800s, but it strangely suited her. All in all she looked like a fairy and was certainly captivating.

"h.e.l.lo to all of you!" She said loudly and way too cheerful for Raven's taste. She gave a low courtesy, her hands clasped under her chin.

The new people in the group were startled by the outburst from the exquisite looking lady before them but the rest all eyed her wearily and seemed to brace themselves.

As it was, her crimson eyes landed on Raven and her smile grew even bigger. "Aleksandr! Welcome back," she cheered and softly took his hands in hers. They were cold and strong as they gripped his like she was afraid he'd pull away.

"Miss Ebony, please calm down. You are startling the new recruits with your behaviour."

She let out a scoff and let go of his hands. "I may act however I wis.h.!.+ My house, my rules! Now," she said and clapped her hands lightly and repeatedly like a child, "Is anyone hungry? I had food prepared for you all in the dining room! Let us go partake! Come, come!"

She grabbed a random hand belonging to a younger man and pulled him along with her. His sh.e.l.l shocked expression pleaded for help as he was dragged ahead.

"Wow," Raven heard someone whisper to the person beside them. "She is definitely not what I expected."

"She is really pretty though," he friend responded just as quietly.

Raven snorted to himself and walked ahead with the others.

The great hall was filled with warm light and in the center of the room was a long and dark mahogany table that was covered in all sorts of food from fruits to meats. The fine china was sparkling against the blood red table cloth as the wine sparkled in the lamp light.

Raven could only imagine what it looked like back in the days when people would gather and dine in these halls.

After Ebony gracefully seated herself, everyone else followed suit. They waited until prayers were said before digging in.

After a few minutes of silence, the professor and oldest exorcist in the group spoke up.

"Thank you for you hospitality,  Lady Keiran, but I feel I must express the urgency of why we've come here. With our limited intelligence at the present moment, I am afraid to say that we are still waiting on  information. Do you have anything to report that would be of use since the last time we talked?"

Ebony looked at the old man and seemed to be thinking. "No. I'm afraid not," she said after a long moment and then took a sip from a crystal goblet beside her. "I am, unfortunately,  experiencing the same as you. My manpower is limited like yours, perhaps even more so. I actually called you here to ask a favor."

The old exorcist seemed taken aback. "And the favor?"

"Well, I can't say more at this moment, but it's about the lead I mentioned before in my letter. My informants are limited as most of them are my kind so I need your help." Raven watched as her red eyes snapped to his face, "Aleksandr."

He was a few seats from her, but he could feel the power behind his name like it was a commander rather than a request. "Yes?"

"Would you be so kind as to help me?"

"Not without knowing what you need help with," he answered bluntly.

"Ivankov," the old exorcist said with a warning tone.

"It's fine, Professor Devlin," Ebony said with a single wave of her hand. "It's just going through doc.u.ments we have acquired from the Circle. You have a fantastic memory and are quick to pick out discrepancies, so I feel that you would make a great a.s.set. Any more than that, I'm not at liberty to say."

Raven looked at her than back at Professor Devlin. Devlin nodded and Raven let out a small sigh through his nose.

"I have no reason to refuse. I am in your care, Lady Ebony."

Ebonys still expression broke out into another smile. "Excellent!"

Raven felt a s.h.i.+ver run down his spine unexpectedly.  He didn't know if it was a warning that he had just made a grave mistake, or if there was a draft somewhere in the castle.

"I will give you details shortly," she said, addressing Raven. "Please, everyone, you are free to walk around outside or rest in the parlor room after you are done eating." She stood and turned in one fluid motion. As she walked, it seemed like she was floating across the marble floor.

Raven stood with an aggressive head jerk from Professor Devlin to follow her when he didn't move.

Raven resisted rolling his eyes and got to his feet as well.

Devlin was a meticulous old man in his own mind. While he was a vehement supporter of the Otherworld coexistence pact on the outside, he was just waiting for a f.u.c.k up to happen and end the alliance. He also knew that for some reason Ebony had taken a liking to Raven and was trying to use it to his fullest advantage.

He also thought he was using Raven to glean information. He was hoping he might learn something comprising enough for blackmail or to out right end the coexistence pact altogether, but Raven was well aware of his games and manipulation.

Raven was thinking about how to out smart Delvin when he was brought to a small study.

Ebony shut the door and locked it after he stepped in. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Miss Ebony-" he began but was cut off by a hand over his mouth.

She gave a wink and removed her hand. Then she began to talk. "I need your help, Aleksandr. Please listen before you speak."

He was lead over to a seat and sat in front a large oak desk. She glided behind it and with a smooth movement sat down. She reached into the desk and quietly revealed a sealed envelope.

He understood what she was doing. The room must be tapped and her true objective was to give the information manually to not risk revealing what was truly needed from him.

"I have my own theories about the leader of the Black Circle that I'm not going to divulge in this moment but I will say that I am willing to ask for your help."

She held up a slip of paper with the word TRUTH written in her curly calligraphy and then handed him the envelope.

"This must be important for you to ask the church for a.s.sistance," he said carefully with a raised eyebrow and took the envelope. He slid it into a pocket of his cloak. "But whether the church will continue to help depends on your cooperation."

She nodded. "I know that well. What I require from you is your keen mind. We have obtained doc.u.ments from the Circle that I suspect are fake or coded. Your specialty would come in handy."

"And where are these doc.u.ments?"

"At a disclosed location I will reveal to you at a later date."

"Alright," he said, "Is that all?"

At his question, Ebony leaned over the desk and grabbed Raven's chin gently, giving him time to pull away. "I honestly wanted to see you. Alone."

"I think that's a highly inappropriate abuse of your power," he said with his eyes locked on hers.

She gave a cheeky smirk. "No one ever said I wasn't p.r.o.ne to mischief at times."

"I know that better than most," he managed to say before Ebony's mouth covered his.

Her kiss felt cold and soft to Raven and it was like fresh snow had fallen on his lips. He opened his mouth slightly as he kissed her back with a soft grunt.

Raven felt her smile and her long lashes brush his cheeks as they closed. She tasted of nothing, a thing he still wasn't used to, as he drew her tongue into his mouth. He let out a hard breath through his nose when she suddenly pushed his head back and kissed him suddenly deeper than before.

Then she pulled away completely,  leaving a small string of spit glistening slightly between their mouths.

She licked her lips, and broke the connection.

"Aleksandr,  you're so cute~" she said at his slightly dazed expression.

Raven blinked his eyes and gathered himself. "I should be going, Lady. Please excuse me."

He pushed himself abruptly from the arm chair and stood straight as he could. He quickly fixed his appearance before leaving the study without a backward glance.

Raven felt Ebony watch him leave with a small twist on her pale lips.

He thankfully had calmed himself down by the time he rejoined his group.

Professor Devlin nodded to the others when he saw Raven, his old eyes taking him in for any signs of mistreatment.  He could find nothing, Raven concluded, when he barked at the others and they were on their way.

As they left the old castle, Raven could see the pale silhouette of a figure peeking through the curtains. He huffed and turned back with a small wave of his hand.

He could still feel the cold press of Ebony's mouth on his and smell of soft perfume clinging to his clothes. Raven's ears grew a little warm but he shook it off in favor of what Ebony's note could possibly say and what it meant that she was being monitored.

As Raven climbed into the bus that brought him here, he made sure the envolpe was still tucked safely away. He tuned out the chatter from the younger exorcists by closing his eyes and trying catch a quick nap on the way back to the Academy.