Raven's Redemption

Raven’s Redemption RAVEN’S CRY BOOK FOUR CHARLIE NOTTINGHAM LIQUID MIND PUBLISHING Copyright 2023 Charlie Nottingham All rights reserved. Liquid Mind Publishing This work may not be duplicated, redistributed or exchanged without permission granted by author Charlie Nottingham. This work is entirely fiction. Characters, names, places, media, brands and incidents are purely a product of the author’s imagination. Author Charlie Nottingham acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of products and brands mentioned in this fictional story. The author is in no way associated with nor sponsored by any brand mentioned within this book. Contents The Raven’s Cry Series 1. Rain 2. Nick 3. Warren 4. Graham 5. Rain 6. Rain 7. Warren 8. Graham 9. Ezra 10. Warren 11. Ezra 12. Ezra 13. Rain 14. Graham 15. Rain 16. Rain 17. Graham 18. Rain 19. Warren 20. Ezra 21. Graham 22. Ezra 23. Graham 24. Ezra 25. Rain 26. Warren 27. Graham 28. Graham 29. Rain 30. Graham 31. Rain 32. Rain 33. Graham 34. Rain 35. Warren 36. Rain 37. Rain 38. Rain 39. Warren 40. Ezra 41. Ezra 42. Ezra 43. Rain 44. Rain 45. Rain 46. Warren 47. Ezra 48. Graham 49. Ezra 50. Ezra 51. Graham 52. Rain Also by Charlie Nottingham Author’s Note About the Author The Raven’s Cry Series Raven’s Cry Raven’s Song Raven’s Reckoning Raven’s Redemption Raven’s Dawn (Coming Soon) 1 Rain “Baby,” the woman said. “Don’t you baby me.” The man shot her a look. “They just showed at our house unannounced, and he fucking lied to me. So no, he’s not welcome here.” Putting her hands on her hips, she frowned at him. He glowered back. Although I’d never been on the outside looking in, I imagined this was how it looked when Graham and I spoke telepathically. It was fascinating. Aside from the fact that the man was still holding the blade, at least. That was decidedly less fascinating. Especially because, only moments ago, he’d seemed ready to use it. In his defense, we had just hit his dog. And Warren was standing only a few inches from his kid. If the roles were reversed, and Gran had come across me or Jake talking to a stranger in the backyard, I was sure she would’ve reacted the same way. Considering they were mind readers, I knew what lie he was referencing. “He’s a necromancer,” I said. Warren’s jaw tightened. “Rain, please shut—” “Don’t tell her to shut up.” The man turned his glare on Warren. “I already knew, dumbass. And what? You think telling your friend to shut up is gonna make me like you more? You’re on thin ice, pal.” The woman sighed deeply. “This is uselessly dramatic.” “I think we all got off on the wrong foot here,” Ezra began. “And I apologize sincerely on Warren’s behalf. It’s been a very bad day. He-he died earlier, actually.” Now it was me giving him a look. “Well, it’s true.” Ezra thrusted his fists down at his sides. “We came here for help. They’re telepaths, so there’s no use in lying to them, and if they’re going to be able to help us at all, they’re going to need to know what’s going on.” “I agree,” the woman said. “And even though you did lie, and even though you hit our dog, I’m still gonna hear you out. Whether my husband will or not.” He rolled his eyes. “So follow me.” She made a waving motion, leading us down the path the child had sprung out of. Graham was already running behind her, like a duckling to his mama. Ezra went to Warren, and I waited for both of them to pass me. The man stayed at the back. Which I understood. Although we were intimidated by all of this, it wasn’t our place to make demands. We were the aggressors in this introduction. We’d hardly gone about this in a civil way. Judging by the acreage of property we were walking through, these were people who took their privacy seriously. We’d invaded it. And we weren’t exactly weak. Ezra was the only one of us without abilities, and even he was still a Vampire. Being supernaturals themselves, the couple could obviously sense how strong we were. I knew how threatening that made us, could remember my own fear and sense of impotence the day Déus appeared inside my house and burned it down. I imagined these people had been in a situation before where powerful people interrupted their day and, metaphorically, burned their house down too. We needed to be as respectful as possible to show them we had no intentions of causing any harm. So, once we’d been walking for a few minutes, trekking deep enough into the woods that no one nearby would hear our screams, I cleared my throat and glanced at the man behind me. “I’m really sorry again.” “Mhm.” “We don’t mind paying for your dog’s vet care. Not one bit. We’ll—” “She’s fine.” “Even if you just want to have her seen, we’ll pay.” “I appreciate that,” the man said. “But I’m more mad about what’s his face lying to me.” Graham chuckled at the front of the trail. “Why’s that funny?” the man asked. “I don’t know.” Graham smiled over his shoulder. It was the same boyish, sweet smile he gave everyone. There wasn’t an ounce of mischief in it, nor in his tone. “It’s not something you’d tell strangers, I bet.” “I also don’t show up at random people’s houses and talk to their kids alone.” Warren said, “I would never hurt a child—” “Yeah, shut up.” The woman leading us through the woods laughed. “You need to go take a nap.” “You’re crazy if you think I’m leaving you out here alone with these people.” “I really don’t think they’re a threat, baby.” “We’re not,” I said. “I swear we’re not.” “Hm,” was all the man said. Silence set in again as we kept walking through the overgrown path. The