Prologue: The Raven's Son
The soft chirps of the crickets and soft whispers of the cold night winds rustled through the virtually deserted buildings barely above a breath. Almost fearful of being too loud would draw unwanted attention. The winds curled around and through dead branches and leaves seemingly speaking to one another carrying secrets of what monsters, beasts and unspeakable acts occurred on what many speculated used to be very ancient grounds once used in executions, witch trials and even ancient rituals of sacrifices. Nothing but foolish superstition for the limp minded or blissfully ignorant. Or depending on whom you asked, a perfect opportunity for a dictator to step in to take control of things. It sure felt like that from where he was sitting…
A damp rag reeking of rubbing alcohol pressed into the sizable cut on his forehead creeping down onto his eyebrow making him hiss and flinch back from the searing sting ripping him painfully from his thoughts. Yet the small but dainty hand holding it remained undeterred and pressed it against the wound again when he flinched away. He had to check himself to not accidentally swat her hand away as he would’ve done to anyone else. But never her. One thing he refused to do was STOOP to HIS level… But when the rag was firmly pressed against the cut again, he had to bite back a series of swears and ball his hands into fists to prevent him from knocking all the medical supplies on the table before him onto the ground.
“You need to let me clean it properly or it will get infected…” The young lady chastised as she seemed to avoid looking at his eyes.
More accurately… he was avoiding looking at hers. To avoid seeing the anger and disappointment there. For his weakness. His failures. His sins. His ghosts. The frown on his face deepened as he let the breath he was holding go as she wiped away the blood seeping from the freshly reopened cut. The names of his actions did not matter. It was survival. Getting authorities or anyone else involved had very dire consequences. HE made that point VERY CLEAR from day one. And he dare not find out whom would end up down in the growing pile of “problems” he had amassed over the years. Some where bleached white bones now, many still had faces frozen in fear before…
(Continued on AO3, link below)