Raven's Desires (Night Hunters) (5 page)

Jasmine smiled. “You are welcome, vampire. Now, drink up the last of this blood, no need for me to keep it. Then back to the cell you go. It’s almost lights out and you can finally get some sleep.”

Kristian laughed. “You know how hard it is for vampires to sleep at night.”

“Yes, but you will get used to it sooner or later.”

“Indeed.”

After he finished the last cup of blood, Jasmine took Kristian back to his cell. He lay on his cot thinking of his love, Raven. He knew his earlier dream of them together was real. Raven remembered him. Remembered their love. Everything.

Kristian sighed, and decided to send out a mental call to her, but the link they had formed had broken again. With all the powers of Arcadia it shocked him that he could send out a mental call. Well, he couldn’t send one to any of his friends but only his mate. Maybe, Arcadia’s power could not stop love. Kristian sighed again when he could not reach Raven and decided he would call out to her every waking moment like he had before. He would not give up on his mate. Raven loved him and he loved her.

He closed his eyes, reached out for his mate and drew in a deep breath when he touched her, felt her inside of his mind. Raven was still connected to him in some way. The connection to her was now open. Her memories were locked away, she did not remember him, but he could pull her inside of his thoughts.

Maybe if he could make her see the past, make her live the love they had over and over, then there was a chance that he could make her remember him.

Kristian concentrated, creating a deep connection to her, a path that he would be able to connect to her over and over.

Kristian smiled when he thought back to when he’d first met Raven Nowles, dragging her back to the past with him, making her relive each moment they shared together. His mind was hers. She would see what he saw, feel what he felt and vise versa.

He hoped that Alec would not detect that their minds were connected and break the spell. He had to get his mate back and this was the only way he could do it.

Reaching out for Raven, he fused their minds together.

Raven, I am here, remember me. Remember the day we met.

Chapter 3

Past…

Raven Nowles lifted her head from the café table at the sound of glass shattering as it crashed to the floor in the kitchen area.

She turned towards the sound of the crash, groaning as the sound echoed in her mind.

“God damn it Veronica, be careful!” Billy, the cook, screamed at the top of his voice.

Raven shook her head. Tonight would be a night of fighting between Veronica and Billy. When the place was not busy, they took up each other’s time by getting on each other’s nerves.

“Oh, shut the hell up will you, Billy. You were the one coming out of the door that clearly reads in. Why don’t you watch…” Veronica’s voice began to fade inside Raven’s mind as she concentrated on blocking out the sound of their voices. She was in no mood to listen to the constant bickering between them tonight. She had to admit that some of their arguments were very entertaining, but tonight Raven only wanted peace.

Raven’s shoulders relaxed as the sound in her mind faded. She tried to picture herself on an island, away from the noise of the café and the world. She could hear the soothing flow of the ocean waves washing up on the shore. As the water receded, her troubles washed away with the water, leaving her fresh and rejuvenated. Raven breathed out slowly, concentrating on getting rid of the throbbing in her head.

Raven thought back to when she was a child and she first learned she could block out certain sounds that made her head pound from pain. She remembered at the age of ten while she sat in the living room doing her homework she heard her father’s car pulling up in the driveway. Her mother had been on the phone yelling about how much her father drank. The moment her mother heard the car she slammed down the phone and met her father at the door. The two started to argue from the moment he stepped foot inside the room.

They yelled and screamed for so long, not paying attention to Raven or what the fighting in front of her did to her.

Raven got up and ran into her room, slamming the door as the bickering continued. No matter where she went or how hard she tried, she could still hear them yelling at each other. That night Raven could not take it anymore
—
she had planned to run away if they did not stop. However, something happened to her that night. She couldn’t explain exactly what happened but as she lay on the bed crying she must have fallen asleep, because when she opened her eyes a female with dark, black, beautiful hair and eyes sat on the bed next to her.

Raven could not explain her in just words. The woman wore all white. Her silky skin glowed brightly. Instead of running like any child would have, she stared at the woman. When the woman smiled at her she didn’t feel fear, she felt relieved that this stranger was there. She felt a connection with the woman.

The woman spoke softly but clearly to her. Raven listened as the woman explained to her how to block out sounds. Raven didn’t really understand how to do it but the woman assured her that she could. Raven was about to ask the woman her name but she woke and was in her room alone. The light from the woman remained on the edge of her bed a few moments before disappearing.

Raven didn’t understand what had just happened but she decided to try what this dream woman told her. Raven got out of her bed and stood at her door, concentrating on blocking out the sound like the woman explained to her. Surprisingly, the sounds of her parents’ voices faded. At first, Raven thought that maybe they had stopped arguing and went to bed.

She crept downstairs to see if they had indeed stopped arguing. Her parent’s bedroom door was open and she could see her mother standing in front of her father. Her father arms were waving wildly in the air. Her mother’s mouth opened, screaming at her father, but Raven could not hear their voices.

She could hear the crackling of the fire, the sound of the television, but not her parent’s voices. Raven smiled, thinking the dream woman silently for helping her.

Just as she smiled, Raven’s father turned to see her watching them. He walked up to the door and slammed it in her face.

Raven knew they tried to hide their fights, but when her father drank he could not control his anger and it would spiral out of control to a point where her mother had to put him in jail. Her parents never broke up as she thought they would. Her mother told her that with time and her father promising to stop drinking then everything would get better, and it did after the last big fight.

Raven had never told anyone about the dream woman and until now, she had not seen her again. She thought about her a lot. It was as if the woman left a part of herself with Raven. Raven also knew that not everyone could block out sounds like she could, since no one spoke of it. She thought that maybe she was a freak of some sort but decided that if she could block out sounds when she wanted and it was not hurting anyone she did not need to tell anyone. She did not want people to think that she was a freak and lock her away in some mental institution.

Veronica’s screaming blasted through the kitchen again, bringing Raven back to reality. She had been thinking about her past so much that she had stop blocking out the sound. Concentrating again, she turned down the sounds of the kitchen.

Raven let out a deep breath. Finally, silence again. The lights above her flickered and she groaned as her eyes stung from the sensitivity. She could make the sound go away but she could do nothing for her sensitive eyes or her ongoing headache.

Raven pressed her fingers to the temples on her forehead to try to ease the building pressure in her skull. Her brain felt as it was two sizes too big for her skull.

Her eyes slammed shut at the throbbing in her head that pulsed with each heartbeat. All of a sudden, her heart slowed to a dangerously slow rhythm. Sweat lined her body. Her t-shirt stuck to her body like a second skin. Bright lights flashed behind her eyes. She groaned again when her brain pulsed and pressed against her skull repeatedly.

Why wouldn’t the pain go away? For days now, her head felt as if it would explode at any moment. No pain reliever worked on the ache, not even the medicine her doctor prescribed for her. The medicine only made her sleepy but never took away the headaches. Each day Raven suffered through each agonizing moment of it. Sometimes the pain lasted for a few minutes. Sometimes, like now, it lasted for days.

Another flash of light behind her eyes made her eyes tear up as her concentration broke and she could hear the noise around the café again.

Make it go away. Please, God, whatever you do make it go away.

“No sleeping at the table, Raven, you know the rules.”

Raven snarled then removed her hands from her face to look up at the one who spoke. It took several moments before her eyes were able to focus on Veronica.

Veronica stared at her without a word. Raven looked away from her for a moment then stared into her eyes. Raven squirmed in her seat when Veronica’s penetrating stare got on her nerves.

“What?” Raven snapped after the long silence.

“Wow, you look awful,” Veronica spoke a little too loudly for Raven’s sensitive ears.

Raven sat back in the booth wanting to argue with Veronica, but how could she? She knew how she looked. Over the past couple of weeks, she had lost a few pounds from not eating properly. Her skin gave off a pale grayish appearance. She had bags under her eyes big enough to carry a month’s worth of groceries in them. Overall, she knew she looked awful, but she did not want to hear how awful she looked.

“Thanks,” she spat. “That’s just what I needed to hear. How awful I look today.”

The redhead sat down at the other booth across from her. “Well, I’m sorry Raven. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. You are my best friend and friends should stick together. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t care. You don’t look well. Your eyes are bloodshot, as if you haven’t gotten a descent night’s sleep in ages. What’s going on with you?”

Raven shut her eyes again when the lights above her flickered from the storm brewing outside. The television in the corner blinked out.

“Hey! The freaking TV is out again!” Billy’s voice blasted from behind the counter.

Raven looked back as Billy jumped on the counter and banged on the side of the TV a couple of times. Raven heard sizzling from the TV and she was sure it was going to catch on fire.

“I told you to buy a new one,” Veronica yelled. “That thing is as old as you, Billy!”

“I’m not old, just preserved,” Billy teased.

“Right. Well, you may be preserved but that TV is still old. They don’t even make VCRs anymore.”

Billy hit the television once again and the picture cleared.

“There.” Billy said, then hopped down off the counter. “And, if you want a newer model TV, go buy one, Veronica.”

Veronica snorted. “Not in this life time.”

Veronica turned her attention back to Raven. “Sorry, Raven, but what is going on with you? We are friends and you’ve been keeping something from me I just know it.”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know, Veronica. I have these terrible headaches and nothing
—
and I mean nothing
—
is making them stop. It goes on and on and on.”

“Have you been to a doctor?”

“Yeah, my mom has taken me to the doctor twice. He claims it is stress, and once I stop being stressed over whatever is stressing me then it will go away.”

A low rumble came from the skies. Raven opened her eyes just in time to see a lightning bolt crash down right beside the window where she sat.

“Holy shit, did you see that?” Veronica said as she jumped up from the booth.

“Sadly, yes. That hurts worse than the lights you guys have on in here.”

As if God answered her prayers, the lights in the café went off. Raven let out a sigh of relief. While the darkness did not lessen the pain in her head, at least without the lights she could keep her eyes from tearing up.

“Raven, you need to go to the hospital. Tonight.”

Raven turned in the booth a little. “Why, so they can give me more pills that will not work and tell me to go take a nap?”

The generator finally kicked in and a few of the lights came back on. It wasn’t as bright as before. Thank god for small favors.

“No, because you are suffering and they have to…”

“Thanks for the advice but it’s not going to help,” Raven interrupted. “Just bring me more coffee and I will be alright.”

“Fine. But the fact that you are up at one in the morning lets me further know you are not going to be alright. You’ve been in here for the past couple of nights, which is not healthy at all.”

“I thought you enjoyed my company?”

“Yes, I do. But when my friends are sick I’m more concerned about making them feel better, and you sitting here downing coffee while in pain is not a good thing.”

Raven looked at Veronica and really wanted to turn her off. Her words were nagging and she was actually making her sicker by making her head pound more.