Garrett and I sit side by side in an interview room located on the lower ground floor of the town hall. According to Rett, the entire floor caters to the town’s protection team and the two SIB agents. The vampire, Agent Johnson, sits on the opposite side of the cold metal table that’s secured to the floor. His insufferable partner left to take a call a few minutes ago, and I’m glad for the reprieve from her endless stream of questions.
I feel as though I’ve been flayed open then pinned to the wall like a butterfly, my deepest trauma on display for the world to gawk at. It’s how I felt before and I hate it. The looks I’m getting now are what I moved to Crystal Lake to escape. Instead, I’ve led the monster from my nightmares right to my loved one’s doorstep. I’m just glad Selene’s safe at home. I know she would have stayed by my side, but if The Raven’s here then it’s better for her to stay as far away from me as possible until he’s caught. The last thing I want is for the woman I love to be caught in his crosshairs. Besides, these awful fluorescent lights would only have made her headache worse.
“What I don’t understand is how The Raven got into town in the first place,” Garrett muses. “The town wards are designed to keep out anyone with malicious intent.”
A guilty look crosses Agent Johnson’s face, and my hands curl into fists with my irritation. “You know something.”
“I’m not at liberty to say?—”
“Cut the crap. I’ve answered every single one of your bloody questions. I deserve to know what’s going on.”
Johnson looks to Garrett, but my friend simply crosses his arms over his broad chest, an expectant look on his face. Johnson lowers his gaze to the table. “I don’t know much. The call my boss took is probably an update on the situation. If you wait for her to come back we can?—”
“Your boss is an incompetent buffoon with an over-inflated ego—she won’t tell us shit,” Garrett interrupts harshly. Judging by the hard set to his jaw and the tightness around his eyes, he’s as done with the whole evening as I am.
Johnson deflates. “Fine.” He glances over his shoulder at the two-way glass behind him. “You didn’t hear this from me, understand?”
“Got it,” I agree.
“Agent Terrall sent a pair of protection officers to Raymond’s house.” At my blank look he clarifies, “He’s the witch in charge of the town wards.”
“You think he let The Raven in?”
“We’re not sure—that’s why we sent officers to bring him in for questioning.”
“What are the chances it wasn’t him?”
Garrett’s lips flatten into a tight line. “Not high. Sanctuary wards are stronger than normal spells. They don’t only rely on the magic of the witch who cast them, they’re also tied to the natural magic of where the sanctuary is built—in this case the crystals in the bottom of the lake the town’s named after. Changing normal wards requires skill and power, but as long as the witch trying to break the ward is stronger than the original caster, it can usually be done. Sanctuary wards are different—there’s only a handful of witches in the world with the power and skill to alter them.”
“Is there any way to tell when they were altered?”
“We assumed it happened today. Why?” Johnson asks.
“I’ve felt like I’m being watched for weeks—it started just after I arrived in town.”
“But that would mean The Raven’s been here for a month. Are you sure it’s not just the locals being nosy because you’re new?”
I shake my head. “That’s what I thought too, but now I’m not so sure. I think The Raven followed me here to finish what he started back in London.”
“Why come to Crystal Lake though?” Garrett asks. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, I just don’t understand why he’d wait, when you were alone and vulnerable in London for six months after his first attack.”
“I don’t know. Maybe he was watching me in London, and I didn’t realise? I was in a dark place before coming here. This was supposed to be a fresh start.”
“I hate to say it, but it’s possible he enjoyed seeing you struggling in London. That could have been enough for him to leave you be,” Agent Johnson speculates. “If that’s the case, it would also explain why there have been no new victims—he was still getting what he needed from watching you. It’s possible that seeing you move on is what drove him to strike again.”
“So this is my fault?”
“Of course not.” Garrett glares at Johnson. “The only one responsible for tonight’s tragedy is The Raven himself. There’s no way you could have known this would happen, Jared.”
“But if I’d said something sooner, that woman might still be alive.”
“You can’t think like that. Even if we knew The Raven was in town, he’s been impossible to track. Several insight demons andmoon witches have tried to find his magical signature, but he’s been using a witch to conceal it.
“Raymond?” Garrett asks.
“Possibly. Whether he knew what the cloaking potion was for is something we won’t know until we speak to him.”
The door to the interview room opens, and Agent Terrall strides in. “Raymond is dead. Killed by The Raven approximately twelve hours ago.”
