Page 17 of The Raven

Didn't Your Mommy Tell You Not To Play With Knives?

The Raven

Bang!

My eyes flew open as pain exploded in my arm. I bolted upright, pulled from the daydream of mine and Mason’s childhood by the echoes of a gunshot ringing in my head.

Mason slumbered on beside me as my gaze frantically searched his room for the source of the noise.

But when an image of Grim, Butch, and Pyro standing over my grave with spades in their hands flashed through my head, I leaped off the bed and threw my clothes on, panic spreading through me like wildfire.

What the fuck were they doing?

With every movement, my arm throbbed, almost as if I’d somehow broken a bone that was refusing to heal. Grabbing a knife from Mason’s kitchen, I rushed out of the apartment and headed into the street, tuning into my raven.

Another image materialized behind my eyes. Grim had taken a shot at her. She’d flown away in time to avoid the bullet, but as she made her escape, her wing smashed into a rafter.

She was watching the Vipers now, high above, and hidden in a tree, but with her wing at an awkward angle.

That explained the pain in my arm.

White-hot rage thrummed through me, and before I knew it, I was outside Hadleigh Peak cemetery.

The tall, iron gates were closed, locked together by a thick metal chain. Behind them, the path led to rows and rows of gravestones, the moon’s rays lighting them up.

I climbed over the gates, wincing at the burn spreading through my arm, and as soon as I was back on two feet, I took off at a sprint.

Somehow, I knew where my grave was. I wove through headstones, powering up the bank of a hill before falling into a crouch, hidden by the shadows of the trees lining the cemetery.

Nearby, the Vipers grunted as they continued to dig, a small heap of mud piling up every time they shoved their spades into the dry ground. They worked in silence, but as I was about to confront them, I was hit by overpowering memories.

“Hold the cunt down,” Grim orders.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” Eric screeches, trying to pull out of Pyro’s grip, even with his arms tied behind his back. His efforts earn him a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

“No! Don’t,” I cry, my eyes stinging with tears as Buck and Butch, who are holding my arms, overpower me and drag me to the floor.

Catching his breath, Eric tries again to break free from Pyro’s grip, threatening to murder anyone who touches me, but freezing when Pyro produces a vicious knife and holds the sharp point against his throat.

Terror crawls through me as I meet Eric’s eyes and shake my head, trying to communicate with him, telling him not to move or they will kill him. But my gaze falls away when someone rips my summer dress off in one go, followed by my panties.

Behind Eric, Grim unbuckles his belt, a wicked grin spreading over his lips as his eyes devour my naked body.

“I swear to god, if you touch her-” Eric starts, but he’s cut off as Pyro jabs the blade into his neck, a trickle of blood leaking from the wound.

“You’ll what? Kill me?” Grim snorts. “A fucking pussy like you won’t touch me.” He moves his gaze to Pyro and adds, “Keep him quiet. I want him to hear her screams.”

As Grim prowls toward me, Pyro wraps a hand around Eric’s mouth, his cries of protest muffled as the knife still presses against his throat.

I thrash in Butch and Buck’s grasp, fighting my hardest. Fighting for my life. Too focused on trying to break free, I don’t realize Grim is nearby until he punches me in the face, and my nose explodes.

Stunned by the blow, and with blood running down the back of my throat, Grim grabs my legs and flips me onto my front.

He pulls my ass into the air, and Buck and Butch hold my arms with brute strength.

Before I can even think about trying to get out of the position, pain splits me in the middle when Grim thrusts his hard cock inside me.

A scream flies from my mouth, earning me a slap on my ass cheek as Grim says, “That’s right, you fucking whore, scream for me.”

Enormous tears streak down my face, mixing with blood and snot as Grim pounds fiercely into me, and I can’t stop the cries of sorrow leaving me, even though my sobs are spurring Grim on.

“Fuck!” Grim hisses, his fingers digging into my thighs. “This is a good fucking pussy, right here. You boys are gonna love feeling how she clenches around your cocks. What do you think, Mills? Want to watch all my boys fuck your fiancèe?”

My fingers dig into the carpet as I try and breathe through the pain consuming me, and I silently beg for someone to help us before anyone else can rape me. Before it’s too late.

With another few grunts, Grim groans as warmth fills me, and I want to vomit. I’ve never had a man come inside me before. Eric and I always used condoms. I hate the way I feel his release slide out of me as he pulls away.

Numbness sweeps through me, and my body turns limp like a ragdoll. I want to die.

“Roll her over,” Grim instructs menacingly.

I don’t resist as Butch and Buck roll me onto my back, and I’m pulled into a sitting position, held up by one of them. Maybe even both of them, I can’t tell, I’m too focused on Eric.

His cheeks are stained with tears, and as I stare into his eyes, I know they’ve broken him. Just like they’ve broken me.

Grim moves to stand next to Eric, his cock tucked away, but his jeans hang open. He snatches the knife from Pyro but keeps the blade against Eric’s throat as a sneer twists on his face.

“Don’t worry, sister,” Grim says, his eyes filled with hate. “You’ll see him again. When we’re done with you, we’ll send you to the afterlife to be with him.”

He drags the knife against Eric’s throat, and my world crumbles before my eyes.

I wasn't sure when I collapsed on the ground, but I brushed my tears away with the back of my hand and got to my feet, my legs shaking from the lingering images.

But with a wave of fresh determination, I shook the memory away, needing to focus and not allow the ghosts of my past to distract me.

Easier said than done, especially with the way the torture was spreading through my entire body at being so close to those who inflicted the devastation in the first place.

I didn’t know how much time had passed while I’d been lost in my memories, but when the moonlight glinted off Grim’s spade, I was reminded that my time was running out. I’d lost a day because of the time I spent with Mason, and my deadline was looming.

Not that I had any regrets. Spending the rest of eternity in the in-between would have been worth it for what I experienced with Mason.

Guilt did fill me at first, but as more of my memories came back, the guilt eased.

Eric had known about my feelings for Mason, and instead of making me cut him from my life, Eric accepted it.

Accepted that I loved them both.

Our future would have been an interesting one had we been allowed to live. But the three assholes who were currently showing no remorse for digging up my grave made sure none of us would get our future.

I refused to let them go on any longer.

“Looking for me?” Three sets of eyes snapped to where I appeared from the shadows.

“What. The. Fuck?” Pyro said at the same time Butch said, “No fucking way.”

Grim remained silent, his eyes narrowed on me. With the light from the moon beaming down on us, I watched Pyro’s jaw drop, while Butch’s features contorted into disbelief.

“It wasn’t enough for you to rape and murder me, but you had to come and ruin my peace, too.” I nodded to my grave, a pang of anguish stabbing me when I caught the words engraved in my tombstone.

Raven Blackwood.

Beloved daughter.

Sleep well, angel.

An overwhelming need to grieve for a life taken too soon hit me. Not just for me, but for my mom and stepdad. For my friends. For Eric and Mason.

“How the fuck are you here?” Butch asked, pulling one of his savage-looking knives from the sheath attached to his belt. He always had them with him, no matter where he went. That was why he was known as The Butcher.

Pushing down the need to release my sobs, I took a step closer, Butch and Pyro’s body turning rigid, while Grim remained glued to the spot, his calm, calculated eyes watching me.

“I think you should be asking why am I here? It’s far easier for me to answer.” I shrugged. “To end you all.”

“Fuck you, you little bitch!” Pyro roared. “We killed you, you’re dead!”

I tilted my head to the side. “Funny, that’s what Boogie said, right before I sliced him up like an onion.”

“You little-” Pyro started, only to be interrupted by Grim.

“Enough,” he said, his tone cool. Collected. He stepped between Pyro and Butch, keeping his gaze still trained on me. “Good to see you, little sister. I’ve missed you.”

I snorted. “I can’t say the feeling is mutual, big brother.”

He smirked. “So, you’re the one who has been killing my boys, huh?”

“Yup. Are you ready to join them?”

His smirk turned into a malicious grin, full of malevolence. “Not today.”

“I hate to disappoint you,” I retorted, my tone laced with sarcasm, while deep inside, my body remembered everything he’d done to me.

Grim tapped his lip, something he would always do whenever he was thinking. “You know, either you’ve done an incredible job of faking your own death, or Buck was right all along; you are a ghost. I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

Without any warning, he pulled his gun out from where it was hidden under his jacket and fired two shots at me.

The raven in the tree squawked in panic as both bullets lodged in my chest. I stumbled back, blinding agony tearing through my body as my knees buckled.

I fell to the ground, not moving as I squeezed my eyes shut, unbearable pain gripping my body.

“Go check on her,” Grim ordered from somewhere in the distance.

“I’m not going,” Pyro snapped like the fucking coward he was.

“Fucking pussy,” Butch hissed. At least we could agree on one thing. “I’ll check.”