Raven Cursed

heavy. Molly’s net wrapped around angry Evangelina witch, like arms of octopus on TV. She screamed. Hurt.

Carmen rose onto elbow. With one burned hand, pointed at sports car. Air swept up. Gathered dust and dirt and stones and dead plants. Whirled like tornado. Hit car. Air wrapped around Evangelina. On top of Molly’s net of light. Carmen lay back. Chest heaving. Smelling broken. Singed, burned blood.

Pink and black energy gathered around car. Scarlet motes flashed through mist of power. Grew thicker. Shadows formed spears, black and cold as iron, dark as night sky. Spears tore at layered nets. Burned holes in magics.

Cia held hands together, clasped. Spread fingers and separated hands. Moonlight, soft and glowing, filled space between them. Stones in her necklace split and broke as power came from it. She was making a net. But moon was far away. Slow magic by day.

More dark spears gathered. Facing at sisters. Spears narrowed. Grew barbs. Sharp.

Witch sisters were trying to trap Evangelina in cage of magic. Evangelina was trying to kill sisters to take their power and blood. I gathered limbs tight. Shoulders high. Raised head. Screamed challenge. Shoved off with all paws. Leaped.

Molly shouted, “Jane! No!”

Long leap through air. Paws passed through spears. Burning. Burning. Hurt. Hungry. Angry! In midair, I snarled. Hit Evangelina in chest. Claws hooking into witch flesh. Witch body falling. Out of car. Rode body to ground. Killing teeth locked on witch throat. Tasted blood.

Jane wrenched at body. Tried to be alpha. Something touched Beast-mind.

Everything in world went silent. No noise. No sound. No sight except for angry fearful witch eyes. No smells except for witch blood. No taste but witch blood. But did not bite down. Did not tear out throat of enemy prey. Wanted to. Was stopped.

Felt heart of prey beating fast under paws and chest. Panting breath of terrified prey. She was afraid. Smell of fear was good. Tried to bite down. Could not. Blood taste was delicious. Hunger clenched at belly. Needed to bite down. Needed!

Hand touched my head. Human hand. Little. I tilted eyes up. Angelina stood beside us, one hand on Beast head, one on Evangelina chest. Little witch moved dress and found necklace on Evangelina. Pink diamond, gold chain. Angie wrapped blood-diamond in little fist. Black sparks flashed out between stubby fingers. Dark life, black lightning. Sparks landed on Beast pelt, burning. I growled. Black sparks were sign of Angie-magic. Had seen them before. Bright sparks did not burn Angie Baby’s hand. Scarlet motes flowed up Evangelina’s skin. Almost as if alive. Like mites racing, like rats running from floodwaters. Flowed up and out of her. Into gem.

I looked at Evangelina’s eyes. She was angry. Was stopped like Beast.

Frozen, Jane thought. She froze us.

Am not cold, I thought back. Stopped. Not frozen.

Molly and Cia knelt on either side of downed witch, Cia holding ball of moonlight. Molly unhooked Evangelina’s necklace and left it in Angie’s fist. Cia lay glowing ball on Evangelina’s chest and opened fingers. Net spread out from them, wrapping angry witch. Glowing trap like spider’s web. Breath eased in angry witch’s chest. Heart slowed. Her eyes closed.

“It’s okay, Aunt Jane. She’s asleep now,” Angie Baby said. “I’ll let you go, but you can’t bite her, okay?” I growled. Angie made small fist and thumped my head, between ear tabs. Jane laughed deep inside and I growled again. “You can’t bite her,” Angie said, “biscause I won’t let you. And that might hurt you.”

I hissed again, but lips covered teeth. Relaxed body. Showed submission. Unhappy. Wanted to kill witch. Wanted to. Felt Angie Baby let me go. Felt Beast-power flow into body. Narrowed eyes at little witch. But let go with teeth and pawed away from fallen angry sleeping witch. Sat near Molly-van, grooming pelt and burned places on paw pads. Licked away flavor of witch. Tasty. But Beast not happy. Jane not happy. Jane couldn’t shift into Jane until night. Part of Jane skinwalker magic—unless death threatened, could not shift until night. Beast was alpha in daylight. Felt happier at thought. Could sleep in hot sun. Maybe could hunt bear!

Looked at witches. Still unhappy. Molly crying, trying to get phone to work, but magic had ruined phone. Cia trying to roll stone from Liz. Carmen trying to breathe, breath from lungs smelling burned. Scarlet motes still raced under her skin. I/we had seen this before. Was magic of pink diamond, magic of witch vampire who Jane killed with sliver of BloodCross.

Padded to stone lying on top of Liz. Braced paws into dirt. Shoulder onto boulder. Pushed. Stone wobbled. Cia called, “Molly! Help here!” I waited until Molly was at stone. “On three,” she said. Which was good. Beast could count to three. “One. Two. Three!” We all pushed. Stone wobbled. Liz made broken sound. Rock rolled off of her.

Sisters were crying. Silly kits. I padded to Angie Baby and sat beside her. She was still holding pink diamond. Red motes ran fast over her fist like bugs on burning ground. I dropped head and nudged her toward Carmen, witch with burns. Witch with red motes under skin. Angie looked at me, prey eye to predator eye, unafraid. “What, Big-Cat?” she whispered. I huffed, amused. Big-Cat was grown up name. Angie Baby was not allowed to use it. I nudged her again.

Jane peered out of cat eyes and saw red motes and burned Carmen. Molly, still shaking phone, trying to fix it, was holding hose, as if thinking about washing burned Carmen with cold water. Cia was hugging Liz, crying. Crying loud. I nudged Kit witch, but she did not understand.

Oh, Jane breathed. Of course. But, crap. I can’t tell her.

I opened mouth and placed killing teeth around Angie’s wrist, close to fist holding gem. Teeth gentle. Careful as with own kit, not to break skin. Pulled. I led her to Carmen. Lowered head and placed fist onto Carmen chest.

Red motes raced across Carmen’s flesh and dove into the diamond. Carmen gasped. “Coolio!” Angie said. “Mommy, look! See? I was smart to hide in your van!” I bent over hurt witch, smelling burned flesh and burned breath from her mouth and lungs. Carmen was in danger. She had no beast to shift into to heal. I huffed. Carmen might die. Jane made sound as if her kit or mate were injured. I walked away, tail low. Sad. Hungry. Jane was grieving.

Went into house of sleeping angry witch. Hooked burned paw around door handle of cold-food-place. Pulled. Inside, found many clear plastic dishes, some smelling of cooked pasta, cold and slimy. Cooked brown rice, cold and sticky. Cooked beans. Cooked fish! Using killing teeth, I pulled pasta and fish from cold-place. Tore into dishes, spilling food to floor. Settled to eat. Not hot witch blood. Not fresh blood of prey. Not bear or deer or rabbit. But enough for hunger clawing at stomach. Good fish. Lemon sauce and capers, Jane said. Oh. My. God . . . this is so good. Jane looked at kitchen floor. And this is such a mess.

Back outside, I groomed pelt and claws and watched witches pull injured sisters into shade. Molly talked to Angie about healing. About how body worked. Angie was too little. Was confused. Molly should just draw on Angie’s power to heal them, Jane thought, watching, intent.

Kill kit, like she killed garden, I thought back. Take too much life.

Jane looked around garden with cat eyes and said word for sex. Didn’t understand why dead garden made her think about sex. Bruiser and Leo and Rick made Beast think about sex. Humans were confusing. Lay head on ground, tilted so sun would warm ears. Closed eyes.

Time passed. Heard familiar sound. Raised head and huffed warning at Molly. She looked up. I huffed again and stood, turned head to road. Old car came down road, old car with rattling insides, not alive, but near death, black smoke for breath. Stinky. Big Evan’s old car.

“Thank God,” Molly said. I snorted. Big Evan was not god. Evan parked dying car and got out. Took Molly’s and Cia’s hands and put them on hurt sisters. Burned smell began to go away. Mewling sound from Liz stopped. Evan was good healer with air magic.

Long time in sun later, injured witches were better, enough to take to hospital. Boadacia—Cia twin—drove Molly-van to hospital. Big Evan carried Evangelina into house and I raced to follow, curious. He dropped her onto rug. She landed with bumping thuds. I hacked, amused. Big Evan looked at me and shrugged. “Oops.” But looked