The Raver (The Raver #1)

Chapter 23

Pratt has been that friend I counted on. I respect him. There's no reason to believe that this guy with the comb over hair could be a traitor. That neck twitched, I saw it before. I know who else who does that. The freak with the gold tattoos. I don't want to imagine Raudan sent a malefic in disguise as my friend. Maybe all malefics twitch their necks. And then there's Zip. Zip is my best friend, the closest to a brother similar to Addie. I can't see a picture of my Gliders, my pals betraying me.

I won't accept that. I reject the utter claim. They are my friends. They are part of the Gliders. We stick together through the adversity. I need to see them as my allies, not my enemies. However, I can't face the fact Pratt wants me to see Zip as a bad guy. Even though what Pratt just did, made me cautious.

"Promise me Naven, stay away from Zip. He's bad news. Trust me." Pratt says as he about to get back to his feet, standing up. He decides to pay for the lunch. He drops his cash coins on the center table. He looks back at me. "I got your back." He winks and walks out.

Watching Pratt leaving the café, I remain sitting in my seat. I stare aimlessly to the empty opposite seat. The idea of my Glider friends being the backstabbers is preposterous. We still have this unbreakable bond, a code we all live by.

We made the code back years ago. We promised each other that if one of us is not fit to be part of the crew, we should part ways.

So Pratt is forcing me to see Zip as dead weight. He wants me to abandon him. Maybe I could, but with everything that's happening around me. I don't feel it is right. I should leave Zip alone until I'm ready to see him. I get up. Straighten out my beige sleeveless shirt. I begin to leave. As I walk, I still shake my head not wanting to think the scenario of my friends being enemies.

Yet there's some small part I should worry.

Exiting out the glass door, I pace a few steps ahead. Heading towards a hub station to wait for a hovbus, there's an obstacle in my way. I then notice it's a young male.

He looks older, but has a young face. He's wearing a leather jerkin—something I seen in books—and a padded shirt underneath, with some purple highlights. His skin looks fare with his spiky, silver and black hair. His eyes look so crystallized being icy blue. And around his neck, he's wearing a bone necklace.

"I'm sorry I'm in your way." He says.

"That's okay. I was just catching a hovbus."

"You're Naven right?!"

I pause. How he knows me? I stare back at those icy blue eyes. I ask him feeling threatened. However, something about this male feels safe. Even though I'm scared as stiff.

"You see I know you from a friend I been watching over. I had to revert back to this form."

"What?" I ponder about this reverting, what form did he changed from. Who is this guy?

"You know The Gentleman?"

With my eyebrows rising, my lips tremble. I can feel the anxiety I have been fighting a long time, coming back strong. It usually does if I see a stranger trying to get to me.

"Stop playing games with me Gentleman. I know it's you."

The male with the silver and black hair chuckles. "I'm not The Gentleman. He's a liaison who has direct conversations with the Pentacle. I'm only a Familiar."

He's a what? I question that term. And then he explains to me a Familiar is pretty much a warrior guardian. He is a Pentacle agent that can transform into an animal. He then shows me the bone necklace he has around his neck is his talisman. The talisman allows him to change into the animal the token is based off—in this case, being a bone. He's a dog.