The Raven Conspiracy

Chapter 27 - The Link

Chapter 27 – The Link

“Maya! Will you get that pot off the stove please?”

I dropped my bag onto the kitchen counter, pulled supper off the heat and collapsed into a chair. I was so glad to be home after the busy day. Until I heard the familiar noise of Abbey crying while my mom tried to get her to sleep when she really just wanted something to chew on. I sighed and dropped forward, letting my forehead rest against the kitchen table.

I felt a dull pain building behind my eyes. Shaking my head, I took a painkiller and went to my mom and Abbey. Abbey’s cries were not helping the headache pounding against my skull, so I took her and the bottle from my mom. I gave Abbey my finger to chew on while I sat down on the bed and cradled her. Through her biting, she looked up at me with her dark, shiny eyes and gave a baby’s gurgling smile that made me smile too. I remembered when all my other siblings were at the same age; Abbey was definitely the cutest of them all. I fed and rocked her to sleep, replacing her in her cradle. The same cradle that I’d slept in so many years ago.

It was so strange connecting that past to the present. My family was such a huge part of who I was, I couldn’t help feel a hint of regret about my new job. As if I was betraying them by enjoying my new job that was so far removed from their world. They could never really be included in it. In a way, it gave me a taste of freedom but also made me feel...lonely. In fact, I wasn’t quite sure if it was freedom or a form of self-inflicted exile. I was meeting so many new people so fast, getting caught up in this whole new environment of murders and magic...Was it normal for me to be adjusting so fast? There was no way for me to know, no-one who I could really talk to about it. I could ask Kairo or Jen, but they were so used to it all I didn’t think that they would give me the right perspective. I couldn’t speak to my parents either – not even my dad. They just wouldn’t understand and there were things I couldn’t tell them. I knew that their concern for my safety would override everything else I said. There was no denying it – this new life was dangerous. There was no solution to my questions, no link to connect the two worlds that I could relate to. I would have to be patient, observe and wait to figure it all out for myself.

“Maya, are you eating now with us?”

“I’ll be there in a second, Mom,” I replied, giving Abbey a small kiss on her forehead.

“Maya! Will you take me to work with you?” Archer asked suddenly. I frowned.

“I can’t take you to work with me. It’s too dang- you’ll irritate my boss.”

I caught myself just in time. I couldn’t let my parents realise how dangerous my job actually was or they’d never let me continue working.

“I won’t. What’s your boss like, anyway?”

“Irritating, like you,” I replied crisply.

“Come on, Maya! Don’t you work for a detective? Isn’t it fun?”

“I don’t do anything interesting,” I lied. “You’ll get so bored. Unless you want to answer phones and make appointments and stuff like that.”

“Does your boss have a gun?” he asked, undeterred.

“Yes, he does. And before you ask, no, I can’t use it.”

“Do you think he’ll teach me?”

“No, he won’t teach you. Why would he teach a little kid like you?”

I ruffled his gelled hair, messing it up. He slapped my hand away.

“I’m not a little kid, Maya!”

He scowled at me, trying to look older than his mere fourteen years.

“No matter how old any of you are, none of my children will use a gun while they live under my roof,” Mom cut in, dampening the argument before it had time to blow up.