When Blackbirds Fly

Chapter Eighteen

"The Mark of the Birds." Ian repeated. "It's right there." He pokes my forehead. My hands automatically fly up to the spot where his finger touched.

"What's that?" I squeak, afraid of the answer.

"The Mark of the Birds is a special mark that only certain seers have." Zero pipes in. "Actually, it belongs to a family of seers that called themselves 'The Birds'."

"And I'm in that family?"

"Apparently so."

Cronan was telling the truth. It's weird to think that I've belonged to a powerful household this whole time but didn't realize it until today.

"What's so special about my family?" I ask. Audrey stands up.

"They can turn into birds." she murmurs. "Beautiful birds."

"Beautiful but dangerous." Zero shoots back. His expression darkens. "I don't know much about their powers but it's said that they can easily wipe out an entire continent in a single burst of light." An entire continent.

Audrey moves slowly to stand in front of me, her fingers lightly grazing the spot where I've been marked by my family's blood. "Supposedly each member represents a different bird with different powers." she says, almost in a trance. I choke back a startled yelp.

"My name." I say, in a voice so low almost no one can hear me. The others just look at me. Maybe they didn't hear.

"My name." I repeat. "Merle Raven. Blackbird Raven."

Audrey's eyes widen, as does Zero's. Strangely enough, Ian doesn't seem to have a reaction, watching me with icy blue eyes.

"So you're the raven." he states. I blink at him. For a second he seemed like a different person.

"Well...probably so. I don't really know much about my abilities yet, but I'm making the assumption that I'll be able to turn into a raven of some sort." I respond. "Of course, this is just based on my name, so I can't say for sure." He nods.

I'm choosing to ignore the fact that Ian was acting weirdly. Still, I can't help but wonder, what did he mean by "the raven?" Even more odd, he said "the raven," like I'm someone well known. And then there was the fact that he didn't seem surprised about my name. Maybe it has something to do with my family's legacy?

Nobody speaks for a while, each of us following our own train of thought. Eventually Audrey asks the question that must be on everyone's mind.

"What now?" We fall into silence again. I stand up shakily. I'm surprised to find that my legs are weak.

"Now, we move forward." My eyes narrow as I say this, looking off farther into the path, almost as if someone, or rather, something, could jump out at us at any moment. 

"Merle's right." Zero puts a hand on my shoulder. "We can't get too hung up over this. If we do, who knows how much time it would cost us?" He doesn't just seem to be speaking for us, but for himself as well. Almost like whatever each one of us was thinking about needed to be shoved aside for now. I take this to heart, putting my disturbing thoughts about Ian to the side. He's my friend and that's all that matters. I need to trust him.

Audrey sighs, yanking on Ian (who had proceeded to slouch onto the ground) and pulling him up. He grumbles something about "just getting comfortable" but still picks up his things.

"Hopefully we're able to make it in time." Zero says under his breath. Even though his words are quiet, we still hear him. I can feel a heavy mood start returning at the mention of time.

Without another comment, we start off into the trees.

Word Count: 616

I gave a bit more info about what Merle can do. Hopefully it's all understandable. If you need something better explained, let me know. 

I'm excited for Christmas break. What about you guys? I'm ready to get out of this prison called school 🏃‍♀️

-RS <3