Moonscorn

Chapter Six

Raven took a melodramatic sip of beer and raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"Well, put simply, I don't know where they got him from. Don't know what training he did, what his qualifications are. Asking questions about him was more work than it should have been. Still got virtually zilch. Guys back home are working on it night and day. Pretty hairy stuff, if you get me."

Good one, Raven thought. Hairy. Nicely done there.

Raven glanced out through the old single glazing. It wasn't time for the streetlights to come on, but it was certainly gloomy. He spied a churchyard through the streets, the heads of graves like rows of grey teeth sticking up from a green gum. Somebody walked by the tombstones. They weren't in black or seeming to go to a particular grave. Just walking. Maybe it was the vicar or minister out of garb. Maybe it was someone taking a shortcut from one part of the town to another. There was no way to tell. But it was a figure far away, blurred by the distance, strolling past death, and it sent a shiver down Raven's spine, colder than a drop of beer down the side of his glass.

"I haven't told you about my new novel," Raven said, going back to the code speak.

Cold took a sip of his own drink that was nearly empty. He was a quick and efficient drinker, getting things done swiftly with no fuss. He raised a hand to signal for Raven to continue.

"Well, it's about a murder, as it were. Set in a small town, like this one. And someone's killed in it. Obviously. It's about a murder. That's at the beginning. I don't know who he is exactly, I haven't worked that out. But there's the assassin there. He's our main character. Probably. The one we follow, anyway. And he's just killed them, and he's certain nobody will know about this, but he gets this funny feeling. And he turns around, and that feeling that he's being watched is obviously playing tricks on him, because he sees someone watching. In the shadows. He goes to look, but it was just the trees. Still, he can't shake the feeling."

Raven watched for any sign of recognition from Cold, but there was nothing. Maybe he was a man that wasn't too long in the upper echelons of The Conservatory, because his eyes didn't flicker like they eyes of someone used to wearing the Men In Black sunglasses might have done. "Sounds interesting," Cold said. "What happens next?"

"I don't know yet," Raven said quietly. He held his hand flat on the table and saw that his fingers quivered ever so slightly. "But the assassin, wherever he goes, feels like someone, or something, was watching. So he has to go back. And a lot of the book will be this assassin trying to blend in, pretend he's an artist or a novelist or something, all the while trying to find out if someone did see him."

"And if it was a person or not? Maybe something more?"

Raven checked Cold's eyes again to see if this was a statement or a question. They gave away nothing. Cold by name, cold by nature.

"I don't think I'll make the figure supernatural," Raven said. "Although if I did, it would probably be a bug-eyed monster." He pointed to the book on the table and gave a smirk. "Got enough inspiration right now."

"I hear you, buddy. I gotta tell you, I hope your assassin gets his head looked at in a scene somewhere, though."

"Why's that?"

"One of my old girlfriends had some stuff going on. Upstairs was sometimes downstairs, back to front, if you get me. Sometimes she'd see things, especially when she hadn't taken her meds. I know it's stupid, but any writers I meet now, I make sure they have their characters check they're thinking clearly, especially if they're on the edge. No judgement, but sometimes the world does things to us without us knowing. And an assassin, who's killed a lot of people, maybe your character's just seeing an embodiment of guilt. Just a thought."

Cold didn't seem to be judging him, but the message was clear. You're cracking up, me old son Raven. Go check you're not headed straight for the loony bin, because I've got the men in white coats on speed dial ready to go. What else was he really expecting to get from this? Maybe it was all the stress with Hysteria being now his priority. He probably should return those messages and calls. They were meant to be building a bond, after all.

Raven nodded. "Yeah. You make a good point. Maybe I can bring the psychiatrist into it. Maybe they're the one watching them, the secret bad guy."

Cold nodded. "Now there's an idea." He finished his glass. "I've got to be off, Seth. You going to be around for long?"

Seth shrugged. "Depends on how long it takes me to come up with something for the book. Although, just talking it through with you has given me some ideas. Maybe one of them's a good one."

Cold smiled and offered Raven a large fist to bump. He took his scrawny hand, curled it up, and bumped.

Cold started to walk away before stopping. He took his phone out of his pocket, read a text message, and snorted. He turned back to Raven.

"Morrigan, you doing anything right now?"

"Aside from finishing this, just thinking myself into the abyss."

"Want to come for a drive? Turns out my company's just arranged for me to have dinner with the guy that's caused the mess. Clear things up. Want to make it dinner for three? Boss is Big Coco from the Uni tennis club, if you remember him? Few years ahead of us. I'm sure he'll let you join."

Information on the werewolf. Got to be. They've tracked down who he is. Raven nodded. "Why not? Sounds very informal. Might give me some ideas for the book."

Informal, my ass. We're going to knock on someone's door and ask them if they'd like to take a seat because we've got some very bad news.