Legacy of the White Raven: Volume I

Chapter Two: An Old Friend

      The food court in Bergstad's most prominent mall was an active place no matter the day or hour, but at lunchtime every day the expansive food court was packed full of hungry shoppers and mall employees more so than any other time of day. The sea of tables and chairs placed around the court's elegant and very scenic towering statue water fountain was congested with buzzing folks all trying to squeeze in so they could enjoy their meals.

    Shade and Corbin found themselves at one of the tables near the flowing fountain on a day when they were killing time at the mall before going together to pick up Lydia from the academy once the school day ended. Shade was finishing up a sub sandwich while Corbin was still working his way through a generous serving of Chinese food.

    "So...," Shade started. "It's been three weeks since Gideon and Amanda left to hunt for that Colonel Merrick fella. Must be killin' ya to be away from Amanda that long," Shade implied with a teasing smirk.

     Chewing on a mouthful of food, Corbin just answered with a very sincere nod.

    "Ahh, that's so sweet. My little brother's love-sick," Shade jabbed playfully.

    Corbin rolled his eyes harmlessly at her comment as he swallowed then sunk his fork down for another bite.

    Behind Corbin, a couple of tables back, a group of guys on their lunch break had spent most of it making eyes at Shade while offering her lewd kissing gestures with cocky smiles. Her stunning good looks, accentuated only by black eyeliner around her dark eyes and body-hugging outfits that she was so fond of, once again made her the center of unwanted attention. She hadn't mentioned their immature behavior to Corbin, but instead had kept an eye on them over his back during their lunch, thinking of a good way to leave them in her wake.

    She leaned in toward Corbin with a devilish grin. "Hey, wanna have a little fun?"

    "Hmm?" he mumbled curiously with another mouth full of food, finishing up all he wanted from the plate before him.

    "When we leave here, just follow my lead," she instructed, still grinning.

    They gathered the remains of their meals onto their trays, then left the table to dump them at a nearby trash can where they stacked the trays on a top-mounted holder. Shade noticed the group of guys following her with their eyes, so she tossed her head to them with a taunting wink before sliding her arm around Corbin's waist and planting a kiss on his cheek. 

    Corbin was confused by her actions at first, but then he noticed the onlooking guys too. He wrapped an arm around Shade's shoulders and squeezed her close to him as they intentionally walked past the table full of gawkers latched together with arms around each other. Shade's haughty smirk and Corbin's gloating expression soured the faces of the pretentious onlookers left behind.

    "Friends of yours?" Corbin asked out of the side of his mouth, careful not to break the lover's facade as they walked away.

    "Only in their dreams," she stated firmly, smiling to herself afterward.

    Corbin and Shade parted once they were away from the food court so that Corbin could duck into a music store while Shade visited her favorite clothing store. While wandering around inside the store and eyeing a couple of new outfits she was thinking about adding to her closet, Shade drifted near the dressing room and was suddenly snatched inside by a pair of arms as the door opened quickly then closed back.

    Whirling around to face her assailant with a loaded fist drawn back and an angry scowl, Shade froze with bewilderment at the familiar face staring at her with a friendly glow.

    "Marcus!" she said, surprised as she lowered her fist.

    "Hello Shade. Didn't mean to spook ya," he replied innocently.

    "I haven't heard a word from you ages," Shade rebuked lightly as the two shared a brief but sincere hug.

     "I knew you'd be coming here when I saw you enter the mall," he admitted as they separated. "By the way, who's that stud I saw you with, new beau?"

    "No. That's my...that's my brother."

    "Really? Wow, a lot's happened since we saw each other last," he contemplated briefly.

    "Yeah, so...what's up?"

    Marcus looked away with a hesitant sigh then back at Shade with a troubled expression.

    "I need help Shade," he pleaded soberly.

    Shade studied the deep concern hiding among his features for a second then answered,"What kind of help?"

    "I'd rather not say in here. Can we meet somewhere, maybe like tomorrow? Somewhere we can speak openly without anybody else around," he suggested.

    "Yeah...yeah, how 'bout the old hangout, tomorrow, around noon?" she conjured up quickly.

    "Sounds good," he agreed. A happy smile overtook his worried face. "Man, it's good to see you Shade."

    "You too Marcus," she replied, giving him a pleased smile that covered her worried suspicions.

    They hugged again then Marcus snuck out of the dressing room and quickly disappeared into the roaming herds of shoppers outside the store. Shade remained in the tiny room for a moment while she collected her thoughts, trying to overcome the surprise of seeing one of her oldest and closest friends for the first time in years.

    Later that afternoon, when Shade's dark gray coupe was one of many cars in line at the academy waiting to pick up someone when the last bell of the day rang, Shade was unusually distant while she sat next to her brother who was taking advantage of the opportunity to study her features more carefully since she wasn't aware of his examining stare. The more familiar he became with the images of his parents through the countless photographs kept at the manor, the more traces of his mother and pappa he found in each of his sisters. He was noticing hints of their mother in his Shade that went beyond her dark eyes. Finally though, the obvious weight of something on her mind got to Corbin.

    "Hey, something wrong? You seem kinda...far off," he remarked.

    Snapping out of her trance, she tried to assure him with,"Oh, no. Nothing's wrong, just got a few things on my mind." 

    "Okay, just checking," he replied.

    She gave his brotherly concern a convincing little smile, then went back to her thoughts which were cut short by the ringing of the last bell. Within seconds the doors on all the academy's classroom buildings were flung open as the students spilled out like ants leaving an ant hill. 

    Corbin easily spotted his raven-haired little sister in the flood of teenagers headed for the line of cars ready to receive them. He got out of the car when she drew near and pushed his seat forward so she could crawl in the back. After being greeted with the same happy smile that she always brought to Corbin's face, one that reminded her each time that she meant a great deal to him, she flashed him an equally happy one in return. Tossing her books in first, she followed them into the back seat as Corbin slid his seat back and got in the car.

    Shade fired up the rumbling coupe, then looked at Lydia through the rearview mirror. "Hey kiddo. Did ya have a good day?" she asked.

    "Yep," Lydia chirped.

    "Good," Shade replied, putting her eyes on the cars in front of her, which were beginning to move.

    "Hey," Lydia said to both her siblings. "You guys wanna play some Rummy tonight?" she asked eagerly.

    "Count me in," Corbin readily agreed.

    "Yeah, why not?" Shade joined.

    Corbin turned in his seat to face Lydia with a playfully raised brow. "You're goin' down this time," he guaranteed in an overly cocky tone.

    Lydia just shook her head at his bold claim as she wore the confident smirk of the defending champ.