The Raven Four Books 1-3 - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,77

kill, I’d be a dead woman right now. Looks can’t kill, though. No, Dixie May would have to have a weapon to follow through with that look. I would know since I used a knife to kill my parents. Although the knife was never found and was one of the reasons the police had such a hard time building a case against me. There was more to it than that, but truthfully, I’ve never fully looked into it. Never looked into the details of that awful day when I destroyed everything.

Freak.

Loser.

Unwanted.

Ugly.

Tainted.

Murderer.

Disappointment.

While I hate my uncle, the words he carved into my flesh fit me.

Instead of giving Dixie May a dirty look back, I lift my brow, challenging her to act upon that death look she’s giving me.

Shaking her head, she spins around and stomps off toward the house.

I get a drop of satisfaction in for once. Although, it’s not going to last—it never does. Soon, I’ll be right back at the bottom of the totem pole, buried in the mud with the weight of everyone else pushing me down, burying me further, where I belong.

Buried in the ground, just like my parents.

Tearing my gaze off Dixie May, I start to climb into the car when my gaze lands on the field where the fire was last night.

My mom used to say that if I wanted to get to the bottom of the truth, I had to figure it out for myself. Of course, she usually said that when we were watching a mystery movie and I wanted to find out the ending without waiting for it. This isn’t a movie, though. This is real life. But I still want answers, want to try to find a way to get the hell out of this house and this life, want to be free. Although, I’m not sure if I deserve it.

I chew on my bottom lip, deliberating. “Just a second,” I say then swing around Jax and take off toward the field.

“Where are you going?” Hunter calls out after me.

“To look at something!” I shout back then move quickly even though my side hurts. I don’t want my uncle to see me snooping around, so I have to move quickly.

A handful of seconds later, I reach the spot where the ashes are scattered. That’s all that remains. Ashes. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I’m disappointed. There aren’t even any footprints in the dirt; no signs that people were out here. But I know they were. I saw it with my own eyes.

Unless I’m going crazy. Well, crazier than I already am.

What the hell happened last night?

I start to turn back around when something shiny and silver catches my eye. I crouch down, scoop it up, and my confusion doubles. It’s a pendant shaped like a feather, and as the sunlight catches it, a dull pain sears in my mind.

Feathers … floating around me … I feel so at peace—

“Is everything okay?” Hunter’s voice sails over my shoulder and mixes with the sound of approaching footsteps.

Clutching the pendant in my hand, I stand up and face him. “Yeah, my uncle was burning shit out here last night, and I wanted to see if I could figure out what it was. All I could find, though, was this.” I show him the pendant.

He reaches out and touches the pendant. “Why would he burn this?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t think it was the only thing he burnt, though. I just think the rest of it were papers.”

“Your uncle do that kinda stuff often?”

“Yeah. He’s a sketchy dude.” A sketchy dude who likes to cut me all the time.

But I don’t tell him that part.

No, I have no plans of telling anyone what happened to me last night.

Just like my uncle with this fire, I’m going to mentally burn that memory right out of my head.

“He also wasn’t alone,” I add. “There were people out here with him.”

Hunter’s brows knit. “What the hell? That’s freakin’ weird.”

“I know,” I agree, my gaze traveling to the spot on the field where I saw the silhouettes.

Who was out here last night? And why were they watching my uncle? Just what is he up to? If I can find out, I might be able to get the upper hand in this fucked-up mind game he’s been playing with me for years.

Twenty-One

Raven

Hunter doesn’t say much during the short walk back to the car, which is a bit strange since, up until this point, he’s seemed like a