Page 237 of Savage Throne
They seemed completely out of place.
My eyes stayed glued to the hole in her head, no matter how much I wanted to look away.
It wasn’t grotesque—it didn’t bleed, didn’t shift—but it waswrong, a violation of everything my senses understood.
She spoke. “I don’t know what tribe we were but they all had thegood bloodtoo.”
From the darkness inside her head, something stirred.
I stiffened.
“Evil men brought us to this country and put us in chains. My people. All with the good blood.”
A sharp beak appeared at the top of her cut-off head, then soon the crow owning the beak poked it’s head out.
I blinked.
This bird wasn’t translucent or glowing green.
It was solid.
Tangible.
Real.
The Bandit continued. “We built every historical building in Paradise City, Glory, and other nearby cities.”
Slowly, the crow crawled out of the hole in the Bandit’s head. Its talons scraped against the edges of the void and the Bandit’s scalp.
Its feathers caught the red moon’s light.
“Don’t believe those history books.” She turned to me and the crow stared at me too with cold, glassy eyes. “Zachariah Glory didn’t do anything but rape and yell out orders to slaves.”
My breath quickened as the crow leaped out of her head and flew off into the night.
Her braids swayed slightly. “We fought wars. When they finally let us go, we built our own town from land they thought was useless. Crownsville was ours. We didn’t bother them; they didn’t bother us.”
Her voice cracked, and she drew in a sharp breath. “Then, I. . .”
“Then what?”
“Then, I. . .ruined it.”
“How?”
She placed that hat back on her head. “I fell in love with the wrong man.”
The last echoes of the crow’s wings faded into the night; I turned my gaze back to the lake. “Who?”
“That doesn’t matter anymore. He’s dead.”
The wind rippled across its surface.
The playful crows from earlier had stopped circling and frolicking over the water. Now, they perched in the trees surrounding us, watching.
Tension gathered in my shoulders. “What do you wantmeto do?”
“The way our blood works. It won’t rest until justice is served. That’s why we stay here. We’re waiting.”
