A Famine of Crows Read online

  “That was incredible,” Felicity said.

  Nascha dipped her head. “It won’t last forever.” She swept her gaze over Penelope. “Come inside. We have much to discuss, and very little time.”

  Chapter Three

  Dynah

  The Riders settled in a circle around the fire in Nascha’s hogan. Burning sage scented the air, and the ground felt soft beneath them. Dynah remembered the first time they had come here. It had been little more than two weeks ago, but it seemed like ten thousand lifetimes. It had been hours after her parents had died and they’d gained their full powers, and the collective consciousness of Death had overwhelmed her. Before they had journeyed to Spider Woman’s lair. Before they’d met the demons, and Sekhmet, and found the fifth and sixth seals.

  And now, here they were again.

  “Where is Atsa?” Nascha asked. Her gaze landed on Penelope.

  Penelope flinched. “He is trapped in Spider Woman’s lair. He stayed too long; he is no longer of this world.” She took a deep breath in and out. “But we’re working on a plan to rescue him.”

  Nascha looked down at the fire for a moment, clearly wrestling with her emotions. Then she nodded. “You have other problems that are more pressing.”

  “We still need to figure out how to wield our powers,” Dynah said. She fidgeted in her cross-legged position as the shaman turned her gaze to her. It was strange that this was Penelope’s grandmother, and she could do magic that had nothing to do with the Apocalypse. “Not for destruction, but for good. For creation. For healing.”

  “And now we have those… things after us,” Willow said, her lips curled into a snarl.

  “And the seals? Did you find them?”

  “Not all of them,” Felicity said. “The goddess Sekhmet broke the fifth seal before we were able to stop her. But we found the sixth. It is in safekeeping.”

  “And the seventh?” the old shaman pressed.

  “We haven’t found the seventh yet. No one seems to know where it is,” Dynah said. This fact had haunted her dreams the last two nights, and she felt her chest tighten at the thought of it. “But in theory, the seventh seal can’t be broken until the sixth is. And we aim to make sure that never happens.”

  Silence fell, and Nascha poked the fire with a stick. Sparks spiraled up into the air around them. “You are much changed since last we met,” she said. “I see that Spider Woman helped you regain your sense of self.”

  “She did,” Penelope said. “And we are grateful.” She paused, then asked, “What about the tribe? Are the Navajo safe?”

  Nascha nodded. “After you departed with Atsa a half moon cycle ago, I rode to all of the clans and warned them of the Apocalypse. We have taken precautions. I can’t say the same for the surrounding area.”

  Dynah felt a wave of dark guilt sweep over her. “How bad is it?”

  Nascha stared into the fire. “I’ve heard rumors from as far west as California and as far east as the Mississippi River. But in my dreams, I’ve seen even farther. Cities burning around the world. Lakes and rivers turned black. People taken with the plague. Fields and orchards writhing with worms.”

  A stillness swept around the fire as each Rider felt the pain and sorrow of what they’d wrought. The agony of the whole world on their shoulders. Dynah could feel her own emotions mixed with the tangle of feeling coming from the other three.

  “So, tell me of your plan,” Nascha said after several long moments. “If you can undo this tragedy, I will help you in any way I can.”

  “Well, our original plan did not involve a new set of Riders hunting us down,” Dynah said, wrapping her arms around her chest as a sudden chill swept over her.

  “We need your advice,” Penelope said. “We must learn to control of our powers so we can free Atsa and hopefully undo the damage the Apocalypse has caused. Felicity found a book in Sekhmet’s temple that has a spell to reverse powers from dark to light. And we want to find someone who can help us, like a tutor.”

  Nascha took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “This is deep and ancient magic you are dealing with. Both as Riders, and anything in the book of an Egyptian goddess. Two different approaches to the problem. Which you’ll need to contend with while avoiding capture by these new Riders.”

  “That about sums it up,” Willow said.

  “There’s something else, too,” Penelope said. “It seems that each of us has a specific power over the elements.”

  “Oh?” Nascha raised her eyebrows.

  “Mine is the night sky,” Penelope said.

  “Mine is stars,” Dynah added.

  “Mine is the earth, and water,” Felicity said.

  “And mine is metal,” Willow added.

  “I don’t claim to be an expert on the Christian tales,” Nascha said, “But I have never heard of Riders with these powers.”

  “Do you know anyone who can help us?” Dynah asked, worrying her lower lip between her teeth.

  Nascha was silent for several long moments as she stared into the fire. “I know of someone.”

  She fell silent again for so long that Willow prompted, “And?”

  Nascha raised her eyes and leveled her gaze at Willow. “And she is very dangerous. And she doesn’t want to be found. And I’m not sure if she will do more harm than good.” She sighed. “But she is the only being I know who might possess the knowledge you seek.”

  “Who is she?” Penelope asked.

  “She is of two worlds,” Nascha said. “Like you, Penelope, she is also half Navajo.”

  “And her other half?” Dynah pressed. She felt her heart thud.

  “Angelic,” Nascha finished. “She is half Navajo, half angel.”

  The Riders stared at her.

  “That’s… possible?” Penelope asked.

  “Oh, yes,” Nascha said. “She is not the first child of such parentage. Her name is Sahkyo.”

  Dynah couldn’t help but glance over at Willow. She didn’t know what all had happened between Willow and Zane, but she had a feeling that Willow wasn’t so angry over a mere kiss.

  “Does this woman live among the Navajo?” Penelope asked.

  “No.” Nascha shook her head. “She has not lived here for a century at least. I suppose it’s possible she’s dead. Though I doubt it.”

  “And where can we find her?” Felicity asked.

  “Legend has it she lives atop a mountain far south of here, near the Mexican border. But she may not be there anymore. I don’t know.”

  “So, we go, we check if she’s there. It’s not far, with how our mounts travel,” Dynah said. They would find this woman. They had to.

  “She hates her angel side,” Nascha said. “So, that’s likely your only chance of winning her help. But she is a sad, twisted, angry creature. It will be very dangerous to even get close enough to speak with her.”

  “Twisted? Physically or mentally?” Willow asked.

  “Both,” Nascha said quietly. “So the stories claim.”

  “And you think because of her angel side, she’ll know more about the Riders, and their power?” Felicity asked.

  “Indeed,” Nascha said. “And not just that. If the legends are true, it is said that she orchestrated the last Apocalypse herself.”

  Chapter Four

  Willow

  “You’re sending us to someone who created the last Apocalypse in order to help us end the current Apocalypse?” Willow asked. She felt the heat of the flames flushing her cheeks, and the old adage about frying pan to fire popped into her head. Things just seemed to be getting worse and worse.

  “She has much rage within her,” Nascha said. “As do each of you. She felt that humanity needed to suffer, and so she helped the angels bring about the end of days. But then the angels betrayed her. They promised her a seat in Heaven, but then denied it when the Apocalypse failed. She has sworn vengeance ever since. If you, Penelope, approach her, you may have a chance of gaining her sympathy.”

  Willow felt a pang of kins
hip with this half-angel, even though she’d never met her. Nascha was right: she knew rage, oh, but did she know it. To be betrayed by an angel? She didn’t think it got much worse than what Zane had done to her. And she still couldn’t figure out what had happened at the battle at Asgard. Zane could have killed her, but he hadn’t. What kind of game was he playing?

  “Okay. How do we find this mountain she lives on?” Penelope asked, interrupting Willow’s thoughts.

  “I don’t know the exact location.” Nascha poked the fire again, her gaze somewhere far off in the depths of the flames. “But it is said that she cursed an entire mountain range with spirits and other creatures, to keep visitors away. I imagine it will be evident once you find it.”

  “Sounds thrilling,” Willow said drily. “So, if we find this haunted mountain range, we just wander around until we find this woman?”

  “I unfortunately don’t have more specific information,” Nascha said with a sad shake of her head. “I know it’s not much to go on.”

  “It’s a start,” Felicity said. “And we appreciate your guidance.”

  “I guess we should be on our way, then,” Dynah said, rising from her seat by the fire.

  Willow couldn’t have agreed more. She’d been chomping at the bit to get going for the last twenty-four hours. Not only did they have the Apocalypse to fix, but she had several reckonings to deliver. She’d have a hard time deciding if Zane or her father came first.

  The other Riders stood as well, and Penelope turned to her grandmother. “Will you be safe here? I worry the Others will come back.”

  “We have somewhere where we can go for the time being,” Nascha said. “Do not worry for me. It is you—all of you—I fear for.”

  Penelope’s eyes glimmered. “I hope to be back soon. With Atsa, too.”

  Nascha pulled Penelope into a hug and Willow felt her own eyes prick with something suspiciously akin to tears. She knew how much Penelope’s clan meant to her. Her whole life, she’d missed knowing the Navajo side of her. She’d only just reunited with them when all of this happened. Willow hoped they survived long enough for Penelope to complete the reunion.

  Penelope broke from the embrace and rushed out of the hogan, her face tracked with tears. Willow and the others followed her. They mounted up and turned south. Willow had never been to Mexico. A week ago that might have seemed a grand adventure, but after crossing oceans and traveling to realms beyond their own, it didn’t seem very exciting. Apart from the whole haunted mountain thing.

  She didn’t need to ask the others if they were ready. They had no time to spare. Willow pressed her legs to Bullet’s sides and they took off across the red earth. Within moments they launched skyward, climbing toward the clouds above. Bullet’s mane whipped back in her face, and the wind surged around them. Willow wondered if it was possible to fly forever and never touch the earth again.

  Willow knew she shouldn’t be happy, not with the world crumbling down around them. But she couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy in her soul when she rode her horse. Not to mention when that horse could fly. They no longer trailed flames behind them, as they had at the beginning of their transformation, but she could feel that heat and magic inside of her. In every expansion of Bullet’s ribcage, every stretch of her neck forward as they galloped. She could taste it in the wind rushing past, could smell it in the blue of the sky.

  They charged through a bank of white puffy clouds. Willow could see only glimpses of the others. Music’s sleek black coat. Dynah’s flame-colored hair. Moon and Domino matched the color of the clouds, so it almost looked like their Riders flew free of their mounts.

  And then she caught sight of something else beyond her companions. A flash of deep red over her left shoulder. Willow tensed and whipped her head around, but it was gone. Her eyes strained through the swirling clouds for another glimpse of it.

  Movement came from her right this time, and another flash of red. Willow gestured to the others, and she eased back in the saddle slightly to slow Bullet. Another flash on the left, two more on the right.

  They burst free of the cloud bank into blue sky, and Willow could see clearly. A dozen red-winged creatures flanked them. Leading them was a familiar face.

  Beziel and the Fallen.

  There came a flash like lightning, and then everything went black.

  Chapter Five

  Felicity

  Felicity blinked. One moment she’d been soaring through a turquoise sky, and the next she was somewhere else entirely. They stood outside a huge temple that looked like something from ancient Greece, surrounded by red-winged Fallen. Music snorted and pawed the ground.

  “W-where are we?” she stammered, her heart pounding in her chest.

  Next to her, the other Riders looked around, eyes wide. Willow’s hand went to where her Colt used to be, out of habit no doubt, and Penelope placed a hand on her bow.

  Beziel stepped forward. “You are in the realm of the Fallen.”

  “And why is that exactly?” Dynah asked, her voice the lash of a whip.

  “After our last discussion, I realized that I had not explained things properly,” Beziel said. “When you transformed into Riders, time was of the essence, and I didn’t realize in my haste that I lost your trust. In Egypt, you asked me to prove myself. So here we are.”

  “You’re proving yourself by abducting us?” Willow growled.

  “Not abducting. Rescuing.”

  Penelope opened her mouth to speak but Beziel raised a hand. “Heaven has created four new Riders to replace you. To destroy you.”

  “We’re aware,” Felicity said. She felt a shiver move over her as she pictured her copy, and how close Penelope had come to being ended by them.

  Beziel swept his golden gaze over the Riders. “Were you also aware they were trailing behind you in the sky about a quarter mile?”

  Silence fell over the horsewomen.

  “We’d like to offer our assistance,” Beziel said.

  “In exchange for what?” Penelope asked.

  “We ask nothing in return. It is you four who are risking your lives, and that is partially my fault,” Beziel said. “While it is the angels who chose you, and irreversibly altered the path of your lives, I am the one who asked you to turn against them.”

  “We had a choice, as you pointed out in the beginning,” Felicity said, her voice sharp. “And we made our own decision.” She felt a flash of heat rise from her belly. She wasn’t about to sit here and let Beziel or anyone else claim credit for what they were doing.

  “That is true,” Beziel said. “But I don’t intend to abandon you, now that Heaven knows your true intentions. I—we—can assist in hiding you from the new Riders, as well as in finding the seventh seal.”

  “And you won’t ask that we turn the seal over to you?” Dynah asked.

  Beziel shook his head. “Not if you do not wish to do so.”

  Felicity looked to her companions, then back to Beziel. “What did you have in mind by way of assistance?”

  “Allow me to take us someplace we can discuss this more comfortably,” Beziel said. “Rather than standing on our doorstep.”

  Felicity cast her gaze around. The temple sat in the midst of a barren salt plain that stretched endlessly as far as the eye could see. Off-white with a faint shimmer, bleeding into a gray sky overhead. Was this the only building in the realm of the Fallen? It seemed a sad and desolate place to live.

  Beziel gestured for them to follow. Felicity cast her gaze to the others, and they nodded one by one, a silent agreement. They dismounted and he led them up the broad stone steps of the temple. Music’s hooves rang against the stone as they climbed. Several of the other Fallen followed them, both men and women. All had the same red wings and golden eyes as Beziel.

  Stone pillars formed the perimeter of the structure and held up the roof. When they reached the top of the stairs, Felicity could see an expanse within, empty but for dozens upon dozens of stone pedestals, each holding a leather
-bound book. There had to be hundreds of them. It was one of the strangest things she’d ever seen. Music snorted as if in agreement.

  Beziel walked between a row of the pedestals, passing about five of them before stopping at one that held a book with a blue cover. He raised his hand over it and gestured for them to do the same.

  “You want us to touch the book?” Willow asked, raising a brow.

  “Indeed,” came the Fallen’s reply.

  The Riders gathered around the book, hands hovering above it. Felicity’s eyes darted to the title as they lowered their hands to the cover. It said, Paris 1689.

  Her fingers brushed over the leather covering the book.

  The temple disappeared around them.

  And then they were standing on a stone terrace overlooking a city. Felicity could smell cigarette smoke and cherry blossoms. A cacophony of noise swirled in around her: people and carriages and horses. She’d never seen such a big city in her life. It stretched almost to the horizon. In the distance, she saw the sparkle of a river cutting through the tall gray buildings, and next to it…

  “The Eiffel Tower!” she exclaimed. The cover of the book should have been a clue, but yet she hadn’t imagined it could actually transport them.

  “We’re in Paris?” Dynah asked, eyes wide.

  Beziel tilted his head to the side. “A copy of it.” He waved an arm at the view before them. “This is Paris inside the realm of the Fallen.”

  “I don’t understand.” Penelope’s brow wrinkled, and she fiddled with Domino’s reins.

  “Come, sit with me,” Beziel said. He pointed to a set of open glass doors leading off the terrace into a stone building with an ornate façade and a steeply pitched roof. Smoke puffed out of the chimney overhead, tickling Felicity’s nose. “You can leave the horses here.”

  Felicity ran her palm between Music’s eyes and scratched under her forelock, then patted her neck and followed the Fallen inside the apartment. The interior looked like a magpie’s nest: shiny things and bits of finery crowded everywhere. Marble floors, walls and ceiling painted a vivid pink with fancy crown molding that looked like icing on a cake, luxurious pastel furniture. A fireplace sat against one wall, the mantle covered in half a dozen clocks that looked like pieces of jewelry rather than tellers of time. Another wall seemed dedicated to orchids, both live ones in pots and paintings of them in every style imaginable.