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‘Callum’s dead!’ Bert screamed as he ran towards the oak tree. ‘And I wish you were dead too!’
But Bert underestimated his mother, and the fire of her fury propelled her out of the house, skeletal fingers extended as she hunted him down the path. Bert’s ear burned as she pinched it hard, swinging him off his bare feet.
‘Don’t you ever speak to me like that again,’ she spat, pulling back her hand to slap him across the face.
‘Ca … caw,’ Bert stammered. ‘Caw, caw!’
His mother froze, her right hand mid-air. ‘What? … What’s wrong with you?’
The words had barely left her lips when the raven drew down on her, slicing the back of her hand with dagger-sharp claws. Mother screamed, thrown off balance as the raven bore down again, slicing and tearing, its cries piercing the evening air.
Bert’s eyes sparkled as his black winged guardian defended him from the sharp sting of the slap that was to come. But as much as his mother a
‘Come away, come away,’ he shouted, and the raven took flight, cutting through the air with long graceful wings as Bert’s mother lay bleeding on the ground.
Chapter Thirty
Je
User frightgirl95 described camping with a couple of her friends. Stories of witchcraft had drawn them to Raven Woods, where she described the stale air carrying the sour scent of decay. She spoke of their sleep being disturbed by gut-wrenching screams, and their torch beams picking up nothing but bark-stripped trees housing beady-eyed ravens overhead. Stumbling back to their tent, they were horrified to discover the heavy-duty material ripped to shreds. It was all the persuasion they needed to leave.
Je
She approached the leafy vegetation, her eyes narrowing as she took in the horizontal branches. Trees with no trunks … Je
‘Come out, come out, wherever you are …’ Je
‘Help me! Someone, help me!’
She ran through the thickening mist, following the screams to a copse in the distance. Her heart began to pound in her ribcage, and every fibre in her being demanded she turn back. A sense of evil intent emanated from the copse, but Je
Swearing under her breath, her eyes searched for a weapon, and her fingers wrapped around a splintered piece of wood. Flapping black wings swooped through the sky as the ravens flew from their hiding places, but Je
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Bert squinted at the sky as the raven’s caws filled the air. There was someone in the forest. His forest. He raised his nose to the air and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. Could it be? His senses strained to reach the outskirts of the woods, and he fingered the knife in his pocket. It was a shame he didn’t have his shotgun. But there was something very impersonal about guns, whereas knives … A rush of excitement flowed through his veins. The madness had returned, and he would do whatever it took to protect the forest. His thoughts went to Je