Free Humanity 02 - Raven Flames by Corrine Shroud Page B

picked up, whipping the palm leaves
rhythmically. It was only a matter of time before God released his
fury through rain, thunder and lightning.
    “ What is she doing?”
Derrick asked. Michael jumped, dropping his binoculars.
    “ Damn it,
Derrick.”
    His cousin grinned. “Jumpy lately,
Monarch?”
    Michael scowled.
“ Don’t call me
that.”
    Derrick ignored him, giving him a
playful punch to his shoulder. “Hey, sorry I had to give you such a
beating in school today. I wanted to make it look real, ya
know?”
    “ Yeah.” Michael avoided
looking him in the eye.
    Derrick leaned forward. “You don’t
look too beat up.”
    Michael shrugged and muttered
something unintelligible, hoping his cousin would catch the hint
and shut the hell up.
    “ She used powers on you,
didn’t she?”
    Michael sighed. No such
luck.
    “ I didn’t know she was
part Day Spawn until it was too late,” Michael growled. He made
sure his voice was a full throated growl, fierce enough that it
made Derrick recoil. Though Derrick was nearly twice his shoulder
span and a football player, there was something about him that his
cousin feared. Sometimes it bemused Michael, other times it amused
him.
    “ Damn, I didn’t mean
anything by it.”
    “ And you’re not going to
say anything about it to my father, either, not if you don’t want
all of the Humanitarians to know a Dark Child got the best of
you.”
    Derrick raised his hands in retreat.
“Fine. Fine. You bitch more than a girl.”
    Michael ignored him as he picked the
binoculars up and resettled into his place just at the edge of the
boulder in the sand-like soil. She hadn’t moved from her place at
the window, staring straight across the small yard her rather
worn-looking home claimed. She looked so sad…
    “ What’s the Dark Child
doing?”
    Michael grimaced, not sure of why
hearing Derrick’s tone upset him. “She’s just looking out the
window.”
    “ Boring, aren’t
they?”
    He cleared his voice. “Yeah,
boring.”
    “ Did you have to give back her
Incantation book? I would have liked to have it for a souvenir. I
call dibs on it if we leave anything left of her house.”
    “ Have you spoken to the
Monarch?” Michael asked to interrupt his gloating.
    “ Actually, that’s why I
came. I know you’re doing that cool stakeout thing you always do,
but your Dad wants you there to greet the Humanitarians. He needs
you perfectly groomed and trained for the Coronation.”
    “ Yeah, yeah,” Michael
muttered. He would get the title of Monarch when he turned eighteen in
less than a year. It was something that he didn’t look forward to.
He had no choice, though, and he wouldn’t dispute his right. There
was no one else to follow Nathanial’s doctrine. He would sacrifice
his own happiness to help humanity retake its place as the sole
ruler of the Earth. That included being rid of Mirage.
    The sooner the
better , Michael thought bitterly. He
didn’t know why this Dark Child bothered him. He’d been responsible
for the deaths of over a dozen Paramortals, over half of them by
his own hand. He’d killed at least one from each tribe, and that
included her own. It was through his information that her father
had been cornered—it made no difference that it had been his father
that had dealt the deathblow. The Humanitarians attributed his
death to him. It was one of the reasons that they all looked to his
Coronation so eagerly. They saw HUMANITY going places beneath him.
He had to live up to their expectations.
    “ Try to sound a little
more enthused for your father,” Derrick muttered as he stood up.
“Unless you want a black eye that the Dark Child won’t be able to
heal.”
    “ Sometimes you’re a little
too observant.”
    “ Hey, I’m more than an
awesome stud that has kick-ass assassin skills.” Derrick preened in
front of him, flexing. Michael fought the urge to gag as he
followed him to the vehicles parked behind an expanse of cultivated
bushes. It helped that