J.L. Weil - White Raven: Raven Series, book 1 (The Raven Series)

Prologue

I t only took one heartbeat to change my whole life. One chilling phone call in the middle of the night .

The screams. Ill never forget that bloodcurdling sound. It echoed in my head, like a train horn in an underground tunnel, bouncing from one wall to the other. It wasnt until TJ wrapped me in a hug that I realized those screams of pain and sorrow were mine .

On more nights than not, my own screams haunted my dreams. Id lost count of the number of times Id woken up in a dead panic, icy cold and clammy. All because my mom had been murdered .

It was gut- wrenching .

Mom had been my best friend, my world, and when she had been shot at point blank, in what the cops had said was a robbery on West Twenty-Fourth Street, my world crumbled. Hearing the words Sorry, honey, your mom is dead from a complete stranger made the air stall in my lungs .

Chinatown had been one of my moms favorite places in Chicago, mostly for the food. Carrying an order of sweet and sour chicken and beef lo mein, she had been on her way home that Friday night, walking down the same street wed walked countless times, only five blocks from our little condo. Five measly blocksthat was all that had stood between my mom and her life .

There were perks to living in the city: public transportation, museums, shopping. Virtually everything you needed was at your fingertips. But then again, there were huge sacrifices .

I learned that the hard way .

Grief came in waves, choppy and fierce, breaking the heart. It was time I swam before I simply sunkthe waves devouring my soul .

Chapter 1

T he ferry rocked over the crystal blue waves, splashing and spraying the salty water up the sides of the big white boat. My stomach rolled with the waves, and I could feel my face turn an unflattering shade of green, like split pea soup. Gross. The sea and I, we didnt mesh. But who did I have to impress? The captain? Hardly .

Impressing anyone was the furthest thing from my mind. My current problems were monumental. Before my father had announced that TJ and I would be taking a trip, I had gotten my nose pierced at a less than reputable establishment. That got me tons of brownie points with the Pops not. He had looked me over with sad brown eyes and a scruffy face, shook his head, and then went back into his painting cave, shutting out the worldincluding me. No sweat off my back, because that was how I preferred it lately .

The less we saw of each other, the better .

I guess he felt the same .

And here I was, miles and miles away from Chicago, with the wind in my face on my way to what I considered my summer of doom. I was sure plenty of seventeen-year-old girls would probably kill for the chance to spend their summer vacation on an island off the New England coast. Maybe even have a summer fling .

I wasnt like most girlsnot by a long shot. I wasnt exactly sure what it was that made me different. I just knew, like I knew my favorite color was purple or my favorite food was Chinese .

Sighing, I stared into the clear blue, watching the fish jump in the wake left behind by the boat, and immediately I missed my cramped, dusty apartment in Chicago. I missed my best friend, Parker. And most of all, I missed my moms vibrant presence, the smell of her perfume, and her laugh. A sound I would never hear again, no matter how much I willed it. The hurt was still an open wound, so much so that tears stung my eyes .

You got a bug in your eye, Piper? my younger brother TJ sneered, seeing my eyes well up .

There were only two years separating us, but most days it felt like twenty. He made my life a living hell. What else were little brothers good for? I screwed up my face as I stared up at him. It still burned my butt that he had surpassed me in height this year. I hated having to crane my neck to look at him. Its the wind, snotnose .

He snorted, his messy, sandy hair blowing in the wind. If you say so .

Using the back of my free hand, I wiped my eyes. We both knew it wasnt the salty air that was bothering me. It was everything .

The loss of our mom .

Being shipped off to a grandma wed never met .

Constantly feeling pissed off at the world .

The list went on and on .

This was going to be our first summer without her, and I didnt think any of us had a clue how to move on, least of all Dad .

Hence, here I was, on my way to the remote island of Raven Hollow, courtesy of my grandma, a woman I barely remembered. Grandma Rose was Moms mother, and let it be noted that she was filthy rich. Money meant nothing to me, especially since I spent most of my life without it, and I had been happy before. My whole life, Rose had been nothing but a check in the mail during holidays and birthdays. Big whoopee. Not precisely a doting grandma. If it hadnt been for that photo Mom had framed on the wall, I wouldnt know what the woman looked like .

She looked like Mom .

And that depressed me .

After the um accident, as I liked to refer to it, Rose had finally been able to break my father down and convince him that we should stay with her, at least for the summer .