Read Online Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend by Stacey Brutger - Free Book Online Page A

restless.
    Taggert stared at her over the gypsy’s head, his eyes
widening at the sight of her ready to lose her cool. He shook his head once in
panic, tensing to shove the poor girl away.
    The comical sight calmed Raven faster than anything else could.
    Cobwebs brushed against her skin as the witch began to cast.
Without a coven, the witch was weak, the spell small. Raven tensed, ready to
suck the magic down at the first sign of a threat.
    Reacting to her disquiet, the wild magic flared dark red at
being so close to a practicing witch. It wanted out, wanted to infect and
consume.
    As if it sensed her attention, the tainted magic faded,
still alert but no longer desperate to break free.
    It understood that as soon as it left her body, it would die.
    Raven would personally kill it before it could spread.
    Then the woman began to speak. “You’ve been on your own for
a while, but you found someone special.”
    Only rogues would visit the circus, so there was nothing extraordinary
about her prediction, but there was something eerie in the way she spoke that
raised the hairs on the back of Raven’s neck.
    The reading was real.
    She smiled at Raven, guessing correctly that she was the
someone special, then focused back on her reading. She ran her fingers along
his palm, and then a frown marred her brow. “But you’ve changed recently.”
    As if she solved the puzzle, her face cleared. “She made you
stronger. You would do anything for her.”
    “Yes.” Taggert didn’t look away from Raven, emotions
splintering the color of his eyes from whiskey brown to the neon green of his
wolf.
    The gypsy released him and smiled at them both, looking more
troubled than pleased. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
    She scampered away, disappearing in the crowd, and Raven had
no doubt to report her findings. “We need to leave.”
    No one else tried to stop them as they passed under the
grand banner at the entrance. The parking lot remained half-full, but she
didn’t see their vehicle at all. Worry gnawed at her. Something was wrong. “Let’s
circle around back. They should’ve been waiting for us. I don’t want to risk
doing another search if I can avoid it.”
    “Agreed.”
    Raven allowed Taggert to take the lead, and they turned
right. If they were going to be attacked, it would be from behind. She would
drop them on their asses before they could get near. Taggert kept his distance in
case they needed room to fight, and she missed the comfort of his hand in hers.
    The closeness to him.
    She stumbled over the lumpy and uneven ground.
    The only thing that kept her uncoordinated ass on her feet
was her budding shifter reflexes. Even suppressed, the creature continued to safeguard
her.
    As soon as they turned the corner, a ten-foot canvas outer
wall separated the back of the circus from the public, blocking the meager
lights, and they found themselves surrounded by shadows. She thought they were
for privacy, but she couldn’t help wonder if it was for a reason a bit more
sinister.
    A boundary.
    A warning.
    Enter at your own risk.
    Raven grabbed the tag on her wrist and pulled, watching it
flutter to the ground. There was only twenty feet between the circus and the freedom
of the forest.
    She expected the ancient, gnarled trees to be more menacing,
but it took all her nerves not to run into it and hide. Her skin prickled,
imagining that they were being watched.
    Chased.
    She refused to be responsible for leading trouble back to
her pack. She needed to find them quick and get the hell out of there.
    As they neared the corner of the circus, Raven dropped her
shields. Small threads of energy surged toward her from the surrounding area.
She absorbed the strings of current until it sank under her skin, just enough
to get a taste of it, taking comfort in the familiar ache.
    Then she shifted through all the sources, concentrating on
the potent energy that made shifters so powerful and gave them the ability to
transform.
    Careful not to