Soup Interrupted

That had been the plan anyway.

Pretty much as soon as I settled down to my meditation and started trying to piece the puzzle of another man’s memories back together, I was interrupted by what sounded like an explosion in the next room.

I was up in an instant, reaching for the Witchbane Blades and moving to the door, ready to face whoever had dared to intrude into my home.

There was nothing I could have done to prepare for what I faced (or rather who I faced) when I threw door open.

An enraged Ravyn was standing on the other side of that door, eyes ablaze, hands on hips, hair all askew, and tendrils of smoke curling off every surface...she was literally smokin’ hot! A rather haphazardly packed backpack was laying on the ground behind her, apparently she was going on a trip as well...

As soon as she saw me lower my guard with the blades, she was in my face, sputtering mad.

“Just who do you think you are, Mister?”

She advanced, pushing me back from the doorway.

“And what right do you THINK you have to come to my home and drop off a barely conscious man with a busted jaw and the memories of a pimple faced teenager and just disappear like that?”

Her smoking finger was waving right under my nose.

“And what in Goddess’ Good Green Earth do you think you are doing dropping off THAT man in particular?...”

Her questions, her glare and her fury pushed me further back into the meditation room. She kept advancing as she threw out more questions that she apparently wasn’t going to wait for an answer to...

“And just who do you think you are that you can drop by like that, and not even stay to say hello to your own daughter?”

I was now backed up to the far wall, with nowhere else to retreat to...

“You better not be thinking of going off on another one of your half-cocked adventures without telling anyone again! Well if you are going to stand there mute, like a damn zombie, I’m going have to cook the answers out of you!”

“Hold on Ravyn, I can’t answer any of these questions if you don’t give me a chance to speak!”

“Well, your lips are flapping, so apparently the Cat has let go of your tongue, don’t stop now!”

“OK, OK. First of all, I’m sorry to drop by like that with Daniel.”

“Daniel? Since when are you on a first name basis with...that man or any of his accomplices?”

“Shit, I didn’t even know his first name until I took his memories from him...”

“You TOOK his memories? How did you do that?”

“Darling, are you going to give me a chance to...”

“Don’t you ‘darling’ me! Just stick to the facts! Tell me what the Hades you’ve been up to, don’t leave anything out, and don’t stop until I tell you to!”

So, pinned up against the back wall of my own meditation room, I told her the whole story of how I got the call from Daniel and what he told me, all of the way up to my abduction, the mind rape, and the need to find out more information about the daughter I just learned I had. The tale lasted a good twenty minutes, but good to her word, she didn’t back down until she was satisfied.

As soon as I got to the part about dropping Daniel off at her home and rushing off to find out more information about the looming hurricane and New Orleans, she backed away and started pacing.

“So you were going to try and piece together this man’s...Daniel’s...memories and race off to New Orleans to rescue this child and her mother from the stupid hurricane? Do you even know her address?”

“Well, I was hoping I would find it in his memories, at least I was before you barged in here.”

“Did you even search him for maybe an address book like this?” She had reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small, black leather address book.

I was stunned. I never did check him for anything in his pockets. “Son of a ...”

“What is it about being a zombie, did you forget everything about being a cop?”

“No...I was just caught up in...”

“You were just caught up by your new found magickal abilities. Just like a newbie. You discover a cool new ability and suddenly forget that you can do things conventionally. You have a lot to learn, Rusty.”

“So let me see that book, maybe the mother’s full name and address will be in there...”

“Not so fast, buster. Don’t you get any ideas about finding that address and disappearing into those shadows of yours. If WE find the address, WE will go and see if we can’t find this alleged daughter of yours and get her and her mother to safety, if they need it.”