Page 89 of Semblance

“I’ve already chosen my candidate,” Shadow said.

“You made the decision without consultation from the rest of the council?”

“I didn’t believe I needed council approval to make my decisions,” Shadow said.

“You don’t, but out of respect you need to take their considerations as well,” Takeshi said.

“We have more important things to worry about, such as finding out the identity of the fucker who hired the Crows.”

Takeshi turned his attention to me, amused. “Aria the Crow Killer,” he said.

“What?” I asked, surprised. Out of all the nicknames I owned, Crow Killer was definitely at the top of the list of being bizarre.

“It’s the name that’s been circulating amongst our members over the past couple of days,” Takeshi said, “Aria the Crow Killer.”

“Can’t say I’m a fan of it,” I replied. “And why do I need a nickname? First I’m the Golden Virgin and now I’m the Crow Killer?”

“Trust me, the Crow Killer is a name you can take great pride in having,” Takeshi said. “The Crow brothers are notorious assassins with the reputation of being both brutal and effective. Just to hire one Crow can cost an average man a whole year’s salary, let alone both. Up until your encounter with the Black Crow, they have never failed to fulfill a contract, but somehow you managed to kill one of them. We are in complete awe of that accomplishment.”

“I wasn’t the one who killed the Black Crow,” I said. “It was Abraham. He risked his life for me.”

Much to my relief, Shadow interrupted our discussion of murderous assassins. It was something I wanted to forget.

“It looks like the council’s waiting for us,” he said.

At the top of the hill, where the funeral home was, stood Calisto, Lincoln, Donald Huff, and Brevin West.

Lucien was noticeably missing.

“Let’s not keep them waiting,” Takeshi said.

“Should I leave you guys alone?” I asked. I was tired and the last thing I wanted was more council scrutiny.

Shadow shook his head. “Our discussion today starts with you.”

Fuck.

#

“We’re at war,” Shadow stated. “Aria was viciously attacked by the Crows two nights ago and it was only because of Abraham’s intervention that she wasn’t killed. Abraham…”

His voice staggered for a moment. The rest of us, seated in a large circle reminiscent of an AA meeting, listened intently.

“That old man always had fight in him,” Brevin said, finally cutting through the silence. He cast his eyes over to me. “I’m still stunned that a girl, who dedicated her hands for the ivory keys, and an old white man, specializing in Chinese food, had enough grit in them to take down a Crow. I never thought it could happen.”

“I can do more with my hands than just play the piano you know,” I stated.

“My words weren’t meant to offend,” Brevin said. “I’m just stunned by what you two did. Up until now, I thought the Crows were practically inhuman.”

“Am I the only one who notices the obvious?” Calisto asked. “Where the hell is Lucien?”

Takeshi cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair. “I guess now’s the perfect time to discuss an investigation I was conducting after the Crows had attacked Aria,” he began. “One of the main concerns is just how did the Black Crow enter into Aria’s condo unit? The building itself is a fortress in terms of security.”

“The bodies of several security guards and the concierge were discovered after the police did their sweep of the place,” Donald said. “Pitting a Crow brother against a typical security guard is the same as tossing a wolf into a Mexican cockfight.”

“Yes, but as far as entering into Aria’s suite, the security system behind those doors is a vault. There are two methods of security to her entering. The first is her key to the door, and the second is the operator who unlocks the door for her after a visual confirmation.”

“What visual confirmation?” I was surprised. I thought a key to get in was all I needed.

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