Page 104 of Green Ravens

A towering man in a calf-length black trench with his jet-black hood resting low on his Roman nose and veiling half his face, leaving only a ghostly glint of his sharp jaw.

Meridian. Death’s ally. The Alpha’s man of righteousness.

He stood stock-still—like a statue of ominous power—with his arm locked in place, his hand curled tightly around the shaft of the arrow.

Valor swallowed a lump of disbelief.What the fuckin’’ fuck?

The air around Meridian seemed to pulse with an eerie darkness, a heavy aura that drained the warmth from the air. The forest once loyal to Valor and Zorion seemed to now bow to his presence.

Ex and Meridian.

There they stood. Dark. Deadly. Just as frightening as the stories said.

Meridian had made no sound, no whisper of movement. No shift in the leaves. He just appeared as if the night itself had birthed him.

Power radiated all around him. Even the shadows seemed to recoil from his path.

“Fuck,” Valor muttered into their comms. “Jo, it’s the Blacks.”

“The Browns must have somehow signaled for them. Stay calm,” Jo whispered, as if even she were anxious…and she was safe on the other side of the world. “Do not engage them. They aren’t your enemies.”

Valor was impressed. He recognized capability when he saw it.

“It is an honor, Meridian.” Zorion’s voice was strained but even.

The silence grew thick, almost tangible, until Ex spoke.

“Show yourselves.” His tone sounded final.

“Do as he says,” Jo urged.

Valor glanced at Zorion. A silent question, which received a silent answer.

Stay close to me.

Zorion nodded.

With their hoods pulled as low as possible, they landed in perfect sync, their feet hitting the ground with a force that sent pine needles and leaves flying into the air.

As the other four Ravens took them in, he and Zorion remained still on a potential battlefield that could erupt with one wrong move.

“Tell them about the hidden file,” Jo said.

Valor relayed the message verbatim.

“There’s a computer in the director’s safe behind a canvas painting that contains an encrypted file.”

“How will we contact you?”

“Find our handler,” Valor answered Mirage. “She’s known only as Jo. She says there are more Ravens than the six standing here…find them while we diminish any threats in our path.”

He and Zorion inched cautiously backward—refusing to turn their backs on trained killers—until the bushes swallowed them.

Chief Styles Sawyer

Zorion

The cabin Jo sent them to while she set up a new headquarters was perfect.

---