Page 43 of Raven

I sat in the locked SUV, pulse racing, trying to think. No keys. No signal. And Katherine was still inside that building—maybe watching, maybe not.

I reached for my bag in the backseat. Maybe I had something,anything—a penlight, a knife, an emergency whistle—but the moment I turned to grab it, the driver’s door yanked open.

Before I could scream, she hit me. Something sharp cracked against the side of my head—blinding pain, and then—

Blackness.

* * *

KATHERINE

Beatrice slumped forward,unconscious. I checked her pulse. Still alive. Perfect.

“I really did try to give you a warning,” I whispered, pushing her to the other side. “But you never listen. You never stop.”

She was heavier than I expected, but adrenaline does funny things to your body. I pushed until she was over enough for me to drive, and drove until the road became little more than rock and gravel.

I’d scoped this place out months ago.

No one came up here.

No one ever would.

* * *

A sharp jolt woke me.

Pain stabbed through my skull. My vision swam as the world tilted. I tried to move—my arms were bound. My legs barely responded.

I was in a vehicle.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

And then, I saw her.

Katherine stood outside, silhouetted by the sun high in the sky, a strange calm in her eyes.

“I told you I needed space,” she said softly, more to herself than me. “I never wanted it to come to this.”

The door flung open. I tried to scream, but she clamped a hand over my mouth. I’m going to cut these ties off you. We don’t want someone to find you one day and see ties on you,” she laughed like a crazy person.

“Shhh. Let’s not make this worse than it has to be.”

I struggled, but she shoved me hard. Too hard. I felt myself fall—air rushing past me.

Then—pain.

Branches. Something jagged slashed my arm. I twisted midair—

Whump.

I landed hard on something solid. Not the ground. A tree. My body slammed into an old thick branch that jutted out from the side of the mountain, jutting from a rocky slope like a skeletal hand.

The wind was knocked out of me. My head lolled. Everything spun.

I tried to scream, but it came out broken and weak.

I couldn’t move my right arm. My side burned. Blood dripped from my hairline down to my neck. The world buzzed in my ears.

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