Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #15 June 2015 | Page 49

been his master, survive the final confrontation with
William, and live to claim the amnesty for his own
crimes that the Council had promised for his aid.
Raven should never have let them take it from him.
He should never have let them keep it. But that was
irrational; the Guardians had taken the magic-imbued
stone from him when he was still unconscious. The
Council had only begrudgingly released him from
custody with the amnesty he earned, and that because
her aunt Ana, on the Council, had insisted and Mother
Crone had backed her up. They had still feared him,
after all he had done for them. They would never have
allowed one of the most powerful and infamous dark
mages of their time loose with the single most powerful dark magic artifact ever created.
Never mind that Raven had been the one who created
it. Well, Raven and his apprentice Daniel, who had

died in the making.
“We’re assembling a team.” Sherlock spoke heavily.
“I’ve been requested. As have you, as the Guardian International agent most familiar with the Ravensblood.
And I’ve already secured clearance for Raven, if you
can get him to come.”
“I’ll try. He might, for this.” She was surprised at how
calm her voice sounded. “At least, he should know.”
Though Raven declined to discuss it, she knew he still
felt some sort of link to the Ravensblood, a link that he
himself did not fully understand.
She did not look forward to breaking the news to him,
but she would not want him to hear it from anyone
else.

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