Rose Raven

She walked in and sat down in the same aisle as the tall blonde man, and looked up towards Joyce, who smiled at her.

"Glad you could make it," Joyce said.

"DA wasn't happy, but then again, he never is these days," she smiled, herlow, British voice flowing around the room.

The people all turned around and looked at her, then turned quickly back around at her eerie green eyes, but the blonde man's eyes lingered and ran over her long, slender legs. She turned and looked at him, raising one of her perfect platinum blonde eyebrows, and he smiled at her. She turned her head back to Joyce and cleared her throat.

"I'm sure he won't mind waiting for another hour," Joyce smiled.

"No, but Mr. Johnson might," she smiled wryly, "He wasn't happy that his wife was sent to my office. Especially since she was on chemo for terminal brain cancer."

"No one's ever happy to be sent to your office," Joyce smiled.

"Yes, well," she said, her voice dropping to a silky suggestive tone,
"Getting a good strapping by me is what most people don't want."

"What do you do?" the blonde man asked, looking at her again, and she was shocked to hear his accent, which was a lot like hers.

"I'm a coroner," she smiled, not looking at him, "And I've got two more autopsies tonight, so could me run along then Joyce?"

"Of course Dr. Townsend," she smiled.

~~~~

She could feel his eyes on her legs again, and crossed them, looking back at the screen and listening to Joyce talk about what she already knew. Then she was aware that someone wnvadnvading her thoughts, and she turned and looked at Nick again.

He felt her look at him and then suddenly saw a 'No Trespassing' sign come up, and chuckled. Then he mentally heard her say he was as discreet as a bear in a tent after a cooler, and smiled wryly, getting her point.

She felt him leave and looked back at the screen.~~~~~~~~

"No no," Cathy said, watching Nick pour more beer into her glass, "Maybe just half a glass, but no more."

"So does anyone know anything about Dr. Townsend?" Nick asked.

"Other than she's hateful?" Pam asked, pushing her blonde hair out of her face.

"She's the deputy coroner here in Seattle," Cathy said, "Her first name'ven.ven."

"Raven?" Pam asked, "She's named after a crow?"

"Somewhat fitting," Nick smiled, "After all, she hangs around dead people all day."

Pam giggled and Cathy smiled, "She's very good at her job though."

"Due to her talent?" Nick asked, "What is it?"

"She's telepathic, and slightly telekinetic," Cathy asked, "I asked Joyce. Joyce knows her personally. She said that she hardly ever uses them, so she's gotten rusty, but that when they were younger. . ."

"Younger?" Pam asked.

"They apparently went to college together," Cathy said, "That when they were in graduate school, she tested her and she was right off the scale."

"My my," Nick smiled, taking a drink of his beer, "So they were old school chums then?"

"Explains some things," Pam said, "Like why she wasn't rude to Joyce."

"Well, is you hadn't asked yourself if her breasts were real, she might not have said that to you," Nick grinned, watching Vick walk back over.

~~~~
ven ven looked at her phone, raising one of her eyebrows. It was nearly three in the morning, who would be calling her at this hour? Then she sighed, who's kicked it this time? She picked up the phone and sighed.

"Townsend."

"Are you an insomniac or what?"

"Joyce? I figured you'd be asleep and shagged out by now," she smiled.

"Touché. I was just making sure you were definy coy coming to Rose Red."

"I already told you I was," she frowned, then added, "Against my better judgement."

"You're not going to start that again are you?"

"Why should I? You never did listen to me," she smiled, quot;Get some sleep Joyce. You've got a long day tomorrow."

"Bye Ray, I'll see you on Friday."

She hung up the phone and sighed, closing her book and taking off her reading glasses. What was she doing? She knew better than to walk into that place. But if she didn't, then she'd have to live with the regret of sending her best friend to die alone. That was if she didn't die first.

~~~~

"I think we're ready," Joyce said, looking at Annie.

"What about. . ." Steve began, and they watched a charcoal gray SUV pull up behind the van, decals with the words 'Medical Examiner' on the rear windows.

The driver's door opened and they heard Rob Zombie's Living Dead Girl blast before the car was turned off and Raven stepped out, dressed in an expensive-looking claret colored sweater and khaki skirt. Her long, white blonde hair was down, reaching to just above her hips, and tooktook off her sunglasses and threw them back into the truck.

"Thought you weren't going to show," Joyce smiled.

"Well, you know how it is, dealing with self righteous assholes," she smiled, opening a back door and getting out a large dufbag.bag.

She turned around and locked her truck, knowing there was no real need to. She looked at Annie and smiled softly.

"Hello Annie," she said gently, and watched the girl hide her face in a bashful sort of way.

"You want shotgun?" Steve asked.

"No," she said, looking at Pam, "I'll sit back in the back with the girls."

"Let's go then," Joyce said.

~~~~

They all looked at the house for a moment,  and Raven wished she had brought a jacket, or better yet, a parka.

"God help us, it wants us here," Steve said, and she raised an eyebrow, staring back at the house.

There is no God here, she thought, Only dark goddesses that want to devour us. The way they were devoured long ago. She shivered again.

"What did you hear?" Joyce asked, looking at Nick.

"Words, but Ildn\ldn't make them out," he replied, and for a moment caught her eye.

"I heard something," Cathy said, "But it might have just been my imagination."

You all don't want to know what they're saying, she thought, then turned and looked at Steve, "Do you want a hand with any of that?"

"Here," Steve said, handing her a light case, "If you insist, which you will, you can carry this."

"Thank you would have sufficed Steve," she smiled, a genuine, amused smile.

Nick noticed she was gorgeous when she smiled. Not that she wasn't any other time, but it was a sort of sad, tragic beauty. They began carrying the equipment in, following everyone else, and she turned to look at Annie, who was staring at the fountain. Water suddenly began to flow from it and she smiled, despite what she knew it meant. She set down the case in the entryway with the others, and Annie's sister handed her a flashlight.

"Thank you," she said, listening to Steve talk about the power.

"Where's Annie?" Sister asked, and Raven felt her hair blow back and heard the front doors slam.

So it begins, she thought, looking at Joyce.