Copper Ravens Read Online Free

Raven Compound—the picture of Max, Sadie, and me in the backyard beneath the fairy tree, taken when we were kids. As I looked at the sweet-faced boy crammed between his sisters, I tried to reconcile the brother of my memory with the man of today. “If he burns any more, Micah may extinguish him.”
    â€œThat he may,” Mom murmured. “That, he may.”

4
    T he next morning dawned bright and clear, complete with fluffy clouds and a soft breeze. I should have known that something bizarre was going to happen from the deceptively calm way the day began.
    I’d spent the bulk of the morning shuffling around the manor, bored out of my mind. Micah had been summoned to some sort of a meeting that had to do with the Gold Queen, and, being that I’d insulted Old Stoney only the day prior, we both thought it best to give the old rock a bit of time to cool down. So I had helped Micah back into his formal attire and handed him his sword, and, after a lingering goodbye, he went off to hear about what I hoped was the Gold Queen’s most excellent recovery.
    And really, it’s not that I minded being left to my own devices. I liked having free time to explore the manor and its surrounding gardens and orchards, since it was now, and probably always would be, my home, too. It was a far cry from the tiny two-room apartment I had rented in the Mundane realm, not to mention the gaudy opulence of the Raven Compound. Just like the girl in the fairy tale, I’d found myself a charming prince and moved right on in to his castle.
    However, spending the last few weeks surrounded by this never-ending luxury had left me feeling more than a bit jaded. The Otherworld is an amazing land, filled with untold wonders and beauty, yes, but sometimes I just wanted to play a game on my phone. My poor, trusty, old phone, which by now had probably been confiscated and dissected by Peacekeepers, who were now very aware of how often I had called for takeout.
    Speaking of takeout, I missed eating it in front of my elderly Picture Vision while I watched bad postwar movies and good prewar movies. Not to mention all the types of takeout I, um, took out—pizza, grinders, rubbery Chinese. Yeah, the silverkin could whip up anything I asked for, but they couldn’t quite manage the proper containers. Yes, I missed the little white cartons, and paper coffee cups with their badly fitting plastic lids, and my car, and…
    I scrubbed my face with my hands; this trip down memory lane wasn’t going to accomplish much, other than feed my misguided nostalgia for the less fine things in life. Searching for a distraction, I left my rooms and prowled the manor’s silver hallways. Eventually, I found Sadie on the second level, standing alongside a heap of scrolls and books while she attempted to explain to Shep the basic concept of a library; I don’t think it ever occurred to her that the silverkin don’t read and therefore have little use for books.
    Come to think of it, I wondered if they could read. They didn’t technically have eyes, and they were constantly bumping into things, but something was helping them navigate. Sonar? I made a mental note to ask Micah, and a second mental note to ask Sadie if she’d like to teach remedial reading to a bunch of metal critters. A class full of silverkin would sure keep her occupied.
    Not wanting to get involved in any library-related hubbub, I continued down the hall to the large windows that looked out over the gardens. I saw Mom in her usual spot, meditating yet again; at this rate, she was on track to become an honorary Buddhist.
    Really, I understood why Mom was behaving the way she was. It had been obvious how much she and Dad loved each other, even to us kids. Once, I’d tried imagining what I’d do if Micah disappeared, and the mere imagining was terrible.
    â€œYou went into hiding?” I’d asked her, back when she was still working locator spells.