Crooked Crows Novels & Stories

Detroit~ Detroit watched the footage. He saw how two people in black climbed over the hotel walls with a person slung over their shoulder. He saw the precision in their movements, the lethal quiet, the way they scaled like shadows born of smoke. His brows creased. He knew those skills. These weren’t ordinary men. These weren’t mercenaries or random thugs hired for a night’s work. These were The Obsidian Crows.

Sliding through the snow, I try to come to an abrupt stop just before I reach the place where I left Jarek's body. There is a large black mound on the ground. As I move closer I can see that it is a ton of crows all picking their way over Jarek's body. I stop in horror as I watch one of the crows pick out an eyeball and fly off with it in its mouth. A lump forms in the back of my throat as I look at the scene that is taking place in front of me.

Since it was a Saturday, the children could play as much as they liked. … Old Crows Town was a small town. From above, the outline of the town looked like a crow with black outlines and everything. No one knew how exactly how long Old Crow Town had been around. Not even Old Cabbage, the oldest man in the town. Many of the members in the town had either migrated there or the members of the older generation who knew anything about the town’s history were long dead.

Grasping one he bounds over to the girl as others tried to help her from the crow. With one smack of the broom, Cylester sends the bird flying across the room. It falls ungracefully, trying and failing to right itself. Another hard smack has its neck twisting in an odd angle that lets everyone know it was dead as its body stills. Cylester lifts his head to stare at the wolves crowding the room. "Where did the crow come from?" He asked, voicing his curiosity.

The lady was surprised and confused when he suddenly cut her off. "Y-Yes? I think she placed it on her vanity area." He felt like he was being poured with a glass of cold water when his speculation was confirmed. Hyde remembered it when he went to the victim's vanity table. He remembered what it looked like. A bird darker than a crow, and usually eats flesh from dead animals. A bird that means DEATH... A CARRION CROW.

My shoulders were continuously raised as I was literally gasping for air. The wolf roared, which echoed throughout the entire place. There were crows that rampaged out from the branches of those trees and flew away together, heading over to the direction where the wolf was. It’s like they were able to communicate with one another with just a simple roar. My conscience has been telling me to get out of this place right away, but my body betrayed me. I instantly lost focus on the crows, and the next second that I blinked, all of it was coming at me. "A-ah!" I blocked those with my arms as I crouched in my position.

Levi said in a whisper voice Azrael and Lexi both jumped down from the vent following Levi. What welcomed them was the stinky dungeon. The stench of body odor and dried blood lingers through the air and Azrael was just trying her best not to vomit. The smell made them nauseous but determination took over. They all looked through the cells of the dungeon. They were wolves from the Crimson Crest pack, lying down without strength. At first glance you might think they are dead but they are not. They are only covered with their own blood and sweat but they are still breathing… barely alive.

“Who are the girls with bright hair?” “Oh,” Chrissy said. “Those are my friends. They’re magpies.” “So they store a lot of things?” Lusa asked. Nate and his cousins chuckled. “She means they are bird shifters.” “Those two are kleptos,” Chastity giggled. Chrissy shook her head, grinning. “They can’t help it. It’s their bird brains. If they see something shiny or colorful, they just have to have it. They’ve been banned from more malls and stores than I can name, but they’re fiercely loyal.”

Violet swayed, and she caught herself on the edge of the table to stay upright. Her voice came out rough as she forced the words out. "Even if Mr. Neel really bought it, who would just leave something that valuable sitting on a desk? Riley, don't think you can trick me with a fake!" Piers let out a cold laugh. "Figures. Someone dealing in fakes wouldn't recognize the real thing." "Exactly!" Jim jumped in, eager to pile on. "Not everyone's like you, faking everything from your identity to your bags."

Rain had begun to fall not the gentle rain of mourning, but a harsh deluge that turned dust to mud and made the stones slick with a mixture of water and blood that pooled in every crack and crevice. Aldric's generals twisted beasts of curse tore through what remained of Hollowshade's defenses like wolves through paper. These were not the shambling dead I had faced before, but creatures of pure malevolence, crafted from the darkest corners of the Cursemaker's imagination and given terrible life by Aldric's will.