Chapter 32 - The Raven's Cipher
I walked back into the manor in a daze, locking the iron gate behind me and double-checking the deadbolts on the heavy front doors.
Inside the bright, warm foyer, little Lily was sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, her yellow buckle shoes swinging back and forth. Clutched tightly under her arm was her frayed pink velvet purse—the very bag that had first brought this phantom back into my life.
"Uncle Marcus," she chirped, looking up with big, dark eyes that carried Julian’s unmistakable almond shape. "Did you see the bird man?"
A cold tremor shot straight down my spine.
I slowly knelt in front of her, resting my hands on my knees to hide the slight tremor in my fingers. "The bird man, Lily? What bird man?"
Lily patted her purse proudly. "The man who gave me the shiny toy. He said when the leaves turn brown, the raven brings the key."
Nora emerged from the dining room carrying a pitcher of water, pausing dead in her tracks as she caught my expression. Her face drained of color. "Marcus... what’s wrong? What happened at the gate?"
I stood up, pulling the new mirror-polished lighter from my pocket and holding it up so the chandelier light caught the silver casing.
Nora gasped, nearly dropping the glass pitcher. "Where did you get that?"
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"It arrived five minutes ago," I said, my voice dead and quiet. "Addressed to 'the girl with the purse.' And the man who delivered it didn’t use a postal truck."
Lily pointed her small, chubby finger at the engraved bird on the lighter's face. "See? That's Mr. Raven."
