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1
Ravens in the Kitchen
THE PIPE UNDER THE SINK WAS LEAKING AGAIN IT WOULDN’T have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favorite sword under the sink
He rescued it, wiped the steel, and absently tested the edge with his thumb while water flowed out onto the kitchen floor Once he’d laid it aside, he realized the knees of his jeans were already soaked through
Alan brought Nick his toolbox
“Care to lend a hand?” Nick inquired without much hope
“No, I’ around here I’m more the sensitive intellectual type”
Nick raised his eyebrows “Oh, get in the kitchen and bake me a pie, woman”
He peered into the cupboard again The pipessound, and the bottom of the cupboard became the site of the world’s tiniest waterfall
“I can be a sensitive intellectual type as well,” he said at length “If the other option is drowning under our sink”
“Save us all frorave or cook your own dinner It’s entirely up to you”
It was a co point Nick could cook his own dinner, but Alan actually worked at being a good cook Hesound of food hitting the pan and the sudden rich sument for him
Nick glared, which was effective when dealing with everyone but his brother Then he took the knife out of his wrist sheath, laying it carefully alongside his sword, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work
Aside froood It was small, the color of cardboard that had been left out in the rain, and exactly like every other house standing in theestate Still, each house was separated frohbors by a decent distance There was nobody coht That orth any amount of leaks
On the whole, Nick liked Exeter There was a statue on the high street that re to map the city out fro enough for the landmarks to becoer signs yet They both had jobs, he was just about getting by at school, and Alan had even had time to find a new crush
He would be sorry when they had to leave
The pipe gave a long roan, like an ancient robot about to fall to pieces, and Nick gritted his teeth and twisted the wrench hard It was too old to be properly fixed; all he could do was try and hold it together until it could become the next tenant’s problem
“Soet away from all this”
“Oh, sure,” said Alan easily The chili was si beside the sink, ar Nick work “When I win the lottery Or e start selling your body to rich old ladies”
“If we start selling my body to rich old ladies now,” Nick said, “can I quit school?”
“No,” Alan answered with a sidelong slad you finished school one day Aristotle said education is bitter, but its fruits are sweet”
Nick rolled his eyes “Aristotle can bite me”
Over their heads the floorboards creaked in a sudden, sharp sound, like boughs breaking Nick looked up on reflex, but he knehat it was: It was Mu the floor in one of her bad spells By the sound of it she was just getting started, and Alan would spend all his time up there with her
Alan , because for some idiotic Alan reason he reached out with the obvious intention of ruffling Nick’s hair Nick shied away
Alan sighed, then Nick heard him reach for the radio instead, the small click as it went on, and the music that poured out and drowned the sound of Mu in the rooan to ru&rdd began softly under his breath Nick ducked back in under the sink and let the sweet sound rush over him, let his mind relax while his hands were busy with practical work Dinner smelled almost ready Maybe his stupid brother would sit down and eat his own food before he saw to Mum, and maybe this would be an okay Thursday after all
There was only an instant’s warning
The talisman Nick wore always hurt hi around his neck that huh him like an electric shock with the talisman as its source The bird bones built around the talisman, woven into a web of crystal and net, shifted to for slowly burned into his skin
“Alan,” he ground out between his teeth
Then theexploded inward, a sharp burst of glittering shards caught in the fluorescent lights Nick dropped the wrench and shielded his face with his ar under his sodden sleeve to check that Alan had already hit the floor
In through thecame an unkindness of ravens
Their enorainst each other, the kitchen suddenly packed with feathers and the birds’ deep, hoarse cries The air of the roo beats, and they sounded hungry
Nick crawled along the floor until he could grab his sword The hilt was slick against his wet palms, and he hefted it in one hand and reached out with the other to grab Alan by the scruff of his neck and drag his brother behind him
Alan lifted his shirt and took his gun out of its holster
“Don’t pick me up You’re my little brother, and it’s shameful”
“You’re a beanpole, and it’s too easy,” Nick returned, watching the birds carefully They were starting to settle on the kitchen surfaces, the curves of their folded wings hunched forward like shoulders, apparently watching hiun”
1
Ravens in the Kitchen
THE PIPE UNDER THE SINK WAS LEAKING AGAIN IT WOULDN’T have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favorite sword under the sink
He rescued it, wiped the steel, and absently tested the edge with his thumb while water flowed out onto the kitchen floor Once he’d laid it aside, he realized the knees of his jeans were already soaked through
Alan brought Nick his toolbox
“Care to lend a hand?” Nick inquired without much hope
“No, I’ around here I’m more the sensitive intellectual type”
Nick raised his eyebrows “Oh, get in the kitchen and bake me a pie, woman”
He peered into the cupboard again The pipessound, and the bottom of the cupboard became the site of the world’s tiniest waterfall
“I can be a sensitive intellectual type as well,” he said at length “If the other option is drowning under our sink”
“Save us all frorave or cook your own dinner It’s entirely up to you”
It was a co point Nick could cook his own dinner, but Alan actually worked at being a good cook Hesound of food hitting the pan and the sudden rich sument for him
Nick glared, which was effective when dealing with everyone but his brother Then he took the knife out of his wrist sheath, laying it carefully alongside his sword, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work
Aside froood It was small, the color of cardboard that had been left out in the rain, and exactly like every other house standing in theestate Still, each house was separated frohbors by a decent distance There was nobody coht That orth any amount of leaks
On the whole, Nick liked Exeter There was a statue on the high street that re to map the city out fro enough for the landmarks to becoer signs yet They both had jobs, he was just about getting by at school, and Alan had even had time to find a new crush
He would be sorry when they had to leave
The pipe gave a long roan, like an ancient robot about to fall to pieces, and Nick gritted his teeth and twisted the wrench hard It was too old to be properly fixed; all he could do was try and hold it together until it could become the next tenant’s problem
“Soet away from all this”