Roy looks away, and Elaine traces the skull tattoo on her forearm. “That wouldn’t have mattered.”

There’s something surreal about listening to them talk about my parents like this. As though they’re not my parents at all, but two entirely different people who led entirely different lives. It makes me sad to think that I might not have ever really known them.

“You said you weren’t sure yet if their deaths had anything to do with them being Ravens.” Anna studies them all over her teacup. “Does that mean you are now?”

Nora nods, her face grim once more. “We reached out to some friends. It turns out that other Ravens have been attacked the last few months, and a few have died. The attacks were getting more frequent recently, but it’s been quiet since the death of your parents.”

“I was able to contact one of the Raven’s spirits,” Elaine adds. “They confirmed whoever killed them used only his hands, but they also couldn’t remember his face. Memories get slippery after you move on.”

“Someone is hunting us,” I say as understanding settles. “This wasn’t just about my parents.”

“We believe so,” Elaine agrees. “It also explains the flood of ghosts the night you arrived, Colin. The Shield had been waning for some time as the population of Ravens naturally declined over generations, but with the sudden deaths of so many, the Shield has been fading in and out so close to Samhain.”

“I saw a wisp the morning before you arrived,” Anna adds. “Normally they don’t show up until closer to Samhain, but it must have slipped through with the Shield weakened.”

“What we don’t know,” Elaine continues, “is why you’re being hunted or who’s doing it.”

A flame leaps to life in Roy’s palm. “We’re gonna have words when I find out, though.”

A window behind him opens, letting in a wind to put out the flame, and he grins sheepishly at the house. I’d forgotten he’d have a power too, and the ability to control flames explains the burn scars on his arms. That had to be hard to learn to use.

“Kaden said that they’d be coming for Colin on Samhain,” Anna says thoughtfully. “Do you think it’s related?”

“I’m sure it is,” Nora says, before catching my confused expression. “Samhain is when the Shield is thinnest, allowing weaker spirits to cross over. They’re also more powerful when they’re here, capable of doing things they wouldn’t be otherwise. A lot of magical beings are stronger on Samhain, including Ravens. Whatever Kaden’s boss is planning, it makes sense it’d come to fruition on Samhain, and it explains why the attacks were speeding up the closer it got.”

Roy rubs his hands together, creating a trail of smoke. “Which leaves us just under two weeks to teach you to use your abilities.”