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Description
Genesis
“It’s not much to go on, but we have to find out who he is!” The Superintendent sighed, drumming his fingers on the desk. DCI Alex Mallen nodded, thumbing through the file he had just received.
“We have to find out who The Raven is before he can do anymore damage...” The Superintendent massaged his temple. “There’s a headhunt on for him…” He looked out of the window into the bustling city of London. England’s Capital, famous for many things. And also home to the criminal, The Raven.
“I’ll see what I can do…” Mallen said as he briefly read some of the notes in the file. He looked up, “Where should I start?”
The Superintendent reclined in his chair, and turned to face the DCI again.
“There’s a bookshop called ‘Eden’. It’s the source of two of our trails…” He gave a small shrug before continuing, “Like I said, we don’t have much to go on, but it is something.”
“Yes, Sir.” Mallen nodded, tucking the file under his arm. He turned to leave,
“And remember Mallen, we want this man caught a any costs. Everyone is out looking for him.” Mallen gave a second nod, and left the office.

~~@~~

It had taken him a good hour to locate and drive to the bookshop called Eden. During the drive, and constant traffic jams, he had taken the liberty of reading the notes.
The Raven, a connoisseur of horrific crimes. He performed illegal surgery, but that was hardly the worst. Most people, naturally, would have their operations done on the NHS, it was free after all, or sometimes they would pay and go privately. So what was it that made these people hand over thousands of pounds for an unqualified surgeon to cut into their skin?
The Raven performed modifications like no other. Modifications that were unknown and seemingly impossible to even the most intelligent of scientists.
Alex Mallen shook his head. It was awesome, in the negative form. How could someone be so disturbed as to grant mankind powers and abilities they were not designed to have?
They all had one thing in common, this ‘new race’. None of them had ever met The Raven face to face. And the majority wanted to keep quiet about their encounter, keeping their illicit modifications secret. Some just could not help but boast and get themselves into all sorts of deadly trouble of all kinds; burglary, mugging, fights, murder. It was this handful of people that had opened the police and the government’s eye to The Raven. So far, they had managed to keep The Raven out of public knowledge, but there was no knowing how many people of the underworld already knew of, and had paid, The Raven.

But here he was, Alex Mallen, just one of the DCI’s of London trying to investigate the case of The Raven. Still, surely he would have no trouble once he found him, right? The Raven couldn’t be modified if he was the surgeon… Right?
Alex shook the thought out of his head. He had already parked the car and had taken the short walk from the car park to Eden.
It was far smaller than he imagined. It looked insignificant against all the other chain stores. But there, in fancy golden writing on a dark blue sign that hung out from the wall, was the word ‘Eden- Bookstore’.
He pushed the door open, and a little bell above tinkled gently. How quaint.
The room was surprisingly well lit from the large faux candelabras that hung from the ceiling. It was also much larger on the inside that it had seemed on the outside. Like a bookshop version of the TARDIS. There was a middle-aged woman sitting at the reception desk. She was looking at him, almost telling him with her eyes that if he was in her shop he better do something.
Unerringly, Alex moved over to the nearest shelf, and glanced over the spines. Nothing interesting, or nothing that seemed relevant anyway. He moved further down the rows, he was not sure what he was looking for, but he definitely could not find it.
He pulled a book off the shelf, ‘Something She Was’ it was entitled. The cover was pretty, a sketchy charcoal drawing of a woman, but despite this it still looked like another run of the mill romance.
Alex really was not into the genre, but still he flicked through it.
“Would you like some help, sir?” A mild female voice from behind him spoke, startling him. He turned around, book still in hand. There stood a woman, she could barely have been in her twenties, not much younger than himself. Her hair was chin length, longer at the front, and dyed a dark blue. Her long fringe, which partially covered her vivid emerald eyes, had been dyed a deep sanguine. The exact colour of blood.
She was wearing a polo shirt the same colour as the shop sign, and underneath that a long-sleeved black top.
“Uh, yes… Yes, I think you could.” Alex asked, after having to clear his throat. The girl peered at the book in his hands.
“Romance? Something for your girlfriend?” She asked, rocking on her heels slightly. Pink tinted Alex cheeks, as he realised he had just been caught flicking through such a novel.
“No. No. I was just looking at it.” He hurriedly put it back on the shelf, changing the subject to something more useful. “Do you have anything on… On body modification?” He asked, watching her hands dance over the spines of the books.
“Body modifications? What kind? Piercing? Tattoos? Or…?” She trailed off, allowing him to fill in the gap.
“Surgical body modification.” He replied, leaning carefully on one of the shelves. The girl’s hands stopped. It was a moment before she looked up, peering from behind the red veil.
“The Raven?” She asked quietly. Alex nodded, which was met by a soft chuckle from her. “You want a discussion on The Raven?” She asked, looking up properly and folding her arms across her chest. “Well, I would suggest we talk somewhere else.” Alex’s heart skipped a beat. Was he honestly already onto the trail of their criminal?
“Of course.” He replied, hiding his excitement. She gave a soft smile.
“I know a good café not far from here. Let’s talk there.” She said, walking past him and through the isles. Alex followed obediently.
“Mallen. Alex Mallen.” He gave his name as they exited the shop. The shopkeeper did not seem to notice their departure.
“Lyn.” She replied with another grin.

~~@~~

Just as Lyn had promised the café was only a three-minute walk from Eden. A silent walk, but a short one none-the-less. They were already sat down in the comfy, leather chairs waiting to order when their conversation was resumed.
“So, The Raven?” Lyn asked, leaning back in the chair.
“Yes.” Alex replied, tapping the glass table. “What can you tell me about The Raven?” Lyn shrugged.
“Not much. I can tell you that The Raven performs surgical body modifications to people who are willing to pay for it… But you already knew that much, didn’t you?” She inquired, raising an eyebrow. Alex gave a small nod.
“I did,” He paused, eyeing the girl up. “Have you ever paid The Raven for his services?”
“No.” Lyn gave a soft laugh, as a waitress appeared at their table, ready to take their order.
“What would you have, Sir?” She asked, looking at the DCI.
“I’ll take a coffee please.” Alex said, barely noticing the waitress. He was far more interested in what Lyn had to say.
“Of course. And you madam?” The waitress asked.
“I’ll take a tea please.” She said, a smirk playing over her lips. The waitress nodded, jotting it down in a notepad before leaving.
“No,” Lyn sighed heavily, gazing out of the window at the bustling streets outside. “I have never paid for The Raven’s services. Not in all my life”
“But you know people who have?” The DCI quizzed, watching this mysterious woman carefully.
“You catch on well, Mr.Mallen.” Lyn gave another soft laugh, looking him in the eye. “I know many a person who has paid for what The Raven is capable of.” Alex took an intake of breath.
“Could you… Direct me to any of these people?” He asked, risking the question. Lyn shrugged.
“I’m sure I could hook you up with a few of the almighty damned.” She had suddenly lost her serious, almost deadly tone and had receded into a nonchalant one. She lent on the table, rest her cheek on her fist. “But whether they will talk to you or not I can’t say…”
“The almighty damned…?” Alex had a look of bemusement. The waitress appeared again, placing the coffee and tea in front of their respective buyers. Lyn thanked her, sending her away again. She took a sip of the milkless liquid before resuming her talk.
“I never much cared for white tea,” she sighed, tipping the milk-jug back and forth to make its contents swirl. “Or coffee… Urgh.” She pulled a face, remembering the last time she had had the vile concoction, which was in a police interrogation room. Oh how she had been thankful for it, despite its taste. “Yes,” She continued, returning to the original conversation, “These ‘modified people’ are known in the underworld as the damned…” Her concentration seemed to be focused on the milk-jug rather than Alex. “Some call them the ‘almighty damned’, others ‘damned souls’ but either way,” she set the jug down properly, hand still resting on the handle, and looked directly at Alex. “They are part of a whole new, damned race…” Alex mulled this over, taking a large mouthful of coffee as his brain sorted things out.
“So… The Raven…? He is the father of a damned race?” He asked, his thoughts elsewhere.
“Yes. I would agree, that The Raven… Is the parent of this new race of the damned.” Lyn said, moving her hand from the milk to her own cup again. She shifted her position in the chair.
“So where did you first come across The Raven?” Alex asked, watching Lyn over the rim of his coffee cup. She gave a light laugh.
“English class, when studying Edgar Allen Poe, of course!” She gave a quirky smile. Alex rolled his eyes but could not help but give a soft chuckle.
“I meant the surgical one that this whole conversation has been about…” He replied, smiling at the girl.
“Of course, of course…” She reclined in the chair and propped one of her feet on the edge of the table, even though she probably should not. “When did I first hear of The Raven…?” She looked at the ceiling. Alex saw that she was racking her brains.
“When I was… Seventeen.” She bit her lip. Alex raised an eyebrow, urging her to continue. “When I was taken in as a suspect.”
“A suspect?” Alex asked. The conversation was getting interesting. He took another sip of the bitter brown concoction.
“Yeah. There was that horrific murder in Kent? That guy who was torn, literally, to shreds? And then the next day an officer met the same fate? I was taken in as a suspect…” She looked at floor. Alex could see it obviously upset her, the whole ordeal.
“They never found his killer, did they?” He asked carefully, putting his coffee down on the table. Lyn shook her head.
“They couldn’t find the murder weapon either.” She sniffed, and looked up.
“You would have though with all the evidence they had they would have caught the killer…” Alex sighed absent mindedly, reclining in his chair.
“What evidence? They had no weapon, no witnesses and no DNA…” Lyn fiddled with the edge of her top, “Um, do you mind if we…?”
“Move on? Of course!” Alex nodded. He definitely did not like seeing this girl so upset. Hell, he did not really like seeing anyone upset. He was nearing the end of his drink now.
“So if I wanted to meet The Raven… If I wanted to join the ‘damned’, as you put it… How would I do that?” Lyn gave him an odd look, wiping one of her eyes with the back of her hand.
“But you don’t want to join the ranks of the almighty damned.” She put her foot down and lent forward on the table. “Even if you thought you did,” she began in a hushed whisper, “You do not want to join them…” Her tone was deadly serious and took Alex aback. “They are not human. They gave that up when they walked into the theatres… They gave that up when they handed over their money… They. Gave. Up. Their. Humanity.” Lyn took an intake of breath and lent back. “I don’t know what they are anymore… But human is not it.” She shook her head, downing the last of her tea.
“It has been good talking to you Mr.Mallen but I need to return to work now.” She pulled a wallet out of her back pocket and dished out the right amount of money to pay for her drink and a tip.
“Thank you for your time Lyn.” He said, confused. Something had seemingly taken this girl over. The soft laughs and quirky smirks were replaced by a sombre air. “Thank you very much.” He was putting his own money on the table, with hers, as she stood and turned to leave. She paused, looking over her shoulder.
“Good luck in catching The Raven, Mr.Mallen. I hope they don’t fly straight out of your grasp.” She gave an empty smile. Alex gave a polite smile at her retreating form. He shook his head, trying to process everything that had been said. He took the final swig of his own drink. Wait. He had never told her that he was out to catch The Raven, only that he was interested in him. Alex frowned, standing to leave and return to his car.
He had some serious thinking to do.

~~@~~

DCI Mallen was sitting in his office. Night had fallen, but London was still alive, and Alex was immersed in his work and the case of The Raven. He had typed up everything he had found out that day and put them with the other notes in the file.
He was busy contemplating something, trying to figure out what it was that was just refusing to sit right at the back of his mind when the Superintendent walked in.
“Mallen? Still here?” He laughed. “I’ve never seen you so engrossed…” Mallen looked up at his boss.
“Yes, Sir. I got some interesting information of a woman named Lyn. She said she knew something about The Raven.” The Superintendent nodded.
“Have you looked her up on the database?” He asked, Alex shook his head.
“She never gave me a last name…” He winced. He really should have got her last name. The Superintendent shook his head, pulling his coat on.
“I’d have thought a DCI such as yourself would know by now to get the full names of anyone you spoke too,” He spoke with a little acid, “Well, don’t stay on too late Mallen. Good luck.” He smiled and went to leave.
“Yes, good night sir.” Alex said automatically as his boss shut the door with a click. Alex’s mind was elsewhere though, wrapped up in thoughts of The Raven.
Alex tapped the desk thoughtfully. Lyn had mentioned that case, the one in Kent. She had been a suspect in it. Alex immediately bought up a search engine and search the entire police network for the case.
“Suspects, suspects…” He muttered, scrolling through the online notes. The case was two years old now. “James McGlynn, Sarah Caine, Evelyn Sykes, Howard Smith…” He tolled through the surprisingly long list. It took him over fifteen minutes to have scoured the list once over. There was no-one by the name of ‘Lyn’ or any variant spelling of the name. He sighed, and returned to the top.
“James, Sarah, Evelyn,” He stopped. Evelyn. Lyn was not her full name. He smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead.
Then, something clicked in his mind.
“So… The Raven…? He is the father of a damned race?”
“Yes. I would agree, that The Raven… Is the parent of this new race of the damned.” Parent. Why had she said parent and not father? Because The Raven was a woman. Eve, the mother of the human race, damned because she ate from the tree of knowledge. Evelyn, the creator of a new race, damned because she had the knowledge of surgery. How could he have been so blind? Everything was falling into place, like pieces of an old and complex jigsaw puzzle. He had been talking to The Raven.
He double clicked on ‘Evelyn Sykes’ to bring up her profile. He frowned. There was nothing. He checked again. No, nothing. Strange. There was a chance that the computer was faulty. He opened up the file of ‘Sarah Caine’. Again, nothing. His frown deepened, as he exited Sarah’s file and opened up ‘James McGlynn’. He half expected another empty folder, but this time all the information he required spilled onto the page. Alex raised an eyebrow. So Evelyn Sykes’ page had been wiped. Or she had never existed at all.
Alex stifled a yawn. It was getting late. He decided to wrap up for the night. Tomorrow he would go back to Eden. He snorted. Even that had been aptly named.

~~@~~

It was midday. DCI Mallen had had trouble getting out of the office and to the bookstore. But here he was again, standing outside the shop on the stone pavement, people of all genders and races walking all around him.
Without hesitation he pushed the door open. The bell chimed again, notifying the bookkeeper to his presence. This time when the older woman looked up, Mallen did not turn to the bookshelves but walked straight to her.
“Hello. I was wondering, is that assistant of yours in today?” He asked. The bookkeeper raised an eyebrow.
“Now which assistant would that be?” She quizzed her voice dry and cold.
“Evelyn.” He replied, only to be met by an odd look.
“No one of that name works here. My two assistants are Chris and Gary. Do you want either of them?” Her voice was almost dripping with sarcasm. Mallen was taken aback.
“She doesn’t… Work here?” He frowned.
“Are you DCI Alex Mallen?” The bookkeeper butted in, having noticed his officers badge and disrupting his thoughts.
“What? Yes… Yes I am…” He replied, still confused.
“Good. A girl with red and blue hair bought this for you yesterday. Said you’d come collect it today.” The woman said, bringing out a book from underneath the desk and laying it in front of him.
Mallen looked down. ‘Something She Was’. A confused smile spread across his lips as he picked it up.
“Thank you.” He said, thumbing through the pages.
“Anything else I can do for you?” The woman asked, leaning on the desk, peering at him over her glasses.
“No. This is fine. Thanks.” Mallen said. He turned and left the shop. So Evelyn did not work there. And according to the police database, she did not even exist.
Maybe Evelyn was as much a pseudonym as The Raven was. Alex was still flicking through the book as he walked back to his car when something caught his eye. A bit of folded paper was lodged between two of the middle pages. He paused, right in the middle of the bustling London street. Carefully he unfolded it, oblivious to the fact that high up on the roof of one of the tower blocks nearby, a young, red and blue haired woman watched.
It was a note.
‘“Stranger,” you cry, “thing of evil- woman who is like the devil!
Whether Inferno sent or not, I find thee here upon our shore,
Malevolent and undaunted, for a while I was enchanted-
All the while your horrors haunted- Tell me truly, I implore-
Will I hunt you down and catch you? Tell me - tell me, I implore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”’

Description
Genesis
“It’s not much to go on, but we have to find out who he is!” The Superintendent sighed, drumming his fingers on the desk. DCI Alex Mallen nodded, thumbing through the file he had just received.
“We have to find out who The Raven is before he can do anymore damage...” The Superintendent massaged his temple. “There’s a headhunt on for him…” He looked out of the window into the bustling city of London. England’s Capital, famous for many things. And also home to the criminal, The Raven.
“I’ll see what I can do…” Mallen said as he briefly read some of the notes in the file. He looked up, “Where should I start?”
The Superintendent reclined in his chair, and turned to face the DCI again.
“There’s a bookshop called ‘Eden’. It’s the source of two of our trails…” He gave a small shrug before continuing, “Like I said, we don’t have much to go on, but it is something.”
“Yes, Sir.” Mallen nodded, tucking the file under his arm. He turned to leave,
“And remember Mallen, we want this man caught a any costs. Everyone is out looking for him.” Mallen gave a second nod, and left the office.

~~@~~

It had taken him a good hour to locate and drive to the bookshop called Eden. During the drive, and constant traffic jams, he had taken the liberty of reading the notes.
The Raven, a connoisseur of horrific crimes. He performed illegal surgery, but that was hardly the worst. Most people, naturally, would have their operations done on the NHS, it was free after all, or sometimes they would pay and go privately. So what was it that made these people hand over thousands of pounds for an unqualified surgeon to cut into their skin?
The Raven performed modifications like no other. Modifications that were unknown and seemingly impossible to even the most intelligent of scientists.
Alex Mallen shook his head. It was awesome, in the negative form. How could someone be so disturbed as to grant mankind powers and abilities they were not designed to have?
They all had one thing in common, this ‘new race’. None of them had ever met The Raven face to face. And the majority wanted to keep quiet about their encounter, keeping their illicit modifications secret. Some just could not help but boast and get themselves into all sorts of deadly trouble of all kinds; burglary, mugging, fights, murder. It was this handful of people that had opened the police and the government’s eye to The Raven. So far, they had managed to keep The Raven out of public knowledge, but there was no knowing how many people of the underworld already knew of, and had paid, The Raven.

But here he was, Alex Mallen, just one of the DCI’s of London trying to investigate the case of The Raven. Still, surely he would have no trouble once he found him, right? The Raven couldn’t be modified if he was the surgeon… Right?
Alex shook the thought out of his head. He had already parked the car and had taken the short walk from the car park to Eden.
It was far smaller than he imagined. It looked insignificant against all the other chain stores. But there, in fancy golden writing on a dark blue sign that hung out from the wall, was the word ‘Eden- Bookstore’.
He pushed the door open, and a little bell above tinkled gently. How quaint.
The room was surprisingly well lit from the large faux candelabras that hung from the ceiling. It was also much larger on the inside that it had seemed on the outside. Like a bookshop version of the TARDIS. There was a middle-aged woman sitting at the reception desk. She was looking at him, almost telling him with her eyes that if he was in her shop he better do something.
Unerringly, Alex moved over to the nearest shelf, and glanced over the spines. Nothing interesting, or nothing that seemed relevant anyway. He moved further down the rows, he was not sure what he was looking for, but he definitely could not find it.
He pulled a book off the shelf, ‘Something She Was’ it was entitled. The cover was pretty, a sketchy charcoal drawing of a woman, but despite this it still looked like another run of the mill romance.
Alex really was not into the genre, but still he flicked through it.
“Would you like some help, sir?” A mild female voice from behind him spoke, startling him. He turned around, book still in hand. There stood a woman, she could barely have been in her twenties, not much younger than himself. Her hair was chin length, longer at the front, and dyed a dark blue. Her long fringe, which partially covered her vivid emerald eyes, had been dyed a deep sanguine. The exact colour of blood.
She was wearing a polo shirt the same colour as the shop sign, and underneath that a long-sleeved black top.
“Uh, yes… Yes, I think you could.” Alex asked, after having to clear his throat. The girl peered at the book in his hands.
“Romance? Something for your girlfriend?” She asked, rocking on her heels slightly. Pink tinted Alex cheeks, as he realised he had just been caught flicking through such a novel.
“No. No. I was just looking at it.” He hurriedly put it back on the shelf, changing the subject to something more useful. “Do you have anything on… On body modification?” He asked, watching her hands dance over the spines of the books.
“Body modifications? What kind? Piercing? Tattoos? Or…?” She trailed off, allowing him to fill in the gap.
“Surgical body modification.” He replied, leaning carefully on one of the shelves. The girl’s hands stopped. It was a moment before she looked up, peering from behind the red veil.
“The Raven?” She asked quietly. Alex nodded, which was met by a soft chuckle from her. “You want a discussion on The Raven?” She asked, looking up properly and folding her arms across her chest. “Well, I would suggest we talk somewhere else.” Alex’s heart skipped a beat. Was he honestly already onto the trail of their criminal?
“Of course.” He replied, hiding his excitement. She gave a soft smile.
“I know a good café not far from here. Let’s talk there.” She said, walking past him and through the isles. Alex followed obediently.
“Mallen. Alex Mallen.” He gave his name as they exited the shop. The shopkeeper did not seem to notice their departure.
“Lyn.” She replied with another grin.

~~@~~

Just as Lyn had promised the café was only a three-minute walk from Eden. A silent walk, but a short one none-the-less. They were already sat down in the comfy, leather chairs waiting to order when their conversation was resumed.
“So, The Raven?” Lyn asked, leaning back in the chair.
“Yes.” Alex replied, tapping the glass table. “What can you tell me about The Raven?” Lyn shrugged.
“Not much. I can tell you that The Raven performs surgical body modifications to people who are willing to pay for it… But you already knew that much, didn’t you?” She inquired, raising an eyebrow. Alex gave a small nod.
“I did,” He paused, eyeing the girl up. “Have you ever paid The Raven for his services?”
“No.” Lyn gave a soft laugh, as a waitress appeared at their table, ready to take their order.
“What would you have, Sir?” She asked, looking at the DCI.
“I’ll take a coffee please.” Alex said, barely noticing the waitress. He was far more interested in what Lyn had to say.
“Of course. And you madam?” The waitress asked.
“I’ll take a tea please.” She said, a smirk playing over her lips. The waitress nodded, jotting it down in a notepad before leaving.
“No,” Lyn sighed heavily, gazing out of the window at the bustling streets outside. “I have never paid for The Raven’s services. Not in all my life”
“But you know people who have?” The DCI quizzed, watching this mysterious woman carefully.
“You catch on well, Mr.Mallen.” Lyn gave another soft laugh, looking him in the eye. “I know many a person who has paid for what The Raven is capable of.” Alex took an intake of breath.
“Could you… Direct me to any of these people?” He asked, risking the question. Lyn shrugged.
“I’m sure I could hook you up with a few of the almighty damned.” She had suddenly lost her serious, almost deadly tone and had receded into a nonchalant one. She lent on the table, rest her cheek on her fist. “But whether they will talk to you or not I can’t say…”
“The almighty damned…?” Alex had a look of bemusement. The waitress appeared again, placing the coffee and tea in front of their respective buyers. Lyn thanked her, sending her away again. She took a sip of the milkless liquid before resuming her talk.
“I never much cared for white tea,” she sighed, tipping the milk-jug back and forth to make its contents swirl. “Or coffee… Urgh.” She pulled a face, remembering the last time she had had the vile concoction, which was in a police interrogation room. Oh how she had been thankful for it, despite its taste. “Yes,” She continued, returning to the original conversation, “These ‘modified people’ are known in the underworld as the damned…” Her concentration seemed to be focused on the milk-jug rather than Alex. “Some call them the ‘almighty damned’, others ‘damned souls’ but either way,” she set the jug down properly, hand still resting on the handle, and looked directly at Alex. “They are part of a whole new, damned race…” Alex mulled this over, taking a large mouthful of coffee as his brain sorted things out.
“So… The Raven…? He is the father of a damned race?” He asked, his thoughts elsewhere.
“Yes. I would agree, that The Raven… Is the parent of this new race of the damned.” Lyn said, moving her hand from the milk to her own cup again. She shifted her position in the chair.
“So where did you first come across The Raven?” Alex asked, watching Lyn over the rim of his coffee cup. She gave a light laugh.
“English class, when studying Edgar Allen Poe, of course!” She gave a quirky smile. Alex rolled his eyes but could not help but give a soft chuckle.
“I meant the surgical one that this whole conversation has been about…” He replied, smiling at the girl.
“Of course, of course…” She reclined in the chair and propped one of her feet on the edge of the table, even though she probably should not. “When did I first hear of The Raven…?” She looked at the ceiling. Alex saw that she was racking her brains.
“When I was… Seventeen.” She bit her lip. Alex raised an eyebrow, urging her to continue. “When I was taken in as a suspect.”
“A suspect?” Alex asked. The conversation was getting interesting. He took another sip of the bitter brown concoction.
“Yeah. There was that horrific murder in Kent? That guy who was torn, literally, to shreds? And then the next day an officer met the same fate? I was taken in as a suspect…” She looked at floor. Alex could see it obviously upset her, the whole ordeal.
“They never found his killer, did they?” He asked carefully, putting his coffee down on the table. Lyn shook her head.
“They couldn’t find the murder weapon either.” She sniffed, and looked up.
“You would have though with all the evidence they had they would have caught the killer…” Alex sighed absent mindedly, reclining in his chair.
“What evidence? They had no weapon, no witnesses and no DNA…” Lyn fiddled with the edge of her top, “Um, do you mind if we…?”
“Move on? Of course!” Alex nodded. He definitely did not like seeing this girl so upset. Hell, he did not really like seeing anyone upset. He was nearing the end of his drink now.
“So if I wanted to meet The Raven… If I wanted to join the ‘damned’, as you put it… How would I do that?” Lyn gave him an odd look, wiping one of her eyes with the back of her hand.
“But you don’t want to join the ranks of the almighty damned.” She put her foot down and lent forward on the table. “Even if you thought you did,” she began in a hushed whisper, “You do not want to join them…” Her tone was deadly serious and took Alex aback. “They are not human. They gave that up when they walked into the theatres… They gave that up when they handed over their money… They. Gave. Up. Their. Humanity.” Lyn took an intake of breath and lent back. “I don’t know what they are anymore… But human is not it.” She shook her head, downing the last of her tea.
“It has been good talking to you Mr.Mallen but I need to return to work now.” She pulled a wallet out of her back pocket and dished out the right amount of money to pay for her drink and a tip.
“Thank you for your time Lyn.” He said, confused. Something had seemingly taken this girl over. The soft laughs and quirky smirks were replaced by a sombre air. “Thank you very much.” He was putting his own money on the table, with hers, as she stood and turned to leave. She paused, looking over her shoulder.
“Good luck in catching The Raven, Mr.Mallen. I hope they don’t fly straight out of your grasp.” She gave an empty smile. Alex gave a polite smile at her retreating form. He shook his head, trying to process everything that had been said. He took the final swig of his own drink. Wait. He had never told her that he was out to catch The Raven, only that he was interested in him. Alex frowned, standing to leave and return to his car.
He had some serious thinking to do.

~~@~~

DCI Mallen was sitting in his office. Night had fallen, but London was still alive, and Alex was immersed in his work and the case of The Raven. He had typed up everything he had found out that day and put them with the other notes in the file.
He was busy contemplating something, trying to figure out what it was that was just refusing to sit right at the back of his mind when the Superintendent walked in.
“Mallen? Still here?” He laughed. “I’ve never seen you so engrossed…” Mallen looked up at his boss.
“Yes, Sir. I got some interesting information of a woman named Lyn. She said she knew something about The Raven.” The Superintendent nodded.
“Have you looked her up on the database?” He asked, Alex shook his head.
“She never gave me a last name…” He winced. He really should have got her last name. The Superintendent shook his head, pulling his coat on.
“I’d have thought a DCI such as yourself would know by now to get the full names of anyone you spoke too,” He spoke with a little acid, “Well, don’t stay on too late Mallen. Good luck.” He smiled and went to leave.
“Yes, good night sir.” Alex said automatically as his boss shut the door with a click. Alex’s mind was elsewhere though, wrapped up in thoughts of The Raven.
Alex tapped the desk thoughtfully. Lyn had mentioned that case, the one in Kent. She had been a suspect in it. Alex immediately bought up a search engine and search the entire police network for the case.
“Suspects, suspects…” He muttered, scrolling through the online notes. The case was two years old now. “James McGlynn, Sarah Caine, Evelyn Sykes, Howard Smith…” He tolled through the surprisingly long list. It took him over fifteen minutes to have scoured the list once over. There was no-one by the name of ‘Lyn’ or any variant spelling of the name. He sighed, and returned to the top.
“James, Sarah, Evelyn,” He stopped. Evelyn. Lyn was not her full name. He smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead.
Then, something clicked in his mind.
“So… The Raven…? He is the father of a damned race?”
“Yes. I would agree, that The Raven… Is the parent of this new race of the damned.” Parent. Why had she said parent and not father? Because The Raven was a woman. Eve, the mother of the human race, damned because she ate from the tree of knowledge. Evelyn, the creator of a new race, damned because she had the knowledge of surgery. How could he have been so blind? Everything was falling into place, like pieces of an old and complex jigsaw puzzle. He had been talking to The Raven.
He double clicked on ‘Evelyn Sykes’ to bring up her profile. He frowned. There was nothing. He checked again. No, nothing. Strange. There was a chance that the computer was faulty. He opened up the file of ‘Sarah Caine’. Again, nothing. His frown deepened, as he exited Sarah’s file and opened up ‘James McGlynn’. He half expected another empty folder, but this time all the information he required spilled onto the page. Alex raised an eyebrow. So Evelyn Sykes’ page had been wiped. Or she had never existed at all.
Alex stifled a yawn. It was getting late. He decided to wrap up for the night. Tomorrow he would go back to Eden. He snorted. Even that had been aptly named.

~~@~~

It was midday. DCI Mallen had had trouble getting out of the office and to the bookstore. But here he was again, standing outside the shop on the stone pavement, people of all genders and races walking all around him.
Without hesitation he pushed the door open. The bell chimed again, notifying the bookkeeper to his presence. This time when the older woman looked up, Mallen did not turn to the bookshelves but walked straight to her.
“Hello. I was wondering, is that assistant of yours in today?” He asked. The bookkeeper raised an eyebrow.
“Now which assistant would that be?” She quizzed her voice dry and cold.
“Evelyn.” He replied, only to be met by an odd look.
“No one of that name works here. My two assistants are Chris and Gary. Do you want either of them?” Her voice was almost dripping with sarcasm. Mallen was taken aback.
“She doesn’t… Work here?” He frowned.
“Are you DCI Alex Mallen?” The bookkeeper butted in, having noticed his officers badge and disrupting his thoughts.
“What? Yes… Yes I am…” He replied, still confused.
“Good. A girl with red and blue hair bought this for you yesterday. Said you’d come collect it today.” The woman said, bringing out a book from underneath the desk and laying it in front of him.
Mallen looked down. ‘Something She Was’. A confused smile spread across his lips as he picked it up.
“Thank you.” He said, thumbing through the pages.
“Anything else I can do for you?” The woman asked, leaning on the desk, peering at him over her glasses.
“No. This is fine. Thanks.” Mallen said. He turned and left the shop. So Evelyn did not work there. And according to the police database, she did not even exist.
Maybe Evelyn was as much a pseudonym as The Raven was. Alex was still flicking through the book as he walked back to his car when something caught his eye. A bit of folded paper was lodged between two of the middle pages. He paused, right in the middle of the bustling London street. Carefully he unfolded it, oblivious to the fact that high up on the roof of one of the tower blocks nearby, a young, red and blue haired woman watched.
It was a note.
‘“Stranger,” you cry, “thing of evil- woman who is like the devil!
Whether Inferno sent or not, I find thee here upon our shore,
Malevolent and undaunted, for a while I was enchanted-
All the while your horrors haunted- Tell me truly, I implore-
Will I hunt you down and catch you? Tell me - tell me, I implore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”’