Crowman Cont

"Wakey wakey Sleeping Beauty".

"Urgh". Slowly Crow opened his sleep crusted and heavy eyelids to see a pair of oak brown eyes and a blazing smile.

"Huh, so I'm not dead then. Excellent", Crow beamed.

"How do you know your not in heaven?" Sergei queried, genuinely curious about Crow's reply which would likely be one that would give Sergei a lot of insight into Crow's mental health.

The smile dropped from Crow's face to be replaced by an almost brooding expression. "Because I can't go to heaven. I've angered Uncle Creator and his feather brained worshiper's far to much. Not that I regret it, and if I was in hell then you wouldn't be here. So Occum's Razor." Wondering where exactly he was Crow tried to sit up but immediately regretted the decision as Sun's died in front of him.

"Take it easy Crow" a heavily Cuban accented voice warned from the end of Crow's four poster bed. "Your mind has been through hell and you had a bit of a fight with the car on your way back". Well that explained why his feet and arms felt like they'd been sat on by a Titan. "Oh dud I?" he replied interestedly as he sank back into his soft feather mattress, letting his head collapse onto his silk, dark blue pillows. "Who won?" he asked, only mildly interested in the answer. For some inexplicable reason his head was buzzing, and there was a sharp niggling sensation at the back of his mind.

"The car", Sergei grinned, "she squashed your arms and feet to stop you from thrashing around. And she put a seatbelt in your mouth. Good thing to or they'd have been able to hear you loud and clear over in the Americas." Crow grimaced.

"Lovely. I don't suppose either of you could get me something to drink? My mouth feels awfully dry" Crow complained as the young Cuban doctor moved around to the machines on the lest side of his bed.

"You can drink whatever you like as long as its not caffeinated or alcoholic. With your brain in the state that it is I'm not risking it. In fact I'm surprised you can still talk. Your brains been scrambled like an egg" Mari stated candidly as she critically examined his vital signs.

"Well its a good thing I'm used to having my brain scrambled then. Sergei I'll have some apple and black current juice if you don't mind."

"No problem."

"Well I'll be off then" Mari informed them. "I'll be back at about 2 to do another MRI scan and vitals check. Make sure he has something to eat in the mean time Sergei."

"Yeah sure" Sergei smiled.

"Okay. Bye Tun" Mari said to the crow sitting on his perch by the door. As soon as the oak door snapped shut behind Mari, Crow turned to Sergei. "MRI scan?!" he cried, alarmed. "And how long have I been out for?!"

"You've been out for about 72 hours from the moment you collapsed" Sergei calmly informed him as he added water to the cordial. "And you slammed you head, rather spectacularly I might add, on your way down to your intimate acquaintance with the bar floor. There's no physical damage though" he added as he came around to sit on Crow's left, "but Mari and I want to be absolutely certain that there's no brain damage."

"Mmm". Slowly Crow raised a slightly bruised hand to his head. Bit's of what had happened before he woke up in bed were starting to come back to him now: the troll, 10,000 euros.....and the terrifying message from his dying mother. "Sergei help me sit up a bit. Tun come here."

"Care to explain what's going through your mind?" Sergei asked, his black eyebrows knitted together in worry as he helped Crow to sit up just enough so that he could see Tun landing on his beautifully sewn duvet cover. "Not yet", Crow answered weakly as he tried to stop his head spinning. "Tun....I need you to gather the crow's. Fly all over the world and find out where the other guardians are and what they are doing. Be quick about it, be very careful and be precise."

"Don't worry we will. And we will return straight. Look after yourself Master", the crow called before he soared out of the open window, cawing his master's commands to his bretheren as he took to the cloudy skies.

Published 2nd of February 2017