“Hey there,” I said, my voice low. “Who are you?”
The crow stared at me, then let out a long caw, squawking at me loudly. I felt like it was trying to tell me something, but I wasn’t sure what.
I reached out to the bird, and it eyed my hand, as if debating on what to do next. Finally, it let out another long caw and rose up, circling over my head before winging away to the north. I watched it go, wondering what that had been all about.
Padding back into the house, I took a quick shower, then dressed. As I slipped into a pair of black jeans and found a blue turtleneck, I thought about the night before. The Cruharach was coming closer, but after meeting my father’s bloodline, I wasn’t as nervous as I had been. The Autumn Stalkers could be dangerous, but they were also reasonable. The Leannan Sidhe, not so much. But together, the mix could be both powerful and yet workable. And my mother had managed to keep a hold on her own nature—she hadn’t gone around leeching energy off others. I could manage this. I could do this, and make it work to my benefit. Once again, I was grateful to Morgana for sending me to Merilee.
I finished dressing and did my makeup. Then, brushing my hair back into a ponytail, I added a pair of sapphire studs to my ears, and eyed myself in the mirror. Today I’d have to deal with Herne, but I felt a peace that I hadn’t expected. We would manage through this mess, and find a way to make it work. It wasn’t like he was in love with Myrna.
I decided to surprise Angel. She wouldn’t be up for a little while, so I rummaged through the cupboards till I found a skillet, and then brought out the eggs and bread. As I began making toast, I heard her coming down the stairs.
“Are you cooking?” she asked, peeking in the kitchen with a sleepy yawn.
“Hey, I made my own meals when I lived on my own. Yes, they were simple, and yes, I enjoyed eating more than I did the cooking. But I managed. I was up early, so decided to make us scrambled eggs and toast. You want grated cheese in your eggs?”
She nodded. “Always. I’ll start your coffee. Can you put the tea kettle on for me?”
We worked in comfortable silence. She opened the cat food for Mr. Rumblebutt, who came running at the sound of the can opener, and we slid into our chairs at the table with our plates. The eggs and toast were simple, but they were hot and tasty. As I passed the raspberry jam to Angel, she scratched her nose and yawned again.
“I waited up for a while, but you came in late. How did the session with Marilee go?”
I licked a drop of butter off my fingers. “Good, actually. I met the Autumn Stalker part of my bloodline. Marilee thinks that my father’s blood will be dominant. Even though I detest my grandfather, I’m actually relieved. Believe it or not, that blood is more reasonable than my mother’s. I think I can do this.”
Angel nodded. “You can. You’re strong and you’re determined. You can make it through this transition.” She paused, then asked, “What about Herne? You going to go to work today?”
“Yeah. I needed yesterday off, but I’ll go today. The shock’s worn off a bit. So what if he has a child? She’s an adult—technically—so it’s not like she’s going to need him to diaper her. And everybody comes with some sort of baggage in their lives. Ex-husbands, stalker boyfriends, kids from a short-term relationship…it happens. Maybe she and I will hit it off and we’ll all end up one big, happy, extended family.” I could almost let myself believe that, even though beneath the surface, the jaded side of me was whispering, “Oh sure…it’s going to be that easy.”
Angel ducked her head, laughing. “Hold onto that for when the going gets rough. One thing I’ve learned about kids from taking care of DJ, smooth sailing never lasts for long. But at least Danielle’s on her way to adulthood. You just about ready?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s head out.”
We arrived at work at quarter to eight. Viktor was there, hanging around the desk. He looked relieved when he saw us exit the elevator.
“Thank gods you’re here today.” He quickly slipped out of Angel’s chair. “I can answer the phones but you’ve managed to organize things to the point of where I can’t figure out where anything is.” He laughed, though. “Seriously, Angel, you’re priceless. Don’t you dare quit.”
“Is Herne here yet?” I asked.
Viktor shook his head. “He’ll be in a little late. Staff meeting at ten in the break room to discuss Raven’s case. I found out a bunch of stuff yesterday that may shed some light. Also, Charlie’s due to start work soon.”
“That’s right—I had forgotten about that with all the crap going on.” I glanced around. “Has he got a key to unlock the elevator?”
“Yeah, he does. Herne made sure. He’ll work from home during the day, then come in for an hour after sunset to input his notes.” Viktor grinned. “He’s cleaned up quite well.”
“Oh?” I laughed.
When we first met Charlie, we had been looking for his roommate, a human who ended up being part of a hate group. Charlie Darren was the quintessential nerd/outcast. He was also a vampire, turned just a year or so back when he was nineteen. He had been a math major putting himself through college while working in a doughnut bakery. His sire had been a rogue vamp. The Vampire Nation saw to it that the vamp never took another life, meaning they staked him. Charlie had hoped to move up in vampire society, but the lack of a sire to stand by him, and the lack of money and experience were big drawbacks. Charlie was also lonely, and he and Viktor had struck up a friendship of sorts.
It had occurred to Herne that having a vampire on staff might actually benefit us. Charlie could get into places we couldn’t, and having that connection with the Vampire Nation might be a good thing when we needed their cooperation. So he offered Charlie a job and Charlie decided to take it. It beat cranking out doughnuts during the wee hours of the night.
“Yeah, his vampire glamour has taken hold, and I got him out of those empty eye-glass frames he was still wearing and convinced him to ditch the oversize jeans for ones that fit. He exchanged the ripped T-shirts for sweaters. He looks pretty snazzy now.” Viktor sounded like a proud papa.
“Well, I’m glad he’s joining us,” Angel said. “He seemed way too lonely at the Labor Day party you threw.”
“He just wants to fit in somewhere. And right now, he’s not doing so hot on that count with other vampires. His family disowned him. So…” He stopped as Angel took her seat and began looking through the messages.
“Is Talia in?” I asked.
“Yeah, she’s in her office, searching through the bank records that came in last night. Yutani’s due in any minute. His aunt’s with him. She’s up here visiting.”
“It’s family week around here, isn’t it?” I caught myself before I sounded too harsh. I really didn’t want to go down that road.
“You’ll like her. Celia’s a firebrand. She comes up every year to visit him, since he’s no longer allowed in the village.” Viktor stopped as the elevator opened and Herne strode in, accompanied by Yutani and a very short, large woman. She was pretty, with dark eyes and long hair caught back in a gray ponytail. She crackled with energy and I could feel the shifter vibe coming off her in waves.
“Hey,” Herne said. “Look who I found in the elevator.” He wrapped his arm around the woman’s shoulders and squeezed. “Yutani brought Celia with him!”
“Celia—it’s so good to see you,” Viktor said, stepping in for a big hug. At that moment Talia entered the waiting room and she, too, launched herself at the coyote shifter. After everybody was done, Yutani escorted Celia over to the desk.
“This is my aunt Celia. Celia, meet Ember—she’s Herne’s girlfriend, as well as a coworker, and this is Angel, our receptionist and all-around miracle-worker.”
As I shook Celia’s hand, a spark crackled.
I laughed. “You trying to electrify me?”
“Oh, girl, if I was, you’d know it.” Celia winked, then said hello to Angel. “Don’t mind me, I know you have a me
eting to attend to. I’m going to do some shopping around the neighborhood and I’ll be back around lunch time to take Yutani out for our traditional fish-and-chips fiesta.” She waved and—before anybody could answer—slipped back into the elevator.
Yutani smiled fondly at the closed doors. “Celia came early this year.” He turned around, glancing at Angel and me. “She usually comes up for Thanksgiving, but this year she’s going on a cruise, so she planned her trip early.”
“All right, let’s get on with the meeting. Angel, lock the elevator and join us, please. You can take notes for Raven’s case file.” Herne paused as he started past me. He gave me a long look. “Are you all right? I missed you yesterday.”
I shrugged. “I just needed some time to process all this.”
“I understand,” he said, softly pressing his hand against my shoulder. “But please, talk with me about anything that concerns you. I don’t want us to stop communicating. I don’t want you to walk away from me.”
“Speaking of walking away from, Ray’s in the hospital,” I said as we joined the others in the break room. I told them what had happened.
“So he’s out of commission for a while?”
“Yeah, though I don’t know how long. I’m hoping that Marilee will have a counter spell to break the obsession before he’s released from the hospital. That would be a relief and much easier than trying to put him in jail or whatever we’re going to have to do.”
“Yeah, it would. Well, keep us informed,” Herne said, sitting down with his tablet and a file folder. “Okay, let’s get to work. Yesterday was a haphazard day due to many reasons, mostly my issues. You all should know that Danielle is settled in with me for a while. She’s not exactly thrilled about it, but her mother has a business trip to Japan coming up, and while Danielle lives on her own, for the most part, she’s used to Myrna being nearby.”
Nobody said much, but then again, I doubted any of us knew exactly what to say, given the situation.
Talia cleared her throat. “Well, I ran through Ulstair’s bank records. Nothing—no withdrawals, no activity on his credit cards since the day he disappeared. And I took a look at his phone. No usable fingerprints, and not much to go on. Raven called him twenty-five times, and his work called him every day. The messages were unread, so he didn’t get any of them.”
Viktor nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. But this may go deeper. I went to the station and talked to Erica. She dove into the files for me. There have been three other recent reports on missing persons from people who frequented the same trail in UnderLake Park. The cops did a couple sweeps of the area without finding any results, but they aren’t touching the cases otherwise. All three were younger Fae men, who seem to bear an uncanny resemblance to Ulstair. Or maybe he resembles them—who knows? But whoever is kidnapping them seems to have a special type in mind.”
He laid out four pictures, one of them Ulstair’s, and I had to agree that he was right. All four men looked relatively young—for being Fae—and they were light haired, dark eyed, and seemed to be of a similar build. Toned, with a runner’s physique.
“Does this mean we’re following a serial killer? Or kidnapper? When did these men go missing?” Talia asked, leaning forward to study the pictures. “They’re all Fae?”
“Yeah, all Dark Fae. Two of them disappeared in August, around two weeks apart. One in early September. And now Ulstair in mid-September. I asked Liu if he could look back further for any similar cases but he couldn’t seem to find any that seemed to match up. At least not around UnderLake.”
“So, no activity on the credit cards, and there have been three other men who look like him who have disappeared. And the cops aren’t taking steps on any of this. I have a bad feeling about this,” Herne said. “I think we need to concentrate on Raven’s case for now, at least until we find out what happens when I follow Morgana’s instructions and carry word to Névé that anybody found harboring Callan will be hauled in before her and Cernunnos. Ember, you and I are meeting Saílle and Névé at Ginty’s to discuss this today.”
I groaned. “Another parley?”
“You know it’s the only way that Saílle and Névé will enter the same room. Come on, we need to head out now. We’re due there by eleven and traffic might be a bitch.”
“What should we do about Raven’s case while you’re gone?” Talia asked.
“Since there have been three other cases like Ulstair’s, look into the backgrounds of the other men. See what you can find out about them. There has to be some sort of connection. Or maybe that’s just a hope, but whatever, Talia, you and Yutani spend the rest of the morning gathering all the details you can about them.” Herne yawned, stretching. I caught my breath, reveling in the sight. Yeah, I had to make it work with Herne. There was too much between us—too much that I still wanted to explore with him.
We headed out after I grabbed my purse and he, his backpack. He tossed it in the back seat of his Ford Expedition and motioned for me to get in. I really didn’t want to go hang out with the Fae Queens again, but I grudgingly climbed in the passenger seat.
Névé and Saílle might be from opposite courts, but they were cut from the same cloth and it wasn’t exactly a pretty one. Oh, both queens were gorgeous, but their beauty stopped right below the surface. I had spent my entire life keeping as far away from my people—both sides—as possible, and now, once again, I was going to parade in front of them and rub their noses in the fact that I existed.
While both appeared to be superficially pleasant, they were actually unpleasant, petty, and both far too arrogant for their own good. I thought about the possibility of pointing that out, but decided that discretion was the better part of valor. And it took valor to even just meet them face to face.
Herne waited till he had pulled out of the parking garage before swinging to me. “Seriously, how are you doing?”
I blinked. “I told you, I’m all right. So, just what’s on the topic for parley today?”
He paused for a moment, waiting, and when I didn’t say anything else, he snorted. “Handing over Callan to us.”
“Good luck with that one.” I figured we’d be wasting our time, but it wasn’t my call. If Morgana wanted us to face them down, we’d face them down.
“I thought maybe you might like to come over and meet Danielle.” He said it so nonchalantly that I almost didn’t hear what he said, but then his words registered.
I blinked and turned toward him. “Seriously? You want me to meet her?”
“Of course. You’re an important part of my life. She’s not exactly a child, although she would be considered a teenager in terms of the gods. The Amazons age quickly compared to the Fae, but even so, they’re exceptionally long lived for humans. But my blood gives Danielle close to an immortal lifespan.” He paused, then added, “I can’t promise she’ll be happy to meet you, but this has to happen sometime and we might as well do it now.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, but then cleared my throat. “What about Saturday?” I wasn’t procrastinating, but I wanted to have some time to mentally prepare myself.
“Saturday morning it is, then. Come over for brunch, around eleven.” He stared at the road, easing over into the right lane as we curved around the ramp, merging onto the 520 freeway. We were headed out across the floating bridge when he spoke next. “It’s so weird. Danielle and I are jockeying for some sort of common ground. She resents me, I can tell that much. And she seems to feel that I resent her.”
“Don’t you? I’m not saying you’re a bad person, Herne. But this was a bombshell dropped in your lap, long after your relationship with Myrna ended. I suppose I understand why she wanted to wait to tell you—or maybe I don’t, but the fact is, you were presented with a fully grown daughter and you’re suddenly expected to create some sort of relationship with her. You’ve never been in her life, maybe her mother never told her who her father was until now, and then—she’s expected to cozy up with you and
call you Daddy? Danielle probably resents the hell out of you, and maybe her mother, too. And it seems like it would be normal for you to resent her.”
Herne let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I have to admit that I keep wondering why the hell Myrna didn’t come to me when she found out she was pregnant. I wouldn’t have married her, but, although I was an arrogant snot at the time, and pissed off, I really hope I would have done the right thing and made sure she and Danielle were provided for.”
“Do you want a relationship with the girl?” I wasn’t asking out of spite. I was genuinely curious. I knew how I felt when my grandfather had contacted me—I hadn’t wanted a damned thing to do with him, and with good reason. He was a toxic person and a toxic force, and I wanted nothing to do with him.
After a moment’s hesitation, Herne said, “I don’t know, to be honest. I do—I suppose. I’m supposed to want this. There’s a part of me who feels like I already let her down by not being there for her mother and her. I owe this to her. I owe it to her to help out, to forge some sort of amenable relationship with her. But so far, I can’t say that I’m finding it easy. Danielle’s spoiled, and Myrna brought her up to be a snob, an attitude I find spectacularly unattractive.”
I stared out the window and Herne fell back into silence. He hadn’t asked about my meeting with Marilee, but then again, there was a lot on his mind. But part of me felt that if I was so important to him, that I should be on his mind, too. It was all one big chaotic jumble, so I finally pushed my thoughts aside and watched the water as we crossed the bridge. The whitecaps were churning on one side, as they always did, while the other side seemed still as glass. As rain broke and pounded down the windshield, I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes, lost in my thoughts.
Chapter 9
GINTY WAS A dwarf who owned a Waystation bar and grill on the Eastside. It was right off Paradise Lake Road, near Bear Creek. Rustic on the outside, it looked to be single story, until you went inside. Built from brown lumber, with bronze trim everywhere, it was a popular go-to joint with the SubCult. As we entered the massive parking lot, the place appeared to be jumping. The lot could hold at least forty cars, and it was over half-full.
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