“You and Angel, too,” he said, then slowly let me go after another kiss.
As Angel and I headed out, I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer things would be in the muddle they’d gotten themselves into.
THE MOVIE WAS a blast, and Angel and I arrived home in much better moods than we had left work in. We had the remains of a pizza—which we had opted for in place of burgers—with us, and she placed the last four slices on a plate and stuck them in the microwave so we could snack on them.
I picked up Mr. Rumblebutt and gave him a squeeze, kissing his nose, as Angel set out his dinner. Then, as he squirmed his way out of my arms in order to go eat, I dropped into one of the kitchen chairs.
“So, what do you think Morgana will have to say tomorrow? You really think we have to let them protect Callan?” Angel handed me a couple napkins, and then carried our plates over.
I held up a slice of pizza, taking a big bite of it and immediately regretting it as I burned my tongue. “Damn it. Thermodynamics of pizza strikes again.” Wincing, I got myself a glass of ice water. “That’s better, though I think I raised a blister.”
“You never could wait till it cooled off,” she said with a laugh.
“Yeah, I know.” I wiped my lips and sat down, blowing on the rest of it to cool it. “Honestly, I don’t know. I thought Herne was going to blow his stack today. Ginty did, too. I have no clue if they’ve ever pulled this sort of thing before, but it seems to me that it was as close as they’ve come to an outright declaration of independence from the Covenant. I don’t know what will happen if they continue to refuse the extradition order. Seriously, they’re both a piece of work.”
Angel answered more slowly. “But Ember, can you blame them? They see Callan as a chance to save their way of life. And frankly, with Elatha and his kind gaining access to the United Coalition, you know he’ll do what he can to undermine your people.” She held up her hand. “Don’t even start. Like it or not, you’re Fae and you have to accept it.”
I nodded. I had been thinking a lot about that very subject lately. For so long, I had hated my lineage. My grandparents had killed my parents. Neither side—Light or Dark—wanted to claim me. I was considered tralaeth—a mongrel combination of both. But the truth was, I was Fae and, as Angel said, like it or not, I had to accept it. I was just beginning to think I might be able to create something new…forge a new path for those like me.
“I know. And I see what you’re saying. Elatha is an inherent danger to both sides of my people, and I can’t believe the UC is accepting him into their ranks, given what happened.” I paused. “I don’t think they can help it, though. They would be slapped with discrimination suits so fast and furious. Until now, the ogres and giants haven’t thought to voice resistance, but Elatha can unite them. From what legend reads, he’s terribly persuasive. An orator supreme.”
“Yes, well, we’ve seen in the past what that can do.” Angel shuddered. “Remember Hitler? He was supposed to be charismatic, too.”
“I know.” Finally, I shook my head. “All right. We have a long day tomorrow and we need to go in early. I suggest we get some sleep.” As we gathered our plates and carried them over to the sink, I asked, “Did you hear from DJ today?”
A smile blossomed across Angel’s face. “Yeah, I did. He won first prize in a science contest.” She sighed. “I wish I could be there to watch all these milestones, but he seems happy with Cooper and his family. I suppose I should just be grateful.”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “He won’t forget you. You’re his sister and he loves you. Come on, now. Let’s get to bed.”
As she turned off into her room, I hoped for her sake that I was right.
Chapter 10
I DRESSED WITH extra care the next morning, given Morgana was supposed to show up in the office. Since I was bound to her, I didn’t want her to see me looking sloppy or acting petulant. I wore dark jeans, as usual, but slipped into a shimmery silver corset-top, fastened a black belt around my waist, and then added a black denim overshirt, leaving it open. Ankle boots finished the outfit. I brushed my hair back into a ponytail, slid silver hoops into my ears, and did my makeup.
“You look sharp,” Angel said. “But don’t forget the power’s out so take an extra warm jacket.”
“Thanks, I almost forgot. Morgana’s going to be there. I’d better look sharp.” I accepted the breakfast sandwich she handed me, and the travel mug filled with steaming latte. “I hope the building superintendant can get to the furnace earlier than he said he could.”
“Take a jacket you can move in. I have a feeling you’ll be out on the prowl today. Just a hunch…plus yesterday I heard Herne mention to Viktor that you guys were going to go body-hunting.” She grabbed her purse. “Let’s take both cars, just in case.”
“I’d better bring a different top then, so that I don’t rip this one up if we have to wade through a tangle.” I darted up the stairs to my room and grabbed a long-sleeved microsuede tunic that never caught on brambles or briars. Stuffing it in my backpack, I returned to the foyer where Angel was waiting. She had found a couple spare space heaters to take into the office.
Patting the charm on the wall by the door—it had become a ritual of mine every day when I left to press my hand against the good luck talisman I had made for our home—I followed Angel out the front door. Waving to her, I climbed in my car and pulled out behind her, as we headed toward work.
BY THE TIME we got to the office, everybody else was there and it was still freezing. We had encountered an accident that led to a detour, which led to being fifteen minutes late. But luckily, Morgana wasn’t there yet. Herne hustled everybody into the break room except Angel, who would wait for Morgana and escort her in. He set up one of the space heaters we had brought. Angel put the other one by her desk.
“While we’re waiting, let’s hand out assignments. Ember? I want you and Viktor out hunting through UnderLake Park today. Talia and Yutani are researching the other missing Fae to see if they can pinpoint any connections between Ulstair and them—any correlations at all. I’m not sure why the cops aren’t on this, but maybe it has to do with Saílle’s court. If you have any connections in the Court of Darkness, see if they can find out any dirt on the missing men.” Herne paused as Angel tapped on the door.
She peeked into the room. “Lady Morgana is here.”
“Show her in, and bring your notes. Lock the elevator for now.”
Angel led Morgana into the room. The goddess was looking lovely. Dressed in a long gown of periwinkle layers, each filmy and as sheer as silk, she glided into the room. A black cloak hung around her shoulders, trailing the ground, and her hair was caught back in an intricate knotwork of braids, held by a silver clasp. She filled the room with her power, and I could hear the call of the ocean, the roar of the waves as they crashed against the shore as she passed by me to stand by Herne.
“Well met, my son.” She turned to the rest of us, nodding. Her gaze fell on me and she smiled. “Ember, child. How are you faring? Marilee tells me that you are coming along nicely in your preparations for the Cruharach.”
I nodded. “I’ve met both sides of my heritage, so I guess she’s right, milady.”
“I will talk to Cernunnos and we will arrange the final rituals for you.” She paused, then motioned for Herne to sit down. As he pulled out a chair for her, then sat down, she took her seat. “Have you told your crew what happened yesterday?”
“Not in so many words,” Herne said. “To recap in case anybody didn’t hear yesterday. Saílle and Névé have decided to unite under a truce. They’re protecting Callan and giving him lead over their combined military forces in case Elatha makes any more threatening moves their way. They refuse to hand him over, he’s claimed Sanctuary and is staying at Ginty’s Waystation. While we could stake out the Waystation to try to catch him when he steps off the property, both Courts have indicated they will consider such a
n act a breach of the Covenant with Morgana and Cernunnos. I wasn’t sure what else to do.” He turned to Morgana. “So, what have you and Cernunnos decided?”
She twisted her lip, her eyes flashing. “While I understand their fears, I’m not at all happy with their choice. They could have petitioned us about it. But such is not the nature of the Fae Queens, and this I also realize. Cernunnos asked me to approach them last night. He thought they would listen to me more than to him. Unfortunately, neither side will listen to reason. So, while we work on setting up a Triamvinate, we must either allow them to shelter Callan, or break the Covenant, and centuries of work will be undone. Obviously, we’re leaving this alone until we can petition for a Triamvinate.”
I raised my hand.
She pointed to me. “Yes, Ember?”
“They may claim to be under a truce now, but you know how much the Light and the Dark hate each other. How long do you think this truce will last? When it breaks, Callan will be yanked in both directions. Don’t you think we can just wait for them to be their own undoing, so to speak?” It made sense to me. I doubted they could go a week before starting to squabble again.
Morgana laughed. “Yes, I do think that’s what will happen. We walk softly for now, and leave them alone. But that said, I’m worried they’re going to go a step further and plot revenge against Elatha, which will—of course—spill out into the human community.” She leaned back. “I don’t appreciate having to cave in to them—it vexes me. But Cernunnos and I agree that we’re doing the only thing we can at this time. Meanwhile, I’m consulting my father to see if he can be of any assistance. He’s in Spain right now, hanging out with Rasputin.”
I blinked. “Rasputin?”
“Yes, another member of the Force Majeure.”
“I thought Rasputin was killed,” Talia said.
“No, that was a great coverup. He’s alive and well and still stirring up trouble. If I can pry my father away from the chess tournament they’re playing in, I’ll ask his help.”
I gulped. Morgana’s father was the Merlin, who belonged to the Force Majeure—a secret society of mages, witches, sorcerers, and enchantresses. There were only twenty-one of them at any given time in the world, and they were hand picked for entry into the society. The only way out was death. Elatha—the Fomorian King—had a mistress who belonged to them. Ranna had been the one to create the iron plague that had threatened the Fae a couple of months back.
“Meeting Merlin would be like meeting a rock star. A very scary rock star.” I stared at the table, both hoping and dreading it would come to that.
“Yes, well, my father’s a blustery sort, that’s for sure.” Morgana rose.
“Is that all, Mother?” Herne stood along with her.
“For now, yes. Walk with caution and do nothing regarding Callan until we give you the word.” With that, she swept toward the door, stopping to pat me lightly on the shoulder before she vanished into the waiting area.
Angel dashed after her, but returned, blinking. “She’s gone, but the elevator’s still locked.”
“She’s a goddess. What do you expect?” Talia said with a cackle.
“So, I guess we have our marching orders,” Herne said. “All right then. We focus on Raven’s case. Ember, you and Viktor head out to the park now. Grab your lunch while you’re out. I want you to scour the park. See if there’s anything we missed, or the cops missed. We know they didn’t look very hard. Talia and Yutani, go ahead and get to work on your research. Angel, come into my office with the ledger for last month. We need to go over the accounting and make certain everything’s square and set.”
Given our tasks, we broke the meeting and got started for the day.
VIKTOR AND I stared at the vast expanse of foliage around us. Luckily, all the men had went missing in one area, which gave us a place to start, but searching for clues that the cops might have overlooked or evidence that might have been buried was a far cry from easy.
“Where do we start?” I asked, staring around me. The air was saturated with moisture and it was due to rain again. I shivered, even though I had on a warm jacket and my microsuede shirt.
“I’m not certain. Are there any bodies of water close enough for you to contact an elemental and maybe get some information?”
I frowned. “Well, there’s the beach, but since Ulstair went missing about a quarter mile from there on the Beach Trail, that’s too far. We might gain some help from an Elemental, but I doubt it.” Truth was, I didn’t even know if there were any elementals around the area.
We began the hunt from the spot where we had found Ulstair’s phone. The cops hadn’t been out here in a while. Viktor had found out that there hadn’t been any real investigation into any of the missing men, which meant the park hadn’t been searched thoroughly. On the down side, that meant there was close to two hundred acres of land to search through.
“Where do you want to start?”
I was about to say “Pick a place” when a tingle at the back of my neck stopped me. I closed my eyes, holding up my hand. As I slowly turned, reaching out to search the currents of air, something whispered to head north—directly off trail from where we had found the phone, into a deeply wooded part of the park.
“That way,” I said, pointing.
Viktor was staring at me. “You look different.”
“I feel different,” I said softly. The voice that had told me which way we should look was strong and firm and decisive. I picked up my walking stick—this time I had remembered to bring one—and headed up the sloping side of the ravine into the dense undergrowth. The trees grew thick here, their trunks within touching distance, and the ferns were knee-high. Brambles wove through the area, their thorns wickedly sharp. I tried to avoid them, stepping around patches, but still, they caught at our clothing as we made our way around them.
Viktor let out a soft curse and I turned. He held up his hand. He was bleeding. “Didn’t see a bramble cane and it got me.”
“Do you need to go back?”
He shook his head, pulling out a handkerchief. “I’ll wrap it up and it will be fine till we’re done. Just hurts like hell.”
As we set off again with me in the lead, I began to fall into the energy of the forest. It was seductive, dark and dangerous with shadows lurking everywhere, and eyes peeking out from the depths of the gloom. There were creatures here, watching us, and they snuck along beside us as we passed by them. Creatures from my realm—from the Fae realm—that bore no semblance of humanity. They were sub-Fae, the beings who lived between the world of the forest devas and the world of the Fae. Back in Annwn, they lived in the realm of Elphame—ruled by Nicnevan, one of the numerous queens of the realm.
Here, they lived in the woodlands and the wilds, and they kept no connection with the Dark or the Light Fae, being thoroughly untamed. They were younger than the Ante-Fae, but older than the Light and the Dark, and the more the world crowded in, the more they fled back to Annwn to avoid the infiltration of their territory. They were hunters and tricksters, predators and jokesters, ruled by chaos.
I seldom had business with them, for they didn’t care much for their Light and Dark cousins. In fact, I seldom noticed them when I passed through the woodlands. But now I felt them all around us, running loose in UnderLake Park. They watched as we passed by, and I lightly reached out with my thoughts, trying to touch them like I did the water elementals, but all I encountered was a flurry of energy, a wild dance of color and sound and dangerous laughter.
I withdrew my thoughts, shielding myself, wondering if I could feel them more than I had before because I had met and accepted my Dark Fae blood. Surely, the Autumn Stalkers would know the sub-Fae of the forest? If so, perhaps I was able to sense their presence now.
I said nothing to Viktor, not wanting to worry him. I wasn’t sure if he could sense their presence, and it occurred to me that out here in the tangle of wild brambles wasn’t the best place to broach the questi
on. Instead, I focused my attention on the whispering voice that urged me on, tapping me on the shoulder like a ghost.
After about fifteen minutes, I paused, halfway up a ravine, and looked back at Viktor. “I still get the sense to go on.”
“Then we might as well, because otherwise I have no clue exactly what Herne expects us to do. You want to keep leading? I’m fine with it, unless you need a break.”
“Let me. I feel like I’m on the verge of remembering something. It’s like a memory that I can’t quite grasp, but I know it’s there and if I just pay attention long enough, it will come into clear focus.”
I knelt, placing my hands against the soil. There were no water elementals within close proximity, but after a few minutes, I was sinking deeper into trance, and the smell of the soil, the tang of the earth, was feeding my senses. I opened my eyes, scouting along the ground, cautiously brushing back the brambles and ferns. A few minutes later, I found what I had been searching for.
“Here. See the ground here? Someone’s been dragged through here, though the plants rebounded afterward. But…I know it. See this? There’s a depression along the detritus, about the width of a body. I think that somebody was dragged up this slope.”
Viktor stared at me for a moment, then nodded for me to move on ahead.
As we continued, with me stopping every few minutes to kneel and keep my focus on whatever signs I could see, it occurred to me that a month ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do this sort of reconnaissance work.
Another fifty feet and I stopped. We had been hunting through the ravine for about half an hour and I wasn’t sure how far off the trail we had gone. I was about to shift direction when something caught my nose—a faint scent.
“Do you smell something?”
Viktor shook his head, frowning. “No, what does it smell like?”
“Sweet, cloying like old perfume.” I glanced around. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of what appeared to be the mouth of a cave or very large hole, jutting deep into the side of the ravine. “There.”
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