A Shadow of Crows

by Yasmine Galenorn

  Kipa ducked his head, staring at the table. “It’s never easy. I’m sorry. This woman whose fiancé was murdered, is she a friend of yours?”

  “Somewhat,” I said. “A new friend, I guess you could say. A client. Angel and I like her a lot. She’s one of the Ante-Fae, but she’s nice, and it really sucks to have to tell somebody that the person they love is dead and gone.”

  Kipa stared at us, then pushed the basket of potato chips our way. “Here. You need food. You need junk food,” he added. He motioned for the waitress and she returned with our drinks, sliding the bubbling green cocktail in front of me.

  Goblin blasters were a mixture of three types of rum, pineapple juice, a burnt sugar caramel syrup, and lime. It wouldn’t have been so potent if one of the rums hadn’t been Dahayshun rum, a liqueur made by the Dark Fae that could knock you off your ass with one shot.

  I took a sip and felt a shudder run through me. Dahayshun rum was expensive and rare and the archenemy of sobriety.

  Kipa looked up at the waitress. “Three pieces of cheesecake, another basket of potato chips, a plate of nachos fully loaded, and some chicken wings, please. A double portion appetizer of the wings, if you would. Moderately spicy.” He glanced at us. “That work for you girls?”

  I groaned, but nodded. Angel broke into a wide smile.

  “That sounds wonderful,” she said, taking a long pull on her beer. “Bring me another beer as well.”

  I decided I might as will make a night of it. “I’ll take another goblin blaster.”

  “Oh girl, you’re asking for trouble.” Kipa laughed again, and he pointed to my drink. “I seriously hope that you have another way home besides driving.”

  Angel spoke up. “I’ll limit myself to two beers. I never drink more than that anyway, or at least not usually. In a couple hours I’ll be able to drive without a problem.”

  Halfway through the wings, I ordered my third goblin blaster. I was feeling no pain by then. The room seemed a lot brighter, and Kipa seemed a whole lot cuter, and the music made me want to dance. I glanced at the dance floor where a few couples were getting their groove on.

  “Kipa, dance with me.” I motioned for Angel to get out of the booth so I could slide out.

  “Are you sure—” Angel started to say but I waved away her protests. I wanted to dance, and since Herne wasn’t there, Kipa would do.

  Kipa gave me a speculative look, then glanced at Angel. “You think I should?”

  Angel cleared her throat. “I don’t think a dance will hurt, but you’d better leave it at that. Herne wouldn’t hesitate to beat you to a pulp if your hands wander.”

  “Quit talking about me like I’m not here,” I said. “I want to dance.”

  The room was spinning as Kipa took my hand and led me onto the dance floor. The music was techno-dance, but as I tried to match my movements to the rhythm, I almost tipped over. Maybe the goblin blasters were stronger than I thought they were.

  Kipa pulled me toward him, putting his arm around my waist, and we danced slow and easy. He smelled wild, a little like Herne but more feral. There was a musky scent to him that wasn’t unpleasant. He smelled like wet cedar on a cold day, and the mist rising in the forest at night. Kipa was Lord of the Wolves, and right now I could almost hear them howling around him. Chilled, and a little turned on, I nestled into his arms and leaned my head against his chest. As the song ended though, he gently pushed me away and led me back to the booth. Angel scooted over so I could slide in on the end.

  “I want another drink,” I said, stumbling over the words.

  “You don’t need another drink,” Angel said.

  “What’s going on, Ember? I’ve never seen you like this.” Kipa glanced over at Angel, and I saw him question her with his eyes.

  “It’s been a sucky week, and I hated having to tell Raven that Ulstair was dead. She was so in love with him. And tomorrow I’ve got to meet my boyfriend’s daughter and I don’t know how to act. I can’t believe Herne’s got a daughter.” I suddenly burst into tears, and my nose began to run. Angel handed me a napkin.

  “Oh, ho! So that’s what’s going on. Herne’s past has come back to haunt him.” Kipa arched his eyebrows as he leaned back, popping another potato chip into his mouth. “Everybody makes mistakes, Ember. Even Herne.”

  “What if she doesn’t like me? What if she doesn’t want him to see me anymore?”

  Oh gods, I was sounding like a needy, clingy girlfriend. I rolled my eyes, staring at the ceiling. My stomach lurched around as I ate the last bite of my cheesecake. Grimacing, I pressed my hand to my stomach, hoping that everything would stay down.

  “Trust me,” Kipa said. “Herne has it bad for you. If Cernunnos himself told him to break up with you, he wouldn’t do it. He’s not going to throw you over just because of a daughter whom he knew nothing about. Who knows, maybe she’ll love you? Maybe you two will become best friends.”

  “I’ve already got a best friend and she’s sitting right here.” I turned to Angel. “I would never throw you over for Herne’s daughter. You know that, right?”

  Angel shook her head, laughing. “Girlfriend, it’s time to get you home and into bed. You are not driving.”

  “I can drive her back. How are you doing?”

  Angel pointed to the empty bottles. “It’s been two hours since I drank those and I’m quite sober. I ate enough to cushion the alcohol. If you can drive her car, let’s pour her into it and get her back home. If she throws up, it’s going to be in her own vehicle, not mine.”

  The conversation was becoming a blur, and I wasn’t sure exactly what they were talking about. The next thing I knew they had me up and heading toward the door. My stomach swayed dangerously, but I managed to keep everything down.

  When we reach the parking lot, Angel and Kipa got me strapped into the passenger seat of my car. Angel found my keys and handed them to Kipa and then headed for her own car. Kipa waited until she was safely inside and had started the ignition, then he started up my car. I didn’t protest—even in my drunken stupor I knew I was far too drunk to drive. I leaned back against the headrest on the seat, closing my eyes.

  “Ember, I want to ask you something.” Kipa took the turns nice and easy as we followed Angel back to our place.

  “What?” I tried to focus on his voice.

  “Are you and Herne happy? Or rather, are you happy with Herne?”

  I let out a loud belch, wincing as the taste of the goblin blasters hit my throat again. Everything might be blurry, but I had no doubt about how to answer his question.

  “I love Herne. I’m scared of being in a relationship with him, because hey, he’s a god. But I love him.”

  “That’s all I wanted to know,” Kipa said, easing the car off the road, parking behind Angel.

  I almost made it to the front door before I threw up. Luckily, I managed to avoid splattering either one of them with the remains of my goblin blaster orgy. Kipa picked me up in his arms and carried me in, and Angel directed him up the stairs. He set me down on my bed, turning me over to Angel at that point.

  “Take care of her. Call me if you need me. Here’s my cell number.” He jotted down something on a piece of paper and handed it to her. “Do you need help getting her cleaned up and into bed?”

  I could barely hear Angel’s reply, and the next thing I knew someone was washing my face and stripping me out of my clothes. I didn’t know who it was, but as my head hit the pillow, I saw Mr. Rumblebutt laying beside me. I wrapped my arm around him, and groaning softly, passed out for the night.

  “EMBER, TIME TO wake up.” Angel was shaking my shoulder.

  I didn’t want to open my eyes. I felt like crap and I could tell it was going to be a rough morning. I tried to wave her off, but then she opened the curtains, letting the light splash into the room. While it was overcast, the brightness of morning still hit me right between the eyes. I groaned, trying to roll over and pull the covers over my hea
d.

  “No,” I moaned. “Me no get up.”

  “Sorry. You have to take a shower because you’ve got to be over at Herne’s in ninety minutes and you reek of rum. Come on, upsy-daisy.” She yanked my covers off of me, and I began to shiver in the chill morning air.

  “You’re enjoying this far too much,” I managed to say as I rolled to a sitting position. My head was throbbing, and I felt like something had crawled into my stomach and died. “What the hell did I do last night?” Everything was a little fuzzy, although I seemed to remember dancing with Kipa.

  “You drank three goblin blasters. Or maybe four. I’m not sure. Remember? We went to Medinos?”

  It was starting to come back. The bar. Dancing with Kipa. Eating way too much junk food and drinking way too much booze. I groaned again, and glanced at the other side of my bed.

  “Please tell me that I didn’t do something that I’m going to regret.”

  Angel snorted. “Kipa was more of a gentleman than you were. You were flirting pretty bad, but you didn’t cross any lines you shouldn’t. And he was very careful to maintain boundaries. You should thank him because knowing Kipa, it was probably pretty hard.”

  My mind still in the gutter, I laughed. “I bet it was.”

  “Shower. Now. Then I’m making you breakfast.”

  My stomach revolted at the thought of food. “I’m not hungry.”

  “You need to eat something to calm your stomach before you go over there for brunch.”

  “Can’t I just call and plead sick?” But, at the look on her face, I knew Angel wasn’t going to let me out of this. “Oh, all right. I’m up. Lead me to the shower.”

  As I stumbled toward the bathroom, Angel began stripping my bed. I glanced back at her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You didn’t throw up in bed, but I’ll tell you this, your sheets smell like old booze and stinky armpits. Go take your shower.”

  “Have I ever told you how much I love having you as a roommate?” I said, darting into my bathroom as she threw a pillow at me.

  I stripped off my nightshirt, turning on the water so it was comfortably warm. Grateful for the shower seat, I sat down and lathered up a body sponge with vanilla scented shower gel as the water poured down on me. I angled the shower head directly toward me, cautiously sitting back down. I was still woozy, and didn’t want to risk slipping. But the water hit me full force, and I was able to scrub all of the funk away while sitting there, trying to remember everything that I had said and done.

  I seldom drank that much. In fact, Angel and I had been on several benders over the years, but they weren’t frequent and they usually entailed some breakup or personal disappointment.

  By the time I was finished washing my hair, I had to admit that my frustration over Herne and the situation with his daughter had finally come to a head. Though it was better that the emotions had surfaced while I was with friends, and not with Herne and Danielle.

  I combed out my wet hair, and sat down at the bathroom vanity to dry it. I took extra pains with my makeup, partially because I was still shaky, and partially because I wanted to look as good as I could. As I stared at myself in the mirror, drawing on my eyeliner, I heaved a sigh and stopped, facing myself square on.

  “You’re an insecure mess right now. No matter what Kipa or Angel say, the fact is Danielle is Herne’s daughter. And children usually come first.”

  By the time I finished putting on my makeup and drying my hair, Angel had stripped my bed, changed the sheets, and made it up nice and tidy again. I owed her one. If she had not been there, Kipa might not have been such a gentleman. He wasn’t a bad person, but he was carefree and footloose, unless he wanted to impress somebody. And while Angel refused to date him, he seemed to still want her respect.

  After carefully choosing my underwear and bra, I slipped into a pair of jeans that rode low on my hips, lacing a black leather belt through the loops. Next came a corset top that zipped up the front. I zipped up a pair of the new ankle boots I had bought. They had three-inch stilettos and were studded with hardware and a silver chain that looped around the ankle. I even took the time to polish the crow necklace that Morgana had given me before fastening it back on my neck. After adding silver earrings and a silver bracelet, I swept my hair back into a high ponytail and headed downstairs.

  The kitchen smelled wonderful. I wasn’t sure exactly what Angel was making, but for the first time since I’d opened my eyes my stomach gave a little rumble and I realized that I actually was hungry.

  “Whatever that is, it smells wonderful,” I said, entering the kitchen. Angel pointed over toward the table. There, at my usual place, was a large coffee cup next to a plate with a waffle and bacon on it.

  “The carbs of the waffle will help soothe your stomach, and the bacon will give you some energy. I figured you’d only need one, given you’ll be eating again in an hour.” She joined me, carrying her own plate and a cup of tea.

  “Was I really that terrible last night?” I gave her a repentant look.

  “Well, you weren’t at your best. You were downright funny at times. But sweetie, I gotta tell you this. You really shouldn’t go out partying with Kipa. At least not while you’re upset at Herne. That’s not the best way to handle this situation.”

  “I know,” I said, diving into my food.

  Chapter 13

  I STOOD, MY hand poised over the doorbell, as I ran over what I planned to say. I had been standing there five minutes when the door opened abruptly in my face and Herne leaned against the door frame, a grin on his lips.

  “So, were you planning on ringing the bell? Or are you just going stand outside my door all day?” His smile was easy, and he sounded happy to see me.

  “Can I let you know about it when I’ve thought it through?” I pushed past him into the house, wanting to stop and give him a long kiss, but not sure about the protocol in front of his daughter. But he caught me by the wrist, pulling me back and wrapping his arms around me.

  I slid into his kiss, letting out a gentle sigh as he embraced me. I had missed this so much, even though it had only been a few days it felt like it’d been forever since we’d had time to ourselves.

  “I’ve missed this,” Herne said, reading my thoughts. “We’ll get through this, I promise.” He touched his forehead to mine, and then pulled back as a woman entered the room.

  While I knew that his daughter was older than I was, technically, the fact that she was young in terms of the gods had made me expect a child. But the woman standing in front of me was no little girl. At least not in body. She was lovely, statuesque with broad shoulders and long golden hair bound back in a braid. She was wearing a pair of white jeans and a pale blue tank top. While she looked to be in her twenties, I began to wonder about Herne describing her as a teenager. Could he have read things wrong? But when she opened her mouth, I realized he was spot on.

  “Is this her?” Danielle stared at me, her eyes flashing. “Are you my dad’s girlfriend?”

  Oh yes, no doubt at all that she wasn’t thrilled to meet me. And it wasn’t just icy politeness. She sounded like a petulant teenager.

  “Ember, I want you to meet my daughter Danielle. Danielle, this is my girlfriend Ember. Be polite.” The last was stated with a warning note.

  Danielle let out a loud sigh, then shrugged. “Whatever. I’m going to go watch Supetube again.” She turned and flounced off.

  The confusion must have shown on my face because Herne let out a short laugh.

  “Don’t mind her. I told you she’s pretty much the proverbial teenager, even though she doesn’t look it. She may look grown up, but I guarantee you, that’s one moody kid.”

  As the prospect of spending an hour eating brunch with Danielle stretched out in front of me, I wanted to turn around and walk out the door. All thoughts of getting along with Danielle had fled. In that one brief moment, I had seen exactly what she thought of me, and it wasn’t pr
etty.

  “Are you sure you want me here? She doesn’t seem happy to meet me. In fact, I’d say she’s downright hostile.”

  “I know, I know. But please stay? You can leave in an hour if you want, I promise. I just think that if she spends enough time with you, she’ll come to love you just as much as I do.”

  I wasn’t banking on it, but I didn’t tell Herne that. Instead, I followed him into the dining room where the table was set for brunch. The sideboard held all sorts of dishes.

  “Did you do all this yourself?” I asked, crossing over to look at the spread. There were muffins and waffles and stacks of pancakes, hard-boiled eggs and sliced ham and bacon, fruits and jams, and various breakfast rolls and croissants spread out along the walnut surface.

  “Are you kidding? I can cook but I’m not that interested in cooking. No, I had this catered.”

  Thank gods that Angel had made me eat something because my stomach had finally calmed down. I settled in at the table next to Herne, and he called to Danielle.

  “Brunch is ready, get your butt to the table!”

  I blinked. “That’s not the most congenial invitation.”

  “I have already discovered that just asking elicits no response.” Herne rolled his eyes.

  Danielle reluctantly entered the room, dragging her feet. “Do I have to eat with you guys?”

  Herne gave her a long look. “Yes. Ember’s important to me and I want you to get along. Or at least, I want you to give it a try.”

  Danielle rolled her eyes, but shrugged and flounced over to the table. It was still hard for me to make the mental jump between her looks and her actions, but it was getting easier. Herne had been right. She was a petulant child, and I wondered just how long this adolescence would go on.

  I added ham and bacon to my plate, and a croissant, and some grapes and strawberries. Then, pouring a glass of orange juice, I headed over to the table and sat on the opposite side of Danielle. Herne joined us, sitting at the head of the table. His plate was piled high with pancakes and eggs and bacon, and he turned to Danielle.