“Yeah? What’s up?” I was still breathing heavy, the adrenaline rushing through my veins.
“I think I made a big mistake. Can you put me on speaker?”
Frowning, I motioned Herne. “It’s Angel. She wants to be put on speakerphone. She says she made a mistake.” I held out my phone, punching the speaker icon.
Angel’s voice crackled through. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize what happened until after she left.”
“What happened? Who left?” Herne asked.
“Raven came in to check on our progress. Lucius’s file was sitting on my desk. I mentioned that you guys were out hunting for a suspect, but I didn’t tell her who. At that moment, Talia needed some help and called me from her office. I told Raven to wait. When I came back, the file was open, and she was gone. The pages were scattered around, but the top one had Lucius’s name and address on it.”
“Oh crap,” I said. “Raven wants revenge, and she’s not afraid to go after it. She has no clue who she’s dealing with. She has magic and he doesn’t, but he’s a psycho.”
Herne let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, there’s nothing we can do to stop her now. We just have to contain the damage. Angel, we’ll talk about this later. Meanwhile, Ember, can you call Raven and find out where she is?”
I moved away from the men, putting in a call to Raven. Her phone rang three times, and she finally answered. “Don’t try to stop me, Ember.”
“Raven? Wait. Can you meet us in ten minutes?”
She hesitated, then said, “I’m not letting him get away with this. Angel told me that you’re out looking up a suspect, and I suspect that you’re at his house right now. If you had found him, you wouldn’t be calling me now. I read through your notes. I think I know where he’s hiding.”
“You’re right,” Herne said. He had been listening over my shoulder. “We’re at his house and he’s not here right now. But you can’t take him on alone, Raven. He’s done more than kill just a few men. He’s a full-blown freak. There are dead bodies everywhere here. He’s dangerous.”
“I’m not afraid of danger,” Raven said. “I want him.”
“Then are you afraid of the Morrígan? Because she wants him, too. And she can do more to him than you ever can. Please, tell us where you think he’s hiding. Don’t try to take him on by yourself. We don’t want to see you hurt.” Herne was making a good case, but a little extra emphasis couldn’t hurt.
I spoke up. “Raven, Herne’s telling you the truth. The Morrígan has a special place in hell waiting for him. Let her do what she wants to. At least let us go with you.”
There was a pause, and I could practically hear the wheels in her head turning. After a moment, she let out a long sigh.
“Lucius took away the only person I’ve ever loved. Do you promise me that you’re not just going to hand him over to Saílle? Can you promise me that the Morrígan will punish him?”
“Oh, trust me, the Morrígan will make him regret every action. If you kill him, he gets off easy. He won’t be punished. The Morrígan isn’t the Queen of the Phantoms for nothing. He’s done a lot of damage, and the goddess will have her pound of flesh.”
Very slowly, Raven answered. “I want your word of honor.”
“You have it. If we’re able to catch him alive, we turn him over to the Morrígan and she will have her fun.”
She paused, then in a rush. “There’s a broken-down shack near the drop site where you found Ulstair’s body. I know because Ulstair went hiking around the park a lot and he found it one day and told me about it, and showed me a picture he took. My guess is that’s where Lucius hangs out. It’s close enough to see the running trail through binoculars. He probably sits up there and pinpoints his targets. And if your notes are correct and he’s looking for another kill right now, my guess is that’s where he’s at.”
“We’re on the way. If you insist on coming, wait in the parking lot for us. Don’t try to go in on your own.”
As I hung up, Yutani and Viktor were already clattering down the stairs. Herne and I followed, heading to our respective cars. I could only hope and pray that Raven wouldn’t endanger herself out of her anger.
I WAS ACTUALLY glad I wasn’t in the car with Herne as we drove across the bridge, heading toward UnderLake Park. I didn’t want to listen to him bitch about Raven. Obviously, she shouldn’t have done what she did, but I understood her motives.
Yutani was quiet as well, so I focused on looking out the window, hoping that we were on the right track. I hated to think that we might be on a wild goose chase, but Raven was intelligent, and I trusted her instincts.
Traffic was light and we arrived to find Raven leaning against her car. As we approached her, I could feel a crackle off of her like sparks off a sparkler. She was upset.
“I’m glad you waited for us,” Herne said. “But I tell you now, if you ever steal information from my agency again, I’m dragging your ass in front of Cernunnos and setting him loose on you. Do you understand?” His voice was gruff, that no-nonsense tone which meant he was deadly serious.
She stared back at him, shoulders straight and chin raised. “Son of a god, I hear you. But you would do well to remember that I’m Ante-Fae, and I live by my own rules. That being said, I respect you and I respect your agency. And Ember and Angel are my friends, so I give you my word that I will never steal information from you again. But this monster destroyed my beloved, and others. The Ante-Fae take care of their own problems.”
Herne relented a little. “I understand that you want revenge, but this man is psychotic. And far older than you. You may be Ante-Fae but you are young. Even to me you are young. You have powerful magic, Raven BoneTalker, but that does not mean that you can outwit Lucius. Now, if you wish to come with us, you are welcome. But you have to be ready and willing to handle yourself. Can you promise me this?”
She nodded. “I promise, as long as you promise that he will either go before the Morrígan or die. I will not leave him alive unless it’s to go in front of the Morrígan.”
“I think we can all agree on that,” Herne said. “All right, since you know where this place is, do you feel comfortable taking the lead? Also, can you make it through the forest in a skirt?”
Raven was wearing a calf-length skirt with a pattern of autumn leaves spread across a field of black. She had on an olive tunic, belted at the waist with a black leather belt. A short capelet in mottled green encircled her shoulders, fastened with a bronze brooch of Celtic knotwork. She was wearing black leather granny boots, laced up the calf.
“I could travel this hill in stilettos, although I usually don’t wear them. The Ante-Fae have many talents, and I was born to the earth and born to the woods.” She moved to the front, giving me a gentle smile. “Angel told me what happened last night. We’ll talk soon.”
As we headed up the embankment, I wondered if Lucius had been in the shack before, if he had seen Viktor and me find the bodies. Obviously, he had to know that the police had been there and taken them away, but whether he would alter his MO because of that was questionable. If he was far enough gone, he might still be tracing his same old routes.
The forest around us was still, the only sounds those of rain dripping from the trees after an early morning storm. The faint sound of insects still trailed in the breeze that gusted past, ruffling the leaves as it sent stragglers into a whirling dance.
We were all quiet. A world of thoughts was running through my head. It was easier dealing with someone who wasn’t psychotic because they were more predictable. But Lucius was a loose cannon, already on edge before he ever had been replaced in the priesthood. Now, I suspected he was a raving lunatic.
Raven swung to the right, off the path that Viktor and I had originally taken. We made our way through the undergrowth along the side of the ravine, slipsliding on the wet leaves and detritus that littered the ground. Ten more minutes, and we were headed up the slope again, at a right angle. The hush i
n the forest seemed to grow stronger, and I found myself breathing shallowly, expecting at any moment for something to jump out from behind the bushes to attack us.
Raven suddenly stopped, and pointed through a thicket of fir trees. “There,” she said softly. “Do you see?”
I squinted, shading my eyes and then I saw what she was talking about. There was a lean-to resting against the side of the slope, the roof covered with leaves. It would have been hard to make out if you were just casually scanning the area. But as I squinted, looking closer, I could see a door on the side, which was closed. There was also a perch on the top of the roof’s slope. I had no doubt that from there, Lucius could see through the trees to the Beach Trail.
Herne crouched down, staring at the ground. “Somebody’s been through this path today. There are footsteps leading to the shack and they’re fresh.” He looked up, staring at the lean-to. “He’s in there, the trees are telling me that he’s there. They don’t like him and they don’t want him around.”
Remembering what Herne had been able to do during our fight with Blackthorn, I looked at him. “Can you send some vines in to catch hold of him?”
He shook his head. “A pity, but no. For one thing, we don’t have enough brambles near enough the shack for me to command them. For another thing, we don’t know if he’s got a victim with him. If he’s already captured someone, I could inadvertently hurt them.”
He glanced around the clearing that surrounded the lean-to. It wasn’t a true clearing—there were still trees and bushes around—but they had been cut back.
“I don’t like the feeling that I’m getting,” Raven said. “As much as I want to go break in the door, something tells me it’s not a good idea.”
At that moment, the door to the shack opened.
I stiffened, my shoulders clenching as I grasped the hilt of my dagger. Herne brought up his crossbow, aiming it directly at the door. The others readied their weapons. As we waited, someone tossed a stone out through the opening, then slammed the door again. I frowned, cocking my head, as I stared at the glowing stone. It was gray, yet it seemed to be somewhat translucent.
The next moment, Herne yelled, “Get ready! I know what that is!”
But before he could say more, the gem exploded in a cloud of smoke. The smoke filtered through the area, making me cough, but the explosion produced no fire. Instead, a figure shimmered into view, at least ten feet tall and massively built. It looked like a man made out of rocks.
“Earth elemental,” Herne said. “They’re freaking powerful. Edged weapons won’t work against them and neither will piercing weaponry.” He quickly holstered his pistol crossbow, and pushed me to the side. “You and Raven get back. You can’t fight this with your dagger, and you don’t have the strength to face it.”
Viktor wrestled a branch off of a tree trunk. He held it like a club, cautiously waiting as the earth elemental began to move toward us.
Yutani darted around to the side, stripping off his clothes as he ran, changing into his coyote form and vanishing into the undergrowth. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he obviously had some plan.
I searched for any water elementals, any stream nearby from which I could summon help, but though I could feel the water in the ground and on the trees, there were no water elementals close enough to do any good.
Raven knelt, quickly brushing a patch of ground clear so that she could see the dirt below. She began to draw symbols in the dirt, whispering under her breath. I wanted to ask what she was doing but didn’t want to interrupt her. I watched, trying to guard her, as she pulled a small bag out of her pocket and spilled out a handful of what looked like bones. They actually made me think of vertebrae, but they were tiny, and I realized they weren’t from a person. But she planted them in the ground, lining the runes with them.
Viktor raced in, slamming the branch against the side of the earth elemental. He was big enough and heavy enough so that he made an impact, causing the elemental to sway, but the creature lashed out at him, landing a blow to the side of Viktor’s head and knocking him to the ground. Viktor rolled out of the way to avoid being trampled.
Herne was over at the base of a small tree whispering to it. I wasn’t sure what he was saying, but I tried to keep my focus on Raven, not sure what to do when the elemental headed our way. Raven finished placing the bones on the runes, and she stepped back, motioning for me to move out of the way.
Flesh and bone and bone and flesh, powers rise and powers mesh.
Fight to rise and rise to fight, protect us now with all your might!
With a wave of the hand over the bones, Raven stepped back as a very tall, very large skeleton rose out of the runes. He was easily the height of the earth elemental. He moved forward, lurching toward the elemental.
They clashed, grappling one another. The bones were magically enchanted just like the rocks of the elemental, and they held together even though the elemental tried to break one of the arm bones. The two behemoths locked in combat.
Herne shouted something and I turned to see he was pointing toward the elemental. The tree he had been whispering to was about fifteen feet tall, a slender maple, but it looked like it had beefed up a little. Now, it began to pull itself along the ground, great roots yanking out of the earth, screaming as they pulled free from the soil. The tree lunged forward, its massive trunk splitting into two to form legs. As its branches waved, a low humming filled the air. The humming made me uneasy and I realized it was coming from the tree. It was the sound of anger.
The tree joined the fight, and together with the skeleton, beat back the earth elemental.
At that moment I spied the gem from which the earth elemental had come. It was still lying on the ground, still glowing, and I had a sudden thought.
I darted forward, leaving Raven to fend for herself, and dashed around the edges of the three-way fight. Skidding to my knees, I grabbed the stone. It resonated in my hand. Looking around wildly, I tried to find two larger stones. I caught sight of one beneath one of the fir trees and carried the gem over to it. I set the gem down on it and looked around, trying to find something with which to smash it. Herne happened to be looking my way and I motioned for him to hurry over. He darted around the edges of the conflict, joining me.
“Smash the gem. It will destroy the elemental. I’m sure of it.”
He nodded, and a moment later shifted into his silver stag form. He nudged me out of the way, and I stood back as he reared up and brought his front hooves, flaming silver, down against the gem. It cracked, shattering, and as it shattered the earth elemental let out a roar and began to waver. Herne smashed the pieces again, and the elemental began to crumble into dust. The skeleton and tree stopped in their tracks, waiting for orders. Herne turned back into his human form and stared at the broken gem.
“Herne!” The call came from the lean-to.
We all turned to see Lucius standing there, holding onto a leash that he had attached to Yutani. There was a saddlebag across Yutani’s back, and I recognized what looked to be plastic explosives taped along the side of the bag.
“Back off, or I push the button and your friend goes sky high.” Lucius held up the phone. Herne motioned for us to edge back, and he whispered to the tree and it settled back into its spot and fell asleep again. Raven scattered the runes and the skeleton vanished. We waited, watching as Lucius dragged Yutani away from the shack and tied the leash around a nearby tree.
“I’m going to leave, and you’re going to stay here and not follow me. It will take you at least twenty minutes to disarm the explosives, and I have my phone. If I even suspect you’re on my tail, I’ll press the button and the coyote shifter gets it.”
Herne raised his hands, nodding. “We hear you.”
“You are to wait five minutes before you even begin to move toward your companion.” Lucius began to make his way up the ravine.
I couldn’t believe we were just letting him go. But if we tried to
stop him, he’d blow Yutani up and quite possibly, the rest of us.
My anger swelled, and I could feel the forest responding to me. The birds were starting to grow agitated and I glanced up to see a massive number of crows perched in the trees around the lean-to. But they didn’t look like they were targeting us. Instead, I felt a strange affinity with them, and the crow necklace I was wearing began to pulse. It was warm against my throat and I could feel Morgana whispering in my ear. I strained to listen, and realized Cernunnos was there as well. I wasn’t sure what they were saying, but I could sense that they were giving me instructions. I dropped my head back as I lowered myself into a trance. Deep within, both the Leannan Sidhe and the Autumn Stalker sides of my nature reared up, watching closely.
Choose your eyes in the forest…
The words echoed in my head, and I wasn’t sure who said them but I thought it might be Cernunnos. I didn’t know what he meant, but as I glanced around a large crow caught my eye. Crows and ravens were intertwined in their magic. The crow stared at me, its eyes glittering, and I suddenly understood what Cernunnos intended.
I looked at the crow and whispered, “I choose you,” and it flew up out of the tree, winging its way up toward the top of the ravine.
I was suddenly seeing through the crow’s eyes as it flew, following Lucius. I could see the glint of his phone in his hands, and I felt the crow covet the sparkling object. With a gasp, I realized there was something I could do.
Grab his phone…
The moment the words formed in my head the crow spiraled down, flapping its wings in his face. As he jerked back, Lucius dropped his phone and the crow snatched it up and flew away, heading back toward me.
Herne and Viktor raced toward Yutani as the crow flew overhead, spiraling down to drop the phone at my feet. I cautiously picked it up, staring at the app that was open. I wasn’t sure how to work it, but as long as I held that phone in my hand, Yutani would be safe.
A Shadow of Crows Page 24