The Silver Stag

by Yasmine Galenorn

  “Then you think we shouldn’t go see her?” Herne glanced over his shoulder at Viktor, looking ready to argue.

  “Crap, I don’t know. She can probably help, especially given we have three of Kuveo’s tails in the bag, so it’s your call. You’re the boss.”

  I couldn’t stay quiet any longer. “Who the hell are you talking about?”

  Viktor snorted while Yutani muttered something under his breath.

  “They’re talking about a certain witch I know.” Herne shrugged as he turned on the ignition and backed out of the parking spot. “She rubs them the wrong way. It’s always been a hate-hate fest between the three of them.”

  “You can’t tell me you feel any different than we do, especially after what she did to you.” Yutani tapped away on his phone, bringing up a picture that he handed to me.

  The woman in the picture was gorgeous, that was for sure. Tall, statuesque, really, with long blond hair, and boobs that exceeded my own in size. But she was thin and leggy, and looked like a porn star. I swallowed. Hard.

  “She’s…well… Wow.”

  “Wow is right. Her name is Reilly. She’s a witch and a priestess of Aphrodite. And she used to be Herne’s snuggle bunny until he found out she was snuggling with everything that walked on two feet and had money and a cock.” Viktor shook his head.

  “Enough,” Herne said from the front seat.

  At that, Viktor and Yutani shut their mouths and stared out the window. A moment later, Herne sighed as he turned swung onto the road that would take us to the freeway.

  “Okay, here’s the deal. The guys are right. Reilly can be bad news. But she can also be helpful. As to my past with her, it would have been one thing if she had told me about the others, but I had to find out the hard way. And I found out that not only was she screwing around on me, but she was scamming the other guys for whatever she could get from them.”

  I tried to take in what he had just told me. “And you still keep in contact?”

  “We parted amicably enough. I told her we were done. She burned down my garage and threatened to shrivel up my dick. I reminded her I’m the son of a god—and goddess—and she said we were even. We don’t stay in touch much, but I still hire out her services when absolutely necessary. She’s good at what she does.”

  I blinked. “That’s a lot of information to take in.” Then, before I could help myself, I added, “So what’s she so good at?”

  Herne glared at me through the rearview mirror, but then laughed softly. “I should have expected that. To get it out of the way, yes, she’s great at casting lust spells. But she’s also a talented medium and she’s very good at divining the locations of missing people. And monsters. It helps if you have something that belongs to the missing person, and since we have Kuveo’s tails, I think Reilly should be able to get a good bead on him.”

  Reilly. Sexy witch. Lovely.

  “Will she do it?”

  “I called her. She’s home and still up. She said for us to drop by. It will cost me two-fifty—that’s two hundred and fifty—but it’s worth it.”

  “She won’t scam you?”

  He shook his head. “That’s one thing about Reilly. When she gives her word on a business deal, she keeps it. She’s lousy at relationships, but she’s an astute and savvy businesswoman.”

  I pressed my lips together, staring at the back of the front seat. Astute and savvy businesswoman, my ass. She was sex on legs. The thought of her and Herne together needled at me, and I realized I was jealous, even though I had no right to feel that way. Or, perhaps, threatened was a better word. They had a history. Herne and I had shared a kiss. That was it.

  I felt something poke me in the side and glanced up to see Viktor giving me a knowing look. He couldn’t have seen Herne kiss me, only Angel had been there, but then again, I wasn’t sure who knew what anymore.

  “Ember? Ember?”

  Herne’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

  “What?” The word came out more sharply than I had intended, but I cleared my throat and added, “Sorry, I was off in my thoughts. What did you ask?”

  “I asked if you’re okay? Did Kuveo hurt you?”

  I snuck a glance at his face in the rearview mirror. He looked concerned and I had to force myself from kicking the back of the front seat. I was frustrated and tired, and aching from the bruises that were starting to come on full force.

  “Yeah…I mean no. I’m bruised up a bit, but I can take it. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” I leaned back, glancing at Viktor. “Mind if I rest on the way to the witch’s place?”

  He shook his head and held out his arm again. I ignored Herne’s glances in the rearview mirror as I leaned against the ogre’s chest and closed my eyes, listening as the wheels of the car ate up the asphalt, spinning the road out behind us.

  REILLY LIVED NEAR Medina, one of the priciest areas near Bellevue. Outside the window, the houses passed by, growing more lavish and expensive as we went. I had seen my fair share of expensive homes, but these were sprawling behemoths that promised a life of glitz, glamour, and massive property taxes.

  I wondered what it would be like to live here in one of these grand houses.

  I had never been wealthy. Even my parents had lived modestly, given they had been cut off from their families when they were kicked out of TirNaNog and Navane. They had left with what little they possessed. All told, it afforded them a tidy little house in Seattle, but when they died, I had asked the lawyers to sell the house, with almost everything in it, and I invested what was left as best as I could.

  I had lost a little of the money on poor speculations, so I didn’t touch the bulk of it until I was eighteen and moved out of Mama J.’s house. She’d invited me to stay, pointing out that Angel wasn’t leaving yet, but I really didn’t want to take advantage of her any more than I already had. Mama J. had a huge heart, and if she could have, she would have gathered up every stray dog, cat, and kid that came her way. There were others who needed her help more than me, so I got a job and moved out to make room for them. Two years later, Angel and I roomed together at junior college, and two years after that, Mama J. gave birth to DJ.

  “What are you thinking about?” Herne asked. “You look a million miles away.”

  I was surprised he had noticed. “My past. Where I came from, and where I’m headed. All sorts of things.” My mood had turned from snarky to introspective and I decided to tone it down. It really wasn’t my place to be jealous. One kiss didn’t mean much, nor did two.

  We were on Twenty-fourth Street and had just passed the Overlake Golf and Country Club when Herne took a left onto Seventy-ninth. As we wove through a new development of McMansions, I shook off my thoughts, especially the one that needled me with wondering how I looked. I was better off if I just ignored that particular train of thought. There was absolutely no way to compete with a sex goddess when you were covered in bruises and blood.

  Halfway down the block, Herne eased into the driveway of a house that looked modest compared to the others, but fancy compared to what I was used to. It had the typical pillars in the front, common to current design, and was a two-story house on a narrow lot. I glanced at Viktor, who raised his eyebrows and shook his head. His lips were set in a thin line.

  We got out of the car, and followed Herne up to the door.

  I glanced at my phone. It was almost two in the morning. “I’m surprised she’s still up.”

  “I’m not,” Yutani quipped. Herne flashed him a dirty look and the coyote shifter simply shrugged and shook his head.

  “Play nice or she might not help us.” Herne’s sigh told me he wasn’t so blasé as he sounded.

  He rang the bell.

  A moment later I heard the yipping of a tiny dog, and the door opened to reveal one extremely statuesque woman dressed in old-fashioned pajama pants. Her top was open down to her navel, barely concealing a pair of extremely large, firm, and upright breasts. Given mi
ne were about the same size but in no way able to defy gravity like that, I wondered how much she had paid for them.

  “Herne, darling, come in.” She glanced at the rest of us. “I see you brought your friends. How nice.” She sounded anything but pleased, but ushered us into the house, passing through the living room and leading us to the dining room, where she had placed a crystal ball on the table. She motioned for us to take our seats and she wedged herself next to Herne.

  I sat across from him, with Viktor on my left and Yutani on my right.

  Reilly ignored them but stared at me for a moment. Finally, she thrust out her hand in a smooth, well-practiced gesture. “I’m Reilly. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

  I reluctantly took it, surprised by how firm her grip was. “Ember. I’m working with Wild Hunt now.”

  She nodded, graciously, but there was a searching look in her eyes. “Fae?”

  I blinked. It wasn’t all that polite to ask on first meeting what somebody was, but I decided that must be part of her dubious charms.

  “Yes.” I wasn’t about to tell her I was mixed blood.

  Reilly waited for a beat, but when I didn’t say anything else, she cleared her throat and turned back to Herne, the smile returning to her face. “So, you mentioned a job?”

  He nodded, all business. “We need to locate someone and the sooner the better.” He paused, then added, “It’s an emergency.”

  Reilly started at his tone. “Bad?”

  “Yeah. Bad enough for me to come to you in the middle of the night.”

  I wondered how she felt about what he said. But if she took offense, she didn’t show it.

  “Then no delays. Let’s get busy.” She glanced at the table. “Am I going to want the tablecloth on the table, or off, when you bring out whatever it is you’ve got as an anchor?”

  I laughed. She had obviously done this before. She glanced at me, breaking into a wide grin.

  “Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way. This is but one of many reasons we’re not together anymore, regardless of what he’s told you.” She rolled her eyes, and pushed back her chair. “Help me clear the table. Nobody touch the crystal ball.”

  We scurried to help her as she lifted up the ball. While the men took the other knickknacks off the table, I pulled off the tablecloth and folded it nicely, draping it over the back of one of the unused chairs. Reilly set the crystal ball back down, pulling it toward her. She disappeared into another room and returned with what looked like a small plastic tarp the size of a very large cutting board. She spread it out on the table.

  “You really are used to this,” I said. I had to hand it to her, she didn’t seem like the bimbo I thought she’d be. Oh, I believed what Herne said about her cheating on him and her calculating nature, but that just reinforced the intelligence that I now sensed was back there.

  “I’m far more used to this than I’d like to be.” She resumed her seat, placing her hands on the sides of the crystal ball. “All right, let’s see it.”

  Yutani silently lifted up the bag, spreading the three fox tails out on the tarp. He was careful not to splatter blood on the white carpeting, and I found myself glad that he at least observed some niceties, regardless of what he thought of her.

  Reilly stared at the tails for a moment, then let out a sigh. “I can’t even… All right, let’s get this show on the road. I’m not going to ask, and I don’t want to know. I will tell you what I see, and you will pay me, and then you will leave so I can get on with the rest of my evening. Do we understand each other?”

  He nodded. “Clear as a bell. Let’s get a move on.”

  As she placed her right hand on the crystal ball and her left on one of the tails, I saw her shudder. She seemed to fall into a trance, and I kept my mouth shut along with the others as we waited for her to pick up whatever it was she could find.

  By now, I realized that Herne was still a lot more miffed over their relationship than she was. She had hurt him far more deeply than he had hurt her.

  Forcing my mind away from speculation, I looked around the room where we were waiting.

  The walls were pale gray with stark white trim. One accent wall was black, with silver and crystal sconces attached to the wall. In the center of the accent wall, a fireplace with a white mantel and a gray marble hearthstone was the focal point. It truly drew the eye.

  I had to admit, she had excellent decorating taste. The house felt gracious, inviting, and quietly elegant. It seemed a stark contrast to Reilly herself, but she fit in somehow, in a way I could never see Herne managing. I wondered if she had owned the house before they met. That led to wondering how long they had been together. Finally, once again I dragged my thoughts away from where they were headed.

  After a few moments, Reilly opened her eyes. She looked like she was reeling from something, and she shook her head, looking slightly confused.

  “Whatever the hell this is, it’s bad. It’s big and it’s hungry and it’s on the rampage. I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into this time, but if you mean to go up against it, you’d better take extra muscle with you. Either that or plan a surefire way to take it down for good.” She shoved the tails away from her, grimacing. Her left hand was covered with globs of congealed blood.

  “Can you tell me where it is?” Herne asked.

  She closed her eyes again, placing both hands on the crystal ball, pressing bloody fingerprints against the side of the orb. A moment later, she let go of the sphere.

  “Would somebody please get me a wet paper towel and some soap from the kitchen?” She glanced over at Yutani, who silently rose and exited through the swinging doors leading out of the dining room. When he returned she washed her hands, drying them on the dry paper towel he had also brought.

  “I can give you a general location. Bring up a map on your phone.”

  Yutani pulled out his tablet and brought up a map of the area. He shoved the tablet over to her, and she took it, expanding the picture by pinching two fingers together and spreading them over the map. She scanned the picture, staring intently at it until suddenly she expanded it and pointed to an area near Seward Park.

  “I can tell you this. He’s confused. When you cut off three of his tails—I have a feeling there are more—it not only hurt him, but sent a shockwave through his system. He hasn’t regained full composure yet. I have a sense that there’s something he supposed to do? But right now he can’t remember what it is. He’s trying to find a place to heal as far away from where he was hurt as possible.”

  “That makes sense. If he can’t remember that he supposed to assa—” Herne stopped, rolling his eyes. “If he can’t remember what his mission is right now, then we have a leg up on him. Do you know if he’s on the move?”

  Reilly scanned his face closely, but said nothing about his slip. “No, he’s hunkered down, hiding in an area near the lake. I think you have a few hours before he’s regained enough strength to be clearheaded. That’s the best I can tell you.”

  “That’s more than I expected to find out. Thank you.” He pulled out his wallet and tossed three one-hundred-dollar bills on the table. “A tip as well, for being willing to see us this late. For being willing to take the job on at all.”

  “As I said, I don’t want to know what you doing. I have no interest in it, so in this matter, my part is done. Now, if you will wrap up your tails—you can take the tarp with you—and go, I’ll get around to the rest of my evening.” She pocketed the bills, and stood up.

  Yutani wrapped up the tails and slid them back into the bag.

  I turned to Reilly. “Do you want help putting your tablecloth back on?”

  “No, thank you. I need to disinfect the table first. Or rather, I need to have the maid disinfect it. I have business to attend to tonight and it can wait. Unless you think that thing is diseased?” She glanced at me, rather than Herne.

  I didn’t know what to say, so I glanced over at Viktor. He shook his
head.

  “I have no clue. If I were you, I’d probably disinfect it now. It won’t take much. A little bleach, or antibacterial soap.” The burly man picked up the bag, taking it from Yutani. “Come on, let’s go wait in the car.”

  Yutani followed him, and they looked at me, waiting. I wanted to stay, to see how Herne and Reilly said their good-byes, but it was obvious that Viktor and Yutani thought I should go with them. I waved, then followed the two men out to the car.

  A few moments later, Herne jogged back to the car and slid into the driver’s seat. As he turned on the ignition, buckling his seatbelt, I waited for him to say something. Part of me wanted to hear him say he was glad that was over, or at least now we could get on our way, but he remained silent as he eased out of the driveway and set a path for Seattle and Seward Park.

  Chapter 15

  WE REACHED SEWARD Park within less than twenty minutes. This time of night there was barely any traffic. My mind churned with a myriad of thoughts to the point of where it was exhausting me.

  “How often do you have nights like this?” I asked.

  Herne let out a laugh from the front seat. “Not very often. I guarantee this isn’t a daily event. Most of the cases we work on aren’t nearly as deadly or time-sensitive. Well, you saw Barnaby today. That’s going to take us all of a couple days, and all we will have to do is have a talk with the neighbor and warn him that Barnaby is going to throttle him if he continues to steal the wine. He probably has no idea of how unpleasant clurichauns can be when they feel they’re being crossed.”

  That brought another thought to mind. “What’s the percentage of cases? Outside cases as opposed to stopping mayhem between the Fae?”

  “Oh, I’d say probably sixty to seventy percent are outside cases. Some are pretty edgy, but others, not so much. Out of the cases concerning the Fae, the majority usually do have a high degree of danger in them, but they don’t often involve summoned creatures. I hope this isn’t the start of a trend.”