The Hunt is On (The Patroness)

by Natalie Herzer

  Where the hell was the cool, rational Maiwenn I was so used to?

  Not aware of my inner dialogue Kylian replied, “Well, people might have heard of me but basically I’m a foreigner and so they want some solid evidence of my capability to lead the pack. So alphas from throughout France, and pack members have been challenging me these last months to find out whether I’m worthy and apt to be the new Chef de la Meute.”

  Well, that certainly explained the silence towards me. He had been busy not dying. Inside I groaned, not believing my own stupidity. I should have been able to guess that myself, if I hadn’t been too busy playing the pouting child. Argh.

  He continued, “It has its advantages though. I can feel the solidarity and the bonds within the pack getting stronger with every fight I win. Besides, the challenges keep me on my toes.” He smiled again, showing his dimples. “But enough of me, how are you?”

  Maybe it was time to jump over my own shadow. If he could act like nothing ever happened between the two of us, then so could I. “Never better.” Or not, distance was okay, but there was no need to be rude. So I tried again, “Nice house. Yours?”

  He studied my face. “How are you really? You look tired.”

  That man saw entirely too much. “Well, thanks for pointing that out.”

  His eyes stayed serious. “I mean it.”

  I sighed. “Just didn’t get enough sleep that’s all.”

  I knew that if he really wanted to know something he would hold on and shake me like a rabid pit bull until he got a bite. He hadn’t been the Council’s assassin without a reason. Instead he cocked his head a little to the side, very wolf-like and something he often did when wondering, and then he nodded.

  “Let’s walk a little, shall we?”

  And so we began to wander the side of the clearing.

  “The house is for the pack. After I came back from the States and officially took over the pack, I noticed how scattered it was. There was no real togetherness, no real headquarters. I think Michel might have been losing his hold onto reality for quite some time. What I mean is...I went through the paperwork ... He’d bought unsecured, totally unnecessary buildings and houses, and they were all over the city. I sold them and we built this one. It’s big, it has beds, a good equipped sick-room, and a big basement that’s practically an immense cage since its walls are enforced with silver bars. That way we can hold aggressive or wounded shapeshifters. And not to forget, we’re a little away from civilization and got a nice forest to roam in. It’s the pack’s new headquarters, where every pack member and friendly shapeshifter is welcome and will be sheltered in time of need. With what happened to Michel...that’s what the pack needs right now.”

  Shapeshifters were usually very secretive about how their packs worked, but nevertheless I could understand what he meant. A change in leadership – especially the way it happened this time, without a challenge but with the alpha going rogue – was always a difficult time. The former alpha had neglected the pack, the new one had to prove himself and restore order.

  Then I remembered something he mentioned about the forest. “What about the wood spirits? Aren’t they giving you a hard time?”

  The spirit of the woods, Moth and Nightingale, were at home in this forest and were very particular about their territory and possible cohabitants. They were man-hating but also man-craving creatures, independent and wild. When I had showed Kylian these woods during the night of the Blue Moon, we had an interesting encounter with them. They’d been more than interested in a roll in the hay with Kylian, and that just as the fee for trespassing. Since they owed me, we managed to get past without him being used like a sex toy. So now I wondered how exactly he’d gotten their permission to move here, his whole pack in tow.

  “Ah, we came to a simple agreement. They let us live here and we protect them if necessary.”

  Interesting and logic, but I bet they’d be more than happy to accommodate willing shapeshifters after an exciting Hunt under the full moon. Clever girls. Jealous much?

  “But wasn’t the pack more familiar with the Bois de Boulogne? Why not stay there?” The Bois de Boulogne was a bigger forest west of Paris, where the pack had usually hunted.

  “This place holds nice memories.”

  We both knew he was talking about the night of the Blue Moon. We hadn’t even kissed, but who knows what might have happened if Philippe hadn’t shown up to inform us about Mathieu’s attack.

  I stopped walking and faced him. His eyes. A fine circle of blue surrounded the pupils mixing with the hazel, the animal slightly showing. It were those right-to-the-bottom-of-my-soul-staring eyes that did it to me and I had to be careful of now. Steeling myself I gazed directly into them. For me it was a challenge of some sort. “What am I doing here, Kylian?”

  His eyes twinkled and then he started walking again. “How’s business going?”

  I stopped myself from grinding my teeth – he might have heard it – and fell in step beside him. “Fine. A lot of missing persons, and to be honest it’s the only case I’ve got at the moment. And that’s kinda weird. I wanted to talk to you about them, so did Inspecteur Vigeur.”

  “Why didn’t you call?”

  “You need a new secretary.”

  “I don’t have one.”

  I rolled my eyes and gave him a look. “Exactly, or otherwise you would know that I called yesterday and was told you would call back.”

  “Sorry about that. Back to the case. Any similarities popping out?”

  I’d liked working with Kylian. He was intelligent, clever and direct. But sometimes he liked to play with me and leave me in the dark. I had the feeling he was doing it now, which got me wanting to grind my teeth again. “Magical race, gender and age, everything differs. But all were taken after nightfall, and we could narrow it down to three hot spots.”

  “Which magical races?”

  “Six humans, a faery and two witches, as far as we know. We wanted to know whether you were missing any shifters.”

  “No vampires?”

  My poor teeth. “We don’t know for sure. Lilith wasn’t very forthcoming. But we don’t think so, no.”

  He turned to face me. “I’m missing five shapeshifters. I’m the alpha and I want them back. The pack wants them back. They need to know that I can keep them safe. So I asked around, hoping to track them down, listened here and there. A lot of persons are missing, humans, magical creatures, but not one single vampire. But I’ve seen them topside lately.”

  I frowned at that. “Me, too. Couple of nights back. Where are you going with this? Do you think the vamps are responsible?”

  He shrugged. “It is no secret that Lilith could be crazy enough to turn magical creatures, even if the chances of survival for those are next to naught. They would be nice asset for an army and for her that alone might be worth a try, don’t you think?”

  “So you think she picked them off the streets and is planning a big, fat and bad surprise party for The Turn?”

  “I hope not, but I think we should have a talk with her.”

  I considered his idea. “You know, at this point of my investigation – namely nowhere – I would love to say ‘yes, let’s go’ but I think it’d be only fair to remind you that one, the vampires have the majority in Paris. Two, going into the Den and accusing the Queen of the Undead like that – namely without prove – might not be the healthiest idea. Three, Lilith hates my guts.”

  “Did you become a responsible being over the last months?”

  “Funny,” I replied dryly. “I mean it. So, listen, Anouk and I will go over the files once again and check every magical background for the slightest drop of vampire blood. If we come up with nothing else to go on, we’ll pay her a visit.”

  “Tonight.”

  Bossy. Dominant. Ass.

  I inclined my head. “Fine with me. By the way, everything would be a lot easier and quicker with a couple of extra noses to track trail with Anouk.”

  “You have them.”<
br />
  “Thanks.” God, something inside of me was hot, burning and hurting. I wanted to rub at my chest to make it go away, but I knew it would be no use. How could he be so…so? “If that’s all, I’ll better head back now.”

  We had circled the whole clearing during our conversation and were standing in front of the house again. “See you at sundown then. I’ll pick you up.”

  Were we back to that? I hated his whole, brainless-woman-in-cotton-ball thing and dominant I-say-you-do stuff. I had a brain, weapons and two legs and hands, and knew how to use all of them. “If we go.”

  I headed towards the group of young shapeshifters standing to the side when I turned around one last time. “Kylian? Why did you send Mathieu this morning?”

  He’d been on his way into the house and was standing on the steps leading to the door. “He’s doing better. Though he still might have troubles changing at will, he controls the beast, and that’s what counts. So I thought you’d be happy to see him again.”

  “So you didn’t use him to get me here?”

  “No, why would I? I just thought it’d be a nice surprise for you.”

  I nodded, ready to move on. “Thanks.”

  “Maiwenn.” A very attractive and smug smile curved his lips and there was a wicked gleam in his eyes. That gleam that had shivers running down my spine, that gleam that had gotten me into trouble in the first place. That gleam that said he hadn’t forgotten where we had left off. “If I want you here, I can get you here, and I won’t need the help of a teenager for that. See you tonight. Oh, and maybe you should wear something less badass and more professional, tame even. You know, like a grown-up in-a-meeting kind of way.”

  That. Ass.

  If he wanted to stay on my shit list, he was doing a damn good job at it. “Don’t worry about me. Better make sure you eat the liver of the next guy who challenges you. You look like you could use the iron. Wouldn’t want you to appear weak before Lilith.” Giving him my sweetest smile I went to find Mathieu.

  Back at my place I found myself standing in front of Mathieu in the middle of a flagstone terrace on the rooftop, teaching him in the fine arts of combat. The weather was dry and the breeze refreshing. The last time we’ve been together here, I’d showed him how to use a gun. Personally not my favorite choice of weapon since guns were so impersonal and rather easy to use; using one’s fists, feet and body in a deathly dance demanded much more fineness. But circumstances had demanded it at the time.

  Now things had changed, and Mathieu was a werewolf. He was his own weapon. For me, one of the first and most important lessons to learn was the ability to rely on myself, and only myself and not a weapon, because in the end there’s often no one and nothing else to have faith in.

  “You have to feel your body. Be conscious of your movements, of every muscle, every bone. It’s not easy at the beginning, but you’ll quickly realize what I mean. Know your strengths and weaknesses and find your limits, and then keep pushing at them a little every day. Let’s start with some basics for now, and work on your stance.”

  I moved to stand beside him and corrected his posture, “Put the left foot a little more to the front, and bend your knees a bit. Exactly.” Then I assumed the same stance and continued, “We’ll start with self defense before moving on to hand-to-hand combat. Self defense uses simple, but high impact techniques since you only want to distract or off-balance your attacker; nothing more. There are three important rules you have to remember. One, flight before fight. Running is sometimes your best self defense, don’t ever forget that. Two, in a fight, try to block as much hits as you can. Three, if you have to dish out, strike for the vital areas.”

  Suddenly I grabbed Mathieu from behind, clamping my arms tightly around him, and had his hands immobilized in a second. “What do you do now?”

  He wriggled in my arms, trying to get free – unsuccessfully. “Maybe I can try to ram my head against your nose?”

  “Not bad. Have a look at the situation. Don’t panic and use your head, that’s your first weapon. Look at my arms, they are busy holding you, so they are as useless as yours at the moment. But a little lower, our feet – mine are busy trying to balance me out while you are struggling against my grip, yours can move. So that’s what you’ll do. A human foot is made up of twenty-six tiny breakable bones. The toughest one is in your heel, so you raise your knee up as high as possible and then slam it downward with as much force as possible behind it, and onto my easy breakable instep and toes. Show me how you’d move in slow motion.”

  Mathieu did as I’d told him, raised his knee up, and then brought his foot down, flexing his ankle upward so his heel would have hit first.

  “Good. Another possibility’s that when you bring up your knee, you kick straight back and try to hit my knee. The knee is a very vulnerable joint. After that you can use your head as a battering ram against your assailant’s nose, and if only your arms are pinned but not your hands, try get to his jewels or the inside of the thigh and pinch as hard as possible.”

  When he flinched at that, I shrugged. “I know, I know, it’s a collective no-go among men but it works.”

  After two hours of training I grabbed a shower and had to admit that I wasn’t as worn out as I’d hoped I would be. There was so much stuff going on inside my head. I wondered about Kylian. He made me feel like a yo-yo, one moment he would punch me in the gut and the next he would pull me in with just one look of his brown-blue eyes. What was I to make of all that? I didn’t have that much experience with men, what with them running away as if I were bat-shit crazy the moment they came to close to the truth that was my life and all that. But most of all I didn’t have the heart to play his sick games. When we had met I had considered a no-strings-attached affair, but I had soon discovered that Kylian had gone under my skin, too fast and too deep. And I really wasn’t the one-night-stand kind anyway. Now, I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but I knew I didn’t want this. Feeling like a house of cards and realizing he had the power to hold me together, or scatter me.

  Another wave of magic hit me then. Just one second, but I groaned as my body hummed, my blood like molten lava in my veins. Dear Gods, if those tiny drops felt like this, what would it be like when the whole ocean of magic poured down on us?

  The last time the magic had left me feeling wired and alive. This time I felt…bereaved. Energy I had needed and tasted had been taken from me as quickly as it had come. Closing my eyes, I let the water that was slowly getting cold run over my head, and felt tired and yet somehow restless, as if something wanted to scratch its way out of me.

  I prayed to whatever gods would hear me that I didn’t have to set one foot into Lilith’s Den. Anouk and her extra noses had to find something that kept us from going to war against Lilith. A war I wasn’t sure anyone would win.

  FIVE

  Leaning with my hips against Anouk’s desk I drummed my fingers on my thigh. Her desk was well-ordered, no scattering papers but a neat stack of files on one side and pens and a phone on the other side of her computer. A glance at the other desks showed that her partners were less tidy, or more human, depending on the point of view, I guess.

  I studied Agent Moreau who was calm and serious much like the other times I’d seen him. He wasn’t human, I was pretty sure about that but couldn’t put my finger on what he was exactly. Faery folk probably.

  Agent Perrin cleared his throat that was working overtime. “Um…Miss Cadic…Patroness.”

  “Just Maiwenn, please.”

  “Um…is it true about the first Patroness? That Genevieve was the first? Did she really exist?”

  I smiled, knowing he might be young and awkward but at least he was doing his homework and trying to keep up with the magic infiltrating his life. “Yes, she was the first. And as far as I was told she did indeed pray away the Huns.” Genevieve lived in the fifth century and became the first Patroness of Paris after the invading Huns spared the city like she had foretold. She was a witch, without knowing it, and my moth
er.

  “That’s cool.”

  Yeah.

  Rodriguez leaned back in his chair and looked at me, his arms crossed over his chest, his glance cool and touched with a hint of disbelief. “And what exactly it is you do as a Patroness?”

  “I protect the city and its habitants against things they have still no idea about. I have done so since I was fourteen years old and will continue to do so until I die.” My eyes told him that I didn’t say those words lightly and that I meant every one of them.

  A sharp nod, probably the only sign of acknowledgement I would get for now, and then he returned to the files on his desk.

  They went through the notes again and again, but I knew it was futile. As far as we knew there wasn’t one vampire missing. I really hoped Anouk had some good news for us.

  When she finally came through the door, with exhaustion visible in her eyes I straightened and ask, “How did it go?”

  Perrin, Rodriguez and Moreau got up and joined us as Anouk slumped down in her chair. Looking at everyone of us she expelled a deep breath. “Not good. Every track same story. They just disappeared, like Monsieur Dessus. One moment there, the other gone. Just Poof. And no vamps among the missing.”

  Perrin just couldn’t stand still and moved from foot to foot, his brows drawn together in thought. “But that can’t be, right? Why would they do something like this? They have to have some missing.”

  “Is it really a bad sign? I mean, obviously they live mostly underground so the chances of something happening to them are slimmer, aren’t they?” Agent Rodriguez cut in, his eyes on Anouk.

  I explained, “They do indeed live underground, but mostly during the day. At night they come out, rogues and normal vampires alike. They go to the movies, evening classes or whatever.”

  Anouk nodded sadly and continued, “And we know our victims went missing after nightfall. Therefore, the vampires can’t be excluded as suspects.”

  “Exactly. So Kylian Tremaine and I will go and pay Lilith a visit tonight.”

  She looked at me, sharper again. “I will go with you.”