The Hunt is On (The Patroness)

by Natalie Herzer

  I shook my head. “No, you and your team should stay out of this one. This unit has to be impartial. I know that questioning is a part of your job, but going into Lilith’s Den with the kind of questions we have isn’t being neutral- at least in her eyes.” I sighed but picked up her phone and dialed the Pack’s number. I had feared this moment. “And by the way, if this goes south tonight we still have you up here. Alive and able to warn the Council.”

  “Great.” She didn’t seem happy about it, but accepted that piece of unfortunate truth.

  “Hi.” The first ring wasn’t even finished when Kylian picked up.

  “Were you sitting by the phone waiting for my call?” I grinned.

  He snorted. “Waiting for you to pull your head out of your ass more likely. Contrary to others I don’t have all day.”

  Ass. “You always say the sweetest things.”

  Anouk crossed her arms over her chest, frowning slightly as she studied me.

  “I try. So I take it you finally want to admit that I’m right and that we should have a little chat with Lilith?”

  I wanted to grind my teeth again. God, if this kept up, soon I wouldn’t have any left. “Yes.”

  “Say it,” he purred and I could practically hear him smiling.

  “You were right. Okay? Satisfied?”

  “Told you so. I’ll be there in an hour,” he said and hung up.

  Grrr. That man made my blood pressure rise with fury. He did it with such obvious delight and the greatest of ease as it seemed, and with an increasing frequency that was anything but healthy.

  As I walked home I couldn’t shake this persistent feeling of restlessness. There was just not enough going on lately except for those disappearances, and I really needed to be calm if I wanted to face Lilith tonight. Maybe I could punch Kylian in the face before we headed out. Now that thought really cheered me up and I walked home with a smile on my face.

  Later, after quickly freshening up I stood in front of my closet trying to decide what to wear. Kylian wanted professional? Heh. He would get it.

  Smiling to myself I decided on dark blue, high-waisted slacks and an ecru top with lace illusion covering my arms and dipping into a low-cut neckline. A belted and navy pea coat with a high collar completed the outfit. It would give a nice waist and long legs. I added white and ruby stargazer lily stud earrings and slipped into brick-red wedge heel pumps that I worn often enough to run and fight with. My winged fashionista had obviously rubbed off on me.

  A glance into the mirror made me smile with satisfaction. I had braided my hair as usual but in a more complicated and intricate braid that started at my right temple and wound its way across the back of my head and ended with it flowing along my neck to fall over my left shoulder. I had to admit I wanted to shock Kylian but unfortunately this wasn’t the occasion to pull out the big guns. But at least it was enough of a change to smack him, if only a little bit. He deserved it after all.

  Though Kylian and I were intent on only talking to Lilith I wasn’t naïve enough to not consider the possibility of fight and even death. That’s why I didn’t wear a dress or anything that could hinder me in any way. As far as weapons went I stuck to Cutter, my Trident Daggers, a flask of holy water that was tucked into my coat and my necklace with the silver locket engraved with an intricate Celtic knot.

  When I went back into the kitchen I was greeted by the sweet scent of mulled wine. Pauline turned around, away from the stove and looked me over from head to toe. Then she motioned with her finger to turn, which I did. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, head tilted to the side and eyes narrowed as I waited for the verdict.

  “Well done, young Jedi.”

  My mouth fell open. “You did not just say that.” A faery quoting Star Wars. Somehow that sounded really weird. “Well, at least I’ve got the sword to go with it.”

  Pauline returned her attention to the wine she was preparing. “Though I really hope that’s not all for Lilith now, is it?”

  “No.” I look at my feet. “It was weird. One moment he talks to me like nothing happened, as if we were friends, and then he looks at me…you know.” She knew who I was talking about.

  “Men. And they say we are hard to figure out?” Pauline shook her head. “Sweety, you sure will remind him tonight of what happened, and won’t happen if he continues down that road. You look great. Remember when you fought him even though you were wounded just to show him that you could? This is kind of the same, you just switched weapons. I can’t wait to see his face. Love the earrings, by the way.” She winked at me.

  As a faery she knew flowers and also what the stargazer lilies meant. I hoped Kylian did too. Stargazer lilies were toxic to cats.

  She filled the dark red liquid into two cups and gave one to me.

  “It’s a beautiful evening. I thought we could enjoy it from the roof,” I said.

  Pauline grabbed her coat, and left the door to the apartment unlocked for Kylian so he could follow the heady cinnamon trail upstairs. “Lead the way.”

  Usually overgrown with flowers, herbs and even trees, the garden covering our roof lay now quiet, sleeping under the cold. I took a deep breath of the cold evening air and smiled. Snow, we would soon have snow. I followed one of the few small flagstone paths that all led to a terrace in the middle of the rooftop. Our barbecue reminded me of a little terracotta house, with a chimney and all. Bending down I grabbed a few pieces of wood and put them inside before gathering some of my energy and blowing across the wood. Teal colored flames flickered and began to lick the wood, and slowly changed into a normal orange hue.

  “You’re always handy to have around,” Pauline said, tucking her lighter back into her pocket.

  Comfortable in our coats we sat down in the wooden chairs standing in the middle of the terrace. The rooftop offered a breathtaking view of Paris. One could easily see the mysterious, illuminated Notre Dame and the softly glowing Eiffel tower and with darkness quickly settling lights began to pop up everywhere, like a swarm of fireflies. It was calm and beautiful.

  The sweet scent coming from the mug warming my hands was divine. Mulled wine was perfect for a cold winter night. We sat quietly for a while, and I enjoyed the strong liquid that smelled of Christmas burning in my throat and exploding in a hot fist inside my stomach. “This is really good, Pauline.” She had added raisins and almond slices, turning it more into its Scandinavian twin, glogg.

  “When you’re finished put that on,” she rummaged in one of her pockets before handing me a lipstick. I opened it and discovered it was a nice color of red. God, I had to admit I really liked her way of thinking. Okay, so I would play his game, but only so I could get a nice punch in tonight, I assured myself.

  “By the way, you want me to drop in on Kylian’s head and see how many screws are loose in there?”

  Pauline could read minds. When we first met she didn’t control that power which had resulted in some funny moments but thanks to some training with Viviane she was now able to. I smiled at her offer but shook my head. “Thanks, but I already figured he could supply an entire work shop.”

  Her laugh rang out like a bell, clear and honest, and invited to join in.

  Viviane appeared on the rooftop and came towards us. Her long coat was still open and revealed a stunning black dress underneath. She held up a glass of mulled wine in one hand and a jug filled with more in the other. “I took some of your wine. I need that wine.”

  Pauline and I exchanged one look, understanding dawning, and said in unison, “Date.”

  Viviane replied heartily, “Yes, our first one.” And she seemed a little nervous about it.

  “But didn’t you guys already-”

  Viviane waved a hand, stopping Pauline. “That wasn’t a date. That was…well, that was skipping a few steps.”

  Pauline frowned. “He already saw your naked parts and obviously liked them, so why exactly are you nervous?”

  Right. I nearly gagged. How the hell did I get myself int
o these conversations?

  “Because we were good at,” she glanced at me, “skipping a few steps, and I’m frightened we might not be just as good at dating and talking.”

  Pauline motioned for her to sit down, which Viv did. “May I remind you of that night in the bar. Did you really just jump his bones? No, you didn’t. You talked, even if it was just for a little while, but you talked. Did it feel good?”

  Would plugging my ears look weird?

  Viviane was lost in thought. “You’re right. We talked. About music.”

  “There you go.”

  Ahh, finally the storm was over.

  “Is the dress overkill?” Viviane suddenly asked.

  This time it was me who cheered her up. “No, Viv. You look absolutely fabulous.” And that was the truth. Her cheeks were flushed with a healthy rose, her hair was carefully tousled and beneath the nervousness she looked simply happy.

  Viviane smiled at me and then really looked at me. “You do, too.”

  “She’s really professional. Show her your outfit,” Pauline commanded and I got up from my chair and opened my coat.

  “At least now you look the part.”

  Inwardly I smiled. Viviane getting a little cheeky was a good sign. Nervousness wasn’t something she often dealt with, and so I knew and understood her comment as her way of dealing with the bundle of nerves inside of her. If that was the price for seeing her happy and giddy with excitement like every girl facing a first date, I gladly paid.

  “Good evening, ladies.” Kylian strolled over. He wore dark blue slacks, a white button-down shirt and a caramel leather jacket. Casual, sexy, but also professional. Did I mention dangerous? He wore no bandages, there were no signs of any kind of weakness. Just healthy male. Oh boy.

  He stopped in front of Pauline, with a little bow. Seemingly out of nowhere he produced a single long-stemmed daisy and a box of sweet macarons in all the colors of the rainbow which he gave to Pauline before kissing her cheeks. “Belated best wishes.”

  “Oh, thanks. That’s so sweet.”

  “Do you want some wine, Kylian?” Viviane offered.

  “How about a trade? Some of that wine and one of your stories against this,” he held up a shear little plastic bag that had a fine bow atop of it and was filled with mouthwatering chocolate truffles. Viviane’s face lit up like a Christmas tree - he knew exactly which buttons to push.

  “I’d love to.”

  I shook my head at him but had a smile on my lips. That guy could charm a lady’s pants off. I tensed. Yeah, and I had to keep that in mind.

  While Viviane got him another glass he turned around to study me from head to toe. “You look…” His gaze held icy blue sparkles and caught on my cleavage. Smack. My coat was still open and so he got a nice view of the laced top that revealed nothing, except to those with imagination. The little devil inside me was giddy with glee. One point for me.

  “…good,” he finally said, after swallowing and finding my face once again.

  I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from grinning like a fool. “Professional enough?”

  Kylian stepped closer, and his scent, warm, spicy and dark enveloped me. He wore cologne, very subtle as to not offense his own sense of smell. His eyes traveled to my red lips. “Professional and grown-up, yeah. But tame? Not so much.”

  My heart thumped in my chest. Reaching up with one of his hands, he began stroking my neck, that delicious spot under my ear. Cold and hot shivers ran down my spine. That spark we had was still there and about to start a fire. He leaned in, and I thought he was going to kiss me. I didn’t know how to react or whether I even could react. But his lips never reached mine. His teeth grazed my neck, then bit into my earlobe. He had noticed the stargazer lilies, I suddenly realized. Pulling back I could see the wicked and appreciating grin curving his lips.

  Kylian stepped away, but his eyes were icy blue and clearly said two can play that game. One blink and the blue vanished, his control coming back to him as if donning a coat.

  Viviane was back with a glass of mulled wine for him. “Here your wine. Now, what story would you like to hear?”

  Kylian shrugged and sat down. “I don’t know, your choice. Maybe about a tough job.”

  My knees were weak and I sat down too, catching Pauline’s gaze. She was grinning from ear to ear. But me, I wasn’t even sure who had won this round, scared that once again I was in over my head.

  Viviane was lost in thought for a second, leaning back in her chair, and then she began. I forgot the world and listened only to her whiskey voice enveloping me like a fluffy blanket. “There was once, a long time ago, a situation quite similar to this one. A lot of people went missing, just vanished off the face of the earth and I had no idea what was going on or where to start looking for them. Eventually I managed to narrow it down to a kind of zone where most of them had disappeared. Montmartre, Paris highest point turned out to be the center of it. So I looked at it closely.”

  It began to snow then, small delicate flakes swirled in the air like feathers falling from the sky. We looked up and it was as if somehow time stood still, or we did, cars and people on the streets below continued on their way, but on the rooftop we held our breath and just looked out over the warmly illuminated city, the light of which was reflected on whirls of the tiny crystals.

  With a small but peaceful smile tugging at her lips Viviane continued, “Near the cemetery on the hill I found a cave. I walked in slowly. Gnawed off bones covered the ground where light still reached, and then there was total darkness. Suddenly two lights appeared in front of me.” She held a hand to her mouth, scared but also laughing at the memory. “I needed a moment to realize that those lights were eyes. The round eyes of a dragon, as big as…I don’t know…dinner plates maybe. Ah, it was incredible.”

  “A dragon? When was that? I thought they didn’t exist,” Pauline asked, intrigued.

  “A month ago that’s what humans thought about us. Anyway, where was I? Right, me and the dragon facing each other for the first time, and we were both not quite sure about the next move. You have to understand, dragons can be rather peaceful creatures. They have been depicted as evil things working together with Satan, but that’s just human non-sense. Dragons only fight and get nasty when they feel threatened or when their task is threatened. Their task was more often than not to guard a treasure, which a lot of people wanted of course as soon as they knew about it. I didn’t want the treasure that particular dragon was guarding, I just wanted him to stop using my city as his breakfast buffet. So I tucked my sword away and sat down in front of him.”

  “A sit-in? Nice move. Philippe would be so proud of you,” I cut in and we all laughed at that.

  “I think he would. So I sat there and told the dragon that I knew what he was doing here. That I didn’t want a bit from the treasure, whatever it was, but that I would really appreciate it if he would stop eating the people I protected since otherwise I really had to go after his hide. I asked him whether he couldn’t move into a nice forest or something and control the boar population. He couldn’t talk, if he tried to only flames would have come out of his mouth and I would have been more than cooked, but I knew he understood me. I continued and explained to him how the city was growing. Humans made for a perfect dinner. But humans were also eager to gain new knowledge, especially regarding something as useful as warfare. I told him that one day they would find him here, and not only try but succeed to kill him.” Viviane made a pause, for suspense’s sake and her own. “He didn’t grill me on the spot, which I found rather relieving. And suddenly he closed his huge eyes for a moment, and a small sigh in the form of smoke escaped him. His way of agreeing I guessed. I smiled at him, got up and bowed and was out of there in under a second.” Viviane laughed again, probably at herself. “Anyhow, what I meant to tell you is that sometimes you don’t always have to go for the weapon first and ask questions later. A little diplomacy can’t hurt.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You can stop
hinting so politely and incredibly subtly. I know you’re talking to me and that you don’t want me to march into Lilith’s Den tonight and make a mess of it.”

  Viviane shrugged guiltily. “All I’m saying is it might be good for you to go in there with the best diplomatic intentions and not with your hackles up and sword held high. At least give it a try, both of you.” Her gaze pinned Kylian briefly. “By the way there’s something I wanted to give you.” She grabbed inside a pocket of her coat and produced an old paper of some sort. Unfolding it, she gave it to me. Kylian leaned in to have a look.

  It was a map, brown with age, and dark ink swirled in a maze of tunnels. The Parisian underground, and the residence of Lilith’s Den. I’d never been there before, since usually I was only interested in the rogue vampires topside. Below ground level Lilith could almost do whatever the hell she wanted as long as it didn’t include innocent people.

  I frowned. “Where the hell did you get this? And why didn’t you give it earlier to me?”

  “Raymond gave it to me, a long time ago.” She shrugged, as if the vampire she had fallen in love with when she was a young Patroness and who had fooled her just to get Cutter had been just a trivial encounter along the way. “You weren’t meant to get it earlier. You’d have only gotten yourself killed.”

  Well, thanks for having such utter confidence in my abilities. It was time to go. I got up and Kylian did the same.

  “I’ll head off. In case you need me, I’ll be sixty feet under.”

  SIX

  The catacombs of Paris were a network of tunnels and the result of mining stone for over nearly two-thousand years. In the 18th century a general inspection showed lacks regarding security and stability and after the ground gave way in some spots and even streets caved in the mines were closed. Shortly afterwards part of the labyrinth was turned into an underground ossuary since the city’s cemeteries were filled to overflowing and therefore had become a source of infection. Only a century later it began to become a tourist attraction, by then housing the remains of over six million people. Another small part of the underground was used to hoard a treasure of gold belonging to the national bank.