“I think we’d better leave the torches at home. They’re unwieldy and my fire is plenty strong and much more controllable.” I yawned. My skirmish with the imp left me tired. “I think I’m going to go home and take a quick nap before you guys come by tonight. I’ll see you later. Around six thirty or seven?”
“Better figure around seven. Neil doesn’t get off till six and then he’ll have to drive over from Woodinville.”
I glanced out the door. The snow was falling heavily now, accumulating along the sidewalk and on the tops of the cars. “Call me if you can’t make it. At the rate it’s coming down, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were all snowed in before long. Oh, did I tell you? My neighbor is moving! His house is already sold!”
“Do you know who bought it?” Llew gave me a skeptical look. “I’d save the celebration until you find out.”
“Killjoy.” I sobered. “I know I should wait to celebrate until I find out who my new neighbors are, but it’s such a relief knowing that Buck and his brood are going to be out of there. See you later!” I gave him a wave and headed out of the shop.
Driving home was tricky, and part of me hoped that we wouldn’t be able to go after the land wight tonight. But even as I fixed Raj a snack, I knew that one way or another, it was better if we found it and destroyed it as soon as possible. The creature was dangerous, and the sooner we took it out, the less chance it would have to kill anybody else, because I was sure it had already claimed a number of victims.
I curled up on the sofa, watching the snowfall through the window. Raj was feeling lazy too. He had stretched out in front of the fireplace and, yawning, rested his head on his “paws.” I set my alarm for three p.m. and slowly nodded off, thinking about my conversation with my father the night before.
I loved my mother. I really did. But I wasn’t sure how much I liked her. We had never seen eye to eye, and she didn’t understand why I chose to live among humans. She kept encouraging me to move back with my father, or away from the city, out to the wilderness. More than once she had mentioned I might want to move to Annwn, but I didn’t feel like living in the land of the gods. I slowly drifted to sleep, finally letting go of the turmoil of thoughts that were raging through my head. Apparently, I needed the sleep because I slept heavily, oversleeping my alarm, and it took Raj poking me with his snout in order to wake me up.
“Raven wake up? Raven feel bad? Is Raven okay?”
The flurry of questions hit me as I opened my eyes. Raj was staring me straight in the face, his nose wet. He was just about to prod me again when my eyes fluttered open, and ended up hitting my nose with his as I jerked.
“I’m awake! Let me turn off the alarm.” Groggily, I reached for my phone and flipped off the alarm. Raj stepped back as I forced myself to sit up, yawning so wide that I thought I was about to break my jaw.
“Raven okay?” Raj looked at me with pleading eyes.
“I’m okay, doodlebug. I was just tired so I took a long nap.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees and my chin on my hands. Raj poked his nose at me again and I gave him a quick kiss. “Everything’s fine, Raj. I guess I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.”
“Raven takes naps like Raj takes naps. Raj is hungry now. Food?” He wiggled slightly, looking like a giant Gothic puppy.
I raised one eyebrow, laughing. “Raj is always hungry. Raj give Raven a moment to clear her head and Raven will fix Raj a snack.”
Stumbling to my feet, I headed for the bathroom. After washing my hands and splashing a little cold water on my cheeks, I returned to the kitchen where I broke open a bag of potato chips. Raj wasn’t the only one who was hungry. I motioned for him to sit with me on the sofa and poured a bowl of chips for him, saving the rest of the bag for me. As we ate in comfortable silence, I watched the snow come down. We had nearly a foot, but I wondered how much longer it could actually continue. Seattle rarely had snows like this, although they were becoming more frequent as the climate shifted and changed. While parts of the world were drying up and broiling, we were getting wetter, cooler weather.
“Does Raj like snow?” I asked, breaking the silence. Raj looked up at me from his chips.
“Raj likes snow. Raj likes rain too. Raj doesn’t like the sun.” He nodded toward the television. “Raj watch TV?”
“All right. What do you want to watch?” I already knew the answer to that, given the time, but it was always polite to ask.
“Acrobert and the Alphas.” Raj sounded so excited that it made me smile. Acrobert and the Alphas was a new cartoon. It was about a superhero named Bert, who was an incredible acrobat. He had a team of goofy friends who helped him solve crimes and save the world. And Raj absolutely loved the show.
I turned on the TV, finding the right channel. Thinking ahead, I programmed the series to record so that if we missed it Raj wouldn’t mope. Then, as he settled down to watch, I carried the empty bag and bowl back into the kitchen. I rinsed out the dishes that were in the sink and put them into the dishwasher and gathered the trash to carry out to the trash bin.
“I’ll be back in a moment. I’m going to empty the garbage.” But Raj didn’t answer. I glanced at him. He was so wrapped up in the show that he didn’t even notice me.
Carrying the garbage out the front door, I slipped and slid my way down the sidewalk to the trash bin. Moira’s walk wasn’t the only one that I needed to clean. I figured that since I had already shoveled one walk today, another wouldn’t hurt, so I grabbed a shovel. Fifteen minutes later, my sidewalk was clean from my door down to the car and driveway.
A noise caught my attention. I looked up to see Buck and Minerva struggling to carry boxes out to their truck. As I watched, a moving van inched down the street, parking in front of the place. That was fast. I didn’t even know you could sell a house that fast, or close on it that quickly. Although they might be moving before the actual deal went through. But still, they must be packing on the go. I thought about going over to tell them good-bye, but I decided to let sleeping dogs lie—and sleeping Bucks as well.
As the moving men jumped out of the truck and headed up the sidewalk to talk to Buck, I turned around and went back inside, propping the shovel by the door. As I entered my house, I heard my phone ring. It was Kipa’s ring tone—a song called “Wolf Moon.” I grabbed it and answered before the caller could hang up on me.
“Kipa? What’s up?”
“You sound excited to see me,” came the chuckling reply.
I snorted. “Funny man. I was just coming in from shoveling the snow and I’m out of breath.”
“Oh, damn. You just broke my delusions. I thought you were happy to hear from me.” Kipa laughed, then cleared his throat. “Gunnar and I need to come over and talk to you. We found out some information that may have a bearing on whatever it is that’s attached to him. The fylgismadi or whatever it is.”
“ ‘Fylgismadi’ is right. I’m busy tonight. I’m heading out to fight that land wight with Llew and Neil. Can you come by tomorrow?” Even as I spoke, a wave of disappointment washed over me. I would much rather spend the evening canoodling with Kipa than tromping through a snowy forest.
“That will work. Will noon be all right? Gunnar is taking a few days off from his job.”
“Noon will be fine. Can you stay afterward?” A pang of longing hit me, and I wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around me, his hands on my skin.
“So you do miss me?” He was laughing again, but it was gentle laughter, and I knew he was teasing me.
“I miss all of you. Every single part of you. Some parts of you more than others right now,” I said in a throaty voice.
“I’m not sure what my schedule is, but I’ll try to clear it. Trust me, I miss you with every inch of my body, and I mean that sincerely. It’s so hard being away from you.”
“How hard is it?” I whispered.
“So hard that I can barely keep my pants zipped.” His breathing quickened. I could hear it over the phone. “Damn, woman
. Just talking to you gets me so fucking horny I can hardly stand it. You sure you have to do this land wight hunt tonight?”
Reluctantly, I said, “Yeah. Do you want to come with us?”
“No, I want to come with you.” He sighed. “I would, honestly, but I guarantee you the wight would sense my presence, and hide itself so well you’d never find it. At least not until the next victim disappears. How many people has it claimed so far?”
“I don’t know. Llew and I stumbled over it by accident. We need to find its lair tonight, and we have one of Llew’s friends coming with us who has a magical silver hammer that can destroy the soul stone. I’ll call you if it’s not too late when we finish. If you’re up for it, you can come over then.”
“I’m always up for you.” Still laughing, Kipa signed off.
I wandered back into the kitchen, thinking I should eat a light dinner before we headed out. But all I could think about was Kipa now, his hands on my breasts, his lips pressed hard against mine, him deep inside me. I glanced at the clock. It was four-fifteen. I set down the package of noodles that I had been going to cook, turned, and—making sure Raj was still quite occupied with his show—headed for the bedroom. Kipa might not be here right now, but there were other ways I could satisfy my hunger.
Chapter Fourteen
By the time Llew and Neil arrived, I had showered to loosen the knots in my back, and dressed. For tromping in the woods, I decided on a pair of leggings and a long, black V-neck tunic that came to mid-thigh. I cinched a silver belt around my waist, then slid my feet into a pair of rubber-soled lace-up boots. The soles were a good inch thick and should hold traction on the snow and ice. I slipped on my jacket that held in body heat, and opted for a pair of cheap gloves. I’d have to remove them in order to work any magic, so I didn’t want to chance losing my leather ones.
I pulled my hair into a high ponytail to keep it out of the way, and tied a brightly colored scarf around my head like a headband. I thought about wearing a pair of ski goggles, and gave in, sliding them on over my eyes. This way, falling snow wouldn’t present a problem, and my eyes would be protected from any attacks. After feeling those tentacles with barbs, I wasn’t keen on getting stabbed in any more vital areas than my wrist. Making sure Venom was fastened to the belt of my jacket, I hurried to the door when the bell rang.
I invited Llew and Neil in, giving Neil the once-over. He looked like a priest of Thor, all right. At least six-six, he weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle, with long brown hair pulled back in a braid, and a braided beard. He looked to be around forty, though as one of the magic-born he could easily be older, and he was wearing a heavy leather jacket, a pair of jeans that both left nothing to the imagination but yet looked like they could stretch with his movements, and a heavy sweater beneath the jacket. He was carrying a silver hammer about the size of a small sledgehammer. Whether it was silver coated or an amalgam, I didn’t know, but it sparkled and looked freshly polished. It also resonated with a magical signature set on a harmonic that almost made my teeth rattle.
Llew introduced us and we shook hands. “Raven, this is Neil Johansson.”
“Thank you for offering to help,” I said, amazed by how gentle the man’s grip was.
“Thanks for the chance to test out Helga here.” He held up the hammer and gave it a shake. “In case you’re wondering, she’s a mixture of silver and steel, but there’s enough silver in her to make a vampire weep and a werewolf run.”
I blinked. Okay then, I’d never heard that one before and wondered if he was also some kind of bigot, except there had been no weight in his words. And he was right—neither vampires nor werewolves liked silver.
“Okay, then. We’ll get started, I guess. Let me tell Raj I’m going.” I wasn’t about to put him in danger by taking him with us. I hurried back into the living room, where Raj had switched over to listening to an audio book. He wasn’t much of a reader, but he gave it a try from time to time and he liked listening to stories, so I bought him audio books. It crossed my mind that I really needed to start getting him into a regular exercise routine, even though he never complained or seemed that interested when I wanted to take him for a walk.
“Raj, I’m headed out into the park. I may not be back for a while, but I’ll try to make it as fast as possible. We’re going after a land wight who’s trying to hurt people.” I sat down beside him, draping my arm over his back.
Raj glanced past me toward the door. In a low whisper, he said, “Raven be careful. Land wights dangerous. Raj wait up for Raven.”
I smiled, leaning down to give him a kiss on the head. “Good Raj. Raven will be back as soon as she can.”
With that, I made sure there were a few snacks on the table for him, grabbed a flashlight I could strap to my belt, then led Llew and Neil into the cul-de-sac and toward the entrance to UnderLake Park.
During the night, UnderLake Park was far spookier than it was during the daytime. For one thing, few people hung out at the park during the twilight hours, and even fewer entered during the night, so there was an odd silence that reverberated through the acreage. For another, at night, the ghosts came out to play, and UnderLake Park was haunted as shit.
Neil and Llew were silent as I led them onto the path that Llew and I had traversed. We were all carrying walking sticks, given the snow was still coming down and the trail was far harder to navigate than it had been just the day before. It was amazing what a difference a mere few inches of snow could make.
We slid and slipped our way along the path as I kept a close watch out for the trail juncture. The flashlight helped, and the night sky was more silver than dark, due to the falling snow. I quickly realized that my ski goggles were getting fogged up by my breath, which was coming in puffs, so I took them off and tucked them into the lightweight backpack I was carrying.
As I turned onto the side trail, I slowed, wondering just how far the land wight’s territory extended. Would it come all the way up here, to the top of the ravine? Or would we have to go down below to find it? I suddenly wished that we had something like a monster-Geiger counter.
I poked Llew’s elbow. “Listen, dude. Do you have anything that can detect when we’re near the wight? If it was a ghost or spirit, I’d be able to sense it, but it’s not and I can’t. I just realized that we could be on a wild goose chase.”
“Not to worry,” Neil answered for him, holding up his hammer. “My hammer senses evil and gives off a faint blue light when we’re near it.”
“Like Sting, in Lord of the Rings?” It flashed through my mind that Tolkien either had encountered goblins or other sub-Fae during his life, or he had possessed an incredibly accurate imagination.
“Kind of. Along those lines. I’m watching it, so if we get near the wight—it is an evil creature, isn’t it?” He paused, frowning. “This wouldn’t work on an alligator, for example, no matter how hungry it was.”
“Land wights are malevolent, yes.”
“Okay, then. It should give us a heads-up.”
Comforted by the massive man’s promise, I once again took the lead and began edging through the foliage, down the side of the ravine. We were approximately in the same place we’d been the day before.
Llew and Neil followed. I could hear their labored breathing behind me. Both were in fairly good shape, but the temperature was dropping and the harsh chill to the air played hell on the lungs. I was about to ask if they were okay when I stepped on a rock that was covered by snow and my foot slid out from under me. I tried to regain my balance but lost the battle, tumbling down the side of the ravine, rolling through the snow, unable to stop until I came to rest at the bottom of the gully.
Swearing loudly, I tried to ascertain if I’d broken any bones. Llew and Neil were scrambling down the hill after me. I could see them in the dim flicker of my flashlight beam. I groaned, rolling over onto my hands and knees. I was near a stand of huckleberry bushes and fern layered with a good six to seven inches of snow.
As I began to stand, I heard a rustle from the nearest bush. I tried to duck away, but my reflexes were slowed by the fall, and the next moment, a barbed tentacle lashed out, just as it had before, but this time I managed to avoid getting caught by it. I almost fell over backward trying to scramble out of reach. Neil and Llew were nearing me, and true to his word, Neil’s hammer was lit up like a blue-light special at Kmart.
“The wight—it’s behind the bush,” I said as they pulled me away, into the open.
Neil’s eyes widened. “Do wights stay near their nests?”
“I think so,” Llew said. “That’s where they consume their victims. And they protect their soul stones.” He glanced around. “Look for any disturbance in the snow that might give away the opening, and keep well away from the bushes. I doubt if the wight’s going to come out here in the open when there are several of us.”
True enough, the tentacle had disappeared, and the huckleberry bush was still. The wight had probably retreated to its nest or to gain a better vantage from which to watch us.
I stared at the line of shrubbery in front of us. “Ten to one, the nest is behind all of those bushes. We’re going to have to go through and hope that we don’t get within its range.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Llew said.
“I’ll go first. It might shrink away from my hammer, and I’m bigger than both of you.” Neil paused, gazing at me. “I don’t know if I’m stronger, though. I’ve never met one of the Ante-Fae before.”
I shrugged. “We can have an arm-wrestling contest later. Right now, I suggest we just get this over with because I don’t want to have to come back after this thing again.” I was regretting my decision to play do-gooder. All I wanted to do was head back home, curl up with Raj, and ignore the fact that there was a creepy-assed creature living so close to my house.
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