The Hallowed Hunt

by Yasmine Galenorn

  I saw it then—the brilliant stars spread out overhead in a silver wheel surrounding a gleaming castle. And everything, from the stars to the castle to Morgana, to me, was connected by a web of glistening energy. We were all linked: everything and everyone. Every single movement spread out in concentric circles to ripple through the universe. Everything that happened was all a dance. It was all a prayer.

  “What’s that?” I whispered, pointing at the spiraling castle of stars overhead.

  “That is Caer Arianrhod, home to the center of our magic, the center of our power, and the center of Annwn.” And then, before I could speak again, she said, “Remember what I said. Your life depends on it. I will see you after the Cruharach.”

  And with that, she vanished, and I was back on the bench. As one, the crows took wing and flew away.

  Chapter Four

  When we got to work, Herne was waiting in the break room and he didn’t look happy. Talia had come in early and she had already made coffee. I took one look at both of them and knew something had happened.

  “What’s up?” I asked, giving him a quick kiss.

  He shook his head. “It’s bad, Ember. Wait till everyone gets here. I don’t want to have to go through it several times.” He glanced around. “Damn it, I forgot my tablet. I’ll be right back.”

  As he headed out of the room, Talia waited till he was out of earshot, then quickly sat down beside me.

  “I’m not sure exactly what’s up, but he was on the phone when I got here, and I could hear yelling on the other end. And if I’m not mistaken, I think it was Cernunnos. I don’t know what he was saying, but I’ve never seen Herne look so pale. He just murmured a ‘Yes sir’ and got off the phone as fast as he could. I knew better than ask what was going down. I’m sure we’ll find out in a few minutes. I called Viktor and Yutani to light a fire under their butts. They’ll be on time.”

  Talia had known Herne a long, long time. She had been with the agency since before it had come over from England. A harpy who lost her powers, Talia had accepted Herne and Morgana’s help, and she was probably Herne’s oldest friend.

  I decided to leave the subject alone. As Talia said, we’d find out soon enough.

  “So, how are you? How are Roxy and Rema?”

  Talia smiled. She loved talking about her greyhounds. “They’re doing well, thank you. I took them out to the park with Viktor. He brought Anastasia—that little mutt he adopted that you found in that junkyard. We had a nice evening and a good, long walk.” Her smile faded a little. “Actually, I’ve had a troubling letter from home.”

  I frowned. Talia had been slowly warming up to Angel and me, and we occasionally got together for drinks or dinner. But she had never mentioned before that she was still in connection with her family.

  “I didn’t realize that you had reconnected with your family.”

  “Oh, not my mother. No, trust me, I couldn’t care less what happens to her, given she threw me out when I was injured. My sister Varia contacted me about a year ago. I’ve been cautious about how much I’ve talked to her, but I did answer her. Now, she wants to come out here to see me.”

  I swallowed, hard. “She’s a harpy like you, right?”

  Talia nodded. “Yes, indeed. And she still has her full powers. She’s been rather snotty to me. I think she sees me as disabled and she’s not very gracious about it. But I received a letter from her yesterday saying she wants to come visit. And get this, she’s already on the way. I can’t stop her from coming because I can’t reach her.”

  “Lovely. So you get to see her whether or not you want to, right?”

  Irritation flared in Talia’s eyes. “Right. She’d better not make a scene.”

  I had the sudden image of a harpy shrieking, flying around the hallways, and grimaced. Herne wouldn’t stand for it.

  “Oh, if she shows the first sign of disrespect, she’s out of here. Even if I have to hand her over to Cernunnos to use for hunting practice.” She stopped as Viktor and Yutani entered the room. Angel followed them, followed by Herne, holding his tablet.

  “I’ve locked the elevator so that we won’t be interrupted,” she said.

  Herne motioned for us to all sit down. “Good.” He tossed what looked like a police report on the table, along with what appeared to be a stack of photocopies. “I made copies for everybody. We’ve got serious trouble. Saílle and Névé contacted Morgana this morning, and they’re both frantic. I don’t blame them, this time.”

  “What happened?” I couldn’t see what the report said from where I was sitting, but it looked long and involved, and there were pictures attached.

  “Our lovely little hate group, the Tuathan Brotherhood, has struck again. Jasper Elrich, one of the Light Fae, plowed his car into a group of partygoers in the Crown Hill district, over on 13th Avenue. It’s a predominantly human neighborhood that borders on a mostly shifter neighborhood. They had blocked off the streets from 85th to 87th for a neighborhood autumn block party breakfast.”

  Herne was right. This was bad. Viktor picked up the copies of the report and began passing them out to us.

  “How many were injured?” Talia finally asked.

  “Five adults injured, two dead. Both of the dead are shifters. Three children dead, one of them a shifter, two humans. He swerved to do the most damage.”

  “They catch him?” Viktor skimmed over the report.

  “He killed himself before the cops could get him out of the car. Bullet to the head. A stack full of Tuathan Brotherhood pamphlets in the backseat.” Herne’s voice was strained. “Cernunnos and Morgana want this brought to a halt, now.” He slid into a chair, his expression grim. “Yutani, bring up the local news station on your laptop, please.”

  While Yutani tapped away, I began to read the police report. Sure enough, Jasper had been a member of the Light Fae court. The photos were bleak, with blood and bone smeared all over the streets. One photo showed a woman kneeling over a young boy who didn’t look more than six years old, her face in her hands.

  “Got it,” Yutani said, sliding the computer over to Herne.

  Herne scanned the headlines, then clicked on a link, turning the computer around so we could all see. The video was a live feed from the mayor’s office.

  Whoever was responsible for damage control was speaking. The caption identified her as Deputy Mayor Maria Serenades, the mayor’s right hand.

  “We are calling in government experts, as well as divine agency to help us understand why this crime happened. We have received no demands from the Tuathan Brotherhood, only a claim of responsibility for the act. The hate group has emerged from seemingly nowhere, and there’s little evidence as to where they are located, or what is fueling the sudden spate of violent crimes.”

  In a world where gods often walked among the populace, “divine agency” referred to any divinity-appointed agency who had authority along with the government. The Wild Hunt was one of those agencies.

  “What government experts? The FBI? The BIDB?” Viktor asked.

  Herne snorted. “The FBI wouldn’t be able to touch this. And the Bureau for Interdimensional Beings? They aren’t to be trusted, and the mayor knows it. The United Coalition hasn’t yet issued an official statement. They can’t, really, until they gather more information. But I’ve talked with the mayor a number of times and she called me this morning, asking for us to intercede, since this involves the Fae. So she’s on the same page as Morgana and Cernunnos.”

  “And Névé and Saílle? What did they have to say?” I tossed the police report back on the table, the image of the mother leaning over her son too fresh.

  “They’re begging us to find out who’s doing this. Both claim they have no idea about this hate group, and that if there is any such hate group, the group is rogue. To be fair, neither Névé or Saílle have ever directed their anger at humans—not directly. Nor at shifters. They usually target each other and it’s the spillover damage that we’re directed to stop. The fact that they willi
ngly contacted my parents does indicate that they’re telling the truth.”

  “And what about other states?” Angel asked.

  Herne nodded. “Four other states report similar attacks to the beatings last night. They may be copycat crimes, so Father’s asked Kipa to go check it out. He’s on the road, as of now.”

  “Where do we start with this?” I crossed to the counter and poured myself another cup of coffee, adding in sugar and milk. “I suppose we should head over to Jasper’s home and check it out?”

  “Right. Since the mayor asked us to lead the case, I was able to instruct the police to cordon off the apartment. They made sure there’s nobody else inside, but haven’t touched anything. Ember, you and Viktor come with me. Yutani, find out everything you can about Jasper and email us the information. Talia, stay on Amanda’s case. We’ll get back to that after we check out Elrich’s apartment, but for the moment, this is top priority.”

  “More important than a little girl who’s missing?” Angel said.

  Herne turned to her. “Unfortunately, yes. We have three dead children and two dead adults thanks to this psycho. To top it off, I got a call from the hospital. One of the injured yesterday—a human—died during the night. Whoever these crazy fucks are behind the Tuathan Brotherhood, they’re on a murder spree. I feel very badly for Eleanor’s mother, but right now, this emergency has a much broader scope.”

  Angel hung her head, staring at the table. “I know. I just…”

  Herne regarded her silently for a moment, then said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, but we are in a code red situation and we have to do our jobs. We’ll do everything we can to find Eleanor, but right now…” He stopped, letting out a long sigh. “It all sucks, Angel. All of it. But we only have so many resources, and time on both cases is running against us.”

  With that he stood and motioned to Viktor and me. “Come on, let’s get a move on. Angel, stay by the phone in case we need you to email us info. Also, if anybody else comes in looking to sign us up for a case, tell them we won’t be able to consult with them until at least next week. If they want to wait, great, take their number and tell them we’ll call within the next week. If not, refer them to Isaak Durnholm. He’s a good investigator and works with a lot of the SubCult.”

  “Isaak Durnholm. Got it,” she said, standing up. “Is that all?”

  “Yeah, that’s it. Get to it, guys.” Herne turned to me. “Grab what you need, you and Viktor, and meet me at my car in five minutes. Make it snappy.”

  As he headed back to his office, I turned to Angel, resting my hand on her arm. “He didn’t mean to be abrupt—”

  She shook her head. “No, I get it. I do. I just… I think Eleanor is out there, somewhere, and we can’t do a thing.”

  “I’ll see you later.” I headed back to my office, grabbed my purse and tablet, and slid my dagger into my boot sheath before I hurried to the front where Herne and Viktor were waiting. Without a word, we stepped into the elevator and were on our way.

  “Where does Elrich live—or rather, where did he live?” I glanced out the window. We were headed toward North Seattle.

  “He lived in Parkwood. On Meridian, in the Ella Marie Apartments.” Herne turned onto an entrance ramp and picked up speed as we merged onto I-5. The freeway was fairly clear by now, rush hour was over, and it didn’t take long for us to reach Exit 175. We then navigated the streets until we were headed west on 155th Street. From there, we turned left on Meridian, driving a couple blocks until we were in front of the Ella Marie Apartments. There were several police cruisers in the area, and we parked in back of the nearest one. As we exited the car and were walking toward the apartment building, one of the cops standing out front stepped out to stop us.

  “I need to see your ID. What’s your business here?”

  Herne held out his badge, and Viktor and I followed suit. The cop blinked, then nodded us through.

  “Radio upstairs that we’re coming, would you?” Herne said over his shoulder and the cop gave him a wave.

  The Ella Marie Apartments weren’t kept up very well. The building was three stories, stretching toward the back of the lot like a motel. There weren’t any elevators. At the end of each floor, an outdoor staircase led to the upper level. A long concrete walkway ran the length of both upper floors, passing in front of each door.

  “What unit did he live in?” I asked as we clattered up the metal steps. I didn’t touch the railing—it looked like cast iron and my feet tingled even inside my shoes.

  “2-B. See the officer standing in front of the door?” Herne swung off the stairs, onto the second level. We stopped in front of the second door where, once again, we showed our badges. The officer opened the door for us, then stepped to the side and we entered the apartment.

  The first thing I noticed was the incredible stench of the place, like stale beer and moldy food and unwashed clothes all run together. I coughed. The very air felt permeated by the smell.

  “Haven’t any of his neighbors complained?” I asked, trying not to gag.

  “You were outside—we didn’t smell anything there,” Victor said, grimacing. “Geezus, this is bad. It smells like something curled up and died in here.”

  “Given the mess, maybe something did.” Herne coughed. “This is pretty bad.” He turned to the cop, who was watching us from the door. “Did you guys touch anything at all?”

  The officer shook his head. His eyes were watering and I caught a whiff of his pheromones—he had to be a shifter. He was nervous, but not in that I’m lying sort of way. He was just jumpy, and I didn’t blame him, given that Elrich had been aiming for both shifters and humans alike.

  “No, we did our best to avoid walking on anything on the floor, though I can’t guarantee we totally managed it, given there’s hardly any bare spots. We just checked each room to make sure there was nobody else inside, then we shut it up, like you asked.”

  The apartment was silent, except for the ticking of a clock.

  I glanced around, staring at the disarray. Either Elrich had been a hoarder, or he had been a total slob. There were stacks of magazines, tied in bundles, and scattered junk all over the floor—old takeout containers, crumpled napkins, half-eaten food. My stomach lurched when I saw half of a hamburger covered in maggots.

  “What the ever-loving fuck?” I pointed to the computer. It had been trashed. Somebody had smashed it to bits. The monitor was shattered, and the computer was demolished.

  “He was trying to cover his tracks, I’ll bet. I wonder if the hard drive is still intact. We’ll have Yutani check it out, see if he can pull any info off of it. If it’s still all right, he can put it into a different case and see what’s there.” Herne stopped by the sofa, staring at a stack of pamphlets. “Bingo. Tuathan Brotherhood propaganda.”

  Viktor checked out the bedroom while I wandered into the kitchen. It was just as bad as the living room, but as I looked around, something caught my eye. I walked over to the fridge and stared at a picture taped to it. There was something off, but I couldn’t quite tell what.

  The picture was of our suspect—Jasper Elrich, with his arms wrapped around a beautiful young woman. She was probably around twenty. His lips were against her cheek, and they both looked radiant. And then, it hit me. She was human.

  “Herne, come here!”

  “What is it?” Herne maneuvered through the mess over to my side.

  “Does this look like someone who hates humans?” I pointed to the picture. The timestamp on it read two months ago. “He looks pretty happy here, to me.”

  “People can hide all manner of prejudices,” Herne said, but he took the picture off the fridge and turned it around. “Jasper and Penny, Whidbey Island.” He looked around. “Any other pictures like this? By the way, I asked the cops and they said he didn’t have his phone on him in the car, so look for a phone.”

  “That means moving the mess around.” I grimaced.

  “Here.” Herne handed me a pair of vinyl g
loves. “Wear these. We have no idea what kind of bacteria might be hiding in this mess.”

  I slipped on the gloves and walked over to the table. It was piled high with old food wrappers and paper. As I shifted through the garbage, I caught sight of a stack of unopened envelopes. They were all addressed to Jasper Elrich. I shook off the residue crap that was sticking to them, and looked around for a chair. There was one by the table that didn’t have anything on it, so I sat down there and began opening the envelopes.

  “What do you have?” Herne asked.

  “Looks like bills—all late. None of them have been paid for…two months. Electricity, credit card, phone bill, cable bill. All of these are second requests for payment. So he was in arrears. I wonder if we can find his checkbook to see if he was out of money. And can you ask the cops to find the manager? If he was behind on his other bills, was he behind on his rent?”

  I stacked the bills together and poked through the kitchen until I found some plastic zipper bags, then put the bills inside one. Herne handed me the picture, and I added that to another one while he went to speak with the police officer.

  A moment later, Viktor emerged from the bedroom.

  “I found his phone. He has a drawer full of women’s clothes—mostly underwear, a pair of jeans, a couple tops. Definitely not his size, so he wasn’t a cross dresser. There’s a blow dryer in the bathroom, and there was an extra toothbrush there, along with some tampons in the cupboard, so I am pretty sure that a woman stayed here off and on.”

  I showed him the picture. “Ten to one, it was her. Can you unlock his phone?”