WE FOUND OUT that every morning at the Wild Hunt Agency, we started the day with a brief meeting to bring everybody up to speed. Talia was there, carrying a box of doughnuts. Yutani had a sheaf of papers in his hand, and he looked like he’d been up all night. Viktor was entirely too bright and perky for eight in the morning, and he gave me a two-fingered salute as we entered the room.
Herne was the last one to straggle in. He was talking on his cell phone. Talia had made coffee, and I thought about refilling my cup, but the fact that I’d already had four shots of espresso made me hesitate.
Angel gave me a sardonic look. “You know you want to. Go ahead. It never seems to affect you, anyway.”
“That’s because I live on the stuff. I think the mix of the Dark and Light Fae scrambled some of my brain cells.” I was joking, kind of. There weren’t enough of us half-breeds between the two Fae courts to do any studies on.
“Excuse me,” Herne said, waving for us to be quiet. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. My staff was joking around.” He flashed us a warning look, then turned away. “I know what you said. There’s not much I can do about it.” He paused, then let out a huff of irritation. “I don’t think you’re going to find it of much use now, but go ahead and knock yourself out. Call me when you have an answer.” He stared at us for a moment, then slipped the phone in his pocket.
“Anything the matter, boss?” Talia put a doughnut on the plate and shoved it his way.
Pulling the plate in front of him, he picked up the cream-filled bun and took a big bite out of it. A moment later, he wiped his mouth on a napkin.
“Yeah, there’s plenty the matter. Just a run-in with Névé’s court. You know how it goes.” He turned a long look to Angel and me. “They’ve got you on the rosters now. They weren’t happy about it, either. Apparently you really did interfere with their plans by killing those two Light Fae. And apparently I interfered with their plans by making sure you were taken on here.”
“So they’re pissed?”
“Mightily. Anyway, they have no choice but to agree to our terms. Morgana made it clear to them. And yes, before you ask, they petitioned her about it. She not only made it clear that they have to abide by rules we already have set up, but that you are under her protection as well.”
My stomach lurched. That they had gone all the way to the goddess to try and get permission to retaliate left me feeling rather weak-kneed. And then to know that a goddess was taking a personal interest in me was almost just as disconcerting.
“I guess they take things seriously.” Thoughts of my parents flashed through my head again. “I had a thought last night. I’m not sure if now is the right time to mention it, but I did a little research on my own.”
“You didn’t go out anywhere by yourself, I hope?”
“Not at all.” I tossed a printout on the table that I had made of several of the ghost hunting sites agendas. “I remember what you said about that. No, it occurred to me that there might be some connection between some of the activities on the various paranormal groups. So I took a look at their recent field trips. At least four of them recently visited the Castle Hall area of UnderLake.”
Herne glanced over at Talia. “Did you notice this connection?”
She shook her head. “No, but I wasn’t finished with my research either. What about you, Yutani?”
Yutani cleared his throat. “I’ve been running algorithms, trying to find connections between the victims and anything that might be part of their lives. I did connect all of the victims that have been identified with paranormal groups. And I also made a printout of the connections I found between the groups. There’s probably something about Castle Hall in some of them, but I haven’t had the time to go through it yet. That’s what I was planning on doing this morning.”
He brought out twelve printouts, and placed them on the table. “Here are spreadsheets of the different victims and the groups they belonged to. We could start combing through them, or I can run a query asking about Castle Hall, now that I’ve got all of this information gathered together. That would probably be a lot quicker.”
“Go ahead. Meanwhile, Talia? What else have you found out?”
Yutani gathered up his papers and left the room. I caved and poured myself a cup of coffee, stirring sugar and cream into it.
Talia polished off a maple bar, licking her fingers. “I did a little digging into bank accounts. As far as I can tell, there doesn’t seem to be much of a connection that way. Some of the victims were middle class, some were poor. None were rich, and none belonged to influential families.”
Herne turned to Angel. “How are you finding your desk? Do you need anything? Are the ergonomics all right?”
“Everything’s fine, although the chair could use replacing. If you don’t mind, I’d like to do some reorganization of the filing cabinets. Whoever had the job before me did an adequate job, but I think there are more efficient ways to organize all of the files.”
Herne slowly nodded. “I don’t have a problem with that, but remember that all the files are confidential, and any that are filed in blue folders need to stay in a locked drawer. As for a chair, find one you like and put in a requisition slip with me. Try to keep it under $400 if you can, but if you need to go above that, just talk to me and we’ll work it out.”
Angel gave him a nod, jotting down notes on her pad. I had at least remembered my notepad and pen today.
Just then, the office phone rang twice. It stopped then rang three more times. Talia glanced at Herne, then walked over to the phone on the counter and answered it.
“I forgot to tell you both, that’s the emergency code. If it rings twice, then stops for a moment, then rings three more times, answer. It will either be my father, Morgana, or one of their representatives,” Herne said.
I blinked. “Cernunnos and Morgana use a phone?” Somehow, I hadn’t counted on the gods being part of the tech generation.
“If you live in this world, you kind of need to. Whether you’re a god or not.” Herne glanced at Talia as she handed him the phone and mouthed “Morgana.”
“Herne here.” He listened for a moment, then let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I’ve got it. Hold on.” He pulled out his cell phone, and glanced at the screen. “Yeah, the text came through. We’ll get right on it.” He paused, then added, “Yes, Mother. I said we’ll get right on it.” As he handed the phone back to Talia, who replaced it back in the cradle, the tension in the room seemed to rise.
“What’s up, boss?” Viktor asked.
“Wait till Yutani comes back, please. Can somebody get me a cup of coffee, three sugars, and about two spoons of cream?” Herne just stared at the screen of his cell phone, shaking his head.
I glanced at Angel, who gave me a little shrug. I picked up a chocolate-covered cake doughnut and bit into it, blinking as I realized they were from Ray’s shop.
Talia must have noticed my surprise. “Good, aren’t they?”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “I know all about these doughnuts, and the guy who makes them.”
Talia looked like she was about to say something, but stopped when Herne shook his head at her. I wondered what was going on, but didn’t feel comfortable asking. At that moment Yutani came back through the door, clutching a whole bunch more printouts. He pulled out a chair and slid into it.
“Well, you’re right. Every single victim—of the ones identified—belonged to a group, different ones, that recently visited the Castle Hall area of UnderLake. And every victim seems to have visited the park the day they disappeared.” He tossed the papers on the table and leaned back.
“How long did we figure we have between victims?”
Viktor consulted his notes. “Another day, at least. It looks like they’re down to one every two days.”
Herne sighed. “The pattern has escalated. There was another murder yesterday afternoon, but they didn’t find the victim until this morning. Same MO. Victim mutilated to
pieces. Morgana just let me know.”
“How does she know? I thought the gods weren’t omnipotent?” I wasn’t quite clear on how much the gods actually did know.
“She has spies all throughout the police department. You’d be surprised how thorough Cernunnos and Morgana’s network is. One of her informants notified her as soon as they found the victim this morning.” Herne stared at me. “You don’t think my father and mother would leave this all to chance, do you? They are trying to prevent an all-out war down here, so they’ve got to have people on the inside.”
It made sense when I thought about it. I just hadn’t expected it for some reason. Then the reality of what he had said hit home.
“A thirteenth victim? That’s a lot of dead bodies. What the hell are they doing?”
“I don’t know, but with regards to the rumors that the vampires are behind the killings, what better way to deflect suspicion off yourself by finding a scapegoat?” Herne looked puzzled.
“Do you think one of the Dark Fae is a serial killer? That he’s gone off the deep end and his people are trying to protect them?” Angel asked.
He considered her question for a moment. “Actually, I don’t. If that were the case, they’d take him out. Neither side wants the sort of chaos a serial killer brings into play. No, there’s something else going on. I’m just not sure what.”
I raised my hand.
Talia laughed. “You’re not in school, honey. If you have something to say, just come out and say it. We’re all part of this agency, and even though you’re new, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have an opinion.”
I flashed her a grateful grin. “Thanks. I just wanted to remind you all that the shadow that Angel felt when she was inspecting the pendant seemed to be some sort of a monster. Could the Dark Fae be summoning up some sort of demon?”
Herne gave me a thoughtful look. “That’s not out of the question. Both sides have made deals with not only the sub-Fae, but their underlings. We can definitely investigate that angle.”
“So who’s the new victim?” Yutani asked.
“I sure don’t want to tell you this,” Herne said, giving Angel a sideways glance. “Hang tight. This time, it was a fourteen-year-old boy. Apparently, neither sex nor age are factors when it comes to victims.”
I closed my eyes, trying not to think about the age of the boy. There was nothing I could do for now, except help to find his killer. “Where was he found?”
“Yeah, was it in Seward Park?” Viktor asked. “And was he human or a shifter?”
“Human.” Herne let out a long sigh. He consulted the text on his phone. “And he was actually found on the Eastside.”
“In the UnderLake District?” I began to jot down notes on what he was telling us. I glanced over at Angel. She had a sick look on her face. I wanted to comfort her, to remind her that DJ was safe, but this wasn’t the time or place.
“No, actually he was found on Mercer Island.” Herne held up his hand. “Before you mention it, I know perfectly well that Mercer Island is directly across from Seward Park. We seem to have a trail of bodies leading from the docks to the catacombs, to Seward Park, and now Mercer Island. Heading east.”
“If the murders are now one day apart, that means there’ll be another one today, probably found tomorrow.” I swallowed hard. Whatever we were facing seem to have an insatiable appetite. But what was it feeding on? Oh, there had been bite marks on the victims, and chunks of flesh taken out of a few, but not enough to feed a big hungry monster.
“So what’s next?” Viktor asked, looking as queasy as I felt.
“You, I, and Ember will go examine the murder site. Or rather, the dumpsite. We still don’t know where all the victims were murdered. Talia, get on the phone to those organizations and ask for full member rosters. See if our newest victim was a member. Yutani, run all the names through whatever computations you do, see if there are any connections between any of the other members that might link them to the murder victims we already have. Angel, you help Yutani and Talia however they need.”
“Of course,” she said, still holding her stomach. “What do I do if somebody comes in about a case? Do you even take cases that aren’t related to the war between the Fae? I’m not clear on that.”
Herne stood up, shrugging into his jacket. “Yes, we do, between cases that my father and mother send to us. And if anybody comes in wanting information, take their name and number, and set up an appointment for Wednesday or Friday afternoon. That’s when I offer consultations for other cases. From two until six p.m.” He motioned to Viktor and me. “Get your coats and let’s get a move on. We’ll take my car.”
As we hurried out of the office, I realized that I actually cared about what we were doing. I cared about the murder victims. It’d been a long time since I was this interested in my work, and that was a good feeling, even though it came at the expense of others.
Chapter 10
HERNE DROVE A black Ford Expedition, and he motioned for me to get in the front seat. Viktor scrambled in the back, looking like he didn’t care one way or the other. As we buckled up, Herne gassed the SUV and we took off out of the parking garage. He drove a little too fast for my comfort, but he was a good driver, and it didn’t surprise me that he drove a car as big as a house.
“How are we going to explain showing up at the murder site?” I asked. “Won’t the police get suspicious?”
“First, the police know all about my agency. Second, they’ve already been there and gone. If we encounter anybody, we walk softly and maintain composure. They won’t carry on an investigation once they realize this is connected to the other murders, so they’re not going to interfere with us.”
“Remember,” Viktor said from the backseat, “the Light and Dark Fae courts are chaotic, and they’ll push the boundaries until they get smacked. I know that your bloodline comes from both courts, and I don’t mean any disrespect, but it’s like dealing with unruly children who have their fingers poised over a weapon that could annihilate part of the country.”
“You don’t offend me,” I said. “Remember, my parents were killed by the Fae because they wanted to be together. From early on, the other Fae children let me know I didn’t belong to either side. If it wasn’t for Angel, I would have a rap sheet a mile long. She helped me steer clear of that. And her mother—Mama J.—helped keep me sane when my parents were killed. I know they sent the sub-Fae to do the job. Why get their own hands dirty when they can pay off a mercenary?” I knew I sounded bitter, but I had damn good reason to.
“When my father and mother gave me the dossier on you, there was a lot of information in there. But I have to hand it to you, you’ve managed to stay off the radar a lot better than most people,” Herne said softly.
I nodded, staring out the window. We were on the I-90 bridge already. Luckily, the morning rush hour had died down, and while it wasn’t smooth going, we weren’t in stop-and-go traffic, either.
“Yeah, I found them. I came home from school and when I saw the door ajar, I thought maybe my mother was cooking and wanted to cool off the kitchen. I don’t know why I thought that, it just made sense in my head. I pushed open the door and bounced into the house, hoping for cookies. What I found was my mother splayed out on the ground, butchered.”
“Cripes almighty,” Viktor said, sucking in a deep breath.
“I remember screaming so hard that I lost my voice. I ran into the living room only to find my father facedown on the carpet, a knife in his back. I don’t remember much else after that, just that the cops came, and said it had been a home invasion. They didn’t look very hard, and I saw one of them giving me a funny look, almost like he was surprised I was standing there.”
“He was probably an agent for either TirNaNog or Navane.” Herne sounded angry, and a cloudy look had filled his eyes.
“Probably. I just...I want to find out who did it.”
I didn’t like talking about my parents. It made
me uncomfortable. But Herne and Viktor already knew what had happened, considering they had a dossier on me, and for once it felt good to be able to tell things from my side.
“When we get a chance, we’ll look into the case,” Herne said. “It’s been a long time, and if they hired sub-Fae, it will be a lot harder. But we can try.”
I glanced at him, suddenly grateful. While I doubted we’d ever find out the truth, just the fact that he had offered warmed my heart.
“Thank you,” I murmured. “Nobody’s ever offered to help before.”
Viktor cleared his throat. I glanced at him in the rearview mirror area and saw him wiping his eyes. He averted his gaze when he saw me staring at him, and looked out the window.
“I know it was hard for Angel to hear about the boy. He’s only four years older than DJ.” Herne let out a sigh. “I hate kid killers. Just as much as I hate animal killers. It’s one thing to hunt and use the food, it’s another to torture or kill for trophies.”
“Has anybody ever tried to shoot you when you were in stag form?” It still boggled my mind that he could turn into a silver stag. The memory of how beautiful he had been had stayed in my mind, eliminating any doubt that Herne was of divine blood.
“Yes, once or twice. It would be difficult to hit me, though. I’m not exactly in phase with this world when I’m in stag form. I want to reassure you, just in case Angel asks, DJ is in really good hands. Cooper is probably one of the best among the shifter clans. He’ll take good care of the boy and give him a good upbringing. I’ll make certain that Angel gets a chance to see her brother several times a year. But it wouldn’t be safe for her to know exactly where he is. While most of the Fae respect the covenants that protect us, there are a few we cannot trust to abide by the law of the Fae courts.”
“I think she understands. And the murdered boy will probably cement that in her mind.” I leaned back in my seat, staring out the window as I fell silent.
As we passed over the water, the floating bridge seemed to go on forever. In reality, it was less than a mile long, but it was one of the largest floating bridges in the world, and the pull of the water rose up from the lake, tugging at me. I closed my eyes, drifting in the energy of the waves, letting myself flow as the wind whipped them into foamy caps.