Autumn Whispers (An Otherworld Novel)

  We headed over toward them, and Hester looked up.

  “Hi, I’m Delilah, your cousin.” I smiled at her, trying to sound natural.

  Her eyes widened as she stood, and she let out a little noise that sounded all-too catlike.

  “You have to be kidding. You can’t be . . . I thought you said we were related. If you expect me to believe we’re cousins, forget it. None of my aunts are young enough to have girls your age.”

  I glanced at the others as we sat down. “This is going to take some explanation.” We introduced ourselves. Hester’s friend was Sue Ann, and as I’d thought, they were married.

  After an awkward pause, Camille spoke up. “Our mother, Maria D’Artigo, was Theresa D’Artigo’s daughter. She was born in 1921, when Theresa was fifteen, and adopted out to a couple because your grandmother was a teenaged unwed mother, and that didn’t go over so well.”

  “You are telling me that your mother was seventeen years younger than my mother? You expect me to believe that?” And then Hester stopped, tilting her head as she examined our faces. “Who are you? What do you want? You’re not fully human.”

  “You’re right on that count. Our mother, Maria, fell in love with a man named Sephreh ob Tanu . . .” As I said Father’s name, I choked, and bit my lip, trying to keep my composure.

  “Our father was from Otherworld. He’s one of the Fae. He took Mother home with him and she had the three of us. She was half sister to your mother, Tansy. So that makes us cousins. We’re all over sixty Earthside years old.” Camille gave her a long look, open but not bringing up her glamour. We didn’t want to charm our way into a relationship with Hester Lou. It had to happen naturally.

  After a moment, Hester let out a long breath. “So the rumors were right. Grandmother had a baby when she was young. My mother did some genealogical research and something led her to that conclusion. I don’t know what because I never took much of an interest in the subject. But she always maintained that she had a half sister or brother somewhere. Mother didn’t find out until after Grandma died and couldn’t ever confirm her suspicion.”

  Sue Ann leaned forward. “Hester, they are of your blood. I can sense it. I can see it—there’s a connection.” She leaned toward me. “You . . . you have the strongest bond with your mother’s spirit.” Shaking her head, she sat back. Sue Ann wore snug jeans and a tank top, and her motorcycle boots caught my eye. Her hair was pretty much the same cut as mine, though she looked older. But she was also FBH, so her years would wear far more on her than ours on us.

  Hester glanced at her, then back at us. “Sue Ann is psychic. She’s seldom wrong, and knows her stuff. Let me put in another call to Daniel—he was out when I called earlier.” This time, she got ahold of Daniel. “He’ll be down in twenty minutes. Why don’t we get something to eat? When he gets here you can tell us about your life, and your mother.”

  Her demeanor was cautious, but she believed us. We bustled around, found a bigger table, and got food and drinks. At one point, Hester Lou came over to me. She was about my height, and she looked tough, but not worn out. She reached up and brushed my hair out of my eyes.

  “It’s so hard to believe that you three are all older than I am. Than Daniel is. We’re close in age, you know. My brother is . . . well . . . he’s trouble at times but I love him.” With a glance over at the table where Menolly sat waiting, she added, “She’s a vampire isn’t she?”

  I nodded. “She went through hell on earth. Or Otherworld, as it was. She’s been a vampire for close to fifteen years. Camille’s a witch and priestess. And I’m a werecat. I had a twin, Arial, but she died at birth.” I didn’t know how much to tell her, but figured that it was a safe bet she would find out about our abilities eventually.

  “It must be something, having powers like that. Of course, like everybody else, I know about Otherworld and vamps and Weres but . . .” She paused and wiped her eyes. “To know that we have blood kin on the other side of the veil. Your mother and my mother were half sisters and they never knew about one another, and that makes me sad. My mother was so sure there was someone out there. She said she just had a feeling. She looked and looked but could never find concrete evidence, and by then Grandma was dead.”

  I let out a soft mew. “You have other cousins, right? That’s what our informant told us.”

  Hester nodded. “Most of them we haven’t met. My aunts live scattered around. For some reason, they weren’t close. My mother told me that there were family issues at play, but she wouldn’t talk about them.”

  Camille let out a little laugh. “We know all about family issues. Trust me, in Otherworld? Being half-human? Not such a good thing.”

  Sue Ann bit into her scone. “I guess prejudice is everywhere.”

  Hester nodded. “Sadly, I think that’s true. My mother wasn’t happy that I’m gay, but she finally accepted it. But I doubt my other aunts would.”

  “I’m bi, and married to a woman.” Menolly finally decided to join the conversation. “I’m also a vampire. My father couldn’t accept the latter.” She lowered her eyes. “You’ll have to forgive us. We just received word today that our father is probably dead. We’re a bit shell-shocked.”

  I was glad Menolly brought it up. I wasn’t sure I could handle saying the words out loud without breaking down.

  “And you still came to meet us?” Hester looked a little confused.

  I cleared my throat. “In our lives, we’ve had to learn how to juggle multiple emotions as well as events. We do not lead a safe life, nor an easy one at this point. We belong to the Otherworld Intelligence Agency, and actually, we run the Earthside Division.”

  Sue Ann broke into a smile. “Government agents, huh? I was a marine up until a few years ago.” She pulled out a chain from beneath her tank top. Dog tags dangled at the end. “I was discharged due to a combat injury that left me with a weak knee. It gives out without warning, but damn, I did my duty and put in my time for my country.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on Hester’s cheek. “I keep telling Hester that some of us are made for fighting. And some aren’t.”

  I found myself liking my cousin and her wife. They were open, but not overeager, and neither seemed like they’d take much guff off anybody for anything.

  Just then, the door to the shop opened and a rather short, thin man entered. He was around Hester’s age, with a shock of tousled blonde hair that was the same color as mine. He seemed easy in his body, his movements were fluid and graceful, and I had an odd feeling about him as he walked up. Not bad, just odd. His eyes were a piercing blue, shrewd and clever, and a hint of a sarcastic smile played across his lips.

  Hester waved him over. “Daniel, you are not going to believe this. Meet our cousins from Otherworld. It seems Mother had a half sister she never knew about.”

  As Daniel cocked his head, giving us a bemused look, Hester launched into what we had told her. When she had caught him up, we took over, telling them both about Maria and Sephreh’s meeting, and how he swept her away to Otherworld, how we came along, and finally, how mother had died, how and why we’d joined the OIA, how Menolly had become a vampire, leading to us being sent over Earthside.

  When we finished, we sat back and waited.

  Hester let out a long whistle. “This morning when I woke up, I never expected to be here, tonight, listening to all of this. But somehow it feels the most natural thing in the world.” She glanced over at Daniel, who gave a noncommittal nod. “We know what you do, let us tell you a little about us. I own a coffee shop in Kirkland. We host local artists now and then. It’s called All The Perks. And Daniel is a private buyer.”

  I glanced at him. “What’s that mean?”

  He gave a little shrug. “Clients want to procure certain items that are difficult to come by. They hire me, and give me a set price limit. I find it for them for a commission. I make a tidy living.”

  It sounded odd, but a number of stores had personal shoppers so why not private clients? Celebrities had them, a
nd there was nothing to say that someone who had money and was in a time crunch couldn’t do the same.

  Daniel winked at me. “I love my work and I’m good at it. I look at it like being a form of personal assistant. Now, tell us more about Otherworld. We’re all ears and I know I’m dying to hear more.”

  Something about him struck me as off, but he was likable, and Camille seemed at ease with him. She was like a litmus test for freaks. So, I chalked up my feelings to all the stress we’d been under and let it go. We talked late into the night, and when we parted, we had exchanged numbers, e-mail addresses, home addresses, and a big round of hugs. As Hester Lou threw her arms around me, I suddenly flashed back to being a little girl, with my mother hugging me. And I knew right then, I could trust this woman.

  • • •

  As we left the coffee shop, I stared into the night sky. The rain had let up and the stars were shimmering overhead. I should have felt tired, tired from the mess back in Otherworld and from hearing the news about Father, but now I felt wired. It was like I was watching a movie in which I was starring. Maybe it was a coping mechanism, or maybe it was how exhaustion manifested in me, but I was charged up and ready to go.

  “I’ve changed my mind. Let’s go get the dreglins.” I turned to the others. “I know they’re active at night, but I’m ready for a fight. We can swing by home and armor up. Menolly’s here—she obviously can’t go to work tonight.” As soon as I said it, I bit my tongue. I hadn’t meant to be so thoughtless.

  But she just shrugged. “You’re right. And I could use a good ass-shaking. I’m in no mood to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs.”

  Camille let out a small sound. “I’m in. But let me change clothes. I don’t want this outfit messed up.”

  Within ten minutes we were home, and another ten saw us changed and ready. Morio wanted to go, but Camille nixed his offer.

  “Listen, you, Shade, and Vanzir have to protect the house and Iris. Shamas will be home soon, but still . . . the elfin guards had to go home to Elqaneve, and Aeval’s new guards aren’t due till tomorrow morning. You can’t come with us. But we’ve fought monsters before without you. We can take on a few by ourselves now.”

  Morio glowered but Camille cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips, and he quieted down. Shade harrumphed but he, too, kept quiet. Vanzir just snorted.

  “We’re on our way. We’ll call if we get into trouble. One of you take Nerissa and drop over to make sure Iris and her family are okay. Hanna, take care of Maggie.” I gave Shade a quick peck on the cheek and we were out the door.

  It was only a few minutes’ drive to where we’d encountered the dreglins before, and we parked off the road, on a turnout near where we’d fought them before. Two miles east, Ivana had said.

  “I wish I’d been able to go with you,” Menolly said. “I kind of like Ivana.”

  I stared at her. “Are you crazy?”

  “Maybe, just a little. But she’s who she is, you’ll have to give her that. Ivana doesn’t change for anybody.” She laughed. “In fact, I know it sounds nuts but given other circumstances, I bet you Ivana could become a good friend, as long as we could keep her off the topic of baby-eating.”

  “Yeah, I was saying something like that earlier but Delilah didn’t like the idea.” Camille let out a curt laugh. “Hey, this is the first time in a while that the three of us have been out bashing monsters on our own, without the guys along.” She grinned, shaking her hair back out of her face. “Kind of a chance for the three of us to reconnect.”

  “The family that slays together, plays together? Bonding through bloodshed?” I had the worst desire to giggle, but stifled it as we headed off the road and into the woods, heading due east.

  Two miles, Ivana had said. With our abilities to navigate through the forest, it wouldn’t take long. We could move faster than FBHs and we had a lot more endurance, and a better ability to navigate during the night.

  The October night was chilly and I pulled my jacket tighter. For once, Camille had chosen an outfit that wouldn’t get caught in the bushes—she was wearing her cat suit, which looked better on her because of her exaggerated curves than it had on Emma Peel of The Avengers TV show. A low-slung silver belt held her dagger, and she had traded in her stilettos for a pair of stylish suede boots.

  “You giving up on the spikes?” I asked with a laugh.

  She snorted. “After our skirmish with the storm, and trying to get through the rubble, I’ve decided that going into a fight in heels isn’t the best idea. If I land in one by accident so be it, but deliberately heading out? I’ll figure out some sort of outfit that works for me and for battle.”

  Grateful for the lack of rain, at least for the moment, I pushed through the bushes. Menolly stopped as we neared a clearing.

  “Let me turn into a bat and fly up ahead. I want to check out the general vicinity. Just hide over there by that cedar until I get back.” She motioned to one of the ancient trees that towered up through the wooded area. Cedars were thick in this area, their scent cut through the air with a sharp tang in the rain-soaked forest, and they smelled clean and fresh.

  “You’re just loving the fact that you’re able to transform into a bat so much easier now that Roman re-sired you. His blood certainly did a number on you.”

  Neither Camille nor I added that we still weren’t sure about the vampire lord, and that we weren’t sure if we trusted him. But there was no going back, and he had helped us more than once, so we had agreed not to present our concerns to Menolly. We all had too much stress as it was.

  She laughed at me. “Whatever, Kitten. I’m just glad I can do it right now, instead of flying like I’m drunk or trying to drive a stick for the first time.” She closed her eyes, and within seconds, a very tidy pretty bat hovered above us, then she silently glided off into the night.

  Camille and I crouched beneath the cedar. It was cold, and we huddled together. The sounds of the forest echoed through the area, the dripping of rainwater off trees, the soft hooting of an owl somewhere near. Creatures lived in these woods, and not just the Fae. Snakes—though it was too cold for them at this time of year—frogs, coyotes, and sometimes a stray mountain lion or two. Squirrels and lizards and slugs and all of the critters that inhabited the woodlands of the Pacific Northwest.

  Camille leaned toward me, kneeling on the ground. “You know, this is helping. I still can’t believe Father’s dead, but with his soul statue shattered, I don’t think we have any choice but to believe it. I know this sounds horrible, but better it be in pieces than re-formed like Menolly’s did when she became a vampire. Father couldn’t handle the transformation. He’d walk into the sun.” Her voice shook, but it could have been the cold causing it.

  I nodded, balancing in a squatting position by bracing myself against the tree. “Yeah, I realize he couldn’t deal with it. We were always aware this could happen. We never knew if he’d come home from a mission, from a battle. We’ve been prepared for this since we were little girls. I guess that he went in duty would make him proud.”

  Even as I said it, I knew it was the truth. We’d always worried when he was away with the Guard Des’Estar. There had always been the chance he wouldn’t come home, and so many times we waited on pins and needles for him to walk through that door and reassure us he was okay. The odds had finally caught up to him, and by default, to us.

  “So, when are we going to contact Aunt Rythwar?”

  She sucked in a slow breath. “I’ll do it tomorrow. Give her one more day. We can send word to Smoky or Trillian to contact her. I don’t think we should leave home right now. There’s too much going on. I don’t feel comfortable making a trip to Otherworld just to notify her, even though she is his sister.”

  “Speaking of sisters, what did you think about our cousins? I liked Hester Lou, but I’m not sure what to think of Daniel.” Something scurried over my hand and I shook it off. Probably a spider of some sort, but we’d all learned not to react loudly when on a mis
sion.

  “He’s hiding something—that much I can tell you, but I don’t get any negative feelings about him. Just . . . he’s crafty.” There was a hint of a smile in Camille’s voice and I knew instantly that she’d taken a shine to him. “I’m intrigued and I want to know more.”

  “I have a feeling we’re going to find out. Hester, especially, seemed to cotton up to the idea that we’re kin. I have to admit, it cushioned the blow about Father—just a little.” I honestly didn’t know if I was trying to make myself feel better, but just saying the words gave me false courage.

  “We’re going to have to get used to this. We’ve lost friends. We’ve lost family. It’s part of life and as much as I hate to sound fatalistic, considering what the fuck we’re up against, we’re lucky we haven’t lost more people. We have our husbands and wives and fiancés, we have Iris and Hanna and Maggie. We’ve lucked out. So many things can go wrong so easily.” She rapped lightly on the tree. “Knock wood we continue in that luck.”

  I was about to say something else when there was a blur in the air and then we saw Menolly, hovering above us. Another blur and she transformed back into herself. It was hard to believe she’d made so much progress; she’d been such a klutz when she tried to turn into a bat before Roman’s intervention.

  “I think I know where they are. The nest of them is going to be tough and we have to avoid getting bitten. Delilah got lucky with her bite—it’s healing up, but there’s no telling if the next one won’t be worse.”

  “Should we wait till morning and come back with the guys?” Camille asked.

  Menolly shook her head. “They took out somebody tonight. I don’t know who but they’re eating the woman’s remains.” She grimaced. “We can’t chance letting them get another victim. Who knows how many people they’ve killed so far?”

  Camille frowned. “I can’t use the horn again—not until it’s recharged under the new moon. I didn’t even bother bringing it. I could call down a storm and I have my Moon Mother magic.”