Autumn Whispers (An Otherworld Novel)

  Vanzir shifted. “I’ll get on that. I can go visit Carter again.”

  “Please. And tell him everything we’ve learned.”

  As he headed out the door, I turned to Camille. “You think we’ll be able to find Violet alive?”

  She pressed her lips together. “I don’t even want to bet on that. Thing is, alive or dead, she’s never going to be the same. I can tell you that from experience.” A cold look passed over her face, and once again, I knew she was flashing back to Hyto and the torture he’d put her through.

  “We’ll bring them down.” I put my hand on her arm. “We’ll stop them.”

  “Maybe, but the corporate world is thick and fast with corruption. It’s that way here, just like it was in Otherworld. The nature of the beast. I’m not holding out a lot of hope for much of anything right now. I guess our biggest hope is to put a stop to the cult, and prevent the reemergence of Suvika.”

  I sat beside her and leaned forward, propping my elbows on my knees. “Is it just me, or does it seem like the harder we fight, the worse it gets?”

  With a shrug, she shook her head. “The world is a complex web, Delilah. There is no answer to that. The deeper we go, the darker things get. But we have to keep trying. Too many people need us for us to ever give up.”

  “Then, it’s simple. We don’t give up. We don’t lose. We get knocked down, and we try again. We dust ourselves off and we fight the good fight.” I laughed. “Easy, huh?”

  And then she smiled, her face lighting up. “That’s the spirit. So yes, we fight on. And now, let’s get this meat outside for Ivana. Because as you say, we don’t want to welsh on our debts to the Elder Fae. So not a good idea.”

  As we carted the meat out to the appointed place, the rain began to pour in earnest. I gazed up at the silver sky. We were in for a long, hard winter. I could feel it in my bones.

  • • •

  Once Hanna was home to watch Maggie, we decided to go through with our plans to meet with Tanne Baum, even though we now had a handle on what was going on. He was gruff on the phone, with a thick German accent, but when we met him at the Supe-Urban Café, he was handsome, tall, and blond as spun platinum. He was also pleasant—far more pleasant than I’d thought he’d be.

  “We wanted to talk to you about Violet.” I wasn’t sure how to launch into what we thought had happened to his girlfriend.

  Camille had made a valid point on the way to the restaurant that we should make certain he wasn’t in on the slavery operation before we spilled our suspicions to him. The last thing we needed was for Lowestar to get wind that we had puzzled out what was going on.

  Tanne cast a long look at us. “And I want to talk to you. I know who you are. And I know you’re looking for Violet. Know this: She lives.”

  I almost choked on my drink. That was the last thing I’d expected to hear. “Since you know who we are, and that we’re looking for her, let’s skip the formalities. How do you know she’s alive? Do you have any proof? We came here to ask if you’ve heard from her lately.”

  He tapped his forehead. “I know. She and I are linked. I know she’s in trouble, though I don’t know what kind, but I also know she’s alive. If she dies—I will know that, too. We have been through certain rituals together.”

  Camille inhaled sharply. “Like the rites of Eleshinar Trillian and I went through together.”

  “I know what those are . . . Slightly different, but yes, the same principle. You will find her?”

  “Well, it helps to know she’s alive, but if we could ask you some questions?” I frowned, but Camille gave me a nod and I could tell she believed him.

  “Whatever I can do to help.” He played with the scone in front of him. “I do love her, you know. Tad is jealous, but truly, she has no taste for vampires. He would not stand a chance whether or not I was out of the way.”

  I decided to bypass the whole jealousy issue. “Then tell us what you know. When did you last see her? And where? Have you noticed anybody suspicious hanging around her house?”

  We talked away the afternoon. Tanne was engaging, without any of the angst that Tad and Albert showed. He was polite, and very European in action. Even the Fae from over the other side of the pond were different than the Fae on this side of the ocean.

  By the time we finished, we had a pretty good feel for the guy and we both believed him and we liked him. He didn’t play games, didn’t bother with challenges unless they intrigued him. He didn’t have any jealousy toward Albert and Tad, and in fact, treated them like teenagers. And even though he knew she still lived, his loss and worry were obvious. But none of the information we gathered from him was anything we didn’t know, except the fact that she lived.

  Approaching him about the dating site was a gamble, but it turned out to be okay.

  “I know she hung out there. We don’t have an exclusive relationship. In fact, we have playmates together.” He shrugged. “It’s our way.”

  “Not an issue. I have three husbands.” Camille pointed to my notebook. “But can we get their names, just in case?”

  After he gave us the names of everybody he could remember—a tidy list, at that—he leaned back. “Do you think . . . do you think you’ll be able to find her, to save her?”

  I glanced at Camille. She caught his gaze and stared for a moment. He hung his head and turned to me.

  “We’ll do everything we can,” I whispered. “Since we know she’s alive, there’s a chance. If you pick up anything more on her, let us know. We’ll keep in touch.”

  As he stood to go, he gave us a curt nod. “I understand. Thank you for not sugarcoating matters. If I can sense anything more—if I can somehow reach out and touch her—I’ll call you immediately. There are ways . . . they require preparation but the Fae of the Black Forest have many secret rituals and I can perform some of these. They are dangerous at times, but I’ll do anything I can for her. Violet is special. She’s . . . she’s Violet.” And with that, he turned and left the restaurant.

  Camille and I finished our drinks, not knowing what else to do.

  When Marion came by, she brought a plate of cookies. “By the hangdog looks on your faces, I think you need these.” She set them down on the table.

  “Thanks.” As Marion left, I turned to Camille. “So, what next?”

  “Honestly? I have no idea. I guess . . . we eat cookies, then go home, and decide how we’re going to stop a demigod from waking up to take over corporate America. We know that Violet’s alive, so we do our best to figure out where the fuck they’re stashing her.”

  “Or if they’ve sold her already.” I stared at the table, tapping it nervously with my nails. “Trouble is, Radcliffe isn’t the worst menace we’re facing.”

  And on that sober thought, we ate cookies.

  Chapter 19

  Ivana had picked up her meat by the time we got home. We trooped in the house, dropping our stuff on the bench in the hallway. Morio was sitting on the sofa, sorting through a bunch of papers. He glanced up as we filed into the living room. Shade was leafing through a book, Chase was sitting in the rocking chair, holding Astrid, and Vanzir was playing with Maggie on the floor.

  The scene looked so peaceful and quiet that it was hard to believe that we were back in the fray. But neck deep, we were. Vanzir had filled Morio and Shade in on the day’s events.

  “How could anything get this convoluted, this fast?” I grimaced. “Three and a half days ago everything was on an even keel. Now? We have demons on the left, daemons on the right, and sorcerers in the middle. We’re sinking fast, Captain, and I don’t think we have a bucket large enough to bail us out of this situation.”

  Shade shook his head. “I don’t know, Matey, but the universe is like that. So what do we do next?”

  Camille and I consulted our lists.

  “Well,” I said, looking over our notes. “All we have to do is discover how far Lowestar Radcliffe’s reach extends, and see if we can to find Violet. At least we know she’s al
ive, but we have to move on this and move quickly before he sells her out from under us yet. Tanne Baum will get back to us—he’s going to try some ritual to see if he can locate her or find out more information about where she’s being kept.”

  “We need to research Suvika; figure out what his powers—and vulnerabilities—are, and hopefully how to stop Lowestar from waking him up.” Camille slid onto the sofa next to Morio.

  “Oh,” I added. “Also—we still don’t know if there are any vamps missing from the Wayfarer fire, and we have to start talking rebuilding.”

  Camille sighed. “I need to take Violet’s journal to Aeval to see if she can translate it. And we haven’t contacted Aunt Rythwar yet to tell her about Father. The Keraastar Knights are still missing. Sorcerers are marching on Svartalfheim and overrunning Elqaneve.”

  “And let us not forget, Shade’s sister is visiting in a few days. I think that about sums it up, don’t you, Camille?” I gave her a helpless look and she nodded.

  “In other words, life as usual.” Chase attempted a joke but it fell flat, and he sighed. “I miss Sharah. I know I should be thinking about how she’s doing her duty, how she’s being selfless and leading her people in a gods-

  forsaken battle, but damn it, I miss her. She should be here with her baby. Or they should have let her take Astrid with her, even if they wouldn’t allow me to go along.” He nuzzled his daughter and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

  I pulled a chair up next to his. “I know it’s not going to be easy, Chase, but life never makes that a package guarantee, you know. But you have your daughter, and you know Sharah loves both of you. And . . . you can keep Astrid safer than Sharah can right now.”

  He shrugged, but a shy smile crept over his face. “Iris is wonderful. I can’t believe she took us in, and her with two babies of her own. They are cute munchkins, aren’t they? And she seems so sure of their place in the world. I wish I could see a safe future for Astrid. But when I try to look ahead, it’s all . . . just a blur of what might be.”

  “That’s because your abilities don’t seem to include prognostication. But Chase, you have other gifts. And they will come out the more time goes on. You can help make the future safe for Astrid.” Camille stretched out her legs and stared at her shoes. “I am thinking, even though it’s barely near dinner, of crawling into a nightgown and hanging it up for the day.” After a moment, she whispered. “I miss Smoky and Trillian.”

  Morio set down the papers and wrapped his arm around her. “So do I, love, but they will return safe to us.”

  I glanced at the clock. “Menolly should be up at any moment—”

  “Beat you to it, Kitten.” Menolly entered the room. “Why so solemn? Who . . .” She stopped. “Bad joke, not even going there.” At that moment, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.” In a minute she returned, an envelope in her hand. At my look, she shrugged. “For me. I have no idea who it’s from—messenger delivered it.”

  As she opened it, the Whispering Mirror chimed and I motioned for Camille to stay put. “I’ll answer it.” I took my place in front of the mirror. “Delilah here.”

  “Fuck! This is a notice that I’m being sued by one of the victim’s families! One of the FBH’s families.” Menolly let out a growl even as the fog lifted in the mirror.

  I was facing Trenyth, who looked exhausted. I’d never seen him look so rough. “What’s wrong?”

  Camille and Menolly crowded in behind me.

  “Girls, I’m glad you’re here—Menolly, are you there too?”

  “I am.”

  “I don’t have much time. We are under siege and the fighting is rough. I wanted to let you know two things. One, you need to head to Grandmother Coyote’s portal as soon as we finish talking. Trillian is on his way over with Luke and Amber, and Amber’s baby. You need to keep them safe—along with the spirit seals. We don’t dare let them stay in Otherworld at this point. You have to hide the seals there, and they cannot be removed from Luke or Amber at this point.”

  Camille paled. “How do we keep them safe here?”

  “I don’t know, figure out a way.” He choked a little. “We lost Tam Lin to Trenyth’s forces. Shadow Wing now has another spirit seal. Benjamin and Venus are still missing. Smoky and Rozurial are hunting for them like madmen.”

  I thought, quickly counting. “What about the seal we sent you from fighting Gulakah?”

  “I’m sending it with Trillian. You must hide that, as well.”

  “Then . . . we have three seals. Two are missing, and Shadow Wing has three now. They’ve evened up the playing field, at our expense.” The thought that Telazhar had managed to catch Tam Lin made me breathless. I could not imagine what torture they would put the man through. If he was lucky, they’d kill him outright and take the seal.

  “And we still have one remaining undiscovered.” Camille hung her head. “This is beyond nightmare status.”

  “What of the war?” Menolly rested her hands on my shoulders.

  Trenyth pinched the bridge of his nose. “Camille, your vision was correct. The storm-creature has been spotted near Svartalfheim. I managed to get word to King Vodox and he is doing everything he can to protect the city. At least he wasn’t caught unaware. His sorcerers are massing to fight against it. There will be fire raining from the skies before midnight.”

  A soldier appeared over his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Trenyth nodded. “I must go—I . . . I have to go. Sharah is all right, please tell Chase she’s safe for now. And that her people rally to her feet.” And with that, the fog returned and the mirror fell silent.

  We sat there for a moment, silent, digesting all the information, then Menolly grabbed her keys. “I’m heading to the portal. Delilah, bring your jeep. Camille, work with the others to figure out where the hell we’re going to stash three spirit seals and two Keraastar Knights. Let’s go.”

  • • •

  Grandmother Coyote was waiting for us, and she led us back into her forest without a word. There, in the shadow of the trees, Trillian stood, along with Amber and Luke. Amber was holding her daughter, who was almost a year old. She hadn’t been born when I last saw Amber, and I had no idea what she’d named the child. I hadn’t been sure we’d ever see them again, and moved forward to give them a hug, but paused at the look in their eyes.

  They’d changed. Whatever Asteria had been doing with them had changed them. They smiled, both of them, but the smile was distant and there was a sense of aloofness there, almost a feel of regality. They also looked somewhat shell-shocked, and they were covered with dirt and leaves and soot.

  Trillian led them forward and I gave him a brief hug. He patted my back as he embraced me. “I’m sorry about Sephreh,” he whispered. “I never wanted for that to happen, as much trouble as I had with the man.”

  “I know.” I smiled sadly and nodded toward Amber and Luke. “How are they?”

  “Rough. I’ll tell you what we know once we’re back at the house. How’s my wife?”

  “Missing you and Smoky. About as shaken as we all are. Let’s get them home and figure out what to do in order to keep them safe.” Menolly and I guided them back to our cars. Menolly drove Amber, Luke, and the baby, while Trillian rode with me. We didn’t talk much. Trillian looked exhausted and the smell of smoke clinging to him reminded me too much of Camille’s and my escape.

  As we drove the short distance back to the house, I thought about what Chase had said—about not being able to see ahead. Right now, I was glad I didn’t have the sight. Camille had helped Svartalfheim prepare for war, but I didn’t envy her the horror of that knowledge burned into my thoughts. And what must it be like to be Grandmother Coyote, to see all the threads and balances? To have to balance out good with evil, light with shadow? To deliberately weave discord into the web? Somehow, being an assassin for the gods—reaping the souls of the dead—seemed easier.

  Camille and the others were waiting, along with Nerissa who had gotten home from work, and Sh
amas.

  Amber and Luke didn’t say much, they seemed uncomfortable and so very changed. Menolly shook her head at me when I tried to talk to them, and I left my questions unasked.

  “We thought for tonight at least, we can keep them in your lair? Nerissa can sleep upstairs tonight. Hell, the safe room still has to be standing at the Wayfarer—it was built to survive just about any disaster. But now, I think it would be too easy to access. I’m worried about the portal down there in the rubble of the basement, too.” Camille glanced over at Menolly. “I know it’s a sore subject, but we can’t tiptoe around it. Not with everything that’s happening.”

  “It’s all right, Camille.” Menolly shrugged. “My bar was torched, eight people died, and I’m being sued. But compared to what’s going on back home right now? Kind of puts things into perspective. As for the portal, Tavah is keeping an eye on it for us. She’s stationed herself down there. I doubt if anybody’s going to mess with a vampire hiding out in the dark ruins of a basement.”

  “I had a thought.” Camille glanced at us. “But I need to talk to Smoky. What if we take the Keraastar Knights to the Dragon Reaches? They owe me one, and they promised to help in our war against the demons. Smoky’s mother—Vishana—would do what she could to help us, too. Perhaps they can stay at Smoky’s family home.”

  “That’s a brilliant idea.” I smiled. It felt like we’d caught a break for the first time since our trip to Elqaneve. “How can we get in touch with him?”

  “I’ll call through the Whispering Mirror tomorrow and talk to Smoky. But for tonight, Luke and Amber should be safe here. Menolly, you and Nerissa want to take them below and make them comfortable? The baby . . . we’d better not separate her from her mother.” Camille turned to Hanna, who was home and bustling around. “Can you make dinner now? Something easy—spaghetti or a casserole.”

  Hanna nodded and hustled toward the kitchen.

  Trillian yawned. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to take a shower and get some clean clothes on, then I’ll tell you over dinner what we found when we went out hunting for the Knights.” He headed upstairs. Camille looked like she wanted to go with him, but instead, she stayed with us.