Autumn Whispers (An Otherworld Novel)

  It made sense when she put it that way. “I suppose. We still have to tell Menolly. She’ll no doubt have an opinion on all of this.”

  Camille shuddered. “I’m not sure if I want to hear her opinion, but you’re right. Okay, so what next?”

  “What say we drive by the Farantino Building, take a look at it, then go wait for Menolly to come home. We can’t very well call . . . what are their names?”

  “Hester and Daniel.”

  “We can’t very well call them this late, can we?” I glanced at the clock. It was going on eleven o’clock already, and even though our bedtime was usually well after midnight, that didn’t mean everybody else stayed up as late.

  With a silent nod, Camille pulled back out of the parking space, and we were off.

  • • •

  The streets were empty as we eased into another parking space, this time across from the Farantino Building. Brick, it was six stories high from the looks of it. For some reason, I’d expected a skyscraper, tall with chrome and glass, but that wouldn’t make sense if it had been built over a hundred years ago.

  The building held a brooding old-world charm, almost gothic in nature. The brick was weathered and in some places had eroded away. A ledge between the fifth and sixth stories sported a circle of gargoyles guarding the building. I gazed at the line of stone statues, wondering if any others besides Astralis and Mithra had been actual Cryptos. Were any of them up there now, watching our car, silently perched there in constant observation?

  The thought made me vaguely angry. What we’d been taught about gargoyles didn’t jibe with the reality. I wondered why our father had never seemed concerned. He had to have known about the treatment of the granticular gargoyles, considering he was privy to government intelligence. And he’d always been so antislavery. Turning a blind eye to the enforced servitude of Astralis and his kind was yet another contradiction in our father’s nature.

  Camille unfastened her seat belt and slid out the driver’s side. I followed, leaning on the top of the car. We stared at the building, waiting for a sign. For something . . . anything . . . to happen.

  Although the Farantino Building was six stories high, who knew how many levels it had underground. The intricate carving around the ledge reminded me of knotwork braided into the stone, beautiful, looking far older than it really was.

  Camille shaded her eyes from the rain as she looked up. “The building has a definite energy signature of strength and foundation. Whatever goes on in there, there are some major power players at work.” She folded her arms across her chest and glanced back at me. “It makes me nervous, to be honest. I’m not sure what we’re dealing with but it makes me think of old money and cognac and . . . like Roman, only far more ruthless.”

  Roman was ruthless enough. If whatever—or whoever—lurked behind these walls was more dangerous than he, I wasn’t sure I wanted to get involved. But thanks to Grandmother Coyote, we didn’t have a choice. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “There’s not much we can do now. We might as well drop back to the bar and tell Menolly to get her butt home. We have a lot to tell her. And we need to go through the information Carter gave us about this monolith here.”

  As I shivered and climbed back in the car, I glanced up at the building one last time. The Farantino Building loomed over the neighborhood. It felt a whole lot bigger than its six stories. As a hint of Camille’s clairvoyance broke through to me, I realized that the building itself was watching us. The damned thing was sentient, and it knew we were here.

  • • •

  Menolly caught sight of me as I peeked into the bar. It was still packed but the crowds had thinned somewhat. She strode toward me, her stiletto boots tapping hard on the floor over the sound of conversation and laughter. She was light and petite, but each step she took had a tremendous amount of force behind it.

  I pulled her off to one side. “We need you to come home. It’s not an emergency but we have . . . there’s no way to explain it here. Carter had some news for us. The three of us have to discuss it—it’s big.”

  “Another demon general hit the city?” She narrowed her eyes. “After Gulakah, we know Shadow Wing is going to be sending somebody bigger and badder in, and you can’t get much bigger than a god.”

  “Yeah, it’s just a matter of time. But no, this has nothing to do with Shadow Wing. It’s purely personal.” I really didn’t want to go into it here. For one thing, if Menolly reacted badly, it could hurt her business. And I had no clue how she’d feel about the news. There really wasn’t any reason for her to get pissed, but then again, vampires didn’t really need a reason to get angry. And sister or not, Menolly was a vampire.

  She cocked her head. “Is everybody okay at home?”

  “As far as I know. Camille is waiting out in the car. Let Derrick close up and you come home now, or we’re going to be standing here all night. You are going to want to hear this but it’s not something I’m comfortable talking about in public.” With that, I turned to go before she could ask any more questions.

  Curiosity playing across her face, Menolly nodded. “I’ll follow. See you at home. And be careful—it’s slick out there, and the fog is rising.”

  As I headed back to the car, I saw her disappear into her office. By the time I was buckling my seat belt, Menolly had darted out of the bar, jacket slung over her shoulder, and was running for her Jag. We pulled out, with her following.

  The district where we lived was about fifteen minutes away from downtown Seattle. On a good night, when traffic was light, we could make it in ten minutes, but with the roads slick from the downpour, Camille took it slow and easy. As we wound out of the city proper, we entered the Belles-Faire neighborhood.

  Belles-Faire was a heavily wooded suburb that almost could be considered rural, but it was still part of Seattle. Just like Shoreline, Lake Forest, Bothell, and the dozens of other suburb cities on both sides of Lake Washington, the neighborhoods ran into one another in one massive urban and suburban sprawl.

  As we rounded one bend in the road, Camille suddenly swerved as a blur raced across the road. The car skidded sideways—even though we hadn’t been going a high speed, the road was slick enough to cause hydroplaning. Camille drove into the skid, and finally managed to ease the car onto the shoulder. She was breathing heavily, clutching the steering wheel. Behind us, Menolly had pulled off the road and was running over to us.

  Shaking, I got out of the car as Menolly yanked open Camille’s door and helped her out.

  “Are you okay? What the hell happened?” She brushed Camille’s hair back from her face.

  Camille shivered, then looked around. “Something leaped out from the bushes by the side of the road. Did you see it?”

  I squinted, looking into the night. There had been something—the blur—but I had no clue what it was. As I tried to puzzle out where it had gone, Menolly let out a shout.

  “Kitten! Behind you!”

  I whirled. There, behind me, peering out from behind a large cedar, was a pair of eyes. Brilliant green, they glimmered like a cat’s eyes, reflecting the light from street lamps. But whatever it was, it was no cat. No Were, either. I could sense the presence of other Weres. And it wasn’t the creature that had darted across the road, unless it had managed to recross without us seeing it.

  “Is that Demonkin?” I asked softly, reaching for my dagger.

  Camille slowly moved around the car to my left, and Menolly to my right.

  After a moment, Camille let out a slow breath. “No, but I have no clue what it is. Feels Fae, but it’s not any Fae I know about.”

  “Elder Fae?” The Elder Fae were highly unpredictable, beyond any sense of human behavior. They played by their own rules, and most didn’t interact with FBHs or even those of us considered “regular” Fae. This was probably a very good thing, given some of the predilections the Elder Fae had for the consumption of human flesh.

  “Possibly.” Camille moved forward, slow
ly, holding her hands out. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, the magic beginning to swirl around her. As a flicker of sparkling light surrounded her hands, she reached out and a luminous glow began to emanate from her fingertips.

  At the same moment, Menolly let out a grunt and went sprawling to the ground as a dark figure jumped her, holding tight to her back. The creature was bipedal, with the same luminous green eyes that were still staring at us out of the woods. About Menolly’s height and weight, the creature seemed stronger than even her vampire nature. Menolly struggled against it, but the woman—it looked female—managed to hold her down.

  I launched myself at it, grabbing it by the shoulders as it clawed deep into her arms to hold itself steady. At the same moment, a brilliant flash told me that Camille had let loose with whatever spell she had been prepping. The glimmering light flared in the woods. She had aimed it at the other creature, apparently.

  I struggled with the one on Menolly’s back. The skin felt leathery, but it wasn’t like armor—more than that, it felt like a lizard’s skin. I could swear it was demonic, except Camille hadn’t sensed Demonkin energy and she was adept at that.

  The creature turned its head and I saw that the features had a feminine bent. I was right—whatever this creature was, it was a she. But as her mouth opened, and she snarled at me with needlepoint teeth, I yanked my hand away from her as her lithe, supple neck bent at an angle that should have broken her spine but didn’t. Before I realized what she was doing, she’d launched herself at my right hand and chomped down into the flesh, her teeth piercing the skin like it was butter.

  The pain was excruciating and I let out a shriek. I yanked my other hand away and backhanded her with it as she let go of Menolly and reached for my throat. Menolly stumbled away and turned, grabbing the creature by the arm and yanking her away from me. She tossed her across the road. A chunk of my hand went with the creature, caught in her gnashing teeth. She landed hard, skidding along the pavement. Menolly pushed me toward the car. Camille was already backing away as the creature in the woods came barreling out, looking fit to kill.

  Bleeding, I slammed the door and managed to fasten my seat belt. Camille slid into the driver’s side and started the car, as Menolly headed back to the Jag. We couldn’t fight these things till we knew what they were—but we knew they were strong and dangerous.

  “How’s your hand?” Camille asked, speeding up.

  I winced at the pain. My hand was bleeding profusely. I tried to wrap it up with the tail of my shirt, but I bled through and was dripping onto the seat. The chunk of flesh that was gone wasn’t large—the size of a quarter, but it was deep and I felt warm, almost as if I had a fever starting.

  “I don’t know. It hurts and it feels . . . itchy.” As I thought about it, itchy was the word—burning, itchy, and tingling as if it were getting . . . “Oh hell, I think I think it had venom in it—or maybe some sort of bacteria.”

  Camille stepped on the gas. “We’ll have Iris look at it. We don’t want you getting blood poisoning. And we need to find out what the fuck those things are and why they’re here.”

  We pulled into the driveway, Menolly right behind us. As we tiredly made our way up the steps, we could hear a commotion going on inside. Camille pushed open the door, letting me enter first.

  The noise hit us—everybody seemed up and bustling around in a clatter. Roz was rushing around, carrying blankets, and behind him Trillian was carrying extra pillows.

  “What the hell is going on?” I glanced around, looking for Hanna or Iris. Neither was in sight.

  “Iris—she’s gone into labor. She’s in Hanna’s room with Hanna and Nerissa. Mallen’s on the way. Sharah’s far too pregnant to come.”

  While Iris had gotten pregnant a few weeks before Sharah, she was overdue, and Sharah was nearing her own due date. I couldn’t remember if she had one or two weeks to go, but while she was still working in the lab, she wasn’t taking night shifts or field work anymore.

  Camille turned to me. “Wait here. Mallen can tend to your hand when he gets here. I’m going to check on Iris.” She hurried off. Menolly pushed me into a chair. Shade came rushing over, staring at my hand.

  “Love, what happened to you?” He knelt by my side, gathering me into his arms. He was one of the most gorgeous men I could imagine, with skin the color of golden latte, and his hair was long, caught in a ponytail—honey colored with streaks of amber. He had a craggy scar along one cheek, and he was my height and sturdily built. He smelled like cinnamon and spice, and I felt safe when he was around.

  “We got sideswiped by some sort of Fae on the way home—at least we think they are Fae. I don’t know if they were waiting for us, or if we just happened along when they decided to pull their little stunt, but whatever the case, they are dangerous.” I held up my hand. I was beginning to feel sweaty, and my stomach ached. “I think they have some sort of venom or bacteria, because I don’t feel so hot.”

  Shade brushed my bangs away from my face and kissed my forehead. “Let me get you some water. Mallen is on the way. Relax and cover up, love.”

  Just then, Camille popped back through the doorway. “Where the hell is Mallen? Iris is crowning the first baby.”

  A thought hit me. “Where the hell is Bruce?”

  Smoky frowned. “Iris said he’d be here in a few. He was out at the house. I’ll go check on him.” He headed toward the kitchen just as Shade reappeared with my water. The doorbell rang and Menolly answered it, leading Mallen in. Behind him was Chase, looking pale and shaken.

  “Chase, what’s going on?”

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry to intrude at this time but I’m afraid I have some bad news. Menolly—I’m sorry to tell you this, but the Wayfarer . . .”

  She stiffened. “Tell me. What’s going on?”

  “The Wayfarer is on fire. The fire department is there, trying to stop the flames, but they aren’t hopeful. Chrysandra . . . she got caught in the smoke. She’s in serious condition at the FH-CSI.”

  “Oh Great Mother, the threats were real.” Camille paled as Mallen pushed past her, grabbing her arm.

  “I need you to help me.” He shook her lightly. “Now.”

  As he dragged her after him, Menolly grabbed her jacket, still silent.

  I stood, intending to go with her, but the room began to spin and the next thing I knew, I face-planted. As I hit the floor, my head buzzed like a hive full of angry bees had taken up residence there.

  Chapter 5

  As I opened my eyes, I realized three things. One: I was lying on the floor. Two: The floor felt uncommonly good—nice and cool and smooth. Three: I didn’t think I was supposed to actually be down here.

  That’s when the burning hit. My hand itched so bad I let out a croaking scream. I tried to sit up and found hands against my back, helping me. Shade was bracing me up. I shook my head, trying to clear the drone, but the buzzing grew worse, making it hard to even hear my own thoughts.

  I squinted as Menolly knelt down beside me, Chase fretting behind her. “Kitten, Kitten, are you okay?”

  “I . . . I . . . No.” Truth being, I wasn’t. I felt feverish and on pins and needles.

  “I’ll go get Mallen.” She jumped up and disappeared from sight.

  Shade gathered me up in his arms and laid me on the sofa. “Love, love . . . can you hear me? Delilah—can you hear me?”

  His voice grated in my ears against the buzzing that wouldn’t shut the fuck up. It was beginning to annoy me. “Yes, I can hear you. Stop asking me that.”

  “You’re burning up.” Shade pressed his hand against my forehead.

  A moment later, Mallen rushed back into the room, followed by Camille. The elf looked straight out of med school but he was probably several thousand years old, and he had a calm, cool demeanor that both felt aloof and yet comforting at the same time.

  He leaned over me, touched my forehead, then straightened up. “We need to get her to the FH-CSI. She needs more care than I can provi
de here. Smoky can take her through the Ionyc Sea. Don’t let Rozurial do it—he’s not strong enough to carry someone in fragile condition. Smoky can offer more protection from the elements out on the Sea. So go. Find him now. I’ll call ahead so they’re expecting her.”

  Camille ran off.

  Mallen turned to Shade. “Camille should go with her. Menolly—I understand that you’re needed at the Wayfarer. We’ll let you all know if anything serious happens with Iris, though I don’t expect any complications.”

  Menolly looked ready to argue, but turned and headed out the door with Chase.

  Shade worried his lip. “Who’s with Iris?”

  “My assistant, and Hanna and Roz. I have to get back to her—this is her first labor and with twins, it’s not going to be easy. Someone find Bruce and send him in.” Mallen stared down at me. “Get Delilah a cool cloth for her head until you can get her to headquarters.”

  At that moment, Smoky and Camille burst in.

  “Smoky, take Delilah and Camille to the FH-CSI. A team will be waiting. Somebody—get your ass on the move and bring me Bruce. Now.” With that, Mallen turned and headed back to Iris.

  Shade kissed me. “I’ll find Bruce, then join you at HQ. Go, love, and be safe.”

  I tried to kiss him back but the fever hit me again and I started to pass out. The next thing I knew, the world was spinning—another period of darkness and I woke up in a bed in the FH-CSI.

  • • •

  I had no idea of how long I’d been out, but as I tried to push myself to a sitting position, Camille stepped into view and shoved me back down again.

  “Stop right there. No moving. How are you feeling?” She ran her hand over my cheek, and I saw the worry filling her eyes.

  I assessed my condition. Burning, itching hand? Still throbbing but much better. Buzzing in ears? Faint and muted. Feeling like hell? Check—still that.