Oak & Thorns

  “This was no blackberry bush,” I said. “I know my brambles.”

  “Don’t be so sure. They can grow terribly large.”

  I was about to argue the point, but Herne gave me a faint shake of the head.

  “These look fairly deep. I’ll rinse them out and give you a salve to stave off any infection. You’ll need to wrap it up and keep it wrapped up for a couple days.” He glanced up at me, clearing his throat. “You’re Fae, correct?”

  Wondering why he wouldn’t admit to the blackthorn bushes, I shrugged. “Yes, Light and Dark mix.”

  “Hrmph,” he muttered, but went on with his work.

  He rinsed the puncture marks with a solution that stung, then he packed the holes with a runny salve that also stung. Finally, the doctor bandaged my wrist. Afterward, he handed me a packet of bandages and medical tape, and a little bottle filled with the salve.

  “Leave the wrap on for twenty-four hours, then remove it, rinse with cool water, and spread the salve around your wrist again. Re-bandage. Continue for four days. This should take care of it. If the wound worsens in the next few days, come back. Or, if you’re out of town, find a good SubCult doctor.”

  I thanked him, staring at the bandage. Herne paid him, then we filed out to the cars again.

  “Why do you think—” I started to say, but Herne stopped me.

  “Later. Don’t ask questions here.” He paused, staring at the sky. “Let’s get back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we’ll head over to the library. There are things I want to check on before we go take a look where Jona’s body was found.”

  As we headed back to the hotel, it occurred to me that Whidbey Island, as pretty as it was, contained dark secrets below the surface.

  Chapter 8

  BY THE TIME we dropped off Rhiannon and returned to the hotel, my wrist felt like it was on fire. The doctor had also given me a mild painkiller, so I took that, and then joined the others in the dining room. My stomach was rumbling, and the combination of pain and medication made me queasy. I asked the waitress to bring me a chocolate shake right away, just to get something in my stomach.

  “So, why do you think the doctor flat out called me a liar? Not in so many words, of course, but by denying that I fell into a blackthorn patch, he pretty much negated everything I said.”

  Herne scratched his chin. “I’m not certain. But I felt an urge to drop the subject around him—not a compulsion, but a warning. But the puncture wounds really do look like the ones that were on Jona’s body. At least according to the photo.” He paused as the waitress returned with my shake and menus for everyone. She took drink orders, and I asked for coffee to go along with my shake, and then she left again.

  “There are a lot of things that don’t add up. Rhiannon was right. Those puncture wounds can’t be from vampire fangs, unless the vampire is the size of a giant. I wonder if there’s a land wight out there? But if so, why would the sheriff cover it up?”

  “Wights are a form of Fae. Sub-Fae, yes, but they are still part of the Dark Fae court. Maybe they’re just protecting their own?” Yutani asked.

  I shook my head. “That wouldn’t make sense. Astrana is Light Fae. She wouldn’t do anything to help any of the Dark Fae. Even if she was shunted out of Névé’s court, she’s still going to be loyal to them. My guess is, she’s trying to work her way up to return to Névé’s good graces.”

  Just then, Talia’s phone rang. She excused herself and stepped off to the side to answer it. The waitress brought everyone’s drinks, and we put in our orders for food. I was feeling particularly hungry, so I ordered the all-you-can-eat pasta bowl. Viktor surprised the hell out of me by ordering the sushi.

  “You like sushi?” I blinked. Somehow, it had never occurred to me that an ogre, even half-blood, would like such delicate fare.

  “I like a lot of things,” he said with a wry smile. “I happen to love Japanese food. And the fish here is fresh.”

  Talia returned at that moment, sliding back into her chair. “That was Rosetta. She has some information for us and wants to meet us. But she asked to meet in an out-of-the-way place. There’s a dive called the Prancing Púca not far from our hotel. I told her we’d meet her there in an hour. I hope that’s all right?”

  “Any information we can gather would be helpful at this point,” Herne said. “Should we all go? Or does she just want to see you?”

  “I was thinking we might as well all go. That way, we won’t have to run through everything she says afterward. Are you up for it, Ember? I know your wrist is hurting.”

  I frowned. I ached, but the food would settle me down. The shake already had helped. “I can go. As long as I don’t get in another fight tonight.”

  “We’ll try to avoid any brawls,” Herne said with a snicker. “Seriously, though, if we are facing a land wight, we have to destroy it. Whatever that thing is, it’s far too big, and far too aggressive.”

  Finally, our food came, and we fell silent, the only sound the clicking of forks on plates and the occasional yum from one corner of the table or another.

  THE PRANCING PÚCA was a dive, all right. For one thing, the neon sign actually had a depiction of a large rabbit on it. I wondered who ran the joint. It couldn’t be an actual Púca or they would have been offended as hell. A number of motorcycles were leaning against the curb. They looked heavy-duty, as though they got real use and weren’t just weekend rides. Herne gave them an admiring glance.

  “Now that’s a bike,” he said, pointing to the one on the end. It was decked out in chrome and leather to the point of where it looked like it belonged to some BDSM top. “I need one of those.”

  “Your bike isn’t fancy enough, is that it?” Talia said with a laugh.

  “She serves her purpose, and she’s a faithful old girl, but I think she’s reaching the end of her life span.” He shrugged. “After a while, machines just wear out.”

  “If you ride her as hard as you ride me, no wonder she’s wearing out,” I said under my breath, but apparently my voice wasn’t low enough and everybody started to laugh.

  “Just be glad you aren’t dating my father,” Herne said, his eyes glimmering.

  Talia let out a cackle. “I imagine your daddy keeps Morgana pretty busy. The Lord of the Hunt is also the lord of sex, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Well, he’s definitely the Lord of the Rut,” Yutani said, his serious demeanor cracking under the weight of a broad smile. “Herne has to have inherited some of the family genetics.”

  “Yeah, maybe Ember needs to take a few yoga classes,” Angel said, winking at me.

  I blushed, rolling my eyes. It was my own fault, so I took the ribbing good-naturedly. “All right, all right. I know I started it, but make like Elsa and let it go. So, how about this bar?”

  As I tried to change the subject, we came to the front door. I pushed it open, standing back so Talia could go through first. She glanced around the room, then gave a little wave. I followed her gaze, staring at the woman who was waiting in one of the larger booths in the back.

  Rosetta looked to be in her mid-fifties, and her hair was streaked with gray. Since she was a shifter, that meant she had to be fairly old. Shifters aged far slower than humans, although not nearly as slowly as the Fae. A stocky woman, she looked well muscled, and was wearing a pair of jeans and a floral tank top. Her hair was pulled back in a utilitarian ponytail, but her face captivated me. Her features were beautiful, reminding me very much of a cat’s features, and I couldn’t help but wonder what she looked like in her shifter form. Norwegian Forest cats were beautiful, and I suddenly found myself missing Mr. Rumblebutt. I pulled out my phone and quickly texted Ronnie, asking how he was.

  We headed over to the booth as Rosetta smiled at Talia. She gave the rest of us a once-over, as though she were trying to gauge whether we were a threat. We scooted in, Talia sitting next to her.

  “Thank you for seeing us,” Talia said. She introduced the rest of us.

&n
bsp; Rosetta looked around the bar, studying the other patrons. Finally, she motioned to the waiter. He hurried over, taking our orders. Yutani and Herne ordered beer, Talia ordered a glass of wine, and the rest of us ordered soda. Once the waiter had brought our drinks, Rosetta let out a long sigh.

  “I’m putting my neck on the line, but given the scuttlebutt that you’re investigating Jona’s death, I thought you should know. The cops sure won’t be a help in this. Hell, they’ll probably try to keep you from finding out.” She played with her glass, staring at the amber liquid.

  “We appreciate anything you can tell us,” Herne said.

  That seemed to make up her mind.

  “You have to understand, I liked Jona. He was good man. His wife is a wonderful woman. Hell, I like the hippocampi. They keep their noses clean, they go about their business, they interact with community in a good way…pretty much, they’re model citizens. Which is why it pisses me off that nobody actually looked into Jona’s death. Oh, the cops say they did, but you can bet they didn’t.”

  “Any idea why?”

  Rosetta’s gaze flickered around again, then she leaned forward, lowering her voice. “I suggest that you take a look into the back issues of the newspaper, at least two decades’ worth. Around May to June for each year, and again in late October, November. Look for missing people, odd murders.”

  A shiver raced up my spine and I had the feeling we were about to fall far deeper into this case than we had expected to.

  “You’re saying there have been murders other than Jona’s?” Herne asked.

  She nodded. “I got curious after I overheard somebody named Roland tell my editor to bury the story about Jona, so I did a little snooping. I’m not sure what I stumbled onto, but you’ll know whether it’s anything. You’ll see the pattern. I haven’t had time to look any deeper into what I found, and in fact—I’ve been too frightened to. But I have a feeling about this.”

  Herne paused, staring at her for a moment. “How many murders are we talking about?”

  Rosetta nodded. “I found suggestions of at least seven or eight. I don’t know if there are any more than that. All unresolved as far as I can tell, and all buried under secrecy.”

  I quickly glanced at Angel, who raised her eyebrows. If this wasn’t an isolated case, then we were on the tail of something much bigger than we expected.

  “We’ll take it from here,” Herne said. “Thank you. I know it takes a lot to go against instinct. I imagine that neither your boss nor the sheriff would appreciate you talking to us, so again—thank you for having the courage to step up. We’ll do our best to protect you as a source, although we can never guarantee it.”

  “Well, if I end up having to move abruptly, maybe you can help pack my boxes for me.” She laughed, although the look in her eyes told me that she was truly worried.

  We chatted a little bit more, then paid the bill and left. We had taken two cars, with Yutani and Herne driving. Viktor and Angel rode with Yutani, while Talia rode with Herne and me. Once we were safely in the car and on the way back to the hotel, Talia told us a little bit about Rosetta.

  “I met her about ten years ago at a workshop on researching. We hit it off right away and have kept in touch ever since. We get together about two or three times a year for lunch and an afternoon of shopping. Truthfully, she’s probably one of the best friends I have, outside of the agency.”

  “She’s truthful, then?” Herne asked. “I suspect she’d have a hard time lying, just from meeting her.”

  “She’s cagey like a cat, but Rosetta is one of the most hard-working and truthful people I know. She’s a busybody and nosy, but I think that’s just her nature. Cat shifters tend to be that way. But she’s always stood up when she thought something was wrong. This has probably been eating at her conscience ever since she overheard the conversation between her boss and Roland.”

  By the time we got back to the hotel, I was dragging. We had been up since before six a.m., and it was close to eleven now. The pain medication made me groggy, and the adrenaline rush from the attack had sapped a lot out of me as well. I gave Herne a quick kiss at my door, and whispered that I’d see him the next morning.

  Angel and I were both tired, but the first thing we did was check our room and make sure that it was secure. Over the past few months, we had learned to take precautions. There was nobody there and nothing looked out of place, but I still had an odd feeling. I held up one finger as Angel started speaking and motioned toward the hallway again. Reluctantly, she followed me into the hall, where I knocked on Herne’s door and crooked my finger, nodding for him to join us.

  I motioned for them to follow me down the hallway a ways away from our rooms. Once there, I leaned in and whispered, “I just had a thought. The sheriff doesn’t want us here, that much we know. Do you think our rooms could be bugged?”

  Herne let out a sigh. “I should have thought of that. Go get Yutani and ask him to join us. Talia and Viktor as well.”

  Once we were all together we headed over to a seating area near the elevators. There was nobody else there, so we took it over and pulled our chairs close together.

  “Ember brought up a good point. The sheriff knows we’re here and she doesn’t like it. They would have had ample time while we were out today to bug our rooms.” Herne glanced at Yutani. “Did you bring any of your surveillance equipment?”

  Yutani leaned back in his chair, sliding his thumbs through the belt loops on his jeans. He looked just as tired as the rest of us.

  “Actually, yes. I have a bug zapper—it can find bugs and disrupt them, but if we destroy them, anybody listening in will hear it. However,” he said with a mischievous grin, “I happen to have a new little goodie that recently came out, and it will disable any camera and/or audio equipment in the room. Which means I need to remove my gear from my room before I use it, and so will the rest of you. It’s quick, it only takes a moment, and I can adjust the size of the field based on the room’s dimensions. It won’t cover a large area, but it should manage a hotel room of the size that we have. I’d better get ready. Ember and Angel, let’s do your room first. Take all of your tablets and phones and cameras out of there first. When you go in there, act normally. If you can,” he added with a grin.

  I stuck my tongue out at him. “Will it tell us if there’s anything to worry about?” It seemed pointless to do all the work if there weren’t any bugs to begin with.

  “Yeah, it should find any—at least any up to this generation of tech. It’s a pretty sophisticated piece of equipment. Let’s go. The rest of you stay here. It doesn’t make sense for us all to traipse around from room to room. I’m going to make a quick sweep of my room first.” He stood, and after a quick stop at his room, where he nonchalantly carried out a bag of his gadgets, he swept for bugs.

  “Nothing. They aren’t worried about me. Let’s do your room next.”

  We waited as he scanned the room. There were three lights on the top of the sandwich-sized black box, green, red, and yellow. Below that were a series of gauges. A moment later, the red light flashed twice. Yutani gave me a quick look, and nodded. Once again, we stepped out into the hallway.

  “Let me just check my app.” He pulled out his phone, tapping away. He skimmed over the information, frowning. “One camera and two listening devices. Apparently they wanted to make sure to catch whatever you said, as well as get an eyeful.”

  “Pervs,” Angel spat.

  “The deputy had to recognize my heritage, which is probably why they bugged our room.” I was livid. The idea that they had been watching Angel and me was nauseating.

  “Go in there and get all of your electronics. Don’t make it obvious. Try to be discreet. The camera appears to be fastened to the television but it doesn’t have the ability to swivel. So it’s pointed directly at your beds.”

  “What happens when it stops recording? Won’t they know something’s up?” Angel asked.

  “Actuall
y, the way this works is that they’ll continue to see the empty room, just as though the camera is still working. It will throw them off their game for a little while, at least. When they don’t hear anything, they might think that you guys spent the night elsewhere.”

  “Yeah. So either we strip for them or they’ll think we’re stripping for someone else. Most of my gear is in my purse, although I think I’ve got an e-reader in my suitcase. You know, we can set them up,” I said. “When we go in there, I’ll tell you that I’m spending the night with Herne. You can say that Talia asked you to come over to her room to discuss something. Then we can turn off the light and they won’t be able to tell whether we come back in or not.”

  “That works for me,” Angel said. “But if Herne’s room is bugged and they don’t see anybody in there, they’ll be suspicious.”

  I groaned. “Good point.” I glanced at Yutani, who blinked at me.

  “No, you don’t—”

  “Dude, they may not know about Herne and me. Your room wasn’t bugged to begin with. Deal with it.”

  “Fine. Let’s just get on with it.” Yutani gave us the go-ahead, so we entered the room, yawning.

  “I’m going to head over to Yutani’s room,” I said.

  “Talia asked me to drop by for a while. She wants to tell me about some perks of the job.” Angel looked a little like she wasn’t sure what she was saying, but it worked.

  I rummaged through my bag, pulling out a robe and using it to surreptitiously wrap up my e-reader. Angel rummaged through her suitcase, turning it so that the lid hid what she was doing from the camera. A moment later, she flipped off the light as we exited the room.

  Yutani slipped inside, keeping himself away from the sight line, as Angel and I backed away from the door. A moment later he returned.

  “Let me just check here… Okay, your room is now clean. Go on in. It’s safe for your electronics. I’ll do Talia’s room next, and then Herne’s.”