Oak & Thorns

  At that moment, Herne, Viktor, and Yutani appeared.

  “Them who?” Herne asked as he leaned down to give me a kiss. “Somebody bothering you?”

  I shook my head, feeling near tears. “While I was changing, I got a phone call. My grandfather—on my father’s side—called me. He and my grandmother want to meet me. No, strike that—they expect to meet me.” I gazed up at him. Besides Angel, he was the one person who knew how I felt about the Fae that had cast out my parents.

  The smile slipped from his face and he crowded onto the sofa next to me, taking my hands. “Ember, are you all right? What did they say?”

  I realized I was shaking. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, as calmly as I could, I told them what Farthing had said. “How do I know it’s even him?” But even as I said that, I knew. In my gut, I knew that it had been my grandfather.

  “I can ask my father to check up on it for you.”

  “Or your mother. Morgana might be the better one to ask.” I paused, then with a tight shake of the head, decided to change the subject. “I don’t want to think about it right now. Let’s discuss Straff. Where did you want to go for the conversation?”

  “Away from here. Outside will do. It’s not raining. There’s a corner park near here—we can sit there and talk.” Herne gently took my elbow, helping me up. I gathered up my sandwich and coffee, and we all headed outside. Yutani was still bruised up, but he seemed to have stabilized the pain and he allowed Viktor to carry his backpack without any protests.

  We headed into the open air, which helped revive me. The sun was bright, and it was a balmy seventy-two degrees. The sky was filled with wispy clouds, but they were high and drifting past at a rapid rate, driven by the wind. We weren’t due for rain again for another couple of days, and I welcomed the warmth, letting it slide over me like a golden shroud.

  We walked the two blocks to the park—it was called the Seacrest Cove Memorial Park, apparently named in honor of some local naval officers who had died on a mission—and there, we found a picnic table that was unoccupied. The park was filled with mothers and their small children, and I caught sight of one of the women from the Foam Born Encampment. She didn’t see us, though, as she chased after twins who were rampaging around the park, having a blast keeping their mother on the run.

  We settled at the table. Yutani set up his laptop, as did Talia, while Angel and I sat cross-legged on the ground. Viktor joined us, and Herne sat opposite Yutani, stretching out his legs as he leaned back against the edge of the table, his elbows propped on the wooden slats. Nobody said anything for a moment as we just let the sun beat down on us, listening to the birdsong and the droning of bumblebees that passed by, darting from clover to clover.

  Finally, Herne cleared his throat and turned around, swinging his feet over the bench. He motioned for Angel, Viktor, and me to join them at the table. We slid in—I sat beside Herne, Viktor on his other side, and Angel sat beside Yutani, offering her help with the keyboard if he should need it.

  “So here’s what happened with Blackthorn,” Herne finally said. He ran down our meeting.

  “You mean Blackthorn’s son is the murderer?” Angel asked. “And he gave us permission to do what we needed?”

  “I think Blackthorn isn’t worried about what happens to Straff. He’s disowned him, and when the Ante-Fae put a mark on you like that, it sticks. He’s probably got children all over the place that he’s forgotten about or cast aside.” Herne frowned. “That brings to mind a thought. If Straff has been wining and dining women—like, for example, Chance’s wife—could he have children running around the island? Offshoots of the Ante-Fae mixed with human or SubCult blood?”

  I shuddered. “That thought’s not a pleasant one, given Blackthorn’s nature, and what we can ascertain about Straff’s nature.”

  “No, it isn’t. But there wouldn’t be much we can do about it. It’s something to keep an eye out for over the coming years, however. Regarding Astrana…when she stopped us this morning, I wonder if she had an inkling of where we were going.” Herne glanced at Viktor. “I wonder if she tailed us.”

  “I doubt if she could have followed us through the park—not at your speed. And I move pretty quickly too.” The half-ogre frowned. “However, we have to assume that she’s warned Straff we’re onto something. She may not know how much we actually know about the issue, but that doesn’t matter. If they think we’re close to figuring out it’s him, then he might disappear.”

  “What about her? She might try to vanish, too. What if we apprehend her?” I asked. “Make her tell us where he is?”

  “That’s an idea, but I’d like to leave that as a last resort. If Straff is watching her and he sees us go after her, chances are he’ll vanish, leaving her to take the fall. But we can give it a try. Yutani, do you have any tracking devices with you? Something we could attach to her car?”

  Yutani shrugged. “I do. But we should really track her personal car. She probably isn’t using the sheriff’s car for her personal errands. No doubt, she’s smart enough not to draw attention to herself when she goes visiting him.”

  “Where’s she live? Where is this four-million-dollar estate?” I asked.

  Talia brought up the address. “Not far from here, actually. It’s waterfront property, which makes it no wonder it’s so expensive.”

  Herne’s phone rang and he glanced at it, looking surprised. “A moment.” He walked away from the table.

  “So, who’s going to take care of bugging her car?” Talia asked. “You usually take care of this sort of thing and there’s no way you can right now.”

  “It’s not rocket science. Ember can do it,” Yutani said. “She’s quick and she’s used to sneaking up on critters from her freelance days.”

  My freelance days. I hadn’t ever really thought about them in those terms, but now I blinked. He was right. I had a lot of experience going solo, and while Herne was good at many things, I was far more adept at creeping around, sneaking up on goblins and the like.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I heaved out a sigh.

  “Well, better you than Viktor. No offense, dude,” Yutani said, as the half-ogre snorted. “You’re just not quite the stealth-machine Ember is.”

  “So I’m a stealth-machine now? When did you decide that?” I stuck my tongue out at him.

  He laughed. “Since the past few weeks when you’ve taken on all the legwork Herne assigned to you. I admit it, I wasn’t sure when you joined the agency, but you’ve more than proven yourself and I stand corrected in my opinion of you.”

  I stopped laughing, uncertain whether I should feel offended or applauded. I hadn’t realized that Yutani didn’t feel I was up to the job, at least at first. I decided that, for now, I’d ignore the backhanded compliment. At least until we were home and done with this case. Then we’d have a little talk and get things out in the open.

  “Okay, then. I know where I stand,” I said. My words came out sharper than I intended, because Yutani winced.

  “I didn’t mean anything by it, Ember. I just… When Viktor came into the agency, I wasn’t sure about him, either.”

  “Right. Well, let’s get on with it.” I was probably overreacting, but I felt like I had been slapped. Herne returned just then and I welcomed the interruption.

  “That was my father on the phone. I gave him the rundown on what we found out. He says we must catch Straff—if possible, alive—and bring him in. We’re to take him directly to Cernunnos for judgment.” Herne looked troubled. “He specified…alive. If we kill him, the Ante-Fae in general will be on our case about it.”

  “Alive? Pffft.” Viktor let out a disgusted sound. “Okay, I knew taking him down would be hard, but catching him? How on earth are we going to do that?”

  “That’s our job to figure out. Also, Cernunnos congratulated us for meeting with Blackthorn and coming out unscathed.” He shrugged. “I gather that doesn’t happen all that often.
”

  “We just were talking about having Ember sneak a tracker onto Astrana’s vehicle.”

  Herne nodded. “I wish we could just go ask her about this. Demand answers.”

  “That’s not going to happen and you know it.” I was still irritated—first at my grandfather and then at Yutani—but pushed aside my feelings. “However, another thing occurred to me. Would Rayne know where to find Straff? The vampire who talked to Rhiannon? The vamps always seem to have their fingers on the pulse of what’s going down.”

  “Good idea. We need to address all avenues. If Astrana’s at work, maybe we can sneak the bug onto her personal car without her knowing. Let’s head over to the sheriff’s office and see what we can do. I imagine she drives her own car to work.” Herne stood. “Where’s the device, Yutani?”

  “In my room.”

  “Let’s get it while Ember and Viktor head over to the parking lot. Talia, you and Angel stay at the hotel with Yutani. Do what you can to dig up any info on Straff—any mention of him that you can find. Blackthorn wasn’t about to tell us much about his son.”

  We split up. Viktor and I headed toward the parking lot while the others walked back to the hotel. As we leaned against Herne’s car, waiting, I decided to broach the subject.

  “Was Yutani telling me the truth? You guys didn’t trust I was up to the job when I came to work for the Wild Hunt?” It felt like I was picking a scab, but I had to know.

  He ducked his head. “I thought you could do it, but yeah, Yutani wasn’t all that sure. But you have to understand, Yutani doesn’t trust anybody, not until he’s had a chance to see them in action. You and I’ve been betrayed, but he…think about it. He’s been pushed away from everybody who’s ever been connected to him. He was run out of his village, and the moment anybody finds out that Coyote dogs his heels, they shy away from him if they have a choice. People are afraid of—not him, but what he can unwittingly bring into their lives.”

  I hadn’t thought about it that way. If everybody looked at me with distrust, I’d probably return the favor. “He’s very close-mouthed, isn’t he? I don’t know much about him, even now. Does he have a girlfriend? Does he have a pet? Hell, I didn’t even know Talia had dogs until this trip.” It occurred to me that Angel and I needed to get to know our coworkers better. “I’m not used to letting people in my life, either. So I guess I just make it my business not to pry into theirs.”

  Viktor gave me a gentle laugh and clapped me on the shoulder. “Don’t sweat it, Ember. Trusting people—friendships—all of these take time to build. As for your questions, no, Yutani doesn’t date. He’s afraid of getting involved with anyone just in case they feel the backlash of his connection with Coyote. Pets? He has an iguana named Dodo whom he pretends not to care about. But when that lizard got sick, he was at the vet’s before they opened. And to fill you in on a few other things, Talia dates around but she never lets herself get serious. I don’t think she wants the responsibility. I have a girlfriend and one of these days, I’ll introduce you. She’s a witch. Human, to a degree, but born of one of the magical families.”

  As he finished speaking, Herne came jogging our way. I cleared my throat.

  “Thanks, Viktor. You’ve been straight with me from the beginning. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem,” he said. “I think you’re an asset to the company. And you make Herne happy. And a happy boss is so much more pleasant than a grumpy one. Trust me, you are so much better for him than Reilly was. None of us liked her.”

  With that, we fell silent as Herne approached.

  “Ready to get this show on the road?” he said.

  “Ready and able.” I called shotgun and we headed out for the sheriff’s office.

  Chapter 16

  THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT in Seacrest Cove was about as big as you’d expect it to be. That said: the size of a rat’s nest. It was tucked in next to the city hall, which was equally small. I wasn’t even sure if it was a proper city hall, since Seacrest Cove wasn’t really an incorporated community. As we parked in the lot across the street, it occurred to me that I had no clue what kind of car Astrana drove.

  The lot itself was laid out with one row cordoned off for the sheriff and her deputies. There, I could see a line of cars, and a couple patrol cars. They were empty, though. The rest of the lot was given over to a mixture of reserved parking and pay-by-the-hour slots. We managed to find an open parking slip, but for the most part, the lot was filled to capacity. I figured a lot of the Seacrest downtown business owners reserved parking here.

  “Hey, what are we looking for? And shouldn’t I be doing this at night, when there’s nobody around to watch?”

  Herne shook his head. “She drives a red Jeep. Personalized license plate of astrafae. As for doing it at night? Well, the parking lot is packed and that alone provides cover. And I don’t see anybody here now except us.”

  I glanced around. He was right, the lot looked to be empty as far as people went, but the cars provided plenty of cover. It wouldn’t take me but a couple of minutes to find her Jeep and slap the tracker up underneath the back bumper.

  “All right, guard my back, guys.”

  Before they could speak, I was out of the car and sprinting—trying to keep as low a profile as I ran. I darted around the “Reserved” sign and glanced along the row of cars. Sure enough, there was a red Jeep with a personalized plate. I didn’t see a car alarm anywhere, so I darted over to it, rolling to the ground as I went, poked my head beneath the back bumper and slapped the magnetized tracker to the metal beneath the car. It took, and I glanced at the app on my phone as the signal took hold and began to blip out a light on the map. Before anybody could spot me, I slipped back to Herne’s side.

  “Done. And it’s working. What next?”

  “Next, we head back to the hotel. Viktor, you’ll download the app for the tracker, then take Yutani’s car and station yourself to follow Astrana in case she heads out. Ember and I will dig up Rayne and talk to him tonight.”

  We slipped back into Herne’s car before Astrana could catch sight of us. I texted Viktor the information and he downloaded the surveillance app on his phone. By the time we got back to the hotel, he was ready to grab Yutani’s keys and take off. Angel and Talia were scouring the Net for anything they could find on Straff. Yutani was taking a nap. Herne and I took the chance to step outside and talk.

  The courtyard of the hotel had rose gardens out back of the coffee shop, with benches and tables for their customers. We stopped to get coffee and then walked out into the warming afternoon, settling down on a bench near a particularly prolific hydrangea whose brilliant blue flower heads were scenting the air.

  I leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes as the sun beat down on my face. “Do you think we’ll be able to find Straff?”

  Herne thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I hope so. I can’t say for sure, but we’ll do what we can. I put in a call to Rhiannon, asking her where I could find Rayne. She’s supposed to call me back in a few minutes. She was on her way home from the hospital today. Madrigal is sticking close to her side. He seems a good sort.”

  “He is. Just from meeting him once, I’d trust him.” As I said the words, I knew they were true. Madrigal had struck me as upright and trustworthy. He’d take care of Rhiannon. “I wonder why the hippocampi would come ashore at all. There are so many issues here, so much that I’d love to escape from.”

  “I assume they have just as many problems below the surface. Think about it—life under the waves can get pretty rough. Not all of the waterborne are friendly—in fact, it seems like a lot of them are just waiting to lure victims to a watery grave. The kelpie and the sirens, just to name a couple. They’re dangerous and unpredictable.”

  “Like Blackthorn.” I paused, then decided to ask him what was on my mind. “Back there, in his realm… You told him you claimed me. That I’m yours. Was that for show? To make him back off?” I wasn’t sure how I fel
t about the thought, now that we were out of immediate danger.

  “Ember, I consider you my girlfriend. My consort at this point. But I don’t own you. However, had I not stepped up and put a claim on you, Blackthorn might have pressed his luck in trying to knuckle you under. He was trying to break you, to feed off your worry and insecurities.”

  “I thought as much. Well, thank you for stopping him. I like being your girlfriend. Consort’s an unusual word for me, but it doesn’t make me uneasy. I just… I don’t belong to anybody.” I smiled at him, reaching out. He took my hand and entwined his fingers through mine. We sat there, in silence, for a few minutes, basking in the warmth.

  “Do you really believe Yutani is Coyote’s son?”

  Herne cleared his throat and folded his hands across his chest as he lounged back in his chair. “I do. But I can’t be certain.”

  “Why would Coyote endanger him? That trap was no laughing matter. It could have dismembered him.” It didn’t make sense to me that Coyote would put his own son in danger.

  “Remember, Coyote warned him to be careful. He didn’t drive Yutani into the trap. He seems to appear in Yutani’s visions whenever there’s a crossroads coming that could shift his life into a bad direction. The last time it happened, Yutani almost died. Talia and I jokingly remind him, but behind all the camaraderie, we’re deadly serious. He needs to pay attention to the warnings, but I think he takes them as interference.” Herne leaned forward, frowning. “I have a feeling one of these days, Coyote’s going to show up for real and then Yutani’s going to have a lot of reckoning to do.”