Chapter 15
“YOUR SON?” HERNE stared at him, his anger draining out of his face, replaced by shock. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“Then listen well, Herne, son of Cernunnos. You’re not looking for me. You’re looking for my son. I will admit, I’ve been out of my realm off and on, but I have no keep with the mortals on this island. And I know my son.” He frowned. “The whelp is incapable of restraint.”
“Why do you think your son is capable of committing murder?” I meant to keep quiet, but the words came pouring out.
Blackthorn turned back to me and I immediately regretted speaking. He regarded me carefully, his lips stretching into a crooked smile.
“All of the Ante-Fae are capable of committing murder, as you call it. To us, it’s nothing more than removing an irritant or stepping on an ant. But as to why I think my son is capable of murdering humans? It’s a simple matter. I caught him the first time. That’s when I ejected him from the realm.”
“Forty years ago?” Herne asked.
Blackthorn nodded. “Thereabouts, give or take a few years. I don’t care what happens to mortals, but I do know that your father has a persnickety bone about it. And while I am not bound by the Fae covenant, neither am I looking for trouble. I have chosen to settle in this area, and I choose to stay here for now. I have very little interaction with those in the outer world, by choice. My son is another matter. Or should I say, my youngest son. So I kicked him out in hopes of forcing him to grow up. Apparently, it’s taking longer than I hoped.”
He sounded so blasé that it made me want to slap him, but I wasn’t stupid.
“There are people whose lives have been ruined because of him.”
Blackthorn glanced at me, even as Herne gave me a sharp shake of the head.
“She speaks again. Really, this is a feisty little wench you have, Lord Herne. If you ever want me to take her off your hands, just whistle. She’d be good for some amusement. At least, as long as she’d last.”
“I told you, leave her alone.” Herne turned to me. “And you, be quiet.”
I noticed he hadn’t introduced either Viktor or me, but I had no qualms about it. We were better off if Blackthorn didn’t know our names, though I didn’t put it past him to already know all about us. He knew we were mixed blood, and that wasn’t always an easy thing to peg. I nodded, closing my mouth and scooting back to stand beside Viktor.
“I take it your son can control the blackthorn trees, like you?” Herne asked.
Blackthorn gave him a long look, then shrugged. “What can I say? He’s my son.”
“You do know he doesn’t just kill his victims? He’s torturing them.”
“I have some idea. Straff, my son, had a very peculiar mother. I can’t remember her name, she’s dead now. But she had a particular disease that made her waste away. The only treatment was to draw life force and blood off others. I kept her alive as long as I could, but in the end, she asked me to let her go and so I did. Straff inherited her disease. To survive, he must feed off both energy and blood. Luckily, the disease hasn’t taken full hold of him yet, so his needs are sporadic.”
“The murders started forty years ago. Twenty victims we feel are his work, and forty missing that we think are connected.” Herne crossed his arms, waiting for Blackthorn to answer.
“While he was in my realm, I could attend to him here. But he decided to visit outside the realm. I overheard him talking to a friend about murdering a human. He reveled in it. I enjoy the pain of others as well, but I cannot allow him to involve the mortal world in my business. So I gave him a choice. Stay and remain my son, or be disowned and go out on his own.”
“Where can we find him? I’m going to have to take him to my father.”
Blackthorn snorted. “Do you really think that I keep tabs on him? I told you, I kicked him out. You’ll likely find him near the water. He loved it.”
“If I do catch him…” Herne paused.
“If you find him, do what you will. I want nothing more to do with him.” He motioned toward the door of the Barrow. “Our interview is done, although I have little doubt we’ll meet again.” He was staring at me when he said that. I wanted to crawl into the shadows.
“No doubt. Shall I notify you when we find your son?”
“Why would you? He’s dead to me.” Blackthorn glanced back at Herne, his voice as cold as the grave. “Please leave before I have my guards evict you.”
“How can we find him? What should we look for?” Herne looked angry, but again, he forced himself to remain as calm as he could. I could feel the struggle raging within him.
Blackthorn, who had turned to walk away, glanced over his shoulder. “You suspect him of bribing the sheriff? Ask her.” And with that, he vanished into the darkness.
There was a noise at the door, and we turned to see the lead guard waiting for us. Herne silently motioned for Viktor and me to follow him, and we left the Barrow, following the guards back to the meadow. We didn’t speak until we reached the touchstone again. Herne thanked the lead guard, but they just withdrew without a word, leaving us alone.
“Let’s get out of here.” Herne turned the knob, and the portal appeared again. We joined hands and, without a word, walked through the gate back into the forest.
AS SOON AS we saw the familiar trees and undergrowth around us, I let out a sigh of relief and dropped to the ground, feeling like a million pounds had just sloughed off my shoulders. I glanced at my watch. It was a few minutes before noon. We had been with Blackthorn less than an hour but it had felt far longer.
“That was an experience I never want to have again. What kind of freakshow creatures are the Ante-Fae?” I lowered my head between my knees, breathing deeply.
“I told you, they’re cunning and deadly. I don’t care how pleasant they seem on the surface, and some can seem very charming. Whatever you do, do not make an enemy of the Ante-Fae.” Herne reached down, offering me his hand. I let him pull me back to my feet. He paused, looking deep into my eyes. “Ember, be cautious,” he murmured. “You caught Blackthorn’s attention, and that’s never a good thing.”
As I was digesting his words, Viktor spoke up.
“Do you think Blackthorn will blow up if we take out his son?”
Herne shook his head. “Are you kidding? He as good as handed over the keys to the dungeon. What happened back there was that Blackthorn gave us permission to do what we needed to stop Straff. ”
“Why won’t he do it?” I paused, then shook my head. “Never mind. I know. He doesn’t care about the mortals here. Human or SubCult.”
“Ding! You win. Thank you for playing,” Herne said. “Seriously, the Ante-Fae don’t care whether mortals live or die. Blackthorn simply doesn’t want to be tied to this mess. So he severed ties with his son and sent him out into this realm for somebody else to deal with.”
“I assume our next move is to pay a visit to Astrana and force the information out of her. She must be protecting him.” Viktor glanced at the side of the ravine. “It’s a long hike. Herne, you should turn into the stag again to take Ember to the top.”
“Let’s save the rest of this discussion until we get back to the hotel. We need to check in with the others before we head over to the sheriff’s office.” Herne stood back, and once again, he shimmered as a great light surrounded him.
As the stag appeared in his place, I felt the same sense of awe that I had the first time I’d seen him. He was so beautiful, so luminescent and shining. He knelt once again, waiting for me to take my place on his back, and as I did so, grabbing hold. Then we were away, racing toward the top of the ravine. I closed my eyes, trying not to think about the fact that I had caught Blackthorn’s attention. A moment later, we were through the ravines and back to the car. As Herne let me off his back and transformed back into himself, Viktor came panting behind.
“You can sure put on the speed when you want to,” I said.
“Being half-ogre doesn’t hurt.” He grinned, opening the door for me to climb in the car. As he took his place in the back, Herne slid into the driver’s seat.
I leaned my head against the headrest, closing my eyes, trying not to think of Straff. If he was anything like his father, we had our work cut out for us. And right now, I had no doubt that he was walking among the people of Whidbey Island, planning his next kill.
WHEN WE REACHED the hotel, Angel pulled me aside.
“I wanted to get your opinion on the inspector I found.” She showed me the email. He had twenty years’ experience and a great rating on Lisa’s Listings—a referral site for professionals from all aspects of home repair and upkeep. An inspection business called Joseph’s Inspections had forty-five reviews, with all but one stellar. The one negative review sounded like a disgruntled rival and I discounted it for what it was.
“Sounds good. Can you make an appointment? If he needs a retainer, have him call me for my credit card info.” I grinned at her. “I hope that everything checks out. I really want that house.”
“I want to live there too, even with the…history. If he needs payment up front, I’ll do it. Let me put something into the house. I know I’m just renting from you, but I want to feel like I’m pulling my weight.” She emailed him back as I took a quick shower. We were all meeting up in twenty minutes to discuss our next move.
“I feel like I’m covered in Blackthorn’s cobwebs. Seriously, his energy clings like static electricity and it’s creepy as fuck.” I was soaping myself in the shower as Angel sat on the toilet, talking to me. “Can you hand me the shampoo? I forgot to bring it in with me.”
She thrust the bottle behind the shower curtain and I grabbed it, lathering my hair liberally. “Thanks.”
“So let me get this straight. He’s not our murderer? His son is?”
“Yeah, that seems to be the case. And if his son—Straff—is anything like his father, he’s going to be a piece of work. I wouldn’t put anything past Blackthorn, but he seems to have the sense to avoid tangling with mortals. I actually think he feels we’re all beneath his consideration. He seemed almost offended that his son was involved.”
I wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but I had gotten the impression that Blackthorn was more offended by his son interacting with mortals than he was by the murders.
I toweled off and accepted the clean jeans and top that Angel had pulled out for me. As I slid into my underwear and bra, I bumped my wrist against the side of the counter. “Damn it, that still hurts, even though I’m using the salve as Ferosyn told me. It’s healing up, but it aches.”
“Are we meeting for lunch?” Angel asked, heading back into the bedroom.
“I don’t think so, so why don’t you run down and grab us something to eat? Unless you happen to have any protein bars on you, or candy.” I wasn’t picky.
She laughed. “I have a couple of breakfast bars, but that won’t hold your appetite. I’ll meet you in the lobby—that’s where we’re gathering, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Herne wants to take this discussion outside to make certain that nobody overhears us. What…well, I’ll wait till then. I know Yutani checked our rooms again for bugs, but…” I trailed off. Just because he had the latest-greatest gadget didn’t mean something better hadn’t just been built to thwart it.
Angel headed out of the room as I finished dressing. I zipped up my jeans and pulled on my top—it was a corset top, lacing in the front instead of the back, and I quickly cinched it and tied off the bow. As I stopped to fix my makeup—most of which had washed away in the shower—my personal cell phone rang. I was careful to strictly follow company guidelines and not use my work phone for any personal business. Frowning, I glanced at the Caller ID. The only people I usually got calls from were Angel and Herne, and I didn’t recognize the number on the screen.
“Hello?” I asked, holding the phone to my shoulder as I sat on the bed and zipped up my ankle boots.
“Is this Ember Kearney?” The voice was male, low and gruff.
“This is she. Who’s this?” I didn’t have the patience to play guessing games.
“You’ve never met me, but my name is Farthing. I’m calling you because…I’m your grandfather—your father’s father. Your grandmother and I want to meet you.”
MY GRANDPARENTS?
As the words reverberated through me, I almost dropped the phone. Slowly, I lowered my foot to the floor and cleared my throat. I found myself at a loss for words, unable to form a coherent answer.
“I realize you’re probably in shock, but I assure you, this is no joke.” He paused, waiting. As I still remained silent, he added, “Ember? Are you there?”
Scrambling to say something—anything—I nodded. Then I realized he couldn’t see my head bobbing. “Yes. Yeah, I’m here.”
“I know you never thought you’d hear from us, given the situation, but I expect you to give us the courtesy of a meeting.” My grandfather’s voice took on a tone that reminded me all too much of Blackthorn—he expected respect, and he expected obedience. I decided to be bluntly honest.
“I have no clue how I feel about this. And right now, I’m late for a meeting. Is this your number that you called me from? If so, I’ll call you back when I’ve got more time, and when I’ve had time to think about this. And when I do call, I’d like to know…why? Why do you want to meet me, and why now?”
He was silent for a moment, and I realized he hadn’t expected my response.
“I’ve got to go,” I pressed.
“We’ll expect your call. Don’t wait too long. We have a great deal to discuss.” And with that, he hung up.
I let out a long breath, thinking that the day couldn’t get any weirder. As I grabbed my jacket and slung my purse over my shoulder, I tried to push thoughts of my grandparents out of my head.
ANGEL WAS WAITING in the lobby with Talia. She handed me a quad-shot mocha and I gratefully accepted it, along with the sandwich she had picked up at the coffee shop.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What could possibly have happened in the past ten minutes?” She scooted over, making room for me on the ottoman as she pulled one of the side tables closer for me to rest my drink on.
“I think I would have rather seen a ghost.” The call had shaken me more than I thought it had. I realized that my voice was trembling and I took a sip of the drink to steady my nerves. “I got a call from somebody claiming to be my paternal grandfather.”
“What?” Talia swung around, staring at me. “You’re kidding.”
“What the hell? They call you now? After all this time?” Angel sounded as outraged as I felt.
“No shit, Sherlock. I’m more shocked than you are. He called me to ask if I would meet with him and my grandmother. No, he didn’t ask me. He informed me that they expect me to meet with them. Just like that. I’ve never met either side of my family. I’m not even sure if they weren’t in on my parents’ deaths. And now, all of a sudden, they want to meet me?” The more I thought about it, the more agitated I became. “Cripes on a shingle, why the hell would they assume I’d even want to hear from them?”
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.