The Silver Mist: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 6 Read online

  I’M IN AND HE’S OUT. I’M GOING TO TIE HIM UP AND THEN I’LL SEARCH THE HOUSE. VIKTOR, COME GET HIM. DON’T COME INSIDE, THOUGH, JUST RAP THREE TIMES ON THE DOOR.

  Viktor headed toward the house. He had more room in the back of his SUV, so we had agreed in advance that he would transport Nalcops to the place where we were going to interrogate him. I was still fuzzy on where we were headed, but apparently Herne and Viktor and Kipa had agreed on a location.

  As we watched, Viktor knocked on the door. Yutani opened the door, handing Viktor a large, heavy plastic bag, which he slung over his shoulder. The door shut again, and I surmised that Yutani was still searching the place. Viktor headed back to his car and stowed Nalcops in the back. A few minutes later, Yutani came out the house, locking the door behind him. He was carrying a sack and what looked like a laptop. Probably Nalcops’s. He jumped in the front seat of Viktor’s vehicle, and silently, Herne pulled away from the curb, followed by Viktor.

  We drove over the Hood Canal Bridge, slow and steady as the snow continued to fall. I had the feeling the bridge would be closed before long, given the storm’s strength. Shortly after we reached the other side, we took a right onto Paradise Bay Road, then an immediate right onto the Shine Tidelands State Park Road. There was nobody around at this time of night, especially on a stormy evening, so we drove down to the turnout facing the water, where we could park. We had the entire place to ourselves.

  Herne glanced at me, then back at Raven and Angel. Raj was sitting patiently between them, looking bored.

  “Ember, come with me. The three of you, stay here. And don’t stink up the car.” He looked expressly at Raj.

  “I’ll try to keep him from farting,” Raven said, a grin on her face.

  I zipped up my leather jacket, wishing I had brought a hat. As I pulled on my gloves and slipped out of the car, I dreaded what was coming. I knew that Herne and Viktor were used to applying force to get what they needed, but it still made me squeamish.

  We headed toward the water, toward a couple of long drift logs that acted as benches. They were covered with mounds of snow, but I could still see the ends peeking out. Viktor and Kipa joined us, Nalcops over Viktor’s shoulder, still in the bag. Viktor laid him down on the snow, carefully opening up the bag. He lifted Nalcops out, and sat him on one of the logs, beside Herne.

  “I doubt if he’s going to cooperate, so I suggest that you let Ember use her Leannan Sidhe powers to get information out of him.” Viktor stared at me, as though challenging me to object.

  I blinked. I hadn’t even considered that line of action. In fact, it had never crossed my mind. But the truth was, I knew I could do it. And then, I realized something else. I could take care of Nalcops. I could suck the life out of him and no one would ever know what happened. We could dump him in the water, and he wouldn’t be found for some time. In fact, if I contacted some of the elementals in the sound, they could take him into the deep to where he’d never be found.

  The weight of what I was capable of rested heavily on my shoulders. But I also knew the stakes, and I knew what Nalcops had been party to.

  “You knew this when we came here, didn’t you?” I looked at Herne. “You knew the easiest solution lay in my hands.”

  He gave a little shrug. “Yeah, I knew. I didn’t know if you had thought it through or not. If you aren’t comfortable with this, if you feel you cannot do it, we’ll find another way. This is your choice, Ember. Just remember what’s at stake.”

  I stood there, staring at Nalcops as he began to wake up. The look of fear in his eyes chilled me, but then, I remembered the explosion, and being blown off my feet as a hail of glass turned me into a pincushion. And I remembered the pictures of the dead. There was so much at stake, and so many lives had already been lost.

  “I’ll do it. There’s no other choice. Not really, not when I think of it.”

  THE MEN MOVED BACK, giving me room to work. I yanked off the duct tape covering Nalcops’s mouth. He said nothing, merely staring up at me, bound and trussed tighter than a Thanksgiving Day turkey. His jaw was set, and there was no compassion in his eyes. He knew what the score was, he just didn’t know who he was playing with.

  I took a step back toward the water and closed my eyes, staring up into the snow falling down into my face. Fine flakes landed in my hair, on my shoulders, all around me. They were small, almost the size of dust specks, but they kept coming, hundreds of thousands of them, building into a blanket of white carpeting the grass and the shore. The road was silent, and the only cars here were those belonging to us. The water lapped behind me, the wind whipping the waves toward shore, frothing them up into icy-cold sea foam.

  I went inward, actively seeking that part of myself who continually hungered. I could feel her there, all the time, but she usually kept quiet. Ever since the Cruharach, the barrier cutting me off from both sides of my lineage had vanished, and I had created my own barricades to keep them in check. Both sides of my bloodline were predatory, and I could feel the urge to hunt, the urge to conquer, pushing at the boundaries continually. I had managed to create a balance, but now I needed to let that balance drop for moment.

  I summoned the Leannan Sidhe out of the corner. I summoned up the hunger, keeping in mind my goal. And then, as it rose, churning within me, I turned back to Nalcops, and began to walk toward him.

  His eyes grew wide. When I allowed this side of myself out, I looked different—not in appearance, but in stature. In energy.

  “What do you want?” he asked. His voice was oddly high. I had expected it to be deeper for some reason.

  “I want to know where the Tuathan Brotherhood’s headquarters are. And you are going to tell me.” I straddled him on the log, my knees on either side of his lap.

  He began to sweat, even in the cold. “I can’t tell you. They’ll kill me. Please don’t make me tell you.”

  I pressed against him, and I could fill him harden beneath me. But the look of fear in his eyes was what really turned me on, the knowledge that he understood just how powerful I was, and what I could do to him. I ran my hand through his hair, smoothing it back away from his face. Taking hold of his glasses, I tossed them in the snow behind me.

  “You’re going to tell me what I want to know. I can make this easy and pleasant, or I can make it more painful than anything you’ve ever experienced in your life. It’s your choice. Now I’m asking you once more, where can we find the headquarters of the Tuathan Brotherhood? Tell me the truth, and I won’t hurt you.” I stared down into his face, feeding on the fear that ran through his eyes. His lust didn’t touch me, but the fear? It was an aphrodisiac.

  “Up off Hurricane Ridge. Shortly before the visitor center, you’ll see a red graffiti painting on the rock face next to the road. It’s shaped like the Bendaryi rune. On the other side of the road, you’ll find an access road into the woods, leading downhill. The road is big enough for one vehicle and it’s roped off, but the rope is easy to untie. Take that access road about a mile in, and you’ll find another road turning off to the left. It’s not really a road, but it’s been carved out, and a good vehicle can travel on it. There’s an illusion across it, so you’ll have to look carefully for two huckleberry bushes on either side, and there are red runes on their trunks.”

  “How do we dispel the illusion?”

  “You don’t have to. You can just drive through it. It’s set up to disguise the opening. Only a powerful witch can dispel the actual illusion.” He was sweating now, shaking under my touch.

  “Who’s in charge of the brotherhood? Tell me.” I leaned down to stare in his eyes, compelling him to speak. My lips were close to his and I could feel the energy escaping on his breath. It stirred my hunger and I had to force myself to wait.

  He stuttered a moment, then said, “Nuanda. That’s the only name I know for him.”

  “Tell me about him. Who is he? What does he want?”

  Nalcops was practically ready to explode. His pulse was racing, and he was
so hard that I expected him to burst at any moment. I was grateful that I was wearing a pair of jeans, and that he had pants on. Because despite my hunger, I didn’t want to touch him.

  “I don’t know his history. He never told me when he hired me. Everything was done over the phone. All I know is that he’s descended from Lugh the Long Handed. He hired me when nobody else would, after I got out of prison.”

  “What were you in prison for?” I asked.

  “Insurance fraud. I just got my license back three years ago, but I have had a rocky go of it.”

  Of course you have, I thought. “Why did Nuanda form the brotherhood? What’s the ultimate goal and where can we find him?”

  Nalcops began to stutter. “I don’t know why he’s doing what he’s doing, and I don’t make inquiries. I know what happens to people who ask questions.”

  “What else can you tell me? Anything at all?”

  Nalcops shook his head, spraying sweat against my face. I grimaced, wiping the beads of perspiration off of my nose. He looked absolutely terrified and I was beginning to feel repulsed. I liked my meals to crave me. Fear was good, but I wanted them to crave my touch and Nalcops was far too crude for that.

  “I don’t know anything else. I just prescribe what he tells me to, to the people he tells me to. None of this is my fault.”

  I glanced over at Herne. He gave me a slow nod.

  “That’s where you’re wrong, my dear. You know exactly what you’re doing and you know what you’re part of. And the fact that you don’t ask questions means you know there’s something wrong. So, I think it’s time to hang the out-of-business sign, don’t you?”

  I placed my hands on either side of his head, holding him firmly. He struggled a little, but gave up as I placed my lips on his.

  As I began to suck the breath out of his body, the energy flowed through me, seeping through my soul like food to a starving man. I breathed in every drop of his essence, every breath that made him who he was. As the life force swirled through my veins, shoring me up and strengthening me, Nalcops began to collapse. One more breath, and I let him go.

  He fell backward into the snow as I slowly stood and backed away from his body. I felt triumphant, and yet somehow tainted. I didn’t like the taste of his energy, I didn’t like the feel of his breath. For a moment, I considered finding another source to take away the taste, but then I caught myself and forced the hunger back.

  We’ve had enough, I told myself. Go back to sleep until I need you again.

  And the Leannan Sidhe quietly crept back in her corner, and I soothed her to sleep, thanking her for being part of me, and promising her that I would let her out again when I could.

  I turned to Herne.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I think so. At least we know where to look. You guys carry him into the water and I’ll ask the elementals to take him.”

  They silently obeyed, and I knelt in the freezing water, calling out to any elementals who might be near. One swam up next to me and I formed the picture of Nalcops in my mind, visualizing him sinking to the bottom of the sound forever. The elemental washed over me with a soft, liquid hand, as if sensing how raw my nerves were. Then, it coiled around his body and swept him out into the darkness, into the depths.

  I turned back to the others. “I’m going to walk along the shore for a moment.”

  As I walked in the swirling snow, the chill of the flakes calmed me, soothing the heat of the hunger within. I had never expected to be like this. But this was who I was, this was what the Cruharach left in its wake. This was my destiny, and I wouldn’t make the same mistake Angus had. I was learning to accept my fate.

  I stared at the water as it thrashed against the shore, wondering where all this would take me. I had barely begun to plumb the depths of my nature. Who would I be in ten years? Twenty years? But for now, I would take it one day at a time. I inhaled a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Yes, I was getting to know myself all over again. One day at a time.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The ride to Port Angeles was hair-raising, at best. All the curves and turns along the road were fraught with ice, and the snow made it hard to see. It took us twice as long to get to Port Townsend as it should, and we thought about staying there for the night until morning. But with Nalcops out of the way, it seemed prudent to be ready by first light.

  The highway that ran along the peninsula was often closed for landslides, and snow and ice made it that much worse. Luckily, it was still navigable at this point, but I hoped we wouldn’t get stuck in Port Angeles. It would take time for the plows to get out and clear the highway. At least we were all together, except for Rafé and Angus.

  Normally, it would take about two hours to drive from Port Gamble to Port Angeles, but the storm slowed us down so much that it took us nearly twice that long. In some places, we were creeping along at twenty miles per hour, the snow was coming down so hard. By the time we inched into the town, it was nearing midnight, and to our relief, we found the hotel that Angel had called ahead to. It was the same hotel that Rafé had checked into—the Comfort Choice Hotel.

  All of us seemed to be feeling weary as we hauled our suitcases out of the cars and carried them into the cozy, well-lit hotel. Herne and Talia took care of checking everybody in while the rest of us sat in the lobby’s waiting area, sinking into the plush microfiber sofa and chairs.

  I felt wrung out, exhausted from the interaction with Nalcops. It was taking everything I had to keep my eyes open.

  “Are you all right?” Angel asked, leaning toward me.

  I shrugged. “I’m not sure,” I said. “I feel like every fiber of my being is electrified, like I grabbed hold of a live wire. I think it’s partially emotional, given what we just went through.” I glanced around, not wanting to talk too much in case somebody was eavesdropping.

  Angel nodded. “I can imagine. Well, I can’t, but it sounded horrible. I’m sorry you had to do that.”

  I held my finger to my lips, shaking my head. “Later, when we’re alone we can talk about it. Here comes Talia with the keys.”

  Raven dragged herself to her feet. Even she looked tired.

  “Come on,” she said. “I’ll go get a dolly for the luggage. I know we don’t have a lot, but we might as well make use of any help we can get.” She glanced at Talia. “Did they say Raj could stay here?”

  “I told them he was a dog and they said all right. You might want to throw a blanket over him or something so they don’t question exactly what he is when they see him.”

  Raven arched her eyebrows. “Oh, I’m sure he’s going to love that.” She turned to Herne. “I need the keys to get Raj out of the car.”

  “I’ll help you,” Herne said.

  I had the feeling he didn’t trust giving his keys over to Raven. Come to think of it, given her nature, I wasn’t sure I’d want her driving my vehicle either. As the rest of us piled our luggage onto the dolly and headed for the elevator, Herne and Raven exited the building. I made a quick stop by the reception desk.

  “I suppose room service is closed for the evening?”

  The clerk nodded. “I’m sorry, yes it is. But we have a wide variety of vending machines over in the alcove across the lobby.”

  I glanced around at the nook she was pointing to. True enough, there were at least ten different vending machines in the crowded space. I motioned for the others to hold up.

  “Anybody want any snacks?”

  Everybody mumbled in the affirmative, so I held out my tote bag and went to work with a bunch of dollar bills from my back pocket. I filled the bag with various packages of chips, candy bars, packaged doughnuts, cheese and crackers, and other goodies. Adding a half-dozen cans of soda, I finally wandered back to the elevator just in time for Herne and Raven to return from the car. Raj was wearing a throw over his back, and Herne was leading him so that his head was shielded from the reception desk. It wasn’t the best disguise, but the clerk glanced up brie
fly, then went back at her work, and we all headed into the elevator that Talia was holding for us. As we scrunched in together, along with the dolly and suitcases, Raj let out a whimper and looked up at Raven. She patted him on the head.

  “I know you’re hungry. I’ll see what we have when we get up to the room. I’ll find something for you.” She sounded so loving that I couldn’t help but think about Mr. Rumblebutt.

  I pulled out my phone and texted Ronnie, and she responded immediately.

  EVERYTHING IS FINE. I WOULD HAVE SENT YOU A PICTURE THIS MORNING BUT I FORGOT. HERE’S ONE FROM TONIGHT.

  As the picture came through, I smiled. Mr. Rumblebutt was staring up at the camera with a disgusted look on his face. He was wearing a bow on his head and standing over what looked like an entire bag of cat treats. I bit my lip, wishing I was home with him now. I nudged Angel and showed her the picture, and she laughed.

  “I miss that purr butt.” She glanced at me, then put her hand on my arm. “He’s fine. Ronnie dotes on him.”

  “Yes, she does,” Talia said. “She sends me pictures of Roxy and Rema, and they always seem happy when I get home, but they do love her.”

  Raven glanced at Talia, and then at me. “Do you think that she would consider pet sitting a gargoyle?”

  I glanced at Talia, who shrugged.

  “I suppose,” I said. “Raj isn’t any more trouble than any other pet, if you can call him that.”

  “He straddles the line between pet and companion. But he’s like a pet in that I can’t leave him alone or he frets and gets into mischief. He’s not very good at feeding himself either.” Raven glanced down at Raj. “We have to get you comfortable with her first, but that might be an option instead of me having to bring you along every time I go out of town.” She raised her eyes to meet mine. “Raj doesn’t like to travel. It makes him nervous. He always thinks I’m going to abandon him. He feels safe at home, and I like to keep him in that space whenever possible.”