Sun Broken Page 16

  “A favor done never goes unrewarded,” Raven said. “Old vampire saying.”

  “Exactly. I’ll call you when I need you. I know where you work. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make my rounds again.” He followed us to the door, stopping me with a cold hand on my elbow. “I know you aren’t his pet, but are you sure you wouldn’t be interested in a little fantasy?”

  I stared at his fingers, resisting the urge to slap them away. “No, thank you. Not unless you want Herne to pay you a visit, because he would. And he’s not always the best-tempered god around.”

  With that, Eldris gave me a genteel nod and led us out of his office to a side door where we found ourselves on a balcony overlooking the alley. “There are the fire ladders. You may exit this way, so as to not draw any undue attention to yourself.”

  I stared at the iron bars of the balcony. Iron and the Fae got along just dandy, if you didn’t mind welts, burns, and—with prolonged exposure—death. “If I touch those, it’s going to hurt like hell. I need some gloves.” I spoke to Yutani, not Eldris.

  “I didn’t bring any,” Yutani said, a worried look on his face.

  I glanced at Eldris, who seemed to almost be enjoying my predicament. But Trinity saved the day. He reached in his pocket and brought out a pair of black evening gloves, handing them to me without a word.

  “Thank you,” I said, and he nodded at me, still looking disinterested in anything that had happened.

  Yutani studied Eldris for a moment, who was just watching as he leaned against the doorframe, an amused look on his face. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

  I stopped him. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter.” I gauged the drop to the ground. It was about twenty-five to thirty feet down. Once I reached the midpoint on the rungs, I could drop down and do little more than scrape my knees. I swung over the edge, making sure the satin of the gloves were firmly swaddling my hands, and began the slow descent down the rungs.

  I could feel the energy of the iron through the material, and through the soles of my ballet flats. It pulsed, aching bone-deep, but at least it wasn’t burning me. Once, I slipped and my elbow hit the ladder. I caught my breath, but managed to stifle my shout. I didn’t want to give Eldris anything to crow over. A few moments later, I reached the two-thirds point.

  I glanced down at the ground. There, under the dim light of a back alley lamp attached to the building, I could see nothing to impede me, so I exhaled and jumped, landing in a crouching position. The gloves cushioned my hands from the pavement. Shaking, I stood, steadying myself on the nearby brick wall.

  Raven hustled down the ladder next, grimacing. The iron hurt her, too, but not as much as it did me, and she was quicker than I expected her to be. The Ante-Fae were less prone to iron burns than the Fae were, though it still stung. They were our forebears, and apparently, the Fae race had weakened as it had evolved from the ancient stock. Trinity followed, and then Yutani.

  I handed Trinity his gloves, ready to ask him a million questions, but he just took them, winked, and before we could say a word, he was gone in a blur of movement so fast that I could barely follow him.

  “Well…that was interesting,” Yutani said. He linked arms with Raven and me and we headed toward the street where we started the uphill trek toward the car.

  Thirty minutes later we slid into Yutani’s car with a sigh of relief. The streets of Seattle were steep, and my feet hurt. I wondered how Raven was faring, but she seemed fine.

  “So…that didn’t go exactly like we planned,” I said. “Who the hell is Trinity? And could this Michael Gould be the killer?” I leaned my head back against the seat, sighing.

  “This is the first time I’ve met Trinity,” Raven said. “I have no clue who he is. As for Gould, I’d bet money on him, given what I saw tonight.”

  “Could be,” Yutani said. “I’ll do some more research tomorrow. Eldris was full of himself and no doubt he has a really good spy network, so to speak, but frankly, I’m not going to trust a vamp to tell me everything.”

  I nodded. Eldris troubled me. For one thing, I was embarrassed that I had responded to him, but then again, vampire glamour being what it was, I tried to tell myself that it was all par for the course. They had a seductive charm and even the Fae weren’t immune. But aside from that, he bothered me. He was a puppeteer, a master of manipulation. As I thought it over, a little part of me inside whispered, You don’t like him because he reminds you of yourself. You’re just as much of a vampire as he is. You just drink life force rather than blood.

  I texted Herne that we were all right, and that we were onto his spy, Trinity. Then, trying to push the evening out of my head, I stared out the window as Yutani drove back to my house.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next morning, I woke up feeling slightly hung over, even though I hadn’t had anything to drink. Raven had gone directly home when we arrived back at my house.

  Angel had plied me with hot cocoa and chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies, and I finally relaxed enough to go to bed, where I fell into a deep sleep. But my dreams were restless, and I found myself wandering under a dark sky.

  The clouds rolled by overhead, threatening a thunderstorm, and I was standing on top of a mountain, staring up at the roiling sky. I was carrying my sword and I hunkered down, squatting on my heels as I closed my eyes, trying to catch…trying to catch…

  There it was. Faint at first, then it raced past, blurred and yet I could hear the words. Help me…I can’t take this…help me…

  I looked around, but there was no one there. “Where are you? Tell me where you are!”

  But the voice just echoed around me, then fell silent. The skies broke open and lightning forked across the horizon, a vivid spiderweb, and raindrops splattered on my cheeks as thunder rumbled behind. But when I brushed the drops off my face and tasted them, I realized they were salty. They were tears. Awash in a sea of despair, I slowly stood, raising my face to the sky.

  As quickly as they had come, the clouds passed and the sun broke through, blazing white. I squinted against the sudden light, feeling helpless. All around me were rocks and boulders, and I realized I was standing in an ancient caldera. The wind was blowing up another storm and as I steadied myself against it, I tried to focus on the voice—tried to remember who I had lost, but the brilliance of the day blinded me.

  “I’m so tired,” I whispered as I began sinking into the earth. I struggled to get free, but she kept sucking me down and I began to panic. But the wind kept blowing and soon, I was neck-deep in the sand, with no one to save me.

  “Ember, wake up! Ember?” Angel shook my shoulder.

  I struggled to pull out of the mire, and finally opened my eyes. I was in bed, fighting against my covers, and Angel was standing over me, wearing loose pajamas.

  “What? Where…” I bolted to a sitting position and glanced over at the clock. It was six in the morning. “Angel?”

  “You were having a nightmare. I woke up when you started shouting. What on earth were you dreaming?” She sat on the edge of my bed as I pulled the covers up around my chin. I leaned back against the headboard.

  “It felt like the one I had the other day. Like all of those I’ve had before we’ve gone into a bad situation. I wish I knew who I was looking for.”

  “Was it a male or female voice?” Angel brushed my hair out of my face. Her voice was soothing and I had a sudden glimpse of her in the future, tending to her children with the same care and concern.

  I tried to recall, but finally shook my head. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”

  “It’s okay. Everything will be all right. Just breathe.” She glanced at the clock. “Do you want to go back to sleep?”

  Truth was, I wanted to fall into a dreamless sleep and sleep the day away, but the nightmare loomed too close. “I think I’ll get up. What about you?”

  “I’ll get up with you. Want to go out to breakfast? Or should I make something?” She yawned. “We have some
blueberry muffins. I can make eggs and bacon.”

  “That’s perfect.” I slid out from under the covers. “I’m going to take a quick shower. I still feel grimy from last night, though I think it’s more psychological than anything.” I hadn’t told her everything that had happened. We had gotten home late and Angel had been dozing off on the sofa, waiting up for me.

  “I’ll meet you downstairs.” She grabbed my covers and yanked them away. “Come on, sleepyhead. Get up and get your pale-assed self into the shower!”

  That got a laugh out of me. I jumped out of bed. It was a little chilly, but I padded over to the window and opened it, letting the fresh air stream in. The screen was tight, to keep Mr. Rumblebutt from escaping, and I leaned on the sill, staring out.

  “The warm weather is holding.” I closed my eyes. The dream began to loosen its hold on me, slipping away as a light breeze played over my body, waking me up.

  “You’re probably giving someone a good show, you know,” Angel said with a laugh.

  I shook my head. “Nope. There’s a couple tall trees full of leaves and needles between us and the nearest neighbor. Besides, serves ’em right if they’re gawking.” Feeling revived, I turned toward my bathroom. “Okay, I’m going to shower. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

  Angel closed the door behind her as I headed into my bathroom.

  As I stepped under the warm spray of water, I realized I was on edge. Not just from the dream, but I was horny as hell. I wanted relief, but I wouldn’t see Herne until later. I paused, slipping out of the shower to open one of my vanity drawers where I pulled out my favorite toy.

  Returning to the shower, I closed my eyes, leaning back against the wall, thinking of Herne as my hand drifted lower on my body, sliding down my stomach. I caught my breath, spreading my legs as my hand traveled over the neatly trimmed hair. I slipped my fingers between my lower lips. My nipples stiffened as I began to lightly caress myself, focusing on the pure sensation of arousal. The water spraying on my body took on a heightened sensuality, streaming down my body. I set the showerhead to pulse, and then lowered the handheld set to beat a staccato tattoo against me.

  The drive and force of the water sent me reeling, and I slid back on the bench, raggedly panting. The continual pulse of the water against my clit hit hard, and I picked up the ribbed, pink dildo and slid it deep inside me, letting out a moan as it stretched me wide.

  All I could see was Herne’s face. The onslaught of imagery—Herne sliding into me, his hair draping down to tickle my shoulders, his mouth on my breast, his eyes gleaming as he held my gaze, his hands holding my wrists against the bed—all coalesced into one wracking orgasm.

  Moaning as the ripples echoed through my body, then slowly began to subside, I let the showerhead fall against the floor of the shower. When I was breathing normally again, I washed off my toy, lathered up and soaped myself all over, then rinsed off.

  I wrapped my towel around me as I headed back into my bedroom. Feeling relaxed and ready for the day, I slid into a pair of black jeans, then decided to wear my green corset top. It was already laced, so all I had to do was slip it on and zip up the front. I preferred zipper corsets to busks—they were quicker and sturdier, in my opinion. The steel bones of the corset felt secure, and I shifted my boobs to where they were peeking over the top but still contained. I added a silver belt, then slid on a pair of green sandals to match. Once my hair was brushed back into a high ponytail and I had applied my makeup, I headed downstairs.

  Mr. Rumblebutt was chowing down on his breakfast, and Angel was behind the counter, whipping eggs for the scramble. I could smell the bacon cooking in the oven.

  “Want me to set the table?” I asked.

  “You look nice, and yes, thank you.” Angel paused, then added, “DJ called me this morning. He’s excited about the new school. He’s invited me down to see the campus this summer. He won’t start till September, but he wants to show me the science labs.” She went back to cooking, but I could feel her excitement. Her brother hadn’t forgotten her.

  “You’re happy,” I said, grinning at her.

  “I have to admit, the fact that he wants me to come spend a weekend with him and he wants to show me where he’ll be going…yeah, I’m happy. I feel so left out of his life. I know this is best for him, but I still struggle with it. I wonder what Mama J. would have said about me letting him go.” She didn’t look as morose as she usually did when she was talking about DJ.

  I had the feeling that Angel was slowly coming to grips with the fact that her brother was better off where he was. And that he had specifically asked her to come down and see his new school would go a long way in making her still feel part of his life.

  She poured the eggs into a pan and began scrambling them. I finished setting the table, then began fixing my mocha. I had just taken the first sip when my phone rang. It was Kipa.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I glanced at the clock. It was still only seven a.m., so I was surprised to find him calling.

  “Did Raven spend the night at your house?” He sounded concerned.

  I frowned. “No, we got back here around one and she headed home without stopping in. We were all exhausted. Why?”

  “Because she hasn’t come home yet. I waited up half the night, then figured she probably crashed over there. I didn’t want to call, because I thought you were all probably exhausted. I fell asleep on the sofa. I just woke up to take a leak and I glanced in her room. She’s not there. I checked for her car and it’s not out front.” He paused, then—voice shaking, asked, “Do you think she got into an accident?”

  “I don’t know.” I stared at the wall, thinking furiously. What could have kept her? “Are you sure she didn’t wake up early and decide to go get breakfast before waking you up?”

  “No. I called her phone and it went to voice mail. Ember, I used the Find Friend app and it pinpointed her phone in UnderLake Park. I went looking for it, and I found it. I also found her purse, but nothing else. Her credit cards were still in her purse, along with some cash and jewelry. I was hoping that you’d say somebody stole her phone and she spent the night with you, though I knew it was a long shot.”

  Crap. That was exactly what had happened with Chaya’s phone. It had been found on a bench. “Stay there. We’ll come over.” I hung up and turned to Angel. “Belay breakfast. Raven’s missing. We need to call Herne and head over to her house.”

  I called the Herne and he said he’d call everybody else and meet us there.

  By the time Angel and I arrived at Raven’s, all sorts of scenarios were playing over and over in my mind and none of them were comforting. I kept telling myself that it was all a misunderstanding. That she went out to buy breakfast for them and had lost her purse. That she had gone out for an early morning walk and lost her purse. Oh, so many things to try to keep my mind from going to the one place I really didn’t want it to go.

  Kipa was pacing, frantic. Raj looked terrified. Angel immediately knelt beside him and gave him a hug, and he leaned into her with a grunt. Kipa made a beeline for me. “Tell me what happened last night. When did she leave your place?”

  I braced my hands on his shoulders and backed him over to the sofa. “Dude, sit down. Breathe.”

  He paused, staring at me with those deep brown eyes, then slumped on the sofa. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried sick. Raven’s the responsible one. She always calls.”

  “I know, I know…” I sat down beside him as Angel and Raj wandered over.

  “Ember, I know something’s wrong. I just…do.”

  Raj tilted his head up toward Kipa. Then, blindsiding me, the gargoyle said, “Raven not here. Raven okay? Raj scared.”

  I blinked. In all the months I had known Raven and Raj, I had no clue he could talk. I glanced over at Angel, who looked as startled as I felt.

  But Kipa simply reached out to pat Raj on the head.

  “You talked,” I said, staring at Raj.

  “You’re the only other people who k
now that he can talk,” Kipa said. “Raj remains silent until he feels the need. But he and Raven chat it up all the time.”

  I let out a soft breath. The gargoyle had taken me by complete surprise. “I’m honored,” I said. “Please trust us to keep your secret.”

  Raj stared at me, his eyes solemn and wide. “Raj likes Ember and Angel. Ember and Angel help find Raven? Raj is scared.”

  “Of course we’re going to find her. Don’t be scared,” Angel said, not missing a beat. “We’ll make sure that she comes home safe.”

  At that moment, the doorbell rang. I motioned for Kipa to stay put while I went to answer the door. It was Herne, and he had Yutani with him. They pushed through into the living room.

  Herne glanced at me. “Viktor and Talia are on the way. What happened?”

  As we entered the living room, I told them about Raven not making it home, and about her phone being found in UnderLake Park. “I suppose we should search the park. I hate to think that she disappeared where Ulstair vanished. It would be a horrible coincidence. But at least we know that Ulstair’s killer is dead.”

  “Could she have simply hurt herself? Raven isn’t exactly the most graceful person,” Herne said.

  “I suppose. We have to hope for that,” I said.

  Kipa looked up at Herne. “I know how much trouble I’ve caused you in the past. But help me? Help find Raven?”

  Herne nodded, sitting on the edge of the loveseat. “Of course. Her car is gone, you say?”

  “That’s the odd thing. Her car’s gone, but you can’t drive into the park from here, and she always takes the trailhead when she takes Raj for a walk. It would make no sense for her to leave her car elsewhere.” Kipa frowned, shaking his head. “I don’t understand what’s going on.

  “I wonder if it broke down on the way home. Maybe she took a taxi home or maybe she called a LUD? And when she got home she could have gone for a walk in the park. I know that’s stretching it, but we should call the LUD headquarters to find out if they logged a trip here last night.” I turned to Angel. “Can you do that?”