Autumn's Bane Read online

  As we told them about our speculations, I relaxed for the first time in a while. It felt like we were getting on top of the problem. I pushed aside my worries and focused on lunch and the conversation that buzzed around the table, once again thanking my lucky stars that I had found Herne—or rather, he had found me—and that I worked with people who felt like family.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Herne gave Talia and Yutani the go-ahead to contact any informants we had in Death Valley, but he also cautioned them to check out other avenues too. “It doesn’t pay to focus on one theory and miss other viable ideas. Don’t overlook anything.”

  They headed to their office. Viktor had already gone out—he was going to make sure all the weapons were polished, cleaned, and ready to rock before we were called out again.

  “Before you go, Angel…Ember, too… I have something I need to tell you,” Herne said.

  “What’s up?” I asked, sitting back down.

  “Angel, as I mentioned to Ember, I found DeWayne’s whereabouts.” A fanciful smile played over Herne’s face.

  “Where?” Angel asked.

  Herne ignored her question, continuing on. “I found out where he was staying and I paid him a visit. You were right. He had a lot of notes, trying to find out where you lived so he could spy on you. And he had somehow managed to pull the records of a half-dozen hospitals around the area, from the year DJ was born. He was trying to find out whether your mother had a boy or girl.”

  Angel shuddered, looking stricken. “Oh no. Then he might have already—”

  “Relax. As I said, I found out where DeWayne was staying and he won’t be bothering you again. I took him for a little walk and somehow, he landed over in Annwn, under the care of a good friend of mine.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “DeWayne’s going to be working in Annwn, helping build a road through Y’Bain. I doubt you’ll ever hear from him again, especially considering he has no clue of how he got over there—and probably no clue of where he is. I spiked his drink with a sleeping powder, and he was asleep when I took him through the portal. He’s staying with Hoka, my friend who owns a contracting company. They’re currently forging a trail through Y’Bain, as I said, and DeWayne’s going to be…working…for him. He’ll be well-treated, fed, and given a living wage, but I left strict orders that he’s never to return through the portals.”

  I blinked. Herne followed his father’s footsteps when it came to taking care of undesirable people. Throw them in a dungeon, kidnap them into a work force…but then again, they were gods, and it seemed better than letting DeWayne go on leeching off innocent women. He’d have a decent life. He’d just have to work for it.

  “Well,” Angel said after a moment. “I’m… Thank you. I don’t know what to say. I sure wasn’t expecting to hear that.” She looked pensive. “Herne, I didn’t want him in my life, but he won’t be harmed, will he?”

  “Not unless he does something stupid like provoke a fight. Hoka’s a good boss…and he will do his best to bring out DeWayne’s positive side. We send a lot of troubled youth to him in Annwn, and he takes them in, shapes them up, and they leave as productive members of society. DeWayne may be older, but you have to figure there was something decent that your mother saw in him. Hoka will do his best to bring out that side.”

  Herne stood. “Now, to work, ladies. Ember, can you bring me the files on the MacCarris case? I think that you last had them.” Angel smirked, but Herne waved her off. “No, it’s not like that. I really do need to go over the files, so keep your mind out of our sex life, woman.”

  “Sure thing,” Angel said, still laughing. “But just in case, I’ll knock before I enter.”

  That night Angel and I arrived home at the same time. As we headed for the house, the sky began to cloud over. I glanced up, shading my eyes from the still bright light.

  “Looks like we might have a bit of a storm coming up.” I closed my eyes, reaching out. I could feel the rain droplets surrounding us, the moisture growing in the air. But they weren’t ready to break loose. Soon, I thought, but not quite yet.

  “Rain coming?” Angel asked.

  I nodded. “Rain, and more thunder and lightning. I can feel the crackle in the air. The ozone is playing havoc with my senses.” Ever since I had stepped up my magical practice with Marilee, I had become more aware of storms and the energies inherent within them. She said I had a natural bent for weather magic, and though I hadn’t tried much of it yet, I could feel my connections growing when the clouds brought lightning with them.

  “Have you ever tried to summon a storm?” Angel asked, pausing with me as I stared up at the clouds.

  “Not in so many words, but yes, I’ve dabbled just a little in it. I wonder…it’s been awhile since I’ve tried.” I gazed at the rolling clouds overhead. My skin was jumping, tingling as though little shocks of electricity were running through me, tickling me from the inside out.

  “Are you sure you want to do that?” Angel asked, breaking through my thoughts.

  “Do what?” I asked.

  “Summon the storm. I know you’re thinking about it.” She didn’t sound entirely confident in my abilities.

  “Well, maybe. I mean, what better time to try? We don’t usually get many thunderstorms, and it just seems like it might be a good chance to flex my magical muscles.” I stepped away from her, gauging my position. We had several tall trees in the yard and I didn’t want to send one crashing through our roof. But the drive to try, now that I’d thought of the idea, seemed overwhelming, and I was determined to see if I could at least coax one measly bolt of lightning out of the sky. I wanted to be cautious, though, because I remembered all too well the shape Raven had been in when the lightning had forked through her body.

  “Let’s see…I don’t want to call it down to the ground, I just want to jiggle it loose, to see it flash,” I said to myself, frowning at I ran over how to do that. Raven did it via incantations, but she was a witch. I wasn’t—not really. Not in the same way.

  “I wonder…” I closed my eyes, reaching out, searching for any water elementals that might be riding the winds, caught up on the currents of air. When it was pouring rain, sometimes you could find a rogue elemental, caught up by the energy. Usually, water elementals stuck to bodies of water, even though it might be one as small as a puddle. But the majority were found in rivers, ponds, lakes, and the ocean.

  I searched, looking for any sign that an elemental might be nearby. And then, as I sorted through the various energies filling the airstream, I found what I was looking for—the signature of a water elemental. I snagged hold of it, searching, trying to follow it back to the source. Sometimes, finding the source of something meant that I’d be able to figure out how to manipulate it—especially anything to do with water.

  The energy was thick on the clouds now, rolling through the atmosphere, approaching the tops of the trees. That meant the storm was close. I wasn’t sure whether to call out, or just wait and see. But a sudden gust of wind caught me up and I found the thread of the elemental, the strand leading to its consciousness. It was riding a gust of wind, and the freedom made me want to jump aboard, to join it, and go gallivanting over the treetops.

  Hello, I whispered. Can you hear me?

  After a moment, a long slow breath answered. Hello…Sister Water. Who are you?

  My name is Ember. I’m part Leannan Sidhe. I felt you nearby and wondered about the storm. Is it viable? Sentient?

  Sometimes storms were sentient, in which case the best choice was to leave them alone, because a sentient storm usually brooked no interference and, beyond that, they were almost always dangerous and wildly unpredictable.

  The storm is a storm. It holds no consciousness. It’s simply passing through.

  Well, that was good news. I frowned, trying to gauge how strong the lightning was. If it had not yet built up sufficient power, it would fizzle and I could disperse the storm altogether. If it was strong enough, then I could g
rab hold of the bolt and aim it.

  I held out my arm. The hairs were standing straight up, and my hair felt all a-frizz. “All right, Angel, move back. Get out of the way because I’m going to try to call down a bolt.”

  She quickly backed away. “I still think you’re crazy. Just be careful? Please?”

  Nodding, I turned to face the street. I reached out, searching for the next bolt that was readying itself. There it was. I focused on it, trying to figure out how to trigger it. Then, I saw the structure of the bolt, and something very like a fulcrum. One side was weighing down, heavier than the other, and I understood that if I pushed just a little harder, it would overload it, triggering the lightning bolt. So I exerted all the force I could, focusing on pushing those scales beyond the breaking point.

  The next moment, a brilliant light flashed as a loud rumble echoed through the air. Lightning split the sky directly overhead as the thunder sent me to my knees. Angel screamed and dove to the side, rolling away as the bolt hit the ground between us, plunging deep into the earth.

  “Holy fuck, Ember! What the hell are you playing with?” Angel jumped to her feet as soon as the thunder stopped. “I didn’t think you were going to try to fry our house. Or us.”

  I groaned as I tried to stand up straight. “I think I pulled a stitch.”

  “It serves you right. Get inside. No more goofing around.” She marched me into the house, stepping around Mr. Rumblebutt, who was eyeing us both with a bright gleam in his eye that told me the thunder had scared him spitless.

  “Now I feel bad,” I said, wincing as I dropped my bag on the foyer table and hurried to the sofa, where I stripped off my jacket. “Mr. R., come here, boy.”

  He glared at me as though he knew I’d been the one to coax the lightning down, but finally jumped up on the sofa and mewed pathetically at me.

  “I’m so sorry, little man. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

  He allowed me to scritch his chin and then flopped on his side, rolling onto his back so I could pet his belly. I ruffled the fur, then leaned back, trying to decide if I needed to check my bandages. But Angel made up my mind for me.

  “Get into the bathroom. I’ll come look at your stitches.” She pushed and prodded me to my feet and marched me into the downstairs bathroom, where I cautiously removed my dress. She carefully removed the bandages and grumbled, pulling out the salve and a fresh bandage.

  “You ripped one stitch, but the others look intact. You’re oozing just a bit, but the wound is healing quickly and I don’t think you need to go back to the doctor. Let me put a new bandage on it for you.”

  “Thanks.” I still felt awful for scaring both her and Mr. R. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to see if I could make the lightning fork across the sky. I didn’t mean…”

  “Yeah, well, you could have shishkabob’ed us. And I, for one, am not ready to ride the lightning.” She finished taping the new bandage in place. “I suppose you’re going to want something to serve Sharne when he gets here.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not about to ask you to cook anything after that. Seriously, we can serve him chips and soda if that’s what we have.” I was feeling guiltier by the minute.

  “I was going to make dinner anyway. I’m hungry, even after the lunch that Herne bought for us. What did you want to eat?”

  I shook my head. “Just a snack will do.”

  “I know you better than that. How about tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and salad? And I have some frozen cookie dough left over from the last time I made cookies. I can bake up a couple batches for Sharne’s visit.”

  “That sounds great,” I said, staring at the floor, adding—as a peace offering, “I’ll clean up after dinner.”

  “Oh, yes you will. Go on, why don’t you change clothes while I make dinner? And straighten up the living room? I thought I saw a bowl of popcorn from a few nights ago still sitting out there.” As she headed into the kitchen, I took the stairs, pleased to find that even though my side ached, the outright pain was mostly gone.

  By seven-thirty, I had cleaned the living room and Angel and I had finished dinner. Sharne was due in half an hour, and I looked around, trying to figure out what else to do before he got there. I felt slightly agitated—which could easily be due to the proximity of the lightning. I ducked into the hall bathroom and gave it a quick going-over, washing the counter and cleaning the toilet, then washing my hands and checking my makeup as the doorbell rang.

  As I opened the door, Sharne’s appearance took me aback, as always. He looked a lot like me in coloring and stature, but he also looked a hell of a lot like his brother—my grandfather. And Farthing was a memory I could do without.

  “Ember,” Sharne said, holding out a bouquet of roses. “For you and Angel. I know how much you love flowers.”

  “Thank you,” I said as I handed them to Angel, who went to find a vase. I escorted Sharne into the living room. We sat on the sofa, and when Angel returned, she was carrying a tray with the freshly baked cookies and three glasses of iced lemonade.

  “Oh that looks delicious,” Sharne said, accepting a glass. He leaned back, then gave me a long look and let out a sigh. “So…”

  “So…you’re getting married.”

  “Right. As I told you, I had no clue that was coming. I really have no desire to get married, but there’s no countering Saílle’s decree. I live in her city, I’m one of her citizens, and if I know what’s good for me, I’ll just go along with it and do my best to suck it up. But this means my entire life’s going to change.”

  I stared at my glass. “You know it’s because of me, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I know it’s because you and Herne are engaged. But that’s the way it works in our world. I like living in TirNaNog, and I don’t fancy being on the Queen’s shit-list, so I will make the best of it and just hope that my bride-to-be is even-tempered and not some harpy.”

  “She’s a princess. She can’t afford to be a harpy. Especially not when she’s coming into a strange kingdom. Your marriage cements the bond between TirNaNog and Unkai’s band, and inadvertently, paves the way for a stronger connection between Annwn and the TirNaNog here on Earth. I am not sure what Queen Pharial will think of it, though. I thought that Unkai’s band answered to her.”

  Just because Saílle’s TirNaNog was named for the original, didn’t mean that Queen Pharial approved of everything the younger Fae Queen did.

  “I’m not sure either, but I have no doubt we’re going to find out. I have a message for you from Saílle. You are to escort my bride here tomorrow. She’ll stay in a cloistered suite in the palace until the wedding. It’s going to be in a week or so. I’m not sure of the exact date yet. I haven’t been informed.”

  I blinked. “You have no say in it?”

  “Do you have a say in your wedding to Herne? Oh, speaking of Herne, Queen Saílle specifically asked for him to accompany you over to Annwn to bring my intended back.”

  I frowned. “I know Unkai is the leader of the Orhanakai clan, but Saílle said that Neallanthra is royalty? Is he her father?”

  Sharne shrugged. “I think he’s her brother-in-law. How much do you know about your Autumn’s Bane heritage?”

  I shrugged. “Just that they’re part of the Dark Fae, and that Unkai is the leader of one of the clans—the clan my father came from.”

  “Yes. My father—and Farthing’s—was a member of the Orhanakai band back in Annwn before coming over to Earth. My mother was also of that band. Within the Autumn’s Bane—or Autumn Stalkers, as most people know them—there are five major clans. The Orhanakai are at the top—the nobility of sorts, if you can call it that. But there are four other clans, and the next in importance is the Lekanhika clan. Unkai’s wife came from them, and she brought her sister with her when she joined the Orhanakai. They were both princesses, so to speak, of the Lekanhika. I did a little sleuthing. Neallanthra was never expected to wed, so she joined her sister as a lady-in-waiting. I’m using terms I doub
t that the Orhanakai use, but it gives you an idea of the relationships.”

  “I get it,” I said, nodding. “So, Neallanthra was foisted off on her sister since she couldn’t—or wouldn’t—find a husband?”

  “Right. The best I can surmise is that Saílle heard about Herne proposing to you and had this plan set and ready to execute should you accept.”

  “When she saw my ring, she knew it was set and…”

  “Right, and since she already had the plans in place, she made quick work of trying to lure you into her Court before Névé could.”

  I tried to follow the pieces. “But why Neallanthra? Why not someone from her own court?”

  “My guess? She wanted me to have the appearance of nobility without sacrificing any of the women from her own court. Remember, you’re…” He paused, frowning as he stared at the ground.

  “I’m a tralaeth, even if I am to be a goddess. She had to find someone who wouldn’t care, but would still give you some status as nobility. And Unkai’s people—our people—they weren’t really concerned about my half-blood heritage when we met them. Saílle must have her spies everywhere to know about this.” I glanced around, wondering if she had somehow bugged the house. I wouldn’t put it past her.

  “She does. Trust me, those two? Saílle and Névé? Never underestimate what they’re capable of. They have a network of informants that boggles the mind, which is why I didn’t want to talk about this on the phone. Every inch of their cities has prying eyes and ears, watching and listening.”

  “All right. So she managed to find a princess willing to marry you, and that brings you into the court. She thought it would also force me to take her side, but that can’t happen. Since she already said your marriage was happening, she can’t go back on it now.”

  He nodded. “I suppose I could put up a fuss and get out of it, but the truth is, I don’t want to be on her blacklist. People who anger Saílle have a way of disappearing.”