A Shadow of Crows Read online

  “Talia and Yutani are on the way. Herne hasn’t checked in yet.” He glanced at me, a question in his eyes.

  I brushed it away, heading for my office. As I entered the room, I shut the door behind me and pulled out my personal phone, staring at it.

  Should I call? Shouldn’t I? I debated the options—there were only two. Well, I could text him, too. That might actually be easier.

  yo. where are you? we thought you said eight sharp. viktor and Angel and i are here. what do you want us to do until you get here?

  The latter wasn’t really necessary. We all had work to do, but I wanted some sort of response out of him.

  I waited for a couple minutes. No response. Debating on whether to try again or to call, I quashed both ideas. I wasn’t going to chase Herne around. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and picked up one of the files that I still needed to enter into the computer. While Angel set up all our electronic files, we were responsible for updating them with notes throughout the case, and after it was closed.

  Sighing, I shoved aside my purse and rubbed my head. I didn’t want to work, I didn’t want to do anything except sulk until Herne came up with some answers, but keeping busy was preferable to sitting around whining, even if I was whining with my mouth shut.

  I logged into my laptop and brought up the company-sharing network, then opened the case file that I was updating. As I began to enter the missing information, I narrowed my focus, trying to lose myself in the work. It didn’t take long before I was engrossed in logging my notes on the case, and had forgotten that Herne hadn’t arrived yet. So it was no surprise that when a rap sounded on my office door, I jumped.

  “Holy shit, you scared me,” I said, glancing over my shoulder to see Angel.

  “Herne’s here. Meeting in the break room. And before you ask, he looks good but not in the I-just-had-sex way. No afterglow.”

  “That’s for women,” I shot back.

  “Is it, really? Think about it for a moment,” she said, then vanished around the door.

  I gathered up my tablet, a steno pad, a couple pens, and a coffee mug that needed to go back to the break room. As I entered, I caught sight of Herne. He was staring at his tablet. He glanced up to catch my gaze, but I quickly pulled my attention away and forced myself to stare at the counter for a moment, before depositing the mug in the sink. I found a clean one, poured myself a big cup of coffee, and added milk and sugar. Then and only then did I head over to the table.

  I sat in a chair a few seats away from Herne to put some distance between us, but snuck a peek at him. He looked about the same as last night, though he looked tired and ready to take a nap. I wasn’t sure whether to chalk that up to extracurricular activities, but given the fact that he was a god and didn’t need as much sleep as we did, there must have been something mighty special about whatever it was he did.

  “Late night, huh?” I asked, keeping my tone light.

  He snorted. “You might say that.” But he didn’t look me in the eye, and right then, I knew something was up.

  “What’s going on?” I mouthed.

  He shook his head, mouthing back, “Later.”

  Clearing his throat, he called the meeting to order. “All right, we have a lot to cover. Not only do we have a new case, but we have to deal with the fallout from yesterday’s failed attempt to keep the Light Fae from bringing Callan into the present. I had a talk with Cernunnos and Morgana yesterday. Let’s just say they weren’t pleased.”

  “Should we put Raven’s case to the side and focus on Callan, then?” I asked, forcing myself to slide into work-mode.

  He shook his head. “No, she’s so worried that I don’t want to sit on this. I have a feeling we aren’t just facing a case of a lover gone AWOL. Yutani, I’d like you to dig up whatever you can about where Callan may have disappeared to. We know the Light Fae have him. I’m going to ask my parents if we can demand extradition, should the Fae be harboring him. Which we know they have to be.”

  Yutani nodded, staring at his laptop. “They could be hiding him anywhere. Do you really think they’ll just hand him over if you ask?”

  “Nope. Which is why I’ll talk to Cernunnos and ask for a formal writ of demand. If they refuse then, they’ll be breaking the covenant.” He frowned. “This wouldn’t be happening if Elatha hadn’t returned. Speaking of Elatha and the Fomorians, there’s yet another issue that ties into this. I guarantee you, this is going to cause waves through the entire Fae nation. Both Courts and we’re going to end up with fallout to clean up.”

  “Wonderful,” Talia said. “Just what we need. More complications.”

  I took a long sip of my coffee, wishing I had added some chocolate. It was good, but I really wanted sweets right now. Thank the hormone goddess for that, as well. I spied a box of cookies on the counter and retrieved it, grateful to whoever had first envisioned blending chocolate with peanut butter. As I bit into the cookie, the sweet taste bled onto my tongue and I let out a long sigh as the sugar went to work on my nerves.

  “What’s going down?” Angel asked, a grave look on her face. “Do you think it will affect the agency?”

  Herne gave her a grim nod. “Oh, yes, it’s going to affect everything. Apparently, the United Coalition has been a busy bee the past month or so. They announced this morning they will be adding a fifth member to their ranks.”

  That was a shock. The United Coalition governed the country through four organizations—the Fae Courts, the Human League, the Shifter Alliance, and the Vampire Nation. That they were adding a new member was unprecedented. Or at least, it hadn’t happened in a long, long time.

  Herne’s voice was as grim as his expression. “Apparently, the Cryptozoid Association silently filed a lawsuit, demanding representation. This morning the courts ruled in their favor, saying they haven’t been adequately represented by the Shifter Alliance, the Vampire Nation, the Fae Courts, or the Human League. They’re right, of course, but this is going to go over like a lead balloon.”

  I froze, my cookie halfway to my mouth. “The Cryptozoid Association? I’ve never heard of them. Who are they? Not goblins?”

  “No, not goblins,” Herne said. “They’re a group of giants, ogres, and a few other oddball Cryptos who have banded together.” He let his words settle for a moment.

  I thought furiously, but Viktor beat me to it.

  “Giants. Elatha and the Fomorians are behind this, aren’t they? I hate to say it, but most of my kin—on my ogre side—aren’t the brightest bulbs in the socket. They’ll pretty much do what they’re told by anybody bigger and stronger.” Viktor was half-ogre, half human. His father, an ogre, had turned his back on him when he was a baby, but his mother had brought him up to appreciate the finer things in life, and Viktor was as smart as they came, in addition to being a wall of sheer brawn.

  “Damn.” I set my coffee mug down a little too hard, cracking it, and jumped up to grab a roll of paper towels as the liquid began to spread. As I wiped it up and carried my mug to the sink, I said, “Saílle and Névé are going to be livid.”

  “Ya think?” Yutani said, tapping the table with his fingers. “They had to already know about this already, which is the reason they summoned Callan. They knew the Fomorians were making a bid for power and they wanted to be prepared.”

  “Bingo, you win!” Herne said, snapping his fingers. “Saílle and Névé knew, and you know how they are. Both Fae Queens are spitting furious that Elatha returned in the first place, and I can’t say I blame them. After all, he did try to poison the entire Fae race. So they have summoned someone they trust to lead them to victory.”

  “Callan actually did that?” Talia asked.

  Herne nodded. “Yeah, once. Long ago, back in Annwn, during the Tuatha-Fomorian Wars, Callan managed to drive Elatha and the other Fomorians back into the mountains for a long time. Hundreds of the Fomorians were killed, along with a number of the Bocanach and the Fachans. Callan’s charge destroyed th
e enemy’s stranglehold on one of the strategic passes high in the Éirín Mountain Range. He ended a war that had been raging for over one hundred years between the Tuatha and the Fomorians.”

  The Tuatha were another name for the Fae, mostly used back in Annwn now—the home of the Celtic gods. The Fomorians were the sworn enemy of every Fae alive, even me. I had witnessed firsthand what Elatha had almost managed to do. He had been out for genocide, and if we hadn’t managed to find a cure for the iron plague, he would have quite possibly managed it.

  “So, there’s no stopping the Cryptozoid Association from taking a seat on the United Coalition?” I asked.

  Herne shook his head. “No. It was approved this morning, in a raging debate down in Washington, DC. The Fae Courts aren’t about to pull out because of it—that would give the giants too much power, but I have a feeling we’re going to be kept a lot busier now. The formal induction takes place in early November.”

  “This bodes trouble, for certain,” Talia said. “All right, so you’re setting Yutani on Callan. I think it’s a waste of time, but I suppose we have to pay lip service to this mess. Where’s that leave us?”

  Herne motioned to Angel. “Did you send out the files on Raven?”

  She nodded. “This morning, before the meeting. Everyone should have a file in your email box on Raven BoneTalker.”

  “Raven’s boyfriend vanished about a week ago, but nothing seems to be missing from his apartment. They’re engaged, and although he has to go out of town for his job, he always lets her know ahead of time. The spirits have told her that something’s wrong, but they won’t tell her what.” Herne paused. “One other thing. Raven’s one of the Ante-Fae.”

  Yutani jerked his head up. “We’re taking a case for one of the Ante-Fae?”

  “Isn’t that a little problematic?” Talia asked.

  Herne shrugged. “I suppose it could be, but Raven seems to be a good sort. She’s a bone witch—a necromancer of sorts. And she’s young enough to still be concerned about others. She’s the daughter of a Bean Sidhe and one of the Black Dogs.”

  “Lovely,” Talia muttered under her breath. “That means she’s worse than I ever was when I had my full powers.”

  “I liked her,” Angel said. “She’s genuine, and she’s truly worried.”

  “I liked her too, from what I saw of her. Anyway, she’s a paying customer, so let’s give her the benefit of the doubt, all right?” I was feeling particularly touchy, and it occurred to me that so many others had said the same thing about me over the years. Being half-Dark and half-Light Fae landed me an outcast. The caste system was alive and well among the Fae Courts, and I was firmly on the outside of it, snubbed for my mixed blood.

  “All right, where do we start?” Talia asked.

  “I want you to check on Ulstair’s credit cards and his phone. See if they’ve been used during the past week. If so, where? Also check on the hospitals and healers around the area, see if he’s been admitted—or anybody looking like him,” Herne said, as Talia jotted down his instructions.

  “What about me?” Yutani asked.

  “For now, you stick with Callan. We’ll pull you onto Raven’s case if we need to. Ember, I want you to go over to Raven’s. Ask her to let you into Ulstair’s apartment. Go through it with her to see if there’s anything she missed.”

  “Check,” I said.

  “Viktor, depending on what Ember and Talia find, be ready to roll out to check out things. Meanwhile, maybe you could give your buddy on the force a call, see if she has anything on Ulstair that Raven didn’t tell us. He’s one of the Dark Fae.”

  Viktor nodded. “Erica’s a good sort. She’ll be straight with me.”

  Herne looked around the table. “I guess that’s it for now. Let’s get busy. I’m going to talk to my mother again and see if there’s anything she can do to defuse the situation between the Fae and Fomorians. It’s a long shot, but you never know.”

  With that, he stood and, after a quick nod, headed for his office. I started to follow, wanting to talk to him, but he turned at the door.

  “I’m sorry, but we need to hustle. We’ll talk a little later, okay?” He leaned in to give me a kiss, but I turned my face and his lips landed on my cheek. Looking concerned, he whispered, “I love you, Ember. Please, just give me some time. We’ll talk tonight.” And without waiting for an answer, he headed into his office and shut the door.

  I stared at the closed door for a moment, then turned and strode back to my office. If he needed time, I’d give it to him. Once again irritable, but not wanting to ruin the rest of the day, I gave Raven a call. She was home and said I could come over whenever I wanted.

  “You live on the Eastside? I’ll be there in thirty minutes to an hour, depending on traffic.” And with that, I grabbed my jacket and headed out of the office, still angry.

  A WIDE SWATH of metropolitan area mixed with forest on the east side of Lake Washington, which divided the Eastside from Seattle, the “Eastside” had once been a sprawling metropolis. When the Fae Courts had bought up thousands of acres and pretty much taken over, building their cities of TirNaNog and Navane, the area became a haven for magical folks and various Cryptos.

  The Shifter Alliance held sway to the north in areas like Bothell, and to the south in the Renton-Kent-Federal Way jurisdictions. The vampires pretty much stuck to Underground Seattle, and they stayed within the city proper. The vamps were eyeball deep in controlling a vast financial interest in the country. They pretty much ruled Wall Street, while the Fae had crept their fingers into influencing the cops and judges. The shifters and the humans were more upfront than either the vamps or the Fae, but all in all, everybody had their fingers in the pie.

  Now, I thought, the Fomorians would try to take part of that pie for themselves. I really didn’t want to consider the snarl that was bound to happen. Whatever form it took, one thing I already knew: it wouldn’t be pretty.

  Raven’s house was near where Angel had lived with her brother, in the UnderLake District. The entire subdivision was haunted, abandoned except for a number of lower-income families from all walks of life. UnderLake Park was a huge copse, thick with trees, a thicket that held as many hidden ravines as it did secrets. And its secrets were dark and sinister. A good share of the grounds of the park had once belonged to an order of monks, who were long gone. The monastery remained, filled with ghosts and memories better left in the past.

  Yet another fifty acres had been donated by the Castle family, and the old Castle Hall estate still stood, though it was crumbling like the monastery. The owners had been presumed to be brutally murdered, but no bodies were ever found. But so much blood had been found that the medical examiner had stated that there was no chance the Castles could be alive. The boundaries of the park touched a number of neighborhoods, including the one in which Raven lived.

  As I eased down 61st Place NE, I realized that she lived at the very edge of the park, in the last house on a cul-de-sac. The cul-de-sac ended right at the edge of the park, and she was on the left side. I eased into the driveway, making certain not to block the Toyota sedan parked in the driveway. It was probably Raven’s, but until I found out, I didn’t want to trap somebody in.

  The house had once been nice, from the looks of it. It was a one-story ranch with a dark gray roof and eggshell siding. The trim was a dark blue, and a slate stone walkway led up to the house. The walkway was shrouded by overgrown vegetation.

  There was a tangible energy running through the air—so strong I could almost touch it. It wasn’t water energy, that much I knew, but it was magic, all right: dark like the night, and mildly foreboding.

  I made my way up to the door, stepping cautiously to avoid the breaks in the stone walkway, when I heard something to my right. I froze, not certain what was there, but I could feel it watching me. I slowly pivoted, staring into the undergrowth.

  There, with glowing green eyes, was a gargoyle the size of a large dog. And i
t was creeping toward me, its gray leathery haunches quivering ever so slightly in the breeze.

  Chapter 4

  THE GARGOYLE WAS breathing slowly, his gaze locked on me. He tilted his head to one side in a curious lean. After a moment, he crept out from beneath the bushes that blocked the pathway from the lawn and street. He lumbered along like a dog crossed with an orangutan, walking on his knuckles and feet. When he reached my side, he plopped down on the sidewalk and stared up at me.

  I had never met a gargoyle before, though I knew enough about them to be both wary and intrigued. They were usually bound to someone, like a witch, and they acted as both guardians and sentinels. Sometimes the huge ones acted as full-on bodyguards. And when a grown gargoyle hit, it hit hard. They were so thickly muscled that even this one had to be a good eighty to ninety pounds. They usually had wings, though, and I didn’t see any on this guy.

  I was still a few steps from the door, not close enough to ring the bell, but the next moment, Raven popped her head out. She snorted.

  “Raj, back off.”

  The gargoyle let out a grunt, then backed away, still staring at me.

  “Will he bite?” Or hit, maul, or tear me to pieces?

  “Hold on.” Raven emerged from the house, wearing a gauzy black skirt with a purple tunic over the top that laced in front like a corset. Her hair was pulled back in a braid that draped across her back and over her shoulder, hanging down almost to her waist. She swiftly crossed to where I was standing, then knelt and held out her hand to the gargoyle.

  “Come on, Raj. Come meet Ember.”

  Raj slowly lumbered forward again, giving me another curious look.

  “She won’t hurt you. Ember’s a friend. She’s okay-people.” Raven stroked Raj’s head and he sighed happily, then looked at me again and held out one hand. “Go ahead, shake. He won’t hurt you now that I’ve told him you’re safe.”