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

  Angel paled. “Then has the Cailleach somehow escaped and latched on to Fiona?”

  “Given the Cailleach is female, and probably furious at the Lesley family for keeping her imprisoned, my guess is that’s just what happened. I’ll call Angus in the morning. I have the feeling that if I got hold of him tonight, Fiona would somehow sense it, and she might take it into her head to kill Angus.” He paused. “If my guess is right, we’re facing a vengeful spirit of nature, who won’t hesitate to destroy anybody in her way.”

  “Then we’d better be very careful to not tip her off,” Talia said.

  And with that, we said good night. Angel and I wandered back to our room, with Raven and Talia behind us. Raj was trotting along obediently, and now he let out a loud fart and the hallway filled with a stench that smelled like rotten eggs.

  “Dude, that’s nasty,” I said, turning to Raj.

  If he would have been human, I would have sworn he was blushing. But he just burped and let out a low grunt.

  “It’s okay, Raj-raj, I know you can’t help it. It’s the strange food.” Raven knelt down. “He’s very sensitive about matters like body odors and stomach grumbles,” she said, glancing up at me.

  It was my turn to blush. “I’m sorry, Raj. I keep forgetting he’s smarter than a dog. I didn’t mean anything by it.” I leaned over and patted his head. “You’re really a wonderful boy, you know?”

  His tongue lolled out and he reached up with one finger and poked my nose very gently, smiling at me. I met his gaze, and in his eyes I saw genuine affection, and something more. For the first time since I’d known him, I had the feeling Raj understood what I said, and that he was giving me a pass on being a jerk. I leaned in and hugged him, gently wrapping my arms around his neck, and he let out a surprised snuffle, then patted the back of my head.

  As I stood, he went back to all fours, resting on his knuckles and back feet. Raven gave me a long look, then smiled and nodded, and that was all we needed to say.

  Angel and I peeled off into our room, and as we changed for bed, she stopped, holding her nightshirt half over her head. “What’s the Cailleach? I know what Herne said, but what is she?”

  “I can’t give you a real answer, because I don’t know myself. But I have the uncomfortable feeling that by the end of this trip, we’re going to know far more than we want to about her.”

  “Tomorrow Rafé heads into the heart of the Tuathan Brotherhood.” Angel turned on the alarm on her phone. I could hear the fear in her voice.

  “He’ll be all right. He’ll do his job and get out of there and we’ll take him home safe and sound. Just have faith.” But inside, I wasn’t sure I believed what I was saying. So far, the trip had been one clusterfuck of stumbles.

  Yawning, I crawled into bed, wishing we were at home, with Mr. Rumblebutt. I checked my texts to find that Ronnie had sent me a picture of him playing with a feather toy. With that small comfort, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but it was a long time before I managed to slip into my dreams, and when I did, they were uneasy, vague shapes hiding in a snowy woodland, and looming over the picture was a stark figure made of ice and snow, bringing her anger with her like a growing storm cloud.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  It was amazing how much difference a heavy snow could bring to an area. When I woke, the world was beautiful and clean outside, everything wrapped up in a magical package. It was so picture-perfect that I expected to hear “Winter Wonderland” playing in the background. I opened the window and the cool air came rushing in. The sky was hazy with silver clouds, but there were a few places where the sun had broken through, and everywhere the light touched sparkled like a thousand diamonds had been scattered over the ground.

  I took a heady breath of the cold air. Then, as the chill hurt my nostrils, I leaned back in and shut the window. As I turned, Angel yawned and rubbed her eyes, sitting up to squint at the morning light.

  “Can you shut the curtains until my eyes adjust?”

  I obliged, then moved to the coffee maker and carried the carafe into the bathroom to rinse out and fill with water. After opening one of the packets of coffee grounds and shaking them into the filter, I started the machine and it began sputtering out coffee.

  “Do you want to shower first?” I pointed to the bathroom. “Be my guest.”

  She carried her toothpaste and brush to the bathroom. “Thanks. I feel like I barely slept, even though I know I did. It felt like my head was ringing all night.”

  As she headed for the shower, I poured myself a cup of coffee and carried it over to the chair by the window, where I curled up to watch the cars pass by, their tires spraying a mist of snow behind them. My phone let out a ding and I glanced at it. Herne was texting me.

  ARE YOU UP?

  YES, BUT NEED TO SHOWER. ANGEL’S IN THE SHOWER NOW.

  THEN MEET US FOR BREAKFAST IN HALF AN HOUR, DOWN IN THE RESTAURANT OF THE INN. LOVE YOU.

  WILL DO. LOVE YOU TOO.

  I lingered over my coffee until Angel emerged from the bathroom, then stood and stretched.

  “I’ll take a quick shower and we’ll meet the others for breakfast in the restaurant of the hotel.” I grinned. “Leave me any hot water?”

  “Ha! You wish!” She snapped her towel at me as I passed by.

  After I showered and dressed, and we both fixed our makeup, we headed down to the restaurant on the main floor of the inn. It was small but cozy, with a breakfast buffet. The others were already gathered around a table, so Angel and I filled our plates before joining them.

  I stared at my plate, my stomach rumbling. I had chosen sausages, two waffles, eggs, and fruit salad. “This is turning out to be a better morning than I thought it would be.”

  Angel pulled out her phone, glancing at the screen. After a moment, she raised her head, her expression bleak. “Rafé’s waiting in a parking lot of the hotel for the Tuathan Brotherhood to pick him up.”

  “He’ll be all right,” I said, stroking her arm. “He knows exactly what to do, and Ferosyn gave him a drug to counter the effects of the Ropynalahol they give their recruits.”

  “Yeah, but what if it doesn’t work right? What if…”

  “What if you eat your breakfast and have a little faith? Rafé knows what he’s doing and we need to give him the credit he deserves,” Talia said, her voice gentle but firm.

  Angel shrugged, but focused on her breakfast. I leaned back in my chair, feeling my own phone vibrate. As I glanced at the texts I saw one from Rafé and one from Ronnie. Ronnie’s was simply a series of pictures of Mr. Rumblebutt—sprawled out on his back, eating his breakfast, and playing with a feather toy. Rafé, on the other hand, had asked me to watch after Angel for him, and to keep her spirits up.

  “Who’s texting you?” Angel asked, glancing at me.

  I decided she didn’t need to know about Rafé’s text—it would only worry her more—so I just said, “Ronnie. Pics of Mr. Rumblebutt to show me how little he minds us being gone.”

  “How about we discuss what we’re going to do this morning? Angus can meet us at eleven, and he’ll come here. But I thought we could also take this chance to get a look inside Nalcops’s office,” Herne said, calling us to order.

  “How do we do that? We need to make certain he’s not onto us, at least for the moment.” Yutani speared a sausage on his fork and took a big bite out of it.

  “I thought we could have Angel go to his office and ask whether he’s taking new clients. She’s the least visible of us, and could pose as someone who just moved to Port Ludlow.” Herne tapped the butt of his knife on the table. “We know he’s not accepting new clients, but maybe she can get her foot in the door by asking for recommendations when he tells her no.”

  Angel blinked. “Me? You want me to actually go out on an investigation?” She sounded surprised. As the receptionist for the agency, she didn’t often get to do field work.

  “Yeah, why not? You and Talia are the one who’s seldom out in the field. If there’s
a chance Nalcops knows about the Wild Hunt, then he’ll be most familiar with Viktor, Yutani, Ember, and me.” Herne winked at her. “Time to get your feet wet. Unless you’d rather not. I won’t push you to do it, but I think this would be a good time to utilize your talents as an empath as well. You can get a good read on him and perhaps pick up something we don’t know yet.”

  Angel paused, setting down her fork and knife. She stared at her plate for a moment, then nodded. “All right. I wouldn’t mind having more to do than just sit at the hotel, logging notes. And you’re right in that I’m probably the least recognizable of the group. So what do I do?”

  “After breakfast, we’ll rent you a car and you drive down to his office. Viktor will tail you, hanging back a ways, and he’ll park nearby, but out of sight. That way, if you need help, you’ll have backup. I’d like to fit your purse with a bug, so Viktor can tell if you need help.” Herne stood. “Excuse me, I want another doughnut and more sausages.”

  As he crossed to the buffet, I turned to Angel.

  “You’re sure about this?”

  She nodded. “It’s time I broke out of the box a little bit. This is a good way to start. If Rafé is willing to go into danger, then I can do this.” She held my gaze, a glint of determination in her eyes. “I’m tired of being afraid. When we get home, I want to start training with you. I work out, but I want to take some formal training.”

  Raven finished off the last of her breakfast and said, “You’ll be one dangerous woman once you learn how to fight dirty.” She glanced over at Herne. “I hate to tell him, but I did some research last night. If he’s right in what he’s thinking—and I know what it is—his friend Angus is in for more heartache than he can dream of.”

  I was about to ask what she meant when Herne returned.

  “It’s ten-thirty now. Viktor and Angel, head out for Port Gamble in fifteen minutes. Yutani can fit you with a bug before you go. The rest of us will meet with Angus.”

  Angel nodded, finishing her breakfast. “All right. If I’m going to do this, let’s get going.”

  “You know what to do,” Herne said to Viktor, as the half-ogre stood.

  “Yep. Come on, you two.” He motioned to Angel and Yutani, and they left the cafeteria.

  “Is Angus coming to the dining room?” I asked.

  “No, he’ll meet us up at my room. Go ahead and gather whatever you need. Meet me there in ten minutes. I’ll pay the check.” Herne motioned for us to head off. I gave him a brief kiss, then followed Talia and Raven toward the elevator.

  “What did you mean back there, about Angus being heartbroken?” I asked, once we were clear of the restaurant.

  “Just that Angus’s father was keeper of the Cailleach. If she’s broken free of the stone and taken over his wife, I’m pretty sure Fiona’s lost.” Raven glanced over her shoulder as we entered the restaurant. “The Cailleach doesn’t have a heart or a conscience.”

  “You mean, we might not be able to pull Fiona out of this?” Talia asked.

  “I mean, there might not be anything left of Fiona to retrieve,” Raven said. “These forces of nature…they’re beyond understanding even of the Ante-Fae. The gods can’t kill them. They belong to the planet, and any resemblance to human kind is illusory.”

  “Are they elementals?” Talia asked.

  Raven shook her head. “Think of it this way. The Forces are to elementals what the Ante-Fae are to the Fae. Each one is unique, and they predate the elementals. They created the elementals.”

  “Then can we even hope to stop her?” I asked.

  “Yes, there are ways to trap her, like she was trapped the first time, but it’s not easy. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up about being able to put the entire situation to rights.” Raven shrugged. She was carrying a takeout box that I assumed was full of breakfast for Raj. “There are some events in this world that simply cannot be fixed. There are some breaks that nothing can mend.”

  I liked Angus, and the thought that we might not be able to help Fiona hurt my heart. “I hope you’re wrong. I’m not saying you are, but I hope so for Angus’s sake.”

  “I do too, Ember,” Raven said, stopping in front of the door to her room.

  “We’ll meet you at Herne’s room in a moment,” Talia said, following Raven in.

  I gathered my tablet and my portfolio where I kept various handwritten notes, and then, after a glance in the mirror to make sure everything was in order, I took a deep breath and headed for Herne’s room. I felt far more somber than I had when I had woken up.

  HERNE WAS WAITING FOR US, and shortly after Raven, Talia, and I joined him, Yutani ducked into the room.

  “She’s wired up, and she and Viktor are on their way,” he said. There was something different about him—something that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. He seemed…lighter…was the only way to describe it.

  We settled in to wait for Angus, who arrived about ten minutes later. He looked harried and tired, as though he had barely slept.

  “How goes it, brother?” Herne asked, motioning for him to take a seat on one of the spare chairs. Raven and I were sitting on the second queen bed, while Herne and Yutani were on Herne’s bed, and Talia was sitting in another wing chair.

  “Not good. Fiona was furious after you left. I’ve never seen her so angry, and she was downright brutal. It’s as though she didn’t remember you at all, Herne, and she took such a dislike to Ember and Angel that I can’t fathom what happened.” Angus lowered his gaze to the floor, looking both embarrassed and bewildered.

  “Angus, you didn’t tell me your father died,” Herne said.

  Angus jerked his head up, frowning. “How did you know? And no, I was so worried about Fiona that I forgot to mention it. He died last year.”

  “What happened to him?” Herne leaned back in his chair, crossing his right leg over his left knee.

  Angus paused for a moment, then said, “Nobody’s quite sure. My father had a heart attack, that much we know, but he had been in the best of health and nobody’s sure just why it happened.”

  Herne asked, “What happened to the stone?”

  Angus paled. “You mean the Cailleach stone? I have it with me. I set it up where I could watch over it in the woods near my house. I didn’t feel comfortable keeping it indoors, but it’s my duty to guard over it, so I put it in a sheltered area.”

  “You know the history of the stone, correct?” Yutani asked.

  Angus frowned. “Well, supposedly it’s the stone where the Cailleach was trapped, but we know that those old tales…” He paused, staring at Herne, then he looked around at each one of us in turn. “The stone is real? It’s not just an artifact?”

  “Come on, man. Don’t play coy,” Herne said, his expression darkening.

  I stared at Angus. “You can’t possibly expect us to believe that you thought that it was just a symbol? What did your father tell you?”

  Angus let out a tremulous sigh. “He said never take the stone from Corryvreckan, that our family must watch over the Cailleach. But I couldn’t just up and move back there when he died, so I had it sent here. I didn’t think anything of it.” He paused, then inhaled sharply. “Do you honestly believe that I unleased something by bringing the stone here?”

  “There’s one way to tell. We need to see that stone. Is Fiona around your house right now?” Herne asked.

  Angus shook his head. “No, she’s off somewhere. She wouldn’t tell me where she was going.”

  “I have to stay here to watch over Viktor and Angel’s transmissions,” Herne said. “Ember, you and Yutani go with Angus and find that stone. Bring it here when you get hold of it.”

  Once again, Angus caught his breath. “Is that what’s going on with Fiona? Has the stone captured her?”

  “Not the stone,” I said softly. “We think the Cailleach may be controlling her.” I jumped up. “I’ll get my coat. Meet me downstairs.”

  Yutani headed for his room as well. We met in the lobby and Angus joined
us, the look on his face giving away every fear he was feeling. Yutani had the keys to Herne’s Expedition and I rode shotgun, while Angus led us there in his truck. The snow had been plowed, but it was still coming down and I kept quiet to allow Yutani to focus on the road.

  Raven’s warning kept playing through my head. What if we couldn’t save Fiona? What if it was too late? Tired of the loop of worry, I pushed the thoughts out of my mind and tried to focus on how we were going to stop the Cailleach.

  Angus pulled into the driveway. There were no other cars around, so Fiona probably wasn’t home, which amounted to a blessing for us. As Yutani and I joined him near the edge of the driveway, Angus led us over toward the thicket of trees where Angel and I had met the padurmonstris the day before.

  “Are you sure we’re headed in the right direction? Those creatures yesterday weren’t easy to escape.” I didn’t want to have to face them again.

  “Don’t worry,” Angus said. “I set up wards along the path to keep them away. They won’t bother us.”

  As we followed him into the thicket, I spied spell bundles tied around trees at regular intervals. Angus’s wards, no doubt. I began to breathe easier. I could sense the creatures watching us, but along the trail, snowed over though it may be, we were free of their interference. There was a subtle difference, but the wards were definitely giving off a protective energy that seemed to keep them at bay.

  We wound our way through snow-covered fern and bracken, beneath the tall timber that stretched toward the heavens, their boughs thick with snow. Every now and then the wind would gust past, sending a spray of snow off the branches to shower over us, but other than that, the only sounds were the soft crunch of our footsteps and the light fall of new snow over old. It was peaceful, and I found myself focusing on the feel of the land around me. But then, a soft click startled me and I froze.