The Silver Stag by Yasmine Galenorn
“Could be just an anomaly,” Yutani said.
“That’s nice to hope for, but I have a feeling that something has escalated the tension between the two courts. It’s always been bad, but lately it seems like there are more assassination plots. The past three cases we’ve had dealt with assassination attempts. This one just happens to already have collateral damage.” Herne shrugged. “Whatever the case, that’s what we’re here for.”
He slid into a parking spot outside of the gates of Seward Park. “Were going to have to go on foot from here. The park closes at dusk.”
“Why can’t we just open the gates?” I asked. “Those things aren’t difficult to hack.”
“You would think, but the last time I tried that, I managed to set off a sensor. Of course, it was a private golf course and not a public park, so maybe that had to do with it.” Herne paused, then shrugged. “You can try if you want, but if we get interrupted, it’s just going to prolong our search for Kuveo.”
“Oh, let’s not prolong this night any more than we have to.” I shoved open my car door, slipping out into the chill of the night.
Once again, the clouds had eased up, and it was a relief to feel the chill of the night without the driving rain to go along with it. The cold air braced me up and I blinked, feeling alert again.
When we were ready, with all of our gear, Herne led us around the gates that were blocking the road. They were low enough to step over, and we headed down the winding road toward the water.
“Is there a chance you can use your water witching and find out exactly where he is? Reilly said he was near the water.”
We were close enough, so I figured that might be possible. I motioned for them to stand back as I reached out through the moisture in the air. I could feel the lake whipping in the wind, the waves driving and crashing against the shore. It wasn’t long before I caught hold of an elemental’s attention and opened myself to communication.
I forced my words into emotions, doing my best to query the elemental so it would understand. Friend, I’m looking for something. Something dark and evil has crossed the lake, and it’s hiding near the shore. Is there a chance that you can sense it?
There was a pause, as the elemental considered my thoughts and feelings. It was wary, but then a rush of compassion washed over me and I realized it was bound to the positive. Sometimes water elementals found themselves caught in a certain energy. Whether they were bound by a witch or not, I did not know, but this one wanted to help. And anything evil would be anathema to it.
A picture began to crystallize in my mind. I saw the shoreline, near the parking lot. And there, I could see a small cave, partially submerged, and in it, I felt Kuveo lurking. The confusion that he was feeling passed through the elemental and into me, and I let out a whimper as I reeled back.
Herne was standing next to me, and he caught me before I tripped.
“Are you all right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I just touched the creature. A water elemental showed me where Kuveo is. I sensed his energy. He’s still confused, but we have to be very careful because like any wild animal, confusion and pain lead to danger. We need to head down this road.”
As we wound through the trees, the sound of the lake became louder. The waves were choppy, driven by the wind, and even in the dark of the night, as the road curved toward the water, we could see them crashing against the shore in a frothy mix of foam and sputum.
The road curved until it intersected another road that ran parallel to the shore. We crossed over the pavement to the shoreline. I led the others past the pilings that marked off the parking spaces, onto the rocky embankment leading down into the water.
“The cave isn’t far from here. The entrance is partly underwater, but I think the cave itself slopes up into the side of the hill so we should be fine once we find the entrance.”
“That’s a handy talent you have,” Viktor said.
“Thank my mother,” I said. “I have an odd feeling that I’m going to have a talk with Morgana soon. My mother was pledged to her and it feels like I’m walking down that same route.”
“I think you’re right,” Herne said. “My mother calls those to her whom she chooses. And both she and my father were insistent that you be brought into the agency.”
I nodded, gauging our next move as we stood on the shore. I didn’t want to make any unnecessary mistakes.
“Is there a ledge that leads to the entrance, or are we going to have to swim for it? Either way, I’m not looking forward to this.” Viktor sounded grouchy. “I can’t swim, by the way.”
“I think there’s enough of an outcropping to allow us to walk through the water. If what I saw is correct, it should only be about knee-deep, if that.” I wanted to use my flashlight, but I was afraid of alerting Kuveo. “Yutani, do you have your dimlim? I think Kuveo is in enough pain that he won’t notice a light that faint.”
Yutani handed it to me, showing me how to strap it to my wrist. Turning it on, I breathed a sigh of relief. It made the going much easier.
I took over the lead, since I was the one who had had the vision, and eased my way along the embankment until I reached the edge of the water. Cautiously, I reached out with my toe, feeling for a foothold. Sure enough, about shin deep I came to a ledge about a foot wide. It would be enough to walk on. With my right hand I braced myself against the side of the embankment, leaning against it as I slowly worked my way forward, testing each step as I went. The others followed my lead.
I could see the entrance to the cave from where I was, but I refused to hurry. Haste made for easy accidents. Sure enough, on the next step as I tested my footing, the ledge beneath me gave way. If I had been in a rush, I would have fallen into the water. As it was, I paused to regain my equilibrium, then took a longer step over the gap, testing to make sure the next step would hold. I glanced over my shoulder.
“There’s a gap in the ledge,” I said softly. “Test each step as you go.”
Two more yards and I was at the opening. I wasn’t sure how far back Kuveo was in the cave, so I paused to listen, straining to hear anything. Yutani, who was behind me, noticed what I was doing and he leaned in beside me, listening as well.
A moment later he shook his head and whispered, “I think it’s okay.”
Trusting that his hearing was better than mine, I swung myself into the cave, crouching as quietly as I could. I was still ankle-deep in water, but two more yards and I stood on dry ground.
I paused as my eyes adjusted. I was hiding the dimlim, pressing it against my jacket so that it barely gave off a glow. If Kuveo was nearby, I didn’t want him seeing us before we were ready.
Herne and Viktor joined us, and we all caught our breath. A moment later, I glanced at the others, and Herne motioned to me. He leaned in, his mouth close to my ear.
“Would you like me to take over from here? We should arm up here.”
I realized that we were close to the creature. I gave him a nod, and slipped behind Yutani, giving him the dimlim back. We drew our weapons, and Herne took over the lead, motioning for Viktor to join him. We started off again, heading into the cave.
The cave might have started out sloping up into the embankment, but it quickly leveled off.
It was also shallow, and I wondered where Kuveo was hiding. There was only one chamber, but it was filled with massive boulders, so he was probably behind a pile of rock and rubble. The fact that he hadn’t come after us yet meant he was likely still in a lot of pain.
The next moment, my musing was interrupted as Kuveo leapt out from behind a nearby rock. Yutani shot the dimlim on him so that we could see while Herne and Viktor immediately went on the attack. The thought occurred to me that we could further disorient him if we had a bright light.
I poked Yutani. “Flashlight! The bright light will disorient him.”
He nodded and I took that as a go-ahead, yanking my flashlight off my belt.
“Close you
The creature let out a howl, waving his hands in front of his face as he stumbled back. I was right, he was more disoriented than ever. Herne took the opportunity to dash around behind him, and the next moment he slammed himself against Kuveo’s back and knocked the creature forward.
“I need help to keep him down!”
Viktor raced over and straddled Kuveo’s back, helping Herne hold him face first on the floor. “Somebody cut off his tails! Hurry, because he’s too strong to hold for long!”
Yutani’s hands were full, so I tossed my flashlight on the ground and skidded to a halt beside them. Yutani flashed the dimlim my way, giving me enough light to see by.
Kuveo’s tails were a bloody mess, the stumps of the three we had already cut off still oozing blood, and for a moment I felt horribly sorry for the creature. He couldn’t help his nature. But he had destroyed thirteen lives and was set on destroying another. And he would kill us if he had the chance.
Resolved, I grabbed hold of the stump that conjoined all of his tails to his body and, taking a deep breath, brought my dagger down. My blade was sharp—I kept it razor-sharp—and it sliced smoothly through the thick trunk, cleaving it from the creature’s body. Kuveo let out a loud shriek, and I stumbled backward, scrambling away from his flailing feet.
Herne and Viktor were thrown to the side as Kuveo thrashed. I tossed the tails to Yutani, not sure if Kuveo could make use of them to heal himself in any way. But the next moment, there was a loud humming noise, and another shriek, and as we watched, Kuveo’s flesh disappeared in a cloud of black dust, and all that was left was his skeleton. The tails that Yutani was holding vanished as well.
I dropped to the floor, staring at the bones. “Cripes on a shingle.”
“Yeah,” Victor said, groaning as he picked himself off the floor. “You got them all? I don’t want a rematch.”
“Yeah. I cut all the rest off.” I felt queasy, but forced myself to breathe slow and steadily.
“We should take the bones with us,” Yutani said. “I’d like to study them.”
“Morbid much?” I asked.
“The more you know about your enemy, the better. Even if he was the only one of his kind—and we don’t know that—there’s always something to learn.” He prodded the bones and began to pull them apart in order to take them with us.
I sat there, unsure of what to do next. “What now? Do we talk to the Fae? Or does this just end here? What will they do when they realize that we’ve destroyed him?”
Herne let out a slow breath, sitting down on the boulder next to me. He looked about as tired as I felt.
“Now we go home, clean up, and sleep. Tomorrow I let Cernunnos and Morgana know that we’ve closed out the case. The Fae can’t do anything about it, since they’re bound to the agreement I told you about.”
“And that’s it?”
“That’s the thing about this job,” Herne said. “There’s no fanfare. Unless it’s a private case, there’s seldom anything to mark that we finished. We’re the only ones who really know what we’re up to. The Fae will realize we killed Kuveo but they can’t do anything about it, nor will they acknowledge it in any way, given their actions started the whole mess. Private cases? Sometimes our clients take us out to celebrate. But we don’t do this for any glory.”
“It’s all in a day’s work?” I asked.
He nodded. “Pretty much.”
There wasn’t much I could say. I wasn’t sure what I had expected, but what he said made sense. We worked behind the scenes. We might have just saved war from breaking out, and we had potentially stopped a number of other deaths, but nobody would know. Nobody except the gods and the Fae, and the latter wouldn’t be throwing us any congratulations party.
“I’m ready for some sleep,” Yutani said. “I still feel shaken up from earlier. It’s going to take me a while to regain my equilibrium.”
Wearily, I stood and stretched. “I’m ready for a shower. I feel covered with gunk and dirt.”
“Welcome to our world, Ember. We’re a grimy little bunch.” With a laugh, Herne wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Come on, let’s get back to the office and put this one to bed.”
And with that, we headed out of the cave, dragging along Kuveo’s skeleton for Yutani. I glanced back at the water as we headed up the road toward the car.
From the depths of the lake, I could hear a call. Yes, I needed to have a talk with Morgana. I could feel her calling, although what she was saying I couldn’t quite understand. But I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before I’d be standing in front of her and she would be very very clear about what she wanted out of me.
Chapter 16
THE NEXT DAY I slept until three. When Angel woke me up, she was still in her pajamas. Herne given us the day off, considering we had just finished the case.
I was still reeling with emotions over what had happened over the past few days, but at least I’d slept deep without nightmares. Mr. Rumblebutt purred as I picked him up and gave him a big smooch on the forehead. He squirmed out of my arms and ran into the kitchen, chirping for breakfast.
“Doofus, I already fed you.” Angel turned to me, yawning. “So, what do you want for breakfast, Supergirl?” She and Talia had been awake and waiting for us when we got back. Angel had driven us home, because I was so punchy that I didn’t trust myself behind the wheel.
“If I’m Supergirl, then I fear for the state of the world. Look at me.” I slipped out from beneath the covers. I slept naked most of the time, and I wasn’t embarrassed. Angel had seen me plenty of times without my clothes, given we traded backrubs now and then. Not to mention we had lived in the same room together for three years as kids and had been roomies in college.
I stared down at my body. I was covered with bruises, most of them bright purple although a few were already turning yellow, which meant they were starting to heal. I also had a nice assortment of cuts and scrapes, and I suspected a bruised rib, though it didn’t hurt enough for me to go to the doctor.
“You sure got rough and tumbled. I suggest you buy a gallon of Icy Balm. Meanwhile, why don’t you take a hot shower and I’ll rustle up some waffles.” She paused. “By the way, Ray Fontaine called again on the landline. He left you a rather long message, and I have to say I don’t like the tone of it.”
I sighed. I kept a landline for clients to reach me on before I accepted their cases. Most often, I didn’t give them my cell number. It kept my private life, private.
“Yeah, he’s a problem I’m going to have to deal with pretty soon. I should never have gone to see him the other day. It seems to have rekindled his undying devotion to me. Either that, or an unhealthy obsession.”
As she headed back into the kitchen, I climbed into the shower and turned it on full blast, as hot as I could handle it. I had taken a shower when I had come home the night before, but my muscles were protesting their stiffness, and the only thing I could think of was to soak the ache out of them. I washed my hair while I was at it, and finally, reluctantly stepped out of the water. Toweling off, I padded into my bedroom.
Just then I heard Angel let out a shriek and, before I realized what I was doing, I raced out to see if she was okay, buck naked. I skidded to a halt, my hair still slicked back against my head, dripping down my back, only to realize I was staring at Herne, who was definitely staring back at me. Angel was picking up a pan from the floor and staring at a dozen eggs that were splattered all over the linoleum. She gave me a speculative look.
“Yes?”
“I heard you shout. Are you okay?” I didn’t bother covering myself, since it would only draw more attention to the fact that I was standing there nude.
“I dropped a dozen eggs and the pan when I saw a spider on the counter. Um, Herne’s here, if you haven’t noticed.” She turned away, and I swear she was suppressing a laugh.
“Yeah, I noti
He waved me off. “Don’t bother on my account, but if you feel like it, knock yourself out.”
I stomped back to my room, where I yanked on a pair of jeans. I fastened my bra, then slid a V-neck tank top over my head. As I threaded my leather belt through the belt loops, I couldn’t decide whether I was more angry with him or myself. Actually, I couldn’t decide whether I was really angry or just embarrassed.
By the time I returned to the living room, Herne had taken a seat at the table, and Angel was setting out plates filled with waffles, eggs, and bacon. My stomach rumbled as I slipped into a chair.
“Any chance you—”
“Latte coming up. I taught myself how to use the machine. Quint shot, just the way you like it. What flavors you want?”
“Chocolate peppermint.”
As she slid the iced drink in front of me, Herne bit into his waffle.
“These are so good,” he said, his mouth full. A moment later, he added, “You two fit right in. I can’t tell you how happy we all are to have you. Viktor, Talia, and Yutani all think you’re great.” He glanced at me. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“A little roughed up, but nothing that time won’t heal.” I paused long enough to take another bite of my waffle. As the maple syrup drained down my throat, tickling my taste buds, I let out a contented sigh. “We really need to look for a better house with a full kitchen. I want you to make everything you ever wanted to bake.”
Angel snorted. “You just like the fact that I cook.”
“True that. But I also like that we can drive into work together. Plus, there’s the fact that there’s nobody I’d rather have for a roommate than you.” I meant every word. Then, looking at Herne, I said, “So what brings you over today? Besides to see me naked?”
“Oh, that wasn’t my intent, although I must say, I consider it a bonus.” A twinkle sparkled in his eye. But then he sobered. “Actually, two things brought me over. According to your contracts, now that you’re both settled in, you’re required to get the company tattoo.”