Tattered Thorns, page 12
I gave her a combination bow/curtsey. Brighid was stunning. Her hair was flaming red, and she wore a long gown of velvet green. She crackled with fire, and yet—in her eyes—I could see the energy of water.
“Enough with the introductions,” Cernunnos said. “You can get to know each other later. Best scenario: the dragons have been stripped of their immortality and nothing else. Worst scenario: the dragons would be our last worry.”
A woman came walking down the hall from the bathroom. She was tall and lithe, with rich brown skin and dark curly hair. She moved to Ember’s side, squatting beside her.
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine, although a little tired. Thanks, Angel.” Ember glanced over at Herne. “Someone should call the other offices—Odin’s Chase, Mielikki’s Arrow, and the rest. See if the same thing is happening there.”
Yutani, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the hologram since we’d come back, said, “By the explosions that are pinging off on this map, I’d say it’s happening everywhere. Oh shit!”
We all turned as he spoke. Yutani had paled, and a dark look washed across his face.
“Do I dare ask?” Brighid said.
“There was an explosion near Everett. I’m trying to pull up the news now.” He frantically typed away, and then opened another laptop. After typing in the password, he went to work, configuring something. After a moment, he turned on the TV in the corner, bringing up a news channel.
The news anchor wore a blank look, probably schooled by years of training. But I could see behind the mask, and I could feel her fear emanating through the television screen.
“Tensions are rising across the globe tonight amid unconfirmed reports that the Dragonni are taking to the sky, their reasons unknown. When asked what this portends, dracoentologists responded they have no clear idea of what is going on. It appears to concern all dragons, although the Luminous Warriors seem to comprise the majority. There have been attacks reported from all points of the globe, on midsize towns and villages. We’ll tell you more as we get more news.”
She reached up to hold the earpiece for a moment, then said, “This is just in from Everett, Washington, about twenty-five miles north of Seattle. A pair of dragons, one red and one white, were seen strafing the local marina a few moments ago. Several piers are reported to be destroyed, along with a number of boats. There are reported injuries, although how bad and how many aren’t yet known. Stay with us and we’ll bring you all the breaking information on this development.”
Herne turned down the TV. “Well, it’s begun.”
Ember’s phone rang at that moment. She glanced at the caller ID. “Ashera.” As she took the call, everyone quieted down. I wasn’t sure who Ashera was, but she seemed to be important.
“Yes, we’ve known about this.” She paused, grimacing as she listened. “Of course I couldn’t tell you. We had to do something, Ashera. You know that as well as I do. We simply couldn’t allow the Luminous Warriors to continue their inroads on enslaving the people of Earth. Given your immortal status, what else could we do? Echidna did her best, but now that she’s enslaved beside Typhon, there’s nothing she can do for us.”
She paused again, her expression hardening. “Of course we appreciate everything you’ve done for us, but you couldn’t stop them either. I’m sorry this affects all of you, but when it comes to saving our people, we have a responsibility.”
A moment later, Ember sighed and tossed her phone on the table.
“Do you think the Mountain Dreamers and the Celestial Wanderers will help us?” Herne asked.
Ember stared at her phone. “From the response I got from Ashera, I doubt it. At least at this point. Ashera feels we betrayed her trust. I can understand the shock, although I’d still like to know how they figured it out so soon. But we had no choice. And that’s something she doesn’t seem to understand.”
“She may be nice enough, but she’s still a dragon. And dragons all have huge egos,” Yutani said.
“If they side with the Luminous Warriors, we’re all still in very big trouble.” Talia stared at her doughnuts.
“Oh, it’s worse than that, at least I think so. It appears that the Mountain Dreamers and the Celestial Wanderers are headed back to the Forgotten Kingdom. Ashera said they have no idea what the Luminous Warriors are planning, and at this point she didn’t really care.” Ember held her stomach, wincing. “I don’t feel well. The stress is getting to me.”
Herne jumped up, glancing at his father. “I’m taking Ember back to Annwn. I’ll be back shortly.”
Angel hurried to take Ember’s other side. “I’ll go with her.”
Ember started to protest, then stopped.
“I think you’re right. I need to go home. I wish I could stay and help, but I want to see Ferosyn.”
As we all said good-bye, Herne and Angel walked her through the door. I was surprised they didn’t vanish like last time, but then again, Angel seemed to be human and humans weren’t adept at transferring dimensions, at least without a portal.
Morgana made her way to the kitchen and returned with a brownie. “Make no mistake. This was a desperate gamble, and I have no doubt that it will produce desperate results. But we had to make a decision, and now we have a fighting chance against the Luminous Warriors. I must admit, I’m surprised by Ashera’s response, but if that’s how she feels, so be it. We need to contact Saílle and Névé and warn them.”
“Why don’t you take care of that, my love?” Cernunnos said.
Morgana nodded and, carrying her brownie, headed toward one of the back rooms. “I’ll do so now,” she called out over her shoulder.
I cradled my head, leaning on the table. “What do we do now?”
Yutani glanced over at Cernunnos. “What do you suggest?”
Cernunnos cleared his throat. “I suggest you conduct business as usual until we have a handle on what’s going on. Be careful. There will be fallout coming to the Wild Hunt from the dragons. You must be ready at all times to fight.”
“I can tell you right now, you need arrows with ilithiniam tips,” Brighid said, interrupting him. “I know Herne and Ember had a few, but you’re going to need a lot more. I’ll take care of finding as many as I can for you.” She frowned. “I’ll gather a mix of crossbow bolts and regular arrows.”
“What about my ilithiniam whip? And other weapons with ilithiniam in them?” Yutani asked.
“Those will work, of course. I was mostly thinking about distance weapons. But I’ll try to find everything I can that might help.” Brighid turned to Cernunnos. “I’m heading out now.”
“I’ll stay here for a while,” Cernunnos said. He turned to Morgana, who had just returned. “What about you?”
Morgana stood. “I’m going to visit TirNaNog and Navane. I need to speak with Saílle and Névé in person.” She headed for the wall at the same time as Brighid, then both vanished in a little sparkle of dust.
Talia let out a sigh. “So, I assume we go talk to Vixen?”
Yutani nodded. “Viktor will monitor the dragon attacks. For now, we just do what we’re supposed to do. But Brighid is right. We have to be armed at all times when we go out.” He glanced at me. “Can you use a bow?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not good with archery. I have used one in the past, but my aim isn’t great. I’m best with martial arts, my magic, and daggers.”
“We’ll have to get you a dagger with an ilithiniam blade. It’s only good for short attacks, but it’s better than nothing.”
“When do we go out to see Vixen?” Wendy asked.
“Eight. Things don’t get swinging there until after seven.” He glanced at the clock. “That’s an hour and a half away now. If you’re looking for something to do, Wendy, why don’t you help Viktor by making sure all the weapons are ready? Lyrical, take down all the notes about Melinda. We’re going to have to put her on the backburner for a little while, but we don’t want to forget about her. If you have the inclination, go ahead and do some research on her. There might be something about her background on the web.”
I nodded, heading back to the office that I shared with Wager. As I slipped behind my desk, Wager glanced up from his computer, nodded, and went back to what he was doing. He was immersed in his work, so I opened my laptop and brought up a browser.
I typed in Melinda’s name in quotation marks and waited. A string of search links came up and I opened the first one. There was nothing there we didn’t already know, so I went to the second, settling in for a methodical hour of searching. After a while, I gave up and wrote up the notes of what we knew for sure.
An hour later, Wendy peeked in. “We should head out,” she said. “Find out anything new?”
I shook my head. “I found a report about her childhood. She was well-known among a number of magical guilds as a potential rogue, and there are a lot of references to her early life, about how she had been captured and forced into magical work.” I turned off my computer.
“So no luck?” Wager asked as I began to gather my things. I’d stow the bags of clothing in Yutani’s ride, except for what I was wearing, and that way, he could take them home for me.
“Not really. I have the feeling all the info we’re looking for is probably on the Dark Web. What are you doing?” I asked, walking over to peek over his shoulder.
He was reading a newsletter, and instead of photos, the images were all illustrations.
“What’s that?”
“The Vampire Nexus. It’s a newsletter. Since they can’t be photographed, they use drawings instead. I’m concerned that the general vampire population is getting super restless. They’re tired of being cooped up underground and there are rumors of civil unrest among them. I suppose that’s not so worrisome now, with the shift in the Dragonni’s status.”
I frowned, trying to sort out things. “So there were fears the shadow dragons could control the vampires, right? But now, the dragons can be killed. The lack of immortality doesn’t negate their ability to use the vampires—if the fears have any foundation to them.”
“True, but it does mean the dragons don’t have unlimited powers. If a shadow dragon controlling a vamp is killed, that control comes to an end. We’re a long ways from never being able to free the vamps from their control.” Wager leaned back in his chair. “I worked in the Catacombs. The vampires helped me start my business and have been nothing but good to me. I miss them,” he added wistfully.
“Ready?” Wendy asked me.
I nodded. “We’ll talk later,” I said to Wager. “I’d like to hear more.”
Wendy and I headed out, with a stern warning from Herne and Yutani to keep alert. It was chilly outside, and dusk fell early, but tonight felt extra shivery. I glanced overhead, half expecting to see dragons overhead, but the sky was devoid of anything but the faint shimmer of stars. I hurried to Wendy’s car, shivering, trying to focus on the task at hand.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Wendy drove like a bat out of hell, but she was careful. I hadn’t had a chance to be alone with her more than a minute or two, so it felt like a good time to get to know her.
“Where are you from?”
She kept her eyes on the road but her voice was congenial as she said, “Greece. I’m an Amazon. I came over to the US about thirty years ago. I was going to come sooner but given the racial unrest here, I thought it best to wait. Not that it’s made that much of a difference. I have three strikes against me: I’m Black, I’m female, and I’m an Amazon.” She flashed me a dazzling grin. “But I never let anything stop me. I’m not one to back down when I know I’m right. Don’t let anybody ever tell you you’re less-than, just because you’re a woman or one of the Leannan Sidhe.”
I nodded. I liked her self-assurance. She didn’t seem arrogant, but she was obviously confident in her strength and her worth.
“True, that. I’m more worried that people will coddle me when they find out what happened to me. It was traumatic, and I do get flashbacks, but I’m strong and I’m capable. I don’t want anything handed to me, you know? Just because I was…”
“I know,” she said. After another moment, she asked, “So, if you need anything around the office, just ask. It’s hard to be the new girl on the block. In a way, I was lucky. Wager and I were brought in at the same time to revamp the agency, so we’ve been able to have some say over new methods of keeping things going. Yutani’s smart, but he’s not born to lead. He’s more of a loner. Herne should have put Talia in charge.”
“I don’t think Talia has the ability or the desire, either. She’s detail-oriented, from what I can tell. You have to focus on the bigger picture to lead.” I paused, then asked, “Someone said you worked at a Waystation bar until recently?”
“Right, Ginty’s. I liked it, but when Ginty went back to Wildemoone, I took over the bar. But when he and his wife Iris returned, it left me high and dry. I needed a job, but I didn’t feel like bartending anymore. Right around then, Herne approached me about the possibility of going to work for him in Annwn, which I didn’t want to do. But when he told me he was opening up the agency again over here and was I interested in working for the Wild Hunt, I jumped at the chance.” She rounded the corner at a good clip but kept complete control of the car.
“Were you ever a professional driver?” I asked, hanging on to my seat belt.
Wendy laughed. “Actually, yes. I spent a year test-driving cars for a big manufacturer. Before that, I worked as a mechanic at a garage for five years.”
I hadn’t expected to hear that. “Why did you stop? The test-driving?”
She sobered. “One of my colleagues got handed a lemon. He didn’t know it, of course. Nobody did. He was ramping up the speed, testing the tires during winter. He took a turn when the anti-skid failed and he couldn’t stop in time. The car spun out, went over a snowbank and hit a tree. One of the branches broke through the windshield and impaled him through the neck.”
Horrified, I turned to her. “I’m so sorry.”
“He was a good man, had a family—wife and three kids. I stayed on for a month or so after, but I lost my nerve a couple times, and if you lose your nerve in a job like that, you get out.” She shrugged. “I decided to do something totally different, so I got a job as a bartender in a dive bar and worked my way up. I moved out here to Seattle from the Midwest and got a job with Ginty.”
“Well, you handle the car really well,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“Thanks,” she said, turning down a dark street. “We’re almost at the club. Listen, if anybody gives you shit in there, let me know. Vixen usually takes care of things but in case they don’t, I will. Nobody messes with me or my friends and gets away with it,” she added, winking at me. “Women have to stick together, you know.”
“Oh hell yes to that,” I said, stepping out of the car. I felt strong around Wendy—she had a way of inspiring courage.
We headed into the club, rounding the back to a private entrance. It, too, was guarded by a bouncer, who let us in as we approached.
“Vixen is waiting for you,” he said, opening the door for us. He was big and burly and I had the sneaking suspicion he was packing heat.
Inside the club, the evening was getting underway. A lot more people were there than had been the previous time we had visited, and many were hanging out at the bar with drinks in hand, waiting for tables to open up. One group at a time, the hostess led them to a table when one became available and seated them.
Wendy and I looked around, but couldn’t see Vixen anywhere. Of course, I wasn’t sure who to look for, given they changed their looks depending on their mood. But a moment later, one of the barmaids came up and motioned for us to follow her. She led us down a short hall to a room that was marked with a simple “V.” She rapped lightly and when the buzzer sounded, she ushered us in before leaving and shutting the door behind her.
Vixen was behind a large gaudy desk—it was a warm cream color with gilded trim. They leaned forward as Wendy and I approached, motioning for us to be seated on the loveseat that sat opposite the desk.
“Welcome,” they said. “So tell me, what’s going on with the dragons?”
I glanced at Wendy, deciding to leave it up to her. I didn’t know what to say—if anything.
“The gods have intervened and everything’s going to hell,” Wendy said.
Vixen’s eyes narrowed. “Which gods?”
“Gaia. You’ll know soon enough, so I don’t think it will hurt anything to tell you, though please keep quiet about this for now. It will be on the news as soon as somebody figures it out. The dragons aren’t immortal anymore. Gaia stripped their immortality away.” Wendy crossed her legs, her jeans barely covering the stiletto ankle boots she was wearing.
Vixen let out a long whistle. “Holy mother of all, that’s… I had no clue this was in the works. Life won’t be the same around here, will it?” They rubbed their temple, wincing. “I suddenly have a very bad headache, and a very bad feeling about this. Tell me, do the dragons know yet?”
“Yeah, we’re pretty sure they do,” Wendy said. “But for now, there’s nothing we can do, so we’re focusing on this case.”
“Speaking of the case,” I said, “have you ever heard of a gollywypper?”
Vixen frowned, pausing before they said, “No, I don’t think so. Why?”
“One caught hold of me the other day and it was only a miracle I was with Talia, or it would have snared me in. They hunt for Light Fae in particular. They’re psionic creatures, members of the sub-Fae, and they can drain the life off of its victims. They find Light Fae to be easy targets, so primarily go after them. We’re thinking your murderer might just be one of the creatures. We’ve found out that Seattle has also had similar cases in recent days.”
“Do they hunt in packs? If we’re facing a—what did you call it?”
“Gollywypper.”
Vixen nodded, chewing on their lip with a thoughtful expression. “If we’re facing a gollywypper, is there a chance that they work in packs?”
