“Ember, you work the schedule that the rest of us work. Investigators work as needed. If we’re on a case, you may be working around the clock. Angel, at times you may be called in as well. You both get sick leave, and after six months you both get two weeks’ vacation a year. After two years, you get three weeks’ vacation per year. Keep your noses clean—we do our best to fly under the radar of the cops. They know we exist, but there’s not much they can do about us, except to make life difficult. We work outside of their jurisdiction, but only when we’re on a case. If you’re speeding and they catch you, you get a ticket.”
He let out a long sigh, scrunching up the side of his lip as if he were trying to decide how to say something.
“What?” I asked.
Herne gave us a long look. “All right, here’s what you don’t know. What I haven’t told you so far. None of this is discussed in public, because if it were, whoever was doing the talking would be in one hell of a lot of trouble.”
“Why do I have a feeling we don’t want to know what you’re about to tell us?” I asked, trying to inject a little levity into the conversation. But Herne wasn’t smiling, and neither were Yutani, Talia, or Viktor.
“This is no laughing matter,” Herne said, and I felt duly chastised. “Are you the least bit curious why the cops wouldn’t even follow up on your parents’ murder?”
I shrugged, “I figured it was because the cops were underfunded and understaffed.”
“That’s true enough, but no. It’s because your parents were Fae. Light, Dark, doesn’t matter. The fact that they were Fae meant that there was never any real investigation, no matter what they told you. You see, Névé and Saílle both keep the authorities’ pockets well lubricated so that they’ll look the other way. Like the vampires own Wall Street, the Fae own the cops. And the governor, for that matter. Anything to do with Fae politics is paid lip service, only. Neither Fae Queen wants interference, and they pay well to keep the authorities out of things.”
“Bribes? That doesn’t surprise me, but what about the United Coalition? Don’t they take exception to what you just said? Both the vampires and the Fae?” That was what the alliance was called between the Shifter Alliance, the Vampire Nation, the Human League and the Fae courts.
“Nothing’s in writing, the money is laundered so well that it’s squeaky clean, and if there were any allegations made, it would lead to all-out war between the factions. The Fae courts and the vampires are so powerful that the other members of the UC choose to look the other way. If either side were to make inroads to control everything, I’m pretty sure it would be a different matter. But neither the vamps nor the Fae are looking to rule the world. As long as they keep out of most personal affairs, the money is too good to ignore, and it crosses too many hands.”
“Essentially then, with the Fae, we have two warring factions who are allowed to play out their internal spats, as long as collateral damage isn’t too high and the payout is worth it.” I had always been jaded, but now I felt even more so. “It’s just lovely, knowing I belong to both sides and yet, to neither.”
Herne shrugged. “And you represent an unacceptable union of opposites to both Light and Dark.” He leaned back in his chair. “Which leads us to the next rule. Under no circumstances are you to accept money from anybody other than the Wild Hunt. Not even a free lunch unless it’s a good friend. No gifts, unless it’s from a good friend, and I’m talking a person you see regularly. No bonuses unless I pay them. Nothing. The cops know we exist. The Fae know we exist. So does the United Coalition. They all know why we’re here, and they stay out of our work, as long as we don’t take sides. We keep the balance. We’ve taken on Light and we’ve taken on Dark. Cernunnos and Morgana have the last word and both sides grudgingly accept that. We’re balance keepers, more than anything else.”
“Then we’re not here to stop this war?” Angel asked.
“Nothing on earth can do that. It’s a continual battle that the gods have long come to accept. We keep it from breaking out into the human world, into the shifter world, and into the Vampire Nation. We keep the members of the United Coalition from taking sides. That means that at times, we take on blood vengeance debts. The Fae know and accept this—both Névé and Saílle.”
“Then we’re not really the good guys,” I murmured.
Talia spoke up. “You’ll come to learn that there aren’t really any truly good guys in this matter. As Herne said, we’re balance keepers.”
The room fell silent for a moment. I glanced over at Angel, who was staring at me. I knew what she was thinking because I was thinking the same thing. The world was a rough place, and it had just gotten a whole lot rougher.
Chapter 6
AFTER A MOMENT, I cleared my throat. I didn’t like knowing that the government was essentially corrupt and taking bribes to allow a private war to continue, but it wasn’t anything that hadn’t happened before.
“All right, now we know. So what are the other rules? We keep things quiet, no kickbacks, no taking sides. What else?”
“Show up for work on time, let me know if you’re sick, keep your nose clean, do your work, and absolutely no side jobs. No moonlighting. There will be no more private cases for you, Ember. If we even suspect that either of you have a gambling or drinking problem, we have the right to take whatever measures are necessary.”
“This is serious work,” Angel murmured.
Herne gave her a nod. “The Wild Hunt Agency, along with the others like it, has a heavy investment in towing the line. We make it possible for the world to keep functioning without becoming a war zone, at least between the Fae. The Light and Dark courts were here before humans evolved, and will be here long after the rest of us disappear. At one time, far back in history, they tore the world apart with their skirmishes. On an individual level, I like a lot of the Fae—both Light and Dark. But as a whole, your people are a terrifying lot.”
I felt singled out. “Tell me about it. I have no connections with my own people, considering neither side considers me worth claiming.”
“That was one factor that led us to your doorstep. That, and your life would eventually be trashed when they got around to snuffing you out.” Talia let out an odd clicking sound, tilting her head with a grin. Her smile was more intimidating than the stare she had met us with.
“So I’m a charity case? I can live with that.”
Talia let out a shrill cackle. I studied the older woman. I still couldn’t figure out exactly what she was. But the gleam in her eye kept me from opening my mouth.
“What role do the vampires play in all of this?” Angel asked. “They seem to take a backseat to human affairs, but you say they rule Wall Street?”
Vampires were an oddity in the world. There were too many of them for comfort, but given they couldn’t breed, and given that they were ostensibly proscribed from killing for their food, they seemed to take a backseat in the United Coalition.
“Once again, don’t believe everything you hear. The vampires bear no love for any of the other members of the UC. We’re all just food to them, although they keep up appearances by playing by the rules. Unlike the Fae, vampires interact more with humans. They have a great deal of power in the business sector, and they do their best to keep their members under some semblance of control. They like the power games played by nations, unlike the Fae, and they prefer to work behind the scenes. They have a discipline and self-control that surprises me.”
“So what you’re saying is that Fae are more like berserkers who don’t give a fuck what other people think, while the vampires are manipulators.” That made sense to me.
Most vampires had been human to start with. There were very few Fae or shifters who ended up being turned. So vampires would have more at stake in the human community.
“So to speak. I wouldn’t call the Fae berserkers, they’re just more chaotic.” Herne let out another sigh. “We’re getting off topic. You are asking about the rest of the rules? Basically what I told you. No side jobs, you show up for work, no gifts or kickbacks, keep your nose clean, no investigation into any of our cases without permission. And everything is confidential.”
Talia opened a file that was in front of her, and handed us each a contract.