BY THE TIME we got back to the Wild Hunt, it was nearing six. Angel had settled into her station. She had bought a bouquet of flowers for the end table, the magazines were all new and up to date, neatly stacked on the end table. And her desk looked like somebody was actually working there. She was poring through a file when Vik and I trailed into the room. When she saw us, she looked relieved.
“Herne and Yutani got back about ten minutes ago. Herne asked me to tell you to go back to the break room when you got here. I’ll be there in a minute.” For the first time in a while, she seemed relaxed.
“Getting familiar with your job?” I asked, heading down the hallway.
“Actually, I am. And I think going to enjoy it, sans the part where we look at pictures of dead bodies.” She picked up her tablet and a notebook and put out the sign that said, please ring for service.
Viktor motioned for us to go in without him. “I’m going to stop at the bathroom first.”
Angel and I headed into the break room where Herne and Yutani were discussing something. Talia was tapping away on a laptop. They all looked up as we entered the room.
“Viktor will be here in a moment. He stopped at the restroom.” I realized suddenly how I looked, soaked up to my thighs from the stream and grunged up with mud, dirt, and dust. But there was no time to change.
Herne stared at me, his lips crooked into a smile. “You look like you’ve seen some action today,” he said, arching his eyebrows. There was something sensuous about the way he spoke, and the way he looked at me. Either that or it had just been way too long since I’d had sex.
“I decided to go swimming. The water’s nice and cold, if anybody wants to know.” I pulled out a chair and slid into it, shivering. I’d kept warm while I was on the move, and in the car the heater had dried me out some, but now I felt chilled. “Any way to turn up the heat in this joint?”
Herne shook his head. “I got the rent so low on this building because I agreed to keep utilities within a certain range. But if you’re cold, we do have a shower and you can heat up that way. I don’t think we have any spare clothes that will fit you, though.”
“I’ll pass. I can manage until we go home.” At least my butt and thighs weren’t wet.
Talia snorted, letting out a harsh laugh. “Or your boobs.”
I gave her a questioning stare. “What?”
Herne laughed, slapping the side of his thigh. “Talia didn’t mention it earlier, but she has a way of catching random thoughts. Usually the ones we don’t want anybody hearing.” He gave her a reproving look. “Be nice to the newbies.”
She winked at me. “I don’t tease people I don’t love, girlie. Or at least, that can’t handle my sense of humor.” With a shrug, she added, “Herne’s right. I’m not psychic, but I’m able to catch random thoughts. Trust me, I don’t deliberately pry.”
Oh great. A harpy who could randomly read thoughts. Just what I needed in my life. She gave me a long look, and I wondered if she had heard what I was just thinking. Feeling paranoid, I cleared my throat.
“So how often does this ability of yours kick in?”
She chuckled. “Only now and then. Usually when I’m not paying much attention. Don’t worry, I can’t hear everything you thinking, nor would I want to. No offense intended.”
“No offense taken,” I said, glancing at Angel, who rolled her eyes. But oddly enough, the interplay was comfortable, and I realized I might actually enjoy being around these people.
Viktor entered the room, looking at the coffee pot. “Coffee?”
Angel jumped up. “Let me get you some. Ember, do you want any, or do I even need to ask?”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Lots, and you know how I like it.”
“Oh babe, you know I do.” She blew me a kiss as she went to fix our coffee.
I placed the necklace on the table in front of me.
Herne looked at it expectantly. “What’s that?”
Viktor let out a long sigh. “Ember found it on our scouting mission today. We think it belonged to one of the victims.”
“I know it belongs to one of the victims,” I said. “That’s how I got soaked. It was down in Seward Park, in a stream.”
“Why don’t you to go first?” Herne leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, listening.
Angel brought our coffee to the table. She motioned to Herne and Yutani, but both of them shook their heads. Talia already had tea in front of her, so Angel sat down.
I let Viktor take the lead. As he ran down what we had found, including our encounter with the vampires, I glanced over at the window looking out of the break room. Outside, it was starting to hail.
I glanced back at the clock. It was only five-thirty. We had only been working since noon, but I already felt like I had done more than a day’s work. Working for myself, I set my own schedule, and even when I was tired, it didn’t seem quite so intense. It’d been a long time since I had worked for anybody else.
When Viktor got to the part about the stream, I took over. “And then I saw the necklace. The water led me to it.”
“So Morgana is right, you do have a way with the water element.”
“Of course I do,” I said, glancing at Herne. “My mother was Water Fae. That’s why I honor Morgana, because my mother was bound to her.”
“We’re probably going to make good use of your abilities,” Herne said. “Go on.”
I finished telling him what it happened. “I was thinking, maybe we can get more off of this necklace. I’m not gifted with psychometry, but Angel has the talent.” I glanced over at her. She gave me a dirty look.
“Do you think you can give it a try?” Herne turned to her.
“I can try,” she said. “I’m not sure what I’ll pick up, but I’m willing to give it a go.”
I pushed the necklace across the table to her. She picked it up, wrapping her hands around it, and closed her eyes as she leaned forward, bringing her forehead down to rest on her closed fists. A moment later she jumped, letting out a small cry.
“Oh my God, I can feel her fear.”
She began to breathe heavily, letting out a small moan. “It’s after me. It’s after me and I can’t get away. What is that thing? I’ve got to run. Maybe I can hide somewhere. How do I get away? The old house—I need to find my way up to the house. Maybe I can hide there.”
She paused, her shoulders shaking. A moment later she let out a strangled cry. “Stop! Please stop. Stay back—stay back or I’ll scream.”
Turning her head to the right she suddenly said, “Why are you doing this to me?”
With one last cry, she threw the necklace across the table at Herne and launched herself back in her chair, tipping herself over with a thud.
I was around the table in seconds, kneeling by her. “Are you all right?”
She groaned and I helped her up and righted her chair. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she started to hyperventilate.
Viktor immediately raced around to her side, slowly brushing his hand across her back. That seemed to calm her down immediately. Angel let out a ragged cough, thick with tears, and then shook her head.
“Angel? You okay?”
She nodded, taking her seat as she winced. “Yeah, I just got the wind knocked out of me. I’ll be all right. It was freaking terrifying. I couldn’t get away, and I knew it was going to kill me.”
“Do you know what was chasing you?” Herne asked.
Angel shook her head. “No, I wish I did. But it was huge and dark and like a shadow that was moving toward me. I do remember sharp brilliant white teeth flashing in the darkness. And a hunger… A hunger that seemed to engulf everything, and I knew it was after me.”
“You mentioned a house,” Talia said. “Did you get any visuals?”
“It seemed familiar. I think I’ve actually been near it. My sense is that the house is old. And empty. Mostly, I just sensed the need to get away from whatever was chasing me, but it was quick. And… I’m not sure what else. Surprise. Being taken by surprise?” Angel shivered, taking a long swallow of her tea. “Whatever that thing is, I hope to God I never encounter it. All I could feel there at the end was absolute terror.”