“Has anybody ever tried to shoot you when you were in stag form?” It still boggled my mind that he could turn into a silver stag. The memory of how beautiful he had been had stayed in my mind, eliminating any doubt that Herne was of divine blood.
“Yes, once or twice. It would be difficult to hit me, though. I’m not exactly in phase with this world when I’m in stag form. I want to reassure you, just in case Angel asks, DJ is in really good hands. Cooper is probably one of the best among the shifter clans. He’ll take good care of the boy and give him a good upbringing. I’ll make certain that Angel gets a chance to see her brother several times a year. But it wouldn’t be safe for her to know exactly where he is. While most of the Fae respect the covenants that protect us, there are a few we cannot trust to abide by the law of the Fae courts.”
“I think she understands. And the murdered boy will probably cement that in her mind.” I leaned back in my seat, staring out the window as I fell silent.
As we passed over the water, the floating bridge seemed to go on forever. In reality, it was less than a mile long, but it was one of the largest floating bridges in the world, and the pull of the water rose up from the lake, tugging at me. I closed my eyes, drifting in the energy of the waves, letting myself flow as the wind whipped them into foamy caps.
We were midway across the bridge when I felt one of the water elementals rear up, letting out a loud roar of anger. I started straight up, catching my breath.
What’s wrong?” Herne asked, giving me a quick glance.
“I’m not sure, but the water elementals are angry today. I just felt one let loose with a roar that shook my insides. I’ll see what I can find out. When we’re over the bridge, if you could pull off somewhere near the lake, it would help.” I glanced back at Viktor. “Can you bring up a maps app and see if there’s a park right near the lake?”
Viktor was on it like white on rice. A few seconds later he said, “Yeah, Slater Park. The minute we hit Mercer Island, take the first exit, then turn right on Mercer Way, then right again on Twenty-eighth Street. After that, hang a left on Sixtieth, and we’ll be there in a block.”
At that moment, we passed off the main part of the bridge onto Mercer Island. Herne quickly shifted into the right lane, following Viktor’s directions. Within less than five minutes, we were pulling into Slater Park.
A small park, there were only room for a few cars, but we managed to find a parking space. We walked down the narrow path to the edge of the lake. Three stone steps took us to the edge of the water proper, and to our right was a long driftwood log to sit on.
The park was small, probably the size of three lots, but it was a pretty place, with trees and benches, and geese wandering around by the water’s edge. I could see kayakers out on the lake, and I wondered how they were doing amid the choppy waves. To the right, a ways down the shore past several houses, was a small mooring for boats, and a pier on which people could walk out to sit and watch the water, or to fish.
It would be easy for me to tune into the water elementals here. I knelt in the wet gravel and sand by the edge of the lake, reaching out to immerse my hand in the water. Herne and Viktor sat on the driftwood log, waiting for me.
I closed my eyes, inhaling the fresh chill air, grateful that the rain had died away. As the icy water splashed across my fingers, once again, I felt the agitation of the water elementals who lived in the lake. I tried to tune into them, forming a question in my mind, trying to shape it into emotion rather than words. I zeroed in on their anger, expressing curiosity, essentially asking them what was wrong.
One of the elementals—I believe it was the same one I had felt from the car—let out another roar and then came closer. I could feel it in the water. It rose from the waves, a frothy form frozen in spray, peeking from below the surface at me. As a tendril reached out through the waves to lap at my fingers, I felt it accept our common bond. A feeling of sadness and anger rushed over me. Anger at being used for something dark and dangerous, anger that something had crossed through it on the bottom of the lake, leaving a trail of sludge and slime behind.
It felt like the water had been tainted where this creature had crossed, and the elementals were in an uproar about it. I tried to get the elemental to form an image of the creature, and a dark shadow rose up in my mind, the picture of a massive fox filling my thoughts. But it was no fox like I had ever seen. It was cloaked in shadow and flame, with multiple tails and teeth that were needle-sharp and gleaming like diamonds. Its hunger was insatiable. The energy hit me like a ton of bricks, knocking me back on my butt, dazed. I groaned, shaking my head as Herne ran over to help me up.
“Are you all right?” He looked worried.
“Yeah, I’m all right. I just got blasted with an image that I don’t quite understand. But the water elementals out there in the lake are furious. Something walked through the water, crossing across the lake, I guess on the bottom. Something that feels tainted and evil, and apparently it left a wake of that energy behind it. I’m pretty sure the elementals can clear it, but they’re so angry. The wind may be causing the whitecaps, but the water elementals are helping them along. They don’t like evil things in their home. And whatever this is, it feels invasive and hungry.”
“Did you get a look at it? Were they able to give you a picture?” Herne asked.
I nodded. “Yes, but I have no clue what we’re dealing with. It looked like a fox, but it had a number of tails, and teeth that reminded me of sewing needles. They looked like bone, rather than metal. Sound familiar?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea. But we can do some research. Was there anything else?”
I shook my head. “No, just the anger over having their water tainted.” Shivering, suddenly feeling exposed, I added, “Can we leave now? I don’t think I can get anything else out of them.”
Herne nodded. “I appreciate what you were able to find out. Come on, let’s get back to the car.”
As we headed back to the parking lot, I glanced back over my shoulder. One of the water elementals rose up again, looking like a clear statue atop the water. I realized that only I could only see it, but I raised my hand and waved, and it waved back. A gentle energy washed over me, almost like an apology. I smiled faintly, wishing I could connect with them easier. In my heart, I realized that I loved the water elementals. And I wished my mother was still alive to teach me her heritage. As we climbed into the car, I fastened my seatbelt and locked my doors. The day had grown darker, in more ways than one.
“SO WHERE WAS the body found?” Viktor asked from the backseat.
Herne turned the heat up. “I hope you don’t mind, it’s a little cold in here.”
Neither Viktor nor I objected. I warmed my hands over the welcome blast of heat coming out of the side vents.
“We’re not far from where they found the boy,” Herne said. “We just continue on Mercer Way until we reach Groveland Beach Park. He was found in the park, down near the water.”
I pulled out my phone and looked up the park on the maps. “That’s directly across from Seward Park. Something crossed through the water that disturbed the elementals. Want to make a bet it was our monster?”
“If so, then we know whatever this is can travel from the Eastside through the water to Seattle proper. Which means it’s not stationary. And that’s a problem.” Herne’s brow furrowed, and he shook his head. “Whatever it is, it has to be relatively new to the area. Otherwise, we would have seen victims like this for a long time now. Its hunger seems insatiable.”
“Either that, or it just woke up,” Viktor said. “There are a number of creatures that are asleep in the depths. Whether it be the depths of the water, or the earth, or even an interdimensional space.”