“Knock yourself out,” Viktor said. “I’m still hungry too.”
“Just don’t weigh yourself down too much.” Talia chuckled. “I do like a girl with an appetite. Salad just isn’t meant for human consumption.”
“I don’t mind vegetables on the side, but give me a good piece of meat and bread any day. And cheese. And sauce.” I took another two pieces, while Viktor loaded up his plate. “So what’s our plan?”
“After we finish eating, we head over to UnderLake. We’ll search for the secret entrance to the underground chamber, and see what we find. I think we should forget the collar idea, because we need to kill him and subduing him isn’t going to be any easier. I’m going to pull together my gear.” Herne pushed back his chair. “Viktor, why don’t you get a few extra supplies from the armory. Yutani, you’re with us tonight. Ember too. Angel and Talia, hold down the fort.”
As Herne headed for his office, Viktor shoved the last of his pizza in his mouth and took off for the armory. I washed my hands and helped Angel put the rest of the pizza in the fridge.
“Are you afraid?” Angel asked.
I glanced over at Yutani, who was transferring data to his phone from the laptop.
“I can’t lie—yes. I’ve gone up against goblins and their ilk, but never anything like this. My life’s been in danger, but this is big, Angel. This creature thrives on pain and torture. But we’ve got to do something because it’s not going to stop. It’s already killed thirteen people.”
“I’ll say this for the Fae,” Talia said. “When they do something, they go all the way.”
I turned to her. “How long have you worked with Herne? How long has he had this agency?”
“He’s been running the Wild Hunt Agency for several hundred years. But we just came over to the US about one hundred and twenty years ago. When technology started to take off, Morgana and Cernunnos foresaw where things were headed and decided to relocate us, even as some of the Fae were relocating back over the Great Sea. But the lesser queens and kings were scattered around the world and chose to stay where they were.”
“The Great Sea?” Angel asked.
This was something I did know about my people.
“The Great Sea—there’s another name for it, but it is difficult to pronounce in English—runs between the worlds. Originally, both sides of the Fae were from the Lands of Fire and Ice, and they lived in the great cities of TirNaNog and Navane, and others like them.”
“TirNaNog and Navane? Like the districts here?” Angel asked.
“Yes, only they were spelled differently. That’s where the Fae in the two districts took their names from. Thousands of years ago, some of the Fae crossed over to live in this world. They spread around the globe, which is why so many cultures have their own names for the various Fae.” I turned back to Talia. “So, you came over from the UK?”
She nodded. “We met Viktor here. Yutani,” she nodded to the coyote shifter, “came on about what, forty years ago?”
Yutani nodded. “I worked with Microsoft in the early days, and then moved to a startup that folded during the dotcom crash, right about the time that I met Herne. He pulled me into the agency. He had the foresight to see that everything was moving into the digital age, and he wanted to make sure that the Wild Hunt was up-to-date and on track.”
“That’s good,” I said, staring at the laptop. “So if there are other agencies around the world, what are they called?”
“Variations on the theme,” Talia said. She popped a breath mint and held out the container. “Mint?”
I took one, and so did Angel.
“In Norway, their agency’s called Odin’s Chase. And there’s one in Finland called Mielikki’s Arrow. In Italy I think it’s Diana’s Hounds, and so on. Cernunnos and Morgana have connected with a variety of deities around the world to form a worldwide action coalition.”
That sobered me. All around the world, that meant there were groups of people trying to keep the war from breaking out among the Fae.
“The Fae seem to need babysitters everywhere, don’t they? And I know these are my own people. I just don’t like to admit it. It’s embarrassing.” I shook my head, blushing. “We’re no better than a pack of sputtering cats.”
Yutani and Talia laughed. Talia clapped me on the back.
“Honey, if we can’t laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at? But trust me, your people can be incredibly helpful and talented, and you’re magic incarnate, truly. I think someday, you’ll need to make peace with your heritage. I’ve been around for centuries. I’ve seen people run away from themselves, and run away from who they are. You always end up running smack back into the person you left behind until you find a way to integrate that part of yourself into your life. And that’s all I’ll say, because really, it’s none of my business.”
I had the feeling Talia was trying to help me in her own way. I didn’t want to hear it, she was right about that, but one day, I knew I’d have to take her advice. But I wasn’t ready right now, and I wasn’t sure when I would be.
Herne and Viktor returned, laden with weaponry and various other items.
“Let’s get moving. We’ve got a monster to track down and kill.” He nodded toward the door. “Let’s just hope we can get all nine of his tails.”
Chapter 13
BY THE TIME we were heading over the 520 floating bridge—like the I-90, it linked Seattle to the Eastside—night had fallen. The lights of the bridge reflected onto the water, giving off an eerie glow beneath the cover of clouds. I leaned back in the seat next to Viktor, closing my eyes. So much had changed over the past few days that I was almost dizzy with the shifts. Up front, Yutani was poring over the information he had gathered as Herne manned the wheel. I turned to stare out the window into the silent night, breathing softly as I thought about where we were headed and what we were going to do.
Yutani cleared his throat. “Whoever summoned Kuveo has to be well-versed in the magical arts.”
“That may be, but we can’t touch him unless he interferes with what we’re doing. We’re licensed to take out the threat, not to take down the person who summoned it.”
And there it was again, that precarious balance beam we walked. I wondered how many times Herne and his team had gone out hunting. How many times had they stopped one military action or another? If they had been around for hundreds of years, then it stood to reason they had seen a lot of action. At least, he, Viktor, and Talia.
“Have the cops ever interfered with one of your jobs? Have they ever tried to stop you?”
In the driver’s seat, Herne snorted. “They’ve tried, but we’re still here, and the world is still relatively intact, so count on the fact that they have never really succeeded. We—and others like us—have forestalled most of the major conflicts, except for a few blunders.”
“Like?” I was curious as to just what happened when they failed.
“Like the first world war. A mission gone horribly wrong. The Fae were behind that, and a dozen smaller wars, as well.”
I blinked. “Really? What about World War II?”
“World War II was mostly on Hitler. Pretentious prick couldn’t keep his hatred to himself,” Viktor muttered.
Yutani glanced in the rearview mirror. “Some of Viktor’s family members died in the war.” The look on his face told me that it was better if I didn’t inquire any further. Over the years, I had learned that when someone didn’t feel like talking, it generally wasn’t a good idea to push them. In fact, I had been on that side of the fence more than once.
The 520 bridge led us into Kirkland and onto I-405, where we turned north on the freeway. We took the exit for Eighty-fifth Street, following it down to Market, where once again we headed north. Eventually, we ended up on Juanita Drive and from there, we wound through the Kirkland peninsula until we reached the UnderLake District. As we neared Angel’s old neck of the woods, I asked if we could swing by her burned-out place.
“I just want to look, to see for myself.”