I didn’t know what to say, so I glanced over at Viktor. He shook his head.
“I have no clue. If I were you, I’d probably disinfect it now. It won’t take much. A little bleach, or antibacterial soap.” The burly man picked up the bag, taking it from Yutani. “Come on, let’s go wait in the car.”
Yutani followed him, and they looked at me, waiting. I wanted to stay, to see how Herne and Reilly said their good-byes, but it was obvious that Viktor and Yutani thought I should go with them. I waved, then followed the two men out to the car.
A few moments later, Herne jogged back to the car and slid into the driver’s seat. As he turned on the ignition, buckling his seatbelt, I waited for him to say something. Part of me wanted to hear him say he was glad that was over, or at least now we could get on our way, but he remained silent as he eased out of the driveway and set a path for Seattle and Seward Park.
Chapter 15
WE REACHED SEWARD Park within less than twenty minutes. This time of night there was barely any traffic. My mind churned with a myriad of thoughts to the point of where it was exhausting me.
“How often do you have nights like this?” I asked.
Herne let out a laugh from the front seat. “Not very often. I guarantee this isn’t a daily event. Most of the cases we work on aren’t nearly as deadly or time-sensitive. Well, you saw Barnaby today. That’s going to take us all of a couple days, and all we will have to do is have a talk with the neighbor and warn him that Barnaby is going to throttle him if he continues to steal the wine. He probably has no idea of how unpleasant clurichauns can be when they feel they’re being crossed.”
That brought another thought to mind. “What’s the percentage of cases? Outside cases as opposed to stopping mayhem between the Fae?”
“Oh, I’d say probably sixty to seventy percent are outside cases. Some are pretty edgy, but others, not so much. Out of the cases concerning the Fae, the majority usually do have a high degree of danger in them, but they don’t often involve summoned creatures. I hope this isn’t the start of a trend.”
“Could be just an anomaly,” Yutani said.
“That’s nice to hope for, but I have a feeling that something has escalated the tension between the two courts. It’s always been bad, but lately it seems like there are more assassination plots. The past three cases we’ve had dealt with assassination attempts. This one just happens to already have collateral damage.” Herne shrugged. “Whatever the case, that’s what we’re here for.”
He slid into a parking spot outside of the gates of Seward Park. “Were going to have to go on foot from here. The park closes at dusk.”
“Why can’t we just open the gates?” I asked. “Those things aren’t difficult to hack.”
“You would think, but the last time I tried that, I managed to set off a sensor. Of course, it was a private golf course and not a public park, so maybe that had to do with it.” Herne paused, then shrugged. “You can try if you want, but if we get interrupted, it’s just going to prolong our search for Kuveo.”
“Oh, let’s not prolong this night any more than we have to.” I shoved open my car door, slipping out into the chill of the night.
Once again, the clouds had eased up, and it was a relief to feel the chill of the night without the driving rain to go along with it. The cold air braced me up and I blinked, feeling alert again.
When we were ready, with all of our gear, Herne led us around the gates that were blocking the road. They were low enough to step over, and we headed down the winding road toward the water.
“Is there a chance you can use your water witching and find out exactly where he is? Reilly said he was near the water.”
We were close enough, so I figured that might be possible. I motioned for them to stand back as I reached out through the moisture in the air. I could feel the lake whipping in the wind, the waves driving and crashing against the shore. It wasn’t long before I caught hold of an elemental’s attention and opened myself to communication.
I forced my words into emotions, doing my best to query the elemental so it would understand. Friend, I’m looking for something. Something dark and evil has crossed the lake, and it’s hiding near the shore. Is there a chance that you can sense it?
There was a pause, as the elemental considered my thoughts and feelings. It was wary, but then a rush of compassion washed over me and I realized it was bound to the positive. Sometimes water elementals found themselves caught in a certain energy. Whether they were bound by a witch or not, I did not know, but this one wanted to help. And anything evil would be anathema to it.
A picture began to crystallize in my mind. I saw the shoreline, near the parking lot. And there, I could see a small cave, partially submerged, and in it, I felt Kuveo lurking. The confusion that he was feeling passed through the elemental and into me, and I let out a whimper as I reeled back.
Herne was standing next to me, and he caught me before I tripped.
“Are you all right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I just touched the creature. A water elemental showed me where Kuveo is. I sensed his energy. He’s still confused, but we have to be very careful because like any wild animal, confusion and pain lead to danger. We need to head down this road.”
As we wound through the trees, the sound of the lake became louder. The waves were choppy, driven by the wind, and even in the dark of the night, as the road curved toward the water, we could see them crashing against the shore in a frothy mix of foam and sputum.
The road curved until it intersected another road that ran parallel to the shore. We crossed over the pavement to the shoreline. I led the others past the pilings that marked off the parking spaces, onto the rocky embankment leading down into the water.
“The cave isn’t far from here. The entrance is partly underwater, but I think the cave itself slopes up into the side of the hill so we should be fine once we find the entrance.”
“That’s a handy talent you have,” Viktor said.
“Thank my mother,” I said. “I have an odd feeling that I’m going to have a talk with Morgana soon. My mother was pledged to her and it feels like I’m walking down that same route.”
“I think you’re right,” Herne said. “My mother calls those to her whom she chooses. And both she and my father were insistent that you be brought into the agency.”
I nodded, gauging our next move as we stood on the shore. I didn’t want to make any unnecessary mistakes.
“Is there a ledge that leads to the entrance, or are we going to have to swim for it? Either way, I’m not looking forward to this.” Viktor sounded grouchy. “I can’t swim, by the way.”
“I think there’s enough of an outcropping to allow us to walk through the water. If what I saw is correct, it should only be about knee-deep, if that.” I wanted to use my flashlight, but I was afraid of alerting Kuveo. “Yutani, do you have your dimlim? I think Kuveo is in enough pain that he won’t notice a light that faint.”
Yutani handed it to me, showing me how to strap it to my wrist. Turning it on, I breathed a sigh of relief. It made the going much easier.
I took over the lead, since I was the one who had had the vision, and eased my way along the embankment until I reached the edge of the water. Cautiously, I reached out with my toe, feeling for a foothold. Sure enough, about shin deep I came to a ledge about a foot wide. It would be enough to walk on. With my right hand I braced myself against the side of the embankment, leaning against it as I slowly worked my way forward, testing each step as I went. The others followed my lead.