Harvest Hunting

"That's a wonderful idea." Camil e shifted on the sofa, looking more tired than I'd seen her in a long time. "Damn this stuff. I can't feel my connection to Tril ian, Morio, or Smoky--the links are clouded from the Wolf Briar."

Luke glanced up at us over the screen of his phone, his gaze softening. "Thank you--I appreciate the offer. Menol y hinted at it, but I didn't want to barge my way into a family gathering." He stopped. "Here it is. Jason's number. Let me give him a cal . . . we haven't talked in over a year."

As he moved to the other side of the room and made his phone cal , I motioned to Iris. "Any chance of getting some lunch? Nerissa wil be back from her shower soon."

"It's on the stove. I started it when Camil e cal ed." The house sprite bit her lip, then sat down next to Camil e. "I am going to need some time off this winter. And I was wondering . . . Camil e, could you and Smoky and Roz come with me if there's any way that you can tear yourselves away from here?"

Camil e blinked, then sucked in a deep breath. "Is it regarding . . ." She stopped, staring at Iris. It was obvious that she knew something I didn't.

"Yes. I think I've found a way, but it's dangerous, and I need help."

"Hold on here, you two. What's going on?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"

Iris glanced at Camil e, who gave her a nod.

"You're going to have to tel Menol y and Delilah at some point, especial y if the boys and I accompany you to the Northlands."

"Northlands? You're making a trek al the way to the Northlands? Why?" One look at Iris's face told me she wasn't anticipating it with joy. More like dread. More like rabid fear.

"I'l tel you and Menol y later, when the boys are back. I suppose . . . it's time my secrets came out to more than just Camil e. And don't yel at her--I asked her to keep my confidence because it doesn't affect the war against Shadow Wing. I needed time to reconcile myself to what I must do."

Wanting nothing more than to prod her secret into the open, I forced my curiosity back to acceptable limits and graceful y refrained from harassing my friend.

"Sure, no problem," I said, reaching out to give her a quick hug. "Whatever you need. I can wait."

"You lie, but you're sweet. You're champing at the bit to know what's going on. But it wil hold til later. Right now, let me go get lunch on the table. I hear Nerissa in the hal --make sure she can find the blow-dryer, wil you?" And before I could say another word, she vanished back into the kitchen.

Camil e shook her head when I turned to her. "Don't even try. Leave it to Iris to tel you herself. But hang on for one hel of a rol er-coaster ride.

Remember that spel she cast at Stacia Bonecrusher's? When she turned the Tregarts inside out?"

My stomach lurched, but I nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Al too vividly."

"It has something to do with her magic--and her past."

Luke rejoined us then. "I talked to Jason. He's stil alive, so that's good. Lone werewolves have a rough time walking separate from the Pack. Anyway, he's going to see what he can find out through the grapevine. He wasn't exiled until after he chose to leave, so he's not nearly the pariah that I'm considered."

"Lunch!" Iris cal ed from the kitchen.

I took the roundabout way, stopping in the guest bath to check on Nerissa, but she'd already found the blow-dryer and was squeaky clean and pul ed together.

"Ready for something to eat? Iris fixed lunch." I motioned for her to fol ow me. We wandered into the kitchen, and I glanced at the clock. Three P.M., a little late for lunch but far too early for dinner.

Iris had prepared homemade tomato soup and gril ed cheese sandwiches, along with a fruit salad and a dizzying tray of cookies. I clapped my hands.

"Cookies!"

Camil e snorted. "You and your cookies."

"I can't help it. I love sweets." And I did. I slid into my chair and dutiful y bit into the sandwich and spooned up soup, both delicious, but my eye was on the prize: sugar cookies . . . oh yeah.

As we ate, the door opened, and the Demon Twins came thumping in. They'd left their coats and muddy boots on the back porch and looked chil ed.

Roz and Vanzir slumped down at the table, and Roz reached for a cookie. Iris slapped his hand smartly.

"Lunch first, and then dessert. Wash up, and I'l fix your plates." She hustled to the counter as they contritely shuffled over to the sink, where they washed their hands. Iris rustled up two more bowls of soup and sandwiches.

Roz bit into his sandwich, sighing as he leaned back. "Before you ask," he said between bites, "nothing. Zip. We struck out as to any clue where the other four spirit seals might be hiding."

"Crap. Wel , you tried." I picked up my bowl and--despite Iris's shake of the head--chugged down the rest of my soup. "Yum, that was so good I'd like another bowl and another sandwich." Meanwhile, to tide myself over, I snatched a cookie.

Iris glanced at Camil e. "You, too?"

"Yes, please. I'd help, but I feel like death warmed over." She frowned at me, and after a second, I caught her meaning.

I jumped up. "Iris, let me do that. You sit down and eat." I took over the stove as the house sprite grateful y slid onto her high stool and began eating. As I raised the spatula and said, "Anybody else?" the front door opened.

"Anybody else what? And what do I smel ?" Smoky popped his head in the kitchen. "Food?" His glacial eyes lightened.

"Food, yes. Plenty of soup, and I'm slapping more sandwiches on the griddle." I held sway with the stove as Morio, Smoky, and Tril ian wandered in.

They hung up their outer-wear and gathered around the table. But one look at Camil e ended their jovial moods.

"Camil e . . . what the fuck happened to you?" Morio was blunt and to the point, and the moment he spoke, the three of them were hanging over her like bees on a flower petal.

"I'l be al right," she said, waving them to sit down again. "Just sit down, and we'l tel you what happened."

"Somebody needs to fil Menol y in on everything when she gets up," I said, flipping the sandwiches as they browned on one side. The smel of melting cheese and buttered, hot bread wafted up, and I realized I was stil starving. Our metabolisms ran higher than most FBHs, and it seemed like we were always eating. The food back home in Otherworld general y had more substance to it, and we fil ed up faster there.

As Camil e and I ran through everything that had happened, including Carter's disclosure about his heritage, I reached for more bread.

Tril ian crossed the room and took it from me, along with the butter knife. He began to butter the slices and hand them to me, and I gave him a shy smile.

Yep. The same arrogant, cocky man he'd always been, but something had changed, and he was kinder to the rest of us, no longer relegating us to the sidelines whenever Camil e was in the room. Whether it was the fact that we were now family or whether he'd gone through something in the war that had changed him, I didn't know and wasn't going to ask. But whatever the cause, it was a pleasant change of pace. Even Menol y had cottoned up to him a bit.

When we finished tel ing them what had happened, Morio let out a long sigh. "Wolf Briar. I know of it--and whoever is using it must be stopped. Anyone with a shred of decency wouldn't touch it. Hel , this is something only someone as rotten as the Meres would pul ." He motioned to Luke. "Have there been any reports of werewolves disappearing lately?"

Luke frowned. "I don't know, to be honest. I'm ostracized from a lot of Packs because they know I'm a pariah at home, and they don't want to get on my old Alpha's bad side."

Nerissa spoke up. "I've got a friend who belongs to the Olympic Wolf Pack. They're unusual in the fact that they run a matrilineal society, and they aren't wel accepted by other werewolves. Let me cal her and see if she'l talk to us after we finish lunch. She might know something."

I glanced at the clock. "Menol y won't be up for another couple of hours. Luke, would you like to come with Nerissa and me, if we can get an okay on meeting her buddy?"

He shrugged. "As long as she doesn't mind me being there. I wear a mark in my aura of having been excommunicated from the Pack. Most werewolves can pick it up by simply standing near enough to me."

"I didn't know that," I said, wondering just how the energy signature read. I was about to ask Camil e to give it a try, but one look at her told me the only thing she was up for right now was a nap. "Can one of you big, strong dorks please carry my sister up to her bed? No fun stuff al owed. She needs her rest. The Wolf Briar played havoc with her senses."

I overrode her protests as Smoky careful y swept her into his arms and headed toward the stairs. "I'l stay with her and make certain she's al right," he said. "Can someone bring me a tray with something to eat when it's ready?"

Tril ian nodded. "I'l do it. Then Fox Boy and I'l start in on our project while you watch our wife."

"Project?" Somehow that sounded dangerous.

"We're working on the studio." That was al he would tel me.

"Katrina said she has the afternoon free," Nerissa said, putting her phone away. "As soon as you're finished, let's head out. And Luke, she said you're welcome. She lives here in the city, even though she belongs to a Peninsula Pack."

As I finished up with the sandwiches, I couldn't help but wonder just where this was al leading. We hadn't found out much about Amber. We didn't know where she was. We didn't even know if she was alive. Frustrated, I fixed a tray for Smoky, and Tril ian carried it out of the room. As I bit into my second sandwich, I couldn't help but feel that the universe was holding a pissing match over our heads. And I was getting tired of it.

CHAPTER 9

It seemed odd, heading out with Nerissa and Luke, when I was so used to handling cases with my sisters. Iris waved from the door, and I waved back, feeling an abrupt sense of loneliness.

The sky was dark, rain looming again, and the wind, chil . I watched as a murder of crows perched in the tal oak near the back of the house. Morgaine, come to spy on us? Shaking the thought off--I was getting paranoid in my not-so-old age--I slowly inhaled a deep breath. The scent of woodsmoke and air made crisp by the sparkling raindrops fil ed my lungs, fol owed by the deep, pungent scents of cedar and fir, moss and mildew. This was Hi'ran's season.

The Autumn Lord ruled over these months, and once again, I felt a longing to summon him to my side, to talk with him. His presence was becoming oddly soothing, and I felt calm when I thought about him.

A sudden movement caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, but there was no one there. A second later, I felt someone cup my elbow. Hi'ran? I could feel his heat, and yet--and yet--again, it wasn't him. Shaking my head but feeling less lonely, I unlocked the Jeep and motioned for the others to get in.

Nerissa cal ed shotgun. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved top, and stilettos that brought her to my height. Her golden hair trailed down her back, curling in tendrils that made me smile. She real y was beautiful; I could see how Menol y had fal en for her. Luke sat in the backseat, his face a tense slate of worry. He was hunched forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Could you please sit back and put on a seat belt. I don't want to be responsible for kil ing you if we have an accident, the gods forbid."

Blinking, he obeyed without question. As I inched us out of the driveway, I could tel he was struggling with something.

"Are you okay, Luke? Whatever it is, you can tel us."

He shrugged. "It's just . . . as much as I hate Rice, I hope to hel he's not the one who did this. Any member of the Pack who would use Wolf Briar against another member should be shot. I don't want to think about Rice having the bal s to use it, especial y not against my sister. One thing Sharah didn't mention to you, apparently--and perhaps she doesn't know, we tend to keep a tight rein on the information--is that too much exposure to Wolf Briar can lead to domestication. Ultra-submissiveness. Wolf Briar can turn a Were near the top of the Pack into a groveling slave. Forever." Venom fil ed his voice.

I winced. "Not good. I didn't know that, and I don't think Sharah does either. I take it you'd prefer that information to be kept quiet?"

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, if you and Nerissa would be so kind. If it leaked out to the general public, do you know what the hate groups would do with it? Or anybody with a beef against a werewolf?"

I could see his point. What if the Freedom's Angels got hold of this information? They'd crossed the line from hate speech into action, and they would have no problem with funding the production of Wolf Briar and using it. Anything to get rid of the object of their fear and disgust.

"So, why does your friend Katrina live in Seattle when her Pack is over on the Peninsula?" I turned onto Greenwood Avenue.

"She works over here, and it's easier for her Pack to keep their paws in the Supe Community Council activities with one member nearby."

We headed north through the Bitter Lake area, then took a right onto Westminster Way, then left again on Dayton. When Dayton intersected Carlyle Hal Road, we curved left and continued along past the Shoreline Community Col ege area, where the woods were stil thick and the city took on a greenish hue. Seattle wasn't cal ed the Emerald City just because somebody liked L. Frank Baum's books. Eventual y, Carlyle merged into Third Avenue, and shortly after that, 175th Street, where we turned left.