Moon Called (Mercy Thompson #1)(41)
Author: Patricia Briggs

Zee nodded, but didn’t try to introduce his companion. Instead, he turned to her, and said, "These are the ones I told you about."

She frowned and tapped the table with long, manicured nails. Something about the way she used them made me think that beneath the glamour she might have claws. I’d been trying to pin down her scent, but finally was forced to conclude that either she didn’t have one or that she smelled of iron and earth just like Zee.

When she looked up from contemplating her nails, she spoke to me and not to Samuel. "Zee tells me there is a child missing."

"She’s fifteen," I said, wanting to be clear. The fae don’t like it if they think you’ve lied to them. "The local Alpha’s human daughter."

"This could be trouble for me," she said. "But I have talked to Zee, and what I have to tell you has nothing to do with the fae, and so I am at liberty to share it. I would not usually help the wolves, but I do not like those who take their battles to the innocents."

I waited.

"I work at a bank," she said at last. "I won’t tell you the name of it, but it is the bank that the local seethe of vampires uses. Their deposits follow a regular pattern." Meaning that most of their victims’ payments were monthly. She sipped her drink. "Six days ago, there was an unexpected deposit."

"Visitors paying tribute," I said, sitting up straighter in my chair. This sounded promising. A single fae or wolf or whatever wouldn’t have paid a tribute high enough to catch anyone’s eye.

"I took the liberty of speaking to Uncle Mike himself before you came," said Zee quietly. "He’s heard of no new visitors, which means these people are keeping very quiet."

"We need to talk to the vampires," said Samuel. "Adam will know how to do it."

"That will take too long." I took out my cell phone and dialed Stefan’s number. It was early for him to be up, but he’d called me not much later than this.

"Mercy," he said warmly. "Are you back from your trip?"

"Yes. Stefan, I need your help."

"What can I do for you?" Something changed in his voice, but I couldn’t worry about that.

"Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, a group of people including out-of-territory werewolves kidnapped the Alpha’s daughter. She’s a personal friend of mine, Stefan. Someone told me that your seethe might know of a visiting pack."

"Ah," he said. "That’s not in my area of responsibility. Do you want me to inquire for you?"

I hesitated. I didn’t know much about the vampires except that smart people avoid them. Something about the formality of his question made me think it was a bigger question than it sounded.

"What does that mean, exactly?" I asked suspiciously.

He laughed, a cheerful unvampire-like sound. "Good for you. It means that you are appointing me your representative and that gives me certain rights to pursue this that I might not otherwise have."

"Rights over me?"

"None that I will take advantage of," he said. "I give you my word of honor, Mercedes Thompson. I will force you to do nothing against your will."

"All right," I said. "Then yes, I would like you to inquire for me."

"What do you know?"

I glanced at the woman’s expressionless face. "I can’t tell you everything-just that I’ve been told that your seethe knows of visitors to the Tri-Cities who might be the group I’m looking for. If that group doesn’t have any werewolves, then they’re the wrong ones. They might be doing something experimental with medicines or drugs."

"I’ll inquire," he said. "Keep your cell phone at hand."

"I’m not certain that was wise," said Zee, after I hung up.

"You said she deals with the werewolves." The woman curled her upper lip at me. "You didn’t tell me she also deals with the undead."

"I’m a mechanic," I told her. "I don’t make enough money to pay off the vampires in cash, so I fix their cars. Stefan has an old bus he’s restoring. He’s the only one I’ve ever dealt with personally."

She didn’t look happy, but her lip uncurled.

"I appreciate your time," I said, narrowly skirting an outright thank you-which can get you in trouble. The wrong kind of fae will take your thanks as an admission that you feel obligated to them. Which means that you must then do whatever they ask. Zee had been very careful to break me of that habit. "The Alpha will also be happy to recover his daughter."

"It is always good for the Alpha to be happy," she said; I couldn’t tell if she was being honest or sarcastic. She stood up abruptly and smoothed down her skirts to give me time to move my chair so she could exit. She stopped by the bar and spoke to the bartender before she left.

"She smells like you," Samuel said to Zee. "Is she a metalsmith, too?"

"Gremlin, please," said Zee. "It may be a new name for an old thing, but at least it is not a bad translation. She is a troll-a relative, but not a close one. Trolls like money and extortion, a lot of them go into banking." He frowned at me. "You don’t go into that nest of vampires alone, Mercy, not even if Stefan is escorting you. He appears better than most, but I have been around a long time. You cannot trust a vampire. The more pleasant they appear, the more dangerous they are."

"I don’t plan on going anywhere," I told him. "Samuel is right, the wolves don’t pay tribute here. Likely they are people who have nothing to do with taking Jesse."

My phone rang.

"Mercy?"

It was Stefan, but there was something about his voice that troubled me. I heard something else, too, but there were more people in the bar and someone had turned up the music.

"Wait a moment," I said loudly-then lied. "I’m sorry I can’t hear you. I’m going outside." I waved at Samuel and Zee, then walked outside to the quieter parking lot.

Samuel came with me. He started to speak but I held up a finger to my lips. I didn’t know how good a vampire’s hearing was, but I didn’t want to risk it.

"Mercy, can you hear me now?" Stefan’s voice was overly crisp and even.

"Yes," I said. I could also hear the woman’s voice that said sweetly, "Ask her, Stefan."

He sucked in his breath as if the unknown woman had done something that hurt.

"Is there a strange werewolf with you at Uncle Mike’s?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, looking around. I couldn’t smell anything like Stefan nearby, and I was pretty certain I’d have noticed. The vampires must have a contact at Uncle Mike’s, someone who could tell Samuel was a werewolf and who knew Adam’s werewolves.