Shadow Rising

Delilah let out a sigh. “They didn’t like me because I was squeamish about roughing anybody up. I guess I’ve gotten over that little problem.”

I laughed. “That you have, Kitten. That you have. And they wanted to get me off their hands. Having a vampire in the YIA was an embarrassment, but they couldn’t just fire me, because it was their fault in the first place that Dredge caught me. Sending me into that nest with no backup—that would have been a nasty scandal, and I could have made things very messy for them.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but we’re here.” Morio edged into the parking lot. “Be careful. We have no way of knowing what the fuck is lurking around. I don’t even know what happened to the portal.”

Camille opened her door and stepped out into the chill night air. “Aeval told me that she can’t seal it permanently. The damn thing is growing stronger.”

“Delightful.” I glanced around the parking lot.

There was a black sedan parked nearby—presumably belonging to Roman’s guard. No other cars in sight. The paths were no longer covered with snow, but the rain had started up again, a light drizzle that was more annoying than anything else. The trees were stark against the sky, black silhouettes rising up, towering fir and cedars overlooking the deciduous trees whose leaves were mere buds on the branches at this point.

I motioned to one of the paths. I could sense the vampire nearby. As we headed in that direction, I called out, “Stan-ders? It’s Menolly—”

I’d no more than said my name when he slipped out from behind a bush. He was average height, had been an FBH, but was now dressed in Roman’s requisite uniform—black turtleneck and jeans. He wore the crest from Roman’s house on his shirt pocket.

“Miss Menolly, thank you for arriving so promptly. The Master said you were on the way.” He paused, looking at all of us. “Follow me, please. I’ve made sure nothing touched the body since I found it.” And with that, he led us back along the path to where two firs stood side by side. We weren’t far from the portal, and I noticed both Camille and Chase nervously glancing down the path.

“Back here, behind these bushes.” Standers led us through the trees, onto the grass. It was spongy from the rain, and the scent of moss floated up, mixed with mildew and mushrooms and the sour tang of the earth. The woodlands were pungent in the Northwest, but they were also crisp. The smell of rain on cedars was one that I willingly forced myself to notice. It had a wake-up feeling to it.

The drip-drip-drip of rain splashing off the needles trickled down our cheeks and hair. I shook away a droplet that threatened to fall into my eyes and veered around the huckleberry bush. There, on the ground, a body splayed out, covered in dried blood and very, very dead. Andrees.

Camille and Delilah caught up with me, and then Morio, Shade, and Chase. Camille bowed her head as Delilah let out a little cry and covered her mouth with her fingers.

“Yeah, it’s Andrees,” I said, after a moment. I knelt beside the body on one side, while Chase knelt on the other. It was obvious by the state of his corpse that Andrees had been murdered. But the single gunshot wound in his head couldn’t have caused the body to be so ravaged, nor did the cuts and marks on him look like an animal.

Chase stared at him for a moment, then said, “I think he was killed before the body was torn up. That’s an execution-style gunshot—he was murdered and dumped here. Probably a gangbanger, by first look. But those cuts…they’re made postmortem, I believe. I need to get Mallen over here.”

He flipped open his cell phone and punched in a number. “Mallen, you’re still up?…Get dressed, then. We need you down here at Tangleroot Park…No, no injuries—just one very dead Fae. Bring a forensics team. We’re not dealing with death by natural causes here.”

While Chase was on the phone, Delilah and Camille headed down the path. I tagged along, sliding in between them and slipping my arms around their waists. “I’m sorry. Delilah, I know you were closest to Andrees.”

She nodded, a stark expression on her face. “He was a good man. He was a good agent. At one point, I really thought there might be a chance…”

“I know.” I glanced up at Camille. “How are you doing?”

She shrugged. “Fine, I guess. Weary. Wishing we could catch a chance to breathe.” Then, laughing faintly, she added, “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do.” I stopped. “Do you hear that?”

We spread out and began to move forward. Something up ahead was making noise. A hum, or perhaps a faint pulse, thrummed lightly.

As we rounded the bend in the sidewalk, Camille let out a groan. “The portal, it’s active again.”

And it was. The portal, which was supposed to have someone watching over it at all times, had been left unattended, and it was shimmering in the darkened night. It hummed with a faint tune, whispering melodies of spring and of invitations and of tea parties and tulips and a light wind on warm days. Even I could feel the invitation echoing out from it.

“Crap, they’re at it again.” Camille shook her head. “I wonder what Tra and Herne are up to?” Herne, the god of the forest, and his son Tra had been dancing around in there the last time they’d gone through, and the experience hadn’t been all that jolly.

Delilah cleared her throat. “There’s one way to find out.”

“Oh no you don’t!” I jumped in front of them. “Don’t you dare. We have no idea what’s on the other side, this time. Remember, Yannie Fin Diver is still there, and other, worse, Elder Fae.”

Camille nodded, slowly. “Right. I wish to hell we could figure out why we can’t seal it. Except the Elder Fae use it and their magic is stronger than even Titania’s or Aeval’s, let alone magic like Morio and I use.”

We stared at the opening for a moment, as if we expected something to come through at any time. After a while, when nothing did, we returned to Chase, and to Andrees’s body. There was nothing more we could do for him, and once more, with a heavy heart, the three of us whispered our prayer for the dead over his body, commending his soul to the Land of the Silver Falls, with Chase, Morio, and Shade standing at attention, heads bowed.

“What was life has crumbled. What was form, now falls away. Mortal chains unbind and the soul is lifted free. May you find your way to the ancestors. May you find your path to the gods. May your bravery and courage be remembered in song and story. May your parents be proud, and may your children carry your birthright. Sleep, and wander no more.”

After that, we waited for Chase’s team to arrive. I sat beside Andrees, far enough away not to mess with the crime scene, but close enough to keep watch. Camille and Delilah stood near me, a silent vigil.

I felt we owed it to him. He was one of our own—an OIA member who had done his job, and done it well. And because of the cruddy bureaucracy, he’d ended up being sent to the wrong place at the wrong time with no backup, and he’d paid for it with his life.

“Where do we go from here?” Camille shivered, pulling her jacket tighter.

“To Carter’s. I didn’t tell you this before, because we had to hurry over, but Carter called while I was talking to Roman. There are reports filtering up from Portland that some of the witches down there are being drained. And another thing I forgot to tell you. When I went to see him last night, the wards on his place were broken. He called his witch/sorceress today and she didn’t seem to feel like talking about the issue.”

“Crap. Then the bhouts are spreading out? We have to find out how widespread they are. If Gulakah is controlling them, and they spread to other parts of the country, he could be pulling the strings of a lot of very valuable puppets.” Delilah pressed her lips together, shifting from one foot to another.

An owl hooted softly through the trees, announcing the arrival of strangers. It was Mallen, with a forensics team. As they took over, we asked Chase to come with us. He was still vulnerable to the demonic spirits, and we had to keep an eye on him. With heavy hearts, we headed out for Carter’s apartment.

Chapter 15

As we neared the Galaxy club, I pointed it out to Camille. “You should check it out—I have a feeling the bhouts may have gotten in there. Just a hunch.”

“No time like the present.” She grabbed her purse. “Pull over and let me out. I’ll go in and scope it out, and you can pick me up after you talk to Carter. His place is only a few blocks from here.”

Morio swerved into a parking space and turned off the ignition. “Fine, but you are not going in there alone. I forbid it.”

“I’ll be fine—” she started to say, but he grabbed her wrist.

“No. Just, no. You will take Menolly and Shade with you. They can put down just about anything that happens. Meanwhile, Delilah, Chase, and I will go see Carter.”

I repressed a grin, waiting for the blowup. Camille had three very possessive and alpha husbands, although Morio was the least volatile. When they tried to run her life, she usually exploded. But as they locked gazes, he leaned in, staring at her intently.

“Don’t even think about arguing or I’ll tell Smoky and Trillian and we’ll all have ourselves a field day.” Arching one eyebrow, he planted a quick kiss on her nose. “You hear me, wife?”

“Fine. I hear you.” She let out a little huff. “Come on, you two.” She slipped out of the car and—with no real time to argue—Shade and I followed her down the street to the club. I’d wanted to go visit Carter, but Morio was right. This was the safest arrangement.

“Your husbands have a firm hand with you.” Shade moved to the outside of the sidewalk, and I moved to the inside so we buttressed Camille from both directions.

I laughed. “They have to, considering Camille’s nature.”

“Hey, what is this, Pick on Camille Day?” She rolled her eyes.

Shade shrugged. “I rather think it’s called for with you at the helm.”

Camille whipped around, glaring, but when she saw the grin on his face, she swatted him. “You’re lucky you’re my sister’s fiancé, or I’d—”

“You’d what? I don’t think you have room in your harem for another dragon.” Again, the laugh, and a long wink. Shade had it going on, but he was totally devoted to Delilah and we knew it.

Camille shook her head, a disgruntled look on her face, but then she laughed. “Twit.”

“Don’t be so sure about that.” I skipped ahead, dancing over the cracks in the sidewalk. “Camille’s got a heart that keeps growing with every addition. But you’re probably right. Smoky would put his foot down at another dragon, and I don’t think it would be a pretty sight.”

The easy banter felt a welcome respite after all the shit that had gone down, and by the time we reached the club, we were in a better frame of mind. Camille glanced at the few FBHs who were hanging outside and said nothing, but she gave me a look that read something was definitely wrong.

We entered the club and an instant wave of technopop hit us, loud and pounding the walls. But nobody was really doing much of anything. The people on the dance floor were lethargic, moving back and forth in a slow shuffle. Nerissa and I loved to go clubbing, but the feel of this club was one of quiet desperation.

The décor was olive green, purple, and silver. It wasn’t the most coordinated set of colors, and the large room was scattered with tables and booths that took up valuable space. Whoever had laid it out sure didn’t have an eye for interior decorating or for proper utilization of a floor plan. If I took control of this club, it would seat twice as many and have a bigger dance floor. All it required was some organization.

Camille leaned close. “The energy is fucked up here. Really fucked up.”

“How so?”

“This is supposed to be a club for those who use magic? I’m not feeling so much magic…and what there is, feels tainted. Not as if they dabble in dark spells like sorcery…just…off.”

We threaded through the crowd, heading toward the bar. Even at the tables and booths, people didn’t appear to be having fun. They sat, drinks in hand, just staring around laconically.

“She’s right. This is fucking creepy,” Shade mumbled, glaring at a couple who were hanging off each other. “I feel like I’m in a zombie bar rather than one that should be alive with magic.” He glanced around. “Even the few Fae I see seem…lackluster.”

Camille slipped up to the bar, and we joined her. She climbed onto one of the stools and motioned to the bartender. He was lean and tall, and he set me on alert.

“What’ll it be?” He slapped the bar towel over his shoulder and gave us a gaunt, hungry look.

“Coke, please.” She tossed a ten-dollar bill on the counter. “Shade, what do you want?”

“Coffee, if you have it.” He slid onto the stool next to her and I took the other side, waving off the bartender when he turned to me. As he moved away to get the drinks, Shade glanced around again, then leaned close. “Bhouts…I can sense them. They’re thick in here.”

The barkeep came back with their drinks, and Camille waved away the change. “Keep it. Listen, this is my first time in. You usually have such a low-key clientele?” She turned on the glamour and the barkeep’s eyes lit up.

He tilted his head, leaning across the counter. “Nah, not until lately. Usually it’s jumping in here but the past week or so, things have been pretty quiet. Maybe everybody’s studying for their second-degree tests or something.” He stared at her, then over at me. “You’re from Otherworld, aren’t you? What are your names?”