Analee continued down the stairs. She walked past me, ignoring my dagger, to open the desk drawer and pull out a file folder, handing it to me.

  I sheathed my blade, holding her gaze, and opened the file, flipping through the papers. Each was a signed consent form, along with a fingerprint, agreeing to undergo the “Ritual of Danerial.”

  Attached to each form was a description of what the ritual entailed, including giving up their humanity for membership in the Darconian race. The stack of signed consents was thick. If I had to guess, there were over one hundred papers in the file, and the dates went back to 1908.

  I glanced over at Dante and nodded, then turned back to Analee. “Why? Why this way?”

  “We are seeking our lost ones. They crave a sense of completeness. They long for a family they’ve never had. And for those with the spark of our blood in their veins, that longing will never be fulfilled until they return to the Mother. Many were orphans, who never met their families. But each one—each member has an inner drive to return to the fold. And they’ll never feel complete until they find their way back to us.”

  And then I understood. Like I had been driven to find out more about my heritage, so these people—with the faintest trickle of Darconian blood in their veins—felt lost and out of synch with the world. Their race was so strong that the smallest fraction of DNA could create unrest.

  Feeling defeated, and yet understanding, I handed her back the file folder. “They need to know who they are. Where they’ve come from.”

  She took it, and a faint light in her eyes gleamed. It felt almost like a smile.

  “Our connection to the Mother is so strong, it echoes through time, it fills our hearts, and our waking and sleeping lives. Mark was afraid, at the end. Before we could calm him down, he escaped. We could have helped him through that one bitter point where every Darconian wonders if they made the right decision. But after meeting the Mother, every fear is erased. We’re searching for him, so we can guide him home.”

  “Where’s home?” Dante asked. He, too, sheathed his blade.

  “Far out in the ocean, down in the depths, in the city of the ancients. We came to land at one point, before humans were even a spark in the Mother’s eye, but we could not exist without her embrace. The distance is a physical pain, a deep hunger that we cannot shake away.” Erik motioned to the two creatures we had found. They joined him.

  “Why were they caged?” Penn asked, stepping forward.

  “For their own good. The transformation can be violent, and so we keep our changelings caged during the actual process. It prevents them hurting others, or themselves,” Analee said.

  I sat down at the desk, and looked around. “Why do you take the money?”

  “We have to have a place to live here in your society. A few of us, like Erik and I, are masters at disguise and we can interact fairly well. Others need more help.”

  “How do you know where to look? Were you ordered into this job?” Orik asked.

  Erik shook his head. “We’ve volunteered for this position, and we need to fund the meetings, as well as our research. We have developed a long list of places where our lost children might be found, so we travel all around the world, looking for them, and calling them home.” He let out a series of odd clicks. “We do not wish to hurt you. Neither do we seek exposure.”

  I thought it through. Mark would have been forever searching for a part of himself that he couldn’t find on his own, if he hadn’t joined them. Yes, this would hurt Wendy, but she was a selkie. If anybody understood, it would be her. She had her pod, and now Mark had his family.

  “Mark married a selkie,” I said.

  “The call of the sea was in her blood. He responded subconsciously to the energy. But that alone wasn’t enough. Being with her couldn’t make up for being with his own kind. And Darconian blood will beat out most other blood,” Erik said. “Tell her, if you like, but enjoin her to silence. Most of the our potential changelings are alone, cut off from friends and family by their own sense of distance.”

  I didn’t fully trust them—there was something cool and aloof about them that struck me as potentially dangerous. But not every race had a human side, and not every race lived by our rules. They had stuck to the law of the land, secured contracts, made sure their recruits understood what was going on. They were nomads, wandering the land, searching for their long-lost kin to bring them out of exile.

  “Why don’t you come out in the open, like most of the Supe races?” I asked.

  “Because, we are among the ancients. We’re older than Atlantis, we’re older than the oldest vampire, we’re older than the Fae,” Analee said. “We live in our watery depths, as we did so many thousands of years ago. We do not seek to be a part of the modern world. Discovery often leads to destruction, as you know.”

  And that, was enough. I turned to the others. “We should leave.”

  Orik nodded, as did Penn and Dante. They silently picked up their equipment. As we headed for the stairs, Analee and Erik didn’t try to stop us.

  I turned back. “Did you find anybody tonight? Any of your lost ones?” I asked.

  Erik paused, then said, “One. She’s been alone most of her life. I think she’ll come home to us. But know this—we never force the issue. If she chooses to keep her life on the land, we’ll note where she is and leave her alone.”

  He was telling the truth. My heart told me to just leave matters be.

  “Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for explaining. We’ll take our leave now.” And we headed up the stairs, ready to stamp “closed” on Mark Ryle’s case file.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The next morning, I called Wendy and asked her to drop down to the office. I wasn’t looking forward to describing what had happened, but I had the feeling she’d accept it better than thinking her husband had been kidnapped and tortured. I also called the Federal Bureau of Supe Investigations and gave them all the information and evidence we had on Give A Hands Up. It was in their ballcourt now.

  Finally, before the staff meeting, I tidied myself up. My father would be here at ten AM, and I wanted to look my best. The others had also come in looking all spiffy. Not that we didn’t look fine every day, but they seemed to understand how important this was to me.

  We sat in the breakroom, early so we could talk about the night before. But nobody seemed all that talkative. The knowledge about the Darconians had left us all oddly subdued.

  I finally broke the ice. “I called the FBSI about Give A Hands Up,” I said. “They’ll be taking over the case. And I talked to Wendy. She’s coming in this afternoon so we can tell her what we found out. I’m not looking forward to that.”

  “She’ll have closure, at the very least,” Dante said. “And that’s most important.”

  “Right,” I said. Then, finally deciding to voice what everybody was thinking about, I said, “So, my father will be here soon. Thank you, everyone, for looking so nice.”

  “Look,” Dante said. “We’re all nervous about this. You know we are, we know we are. But we’ll do our best to give him the benefit of the doubt. And if he’s right—if the Elder Gallara are seeking their way in, and if Brim Fire is helping them, then we have to pull together on this. So, we’ll just take a deep breath and get through the meeting, and see what the next step is.”

  I let out a long breath. “Right. You know, maybe this won’t be so bad. Maybe we can keep them at bay, and still not have to do much with my father.”

  But inside, I could see a tall mountain, with a narrow rope bridge over jagged rocks below. And we were setting foot on that bridge, clinging to the handholds which were few and far between, and on the other side, my father had a knife. I could only hope that he wouldn’t take it into his mind to reach out and cut the supporting lines.

  Because below us, the rocks were jagged and dangerous. Right now we were going on faith and trust, and it seemed truly ironic that we were hoping that the dire predictions he made were true. Because that meant we could trust him.

  A rock and a hard place, I thought. But we had each other, and now I felt whole enough to stand strong, regardless of what came my way. With a deep breath, I crossed to the counter to fix myself more caffeine, and to breathe easy, at least for a little while longer.

  If you enjoyed Shadow Stealing, then you can preorder the sixth book in the Shadow Blade Series: Shadow Reigning. Begin this series with Shadow Seeking. There will be more to come of Kyann’s adventures after that. And if you love this series, you’ll love Yasmine’s Wild Hunt Series. For the first chapter of The Silver Stag, read on.

  If you loved her Starlight Hollow Series, Elphyra and Fancypants are coming back! You can preorder the transitional novella, Starlight Summons, and then book six: Starlight Spells, now! Start the series with Starlight Hollow.

  For all of Yasmine’s work, both published and upcoming releases, see the Bibliography at the end of this book, or check out her website at Galenorn.com and be sure and sign up for her newsletter to receive news about all her upcoming releases.

  QUALITY CONTROL: This work has been professionally edited and proofread. If you encounter any typos or formatting issues ONLY, please contact Yasmine through her website so they may be corrected. Otherwise, know that this book is in her style and voice and editorial suggestions will not be entertained. Thank you.

  THE SILVER STAG (BOOK 1 OF THE WILD HUNT SERIES)

  Chapter 1

  I crept through the backyard, keeping a close watch on the thick copse of trees to the side of the property. The coyotes were thick around here, and plenty of cougars and bears frequented the area as well. I skirted my way around the hen house. I could hear chickens rattling around inside, uneasy when they should have been asleep.

  The urban farmers were my clients, and they had complained about some creature raiding their henhouse and asked me to look into it. They were shifters of some sort—I hadn’t asked what kind, because that would be rude. But they seemed more reticent than most of the shifters I was used to dealing with, and I suspected they were too afraid to take on the intruder themselves. I had been keeping watch most of the night, and was about to call it done when a figure slipped into the yard, creeping toward the hen house.

  I stayed close to the side of the shed, skirting around to where I could peek more clearly. A large man-sized creature was skulking near the door. I froze, resting my hand on the dagger that was strapped to my thigh. Easing back so the intruder wouldn’t see me, I leaned my head against the wall. Well, it wasn’t a coyote or fox, that was for sure.

  A gust of cool wind blew past me and I shivered, even through my leather jacket. Early April in the Seattle area was cool and wet. At five a.m., we still had nearly an hour to go before sunrise, and the clouds were so thick I doubted they would burn off before noon, if then.

  The creature fumbled with the lock. Whatever it was, it showed no signs that it sensed my presence. I could move softly when I wanted and now I crept to the right of the shed, then paused. The ladder was leaning against the side of the building. It would be simple to climb up onto the roof and peek over the edge. I could gain an advantage from up above, I thought, maybe get the drop on him. Keeping my step light, I shimmied up the rungs, grateful that I had worn gloves as the aluminum of the ladder chilled me right through the material.

  The roof of the shed was slanted with an incline toward the front. I squinted at the shingles, wondering whether they would hold me. There was no way to find out except to start climbing. Praying that I wouldn’t fall through, I slowly eased myself up the shingles toward the front of the rise. At the top, I cautiously leaned over the edge.

  Great. Just dandy.

  I found myself staring down at the head of a goblin. He reeked even from up here, and it was a wonder that I hadn’t smelled him before. I must be coming down with a cold, I thought.

  Goblins were nasty, dangerous creatures. Wiry and tough, they stank to high heaven when you were close enough, and they were ravenous. They ate people. Dogs. Cats. Cows. Anything they could fit in their mouths was fair game. They preferred human flesh, though they’d settle for whatever they could catch. As long as it was raw and live on the hoof, they were happy. Seattle, along with the surrounding suburb communities, had laws in place prohibiting them from entering city limits, but that didn’t stop them, even though hunting season was wide open on them. Truth was, the cops wouldn’t respond to calls about them, and chances were good the creatures would luck out and get away with whatever scheme they had going. So most of them thought it was worth the risk. This one’s luck, however, had just run out.

  Luckily, he hadn’t heard me yet. At least, I didn’t think it had.

  I eased my way to the very edge, staring down at him. He was intent on breaking the padlock. I quietly unfastened the snap holding my dagger peace-bound, to give myself easy access. I had learned the hard way not to jump off a building holding my blade. I still had the scar from that mistake right above my left knee.

  I perched on the edge, waiting for the right moment. Then, taking a deep breath, I launched myself off of the roof, landing square atop the goblin, taking him down beneath me.

  The creature let out a nasty hiss and a string of obscenities, although I couldn’t understand him. But it was obvious he was cursing.

  “Would you speak to your mother like that?” I had knocked him down, and now I straddled him, trying to pin him between my knees. He might be tough and wiry, but I worked out six days a week, and I was Fae—which meant I had some extra strength going for me. I managed to hold him down and, in the dim light of the approaching dawn, I got a good look at him. Tufts of fur covered his head, patchy and rough like steel wool, and his face was a mass of wrinkles—common with goblins. His eyes were small but wide-set on his face, and he had yellow, sharp teeth.

  “You’re an ugly sucker, aren’t you? Even for a goblin.”

  He struggled, managing to free one hand. As he lashed out, his claws dangerously nearing my face, I ducked back to dodge the attack.

  Enough. I drew my dagger. I couldn’t keep him down much longer and I was getting tired.

  As I raised my blade, he thrashed again, and this time he succeeded in slashing my arm. Luckily, my leather jacket took the brunt, and he ripped a hole in the material but not in my skin.

  “That’s going to cost me good money, you freak.”

  I raised my blade and his gaze met mine. For a moment he looked afraid, but then he snarled and I brought the blade down, throwing my weight behind it. The tip of the dagger pierced his windpipe, sliding through to stick inside the ground below him. The goblin let out one last hiss, thrashed, and then lay still.

  “I didn’t charge enough for this gig,” I muttered to myself. Truth was, I hadn’t expected a goblin, so I had given the couple a low bid. I had thought I’d be facing a wild dog or a fox. So much for assumptions.

  Making certain he was dead, I took a picture before he started to bubble, then rolled over to spread out on the grass next to him, resting. The chill morning dew seeped through my jeans as I caught my breath, staring up into the sky. The faint hints of dawn were spreading across the eastern horizon, thin ribbons of red piercing the clouds, but they only heralded an incoming storm.

  At that moment, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket as I rolled to a sitting position. Next to me, the goblin was beginning to bubble. I reached over to yank my dagger out of the creature’s neck before my blade got any messier than it already was, and wiped it quickly on the grass to remove most of the gunk. I scooted further away as nature began to take its course on the goblin as I answered my phone.

  “Hello? Do you realize what time it is?”

  I hadn’t glanced at the Caller ID, so I wasn’t sure who it was, but I didn’t care. If this were any normal morning, I’d still be in bed, asleep. Most of my work was done at night and I usually slept till noon. I just happened to have a job that kept me up till dawn.

  “Yes, I do realize what time it is. Did I wake you?”

  Damn it. Ray Fontaine.

  Ray owned a bakery called A Touch of Honey, and he made the best bread in Seattle. He also happened to be my ex-boyfriend. Or rather, we had dated a few times. I had liked him enough that I broke it off before anything happened between us. Given my track record, he was a lucky man.

  “No, I’m finishing up a job. What do you need?”

  I shivered, suddenly cold. I slipped my finger through the ring attached to the back of my phone so I wouldn’t drop it, and scrambled to my feet. The goblin was dissolving, melting into a pile of bubbling sludge. Within half an hour he would soak into the ground as if he had never existed. At least I wouldn’t have to clean up the mess. I started for the kitchen door to ask the O’Malleys for payment, then paused. Their lights were off, which meant they weren’t awake yet.

  Ray cleared his throat. “My shop was broken into. I thought maybe you could come take a look?”

  I blinked. “Why haven’t you called the cops?”

  “I did, but they took one look and said it wasn’t a human matter. They said it looked like some sort of Crypto attack. Ember, you’re the closest thing I know to a SubCult PI.”

  The “SubCult” was a blanket term referring to the combined Fae courts, Shifter Alliance, and Vampire Nation. Most humans referred to all of us as Cryptos if they didn’t know what our heritage was, but it was better than the slang used among the holdouts who still wanted an all-human world.

  I let out a sigh. I had just finished one job, and I really didn’t feel like working another, but I felt like I owed Ray. I really didn’t want to see him, but it was the least I could do, given how hard he had taken it when I dumped him.

  “Lovely. All right, I’ll be down there in a while. I need to get my pay, then stop off for coffee and a bite to eat first.”

  “Don’t bother about breakfast. I’ve got fresh croissants, gouda, and coffee here.”