“Would you like to keep that in the company safe?” Yutani asked.

  I thought for a moment and then nodded. “Thank you, I’d appreciate that. I don’t want to lose it.”

  He motioned for me to follow him into what had clearly at one time been a bedroom. A desk and chair sat there, near a filing cabinet. Yutani opened the closet and inside, I saw a wall safe. He deftly spun the wheel around four times, then placed his hand on the surface beside it. A click, and the safe opened. He motioned for me to set the brooch in the safe, and I took care not to look around as I did so. As soon as I had moved my hand out of the way, Yutani shut the door and spun the wheel again.

  “We mostly keep important case files in there,” he said. Pausing, he added, “I’m sorry if I seemed like an ass this morning. You wouldn’t believe some of the crap we have to deal with. The last thing we need is another group after us.”

  “You mean the coyote shifters?” I let out a sigh. “Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem. Though I still think that they deserved everything I gave them.”

  “You do realize you killed one of them? At least, it looked that way when we got there.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, but he deserved it—they all do. I have very little patience for any creature that enslaves children into their net. And that pack does. From what I can tell, they run one of the biggest drug networks in the area. Every day, I’d go out into my neighborhood and see them pushing that crap to kids. I can’t stand people who prey on children.” I paused, then added, “I may feed off others, but I’ve never fed off anyone under the age of twenty-one.”

  “So you wouldn’t have raided their lair if they had kept their focus on adults?” Yutani snickered.

  I glared at him, but then shrugged. “They had money. I needed money. They didn’t get their money in a legitimate manner. Just call me Robin Hood.”

  “Robin Hood distributed the wealth to others—” Yutani started to say but I cut him off.

  “We don’t know that. All we have are legends about him. Don’t give me any holier-than-thou speeches, dude. I’ve just been trying to survive and doing what I knew how in order to accomplish that feat.”

  Yutani slapped some forms on the desk. “Sit down and fill these out. Answer honestly—it’s for insurance.”

  I did as he asked, and he retreated from the room.

  There were both employment and health insurance forms there, so I picked up the pen on the desk and began filling them in. I found myself staring at the wall safe but resisted even thinking about the possibility. No good could come of that. Eventually, I finished the paperwork and headed back out into the living room, the forms in my hands.

  Talia took them and motioned for me to join the others at the table while she tucked them into a desk drawer at her desk.

  “So, now that we’re all together, let me spell out the case Herne dropped in my lap,” Yutani was saying. “You know who Vixen is?”

  Everybody but me nodded.

  “I don’t,” I said.

  “Vixen is one of the Ante-Fae. They contacted Raven, who put them in touch with Herne. Apparently, over the past month, three of the Light Fae have been murdered outside of their club. Both were regulars in the Burlesque A Go-Go. But this also is happening over in Seattle. Three victims the past week, all Water Fae. Someone’s on the hunt and Herne’s wondering if Saílle is back to her old tricks.”

  “What about another Ante-Fae? Given they make up the bulk of Vixen’s clientele?” Talia asked.

  Although I didn’t know Vixen, I did know the Ante-Fae were the predecessors for the Fae, and each one was unique, as far as I knew. I hadn’t had much to do with them and they were considered old and treacherous, for the most part. The Fae didn’t really hang out with them, because it reminded them—both Dark and Light—that someone had paved the way for our races, and they were still around.

  “It could be, yes. But we can’t assume that.” Yutani rapped his fingers gently on the table.

  “The murderer could be from any number of backgrounds. So, how did the victims die?” Talia asked.

  “The police don’t exactly know. They’re just…dead,” Yutani said. “They didn’t die of natural causes, but there are few signs of violence. They weren’t stabbed, clubbed, shot…their blood’s intact and no puncture wounds, so it can’t be a vampire.”

  “That leaves a lot of questions,” Wager said.

  “Yes, and not many places to start. I have a list of the victims and their family members. I suppose we can start by interviewing them. See if we can establish a common denominator.” Yutani looked baffled. “There’s not much to go on, which is why both Vixen and the police reached out to us.”

  “So, how do we do this? Go undercover at the club, since a couple patrons were killed near it?” Talia frowned. “We can’t just hang out around the areas where the victims were found in Seattle, unless there’s some correlation.”

  “Staking out the club might be a good idea. As far as the other victims, no, they weren’t found near each other. We need to talk to the cops, though, to get any information they might have left out when they talked to Herne,” Yutani said.

  “I could go in as a bartender at Vixen’s club. Hell, I’m good enough, given my work with Ginty,” Wendy said.

  “That might work.” Yutani glanced over at me. “As one of the Leannan Sidhe, Lyrical, you can cadge information out of others with your powers. You could go in as a client. See if anybody approaches you. You’re Light Fae, after all.”

  I let out a low sigh. “Yeah, I can do that.”

  “You aren’t averse to using your powers, given the state of that coyote shifter we found, are you?”

  “No,” I said. “I don’t have any qualms about using my powers.”

  “Then you might hear something while hanging out. You could use your powers of persuasion to pry more info out of someone. Wendy’s right, though, we’re a lot more likely to gain information by working on the inside.” Yutani sifted through his notes. “Wager, you can go talk to the cops and see if they have anything to say. Talia, scour the net for anything on the rumor mill about these murders.”

  “Right,” she said. “Will do. Can you get me a list of the victims’ names?”

  Yutani nodded, staring at his tablet. “I’ll do that right after the meeting.” He paused, then added, “There’s also another matter—apparently a witch in the North Seattle area has been catching pixies and collecting their dust.”

  “Is that a problem?” I asked. It had never been in Ireland.

  “Yeah, it’s against the law here. But it happens all the time. Anyway, Lyrical, you and I will check that out tomorrow morning. I hate dealing with pixies, but it’s our job.” He closed his laptop and tablets. “We might as well break for the day. I’ll contact Vixen tonight and ask them if they’re willing to have Wendy and Lyrical go undercover. Anything else?”

  Wager cleared his throat. “Yeah, actually. I heard from Charlie last night.”

  Talia straightened up. “Is he okay?” She glanced at me. “Charlie’s a vampire who worked for the Wild Hunt until the Dragonni came in and sent the vamps into hiding.”

  “Why did that happen? I don’t keep tabs on actual vampires.”

  “Because there’s some concern that shadow dragons may be able to control vampires, given the shadow dragons work with the dead,” Wendy said. “So the vampires—at least here—retreated to some subterranean space.”

  “How do they feed, then? My people need to feed on energy as well as food in order to keep alive and thriving. I know vampires need blood.” I couldn’t see how a colony of vampires could expect to live if they didn’t have access to blood.

  “They took a host of their bloodwhores with them. Given all the bloodwhores are voluntary—or supposed to be—there wasn’t much the government could do to intervene.” Yutani shrugged. “Anyway, how is Charlie?”

  “Doing fairly well. Eldris has been helping him keep on top of his studies and, thanks to Ember’s request, has helped Charlie assimilate more with the other vamps. They’re getting tired of being cooped up, though. Charlie told me that it’s difficult for them to keep control over the financial institutions from down in the underground.”

  Wager worried one lip. I found him attractive, and that was a problem. I’d have to watch myself around him.

  “I imagine so. Well, at least Typhon’s no longer around. I wonder if the vamps dare come up for air with so many shadow dragons in the world.”

  Vampires ruled the financial world—that I did know. They were in charge of most of the banks worldwide and nobody seemed to mind that much because the vampires seemed to have a knack for numbers.

  I stood and yawned. “I’m going to need a car,” I said, not knowing any of the people they had been talking about. “I know how to drive, though it’s been a few years.” Kilnakarn sure hadn’t let me anywhere near a vehicle. I’d been kept locked up, only allowed to walk in a garden surrounded by walls and guards.

  “The agency can front you one,” Yutani said. “And by the look of what I saw of your things, you need some clothing too. I also have to provide you with a laptop, tablet, and work phone. Use your work phone for work only, and never conduct business on your personal phone. Also, there’s one other matter.”

  “The tattoo?” I pointed to the tattoo on Talia’s arm. It matched the one I had seen on Ember’s arm, and Herne’s as well.

  “Yes, you’re required to get a tattoo marking you as part of the Wild Hunt, if you belong to the Earthside agency. Not only does it bond you to the group, but it marks you so that law enforcement know you belong to us, and so both Fae Courts know you’re part of our agency. Originally, the Wild Hunt was founded to take care of the skirmishes between the Fae Courts, but once the Dragonni invaded, we’ve focused on dealing with them.”

  “Didn’t I hear that the Fae Courts were going to move lock, stock, and barrel over to a different realm?” I asked.

  “Well, that’s the rumor, but last week I heard that the Fae Queens are rethinking their strategy, which means we could be back to our main focus soon enough. The Light and Dark Courts will never find peace with each other, regardless of how much Ember hopes to change things,” Yutani said.

  I gasped, wondering if she was going to strike him down, but he saw my expression and laughed.

  “Oh, Ember’s a good friend, goddess or not. She knows her mission’s a fool’s errand, but she won’t admit it.” Yutani held out a credit card. “Here, buy clothes, and start looking for a good used car. Don’t run off with it. You’re stuck with us.”

  “I think it’s more that you’re stuck with me,” I muttered, taking the card. “All right, but I’ll need a ride to the stores.”

  Talia wrapped her arm through mine. “Would you like to go tonight?”

  I thought about it, then shook my head. “Day after tomorrow’s Saturday. Do we get the weekend off?”

  “Unless there’s something pressing,” she said. “I can pick you up here around eleven on Saturday, if you like.”

  “Thanks,” I said, suddenly feeling grateful. I hadn’t been able to choose my fate, but I could choose how I met it. At least I was free from Kilnakarn. And of all the people Morgana could have stuck me with, this seemed like a pretty good group. Plus, I needed structure in my life. I hated floating through the days, and given the fact that, left to my own devices, I’d already managed to get myself in plenty of trouble over the past few weeks, maybe I did need supervision.

  As Yutani locked up and led me to his car, I glanced up at the fading light. It was early March, and spring was dark in this corner of the world. But the air was fresh, and I was free from that abysmal prison I’d spent two years in. And right now, that was as good as it was going to get.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  We didn’t talk much on the way back to Yutani’s house. I wasn’t feeling all that personable and Yutani didn’t seem to know what to do with me.

  As he had said, he lived in a three-bedroom house on the outskirts of the UnderLake District, smack on the edge of Lake Washington on one side and UnderLake Park on the other. Grateful to be near the water again—it was my element—I eyed the house with relief. I’d been living in a place that was falling apart, with black mold on one wall, but it was all I could afford. While his house didn’t look fancy, it looked livable.

  Yutani unlocked the door and escorted me in. I glanced around. The furnishings were worn but clean, and while the décor felt minimalist, it was functional and well-kept. The walls were painted a muted gray, while the furniture was black leather. There were no cobwebs around, and definitely no mold.

  “Thank you for putting me up. I’ll try to find a place as soon as I can,” I said.

  “Not a problem. Follow me,” he said, crooking his index finger. He led me down the hall, stopping at the first door on the left. “Here, you can use the guest room. My aunt stays here when she comes to visit, so I keep it comfortable for her.”

  “Comfortable” was the word, if you liked shabby chic. The bed had a colorful throw over it—a dusty rose floral pattern. The dresser and vanity were a distressed white, to match the queen-size headboard. A sage-colored rug covered most of the floor, and the walls were pale pink. It was definitely a woman’s room, though it wasn’t to my personal taste. But it was cozy and the bed looked soft, and I doubted if there were roaches or bedbugs around. That was all that mattered.

  “Thank you,” I murmured, setting my bags on the end of the bed. “I don’t want to step on your toes, so tell me the rules of the house.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Yutani said. “If I don’t like something you’re doing, I’ll tell you.” He pointed to one of the two doors in the room. “The closet’s behind that door, and your bathroom, behind the other door. I’ll bring you towels. You’ll be responsible for cleaning up the kitchen after you eat, doing your own laundry, and any pay-per-view movies you watch.”

  At that moment, I noticed the television sitting atop the dresser. “Do you have any pets?”

  He nodded. “An iguana. Her name is Dodo. I’ve thought about a snake, but they’re not all that easy to care for, regardless of what people say. My lifestyle doesn’t lend itself to most pets, to be honest.” He started toward the door. “I’m going to make dinner. Do you like ramen?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never had it. Oh, is there a girlfriend or boyfriend I should know about? So that I don’t startle them, or vice versa?”

  Yutani slowly looked over his shoulder at me. After a moment he said, “Not right now. And I’m not a casual dater.” He looked like he was about to say something else, but then just shook his head. “Come out when you’re ready. I suggest you wash most of your things from your last place before wearing them. They smell like mildew.”

  “Nice,” I said. “Do I stink, too?”

  He blinked. “What?”

  I waited a beat but he didn’t seem to understand how rude he had sounded. After a moment, I shook my head. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter. Point me to the laundry room?”

  He motioned to the door across the hallway from mine. “Right there. Detergent’s in the cupboard.”

  “Some of my clothes need to air dry. Do you have a clothes rack?” I had hung them up on a clothes line at my slumlord house’s back yard, but I doubted if Yutani would have one, and anyway, it had started to rain, so I couldn’t hang them over bushes or tree limbs.

  “No, but I have extra hangers. I’ll put them in the laundry room for you and you can hang them on the drying rod. The ramen will be ready in about twenty minutes.” Then, he slowly drew his gaze from mine and headed for the kitchen.

  I returned to my room, disconcerted. Yutani was an odd duck, all right. He was intense—far more intense than I had originally thought. But then, his father was a god, so that might account for his demeanor. He was gorgeous, but there was something about him that felt dangerous. I recognized it because people felt that way about me.

  I sorted through my clothes—what there were of them—and decided to toss almost half that were torn, worn, and stained. Of what was left, most could be washed, so I started a load of laundry and then wandered out to the kitchen where Yutani was making dinner.

  He glanced over at me. “Why don’t you get two bowls out.” He nodded to one of the cupboards. “I’m a ramen purist—I don’t like to add meat or eggs to it. So if you want something on the side, just say so.”

  From what I could tell, ramen was a form of noodle soup. It smelled good. I’d heard of it, but never had it. I brought down two large soup bowls and he ladled long noodles and broth into each. I opened drawers until I found the soup spoons and forks.

  We carried our bowls into the living room, where there were two TV trays by the sofa. Taking one of the trays, he sat in the recliner, and I sat on the sofa with the other. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I decided to let him take the lead.

  He picked up the remote. “What sort of shows do you like?”

  I glanced at the TV. Back home we hadn’t been allowed to watch, and when I was being held in captivity, I hadn’t had the chance.

  “I have no idea. Never watched much,” I said between bites. The broth was overly salty but I liked it, and the meal was simple enough that I didn’t have to think much about it.

  Yutani stared at me for a moment, then set down the remote. “You haven’t been exposed to much, have you?”

  I frowned. He was starting to rub me the wrong way. Everything he said sounded like a criticism. “Oh, I’ve been exposed to plenty, but it hasn’t been TV or convenience foods. But they’re luxuries I’m happy to experience, considering where I spent the last two years of my life.” The words came out sharper than I intended because he recoiled—just a little but enough to know that I’d made my point.

  After a moment, he turned on the TV and tossed me the remote. “Go wild. I’m good with anything.”

  I began flipping through the channels, then stopped short. A muscular, dark-haired man covered with tattoos was swimming beneath the water, carrying a trident. I couldn’t look away. The man looked a lot like Kilnakarn, and the sight of him swimming beneath the waves sent my stomach into knots. I tossed my spoon onto the tray, next to my bowl, then ran for my bedroom, fighting the panic rising in my chest.