The Hallowed Hunt
A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 5
Yasmine Galenorn
A Nightqueen Enterprises LLC Publication
Published by Yasmine Galenorn
PO Box 2037, Kirkland WA 98083-2037
THE HALLOWED HUNT
A Wild Hunt Novel
Copyright © 2019 by Yasmine Galenorn
First Electronic Printing: 2019 Nightqueen Enterprises LLC
First Print Edition: 2019 Nightqueen Enterprises
Cover Art & Design: Ravven
Art Copyright: Yasmine Galenorn
Editor: Elizabeth Flynn
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any format, be it print or electronic or audio, without permission. Please prevent piracy by purchasing only authorized versions of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, or places is entirely coincidental and not to be construed as representative or an endorsement of any living/ existing group, person, place, or business.
A Nightqueen Enterprises LLC Publication
Published in the United States of America
Created with Vellum
Contents
Acknowledgments
Welcome to The Hallowed Hunt
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Cast of Characters
Playlist
Biography
Acknowledgments
Welcome back into my world of the Wild Hunt. This series has taken full hold with me and the world is expanding in wonderful and mysterious ways. Ember and Herne’s world is expanding with each passing day and I’m so grateful that my readers have taken it into their hearts. I’m loving writing this like nothing else that I’ve written in a long, long time. I’m also planning to introduce a spinoff series, alongside the original, this year.
Thanks to my usual crew: Samwise, my husband, Andria and Jennifer—without their help, I’d be swamped. To the women who have helped me find my way in indie, you’re all great, and to the Wild Hunt, which runs deep in my magick, as well as in my fiction.
Also, my love to my furbles, who keep me happy. And most reverent devotion to Mielikki, Tapio, Ukko, Rauni, and Brighid, my spiritual guardians and guides. And to the spirit of the Wild Hunt, Herne, and Cernunnos, who still rule the wild places of this world.
If you wish to reach me, you can find me through my website at Galenorn.com and be sure to sign up for my newsletter to keep updated on all my latest releases!
Brightest Blessings,
~The Painted Panther~
~Yasmine Galenorn~
Welcome to The Hallowed Hunt
Life isn’t easy when you bear the mark of the Silver Stag.
It’s October, and with Samhain approaching, Ember must enter the Cruharach to face the darkest night of her life. As she gives herself over to the Autumn Stalkers and the Leannan Sidhe, she is plunged deep into the shadows of Annwn to face Cernunnos and the test of the Hallowed Hunt.
Meanwhile, the Wild Hunt is trying to contain collateral damage throughout the city. A Fae hate group is terrorizing Seattle, going after shifters and humans alike. In the middle of investigating the deadly cult, Herne takes on a new case.
A frantic wolf-shifter mother begs the Wild Hunt Agency for help. Her three-year-old daughter has been abducted. With three other young girls already dead at the hands of a serial killer dubbed the Angel of Mercy, Herne and Ember find themselves in a desperate race to find the girl before the Angel of Mercy claims another victim.
Reading Order for the Wild Hunt Series:
Book 1: The Silver Stag
Book 2: Oak & Thorns
Book 3: Iron Bones
Book 4: A Shadow of Crows
Book 5: The Hallowed Hunt
Chapter One
“You have got to be kidding me,” Viktor said, shaking his head as he grabbed another cookie from the tray in the center of the table. “Everybody knows that Skyler has the best record. He’s gonna take it.”
“Oh hell no.” I practically jumped out of my seat, unable to believe that Viktor was siding with the enemy. “If anybody’s going to win the title, it will be Balentine. You wait and see. He’s come so far in the past few months, and there’s no way he’s going to let Skyler beat him now. I don’t care what his record is, Skyler is done. Over. O-V-E-R.”
“Put your money where your mouth is, Kearney?” Viktor held out his hand, rubbing his fingers together. “Bet you a hundred on it.”
“Make it a hundred and you’re on.” I snorted. “Balentine managed a backside 1260 off the heels—that little trick that helped Sage Kotsenberg win the Olympics. Even now, only a handful of snowboarders can do it.” We had been arguing for the past fifteen minutes, and by now we were reduced to He said–she said tactics.
“A hundred it is. Prepare to lose your money.” Viktor flashed his phone my way. “Skyler landed that same jump two days ago in Aspen.”
Angel leaned between us, her hands firmly planted on the table.
“Will the two of you please shut up? Nobody else gives a damn about the match. Make your bet. Buy nachos and beer for the games. But if you don’t stop this incessant squabbling, I’ll break the TV so you won’t be able to watch the race. And since it’s on a weekday afternoon, there’s no chance in hell you’ll be able to sneak out. Do you understand me?”
Viktor cleared his throat. I stared at my hands. Nobody was safe when Angel got into a snit and there was no doubt, she was well into one now.
“Well? Are you going to answer me?” She folded her arms across her chest.
“Fine, we’ll keep it for after hours.” I narrowed my eyes at Viktor, sticking my tongue out.
“Adulting really well, Kearney,” Viktor snorted, but he stopped when Angel turned to him.
“What did I say?” She tapped her foot on the floor, her boot making a definitive I’m waiting statement.
“All right, all right. I’m good. Ember and I were just having some fun.” Viktor shrugged, giving me a guilty smile.
I sighed. “We’re good. We weren’t really fighting. We’re just…passionate…about snowboarding.” I turned back to Viktor. “This winter, want to head up to the slopes for some practice? I’m not very good, but I’ve tried it a few times and love it.”
He picked up a cookie and tossed it to me. I caught it mid-air.
“Sure thing. I’m not sure how I’ll fare, given my size, but I’m willing to give it a go.” He laughed in that gentle-giant sort of way. “Sheila might want to come along, too. Maybe we should get up an agency-wide outing. What about it, Talia? You willing to hop on a snowboard?”
Talia choked on her cola. “Me? On a snowboard? Even when I had my full powers, I don’t think I would have been interested in risking my neck, barreling down the side of a hill at what…thirty, forty miles per hour or more?” She glanced at the door. “When’s Herne supposed to get here?”
“He was supposed to have been here by now,” I said, glancing at the clock. Herne had texted everybody in the Wild Hunt at around seven o’clock with a note that we needed to make sure we were at work on time. He hinted that something big had happened. We were all waiting in the break room. It was now eight-fifteen and he was late.<
br />
“Well, he’d better get here soon, because we have a client coming in to talk to him about billing at nine. Dwarf who thinks Herne overcharged him.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dwarves always think they’re being overcharged. Even Ginty’s a pain in the ass about money, and I like him.”
Dwarves were notorious for hoarding treasure and money, and they didn’t like giving any of it up. While Ginty McClintock kept his prices at his bar low enough, he was good at nickel-and-diming his customers to death.
“Who do you like? Better not be talking about another beau.” Herne entered the break room. Stopping to give me a quick kiss, he tossed his messenger bag on the counter and headed to the coffeepot, where he poured himself a tall mug of black coffee. He set it down next to his bag, then shrugged off his leather jacket. His hair was hanging loose today, long and golden blond, grazing the back of his shoulder blades. His eyes were cornflower blue, and the slight scruff of a beard made him look just unkempt enough to be super-sexy. He was wearing a pair of black jeans with a silver belt, and a V-neck T-shirt.
“If I had another beau, I’d be exhausted. You’re man—or rather god—enough for any woman,” I said, winking at him. “I was saying that I like Ginty, even if he’s cheap.”
“He may be cheap, but he’s generous to a fault when it counts,” Herne said, sliding into his chair. “But we can talk about him another day. We’ve got a problem.”
I sighed. It seemed every time we turned around, we had a problem.
Yutani looked up from his laptop and brushed his hair back from his face. He was pensive today, and had barely spoken since Angel and I arrived. Now, his dark eyes flashed and he cleared his throat. “Need me to take notes?”
“No, let Talia do it. I want you to check on a few things as I go along.” Herne glanced around the room, the smile fading from his lips, replaced by a somber look. Something must have happened to make him so pensive so early in the day. “Everybody ready?”
I pulled out my tablet. Angel, Viktor, and Talia did the same. Yutani was poised with his fingers ready to play across the keys as Herne needed information.
“Ready, boss,” Talia said.
“These were found at the scene of an assault last night.” He pulled a sheath of papers out of his bag and tossed them on the table in front of Angel. They were flyers, advertising something. “I made photocopies so you can all look at them. Pass them around, please.”
Angel took one, then handed out the rest.
As I picked up the flyer I stared at the words emblazoned on it. They were printed in brilliant yellow lettering, outlined with black.
“What the hell is this?” I wasn’t sure what I was looking at.
FAE BRETHREN OF SEATTLE
THE TUATHAN BROTHERHOOD NEEDS YOU!
Tired of catering to shifters and humans? Do you long for the days when our great cities spread across a nation rather than a few thousand acres? Tired of being “kept in line” by rules and regulations meant to benefit the mundanes of the world?
Join us, and take back the streets of Seattle. Drive out the filthy pelt-changers and head-blind humans, and reclaim this land for those who tended to it in the first place—the Fae.
UNITE NOW AND JOIN US! For information on joining the TUATHAN BROTHERHOOD, email: [email protected]
Herne shook his head. “I have no clue, at this point. But the flier was found at the scene of a nasty brawl. Three wolf shifters and two humans were beat up pretty bad outside the LaLeeq Nightclub last night. They were there, celebrating the fact that one of the shifters just got a big promotion at work. They were all a little tipsy—well, more than a little, they were plastered. They were standing outside the club, near an alley, waiting for a LUD.”
LUD stood for “Let-Us-Drive,” a rideshare company who had become the hit of Seattle, boasting excellent customer service and moderate prices. They catered to their customers and had practically put all the other rideshares and taxis out of business.
“Let me guess, they were jumped by some thugs from the alley?” It happened all too often, and always made me wonder why people thought they were safe in the middle of the night, standing near a dark alley. Especially when they were drunk.
“Oh, they were jumped, all right. By a gang of at least six or seven Fae. And they meant business. Two of the shifters are in serious condition, and the third is stable, but pretty bruised up. The humans are both in critical condition.” He shook his head. “The gang meant business. This wasn’t just a ‘rough them up’ session. And the only reason they stopped was because the LUD driver happened to pull in at that moment and he called the cops. He started honking his horn and the thugs ran.”
I stared at the flier, my mind whirling. “A Fae hate group? The Fae Courts hate each other, and they’re arrogant…well, we tend to be arrogant, and impulsive. But the Fae don’t usually expand their dislike to include humans or shifters. And right now, both Courts are working as a unified front because of the Fomorians and the Cryptozoid Association.”
Recently, the United Coalition that ruled the country had welcomed in a fifth group. Now, instead of the four groups that normally governed the country in joint agreement—the Human League, the Fae Courts, the Shifter Alliance, and the Vampire Nation—the United Coalition had five governing groups.
“I know. It boggles the mind,” Herne said.
“Have you talked to Cernunnos?” Viktor asked.
Cernunnos was Herne’s father, and he was Lord of the Forest. Herne was Lord of the Hunt. Cernunnos and Morgana—a goddess of Fae, and Herne’s mother—were responsible for the Wild Hunt Agency. Our primary mission was to keep the animosity from between the Light and the Dark Fae from spilling over into the human community. My people, like it or not, scored low on impulse control. The Courts had waged war against one another since time began.
As for me, neither side liked admitting I even existed. I was half Light, half Dark, and my parents had paid the ultimate price for their love. The distinction between the two Courts was a misnomer. Neither side was either fully good or bad—both Light and Dark Fae were about evenly matched as far as morality—or amorality—went. But as for a hate group? I had never seen them go this far.
“I talked to my father this morning before I came to work. He and Mother want us to look into this immediately. It’s a code red situation, because this could go very bad, very fast. We need to talk to Saílle and Névé as soon as possible. I put in a call and am waiting for both sides to get back to me.” Herne paused, leaning back.
“Is this localized, I hope?” Talia asked.
Herne stared at the flier, then a dark cloud passed over his face and he crumpled it into a ball and threw it in the garbage can. “That, I’m also waiting on. I have calls to the other agencies around the world to see if any of them have heard any rumors about this, or if they’re having problems, too. So far, this is the only blip that’s crossed my radar, so I’m hoping it’s a small group of nutjobs trying to get some attention.”
The Wild Hunt was monitored by Cernunnos and Morgana, but other variants of our agency existed throughout the world. There was Odin’s Chase in Norway, Mielikki’s Arrow in Finland. Diana’s Hounds watched over Italy, and Artemis’s Huntresses—Greece. I wasn’t sure how many more there were, but all of them worked the way we did, and all were loosely grouped together under a governing cloud of gods from the various pantheons.
“Are we sure there’s a connection between the flier and the thugs? Could the flyer have been there before the assault?” Talia asked.
Viktor frowned. “That seems like it would be an unlikely coincidence.”
“Yes, it would be, but coincidence does happen and we can’t discount the possibility.” Talia turned to Yutani. “Can you find anything on this Tuathan Brotherhood?”
“Already on it,” Yutani muttered, tapping away at the keys. “I’m drawing a blank so far, but let me keep digging. They could be a new organization, or they could just have their info buried
so deeply that it’s hard to find. It might be part of the Dark Web.”
“That’s a scary thought,” Talia said.
“What’s the Dark Web?” I asked.
Yutani looked up from his keyboard. “You’ve heard of the sites where unlicensed guns are sold, and illegal drugs, and far worse things, like human trafficking?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Those are primarily found on the Dark Web. You have to download a specific tool in order to access it, and it’s a dangerous place to delve. But hate groups? I can see them using the Dark Web.” He frowned, shaking his head. “I’ll search for them on my other laptop—I keep one that’s locked down to the point of being the armored tank of computers. We never want anybody headquartered on the Dark Web to know we’re looking for them.”
“Thanks,” Herne said. “Let me know if you find out anything. Maybe shoot them an email from there, too? From a hidden account? Express interest, see what you can find out.”
“Will do, if I can find an opening.” Yutani pushed the laptop away. “Though most hate groups tend to be pretty vocal about their activities.”
“I dunno. They may claim responsibility for attacks, but you won’t find them planning them out in the open, or a convenient address to send the SWAT team to.” Viktor turned to Herne. “Want me to ask Erica at the station if she knows anything about the group? If they’ve struck before, or if anybody has reported their propaganda before now?”
Erica was Viktor’s source for information at the police station. Most of the police worked under the jurisdiction of the Fae by this point, and sometimes matters were skewed to the Fae Queens’ advantage.
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