Pawn (Fae Games Book 1)

by Karen Lynch

  I looked up as two men in their twenties walked by to sit at the corner booth behind me. Something about the furtive looks they gave me as they passed made me turn off my music. With everything that had happened in the last two weeks, it wouldn’t hurt to be extra vigilant.

  It wasn’t until after I’d stopped the music that I discovered the men weren’t alone. Someone had been sitting at the booth behind me before I came in. I immediately felt foolish. Unless the men could see the future and knew I’d duck in here out of a sudden rainstorm at this exact time, it was highly unlikely they were here because of me.

  I was about to turn on my music again when someone said, “Everything’s in place. Vaerik won’t know what hit him.”

  “Jesus, Dale, keep your voice down,” another man whisper-yelled.

  Someone else spoke, but all I could discern was the murmur of a male voice.

  Dale’s friend answered him in a low voice, but I could still make out his words. “Don’t worry. Our guy is ex-military, and he never misses.”

  Icy tendrils twisted my gut. Were they actually talking about killing someone? I held my breath and listened. It was another few minutes before I picked out the words: gala and after the speech.

  Not long after that, I heard the men getting out of the booth. I grabbed my phone and hit play before the first man walked past my booth. I bobbed my head to the music and pretended to be too wrapped up in my phone to pay them any attention.

  Through the window, I watched them emerge into the rain, and it was impossible not to notice the tall, blond male who accompanied the two men. Even through the heavy rain, it was easy to see he was a faerie.

  The two men pulled up their collars, but the faerie seemed unfazed by the weather. There was a ruthlessness in his expression that made me want to hide under my table until he was gone. I wasn’t the only one who saw it. A female elf, who had been about to cross the street to the diner, did an about-face and fled like the devil was on her heels.

  I waved the waitress over and ordered a coffee. Then I grabbed my phone and locked myself in the single restroom. Even if I’d misunderstood what I’d heard, I needed to tell someone. If I didn’t and someone died because of it, I’d never forgive myself.

  The men had mentioned someone named Vaerik as the intended target, and that was a Fae name. I had no idea if he was Seelie or Unseelie, but I knew someone who might.

  Conlan answered on the third ring. “Jesse, you didn’t go and get yourself arrested again, did you?”

  “Ha-ha. I’m not in trouble, but I might know of someone who is, and I didn’t know who else to call.”

  “And the first person you thought of was me. I’m flattered.”

  I stared at my image in the mirror, wincing at the state of my hair. “Actually, I called you because I think the person in trouble is a faerie.”

  “Ah. And who is this lucky faerie that the lovely Jesse James feels compelled to protect?” he asked, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

  “His name is Vaerik, and he –”

  “What did you say?” Conlan’s voice went deadly quiet.

  “V-Vaerik,” I stammered, taken aback by this side of him.

  Sounds on his end told me he had started walking. “Where did you hear that name?”

  “At a diner in Queens.” I told him where I was and what I’d overheard. “One of them was a faerie.”

  “Stay there,” he ordered. “Faolin and I are coming to you.”

  I groaned. “Does he need to come?”

  Conlan’s tone softened. “I understand why you dislike him, but you’re going to have to talk to him about this. I’ll be there to make sure he behaves.”

  “Fine, but whoever this Vaerik is, he’d better be grateful for what I have to suffer for him.”

  A chuckle came from the other end. “I’ll make sure he knows how much you suffered.”

  We ended the call, and I went back to my booth where a steaming cup of coffee waited. I summoned the waitress and ordered a piece of apple pie with ice cream. I might as well treat myself while I waited.

  I had barely touched my pie when Conlan and Faolin entered the diner and headed straight for me. A stony-faced Faolin sat across from me, while Conlan stood guard outside the booth.

  “Did you take a portal here?” I asked them. It was the only way they could have gotten here so quickly, and it told me how important this was.

  “Yes,” Faolin snapped. “Tell me everything you heard and saw. Leave nothing out. Speak in a whisper. I will hear it.”

  This might save someone’s life, I reminded myself as I recounted the story again. And again. By the third retelling, I wasn’t sure if Faolin was super fastidious or if he just enjoyed making me repeat myself.

  “How did you come to be at this particular diner?” he asked with his usual dose of suspicion.

  “I was at the Plaza dropping off a capture, and I got caught in the rain on the way to my Jeep. I saw the diner and came in to get out of the rain.”

  His expression didn’t change. “Why do you care about the life of a faerie you don’t know?”

  I scowled at him. “Because I’m a good person. What other reason would I have?”

  “Most humans expect rewards in exchange for information.”

  “I am not most people,” I bit out. “I thought I would do a good deed and stop someone from getting killed. I don’t want anything from you or this Vaerik.”

  His lip curled. “You expect us to believe you have no idea who Vaerik is, yet we were the first people you called?”

  I let out a puff of air to control my anger. I would not be surprised to know steam was coming out of my ears. “I didn’t call you. I called Conlan because he told me to contact him if I needed anything. And I don’t know any other faeries. If you’d rather I not call the next time I hear something like this, just say the word.”

  “You did the right thing,” Conlan said softly without taking his eyes off the room. “Vaerik will be grateful.”

  “I’m glad I could help.”

  Faolin slid out of the booth. “There is a camera over the door. I’m going to see if they caught the men on video.”

  “What if they won’t let him see the video?” I asked Conlan after Faolin left.

  “Faolin can be very persuasive,” he said. Then he added, “He’ll use a glamour, not force.”

  I frowned. “Glamours are just a different kind of force. And they are against the law.”

  “Faolin is in service to the Unseelie crown, so he is permitted certain freedoms.”

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about Faolin having any freedoms, let alone the right to use glamours. “Are you in service to the crown, too? And Lukas?”

  He nodded. “All of us are.”

  “I assume Vaerik is Unseelie, too?”

  Conlan met my eyes like he was gauging my reaction. “Vaerik is an Unseelie prince.”

  “Oh.” Now it all made sense why they were acting this way. Faeries were very protective of their royals, and they’d just learned of a possible assassination plot on one of their own.

  I wondered what they would have done if Vaerik had been Seelie. Would they have passed the information along to the other Court? I almost voiced the question to Conlan, but decided I didn’t want to know.

  Faolin returned, his expression darker, if that was possible. “I have the video. Let’s go,” he said to Conlan.

  “Oh no, there’s no need to thank me. I’m happy to help out,” I mocked as he turned away without an acknowledging glance in my direction. Don’t poke the bear, my inner voice said, but I ignored it.

  He stopped walking and half turned to glare at me. Then he gave me the barest head tilt and left.

  “What was that?” I asked Conlan, who seemed fascinated by our interaction.

  “I believe my friend just thanked you.” He gave me a devilish smile and followed Faolin. “Well played, Jesse James. Well played, indeed.”

  Chapter 12

  “Alright, ever
yone, quiet down.”

  Levi Solomon’s voice carried through the crowded Plaza lobby, and the murmurs around me quickly subsided. There had to be at least fifty bounty hunters packed in here, all dying to know why we’d been summoned. The only time someone called an assembly was for a job that required multiple teams, and those didn’t happen often.

  “I know you’re all busy people, so I’ll get right to it,” Levi said. “In the last three days, there have been eight drownings in the East River near the Bronx. Those are the ones we know about.”

  A ripple of excitement went through the crowd, and my stomach quivered nervously. There were several Fae creatures that could harm a human in the water, but only one that would cause the powers that be to call us all together like this.

  “This morning, an eyewitness reported a kayaker being pulled under by something she couldn’t identify,” Levi continued. “At the same time, another attack was witnessed half a mile away. The Agency believes it’s a pair of kelpies, and they’ve made the kelpies’ capture a top priority.”

  The room erupted as people fired questions at the bond agent.

  “Are they treating this as one job or two?”

  “Is the bounty doubled for a pair?”

  “Do we have to split the bounty?”

  Levi held up his hands for silence, and it took a minute for everyone to settle down again.

  “Here’s how it’s going to work. Harbor Patrol is providing us with boats, and six hunters will be assigned to each one. Each kelpie carries its own bounty, and that will be shared by the hunters on the boat that makes the capture. However, because of the urgency, the bounty for each kelpie has been increased to thirty thousand dollars.”

  I leaned against the wall as everyone began to talk at once. Thirty thousand dollars was a lot of money, even split six ways, but this wasn’t going to be as cut and dry as Levi made it sound. Kelpies were a level Four for a reason. They were powerful, fast, and vicious. And kelpie sightings were rare, which made it likely that very few people in this room had experience with them. As far as I knew, not even my parents had hunted one.

  Joining the hunt wasn’t mandatory, and as much as I’d like to see a real live kelpie, I was prepared to sit this one out. I didn’t have a partner, and I doubted anyone would want to take a newbie like me on their team.

  Around me, hunters had already begun to form teams, and I felt a bit like an outsider watching these people who had known each other for years. Bruce and Trey talked to Ambrose and Kim, the tough brother and sister team, and they were soon joined by Phil Griffin. Except for Trey, they had years of hunting experience between them. If any team could catch a kelpie, it was probably them.

  Pushing away from the wall. I headed for the exit. I’d almost made it to the door when I heard someone calling my name, and I turned to see Kim weaving through the crowd toward me.

  “You’re not thinking of missing out on all the fun, are you?” she asked when she caught up to me.

  I cocked an eyebrow at her. “Why? You offering me a spot on your team?”

  “Yeah.”

  My mouth fell open. “Why?”

  Kim laughed. “Because there is far too much testosterone on my crew, and I need someone to keep me from tossing Bruce’s offspring overboard.”

  “I don’t think your crew agrees with you.” I looked over at them to find all four men watching us. Ambrose and Phil didn’t look happy, Bruce looked concerned, and Trey flushed when he met my eyes. I hadn’t told anyone about that day in the elevator with the bunnek, but two other bounty hunters had seen enough to guess some of what had happened and to tell everyone else.

  “Don’t mind them. You single-handedly captured a bunnek less than two weeks on the job, and I hear you’re pretty smart, too. That’s the kind of person I want watching my ass out there.” She waved a hand at her team. “What do you say?”

  I didn’t take long to come to a decision. Aside from Trey, they were a solid team. And I might never get another opportunity to see a kelpie up close.

  “I’m in.”

  That was how, an hour later, I found myself aboard one of the seven Harbor Patrol boats that were slowly circling the river between Queens and the Bronx. The overcast sky threatened rain, and the wind had picked up, making the water choppy.

  In the middle of the ring of boats, two very brave souls paddled around in kayaks. The men, experienced Harbor Patrol divers, were wearing full wetsuits and breathing apparatuses, and were armed with dart guns. Their job was to act as bait, wait for a kelpie to attack, and then shoot it with a special tranquilizer. The goal was to capture the creature, not harm it, and there was enough iron in the dart to slow down a kelpie long enough for us to move in.

  The light was starting to fade when a shout went up from one of the boats. “Kelpie!”

  I watched in a mix of horror and awe as a large, black horse-like creature erupted from the water. The kelpie screamed and lunged at a man in one of the kayaks.

  The man twisted and pointed his gun at the kelpie. I couldn’t hear the shot, but the creature’s enraged scream told us the dart had struck him.

  The kelpie landed on the bow of the kayak, sending the man flying from his seat. Before he’d hit the water, we were already racing toward them.

  I kept my eyes on the kelpie, which was thrashing wildly. Was the iron not working on him? Beside me, Bruce and Ambrose held a large net between them, while Kim and Phil held another.

  We reached the kayak a few seconds before another boat, and Bruce and Ambrose wasted no time in throwing their net. But at the last second, the floundering kelpie rolled off the kayak and into the water. All I could hear was the thuds of the net’s iron weights hitting the kayak, followed by a colorful string of curses from Ambrose.

  Something hit the deck beside me and I looked down to see a tranquillizer dart. I would bet my entire share of the bounty that this dart had come from an enraged kelpie.

  Shouts filled the air as a net flew from the second boat and landed just shy of the creature. The kelpie’s black eyes were so wide I could see the whites, and it was snorting wildly and foaming at the mouth.

  My heart constricted with compassion for the magnificent beast, and I had to remind myself the kelpie was a danger to humans and had already killed some. It wasn’t like we were going to harm it. It would be tagged and sent back to Faerie, where it could live out its life and never hurt another human.

  I jumped aside as Kim and Phil moved into position with their net. A third boat had joined us, and I could see them readying to throw one of their nets. It was getting very crowded and noisy as people yelled and the three crews jostled to be the one to make the capture. Bagging a kelpie meant more than a payout. It would give the hunters bragging rights and look pretty impressive on the books.

  Nets flew from two of the other boats at the same time. Weights clashed as the nets collided and tangled in the air before falling into the river and sinking. Angry shouts volleyed between the boats as Kim and Phil took aim and made their throw.

  As the net hit its target, the kelpie roared and flailed desperately. Cheers went up around me, but I could only feel sadness as I watched the kelpie become helplessly ensnared in the net.

  Our boat maneuvered closer. Ambrose and Bruce prepared to throw a second net. The rest of us stood ready to help secure the nets and pull in our catch.

  The water between us and the kelpie exploded upward and over us as the second kelpie made its appearance. This one was pure white and a little smaller than the first one, but its scream of rage nearly pierced my eardrums.

  The kelpie leaped straight at us, its lips pulled back and its hooves creating sparks when they struck the rail of the boat. One of the hooves struck flesh, and Bruce yelled in pain as he stumbled backward.

  For one second, the kelpie’s silver eyes met mine before she disappeared below the waves again.

  “She’s nursing,” I shouted at my crew, who ignored me as they scrambled to get the net ready.

>   “Jesse, move back,” Trey ordered as he helped his father to his feet.

  I raised my voice to be heard above the shouts. “Stop! These nets won’t hold her.”

  “Out of the way.” Ambrose shoved me aside. “I told you she’d be useless,” he yelled to his sister.

  Kim shot me a disappointed look like I’d let her down. That was going to be the least of her worries if I didn’t get these people to listen to me.

  I pushed forward again. “Didn’t you see her eyes? She’s a nursing female.”

  “Yeah. So what?” Phil asked as he and Ambrose braced themselves against the rail with the net between them.

  I stared at him in disbelief. Did none of these people ever read? Female kelpies’ eyes turned silver when they were nursing, which meant this was a mated pair with a foal nearby. And kelpie mares were never more dangerous than when they were protecting their young.

  The female kelpie burst from the river again. Her powerful jaws latched onto the net ensnaring her mate, and she shredded the strong fibers with a shake of her head. Before anyone could react, the pair slipped beneath the surface.

  “Goddamnit!” Ambrose bellowed, slamming his fist into a post. His furious gaze turned on me as if I were somehow to blame.

  I glared back at him, holding my ground. He was looking for a scapegoat, but it wouldn’t be me. I’d tried to warn them, and no one would listen.

  Someone shouted from the nearest boat. I looked past Ambrose in time to see the male kelpie drag one of the hunters into the water. Chaos erupted as the man’s scream was cut off by the water closing over his head. Everyone on our boat ran to the rail.

  “Back up,” I yelled to my crew, sensing the approaching danger. They ignored me.

  Water washed over us. One second, Trey stood there leaning over the rail, and in the next, he was gone.

  “Trey!” Bruce shouted in horror, limping to the rail. “Oh, God.”

  I didn’t think. My mind went on autopilot as I stripped off my jacket and kicked off my boots. Before anyone could stop me, I dived off the rail.

  The river was so cold my body went into shock at the first impact, and I almost sucked in a mouthful of water. I managed to keep my wits about me as I swam straight down. Kelpies dragged their victims down just far enough for the person to run out of air and drown. If I had any hope of saving Trey, I had to follow.