Queen of Swords and Silence

by Carrow Brown

  He fished in his jacket, pulled out a worn notebook and flicked through the pages. “You’re the same pair who fought in the Fae Wars?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck and nodded. “Yes. We were required because of the foul play between Queen Mab and Arthur at the time.”

  Caldrin leaned closer toward me, his eyes bright. “And the Night Attack of Targoviste?”

  This guy really did his research.

  “That was a little different. The Solis brothers weren’t following the night-doctrine and needed a wakeup call.”

  He turned another page and placed finger on the lower half of it. “And the ninth legion beyond Hadrian’s?”

  That was like a bajillion years ago. He’s a fan boy stalker, that’s what he is. He will take a picture and make you his waifu next.

  I coughed to cover up a laugh. “We weren’t the only ones there. It was either abduct them or face the wrath of the Fae Queens. Other than hiring us, is there a reason you’re interested in our history?”

  “Confirmation, mostly.” Caldrin closed his notebook and tucked it away. He leaned over to pull up and place a briefcase on the table. “Making sure you’re the right person for my request.” He pulled a thick manila envelope from inside and handed it to me.

  I took it and peeked inside, seeing a stack of photos rubber banded together along with a thick packet of papers. I pulled out the stack of photos and looked at the first one.

  A blond man with a large forehead, thin blond hair with a side parting, squinty eyes, and pronounced cheekbones. I flipped the picture over to read “Patrick Green” in neat handwriting.

  I turned the photo back over. “I’ve never seen him before.”

  The magi leaned back and crossed his legs, resting his linked fingers over a knee. “He’s an alchemist living in England.”

  I tucked the photo back into the envelope. “Why do you want to kill him? Most of my contracts are because they are causing a problem and all other channels have failed. I would’ve heard about him if that were the case.”

  His head tilted to the side. “Do you need to know the reason why?”

  David said, “Not always, but it helps us understand the bigger picture and keep your values in mind.”

  Oh, he’s a good bullshitter. You better watch out for that.

  “Yes, of course.” Caldrin leaned back into his chair. “He’s the apprentice of Floyd Bitterwind.”

  My eyes snapped up. “Floyd Bitterwind?” For David’s benefit, I added, “That’s the guy I hear whispered about in the middle of the day. He’s no joke. Why go after his apprentice?”

  David took the envelope from me and pulled out a picture to look at while Caldrin spoke. “In recent years, Floyd’s aligned himself with Hunters. We couldn’t understand why since Hunters hunt down mythics, but—if the intel we acquired is correct—they’ve developed a device to locate us.”

  “Us? Do you mean magi or mythics in general?”

  He sliced a hand through the air. “I’m not sure how, but it appears able to locate magi and mythics alike.

  I grimaced. “We already have a hard time hiding in plain sight. Do you know anything about the device?” Anything he could share was something I could send back through my operator. The more I knew about this, the faster we could squash the problem.

  Caldrin shook his head. “Speculation at best. We only know Floyd’s apprentice designed it. We need him and the device destroyed.”

  David looked up from the pictures. “Say we do the job. What’s to stop Floyd from making it on his own?”

  The magi’s eyes widened. “Have you two not heard?”

  I frowned. “I don’t keep tabs on magi unless I have to.”

  Caldrin licked his lips and leaned in as he whispered, “Floyd’s gone the way of Outermancy.”

  Nope! Nope-nope-nope. I don’t want any of that. Reject the job and refer him to someone else.

  Hissing out a “shit,” I leaned back into my chair, rubbing a hand over my mouth. “Do you know how far he’s gone?”

  “Sadly, no.” Caldrin shook his head. “Only that he has.”

  My eyes shifted to David, who scowled at the photo in his hand. “So, Floyd won’t be able to cast certain magics without assistance. I looked back to Caldrin. “But what about the knowledge of how to make the device? It would be a quick fix if he got another apprentice.”

  The magi shook his head. “The magic ability required to do such a thing is rare. If Floyd found another apprentice with the magical alignment needed, it would still take years of training before he could recreate the device.”

  I nodded. “Understood. We’ll be hindering his intentions, whatever those may be.”

  David asked, “What about Floyd himself? If we go in and kill his apprentice, he’s not going to be happy about it. If all you’re doing is hindering him, then this is only putting a band-aid on a neck wound and a bullseye on you, Mr. Leafstorm.”

  See? He’s thinking.

  Caldrin waved a hand at the photos. “Don’t concern yourself with my wellbeing. So long as we put off this project, it will be a win.”

  “We understand.” I stood and shouldered my bag. “We’ll get started on the task for you, sir. I hope the two-week limit will be fine?”

  He jerked to his feet, walked toward me, and took my hand in both of his before I could pull away. “Of course! I look forward to being updated on your progress.” He moved to David and embraced him. “Thank you both.”

  “You’re welcome.” David awkwardly patted his back. We waved and made a quick exit from the room. When we left the building and headed down the street, David said, “Tell me I’m not the only one who thought that was suspicious.”

  “It’s fishy as fuck. Anything involving Floyd should have been elevated above me.” I pulled my phone out and eyed the black screen. “I can’t call my operator until we are out of here.”

  “So, we leave and make the call?”

  “Maybe. There’s a guy I know here who keeps an ear to the ground. If I’m going to pass it on, I’d like to give more information than I was given. I was going to ask if he knew anything about Sasha as well.”

  “So, who is this guy? Can we trust him?”

  “We should.” I placed my phone into my jacket pocket. “He’s my son.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Missing Mythics

  We walked side by side down a single-lane road and stopped at a set of stairs leading into a basement with a “Two Tail Tavern” sign over the sliding door at the bottom.

  The front of the building looked like garbage, but once we passed through the entryway, it was a whole other story.

  Inside, the omnipresent paper lanterns gave the bar a soft golden glow. The wall at the entrance was decorated with multiple Polaroid photos with dates and names scribbled along the bottom. The bar was professionally maintained and run by two Japanese men with red hair and flushed cheeks. All about the place were different species of East Asian mythological creatures—kitsune, jorogumo, akaname, tanuki, oni, kiyohime—sitting at a table or bar enjoying their drinks and conversation. The auburn Foo dog at the entrance way lifted a head to sniff at us and then lowered it back down onto his paws with a groan.

  David asked, “This is the place?”

  “Yep,” I said. “It’s a good watering hole for a drink, a break, or finding things out.”

  I glanced around the room until my eyes settled on a young Japanese man working behind the bar. He wore a pristine white dress shirt, black vest, and slacks. Despite his youthful appearance, snow-white hair adorned his head along with two fox ears. He leaned over the counter, smiling at a woman who shielded the lower half of her face with a golden fan.

  “There’s Yuki.” I grabbed David’s arm and pulled him with me. “Stay close and don’t talk to strangers.”

  David scoffed. “What am I? Five?”

  Do you want me to be the one to tell him he’s the youngest fuck in the room or do you want to hand him a diaper now?
>
  We walked toward the pair and I tapped the woman’s shoulder when I was close enough. “I need that seat.”

  She turned and looked me up and down with her violet eyes. With a huff, she slid off the stool and floated away—and I do mean float—to one of the tables by the wall, her scarf rippling in her wake.

  Yuki huffed at me. “Did you really have to do that?”

  “Yes.” I sat on the vacant stool. “I don’t have time for pleasantries today, kiddo.”

  The kitsune looked from me to David. “Who is this? Another enforcer?”

  “David, this is Yuki. Yuki, this is David, avatar select for Badb. I’m keeping an eye on him while she sorts out a few things.”

  David extended his hand as he pulled up a stool for himself. “Nice to meet you.”

  Yuki took and shook it. “Hajimemashite.” Withdrawing his hand, he leveled a look at me. “You know you missed my birthday again?”

  My brows rose. “Do birthdays really matter after two hundred? You’re what, three hundred-something now?”

  “Three hundred and ninety-seven,” he said, pouting. “How did you forget how old I am?”

  I placed a hand to my chest. “I don’t even know how old I am and you want me to track your age? Let’s be real here.”

  Yuki shook his head as he turned and picked up a bottle of vodka and a shot glass. He looked over at David. “Do you want something to drink?”

  “No, I am the designated walker.”

  Nodding, Yuki set the shot glass on the table and poured the vodka into it before sliding it toward me. “What do you need? You don’t randomly appear in my bar unless it’s Trivia Night.”

  “I’m trying to dig up—” I stopped and took in a deep breath. “Are you smoking again?”

  Yuki froze.

  I slapped my hand on the bartop, drawing a few pairs of eyes to us. “You are! Dammit, Yuki! You know predators can pick up that scent easily.”

  His vulpine eyes shifted from his patrons to me. “Are we really doing this now?”

  “Do you want me to mother you, or not? You can’t pout about me forgetting to send you a card and then protest when I demand you stop making yourself an easy mark.”

  He massaged the bridge of his nose. “What do you want?”

  I rested my forearms on the bar. “I need dirt on a Caldrin Leafstorm and anything you may have heard about a Valkyrie named Sasha.”

  Yuki’s tails twitched behind him. “Sure, but that’s a lot. I’ll do it for a trade. It’s something I was going to ask your help for anyway.” He waved a hand to one of the booths. “Sit there and I’ll be over when I can.”

  Once we settled ourselves into a booth, David asked, “You’re his mother?”

  “Foster. I can’t bear children, but there are plenty who need homes. I found Yuki when he was a kit being hunted down by some humans. They killed his parents and hunted him for fun.” I smiled at Yuki when he reappeared. “Hey, what does the fox say?”

  He tossed me an envelope with the word “Caldrin” scribbled across the front. “Fuck you.”

  “That would be awkward and confusing for both of us.” I slid the envelope into my bag. “Therapy would be needed.”

  Yuki narrowed his vulpine eyes. “Sometimes I’m not sure if you’re the worst mother in existence or the most brilliant.”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “You turned out fine, so I can’t be complete shit.”

  One of Yuki’s tails gave an irritated flick and his ears flattened against the sides of his head. “When I complained about it being too cold once, you left me in Canada for a day.”

  “Canada is nice,” I said with a shrug.

  His face went deadpan. “In the middle of winter.”

  I grinned. “You never complained about it being cold ever again. I call that a lesson learned.” I downed the second shot and set the glass on the table with its partner. “You said you wanted to trade, not discuss my parenting methods. What do I owe you for the info?”

  Yuki nodded and set a bundle of papers on the table. Arching an eyebrow, I leaned over to take the bundle and pulled the papers free. Sliding the contents onto my hand, I looked at a stack of photos. The first one had Patrick Green in it, but he wasn’t the focus. A large burly man with dark skin, black hair cut close to his head, and black eyes was. I shuffled through the rest of the photos, seeing the black-haired man was the main subject in all of them. In some he was in a crowd, speaking to a group of people with no apparent weapons, but in most of them he had a military-style assault rifle on him. David leaned over to look, and I handed him several of the photos.

  I shuffled through several more photos. “What am I looking at?”

  “Samuel Henry, the current leader of the Hunter’s Order.”

  I leaned back into the booth as I studied a photo of Samuel considering the camera. Still young, mid-thirties at first glance, with wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. His face appeared stern, proud, even. The intensity of his eyes kept my attention. It was the kind of expression of a man got after he perfected his hand at murder. I would know, I saw the same look in the mirror every morning.

  “He’s cute,” I said, setting the photos on the table. “The Hunters had to pick a new leader at some point. Are you trying to hook me up with a hot date?”

  Yuki made a face at me. “No, it’s what’s happened since he took charge I’m concerned about.”

  “Hunters have decided to stop killing anything supernatural and focus on charity work? I can see them now. Standing outside of hobby stores asking for spare change. ‘Please, sir, just a bit more for the poor little orphans….’”

  Yuki narrowed his eyes at me, voice full of irritation. “Mother.”

  I held up my hands. “Sorry.” I clapped my hands together and rested them on the table. “Are they upping their game with their attacks?”

  Yuki’s eyes lowered to the photos. “I think they’re kidnapping us.”

  In the back of my mind I felt Silence’s consciousness and his presence as he observed through my eyes. I gestured at Yuki to continue. “What are you basing this on?”

  Yuki reached for the pictures and pulled out another stack. “I heard about it maybe a year ago—a couple of mythics disappearing. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. Mythics poof all the time. Sometimes they disappear on purpose, but they also return after a while. Either because they have to make new identities or they’re evading tax collectors. These are the ones I know no one has been able to find. Not even in the Under.”

  I took the photos and shuffled through them. “None of these have resurfaced?”

  “Not that I can tell. It didn’t smell right, so I started to collect what I could.”

  My hands slowed as I studied each photo. I looked at the back and saw the name, location, and date written in Yuki’s neat handwriting. Looking to Yuki, I asked, “Last place seen?”

  He nodded.

  Keeping the cards flipped over, I sorted them onto the table until I had them arranged in piles by types of mythics. There were a lot of cards. The largest one belonged to the Fae. I recounted them and stopped after I hit fifty.

  I rubbed my face with both hands. “Shit. Shit-shit-shit!”

  David asked, “What is it?”

  I tapped the biggest pile. “This is bad. I was in Seattle a few days ago and both fairy queens were holding court for an emergency. If this is it, then we have a problem.”

  Yuki’s face paled, but it was David who asked, “What do you mean?”

  “You think fairies and picture the cute little critters with wings and sparkly dust in their wake, right?” David nodded, and I continued, “There are those, but there are more than that. One thing they all have in common is that all belong to a Seelie Court—Winter, Summer, or Wyld.”

  David said back with his brows drawn. “How does that play into everything?”

  “The courts are protective of their people.” I tapped the photos again. “This is going to piss them off. It’s winter, which me
ans Mab is in power. She isn’t called the Queen of Air and Darkness for nothing.” I picked up the photos and shuffled through them. “Did you find a pattern to the abductions?”

  Yuki nodded. “They went for the noisy ones first. Fresh vampires, changelings, or magi gone the dark path. They’re growing bolder, though.” He looked up, his gaze on my nose. “Now they’re snooping around our merchants. Seven told me he’s noticed an increase in Hunter activity in his area.”

  “Not surprised, it’s Louisiana. If they knew who was running the store, they’d go inside and abduct him as well. It may be wise to tell him that the Hunters are using his location to scope out targets. But he’s not stupid – he’ll probably have worked it out himself, so I suspect he’s aware.”

  Yuki sighed and picked up his tea. He knew me well enough from my years of defective parenting when he should just let me think. He did so then, sipping his drink and looking about the room. The bar was a low murmur, the occupants engrossed in their own discussions.

  I steepled my fingers together against my face and stared at the pictures. Abduction in multiple locations and sightings in Louisiana? It wasn’t the activity of a small group or even a big local team. They’d gone global. I slid the photos farther apart to examine the other men with Mr. Henry. They all had military-issued Kevlar and were holding an M4 Carbine or M16A2 rifles. They’d found someone willing to sell them the gear illegally? Or, even worse, they were being funded by someone at the spooky end of human government.

  I looked to Yuki. “Who else knows?”

  The Kitsune gestured to our table. “Just us. Like I said, I wasn’t sure at first if these disappearances were intention or not. I thought about putting in formal request with the enforcers, but something in my gut told me not to.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, well, you’re talking to me now. I can dig into this and subtly pass it onto Master Draco when I can give him more facts.”

  Yuki gave me a flat look. “You don’t do subtle very well.”