“I wonder if it broke down on the way home. Maybe she took a taxi home or maybe she called a LUD? And when she got home she could have gone for a walk in the park. I know that’s stretching it, but we should call the LUD headquarters to find out if they logged a trip here last night.” I turned to Angel. “Can you do that?”
“On it,” Angel said, pulling out her phone and moving over toward the dining area.
LUD — or Let Us Drive — was a rideshare agency. They had practically replaced taxis, although there were a few independent contractors still around.
“Kipa, Yutani, and I will search the park. I wish we had a scent dog.” Herne frowned, glancing at Yutani. “Can you pick up scents in your coyote form?”
Yutani shook his head. “To some degree, but I don’t have as keen of an ability as a dog.” He glanced at Kipa. “Or a wolf.”
“I’ll call my wolves to help us. They can try scenting her out.” Kipa jumped up, looking relieved to have something to do.
“Angel and Ember, stay here and wait for Talia and Viktor.” Herne paused as Angel returned. “What did LUD say?”
“No one with her description, name, or address called for a LUD last night.”
“We need information on her car—her license plate for one thing, and the make and model. Kipa, do you remember?” Herne asked.
Kipa snapped his fingers. “She got her insurance bill just the other day and I know she hasn’t paid it yet. Let me go get it. It will have her license plate and the make and model on it.” He vanished down the hall toward Raven’s office.
“Viktor can ask Erica to put out an APB. If we can find the car, maybe we can find Raven.” Herne paused, looking at me. “Yutani filled me in on what happened last night. Do you think anything there might have precipitated this?”
I shrugged. “I doubt if Eldris is behind this. He seemed as eager to find out who the killer is as we are. I don’t think he wants any prying eyes on his club. Raven did mention that there was a rather obnoxious man in the Spooks—a Michael Gould. We were actually speculating on whether he might be the murderer.” I paused. “By the way, sending another Ante-Fae to watch over me? That’s tacky…but sweet.”
“Trinity’s okay. He’s an oddball, but I knew he could get in there without a fuss.” Herne gnawed on his lip, then said, “All right. When Talia and Viktor get here, have Viktor call Erica about this Michael Gould. We have to check out everything we can.”
As the three men headed toward the door, I sat down beside Raj and draped my arm around his shoulders. He looked up at me, and I could see the worry in his eyes.
“Try not to worry,” I said softly. “We’re going to do our best to find her.”
Raj leaned his head against my knee, and we sat like that until the men had left the house.
By the time Viktor and Talia got there I had gone through Raven’s phone, looking for anything that might give us a clue. There were no calls since before we went to the club. There was one text that had come through shortly before we left Fire & Fang, after our meeting in the bathroom. But the only identifier was a P for the name. It said, here’s my number. And Raven had texted back, got it.
“This wouldn’t be Gould, unless he has a weird nickname.” I frowned, chewing on my lip as I tried to figure out who it was. I thought about calling them, but that seemed a little premature. And what would I say? I found your phone number in Raven’s phone and we’re looking for her, have you seen her?
Viktor immediately called Erica, who said she would put out an APB on Raven’s car, and one on Raven, as well.
“I should call some of her friends. I know a few of them,” I said. “Maybe someone had an emergency and she drove over there.”
“But why would her phone be out in the park?” Angel said.
I shook my head. “I have no clue. But it’s worth a shot.” I pulled up Raven’s list of contacts. The first person I would call would be Llew. He was a good friend of hers and he owned the apothecary shop where Raven read tarot cards.
“Yes?” The voice on the other end sounded groggy, and not at all happy to be woken up at seven in the morning.
“Llew, this is Ember, Raven’s friend. I was wondering if she contacted you this morning? Is she by any chance over at your house?”
His grumpiness changed to curiosity. “No, should she be?”
“She seems to have disappeared. We’re trying to locate her. We found her phone, which is why I’m calling you, but her car is missing and so is she. Have you talked to her since last night?”
“No, I haven’t. She’s supposed to come down to the shop today, though. She has a couple of appointments in the afternoon. She didn’t call me to cancel.” He sounded genuinely concerned now. “Would you like me to come over? I might be able to do a Location spell to see if I can figure out anything.”
“If you wouldn’t mind, that might be helpful. We’re at her house. Kipa, Herne, and Yutani are out searching for her in the park.”
“I’ll see you in about half an hour. Have you eaten breakfast?”
Surprised by the question, I said, “No. We haven’t had a chance. Angel and I were about to eat when we got the call from Kipa.”
“I’ll stop by my husband’s coffee shop. He makes the best pastries in town. I’ll bring over something to eat. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
As he hung up, I glanced at Angel. “Her friend Llew works with magic and he might be able to help us. I suppose I should call a few of the Ante-Fae who she hangs out with.” I paused, thinking of Trinity, but he seemed to have been on our side. I scrolled through Raven’s contacts.
My gaze fell on Raj. I looked over at Viktor and Talia. “Why don’t you to check on her ferrets? I doubt if they’ve been fed today unless Kipa remembered. And they need their cages cleaned. She does that first thing every morning.”
“I’m not sure why you want us out of the room,” Talia said, “but we’ll take care of the ferrets. Where are they?”
“In the room at the end of the hall.” As soon as they were out of sight I turned back to Raj. “Raj, do you know the names of Raven’s friends from the Burlesque A Go-Go club?”
“Raj knows some of her friends. Raj doesn’t like all of them, but some are nice.” The gargoyle gave me a winsome look. “Raj hungry.”
“I’ll get you something to eat,” Angel said. “Meanwhile, you help Ember.”
“Raj help Ember. Ember and Angel are nice. Raj likes Ember and Angel.”
“And we like Raj.”
“Raven has some friends. There’s Apollo. Apollo is a pretty boy. Raven also likes Vixen. Vixen owns the club. Raj likes Apollo and Vixen. Raj does not like the Vulture Sisters. They’re scary.”
“Thank you. Does Raven have any other friends not from the club?”
“Wager. He likes Raven but she doesn’t like him the same way he likes her. And Wendy. Wendy’s funny. Wendy could break Ember’s neck without even thinking about it.”
I remembered Vixen and Apollo from a trip to the club with Raven. But Wendy… I frowned, wondering if that was the same Wendy I knew from Ginty’s bar. I scrolled through the contacts. There was a phone number for Apollo, as well as one for Vixen. And I found numbers for Wager, and one for Wendy Fierce-Womyn. Yep, the bartender at Ginty’s, all right. I decided to start with Wager, since we had talked recently. As I waited for him to come on the line, I glanced over at Angel who was carrying a dish full of something that smelled like tuna.
“Does Raj like tuna? It’s all Angel could find,” Angel said to the gargoyle. “I mixed it up with some leftover macaroni and cheese.”
Raj’s ears perked up. “Raj loves tuna. Raj loves mac and cheese. Raj thanks Angel.” He followed her over to the corner where she set his plate down and he began to eat, devouring the makeshift tuna casserole.
Finally, Wager came on the phone. He sounded as groggy as Llew had.
I filled him in on what was going on. “Did she call you after she left my house?”
“No. That’s not like her at all. Give me the name of the troublemaker at the club and I’ll see what I can find. Also, who did you say the club owner was?”
“Michael Gould. And the owner is a vampire named Eldris. He’s trouble, I can tell you. I don’t trust him in any way, shape, or form.”
“Give me your number so I have it. I’ll call you as soon as I find out anything.”
I gave Wager my cell number, and then called Apollo. All I got was an answering machine, so I left a message and my personal number. Next, I called Vixen, but the number went directly to the Burlesque A Go-Go and I got a recording saying they would be open at eight p.m.
Finally, I put in a call to Wendy. She answered on the first ring.
“Hey, Raven…what’s up so early?”
“Actually, this is Ember Kearney. You remember—from the Wild Hunt?”
“Right. What are you doing with Raven’s phone?”
“We have a problem. Raven’s missing.” I gave her the rundown. “Did she by any chance contact you since midnight last night?”
“No, she hasn’t. I’ll let you know if she does, though. Do you think she’s okay?” Wendy asked.
“I hope so. I don’t know what I think right now, but I need to hope that she’s okay. The odd thing is that her car is missing and yet her phone was found in UnderLake Park.”
“That is odd. She lives right at the trailhead of the park, I know. We went walking there last week. Keep me informed, would you? Raven and I’ve become closer over the past month or so.”
“Of course. Do you mind if I add your number to my contacts? And I’ll text you so you have my number, just in case she shows up at Ginty’s.”
“Of course. That’s fine.”
“Well, I’ve contacted everyone I can think of.” I set Raven’s phone back on the table, staring at it. “It just doesn’t add up.” I headed toward the ferrets’ room. “Viktor! Talia! Come on out.” I hadn’t wanted for them to see me talking to Raj, given he kept the fact he could talk a secret. A really good secret, in fact. We had known Raven and Raj since September, and not once did I have a clue that Raj could speak.
Talia came out, followed by Viktor. “We fed the ferrets and played with them. There’s something odd about them,” Talia said. “I can’t put my finger on it, but they don’t feel like ferrets to me. Not entirely.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know how it feels when you’re interacting with someone who’s putting up a mask? It feels like that. They look like ferrets and they act like ferrets, but there’s something more to them. I just can’t figure it out.”
“She’s right,” Viktor said. “Did you have any luck?”
“Her friend Llew is on the way over, with breakfast. He works magic so he might be able to cast a Location spell.”
“Any other leads?”
“I called everyone I could think of,” I said. “But nobody had any leads.” At that moment the doorbell rang and Angel went to answer it.
Chapter Sixteen
When she came back she was followed by Llew. I had met Llewellyn Roberts a couple times at Raven’s house, and I thought I had been in his shop once or twice in the past few years. He ran an apothecary, and his husband ran a nearby coffee shop and bakery.
Llew was carrying a large pastry box, which he handed to Angel, and a large messenger bag over his shoulder. He glanced at me and crooked his finger. “I have a question. I noticed something outside.”
I followed him out to the driveway.
Llew knelt by the side of the drive. “There’s a strong magical signature here. I don’t know whose it is, but it’s neither Raven’s nor Kipa’s. That much I can tell you.”
I knelt beside him. “What are you getting at?”
“She would park her car here, right? I can feel her signature all over this area. But there’s another magical signature mixed in there. It had to have come from someone different. They’re both just about the same half-life level, which tells me that Raven was standing here at the same time this other person was.”
I frowned, thinking. “Can you tell when they were here? Could this be residue from a few days ago?”
Llew shook his head. “No, magical signatures fade after twelve hours or so, unless some form of spell is actually cast. So, I’d say that the latest they were here was…” He glanced at his watch. “You said she left your place past midnight?”
“It was probably more like one or two in the morning.”
“Then I’d say it had to be after that. She left here around seven the night before, you said?”
“She was at my house by four p.m.”
“Okay, then this definitely happened after she returned. The signatures couldn’t last longer than twelve hours, not and be this distinctive.” Llew straightened up. “There’s something more.”
“What?” I tensed at the tone in his voice.
“The strange signature? It’s not human. And it’s not shifter or magic-born or anything I recognize, but it’s most definitely steeped in magical energy.” He shook his head. “I have no clue what was here, but whatever it was, it’s a lot stronger than Raven is.”
I shivered. “A goose just walked over my grave,” I said, staring at him. “Do you have any clue what it might be?”
“No, and that scares the fuck out of me. I’ve felt a lot of magical signatures in my life, and I’ve met a lot of magical people, but…there’s something chaotic about this—wildly chaotic.”
I moved closer to him and he draped his arm around my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ember, but this isn’t good news. I think that somebody swept Raven away.”
“How do you explain her phone in the park?” I asked, my voice tight.
“I don’t. Decoy, maybe? To throw you off guard? The same with her car vanishing. Or maybe they knocked her out and took her away in her own car?”
As we stood there, I began to shiver. A moment later, there were shouts as Kipa and Herne came jogging up with Yutani behind them.
“Did you find anything?” I asked.
Yutani shook his head before the others could answer. “No, we didn’t.”
Llew quickly told them what he had discovered. We were gathered in the driveway when a man and woman crossed the street from the house opposite of Raven’s. I knew that Kipa had bought the house to free Raven from an unending series of rotten neighbors, and that he had rented it out to an Irish sister and brother.
Twins, Meadow and Trefoil were magic-born, and they were members of LOCK, an organization originally founded by Taliesin—the son of the goddess Cerridwen. LOCK was some sort of record-keeping organization, though it had a paramilitary branch as well. Since they had moved in, she hadn’t had a problem with any neighbors since.
Meadow was short and sturdy, and she had long red hair that was swept up in a messy chignon. She was lovely, in a sturdy, rosy-cheeked sort of way. Trefoil was tall and lanky, pale-skinned with hair as long as his sister’s. He had a swimmer’s build and hazel eyes that were so magnetic I felt like I might fall into them and not come up for air. They were both dressed in khaki cargo pants. Meadow wore a green tank that curved nicely over her bust, and Trefoil was wearing a black mesh tank that showed off his abs. Neither looked easy to tangle with.
“Is something wrong?” Trefoil asked.
Kipa turned to him. “Raven’s missing.”
Meadow knelt beside Llew, frowning. “What the hell? Tref—feel this.” Her accent was strong but understandable.
Trefoil joined his sister. He held his hand out over the space where Llew had found the magical signature, then quickly pulled it away. “You’ve got trouble, for sure. This is no member of the magic-born.”
“I know, but I can’t pinpoint who it belongs to. Can you?” Llew asked.
Trefoil and Meadow stood up. Trefoil turned to Herne. “Lord Herne, this feels like divine energy.”
Herne and Kipa exchanged glances, then Herne cleared his throat. “Let me summon my mother. If anyone wou
ld know, she would.” He pulled out his phone and moved off to the side to call Morgana.
Meanwhile, Kipa stared at the patch of ground that was keeping us all so captivated.
“I’m not that good with magical signatures,” Kipa said. He raised his head, a stricken look on his face. “But would a god just drive off in her car?”
“You and Herne drive,” Yutani said. He turned to Llew. “How strong of a signature is it?”
“Very strong,” Llew said. “That’s why it confused me so much. While most members of the magic-born are powerful, this goes beyond anything I’ve ever felt. Trefoil’s right, that’s the only thing this can be.” He held out his hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Llewellyn Roberts, and I’m a friend of Raven’s. I own the Sun & Moon Apothecary in downtown Redmond.”
Trefoil shook his hand, and then Meadow followed suit. “I’m Meadow O’Ceallaigh, and this is my brother Trefoil. We work for LOCK. We’re also members of the magic-born.”
Herne returned then, looking grim. “My mother’s on the way. Let’s go inside until she gets here. It won’t take her long.”
We filed back inside, where we found that Talia and Angel had raided Raven’s refrigerator and made sandwiches to go with the pastries that Llewellyn had brought. As we settled around the table, they poured coffee for us, and I noticed that Raj was working on a second breakfast. He was very much a hobbit when it came to food.
None of us were in a particularly chatty mood, and we silently finished our lunch until the doorbell rang. Angel went to answer and returned with Morgana behind her.
Herne’s mother was a stunning beauty, although most of the gods commanded a regal presence, whether or not they were beautiful or ugly or terrifying. Morgana was in one of her particularly commanding moods. I could tell because she was taller than she usually presented herself. She was standing about six-five, today wearing a black linen pantsuit with a brilliant blue tank beneath the jacket. A silver belt encircled her waist, and her long flowing hair had been gathered up into a sleek ponytail.
“Mother,” Herne said, standing. “You know everyone here except for Trefoil and Meadow. And this is Llewellyn, one of Raven’s friends.”
Sun Broken: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 11 Page 17
