Sun Broken (The Wild Hunt #11) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,44
but for Fire & Fang, it’s true. They run a high male-dominance factor. Raven can get away with it, given there are both male and female members of the Spooks.”
“You do realize you might as well be bait?” Herne asked. “And I may not be able to go with you, but I can sure as hell send Viktor.”
I let out a sigh. “Won’t work.”
“And pray tell, why not?” Herne glared at me.
Yutani answered. “Ogres and similar Cryptos aren’t allowed. It’s vampire, human, magic-born, and Fae only. They only let shifters in if they’re either magic-born or vampire, and the latter rarely happens, like with Mendin. I’m afraid it’s Ember and me, boss.”
Herne looked like he had swallowed a frog. “Fine. And you say Raven could infiltrate this group?”
“She stands a better chance than any of us. The Spooks meet once a week on Saturdays, so I think we should go tomorrow night.” I paused, resting my hand on Herne’s shoulder. “I know you’re worried, but if we don’t find the killer soon, there will be more victims. We can’t overlook the most promising lead that we have.”
Herne stared up at me and I could see the worry flickering in the depths of his eyes. “All right. But I don’t like it, not at all.”
“I’ll go call Raven, then.” I leaned down and kissed his forehead, then headed back to my office as they wrapped up the meeting.
When I explained to Raven what we were planning, I could hear the hesitation in her voice.
“I suppose I can help. I don’t relish getting involved with a rogue group of necromancers, but it sounds like you don’t have many options.”
“No,” I said. “I know it’s a lot to ask, and frankly, I don’t like going in there without a vampire to guide us, but I don’t know any except Charlie, and he’s so wet behind the ears, I wouldn’t trust him down in the Catacombs. He’d probably get us killed—by accident, of course.” Charlie was too newly sired to go waltzing around the Catacombs without supervision. The fact that he worked for us also made him a target.
“Hold on. I may not have a vampire who can help us, but I have a friend who’s a PI and who might be able to find out some information for us. His name is Wager Chance, and he runs an investigation agency that’s housed down there. He’s half Dark Fae and half magic-born. Do you want me to bring him over tonight, if he can make it?”
If Raven trusted him, he’d be all right. “Call me back. If he can make it tonight, it can’t hurt to ask him if he can help somehow. We’ll make dinner.”
Hustling back to the break room, I caught the others as they were getting ready to leave for the day. I told them what Raven had said and they all agreed it couldn’t hurt to ask.
“Do you want to come over to talk to her?” I asked.
Herne and Yutani said yes, they’d be over around eight. Viktor had a date with his girlfriend, and Talia had an appointment with her hairdresser. Charlie wouldn’t be in until late, given the sun was going down later every day, so Angel set out the files we needed him to enter into the computer before we left.
Angel and I stopped at the store to pick up ingredients for spaghetti and salad. We’d been so busy that neither one of us had remembered to go grocery shopping. As we were heading out of the store, Raven called to tell me that she, Wager, and Kipa would be over at around eight. By the time we got home it was nearly seven forty-five. Angel dove straight into cooking while I fed Mr. Rumblebutt and did a quick tidy-up in the living room.
I was sorting through the mail—mostly junk mail and bills—when the doorbell rang.
Raven had brought Raj, who was a gargoyle the size of a rottweiler. He kind of looked like a rottweiler, too. His wings had been cut off when he was a baby and Raven had rescued him from the demon who owned him. They were inseparable companions now.
She was decked out in a purple corset, a skirt made out of chiffon with a tulle petticoat, and a pair of platform PVC ankle boots over striped leggings. Her hair was as long as mine, though it was a dark brunette streaked with purple—a natural coloring. She was plump, curvy, and goth-beautiful.