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