Sun Broken (The Wild Hunt #11) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,72

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 would 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.”

She graciously nodded at the three, then took a seat at the end of the table. “I stopped out front to examine the driveway. You’re right. There is a strong signature there and it is of divine nature. It’s terribly chaotic and there’s a malevolence about it that leads me to think we’re dealing with one of the gods of