I restrained myself from sighing. I had been looking forward to having the day off before ritual, but I sucked it up.
“We’ll be here,” Viktor said, motioning to the rest of us, and we nodded.
“Good, because I also called Mayor Neskan. She asked us to meet with Jana Wildmere, the president of the Shifter Alliance, to discuss forming a militia formed of shifters. And tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock, Ember and I are going to parley with Saílle and Névé to ask them if we can commandeer the Fae militia they drummed up during the Iron Plague. Humans simply aren’t strong enough to cope with these creatures, so the Cryptos have to take the helm on this one. I also convinced the mayor to call for a statewide curfew until the situation is under control. She’s going to discuss it with the governor.”
The last thing I wanted to do was parley with Saílle and Névé, but this wasn’t the time to complain. “We should talk to the Vampire Nation, too.” I glanced over at the screen. “Charlie, who runs the show for this state?”
“The regent for the Pacific Northwest is Dormant Reins. He’s a thousand years old and was here long before any white settlers ever came to the area.” Charlie leaned back, crossing his arms. “Getting an audience with him isn’t going to be easy.”
I worried my lip. “What about calling Eldris? He seems to have a lot of power in the Vampire Nation.” Eldris was the manager of a nightclub called Fire & Fang, and he was too slimy for my tastes, but he had connections and he might actually be willing to talk to us.
Yutani caught my gaze. “You might be on to something there.”
“Should I call, or should you?” I asked.
Yutani thought it over for a moment. “Probably you. He was intrigued by you. And now that he knows you’re not my sub, I doubt if he has much interest in talking to me.”
Herne cleared his throat—hard—and leaned forward. “Don’t you think I should have a talk with him instead of Ember?”
There it was again, that flicker of jealousy. Herne didn’t want to share me. I was fine with that, even though a number of the gods and the Fae were far from monogamous. But I wasn’t a piece of property. I had conflicted feelings every time Herne’s possessive side reared its jealous little head.
“Yutani’s right. I caught Eldris’s eye, and as uncomfortable as that made me, I’m not above using it for all it’s worth.” I pulled out my phone. “Should I ask him to come in tomorrow night, or are we going to go down to Fire & Fang?”
Herne’s smoldering look told me exactly what he thought of that idea. “I’d prefer here, but I doubt we have the upper hand on this. Find out where he’s willing to meet.”
I brought up my contacts and found Eldris’s number. He answered on the first ring. “Hey, it’s Ember Kearney. Remember me?”
“Most definitely. I never forget a beautiful woman.” His words were smooth and flowed over me like sweet honey.
I shook my head, trying to chase away the strands of glamour that flickered through the phone. Eldris was old, and he was a powerful vampire. Try as I might, his ability to charm overwhelmed my ability to ignore it.
“We need your help on a matter that’s going to affect everyone, including the vampires. We need to talk to the regent of the Pacific Northwest.” I paused, waiting for his answer.
Silence…then, “You really think you can just walk into his office like you would a city official?” Eldris laughed. “Pardon me, but that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard. You won’t get in by namedropping your boyfriend’s name at the door. Let me work on it. I can’t promise you I’ll have you an invitation by tomorrow, but I’ll do what I can.”
“It’s really important,” I said. “Please, don’t take too long. A lot of lives hang in the balance.”
Eldris paused, then when he spoke again, his voice was somber. “I’ve seen the news. I know why you’re asking. I’ll do what I can. I’ll call you when I have anything to report.” And with that, the line went dead.
I sat back, closing my eyes for a moment. I glanced over at Herne. “He’ll do his best and I believe him. Should we head out to the Worchester District now?”
Herne pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Just killing a few of them won’t solve the