“I’ll go.Wager doesn’t have any family to support him.He’s…”
“A tralaeth like me,” I finished for her.
“Right.I’ll head over there as soon as I give Raj some snacks and get him set up with his programs.There’s a marathon of Captain Quake right now—don’t even ask.I don’t even understand the storyline, but it’s popular with the under-six set.Text me the directions and room number, if you would.”She paused, then added, “We’ll talk to you soon.”
I hung up, then called Yutani to ask him to send the information to Raven.“Okay, someone will be there.I feel better now,” I added.
“Raven’s the best choice,” he said.“They’ve been friends for a long time.”He paused, then added, “He’ll be okay, Ember.Don’t worry.The doctors are more than capable, and Wager’s strong and healthy.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking a deep breath.“You’re all my family.”
“We know,” he said.“And we all consider you family, too.The fact that you agreed to work with Herne was the best thing that could happen for him.I wasn’t all that much of a fan at first, but that was a long time ago, and I’m grateful you’re in my life.”
I paused, wanting to beg him to work on letting go of Lyrical, but now wasn’t the time.But I did say, “I just want the best for you—for everyone.”
“See you back at the office,” Yutani said, then he hung up.
“All right, back to work.Let’s swing by a coffee shop on the way,” I said.
And, ever obliging, Herne headed for the nearest Starbucks.
Back at the shop,Talia had prepared the paperwork for Ash’s hiring.
“I sent the link to an article from the Seattle Updates site,” she said.“Read it to the others.”She gathered her things and followed us into the breakroom.
Yutani was there already, poring over some link on his laptop.
As we sat down, I opened the link and scanned the headline.
speed boat capsized.three dead and two missingread the headline.
“Holy cripes,” I muttered, before reading the article aloud to the others.
A speedboat belonging to John Wynters, the son of local tech mogul Abernathy Wynters III, was capsized in Elliot Bay this morning.The boat was dragged under the water by what appears to be a massive octopus.The bodies of two people—John Wynters and his girl friend, Miley Cranston—were found shortly after.Three others that were aboard the boat are still missing.
Rescuers have been looking by air, and the Coast Guard has deployed a massive search via the water, but hopes are fading with every hour that passes.Doctors estimate survival time in water that is fifty-seven degrees to be four hours on the outside.More than that amount of time has already passed, and given the waves are rough today, authorities aren’t holding out much hope for the missing victims to be found alive.
At first, officials thought the creature was one of the North Pacific giant octopuses, but after consulting an expert in marine life, they now say that whatever capsized this boat was responsible for several similar cases over the past few weeks, and that it’s most likely some other creature.
“Well, that’s the last thing we need to hear,” I said.“Those creatures are still out there, and they’re not going away.The mayor can cave into demands from tourism, but at what cost?”I set my tablet on the table, grumbling.
“Ten to one, I’ll hear from her before tomorrow’s out.They seem to assume we can solve any problem they can’t,” Herne said.He looked as irritated as I felt.
“What will you say to her?”Viktor asked.
“That she needs to get those damned restrictions back up.We’ll only lose more lives the longer they’re down until somebody catches those damned things.I’ll call her tomorrow morning and have another talk with her.Maybe we should ask Ashera to go back out there.”
“I doubt if she would, not without backup.They almost dragged her down the first time she went,” I said.The dragons left over here were helpful, but they weren’t going to sacrifice themselves just for us.
“I suppose you’re right,” Herne said.“By the way, how are we going to manage having an Ash and an Ashera?”
“The same way we manage anything—we never call Ashera ‘Ash’ for short.I doubt she’d stand for it.So…we shouldn’t have any problem,” I said.“I’m looked forward to her working here, actually.My father’s bloodline sparked with recognition.Just like my mother’s side picks up on the water elementals and other water Fae…the Autumn’s Bane resonates to Ash’s earth energy.Only her blood runs deeper than most Fae from the earth.Crystals have their own resonance and energy—each one is different but they all have that deep harmonic tremor that reverberates like the deepest bass voice in a choir.”
“Okay, we can’t do anything about the boat,” Herne said.“Let’s work a little late tonight and spend some time trying to figure out what those Whispering Lights actually are.”As he proceeded to tell Yutani and Talia what we found out, I pulled another double shot on the espresso machine.Today was a three-latte day, and I was grateful I could handle the caffeine.
Another hour later,I was no closer to finding out any information on what the Whispering Lights were or what that anteater-like creature was.I was ready to pack it up, when a “FOUND IT!”echoed down the hall.It sounded like Yutani.
I headed to the breakroom, Herne and Viktor joining me.At least in our new building, we all had our own offices and didn’t have to share.Yutani met us coming from the other direction.He was carrying his laptop.
