The Hunt is On (The Patroness) Read online

  “Thanks.”

  We took the stairs and followed the lady’s directions.

  The room was nothing special, neither were the four desks occupying it, and managed to tell a long story about the importance and priority attached to the new unit inside the police ranking. Or lack thereof.

  Commandant Moulin was easy to make out; not because of the uniform but rather because of his presence. He looked like a strong and capable man who hadn’t let his desk job affect his shape. The face was friendly and yet subtly commanding. I had come to the same conclusion regarding his voice the one time we had talked on the phone.

  With two quick strides he stood in front of us. Extending his hand he said, “Miss Cadic, nice to finally meet you.”

  I shook the hand that was offered. “You too. Thank you.”

  Moulin’s attention shifted towards the man beside me. His eyes revealed no reaction or thought, neither about the man nor the creature in front of him. “I take it Kylian Tremaine was held up elsewhere?”

  Gabin nodded, “Yes, unfortunately.”

  So, despite the bubbling hormones the woman from the reception desk had managed to get the information about the change of plans, or rather invitees, to the Commandant before we had even entered the room. Not bad at all. Given my previous experiences with the police here, I was actually impressed.

  A woman stepped forward to stand beside Moulin and drew my attention. Olive-skinned, as if dusted with the gold of setting sunlight, black hair cut short in a pixie style and whiskey-colored eyes that didn’t bother to hide the lethal cat she was. She seemed geared up for whatever was to come, her stance tough; both of which revealed that to her being a cop came before being a shapeshifter. Still, I was more than mildly impressed that the police was for once smart enough to choose a magical creature as head of their new unit. Damn, what the hell had happened to the rather stupid and ignorant officers I was used to?

  “May I introduce Inspecteur Anouk Vigeur to you? She will be leading this unit.”

  Well, she seemed competent enough.

  She nodded in greeting and took her cue. “Which brings us to why we are here. I invited you both since I’ve heard the Pack and the Patroness worked together before, and so I assumed you wouldn’t bite each other’s heads off.”

  I shrugged. “Actually, it depends on the head.”

  Not quite sure what to make of my words or his reaction, her gaze swept towards Gabin, who hurried to smooth the waters like the gentleman he was. “She’s fine with mine, though.”

  Vigeur pulled up an eyebrow and looked at us another moment, then said in a voice that showed she was used to ordering around and being obeyed, “Please, let’s sit down.”

  Behind her stood seven chairs arranged in a circle. Vigeur motioned towards those already taken by three men. “My colleagues, Agents Moreau, Rodriguez and Perrin.”

  As I sat down I studied the three men. Like Vigeur they were dressed in plain clothes. Perrin was the obvious puppy of the four. A willowy, young cop with too many, long limbs to orchestrate and who appeared eager on satisfying and impressing his superiors, and human. So was bald and brawny Rodriguez, though a lot more experienced and with a healthy dose of distrust in his brown eyes. Moreau however, dark-skinned with intelligent eyes, had something about him, what I couldn’t say, but I was sure he wasn’t human. The eyes were too old. I wondered whether the Commandant or the rest of his unit knew that.

  Instead of taking a chair like everybody else Inspecteur Vigeur leaned against her desk, gaining everyone’s attention. “The magical community has known about what is going on for some time now. Humans, however, have been quite brutally pulled out of the dark and into the light to face some sudden changes. They have to live with the fact that a magical shift, which they hardly understand to begin with, is coming their way and they have to accept that their monsters from movies and legends are real. Let’s be honest, it’s quite a load to deal with. This unit was put together not only to facilitate the transit that is necessary due to the recent revelations and to maintain order, but also to broaden our knowledge about the magical community. Knowledge is the key to understanding, which in turn is key to a peaceful coexistence.”

  The whole last part was essentially code for ‘everything will be reported’. Humans and especially their authorities wanted answers to their many questions and this new unit would give them the opportunity to get some of them. Of course, they wanted to keep an eye on the magical creatures, discover their strength and weaknesses, and see whether the magical community posed a threat to humans in general. What better way than a police force to do it. I had expected that much, but it didn’t mean I liked it. There was stuff humans were better off not knowing – lest we burst their fairy tale bubbles, again.

  It made me wonder about Inspecteur Vigeur, though. The police obviously knew that a magical creature had to lead the unit for them to really get some useful information, but also that the person’s loyalty had to lie with the police. A shapeshifter who’d put the police before her pack. Interesting. But then again, did she even have a pack? She didn’t seem to know Gabin which meant she didn’t belong to the Parisian pack. Hmmm.

  Vigeur continued and pulled my out of my thoughts, “I hope we will agree on some of these points and therefore will find some mutual footing. Eventually there might come a situation where a close collaboration will not only be necessary but vital.”

  I said, “Since there are only seven of us, I take it that not all of us agree on that.”

  “If you’re referring to Madame Lilith also known as the Queen of the Undead, then you’re right. She was offered two invitations, one for a private meeting and one to this. Both were declined.”

  I snorted. “Of course. Lilith sees herself being above such mundane things as law and order or even making allies.”

  “Now, I think the tone isn’t necessary, and you should know that we carry silver bullets,” Agent Rodriguez calmly cut in.

  Unruffled I studied him, already fearing he would live up to be the clichéd macho human filled with prejudice and dislike of the unknown. When Commandant Moulin had wanted me for the job and tried to sweeten it up for me, he had promised me all team members would be volunteers. Why the hell would Rodriguez want to be in this unit?

  “Thanks for letting me know but I was merely stating the truth. And by the way, I couldn’t care less what kind of metal the bullet is made of that rips through my vital parts. It would hurt like hell no matter what.”

  Vigeur explained, “I think what Miss Cadic wanted to say was that Madame Lilith doesn’t see us or the human population as important enough to participate in this meeting.”

  I frowned and had the unfortunate feeling that she ranged Kylian on the same level even though he had sent Gabin in his place.

  “Good to hear that for once the police was clever enough to hire a magical creature for this one,” Viviane, said as soon as I got home and brought her and Pauline up to date.

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

  Viviane, the mysterious Lady of the Lake, my mother figure, friend and tutor was fifty-some and had short auburn hair showing streaks of white and a low, husky but warm voice. At the moment she was busy making a salad in my kitchen, while Pauline fried chicken breasts in a pan.

  I started to set the table for us, which was actually a counter surrounded by high stools that separated the kitchen and living room areas. “She’s clever too, and knows that Lilith pegged her as biased, given that she’s a shifter. Doesn’t seem to give a damn about it, though.”

  Viviane snorted, “Whatever creature they would have chosen, Lilith would always have found something to criticize and used it as an excuse for being uncooperative and a general pain in the ass.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. What do you think Pauline?”

  “For now it seems to me you’re the one that got the most out of it. Someone whose ready to cooperate with you and not eager on taking you in.”

  I thought about
it and snorted. “You’re right. The police and I on something close to equal footing. Hell, if that isn’t worth celebrating.” With that thought in mind I grabbed a bottle of red wine from the rack and opened it. “But enough of my business, how’s yours doing?”

  When Pauline had moved in she had told me that she wanted to open up a flower shop. The idea was perfect since she would be able to control her fairy nature thanks to dusting the flowers. All that had stood in the way had been the renovation of the first floor.

  Viviane served the salad, which Pauline topped off with the chicken breasts. She grinned at me when we all sat down.

  “Well, we might have several events worth celebrating. I’m happy to announce that Une conte de Fée opens in a week.”

  “Woohoo!” I sprang from my stool to hug Pauline, all the while giggling and cheering. “That is great. Though I have to warn you, I think Viviane and I won’t be able to top that kind of birthday present.”

  Pauline smiled sweetly. “I’ve all I need right here. So...with all the workers gone and all that I guess you’ll be happy to go take care of your paperwork. You said you weren’t able to do them before with all the noise and stuff.”

  My smile crumbled at the same time as Viviane and Pauline burst out laughing. “Gee, thanks. How considerate of you to remind me.”

  My office was painted in pale amber and dominated by an old, wooden desk. The wall behind it was covered with stereotypical rows of filing cabinets in an attempt to make it look like a normal investigative agency and to reassure clients. A big window and a glassed door offered ample light and for interested pedestrians to give free rein to their curiosity.

  I put down my laptop on the desk, and settling down into my chair I enjoyed the heavenly coffee. The silence surrounding me was deafening now that all the workers and their sounds were gone. Who could have thought one could get used to hair-raising sound of saws, pounding and hammering and the scattered shouts of men?

  I thought about Pauline’s shop and her upcoming birthday. Some people might wonder why we continued to think of tomorrow, of the future, when there was a big, fat magical shift in front of us that the Mayans had marked as the end of the world. The thing was that this wasn’t the first time it happened, and so far we all had survived – human and magical races alike. So we would plan and celebrate as we well should.

  Once again my mind drifted back to Inspecteur Vigeur and Commandant Moulin who had offered her job to me. But for the life of me, I liked being my own boss too much. Sitting behind my desk, drinking my morning coffee I took in my office and smiled. I didn’t regret my decision. Saints Investigation was mine, my work, my independence, a way of being there for my city in the light of day. And besides, even with the police I’d be stuck with paperwork, so I could just as well stay here. With a sigh and a last sip from my coffee I finally set out to attack the giant stack of papers in front of me.

  Said stack had narrowed down about two thirds to reach its usual height when a knock sounded at the door. The man that entered looked carefully around before letting his gaze settle on me. He was in his mid-thirties and in good shape. And obviously he wasn’t a hundred percent sure whether he was at the right address.

  I stood and went around my desk to greet him, extending my hand. “Bonjour, my name is Maiwenn Cadic. Would you like to sit down?”

  After another sweep of the room he nodded and sat.

  “Can I offer you anything, a cup of coffee maybe?”

  He cleared his throat. “No, thank you.”

  I went back behind the desk and sat down too. “How can I help you, Monsieur -?

  “Gauthier.”

  I gave my best, most reassuring smile, like you would a child when it made his first steps towards you. “Monsieur Gauthier, what I can I do for you?”

  The dam broke. “They wouldn’t help me. But she wouldn’t run, you understand? She wouldn’t do that to me. But they said they won’t do it. Because of this thing, the Turn, coming up and so. That there are a lot of people disappearing, or hightailing it as they called it.” He sighed, trying to gather himself. “I’m sorry.”

  I reached out to touch his hand. “It’s alright. Take your time.” My mind was used to such reactions from clients and quickly translated. A woman he knew, probably his wife given the gold band on his ring finger had gone missing and the police wouldn’t help him. I spoke softly but determined on getting the information I needed to help him, “Your wife is missing?”

  He nodded.

  “Can you tell me more about her? About what happened?”

  He took a deep breath. “Her name’s Sophie. She’s my wife. She went missing. Didn’t come home after work.”

  “When was that, Monsieur Gauthier?”

  “Two days ago.” For the first time his eyes looked at me, really seeing me as he watched me taking notes. “So you believe me, then? That she didn’t just run off?”

  In these times a lot of people ran. I squeezed his hand. “We will find out.”

  TWO

  It was cold outside, and it was already getting dark. I liked that about winter; this open, natural and not oppressive kind of darkness. Funny thing given the fact, that I protected the City of Light which really lived up to its name in the winter. Soft lights illuminated the streets, vibrant ones decorated the houses and buildings and shop windows were colorfully dressed – at least where inhabitants or owners hadn’t left. Scents of cinnamon, burned wood and warm dinner wafted out of the cafés and floated on the cold, nightly breeze. The city’s magic was still there.

  Christmas wasn’t far. I inhaled a deep breath of fresh air and smiled. Snow wasn’t far either. I enjoyed watching my breath come back out of my mouth as small, foggy clouds. Cutter, my beloved sword was strapped across my back but not visible in the leather sheath thanks to its own magic, and I felt the familiar weight of my emergency bag around my hips. Pulling up the collar of my coat against the cold I began my patrol and headed north-west.

  A group of four dark and tall men caught my eye when I was patrolling in the eighteenth arrondissement, on my way towards Montmartre. Vampires. They mostly dressed all alike, mainly in black leather. Their skin was pale and nearly white, and nicely accentuated by their choice of wardrobe and their red, pouty lips. They believed the stark contrast and tragic aura made them the most mysterious creatures of the night. Right, keep on dreaming.

  Their leader had long, raven hair and wore a ankle-length, black leather coat that dramatically billowed behind him – his trademark – and was one of the few who successfully pulled off the mysterious thing. Ah, pain-in-the-ass Valère.

  I approached them slowly but unimpressed. “Hello guys.”

  Valère stepped a little forward from the group and acknowledged me with a little bow of his head.

  “Does this feel like a bad déjà-vu to you, too? What are you doing topside?” I wanted to know since vampires lived underground with Lilith, the Queen of the Undead, in their Den. They crawled out as soon as night settled, but Valère belonged to Lilith’s top guard and was never topside without a good reason.

  “Can’t tell you”, Valère replied and immediately held up his pale hand. “Before you pull this whole I’m-the-Patroness-and-demand-answers shit I’ll tell you that we’re here under the Queen’s orders. No explanations. Her idea, her reasons. So go ask her.”

  Weird. Two things were off. One, Valère had answered my question without our usual battle of wills. Two, he’d said the truth. And Lilith, the Queen of the Undead only ordered her best slayers to go topside if she feared for her Den’s safety. Okay, that were three things. Even more disturbing.

  What the hell was going on? Ask her about it...I’d like to avoid that. Inside the city walls the vampires had the majority, but they also had the highest number of rogues, which were magical creatures that had become crazy slaves to bloodlust since it turned out that the sweet, coppery taste of blood was very addictive. So I killed them a lot, their rogues. It was the law and my job. Still it was rea
son enough for Lilith to hate my guts. And the fact that she felt it whenever one of her babies went dust-to-dust wasn’t helping either. I needed a little, okay, a lot more reasons and questions to go talk to her. There had to be another way to find out what had her panties in a bunch. Patience. One thing at a time.

  I nodded, “Okay. Move on, then,” and continued my way, along the foot of Montmartre, across the dark cemetery, heading west.

  After killing another blood-crazed vampire on my way through the city – see, at this rate I’d never be on Lilith’s good side – I checked once again the places where my missing persons had been last seen, which had added up to two by now. But I found nothing new. There was nothing I might have missed before. Well, at least nothing my eyes could have missed. I was half witch and therefore not gifted with a very sensitive sense of smell, unlike a shapeshifter. Maybe I could ask Inspecteur Vigeur to lend me hers.

  And no, this was not a way to avoid Kylian, who had kissed me brainless, before practically disappearing without saying so much as a goodbye the last time we’ve met. Absolutely not. Really. Asking Vigeur would be a sign of good will, of agreeing that we all could benefit from a good collaboration. And a possibility to find out more about her. So...no avoiding. I was just being practical. Keep telling yourself that, a mean little voice grumbled inside of me. Shut up.

  With the thought of being practical in mind I pulled out my cell and punched in her number.

  Twenty minutes later, we met in a café where I had gone to warm up while waiting for her. Inspecteur Anouk Vigeur didn’t look happy at all as she found me and made her way to the table. Before sitting down she took off her coat, revealing black jeans and a comfy shirt that said ‘Only dogs have owners, cats have staff’.

  I didn’t comment on it, at least not verbally though my eyes apparently did a good job at it. The lethal glare answering had me biting my lip to hide the laughter.

  She growled, with more grouch than anger behind it that seemed cute and normal and so absolutely out of her bossy cop character. “It’s my night off.”