Deceptions
Page 100
Ricky took over. “You made the deal with the Larsens?”
“Yes.”
“You specifically?”
“Yes.”
“You cured Liv?”
“I orchestrated the events that led to her cure. I cannot heal or I’d fix that bite on your neck. I’d strongly suggest washing it well, with antiseptic. I’m not well versed in the exact nature of elf-to-human transformations, but I wouldn’t discount the possibility of bacterial transfer.”
“I know how to treat a fight bite.”
He smiled at Ricky. “I’m sure you do.”
“But you made the deal. You instructed her parents to kill six people.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t see fit to tell Liv this? Before she started investigating?”
“Why? It would have stopped her. It was the answer she wanted before she met them: proof they were the murderers that society thought they were, and they deserved to spend their lives in jail, so she could forget them.” He turned to me. “That is what you wanted, wasn’t it? A tidy answer? Black and white?”
I saw no point in admitting it.
“But now it’s not so black and white,” he said.
“Because they murdered six people for me?” I shook my head. “I was two. I didn’t ask for spina bifida. I didn’t bring it on myself. In fact, if I’m right, you guys ‘did’ it to me—your blood. A failure of completion.”
“Fae.”
“What?”
“The condition is caused by fae blood.”
“You are fae. You might go by another name, but that’s what you are.”
He pursed his lips, as if ready to pursue it. Instead, he said, “You are not to blame. Nor your parents. However, we could not fix this for them. We could not take the lives ourselves or we would have. For you. To make you whole. To protect Mallt-y-Nos and leave her in a good, loving family. But that could not be.”
“So you offered a way to fix it, if they murdered six innocent—”
“Do you know what we do, Olivia? The Cwn Annwn? Our purpose?”
“I know versions of the story.”
“And you?” he asked Ricky.
“Same.”
“Then tell me.”
Ricky checked with me, but when I nodded, he proceeded. “In some, you’re just hunting and anyone who sees you dies later. In others, you come to fetch the living and take them to the underworld. Sometimes, you’re randomly hunting people whose time is up. In other versions, you target the wicked.”
“Which is correct?”
Ricky rocked back, shrugging. “I have no—”
“In your gut, which is correct?”
“I’ve always liked the last, but that’s only because it makes the best story. Killing randomly is more frightening as a concept, but killing for cause is more interesting.”
“It’s also the version that makes sense. That suggests a purpose. A reason for the Hunt.”
“That’s it, then?” I said. “You’re executioners?”
“Not quite the word I’d—”
“Vigilantes, then.”
“We exact justice where the human world cannot. Our purview is crimes against those from the Old World. All manner of fae. Them and their descendants.”
“What does this have to do with my parents?”
“What indeed.”
I looked up at him. “You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”
“No, I am not, because as much as you complain about not getting answers, you don’t trust any we give. You need to find them for yourself. I will say only that your parents are not as guilty as you fear. Nor as innocent as you hope. Do you want a hint? To start you on your way?”
“Will it cost me?”
He smiled. “I rest my case. You are too suspicious. It will serve you well.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Here’s the hint, freely given. Focus less on your parents. Look at the victims. Connect the first pair to the second, and keep an open mind. The connection will not be what you expect. Forget the third for now. Focus on the first two pairs.”
“More,” Ricky said.
The Huntsman looked at him.
“She needs more,” Ricky said.
“She needs to find answers for herself—”
“Agreed. We need to find answers for ourselves. But Liv needs a concrete place to start. Gabriel has been charged with murder, which puts us on a tighter timetable.”
A twist of the man’s lips. “I’m not particularly concerned with Gabriel Walsh.”
“Because you were involved with that, too?” I said. “Getting Gabriel framed for James’s murder?”
He frowned. “What would I have to do with that?”
“Someone visited Pamela and told her Gabriel did it. I think it was you.”
“I haven’t seen your mother in many years. Nor have any of the Cwn Annwn. We have helped ease her situation, but only from a distance. We had nothing to do with either James Morgan’s murder or Gabriel Walsh being implicated.”
“But I do,” Ricky said. “Because I’m the one who attacked James Morgan and beat the shit out of him.”
“You didn’t kill—”
“I’m also Gabriel’s alibi. At the time, I was with him getting legal advice, which he can’t admit without the police thinking it’s awfully suspicious I was asking for legal advice the night my girlfriend’s stalker ex was murdered. If there’s any chance he’ll be convicted, I’ll turn myself in. Does that concern you?”
“Yes.”
“You specifically?”
“Yes.”
“You cured Liv?”
“I orchestrated the events that led to her cure. I cannot heal or I’d fix that bite on your neck. I’d strongly suggest washing it well, with antiseptic. I’m not well versed in the exact nature of elf-to-human transformations, but I wouldn’t discount the possibility of bacterial transfer.”
“I know how to treat a fight bite.”
He smiled at Ricky. “I’m sure you do.”
“But you made the deal. You instructed her parents to kill six people.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t see fit to tell Liv this? Before she started investigating?”
“Why? It would have stopped her. It was the answer she wanted before she met them: proof they were the murderers that society thought they were, and they deserved to spend their lives in jail, so she could forget them.” He turned to me. “That is what you wanted, wasn’t it? A tidy answer? Black and white?”
I saw no point in admitting it.
“But now it’s not so black and white,” he said.
“Because they murdered six people for me?” I shook my head. “I was two. I didn’t ask for spina bifida. I didn’t bring it on myself. In fact, if I’m right, you guys ‘did’ it to me—your blood. A failure of completion.”
“Fae.”
“What?”
“The condition is caused by fae blood.”
“You are fae. You might go by another name, but that’s what you are.”
He pursed his lips, as if ready to pursue it. Instead, he said, “You are not to blame. Nor your parents. However, we could not fix this for them. We could not take the lives ourselves or we would have. For you. To make you whole. To protect Mallt-y-Nos and leave her in a good, loving family. But that could not be.”
“So you offered a way to fix it, if they murdered six innocent—”
“Do you know what we do, Olivia? The Cwn Annwn? Our purpose?”
“I know versions of the story.”
“And you?” he asked Ricky.
“Same.”
“Then tell me.”
Ricky checked with me, but when I nodded, he proceeded. “In some, you’re just hunting and anyone who sees you dies later. In others, you come to fetch the living and take them to the underworld. Sometimes, you’re randomly hunting people whose time is up. In other versions, you target the wicked.”
“Which is correct?”
Ricky rocked back, shrugging. “I have no—”
“In your gut, which is correct?”
“I’ve always liked the last, but that’s only because it makes the best story. Killing randomly is more frightening as a concept, but killing for cause is more interesting.”
“It’s also the version that makes sense. That suggests a purpose. A reason for the Hunt.”
“That’s it, then?” I said. “You’re executioners?”
“Not quite the word I’d—”
“Vigilantes, then.”
“We exact justice where the human world cannot. Our purview is crimes against those from the Old World. All manner of fae. Them and their descendants.”
“What does this have to do with my parents?”
“What indeed.”
I looked up at him. “You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”
“No, I am not, because as much as you complain about not getting answers, you don’t trust any we give. You need to find them for yourself. I will say only that your parents are not as guilty as you fear. Nor as innocent as you hope. Do you want a hint? To start you on your way?”
“Will it cost me?”
He smiled. “I rest my case. You are too suspicious. It will serve you well.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Here’s the hint, freely given. Focus less on your parents. Look at the victims. Connect the first pair to the second, and keep an open mind. The connection will not be what you expect. Forget the third for now. Focus on the first two pairs.”
“More,” Ricky said.
The Huntsman looked at him.
“She needs more,” Ricky said.
“She needs to find answers for herself—”
“Agreed. We need to find answers for ourselves. But Liv needs a concrete place to start. Gabriel has been charged with murder, which puts us on a tighter timetable.”
A twist of the man’s lips. “I’m not particularly concerned with Gabriel Walsh.”
“Because you were involved with that, too?” I said. “Getting Gabriel framed for James’s murder?”
He frowned. “What would I have to do with that?”
“Someone visited Pamela and told her Gabriel did it. I think it was you.”
“I haven’t seen your mother in many years. Nor have any of the Cwn Annwn. We have helped ease her situation, but only from a distance. We had nothing to do with either James Morgan’s murder or Gabriel Walsh being implicated.”
“But I do,” Ricky said. “Because I’m the one who attacked James Morgan and beat the shit out of him.”
“You didn’t kill—”
“I’m also Gabriel’s alibi. At the time, I was with him getting legal advice, which he can’t admit without the police thinking it’s awfully suspicious I was asking for legal advice the night my girlfriend’s stalker ex was murdered. If there’s any chance he’ll be convicted, I’ll turn myself in. Does that concern you?”
