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“Because I have important information that impacts all of you.”
“We’ll be the judge of that. Tell us what it is, and we’ll decide whether Madame Thea needs to know.”
I pushed down my exasperation and played along. “Have you heard of the Wild Hunt?”
“Of course,” Baldie said. “Everybody has.”
“Well, it’s coming to this forest very soon. You might want to take precautions.”
They fell silent for a moment, before erupting into fits of laughter.
“Even if it’s true, why should we care what happens topside?” the bald troll asked. “We only emerge after sundown, and they only hunt during daylight.”
I cocked my head. “Sounds like somebody needs to brush up on their lore. You’re far more likely to encounter the spectral horde after nightfall.”
The trolls appeared to digest that nugget of intel.
“We’ll pass that along to Madame Thea,” the second troll finally said.
“Wait. There’s more,” I continued quickly, “but I need to speak with her directly.” I held up my hands. “I carry no weapons.” No visible ones, anyway.
“Let her in, fellas,” a disembodied voice said.
A small device attached to the bald troll’s belt appeared to be the source of the sound.
“Copy that,” he replied. “This way.”
“My name is Lorelei Clay,” I told them.
“We don’t care,” the grump said, without bothering to look at me. I’d named him aptly.
We walked along a dimly lit corridor, passing a cavernous room with a spinning roulette wheel and card tables. A scantily clad woman draped herself along the doorframe of the next room. Humanlike but not human. Her gaze raked over as we passed.
“New hire?” she cooed.
“Visitor,” the second troll said.
She winked at me. “Hey, sweetness. Come see me when you’re done paying your respects to Madame Thea. The name’s Cynthia.”
The second troll twisted toward her. “If she doesn’t, I will.”
“You know that’s forbidden, Percy.” Cynthia’s delicate laughter followed us down the darkened corridor.
The third room housed a large bar lined with patrons. My first thought was whether Kane knew his club had competition. I highly doubted Madame Thea had bothered to obtain a liquor license.
We turned down an offshoot and the back of my neck prickled. Nothing stood out to me until we reached what appeared to be Madame Thea’s office. The moment I crossed the threshold, I recognized it as the vision from Camryn’s house, the one the card had shown me. It was far more lived-in than the vision had revealed, but the feeling I had now was the same one I’d experienced then. The speakeasy was definitely what the Tower card wanted to show me.
I expected to see another jötunn pulling strings behind the proverbial curtain, but the owner of One Oak was far too small and dainty to belong to that particular group of trolls. Her slender body was clad in a shiny black cocktail dress. A sparkling diamond dotted each delicate earlobe. Her hair shimmered like an amethyst, styled in a French twist.
“You’re one of the huldrefolk,” I said.
“Hidden people, yes. An appropriate name, I guess.” Her gaze shifted to my escorts. “Thank you, fellas. That’ll be all. Close the door behind you, please.”
They did as they were told without protest, leaving the two of us alone.
“Welcome to One Oak, Miss Clay. I’m Madame Thea.”
“A pleasure to meet you.” I studied the greenish hue of her arms. The faint shade was almost imperceptible in the artificial light. Madame Thea noticed my intense gaze.
