Rosie’s Diner
Detroit, Michigan
Thursday, November 10th, 2022 – 11:45 p.m.

Agent Nicholas Hunter sipped at his coffee, his eyes taking in everything around him over the rim of the cup. Not that there had been much to watch besides the waitress, tired from a long day, occasionally shuffling between the few occupied tables in the diner to take orders, deliver them, or offer to refill coffee cups. Rosie’s Diner was quiet as midnight neared, with only two customers other than himself as he waited for the arrival of Phoebe Hood and her companions.

Phoebe, or Red, as she preferred to be called, had called just a couple of hours ago with instructions to wait at this now-familiar diner for a midnight meeting. It seemed that she was as clever as he thought, choosing a public place where she and her friends could easily make a run for the safety of the Fae settlement if things did not go in their favor. She had also not given him much notice of the intended time and place of the meeting, likely to prevent him from setting up some sort of trap or ambush.

He didn’t intend anything like that, but she was wise to be cautious. From what he had seen so far, these Arcane girls were doing their best to avoid anyone else being harmed by their curses. If they didn’t care about that then he likely would be using this opportunity to deal with them permanently, but for now, he was willing to see where this went and leave them be, so long as they hadn’t fallen in with Fae of the Winter Court. He shuddered at the thought of what they might do with a Werewolf, Witch, Vampire, and whatever that pink, summoned creature was.

That wasn’t to say that he was not prepared in case things went badly. His agency-issued gun was currently loaded with silver rounds, and he was wearing several charms enchanted to protect him against magic and scrying. Most of his Hunting gear remained in the trunk of his car though. He was trying to be prepared for trouble while still coming to this meeting in good faith.

Nick’s eyes once again drifted toward the diner’s entrance as the pendant worn under his shirt vibrated, signaling the approach of some form of Arcane, most likely a Witch or one of the Fae from the intensity of the vibrations. A moment later, the door swung open to reveal an attractive human-looking woman in her thirties with long black hair who talking on her phone and dressed in jeans, black ankle-length boots, and a thick green jacket to ward off the autumn chill. That was not the Witch he was waiting for; she looked nothing like Greta Heinrich, and she was alone.

The diner was on the outside edge of a community of Fae and other Arcane, so this might have been some sort of coincidence. Nick didn’t believe in coincidence though, especially when Arcane were involved. His assertion was confirmed as the woman immediately approached his table, sat down opposite him, and said, “Someone would like to speak with you, Agent Hunter.”

The woman offered him her phone and he took it carefully. Nick did not like surprises, but he figured that he knew who was on the other end of the phone, and she had every reason not to trust someone in his position. “This is Hunter,” he said into the phone with a sigh.

Unsurprisingly, the voice that answered was familiar after talking to her only a couple of hours ago. “It’s Red Hood, Agent Hunter, the meeting place has changed. Simone will take you to the new location in Greta’s van. You can either accompany her and follow her instructions or you can leave and forget about this face-to-face meeting ever happening, the choice is yours.”

“Shit,” Nick mentally cursed as Red disconnected the call. He couldn’t blame these girls for showing an abundance of caution, he would have likely done the same in their situation, but to expect him to step willingly into the unknown… well, not quite the unknown. He had a sinking suspicion that he knew exactly where the meeting would be taking place, given their close proximity to the Fae community.

There were two possibilities here, either the Fae they were dealing with were from the Winter Court and this was a trap, or they were dealing with someone from the Summer Court and wanted to see how far he was willing to go to meet with them. Nick was leaning toward the latter of the two since then had the Werewolf caged when he first approached them, to keep her from hurting anyone. Still, it was a big risk. If it was the former, then he could be placing himself in great danger. Even if they had fallen in with the Summer Court, Fae can be capricious and if they felt that Nick was an immediate danger to them, he could end up very dead, or worse.

Nick knew that he was going to have to trust his instincts on this one. Still, that didn’t make things any easier as he handed the phone back to the Witch that Red had called Simone. He had learned to trust his instincts, and right now they were telling him that these girls were just being very cautious until he could prove himself to be on their side, or at least not a danger to them.

With a sigh, he placed a fiver on the table to cover his coffee and a tip for the waitress and stood up. “Let’s get going then,” he said to the raven-haired Witch.

“After you, I insist,” she replied, gesturing to the exit.

Nick did as he was asked, preceding her outside and turning toward the familiar van belonging to Greta Heinrich as Simone used the key fob to unlock the doors with an audible *bee-boop* sound. With the signal given he got into the forward passenger seat and then buckled in and closed the door behind him. As the Witch got settled into the driver’s seat beside him, he asked, “You’re taking me into the Fae community, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but we call it Shadowtown,” the woman said with an impassive shrug of her shoulders. “There is a blindfold in the glove compartment in front of you, it’s been enchanted to keep the barrier and protections from affecting you as we pass through, so put it on. You may keep your protective charms on you, but the gun goes into the glove compartment until the meeting is over. If you wish to speak with them, that is the price of admission. This is your last chance to back out, Agent Hunter. If you mean these girls harm, in any way, the Fae that we have pledged ourselves to will see you suffer for it.”

“I just want to talk with them, to see what kind of people they are, and share information,” Nick insisted as he opened the glove compartment slowly extracted his gun, and switched it for the black piece of enchanted cloth. Then he tried to slow his breathing and his rapid pulse as he reached up and secured the blindfold in place before saying, “I’m ready.”

Witch’s Brew Tavern
Shadowtown
Thursday, November 10th, 2022 – 11:50 p.m.

I disconnected the call and took a deep breath to calm myself. Trying to act tough for a federal agent who may or may not be after me was not as easy as it had sounded when we came up with the plan for tonight’s meeting. The Fairy Godmother had felt that it would be wise to keep him off guard, just in case though, and to bring him here to Shadowtown.

By having the meeting here, we would have a distinct advantage. It would show just how much Agent Hunter wanted to meet with me, make it easier for the Fairy Godmother to discern his intentions, and be a lot less likely to come to violence with the Fairies, Simone, and Dierdre watching his every move and ready to act. Simone had even offered to act as the go-between in case there really was a trap. Chief Rissara didn’t want any of us getting too close until she knew his true intentions and Simone was feeling protective of Greta, her new foul-mouthed apprentice.

“Well, it’s done,” I told the others as I placed the phone on the table.

“Do you think the fucker will show up?” Greta asked the Vampire seated across from her since Goldie and Berry were the only ones who had actually dealt with him face-to-face.

Goldie sighed and shook her head, frowning as she replied, “I have no idea. I only met him once, and it was really tense. If he does, he’d have to be stupid to try anything against us here, with the place full of Fae and other Arcane. He didn’t seem stupid to me. Somewhat calculating, but not stupid.”

I looked around Witch’s Brew and hoped that she was right. The place was packed tonight with various Arcane, including a host of Fairies who would be watching our backs and some of their Aos Sidhe allies. The Fairy Godmother had made it clear that if this Huntsman wasn’t like his ancestor and was a danger to us, then he would be considered a danger to everyone in Shadowtown. If that was the case, then they would deal with him appropriately.

Berry followed my gaze around the room and smiled to try to ease my worries, “Don’t worry, Red. The bloodsucker is right, if he does come then he won’t try anything with all these Arcane around. If the Fairy Godmother isn’t convinced that he’s one of the good guys, like he claimed, then I’ll just have to dispose of another body.”

I returned the Slime-girl’s smile with one of my own. It wasn’t all that confident, but it showed that I appreciated her efforts. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what was getting to me worse, the waiting to see what would happen or the uncertainty of the entire situation. Anything could end up happening and this was a man who had been tracking me and Greta down since we came into our curses and became Arcane.

Ten minutes later, which felt like an eternity to me, Simone returned to her place of business in the company of a man in a dark suit. The man was tall, lean, and moved like someone who was in good shape. His skin was lightly tanned, and he had short-cropped black hair and dark eyes. He looked like he might be of Mediterranean or Eastern European ancestry, and he visibly paled as he saw that the tavern was packed to the rafters with Arcane.

He was in the lion’s den, and he knew it. I could smell the tangy scent of carefully controlled fear coming from him as he and Simone approached our table. He might have been some kind of Arcane Hunter, but it looked like he had never been in the midst of such a gathering before. He stopped in his tracks as the Fairy Godmother, and almost the entire BriarRose Clan, fluttered down from the rafters to block his path.

The tavern went deathly silent, quiet enough that even the Fairy Godmother’s small voice rang clearly throughout the room. “Agent Hunter, how good of you to accept our invitation. I am Rissara, Chieftain of the BriarRose Clan of the Summer Court. Those four young ladies are members of my clan and, as such, under my protection. Before you speak with them, you shall speak with me. Should I have reason to believe at any time that you mean them harm, or that you are lying to me, you will face Fae justice and dream longingly for the release of death.”