casspurrjoybell-17

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - The End

When a series of thefts escalates to murder, Werewolf Detective Dane Hunter and his Fae partner, Julian Hart, must uncover the dark history of Spring Lakes before the past repeats itself and destroys them both.

A year after starting a life together, private detectives Julian Hart and Dane Hunter investigate a string of strange burglaries plaguing the shops in downtown Spring Lakes.

It seems simple enough, until a murder, a disappearing body and the discovery of strange tunnels beneath the streets take the case for a supernatural turn.

The new detective in town, Rian Halloran, may hold the key to unlocking the town's dark past and its surprising connections to Julian.

As Julian learns more about the Fae side of his family history and Dane struggles with the responsibility of being an Alpha, solving a mystery isn't the only thing at stake.

Dane and Julian must reconcile past and present, navigate complicated families and learn how to work together-all while stopping an incursion of strange creatures from the Fae underworld-if their partnership and love, will survive.

Dane Hunter [Alpha Werewolf]

Julian Hart [ 'leanan sidhe' Fae]

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 41 - Part 3

*Warning Adult Content*

It takes a few weeks for things to get back to normal... or the closest to normal that things get in Spring Lakes.

A good night's rest is all I need and Ingrid bounces back just as fast 'though she says she'll be happy to get back to New York, now'.

Fortunately, Danni recalls little of their ordeal and Savannah remembers nothing.

Erickson, while shaken, has emerged more or less unscathed, though Coleridge has taken my advice and placed him on paid leave.

I have a feeling he might reconsider his calling.

Coleridge herself has taken the supernatural revelations surprisingly well, having always suspected there was more to what went on around here than met the eye.

She promises to help us ensure the caverns are permanently sealed and has already put a motion before the town planning committee to have the old buildings brought up to code, which would include new, very solid foundations.

Meanwhile, an investigation has been opened into Rian Halloran's 'disappearance' and his colleagues in Ireland notified.

I've notified Leon Marsh, my accidental contact in the FBI, as well and he's already moved to have the case quietly shelved.

Officially, the burglaries and the deaths of Jeffrey Lagrange and Stephanie Wong remain unsolved, filed away in a drawer full of many others in the same category.

Coleridge has asked me to take a look at the backlog, just to see if any fall within my 'wheelhouse' as she says.

Of all of us, Julian is the slowest to recover and as usual, he's the one that worries me.

As the days pass, he remains quiet and withdrawn, eating little and sleeping a lot.

Most of his waking hours are spent staring out the window, lost in thought.

After I come home from a trip to the store and find him exactly where I left him hours earlier, curled up in the window seat, I confront him.

"Hey, Jules," I say, rubbing his shoulders as I sit at his side.

"You gotta let it go. I'm sorry about Halloran and about Rhiannon and sorry for all the shit that happened in the past but that's where you gotta leave it. At least for now."

He nods.

"I know. I'm just worried I made a mistake," he says.

"Giving the book to Eirnín. I just can't put it from my mind. Rhiannon said to guard it but in the moment..."

He bites his lip.

"Who could it be safer with than her own mom?"

His blood relatives don't have the best track record for trustworthiness but I keep that thought to myself.

"You couldn't read it anyway," I say.

"You still have the pictures you took of the pages, though, right? We'll send them to Noah. He likes puzzles. In the meantime, worrying about it won't do any good. It's a problem for another day."

He turns to me with a soft smile.

His guard is down and the full blast of his beauty makes my breath catch.

"Here's to another day, then," he says and presses himself into my arms and kisses me.

I hope it's because I got through to him and not because it's what I want and what he is but either way he does as I ask and let's the matter lie.

********

A month later, another full moon rides high in a clear sky and bright stars bless the night.

I stand in Wolf form... not upon the highest ridge or at the standing stones but in the open meadow right outside my front door.

A sense of peace fills my heart... the quiet confidence of knowing I am right where I belong, that I have conducted myself well and that my mother and father may be proud to call me their son.

The ritual is nearly complete, my life now wed to the land as much as to the life of my mate.

He stands at my side, his hand resting lightly on my back, while my sisters 'also as Wolves' look on as witnesses.

One last thing remains.

Tilting back my head, wolf-song rises from my throat on a ribbon of sound... a long ululation of praise to the lords of the hunt and to the Moon Goddess above, as well as a summons to any who would challenge me.

Three times, I fill and empty my lungs and three times I wait for a reply.

None is made and in the silence, the ritual is done.

The land is mine and I belong to the land, as Alpha.

I tip my head back one last time and let forth a different sort of howl... deep and long and filled with triumph.

My sisters join in with joy and Julian adds his voice as well, light and musical.

And so, with the strange yet fitting combination of a Wolf and a Fae at its head, the Spring Lakes Pack is born.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 41 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Dane Hunter

Some time later, with the moon just minutes from setting, Julian concludes his narrative.

Eirnín and her fae had listened carefully, as had the rest of us... some offering extra details at various points and some remaining silent throughout.

At my side, Chief Coleridge keeps her thoughts concealed behind an impassive expression.

It's the mask of a cop, trained not to betray weakness through feeling.

I wear that mask, too... out of reflex and habit and I consciously let it drop.

It probably accounts for at least some of the communication problems I've had with Julian and I don't need to wear masks around my mate.

Finally, his story at an end, Julian looks up at Eirnín hopefully.

"Will she be able to return?" he asks.

Frowning, Eirnín wipes tears from her eyes with delicate fingertips.

"She may return when she will and she knows this," she says.

"The war is long over... her father would welcome her back with open arms, as would I. Alas... my children are both noble and ill-fated, it seems."

"I don't understand," he says.

"She remains in the Shadowlands as a guardian," Eirnín says.

"As much as an act of repentance. She hopes to right the wrong she committed in this world by protecting it from afar. At least, that is what I surmise, from what you have told me. I wish I could ask her to her face."

Julian hesitates and then, reluctantly, he produces the dishcloth-wrapped journal and hands it to her.

"What is this?" she asks, unfolding it carefully.

"Rhiannon's own words," he says.

"I can't read it but maybe you can."

She studies it carefully, turning the damp pages with exquisite care.

"It's in a cipher," she says.

"The runes are written out of order and as such they make no sense. Even if you knew them, you could not understand what they said."

"Why would Rhiannon write her journal in Fae runes and then write the runes themselves in code?" Julian asks.

"Who was she hiding from?"

"Everyone," Eirnín says, with a sad smile.

"She is a warrior, born and bred. She trusted only her closest allies... her brothers, her kindred. When they, too, betrayed her, it is a wonder she should ever learn to trust again."

Doubt clouds Julian's face and he looks as if he might reach for the book but Eirnín laughs lightly and tucks it in her robes.

"Fear not," she says.

"I shall study this with care and hopefully, in time, discover whatever secrets my daughter saw fit to conceal in such a way. I shall fulfill her promise to my son and to those who followed Darragh's lies to this tragic end. They shall not escape punishment but they shall be shown every mercy our justice can spare."

Personally, that doesn't sound reassuring to me but Julian merely nods.

I suppose Darragh's soldiers wouldn't have helped us if they expected to receive harsh sentences in return.

"And Rhiannon?" Julian asks.

"Is there any way to send her a message? Let her know she can come home?" Eirnín nods.

"Perhaps. You have brought me great joy, as well as great sorrow, Julian. To know my daughter is alive and well, after these many years, is as sweet as my son's death is bitter. I would very much like to see her again and shall do all I can to reach her. As she told you, there are other doorways... other places to pass between realms... but the one here was unique in its stability. A shame it must be destroyed."

She sighs.

"Couldn't we leave it a while longer?" he asks.

"Go back and try to find her?"

Eirnín shakes her head.

"I imagine she has already done the work on her side. The way is closed. And now..."

She rises and looks at the sky, where the bottom of the moon now rests on the horizon.

"We must part ways again, unless..."

Turning to look at Julian, she raises her brows hopefully.

"Faerie is a safe, restful place. You would be welcome there."

My heart momentarily freezes but Julian shakes his head.

"Sounds like a nice place to retire someday but this is my home and if Rhiannon is a guardian in the Shadowlands, then my mate and I will be guardians here."

Eirnín nods and kisses his brow.

Then, with a wave of farewell, the Fae depart, guiding the children through the doorway to a new life and bearing Halloran's body home.

Then the moon sets and the sun rises and the world is quiet.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 41 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Dane Hunter

Chief Laura Coleridge arrives less than a quarter hour after our call ends.

I tell her the short version and leave werewolves out of it but after only a brief spate of shock and denial, she accepts the evidence with which she is presented easily enough.

More importantly, she agrees to my plan.

Maybe people are more open-minded in the middle of the night.

While a deputy drives Ingrid and Danni home, Freya packs four of the Fae, the seven children and Halloran's body in my old Ford Explorer and drives them up to the standing stones to wait for us.

Julian, Erickson, his niece, the two warrior Fae... Alyth and Sylv... and I go with Coleridge to Erickson's sister's house in a police SUV.

When we arrive, however, I see we're not the first ones there.

A fire engine idles outside, lights flashing and a police cruiser has just pulled up at the curb.

"Oh shit," Erickson breathes.

"Pauline."

As we pop the doors and pile out, though, I see Savannah's mother dashing down the front steps, tears streaking her face and a wild, frantic look in her eyes.

Then she sees Savannah and screams.

Running towards us, she snatches the sleepy, still-damp girl from Erickson's arms and collapses in tears.

As the Fae slip past her and into the house, I gather that the mother had awoken to a strange sound, gone into her daughter's room and found the window open and the child gone.

Fearing she'd been taken, she'd called the police.

"Skin-changer must have sensed or known we were coming, somehow," I murmur.

"Probably through Savannah. The mental link, remember?" Julian says.

"I bet as soon as we came through the portal, it knew the game was up and fled."

A moment later, Alyth and Sylv return, shaking their heads.

The skin-changer left no trace.

While Erickson invents some story about finding his niece sleepwalking 'his house is apparently nearby' the rest of us withdraw.

"Where do you think it went?" Julian asks and shudders.

"No idea," I say.

"But if it knows what's good for it, it'll stay far away from here."

Coleridge shakes her head.

"You and I have a long talk ahead of us, Hunter. I'm rolling with this now, 'cause it's that or arrest you all and that's too much paperwork. But I want a full, thorough and complete explanation as soon as you don't look and smell like shit."

Despite my tiredness, I bite back a smile.

"Yes, ma'am."

Leaving Erickson with his family, Coleridge drives the rest of us out of town and up into the hills to the standing stones.

She parks as close as she can get and then, with weariness weighting our steps, we cross the open meadow to the natural outcrop of white granite.

There, we find the others already gathered, along with what appears to be a small delegation of Fae.

The doorway between the arched stones is open, the air shimmering like rippling glass and a dozen Fae wearing long garments that flow like silk mill about tending to the time-orphaned children and to the dead.

Halloran's body lies uncovered upon a much grander bier than the stretcher of ferns and branches on which we carried him from the Shadowlands.

Candles burn around him and flowers cover him.

A woman kneels at his side and when she straightens, I bite back a gasp.

For a moment, I thought she was Rhiannon but from the likeness and Julian's description, I recognize Eirnín.

Spotting Julian, she approaches with her hands outstretched.

"Son of my daughter's son," she says, tears making her eyes shine bright.

"We meet again. I am glad to see you well, though I wish it were not under such sorrowful circumstances. I feel as if I have lost my daughter a second time and now my son."

"He was... very brave," Julian says.

"So were you all, I have heard but I am told you will speak on my daughter's behalf."

"Yes. I..." Julian sways on his feet and I steady him.

He's on the verge of collapse, now dangerously exhausted and badly in need of food, water and rest.

Eirnín gets the message.

She beckons to one of the Fae, who approaches bearing a silver tray on which rests a pitcher and a set of small silver cups.

Pouring some liquid into one, she hands it to him, then does the same for me.

"Drink. The tea will restore you, at least for a time and clear your mind."

Julian downs it without a second glance, so I do the same.

The effect is immediate and strong, like a mix of caffeine and alcohol... warming, relaxing and energizing at all once.

Julian holds out his cup.

"More, please."

"One is plenty and now, tell me this tale of yours."

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 40 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Dane Hunter

"I shall not be joining you."

"What?" roused from his stupor, Julian is on his feet, his face ashen with exhaustion and shock.

"What do you mean you're not joining us?"

Smiling, Rhiannon takes his hands in hers.

"Son of my son, the sight of you fills my heart with joy and heals wounds even time could not mend. For a moment, I dreamed I might return with you to a life of light and happiness and love but it cannot be."

"Why not?"

"Because this nightmare must end, once and for all," she says.

"I shall fill this pool with stones, one for every tear that I have shed and you must seal the other side as well, better than your ancestor did."

"But there are other portals," Julian argues.

"What difference will it make to block this one?"

"There are others, yes... they come and go and always will. This portal is different. I suspect it is at least partly artificial... probably created long ago, in a lost age, by some unholy magic. Likely by Dark-Fae."

"Dark-Fae?"

"What the skin-changers once were," she says.

"We Fae are already long-lived but for some, even this share of life was not enough. Through forbidden magic and knowledge, they became powerful sorcerers and necromancers. In time, probably through some cataclysm of their own making, they grew decadent and degenerate,and forgot the magic and knowledge that gave them power. The skin-changers are all that remains of them now... a monstrous echo of former glory."

Julian shakes his head.

"There must be another way. I'm not leaving you here. You don't deserve..."

"But I do," she interrupts quietly, her smile still soft, though her eyes shine with tears.

"I was banished here as punishment for a terrible sin. That I was manipulated into committing it does not make it less terrible. As my James would have said, two wrongs do not make a right."

"What about your promises?" Julian argues, unwilling to yield.

"You gave Rian your word you'd take him back to Faerie and promised to speak on behalf of these others."

He gestures at Darragh's former followers.

"Will you break your oath?"

"No but I have carried my word as far as I am able and now I pass it on to you. You must see that my brother's body is brought home and you will speak on my behalf, as well as for these others. Perhaps I shall be pardoned... perhaps, in time, I shall return to Faerie, myself. Meanwhile, this place is not all darkness... there is light above and the ruins of ancient cities touch the clouds. It is a fitting place for an exile to make a home. I shall spend my days in quiet solitude and I shall be well, for my heart is at peace. You need not grieve for me."

Seeing he cannot persuade her, weary resignation marks Julian's face.

"It isn't fair," he says and she smiles.

"My James often said the same of life. Here."

Reaching into another pocket of her strange garments, she withdraws the book of runes and places it in his hands.

"I wish I had the time to tell you everything myself but alas... these old, twisted words will have to do. Guard them well. Now, you must waste no more time or you will miss the window. Go and live joyously... the both of you."

Taking my hand as well, she joins it with Julian's.

One by one, we enter the pool, each with a strand of fungi bound about an ankle.

Two Fae guide Halloran's tightly wrapped body into the water, while the other four carry children clinging to their chests.

Erickson has his niece, while Freya, Ingrid and I carry the remaining three, leaving Julian and Danni unburdened.

Julian takes one last look at Rhiannon, who stands on the shore with her hand raised in farewell, before ducking beneath the dark water and swimming after the lead Fae.

With a final glance at the Shadowlands, a silent prayer to the gods of good fortune and a deep breath, I follow him.

Rhiannon did not lie, though and the return trip is an easy one.

The passage seems both shorter and... thankfully... far less narrow than last time and even the two Fae guiding the body encounter little difficulty.

The glowing fungi provide just enough light to follow and one by one we emerge into a larger space and break the surface, finding ourselves once more in the cavern beneath the row of shops.

Freya and I help the others from the water and then in a wet, shivering, straggling line, we make our way back up and through the tunnels to Stephanie Wong's shop.

Erickson collapses, shaking with fatigue and relief and even the Fae look about done-in.

While Freya and Ingrid search the thrift shop for dry clothes that will fit the children 'somehow I doubt Stephanie would mind' I test the landline phone near the register and check the time.

There's a dial tone and it's a little past 2 AM.

"What are you doing?" Julian asks, coming to stand at my side.

I see he's wrapped his grandmother's journal in a dishcloth, probably hoping to soak up the excess moisture and help it dry.

I sigh and look down at the keypad.

"We got two things to do before we can call this night over," I say.

"Erickson's sister is still babysitting a skin-changer and we'll need help getting this lot to the stones before dawn."

"Who did you have in mind?"

"The only person I know who will answer her phone in the middle of the night."

Frowning, I dial a number.

Sure enough, the other end picks up.

"Chief," I say, when she answers in a grouchy, sleep-addled voice.

"It's Dane Hunter."

"Hunter? What the hell..."

I hear what sounds like sheets rustling and imagine her rolling out of bed and turning on a light.

My eyes stray to Halloran's shrouded form and I almost hesitate.

Then I take a breath and harden my resolve.

I trust Coleridge with the truth and she deserves to know it.

"Yeah, Chief. I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 40 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Dane Hunter

With the children awake and charmed into a docile, somnambulistic state, we leave the cavern behind, retrace our steps through the macabre passageway and regroup outside.

There, the Fae quickly fashion a makeshift stretcher from fallen branches and the fronds of huge ferns on which to bear Halloran's body.

As they work, Rhiannon slips back into the cave one last time, returning with something bundled in a small bit of cloth.

With Freya looking after Ingrid and Danni and Erickson taking care of his niece, I'm free to devote my attention to Julian... to my brave, wonderful mate who, for one terrible moment, I'd thought I would lose.

I'd seen it on his face, in the fierce light in his eyes, as he'd stood at the edge of the chasm... he'd have ended himself... and my world with him... if he'd had to.

I owe it to Erickson and to Rian Halloran, that he did not.

Now, as the Fae put the finishing touches on the stretcher and one sacrifices her long cloak to act as a shroud, Julian sticks close to me and averts his eyes.

His skin is pale and cool to the touch and his limbs tremble slightly.

He radiates exhaustion and I wish I could offer him some comfort but empty condolences are all I've got.

"I'm sorry," I say, looping my arm around his shoulders and pulling him against my side.

"I wish there was more we could have done for him."

Julian sighs.

"Me, too. He had a lot to make up for and he'd made mistakes,but I think he was a good man."

"He was," Rhiannon's soft, slightly rough voice surprises me.

She'd approached from Julian's other side without my noticing.

Her black brows pinched with concern, she feels the side of his face and brow and asks him a question in the lilting, musical tongue of the Fae.

Unexpectedly, Julian answers in the same.

I'd forgotten he'd picked it up or 'remembered' it as he says... during his time in the Fae realm.

Too bad he hadn't picked up runes and sign language, too.

Whatever he says seems to reassure Rhiannon and her expression eases.

"You were very brave, Julian," she says with a small, sad smile.

"Your grandfather would be proud of you, as am I and though I never had the fortune to know my son, if he was anything like you, then I am proud of him, as well."

Julian's eyes stray to the cloth-bound form on the stretcher and a shiver wracks his frame.

"What now?"

Rhiannon follows his gaze and sorrow revisits her face.

"Home," she whispers.

"I will keep my promise to him. For many years, I feared and hated him and dreamed of vengeance but I understand now that he was innocent or as innocent as are any who followed Darragh's lead. The Wolves, too, were innocent. I am not."

"You were a victim, too," I say.

"I can't speak for them but I think if they could, the Wolves would forgive you."

Rhiannon turns and looks up at me and the ghost of a smile touches her lips.

"My father was called 'War-bringer' long ago. Your mother's name is 'Peacemaker' in our tongue. That our lines should join gives me great hope, Dane Hunter."

She turns and surveys the sad little gathering, and sighs.

"I wish we had more time but we have none to spare. We must return to the human realm and thence to Faerie, before the moons set."

"Moons?"

I look up but I haven't glimpsed the sky since we arrived in this nightmare place.

The upper reaches of the trees remain veiled in mist.

"When the moon in each realm aligns, it is easier to slip between worlds. When you have spent as much time here as I have, you can sense it."

She shivers.

"Come... leave this place where it belongs, in memory. It is time to go home."

The return journey is a sad, quiet one and we make a strange procession as we pass among the shadows beneath the gloom-shrouded trees.

Rhiannon leads the way, silent as a wraith, while Ingrid, Freya and Danni help herd the children along.

Four Fae carry the stretcher bearing Halloran's body like pallbearers at a funeral and the last two flank us as guards.

Julian and I bring up the rear with Erickson, who carries his niece.

We arrive at the pool more quickly than I expected and I eye the black water with distaste.

I'd barely made it through the first time and have no desire to repeat the experience.

The muscles and tendons in my shoulder have already healed but the joint remains stiff and sore and I rub it absently.

Erickson seems to share my misgivings and shifts uneasily from side to side as he strokes the back of his niece's head, resting on his shoulder as she sleeps.

Rhiannon slips between us like a shadow.

"Fear not," she says quietly.

"We have made it in time and moons are in our favor. It will be an easy passage, I promise. Here."

Opening the bundle of cloth she had gone back into the cavern to retrieve, she hands us each a small length of the bioluminescent fungal strands.

"These will give you a light to follow through the dark. Tie them around your ankle, so the one who comes behind you will have something to follow."

I take the sticky, resinous strand and glance at Julian.

He sits on the ground a few paces off, his back resting against a large stone, elbows on his knees and his head hanging forward on his neck.

Fatigue is catching up to him and I'm worried.

"What about the kids?" I ask.

"Some of them probably can't swim."

"Children are very obedient when charmed," she says, unconcerned.

"They can hold their breath a surprisingly long time. They must have done so once already, given they are here to begin with. They will cling to you like little frogs and all will be well. Do not fear. Alyth will guide you safely through."

This draws attention, including that of Alyth herself.

"Forgive me, Milady," she says.

"But you have far more experience than I with these passages. Would you not best lead the way yourself?"

Rhiannon shakes her head.

"Perhaps but I shall not be joining you."

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 39 - Part 3

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

Rhiannon looks up and addresses the other Fae in a slow, rough whisper.

"You are guilty of treason, then. But if you help us, I shall vouch for you. I cannot promise the Council's forgiveness but you shall have mine."

She strokes Halloran's sweat-dampened brow.

"As do you, my brother."

The Fae exchange glances again and Alyth, who seems to be the leader now, speaks once more.

"We will help. As a sign of good faith, we place ourselves in your hands."

Unstringing her bow, she hands it to Dane.

The other Fae does the same, passing her weapon to Freya.

"We are at your command."

Rhiannon nods.

"Tend to your wounded. Then free the children and wake them."

She tosses the pouch of smelly herbs to Alyth and turns her attention to her brother once more.

"The curse is broken, then?" I ask, coming to kneel at Halloran's other side.

Rhiannon glances up at me and nods.

"Yes. If I needed any more proof that it was Darragh who betrayed me, I have it now. With his death, my voice is my own again, though it comes at a great cost."

"You've... lost so much, already," Halloran gasps.

Blood trickles from the corner of his mouth in a steady stream and his face is colorless.

"I couldn't let him... hurt you any more. If only I'd... known sooner..."

"Shh," Rhiannon smooths the hair away from his brow.

"You are forgiven, brother. Darragh fooled many with his lies, myself among them. You did not know."

Halloran's gaze shifts to me.

"Julian... I'm sorry. I should have told you everything... from the beginning. None of this would have..." he chokes and coughs, blood flecking his lips.

I grimace at the two arrows protruding from his chest.

"Try not to talk," I say.

"We'll get you help. We'll get you to Faerie and you'll heal, just like I did."

He coughs and smiles weakly.

"I'm afraid... there isn't time for that. Even if I... could make it out of here... the standing stones..."

"But we're right under them," I say, looking to Rhiannon.

"You know how to open the doorway, don't you?"

"Yes but not from here," she says as tears fill her luminous eyes.

"The Shadow, Fae and human Realms are close but only through the human realm of Earth can we pass between them. We must return to your world first and from thence into Faerie."

"But Darragh's plan..."

"Was to tear a hole... in the fabric of reality," Halloran interrupts, grasping my hand.

His voice is thin and almost soundless and he struggles to draw breath between words.

"Julian, it's all right. I've... lived more years than you know. More... than I've deserved. I only wish... I had more time to know you. I would have liked... to see where fate leads you... someday."

"You still can," I say, refusing to give up.

I twist to look at Freya and Dane.

They're busy tending to Danni and Ingrid but Freya catches my eye and comes over to examine Halloran and I move aside to give her room.

"There must be something we can do."

She barely glances at his wounds before she shakes her head.

"Fae shafts fly true. I doubt even Fae magic would save him. Best say your farewells while you can."

Touching her hand to her forehead, lips,and heart, she bows her head.

"May the Moon Goddess bless your journey, friend," she says,and rises to her feet.

I take her place once more, my heart constricting around a growing seed of grief.

I barely got a chance to know the man, barely trusted him but he's the closest link to my father I have, besides Rhiannon... part of a family I never knew I had... and now I've got to say goodbye.

"It's alright, Julian," Halloran whispers, reading my thoughts and squeezing my hand weakly.

"I've only... one request."

I nod.

"Anything in my power, I'll do."

His gaze shifts to Rhiannon.

"I'd... like to go home," he breathes, his words so faint I read them on his lips more than I hear them.

"Please. Take me home."

Rhiannon nods, tears slipping down her cheeks as she leans to kiss his brow.

"You have my word, brother. You shall lie upon the highest tor, beneath the widest sky, above a wild sea and when the bright sun sets, the silver stars of Faerie will grace your resting place with their light."

His breath catches and his gaze grows unfocused, as if he sees the vision she has painted for him with her long-lost words.

"Sleep now, dear brother," she whispers.

"I know that you are not to blame. You are forgiven and you have my love."

"Rhiannon..." his gaze fixes on something only he can see and then, with a last, soft exhalation, he is still.

She shuts his eyes, folds his hands upon his breast and bending, kisses his brow.

A hand on my shoulder startles me and I look up to see Dane at my side.

Gently, he helps me to my feet.

"Are you okay?" he asks, holding my shoulders to study me.

I shake my head and wipe my eyes.

"No. Not really."

"Me either," he says and folds me in his arms.

I let myself rest against his chest for a moment, listening to the calming beat of his heart, until with a steadying breath, I pull away once more.

"What now?" I ask, glancing around.

Erickson sits with Savannah in his arms.

She appears sleepy and confused but oddly calm.

I understand why as I watch the other Fae freeing the remaining children.

They speak to them softly in the Fae tongue, charming them into a dreamlike state to keep them from becoming frightened or upset.

"What will happen to them?" Rhiannon answers me, wiping her eyes as she rises and joins us.

She'd snapped the arrows off and lain them at Halloran's side, folding his hands upon his breast.

"We will bring them to Faerie," she says.

"They are already too out of time for your world. There are many childless Fae who will be happy to raise them as their own."

"How will we get them back through the caverns?" I ask.

Rhiannon shakes her head.

"We will enchant them and I will guide the way."

Exhaustion weights my limbs like lead and grief weighs my heart as heavily but relief lightens the load a little.

It doesn't feel as if we've won but at least it's over.

I risk a glance at Halloran's body, mindful of his final wish.

"Alright," I say, leaning against Dane's side.

"Let's get out of here. Let's go home."

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 39 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

The Fae charge but so does Derek Erickson.

With a wild yell, he leaps from the shadows and grabs Darragh from behind like a defensive tackle bringing down a quarterback.

The two crash to the ground in a tangle of limbs and no one waits to see who comes out on top.

Dane and Freya spring into action, each attacking one of the armed Fae while Rhiannon takes on the two guarding her and Halloran.

The last pair have drawn their bows but seem uncertain where to aim.

They can't get a clear shot at Erickson as he wrestles with Darragh, shooting me will do no good and the rest are engaged in close combat.

The fight is fast, fierce and furious.

Dane and Freya grapple with the two Fae holding spears, engaging in hand to hand combat against their armed opponents.

Despite their disadvantage, the pair quickly gains the upper hand.

Dane yanks the spear from the Fae's grasp, twirls it through the air and knocks her feet from under her.

Freya fights dirty and hard, mixing traditional martial arts and street fighting techniques she learned who-knows-where.

Evading the jab of her opponent's spear so narrowly the blade cuts her cheek, she ducks within his defenses and punches him in the throat.

He goes down hard and stays there.

Rhiannon had taken on both Fae guarding her and Halloran, Halloran still seeming too weak and sick to fight.

He leans against a pillar, looking about as useless as I feel, as Rhiannon executes a deadly, ballet-like dance.

The two Fae fighting her are skilled as well but Rhiannon is next level.

Her movements blur together, too quick for me to see.

She lays one adversary low and then the other in quick succession.

Erickson has not fared so well.

Though stronger than a Fae man, pound for pound, he's not as quick or agile and Darragh had gained the upper hand.

Now Erickson lies at Darragh's feet with a bloodied nose and a blackened eye.

He lifts himself on one elbow, apparently not yet ready to cede the victory but from the dazed look in his eyes, I can tell he's not up for much more.

Fortunately, Darragh ignores him, all his attention on Rhiannon as she turns on him with murderous intent, wielding a vanquished opponent's spear.

Unarmed himself, he points at her and backs away.

"Kill her. Shoot, already," he screams, gesturing at the last two Fae on their feet.

Swiftly, they raise their bows, take aim and fire.

Instead, Halloran moves more swiftly than I'd thought him capable, throwing himself between his sister and the deadly missiles aimed at her heart.

Now he falls, twin shafts buried deep in his breast.

Rhiannon screams but rather than turn her rage on Darragh, she falls at Halloran's side, cradling him in her arms as he struggles to breathe.

Chest heaving, Darragh points again.

"Kill them both," he says, as the archers reload their bows.

"Finish them."

"Darragh, no," I shout, grasping Rhiannon's knife by its blade and raising it for a throw.

I have absolutely no training in knife throwing, however and imagine that if I hurl it at him, the worst it might do is bounce off his chest, handle first.

Rhiannon had two knives, however and she dropped both after freeing her brother from the entangling nets.

I had picked up one someone with better throwing skills had found the other.

That's the impression I get, anyway, as it flies through the air and buries itself in Darragh's throat and I follow it's swift trajectory to it's origin.

Freya, taught as a bow herself, dropped into a crouch, her extended hand revealing the point from which the missile flew.

Darragh chokes, crutches at the blade protruding from his throat, stumbles to the side and falls into the yawning abyss without a cry, vanishing into the dark like a dropped stone.

The armed Fae wheel, their aim raking the cavern in search of new targets but with their leader vanquished, they seem at a loss.

Dane takes advantage.

"Enough," he says, letting his Alpha power flood his voice as he stands and raises a Fae spear.

"Enough bloodshed. Go and take your chances in the Shadowlands or stay and help us. If you want to fight, you can join your Captain there. Make your choice."

At his side, Freya holds another spear, ready to cast.

If her skill with a knife is anything to go by, her aim rivals that of a Fae.

The archers exchange glances, then lower their weapons as one.

"We had no choice but to follow him," the one called Alyth says.

She nods at Rhiannon.

"Ask my lady, there. Vouch for us with the Council and we will help you."

Rhiannon looks up sharply from where she kneels at Halloran's side, her pale face streaked with tears.

Then, to everyone's surprise, she speaks.

Her voice is a rough whisper, raw from disuse but it carries throughout the chamber.

"Did Father sanction this? Does your King know what Darragh intended?"

The Fae exchange glances.

Finally, one of the female warriors speaks.

"No, milady. Prince Rian's mission is the only one of which is he aware."

Halloran reaches up to grasp her sleeves, speaking between shallow gasps.

"Julian. Father hoped... he might be persuaded to come home. He... has missed you and wished... to make amends... by honoring your grandson at Court but... Julian's place is here, with his heart's mate... As yours once was."

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 39 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

"Stop," my shout makes the cavern ring like the inside of a bell, startling everyone.

Thankfully, it has the intended effect and the two Fae taking aim at Ingrid and Freya turn to look at me along with everyone else.

All attempts at hiding abandoned, I stand in full view at the edge of the crevasse, one of Rhiannon's knives held to my own throat.

My hand shakes and the blade is razor sharp.

A trickle of blood from an accidental cut adds credence to my self-directed threat.

Darragh appears as comically surprised as everyone else but recovers more quickly.

"Ah, there you are," he says, as if pleased to see me.

"Like father, like son, I see."

As he'd revealed his plans, I had scanned the room from the shadows, searching for an escape but there were two armed Fae guarding the only way out... not counting the chasm in the floor.

Meanwhile, the longer he talked, the more obvious it became that I couldn't let myself fall into his hands.

Finally, I'd spotted one of Rhiannon's knives, abandoned where she'd dropped it near Halloran and a desperate solution had presented itself to my mind.

Snatching up the knife, I'd been creeping closer to Darragh, keeping to the shadows around the pillars, when he'd finally reached the end of his little speech and moved on to the demonstration phase.

With Ingrid and Freya in mortal peril, I'd acted without conscious thought and turned the blade on the only person within reach... myself.

"Stop or I'll do it. I swear."

Darragh smiles easily, as if amused by the antics of a child but the tension in his stance betrays his alarm.

"Go ahead," he says.

"End yourself. You're not the only 'leanan sidhe' here."

"Rhiannon will never help you," I say, glancing at my grandmother for confirmation.

"She'd rather die."

She nods firmly, a look of fierce determination in her amethyst eyes.

"I'm sure she would," Daragh agrees.

"And so she shall... along with everyone else here... if you fail to cooperate."

"And what if I do cooperate? You'll let everyone go home? Somehow I doubt it."

"You and the Alpha are all I need. I've no use for the others. If you surrender, they may leave unharmed."

"What about the children?"

"The children are the skin-changer's business, not mine. Take them if you like."

"And what happens to them after Spring Lakes becomes ground zero for your supernatural disaster?"

I shake my head.

"I can't let you do this."

I tense my muscles and dare a glance at Dane.

As his mate, I know that this is the worst thing I could do to him but I'm out of options and out of time.

I don't want to die but as I'd listened to Darragh outline his crazy scheme, I'd finally understood the dilemma my father had faced.

To my own surprise, I find I share his conviction... better to put myself beyond all reach than to let a madman use me for harm.

Dane sees and understands this as our eyes meet and every layer of his heart is laid bare in his face... fear, pain and the kind of love that will never die.

"Julian..." the sound of my name on his lips is a sweet parting gift and I shut my eyes.

One swift, determined motion and...

"The children."

Startled, I open my eyes and see Halloran leaning forward, staring at me with a burning intensity.

"It's how the skin-changers raise their young," he says, kicking free of the fungal webbing and struggling to his feet.

"They take human children and replace them with their own offspring, to be raised by human parents. It's how they learn to blend in seamlessly with their prey."

I frown at him.

As fascinating as I'm sure the life-cycle of a skin-changer must be, it seems like an odd topic of conversation with which to engage a man about to off himself for the greater good.

He's clearly brought it up for a reason, though and if he's got a plan that doesn't involve suicide, I'm willing to listen.

"Skin-changers don't feed from victims until they're adults," he continues breathlessly.

His gaze darts towards the passageway as he speaks and I follow his line of sight.

The two Fae who had been guarding it have left their posts, moving to flank me.

Clearly, they're trying to get close enough to grab me from either side and prevent me from carrying through on my threat.

Halloran's attention isn't on them, though.

In the gloom of the tunnel's entrance, I catch a glimpse of a pale face and a shock of red hair.

I've never been so happy to see Derek Erickson in my life.

He's directly in line with Darragh's back and the pillars and shadows partially obscure him from view.

If he can get close enough to attack, he might have a chance at turning the tide.

"How is being kept in a cave like this better than death?" I ask loudly, as Darragh turns to see what I'm looking at, drawing his attention back to myself.

His brow shining with nervous sweat, Halloran continues his strange lecture with feverish passion.

"Once the skin-changers hit puberty, the adults retrieve them and bring them back the Shadowlands. Their human doubles are returned unharmed... mostly."

By this point, my arm is getting tired and I'm starting to feel a little ridiculous, holding a knife to my own throat but I play along nonetheless.

"What's your point?"

"The skin-changers maintain a mental link with their victims," Halloran says quickly.

"It's how they absorb their personality and memories but the link goes both ways. The human children remember everything their doubles do in their stead. When they return to consciousness, it's like waking from a dream in which they watched themselves from afar. Disconcerting and psychologically damaging but better than the alternative. Wouldn't you agree?"

He looks pointedly at the knife in my hand.

Meanwhile, Erickson has emerged from the passageway and made it halfway across the cavern's broad, shadowy floor.

He's closer than he was but still too far away to make his move.

I have to keep Darragh and the other Fae occupied long enough to give him his chance.

"What about in the past?" I ask.

"When Julius Hart blocked off the caverns, there were children missing from the town. I didn't read anything about them coming back. In fact, it looks like they're still here."

I point with the knife at the pillar farthest from Erickson.

"The skin-changers were sloppy and impatient back then," Halloran says. "They moved too quickly... tried to take the human children before their own were already. That was how they'd done it in the past... a child disappeared for a few days, weeks or even months and then returned... changed. It made sense that the child wouldn't be quite the same after whatever ordeal they'd undergone... even that they might never speak of it again."

"Changelings," Dane says, having glimpsed Erickson as well and caught on to the plan.

"One origin of the tales, yes," Halloran says.

"Enough of this," Darragh snarls impatiently and gestures at the Fae who had flanked me.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 38 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Darragh turns towards Freya, head tilted to the side.

"Indeed. We are like you Wolves, in that regard. The child of a human and a Wolf will inherit the traits of the Wolf and be as much a Wolf as any other. But are there not those among you who value your 'pure lineages' enough to start wars over them? Humans are no different. They divide themselves into nationalities and races but all are equally human. You wouldn't guess as much from the way they behave towards one another, as I'm sure you are well aware."

"You saying the Fae are racist?" Freya asks, her brows lifting towards her hair.

"If 'human' and 'Fae' may be called races, then yes," Darragh says.

"Children of 'pure blood' like my dear brother and sister, here, will always be valued above those of 'mixed heritage,' such as myself. Unless, of course, they carry the gift of the' leanan sidhe'.

He turns his gaze on Rhiannon and she glares back at him defiantly, the fierce purple flash of her eyes reminding me of Julian.

"It was your idea, wasn't it?" Halloran says.

"To have Rhiannon open a portal?" Darragh nods.

"Yes, though I got it from the skin-changers, originally. The passageway in those caverns is ancient... as old as the land... and the skin-changers used it for generations. Their population was always small and the local human tribes were wary of the caves but the two coexisted for centuries. Then different humans came and built a town on top of it and the skin-changers did what any animal will do when the supply of food increases. They began to breed. In time, their numbers increased to the point where snatching stray humans no longer sufficed. They devised a plan whereby they might replace the entire town and establish a permanent population in the human realm. Unfortunately for them, they moved too quickly and the humans noticed."

"They sealed the caverns off," I say.

"They did," Darragh agrees.

"And doomed their own children. Those that had been taken to the Shadowlands remained trapped here to perish, while the skin-changers stranded on the other side were forced to eke out a careful existence among humans. Most were eventually hunted down and eradicated by the likes of Julius Hart."

Darragh's grin sharpens as he looms over Rhiannon.

"How ironic when, almost a century later, our dear sister derailed my own plans by falling in love with none other than Hart's descendant."

With a feral snarl, Rhiannon launches herself at Darragh, knife in hand but his guards are ready.

Blinded by fury, her attack lacks finesse and she's thrown to the ground.

Halloran catches and pulls her back and with a razor-sharp spear-tip at her throat, she stops struggling.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Halloran breathes, looking up at Darragh over Rhiannon's shoulder.

"The Wolves. You set them up."

Darragh nods.

"I needed the conflict to continue for an incursion to gain the support of the courts and I imagined that with her lover dead, Rhiannon would be willing enough to give herself to the cause once more. Unfortunately, I... miscalculated her thirst for vengeance. She wasn't supposed to kill them all... certainly not the Alpha. We needed him."

Struck by a sudden realization, I swear.

"Fuck. The land-bond."

"Perhaps you're more clever than I've given you credit for," Darragh says, turning to me with a lifted brow.

"Yes... the land bond is a critical ingredient in this ritual. An Alpha's life is bound to the land and the land between our worlds is connected at thin places. It is the power of this bond, coupled with the gift of the 'leanan sidhe' to transform will into reality, that will tear a rift between realms. Without an Alpha's bond, the ritual is null."

Turning, he stalks back across the room, his eyes sweeping the cavern like a hawk in search of prey.

I've been doing the same whenever his back is turned, looking for Julian but if he's still here, he's got the 'Unseen' thing down pat.

Darragh sighs.

"With Rhiannon banished in disgrace, the Shadowlands sealed once more and the Conflict at an end, I put my ambitions aside for a time. With only my brother between me and the throne, things seemed less urgent. I was content to wait and then I learned about Julian Hart."

He approaches to stand before me.

"Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not only did my sister have a grandson but that he was a 'leanan sidhe' as well. Moreover, an Alpha Wolf had come to Spring Lakes and..." he laughs aloud.

"Against all odds, the pair had fallen in love. I couldn't believe my luck. All I needed was for you to bond with the land and then I'd make my move. For an entire year, I watched and waited but it seemed you were content to let things be. So I gave you a little encouragement. A push in the right direction."

"You re-opened the Shadowlands," Halloran says, aghast.

"You let the skin-changers through."

He nods.

"And Rhiannon followed, as I knew she would."

"Well, jokes on you," I say.

"I haven't completed the bond yet. If you hadn't kidnapped my sister, I would have."

"I had to," Darragh snaps.

"You were about to ruin everything. Stupid brute. For the greatest power, you need to complete the bond at the thinnest place, where the most power bleeds through between realms. At the standing stones... not some nameless ridge with no significance."

I glower at him.

"The center of my territory is where my heart lives... my home."

"A sweet but flawed sentiment," Darragh sneers.

"If you wish to protect what you love, you should seek the greatest power to do so but as you seemed determined to do otherwise, I was forced to step in and reveal myself prematurely and... inspire... you to act. Sadly, you failed but fear not... it's all worked out splendidly in the end, thanks to the ever-impetuous Julian. You're exactly where I want you and all that remains is for you to complete the bond and submit to my will."

"I thought you said we needed to be at the standing stones?"

"We are."

He points at the arched dome above us.

"We are directly beneath them. In this place, the three realms of 'Faerie' 'The Shadowlands' and 'Human Earth' align perfectly. We are exactly where we need to be."

I glance up at the vaulted ceiling, down at the chasm in the floor, and at the seven pillars surrounding it.

I suppose if any place looks like a conduit between realms, it would be this one.

"What makes you think I'll cooperate?"

Darragh arches his brow at me.

"I don't expect you to but by the time I've stripped away everything you love and after a certain amount of suffering, I imagine you'll do as I ask."

"There's just one problem with your plan," I say.

"Julian's not here."

"I think we both know that isn't true," Darragh says, smirking and gestures to the Fae holding bows.

He points at Ingrid and Freya.

"Alyth, Sylv. Kill the spares."

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 38 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Dane Hunter

I pull the clinging fungal strands away from Ingrid's face and neck, check for a pulse and exhale with relief when I feel a slow but steady beat drumming against my fingertips.

"She alright?" Freya asks, masking her anxiety for our sister with a casual tone.

"Cold and unconscious but alive," I confirm.

"Danni?" Freya presses a hand to Danni's neck.

"Same. The shit must have some kind of sedative property. I bet it keeps the skin-changer's victims alive while they take their time draining 'em."

"We can speculate later. Let's get them awake and get the hell out of here first."

Freya gets back to work without answering.

I half listen as Julian and Rhiannon pull Halloran away from the wall and attempt to wake him.

A strong odor assaults my nostrils and I turn to see Rhiannon crushing something beneath Halloran's nose.

Whatever it is, it works and he bolts awake, coughing violently.

I'm about to ask Rhiannon for some of whatever she used on him when Ingrid stirs and moans feebly.

"Dane?"

"Yeah, baby sis. We're getting out of here. Just hold tight."

"Ugh... I feel sick. My head hurts."

Gingerly, I probe the back of her head with my fingers.

"No obvious injuries," I say.

"Probably just a side effect of whatever shit they drugged you with. You'll be okay, just as soon as..."

An alarmed hiss interrupts me and I twist just in time to see Julian blend with the eerily glowing wall.

On the opposite side of the cavern, flickering shadows, the shuffle of footsteps and the low hum of voices give me only seconds' warning before a troop of armed Fae enters the chamber.

There are seven of them, armed with bows and spears.

The one in the lead is tall and pale, with long dark hair worn in a plaited braid.

He resembles Halloran enough that I assume he must be Darragh.

There's no sign of Erickson and I hope that means he got away and hasn't joined the corpses in the passageway.

As the Fae flank us and raise their weapons, Freya and I share a quick glance.

Bows and spears may not be the most sophisticated armaments but in the hands of Fae they're deadly enough.

We're outnumbered and with Danni, Ingrid, Halloran and the children still incapacitated, we can't risk any rash moves.

We raise our hands in surrender.

"Well, well... what a strange reunion this is and still keeping strange company, dear sister," he says, glancing at me and Freya.

"You always had such charmingly... eclectic tastes."

Rhiannon glares at him mutely while Halloran struggles to raise himself on his elbows, still tangled in the fungal webbing from the waist down.

"Darragh, you son of a bitch," he rasps.

"I should have known you were behind this."

Darragh crosses the cavernous space, his steps echoing lightly around the shadowed chamber and comes to stand before his twin siblings.

The other Fae move into position without being told, like the highly trained warriors they are.

Two guard the passageway with ready bows, two cover Freya and me with wickedly long-tipped spears and two flank Darragh.

"I suppose you should have," Darragh says.

"But you always were a little dense, brother."

"This again?" Halloran scoffs.

"I thought we had settled our differences."

"Differences," Darragh laughs.

"That, brother, is the issue at hand. I am just as much our father's son as you are. All I've ever asked is to be treated as such."

"And you have been," Halloran says, his voice gaining strength as he recovers himself.

"He raised us as equals... he's always acknowledged you as his son."

Darragh's lips twist with disdain.

"His illegitimate half-human son, yes. Not as his heir."

"Is that what this is about? The succession?" Halloran shakes his head.

"You know I've no interest in politics. If it were up to me..."

"WELL, IT ISN'T," Darragh's voice ricochets around the chamber like a scatter of bullets, the barking echoes making everyone jump.

He rubs his jaw and takes a breath, reining himself in with a visible effort.

I make a mental note that the man has a temper and scan the chamber for signs of Julian.

"It isn't up to you," Darragh says, more calmly.

"And don't tell me you'd be happy to cede the succession to me if I asked it of you. No one gives up power once they have it and you'd be no different."

"What then?" Halloran asks.

"You would rather keep company with monsters than accept your honored place in court, simply because you are not first in line for the throne?"

Darragh smiles sharply.

"Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven, is how it goes, I think."

I cast Freya a sidelong glance but with Fae arrows aimed at our hearts, neither of us dares to move.

Werewolves can heal from terrible wounds but a direct strike to the heart, especially with an arrow smeared with wolfsbane, is certain death and the Fae know their business when it comes to killing wolves.

"So, what? You intend to colonize the Shadowlands? Become a king among monsters, instead?" Halloran asks.

Darragh begins to pace like a cliche villain with the heroes at his mercy and laughs.

"You always did lack imagination, brother. No, I do not wish to be a Prince of Hell... I wish to be Lord of All."

Halloran stares at him.

"All? All of what, Darragh?"

The other man turns on his heel and stalks back across the length of the cavern, his black leather garments gleaming in the eerie bioluminescent glow.

"Everything. Faerie, the Shadowlands and the human world each have their strengths and their weaknesses... rich in some resources, poor in others. Imagine if we had full, stable and constant access to all three."

"That's insane," Halloran says.

"Opening a portal between Faerie and Earth is crazy enough but the Shadowlands? That would be... catastrophic."

Darragh merely nods, hands clasped behind his back.

"Yes. A cataclysm would be inevitable. Magic would bleed through from faerie, wreaking havoc on human electromagnetic systems. Their infrastructure, their communications networks... all would come crashing down. In Faerie, the dilution of power would have unknown effects but more than likely some of our defenses would crumble, releasing massive amounts of unpredictable magical power into the world and from the Shadowlands... well, who knows what might come? But one cannot have light without darkness to balance it... and balance is what I seek, brother."

"Balance?" Halloran gasps.

"Do you have any idea how many humans would die?"

"Of course," Darragh says, inclining his head.

"But consider the numbers rationally. There are, what? Eight billion of the creatures now? Even if nine-tenths of them perish, a sufficient population will remain."

"Sufficient for what?" Darragh shrugs.

"Breeding... and labor."

"Slaves, you mean," Halloran's voice is a whisper, his blue eyes wide with horror.

"Darragh, what you're talking about isn't balance. It's the end of three worlds."

"And the beginning of a better one," Darragh says easily, turning on his heel and pacing back across the polished floor.

"Human lives and memories are brief. Things might seem bleak for a time, certainly but soon enough, they will forget the old ways and appreciate the new. In the meantime, the Fae will arise and conquer and an era of true prosperity will dawn."

"Hypothetically," Halloran says, catching my eye with a desperate, sidelong glance.

"You have no idea if that's what would happen. For all you know, all three dimensions might implode and for what? Because you're not Father's heir?"

"I was his heir," Darragh snaps.

"Until Father lay with the sister of the Summer Queen and you two came along. Children of pure Fae blood... royal blood, no less. I went from being Father's sole heir to a distant, barely acknowledged third choice."

"I thought that's not how it worked with y'all," Freya says, daring to speak up despite our peril.

"I thought as long as one half of the equation was Fae, the result would be a hundred percent Fae, too."

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 37 - Part 3

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

Just as I've thought this, someone behind me gasps loudly, the echoes ricocheting around the passageway like a swarm of bats and I spin to see Freya staring at the wall as if she's seen a ghost.

"Freya?"

Dane moves to see what she's looking at, peering over her shoulder.

Then he swears.

"Oh, fuck."

"What is it?" I ask, retracing my steps.

"Julian, don't look," Dane warns but I've already seen.

Behind a wedding veil of glowing fungi, the eyeless sockets of a skull stare back at me.

Retreating a step, I see the rest of the skeleton.

It looks as if someone got tired and sat down to rest against the wall and never got up again.

Something tells me that isn't what happened, though.

With swiftly dawning horror, I see that the poor soul who expired in this lonely, Gods-forsaken place is far from alone.

All along the passageway, similar fungi-shrouded shapes line the walls.

"What in hell is this place?" Freya breathes.

"I think these are the skin-changer's victims," I say, swallowing the tang of nausea as it stings the back of my throat.

Dane nods in agreement as he uses the muzzle of Erickson's firearm to move aside the strands of fungi for a closer look.

"I'd say these bones are at least a hundred years old. Maybe twice that. At the very least, I'd guess they date from the time of the first incursion."

"Looks like they get fresher farther in," Freya whispers.

"This one's still got clothes on."

We move along the corridor to where she stands.

"Style looks like fifty, sixty years ago," Dane says.

"Like from around my grandfather's time," I say.

"The bodies end here," Freya says.

"But look."

She points to two bare spots on the wall, where the fungal growth appears to have been disturbed.

"This must be where they were keeping Stephanie and Lagrange."

"No sign of Danni or any children," I say.

"I'm no forensics expert but these skeletons all look like adults."

"Maybe they're further in," Freya says.

"Speaking of, where'd granny go?"

I turn and see that Rhiannon has vanished.

"Shit. Come on."

We proceed down the narrow, sloping corridor.

The passageway narrows and zigzags through several sharp turns and around the last of these abruptly opens into a much larger chamber.

Seven stone pillars, too smooth and regular to have been formed naturally, support a domed roof and surround a yawning chasm in the center.

A small figure is bound to each of the pillars with the same fibrous webbing as the bodies in the passageway and more of the eerily glowing growth covers the walls and ceiling in wispy cobwebs.

On the opposite side of the chamber, cocoon-like masses of the stuff anchor three larger bodies and one small one to the wall, which I take to be Ingrid, Danni, Halloran and Erickson's niece.

Rhiannon kneels in front of one, cutting through the webbing with her knives.

Quickly skirting the edge of the chasm, we pause briefly to examine the small figures bound to the pillars.

Beneath the cobweb veils enveloping them, I glimpse the faces of young children.

They look like they're sleeping and most of them wear clothing so old and tattered it looks to be made more of dust than fabric.

"Are they alive?" I ask anxiously as Dane and Freya pull some of the glowing strands away from the children's faces.

After a moment, Freya nods.

"Yeah, they're alive. It's like they're in some kind of stasis, though."

Dane grunts.

"Where did they come from? No one's missing any kids, that I'm aware."

"Unless they've all been replaced by skin-changers, like Savannah," Freya says.

"I don't think so," I say.

"Look at their clothes. I think... I think these are the kids that went missing when Julius Hart blocked the caverns off."

"That's impossible," Dane says.

"That would mean they've been here for almost 150 years."

"Earth time," I point out.

"We don't know if it's the same here."

"And, if they're in some kind of suspended animation, it might not matter," Freya agrees.

"If that's the case, a few more minutes won't hurt them," Dane says and continues on across the chamber to where Rhiannon has freed Halloran and pulled him away from the wall.

While Dane and Freya pick up her discarded knives and set to work on Danni and Ingrid, I join her at Halloran's side.

Reaching into a fold of her strange garment, she pulls out a little pouch, from which she withdraws a pinch of dried herbs.

As she crushes them between her fingers beneath Halloran's nose, a nauseatingly pungent smell hits me.

I cover my mouth to stifle a gag... fortunately, the stuff has an effect on Halloran, too.

His eyes snap open and he gasps, then collapses to the side, wracked by a fit of dry heaves.

Thankfully, Rhiannon puts the pouch away and the smell quickly dissipates... if it were a bottled fragrance 'rude awakening' would be an apt name.

When he recovers sufficiently, he raises himself and blinks blearily at his sister.

"Rhiannon... You came... You... You know it wasn't me?"

She nods, tears sparkling in her eyes as she gently strokes the side of his face.

Looking past her, the sapphire blue of his eyes catches the eerie glow of the fungus as they fix on me.

I offer him a smile but he doesn't look happy to see me.

In fact, he looks terrified.

"What have you done?" he whispers, his eyes flicking to Rhiannon accusingly.

"Why have you brought him here?"

She shrinks away and he grabs my hand.

"Julian, you need to get out of here now."

Wondering if whatever's in the fungus is making him confused, I shake my head.

"We're here to help," I say.

"We're all getting out of here just as soon as we wake up Ingrid and Danni and these kids."

Although how we're going to get seven kids through an underwater tunnel is beyond me.

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess.

Halloran shakes his head, his grip on my hand tightening painfully.

"No. No, you don't understand. You shouldn't be here, Julian."

"Why not?" I ask, the beginnings of alarm tingling in my gut.

"Because," he breathes, his eyes wide as he stares at something at my back.

"It's exactly where he wanted you."

My heart drops like a stone and I turn at the sound of faint echoes in the passageway.

"Julian, hide," Halloran's hiss makes me jump and I leap to my feet but the chamber offers no concealment and the only way in or out is the way we came.

Instinctively, I will myself Unseen just as Darragh emerges from the tunnel, followed by a group of armed Fae soldiers.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 37 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

As we pass deeper into the forest, I notice strangling vines embrace the trunks of the great trees, ensnaring them like the tangled webbing of massive nets.

Firefly lights flicker in the misty canopy above, sickly greenish-yellow twinkles in the gloom and now and then, I glimpse a flash of movement in the corner of my eye.

Rhiannon leads us on a meandering path, keeping to the deepest shadows and frequently reminds us to be quiet but in the increasingly ominous atmosphere, not even Erickson complains.

I quickly lose track of time.

The constant and unvarying gloom beneath the gigantic trees makes it impossible to tell whether it's morning, midday or late afternoon and the only way to judge how long we've been walking is by how tired and hungry we are.

"Don't suppose they got McDonald's in this place, do ya? I'm fuckin' famished," Freya grumbles when we stop to rest at the base of a particularly massive tree, so enormous we look like insects by comparison.

The tangled, moss-covered roots that splay from its base like tentacles serve as convenient seats and the ground is relatively free of undergrowth.

"Hey, Erickson, you got a granola bar in one a' those pockets? Or some trail mix, or somethin'? Hell, I'll take a stick a' gum."

"Sorry, nah."

Erickson shakes his head.

"I'd have eaten it already, if I had."

He's been uncharacteristically quiet and cooperative since landing in the Shadowlands and I suspect he's in some kind of mental shock.

I can't blame him but I'm also not sure how long the improved attitude will last.

After a shorter rest than I'd like, Rhiannon rises from her makeshift bench and gestures for us to follow her once more.

Wearily, we obey.

"How much farther is this place?" Erickson grumbles, confirming my suspicion that the attitude change isn't permanent.

"This bitch better not be leading us in circles."

"Shut up, Erickson," I snap.

"If you want to turn back, no one's stopping you."

"I'm not going anywhere without my niece," he mutters.

"Besides, you're all thinkin' it. I'm just sayin' it."

I glare at him over my shoulder but the truth is, he's not wrong.

The impressions I got from Stephanie were like short clips or snapshots, not a seamless record.

I knew she'd run some distance through the Shadowlands to reach the pool but I didn't know if 'some distance' was one mile or ten.

Ahead of me, Rhiannon pauses and gestures once more for us to be quiet.

This time, she points up at the unseen canopy high above, hidden by a layer of mist.

At last, she pauses before another gargantuan tree.

"Are we close?" I ask in a whisper.

She nods and gestures for us to follow her as she picks her way through the tangle of roots and massive vines at the tree's base.

She ducks beneath one and disappears and when I move to follow her, I find myself staring into the black maw of a burrow-like opening.

I shrink back instinctively and bump into Erickson, who swears.

"You have got to be shitting me," he mutters.

"I am not going down there."

"I don't want to, either," I say.

"But what choice do we have?"

"I'm serious," Erickson insists, backing away.

"I got claustrophobia somethin' bad. I barely made it through the last fuckin' cave. Call me a coward... I don't care. I'll wait for y'all here. Keep lookout or whatever."

"What if we don't come back?"

"I'll take my chances," he says, stubbornly plopping down to sit on a root.

I open my mouth to point out that there might be worse things out here than in the cave but the sheen of sweat dampening his brow, the greenish tinge to his face and the shake in his hands tell me he's not lying.

He's on the verge of nervous collapse and the last thing we need is him fainting or screaming and giving us away.

"You know you'll have to go through the caves again to get out of here," I point out.

"If it's to get out of here, I'll do anything," he grumbles.

"Fine. Wait here. If we don't come out again, try to find your way back to the pool. Just remember you might not come out under the shops. You might come out under the reservoir."

Looking decidedly ill at the idea, Erickson nods.

Rhiannon reappears from the darkness, beckoning insistently for us to follow her.

"All right," I sigh.

"Time to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes."

With a last glance at Erickson, I follow her into the dark opening beneath the tree.

Dane and Freya follow close at my back.

I have to stoop and brush aside a hanging fringe of moss but the burrow-like entrance widens to a passageway almost immediately.

At first, pitch darkness meets my eyes but I quickly perceive that the darkness is not so deep and that a soft, bluish light illuminates the ceiling and walls.

The passageway appears natural, made of rough, ragged stone and cutting left and right too often for conscious design.

There's a decidedly downward slope to the floor and the farther we penetrate, the brighter the eerie glow becomes.

Soon, I identify the source as a kind of slimy fungal growth clinging to the walls.

"Bioluminescence," Freya murmurs, poking at it with her fingernail.

"Don't touch it," Dane snaps.

"That's how horror movies start."

Freya rolls her eyes at him but wipes her finger on her sleeve.

Meanwhile, Rhiannon doesn't have to tell us to stay quiet down here.

Every sound seems amplified and part of me is glad Erickson chickened out... he's a bit of a mouth breather, honestly.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 37 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

As I creep through the tall ferns, I'm more conscious than ever of the eerie stillness beneath the trees.

The snap of a twig sounds like a gunshot and it feels as if the tiniest sound will bring some predator down on me.

I couldn't smell it before but now the sweet, coppery tang of blood tinges the air and my heart beats faster with anxiety at the thought of what I might be about to discover.

Pushing through the thick fronds, I approach a slight rise in the ground and lower myself to my hands and knees as I draw even with its edge.

Beyond the rim, I see the wide, stony bed of a shallow creek.

A few meters upstream, I spot the source of the smell... a body, lying face-down in a pool of reddened water.

From the denim jacket, petite frame and shock of black hair, I recognize Danni Spelling... or the skin-changer that had taken their shape, hopefully.

Unless the skin-changer is doing a great impression of a corpse, she, they or he is definitely dead.

Fearful that whatever did this might still be nearby, I freeze, hardly daring to breathe but beyond the sound of my heart thudding in my ears, all is quiet.

Deciding to retreat and tell the others what I'd found, I back up and bump into something soft.

I turn, expecting to see Freya or Dane and instead stare up into a pair of familiar amethyst eyes.

I make a sound, as much of relief as of surprise but strangely, my grandmother doesn't seem happy to see me.

Instead, Rhiannon's face twists with anguish and grief.

She holds a short, silver blade in each hand and blood stains her sleeves.

I realized two things... first, I found what killed Danni's doppelgänger and second, Rhiannon thinks the skin-changers got me, too.

Before I can disabuse her of this idea, she kicks me in the chest, sending me flying into the creek bed, where I land on my back in the shallow water.

She's on me in a flash, silver knives at my throat and a look of pure rage twisting her face.

"Rhiannon, wait," I gasp, lifting my hands in surrender.

"It's me. Please... I'm not one of them. Dane and Freya are here, too."

She shakes her head and a pair of tears slip down her cheeks.

She doesn't believe me but she hasn't killed me yet, either, so I keep babbling.

"We came through the caverns," I gasp, keeping my eyes locked with hers.

"That's what you were trying to tell us, isn't it? That Darragh and the others weren't going to faerie... they came here, instead. The skin-changers had something to do with what happened to you and further back, with my ancestor, Julius. That's what the rune meant, isn't it? Julius Hart. We figured it out and..."

Lifting one blade from my throat, Rhiannon keeps the other in place while clapping her hand over my mouth to shut me up.

I haven't been whispering,and her alarm makes me wonder what other dangers might lurk beneath the trees.

Fortunately for me, those dangers include Freya and Dane.

Rhiannon's head whips around to look over her shoulder as they emerge from the trees, drawn by the sound of my distress, with a breathless and red-faced Erickson in tow.

"Julian? What the..." Dane halts, frozen by the sight of my imminent peril but Rhiannon relaxes almost immediately, lifting her hand from my mouth and dropping her knife.

She leans over me, concern creasing her brow and lays her hands on either side of my face.

"It's okay," I whisper breathlessly, as much for Dane's reassurance as for hers.

"You didn't hurt me. I'm okay."

Convinced, she releases me and rocks back on her heels, still straddling my waist.

"You know, I always wanted a grandma," I croak as she climbs off me.

"But to be honest, I imagined more cookie baking and less murder."

She tilts her head to the side, perplexed, as Dane helps me to my feet.

"You sure you're okay?" he asks, keeping a steadying hand on my arm.

"Yeah. Just a few new bruises and a mild heart-attack. I'm fine."

Dane continues to fuss over me while Freya examines the body.

"Damn. Looks like our chase hit a dead end," she says dryly.

I look to where Rhiannon has retreated to the edge of the ferns, ready to bolt at the slightest provocation.

"Or maybe not."

Pulling away from Dane, I keep my movements slow and my voice soft as I approach, as if she's a skittish animal.

"Rhiannon, we're looking for Ingrid and Danni," I say, nodding at the body in the creek.

"The real Danni and Erickson's niece and whoever else the skin-changers have taken. Do you know where they are?"

Slowly, she nods.

"Will you take us to them?"

Disappointingly, she shakes her head and shrinks further into the shadows beneath the trees, her purple eyes wide and frightened.

"You're scared of the skin-changers?" I ask.

Graceful, rapid gestures flash from her hands.

I shake my head.

"I'm sorry. I still don't understand."

Huffing a breath of frustration, she drops to a crouch and clears a small patch of dirt, smoothing it out before inscribing a symbol in the dust.

Cautiously, I approach and peer down at it.

"That's the rune from Lagrange's shop," I say, recognizing it.

"The one that means Ha'Larán. You're afraid of Rian?"

Shaking her head, she points insistently at the rune.

Finally, something clicks into place.

If Darragh is Halloran's half brother, he's Rhiannon's half brother, too.

"Darragh," I say.

"He's the one that scares you."

Chewing her bottom lip, she nods.

"Is he the one that cursed you?"

She nods again, tears slipping down her cheeks and I sigh.

"That's why we were looking for Danni. I was hoping they could help you," I say, looking down at the rune in the dirt.

"But they've been taken... just like Ingrid and Rian."

I glance over my shoulder.

"Erickson's niece, too."

At my back, Erickson approaches slowly, hands outstretched and fingers spread wide.

"Her name is Savannah," he says.

"She's only seven years old. Please... if you can help us find her. I'll..." he trails off, clearly at a loss for what he might offer a Fae woman in return for her help.

"We'll be grateful," I say, turning back to my grandmother.

"And we'll do everything in our power to help you break the curse and reveal the truth. Please, help us rescue our families and friends."

She stares back at me, eyes wide and frightened.

I don't understand how a woman who can take down and an entire pack of werewolves could be scared of anything but something about Darragh has her terrified.

I didn't like the idea of using her trauma to our advantage before and I still don't but desperate times call for cheap tricks, so I play my last card.

"Please. For David," I say. "And for James. Don't let what happened to you happen to me. That's what they want me for, isn't it? Because I'm a 'leanan sidhe' like you. Darragh wants to open some kind of permanent doorway and the skin-changers have something to do with it. They tried once before, didn't they? A long time ago and my human ancestor stopped them. We can stop them, too and make sure this never happens again."

Conflicted emotions make Rhiannon's expression flicker like a guttering flame.

For a moment, I'm not sure what she'll do... whether she'll agree or bolt for the shadows and disappear once more.

Finally, resolution hardens her features and she nods.

Approaching slowly, I hold out my hand to her.

"You'll show us the way? You'll help us?"

With a fierce glow in her bright purple eyes, she nods again and with a few quick gestures, tells us what to do.

This time, however, I understand... a finger to her lips for 'stay close' and a downward palm for 'keep low.'

Then, with a last glance between the lot of us, she leads us deeper into the Shadowlands.

Stephanie's memories hadn't done the place justice.

It's even creepier than I'd thought.

It doesn't look or sound like any forest I know and without the familiar calls of birds or the buzz and whine of insects, I'd mistakenly thought the place was silent and still... upon closer acquaintance, I learn it is neither.

Strange clicks, creaks and knocking sounds echo through the gloom beneath the columnar trees..near and distant, low and high, slow and rapid.

They could be the sounds of branches rubbing together or of the colossal trees swaying in an unfelt breeze but I can just as easily imagine they're the sounds of monsters.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 36 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

Reluctantly, I relinquish my hold on Dane and get to my feet, finally taking stock of my surroundings properly.

Beyond the rocky banks of the pool, an immense and primordial forest extends into the gloom.

Colossal trees stretch towards a shadowy canopy almost beyond the range of sight, while dark ferns choke the ground between their trunks.

The musky scent of sylvan decay hangs heavy in the air, an oppressive silence fills the quiet left in the wake of speech and if a Tyrannosaur stepped from the shadows, I'd hardly be surprised.

"The fuck is this place?" Erickson asks under his breath.

His voice, usually so brash and obnoxiously self-assured, sounds small and uncertain now and he stays close to Freya's side.

'Typical bully. Big and tough when he has the advantage... pissing his pants when the tables turn.'

Then he shivers and hugs himself and I reconsider.

I don't know that much about Erickson and I'd never cared to learn more.

I'd taken a dislike to him when his clumsy come-ons turned me off but I got the feeling his relationships seldom lasted longer than a one-night stand.

For whatever reason, it seemed he'd chosen a lonely path.

What I do know is that he cares about his sister and his niece and that he's scared and for the moment, that's all that matters.

"I don't know, precisely," I say, answering his question.

"But you can think of it like an alternate dimension or like Narnia but scarier. Either way, it's not our world and we should be careful."

He turns to look at me, wiry reddish brown brows pinched above the bridge of his nose.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" he asks.

"One of these Fae."

"Yeah, I am."

He nods at Dane and Freya.

"Him and... her. They're really... uh..."

"Werewolves, yeah."

He swallows, looking pale and a little ill.

I sigh.

"Look Erickson... we're the same people you've always known and harassed. Relax. Let's concentrate on finding your niece and getting the fuck out of here, okay?"

He nods.

"Okay."

I turn back to Freya.

"All I have are a few fragments of Stephanie's memory. Except for the pool and the general atmosphere, nothing looks familiar. Can you pick up a trail?"

"If there's a trail to find, I'll find it," she says.

While the rest of us wring out our clothes and dry our hair as best we can, Freya makes a thorough inspection of the ground surrounding the pool.

On the opposite side, she stops and crouches to inspect the gravelly bank.

"Somebody came ashore here recently," she says fingers tracing a slight impression.

"Somebody light, with small feet."

Straightening again, she turns away from the pool and pushes aside the bracken, taking a few steps into the deeper shadows beyond.

A few paces in, she stops again.

"Found it," she calls softly.

I help Dane to his feet and we make our way around the pool to join her.

She stands facing the grey gloom beneath the trees and points a finger as if at a straight and obvious path.

To me, the thick bracken, tumbled outcrops of stone and detritus of dead trees looks the same as anywhere else but Dane nods.

"You take point, Frey," he says.

"I'll bring up the rear. Everybody stay close and stay quiet. Got it?"

I grasp Dane's hand... he doesn't have to tell me to stay close... and Erickson nods.

Freya said to work, like a hound on the trail, leading us from mark to mark.

Things I wouldn't notice stand out like red flags to her... an overturned pebble, a broken fern frond, the trace of a scent only a wolf's nose could detect.

Our progress is slow, nonetheless and the deeper we penetrate into the strange, oppressive forest, the more our unease increases.

As Stephanie's memories had shown, strange noises break the silence... low clicks and distant knocking sounds, hoots and whistles that are almost but not quite, the cries of birds and now and then the snap of a twig underfoot that makes us all jump.

We've been walking for about fifteen minutes when Freya comes to a halt, raising her hand and then closing it in a fist which I recognize as a military gesture to stop and freeze.

Then she lowers her hand palm down and we slowly drop to a crouch.

After a moment, she gestures for us to come together and we gather in a little huddle beneath the ferns.

"What is it?" Dane asks.

"Blood," Freya whispers.

"And from the smell, a lot of it."

"Human?"

"Can't tell."

"Close?"

"Must be. There's no wind."

As she says it, I realize she's right... not a breath of air stirs the bracken, which accounts for the eerie stillness beneath the trees.

"All right," Dane says.

"Scout ahead. We'll stay here."

Freya nods but as she turns to go, I reach out and catch her arm.

"Wait," I say.

"Let me. I can move silently and I can go Unseen."

Freya looks to Dane for confirmation.

Reluctantly, he nods.

"Be careful," he whispers, squeezing my hand.

His voice is a little wheezy from his close call but Freya was right and his lungs are healing fast.

Still, I'm reluctant to leave him.

Then he smiles and places his trust in me again.

"You got this, Jules."

Smiling my gratitude, I squeeze his hand in return.

Then I release him, turn away and will myself Unseen.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 36 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

"Where's Dane?"

"He was right behind us," Freya says, worry edging her tone.

"Had to give Erickson a shove. Fool panicked when he saw that smaller tunnel."

"I didn't think I'd fit," Erickson snaps.

"I thought I'd get stuck in the damn thing."

"Stuck in the..."

Horror floods my gut.

The tunnel had been claustrophobically small but I'd had enough room to wriggle through with little trouble.

I'm a slender guy, though.

Erickson's slightly bigger than me but Dane...

"Oh, shit. He's stuck."

With fear seizing my throat, I take a gulp of air and dive beneath the surface again, hoping against hope that I can still find the entrance to the tunnel and that I'm not too late.

A few meters down I find the bottom and shine my flashlight over the rough gravel and stone.

Through my blurry vision, I can hardly see more than vague shapes and shadows but by a stroke of luck the entrance is obvious.

Like a drain in a sink, it's a black circle gaping at the bottom of the pool.

I balk at the sight of it but my fear can't be anything compared to what Dane must be feeling... if he's even still conscious.

Entering the tunnel head first, I swim down at a steep angle.

About two meters in, the tunnel flattens out to the bottom of the u-shape we'd come through.

The narrowest part of the tunnel was right at the bottom of this and that's where I spot Dane.

He's wedged fast, one arm forward and one pinned back.

He's still struggling and looks up at my light as I approach.

Agony twists his face and streaks of blood discolor the water where he'd already scraped himself raw in his desperation to get free.

I reach for his hand and grab hold, trying to pull him loose but I have no leverage and he doesn't budge an inch.

Upside down, with my legs in the tunnel behind me, I have nothing to push or pull against and merely tug ineffectively at his hand.

He knows it's no use and as our eyes meet through our blurry underwater vision, the look on his face changes.

Agony gives way to an almost peaceful calm and he stops struggling.

His lips form my name and then he releases his breath.

The bubbles escape in a cloud, sticking to the tunnel's roof as they skitter away in little silvery globs of spent life.

Dane's grip loses its strength, his body goes limp and his dread-locks float free around his face.

I scream and my own breath escapes to join his as I tug on his arm in a futile effort to free him.

My lungs burn but the pain in my chest is more than physical.

It feels as if my heart is being crushed and torn apart within the cage of my ribs.

The primal instinct to survive is telling me to let him go and swim for the surface but I can't... I won't leave him.

Shutting my eyes, I feel the sort of peace I'd seen on Dane's face spread through me and my fear and pain dissolve.

If this is where we end, we'll end together.

Just as the darkness closes in on my mind, something else closes on my ankle with a startlingly strong grip.

My eyes snap open and I just have time to clamp my hand around Dane's wrist before I'm yanked violently from behind.

My grip on Dane slips but I refuse to let go.

Another sharp tug and another and then, with one final yank, I feel his shoulder dislocate and he comes free.

With the need for air searing my lungs like white hot fire, we're dragged from the tunnel and into the open water of the pool.

I can just make out Freya's form, gesturing at me to let go and swim for the surface.

As she takes hold of Dane, I successfully command my oxygen-starved brain to obey.

Breaking into the air once more, I cough and gasp, floundering as the last of my strength fails me.

A hand grips the collar of my shirt and flips me over to lie on my back, keeping my head above water and through the fog of confusion clouding my brain, I see Erickson dragging me to shore.

Meanwhile, Freya hauls Dane onto the stony bank and begins CPR.

Pinching his nose shut, she breathes air into his lungs, then compresses his sternum rhythmically on a count to five.

She repeats this and repeats it again, all the while swearing at him under her breath.

"Don't you go dying on me now, you son of a bitch," she hisses.

"Breathe, damn it."

By the fifth round of this, my breathless gasps have turned to sobs of despair and the beginnings of a black hole open in my heart.

Then, just as I'm about to fall into it, Dane seizes, vomits water, and draws a deep, ragged breath.

"Oh, thank fuck," Freya swears, sagging with relief and rubs Dane's chest as he coughs.

She rolls him to the side, thumping a hand on his back to clear the last remnants of liquid from his lungs and then helps him to sit up, mindful of his dislocated shoulder and the places where he'd scraped himself raw.

Much less carefully, I throw myself into his arms and hold on tight, wracked by shivers and shaking with sobs.

Gradually, I become aware that Dane's rough coughs have subsided and that instead he mumbles reassurances as he holds me with his good arm.

I lift myself to look at him.

"You okay?" he whispers.

I choke on a laugh and drink in the sight of him... his amber eyes, the dark lashes clumped with water, the hard line of his jaw and the softness of his lips.

"I am if you are."

"I will be, thanks to you. You saved my life, Julian."

"Actually, Freya saved both of us," I point out weakly and he smiles.

"Yeah but you came back for me."

"You know I'll always come for you," I whisper through a watery smile and then the tears win again as our mouths meet in a rough, desperate kiss.

I cling to him... to his warmth and scent and strength... to everything that, for a nightmare moment, I thought I had lost.

"Okay, okay," Freya says, intervening gently.

"Y'all need oxygen, remember? And I need to get that shoulder back in place before it heals wrong."

Dane continues to kiss me for a few moments longer, anyway, his lips brushing mine with a caress and a soft exchange of breath, both of us needing the contact and reassurance almost as much as we need air.

Finally, he draws back with a sigh and a wince of pain.

Beckoning to Freya, he taps his dislocated shoulder.

"All right. Make it quick."

She rolls her eyes.

"You know I will. Erickson, gimme your belt."

Erickson frowns.

"Why?"

"Cuz mine's Italian leather and yours looks cheap, and because I said so," she snaps.

Scowling, he obeys.

She folds the belt in half and holds it towards Dane's mouth.

"Bite down."

He shakes his head, grimacing at the belt.

"Just do it," Freya huffs.

"If you'd all stop being difficult we could get this over with. Now open your damn mouth."

She might not be an Alpha but she gets results like one.

Dane opens his mouth and she places the belt between his teeth.

He bites down, features twisting with disgust, while Freya grasps his arm and braces her foot against his chest.

"Okay, on three. Ready?"

He nods.

"One."

With a sharp, twisting motion, she pulls hard, popping his shoulder joint back into place.

Dane's muffled groan of pain contains a sound that any lesser man 'myself included' would have released as a scream.

Breathing hard, he spits out Ericsson's belt and tosses it back to him.

Dane's canine teeth have lengthened noticeably and Erickson examines the new set of holes in the leather with wide eyes but threads it back through his belt loops without complaint.

As Freya moves aside, I stroke Dane's damp brow as he lets his head drop back and shuts his eyes.

"Any better?" I ask.

"Hmm... hurts less already," he mumbles.

"Muscle and ligaments heal fast," Freya says, watching with her hands on her hips.

"And Dane's the fastest healer I know."

"I thought I lost you," I whisper, pushing a sodden loc away from his face.

He opens a bloodshot eye a crack and looks at me.

"I thought so, too, for a minute."

My breath catches.

"I'm sorry, Dane. You were right. This was a crazy idea, and way too dangerous. I should have listened to you."

"Nah," he coughs, clearing some lingering liquid from his lungs and squeezes the back of my neck.

"If I was right about anything, it was letting you take the lead. If I'd insisted on going first, I'd have taken the wrong tunnel or got stuck and blocked the way. Either way we'd all be dead."

I search his eyes.

"When I passed out after the reading... I know how you felt, now. Don't do that again, okay?"

He laughs and then coughs.

"Hey, that's my line. But if you won't, I won't. Deal?"

"Deal," I say.

"As happy as I am that we're all alive," Freya says,

"I don't think we should hang around celebrating much longer. How about it, Juju? Anything look familiar?"

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 35 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

I take a deep breath... my heart races as adrenaline spikes my blood and my muscles go weak and shivery.

I feel like anything but an action hero.

Dane rests a hand on my arm but says nothing... he doesn't have to.

Through that gentle touch, I hear everything he wants to convey, that he won't think less of me if I back out, that he trusts and loves me and that he'll literally follow me to hell if need be.

"Okay. Everybody wait here while I check it out."

I give him a smile and take another deep breath and then a leap of faith.

I dive head first, as I'd seen 'Danni' do and force myself to keep my eyes open.

The water is freezing cold and I clamp my lips shut against an involuntary gasp at the shock of it.

I'm not a bad swimmer but even the best swimmers don't swim fully clothed and the heavy garments make my movements slow and laborious.

Fortunately, the water is crystal clear and the flashlight is, as promised, waterproof.

I swim downward in a spiral, keeping the beam angled at the almost sheer stone walls as I search for something like an opening.

About halfway down and just as my ears begin to hurt from the pressure and I'm about to run out of breath... I find it... a circular opening about the size of a large sewage drain.

Quickly orienting myself by a few surrounding features of stone, I shoot for the surface as fast as I can.

Breaking through, I fill my lungs with a gasp of air, then cough and flounder my way back to where Dane and the others wait.

"Found it," I wheeze.

"We saw," Dane says, crouching to grab my hand and give me something to hold on to as I catch my breath.

"This water's incredibly clear. One thing on our side, at least."

"It's also f-fucking f-freezing," I say, teeth chattering as the muscles in my clenched jaw spasm with cold.

"Let's g-get this over with b-before I get h-hypothermia."

Dane nods and addresses the others over his shoulder.

"Alright. Deep breaths, stay close."

Turning back to me, he reaches down and touches the side of my face, his amber eyes faintly gleaming in the dark.

"Be careful but move fast. We'll be right behind you."

Nodding, I take a few quick, deep gulps of air, then fill my lungs one last time and dive beneath the surface again.

Pushing off the wall with my feet, I shoot straight for the tunnel with the flashlight held in front of me as a guiding beam.

As the dark opening looms before me, panic rears its head.

I don't know how long or wide the tunnel is, how long I'll have to hold my breath or how far I'll have to swim but I know one thing... if I lose it in there, we could all die.

No turning back.

Without losing momentum, I shoot into the tunnel.

The light reveals smooth black walls that seem too perfect to be natural, and then something clicks... it's an ancient lava tube.

The region around Spring Lakes is well-known for its semi-dormant volcanism and these tunnels must have formed during the last period of major activity.

The thought brings a new fear.

No sooner has it arrived when it's confirmed, as my watery vision reveals a divergence up ahead.

The tunnel splits in two... one larger and one smaller branch.

The smaller one leads off at a slightly downward slant, while the larger leads straight on.

I head for the obvious choice of the larger tunnel when a thought gives me pause.

The choice before me is life or death and I have a fifty-fifty chance either way.

With three other lives in the gamble, I don't like those odds.

In desperation, I let my senses expand as much as I can in my half-panicked state.

With water in my ears and my breath suspended, I'm left with vision and touch.

By this point, my lungs burn with the need for air and claustrophobia closes in.

I'm trapped in a tunnel too narrow to turn around in, with the way out blocked by three bodies and a deadly choice before me.

I've just decided on the larger tunnel after all, when my hand brushes the wall and I pick up a very faint impression... a streak of energy, the trail of a creature in flight, shooting off into the smaller tunnel.

Still, I hesitate, immobilized by fear.

Then, like a whisper, I hear my father's voice in my head, speaking the words from my dream.

'Have faith, Julian. You will know when you see.'

Gritting my teeth, I pray to any and every God that might be listening and follow the shimmering trail of trace energy into the smaller tunnel.

A few feet in, the passageway narrows further and slopes downward at a steeper angle and panic bursts into full bloom in my chest.

Suddenly certain I've killed us all, I taste pure fear like hot iron at the back of my tongue and my heart goes into overdrive, burning through the last of my oxygen.

I'm gonna die and so is Dane and Freya and...

The tunnel bottoms out and slants upwards again and with a desperate burst of energy, I push myself forward and through.

A sparkle of light glimmers above me... not trace energy seen with Fae sight but actual light from above.

With a fresh injection of hope and my whole body burning with the need to breathe, I shoot towards it and with a relief so intense it hurts, break the surface and gulp down huge lungfuls of life-giving air.

A second later, Freya bursts from the water, inhaling smoothly and hauls a choking, spluttering Erickson up after her.

As we struggle to shore, shivering with cold and relief, I see that we've emerged into a circular pool.

It's roughly five meters across and its black waters surge with sluggish waves as we disrupt its usually still surface.

Dark ferns choke the stony shores and the trunks of gigantic trees stand sentinel all around.

Even if I hadn't recognized it from Stephanie's memory, the pervasive twilight gloom and strange, greyish light are enough to tell me where we are.

"Welcome to the Shadowlands," I gasp and then, realizing he hasn't yet appeared...

"Where is Dane?"