by Holly Evans
For the first time since I'd known her, I was nervous about seeing Elise again. I understood why she'd snapped, but it had never happened before and I wasn't entirely sure where we stood with each other. We'd agreed to meet on neutral territory, alone. It was so foolish, she was my oldest and closest friend, and yet it felt like I was meeting to do a deal with one of the damn Sidhe. I shifted my weight once more as I allowed my eye to wander over the graffiti on the exposed brick of the wall next to me. The coffee shop we'd chosen had once been our little secret, with the best coffee in the city, quietly tucked away in a beautiful neighbourhood away from the tourists. It had only been open for twenty minutes and already it was beginning to bustle. People in work attire clustered around the small rustic wooden tables, laptops sat between them while the exquisite coffee perched in the small spaces between business notes.
It was the nature of things, to evolve and change. I just hoped that it wasn't a metaphor for Elise and me. She squeezed between the seats and tables to greet with me with a tight hug and a tighter smile.
"Oh, Evie, I'm sorry. I just... with everything, and the stakes, and..."
I squeezed her hands, and everything fell back into place. "It's ok. I get it."
The barista brought over our coffee with a smile, and all of the stress and concerns melted away. We each took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the freshly brewed coffee.
"My lady offered insight last night. Kadrix was helpful, and his side of things is in place." She glanced around to see who was listening. "We can do this, Evie. I know we can."
I forced a smile onto my face; we had no choice but to succeed. There was no reason to remind her of that; the stakes weighed upon her shoulders much more than anyone else’s.
"How's Lysander?" she asked innocently.
I shrugged; I was in no mood to go down that route.
After a long drink of my coffee, I smiled mischievously and said, "I think I'll visit that club of yours tonight, unwind and refresh."
Her eyebrow arched. "Really? Shame... Quin had made mention of Lysander's sleeping arrangements, I'd rather hoped..."
I pursed my lips. "It seems everyone is very interested in my affairs."
"We want you to be happy, Evie."
"I'll be happy once this is finished."
We finished our coffee without taking the time to savour the flavours. I’d hoped the familiar bite would soothe my thoughts. I’d been wrong. Instead, the desire to run was overtaking my thoughts; by the time we paid our bill it was verging on desperation. I mentally glared at Lysander. He was no doubt to blame for such desires.
"Relax and recover today, Evie. You're meeting Kadrix at his workshop at nine am tomorrow. You need to be in the best possible shape."
I hugged her tight, trying to cling onto the friendship as it had been only a day previous.
Her lips brushed my cheek and she said, "We'll be ok, Evie."
I gave her a small nod and took off at a jog down the road. I was a long way from home, and for once, quite glad of it. The pavements were hard on my joints, but I didn't care. I allowed my mind to wander as I maintained a steady and comfortable pace down the streets, passing industrial buildings with walls of glass, empty lots full of brown weeds that had grown through the cracked concrete, and trendy new bistros. The city was changing, thriving. Birds chirped and fluttered in the vivid green trees, everything was coming back to life after a long winter. I just hoped that it wouldn't be lost.
Home didn't seem like a very good plan, but there wasn't anywhere else that called to me. Quin was with the hunters, but Lysander was sitting on the sofa waiting for me. Excess energy rolled off him, aggression accentuated every small movement. We both needed to vent. Without a word, he pulled off his shirt, exposing strong tight muscles and a multitude of thin white lines that betrayed his past. I grinned at him and lowered myself into a solid starting stance. His eyes glittered, but his mouth tightened in disappointment. He'd been hoping for another form of venting. He was a hound, a beast. I had no intentions of sharing my body with him.
He put too much weight on the balls of his feet, and his feet were too close together; he wasn't taking me seriously. I shifted my weight slightly to my left and bent my right knee just a touch, it drew his eye and gave me clear room to kick him square in the ribs with my left foot. I stepped in and punched him in the upper arm before he had a chance to realise what I was doing. I grinned at him. His tongue slipped out over his lips.
"So that's how you want to play it,” he growled.
I went to punch him in the jaw; he blocked it with his forearm, but didn't return the blow. I pursed my lips. He landed a hard blow to my lower ribs. So it began. We circled around each other, lashing out, testing each other's reflexes and weaknesses. He had a habit of exposing his side too much, but his fast reflexes stopped me from doing too much damage.
"Come on, Evelyn, you can do better than this,” he said with a laugh.
I kicked the side of his knee in response; he didn't miss a beat.
"I'm a hellhound, Evelyn, I'm used to far worse than that,” he said quietly before he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight against his chest.
"How could I forget?" I said as I stamped down on his foot and stretched up to headbutt him.
He laughed as he released me. "I've always loved a woman with fire."
"There must have been a lot of them in hell," I replied.
He took my legs from under me. His leg had moved quicker than my eye could track. I scrambled to get back up but he sat on my legs and grinned down at me. I tested him, shifting my weight to see if I could throw him off me. He leaned over me, planting his hands on either side of my head.
"I think it's time we had a talk,” he said in my ear, his hot breath making my skin tingle.
I sank my teeth into his shoulder, the shock relaxing his thighs, allowing me to bend my legs and knee him in the ribs. He rolled sideways off me, and I stood victorious.
I'd clearly been more fully absorbed in the sparring match than I thought. Kadrix and Quin stood at the edge of the kitchen, Kadrix with a notebook in hand.
"Mating habits of hellhounds... yes. Fascinating! Tell me Lysander, are all hellhound mating rituals this violent?"
I felt my cheeks burn; Quin covered his mouth with his hand to stifle the laughter. Lysander gave Kadrix a toothy grin. I glared at him and focused on forcing him to shift into his hound form. His face fell as his body twisted, his bones broke and reformed, and he changed into the large hound. He lay down and put his head on his paws looking despondent.
Kadrix said, "Evelyn, I had no idea that your interests went such ways."
Quin looked as though his eyes might pop out of his head, tears streamed down his cheeks while he convulsed, fighting against the laughter. Lysander rolled around on the floor making a chuffing growling sound that I took as his laughter. Kadrix, however, was scribbling notes in his notebook. I covered the small space between us and went to grab him by the neck. He batted my hand aside and simply said,
"Oh, really, Evelyn, we have far more important things to be doing. Now, release the hound, I need another sample."
I smiled sweetly and said, "Elf. You are in my home. You might be fucking my brother, but you will not push me around and make demands, on my property, in my home."
I mentally removed the black chains from around the image of Lysander in the back of my mind. I heard the cracking of his bones as he shifted back, but kept my eyes firmly on Kadrix. His mouth twitched and his ears turned a violent shade of red. Quin had stopped shuddering and laughing; he was also an interesting shade of red.
Finally, Kadrix smiled and said, "It's good to see that you do have a backbone, Evelyn. Now that your mating ritual seems to have concluded for the moment, I would be grateful if I could gather another sample from Lysander."
He held my eye contact unwaveringly.
"And what do you need said sample for, exactly?" I said calmly.
The corner of his mouth twi
tched. "Should things not go to plan, it will be very useful."
The elf wasn't going to give up the details. I glanced at Quin who gave me a small nod, between wiping the tears from his face.
I stepped aside and said, "Very well. Do it quickly, and gently."
The elf smiled. "Odd, I thought you preferred things rough and violent."
I refused to let him get a rise out of me, and gave him a small smile.
The smile had left Lysander's face. He'd crossed his arms across his bare chest, his eyes watching every small movement the elf made as he approached him. I tensed when Kadrix reached out to touch Lysander. I didn't like other people touching my property. I shook my head, wondering where that feeling had come from; I'd never been one to share, but I hadn't experienced such territorial possessiveness before. I scowled at Lysander; it must have come from him and the bond with him. Kadrix plucked two hairs from Lysander's head. The hound narrowed his eyes but remained rooted to the spot. Kadrix, on the other hand, grinned and put the hairs in a little envelope.
"That will be all. You'll have to tell me about your rituals when you come by the workshop tomorrow."
I ground my teeth, but said nothing. They were not mating rituals and he damn well knew it, but the doubt had been seeded. I glanced at Lysander, wondering if that had been his intention when he had pushed me. I pushed the foolish considerations aside; of course it wasn't. We were sparring, banter was a normal part of sparring. Surprisingly, Quin remained in the flat when Kadrix left; I'd assumed he'd remain attached to the elf.
Once Kadrix's footsteps had gone from earshot, Quin looked at me with a serious expression and said, "We haven't slept together, yet. I'm... nervous."
He glanced at Lysander who had relaxed a little. I didn't know what I was supposed to say to that; it wasn't something I had any experience with, and he was my twin. Normal twins didn't discuss the intricate details of their sex lives, or lack thereof in my case. Perhaps another visit to Elise's club wouldn't have been such a bad thing after all.
Quin brought me back to the topic at hand. "I have strong feelings for him, but I've never been with a guy before..."
I opened my mouth hoping that useful words would form, they didn't.
Lysander instead said, "You trust him?"
Quin nodded.
"And you feel you're ready to make that step?"
Again Quin nodded.
"Then it'll happen when it happens. Kadrix will guide you through it."
He spoke so matter of factly, as though he were telling him how to walk. Quin frowned and wandered into the kitchen. I headed to the bathroom for a shower. A cold shower. The elf's quips had reminded me that my levels of frustration were becoming too high and I was likely to do something foolish if I didn't deal with them before long. As though reading my mind, Lysander came up behind me as I stepped into the bathroom, his body close to mine.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Yes."
With that, I shut the door between us and made the water icy cold to drive away the temptation to change my mind. I couldn't afford to slip up, not with everything that was happening around us. I needed to be in top form. His tight muscles formed in my mind, how I wanted to drag my fingernails over them, to feel his hot breath on my neck. The water wouldn't go any colder.
After a long an agonisingly cold shower I was calm and relaxed again, enough to be able to deal with the hound without thoughts of jumping him.
Once I was dressed, I said to Quin, "What did Kadrix want Lysander's hairs for?"
"Hm? Oh, he's making some weapons."
I raised an eyebrow, "I should hope that we'll be getting those weapons. I can't say I like the idea of him making weapons for himself with hairs from my hellhound."
Lysander's hand ran down my ribs. "You do like to remind people that I'm yours, mistress."
I ignored him. "Quin?"
He pulled his attention away from the horizon and looked away from the window towards me.
"Yes, we'll be receiving the weapons when he's done. He knew you'd never allow it otherwise."
I walked over to him and ran my hand up his arm. "You can talk to me you know."
His eyebrows knitted. "I'm just a little, confused. Kadrix is an elf, and a guy. He makes me feel alive, butterflies form in my stomach, and my mood lifts when he smiles."
I smiled. "Sounds like you have it pretty figured out to me."
He hugged me. "Thanks, Evie. It's been a difficult time, and I know we've pushed you out."
I hugged him back. "I understand, truly I do. Don't fret over the weirdness of Kadrix, just do what makes you happy. You have my complete blessing, but I will rip him into teeny, tiny, little pieces if he hurts you."
He laughed. "I knew I could count on you."
"Always," I said.
"How did the mating rituals go?" Quin asked with a mischievous grin on his face.
I punched him in the arm. "There are no mating rituals. Lysander is a hellhound. I did not choose him, the bond has produced some... feelings of protectiveness over him. Nothing more."
A cool feeling flickered in my chest, a sense of sadness descended over me. It was gone in seconds. I sighed and focused on the job at hand, the ritual was that evening. It was our last chance; we couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. Breakfast was quiet. Lysander refused to look at me, which suited me just fine. A feeling of excitement formed as we headed back to Kadrix's workshop. We were going to end this. The city would be ours again. Quin practically bounced into the workshop; he greeted Kadrix with a light kiss on the cheek. The elf bent him over and kissed him deeply. I looked away and admired the latest stack of books that had been precariously stacked in the corner.
When I heard them talking, I turned to face them and said, "How fascinating, I haven't seen elf mating rituals in person before."
Kadrix grinned at me; Quin blushed fiercely. I approached them, almost tripping over a brass bowl that had been left on the floor.
"What have you done to your hound, Evelyn? He looks as though you stole his favourite kitten."
I shrugged and said, "Tell me of this ritual and the weapons you're making."
Elise came through the back entrance and appeared behind Kadrix. Her hair was scraped back, a tan leather jacket hugging her delicate form and barely hiding the blades she had on her person.
"I've been doing some reading on the ritual, as it happens."
I didn't like where that was going.
"It mentioned a sacrifice, but there was something odd about the phrasing."
Kadrix scowled and dug out a large leather-bound tome from under the table behind him.
He threw it open and ran his finger down the page before he paused and muttered to himself, "A sacrifice of fire. So the person will be burned rather than cut."
Elise pursed her lips, but said nothing more until she looked at Lysander.
"Is there something wrong, Lys?"
She looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. I rolled my eyes; I hadn't done anything wrong. Lysander didn't answer her.
I got things back on track. "And where is this ritual being held?"
"Old Town Square, there's a convergence of lines and no fewer than two nodes there."
I curled my lip. "How are we supposed to hide that from the tourists?"
Quin said, "Matyas and the others are working on that, I believe they said something about saying a movie's being filmed there."
"Whatever works," I said.
Kadrix said, "As I have you all here, you can make yourselves useful. There are a few hours before we can leave."
I gave him a dark look. "You're the one who arranged to have us arrive this early."
"Yes, to help me put together the tools that will help you save this city."
I saw no reason in arguing; besides, I wanted to get a better grasp on how magic worked. I didn't like it, but there was something fascinating about it.
The hunters had done a good job. The usually busy square was empty, ev
en the pigeons had vanished somewhere. It was a little eerie. We split up and positioned ourselves around the large square; Elise was quite certain that the ritual would occur somewhere in front of Kinský Palace, the elegant soft-pink-coloured building with stucco decorations and a red roof. Opposite it stood the tower, opposite in aesthetic with dark grey-brown stone, well-worn and beloved by thousands for its complicated astronomical clock. I wasn't surprised to find ourselves back there; it was the heart of the city, and it made sense that there was far more to it than some elegant architecture.
I casually leaned back against the tower wall; something about its old stone gave me a feeling of comfort. I idly ran my fingers over the silver bracelet without even realising I was doing it. Had I been too harsh on Lysander? It didn't matter. The sun was setting, a spectacular explosion of peaches, umbers, and violet bursting across the horizon. The temperature plummeted along with the sun, causing me to tuck my hands in my pockets, my patience waning. We were so close. I kept my eye on the rooftops, watching for shadows and witches. A good number were killed by the demon, but they were unlikely to be the end of it. None came. Instead, the hound strolled in the square alone. His pale blond hair stood out in the darkness; even in the dim light the confidence of his swagger was clear. I felt Lysander's hackles rise and ensured that there was nothing to hold him back within my mind.
The second hound, the other, casually made his way to the area in front of the palace. He looked around the square as though surveying his kingdom.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are. I know you're here, marrok."
There was still no movement along the rooftops. I moved in closer. Lysander emerged from the shadows and approached the other hound with his shoulders back and his chest pushed out. We each closed in around the hound, always looking for others. He was alone? Where was the sacrifice?