Fighting Faete

by Elena Kincaid, Maia Dylan, Sarah Marsh

  Alak glanced at his brother. Dark creatures deformed and smelling of rotting flesh was definitely a sign that the rumors had not only been true, but were worse than they had feared. The Shadow Market and the Underfae were all very real, and so were their weapons. Even the Goddess herself could not predict the repercussions of this kind of perverted magic. The last thing he wanted to do was to take his mate anywhere near this place, but Alak knew now that they had no choice but to see this evil for themselves. He also knew, even before she opened her mouth to speak, that Katrina wouldn’t back down no matter how dire the warning.

  “Sounds charming,” their mate drawled, unfazed. “Why don’t you draw us a map? We’re burning daylight here.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Let me know when you finally pick a side, Melanie,” Katrina said, taking the map from the hyena, crudely drawn on a piece of hotel stationery. The three of them took a few steps back. “Keep the pen,” Katrina added with a wink and an incline of her head towards the hotel pen.

  Aeron’s hold on their private bubble flickered momentarily as he prepared to adjust the spectrum that would evict Melanie. Her pack members began moving again, panic written all over their faces from what they must have presumed was their missing Alpha. Alak made the final push, leaving Melanie outside their protective invisible barrier, once again shielding the trio from view from everyone else. The pack members stepped back in surprise as soon as their matriarch suddenly reappeared to them, and then they glanced back and forth between their leader and the now seemingly empty space. Aeron knew that Melanie could no longer see them, but the woman still stared in their direction as if she still could. The smile on her face was smug.

  “She would be a good ally indeed,” Aeron said. Anyone who could sense their glamor would be. Notably, he thought, she would be a worthy foe, cunning and powerful, nothing like her sniveling brother, Dunc.

  “Let us go.” Alak took the lead out of the den the way they came in.

  When they got back to their room, they packed and then checked out quickly, but before creating a portal that would take them back to Vancouver, Katrina made a phone call to Braxas to inform her Alpha of what they had learned.

  “I’ll expect you back here within the hour,” Aeron heard Braxas say through the phone.

  “Back?” Katrina raised her brows in surprise. “With all due respect, Alpha, this Shadow Market needs to be checked out ASAP. We need to know what we’re up against.”

  “I agree,” Braxas replied. He sounded impatient, but not angry. Aeron knew that he respected and trusted his Beta, but he suspected the Alpha had newly formed concerns from the intel he just received from Katrina. “But I will not send you in again without a solid plan and back-up, Kat.”

  Katrina opened her mouth to speak, but Braxas continued. “I know you can handle yourself, but I’ll not have you going on a suicide mission.”

  Alak frowned. “Does he not think that we are back-up enough? That we cannot protect our own mate?”

  Braxas sighed, his shifter hearing no doubt catching everything Alak had said.

  “We will keep her safe,” Aeron said. He kept his own annoyance out of his tone. If it had been anyone other than the two Alphas he had come to respect who questioned his mate’s safety whilst under his care, he would have had more than a few choice words for them, but he knew that Braxas was simply concerned for his Beta, and most likely even more unnerved than he let on. After all, Katrina and Gabe both had already been victims of the dark magic created by the Underfae. They had both nearly lost their lives.

  There was a short pause in the conversation before Braxas spoke again. “Mate, huh? I suppose I’ll have to learn to defer to your mates sometimes from now on.” Another pause. “Please be careful … all of you,” he added quietly before disconnecting the call.

  Aeron was actually touched that his concern had included him and his brother, especially now that they would be connected beyond just this mission to stop an evil that threatens both sides of the Veil.

  Alak took Katrina’s hand. “Never doubt that we will keep you safe, Katrina.”

  Before their feisty mate could open her mouth to speak, his brother kissed her, passionately, thus leaving her both speechless and breathless, even when they pulled apart. Aeron wasted no time swooping right in and delivering his own breath-stealing kiss, his tongue dueling fiercely with hers as soon as she opened for him. He felt desperate for more of her, all of her, a hunger he was getting used to and no longer reluctant to have, but now was not the time. He also knew that some of this desperation was heightened by the fact that they were about to face an unknown danger. He an Alak would protect her though … with their lives if it came down to that.

  Reluctantly, Aeron ended their kiss. “We must go now.”

  The trip through the portal was far less challenging this time. They no longer needed access to Katrina’s mind to get where they needed to go, but she volunteered a part of herself and let them see. Aeron saw flashes of their previous night together and this morning. Her euphoria emitted boldly through their link. Warmth squeezed his chest, and he could feel the same sensation echoing in his brother’s heart through their bond.

  Emotions ran high for all three of them by the time they exited the portal and found themselves right back where they started. Katrina cleared her throat. “Let’s leave the bags here. I’ll text Braxas so someone from the house can come get them. Can you two pull the park’s location from my memories? We could go back to the house and grab a ride, but it’ll take about twenty minutes to drive there.”

  “Of course, the portal will be faster.” Alak kissed her gently before laying his palm on her cheek and closing his eyes as Katrina concentrated on the location they would need.

  When she finished with the texting, the technology still a bit foreign to him, he opened the portal and the three of them walked hand in hand through it to their destination. As soon as they arrived, a sickening feeling churned in his gut. Katrina drew them away from what she referred to as the main tourist areas and into the woods, and he could feel the dark magic that could only be the entrance they were seeking.

  “Um … hello?”

  Katrina’s hand waving in front of Aeron’s face caught his attention. Apparently, she had been speaking to him while he was distracted by what was beyond the gate. “I’m sorry, love. You were saying something?”

  “Yes, I asked—twice actually—if we could be invisible to the outside world again like we were back at the den. What was with you two? It was like you were in a trance or something.”

  Alak answered. “I don’t like this feeling I’m getting.”

  “Nor do I, brother.”

  “What do you see up ahead?” Katrina asked. “Is it the entrance to the Veil?”

  “It is an entrance,” Aeron replied. “Not ours though. I think it goes somewhere that should not exist or, rather, no mortal should have access to.”

  “None of this should exist, Aeron. Not these Underfae or the Shadow Market, or their poisonous, unnatural weapons, but by the Goddess, you don’t think…” Alak shook his head.

  “What are the two of you not saying in your super-secret twin code?” Katrina snapped impatiently. “My cougar is frantic, ready to pounce the hell out of here in the other direction.”

  His mate had good instincts, Aeron thought. Aeron’s own horror and disgust warred inside of him, as if begging him to dismiss his theory. “I not only think it, I feel it standing here. That entrance leads to death.”

  “The Shadow Realm,” Alak spat in anger.

  “The Shadow Realm?” Katrina tugged on Aeron’s arm, urging him to look at her. “That’s where Kheelan’s poison had sent Gabe’s Beta, Donovan, along with his brother, Jason. They nearly didn’t make it out of there.”

  “We were informed of this,” Alak said. The three of them stood in a circle now, facing one another. “Donovan and Jason’s souls were trapped, while their bodies remained on Earth. No wonder these Underfae are rumo
red to be deformed. They have found a way to construct a pocket within this realm to create their atrocities, thus not only corrupting their souls, but their bodies as well.”

  Aeron’s heart beat frantically. Earlier, when he thought that they were only going somewhere in the Fae Realm, it felt right to have his mate there with him and Alak, but now… “Katrina—I—we…”

  “No,” his mate said firmly. “I go where the two of you go. Melanie made it out, and both Zayden and Nyx go back and forth seemingly all the time.”

  Aeron took Katrina’s hand. “Their bodies may not have been corrupted yet, but what of their souls? Perhaps Melanie still remains whole, but do not tell me you do not see the damage in Zayden and Nyx.”

  Before Katrina could answer, Alak let out a harsh breath and whispered. “It is our fault, brother.” Both Aeron and Katrina looked at him. “Frederych! We banished him, but we should have kept a close eye on him. We should have stopped him. We should have made our presence known to the Light Fae sooner and intervened.”

  Aeron put his free hand on his brother’s shoulder while Katrina entwined her other hand with Alak’s. Should haves would be of no use to them now. “We will do better. We will stop them all this time.” Another couple came to mind just then. Rhana and her husband, Lomer. He saw that same self-righteous gleam in their eyes at the council meeting as he had once seen in Frederych. He would make sure that those two would be watched closely so at least that one mistake would never be repeated.

  “What are we waiting for?” Katrina asked. “I know you won’t let anything happen to me in there. I trust you both with my life.” Katrina’s face was completely open. Aeron saw fear, but also determination and bravery, and he saw something else, another reason why Braxas had chosen this headstrong woman to be his second—she knew when it was better for a mission to stand down and follow another’s lead.

  Aeron kissed Katrina, quickly but fervently on the mouth, and Alak followed suit. “We will not be able to be invisible this time,” he said answering her earlier question. “The Dark … the Underfae would no doubt sense our presence. We must assume they have learned to maneuver through the pocket of this Shadow Realm and therefore, will have the advantage, but perhaps a glamor, disguising who we are may let us go unnoticed.”

  With the glamor in place, the three of them stepped into the portal. Aeron only hoped that they hadn’t just sealed their fates into something far worse than death.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Something bothering you, mate?”

  Kat turned to scowl at Aeron. “I just want to know why the hell is it that when you’re in charge of this glamor thing, you both look like sex on legs, and I look like I’ve been dragged through a bush backwards?”

  The three of them had been walking for close to forty minutes through this strange new world, and her frustration had been enough to keep her from falling into a depression she knew would have been spawned from the environment around them. This Shadow Realm was like nothing she had ever experienced before. This world was a cold, barren wasteland with an inexplicable dark light about it. Not day, not true night, just something in between, and when she looked up, she couldn’t see one star. In a word it was depressing, and venting her frustrations helped her to keep her mind on the task at hand.

  “I should think the reasoning behind that was obvious, my dragon.”

  The amusement in Alak’s tone was the only thing obvious to her, and Kat bared her teeth in his direction, which only seemed to amuse him more.

  “Not so much, Alak, so why don’t you enlighten me?”

  Alak’s grin had her insides melting and heat pooling low in her abdomen. “It’s really quite simple. My brother and I are as possessive as they come, mate of mine. I do not like it when other men look at you with desire in their eyes, and with how stunningly beautiful you are, it is impossible for them not to. If, once we get to this Shadow Market, we encounter any man who dares to look upon you with interest, I would react without thinking. It is difficult to question someone who is no longer breathing, is it not?”

  Kat came to an abrupt halt. “Wait. I’m walking around done up like Frankenstein’s more unfortunate looking sister because you two don’t want other men to look at me?”

  Aeron turned with a grin. “Yes, mate. Besides, with what this place does to a person, Dark Fae or otherwise, you do not want to draw attention to yourself. And looking as perfect as you do in your natural form, we are simply looking out for you.”

  Kat quirked a brow at her mates and started forward once more. Being a mated woman was mellowing her. Rather than ripping them both apart for their overhanded tactics, she found it strangely adorable. She had often wondered what it would be like to have mates of her own, and she was staring to really love how it felt.

  Alak’s head came up sharply, the movement drawing her out of her contemplation, and immediately on the task at hand. She drew her cougar to the surface, tasting the air around them despite the stench, looking for whatever danger Alak had alerted upon.

  “There are more of these Underfae than we anticipated.” Alak turned, his eyes swirling with color, another sign of his immense power. “I know it would prove fruitless to ask that you stay behind, mate, so all I will ask is that you allow us to pose the questions?”

  Kat narrowed her gaze at him. “This is not my first rodeo, baby, but … I will concede that in this case you and Aeron should take the lead. You know more about this magic mumbo jumbo than me, so that makes sense.”

  Alak released a long puff of breath as if he had been holding it in anticipation of her answer to their request. “Thank you, dragon.”

  Kat grinned wickedly back. “Don’t get too used to it, mate. It won’t happen often.”

  Aeron stepped closer to her and swept a hand over her ass, causing a shiver to roll through her. “We have no doubt of that, my love.”

  The three of them continued forward, and Kat had to breathe through her mouth in a desperate attempt not to gag at the stench as they drew nearer to what must be the Shadow Realm market. The sounds of people talking grew louder as they neared the edge of a rocky outcrop they had been following. When they stepped around it, Kat was surprised at the scene that lay before her.

  For an underworld market in the middle of an inhospitable environment such as the Shadow Realm, it looked surprisingly homey. The walls of the small barn-like structure were made of the schist type rocks that dotted this strange landscape. The double pitched roof loomed up against the dark sky, and Kat was fairly certain she could see smoke rising from a small chimney. The only thing that seemed out of place was the small size of the building itself.

  Aeron muttered something in the strange lyrical language of the Fae, but didn’t translate for her so she figured it wasn’t anything important.

  They neared the path that led to the building when a voice called from somewhere in the gloomy darkness ahead of them, “What business do you have here?”

  Kat was a little shocked that these bastards spoke English.

  “We have it on good authority that you have a kind of weaponry we are in need of,” Aeron called back.

  “Is that so?” There was no missing the caution in the man’s tone. He looked to be Dark Fae, and though his outward appearance not wholly grotesque, Kat did not miss the signs of decay running along one side of his neck—cracked skin and blisters, some already ruptured. “What are you looking for, and who told you how to find us?”

  Aeron tensed, and Kat frowned as she watched the glamor that hid his true form shimmer briefly before settling back into place.

  “We are looking for information about the weapons you sell to the Earth Realm shifters, charged with the force of the Underfae.” Kat’s frowned deepened at the tone in her mate’s voice. Never before had she heard his voice sound so flat. “Invite us forth. You do not need to know who informed us about this market’s existence.”

  There was a moment when the air seemed to thicken. “Come on in, have a look around. We d
on’t need to know who sent you.”

  Kat turned to Alak. “What the hell is going on? Why does everyone speak English, and that guy is suddenly all trusting?”

  Alak grinned. “You are mated to two very powerful Dark Fae, dragon. They are actually not speaking English. Aeron has cast a spell that enables you to understand our language, and what you witnessed there was nothing more than a little mind manipulation.”

  Kat took a moment, as the three of them moved closer to the building, to absorb all of that. “Who freakin’ knew that I would be the destined mate for two freakin’ Jedi?” She made a sweeping motion in the air with her hand while saying, “These are not the droids you are looking for.”

  “What is this Jedi?” Alak asked, and it took everything she had not to burst out laughing. She was suddenly hit with how much fun it was going to be to share some of who she was and what it was like to live in the Earth realm with her mates. Not wanting to launch into the joys of the Star Wars franchise, Kat shook her head and smiled, making a mental note to plan a movie night once they were safe at home. The George Lucas world would take a little longer to truly bring to life.

  When the three of them stepped across the threshold of the small structure, Kat felt more like she was in an episode of Dr. Who rather than Star Wars. This building might look small from the outside, but once they stepped inside, like the Doctor’s beloved Tardis, it opened into a much larger space. There were stalls, for lack of a better word, spread throughout the building selling all manner of otherworldly goods, some of which looked very much like weapons, but also clothing and wares that any good warrior would want. The stench of the outside world had diminished somewhat, but Kat was more shaken by the beings that manned the stalls and those that wondered the aisles.

  She knew that the people who paused too long in the Shadow Realm were physically altered by it, but she never imagined how drastic that change would be. These creatures had all once been like her men, proud Dark Fae with a strong heritage and link to their Goddess, but each one of them had tried to corrupt that purity and paid the price for it. These Underfae deserved everything they got as far as she was concerned.