Lewis glared at the fae lord as he stabbed Simone. There was something boiling inside of him, an emotion that he knew very well and had quite a few times channeled. Anger. He could hear Simone screaming in pain, and that was only feeding it. His eyes widened.

Don’t give in. Stay focused. Stay composed. He could hear his master in the back of mind, a lesson in how to utilize rage. But…I don’t want to control it… The edge of his lips twitched. Without hesitation, he threw one of his precious daggers into Simone’s neck, ending her life before the fae lord could do anything else.

“Now, now…” Lewis said, his voice deranged as he started to walk towards his mark. “That’s quite the rude thing to do to a guest…I’ve only just arrived, and yet you seem to want to ignore me….” He pulled the bone dagger out of its sheath, and held it in a reverse grip.

“Would you do me the honor, dear Lord, and introduce yourself…”

Simone was dead within seconds and the fey lord twisted his smile into one of disappointment. “So you know then?” He would have had to if he just so carelessly threw the knife into Simone like that.

“You are irrelevant to all of this boy. What do I have to pay you to leave? Do you want a final farewell fuck from the girl? You can have it. She won’t remember it. She can’t get pregnant. She is useless to you. She is nothing more than a toy and a broken one at that.” The fey lord unstuck his sword and ripped out the dagger from Simone’s neck so the magic took hold.

He held a sigh, “I am Caellach Sealbhach and you are interrupting a very sacred ritual. She is mine and you will turn and you will leave. Whatever you think you have with this girl is nothing but a damn illusion. Her soul is so filthy that even the gods wouldn’t help her. They don’t care about her screams or her cries. Even when I killed her children and raped her they wouldn’t come to help her.”

But that wasn’t true and Lewis knew that. They just didn’t know. “Now, I suggest you leave.” He moved to pull Simone up over his shoulder. “I have a girl to break and she’s been quite stubborn.”

Lewis produced a second dagger other than the bone one, and threw it as well as he reached down to try and claim Simone. Whether it hit or not was beside the point. Lewis wanted to make it known that she wasn’t to be touched by him again.

“Oh, that’s quite the sob story you’ve got going on there,” Lewis chimed. “I think I should make this clear. I have no intention of letting you touch her. She’s not yours…” There was smirk on his face now. “She’s mine.” That was sure to get a reaction. After all, the fae lord seemed so very keen on ownership.

“I have a few holes to punch through your little…tale,” the assassin said, continuing on. “As I happen to know a few of the Gods…I can go ahead and say with quite confidence that if Lady Angela were here…she’d probably rip your still beating heart out and shove it so far up…” He was going to say Rhenakos, but then he realized that perhaps, just maybe his rage was a bit…out of touch.

“Well, never mind that…what I’m trying to say is…I’m pretty sure the Gods care….they’re just busy. So they sent me instead.” Lewis took another few steps forward. “Oh…and as for the girl…I have a contract to end her life. And I have quite the reputation on finishing what I set out to do….I’d hate to sour it. So, Mistweaver, I think you’re underestimating the position you’re in…”

The dagger barely missed the fey lord thanks to his quick reflexes. He was boring holes into Lewis with his death stares. “Yours?” There was a laugh. “I’ve chased this girl through centuries and you’ve known her what? For what amounts to seconds in the sands of time? Do you think I’m stupid?”

The fey lord stopped seeming to be a bit shaken on the fact that actual gods had taken notice of what he had been up to. Angela had a reputation and he knew her. “So she wouldn’t help me but she would help this whore?” He screamed down at Simone.


The final straw of it all was when Lewis had said his name. “What? What did you just call me?” His eyes flashed up at Lewis then back down at Simone. “You are full of quite a bit of surprises my dear. Just when did you find out my name,” he growled and kicked her hard into a pillar nearby. Thankfully she had woken up just yet but the sickening sounds of her snapping bones filled the air.

“Now, I have to clean up an entire mess AGAIN because of you,” he was screaming at Simone. “I’ll kill you a thousand times over, sell you to the brothels, and then it’s right back into the lake with you!” His face was turning red from the screaming. “And you!” He looked at Lewis.

“You are a nobody and you will not be claiming what is rightfully owned by me.” He sent out a strong gust of wind magic towards Lewis. “I’ll just kill you and take the girl. Destroy the fucking castle if I have to. I’ll leave no trace she even exists.”

As his rage grew, Lewis’ smile did so as well. “Oh? I touched a nerve?” he started to giggle like a mad man, but was cut off when he kicked Simone into a pillar, shattering it. That sent a spike of rage through Lewis’ emotions, and he lunged forward. Alvaro sent a powerful gust of magic at Lewis, however, which launched the assassin back into the castle wall. He hit hard enough for the wind to be knocked out of him, and he hit the ground hard, gasping for air.

Fuck. He scrambled up, coughing. “Looks….looks like you…might need to work on…hitting harder, you fucking worthless trash!” Lewis darted forward again, completely against his usual style. The result was the same, and he was sent flying back again, this time hitting the wall even harder.

Pretty sure something is fractured, he thought to himself as he struggled to get up the second time.

From behind Alvaro, though, came a second presence. Out of the forest, Rhenakos came dashing out. In his hand was a flaming blade, and a wicked smile across his face. “Sur-fucking-prise!” he yelled, coming down hard with a flaming slash. He didn’t let up, immediately letting loose a flurry of swipes and slashes.

Lewis gave up on trying to get up, and instead crawled over to Simone. It took him forever to do so, but as he approached, he could hear her raged breathing. She had survived the hit against the wall. He tried to pull out the memory necklace, but it tumbled out his hand and fell against his chest.

“Damn…damnit,” he said as he tied to get out the bone dagger. “I’ll fix you…just….just give me a second.” Like with the necklace, his hands seemed to not be working. His vision was swirling, and he was sure he had a concussion of some kind. Nothing seemed to want to work right.

“Simone…I…might have fucked up…”

Rhenakos was not accustomed to fighting the fae. Whatever tactics worked against demons did not tend to work against the fae, and as such the hunter found himself impaled against a tree, a sharp branch protruding just above his right hip. “Fucking hell…”

“And it looks like I touched a nerve of yours,” the fey lord threw back in his face.

The fey lord was pretty much playing with Lewis like he was his food at this point. “There are more of you?” The fey lord was caught off guard by Rhenakos. “I’ll deal with the broken one later.”

Simone was trying her best to catch her breath but she couldn’t figure out where she was and she was scared. She felt Lewis approaching before she noticed him though. Her gray eyes looked towards him as the scenery became clear.

Fix me? It hurt but there was a sharp chuckle from her. “I think…” She hissed a bit as she pulled herself towards him. She had a bit more movement and she winced as she fell at his side just enough. “That we might have both fucked up.” There was heavy breathing.

“I’m so sorry Lewis. I wish you had never gotten involved with me. I didn’t ever want to see you hurt like this,” this was the older Simone talking. A part of her had been lying that much was true. “If you can heal yourself over me I would want that a lot right now. I wouldn’t forgive myself if you died here.” He was honestly trying to set her free. She scooted her face closer to his and nuzzled against his cheek and her nose to his.

“It was fun though I will admit. Loving you that is.” Her head fell down as she ran out of energy.

There was that word again.

Love.

I don’t understand. He was feeling something fluttering in his chest, a feeling that was familiar. The guide, the aspect of Simone that had survived to meet him. The younger Simone who had trusted her life to him. The older Simone who had just expressed her love.

I really…don’t understand. Tears were welling up in his eyes. He knew she wasn’t dead, and that she could come back. So why was he feeling these things? I just don’t get it. He stood up, feeling the burning emotions spread through his body. He could feel the magic in Simone, flowing through into him. He could feel her ragged breathing, and her emotions of love and caring for him.

“How dare you make me care for you…” he uttered, turning to see Rhenakos get stabbed by Alvaro.

“Simone…I love you too,” he said, feeling her overwhelming emotions flow through his heart. “I didn’t understand it. Hell, I still don’t understand it, but I…” He pulled the bone dagger out of its sheath, holding it steady. “I feel you now…this bond…whatever it is. You’re here with me…aren’t you?” He slashed his hand with the dagger, and as his blood coated it, one slide flared with a dark red flame,. The other iced over with a pale blue frost.

“Avlaro Mistweaver…may your name forever be cast out…” He moved quickly and quietly, the fae lord distracted by Rhenakos’ snide remarks.

And then his dagger was at the fae’s throat, catching Alvaro by surprise.

“In the name of the Goddess of Life and Love and Simone Aucliar… Alvaro Mistweaver, your life is forfeit.” The dagger slid across his throat, slicing deep. He could feel Simone moving with him, the two of them ending his life together. They were one, and they finished it as one.

“It’s…it’s over…”

Simone was caught off guard and she smiled at him. He loved her too? That was a surprise. Their resonance that Angela had felt before they had left was in full effect. She hadn’t told them just in case that Lewis had wanted it broken. The goddess had a feeling that they would need it and they would need each other.

Lewis had always been a weird one. “I’m here. Her voice filled his mind as her soul hugged his and enveloped herself to him. ”With you as one. I don’t know how but I will not complain.”

The fey lord was getting pissed at Rhenakos who was far too durable for his own good. “WHY AREN’T YOU DYING,” the fey lord was shanking Rhen but was completely caught off guard by the newly healed Lewis.

“What,” was all the fey lord could get out before Lewis killed him.

The magic that was binding Simone blew up. The shock wave of the ancient spell coming off causing the buildings to collapse and even the castle started to crumble behind them. Simone had managed to get up and run to Lewis. She put her arms around his waist and looked up at the castle falling.

“It’s finally done… I’m free.” She whispered to Lewis and smiled up at him. “Thank you… but I have one more request for you if you would be up for it. It’s completely up to you.” She kissed his cheek and snuggled her head into his shoulder.

“Perhaps… Though…” Her eyes went to Rhenakos. “We should probably get him down off the tree first.”