Mason was…not a great liar. Or so Blake had told him many times.

"You have to believe it, brother," he'd instructed after a particularly egregious fuck up he needed Mason to cover for. "Think of it as a story, a new narrative that is equally true. Or, you know, a story that certainly could be true."

He hadn't known what the hell his brother was talking about then, and he didn't know what Ayet was talking about now. How could you believe your own lie when you knew it was a lie?

Mostly he just tried to keep a straight face and say it the same way he'd say the truth.

"No, I don't know what happened to the car, Dad. No, I don't know where Blake was last night."

Neutral face. Show no weakness or fear. That was the Mason method of lying.

"OK," said Ayet, wincing slightly as they rehearsed his story. It was the third time she'd had him repeat it, which was something along the lines of 'leader of a Cerebus ranger cult, here to strong-arm the elves to give him access to their fey portal'.

"We keep it as close to the truth as possible, yes? Say you were sent here by the Unseelie. Now you want the elves to take you to a specific location, or you'll reveal the location of the elven city."

Mason shook his head.

"And they won't just kill me why again?"

"The council is weak." Ayet shrugged. “Not in magic power, but they aren't warriors. Hardly any of them even know how to kill. We came to this place to hide away from the world so we didn't have to fight."

Mason took a deep breath and let it out. Another reason he wasn't much of a liar—he just didn't like it. It seemed to him a man didn't have much but his word, and he shouldn't go around dragging it through the mud unless there was a damn good reason.

But he reminded himself that Streak needed his help, and that Ayet knew these people a lot better than he did.

"Alright," he said, repeating the story details one more time. He was to avoid using his name because apparently the elves had spells that worked on information. He wasn't to reveal anything about himself at all, or they might be able to 'scry' all kinds of things about him.

He also only needed the council to open a portal, which was the difficult part. Ayet was able to shape it to take them where they wished. Something to do with her class.

When she finally decided he was ready, she gave him a once over with her eyes, getting a hard to read look.

"You human men are certainly...big," she muttered, coming forward to maybe...yep, squeeze his bicep. "So different than our people."

Mason took another deep breath.

"We're not all like this. I was considered big before..." Mason caught himself before he said 'before roboGod gave me superpowers', "...I've gotten bigger with time," he finished, rather lamely.

"I imagine," Ayet said, still touching him. She flicked her eyes up to his briefly before letting go. "Alright. Follow me. The council members are all together, but this isn't business. They'll be relaxed. At ease. Hopefully caught off guard. And you remember not to..."

"Don't insult or threaten the elf with the white robe, got it," Mason said.

Apparently that was the head priest, who was hot-headed (at least by elven standards), which made sense since he'd banished an entire noble house after Naya angered him.

Mason forced down his own reaction to the thought. He wasn't here to defend or get revenge for his future wife. He was certain it wouldn't work, and pretty sure she wouldn't want him to do it anyway.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

He followed Ayet through the beautiful wooden structure, doing his best not to watch the sway of her hips and wonder what her ass would have looked like in the sauna room if she’d turned around…

Jesus he needed to get laid.

She took him through several empty rooms until he could heard the sounds of running water and quiet voices. All the other council members were men, which is why Ayet had been on her own. It seemed a bit strange to Mason that a culture like this would even have a woman on the ruling council, but he didn't care enough to question it long.

They stopped at the curtain-like shutters covering the door, and Ayet stopped and turned.

'Ready?' she mouthed, and Mason nodded. He summoned a Claw, and despite being ready for it, the elven woman still flinched and stared at the short, green blade. Mason gestured her forward, and she pushed through the curtains.

"My lords!" she called, her hands raised, an impressive mask of terror suddenly on her face. "I'm sorry...I don't know where he came from. He says he's..."

"Shut up," Mason said, his tone neutral. He was going to let Ayet take a few steps away to face him, but instinct made him change his mind. These people were weak, she said. Not accustomed to violence.

And no matter how good an actress Ayet thought she was, a little surprise always helped.

Mason grabbed her by the throat and pulled her back, putting the blade against her side. She gasped and froze in his arm, and he immediately decided to throw away all her explanations, too.

A man of violence didn't explain himself like an elf. And Mason may not have understood lying, but he knew all about men of violence.

"I want a portal. To wherever I tell you. I know you elves can do that. Do it, or you won't like what happens next."

The male elves were similarly bathing or sitting around something like steam vents. The air was hot and misty, but the faces of the council were obviously shocked.

One or two even smirked a little and glanced at the others, as if they thought maybe this were some kind of joke, or entertainment. None said a word.

Mason growled and kicked a rock from a nearby pile, charging it with the weakest exploding trap he could manage and aiming away from everyone.

It sailed more or less where he'd intended, exploding with a flash of fire and shrapnel. One or two pieces hit the wooden tubs, but luckily none of the occupants. It had the desired effect.

Council members shrieked and pulled away, splashing water everywhere as they gasped and called out in fear.

"Who are you?" one of them called.

Mason's pulse was moving quick now. He'd completely improvised and changed Ayet's plan, but he'd realized pretty much the moment he walked in her plan was bad. This needed to be done like violence—quick and brutal.

"I didn't ask for questions. Do what you need to and get a portal open. Right now. Your lady friend here already has the location I gave her. She'll do the rest."

"We...need a moment," said one of the elves, blinking over and over as he ran a hand through his hair and looked towards his robe. "The process takes time. We can't just do it instantly."

That was a lie. Ayet had already told Mason how it worked. The council leader in particular could open a portal in seconds. It just cost him quite a bit of mana, which regenerated very slowly here in the elven city, apparently.

So he didn't like doing it. Mason also expected at least a few of these people had innate weapons or other arcane tools. He needed them to obey before they started communicating, before they got any ideas.

"The next time you lie to me, there's blood on the floor," Mason growled. "The council leader. Open a portal. Do it now. I know you can. Please don't test me."

One of the silent elves sat up in his tub, jaw clenching as he looked between Mason and Ayet's eyes.

"I'll do as you ask," he said in a low voice. "But whoever you are, know that if you harm her, we'll look for you. I don't know how you got in here or how you know so much. But we are not your personal transporters. And I am not amused."

Mason just waited. The grey-haired elven wizard eventually rose half out of the tub and weaved a pattern with his hand.

Arcane and natural power filled the air with light, and Mason knew the man was channeling. He met the eyes of the others one by one to make sure they knew he was watching, then in a few seconds a swirling green portal opened between Mason and the tubs.

"Go, then," said the wizard with obvious disgust. "But if I see you again, human, things will be far less pleasant."

Mason definitely didn't like the look in the man's eye. He wasn't sure exactly how Ayet directed the portal, but he moved her forward until they were in reaching distance before he stopped and gave her a little shrug.

Her eyes glazed, and she raised a hand towards the portal, then returned the nod.

"Now let her go," said the wizard, and Mason gave Ayet another moment to look into his eyes and tell him yes or no.

She'd said she wished to come, but he knew things might change when the moment arrived. She flicked her gaze towards him, but her face didn't change. She made no indication that she'd changed her mind or wished to do anything but what they'd discussed.

Mason looked at the elven high wizard again, wincing slightly at knowing this man may very well try and hunt him down. If so, he hoped his own elves could calm him before shit hit the fan.

"Sorry," he said.

Then with a quick plunging jump, and the sound of the council calling out in protest filling his ears, he grabbed Ayet around the waist and dove into the portal.