Chapter Seven

Surrounded by mountains, they hiked through the pine forest since morning. Sleeping out in the wilderness was miserable and everything ached. Roughing it in the mountains had been on her bucket list, sure, but this was not how she imagined it would go. Nor did she expect to have this ginger brute as her companion.

At least she felt safe with him. If he could brawl a Wendigo and win, odds were he’d keep them safe from other dangers in the mountains, like bears fattening up for hibernation.

Shit, she mused, could he fight a bear?

“So anyway, that vampire we lured with Grindr, was all can I come in?”

Eddie shuffled behind him, half listening, half contemplating her inevitable death out in the mountains—woefully unprepared for the rugged terrain. Not that it deterred the kill-happy maniac who happily regaled her with stories of creative yet brutal monster executions. This all seemed like nothing more than a warm-up to him.

“And Duncan stalled him, knowing he couldn’t cross the threshold, so he’s getting more antsy about it—“

It was nice to be off his shit list, at least. The way he lit up as he talked about killing an array of creatures she had never fathomed to have existed a day ago. He hated these monsters, especially when they had victims. Was he once a victim of one?

“—Duncan unbuttons his shirt, does a pec bounce, and gets the vamp hungry and horny—“

She knew something in his past hurt him, and whenever she tried to learn more about him or get him to open up, he’d interrupt her and change the subject. He seemed to do that much more since he became comfortable with her. Thoughts would pop into his mind and he had to say them, or he’d trail off mid-sentence and then the conversation would just end.

“—he’s all like, baby please, let me in. So Duncan lets him in and they make out. Playing with fire, I know—“

He talked about Duncan a lot, too. Sometimes he vented, and sometimes he beamed with pride. Eddie thought back to him in the cafe, the way he looked relaxed around Clay but also kept a watchful eye on him. It wasn’t a matter if they were boning or not, they definitely boned. They had to be partners. She was sure of it.

“—so the fucker finally bares his fangs, and that’s our cue. It kills people. So I sneak up since Duncan was the bait.”

Clay turned around, beaming, “And I came up from behind with a wooden stake all like—“

He made a violent thrusting motion and lowered his voice into something she affectionately called the Gay Clint Eastwood. “Don’t worry, I’m on PrEP.”

“There’s a joke about consent, but I’m too tired for that shit,” Eddie panted, flopping down on the hard, mossy ground. “I need a few. Holy fuck.”

He sat beside her, staring off momentarily as though something serious weighed on him. Eddie lifted her head and studied him, wondering if she should be worried.

Clay blinked a few times. “Sorry, what were we talking about?”

Eddie sighed and looked at the compass the dead hikers left behind. They set out hours ago with no idea where they were in the first place. No trace of civilization or roads anywhere. “We’re gonna die out here.”

“I promise to not eat you when you die,” Clay offered, playfully tousling her hair.

She grumbled, pulling away from his touch and his large, meaty hand. “Not helping.”

He took his hand back and adopted a more serious tone. “Look at it this way. Going west means going deeper into the mountains, so going east is the way to go until we find a road and figure out where we ended up.”

“But,” Eddie exhaled, shaking her head. “It’s a shot in the dark.”

Clay shrugged. “All we got.”

He wasn’t wrong about that. She couldn't transport them back with her magic. The last time had been an accident. When she looked up from the compass, ready to tell him she was ready, he was gone.

Panic washed over her facial features as she spun around, eyes darting to anywhere he might be. Yes, he was fast even at his size, but he wasn’t so fast to disappear on her like that. “Clay!”

Branches rustled above and she looked up to see him standing up on the highest branch, looking around.

“What are you doing?” Eddie asked, shouting loud enough for him to hear her up there.

He pointed east and yelled down to her. “Okay! So there’s a cliff with a sheer drop that way, but there’s a gradual slope down the mountain–”

Clay gestured to the south.

“–that way!”

“Okay,” Eddie called up, “I guess we should work our way down then?”

“Holy shit!”

“What do you see?”

Clay looked down and grinned. “There’s a dirt road and a house about five kilometres away near the base of the mountain.”

She could almost cry at that news. It would take only a few hours to get there and call for help. He lept down from his roost and landed beside her.

“I really love that you can do that.”

“Me too,” he said with sassy and dramatic flair as he sashayed ahead of her. “You’re welcome, honey.”

After several hours of descending the mountain and walking alongside a river, Eddie thought her feet were going to fall off by now. As they pushed through the woods, Eddie's work uniform got ruined as she had to wade through a muddy river and branches tore away pieces of fabric.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Hey,” Clay began, still leading the trek. "When and how did you get a coat? I’m pretty sure you weren’t wearing one at the coffee shop. Did you magic one up, or?”

"No," Eddie said, recalling the strange man from last night. “This guy named Kirk gave me the jacket.”

He stopped, not looking back, though his posture became rigid. “Did you say his name was Kirk?”

“Y-yeah,” she said, nervous by how he reacted.

“That tricky little fucker,” Clay said, turning around to face her. “Did you thank him?”

“Yes?”

“Oh. Well, that’s not good.”

Eddie blinked, confused. “What? Why?”

“Well, he’s a fae and thanking him like that implies you owe him a debt,” Clay explained, folding his arms. “And you’re technically a witch who owes him a favour now, so.”

A fae? Those were a thing, too?

Her stomach knotted at the idea of owing something known in folklore to be as powerful as they were capricious. Eddie’s mind raced with scenarios of him showing up when she least expected and calling in a favour. Would he make her hex or kill someone? Now she just wanted to throw up.

“How the hell would I have known that?” Eddie snapped, almost a little too defensive and sharp.

Clay put his hands up, a little startled by the bite in her tone. “Hey, hey. Don’t get snippy. I’m sure it won’t be anything terrible like murdering a baby…probably.”

She shook her head, wanting to throw something at him for dropping a bomb like that and then being so cavalier about it. “You are such an unbelievable asshole.”

He cocked his head and looked wounded by that remark. “Huh? Why?”

Eddie mocked his voice. “You shouldn’t have done that. He’s a fae and you’re a witch. Uh oh. You owe him a debt. It won’t be anything terrible, probably. Maybe you won’t have to kill a baby. That’s you.”

Clay blinked, not sure how to take that or what he did wrong. “That is a terrible impression.”

“Ah, but not inaccurate,” a disembodied voice said from above them. They saw him sitting lazily on a high branch when they looked up.

Kirk.

He examined his fingernails, not even looking at them. “Tell me, children, why are my ears burning so?”

“Does she have to kill a baby?”

The heavy-lidded, olive-skinned fae looked like he’d fall out of the tree upon hearing that.

“I beg your pardon?” Kirk asked incredulously, his hand on his chest as he scowled at Clay.

Eddie studied him, paying no mind to the bickering that ensued between those two, watching for the glimmers where his face would distort and obfuscate. It was still impossible for her to see through his glamour.

Instead, she let her unseen sense snake out from all around her in tendrils as it coiled around the tree trunk to reach the middle branch he perched on. She wanted to know more about him. Was he a benign creature, or one of malice? As soon as she felt her outpouring essence brush against him, everything around her became quiet, and Eddie dropped to her hands and knees. The chill of complete darkness swallowed her, and the vast shadow gripped her, sucking her down into an abyss so deep she thought she might disappear forever. The vastness of the void tore her breath away and the crushing weight of it all closed in on her until she was one with it.

Eddie gasped, coughing and panting as trees and rocks dotted her periphery again. She saw stars in her eyes and felt dizzy while her heart thumped in her chest. The throbbing in her head overpowered her senses, and she threw up on the ground, heaving.

Clay knelt at her side, concern in his voice as he looked her over. “Jesus, kid. You okay?”

She looked up at Kirk and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. His essence. It was vast and primordial. Neither good nor evil, just like the merciful rainfall ending a drought or a brutal volcanic eruption destroying all in its path. Before his presence, she was an ant, and he was the sun. Eddie could not fathom her own cosmic insignificance in the face of something so profound and ancient.

He was death itself.

The glamour washed away, and she saw the true physical shell of this being. He was as radiant as the dawn. An adonis of a man with perfect tan skin, and eyes that reflected the most ancient wisdom. His brown hair was flawlessly arranged. His red eyes gleamed, and he brought his forefinger to his lips to render her silent.

When she tried to speak his name to Clay, the words would not pass over her lips.

Clever girl. His voice, like silk and steel, pervaded within her own mind. Reaching out with your sixth sense was impressive. You are getting so strong, little one, but know that if I hadn’t stopped you from sensing me, you would have died.

Because you are death, she shot back in her own mind. Why can’t I speak your name?

Because it is my name and I will not deign a mortal to speak it freely until I so desire. We will talk again, Eden Weston. I have much to tell you.

Eddie coughed, rising to her feet and pointing up at the ancient being as Clay stood up with her. The gleaming red eyes faded, leaving behind black irises, reminding her of the void that had almost swallowed her.

Clay was taken aback by the man in the tree. “Whoa, when did Kirk get so hot?”

The ancient jumped down from the tree and landed in front of Clay, stepping in so close their lips almost brushed when he stood on his tiptoes. He put his hands on Clay’s broad chest and purred. “Oh, Clayton Weston, you shameless man. I promise to not keep you in the dark for much longer.”

He kissed Clay on the lips with passion and longing. As soon as their kiss ended, he was gone.

“Be seeing you.”

The voice echoed, all that remained until silence fell on them again.

Clay was all shades of red as he staggered back, flustered by the kiss. “What the fuck just happened?”

“Weston?” Eddie gasped, finally finding her voice as she clutched at her throat. “Is your name really Clayton Weston?”

He snapped out of it and turned to her, regarding her with curiosity and concern. “Yeah, why?”

Her blood ran cold as the images of that night flashed through her mind. All that death and blood. Almost beyond her recollection. She didn’t want to believe it was him. Eddie was only five years old when the tragedy happened in her family, yet it left its mark all the same. Her dad and brother died, and Clay ran away, never to be seen again.

Until now.

This man who stood before her, this vast and powerful man with a deep hatred for the supernatural threats against humanity, this man who tried to kill her when he believed her to be one of those threats.

Her brother, whom she believed dead until now.

Her brother.

Clay.

“Kid?”

“Are you really my brother?”

He went pale as realization set in. He tried to speak, yet couldn’t form the words. It seemed he, too, didn’t want to believe what she was saying. “Eden?”

“It’s Eddie,” she replied, her mouth dry as they both stared the other down.

“I–” Clay fell back against the tree, sliding down to sit on the cold ground. He looked away. “I tried to kill you.”

Eddie closed the gap and knelt in front of him, placing her hands on the sides of his head as she brought his gaze back to her own. She gasped when her hands on his skin sent a shock through her.

She saw the green cat-like eyes in her mind’s eye against the unyielding darkness. The tarot reading. King of Swords in reverse.

Something cruel befell their family that night.

The pain rising within him poured into her.

Something cruel had taken him away.

Tears gathered in their eyes.

Something cruel had tried to break him.

The word formed in her mind. Qliphoth.

“Clay.”

He pulled her against him and embraced her, as though truly seeing her for who she was for the first time since they reunited.

“What happened to you?”