A/N: I'm well aware of how much potential this story has of being rubbish and I may have spent a good week obsessed with mythology, spending more time in the library then anywhere else collecting notes for nothing... haha I was going to write more, but I became concious of the fact I don't even read stories like this, so I can't really explain why wrote it, then rewrote it so many times that I can no longer forget it.
Praeda Preda means Prey... I think, I can't remember anymore.
Alex Drake crouched low at the exit of the manor house, her small hands wrapped around the door frame in an aide to keep her balanced. They have held her captive for days on end with no food and only what was once a suspicious bucket of water in the corner, which after fours days of thirst she had drank a handful of to discover the one thing wrong with the water was that it had been left to stagnate.
She was tired to the point of dizziness, fear and hunger held her stomach in its grip.
They had left the door open and she knew they had done so on purpose so that she could see the small patch of rough land that disappeared into the forest beyond it.
She had walked straight into their trap. She had known she was doing it the instant she had done out to Dead Man's Lane, but she could not ignore the gruesome murders of seventeen women. If anything she was the bait in which they would catch them.
Determination was all that was left for her body to run on as the house itself drained her magic to keep her held within and she knew despite the danger outside the best thing to do was to leave the curse they had cast over the manor so that Gene would be unable to track her and go out into the open where she would be fair game for all.
She crept slowly outside with her back to the wall as she scrambled sideways where the space between the over grown grass and the cover of trees seemed to be the narrowest.
Alex burst out into the open, knowing their eyes trailed her from a distance. The silver of moon light shining through the cloudy night lit her way.
Behind her the imposingly white manor house with it deceptively sweet blue shutters and its flower boxes faded away, leaving the old remains of flag stone stubs that had once been a grand manor house.
Once she reached the relative protection of the darkness the looming forest offered, she had thought it would give her an instance sense of safety, but the lack of light seemed only to emphasise her lonely task.
They had left her with no protection. The little dagger that had been sheathed at her ankle stolen and they had with purpose left her to weaken so that she would be unable to summon up the powers available to her.
Powers that had not deserted her once in all her years. Since she was born Alex's mind had been enriched in the art of healing, a gift her mother had nurtured in Alex until the death of herself and her husband. Her mother had been as much loved as she was hated in the lands she was tied too, Alex could only remember her as beautiful, but there must have been a side to her mother the Nymph that was more then she had been privy to.
Alex's father, though a demigod had more time for her then her mother ever did. They would run around the courts of powerful kings, pick fallen apples for the cook and she remembered nights by candle light reading old fairy tales, laughing at the silly voice he created.
Evan had become her keeper after all that ended. He had helped her to perfect secretly what had once seemed like a burden. Such power as she had would a few years ago have been an automatic signature on your death warrant and at the time it was ink Alex could not afford to have against her, Alex had been terrified by the idea of death and the disappointment of her dead parents were she to waste her life.
She ran quickly, consciously aware of every twig that snapped under her soft slippers and the rustling as branches whistled against her petticoat of ragged skirts.
Alex's heart jumped in her chest at the sound of a horn and lifted her dirty skirts about her knees so she could move with a little more speed. She had to move fast or she would not be able to get enough space between them to either gather her powers from the enchantment that lays in the grounds of the forest or to give Shaz Granger, Christopher Skelton, Ray Carling and Gene Hunt the chance to find her so together they could capture the men behind these most disturbing murders.
Now that the horns had been blown the hunt would begin. Alex heard the distant cheering of the celebrating men as their game started in earnest.
There was a fallen tree a few yards in front of her. She did not have time to assess what lay after it as she placed her foot on the dead wood, hopping over it and tumbling down the steep incline it had kept hidden.
Alex rolled with gathering memento, unable to stop herself as with each hold she tried to gain the earth would crumble in her hands. Stones grazed her bare arms and through the material of her dress as she tried to curl her body so she was laid out straight with her legs out in front of her, but her attempt at stopping at this point were in vain. The pull of gravity carried her down, but it was as the sharp slope began to smooth out to an angle that meant she moved at a lesser speed she dug her heels into the soft mud.
Finally at a complete stop she stood on shaky legs and carefully climbed down backwards the rest of the way.
She kicked the damp leaves from the sole of her shoes and bent down to pull them off. The once pale silk was unrecognisable under the thick layer of brown earth and the small stitches at the back had snapped. With the fabric falling apart they were of no use to her.
Alex looked up at the 30 foot slope she had plummeted ungraciously down. There was no way she could hide her tracks, she needed to be more careful.
She threw her ruined slippers in the opposite direction she intended on going and plucked at the strings holding her dirty bodice together and left it strewn on the forest floor as she took off into the bushes.
Her ankle length shift stuck with sweat to her spine and chest. The long skirt was loose and spoiled, the lace that had hemmed the bottom trailed after her catching on the under growth and tearing away some more.
She could feel a stitch begining to sharpen its way beneath her ribs, but she persevered, ducking under poisonous hanging vines.
The exhaustion had set deeply in her bones, but she kept her legs moving swiftly. She could hear their heavy foot falls in the distance, they had realised her diversion with the slippers was false and had undoubtedly found her real tracks.
The advantage of the ground she had managed to cover felt as if it were too small, like she could already feel them on her heels as she pushed branch after branch from her path.
A root curling out of the ground, half covered with dried leaves and she caught her foot on it. Her hands managed to stop her landing too awkwardly, but they weakened under her in shock as her face crashed down on a rock.
Alex wearily open her eyes and blinked the blurriness away. The heavy scent of mud, leaves, wood and life filled her senses, awakening her to the world around her.
Tucking her legs under her she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, staring down at the sharp grey object beneath her she realised why she felt so ungainly in her own body and gingerly raised a hand to touch her cheek. Blood, hot and wet slipped across her fingers as she pulled her hand away from its inspection. Now that she was aware of the cut to her cheek the pain seemed to come in waves with every heart beat.
A shout a little way off reminded her why she was here in the first place. She put a hand on the rough bark and leaned heavily on a Ash tree as she stood. Alex limped off unsteadily in the direction she hoped she was supposed to be going in, her toes throbbing.
She could hear the thud of footfalls coming from behind her and shambled into a weak attempt at a run. She had to get away. It was not too late. Gene, Shaz and the boys could still find her.
The trees seemed to condense as she ran ignoring her injured foot, but out of nowhere a Satyr appeared before her blocking her path and she turned to get away but there were more of them.
She would have laughed had she not been so scared, they were surrounding her. Their feet turning the mud, their little tails swishing back and forth as they taunted her. Their bodies though thin were strong and they all it would seem shared a penchant to arrange their unruly hair into pony tail. The coarse dark facial hair doing nothing to emphasize in favour of their snub noses.
They made a tight moving circle around her so there was no available gap for her to escape through, their arms extended towards her to pull at her shift, to stroke their hand across her exposed collar bone. With each touch she tried to move away from it was only to be brought closer to another Satyr.
Alex though weak tried to summon a spell that would render them impotent, but her mind seemed to go blank as one of the Satyr broke into the circle, the hole closing behind him as his accomplices quickened their steps to close their make-shift cage.
The power she had collected sparked the tree above her into full bloosom above her as its waisted strength exploded, the half men, half goats laughing heartily at the sweet scented pint flowers. They spoke in a dialect she did not understand, but their tone was leering and patronising at the same time. She pulled the residual energy back to her, if she could not think of a spell the least she could do was heal her foot so that if there was a chance of getting away she would have feet adequate to climb a tree with.
There was a whistling sound and one of the male Satyr's fell to the ground a golden arrow in his hind leg and another clean through his neck, another Satyr went down the same and through the broken circle Alex saw figures racing on horse back.
The creature withdrew there hunting knifes, their stances ready for battle. More arrows flew through the air, the Satyr's using their blades to cut them down mid-air.
She spun around at the gurgling cry of one half goat behind her, a hand swept around her waist, the grip strong and despite the brief confusion she held on to the muscular biceps as it lifted her up onto his white stead and carried her away from the despicable creatures.
Alex closed her eyes savouring the sensation of utter safety as she lent back against her saviours shoulder. She could feel the strength of him re-lighting her magic, the wound on her check healing and her hunger dissipating. She whispered her thank you to him as she opened her eyes and sat up using her own back bone.
From the belt at his waist she pulled her own sword out of it sheath, it shined brightly in the dim light.
With Alex's bow and arrow poised to shot at the Satyr's in Shaz Granger hand she fluttered over to Alex's side. "Good to have you back, Ma'am." Her deep purple wings flashed lilac to show her honest happiness at being reacquainted with her friend, but quickly deepened again as she whispered, "Poison" beneath her breath and released the arrow into the leg of a Satyr stupid enough to try to race towards them, his body jerked as he fell backwards his skin tinged an unhealthy green as he took his last breath.
Alex smiled at the young fairy, her cheek tingling freshly from the recent healing and Shaz smiled right back at her with her wings lightening again. BY Gene side she absorbed the strength of the land around her, Gene easily deflecting the advances of a large Satyr with amusement, toying with the lesser mortal.
Chris trotted forward on his loyal grey horse his skin bare and glistening in the moon light, water dripping down the line of his almost deathly pale chest and tear drops of it falling on to the green scales of his legs. He gave her a goofy smile, his trident held high as he shot bolts of light at the goat men, their screams high pitched as they skittered away from the lightening.
A few desperate Satyr's rushed forwards with long spears and hunting daggers wanting blood and as one blade was raised in the air ready to come down on the shiny wet scales Alex whispered gently, her words carrying in the light breeze. The spell froze the blade in the air and the young Satyr tugged at it in confusion trying to bring it down on to Chris's leg.
Alex turned, her cheek pressed into Gene soft skin as she tried to look past the white feathers of his wings, just the man she had been looking for came galloping forward to his best friends aid cutting down the Satyr with one sure flick of his long sword, the creature falling to the ground without a sound. Ray had been a solitary Centaur until he had been saved by Chris from the mouth of a sea dragon and intended to return the favour whenever trouble came their way.
Rays human body was formidable and sturdy, his chest scattered with light brown curling hairs that darkened to the colour of chestnuts as it reached the flanks of his horse form.
He towered over the remaining Satyr's, his voice was rough and loud as he spoke their tongue. They cowered before him dropping their weapons at his say so. Ray's bulky figure moved forwards and grabbed a handful of hair at the back of the neck of the largest Satyr and the obvious ring leader and pulled him toward Gene and Alex.
The woman they had been killing were Nymphs, not endangered, but well known for being beautiful creatures whose bodies were in favour of the Gods, they had been under protection for centuries, the nobles of the planet fearing the vengeance of the sun if they were to be harmed without repercussion of those who would commit such an offence. The price was death without trial. For Alex though the insult was personal.
Alex could not see the rage in Gene's stormy blue eyes, but she could certainly feel the tension it caused in his body. The arm looped around her waist squeezed her to let her know her safety was assured. Gene raised a large hand, the Satyr ceasing its struggles as Gene spoke, "Your sentence is death," his voice was like gravel, the sound echoing and seductive, "As the highest authority of the land, I condemn you to the mercy of the sun."
With a simple flex of his fingers the Satyr's both dead and alive vanished, the enchantment they had cast over the land breaking as their bodies burned in the centre of the sun.
They rode slowly through the woodlands to the winding cobbled road that was Dead Man's Lane. Shaz sat neatly behind Chris her near weightless form wrapped lovingly around him as his little grey horse set the pace. Ray had insisted on carrying the heavier equipment on his back, but kept his long sword at the ready as he remained vigilant at the back of their group, he was not about to get ambushed by stray Satyr's no matter how firm the others were about having got them all.
Gene's hand rested on Alex's lower back holding her steady while she dozed against the thick strong neck of Gene's Unicorn which made sure to move steadily and kept her eyes focused in front of her.
Alex slipped to the side and she woke up feeling disorientated but the musky scent of Quattro the Unicorn helped her make sense of her surrounding. She sat up, yawning deeply as her head lolled back against Gene chest.
The next time she woke Gene was standing with her held in his arms as he bartered over payment for nights rest in the farmer's barn, his gold hair flopped forwards across his forehead. Ray handed over a pouch of gold and shook hands with the old man, before bowing his head and leading the way to the barn.
Alex insisted Gene put her down when they got inside. She was still tired and the desire to eat returned with a vengeance, her stomach growling much to Chris's amusement.
The light in the barn was dim and it smelt of damp and live stock, Alex cast a quick and simple spell and a ball of light flashed up to the high loft of the barn and she smiled as it shone its shiny liquidness around the spacious room.
Alex walked over to the nearest stall to find it filled with old rotting straw with a few mumbles, in a blink of an eye it was fresh again and she set about pulling a fur blanket they had won only a few months back in a game of cards and laid it across the straw.
She could hear the other shuffling about in the other stalls she had cleaned for them when Gene pushed the doors open to her make-shift bed room. He put a tray on the floor and threw some clean clothes down beside her and waited outside till she was decent.
"Here Shaz thought you might want this," Gene said handing over a comb and a small round glass phial. Alex smiled gratefully and emptied a small amount of the pearly liquid into her hand and rubbed it into her hair and dragged the comb through it afterwards to make sure all the tangles and dirt were gone from her soft curls.
They were not essential things fresh clothes and clean hair, but they made her feel more like herself and if she were honest she had missed them. Gene carried the tray over to Alex, her stomach tightening at the smell of vegetable broth and the sight of a thick slice of crusty bread.
"Slipped the old man a few extra coins," Gene said with a sly grin and pulled out a corked bottle of wine, "Thought a bit of house rubbish might cheer you up," Gene mumbled, awkwardly scratching at the back of his neck.
Alex 'God of the wilderness' gave him her brightest smile, pulled the cork out and handed the bottle to him, "In that case the least I can do is share," she said also tearing the bread in half and forcing it into his hand, even as he protested that it was not necessary. "Stop being so difficult and just eat," she snapped with a smile of good nature.
The glass bottle that had held the wine laid discarded on the floor its contents drunk by the two resting back on the warm fur blanket.
They spoke quitely between them, teasing each other as the wine warmed their blood. When Alex could no longer keep from outwardly displaying her tiredness she laid down on her side, her head resting on her arm as she looked up at Gene with sleepy eyes.
"Get some sleep Bolly," Gene said quietly getting to his feet, his wings pressing to either side of the wooden stall as he stretched.
"Stay," Alex spoke softly not meeting his gaze, "I've been on my own for over a week, don't leave me." She hated herself for sound so vulnerable and scared, but it was exactly how she felt and there was little she could do to hide the fact.
Gene sat back down and scooted down so he was level with her, his wings neatly folded behind him. "Your safe now," Gene whispered, brushing a stray lock of hair from her cheek, "Considering all the Nymphs you have saved from those monsters I think you're allowed a night with the Gene Genie." He winked and earned a smiled from her, "That's more like it," he said encouragingly and pulled her to him so her head rested on his shoulder. The length of her sleeping tunic barely reached her knee and had bunched half way up her thigh exposing her creamy flesh to the night, he extended a wing upwards and slowly wrapped all of him around her. His pure white feathers tickled along her jaw as she snuggled into the warmth he provided and slowly fell asleep.
If you got this far I'd like to say thank you :)