"If I'm not a murderer, how come I keep killing people?"

Corny had pondered this many nights. Luis insisted it was purely self-defense that had made him act in such ways, that Corny didn't have an evil heart. But still, the question plagued him from the moment it left his lips. If he wasn't a murderer, why did he keep killing people? When he had the curse, he had even enjoyed it a little, hurting those seductive faeries.

Hurting Nephamael. Oh yes, that had been wonderful.

…

Moonlight streamed in through the grimy windows of Luis' squat. Corny stared up at the ceiling, his hands forming a makeshift pillow beneath his head. His eyes wandered to the sleeping form of Luis, curled up at Corny's side, sleeping peacefully. Luis was like a different person a night, as if the bliss of sleep had stolen all his bad memories of faerie and Dave away, and left him with nothing but pleasant thoughts.

Corny wished he could join Luis in dreams. His eyes ached from straining in the dark, but he just couldn't sleep. He listened to the soothing sound of Luis' deep breathing for a few long minutes before pushing away the blanket they shared, and tucking it around Luis gently, leaning over the sleeping boy and kissing him chastely on the lips.

"I'll be back. Stay sleeping."

Luis licked his lips and made a soft sound, still deep asleep. Corny was almost out the door before he glanced back at his lover. He was so…beautiful, with the moonlight glinting off his dark hair. Corny smiled to himself, and shut the door quietly before slipping quietly into the cool, dark night.

He wondered how long it would be before he, on purpose or by accident, would kill Luis.

He was, after all, a murderer.

…

The copper skinned faerie watched Corny leave, flitting above him silently on tattered red wings. His skin glowed faintly orange in the moonlight, before he ducked out of sight once more.

"Always as planned sir, yes, always as planned. We enters now, yes?" he muttered in a high-pitched voice, looking in reverence at the Unseelie exile he stood before.

"Fetch me the boy. Kill any others." The exile's voice was low and growling, like muted thunder. The faerie scampered off, his eyes gleaming with the prospect of a kill.

…

Luis sat bolt upright on the floor, his heart hammering. He had heard something…there, again.

A giggle. A malicious giggle of mal-intent.

Faerie.

"It's the boy with the sights, yes it is, yes it is!" the creature clapped its hands together, wiggling in midair.

"Who the fuck are you, and why the fuck are you here?!" Luis demanded with authority.

"Ooh, it questions! But the answers are the ponderings of the deep, yes, yes! We all want to know!"

"What?" that made…no sense. Even for someone like him, accustomed to the ways of the fey.

"You'll see in time, yes it will see in time…" Suddenly the adrenaline vanished from Luis' veins. He was tired…so…tired…what…magic…?

The faerie giggled.

"It sees in times, oh yes…"

It pulled something from a pixie-skin satchel, a small hide bag of some sort. Apparently, it was bigger than it looked, because the faerie managed to shove Luis inside the bag without a hitch, and hold it in the palm of his hand. He tossed it once into the air, caught it, and shoved it into the satchel.

"Boy is seized, yes…"

…

Corny kicked a crumpled beer can, and it skidded across the pavement with a clatter. He shivered, and shoved his hands into his pockets, where his fingers brushed against the cool metal of a cheap tourist New Jersey stopwatch he had nicked from the gas station. He checked the time, and realized he had been gone over an hour, lost in thought and roaming the back alleys. He decided it was time to head back, and did so without a moment's hesitation. Luis' warm body would feel wonderful after the chill of nighttime. He almost smiled at the thought, and quickened his pace to a run.

He slid the door open slowly, so it wouldn't creak, and peered inside. The blanket lay in a heap on the floor; Luis was curled into a ball, completely obscured from view. Corny lay down next to his sleeping lover, and sighed contentedly before sitting up once more.

Something was wrong. These blankets were cold.

"Luis?"

He folded back the cover, afraid of what he'd find. His breath caught in his throat.

A pillow. Pretending to be Luis.

And a note.

Dearest Neil-

I am sorry, really. I didn't mean to leave you like this, with no warning, but I knew I wouldn't be able to stand the sight of your tears. I still care about you, but I fear it is not in the same way you care for me. I just cannot love a murderer. Goodbye.

-Luis

Luis…left him? He was…gone? No. It couldn't be. Just as he had gone to sleep, Luis had promised him that he'd never leave him unless claimed by death! Was that all just a lie?! He crushed the note in his fist, and a tear slid down his cheek. It fell to the paper with a soft wet sound, and Corny sobbed. He threw the paper in frustration and betrayal, and only then did he stop his heartbreak.

The paper hit the iron ceiling support, and bounced away with a shower of magenta sparks. Corny blinked his tears away, and picked up the paper. It looked like paper, but…

He held it against the iron support, and more tingling purple sparks flew from under his fingers. Finally, the glamour fell away and Corny found himself staring at a wet leaf.

Luis hadn't left him. The note had been planted by faeries. Which meant…they had kidnapped Luis. He crushed the leaf beneath his foot, and ran out the door, which squeaked loudly. He gave it a kick for good measure, and then a dark shape caught his eye. He approached cautiously, nudging the shape with the toe of his boot. It squelched. He knelt closer, and then jumped back in horror. It was James, the other man who squatted in their building.

James was dead. Horribly dead. As in, eyeballs crushed, scalped, and stabbed dead.

And Luis was missing.

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!!"

He ran to his car, and threw open the door, crawling inside and beating the steering wheel a few times in confused frustration. A trail of bloody footprints marked where he had ran, and he knew that come morning, they would be spotted. The police would be called, and it would be no secret that one person was dead, and two missing. If Corny showed up anywhere, he'd be pinned with murder.

Murderer.

He guessed that would finally make it official. He drove around for a half hour; his lights off, before flicking them on and heading to the coffee shop that Kaye ran, knowing she had rented the apartment above the café. She would know what to do. And if not, Roiben would. He'd better know, he is a bloody king. His mind flew back to Luis. What would they do to him? What if he was dead? No, he had the sight, they hated that. They would torture him. Would it be slow, agonizing, bloody, or would they dominate him, as Nephamael did to Corny…

He closed his eyes, blocking out the bad thoughts. He turned on the radio, blasting nearly as loud as it would go, letting himself get lost in the heavy bass, and percussion. He even screamed along.

Once he got to Kaye's shop, he threw open the door, the engine still running. The door binged annoyingly, barely audible over the music. He knew which room was Kaye's already, and he thanked the stars that her light was on, and music could be heard coming from the upstairs, and mixing with the music from Corny's speakers and clashing horribly. He ran inside, leaving scuff marks in the soft dirt. He slammed the screen door open, and bolted to Kaye's room, throwing open the door.

"Kaye! Kaye, listen, they took Luis. I-I don't know where, or why, or how even, I mean he can see them coming right, but I wasn't there and now he's just gone!" He yelled. Kaye shrieked and fell off the bed. She was wearing nothing but a tee shirt and under wear.

"Oh crap, sorry. At least I'm not looking."

She threw on a pair of crumpled cargo pants and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"What were you saying? Who has Luis?"

"I don't know, some sort of faerie. They had glamoured a leaf to look like a note from Luis saying he was leaving, but when it touched iron the glamour disintegrated. Who do you think took him?"

"Has he been keeping up his business with the fey?"

"Only a little, since you hired him at Moon in a Cup. He decided it would be safer to put it off for a while to pay for his schooling."

"So…it's gotta be someone from his past dealings, right? Were there any bargains he hadn't kept up?"

"I…I don't know. He didn't tell me if there were. But that's just how he is." He spun around and kicked the wall in frustration, leaving a small dent in the plaster. "Do you think Roiben would help?" he asked, then kicked himself for even thinking it. Why would Roiben help him? He had two freaking Courts to run!

Kaye smiled coyly. "Maybe if I asked him nice."

…

Fucking shit. Luis thought. His hands were bound behind his back, twisted at an odd angle causing the joints to ache. He had his pocketknife, made of iron, but it was in one of the zippered pockets of his pants. Fat lot of good it would do him there, they had tied his feet to the floor, and a thin, thorny vine kept his neck tied to the wall. If he tried to move, he'd either bleed out or strangle. They had stuffed a cloth in his mouth, soaked with a sickly sweet substance that made his tongue feel numb. He swallowed reflexively as some of the slippery liquid slid down his throat, and his mind instantly felt fuzzy. It seemed to be some sort of tranquilizer. All he knew was that he was in a small, dusty room. He had caught a glimpse of his abductor before they had kidnapped him, but since he had awoke they had remained in his blind spot. He could hear two voices, one high pitched and shrill, the other low, deep and growling. Maybe a troll, like Ravus? There was an occasional yelp from the smaller of the two, indicating the other's annoyance. Suddenly, something sharp pinched Luis' arm, and he started. He hadn't heard them coming. A thorn bit into his neck at the jolt of movement, and he could feel a small trickle of blood run down his neck and soak into his shirt. The faerie giggled, scampering into view. He looked eagerly at each of Luis' body parts in turn; his yellow-green eyes alight with excitement. In his hand he clutched a nicked glass dagger, and a jar of some unfamiliar blue liquid was strung on a cord around his neck, shimmering orange in places.

"I am bored. Entertain me." The deep voice commanded, and a towering figure strolled into view. He had raptor eyes, and a mane of hair like a lion's. His feet were cloven hooves, filed down to points.

"As you wish." The faerie leered at Luis, before lowering the knife to his skin.

…

Kaye and Corny sat in a tense silence. The car heat blasted from the vents in a stifling manner, and it was making Corny drowsy. Kaye, however, looked uncomfortable, and finally she decided to turn it off. The air was blowing iron particles at her, and it was becoming hard to breathe.

"So, how much farther?" Corny asked, rounding another bend. The headlights weren't doing much to penetrate the darkness.

"Just over the second hill, there." She pointed at a hill in the distance. Something about it made the hairs on the back of Corny's neck prickle, and he shivered. Somehow, something always went wrong when he was at the night court…

He pulled off the side of the road into the frosty grass, and kicked open the door, reluctant to leave the warmth behind. Kaye seemed not to notice the chill, and surrendered her glamour into dust. Her oily black eyes gleamed in the moonlight. Corny looked away, slightly freaked. Before he could follow her into the thorny brambles, stars erupted in his vision and he felt a sharp pain in the back of his skull. Something large, and black fell to the ground in front of him.

A dead crow. A great big dead crow.

It glistened wetly, steam rising from it's still warm body. He picked it up gently, wondering why it was so lightweight. He inspected it closely, then recoiled in horror.

It was hollow. Someone had killed it by carving its insides out. Then they had shoved a note inside, and dropped it on Corny's head. He looked up at the sky, before realizing it was pointless. Luis was the one with the sight, not him. He pulled the note out, and dropped the body to the ground. The paper curled gracefully, and written in an eerie, slanting script was a message.

Cornelius Stone~

I have taken the liberty of abducting your Sighted companion. Of this, you can have proof~ I have written to you in his blood. I have no quarrel with him, merely you. I propose a trade, yourself for him. I do not follow the new king, and he has no authority over me. I suggest you do what I say if you would like to see your dearest Luis again.

I will find you as you wish.

Corny felt bile rise into his throat, and his hands shook. He brushed a finger over the paper, and the writing smeared. He hesitantly licked the red from his finger, and his stomach dropped sickeningly. His mind reeled.

It really was blood. Human blood. The iron in it was unmistakable.

Why? Why would they take Luis if their problems were with Corny?! Because you weren't there to take, dipshit. What could they possibly want with him? He didn't even have any clues as to who it was! Had he ever done anything overly aggressive to the fey? His stomach dropped again, and his body felt like lead.

I killed Nephamael.

Kaye pushed through the brush, stepping into the glare of Corny's headlights. She opened her mouth to ask if he was coming, but stopped. Something was wrong. He was still. Standing, staring down at something in his hands. Even as far away as she was, she could see his fingers shaking. She proceeded cautiously, and lay a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"What is it, Corny?"

"Look at this." He spat, thrusting the note at her. She took it, hissing lowly as her fingers brushed the iron rich blood. "Who is it. You've got to know, you're one of them." She flinched at the way he said 'one of them,' like she was unclean, one of the kidnappers. "It's got to be about Nephamael, right? What else have I done to them?" he wondered aloud.

"If you'll come along, we can ask Roiben." She smiled concernedly, pulling him along into the brush.

He had a bad feeling about this…

…