Chapter 10
Hawke was furious with Fenris at first for not telling him, but his anger was quickly replaced by sheer joy that Anders was still alive. His whole demeanour changed, like a dying fire rekindled. Fenris, however, felt the opposite. His plans of romancing Hawke again were all but destroyed. Once they freed Anders from the fortress, Hawke would be free to pursue a life with the mage, and again Fenris would be left alone. And that made him gloomier than ever. He didn't like this, and he especially didn't like Hawke resorting back to blood magic. It was a dangerous and immoral path that reminded him too much of the magisters that made his life a living hell back in Tevinter. It actually made Fenris sick watching Hawke pace back and forward twirling the knife in his hands as he thought. Hawke was the image of a Tevinter magister. Strong, unyielding, willing to resort to blood magic and possessing a fiery, determined glow in their eyes. But Fenris knew Hawke was too kind and sympathetic to ever truly be a magister. Hawke turned to face him,
"You, uh, might not want to watch me summon the demon," he said.
"It's fine," Fenris said bitterly. Even though Fenris knew this was the only way to save Hawke from a grim fate, he didn't have to like it. He was hating every second of it. Hawke nodded and turned away from him and gripped the knife in his hand. He rolled up his sleeves and took a deep breath. Hawke quickly slashed the knife across his left arm, and then his right. Fenris flinched both times as Hawke's crimson blood splattered out onto the ground. But the blood became animated, swirling and twisting through the air like it was alive. The coils of red reminded Fenris of snakes, waiting to strike out at unsuspecting prey. With a smooth movement of his hands, Hawke began to move the tendrils of blood. They seemed to wrap together into the figure of a man. And as they came together, the figure solidified into Dreamweaver, the desire demon. The only other desire demon Fenris had ever seen was a female, but it was well known that desire demons take on the gender their prey preferred, and there was no mistaking which gender Hawke preferred. The scantily clad demon smiled slyly as it came into existence and took a few steps towards Hawke before running a hand across Hawke's face. Hawke flinched, but didn't move.
"I knew you would return to me, Hawke," the demon said to Hawke in a voice that was not quite natural, but still smooth, sultry and dripping with…desire. Fenris felt a wave of hatred swell up at the sight of the demon, but Hawke remained calm and collected.
"It's not like last time," Hawke said firmly, "I just need your help again, and only once."
The demon chuckled, "Hawke, you've needed my help since they day you banished me back to the Fade."
The demon folded its slender fingers over its heart,
"You broke my poor little heart Hawke…" the demon said mockingly, "you're good at doing that."
With that comment, the demon glanced over at Fenris as if the comment was meant for him. Fenris gripped his sword, waiting for an excuse to run it through the demon.
"So," the demon said, returning its gaze to Hawke, "You need your blood magic back?"
Hawke nodded stiffly.
"Oh but Hawke, it was never gone."
"But without you," Hawke said, choosing his words carefully, "it will never be as powerful as before."
Hawke glanced at Fenris, worried. All this talk of arcane power did not sit well with him.
"That is true. But I need something in return. I need to get inside of you," the demon chuckled.
"What, like Anders did with Justice?" Hawke asked, "Do you think I'm stupid enough to let a demon possess me?"
"Oh, I won't be as intrusive as Justice. In fact, it isn't true possession. I'll still be in the Fade…"
The demon sauntered around Hawke, "But I will see your every move, hear your every thought and…"
The demon ran a hand down Hawke's side. To Fenris' disapproval, Hawke almost seemed excited by it,
"…power every spell. You'll be the most powerful mage south of Tevinter."
Hawke seemed reluctant, but at the same time intrigued. He needed this power to save Anders, and Fenris knew they needed Anders to save Hawke. But Fenris was concerned that Hawke would ignore the plan. The plan was to free Anders and then get Anders to get Dreamweaver out of Hawke's head, using a method that Hawke hadn't even properly explained. He worried Hawke would want to keep Dreamweaver and the power he offered. Fenris felt like he should walk out while he still could, but his devotion to Hawke made him stay.
"Alright," Hawke said, "But no funny businesses. If I end up an abomination, I'm not going to be happy."
Dreamweaver laughed,
"Abominations rarely are."
With a wink, Dreamweaver suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. With a cry, Hawke doubled over as the demon made the connection to Hawke's mind. Fenris watched as the old markings on Hawke's non-tattooed arm suddenly flared back to life. Those markings were a sort of brand on Hawke that marked his connection to the demon. Fenris had only seen them flare once before during Hawke's battle with the Arishok. Slowly, the marks faded to a dark grey. Hawke stood back up again and rubbed his temple,
"Maker, I forgot how much that hurt. And I forgot how weird the connection feels. It's like having someone watching over your shoulder all the time."
Fenris nodded. He wanted to reassure Hawke that they would destroy Dreamweaver after they had Anders, but they couldn't speak of the plan. Not while Dreamweaver was listening.
"I'll show you back to the fort," Fenris said rigidly. Hawke noticed the distaste in Fenris' voice.
"You know, you can stick around once we save Anders," Hawke said, "I'm not sending you away."
Once Fenris may have been relieved to hear Hawke say the words, but he truly knew that there would be no place for him once Anders was back. He just nodded, not voicing his knowledge. Hawke jumped up onto his horse. Fenris followed suit and headed back towards the road. And as they rode, Fenris could sense that there were two sets of eyes watching him.