Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this work.

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Chapter 9

Nuada found himself on the floor of the BPRD armoury in a pile with Hellboy, Liz and Abe. He bit back a groan of discomfort, and looked up to see his sister, Agent Myers and the twins staring at the tangle of bodies in front of them. The two children stopped their crying and ran to the safety of their parents with squeals of delight. They threw themselves onto the pile enthusiastically, causing even more discomfort to Nuada who was caught at the bottom. "Demon's spawn," he muttered darkly, earning himself a sharp elbow in the ribs from Liz.

"That's my kids!" said Hellboy proudly as he disentangled himself from the others and scooped up the twins in his arms. He secretly felt as if he'd just dodged a bullet.

Liz quickly joined them and reached in to hug her babies. Her relief at finding the twins unharmed was overwhelming and she held onto them tightly.

Abe and Nuada picked themselves up and quickly went to check on Nuala, who was in a distressed state and had tears in her eyes.

Abe hugged her tightly and said in a voice filled with relief, "Thank God you're all right!"

Nuala hugged him back just as tightly. "Oh, Abraham! I've never been so scared in my life! I'm just so glad you're here now."

She looked over Abe's shoulder at her brother, who'd stepped back as soon as he saw she was unharmed. Nuala thought of her conversation with Elfraine the night before when she'd realised Nuada might view her actions in Ireland in a rather different light than the principled stand she considered it to be, and she addressed him hesitantly now. "Nuada! You heard me. I... I wasn't sure if you still could... or if you would come. You were my last hope. Thank you for answering me."

Nuala's words cut into his heart. "Sister! How could you doubt I'd answer your call when you were in such need?" he asked in a tight voice as he started forward.

Nuala looked aside in confusion and no small measure of guilt. She didn't know how to respond to him.

Nuada stopped at her silence and stepped back again without another word.

"What's been going on here?" Hellboy asked as he took in the locked door and makeshift camp that had been set up in the armoury. He was about to say more but was interrupted by a loud commotion coming from somewhere down the hall.

The air was suddenly filled with the familiar baying of the monstrous hounds and they could hear Elfraine yelling out over the top of it, "Open the damn door!"

Before anyone else could move, John was at the heavy steel portal. He unlocked it and as he pulled it back, Elfraine slid in through the opening before he quickly slammed the door shut after her. He got it locked again just as the hounds crashed into it with such force that the room shook. They scratched at the door and growled threateningly then raced off back down the hall, howling as they went.

Elfraine got to her hands and knees as she said, somewhat grumpily, "Well, that's another one of the bloody things taken care of! It's going to take forever to get rid of them!" She stopped in surprise as she noticed the new arrivals. "Oh! Thank goodness! Perhaps it won't take so long after all," she said in a brighter tone as she straightened up. She wiped her sword clean on the tattered sleeve of her once white blouse and slid it back into the scabbard buckled around her hips.

She was about to ask how they came to be there but by now the twins had wriggled out of Hellboy's arms and they rushed over to Elfraine, both chattering away at the same time. Daman, unfortunately, stopped talking to let his sister have her say just as Aithne chimed out, clear as a bell, "You telled off mean bloody puppy Elf!"

The sudden silence in the room was uncomfortable to say the least and Liz started to frown. The others simply stared at Elfraine, who stared right back at them defiantly. At Aithne's tug on her arm, she looked down at the little girl and said "Yes!" with a bright smile.

The twins jumped up and down with excitement at the news and ran back to tell their parents all about it.

Elfraine looked over at Liz and Hellboy as they listened to their children's version of events. She remarked somewhat wistfully, "You have wonderful children – they're such brave wee souls. You must be very proud of them."

"We are proud of them. Thank you," said Liz, looking up at the compliment. She wondered, after listening to her children's garbled account, just what had happened whilst they'd been away and realised she'd need to get the full story later on. Looking at John and Nuala now, as well as Elfraine, she added, "And thank you, all three of you, for looking after the kids and keeping them safe. We'd never have left them here if we thought anything was going to happen to them."

Elfraine heard the guilt in Liz's voice and rushed to reassure her. "I'm sure none of us knew this was going to happen – we're not soothsayers after all. I'll let you know the details of what happened later if you wish," she said, with a meaningful nod in the children's direction.

"Yes, thanks Elfraine," replied Liz. "I'd appreciate that." A sudden thought occurred to her and she gave the other woman a curious look as she asked, "Do you have children of your own?" Liz immediately regretted the question as an expression of utter desolation flitted across Elfraine's face.

"I had a daughter once," replied Elfraine in a quiet, flat voice that didn't invite any further questions. She silently cursed Liz's prescience but she couldn't for the life of her deny that her own darling girl Fortune had once walked this earth. What a cruel jest that carefully and lovingly-chosen name had proved to be, and all for the sake of one word: a 'yes' that should have been a 'no'.

Liz didn't know what to say and there was an awkward pause.

Elfraine glanced away from her, unable to bear the other woman's look of sympathy and as she did so, her eyes fell on Nuala. She detected a hint of distress about the princess and then she saw the Varangian sword on the floor by Nuala's side. "What happened, Your Highness?" she asked with concern... and a good deal of relief at the opportunity to turn the conversation in another direction.

Nuala, who had largely composed herself by now, gave Elfraine a look of sympathy at what she'd just heard. However she recognised the human woman's wish to change the subject and quickly answered her question. "I was attacked by one of those shadow creatures," Nuala informed her. "I... I killed it!"

Abe and Nuada started in shock at that.

"Oh!" exclaimed Elfraine, as she looked at the princess with approval. "Well done, Ma'am!"

Nuala was loath to take credit where she felt it wasn't deserved. "I swung the sword without really knowing what I was aiming for... and I hit it! Then it just sort of... disappeared. It was sheer good luck!" she admitted.

"That's often the way it goes," Elfraine prosaically informed her. "For all the skill a warrior might have, it's more often than not Lady Luck who decides the matter. You can be proud you stood your ground. And don't be too concerned – you'll find it much easier next time!"

"There won't be a next time!" spat out Nuada in anger and disbelief. "My sister will never be put in such a position again!"

"I have to agree with the prince!" exclaimed Abe in an angrier voice than anyone had ever heard him use before.

Nuala privately agreed with their sentiments, and she too sincerely hoped there wouldn't be a next time.

Elfraine was somewhat disbelieving herself, and she raised her brow as she asked with the merest hint of insolence in her voice, "And how do you intend ensuring that happy circumstance, if you don't mind me asking?"

"That is none of your business!" Nuada informed her coldly.

Elfraine continued on, ignoring the prince's rebuke. "I don't see how either of you can guarantee it, unless of course you intend to stitch yourselves to the princess's side for the rest of your lives." She paused, before muttering under her breath, "And what a merry little trio that would make!"

John, sensing trouble, jumped in quickly and explained to the others, "It looks like the princess was the target of this attack. The whole thing started yesterday when two of our agents tried to kill her in the library."

"Yes," broke in Nuala. "It was only thanks to Miss Somerled that they failed!"

John continued. "Elfraine killed one of them and we've got the other one locked up. We can question him later on, if he's still alive! Anyway, we've been holed up here since yesterday afternoon. Elfraine's been making trips out to get supplies and when she was out just now one of those shadow creatures got in and went straight for Nuala. It was just as well Elfraine spotted a Varangian sword here in the armoury and showed the princess how to use it last night. I don't like to think about what would've happened if she hadn't!"

"You should see this sword," Nuala said to Abe and Nuada as she bent down to pick it up. As soon as her fingers touched it, it lit up.

"I'm well aware of what it is," Nuada informed her shortly. "I've seen such swords before." About ten centuries ago he and Wink had fought a small detachment of the Varangian Guard. The Guard had been trying to bind a tribe of travelling Djinn for the Byzantine Emperor - another proud, greedy, hollow human who sought dominion over more of the world than was his right. Several of their members had been born of magic and they'd had the flaming swords. The fight had been a hard one but he, Wink and the Djinn warriors had won in the end. They'd clashed first with the Norsemen in the Guard and even Nuada had to admit the Berserkers were a force to contend with, fighting with a ferocity he'd seldom encountered before or since. But when all was said and done, they were human and they couldn't match the skill of their opponents. The Guardsmen with the swords of fire had then weighed into the fight, and they'd been much harder to defeat. However, their unholy alliance with the humans had weakened their spirits and clouded their minds, and they too eventually fell before the onslaught of those who held true to the ancient ways of magic.

Of course, Nuada didn't tell his sister any of this. He ruthlessly shut the door on those memories; they would only lead him to the old, familiar, pain-filled thoughts of the Djinn woman he'd met that day – a woman he'd once thought to make his wife. Instead, he walked up to Nuala and took the sword from her then turned to Elfraine and said in a cold voice, "I wonder how it is that this human recognises such a weapon." As he was speaking, the flames died down and the sword became simply a length of gleaming steel in his hand.

Elfraine looked surprised at that and remarked, "Well, you obviously know something of controlling the powers of the sword. I wonder how it is that you came to learn such a thing."

Nuada scowled at her. He laid the sword down on the small table beside him and then turned his attention back to his sister and Agent Myers. "Manning gave me his word that my sister wouldn't come to any harm here. It doesn't surprise me that his word was worthless! What was Nuala doing anywhere near those shadow creatures? How could you let her place herself in such danger?" He glared fiercely at John as he said that. In truth, after seeing what the shadows were capable of in Greenland he was almost sick to think of Nuala being within a thousand miles of the foul creatures let alone taking them on with only a flaming sword. By the Gods! She could have dropped it at any moment and he didn't like to think about what would have happened then. She might have betrayed him four years ago but Nuada found that he couldn't wish such a fate upon her.

Abe was feeling no better about what he'd just seen and heard, and admonished John sternly. "Agent Myers, I'm deeply disappointed in you! Prince Nuada is right – Director Manning also assured me that Nuala would be safe here. What were you thinking to let the princess take up arms against those creatures! The Director will want a full accounting and for once, I'll be in complete agreement with him!"

"No one let me do anything!" broke in Nuala, annoyed at how they were talking around her as if she had no voice of her own. "I make my own decisions and I carry my own weight!"

Abe and Nuada looked at her in surprise, as if they'd almost forgotten she was there, and Elfraine slid a sideways look at them as she wickedly added her ha'penny's' worth, "They seem a bit overwrought Ma'am. Perhaps you should slap them! It is the time-honoured remedy for hysteria after all!"

At that, the two angry males turned to impale her with hostile looks. "I hardly think that's helpful Miss Somerled" Abe said, taking offence at her suggestion.

"You're not being particularly helpful yourselves gentlemen," replied Elfraine. "We each did what we had to and I think the results speak for themselves! It's particularly churlish of you to take us to task for making every effort to preserve our lives. It's not as if any of you were here to help the cause!"

Liz could see things were getting out of hand and quickly turned the conversation back to their more immediate problems. "We can talk about this later," she said with a sympathetic look at John. "I think for now though we should concentrate on getting this place secured. We've obviously got more of those hounds and shadows to deal with. How many are there?"

"I've killed seven of the hounds so far and counted at least another twenty still prowling around the place," Elfraine told her. "I don't really know how many shadows there are though – maybe four or five I think. They move so quickly it's hard to tell. But I do know they're damned dangerous!"

"Yes, we've discovered that Miss Somerled," Abe informed her. "We ran into both the shadows and the hounds in Greenland. While bullets are next to useless against either of them, cold steel and elven silver work well enough on the hounds and fire is very effective against the shadows. And Red here can deal quite well with both the hounds and the shadows." He paused slightly before continuing. "I do wonder though how you've managed to fare so well as to kill seven of the hounds."

"Oh, I've learnt a thing or two in my time Agent Sapien," replied Elfraine, shooting a narrow look at Nuada as if daring him to open his mouth.

The prince swung his gaze back to her with an impenetrable look. The human woman could obviously fight back. He wondered why she hadn't put up more of a fight in the alley four nights ago. But then again, maybe she had. He'd left just as the cabalus was getting started and he'd obviously missed something.

"Anyway," Elfraine was saying, "We need to put an end to this now and I have a plan to do just that. Liz and Abe, you stay here with Nuala and John and defend this position, and the children. It'll go a lot easier with your help. From what I've seen, the hounds are concentrated at the front of the building to the north, amongst the trees. I think the quickest way to deal with them is to surround them and then destroy them. I'll take the eastern flank and Prince Nuada, you take the west. We'll press in on them and keep them busy while our demon friend here circles around behind their position and attacks from the north. Make sure you cut off all retreat too," she said to Hellboy. "Oh, and if anyone sees any stone heads, smash them. Their attack was just a little bit too conveniently timed yesterday. They've been using the heads to keep watch on us and that's how they knew exactly when to strike. Right, are there any questions?"

Elfraine didn't really expect any and turned to start for the door but Hellboy stopped her in her tracks. "Yeah, I've got one! Who put you in charge?" he asked belligerently.

Nuada smirked as the demon asked the question - it spared him the trouble. Though it galled him to admit it, the human's plan had merit but he resented that it might appear he was taking orders from her. It was just as well the demon pointed out she was not in charge.

Elfraine gave Hellboy a narrow look and said shortly, "Well, if you think you have a better idea then by all means let us hear it!"

"I think we should rush them – a blitz attack!" Hellboy stated.

A look of disbelief crossed Elfraine's face. "Where's the organisation and control in that? It's a bit... short-sighted at the very least. I must say, I would have expected you'd have a better idea of how to go about things... or perhaps Manning still has you in training," she said with a condescending look at the demon. "And besides," she carried on, ignoring Hellboy's fierce scowl, "what do you think will happen if any of them slip around behind us and get in here? How do you think the others will fare then? At least with my plan, we won't have our backs to the building. We can keep an eye on it and take the necessary steps should they look like they're about to overrun the place!"

"Liz can take care of anyone who tries to get in here," replied Hellboy confidently.

"I'm sure she can... for a while! But it's a very confined space and there's only one way out. I dare say that in taking care of anyone trying to get in the room she might also end up inadvertently taking care of everyone already in the room!" Elfraine paused for a moment to let that sink in. "The sooner we get rid of them the better... and my plan's the best way of doing that!"

Hellboy opened his mouth to reply but Liz cut him off and put an end to the argument. "Who votes for Elfraine's plan?" she asked as she raised her own hand. John, Nuala and Abe all raised their hands and the twins, seeing which way the decision was going, quickly raised theirs too.

But Hellboy was reluctant to back down and he turned to Nuada and said, somewhat desperately, "Back me up here prince! Tell them I've got your vote!"

Nuada scowled in disgust at the lot of them. He couldn't believe they were even discussing the matter, let alone bickering over it, let alone voting on it! "No one has my vote!" he bit out tersely. "The woman's right Demon. Now let's get on with it!"

He made for the door without a backwards glance, and left Hellboy and Elfraine to follow in his wake. But Nuada wouldn't have been at all happy if he'd looked back. His sister silently picked up the Varangian sword again and gave Abe a stern look of warning when he opened his mouth to protest.

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Hellboy, Nuada and Elfraine quickly made their way to the rear exit of the building. Elfraine headed left and directed Hellboy to the right with Nuada. When they reached the elf's position, he'd carry on and circle around behind the hounds as planned.

"Thanks for your help in there prince!" Hellboy said to Nuada in a disgruntled voice as they made their way through the trees. "Guess you were too scared to disagree with that bossy woman!"

Nuada sneered at him. "I thought you approved of the woman. You certainly seemed to find her amusing enough when you met her a few days ago," he reminded the demon.

Hellboy grinned at the memory and said, "Yeah, well I wasn't on the receiving end then! She got you good though didn't she!"

"I'd say she was more accurate and amusing in her description of you!" shot back Nuada, pushing aside his own ire as he recalled exactly what the woman had said to him. "How did she put it? You're short-sighted and have no idea what you're doing, and Manning still has you in training. Oh, and you let her take charge of your team. I'd say you arethe one who's been effectively gelded!" He was gratified to see Hellboy give him a look of pure dislike – he'd obviously found his mark. "You clearly make an easy target for bossy women!" he added.

"I do not!" argued the demon. "I just don't sweat the small stuff!"

"Like giving up charge of your team!" said Nuada cuttingly.

"I didn't give up charge of my team!" said the demon tersely.

"You're the only one foolish enough to believe that," Nuada replied with contempt.

They'd reached the prince's position by now and Hellboy shot him another look of annoyance. "I liked you better when you didn't talk so much! Mind you don't mess up your hair pretty boy," he said mockingly.

"Look after your own hair Demon! You don't have Miss Sherman to save your sorry hide now!" Nuada snarled at him.

"A hundred bucks says I kill more of those beasts than you do! Or don't you bet either Your Highness!" challenged Hellboy, determined get the upper hand.

"On the contrary," replied Nuada as he drew his sword. "I'm more than happy to take a wager, but not for mere human money. I'll see you shortly to collect your admission that I'm the better fighter and you will never be my equal!" And with that he ran forward to meet the two hounds that were heading in his direction.

"Aw crap!" muttered Hellboy with one final frown at the Elven warrior before he raced off towards his own position. "Now he's got a head start on me!"

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References:

Djinn: Arabic spirits, or genies, who inhabit an unseen world in dimensions beyond the human world in Islamic mythology. The djinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of God. The Koran mentions that djinn are made of a smokeless and scorching fire, and they have the physical property of weight. Like human beings, the djinn can also be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent.

Jiniri: female Djinn.

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Chapter posted 9th May 2012