Arwydd walked ahead of them, her bare feet moving quickly and softly over the ground, her eyes alert to every movement, every sound

Arwydd walked ahead of them, her bare feet moving quickly and softly over the ground, her eyes alert to every movement, every sound. Once or twice she'd tilted her head back, a soft whistling calling a bird from the skies. As it had rested on her arm, she'd whisper to it and send it back towards the deep blue reaches, before turning to Shadow and Dean and saying something along the lines of "we must go this way".

"How far Arwydd?" Shadow asked, as once more the Nymph stopped and let out a whistle.

"If the way is clear, we should make good time. Another hour and then we rest. If not, then I'd say a couple of hours before we rest and then…" She looked over her shoulder at the pair. "It depends who stands in our way. We've been lucky so far. Puck and Robin are no where to be seen, and the King's Servants…well we may have to pass them."

"These King's Servants, are they like the ones who came for Tim?"

"They are soldiers, so to speak. You're right in thinking they are his servants but the ones I refer to are his highest servants."

"Like the fairies that helped us?"

"The King's equivalent yes but…they are different. Very different. They act more like male versions of us, except they have no conception of love. They hate it. They act on lust, and try to destroy love." Her gaze as she looked at them was soft, full of pity. "Which is why you must be careful. It is hard to resist their charms and they will block Dean, keep him out of the way."

Dean squeezed Shadow's hand, and she nodded slowly.

"But I don't doubt that you can beat them Shadow. You are strong."

"Thank you Arwydd." She glanced up into the sky as a hawk swooped down towards them, circling them a few times for diving towards Arwydd. Gracefully, the bird pulled up and landed on her arm.

Shadow found herself leaning into Dean, his arm moving to pull her closer. She gazed at the hawk, remembering when she'd first joined the vampires. The hawk brought images of her mother to mind; of waiting in the hospital room as her mother lay dying, gazing out of the window she had seen a hawk attacking a rabbit on the grounds. Later, running from the hospital and the death it held she had seen the small blood stains, seen the bone left from the hawk's meal.

Now, Arwydd lets the bird fly again before turning to the other two. "Right, it seems like the way is clear. So we'll rest in an hour. That OK with you two?"

"Yeah." Shadow pulled away from Dean, but they left their fingers interlinking, drawing the strength from each other to carry on, to fight through the Fairy World.

Just like the first half of their journey, they encountered nothing over the next hour. Arwydd stopped, smiling at the pair as she moved towards a tree, sitting under it's branches with her back against the bark. "You two should try to get some sleep. I'll keep watch here."

"Are you sure you won't need sleep?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. I can go for days without rest."

Shadow nodded, as Dean lay down, and Shadow rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes as she listened to his heart beat. She felt his hand brushing her hair back, and thought about how quiet he'd been since they'd left the Nymphs, finding herself wondering what was going through his head before she fell asleep.


"I'm starving."

She heard Dean's words even before she woke, and as her eyes opened she realised two things; one, it was dark, and two…she herself felt the familiar hunger deep in the pit of her stomach, the primitive yearning that had once driven her to take blood from Dean. As she lifted herself up, allowing Dean to sit up, Arwydd threw the bag towards her. She caught it easily, almost tearing it she searched for the flask.

"Where is it?" She hissed, the words coming out harsher than she'd intended.

"You put it in your pocket." Dean muttered, moving back to lean against the tree as he stretched his arms above his head. Shadow nodded, not even bothering to send him a grateful smile as she passed over the bag. She reached into her pocket and withdrew the flask, opening it quickly and tilting her head back to drink.

The liquid fell down her throat, she frowned when she pulled the flask away.

"What's wrong?" Arwydd asked her, frowning at the look on Shadow's face.

"It's not blood." She muttered, shaking her head. "I need blood."

"It should satisfy your hunger…" Arwydd paused, her eyes narrowing. "When was the last time you fed?"

"A couple of days ago, but I didn't take much. Enough to satisfy."

"That would be why then." Arwydd sighed. "The magic in that liquid relies on the vampire feeding before they come. Usually vampires feed every night, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm a half." She found herself growing frustrated as Dean stared at her, fear in his eyes as Shadow's eye turned a dark red. "I don't need to feed as much."

"We're in trouble then." Arwydd stood. "The only thing I can think of is if we find an animal you can feed on but…but honestly, I'm not happy with that. The creatures of this forest are under my protection."

"Not even a rat?"

"Size doesn't matter Shadow." She closed her eyes. "There's nothing I can do."

"I don't need much." Shadow's nails dug into her palms, her fists clenched, attempting to use the pain in her hand to get her focus away from feeding, at least for a few minutes. "A horse, a deer…I don't need much!"

"I don't care." Arwydd crossed her arms, staring crossly at Shadow. "I am not letting any of these creatures have their blood sucked by a vampire!"

"I can't control myself for much longer." Shadow hissed, knowing it wouldn't be the long before she turned on Arwydd or even, god forbid, Dean. The monster inside would take over, and she'd kill. Without meaning to. She'd finish them off.

"Me." Dean whispered the word, and as she head snapped around she saw him staring at the grass.

"What? No Dean I couldn't…"

He lifted his head. "You have to. You need to Shadow."

"Dean it's a big risk…" She gazed at Arwydd, hoping, praying the Nymph would come up with a solution that didn't involve her sucking Dean's blood.

"It's the only thing we have." Arwydd replied. "I don't know what effect taking my blood would have."

"Dean I…"

"Just do it!" He barked.

"OK, Arwydd…if I drink for too long, if Dean starts asking me to stop and I don't…you have to pull me off, OK? I can go a bit…"

"I know." She replied with a nod. "Dean, you'll know when she should stop. You ever donated blood?"

"No."

"Shadow how much do you need?"

"A little less than a pint should be OK."

"Right well Dean, when you start feeling dizzy just…that's when she has to stop."

"And whatever you do," Shadow's voice was full of warning. "Don't black out." He nodded, turning his head away to reveal his neck. Shadow crawled towards him, kneeling beside him she leant forward and kissed his cheek, whispering in his ear. "I love you Dean."

He nodded, closing his eyes as she bit into his skin. A hissing sound escaped from between his teeth as his head snapped back, fingers digging into the ground. Arwydd turned her head away, unable to watch. Dean's hand found Shadow's, squeezing it as she drank. Without acknowledging the squeeze, she carried on drinking, her eyes closed.

"Shadow stop…" He whispered as he began to feel light headed. She carried on, the teeth digging in harder and stinging his neck. "Shadow please stop it…Shadow, stop…" Gradually his voice got louder. "Arwydd get her off!"

The Nymph snapped her head around, bounding into action she leapt towards Shadow, grabbing her shoulders and yanking her backwards. Like a deranged animal the vampire struggled against the grasp, hissing and spitting as she stretched her arms towards Dean. He scrambled back, turning his head away and biting down on his lip, trying to keep his sight away from her.

Finally the hissing stopped, and Shadow fell back against Arwydd, her eyes closed. "I'm sorry Dean." She whispered. "Jesus…I…I don't even know what happened." She forced herself to laugh as Arwydd let go of her. "I…it felt like I just blacked out. Like it wasn't even me."

"It's OK." He muttered, falling back into the grass. "I feel like crap."

"Here." Arwydd stepped towards him, handing him the flask of water. "Drink this and eat some of the meat. How much do you think you took?"

"A little over a pint." She licked her lips, getting rid of the few spots of blood there. "Dean should be alright in a few minutes."

"Good. Then Dean, as soon as the dizziness goes, tell me. We can head off then."


"Shadow! Shadow help me!"

They'd been walking for almost forty minutes when she heard the cries. Arwydd and Dean were a little ahead of her, and it took them a while to realise she'd stopped. She heard the cries again, and this time, the other two heard them as well.

"It's Tim!" She laughed, gazing around as if she expected her brother to just step out of the trees.

"Shadow…" Arwydd stepped towards her, but even as she did so the vampire had fled into the forest. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Dean asked, gazing around now.

"She's heading straight for the King's Servants."

As soon as the last word was out of her mouth Dean took off, running towards where Shadow had disappeared. Arwydd followed, swearing under her breath. They followed her out of the forest, and Dean could see her sprinting in the distance. As they ran, the cries got louder. Soon, they'd left the forest far behind them, and were approaching a mountain range.

"She's too fast."

"She's heading towards mountains." Arwydd replied. "You see the middle one, the smallest?" Dean nodded, eyes locking onto it as Shadow disappeared. "They look harder to climb than they really are. There's tracks. She's heading up them. It's where the King's Servants are."

"Ok." Dean panted; surprised Arwydd wasn't out of breath.

"I can go faster Dean."

"Then do it!" He cried. "I'll catch up."

She nodded, and within seconds she was leaving Dean far behind.


"I'm coming Tim." She climbed over the ledges, easily making her way up the mountain. Parts of the trail had been easy to follow, easy to run across, but still, Shadow found herself thinking that she was lucky she was a good climber.

She stopped, almost halfway up now, gazing around, looking for a way to get up. Her eyes locked on a ledge, roughly eleven feet up, and her eyes scanned the mountain wall. She could make it.

Narrowing her eyes, Shadow leapt towards the wall, hands grabbing the rocks that jutted out. With a muttered swear word, she attempted to find a similar holding for her foot. Groaning, she began to climb up, eyes narrowed and locked on the ledge above her.

She heard the cry again.

"I'm coming." She whispered, as she finally threw her hand onto the top of the ledge. She felt something grab a hold of it, and start to pull her up.

The thing – whoever, whatever it was – stumbled backwards, as she came over the edge and scrambled onto it. She fell to the floor, hearing the heavy panting of her helper.

"Thanks." She muttered, closing her eyes as she took deep breaths.

"It's OK." He replied, and as she looked up, she was awestruck. Even Adonis couldn't compete with him. His bare torso was tanned from the sun, his dark complexion complimented by dark eyes and hair. She felt pasty next to him; no surprise there.

"Wow."

As he smiled, she realised, with embarrassment that she'd spoken out loud. All thoughts of Tim, of Dean left her mind when he offered her his hand. She took it, allowing herself to be pulled up towards him. She smiled shyly, feeling like a little school girl.

"So how come you're up here then?" He asked her, smiling gently and making her heart beat just that little bit faster.

"I…" She stopped. Why was she here? She frowned, trying in vain to remember. "You know what, I can't remember."

He laughed. "Can't be that important then."

"No." She smiled at him. "No, can't be."

"Well, you're up here now." He shrugged. "Might as well stay." He stepped towards her, again offering her his hand. "Come on, you can meet my brothers."

She nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead her along a worn track.


Dean found himself wiping the sweat off his forehead as he gazed up the mountain. Arwydd had long ago disappeared from sight, and now here he was, trying to find a path to get up. With a sigh, he moved around the bottom, wondering if Shadow had found whatever was imitating her brother.

Finally he found something; a rocky path, covered in weeds. With a shrug, Dean began to follow it, trying to keep a steady footing as he did so. Eventually, he managed to get half way up, and realised there was no path here. Swearing under his breath, he looked around for an easy way to get up.

"Arwydd?" He called weakly, wondering if the Nymph was anywhere nearby. No luck. Or no reply anyway. There was nothing for it, he'd have to climb. So Dean pulled up the ends of his jacket, revealing his wrists, and rubbed his hands together, facing the face of the mountain like he was facing an old foe. "I swear to god," He muttered under his breath. "If this jacket gets dirty I'm taking it out on a fairy bastard."

He approached the face, looking for something to put his feet on. Finally he found two ledges, a small space apart, and then gazed for hand holds. With a smile, he reached up, grabbing a hold as he pulled his feet up and hooked them in.

It took him a while to reach the top, but finally, his hands grasped the edge, and he pulled himself up and over. He took a few seconds up here to catch his breath and check his jacket, before dusting himself off and striding forward, looking around for any signs of Arwydd or Shadow.

In the grass ahead, he spotted something. A silver something to be precise, winking at him in the sunlight. Carefully he approached it, crouching down. It was lucky he knew to look for the smallest things, he thought. One of the skills that came with the job he supposed.

Slowly, he reached forward, his finger winding around the silver chain.

It fell between his fingers like mercury, his eyes locked on the cross that sat at the bottom as he turned his palm upwards, the chain resting across it.

He knew that cross.

He knew the neck that the cross had sat on.

Well, Shadow had been here, anyway.

He gazed around, and now his gaze fell upon a pair of light footprints in the ground, heading directly away from the edge, rather than along it. Well, at least he had something to go on now. With a grin, Dean followed them, hoping he'd reach Arwydd or Shadow sooner rather than later.


He met Arwydd not far along the trail, at the point where the footsteps suddenly stopped. She looked over her shoulder and smiled weakly at him.

"Hey." He nodded at her, feeling a little bit annoyed that she hadn't found Shadow.

"You got up OK then? I was starting to get a bit worried."

"Don't tell me you were waiting for me."

"Yes, actually. Otherwise you'd be lost up here."

He frowned, slightly offended at her comment. "I'm great at tracking."

"Oh I don't doubt that." She shrugged. "But the trail ends here Dean."

"Yeah," A sigh as he looked around. "I kind of noticed that. So where now?"

He followed where her finger pointed, up a winding path and around to the other side of the mountain. "There. They'll have taken her to their cave. Come on."


Shadow couldn't take her eyes off Callistus, as he moved around the cave, throwing more wood onto the fire. He glanced over and saw her staring, winking at her as one of the other's said something.

They reminded her of what she imagined boys in University to be like, laughing, joking, and essentially lazy. She smiled as she leant against the wall, watching with wide, interested eyes as Callistus moved through the lads, handing out food to them before reaching Shadow, sitting down beside her to eat his own food.

He'd made her feel welcome here, happy, able to forget the troubles the outside world held for her. Now, as he put his food to one side, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. With a contended smile she leant into him, allowing herself to relax.

She found her eyelids getting heavy, and wondered what it would be like to live here, with Callistus, to be with him and have his children and…

And…

Children.

Small vampire children with horrible hunger in their eyes, sharp teeth that suited a wolf more than a child. Beautiful blond demons, with their mother's eyes and their father's hair…

Dean.

Suddenly her body snaps up and her eyes fly open. What the hell am I doing? The thought flies through her brain as Callistus' arm drags her to him.

"Let me go." She mutters, struggling in his grip as the others in the cave turn to face her, their faces lighting up. One even whoops, another shouts "now the fun begins."

"You don't want to go." He whispers in her ear. "I can give you what you want Shadow, what he can't give you. Children. Beautiful, healthy, normal children."

"No." She shakes her head as she stands up, keeping her back to him. "I don't want children. Not with you."

She lifts her head up high, and walks towards the entrance.

The pattering of feet behind her lets her know he's following, and as he leaps she moves elegantly out of the way, sending him sprawling on the floor.

"Now if you excuse me," She hisses. "I'm going to go find Dean." Again she walks towards the door. This time she doesn't hear the footsteps, and he collides into her, sending her to the ground. Pinning her beneath him, he turns her over and smiles in her face.

His face is twisted and cruel, no longer the perfect mask she saw him as only minutes ago. Now, only hate and malice lie in his eyes, and she realises what drew her up here as one of the others laugh, imitating the laugh of her brother.

"You bastards." She cries, struggling under his weight. Her eye turns red as she uses her full force, teeth bared she lunges up, but he slams his hand into her shoulder, knocking her back as he shifts his weight towards her kicking legs. One of the others approach, laughing he holds down her shoulders. "Let me go!" Another cry as she struggles.

"No can do I'm afraid." Callistus shakes his head, his mouth curved into a clown-like smile. "And your strength is useless. In fact, it's useless here being a vampire. You have no advantage over us."

Still struggling, she suddenly stifles a scream as his hand moves down towards her trousers, undoing the zipper.

"Please…" Tears flying down her cheeks, she starts begging. "Please don't."

"Too late."

She closes her eyes, praying for something to happen to save her from this.

Something does happen.

"Get off her." She hears Arwydd's voice, opens her eyes just in time to see Arwydd running forward, ready to crash into Callistus and push him off her.

But the others get in the way, grabbing Arwydd, pulling her back and slamming her against the wall. In vein the Nymph struggles, her eyes wide as she gazes at the vampire's tear stained face, at the fear in her eyes and knows it's useless. There's nothing she can do except avert her eyes.


Arwydd was a few paces in front of him, eyes fixed on the cave ahead of them. "Here." She called back to Dean. "They'll stop you from coming in, so stay out here OK?"

He frowned, but nodded. "What if she's hurt?"

"They shouldn't hurt her." She replied with a light shrug. "Worst case scenario would be that she's in kind of a trance, but she should snap out easily enough if I remind her you're here too. But if I shout, if it sounds like you need to come in…"

"I'll be in there like a shot." A grin, from both of them, as Arwydd nods and turns towards the cave.

Almost as soon as she'd gone in, two men, both much taller than Dean, ran out and towards him. Confused, he watched as they approached, before sidestepping them as they lunged for him.

"Get off her!"

Arwydd's voice was loud enough to hear, and beneath the shout he could hear the cries; sobs that were unmistakably Shadow's.

As he turned towards the cave, two strong arms grabbed him from behind, pulling back. He struggled against the grip as they laughed.

"He's going to have her." One hissed. "Going to have her and take her and destroy her."

Dean didn't stop moving, trying to loosen their grip as the sound inside died down.

Then he heard it.

Shadow's scream of "no", her muffled cries, begging, pleading.

Dean felt suddenly overcome with a strength he didn't know he possessed. His arm snapped out, punching one of the men in the face. His hand snaked around to the back of his head, and he yanked him into the other, sending them both sprawling into the mountain side. For good measure, he kicked one of their stomachs, listening at the satisfying cry of pain before running into the cave.

The scene before him made him feel sick; whoever it had been laying there, it would have made him feel the same way. But because it was Shadow, because he'd never seen her so vulnerable, so weak, it made it a lot worse.

She didn't see him, and neither did anyone else gathered around the spectacle. All too busy focusing on the man with her pinned between his legs, now unzipping his trousers as the rage built up inside Dean.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Dean found himself approaching the man, gazing down at Shadow's face, eyes squeezed tight as she muttered something under her breath.

"Please I'm begging you…"

Dean's foot collided with his cheek, sending him sprawling to the side. He looked up, gazing at the human who had dared interrupt him. Arwydd lifted her gaze, seeing Dean and letting out a relieved smile. Shadow's eyes opened carefully, spotting Dean she smiled weakly, feeling too drained, too tired to do anything else.

He turned towards the one holding her shoulders down, and was satisfied to see the look of pure fear on his face as he scrambled back. Moving around Shadow, Dean approached him where he sat back, shaking his head, and kicked his chin, sending his head backwards with a resound snap.

The others scattered, moving back further into the cave as Dean turned on Callistus. The man gazed at him with utter contempt as Dean moved his fist back, before punching him, full force, in the face. Another crack and he knew his nose was broken. As he fell to the floor, whimpering, Dean kicked; again and again his foot connected with the man's stomach, until he was nothing more than a wreck, shivering against the wall.

Arwydd approached Dean, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"He'll heal soon."

"Then I better give him all the pain I can." The voice was more like an animal than anything else, pure rage and anger as Dean landed one more kick to the head.

"Dean stop." Arwydd cried. "See to Shadow."

His shoulders slumped, and he looked like a different man as he turned to Shadow, moving towards her, he leant forward, zipping up her fly, his face full of concern as she shuddered under his touch.

"Shadow it's OK." He whispered, as she sat up and wiped the tears away. "It's me."

Her hands wrapped around her chest, her eyes closed as her body shook. "Don't…" She whispered. "Please don't…"

"Shadow its over." He placed a hand on her cheek. "Nothing will hurt you now, I promise."

She moved her head away, flinching from his touch. "Please…" Her body shook violently as she buried her head in her knees, beginning to weep.

"Shadow, its Dean." He whispered softly, watching as she lifted her head, her eyes red and bloodshot, the one eye a pale blue colour as she gazed at him. Her face crumpled as she began to cry again, this time leaping forward and wrapping her arms around Dean's neck, burying herself in him. "Come on," He lifted her up in his arms. "Let's go." He carried her out of the cave as Arwydd turned to the crumpled form before her.

"You will be punished for this you know." Her voice was quiet, calm as she spoke, the rage and anger buried inside.

"What makes you think this is the first time?"

She took a deep breath, resisting the urge to kick him as Dean had. "Then the punishment will be more severe. The Queen will see to that."

"No!" He cried now, shaking his head. "Please Arwydd, don't tell the Queen. She'll have me killed! All of us."

"Good, you deserve it." She leant forward, her face in front of his. "You know the Queen does not tolerate us harming humans whilst they are here. Especially not in the way you have done. She was under the protection of the Queen, her Servants and the Nymphs. You are a fool Callistus."

"Arwydd please…"

"When my business with them is done," She turned her back on him. "I will see you hanged."