XIV. The Harvest

One generation passeth away,
and another generation cometh,
but the earth abideth forever.
Ecclesiastes 1:4

Two nights later Asher decided it was time to inform his younger brother of Levi Marrok's impending arrival. As usual, he didn't bother to call, but since he heard laughing and talking inside, he did knock.

Abel's smile faded when he saw the grim visage of his brother standing in front of him. He looked behind him, then back at his brother.

"Bad time?" Asher asked.

"Rowan's here," Abel said.

"Ah."

"Can't avoid saying 'hi' without being rude, brother," Abel told him, standing aside to let Asher in.

Rowan was in the small kitchen mixing something that smelled pretty damned good. She turned around, smiling. "I see the resemblance," she said. Rowan wiped her hands on a cloth, and held out her hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Likewise," Asher said, returning the grin. She was even smaller standing up close. Rowan wore jeans, and an HSUS t-shirt. His dark eyes became slits, and he sniffed perceptibly. And he looked down at his boot, which a small animal was sniffing curiously.

"This is Bruce Lee," Rowan said, picking up the furry creature.

"What is that, a ferret?" Asher asked, peering at it intently.

"He stowed away in my truck before we knew he was there," Abel said, taking the animal and putting him on his shoulder.

Asher smirked at the domestic scene. The girlfriend cooking, the boyfriend being solicitous of the girlfriend's pets. Abel wasn't going to like what he had come here to say. But maybe he would listen better if Rowan was around to hear it.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Rowan asked. "There's plenty."

Abel was getting broody. "She's making chili."

"I love chili," Asher said, grinning.

"Great!" Rowan went into the kitchen, washed her hands before returning to the food. "It'll be ready soon."

Abel invited his brother to follow him into the small living room. He sat down on the couch and took a sip from a can of Coke that was on the coffee table, glaring at his brother warily.

"I didn't know she was going to be here," Asher spoke.

Abel looked like he didn't believe him. "You'd have come anyway."

"That is true," the older brother replied with a glimmer of humor. He sauntered over to the window, peeked out. "Nice night, huh?"

"You don't do small talk well."

But they were saved. "Dinner's ready!" Rowan called.

Five minutes later they were all comfortably seated at the small round table with bowls of hot chili, drinks, and tortillas on the side.

"This is great," Asher complimented sincerely.

Rowan blushed a little. "Thanks."

"It's her secret recipe," Abel said, warmth in his eyes.

They talked while they ate. Asher, at Abel's expense, narrated some of his younger brother's exploits and embarrassing moments to Rowan, while Abel counterattacked with some of Asher's less than smooth moves without venturing into Levi Marrok territory. They were coming down from a full bout of laughter when their bellies told them they were full.

Rowan was collecting their plates and putting them into the sink. Abel stopped her. He didn't have a dishwasher and he told her he'd do them later. "The cook doesn't clean," he said, something he often reminded her of accompanied with a soft kiss on the cheek.

Asher was patiently waiting in the living room. Abel couldn't stall forever. Meanwhile, the ferret was doing a tribal dance around his legs as if Asher was a bonfire sans the flames.

"You are one strange creature," he muttered to the animal. "It's not normal you know."

"You're talking to him already," Abel teased, coming into the room.

"I'm half-animal, I can," Asher rejoined.

Rowan laughed. It tapered off and she cleared her throat. "I can go outside while you two talk."

The brothers exchanged glances, Asher held Abel's until the younger sighed in forfeit.

"No, you should hear this."

Of course Rowan knew it couldn't be good news. She sat next to Abel on the couch, and Asher began to speak. He had tracked one of Levi Marrok's spies in the forest two nights ago, and before he killed him, the spy had said that Levi Marrok was coming here, to Ipswich.

"He knows about the two of you," Asher said, not unkindly.

Abel squeezed Rowan's hand, cursing silently. "But he didn't say when."

Asher shook his head. "But if he didn't report back that night, then Levi knows." He wondered how much Abel had told Rowan. About Levi's pride and how he wouldn't think twice about hurting her.

"I can hide you," Rowan said, including Asher. "Make him think you're gone. Would he leave eventually?" she asked Asher.

"I don't know," he replied. "But we can't hide forever. And if I killed him, he has more allies in Alaska who would come here to avenge him."

"We can't run forever either," Abel said between clenched teeth. He stood up. "I'll talk to him, make him understand."

"Do you honestly think he would listen?" Asher asked. "After everything he's done? He's hell bent on killing me. And if I leave on my own, that's fine. But he won't accept Rowan." He looked at Rowan with sympathy. "He would kill you-"

"Damn it, Asher!" Abel took a step forward, just to stop him from finishing that sentence.

"It's all right," Rowan said. It wasn't as if she were a stranger to people wanting her dead.

But Abel was glaring at his brother. Eyes saying that he was not going to leave Rowan. He didn't want to run, but staying put the girl he loved in mortal danger. It was a catch-22 of dire proportions. He sincerely thought just then that he could kill his father. But if he did, or if Asher did, it would bring Levi's people here. Run or stay?

"If we lured him away from here, and killed him somewhere else, they would have a harder time finding us," Asher said. "But that would still involve leaving here."

Rowan knew this wasn't truly about her, but the idea of Abel leaving, his life in danger, cut her deep. She didn't want him to leave, did not want to be without him. She loved him too much.

Asher simmered down, and spoke as sincerely as he had ever in his life. "Abel, we don't have much time. We kill him here and we leave, but that gives him a chance to…" His eyes flicked to Rowan. "Or we leave, and he follows. He might not find us. And I know we can't run forever. But our options are severely limited."

Rowan was deep in her own mind, thinking of ways to save them. "I can scry for him," she spoke. "To see how close he is."

"Scry?" Asher asked.

"I have the implements at home," Rowan said, thinking fast now.

"Rowan, you don't-"

She interrupted Abel. "There are so many 'ifs' right now, wouldn't it be good to have something certain?"

Abel worried his jaw, then glanced at his brother.

"I don't know anything about magic, but if you think it'll work," Asher said.

Rowan nodded. "It might. I've never seen your dad…Do you have something of his, Abel?"

Abel didn't answer for a second, but then he nodded reluctantly as if he were ashamed of having something of his father's. "Okay."

----

Rowan saw stars veiled by sheer clouds of grayish-white. She could feel the chill of the air-conditioner, the silence, the slight turbulence of the plane, someone asking if he wanted a drink…

Abel and Asher saw Rowan's eyes flash a brilliant white. Her eyelids started to flicker like she was possessed, and Abel could take no more. He shook her out of her trance until the light dissipated from her eyes. She was standing up on weak knees, so Abel guided her over to the sitting half of her apothecary.

The three of them were in her sanctum sanctorum. They'd driven to her house in silence, and neither brother had asked questions as she'd prepared the mirror, water, and amethyst crystal for scrying. Rowan had then lit two candles, took a breath, and gazed into the oval mirror that had been doused with water while she held Abel's father's pocket watch in her hand. The vision came five minutes later.

"He's on a plane, coming here," Rowan finally said once the high-pitched siren in her head had quieted.

Asher cursed under his breath. He started pacing.

Abel was more concerned for her at the moment. She had broken out into a cold sweat, and lost some color in her face.

"You didn't tell me it would take so much out of you," he chastised gently.

"I didn't either," she replied. "It never has before." And it hadn't. This was odd, even to her.

"Your eyes went white," he said.

She looked at him, puzzled. "What?"

"Your eyes," he repeated. "Like how your brother's eyes go black, yours went white."

Rowan was trying to grasp what Abel was saying. "That's…never happened before."

"Ever?"

Rowan shook her head, fell back against the couch. Abel got up and got her a glass of water then sat back down beside her.

"Well?" Asher asked, having gone to stand by the large window in the room that looked out into the vast garden. It was pretty here, he thought.

Abel still felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. Rowan sat up, put the half-empty glass on the table in front of her. Her brothers were out at Nicky's tonight, which had afforded them some privacy for scrying. And her mom was in her bedroom.

"He'll be here by morning," Asher said, getting their attention. He sat across from them on the opposite couch. His posture belied his calm tone. He was leaning towards them, forearms rested on his thighs, his fingers laced, eyes intent. "I'm sorry, but the safest bet is to leave."

Rowan did not offer an opinion, she felt this was between the two of them.

"Asher, I respect your judgment," Abel began, "but I'm going to talk to Levi."

Asher grimaced, but held his tongue.

"But if you want to leave, I understand," Abel said.

The older brother sighed, and ran a hand down a tired face. "You want to call the airport and ask them when his flight is coming in?"

"He's on a private jet," Rowan blurted. "You could call the airports around here and ask them if they have any private flights coming in."

"You really want to do this?" Asher asked his brother.

He sighed. "I need to."

----

Three hours later they were at a private airstrip where Levi's flight would be landing in minutes. They had parked a ways away, Rowan had cloaked their presence with a little glamour spell so they wouldn't be seen. Abel saw that it wasn't wearing her out too much like the scrying had. Abel had told his brother that he didn't need to come with him considering the danger, and Rowan had insisted on going with him because he shouldn't be here alone.

The three stood in the shadows for fifteen minutes before they saw the jet in the sky, descending, landing on the strip, the loud whir of the contraption breaking the stillness of the night. The jet eventually shut down, the door was opened and a man walked down the stairs.

Rowan felt Abel go still. Even from the distance she could see the wide set of Levi's shoulders, his graceful gait, determined face. She could also feel Asher's anxiety. She grabbed onto Asher's hand and squeezed, and after a brief hesitation was met with his own squeeze.

"Be careful," Rowan said to Abel.

He nodded, almost mesmerized, ready to speak with the man who had told him he was mortally ill, sent him across the country to retrieve a brother that had been wronged by both of them. The glamour began to wear off of Abel the closer he got to his father. It was almost like he had appeared out of nowhere by the time the first person saw him, which then caught Levi's attention.

An expression of almost comical shock crossed the older man's face. "Son?"

I'm not your son, Abel wanted to shout. They were five feet apart now. "Yeah," Abel replied after he found his voice.

"Well…" Levi smiled.

"You look well," Abel said dryly. "Must have been a miracle."

The smile on Levi's face flickered and died. "I can see you've spoken with your brother," he said disdainfully. "We need to talk, Abel."

"We do."

Levi gestured towards the waiting limo. After a moment's hesitation, and a circumspect glance where Asher and Rowan were waiting, he followed his father and got into the limo. The lights were fairly dim, and father and son sat across from one another on opposite seats.

Abel stared at the man he had called father for the past seventeen years. He seemed different in this light of consciousness. The strong jaw and sharp planes of his face that Abel had once taken for stature and strength now looked cruel and deceptive. The eyes he had once thought keen, wise and intelligent looked sly and deceitfully cunning.

"You killed Mom," Abel blurted.

"Did your brother tell you that?" Levi asked, betraying no guilt or affirmation to his son's accusation.

"He told me everything."

"And you believed him." Levi shook his head in disappointment, putting on a look of sympathy. "Your brother was always a good liar."

"He's not the liar," Abel growled, "you are." He sat forward. "You lied about everything. You murdered Mom, you killed the man she loved," – Levi quickly tamped down his sneer – "Asher's father." He took a breath. "You're sick. Depraved."

Levi's face was an emotionless mask. But his dark eyes gleamed angrily.

"And what did you come here for?" Abel demanded. "What did your spies tell you?"

Levi took his time replying, stretching out the already taut silence. "You've taken up with a human. But that can be dismissed so long as you return home with me."

Abel laughed caustically. "After everything you've done, you think I would go home with you?" He shook his head. "You can go to hell."

"Do not speak to me like that!" Levi snarled. "I am your father, you will show me some respect."

"You are not my father! And you don't deserve a damned bit of respect!"

"This has gone far enough," Levi said. "We can stay here while they refuel the jet, and we'll go home."

"No. I'm not leaving with you."

"You want to stay with your brother? He's probably already abandoned you."

"He wouldn't abandon me," Abel said with conviction.

"And you don't want to leave your human," Levi mused, a mocking quality to his voice that made the hairs rise on Abel's neck.

"Keep her out of this," Abel hissed, fire in his eyes.

"How humans so easily bewitch the minds of superior species I'll never know," Levi pondered.

"We're not superior," Abel said.

"And you're already degrading what you are, Abel."

"Just leave," Abel told him. "Asher wants nothing to do with you, and neither do I. We never have to see each other again." Deep down he hoped his father would bite, turn tail, and get back on the jet to Alaska.

"I cannot let you sully our bloodline," Levi said. "And Asher…he is an abomination to our kind."

Abel saw the madness in his father's eyes for the first time. Asher was right, not that Abel hadn't believed him, he just hadn't wanted to. He felt the limo move as someone got behind the driver's seat. The engine started. Father and son's eyes met at the same moment. Abel bolted for the door, but Levi was faster and kicked him back. Abel's back slammed into the side of the limo. The vehicle was moving, picking up speed.

The younger recovered and lunged at his father. His claws came out and he took a vicious swipe at his father's face, feeling skin and sinew rip beneath his claws, and then the coppery, hot scent of blood filled his nostrils. Levi cried out in anger, pain. Abel took the spare moment to open the car door and leap out. He tucked and rolled on the rough asphalt.

"Abel!" Rowan cried out for him.

Rowan and Asher had begun to run after the limo when it had started to move. Rowan knelt beside him. She realized that Asher was not in sight. She saw the heap of his clothing not far away.

"He went after Levi," Abel said.

They heard the screech of tires, then a howl. The limo's headlights shone like a beacon. The door opened and the driver got out, then Levi. The driver shifted and went after Asher. When Levi saw that Asher was getting the better of the driver, two seconds later killing him, Levi shifted and Asher and him met in a clash of teeth and nails.

Levi was bigger, and despite being older he kept up with Asher. Asher was getting beat.

"I can't let him kill him," Abel said. He looked at Rowan for understanding, and she nodded slightly.

Abel shifted and ran, stopping his father from taking a chunk out of Asher's jugular. Rowan could only watch, heart beating rapidly in fear. Levi was hesitating to attack Abel who was crouched in front of his brother's prone body, ready to defend. Levi made a choice and attacked his son. The fight was rabid in nature.

Rowan kept in the shadows while she made her way towards Asher. She kneeled by him. He was still breathing, though shallowly. She stroked his scruff soothingly.

"Can you change back?" she asked quietly. "I can't carry you like this."

Asher let out a puff of air and she knew he was chuckling.

"This isn't funny!" she hissed.

It all went fast. Asher jerked, Rowan rotated to look behind her. Levi was lunging at her. Before Asher leaped at him, she felt a searing pain in her forearm that had her seeing stars and was thrown back, her head thudding against the ground.

In a haze, Asher and Abel shifted back. Both were bloody and dirty.

"Are you all right?" Abel asked. He held her forearm gently. "Shit. We need to get you to a hospital."

"I'm okay," she said, though she felt light headed, saw stars, ready to pass out. She assessed his injuries through blurry vision; some lacerations, a bruise here and there, but Abel was in better shape than she was, oddly enough. She turned to Asher.

There were deep lacerations in his back, his thigh, bite marks near his neck, but they were already healing at that rapid pace that werewolves healed at. Abel swept her up in his arms.

"Put me down, I can walk," she insisted.

Asher had run back to get their clothes. He ripped a t-shirt and wrapped it around Rowan's arm.

"Is he…dead?" Rowan asked.

Abel had felt his father's skull crack and cave in against the asphalt. If he could have survived that, even being a werewolf, he didn't know.

Rowan's world started to fade out. It was ridiculous, this fainting act. She struggled to remain conscious. She fought hard…

"Abel?" she managed his name.

Rowan thought she heard him tell her that he loved her, and that it was okay. They were going to get her to a hospital.

"No…" she murmured.

"Shh," Abel was saying. "You're safe."

"What the hell?"

Rowan's eyelids flickered. "Hunter?"

The world went black.

It's nearing the end. Already.