A/N: Getting ever closer to the climax lovelies. I apologize for the gloominess, but come on...we all know where this story ends, guys. We've known since the beginning. Hope you stock with me nonetheless.

"Say what you will about the woman, Maharette knew how to elicit a reaction," Cullen mused with a sigh. He was still angry and tense at the memory of waking to such dire circumstances after the crazed mage had played her gambit. For the millionth time in his life, he cursed Anders' existence, knowing that if the lothario hadn't stumbled upon Maharette's encampment, the vile woman would have had little to bargain for and things may have fallen out differently.

"No getting around it, Cullen," Thais trilled with a smile, as if divining his thoughts, "that battle was meant to happen. Even you, for all your blind hopefulness, can see that."

"If you can pluck thoughts and desires from my mind, why do I bother to even recite the tale?" he demanded wearily. Exhaustion pulled at his limbs, urging him to just give up and surrender to what the demon before him demanded. Even if he would be eternally damned, he would be well rested, and at the moment that was more than enough for his tired body. And if his muscles ached and longed for respite, it was nothing compared to what his mind cried out for. How long he had been stuck in this prison of magic's making, he could not say. Hours, days, it made no difference. All he knew is that a rescue would never come, and he refused to go to his grave less than the templar warrior he was. He would continue to fight in the only way he knew how and resistance and faith would be his sword and shield Battling a demon for his very soul, he would hold out until he was too weak in heart and mind to go on. Only then would he give in, allow himself to fully believe the lie and spend his last breath whispering Thais' name. He was damned anyway, Thais herself had seen to that, and if he was to die in disgrace, at least he would go with the sense memory of her lips upon his and her laughter echoing in his ears.

"We can stop anytime, Chantry Boy," Thais purred, stalking over to him. "Say the word and we can jump straight to the fun bits. Like it better that way, if you ask me."

Grimacing in disgust he stiffly turned away from her and set his shoulders. His jaw tensed as he remembered what came next in their ill fated tale, still horrified and awed that Thais would sacrifice so much to do what needed to be done. Her eyes had been broken and filled with revulsion for days after, and every haunted look she gave him made him want to rip Edmund's pathetic excuse for a heart from his chest.

"How I wish you never had to cross that line," he whispered, more to the memory than the demon beside him.

"The first one always sticks with you," she murmured, voice a little hazy with rapture. "Demon's have that effect on mortals."

"Yes they-What? No," Cullen corrected, confused that the creature before him was stepping so blatantly off script. Ever since she had incited their little game, the demon had done her damnedest to be Thais through and through. True, she knew the story form beginning to heartbreaking end, but she never jumped ahead, letting him set the pace. And she never created false memories to merge and twist with his; she didn't need to, after all, his desire for Thais was enough of a seduction all on it's own.

Thais stared at him, her features a placid study of disbelief before she collapsed into a fit of dark and chilling laughter. Cullen felt fear creep up his spine and he edged away from the vision, certain that a part of history he thought he knew so well was about to be rewritten.

"She never told you? My, but that's a twist," Thais cackled, her violet eyes flashing black as the demon let the glamor slip slightly. "Seems not everyone in the romance held trust in one another. Pity, your love was so sweet with purity, I haven't felt it in some time. Here I was thinking to get a delicacy of a treat, but turns out your bond is just a flawed as the rest. No matter, the way you hunger for her will sate me for quite some time."

"Stop it," he demanded petulantly, "whatever game you're playing, it bores me. Is it not enough for you to taunt me and seduce with memories I have no hope of out running? Must you too besmirch the woman I loved, who's only crime was being true to who she was, with obscure and damning lies?"

"I am not the one that lied to you, Chantry Boy," The demon whispered malevolently, her features shimmering and shifting between that of his beloved and the monster that lay beneath.

"You give me no reason to believe you," he mocked bitterly, turning away. "You have fed me nothing but falsehoods, tantalizing me with a woman I lost long ago. You wear her skin like a costume and play at love, but it is nothing but deception. Thais...Thais had no need for such things. She never hid what she was; she embraced the darkness while still holding on to her inner light, and showed her true face to all who looked deep enough to find it. The fact that she never summoned one of your brethren is proof enough of that. She had no need of you."

"Is that a fact, Chantry Boy?" she asked him with false patience, the words slow and dangerous. Something in her tone made him pause, whip his head around to defend the woman he loved, but the demon was gone, and in her place once again stood Thais. Her eyes held that haunted look that plagued him for days after they had set their plan in motion, and for a fleeting second Cullen entertained the idea that he may never have truly known who Thais Amell was, deep down inside.

~oOo~

Thais stared hard at the spell that lay before her, trying to summon enough courage to do what needed to be done. It had been two hours since Maharette's ultimatum in the fade, and Cullen was still arguing with her over the tactics and semantics of their plan.

"There are other ways, Thais!" he huffed angrily, running a hand through his mussed hair. "Not every battle needs to be fought with blood!"

"I think blood and battle go hand in hand, Chantry Boy," she replied dismissively, eyes still focused on the black script before her. The words pulled at her, drawing her in with the most seductive siren song of all: power. Even knowing it would change her irrevocably, leave a scar upon her soul that refused to heal, she ached to open a vein and accept what the dark spell promised. It made her cold, knowing she was just as weak and fallible as any other mage.

"And you are not made for battle," he insisted, moving to crouch before her. "You are a healer, Thais. You give life, not take it away. You step over that line, it's very difficult to go back."

"Yes, I'm a healer," she agreed softly before her features hardened and she shoved him away. "And a blood mage. Or did that little fact slip your mind? You say I'm not made for battle? I grew up in Kinloch Hold, Cullen; I've been fighting since before you could hold a sword. And lest you forget, I've crossed that line you speak of twenty times over now. Twenty souls I'll have to answer for when I meet the Maker, Chantry Boy, how many bodies stain your hands red? I'd wager it's not even half that number. Don't talk to me about going back, Chantry Boy, I've already left that place far behind."

"I'd be your sword and shield if only you'd let me, Thais," he pleaded, caging her face between his hands. "You'd never need to open a vein again, and that number would never crawl higher than twenty. Please, don't turn to that book when I can offer you so much more."

"If you wanted a damsel in distress, Cullen, you fell for the wrong girl," she whispered gently, prying his fingers from her flesh. "And you promised. Not a word about what I had to do to see us home safely."

"Safely being the key word," he thundered. "Tell me what is safe about venturing into a rapist's mind and asking for help!"

Thais flinched at his words, knowing she had no answer for him. Truth be told, when she had told him her plan she knew his sticking point had less to do with blood magic and more to do with just what the spell involved. After having woken Cullen from his slumber and informing him of just what had transpired, the two had immediately began scheming a plan to save those that mattered to them. Cullen had raged upon hearing his brothers in arms were walking into a trap and Thais felt her heart crack to think upon Anders, bound and alone in some distant ruins, waiting on her to save him. Try as they might, neither could think of a way to circumvent Maharette's viciousness and so Thais had turned to the tome of blood magic, desperate to find a way to turn the tide in their favor. And found it she had, though the price was much higher than she had ever paid before.

Thais knew the only way to save everyone from a bloody and horrific end was to bring an army down upon Maharette and her followers. Nothing less would suffice, and considering the power the crazed woman was wielding the only force that could hope to stand against her was a very large contingent of mages and templars. Unfortunately the time line Maharette had given her made such a thing impossible, and Thais knew that she would have to find another way to warn those at the circle of what was laying in wait in the Kocari Wilds. Such a thing could only be accomplished by magic, the darkest kind, leaving Thais very little choice.

The spell went against everything she had ever been taught about the nature of magic and the soul, but it was elegant in it's simplicity. Thais would bestow upon herself the mantle of dream walker for a single night, leeching the power from one who had been born with it. Once imbued with the borrowed power she would be free to walk the expanse of the fade and infiltrate the dreams of others, bending them to her will. By doing so she could warn someone of what would come, and the day would be saved. It was well crafted, and exactly what they needed, and all it would cost her was a compact with a demon. Her very first. How she hated that word; "first." It implied there would be a second, a third, as if by dancing along the edge of darkness she would never find her way back to dawn. But she would do the unthinkable, sacrifice a bit of her soul and merge with the darkness, all to save a handful of men and mages. Surely the scales of morality would balance when weighed against one night in the company of a demon.

Cullen could never know, of that she was certain. Her templar might rage and argue her to the grave over her use of blood magic, but a part of her knew he would never truly seek to stop her, not so long as she stayed to the safe end of the forbidden pond. But she knew, unequivocally, that if she were to summon a demon, forge a bargain and forever change the strictures by which she lived...at best, he would walk away, never once looking back. At worse...well, it was better not to dwell on what the worst her devoutly faithful templar was capable of.

Because the power was not hers by natural rights it had its limits, she could only walk the dreams of those with whom she had shared an intense, emotional bond. Mere acquaintances and passing friendships would not be enough, no, the dreamer would have to be a lover, family, or mortal enemy. Hate is as strong as love, after all, in some cases stronger. Unfortunately for Thais she had no family to speak of, and the only two lovers she had any sort of attachment to were useless in such a situation; one was standing beside her and the other was in the hands of a mad woman. It left her only one avenue to follow, and it was the last place she ever wanted to venture.

There was no one in the world Thais despised more than Sir Edmund, having relived his sadistic ministrations over and over in her dreams. His failed rape had cut her deep, stealing something far dearer than her body; her sense of safety and well being She would have been happy to never again give thought to such a despicable man and let him fade to the far recesses of her subconscious; a sometimes boogey man who could only reach her in her dreams. But life had never bestowed such easiness and favor upon Thais, and now it seemed the bastard was her one and only hope to end a violent and destructive war before it started.

"What would you have me do, Cullen?" Thais moaned wearily, closing the book that lay cradled on her lap. "Scream a warning and hope the wind just happened to carry it back to Kinloch Hold? This is our only recourse, and you know it."

"But him?" Cullen countered, pulling her gently to her feet. His arms drew her close, cradling her in the safety of his embrace as his eyes searched her gaze for secrets long buried. "You still have yet to tell me what is was befell you at his hands. That you keep tight lipped and wary speaks of vile things. Its as if by giving them voice such deeds will manifest and torment you once more."

"And what good will come from me telling you every ghastly detail?" she asked, genuinely curious. "You'd stomp and rage, vowing revenge in some misplaced attempt to protect and defend, forgetting that I nearly crippled the bastard in payment for what he stole. And you would be even firmer in your resolve to keep me from his mind. Let it be, Chantry Boy, Edmund is a debt that is mine to call in. Not yours."

The two stared each other down, neither willing to bend or gracefully bow out from their argument. Both were stubborn to a fault, each so sure of their standing in a world that had placed them upon less than equal footing. So hard to find balance and partnership when matters of God and belief wage war in the hands of men. They were ill matched in many ways, a mirror of so many star-crossed pairings written about since the dawn of time. But that same stubbornness that caused them to bristle and bruise each others hearts was the very trait that kept them leashed together. They would fight, with claws and teeth to be with one another, to find a freedom in the fiercest sort of wishing for a better day. Failure in any capacity, even love, was not an option.

"Very well," Cullen ground out through clenched teeth after a time, as if the very words pained him. "You asked me not to say a word against what dire circumstances forced your hand, and I will abide by your wishes. Know that I ask the same in return."

Thais blinked at him in confusion, thrown that he had not only given in without more of a fight, but that he was asking something of her that she could not fathom. What dire purposes could he possibly be capable of committing on this deadly journey? He was a templar...the very model of societal good. It's not as if he could slice open that marble skin and toe the line of forbidden.

"Safely home," he murmured, leaning in to steal a harsh and possessive kiss. "Your own words, Thais. If you must submit to this madness to see both our worlds whole, then I shall endeavor to make yours as free from danger as I am able. You'll not have to worry about Edmund again."

"Cullen-"

"No," he insisted, "I love you, Thais. I know it pains you to hear it, but it's true all the same. I love you, and I will not suffer so perfect a woman as you to be at the mercy of a man such as him. Edmund is mine, Thais. If I can't shield you from the magic in your veins, at least allow me to protect you from the evil that all men can do."

At the mention of the power that swam in her blood, Thais blanched a looked away. It only served to remind her of what exactly she would be calling up of her own free will. If she could not offer him honesty, she could at the very least allow him the illusion of her protector.

"He's your brother in arms," she whispered, awed that he would even offer to strike him down, "could you really bring yourself to raise a hand against him?"

"If it meant saving you from his attentions, I would raise a thousand," he replied with a ghostly smile. Thais felt her heart break into a thousand pieces at his words, so overwhelmed in his devotion to her. Would he offer the same if he knew what she had planned? She cursed inwardly, thinking that she did not deserve so selfless a man as he, for she would bring him nothing but lies and heartache if matters continued on as they were. Thais hated herself a bit in that moment, thinking herself a poor imitation of the girl Cullen had dreamed of in the fade.

"Let's get this over with," she said exhaled in a shaky breath, unwilling to focus on her painful and maudlin thoughts. "Whatever comes. Don't wake me. Maker only knows where my mind and power will be. Wouldn't do to accidentally unleash hell beasties upon the world because I twitched wrong."

Cullen nodded, all seriousness and harsh movement. Thais sighed and strode over to the trestle table where her templar's dagger lay waiting. Climbing stiffly to settle upon the splinted and cracked wood, she took a deep and steadying breath, willing courage to manifest in her bones. Sparing one more glance at the man who watched over her she felt her heart swell and three words crowd the edge of her tongue. Cullen looked down upon her, the love in his eyes so bare and naked for all the world to see. He looked as if he'd follow her into damnation and back, protecting her body and soul the entire way. Considering what she was about to do, she briefly considered the idea that he just may have to do the latter; she only hoped he was up for the challenge.

She should have said the words, should have ignored her familiar and ever present friend, fear, and allowed him to hear what she had felt all along. If only because she was uncertain whether she would come back from this little journey at all. But instead of love, the words that flowed over lips were detached and clinical.

"Have that sword ready, Chantry Boy. There's chance your templar talents won't be completely wasted upon me at all." When his blade rang free from it's scabbard, Thais was unsure as to whether she was disappointed that he lacked faith in her will, or grateful that he would see to the safety of her soul in the only way afforded them.

Setting her shoulders, Thais reached for the dagger with trembling fingers and brought the blade down in a quick, and efficient motion. As blood blossomed from the wound, the red stark against her pale skin, she began to chant foreign and dark words, opening herself up to the power that lay coiled in her veins. The world around her began to swim, and visions of the fade crashed against reality like waves against stony cliffs. As her body began to fall back, she felt her mind fall with it. When her head cracked against the table, her vision blinked out, and for a frightening second she felt completely untethered, not of the world, until the fade snapped into being around her.

Forcing her eyes open she swallowed a terrified scream that threatened to claw it's way from her throat, and she gazed placidly upon the hauntingly alien face that loomed above hers.

"Well, well, well," the desire demon crooned, "look what we have here."