"And the tale is told, of those who by the hundreds,
holding hands together, chose their deaths in the sea."
Dawn's mouth was wide open now as Salem continued to sing, but she dare not make a single sound. The women who had been so cruelly persecuted by Christians simply because they held different beliefs had not even tried to fight? They had gone peacefully to their deaths?
Cole continued holding Piper and seeing the day in his mind of which Salem sang so beautifully. It had been a beautiful day much like this one until the tragedy had hit, changing the lives and souls of those who survived it forever more.
Tears continued to pour down the women's faces as Salem sang. His pointed, furry ears began to swivel back and forward. Something was moving. He could hear it coming through the green grass. Then he realized whatever was approaching was not an "it" at all. The approachers were very much alive. Looking at Cole, he unsheathed his claws but continued to sing.
"While chanting the praises of the Mother Goddess,
a refusal of betrayal, women were dying to be free."
When Salem unsheathed his claws and looked at him so pointedly, Cole shook his head. Over Piper's head, he mouthed the word, "Friend".
The Indian woman came to sit closer to the blue beast. "Who and what are those people? I have not seen them before."
"Nor have I. We must watch and listen and see what reveals itself," he told her. "It is not so much that I mind your presence, dear child, as it is that it is not safe for you to be here. Tell me what is happening with your people. Perhaps then I may be able to tell you what to do. I begin to fear that it will be a long time yet this night before I find my son."
Guards moved about before them, but none appeared to have spotted them yet. He wondered what they were protecting. Were they keeping something safe, or perhaps keeping something in? He could hear the rattle of chains from somewhere within the party, but he knew that his son was not there. He could smell the stench of unwashed bodies, unclean fur, and decaying flesh.
A woman dressed in green and black walked by, and he ducked further into the bushes, pulling Prue backwards with him. He watched the woman intently. She had long, black hair and pale, white skin. he was certain he'd never seen her before. She was talking to some one about seeing to the doctor's new invention, but no details of the mentioned invention or the doctor's name were given.
If Bobby were here, he thought, he'd waltz right in, slipping pass their guards as he pretended to be one of them, and swiftly find out the answers they needed by chatting somebody up. But Bobby was not here and would never stand beside him again, and he certainly could not go out there himself. One look at a blue, hairy beast would send the innocents, if they were any, screaming and put the rest automatically on the defense. He glanced at Prue, but sending her in was completely out of the question. Not only would he not endanger the sweet child's life any further, but with the sole exception of her tanned, white skin, she looked, from head to toe, just like an Indian.
Jack slid off Tonto's back and waited for Hansel to dismount. Looking around he was surprised to find that they had left the desert and were now surrounded by a lovely green wood. He could hear birds singing all around them. He tried imitating one of the especially pretty sounding bird songs. Hansel gave his heart wings and he wanted to sing for him.
His song sounded so lovely and so like the bird's call that the bird suddenly appeared in their midst. When it saw that they were humans it flew away very quickly. Jack wished that he had an instrument that he could play for Hansel but all he had was his mouth, he continued to sing gazing upon Hansel, loving him more every minute. How wonderful was his love!
Jack finished his song and held out his arms stepping forward to embrace his beloved...
Hansel gazed down at Jack in complete awe and wonder, the intent gaze from his blue eyes seeming almost reverent. This beautiful man never ceased to amaze and delight him, or to steal his breath and heart away with the fantastical things he did! He was, without a doubt, the greatest thing that had ever happened to him, the purest light in his whole world, and the love of his life. Hansel's heart was so full of emotions that he now knew it must be love. It had to be love for no other word could possibly come close to describing how he felt about him.
He took his hand and eagerly let him pull him close. His arms wrapped around him, holding him gently as he walked so close to him that his forehead pressed softly against his and their noses touched. For the first time in his life, Hansel failed to consider what the person with him might think of his appearance or he himself. His broken nose did not even cross his mind, and that was his worst feature, the one that kept gnawing at him inside, the one that Derek never ceased to make look worse by breaking it yet again or to admonish him for.
Derek had convinced him he was ugly, but that didn't matter any longer. Nothing Derek had ever said or done mattered to him in this moment, though the nightmares would certainly return later. For now, all he saw was Jack; all he thought of was how amazing he was, how much he loved him, and how lucky he was to have his brilliant star shining in his life; and all he felt was love. "I love you," he whispered softly, no longer unsure, and he kissed him as his song of love, which had been identical to the bird's mating call, echoed in his heart.
Jack gazed into the beautiful, blue eyes of the man he loved and then heard Hansel's song in his heart as Hansel declared his love. It spun him around and made his heart sing even more. He took in the features of his love's visage and tried to memorize them so that, should the worse happen, he'd remember them into the afterlife. He couldn't take him with him in body, but he could carry his love with him.
He still felt like a thief, stealing Hansel away from his people, but he was glad that Hansel had reacted by coming with him and not hating him. He knew that Hansel thought himself to be ugly. Probably Derek, Jack mused. But why, he wondered, did he actually believe it? Had he never seen his reflection? Jack vowed to show Hansel how he truly looked the first time they were near clear, still water. He was determined that Hansel should see the beauty that Jack saw.
Jack held Hansel strongly but gently, sliding his hands up Hansel's back and caressing him and thrilling in the feel of his strong muscles which had surprised him as he knew that he had been living a softer life style. It was as if he had still kept himself in great shape. Jack pressed his lips gently to Hansel's forehead, then to his nose, and finally to his lips, wondering which feature he loved more. As he delved deeper into his love's nectar, he also lowered his hands down to his buttocks and squeezed them gently. He sipped from his love's lips as though he was a hummingbird and Hansel a flower so full of sweet juices that he couldn't wait to drink ...
Well, you handled that badly, Lex told himself, but when had he ever handled stuff the right way? According to his Father, he wasn't capable of handling anything the right way. Maybe it was true, but Lex hated to admit it. If he had handled things the right way, he would not now be lost in a godforsaken farmhouse with a scared-to-death boy hiding from him lest he take him to bed but would have been in at least a comfortable inn with liqueur at hand and servants to do his bidding. But instead here he was, knowing full well he'd have to go look for the boy and try to make an apology so he didn't get thrown out for the night. Tomorrow he'd have to go looking for his stuff and try to return to town and get another start.
In the meantime, all he could think of was those blue eyes gazing into his and the fear he had seen therein. He put his feet on the floor and walked out pass the flapping door in the direction that he thought he had taken. What he would say he had not the foggiest clue, but how could he say that he was sorry when he truthfully wasn't? He wouldn't be able to.
All he wanted was to take those blue eyes and make them open in sheer delight as he pleasured him over and over again well into what remained of the night and into the next day... Clark was a virgin. Lex was willing to bet he had never even kissed a girl, and Lex was an expert in making sex... He wanted to be Clark's first. Should he kidnap him? Lex wondered. Seeing another building, Lex hurried that way.
Some miles away from where the bounty hunter went down, howling, beneath the orange monsters of a certain forest, a head shot up, and green eyes narrowed in silent questioning. The man was flanked by two young women riding beside him. The taller of the two looked up and met his eyes with questions in her own. "Father?"
"Take care o' Jubilee," he commanded, his voice transforming from the gentle, joking tone he'd been using as they'd chattered on their way back from their night's operation to a voice that was barely audible and yet forewarned of levels of danger. "Don't wait for me. Get back to our hideout. You're in charge, Pryde."
Father and daughter gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, and silent communication shot back and forth between them. She, too, had heard the howls, knew that it was him, and understood that her father would never be able to simply turn away.
"What's goin' on?" the youngest of their trio asked, but the man called Logan didn't answer her. Instead he turned his horse in the direction of the howls and took off full speed ahead.
Jubilee turned her own horse to follow her father. "No," Kitty told her, "don't. We have our orders."
"But - "
"No but's, Lee. Don't make me go feral on your ass. We do what he said. He'll be back in the morning." Her brown eyes glared a warning at her little sister.
"But - "
Kitty cocked a brow. "What did I say?" she growled out, her voice sounding much like their father's had only a moment before.
Jubilee sighed. "I know. I know. Shut up, Lee."
"That's right," Kitty told her. "Shut up and come on." She saw the worry in her eyes and softened her voice just a tad as she told her, "He'll be all right, Jubie. He'll be home in the morning, probably before you even get up." She flashed her a cocky grin. "Especially since you don't usually crawl out 'til noon." She started to ride on toward their destination, her saddlebags full of money flapping beside her.
"Hey!" Jubilee called as she quickened her horse's pace in pursuit of her sister. "Better noon than the crack of dawn!"
"The early bird catches the worm," Kitty reminded her. She smiled at her over her shoulder. She knew that distraction was key to keeping Jubilee from doing things it was best she didn't do. "I'd race ya, but there's no way you can catch the Shadowcat!"
"Bull! Come on, Firecracker!" she called to her mare, pressing her into a faster gallop. Soon she was pulling up beside Kitty, but then Kitty called a command to her horse and the two shot further ahead. As they ran, they kicked up such a cloud of dust that Jubilee began to cough, but she kept right after their heels.
Clark looked outside as he bolted the last window and gave a sharp exclamation. His tongue almost betrayed him with a curse word, but he silenced himself just in time. What was wrong with him? he thought worriedly. His whole body had been acting and feeling strange since he'd first touched the innocent man he'd rescued from sure death earlier that night! He'd never acted so strangely nor yearned for another's touch so desperately!
He shook his head. Cold water. He needed cold water, but he didn't have time to go dipping in the well. Not only did he have to go rescue the man whose handsome body and beguiling smile he could not shake from his thoughts, but he had to stay here and protect his mother and the man! He raced out of the house, calling behind him, "Hey! You don't need to be out here! It's not safe!" Never once did he stop to consider that it might not be safe for him.
As Salem sheathed his claws, his long, black tail swishing through the air, Piper and Paige once more sang the chorus. This time, Dawn joined them. The child's voice wavered, but she held her head high. Helping to sing this powerful song was the least she could do to honor the women who had lived peacefully and chosen to die the same way lest they hurt those they had always helped but were determined to see their deaths.
"Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali... Inanna...
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali... Inanna..."
Salem resumed in his strong, deep, and bewitching voice, his green eyes speaking clearly of the emotions his heart was filled with by the memories of that fateful day in history, a history he had strived, but failed, to change.
"Now the earth is a witch, and we still burn her.
Stripping her down with mining, and the poison of our wars.
Still to us, the earth is a healer, a teacher, and a mother.
A weaver of a web of light, that keeps us all alive.
She gives us the vision to see through the chaos.
She gives us the courage, it is our will to survive."
And the girls resumed the chorus one last time.
"Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali... Inanna...
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali... Inanna...
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali... Inanna...
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali... Inanna... "
When the song had ended, for a second, there was nothing but silence as if the very earth itself stood still in remembrance and respect. Cole kissed Piper on the back of her neck and then spoke clearly so that all of them could hear, "Salem and I go back a long, long way. Once he would have been the king of the world, and I followed him, as did many others. We failed, and all of us were cursed, some more than others..." He looked at Salem. "He most of all. How great was his love for his people that he suffered all these years from the hands of his enemies in silence... Now at last he is free but may remain forever in cat form... "
Salem hung his head, unable to face the compassionate gazes bestowed upon him. He had deserved every punishment the Spellmans had ever given him for he had failed for his people and caused so many such great pain and even death. Tears filled his green eyes that none could see, but he batted them down. He should have been King, but he had failed. That did not mean he had to show where he was weak, especially not with outsiders coming.
Paige stroked him tenderly, and her gentle touch helped to ease his silent tears. Dawn reached over and petted him, too, her mind still whirling from everything she'd learned this night. Yet it was day here. How was it day? Just where were they?
Cole could hear them coming slowly, quietly, as he held Piper closer. "Do not fear; friends are coming..."
"For a long time now, my people have been getting very sick. Our healers have healed them, but it never lasts for more then a day. The healers have to rest in between times. They are getting sick from constantly being drained. I am afraid that they will not wake up one day; then all will die. My Mother, Ororo, sent me for the doctor, knowing that since it is caused by the white man, he should have the cure." She was not afraid of the big, blue beast. "Who are you, and why do you know me? Talk to me of your truths."
"Some truths, dear girl, are better left unspoken lest they endanger those who hold them. So your tribe has healers now? How powerful are they? You say that your people become sick again, but when they are healed, are they made completely well and capable of deploying their own faculties?" Ororo would be a great help in finding Brendan. He contemplated the situation as he watched the guards beginning to settle down for the night. They clearly thought they were safe from harm, yet he smelled the scents of those who had been harmed greatly. Blood hung heavy on the air here.
"Most are able to hold up for one day. Mother held up two days. But they start out being very sick, stomach pains, throwing up food, running high fevers, can't keep water down, so they get weaker and weaker, then fall to long times of sleep. Some do not wake again."
"We have two great healers, but they do not come from Earth. They don't know what is causing it. We have lost many. Mother says that if her old friend, Doctor McCoy, was still alive, he could save them all. It almost killed her when he died."
Just who was this blue man, Prue wondered, who claimed to be the Father of the doctor? Would her Mother know him? "What do you think is going on?" she asked him.
He gazed into her troubled eyes, his own yellow orbs full of sorrow. "Your mother almost died when . . . " He almost spoke the wrong word. " . . . Doctor McCoy passed? Tell me, sweet child, why did it trouble her so? How close did she come?"
"Depression seemed to pull her to her death. She almost took her life but at the last minute she stopped herself because of me. I thought maybe it was because the doctor was my Father. Mother never spoke of him until now. She knows he can save us but he's gone perhaps he taught the young doctor his skills."
He lowered his head so that she would not see the tears in his eyes. "Perhaps he is not as gone as your mother believed. Perhaps it was the only way to protect her, and perhaps he messed up everything for everybody but knows no other way." The words were out before he could stop himself, and he was almost glad to hear a scream split the night air. Almost because it saved him before he could say too much.
Tenseness drained out of Will. He sighed in relief as he put the shotglass back on the counter and rolled his head about his shoulders. "That . . . feels . . . so good!"
"Have another one."
Will lifted the glass. "It's empty." Then, before his very eyes, liquid appeared in the glass. He looked down into it and saw that it came to the very top. A grin burst over his handsome face. "That's so neat!"
Hatter inclined his head in a nod, a thoughtful smile on his lips. "Isn't it, though? Go ahead, William. Drink up."
"How do you know my name?" the lad asked, meeting his eyes. He'd already forgotten he'd told him.
"I know the names of every one who enters my forest," Hatter mused, "and I know what each and every one of them needs." He patted his shoulder as he walked behind him. "Go ahead. Drink as much as your heart desires." Will downed a second dose of Innocence, and once more the shotglass refilled itself. He stared into the swirling liquid as Hatter looked up toward the southern border of his makeshift office.
Hansel moaned against Jack's kisses. The kiss on his nose had especially sent waves of pleasure and passion coursing through his soul. He trembled in Jack's arms not from fear but from the intensity of his delight as he kissed him back. His hands roamed his body freely, doing their best to heatedly caress every spot of his fineness that they could reach. His heart thundered so loudly in his chest from the passion that filled it that he was sure Jack must hear it, too. His tongue touched his as their lips parted, brushed it teasingly, and then began to dance with it.
For the first time, he regretted having tossed his saddle and all that it had held from Tonto's back. He wished he had a blanket now for he'd lay it down beneath this man who he was so lucky to have as his and make love to him right here and now. The dangers lay forgotten from Hansel's mind, along with everything else but how Jack made him feel, how he wanted to make him feel in return, and how lucky he was to have him. The Great Spirit had truly blessed him at long last, and Hansel would not let a second slip by without showing Jack how thankful he was to have him in his life. He was so lost in his passion and love that he did not realize that Jack had not responded in kind when he'd finally told him he loved him.
Guilt rode high on Jack's mind. He wasn't good at keeping his soul guarded from his beloved. He wanted no secrets between them but knew there were a lot that only time could resolve. At least time would solve most of them, but the one he feared the most was overshadowing him to the point he feared would blow them apart. He warred within himself: should he tell Hansel what the Shaman had told him or try to forget it and go with the flow?
Hansel's kisses made him hotter than a July fire. He wanted to take him here and now... Their lovemaking had been interrupted earlier, and it had left Jack hotter than he'd ever been... Just the thought of Hansel dancing only for him in all those bird feathers made him grow even harder. He didn't know how much more he could stand it before exploding... If Hansel touched him there, he was truly gone...
Jack's natural instincts told him to hide before continuing... He warbled a message deep in his throat and was rewarded by a bird answering! Following the directions a chickadee gave him, he pulled Hansel along by one arm until they came to a small clearing where flowing water cascaded from a waterfall. The area emanated peace, and he knew this was the place.
Pulling Hansel back into his arms, he began kissing his bountiful lips and stroking his back again. Then, slowly, his hands began to massage his rear, pressing his hardened steel into him so that he knew how much he wanted him. He gave silent thanks to his Goddess for bestowing such a bountiful harvest upon him and lost himself completely in Hansel's loving...
As Jack had led him, with Tonto clopping along behind them, Hansel's mind had cleared. Now he realized that Jack had not answered him and began to silently worry, though he fought to hide it. Had his love decided he truly did not love him, or was it just that he was not yet ready to admit it or still wasn't sure what exactly love was? Hansel himself had not been sure, but he knew there could be no other name for how greatly he cared about Jack, how desperately he wanted him and needed him to fulfill him and make him whole, and how he just felt a wonderful glow warming him from the curls of his blonde head all the way through to the tips of his toes whenever he thought of him.
Give him time, he told himself as Jack kissed and caressed him, slowly rekindling the fire that had lessened into embers. He just needed time. That was all. It had to be all. He wasn't like Derek. He could never be like Derek. He loved him. He did. He just had to have time to learn what love was for himself, as Hansel had.
He kissed him back slowly as the passion gradually rebuilt between them. His hands roamed his body, stroking him tenderly at first and then beginning to tug at his shirt. He moaned as he felt him move against him. Slowly sinking to the ground, he pulled him down with him, his lips never once leaving his.
A whisper and rustling of the flowers revealed a very small being who walked forward until he was in front of Cole. " Welcome, friends..." but then, peering anxiously around, he asked, "Where's Carl?"
Cole replied with a sad shake of his head, "He has been taken. Take us to Dresden; we seek his help."
Several more of the Gnomes showed themselves, gathering around the women and gazing intently upon them. {They are mine!} Cole told them where no one else could hear him. They backed away, chattering amongst themselves but giving them room. Talus looked at Cole, "Come. We go at once..."
Cole nodded and, taking Piper's hand, followed behind Talus. Behind his hand, he whispered, "He is Carl's brother."
It did not take them long to reach the small village of neat little houses scattered out with a much larger house in the middle. It was to this big house that Talus took them. Knocking upon its door, he called out, "Open. Cole has returned!"
A rumbling began deep within the house that shook the house even as the front door was blown open and hung crookedly upon its hinges. A cloud of smoke and flames belched forth from the house that barely missed hitting the small group that was standing nearby. Seconds later, it was followed by a tall, dark-haired man frantically beating the flames out of himself and a white-haired man glowering remorsefully emerging from the house. Soot covered the first man's face, and both men's hair stood on end! Some of the Gnomes dashed off for water and threw it frantically upon them. When the flames had been extinguished, they both turned and greeted Cole as though he were a long lost brother! Cole greeted them in turn before wryly commenting, "I see you used too much cinnamon again!"
"I'm sorry to have messed with your mind, Clark, but I only spoke the truth as to how I feel about you. I will leave in the morning, but I will stay out here the rest of the night. I can't trust myself where you are concerned. You make me feel things I've never felt before. Forgive me for disturbing your peace. Thank you for rescuing me. Maybe you better return to the house." He wanted nothing more than to take Clark on the spot despite the muskiness of their surroundings.
Clark kicked himself and shut his eyes briefly against the emotions that rode high inside of him. He didn't understand what was happening, but he heard the hurt in Lex's voice and it pained him. Reopening his eyes, he dared to look into his blue orbs as he repeated, "You can't stay out here, Lex. I'm not trying to run you off. It's not safe." Would he laugh if he told him there was a monster on the loose?
"You don't understand, Clark. If I go back in the house, you're the one that is not safe! I am Lex Luther, and I believe in getting what I want by hook or by crook and what I want is you! I want to hold you and kiss you and take you to my bed and keep you there forever! Unless you can tell me the same, take your butt back in the house and bar your door. Or I swear the Luther blood will boil to the surface and I will not be able to control it. I will take you right here on the barn floor. You will hate me forever. Run away, Clark, and save yourself."
His mind was amazed by all that he heard, but he stood his ground and was not afraid. "I can protect myself, Lex, but you can't from what's out here . . . " His words were interrupted by a piercing howl. "I'm not going to pretend to understand all that's happening, or what I'm feeling for you, but I'm not going to let you get yourself killed!"
"I didn't save you today just so that you could become dinner tonight! My Father is out here somewhere, hunting a creature, and it is my duty to protect you and my Mother." His blue eyes blazed as he said determinedly, "You're coming back inside one way or another. It's the only thing that will keep you alive tonight."
What was wrong with this man? he wondered. He must have really hit his head hard! But then, what was wrong with him to desperately want to taste the sweetness of his lips and feel his hands upon his body? It was wrong, completely wrong, and he should turn away, walk off, and leave him here! But he couldn't. It wasn't safe, and duty had to come first.
"Let the creature come," Lex declared. "He can be no more evil than I am. I stand here in front of you and tell you there will be no peace for either of us if I return to the house with you. Go protect your Mother. Forgive me and leave me here. Let the creature devour me for it is the only way you will ever be safe. Go run away before its too late... " Lex clenched his arms to his sides for he knew if he reached out and touched Clark, he would overcome Clark and Clark would hate him for it. He turned his back, not wanting to see Clark walk away from him.
Jack had other thoughts than making love to Hansel on the hard ground... He wanted to take him in the water under the waterfall with its wondrous, gentle fingers splashing down upon them. How to get him where he wanted him? He nibbled at the corner of Hansel's mouth, kissed down his chest, and then began to undo his breechcloth, his fingers caressing his skin before asking, "Have you ever made love in the water? Come swim with me?" Jack pleaded.
Jack loved the water, but he hardly ever had a chance to do more than bathe in it. Now he had a chance to share his love of water with the man he loved... Grey Fox, be dammed if you're going to steal him from me!, he vowed. They would make love, rest, and then make love again. Then they would talk and he would tell him of some of the Shaman's words but not all of them.
No way would he plant a seed of doubt in his mind for if there was one thing, Jack decided, he was was that he was greedy and wanted every bit of Hansel for himself. There was no way that he wanted to share him with a supposed soul mate for either of them for, as Jack considered it to be, they were each other's only need and desire. They were soul mates! He didn't want it to be any other way!
Grey Fox and his magic bag of tricks be dammed! Weren't soul mates supposed to be the beginning and ending of each other and everything in between? Yes, they were soul mates! Jack decreed for only Hansel had been all of that for him! He gazed into his beloved's blue eyes as he waited for his answer...
As Jack undid Hansel's breechcloth, his sword sprang to life, tossing the rest of the small cloth to the side. Hansel grinned down at Jack, his fears momentarily forgotten in the immense waves of pleasure that his lover sent crashing through him. "Race ya!" he exclaimed with a wink and ran for the water.
He had never made love in the water, but the thought had always appealed to him. Derek had been a stickler - always putting Hansel on his back in unimaginative positions and places and taking the top -, and Hansel couldn't wait to see all the different kinds of positions and areas Jack and he could come up with to make wild, magical love.
He yodeled as he dove into the water, purposefully making a gigantic splash. He bobbed up a moment later, grinning mischievously from ear to ear and his blue eyes sparkling merrily, and looked for Jack as he spat out the water he'd swallowed like a fish.
Paige carried Salem, her green eyes flitting constantly about her as they walked. She sensed Dawn's uneasiness and reached out to take the young girl's hand. Dawn clung to her grasp gratefully. Everything was so strange, and her mind just kept buzzing!
Piper looked with concern upon the girls, then turned to ask Cole for introductions. Before she could, however, Salem, who had been watching the newcomers with a grin, commented with a swish of his tail, "Bob, it's good to see you." Walking around free, he concluded silently. Just how had Bob broken his curse? he wondered as his green eyes narrowed in on the man called Dresden. "You must be Malcolm's boy?"
Bob looked at the black cat who had addressed him and grinned, "At last, my friend, I am grateful to have you in my presence again! I feared I would never see you again."
Dresden looked at the black cat. The voice was familiar and sounded like music on his ears. Who was this newcomer, he wondered, and why is Bob so twitterpated over him? "How did you know my Father?" He was anxious to know who this being was and why was he here.
"Malcolm was a good man," Salem told Dresden, meeting his gaze with a steady, unblinking look of his own. "He served me well and is one of many whose fates I regret. Tell me, where is he now? Is he here? I'd like to see . . . him . . . " It was then that Salem saw the sorrow in Bob's eyes and the gentle, reassuring smile that hid the sorrow from his face as he tried to catch Dresden's eyes. Salem's furry face fell, his ears flattening. His head hung, and his tail tucked. "I'm sorry," he spoke sincerely. "What happened?"
The wind picked up. Bob muttered, "Justin Morningway! The sorry bastard wanted Dresden and would have his powers, but Malcolm would not stand for it. He tried to stop him and failed. Justin exploded him from the inside out, absorbing some of his powers for himself. Some of the remaining powers entered Dresden, while the others disappeared. I was too late to save Malcolm."
He hung his head in remorse and then lifted it in defiance, declaring hotly, "He will get his just due one day! If not for Cole, we might still be under his control. He saved us. I was enslaved by Justin, who almost used me up completely, but - thanks be to Cole - he helped us to escape and brought us here to this beautiful place! Here is peace and safety for those who are evil can not come here!"
"I recovered, and Dresden has come into his true powers here." He smiled at Dresden with a glowing smile filled with love. Dresden returned the smile. Any one looking at the two would see how much they loved each other.
Cole knew their secret; one look at his former boss let him know that he, too, understood.
Salem's tail swished through the air. He was glad that Dresden's son and Bob had found each other and knew that their love had undoubtedly played as large a part in saving their lives and souls as Cole had. "Good work, old chap," he said approvingly, smiling up at Cole before turning his gaze back to Bob and little Harry who clearly was no longer so little. "Morningway will get his," Salem confirmed in a voice whose mere sound would have put fear into his enemies, "but we have another enemy we must deal with first."
Hank's head jerked up, the tears in his eyes still glittering in the moonlight. "Stay here," he told Ororo's daughter and bounded in the direction of the scream that was now repeating. Some one was in danger, and there was fresh blood on the air!
Prue pulled out her knife and crept quietly behind the blue beast just in case he had need of her. What had he been about to say - that he knew where Doctor McCoy was and that he wasn't dead? Another scream rent the air, and she saw the blue beast dash into the tent. She stayed outside and watched, hoping he would be okay and that they could soon leave.
The Beast's yellow eyes widened and his pounding heart leaped into his furry, pointed ears as he realized that the screaming voice belonged to a child! Dropping to all fours, he ran as fast as he could and released a ferocious roar as he leaped into the tent. His own roar drowned out another, and he arrived just in time to see a lithe redhead glaring down a party of five men.
"NO!" The word was more of a roar of outrage than a shout of denial as the bounty hunter surged upward, throwing red-orange creatures off of him left and right. His claws slashed out in the bright light of the descending full moon, cutting through every Fiery he could reach. Heads bounced. Legs and arms were diced into smaller parts. He cut the Fieries into halves, thirds, and even fourths, but it wasn't until he dove his claws straight through one of their bobbing heads and something gooey splattered out that he finally got one to stop coming back.
He whirled as more ran, flew, hopped, and flopped toward him. His claws were a blinding silver in the moonlight as he struck, shattering heads and shredding every other body part he could get his claws upon. His angry roars drowned out the Fieries' dying calls, but two women heard.
"FALL BACK!" Faith shouted, but the Fieries kept coming.
"WE AIN'T FALLING BACK!"
"THIS DUDE KNOWS HOW TO PARTY, BUT WE PARTY HARDER!"
"IT ISN'T A PARTY!" she screamed at them.
"SURE IT IS! LIFE'S A PARTY! THAT'S HOW WE - " But the Fiery's words were cut off abruptly as the bounty hunter's claws cut sideways through his face. An ear fell beside Faith's foot, and an eye landed next to her elbow. It stared, unseeing, up at her.
"YOU'RE NEXT, WHELP!" the man roared at her as he continued to slaughter her friends.
For the first time, Faith felt a shiver of fear crawl up her spine. This man was unlike any foe she'd ever faced before. She'd never thought the Fieries could be killed, but yet, as more of their splintered and gouged body parts rained down around her, she saw more and more friends who would never get up again for another party.
"NO!"
"Nae is right," spoke a voice. The woman dressed entirely in black from head to foot did not shout, but yet her words cut through the chaos like a knife through butter. Emerald eyes blazed from a dark and furious face. "Fieries, fall back," she commanded, "now!" The last word was hissed from pearly white teeth, but no fangs displayed. Yet both the bounty hunter and his prey sensed power radiating off of this woman . . .
Clark gazed at Lex in complete bewilderment and disbelief. Finally, he reached out, grasped his wrist, and pulled. "I'm not leaving you here!" If he had to, he would use every bit of his strength on this crazed but handsome man, but there was no way that he would ever leave him in the midst of danger! "You're coming back inside one way or another, Lex."
He gazed at him in wonder. "What makes you think you're so evil?" There was nothing evil about him that Clark could see; what he saw before him was only a confused, self-hating, and utterly, breath-takingly sexy man who made him want to grasp him, pull him to him, and kiss sense back into him. But that, he knew, was impossible. Men kissing each other was the most senseless, and one of the wickedest, things there was on the face of the earth! Or, at least, that's what he'd been taught his whole life . . .
Lex looked at his arm where Clark was clutching him so tightly. "I am evil; my Father told me so. Who would know better? I told you not to come too close, Clark, but you didn't listen." Lex tugged at Clark's hand, and suddenly a bewildered Clark found himself in Lex's arms, pulled so tightly against him that Clark could still feel his attention pressing against him and two swollen with passion lips touched down upon his, capturing him for all time. Two arms encircled him, holding him tightly, while his mouth was plundered by Lex. The suddenness of the attack and the ensuing ecstasy that began to build between the two threatened to steal Clark's breath away.
Passion and pleasure flooded Clark's heart and soul, but then he realized what he was doing. "No!" he cried and instinctively shoved against him. "NO!" His scream repeated, his voice now full of horror, as he watched Lex fly through the air and out the open barn door. He raced after him, praying he'd be in time to catch him and fearing his reaction . . .
Would he tell the world of the monster he'd discovered? Although Lex was the one who'd been warning him that he would hate him if he attacked him, Clark knew that Lex was, in truth, the one who would hate, and fear, him. Tears sprang to his panicked blue eyes. Why, oh why, did his powers have to kick in now?
To Be Continued . . .
Authors' Note: If you are enjoying this story, or have enjoyed any of our other writings, we hope you'll consider joining our friends and us at a brand new fan fic/art site we're creating called Ficcers Unite. We welcome all fandoms, pairings (slash and het), and even no pairings at all, and we'll also be RPing a world where Disney and Marvel comes together in one universe. Come on over and check us out at today!