I'm still having tons of fun writing this and it still makes my day when someone lets me know they're having fun reading it. So, as usual, thanks for reading!

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Chapter 36: Covet

Hawke exited the house and ran. Dawn was just cracking over the proud rooftops of hightown. She took no heed to conceal herself; staff of a mage, armor of a magister standing out blatantly against the gray stones of the tall mansions. Descending the steps she ran into Donnic, flanked by two other guardsmen. He stopped, shocked to see her and see her alone. She didn't pause, just shouted at him, "They're still inside the mansion. Go. Aveline will explain" and she pushed past him and his guards jumping down the stairs two at a time.

When she entered the Hightown market, she hesitated. The merchants were opening up their stalls for the day and the first of the early morning customers were milling about. At first she received no more than a cursory glance, but when she broke back into a run, crossing the large square in front of everyone's curious eyes, she knew at least some of them recognized her. A few scattered cries of disbelief echoed against the sides of buildings and her name on the lips of the crowd moved faster than her feet as she ran. One man even took the time to yell out a curse and spit at her as she passed.

She didn't even bother to wipe it off her boot. If she didn't deserve it for what she had already done she was soon to deserve it for what she was about to do.

When she finally arrived at the gates to the Gallows, she found them shut, two templars standing guard, shields up and swords drawn. She stopped for just a moment closing her eyes at the sight and sound of the templars shouting at her, questioning her business here.

I'm sorry father, she whispered under her breath, but she knew she needn't apologize. She was doing this for Fenris and for the love they shared that she would not see extinguished. Her father would have done the same for her mother.

When she opened her eyes again, she tilted her staff and nodded her head at the templars. With a flash of light they were held fast, frozen in place. Hawke thought it appropriate that the first blood she spilt was at the hands of the same spell she had been forced to use to restrain her friends. She pulled a dagger from her hip and slit the throats of the helpless paralyzed templars before moving past them through the gates.

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Fenris was the first to break free by force of lyrium and will. He couldn't remember ever having to pull so much power from his markings before. His skin was on fire as he felt the lines expand, searing into him deeper. He choked down the pain and would have endured twice as much if he could just free himself and catch up with Marian.

Finally he heard a snapping sound and his muscles seemed to fall loose from their prison. He beat back the excessive flare of his lyrium, grabbed his sword and broke out in a run, leaving the others behind.

The sun had risen along with the citizens of Kirkwall who were now scattered about the streets. He sensed a faint hum calling out to him. It was the presence of her magic, not so far away, and it was unmistakable. He ran towards the formless distant energy knowing that his instincts would lead him to her.

He hadn't gone far when he realized there was a buzz of growing agitation all around him. At first he thought the people he passed must be affronted by the mad armored elf with a greatsword, who reeked of magic if Aveline was to be believed, running headlong towards the Gallows. But when he heard snatches of conversation and the words 'apostate', 'murderer' and 'Champion', he knew Marian's presence here was no longer secret.

He ran faster and cursed himself for his rash demands of her at the mansion that led to this. He knew she would never agree to be left behind. Indeed he didn't want her to be anywhere but by his side no matter what, but the fear that gripped him at the thought of her being captured far exceeded his ability to reason.

The words of the abomination in the Fade were coming back to haunt him. He knew and he had been warned that Marian needed protection first from herself and that she would jump into the fire as soon as take a breath. It was his duty to keep the flames from her but he was already failing. Not that the damn woman was making it easy for him. He thought bitterly that if she could only behave like a proper magister and place her own safety first, he wouldn't be chasing after her like a lax bodyguard...or like a panicked lover. He ran faster still.

When the gate to the Gallows came in sight, he slowed his steps without meaning to and a dark foreboding crept into him mingling with the feeling of her magic in the air. He had a wild and terrible urge to run away; an unbidden selfish need for self-preservation. He felt a hot puff of air on his neck, shocking against the chill of the early Kirkwall winter. He heard a whisper in his ear, far off and unintelligible but he knew who it was. So close. Close enough to beckon meant Danarius was close enough to kill and though his gut twisted and his lyrium burned he marched forward to find the magister he needed to protect and the one he needed to kill.

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The first wave of templars in the courtyard fell quickly. Like the pair at the gate, they had not been expecting her. The second wave had fair warning and matched Hawke's spells with attacks of their own, but they were predictable, as trained pets of the Chantry tended to be, and they too fell. The third wave gave her pause. Only a few, but stronger, with time to plan a strategy that forced her into dagger work. And though not absolutely necessary, her blades were swift and efficient and they hadn't been expecting to die by a dagger in the hands of a mage.

Hawke had barely caught her breath when her next opponents stood before her. Trepidation rose in her chest and up her throat as she eyed half a dozen suits of heavy plate armor with half a dozen breastplates emblazoned with the Eye of the Seeker.

She stood facing the Seekers of Truth. Fenris wasn't there to yell at her so she cursed herself for her rash stupidity. She knew exactly what he would have said anyway. Had she actually broken into the Gallows alone? To do what exactly? Get smited by Seekers?

She buried her fear beneath the iron of her will. Smiting her would cost more than these Seekers were willing to lose. Sheathing her dagger, she pounded her staff on the ground and spoke. "Where is the maleficar you harbor?" She held her breath, and not even a hair on her head wavered. If they silenced her, at least she would still have her guile.

The tallest and broadest in the group, a stern looking woman who unfortunately reminded her vaguely of Knight Commander Meredith, took a step forward trying to be both cautious and threatening. "The list of things you have to answer for Serah Hawke grows exponentially."

Hawke's anger rose along with her magic and the soldiers before her felt it, moving their hands to their blades and bringing up their shields. "I will make you answer for every soul that ever suffered in the Chantry's chains."

Anders would have been proud. She pushed out with her staff and the woman went flying backwards. Hawke braced herself, refusing to give ground even as the knights charged her. She gathered more energy for another push but the force of it never left her hands. Her spell fizzled out in shock when, from behind her, another group of knights charged forward past her and clashed with the seekers.

She just stood there watching her unexpected defenders lock swords with her enemies. She shook the surprise from her head and readied her magic again, lifting her free hand and pulling flames down from the sky. The seekers fell under sword and fire. When the smoke and ash settled, she moved forward to see who her new allies were.

The men left standing each leaned forward, hands on knees, breathing heavily with exertion. Her eyes darted from one to the next. They all looked familiar. When she came to the last man, she cried out and rushed forward.

"Holy Maker! Cullen? Is that you?" She reached out to help lower the templar to sit on the ground. He looked older than she remembered, much more than his true years. His unshaven face had grown gaunt and he looked up at her with tired eyes. "Cullen, are you alright? What happened here?"

"I could ask you the same Hawke. I did not think to ever see you return to Kirkwall." He looked up at her but his gaze seemed distant. "But I'm glad that you did."

"I found them locked up, Hawke. Knowing you, I had a feeling we could use any extra help we could get so I broke them out." Isabela had silently come to stand behind her. Hawke smiled. "I knew you'd probably do something stupid, but I didn't think I'd find you without your lanky elf."

Hawke just didn't have time to explain. "Cullen, please, the magister from Tevinter, I'm here for him."

"Then he was telling the truth." He grimaced underneath his rough beard and then took in Hawke's appearance. "I don't know if this is fortunate or unfortunate, but I am happy to see you looking well if...different. The maleficar brought the Seekers here promising he could draw you in. He was going to let them have you in exchange for the mages still under our care."

Hawke had always known Cullen to be a good man who took his duty seriously. He would never have allowed the mages he swore to protect be given over to slavery or worse. "You tried to oppose them didn't you?"

"Some of those mages were practically still children. We few here, still loyal to our vows, tried to protect our charges when the magister took them. We were unsuccessful." The statement of his defeat was spoken with bitterness. Cullen sat up, his face now grave and intense. "The stink of dark magic and blood has permeated the Gallows for days Hawke. Do you know what's going on? We will help you if we can." He rose as did his men and they gathered their weapons and their honor in silent pledge to fight at Hawke's side despite the history between them.

Hawke grasped her staff tightly and looked between Cullen and Isabela. "Thank you Cullen but I mean to try to end this without risking anyone else. Isabela, the others are likely already on their way. Fenris will be...upset," To say the least. "that I came ahead of them. Aveline is bringing the guard, she can explain." Hawke grabbed Isabela's arm and spoke earnestly. "I have to go. Please...don't let Fenris do anything stupid."

"Like follow you?" Isabela smirked. "Too late, sweet thing."

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Fenris stepped over the bodies of templars. He felt Marian's magic all over the courtyard. Frantically he moved deeper into the Gallows trying to manage his fear and his hate. He feared Danarius, hated him and hated that he feared him. He feared for Marian and hated that he felt useless absent from her side. As he searched and the moments went by the magic penetrating the air swelled and grew but he couldn't find its focus. Had she engaged Danarius already? Was she fighting his fight without him? Bearing his burden alone? The thought chilled him to his very core. He ran blindly, without a plan, growing more and more agitated with each step, trembling with anticipation and urgency.

He moved past another gate and found himself in a smaller courtyard, stairs leading to the entrances of the buildings flanking each end. He was a snarling vicious mess of lyrium and steel when he came upon Isabela there, white knuckles closed around the hilt of his sword, markings screaming bright and pulsing. She was standing among several other armed men who were looking down on the dead bodies of at least six seekers.

He wasn't thinking clearly enough to question the presence of the other men. "Where?" The one word was all that he was able to pull from the feral torrent in his head.

Isabela was smart enough to answer without pause. "Inside." She jerked her head to the stairs on his left and he charged up them. She shouted after him. "Hey! I'm supposed to make sure you don't do anything stupid..." But he was already inside.

He stepped into a long corridor lined with doors. The magic that surrounded him was stifling and strange. He still felt Marian's indefatigable presence but there was darkness filling in all the spaces around it. He knew she was near and it spurred him forward. He had not made it even halfway down the hall when a deafening shriek rent the silence and pierced through him. He dropped his sword and covered his ears on reflex as the sound throbbed louder and louder. His own cry of pain at the intensity of the assault was drowned out. He stumbled around wanting to escape the noise but it seemed to come from everywhere at once with no source to get away from. Just when he thought his skull would break like glass from the horrible din, it stopped. Then, with a crack a hiss and a sinking dread, the walls around him broke apart and crumbled; the living world shifted and disappeared and Fenris felt the Veil collapse and fall away.

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Hawke opened every door in the long corridor she had been in many times before. The stifling thickness of the strange magic in the air was slowing her movements and dulling her senses. The odd sediment of old memories surfaced in her mind as she checked every room. The Veil was so thin here, she half expected to see Meredith and Orsino in their offices, brought back to life by her memory and the influence of the Fade that was seeping through the Veil in this cursed place.

When she found every room empty she walked to the last door and entered the large atrium at the end of the hall. She tried to shake the fog from her head as she passed through the doorway.

A man with graying hair sat leisurely on a bench at the far end of the room. They were alone. Though the man was the first thing she saw, the first thing she felt was unmistakably familiar to her. There was a vein of magic flowing; raw power that she had touched before, coaxed through her own fingers and brought forth in a storm. She knew the magic that was supposed to belong to Fenris as well as she knew her own, and it was here, in this place, in its full presence, all over and inside this man before her.

Well beyond her control, her magic boiled over with hate and her face twisted in rage but before she could attack, the man lifted his hand and she was struck with a terrible sensation. It was as if Fenris was standing before her. She felt the caress of his magic but it was being used by another. Her anger faltered, her desire to kill ebbed and she was terror stricken, unable to attack the essence of the man she loved even though it was being used as a weapon against her.

Danarius lowered his hand and spoke to her, calm and still and even-tempered. "Is my little wolf not magnificent?"

Hawke was incensed. She tried again to attack him, with anything, any spell any bit of magic she could muster, but she couldn't turn her magic against the feeling of Fenris. She knew she was being manipulated. She knew the blood mage before her was twisting the magic he controlled and using it to pull at her emotions. But knowing that wasn't helping her and she closed her eyes and smelled lyrium and leather.

She heard the magister rise from his bench and walk towards her. She squeezed her staff with one hand and reached for a dagger with another trying to fight back Fenris's magic that he was forcing against her, lulling her into compliance with it. This isn't him. He isn't here. You can't hurt him. Just attack! But her hands remained still and her magic quiet.

Danarius came to stand next to her, as if the two of them were simply admiring the potted plants side by side. She opened her eyes and stared forward trying to win back her anger, trying to toss away the touch of Fenris's stolen magic. She tried to ignore Danarius when he spoke again, but it was as if he was speaking inside her head.

"I don't blame you for coveting him, Marian." Her name on his lips even sounded like Fenris in her ears and she was horrified. "He is the paragon of my endeavors. He is my magnum opus, and he reflects years of study, of training, of molding him and his magic to suit my needs...not yours." Those last two words were a savage growl spoken through bared teeth and for that brief moment Hawke felt the malicious corruption of the man beneath the shield of Fenris's magic. She latched onto that foul sensation, working up the will to attack.

He continued, composed once again. "But I must admit I am loath to see the two of you parted. It would be a terrible waste to kill you when you could be every bit as useful to me as my Fenris. If anything, I may have to reward him for finding me someone so lovely. His sister was a poor substitution but she served for a time, and she was part of the game that Loranus and I played out with each other."

Danarius turned to look at Hawke. He circled her, hands folded casually behind his back, eyes moving up and down the length of her. "You and he must be simply beautiful together." Hawke wanted to cover her already completely covered body. He stepped close to her face and looked into her eyes, speaking softly now, almost reverently seductive and it made her skin crawl with abhorrence. "I've always thought my little wolf was at his prettiest when he was mounted from behind, crying out his obedience, the line of him bent in submission; but picturing him proudly mounting you, the runecrafting in his skin shifting against your soft curves as he takes you is giving me a whole new perspective on the matter."

Hawke reached out suddenly with one hand, not sure what she meant to do with it, just needing to strike at Danarius somehow and thrilled with herself for gathering enough defiance to do it.

He quickly leaned back, not needing to expend much effort to avoid the blow. "We can certainly explore the many possibilities therein. I will need to rid him of his memories again and we can start fresh with you in the equation this time." He seemed to be speaking the last part to himself but then he addressed Hawke again.

"Any masterpiece can always be made better. I can teach you many things, Marian, with a bit of guidance from a firm hand both you and my wolf would flourish anew. So as one reasonable mage to another, I'm prepared to make you an offer."

Hawke spit in his face and managed to work enough force into her staff to attack with it but he was prepared. The shape of Danarius transformed in front of her into the shape of Fenris, and it was this doppelganger that pushed back with force of its own, staggering her and leaving her feeling unnaturally drained. The fake Fenris strode back up to her smiling too broadly to be accurate and he backhanded her across the mouth, her head jerking violently to the side. She tasted her own blood on her lips and when she looked back up, the form of Danarius had returned.

"I am not one for games. I am negotiating with you in good faith, Marian. You should not squander this opportunity. You will not get a better offer from Loranus I assure you. I understand he has your blood." Danarius went back to his bench and sat, relaxed and leaning back on his hands. "That is exactly the kind of game he likes to play." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's all about control with him, all about the game. He has no finesse, no eye for artistry."

Hawke felt trapped. She prayed to the maker that Fenris was still paralyzed, that he hadn't followed her, because there was only one way she could think of to fight this man on equal footing. Her magic squirmed impatiently while he kept talking.

"Here are my terms. You will give me back my property, and you will tell my little wolf to come without question. In return, I will re-acquire your blood from my old friend Loranus. You may march at my side when I take the capital. If things suit, when I replace the Archon, I may have you replace Loranus." He narrowed his eyes at her. "We'll see. And this will be contingent upon your compliance with perfecting the new vision I have for my Fenris, taking into account some of the improvements you've brought to my attention."

Danarius smiled a deceptively innocent smile. The mad bastard looked for all the world as if he truly expected her to accept his offer. She smiled back at him. She couldn't bring herself to fight the magic of the man she loved here, where it was too real, and where her own magic had its limits. But the Fade was another matter entirely.

She turned her staff in her hands and held it in front of her. She locked eyes with Danarius, the two of them still sharing a smile. She knew the moment when he saw what she was going to do. When he saw her lips part his smile turned ugly and his confidence cracked. He stood and a staff materialized in his hands where there had been nothing before. He lifted his weapon but he was too late. Hawke's mouth opened wide and the shriek that echoed from her shattered the glass of the walls and ceiling. As the shards rained down on the two mages, the world around them retreated and the Fade expanded beneath their feet.