"I've got a question for you, Buchanan," Dane Majors said, leering evilly at Nick. "You ever been to the fairy realm?"

Nick's mind was like a lead weight inside his head. He hardly knew how to have any coherent thought, let alone respond with words. He could feel himself barely on the edge of consciousness. He was barely alive after being beaten and broken and starved and dehydrated for days. He could, however, remain in reality just enough to understand what was going on. Somehow, he had to figure out how to lie to Dane. No matter what, he knew he had to protect the realm. He had to protect Jen and all the fairies. Whatever Dane Majors wanted with the fairies and their magic, it wasn't good. Nick knew what Dane was capable of. And Nick would keep him from succeeding until his dying breath if he had to.

Dane got impatient. He kicked Nick's leg from where he was sitting on the sofa. "Oi! Answer me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nick rasped. It was a pointless lie, but it might buy some time. Anything to delay Dane.

"Your girlfriend's a fairy. Now, I know you know that."

"What?" Nick asked, feigning confusion.

Dane stood up abruptly, knocking the coffee table to the side. "Don't you play dumb with me!" he shouted.

Nick started coughing, having inhaled too quickly in surprise from Dane's sudden movements. "What do you want with a fairy?" Nick asked, once he'd caught is breath.

A terrifying grin appeared on Dane's face. "You should know by now, Buchanan, that the only thing worth anything in the world is power. I was rich and popular as a cricketer, that was power. That gave me freedom. I could do what I wanted. Till you and your lot brought me down. But when I was a kid, I came from nothing. And I met Josh and he showed me magic. There's nothing the magic can't do. Fairy magic is the greatest power there is. And if I've got that, there's nothing I can't do."

"So what is it you want to do?"

"Whatever I bloody like," Dane answered with a laugh. "With the magic, I can get my revenge. I can find another woman or a dozen if I want. I can have everything I want and no one can touch me. And if anyone's in my way, well…the magic can take care of that, too."

Nick wasn't sure what was more frightening, the fact that Dane didn't actually have a real reason for wanting fairy magic or the fact that he expected the magic to exist for his purposes alone without restriction. Granted, Nick certainly did not know everything about fairy magic, but he was rather sure that it wasn't unlimited. Jen had said that a fairy could do anything they put their mind and magic to, but just because the fairies hadn't found anything their magic couldn't do didn't mean there wasn't any constraint. After all, the fairies themselves were limited in their experiences. Jen had never had tea before they met. She didn't know anything about technology or electricity or anything. But Dane did. Dane knew the ways of the human world, and with that kind of power, there was no telling what sadistic sorts of things he'd come up with.

"So tell me, you've been there, right?"

No matter how Dane pushed, Nick wasn't going to answer. He had to stay strong. He had to protect them.

Dane waited for a moment and then kicked Nick's leg again. "ANSWER ME!" he bellowed.

But that wouldn't do anything to Nick. He would die before betraying the trust that Jen and Queen Bernice and Sir Terry placed in him. There was a reason, somehow, that the tattoo he'd drawn for himself when he was twenty was the tree that housed the fairy palace. He had no idea why or how, but it was important. And it was important to protect the beautiful magical world that he had grown to love. Even having been there only once, he had immediately been drawn to it. Maybe it was just because he had been there with Jennifer. Maybe it was just because he was in love with her. Because he was in love with her. And if he died here in this cabin with Dane Majors, at least he knew she loved him. He only wished he could see her one last time.

The further silence infuriated Dane, and before Nick knew it, the man had swung his arm back and dealt a brutal blow to Nick's head, knocking him out completely.

Nick woke with a start, hearing a familiar cry. It was a bird's cry. And nearly same moment Nick heard that cry, he was assaulted with the rest of his senses. He was in pain. So much bloody pain. And it was getting worse. His arms were cuffed over his head and he was being dragged. Only one of his eyes would open, the other swelled shut, and from what he could see, he was in the woods. And a glint of gold flew past his vision, crying out.

It wasn't just any bird's cry. It was Jerry.

Before Nick could do anything about that, he was abruptly dropped.

"Patience! Help is on the way!" Jerry squawked.

Nick couldn't help reacting to the bird's words. He'd never heard him be so direct before, though Jen would know better than he. Luckily Dane didn't seem to notice the way Nick turned his head toward the bird. "Find Jennifer," he whispered, hoping Jerry could hear him from where he was perched in the tree.

Miraculously, Nick could see Jerry and was astonished to see him nod before letting out another loud call and flying away.

"Did you say something Buchanan?" Dane asked, walking over to stand over Nick's crumpled and pathetic form. "Got something to share?"

Nick looked up at his captor and kept his mouth shut. Dane waited for a moment before laughing.

"Well, no matter. We're here."

It was not a mystery to Nick where 'here' was. He recognized these trees. He turned his head, wincing in pain as he did, and saw the two trees with their intertwined branches forming an arch. The portal to the fairy realm.

Instantly, panic consumed Nick. He didn't know how Dane had gotten him here or knew where to go. They were too close. A fairy could go in or out at any minute, putting them all in danger. Jerry had flown away, but not through the portal. Nick couldn't imagine that Jen wasn't in the realm, but perhaps Jerry hadn't understood what Nick said at all and wasn't bringing Jennifer to save the day.

All Nick knew was that he'd been dragged through the woods for some time, that his body and mind were shattered almost beyond his own recognition, and that Dane Majors knew where the portal was.

"This is where I'd meet up with Josh. It's been a long time, but I never forgot this clearing. Bit tougher taking you with me, Buchanan, but we're here now. Now, you tell me how to get through."

"I'd rather die," Nick choked.

Dane smiled again, a sight that was enough to chill anyone's blood. "Oh don't you worry about that. You will die. You'll get me what I want, and then I'll let you die. But until then, you're gonna suffer. I suffered for ten years because of you. And I'll take pleasure in making your last moments full of pain and failure and the worst you can possibly imagine. Make no mistake, Buchanan, you'll tell me what I want to know. And then you'll be dead and hidden in the woods where no one will ever find your body."