Authors' Note: Here it is, as promised. The chapter is a great deal longer which we figure will make people happy. Just to warn everyone though, the next chapter probably won't be up until sometime in the middle of June. We're having a slight problem getting all three authors and both betas in the same province for a while. Sorry. In the mean time, enjoy the chapter.

P.S: Eirual belatedly realizes that she forgot to put the translation of the Gaelic Eric uses in the authors' note....sorry. "a chailín" means my girl in Gaelic. Once again, I'm so sorry about that. Thank you to Letanica who's review is what clued me into this fact.

The Nightrunners

The Seventh Crow

Soundtrack: Consequence Free (Great Big Sea)

Wouldn't it be great,
If noone ever got offended?
Wouldn't it be great,
To say what's really on your mind?

I've always said,
All the rules are made for bending.
And if I let my hair down,
Would that be such a crime?

I wanna be consequence free!
I wanna be where nothing needs to matter.
I wanna be consequence free!
Just say: Na na na, na na na na na!
Oh! Na na na, na na na na na!

I could really use,
To lose my Catholic consience.
Cause I'm getting sick,
Of feeling guilty all the time.

I won't abuse it,
Yeah I've got the best intentions.
For a little bit of anarchy,
But not the hurting kind.

I wanna be consequence free!
I wanna be where nothing needs to matter.
I wanna be consequence free!
Just say: Na na na, na na na na na!
Oh! Na na na, na na na na na!

Oh! I couldn't sleep at all last night,
Cause I had so much on my mind.
I'd like to leave it all behind,
But you know it's not that easy.

Oh! But for just one night,
Wouldn't it be great,
If the band just never ended?
We could stay out late,
And we would never hear last call.

Wouldn't need to worry about approval or permission.
We could slip off the edge,
And never worry about the fall.

I wanna be consequence free!
I wanna be where nothing means to matter.
I wanna be consequence free!
Just say: Na na na, na na na na na!
Oh! Na na na, na na na na na!
Oh! Na na na, na na na na na!

Le Quartier Roi du Soleil was the place to be after the sun went down. Granted, the sun was currently enveloped in the mother of all storms high above the surface, but it was the metaphorical idea that counted.

Mark actually cackled, spinning in a circle, his bass case nearly knocking a hole in the wall. "This place is so much better than the Outer Limits!"

Felix smiled faintly, standing in front of the back room's only mirror. He had a bottle of gel in one hand, and he was carefully spiking his black hair. Peter leaned in front of him, lining his eyes with dark kohl before tossing the pencil to Mark.

Mark moved to take his place at the mirror, pausing only to comment, "Go easy on the eyeliner, Felix. Your dark circles are impressive enough as it is."

"Look, I haven't slept in three days. When the bodies start stacking up in your dreams, we'll see if you handle it any better!" Felix scowled at his reflection, which indeed looked far too haggard.

"Hey, take it easy, you know he didn't mean anything by it," Sam said, pulling him away.

Felix took a deep breath, and he seemed to relax a bit, even managing a genuine smile. "Let's keep the horror-goth look toned down, anyway. We're playing to a higher class of clientele than your normal Necropolis guttercrawler."

"You have no civic pride, do you, Felix?"

"Not a bit. I *like* playing in cities where people don't try to sacrifice animals in the middle of our set."

"I hate goats," said Mark.

Sam shrugged. "Besides, Peter thinks he looks pretty in makeup."

The drummer snorted. "Yeah, like you can really talk."

"True, but I look prettier in it than you do, and since I'm in a relationship and you're not, I'm going to win this argument."

"Felix is your best friend, so sleeping with him doesn't count," Peter pointed out reasonably.

"Hey! I'm right here, you know." Felix looked annoyed.

"Stop whining and finish your hair, Princess Frodo."

"That's Fairy Princess Frodo, thank you very much."

Peter pulled out one of his drumsticks, gave a cue to an imaginary orchestra, and began to sing. "I feel pretty, oh so pretty! I feel pretty and witty and gay-"

Felix interrupted Peter in mid-verse. "Are you really? I never knew! Hey Sam, you've got competition!"

Sam shot a glare at Peter. "He's mine, bitch."

Mark made a desperate attempt to insert some sanity into the conversation. "It was nice of the twins to get us this gig, wasn't it?"

"Mark, they only did this because we were annoying the Elves."

"Hey, the Elves brought our instruments here all by themselves. We didn't ask," Mark said.

"Nice of them, though," Sam acknowledged.

"Heh, they regretted it pretty quick, didn't they?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "Only when we started to rehearse next to Glorfindel's office."

"Not our fault they have sensitive ears. I thought we sounded pretty good."

"How did they get our instruments here, anyway?"

"Galadriel called your landlord," Felix replied.

"Galadriel knows our landlord?"

"We have a landlord?" This came as a shock to Peter.

"How does Galadriel know our landlord?!" Mark paused. "Our landlord has keys to our apartment?"

"Um, yes." Sam sighed. "He owns the building, remember? But he did promise to water the plants while you were gone."

"We have plants?" This was also news to Peter.

"Hey, gentlemen, shut up and get ready. We're on in five."

And so the most excellent and admirable rocker-hobbits bickered and prepped themselves. Green Dragon was about to make its European debut.

**************

It was a good night at Le Septième Corbeau. The normal clientele had arrived in full force: the club hoppers, the young and bored, the European backpackers, and the pack of drunk gay men who'd meant to go next door.

And naturally, no one was complaining about an unexpected live band. Especially one as collectively attractive as Green Dragon.

The spotlight struck the stage, and Felix blinked once, twice, letting his eyes adjust to the glare. Behind him, he heard Peter whisper-count into one of their normal opening numbers, with no-brainer lyrics and a heavy techno beat. Mark and Sam positioned themselves back to back as he moved towards the front of the stage. He saw Alice on the edge of the crowd. She grinned at him and blew him a kiss. Then there was no time to think as Peter launched himself at the drums and there was only sound, only the beat to carry away all higher brain functions.

And then the crowd hit the floor, and everyone was dancing. Felix grinned.

Life didn't get any better than this.

********

A man wove his way through the crowd, arrowing towards the bar where Erin, Barry and Finn were holding court. He had reddish-brown hair pulled back into low ponytail and hazel eyes set in a broad, good-natured face. He was also wearing a tight black t-shirt and had biceps to kill for.

He stopped behind Erin and stood there for a moment. She glanced over her shoulder and found herself eye-to-eye with an intricate horse tattoo, done in black Celtic knotwork. It twined around the man's upper arm, and hey, she knew that horse-

"Eric!"

Eric Ryan grabbed his sister around the waist as she leapt to hug him. "Hey, 'a chailín'! Fancy meeting you here."

Finn swung around and grinned. "Divine Ryan! I thought you were in London."

Eric set his sister down. "I was, but the Elves recalled most of us to Paris. Heard you managed to snag yourself a Fellowship." He sat down next to them, concern etched across his face. "Someone told me Legolas was hurt. Is he okay?"

Barry nodded towards the dance floor. "You'd never know he was comatose three days ago. He and Gabe are over dancing with those girls."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he old enough to be every one of their ancestors?"

"Repeat that around the Elf and you'll get an arrow in the eye."

*******

Diana was extremely happy that she'd worn the blue velvet corset tonight. As Rose and Emma shimmied up behind her, she leaned over to yell in her friend's ear. "The drummer is so. Fucking. Hot."

Emma laughed. "Gimme the bass player. Christ, look at the ass on that man."

Rose snorted. "And doesn't he know it, the way he's shaking it." She stared up at the stage. "I'd go for the blond or the singer, but I think they're flirting with each other." She sighed. "Just my luck."

Diana slung an arm over her shoulder. "Cheer up, girlfriend. There's Mister Tall, Blond and Androgynous over there in the leather trench."

"He is so not my type."

********

A few songs into their set, Felix set down his guitar and grabbed the mike from its stand. "Hey everybody! It's great to be here in the White City!"

Half the crowd was either too drunk or too monolingual to understand a word he was saying, but they roared their enthusiasm anyway.

"We're gonna take a quick break, but we'll be back in a few minutes. In the meantime, Peter here is going to make the rounds and flirt with anything female and breathing. Thanks!"

Peter, true to form, was already chatting up the girl in the blue corset who'd been hovering at the edge of the stage. Felix ducked out the door backstage, to get a breath of fresh air before they had to play again. He grabbed his water bottle-

-and froze mid-swig and stared, goggle-eyed at the three Elves perched on the fire escape, sharing a cigarette.

Sam, who had followed him out, recovered first. "That'll kill you, you know."

The first Elf shrugged. "No, it won't."

Sam looked nonplussed. "Okay."

The second Elf made a grab for the cigarette, letting loose with a stream of Quenya; the third answered in the same language and tossed a pointed glance at the empty package and the pile of butts at their feet. The first Elf passed the smoldering cigarette back, grinning at Sam and Felix. "Sorry about those two. They're not fit for mixed company, on account of the fact that their English sucks." He paused. "And their French, too. Galadriel's only letting those capable of human interaction into the club."

The other two Elves, hoarding the cigarette like it was the last smoke on earth, grinned sheepishly. The first rolled his eyes. "There's less of us than you think." Then he laughed. "We can hear your music out here. Do you know any Clapton?"

"Who?"

***********

There was a hurried hobbit-conversation, a few experimental chords, and then Felix stepped up to the mike. "This one's for the guys out back. Here's to hoping that their cigarette lasts." Green Dragon then launched into the one and only Eric Clapton song in their repertoire.

At the bar, Erin's eyes widened. "Layla! They're playing Layla!"

"Christ, where'd they dig that up- hey!" Finn was cut off as Erin hauled him to his feet and kissed him.

"I don't care. Come and dance with me!"

Finn blinked. "Okay." And then Erin was dragging him bodily into the mass of dancers.

Barry shook his head. "Kids these days." His expression became serious as he turned to face Eric. "So spill. I know you didn't come all the way to Paris to check out the new band at the Septième Corbeau."

Eric leaned forward. "The Elves wanted their agents closer to home, but I had my own reasons for coming back." His expression darkened. "We've picked up a few disturbing reports with regards to White City Enterprises."

"Anything solid?"

Eric shook his head. "Scuttlebutt. Rumours. Nothing substantial. Some under the table deals and a few shadowy murders. We've got a couple of underground contacts who insist there's a big takeover coming up, and that Darryl Stuart is heavily involved."

Barry frowned. "I haven't heard anything like that, and Dad usually keeps me up to date. But he's been playing close to the vest lately. I don't know. Something's making him paranoid."

"Even more so than usual?"

Barry winced. "Touché. Felix and Sam had a run-in with Dad and Garrett, but they got out okay. Dad was slagging off about the Elves, but what else is new? However, he had a bottle of Lake that Felix is positive came out of Legolas's apartment in Necropolis."

"What sort of connection does White City Enterprises have with New York?"

Barry shrugged. "We don't even have a branch there; the closest one is in Chicago. No nice above-board reason for a Mirkwood prince's private stock to have crossed the pond." He leaned towards the other man. "Dad must have had agents in New York looking for Legolas and the others. He couldn't have known Adam was there. Hell, Finn and I didn't know where he was." Barry rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Trying to think like a megalomaniac gives me a headache. What do you think's going on?"

Eric sipped his drink, looking thoughtful. "The Elves really don't see Darryl Stuart as a threat. Well, their companies are in direct financial competition, but Galadriel and Elrond don't see past that. I think it's a blind spot from the old days, when your father was a bit more honourable than he is now."

"Say it like it is, Eric." Barry's voice was level. "He'd probably be declared sociopathic if I could get a decent shrink anywhere in his vicinity."

"You said it, not me. It occurs to me that your childhood couldn't have been much fun."

"Well, Finn, Adam and I always watched out for each other, and we could avoid Dad most of the time. Christ, if Adam hadn't gotten out when he did, he'd probably have met with an accident."

"You think?"

"I know my father."

Eric leaned forward. "I think Darryl's thrown in his lot with Sauron. That would explain the rumours about the takeover."

"Have you reported this to the Elves?"

Eric shook his head. "Not yet. They won't take any action, though, even if I did. I've got nothing that will hold up in court. Besides, what could we have him charged with? Last time I checked, selling your soul to the devil wasn't a crime you could prosecute."

Barry snorted. "Is there any way to connect him to your mysterious murders?"

"No. Nothing solid, anyway. Darryl and his operatives know how to cover their tracks. I'm more worried about your dad acting on orders he might be getting from his new boss in regards to our friends." He shrugged. " I'm reporting to Galadriel and Celeborn tomorrow morning. You'd better come along. They'll probably need to send you in to get some information out of your father."

"The 'dutiful son' part is getting harder to play, you know."

"I know. If we're lucky, it won't be for much longer."

"Then here's to hoping we take down Sauron quickly." Barry raised his glass and Eric returned the gesture, both downing the expensive bourbon.

Eric glanced out onto the dance floor. A couple floated past his line of vision and he grinned. "Hello, what's this?"

Barry leaned back and sighed. "Oh, thank god, *finally*!"

************

"Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight ?"

"Yes, but it never hurts to be told more than once."

"Well, I figured I couldn't go wrong with telling the truth."

Alice did look beautiful. She had let her hair down, and was wearing a light green gauzy dress.

"What's that around your throat?"

"A beryl. My mother gave it to me, she said it was fitting that I wear an elf-stone again."

"It's pretty." Adam turned to face her, offering his hand. "Would you care to dance, my Lady?"

"Certainly, my Lord." Alice bent to give Adam a mocking curtsey, but he reached out to stop her.

"There was never a need for that before, love. Don't start now."

Several pairs of eyes followed the couple as they drifted onto the dance floor. Alice sighed as Adam put his arms around her and started spinning them in slow circles.

"This is nice."

"What?"

"This. I mean, us. Dancing and actually having fun for once."

"Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Alice? You're never this verbose, especially about happiness, or the softer range of human emotions."

"So I don't like to open up much. It's not like I'm antisocial or anything."

"No, but you communicate how you feel about as well as an oyster does," Adam said, then grinned. "Unless it's anger, of course. You're good at that."

"And your problem with this is?"

"Look, Alice, I'm not trying to make you mad. It's just...I want you to talk to me. It makes me feel helpful." He smiled again. "Plus, while you're talking to me, you're not beating me off walls or destroying somebody's apartment."

"You're not going to let me forget that any time soon, are you?" Her tone became rueful.

"Nope. Well, I might, if you choose to spill your guts, metaphorically speaking. I know Arwen, but Alice is a little more reclusive."

"There really isn't much to tell."

"Somehow I don't believe that. Tell me something about Alice Starr. Something that I don't already know."

He spun her quickly and she gasped, once, before gripping his shoulders tightly.

"Fine. I grew up in a Great Society orphanage and I hated it. I also went through the GS school system, at least until I was old enough to leave. In some ways, I was a lucky one. I got out early."

"This story sounds like it's going to continue with 'I got out early because I burned down the school.' Am I right?"

" I wish. No, I left school early because they discovered I was a witch. My best friend was attacked by a chimaera one day, and I fried its scaly black ass with a lightning bolt."

"Quite the illustrious start to your magical career."

"Not really. I killed it, but it didn't stop her from bleeding to death on the sidewalk. Then some government people came along and told me I was being moved to a special camp for witches." She winced. "Later, I found out that the orphanage had requested my transfer. I was manifesting power at a dangerous level and they thought I was a threat. So they put me in the camps."

Her tone was flip, but her fingers tightened on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Why? You had nothing to do with it. Besides, the camp may have been hell on earth, but I learned how to spellcast without killing myself. Most witches aren't so lucky. About a third of all magic users kill themselves within a year of gaining their powers. They don't learn how to control it, you see? If I've done nothing else with my life, I haven't become a statistic."

"A fact for which I am very grateful."

The song finished. As the hobbits launched into something fast-paced and thrashy, couples began to move off the floor.

"Come upstairs with me?" Adam asked.

"It's not *that* kind of club, you know. Besides, I don't do that sort of thing on the first date."

"I meant come up to the balcony with me." He grinned at her.

"Very well. But only since you asked so very nicely, meleth-nîn."

There was a catwalk overlooking the dance floor, with a few tables placed in shadowy corners. Alice lolled against the rail, looking down as Adam went to get drinks. A hand on her hip drew Alice away from her reverie.

"Is wine all right?"

"I'm normally a vodka girl, but wine is fine, thanks."

Adam handed her a glass and leaned against the rail, facing her.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"I was thinking about all the people down there." Alice sighed. "Everyone is looking for someone to spend forever with, but there's no proof that forever can exist."

"I don't know about that. Close your eyes," said Adam, taking her wine glass and placing it on a nearby table.

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

"As you wish."

With her eyes closed, Alice found that everything else in the club became much louder. She could hear the sounds of bodies shuffling down on the floor, Felix singing and the buzz of conversation punctuated by laughter. Then Adam's warm hands were on hers, pressing something cold and sharp into her palm.

She looked down to find a star caught between her fingers, intricate filigree digging into her skin.

"Forever exists, if you know where to look."

It was beautiful, threads of woven silver and a white stone that drew all the light towards it. It was ancient and wonderful, and god, how she'd missed it.

It was the Evenstar, bright and perfect, and it was sitting in her hand.

For a moment, she couldn't speak. "Where-?"

"Mark and Peter found it and gave it to me."

"Thank you." She smiled up at him, and the rest of the world faded to white noise.

************

Down on the stage, Mark looked out over the crowd and up to the catwalk. Later, he decided it was a good thing that he didn't sing, because it would have been hard with his jaw halfway to the floor. Then he grinned. Who would have known that Adam and Alice had it in them?

//Well,// thought Mark, //Who wants a quiet life, anyway?//