Disclaimer: Anything recognisable from the Harry Potter books and films belongs to JK Rowling and her associates. No money is being made from this fanfiction.
Author's Note: Once again, this story is R/Hr/H/L/N/G so by default it will contain slash and femslash.
1: Nightfall
The young woman pulled her feet up onto the branch so she was spread out along it and a few moments later, watched in irritation as the hunting party moved down the track below her. As tempted as she was to simply drop down among them and kill them, Ray's warning was in the back of her mind. They couldn't afford to antagonise the New Human Government any more then they already had by refusing to turn themselves over to be executed.
Sweeping the strands of brown hair that had somehow got loose from her plait back over her shoulder; she narrowed her eyes as she took in the hunters. They were loaded down with gear this time, obviously hoping that the heavy calibre guns would give them an advantage. She couldn't see any other weaponry, but that didn't mean there wasn't more. The guns definitely showed that the hunters knew they were in this particular part of Dunnoir Forest. Time to move on again it seemed. Sighing once more in aggravation, she rolled off of the branch and landed lightly on the ground just as the hunters turned out of sight. With one last glare in their direction, she dived into the forest opposite the trail and began to make her way to their current home, a cave near the south edge of the forest.
Mia still found it hard to understand. They had explained to Michela that they didn't want to be a part of the human world, too damaged as they were by their past. They had merely asked to be left alone. They would stay away from the human cities and towns and in return the humans would make no attempt to find them. The Wolf Pack would become a legend and in a few generations, would cease to be real. For almost a year, they had had peace, only rarely venturing into the smallest of villages for the few supplies they couldn't make or scavenge themselves. Their world had prospered under the New Human Government. Then that had begun to change. The first to feel it were the Sensors, those humans who were more in tune with the world around them and were able to manipulate the laws of nature. They had begun to disappear. They were 'traitors' and had been tried for attempting to allow the demons back into Aeder. The next had been the human-sides. Half demon hybrids who took after their human parent rather then their demon one; they too were rounded up, more obviously this time.
None of the Pack were quite sure when they had been deemed a danger, or even how the government had been so sure they were still alive, but the call had gone out for the Wolf Pack to turn themselves over to the authorities for trial. They had sneaked into Calipe to watch another's trial and what they had seen had sickened them. Rather then announcing their presence, they had retreated into the deepest part of the Alexos Forest and had remained there until the hunters had driven them out. Dunnoir was the forth place they would be forced to flee.
Stepping lightly out into the small clearing at the front of the cave, Mia nodded quickly to Dar, who was on guard, and motioned for him to follow her in. The brown haired man raised an eyebrow and nodded. Inside the cave was spartan, a small cook fire surrounded by six logs and a small pile of cookware were at the front of the cave and their packs were piled up against one of the walls. Making their way further back, they rounded the corner and walked into another area that was bathed in torchlight. Here the floor was covered with animal pelts and blankets. Weapons were piled around the edges for easy reach.
They stopped and watched the scene in front of them, smiles touching their lips. Nua lay on her back, her red hair spilling out across the blankets, her body exposed. Kneeling between her legs, holding her hips with his hands, Ray slid in and out of her with strong, controlled thrusts. Her hands were gripping his arms tight enough that he would most likely have had bruises had he been a regular human.
To one side of them Naz lay spooning Jen and watching his pack-mate and sister. Naz and Nua were blood siblings, the blood rituals they had been forced to do had shown that, although no more clearly then their vibrant red hair had. They were the only two who didn't find release in each other's arms anymore. The demons had found it entertaining to watch them together, but since they had fled they had allowed their relationship to turn to that of true siblings, or as close to it as their unusual living arrangements would allow.
Nua suddenly arched beneath Ray and shuddered as a keening moan broke from deep in her throat. Satisfied, Ray gave himself over to his own pleasure, shuddering gently as he spilled himself deep inside the woman beneath him and then allowed himself to fall forward over her and rest on his elbows. They lay for a few moments longer before separating and turning to look at the two newcomers. Mia smiled at them, lust showing in her own eyes. Nua and Jen pulled away as if to come to her, but she stilled them with a gesture. Ray raised an eyebrow as he sprawled back onto the pelt, his jet black hair blending seamlessly into the black fur beneath him. Mia's eyes traced the scar that ran from his hairline across his right eye and over to his jaw line, just underneath his ear. She still had nightmares about the night he had received it. Pulling her mind back to the present, she spoke, "There are hunters in forest. They are following the north track and have already passed here."
"Still too close though…" Ray sighed.
"The Hunter's Moon will rise soon. If we are still here, we will be their prey…" Jen trailed off, absently twirling a stand of blonde hair around a finger. Her eyes had the glazed look they always got when she was trying to see further then a mortal should. "A man hunts for us. He holds the key to our past." She frowned again and finished in a whisper, "and maybe the key to our future…"
"Where can we find him?" Ray asked.
"North, near where the river runs white."
They exchanged looks as they waited for Jen to come back to herself. When she started blinking rapidly to readjust her vision to the real world, Ray began giving orders. It was time to move on again.
They moved silently through the night-shrouded forest, more ghost themselves then real. Each one was alert, watching, careful, and ready to signal the others the moment they found something. At the same time, they were totally at ease. The Wolf Pack had been created to be hunters and they were most at home when their pray was ahead of them. For now they searched for the hunters. After that they would turn their attention to the man Jen had spoken of.
Finding the camped hunters was easy and Dar knelt comfortably, concealed from their sight in the branches of one of the trees they had selected for shelter. Usually they wouldn't have bothered trying to find out what their hunters were thinking, but Jen's vision had been too clear for any of their comfort. They wanted to know what was so special about the Hunter's Moon coming up.
"I still say we should burn the forest down, flush them out like rats." One of the hunters was saying.
"Nah, waste of good trees that is. We'll catch them eventually and if not, well no great lose."
"What's that meant to mean?"
"Well the council has those hellhounds trained and ready to go, don't they? Got control of them, they do. They're planning to send the hounds after the Wolf Pack. Then use them to hunt down the rest of the 'sides. Shouldn't be long before only the pures are left on Aeder. Won't that be something?"
There were murmurs of agreement from the other hunters. Dar slipped away, more shaken then he cared to admit. Jen was right; they had to get out of here. Even they could only stay ahead of the hellhounds for so long.
They didn't bother resting that day or the next as they headed at a loping run towards the Northern Mountains. They all wanted to be as far away from the hunters as they could. Running side by side, Nua and Naz used the hand talk they had designed as children so discuss the situation. They were worried that there was something on their trail, but were unwilling to ask Ray to slow the pace when they were unsure, particularly this close to daylight, when the demon-created shadow cloaks would loose their power under the rising sun. Mia, who was behind them and watching, shared their opinion and she was just contemplating slowing down herself and falling behind when the decision was taken out of her hand by the sudden thunder of a high powered rifle. The Pack scattered in all directions.
Crouching behind one of the rock outcroppings, Dar looked up towards the top of the cliffs. The faint movement of a rock identified one of the shooters but he suspected there were more. No one would be stupid enough to go up against them alone. Even the demons had controlled them through force of numbers. His eyes continued to roam over the rocks until the flash of sunlight on the rifles gave away the locations of the rest of them. Glancing behind him, he managed to locate Jen and sent her the hand signals that, when passed on would give the Pack the advantage in this fight. The replies came back. Everyone was ready and he had command.
Another set of signals and the Pack were moving, blending seamlessly into the early morning shadows and moving silently forward. The battle was short and to the point. Dar slid into position behind the rifleman he had selected as his target and the flash of light from his knife was the only warning the man had before the small, sharp blade punched through his back and into his kidney. Repeating on the other side, Dar caught the man as he slumped forward and slowly lowered him to the ground. He picked up the rifle and tested its weight, deciding that he liked it and slowly left his position to rejoin the others in the valley floor.
They moved off again, the three other purloined rifles that Mia, Ray and Naz had taken not slowing them down any more then his did. Quickly and silently, taking only the time needed to cover their tracks, they continued on.
Night had once again fallen as they made their way deeper into the mountains. There weren't that many places the Greater Argot River turned white and they were all in the mountains. Still it was better safe then sorry and they were all aware they hadn't rested for well over forty eight hours. While it would be enough too seriously handicap a human, the Wolf Pack were only now beginning to get snippy with each other. Ignoring the bickering behind her Jen walked around a corner to the rapids they could hear ahead of them.
Standing, looking at the swirling white water was a figure in a long black cloak, a cloak that Jen and the others recognised as a demon-made shadow cloak, like the ones that they themselves wore. They lapsed into silence. Shifting her rifle so she could clip it to her belt, she stopped walking when she stood beside him and turned her gaze to the water. She didn't speak. The rest of the pack also remained silent. Turning her face to the sky, and ignoring her hood when it fell back, the blonde looked up at the moon.
"Hunter's Moon will rise in three days…"
"And then the hellhounds will hunt." The figure finished, pushing his hood back and turning to look at her.
He was an old man, his face deeply lined by age and probably more. His deep set blue eyes held such self loathing that Jen almost took a step back. Coupled with the runes carved into his face, it was a terrifying sight to the Pack, one that brought back the nightmares from their childhood. "I mean you no harm, Jen. I wish only to make amends."
"Amends?"
The old man sighed softly as the rest of the pack moved forward to circle them, "What we did to you was wrong… we wanted to make the perfect hunters… instead we turned you into a mockery of humanity. I do not believe I can ever remove that stain from my soul, child, but I can give you something back. Follow me, please?"
The man stepped out of the circle and began to walk slowly down a nearby path. With a look, the pack followed him, Jen leading again. The walked for about ten minutes before they reach a small hut in a little clearing. The mountain cliffs rose on three sides and covered most of the forth. Without the old man leading, even Nua wasn't sure she would have found it. There was no one else there, but the glow of a small cook fire was a welcome warmth to the weary hunters.
The old man went first to the pot hanging over the fire and checked the contents and then entered the hut. When he reappeared, the Pack tensed, ready for an attack. He smiled sadly at them and held up the bowls and spoons he had retrieved before making his way back to the fire and beginning to ladle out what looked like stew. After handing out the bowls and spoons, he lowered himself to the ground and ate the first spoonful of stew. Slowly the Wolf Pack settled down and formed a loose circle around the fire. The stew was good and it was the first hot food they had eaten since the arrival of the hunters in the forest, four days ago.
They ate silently and quickly and as the old man watched them, the self loathing was even more evident. When she had finished, Jen placed her bowl on the ground beside her and turned to look at the old man. "Who are you?"
"Who I am now is of no consequence. Who I was… You knew me as Fermathor."
Sharp hisses through clenched teeth and the Wolf Pack drew back. A different type of hissing as Nua and Naz drew daggers.
"I fully deserve everything you want to do to me. But hear me out first, I beg you?" the anguish in his voice stilled even the fiery red heads.
"Talk, Arkja." Nua hissed.
Fermathor or whatever he was calling himself now, winced at the insult, but knew that it was justified. After all, it translated to Aedarian as 'child abuser'.
He sighed, "I don't know how easy it will be for you to hear this…"
"The quicker you say it, the quicker we will find out." Ray snapped.
Fermathor nodded, "You are not from this world."
"What?"
"Huh?"
"I…"
Fermathor nodded once, sharply, "There is something in Aedar, maybe it's from demon rule, or maybe not, but for some reason certain… traits are do not existent. When the concept of the Wolf Pack was first discussed and we made a list of the abilities we wanted you to have, one of the abilities sparked more interest then the others." The old man sighed and rubbed his forehead, before continuing, "You have heard of sensors, people who can manipulate the world around them?"
They nodded.
"One of the things we wanted for you was that ability, but to be able to control it. Not like them, but directly. There is no one on this planet that can. Kaltot, however, knew of a planet were that ability was present. He agreed to go to that planet and retrieve six children with the ability we wanted."
Shock, anger, fear… he watched them all flash across the faces of the young adults before him. He also noticed another one, hope.
"Originally, Kaltot was only meant to take unwanted children, but I very much doubt he stuck to the plan. Ray, you were the first he found and then Dar. I believe you two met the original criteria…" He trailed off, not knowing what to say. "He said that Dar's parents wouldn't be able to care for him, but he didn't explain what he meant. Jen, I'm not sure about you, but I think you may have family there. Mia, Nua, Naz, you three I believe did not match the criteria at all. Kaltot's refusal to talk about how he found you makes me believe he took you because you are powerful and the right age. I am sure that you have a family there."
Silence greeted Fermathor's pause, none of them quite sure what to think.
"We had such plans for you… you were meant to be perfect. We trained you, gave you everything we could, the best we could get. And then they took it away." Fermathor buried his face in his hands, "By that point, I had begun to doubt that the demons had the same intention towards you that we did, but I did nothing. I let them take you and… and…" He laughed harshly, "I can only imagine what you went through at their hands. I was one of the lucky ones, the ones they didn't dare hurt in case they permanently damaged me, but you… Kaltot wanted to go back to your planet and get more. He thought that six wasn't enough. It was all I could do to stop him." He raised his face to look at them, tears streaming down his face, "But I let him take you! I didn't even try to stop him. I failed you completely! I should have protected you from them." He practically shrieked that last sentence and then jumping to his feet, raced out of the clearing.
"Emotional." Jen said.
The others nodded, used to her summing up what they were all thinking.
"A family… we could have a family there…" Nua trailed off, turning to look at her brother.
"Yeah…" Naz whispered.
It was dawn by the time Fermathor returned, his composure regain. The Wolf Pack had given into their need for sleep and were currently curled up into a pile near the fire. In the tangled mess of limbs, he could just about pick out Jen's blonde hair and either Nua or Naz's flame coloured locks. A small, sad smile tugged his lips, even with the scars, they were works of art. Designed to be the perfect hunters, grace and deadly beauty combined in them to make them almost irresistible, a lesson they had learned harshly at the hands of their demon masters. Oh, he had heard the stories and he knew that Ray had been Greditch's favourite for a while; a dangerous position to be in. Kaltot had also been enamoured of Jen and Mia for several months, but the novelty had worn off as they had got older, small mercy, indeed. He was sure the others had also taken their turns as their master's play things.
The day Herkrach had burst into his lab to tell him that the Wolf Pack had turned on them had been one of the most confusing days of his life. He was delighted that they were free, horrified at their betrayal, scared for their safely, happy that they had a chance and a million other things all at once. Now, looking at them four years later, that same feeling of helplessness rose inside him. He couldn't protect them from the demons then and he couldn't protect them from the humans now. Magic and technology had combined to make them truly unique and the New Human Government demanded their deaths for it.
They woke the moment he started the fire, snapping from dreams to wakefulness in an instant, weapons sliding into hands before they were even aware of what had woken them. Truly deadly, truly beautiful. His greatest creation, his children, his greatest failure, his children. His life, to give them a chance to find theirs. His penance, to save them, just this once. "We have much to discuss and not much time." He spoke into the cool dawn air. Groggily, the six others looked around, trying to get their battle ready minds to respond to the softly spoken words.
Breakfast passed much as dinner had the night before, quickly, efficiently and silently. Fermathor watched them and when they had finished he started talking again, "In two days the Hunter's Moon will rise and the council will release the hellhounds they captured and believe they have control of to hunt you. As good as you are; you can't stay ahead of them forever. I don't want you to spend the rest of your lives running from them. And I also have an alternative. Since the day you fled the castle, I have been working on a way to open a portal to your world and I believe I can do it and send you back."
They nodded slowly.
"This will be a one time deal." He sighed, "I am an old man and I don't have much time left. I am also on the list of people the hellhounds are being sent after. I don't want to die on the Hew Human Government's orders anymore then you do, so I intend to use the last of my power, and my life to send you home, providing of course you want to try."
He settled himself more comfortably on the ground, "Dar, Ray, I have no idea what you will find, but the rest of you, I believe have loved ones there. However this is not without its dangers."
"What do you mean?"
"There is no guarantee I will have enough power to keep the portal open long enough for all of you to get through. I also don't know when you will arrive, although my calculation can only be out by a factor of ten at most, which is still a twenty year period. I know nothing about the world you will arrive in, so can do nothing to prepare you. Lastly, should you still be in the portal when I die, you will be trapped in limbo."
"That doesn't sound good." Mia said softly.
Fermathor smiled, "It wouldn't be, Mia, it wouldn't be at all. We must do this tomorrow afternoon at the latest, as I believe the hellhounds will be released at dusk. I will await your answer." Then he rose and once again left the clearing.
The Wolf Pack remained where it was, not moving until Nua shifted slightly, "I want to try."
"So do I…" Naz trailed off, looked at Dar and Ray, not sure what to say.
"Jen?" Ray asked.
"Our past is on Aedar, but not our future. We should return."
"Which would you prefer to do?"
"Return." The blonde said simply.
Mia shifted slightly, "Return."
"Dar?"
"I don't know… there is nothing left for us here, so I guess… try."
"We try then." Ray said with finality. Then he too stood up and left. They watched him go, but said nothing. It wasn't often that they had talked of dreams when they were younger, and it had been many years since they had last spoken of it, but they could still remember the wistfulness in Ray's voice when he had spoken of having a family. Mia privately suspected that the only thing Ray truly hated the demons for was destroying his chance to have children.
WWWW
The Wolf Pack and Fermathor stood on top of the hill, beside the two stones that would form the gateway through to what they hoped, would be a better world. Fermathor stood nearest the stones, slowing drawing symbols onto them as he chanted. It was enough to make the others shiver, bad memories and even worse nightmares combining to make them shift uncomfortably.
The sun was getting lower in the sky, almost touching the tips of the mountains surrounding them. A red sunset, a bloody sunset. Mia shivered again. She may not have had Jen's gift for prophesy, but even she could see the symbolism in the sky. Behind her, Fermathor's chant increased in speed and her attention was wrenched back to the gate when a wave of cold broke over her.
"You must hurry. I don't know how long I can hold the gate for!"
"Naz! Nua, Mia, you first." Ray said.
They nodded and when through.
"Jen, Dar." With a flash of white teeth, Jen was gone.
Grasping Dar's shoulder, Ray shoved the hesitating man through the portal and turned to Fermathor, "Thank you."
He nodded, "It was the least I could do."
Ray nodded once, and in a flash of shadow cloak was through the portal.
Fermathor grunted, forcing his life energy into the portal to keep it stable. He had no idea how long it would take for them to get through, so all he could do was hold it as long as possible. The sun set as he knelt on the cold ground, feeding power into the gate. In the distance, a hellhound howled. He turned to face the direction it had come from, "Fools, you will let the demons back!" Then he slumped forward onto the ground. The portal flickered once and was gone.
Like? Didn't like? Let me know please
Chapter 2 cookie: "Ray?"
The young man groaned and fought his way back to consciousness, "What happened?"
Nua and Mia were leaning over him and could see Dar standing behind them.
"You fell out of the portal and then there was an explosion. We woke up here. It's some kind of prison."
"How nice."
"We've also found the first problem with this plan." Nua seemed vaguely amused.
Ray raised an eyebrow and waited.
"We don't speak the language here and the people here can't speak ours."
"Can't Jen do her mindtrick?"
"None of them will let her touch them for long enough. I think they're all sensors in here."
Ray grunted again and looked around. Jen and Naz were standing facing a tall, bald black man with a gold earring in one ear. They seemed to be trying to work out a method of communication.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt." He said, pointed to himself.