A/N: Hi all, so this is the end of part two, hope you've enjoyed Kaer Morhen in all its glory. I'm going to take a little break for the next two weeks to get ahead again. Have had some personal stuff happen and am too far behind for my own liking now. Fear not, I will continue posting after the break, but I need a bit of time to get my affairs in order and to get a few chapters in hand. Thanks so much for your patience, I appreciate you all. For now I'll leave you to read, review and enjoy! :)

Chapter 28

'Who are you?' Ellie asked hoarsely.

'Someone who's been waiting a long time to escape this hell.' Every instinct inside her was telling her to get away from this man. A raw, terrible power seemed to emanate off of him, and if his control of time wasn't enough worry her, the look he gave her now certainly was. 'And you, my dear, are my ticket out of it.'

'You're stuck here, aren't you?' She murmured, unable to look away from his face. Gaunter's lip curled in disgust.

'No. I was trapped here, deliberately, by a traitorous usurper who thought he'd do a better job ruling.' Ellie frowned. She hadn't heard of a higher demon who was banished to for wanting to rule, then again she hadn't been a demon for a long time and they tended to keep their secrets close.

'Who was this…usurper?' She probed warily.

'You know him as Mortimer but I knew him as my younger, snivelling brother.' The dread spread through her like a cold fire. Mortimer, the Mayor of Purgatory, the most powerful demon she knew, the personification of death itself and the one who had made her. The fact that he'd had a brother was enough of a shock for her, but to banish and seal him away. What had this guy done?

'I never knew he had a brother.' Ellie said. Gaunter let out a grunt which could have been interpreted as a laugh, except for the deadly look in his eyes.

'Of course you didn't. He wouldn't talk about his tyrannical, maniac brother with his subjects. He wants you to believe he is the pinnacle of justice and mercy. The irony being he is more of a tyrant that I could've ever been.'

'He's a mayor not a king. The demons decided he should lead them.' She wasn't sure where this sudden urge to defend her creator came from, but she watched as Gaunter's face took on a sallow, elongated look. His eyes which had been a dark, muddy brown before darkening to pitch black. The light around them dimmed, although the grey sun still shone weakly through the clouds. The forest on her periphery seemed to fade and vanish into shadow until it was only him and her in existence.

'If you believe that, then you are a foolish girl. When was the last time an election was held or an opposition allowed to speak their mind?'

Ellie tried to think but in her short time in Purgatory she hadn't seen either of those things. It must have happened before she arrived. Gaunter nodded, his expression smug.

'That's what I thought. You put too much faith in someone without a soul. There is much you don't know about my brother. The reason for your existence for instance, has he ever told you?' Ellie didn't like where this was going. She had never pried too much into Mort's past, mainly because he didn't like it, but also out of respect. Gaunter gave her a knowing look.

'Of course he hasn't. Far be it from me to do his dirty work, let's talk about my deal instead.'

'What makes you think I can even help?' Ellie jumped down from boulder and landed nimbly on the bank. He shifted to adjust to her new position and even though she felt a little better now she wasn't trapped on a rock over a suspended river, she still felt uneasy at being on level ground next to him.

'I've been able to look in on my world from a distance. My brother was kind enough to offer me windows but no doors. He truly wanted to torture me in this mundane hell. So I am quite aware of your…status. There aren't many who can override something done by my dear brother, but you hold all the keys now don't you? As leader of the gatekeepers.'

She took a step backwards, wanting to put some neutral ground between them, but Gaunter just followed her. His aura lightening so the rest of the forest came back into view and some of the darkness lessened in his eyes.

'It's taken me centuries to summon the strength to make the gateway open one way. I had no idea if it would work; who it would bring through or even where they would land. Once I felt your presence I tried to get you alone, but that witcher wouldn't leave your side. I even thought to fight fire with fire, but…well…we all know how that turned out.'

Another step backwards. 'You sent Gaetan. You made him come after me.'

Another chuckle. 'I didn't have to make him do anything, he was more than ready to come for your blood when I told him who you were. I only made the deal for my own benefit. Decent souls are so hard to come by here, such a waste to pass one up.'

Bile rose in her throat as she retreated again. The strong smell of sulphur on him should have been the first clue; demons only reeked like that when they were rabid, or on the verge of being so, and there was one sure fire way to make a demon rabid. Eating souls. Mortimer had forbidden it eons ago, creating the gatekeepers to effectively police demon kind and keep them from turning into their base and feral selves. From the way Gaunter smelt, he should have been rabid a long time ago, and yet he still maintained his civilized air. A shiver passed through Ellie as she thought about all the souls he had eaten, and she even felt a swell of pity for Gaetan who had been consigned to oblivion because of her.

'And what if I refuse to let you out of here?' She challenged through gritted teeth. Her feet were still taking her backwards but as Gaunter's smile widened into an obscene, pantomime version of what a smile should be, she felt her body lock up of its own accord. Panic overwhelmed her as she tried to get her limbs to move again, but they stayed stubbornly fixed in place as Gaunter walked slowly towards her.

'Then I will remain trapped here, but so would you. I may have no power to escape myself but I have enough to keep you with me.' He stopped a foot in front of her, his dark eyes raking up and down her immobile body, then he leant in so his mouth brushed against her ear. Ellie wanted to flinch away from his touch, her stomach churned at the unwanted physical contact. 'But if I remain in hell, then so shall you. If you refuse me my dear, I will slaughter every living thing in this world, man, woman, child and monster. And once the land is awash with their blood, I will make you watch as I take apart your lover, piece…by…piece.'

Bile rose hot and sour in her throat. She tried to swallow it back but her muscles were constricted. She wanted to ask, and what about the people I care about back in my world? Won't you hurt them if I let you through? But no sound escaped her. It didn't matter, Gaunter appeared to read her mind, cocking his head to the side.

'You're wondering about your friends back home, what will happen once I take what is rightfully mine? Well, that's the deal. You send me back, I promise not bring undue harm or misery onto the dominions of Purgatory. You keep me here and I promise you'll regret it. We all have a choice Eleanor, even demons.'

She stared up at him mutely. Her arms shaking with the effort of trying to move them. After all this time, all this running, he had cornered her. Stupid, stupid girl. She could hear her teeth grinding together in frustration, partly due to Gaunter's ultimatum but mostly because she couldn't actually move her mouth either.

He gave her a mock look of surprise. 'Oh dear, sorry. Here, let me help you.' He raised hand and snapped his fingers sharply. He hadn't needed to do that before, he was doing that purely to show off now. Ellie glared at him as she felt her limbs unlock, her mouth releasing too.

'Doesn't seem like I have much of a choice.' She said, rubbing her jaw. He cocked his head to one side, surveying her for a moment. Then gradually the smile dropped from his face, highlighting that ominous intelligence gleaming in his eyes.

'You're right. You don't. So?' He thrust his hand out towards her abruptly, making her jump back reflexively. He didn't twitch at her skittishness. 'Do we have a deal?'

She stared at the hand as if it were a rabid dog, snapping and snarling at her. Every fibre of her being told her not to trust this guy. She wanted to spit at him, tell him to shove it and rot here forever as Mortimer intended; but then she remembered his threat and the way Geralt had looked when he'd known who was behind this. Nothing much stirred the white haired witcher, but he had looked like a scared child once Gaunter O'Dimm had been mentioned. She didn't know him, never heard of him in fact, but that reaction alone told her unequivocally that he meant every word.

Reaching out she slowly took his hand, wrapping her fingers around his unusually slim ones. As soon as she was within him grasp he clamped down on her with an iron grip, a familiar burning sensation stinging her wrist.

'Very wise my dear. I'm not sure your heart could've taken another burden like that.' A hiss escaped her as his grip momentarily tightened before he realised her. She staggered back, looking at the brand that had defined her for so long. Now with an added flourish, the triangle framed by two strangely curved symbols.

'The deal is done. I trust I don't need to emphasise that trying to go back on your end or our bargain will result in some pretty nasty side effects. For you of course…not me.' He flashed her a charming smile, then clapped his hands together. 'Right, so shall we proceed?'

'Now?' Ellie asked frowning, her hand clamped over the sullied mark on her wrist. He gave her an incredulous look.

'Yes now. What did you think, that I was going to wait until the next Conjuncture to get out?' He waved his hands impatiently at her. 'No time like the present.'

Her steps were unsteady as she moved, her feet moving automatically as she walked towards a large tree nearby. This must be what people with a gun to their head felt like. Although the gun wasn't pointed at her in this scenario, but at everybody else, including her friends back home. She swallowed back tears as she knelt down and dipped her fingers into the mud, using it to daube on the homing mark of Purgatory onto the rough bark of the tree. Feeling Gaunter's eyes burning into the back of her head, she sank to the ground in front of it, crossing her legs and attempting to clear her mind.

This proved harder than usual; not surprising considering she was being forced against her will. It went against everything she had been taught and everything she stood for, letting a dangerous demon back into their world. Especially one that had been personally banished by her leader. Still, the phantom image of Lambert lying pale, lifeless and torn apart before her kept filling her mind. So much so, that her hands shook as she rested them on her knees, making it difficult to focus on her task.

'Chop chop, I haven't got millennia.' Gaunter snapped. A quiet rage filled her as she let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes, feeling for the familiar snag between worlds. Her hatred and anger towards the demon seemed to fuel her resolve, as she found the door pretty quickly. Unlike the last few times she caught hold of it and easily coaxed it into existence. The resistance that had prevented her from returning herself miraculously gone. It made her even more sick at the thought of letting this powerful demon just walk away.

She opened her eyes and the door she had been holding onto in her mind was solid and real, set into the trunk of the tree. It was an ordinary looking four panelled door; faded and chipped green paint making it blend in with the woodland surroundings, and marked in mud in the middle the triangle and 'X' that Ellie had put on the tree.

'There.' She said, trying to keep the emotion from her voice.

'Very good. Now let's see if it leads to the right place.' He strode past her, still sat on the ground, and turned the rusting brass knob on the door. She watched him as he opened the door and peered inside. 'It's been too long.' He murmured, pulling his head back out to look at her.

'Thank you, Ellie. I am truly grateful. You're free to leave whenever you like, but if you don't mind I'll be shutting this gateway once I'm through. Need a bit of a head start on you.' He winked at her, then reached into his tunic and pulled out a wooden spoon. Ellie frowned. He flicked his wrist and tossed the utensil at her, she caught it easily, her confused expression unwavering. 'Tell young Geralt I said hello. I'll see you in the new world my dear.' With that he flashed her a smile that made her toes curl and swept through the door, shutting it with a click.

In the blink of an eye the door vanished, leaving only the large tree with its mud mark, now smeared, in front of her. The sudden roaring of the river as it came back to life made her jump and she staggered to her feet in a daze. She had to get back to the keep. She began to walk, then jog, then run through the trees, back to Kaer Morhen, the spoon Gaunter had given her inexplicably still clutched in her hand.

Her breath came ragged, an outpouring of emotion rather than a need to take in oxygen. She had managed to save thousands of innocent souls in this world, but what about Purgatory…what about her home? She had been living in a dream for these past few months, pretending like she was normal, but as she caught sight of the towering, grey walls of the witcher school she knew her time was up. She could feel the insistent tugging of her gut now pulling her away from here, back to where she had come from. Her friends needed her, even if it meant breaking her heart.

She launched herself over the eastern wall and landed nimbly in the inner yard. Gaunter had given his word he wouldn't hurt anyone if she released him, but there was still a part of her that expected something horrific as she burst into the main hall. Geralt, Eskel and Vesemir all looked up at her in alarm from where they were sat near the fire. 'Everything alright child?' The old witcher asked gruffly.

She froze, assessing the achingly normal setting. Everyone seemed fine, no injuries, nothing out of the ordinary. When she didn't say anything Eskel rose from the bench, his expression worried.

'El? What's happened?'

'Where's Lambert?' She said, maybe a bit abruptly. Geralt stared at her with suspicious eyes.

'Haven't seen him since he dragged you off hours ago. Assumed you were still with him.' He was still asleep. Without another word she marched off in the direction he had taken her before. Eskel's hurried footsteps rang out behind her.

'Slow down. What's the matter? You look like you ran into a wraith.' She felt her heart crack a tiny bit at the concern in his voice.

'Eskel, please. I just need to find Lambert, then I'll explain everything.' His footsteps halted, and she left him behind as she tried to retrace her steps to Lambert's old room. Maybe she was being selfish to keep them in the dark, but she wanted a moment alone with her witcher before she had to face the harsh truth. She got lost numerous times, her senses befuddled and distracted. The more she encountered dead ends and tried to go back on herself, the more disorientated she got. After what felt like an eternity she finally recognised one of the rooms he had dragged her through before. Breaking into a sprint she raced down corridor after corridor, sure she was nearly there, then rounding a corner she ran straight into a solid wall of muscles that let out a surprised grunt.

'Whoa, where's the fire?' Lambert asked, grabbing hold of her shoulders as she stared up at him wide eyed. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him what had happened, to tell him she had to go, but instead all that came out were a stream of hot tears. 'Ellie? Hey, what's up?'

Lambert's expression became concerned and she felt his fingers dig into her shoulders.

'I'm sorry.' She stuttered, rubbing furiously at her traitor tears. 'I just wanted to see you before…'.

Fear flashed across his features, and he gave her a gentle shake. 'Before what? You're fucking scaring me Blue eyes.' She rubbed again at her face; Purgatory, why was this so hard? A large hand wrapped around her wrist, and pulled it away from her eyes. Lambert frowned as he turned her arm so her brand was facing him, his eyes narrowing.

'What's this?' He asked in a hard voice. Ellie felt her stomach flip.

'I saw him.' She said. Fear turned quickly into anger.

'Shit, did he hurt you?' She shook her head. 'Did you make a deal with him, is that what this means?' He pressed his thumb into one of the symbols Gaunter had placed on her.

'I-I had no choice.' She said, her voice small. Lambert withdrew his hand as if she had slapped him.

'What have you done?'

She could feel the tears beginning to well again and before she became too emotional to appreciate it, she bounced up onto her toes and kissed him. Lambert remained motionless, his body rigid as she gripped his neck, the spoon still clutched awkwardly in her hand. She could sense his unease at the desperate way she kissed him, and when the tears finally dripped down her cheeks he gently extracted her.

'Ellie?' He asked again, his voice filled with fear. She sighed, and took a hold of his hand.

'Take me back to the main hall. I need to speak to the others.' It was better to get this over with. Lambert was far too on edge for her to say her goodbye properly now, besides there was a good chance he'd try and stop her. With the other witchers around she could make them see sense. She didn't belong here after all.

'Fine, but no more running off. Every time you leave my sight one of us gets hurt or in trouble.' He began leading her back through the keep and for the briefest moment Ellie hoped he'd lose his way and they'd stay like this forever.

The witchers and sorceresses were gathered in the main hall, staring in silence at the demon girl in their midst. She had just finished explaining her encounter in the forest and had let her words drift away to nothing as she waited for their response.

'You let him leave?' Geralt finally said, his tone terse. He had turned pale the moment she had re-entered with Lambert and shown him the spoon Gaunter had given her. He had taken it from her very calmly, then abruptly snapped it in two, tossing the broken pieces onto the floor with a clatter.

'Like I said, he didn't give me much of a choice. Didn't want to test him when he threatened to kill all life in this world if I didn't give him what he wanted.' Geralt's mouth pulled into a thin line.

'I defeated him once, so he's not invincible.' Ellie tilted her head.

'You outsmarted him once. Not sure you could have pulled it off a second time.'

'So, what? You're just going to follow him back and face him alone?' She turned her attention from Geralt to his scarred brother. Eskel was looking at her with a mixture of anger and defiance.

'I won't be alone. I have friends where I'm from, besides he's my responsibility now. I unleashed him, I need to fix this.' Eskel's frowned at her, clearly wanting to say more but knowing her mind was made up. His glare softened into a heart wrenchingly sad expression, and Ellie felt a lump form in her throat.

'I…we'll miss you El.' He finished, averting his eyes to the floor. Vesemir moved on her peripheral, walking slowly up to her and resting a hand on her shoulder.

'Can't deny what Eskel said. It's been…refreshing, having you around the place and I'm eternally grateful for what you've done to the keep.' He cleared his throat suddenly, his wrinkled lined face contorted with emotion. 'Stay safe child. This O'Dimm character sounds formidable.' He squeezed her shoulder gently and let go.

'Yen and I wish you well.' Triss piped up. Her green eyes kind and open as always. Yennefer stood next to her, her arms folded, an imperious expression on her perfect face. She raised an eyebrow slowly at Triss' presumptive comment but let her continue. 'You've been good company, and I would offer a protection spell but from what I've heard about your world I doubt it would help.'

Ellie smiled at her and shook her head. 'No, I don't think it would, but the thought is enough. Thank you Triss, and you too Yen.' The dark-haired sorceress shifted uncomfortably under Ellie's gaze.

'Well, it certainly was interesting and informative having a demon around for so long. I've learnt valuable things.'

'Yen.' Geralt chided but she barely flinched. Ellie's smile turned wry.

'Glad I could help.' She glanced nervously at the last remaining member of their troupe. He hadn't said a word to her since leading her here. His expression the familiar hardened scowl she had grown so used to over the months. He was staring at his feet, his arms crossed in a similar fashion to Yen's. He was acting like this wasn't happening, as if that would stop it.

'I just wanted to thank you all, for helping me…and trusting me. You didn't have to, you could have left me to fend for myself, especially when you knew what I was. I'll never forget my time here, or any of you.' She spoke to the group but she watched Lambert the hardest. Her chest felt like it was about to tear apart completely. Saying goodbye like this was harder than she'd thought it would be. At least they'd had some time together, and he'd be here, alive.

She paused, waiting to see if he'd say anything or acknowledge what was about to happen. The others could feel the awkward tension growing between the pair, she could tell by their darting eyes. She pleaded with him silently in her head to say something, make this easier on both of them. Painfully slowly he looked up, meeting her desperate gaze. The muscles around his eyes twitched, and she saw his mouth tilt down, then he collected himself and applied a neutral expression. It made the pain in her chest flare, causing her to almost wince as he walked towards her.

He stopped a few feet from her, those amber eyes burning a hole through her. 'Guess I fulfilled my end of our deal. Now we know what brought you here and you can go home.' She didn't like the bitterness in his voice. It sounded forced and far too harsh.

'Yeah, you did.' She replied.

Lambert nodded once and then said nothing else. The feeling in her chest was like being ripped apart from the inside, as if something was forcing its way out of her. She had felt it only a few times in her unfortunate life, and had hoped she would never feel it again. At least this time she didn't have to live with the guilt of another life lost. Just the guilt of a love left behind.

She gathered what few things she had from her borrowed room – Yen and Triss had insisted she keep her trousers, she needed them more – and made her preparations in the main hall. They had wanted to watch her go and she felt they had earned that right. Even so, she felt a twinge of stage fright as she drew the homing mark on the stone wall, not to mention the aching sadness of leaving them all behind so suddenly.

She turned to face them and gave them one last nod of goodbye. Her eyes lingered on Lambert and she saw his eyes dart down to the opening in his shirt that she still wore, where the soft sparkle of the sapphire he had given her, glittered against her throat. He looked back up at her sharply and she hurriedly turned away and sank to the floor. Unable to trust her already weakened emotions.

Again, she reached out with her mind and found the snag between worlds. Again, it took very little effort to take hold and draw upon it to summon the door. Gaunter's hold over her had truly lifted now he was gone. There had been the smallest, niggling doubt in her mind not putting it past him to trap her there. She felt it solidify in front of her and when she opened her eyes there, set in the stone wall as if it had always been there, was a wooden, four panelled door.

She could hear the murmurs behind her. For the gathered audience it would have looked like the door had appeared in an instant. 'Melitele's wisdom. That's a queer looking portal.' Vesemir's gruff undertone carried better than the others.

Ellie could feel the lump rising again in her throat and she was desperate not to draw this out and risk crying, or worse, staying. She let out a shaky breath and approached the door, her hand grasping the worn brass knob gingerly. Glancing over her shoulder she gave the assembled witchers and women a tight smile.

'I'll never forget you all. You have my gratitude.' They smiled in return, all except Lambert, who remained impassive and hardened to her teary goodbye. 'The gateway will shut once I'm through. It'll be like I was never here.'

Vesemir bowed his head, the same act of respect he had shown her after her trial to prove her intentions. 'You will always have a home here Ellie. You are one of us now.' The lump pressed uncomfortably against her throat and she didn't think she could respond. Her eyes drifted one last time to Lambert, who met her blurry gaze.

'I-I'm sorry it ended this way. I'll always…always love you.' She whispered, her voice cracking even with no force behind it. His eyes widened a fraction but he stayed quiet. Probably for the best she thought. Hearing him say it back would likely break her.

She turned the knob and opened the door just enough to slip through, keeping her eyes on her friends. Tentatively she took a step back and raised her free hand in a gesture of goodbye. Time seemed to slow as she backed further into the door, the different scents and feeling of the world on the other side juxta posed with the familiar smells of Kaer Morhen. Lambert went from standing motionless and indifferent, to launching into a full sprint. Her one foot was already through the door, the other lifted to follow. She saw his brothers shout out in alarm, but his face was set in an expression of single-minded determination. His hand outstretched towards her.

She was so surprised that she wasn't quick enough to pull her hand out of reach, her body all the way through the door as his fingers brushed against her lightly. She saw a flash of his wild eyes as they were both pulled backwards through the gateway. The change in environments jarring and disorientating. Then they were tumbling to the ground. He landed on her in a cold, dark alleyway, the sound of cars and people only a few feet from them. The door clicked shut behind them and when Ellie managed to get her breath back from the unexpected landing, she saw it had vanished from the wall, closing her off from the witcher's world, but leaving one doubled over on top of her, retching and panting.