Gretel made her guards work for every step, pushing when they pulled and pulling when they tried to push. She could see right through Hansel's promise and knew she had precious moments to get back to her brother before he did something rash; something permanent.

"You know," offered Kaspar casually, falling behind the group, "I made a deal with the devil because the devil seemed to have all the tricks and the better hand. Then, one day there was a moment when I realized the mountain wasn't so insurmountable anymore but complacency made it easier to continue on with the status quo. Had your Queen not broken the tenuous terms of our agreement I would have continued abiding by our terms."

The two guards struggling with Gretel stopped to glance back at their ally; curiosity coloring their faces as they tried to decipher the drabble spewing from his lips. The element of surprise played against them, their lightning fast reflexes and sheer strength failing against the streaks of black smoke that sprung forth from Kaspar's hands. Striking forth like birds of prey with the sharpness of a blade, they shredded the Lamiae's necks open releasing geysers of blood to paint the walls.

Gretel staggered in her release, the oppressive grip of her captors going uselessly slack around her harms. She pulled a blade free from the corpse crumpled at her feet and whirled around. Kaspar hit the wall with a thud, her forearm pressing tightly against his throat while her other hand brandished the blade dangerously close to his exposed artery. "Give me a reason to not kill you where you stand for what you've done," she spat.

There was fire in Gretel's eyes that would have stole his breath if he wasn't finding it so difficult to breathe with her arm pressing painfully against him. He tried to choke out an answer, but nothing intelligible passed his lips.

The hunter wanted to press harder, to punish the man before her that had betrayed them so completely. Kaspar had not only played her for a fool but put the person who mattered most in harm's way. Every fiber of her being screamed for vengeance for a brother she would protect at all costs, not unlike the man before her had done for the people and place he held dear. She eased some of the pressure from her arm. "Make your words convincing or they will be your last."

His shoulders rose as he sucked in a deep breath. "You'll never get your brother out of here without my help," he croaked.

"I don't need your help," Gretel snarled, defiant.

"I think you do."

She hated to admit it, but her odds were better with someone watching her back. "One wrong move, and it will be your last," she warned, stepping away from the wall. She tipped her head back the way they had come, willing to take Kaspar's help at face value but unwilling to turn her back on him. "After you."

He pried himself off the wall, dust and dirt shaking loose as he began to walk. He took the lead without protest, able to ask for no more than the small leniency he'd been granted. Together they moved through the corridor, Gretel unleashing untamed fury aided by Kaspar's formerly tamed magic. The formidable might of the Lamiae was no match for a thoroughly pissed off sister on a mission; there was nothing left to lose and only one goal: get to Hansel.

An influx of soldiers flooded the halls with a horrible cry only to meet a bloody and horrible end. Cuts and hard hits did nothing to deter Gretel, proceeding forward as though nothing had touched her.

Kaspar stopped short as he entered the Queen's cavern; the scene not quite what he had predicted. The surrealness of watching Hansel impale the Queen with a hand of one of her own warriors filled him with both hope and dread. The one that had saw fit to hurt the people Kaspar had tried to protect was punished, but the rest of the nest would rise up to destroy the threat to their clan. His shock was broken as the Queen gave one last parting gift to Hansel, sealing the hunter's fate as well.

Gretel, a few moments behind didn't hesitate, running towards the crumpled heap of a brother. Her knees hit the ground hard as her frantic hands ditched her weapon and sought purchase to wrap her brother in her arms. "Hansel! Hansel, look at me." Blood slicked her hands as she pulled him closer; the open slashes on his back still seeping. Her voice trembled as she mumbled, "You're okay, you're okay."

Hansel opened his eyes. "Gretel." He clung to her tightly, reveling in her presence. His heart slowly returned to a normal rhythm as his mind reconciled what he had seen and heard in the village after the Queen had unleashed her powers on the people there and what the Queen had imparted to him. He spent his life hating magic and had finally found a way to purge it from his life only to be left weak and vulnerable in a new way.

"Are you alright?" she asked, searching every inch of Hansel for anything life threatening. The gashes and minor wounds could wait until they were out of the caves but first she needed to know if they could even move him.

Hansel fought back the rolling nausea. Denial was rearing its ugly head as he wracked his brain for anyway to dismiss the red orb as something benign, a trick of the light and nothing more. Witches' magic didn't work on them, not because they were special but because of a spell their mother had cast to protect Gretel and he had gone and purge himself of all magic, never thinking of the one good thing magic had given him. The relief in Gretel's eyes, held Hansel's tongue firmly in place.

"They'll rally around a new leader and come to finish us off. We should put as much distance between us and those that remain as we can," offered Kaspar, not wanting to press their luck any further than they had to. They may have inflicted damage to the clan but a poked bear was just fired up to get into a real fight.

"We have to Hansel," soothed Gretel as she pulled him to his feet. He let out a small groan as the movement pulled uncomfortably at his back, leaning a little too heavily on his sister. It was awkward but the siblings managed to find a rhythm that Hansel could manage as they followed Kaspar back through the winding corridors to freedom.

Gretel felt a surge of satisfaction as she took in her handiwork of death and destruction strewn along their path. The Lamiae had put them through hell when they already had their hands full with magic and its collateral damage. Now, that those who thought they could lay a hand on her brother and get away with it were in pieces on the floor, she could finally put a genuine smile on her face. Things were going to be alright now.

"Ouch," hissed Hansel, squirming on the chair.

"Don't be such a baby," chastised Gretel, "and hold still." She plunged the cloth back into the bowl of water to rinse it before continuing to clean Hansel's wounds; keeping one eye on Kaspar as he moved around the small cottage collecting books and vials. The witch was a flutter of activity to Gretel's new found calm.

"Are you almost done?" protested Hansel, having his fill of being poked and prodded. He wanted to lay down and sleep for a week; a bone weary tiredness relentlessly pulling at him. He told himself it was the usual exhaustion from a fight and nothing more, but he knew what was coming; he'd seen the village.

"I could get done faster if you'd hold still," scolded his sister; it was playful, filled more with relief that Hansel was alive and more or less unscathed, than irritation at an uncooperative patient. "I need to grab some more bandages. Stay still."

Hansel could feel Kaspar's eyes on him the second Gretel left the room. "Are you going to tell her?" he demanded.

Hansel opted to play dumb, it was the best way to figure out what lie Kaspar was referring to. He didn't mean to lie to Gretel and truthfully, they weren't outright lies, simply lies of omission. He couldn't bear the look of disappointment that would color her face if he told her about his weakness with magic or just what lengths he had gone to to purge himself of it. Then there was the magic used against him by the queen. How was he going to tell her that he wasn't going to walk away from this one? "Tell her what?"

"I saw what happened back in the cave."

"Is there a cure?" the hunter asked, knowing deep down that his fate was sealed.

"None that I know of. For all those I've seen inflicted, I've never seen anyone survive."

The last little piece of hope he'd been holding onto shattered. He hadn't been aware of how badly he needed Kaspar to tell him it was going to be alright until he was told it wasn't. All he had left was denial. "Well, we don't know if it worked so there's no point in worrying Gretel." His voice shook a little and by the look on Kaspar's face, the other man didn't buy it either.

"It takes about a month, if that's any consolation." There was almost a hint of sympathy from Kaspar and Hansel snorted with disinterest. "It starts like many other sicknesses. Tiredness, loss of appetite, pain, escalating to vomiting blood, feeling of being cold and delirium."

"Sounds like fun," the hunter spat bitterly. He'd seen his fair share of illness and curses; he could imagine all too well what lay ahead.

"Do you even know how to have fun?" teased Gretel returning with an armful of bandages. She raised his arms to make wrapping his back easier and made a mental note to force him to take it a bit easier for the next couple of days. "What are we going to do about the Lamiae?"

"They won't be after you brother anymore and those that are left will disappear until they can replenish their numbers. Besides, they won't be after you, I'm a more desirable target should they return," answered Kaspar.

Gretel turned to protest; the only way to be sure was to see them all dead herself and not leave it to chance in the hands of another, especially one that had started their friendship with the intent of betraying them. Hansel grabbed her wrist. "Let's just go home Gretel."

The request shocked Gretel. Hansel was never one to run from a fight, even to save himself and they certainly didn't have any place they called home. "Home?"

"You should listen to your brother," interrupted Kaspar.

Hansel shook his head. "Home, or go find Ben and Edward, anywhere but here."

"Alright," she agreed, unsure what to make of the sheer oddness of his request. "We'll catch up with Edward and Ben. Are you alright?" There was something about her brother, something different that she couldn't place.

Hansel sucked in a deep breath, committing to the lie. "I'm fine, just really want to get out of this place."

Rain clouds threatened to spill as the siblings made their last preparation for their journey to meet up with the other half of their group. Gretel was outside grabbing a few apple from the tree outside as Hansel crossed the threshold of Kaspar's home. From behind Kaspar asked, "Are you ever going to tell her?"

"No. She'll put all her energy into trying to find a cure and I'd rather not waste my last days on something foolish. We'll meet up with our friends and keep doing what we do until I can't do it anymore then Gretel will have Edward and Ben to continue on with. No use making her miserable with something that can't be changed." He walked away before getting a reply. Other people no longer mattered. He had a small amount of time to reunite their weird makeshift family and make sure Gretel was going to be taken care of. That was the only thing that mattered now.

The end.

Epilogue

The forest was dark and silent. The ruins of the house, the last testament to the inviting greatness that had been built there, were as forgotten as the former occupant. What was now laid to waste after a brief surge of life had brought battle to its front door had stood quietly for years and planed to continue that ominous shadow over the forest. A bright purple wave flooded the forest; light spreading everywhere in a ripple effect that quickly moved past the house, continuing on its journey to parts unknown.

The signs of age and weather slowly pulled themselves back from the wood and candy that had made up the home. The stove, long gone cold burst to life with a start, the black flame springing forth. It began to die as a pitiful moan echoed out of the stove. Carefully a gnarled hand stretched out, fumbling for purchase. Gradually the being began to pull itself out of the fire, the flames giving birth to a life it had formerly snuffed out.

The candy looked around the sad state of her home, a place that had been a triumphant of her ingenuity in the hunt for children. She would restore its greatness, and the strength of her powers and then she was going to hunt down the bastard children that had dared defy her. The witch was back and going to eat those horrible brats if it was the last thing she did. Hansel and Gretel were going to die.

Thank you to everyone who read this story and especially those that stuck with it through the years (Yes years, sorry about that). A special thanks to those that took the time to review. They're appreciated.

I do have plans for a sequel to this story if there's any interest but I don't have a timeline on when that would be ready to start being posted.