Hale had been sat waiting patiently in the Morrigan's office for nearly an hour. He naturally felt uneasy within the surrounds of the Dark Fae offices. He had hoped to get this conversation over and done with quickly. When the Morrigan refused to take his calls to finalize Tamsin's release he had taken it upon himself to drive over and insist on a meeting face to face. Dyson had interjected and demanded that he go with Hale for protection. While the Ash had certain privileges to draw on with the Morrigan the wolf did not and was forced to wait in the car park for his friend to return.
Despite her reluctance to see him, Evony risked the ire of the Dark Fae elders if she ever refused this meeting. An Ash willing to travel to Dark territory must always be provided both protection and an audience with whomever they seek. These were old ways that had to be adhered to.
"Hale, darling, so lovely of you to drop in. There's nothing nicer than unwanted and unexpected guests"
"I wouldn't say my visit is unexpected Evony, I've been calling for the past three days to finalize the details of Tamsin's release.
"Oh yes, that, well, the Valkyrie is hardly the top of my to do list and I'm still struggling to see why she even made it onto yours"
Hale shook his head. Despite his frequent attempts to demonstrate his desire for a genuine truce between the Light and the Dark, Evony still failed to see his ambition.
"Tamsin and Dyson were the beginning of a Light and Dark experiment that we both agreed to Evony, she proved herself to us, she's shown us that she can be Dark and still be a friend to the Light. Your punishing her for not following through on whatever order she defied needs to put within that perspective."
"Tamsin is Dark, she knows the Dark ways Hale. She's been a very very naughty girl. While normally I quite like naughtiness, her type of naughtiness was not appreciated by our elders. In our world punishments must fit the crime." The Morrigan gave a smirk that made Hale twitch in his seat. She was so very disconcerting. Impossible to read. Hale knew that Tamsin had not simply been sitting in a cell awaiting her fate, he knew she would have felt the full force of the Dark's punishment already.
"You've had her for weeks. I imagine whatever you've been putting her through is punishment enough Evony. You agreed to a release. What are your final terms?"
The Morrigan walked behind Hale who was seated in front of her and ran her fingers across his shoulders. Moving to face the Ash she leaned herself against her desk and cocked her head, eyeing her contemporary momentarily before fixing a stern gaze.
"The terms are in Tam Tams hands. There is one last job she must complete for one of our elders. If she can get this one right then she is free to go. From you, all I need is one thing. I have heard that the Gram sword has been stolen. It is a sacred sword to the Drakkon who are ancient and loyal to both the Light and the Dark. When we find whoever is in possession of the Gram we must agree that they are to executed for their treachery and the sword returned to the Drakkon for safe keeping."
Hale thought about the offer. He had no control over Tamsin's decision to accept the one final job for the Dark and that did not sit well with him. The Gram however was sacred to the Drakkon and anyone who stole the sword must have known that the punishment for its loss would be death.
"If the thief is Fae then I will agree to those terms". While Hale hated the idea of execution, any Fae who had trained for their dawning would know the value placed on the sacred objects of a clan. A human would not be privy and Hale wanted to ensure they would be protected from their ignorance.
"Excellent. If the Valkyrie agrees to her end then she'll be back in the arms of a bottle of vodka by nightfall"
The Morrigan stood up in front of Hale offering a hand out to him. Hale felt sure he was making a deal that would never fall in his favour or that of Tamsin, but what choice did he have? Dyson, Bo, even Kenzi had all encouraged him to get involved. He had sought and been given approval from the Light elders to intervene. Lauren's trial had demonstrated to the Light that there was no human conspiracy and that Taft was working alone. But what was exposed was Taft's ability to infiltrate both the Dark and Light, both sides needed to build alliances to ensure that it never happened again.
As Hale left the Morrigan's office and made his way down towards his car he saw Dyson with a desperate look in his eyes.
"What is it?"
"Lauren", Dyson led the Ash over to an empty car spot. Dark red droplets led the two men from the car space back towards the door that Hale himself had just exited.
"Blood? Lauren's blood?"
"Definitely." The wolf knew Lauren's scent. He had immersed himself it when she first went missing.
"There is no way they would hold Lauren here for long, but the Dark's elders often meet here, if they caught her they may have brought her before them to face their own charges of treason." Hale knew enough to know that if Lauren had been here and had faced the Dark's elders then she was in real trouble.
"If she was found guilty of treason what would the sentence be?"
With a shake of the head Hale confirmed what Dyson already knew. "A guilty verdict with the Dark carries the same sentence as it does with the Light"
"They're going to execute her?" Dyson brought his fist down onto the car bonnet.
Placing a hand on his friends shoulder Hale sought a solution. "The Dark carry out all their executions in the Killing Woods. That's where they've taken her. How fresh is the blood?"
"Fresh, we might have missed her by a matter of minutes on arrival, so perhaps an hour or two ago"
Both men realized that time was of the essence. The Ash could not go to the Killing Woods, they were deep into Dark territory. If the Ash was found there it would start an all out war but Dyson could not do this alone. They needed to get to Bo, and get to her quickly.
In frantic voices the situation was explained. Plans were hatched. Time was the true enemy now. Dyson made it to the Dal in short time. Bo had raided Trick's weapons collection and sought his counsel. If his granddaughter was to walk into a Dark execution then she would have to face the circle of elders. Her life was going to be in great jeopardy, there was no doubt about it. Since Bo's return from meeting her father however she was stronger than ever, she had learned a control of her power that Trick knew made her one of the most powerful Fae he had ever encountered. Trick felt sure that the Dark elders would not risk their own lives in a fight against the Succubus but equally he knew that should Bo be successful in rescuing Lauren that they would not forget her treachery quickly.
Dyson was waiting with his motorbike. They needed speed. Bo climbed onto the back of the bike and two sped off. Holding the wolf tightly Bo thought through the best and worst of the scenario she was about to face. How would she cope if Lauren was executed just a month after she gave up her search for the woman? I knew she needed me.
It took nearly 30 minutes to reach the woods. They would have to travel another 20 minutes by foot to reach the execution field.
"Dyson, you can shift, you'll make it there quicker than I can, I'll follow", as soon as the words were spoken Dyson pulled his shirt off and Bo marveled as his wolf form accelerated away from her.
Moving as quickly as she could Bo felt no pain as the branches of the trees she ran past dug into her skin. She was desperate. Nothing else mattered. As she forced her way through a particularly dense section of woodland she saw the wolf. Nipping at her feet Bo felt a sense of relief when she realized that Dyson's urgency meant that Lauren was still alive. I'm coming Lauren.
Pushing through the overhanging branches Bo came onto the circle of elders. Her presence startled them and when they saw the blue of the Succubus' eyes some simply turned and walked away. This was not a fight they wanted, nor were they prepared for.
As the circle began to disband Bo saw Lauren on her knees with Tamsin standing over her with a sword above her head. The commotion caused the Valkyrie to hesitate and in that moment the wolf was able to attack her bringing her to ground.
Before Bo could move toward Lauren she felt a hand on her shoulder and was pulled around to face a tall old man. His eyes glistened gold and Bo watched in shock as his face transformed into a snakes head. Bo tried to grab the serpent and draw chi from him but he resisted with a strength that surprised the Succubus. Almost in an instant the old man brought his head down to Bo's neck and bit into her. Immediately Bo felt a venom flow through her. She pulled the serpent off of her and looked into his face again. His gold eyes were now glowing and the Succubus became hypnotized. Then without a word, his face transformed back, the old man simply turned and walked away. Bo brought her hand up to her neck, which was bleeding heavily. The sight of blood brought her back to reality and she began to stumble towards Lauren holding off attackers whose numbers has vastly diminished. By the time she reached Doctor most of the circle of elders had fled with the wolf rounding those who lagged behind.
Lauren was bent over crippled on the ground, in shock at the action that was taking place around her. As Bo caught sight of the Doctor's face a wave of guilt overcame her as she realized the extent of her former lover's injuries. Kneeling beside her the Succubus gently brought Lauren in for an embrace. "I've got you, I've got you".
Tamsin slowly made her way over to both women on the ground. As she stood above them Bo looked up, blue eyes still shimmering.
"You were going to kill her…" It was less a question for the Valkyrie than a statement of fact from the Succubus.
Rather than argue her case, rather than try to explain the horrors of the circumstances that brought them to that point, the Valkyrie simply picked up the Gram Sword and walked away.