"They're here!" I whispered frantically.  Ivan stepped closer for support or comfort or to keep me from rattling into oblivion but nothing on earth could keep my bladder from feeling like it was seconds from exploding. The pressing panic sent my thoughts running from my mouth, "But how did they get in? How did they get in! Didn't they need to be invited or...." Christ. Ivan remained silent, confirming my suspicions.  He didn't want me to worry, but did a lousy job at hiding it. The answer was clear as day in his head.

"Someone let them in." he said quickly as if it were to retract from the essence of his words, following them up with, "But we can't worry right now. You need to stay here and I will handle them." He bore his silver eyes into mine, "I need to keep you safe."

"Safe?!" I lowered my tones as it wasn't really the time for screaming, but come on! "Someone let them in Ivan!" How could he not understand that!  How could we possibly be safe when someone let them in. Let me reiterate-

Someone.

Let.

Them.

 In.

Safe? There was no safe! Safe was being far from there because obviously if those hunters were let in, others could be right behind them. Safe was away from Shongopovi because if there was one truth, it was that we just ran out of people to trust. We didn't know who let them in, yet Ivan was telling me to stay put! You know, it was probably Sam, that bastard. I should have killed him when I had the chance.

Protest ready on my tongue, Ivan cut me off when he opened the door to my room and pushed me inside.  "Hide and no matter what you hear do not come out! I will find your father and I will tell you when to run." And closing the door, he snapped it open again, warning, "but most of all, do not use your powers!" and without another word, he vanished, closing the door with a controlled click.

What! Had I just heard right? Certain the words he spoke were a figment of my imagination, I replayed them over, hoping I'd heard wrong. Do not use my powers? What on earth was I supposed to do?!  I couldn't use my powers and I had to hide? That sure as hell was easier said than done. Especially when my nerves were rattling, my restrained bursts of energy creating a violent swirling in my stomach begging to be released. And whenever that happened, nothing good came of it. My powers when uncontrolled could prove hazardous. God only knew where I'd teleport to, if that was what came about. And I couldn't just leave my father.

So I had to hide but God! Hide? Where?  Casting a sweeping look around, nowhere seemed like a good place to hide. How many horror movies were filmed around this same disaster, the dreaded place to hide. And while I always cursed out those stupid women who chose to hide under the bed or in the closet, it made perfect sense now, because in a room, guess what?  There was nowhere else to go!

The smell of rotting meat under a really intense heat lamp swept into the room....Christ-The bed it was. Lunging head first, I scurried to the corner and closed my eyes. Yes, yes closed my eyes. See no evil hear no evil or something like that right? It was probably the wrong saying in the wrong situation but whatever, having no power turned me into a pitiful cur and while hated it I had no other choice! If these things were infused with Xanthus' powers, there was no way I could stop them. Not when I didn't even know what I was dealing with. I'd always battled humans, but Fae? That was unchartered territory. Ivan didn't count. He didn't want to kill me. Elena...well I couldn't say the same for her but still. These monsters were out to get me. ME.  

Hollow hoof beats like those of a horse with claws echoed closer and closer until stopping right outside the room. Holding my breath, I curled further into the wall when Ivan's harsh whispers echoed in my head, the urgency chilling my bones, "Whatever you do, do not use your powers Charlotte.  They are blinded to humans and can only sense a Faerie's aura. It is their sole purpose. Your human side should hide your scent long enough for me to draw them away." And his voice vanished. The connection, closed.

The temperatures rose exponentially, my sweat forming puddles beneath me. Had it not been for the intense darkness, I would have thought the house was on fire. There was a deep roar that reverberated down my spine when the door then burst open. Clamping a shaking hand over my mouth, I took another breath and held it as the deep rumble and sharp clawing against the wood floor drew closer. And closer.

Blinking one eye open, a beast paced into the room, looking more like a wild boar on steroids. It was pitch black, but I could see every part of its grotesque frame because of a strange flame that ebbed and flowed from within it, almost like a wildfire under its skin pulsing to the rhythm of its heartbeats. Its leathery exterior rippled with each breath, its salivating fangs dripping with a deep hunger. Sparse patches of hair trickled down its back, and in between its claws a black tar oozed. Lifting its glistening snout into the air, it took a whiff. That was what Ivan meant. If I would have used my powers it would have smelled me.

I wanted to move from there, but the sensation was unlike any other. I was truly scared. Until then, I had never encountered anything of the Fae world that wanted me dead, other than Elena. But these beasts were....frightening and their strength showed in their exterior. The claws drew closer and the smell, God that smell. The hand over my mouth no longer served to hold back by ragged breathing but the gags that then clenched my stomach. If it didn't leave, my retching was sure to give me away. This thing was going to find me because slowly my fear was going to tap into my powers, it always did. Ivan needed to do something. Desperate, I reached out to Ivan- but he already knew. A boom exploded downstairs tearing through the dark. It was Ivan drawing them out. The beast instantly shot up, standing at about seven feet tall and then shadowed, whipping from the room like a fiery cloud of smoke, the intense cutting wind shutting the door right behind it. 

I should have stayed there, hiding. Ivan had indeed said "they" which meant there was more than one of those things lurking around, but it was so hot and I could hardly breathe. The smell of ash and putrid meat further tugged at my desperation. Carefully, I crawled from under the bed. Maybe I would try the closet-

The door flew open and before whirling, A hand clamped over my mouth. Screaming violently, I screamed, trying to pry free but they held me closer. Kicking they refused to release me. Hell they had to let me go because desperation usually brought on the madness and Ivan told me not to use my powers-

"Charlotte!" they whirled me around.  

"Daddy! Thank God!" Lunging into my father's arms, I'd never been so happy to see him. "Are you hurt, did they hurt you?" I hadn't realized I had been crying. But it wasn't crying really just a burst of all sorts of emotion. I had been worried for him and I was no worried for Ivan.

He shook his head nervously, in hushed whispers saying, "I was hiding in the foyer closet downstairs," Figures. Didn't I say it was either bed or closet.

He added, "But Ivan set of an explosion outside. Charlotte those monsters are big and dangerous. We need to go, now." He took my hand and pulled me but my feet remained planted. I couldn't leave.

I must have said something along those lines because my father pleaded with me not to be foolish, but I just couldn't go. Stupid I know, but I couldn't leave. I wasn't thinking-well I was. I was thinking of how there was nowhere to run. These things traveled in the shadows at a dangerous speed. My nerves would eventually spark some of my power to action and to get away, I would have to use more of my powers. Pardon my lack of confidence, but that would only last for so long until they caught me. I still wasn't fully recovered from my little teleportation either. 

Then there were the thoughts of how that monster was going to kill Ivan. There was no doubt in my mind.

A sharp heat pierced my stomach, thrusting me down. My common marks were burning intensely, searing my skin. I didn't want to scream but it hurt so bad! It was Ivan-he was hurt, confirmed then by a loud growl coming from the backyard.

Tearing from my father's hold and stumbling to the window, one beast pinned Ivan to the ground, his claws buried deep in his chest as he growled something to him in a language I didn't understand, the same Ivan spoke to Kheelan before. But through Ivan's thoughts, I understood. They were asking for the girl.

They were asking for me.

Faintly over my thundering heartbeats I could hear Ivan's voice telling me to run. But as those marks on my arm burned, it further proved our link.  While he was unfaithful, I wasn't.  A dumb choice I know, but being Seelie was a choice and it was duty over dishonor right? He was my common, my duty was he not? Exactly.

Slowly the shadows all around them morphed, one by one, into more and more of those beasts until they were fully surrounded, the hues emanating from their fibrous bodies making it like a circle of fire in the encroaching night. There was no way he could take them on alone! Tapping into his thoughts, he was dissecting these creatures, something about the ooze coming from its claws was locking his powers in place and it would remain so until it released him.  

"Ivan I can help you." My voice firm though I could hardly breathe. Yes I was scared, the trembling walls should have testified to that but I could do something to lure the beast away, so that he could get his powers back. The beast over him looked around, his eyes gleaming with a seething sickness. His nose lifted into the air, seeking my scent.  

Snarling, It rattled once more, "Where is she?" while tunneling its claws deeper into Ivan's flesh. The other hunters circling them looked on, steadying with the sweltering anticipation of a kill, smelling the Fae blood being spilt on the earth with a vicious thirst. They wanted him right then, badly.

But Ivan wasn't scared.

What he actually did feel scared the hell out of me...

It was a wavering control. He was going to kill them, every single of them. I didn't know how, but he was going to and he was already enjoying the thrill of the looming kill. Somewhere deep, his weakened voice told me to run once more. It was faint whisper, but not because he was hurt but more as if his voice was being lost to something. And in seeing Ivan's skin fade into the transparency I saw that morning, his silver eyes almost invisible, I then knew. He was fading into his Fae form. He was shedding his humanity and succumbing completely to the Faerie within. No glamour, whatsoever. The sensation swept through me, almost like shackles being broken, seals being scorched, it was complete detachment.  And the sudden fire swirling in my veins, my fusion marks burning bitterly told me that within him lurked a monster all on its own, setting for annihilation.

With one more warning to run, Ivan's eyes instantly met mine, a sadistic blackness snapping over the beautiful gray. Christ.  A loud growl escaped him, fangs seeming more like blades of ice surfacing as he finally surrendered to the Fae,  a monster contained for far too long.

Turning back to the beast with its fiery claw in its chest, Ivan's tattoos, those not ours but of the Dine marks snapped into flaming ropes, slashing over him and cutting the beast in half. Done. And then freed from the claws that restricted his powers, Ivan let go....

In a blink, the shadow monsters lunged but in awe I watched as Ivan, in his true form took on the hunters with a shocking ease. It was as if he were nonexistent, a mere passing wind, a murderous breeze. He moved lightning fast and as the hunters wielded their claws he seemed to melt, leading them to stab each other, to scorch one another  with their instant flames all the while he danced in their midst evading their fiery attacks with his fluid dance. He ducked and shadowed; whipped air, lifted barriers all while they annihilated each other in fatal confusion. His speed was alarming, but more frightening was what I felt.

 A cold sense of pleasure. He was going to kill them, and then and there, while killing them he felt nothing....nothing. Each of their locations was mapped in his head and with one burst of energy, he could have killed them all, instantly, but he refused. Ivan missed the bloodshed and this essence begged him to continue. That was Ivan. Ivan the fae.

No wonder he said regardless of what side, whether seelie or unseelie, it was still the lesser of two evils. Because he knew of the evil he carried inside and knew it had no mercy, no pity. Just sick pleasure. I always felt pity when I killed, even when they were the bad ones trying to kill me, but Ivan felt none and I realized then, that what I witnessed was the true faerie nature, of all faeries, when all human emotions were cast aside.

And I was bound to that.

Hell, I was that.

But in the madness of it all, it was undeniable, his fatal movements were magical. It was as if he were lost in this music no one else could hear, each sharp movement a delicate dance of horror. One hunters with its sword like claws reached for him but Ivan evaded him, twisting  fiery ropes around its arms and ripping them from its body before it burst into white flames provoked by Ivan.

Another beast whipped air beneath Ivan's feet but Ivan shadowed briefly into the night, appearing behind him. The monster turned. Ivan shadowed again and the beast whirled expecting Ivan to appear, unknowing that Ivan did reappear... in the same spot where he first shadowed. And from behind him, Ivan pierced the mongrel, his bare hands scorched in white flames puncturing its skin. A loud growl screeched through the night as Ivan stabbed his other hand through the beasts' chest, a murderous satisfaction in his eyes, and an equally disturbing smile on his face. Through Ivan's transparent skin, a blinding glow intensified as his pleasure increased when hearing the monster growl, paralyzed in pain.  But Ivan refused to kill him.

Not yet.

This was the last hunter of the countless he had already crushed. He was going to enjoy it.... slowly, with a disturbing satisfaction.

Snapping his hands out, Ivan stepped back, his fiery hands covered in black tar as the beast fell to his knees, his black eyes void of anything, his leather skin barely rippling as breaths were few and far between. The flame beneath its skin was waning-The beast was finished....

But Ivan wasn't.

Slowly two whips of flame snaked from his arms, their bluish hue reflecting against Ivan's black eyes. Snapping them loose, he whipped them around the monsters neck, wrapping them tighter and tighter. He didn't have to do it. The beast was as good as dead but tapping into Ivan, he was gone. There was no feeling within him, no trace of emotion...of humanity.

Then whipping his tattooed arms back in one snap, the hunter's head rolled into the darkness.

Ivan was done.

Breathless, I let the curtain fall between me and the bloodshed and took a step away, needing....space. I was going to need a lot of space...especially from Ivan. Especially after all I saw.  I didn't know that man...that thing. I knew he had to kill them, they had to die, but it wasn't that. Perhaps it was just my humanity...

At my father's urging, we ran from the room into the dark house. But walking down the stairs by memory left us tumbling down like a sack of bricks. We were blind in all the darkness and I couldn't take it. Too much crap lurked in the darkness...but getting to the front door would be a pain and we just didn't have time to keep tripping and falling. 

"Do you have a light?" I whispered back to my father who was recovering from the fall and could seriously feel a blank stare through the darkness.

"Charlie, if I had a flashlight, I would have used it by now-"

"No, not a flashlight, a lighter. I need a source of fire." Yes, yes, Ivan had said not to use my powers but he pretty much settled those monsters hadn't he?  We were in the clear and if we weren't, well, there was an emotionless monster outside looking for more heads to chop off-literally.

The jingling of coins cut through the darkness until a tiny spark led to a small dancing flame as my father flicked on his lighter. Releasing a breath, I found my constant. My breathing. And falling deeper into it, faster this time, I called the flame to my palm. My father's eyes widened but in their depths was a deep sadness. It was obvious, he thought of my mother.

He smiled solemnly, "In a strange way, I think she would have been proud."

Those words nearly did me in. They would have been the perfect words to send me into a fit of tears...had it not been for the low growlish breathing cutting through the stillness, a moving shadow sweeping through. Holy hell.

Pushing my father quickly into the living room, hoping to get him outside to Ivan, in a single flash, the hunter materialized before the door, its fiery skin rippling as low growls sent cold shivers down my spine...crap.

But I had no time to freak out. If Ivan didn't come, I would have to handle this thing myself with what power I had left. Teleporting left me feeling low and the swirling power within while intense was not strong enough, not yet. It was as if I hadn't recharged enough to blow something up. It had to be the good old fashioned elemental attack, but smack in the middle of the living room, where was I to get water? There were no water bottles lying around. There was air but these monsters needed more than to be whipped around. They needed more than saturation.

Pushing my dad aside, back toward the stairs, I tried to align my thoughts. At least my father was safe. Ivan said the bounty hunters were blind and couldn't see humans.  The beast stepped forward. I stepped to the side. He stepped to the side. I stepped back. In our sick waltz, I watched his every sylph like movement as he did mine. I no longer needed my tiny orbs of light as the sick boar lit up the whole room with its bodily fire.

Its breathing was equally spaced, as was mine. "I was told to be careful with you." He slurred, and somehow through Ivan's mind, I had somehow absorbed the language, understanding the garbled sounds. Why couldn't I have absorbed something more useful, like those sick fighting skills? And where the hell was he anyway!

The hunter kept on, "You're just a girl." He laughed heartily, swirling his claws in mocking daintiness.  "I'm going to enjoy you, slowly." The disgusting lust in his voice clenched my stomach, twisting it mercilessly.  There was no way I wanted to find out what fun he spoke of, especially knowing the types of places my mother as forced to live in.

A small orb of fire appeared within its claws, swirling erratically. He was making fun of me and my powers. Funny. He thought I was useless. Good thing I had experience at being underestimated....

His hand flicked forward, a ball of fire grazing at light speed past my shoulder, burning through my shirt.  He was taunting me, his laughter increasing. The soreness from the burn on my arm threatened my focus but I couldn't afford to lose it. I needed to get my father out of there.  And where was Ivan!

He whipped a blade of air, brushing my feet from beneath me. Slamming to the ground, he took flight, leaping. I rolled out of his path, a burst of harsh air aiding me as I swept across the floor. Recovering I stood but leapt out of the way when another fireball slammed just above me, blowing a hole through the wall with a deafening boom, exposing the entire kitchen. And looking behind me at my half burning kitchen, something caught my eye.

Well hell....why hadn't I thought of that.

Infused with an instant plan, I yelled, "Okay! Okay! No more!" while thrusting my hands in surrender, "I will go willingly to my father-please, just don't hurt me."

Slowly rising and praying doubly, I stepped over the debris and closer toward the kitchen, hoping my plan would work. His smoky laugh amplified,

"Running away are you little human girl? I'm not going to kill you...your father will take care of that."

Like hell he was. Xanthus would have to come and get me himself.  But focusing back on my idea, I shook my head, stepping to the side, "Please don't hurt me," I stressed the quavering in my voice, "I'm so scared. I just want my father." I feigned a sob, well not totally feigned. Suppressing the anger was burning me up inside, a hot swirling sloshing through my veins begging for release. But not yet. I wasn't in position.

The mongrel chuckled, swirling another fireball into his claws.  But I had finally arrived at the kitchen and boy, never have I been so happy that the cabinets were of wood....

Tensing with all the restraint I could muster, I waited.

I didn't need water.

I didn't need air.

I needed his fire.

The hunter hurled another fireball in my direction but my instincts flared and I watched it approach, as if the hunter within me awakened and so blindly I extended my hand and closed my eyes. A moment later, I was still alive....I had absorbed it. The monster's eyes bulged as the flames expanded within my hands into a large fiery sphere, all the swirling within my stomach, finally being released and honed, creating a perfect sphere of blue flames, a white interior with streaks of red flowing in the opposite direction within. Just a girl huh?

Before a breath, I thrust back at him and ducked. Why did I duck? Because little did he know what Kheelan had taught me.

It's a metal Charlotte...and metals are earth substances...

Damn right they were. And so I ducked, because when the mutt rose after ducking my world of fire, I greeted him with a wave of knives. He didn't have a moment to think it over, as the countless silver blades dug deeper into him, and I pushed them further and further until the reddish glow vanished, the sputtering of black ooze ceasing. His lifeless body extinguished, leaving us in darkness once more.

Well not, complete darkness as I had practically burned half of the house down. But there wasn't time to think of that. The sound of sirens echoed through the night-we had to get out of there. There was no way any human would understand what just happened and while I didn't want to be caught and taken to Xanthus, I also didn't want to become some government guinea pig. Grabbing my father, who had stood by watching, bless his soul, I led us through the kitchen praying the house didn't fall on us. We had to find Ivan and get out of there.

But then a sharp pain twisted in my stomach again. Falling back onto the half burned countertop, my dad tried to support me, but this was a different pain. This was not like the hunter's claws from before. No. It was colder and the iciness burned through my fusion marks. It was Ivan, but what it was, I didn't know.

With my father's aid, we made it to the backyard when my world crashed to a painful stop. It all just stopped because what my eyes saw, my brain could not register. Because what my eyes saw was a complete and utter nightmare. What my eyes saw was my common was on his knees, paler than the moonlight, his black hair veiling his beauty as he looked down at the sword piercing him at his center...

And next to stop was my heart because in lifting my gaze, holding the cursed sword was fully Fae Kheelan with blackened eyes of his own as he dug the blade deeper into Ivan, his own brother...

A coldness then swept through my body, as if something were leaving me. Something that was a part of me, abandoned me, leaving me incomplete.  And indeed, something had because as Ivan's black eyes swirled back into the beautiful gray I'd fallen in love with, a cool breeze passed and the fusion marks that graced my skin slowly blew away as faint clouds of ash, leaving my pale arms bare.

I couldn't breathe. I just couldn't....

**

Thoughts?

I really hope you enjoyed!  Sorry it took me so long! Most of you know I've been going crazy trying to do my Gatekeepers story so this had to take second spot once more.

The next chapter (or two) if it works out how I have planned will be the end of Book One because Book Two takes place in the Faerie realm and that just deserves its own book.

I really appreciate the support from the people that comment and vote. It means a lot. And to my silent readers, show some love you guys. A vote and a little comment goes a long way :)

Oh and if you haven't already, go on and fan! You know you want to ;)

<3Thanks for reading!