Hunter Betrayed (18 page)

Calan leaned against the rough-cut wall of the tunnel
leading to the Huntsmen’s home in the Underworld. This was their small piece of
hell, a private retreat only the Huntsmen or Arawn could enter. It was where
their hounds and horses took shelter when not with their masters.

He’d always found peace here, but not today. The anger and
anxiety he’d brought with him didn’t fade in the face of the comforting scents
of his sanctuary. He’d left his home in the human world with only a newbie
Hunter to protect her. Granted, Ian had taken to his new role with a ferocity
and dedication Calan hadn’t expected from the modern male who’d never used a
sword before. The human Huntsmen would protect Harley with all he had. Plus,
she could reach for him, yet when danger had presented itself…she hadn’t.

Calan roared and slammed a balled fist into the wall. His
knuckles cracked. He punched it a second time and the bones splintered. A third
and his hand hung useless for a heartbeat before the healing process began. He
savored the pain while it lasted. It did nothing to alleviate his guilt and
frustration, however.

He’d had the perfect opportunity to kill Raul. Harley had
stopped Calan from doing so. He understood her motives even if he didn’t agree
with them, yet understanding didn’t change the outcome. Raul had walked away.
He would continue to create sluaghs that were blinded to the Hunt and he would
continue to come after Calan’s mate. The woman he loved above all other.

He roared his frustration.

“I see my beloved son has finally decided to come home.”

Calan pivoted on his heel and came face-to-face with the
Lord of the Underworld. Over seven feet tall with power and stealth at his
fingertips, Arawn was the ultimate warrior. He’d passed on his powerful genes
to his children, but their human mothers gave them an even greater gift—a tie
to the innocent species the gods tried to protect.

With stark-white hair, silver eyes and deeply tanned skin,
Arawn didn’t look like the devil many humans envisioned. He could be, though.
One thought and his darker side emerged—a hulking ten-foot monstrosity with
leather wings, fangs and claws. Today, he stood before him in his natural form.
However, the fury stamped on Arawn’s harsh features warned it might not last
long.

Arawn shook his head. “And you’ve lost your mind. You had to
have. It’s the only explanation for your foolish choice in a mate.”

“You know about Harley?”

“I might not be able to touch the human world, but my horses
act as my eyes. Death told me of your mistake.”

Calan ignored the disdain in Arawn’s voice and led Death
into the bowels of hell. His sire followed, his snarls increasing in volume
with each foot they traversed. At the end of the hallway, Calan stopped at the
ledge. His holdings stood in the center of the valley below.

The stone fortress resembled a patchwork of blocks with
jutting extensions and turrets. Gardens, overflowing with life, surrounded it.
A bubbling brook snaked its way across the valley to the small lake at the end.

Although he couldn’t see it from where he stood, a meadow
spread out behind the massive structure. His hounds lounged there and acted as
guardians for the misplaced souls they’d collected over the ages. From time to
time, the angels collected those ready to move on. Many stayed. Calan didn’t
understand why, nor did he question it. They were welcome in the paradise
fields. The rolling acres were beautiful. Peaceful. Tempting.

He too longed to walk along the paths weaving their way
through the valley as he’d done in ages past but wouldn’t without Harley by his
side. She couldn’t come here until she accepted him. He would wait and endure
as he’d done for eons and fill his time with his duties, including the one that
brought him here today. The quicker he completed his task, the quicker he could
return to Harley’s side.

A prod to his steed’s backend sent him trotting down the
corridor leading to the fields where the unfortunate humans would find peace.
He waited until the darkness swallowed Death’s image then faced his furious
father.

“Giving my body to Harley was not a mistake.” Calan propped
his shoulder against the wall. “You know how easily love can strike. I stumbled
upon Harley years ago. She held temptation at bay until she could return and
free me.”

Arawn only raised a lip and let a trickling growl escape.
Body tensed, he looked ready to strike.

Calan pushed from the wall and dropped his hands loosely to
the side. “She will not fall as her father did. I will act as her shield,
absorbing her rage and harnessing her strengths. She will soar under my
influence and become more powerful than any fairy before her.”

Arawn stepped forward. The smack of his booted foot on the
stone floor echoed in the small space. Another thump and Calan’s anger flared.
He would not be intimidated. He matched Arawn’s approach until they were inches
apart.

“Are you so sure of that, my son?”

Calan dipped his head. “I am sure.”

Arawn grabbed him by his shoulders and tossed him off the
ledge overlooking the Huntsmen’s valley. The air rushed by, wafting the scent
of campfires around him. It didn’t calm the fury building within him. Calan hit
the hardened earth. His breath escaped in a rough grunt. He pushed up, leapt
and met Arawn midair.

Claws dug into Calan’s sides. The tearing of his muscles
only fueled his rage. He pierced Arawn’s chest with his own talon-tipped
fingers and tore him open, shoulder to gut. Arawn shoved him back. A second
time, Calan hit the grass-covered ground. He hopped to his feet and crouched,
ready for his sire’s next move.

Arawn hovered over him, black wings flapping soundlessly. A
soft brush of wind danced over Calan’s skin, cooling the blood coating it. The
wounds he’d sustained had already healed. Red eyes, no pupil, focused on him.
With skin as black as the deepest abyss and blazing white teeth, Arawn
resembled the human’s depiction of the devil. Saliva dripped from his extended
canines.

“You’ve damned yourself, child.” Arawn landed several feet
from him in a matching crouch, wings folded at his back. “And you’ve damned the
Huntsmen.”

“Never. I have not endured for a millennium to fail now that
I’m finally free.”

Arawn roared and punched him. Calan flew backward and hit
the corner of his stone fortress. Crumbling rocks rained down on him. He stood
and stretched his arms out to the side. “You want to punish me for falling in
love, so be it. I won’t apologize for it.”

Arawn’s black, winged body compressed. Tan skin replaced his
scaly black covering. The leathery flaps folded in upon themselves, leaving his
father’s familiar image before him. Arawn shook his head and turned his back on
him. Arms crossed, he stared out across the rolling meadows. Thousands of brightly
colored dots floated and weaved over the flowers and tall grass. The pulses
danced around the hounds that rolled and raced in endless play.

Time stretched. Calan waited, knowing his father would
eventually say what troubled him.

“The female loves you.”

Calan took the position next to Arawn, mimicking his stance.
Although not posed as a question, he answered. “Yes, Harley loves me.”

Arawn sighed. “Has she completed the union?”

“Not yet. I stopped her when I gave her my half because I
wanted her to see and love both sides of me.”

“Good. You cannot allow her to finish it. I will speak with the
Triad to see if we can undo the mating you have started.”

The mention of the three powerful entities that ruled over
all—gods, humans and everything in between—didn’t faze him. His father’s
suggestion he break his bond to Harley did, however.

Calan’s nails lengthened. He used the sharp talons to slam
his father into the stone fortress, locking him into place. “You will do no
such thing. Harley is mine. There will be no severing of my circle.” Calan
leaned closer and snarled. “My choice, my mate, my love. I won’t allow anyone
to take Harley from me.”

Instead of the rage he expected, pity shown on Arawn’s stark
features. The look cut through Calan’s fury. He yanked his claws free and
stumbled back. His pulse picked up a quickened beat to match the rough breaths
heaving his chest. Arawn’s slumped shoulders and slackened features chilled
him. Calan had never seen the male before him appear so…defeated.

“And that is why you will fail, my beloved child.”

“Why? You cannot tell me such a thing without an
explanation.”

Arawn motioned for them to walk. Calan fell into step beside
him. They followed the path to the calm pond. At the edge, Arawn linked his
hands behind his back. “I do not blame you, Calan. I too made a horrible
mistake when I bound Minerva to me. It is in our natures to want to claim the
female we’ve chosen to be ours, no matter what our rational minds might tell
us.”

“I will be the mate Harley needs. You do not need to—”

“Stop.” Arawn faced him. Anger replaced the sadness stamped
on his face. Narrowed eyes focused on him. “Did you not think about how giving
your body to a fairy would affect the curse you hold?”

“I do not bear the curse. I forced it onto my brothers and
sisters.”

Arawn laughed. The bitter sound cut through Calan. A sense
of trepidation seized his heart. He stepped back.

“Have you forgotten what you are, my son?” Arawn stepped
forward and placed his hand over the mark of the Hunt on Calan’s chest. “A
Huntsman, bound to your horse, your hounds, me and the other riders.” Arawn
leaned close. “You are one with your brothers and sisters. From now until the
world ends.”

Calan’s heart stopped as the implication swamped him, ones
he hadn’t considered until Arawn prompted him. He shook his head. “No.”

“Yes. You did not force the curse onto your siblings. They
willingly accepted it so you could defeat Dahm. They did not take it from you.
They can’t.”

He staggered back. “But I—”

“Have damned your mate! That is what you have done.” Another
shove. Calan landed on his ass a third time. He stayed there. Arawn towered
over him. “She holds a piece of your body. Your cursed body. Once your siblings
succumb to the madness the weight of the curse will fall to you and through
you, Harley.”

Calan shook his head. He had no words.

Arawn crouched next to him. “How long do you think you will
survive before madness takes over your mind when you must watch your mate die
repeatedly?” He snorted. “Not long I’m guessing. And when you are lost, she
will bear it alone.”

“No.” Calan choked on the word.

“You have two choices, child. Either break your circle and
continue hunting Dahm or allow Harley to suffer under the curse.”

“I will do neither.” Because both would damn her. She needed
him to help her remain honorable. He was her shield against the tempting chaos.
“I’ll hunt down Dahm and return it to him before that happens.” Calan stood,
determination settling over him. “I will save my siblings, the world and my
mate.”

Arawn didn’t respond. He merely watched him with the
defeated expression etched on his features.

Calan willed Death to him. The ghostly steed trotted
forward. He leapt onto his horse’s back and gave a prod to his side. There was
nothing left to discuss. His vow was made. He only prayed the doubt in his
heart wouldn’t nullify it.

“Son?”

He didn’t stop.

“Return to me when you realize I am right. I will sacrifice
and ensure you have the option of ripping yourself from the female. It’s the
best way.”

Calan stopped his horse. Eyes straight ahead, he declared,
“The female’s name is Harley, my mate. You will not rip her away from me. I
will take on all of hell’s creatures in order to keep her, including you.”

“As would I in your position, but it won’t work. One man
cannot hold evil at bay forever. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

Calan urged Death into a run and left his fortress and
father behind. His home awaited him on the human realm. By the gods, he would
treasure her because he feared Arawn was right.

He had failed everyone and he was all out of things to
sacrifice because nothing would make him turn Harley into a martyr. She would
not bear the weight of the curse meant for her father. She was innocent of the
crimes the Unseelie Court committed.

But above all, Harley was his to protect. He’d promised that
she would never suffer again. Somehow, he’d figure out a way to honor all his
commitments.

He had to.

Harley stared at the caller ID of her cell.
Unknown.
She knew the number by heart, however. Raul often called her. How he kept
getting her supposedly untraceable number she didn’t have a clue. Usually, she
ignored him and ditched the phone. Today she fought the temptation to answer
it.

The ringing stopped and she breathed a sigh. She tossed the
sleek phone onto the bed. She watched it bounce and resumed her pacing.
Tonight’s battle and the encounter with Raul had troubled her. So had Calan’s
words. She’d allowed Raul to play on her emotions. He’d known she’d want to
protect Allie and he’d used her empathy to ensure Calan didn’t kill him.

She felt like a damn fool for falling for his game but what
she’d told Calan was true. She didn’t have the right to choose one life over
another. God, she just wanted to save everyone. Was that so wrong?

The cell started ringing before she could take the thought
further. She picked it up, locked at the ID and answered. “Raul?”

“Meet me in ten minutes at the greenhouse if you want to
save Trevor. Dahm has ordered me to bring him in. He wants to make him
into…what I am.”

The line went dead. Her heart stopped on a wave of terror.

Oh god. Trevor.
She’d never really been friends with
him. He’d been Ian’s since kindergarten, though. Ian loved him as a brother.
He
won’t lose someone else he loves to Raul, not if I can stop it.

The phone slipped from her fingers and hit the floor. The
screen cracked. She left it and ran out of the room, skidding down the hallway
to the service stairs. It led right into the backyard and the path leading to
the greenhouse.

The bulbs in the rear section of the house were burned out.
She didn’t need them. Her fairy genetics gifted her with heightened senses, but
the darkness and the closed space of the stairwell triggered her fears of being
locked away.

She stumbled halfway down the steps. The tightness in her
chest and racing pulse warned she was close to an anxiety attack.

No, dammit! I don’t have time for a breakdown.

Memories of her time spent in the bunker, a plush apartment
underground, returned anyway. No matter how comfy the place had been, she’d
hated it. Without windows to let in the sun and breeze, it had felt like a
tomb.

Breathe, Harley. You’re not locked away. You’re fine. So
is Calan. He’s free of that horrible cell he’d been confined to.

“Calan.” She stopped with her hand on the door handle at the
bottom of the stairs.

He’d told her to reach for him, but she didn’t know how. The
hounds. They were linked to him. She flung the door open and scanned the
backyard. One of the females lay in the grass near the driveway. Harley
whistled. The dog trotted over.

She crouched and looked into the animal’s intelligent eyes.
“Tell Calan I need him. Now.”

The dog didn’t move. Harley waited a moment more then pushed
to her feet and ran. She’d have to hope the animal would understand and obey
her. She didn’t have time to wait any longer. The clock was ticking.

The greenhouse stood on the other side of the butterfly
garden, opposite of the lake. She skidded down the driveway and turned at the
overgrown area. Harley bent under the drooping limbs and smacked into a hard
chest. A yelp escaped, but the sound was muffled behind a large palm.

The scent of a campfire invaded her nostrils. The tension
she hadn’t realized had seized her muscles dissipated. She glanced into Calan’s
face.

“Be calm. It’s just me”

The tiny brush of butterfly wings danced across her mind.
She didn’t resist the yank of her anxiety. She shoved it at him.

He slid his fingers to the column of her neck and massaged
gently. “What has happened?”

“Raul, he called, said Dahm wanted to turn Trevor into a
redcap.”

“Why didn’t you wait for me?”

She swallowed hard. “He said I had ten minutes and I…”

What? Jesus, what had she been thinking? She’d played right
into Raul’s trap.

“Do not endanger yourself again. It is my job to protect
you.”

She nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

He kissed her neck and stepped back. “Follow my lead. We end
this tonight.”

* * * * *

Calan crouched in the woods just out of reach of the
redcap’s senses. He and his hounds had been hunting the fairies and their
creatures long enough to have narrowed it to a science.

His hounds, in their black Hunt forms, watched Raul from
their position on the opposite side of the greenhouse. Unless spotted, the
fairies or their creatures wouldn’t sense them. Unfortunately, at nearly one-hundred-fifty
pounds each they could only blend in so well. Still, they provided valuable
information and could hunt without rest night after night.

He squatted with Harley behind him, one hand on his lower
back. Bringing her along had been a gamble. Raul would know she was here. He’d
always know and he’d always be able to find her. Unless Harley took his blood
too, she wouldn’t have that advantage, however. No way would Calan allow that
to happen. The intimacy it offered enraged him. He would not share his mate.

The redcap needed to die.

Using his mental link to the newly initiated Hunter, Calan
shared his plan with Ian who mimicked his pose to the left of the greenhouse,
closest to the house. A mental equivalent to a nod answered him.

Assured Ian would watch Harley’s back, he let his mind seep
deeper into Harley’s and pulled her close.
Harley, I want you to approach
the greenhouse and draw Raul outside. It’ll be easier for my hounds to restrain
him there.
He reached a free hand back and rested his fingertips along her
thigh.
Then I will kill him.

And Allie will be lost too.

He tore his gaze from the building to peer over his
shoulder.
Maybe, maybe not. A redcap’s word is not enough to go on. Once my
siblings are released, we will search for her. For now we must focus on
returning the curse to Dahm. The barrier needs to be stabilized.

You’re right.
She tightened her grip on his
waistband.
This is a trap, isn’t it?

Yes.
He couldn’t be certain of what, but he suspected
Dahm was behind it.
Now go and remember I am here. I’ll protect you.

She nodded and pushed to her feet. With quick strides, she
closed the distance. He followed her with his gaze and waited. She reached the clearing
at the same time as squealing tires sounded in the distance. Between one
heartbeat and the next, the mark of the Hunt pulsed and stirred his rage.

Dahm had arrived.

The fairy made no attempt to conceal his approach. Calan
pivoted on his heel and faced the opposite direction. For a second he was torn,
but he couldn’t allow the dark prince to carry out whatever plan he had for
them. He had to trust in Harley and his new brother of the Hunt.

Calan ordered his hounds to stay with Harley. He allowed his
Huntsman form to emerge. The change swept over him in a rush of pain he
welcomed. The strength in his Hunter’s body fueled his limbs. He ran, the world
rushing by in a blur of color. He broke the tree line near the butterfly garden
and cursed.

Dozens of sluaghs waited, all hidden from his detection.
Raul’s puppets. Calan’s anger surged. The redcap who hid behind Harley would
suffer for every human life he’d destroyed.

With a thought, Calan called Death to him and willed his
sword to take shape. Both appeared in a puff of sulfur-scented air. He leapt
onto his horse’s back and raised the sword. Flames danced along the length,
snaking its way along the obsidian blade much like the living fire caressed
Rhys during his unending torture.

A prod to his steed’s flank and he raced forward. He
targeted the nearest rotting body. Once a young male, his muscular frame now
stood hunched, its spine contorted as its muscles and ligaments liquefied under
the force of the chaos eating away at its body.

Calan swung, the blade sliding easily through the soft flesh
and bone. The head fell to the ground with a smack, blood and gore splattering.
The sluagh’s soul rushed up in a vortex of light and wind from the headless
husk. A sigh carried on the breeze, a thanks only a Huntsman heard.

Calan leapt from his horse and turned to face the others
even as the sound of the car grew louder. He swept his gaze over the
unfortunate humans. All appeared as malnourished as the one he’d just struck
down.

Raul had been starving them.

The sluaghs needed their victims’ fear-laced blood to feed
the chaos they held. Without the stolen frenzied emotion, the taint fed itself
on its host’s suffering. Why had the redcap denied them their food? Surely he
suffered along with them as they were linked to him.

Calan pushed the thought away. He didn’t have time to
dissect the redcap’s motives. The sluaghs advanced as one, clawed hands
stretched outward. Their garbled grunts and groans carried over the rumble of
the approaching car.

He raised his sword and cut through the nearest puppet. A
slash and another fell. He spun on his heel, swinging and thrusting at the
group. One by one, they lost their heads. The whoosh of escaping souls hummed
as they soared from their living tombs. The lighted orbs danced around him,
illuminating the night.

With a whack, the last human victim found relief. Calan
pivoted and ran toward the driveway just in time to see headlights crest the hill.
The black sports car with its tinted windows took the turn too fast. It skidded
sideways, spun and came to a stop amidst a haze of smoke and burning rubber.

The driver’s unblinking, vacant eyes stared forward.
Compared to the sluaghs he’d just killed, this one appeared surprising healthy.
Whether glamour hid its monstrous body or it had been fed well, Calan couldn’t
tell. He only knew it too would die after he dealt with the fairy whose taint
rolled across Calan’s skin in a nauseating caress.

Stronger than it had been the last time he’d felt it, Dahm’s
evil presence swamped the area. He’d grown more powerful, no doubt feeding off
the chaos seeping through the cracked barrier to hell.

The ground beneath him trembled. Gray clouds rolled across
the sky where none had been. Lightning sparked. Thunder rolled. The heavens
opened and a line of torrential rain passed over the area. Behind the downpour,
a wave of fog mixed with the tendrils of pure chaos weaving around his feet.

Calan widened his stance and waited for the fairy to finish
his little show of power. It hadn’t impressed him a millennium ago. It didn’t
today either.

The rear car door opened and Dahm stepped out. The magical
disguise he’d favored years ago—tall, lean body with golden hair and green
eyes—hid his true form. Only his clothing and hairstyle were different. His
black slacks and gray, thin sweater matched the short, perfectly trimmed hair.
Rings adorned his fingers and a heavy silver watch reflected the light from the
souls still whizzing in the air above.

Calan snapped his muzzle, the clank of teeth loud in the
still of the night. He knew exactly what a bystander would think upon looking
at them. His Huntsman form appeared monstrous compared to the sleek male in
front of him. He didn’t hide what he was inside nor did he fight his true
nature. He embraced it and used it for the purpose he’d been handed—to protect
and avenge.

He curled his talon-tipped fingers. They itched to grab the
blade he’d taken from his cell. He resisted the impulse. He had to play this
carefully.

“Enough with the posturing, fairy. Come here and accept your
punishment.”

A grin on his face, Dahm stepped forward. The confident
amble the fairy sported stirred Calan’s unease. He pushed it aside, allowing
the rage to build instead. This was the male who had damned Harley to a tainted
existence and had snuffed out the innocent souls of his countless other
unfortunate offspring.

A growl trickled from Calan’s mouth. Saliva pooled. The
prospect of ripping the fairy’s throat out stirred his primal hunger.

Dahm leaned against the hood of his car, arms and ankles
crossed. “And what punishment is that, Hunter Calan?”

“Has the chaos finally rotted away your mind?” Calan laughed.
The rough sound meant to strike fear into those who heard it echoed in the
night. A tic developed along Dahm’s jaw, pleasing Calan. He chuckled again just
to watch the slight flinch from the supposedly all-powerful fairy. “Do you
expect me to believe you’ve forgotten the sentence handed down to you from the
Triad?”

“The Triad has no authority over me, not anymore. I rule
here among the mortals. This is my playground.”

Calan moved forward. One step, two. Dahm watched him, but
didn’t move. Calan stopped and narrowed his gaze. “My task hasn’t been
fulfilled. You will join your followers in their prison.”

“No, I don’t think I will.” A smirk punctuated the defiant
declaration. “I’d rather play. Do you want to play my game, Hunter Calan?”

Dahm didn’t give him a chance to answer. He waved his hand
toward the woods. Out of the corner of his eye, Calan watched the approach of
several redcaps, all tall and muscular with various baseball hats to hide their
blood-soaked wraps.

“Aren’t they lovely specimens, Hunter? I hand selected each
one, trained them myself.”

As one, the redcaps rushed him.

Calan raised his sword and ran to meet them.

Guess he was playing after all.

* * * * *

Harley pressed a balled fist to her chest where the dull
ache had developed. Dahm had arrived. She’d bet money on it. She scanned the
woods for him. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Ian racing
toward her with hounds flanking his ghastly horse.

“Ian, no.” She held up a hand. “I’m fine. Help Calan. Dahm’s
here.”