The Hunt: A Custodes Noctis Book (23 page)

“Uh, yeah, no, holy shit, Galen.” Flash blinked at him, then smiled. “Why the hell didn’t you do that a couple of weeks ago when those jerks from that pathetic grunge band jumped us? I wouldn’t have gotten a black eye.”

“Do what?” Galen asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Blake trying to edge away. “Don’t move,” he snapped.

“We should head upstairs,” Rob said quietly. “We’re being watched.” A raven croaked. “And not just by them.”

“Okay.” Galen took another breath, his hands were shaking. “I’ll be right there.”

“Galen?”

“I need a minute, Rob.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

“Rob,” Galen snarled.

His brother stepped back, hands raised. “Deep breath, Galen. Okay. Make sure you stay in sight, though.”

Galen watched them walk up the steps, trying to still the trembling of his hands. It was a reaction to the use of the Gift. He’d only used it that way once before, and that had been unintended, the need to get to his brother had outweighed all else. This was different. Not only had he been able to hold a member of the Fae in place, he’d easily brushed off Flash—and more importantly—the attacks Blake had leveled at him. He walked over to the car and opened the back, grabbing the weapons. He leaned against the Jeep for a minute, searching his heart. The power was part of him, part of his Gift, there was no pulse of darkness in it, the scar the Old One had left wasn’t reacting at all. Knowing he could draw on power like that was a little terrifying. He’d inadvertently hurt Flash, just as years before he’d knocked his father down. The fact that Rob took it all in stride was annoying at times.

Galen chuckled, that was annoying, too. Pushing himself off the car, he headed up the stairs. Flash’s angry voice was audible outside the door. He opened it and walked in. Blake was sitting at the table, a supercilious smile on his face, Rob was leaning against the wall by the fireplace, tension flowing off him, and Flash was pacing back and forth in front of them both. All three looked up when Galen walked in, the smile fell off Blake’s face and Rob straightened.

“You know what he said?” Flash demanded, waving his hands.

“It’s not your business,” Blake said.

“Fuck you,” Flash said to Blake. “Galen? He said something about your blood! Some shit about the sacrifice for Rob.” Flash glanced at the priest. “And he’s lying about something, I can tell.”

“Flash, I told you…” Rob began.

“He
is
lying,” Galen said quietly.

“What?” Rob turned to him. “About what?”

“Everything, I think.” Galen walked over and stood across the table from Blake. “Would you like to tell us?”

“No,” Blake answered.

“Let me rephrase that,” Galen said softly. Rob moved towards him. “You’re going to tell us.”

“There’s nothing to tell, I told you everything.”

“No!” Galen slammed his hand down on the table.

“Galen!” Rob grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “What are you talking about? It’s hard to lie to me, you know.”

“For someone or something you’ve dealt with before. Would you know about one of the Fae?”

“I should.” Rob’s face creased in a frown. “Or he could be telling me just enough to make it look truthful. What’s he lying about?”

“His involvement in all this. Why is he here? You know how you found out Petronius was tried as a witch? He was caught with blood on his hands. It was shortly after that the Hunt changed.” The frustration he’d damped down was back.

“I know, it synchs up with the Sagas, what does that have to do with this?”

“Two Keepers went missing, he knew them.”

“What does that have to do with me now?” Blake asked, trying to sound bored.

That tone infuriated Galen, he was around the table and dragging the priest out of his chair before Blake—or Rob—could react.
 
“Talk.” He met and held the his eyes, not allowing him to look away.

“I didn’t lie,” Blake said finally, when Galen growled he added, “I just didn’t complete the story.”

“Like about Galen getting sacrificed, you fuckhead?” Flash piped up. “And one of the assholes working with the thingies?”

“Thingies?” Blake looked confused.

“The
feorhbealu
,” Rob said.

“One of the Hunt?” Blake whispered.

“You didn’t know?” Galen asked, not needing an answer, he could feel the horror that statement generated. He let Blake go.

“No, I suspected.” Blake dropped into a chair and ran his hands through his hair. “It never made sense, their disappearance, along with the
feorhbealu
about the time the Hunt changed.”

“I find it hard to believe you’re this upset. The Fae helped found the Hunt, and…”

“We’re on the other side of dark? Yes, I know.” Blake smiled and shrugged. “All my kind are.”

“Oh yeah sure, and you, Father Fae, are all misunderstood and love us humans or some shit like that, right?” Flash said sarcastically.

“No, not at all,” Blake said with a chuckle, leaning back in his chair. Galen suppressed the urge to slap him. “With the exception of a few individuals, I really couldn’t care less about humans.”

“Yeah?” Rob’s voice was soft, but Galen recognized the edge in it.

“Yes. I’ve known one or two I rather liked.”

“The Hunt, Blake,” Galen said.

“I helped found it, I was the one who suggested the
each uisge
should remain part of the Hunt.”

“Why?” Rob said.

Comprehension dawned, Galen said, “Spies, they needed spies, didn’t you?”

“Very astute. Yes, we needed spies. There was nothing stopping the Hunt from turning on the Fae and other questionable members of the group. Once the
feorhbealu
were under control, who knew what the Hunt would be used for?”

“You expected Keepers to turn on you?”

“There were a few annoyingly righteous members of the Hunt. Mostly vassals, of course, but there was one pair of
Custodes Noctis
that were… Let’s just say they rivaled a few of the idiots who went romping off in the Crusades. Killing things they didn’t understand for the glory and acclaim it would bring.” Blake smiled. “Don’t worry, they weren’t Emrys. So, we included spies in the group, we needed to know what was going on.”

“And you needed some control, didn’t you?” Galen asked.

“Of course, the more the better, actually,” Blake replied.

“The thingies, were they really that much of a threat?” Flash said.

“Do you mean did we formed the Hunt using the
feorhbealu
as an excuse?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Flash agreed.

“No. The
feorhbealu
were—are—more than a threat to us. If they get loose, there won’t be much left of the world, just stinking black holes with the
feorhbealu
and their ranks feeding on what’s left. They like to eat Fae, too, which is why we got involved. For some reason they don’t like us, even though they call other dark creatures to their service. Not the Fae, not even the worst members of our kind, like the
each uisge.
The Hunt eventually got the
feorhbealu
back over the Veil into the part of the Between World where they were trapped.”

“Wait, I’m confused,” Flash said, frowning. “The Hunt rides in the Between World, and the thingies live there, but they are still here too or are they there or what? I don’t get it.”

“Idiot,” Blake said derisively.

“The Between World is layered, Flash,” Rob explained.

“Circles of Hell?” Flash asked.

“Something like that,” Rob continued. “And there are barriers between those layers. The Veil itself protects this world from that one.”

“Okay.” Flash nodded.

“The Hunt exists in a unique space when the
feorhbealu
breach the Veil. It is and isn’t this world, it’s separate from their usual existence so they can stand between the
feorhbealu
and the physical world.”

“Uh huh. I think I get it now.”

“Comforting,” Blake said. “And as you know, after the
feorhbealu
were believed to be defeated, the Hunt continued. Keepers still served, giving their time, and the Hunt rode in this world at Solstice.”

“Yeah? And?” Galen could feel anger starting to get the best of him again, Blake was playing with them. “They caught you with blood on your hands.”

“They did,” Blake said quietly. “It was just after Solstice, just after they left for their fifth ride.”

“Who?”

“Guy and Robert. He was the first Robert, you know,” Blake said with a gentle smile.

“What?” Flash asked, sounding confused.

“Gaius and Robert Emrys,” Rob said. “Right?”

“Yes. Robert rode as king, it was rare, but it happened. They were more Gifted than most Keepers. They never returned from their last ride. I confronted the Hunt a day after they should have returned, it had changed completely—the king was no longer Robert, he was but he wasn’t. Guy was missing, a new champion in his place. I thought I caught a glimpse of him amongst the riders, but something had happened. The king was no longer a Keeper, he was the sum of all that had ridden, but trapped by a dark force that I’d not seen before. I didn’t know what had happened.”

“You were trying to free them, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I was. It didn’t work, the witch-hunters caught me and would have killed me, but Guy’s sons stopped them. They helped me disappear, too. Ten years later, there was a celestial event that weakened the Veil, and I tried again, but I couldn’t do anything. I knew I’d have to wait.”

“Wait for what?” Flash asked, frowning.

“Until I could gather more power, until the time was right. I found a way to get to them, but I had to wait for…”

“The thingies to come back?” Flash interrupted.

“Yes, of course, yes. The Veil would be almost non-existent, so it might work.”

“It’s why you came to us, isn’t it?” Rob said softly. Galen glanced at his brother.

“Yes, it is, I needed you.”

“For what?” The anger was back pulsing through Galen. Rob noticed and put a hand on Galen’s arm, calming emotions flowing through the bond.

Blake smiled, the supercilious smile. “To take their places, of course.”

Galen saw red, Rob’s hold tightened on his arm. “You son of a bitch!” He launched himself at Blake, grabbing him and slamming him against the glass doors to the balcony. In his fury, he started shaking Blake, happy when he heard his head bang against the door. He could hear Rob shouting at him, but he gave in to his rage, focusing on Blake.