Infernal Hunt Complete Set

by Holly Evans

  They descended into Elvish or Fae; some language I didn't understand. Kadrix punched one of the elves squarely in the jaw. Quin made a small hand gesture and a large, heavy jar collided with the other elf's head. Azfin's nostrils flared before they all turned on their heels and stormed out. Quin ran his hand over Kadrix's cheek and inspected him for injuries; the elf graciously allowed the fussing while Lysander and I made our way over to them.

  “What were they talking about?" Quin asked.

  Kadrix waved him off and retrieved a broom to sweep up the glass.

  “Did you just wave me off?" Quin said. His mouth hung a little open. He crossed his arms across his chest.

  Kadrix stopped his sweeping, keeping his back to Quin. “It is nothing to concern yourself with."

  “Excuse me?" Quin snapped back.

  Kadrix slowly exhaled and turned to face him. “Quin, you mean a lot to me, but this is not something for you to fret over."

  “They threatened you,” he growled back.

  “They wouldn't have hurt me. I outrank them. There would be hell to pay, as you say." The elf returned to his sweeping.

  “So... I wondered if you wanted to grab a coffee and catch up..." I said to Quin.

  He threw down his apron and pushed past Kadrix. “I'd love to."

  I wanted to hug him tight and tell him it would pass, that the elf was just being an elf. Kadrix squeezed his eyes shut. I swore I caught the glisten of a tear trailing down his cheek, but I couldn't be sure. Quin had already left the workshop. I almost jogged to catch up with him.

  The barista's perfect smile faltered a little when she saw the three of us march into the coffee shop. Her oddly American accent threw me for a moment. Quin glared into space and waited impatiently for his sugar-filled coffee. We slipped downstairs and tucked ourselves in a quiet corner on one of the comfortable seats that pressed against the wall. I pulled Quin into a hug and refused to let him go until he finally relaxed; he was my twin, I had to do something. I stroked his hair and sighed softly. Elves were difficult at the best of times. I couldn't even start to understand how difficult it must have been loving one.

  “He's hiding something, Evie, and not a little something,” Quin said softly.

  Lysander growled.

  “I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it. I know it's still a young relationship; it's normal to not know everything about each other but... I've fallen so hard for him,” Quin said softly.

  I squeezed his shoulder and took a sip of my coffee, giving him time to gather his thoughts.

  “Logically, I understand that it's probably an elvish thing, something he really can't tell me due to blood bonds or some such. It still hurts, though, having him shut me out. If he would just tell me that he can't tell me, then I'd feel better. As it is, my mind keeps circling around to awful potentials."

  “I'm sorry, Quin,” I said softly.

  I wanted to beat the information out of the elf, to make him pay for hurting my brother, but that wouldn't help Quin.

  “Do you trust him?" Lysander said with the edge of another growl.

  Quin nodded and said, “Yes, of course," without pause.

  Lysander shrugged. “Then there is nothing to worry about."

  Creases formed between Quin's eyebrows and at the corners of his eyes as he studied Lysander. He chewed on his bottom lip before he leaned back against the back of the seat and slowly sipped his coffee.

  “I suppose. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, dating an elf. I don't know what I'll do if I lose him."

  Lysander shrugged, “You won't lose him."

  “How can you be so sure?" Quin asked.

  Lysander tilted his head.

  “It's written all over both of you,” he said, as though he were saying the sky were blue.

  Quin gave a small smile, “I suppose it's written all over you two, too?"

  Lysander nuzzled my neck and wrapped his arm around my waist.

  “Yes,” he said.

  Quin laughed softly. “Is everything that much easier for hounds?"

  I glanced around the room to see if anyone was listening. We were treading on treacherous ground with mentions of elves and hounds. Fortunately, there was no one else in our underground section of the cafe.

  Lysander took a long drink of his coffee before he said, “I wouldn't say ‘easier,’ but more clearly defined."

  I ran my fingers over the back of his hand and leant back against him a little, offering support as I felt him slip into darker thoughts and memories.

  Quin sighed heavily. “Was I too hard on Kadrix? I was worried. Azfin and those elves showed up and were immediately aggressive, there was clearly something big between them. I felt pushed out, inferior."

  “No,” Lysander and I said as one.

  Quin laughed.

  I continued, “He should have given you some explanation, even if it was just to say that it's an old elven thing that he can't say more on."

  Quin nodded. “He's much more sensitive than you'd think. I hope I didn't hurt him."

  There was no doubting the elf had been hurt by Quin's reaction, but it would do Quin no good to hear that. I focused on my coffee and allowed the moment to pass with Quin locked in his thoughts.

  He finished up his coffee and gave me a hug. “Thanks, Evie, Lys."

  With that, he left with more lightness in his step than he'd entered with.

  Once he was out of earshot, I said, “I'm going to speak to Elise about this and see what Kadrix could be hiding. She has a reasonable grasp on fae shit."

  I didn't like the idea of the elf hiding something, particularly when there was that much aggression involved. The fact Azfin had been asking if ‘it’ was safe suggested there was something physical involved. Being out of the loop irritated me. How was I supposed to protect the city if I didn't know what was going on?

  Bryn was sitting outside under a tree with Raif; they were laughing about something as we approached. I still didn’t know what I was supposed to make of Elise’s lover; he was unlike anything I’d dealt with before. He fell into the group with ease. He always knew how to make everyone comfortable. I was happy for Elise, truly I was.

  Lys kissed my temple. “Don’t fret, Evelyn, he won’t take our cub from us.”

  I bristled at the notion; Raif wasn’t our cub. He was an unwanted lycan that we’d had dumped on us. I looked at his gangly form, his long legs stretched out before him and his mop of hair falling in his eyes. A shred of pride bloomed in my chest. He’d come so far in the short time he’d been staying with us. Lysander laughed softly. I poked him in the ribs and cursed him for understanding me too thoroughly.

  Raif stood and started to walk over to us. Elise emerged from the church and called over with a cheery greeting. Suddenly, she screamed, and Raif dropped to his knees with a yowl. I ran to Raif and cradled his head in my lap as he whined and cried out, his eyes rolling back in his head. Bryn had taken off across the space to Elise. I could hear her whimpering and him trying to calm and soothe her. Lysander knelt on the other side of Raif and stroked his hair, whispering calming phrases. My heart pounded; a lump formed in my throat. I didn’t know what was happening. Tears streamed down my cheeks. The poor thing was going as white as a sheet. His heart rate was through the roof. His skin developed a cold sheen as he quieted into whines.

  He took a deep breath and his eyes returned to their rightful place. I pulled him to me and held him tight, stroking down his back as his heart eased. He rested his head on my shoulder while he calmed and relaxed. My poor cub. I didn’t know what had happened, but I’d end whoever did it to him. After what felt like an eternity, he pulled back. Lysander stroked his hair from his face.

  “Are you ok?” he asked softly.

  Raif swallowed hard and nodded. “I had a vision. I… I’ve never had a vision like that before.”

  The colour hadn’t entirely returned to his skin. I stood and offered my hand to help him up.

  “Can you stand? We’ll get y
ou in Elise’s church, her tea cures all.”

  He smiled and took my hand, leaning on me more than I expected. Lysander put his arm around his shoulders and supported him as we made our way to the church. Bryn disappeared inside ahead of us, Elise in his arms. I licked my lips, fear threatening to consume my thoughts. I hated being in the dark. We took Raif into Elise’s living room at the back of the church; Elise was curled up in a corner of the sofa when we got there. Her skin was whiter than usual, almost showing a blue sheen. She offered me a small smile and patted the cushion next to her; we helped Raif down.

  “Did you have a vision, too?” I asked.

  She nodded, and I noticed the tremble in her hands. I perched on the arm of the sofa and stroked Raif’s hair while Lysander settled on the floor watching over him.

  “Tea will be two minutes,” Bryn called through.

  We waited patiently in an uneasy silence. I desperately wanted to scream and shout, to find out who did this to my precious friend and cub. Bryn came into the room with a tray full of cookies and teacups. The tea smelled wonderful, light floral scents with a touch of sweetness. Elise never failed to have the perfect tea for every situation. Bryn gave her a cup of golden-yellow tea in a delicate white porcelain cup that looked suspiciously close to the colour of her hands. Once everyone had tea and Bryn had pulled Elise into his lap on the sofa, Raif began to talk. Or try.

  “There was so much blood. Everywhere,” he almost whispered.

  Elise nodded and took another sip of her tea.

  “I’ve never experienced anything like it,” she said, tears tumbling down her cheeks.

  Bryn brushed the tears away with his thumb and kissed between her eyes. She relaxed into him.

  “I’ve known death, and this was so much worse,” Raif said.

  “The pain was beyond words,” Elise added.

  “There is no describing what I saw or felt, there was too much.”

  Elise nodded in agreement.

  “Was this a witch attack?” I asked.

  “No. No, this was something else,” Elise said.

  I ground my teeth together; a witch attack I could avenge and resolve.

  Elise squeezed her eyes together. “This was a warning, of something that may come if we don’t follow our paths.”

  I snorted. ‘Follow our paths;’ how were we supposed to do that when this was all they gave us?

  Elise smiled. “Don’t worry, Evie, things will become clear.”

  Sometimes I really envied her faith in her lady. I was beginning to feel it myself, but it was nothing like the security and comfort she had.

  “Will this happen again?” Lysander asked.

  “No,” Raif and Elise said together.

  “Why Raif?” Bryn asked.

  The corner of Elise’s mouth quirked upwards. “Because he’s special. There are larger plans for him.”

  Raif leant back against me, hiding from her words.

  “I want to be normal,” he growled.

  She laughed. “No one wants to be normal.”

  Raif growled and grumbled at Elise as she politely ignored him. I stroked his hair to calm him; she hadn't meant any harm.

  “How does it feel to be an alpha, Evie?" Bryn asked.

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Awkward,” I said.

  He tilted his head a little. “Oh?"

  He glanced from Raif to Lysander and back to me. To be a true alpha, I would need to be a lycan or a hound. I was a hunter. A human who'd devoted her life to protecting others. I loved Lysander, I cared for Raif as a little brother, but I was not one of them. I may have claimed the status of alpha to try and stop fights from breaking out, but I was not a real alpha.

  Lysander ran his fingers up and down the back of my ankle. “Is it such a bad thing, Evelyn?"

  I snorted. Elise and Lysander both smirked at me. I finished my tea and ignored the lot of them.

  “You're my alpha,” Raif growled.

  Elise had struck some sort of a nerve there.

  “And I'm honoured you think as such,” I said.

  He leaned back against my legs, putting most of his weight against me.

  “Bryn, why don't we prepare some food?” Elise said.

  He looked from Elise to Raif and smiled, understanding entirely. They left for the kitchen. I bit my tongue and held back the desire to say, ‘subtle.'

  Raif huffed. “I never fit in. I was the odd one, the bastard child, the scrawny, broken wolf. There's nothing boring about being normal, about being secure in your place."

  “She didn't mean that,” I said softly.

  He growled, “I do not appreciate being dismissed."

  I swatted him around the back of the head. “And I do not appreciate being disrespected. I understand your childhood wasn't ideal, but Elise has been good to you, to us. She was being nice,” I said.

  He lowered his eyes and hunched his shoulders away from me. “Sorry. It's a touchy subject."

  “And Evelyn is reminding you, in her own special way, that respect is important. I’m sure she understands your plight,” Lysander said gently.

  Raif nodded more to himself than anyone else.

  “I have a place now. It's not a traditional pack, but I'm proud to be with you,” he said as he lifted his chin.

  “And we're proud to have you,” I said.

  Lysander grinned at me. His paternal instincts fluttered in the back of my mind. I glared at him. I was not going to give him cubs of his own. I wasn't made for motherhood. He laughed to himself.

  Raif gave us an exasperated look. “You're doing it again, your weird telepathic emotion conversation thing you do."

  I grinned at him and said, “One day you'll have a girl you do it with."

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “If Kadrix has his way, I'll have a boy, a girl, and half the city to do that with."

  Lysander and I burst out laughing. The elf was quite determined to introduce poor Raif to the world of sexual pleasure.

  Elise and Bryn returned with a large plate bursting with sandwiches.

  “It's not much,” Elise said.

  “You'll come over to ours for dinner tonight, and we'll repay you,” I said firmly.

  She smiled and bowed her head a little in acknowledgement and acceptance. We had a peaceful thirty minutes before Azfin and a couple of his underlings started making a fuss in the main church area. I looked skyward and wondered if there would be a day when I could relax without interruption. Lysander, Raif, and I held back in the shadows while Bryn followed Elise out into the main area. Their arrival reminded me that I'd intended to speak to Elise about what Kadrix had been hiding.

  “What’s this about hunters binding and collaring the fae?” Azfin snapped at Elise.

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” she said coolly.

  Azfin took a step closer to her, his eyes searching her face. His glamour shimmered revealing the sharp edges of his full fae form below for barely the blink of an eye.

  “There have been rumours of it for two days now; fae are gathering in Old Town Square to talk about what will be done,” Azfin said.

  Elise exhaled slowly through her nose.

  “No one, to the best of my knowledge, has any intentions of harming or binding anyone. The city was quite well balanced, the alliances were healthy,” she said.

  Azfin gave a sharp nod of understanding. Haeyl and the other underling muttered something under their breath.

  “Evie, would you mind taking Lysander and Bryn to see what this gathering is all about? I need to speak with my lady,” Elise said.

  Her mouth had hardened into a thin line; her eyes were positively glacial. She had worked very hard to get the city to where it was, and it seemed someone had fucked that up.

  Haeyl and the other underling had kept muttering and throwing sneers and such at me and the others. Raif had refused to be left behind; he was adamant that he’d recovered from his vision and was rea
dy to kick ass. I hoped we didn’t need to kick anyone, but we were prepared nonetheless. Azfin pulled into the last remaining parking spot within a three-block radius of Old Town Square; I was impressed he’d managed to get that close. He must have had connections high up in the city political workings.

  The usual large crowd of people were bustling around the astronomical clock and eating at the overpriced restaurants there. A rather bemused couple in their wedding dress and suit emerged from the large wooden doors to be faced with a crowd of strangers taking their photo. I’d never quite understood why that happened, and yet it continued to do so. The couple posed for their professional photos while strangers continued to capture the moment.

  We pushed through the crowd heading over to the palace and the square proper where the market was held at chosen points throughout the year. A gathering of fae was standing in front of a redcap in a poorly done glamour standing up on some box or homemade pedestal. He was shaking his fist and riling up the group with talk of freedom and rights to be themselves. The fae were all nodding and began shouting things back at him.

  “They despise us!” one shouted.

  “They want to cut us down!” another called out.

  “It’s time we stood proud and reclaimed what’s ours!” the leader shouted.

  The crowd cheered. What were we supposed to do with that? They weren’t going to listen to sense or reason; they were riding the wave that came with such a speech. The redcap finally spotted us. Its thin lips pulled back to reveal its sharp yellowed teeth.

  “Friends! They have come to bind you!” he shouted.

  The small crowd moved as one to turn and look at us. We were surrounded by normal humans; the fae clearly had bloodlust written all over them, but we couldn’t just hack them down. The group seemed to be primarily redcaps, but there were some Sidhe and elves present too. Lysander stepped forward with Bryn at his side.

  “We are not here to harm you. We simply want to see what the problem is,” Lysander said.

  The crowd stilled and looked at each other; a flicker of doubt began to form.

  “They are here to bind you, to strip you of what you are!” the leader shouted.