The Hunt: A Custodes Noctis Book Page 23

  “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 bal
cony. 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.

  “Galen, gods damn it, let him go,” Rob said from somewhere far away from the red fury filling him. He heard his brother again, then felt a hard blow against the back of his head.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rob

  The gas fire in the fireplace was hissing, the sound sinister in the quiet room. The fog was starting to come in, a gray curtain moving slowly over the landscape, wispy tendrils preceding the larger bank. Rob was pacing, both Flash and Stephen had tried to speak, but he'd snapped at them and they were sitting silently, Flash glaring at the priest, Stephen calmly watching the mist roll in. Galen was still unconscious. Rob hadn't meant to hit him that hard, but there hadn't been any choice, his brother's fury had nearly consumed Rob and the echoes of it were still tingling along his spine.

  One thing the anger had done was blast away the call of the Hunt, at least momentarily. He knew it would be back, but for now he could think without the chiming of bells and that joyful longing that made his bones ache. They needed a plan, Stephen's revelation that he intended for Galen and Rob to take their ancestors places worried him—it also explained why he was losing himself to the call. When he contacted the priest to get the spell that would force the each uisge to think he was Galen, Stephen had said it would also allow him to better control the loss of identity Keepers who joined the Hunt suffered. He should have known. The Sagas were full of stories of people trusting the Fae and the horrors that plagued them afterward. He never thought he'd be one of them, but apparently he was, much to his chagrin.

  Rob didn't regret the spell, he would have lost Galen without it. What they needed to do was figure out a way to keep control and stop the feorhbealu from destroying the world. He did believe Stephen when he said that he, and by extension the Fae, would suffer if the feorhbealu were let loose on the world. There was a snatch of a Saga that mentioned the devouring of the Fae by a dark force, though it was largely dismissed by Custodes Noctis scholars as mere rhetoric. Rob had never believed that, and he'd been right. Of course, if he and Galen were lost to the Hunt, how could they convince the riders to follow their duty and hunt the feorhbealu?

  The call was so strong, Rob was beginning to doubt if he would even want to stop it. Once he was riding with them, all he knew was the joy of the ride, of the companionship of his lost brothers. Once the final rituals were performed, he had no idea if he could maintain himself long enough to gain control. Galen was supposed to be there as his champion, but Rob was beginning to suspect there were those working against that eventuality. Someone had tried to kill his brother and Flash, but who was it? Minions of the Fae or of the champion? And if it was the champion, who was he and why would he be working with the feorhbealu?

  If Rob knew the Sagas better maybe he could have found an answer there. Once again his own clumsy scholarship was going to lead to disaster. He knew Galen still didn't fully accept his role as Keeper, even now, even after the Ritual of Swords. It was why the Hunt had been able to call Galen, that reluctance. He should have seen it, should have stopped it, should have found an answer in the Sagas, to stop the feorhbealu and help Galen accept his place. No doubt Galen knew about Rob's shortcomings as a scholar and Keeper, and was still unsure about serving with him. Rob had kept every Tradition, knowing he'd never be a Keeper. Galen had denied his own role. In a way, they were both fodder for the Hunt's punishment. Maybe that was why it was happening. He led them to this place and the only way to solve it was...

  “Don't,” Galen said through the bond.

  “Don't what?” Rob had been so absorbed, he hadn't sensed the shift of awareness in Galen.

  “This isn't your fault, Rob. It's mine.”

  “No.”

  “I denied my role, I led us to this pass.”

  “Galen,” Rob said, frustrated.

  “You're right about the rest, too, about me, I mean. I was so worried about the call of the Hunt, I never stopped to think about why it was still happening.”

  Rob took a breath, getting ready to respond when Flash made an impatient noise. “What?” Rob demanded, stopping in front of the table.

  “We need to make plans, wake Galen up or something.”

  “Robert had to hit him, didn't you notice? He's not napping, you idiot, he's unconscious,” Stephen said with the mildness that was beginning to set Rob's teeth on edge.

  “He hit me hard, too,” Galen said, sitting up.

  “Sorry,” Rob said sheepishly.

  “No need to be sorry, Brat. We should probably find out the rest before I kill Blake.” Galen turned so he could see Stephen and Flash. “Am I wrong in thinking there's more?”

  “I'm sure there is,” Stephen replied with a grin. “I'm positive, in fact.”

  Rob could see colors he was beginning to think might be amusement swirling through the maelstrom surrounding Stephen, underneath the brighter sparks was something that looked like fear and uncertainty. “Why would you want to free them from the Hunt?” Rob asked, glancing at Galen before meeting Blake's eyes.

  Stephen was the first to drop his gaze. “Guy and Robert were my friends. I promised them that they would come back from that ride.”

  “Why would they need a promise, wasn't that when Keepers rode by choice?” Galen said, getting up and coming over to sit at the table.

  Stephen watched him, the colors around him shifting. Galen's comment had hit a nerve somehow. Rob narrowed his eyes, letting the Gift come to the surface a little more, trying to get an idea of what was going on. In someone else he would think it was guilt. “They knew something was wrong, didn't they?”

  “They suspected, yes. Guy was worried, they'd sensed something on their previous ride, but they weren't sure what it was. Robert did say there were members of the Hunt that weren't happy.”

  “Weren't happy? What do you mean?” Rob asked.

  “You have to understand that even though Keepers and vassals rode voluntarily then, it was already touched with darkness.”

  “Thanks to the Fae, no doubt,” Galen said with a smile. Rob felt a pulse of anger buzz through the bond, small sparks snapping and popping around Galen.

  “In large part, yes. What better way to control something than to make it more like yourself? Robert used to say...” Stephen stopped and shook his head. “Never mind that right now. When they left for that last ride, I promised they would come back.”

  “How could you guarantee that?” Flash asked, frowning at him.

  “I thought because of who I was I could get them back.”

  “And who were you?” Galen set his hands carefully on the table.

  “I helped found it, I was the only Founder left.”

  “The only one left? But there were other non-human. Huh...” Rob began, then stopped, his brain turning over that statement.

  “Rob? Want to share with the class?” Galen nudged him with a foot.

  “You disappeared right after the trial, but if they'd released you there was no reason to leave unless there was another threat.” Rob looked at Stephen. “The other Founders were killed, weren't they?”