Calan dismounted and advanced on foot. He wanted to rush forward but caution prevailed. With both Dar and the redcap close, Calan couldn’t chance either male lashing out at the vulnerable mortal. No matter how she’d known Dar’s true nature, she was human. Of the otherworldly creatures, only the Huntsmen and the fairies could walk the mortal realm. All others had been banned, including the angels. Only a shadow of their true forms could move among the humans, and without a solid body, their influence was limited.
She glared at Dar, pure fury in her expression. “I do not carry the Key. I carry your spawn!”
Her words stopped Calan’s strides, and rage whipped through him once more at the horrendous crime Dar had committed—condemning an innocent life to damnation. Dar’s Court had willing followed him, accepting the power he’d offered. The babe he’d created, however? It hadn’t been given the same choice.
Calan wanted to roar at the injustice of the situation, but it would do no good. The deed was done. For all his many powers, he lacked the one necessary to heal the child or any being who’d been corrupted by chaos. Life wasn’t always fair, not for the gods or the humans. All they could do was endure and wait for another opportunity to thrive.
“The prophecy never mentioned who’d father the child, so since the lot of you has chosen celibacy, I will work my way through your covenant, planting my seed until I uncover the lucky maiden who is the mother of the Key.” A demented sneer spread over his face. “Then I will claim it.”
Horror flashed over the female’s features. She shook her head. “No, no, you cannot. Your own daughter? Surely, you aren’t that sick.”
“Sick?” Dar raised a brow. “Those too weak to use the tools available to them are sick. I am merely doing what’s necessary to ensure I win.”
Calan’s three favored hounds touched his mind, announcing their presence and asking direction. Although the dogs had been with the other Huntsmen in the village, they must’ve sent the animals to him as backup. He was grateful for their help. With a thought, he ordered them to spare the woman their wrath, then directed them to attack the redcap and Dar.
The beasts moved as one, knocking both the fairy master and his redcap away from the female. The opening allowed Calan the opportunity he sought. He swept the woman into his arms. She cried out.
“I am sorry.” Calan adjusted his grip, cradling her against his chest. Her swollen belly made it difficult to run without jostling her, but he did his best to stabilize her and fled with her to the edge of clearing.
Carefully, he set her down. She whimpered and clutched at her stomach.
He glanced from her belly to her face. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
The sharp bite to her answer didn’t reassure him, but he stood anyway. Dar needed to be restrained, and the woman was safe for the moment. “I will return for you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why? Do you wish to kill my child too?”
No, he didn’t want to condemn her baby or any of the half-breeds Dar created, but Calan would if they became a threat. Not once had he been faced with the choice. Dar’s offspring didn’t live long. Their outcome involved becoming living fodder for his army, a cruel death but not one entirely different from that of the humans who died at their hands.
Calan couldn’t bear telling the female of the sad fate waiting her babe. He turned his back on her and went to help his hounds. Two of the dogs snapped at Dar’s legs while the other tore the redcap to pieces. Screams filled the night, along with Dar’s laughter. The sound sent a wave of trepidation through Calan.
The reason for Dar’s amusement became evident a moment later. Dozens of redcaps spilled from the woods. Each bore a dagger, raised and ready to strike. Some formed a living wall around Dar. The others descended on the hounds attacking him. Seconds later, the fearsome dogs whined, then were tossed across the clearing, fading before they hit the ground. Too injured to continue, they had no choice but to return to the Underworld in order to heal.
Calan stumbled to a halt. Up close, he recognized the small blade the redcaps held. Arawn used a similar one to curse each of the Unseelie fairies the Huntsmen returned to the Underworld.
Dar motioned toward his redcaps. “Do you like my army’s new weapon, Hunter Calan? I fashioned it after your father’s.”
“How did you learn of it?” Only those Unseelies who’d been condemned to suffer under the fairy curse would know what it looked like. Arawn kept it locked away at all other times.
“I didn’t learn of it.” Dar leaned forward. “I now own it.”
Calan took a couple of steps closer. “Do not lie, fairy. The dagger is safe in the Underworld.”
“No longer.” A small smile teased Dar’s face. “One of the residents of Hell managed to steal it for me.”
“Impossible.” And it was. Only the Huntsmen could leave the Underworld.
“As much as I’d love to argue with you, I have a game to win, and…” Dar waved his hand. A few of his redcaps advanced, while the rest turned and escaped into the woods. “A curse to break. Good-bye, son of Arawn.”
With that, Dar spun on his heel and followed his fleeing troops.
Calan took three steps after him before a redcap swung a dagger at him. Calan arched, avoiding the swipe. He didn’t know what would happen if the blade sliced him open, nor did he want to find out.
Calan swept his foot and toppled the redcap into the one on his right. Another male jumped over their splayed bodies, haphazardly slashing. Calan knocked the knife out of the redcap’s hands with a sharp kick to his forearm, then snagged his attacker’s wrist and bent it back. Bone snapped. The male’s
