Chapter 2254

Jennifer looked shocked.

"You thought to mark me with Syn? Me? Loki? Iam without sin, you insufferable paladin!I am outside rules and laws. It is my very nature! Gods cannot harm me!"

Grace walked slowly around Loki and Quinten and joined Jason, Brian, and Jennifer. "Still up to your old tricks, huh Loki?"

"Ah, the old Night fae half-breed. Tell me, Gracede Moroingi, have you figured out who your father is yet? More importantly, what race he is? Huh? Have you? It's all very interesting, don't you think? I know you suspect, don't you?"

Grace's face twisted with something Daniel didn't recognise from her.

Was that fear?

"Still trying to please your mother, Loki?"retorted Grace.

Loki's face contorted with anger."Leave my

mother out of this!"

"It was you who mentioned my genealogy. Whyshould you be exempt?"

"Why, why, why indeed!Don't you wonder?Lying awake at night, wondering just why you are the way you are? Your poor mother will never accept you as a Night fae. You remind her of her dalliance. Such shame!Instead, she hands the throne to your younger sister. It should be your throne, no?"

Daniel watched Quinten. He looked terrible. He hadn't washed in weeks. His rusted armour was gone. The sword he carried was a poor imitation of a real sword and more like a sword for children to play with. Quinten was watching the exchange between Loki and Grace like it was the best entertainment he had ever seen. It captivated him.

Amber reached across the bond to Daniel and circle. Daniel glanced over at Amber, and she caught his eye and looked down at the spell open in the spell book. He recognised it at once and raised an eyebrow. Amber nodded her head at him. Amy and Jasmine looked doubtful, but

Amber jerked her chin toward Loki.

Daniel wasn't sure. Grace and Loki were still arguing.

"Hey, Loki?" called out Daniel.

Loki whirled to face him, anger, happiness, sorrow, joy, and other emotions flitted across his face. It was unsettling to watch."You! Never suffer a witch to live!Never!You shouldn't be alive, Daniel Davies. Nor should those bitchin'witches!Nope! Nope! Nope!Soon!Soon!Time to die! Soon!"

Daniel pushed aside the words."Are you really here? In the flesh?"

Loki danced around non-stop. Sometimes a dagger would appear in his hand, and he would make stabbing motions towards one of them. "In the flesh!In the flesh! Oh yes!We must be inthe flesh. So deep goes the wounds. You can't handle the truth!So wise my adopted father. His one useless eye seeing more than it should and those annoying crows! THEY SHIT ON EVERYTHING!WHY?"

Daniel nodded to Amber and the girls. They turned toward Loki and started a quick ritual. Jasmine ran around them, pouring salt to the ground. It wasn't perfect, but Bitty always said it was about intent. A thrum filled the air and a spirit shield formed around Daniel and his circle. Grace and the others gave them a questioning look, but Daniel only had eyes for Loki and Quinten. Loki looked amused.

"Let Quinten go. He's been through enough,"asked Daniel, knowing the likely answer but needing more time. He heard the girls start chanting behind him and felt a strong tug on his power. Jasmine started up the pocket pussy and pussy balls. Pleasure wafted through him and the draw on his magic leapt exponentially, making him stagger a small amount.

"Let him go? Whatever for? Most of what we didwas actually HIS idea. He is so very devious. So manipulative. He reminds me of me. No, Quinten is quite happy where he is. Aren't you Quinten?"

Quinten smiled at Loki and nodded."The One True God!"

Loki whirled back to Daniel."See? Say, what are you doing there? You and the evil triplets. Hmm?"

"You'll see."

"See? My darling idiotic human flesh puppet.You cannot harm a GOD!"

"Hmm. Who said anything about harming you?"

Loki froze and then squinted his eyes at Daniel. "What are you doing?"

"Now!" shouted Daniel.

Amber stepped forward and completed the ritual. She pointed at Loki and screeched. "BANISH!"

The draw on Daniel and the girls'magic increased tenfold. They cried out as excruciating pain filled them. To Daniel it felt like someone was drawing all the blood from his body through his pores.

A light materialised around Loki and clung to him. Loki wiped at it."It tickles! Make it stop!"

The light brightened and Loki cried out."It burns! Stop it!"

Everyone outside the ritual circle backed up a few steps, watching Loki grow brighter.

"Ah!It burns! Stop it!"

Amber held her finger steady. To Daniel and the witches, a stream of light poured from her to cover Loki. It soaked into his skin deeper and deeper. He grew translucent.

Loki fell to the ground screaming and clawing at his skin.

Daniel felt another presence and saw a rip form in the air over Loki. For a moment, he thought he saw a figure, with one eye patched over and with a black bird on either shoulder.

"There you are, Loki," said a deep voice thatDaniel felt in his bones."Time to come home."

The light surrounding Loki flared, and they all closed their eyes. When they opened them, Loki was gone. Quinten made a strange sound and looked around quickly.

When he looked back, he screeched when Daniel was standing right in front of him. Then Quinten's eyes went wide, and he cried out before bending over, just as Daniel pulled his dagger from Quinten's chest.

Daniel raised a foot and pushed Quinten with it. He fell to the ground, clasping his chest, he moaned once, and then went still. Daniel stared at his dagger with wonder.

Everyone went still, staring at the remains of Quentin with Daniel standing over him, his shoulders heaving with emotion.

Jason put his sword away and spat on the ground next to Quinten."I'm not burying him. Fuck that. Leave him for the wildlife."He patted Daniel on the back, turned, and walked away, Brian walking with him.

Daniel and his girls stared down at the man who had caused so much grief to them.

"You killed him?"whispered Amy, staring downat Quinten's corpse. His blood pooled and soaked into the ground.

"Is it over?" whispered Jasmine, peeking aroundDaniel.

"Yes, love," answered Daniel. He stared atQuentin's body. I did that, he thought. I murdered him. Why don't I feel bad about it?I should, shouldn't I?

"Banish?" asked Grace to Amber.

She nodded her head."He was here in the flesh. Not an avatar. I figured someone important was looking for him, so we lit him up with Banish."

Grace looked from Quinten's corpse to Amber. "Huh. Neat. Smart, but that would probably onlywork on Loki. He wasn't a god. He was just born of them. He isn't mortal, and he sure-as-shit isn't a god."

Amber merely nodded and continued to take deep breaths.

Grace walked in front of Daniel and peered into his eyes for a moment. Whatever she was searching for she found, and she nodded once. "Good job, Daniel. He deserved it. Don't forgetthat."

"I for one, am getting really tired of the godsfucking around with us," stated Amy.

Grace turned to her and tutted."Careful. Syn is considered a god dess by most. She might take offense. But you should know, Loki was never a god. And Maeve is fae, nothing more. The only god around here was Odin who appeared to take back his wayward son."

Daniel scratched his head. He had never heard of Odin. He had never heard of Loki, either. He knew he should probably feel bad about killing Quinten, but he didn't. Not in the least. Instead, he felt... relief.

Bitty walked up to him and wordlessly handed him a latrine shovel. He took it and walked over to Quinten's body.

He at least deserves a shallow grave. Plus, I don't want him haunting me...

A WEEK LATER, The Circle arrived at the fae border. A large clearcut line marked the border. Grace said redoubts were spaced every few

miles along the border. While it had been many centuries since humans warred with the fae, they still didn't trust one another.

"Stay close to me," ordered Grace."These landsare not as forgiving as the human lands. If you are with me, you will be safe. Probably. Wander away and you will not like what happens. Fae will not hesitate to end you without question. No one enters without permission. With me, they will ask questions first, then shoot."

"Weel, I'll hold on to y er tail, lass," mutteredBrian, getting a laugh from Jason. "Lead on, Grace."

Grace seemed more nervous than normal to Daniel. She was constantly looking around and peering into shadows. Her nervousness spread to the others. Daniel tried speaking to Grace but the glare from her shut his mouth tight.

Daniel, by watching Grace, knew they were being followed or tracked. He could sense nothing, but Grace seemed to. She kept them to open areas as best she could.

Two hours later, as they trudged through a

ravine that was the only path through a rocky area, Grace froze in front of them. Shadows from above filled the ravine and when Daniel looked up, he saw the dark skin of many Light fae standing above them on the cliffs looking down at them. Before a word could be said,a darkness descended on them from above. Daniel tried to cry out, but his voice was silenced. He gasped for air but found nothing to breathe. He was blind in the darkness, and he reached out desperately for Amy, Amber, and Jasmine. His hands grasped only air. He lurched forward trying to clear the area of the spell. The magic of what was happening to them was strange to Daniel. It felt oily and dirty.

Not like this! he thought as his lungs burned for air to breathe. I don't want to die like this!

He collapsed to the ground, landing hard. His struggled to move, gasping for air, but darkness swam from the edges of his vision to consume him.

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