[ Please read the kickoff post before commenting! ] 

It took a moment for the sheer horrified and confused paralysis to fade. Drawing in a sharp breath, nerves jangling, Webb tried to fill their chest with enough to get out—something. A yell. A scream. Maybe hollering DEAD EX ALERT! as loud as possible to summon the others from the adjacent room, so close and yet so far away.

Webb barely managed to inhale before they sensed a sudden rush of movement and felt a body impact them hard enough to wind them. A hand slid over their mouth, ice cold. Their yell came out more like a choked wheeze as they were yanked backwards.

They felt their back hit something soft—the couch, they realized after a feverish moment of confusion. They struggled to try to sit up, but Jasper’s grip was like iron, and a strange sort of heaviness was sweeping over Webb, leaving them dazed.

“You always were so dramatic,” Jasper murmured, leaning over into view. “Calm down, kitten. I just want to catch up.”

In many ways, Jasper looked exactly as Webb remembered him: tall and angular, with brilliantly bright blue eyes and long, straight hair dyed a shocking candy apple red. Of the two of them, he’d always been the one to turn heads—a fact that was probably vastly amplified these days.

“I’d say I like what you’ve done with your look,” Webb managed, choked and breathless, “but I’d be fucking lying.”

Jasper gave Webb a toothy, fanged grin in response. He’d always had a way of smiling with his whole face. When he was being kind, that had always been charming, bringing mischief or delight into his bright eyes. Under the current circumstances, it looked jaw-splittingly menacing.

“Oh, you know,” Jasper murmured. “A few things happened.”

“I’ll bet,” Webb croaked.

They spared a thought, staring up at the face of the man that they’d loved and mourned for well over a decade, that it was possible this was some kind of trick. They knew intimately at this point how Shadowfolk could mimic both a person’s appearance and their mannerisms, sampling their memories. They also knew about rumors of doppelgangers, or witches who could use spells to modify shape or memory.

Some of that uncertainty seemed to show on their face, because Jasper sat down next to them on the couch, reaching out to brush Webb’s hair back and lightly tug their hat off. Pinned like a butterfly under Jasper’s gaze, Webb found they literally couldn’t resist, their arms leaden and unresponsive.

“Before you ask,” Jasper said, “of course this is the real me.” His eyes glittered. “I’d be happy to prove it, if you like. We have all sorts of experiences that I could recount…”

“No, I’m good,” Webb stressed through gritted teeth. “Nobody else is quite a shit like you are.” That was true enough, even in the times when the two of them had been thick as thieves. “Though, if you’re in the mood for talking, I could stand to know what the fuck is going on.”

Jasper faked a hurt expression, his eyes still cool, heavy-lidded. “Oh, my dear—it’s Webb you’re going by these days, yes?—I’m so disappointed. I was expecting a tearful reunion, open arms…”

“Liar.”

“At the very least not such open hostility.”

Webb shifted, narrowing their eyes. “Give me back the use of my body and let me call my friends, and I’m sure we can have much more pleasant chat—”

Webb recognized their mistake instantly as Jasper’s gaze grew hard and a bit manic.

“Ohhh, yes. Your new friends…” he purred.

“Give me a fucking break, Jas,” Webb said, a burning heat starting to swell in their chest. Their breathing was coming sharp and shallow, and they felt despair and anger both starting to well up, making their eyes sting. “I—grieved. I mourned you. For years. I finally started to let myself live a little again, and you’re the one… I don’t know, apparently lording it about in a mountaintop castle? Alive, aware that I was out there, but—but what? You’re not the victim, here!”

“I was the victim, Webb,” Jasper said with a pleasant nonchalance that made Webb very nervous. Jasper was endlessly combative. The sweetness was the kind that always rang false on his foxlike face. “You left me behind in the clutches of the Erl-King. I watched as you ran and didn’t turn back.”

“Would you rather I had stayed behind to die, too?” Webb demanded. “You were the one that intervened to save me!”

“And look at how I was repaid.”

Webb stared up at Jasper and had the distressing realization that if they’d had this conversation a mere few days ago, Webb’s response would have been shockingly different. They had been forcing themself to live with that guilt for years. What if, I should have, I could have… They’d blamed themself, and questioned themself, and told themself that they didn’t deserve to have anything good after what they’d let happen to Jasper.

But now, hearing those words from Jasper’s mouth, and knowing—even for such a short time—what it felt like to have people around them that actually cared for them and supported them and would never even have a thought like that cross their mind…

“Go fuck yourself,” Webb said calmly. They closed their eyes briefly, then—as they had on the gondola—opened their eyes again and willed Jasper away from them as fiercely as possible, fuelled by all of their heartbreak and betrayal and sheer, miserable spite.

For a heart-sinking moment, Webb was sure it hadn’t worked, and kicked themself for even trying. Jasper had clearly become incredibly powerful—when? how?—and Webb had experienced difficulties dealing with birds.

But then a faint look of surprise crossed Jasper’s features, and Webb felt Jasper’s hold on them weaken, just for a moment. Just long enough.

“HELP!” Webb hollered as loudly as possible, shoving Jasper with both hands.

He didn’t go far—Webb hadn’t expected him to—but he did overbalance slightly and stand up, which meant that when Lore’s shadowy form launched over the back of the couch like an avenging blur, they struck Jasper dead-on, sending him reeling back towards the wall.

“Oh,” Jasper breathed out, staggering as Lore pooled down in front of him. Lore planted themself bodily between Jasper and Webb, shadowy hair roiling like a medusa. “I’d heard you’d gotten yourself involved with the Shadowfolk, yes. How interesting.”

Fast, heavy footsteps heralded the arrival of Ariadne and Faraday in the doorway, both of them also rushing to Webb’s aid.

“Who the hell are you?” Ariadne demanded. She looked like she wasn’t going to wait for an answer before launching herself directly into his face with teeth and claws at the ready, so Webb hastily sat up, grabbing her elbow.

“He’s—someone I used to know,” Webb said roughly, their voice coming out hoarser than they’d like. “And honestly, I’d really like to know why he’s here right now and what the fuck is going on, so if you could hold off on going for his jugular for thirty seconds…”

Ariadne looked very hard-pressed to agree to that, but she managed to rein herself in. Lore, too, was shifting restlessly, still half-pinning Jasper to the wall with shadowy appendages on his arms and legs.

“Go on,” Lore murmured softly, with an ominous undertone Webb hadn’t heard before. “We’re listening.”

Jasper stretched out underneath Lore’s grip, idly testing the bonds, and sighed. “Kitten, you don’t really expect me to do the whole evil-overlord-explains-all-his-plans bit, do you? I can’t really see that playing out the way you want it to, realistically.”

Webb rose shakily to their feet, leaning heavily against Faraday when he immediately reached out to brace them. “Don’t be ridiculous, Jasper. Of course I do. You love dramatically pontificating.”

Jasper tilted his head to the side and looked thoughtful. “Oh,” he murmured. “You are right about that…”

“Jasper…” Faraday echoed quietly, his grip tightening on Webb.

Ariadne hissed in a soft breath of recognition as well. “What happened to Grimm?” she insisted.

“Oh, him…” Jasper said dismissively, despite the fact that he was talking about a prolific, rich, and powerful vampire lord. “He decided after a while that he was sick of all the people crawling around him. So needy, always wanting. He was looking for a worthy successor to take over… management of the day-to-day, so he could retire in peace. I’m not sure where he is now, but good on him for following his dreams.”

Ariadne had an expression a little like she’d bitten into a lemon, gaze flickering briefly over to Webb. “Alright,” she said slowly. “Even if we believe that, how did you end up in that position? I don’t recognize you…”

Jasper gave her a thoughtful once-over that quickly turned dismissive. “Oh, you’re one of Grimm’s spawn, too.” At Ariadne’s continued insistent glare, he continued, sounding put-upon: “Well, you see, despite being someone that was growing tired of the rabble, he and his did like to grow the clan. They picked me up one day, wandering the forest and quite delirious, and thought I’d be quite fun to play with. But the old man took quite a shine to me, made me a successor instead of a snack, and after that, the rest was history.”

“Like hell it was that easy—”

“You’d gotten away from the Erl-King?” Webb interrupted. “You escaped?”

For the first time, Jasper’s gaze turned dark—something about that question had hit home. It was subtle enough that Webb didn’t think the others noticed anything at all, but Webb picked up the slight tensing of Jasper’s jaw, the dull anger that pulsed in his gaze.

He smiled, a rictus grin. “Oh, not right away,” he said with feigned nonchalance. “Not for… some years. And you know, Webb, when I finally got out—I couldn’t find you, much as I looked. And when I finally heard about you from Sia… well, honestly, I was surprised that I was able to play with you as long as I did before you noticed that it was happening.” He paused. “Though, I’m not sure I should give you credit for even that much…”

Webb stiffened. Next to him, Ariadne let out a growl under their breath. Frantically trying to piece this all together, Webb put a hand on Ariadne’s arm again and squeezed, even as their mind was racing a mile a minute.

“You were the one seeding my contacts with misinformation,” they said slowly. “To… punish me? Some sort of misguided way of getting my attention like a cat leaving dead rats at my door?”

Jasper’s haughtily amused expression turned into a faint scowl at that. “I thought you’d have caught on more quickly,” he said, looking smug again after a moment. But it wasn’t a no—just a deflection. “After a while, I really just wanted to see how long I could make it last.”

“You’re right, I didn’t figure it out,” Webb said. “Until the Inquisitors showed up, and Ariadne and Faraday. But you didn’t send them.” Not based on what Vyo the changeling had said, and the information Pax had shared. “The Erl-King was looking for me, too. The one that got away. They were sent by him.”

Faraday looked a bit horrified. “The Inquisitors are in league with the Erl-King…?”

Webb nodded. “They’re all some kind of fey,” they said. “They’ve got to be. Jasper wouldn’t have had any reason to call out his own game and try to take me by force, not after all this time. But the Erl-King was trying to find me, and wanted to try to steal me away before Jasper got me. Before Jasper realized that the Erl-King had picked up my trail, maybe.”

“It meant I did have to snatch those most recent kids of yours quickly so you’d be sure to come this way,” Jasper said lazily, seeming pleased with himself. “But you came to me obediently like a good little lamb. Which reminds me…”

Webb, still thinking hard and trying to tie together the last threads, reacted much too slowly as Jasper moved sharply, ripping away from Lore’s shadowy grip. He was inhumanly fast, faster even than Ariadne, as he all but teleported directly in front of Webb, his hand grabbing Webb’s throat.

“Nothing personal,” Jasper said brightly. “But we have one more thing to do to make sure the Erl-King knows you’re mine, not his, once and for all.”

Everyone seemed to move at once, then. Ariadne launched herself at Jasper, only to be slammed back with one quick, sharp movement of his fist, catching her hard in the chest and leaving her winded and snarling. Faraday caught her as she stumbled. Lore pummelled into Jasper from behind, but seemed startled to be repelled by some kind of magic that shimmered around him briefly, causing Lore to slide off like an oil slick on water.

Webb’s vision had already started to blur as Jasper tightened his grip. They tried to blink, tried to refocus their gaze, to do something, but Jasper just gave them a self-assured smile, brittle and cruel.

“Oh, kitten,” Jasper said, “that’s not going to work a second time. Now, do stay still, unless you want this to hurt.”

Webb tried to draw in a shuddering breath and squirm away as Jasper moved his grip from their neck to their waist, pulling Webb’s hair to the side to bare their neck. Webb felt their heart racing helplessly, their blood pounding. Helpless, useless—

An enormous rumbling bang shook the building so hard that both Webb and Jasper staggered in place. Jasper’s head snapped up in surprise, eyes wide.

“What—?”

Close your eyes, Webb heard-slash-felt Lore’s soft voice reverberating through them. They obeyed instinctively, closing their eyes tightly.

Even through their closed lids, the sudden flare of light and heat in the room was palpable. A heartbeat later, Webb flinched back at Jasper’s sudden shriek of pain and the sudden scent of smoke and searing flesh. Falling heavily backwards, cursing as their elbows hit the ground, Webb squinted one eye open as the bright light seemed to fade, trying frantically to get stock of the situation.

Jasper had reeled back several steps towards the back of the room, both hands pressed over his face, which was streaming viscous smoke. His hands were mottled and burned, flaking away in dusty fragments.

Suddenly panicked, Webb looked around for Ariadne—just in time to see her crawling out safely from within the safe embrace of Faraday’s coat, which had expanded to cover both of them. Without missing a step, Ariadne charged forward, slamming into Jasper bodily and sending him staggering backwards towards the open window.

Jasper looked for a second like he was about to catch his footing and lash back out at Ariadne, despite being blinded and in searing pain. Webb saw Ariadne brace for impact, her fists swinging up to deflect—

But Jasper’s foot became ensnared in the curtains that entwined around him as though they had a mind of their own, hauling him backwards as his momentum carried him over the edge of the frosty windowsill, pitching him out towards the forbidding, frozen ground with one final, infuriated scream.

Webb braced themself for the crunch of impact, but another heavy boom rattled the chateau, along with a cacophonous rising of screams and shouts from down below.

“What—the fuck is that noise?” Webb hauled themself shakily to their feet, feeling bruised and battered both physically and otherwise, but without the reprieve to even begin processing those feelings or treating those hurts. “Ariadne, Faraday, are you okay? Lore—??”

Webb felt a soft whispering movement next to their ear. “I’m here,” Lore said, voice softer than usual. “I used up a lot of energy there, but I’ll be fine after I rest.”

“Did I know you could erupt into a fiery pulse of sunlight?” Webb demanded. They whirled on Faraday. “Did you??”

Faraday was striding over to the window, taking a moment to look down and get a view of the situation down below. “Lore whispered it to me right beforehand so I could protect Ariadne,” he said. “… it looks like we have—guests? There’s some kind of fighting. Something’s on fire.”

“Fighting with who?”

As if on cue, there was a soft pop behind them. All of them whirled as one, ready for trouble—and saw a high-heeled and soot-smudged Pax pop out of a portal, looking worried and alarmed.

“Webb!” Pax took a few slightly wavering steps forward on impulse, his eyes going wide. “Thank the nine hells, you’re alright!”

Webb stared back at him. “Pax? What happened to you? Is that—is what’s going on down there your doing?”

Pax flashed them an eager grin, tail lashing. “Oh, yeah. Veracity really got to thinking after we got more information outta Vyo, and did some digging. I’ll fill you in more later on how those talks went, but basically she decided that maybe right now was the most opportune time to make a move on Grimm’s stronghold, here.” He crossed his arms, glancing aside and looking suddenly, uncharacteristically flustered. “Especially after you sent me that… last somewhat cryptic text, I may have… strongly advocated for us taking advantage of the opportunity to—”

Webb took a few shaky strides across the room and gathered Pax up in a tight hug, pressing their face into Pax’s brimstone-and-strawberry smelling hair and inhaling deeply.

“Thanks,” Webb said quietly. “I owe you one.”

Pax seemed to be reeling somewhat. “I, um,” he stammered. “It’s nothing—I mean, actually, it was pretty outstanding, you’re right, but—”

“This is really cute,” Ariadne said very loudly, “and I am here for it, but I think the building is on fire and we still have people to rescue??”

“We should probably do that!” Pax agreed, taking a hasty hop back out of Webb’s arms. “I think we’ve got some people working on freeing the unwilling guests, but it couldn’t hurt for us to start helping from the top down, especially if there’s someone in particular you’re looking for.”

Webb nodded. “There is, yeah,” they said quietly. “I made a promise to someone that we were going to rescue his friends, and I plan to make good on that.”

They cast an uneasy glance back at the open window, but nothing ominous was materializing there. Snow had started to drift in, and the heavy curtains slowly drifted in the cold night air.

Ariadne approached Webb’s side, giving their arm a little squeeze. “Webb…?” she murmured gently. “Are you gonna be okay?”

Webb tore his gaze away, giving her a little smile. “I think some therapy is probably in my near future,” they said. “And also, we’re currently on a mountain in a burning building that’s full of warring vampire clans. Objectively, I’ve been in better situations. Rarely in worse ones, actually. But—”

They paused, hesitating as their gaze fell on their hat, cast aside where Jasper had dropped it. They thought about symbolically leaving it behind, then immediately reconsidered because they were still on a fucking mountain and even pointy ears they were no longer ashamed of could still get frostbite. One had to be realistic about these things. They grabbed it.

“I’ll be alright,” Webb said, taking Ariadne’s hand and tugging her along as they followed Faraday and Pax back out into the hall.

An epilogue will be posted tomorrow evening ♥ For today’s comments, please let me know any lingering questions that you’d like to see addressed in the epilogue or any scenes or specific things you’d like to see resolved or touched on onscreen. I can’t promise to fit everything in, but I’ll do my best to grant as many wishes as possible. I’ll host a Q&A this upcoming week to answer any additional curiosities you may have that might not necessarily be onscreen-worthy or able to be worked in.

Again, thank you so so much for coming along with me on this ride that took longer than originally planned for (wheeze). I really hope you enjoyed it! And yes, there will be a sequel to deal with the Erl-King and other outstanding mysteries… some day. But I promised my cats normal bedtimes from now until the end of the year at the very least.

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The final chapter will go up tomorrow (Saturday) followed by an Epilogue on Sunday! ♥ Thanks for sticking it out with me on this wild ride! xoxo

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[ Please read the kickoff post before commenting! ] 

“I think it’s probably smarter to go into the balconies upstairs first, then straight into the heart of things later, if we don’t find what we need,” Webb said slowly. “It’s much easier to be loud after being quiet rather than the other way around, right?”

Faraday nodded. “It’s early in the night, too, so it’s maybe more likely that those we’re looking for are still in their rooms, at least until the party is really getting started.”

“I can also sneak around a little,” Lore pointed out quietly. “To help cover ground more quickly.” They paused. “You could always try to stay out of sight and let me do all of the snooping…”

Webb shook their head. “Absolutely not.”

Lore’s cheeks puffed slightly, and they exhaled smoke. “Why not? I can go around without being seen…”

“One, we’re on a time limit. What’ll we do if Jenny was safely in one of the rooms, but before you get to her, the vampires decide to kick it up a notch? And two—” Webb faltered slightly. “We’re in this together. And I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Also, I don’t think there’s any place that’s necessarily any more safe than anywhere else,” Ariadne pointed out lightly. “Not up here.”

“That really makes me feel better, Ariadne, thank you,” Webb said dryly.

“By the way…” Lore trailed off, looking around. “Why… are there scratches all over the gondola?”

“Giant evil birds,” Webb said promptly. “Big white-feathered things with seven eyes and four wings. Ring any bells?”

Lore looked very concerned. “Not… really, no,” they admitted softly. “That… doesn’t sound very vampiric, though, so…”

“So either a random act of nature—unlikely—or… other involved parties deciding to come out to make themselves known.”

“Why, though?” Ariadne murmured, looking thoughtfully out the window, her breath fogging up her reflection. “Is it just that they’re still after you? The same… situation? After all this time? It seems a little…”

Webb felt their anxiety rising like steam in a teakettle again. They shifted restlessly, feeling claustrophobic and pinned under the weight of their three companions, the glass walls around them, and the inescapable sense of being trapped—emotionally, physically, and otherwise.

“I don’t know,” they said roughly. “And I don’t—I don’t think dwelling on it right now is going to help anything, so let’s just… let’s just not, alright?”

Ariadne looked worried, but just nodded. Faraday gave Webb’s leg a firm squeeze but shifted back, as though he’d picked up that Webb wanted space.

Lore started to unravel themself, fading back into shadow and weightlessness. Webb felt a light touch against the back of their neck as Lore seemed to attach themself to Webb’s shadow again, close enough that their soft voice could still be heard.

“Let’s just keep an eye out,” Lore murmured. “Whatever we do… you’re not alone.”

Webb knew that should feel reassuring, but once again, remembering that they had people to lose this time rarely brought them reassurance.

“Look,” Ariadne murmured, nudging Webb and pointing ahead. “There it is…”

In the distance but rapidly getting closer was a sprawling multi-storey chateau, lighting up the peak with warm lamplight pouring out of its many arched windows. It looked both cozy and grandiose—rustic, even—with log beams and pointed peaks.

Webb stared up at it, then back at Ariadne. “Do the vampires… night ski?” they asked slowly.

Ariadne made a face, nodding. “Sure, sometimes. There are some slopes all lit up, but on a moonlit night, vampires don’t need more than that. Others go out during the day in full gear and helmet, like I do when I’m riding.”

“What about the windows?” Webb asked, not because they really wanted to know, but because they were somehow offended by the idea that vampires might be hoarding a view like this and not even using it.

Ariadne shrugged. “You get a pretty nice view at night,” she said softly, then wrinkled her nose. “Also, curtains? You learn to be pretty creative when the sun makes you go up in smoke.”

“Seems pretty rough,” Webb said dryly. “Unfortunately, I didn’t bring the sun with me.” A little pause. “Or a silver weapon, for that matter. Fuck. Do crosses work?”

“Only sometimes,” Ariadne said. “Not on most. Why, did you bring a cross?”

“No.”

“As much as I hate to interrupt this thrilling conversation,” Faraday murmured, “we’re just about here…”

Webb grimaced, making a face as Faraday and Ariadne positioned themselves to either side of the door, but didn’t protest. They knew by now to just give up on trying to stop them from trying to play protector. They just hoped nobody would end up regretting that by the end of the night.

The blast of cold air as the gondola doors slid smoothly open made Webb shiver. They tugged their hat down a little further over their ears and cautiously followed Ariadne and Faraday outside.

As Lore had reported, nobody in particular seemed to notice or care as they stepped out onto the wooden platform. Partygoers were quickly sweeping away up the cleanly-shovelled wooden walkway towards the entrance of the chateau. Even from this distance, Webb could see revellers mingling on covered balconies under the canopies of cheerily blazing space warmers.

“It looks so… normal,” Webb murmured as they fell into step beside Ariadne.

Ariadne shrugged. “Vampires are normal,” she pointed out, unoffended. “We just also, you know. Drink blood.”

“And host elaborate parties with captive human bloodbags as entertainment?”

Ariadne sniffed. “That’s not because they’re vampires, it’s because they’re assholes. There are humans like that too, you know.”

“Point taken,” Webb whispered back.

The walkway continued up to the front doors and the entrance hall. As the doors opened to allow other partygoers inside, Webb could see a roaring fireplace, a curved wooden banister, and dozens of people chatting, dancing, laughing…

An unpleasant sort of bitterness curled in the pit of their stomach. Glancing at the others, they saw that feeling reflected in Ariadne’s narrowed eyes, the hard line of Faraday’s mouth.

“This way,” Ariadne said softly. “The walkway continues in a perimeter around the chateau.”

“It’s busier than I thought it would be,” Webb muttered. “And… better lit. Are we sure the balconies are the best bet?”

“There are back doors, too,” Ariadne said. “Probably locked, but between us, I’m sure we can get in, especially if Lore can scout ahead to make sure the path ahead is clear.”

“I can scout,” Lore agreed quietly. “I can pick locks, too.”

“What can’t you do?” Webb grumbled appreciatively.

Lore, of course, didn’t bother to answer that one, but Webb felt a whisper-soft brush of lips against their neck. Webb shivered, not from the cold this time, but felt a little better about things.

The woods were thick and dark, even up closer to the peak. Webb kept an uneasy eye on them as Ariadne led the way around to the back of the sizeable chateau. Somehow, the bright lighting and the sound of chatter and clinking glasses from inside made the forest seem even more foreboding.

They caught that thought as it crossed their mind and let out a soft laugh.

Faraday glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Hmm?” he murmured. “Something funny?”

“I was just thinking,” Webb said. “We’re sneaking into the den of one of the most feared vampire clans, and here I am getting nervous about trees.”

They gave Faraday a wry grin, but Faraday didn’t return it. He looked thoughtful, gaze scanning the woods, before he slowed his steps a little to walk closer to Webb.

“I’m nervous, too,” Faraday said quietly. “Something feels strange in the air tonight.”

That didn’t make Webb feel better, either.

As they approached one of the back doors, keeping an alert eye out, Webb felt their hair stir as their shadow elongated, stretching out towards the doorknob. A moment later, Lore seemed to vanish in, reforming with their hand against the keyhole, hair swaying as if caught in the cool breeze.

With a soft click, the door eased open.

“The coast looks clear,” Lore murmured after a moment, slipping in through the gap. “Quickly, now.”

Exchanging a look with Ariadne, Webb gave a little nod. They scanned the line of trees one more time, then stepped into the chateau after Lore.

The hallway they were in seemed to be some kind of back hall for staff. Several heavy coats hung on hooks near the door, next to a shovel propped up against the wall. Around the corner, they could hear the banging of pots and pans, and the occasional burst of chatter.

Lore had swooped on ahead, their shadowy form solidifying halfway up a narrow stairwell. “This way,” they whispered, beckoning. “Quietly…”

Ariadne took the lead, with Webb behind her and Faraday carefully taking up the rear.

“Once we’re up in the area with the guest quarters,” Ariadne murmured, “let’s still try to stay out of sight, but if anybody sees you, just… pretend like you belong. It’s not like everyone knows who everyone else is, here.”

“Classic strategy,” Webb agreed under their breath. “And when in doubt, make out?”

Ariadne bared her fangs in a grin. “Yeah.”

Although their heart was still beating like a rabbit’s inside their chest, Webb found themself slowly relaxing as they quietly made their way through the halls, following Ariadne’s hazy recollections and being mindful of Lore’s instructions to pause or stop or duck out of the way.

More than once, Lore heard someone coming and ushered them all into an empty room until the person had passed. At a few unavoidable intersections of people, they had to take Ariadne’s advice, chattering brightly to each other as they walked along like hotel guests who had simply decided to take a friendly little detour and were absolutely where they meant to be.

“I’m shocked that worked,” Webb muttered.

“Were you?” Ariadne demanded under her breath. “Why did you decide to do it, then??”

At Ariadne’s prompting, they headed up to the top floor. “Grimm always liked to keep his… guests… close by,” she whispered. “So his rooms will be up here, as well as some of the suites. They’re not guaranteed to be here, of course, but…”

“It’s a good place to start,” Webb agreed, then frowned. “Will there be guards?”

Ariadne nodded. “At least a couple wandering around, at least in this area.”

“Between us, I’m sure we can deal with them,” Faraday said. “Quietly,” he added after a moment to Ariadne. “Leave it to the rest of us unless necessary, love.”

Ariadne wrinkled her nose, but seemed to find this sensible, and didn’t object.

The air seemed cooler up here. Webb wasn’t sure if it was simply that the halls weren’t as well-heated this far from the central rooms, or if they were imagining some sort of ominous miasma the closer they came to danger.

“There’s two guards around the corner, here,” Lore whispered. “On either side of a really big door.”

“Grimm’s chambers,” Ariadne murmured.

“Before we deal with them, Lore, can you check to see if there’s anybody inside?” Webb whispered. “There’s no point in us busting in there if To Grimm Or Not To Grimm is just waiting there with his dick out…”

A bit more smoke than usual poured off of Lore before they folded it back into themself. “I’ll go,” they agreed. “I’ll be right back.”

They vanished. A few moments passed. Webb tried to count the seconds, but their heart had begun to beat so quickly and so loudly that it kept interrupting them and they lost count.

Abruptly, they heard two soft thumps from the hallway ahead, then heard Lore call out: “Come on. The coast is clear.”

Webb immediately beelined around the corner to find the two guards slumped against the wall, deeply unconscious but visibly uninjured. Lore stood in the open doorway, peering out with earnest curiosity.

“You said you were just going to scout…!” Webb hissed.

“I made no such promise,” Lore said with gentle, passive stubbornness.

“Help me drag these two inside…” Faraday muttered to Ariadne, who looked slightly put-out, but obligingly helped Faraday haul the guards inside the rooms.

“Be gentle with them,” she said softly. “I was Unnamed Guard #1 once upon a time. You never know what anybody’s going through, you know?”

Grimm’s suite was lavish and grandiose. On the far wall, peaked floor-to-ceiling windows were covered by dark, heavy velvet curtains. The main area was an elaborate sitting room with gold chandeliers, currently dimmed, hanging from high beamed rafters. The stone was a cool, mottled stone, and plush throw rugs sprawled in front of the enormous, unlit fireplace.

“Lore, try to keep an eye and ear out from the hall,” Webb suggested quietly. “Faraday, Ariadne, let’s split up and try to take a look around. We’re looking for anything to help identify this guy, if he isn’t Grimm after all. Papers, electronics…”

Ariadne nodded. “I’ll take the main room.”

“I’ll go to the left,” Faraday said. “Seems to be an ensuite bathroom. I’m not great with that type of sympathetic magic myself, but if there’s a hairbrush, that could come in handy…

Webb took the opposite side of the room, peering into what seemed to be the bedroom. Like the rest of the suite, it was lavish and stately in every way. There was a huge four-poster bed with a mattress unimaginably larger than king-sized, piled high with red and gold pillows. Somehow, it still seemed appropriately-sized for the room, which said an uncomfortable amount about its dimensions.

A rack full of wine bottles lined one wall; several shelves of books lined another. Webb let their gaze pass over both, then headed towards the far corner where they spied a television larger than some cars, a plush seating area, and most importantly, a computer monitor on a vast mahogany desk. Behind it was another floor-to-ceiling window with deep red curtains, heavy and still.

“Oh, just great,” Webb muttered under their breath, running their fingers lightly along the desk. The cords that would connect the monitor to anything—presumably a laptop—lay unplugged on the desktop. They crouched to test the desk drawers, but found them locked, rattling them quietly with frustration.

Rising up, Webb turned back towards the door, intending to go grab Lore or Faraday to deal with the locks—and stopped short, a sudden chill prickling at the back of their neck.

The room looked exactly as it had moments before, but they still scanned it uneasily. After a long moment, Webb realized that they were feeling an actual chill coming from the window behind them—they heard, after a moment, the dull flap of the curtains shifting in the breeze, and saw their next exhalation come out, frosty and visible.

“Oh, no…” Webb breathed out. “Fuck you. I’m not turning around.”

A laugh came from behind them, bright and cold, and Webb knew they’d been caught—but that alone wasn’t what turned Webb’s blood to ice.

They knew that laugh.

“Oh, I did miss how you made me smile,” said Jasper—who, as Webb’s long-dead ex, really shouldn’t be standing behind them right now. “But come now, let’s be reasonable. After all these years, you’re leaving me again already?”

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All Webb could think of to say under the circumstances was: “Fuck!”

Ariadne had put herself between Webb and the sliding doors, but the gondola was, unfortunately, almost entirely made of windows. Great for sight-seeing, not so great for being harassed by malevolent birds.

Birds was the best descriptor Webb could manage, but that fell woefully short. These were snowy-white, raven-shaped, and enormous—each one easily half the size of a fully-grown adult. They each had four wings, a wickedly sharp beak, and what appeared to be seven bright blue eyes: three up each side of their face and one splitting it vertically down the middle.

In other words, “What the hell are those?” Webb demanded.

“Bad??” Ariadne yelped, taking an offensive stance and baring her teeth out at them.

“Something from the other side, clearly,” Faraday said in a low voice, crouching down next to Webb. “Stay in the center of the car, Ariadne.”

“I want to fistfight a bird.”

“I know you want to fistfight a bird, but I think things will go very poorly for us if we open the doors,” Faraday said with teeteringly tense patience.

“I think the birds are going to have a say in that whether we want them to or not…!” Webb said, their voice raising in alarm as one of them rapped loudly at the glass with a wickedly sharp beak, causing it to splinter very slightly. “Isn’t that stuff, like, massively reinforced?”

“I haven’t really researched it personally but I would assume so!”

“I’m calling vampire OSHA!” Webb hissed back, wincing and ducking down as another one of the not-ravens swooped down, smashing bodily into the side of the car and making it bounce unsettlingly on the steel cable.

“Is that—I don’t think giant evil attack birds are a result of lax application of workplace safety regulations—”

“Please,” Ariadne hollered. “Am I gonna pry this door open and brawl with the birds or not??”

“No!” Webb and Faraday yelled back.

That said, it wasn’t like Webb had any better ideas. Faraday already said that his magic wasn’t particularly well-suited to combat, and as far as Webb knew, Ariadne wasn’t well-suited to being suspended on a wire hundreds of feet in the air, vampire or not. Which left—what? Trying to talk to the birds? Trying to convince the birds to leave them the fuck alone like they were some kind of one night stand that had overstayed their welcome?

It was worth a shot.

Hauling themself up, Webb leaned up against the glass, pressing their face close to one of the creatures who had perched on the rail outside, making eye contact with its many, many eyes.

“Fuck off, bird,” they said. Then, when nothing seemed to happen, they added more forcefully: “What do you want? Leave me alone—!”

There was a raucous chorus of calls and croaks, followed by the reverberating thud of another not-raven smashing against the side of the gondola. Up above, Webb started to hear a rhythmic pitter-patter of sharp beaks against the metal roof.

Faraday looked up, expression growing even more concerned, brows drawn heavily. “Are they—going after the cable attachment?”

Ariadne looked up as well, clawed fingers flexing. “Faraday, we have to do something—”

Webb turned back to the window again. This time, rather than trying to say or ask anything, they just focused all their energy—their fear, their anger, their frustration—and willed as hard as they could. It’s not going to happen. Don’t even fucking think about it.

For a moment, they were sure this had failed again, and they felt a humiliated sense of bitterness welling up in their chest, burning their throat. What exactly had they been expecting to happen, there? With useless borrowed abilities that they didn’t even want—

Then the not-raven in front of them abruptly seized up, its wings freezing mid-stroke. No longer being held aloft by anything, it toppled directly backwards, sinking with rapid finality towards the ground far below.

A splitting pain pierced Webb’s temple, and they clutched their head with both hands. All around them, the not-ravens suddenly burst into a flurry of croaking screams and beating wings.

“Webb?” That was Faraday’s voice, concerned and startled, warbling into focus like a poorly-tuned radio. Faraday’s warm hands gripping Webb’s shoulder. “Webb, what happened?”

“They’re leaving…!” Ariadne gasped.

Webb looked up, their vision still swimming slightly, and found that she was right. The not-ravens, still croaking and cawing loudly, were peeling off and soaring away towards the treeline. Webb wasn’t sure what had happened to the one that had fallen, but it seemed to have set something off in the others.

As they scanned the darkened woods below, though, they thought they saw it again—a hint of movement between the trees. A large shape. The sensation of someone watching them. Patient. Waiting.

This time, they didn’t say anything to the others.

“Webb!” Ariadne’s voice this time, as she flung her arms around Webb from behind. “What did you do? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Webb said with a shaky sigh, tugging at them both and sinking back onto the bench again. “I don’t… know. I just—looked at them really hard? I guess?”

“That sounds really dubious but I don’t know enough about your magic to argue,” Ariadne whispered, kissing at Webb’s temple. Webb grumbled a little, but didn’t pull away. Their head still hurt, but it was fading to a dull background throb.

Faraday still looked concerned, eyes scanning the skies around them, but eventually he relaxed a little, giving Webb’s hand a squeeze. “Just take it easy for now,” he said softly. “But let’s keep an eye out. That was… lucky, but we don’t know if anything else is going to be on the lookout.”

“What do you think that was about?” Webb asked, tilting their head back, eyes closed. “If they were sent by the vampires, I don’t exactly see why they’d try to harry us on our way to gently and politely deposit ourselves into their open mouths…”

Ariadne shook her head. “That wouldn’t make any sense…” she agreed. “Besides, I’ve never seen anything like those things in my life.”

“Then it was either a random event, or…” Or something and somebody Webb really didn’t want to think about. They especially did not enjoy the idea of that person being aware that Webb was back in the forest. Despite what had just happened, they felt somewhat relieved, for a moment, that they were this far up in the air where creatures on foot probably wouldn’t be able to reach them.

Faraday seemed to pick up on that stress, giving Webb’s hand a little squeeze. “Try not to think about it too much for now,” he suggested quietly. “One thing at a time. We’ll deal with whatever’s waiting for us at the chateau, and worry about what’s lurking in the woods later.”

“If it’ll let us wait that long,” Webb pointed out dryly.

Ariadne sighed, flopping against Webb and sticking her legs out in front of her, wiggling her feet back and forth. “Now I’m all riled up without a release,” she complained. “My adrenaline’s just—AHH!”

Both Webb and Faraday jumped as Ariadne let out a shriek. Following her gaze, Webb felt their own heart give a little leap in their chest as they saw a face looking back at them from the darkened glass.

A moment later, Webb heaved a sigh, thrusting their arms out in front of them. “Lore,” they scolded, cranky. “Do you have to do that?”

The face in the window faded away into nothingness, but a moment later, shadow and smoke unfurled at Webb’s feet, taking the shape of a body filling up their arms, a weight on their lap. “I’m sorry,” Lore murmured, looking genuinely apologetic. “I didn’t mean to…”

“I know, I know,” Webb sighed. “You’re just naturally spooky.”

Ariadne grumbled, reaching out to pinch Lore’s cheek. “Welcome back,” she said begrudgingly, then continued more fondly, clearly forgiving them instantly for the momentary fright. “How was everything? What did you see?”

Lore looked a little shy at the touch, then more serious at the question. “Nothing we didn’t really expect,” they said slowly. “It’s pretty lively. Lots of lights, music. There are what appear to be guards around, slick-looking vampires in dark suits standing around in pairs, but nobody is getting identified or checked out on their way off the gondola.”

“What about the chateau?” Faraday asked.

Lore nodded. “Some guards at the door there, but they didn’t seem to be paying much attention to anybody coming or going—more like just keeping an eye out for trouble.”

“So we could pass on through, if we went in the front door,” Ariadne mused. “Unless they are looking out for Webb, or Faraday and I, in which case…”

“We could do Operation Makeout if someone looks at us too closely,” Webb drawled. They grinned at Faraday’s expression. “What? It worked for Captain America.”

“I’d prefer to have some kind of alternate plan in mind…” Faraday said, polite but a little pained.

“Do you know another way around?” Webb asked Ariadne. “Any side or back entrance, or anywhere you think it would be more likely to find… prisoners? Unwilling guests?”

Ariadne made a bit of a face. “Grimm always liked to keep his… guests… in the guest quarters, not thrown away in a dungeon or anything. Taking care of people properly makes their blood taste better.”

“Gross, but go on.”

Ariadne shrugged. “It might be different now, but there’s definitely big balconies on various levels of the chateau, what with the view and all. Grimm always stayed in the highest rooms—there’s a balcony there too, of course, but…”

“He, or whoever, is not likely to be in his rooms during the party,” Faraday pointed out. “If we wanted to take a look around. But it depends on our priority, here.”

“Some of those missing people might honestly be in the middle of things,” Ariadne said. “As… entertainment? In which case…”

“Gross,” Webb emphasized again, with a grimace of a grin. “Right. Our original plan here was just to gather some information and figure out who’s in charge up here these days—Grimm, or some kind of imposter. But now, obviously, we need to figure out where Eli and Jenny are being kept, and try to spring them as well…”

There were a couple ways about it, and they’d obviously adapt as they went along. As for what they tried to do first…

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“Why do you keep wanting to go on ahead?” Webb complained. “At this point, it almost seems like you want to leave me—mmph.”

Webb fell silent as a shadowy hand clamped over their mouth. “Shhh,” they felt Lore exhale next to their ear, tone gently chiding. “You know it’s not like that. I just… want to do what I can to help protect you. To make sure things are successful.”

Webb tried to open their mouth, then found themself flushing heatedly as shadow crept in, pooling against their tongue. They made useless little noises instead until Lore released them. “Fine,” they grumbled, exhaling in a plume of smoke, glaring at Faraday who was trying not to laugh. “You’ve got a point. If you can get up there safely and scope the place out, that would probably be smart.”

“I like that you’re concerned about me,” Lore says softly. “I haven’t… felt this way before. Having anybody who was worried about what happened to me. That is to say—I’m still not sure the concern is needed, but it’s still… nice.”

Webb felt a light pressure wind around them, tightening briefly. A soft squeeze, then a slithering whisper as Lore vanished into the night. Webb watched in that general direction for a long moment, quiet, chafing their arms although they weren’t really that cold.

Ariadne bumped up against their side. “They’ll be alright,” she murmured. “They’re a grown up big scary monster shadow. For all we know, they might be able to wipe out a whole vampire clan without breaking a sweat. Er, a smoke? You know.”

“I know,” Webb said, huffing as they glanced back at her. “Maybe I’m more worried about me than I am about them, did you think of that?”

Her eyes glittered, flashing reflectively like a cat’s in the dim light. She flashed her fangs in a big grin. “Of course not,” she said confidently. “Why could you possibly be worried, when I’m here to protect you?”

Webb spluttered a little, giving her a little shove towards the gondola. “Oh, I wonder.”

“Not a very elegant comeback,” Faraday mused, strolling along with his hands behind his back. “You’re getting soft. Compromised…”

“Make yourself useful!” Webb grumbled. “Weren’t we talking about disguises? Plans?”

Faraday nodded, looking at Webb sidelong, with a thoughtful smile. “I think I can manage something for you,” he said. “Nothing fancy, but we can convince your hat to help make your face a little less… remarkable.”

Webb stared back at him, then huffed, tugging their hat off and handing it over. “Your magic is weird,” they informed him.

“All magic is strange,” Faraday said lightly, unbothered. “That’s what makes it wonderful.”

Webb didn’t know what to say to that. They took their hat back when it was offered and yanked it back down over their ears.

Boarding the gondola was remarkably easy. The ticketing attendant ran Faraday’s card and handed over three paper ticket stubs, waving them along. “Keep it moving,” she said, sounding bored. “Don’t make a mess in the cars.”

“What kind of rule is that?” Webb whispered sidelong to Ariadne as they made their way up to the boarding platform behind a small cluster of would-be partygoers who were taking an endless array of selfies.

She shrugged. “One that they probably put in place after servicing vampires day in and day out. Night in and night out…?”

Webb rubbed their face, sighing, and winced a little as they caught sight of their reflection in the glass of one of the enclosed gondola cars as it glided to a stop. They had to believe Faraday that their eyes were obscured and looked a little different to anybody else who was looking at their face—to Webb’s gaze, they saw their own narrow freckled face staring back at them, their eyes unusually bright and their expression looking scared and small.

They looked away, gaze drifting towards the edge of the woods—

They froze, tensing up suddenly, certain that just for a moment they’d made eye contact with… something. Someone. It was over in the blink of an eye, but Webb’s heart was racing, their palms sweating, their breath suddenly coming fast.

“Webb…?” Ariadne moved a little closer to them, concerned, sniffing at the air. Faraday turned as well, wondering why Webb had stopped as the other group had gone ahead and an empty car had stopped in front of him. “What is it?”

“Nothing…” Webb said uneasily, under their breath. “I—no, wait. I’m not going to tell you that it was nothing. That’s way too victim-in-a-horror-movie. I saw… something. I felt like I was being watched. But I didn’t get more than a glimpse. Fuck.”

Ariadne worried at her lower lip with her teeth, eyes narrowing as she moved a little closer to Webb. “Should we turn back?” she asked uncertainly. “That doesn’t sound good…”

Webb hissed out an irritated breath between their teeth. “Of course we should go back, but we’re not going to. If we were doing the safe and sensible thing, we wouldn’t be here at all.”

Ariadne considered that, then just made a face, shuffling after Faraday as the next empty gondola car began to glide to a stop. She reached back to take Webb’s hand, squeezing. “Onwards and upwards?” she suggested.

“Anything to get this night over with.”

Webb sank heavily down onto the padded bench inside the gondola car, continuing to stare out the window as the doors slid noiselessly shut and sealed with a click. With a little rumble of the engine, the car began to slide upwards along the cables, rising up off the ground and rapidly beginning to leave the town behind.

Webb had to begrudgingly admit that the view was impressive. During the day, they imagined they’d be able to see mountains all around in the distance, and the vast expanse of trees. In the darkness, the town of Shadewick and even nearby villages were visible the higher up they rose, glittering clusters of gold and silver lights amongst the trees.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Faraday murmured.

“It’s fine,” Webb said quickly, turning back to face the two of them, a little flustered. “I’ve just never… been up here before. Or seen anything like this.”

“Not at all?” Ariadne looked surprised. “You lived so close, though.”

Webb rolled their eyes, crossing their arms over their chest and sinking down a little in their seat. “I just never had a chance when I was younger. My family wasn’t really… well, I just didn’t. And then later on, when I was on my own, I developed, you know, a crippling fear and paranoia of that which lurked in the woods, so…”

“That’s… fair,” Ariadne said, wrinkling her nose.

“I can see how that would get in the way,” Faraday added lightly.

Webb looked out the window again, exhaling softly. “I’m… glad you two are with me,” they said quietly. “Thanks… for everything, tonight. I mean, other than the part where you waltzed into my life and turned it completely upside-down—”

“I think it was better than the alternative!” Ariadne protested. But Webb figured that she saw them grinning a little, because her tone was mostly fond.

Faraday extended a leg and tapped his foot lightly against Webb’s ankle. “I used to come here a lot as a kid,” he said. “My grandmother lives not far from here. A little cabin on the lake.”

Webb raised their eyebrows. “Oh, is that how you ended up as vampire prey? Just plucked like a ripe fruit from grandma’s house?”

“Oh, no,” Faraday waved a hand. “I went up there all on my own.” He paused. “That was obviously a mistake, but you know, when you’re young…”

Webb gave him a scandalized look. “And here I thought you were just a victim of circumstance! Serious and reliable…!”

Ariadne snorted, leaning over to kiss Faraday’s cheek. “He was,” she said, sticking her tongue out. “He was a big nerd in over his head, and he was very lucky he was charming.”

“… it sounds like you were both pretty lucky to find each other,” Webb said quietly, then flushed deeply as both of them turned to look at him, expressions touched and startled. “Don’t—don’t get weird about it, I was just saying—”

“I’ll take you to the cabin one day, Webb,” Faraday said warmly. “I think you’d like it. Give you a chance to relax.”

Webb opened and closed their mouth a few times, then tugged their hat a little further down. “Right. Yes. As we were talking about, my love for all things wilderness—”

Ariadne rose up, balancing carefully as she sank down next to Webb, wrapping her arms around them and pulling him close. “You’re right,” she said seriously. “We can take you wherever you want, after all this is done. You’re not going to be facing any of this alone, is all we’re saying.”

Webb hadn’t thought very much about what came after this. They’d made it this far without necessarily thinking there would be an “after this.” The thought struck them as a bit chilling. They’d always planned for contingencies, gathering information, playing it safe… and here they were, just flying into the open fanged maws of uncertainty—why?

Because it’s the right thing to do, they thought. Because there were people that needed help, and people that had been wronged, and people that they’d come to care about that wanted to see this done. It was important to them. And they were important to Webb.

Absolutely disgusting.

Webb clonked their head against Ariadne’s. “If I was alone, I’d have less of a headache,” they sighed. “Come here, Faraday, you’re making it weird sitting over there by yourself.”

“You were the one sitting by yourself to start with—” Faraday protested, but obediently rose up and came to sit on Webb’s other side, wrapping his arm around their waist.

Webb grinned lazily, leaning their head back to look up at Faraday, their head on his shoulder. Ariadne let out a pleased sound and leaned forward a little, resting her head on Webb’s chest. “Don’t try to poison my mind with your… mmh, facts and truths…” Webb said.

Faraday snorted, nuzzling a little against Webb’s temple, where just a few curls had escaped Webb’s hat. “I know you try very hard to stay in denial,” he murmured, voice low, breath warm against Webb’s ear.

Webb drew in a breath then found themself startled into a laugh, surprised to find how much their breath hitched. “I’m just so very good at it,” they murmured. “Hey, how long is this gondola trip…?”

“Oh, you know,” Ariadne said mischievously, nuzzling at Webb’s neck on the opposite side. “Long enough…”

Then, abruptly, she sat up straight, eyes flashing and nostrils flaring in alarm. “Something’s coming,” she said urgently, shoving Webb down onto the bench—just as something large and pale impacted the glass hard enough to make the car sway and bounce on its cable, hundreds of feet off the ground.

Webb found themself without the best view, startled and a bit winded. Through the slightly fogged, frosty windows, they could see half a dozen white shapes starting to take form, many-winged and many-eyed and ghastly. And over the sounds of the gondola’s mechanism humming, they heard the heavy sound of wingbeats, and the rasping, raucous calls and shrill shrieks of something monstrous as they began to peck and tap and try to get inside.

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