ANDURON: GOD OF MABON
SONS OF HERNE 7
J. ROSE ALLISTER
 

The tree-lined street greeted the god of Mabon with the colors of autumn—leaves of gold, ruby red, and deep, sunset orange. They rustled at Anduron as he passed, and fluttering bits of the season broke free of their branches and dropped to the ground. The god of the thanksgiving harvest strode with purpose, unconcerned that his glittering eyes or unusual ears might attract the notice of humans. The veil pendant was secure around his neck, the crystalline gem in the center glowing brighter than the afternoon sun. The pendant rendered him invisible to most in this realm until he wished otherwise. The sound of his feet crunching through the leaves might have been of concern, except no one was near enough to hear.

He looked around at the houses along the street. Which one belonged to the witness he was there to present his formal request to? The time of Mabon was soon at hand, and the woman chosen for him awaited his arrival. She would tell him of a human who had been unjustly imprisoned, and by the power infused in the artifact hidden in his cloak pocket, he would release them. The gesture of freedom would be celebrated later between the god and his witness, a carnal joining of bodies reveling in the sabbat named after a deity who freed many who were held captive.

His hand went to his pocket, feeling for the reassuring weight of the artifact. The key of Mabon was the instrument by which the Fates granted Anduron the power to release a mortal, once per year, to fulfill his duty while still obeying the law regarding immortals not altering the destiny of humans. Many gods felt the Mabon ritual should be abolished, that even this one small gesture of freedom was too much meddling on the part of the Fates in the lives of mortal men. Meddling in the lives of gods, on the other hand, was something that the three Fates had thus far been getting away with.

Morta, Decuna, and Nona had expended a great deal of effort in the year of the Thousand Seasons to screw with the gods who oversaw the sabbats—his brothers. They were determined to see the sons of Herne turning their ritual lovers into long-term mates, and thus far, they had succeeded with every sabbat keeper who had observed their annual pagan holiday. Not even his own twin, Feillor, had avoided this fate.

No fewer than five times during the blessing of the key had Anduron opened his mouth to challenge the Fates about their recent actions and warn them not to attempt any such trickery with him. Still, others had tried to confront them—including his own father—and all had failed. The Fates had powers none clearly understood, but they could not fully overcome one’s own free will. So it was assumed that if a sabbat god had fallen in love, it was because he wanted to.

Anduron did not want to.

Unlike his brother, he held no particular ill will against humans. Far from it. But Anduron had his own mission in life, and settling down with a woman might only stand in the way of what mattered to him most. Freedom. His father being a stubborn old stag and his mother one of the enchanting, yet sometimes conniving fay, it was hardly surprising that he should suffer from a strong sense of opinion—and a loyalty to a sacred vow once made. His duty to freeing those who were unjustly imprisoned was what he most cared about, even if the laws only allowed him one such gesture each year. Regardless of whether the Fates thought they had other plans, they had given him the power to go forth as the keeper of Mabon, and go forth he would.

An earth vehicle raced by, stirring leaves around his feet. The passengers inside didn’t notice him, meaning the pendant was still hiding his presence here. He had wondered about the pendant, for it had been acting strangely of late. Feillor had made use of one during his recent sabbat with disturbing results. The Fates had apparently tampered with the gem so that rather than keeping him unseen, Feillor’s appearance had been altered to make him appear more human. His proud rack of antlers had vanished. Anduron reached up at the thought to trace the outline of his ears, reassuring himself that their elongated, pointed tips were still intact. Antlers aside, Feillor already had a good deal of their mother’s human genetics, and the Fates making the transformation complete for a time had no doubt played into his brother’s ultimate madness. After all their conversations about the Fates’ meddling in their brothers’ love lives, after swearing to one another that they would guard themselves against similar trickery, Feillor, who couldn’t stand humans, had gone and mated himself to one. Permanently, or so he claimed.

For a god, permanently was a very long time, and Anduron had scoffed at the idea. At least, he had until his besotted, starry-eyed twin had cornered him at the Counsel of Sabbats to share the news that his lover had conceived during their joining on Lammas. A ripple of unrest had gone through him at that. Conception was a serious matter for the sabbat gods, all of whom engaged in sex with humans as a matter of course while fulfilling their duties. Powerful magics were employed to stop the sabbat keepers from procreating during their ritual carnal relations, but it was said that should the bond between the joining pair be strong enough, there was a possibility that the couple’s sexual energy could overwhelm the enchantment. Such was considered highly improbable, since the sabbat gods by and large joined with women they knew little about. But Feillor’s feelings for Salina, his human enchantress, had obviously run deep enough to thwart the enchantment. Anduron’s closest kin, both genetically and practically speaking, had fallen for the Fates’ plan.

As Anduron swept along the street, his cloak billowing behind him, he did not find the familiar landmarks he sought. He might be safely hidden, but he had a different problem with the veil pendant. Ordinarily, the gem allowed him to phase between worlds, appearing in or near a destination of his choosing. The longer he walked, however, the more suspicious he became that he wasn’t in the correct location. Either he had not applied sufficient focus, or else another pendant had mysteriously malfunctioned.

He stopped on the street, picked up the pendant, and closed his eyes while focusing on his destination. Moments later, he opened his eyes with a sigh. He hadn’t phased, hadn’t moved at all. Something was definitely wrong.

A scowl crested his features. He was certain the gem itself was not to blame. Fashioned by elven gods, who used the most sacred of magics to imbue the crystal with energies from the veil between worlds, the pendant’s capabilities would be flawless. Only the one using the stone—or a power great enough to influence destination mid-phase—could have altered his course. Perhaps holding his tongue with the Fates had not been prudent after all.

But then, perhaps he was too quick to blame them. Understandable, considering their relentless meddling among his brothers. It was possible, however, that there was another explanation. Maybe the witness was rapidly changing locations. Might she be traveling by portal? Unlikely. Still, perhaps he would find her if he kept going a bit farther. If not, he would return to the Counsel who had selected the human witness and request instructions. It would be unusual, but then, so was his sabbat. His celebration of thanks was considered unique among the rituals overseen by his brothers. Unique and controversial, second only to the highly debated ritual of Samhain when it came to stirring up whispers and outright indignation. Though next to one another on the wheel of the year, he could not see why the two were so often compared. The Samhain ritual involved the taking of a life. His Mabon ritual would give one back.

The street ended, and he rounded the corner into an abruptly different setting. Gone was the lush fall foliage and pleasantly appointed houses. Here was a city block, with cement light poles in place of tree trunks and liquor-selling establishments rather than homesteads. Scanning the street more diligently, he kept moving, wondering what the witness was doing in such a place. If, in fact, the chosen one was here at all.

A cry snapped his head around, and he paused, every muscle stiff, while he listened.

“No! Please!” he heard a woman say. Then another shout.

His feet began to move, picking up pace, the god jogging toward the woman who was clearly in trouble. The witness, perhaps? An alley veered off up ahead, and Anduron stopped in the opening to see a disturbing sight.

Two men had captured an old woman, each holding one of her arms while she struggled between them. Bags of food had been dropped at her feet, fruit spilled out and eggs broken and stepped in. Her cry was pitiful, terrified, while a third thug dug through her purse.

“Empty?” he said, waving a leather wallet at her. “Where’s the cash?”

“I have no money,” she said. “I spent it on those groceries. Please let me go.”

Interfering would be forbidden, technically speaking. But then, the men were restraining her. Anduron could consider that she was being unjustly imprisoned. He could use the key, though once he did, he would not be able to aid another. Meaning whomever his witness had chosen would remain captive.

The man reared back and struck the woman across the face. Rage burned through Anduron. Chosen or not, the woman needed assistance—and the god of Mabon would answer.

He strode forth, removing the key from his pocket. He was still invisible when he held the artifact aloft and activated its power.

“Ah shai-ya noma da sabbat,” he called out. “Insoyola mata ram so kai a Mabon!”

The humans glanced around, clearly puzzled by the disembodied voice. The key dissolved in Anduron’s hand, the energy absorbing through his palm and surging up his arm. A golden glow followed, filling him with light, and he turned that power on the man who had dared harm a fragile woman. He let loose a burst of energy that hit the human in the chest, sending him back with a piteous shriek to land among garbage cans a short distance away. The other two let go of the woman, though one shoved her to the ground while they backed up. Unable to resist, Anduron took hold of the pendant, focused his presence there, and judging by their reaction, the gem had responded by allowing him to be seen.

“Who the hell are you?” one of them asked, still backing off. “Some kind of freak?”

Anduron continued advancing on the men. “I command you to release this woman.”

The shorter of the pair backed into a brick wall. Cornered, he lashed out, but Anduron caught hold of his wrist, tossing him aside to join his friend among the trash.

“And have you anything to say?” Anduron asked the final man, whose rheumy eyes had gone wide. “Remorse for your crime would be wise.”

The guy took off running, leaving the alley and his cohorts behind. The other two, who had struggled to their feet, fled as well. When they were gone, Anduron turned to the woman, who was still on the ground, sitting among her ruined foodstuffs.

“Are you all right?” he asked, standing over her.

She gazed up at him with an innocent, childlike wonder that took decades off her wrinkled, leathery features. “Are you a guardian angel?” she asked.

He smiled. “I am no angel,” he said, crouching to peer at the angry mark on her cheek. “Although I have a brother who is.”

He reached out gently, using his immortal powers to infuse her injury with healing light. An angel, no. But there were times that his elven heritage proved useful.

She gasped and fingered her face.

“Better?” he asked.

She nodded. “I don’t know how to thank you.” A gnarled hand reached up, stroking his face. “I wish I could see you better. My glasses got lost when those awful men grabbed me.”

He helped her stand and looked around the alley. Her spectacles were covered in raw egg, and he did his best to wipe them clean on his cloak before returning them. Much of the food was a loss, but he gathered the rest into a relatively undamaged bag.

“Shall I transport you to your home?” he asked, wondering whether the veil pendant would cooperate if he attempted it.

“I live just around the corner, if you wouldn’t mind walking with me,” she said. “I’m still a little shaken.”

He swooped her up and carried her, the bag of food in her lap. She protested at first, but she finally gave up and clung on, her glasses perched on her nose, regarding him closely. Now that she was able to see better, there would be no hiding the fact that her rescuer had not been human. Even with his hair covering his ears, there was the matter of his eyes, one a glittering gold color, the other silver.

As they made their way, he tried not to think about the ramifications of what he’d just done. The woman had needed saving, and he had possessed the means to do so. But he had expended the energy of the key before the ritual of Mabon, and on someone of his own choosing. Such an act would not be without consequences. But he could not take it back now. The deed was done, and neither the Fates nor the Counsel of Sabbats would allow the key to be recharged with the power to save another in the same week. The old woman had become his gesture of freedom. His best hope of salvaging the situation would be to plead his case to the witness, get her to agree that the woman should be named as the offering.

True to the old woman’s word, they did not have far to go. She directed him to a house on the street he had first phased to, and his mind whirred with suspicion about that while he deposited her on the doorstep. He opened his mouth to ask if she needed a key for entry when the door yanked open. A young woman stood in the doorway, her eyes looking like a pair of wild, green orbs. Her mouth went agape when she saw the two on the porch.

“Gran!” she exclaimed, flicking frequent glances at Anduron. “I’ve been worried sick. Where have you been?”

“I’m sorry,” the old woman said. “I had some trouble. But this man saved me.”

The girl’s stare landed on him longer this time before returning to the woman. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

He hadn’t intended on entering the house, but with a surprisingly tight grip for her age, the grandmother took hold of his hand while she let herself be led into the house. He followed into a tasteful, moderately-sized living room, but not to stay overlong. He would need to extricate himself and find the witness with all haste.

After helping the old woman get settled in a tufted arm chair, she pulled him down to his knees. “He told me he wasn’t my guardian angel,” she said, taking hold of his cheek and pinching it. “But that’s exactly what he is.”

The granddaughter, who was standing beside him, studied him. He knew his appearance would be startling, which was no doubt why she ran her gaze over him with such scrutiny. He gave her a similar once-over, taking in the long, silken strands of gold hair and wide, sea-green eyes. Soft bangs framed a doll-like face, but below the neck, there was nothing innocent or childlike about her. Every curve beneath a clingy white sweater and slacks cried out for his touch, warning him that not possessing her would be a crime against nature.

“What happened?” the girl asked, still eying him.

“She was attacked,” he said. “By three men.”

The girl sank to her knees too. “My god, are you hurt? Should I call an ambulance?”

“Now, Jenna, don’t you worry. They tried to mug me.” She beamed up at Anduron. “But he came out of nowhere and stopped them dead in their tracks.”

“And they didn’t lay a hand on you?” Jenna asked.

“She was struck,” Anduron said. “But I made certain she was uninjured.”

“He healed me,” the woman said. “With the touch of a fingertip.”

Jenna clutched at her throat. “I’m calling the police right now.”

The woman reached out and grabbed her granddaughter’s wrist. “Those men are long gone, and all I need now is rest. I’m just fine, thanks to...well, I don’t know.” She met his eyes. “What’s your name, angel?”

“I am Anduron,” he said. “And I told you I am no angel.”

Jenna was staring at the side of his head, and she reached out to rake back a section of his hair. Her nails dove through the strands, sending an odd tingle through him. “What on earth?” she asked. “Angels don’t have pointy ears, Gran. Let me guess...an elf?”

He pulled away, letting his hair fall back into place while he gaped at her. “Part elven, yes.”

“You got a last name?” Jenna went on. “Or is Anduron it?”

He got to his feet, and she followed suit. “I am Anduron, son of Herne.”

“Oh, of course,” she said. “And I am Jenna, daughter of Athena.”

His brows rose. “Truly?” he asked, letting his gaze roam her once more. Indeed, her sensual figure could belong to a goddess of passion. But no. She bore no immortal blood that he could detect.

Those enticing green eyes rolled upward. “No, not truly. Say, wasn’t the cosplay convention last month?”

“Convention?”

She waved at him. “Long cloak, fake ears, weird contact lenses...is it for some World of Warcraft thing?”

“I do not understand.”

She sighed. “Never mind. I mean, regardless of why you dress up like an elf, you really are a hero, aren’t you? You saved my grandmother, and for that, I’m grateful.” She smiled. “Thank you.”

“And so handsome too, isn’t he?” the old woman said, grinning up at the two of them.

“Yes, Gran. You got saved by an incredibly handsome angel elf.” She smiled at Anduron, whose pulse stirred at her easy acknowledgment that she found him attractive. “This should give her something to talk about at the bingo parlor for at least a month.” Her grin faded. “Are you sure I shouldn’t call the police? Those men tried to hurt her.”

“They were dealt with,” Anduron said, hoping she could be swayed from involving authorities who would ask too many questions.

“They didn’t get my money,” the old woman said. “I’d already spent it at the store. A lot of my groceries got ruined, though.”

Jenna waved a hand. “That can all be replaced.” She glanced down with a loving smile. “You can’t. I’m just so glad you’re all right.”

She sank down on her knees again, hugging the woman. Anduron stood there, witnessing the display, feeling a swell of contentment. He had done the right thing in helping her.

Jenna sniffed when she got up, and he saw a wet shimmer in her eyes. “I should give you a reward,” she said to him. “I don’t have a lot of cash. Is fifty dollars all right?”

He shook his head. “No.”

She pursed her full lips. “I might be able to swing a hundred.”

He took her hands, so soft and warm, in his. “I have no need of your money. I had the means to help your grandmother, and I did.”

She glanced down to where he’d been stroking the back of her hands with his thumbs without realizing it. He let go.

“I guess we should let you get back to your role play game then,” Jenna said. “Good luck with that.”

“Role play game? I was on my way to something far more important than a game.”

“If you say so. Look, I’m not making fun of your costume. If anything, it probably helped you scare those creeps away.”

Costume. Of course. She thought he was merely effecting a disguise.

He smiled at her. “Yes, my costume is quite unique, is it not?”

“Very convincing.”

For reasons he couldn’t quite fathom, a wicked, playful instinct rose up, and he leaned close and pressed his lips to hers. It was a very elven thing to do, stealing a kiss from a human. She stiffened with a gasp but didn’t pull away. The teasing gesture quickly ignited into more, the kiss heating his blood and sending twinges of desire low in his belly. The skin over his heart got hotter, searing him, dragging his attention off the feel of her soft, erotic lips. Then he realized the pendant was heating up. It was trying to balance his presence in this realm, which was fading.

Anduron yanked away from Jenna’s lips, glancing between the two women. Jenna was gaping at him in shock. Her grandmother was grinning ear to ear.

He was being pulled back—and he had little doubt as to why. He would answer to the Counsel for his actions.

“Forgive me,” he said. “I could not help myself. Unfortunately, this is where we must part ways.” As his presence faded, the room fell into a misty haze. “In truth, daughter of Athena, this was no costume.”

He phased out of the realm.

***

Jenna jumped back with a shriek when the man who’d dared to kiss her vanished into thin air.

“What the hell just happened?” she asked, blinking like crazy. “Where is he?”

“I told you,” Gran said, folding her wrinkled hands primly in her lap. “He was an angel.”

“He can’t be an angel,” Jenna said, glancing around the room. “He can’t have just disappeared.”

“But he did.”

Jenna ran her hands along her arms, which were covered in goose bumps. “That isn’t possible.”

“We both saw him, dear,” the woman said, smiling up with a look of sheer innocence.

“You’re sure taking this calmly,” Jenna said, plopping herself down on the couch across from the woman. “And you were the one who got mugged.”

“When you get to be as old as I am, you will have seen a lot of things that don’t seem to make sense. And yet, they do, when you think about it.”

“So you’re saying I should just accept that an angel dropped you off at the doorstep and zipped back up to heaven?”

“And kissed you,” Gran said.

Jenna shot her a look and stuffed her hands between her knees. “He did, didn’t he?”

Why had he done that? To rattle her? Mission accomplished.

“An angel in our midst,” the woman said. “That almost made the entire ordeal worthwhile.”

“You really believe in all that stuff, don’t you?” Jenna asked.

“Pastor Ames talks a lot about it in his book. And there’s that show on the Christian channel about humans being visited by the heavenly host.”

Jenna leaned back against the cushions with a heavy sigh. “Maybe you’re right. At least it would explain him vanishing.”

Still, from what little she’d heard since childhood about angelic encounters, none of them involved a hotter than sin, glowing-eyed male kissing a human until her toes curled. Perhaps her “angel” had a little bit of devil in him.

“I still think we should file a police report,” Jenna said, brushing off the image of Anduron. “Even though you got lucky, they’ll most likely try it again on someone else. We want the police to catch them.”

“That’s true,” Gran said. “How would we explain Anduron?”

“Tell the truth,” Jenna said. “A guy in a cloak came and chased the muggers away, escorted you home, and left before we could get his last name.”

The woman’s blue-green gaze twinkled. “I can just see the officer’s face when they ask me for his description. Six-two, pointy ears, golden eyes.”

“One was silver,” Jenna corrected. “They were the strangest pairing.” And yet compelling. Eyes a girl could get lost in if she wasn’t careful.

“I’ll take your word for it. Your vision is better than mine. And you were much closer to him.” Thin, gray eyebrows waggled.

“Gran!” Jenna exclaimed, and the woman cackled. “Stop teasing me. Now let me get on the phone. I’ll call the police—and work, too, to let them know I’ll be late. I’ll stay here with you until the officers are done.”

Jenna was quite late for work, as it turned out. Two hours passed before police had come and gone, and by then, her poor grandmother was utterly exhausted. She’d helped her get into bed before making the drive to the vet clinic. She veered off the highway near the factory, making a face at the tall, gray building with the giant letters V-E-N-E-T-I-A lighting up in order, top to bottom, in garish red neon. A casual glimpse when she drove past the rear delivery entrance brought her foot down hard on the brake. A car horn blasted at her for the trouble. She idled there a moment, watching as animals in cages were offloaded from a van into the factory.

She sneered at the bastards, her heart going out to the terrified dogs, their bodies shaking, who were being offered up as guinea pigs to the cosmetics industry.

Jenna was getting later for work by the minute, but with a set to her jaw, she veered into the driveway and screeched up the alley, blaring her horn. She stopped beeping when she realized the animals were only getting more agitated, but she drove on until she was close behind the van before squealing to a halt. Tossing her ID badge onto the seat next to her, she shoved her door open.

“Don’t do this,” she cried, leaping from the car. “Don’t hand those animals over to be tortured!”

One of the guys, short and squat with square hands and jaw, handed off a cage and folded his arms. “Lady, we’re just doing our jobs.”

“Then maybe you need to rethink your life.”

His taller, leaner companion shot her a scowl. “You want me to call Security?”

The other one eyed her up and down like she was a dirty bum on the street. “Nah. She looks only mildly crazy.”

“I’m not crazy! I’m just thinking of these poor creatures.”

“Save it. You PETA types ain’t paying my mortgage, and what I’m doing ain’t illegal.”

Her fists tightened. “Well, it should be. How can you sleep at night knowing your bed was paid for by the blood of innocent animals?”

He let out a hoarse cackle. “Yeah, my bed was paid for by an animal, all right—my bitch’s ex. Now shove off before we call the cops.”

She took a step closer, focusing on the cage in his hand. A tiny, frightened terrier gazed up at her with his ears perked up and soulful, begging eyes. A lump clutched at her throat.

Jenna relaxed her body, taking the most non-threatening stance she could muster. She nodded to the man. “You know what? You’re absolutely right. I, uh, I haven’t been sleeping.” She glanced at the terrier. “I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, well, lay off the caffeine, lady. Have a nice day.”

Forcing herself to turn away, she headed back to her open car door. She threw a glance over her shoulder and watched as the guy handed the terrier’s cage to the second man, who stood in the roll-up doorway with his cell phone pressed to his ear.

The second the man turned his back, Jenna lunged. She sprinted for the back of the van, grabbed the first cage she could get a hold of, and made a break for her car.

“Hey!” she heard, but she didn’t stop. “Crazy bitch! She’s stealing our cargo!”

Footsteps slapped down after her. She tossed the cage into the car, sending the puppy hurtling to the rear of the bars. It let out a pitiful yelp.

“Sorry about that, baby,” she said. “But this is way better than the alternative.”

She almost hit her head throwing herself behind the wheel and put the car in reverse before she even had the door shut. The pair of wild-eyed delivery men were just a few steps away, and she stomped on the gas, backing out of the driveway. She almost slammed into a sedan when she came out of the driveway, and her heart was pounding high in her throat while she changed gears and high-tailed it down the road. Her heart jack-hammered while she checked her rear view mirror obsessively, but there was no sign of the men coming after her. She’d made it.

“That was stupid, so stupid,” she kept saying. “But how could I not, right?”

She kept tossing glances at the puppy, who turned out to be a male, as he quivered in the corner of its cage. “You’ll be okay now, you poor thing. One less throwaway for the industry to torment and discard.”

The puppy, which appeared to be some sort of cocker spaniel-golden retriever mix, wet itself. Urine dripped through the bars and puddled on the seat. But the dog was safe, and after a few minutes, its piteous yelps turned to soft whimpers.

“It’s okay,” Jenna soothed. “You’re okay now. I’m a friend.” She held her fingers out toward the bars and waited until the puppy’s curiosity overcame its fear. Then it came closer and sniffed her. A gentle lick followed.

“Friends,” she repeated, turning the corner and pulling around to the rear entrance of Happy Paws Vet Clinic. “No one’s going to hurt you. And lucky for you, I happen to work at the best place possible to take you right after a rescue like that.”

Jenna dashed in the back door, barely acknowledging a startled greeting from Gladys, her coworker, before grabbing a wad of towels and heading back out. She removed the dripping cage and set it on a towel spread on her car hood. A second was used to sop up her seat. The rest she tucked inside the cage, giving the shivering puppy something to dry its paws on—and to give it something softer than wire bars to stand on. Carrying the cage inside, she set it on the floor of the staff lounge.

“Hey, Gladys,” she said, tossing the wet towels into a soiled linen bag.

The woman, dressed in kitty scrubs, was shaking her head at the sight of the cage. Her short hairdo bobbed with the motion. “Don’t tell me you found yourself another stray.”

“He’s not a stray,” she said, clipping her ID badge back onto her uniform. “Sorry I’m so late. It’s been an unbelievable day.”

Her dark eyes softened. “I heard. Your grandma was hurt? Is she okay?”

“She wasn’t hurt, she was mugged. And yeah, she’s fine, thanks to this weird guy who showed up and rescued her.” An image of Anduron’s intense eyes and hard muscles accompanied the mention, and despite the pangs of anxiety still rushing through her, she broke out in a silent grin.

The vet poked his head in the door. “I need extra hands in Room Five. Oh, Jenna, you made it. Good. It’s Armageddon out here. Everything okay with your grandmother?”

She nodded. “She’s shaken up and exhausted, but I think she’ll be okay. The police said it was incredibly lucky that her rescuer happened by when he did.”

Dr. Saunders noticed the cage on the floor and nodded to it. “And what’s this little guy doing in the animal-restricted lounge?”

Gladys smirked. “Jenna’s latest stray.”

“I’m sorry, Dr. Saunders, I just put him down for a minute. And he’s not a stray.” Jenna let out a sigh. “I sort of happened across him on the way to work. I was hoping you might have a look at him, make sure he’s all right. I’ll pay for your time, of course.”

Dr. Saunders was tall, slender as a bed post, and had kind, but calculating brown eyes that regarded her new rescue. “No you won’t,” he said, bending over the cage with his hands stuffed in his lab coat pockets. “You know your money’s no good here. And what’s your name, little champ?” He straightened. “He has no collar or tags.”

“You just happened across a puppy while driving to work?” Gladys asked, folding her arms. “And you just happened to have a cage handy for transport?”

The vet glanced at her. An eyebrow lifted on his otherwise smooth face.

“Okay, okay,” Jenna said, lifting her hands in surrender. “I’m going to tell you guys something you aren’t going to like. But it had to be done.”

“What had to be done?” Gladys asked.

“I may have had a run-in with some animal testing creeps. And I may have lightened their inventory by one scared little puppy.”

“You stole this dog?” the vet asked, his brow furrowing now.

“No! Not really. You don’t understand. They were delivering it to that awful factory over on Third.”

Gladys gasped. “Venetia? You saved the poor thing from going into that house of horrors?”

She nodded. “I couldn’t help myself. All those cages, those terrified animals being handed off for slaughter after getting abused for who knows how long. I couldn’t sit by and do nothing.”

Dr. Saunders let out a heavy sigh. “That was a risky move. And illegal.”

“It was brave as heck,” Gladys said, beaming. “Sounds like your grandmother’s savior inspired you to be a hero today too.”

Jenna looked down at the puppy and hugged herself. “I don’t feel like a hero. I grabbed one cage on impulse, but there were so many others I couldn’t save.”

The vet laid a hand on her shoulder. “You can’t rescue every mistreated animal on the planet. Believe me, I know.”

She glanced up at him. “So you won’t turn me in? Will you look him over?”

He smiled. “I don’t think sending you to jail for an act of humanity is on my schedule for today. Leave him in the kennel for now. What’s the plan after I examine him?”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I’ll likely foster Anduron until the rescue shelter can come up with a home.”

“Anduron?” Gladys asked.

Jenna shrugged. “I suppose I should name him after the hero who saved my grandmother and inspired his rescue.” She blinked at the woman’s suspicious expression. “We have to call him something. The name’s just temporary.”

“Uh-huh,” Gladys said with open suspicion. “Well, he’s a little cutie.” She crouched in front of the cage to offer a finger. The dog waddled over to sniff and lick it, wagging its tail so hard it almost knocked him off balance. “A puppy like him will find its way to a good family in no time.” She glanced up. “If Anduron still needs one, that is.”

Jenna raised her chin. “I’m not keeping him.”

Gladys chuffed. “Right.”

“Nothing else needs to be decided now,” the vet said. “But since he doesn’t have an appointment, our new friend will have to wait.” He headed for the door and paused. “I could use those hands, Jenna. The Doberman in Room Five has a date with a tumor biopsy.”

Gladys picked up the cage. “I’ll put him in the kennel room. At least he’ll have some company.”

“Leave him in his own cage,” Jenna said, trailing the woman. “He’ll feel more secure. I’ll be in there to check on him soon.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Jenna accompanied the vet into the room where a Doberman and his anxious owner were waiting. She dove into her work, her thoughts turning time and again to Anduron—both the canine and not-quite-human versions, if she were being honest. But most of her attention went to the dog, who cried enough between patients that she kept returning to his cage to pet and reassure him. Her mind drifted to the other animals she hadn’t rescued, though she tried not to. Maybe Dr. Saunders was right about not being able to save them all, but her stomach twisted as she tried not to consider what would become of them.

She called Quinn at the rescue shelter and told him about Anduron. She trusted the shelter owner with discretion, so she admitted the truth about how she obtained the puppy. After taking down the information, Quinn swore fealty and agreed to look for a home. Gran was also on her mind, though she forced herself to wait a while before calling to check on her. The woman needed rest, not a phone jangling her already frail nerves. She’d been in good spirits when they spoke, and the woman couldn’t stop gushing over Anduron. He had certainly made an impression on her—and admittedly, Jenna as well. He was gorgeous and brave—and apparently not human. How had he vanished? One minute he’d been there, every muscular inch of him, his lips sampling hers. Then he’d just dissolved. She never would have believed it had Gran not seen it too. Maybe she’d been right about him. Maybe Anduron was a wingless, funny-eared guardian angel.

After the clinic was closed and the puppy had been fed and declared healthy, she grabbed the cage and a few temporary supplies. All the way home, she talked to the dog about plans for getting him situated, and about the permanent family he would have someday soon. She tightened her grip on the wheel and pressed the gas harder when they passed by the factory, trying not to imagine the animals who hadn’t fared as well as Anduron.

Once inside the cozy guest house behind her grandmother’s place, she let the dog out of its cage to explore his temporary lodging. With a smile, Jenna wondered to herself where Anduron had gone, and what he would think if he found out she’d named a wriggling, pink-tongued ball of uncoordinated energy after him.

***

“No one cares to understand why I did it,” Anduron said, pacing back and forth in the antechamber. “All they want to do is debate the many ways in which my actions have become a grave inconvenience.”

“On the contrary,” Feillor said. “I understand all too well.” His twin brother stood leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. He pushed away and stepped into Anduron’s current flight path. “I remember the years you were gone like it just happened. Those memories have never faded.”

Anduron stopped and eyed him. “You never speak of that time. Not to me.”

“Nor to anyone, really.” Feillor sucked in a deep breath. “We were the closest of kin. We shared our mother’s womb. When you were taken and held captive to punish our father, I felt the loss of you as strongly as if I had torn off a limb. Indeed, they were the longest years of my existence.”

Anduron swallowed. “And mine as well.”

The time of his captivity never left him, not fully. It cloaked him like a shadow, and there were phases where the memory hung over every day of his life, sometimes over every breath he took. The bone-wrenching cold had taken years to shake off, and from time to time, he experienced those shivers once more. Then there had been the hunger, sucking the strength from him, draining his very marrow. He wasted away to a shriveled, skinny boy who could barely fathom standing on his knock-kneed legs, much less manage an escape. He was starving and devoid of hope, but as an immortal, unable to die. And he had been alone. A twin from his time in the womb, he had been torn from everyone.

“I tried to reach out to you so many times,” Anduron said, rubbing a hand over his arm to ward off a sudden sense of chill.

“And I you. Sometimes I could feel you, and I knew you still lived. Beyond that, our contact with one another had been severed.”

“Because of the magics used in keeping me hidden. Even the bond of twins was not sufficient to overcome it.”

“Until the end.” Feillor’s eyes blazed with immortal fire. “Because we never stopped trying, the day came when our ties were able to break through the barrier and reveal your whereabouts.”

“Because you never stopped trying, you mean,” Anduron said. “I had all but given up until the human prisoner risked himself to bring down the barrier. Although it worked but for a short time, it was enough for us to reconnect. I vowed I would someday find a way to help humans who had been imprisoned, just as that man did for me.”

“Hence why Father decreed that when you came of age, you would become the keeper of Mabon. Although I wondered for a time whether he did so only to quiet you on the matter. I was pleased that he kept his word, though the appointment did not come without some outcry over your plan to meddle with humans.”

Anduron nodded. “And here we are again, awaiting my chastisement for performing my duties in a manner not pleasing to the Counsel.”

“Nor to many of the nobles in the immortal realm, I fear,” Feillor said. “I, too, have recently found myself at odds with the will of the Counsel. Yet I remain standing.”

“And how is your woman? Does Salina fare well?”

“She does. Many mornings I find her with mild distress, and she will not eat until it quells. But I am told that is normal during the early stages of her condition.”

“I am to be an uncle,” Anduron said. “It did not occur to me that such a thing would ever happen.”

“Nor I. But I admit, it is something I had privately wished for.”

“Then I am happy for you.”

“Truly? For you seemed a bit rattled when I returned from my time in the earth realm with word that Salina and I had become more than sabbat partners.”

“I was, at first. After all our talk of not letting love sneak in and disrupt our sabbats, your news was...unsettling. You especially were adamant that you would not fall for a human woman.”

Feillor shot him a guilty grin. “Things change.”

“Indeed they do. For you,” he added quickly.

One of the acolytes, Jorush, entered the chamber, halting further discussion. “My lord,” he said, his head bowed overmuch. “The Counsel will see you now.”

“Are you speaking to me or to your feet?” Anduron asked, a wry grin sliding up his face. “We have talked about this, Jorush. You will earn a hump in your spine if you do not learn to manage your posture.”

The lad straightened somewhat. “Forgive me, my lord. The Counsel...”

“Yes, they wish to see me.”

Feillor gripped his arm. “Shall I accompany you, little brother?”

Anduron smiled. Technically, he was older by a matter of ten minutes. But once he returned from his capture, withered and smaller than his thriving twin, he was referred to as the “little” brother. Although this had more to do with Feillor’s protective tendencies, adopting the role of “big” brother after Anduron’s return. Many nights had he huddled under a blanket, hiding from past demons. Feillor would push his way underneath the covers and stay with him, offering reassurance.

“I do not think the situation is quite so dire,” Anduron said. “Go, Feillor. See to the comfort of your pregnant mate. I am certain that is a far better use of your time.”

“Call upon me if you require assistance,” he said, pulling a veil pendant out from within the neck of his tunic. “Or merely to let off steam afterwards. You will likely have need of it.”

He phased out of the realm, no doubt headed to earth to be at his lover’s side. Anduron followed Jorush, who was bowed so far down it appeared he might fall over, into the room he dreaded most. The inner counsel chamber was larger than any others in the Counsel of Sabbats. A large pentagram of the finest mother-of-pearl was inlaid in the middle of the marble floor, and he stood dutifully on the belly of star as was expected of one who had been summoned. He had dressed for the occasion in harvest-themed attire to remind the counsel that they would be addressing a sabbat keeper, god of the pagan thanksgiving. His robes were of fine linen, woven in shades of rust and orange. On his head he wore a circlet fashioned from fresh pumpkin vines that were trimmed in gold leaf.

The round chamber was lined by two long half circles of seating, the upper row stationed higher to afford all an equal view. One side was meant for the occasional dignitaries or other visitors deemed worthy to sit in on official business, which did not happen often. The other side was for the counsel. For most matters, the full complement of eight members did not meet. Two or three could make routine decisions, provided one was the representative of the sabbat being addressed. Yet here, now, all eight were staring at him as he entered. Rathmar, the officiating counselor of Mabon, looked particularly dour, his narrow, green-gray eyes following Anduron as he made his entrance. Even more surprising was the ninth member. Herne sat in a large seat of honor resembling a gold-inlaid throne. He rose when Anduron walked in.

“Father,” Anduron said, clasping his hands in front of him. “I did not expect to see you here.”

“You should have expected it the moment you acted on a foolish whim,” he replied. “Surely you realize what a serious matter you have created.”

“It need not,” Anduron said, glancing around at the assortment of robed men, most wearing beards and sour expressions. “The time of Mabon is upon us. I already had the key.”

“But you selected the offering on your own,” said Counselor Rathmar. “Regardless of the timing, this cannot be overlooked.”

“And for that I already have a solution,” Anduron said. “I can merely appeal to the witness, explain why my actions were necessary.”

“Were they?” Veramus, Counselor of Samhain, asked.

“The woman was crying for help,” Anduron replied, meeting dispassionate gazes every which way he turned. “What was I to do, turn my back and leave her to harm when I had the key in my possession?”

“Humans are harmed every day,” his father said, turning to address the group. “Their entire existence has become little more than a cry for help.”

“Herne is right,” Veramus said. “When the people of earth turned their backs on the old ways and attempted to seal the veil, the decision was made to limit our interference in their affairs.”

“Out of spite,” Anduron said. “Out of a time of anger long ago.”

“Out of acknowledgment of their wishes,” Herne countered. “Now, the need to guard our involvement reaches well beyond adhering to laws set in the distant past. Most humans no longer even believe in the gods of old. Nor are they ready to discover the truth.”

“There would be panic and destruction,” Counselor Munsola said. He was the officiate of Lammas, Feillor’s sabbat. “And we do not need a repeat of the events that nearly destroyed the veil—along with our worlds.”

“Humans have a belief that those who play god get burned,” Herne added. “That applies just as equally to immortals.” He pointed his staff at Anduron. “I know why you, of all my sons, would be spurred to act on behalf of someone who is being treated ill. But you cannot go around altering the fates of mortals on a whim. That is why you were named sabbat keeper and limited to the freeing of one soul per year.”

“Many in the realm do not feel humans should be involved in that gesture of freedom at all,” Sandovar said.

“Both realms must be represented in the rituals,” Anduron said. “Mortal and immortal, male and female. And it would be harder to earn an earth female’s consent to a carnal ritual celebrating the freedom of someone from an entirely different realm.” And in truth, humans required such help far more often—and as someone who had been saved by the act of a mortal, he felt he owed humans similar effort in return.

“Other females need no such enticement to bed a sabbat god,” Evenor, Counselor of Beltane, said. A dark glimmer sparked in his eyes. “It is enough that they are granted the sacred honor of joining with an immortal. Or do you suffer some physical lack that makes you feel inadequate?”

“Do not provoke the boy,” Herne said. “The issue at hand has nothing to do with the length and stamina of the sabbat keeper’s cock.” He shot Evenor a look. “Although I will tell you this,” he added, rudely grabbing at his genitals. “No son of mine has ever been accused of leaving a female unsatisfied.”

Anduron growled. “The ritual is more than a joining of bodies.” He turned to the counsel. “It requires meaning, something tangible beyond the sexual encounter. Dominus brings forth the Yule light. Devinmar returns equal power to bring forth the dark months. My own brother reaps the first harvest and breaks sacred bread with his partner. I bring in a harvest of a different sort.”

“If it is a harvest you’re after, bake the sabbat partner a holy pumpkin tart and be done with it,” Counselor Veramus said with an impatient wave of his hand. “There is no reason the ritual must include releasing a prisoner.”

A swell of impatience rose in Anduron’s throat. Would he forever have to answer the debate about his calling? “The sabbat is named after the god Mabon, or have you forgotten that? Mabon, son of Modron.”

“Yes, yes, he who was taken from his mother’s breast as an infant and held captive,” Counselor Sandovar said, stroking the long beard that rested on a stout belly. “He who became a champion for the unjustly imprisoned. Every immortal youth knows the tale, and everyone on this counsel understands why you feel particularly bound to that cause.” Sandovar, who was the officiate of Imbolc, stood up and leaned his hands on the curved table in front of him. “But that does not mean your ritual must include elements which are at best controversial. Sabbat keepers should not use their positions to further their own personal agenda. You serve the sabbat. It does not serve you.”

Anduron shook his head. “Perhaps it is your own agenda you seek to serve, using this slight bump to further your bias against my calling.”

“Slight bump?” Munsola asked. “Perhaps you forget that our prior involvement in human affairs once led us into civil war.”

“Some feel the ritual offering could be done differently, or symbolically only,” Evenor added. “Mabon was not only known for releasing prisoners, but freeing animals from traps and cages. Such might be a less...controversial way of honoring the sabbat.”

“Debatable,” said Sandovar.

Anduron stifled a sigh. There would be no winning. The matter of gods influencing human events provoked endless argument. But he didn’t need to change their philosophy right now. He just needed to fix what had already been done.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to wash away his rising anger. “With the sabbat in two days, now is not the time to discuss the larger implications of the ritual. What must be resolved now is how to proceed from where I have taken us. And as I have said, I have an answer. Let me return to the realm with all haste to speak with the chosen witness. I am confident she will ratify the selection of the offering, however it came about.”

The chamber grew silent, with several furtive glances tossed about.

“What?” Anduron put his fists on his hips.

The pause in reply stretched too long.

“Why is that a problem?” he persisted.

“There is no witness,” Counselor Rathmar said.

“Of course there is a witness. She was selected by all of you. I was on my way to her location when this situation came about.”

“A location that steered you off course,” Rathmar said. “We believe the reason your pendant malfunctioned was because of what happened to the witness.”

“There was an unfortunate accident,” Counselor Veramus said. “The witness has perished.”

Anduron blinked. “Dead?”

Sandovar nodded. “When that happened, when her essence was no longer palpable on earth, your attempt to phase to her location went awry.”

Anduron blinked. “How was something like that not foreseen? Do you not consult with the Fates before confirming your chosen mortal?”

Rathmar nodded. “We did.”

“And?”

“And officially,” Herne replied, “we have no idea why the Fates either overlooked or omitted the witness’s imminent demise.” His eyes glittered through narrowed slits as he looked at his son. “Nor can we seem to summon them to explain the error. The Fates are conveniently away in the outer realms. Although I am fair certain that they are not out of touch with us, even if they choose for us to be out of touch with them.”

Anduron folded his arms and gaped at his father. “Why would they do this? To see the ruin of the sabbat?”

“I cannot say exactly,” Herne replied, “but we all know the Fates have had a rather singular purpose during this year of the Thousand Seasons. I have little doubt that they somehow intended this as a way to toy with your personal desires.”

“My personal desire is to see the sabbat continue as it has been. I once made a vow to honor freedom for captives during Mabon. I plan to keep doing so, whatever it takes.”

“The Fates’ motives are unimportant at the moment,” Munsola said. “Anduron is right. With the sabbat at hand, time grows short to resolve our dilemma.”

“We need another witness,” Sandovar replied. “One who will be open to participating without having a say on the chosen captive.”

“If they are willing, Rathmar said.

“We would not be able to consult the Fates,” Veramus said. “What if something ill befalls the next witness?”

“The chances of that happening twice would be nil,” Herne said. “And as the Fates have proven themselves fallible, either by accident or design, we will fare no worse by moving forward with another choice.”

“Then let us choose,” Sandovar said. “We have the list of prospective candidates from which the witness was selected. Anduron can visit the others until he finds one willing to approve his offering.”

“You make it sound as though I saved a dragon with three heads,” Anduron said. “Human females are not without sympathy for the suffering of others. I am sure one of them will approve of my sparing a little old lady.”

“You forget that the prospectives are chosen based on one important factor,” Rathmar said. “Each has a personal stake in one who is unjustly imprisoned. That is who they invariably choose.”

“Would they rejoice in a rescue granted another when their own still suffers in bondage?” Veramus asked.

“New prospectives are needed, ones who do not have their own stake,” Evenor said. “We could prepare a new list.”

“But we have so little time,” Rathmar said.

Anduron straightened. “Then perhaps the witness should be one who already has a stake in the one I freed.”

“You rescued a frail old crone,” Veramus said. “You mean to bed her?”

“No. There was a girl. A granddaughter.”

Herne frowned. “You mentioned nothing of a girl.”

“When I escorted the woman home, her granddaughter was there waiting for her. It did not seem relevant, until now.”

Herne’s gaze narrowed.

“She seemed quite grateful for her grandmother’s rescue,” Anduron went on. “I am sure she would agree to ratify the offering.”

“And bed you in exchange,” Herne said. “Tell me, son of my loins. How comely is this girl?”

“It would not matter if she had the skin of a dragon and the breath of a skunk,” Anduron said. “We need a quick answer, and I have one. Allow me to take my leave, and I shall cross realms to present my request. I am confident we will have this resolved by day’s end.”

The men looked at one another, except for Herne. His brows were knitted as he stared off into space, appearing lost in thought.

“Are any opposed to Anduron’s plan?” Rathmar asked, glancing around.

“The idea is sound enough,” Veramus said. “But might I suggest we seek alternates should this girl reject him.”

“She will agree,” Anduron said. “It was her own kin that was spared.”

“Go, then,” Rathmar said. “Approach her with your offer. But I concur with Veramus. We will select others if we are able, just in case.”

Anduron left the chamber with purpose to his steps. The greater ethics involved in his sabbat might still be looming, but when had they ever not been? The rest of the matter would be easy to fix now. Just one quick visit to Jenna and he would be back on track.

***

Jenna punched at her pillow, trying to get it to conform to her will. It resisted, hanging on to its lumpy contours. She really needed to get around to buying a few essentials, but she’d barely had time to settle into the guest cottage. Her days were largely occupied by work and helping out Gran. Nights, however, were another matter. Long, often lonely, and sometimes greatly lacking in sleep, nighttime had become that regretful portion of the day where she tossed and turned while reviewing the ever-increasing items on her to-do list. Tonight’s list had expanded quite a bit, what with the addition of her new boarder.

The puppy would need a collar and tags, at least for the time being. A dog bed would be too much, but she could perhaps scrounge up some old towels or a blanket for bedding. He’d need a few toys, nothing extravagant, and things to chew on besides Jenna’s slippers and throw rugs. Then there was dog shampoo, for smelly dog was not an acceptable scent in her new place.

She hadn’t mentioned the puppy to her grandmother yet. The woman had been asleep when she’d gotten home. Besides, Gran had enough excitement for one day. There was a loose no-pets rule they had agreed upon, one that had been quickly brushed off by Jenna’s assurances she had no intention of keeping any. She got her fill of animals small and large by working at the clinic.

A whimper sounded from the bathroom again, and Jenna sighed. The puppy was lonely and quite put out at being shut inside the bathroom with newspapers on the floor. A stuffed bear hadn’t worked. Neither had a ticking clock or the radio.

The whimper soon turned to a series of pitiful cries, and Jenna caved. She got up and shuffled to the bathroom, where she scooped the puppy into her arms.

“Now don’t think this is going to be a habit,” she told him while the pair faced themselves in the mirror. She made him wave at his reflection with his tiny paw. “It’s just for tonight. I’ve got to get some sleep. And I can’t have you waking up Gran before I’ve even told her about you.”

The puppy’s entire backside wagged side to side while she brought him into her room and shut the door. Putting the dog in bed beside her was out of the question. Her big old four-poster was too high off the ground, and if he fell, he could get hurt. Besides, he wasn’t house trained. A quick rummage through her dresser produced her old college sweatshirt, which she arranged in a soft bundle on the floor beside her bed. She set the puppy in the middle of it and pushed his bottom gently.

“Now lay down,” she said. “It’s time for sleep.”

She climbed under her blankets and leaned over the edge. The puppy got up and put his front paws on the side of the bed, wagging his tail and reaching up to sniff at her.

“Down, Anduron,” she said, pointing at the bed. “We can play tomorrow.”

Three more gentle nudges gave him the idea, and after a little while of exploring the room with his nose to the floor, he came back to the sweatshirt, circled around a few times, and laid down with a giant yawn.

“Finally,” Jenna said, closing her eyes. She left one of the bedside lamps on so she would remember not to step on her new charge during the night.

It seemed like only a short time had gone by before her brain registered a shift in the room. The air suddenly seemed heavier, like the hour before a storm. She was lying on her back, her arm over her head, and as always, she had kicked her covers down by her feet. The rock band night shirt she wore hung just below mid-thigh, but she had a weird sense that she was too exposed.

With a gasp, she sat straight up and stared at the foot of the bed. He stood there in robes of rust and orange, staring at her with an unreadable expression and those glowing silver and gold eyes.

“Anduron,” she said, putting a hand on her chest. “You scared me to death. How did you get in here?”

“The same way I left you earlier.” He held up the pendant that shimmered with ethereal light. “This allows me travel between realms.”

She grabbed the covers and pulled them over her. “Haven’t you heard of knocking?”

“This is where the pendant brought me when I focused my thoughts on you. It is not always quite so precise.”

She eyed him. “You’re not really an angel, are you?”

“I told your grandmother as much. But as you have obviously guessed, I am not human.”

“So what, then, an alien?”

“I am the god of Mabon.”

“Mabon. Is that some planet I’ve never heard of?”

“It is one of the pagan sabbat holidays. A time of thanksgiving and freedom.”

She sat straighter, pressing herself against the headboard. “You’re a pagan god?”

He nodded.

“As in a god. Immortal. I could shoot you and you would still be standing there.”

“Please do not.”

Her head felt light. “And you just happened to pop in to save my grandmother? Are there more of you? Are you all superheroes?”

He raised his hands. “I understand this comes as something of a shock.”

“That’s an understatement. For all of Gran’s talk about angels, I never even believed in that supernatural stuff.” She sat forward. “Wait. Are angels real too?”

“Quite. But immortals do not reveal ourselves to humans very often. Not anymore.”

She shook her head, taking a moment to let things sink in. Sure, she knew he’d been more than human, what with vanishing into thin air. But a pagan god? What did he want with her?

“You said you were focusing your thoughts on me,” she said. “But I’m not even a pagan. What are you doing here?”

“I needed to speak with you. I apologize for the hour, but this could not wait.” He glanced down and frowned. “What is this?”

She peered over the foot of her bed and grinned. “That’s the puppy I rescued today. I think he wants to check out his namesake.”

“Namesake?”

The dog was circling in and around Anduron’s feet, sniffing the suede boots, tail going a mile a minute.

“Here, Anduron,” she said, slapping her thigh. “Come on, boy. The god of Mabon doesn’t want to trip over you.”

When the dog didn’t respond, she lunged over the edge and snapped him up, swallowing hard when her hand brushed the god’s muscled, immortal leg in doing so. She sat back with the puppy squirming in her lap and glanced up to find Anduron regarding her with a sharp look.

“You have named a dog after me?” he asked.

She offered a guilty shrug. “Rescuing him made me think of how you saved my grandmother. I was inspired.” At the look on the god’s face she added, “I suppose I could call him Andy for short. It’s only a temporary name, anyway. I’m just putting him up here until the rescue shelter finds him a home.”

His expression softened. “You saved him? In what manner?”

“He was being taken to an awful place that tortures animals. I grabbed his cage and ran. I couldn’t help myself.” She rubbed Andy, making long strokes from his silky head down to the tail. She looked up at Anduron. “A god like you probably thinks that’s silly.”

His brows lifted. “On the contrary. I am...impressed.” He took a breath, expanding his already broad chest. “And this makes me even more certain that you are the right person to call upon as the witness.”

“Witness? What did I witness?”

“As god of the Mabon, it is my duty to engage in a ritual to honor the sabbat. Part of that ritual involves freeing one who has been unjustly imprisoned.”

“I think I like this ritual already.” She bent over and kissed the puppy on the head. “Don’t we? Yes we do. We like it a lot.” When she looked up from her baby talk at the dog, the god’s eyebrows were lifted high.

Anduron gave a single nod. “Indeed. I was on my way to a witness to gain her consent to free the prisoner of her choice when I heard an old woman’s cry of distress.”

“Gran. So you got delayed when you stopped to help her.”

“More than that. I am granted a special key once per year that is imbued with sanctioned power to release a captive. I used that key to aid your grandmother, thus making her the official freedom offering for Mabon.”

“And you want me to witness that? How can I, when I wasn’t even there?”

“You need not physically watch the event unfold. You merely need to name her as your offering and bear witness that the deed has been performed.”

Jenna pushed back a strand of hair. “Oh! That’s no problem at all. Of course I’ll name her.”

He heaved a sigh of relief, and the smile that lit his face also sent tingles through her stomach. When he came around and sat down at her bedside, her entire body shot through with a jolt. She scooted over to make room for him and put a little distance between their bodies. Andy, having no such compunction about physical contact with a virile god, squiggled out of her lap and plodded over to Anduron, sniffing at his robes.

Anduron gave the dog a wry grin and took Jenna’s hand. “You have no idea how grateful I am to hear this. My decision to use the key prior to the witness naming a selected offering has caused quite a stir in my realm. Ratifying my deed will ease the minds of the counsel.”

“You’re grateful? I’m the one who’s grateful. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened to Gran if you hadn’t been there.” She smiled back at him and squeezed his hand. “Consider me your witness girl. It’s the least I can do for my grandmother’s hero.”

As their gazes held, the little flips in her stomach turned to giant somersaults. His eyes smoldered in a way she wasn’t used to seeing from a man, and not just because they were so silvery-gold and foreign.

He gently lifted the puppy and set him down on the floor. “There is another aspect of the ritual in which the witness takes part.”

“Okay. Name it. Anything at all.”

Anduron leaned closer, too close, supporting himself by reaching across her thighs and planting his palm on the mattress. “There is a celebration of thanks that takes place after freeing the offering. It is a joining of male and female to revel in victory over imprisonment, bounty over lack, and life over death. It embodies the balance between our worlds, united, but separate.”

Her heart was sputtering, and she stiffened with him so close. Her brain was short-circuiting, making it hard to follow what he was trying to say.

“Joining of male and female?” she asked. “What sort of joining?”

His stare intensified. “A carnal union.”

She pushed his arm aside and got up, nearly stepping on the dog that was exploring that side of the bed. “You’re asking me to sleep with you, just like that? Are you out of your mind?”

Anduron rose and rounded the bed. “Not now. On the sabbat. It will become a symbolic ritual of release and thanksgiving.”

He reached out to push strands of hair out of her face, but Jenna grabbed his wrist, stopping him from tucking hair behind her ear. “You’re seriously asking me to have sex with you to show how thankful I am that you saved my grandmother? Do you even hear yourself right now?”

He glanced down at the grip she had on his arm, and she let go. “To the victor goes the spoils.”

She made a face. “I’m not a prize to be won in battle. If this was the reason you helped her, you wasted your time.”

“It is not the reason. I did not even know she had a granddaughter. She required assistance, and I granted it. Even knowing what I was risking.”

Jenna cocked her head. “What risk? You’re immortal, and those thugs were human.”

“The risk was from my own realm. Immortals are under strict laws regarding interference in the matters of humans. I would be facing sanctions right now had I not been in possession of the key, the artifact that allowed me to act on behalf of one human.”

“So you’re not allowed to help people unless it’s to justify your Mabon sex orgy?” She shook her head. “I take back what I said. I don’t like your ritual at all.”

His eyes narrowed. “You treat me and my sabbat with scorn? I am granted a power allowed no other immortal. I free those who do not deserve captivity.”

“Once a year. One gesture when so many need help.” She picked up Andy and nuzzled his soft fur against her face. “I rescued this dog, but I’m not going around talking about how great it was and asking for favors in return. You know why?”

Anduron shook his head.

“Because while I am grateful that I saved him, I’m upset that there are others still in cages. They all deserved freedom.”

He regarded her for a moment, then reached out to offer his hand to the dog. Andy licked at his fingers. “The fact that others remain imprisoned does not negate your actions with this one. It is not an all-or-none task. One small gesture can alter the course of destinies.” He rubbed the puppy’s head. “If you had decided it was not good enough to save this one creature, what would have become of him? You have lessened suffering by your willingness to take small measures. Imagine if even one-quarter of the people in your world all vowed to do the same.”

She glanced at the puppy, warm and soft against her chest. Andy’s eyes were closed, his snout lifted while he accepted Anduron’s petting. He had no care in the world now, happy and safe.

“Maybe you’re right,” she said. “Any positive action, no matter how small, is at least a step in the right direction.” She looked up to find him watching her. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t want to end suffering on a larger scale.”

“No. But why not allow ourselves to acknowledge small victories we achieve along the way, even if only for a brief, shining moment?”

She pictured having a brief, shining moment with Anduron, and her nipples stiffened. There was a tension between them, a chemistry that couldn’t be denied. But if he wanted to take her to bed, it shouldn’t be because he believed she owed it to him.

She took in a breath. “I don’t have a problem with shining moments, if you want to call it that. What I do have a problem with is your proposition that I sleep with you for saving Gran. I don’t give out sexual favors as payment.”

“That is not what this is.”

“Isn’t it? I find it rather mercenary that you want sex in exchange for heroism.”

His brows knitted. “After winning a worthy cause, celebration is often held with food, drink, and carnal merriment. Can you not see it that way, rather than cheapening the ritual by claiming I view it as due compensation?”

Her chest tightened. “I am grateful to you. Really. But I don’t even know you. Many women leverage their bodies for favors, but I’m not wired that way. I don’t treat sex so casual.” Even if parts of her were throbbing at his proximity.

He stared at her for a long moment, and then he pulled back and gave an abrupt nod. “Then I will not take any more of your time. I suppose I shall have to return to the counsel with news that I have failed.”

“I guess so. Sorry.”

When he reached up to take hold of the shining jewel hanging around his neck, however, she held out her hand. “Anduron, wait. Maybe there’s another way.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Go out with me.”

“Go out of where?”

“It’s an expression. It means to woo a woman, win her as a sexual partner.”

“Ah. You refer to courting rituals.”

“Exactly. How long until Mabon?”

“Two days.”

“What?” Her pulse sped up. “Well that’s not very long at all.”

“Indeed not. Which is why I am in rather a hurry.”

She blew a breath upward, ruffling her bangs. “All right then. Treat me as a woman rather than a due reward, and I’ll be more inclined to agree to your offer.”

He eyed her. “What would be involved in this treatment?”

“What do you do to court women in your own realm?”

“I do not.”

“Why? Does your job keep you too busy?”

He shook his head. “My realm does not function the same way yours does. Marriages between immortals are typically arranged for mutual advantage. Those who follow the whims of their hearts do so with clandestine meetings, not open courting practices.”

She made a face. “How romantic.”

“Romance is an elusive concept idealized by humans. Strategic pairings are the norm among my people.”

Her hopes deflated. “With an attitude like that, I may as well not bother having you court me at all. You have to at least try. Even if you think romance is beneath you.”

“I did not say that.” His eyes narrowed and glittered in challenge. “I will indeed try. But I am not familiar with your dating customs.”

She folded her arms. “You’re a god. I’m sure you’ll figure it out, if it’s important enough to you.”

He stepped closer and leaned right into her face. “And if I succeed in my strategy, you will allow me to bed you for the ritual?”

“I...” she paused, trying to breathe. “Okay. If things go well between us, I’ll sleep with you.”

He straightened up with a grin. “Very well. I shall take my leave and return tomorrow to begin.”

“It’s a date,” she said. “I’m working morning shift, though. I’ll be gone between seven and three.”

“Farewell then, Jenna.”

When he took hold of his glowing pendant, his entire body shimmered the same way just briefly before fading out of existence.

“Bye,” she said.

She stared at the spot where he had been, replaying every moment, word, and expression on his face. Had she seriously asked a pagan god to date her? As she settled the puppy and herself back down for the night, she wondered how crazy she’d been to make such an outrageous proposal—and just how easily she’d give in to his rock-hard body and killer smile.

***

“Whose side are you on?” Anduron asked, pacing back and forth in the library, the rich red hues in the décor reflecting off his companion’s high forehead. “I thought we were friends.”

Martauk stood with his legs planted wide apart and thick hands settled on his hips. With the high cut of his boots and the deeply slashed neckline of his tunic, Marktauk had a rakish look women enjoyed. Hence why Anduron had called upon him.

“I take it things did not go well?” Martauk asked.

“You are supposed to be helping me woo the human, not drive her away.”

Martauk eyed him up and down. “Were you wearing those lackluster robes?”

“What is wrong with them?”

“Women like to see what they are getting.” The man gestured to his fitted attire. “Next time, dress more like this.”

Anduron waved the parchment in his hand. ““You said that giving flowers is an appropriate early courting gesture.”

Martauk pushed a long brown curl from his eyes. “A good choice. Women always like flowers.”

“Not this one.”

“Why? What did you offer her, thistled stinkweed?”

“I gave her two dozen blooms, an assortment from both our realms. The center blossom was a lavender Strivarian rose lily. Quite exquisite.”

Martauk whistled. “And expensive. Not to mention risky, as gifting humans with items from outside their realm is forbidden. And still she was not pleased?”

“On the contrary. She was quite put out by my arrival, even though she was the one to insist upon my courting her.”

“Did she explain her rejection?”

“She said something about not being able to process a man’s attentions before consumption of caffeine.”

Martauk laughed. “And at what hour did you present your bouquet?”

“She warned me she would be at her place of work for much of the day, so I took her meaning and called on her before she departed.”

Martauk shook his head with a heavy sigh.

“What? I have little time to convince her to partake in the ritual.” Anduron raised his chin. “I was being...efficient.”

“My friend, you have much to learn about women. I could have told you they do not wish to be roused from bed before they have sufficient time to preen for their suitors.” He gave Anduron a wicked grin. “Not until far later in the courtship, at least.”

“Then you should have told me so when I asked for your advice.”

“It should not have been necessary. I assumed you might be bringing at least a moderate amount of wit to the game.”

Anduron groaned and sank down on a richly upholstered chair. “You are right. I should be thinking more clearly, but I cannot seem to. There is so little time, and I grow impatient in wanting her consent. The whole courtship thing is causing me too much distress.”

“Would it not be better to let the counsel choose someone else?”

“I am not sure I trust them, since their last choice perished.”

“Or maybe you desire this particular female. Perhaps you fear the next witness might be ugly as sin.”

“That is not so.” Anduron rested his forearms on his thighs. “Why can she not simply see it is an honor to serve the sabbat?”

“To serve the sabbat or sleep with you?”

“Careful. I am god of Mabon. My duty comes before primal needs.”

“Of course.” Martauk sat beside him. “If you want this woman to lie beneath you for the ritual, you do not require all this.” He plucked the list from his hand. “Follow your instinct. You need to seduce her mind before her body. Entice her senses with your brain and common sense. It is not like she is the first female you have ever convinced to slip naked into your bed.”

Anduron raised a brow. “They do not typically require much convincing. Women in this realm are often quite willing to receive my attentions because of my position and family ties.”

“Exactly. They are attracted to your power and crave attachment to it. That is the way of courtship, arranged or otherwise. But this earth female is not familiar with your fame and heritage. She needs to know why she must have you between her thighs.” He leaned closer and stared at Anduron. “Show her. Make eye contact and keep it to forge a connection. Steal her breath with your smiles, heat her blood with light, nonsexual touches. Stimulate her mind with your wit. She will be so desperate to ride your cock that she may not wish to wait for the ritual.”

“Perhaps you are right. I have been over thinking this.”

“So do not think. Act.”

Anduron rose. “Thank you, my friend. You words have been most enlightening.”

Martauk stood as well and slapped him on the back. “Let us enlighten ourselves farther with a drink. A few sips of Zilian brandy will put your mind at ease.”

He wasn’t wrong about that, for Anduron was feeling much more confident by the time he returned to the other realm, focusing on Jenna’s location. He remained invisible, using the pendant to keep him slightly out of phase while he took in the surroundings. He was not at Jenna’s home. He was standing among a variety of earth vehicles parked behind a building with a giant paw print painted on the side.

“Her work place,” he said to himself.

As if confirming his theory, Jenna came out of a glass door moments later. Her attire was somewhat odd, consisting of pink pants and a tunic with pictures of small puppies all over it. Still, with her high ponytail swinging and a smile on her face that sped his pulse, he couldn’t deny her beauty.

Making sure no one else saw, Anduron phased fully into the realm and approached her. As soon as she spotted him, her eyes widened and she stopped dead.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, not sounding very happy to see him.

“You told me to wait until your work was finished before calling on you again. I have done so.”

“Yeah, by about thirty seconds. We’re going to have to work on our whole timing thing.” She wandered closer and glanced at the box in his hands. “Are those for me?”

“Chocolate.” He opened the box with a grin. “I have it on good authority this confection is appropriate for the occasion.” Which hadn’t surprised him. In several realms, meticulously harvested and refined forms of chocolate were used for aphrodisiac purposes. But in this case, he’d settle for the candy’s qualities easing the awkwardness between them.

She took the box with a nod. “True, it is a popular choice. Thank you.”

The words were formal, stiff.

He followed her to her vehicle, where she stopped and put the box on the roof while she dug through her bag. He reached over and lifted the lid. “Will you not try some?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I can’t. To be honest, I’m allergic to chocolate. We’re talking hives, scratching, the works. It’s not pretty.”

His face fell. “I see.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I apologize for offering you such a poor gift.” He took back the box, and with a series of motions and a few words in the elven tongue, the box vanished. “Seems I am not off to a good start.”

“Chocolate would have been great for most women. It’s not your fault that I’m an anomaly.” She sighed and glanced down at her work attire, smoothing the tunic. “I’m not exactly putting my best foot forward, either. I generally prefer to go on dates after I’ve had a chance to shower and change.”

“Ah, yes. Preening for your suitor.”

She glanced at him and laughed. “Pretty much. I must look ridiculous wearing this.”

“Dogs on one’s garments is not something seen in most realms. But I do not object.” Her clothing wasn’t what interested him. And while formless, the tunic gently outlined her curves, making for a most attractive silhouette despite the oddly patterned fabric.

“I appreciate that, except I probably smell like dog too.”

He leaned close. Her glance shot up, catching his, and he held her gaze while he sniffed at her hair. His stomach twisted at the clean, lightly floral scent. “On the contrary. You smell quite...enticing.”

“Thank you.” Her voice was breathless now, and he stood there, keeping eye contact, feeling the heat of their bodies mingle with delicious tension.

“So what now?” he asked.

Part of his brain responded with kiss her. But it was too soon, even if his stirring cock didn’t think so.

She shrugged. “We could have a late lunch.” She raked a stare down him, one that turned the faint pulse in his groin to more of a throb. “But I think we’d attract too much attention in public. Is there any way you could dress more, you know, human during our meetings?”

He glanced at his cloak and leather leggings. “If that would please you.”

She grimaced a little at that. “I didn’t mean so sound judgmental. But it would be easier to get to know one another if people aren’t staring at us. You should keep your ears covered too. But those eyes are another problem.”

None of this came as a shock. He’d been in the earth realm enough to know that he did not mix in with the populace. That was why he spent most of his visits there while invisible. Still, hearing from Jenna how ill-fitted he was to be her suitor gave his chest an unpleasant twist.

A dark woman wearing similar animal-themed attire came out of the building. She stopped when she saw him, her eyes widening.

“Jenna?” the woman called out. “Everything okay?”

“I’m fine. This is, uh, a friend. We’re going to go have lunch. Bye.” She lowered her voice to Anduron. “Get in the car before she gets any closer. Quick.”

He did as she asked, and she drove off in the vehicle, waving at the slack-jawed woman as they passed by. Anduron barely noticed her. The force of motion had pressed him backward into his seat.

“Buckle your seat belt,” she said, glancing at the way he was clutching the instrument console in front of them. “And stop acting like I’m about to drive us over a cliff. I’ll have you know I qualify for the good driver discount on my insurance.”

“I have not been in an earth vehicle before,” he said, clenching his jaw while he watched scenery whip past the window.

“Wait a minute.” She pulled over and stopped, then leaned across him. “Seat belt. It’s the law.”

He sucked in a breath as her scent caressed him again, so light and fresh. So intoxicating. She yanked a gray restraint out of its holder and drew it past his shoulder along his body. Her hands grazed his belly and hip while she secured the belt with a metallic click. His cock lengthened along his leg, inching downward with every touch between them.

When she looked up and found him staring at her, she swallowed and pulled away. “Maybe I should just take you home.”

A slow smolder sparked in his gut.

“To make lunch, I mean,” she added in a hurry. “Then we don’t have to worry about the way you look.”

His lips pressed together. “Because I displease you.”

“No! Not at all.” Her cheeks pinked attractively. “But other people would wonder about you. And I need to check on Gran anyway. Plus Andy’s been alone long enough.”

The expression on her face when she’d turned pink provoked his desire. He tried not to shift noticeably in his seat to ease the pressure of his erection straining against his leggings. Luckily, Jenna was occupied with her driving as she pulled away from the road side. Being back in motion distracted him from the throbbing urgency between his legs too. The queasy sensation of car travel did not make the idea of food appealing just then. Perhaps conversation could offer a diversion.

“If you are preparing the meal, how does that allow me to court you?” They made a left turn at a speed that caused him to grab hold of the console again. “Should I not be the one making efforts to attract your attention?”

“You definitely attract attention. But with dating, both partners make efforts to move things along. You brought me flowers and chocolate. Now I’ll make you lunch. It’s sort of like a dance, back and forth.”

“In a dance, the male leads the motion.”

Her grin made him smile. “But without his partner responding with her own moves, he’d look pretty darn silly doing it.”

Her demeanor changed suddenly, and a scowl came over her face.

“What is it?” he asked. “Have I said something wrong?”

“No, it’s not you.” She nodded out the window. “It’s that awful place. That’s where I rescued Andy.”

He craned his neck to see the cold, gray building with flashy red lettering growing smaller in the distance. “What is done there that requires the imprisoning of animals?”

“They make products that could possibly cause an allergic reaction or worse. So before they release a new formula to be used by humans, they do all sorts of tests on the animals. Some have chemicals dropped in their eyes or rubbed on shaved skin. Others are injected or force fed ingredients in large quantities.”

He sat back in his seat. “That is barbaric.”

“It’s disgusting.” She slid a hand over her stomach. “It makes me sick thinking of how many animals are still in there, alone and abused. I could only save one.”

They stopped at a light that went from yellow to red, and he took her hand in his. “But you acted to save a life. Did my help to your grandmother not count because I did not also save others in distress?”

She blinked. “Of course not. My grandmother may not even be alive if it weren’t for you. We’re both eternally grateful.”

“Exactly. As I am sure Andy is.”

She squeezed his hand. “Thank you.” The light changed to green, and they set off. “I know you’re right, except I still wish I’d been able to do more.”

He looked out the window, though instead of the passing landscape, he saw images of his time in captivity, when he’d been cold, dirty, and forever wracked with hunger and despair. “I know what you mean.”

***

Once Jenna had Anduron in her house, she hurried off to check on Gran. Pills were due, and she handed them out, made certain the woman had some lunch in front of her, and kissed her with a guilty apology for rushing back to the guest house. She didn’t mention her “date” with Anduron, mostly because she didn’t want to face a hundred questions. Especially the real reason he was “courting” her. Gran would likely be upset that her savior had “dated” Jenna long enough to sleep with her before leaving for good.

Jenna returned to find Anduron on the floor, belly down, running his fingers through the rug while the puppy happily chased and pounced on them. His immortal eyes shone bright, and his smile lit the room while they played. Her heart did a double gainer in her chest. He had been worried about making gestures to impress her, but simply being himself, lying on the floor with a dog, captured her attention more than just about anything he could have done. Short of saving her grandmother, of course.

She hugged herself and watched him for a minute, admiring the lines of his hard, muscular body through his snug leather pants and sleeveless white tunic. He’d removed his cloak and laid it across the back of her worn red couch, giving her a better view. His outfit wasn’t exactly jeans and a t-shirt, but without the cloak, he wouldn’t have been completely out of place in a restaurant. He’d tucked his hair behind his ears, however, exposing the pointy tips. And then there were his eyes. Compelling, sexy as hell, but inhuman.

Maybe standing there, listing all the things that should be changed about her date didn’t bode well for the relationship. But then, they didn’t have one, did they? Anduron wanted sex with her, plain and simple. Would she really go through with it? She wasn’t into the whole bed-hopping scene. If she was going to bare her body and soul to someone, there had better be the promise of something more at the end of it. Although even that was no guarantee, as her single-but-not-a-virgin status proved.

“You two seem to be getting along,” she said, wandering into the room.

Andy hop-ran over to her and jumped on her shins, tongue hanging out.

“He seems to have taken to you as well,” Anduron said, straightening up.

“Hopefully not too much, since he’s not staying.”

“You seem quite invested in his welfare, for someone who does not intend on keeping him.”

She picked Andy up, kissed him on the nose, and tossed Anduron a glare. “Just because I didn’t want him being used as a test subject doesn’t mean I plan to make him my pet. Gran doesn’t even know he’s here. I was hoping if he got a home soon enough, I wouldn’t have to mention him.”

He wandered close, his male scent hitting her much the way it had when they’d been in her car, and scratched Andy behind the ears. “She does not like animals?”

“She loves them, but not the mess they make. As a renter here, I’m under a no-pets policy.”

“Does your grandmother fare well?”

“Very well, thanks to you. I could barely get her settled enough to eat. She’s still talking about her angel.”

He grinned. “I trust you set her straight about that.”

“Not on your life. I haven’t seen her this excited about anything in years. Here, could you hold him?” She handed the puppy over and went to the kitchen to wash her hands.

With the open layout of the living area, it should have been easy to see Anduron while she made lunch, but the spectacular bouquet of exotic blooms he’d awakened her with sat in a massive vase on her island counter. The flowers were overwhelming, far too much for her tiny guest house, but she couldn’t help but smile at his desire to try and please her. The center blossom was an exquisite lavender color, with large, fluted petals unlike anything she’d seen.

“I realize I may not have thanked you properly for the beautiful flowers,” she said. “I can be pretty cranky in the morning.”

“You like them?”

“They’re amazing. It was very thoughtful.” As she moved the heavy arrangement aside, she wondered whether that center flower was from his own world.

“Is chicken salad all right?” she asked, grabbing a bowl while Anduron put the dog down and sat on a stool in front of the island counter.

He eyed her with a guilty expression she recognized.

“Uh-oh,” she said. “What is it?”

Anduron ran a fingertip over the smooth edges of the tile counter and cleared his throat. “I cannot eat that. My apologies.”

“You have allergies too?”

“It is more complicated than that. Eating food from earth is, well, it would bind my presence to this realm and alter some of my immortal energies.”

“You should have said something when I mentioned a lunch date.”

“I wanted to accommodate your wishes involving our courtship.”

“Lunch was just a suggestion.”

She picked up the bowl to return it to the cupboard, but he reached across the counter and laid a hand on her arm. “You must eat,” he said.

“I’m not going to eat in front of you while you sit and watch! That’d be too awkward.”

“Then I shall eat as well.”

“But you just said...”

With a wink, he grabbed his pendant and disappeared.

“He keeps doing that,” she said to the puppy at her feet.

A couple minutes later, Anduron reappeared in the living room with what appeared to be a bowl of something like figs and a drumstick from fowl larger than a chicken.

“There,” he said, grinning. “I shall eat as well.”

“So you really can’t eat human food?” she asked, mixing chopped celery into her shredded chicken.

“It is better if I do not. I used to feel sorry for my mother, raising my brother and me here in the earth realm but having to provide for my needs differently.”

“You have a brother? Older or younger?”

“Depends on who you ask. We are twins, Feillor and I. Although I was born minutes before him, he likes to consider himself the big brother.”

She ladled a dollop of mayonnaise on the salad and smiled. “I always wanted siblings, but I’m an only child. What’s Feillor like? Are you identical?”

“Not at all. His genetics drew heavily on my father’s influence, as well as from my mother’s human side. But as you can see,” he said, pushing hair aside to show his ear, “I acquired much more of my mother’s elven heritage. So while Feillor was able to eat as he wished from the earthen realm, my food had to be prepared separately from the moment I left our mother’s breast.”

“What happens if one of your kind eats our food?”

“It depends entirely on the immortal. Feillor has sufficient human genetics in him to eat that it does not matter. Another god, however, might find that being bound to the mortal realm removes the ability to phase between realms. Still more lose some of their power. Immortals with enough elven blood are especially susceptible.”

“You wouldn’t have powers anymore?”

“Some, but how much would remain is unknown.” He bit into a fig and chewed. “And since my body is best suited to the immortal realm, grounding myself here would tax my physiology. So great care was taken from the beginning to ensure my health and magical development was not hampered.”

“Your mother must have had her hands full, raising two very different immortal boys.”

His grin tickled at her belly. “To say the least.” The smile faded. “In the early years, anyway. Before I went away.”

He fell silent and picked at his drumstick. She took a bite of her lunch and watched him. “Sounds like a story there.”

“Not one I would burden a woman with while attempting to court her.”

“Then I should definitely hear it.”

He glanced up. “Let us talk about you. Your interests, perhaps. Or your childhood.”

“Only if you will tell me your story.”

“You first.”

“Okay. I work at a vet clinic because I love animals, and I live here to help out with Gran, since she’s getting older. Which, by the way, isn’t the story I told her when I said I needed to move into her guest house, or she never would have allowed it. She thinks this is helping me out, not the other way around. Anyway, I like reading and used to bowl in a league, back when I had time for a life. That’s pretty much it. Now tell me your story.”

“If you insist, I shall tell you some of it.”

“I do insist. If it’s not too personal to ask.”

He squared his shoulders. “No. Although I am not certain how interesting you would find my life, outside my role as sabbat keeper.”

“Are you kidding? It’s pretty fascinating to be standing here, talking to someone who’s been alive for, well, I don’t even know how long. Do I want to know?”

A smile slid up half his face. “Probably not.”

“Well, before you popped in and rescued Gran, I didn’t even know gods and immortals existed. So yeah, I’m interested.” She chewed a piece of celery. “So why did you go away from home?”

“I was kidnapped.”

An icy spear went through her heart, and she set down her fork. “God. Really?”

“I was taken from my mother when I was very young, and I spent much of my boyhood in captivity.”

“Who took you? Why?”

“An enemy of my father’s wanted to control him, teach him a lesson.” He frowned at his gleaming golden bowl. “And so he did.”

“That’s horrid,” she said, stabbing viciously at her food. “Are many of your kind so cruel?”

“No. Immortal children are rare, and harming or taking one is considered a grave offense. Which, of course, is why Costeros did it.”

“That’s true here as well. How did you get away?”

“My brother, thanks to a human captive. As twins, we had been able to sense one another from birth, even at great distance. But when I was taken, that bond was dampened by enchantments Costeros cast around the dungeon where I was kept.” He smiled again. “But one day, one of the other prisoners, a human, was able to defeat the enchantments for a brief time so he could get away. I have no idea how he did it. In the brief time the enchantments were down, my brother and I made contact. He was able to report my general whereabouts to my father. I was found within a matter of weeks and rescued.”

“It’s amazing that you two were able to connect after all that time.”

“That was my brother’s doing.” He picked up a fig and plucked the stem from it. “He had never given up, you see. He kept trying, day after day, long after I had despaired of all hope. Because he had kept himself attuned despite all the failed attempts, he found me. I do not know what would have happened if, like me, he had given up.”

There was so much more she could have asked, about the kidnapper Costeros, how Anduron had been treated, what things were like after his rescue. But he was right, this wasn’t the sort of casual conversation one got into on a first date.

She reached out and placed her hand on his. “I’m so sorry, Anduron. That must have been awful for you and your family.”

“Indeed. Once I was saved, I vowed I would try to help others who were unjustly imprisoned. And as the Mabon sabbat keeper, I can.”

“That makes a lot of sense. But why just on Mabon? Why not all the sabbats?”

“That is something I have long asked of those in power among my realm. As for why Mabon specifically, it is because the god for whom the sabbat was first named was a champion of hopeless captives. I remember praying to him every night when I was first taken. Later, my captor informed me Mabon had gone to a far realm and hadn’t been seen for hundreds of years. Now, I have taken up his cause as the god of the pagan thanksgiving. Each year, I free a captive as a goodwill offering in spirit of the sabbat.”

“Just one a year? No more?”

He eyed her. “A long debate which begins and ends with laws limiting our interference in human affairs. Even one gesture is a matter of some controversy.”

“I see.” She dabbed the corner of her lips with a napkin. “Well, I’m grateful that your cause benefited my family. Thank you.”

“Does that mean you consent to the union on Mabon?”

Her brows lifted. “Whoa, there. Let’s not jump ahead too fast.”

“You approve of my choice of your grandmother as the offering, and we have courted as you requested. Is that not sufficient?” He got up and rounded the counter, pressing close. “Should I offer a reminder that we also appear to be sexually compatible?”

She looked up at him with her heart pounding. His lips met hers before she could answer, his mouth hot and pliable, probing at her, insisting that she open for him. And she did, heavens help her. Her tongue twirled with his, tasting of the fruit he had eaten, indulging the flavor of male and something that was quite literally out of this world. Their kiss sent all her senses soaring, and pangs of longing throbbed between her legs.

She broke away and backed off her stool so suddenly that she almost went splat on the floor. “I remember that demonstration quite clearly, thanks.”

Putting the stool between them didn’t work for long. He slid it aside and invaded her personal space. “Then what is the problem? I am eager for this to work between us, Jenna. I do not wish to have to return to the counsel to seek the names of the alternates they are selecting.”

Her stomach flipped. “Alternates?” She folded her arms. “Are you seriously telling me you’ve got a list of women standing by in case I don’t want to sleep with you?”

“The counsel felt it was best.”

A hot flush rose to her face. “The counsel can go to hell. And so can you, if you think it’s appropriate to tell me to spread my legs so you don’t have to bother looking elsewhere.”

She glared at him while his brow crested in a deep frown. “That is in no way what I said.”

“But it’s what you meant.” She tossed her plate in the sink with a little too much force. “I get it, Anduron. I do. I know this isn’t a real romance.” She let out an irritated chuckle. “In fact, I’m thinking it was pretty stupid of me to make you treat this like it is.”

She wiped her hands on a dish towel and turned to find him close behind her. Too close. “Are you saying you do not desire me? For I might be inclined to question that argument.”

Her heart flat stopped for a good two seconds. “In my world, feeling an attraction for someone doesn’t mean you hop into bed within a few days of meeting.”

His eyes raked over her. “That has not been my experience of your world.”

“I don’t mean my world as in earth. I mean my world. My life.” She pushed past him, regretting the hot tingle she felt when she touched his bulky upper arm. “It’s not fair of me to expect you to take me out on dates when we both know why you came back. There’s only one reason you’re paying me the slightest bit of attention.”

“Perhaps more than one.”

She shook her head. “No. This would be nothing more to you than one romp in the hay.”

“The ritual joining is far more than a casual romp.”

“It’s still a one-time deal, and that’s not how I operate.”

“So you do not wish to have sex with me.”

Her pussy actually dampened at the words, defying her to agree. “It’s more a matter that sex means a lot more to me than it apparently does to you, and no doubt a lot of the earth women you’ve done this ritual with.” She sucked in a breath and straightened her shoulders. “So I have a different proposal for you.”

“What sort of proposal?”

“You have a passion for freeing the unjustly imprisoned. Does that only include humans?”

He cocked his head. “That has been my tradition.”

“What about freeing animals? Would you consider doing that?”

“As the Mabon offering? I have already freed your grandmother.”

“I don’t mean as the offering. I mean as in you helping me free them. As a personal favor.”

“I do not catch your meaning.”

“If you want my body for your ritual, I’ll agree to offer myself if you help me free unjustly imprisoned animals.”

A deep smolder lit in his silvery-gold eyes. “Was your grandmother not enough?”

“You were willing to go beyond her rescue and court me to get me in bed. I’m asking you to do this instead.” She set her hands on her hips, the plan already forming. “Releasing the test animals from that factory would be a lot more meaningful a gesture than flowers or candy, wouldn’t you agree?”

He gave a single nod of concession. “Perhaps freeing trapped animals would not fall under the laws regarding interference with mortals. Mabon himself was known to defeat traps and release caged animals, long ago.”

“Then do we have a date?” she asked. “I’ll need to make arrangements, so it’ll have to be tomorrow night.”

He eyed her for a long moment. “I will help you.” He bent his face very near her lips. “Then you will consent to be mine.”

Her heart flipped. “For the ritual, you mean.”

He straightened. “Yes. For the ritual.”

***

Anduron sat in the large, square vehicle Jenna called a “van”, wondering whether he was doing the right thing. The Counsel had provided a list of alternate woman that were even now tucked into his inner cloak pocket. They had urged him to make contact with all haste, and the more he thought about it, the more he knew he should abandon this course and do as they asked. He would likely not need to approach more than a few to get one to concede—and without any further conditions or gestures of goodwill. Jenna was asking more of him than he needed to agree to, and at risk to himself. Despite what he told her, he wasn’t altogether certain the Counsel wouldn’t consider breaking animals out of a human facility a violation of law. One animal might not be an issue. But she wished to free all being held in the building they were parked alongside, which would definitely affect the humans involved.

If he would just tell her farewell, he could put this folly behind him and approach the next candidate on his list. But he couldn’t do it.

The puppy she saved had been partly to blame. The tiny creature was happy now, safe in the new home Jenna kept swearing was only temporary. But he saw how much affection they already shared, and the fierce pride in her eyes when she looked at the canine. He recognized that expression. She had saved the innocent, and now she had a taste for freeing the imprisoned. He knew well that this was not a hunger easily sated. And when he had watched her interact with her rescued dog, that same hunger stirred in him as well. He had a chance to do more good here. He would take it.

“Stay here,” Jenna said. “I’ll unlock the back of the van.”

He watched her hop out of the driver’s seat, her sexy curves swathed in snug-fitting black attire. She’d insisted that they dress all in black to help conceal themselves.

Perhaps her actions to save Andy from this place had been partly what inspired him to go through with her request. But he couldn’t pretend that the thought of Jenna offering her body in return wasn’t the deciding factor. His cock stiffened even now, thinking of her writhing beneath him, two souls passionate about freedom and their roles in securing it for others. Such a notion sharpened the arousal that had already begun a steady climb now that the sabbat was near.

She appeared at his side door. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

He climbed out of the van, grateful that his erection would not show under cover of darkness. Her features were outlined by brash lighting in the alley, along with the reddish tinge of the blinking neon sign that was still turned on, even at this late hour.

When he got out, a parchment sheet fell from his pocket. Jenna bent to pick it up. She started to hand it back, glanced at it, and shot him a scowl.

“Is this what I think it is?” She scanned the paper. “Are these the other women lined up behind me? You brought this along?”

He snatched it back. “The Counsel insisted I take it right before I phased here tonight. I have no intention of using it.”

She folded her arms. “Prove it.”

With a sigh, he crumbled the paper. “There.”

She shook her head. “Not good enough.” She plucked it away and ripped it into small pieces that she stuffed in her pocket. Then she shot him a wicked smile. “That’s good enough.”

“If I did not know any better, I would say you are jealous.”

She raised her chin. “I know this is a one-time gig. But generally, guys know better than to let their little black book fall out in front of a date.”

“Little black book?”

“So are we going to do this or stand around the dark alley all night?”

He rolled his eyes at the change in subject. For all her positive qualities, Jenna could be a most confounding woman. “Did you bring what I asked for?” Anduron pulled the veil pendant out from beneath his tunic. “This will not work unless I have a clear image either of the individual or the setting I wish to phase to.”

“I brought them.” She turned on the portable telephone device and flipped through colored photographs. “These are pictures of the room where the animals are kept. The photos were taken in secret by a former employee who posted them online.”

She scrolled through them, and he frowned at the images of cats and dogs inside a line of metal cages.

“Will these work for you?”

He gave a nod. “More than sufficient.”

She tucked the phone away. “What would happen if you didn’t know where you were going?”

“Phasing is not an exact ability. Even with a clear impression of my goal, I might only get reasonably close to my destination. Without a clue where I’m going, we could end up anywhere, even inside a solid space, such as a wall. As an immortal, I could survive such an error, though far from happily. Bringing you along poses a much greater risk.”

He reached out and swept Jenna against his body, hearing her suck in a breath. His cock pulsed with poorly timed lust at the feel of her ripe, warm flesh rubbing along his. He lengthened the cord that suspended the glowing pendant gem, tugging the adjustable leather until it was long enough to drape around both of their necks.

“You are certain you wish to go through with this?” he asked.

She shivered and pressed closer to him. “Let freedom ring.”

He shut his eyes and focused his intentions on the building they stood in front of, picturing the room she’d just shown him and the animals trapped within. He felt the queasy flutter, the thick pressure of air changing around him, and he squeezed Jenna tighter as they phased. He opened his eyes quickly to assess their destination, and apparently she had as well, for she stiffened and stifled a quiet gasp.

She pulled him behind a corner, hiding them from view of the security guard they appeared not five feet away from. He sat at a desk, his feet up, watching multiple monitor screens. Thank the gods Anduron had phased them off to the side of the man, not directly in front of him.

Jenna tugged on his arm, and when he turned to her, she pointed toward a door partway down a dimly lit hallway. With a nod, he removed the pendant from around her neck and took the lead while they tiptoed toward the room. A glass window was set into the wall beside the door, and a glance told him they had found their destination. Fortunately, the door was not locked, and they headed in to the room he’d seen in photos moments before. Two rows of cages were lined up, facing each other, with small dogs and cats inside. Most were lying down, heads on paws, looking abandoned and dejected. But as soon as Jenna and Anduron walked in, several lifted their heads. Some began whining and barking.

“Shh,” Jenna said. “It’s okay. We’re here to help.”

The commotion grew louder, and Anduron feared they would attract the attention of the guard. He walked the aisle between cages, lifting his hands, letting calming energy pour forth. The din quieted immediately.

“How did you do that?” Jenna whispered.

He shrugged. “I am an elven god.”

“My boss would hire you at the vet clinic in a heartbeat.”

“We should be quick. The guard might choose to investigate their disquiet.”

She nodded and walked past the animals, peering inside each cage. “These cages are bigger than they seemed in the pictures,” she said. “They won’t all fit in the van I rented.”

“Two will fit,” he said.

She shot him a look. “I’m not leaving without all of them.”

“The animals are small enough to cage together temporarily.”

“What if they fight?”

“They will not.”

He raised his hands again, whispering ancient words while letting his intention pour out onto the creatures. He opened a cage containing a black, furry dog and placed it into a cage with a smaller, hairless one. They sat quietly, looking at him.

“See?” he said. “One for dogs, the other for cats.”

Jenna nodded, and the pair began transferring animals together. Halfway through, the click of boot heels sounded in the corridor, and they froze.

“Hide,” Jenna whispered.

They got behind a counter just as the guard came in. His footsteps got closer, then he whirled and left again. Jenna let out a sigh of relief when the door clicked shut, but when she tried to rise, Anduron grabbed her wrist and held her there, putting a finger to his lips. He listened until the guard was well down the hall before allowing them to rise.

“I thought for sure he’d notice there was more than one animal in those two cages,” she whispered.

“Let us move quicker. In case he decides to come back.”

They got up and went back to work. With his magic in place, the animals were docile and huddled together cooperatively in the two cages, the cats included.

“Amazing,” Jenna said, tucking a gray kitten in with the rest. “I thought they’d be at each other’s throats.”

Even with both of them working, the process took longer than Anduron would have liked. Many minutes had passed from the time they had first reached the testing room until the two cages were filled with no less than eight animals inside each. It took longer still for them to figure out how to get the full cages down on the floor so that they were separate from the rest and portable to carry.

“Looks like that’s it,” Jenna said, scanning the rows quickly. “We should go.”

They squatted down low, beside their cages. He threaded the pendant through the bars before looping it back around their necks. He put one arm around her. “Hold fast to the cages while I hold you,” he told Jenna. “Do not let go.”

She pressed close to him and grabbed the bars of each. “Just don’t let go of me.”

He was already focusing on the alley way beside the van before he closed his eyes. Just as he was shutting them, he heard the whining noise, and saw the fluffy, perky-eared puppy pawing at the bars of a cage at the far end, looking at him with pleading desperation. The air pressure shifted, however, and they phased out of the room.

They appeared right beside the van, just a couple feet away from where they’d started off. Jenna straightened up with a gasp just as Anduron turned to her. They spoke at the same time.

“We forgot one!” she exclaimed.

“I have to go back,” he was saying.

“It was the terrier I couldn’t save before,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t see he was there. It was dark, and we were in such a hurry.”

“No matter. I will retrieve him.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“You cannot. Phasing in rapid succession, even using the gentler powers of a veil pendant, involves energies a human cannot readily withstand. That is mainly why I had us gather the animals for a single trip.”

“I’ll get the cages into the van while you grab the terrier,” she said, gazing up at him with wide, glassy eyes. “We can’t leave him.”

He nodded. “Agreed. But do not wait for me.”

“Of course I’ll wait!”

“I have a feeling that would not be wise. Go, Jenna.” He opened the van doors and loaded the cages. “Leave now.”

“But what about you?”

He lifted the glowing pendant. “I can phase directly to your house faster than you can drive. I will be there ahead of you.”

She nodded and got up on tiptoe to press a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Anduron,” she said, her cheeks flushed and eyes glazed with excitement. “Thank you for doing this.”

Her action left a tingle on his skin that lingered, spurring him to greedily claim more. He pulled her to him and mashed his lips against hers, and her tongue sought his even before he could slip it into her mouth. Gods help him, he couldn’t stop himself from pushing her up against the side of the van, and her arms slid around his back while he ground his hard, aching dick against her pelvis. She responded, her hips thrusting with need, her hands sliding down to grab his hips and hold them tight to hers. He groped one of her breasts, feeling the weight of that perfect round flesh as he hefted it in his hand, running a thumb over a stiff nipple.

He broke off when she molded her hands to his ass, and it took every bit of his fortitude not to push her inside that van and claim her in what little space remained beside the cages. His breath came in hard gasps, and her eyes were smoldering when he gazed down at her. “You are welcome,” he said. “I will be awaiting your return when you get home.” And he prayed that when she did, he would somehow stop himself from taking her to bed right then. He needed to remain celibate until the sabbat, which even at one day away, was too far off for him to fathom how he would manage it.

She climbed into the van and he watched her drive off, fighting to steady his breaths. After she was gone, it took him some time to ease the pounding need between his legs enough to focus on the stranded puppy. When he had calmed himself, he phased back inside the factory, pleased to note he’d managed to transport right into the testing room this time. He headed for the puppy’s cage. The dog pawed faster when it saw him, its tiny tail wagging, while it whimpered for Anduron’s attention.

“I am sorry, my little friend.” He lifted the latch on the cage and pulled the warm, wriggling animal up against his chest. “It was not my intention to leave you behind.”

A warm lick on his face was his reward, and he smiled. “Let us be on our way, then.”

The door to the lab slammed open, and three police officers burst in.

“Stop right there!”

“Down on your knees,” another said.

Guns were drawn on Anduron as the officers edged closer.

He reached for the veil pendant.

“Freeze!” the first policemen shouted. “Put the animal back slowly and hook your hands behind your head.”

Anduron did freeze, trying to think. He weighed his options. He was a god, but his powers were not sufficient to stop a bullet. Their weapons would not kill an immortal, of course, but getting shot wouldn’t be pleasant. And the dog cradled in his arms might not survive. If he managed to get hold of the pendant and phase, it wouldn’t likely be fast enough to escape a bullet. Not to mention that phasing in open view would cause a stir in his realm. Feillor had to answer at great length for showing himself to a group of pagans and a few others the previous month. And Anduron had heard some griping about how he’d phased in front of the thugs who attacked Jenna’s grandmothers. Their credibility would be considered sketchy at best. A group of law enforcement officers was something else altogether.

“Now,” the policemen said.

As Anduron’s magical abilities did not include mind control, memory alteration, or bullet stopping, he had little choice at the moment but to cooperate.

“I am sorry, little one,” he said to the dog, setting it carefully back in the open cage before locking his fingers on his head. “I am afraid your rescue has been postponed.”

While he was being handcuffed and ordered around, he tried to come up with a plan that wouldn’t involve the Counsel finding out what he’d done. Something that wouldn’t risk proving to the naysayers that his Mabon freedom gesture should be abolished forever.

He couldn’t think of one.

***

Jenna was pacing around her living room, talking to the dog she had tucked under her arm. Andy was sniffing the scent of other animals on her with keen interest. “Where is he, Andy? He should have beaten me here. Especially since I made a stop on the way.”

Whatever calming magic Anduron had worked on the animals had begun wearing off just as she pulled up behind the animal rescue shelter. The owner, Quinn, had agreed to help when Jenna had confided her plan, and together, wearing leather gloves, they began separating howling, hissing animals who were no longer happy about being penned up together like sardines. Each one, cats first, were split off into separate cages, carriers, and cardboard boxes. She’d been grateful that Quinn offered to board the animals on the sly and quietly find homes for them. There’d have been no way she could have fostered sixteen kittens and puppies in her tiny guest house, even temporarily, and her grandmother would have flipped out if she’d learned Jenna had violated the pets rule to such a degree.

Despite the time it took to transfer the rescued pets over to Quinn’s care, Anduron still hadn’t surfaced by the time Jenna got home. With each passing moment, she grew more certain that the police cars she’d seen racing past her in the opposite direction, lights flashing but no sirens, had been heading to the factory. She’d thought she was just being paranoid, or that Anduron had been long gone before police could confront him. But now, she feared the worst.

“This was my fault,” she said. “I thought we had all the animals. I told Anduron we did. I didn’t see the poor little terrier.”

She tried to imagine what a god would do if the cops showed up to arrest him. Would he use his powers? Had he vanished back to the other realm, too irritated by her reckless suggestion to return?

“That’s probably what happened,” she said, wandering to the window and parting the curtains to peer out. “He cut and run to use that list and find somebody else. I hope he at least adopted a terrier puppy while he was at it.”

She scanned the area, looking for him. He did say that phasing wasn’t an exact science. Maybe in his rush, he’d transported himself farther away than he’d anticipated.

Her gaze landed on her grandmother’s place, and she frowned. Lights were on inside, even though it was after eleven o’clock.

“What’s Gran doing up at this hour?” There was no sign of movement in the house. “Maybe she can’t sleep either.”

She grabbed her house keys off the ring inside the front door, still carrying the dog. “Let’s go find out. I guess this is as good a time as any to let her know that I’ve got a furry roommate. Until Quinn finds you something.” She sighed. “Guess you’ve got some extra competition for that now.”

They headed to Gran’s. She let herself in and glanced around the living room.

“Gran?” she called out softly. She headed for the hallway and stopped dead. “Oh, my god, Gran!”

The woman was sprawled on the floor, and Jenna raced to her, falling to her knees and putting the puppy aside. “Gran! Are you all right?”

“Jenna,” she said weakly. “I can’t get up.”

“Just lie still,” Jenna said, leaving her side just long enough to grab the cordless phone off the kitchen wall. “I’ll call an ambulance.”

“I don’t need an ambulance,” the woman said, trying to sit up. “I’ll be fine.” Doing his part, Andy waddled up and licked Gran’s face. “Who is this cutie?”

“Don’t try to get up yet,” Jenna said, already on hold for paramedics. “Let’s get you checked out first. What happened?”

“I was feeling so restless and got up for a drink,” Gran said, tucking the puppy against her robe. “I haven’t slept well since all the excitement when my angel saved me.”

“I put fresh water at your bedside,” Jenna said. “You shouldn’t have had to get up.”

“I wanted warm milk. It always helps me relax. But I started feeling dizzy, and I lost my balance.”

“I should have checked on you,” Jenna said. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m perfectly capable of pouring a glass of milk,” the woman said with a stubborn edge. “I just stood up too fast, I think. Where did this dog come from?”

“I was coming here to tell you when I saw the lights on. He’s a rescue waiting for a home. I swear I’ll only have him for a little while, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. He’s so adorable.”

An operator finally picked up her call. “I need an ambulance,” Jenna told the dispatcher. “My grandmother got dizzy and fell.”

Jenna was so wrapped up in getting help for Gran that she didn’t even think about Anduron again until they were at the hospital. She had been out in the waiting area of the Emergency Room for over an hour before she found herself wondering whether he might pop in. Maybe he’d use the pendant to focus on Jenna, rather than her house. Then he’d find himself in a crowded public room. Alarmed by the thought, she got up and moved over to a small nook around the corner. But he never showed, and as hours passed, she had a feeling that she would never see him again.

Her fingers brushed her lips while she thought back to that last kiss. Every cell in her body came to life when he touched her, and the feel of his mouth hungrily laying claim to hers turned her into a wild tigress. If he hadn’t stopped when he did, she would have started tearing at his clothes, dragging him somewhere to do the “ritual” he’d gone above and beyond to get her to agree to. He seemed into it, at least at first. Then he cut things off. Why had he done that? Had he not been telling the truth about his offer to go back for the sole remaining puppy? Was he just trying to get away from her? Or had something else happened to him?

She swallowed and went to the coffee machine to get herself a cup. Gran was her primary worry, of course, but the night was a long one while a battery of X-rays and blood tests were run. She was assured that her grandmother was stable, and she had been allowed to sit by the gurney for a while until Gran dozed off. That left Jenna with plenty of time to worry not only for her sole living relative, but the god who had popped into her life as a hero and then vanished. Maybe she shouldn’t have let him kiss her the way that he had. It wasn’t their first kiss, but there was no denying the groping and making out had pushed things to another level between them. So had what they’d done together inside that factory, for altogether different reasons. He’d helped her free innocent creatures, giving her an important glimpse into his character. He believed in her cause because he’d once been a captive himself. Her heart ached to think of it. Now he was the god of a pagan holiday she’d never heard of, and he chose to honor it by releasing someone who had been treated unjustly. He may not be an angel, but he was definitely a hero.

He’d wanted to celebrate their victory with something her body ached for now, and as she pictured the way he’d pushed her up against the van, a tingling sparked between her thighs. She wished she was beneath Anduron in her bed right then, clinging on while he thrust into her, sharing himself on a level she now desperately wanted to explore. Even knowing it would only be one time, and that once they had both cried out in climax, he would leave and go back to his own world forever. How stupid was that? It definitely wasn’t like her. But now, even that much apparently wasn’t going to happen between them.

Had he changed his mind? Had something about her kiss put him off? Maybe she’d been more into it than he was. That could have been why he broke things off first. Had he decided to run down his list of other candidates and find another woman instead? Was he kissing someone right then, deciding whether she was better suited than Jenna? Her gut actually churned at that thought, and she threw the bitter coffee away.

Gran was declared fit enough not to need admittance to the hospital, just an adjustment to her blood pressure medication. There was only a couple hours left before dawn by the time Jenna finally got her home and tucked in with promises to call if she needed anything. Once back at the guest house, she felt a flicker of disappointment that there was no sign that Anduron had ever returned. She let Andy out of the bathroom, mopped up an accident while she left a message at work explaining why she was taking the day off, and then fell into bed exhausted.

***

Anduron’s mind whirred with thoughts of how to extricate himself from his current predicament, but the task was more easily imagined than accomplished. His first instinct had been trying to break out of his restraints while in back of the police car. The strange plastic cording securing his wrists rather tightly proved difficult, however, despite his greater-than-human strength. With the policemen’s heads facing forward, he could have phased out of the realm without them seeing, though leaving them to wonder how their prisoner had vanished from a moving vehicle. But he couldn’t reach the pendant with his hands bound. He could have attempted to kick the door open and hurl himself from the car. It would hurt, but he would not sustain permanent damage. But without access to the pendant, he would not get far before they turned their vehicle around and recaptured him.

Captured. His heart pounded unnaturally, driving panic to the forefront of his thoughts. He tried to take slow, even breaths, but found himself gulping air. Being snatched up, bound, and taken away for the second time in his life drove sweat from his pores and stabbed at his chest like the sword of Apollyon, artifact of Samhain. And he was stuck letting things play out until he could phase safely.

His thoughts turned to Jenna. He saw her easy smile in his mind, her determined expression while they had joined together to rescue the caged animals. She was so alive, so aligned with many of his beliefs, and yet she could hold her own to challenge him on others. And then there was the way she’d thanked him for his help with her kiss and her ripe curves. He had never intended on stumbling into her existence in the first place, and yet she had quickly become an intrigue that he could spend the next hundred years unraveling. Much of it preferably in bed.

Would she realize what had happened to him? Or would she believe he had abandoned her? His stomach tightened at the thought. She did not deserve such a thing. Whatever transpired here, she needed to know he had not left her behind deliberately. He still wanted her. He wanted nothing more than to phase to her side and convey that truth to every naked inch of her body. But first, he had to extricate himself.

Once at the police headquarters, things became more complicated. He was still bound while they initiated a procedure they called “booking” despite the lack of any actual books. While the authorities had been far less than pleased with him from the moment he’d been caught, they became downright surly while they attempted to question him.

“Name,” said a policeman with as much nose and ear fuzz as hair on his head.

“Anduron.”

“Last name.”

“Son of Herne.”

“Sonahern. How do you spell that?”

“H-E-R-N-E.”

“Address.”

“I do not have one.”

“Date of birth.”

“Summer of the fiftieth year of the dragon’s horn.”

The man looked up. “What the fuck? Don’t play games, Sonahern. Date of birth.”

“I told you.”

The policemen grunted. “Keep this up and your cavity search will have to be extra thorough.”

“I do not take your meaning.”

A laugh followed. “You will, elf man.”

And so on it went until Anduron was shoved in front of a wall of numbers and lines. He was photographed, both the front of his face and in profile. That would not sit well with the counsel. The worst, however, came while they began attempting to take his possessions. After some deliberation, they decided to do so while he still had his hands cuffed behind him. Would this never end?

First, a policemen with J. Andrews engraved on a metal nameplate tugged Anduron’s ears in a most undignified manner. “What are these, some sort of rubber Star Trek ears?” he said, pulling at one rather hard. The guy looked at his fuzzy partner. “Can he wear those in lockup?”

“Hell, no.”

“Ouch!” Anduron said, wincing with the next tug.

The officer frowned. “How do you get them off?”

Anduron gritted his teeth. “I assure you, they do not come off. They are quite real.”

“Sure they are.” The officer peered into his eyes. “What about those contact lenses? Did you get them on sale? They don’t even match.”

“I have no lenses.” Anduron shut his eyes. “Please do not attempt to pull my eyes out as well.”

“Shut up, smart ass.” He huffed a sigh. “One black cloak,” the guy said with a snort, undoing the clasp and handing it to a second officer, who folded it.

Then he stopped and stared. “One weird as fuck necklace.” He leaned closer. “What the hell is that stone? Why’s it glowing like it’s got radiation?”

“Do not touch that,” Anduron warned. “Leave the pendant alone.” He raised his chin. “Remove my bonds and I will take care of it.” By phasing right out of this madness, witnesses or no. This whole thing had gotten out of hand.

Andrews didn’t listen. He grabbed for it and tugged, and it came away from Anduron’s neck. As he pulled back with it, Anduron saw that the policemen was clutching the stone in his palm.

“Do not hold it that way!” Anduron exclaimed. “It is possible you might...”

The man winked out of existence.

Two other officers in the room gasped and jumped forward. “Andrews? Andrews!” His eyes narrowed at Anduron. “What happened to him? Where did he go?”

“What the hell was that thing?” the other one yelled. “You vaporized him!”

“He is not harmed,” Anduron said. “He just went somewhere else.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” the officer said, his face red and his eyes wild. “Where?”

“I have no idea.”

The other one had called for backup, and the room was filling with more officers. Anduron was grabbed and shoved down on his knees.

“No, wait!” the first man said. “Everyone else get out of here. This whole room is probably full of radiation. Call Hazmat. Everyone who was exposed needs to be checked out.”

“No one here is in danger,” Anduron said. “One phase will not harm your partner, either. It is not that kind of radiation.”

“You son of a bitch.”

Another officer pulled him back when he lunged at Anduron, though not before he was knocked to the ground. Hard floor connected with his cheekbone. With some difficulty, he got up, his face throbbing.

“Jansen,” someone said from the door. “Andrews just called in. He’s on the line.”

Jansen whipped around. “Is he all right? What happened?”

The guy blinked at Anduron. “He says he’s fine. He’s at home with Angie.”

“Home?” Jansen turned back to Anduron. “How the hell did that happen?”

Anduron shrugged. “Clearly his thoughts were focused on his home when he took hold of the pendant. Was there some compelling reason for him to want to be there?”

“Angie’s ready to have the baby,” a female officer offered.

“Quiet,” Jansen said. “Don’t tell him shit.” He pushed Anduron into a hard wooden chair. “Sit your ass down.” He nodded to another officer. “Secure him to the chair.”

Several officers lingered by the doorway while he overheard Jansen speaking to a man who was clearly in charge. “That kind of tech...military, maybe? We may need to call the Feds in on this.”

So many fearful and angry eyes were turned Anduron’s way, and he shook his head. How had this spun so far out of control?

Suddenly, the air thickened, and all activity in the room stopped. Five immortals phased into the booking area, two of them mage-seers distinguishable by their bald heads and flowing white robes. Their presence in the group was no doubt the reason the rest had all phased in so precisely. The seers moved through the room with their arms up, whispering ancient words. The mortals were all frozen in place, eyes open and unblinking, unaware they were being visited by gods of another realm. Counselors Munsola and Rathmar were there, along with Martauk, who rushed forward.

“I do not recall getting arrested on the list of courting suggestions,” Martauk said to him, bending over to examine Anduron’s restraints.

“What are you doing here?” Anduron asked.

“Are you surprised the Counsel had to intervene?”

“No, but I am surprised they brought you along.”

“I’ve long warned the Counsel that bodyguards should be used when sabbat gods travel to this realm,” he said, coming around behind him. Perhaps now they will listen.”

“You have not been my bodyguard for hundreds of years.”

“Exactly.” With quick action on Martauk’s part, Anduron was free of his bonds.

He stood up, rubbing at his sore wrists. “Thank you.”

Martauk leaned close and whispered, “I was able to inform your brother what was happening.” He straightened when Rathmar and Munsola approached.

They stood before Anduron, hands tucked inside the arms of their dark gray robes, wearing expressions of narrow-eyed disdain.

“This does not bode well,” Anduron murmured to Martauk.

Martauk lengthened the cord of his veil pendant and wrapped it around both their necks. “I am afraid not, my friend.”

“Take me to Jenna,” Anduron whispered. “I have to see her with all haste.”

Martauk paused before tightening his grip on the pendant. They materialized right in the inner counsel chamber, and Martauk removed the pendant and squeezed Anduron’s shoulder. “I am sorry, but your presence was required immediately. Good luck.”

“But Jenna,” Anduron said.

“She will have to wait.” The man looked at him. “If you wish to speak afterward, I am here.”

“Leave him, Martauk.” The voice was Herne’s.

“As his personal guard, I request that I be allowed to remain,” Martauk said.

“Fine,” Sandovar said, waving a hand. “Stand over there by the door. And hold your tongue, or you will be removed.”

He nodded and moved away, standing beside the door with his arms crossed.

The entire Counsel was again assembled, Anduron’s father included. His eyes burned with golden flame, and his knuckles whitened as he gripped his gnarled wooden staff.

Anduron glanced around at the faces staring at him, the sour looks not dissimilar from those he’d been weathering from the earth policemen.

“You can be at no loss to fathom why we are gathered once again,” Rathmar said. “Your actions surrounding this sabbat have proven of grave concern.”

“If you are referring to my arrest...”

“We are referring to the entire manner in which you have conducted preparations,” Herne said. Aside from Anduron, he was the only one standing. “Beginning with your interference in a human dispute.”

“You mean the capture of a helpless old woman for no reason other than to steal from her purse?”

Herne scowled. “Speaking of theft, you went on to wrongfully claim earth property, give information about your true identity to mortal authorities, and allow a human to secure and use a veil pendant, a rare and powerful artifact.”

“And a most dangerous one for humans to claim,” Sandovar said. “Your encounter has the mage-seers working overmuch to adjust numerous memories and correct the damage from your night of stealing.”

“I stole no earth property.”

Munsola chuffed. “The policemen who took you into custody have a different opinion.”

Anduron raised his arms. “I am the god of Mabon. I freed unjustly imprisoned animals from barbaric treatment suffered at the hands of humans.”

“A gesture that was both foolhardy and wholly unnecessary,” Rathmar said.

“Unnecessary?”

“Indeed,” Sandovar replied. “Considering you had already made an unsanctioned goodwill offering by saving the crone.”

“Taking it upon yourself to act on a whim on behalf of mortals is forbidden,” Rathmar said. “Removing the animals from their human caretakers was at best an unnecessary risk.”

“I spared them from their torturers, you mean,” Anduron said. “And I did not act on my own whim. The witness asked for my help in freeing the creatures.”

“She was not within her rights to do so,” Herne said.

“Why? Because gods no longer answer the prayers of humans?” Anduron folded his arms. “Perhaps it is time they did.”

His father’s eyes darkened.

“You cannot be serious,” Veramus said.

“I prayed for release from my prison,” Anduron cried out, the bitter words bouncing off the chamber walls. “For years. Nobody listened.” He met his father’s eyes. “You did not come. The god Mabon did not hear my pleas. I was alone and abandoned. That is not a fate I wish for anyone.”

Herne’s staff struck the floor with a thunderous blow. “That is not true.” His voice broke. “I searched for years. I never gave up.”

“Nor have I, Father.” He turned to the Counsel. “I vowed never to give up on those who have been tossed into prison and forgotten. From the smallest animal to the greatest warrior, the fate of the unjustly imprisoned has weighed heavy upon me for centuries. Mabon is a time of rejoicing in the blessings the year has bestowed. What better rejoicing can there be than in freedom for the oppressed?”

“Open the window,” Munsola said. “See the consensus for yourself.”

Anduron strode to the long, narrow window at the far end of the chamber. He pushed it open and stared out at the crowd that had gathered. Angry immortals stood below outside the entrance to the Counsel of Sabbats, their voices raised in protest. Someone pointed at him and shouted, and many faces turned upward, spouting epithets in the ancient tongue, shaking their fists. He closed the window, shutting out the din.

“Do you see rejoicing out there?” Sandovar called out. “No. You see chaos.”

“Your cause is stirring the realm into madness,” Herne said. “It cannot be allowed to continue.”

“Perhaps it was worth it,” Anduron said. “At least I have spared innocents from suffering.”

“You did not,” Rathmar said. “The animals have been returned.”

Heat flared in his chest. “Why? Why should they suffer for this?”

“The seers adjusted memories of your presence,” Sandovar said. “They had to erase your crime as well.”

“Reversing my actions would be the crime. They should at least have let my gesture stand for something.”

“Your gesture has cost much,” Munsola said. “It is as I have been saying for centuries. The ritual of Mabon is in need of new practices.”

“Or a new keeper to serve it,” Sandovar said.

Anduron whirled on him. “If a simple act of justice can rouse the masses into such indignation, then perhaps this is no longer a realm worth serving.”

“Then the matter is settled,” Rathmar said. “Anduron, son of Herne, is no longer fit nor willing to be the god of Mabon.”

Anduron clenched his jaw.

“A new sabbat keeper must be selected immediately,” Veramus said. “One who will not bring his personal influence to the task.”

“All sabbat keepers bring their influence to this task,” said a familiar voice. Anduron’s brother stalked into the chamber. “It is what makes us able to perform our duties.”

“You were not summoned to this meeting, god of Lammas,” Munsola said. “This does not affect your sabbat.”

“It affects all of us if you go through with your plan to remove my brother.” Feillor swept up to Anduron and stood beside him. “For we all have unique insights and backgrounds that suit our needs for the keeping of pagan rituals.”

“Someone get him out of here,” Veramus spat. “We do not have time to waste on argument.”

“Anduron is entitled to have someone speak on his behalf,” Herne said. “I would hear my son’s words on the matter.”

“Of course you would,” Veramus said. “And as they are twins, he undoubtedly will have much to say as to why his brother should be spared. Too much to say when the sabbat falls on the morrow. If Anduron is to be replaced, we must do so without delay.”

“Replace a sabbat keeper overnight?” Feillor said with a laugh. “Impossible. What of the time of purification and preparation?”

“In dire circumstance, a proxy may be used to observe the ritual,” Sandovar said.

“Dire circumstance implies the death or disappearance of the sabbat god,” Feillor replied. “Not that one has merely vexed you.”

“He has vexed the entire realm,” Munsola said. “Word has already spread about his foolishness. Many are calling for his removal.”

“Which should be done by proper procedure, not in the heat of the moment.” Feillor turned to his brother and clasped his shoulder. “I know all too well that there are times when acting in the best interests of mortals is the right thing to do. Even if others do not agree.” He looked up at the counsel. “He should not be punished, nor the sabbat ritual improperly observed, because his compassion spurred him to act.”

“He will be remanded to seclusion until a full trial can be held,” Rathmar said. “In the meantime, we will send another as proxy to bed his witness.”

“No!” Anduron said, stepping forward. “You cannot send another to her.”

Herne cocked his head. “Why not? Are you so eager to keep the female for yourself?”

His brother shot him a questioning look that he ignored. “She will not consent to carnal relations with another male so readily. Her granting of sexual favors was done only on the condition that I prove myself worthy in ways that mattered to her.”

Herne let out an indignant growl. “Which is why you should have approached another witness as soon as the stubborn wench tried to exact her own terms.”

“Perhaps her consent is not required,” Veramus said. “Just her obedience.”

Feillor grabbed Anduron’s arm as soon as he tried to jump forward. “No sabbat keeper would ever agree to such a disgusting notion. Free will of the female partners is tantamount.”

“If I may,” Feillor said, yanking Anduron back, “mere hours exist until the sabbat. Would it not be far simpler to just allow my brother to perform the ritual and settle the rest of the matter afterward?”

The counsel members traded looks.

“Very well,” Veramus said, giving Anduron a sharp grin. “The god of Mabon you will stay for the remainder of this sabbat.” He leaned forward and folded his hands on the table before him. “Provided another witness is chosen. This one has proven far too problematic.”

Anduron’s hands closed into fists. “It is too late to select another.”

“On the contrary.” Rathmar held up a copy of the parchment Jenna had shredded. A name in the center was circled in sparkling red ink. “One has already agreed to ratify your offering and participate in the carnal ritual.”

His stomach twisted. “That is not possible. I approached no other.”

“Which is why Martauk was sent in your stead.”

“Martauk?” He shot a glance at the man standing stiff beside the wall.

His eyes were hooded with guilt. “I am sorry. It was my duty to obey the request.”

“As it is Anduron’s duty to fulfill the ritual,” Rathmar said. “You have heard the terms of our concession to allow you to oversee the coming sabbat. Will you comply?”

He looked up at Feillor, who was staring down with an empathetic expression. “Perhaps it is the best you can hope for,” he said.

Anduron smiled. “After the experience you had with the woman you now call your mate, I think you know better than that.”

Feillor gave a single nod. “Then Salina and I will beseech the gods on your behalf.”

Anduron turned to face the counsel.

“Well?” Herne asked. “Will you concede?”

He lifted his chin. “No. I will not.”

Anduron reached over and took hold of the veil pendant Feillor wore around his neck, yanked it off, and shut his eyes. He had phased out of the chamber before anyone could stop him.

***

Jenna hadn’t been asleep for long when she’d fallen into a dream about Anduron. They had freed all of the earth’s animals from captivity and stood hand in hand in a massive field of green. They watched while all manner of creatures, from colorful birds to frolicking puppies to trumpeting elephants, united in celebration of a new world. They turned to one another, Anduron’s eyes glowing even brighter than the sun behind him, and he pulled her to him.

“Jenna,” he murmured in her ear. “You are mine now.”

With their lips pressed together, they tore the clothes from one another until they were naked. Then down in the grass, they celebrated their victory—his mouth and hands everywhere she needed them while she explored the muscular, immortal body she couldn’t stop thinking about.

“Jenna,” he said again, the sound of his voice bringing her body to life. She reached for him, wanting to pull his hard cock close, position it to slide inside her.

“Anduron,” she whispered, working the hand inside her panties faster. “Please.” Yes, she was so ready for him, aching, close to coming. But wait, how had her panties gotten back on? Hadn’t he just torn them off of her?

A strong hand grasped her wrist. “Jenna,” the voice came, louder this time.

Her eyes fluttered open to find one gold and one silver eye smoldering above her.

“Anduron?”

He was there, seated beside her on the bed. The hand he’d captured was indeed down her panties, wet from rubbing the clit that ached for release now. She flushed hot while she yanked it away and scooted herself upright, sitting against the headboard. “Where have you been?”

“You were dreaming about me,” he said, leaning closer. “I heard you whisper my name.”

“I thought you weren’t coming back.”

“I tried to get here as soon as I could. But I was...detained.”

“What happened?”

“It is a long account, and I fear I do not have much time.” He lengthened the cording of the veil pendant. “Jenna.”

He closed in, kissing her, looping the pendant over her head. Her body was throbbing and primed for him already, thanks to however long she’d been fingering herself during her dream. She moaned and gave a little shiver.

After sliding his arm around her, she felt the odd vibration, the heavy pressure that filled the room. When she opened her eyes, he’d phased them someplace else. They were in a bed much larger than her own, white and fluffy, with a canopy and nothing but gleaming marble in a crystalline-lit room that was massive—maybe as large as the vet clinic.

“Where are we?” she asked.

Anduron shifted his body, pulling her against the length of him. “We are still in your dream.”

He plundered her mouth with his tongue, moaning while he ran his hand along her body, skimming her back and curving around her bottom. Goose bumps rose up wherever he touched, and she arched with a desperate whimper. He kneaded the flesh of her buttocks while he pressed his hips against her, letting her feel his hard cock through his leggings. Yes, her dream was coming to life, although in a bit of a different setting than she’d first pictured, and she gave into it eagerly while he thrust his pelvis against her. She dragged one of his hands up to cup her breast, and she wiggled in pleasure when he flicked his thumb across her nipple. Maybe this was still the dream, and if so, she would make the most of it.

Anduron pushed her panties down, driving his fingers in along her slit, and he growled. She was still so ready for him that when she ground her hips without shame, she heard the wet sounds of her pussy while he rubbed her. Her breath came in gasps, and she opened the front of his silky brown tunic, kissing his hard, warm chest, running her tongue along that perfect flesh until she came to his small, brown nipple. She bit down on it, flicking her tongue playfully over that hard nub, and he stiffened.

“Is this the ritual?” she asked, sucking in a breath when his fingers began working her clit back and forth.

“It is my own private ritual. For you.”

He slid her nightshirt upward, exposing her to his gaze. “So beautiful,” he murmured. His tongue ran circles over her erect pink nipples, and when she tried to grab him, pull him where she wanted, he captured her wrists and held them over her head.

“Now, Anduron,” she whispered, thrusting her hips up. “I can’t wait anymore.”

His eyes were golden orbs of flame while he rose up, settling himself between her thighs, and she let out a moan of relief in thinking she would get him inside her. But instead he slid lower, his tongue drawing lines of desire down her belly. He released her wrists and pushed her thighs apart, kissing the mound of her pussy before giving her clit a delicate, teasing lick. He kissed the hood of that bud, pushing a finger inside her pussy, rotating and thrusting it until she grabbed his hair and thrust upward. Her clit pounded, demanding climax, and as he continued to flick it with his tongue, she got closer to the edge of orgasm. A second finger joined the first, stretching her wide, and she screamed his name.

“God, yes, Anduron! I’m coming.”

She bucked against his face, moaning wickedly, while shudders of ecstasy ran up and down her body. The force of her release brought her fully awake, and she gasped. This hadn’t been a dream at all. She was here, now, in a room that wasn’t her own.

She was gone from her guest house.

Jenna pulled away, jumping to her feet—which proved a bit of a mistake, as Anduron’s attentions had left her legs a bit shaky.

“Gran,” she said, steadying herself against the bed.

Anduron sat up, blinking, his cock jutting out from his lap. “As much as I find your grandmother’s company pleasant, her name is not what I would expect to hear during lovemaking.”

She tugged down her nightshirt and glanced around for her abandoned panties. “Gran was sick earlier. I had to take her to the hospital.”

He frowned while she shimmied into her underwear. “Is she all right?”

“The doctor said she should be fine. But I left her at home with the phone beside her bed and promises to check in with her every hour or two. She’s there alone, Anduron. I have to get back.”

Anduron’s brows knit, and his lips worked on silent words while he fastened his dark leggings.

“What is it?” she asked when he gave her a wide-eyed glance.

“I have phased you with the veil pendant three times in less than twenty-four hours.”

“So?”

“I told you before, even with the gentler, more stable energies of the pendant, even with my own power shielding you, numerous human transports through the veil in a short span is not recommended.”

She pushed a hand through her mussed hair. “I can’t just leave her! Why did you bring me here if you couldn’t get me back?”

He glanced away. “I...confess I was not planning that far ahead. When I saw what you were doing, when I heard my name on your lips, I acted without thought. Forgive me.”

“What would happen if you took me back now?”

“The effect of the veil energies on humans is unpredictable. At best, you might experience a chemical imbalance. Many rapid transfers can degrade cellular structure, causing damage to various systems.”

“How long is it normally recommended to wait?”

“Ideally, a matter of days.”

Her mouth fell open. “Days? I can’t wait days. I have Gran. My job. Andy.” She huffed out a sigh. “What’s the least amount of time?”

“I cannot say with all certainty. An hour or more would be wise. I am sorry I did not consider the consequences more closely. This is something I find myself accused of quite often of late.”

“Why bring me here at all? Why not just stay over there?”

He sank back down on the bed. “I wanted time alone with you without being discovered, and I knew your house would be the first place they would look. They would not likely expect me to return here so soon.”

She wandered up and stood in front of him. “They who? And why are they looking for you?”

His shoulders sagged in a posture she hadn’t seen on him before. Remorseful. Defeated. “I was brought before the Counsel to answer for my actions at the animal facility. That is why I was unable to return to you sooner.”

Her arms folded. “Answer for what, exactly? You rescued those poor creatures.”

“The Counsel does not see it that way. It is being viewed as unjustified interference in human matters. Many in my realm agree, it would appear. There has been great dissent.”

“So what does the Counsel plan to do about it?”

“Plenty. First of all, they ordered me to find another woman to bed for the Mabon ritual.”

She gasped, her hand covering her mouth for a moment. “But what we just did...you took advantage of my dream knowing you were going to go sleep with someone else?” A sick wave passed over her stomach. “Is that why you wouldn’t go all the way? You’re saving yourself for another?”

He rose and took her hands. “No, Jenna. You misunderstand. They commanded it, but I refused. It was their one condition for allowing me to remain sabbat keeper, for this season, at least.” He looked down at their joined hands. “I could not comply.”

“Why not?” she asked, her voice scratchy, weak.

“Do you not know?” He glanced up, his eyes searching hers. “Would you rather I had agreed and never returned to you? Gone off and taken another to my bed in order to hold my position as god of Mabon?”

“No,” she admitted. “But shouldn’t you have? Isn’t your calling more important?”

“There is the calling of my heart and the calling to which my father appointed me. I used to think they were one in the same.” He lifted her chin. “Now I know better. I have you to thank for that.”

Her heart skipped. “What are you saying?”

“That my desire to free the unjustly imprisoned should not be limited to one small gesture on the sabbat. It is a duty I should attend all year long.” He raised his eyes as if looking to the future. “If my role as sabbat keeper restricts me from helping others as they ought to be, then it is time to seek another destiny.”

For a brief moment, she thought he was going to tell her he defied the counsel because he wanted her. A selfish notion, really, riddled with romantic idealism. Anduron had noble goals that were much larger than the fact that she’d fallen head over for him almost as swiftly as he’d come into her life. And why should he return that favor? She was the reason he was in this mess.

Now it was her turn to sink down on the bed. “This is all my fault. If only I hadn’t put conditions on your request, made you commit a crime by breaking into that factory, none of this would have happened.” She gazed up at him, a lump forming in her throat. “I’m so sorry.”

“No.” He sat down beside her. “Do you not see? Had you not shown me your passion for your cause, shared the tender heart that beats with a fury to save animals unjustly treated, I would not have been able to see that my path lies in a different direction.” He tucked hair behind her ear. “Thank you, Jenna.”

Their lips met, his with a soft, reverent touch. It was fairly chaste, compared to other kisses they’d shared, but her hand dropped to his thigh, sliding upward. She found his cock hard and straining in his leggings. With a muffled moan, he took hold of her hand and pulled it away, breaking off the kiss with a tiny smile.

“You don’t want to?” she asked. “Even if there’s no ritual to save yourself for?”

“I do. Perhaps I am too well conditioned by my many years in service as the Mabon keeper. I am trained to withhold myself during the harvest season until the proper hour of the sabbat.” He paused. “And there is something else I should tell you.”

The look on his face brought back the thickening in her throat. Was there an immortal girlfriend somewhere? Oh god, what if he had a wife?

“It’s okay,” she said, squaring her shoulders bravely. “You can tell me.”

“The animals we saved...the Counsel ordered them returned.”

A wash of relief hit, followed by guilt that she was even momentarily happy that his other news didn’t involve another woman. “They’re giving them back to the factory?”

He nodded. “I argued against it, but the mage-seers were called in to change memories of events surrounding our...adventure. Were the animals left missing from their cages, the factory owners would still be negatively influenced by the actions of a god.”

“So they should.” She got up, fists clenched. “Those poor animals. Thinking they were finally free, only to be sent right back into torment.” She glared at him. “Don’t your people have the slightest bit of compassion? Are they a bunch of wild barbarians?”

“That is what they say about humans, which is largely why most immortals abandoned your realm long ago and refuse to allow our interference.”

Her head drooped. “I thought I’d finally made a difference—a real difference.”

“Your first victory to that end still remains in your possession. I had nothing to do with Andy’s rescue.”

Her answer was interrupted by a huge pressure shift in the room, making her ears pop. Two bald women in robes, along with one older man and a huge, bulky man with a bare chest, antlers on his head, and a long, gnarled staff in his hand, appeared out of nowhere.

“Father,” Anduron said, getting up and pulling Jenna to her feet. “I have given you my answer. I pray you would respect it.”

The man who shared the golden side of his son’s eyes, along with his sheer masculine presence, shifted his gaze to Jenna. “A foolish move so you can be with her, just as I suspected.”

Her eyes widened. Had she been a topic of discussion? Was Anduron’s refusal to have sex with someone else motivated by more than a desire to fight injustice?

“As Herne says, a foolish move,” said the older man. “All for a rebellious human who has thrown our realm into chaos.”

“Indeed, Rathmar,” Herne said, keeping his gaze on Anduron. “Congratulations on a rash decision that has tossed away two thousand years of sacred tradition.”

“There is more to it than that, and you know it,” Anduron said.

The group moved toward them through the massive room, and Anduron retreated, pushing Jenna behind him. “Stay away from her.”

“She must receive the mind wipe,” the older man said.

Jenna sucked in a breath. “Mind wipe? You never said anything about a mind wipe.”

“Because I had not intended on subjecting you to it.”

“But now it is necessary,” Herne said. “The decision of the counsel was unanimous on that.”

The two bald women floated forward, their eyes glowing brighter than any in the room, which was saying something. Theirs were blue and ice cold, with equally blue lips that murmured indecipherable words as they came closer, their gazes fastened on her.

“You cannot,” Anduron said. “Leave her be.”

“Why?” Herne asked, drawing himself up. “Her memories are the last in need of adjusting to erase your ridiculous farce.”

“Anduron,” Jenna whispered, clutching his arm as the women approached, smiles curving up their darkened lips. “Don’t let them.”

He tucked her more fully behind him. “You know why, Father.”

“You care for her,” Herne said, a mocking tone in the words.

“No.” Anduron turned to her, again lengthening the cord of the veil pendant. “I’ve fallen in love with her.”

Her stomach almost dropped at the declaration. “I love you too. I think that officially makes us both crazy.”

He held out the cord. “I am not sure it has been quite long enough to risk this.”

“I don’t care. Do it.”

Still, even as he tried to wrap the pendant around them, she could see that it was too late. The mage-seers took hold of Jenna, their icy hands clamping on her arms and tugging her from Anduron’s embrace.

“Jenna!” he cried out. He lunged for her, but Herne’s staff came up, and a blast of energy came out, like a white, glowing stream, and held him in place.

“I won’t forget,” Jenna said, tears blurring her eyes as she gazed at Anduron. “I don’t care what they try to wipe away.” Her desperate glance fell on Herne. “Please, don’t make them do this. I won’t ever tell anyone about your kind.”

The seers paused, looking to the god.

“You have dragged my son too far into the mire of your human madness,” Herne said. He nodded to the seers. “Proceed.”

“No!” Anduron exclaimed.

The anguished cry was drowned out by a sound like thunder. The room shook, and the mage-seers let go of Jenna, rising off the floor to steady themselves. Jenna was thrown off balance by the quake, and Anduron caught her.

A massive figure emerged from a cloud that formed in the center of the room, a man large enough to dwarf even Herne. Despite the elevated ceiling, his head nearly reached it, staring down at them all with a dour expression.

“By the gods,” Rathmar said, falling to his knees. “It cannot be.”

“Mabon,” Herne said, his eyes wide, startled. He, too, sank down, gazing up at the being everyone in the room was gawking at with open mouths.

Anduron released Jenna, who stood gaping in shock with her hair on end, and bowed as well. He got on his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor. “All hail the true god of thanksgiving,” he said.

The mage-seers were clutching one another, shivering together in a back corner. Jenna sank down to her knees next to Anduron and reached for his hand. His was damp and shaking when he grabbed hers.

Mabon’s eyes glowed much like the others, only brighter and in a dark orange. Horns grew from the sides of his head, not outstretched into antlers like Herne’s, but curved downward into points that jutted out below his thick, square jawline. His chest was bare except for a diagonal sash of vines. They were adorned with multicolored fall leaves and appeared to grow directly from his flesh. His legs beneath a long kilt were muscular and sturdy, as solid and wide as young tree trunks.

“We thought you were long gone,” Rathmar said. “How is it you have returned?”

“I called out to him,” said another voice. This man wandered into the room rather than popping in out of thin air, and then he got down on one knee and bowed. “My mate and I beseeched him to hear of my brother’s plight.”

He glanced at Anduron, and Jenna blinked. So this was his twin, Feillor. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said they didn’t look much alike. Feillor lacked his twin’s pointed ears, for one thing. Both his eyes were golden, and the angles of his face were less exotic. And he had antlers apparently inherited from their father. They seemed to have little in common physically, but their gazes met with a steely determination that showed their bond. They were of one mind here.

“You should not have involved the gods of old,” Herne said, though he kept his head down. “This is none of their affair.”

“His was not the only voice from this realm who has cried out my name,” Mabon said. His voice rumbled through the room. “For many here have shouted beyond the heavens, claiming the sabbat of Mabon has been thrown into ruin.”

“We have interceded to correct that, oh Great One,” Rathmar said. “You need not concern yourself.”

“My son has been removed as sabbat keeper to ensure he is no longer in a position to flout tradition,” Herne said. “It was foolish of him to intervene in the destructive tendencies of a lesser species.”

“I long believed the same,” Mabon said. “Both in regards to humans and the immortals of the lower realms. That is why many gods of old removed themselves to the outer reaches.”

“We have long served the greater gods,” Rathmar said.

“You serve your petty interests with far more vigor,” Mabon replied. “Enough to drive us far from your grating voices.” He paused, glancing at Anduron. “But this one has reminded me of my former calling. As one who was taken from his mother and held captive, Anduron has shared many of my own experiences. His cause is just and most befitting of a sacred holiday bearing my name.” He paused and looked at everyone in turn. “From here and henceforth, the sabbat of Mabon will not only be a celebration of a single gesture of freedom. It will be a time to rejoice in the many prisoners set free in the course of the year, and a time to reflect on those who still suffer in chains.”

“As you wish,” Rathmar said. “I will see to it that your will is done.”

Mabon’s laugh shook the walls. “I will see to it myself. For far too long have we left the realms to their own devices. That has proven to be a mistake.”

“What are you saying?” Herne asked.

“I am not the only one who has been prevailed upon,” Mabon replied. “I have called out for other gods of old to return.”

“To what purpose?” Herne asked. “Humans are hell bent on destruction. Are we to get in their way and be dragged down with them?”

“A toddler is not left alone to run in front of a stampede,” Mabon answered. “Children unable to avoid harm on their own must be nurtured until they can.” He turned to Anduron. “Complete your ritual, god of Mabon. After that, I shall once again be called the sabbat keeper, as it was in the beginning. But I will require you to continue your efforts in freeing the unjustly captured—on a larger scale.”

Anduron bowed his head. “It would be my greatest honor.”

Jenna squeezed his hand.

“Then ring the bells of Avinar,” Mabon said. “Let it be known throughout the realms that the gods of old return. It is the year of the Thousand Seasons, is it not?”

“It is,” Herne said.

“A time for new beginnings,” Mabon said, spreading his massive, muscled arms. “A new era has begun, where the gods will once again be known on earth and in the lower realms. Let all rejoice.”

The large god vanished with a rumble, and those remaining in Anduron’s bedroom suite glanced at each other. Herne’s features were carved by a deep scowl. It seemed to Jenna that he was far less than happy about this turn of events. And what would Mabon’s decree mean for humans?

Anduron turned to her, his fingers taking hold of her face. “You are the sabbat partner,” he said. “Do you still consent to the union?”

She nodded. “I do.” She leaned closer to whisper, hoping the other gods didn’t have superior enough hearing to eavesdrop. “But could you take me back now? Gran...”

He nodded. “Of course.”

Anduron turned to his twin. “Thank you,” he said. “Your loyalty as a brother is unmatched. It has always been a difficult challenge to repay you.”

Feillor glanced at Jenna and smiled. “Be happy. That is all the repayment I require.”

No one else spoke while Anduron looped the pendant over her neck and phased back to her guest house.

***

While some of this year’s preparations for the Mabon ritual had gone well astray, the location chosen and carefully arranged for the carnal union couldn’t have been more perfect. The other sabbat joinings, Feillor’s harvest ritual included, took place in the earth realm. Anduron’s was the only one to take place in the immortal world. Farmers had worked the fields from early light to mid-afternoon, gathering the last of the fall harvest. All that remained were two massive pumpkins, the best and largest of the crop, and thick beds of vines that had been sanctified by acolytes. In the midst of the large expanse, an altar had been prepared upon which he would lay Jenna’s ripe, willing body. His cock was already hard, pulsing in anticipation. A brown and green sabbat cloth of smooth velvet had been draped over the vines between the two pumpkins, the fabric secured by long, crystal pegs. A large pentacle had been embroidered in gold on the cloth, shimmering in the waning sunlight. Silver manacles lay on each side, attached to chains that circled around the wide rounds of pumpkin flesh.

His sabbat robes flapped in the breeze as he approached the altar. The god of Mabon, his title for this one last occasion, wore only a golden suede loin cloth beneath the open garment, which was fashioned of exquisite silk from an upper realm and trimmed with deep reds and a dusky orange that reminded him of Mabon’s eyes.

With all that had transpired, he had been reluctant to call upon his twin—as well as the sabbat’s namesake—yet again. But it had been necessary in order to help escort Jenna safely through the veil. She had suffered a moderate electrolyte imbalance upon her last return, one that magic and medicine had fortunately been able to correct. Another transport so soon after, however, would require greater shielding than his body could offer. While Mabon could technically not touch a human without his power causing harm, Feillor agreed to act as a buffer, holding onto Jenna and sandwiching himself between her and the god who used his ability to move them into the immortal realm. Anduron had not been able to accompany her, for his presence had been required in the sabbat chamber for prayer, meditation, and the declaration of the ritual.

Upon his return to the Counsel of Sabbats to commence the sabbat, he had fully expected an uproar, possibly another summons. But the mood was quite subdued. He had never seen Counselor Rathmar with so little to say while he stood in the Mabon chamber, observing Anduron’s sabbat invocation. Herne hadn’t attended at all. Long had it been since his father settled into the role of being looked up to and respected by the other gods. Now, with the old ones returning, he would no doubt struggle to find his proper place as a lesser god.

Anduron was still pondering Rathmar’s stoic posture when Mabon materialized. Before him, his back pressed to the god’s belly, stood Feillor, his arms wrapped protectively around Jenna. No jealousy flashed at the sight of his brother holding her so close, for he knew his twin was fully and deeply bewitched by the woman who now carried his child. Mabon gave Anduron a nod of acknowledgment and disappeared without a word. Feillor released Jenna, who looked up at Anduron and flashed a smile that squeezed his chest tight.

“Thank you,” Anduron said to his brother. “Again I find myself in your debt.”

“Yes, thank you so much for everything,” Jenna added.

Feillor nodded and wandered up to his brother, correctly stopping at the edge of the altar cloth rather than treading on it.

Anduron shook his hand, and Feillor pulled him into a hug, lowering his voice. “You know that by the time you have finished this, you will be a goner for her, right?” he said near Anduron’s ear.

Anduron grunted, flashing him a knowing look. “I fear that portal has already been crossed.”

His brother turned and raised a hand to her while she stood where she had been, watching them. “Farewell, Jenna. Remember not to let my brother drag you back and forth across realms quite so often next time.”

She grinned. “I will.”

With a slap on Anduron’s back, Feillor turned and headed away. Now she and Anduron were facing each other, silent, and he took a good look at her. She had dressed for the occasion after having asked him earlier for suggestions, and he was pleased with the result. Her makeup was light and emphasized her bright, inquisitive eyes and flushed cheeks. Her hair hung free, blowing in the faint breeze surrounding them. No shapeless night shirt or tunic with puppies on it hid her body this time. Her yellow dress slid easily over every curve, flowing to the ground, showing bare feet with nails painted pink to match her fingers and lips. The gauzy fabric outlined her perfection as the sun shone through it, and he could see she wore no bra or panties. The bodice was sleeveless, with a deeply scooped neckline and large buttons that would make quick work of exposing her firm, creamy mounds.

“You are so incredibly beautiful,” he said.

“So are you,” she replied, her gaze sliding over him suggestively.

He held out his hand and she came to him, letting him lead her to the middle of the altar cloth. “I’m nervous,” she said breathlessly when she stood right in the center of the embroidered pentacle. “I know I shouldn’t be.”

“I am as well.”

Her brows lifted. “Really? But haven’t you done this loads of times?”

“Not with you.”

He captured her lips lightly with his, her moist, tender mouth lighting a fire inside him. His cock jumped back to life, straining and pressing against the loin cloth he desperately wanted to be free of. But first things first.

“You have consented to a union with the god of Mabon,” he said. “Is that still your desire?”

Her eyes flashed. “Very much so.”

She let Anduron tug her down, laying her on her back. When he picked up the first manacle, however, her eyes went wide.

“What is that for?” she asked.

“Do not be afraid.” He smoothed a finger along the metal cuff. “The carnal ritual involves symbolism for freeing one who is captive. You will be bound for the first part.” He bent over her, holding her gaze while he breathed against her lips. “Then I will release you,” he whispered, and she shuddered.

The meaning darkened her eyes to a rich smolder, and she nodded.

“Ta-haiyahana ro goyo,” he said, clamping the first manacle around one of her wrists. “Yo shai a Mabon fadesta hana ro goyo.”

He secured the other while he finished the traditional declaration.

“What are you saying?” she asked.

“This one is in chains. The god of Mabon sees the chains.”

She tugged on them experimentally, but with large pumpkins holding the bonds in place, she could not lift them very far.

“But I want to be able to touch you,” she said while he rose up, gazing down at her while he knelt between her thighs.

He smiled at her. “You will.”

Anduron feathered her face with kisses, light, teasing nips along her nose, down her jawline, and down her neck. She gasped, the chains rattling, while he worked his way down to the tops of her breasts, so exquisite, heaving while he laid down a trail with his lips that tormented them both. His cock pounded, the blood in his veins on fire, as he worked the buttons to lay open the bodice and show him her perfect breasts. Her knees drew up, parting her open wider for him while he gazed at the wonder beneath him. Her nipples were stiff and waiting, and he flicked them with his tongue. She arched and cried out, and with a growl, he bit down on one of those hard buds. His hand went between them, freeing himself by yanking off the loin cloth with one firm tug. His erection jumped out, pulsing, eager for an end to the celibacy he had nearly given up the last time he’d pleasured her.

His mouth worked its way down, and he gripped her breasts in his palms while he licked her flat belly, dipping his tongue into her navel before heading lower.

“No, please,” she said, breathless and so sensual. “This time, I want to taste you.”

He groaned at the hard jerk his dick gave at her offer, and he rose up to straddle her chest, holding his cock over her lips. She flicked out her tongue, running it along the underside and over the tip, and he sucked in a breath. She kissed the tip before plunging those plump lips right over it, and she lifted her head to get more of him into her mouth. He bent over her face and granted her access, pushing his hips down, indulging the feel of her hot, wet tongue while she slurped and sucked him in a manner he had never known. No one had ever offered him this during a ritual, and while he was hardly about to deny her, he was so desperate and had waited so long that he dared not thrust his shaft through those luscious lips much longer. When he felt the first beads of precum spill from his cockhead, he pulled out and replaced his pulsing erection with his mouth, tasting himself while he kissed her deep. He felt her hips grinding behind him, seeking something to stimulate her.

“I can’t wait anymore,” she said when he pulled away.

His sentiments exactly.

He settled himself on top of her, his wet cock pressing her entrance. His plan, which he had thought a great deal about since the moment he knew he wanted her as his sabbat mate, was to extend her torment by controlling his possession of her pussy, sinking in inch by inch. By the time he was there, poised right at the damp nirvana he craved, all of his plans went straight to hell. He plunged in hard, grunting with the shove of his hips until he was bottomed out against her womb. She stiffened and let out a moan that tightened his ball sac, and he paused there, feeling the walls of her pussy clamped around him while praying that his pulsing dick could hold out. The jungle beat throbbing through his length, however, warned that he might come before he wanted.

Her hips wriggled around, and she gave little whimpers of frustration, her chains clanking, while she tried to get him in motion.

“So impatient,” he said with a teasing smile. “This is a ritual, not a nooner.”

Her eyes, which had been shut tight in concentration over her wild efforts, flew wide. “You know what a nooner is?”

His mouth twisted in a half grin. “Surely you do not think humans invented it?”

Now he pulled out, slower this time, until his wide head stretched her opening. He saw her clutching at the altar cloth, holding her breath while he captured her stare.

“Please don’t tease me,” she said. “I need you.”

His chest swelled, as did his cock. “Oh, Jenna,” he murmured. “You have me.”

With that he gave her what she wanted, what he needed, driving his hips into her. The sensations charging up his shaft threatened to drown him, pull him to a place that swept away all reason. While he made love to the woman who had both captured and freed him, he watched her face, assessing her reaction to each push of his hips, learning to grind his pelvis just so in order to best stimulate her clit. He took hold of her breast and nipped at it, claiming her lips every now and then to swallow her loud moans. His balls were drawn up, threatening to release, but he gritted his teeth and gave her more of himself, plunging deep, her gasps and moans telling him how close she was rising to the top. The timing needed to be perfect.

With some experimentation, he found that gyrating his hips side to side and biting down on her nipple got her there, and just as she was tightening up, every muscle going stiff in preparation of orgasm, he stopped, reached out with his hands and his magic, and took hold of her chains.

“Yo shai a Mabon fadesta hana ro goyo,” he cried out, his voice ragged and breathless. “Y yo shai imayama hana. I have seen your chains, and I release you.”

He pushed out with his magic, energy flowing into the links that bound her to the harvest. They weakened and came free, the ends dangling from her wrists as she took hold of his head and pulled his mouth to hers. She practically devoured his lips, her tongue plunging in, and with a rough growl, he shifted and flipped them over, putting her on top of him.

“You are free,” he said, gazing up at her wild beauty. “Let me finish releasing you.”

Jenna lowered herself onto his cock, driving it up high inside, letting out a moan of relief when he was again buried in her pussy. She rode him hard, her breasts glistening with sweat as they bounced. With her head back, she grabbed his hands and pulled them to her breasts, holding his palms in place to support them. He pinched her nipples and watched her mouth open in silent gasps that turned to animal grunts.

“I’m close,” she said, working her lush hips in circles over his groin. “I want to come.”

“Let go, my beautiful Jenna. Give into that freedom.”

She shouted out his name and seized up, head still thrown back, frantically bouncing on his dick while she rode into climax. He came immediately, her power over him too potent to defend against. They clutched one another and shared the rhythmic waves of ecstasy. She leaned down and kissed him near the end, while they still shuddered.

He wound his fingers through her hair. “I am in love with you,” he murmured. “I would share this rejoicing with you always.”

“My partner in crime,” she said, her motions stilling. “The man I love.”

They clung together, lying in each other’s arms, while the last bits of sunlight dipped low on the horizon. The sky lit up in an explosion of reds and oranges, seeming to honor his final harvest ritual as sabbat keeper. Anduron watched the sunset while stroking Jenna’s hair, lost in thoughts of what the future would have in store. As he considered the words of Mabon as well as his lover’s desires, he smiled in the knowledge that what lay ahead would be a bright new beginning indeed.

***

It is said that in the time when the gods returned to earth, there was one with an elven appearance and a stealthy step who would appear to those who had been unjustly imprisoned. Often with his human mate by his side, the god with silver and gold eyes would spring traps and release animals from their cages. Kidnapped children were returned to rejoicing parents. Prisoners of war and terror were delivered from their oppressors. In that year of the Thousand Seasons and well beyond, those who knew the fear of captivity were also granted something more. The hope of freedom.

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