I stood still for a long while staring at the new mirror I?d just hung on the wall. I?d thought a long while about just leaving them out of the house because twice since I moved in Spade had gone through and broken most of them, if not all of them. She had told me that through the mirror was the way to get through to the lands of the Fae, and Dean had suggested that someone talk to them. I watched her night after night since my return from death, and I knew that the demon hunting us, toying with us would not stop until we played his game.

I walked away from the mirror and back to our shared bedroom, where she slept peacefully. I walked through as quietly as I could, looking for the blade she carried, the one she called something with a black dog, all I knew is that it was made of cold iron, and cold iron was what I needed to stop unruly fae. I picked it up from its place near the bed and a cold tingle of power ran up my arm, as if the darkness of her Court coursed through that blade. I turned, and walked slowly from the room, and pulled the door closed behind myself, heading back for the living area, and that new mirror.

I stared at my reflection a long while, watching myself watch myself. There were no movements other than my own. No talking back, no sass from Abaddon, just silence.

?Here we go, through the looking glass. If I see Dinah, I?m just going to laugh.? I said as I backed up a few steps then ran toward the mirror, and only at the last moment thinking myself a fool.
I covered my face expecting to hear the crashing of glass, wood and plaster but instead felt like I?d just jumped off of the high dive into a swimming pool. I landed softly in the grass, and quickly turned to be sure I wasn?t about to be attacked from all sides, and found myself shockingly alone. I?d assumed from everything that Sidonie had told me about the Dark Court, I would be surrounded in darkness, old stones, ruins, screams, and worse. There was nothing like that where I stood, in fact it was the polar opposite. Everything was bright, clean and as far as I could tell pristine.

?Who are you?? I heard her voice, and had to turn again to see the woman standing behind me. She was about Sidonie?s height and build, and just as beautiful. Her light hair was pulled back into a long pony tail, her tri-colored eyes were wide with wonder, and her lips were curled upward as she reached toward me. ?You are human!? She said pressing her palm into my chest. ?And aren?t you a yummy one.? It was statement, not question. ?I have not seen one in years.? She seemed excited to see me, nothing like the reception I had been expecting.
?Uh?yes.? I really didn?t know what to say to her. ?I?m Greg O?Malley.? I said as I held a hand out to her, and found it pushed away as she stepped forward, grabbed the back of my head and pulled me into her deep kiss. I was in shock, but then the look on her face showed the same thing that I?m sure mine did as she backed away.
?You have the taste of the Dark Court.? She said as her eyes narrowed. ?Why are you here??
?I am here to talk to the lead guy, or gal.? I said, as I held my hands up her eyes caught sight of the blade in my belt.
?You are here to kill us, Gabriel Ratchett!? She stepped back as if she was about to break into a run.
?No!? I said, grabbing her arm. ?It?s for my protection. I am not even sure where I am.? I finally admitted. ?I assume that I didn?t wind up in the Unseelie Court.? I felt like the King of the Obvious, and she let out a giggle that I swore sounded like crystal chimes.
?Not even close!? She laughed, and then cocked her head to the side. ?Why do you seek them, and taste like them??

I wondered then if I should lie or tell her the truth. ?Remember what the dormouse said; Keep your head!? She looked at me, obviously confused, and I shook my head. ?I have issues with a demon that could concern you and your kind. I am sure you do not want the world destroyed.? Her eyes widened and she took my hand.
?Follow me, but if you try to move for that blade, I hope you said your goodbyes.?

We walked for what seemed like hours. I followed her through the high, green grasses that reminded me of pictures I?d seen of the Serengeti only greener. I found it hard not to watch her hips as they swayed, noting her graceful movements, and her curves even beneath that flowing dress. Other than dark hair, I really saw no difference between this woman, and my own Sidonie.

?What does this demon plan, Mortal?? She asked me, glancing back over her shoulder as she walked, and her lips curling upward as if she knew I watched her.

?Just to destroy everything as we know it.? I said, trying to remain cold, but finding it hard to do in this place.

There was an energy that seemed to flow around me, even my new found darkness seemed drawn to its power, its pull. I saw others finally, some in lover?s embrace, others in dance, all of them beautiful. Men with Men, Women with women, and other couples danced to music from different musicians, who as yet were unseen.

?Is it not wonderful here,? She asked as she turned and took my hand only to twirl about, and try again to press her lips to mine, causing me to back away. ?Your lips, the taste of the dark court, and their power, it?s nearly intoxicating.?

?Breena,? A woman?s voice called out as if surrounding us, causing my guide to spin around then bow.

?Mistress,? The woman that had wanted to kiss me was now motioning my way. ?I brought a gift, for you.? I blinked and looked between them.

?I am no one?s,? I found myself interrupted.

?Silence, Destroyer! Breena, I shall deal with you later, how could you bring one such as him to our midst?? I watched the fae run away, and into the arms of a man that looked carved from alabaster, nearly as perfectly as David.

She turned to me then, and I noticed now there were three men with her, all a bit taller than me, and all seemingly perfect, as well as armed with different looking weapons. I wanted to run, but I knew it was too late.

?Destroyer, where did you get the blades of the Ratchett?? She pointed to the blade that was tucked into my belt and as I reached for it, the men stepped forward.

?This is my love?s blade,? I reached behind my back to my holster and drew my .45. ?And this is mine.? I said, as I aimed it at her head. ?Your boys may get me in a rush, but I?ll split your head with cold iron first, and you will make someone a widower.? I narrowed my eyes. ?Look lady, I don?t know who you are, but I just want to talk.?

She made a motion and the men stepped back, still watching me with steely eyes, waiting for me to falter, or make a move, and I kept that gun raised as well as my finger resting on the trigger. The woman before me now, was stunning. Her hair was like spun gold, her eyes the deepest of jade, and her skin a perfect bronze. The power seemed to flow from her, and I fought the rising growl of the beast within.

?Speak, Destroyer,? She said as she stepped toward me, tracing her fingertips down the barrel of the gun, to find my wrist, and continue the trace across my flesh. My skin felt like electricity, and the growl finally escaped my throat, wanting her and the power she possessed. ?But do so without the threats.? She took the gun from my hand and passed it to another woman. ?Please see he gets this back, should he choose to leave.? The woman bowed to her and quickly left her side. ?Walk with me,? She said to me then as she took my arm.

?I am not the Destroyer, my name is Greg.? I said quietly as we walked through what I pictured as a Fairy form of Woodstock. The smells of love, lust, seduction, and power hung so thickly in the air it was nearly hard to swallow.

?You smell of Unseelie, and so much more,? She brushed her fingertips against my jaw then.

?Abaddon is my father. Someone has made a deal here, somewhere with him and are willing to use my child and myself to destroy everything.?

?Impossible,? She was smiling at me now, and I felt my blood mixing with adrenaline. ?No one in this court would make such a deal.?

?Sidonie has kicked my ass once, and even killed me the second time,? I said as I fought to clear my head. ?I fought through hell, listening to his monologues of my life and future destruction to get back to her.?

?Sidonie,? She said, as if she recognized her name. ?That is your?mate??

?Yes, and she?s carrying our child. That?s what I?ve been trying to tell you!?

?Interesting,? She took a tighter hold on my arm as we pressed through bodies, tangled in passion toward what seemed to be a large white building of importance, and I wondered just what I?d gotten myself into.

The building was not what I thought it was. The outside was pristine, white alabaster, while the inside was full of cobalt stone. Pools held several different people, some joined at the hands, some the lips, and others were in the lover's embrace. I noticed as two men bowed to her as we passed through sheer curtains that seemed so thin they would melt at a touch, but found them near impossible to see through.

"That will be all." She said with a flick of her wrist to the other two men on our side of the veil. They too bowed their heads and left us in the room alone.

The stones of this room were lighter than the cobalt of the main area. There was a staircase leading upward, a larger pool here, with steam floating slowly upward, as well as stone furniture, something made to withstand the humidity of the room.

"Where are we?" I asked, only to find her fingertips pressed to my lips. "I want to see the leader." I said as I turned away from her hands, though I could taste the power flowing from them, and truth told, I wanted more.

The Demon laughed, from deep within, he knew I wanted her power, that I craved to take it as my own.

Take her, Son.

I shook my head lightly, and stepped backward, away from her embrace.

"I am who you seek, Destroyer." She said, stepping toward me then and tugging at my shirt. "I am the one that makes the deals here."

Nail this bitch, she wants it.

I pulled back again, but she had a firm hold on my shirt, ripping three of the buttons free, then laughing lightly.

"I see why she likes you, Destroyer." She cooed as her fingers brushed my exposed chest, the darkness inside me, pulling at her power hungrily with each caress.

"Stop," I said. "You do not know what I am capable of."

Look at her! That thing of beauty, and yet you fight? How are you my son?

I stepped toward her then, her power pulling at my soul, then I saw the blade, Sidonie's blade, there at her side. I turned quickly, and grabbed it, holding it toward her, my mind reeling with the need, the desire of her power, a hunger of which the likes I'd never known.

"Relax lover, I'm here." I fought to focus my eyes, blinking through what looked like fire, and found my Spade standing there. "I am here Greg, come to me."

Take her...Son.

She fell into my embrace, and I felt her power pulse through my veins. Somewhere in the echoes of my mind, I heard the demon laugh again.

She had been dreaming, an invocation in dreams to the Sidhe courts was always something that could be born of a summoning. In that empty bed she tossed and turned, lost in the fact that all that remained in the bed was his imprint. He was gone. Gone Again.

Sidonie had cried out for Auberon, hailed him in a summoning demand of her own power and now was only the moment to wait.

She would wait in dreams that seemed more torment then anything as the Queen of the Summer Court herself came to Sidonie in dreams.

"He is mine now. It is only a matter of time before he takes me. That he will fill me and be inside of me. Perhaps he will give me a child too... wouldn't that be lovely. Your sister would never be Queen then and I... would make your beloved... my King."

In the dreams she would growl out in fury at the Summer Queen's words as a cruel smile touched upon the Queen's beautiful, perfect face. Sidonie's rage burned into a dark violent fury as she watched the Queen touch herself in ever so intimate ways as she spoke of the things that she waited and wanted Greg to do to her.

The image altered only to show in the distance the Queen's bed chambers, Greg bare-chested and sprawled out in a glamoured bliss upon the Queen's bed.

"He is not yours to claim!"

She screamed out in the dream until it woke her and shattered the dream. Panting and sweat painted she shivered and hugged at her knees, her eyes black with the fury of the Gabriel Ratchett.

A light growl crossed her lips as Auberon appeared just in time.

"We need to find her... your lost Queen, Auberon. She is the only one that can save Greg and silene the demon. If not I will kill the Summer Queen and her blood will be on my hands. I will call the Wild Hunt and damn myself... but I will be forsaken if it means that he will be saved from her touch."

Those black eyes locked on the personification of the Consort that stood before her. The King above them all. A clutch of fingers into fists.

"She did this to us all, Auberon. She was the one that took your Queen from you in hopes to have you in her bed... and now she plans on doing the same all over again to Greg. We need to reawaken the Goddess."

"Then she is of no help to me."

An exasperated and frustrated sigh was breathed out sharply as she closed her eyes, fingers rubbing at her temples as she considered it all.

The one person that had the power to free them all from their demons was now a forgetful twit.

The growl exploded from her throat before it could be caught as those eyes bled to black and the running design of the ink exchange on her flesh spilled the celetic knotwork and designs along her skin.

It was not the black dog marks on her skin though that would claim her flesh this time but something strangely akin... to feathers.

Ink black and lovely.

"I need to get out of here. Thank you for your help, Auberon."

A tired smile as her hand fell to her womb, fingers caressing there as she closed her eyes again. There were no weapons grabbed as she left the room without so much as a goodbye to the Fae King.

It was time to return to those she loved... and for now it would start with one.

Her cellphone grabbed and she left Cloud Nine to get her mind off of it all and face her future.

The Stars End Bar.

So many memories, so much laughter, so many tears. All had fallen here and existed here.

The sound of his voice on the other end of the line had wrenched at her heart strings, tore at her.

Goddess but it felt so good to hear his voice after so long of being apart.

He was her best friend and all this time she had kept from being in touch with him. Her fingers smoothed at that faded scar in her palm. A bond broken but still the scar remained... the memories remained.

It shouldn't have been that way. Spade found herself frowning as she looked to the jukebox, contemplating songs that her fingers had no will to select.

Greg was gone. Perhaps forever but she wasn't willing to lose him. Already too many had been lost and she was not of the heart to lose Greg... perhaps not even willing to lose Dean as her best friend.

So many.

Her head bowed to press to the cool glass of the jukebox as she waited.

What if he didn't come?

Then again he always kept his word.

All that was left was waiting... and the waiting was always the hardest part.

I have a tale to tell
Sometimes it gets so hard to hide it well
I was not ready for the fall
Too blind to see the writing on the wall

Her head had fallen in her hands as she peered through her fingers to stare in gloom at the glass of sparkling apple cider that she wished was something stronger to still her nerves. The dream had done nothing to comfort her. Seeing him with the Summer Queen near had torn her to shreds... and he was so oblivious to the fact it was nothing more then beautiful illusion.

A man can tell a thousand lies
I've learned my lesson well
Hope I live to tell
The secret I have learned, 'till then
It will burn inside of me

I know where beauty lives
I've seen it once, I know the warm she gives
The light that you could never see
It shines inside, you can't take that from me

A hand pushed through the thick black of her hair as those soul worn depths focused upon the door as she heard them hissing open. The dark in her eyes was not the cruel promise of death that the Black Dog carried but instead the comforting dark of the Black Swan. A hand moved absently against the new marks at her skin from the ink exchange.

She had not said a word until she saw him sitting across from her. It took a bit for her not to near arch over that table and throw her arms around in a hug that didn't want to be broken. Goddess knew Spade didn't want to lose him too.

"Sometimes I believe your people say... that if you love something... and let it go... if it comes back to you, there is love there."

A man can tell a thousand lies
I've learned my lesson well
Hope I live to tell
The secret I have learned, 'till then
It will burn inside of me

The truth is never far behind
You kept it hidden well
If I live to tell
The secret I knew then
Will I ever have the chance again

"I am glad you returned Dean. You have been missed...and it is good to know that when one is lost another returns to make this all... less painful."

Despite herself, despite it all she was smiling however briefly. Still the expression brought her features to life, shining and radiant with life and love and joy. That vibrant nature that always seemed to exude from her.

She took a deep breath then as she considered her next choice of words.

If I ran away, I'd never have the strength
To go very far
How would they hear the beating of my heart
Will it grow cold
The secret that I hide, will I grow old
How will they hear
When will they learn
How will they know

"Dean, run away with me. Let's go away from here."

She held up her hand as she sensed that protest to her words. The gesture something a silent request for him to allow her to finish.

"I want you to come with me to the Summer Court. I need to find Greg... and possibly save him... before he's lost to us forever."

There it was said. Her eyes fell upon him tenderly as she waited for his answer.

(Live to Tell-Madonna)

I am not a fool, boy, neither are you. This isn?t your woman, this one is far more powerful, and I want that power as ours.

?Are you kidding?? I heard myself ask, watching her hands glide down my chest, to the front of my dark jeans. I hungered for her touch, as well as her power, the demon within wasn?t helping me refuse. I knew this wasn?t my Spade, and I didn?t care.

Her power, with ours will make you unstoppable, steal her power. Take her head while locking eyes with her.

I felt a growl of pleasure creep from my throat as her hands slid down my legs, and then suddenly one hand raked nails down my chest. The heat of the room, the heat of her passion, the power tingling down my spine, I wanted her.

The knife.

?Where??

At your arm?s length, right side.

My hands moved up her body, the body I knew so well, the woman that looked like my Sidonie even felt like her. Same curves, same sexuality, she was her twin, but still not mine. She arched her back, opening herself up to my touch, while grinding her body against mine, and there was no time to scream for help.

I brought the knife up as quickly as I could, my eyes locked with hers. I found myself doing something like staring into the sun. The flash of light from her eyes and mouth slammed into my head, feeling like an explosion in my brain. Her power had been claimed as my own. I carried her head as a trophy, and inside I felt the demon?s joy.

Good going son. Kill them all, they want you, your woman, and child dead. Do unto others?

?Do not quote scripture to me.? I said as I walked out of the bed chamber, readying to fight, readying to show them I had their queen, as well as her power.

Dean flinched at Spade's reaction to his suggestion and stared at her in confusion. The bond between them had been broken. He hadn't felt anything, but he'd seen her shudder and turn pale. Then she had laughed, and her laughter had sent a tremor up his spine.

Faeries. Angels. Demons. Vampires. Gods and goddesses. Immortals all.

He was nothing and no one. Just a man, nothing more, made of flesh and blood. He wasn't immortal. He wasn't Michael's vessel. He wasn't the King of the Misfits. He was just a man trying to do the right thing. One day, he would die and be forgotten. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. His life must seem so insignificant to them.

What was he doing in Rhydin trying to fight things that were beyond his knowledge and capability? Trying to help people who possessed abilities far beyond his own. Why had she called him? What could he possibly do to help?

"I don't belong here, Sid," he told her finally, the words catching in his throat. Cas had said it first, and he was right. He'd tried to convince himself that he belonged here ever since coming back through the portal. He'd tried to convince himself that Quinn needed him, but the simple fact was that she was safer without him. The same went for Spade and Greg and anyone else whose life he might touch.

Her sister had become Queen of the Summer Court, she'd said. He didn't know what that meant. How he'd gotten tangled up in all of it he wasn't quite sure. All he'd wanted to do was help.

"We'll do what must be done," he heard her say. He wondered if she realized what that might mean. That if Greg couldn't control the part of him that was demon, Dean might have to kill him. And then, Spade would hate him forever.

"Well...it seems that you are in something of a ... situation. Aren't you now."

Those ocean blue eyes were tempestuous, her hair whipping around her with a force of wind that was not present on the breeze, the color of blood drenched rubies that lingered its tendrils against the pale ivory of her flesh.

The polar opposite of her sister she seemed to radiate with a vibrant burn, a smolder all akin to a Firebird.

She if anything could sense his power, feel the lives he had taken. Jacinta if anything had no wish to become Queen of the Summer Court... and yet here she was like a Devil's Bane to both Fae and perhaps to him.

Absently she drew a flower petal from the armor she wore. The blade out in her hand as she looked upon the one that her sister had claimed as mate, as beloved, as father of Sidonie's unborn bairn.

Chin lifted as those cool blue eyes considered him even as the gun was pointed at her head.

"Mm. It is something that Sidonie did not tell you... everything about us. The gun could have its will, but not the blade. The blood that spilled on that blade when it was forged... is our own. Ancient and Eternal... and any of the Daughters of Donovan cannot be touched by it. Cannot be killed. It might tickle though."

A grin crossed her lips as she bowed her head for a moment, eyes blazing as sapphire, sodalite, and blue topaz shades. Tri-colored always even as the power seemed to roll and move in them like crashing waves against rocks.

"I suppose I should... thank you... but I really have no desire to, given you put me in a place I don't wish to be. Therein lies the problem, it seems... we both... are in."

A hint of a smile there.

"Before I continue, perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Jacinta... Jacinta Malloy... and perhaps your salvation in this damnation of summer glory."

A motion then as she turned her back to him and proceeded down the hallway that soon enough was rippling and changing around them to her will.

"We do not have much time... it is... I'm afraid... about to get messy."

"It all happens for a reason. You arrived in the Summer Court for a purpose. The Dark Court will not help you to defeat your demon. You came here because you were meant to."

A lift of brow even as she looked over her shoulder to him.

"We are going to find you a mirror... but there's a reason you are still stuck here. You have a purpose. Something perhaps to silence the voices in your head."

A faint smile there before she continued on to head off towards the fields, deep within the forgotten groves would her direction be.

There were things to be found if only to save them all.

(dupe post)