"Your past is always your past. Even if you forget it, it remembers you."

- Sarah Dessen 

                                                                             ***

The demon's blade skidded along his cheek before he managed to roll away.

Sirius forced himself to his feet, trying to convince his lungs that they were in fact still responsible for pulling air into his body. The demon hissed, her arms wet with blood up to the elbows.

He risked a glance at Rhys, who was staring hard at the spike through his left hand, blood trickling from his mouth as he whispered something Sirius couldn't hear. The bloody paths the knife had recently carved down his chest and abdomen were slowly closing.

That was all he had time to see.

The demon howled in rage and charged at him. The knife swept toward his throat. He ducked and ducked again. The demon's hands were slick with blood. Her face was covered in it. The monsters above them jeered.

Sirius didn't have time for this.

He ducked another blow and grabbed the outside of her wrist. His claws dug in, plucking at tendons. The demon opened her mouth to scream.

All that came out was a frothy yelp. A gasp came from the crowd.

Sirius' eyes flicked down to find one of the spikes they had used to pin Rhys had been rammed through her throat.

Bloody bubbles formed at the corners of her mouth, and she dropped the knife, hands frantically scrambling at the spike in her neck. Sirius stepped back, eyes going behind the demon.

Another spike flew through the air, skewering through her back right into her heart, making her stumble forward.

Rhys was sitting up, his hair slicked back, his eyes like green fire in the dim light. He leaned sideways and retched, purging the blood from his stomach. More of the wounds across his body began to close.

Slowly.

The demon fell to her knees, choking as she tried to pull the spike from her throat. Sirius circled her, making his way slowly to the witch, who was still ridding himself of the blood that had leaked into his stomach. 

Rhys finally stumbled to his feet, sagging back against the wall of the pit. He glanced at Sirius, eyes glazed with pain, then looked down at the demon. Waving a hand at her, he said, "Mind finishing up here?"

Then his knees gave out and he slid down the wall, eyes rolling back in his head.

Sirius swore viciously but turned to the demon, who had managed to pull the spike from her throat. She brandished it like a knife and charged after him with a wild scream that nearly made him laugh.

She was one of Hell's torturers, not a fighter. She didn't know what to do with someone who wasn't strapped to a table.

Sirius let her swing the spike down, just to toy with her. It swept toward his heart before he stepped back just enough that it only ripped his shirt. The follow-through of the swing made the demon wobble and nearly overbalance.

He lunged forward, driving the demon to the earth before he buried his teeth in her throat. One violent jerk of his head and the demon went limp beneath him, blood spraying his face. 

The watching demons murmured and hissed, glaring down at him. Not one moved though. They'd all seen Sirius come in here with Hades. Not a single one of them was willing to risk touching him.

Sirius didn't know how long that uncertainty would last. He would bet the window for getting the witch out of the temple safely was a rapidly closing one.

He hurried over to the witch to find him out cold. One glance at the veritable pool of blood covering the ground let Sirius know that Rhys wasn't going to come around any time soon.

Maybe he should have gone with Rick instead.

He looked around the pit, turning slowly, mind racing over how he was supposed to pull the witch and himself out of the hole.

The monsters and demons were whispering amongst themselves, some backing slowly away from the edge of the pit. Sirius angled for a group of demons who looked unhappy with the body left in the pit, but who were wavering nervously.

He bared his teeth, letting a growl rumble through the air. They took a collective step back. He made his gaze promise a slow, uncompromising death. A few of the demons moved farther from the edge of the pit, but none of them left.

Sirius went back to the demon and tore the spike from her back, then picked up the abandoned one that was inches away from her pale fingers. His head was starting to buzz again from the haze of smoke in the air.

Keeping his movements precise and one eye on the crowded monsters, he jammed one of the spikes into the dirt wall at about the height of his mid-thigh. He used it to boost himself up and slammed the second spike into the wall about three feet from the top.

He stayed there for a moment, looking over his shoulder to the bottom of the pit where Rhys was still unconscious. 

This was going to be a pain in the ass no matter what he did.

He hopped down from his place on the wall and stared at it, flexing his fingers as he judged the problem before him.

It wasn't a matter of strength. He was strong enough to haul the witch out of the pit. It was more a matter of balance and leverage. The spikes simply did not offer enough surface area for him to get the witch out easily.

Another glance down showed Rhys still healing—still bleeding. Mostly bleeding.

And judging by some of the hungry glances being sent toward the witch, Sirius didn't have the time to wait for Rhys to wake up.

The problem ultimately lay in the fact that he would have to get Rhys up onto the ledge before he himself could get out of the pit, leaving the witch vulnerable. Another look up discouraged the thought of clearing the way a little.

There was an uneasy peace now. If Sirius went up there and started spilling blood, he definitely wasn't getting the witch out of the pit.

He looked back down at Rhys, sighing as he realized there wasn't exactly a better option. Hopefully he could get himself over the ledge before anyone got any bright ideas.

"Bring him up."

Sirius' head snapped up at the honeyed voice. A faerie crouched at the edge of the pit, watching him with glittering ivory eyes.

His indigo hair hung in a silky sheet around his face, highlighting the blue tint to his skin. Gold talons glittered from the ends of his fingers. Sirius blinked as he recognized the male.

The bold one, who'd dared to whisper in his ear.

The faerie grinned upon seeing the recognition in Sirius' face, exposing exaggerated canines nestled in a row of pearly white teeth. His talons glimmered as he beckoned for Sirius to bring the witch up.

Sirius only stared, not hiding his reservations—his distrust. The male was a faerie after all. He wasn't offering help from the goodness of his immortal, fickle heart.

Another glance around the pit showed demons and monsters inching ever closer. His skin crawled with the number of malice-filled gazes pinned on him. Rhys groaned softly, his eyes flickering beneath closed lids.

The faerie beckoned again, still smiling. "Bring him up."

"What is your price?" Sirius asked, speaking in the clear, distinct fashion those of Faerie preferred.

The male tilted his head, the thorns woven through his hair clinking gently together. They appeared to have been dipped in silver. "Must there be a price?"

"There always is," Sirius said, swallowing hard. Already he could feel the seconds ticking away. Already he could feel Hades' patience wearing thin.

He had to get out now. He had to get to Purgatory and somehow find Alex and convince Logan to let him bring her into Hell. He had to break his promise to Rick and honor one to Hades.

Heart pounding in his throat, he rasped, "Name your price."

The faerie narrowed his pale eyes, lips pursed in consideration. Finally he sighed and said, "An ideal."

Sirius blinked slowly, lips parting in confusion. Rhys groaned at his feet, making him look down hopefully, but the witch wasn't lucid. He was just in pain.

"What do you mean?" Sirius ventured reluctantly, looking back up at the faerie.

The male just gave him a small smile. "I mean just what I say. I will offer my assistance and you will give me an ideal in return."

Sirius had no idea what the faerie meant by that, automatically putting him on the back foot. He wasn't fond of the feeling, but another glance around the pit told him he didn't exactly have a choice.

The faerie wasn't asking for three drops of his blood or a strand of hair or anything else he could use in spell-work to hurt or control Sirius. He didn't know how he was supposed to pay up an ideal, but just as long as the faerie didn't attempt to attack him or Rhys, he didn't really have a problem.

Sirius nodded at the faerie, who smiled again before he bared his teeth and hissed a warning at the demons starting to crowd around him. A few took a handful of steps away, but there wasn't much room available at the edge.

Crouching down in front of Rhys, he swore silently, hoping the witch could hear it. He took Rhys by the arms and pulled him forward until the witch was draped over his shoulder. With a sharp exhale, Sirius stood and took a moment to adjust to the extra weight.

The witch was heavier than he looked.

He hooked his right arm around Rhys' legs and looked up the wall. No problem. 

Right.

Sirius took a few bracing breaths, then lifted his right leg, gaining barely half a foot's worth of hold on the spike. He took another breath, shifting Rhys on his shoulder before he bent his knee and exploded upward.

It took two tries before he managed to snag the other spike.

His leg and left arm trembled as they took all the weight of himself and Rhys for a moment.

Then Rhys was being lifted away from him. Sirius' head snapped back, but it was just the blue-skinned faerie dragging the witch over the edge.

He let out a tight sigh, then bunched the muscles in his leg again.

Before he could launch himself up to the edge of the pit, a cool hand was wrapped around his wrist and Sirius found himself dragged up just to sprawl over the top of the witch. Blood seeped into his shirt and he immediately rolled to the side and sprang to his feet.

Teeth and claws bared, he swept an evil look over the nearest monsters and growled, "Try it. I dare you."

"There is no time for you to play," the faerie snarled, already pulling Rhys to his feet. He took one arm over a broad shoulder, nodding meaningfully to the witch's other side.

Sirius snarled again, snapping his teeth for good measure before he took Rhys' other side. Blocking out the screams and swearing that came from the other two pits, Sirius allowed the faerie to plow their way through the crowd, moving them away from the pits.

Hisses and threats followed in their wake. Sirius' muscles were so tense he was certain they would snap. But to his surprise, the other monsters simply moved out of the male's way.

Other faeries watched silently, eyes unreadable. 

"Who are you?" Sirius managed through gritted teeth as they moved farther from the pits and deeper into the rest of the party.

"At the moment?" The faerie looked over Rhys, amusement sparking in his pale eyes. "A friend."

Sirius just snorted, his steps slowing as he realized the male was leading him out of the temple. The faerie tugged impatiently on Rhys, indigo hair swaying like strands of liquid twilight. The silver thorns in his hair jingled as he nodded toward the front of the temple. "You need to leave."

No. He needed to go deeper in.

With a grimace, he attempted to take more of Rhys' weight, but a stubborn cast came across the faerie's face and he refused to relinquish his hold. He frowned and said, "You need to get your witch out of here."

Sirius shook his head. "I need to take him to Purgatory."

He didn't see any point in lying to the male. Hades already knew where he was going and it was unlikely any of the things here would want to follow a Hellhound into what was effectively monster Hell, anyway. It didn't really matter if they knew where he was going.

The faerie's eyes brightened and he nodded, turning them around.

For a moment, Sirius could only stumble along in the faerie's wake, trying to keep Rhys from hitting the ground.

"Wait," he managed, trying to slow the faerie down. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"No," the male said simply. "But you do. I simply need to get us through this level."

Sirius opened his mouth, then closed it. For now, the faerie was helping, and Sirius was desperately short on allies. He wasn't about to question any of this.

At least, not while he was still surrounded by things that would like to eat his insides.

So he let the faerie continue to cut their way through the crowd until they managed to return to the back of the temple. Sirius took a moment to look at the flight of stairs that would lead him back up to Galloway and Hades. A shimmering veil at the top let him know that he would not be allowed back into the upper levels until he had Alex with him.

Rhys was mumbling something under his breath that Sirius didn't bother to try and make sense of as the faerie stopped and looked at him again. He shook a strand of purplish hair out of his face, and said, "Your turn."

He was the one who knew the way after all. With a deep breath, he angled to the wall behind the staircase. Feeling dozens of hungry, angry eyes drilling into his back, Sirius muttered, "Shield us."

The faerie didn't so much as blink. Perhaps he knew that Sirius was not speaking to him.

A veil of black settled around them, dimming the sounds and smells of the party, and shielding them from view as he began to move toward the wall.

Of course, this wasn't part of the secret. Most beings who had ever spent time in the temple knew of this portal. Not many cared to venture into ancient Hell, but Sirius had been cursed with an unhealthy amount of curiosity as a pup. Now it was going to pay off.

The faerie watched with unreadable eyes as Sirius let his claws extend, strands of darkness twisting around the sharp tips. 

Sirius curled his hand into a fist, driving the claws into his palm. Blood welled up from the puncture wounds and pooled in his cupped hand. He looked at the faerie, raising an eyebrow in question.

He sighed and shifted. "If that is what you needed, you should have simply said so." His arm wrapped around the witch's waist as he took the full brunt of Rhys' dead weight. 

With a near-silent snort, Sirius stepped away from the two of them, dipping his fingers into the blood cradled in his palm. Making sure his hand was steady, he drew each line and curve with painstaking care. Blood sigils were tedious bits of magic, but seeing as how Sirius had no inherent magic of his own, they were what he had to work with.

When the design was finished, Sirius motioned for the faerie to come closer before he opened his hand. Blood pattered to the dark floor before he slapped his palm to the sigil.

It flared a dark blue, and the wall rippled. Magic moved over it, flowing outward from his palm—like a still pond after a stone had been thrown into it.

Sirius grabbed Rhys' arm and pulled him and the faerie through the portal. 

Everything went silent and still, a flash of bright blue light momentarily blinding him. They passed through the portal and even the faerie gasped in shock as they were hit by a deluge of magic. It was wet and cold, leaving Sirius with the distinct impression that a bucket of ice water had just been thrown in his face.

Then he was opening his eyes to find himself perfectly dry.

A corridor of smoothly hewn granite stretched before them, lit by torches that had been burning for millennia. Rhys took in a shuddering breath, his eyes flying open, just to slam shut instantly. Blood pattered softly to the floor at his feet as he gasped in a handful of breaths.

"He needs to heal and rest before we continue much farther," the faerie said, prodding gently at Rhys' wounds.

"We?" Sirius as incredulously, stepping forward to take the witch's weight.

But the other male didn't relinquish his hold. His pale eyes burned into Sirius, the silver thorns in his hair stinging the Hellhound's nose.

"That's right," he finally said with a crooked little smile that immediately set Sirius' nerves on edge.

Faeries couldn't lie, but that didn't make them any more trustworthy.

Sirius still didn't know exactly how he was supposed to repay the male, and he didn't intend on getting any deeper into debt than he already was. He let his teeth show a little, a soft growl beginning to start low in his chest as he reached for Rhys again.

The faerie frowned, but let Sirius take Rhys. The witch slumped against him, muttering in a language Sirius recognized but wasn't fluent in. None of it seemed coherent either way.

"He needs to heal," the faerie said again, glancing down at the blood staining the front of his white shirt. "Before you go into Purgatory."

"Yeah," Sirius said tersely. That was the plan anyway. Time didn't move in Purgatory. If they went in now, it would be truly impossible for the witch's physical wounds to heal.

Conversely, the stasis would be perfect to help heal a Soul.

The faerie still made no move to depart and understanding clicked into place. Grimacing, Sirius said, "You're going to have to tell me how to pay up on an ideal."

Never mind the fact that he was pretty sure he didn't even have one of those to sell anyway.

But the faerie just shook his head, silver thorns clinking gently. "I am not ready to take my leave of you just yet."

Sirius could only blink. After a moment to recover, he scoffed. "Well, I don't have time for you to decide when you'll want to leave. So tell me how to pay up for getting us out of there, and I'll send you back through the portal."

"I do not need you to send me anywhere," the male said, frost lacing through his hair. The air chilled around them, then just as quickly warmed as the faerie shrugged. He shook his head sadly. "You do not remember."

This was beginning to grate on his temper. And Rhys was getting heavier by the second. He didn't have time to play games with one of the Folk. That was something you should only do when you were stone-cold sober, or just inebriated enough to have Luck smile upon you.

"Nope," Sirius finally gritted out. "Now, either take your payment, or forfeit your claim and allow me to go my own way."

"That is the only path you've ever tread," the faerie replied, moving past him and starting down the corridor. "I will not forfeit my claim, but neither will you pay."

Sirius gritted his teeth, his fangs beginning to scrape against the inside of his lip. "Why are you doing this?"

The faerie looked once over his shoulder. "Ask me something more useful."

In spite of himself, Sirius began to follow the male down the corridor. Rhys whimpered, inaudible words pouring from his lips. More blood dripped to the ground.

Sirius glanced up at the faerie and asked, "Will you give me your name?"

"That is a much better question," the faerie said before promptly disappearing around a sudden corner.

Sirius swore under his breath and picked up his pace as best he could. He rounded the corner and hissed when he didn't see a trace of the faerie.

For a moment, he stood there debating over whether he should find the faerie and demand he extract the payment owed, or if he should just turn to a different corridor and risk the wrath of an unpaid debt.

If he knew what court the male belonged to, he might risk the latter.

Before he could make his decision, the faerie reappeared, gesturing for him to follow. Sirius gritted his teeth and adjusted his grip on the unconscious witch. With a shake of his head to get his hair out of his eyes, he decided he had enough open ended contracts to fill a lifetime. 

He didn't need another one.

So, pulling Rhys along, he followed the faerie around the corner and through a door just to stop dead, blinking stupidly at what was arrayed before him.

Golden light filled the space, creating a barrier that made the strands of darkness around him squeal and retreat. Graceful columns of white marble created a magnificent hall. The distant sound of crashing waves filled the air, accompanied by the smell of sea salt and white jasmine. 

The faerie walked forward, unconcerned by the impossibility of the place.

He gestured toward a white bench and said, "We can rest here until he heals. And I believe you and I should perhaps speak of a few other things."

Sirius just shook his head, bewildered.

But his body was now complaining stringently about the witch's dead weight, so he shuffled them both over to the padded bench. He let the witch sprawl to the bench, making sure Rhys was mostly on it before he turned to find the faerie on the other side of the room.

He was leaning against a column, arms crossed as he stared out over the sea.

A sea that did not exist down here.

Sirius cast one more glance down at the witch, content enough when he saw the wounds slowly closing. He didn't know why Rhys was healing so quickly, but wasn't about to dwell on it.

There were bigger problems to deal with.

Trying not to gawk at his surroundings, Sirius crossed the hall to join the faerie. He sighed, his bones aching with weariness. As if in response, a comfortable chair carved of white wood appeared next to a nearby column.

Sirius stared at it, then looked at the faerie, who hadn't changed his posture.

With a shrug, Sirius allowed his battered body to sink into the chair. A small groan escaped him as he stretched his sore legs out. For a moment, he simply closed his eyes as the sea breeze tousled his hair, the salt-and-jasmine scent of the place tickling his nose. 

"Caydryn," the faerie suddenly said.

Sirius opened his eyes to glance at the male. "Your real name?"

He snorted, waving an elegant, gold-taloned hand. "A fitting enough name. Like yours, one I have chosen for myself." He turned back to Sirius, ivory eyes searching. What they were seeking, Sirius had no idea.

So he let his gaze wander over this impossible place again.

"There are places older than your Hell, Sirius," Caydryn said simply, sinking into a chair of his own. "Places that push forward in the unlikeliest of locations."

Sirius stiffened at the implication. "Are we in Faerie?"

While the land Under the Hill was perhaps more pleasant than Hell or Purgatory, it was not where Sirius needed to be.

"Yes and no," Caydryn replied, infuriatingly vague. "We are not far from the place you seek if that is your worry."

One of many, Sirius thought but didn't dare to say. Instead, he shrugged. "I can't go into Purgatory yet anyway. I just need to know if I'm free to leave."

Caydryn cast an amused glance at him. "And if I said you weren't?"

His claws clicked against the arm of his chair in silent warning. The faerie looked down, an eyebrow flicking up. "You are free to leave," Caydryn said carefully. "This place is meant to protect, not entrap."

"There's a thin line between those two things," Sirius observed.

Again, the faerie shrugged in careless acknowledgement. 

Silence settled around them as Sirius debated his next move. Pressing faeries for information was generally a useless endeavor. But Caydryn had him at a distinct disadvantage.

Finally, he opened his mouth, resigned to a pointless struggle.

But Caydryn beat him to it. "You have been to Faerie before."

Puzzled, Sirius nodded.

"What do you remember of your time there?" Caydryn asked, a curious lilt to his voice.

A sudden sinking feeling in his stomach made Sirius slightly nauseous. His gaze turned wary as he stared at the male, trying to decide if he should know him.

Like Caydryn could read his thoughts, the male laughed and shook his head. "I'm not a slighted lover if that's what you're worried about."

Against his will, Sirius snickered. The male was pretty, but Sirius generally preferred women. "The brother of one, perhaps?" he finally replied.

Caydryn just smiled and shook his head again. This left Sirius racking his brains, pilfering his memory as he tried to remember why this faerie seemed to know him. His time in Faerie had been relatively short, and when he wasn't doing as the Unseelie King bid, he had been indulging in the court itself.

But this male didn't look like an Unseelie faerie. Nor did he act like one.

And just like that, the memory clicked into place. The blood drained from his face.

Caydryn nodded, pleased that Sirius had finally remembered. 

"You looked with disinterest upon a young hunter who had wandered farther than he should," Caydryn said. "You should have turned me over to the King. This you knew, but you did not betray my presence."

Mostly because Sirius had been tired, cold, and slightly nauseated from the troll blood he'd swallowed, cleaning out a nest of the beasts as the King had instructed.

One young male with silver in his hair had hardly been his concern. Sirius said as much.

"It was of great concern to my mother," Caydryn replied, holding up his right hand to display a heavy ring of silver and emerald stones on his index finger. 

Sirius stiffened, staring at the ring despite the fact that the silver burned his eyes. "You were a prince of the Seelie Court?"

"I am a prince," he corrected, idly spinning the ring around his finger. "And now you are realizing the gravity of your careless actions that day so long ago."

All Sirius could do was slump back in his chair, a headache beginning to pound in his temples. Now the King's rage during Sirius' dismissal from his service made sense. His court must have somehow found out that Sirius had let a trespasser escape. 

He had been returned to Hades with more than one scathing remark and later beaten for whatever failure had cut his contract short.

Now he knew what the failure had been, but that hardly seemed to matter in the grand scheme of the current moment.

Caydryn seemed to read this on his face and tilted his head. "Seelie faeries—particularly princes—are honor-bound to repay our debts. I have been searching for you for a long time, Sirius."

———————————————————————

I just wanted to say thank you guys so much! The Hellhound recently hit 1000 votes. I appreciate every read, vote and comment you all give this story. It's honestly kind of amazing to me. I appreciate the time you all have invested in this story more than I can say <3