To Hell and Back Again CH 1

?Where am I??He looked out at tall trees and knee-high grass of emerald green. Birds trilled in the high branches. A summer sun blazed golden in a pale, blue sky.Another thought followed. One that left a cold drip of fear to trickle down his spine.?Who am I??A long moment of deep silence passed as he explored the blank areas of his mind. Something very close to panic began to boil in his chest. What happened? What was wrong with him? What if-?Logan. Logan Proud Bear.? The name, his name, burst from his lips. All else was fog, but he had his name. It wasn?t much, but at least it was a beginning, a life jacket he could cling to in unknown waters.?Ok,? Logan breathed. ?Now what??When in doubt, start from the beginning.The words bubbled up from the dark recesses of his memory. Where had he heard those words before? A man?s voice, deep, paternal, and?Nothing. Logan felt his hands ball into white-knuckled fists. So frustrating!Still, it was wise advice.?Breathe, Logan,? he told himself. ?Just breathe. One step at a time. Figure it out.?A slow look around revealed that he was standing in a clearing that appeared to be in the middle of a thick, old-growth forest. A small, grassy hill jutted up from the forest floor to his right. Just behind him, two, man-sized, rectangular stones stone stood on end. A third stone lay across the top, forming an archway. Ancient looking pictographs of humans, animals, and mythical creatures were etched into the rock.?Find a game trail. Follow it to a source of fresh water. Follow the flow of water,? Logan told himself.Again, he had no idea how he knew this, but he knew it as sure as his name. The thought had the weight of experience. It still wasn?t much of a plan but better than standing around. ?Nothing ventured, nothing gained,? he muttered and walked toward the dappled shadows of the forest.The moment his foot stepped beyond the clearing and between two trees, Logan knew, with sudden and absolute clarity, that he was not alone. A powerful sense of presence washed across the clearing. The hill to his right shuddered. Dirt and grass fell away as something enormous slowly rose from the soil. It shook itself, revealing thick fur, a broad snout, and deep, black eyes.Grizzly bear! That was the immediate thought that came to mind, but this was like no bear Logan had ever seen or heard of. Dawning terror threatened to turn his guts to water as the creature gave a ponderous heave, standing up, up, onto its hind legs until it towered almost thirty feet tall!?Greetings, cousin,? its voice rumbled like distant thunder.Logan?s mouth fell open. He stood there and stared dumb-struck, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. This can?t be real. This can?t be happening. This is just a dream. Yet, the sun warming his face felt real enough as did the scent of the giant bear; warm fur and fresh-turned soil. Logan pinched his arm and felt the sharp sting of pain.?I? how? what?? Logan stammered.The bear fell back down to all four paws. Logan felt the impact through his boots, heard the low boom of a multi-ton apex predator settling its weight on the ground. It took all the willpower he could muster not to piss himself in terror.?I am the eternal guardian of this gateway,? the bear rumbled. ?Too long it has been since one of the blood last walked the path. Too long have I slumbered in the dreamless sleep.?Slowly, the fear of imminent death began to fade and rational thought crept back into Logan?s head. Something about this giant creature seemed strangely familiar to him. And very, very, old. He thought.Some quality in the bears deep, ageless, eyes hinted at secrets long lost and the slow crawl of many centuries come and gone. Beneath that gaze, Logan felt like a newborn child instead of a twenty-nine-year-old man.He blinked in surprise as another piece of memory clicked into place. I am twenty-nine years old. He searched for something more, but the only additional memory tickling his brain was something about this magnificent creature??Are you? Grandfather Bear?? he asked.The great head nodded. ?So your people named me long ago.?The great bear spirit. Logan realized. The totem animal of? of? For a moment, there was only gray fog, then quite suddenly he had it. The totem animal of my family! My father was Apache! ?Am I dreaming???Perhaps, ? the bear rumbled. ?Dreaming or no, you have stepped through the veil and onto the trodden path, as your ancestors did long ago. The only way now is forward.?His massive head turned and looked back into the forest. Logan looked and saw a path winding through the trees. A path that had not been there before.?What will I find on this path?? he asked.?Only what you carry inside you,? the bear replied. ?But be warned, cousin. Eat nothing. Drink nothing. Ask for nothing, give not thanks, and give not your true name. This I offer to you free of obligation, out of respect for the ancient traditions of your people. avcılar escort bayan Heed me well.??Well, Th?? Logan caught himself before he could say ?thank you.? ?That?s kind of you,? he offered instead.Grandfather Bear winked at him and smiled. ?Good. You are learning.?Logan smiled back. Now that he knew it was just a dream, this was starting to be fun. ?Let?s do this then. Goodbye, Grandfather.?Logan stepped out of the clearing and onto the winding path. Ahead, it twisted through the trees and vanished into the foliage. One last look back showed Grandfather Bear slowly settling back down into the grass. His ageless eyes slowly shut. His voice, heavy and sleepy, drifted to Logan on the wind.?Go now, cousin. Destiny calls.?*******The forest seemed endless. Without landmarks or a watch, Logan had no idea how long he walked the trail. It was hard to judge the movement of the sun through the thick foliage above, but it hardly seemed to have moved at all, and yet, it felt like hours had passed. Plus, he was getting tired, which seemed odd. He couldn?t recall ever feeling weary in any dreams before now. Of course, no other dream had ever felt as strangely real as this one did.The only change he did notice was the temperature. Bit by bit, the air was beginning to cool off. Eventually, he began to see his breath. Then leaves began to glisten beneath a light coat of frost.His journey through the forest finally ended, rather abruptly, at an oval-shaped hole in an ancient-looking stone wall. A sheet of weeping ice blocked the opening. He could see a reflection on its shining surface of a broad-shouldered, dark-haired man in faded jeans and a black t-shirt. The man reflected in the ice had his mother?s green eyes and the burnished skin tone of his father?s people.Molly Flynn. That was his mother?s name, and his father was? John. John Proud Bear.Logan reached out to feel the cold, wet surface. As his fingers touched the ice, he heard a sharp crack and watched as ragged fissures shot through the ice. Small spiderweb cracks rapidly spread, popping and snapping in jagged lines until the entire sheet of ice suddenly collapsed in a splash of frozen shards. He watched in amazement as the chunks of ice quickly melted into water and seeped into the ground.Cautiously, he ducked and stepped through the opening. On the other side was what appeared to be a moment frozen in time. Creatures of all sizes, both magical and mundane, sat against trees, lay on the grass, or curled up on each other. Badgers and birds; tiny, winged faeries; and fat, ugly gnomes lay scattered on the ground beneath a cathedral-like arching roof of tree limbs. The tree trunks were perfectly aligned across the clearing in pairs, just as columns would be in an old church or the great hall of a castle.Everything was sheathed in a thin, crystal-clear rime of ice. The entire glade, and everything in it, sparkled with cold, blue-white beauty. Logan could see their frozen faces. All eyes were closed. Whether in death or dreams, he could not say.As he stepped in for a closer look, the frozen grass beneath his foot cracked. Another step. Another pop of broken ice. Looking back at his footprint, he saw ice falling away from healthy, green grass.Logan looked around in awe at all the little details his imagination was creating. Bending down over one of the squat, little, gnome-like creatures, Logan could see the wrinkles on its swarthy face and all the little gray and black hairs in its eyebrows.What a crazy dream!It was then that he noticed the throne at the far end of the hall and the woman sitting there. The ice around her was clear as glass. Logan?s breath caught in his throat.?Beautiful? was an inadequate word. Unlike every other creature in the hall, her eyes were open beneath the ice. Long, silky hair, the color of the night sky framed her oval-shaped face. Skin the color of fresh milk. Perfect, cupid bow lips were the pink of a young girl?s blush. A gown hung from naked shoulders to drape her body in folds of what looked like glittering, blue, smoke. Across her brow was a crown of gold, shaped into vines. Sunlight glittered off of leaves made of pure amethyst and berries of polished ruby.Logan stepped closer. Ice popped and cracked beneath his feet. He did not notice.Three stone steps led up to her throne. Logan stopped with one foot on the bottom step. It felt? wrong to get any closer.Crack. Pop. Fissures spread out through the ice beneath his foot and up the stairs, spreading and reaching and growing until the first jagged break touched her slippered foot.Logan flinched and covered his eyes as the entire hall exploded in a glittering shower of shattered ice. The hall rang like a bell as countless frozen particles rained down around him. A thousand cold kisses landed on his arms and in his hair.When he dared to look up, it was into eyes of midnight blue. Eyes that were now looking back at him. beylikdüzü escort bayan Her lips curled into a faint smile. Her hair now moved around her bare shoulders as if caught in a gentle breeze. One long, perfectly manicured fingernail slowly rose to point at his chest.?Who has woken Maeve, queen of the Twilight Court??Logan swallowed a gasp of surprise and fell back to stand on the grass. He could almost feel the rich contralto of her voice like a breath against his skin. ?My name is Logan?? Grandfather Bear?s warning sprang to mind. A moment of panic bubbled in his gut before a name rose out of the fog of his memory. His mother?s maiden name. ??Flynn.? Because it seemed appropriate, he offered a clumsy attempt at a bow. ?Logan Flynn, Your Majesty.?The queen slowly rose to her feet with the effortless grace of a swimmer gliding through water. She practically floated down the stairs, one slow step at a time. A subtle smile played across her lips as she came closer. Closer still and he could smell her scent, night-blooming jasmine.All around Logan, the entire court was now moving about as well. Every creature, even the animals, moved to kneel or bow before her. They would not even dare to look up at her as she passed by.Of the ice that had only moments ago covered everything, not a trace of it remained. Even the cold bite of winter air was fading. Only a cool kiss remained, like the last gasp of a long autumn just before the first snowfall.?Very good,? she purred. ?Let us have a better look at you, mortal spirit.?Logan was surprised to see how tall she was. At six-foot, two inches, Logan was used to seeing the tops of people's heads. Not so the queen. They were nearly eye-to-eye.And what eyes! This close, Logan could see the color changing and swirling through every shade of blue like a slow whirlpool. It was hypnotic. Logan had to look away to shake off the sensation of falling.Her laughter sounded like crystal chimes dancing in the wind. ?You have woken us from our long sleep, and for that, we are grateful. How have you done this, spirit??Something in the tone of her voice caught Logan?s attention. Beneath the queen?s honeyed words, behind her breathtaking allure, was the subtle but unmistakable sound of speaking to someone of lesser status. He had heard it before.Vague memories bubbled up to the surface. A lovely girl with an evil heart in high school. The dismissive voice of a higher-ranked officer. A stranger calling him ?half-breed.? That subtle tone of inherent superiority sent cracks through the glamour she had woven around him, like thin ice cracking beneath his boot.Logan straightened his shoulders, looked into her hypnotic eyes, and smiled. Her ethereal beauty was still breathtaking, but he was no schoolboy to act the fool over a pretty girl. Respect and polite consideration, he was happy to give. Fawning devotion, not so much, especially in his own damned dream!?As to how I cannot say? Your Majesty, though I am happy to have helped. The only thing I can say for certain is that I am no spirit.?Surprise flickered across her perfect face. Queen Maeve took a step back and gave Logan a long, appraising look, from his feet to the top of his head. Her hand rose, palm out toward him. ?Yes, it has been a very long time, but I sense it now. Twice blooded. Twice blessed. I feel it from the heat of your skin. The beating of your heart. The blood pumping through your?? her eyes glanced downward. ??body.?Logan wasn?t certain how he felt about being viewed like a slab of meat. There was an unblinking intensity in her gaze that he had never seen on a woman?s face before. For a wild moment, he wondered if she might try to check his teeth like a horse trader.OK, two can play that game. He thought and allowed his own eyes to explore the wonderland of Queen Maeve?s body.Delicate looking, blue silk slippers encased the royal feet. Her gown of glittering, blue smoke was a wonder, revealing nothing but hinting at everything. Behind that gauzy shield were long legs, a narrow waist, and an hourglass figure. The swell of high, firm breasts was visible against the fabric, as were the subtle outline of her nipples.?You are a bold one.?Logan tore his gaze away to look into her bottomless, blue eyes. He couldn?t tell if it was anger or amusement he was seeing. Some vague sense of warning tickled at the back of his neck. He dismissed it. There was no danger in dreams.?I have heard that about myself,? he replied.She took another careful step back and raised her arms away from her sides. Her smile held both promise and challenge. ?And do you like what you see? Do you desire to see more??Easy Logan. It's just a dream. Wise advice, and yet, his heart was pounding. Her scent drifted on the air like an aphrodisiac. The queen?s voice was all he could hear, every gentle word sending vibrations through his bones and into his core.It was then he realized her voice esenyurt escort truly was all he could hear. The clearing was empty! Not a single creature remained. He and the queen were completely, utterly, alone. There was a look in her swirling eyes, a raw hunger that was both exciting and a bit daunting.?Yes,? he admitted.?Then show us, mortal. Dance for our pleasure.?There it was again, that tone. ?I don?t dance.?She frowned. ?Then, disrobe.??Ladies first.?For a moment, her eyes flashed with something very much like rage. The queen?s raven hair coiled as if caught in a high wind. The trees shook around them, and Logan was reminded that she wasn?t quite human. That all of this was only a dream, and any sense of danger tickling the hairs on the back of his neck was only his imagination.Just as suddenly, quicksilver laughter burst from her plump lips, and the trees grew still. Her fury was gone as if it had never been. ?You amuse us, mortal, as none have in an age. Thus, we will overlook your insolence and grant you your desire.?Apparently, her gown was made of smoke, after all. A faint breeze whispered through the glade carrying flower petals and the smell of new winter. Logan?s breath caught in his chest as the fabric also drifted away on the air until she wore nothing except the silken waterfall of midnight hair and a wicked smile of invitation.His eyes devoured every curve of her perfect body. The Faerie Queen?s breasts were round and firm. Her nipples were pale, a faint blush of pink against the fresh cream color of her flawless skin. Between the soft curve of her thighs was a delicate brush of midnight pubic hair.?Fuck,? Logan muttered in awe.?I intend to,? the queen waved her hand. It was a casual gesture as if shooing away a fly.Logan felt the breeze touch him in surprising places. He looked down. Instead of clothes, he saw only his sparse hair chest and, lower still, his large erection pointing the way.He chuckled. What a crazy dream. Logan looked back up at the naked wonder of the Faerie Queen. Not that I am complaining.Logan shrugged. ?Alright, beautiful. Let?s do this.? Two long steps closed the distance between them. He swept her into his embrace and a kiss, even as his cock slapped against the slim plane of her belly.Cold! Logan nearly jumped out of his skin. Her flesh was at least twenty degrees cooler than his own body temperature. She felt it as well.?Yes,? she groaned as she snuggled in, pressing as much of her icy, wonderfully, soft flesh to his as she could manage. ?The heat of mortal flesh? how I have missed it! Give me more. Warm me.? The cool touch of her soft tongue and sharp teeth brushed against Logan?s shoulder. ?Fill me.?Logan?s hands circled her waist and down, cupping and squeezing both cheeks of the Queen?s delicious ass. She brushed her lips against his, moaned into his mouth, and swayed her hips in silent encouragement. Her own hands trailed across the muscles in his shoulder and back, even as she rubbed her belly against the hot length of his shaft caught between them.The kissing grew more fevered. Tongues danced together. As their mutual lust grew stronger, his body heat warmed supple, female flesh, driving the last vestiges of ice and cold from her body.?Allow me to warm the rest of you,? Logan grinned and gently turned her around. His cock lay snug between the cheeks of her soft bum as he nibbled on her ear and neck. Logan?s hands began to explore the Fairy Queen?s flawless breasts. Teasing her nipples with soft strokes. Tracing the sensitive under curve with the tips of his fingers.The queen hissed her pleasure and squirmed beneath his touch. The plump silkiness of her butt cheeks squeezed and rubbed up and down his cock. Her fingernails trailed across his thighs, promising pain or pleasure or both.Logan raised the stakes by taking a nipple in each hand and giving them a light pinch. She gasped, then responded in kind by reaching under to scratch her nails along the curve of his sac. Electric jolts of pleasure raced through him as she traced lines of sweet fire over his sensitive and vulnerable flesh.She turned in his embrace. Their lips met. The tip of her tongue traced up the curve of his neck, even as Logan breathed in the subtle perfume of her hair and explored the curves of her waist, the swell of her hips, and the gentle curve of her back.Then they were falling backward like feathers, slowly floating down into the grass. Legs spread, her sleight weight settled onto Logan?s hips. The rigid length of his cock lay between their bodies. A roll of her hips kissed his length with the first touch of her sex, warm and wet. Like completing a circuit, electric current sizzled through him. The queen felt it too, judging by the shiver that rippled across the taut muscles beneath the cream-colored perfection of her belly.Logan watched her hands glide over perfect breasts as they rose and fell with her quickening breath. Perfect, pink, lips formed a silent ?O? of pleasure as she touched herself. He reached for her. The queen's fingers intertwined with his, keeping his greedy hands at bay. The slow roll of her hips increased until the soft swell of her pussy lips was a constant wet fire along his shaft.