Hunter Chapter 3: But Just Pretend To

This is a Skyrim/Alan Wake 2 fic. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

This chapter has been edited due to content. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.

ALEX

I held my hand up briefly as an Elemental Bolt landed mere feet from me. While I only was affected by the sudden burst of light, the bandit standing near me reeled back as he was both burned and electrocuted at the same time.

Most of the bandits had suffered the same fate or had been killed by arrows. Jash held Lightning’s reins in one hand and fired Elemental Bolts from the other. Meanwhile, Aela the Huntress raced around the camp and shot at any bandit who tried to flee.

“Talos!” The bandit near me screamed as he flailed on the ground. “Arkay!”

Somehow my husband’s spell hadn’t killed him. His skin had peeled in such a way that he wasn’t recognizable as a human anymore. The sight of him made it hard not to vomit. But I couldn’t let Jash see me being weak or he would just grow more worried.

Since the only way the bandit would stop feeling pain was in death, I shoved my dagger deep into his skull until he stopped moving. The moment before the bandit stopped breathing, one of Aela’s arrows went through his heart.

I looked at her and she gave me a brief nod. Everything had grown quiet with the only sounds being the mounts and flames. Not one bandit remained alive in the entire camp. Without anyone to fight and no sheathe for my dagger, I let it fall to the ground. If I needed to fight, Jash would lend me a weapon while he conjured his own.

Jash stopped Lightning right in front of me. Her white fur had splotches of red in it now. When we got to a city or one of our properties, Jash would spend hours making sure she was once again spotless. Or he might just send her back to the College of Winterhold and allow the students to pamper her.

My husband held out his black scaled hand to me. I took it and allowed him to position me in front of him. Only when I felt his body behind mine did I allow myself to relax.

We both watched as Aela made a final round around camp. Her eyes did not let any inch of the camp pass by unnoticed. It could be that a bandit had fled and managed to hide. Would that bandit flee or attack once we had our backs turned?

“They’ve been sent to Sovngarde!” Aela shouted.

“All of them?” Jash asked.

“Why would I have shouted if there was even one of them left alive? I would advise us not make camp here.”

She pointed to the fire making short work of the abandoned shacks. Then her finger went to the fire eating away at the grass and where it could go next. There would be a point the fire would stop but it would be far from here.

“I agree.” Jash said. “Even if the fire runs out quicker than expected, there won’t be much left of the shack. Not enough to keep out the cold, at least.”

“There wasn’t much of the shack to begin with.” I retorted.

Jash let out a chuckle as Aela rode out of the short lived bandit camp. My husband quickly followed her through the darkness.

“You look like ****, Alex.” Jash said. “I haven’t seen you look so poorly since you arrived.”

“You didn’t exactly make love to me gently, Jash.” I retorted as I tried to avoid what he was implying.

“Don’t act like a hatchling, my love. Your body is aging and needs more rest than before in order to stay firmly in Mundus. You should spend more time at our properties so that the rest of your days will be lived in peace.”

“Once I die I’ll be on the Mountain. How I die doesn’t matter.”

Jash took one hand from the reigns and touched the bite marks on my neck. My breathing briefly became harder due to the pleasant touch. The bite marks were where my husband had marked me as his. We had met, ******, and he had claimed me in a way no one had been able to before.

“I’m a Daedric Prince, I know that.” Jash said as he ended the touch and his hand took the reign once again. “But sometimes I feel more mortal than I ever have been.”

How could he not have accepted that much power? It wasn’t as if he was immune to the allure of controlling others. He was Harbinger of the Companions, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, and Guild Master of the Thieves Guild. He had avoided becoming High King of Skyrim but who could resist the allure of being a god?

That wasn’t fair, though. I now knew where I would end up after death, but it was still hard for me to accept. Back on Earth I didn’t know if Heaven and Hell were real. Nor had I known if Saint Peter could accept me after all the **** I had failed to do.

But now I could feel comfortable knowing I was bound for paradise?

The worst part was that Jash was right. Now that the bandit camp was far behind us, my body had decided to torment me because I wasn’t young anymore. The strain of freeing myself and the cold mountain air seemed determined to tear my sanity to shreds.

I didn’t need to feel like I was now. I could fall asleep every night in a warm bed. I could wake up every night to someone having cooked me breakfast. Even our properties without a housecarl, or steward, had someone who came by often to keep the house in pristine condition.

Jash, unlike me, would never feel his body betraying him. He would always be as young as he was now. He had no reason to stop doing what made him happy. Meanwhile I had to fight to feel comfortable.

He could leave to his plane of Oblivion whenever he wanted to. But his loathing of the Thalmor kept him on Tamriel. I didn’t think it was possible for him to leave for paradise until each one of them was dead.

“I can’t say no if your quest of ending the Skooma trade is something that you need.” Jash said. “Though I can’t say I’m looking forward to the day I see your corpse in a bandit camp.”

“I don’t like the idea of the Skooma trade still going on.” I replied with a heavy sigh. “But you might have a point about me getting old. ****, I should be more focused on retirement.”