by Joey W. Hill
He wouldn’t ever think of such a gift as God’s reward for his faithfulness, for returning the Baptist to the heavens or protecting the world from the demon. Those things were God’s will, and he was merely God’s instrument. But in one burst of wondrous energy, he knew if God had deemed him worthy of this gift, he’d never take it for granted.
Because of the second marking, he could sense Keldwyn’s advance, and laughed out loud at the chase, the two of them flashing through the woods together. They flushed a deer, sent the stag bounding away. Uthe went over a log in a leap as high as the creature’s, and then he was descending the slope to the portal.
Keep going. It’s open.
Uthe sprang over the creek and he was in the Fae world, startling a family of gnomes. He jumped over them, calling out a laughing apology as he sprinted up the hill. He remembered where the meadow lay, unless Fae magic had changed the topography. He wouldn’t put it past Keldwyn to do that, just so he could arrive there first.
I will ignore that you think I would stoop to cheating.
A piercing shriek rent the air, and a shadow passed over him. At a ruffle of wind, he glanced up in time to see Keldwyn leaning down from the dragon’s back, offering him a hand. Uthe took it, swinging on behind him. It was the purple dragon again, and he was newly amazed at how it felt, the strength and life of the legendary creature beneath him.
“This is still cheating,” he said in Keldwyn’s ear, nipping the curve of it and tugging on one of the line of silver rings he was wearing there today. “Though I guess you needed help catching up to me.”
“Beware what cockiness with your Master will get you, my lord.” Keldwyn put his hand over Uthe’s and squeezed. “Relax and enjoy the ride.”
He did. This time, with no urgency to their flight, Uthe could experience it better, though he still kept an arm around Keldwyn as he looked around him. He’d been in a plane, but there was no comparison as they soared through the open air among multi-hued wisps of clouds. The dragon skirted the periphery of a flock of swans. Keldwyn dipped his head to several other Fae winging by, carrying what looked like gifts, in natural wrappings of overlapped leaves. They’d tied them with vines whose colorful blooms made a bouquet on top.
“Birthday party?”
“Something like that. The Fae take every opportunity to celebrate with dancing and singing.”
“No offense to you and Catriona, but I’m not sure I’d ever leave this world if it was my home. I couldn’t imagine any of this ever getting old.”
“Why limit yourself, if you can have this world as home and explore other ones?” Kel shrugged. The dragon altered course, dipping his shoulder as he took the turn, and Keldwyn leaned with him, Uthe following the motion. Looking down upon an island with a small castle, he saw a grove of trees with fruit so bright crimson he could see them from this distance.
“Avalon. The isle of apples. The spirit of King Arthur rests there with the sorceress Morgana.”
At first he thought the Fae was jesting with him, but when he realized he wasn’t, a smile split Uthe’s face. “Definitely couldn’t imagine this getting old, my lord.”
Keldwyn caressed his fingers. Rather than speaking over the wind, he spoke in Uthe’s mind. You feel better these days. It pleases me to see it. I was concerned the loss of your lifelong task and quest would plunge you into a temporary melancholy. It is often that way when large goals are achieved.
Uthe slid both arms around him, his mouth pressing against the side of his throat. “No. I’ve wanted to see it done for so long, all I feel is relief. Relief I didn’t fail, gratitude that I had the friends and resources to pull it off. Someone to watch my back.”
Kel brushed the side of his face against him, his hair whispering against Uthe’s flesh. “So what will you do now? Loll about and be useless?”
“I understand there’s a Fae Lord who needs a boy toy to amuse him…” Uthe laughed at Keldwyn’s mock look of offense. “I’m sure there will be plenty in both of our worlds needing our attendance. There’s no end to the violent or misguided mischief the Fae or vampires can devise.”
“True enough,” Kel said in amused resignation. “Catriona wants to go back to Atlanta. She wants me to devise her a node in your world. A place of magical energy so she can stay in the mortal world for longer periods. She could use it as her home base, to prevent the depletion she experienced on her previous explorations.”
“Can you do that?”
“Probably. Rhoswen might agree to it for her…in a decade. I was thinking the club Anwyn runs in that city would be a good place, and she could be under Daegan’s protection if needed. Hold on. We’re landing.”
The dragon deposited them on the edge of another thick woodland. When they were both on the ground, Keldwyn offered Uthe his hand. Though Keldwyn was given to more romantic gestures than Uthe, this one was unexpected. But the odd, closed look on the Fae’s face had Uthe putting his hand in his without question, their fingers interlacing as Kel tugged him into the forest.
Uthe noticed the feel of these woods was different. There was a hushed quality here, fathomless and peaceful. The deeper into its embrace they went, the more the power of it increased. The dark shadows were not sinister, but they seemed to hold secrets centuries old.
They do. This is an ancient forest, one that has been here far longer than myself, than all of the Fae I know. The tree spirits here hold a great deal of magic within them.
A silver light began to track before them, Kel’s doing, it seemed. A few steps later, they were in a new clearing, surrounded and shaded by the trees. Uthe was looking at a small stone cottage with a thatched roof, a design right out of fairy tales.
“This is mine,” Kel said.
He’d always assumed Kel lived in one of the castles. As liaison, he traveled so much between the Fae royalty and the vampire world, it had never occurred to Uthe that he might maintain a private residence.
I cannot stay here as often as I like, but yes, this is my home. Keldwyn turned to face him. “You may stay here as often and as long as you like. If the Ennui takes more of your mind, you will always be safe here. Even if you wandered away from the cottage, all who live on the surrounding lands have regard and loyalty for me. They would care for you and bring you safely back home.”
Uthe wasn’t sure what to say. Kel’s jaw tensed. “I know your pride will chafe at this. Maybe you’ll say God does not find you deserving, but it’s just as much the sin of pride to make God’s decisions for Him. Your commitment deserves the gratitude of many. It also deserves the protection of those who love you well. There are many who assume when we die we go to a paradise where we will always feel safe and loved, happy and content in a way we were never quite able to claim here on earth.” Kel shook his head. “I’m not so sure of that outcome. I think the Powers That Be give us a short respite before They send us back into the fray. If it is within my power to give you such a respite for a time, that is what I will do. Perhaps this is how God has seen fit to reward you—with me.”
The last bit was said with exaggerated panache, a twinkle in his eye and a quick quirk to his lips, but Uthe could feel the Fae’s tension at his continued lack of response. Uthe couldn’t help it. He was riveted by the cottage, the peacefulness of it. Outside was a stone bench by a small pond, a place for reading, contemplating and napping. There was a comforting drone of bugs, both the six-legged kind and the firefly Fae, an appealing garden music. The sun was able to filter through the trees for light, but he needed no dagger. He was free to walk in the day or moonlight in the Fae world. He imagined the interior of the cottage would be simple and comfortable, not overly large but not crowded. Cozy for two males, with some space for the occasional guest.
He’d found his first sense of place with the Templars, and later among the vampires, rising in their ranks. He’d never turned away from any demand made of him, any obligation or responsibility that would lead to the betterment or protection of others. Not boastfulness, but penanc
e, particularly at first. Over time, it had become who he was. He’d never thought of reward or respite. Like Keldwyn, he didn’t expect there was a place the soul was given limitless vacation to do as it would, because it would not be satisfied with such indolence indefinitely. But to have a place of rest for a while… To have someone willing to give him that, who regarded him highly enough to think him deserving…
He could say nothing to Keldwyn, for there weren’t words for what he was feeling. It was a release deep within him, far beyond the bottom of his soul. It filled him with quietness, and a fierce need and joy. Exhilaration was there, too, the kind that came with the lifting of a burden that could be relinquished without guilt. About what would become of him, what he would be…and to whom.
He turned, put his hands on either side of Keldwyn’s face and held him with an expression he hoped conveyed all of it and more. “Thank you, Kel,” he said.
Kel curled his hand over one of Uthe’s on his jaw. “I am Fae, Varick. We do not accept thanks. I want your third mark.”
Uthe had said he would do it. Despite that, his concerns and reservations came back to him, paradoxically because of all the Fae had just given him, proving his devotion. However, to continue an argument already resolved was an insult to the Fae’s intelligence and depth of understanding. He was making his choice, and it was an informed one. If Uthe respected and loved him, he would argue no more. In truth, he didn’t wish to do so. He already knew many things about Kel, but he had a feeling he’d only read the first few chapters. He wanted to swim in his mind, among all the memories and images there. He wanted to intertwine his own life and pictures with them, and then use those shared visions to move forward together and create new ones.
He wasn’t sure the third mark would be enough—if soul-to-soul was going to be as close as he wanted to get to everything the Fae was.
Kel’s dark gaze had become even darker, energy building around him. He gripped Uthe’s hand again. “Come with me. I will wait no longer.”
He drew Uthe along the path to the house, lined with random rock sculptures and dancing flowers. Uthe expected Catriona had been involved in the whimsical design. Landscaping probably wasn’t a matter of labor here but of artistic desire. Everything natural seemed to fall into intriguing patterns and aesthetically pleasing arrangements. Kel spoke a word and the door shimmered. Apparently they did have security protocols, though.
“I can make the interior into whatever I desire,” Kel explained as he drew him inside. “I will show you what it normally looks like for daily living and comfort. Afterwards. I can change it then for your comfort. Whatever you need.”
Everything was dim, dark and empty, smelling pleasantly of dry stone. Uthe could discern nothing in the room but them, but the shadows held weight and mystery, building the anticipation. There would never be anything to fear here, the closest thing to it the sensual anxiety Kel evoked from Uthe.
“Kel.” Uthe stopped him. “Your care of me, it moves me more than I can say, but I do not wish you to become overly concerned about it. About the arrangement of the house, the care of your neighbors, any of that. I have what I need, right here.” He placed his hand on Kel’s chest, over his heart. “As long as this beats for me, then there is nothing more or less you need provide.”
Kel leaned in and kissed him, sliding an arm around Uthe’s waist to draw him closer and press thigh to thigh with him, his palm flattening against Uthe’s back. When he teased Uthe’s fang with his tongue, Uthe resisted the urge to pierce and draw blood. Lust and hunger started to rise together. Kel dropped a hand to grip his buttock. “I like that you restrain yourself until I bid you take from my vein.”
“It is only courteous,” Uthe teased him, with a spark in his eye. Kel’s hand tightened to bruising strength. “And you seem overly fond of grabbing my ass these days.”
“Because I see it as mine and I do enjoy touching my possessions. And only courtesy, Varick? I think not.”
Uthe shifted, not expecting the sudden insertion of the crop between his testicles and the crease of his inner thigh. Kel levered the shaft up to put pressure on the joining point. His mouth got a set look that had Uthe’s cock stiffening and increased the force of love and want in his heart.
“Say it,” Keldwyn said softly.
“I restrain myself because I obey my Master’s will.” Uthe’s voice was hoarse. In this secluded cottage, all the things they could do with one another, all the things Keldwyn could do to him, were far closer and even more real.
Kel slid the crop free. “I like you in these hose, my lord,” he said. “I like you better in them without the tunic. Take it off.”
He did. Keldwyn placed his palm on Uthe’s chest, holding him place as his gaze roved down over the blatant erection now revealed, straining against the cloth. “You find hose immodest, don’t you?”
“They are more revealing than what I usually wear.”
“Be grateful I allow you to wear the tunic over them except when we are together. Though it might be advantageous to wear them with a short-tailed shirt next time you want to distract the Council members into agreeing with me.”
“First you must present a point with which I agree, my lord. A rare occurrence.”
Keldwyn gave him a dangerous smile. “Push the hose down to your knees. Show yourself to me.”
Uthe complied, heat pumping through him. The cool air inside the cottage touched his hip bones, his buttocks. Stepping forward, Kel gripped Uthe’s cock, working it in firm strokes. The decisiveness of the action, the deftness of his touch, had Uthe grabbing the Fae Lord’s biceps to balance himself, his lips parting and stretching in aroused response.
“Let your fangs extend to their full length. I want to see the beast come out entirely. No holding back.”
Keldwyn had realized the effect unsheathing fangs had on a vampire. Since feeding always connected to the lengthening of the fangs, over time, bloodlust responded to the act, whether or not blood was being offered. Uthe’s organ twitched in Kel’s grasp as his fangs curved over his bottom lip. Keldwyn’s eyes glowed at the sight in the semi-darkness. “Take all of it off now.”
He stepped back and watched Uthe strip. When Uthe stood before him naked, Kel prowled around him, examining him from every angle. Uthe hadn’t ever been appraised in such a proprietary manner. His cock became thicker and harder, his blood coursing through his veins and heart like a tingling hot spring he could feel in every nerve ending. They pressed eagerly against the inside of his skin, wanting touch, contact. Penetration. Kel’s fingertips whispered over his ass.
“I like looking at you like this, Varick. I haven’t used much magic on you, but I could freeze you in place for hours, pleasure myself in so many ways upon your body. I would make you come again and again. When at last I was done and released you from the spell, I would catch you in my arms, because you would have no strength left. You worry that with the third mark you could tear apart my soul.” He pressed against Uthe’s back, his fingers sliding between his buttocks to tease his rim. “With the magic I have, I can do that to you with almost no effort. But we both show restraint, don’t we? We want inside one another’s souls, to cherish, to plunder, but never to destroy.” His breath was a heated tease along Uthe’s shoulder. “Except to destroy any thought of ever considering another Master but me.”
Uthe closed his eyes as Keldwyn pressed his mouth to his shoulder. “So it begins with a bite, does it not? I take some of your blood first.”
Uthe shuddered, a groan escaping his lips as Keldwyn bit deep with his sharp canines. He could feel the ache in his own as Keldwyn drew deep, his body against Uthe’s back, the urgent strength of it. Keldwyn alternated the sucking pressure with sweeps of his tongue, his hands gliding over Uthe’s arms, the flexing biceps, the corded forearms.
“You are beautiful, Uthe. Far more handsome than you’ve ever realized. Your body an unrelenting terrain, battle ready, yet so sensitive to touch, to stimulation.” Kel brought his hands ba
ck up, this time leaving a small cushion of space between his palms and Uthe’s arms. The sweep of heated magic ignited the nerve endings even further, and Uthe’s cock convulsed.
“I can do that, too,” Keldwyn murmured. “I can bring you to climax until you’re near death—your body overtaxed, your heart ready to explode in your chest, your cock staying just as erect after every orgasm. I can keep you in such mindless, blissful agony without even touching you, but I would never deny myself that pleasure. Or torment you so far, though it intrigues me how your body and mind respond to such a threat. You want me to push you, Varick. The way you push yourself past endurance for your God, that is how much you want a lover to demand from you, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Uthe growled. He wanted to fight, to surrender, to give pleasure, all to relieve the agony of want and yearning inside him that Kel was building higher and higher.
“Then go there.” Kel turned him toward the recesses of the room. A filtered light made up of gleaming motes illuminated the back wall, showing Uthe an array of wooden vines sprouted from the stone and tangled together. “Stand against the wall, facing it. Spread your legs shoulder width apart, and lift your arms.”
Uthe moved to the spot. The particles of light slid across his skin as he came closer. They left a trail of fire, a heated glow. Another stabbed his thigh and he jerked in reaction. “They can give you every sensation of the earth I can command,” his diabolical Master said. “The prick of a thorn, as you just felt. The sting of a nettle, the teasing tickle of a dandelion, the scrape of bark. You will not be able to anticipate which comes next.”
He had never trusted anyone like this. Uthe lifted his arms, spread his legs. The wooden vines immediately wrapped themselves around his arms from wrists to armpits, stretching his limbs out straight to either side of him and pressing his chest against the wall. The other vines did the same from ankles to thighs.
Kel stepped up behind him, reached around and found Uthe’s cock, adjusting it to an upright position so the inflexible length of it was against rough stone. “Keep it pressed against the rock that way.”