Song and Key

by Connie Bailey

  Seva remembered the white-haired creature’s words: soul mates. It explained the teasing and flirting and getting annoyed, and then making up, to say nothing of their mutual attraction. They couldn’t leave each other alone. They were soul mates. He felt the truth of it in his bones and knew Keller felt the connection too. He had no idea what it meant, or what, if anything, would come of this partnership, but he knew he’d never be the same.

  “Are we okay?” Keller asked a few minutes later.

  “Yeah,” Seva said.

  “All right, then.”

  Keller put his head back down on Seva’s shoulder and let himself fall asleep. Holding Keller against his chest, Seva kept watch through what remained of the night until the sky began to lighten.

  With the coming of day, the fog dispersed, and by the time the sun climbed over the ridge, the mist was completely gone. The sky, rocks, and trees looked as they always had, with no signs to mark the occurrence of something extraordinary a few hours ago—and Seva didn’t mean the vampire. He closed his eyes for a moment and fell into sleep like a pebble into a pond.

  Chapter Ten

  Wednesday morning, a bit after sunrise, cuddling at the abbey ruins

  KELLER woke and smiled at the sunlight on his face and birdsong in his ears. Something wonderful had happened, and echoes of happiness reverberated through his body. He felt energized but disinclined to move or think or wake up fully. He was so very content right where he was—lying on Seva’s chest. He closed his eyes.

  The piercing call of a bird of prey woke Keller again. He opened his eyes and was immediately aware he was cuddling Seva like a toddler with a favorite teddy bear. He had an instinctive need to pull back, but instead he looked down into Seva’s still-sleeping face for a long moment. Tentatively he cupped Seva’s cheek with his palm. When he stroked Seva’s eyebrow with the ball of his thumb, Seva opened his eyes. Keller didn’t flinch or withdraw. He met Seva’s gaze and held it.

  “Well, this is an unexpected development,” Seva said in a sleep-fuzzed voice.

  Keller hummed his agreement and smiled a little, wondering if he should go in for a kiss. “Good morning to you too.”

  “This is a bit awkward.”

  Keller raised his eyebrows. “You feel a bit awkward? What about me? I’ve rarely woken up with someone, both of us fully dressed. I’m out of my element,” he teased.

  Seva gave his partner an annoyed look. “I feel awkward because I have to take a piss and you’re on top of me.”

  Taken aback, Keller hurriedly let go of Seva so he could get up.

  Seva stood, groaned a jaw-cracking yawn, and walked a few feet into the trees, stretching his arms as he went. He made a small, pained noise, probably stiff from the cold.

  “Hey, Seva,” Keller called out in a teasing tone, politely looking away. “Instead of taking a piss, why don’t you leave one?”

  Seva chuckled at the lame play on words, and the sound warmed Keller’s heart. He wondered that he’d never noticed before how appealing Seva’s laugh was. Maybe because he hadn’t heard it very often… but he was betting there was another, less mundane reason.

  “What’s that foolish look on your face?” Seva asked as he returned to see Keller getting up to go and water some nearby trees as well.

  Keller shrugged. “Do you feel different?”

  “You know I do,” Seva answered, rolling his eyes. “Just like I know you feel different. Something happened last night. I don’t know what it was, but everything is different this morning. Except it isn’t, actually. It’s all the same, but it feels….”

  “Yeah. That’s why I have a foolish look on my face.”

  Seva chuckled at them, both so tongue-tied. “It is kind of hard to verbalize. Do you remember anything about last night?”

  “The last thing I remember is getting separated in the fog.”

  “That was almost a day ago.”

  “Oh, right. We did this already. And then we talked about, you know, real stuff. I remember that much at least.” Keller frowned at the hole in his memory.

  Seva frowned right back at him. “You still don’t remember leaving the inn and walking up here alone?”

  Keller shook his head.

  “And you still don’t remember a short, skinny guy with long white hair?”

  “Nope.”

  Seva sighed. “I guess there’s no point in discussing that part, then.”

  Keller didn’t want to let go of the topic that easily, but Seva had a resigned look about him. “Let’s talk about it later,” he suggested as a compromise.

  Seva nodded. “Are you ready to start down, then?”

  Keller looked around, hesitant to leave the spot for no obvious reason. It was just a bunch of rocks near a gorge, where he and Seva had spent an uncomfortable night. It was also the most profoundly real moment Keller could remember having. “No, not really.”

  “Come on anyway,” Seva said. “I’d like to stay here and figure out what happened last night, but Radu will have the cops out after us if we don’t get back into town. He probably already does, given that we were gone all night. Unless no one has noticed and they just think we’re sleeping in.”

  “Anything is possible,” Keller said, taking one last look around the rock-strewn ground. It was ridiculous to feel nostalgic about sleeping outside, but that didn’t stop him from bending down, quickly scooping up a pebble, and tucking it into his pocket before he turned to follow Seva.

  In the bright sunshine, they walked down the path beside the gorge. It was a complete contrast to the night before, as though they’d walked through an invisible barrier between one world and another. Keller felt like he needed to do or say something to acknowledge the new connection he felt with Seva, but when he opened his mouth, something else entirely came out.

  “What happened to your back?” he asked, aghast. How had he not noticed that Seva was hurt too until just now?

  “What? Why?” Seva reached back but felt nothing obviously wrong.

  “You’re bleeding through your sweatshirt. Stop a second.”

  Seva stopped and let Keller peel his sweatshirt up to his armpits. Keller recoiled when he saw the four parallel scratches that ran from Seva’s shoulder to his waist.

  “What the hell happened?” Keller asked.

  “I was attacked by a wolf. Sort of,” Seva hedged.

  Keller raised an eyebrow. “How were you ‘sort of’ attacked by a wolf? And when?”

  Seva pulled his shirt down and turned back toward the path. “Can we walk while we’re talking?”

  “Sure. We need to clean out those scratches as soon as we can, though.”

  “I’d forgotten about them. I was a little preoccupied taking care of you,” Seva replied. “And it was during Part One of yesterday’s adventures in the forest.”

  Keller moved ahead of Seva on the trail. “You were saying?” he prompted.

  “A wolf chased me, but when it caught me, it wasn’t exactly a wolf anymore,” Seva said succinctly.

  “What was it?”

  Seva hesitated. “It looked like half wolf, half man.”

  Keller grinned like it was Christmas. “You mean a wolfman?”

  “If you want to call it that.” Seva’s tone was flat and dry, with shades of amusement.

  “How about werewolf?” Keller teased.

  Seva sighed loudly.

  “Lycanthrope? Shape-shifter? Skinwalker?” Keller paused. “Loup-garou?”

  “You left out hexenwolf.”

  “I didn’t know that one,” he admitted. Instead of arguing the point, Keller smiled over his shoulder at Seva before he faced front again.

  This morning the things that had previously irritated Seva about him now seemed more like endearing quirks.

  “I must be losing my mind,” Keller thought he heard Seva mutter under his breath.

  “What’s that?” Keller called back.

  “Nothing. I’m just back here marveling at Fate’s sense of humor.”<
br />
  “What?”

  “Nothing,” Seva repeated. “Have you remembered anything else about last night?”

  “Yeah. It’s fuzzy, but I’m remembering more now,” Keller mused as they walked. “Someone was singing in the mist…?”

  Seva snorted. “That’s poetic but not very informative.”

  “Well, if I remember anything else, I’ll tell you. Or you could just tell me what happened instead of making me guess. I have a bump on the head, not amnesia.” He sighed, then shook his head. “How does your back feel?”

  “It doesn’t hurt at all.”

  “That’s weird. They looked scabbed over, but I guess when you got up and stretched on your way to piss, they split open again. They’re pretty deep scratches.”

  “It was a big wolf.”

  “How did you get away from it?” Keller asked skeptically.

  “I don’t know. I remember hearing a whistle and….” Seva stopped walking and looked at the trees in thought.

  “That’s it?”

  “I was a little shaken up from being thrown around by a giant wolf thing,” he pointed out.

  Keller snorted. “You can’t say it, can you?”

  “What?”

  “Werewolf.”

  Seva snorted in imitation of Keller. “There are no werewolves. We are not superstitious peasants. I don’t know what attacked me, but like Doamnă Albescu, I prefer to think of it as a presently unexplained phenomenon.”

  “I’m sure you do. Lots of phenomena around here lately.” Keller stopped and turned around when they could see but hadn’t yet reached the unpaved road. “Can we talk for a minute before we get back to civilization?” he asked, hesitant.

  Seva stopped too and raised an eyebrow. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”

  “Oh my God, you’re kidding, right? What do you think is on my mind?” Keller snapped, his voice rising with each word. “You feel it, don’t you? This weird connection?” he asked, gesturing between them.

  Seva shook his head. “I thought we already discussed this.”

  “We acknowledged it. That’s not the same thing.”

  “Can’t we leave it at that?”

  “No!”

  Seva didn’t want to talk about it, but Keller looked genuinely distressed. “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “Well, for one thing, what do we call it?” Keller asked.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Keller flapped his hands in frustration. “Look, I’m new to this, so cut me some slack.”

  “New to what?”

  Muscles bulged along Keller’s jaw as he clenched his teeth. “Why are you making it so hard for me? I just want to know if this is ‘love.’ Believe it or not, I don’t think I’ve ever been in love, so I’m a little lost.”

  “Finally. I’ve been waiting forever for you to notice that you’re not a sexbot,” Seva said tartly.

  Keller made an exasperated noise. “Why am I suddenly the serious one and you’re cracking wise like you don’t have a care in the world?”

  “I don’t know.” Seva smiled. “Someone has to be the sarcastic asshole in this relationship. I enjoy the role. Or maybe I’m just surprised you can say the word love to me.” He shrugged. “And pleased.”

  “You are?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Keller blinked at him. “Because you didn’t seem to like me until now?”

  “Oh, that.” Seva broke into a smug grin. “That’s just because you’re a super-annoying, cocky, jackass horn-dog. But I do find you fairly attractive. And you’re not entirely awful.”

  Keller mouthed jackass horn-dog, as though memorizing the phrase, before he spoke. “Tell me how you really feel,” he said sarcastically.

  “I think you should trust how you feel,” Seva advised.

  “Okay, Obi-Wan.” Keller cleared his throat. “What about…?”

  “What about what? Just say whatever is bothering you, because I’m not psychic and I’m hungry,” Seva said, starting back down the path.

  Keller followed him. “Are we going to be lovers?” he asked in a too-casual voice.

  Keller could tell that Seva was rolling his eyes, even though he couldn’t see it. “Of course. I believe I told you that a day or so ago.”

  “Hmm. That’s right. You did.” Keller shook his head. That was that apparently. “Okay. Let’s get going. I’m starved.”

  That settled, they emerged from the trees onto the washed-out dirt road and walked toward the village.

  “You’re taking this very calmly for a man who recently stated he was definitely not interested in a serious relationship,” Seva observed. “Often. Repeatedly.”

  “Maybe I was wrong.” Keller shrugged. “I’ve slept with lots of people, sometimes because the mission required it. It was always just sex, not more or less. I like flirting and I like sex, but never had time for more than a hookup.”

  “I’m finding this conversation a bit surreal. Can we simply let things progress naturally?”

  “Not so far,” Keller said with a saucy wink, “but I’m willing to try. It’s kind of my motto.”

  Seva shook his head in amused disgust. “As I always suspected. You’re just winging it all the time, aren’t you? Not a single plan.”

  “I’ll take the Fifth on that one.” Keller grinned and picked up the pace. “Is that Cosmina?” he asked, shading his eyes with his hand.

  “I think the search party has found us,” Seva said, waving to her.

  RADU sat the men down at a table, and he and Cosmina brought them breakfast, two bottles of water, and a carafe of coffee.

  “We were so worried,” Radu said in a paternal tone. “I’ve sent a message to Captain Gheorghe to let everyone know you’re back.”

  “We’re sorry to cause trouble for you all,” Keller said.

  “It is no trouble,” Radu insisted. “We were all worried, though, when we discovered you weren’t in your rooms this morning. What in heaven were you doing, going back up to the abbey when you were already injured? I was certain you had fallen off a cliff or been devoured by wolves.”

  “What a lurid imagination you have,” Cosmina scolded. “Let them eat.”

  “Forgive me,” Radu said, pulling out a chair and sitting down with his guests. “I hope I haven’t ruined your appetite.”

  “Nothing could put me off food right now,” Keller said.

  “You look completely recovered from yesterday afternoon,” Cosmina remarked.

  His mouth full, Keller shrugged. He still had very little memory of what she was talking about. “I feel fine now.”

  “Still, you need to rest, both of you,” Radu said. “You can tell us later what happened. The police will probably want to hear also.”

  “Of course,” Seva said, “but it’s nothing more interesting than two bumbling tourists going back for a lost camera at the crack of dawn, and getting lost.”

  “I am so happy you are both unharmed,” Radu said, nodding.

  “It didn’t used to be this dangerous being an amateur historian,” Seva joked. He glanced at Keller as he tucked into his breakfast.

  “Tell me about it,” Keller said. “Ever since Indiana Jones came along, it’s nonstop excitement.”

  Cosmina went back to the kitchen and didn’t return until they were finishing up. She offered more coffee, but they declined and pushed their empty plates away.

  “Now for a good day’s rest,” Keller said, looking at Radu.

  “You’re very foolish men,” Cosmina said, but she was smiling as the men moved away from the table. “Rest well.”

  “I’ll make sure you aren’t disturbed,” Radu added.

  THE agents went up to their suite, and Keller locked the door behind them. He turned to face Seva, but his partner was halfway across the sitting room already. Keller followed him into the bedroom and watched Seva pull off his sweatshirt before he spoke.

  “We’re going to address this right now,” Keller said.

 
Seva continued undressing, tossing his shirt onto a chair as he turned around. “What are you on about?”

  Keller registered the sight of Seva shirtless and shoeless, wearing just a pair of jeans that hugged the curves of his gymnast’s body. He experienced a moment of odd disorientation where he felt as though his very atoms were being drawn to Seva, like iron filings to a magnet. Dispensing with words, he surrendered to the urge to cross the space that separated him from his mate.

  “Keller?” Seva asked as he was swept into a fierce embrace. “You okay?”

  Keller felt a little crazy, and probably looked it. “So much weird shit has happened since we got here, and I’ve tried to take it in stride and keep going like everything is business as usual. But this I just can’t ignore. Whatever it is with us, I need to know that I can handle it.”

  Seva nodded. “I don’t think we need to force anything. Sure I’m hot for your smokin’ bod, but like you said, there is some weird shit going on here.”

  “Yeah.” Keller shook his head, forehead wrinkling in a frown. “I thought of you as my mate just now,” he admitted.

  “Seriously?”

  Keller nodded.

  Seva failed to repress a smile. “That’s really precious.” He paused. “And kind of hot.” He freed his hands and put one on either side of Keller’s face.

  “Fuck it,” Keller said under his breath. He leaned in and touched his lips to Seva’s.

  Keller would later swear, when telling the story of their first kiss, that he heard a distinct click like the tumbler of a lock falling into place. At the time, however, there was no room for poetic metaphors, no thought in his head beyond more. He’d felt desire and lust before, but those feelings were like a single struck match compared to a wildfire burning out of control. He tightened his hold until Seva’s ribs creaked, and claimed Seva’s mouth with another torrid kiss.

  Seva laced his fingers into Keller’s hair and returned the kiss with equal heat. He opened his mouth and sucked in Keller’s bottom lip before letting it go. Keller slid his hands down Seva’s back and into his jeans as he continued to explore the delights of Seva’s mouth.