Inherent Cost

by Alicia Cameron

  “It wouldn’t be for a few months, but I’d be out of here the moment I had the chance!”

  Jere shrugged. “It’s like you said earlier, I don’t want to do this without consulting them first.”

  “Okay,” Kieran said, seeming a little crushed. In seconds, she brightened back up again. “Oh, guess what should probably come first, though?”

  Kieran was hard to keep down for long. “What’s that?”

  “Jen and I may have found Isis’s parents!”

  Jere sat there, stunned. He hadn’t believed it was possible. His sister had been rather taken with Isis, adoring the girl’s abrasive personality, and had taken her on as a pet project. Jen made it her mission to reunite Isis with her family, bringing in Kieran through mutual acquaintances. Jere would have been irritated if it weren’t so perfectly sweet and kind.

  “They stuck around town for a year or so before doing anything, probably too scared to search for her. Most families would just try for another child, but there are none on the record for them, slave or free. They both dropped off the face of the earth for a few years, and then this strikingly similar new couple opens up an interstate talent scout business in another slave state. On the surface, they’re legitimate; all their travels and inquiries have been work-related. But if you look a little closer and know the pattern, it seems that they’ve been following Isis for years, but they’ve always been a few steps behind.”

  Jere couldn’t imagine letting someone take his child in the first place, but mistakes happened. From the looks of it, they had spent the rest of their lives attempting to fix that mistake.

  “They were one of the first families to register with the Lighthouse Organization. It connects displaced slave children and their families,” Kieran reminded him. “This is one of the first cases we’ve worked with where the slave is still... well... a slave.”

  “What does Lighthouse do?”

  “It reunites them!” Kieran announced, visibly thrilled at the idea. “Usually through letters at first, maybe telegraphs, and then the family goes to the free state to visit. A lot of them end up moving, starting over. It’s so beautiful, Jere, we’re actually fixing some of the fucked-up things that slavery does to people.”

  Jere smiled. “It is impressive. But how would it work, with her not being in a free state?”

  “We’re still working out the details,” Kieran admitted. “We were thinking of sending you to meet them with her. They live in a slave state, so you could take her there, if you’re willing. It’s a lot safer than having them come to you.”

  Jere considered it. His last trip outside of Hojer had gone poorly enough that he was starting to agree with Wren and Isis’s plans to stay home all the time. Seeing unfriendly faces in public reinforced that idea, and traveling outside of the state meant that they would be subject to further scrutiny. Most states required that slaves be certified for out-of-state travel, assessed like dogs to ensure they would behave properly and not present a risk to the free citizens. “It would mean a lot of planning, and time off work. Won’t it take a long time to get them certified?”

  “You’d only need to get Isis certified.”

  Jere waited for the explanation.

  “You don’t have to take Wren,” Kieran suggested, an apprehensive look on her face.

  Jere didn’t respond, trying his best not to dismiss the idea immediately. He had promised Wren years ago that he would never leave him like that, and the thought of being gone for so long made him uncomfortable. He waited, hoping Kieran would give him another alternative.

  “Unless we coordinate it somewhere else, you really can’t take him. Redmont, where her parents are, is in the slave state of Brenton, and they have tight restrictions on interstate slave travel due to slave smuggling. They have a limit of one slave per free person.”

  Jere shook his head, annoyed by the restrictions and the logic of slave states.

  “The more people traveling together, the more attention you’ll draw to yourselves.”

  Jere nodded. “I don’t want to leave Wren... besides, we don’t even know if Isis wants to do this.”

  Kieran frowned at him. “Jere, haven’t you told her we were looking?”

  “If I had told her that you and Jen were looking, and nothing ever came of it, she’d be crushed. Trust me, she’d prefer it this way.”

  “If you say so.” Kieran glared at him, a look of annoyance on her face. “You are going to tell her now, right? Because we don’t want to invest our people in verifying this couple any further if you’re just going to be an asshole about it.”

  “You know how to do your organizing stuff, I know how to deal with Isis. I’ll tell her. And I’ll let you know if she wants to go further with it. Or if I do. With this audit—”

  “You have all the more reason to get your slaves certified!” Kieran interrupted. “It will make you look more legitimate.”

  “I’ll consider it.”

  Jere wanted to give Isis as many opportunities as he could, but he needed to make sure that they were all safe. He was much more comfortable when the vet and Wysocka left, and when his conversation with Kieran shifted to lighter topics. Talking about his old college town always made Jere nostalgic, but he never regretted leaving it, just like he never regretted staying in Hojer.

  After all, Hojer had brought him Wren.

  The house was quiet and dark by the time Jere returned. He left the bedroom light off, trying to be considerate.

  He was startled and awed when the room lit up moments later with the soft glow of fire. He turned to look at Wren, who was lying in bed with a grin on his face and a little ball of glowing fire in his hand.

  “You always trip when the lights are out.”

  Jere smiled. He would never tire of seeing the amazing extent of Wren’s gifts.

  “Did you and Kieran have a good night?” Wren asked.

  Jere felt guilty for going out and having a good time without his lover, especially since they had been talking about Wren, but Wren trusted him enough not to worry.

  “We did,” he agreed, stripping down and climbing into bed next to Wren, watching the ball of fire flicker and burn like a candle. “She gave me some pretty intense news about a new project.”

  “What’s that?” Wren asked, quenching the fire so he could wrap his arms around Jere.

  Jere never wanted to risk losing that feeling. He was going to tell Wren about the possibility of escaping to a free state, but even as he tried to imagine the words, he was filled with cold dread at the thought of losing Wren for even six months, or worse, forever.

  “It’s called the Lighthouse Organization,” Jere said instead. “They reunite families with their children who were taken as slaves. Kieran thinks they might have found Isis’s parents. My sister is working on it with her.”

  Jere forced a smile and tried not to even think about the other thing. He would tell Wren... tomorrow, maybe, once it had time to settle in. He could tell Wren and Isis at the same time. When he wasn’t as tired.

  He worked hard to think up the best excuses, justifying the lie to himself.

  “That’s good, right?” Wren checked. “I’m getting all sorts of weird mixed feelings through the connection.”

  That was the damned thing about having such a strong psychic bond, their feelings bled over all the time. When they were being honest with each other, it wasn’t a problem.

  “There are a lot of potential complications. I haven’t even told her we’re looking. You don’t think she’ll be angry about it, do you?”

  Wren shook his head, stroking his hands in soothing patterns against Jere’s skin. “I think she’ll be happy about it. She’s always maintained that they’d want her back, I’m sure her judgment is accurate. I would personally kick your ass if you even consider looking for my family.”

  Jere leaned forward, kissing him. “I’d never do that without your permission.”

  Jere could feel through the connection that Wren believed him.
It made it even worse that he wasn’t telling him about the possibility of escaping to freedom. But he would wait for it to be safer. Wren would probably reject the idea anyway. It would be a wasted conversation; Jere could think of far better things they could both be doing with their mouths.

  As if to prove it, Jere started kissing Wren more insistently, passionately, clutching at his arms and his hair and every part of him that he could reach.

  “You act like you haven’t seen me for days, not just hours,” Wren teased, touching Jere in return and heating up the space between them.

  “I just... I love you so much. I never want to be away from you.” That was true, at least.

  Wren pulled Jere close, and Jere relaxed into his arms. “I love you too, and I don’t think either one of us is going anywhere.”

  “If I go with Isis, you won’t be able to come,” Jere admitted. “There are restrictions, you’re not even certified—”

  “I know. Taking a slave out of state is difficult. It draws attention. I’ll be safer here, anyway.”

  Jere smiled, reaching down to take Wren’s cock in his hand and stroking it together with his own, loving the feeling of their skin pressed together like this.

  “I miss you even when I’m only gone for a few hours,” Jere admitted, working their cocks and holding Wren close. If they could stay like this, the rest of the world would never intrude. Wren would never go away.

  “You’re sweet.” Wren flipped Jere onto his back with ease, pinning him down and grabbing some lube.

  Jere loved it when Wren held him down like this; the feeling of Wren’s body pressing his into the mattress was so close to perfection that he wanted to come just thinking about it. He didn’t, though; he wouldn’t do that and risk spoiling the moment. He wanted to draw it out as long as he could, taking in as many of Wren’s touches and kisses as possible, letting Wren use his body as he pleased. He could tell that tonight’s play wasn’t going to last long; it was late, they were both tired, and sometimes, it was the closeness that they both craved more than a long, drawn-out fuck. Still, he wanted to revel in every moment. The feeling of Wren’s hands stroking up and down his body possessively, demanding that Jere yield to him, was intoxicating. Jere rocked beneath Wren, hoping to increase the friction between their bodies further still, working both their cocks with his hands so Wren’s hands were free to explore. He felt himself growing closer and closer, arching his back to get them both to a perfect angle.

  As Wren went from holding him down to kissing him and toying with his nipples, Jere gave in, coming in a series of gasps and moans. He smiled up at Wren’s satisfied expression. Wren took his own pleasure in Jere’s body, and Jere was happy to let him, not to mention helping him by continuing to stroke him and kiss him. He always loved touching Wren, but tonight they both needed it. Too soon, he felt the telltale signs that Wren was close, confirmed by the way Wren grabbed the back of his head and pulled him up, kissing him forcefully as he came.

  Satisfied, they lay back against the pillows, cuddling for a few moments before cleaning up and resting in each other’s arms. Jere never wanted to lose this feeling, not for a day, or a week, and certainly not for months, or worse, forever. He couldn’t risk Wren getting caught trying to escape the slave state, and he was certain Wren would agree. As they fell asleep, Jere decided to forget all about the first part of the conversation he and Kieran had.

  Chapter 7

  Planning

  While Jere was working the next day, Wren planned with Kieran. Although Wren was pretty sure he knew what “complying” with the slave agency would entail, he wasn’t completely sure, and he thought there might be things that Jere would miss. As much as Kieran hated slavery, she had experience with it. Wren trusted her to know what she was doing in this regard; she became remarkably professional when dealing with activist sorts of things. She really did seem pleased to talk with him, and Wren realized he enjoyed it as well. Having friends was such a strange concept, but it was something Wren was starting to feel comfortable about.

  And with Jere out of the way, he could drill her on the details of the plans that Jere was so hesitant to enact. Wren had been considering the possibility of Jere taking Isis to meet her parents. Despite the separation and the uncertain footing they had with the threat of an audit, he wanted this for Isis. The girl had grown on him, despite his initial resentment, and he was starting to share Jere’s desire to show her a good life.

  “I want to plan with you,” he told Kieran, giving her a conspiratorial smile. It was fun, playing around and plotting behind Jere’s back like this. “I think the opportunity you told Jere about is perfect, but he’s a little hesitant, and I want to make it work.”

  “So, Jere told you what I told him?” Kieran asked, looking uncertain.

  “He did,” Wren replied, smiling. “And I think it’s excellent, but what’s really important is getting him and Isis ready to go.”

  “To meet her parents?” Kieran looked confused, maybe even guarded.

  “Yeah, what else?”

  “Uh... nothing, it’s not a big deal,” Kieran mumbled.

  Wren shook his head. Knowing Kieran, she had planned some sort of rally or something that she wanted them to go to, a risk that Wren would never support. “Anyway, Jere’s concerned, rightfully so, because he doesn’t want to leave me here with anyone. I tried talking about it with him today, suggested staying with Paltrek, but he looked like he was going to cry. Which... I mean, it’s sweet and all, and I understand his concerns, but I’m sure I’d be fine. Paltrek is good enough to Jere that I’m sure he’d just lock me away in a room for a few days, and when Jere got home—”

  “Wren, no offense, but sometimes I can’t tell who is a bigger idiot, you or Jere,” Kieran cut him off. “There is no way in hell he’d consider letting you stay in the Wysocka house, and for that matter, neither would I!”

  Wren pulled back, frowning. “Excuse me, but I don’t recall asking your permission.” The old sense of discomfort threatened to creep back in; he had just been quite effectively reminded of his place. Friend? Maybe not. He pulled away, crossing his arms over his chest. The excitement he had felt just moments ago was gone.

  Kieran backed down, looking chastened. “Wren, I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant that there’s another way. You know, I wouldn’t let you eat poisoned food, either. I hope if that ever comes up, you don’t get all offended at me for looking out for you.”

  Wren frowned. He did see her point, kind of, but between her protectiveness and Jere’s, he felt excessively coddled, and more than a little bit demeaned. He’d let her eat poisoned food right now, if only because he knew Jere could heal her. This was why slaves shouldn’t get excited, or trust free people.

  “Um, there’s a better solution,” Kieran said, giving Wren an apologetic look. “Me!”

  Wren blinked. “You’d take Isis to see her parents? I don’t think she’d go with you.”

  “No,” Kieran laughed. “I’ll stay here with you. I stay here often enough anyway. Nobody will question it if I house-sit for Jere.”

  “Oh,” Wren said, shocked by the offer. “I guess... I hadn’t really even considered it. I wouldn’t want to put you out.”

  Kieran smiled. “Didn’t you at least have friends you could count on when you were a kid? It’s not a problem. I’ll be happy to help, especially if it makes you stop having hate-feelings toward me. I didn’t mean I was going to force you to stop or anything. I just wanted to give you a better option.”

  Wren smiled. As a slave, depending on things from any person, but especially a free person, was dangerous, but Kieran had always been able to be counted upon. He felt a little guilty for the hateful feelings, and was mortified that she had sensed it. “That’s what you get for using your gift on me,” he mumbled, blushing.

  “I’ll consider us even, if you do,” she replied.

  “Thank you,” Wren said, feeling sort of strange. Not quite indebted; Kieran would never ask for any
thing in return. He was so rarely grateful to anyone other than Jere.

  “You’re sure you don’t want me to look up your family, too?” she prodded.

  Wren shook his head. “Not a chance in hell,” he warned her. “My family wasn’t anywhere near as supportive as Isis’s was before I was taken, I could only imagine that it would be worse over time.”

  Jere approached Isis, admiring the careful work she did for a moment before speaking. For someone who had never hesitated to break everything in the house, she cleaned the medical supplies meticulously, organizing them and putting them back exactly where they belonged.

  “When you get a minute, can I talk to you?” Jere asked, feeling oddly nervous.

  “Something important?” Isis teased, joining him in an exam room. “Must be, for you to steal away from work with someone other than Wren.”

  Had it really been a year since he bought her? She had been so difficult at first, but Jere felt like she was exactly what he and Wren needed to balance them out. She excelled at calming clients in the clinic, provided a surprisingly good ear to listen to problems, and never asked for much. It seemed like every day that she got to be happy and safe was good enough for her.

  Still, Jere couldn’t help going above and beyond at times, and reuniting her with her family fit that description perfectly. He just hoped she would be open to it. “I, uh... I have some news for you.”

  For the slightest of seconds, he saw fear flicker across her face, the guarded look that she used to wear so often coming back before she crushed it down and set her jaw resolutely. She still tended to assume the worst, although neither Jere nor Wren would ever do a thing to harm her.

  “W-what?” she managed, not as successful at hiding the stutter, or the tremble in her voice.

  “It’s nothing bad, I promise!” He was never sure how she would react to big news. Sometimes she’d shrug and go along with it, sometimes she would shut down completely, sometimes she’d scream and carry on for hours, even if the news was good. She had explained one time that it was the overwhelming emotion that got to her.