He pushed the lovely recollections away. They’d sustained him for so many years, he saw them in his mind, felt the sensations, as if he’d traveled back almost a decade. Now, though, he needed to concentrate. With shaking hands, he tried to fit the key into the lock, iron clattering against iron. On his third try, Reg managed to slip the skeleton key into the hole. He held his breath as he turned it, doubting it would work and almost hoping it wouldn’t. As much as he wanted a look at the contract, he didn’t want to obtain it by such means. The mechanisms ground and clicked, then released. Reg slid the drawer open.
Querry and Frolic’s contract lay atop a pile of parchment. Though he desperately wanted to unfurl it on the desk and read it then and there, Reg tried to think as his friends would. He couldn’t consider the language of the agreement; he had to copy it as quickly as possible. Carefully, Reg untied the thin, black cord and let the sheet unroll. To his surprise, another, smaller sheet of paper nestled within. It had a greenish cast and contained strips of fibers, like bits of leaves and blades of grass. Reg smoothed it flat and read the words inscribed across it.
Gavindale Starling III, Baron of Greymont and Sele, also the Viscount du Marches, has hereby, through services rendered, procured the services of Our sworn vassal, from here upon called Thomas Teezle, until such time as the Servant’s favorite bauble rests within a golden vessel, until such time as the child without a mother reunites with his father, until such time as Master and Servant soar beyond the Edge of the World, and a friend willingly places something in the Servant’s hand which he cannot hold in his own.
For many minutes, longer than he dared spare, Reg stared at the odd scrap of paper and wondered how it found its way into his friends’ sealed agreement. At last, he snapped out of his fugue and realized he could contemplate it later. He scrolled the words of Querry and Frolic’s contract, the letters jagged since his hand shook so badly. Then, because it couldn’t do any harm, he copied the short, cryptic verse binding Tom Teezle to Starling’s service. Reg rolled the papers up, hoping the still wet ink wouldn’t smudge too badly, and shoved them into his trouser pocket.
He stood among the chaos of familiar, Anglican things, missing home more than he’d ever admit to his partners. He’d given it up for them, and while he didn’t regret it, not for a second, he did miss his homeland. It didn’t matter, Reg decided. He’d done well—better than he’d expected, and he’d accept his small victory for now. Querry had mentioned a celebration. Reg slid a few more desk drawers open and found several dusty bottles of excellent, Belvaisian wine insulated by heaps of haphazard papers. He chose two of the best and shoved one of them between his waistband and underclothes. Then he untucked his shirt and slid the second bottle inside it, squeezing it against his ribs with his arm and feeling, in spite of his misgivings, rather clever. He couldn’t help but anticipate his friends’ gratitude for his successful work. For himself, he took a few more sheaves of parchment, so he could continue to record the events of their strange journey.
Just as Reg prepared to leave Starling’s cabin, the door knob turned slowly, and the latch clicked open. Reg, relying on instinct, ducked beneath the desk as the door swung open, and the baron entered the room, followed by Tom. Reg curled into as small a ball as he could, the necks of the wine bottles poking him in the ribs. After a few seconds, he realized he couldn’t hold his breath, so he tried to keep his breathing as shallow and soft as possible. Still, he shook from his fingertips to his toes, and he felt like his heart would explode out of his chest. Reg tried to concoct some excuse to tell Starling should he be caught, but every lie he considered sounded more ludicrous than the last.
“Where did you disappear to, faerie?” Starling asked. He sounded annoyed and exhausted, but not really angry.
“I spoke with the clockwork, Frolic,” Tom answered, his tone betraying no emotion. “He is quite troubled.”
“How so?”
Tom sighed dramatically. “You cannot understand. The poor creature received the perceptions of my people rather suddenly, and does not know quite how to take them. He asked for my assistance.”
“And did you agree?”
“I can do nothing without my lord’s blessing.” The fey didn’t even try to veil his sarcasm and mockery; if anything, he emphasized them.
Starling walked to the front edge of the desk. Reg recoiled and drew into a tighter knot. The baron lifted an empty bottle, exhaled with clear disappointment, and slammed it back down on the desk. “And the clockwork revealed nothing else?”
“Frolic,” Tom said.
Reg couldn’t help but smile, despite his distress.
“Don’t toy with me,” Starling said in a low, threatening tone. “What did you learn?”
“They’re not fools. Would you have enlisted them if they were? They know there is danger. They know many things are left unsaid. That clockwork boy sees much. He will be an asset or a serious enemy. Above all, he loves his friends in that way you humans value certain other members of your race. But more. His passion is boundless. I believe that boy will do anything to keep his two humans safe. I believe, if he had to, he could draw upon the great power within him. He can’t use it yet. He doesn’t understand it, but don’t test him.”
“Good work, Tom.” Starling continued to search around his desk, bed, and night table, presumably for a spare bottle. “Do you know anything else, as far as his goals?”
“No, my lord.”
By Tom’s tone, Reg sensed he was lying or holding something back. Surely Starling intuited the faerie’s deception as well, and he said nothing for many minutes.
“Very well. Tell me, fey, how do we resist these attacks by your kindred?”
“We don’t.”
“Unacceptable!” Starling smacked the desk with his fist, rattling the inkwell and empty bottles and rustling the unorganized papers. “There are wards, charms against them, are there not?”
“Honestly.” Tom snorted.
Reg dared to peer around the edge of the desk. Not two feet away, Starling tapped the toe of his expensive, leather shoe, and another few feet away the faerie waited, his slim legs tense beneath his snug, pale-green trousers. When Reg looked up, Tom caught his gaze, grinned slightly, and winked. It sent a shiver down Reg’s spine.
“If you’re so concerned, my lord, I suggest you speak with the human female who works on the engines. She is working on constructing a device to neutralize magic, if I’m not mistaken. Perhaps she’s made progress, though of course you realize such a contraption will leave both you and me powerless. We’ll be placing our fates in the hands of men who aren’t loyal, some who are here under duress, and many who don’t even care for us.”
“Let me have a drink and think on this,” Starling said, taking a step closer to the desk.
“That’s not wise,” Tom said a little too quickly. “We shouldn’t hesitate. We don’t know when the next attack will come. Let us speak to the woman now. The wine will not go to vinegar in a quarter of an hour, sir.”
“Oh very well, you insufferable pest.”
“I’m sure at least someone will be grateful we went below in a timely fashion,” Tom said as the two of them left the cabin.
The door closed softly, and Reg waited a few minutes before emerging from his hiding place. He raked his sweaty hair off his forehead and tried to slow his breathing. While he knew he’d been fortunate, he absolutely abhorred the idea of being beholden to a faerie. Their help always came with a price. He’d watched Querry being toyed with and manipulated by the Fair Folk for too many years back in Halcyon. Still, Reg hadn’t requested Tom’s aid, and no bargain had passed between them. The faerie might expect Reg’s future cooperation, but he couldn’t demand it.
Still shaking, Reg readjusted the bottles beneath his shirt, left the cabin, hurried across the deck, and descended into the hold. He had much to discuss—and even more he couldn’t say—with his companions.
Chapter 11
WHEN HE returned to the smal
l room they shared, Reg found Querry and Frolic sitting on the floor, Frolic holding a wet cloth to Querry’s eye. Querry sat straight up from the bunk he leaned against, giving Reg a good view of his swollen, blackened face. “Did you get it?” Querry asked.
Reg rolled his eyes as he opened his shirt and handed one of the wine bottles to his injured friend. “This should make you feel better.”
“Brilliant! That means you did it, Reg! I knew you could!” Querry took a roll of leather from a pouch near his waist and unfurled it across his thigh. From the various tools and picks arranged neatly within, he selected a piece of curlicue metal and opened the wine. He took a long pull straight from the bottle and exhaled with satisfaction. “Everything tastes better if it’s stolen.”
Reg set the other bottle on top of a chest and joined them on the floor. Querry passed him the wine, and he drank. While creamy, smoky, and robust, the wine would have tasted better chilled. Still, Reg took a few more deep swallows to calm his nerves. “Your contract wasn’t the only thing I found in that drawer. Somehow, the agreement binding that fey, Tom Teezle, to Lord Starling ended up sealed inside the parchment.”
“Odd,” Frolic said. “Or… maybe it isn’t. I think Tom knew what we were up to. I think he even helped us as much as he could.”
As Reg looked at Frolic, his sweet face and wide eyes as innocent as an angel’s, he remembered what the fey had said about the terrible power within him. Should he mention it? How would he even breach the subject? Instead, he asked, “What do you mean he helped us?”
Frolic pursed his lips and toyed with the open collar of his shirt, running his fingers over the edge of the fabric. “When I spoke to him, he said you’d be done with your task before he left me. I think he knew. I think he wants our help to regain his freedom.”
“I think you’re right. He lured Starling away from the cabin while I was hidden under the desk. Tom made it possible for me to escape. And you think he expects his freedom in return?” Reg asked.
Querry drank, passed the wine back to Reg, and clapped his hands. “He’ll make a very valuable ally! Well done, both of you.”
“Wait just a minute, Querry. Have you forgotten so soon how that faerie back in Halcyon used you? They aren’t to be trusted. They aren’t like us.”
“They still have a right to independence,” Frolic said, with more passion than Reg had ever heard from him. “I think we should help Tom.”
“Well, I think we should make a deal with him, enlist his power,” Querry said. “Get him in our corner.”
“No,” Reg said firmly. “No, I don’t think we should. Haven’t obscure magical agreements led us into enough trouble already? We should have nothing to do with that creature. Under no circumstances should we enter into any kind of bargain with him. Please, swear to me we won’t.”
“I didn’t say anything about a bargain, but if I can help him liberate himself, then I will,” Frolic said. “It’s only right.”
Reg reached over to stroke Frolic’s knee. “Beauty, you must be very careful. These creatures are old and experts at manipulation. He’ll trick you if he can. Remember, he isn’t human—”
“Neither am I!” Frolic sprung to his feet and strode to the door, standing with his arms crossed and his back to Querry and Reg. “No part of me is human, not a bit. If anything, I’m as much faerie as I am clockwork. You two made me that way. Don’t forget that!”
Both of them stood. Reg sought Querry’s gaze in the hopes of some suggestion as to how to undo what he’d unknowingly said. Querry merely shook his head and shrugged. Since he couldn’t bear to see his dear Frolic hurting, Reg walked up behind him and wound his arms around Frolic’s small waist. At first Frolic flinched and recoiled, but then he consented to be held, curving his back against Reg and relaxing into Reg’s embrace. Frolic seemed so small and frail, yet Reg knew how much strength he possessed. Now, it seemed he possessed a power not even he knew of or understood. But it didn’t matter. Reg knew what he loved about Frolic, and none of those things had changed.
“Ah, beauty. I’m so sorry.” Reg rested his chin on the top of Frolic’s head and closed his eyes. “You know it doesn’t matter to me how you started out. You’re still one of the finest people I’ve ever met. I only want to keep you safe. I’d give my life to protect you or Querry. But both of you seem susceptible to faerie glamour. I just wish you could see how deceitful they are. Frolic, my sweet Frolic, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Frolic nuzzled against Reg’s neck. “I’m sorry too, Reggie. I’ve been on edge. I can’t say why.”
“You had a right to be offended,” Reg whispered, burrowing down into Frolic’s hair just as Querry came to stand in front of Frolic and stroke his smooth face.
“The important thing is Reg got a copy of the contract,” Querry said. “Maybe we’ll get out of this mess after all. Until then, there’s nothing much to do until the ship is repaired. For the time being, we’re stuck where we are.”
Frolic inclined his head to look at Querry, and Querry looked down at his face with a gentle, adoring expression. Then he looked at Reg with the same reverence on his features and his blue eyes shining, and Reg couldn’t help himself. He reached over Frolic’s shoulder, grasped Querry by the hair, and pulled his face close. He parted his lips and let Querry do the rest. Querry didn’t disappoint him—he never did—as he pressed his mouth roughly against Reg’s and forced his tongue past Reg’s teeth. Frolic dropped his head onto Reg’s shoulder, and Reg ran his hand up under Frolic’s shirt while his other hand clawed at Querry’s neck. Frolic flinched as Reg ran his fingertips lightly up his waist, and Querry broke free of Reg’s lips to kiss Frolic. For the next several minutes they took turns kissing each other, their hands roving over each other’s bodies as their breathing grew quick and heavy.
All the tension that had been coursing in Reg’s veins since he’d woken up surged to a crescendo, making him tremble and writhe in the confines of Querry and Frolic’s arms. He felt like he’d explode from the energy building within him. With a growl, he caught Querry’s hair again, hauled him close, and bit his neck at his pulse-point.
Querry made a small, high-pitched sound of surprise and pain before pulling away and holding Reg’s face between his palms. “Just what’s gotten into you?” he asked with a mischievous smile on his swollen, shiny lips.
“I… I don’t know. I’ve been so nervous, wound up so tight all day… I feel like it’s tearing me in two. I’ve so much vigor at the moment, and I need this so much….”
Querry smiled knowingly and kissed Reg hard, their teeth knocking and scraping together. Meanwhile, Frolic nipped and suckled up the side of Querry’s neck while he circled his sweet little ass against Reg’s erection. Reg wriggled his arm between Querry and Frolic and ran his palm up Frolic’s taut belly until he could capture a nipple between his thumb and finger. Frolic whimpered against Querry’s skin and thrust against Querry. Reg grinned against Querry’s lips, and Querry’s eyes crinkled to crescents as they both felt Frolic go slack in their arms with the first of many climaxes. The wonderful sounds he made as he shivered with his release almost made Reg come in his trousers. Instead, he willed the release away and freed himself from Querry’s mouth with a slurp. He pushed the white ringlets up and swiped his tongue from the prominent knob of Frolic’s spine to his hairline. He tasted like a cool sunrise heavy with fog. Reg always expected a salty, human flavor, but Frolic’s essence reminded him of morning rain.
Slowly, Reg dropped to his knees, rubbing his cheek and chin down Frolic’s back and savoring the juts of bone and cords of sinew as he went. When he reached Frolic’s waist Reg pulled his partner’s shirttails loose and yanked the loose-fitting trousers to Frolic’s knees. He peeled Frolic’s undershorts down and kissed the half-moons of his slender ass before urging his cheeks apart. Frolic spread his legs a little wider and bent at the waist, leaning against Querry.
Reg burrowed his nose into Frolic’s cleft, which lacked the expected musk
, and pressed the tip against his wrinkled opening. It clenched in response.
“Oh, Reggie, yes!” Frolic almost sang.
Reg rested his forehead against Frolic’s tailbone as Querry buried his fingers in Reg’s hair. “Beauty….” Reg panted, his heart ready to leap out of his chest and his cock so hard it hurt. “Beauty… can I have you? Frolic, please….”
In response, Frolic turned, dropped to his knees, and kissed Reg. His kisses were so different from Querry’s: enthusiastic but without the aggression. Though Reg relished Querry’s dominance, he also enjoyed Frolic’s innocent exploration. He wrapped Frolic in his arms and lay back against the metal floor of their cabin. In minutes, both Querry and Frolic lay across him, their bodies forming a slight peak above him as they kissed at opposite corners of his mouth, their tongues meeting his at the center. Both of their cocks, Frolic’s bare and Querry’s barely restrained by the fabric of his trousers, brushed alongside Reg’s erection. Out of his mind with need, Reg bit at their lips as he struggled to get Querry’s pants down. He pulled so hard he popped the buttons and sent them pinging against the steel-paneled floor. Finally, he managed to get his hand on Querry’s cock and slide his foreskin back to reveal his rich, plum-colored head. Just the sight of it, the scent of it, made Reg desperate to feel it rubbing against his own penis, sliding across his belly, cleaving him, pushing inside him….
Ready to weep with frustration, Reg lifted his hips to pull his trousers down. He only got them to the tops of his thighs, but it was enough. Frolic, as if he could read Reg’s mind, hurried to untie Reg’s cravat and unbutton his shirt. Soon it fell open on either side of him, and both Querry and Frolic hurried to taste his exposed flesh.
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