“Do I have to hear you boys discussing your sex life?” Charlie grumbled. “It just reminds me I’m not getting any.”
Jack patted Charlie gently on the back. “Sorry, man.”
The knock at the kitchen door saved the awkward moment. Phil glanced over to see Mark poke his head around the door, his green eyes—Curtess eyes—lighting up when he saw Jack.
“Oh God, another one,” Charlie groaned. “If you start discussing sex, I’m throwing you out,” he told the startled new arrival.
“Should I ask?” Mark grinned as he received a hug from Jack.
“Do it and die,” Charlie growled.
Mark held up his hands in surrender.
“You know you love it.” Phil grinned, ducking away from a clap to the head his elder brother aimed at him.
To head off more sibling bickering, Jack handed Mark the photo of the ruined remains of Eastbridge Hall and the ice house. The reaction was immediate, like Mark had been plugged into the mains. The other men looked at each other with a satisfied nod.
“Damn, next time give me a chance to be prepared,” Mark exclaimed, hastily handing the photo back to Jack.
“Sorry, sunshine, we just needed to know we were on the right track,” Jack said, kissing him by way of apology.
Suddenly hit by a wave of missing his boyfriend, Phil huffed a little. “It’s all very well knowing where to look, but the ruins may be unsafe. We need to be careful, otherwise we’ll have it crashing around our heads.”
Jack tapped the photo. “Let’s take a look at the site. I know some guys who can make it safe if necessary.”
Charlie looked dubious at Jack’s words. “We can’t afford their fees, Jack.”
Waving a hand dismissively, Jack said, “I’m owed a favour. Leave it with me.”
Phil was exchanging a doubtful look with Charlie when his mobile vibrated. Flipping it open, he couldn’t help the broad grin that spread over his face.
“God help me!” Charlie stomped off towards the kitchen door. “I need to find my woman before I drown in the rainbow gay.”
Answering the phone with a suggestion to his brother that he could do worse than to embrace the cock, Phil greeted his boyfriend.
“Who are you talking to?” Lee asked suspiciously.
“My brother,” Phil said.
“That’s so wrong, baby.”
Phil chuckled. “Don’t call me baby. What time do you want me to pick you up?” Phil had driven Lee to work simply so he’d have to pick him up later.
“About four. I thought we could drop off at the Frog on our way home.”
“Cool!” Phil liked Lee’s suggestion. “See you later.”
Jack and Mark were still chatting by the table. They looked up as he joined them.
“We need to work out when we’re all free,” Jack said.
Grimacing as he thought about trying to get six separate schedules to mesh, Phil picked up the phone. “There’s no time like the present. I’ll phone Sean and Daniel to get their free time. Sean’s got surgery all this week, so it’s going to be next weekend at the earliest.”
Jack groaned loudly. “Does that mean your gran will be with us all week?”
“Hell no!” Mark exclaimed. “Not a chance. She can’t be that cruel.”
* * * *
Despite their best efforts, it was ten days before the six men managed to get together again. Ten long days that gnawed at Phil’s soul. He spent a lot of time running his fingers over the crack in the cursed sarsen. The crack was deeper and wider than before, but not enough to break it.
Still not enough.
Lee was there as well, taking him to bed at every opportunity and distracting him with his hands, dick, and so, so wicked mouth that licked and sucked his flesh until Phil was a mindless puddle of need beneath him.
The only piece of good news was that baby Edward was holding his own. Every day was a new battle fought, but Charlie and Carol had lost the haunted looks in their eyes that appeared when they contemplated the possible survival of their child.
They hadn’t needed to wait as Sean pointed out to Phil. Whatever had to happen was down to him now, and the other five were really irrelevant. Phil knew that as well as they did, but he needed to have them there, needed the closure with all of them.
There was a light pattering of rain as they walked around the ice house. They had left Alice behind at the gatehouse as the ground was so uneven. Centuries of footsteps had not completely disguised the fact they were walking over rubble. Sean was staying close to Daniel, with Lee also close by, ready to help if he should stumble, blandly ignoring the resentful glares from the ex-soldier.
Lush green grass covered most of the site. It had been years since Phil and his brothers had played around here, despite their parents’ dire warnings of collapsing brickwork. Jack’s face was animated as he explored the area, comparing the aerial photos with the evidence in front of him.
Phil showed them around, as good as any tour guide, describing the layout of Eastbridge Hall. For the first time, the men were able to visualise a small part of Jonathan Curtess’s life before it was crushed by Sir Belvedere Fitzwarren. Mark and Lee wandered off together for a while, and the others let them go, knowing that this place held a different meaning for them. On their return, the men decided it was time to venture into the ice house, which was really just a small part of the underground kitchen of the old hall.
At the entrance to the dark cave, everyone put on the hats Jack had provided, pausing as he handed one over to Mark.
The psychic was pale, his hand visibly shaking as he took the hat. “There is so much anger trapped here.” Mark shuddered. “Sir Belvedere killed anyone who supported Curtess.”
Jack pulled him close against his body. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”
“We have to. I started this whole process. Now we need some closure.”
There was a cough at the back of the queue. Phil turned to see Daniel leaning heavily on his cane.
“Why don’t you stay out here with me, Mark? I can’t say as I’m up to trying not to trip over anything in the dark.”
Phil grinned as he heard the low-voiced “Now you’re being sensible” from the doctor and the answering growl.
“Go on.” Jack gently pushed Mark towards the light. “We’ll call you if we find anything—or don’t find anything.”
Mark kissed him gratefully and walked back to give Daniel an arm to the top of the stairs.
Taking a deep breath of the dank air, Phil ducked his head into the dark tunnel. “Here goes.” He switched his torch on and pointed it at the floor. The others did the same, waving their beams of light at the tunnel walls. No one was really sure what they were looking for in the pitch blackness. It struck Phil that leaving behind the two people with psychic abilities may have been self-defeating.
“Jack, what are we looking for?” Sean asked, his voice echoing in the closed space.
“Buggered if I know,” Jack said cheerfully. “Until we get in here, I don’t know what we are going to find.”
The only one that had been into the ice house was Phil, and his memory wasn’t of the exact details. As a kid, he was more concerned with the game they were playing than the structure of the ruin. The brick tunnel opened out into a larger space, part of the original kitchen. All around there were tattered burlap sacks and broken stoneware, testimony to its use in previous centuries. Jack wandered off to look at the far wall, which was effectively a solid wall of rubble. If the “fortune”, which Phil had to admit could amount to absolutely nothing in today’s terms, was hidden behind that wall then they were stymied. Nothing short of a bulldozer would get that down.
“I don’t get why the fortune or whatever it is didn’t go to his wife and child,” Sean said as he ran his hands over the walls, looking for something, anything that might give them a clue.
“Maybe because he thought Fitzwarren could get his hands on it,” Lee suggested.
“But it’s
his family,” Sean protested.
“Do you think Curtess was thinking of anything beyond revenge? Fitzwarren wasn’t,” Lee replied, frowning as he knocked at the wall.
Jack came to stand by him. “Have you found something?”
“I’m not sure. It seems hollow here.”
Following Lee’s direction, Jack took a step backwards, looking at the blackened stones. “It looks like one of the hearths for the fires. There might have been a recess in the wall.”
“If so, it’s been blocked up,” Lee said, feeling around with his fingers.
“Perhaps with the destruction of the house?” Phil suggested, going over to have a look. Even as he did so, he could see he was wrong. Whatever was blocking the recess had been filled in deliberately.
“I’ll get Mark down here to see if we’re on the right track,” Sean said, walking out of the tunnel.
He came back after five minutes, Mark hard on his heels. The psychic went to the recess and placed his hand over it.
Jack grabbed him swiftly as Mark’s knees buckled. “Easy,” he gasped. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“We’ve found it.” Lee sounded exultant.
“I’ll get Mark out of here and come back with some tools,” Jack said, his arms around his boyfriend.
“I’m fine,” Mark groused, but he didn’t protest as Jack herded him out of the old kitchen.
Phil eyed the sledgehammer that Jack brought back warily. “I’m not sure this is a good idea, guys. We could bring the roof down on our heads.”
“We’ll go carefully,” Jack promised. “Why don’t Sean and Lee get out of here? Phil, you ought to be here as the landowner.”
Sean grunted in agreement, but Lee shook his head.
“I’m a Curtess and the partner of a Fitzwarren. I’m staying,” he said firmly.
“Lee…” Phil began.
“My decision,” Lee said, cupping the side of Phil’s face with his hand and pulling him down to kiss him. They knocked their hats in the process and laughed, tilting their faces a little.
Sean groaned. “Guys, there is a time and a place for sappy moments.”
“Fuck off,” Phil retorted and carried on kissing his seeker.
“I’ll go and see if Daniel’s still upright. If anyone is interested.”
Phil waved a hand and carried on kissing Lee to within an inch of his life. Jack was tapping at the recess. Phil heard Sean sigh and walk off.
“Could I interrupt you for a moment? There’s a curse to be broken here.” Jack sounded very amused.
“Sorry.” Phil licked his lips, getting himself together.
Jack pointed to one part of the wall. “I’m going to knock in this part. It’s hollow compared to the rest of it. Here goes.”
As Jack swung the sledgehammer, Phil held his breath, letting himself be gathered against Lee’s chest. The whole tunnel shuddered, and the space filled with dust, but after an apprehensive moment, it was clear the structure was still holding.
The brickwork crumbled under one strike. Phil and Lee waited as Jack felt inside the hole he had made.
“Nothing.”
“What?” Phil exclaimed.
Jack turned to face to them, his disappointed expression just visible in the torchlight. “There’s a cavity here, but there’s nothing in it. Zilch. Nada. I can’t even see ash or the remains of anything.”
Anger coiled in Phil’s stomach. “The bastard is playing with us. There’s no fucking fortune to find.” Not thinking of what he was doing, he grabbed the sledgehammer from Jack and took aim at the wall.
“Phil, no! The walls aren’t that safe!” Jack leapt forward to stop him, but it was too late. With a resounding crash, the sledgehammer hit the brickwork. This time, stones crashed down around them, and there was a resounding crack.
“We need to get out of here now, guys,” Jack said, coughing as the dust flew around them. “Let’s get out of here and talk to the others.”
There was an ominous crack overhead. All three men looked up to see a jagged line splitting down the wall.
“Run now!” Jack barked. Lee shoved Phil in front of him, and they hurried towards the exit at the end of the tunnel.
The rumbling around them got louder and more violent as they ran, choking on the heavy brick dust. Behind them, Phil could hear the sounds of bricks crashing to the floor.
“Come on,” Lee urged. Phil saved his energies for trying to get out without landing flat on his face.
Phil managed to get outside just behind Jack, Sean and Mark running towards them, horrified looks on their faces.
“Get back! Back!” Jack gasped out.
Mark wrapped an arm around his boyfriend to help him clear.
As Sean was reaching for Phil, he said, “Where’s Lee?”
Phil spun around. Lee had been right behind him. Where the hell was he? He launched himself back towards the entrance, ignoring the clouds of dust billowing out of the ice house.
“What are you doing?” Sean yelled. “You can’t go back in there!”
“I’ve got to. I can’t leave him.” Evading Sean’s restraining hands, Phil ran back into the tunnel, frantically looking for Lee. He dragged his hoodie over his mouth and nose, in a futile attempt to avoid breathing the choking dust. The torch was worse than useless in the haze. Unable to see where he was going, Phil tripped on the uneven surface of the ground, going down on one knee. As he got to his feet, pain shot through him, almost sending him to his knees again.
“Lee? Lee? Where the hell are you?” he screamed, listening for any response above the noise of the walls crashing down. “Lee!”
“I’m here, baby, I’m here.” Emerging out of the dust and the darkness, Lee was clutching something to his chest.
Phil reached out to grab him, and they headed for the exit, Lee supporting Phil as he limped on his injured knee. They got out just in time, the tunnel collapsing as they emerged. Jack and Sean rushed forward, helping them to a safe distance. His knee giving way, Phil collapsed to the ground, biting back the cries of pain.
Instantly, Lee was by his side. “What’s the matter? Where are you hurt?”
“Where the hell were you?”
“Let me look,” Sean said, falling to his knees on the other side of Phil. “Is it your knee?”
“Of course it’s my fucking knee,” Phil gasped out. “Ow, fuck, get your hands off it. And where the fuck were you?” he managed to bellow at his boyfriend.
Lee had the grace to look apologetic. He gestured to a bag Jack was pawing through. “I saw that poking out as we ran. I thought it might be interesting.”
“More interesting than a brick crushing your head in?” Daniel asked, hovering nearby.
“You could say that,” Jack said in a strangled voice.
They all looked up to see him holding out his hand.
Attempting to get up to have a look, Phil fell backwards with a cry as pain jolted through his upper leg.
“Stay there, you idiot,” Sean told him, pushing him back down carefully and examining his knee. “It’s only bruised, but we can get it x-rayed just to make sure.”
Leaning back against Lee, Phil did his best not to wail like a three-year-old. Jack knelt beside Phil, the others crowding around them. “Look at this.”
Phil looked at the tarnished coin in Jack’s dirt-streaked palm. “Is that what I think it is?”
“If you think it’s a silver crown, you’d be right. The bag is full of them.”
“How much are they worth?” Mark asked, looking through the bag, “There’s a good number here.”
“I don’t know,” Jack admitted. “But I’ve got a friend who can give us a better idea.”
“Was that the only bag?” Daniel asked Lee.
Shrugging, Lee said, “I wasn’t sure. I saw this bag poking out of a hole as the wall split. When I tried to yank it out, it was stuck. That’s why I wasn’t right behind you,” he said with an apologetic kiss to Phil’s mouth.
“I w
as scared,” Phil said, but he put his face up for another kiss.
Jack took the bag back from Mark. “Let’s get back to the gatehouse and I can look at the coins properly,” he suggested.
“We need to get Hopalong up and walking,” Lee pointed out, grinning at Phil’s scowl.
Phil really didn’t want to move, but swallowing hard against the rising bile, he held out his arms. Crouching, Lee and Sean put their arms around his back and helped him up, keeping their arms around him as he balanced.
“Do you need my stick?” Daniel asked, a grin playing around his lips.
“Fuck off,” Phil muttered.
“Sean and I can help Phil back,” Lee said. “Jack can help Dan if he needs it. Only if you need it,” he said quickly at Daniel’s black look.
Phil looked back at the ice house. Dust was still rising over the pile of rubble. For a minute, he felt regret.
That was a part of his childhood in ruins. No other Fitzwarren child would play in the dark tunnels as he had with his siblings.
“Ready, baby?” Lee murmured in his ear.
“Don’t call me baby,” Phil said automatically, flushing at the snicker from Sean.
Lee gave him a lazy smile, his gorgeous green eyes not dimmed by the fact he was covered in brick dust. Phil had a split second to really distrust that smile before Lee drawled, “Would you prefer me to call you my lord?”
Chapter 10
With Phil’s family and Alice watching from the castle, the six men, still covered in brick dust, aligned themselves around the sarsen, and once again, Daniel drew a line along their palms. Lee awaited his turn with his jaw clenched but managed to watch this time. They each took a coin from the bag, covered in their blood and grime, and laid it in the crack and waited, rain soaking them to the skin, for whatever was to happen.
In the end, it was quite prosaic. There were no possessions and no apparitions of Jonathan Curtess or Sir Belvedere appeared. Jack had his arms around Mark, but the psychic was conscious and watching like the rest of them.
As the last blood-covered coin was placed in the deep, jagged crack by Lee, the stone shuddered and split in two. When they all bent over to look, there was no sign of the coins.
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