Redamancy

by T D Cloud

  Khouri rolled his eyes fondly and let Sorin guide them out of the bedroom and towards the stairs. His face grew carefully blank as they descended, every step bringing with it the growing sound of conversation, music, and propriety. It was hard to recognize this Khouri. He stood with his back straight and head held high, lips curled into a dispassionate, aloof half- smile. He had poise aplenty but no warmth, and if Sorin didn’t know it was an act, he’d feel incredibly uncomfortable touching him like this. Compared to the Khouri Sorin knew, the one he traveled with and teased and fought alongside, this was a side of him he’d never seen before.

  Was he like this when hanging on Navidae’s arm? The parlor was just ahead of them now and it left Sorin with no time to ask.

  Khouri clung to his arm as they crossed the threshold and into the party. Conversation rolled over them in a wave strong enough to startle and the scent of wine, perfume, and food hit with an almost physical force. Sorin took in the fancy room, the fancy people, the fancy decorations… Fancy, fancy, fancy. He’d lived a long life of traveling, of experiencing things the world around, but he was fairly certain nothing he’d seen before compared to the luxury on display in front of him now.

  The enormous room was filled to bursting with Drow, all meandering, all enjoying the evening in their own ways. Some danced, others drank, and Sorin immediately felt dozens of eyes turn to stare at him as Khouri set off through the crowd with all the poise of a noble. Sorin struggled to keep pace, his eyes wandering faster than his mind could process. He’d been in the room once before, he thought, but it was unrecognizable now.

  The colors of the evening were blood and void. Pillars wrapped in luxurious bolts of deep maroon fabric cut the room into pieces, separating refreshment areas from lounging ones. Intimate circular tables broke up the spaces that weren’t reserved for dancing or milling about; seated at them were half a dozen Drow a piece, decks of cards in hand as they gambled gemstones and gold enough to make even Sorin feel lightheaded.

  Expensive looking chaises dotted the edges of the room, some filled and others empty. Sorin quickly averted his eyes when he saw what appeared to be a noblewoman fondling a young man on a leash.

  Drow, he had to remind himself. He was going to see a lot of that down here, so he better get used to it quick.

  Even with that in mind, there certainly was still a lot to take in. Sorin could easily see across the room, his height towering far above any of the others in attendance. It—and his pale hair and skin—earned him a fair bit of scrutiny back, but he made himself ignore it in favor of watching the countless skirts and gowns shimmer in the foxfire lighting the room from on high. It was when he followed those skirts upwards that he found something that surprised him enough to stop walking.

  “Something catch your eye?” Khouri wondered, his brow raised. He held a little tighter to Sorin’s arm. “And with me right beside you even.”

  Sorin rolled his eyes at the assumption. “Just surprised by the outfits,” he murmured, eyes drawn once more to the flowing skirt worn by someone who wasn’t a woman. “Didn’t expect to see other men wearing gowns. I thought maybe that was just something you did.”

  It was Khouri’s turn to roll his eyes, and with the galena lining them, Sorin had to think it looked a right side more fetching when he did it. “Typical surface-dweller,” he teased quietly. “We wear what looks good on us. Maybe you’d like to borrow a skirt too? If your trousers are too tight for you, that is.”

  “Are you really going to be a little brat at a party like this?”

  Khouri’s smile reached his eyes for once, the worry and sadness melting away for a moment. “It’s my house, isn’t it?” He tucked a lock of hair behind his ear, his side a warm line along Sorin’s hip. “I can act however I want here.”

  “That just sounds like trouble to me,” Sorin smiled, giving Khouri’s hand a little squeeze. “Instead of causing problems, why don’t you tell me what there is to do at a party like this?” Sorin was definitely feeling out of his element. None of the conversation he heard was in a language he could understand. Plenty of eyes turned towards him but not with the sort of invitation he might want to accept for a good time.

  Khouri made a contemplative sound, glancing around as he led them through the throng of people chatting and dancing. “Well, I usually spend my time with Navi at these things,” he said a bit sourly. “I walk around with him as he talks to people and we get some food and eat together. There are Reth tables too. We would sometimes play... Well,” he said, looking up at Sorin bitterly. “Navi would play and I would sit in his lap. They don’t let pets have their own hands; Navi would let me pick the cards and play through him like that.”

  “I know how to play Reth now,” Sorin murmured, watching a table of Drow argue over the outcome of a hand. The one familiar thing so far. “We could do that.”

  Khouri sighed, shaking his head. “You won’t be allowed to play either. You’re not a pet, but you definitely aren’t nobility either,” Khouri said, tugging and pulling him deeper into the room. “We could dance if you want to dance or eat if you’re hungry. I’m not feeling up to much, so I’d prefer it if we kept to ourselves...”

  With all the Drow-speak floating around, Sorin didn’t hear that they were being called out to until Khouri cocked his head and turned mid-word, a man in opulent dress approaching them with a grin.

  Sorin didn’t recognize him, but no surprise there. He stood taller than Khouri but shorter than Navidae, barely coming up to Sorin’s shoulder. His hair was long and white, falling in loose curls that framed his sharp face well. A pair of winged spectacles sat on the bridge of his nose, highlighting the catlike sharpness of his pink eyes.

  He was in a skirt too, Sorin noticed quickly, and he had to give Khouri some credit because the man did look good in it.

  There were no slits up the side like Khouri’s had, but it framed his legs well, cinching at the hips as it morphed into a long- sleeved tunic made from spun spidersilk.

  The man said something Sorin didn’t understand and Khouri glanced between them before answering in the Drow language. The man smiled a sharp-toothed smile, nodding his head before trying again with words that actually sounded familiar.

  “Forgive my rudeness,” he said, placing his hand over his heart to incline his head towards Khouri. “I only assumed that a human in our midst meant familiarity with our language and customs. Is my dialect clear? I admit I haven’t had an excuse to speak a surface-tongue in quite some time.”

  Sorin furrowed his brow, nodding shortly. “Yeah, I can understand you fine,” he said, wondering if this man was trying to make fun of him or something. He was perfectly fluent.

  “Mmm, good.” He still addressed only Khouri. “How does this evening find you? It’s been quite a long while since I’ve caught sight of you absent from Navidae’s arm. Or at all.

  You’ve been rather hard to catch sight of lately, so I simply had to come over and take this chance for the windfall it is. You look as ravishing as ever.”

  Khouri managed to hide his frown with a demure hand against his lips. His dark eyes looked to the floor before they looked back to the noble. “Lord Sepulchren. It has been awhile. I was traveling before, but I managed to make it back in time to grace you all with my presence.” Khouri glanced around, wrinkling his nose a little before turning back towards the Lord with a tight smile. “I’m enjoying myself as much as I can when my home is filled to the brim with drunkards. How are you?” Lord Sepulchren had a laugh that sent shivers down Sorin’s spine. His voice on its own had a cadence to it that slinked, a sort of dragging rhythm that dripped like cool sap. When he laughed, it grew warm, molten. Sorin had a feeling he didn’t like it at all.

  “I forgot how charming you are. My, what a mistake on my part! I’m doing wonderfully, the occasion aside. But really, how could I say no to an invitation that brought me this close to you?” His lips curled back in a smile, the sharp points of his teeth more than clear. “Unlike many things in
this place, you are perhaps the only thing that is always in vogue.”

  Sorin chose that moment to cough pointedly, holding a little tighter to Khouri’s waist. If this is what Navidae had been worried about, then Sorin was beginning to see that the threat hadn’t been idle.

  Instead of being put off by the reminder that Sorin was in fact here and present and listening, Sepulchren just turned his attention to him instead of Khouri. The light glinted on the glass lenses of his spectacles. “And who is this? The reason for this vulgar language, I suppose,” the man asked, raking his eyes up and down Sorin in a way that was impossible to misconstrue. “A pet for a pet? Or— Don’t tell me, has Navidae found himself another exotic plaything?”

  Sorin’s jaw tightened. Khouri laughed and wrapped himself around Sorin’s arm, hanging off him with a smile. “Don’t give Navi all the credit,” Khouri said, nuzzling Sorin’s shoulder. “I found this one all on my own.”

  “Sorin Tolgrath,” Sorin said, holding out his hand. “I’m a bounty hunter.” Sepulchren stared at Sorin’s hand quizzically. Khouri buried his face in Sorin’s arm and let out a soft snicker. The embarrassment steady crept in as Sorin realized that Drow didn’t shake hands, but he’d committed to it, and like hell was he about to backpedal and lose face now. He met the brilliant pink eyes of the Lord and waited. After a moment the Lord reached out his own and took it, a shocked look painting his handsome, regal features.

  “Um… Lord Trevan Sepulchren,” the man said, unable to hide his wince when Sorin shook his hand firmly. “Is this… what you humans call a shake of the hands?”

  “Rather odd, isn’t it?” Khouri chirped, not bothering to hide how he grinned when Sorin finally let go. Sepulchren tried to shake the ache from his hand nonchalantly. He failed in that; there was no hiding his discomfort. “Surface-dwellers are odd all around, but I find that Sorin here is well worth the housebreaking.”

  The man wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms, hiding his hands as if he feared Sorin might make another grab for them if he didn’t. “I’ll take your word for it,” he said, his gaze dragging down Sorin’s body with much more consideration than his voice implied. “I’m surprised Navidae has time to housebreak another pet though. But, then again, I suppose he never was one for eschewing pleasure in any form.”

  Khouri furrowed his brow. Sorin stood a little straighter. “Has the time? Navidae’s been pretty... preoccupied,” Khouri said, nose wrinkling at the word. Sorin didn’t miss how he glared at the floor. “Setting up for this party and managing things, you know. He should be able to go back to his normal work schedule after tonight.”

  Sepulchren let out a snort, one that startled Khouri a bit. “After tonight?” he echoed, rolling his eyes towards the high ceiling. “Oh, you sweet, simple little thing. To think you put so much faith in him. That is a good quality for a pet to have, but still. I’d think a little realism would get you further. Unless, of course, you really don’t care much about what happens...”

  The man’s eyes turned sharp. He licked his teeth. “And if that’s the case,” he said, looming a little closer to Khouri, “then I’d be very, very interested in hearing more.”

  Khouri colored. “Um. I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he murmured, looking to Sorin as if he might have the answer.

  “You don’t?” The Lord’s eyes widened. “Why, hasn’t he told you—”

  Before Sorin was forced to act, a familiar blur of red and dark cut past him.

  “Oh, there you are,” Navidae said, inserting himself with a grace and smoothness that had to be admired. “You’re a hard one to find, Lord Sepulchren! I should have known to look for you alongside the prettiest gems in the room.”

  Khouri stiffened, turning his face into Sorin’s arm a little. Sorin looked at him and then at Navidae, raising a brow when the markedly fake smile on his face didn’t even so much as falter. An act, was it? And this… Ah. Of course. Lord Sepulchren was someone he needed to win over. He tightened his hold on Khouri’s waist. Khouri clearly wasn’t happy, but Navidae was doing what he had to do regardless.

  “You know me well,” Sepulchren laughed, placing his hands on his hips as he assessed Khouri intently. Sorin fought the urge to bare his teeth. The urge disappeared quickly when those pale pink eyes turned to him next with just as much intent. Then, he found it a little hard to be anything but shocked. “You’ve expanded your collection too. Just how is it that you always manage to find the diamonds among all the soot and rubble this place holds? I envy you your nights.”

  Sepulchren’s eyes cut to Navidae, his lips curled into a mean smirk. “The rest of your day though… Hmm, not as much.”

  Navidae laughed. The skin around his eyes went tight. He glanced at Khouri, and when Khouri didn’t look at him, he looked at Sorin instead. “Why don’t we see if we can’t do something to change that,” he said smoothly, gesturing towards an empty set of seats. “Sorin and Khouri here can certainly spare the time to be pretty somewhere else.”

  Sorin rolled his eyes, hearing it as the dismissal it was. Khouri, on the other hand, stiffened, lifting his head to glare hotly at his lover.

  “Really?” Khouri pressed, his eyes angry while the rest of him stayed pleasant. “But I was rather enjoying my talk with the Lord Sepulchren.”

  The Lord in question grinned, taking a step closer to Khouri with intent in his every move. “Oh, were you?” he mused, lifting his hand to tuck a lock of hair behind Khouri’s delicate ear. Khouri leaned into his touch. Sorin didn’t need to look at Navidae to know he was on the verge of seething. “I find myself rather drawn to you as well. Tell me, pet: would you like to be mine?”

  Khouri didn’t have a chance to answer. Sorin tightened his grip on Khouri’s hip and dragged him away from Sepulchren in an instant, teeth bared and eyes glaring. Khouri yelped and struggled, but Sorin had had enough. Navidae couldn’t act for himself right now; Sorin had no such compunctions.

  “Why don’t you stick with Navidae?” Sorin said, his tone making it clear this wasn’t up for debate. “Khouri and I were just leaving.”

  “Leaving?” Khouri grunted, fighting to wiggle free from Sorin’s chest.

  “Yes,” Sorin said, nodding once to Navidae before dragging Khouri off in any other direction. The Lord Sepulchren sneered, his pink eyes narrowing dangerously. Sorin didn’t give a fuck though, and he hoped the man put the blame on him instead of Navidae for the rudeness. “You’re going to sit down with me for a bit before you incite a riot.”

  He didn’t need to look at Khouri to know the Drow was rolling his eyes. He stumbled and held tight to Sorin to keep from tripping, putting up with the manhandling until Sorin found a chaise away from the thick of the crowd. Sorin set him down on it and then joined him, keeping a tight hold on Khouri’s hand in case he felt the need to try running away.

  “That was completely unnecessary,” Khouri muttered, glaring at the floor. He tugged weakly at his hand. He gave up quickly when he realized Sorin wasn’t going to let go.

  “I thought otherwise.” Sorin looked through the crowd, searching for Navidae. It took him a bit to find him. He had managed to succeed in taking Sepulchren off to the side and looked to be locked in a very serious conversation with him. There were a lot of hand gestures, a lot of tense shoulders and furtive looks. Lord Sepulchren, on the other hand, looked downright bored now that Khouri was out of reach.

  Did he not care? Was he not even going to listen to what Navidae had to say?

  “Navidae didn’t even talk to me,” Khouri whispered, tearing Sorin’s attention away from the Lords. His face was down- turned, head hanging and his hand limp in Sorin’s. “Did you notice? He cut in when I was touched, but he didn’t even… That’s not how that game goes.”

  Sorin raised a brow. “Game?”

  Khouri sighed, laying on the chaise. He draped his legs atop Sorin’s knees, and Sorin let go of his hand when he made it clear he wasn’t going to try to get up again. “It’s a game we play,”
Khouri muttered, folding his arms beneath his head as he glared off into the crowd of nobility. “I flirt and tease and play with the nobles, and then Navi comes in to punish me for it. But he didn’t want to play this time. Or he just… He cared more about that man than he did me.”

  Sorin didn’t know what to say to make it better. The truth was off limits and any lie he might offer would just sound like it came from a place of misunderstanding. He lifted his hand to run it through his hair only to realize he’d put it up for the night. Great. Khouri watched the swishing skirts and glittering gems in the crowd, and Sorin gave up and laid down behind him.

  He pressed his lips to Khouri’s nape, hoping it might help just a little. “You’re beautiful in this gown,” he said quietly, squeezing Khouri’s hip. “It’s impossible not to want you. He’s probably got some work to discuss with that guy. Don’t think too hard on it.”

  Khouri sighed, rolling over so he faced Sorin on the chaise.

  He pressed his thigh between Sorin’s, resting his head on Sorin’s shoulder. “Thanks,” he said tiredly. It didn’t really look like he took comfort from Sorin’s excuse. Khouri looked into Sorin’s eyes, his hand resting on the exposed skin visible beneath the deep cut of his neckline. “You’re really handsome when you clean up a bit.” His lips quirked into a weak smile. “I miss your full beard though.”

  Sorin shrugged a little, kissing him gently. “It’ll grow back in a couple days,” he said, rubbing his cheek against Khouri’s to feel him shiver. “I just trimmed it a bit. Figured if I was going to be paraded around in a place like this that I might as well try and fit in a little more.”

  “You? Fit in here?” Khouri’s laugh was a soft thing, a breath of sweet warmth against Sorin’s lips. He rolled a little more on top of Sorin. “You’d need to do a lot more than just trim your beard to manage that.”