Simon leant against the cold stone wall, trying to let the rough feeling of it ground him, because he felt like he was about to float away from the emotions now swirling in his heart. The flame burned, and this time it hurt. If it was a Soul Flame sitting in his heart, no wonder it was hurting. Because said flame now consumed two halves of a shattered, broken, bloody heart.
* * *
Tobias had successfully ignored Jake when he’d been trying to take the piss out of him and get a reaction. Frankly, Jake could’ve pulled a gun on him and shot him, human style, and he wouldn’t have cared one iota. Because as he was drawing a new sigil, something had hit him.
That happened often to him, usually when he was working on a new potion. His hands would be doing the work, leaving his mind clearer than it could ever be. And then ideas would hit like strikes of lightning in his brain.
He had memorised the prophecy, and one part of it began to play over and over in his mind: “On the day that two remain, one must make the deciding blow and concede their name. Only one name can remain.” He had thought that ‘deciding blow’ meant the final spell cast to murder the other, but the next line didn’t fit that at all.
The prophecy didn’t say ‘one mage can remain’, it said ‘one name can remain’.
“Oh my God,” he whispered, dashing to grab the book containing the prophecy to be sure that he was correct. “This isn’t saying we have to kill each other at all.”
Once Jake had left and he was sure that only he and Simon were in the manor, he called out to his lover, excitement boiling in his blood. Had he been a less inhibited person, he would’ve been jumping up and down like a small child.
It took Simon far too long to get to the library, and when he did cross the threshold, Tobias could tell that something wasn’t right.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, stepping closer to Simon.
The mage stepped back quickly, so as not to get any closer to Tobias. There was anger and pain in those pretty grey eyes, and Tobias was worried.
“Simon, please: what’s the matter with you? Did Amy have another prediction?”
“No,” Simon said, his voice low and thick in his throat. “No, not at least one you didn’t already know. …Was it all a ruse? How long did it take you to plan it?”
“Plan what?” Tobias asked. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“She told you, you needed to shag me to further the mission, didn’t she?” Simon asked.
Tobias nodded, realisation dawning on him.
“And you never told me. You just used me!” Simon cried. “But you didn’t just fuck my body, Bloodworth. You fucked my mind and I won’t stand for that! This burning in my chest? I wish you could feel how badly it hurts, you slimy git!”
Oh no. Tobias had forgotten how easily Simon’s pride could be wounded. “No, Simon, listen to me. I didn’t sleep with you because of what Amelia said.”
Simon scoffed. “Sure you didn’t. Scheming, conniving little shit; you must have laughed your head off at all the things I’ve said and done in that dungeon.”
Tobias felt the Soul Flame in his chest, the one that matched Simon’s begin to burn viciously, almost like it was scared and trying to take up as much space as possible. He wasn’t surprised, because now he was scared. Scared of losing the only man he’d ever fallen in love with all because he had forgotten to mention the damn prediction. Simon was stubborn, and he’d never believe him now.
“How could you think that what we’ve shared is not real?” Tobias asked quietly. “I have had you chained up, I could’ve killed you if I wanted to, but I have not. And now I’ve just made the discovery of a lifetime, and you’re here being a drama queen! Just calm down and listen to me.”
Please don’t walk out on me, he thought, feeling his heart beating a rapid beat in his chest. Please don’t throw away everything we’ve shared. He couldn’t voice those sentences, however. He had his pride as well, and it demanded that he never beg anyone for anything. No matter how much it hurt not to.
“Listen to you? It’s a bit late for you to be revealing your little secrets to me now, don’t you think?” Simon snapped. His eyes were red, and his voice shook with tears that he didn’t let fall. “You used me to fulfil the prophecy!”
“I did no such thing, and if you didn’t have such a hard head, perhaps you’d shut up and listen to me!” Tobias cried. “I’d never stoop so low as to screw someone I didn’t care about. Despite what you once thought of me, I am no monster.”
Simon scoffed. “What I once thought about you? Mate, right now you’re the scum of the fucking Earth to me. No one takes advantage of me. No one.”
Okay, that one hurt, especially since he knew he didn’t deserve it. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you —”
“No,” Simon interrupted. “You’re sorry I found out. Too bad your plan didn’t work, but you’re on your own. Whether you or Thornhill walk out alive, I’ll happily duel whoever remains.” He was quiet for a moment, and Tobias was unable to think of anything to say to make Simon believe him. Finally, Simon said, “To think, the one time I trust a guy with my heart, it all turns out to be fake.” He turned to walk away, and Tobias couldn’t let that happen.
He took two steps closer and grabbed Simon’s arm, turning him to face him and gently pressing his lips to his, using his actions to convey what words couldn’t. The flame in his heart brightened and he knew Simon’s must have as well.
Simon broke the kiss, shoving Tobias an arm’s length away. Tears were flowing down his face now, unable to be held back. “You wanted me to trust you down there, while up here you were happy to leave me in the dark. This flame you gave me? I wish I could rip it from my heart and give it to you, so you could feel the pain I do right now.”
He turned around and ran from the manor, and this time Tobias let him go. The front door slammed loudly, and when it did, the usually stoic mage dropped down to his knees and let his own tears loose, while the Soul Flame protested vehemently in his chest.
* * *
He made me cry. The son of a wanker made me cry! Simon thought as he ran from the manor toward the town centre. He was still wiping the hot tears from his eyes, and they didn’t show any signs of stopping.
What did I expect? He’s got all the emotions of a codfish, after all. How could I have been stupid enough to think we had a future, even the short one the prophecy would allow?
He reached the town and felt a deep, heavy exhaustion in his bones and nearly collapsed onto a bench.
He’s hated me since we were kids. Of course, he’d be willing to torture me emotionally. Hell, if our positions were reversed, maybe I’d have done the same. But it doesn’t help to know that.
“Simon?” called a concerned voice.
He looked up and saw Ricky rushing through the small crowd that was always at the town centre to get to him.
“Simon, are you okay?” he asked, sitting next to him on the bench. He searched the pockets of his robes for a handkerchief.
“No,” he gasped out. “No, I’m not okay and it’s my fault for trusting that black-eyed bastard.”
“Come on, come with me.” Ricky pulled him up from the bench, where townspeople were starting to stare, and dragged him across the square, to where a row of flats stood.
He led Simon up a flight of stairs and into a small, warm flat with yellow-painted walls and soft white carpets. Ricky was by far the most sensitive guy Simon had ever known, and his place reflected his kind demeanour. It was exactly the feeling that Simon needed to envelope himself in right then.
Ricky put the kettle on for tea and sat Simon down in the living room.
“All right, tell me what’s going on. I haven’t seen you cry since you were five.”
He thought that everything that had happened would remain a secret that Simon would take to the grave, but in that moment, he spilled his guts to his friend. He told the story in stop-start bursts, the tears falling again as his heart hurt
— both literally and metaphorically.
“I’m an idiot, Ricky,” he said at the end. “An idiot to have ever believed there was goodness in that little black heart of his.”
Ricky patted his friend’s arm and said, “You’re not an idiot for wanting to see the best in someone.”
“If Amy’s right and this is a Soul Flame … will it hurt forever like this? Will I never be able to rid myself of the pain he caused me?” Simon asked.
“Pain must be borne, but it doesn’t last forever. And when it does fade, you’ll be a better person for having experienced it.”
“If it doesn’t kill me first.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Ricky said. “Jake and Amy and I … we’d never let a little thing like a broken heart kill you.”
The kettle began to whistle then, and Ricky went into the kitchen to steep the tea in the boiling water.
Simon went to the loo to dry his tears and splash some cold water on his face. He hung his head over the sink, taking deep breaths and wishing that he could start this day over.
There was a sudden clattering in the kitchen, which caused him to jump up, his face and part of his curls still damp.
“Ricky? Everything okay?” he called, an uneasy feeling building in his stomach. He made his way slowly and quietly into the kitchen, where he then screamed.
Ricky was laying on the floor, in a pool of mixed boiling water and blood. His throat had been slit, and the water then poured on his face. His skin was bubbling in some places and peeling in others from the burn, and his eyes were swollen in their sockets, staring glassily up at the ceiling. On the wall was a message that looked to have been burnt into the paint with magic:
“No one can save you now.”
* * *
When there was a knock at the manor door about half an hour after Simon had left, Tobias had childishly hoped that he’d returned to hear him out. Standing on the other side of the door, however, was Amy.
“I got a really bad feeling a little while ago. Is everything okay? … You’ve been crying!” She closed the door behind her and threw her arms around his neck. “What happened?”
Tobias took her inside and told her everything, unashamed to cry in front of her. She had dried his tears numerous times when they were children, and now he needed his best friend more than ever.
Tobias’ problem was always that he felt too much and had no good way to express himself. He was a sensitive soul, in tune with others’ emotions and his own, and sometimes that got to be too much to bear. Being a Dom had cleared his mind, and finding Simon, finding his sub and his soul mate, had been his first step toward creating a good life for himself as an adult.
Now he had gone and bungled it all up.
“Oh no, Toby,” Amy said. “It’s all my fault. I should go see Simon and —”
“No.” Tobias shook his head. “You always used to get me out of messes when we were children, but I am an adult and need to fix this myself. I will give him time to cool down, and then implore that he listen. Because I found something, Amelia. Something brilliant.” He stood up and brought the book containing all the prophecies to the sofa he shared with her.
Amy read the mage prophecy over a few times and said, “I think the solution to the prophecy is what I saw. Why I told you that your relationship with Simon hinged on the mission being a success.”
“But if Simon never comes to his senses…” Tobias sighed. “I don’t even care about this prophecy anymore. Or Thornhill. How can I convince Simon that I love him when he thinks I shagged him to win some fabled battle?”
Amy was quiet and said, “Simon’s a stubborn man. He was even as a child. I am afraid that it might take something devastating to bring him around.”
“But by then it might be too late,” he whispered, feeling the bite of the flame in his heart.
* * *
Simon ran from the flat, forgetting he was a mage and could have flown or teleported away. The sight of Ricky’s swollen eyes and blistered face would haunt his dreams forever.
Only one person could have or would have done that: Nash Thornhill. He could’ve easily broken in, but how did he know Simon was at Ricky’s? Had he been watching … or had Tobias tipped him off somehow? The thought stung, and Simon felt ill as he walked over to the flat Jake shared with Amy when she wasn’t with the Fae Council.
Ricky’s dead, he kept repeating in his mind. He’s dead and it’s my fault because Thornhill wants to kill me.
He banged on Jake’s apartment door repeatedly, hammering his hand as hard as his heart was hammering his ribcage.
“What is it?” Jake cried, opening the door. He took one look at Simon and said, “Oh no, what did that creepy git do to you?”
“It’s not him,” Simon said, his breath hitching on every word. “It’s Ricky — oh God… Thornhill killed him!”
There was a moment of silence as Jake just stared.
“W-what?” he asked, his hand gripping the doorjamb tighter.
“Are you fucking deaf? Ricky’s dead, killed as a warning to me! We’ve got to find Thornhill!” Simon cried.
“But I thought you were looking for him with Bloodworth,” Jake said. His eyes were wide and unblinking. It didn’t look like he had processed what Simon had just told him.
“Fuck Bloodworth!” Or rather, I’ll never fuck him again. “Come on, please!” He tugged at Jake’s sleeve and pulled him outside.
“Wait — you’re … you’re serious? Ricky’s gone?” His eyes glazed over as he realised what had just happened.
“We can mourn later. Revenge comes first.”
“Where are we going to look?”
Simon managed a smirk. “Thornhill made one big mistake: by attacking Ricky and leaving that message, I caught onto his magical signature. I know exactly where he is now.”
“Where?” Jake asked, trying to catch up as Simon took off running.
“Moonspell Manor,” Simon said, too softly for Jake to have heard him.
The pull of the stolen magic was strong now, and Simon was thankful for the break. Without Tobias, he had no hope of creating a new tracking spell for the stolen magic. Now, Thornhill was so cocky, his magic was palpable. Simon could nearly taste it in the air.
To add insult to injury, he had the nerve to have taken up residence in the ancient mage family’s manor. It just kept adding to the list of why Simon was going to make him suffer before he killed him.
The day had been too much to handle at once, and Simon knew himself well enough to know that, once he’d disposed of Thornhill, he was never going to be the same. It would take too long to heal from all of this, and all he could do was go from moment to moment and pray he didn’t lose himself in his grief.
You need Tobias, a small voice whispered in his head. You need your Dom to take care of you. You’re not meant to do this alone, or with Jake. Amy told you that you had to do this with Tobias.
Fuck him, Simon answered himself. Had he not lied, Ricky would still be alive! But his mind did have a point. If he brought Jake with him, it would screw up Amy’s prediction.
He stopped short, and Jake slammed into him from behind. “What now?”
“You can’t come with me.”
Jake shook his shaggy blonde hair from his eyes. “What? Oh, come on, you can’t do this alone! Thornhill nearly killed you last time. And Ricky was my friend, too! Don’t I get a crack at his killer?”
“It can’t be with you. Amy said as much. You and she and Ricky … your parts in this are long over. It’s got to be me or Tobias. And I guess this means it’s going to be me.” Simon placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders and continued, “You’re my best friend, have been since we were little. You’ve got to believe that I can and will come out of this on the other side.”
Jake stared at his friend and then grabbed him in a tight hug. “Kick his arse, mate. For Ricky.”
“For Ricky,” Simon agreed, and then dashed off again. He could see the ruins of Moonspell Manor in
the distance, his family’s magic beckoning him while beneath it, he could feel the corrupted, warped magic Thornhill had stolen.
No, he thought, I won’t let you corrupt the Moonspell legacy! I’d die before I give up my mage name to you!
* * *
There was more pounding at Bloodworth Manor’s door, startling both Tobias and Amy.
“I’ve never had so many guests in my home as I have in the past week,” he said, rushing to see who was at the door. He was surprised to find a distraught Jake at his doorstep.
“Is Amy here?” he asked, breathing hard.
“Yes… What the bloody Hell happened?” Tobias asked.
Jake pushed past him and leaned heavily against an antique stone bench that sat in the foyer and that was not to be used for sitting.
“Jake?” Amy called. Tobias assumed she’d sensed him, because the library was too far away to hear their voices in the foyer. “I could feel your emotions from across the house. What’s going on, love?”
The elemental ran his hands through his dishevelled hair and said, “Thornhill killed Ricky. Simon was at Ricky’s flat and he heard a noise and Ricky was just dead and then he said there was writing on the wall, a threat or something. Now he’s off to find Thornhill himself and I knew I needed to come here because he’s got no chance if he doesn’t do this with you.” He pointed almost accusingly at Tobias. “So, you better go find him because I am not losing another friend, damn it!” He began to sob, and it hit Tobias that he’d just said a friend had died.
Thornhill had killed, he’d used his magic in town. There was a chance he could track him if he got to the source of the magic.
Amy gasped and ran to hug her fiancé, tears glittering in her emerald eyes. “Toby, please, you’ve got to go after him. Jake’s right, Simon can’t do this alone. He needs you, whether he wants to admit that or not.”
“Where was Simon headed?” Tobias asked.
Jake fought against another sob and said, “I’m not sure. He said something, but he was running, and I couldn’t hear him. He was headed out of town.”
Bloodspell: An MM, BDSM High Fantasy Novella Page 6