Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction which will include t/t and m/m relationships, and probably some sex too. If it is illegal in your area to read this, or if you are not old enough to read this (you know who you are), stop here. Otherwise, please enjoy.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is sequel to the "Things that Go Bump" and "A Light in the Darkness" stories.
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Chapter 09
Thursday, Xavier, Chase, and William accompanied James, Josh, and Billy on their house-hunting expedition. They helped the men navigate and understand the value and challenges of each neighborhood. They managed to see three houses before lunch, at which time they found a restaurant near Xavier's gallery so that Dave could join them.
The young man was almost completely absorbed in finishing his semester and preparing for his impending wedding, so that kept the conversation light. Dave really got along well with Josh and Billy, so everyone had high hopes that they could all work together.
They were just eating desert when everyone noticed Xavier's eye focus on someone across the room. Then Chase blushed, and Josh laughed, asking, "What is it, guys?"
"Remember the artist we were talking about the other night? Dorian Brandt? He just walked in," William said with a shake of the head. About then, the young man noticed them and made his way to their table. Josh and Billy just stared unabashedly, and even James was a little unsettled by the beauty of the man.
"Hello! How are you, Mr. Montrose?" he asked politely.
"Very well, Dorian. Looking forward to our opening next week! So who are you bringing to our little gala?"
"I thought I'd come alone," the young man smiled. "Keep my options open."
"My clients will love that thought," Xavier laughed. "Where are my manners? You remember William and, of course, Chase and Alex. This is Dave Swanson, and that is James van der Meer, and his brother Josh Barton. And this is Josh's partner, Billy..."
"Tompkins," Billy said with a smile. "Quite alright, Xavier."
But Dorian's attention had drifted back to Chase, who was trying not to return his look while blushing continuously. "Nice to meet you all," he said. "I really should get back to my friend, though," he added, still looking right at Chase.
They watched him walk back to his friend, or more precisely most of them watched his ass as he walked back to his friend, a young man, thin and blond like Chase, but older, and lacking the sparkling beauty that shined in Chase's every expression.
"Man, he's shameless," Dave said, causing the assembly of gay men looked at him surprised.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked.
"He was macking on Chase with William sitting right there!" Dave replied. "I may be straight, but I'd know if someone was trying to get my girl's attention. Shit!"
"He is SERIOUSLY in to Chase," Xavier agreed.
"And you're right, he doesn't care who knows it," William joined.
"GUYS! It's uncomfortable enough without a play-by-play," Chase said, covering his face and causing them all to laugh.
"What are you going to do about it?" Dave asked.
"What do you mean?" Chase asked. "It'll pass!"
Dave shrugged and said, "Might, but it might not. I can guess what he sees in you," Dave admitted, "and it might not be so easy for him to move on from that."
Dave's honest compliment made him blush again, but William said, "You might be right. If he oversteps his bounds, we'll sort it out!"
Dave nodded and finished his tea before excusing himself to head back to the office. "Good luck, tomorrow," he said to Billy and Josh.
"Thanks," Josh waved as the young man hurried back to his office.
After lunch, the group returned to its house-hunting mission. They managed five more houses in the afternoon and evening, before James and his brothers returned to Sebastian's.
It was decided they'd look at a few more houses on Friday morning with Xavier while William and Chase picked up Chase's parents at the airport, so they returned early on Friday and left with Xavier while William and Chase were eating breakfast.
"What time are your mom and dad getting in?" William asked.
"Around 11:00," the boy replied, hurrying to finish his cereal. "So we need to get dressed and get Alex ready to go!"
"We have a couple of hours," William said, "and Alex is still asleep. And we have the house to ourselves..."
Chase smiled and nodded, and the two boys ran upstairs to a guest room near their own so they could hear if the baby woke up. They shed their clothes in a minute and hopped into the bed and under the covers enthusiastically. William rolled on top of Chase and kissed him, his superior size pinning the boy comfortably.
"Do you want to be on top?" William asked.
Chase grinned and said, "If we get down to business, we could both have a turn..."
"Right," William said, resuming the kiss before disappearing under the covers. ***
On their fifth day of training, Marcus called Chris and Carl into the living room of the cabin after breakfast. "Tonight, we're going out into the woods... The point is to discover an object of power. Don't assume anything; just let your senses lead you. It might be a piece of wood or stone you can use for ritual magic – you might carve a staff or a wand, or an altar or mortar out of it... Your quest is to find a ritual object meant for you... Understand?"
"NO!" Chris laughed, and Carl joined him.
"Good," Marcus laughed. "I'll lead you out to your starting points and you're not to return here until morning... I've got GPS guidance for you, so you'll have no problem finding your way back," he added.
"Thank God!" Edward replied with a sigh of relief.
"The point is not to endanger anyone," Marcus smiled. "This isn't a rite of passage, so much as it is a spiritual quest. The object you find, and what it is intended for, will tell you much about your spiritual natures and powers... So spend the rest of the day doing whatever you like to prepare... We'll set out at dusk..."
The young men all sat and talked together, before the couples retreated to enjoy some alone time. Edward and Carl made their way to the bedroom and simply crawled back into bed. "You'll need your rest for tonight," Edward said, laying his head on Carl's muscular chest. Carl ran his hand through the boy's hair and nodded. When they'd been laying there a long time, Edward whispered, "Do you wish we were having sex? Not right now, I mean, in general... I know you've not made a big deal out of it..."
Carl sighed, and in his soft deep voice, whispered, "When you're ready, I'm ready... But until then, I can wait..."
"I just don't want you to get tired of waiting and decide to move on..."
Carl laughed. "What I feel about you isn't about the sex we'll have one day... I can take care of myself, I'm a big boy," he added with a wink. "But I haven't gotten the feeling you're ready..."
"To be honest, I'm not... I want to be, I want to so badly I can't even tell you... I miss the feeling so badly, and... I just ... wish it had been you before..."
Carl kissed his forehead and pulled him into a firm embrace, the naked skin of their arms and legs rubbing together sensually, making their underwear strain to contain them. But they both slowly fell into a deep afternoon nap.
William drove the family's car to the airport and parked in short term parking. Chase got Alex out of his seat and grabbed his diaper bag, which he handed to William. Then they all headed inside to wait on the civilian side of security.
As they stood waiting, a strange man started their way. Dressed in robes and his head shaved, William thought he might have been some kind of religious nut, a Hare Krishna or something. But then, just as Chase noticed William's look and turned, the man spoke, and instinctively Chase shielded Alex and stepped behind William.
"I am here to warn you," the man said insistently. "You must be very careful..."
"Listen, mister," William began, but the man cut him off.
"William Jennings, Chase Abernathy? There is a grave danger ahead and you must be prepared!"
"How do you know our names?" William asked, eyes narrowing and a spell coming into his mind.
"THEY'VE been talking about you and your friends. We're sworn to stop them, but they're growing too powerful to be contained, and our numbers dwindle. Abraxos and the Order of..." Abruptly the man stopped speaking and his hands rose to his throat. When he collapsed, he was already dead, and William pushed Chase and the baby back and away, behind a pillar to provide some cover. He had no idea what had so instantly killed the man, but he wasn't taking any chances.
"Are you okay?" he asked Chase and the boy nodded, even paler than usual. "Be alert!" William warned as he stepped back out and called for help as he knelt over the man. "HELP!"
Security soon arrived, but by then William had seen what he was looking for, a small dart in the back of the man's neck. He'd been hit with a poison dart! That was about the weirdest of all possibilities to William.
Immediately, he picked up his cell phone and called Xavier. "It's William," he said immediately. "We're at the airport. Crazy guy approached us and was talking to us, then he just died!"
"How?" Xavier said, and William couldn't help but laugh nervously.
"Poison dart."
"Fuck me!" the man exclaimed. "Alright, are Steve and Sarah there yet?"
"They haven't cleared the security yet, anyway."
"I'll be on the phone with Sebastian then," Xavier said. "Expect him momentarily..."
Shortly after he finished his conversation, the security staff turned to him and asked, "Okay, what's going on?"
"My boyfriend and I were just waiting for his parents to take them home, and this nut-job comes up and starts talking about Armageddon. You know the deal. Then he suddenly collapses!"
The older of the two guards smirked, "Boyfriend? So he saw it all? Where is he?"
William pointed to where Chase stood, and the men went and spoke to him, indicating that William should wait so they could see if Chase verified his story. Then he was momentarily distracted by a voice calling, "William!"
William turned to see Sarah and Steve emerging from the crowd. "What happened?" Steve asked, and he briefly explained. "Where's Chase?"
"Talking to security," William said, pointing in his direction. But then he noticed Chase looked distressed, his exact emotion hard to pinpoint.
William started in his direction and a moment later heard the younger guard tell the older guard, "Frank, you're an asshole, and that was uncalled for! Go help secure the area around the body, and leave this to me!"
The older man, now clearly junior in his post to the young man, stormed off muttering something about his boss being a queer-loving metrosexual asshole, or something like that, as the younger guard put a tentative hand on Chase's shoulder. "I'm sorry about that," he said softly as William appeared at his side. Turning to William, he suggested, "If you'd like to make an official complaint, I'll verify the details..."
"What happened?" William asked, looking carefully into Chase's eyes.
The young guard flushed and said, "He said that we should hold you guys as suspects and turn you over to Homeland, so that they'd take your baby into protective custody, since," the man paused and coughed, clearly uncomfortable saying the word, "faggots like you shouldn't be allowed around children..."
"Then yes, we'd like to make a formal complaint!" William said in a fury. In fact, he started looking around for the man with fire in his eyes, but he heard a distinct voice in his head say, `Don't do it!'
His eyes immediately caught the source as Sebastian pushed his way through the gathered crowd, dragging Steve and Sarah in his wake. Chase, seeing his parents, broke into tears as they embraced him, and he quietly explained what was happening.
Meanwhile, Sebastian looked at the younger guard and said, "Do you need to take formal statements from my friends?"
"If they would make statements about their treatment by my colleague that would be much appreciated. I'll just need contact information about the rest, as there are two cameras in this area, both of which should confirm their story."
"Thank you," Sebastian said, his smile sincere and causing a different kind of shiver in the man's lower back. The whole group followed him to the security office, and while the boy's wrote their accounts out, he checked the videos, which played out exactly like he expected.
When they were done, the young security officer, John Daniels, gave each of them his card and said, "Thank you, and I'm sorry again. I'll be in touch, but call me if there is anything you need. And don't be surprised if you get a call from the police or some Feds..."
"Thank you, Officer Daniels," Sebastian said, herding them all out after Chase shook the man's hand appreciatively. When they were alone he added, "Let's get the hell out of here. Xavier, you take the car, and we'll meet you at your place."
The man nodded and took off, before Sebastian found a dark place in the garage and led them through a portal back to Xavier's. "Glad to see you boys can make it a few weeks without getting into too much trouble," Sarah said sarcastically as Steve and Sebastian carried the bags upstairs. "Goodness gracious, is it too much to ask," she began, but just shook her head and wrapped her arms around the boys. "It's good to be home," she sighed. "Now give me that baby," she smiled, taking Alex from his fathers, propping him on her own slightly extending belly and kissing him.
Sebastian and Steve returned from upstairs and, and the vampire asked, "Do you think this is related to the people who threatened Josh?"
"I think we have to assume that," William said. "But this guy was trying to warn us. I think there are a couple of groups fighting, and we're getting sucked in... He said the threat was from someone called Abraxos and the Order of something... They killed him before he could finish so I think we can assume he was sincere."
"Well, at least we have a name now. I'm going to put this out over the ShadowNET, get the Council on it and see what information we can gather," he announced, pulling out his phone and wandering off to make some calls. The first was to James, letting him know what had happened in full detail, and James promised they'd head back to Xavier's after they finished at the house they were currently touring. Then he called Richard and had him get on the computer and send out a world-wide alert for Abraxos and the Order. Last, he called Avery.
"Hello?"
"Avery, it's Sebastian. We have a situation," he began, and recounted the whole story again.
"What can I do?" Avery asked.
"Make sure your deputy is ready at all times, in case we need you up here. This may be nothing, but it might be bad."
"I will," Avery said. "Is Chase okay?"
"A little shaken up by the guard's attitude, but better now he's home," Sebastian said.
"I'm glad I wasn't there," Avery replied.
"Yes, well, I got there just in time, because William was going to go after the guy," Sebastian said. "It wouldn't do to make a big public scene at an airport..."
"But you can understand..."
"Of course I can understand, Avery. But immediate gratification isn't always the most effective way of dealing with things," Sebastian said, trying to remain calm.
He could hear the smile in Avery's voice as the man said, "You're going to take care of it, aren't you?"
"I HAD considered it," Sebastian replied. "After he gets sacked, he might end up on the buffet line for some young vampires with bad impulse control..."
"Alright," Avery said, sounding very satisfied. "Let me know if and when you need me."
"Thank you. Bye," Sebastian replied.
James was back when Sebastian returned, and his brother and Billy were in the dining room with Steve, talking shop.
"I think it's a done deal," Chase whispered with a smile.
"And I'll be happy if it is," Sarah announced. "It's been so nice with Dave, having Steve available more. With a good team, Steve can do five times the work with less time away...."
"I thought it might work out all around," Sebastian smiled. "Especially with that and all," he motioned at her belly. "When is the due date?"
"Well, I doubt we'll go to term, with triplets," she said, "so I really think early October will be about as long as I can go."
"Wonderful! How's the new house coming?" Sebastian asked.
"We tried our best not to worry about it while we were gone, but the crew is large and motivated, what with the housing downturn. I imagine we'll get the renovations done in another month, and work has already started on the cottage," she added with a glance at William and Chase.
"They're young, but they need their space," Sebastian whispered.
"It's hard to let go, even a little," Sarah said. "But with Alex, and the Bond, and all that, I couldn't really object." Sebastian nodded, and they chatted a bit longer before he went and sat down in James's lap comfortably across from Chase and William. James had successfully taken their minds off the incident by telling a funny story from his football days.
They sat and talked for a long time until Steve emerged with his arms across the young men's shoulders and said, "I guess they'll do!"
There was a general applause and Xavier suggested, "Why don't you all stay around and we'll order dinner in?" ***
Marcus and Chris went for a walk while Edward and Carl napped. "You're going to get plenty of this tonight," Marcus laughed as they held hands.
"But this is nice; tonight doesn't sound all that fun... To be honest, I'm a little afraid of the dark..."
Marcus nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sorry it can't be anything else, then... Part of your journey will be facing the darkness..." They came to a clearing of soft grass, and Chris sat down in the sun, dragging Marcus down with him as he lay back, staring up at the sky. Chris rolled over, half onto the man, and nuzzled his neck softly.
Marcus moaned as he felt Chris's soft lips graze his neck lightly. Automatically, his hand slipped behind Chris's neck, encouraging him. Chris grinned and began nipping at the man's strong neck lovingly, making Marcus writhe on the soft, warm earth. "Oh, God, Chris," he groaned.
Chris knelt over him and straddled his waist, leaning in to kiss him on the mouth as he ran a hand beneath his shirt. "Marcus, please..."
The man said nothing, but grabbed the bottom of Chris's shirt and dragged it over his head, running his hands over the boy's soft abdomen and chest. Chris shivered, wiggling on Marcus, who pulled him down into a passionate kiss. Chris sat back up and unbuttoned the man's shirt, revealing his muscular form, carved by years in military training. Indeed, Marcus had been enrolled in some level of training since he was 14, and he had a body to show for it. He looked like he would sport an eight-pack if he tried to sit up, and a dark treasure trail led into his shorts. Chris leaned in to kiss his chest just above a dark nipple, which he flicked with his tongue.
Chris hopped off and shucked his shorts, standing in the sun naked, before dragging Marcus's shorts away. The man's long legs were perfect in his eyes, lightly hairy. Chris laid out next to him and ran a hand down his abdomen to his manhood, beginning to stroke the man gently as they kissed.
"Are you sure?" Marcus asked desperately as he broke their kiss. Chris nodded fiercely, and the man said, "Turn around." He helped position Chris so he could take the boy's already hard cock in his mouth. After a few seconds of blissful shock, Chris, no virgin, took the man's sizeable member in his own mouth. Chris came quickly, before taking his time to finish off his jocky boyfriend.
Then he turned around and curled up in the man's arms, and they napped naked in the fading afternoon sun. Later, they'd both laugh at the light pink burn Chris got on his lily-white ass cheeks. With a wink as they dressed, Marcus suggested, "You look like you took a good pounding..."
"I wish," Chris teased, grabbing the man's arm. "That wasn't so bad was it?"
"It was wonderful... I was never worried about that," Marcus scolded gently.
"I know," Chris laughed. "But that WAS fun, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Marcus allowed. "If you're sure this is what you want, I think I've waited long enough..." Chris hugged him tight and jumped up into his arms, wrapping his legs around the surprised man's waist, almost toppling him, before kissing his face and neck happily. "I'll take that as a yes?"
"Yes!" Chris said happily. "You're the best!" After a moment, he put his feet on the ground and whispered, "And I'm glad you made me wait... Today was beautiful..."
Marcus hugged the boy and led him back to the house, where they found Edward and Carl snuggling in their room, still asleep. Marcus made a light dinner for everyone, the smell of which awakened the sleeping boys.
After they had all eaten, they sat on the porch quietly as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky. No one said anything as the evening darkened into dusky gloom. At last, Marcus rose wordlessly, and his two charges rose to follow him. Before they hit the tree line, Edward jumped up and ran to Carl, giving him one last kiss and whispering in his ear, "I love you..."
Carl's heart thumped and he drew the boy into a tight hug, whispering, "I love you too," before smiling and hurrying off after the others. Edward returned to the cabin and grabbed a book. Though he read, the words passed through him without registering. His mind was deep in the forest with a young Druid warrior.
Marcus led the boys out to a spot deep in the woods. "You have your instructions. You are to go separately from here and follow your intuition to an object of your destiny... Understand?" He handed the boys their GPS devices. "Turn these on when the sky begins to lighten. They are programmed to lead you to the cabin..."
Both boys nodded silently, and Chris headed off into the dark without looking back. Marcus nodded for Carl to start walking in another direction. At last, when he could no longer hear their footfalls, he made his way back to the cabin and stepped inside, grabbing a beer from the refrigerator. "Are they alright?" Edward asked anxiously.
"Perfectly fine... If they're in trouble, I'll know, and I can track them via the GPS units I gave them. They have a passive locator I can activate if necessary..."
"Oh, okay... So what do we do now?" Edward asked.
"We wait," Marcus laughed. "Can you sleep?"
"Can you?" Edward asked sarcastically.
"Well, how about a game of chess, then?" Marcus asked.
"I'm not really very good," the boy replied.
"I'll teach you," the man answered, grabbing his set from his suitcase and setting it up on the table. Before they began, he made a pot of tea and brought it over as well. ***
The moon was full but under the thick canopy of foliage, the forest was dark. Chris could see perhaps five feet in front of him, but beyond that all was black. How was he supposed to find anything out here?
The snapping of twigs or the rustling of leaves began to make him nervous as he moved among the trees. Every imaginable horror began to stalk him in the recesses of his mind. With each passing moment, his terror increased.
Carl, meanwhile, walked with a sense of purpose toward a destination he did not yet know. And yet, his every step of his foot found steady ground. He KNEW where he was going. ***
"Not bad," Marcus said, setting the board up again for a third game, giving Edward a few pointers for next time. "In a few months, you should be able to hold your own!" he added with a wink.
"So how did you come to join the battle wizards," Edward asked as he made his move.
The man smiled and countered. "My father, and my father's father, and so on, were battle wizards. I never really had a choice. I was sent off to school and to train when I was just a teen, younger than you..."
"Would you have done it if they had let you choose?" Edward asked.
Marcus sat quite for a moment before making his move and responding, "No, I don't think so... I would have liked to go to college earlier, maybe become a teacher or a professor even..."
"Why don't you? You're under Sebastian now, and you've got the freedom..."
Marcus looked at the boy and smiled. "I know I was planning to do that after I left the service, but since I'm where I am, I guess I wouldn't have to wait huh?"
"I think you should ask Sebastian about it when you get home," Edward suggested strongly. "You can't really BE with Chris the way you want to be and be a full-time warrior..."
"And how is it that I want to be with Chris?" the man asked with a curious smile.
Edward looked and him with a cocked head and said simply, "Forever..." Whether it was the simplicity of Edward's word, or the clarity of his recognition, Marcus's eyes misted. "I'm sorry," Edward began to apologize, mistaking the response.
"No," Marcus laughed. "You're right..."
They played in silence for a long while after that as the hands on the clock continued their steady motion into the future. ***
Chris tripped on a log and fell face first, skinning his knees and elbows, and in an instant he couldn't help himself. He was crying like a little boy. He sat up and brushed himself off, and hugged his knees to his chest, as the tears rolled down. For a moment he felt almost despairing, but suddenly he felt another presence. Out of nowhere, a large cat ambled into his line of sight. At first he almost yelped as he thought it was a bobcat, it was so large. But he'd never heard of a black bobcat.
The huge black housecat rubbed its head against his leg and purred loudly. "Hi, kitty," Chris said, laughing through his tears. "Who are you? What are YOU doing out here?" He checked and the cat had no collar. But it was friendly and well fed, so it must belong to SOMEONE! At that thought, the cat pushed its way into his lap and curled up. It was really too large for the boy's lap, but that didn't stop it.
"Are you going to stay with me, then?" The cat purred and rubbed its face against the boy's chin. "Do YOU know where I'm supposed to be going?"
The cat, never ceasing its purring, hopped off his lap and began circling him peculiarly. "You are a strange cat," Chris said. "Am I supposed to follow you?" The cat headed off into the darkness, but kept circling back for Chris to follow him. The boy sighed and got up to follow the cat. The cat was careful to never get to far ahead, so Chris could track him easily. They walked for what must have been a number of miles before Chris could see they were coming to a clearing. It seemed brightly lit to him, now, because the light of the full moon showered the forest floor.
He could see something big and raised in the middle of the clearing, and he could see someone standing there. "Hello?" he called.
"Chris?" Carl's deep voice responded, comforting him, and he emerged into the clearing. "So did you find yours yet?"
"I think so," Chris laughed, pointing to the huge black cat.
"COOL!" Carl responded enthusiastically. "I think mine is too big to take home," he added, nodding to the middle of the clearing, which Chris could see was so circular it must have been man-made.
"What is it?" Chris asked, and Carl led him toward it. It was a huge slab of stone, cut into a circle about ten feet across. It was smooth on top and stood about two feet high.
"I think it's an altar," Carl said, tracing a series of carvings of the phases of the moon and signs of the zodiac which formed an outer ring on the stone circle.
"You think this is what you were meant to find? What does it mean?" Chris asked.
"I don't know," Carl asked. "What is this thing doing out here?"
"Is this your parent's land?" Chris mused.
"No, they just own the little plot where the cabin is... This is national forest..."
"I guess people wouldn't stumble on this too often," Chris thought out loud. "Except people who live up here..."
"What are you saying?" Carl asked.
"Well, your parents have a cabin not too far from here... They're from an old magickal culture..."
"My parents turned their backs on that a long time ago," Carl said, sounding uncertain.
"Or so they told you," Chris replied. The two boys explored the circle for a while, finding new symbols and the remnants of something dark on the stone. When Chris looked around for the cat, he saw it near the tree line. When he picked it up and tried to walk near the altar, however, the cat hissed violently and jumped out of his arms, returning to the trees to watch and wait.
Chris and Carl talked until nearly dawn about the find, before turning on their GPSs and heading back to the cabin. They hardly needed them, however, as the cat walked a few steps ahead of them the whole way. They found Marcus and Edward on the porch with breakfast, waiting for them. "There's plenty more in the kitchen," Marcus called. "Help yourselves."
The boys filled plates for themselves and returned to the porch. "SO," Marcus began, sounding disappointed. "I see you both returned empty-handed..."
"Wrong on both counts," Chris said, smiling and patting his lap, which was soon full of black, purring cat.
"Well, well," Marcus said. "THAT was not what I was expecting?"
"What were you expecting?" Chris teased.
"Not a familiar! Very rare, a very special gift indeed..."
"You should see what Carl found!" the boy responded with a laugh. "But breakfast first. It's a little hike..."
The young men laughed and talked, but hurried through breakfast, eager to get back to the site in the light of day. And of course Marcus and Edward had no idea what to expect. When they had all had their fill, they stood and Chris put the cat down. "Lead us back to the clearing, boy," Chris said. At first Marcus and Edward thought he was joking, but the cat trotted happily toward the woods and looked over his shoulder expectantly.
The cat led them faithfully to the clearing, amazing all the boys but Chris. "What the hell!" Marcus exclaimed, moving cautiously toward the stone.
"What?" Edward asked, hesitantly.
"THIS," Marcus began, "THIS does not belong HERE..."
He drew his wand and tried to reach out from a distance to feel its energy. The next thing he knew, he was sitting up at the edge of the tree line, three boys kneeling around him.
"Thank God," Chris said, gathering the man up in his arms, kissing his face. "I was so scared!"
"What happened?" Marcus asked.
"You raised your wand toward the altar, and whatever you did it rebounded on you like blue fire. Knocked you all the way back here, unconscious," Carl answered.
"How long was I out?"
"About five minutes," Chris replied.
"Shit," Marcus said. "This is above my pay grade. Let's get back to the cabin and I'll call in the professionals!"
THAT made the boys nervous, so they followed him away, watching over their shoulders the whole way.
Back in the house, he got his phone out and called Sam Roth. "Rabbi Roth? It's Marcus again."
"Are you back already?" the man asked.
"No, sir. But we did the seek last night, and got some really strange results... Yes, Chris got a familiar, a black house cat about the size of a large bobcat, and, well, Carl got something I can't explain. Something dangerous, and I need your help."
"I see. We're having services this morning in the synagogue, but I can come after lunch, unless it's a real emergency?"
"No, sir! That's fine. We all need some sleep, so if you arrive and get no answer, just come on in!"
"See you soon, Marcus. Thanks for calling," Sam said, hanging up. Given what was going on all over, he reported this to Sebastian and promised to keep him up-to-date.
"Let's get some rest, guys," Marcus said, grasping Chris's hand and heading for his room. "Rabbi Roth will be here after lunchtime."
The cat tried to follow them into their room, but Chris said, "We need our privacy," and the cat obediently remained outside.
"That is so weird," Marcus said. He'd never been around so powerfully endowed a familiar. "We need our privacy, do we?"
"Well, after yesterday," Chris said, blushing lightly, so that you wouldn't think he was the one pushing for this for weeks, "and you said we had waited long enough..."
Marcus playfully shoved him back onto the bed and took off his shirt and began to shuck his shorts. Seeing this, Chris stripped faster than the man had ever thought possible. Seeing Chris fully nude brought the man up short, and he whispered, "You are beautiful!"
"Well, I'm not a sexy hunk like you," Chris began, but the man put a finger on his lips.
"Shush! Any lug with a barbell can build muscle, and any idiot with tennis shoes can run until he's ripped. But you, you're perfect to me," he said. "Your smooth skin and soft, firm body... And I could stare into your eyes all night long!"
Chris reached up and pulled the man down into an intense kiss that drove them both wild. When Chris thought back to his time with Steve, about the boy who was never sure Chris was quite good enough for him, he couldn't think of a person more different than Marcus, who professed his perfection before they'd even DONE IT.
Feeling the man's heavy, powerful body pressing down on him, Chris felt wanted and protected, and he pulled the man's full weight down onto him. "Mmmm," Chris sighed, as he felt the man's lips on the base of his neck at the shoulder.
"What do you want to do?" Marcus whispered.
"Everything," Chris moaned.
Laughing, Marcus replied, "We'll have time for everything, but right now, time is short and we're both tired..."
"Make love to me, then," Chris smiled, grabbing the man's firm ass. Marcus smiled as he worked his way down Chris's body, stopping briefly to suck Chris's cock. Then he lifted Chris's knees and buried his face in his ass. "Oh God!" Chris groaned as Marcus tongued his hole. Knowing it had been a while, he replaced his tongue with a couple of fingers and returned to sucking his cock.
"I'm ready," Chris moaned, "please..."
Marcus, smiling, lifted Chris's ankles to his shoulder and carefully lined himself up and began to press into Chris's loosened hole. "Oh, God," Chris groaned, and Marcus asked, "Is it hurting, do I need to stop?"
"God, no," Chris half laughed, half moaned as he grasped at Marcus's waist with his fingers. Marcus pushed a little hard and felt his head slip in. "Nnggh," Chris said. "Give me a minute?"
"Sure baby," Marcus said, stroking Chris's face with his finger.
After a moment, he felt Chris relax around him and Chris said, "Give me a little more." Steve had been big, but Marcus had a nice fat cock that was stretching him more than he had imagined. Slowly but surely, Marcus eased his way in, and when he was mostly there, he eased Chris's legs off his shoulders.
While Chris was relaxing his anus, Marcus leaned in and kissed the boy, who hungrily sucked on his tongue. Marcus pulled out about an inch and slowly slipped back in, once, twice, three times, each time advancing a little further until he was all the way in and the boy wrapped his lithe legs tightly around the man's waist.
As they continued to kiss, Marcus began moving again, at first shallow, then pulling way out before each thrust. Chris broke their kiss and began to nibble at the man's ear, whispering, "Feels so goooood." Then he began to alternately lick and nip at the man's neck. Feeling Marcus respond to his playful biting by driving himself even deeper and harder into his ass, Chris began to suck and bite at his neck in earnest.
He was surprised then to hear Marcus growl seductively, "Harder!"
"You like it, then, naughty boy," Chris laughed.
"Oh, yeah," he replied, kicking it up a notch as Chris returned to his shoulder with a bite just on the border between pleasure and pain. Moments later, he whispered, "I'm going to come."
Chris held on tight and whispered, "Fill me up!" Soon, he felt the man's cock twitching in his tight ass, and a warmth deep inside. "My God," he repeated, before pulling the man into another hungry kiss.
Marcus rolled off of Chris and grabbed his boxers, which he used to wipe Chris off and catch any escaping semen, and then he took the boy's cock in his mouth. Chris was so close to the edge, he barely had time to run his fingers through the man's hair before he said, "I'm gonna ... ungh..." Marcus pulled back and took his load in his mouth, tasting the boy's sweet essence with every spasm.
Both men lay there spent for a moment, before Chris hopped up and said, "I need to go get clean!" Sticking his head out, he saw the other boys' room was shut so he ran naked across to the bathroom and was closing the door when Marcus slipped in behind him.
Chris had a questioning look on his face, but the man just smiled and turned on the shower. Chris smiled back at him and put a hand on each side of Marcus's face, pulling him in for a kiss.
"I thought we could conserve water," the man said with a grin.
As they showered, Marcus stood behind Chris, admiring his ass, until the boy asked him to wash his hair. Chris moaned softly as the man massaged his head with soap, and then grinned when he felt the man's cock stiff against his back. "How long has it been, Marcus?" Chris asked softly.
"How long has what been?" Marcus replied.
"Since you had sex," Chris answered.
Marcus turned him around, his hard cock pressing into Chris's belly, and looked down into the boy's eyes. "I was seventeen when Henri left the Academy to return to France, so it's been six, nearly seven years..."
"But, that's ... there must have been guys who..."
"Chris, there have been plenty of guys who would have warmed my bed for me, and some I was interested in who weren't, but I told you, I was hurt badly, and all I was really looking for was someone to spend my life with. I was willing to wait after that."
"So I'm only your second?" Chris asked, and the man nodded. "And you are mine," Chris added. "But, why me?"
"It isn't because you are the most persistent little perv I've met over the years – though you are. It's because I finally realized after all those years of waiting that I was waiting for you..."
Chris gasped, and laid his head on the man's bare chest. After a short embrace, he turned around and let Marcus wash his back, further driving the man crazy before pressing back into him indicating what he wanted: round 2. Marcus laughed and gripped his waist, and gave him what he wanted.
When they finally climbed exhausted between the sheets, Marcus said, "Chris?"
"Yeah?"
"You are my second, but you're the first guy I ever made love to," Marcus said. Seeing Chris's confusing, he explained, "I should have seen something was off, but Henri, all he ever wanted to do was `fuck me' – that's what he called it – and he only ever would do it doggie style. He'd kiss, but he wasn't as in to it as I was. He wouldn't even suck me. He'd finish me off with a hand-job. But what did I know, I was a kid and in love..."
"That sounds really ... not nice," Chris said. "So I am the only guy you ever... Cool. But you don't mind being on bottom," Chris asked hopefully.
Marcus laughed, "I love it, and I look forward to it, but not right now. I'm beat!"
"Huh! And I'm the one who took the pounding," Chris complained teasingly, laughing. It didn't take either of them long to fall asleep after that. ***
William and Chase went down to the Riverfront for lunch and to shop, mostly just to get away. They had so little time alone, and Sarah offered to watch Alex for them. The revitalized riverfront of the James River was a nice area, and they could walk hand-in-hand without much risk of being hassled.
They were walking along when a man in his young twenties handed them a flier. "Hey guys, you should check it out. There's a free concert on Brown's Island this afternoon. You guys would like it," he added with a smile. That last bit confused them, so they looked at the flier and saw that the event was hosted by a local group supporting gay teens, and the musicians were all part of the group.
"Cool! Thanks," Chase said with a smile. "Want to go?" he asked Chase as they walked away.
"Sure! I wonder if we'll see anybody there we know?" William wondered out loud.
"Probably," Chase said. "Let's go to the bookstore and waste some time until it starts!"
So they started walking up toward the big old bookstore until suddenly Chase stopped in his tracks. William followed his gaze and saw Amy coming out of a clothing store holding hands with a big basketball player. He wasn't even cute compared to Matt, William noticed immediately.
Before he knew it, Chase had dropped his hand and was storming over to the girl. "Hi, Amy," he said in a bitter, cold tone. "Just wanted to be free when you were away, huh? You dropped Matt for this Neanderthal?" The boy took a step toward Chase, but the look in the small boy's eyes told him to stand still.
"Chase," Amy laughed, trying to come up with something good but failing. "Look, it's none of your business!"
"None of my business? Matt's been my best friend for years and you just dumped him and lied to him. I bet you've been skanking around with this creep for a while, huh? You only decided to dump Matt once you'd taken this one for a test drive, eh?"
Amy started sputtering, but her face said it all. "Hey, boy toy? When did you hit that the first time?" Chase asked, sheer fury coming off him in waves.
The boy cracked a smile and laughed, "Early April!"
"Just after Matt brought you out to the island? Classy," Chase spat.
William put his hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "Chase, sweetie, let's just go..."
"So you guys are Matt's faggy friends huh," the boy laughed again, poking a dragon.
"Uhm, Parker, let's just go, okay. Don't mess with them," Amy warned, having seen William in action, and knowing too well what Chase was able to do. Even though Parker was over half a foot taller and fifty pounds heavier, she had a bad feeling about how he'd fare against either boy, since it wouldn't exactly be a fair fight.
"What?" Parker asked. "Am I supposed to be afraid of Tinkerbelle here? Or his little pal? With friends like these, no wonder the boy couldn't satisfy you. He probably lets them double-team him."
William didn't even have time to react before Chase had stepped up and smacked the boy hard in the face, a feat he could only accomplish by reaching. "Shut up, you piece of trash!" Chase growled.
"My momma told me never to hit a girl, and you're damn close," the boy laughed cruelly, "but I'll take my chances!"
William moved to defend Chase and struck the boy an unexpectedly crushing blow to the throat. "Get out of here if you know what's good for you," William warned menacingly.
"Protecting your boyfriend," the boy croaked, hand over his throat. "How sweet!"
The boy stumbled forward as if to continue and William said, "I'm protecting you from him," William said. "Walk away!"
But the boy moved on them and Chase's hand shot out like lightening and struck a pressure point in the boy's sternum, again before William could even move. The blow would have hurt, even coming from Chase, but with the angry, magickal force behind it, it knocked the boy on his ass and left pain shooting through his chest. "Don't you ever say anything about Matt again," Chase said. "If I hear otherwise, you'll never even know what hit you," Chase added, walking away. But then, he looked at Amy and said, "You never deserved him, you know that?"
Something about the look in her face gave him a second's pause before he walked away. Something in her face, conscious or not, told him that deep down she believed that.