This is a story of fiction, all resemblances (dead or alive) are eerily coincidental. Everything in the story is owned by myself beloved. Contains descriptive sexual scenes between males, if you are not supposed to read it then don't. Feel free to e-mail me.
- VIII -
By 10:30 in the evening, Callum ran every single test on Raven that she could think of; she found nothing.
"There are some traces of Noxum in his system," she told Julian when Raven was lowered into the hospital bed finally.
"He has taken those pills before," the blond interrupted her, his eyes dark. "It never had such an effect on him."
The doctor shook her head somewhat impatiently.
"Noxum is definitely not the one to blame for his current condition," she said with a slight frown. "The amount that is still in his blood is rather insignificant and it seems that it has been at least twenty-four hours since he took it. Maybe longer," she nodded curtly. "Other than Noxum, we didn't find anything else in his system. In fact," she shrugged and looked at the sleeping brunet. "We didn't find anything wrong with him, period. He is in perfect health."
"He is not waking up," Julian said through his clenched teeth. "I wouldn't call that healthy."
"Whatever it is that's causing it," Callum sighed without looking away from Salamander's rapidly darkening eyes. "Has nothing to do with his body. I ran a full scan twice; there is nothing wrong with his physically. I am sorry, but I have no idea what's going on."
Julian suppressed a strong and unpleasant desire, realizing that hurting this woman wouldn't help Raven's state whatsoever. Callum looked at him without shifting her gaze, her shoulders straight and rigid. Julian slowly ran his fingers through his hair, thinking about his options.
"I will hook him up to several monitors..." the doctor started saying after a minute, and Julian shook his head.
"No," he said shortly and grabbed Raven's clothes off the back of the chair. "I am not leaving him here."
Callum blinked at that statement and narrowed her eyes.
"He needs to be monitored," she said quietly while Julian was swiftly pulling off the hospital gown they put on Raven. "He needs medical attention and supervision. Just because I can't figure out the reasons for his condition right away, doesn't mean that..."
"He doesn't need to be monitored," Julian said without looking at her, zipping up Raven's pants that he pulled on him a few seconds ago. "I will take care of him myself; I am not leaving him in here." Suddenly, he frowned, as if he just thought of something. "Is he in the coma?" he looked at the doctor intently, and she shook her head immediately.
"No," she said shortly. "He is asleep; his brain activity doesn't show a slightest sign or a possibility of a coma. Master Salamander, you can't take him out of hospital...!"
Here Julian's expression became darkly curious. The doctor closed her eyes for a second.
"What I mean is," she opened her eyes and looked at the blond steadily. "He needs medical care! He needs fluids, I.V., catheter, different kinds of..."
"I can do all of that myself," Julian interrupted her coldly.
"I am against that!" she said heatedly, and the blond narrowed his eyes, last shreds of his patience drying out with dangerous speed. "I don't mean disrespect, master Salamander," Callum said in unexpectedly tired voice. "I don't have a slightest desire to make you..." she hesitated for a second. "...upset," she continued finally. "However, the well-being of the patient comes first... At least for me," she finished with a slight nod without looking away.
Julian's eyes weren't as narrow anymore nor were they as dark.
"Believe me," he said quietly and lifted Raven up in his arms. "Nothing will ever happen to my mate because of my negligence."
Callum blinked at the word `mate,' as if she never realized who Raven was.
"I see..." she muttered, eyeing the brunet thoughtfully. Then she shook her head slightly and looked at Salamander once again. "You are taking him out of the hospital against medical advice," she said firmly, and Julian nodded.
"I understand," he said calmly. "Thank you for your concern, doctor."
He waked out of the room without saying anything else and without looking back, Raven's limp body safe in his arms.
Almost a week later, Julian felt like beating his head on the wall. Raven's mysterious lethargy was nothing but a dead-end. The blond had no idea what to do. He tried everything he could think of and nothing worked. Taking care of dehydration, starvation, and bodily waste was the easiest task in this entire situation – magic streams were more sensitive than any sensors when it came to noting even a slightest change of balance in Raven's unresponsive body. The streams were also a hell of a lot more convenient and less messy than all those tubes and needles would be.
Thanks to the goddamn merger, Julian couldn't stay home more than usual; all those deals, meetings, paperwork, and heavy calculations were keeping him in one of his offices every single minute, four days a week.
At first, Julian briefly considered getting hold of Specter and squeezing out of that bastard whether he had anything to do with Raven's condition. Then, however, he discarded that idea – even if Specter *was *indeed a dream manipulator, he wouldn't be able to trap Raven in one particular dream, Julian knew that; manipulators could do many things when it came to dreamland but not this.
Today was Friday, and Julian was doing his usual by now frantic computer-searching routine, anxious to find something even remotely useful. He glanced at the clock and sighed. It was 6:45, and blond's eyes were tired from staring into the computer screen for the last four hours. He pushed his chair away from the desk and got up. Once he did that, he realized that his muscles were aching, and that he was rather hungry.
He sighed once again, turned off the monitor, and left the office, heading towards the kitchen. He knew that the cook was gone by now – all staff would usually leave at 6:30 every evening – but he didn't care. He was advanced enough to make a sandwich.
He made his way to the kitchen and wasn't a bit surprised when he saw Sebastian – ever since Julian re-hired him, the butler would all but jump out of his skin to make sure he doesn't get on Salamander's bad side again. Therefore, he would stay at least half an hour later every evening, making sure that everything in the house was taken care of – he would check every single corner to make sure the rest of the staff didn't forget to do something.
"You may leave, Sebastian," Julian said tiredly when he saw the butler methodically go through the dry goods cabinet in the kitchen.
"It's Friday, master," Sebastian answered with a slight nod. "I will not come back until Monday; I will not be able to sleep well, knowing that I might have missed something. If you allow..."
"Go ahead," Julian sighed and waved his hand absent-mindedly.
He opened the fridge and looked inside for a minute or two. Finally, he sighed and emerged from there, holding a foil-covered plate in his hand. He pulled off the foil and raised one eyebrow when he saw several mini-sandwiches arranged neatly on the plate.
"I took the liberty telling the cook to make several of those, master," the butler said in his usual tight manner when he saw Julian's expression. "I have noticed that you missed dinner."
"I see," Julian nodded melancholically and grabbed one sandwich off the plate.
He quickly worked the espresso-maker, his mind wondering. Suddenly, he thought of something.
"Sebastian," he turned around and leaned on the counter slightly after starting the espresso-maker.
The butler left spaghetti boxes alone and faced the thoughtful blond.
"Yes, master?" he asked, his back rigid as always.
"Last Friday," Julian said slowly, his forehead reflecting his concentration. "After I left... Did Raven do anything out of the ordinary? Did he do something that he usually wouldn't do?"
The butler thought for a few seconds, clearly digging through `Last Friday' files in his brain.
"Not to my recollection, master," he said finally, still twitching his eyebrows in concentration.
"Did he go anywhere?" Julian glanced at the hissing espresso maker and reached for the mug.
"No, master," the butler answered with less hesitation this time. "However, I left at seven-thirty that night. I don't know whether he went anywhere after I was gone."
Julian immediately remembered Callum's words about Noxum. "...it seems that it has been at least twenty-four hours since he took it."
"He didn't," he muttered, positive that Raven popped the pills around nine or so on Friday night, since he was probably bored out of his skull and could think of nothing better to do than go to sleep. He thought for another minute, the butler was waiting patiently. "Did he have any visitors?" Julian asked finally.
"No, master," the butler answered immediately, and Julian cursed silently. Suddenly, butler's expression became hesitant.
"What is it?" the blond asked sharply, noticing the change immediately.
"I am not sure whether it is relevant..." the butler said slowly.
"I'd rather it be irrelevant than important but missed," Julian said as sharply as before. "What is it?"
"Sometimes around noon," Sebastian started saying as slowly as before. "I saw master Delamorte open the front door. He opened it, looked outside, and closed it. After I asked him if everything was all right, he said that he has heard someone ring the doorbell, so he came to investigate."
Julian frowned at that.
"Why didn't you open the door?" he asked with puzzlement.
"Nobody rang the bell, master," the butler said quietly. "I was nearby the entire time; nobody rang the bell."
Julian frowned deeper, and suddenly, he remembered Raven muttering one of those nights a week ago:
"Right before I fell asleep, someone rang the doorbell..."
Julian remembered his own response to that, "Was probably in your head." Now, however, combined with Sebastian's words, it seemed more than just a coincidence. He thought about it for another minute, his sandwich forgotten, his fingers playing with the `On' button of the espresso-maker absent-mindedly. Finally, he left the gadget alone and marched to the front door.
He swung it open and pressed the black shiny button of the doorbell. Melodic chiming splashed through dusky evening, making Sebastian raise one eyebrow in silent question. Julian chewed on his lower lip for a few seconds, and then he rang the bell again, listening intently. When the last echoes of those chimes died in the air, the butler cleared his throat and said:
"I am going to leave you alone, master Salamander. If I missed anything, I apologize."
Julian didn't even react to his words, his head cocked slightly to the left, thoughtful frown twisting his eyebrows together. He rang the bell again, and didn't even blink when the butler carefully squeezed pass him, leaving the house.
"Good night, master," the butler said, clearly expecting more silence from the blond. He blinked somewhat rapidly when Julian muttered:
"Good night..." without even glancing at him.
Julian never looked at the butler while the man was crossing the street to get to his car; instead, the blond pressed that black, shiny button yet again, listening to the sound even more intently. After a minute of the sound dying off in the emptiness of the house, Julian blinked rather rapidly, and muttered:
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me...!"
He pressed the button again, as if to make sure he wasn't mistaken. The minute he heard that chiming sound, he closed his eyes briefly and cursed passionately under his breath.
"Bloody hell," he muttered and opened his eyes, his mind immediately making a connection – a connection so painfully clear, and at the same time, so easy to miss. "Bloody hell...!" Julian repeated with feeling.
He slammed the door shut and whirled around, his hands shaking. He knew exactly where Raven was right now; he had no idea how he got there, but he didn't care. He knew where the brunet was, which meant he would figure out a way to bring him back.
He stormed away from the front door, heading down the hallway, when suddenly, he heard the doorbell ring yet again – this time, without his interference. He froze in his spot, trying to figure out whether that ringing was the real thing or if he was about to repeat the same travel Raven took a week ago, when the bell rang again, more impatient this time. It was real, all right, Julian thought with a small frown. He headed back to the door, wondering who in the world wanted to see him right now. He knew it wasn't Sebastian forgetting something and coming back – the butler had his own key.
He marched up to the door and swung it open, impatient `What?' dancing on the tip of his tongue. When he saw a couple – a man and a woman – on the doorstep of the house, his impatient frown became a puzzled one. He recognized both of them immediately, and he had no idea why they were here right now. Right before he opened his mouth to ask the inevitable question of what the hell they wanted, he felt as if his entire inner core shuddered after enduring an incredibly forceful blow. He automatically reached for his signature-spell, but right when he made a slightest effort, there was another attack – this one more brutal then the one before.
Julian desperately tried holding onto the last shreds of his free will when he blinked rapidly as if trying to wake up, then his both arms dropped on his sides, and then the blond stood still, staring at the uninvited guests with empty eyes.
"See?" the woman glanced at her companion briefly. "Element of surprise, Henry. If he had any idea of what I was about to do, I wouldn't stand a chance..." She looked at the motionless blond and smiled. "He had no clue, however, so here we are..." She cocked her head to the right without looking away from Salamander who kept staring into nothing, his eyes empty.
"Emma, just get the goddamn painting," Henry said nervously, looking at the blond with narrowed eyes. "Just get the painting and let's get the hell out of here...! I don't trust him."
"Relax," the woman smiled again. "He is mine right now, believe me. The minute I feel a slightest stirring, I'll just hit him again. He is mine right now," she repeated and looked at Julian. "Aren't you, pet?" she asked gently.
"Yes," Julian said slowly without blinking or moving.
"Are you going to invite us in?" Emma asked as gently as before.
"Yes," Julian said again and stepped aside. "Please, come in..."
"Get inside," Emma sighed when Henry wouldn't move, his eyes still narrowed. "For the love of God, Henry, just get inside!"
"We will be trapped inside..." Henry muttered, and Emma rolled her eyes with exasperation.
"Bloody hell," she said with annoyance. "Get inside!"
Henry gritted his teeth but followed her into the house, glancing around one last time. When they were in the house, he carefully shut the door and took a deep breath.
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