This is a work of gay romantic fantasy with (possible) same-sex graphic sexual descriptions. If this isn't your cup of tea or, God forbid, it is illegal in your area STOP READING NOW! You have been warned.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
This is turning out to be less of an erotic story and more a story with erotic content. I hope you are enjoying the continuing adventures of The Detective and the Druid. Questions, comments, suggestions and complaints (yes even complaints otherwise how would I know where to improve!) are always welcome. Drop me a note at HonableRonable@gmail.com and I WILL respond (unless, of course, you'd rather I didn't). I enjoy hearing from you and I welcome feedback.
CHAPTER 10: The Reckoning
CHARACTERS
Ben Dover, Age 46 -- our Hero
Cliff Dover, Age 38 -- Archdruid
John-Thomas Bilodeau, Age 41 - Druid and Cliff's live-in boyfriend
Nils Gustafsen, Age 32 -- "problem child"
Orlando Ojeda, Age 23 -- "bad influence"
Julio Ojeda, Age 23 -- Orlando's fraternal twin brother.
Gilberto Ojeda, Age 44 -- father and Con Artist
Sgt. Sam Southwick, Age 26 -- Kings Harbor PD
"Brownie" Seacliff Manor Housekeeper
"They're in th' treehouse," Ben said as he and the two men with him made their way through the Sequoia Grove. "I know it!"
"That's what the `seeker beacon' tells me," agreed John-Thomas. "Did you have a moment of awen Ben?"
"Maybe," the big Texan replied, "or maybe I just know th' two folks we're likely t' find!"
Sure enough as they approached the multi-story structure the men heard an all-too-familiar voice. "Suck that big dick you worthless cock whore! Suck it like the bitch you are! Show me how sorry you are for what you let the Dovers do to me!"
"Oh, HELL no!" Ben roared as he pounded up the steps to the second level. Nils Gustafsen was naked on his knees in front of Orlando Ojeda, still mostly dressed. The handsome Latino was brutally abusing the slim blond man's throat as Nils vainly tried to keep the man's hard cock in his mouth. The Texan could see tear-tracks running down Nils' cheeks but couldn't tell whether they were of pain or shame--probably both he decided.
"Look Nilly--the Cavalry has come to rescue you!" The handsome Hispanic yanked the blond man by the hair, to pull him off his erection then jerked him around so Nils could see the three new arrivals. "Bet you're disappointed at seeing this aren't you?" he sneered. "I told you pendejos this cheap little slut belongs to me body and soul!" Nils collapsed into a sobbing ball at these words and Orlando gave him a kick to the ribs. "Puta!"
"Y'r tesspassin'!" Ben snapped. "Get y'r sorry ass in order an' LEAVE now!"
"Or you'll what?" the handsome Hispanic sneered. "Get upset?" He laughed and gave the blond man at his feet another kick. "Nils invited me! Whatcha gonna do about that?"
"You can take him with you," Cliff said with a sad shake of his head. "We clearly can't help Nils. Congratulations Orlando--you win!"
"N-no! Please, please..." Nils crawled over to the Archdruid and wrapped his arms around the other man's knees. "He'll kill me! I know it! Please, please, PLEASE help me!"
"We can't do that," John-Thomas said as he knelt down to comfort the sobbing, frightened young man. "You made your choice and Cliff has made his! I'm truly sorry Nils but like the brothers said, you chose and we can't save you from yourself!"
"Ben would you escort Orlando off the property?" Cliff said. "Nils--I'll give you twenty-four hours to make alternate arrangements but you need to go as well..."
"You heard th' man!" Ben snapped. "Let's go Orlando! Don't make me lay hands on you!"
"You do and I'll have the law on you!"
The Texan just laughed at this before giving the interloper a stare that nearly froze his blood. "Son," he said with deceptive softness, "cell reception out here is none-too-good at th' best o' times! Make it necessary an' I c'n see to it they don't find y'r body f'r a few hundred years! You really ready' t' test me, ol' Son?"
Orlando gave the other man a look and Ben could see he was finally afraid. "Dude--you're fucking crazy!"
"Or maybe I'm just really pissed off right now!" the Texan growled. "Either way ya oughta head out b'fore I lose m' temper!" The man escorted Orlando back to his old pickup, relieved to see that Nils had retained possession of the new truck he'd "bought" for his former "Language Tutor". "Don't come back now, y' hear?" Orlando fled and Ben returned to the house.
"Please don't make me leave!" Nils begged for maybe the twentieth time. "I know I screwed up--I screwed up big time! If you kick me out now the Ojedas will use me until there's nothing left! Please!"
Ben gave the man a hard look. "Son--`r' ya ready t' give up Orlando f'r good an' all this time?" he asked. Nils nodded his head enthusiastically. "Maybe we c'n do somethin'..."
"What have you got in mind?" John-Thomas wanted to know.
"Th' `Seeker Beacon'..." the Texan mused, "c'n ya reverse it?"
"If you know how!" Cliff says. "We use it to draw people to us!"
"So--you c'd draw th' Ojedas here?"
"It would be far easier for Nils to do it," John-Thomas replied, "He has a stronger connection--if he's willing... What do you have in mind?"
"C'd ya trap em in th' Henge?" Ben asked. "C'd ya throw a scare into em?"
"That we could do--and easily!" Cliff said. "The Henge is Sacred Space--we could summon Cailleach and Skadi to teach them the real meaning of power! We might even be able to call Raven and Manitou to judge them for their falsehoods. Nils--will you help us do this?"
"You aren't going to kill them, are you?" he replied. "I need to be free of the Ojedas but, even with all they did to me, I don't want to see Orlando dead!"
"If we call for Divine Judgment there's no telling what the Deities may decide," Cliff told him. "We know Coyote isn't happy with them--Manitou may just be well-and-truly pissed off as well."
A moment of awen took Ben. "Manitou won't involve himself," he said confidently. "Th' `Great Spirit' seems t' think their fate has been sealed by another source already! But Manitou also says there ain't nothin' wrong with throwin' a scare into them boys! He says it might teach Nils a lesson."
"What does that mean?" the blond triathlete asked tentatively.
"It means," the Texan replied, "that th' Ojedas pissed off some folks--in this case Dark Fey--and they have set somethin' in motion t' bring them boys t' heel! Likely there's nothin' you r anybody else c'n do bout it."
"How do you DO that?"
"Ben is God-Called," John-Thomas explained patiently. "He has even less control of his powers then you do. When one of the elder Powers chooses to speak through him Ben doesn't get a choice!"
"Frankly, ol' Son," the man said, "I'd trade ya in a hot second! It ain't fun havin' y'r vocal cords snatched from ya! Really it ain't!"
"So--what do we do?" Nils asked.
"First," Cliff told him, "we gather the Druids. We have to prepare the Henge..."
It took Nils a couple of weeks and another humiliating visit from Orlando Ojeda to realize he was running out of options before buckling down to practice the Attractor Beacon. Once he made up his mind to seriously study the neophyte caught on fairly quickly and he finally decided he was ready to make the attempt.
"Call them!" Clay ordered. "Bring them to the Henge!"
Nils concentrated with all his might, sending his power out into the surrounding countryside. Amplified by Druid Magic he sent out a compulsion that would not be denied. Orlando Ojeda, Julio Ojeda. Gilbert Ojeda! COME TO ME! COME TO THE HENGE! The call was so strong even Ben thought he felt a bit of a need to make his way there but he stayed concealed in the trees with the Druids waiting to spring a trap that would hold the Ojedas for as long as they chose.
It took almost half an hour to draw the Ojedas into the Henge but the three men came together, looking vaguely confused although Ben thought Orlando looked somewhat apprehensive as well. "Man, I don't like this place!" That was Julio, Orlando's fraternal twin. "It gives me the creeps! We should go!" Orlando got the looks but Julio got at least some brains Ben noticed.
"Tonto!" Orlando snapped. "That cunt Nils is here somewhere--I haven't sucked him dry yet!" Gilbert gave his son a disapproving look. "Not like that asshole!" he growled. "His money! How do you think I bailed Julio out of jail?"
"We really should go..." Julio made for the edge of the stones but found he couldn't escape the circle. SOMETHING was blocking his way.
"Too late for that!" Cliff said as he slipped out from concealment. The Archdruid poured a bag of white powder out, sealing the circle. "All of you are where we want you--trapped like rats!"
The senior Ojeda pulled out a pistol and emptied it firing at the Archdruid but the bullets never seemed to make it across the barrier. They simply vanished away into nothingness as they passed the barrier. "Senor Ojeda--if you had an ounce of the Shamanistic Magic you claimed you'd have realized you are trespassing on Holy Ground!" Cliff told him. "I laid a spell that has trapped you in an extradimensional pocket and there you will remain until we're good and ready to let you out!" The Ojeda twins fired their weapons but their bullets met the same fate.
Ben, John-Thomas and the other Druids stepped out of the shadows. Nils revealed himself last of all. "Nilly--baby!" Orlando pleaded. "I'm sorry baby--really I am! Make these crazy fuckers let us out of here!"
"Since your Dad is a `well respected Shaman' he ought to be able to contact Manitou and have the Great Sprit free you!" the blond man said with increasing sadness. "Hell, if you believed hard enough maybe Jesus will reach down and wipe away the barrier. I can't help you..."
"Cailleach, Celtic Goddess of Winter hear our plea!" the Druids intoned. "We invite you to this place! Make your presence known!" Snow began to fall within the Henge from a suddenly leaden sky and those outside could feel the temperature dropping.
"Skadi, Norse Goddess of Winter, Huntress of the Storm we call upon you!" This time it was only Cliff, Ben and one Druid with Nordic ancestry that spoke up. "Come to this place and add your fury!" A strong icy wind blew up inside the stone circle and more snow began falling faster and faster!
Julio fell to his knees and prayed like he'd never prayed before but help didn't come from Heaven. The other two Ojedas re-loaded their weapons and emptied them again--with as much effect as the first time. Orlando tried a different tactic; "Nilly--baby... I'm sorry!" he screamed above the rising wind. "I was wrong--please forgive me! Get me outta here and I'll treat you right from now on! I swear baby!"
Now it was Nils' turn to laugh as he stepped closer to the Henge without crossing the barrier. Orlando came up and plastered himself against the other side until the cold forced him back a few steps. "You don't love me," the blond man said, his words as cold as his heart. "You never did! I loved you Orlando--I was willing to give you EVERYTHING I HAD! You didn't have to drug me, you didn't have to do ANYTHING to me! But I'm not a person to you! I'm a walking bank balance! I'm the symbol of everything you wanted but will never be! I suppose I should thank you--you finally showed me who you really are! And you know what Orlando? I'm finally over you! Yeah, it'll hurt a little when I think about you but I'll get better--eventually..." He walked away from the barrier. "Kill them, let them go," he told the Druids. "I don't care anymore--I'm going home. Call me when this is over..."
Ben blocked his exit. "Sorry ol' Son," he rumbled. "I can't let ya do that! You gotta see this through t' th' end--otherwise you'll never git that asshole outta y'r system!" Nils sighed knowing deep inside himself this was true. He turned back to watch the unfolding drama.
Gilbert Ojeda finally realized their weapons wouldn't get them free any more than Orlando's pleading. "OK Brujos he said. "Let's negotiate! What do you want?"
"The Truth," Nils told him. "The truth and nothing but the truth! And know this--if you lie to me HE'LL know it!" The blond man pointed at Ben.
"Ask your questions." The senior Ojeda saw the smallest glimmer of hope.
"Orlando--did you ever have any feeling for me?" Nils asked. "Even a little?"
The handsome young Latino shook his head. "You were a Mark," he said. "Papa figured you for a faggot so he sent me in for the score and you ate me up! That's on you!"
"Yes, I suppose it is," Nils said sadly. "Now--do any of you have the slightest bit of mystical ability?"
This time it was Gilbert who answered through chattering teeth. "Until today we didn't know Magic was real!"
"Then why did you pick me?" Nils asked.
"Just lucky..." the older man said. "You came seeking answers--you were desperate! People like you are easy to con--no offense..."
"Where didja get th' Lotus?" Ben asked.
"Martin Oberdorf Jr!" Gilbert told him. "Can you believe that? The local chapter of the Sons of Purity deal in some serious shit!" Sadly, Ben had no trouble believing this. "They're our connection for pretty much anything we needed!"
"D' y' know where they get the drugs?"
"Dude! We know better than to ask where our supplier gets the merch!" This was from Julio. "Whoever it was they have some serious connections!"
"Cut `em loose!" the Texan instructed. "We got all we're gonna get from these boys!"
The Druids moved forward with their sickles to break the Circle but Ben spoke again as the awen took him over. "Flee!" he told the Ojedas. "Run far, run fast and know that an inescapable Doom pursues you! Get far enough away from this place and you just might escape with your lives..."
Two weeks later "sweet" Sam Southwick called and asked if he and Nils could visit the Dovers at Seacliff. He said he had news they all needed to hear. John-Thomas arranged a small dinner party and "Brownie" prepared a sumptuous meal. By mutual consent they delayed hearing what the young Cop had to tell them until they had all eaten their fill.
"OK ol' Son," Ben said as the men settled onto the Verandah to enjoy the summer sunset. "What's th' news?"
"They found the Ojedas," he said bluntly. "Dead!"
"Go on!" Ben encouraged. "There's gotta be more?"
"The Guymas Police sent us a message that three Americanos had apparently died of carbon monoxide asphyxiation in some cheap seaside motel!" he said. "What was missing from the report was the source of the gas..."
"Guymas isn't a very big town," Cliff offered. "I doubt they have much in the way of advanced testing equipment and the Federales aren't likely to get involved unless the tourists seemed important!"
"I don't think they died from natural causes," Nils commented. "I've been having dreams about this--or these..." The man asked for paper and pencil then produced a highly-detailed picture of three extremely thin creatures with lots of sharp pointed teeth, long braids that reached nearly to their waistbands and hands and arms that had more joints in their arms and fingers than a human. "I don't suppose these are just something my subconscious conjured up?"
Cliff took the page but didn't recognize them and neither did John-Thomas. It was "Brownie" who identified the creatures. "Those are Deathwalkers," he told the men. "They are the Avengers of the Dark Fey: the Ojedas, or someone associated with them has done something to seriously anger someone of great importance!"
"Do we have anythin' t' worry bout from em?" Ben wanted to know.
"I certainly HOPE not!" the Brownie replied.
"We keep our dealings with both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts to a minimum," Cliff told his brother. "If and when we MUST deal with the Fey, we're always very careful! There's nothing like pissing off someone who carries a grudge for a thousand years!"
"And we've never had dealings with the Dark Fey," John-Thomas added. "We leave them alone and they return the favor!"
"Any possibility you could have inadvertently angered them?" asked Nils.
"If they had I'd have known about it!" Brownie told them. "I've heard a rumor that the Lotus which has been showing up here is made with Dark Fey blood! Very likely that's what got the Ojedas targeted!"
"Which means th' Sons of Purity `r' in f'r some serious trouble!" Ben said.
"Yes," John-Thomas said. "I think things are about to go from bad to worse!"
END CHAPTER TEN