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 a companion story to "A Light in the Darkness." The story lines are related and the characters occasionally interact, and the frequency of this will be increasing. The stories begin at roughly the same time, and this chapter, as well as the next few, pairs with Chapter 5 of A Light in the Darkness. My sincerest thanks go out to Darryl AKA the Radio Rancher (darryltheradiorancher@gmail.com) and John aka Tigger who kindly edited this chapter, and to Kelly for his very helpful suggestions. And thanks to everyone for writing such encouraging emails.
I am now posting my stories to a Yahoo!Group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jaygordon_1981/ as well. I'm putting them up there a little in advance so I can make final edits before submitting to Nifty, so if you are interested, you can check it out. It's closed membership to avoid spams and flames, so just let me know!
Things That Go Bump, Chapter 16
"Prophecies"
Over the next few days, the state of emergency that hung over the Council attained a state of normalcy. Thursday brought a spate of meetings with Sebastian's fellow consuls, as Chang's spies began to be uncovered. Some, like Jean Philippe, were largely innocent of wrongdoing, but scores would be sent to Ashaer prison, or executed summarily. Additionally, various financial records were revealing the locations of secret compounds Chang had established, and strike forces of battle wizards, vampires and shape shifters were being dispatched to take control of these facilities.
For the most part, the locations they had discovered were only slowly revealing their secrets. One was clearly dedicated to academic research, as the place was filled with books and computers, while another was a satellite-imaging center. Sebastian already knew what they were searching for, and he doubted that Sammael would find it soon. But when he did, he was going to be pissed, Sebastian thought to himself with a grim laugh. He wondered what the being would do then. There was little humor to be found in that, he thought as he ran his hand through his coal-black hair.
Sebastian was sitting at his desk reading from another ancient volume, trying to learn all he could about Sammael, when he was hailed on his computer monitor. "Musa! Any progress?"
"Yes, Sebastian.... We have uncovered the entrance to the temple complex, and the facility seems to be intact...."
"I'm not surprised.... It was the most advanced construction in the world until the Renaissance.... Both magical forces and supernatural strength went into its construction...."
"What is this place, Sebastian..."?
The boyish vampire sighed and looked at his hand, his brown eyes looking tired. "It was a temple built to house an incarnated deity.... Sekhmet...." Musa gasped in shock at the name. "I remember when word reached me that Sekhmet was withdrawing to her temple to eternal slumber, after I had killed Resheph.... I've never felt so relieved.... Of all the beings I've ever known, she frightened me most.... But you know, when the old ones sleep, they're never wholly unaware of the world around them.... Their massive power, honed over the millennia, allows them to sort of passively monitor.... My fear, when you told me of the tremor, was that it was the rumbling of Sekhmet, which is why it's so important we uncover the tomb in the heart of the temple. We must know for certain that she's still there...."
"Do we not risk awakening her if we open the tomb?"
"No.... She will not awaken unless she wishes to awaken.... In any case, she will not fear the men you send down, so she will not react as to a threat.... When can you open the tomb? I'd like to be online and have the images streamed across the net...."
"We'll open it tomorrow, if there are no developments.... Tell me, Sebastian, with all of the intact old ones around, why is ... whoever trying to put Resheph back together...."
"Two reasons, I think.... The first is that the others chose to withdraw, so they must wish to return.... Resheph was put down.... He has a will to return, if only for vengeance.... That leads me to my second point, and don't think me egocentric, but its all about me.... He's my sire, and I killed him, so he'll come for me.... If I represent the most significant threat to this plan, that will be paramount...."
"It seems unwise to risk unleashing a being too powerful to control to defeat one's enemy.... One risks creating an even more powerful enemy...."
"Musa ... please keep this in confidence for now, but I suspect ... that the person behind the scenes of this plan may be more powerful than Resheph.... Significantly more...."
"When will you make this public?"
"Only when the condition is somewhat stabilized.... Right now, it would only cause chaos if the others were to discover who the real threat is...."
Musa nodded. "Very well.... Peace be with you, brother...."
"And also with you...."
Sebastian stood and locked his office, walking upstairs and looking in on Richard, who lay dutifully by Pete's side. Stretched out, Richard's trim figure would have been alluring in other circumstances. But the man barely responded to his nod, so he backed out of the room, and made his way upstairs. He had decided to keep Avery asleep until he was fully healed, and when he looked in this time, the healer, at last, nodded. Sebastian sighed in relief and walked into the room as the healers awakened the man.
Sebastian squeezed Avery's hand as the man's hazel eyes fluttered open. "Sebastian?"
"I'm so sorry my friend, I'm so sorry.... I had to do it...."
"What are you talking about," Avery asked, rubbing his eyes.
"The healers were keeping you in a coma to control your pain.... I ... forced them to wake you to get information about ... the entity behind the attacks...."
"I don't remember," Avery said, trying uneasily to sit up, straining the powerful muscles in his arms. "What's going on? Healers?" Sebastian filled him on quickly on Chang and the attacks on Sebastian, as well as those in Richmond. "James is alright?" Sebastian nodded. "And Richmond? How's Sam?"
"Sam is the same as always.... He's agreed to come back to the Council, he's protecting Alex Jennings's son.... We're going down on Sunday.... You're welcome to come along...."
"Alex's son?"
"It happened while you were in prison.... They eliminated Alex and his wife a couple of months ago...." This brought an involuntary sob to Avery, as the man was one of his closest friends, closer than Sebastian or anyone knew.
"Of course I'll go.... And Peter?"
"Richard's been with him, but no signs as of yet.... And ... when he wakes, if he wakes...." Sebastian shook his head. Sebastian leaned over and kissed the man on the cheek, pushing the light brown hair out of his face. "I remember the first time I saw you playing, a blossoming teen," Sebastian said with a sad smile. "Rest up and call me when you feel like talking.... Try to remember everything from the Oracle's temple...."
As Sebastian turned to go, Avery grabbed his arm. "There was a message.... She wasn't dead when they left her.... With her blood, she wrote, 'Mundus senescit.... Aethon awakens.... The child of love shall ascend, all is not lost....'" He sighed heavily from the effort, adding, "I'll try to remember more...."
"What happened to you, there?"
"Whoever killed her ... left feral dragons to guard her temple...."
Sebastian stood and punched a wall, knocking a hole in it, yelling "Damn it! Damn it!"
"What is it?"
"Ivan Breslov!" Avery's eyes went wide. Dragons were rare, and the man was one of only a few prominent members of their community.
"Call your brother when you feel up to it, Avery, he's been driving me mad.... But don't mention anything we just talked about...."
He stormed out of the room down to his office, calling a private conference with his most trusted fellow consuls, Pedro Salazar, Americ Bellanuova, Christen Wheeler, and Musa al-Kisai. When they were all online, he began, "I've just received some disconcerting news, and I need your advice before I act...." They all nodded, and he continued, "I have new information about the attack on the Oracle...."
"My brother is awake?"
Sighing, Sebastian said, "Five minutes ago, Pedro.... Give him some time? He's FINE!" The man shrugged with a smile, and Sebastian continued, "Whoever killed the Oracle left feral dragons to guard the temple, presumably to kill Avery...." He sat back and let them draw their own conclusions.
Americ leaned in. "Sebastian, you can't think, just because...."
"Of course he can," Pedro said angrily. "How many dragons are there in the world, a couple of thousand, maybe less? If it wasn't him, he knows who they belong to...."
"But that makes all the difference," Sebastian said. "If they're his, I'll see him dead.... But if they aren't, well, it's a different story...."
They all sat a while, until Musa spoke. "May I propose a test? Let us send in a special team to tag the dragons with trackers.... Then, we'll announce to the Council that we will send in a team to eradicate the dragons in a day or so.... We'll get to see how he reacts, and then if someone removes them, we'll know he is at least complicit...."
"It doesn't offer definitive proof, unless it shows he's guilty.... But I can't, or rather won't remove a consul merely on a suspicion," Sebastian added, decisively. "Christen, can you have a team handle the tracking...."
"It'll be done by evening," she said.
"Good, then I'll make the announcement tonight...." Sebastian left more satisfied and walked up to the recreation room, where he found Steve, Chris and James working on their schoolwork.
"You know, when you abducted us," Steve said, seeing Sebastian, "I thought at least we'd get to spend our days just lounging around.... I didn't realize we'd still have to do schoolwork, just locked up in this place!" Horatio, who had been drafted as their tutor, laughed out loud at that, earning a look from Sebastian.
"Well, eventually, hopefully all of us can return to normal, so you don't want to get behind.... Besides, you'd get bored...."
"Yeah, thanks! I'm not bored by the history of England...." Sebastian and Steve both rolled their eyes at each other, causing James and Chris to laugh.
"Well, that's about enough for today, anyway," Horatio said, releasing the boys.
"Thank you, Horatio," Sebastian said with a smile.
Chris and Steve went back to their room to study, something they were definitely enjoying about their 'captivity', and Sebastian gave James a big hug. They sat in the sitting area by the window in their bedroom and Sebastian brought him up to speed on the new developments in the world. "Who is Aethon?"
"What?"
"Part of the message from the Oracle, 'Aethon awakens'.... What does it mean, who is Aethon?"
Sebastian looked out into the darkness, searching his memory. "Aethon was a Greek god ... famine was his special gift, I believe...."
"Aethon awakens...."
"Don't spend too much thought on it.... The Oracle's messages are obscure...." James nodded and grabbed Sebastian's arm, drawing him into a tight embrace. "I could stay like this forever," Sebastian admitted softly.
"Me, too.... Unfortunately, we have other concerns," James said, giving him a squeeze. "But some day...."
"Some day, you and I are going to go off and be alone together for at least a week...."
"Make it a month...." Sebastian nodded and kissed his cheek.
At dinner, the table was crowded, with Horatio and Roman, Chris, Steve, Jean-Philippe, Avery, James and Sebastian, as well as a few of the wizards that Sebastian had befriended, including Major Sarah Light and Colonel Fisher. Despite the dark times, the group had grown friendly, so the conversation was light and amicable.
"Colonel Fisher, Avery, James and I will be going to Richmond Sunday evening, so we need to arrange travel...."
"I've got a better idea, Sebastian," Avery announced. "Why don't I call Sam Roth and open a portal between his sanctuary and our location.... We can secure it so that it will open only when both sides activate it.... Then we can travel there, basically at will...."
Sebastian smiled at him. "That's fine.... You just want easy access to Alex Jennings's son.... And Aiden and Xavier are moving to Richmond too...."
Avery smiled. "What can I say, I'd like to be in touch with my former students, and perhaps a future protégé...."
"I think Alex would really appreciate you taking the boy under your wing.... Especially since he has a committed boyfriend...."
"What are you saying Sebastian," the man asked, playing up acting offended.
"How long did it take you to offer Chris and Steve a threesome," Sebastian asked, and the whole table broke up laughing.
After dinner, they broke up into little groups, and Sebastian smiled as he saw that Avery had sort of cornered Sarah Light and was really turning on the charm. The young woman was subconsciously responding, sending all the right signals. "Poor girl," he laughed softly to James, "she doesn't have a chance...."
"Lucky girl," James whispered softly, laughing. Sebastian raised his eyebrows smiling. "What, you've seen him without his clothes on...."
"I've got a meeting in a few minutes," he answered, rolling his eyes. "I'll meet you upstairs in a couple of hours?"
James winked and made his way upstairs alone, slipping past the others. Sebastian likewise slipped down to his office, past the two unconscious prisoners, who were nearly completely drained of blood. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.... I have some news.... In addition to the intelligence coming in from Chang's facilities, I have had an opportunity to talk briefly with Avery Salazar about his encounter in the Oracle's temple. It seems that whoever killed the Oracle left a number of feral dragons to attack Avery when he arrived...." The news sunk in and naturally some suspicion was turned to Ivan Breslov, who Sebastian felt looked genuinely surprised.
"Are you sure," the man asked, carefully, his already unpleasantly angular face contorted into a grimace. The man's face made Sebastian think of why there were so few dragons in the world but so many werewolves, men of the woods, and other shape shifters. While his face was clearly human, it reminded Sebastian, for good reason, the gargoyles on Notre Dame Cathedral. And one look at those eyes ... the universal feature of the dragon, however diluted the blood, was the eyes, whose irises were oval and surrounded not by whites but by blood red, as if a vessel had burst.
"Quite.... I am dispatching a team to neutralize them tomorrow so we can investigate the Oracle's death more carefully...."
The tension they all felt rose, and Ivan sat back and sighed. "If I could see them, I could perhaps identify their family...."
"I'm sorry, Ivan, it's too dangerous.... I cannot risk the life of a consul.... Perhaps after they are dead...."
The man nodded, clearly unhappy, his iris narrowing, almost catlike. "Sebastian.... High Consul.... There are so few of us left ... and these feral dragons haven't ... killed anyone.... It is a shame, a waste.... Perhaps they could be rehabilitated...." This was not going as planned.... They had not expected Ivan to plead for his kind so openly, and Sebastian believed him.
"Ivan, I have no intention of killing these dragons.... To be honest, I was more concerned about you.... Given the possibility that a high-level dragon might be involved ... well, this was to be a test ... but I believe you.... Your people know best how to capture and transport them, so I leave it to you, but I am putting a good deal of faith in you, that you will discover and tell us who had put your people in such a compromising position...."
Ivan looked a little angry, a little relieved. "Thank you, Sebastian.... I will report to you on this matter as soon as possible.... I can assure you that I want to know as badly as you do who has betrayed us.... We have not always seen eye-to-eye, you and I, but ... thank you...." The man logged off, missing the last few moments of planning.
As the consuls began to log off, Sebastian had Christen, Americ, Pedro, and Musa stay on. "Well? Do you think I did the right thing?"
After a general silence, Americ leaned forward. "I think so.... He can be an ass, but he's no traitor.... Besides, he risked openly pleading for their safety.... A guilty man wouldn't...."
Pedro looked dissatisfied but grudgingly nodded, "I agree.... Took guts...."
"On another track, it seems that the Oracle left us a message, in her own blood, in the floor...." They all leaned forward, fascinated. "This is private, until otherwise noted.... She wrote, 'Mundus senescit.... Aethon awakens.... The child of love shall ascend, all is not lost....' Any thoughts?"
"Mundus senescit.... The world grows old.... This was the phrase used to describe the dilapidation of the world in what were viewed as apocalyptic times.... Grows old and then it dies.... Could it perhaps mean the end of the world? The apocalypse? Armageddon? Not very cheery, I must say." Americ thought out loud.
"Be of good cheer, my friend," Musa proclaimed. "After all, it says all is not lost.... Perhaps just the end of the world as we know it?"
"Easy for you to say," Pedro charged. "You still believe...."
"Perhaps he's not wrong to believe," Sebastian said, earning gasps from some of his oldest friends. He proceeded to tell them about his message from Gamaliel. "Besides, something has brought love into my life, something is working for love in the world, I can feel it.... I felt it in Richmond too.... I've just done for love what I only thought could be done for hunger.... You all know I turned a human, he was bleeding to death, and I did not feed on him when I turned him.... Not for hunger but the desperate desire to hold onto the love we share...."
Musa leaned back with a smile. "You certainly seem satisfied, Musa," Americ charged.
"It is good to see a friend come to the light.... I should see you all do the same.... But, if I might suggest, given little Sebastian's recent poetics, 'the child of love shall ascend....' Tell us Sebastian, is there something special about the young man you have sired?"
"Absolutely confidentially," he asked, and they all swore. "A few days after he woke up, he was able to control the mind of a human...."
"Impossible," Pedro charged, causing Sebastian to laugh. "What's so funny?"
"The human he was able to dominate was none less than ... Avery Salazar...."
"WHAT? He was weak from prison, but.... Wow!"
"Upon further testing, he was able to dominate Richard, a vampire of nearly two centuries...."
"He must enter extensive training at once, with both you and Avery," Americ announced. "If it pleases," he added more modestly.
"You are quite right," Sebastian nodded. "He is fully recovered now, so we will begin at once.... Aethon?"
They all shook their heads. Musa suggested, "Well, they seem to be trying to awaken Resheph, why not Aethon?"
"He'd have to want to wake up.... It's hard to imagine, but if the Oracle is true, we have to be prepared to fight an enemy willing to raise two of the old ones, an enemy who thinks himself able to use such beings to his own ends.... Please, send out requests that all vampires of a century or more be prepared for battle at a moment's notice...."
"How did you do it before," Musa asked.
Sebastian sat back and sighed. "Long story short, I arranged a small army of two hundred vampires, all battle hardened.... We ambushed him in the mountains, and fought with him day and night until we wore him down.... While five of my strongest men held him, I wielded the sword. He thrashed and fought for minutes after the head was removed. But soon, even he succumbed...."
"Do you think they have assembled all the parts?" Musa's follow-up question brought nervous glances.
"No.... I am rather certain they have not...." No one dared ask, though they all knew what it meant. Sebastian alone knew where the last piece was.
Americ asked, "What is their next move?"
"Search, regroup, and retaliate," Sebastian announced, certainly.
"What's our next move?"
"Purge our ranks, get our men into training, and prepare for the worst.... Unlike our enemy, there are things we cannot do to achieve our ends.... I encourage you all to consider my confession to you tonight. We must all reconsider our old prejudices about who we are and what our place is in the grand scheme of things.... Mundus senescit, or so someone seems to think.... We stand at the brink, and for whatever reason it seems we fight the battle of the angels.... Who knows why?"
"God knows why," Musa exclaimed, with a hearty laugh. "And what an unlikely prophet he has in you, little Sebastian...."
Sebastian laughed. "Funny you should mention that, old friend.... I never filled you in on my family tree, but my real name, my human name, was Hesed ben Nahor of the Chaldees," he said, enjoying the sight of his friend's eyes widening in recognition -- old Bible scholar that he was -- just before he turned off his screen without bidding his comrades goodnight.
With a degree of weariness, he began to push back from his desk but stopped and just slumped in his seat. The pressure, the stress, he felt the room start to spin as he grabbed his head. 'What am I thinking,' he asked himself. 'Even if we can hold back the tide, keep Resheph and the others from rising, there is the matter of Sammael....' A wave of hopelessness washed over him, and he could only walk to the opposite wall and stare at the countless volumes and scrolls of ancient knowledge. 'Is the answer here?'
He took out the book and read it again: "Sammael is the angel of death and the evil inclination.... Sammael is the angelic name of the being known more commonly as Satan, or Lucifer.... He is the accuser, the seducer, the corrupter of souls and the destroyer.... Woe to the man who faces him, for he shall go down into the pit in tears...."
His mind wandered to his encounter with Gamaliel and his story of the love of Gabriel for Lucifer, Sammael.... And then he thought of two boys in love in Richmond who shared a guardian angel named Gideon, and how fate had so cruelly drawn them into this intricate web.... And then the prophecy that seemed to tie James to the center.... "Woe to the man," he said with a deep sigh, putting the book down. "Where is your God, cousin, when the world needs him most?" A gentle breeze bearing the subtle scent of myrrh and roses moved through the room, making Sebastian look around, but of course he was alone.
He mounted the stairs with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and almost knocked on Avery's door, but the soft sound of a woman's voice stayed his hand. The soft strains of a violin in a beginner's hand returned the smile to his face, and drew him toward his bedroom. Standing in the door, he said, "You're getting better!"
"I've got a good teacher," the boy smiled, turning to face him.
"I love when you play like this.... There's nothing sexier then a naked, athletic man with a violin...."
Setting the instrument aside, James wrapped his arms around Sebastian's thin form. "How about a tall, naked, athletic man making love to you all night?"
"That'll do," Sebastian said, grabbing James's firm ass with both hands before James lifted him off the ground and carried him to the bed. Settling him gently on the bed, he pulled Sebastian's shirt and pants off, then his underwear and socks. Then he knelt between his knees and leaned in to kiss him softly.
"Mmmm," Sebastian moaned, wrapping his arms around James's muscular torso, holding him tight and returning his kiss vigorously. James kissed his way down Sebastian's pale body, taking his hard cock in his mouth. When Sebastian was fully hard, James straddled him and eased himself down onto it, slowly rocking back and forth, riding him gently.
Leaning in, he whispered, "Fuck me!?"
Sebastian smiled and in what would have been a surprising show of strength to an outsider, he flipped the much bigger boy onto his back and began to pound him with long deep strokes. When he finally began to pick up the pace and, soon, he tensed as he peaked.
James pulled him down for a kiss, then slipped out from under him and dragged Sebastian to his feet. Standing behind the shorter boy, he pushed him toward the wall and put his palms on the back of Sebastian's hands, pressing them into the wall. Arching his back and swiveling with his hip, he probed Sebastian's crack with his cock. Sebastian pressed back onto him, letting James slip inside of him easily. James began to pound him roughly, making Sebastian groan with the pleasure of being dominated by his love. James looked down and noticed for the first time, the one imperfection on Sebastian's perfect body, the scar Resheph left, where Sebastian's neck met his left shoulder, a sign of his ownership. In a moment of sexual frenzy, desire, and, yes, jealousy, James drove his fangs into Sebastian's right shoulder, opposite Resheph's mark, their minds intermingling and memories, hopes and dreams flowing between them like streams overflowing into one another.
"James.... Oh my God," Sebastian groaned, meeting James's every stroke by driving his ass back into the big boy. "Oh my God!"
James felt Sebastian cum again, his ass clamping tight around James's thick cock, driving James over the edge as he unloaded into his lover. Pulling out, James spun Sebastian around and pinned him to the wall with an unabashedly passionate kiss. In fact, he pressed the boy so firmly against the wall; Sebastian was able to wrap his legs around James's waist without using his hands to hold himself up, stroking James's face and neck as they kissed hungrily. With his other free hand, he ran his fingers through James's honey-blond hair, holding the boy's head in place.
James carried Sebastian to the shower and they washed each other attentively, feeling the warm water wash away their cum and the tension of the day with it. With a grin and a wink, Sebastian sank to his knees, the water streaming over them, and took James's still plump member in his mouth, sucking it to full mast. With only a second wink's warning, he smiled up at the boy and sank his fangs into James's penis. James immediately felt his knees weaken and settled onto the bench at the far end of the shower, as Sebastian took a full measure of blood through his manhood. James's cock spasmed non-stop by the end -- he must have ejaculated at least three times more into Sebastian's hungry mouth. At last the boy rose and planted a sweet kiss on his lover, giving James a taste of his own cum and blood. Exhausted and spent, they dried each others' backs and slipped beneath the silk sheets into an intimate embrace.
James still slept as he built his strength, and while Sebastian rarely did, this night, the mixture of tension and sexual exhaustion carried him to a place he had not been in a century, the land of dreams.
Looking around, he knew the place, but the time. Gazing up to the temple mount, there was no Dome.... In fact, there was a temple, the Temple.... First or second he wondered as he made his way through the cramped streets of the ancient city -- he had, after all, seen them both. He tried not to be short with the vendors and charlatans that blocked his path occasionally as he weaved his way toward the Temple complex, which was surrounded by throngs of people, and made his way to the Israelites' courtyard. Immediately he recognized the features of the Second Temple.
"A holiday," he asked someone in Aramaic.
"A foreigner's question but an native's tongue...."
"I learned from a master," he said, lying. "I am one of your people from a distant land ... Elephantine...."
"Is it true ... there's a Jewish temple there?"
Sebastian shook his head. "It was destroyed.... What's going on here?"
"It is the day of atonement.... It is your first time in Jerusalem? The High Priest is about to bring out the goat for Azazel.... There, you see," he said, pointing to a figure emerging, leading a goat by a rope. He weaved his way through the crowd, praying, toward the Nikanor Gate. He was short and slightly built, with extraordinarily light hair, and Sebastian couldn't help but feel he must be young.... Indeed, Sebastian couldn't help but feel he knew the priest. For some reason, Sebastian couldn't make out his face, though it ought to have been clear as day.
The High Priest came to a stop in front of him for a moment. "This is the goat appointed for Azazel.... He bears our sins and distracts the enemy, while we make our atonement and seek forgiveness before the One.... Forgiveness is as near to you as this...." The young priest began to move away. When he reached the gate, he paused and made the confession over the goat, as the individuals present made their private confessions. Then, all assembled fell to their knees and placed their foreheads to the ground, as the High Priest lifted up his voice to pronounce a name Sebastian had not heard in two thousand years....
"Aghhhhhhhhhhh," a deep-voiced, throaty cry emanating from the first floor penetrated deep into Sebastian's sleep, drawing him back. James was already at the door, tying his robe at the waist. Sebastian followed a few steps behind him, as they ran at full speed toward the origin of the screams -- Richard's room.