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. My sincerest thanks go out to Tarton, who kindly edited this chapter. 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 membership requires permission to avoid spam and flames, so just let me know!
Things That Go Bump, Chapter 26
"The Council Strikes Back, Part 2"
In Bangkok, Sebastian walked up to the front gate of Sammael's safe house and rang the bell. A young man peaked out a little window and his eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't have time to react before Sebastian unleashed an incredible force which blew the door in, tearing the metal doorframe from the wall and crushing the man behind the door. Simultaneously, black-clad commandos burst through every door and window on the building, which was filled with screams and small explosions of stun grenades and magick. Most of the agents present were low-level, but the man in charge was a little Korean woman Sebastian recognized as one of Chang's governors.
As chaos reigned in the upper floors, Sebastian closed on her with fury in his eyes. "Traitor!"
Anger flickered in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by fear when she saw the look on his face, saw his hand rise and turn as if he was reaching for her neck. And she felt the pressure as surely as if he was wrapping his fingers around her neck. Only too late did she realize that her feet weren't on the ground.
James followed Lt. Spencer into a high window off of an alley and they slipped into what appeared to be an empty office. Spencer stuck his head out carefully into an empty hall. Soon they were signaled all-clear. They all met in the hall and Christen whispered, "Something's wrong.... This place is empty and has been for a while...."
Captain Morgan motioned down at the floor, indicating he felt that there were subterranean spaces. And it made sense. An abandoned building would provide plenty of cover. Seers were dispatched to try to detect passageways and openings to unseen dwellings. This did not bode well, as it meant that their entrance would have already been announced to those below, and there was no doubt that the facility's defenses had been activated. It also meant that this facility was far more advanced, and important, than they had realized, so their defense assessment was, no doubt, flawed. Compounding this difficulty, it took a few more minutes to find the entrance, a secret stairway behind a bookcase.
Three pairs of commandos preceded James and Spencer into the stairwell, and within moments, the floor began shaking with little explosions of force and energy. As quickly as they could, the commandos poured into the lower level and began neutralizing the opposition, which was surprisingly heavy. James and Spencer alternated their attacks and pinned down a few of the defenders while a second team circled slightly to the left and took them out. It took about ten minutes to clear the landing and get the whole force downstairs.
The underground facility was massive, clearly more than they were bargaining for, but there would be no additional backup available until the simultaneous assaults began to wrap up, so they made a conservative plan to sweep the facility wing by wing, covering their rear as best they could. Quick hand gestures assigned each team a room to clear on the first hallway, and as James and Spencer opened their door they paused in shock as two surprised faces looked over at them, hesitating for a moment.
James was shocked to find Peter staring back at him, while Spencer was terrified by the sight of Sekhmet, who was still recovering from her encounter with Sebastian. Because she was not well, James was a second faster in bringing up his angelic shield than Sekhmet was at casting the powerful energy ball in their direction. The blast was so powerful that it shock wave blasted back to knock Sekhmet and Peter off their feet, giving James and Lt. Spencer a chance to get out of the doorway.
"Sekhmet," James called to Christen, whose eyes widened.
"Set your charges for 2 minutes and retreat," she called out to her men. "MOVE!"
Each team had a small C4 device, which they sat haphazardly on load-bearing walls and at the mouths of various hallways, before beginning a hasty retreat to the stairwell. Christen was covering their retreat herself, but James wouldn't leave her behind and Spencer stuck with him. When the last man passed them, Christen dropped her shield and the three started running. "You shouldn't have waited," she scolded.
But just then, Sekhmet's cry of rage halted them, and James turned to face her again, lifting his amulet in her direction and modifying the shield spell to create a wall blocking the exit behind them, blocking the ancient vampire in. Christen grabbed his arm and dragged him, but James saw Peter come running up behind Sekhmet and stopped again. He looked like he would run back through the shield for a moment, but Lt. Spencer grabbed his other arm and, with Christen's help, practically dragged him upstairs. Together they could not have moved him, but Christen whispered, "Think of Sebastian," and he allowed himself to be moved.
The three of them barely made it back to their rendezvous point before the bombs leveled the building and collapsed it into the underground complex, which would, with any luck, also flood quickly, given the Venetian water table. Christen and Lt. Spencer looked at each other, knowing they were missing something, something bid, but they quietly helped James back to their complex. "Take an hour and relax," Christen called, and motioned to Spencer that he shouldn't leave James alone.
The man jogged to catch up with James and put a hand on his shoulder. "What happened back there?" the soldier asked him. James shook his head, pulling his arm away and walking faster. "James! Come on, man...."
James stopped but didn't turn around. "You know who Sekhmet is? What she is?"
"I've been briefed.... Ancient vampire bitch, used to play goddess in Egypt?"
James chuckled heavily, his shoulders heaving. "That about says it all.... Sebastian ... when he sleeps ... if he dreams, she's in his nightmares.... And the boy, the boy with her.... He was my best friend...."
Spencer stepped around him and saw that he was crying. "What happened?" Spencer asked. James sat down and they closed the door, and he told the man everything. How he had met Sebastian and how they had fallen instantly into this strange relationship, how everything had been going so well until Sammael and how Peter had been ... destroyed inside.... "And you blame yourself?"
James nodded and put his face in his hands. "How could I not? If I'd never brought him into all this, if I'd let them think I was dead.... And then again, if I'd noticed how bad things had gotten when he came back to us, I could have.... I guess that's at least part of the reason why I've been wanting so bad to fight! I'd like to punish someone besides myself.... Now it looks like I helped kill him...."
Spencer looked at him and said gloomily, "I doubt we got Sekhmet.... You don't get to be that old by getting caught by technology.... I'm guessing she took him with her, especially after your reaction to him...."
"Thanks," James said with a meager laugh, rolling his eyes, "for trying to make me feel better...."
"Sometimes what we want isn't for the best," Spencer said with a softening smile.
"Ain't that the truth," James groaned, laying back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. Spencer shook his head and lay back on an empty bunk and caught a quick nap for himself.
Sebastian and his men were among the first to return, and he went straight to his terminal, sending the little video he had taped to the boxes of every Council member and associate. He could send a message too, he fumed to himself. Then he checked to find that only Christen's group had returned -- faster than he had expected.
He called her up and found her looking tired. "What happened?" he demanded.
"Fine, how are you," she said with a wry smile. "Oh, our intelligence underestimated the target. It was a huge underground facility and when we got down into it, who do we run into but Sekhmet herself...."
"I'll be there in a minute," he said, not giving her time to say anything before turning off his computer and conjuring up a portal that opened into her office. "Is he okay?" he asked as he stepped into her office.
She smiled and nodded. "He's FINE! Resting! He and his teammate Lt. Spencer walked in on Sekhmet and a boy, and he was quick enough with that super-shield.... In fact, he sealed the exit behind us and we blew the place to hell, but I thought he was going to try to face off with her when he saw that boy again...."
"What did he look like?" Sebastian asked.
"Not his type," the woman answered, misunderstanding the question. Then she described the boy and Sebastian frowned.
"Peter," he muttered, shaking his head.
"The Lively boy? The one who was abused and turned?" she asked.
He nodded. "And the one who turned traitor and gave Sammael Resheph's fangs...."
"How did James handle that?" Christen responded.
"He didn't.... He withdrew at first and just went about life as normal.... Then he got real keen on kicking ass.... Sheesh.... Let me see him?"
"Of course," Christen said, and pointed him to the barracks she'd seen James and Spencer enter.
Sebastian entered and Spencer stirred, hopping off his cot and standing at attention. "Sir," he barked, but quietly, making Sebastian smile at his thoughtfulness.
"At ease," he said with a wave and a laugh. "You must be Lt. Spencer?"
"Yes, sir," Spencer said, somewhat stiffly, to a boy who looked five or six years his junior. Looks were of course very deceiving.
"How did James do in the heat of things, lieutenant?" Sebastian asked softly, motioning for the young man to sit and taking a seat next to him on the cot so he could watch James sleep.
"Saved my ass, stayed behind to cover Consul Wheeler.... Brave.... I thought we were going to have trouble over that Peter boy," he added.
Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "He talked to you about that?"
Spencer shrugged and said, "I guess we got close.... After I challenged him to a duel and he kicked my ass, we got over some things...."
Sebastian's smile was luminous, distracting Spencer from the mist in his eyes. "That sounds about right.... Thank you for watching his back...."
"Thank you for trusting us," Spencer nodded and laughed, getting up to walk away. "I believe I have other matters," he added, clearly leaving so Sebastian could be alone with James.
When the young man slipped out, he moved quietly to the edge of James's cot and laid down next to him, spooning into the muscular teen and wrapping an arm around him. "Mmmm," James said. "I love you...."
"How did you know I wasn't Spencer?" Sebastian asked with a laugh.
"Spencer's too big to slide in behind me like that.... Anyway, I'm pretty sure he's straight.... But I know the feel of your body," James said as he yawned.
"I heard you did well today," Sebastian said as he squeezed James.
"I managed to hold of Sekhmet until we could get out.... I'm guessing she got away before the explosion though...."
"Much older vampires than you have been killed by her without the least trouble.... That's a good day.... She ... probably took Peter with her...." Sebastian felt James tense up as he said it, felt the breath catch in the big boy's chest.
James coughed. "We'll see.... If she took him its only because he can hurt us.... I should have killed him...."
"Oh baby," Sebastian said softly, kissing him on the back of the neck.
"Part of me wanted to kill him for what he's done," James admitted tearfully.
"But that's not why you tried to go back," Sebastian said, sounding confident.
"No.... I was going back to save him," James said.
"And face Sekhmet alone," Sebastian added.
"She's still badly injured, thanks to you," James responded.
Sebastian sighed. "Be that as it may, it would have been brave but stupid.... I don't know what I'd do without you...."
"I just.... How can I want him dead on the one hand, but want to risk my life to save him on the other?" James asked, rolling over and burying his face in Sebastian's slight shoulder, feeling the cool, hard muscle rippling beneath.
"You haven't ... what I mean to say is, it's been surprising to me that we haven't really talked about Peter since he left.... I've had no idea what you're feeling, James...."
James nodded. "I don't know what I'm feeling.... I've been trying not to feel.... He was my best friend, and he betrayed me, betrayed us.... It's even worse than with my dad, because dad was messed up, he never really loved anyone.... But Peter was ... my friend...."
Sebastian squeezed him tight. "James, you love him, and he hurt you.... I ... can't take that away or make it better.... But I'm glad you didn't kill him ... even if I might have in your place...."
"Why?"
Sebastian kissed his head and whispered, "Because it reminds me that what we are doesn't have to destroy us.... You're still the sweet boy you always were...." And he felt James relax a little in his arms.
Neither of them knew how much time had passed when the door opened hesitantly and Lt. Spencer stuck his head in. "James? Sir? Consul Wheeler asked me to come find you.... It seems that the situation is ... developing...."
Sebastian got off the cot and pulled James up, and he held his hand as they walked out into the hall and down to Christen's office, passing a few of the young soldiers, who gasped, their eyes wide. James shook his head, knowing everyone would know who he was in a few minutes.
"Sorry Sebastian," Christen said as they entered. "But we seem to have a few issues that need your attention...."
"First of all, I think your message has been received loud and clear," she said, grimly. James looked confused and Sebastian nodded unhappily to Christen that she should show him the video he had sent to the Council.
The video showed Sebastian levitating the Korean woman who had worked for Chang, four wizards were pressing into her with a great force from each of the four cardinal directions. It soon became clear what they were doing as Sebastian pronounced her death sentence. "This is the fate of all who side with the darkness of evil against the interests of humans and undead alike...." Then he took out a sword and in a quick and furious blow, bisected the female vampire with a stroke that first connected with the forehead between her eyes.
The horrible thing was that the force the wizards were exerting held the two pieces together, and the vampire survived in utter agony. Then he repeated the action, dividing front from back. Again the wizards were able to hold her body together in undying agony. The time began to stretch out and James looked away from the screen. "Turn it off," he whispered and Sebastian nodded again.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Sebastian whispered back, and James melted into him immediately. As horrible as it was, there was no telling how many lives would be saved because of the fear this video instilled. James understood that. Coughing, Sebastian asked, "What else, Christen? Have the others returned?"
"Americ and Avery checked in.... The missions were successful, but Avery's team took some losses.... The problem is, Pedro hasn't checked in and Avery went after him, taking anyone who wanted to volunteer. Who knows what they're charging into?"
"Budapest," Sebastian spit with distaste. "No word at all from Pedro.... What do the seers say?"
"Their vision is blocked by something powerful," Christen said.
"Sammael," Sebastian murmured.
"Or Aethon.... Of all the vampires Sammael has amassed, he's the oldest, most powerful and most dangerous," Christen countered.
"Either way.... Avery's already gone?" She nodded. "What about Musa?"
"No word," Christen replied, shaking her head. Sebastian got an uneasy feeling, but pushed it aside.
"I'm going to Budapest," he said, finally. Both Christen and James frowned and he shook his head. "We're going to Budapest.... Get your troops to suit back up and I'll get mine here. We go in hot and heavy through a different insertion point...."
After a flurry of activity, everyone was ready to go in about thirty minutes. Sebastian would lead his team into an alley about a quarter of a mile to the east of Avery's and Christen would lead hers into a similar alley a quarter of a mile to the west of Avery's. This, they hoped, would allow them to discern what the threat and the damage was.
What they stepped into was a war-zone. City block after city block saw cars burning in the streets, glass blown out of buildings, and stray energy balls buzzing about willy-nilly. James and Spencer took point, along with another pair and looked around the corner at the end of their alley. Bodies were strewn in the streets, some burning, some screaming and dying, vampire, wizard, and mortal alike. But a cluster of explosions located ground zero at just near where Pedro's and Avery's teams had come through. Most of the wild energy balls were originating from there. Sebastian's team, likewise, began to approach from the opposite side.
Reconnaissance quickly revealed the source of the violence -- Resheph and Sekhmet were in a city park trying to fend off what remained of Pedro's team and Avery's reinforcements. It became immediately clear what had happened. Pedro had surprised Resheph, but the Sekhmet had arrived with backup and turned the tides.
Based on the power behind some of the spells, Avery was out there somewhere, James figured, and he did something that might be considered unwise. He conjured a huge blue orb of energy and hit Resheph in the side with it. Christen's whole team took immediate cover and began casting spells like their lives depended on it.
"What were you thinking?" Lt. Spencer asked as he sent a lightning bolt into the chest of a young vampire.
"Avery and his men were pinned down.... I wanted to draw Resheph's fire, which will allow Sebastian to hit him from behind...."
Spencer smiled. "Good plan," and they kept up their assault. James's initial strike against Resheph had done little but irritate that ancient vampire.
"If you need a target," James called loud enough for the enemy to hear, "hit Sekhmet.... She's injured...."
The enraged Sekhmet now turned her attention their way as well, and James could sense Sebastian's approach. But before he got too much closer, Resheph could sense him as well, rounding on the approaching team and sending a wall of fire their way.
James, in fear and anger, stood and shot a lance of fire laced with black fury directly into Resheph's back, knocking the creature to its knees. Then, Avery struck with a powerful vortex which lifted heavy debris, thrashing the enemy. Surrounded on three sides, even Resheph and Sekhmet were outmatched and it was only a matter of time, so they turned and ran, taking a few more strikes in the back until they turned a corner and ... of course, were gone.
James ran toward the smoky area where he expected to find Avery and found himself standing in ... an indescribable wasteland. Wizards lay moaning at his feet, and the streets were full of blood. Avery himself had fallen to his knees, but James was confused as Avery didn't look like he had suffered significant injuries. And then he saw, to Avery's right, a familiar face.
He looked a lot like Avery. They'd always favored one another since they were boys. Pedro was bleeding from his mouth, a gaping hole in his chest. There would be no repairing it. Pedro grasped at Avery's forearm and squeezed tight. "I love you, brother," the man wheezed, his last words dying in the smoky air.
James looked away, tears burning in his eyes, and Sebastian blurred past him, motioning for Sam to help Avery and collecting Pedro's body himself, leading them back to the manor. Moments later he returned for and asked James to instruct everyone to return to base and wait for word. James passed that along to Sebastian's men and returned to Christen's with her soldiers, giving Sebastian time to deal with Avery alone.
James joined the soldiers in the mess hall for dinner but he sat quietly, withdrawn despite all the anxious attempts to get him to open up about Sebastian, Avery, Sam and the others. Since they had seen Sebastian holding his hand, everyone assumed the truth, but he didn't feel like talking.
Lt. Spencer finished up and returned his and James's trays, returning and suggesting, "Let's take a walk, James...."
James nodded and followed him out onto the dark grounds. They walked around the lake for a while silently. At last James spoke. "Avery ... mastered time to hold off his death.... When he couldn't do the same for his brother, he found a vampire to turn him.... They've seen five centuries together.... I can't imagine...."
"For us, the Salazars are legend, and of course Sebastian.... It's so strange to ... well, to you they're ... people," Spencer said.
James nodded. "After all I've seen them do, Sebastian is just the boy I love at the end of the day.... Avery is the battered and nearly broken man I saw return from Ashaer.... There are others.... The cutest little blond, the most powerful person I've ever met, and he's just a sweet boy...."
Spencer's eyes widened. "Most powerful person you've met? Says the High Consul's boyfriend?"
James smiled. "I've said too much.... But I trust you not to say anything.... Christen's met him too...."
"What is he, a wizard like us, or a vampire?"
"So much more," James smiled. "You'll see, one day...."
Spencer walked on with him, again falling silent for a long time. "Do you think.... Well, I'm just wondering, do you think Sebastian has any openings?"
James looked at him closely and shrugged. "I'll ask.... I'd like that, though," James smiled sincerely. The young lieutenant would be a good friend, and someone he could trust to watch his back. They walked back to the barracks and took empty cots, quickly falling into deep sleep, the day's events having taken a great toll.
Avery was pacing back and forth manically in Sebastian's office. "I'm going to kill them all," he muttered to himself, tears streaking his cheeks.
"Avery, please sit down," Sebastian said.
"I can't, I can't stop moving or I'll lose it," Avery said. "I can't stop.... I'm going after them...."
"Avery! Listen to yourself! You can go after them now and get yourself killed," Sebastian answered him, "or you can wait and we can get this right and kill them all...."
Avery stopped and collapsed into a seat, face in his hands. "He's gone," the man wept openly. "He's gone, Sebastian.... I'll never see him again...."
Sebastian knelt at his feet and wrapped his arms around the man. "I'm so sorry, I know what he meant to you.... I remember how hard you tried to get me to turn him...."
Avery laughed at the flood of memory, inhaling deeply of Sebastian's familiar scent. "You know who it was, don't you?"
"I guessed, a couple of hundred years ago, that it might be Musa," Sebastian said softly.
"How did you know?" Avery asked.
"For a couple of hundred years, Pedro blushed whenever he was around, or at the mention of his name.... I'm guessing he enjoyed his breaking-in period with his sire pretty well...."
"You know Musa," Avery said with a wink, and Sebastian smiled back nodding.
"Why don't you go talk to Sarah? If you need anything, you know where I am...." Avery nodded and trudged off, careful to look away from the table on which his brother's body lay.
Meanwhile, Sebastian picked up the phone and called a contact in the NSA to see if they could get a satellite image of the ship Musa's team had boarded. It would be a long night, and he only wished James were with him. But he knew why the boy hadn't returned. God, how he loved James.
But the thought of Avery upstairs kept drawing him back to the depths. Pedro wasn't the last friend this campaign would cost him, and in a world where relationships lasted centuries, loss was that much more acute.
Sammael had been in a rage as report after report came in of compromised safe house and destroyed assets. So many of his followers were dead, Resheph injured, Sekhmet injured. But she'd told him something interesting, and now he found himself next to Peter.
"Peter, you betrayed your friends coming to me.... You've killed in cold blood to prove your loyalty.... I need one more thing from you," Sammael said, running a hand down the boy's bare back.
"What?" Peter asked, shivering at the touch of the cold hand. He hated everything Sammael stood for – and considered it a cruel irony that HE was using the devil – but the feeling of Sammael's skin against his threatened to silence that inner voice.
"I need to know, does Sebastian have any weaknesses I can use to destabilize him?" Sammael asked.
Peter tensed up momentarily, but moaned as Sammael's hand slipped beneath the sheet draped casually across Peter's waist. "If you want to get to Sebastian, there is ONLY one way.... James...."
"James," Sammael mused. "The boyfriend...."
"So much more than that," Peter said. "Soul mates, true loves...." Even as he said it, he remembered how much he hated himself too – his weakness, his pain, his desire...
"Now," Sammael said, punctuating his words with an evil smile, "you really HAVE betrayed them...." He pushed Peter back onto the bed playfully and rolled on top of him; totally unlike he was with Andrew, he was dominant but gentle, and as he kissed the boy's neck, Peter forgot all about loathing and let himself drift away.