Evil Is a Man

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

If you like what you're reading, let me know: SellarDhor@gmail.com. And let me know where you want the story to go and who you want Jake to end up with. And if you have any ideas for the future, let me know, I might include them.

JANUARY 24th

Parker's close embrace worked beautifully on keeping any unpleasant dreams away.

In the early morning, I woke up with my back feeling numb, and I wanted to roll on my right side. This meant I had to carefully slide out from under Parker's body, which was half on top of me, as he lay face down. As soon as I parted from him and turned away, to get situated on my right side, I felt him unconsciously reach out for me, but find nothing. I felt bad, and I really didn't want him to stop holding me any more than he wanted to stop, so I nestled back against him.

Once he felt me, he turned on his side, put his arms around my waist, and spooned me from behind. I felt very happy and warm as I fell back to sleep.

Later on in the morning, I awoke feeling Parker's dick had hardened, and was poking into my butt, precum wetting my crack. Instantly, I got hard myself. A quick listen made me sure Parker was still sound asleep. I rubbed myself back and forth against him until I couldn't take it anymore; I had worked myself into such frenzy.

I opened my eyes, noticing the room was just starting to lighten with the morning's pale dawn, the skies turning their darkest shade of blue. I walked to the bathroom, used the toilet, cleaned myself up a bit (including a quick teeth brushing), and then got out the lube. I greased myself up really well, and then went into the living room.

I turned on Parker's gramophone. It was playing something pretty and mild, so I put the volume on low.

When I came back into our bedroom, the sky had lightened significantly. Parker was rolled onto his back. With just our white bed sheet covering him, he looked absolutely ridiculous with his huge erection acting like the biggest tent pole I had ever seen, creating so much space between him and the sheet. It was almost large enough for me to camp under.

I pulled the sheet aside, and took a moment to admire his perfect body, lying there in the pale light. He had his hands neatly tucked together over his bulging chest, his gorgeous pink nipples looking relaxed. His sweet lips were closed, his breathing soft and constant, his face oozing peaceful serenity.

The only thing that was not serene about his sleeping composure was the frightening beast between his legs. It stood hard as iron, pointed towards the ceiling. As I watched, a precum flowed from the spout down the slick head, dripping all over his shaft. And then a drop of the stuff even shot into the air as his dick pulsed.

I climbed into bed with him, and used the bottle of lube to first to lube up my hole, and then, feeling like I couldn't resist, used both hands to lube up that gorgeous phallus, luxuriating in the act of rubbing the precum as well.

Setting the lube aside, I stood astraddle him in bed, one of my feet on each side of his hips. As I watched the beautiful face of my peacefully slumbering love, feeling all sorts of happy emotions, I lowered myself, using my hands to slowly slide his huge head into me, amazed at how little pain there was.

I saw Parker's face go from serenity to delight as he groaned pleasurably. He blinked a couple times sleepily.

"Sweetie, what are you doing up there?" he asked as I smiled down at him.

"Good morning, my love!" I said happily.

"Oh my," he said, realizing what was going on for the first time. "Sweetie, we shouldn't do this." He pulled me down so I was lying against his body, and stopped me from moving back and forth against him.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Oh, my love," he said, placing a gentle hand on my cheek. "Because it's too soon after everything that happened to you yesterday. I'd expect that you wouldn't want to be touched like this again for months, if ever. And that's totally fine with me."

"No, you're wrong Parker," I said. "What happened yesterday is the very reason why I absolutely need to do this. I went from the absolute best possibly bottoming experiences a guy can be blessed with those two times with you, to the absolute worst experience possible with Boyd. I can't let that idiot turn something that used to bring me such beauty and love when you were doing it to me into something repulsive and scary. You see, babe? This is exactly what I need you to do right now to heal me."

"Are you sure, my love?" he asked, rubbing my cheek with his thumb. "I don't want to agitate any fresh wounds."

"I'm positive. This is what I want, babe. I want you."

"Oh, sweetie, that warms my soul. But the second something hurts or doesn't feel right, physically or emotionally, I want you to make me stop, alright?"

"Yes."

He kissed me with such love, and I resumed moving myself down on him. When I reached my prostate, I felt such joyous pleasure, I cried out.

"Oh lord, that feels so incredible, sweetie!" he said as I got his dick all the way inside me. He was still lying back on the bed and starting to use his sweet hands to rub all over my body.

"This is a modern song, isn't it?" I asked Parker, listening to the song playing on the gramophone, as I lifted my body up again and looked into his soft green eyes.

"Indeed. I picked it up when I got your Elvis song, and fell in love with it when I heard how classic it sounds. I made a record full of the song so it plays over and over. Hope you don't get sick of it."

"No, it's quite lovely. What is it called?" I lowered myself again onto his dick, starting to get into a rhythm.

"'In This Shirt' by The Irrepressibles. It makes me think of you when I hear it."

I reached back behind me and grabbed his lightly furred thighs, squeezing his flexed quads in my hands, and I used the grip to stabilize myself on top of him, able to buck my hips up and down with more power, loving the sweet sensation that was making as his dick pushed up and down inside me.

"Oh, my sweet, look at the sky! I'm so happy you woke me up early enough to see our last Mareshead sunrise together."

I looked away from Parker to see all the windows surrounding us in our octagonal bedroom, and I lost my breath as I saw the gorgeous yellow light coming from the east. "Oh yes, it's so, so beautiful. Babe, I think it's incredible that after all these years, you're still amazed at a sunrise."

"How could I ever tire of one of nature's most endearing beauties?" he asked me. "I'll never tire of beautiful sunrises, just like I'll never, ever love you any less, or feel less of a delight when I touch you."

"Neither will I, Parker. Neither will I. And I'm so thankful to you for providing this room for us, otherwise we would never be able to see the sunrise this morning as if we were sitting outside the mansion. So much of Mareshead feels tainted by bad memories of Jericho, Boyd, or Syd. But this apartment, this is all you, my sweet. And if all the rest of Mareshead could just disappear around us, I'd love to stay here in our perfect apartment, just the two of us, forever."

"Oh, my love, I feel exactly the same," he said. He stopped lying there passively, enjoying the pleasure, and took control, sitting up, his ripped six pack flexing as he pulled his upper body off the bed into sitting up position. "I couldn't go another moment without tasting you," he said in explanation, as if I might have disapproved of his taking command.

He kissed my chest, taking my nipple in his mouth lovingly, as his arms wrapped around my back and butt, using that grip to pull himself up to me. I moved my hands from his thighs to his sides, grabbing onto his rib meat, his ripped obliques.

He kissed my other nipple just sweetly, kissed all the way up my neck, kissed my chin. I felt his loving lips on my own, filling me with his happiness, and then his passion overtook him and I tasted his delicious tongue inside my mouth, welcomed it home.

As we kissed he sat upright fully, using his hands to hold up my back and the back of my head, giving me sweet support. I wrapped my legs around his hips, my feet hitting the mattress behind his butt. My rock hard dick was pressed right in the crack between his abs, and as I moved myself up and down on his phallus, naturally my dick rubbed against his tan skin.

I put my left hand behind his head, messing his hair up with my eagerness. I put my right hand on his left pec, squeezing his gorgeous nipple, and I pulled away from his kiss and looked down at his splendid body.

"Babe, I want you to know, you could turn me into a vampire right now."

"Oh, my love, I don't ever want you to become a vampire. There's nothing in this world that you need less than the cruel existence of a vampire."

"And I would never want to become one, you don't have to worry about that. What I meant was, I know you told me the way I was wired, there would be no way I would survive the process unless I was in love with the vampire. Well, I can assure you, if it was you making me, I'd survive."

He raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't be so quick to say that. With you, Jake, it can't just be any kind of love. It needs to be a head over heels kind of love. It would take the same kind of emotions from me, which I know I've reached already. But with you, maybe if we've spent years together, you'd feel that way about me someday. Right now, I don't think you'd survive."

"Oh, I would," I said. "And it sounds like that's a challenge."

"It's absolutely not a challenge, and regardless of what I believe, it's very sweet to hear you say those words, my love."

He kissed me again, showing me his bountiful love with every moment, and I reciprocated, every part of my body under his spell. I could see him blinking in and out of existence, going invisible and coming to again, which he was surely doing without realizing, and I shut my eyes so as not to be disoriented.

I moved up and down on his wonderful stick, picking up my pace until I was bouncing up and down furiously on top of him, and I could feel myself getting close to orgasm.

"I want you to feed from me, babe," I said, pulling back from his kisses, breathless.

"Sweetie, no. You were just having a blood transfusion yesterday."

"I feel completely one hundred percent better this morning," I said. "We're going to be traveling this afternoon, so it could be hard for you to do it later on. Please, Parker, do this for me?"

"You're sure you're not at all weak or dehydrated this morning?"

"Positive."

"Oh, alright, sweetie. But stop me at the first sign of weakness."

"I will," I said.

While I continued to move myself up and down on his dick, I felt his tongue licking away at my throat. After a minute or so, I could feel him poke ever so softly into me with his fangs.

"Oh god, your taste leaves me absolutely at a loss for words," he said, and then he could say no more as he was absolutely drawn to my throat, his lips gently loving my wound.

I felt that euphoria enter through my throat and spread through my whole body, and it felt like it was Parker's love itself moving through each one of my veins.

I was so relentlessly swept away by the pleasure his teeth and dick and body were all bringing to me at once, that I found myself go limp in his arms, found myself stop humping him and just turning into a soft, useless puddle of flesh.

And then I felt him start to thrust his hips and down, resuming our lovemaking for the both of us, starting so gentle and soft, but turning more and more passionate as the time went on. And I knew that even though I had started our lovemaking, he was going to finish it, and there was nothing I wanted more.

As his thrusts intensified, I moved my legs up until they were wrapped around his ribs. I swung both hands around his head, digging my nails into his hair, and I pushed his face into my throat, letting him know how much the bite was pleasing me.

And he was on cloud nine, his breathing uneven and heavier than I had ever heard it, his mouth emitting groaning sounds of pleasure as he drank me down, his hands moving from my back down to my butt, which he started to fondle and squeeze with such passion.

As his thrusts went faster and stronger than he had ever given me before, I felt his load absolutely erupt inside me, tingling my prostate with his wonderful seed.

And then like a domino affect, I hit orgasm too, feeling my dick pour so much more cum that I ever knew I was capable of right onto his abs.

"My love, my love!" he cried out just after licking my wound shut, still in the height of his orgasm. "You make me feel better than I ever knew I could feel."

I looked with love into his sweet eyes as his load continued to pump through me, totally devouring me with his wonderful cum, and we kissed again, kissed sweetly until every last drop was milked away by my eager chute.

And then we kissed for five minutes more, just because the two of us were so in love, we could not be parted.

Finally, we fell back to earth, lying together on the mattress, with him still inside me for a while.

When I felt him pull out, I said, "No, I don't ever want to go on without feeling you inside me, Parker. I've gotten so used to it."

"I want nothing more than to stay inside you forever, but I feel guilty about the mess my passion has left you in, my love."

He pulled out of me, grabbed a towel, and sweetly wiped up all the cum that was dripping out of my hole.

I felt his soft fingertip against my opening, and he said, "Oh, sweetie, you feel raw here. Please tell me I wasn't too rough."

"You're too worried, Parker, it doesn't even hurt."

I noticed he didn't bother wiping my cum off his stomach, which somehow I found to be sweet.

"Babe, you did it perfectly this time!" I said.

"What do you mean, sweetie?"

"I don't feel the least bit faint or low on energy like I did yesterday."

"Excellent! I tried to make a much smaller incision this time."

"And you still got enough for today's allotment of blood, I hope."

"Yes, sweetie, just enough. Thanks for thinking about that. But even if you're feeling on top of the world this morning, I'm going to absolutely insist that you stay in bed for the next twenty minutes, while I make us breakfast in bed."

"I'm too happy and energized to lie here alone, Parker," I said. "I'll help you cook."

"You don't have to help me if you don't feel like it. I love providing for you, even though I know you are more than capable of providing for yourself in every way, which is one of the many reasons why I love you."

"No, we're partners, and I want to contribute to our partnership," I said.

"If that's what you'd like, my sweet."

I got out of bed, and Parker followed me into the kitchen. He started pulling items out of the fridge. "Why don't you take care of the fruit and toast, while I do the omelets and fish on the stove?" he asked.

"I can do omelets too."

"I'm sure your omelets are amazing. But you're less familiar with these old-fashioned kitchens than I am, and if I were to teach you how to use the stove, I'd really want you to wear clothing, just in case you have any issues with this old-fashioned appliance or something splashes and scalds you."

"No clothes! I'm fine with the fruit and toast," I said, taking the bread and the fruit from him. "How ironic it would be if I ended up accidentally cutting my penis off with this sharp fruit knife."

"Don't even kid about that, sweetie."

"And what about you? I'd be devastated if you scalded your lovely equipment, babe."

"Do not fret," he said, pulling out a masculine cooking apron, and tying it around him. As I looked at him from behind, I admired his bare back and sexy butt.

While Parker lit up the stove with a match, I started breaking eggs into a bowl and beating them (after washing my hands thoroughly). Parker got out two frying pans. He cooked the trout fillets on one pan, which smelled delicious, and the omelets in another.

"Trout for breakfast?" I asked him as I peeled an orange.

"I know it sounds a bit decadent, but if you're really going to be providing me my blood on a regular basis, you'll need a lot more meat and fish in your diet."

"Oh, that sounds nice, actually."

"If I see any sign that my feedings are making you physically weaker. Sudden weight loss, lethargy, etc. I'm going to put a stop to it immediately."

As we cooked, I noticed that Parker threw the omelet into the air, turned it upside down, and caught it back in the pan.

"Okay, now you're just showing off."

"It's really a very easy maneuver to learn," he said.

"Could you teach me?" I asked.

"I'd love to, sweetie. Let me just find you another apron."

"No need, I can share yours," I said.

I untied his apron, stood directly in front of him, my back against his front, and then wrapped the apron around the front of my body. The two of us tied the apron back behind him together.

"Mmm, this is nice and cozy," Parker said, using his free arms to hug me from behind. He kissed the side of my mouth happily. "Now, grab the pan handle in your right hand."

"Okay," I said once I was holding the pan.

"It's all in the wrist," he said, holding my right hand with his own.

I let him direct my arm as together we flipped the omelet. He did it with me a second time, and then I did it totally on my own.

"Nice!" Parker said.

"Once again, I had a great teacher," I said, flipping it again.

"Let's not forget how gifted you are with anything requiring coordination," Parker said, kissing me on the back of the head.

I flipped the omelet again, this time higher than ever.

"Okay, now you're just showing off," Parker joked.

"I love learning stuff from you, babe," I said.

"Well, that's good. Because in the next few months, I'm going to teach you everything I know. And I want you to teach me everything I've missed in the outside world while I've spent the last century in the Territory."

"Babe, you make as patient a student as you do a teacher," I said, unfastening the apron and climbing free of it, returning to the fruit and the bread.

After a few minutes, we were seated at the dining room table that the two of us had had our first romantic dinner on in the apartment, only unlike then, we were totally naked.

"Should we put on clothes before sitting at the breakfast table?" Parker asked. "I don't want you to think I've devolved into anything less than a gentleman, just because the two of us have gotten so comfortable with each other."

"No, I'm not clean enough to put on clothes yet," I said.

"Neither am I, really," Parker said.

When we sat down, we sat across from each other, and just like always, we had our knees against each other, and our feet rubbing each other with affection. When Parker wasn't using his hands to eat, he was leaning across the table and grabbing my hand or arm. The two of us always found a way to be touching, it seemed, and I absolutely loved the habit.

"Sweetie, you gave me the ripest, sweetest fruit, and you took the less ripe fruit for yourself."

"Well, you gave me the biggest piece of trout," I said.

"Here, at least try this apple, it's way tastier than the slices you have on your plate."

I consented, and he picked up a piece of apple and lovingly placed it in my mouth. "Mmm, very good. And this omelet is amazing."

"It doesn't taste half bad, considering the treatment we gave the poor thing while practicing. It's flip-flopped almost as much as Annie has about what she wants to do about the baby."

"Oh?" I asked. "I thought you promised not to discuss with me those things?"

"Well, letting you know that part really isn't betraying my promise," he said.

"You know, September is right around when Annie will be giving birth," I said. "Does that mean you want to come back and be a father to the boy?"

He looked down into his breakfast and rolled his eyes. "I don't know what I'll decide to do on that point. I guess someone needs to raise the boy. I've asked Annie to move to Fools Gold, possibly even next door to Della and Jennie, but for some reason, she wants to stay here."

"That's crazy!"

"I know. Syd was exactly right, the chances of a child growing up here without suffering some serious emotional scars are slim to none. And Annie can't decide if she wants me to be involved in the child's life or not."

"Without you, that kid's going to seriously end up crazy," I said. "Annie's not strong enough to be a good parent."

"No, she isn't," he said. "I don't know. She's also been through moments where being a mother terrified her so much, she was all too willing to abandon the child with me and let me do as I pleased with it. Part of me just wishes I could start a new household somewhere, perhaps in Fools Gold, and raise the boy myself."

I shook my head. "I should be there by your side, raising the boy as well. I've always wanted to be a father."

"You'd be an amazing father, and I think the whole notion is very, very romantic. But sweetie, you shouldn't be a father until decades later. That's a responsibility that you don't need right now."

"You may think I'm too immature to handle it, but I really think I would rise to the challenge."

"No, no, I don't think you're too immature to be a father, I know right now you'd be an excellent parent. I just know that you shouldn't be one for your own sake. You must be able to see the sense in that."

"Well, I must admit, becoming a teenage parent never was at the top of my life priorities."

"No, of course not."

After breakfast, I found myself still seated face to face with Parker, only instead of the dining table, this time we were in our two-man tub. We had jumped in together immediately after brushing our teeth. Our legs were intertwined romantically (I had him remove his false leg), with the warm water coming up above waist level. Parker looked very gallantly handsome all wet.

He had started by washing my face off as I shampooed his hair, but I had grabbed the soap away from him, and was giving his body the works.

"You said you had friends in Boston you wanted me to meet?" I asked, washing his face with the soap, worshipping every line of his handsome, masculine visage.

"Yes, if they're still around."

I rinsed his face off with water so he could open his eyes again. "Well, if they're not vampires, I'd assume they'd be long dead since the late nineteenth century. I hate to break the bad news to you." I started to soap up his left arm, lifting it up so I could scrub his armpit.

He laughed. "Yes, they're vampires. My sense of passing time isn't THAT bad, sweetie. They're common born Logan vampires who I absolutely know I can trust."

I soaped up his right arms with equal care.

"Here, hand me the soap and let me wash you now," he said.

"What's the matter, you don't enjoy me washing you?" I asked.

"Crazy talk, sweetie. I enjoy it far too much. It makes me feel guilty. I should be bringing pleasure to you. That way, your body feels pleasure, and I get just as much pleasure out of touching you."

What he couldn't conceive of is that I might get just as much pleasure from touching his body as he did mine. "I'm fine doing the soaping, babe."

"Last night, all you did was please my body. Now it's time to turn the tables."

"Not until I say so," I said.

"Well, I could just steal the soap and wash you by force," he said, smiling.

"If you claim to be a gentleman, you'll let your partner have his way," I said.

He narrowed his eyes. "Oh, right, play the gentleman card, you know that's my weakness."

I started to wash his wonderful pecs. "I think if I have a weakness, it could be your amazing chest," I said. "Please, go on about the Boston vampires. What exactly can they tell me?"

"They know more about men with your gene than any other vampires I've known. If they can't teach you how to defend yourself, I'm sure they've be willing to protect you while you're in Boston, should you need any help. The last thing I want is to have you murdered by some random vampire in Boston just because you have AB negative blood. You are amazingly gifted physically, and I believe if taught correctly, you should be able to learn to protect yourself from any supernatural danger. I'm not suggesting turning you into a soldier, regardless of your physical prowess, we both know you were intended for a scholarly life. I just want to ensure your safety."

"Is there any way I can distinguish a vampire in order to avoid them?" I asked as I finished washing his pecs and started in on his incredible abs.

"I can't even do that, sweetie. Perhaps there's some way you can, but I'm just not sure. I'd say, as long as you're in the states, it's prudent to avoid anyone with green eyes."

I chuckled. "Martine has green eyes," I said. "Should I inform her that our friendship is over?"

"Anyone you don't already know, that is," he said. "I wouldn't want you suddenly avoiding me, for instance. I might not get to enjoy my baths so thoroughly." He reached over and snatched the soap out of my hands, a sly smile on his face.

"Hey, give that back!"

"Not until I finish washing you," he joked.

"Well, there goes your gentleman card," I laughed.

"Ah, shoot, there goes any sense of identity I once had. Soon I'll be boozing and womanizing, just like my brother."

I started to try to grab the soap out of his hand, but he stuck his arm behind him, putting it out of reach. "There's one way to solve this problem," I said, laughing. I pushed myself towards him in the tub until my stomach and chest were touching his, I wrapped my legs around his waist, and I reached my hands around his body. I started trying to pull the soap out of his one hand with both of mine.

"Not much chance of getting the soap, sweetie. Not with my vampire-strong grip, and all."

Rethinking my strategy, instead of trying to ply his hand open, I used my hands to push his fingers together. I saw the wet soap pop out of his hand, and I caught it.

"How'd you do that?" he asked me, laughing.

"I just used your vampire-strong grip against you," I said. "And while I'm over here, might as well get your back". I reached around and started to scrub his rugged lats.

"Will you still be able to wash me, if I do this?" Suddenly, he went invisible, and it looked like I was soaping up empty space. Though strangely, my hand that held the soap also disappeared to my eyes as I washed him.

"Yes, I will," I said. "It'll just make it a lot less fun for me."

"Fine, you win," he said, turning visible again.

"One thing you'll learn all too quickly is that I always win," I said proudly. . I noticed beneath me in the tub that his amazing cock had gotten hard, and was poking me in the butt. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Sorry, sweetie, I can't help it. I guess I can throw my last vestiges of being a gentleman out the window."

I finished washing his back and looked into his eyes. "I think it's very romantic, babe."

"Ah, you're so good-hearted," he said. "After all, my hardness may be an irritation to you, but you know it means I love you."

"I'm just shocked that you could ever get like that so soon after we just..."

"Made love?"

"Yes."

"Well, your skin contact is really setting me off. And this close to me, your scent is overpowering."

"You mean, the scent of my blood?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "I hope that doesn't bother you."

"Not at all, babe."

"But that brings up a good point. Anyone you meet out there who seems interested in your scent should be avoided at all costs."

"That reminds me, in Tahoe, there were these villainous characters that seemed to smell me, and tried to attack me. I had just thought they were racist rednecks, but maybe they had been vampires the whole time after all."

"Perhaps, my sweet. That's exactly the kind of random encounter I want you to avoid." He kissed me on the mouth. "Now, since we already established that you're in charge in this relationship, would you mind ever so much if I washed your body now? You've washed every inch of my body with such thoroughness, we'll need another bar of soap soon."

"I consent, for now," I said, handing him the soap.

"Turn around, and I'll get your back," he said.

I did an about face in the tub, turning away from him, sitting on his thighs. I felt his hands start to wash soap into my shoulders. But his talented hands were just as much massaging me as they were washing me, which sent me to heaven.

"Look, I know we're heading to Boston, but would you mind terribly if we stopped first in Chattanooga? I want to introduce you to my family."

"I'd love to meet your family," he said, as he moved his hands down and started massaging my back. "I've heard so much about them, I feel like I already know them. And I'd love to see the environment that created my beloved. I have a lot of thanks to give for this man here." He patted me lovingly on the head, and I turned my head back to the right to let him give me a tender kiss on the mouth.

"I have to warn you, my mom can be a little intense, and my brother can be a little bit spoiled. If they say anything to embarrass you, I'll be so mad."

"Well, I can't see how they could possibly be any more embarrassing than my family has already been with you," he said as reached down in the bathwater and washed my lower back and upper-butt.

"I can't argue with that one."

"Who will you tell them I am?" he asked.

"I'm bringing you home as my boyfriend, babe. Is that okay?"

"Oh, my love, I'd be absolutely honored," he said, pulling me into a hug from behind, wrapping his strong arms around my sides, and then kissing my mouth again as he tilted my head sideways gently. "But are you sure you should be introducing me like that when we already know we'll be breaking up in a few months? I don't want them to get a false sense of permanence about us."

"I'm fine with that, we don't have to tell them we're getting married or anything," I said. "I'm really just using you as a really good opportunity to come out to them."

"Come out? What does that mean? Is that some sort of sexual reference?" He used the arms he had around me to start washing my chest. I could still feel him poking me in the butt, which was amazingly starting to make me hard too.

"No, not that form of come, babe. It means to come clean about what we are."

"Ooooh, I see," he said as he washed my stomach. "You mean, tell them you have the special gene, and that I'm a vampire?"

"No, no, no. My mom is a super devout Southern Baptist. If we tell her you're a vampire, she'll probably run out and get an exorcism."

"Is that a good thing?"

"No, it's not. I'm not suggesting we give them existential meltdowns by telling them all this supernatural stuff. I mean, telling them I'm gay."

"Gay about what? Happy about our relationship?"

"No, gay. As in, homosexual."

"Oh, okay. Um, why is that of interest to them, exactly?"

"Because in the modern world, being homosexual, or gay, is often a religious taboo."

"Sounds bizarre," he said. "And you have some inclination that your family will think less of you just because you like men instead of women?" His tone of voice made it clear he thought the idea was preposterous.

"My brother won't care, obviously, since he's gay too. My mother will probably cry. But I'm hoping, when she sees how great the guy I'm with is, she'll be won over."

"Once again, I am very honored that you would think of me for this, my love." His washing hands reached my dick. When he noticed I was hard, he said. "What's this, my sweet? I didn't know my un- gentlemanliness was so terribly contagious."

"This bathtub is chock full of debauchery today, isn't it?"

"And who was it that was complaining that their human sexual physiology couldn't possibly keep up with my vampire one? I think your penis just disproved your hypothesis."

"I'm as shocked as you are about this development," I said.

"Remember my theory that the farther your libido is tried, the stronger it will evolve?"

"Yes."

"Well, perhaps we should put that theory to test."

"Right now?" I asked.

"Why not? We're both clearly still madly desiring each other. Personally, my love for you is powerfully intoxicating. To actually make love to you, which is the ultimate physical manifestation of all my myriad of feelings, well, I could frankly make love to you all day long, if it was feasible. Sorry if my honesty frightens you."

"No, it doesn't," I said. "Because I feel the exact same way."

"Now, I'm not suggesting I bite you again, because you've given me more than enough blood. And I'm not suggesting I get inside you again, because your lovely hole needs a break. But there's plenty of fun the two of us can have in this bathtub without us ever missing those two things." He kissed me from behind.

"Oh, I'd love nothing more that to stay in this tub with you all day, Parker. But we tend to forget when we're alone like this, so happy as a couple, that there's an outside world. And I don't want our lovemaking to be the cause of us not leaving the mansion today. I don't want to push our luck with this place, babe."

"You're right," he said. "You're absolutely correct. We should just finish getting dressed and go."

"Tonight, when we're miles away from Mareshead, that's when I want you to make love to me again, babe."

"I'll be counting the minutes," he said, kissing me again, more loving than ever. "Wow, was that stubble I just felt on your cheek?"

"I'm overdue for a shave," I said.

"I'll do it for you, if you'd like," he said. "I was going to shave myself, so it wouldn't be any hassle."

"Sure," I said, turning around to face him.

He grabbed some supplies from a nearby shelf, and opened a jar of white cream. He had one of those old fashioned brushes, and instead of using his hands to apply the cream, he dipped the brush in the stuff and generously applied it to my face.

When he pulled out an old fashioned straight-razor, I did a double-take. "Whoa, are you serious with that thing?" I asked. "It kind of gives me the creeps."

"What else would I use?"

"Uh, how about anything by Gillette?"

"Jill who?"

"Never mind," I said.

"Hold still," he told me.

He brought the razor to my neck, and started to cut. If this had been anyone but Parker, I would have never let them shave me with such a crazy looking instrument on principle. But my trust for Parker knew no bounds, and I didn't even flinch as he started to shave.

"I hope this isn't irritating you," he said. "I'm trying to be as gentle as possible."

"I can barely feel it," I said. As I stared into Parker's gorgeous face, something occurred to me. "You know what? I forgot for a second that my mom and brother know Syd. They'll take one look at you, and know you look identical. We'll have to tell then you're his brother, though Syd never told us he had any siblings."

Parker finished shaving my face, and rinsed it off. "There. All done. I usually put aftershave on, but I don't want to do that to you. It can sting."

"I can handle the sting, babe."

"I know, but you don't need to smell better anyway, you already smell terrific. Do you want to shave me, sweetie?" he asked, handing me the razor.

"Are you sure you trust me to do that? I've never used one of those before."

"You don't have to if you'd rather not."

"I don't want to cut you."

"If you cut me, I'll heal," he said simply.

I grabbed the cream brush and started lathering him up. I grabbed the razor, and brought it to his face. I cringed. "You may want to avert your eyes, or bite down on something."

"I told you, sweetie, I trust you," he said, not looking the least bit nervous.

The truth was, I was far more anxious than he was as I made my first little swipe with the razor. "Oh, this is actually easier than it looks."

"See? I told you."

I continued shaving him as he shut his eyes, relaxing.

"Should I be Syd's identical twin brother for your family?" Parker asked as I finished shaving his face. "Would that be more believable?"

"No, younger brother," I said, putting a dab of his aftershave on the palms of my hands, and rubbing them into his newly smooth cheeks. "They think Syd's in his late thirties now. They'll never be okay with the age difference between us."

"If they have a problem with a two decade age difference, what would they say if they knew there was really over a century of age difference between us? They are absolutely right to be upset, they know as well as I that the last thing you need in life right now is to be anchored down by some gross old man."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's just tell them you're in your early twenties. That should be fine. I'm ready to get out now, though like I said before, I want to stay in here with you all day."

"I love you so much, my sweet," he said, giving me a kiss. "Wait there." And then he jumped out of the tub, put his false leg back on, and grabbed me a giant bath towel. "I don't want you getting the shivers," he said.

I stood up, and he lovingly wrapped the soft towel around me, drying me off. He helped me out of the bath.

"My mother actually was kind of in love with Syd, so she'll love someone who looks just like him," I said as I started to put on my modern body lotion.

"Oh lord, if she was in love with Syd, she'll probably hate me, then," Parker bemoaned as he rubbed his old-fashioned crème in a jar all over his naked, muscled body. So that's what always smelled so distinctively good about his skin.

"She fell in love with Syd when he was playing the role of a good person," I said, putting on my deodorant. "She never would have any feelings for the real Syd. Which is exactly why she's bound to love you. But she's going to try and put us in separate rooms. She'll want you to sleep on the couch."

"That's fine with me," he said, putting on just a bit of fine, old-fashioned cologne, another source of the smell on him that I loved. "If she'd prefer that we're not intimate while we're under her roof, I think we should abide by her wishes."

I saw him dip his fingers into a jar of some other liquid, and asked what it was.

"It's basically Mum," he said. "A deodorant first developed in Philadelphia when I was there in the late nineteenth century. I recreated it in my lab ages ago, though most folks here don't care about if they smell. Still, it keeps me smelling fresh."

"Interesting," I said, starting to comb my very short hair. "If you're going to not be intimate with me at my house, what about your need for blood?"

"I can bring some packets," he said, combing his hair with some product. "Sweetie, we can stay at your place as long as you like. But we have to leave by Valentine's Day, even if we just come back to your house a week later."

"What happens on Valentine's?"

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise."

"Won't you give me some sort of hint?"

"I suppose. I was planning on taking you to some other special destination, one of the most romantic places I`ve ever been."

"That sounds wonderful, babe," I said, already really excited. I walked over and gave him a big hug, and he gave me another long kiss. "Now, for today, it won't take me long to pack my things and be ready."

"It will take me a couple hours," he said. "I'm having some of the Calvary escort us to the eastern side of the Territory, just to make sure we won't be attacked on our way. It will be a couple of nights before we reach the end. At the eastern edge of the Territory, I've arranged for an automobile to be left for us. I've never driven one, but I'm told there's an instruction manual in the glove box, so I'm sure I'll pick it up easily. I just insist that you are out of the car and at a safe distance away while I learn just to ensure your safety."

I laughed. "I know how to drive, babe. I can be in charge of the driving."

"Well, maybe you could teach me as well."

"I'd love to."

He followed me into the closet, and both of us began getting dressed. He put on one of his suits with such meticulous detail, starting with the white boxers.

"And then, we can either drive to a train station, or a plane station, whichever you prefer," he said as he pulled up his neatly pressed pants and fastened his belt.

"Airport," I said, putting my khakis on. "I think you mean an airport."

"Right, of course," he said, putting his socks and shoes on his feet (both real and artificial).

"Or, we could drive to Chattenooga," I said.

"How many weeks would that take us?" he asked as he put on his white tank top, and then began buttoning his shirt.

"I'm sure we could drive it in two leisurely days."

"Oh, these automobiles are incredible! Now, why don't you come get me before you tell Jericho the engagement is off, so I can be with you to protect you? We'll want Cornelius to be there as well. Just come and find me, I'll be packing."

"I figure I better start by telling Syd what I'm about to do, so he doesn't find a way to mess all this up somehow." I was all done dressing, and ready to go.

"Good thinking." He gave me a quick, but not the least-bit dutiful, kiss goodbye.

When I got to Syd's apartment, I found Della keeping watch over Syd on her own, looking very haggard. Syd, who was asleep, had a hospital gown on, but everywhere his skin was showing I could see sores and lesions. "Hi, Jake. Good to see you back on your feet."

"All thanks to you," I said.

"Did you come to pay your last respects?" she asked, nodding towards Syd. "Then you should have tried showing up twenty hours ago. He's been unconscious since then. He's not waking up again. I already said my goodbyes before he went under." Her voice cracked, and I could see that she had dried tears on her cheeks. "Please don't tell me you're one of those sad saps who talks to the unconscious. If they had a lick of medical knowledge, they would know plain as day the unconscious can't hear a word of it."

I was stunned that this was moving along as quickly as it was. "How much longer, do you think?"

"Just a matter of hours," she said. "Oh shoot, you'd probably want me to leave now, to give you some privacy with him. I'm a lot better with medicine than I am with feelings."

"No, no, no," I said. "Don't get up. I've actually already said my goodbyes." It was a lie, but I didn't know what to say or how to feel. I felt horrible for Della, and sad for Syd, that his life was over and wasted. But that couldn't erase the anger I still possessed for him.

I pulled up a chair, and we sat there for a while, in respectful silence. Just when I figured I ought to go find Parker and let him know his brother was on his way out, something that he never really accepted as reality, the crazy Mareshead nurse flew in.

"We got a slave in one of the other buildings that's having appendicitis, Dr. Logan. He needs immediate bedside surgery."

"Alright, alright," Della said, looking away from Syd finally. "Jake, would you mind staying with Syd until I'm gone? It might be a couple hours or more."

I didn't feel like I could refuse. "Sure."

"By the way, if he passes, he made it very clear that he doesn't want to be resuscitated. Please do not interfere with that wish."

"No, of course not," I said.

Della patted me thankfully on the shoulder, and then I was alone with Syd. I sat down and looked him over, not even recognizing the person in the bed. I couldn't even call him a person; he looked much too slight to be a human being. He must have weighed less than a hundred pounds. He looked more like the mummified remains of a person that someone would see in a museum than a living creature.

I sat there for an hour before I noticed a change for the worse. His breathing, which had been slow but steady before, slowly came to a stop. I felt for a pulse, but couldn't find any. It became clear to me that he was going to die, alone with me. I wanted to go get Parker, but was too afraid to leave him.

I reached over and grabbed his hand, wanting him to be touched as he died. I said a little prayer, asking God to show mercy on him for all the sins he had made. I drew the line at crying. I would not cry for this man.

I heard the door fly open, and I of course assumed Della was back. Instead, I heard a voice that was a lot more histrionic than Della's, bursting into tears.

Annie ran over towards the bed, knelt over him, and looked at him painfully. "My god, my god!" she said, tears on her face. "I can't even look at him."

"Annie?" I asked, wondering if she knew about Parker and me. "I thought you were in Mareshead."

"I came to see Syd," she said. "Looks like I came just in time."

"If you took the stagecoach, how did you get here so early in the day?"

"I didn't take it."

"I brought her, Crazy Kid," said a deep voice, and I turned to see Big Horn in his Native American loincloth step through the doorway. His face darkened as he saw Syd's condition.

Of course, Big Horn had used his teleportation to bring Annie to Mareshead. "How did you know about this?" I asked him.

"Annie rode out to my camp and told me this morning," he said.

"Wow. All so you could say your goodbyes, huh?"

"Not just that, my sweet, sweet soon to be brother!" I heard, and looked to see Giggles dance her way into the room excitedly. "Big Horn was the only one who knew where I was!" Unlike the other two, Giggles showed no sense of sadness or surprise when she saw Syd's physical state.

"Giggles, you'd better do your thing quickly, because he might already be dead," I said.

She walked over and shoved Annie away from the bed. "Let me sprinkly-spray my fairy dust!" She put her hands on his body and shut her eyes.

"We're too late, aren't we?"

"Nopers," she said. "There's still some light in this body, though barely any."

My jaw dropped open as soon as all the lesions and sores disappeared from his skin as Giggles's hands roamed over his body. Then we could all see the muscle in his body rebuild itself, his skin expanding outward, until he was back to his original weight. Finally, his skin went from sickly yellow to healthy and tan.

I shook my head in amazement as I realized the only remnant of his previous illness was a short beard.

He opened his eyes, looking at Giggles in confusion.

She looked down into his face. "I just saved your life and rid your body of the icky, wicky virus you had. Now, you owe me everything. Don't forget this, brother."

"I won't. I owe you everything," Syd said, and I realized how odd it was to hear the rasp gone from his voice.

Annie was jumping up down exuberantly, wiping away her tears. Big Horn started to leave the room.

"Where are you off to?" I asked him.

"I've come in here, saving the day," he said, so unimpressed by all of this. "I had a fire going in camp, and a buffalo that needs to be skinned."

Giggles too danced out of the room on her ballet slippers.

Annie whispered something to Syd that I couldn't hear.

"Della, where's Della?" Syd asked.

"In a surgery," I said.

"Annie, can you find her and tell her I'm better?"

"Sure," she said, practically skipping out of the room.

"Honestly, I just asked her to do that to get her away from me," Syd said. "That's a little too much happy than I can handle right now. I'd much rather be alone with my reliably morose fiancé."

"How do you feel?" I asked him.

"Completely better and scarily strong."

"Well, I'm happy for you," I said. "Really I am. God chose to save you for a reason, Syd. I hope you use the opportunity He gave you to change your life around."

"Yer right," he said. "I spent my life before just fuckin' around. Screwin' my life like it was some woman's pussy."

He jumped out of bed, and ran in his gown into his closet, presumably to put clothes on.

When he popped out moments later, he had put on jeans, boots, his hat, and his belt, leaving just his shirt off. I was shocked to see him wielding a very large, very sharp machete.

"What are you doing?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"I'm finally takin' some serious action," he said. "I'm gonna cut him to ribbons. Jakey, you stay out of this."

He ran out of his apartment, and into the hall. As soon as I was alone, I had a moment of surreal doubt, as I questioned if what I had just seen in the past few minutes could be real. Giggles, Big Horn, Annie? And Syd recovered?

Then it hit me: Syd was of course talking about Jericho. Almost dying of AIDS had twisted something inside him, set him off somehow, and he was moving towards taking down his father.

I had to try and talk some reason in him. While I certainly would applaud anyone's attempt to kill Jericho, running at him with a giant machete was a technique only bound to get Syd killed, especially since his father was so much older and stronger than he was.

When I ran out of the apartment, there was no sign of Syd or which way down the hall he had gone. I surmised he'd be heading to where his father was most likely to be: in the Great Room. I headed that way. I quickly thought about how many people I had seen killed by Jericho in the Great Room, and hurried my pace.

When I entered the room, people were moving through it, there was a naked slave in the cage and a vampire guarding her, but no sign of Syd or his father.

Perhaps he had gone directly to Jericho's quarters. I didn't know where those were, so I decided I was incapable of solving this problem. I needed to go tell Parker what was going on; he'd know what to do.

Parker told me he was packing in Annie's apartment, so I ran across the Great Room, up the stairwell on the other side, and into the other wing of the house. The door to Annie's apartment was oddly ajar. One quick look through the place, and I knew it was empty. There weren't any suitcases or any sign of packing in the place, so I figured he must have been packing his things in his lab.

I left the apartment and hurried towards the chemistry lab. As soon as I saw that the door was wide open, I realized I could hear Parker yelling angrily.

I ran through the open door into the lab, and I saw Parker, his mouth shut, looking very, very alarmed, backing away from Syd, who was wielding his machete like a mad-man above his head, moving towards Parker threateningly. I realized that it had been Syd's voice, not Parker's, that I had heard yelling. The sonic frequencies of their voices were identical, even if their vocal mannerisms were completely different.

"Fuck you to hell!" Syd yelled.

"Brother, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to die!"

That was all I could take; without thinking logically, I ran at full speed towards my love's attacker. When I body slammed into Syd's side, it felt like I had just tried to take down a brick wall, but it actually did halt his progress towards Parker.

Syd turned his attention towards me, grabbed me by the shirt, and pulled me up off my feet. "I told you to stay out of this, Jakey!" He launched me away from him and Parker, with me hitting some shelves against the wall a few feet away and knocking lab supplies over.

Parker ran over to me, bent down to make sure I was okay. "Are you all right, my love?" he asked me, putting his hand on my face.

"I'm okay," I said.

"Stay over here, please," Parker asked me, standing up and purposely moving away from me.

Meanwhile, Syd had walked over to the lab door and shut it. "Now no one else will disturb us."

"Syd, stop this foolishness before someone gets hurt," Parker said.

"No, you have it backwards. I won't stop until someone gets hurt, Park." Syd went at him with his machete, and Parker ran back, avoiding him. "Fight me, you coward! We both know you always wanted to see if you were strong enough to take down yer big bro. Only one way to find out. Fight me!"

"Syd, don't make me hurt you," Parker said. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will."

"Bring it!"

Parker grabbed a huge vial of sulfuric acid, and threw it at Syd. The glass broke as it hit Syd's chest, and the acid splashed all over his body.

"Ahhh, shit!" Syd yelled in pain as the acid burned into his skin.

"Stop this now, brother!" Parker said.

"Two can play that game," Syd said. He grabbed a glass beaker of a liquid, and read the label. "This sounds like it'll do some serious damage. I think I might like you better with your face melted off."

I cringed as he threw the chemical right at Parker's face. "Ack!" Parker yelled as the glass vial broke on his face, and liquid splashed into his eyes, and even ran down his body.

"No!" I shouted, praying that the chemical wouldn't burn him to death.

"Yeah, how does that toxic DE-hyder-AH-jin monock-side taste on ya?" asked Syd with an evilly smug smile, totally stumbling over the pronunciation of the chemical.

"Did you just say Dihydrogen monoxide?" I asked.

"Yup."

"It tastes rather refreshing, thanks," Parker said.

"Let's see how refreshing it feels when it melts your flesh off your bones."

"You are such a moron," I said to Syd.

"Dihydrogen monoxide is the chemical name for water," Parker said.

"Unless he's secretly the wicked witch of the west, he's not going to be melting, you idiot," I said.

But that only made Syd angrier; he picked up his speed and generally caused more random destruction with his machete. Parker was trying to dodge his attacks, but losing more and more ground. I could see that the false leg was causing him some mobility. If it wasn't for that, perhaps he could have evaded Syd forever. As it was, he needed to think of something else to do, and fast.

"This isn't working!" I yelled. "Time to switch tactics!"

Parker nodded at me. He evaded Syd's slashes, while at the same time moving towards a cabinet on the wall. "I didn't want it to come to this," he said. He ripped the cabinet door clean off its hinges, and inside was a shotgun, presumably loaded. He grabbed it in his hands.

Syd stopped. "I knew ya'd be packing heat in this chemistry lab, but I always figured it would be the Bunsen burner variety. Watcha doin' with a loaded shotgun?"

"Living with our father, one can never be too cautious." Parker pointed the shotgun right at Syd's head. "Drop the machete, or I'll be forced to shoot."

Syd smiled at him. "Go ahead and shoot."

"Don't test me," Parker replied.

"Oh, I love goddamn testing you. Pull the trigger!"

"Parker, do it!" I urged.

"Ya ain't got the balls to kill me, lil' bro. At least not while you're lookin' me in the eye." Syd made a quick movement with his machete, knocking Parker's shotgun out of his hands, and then kicked the weapon to the side of the room. Parker could have killed him, but he didn't.

And then Syd's machete attacks resumed, and Parker looked like he was about to lose an arm with every swipe his brother made.

Suddenly, Parker disappeared. He went invisible, and Syd looked around, trying to listen for him. "Oh, you little fuck. You throw chemicals at me, you make false threats, dodge and run away. But congrats, this is officially the pussiest strategy you used yet."

Syd started moving around the room, using his ears to search for his brother, but not making any progress.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Syd said, seemingly hearing something and making a huge slash with his machete, scaring me to death. But luckily, he showed no sign of landing anything.

I stood up, found a nearby metal tray, and started pounding it into the wall, making as much noise as I possibly could in order to cover up any sound my invisible lover might accidentally make.

"Godamn, Jakey," Syd said. "Never knew you had such a talent as a lil' drummer boy. I should invite you up on stage to be my background drummer. I'll give ya a real drumstick to play with too, since we all know how much ya like getting yer pretty hands on some big stick."

"You shut it, Syd!" I heard Parker come to my defense, idiotically.

Syd turned towards the voice, and suddenly started cutting and hacking in that direction. I thought that would be Parker's end, but he somehow avoided the attack.

Syd grinned stupidly. "Of course. I know yer weakness, lil' bro, and if ya don't let me hurt you physically, I'm gonna hurt yer feelings."

Syd picked up an empty glass bottle and launched it straight for me. I was so surprised; I didn't even try to avoid it. It hit me, broke, and shattered, some of the glass cutting me, though not seriously.

"Stop hurting him, please!" came Parker's voice. "He's not even involved!"

"I don't give a fuck," Syd said. "He's fuckin' collateral damage, Park. `Sides, it ain't like I'm gonna kill him. And any damage I do could just be healed with a little vampire blood, or even a touch by Giggles. So, why not fucking hurt him?"

"Because he feels every little piece of the pain," he said. "He shouldn't have to go through that."

"Oh, `cause even if his body is healed, his poor little feelings could still be hurt?" Syd mocked. "The poor lil' pup will end up with emotional scars?" Syd laughed. "If he's gonna be beddin' with vampires, he's gonna have to learn how to deal with the pain. Ain't no human ever left a vampire's company without bleeding a little." Syd threw a microscope at me, and this time, I jumped to the right, trying to avoid it. Even so, his throw was so fast; it ended up hitting me in the chest. "And now, you just enjoy being invisible for as long as ya like. I'll just be enjoying myself causing as much pain as possible to my favorite lil' fiancé over there." He picked up chair, and started to bring it back over his head to throw it my way.

I felt hands reach around me from behind and pull me out of the way with superhuman speed right before the chair would have impacted. One quick look first at Syd's confused face, then at my own body that was suddenly see through, told me that Parker was using his ability on me as well.

"How are you doing this with our clothes on?" I whispered.

"I don't know," he said. "Must be the adrenaline kicking in from wanting you safe."

"I thought you always claimed that you could only make yourself invisible, Park," Syd said. "Was that your way of making sure Jericho never made you take him along on missions? Clever, clever."

Syd resumed his random hacking and slashing with his machete. I could feel Parker holding onto my body from behind me, his arms around my chest. He was using his body just like it was taped to mine, leading us away from Syd. I let him lead, and concentrated only on being as silent as I possibly could.

Syd eventually got frustrated, stopped the chase, and walked over to the door. "Fine, ya want to be a coward and hide, like a rat in a hole? Well, let's see what happens when we smoke out the rat hole."

He grabbed a large container of liquid, and read the label. "Ethanol," he said. "Well, shit, even this townie simpleton knows what the fuck that does."

He poured it all over the room, then pulled his lighter out of his pocket and lit it. "Anyone else up for a campfire? And me, without my marshmallows."

He tossed the lighter into the ethanol, and it lit up right away, the flames spreading throughout the room.

"Last I checked, turning invisible ain't gonna do shit against a three alarm fire," Syd said as he took his place at the door, readying his machete, waiting for us to try and run for it.

I started to cough as the smoke hit my lungs.

"Syd, you'll kill him like this!" Parker shouted angrily at his brother.

"I don't think I will, Park," Syd said. "And you know how much I've always loved a gamblin' table. I'm always willin' to roll the dice."

As the fire grew out of control, Parker pulled us to the back of the room. "There, open that cabinet," he whispered to me. I knew with Parker's hands around me still making us invisible, I was the only one who would be able to do it.

I yanked open the cabinet door, and to my amazement, I was staring at a large, modern fire extinguisher.

"If Syd thinks I would ever build a chemistry lab without one of those, he's lost it."

I picked up the fire extinguisher, and spun around. I realized that even though I had grabbed onto the extinguisher, I could somehow see the thing in front of me, in my hands. That meant that Parker's ability still wasn't strong enough to cover both us and the extinguisher.

I got worried as I saw Syd focus on the floating fire extinguisher in front of him, and ready his machete. I pulled the pin out, and started dousing the fire, hitting Syd with white chemicals as well, right in the eye. That stopped him from coming at me, as he rubbed at his face. I used the time to completely put out the fire in the room before throwing the hydrant at Syd.

And by the time he came at us again, Parker moved us out of the way, keeping us invisible. His machete slashes hacked in the space we once were.

"I'm getting real sick of this," he said. "If ya don't show yerselves, I may have to just, ya know, get my gun and start shooting into the air until I hit something."

Parker clearly did not like that idea. "I'm going to draw him away from you," Parker said. "I want you to make a run for the door and get help."

"Alright," I said.

Parker let go of me, and I turned visible again. Immediately, Syd focused on me, his machete outstretched towards me.

"I'm over here!" came Parker's voice from across the room.

Syd spun around towards that voice, and started to hunt down his brother, his machete pointing in front of him. He listened for Parker's noisy footsteps as he continued his prowl.

As soon as Syd had put as much distance between him and me as I needed, I sprinted towards the door and pushed on the handle. To my infuriation, it was locked.

"Lookin' for this, Jakey?" asked Syd, pulling a key out of his jean pocket.

"How'd you get that?" asked Parker.

"I pilfered it from your room before I came here," he said. He stuck it down the front of his jeans. "Ya want it, Jakey, you'll have to pull it off my dick. Course, we both know ya got plenty of experience handlin' my cock, ain't ya?"

"Go to hell, Syd," I said.

Syd started swiping his machete madly here and there, knocking over and breaking everything, but never hitting Parker. I could tell Parker was using all the skill he had built up with his ability to quickly move out of Syd's way, using the excellent reaction time he had to always be one move ahead of his brother.

I noticed the shotgun on the floor not far from where I was standing. Trouble was, it was in the direction of Syd, but it was closer to me than to him, and behind his back.

I decided to make a run for it. I moved at my top speed, dove headfirst on the ground, picked it up, and jumped back to my feet. I spun to face Syd, aiming the muzzle towards him.

"No ya don't, Jakey!" Syd yelled, somehow anticipating my move and spinning around to face me.

With his incredible speed, he spun the sharp end of his machete into me, knocking the gun to my feet, while at the same time, seriously wounding my right arm and chest. I looked down at the bloody gashes I'd sustained, shocked as the pain hit me, feeling faint, wondering if this was it. I fell to the ground.

"No!" I heard Parker scream.

Syd spun around to face his invisible brother. "It's just you and me now, Park," he said.

Syd once again started to swing his machete into open air, but was moving slow enough so that I knew Parker would be able to move out of the way easily, as long as he moved away from my direction.

Instead, I heard the sickening slosh sound of machete slicing into flesh as Syd's steel blade stopped in thin air. A moment later, the metal was obstructed as Parker's form appeared around it. I almost had a heart attack as I saw that the machete blade was completely imbedded inside Parker's lower abdomen. I realized that he had gotten hit because he hadn't wanted to move apart from me; he had been so determined to save me, that he put himself into the line of the blade.

As Parker fell to ground, Syd looked just as shocked at this development as I was. "You shouldn't have been there, shouldn't have been there."

Infuriated, I grabbed the shotgun at my feet, pointed at Syd's back and fired. The blast tore open his whole back, and set him falling to the ground, unconscious; either dead or dying.

I crawled over to where Parker laid on the floor, and he looked up at me. "How does it look?" he asked.

I looked down his body and gulped as I saw it looked like he'd been cut in two right beneath his waist. I didn't answer him, but he could see the situation reflected in my face.

"Sweetie, you need to heal your wounds from my blood."

"I'll live, Parker."

"With the gash in your chest, I can't be sure of that, and you need to be in better shape in order to help me. Don't you see it's the exact reverse of the situation we were in yesterday?"

I knew the sense in his words, so I used the blood that had spilled all around him on the ground to first heal my arm. When that was done, I scooped up the blood in my hands and used it to heal my chest.

"Do you feel better?"

"Loads," I said. "How can I help you?"

"I know you're squeamish about blood, my love. But I need you to try to put me back in one piece, so that my vampiric healing ability will kick in."

As I looked towards his waist, I started to feel faint as I saw this super disturbing amount of blood and gore. I started to pass out, chastising myself for being absolutely useless to him.

Then something changed in my composure, some adrenaline kicked in that I never knew I had, and suddenly I could see clearly, my head feeling strong. I absolutely would not fail him now, could not let myself lose him due to my own weakness.

I pushed his lower body towards his upper body, touching the two broken pieces of his spine together, and kept pushing until the flesh was touching too. Looking at him afterwards, you almost wouldn't be able to see the injury at all, except for the blood.

"I knew you could do it, my sweet. You're my knight in shining armor. Tell me, was the spine completely broken off?"

"Yes."

His smile faded, and he shook his head. "Oh no, that's real bad, my love. I'm sorry."

"No, no, no!" I protested. "There has to be a way to save you. Della will know. What if you drink my blood?"

"That won't help, sweetie. I'm afraid this is it for me."

"Giggles, what about her? She just showed up here to save Syd. She's still here!"

"Yes, Giggles could save me. Good thinking."

"I'll get her."

I ran to the lab door, which I noticed was being pounded on from the other side. One try of the handle reminded me it was locked. In my panic, I had forgotten.

I rushed over to where Syd's body lay on the ground, and I didn't even cringe as I stuck my hand down the pants of his crotch, found the key under his penis, and pulled it out. I rushed over and frantically unlocked the door, forcing my shaking hands to steady.

Cornelius was at the other side of the door. "I've been knocking," he said. "What's been going on in there?"

"Parker's been cut in half," I said desperately. "Please, get Giggles. She's the only one who can save him now."

"Yes, yes. I'll go as quickly as I can." He turned and ran down the hall.

I turned back towards Parker, rushed over, and knelt down beside him. "Giggles will be here any moment," I said. "You just need to hold on. This is all my fault."

"This is not your fault," he said. "I told you before, the last time I lost my concentration when I was invisible, I paid with my leg. This time, I've paid a whole lot more. It was my mistake."

"You never would have lost your focus if you hadn't been trying to help me," I said. "If I had never come into the lab, you probably would have dealt with Syd without a problem."

"My sweet, I don't want you to blame yourself."

Now that all of Syd's commotion was over, I could hear that music was playing. It was the same song we had made love to earlier in the day. "'In This Shirt,'" I said. "That's what's playing, isn't it?"

"Yes, I was playing it the whole time I was packing, thinking of you every second, my love. Listen, I need you to fish through my front pocket."

"That sounds like something your brother would have asked for."

"No, not for that. I have my contract with Jericho in there."

I wiped the blood off my hands, and then pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. I put it safely in my own pocket.

"If Jericho tries to kill you for any reason, you show him that," Parker said. "But I'm not sure that will work, and just in case it doesn't, I want you to go to Della and stay with her. She can protect you."

"You're not going to die, so none of that matters."

He put his hand up, and I grabbed it. "My sweet, there are matters I need you to hear now."

I fought back the tears. "Nope, you're not going to tell me your goodbyes. Because I'm not letting you go. You save your goodbyes for hundreds of years from now, do you hear me?"

He smiled, tears misting his eyes. "Please, listen to what I have to say, my love. I know from the bottom of my existence that I was meant to be with you, that you were meant to be my one true love."

That did it, I started to cry. I reached over and hugged him. "I know, babe. I always knew I was supposed to be with you. It must have always been God's plan."

He shook his head. "No, it wasn't God's plan for me to be your one true love, because here I am, dying."

"No, no, don't say that!"

"Fate or God would never be so cruel to a person as virtuously pure as you are, my sweet. You have to know that your true love is still out there for you to discover. So, I want you to promise me."

"No, stop talking like this," I said, crying all the more.

He looked at me in the eyes seriously. "I need you to make me some promises, my love. Please, please do this for me."

"Alright, alright! Whatever you say, I promise."

"I want you to promise not to be vengeful. Vengeance and anger don't suit you, my sweet. I want to see you as happy as the first day of spring. Jake, I'm serious, promise me!"

"Yes, I promise."

"And I want you to promise me not to cry for me, I've had my time. And though much of it was quite trying, it ended on perfect note. Yesterday you told me we'd end up together in the afterlife. I don't believe in any higher power or afterlife, but you've brought me to all the Heaven I could have ever hoped for, because I get to die in the arms of my beloved."

"You're not dying, Parker!"

"I want you to go on with your life. You're way too young to be one of those human shadows, broken by their lost happy pasts. You're not allowed to stay celibate or mournful. You must go out there right away, and promise me to let the possibility of love in. Because your true love is waiting for you, you just have to put yourself out there to find that lucky, lucky man."

"Please, babe, don't talk like this, don't," I pleaded in between sobs, squeezing him. "You just wait. Giggles will fix you."

He smiled, crying more than ever. "No, she won't. But I don't need fixing. Don't you see, my love? You already fixed me. It's time now. My love for you knows no boundaries of the flesh."

He hugged me close to him, and I saw his eyes close and his breathing slow.

"No, no, no, you can't leave me! Please God, don't take him away from me. Please God, don't take him away from me. Please God, don't take him away from me. Please God--"

I heard the lab door burst open, and Cornelius ran into the room.

"Where's Giggles?!"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, she's not coming."

"No, that can't be right!"

"I'm sorry, she's not around." He walked over to Parker's side and grabbed his wrist. He shook his head. "He just, he just died now, as I touched him. I can feel it in his heart, son. He's gone now, and there's nothing even Giggles can do."

Then I absolutely broke down, as all my hope that I would find a way to save him perished. I'd never felt such horrible, gut wrenching sadness in all my life; I absolutely could not contain it. I hugged his body with all my strength, trying to will my own life into his body, but not finding any success.

Cornelius went over to Syd's and put his hand around his wrist. "This one is still alive," he said, but I didn't care in the slightest.

"No, no, what happened?" came Della's stunned voice as she stepped into the room.

"Syd killed him," I managed to say through my tears.

"No, are you sure he's dead? Are you positive?" She looked absolutely wild.

"Yes, positive," Cornelius said. "Though Syd lives, and recovers as we speak."

Della ran towards Parker. "My boy, my beautiful boy, what have they done to you?" She ran to Parker's side across from me, and hugged his body too, tears pouring out of her eyes. "My favorite boy, I'm so sorry I've failed you." She was just as much a mess as I was, and the two of us were hugging each other just as much as we were him.

We barely had any time with him at all when Jericho moseyed into the room, followed by eight of his cowboy vampire guards. He took in and absorbed the situation in seconds, showing absolutely no remorse. Then again, I saw no sign of pleasure on his face either, just atypical cold blankness.

"That's enough mourning," he said. "Get off the ground. You look like groveling idiots."

Della looked fiercely into his eyes. "Your most despised weakling of a son is dead. Just what you've been praying for his whole life. You've won. The least you could do is let his loved ones mourn."

Jericho would have none of Della handing him any orders. "Guards, I want no one touching this body but you, do you understand me? Someone get a body bag and take him away. And lock this one down as well," he said, pointing at Syd, who had recovered to the point where his wound was completely gone, though he was still unconscious. "He'll be on trial tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Mr. Governor."

Jericho left the room as quickly as he came in, and that left his cronies to do his bidding. The vampires pulled me away from my sweet, poor Parker forcibly, way before I had sufficient time to even begin to say goodbye. I was absolutely overcome with anger and grief at the forced separation.

Della would not go down as easily as I did. When the first guard tried to pull her off Parker, she slashed at his eyes with her nails, and he doubled back in pain. When the second guard came with eyes guarded, she pulled out a concealed revolver from her pants and shot him in the chest. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it did knock him to the ground.

It took all remaining guards to finally pull her off. They brusquely threw poor Parker in the body bag and carried him away.

Syd gasped, coughed, and sat up suddenly, alive again. All the guards moved in to grab Syd and pull him to his feet.

"What's goin' on?"

"You'll be locked in yer room till yer murder trial in the mornin,'" one of the guards said.

Della gave Syd a look that I couldn't even describe in words. "How could you?" she asked him.

"He wasn't supposed to die, Aunt Della," Syd said. "I just wanted to hurt him some."

She shook her head. Clearly that was not an acceptable explanation for her. "You're dead to me," she said, calmly. "I never want to see you again. Dead, ya hear?"

"What happened to unconditional love?" he asked as they pulled him away. "Ain't I supposed to be your son?"

She didn't answer him back.

Annie came running into the room, her face frantic. "Is it, is it true?" she asked.

Della nodded.

Annie absolutely burst into the loudest shrieking and whaling I had ever heard. "I can't believe he's gone. Can't believe it."

"My condolences, Mrs. Logan," Cornelius said, wiping some tears of his own off his cheeks. He had been friends with Parker, I knew. "As usual when someone of this level of importance passes, there will be a service this evening. I'd better start my preparations. Sorry again, to all of you."

Annie went over and hugged Della, crying.

"Annie, sweetie," Della said, patting her on the back. "I know we've had our differences in the past, but I think this is the perfect time to bury the hatchet."

"Yes, of course," Annie said.

"I want you to give some real consideration to the idea of coming to live with me and Jennie in Fools Gold. Having a child is extremely tryin' for one person to handle on their own. We'd love to have you."

I realized that this was really about Della now wanting something to remember Parker by in her life. Annie's son suddenly became very, very important to her. As it did to me as well.

Annie shook her head. "I'd like to, but the Governor won't let me," she said. "Says he has a right to see to the baby's welfare himself, seeing how he's the grandfather."

"Oh, right, I bet he's just overflowing with familial love for the boy," Della said. "Well, let me try to work on him in the next few months. See if I can work something out, ya here? And you watch your back, keep yourself safe in the meantime."

"Yes, thanks, Della," Annie said. She left the room, still wailing.

And then it was just Della and me in the room. She put her hands on my shoulders, and looked at me. "Parker told me recently. He said, `Della, I think I found the one. Scratch that I KNOW I found the one.' He was so proud. I've never heard him describe any of his past relationships in such a way. I knew through his eyes how special you were, Jake."

I couldn't say anything, all I was doing was crying.

"He was so worried about your safety, he told me he was planning on guarding you himself, if necessary, after you went back to school."

"I would have never let him do that," I said.

"He was intending to do it without your knowledge. Using his ability to keep himself hidden. I told him what a lonely life that would be for him, to keep watch over someone who never showed any appreciation for his efforts. He said he knew from the bottom of his heart that he would never tire of it. That him knowing that you were safe was all the reward he would ever need."

Hearing it all made me bend over in pain from crying so hard. I had to stop my tears long enough to tell Della what I needed to tell her.

"He loved you so much, Della. He was always telling me how amazingly lucky he was to be raised by you."

Della's tears came hard then, as she hugged me. After a moment, she broke off. "I'm leaving," she said. "Right now. Getting on the last stagecoach to Fools Gold. I can't stand it another second in this hell hole. And I need to tell Jennie what happened, she's so close to Parker as well. And you're coming with me. It would do Parker wrong for me to ever see anything bad happen to you. `Sides, you're practically family now anyway. Come back to my home with me. Stay for as long as you want. When things have cooled down a bit, I can sneak you out of the Territory, so that you can go back to your normal life. Just how Parker always wanted things for you."

"I can't go yet," I said. "Not with his service tonight. And I want to be here for the morning trial tomorrow."

"Well, I'd better stay too then, though I don't know how I'll make it through the next few hours without killing somebody."

I shook my head. "No, leave now. I'll get on tomorrow's last stagecoach to Fools Gold. I'll see you at your house."

"You swear you'll be as careful as can be?" she asked me.

"Yes."

"Then I'll see you soon."

She left, and then it was just me in the room, finding myself immobilized, staring at the blood on the ground in a rough outline of his body, not crying, frozen. I stayed there staring, feeling sick, until a cleaning crew came into the lab and started to pick everything up, starting to sweep the remnants of the significance that occurred here under the metaphoric rug. I stayed until they started mopping up Parker's blood off the floor, and I could stay no longer.

Having nowhere else to go, I walked back to our apartment. As soon as I went inside, I started to sob violently. Everything there reminded me of him. The place on the wooden floor where we had danced on my birthday to `I Can't Help, Falling In Love With You,' which I certainly considered as our song. The table he had served me our romantic fondue dinner on, not to mention just eating breakfast with him. The kitchen made me think of his teaching me so patiently to flip omelets. The bathroom reminded me of our romantic bath together. And I couldn't even go into the bedroom; that was the worst place of all.

I could not function, I was deliriously sad. I dropped to my knees and prayed that God would be kind to my sweet Parker in the afterlife. I prayed for a couple hours straight, and when I finally got up to use the bathroom, I didn't feel the least bit better.

Somebody came to the door and told me the service would be outside, late in the evening. Told me how to find it. I thanked her.

I couldn't eat lunch or dinner. It seemed eating reminded me of him as well. I tried to read one of Ahmad's books, but found it impossible to focus. After re-reading a single page a dozen times, I gave up.

I smelled strongly of smoke, so I knew I had to take a bath. I did so as quickly as possible, not stopping to let myself think about Parker's strong, gentle hands washing me so recently.

When it was time to get ready for the service, I dressed in my finest black suit. I made sure every piece of that suit was in perfect condition before putting it on. It was just how Parker would have done it if he were there. I re-did the necktie knot two times because it had only been sufficient, but not perfect. I noticed one of my shoelaces was longer than the other, and I re-laced it until it was even.

I walked outside to the nighttime service, wanting to arrive respectfully early. It was being held next to a large, black-metal stove that seemed to be designed to perform some sort of cremation. So, they were cremating him instead of burying him, something that I found irritating. A young man, who seemed to be the cremator, was loading coal into the under-vessel of the oven.

I felt a sense of panic as I realized there was absolutely no sign of any decoration. Not even a single lily could be seen. There weren't even any chairs around, everyone was expected to stand.

It made me somewhat relieved when a great many people showed. Jericho's entire Cabinet seemed to be represented, as well as a large number of others I only somewhat recognized from being around the mansion for as long as I had been. Meredith was crying. Tucker seemed appropriately morose, nursing a bottle of something. Cornelius was genuinely somber.

By the time Jericho, Rose, and Giggles showed up, with the latter wearing one of her bring pink fairy getups, I realized that no one save for me was the least bit dressed up. Everyone wore whatever it was they typically wore, and no one seemed to bother wearing black. Annie was conspicuously absent from the whole affair.

I decided as soon as I looked at Jericho's steely face that I would not give him the pleasure of seeing me cry. I would stand as tall and proud as he was through the whole thing, no matter how badly I wanted to just keel over and sob. I knew no matter how powerful the service would get, I wouldn't be able to really let myself mourn the way I wanted to in front of Jericho and his people.

That worry proved unfounded as the service was nothing but an utter failure. No one said anything to welcome or orient the mourners. I realized that no one would serve as minister or speaker here. No one shared any kind words of any sort about Parker, the service was meant to be a silent one. No one even said his name.

A trio of vampire pallbearers carried out the familiar body bag that had been used to carry Parker's body out of the lab, and I almost cracked, seeing his form inside. I assumed they would put the whole bag into the crematorium oven, but instead, they unzipped it and set the body down on a nearby table.

I had assumed that if they were going to display the body, they would have the sense to dress him in one of his suits. Instead, he was totally naked, like some random body in a morgue. Instead of setting him down gently, they violently shook the body out of the bag, dropping him onto the table.

Seeing him like that absolutely made me furious, and almost broke my composure. His two halves weren't even put back together; they were lying on different ends of the table. The body was grey with cold death, and it was extremely hard to recognize anything that reminded me of a living Parker, even though I knew beyond a doubt that this body belonged to my love.

His artificial leg had been removed, I noticed, and his legs had been twisted together, lying the on the table hip down. This left his poor penis, as large in death as it was in life, hanging off the side of the table. His upper half was in even worse conditions. His right arm looked bent in a way that seemed to indicate it had been severely broken, which certainly hadn't happened before he died. I could only wonder what sort of grievous indignities the body had suffered at the hands of these vampires. His face that I loved so well was facing me, but his left temple and left side of the face were awkwardly resting on the table. His expression, which had looked serene in the lab, had become anguished and pained, with his mouth hanging agape. All of this made me want to walk out right then. I could understand why Della refused to stay for this. Clearly Jericho was totally responsible for all of this.

They tossed Parker's two halves into the fires of the oven. Slits in the steel allowed everyone to see his body as it started to ignite. Everyone kept their eyes locked on his body as it burned, and though I wanted to look away, I followed suit out of duty, even though it was taking all of my willpower to not pull him out of those flames with my bare hands. As I watched his beautiful face melt away into nothing, I felt like he was dying all over again, and I was being forced to watch helplessly.

Some people in the crowd started to laugh with each other, make jokes. It was something Syd would have done if he was there. I wanted so badly to go over to each one of them and punch them in the face.

When even his bones had turned to dust, people started to file out, leaving. Most looked pleased that it was finally over, a lot of them heading back to the mess hall to get drunk, to party.

I walked over to the young cremator and asked, "Could you save the ashes for me?"

"What for?" he asked, surprised by my question.

"So the family can keep his memory alive," I said.

"Sure," he said, scooping the ashes into a paper box.

"What's this?" Jericho asked, coming out of nowhere, pointing at the box.

"Saving the ashes for his loved ones, Mr. Governor," the man said.

"Ashes are nothin' but dirt, and worshiping the dirt's tantamount to starting a religion. Which ya know is illegal."

The cremator looked enormously frightened. "Yes, Mr. Governor. What should I do with the box?"

"I'll take it!" I said, grabbing for it.

"I got it, I know just what to do with this box," Jericho said, pulling it away from me. I wanted to hold on with all my strength, but knew if I did, the ashes would have fallen out, so I was forced to let go.

Jericho laughed as he dropped the box on the ground, thankfully not spilling any ashes, and I hoped that meant I would be able to recover it. He unbuttoned his fly, stuck his right hand in his pants, and pulled out his big dick, which looked identical to his dead son's. He aimed his dickhead towards the ashes, and started to piss into it.

Enraged, I body slammed Jericho, knocking his dick away. Jericho responded by knocking me so hard I flew several feet away, landed on my back, and almost got knocked out, the sound of Jericho's mocking laughter the only thing I could hear.

By the time I could stand again, Jericho finished pissing in the box, and had kicked the thing over into the muddy ground, stomping off. I went to look, but there was absolutely not one single ash to salvage. I wanted to break down and cry, but people were watching me suspiciously. I held my head high and walked back up into the mansion.

I passed Polly on my way. She looked angry. "I can't believe how stupid Jericho treated Parker," she said. "Parker was the best male vampire I ever knew. Hell, one of the best men, period."

"Thanks Polly," I said. "I know he always thought highly of you, and wanted to see you go back to school."

"That ain't in the cards for me, not if Jericho has his way," she spat on the ground. "They made me stable master again, now that Donnie's dead. They didn't have anyone else that knew how, it seems. But that won't last long."

"You should disobey Jericho and just leave to Fools Gold, where you can be free."

"Maybe I will," she said. "Maybe yous right. Anyway, better get back to my horses."

"Good luck to you, Polly."

I had to pass by Syd's apartment on my way to my own, with a whole cadre of guards posted around it. "I'm sorry, I didn't know the Governor wouldn't allow that," one of them said.

"Shoulda been goddamn obvious."

"What did he do?" asked a third.

"He goes into Syd's room, and asks him if he wants to go to the service."

"Well, he said some flip words to me about not on my fuckin' life, and then I left him alone again, anyway."

"Which you should be fuckin' thankful for, cause if Syd showed up down at the service, the Governor would have had ya for a late night snack."

"He said he would grieve in his own way, which apparently meant drinkin' all night and playing his guitar until he fell down on the ground, so dead drunk we had to carry him into bed. And now it'll be our rotten luck if he's still passed out when it's time to take him to the trail in the morning."

I walked past them, and made it to the door of our apartment, going inside.

And once again, the apartment set off my tears immediately, awful relentless tears. I jumped into bed with my clothes on, and tried to make the tears stop so I could sleep. All that ever came was the feeling of absence this bed gave me, which felt so huge now for just me.

After sobbing inconsolably like that for a couple hours, I couldn't take it any longer. I was driven out of my mind, on the edge of insanity. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my backpack, went through the rooms filling it with items, and then left my apartment.

I walked over to Syd's apartment. "Excuse me," I said, walking straight for the door past the guards like I belonged there. "We're not supposed to let anyone through," said one of them.

"The Governor wants me to keep an eye on him," I said. "Make sure he's fit for the trial in the morning."

One of the guards waved me through.

I walked into the Syd's room and locked the door behind me. There was Syd, lying on his bed fully clothed, looking passed out drunk, just like they had described. He was lying stomach down, his face tilted to the side.

I set down my backpack and walked over to the bed. "Syd!" I yelled, but he showed no response. "Syd!!"

I slapped him on the face. Still no response. I punched him in the face. Still nothing. I was absolutely sure he was unconscious for the night, just as I wanted.

I took off his cowboy hat and threw it set it aside. I pulled off his cowboy boots as well, he wasn't wearing any socks. I unbuttoned his cowboy shirt and took it off. I pulled off his stupid "L" belt buckle, and removed his belt. I unbuttoned the fly of his jeans. I ripped those off his body as well, until I had him completely naked. I realized that I was going to be distracted by his clothes on the floor, so I picked them up and carried them to the closet.

I returned to Syd's body. I smelled his skin. Just like always, he smelt strongly of sweat, cologne, and cigarette smoke. The only thing that smelled just like Parker was the sweat; Syd and Parker's sweat smelled as identical as they looked. But Parker never really smelled like his sweat, he smelled clean. And Syd's cologne smelled like something a cheap ladies man would wear, nothing with the old-fashioned sophistication that Parker's cologne had.

I got a washcloth and a bucket of warm water. I opened my backpack and pulled out the same soap Parker had used to wash himself, which was different from the cheap soap Syd had. I scrubbed the soap into the washcloth, and began washing every inch of the back of Syd's body, until the smell of the sweat, smoke, and cologne was totally eradicated. Then I rolled him onto his back and did the same thing to his front.

I got out Parker's skin crème, and started to rub this into every surface of his skin, front and back. I left him on his back, and pulled out Parker's deodorant. I used my fingers to rub the stuff into the hairs of his armpits. I pulled out Parker's special cologne, and put some around his body.

I pulled nail clippers out of my bag, and looked at Syd's hands. He typically bit his fingernails when they got long. I used my clippers to neatly trim and file the nails until they looked indistinguishable from Parker's. I did the same thing to his toenails.

His face would never do, not with the short beard he still had as the last remnant of his AIDS. I used Parker's shaving cream with his brush, making sure to moisten every whisker. Then I used his razor to remove his beard and leave a very smooth surface. I washed away the mess, and then slapped Parker's aftershave on Syd's cheeks.

I shampooed Syd's hair with Parker's shampoo. Still, the hair just would not fool me, as Syd's hair was shorter and messier than Parker's. I got one of Parker's dark, old-fashioned suit hats, and put it on Syd's head.

His breath was most offensive to me, smelling of cigarettes and liquor, so I brushed it with Parker's toothpaste until there was no trace of Syd's smells left. There was no way short of sawing his leg off to imitate Parker's disability.

I pulled the "In This Shirt" record out of my bag and started to play it.

I turned off the lights and I climbed into bed with him, with me stiff fully clothed. I lay down on top of his chest, smelling that magical scent. In the moonlight, there was no noticeable difference between Parker and Syd, and I let myself believe that it really was Parker I was holding. I started to absolutely sob uncontrollably.

I put his hands around my back, and let myself lull into sleep, absolutely convincing myself that I was holding the man I loved, not his killer. Finally, finally, I was able to find rest.

JANUARY 25th

I dreamt happy dreams of Parker's smiling face and a body as warm as his disposition. In the morning, I entered that state between dreaming and waking. I could feel Parker's hands pulling me down against him. I could feel his sweetly enormous hardness thrust against my crotch and stomach. I felt him kiss me, his delicious tongue tasting my own in my mouth.

"Yeah, Jakey!"

My fantasy dream-state ended as I was ripped awake by that grating voice. I opened my eyes, and instead of Parker's serene expression, I saw Syd's cocky, swanky smile looking at me.

He placed his hands on my butt, and said, "I knew you'd come to yer senses sooner or later. Remember just what it is you ain't had for too long." He drove his dick into me.

I felt sick. I jumped off him, grabbed my backpack, and headed for the door.

"Where ya goin, sweetass?"

I didn't answer him, I just walked through the door. "He's awake and ready for trial," I said as I breezed past the guards.

When I got back to our apartment, I went into the bathroom. I carefully placed all of Parker's things back in place. I noticed the huge, sticky precum spot on the outside of my shirt, and washed it in soap and hot water.

I felt so grossed out, I jumped into the bath and scrubbed myself clean. I dressed, and I tried to eat oatmeal, but the room was making me too sad again.

I walked down to the mess hall and ordered some oatmeal. At least there, the memories of Parker weren't overwhelming. I was able to get it down.

I knew the trial was being held in the Great Room, so I headed that way. When I got there, Jericho was seated on his throne, and the Cabinet members were at the long table. A horde of Jericho's vampire guards were around as well, and there had been additional seats set up in the back of the hall for spectators. Annie was one of those already seated in that section. I took a seat as well.

I saw that they put Syd in the cage usually reserved for slaves, though he was the first person I saw there who had the luxury of a full set of clothes. The steel bars were becoming on him.

"Let's call this trial to a commencement," Cornelius said, standing up, and everyone stopped chatting and settled down. "Syd Logan stands accused of fratricide. Because Syd Logan is such an important figure in the Logan Blood, being the standing heir of the Governorship, the Governor will not pass judgment on him. Instead, it will be up to this Cabinet to vote on his innocence. Should we deem him guilty, it will then fall to the Governor to choose a fitting punishment for the crime."

Most of the Cabinet members looked bored with this description, clearly they already knew it. I wondered if Cornelius had briefed them on the process for my benefit.

"Syd Logan, do you admit guilt in the charges brought upon you?" asked Cornelius. "Did you kill Parker Logan?"

"I ain't guilty," Syd proclaimed loudly, like he was Joan of Arc being accused of heresy, or some other martyr. Boy, did he always manage to bring the drama. I rolled my eyes.

"Let's let the accused speak his defense!" Cornelius said.

"Cornelius, I call you as a witness," Syd said. "Can you describe to the Cabinet what you saw when you came to the chemistry lab yesterday?"

Cornelius looked pained. "The guards had alerted me because there had been crashes and bangs coming from the lab, so I went there myself to investigate. I found the doors to be locked. I tried knocking, but no one answered for quite some time. Finally, Mr. Groves unlocked and opened the door for me."

"What did you see at that point?" Syd asked.

"Well, Parker had been cut in two," he said. "He was very close to dying."

"And what condition was I in?" Syd asked.

"You were unconscious and nearly dead yourself due to what looked like a shotgun blast. I noticed a shotgun at on the ground."

"That's because I was the one who shot him," I yelled, standing up. "In self-defense!"

"Thank you, Jakey," Syd said. "Mr. Groves admits to shooting me. The fact is, Jake was the one who killed Parker."

"That's a lie!" I said.

"Mr. Groves, please let Syd continue his line of questioning," Cornelius said. "And remain silent until it's your turn to speak."

I sat down, feeling really, really angry.

"Thank you, Cornelius," Syd said. "As everyone can see, Jake has an anger problem that he can't control. Cornelius, how would you describe Mr. Groves's demeanor when you came into the room?"

"He was very disconcerted," Cornelius said.

"Did he show any signs of injury?"

"No, I suppose not."

"So, my question to the Cabinet is, if he claims he shot me in self-defense, why didn't he even get a scratch from me?"

He let that settle in for effect, while I stewed angrily in my seat.

"Now, Cornelius, you said the door was locked until he unlocked it and let you in. But that room is not normally locked, is it?"

"No."

"I have an eyewitness with a sworn testimony saying they saw Jake run into Parker and Annie's room moments before heading to the chemistry lab. The truth was, he was searching the apartment for the keys. He knew I would be in the chemistry lab with Parker, because I had just told him I wanted to tell my brother the happy news about being healed by my sister. He came into the lab with the machete, and he locked us both in. He surprised Parker and cut him in half with the blade, and then when I tried to stop him, he shot me with the shotgun."

I could not believe these lies. I shook my head in silent frustration.

"Cornelius, when he unlocked the door for you, what did his clothes look like?"

"Well, I suppose they were covered in Parker's blood," he said.

"And isn't it true that as soon as you came in the room, when Parker was still alive, he sent you on an errand before you could inspect Parker?"

"Well, yes."

"And isn't it true that when you returned from the errand, Parker was dead?"

"Well, yes," he said. "I suppose so."

"That's `cause he clearly used the time to finish poor Parker off. I rest my case."

"Alright, we've heard from the accused," Cornelius said. "Let's let Mr. Groves have his say."

I stood up. "I did not kill Parker," I said. "It was Syd who took the machete to his room, not me. And it was Syd who locked the door, not me. Syd was trying to kill Parker, and when he sliced him in half, I retaliated by shooting him with the shotgun. Syd did wound me, but the wounds healed in Parker's blood. I mean, what motive would I have for ever killing Parker?"

"The truth was, the two of them had had a huge fight after the rodeo competition," Syd said. "Even though they had won, Jake felt absolutely humiliated by the way Parker's false leg caused them problems in the game and much ridicule. He became so mad, he ran into the lab with his machete, screaming that he would kill the `stupid fucking cripple,' his words, not mine, once and for all."

"That's totally false!" I yelled. "And besides, Parker is a super old vampire. How would I have the strength to cut Parker in half like that?"

"Syd, do you have anything to say about this point?"

"We all know what he is," Syd said. "Don't make the mistake of pretending for one instant that he's a normal man. Plus, he had a strong secondary motive. He and Parker became friends solely over their shared conditions: both of them should have been infertile, something that made both of them depressed. And there was nothing Jakey liked more than to have company with his misery, the two of them would sit there all day long, just tryin' to out weep the other. I need to call a witness."

"Allowed."

Syd pulled out his cell phone and dialed, putting it on speaker.

"Yes?" came Della's voice.

"Della, it's Syd. I need to you to answer some questions."

"I don't want anything to do with you, ya here me?"

"Dr. Logan," Cornelius said, "I'm afraid you'll have to answer the questions. You are now testifying in a Logan Blood trial of utmost importance."

"Understood, Cornelius."

"Della Logan," Syd said, taking on his attorney-like tone of voice that seemed straight out of a trite courtroom TV show. "Would you please state for the court what chances Parker had of being able to conceive were after his accident?"

"I told him one in a million, more or less," she said. "So, in other words, all but impossible."

"Impossible. Which are the same odds that Jake Groves has of procreation. Della, could you tell the court what happened when you discovered Annie was pregnant?"

"Not without severely breaching my code of doctor/patient privacy."

"Dr. Logan, I'm afraid a Logan Blood legal trial supersedes your privacy codes," said Cornelius.

"Well, alright," Della said. "Frankly, I was in disbelief that he really had conceived. Annie was in my clinic so I could perform a genetic sex test on the embryo. While I performed that test, I also did a little side test of my own, a genetic paternity test on the baby."

In the room, Annie gasped in horrible surprise.

"Parker was most incensed when I told him I had done this," Della said.

"And what did you find?" asked Syd.

"That Parker was the father after all, which I told him. Since I couldn't believe my estimation that he had such a tiny chance of ever achieving conception was inaccurate, after getting it validated by so many other experts, we knew that this was almost a miraculous occurrence, and not something that would ever come around twice for him."

"Thanks, Della Logan, that concludes my questioning."

"I'm hanging up now," Della said with iciness.

Syd put his phone away. "So, once Parker knew for sure he was going to be a father, everyone was happy for him, all except for Jake, who was so jealously furious at the news, he was ready to go to any cost to ruin Parker's happiness, to bring Parker down to Jake's own sad, pathetically low level. Now, I want the Cabinet to vote on my innocence."

"Alright. Cabinet members, who believes that Jake Groves was the killer of Parker Logan? If this is what you trust, then raise your hand. If you keep your hand down, you'll be voting for Syd's guilt."

Cornelius kept his hand down.

Rose raised her hand.

Tucker kept his hand down. So did Giggles.

But many other Cabinet members slowly started to raise their hands.

"Come on, don't be afraid to go with the truth," Syd said.

Several other people raised their hands, and it looked to me like that was majority.

"Is that it?" Cornelius asked, and no one said anything. "Alright, majority has decided his guilt," said Cornelius, adding the hands much faster than I could.

I gasped with shock at my conviction, feeling so unbelievably used and angry.

"Syd Logan, you are hereby convicted of murder," Cornelius said, and I felt so much relief. He had been talking about Syd's guilt after all, of course.

"Wait, wait, before you do that," Syd yelled, "I want to change my original plea to guilty."

"Alright," Cornelius said.

"The truth was, it was me who killed Parker. But that's just because I had good reason to. As you all know, killing is not a crime if you can prove that person committed an act punishable by death. Then it becomes Logan Blood justice."

"You're insinuating that Parker committed an act that would be punishable by death?" Cornelius asked.

"Yup," Syd said. "Parker was guilty of trying to kill me."

"This is ridiculous," I said.

"When did this so-called attempted murder take place?" Cornelius asked.

"I contracted AIDS, and nearly died from it," Syd said. "Parker was the one who gave it to me. I realized that as I lay there, dyin.'"

"Parker couldn't have infected you with AIDS, because he didn't have it himself," Cornelius said.

"I got it from Enid," he said. "The one person I had unprotected sex with. But clearly, Parker was in leagues with the woman. They both came in on the same stagecoach together from Fools Gold."

"This is outrageous!" Annie yelled. "I was with my husband on that stagecoach, and he never even spoke to this Enid."

"Parker admitted this to me himself as soon as I confronted him," Syd said. "He told me I was right, that he had planted Enid himself to infect me."

"What motive would he have to kill his brother?" Cornelius asked.

"He acted like I should know why he did it,'" Syd said. "But I don't know why he did it, really. But plain as day it was him who tried to kill me. It was him who smuggled Enid out of here before Della could test her and discover she was positive."

"This doesn't make any sense," I said. "Syd told me himself that she was a virgin, and I had seen her Hymen break myself. She couldn't have contracted AIDS sexually. And she had just arrived through the quarantine, disease free."

"Parker could have injected her with the disease right before she had sex with me," Syd said.

"If he had, it would have taken some time for the disease to actually become contagious," I said. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Besides," Annie said, standing up. "If Parker had planned to kill Syd, why was it Parker himself who called me in Fools Gold, begging me to ride out to Big Horn's camp to find him, so Big Horn could get Giggles and she could save Syd before he died? He even was the one who told me how to get to Big Horn's camp, and arranged for me to be escorted just to make sure I got there in time. I have Big Horn's signed testimony right here that says that saving Syd's life was all Parker's idea."

Suddenly, Parker's absolute certainty that Syd wasn't going to die made sense to me.

"Sure, there are some questions that can't be answered, but think about this," Syd said. "If it wasn't me enacting justice, what possible motive could I have for killing my little brother? He held no threat to me."

"He's lying," I said, standing up again. "He could have killed Parker as a potential threat to the Governorship."

"Preposterous," Syd said. "Maybe that's a motive Parker would have had to kill me. But I'm the rightful heir, not him. Killing him would do me no good, and it's not something I ever considered."

"He's lying again," I said. "I overheard a specific conversation between Syd and Rose about this very subject. At that time, Rose had agreed to ally herself with Syd, with Syd agreeing to marry her in the future and to carry her anti-human agendas forward."

I saw Rose's previously unmoving face turn into utter shock and disbelief.

"They realized that with Parker impregnating Annie with a male child, and therefore proving he was fertile, it meant that the Cabinet and the public in general would be abandoning their support for Syd as the possible heir to Jericho, since Syd showed no signs of ever having an heir on his own. Rose said this could be a very dangerous position, implying as long as Parker was alive, it could threaten Syd's life. Meaning someone who supported Parker could make a move to eliminate Syd. Syd agreed with Rose, saying Parker's living put him in potential harm."

"What do you have to say about this?" Cornelius asked Syd.

"Jakey is prone to a vivid imagination," Syd said, making me so, so angry again.

"Rose, this boy implicates you in treason," Jericho said. "Because if what he says is true, this means you've been lying to me for quite some time. Do you offer a defense?"

Rose looked at the Governor, started to say something, cut herself off, and then said nothing for a long time. "The despicable human dog is not lying," she said.

There were gasps among crowds, and Syd looked really angry.

Jericho stood up. "Rose Dixon, you admit guilt in this treason?"

"I do, your honor," she said. "But I beg you to understand that my agreement with Syd may have been a secret, but it never in any way threatened your Governorship. I was and always have been totally loyal to your cause, Mr. Governor. I beg your mercy in your judgment for me now."

"You know yourself if there was ever something I wasn't it was merciful," Jericho said. "Rose Dixon, stand and receive your punishment. I could have you killed for what you did, but your many years of good service to me has made me uncharacteristically soft. I will let you live, but I banish you from the Territory and from all Logan Blood concerns. I want you to pack your things right away, and guards, I want her escorted to the nearest human settlement from here, outside the Territory. You will never be permitted to rejoin our vampire society ever again."

She amazingly started to cry and shake. "No, please no," she said, falling to her knees. "You're sentencing me to an eternity never seeing my family again. An eternity spent constantly washing off the stink of the human dogs I will be forced to live amongst. This cannot happen."

"I will strike you a deal, Rose Dixon," Jericho said. "You claim to be loyal to me? Well, prove it to me. While you're out in the human world, do something with yourself that will absolutely without a doubt prove to us that you're loyal to us Logans and that you're needed by vampires, and I'll pardon your treasons."

"Yes, your honor. Yes, I will prove myself, you'll see."

"Until then, one of your family will have to take your place as the Dixon representative of this Cabinet," he said. "If they so much as lie to me about how old they are, I'll kill them and remove the Dixons from power just as I have done to the Slades."

"No, they won't betray you, I promise, Mr. Governor."

"Now, go. Guards, escort her, please."

A couple of the many guards in the room led Rose out of the Great Room, with her wiping her tears away, standing up straight, and regaining her old proud composure. She had gotten away easy, as far as I was concerned. I hoped the humans she would be around gave her hell, and I sort of wished I would be around to witness it all.

"And it's been goddamn too long a trial as it is," Jericho said. "Vote now on his crime, and let's get it over with."

"Alright Cabinet members," Cornelius said. "Who believes Syd's killing of Parker was his rightful and justified retribution for attempted murder? If you want to free Syd of punishment, raise your hand now."

Oddly enough, Tucker raised his hand, and I wondered if he was too drunk to know what he was doing. But soon, a bunch of other Cabinet members did likewise. Cornelius and Giggles kept their hands down.

"Then it's settled," Cornelius said. "Syd Logan has been deemed guilty of murder."

If Syd was angry, he kept it hidden; he still had the corner of his mouth showing a tiny bit of a smug smile in spite of all. "Why does that not surprise me? Oh yeah, it's just `cause Jericho's got half this goddamned Cabinet suckin' his dick."

"For the crime of murdering your brother," Jericho said, "I sentence you to death, Syd. Guards, lock him up in a prison cell that gets sun, and refuse him any blood. Let's see how long it takes for his big mouth to melt off."

"Death by happy sunshine box?" Syd asked. "Is that the best you can come up with? I'd expected something more original from you."

"Well, the typical sort of execution I've been known to perform wouldn't exactly be appropriate given our family relationship."

"Thanks for showing restraint there, dear ol' dad."

"Guards, take him away to be burned."

As the guards opened up his jail cell and started to pull him out, he yelled, "I invoke the power of the Council!"

"You what?" asked Jericho.

"I invoke the power of the Council! I require that the Council votes on my guilt or innocence."

"How do you even know what that means?" he asked.

"A magician never reveals his secrets," Syd said with a smile.

"Mr. Governor," Cornelius said. "In this case, since Syd is such an important person, he would have the right to deny the Logan Blood the authority to judge his innocence, and instead go in front of the Vampire Council, state his case, and have them vote on his innocence."

"That's ridiculous," Jericho snapped. "The Council hasn't met for many, many decades. They're all but defunct."

Cornelius went searching through his legal books. "Syd has two years to notify all six Blood heads of the requirement to meet again. If he fails to notify all six in person by that time, the Logan ruling would stand. If he does notify all of them, all are required to gather for a Council meeting, in which parties will get a chance to testify to Syd's guilt or innocence. The six Council members will then vote, and their judgment will overrule whatever has been decided today."

"He'll never be able to find all of the heads of the Bloods in that time," Jericho said. "He doesn't know where a single one of them is. I mean, even I only know how to find three of them, and we've never given Syd any privileged information. So, two years, I get to kill him?"

"Indeed, Mr. Governor."

"Well then, I'll be crossing off the days on my calendar."

"But until then, you can't lay a hand on me," Syd said. "So, I'm afraid your happy sunshine box will sadly go unused."

"I can still banish you from my lands," Jericho said.

"That would be permissible, yes, Mr. Governor."

"Syd Logan, you are banished from the Territory and from all Logan Blood lands. If I find you sneaking back, I'll have you killed. Cornelius, I want him escorted to the Territory's edge, and thrown out on his ass. Guards, rip his clothes off. Those all belong to the Territory, and he'll take nothing from here with him."

As the guards started pulling his clothes off him, he said, "Actually, I bought these clothes on the outside."

"With my dollar," Jericho said. "Everything you've ever owned belongs to me, Syd. And Cornelius, I don't want him thrown out of the Territory nearby any human towns. I want him taken down to the southern boundary, and tossed out there with not even a horse or a scrap of food or a stitch of clothing. See if he survives his way back to civilization."

"That boundary is several days journey from here, Mr. Governor," Cornelius said.

"Good point. I want you to call the Calvary in. Have them escort him, and let them be the ones who kick him out on his ass to see if he'll survive in the desert on his own.. I wouldn't trust anyone else to be able to hold onto him for such a long journey."

"I'm afraid the Calvary is already several days away from Mareshead at the moment, Mr. Governor."

"Call them back immediately. Until they get here, lock this one in a cell in the dungeon. No one but my guards are permitted to see him."

"Yes, Mr. Governor."

Even though he had been stripped naked, Syd still had a smug smile on his face. "Oh, and Mr. Governor? I am officially notifying you that your presence is required at the Vampire Council. That makes one down, five to go. At this rate, I'll be done in a couple weeks."

Jericho narrowed his eyes. "Even if you goddamn miraculously find a way to get the Council together, you still have to get the majority to vote for your innocence. No fuckin' way, moron."

"You're on. Jakey's coming with me, too, as my fiancé."

"What?" I asked

"I seek permission to speak to my fiancé aside," Syd asked.

"That's permissible," Cornelius said.

The guards locked Syd back in his cell but left him alone, and everyone in that part of the room left the area. I walked over to him.

"Jakey, don't be an idiot," Syd whispered to me. "I saved myself from getting killed, and you can hitch your wagon to a star here by coming with me."

"Weren't you the one who like five seconds ago was trying to convince everyone that I killed Parker? You knew Jericho would have killed me if they found me guilty."

"Only because I knew if you were guilty, I'd be free, but you'd be able to save yer own ass with that get outta jail free card Parker gave ya. Don't think I don't know ya have it in yer pocket. I never wanted to kill ya, I've always been fond of ya. Never met anyone who had such great chemistry with. But you had to be totally stupid, like usual, and claim innocence to killin' Parker."

I rolled my eyes. "Please tell me, what exactly are you suggesting I do now?"

"That you come with me, as my fiancé. That's how we'll introduce you to the other Bloods, and as my fiancé, no one else can harm you. The second you lose that designation, you'll be raped or killed or both in an instant. You'll see."

"And what are you getting out of me in return for you telling people that I'm your fiancé?"

"None of that bullshit once a week sex thing that I made you do before, I promise."

"Really?" I asked, wondering if I should consider agreeing.

"Nope. If ya want to be my fiancé, ya gotta give me whatever I want whenever I want it. Well, what do ya say, Jakey?"

AUTHOR'S AFTERNOTE:

If you were Jake, what would you do? Agree with Syd or refuse? Let me know: SellarDhor@gmail.com.