This is a work of gay-themed romantic fantasy. Some Chapters (although not this one) contain graphic descriptions of sexual acts between consenting adults. If reading material of this nature offends you STOP NOW (then ask yourself what you are doing browsing a gay stories archive in the first place!) Since Nifty reaches a (virtually) worldwide audience (and you know your local laws better than I) if reading material of this nature would get either of us in legal trouble, then do both of us a favor and click away now. Otherwise I hope you continued to enjoy Ben's adventures.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Sorry pals `n' gals (since I know a few ladies read my stories), this Chapter is a bit short--even for one of the "Doververse" series. Still, that's what happens: I said what needed to be said and I think trying to cram more in would be filler--ergo, short chapter! Thanks to some additional ideas it turns out this book is going to be somewhat longer than I'd originally planned. I truly appreciate all of you who have written with positive comments. If you have questions, comments, suggestions or complaints (yeah, even those) drop me a line to HonableRonable@gmail.com or RonVenable@hotmail.com and I will respond. Likewise, if you want to me to notify you please use one of the above addies and I'll see you are the first to know once Nifty publishes something I've written. I've been thinking of starting a new story called I Married A Dragon which will be set well away from the "Doververse" and Olympus Island. If this sounds interesting let me know and you may be seeing yet ANOTHER series from me. Lastly, a big shout-out to my crack editorial staff "Marko the Magnificent" and "Rockin' Robyn" (both of whom proofread and helped tighten up the work). I couldn't do this without you so make sure you show them some love.
CHAPTER 29: After the Fall
CHARACTERS
Ben Dover, age 49: our dauntless hero
Jay Dover, age 15: Ben's son
Liam O'Connor, age 33: Selkie Fisherman
Sean O'Connor, age 16: Selkie Fisherman and Liam's youngest brother
"Scooter" Browne, age ???: Ben's Brownie Housekeeper
Lt. Benjamin Brazos "BB" Wolfe, age 39: California Special Crimes Police Officer
Fr. Mark Ryan, age 51: former Priest now Party Promoter
Gianni Monteverde, age 30, new arrival in Kings Harbor
MOMENTS LATER
"He's in the hands of the Sea Gods now..." Ben was torn between cursing the Allfather and praying to Llyr and Poseidon, hoping against hope that his only surviving son could somehow avoid hitting the sharp rocks at the base of the cliff. If Jay didn't manage to hit deep water he was likely to die--this much he knew for certain. The Texan turned to ask his Patron one more time to aid has son but Odin had vanished as quickly and silently as he had come, leaving Ben to watch Jay and Ethan, the betraying lover, fall toward the rough sea a couple hundred feet below...
Ben watched in horrified fascination as his son changed form, shredding out of his sweatpants as Jay's silver-scaled "mer" tail appeared but Ethan continued to cling desperately. The arc of the fall seemed to both slow and increase until both men hit the water well away from the shoreline. "JAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!" All the big man could do was scream as he waited for his son to pop up out of the waves.
"Dad?" The words were barely audible above the sound of the crashing waves against the rocks at the base of the cliff. "Dad--I'm sorry I lost Ethan..."
"Don't worry boyo!" the big man shouted back as his soul flooded with relief. Privately, he hoped his faithless lover had drowned because of the fall. "If he's dead it'll save me th' trouble o' killin' th' bastard!" Involving Jay was one step too far: Ben resolved the other man would pay for that with his life.
"I can't change back here," Jay called. "There are too many rocks and I don't think either of us could climb the cliffs without tools!"
"True," the Texan agreed. "I'll have t' pick ya up somewhere!" Ben thought hard, considering the possibilities. "Can ya make it t' Seal Point?" he asked. "There's a colony o' Selkies there an' most of em r' Fishermen by trade. There will be fishin' boats out now: they'll help you! If ya c'n make it I'll see ya there!"
"Last one there's a rotten egg, Dad!" his son called back. Clearly Jay was feeling better--no doubt through the good offices of one of the Sea Gods. Ben saw a flash of silver-scaled tail breach the water as Jay swam into deeper water and headed North.
Ben borrowed one of the Seacliff estate vehicles (which were still programmed to accept calls to his mobile phone) and started heading north. He was driving hell-for-leather for Seal Point when his cell phone, displaying an unknown local number beep with an incoming call. The Texan pushed the "ANSWER" button on his steering column. "Hello?"
"Ah--Sir, my name is Liam O'Connor..." said a voice on the other end. "We fished something out of the ocean that belongs to you."
"Is my son injured?" the big man asked.
"He pretty pissed off but doesn't seem hurt," O'Connor replied. "He didn't tell us why a Merman was swimmin' in our waters though..."
"That's my fault," Ben said quickly. "He was thrown off the cliffs near the Druid's Henge: Seal Point was th' closest place I could come t' fetch im. I hope this incident won't cause trouble b'tween y'all n' th' Merfolk: they had nothin' t' do with this. It was all my doin'."
"My Granny is a Seer..." the man on the other end of the line commented. "She said some serious shit was going on down South and that we needed to be prepared! She also told us to be looking for the Silver Prince of the Mer and Odin's Paladin. I'm presuming that's the two of you.
"Jay is th' Silver Prince o' th' Pacifica Mer," Ben admitted. "I've been called Odin's Paladin. There was some trouble with th' Knights Templar but I think we've dealt with that problem--f'r now at least..."
"I thought we'd be free of the Templars once we left the Auld Sod!" O'Connor said, anger in his voice. If you dealt with those bastids, more power to you!"
"My awen tells me we won't be dealin' with that bunch," Ben said. "F'r a while at least..."
SHORTLY AFTER, AT THE SEAL POINT DOCKS
Ben arrived at the docks to find a small fishing boat tied up and waiting for him. Several men, all tall and slim with short, dark hair and large brown eyes were on the boat. The youngest was chatting with Jay (who had somehow managed to find a pair of pants) while the other four looked away. Selkies were shy and reclusive by nature and they avoided contact with outsiders whenever possible. It was surprising to see one of them being so friendly.
"Hey Da'," Jay called. "This is Sean--he lent me a pair of his pants..."
"That explains why ya got em cuffed up so far!" Ben said, "That boy's a mighty long drink o' water!" Although pale, Sean's face was fine-boned and handsome like his Selkie brothers and cousins. Unlike them, he seemed fascinated by Jay and displayed a genuine openness and curiosity. "Young Sean--thank ya kindly f'r th' loan: we'll have em washed an' sent back as soon as may be."
"Oh, that's OK Sir..." the boy said in a pleasant light tenor. "Those are old. I just keep them in the boat in case of emergency. I'm truly sorry I couldn't do better for a Prince of the Mer."
"Dude!" Jay chided, "I told you already--lay off the Prince stuff! Jeez! I hate it when Colin does it and the Mer get all `bow-y and scrape-y' around me! The last thing I need is a whole other group treating me the same way!"
"Listen t' th' boy youngster," Ben said. "It's bad enough I'm raising a teenager on m' own: the LAST thing I need is th' boyo gettin' a swelled head!"
An older fisherman helped Jay off the boat and escorted him to Ben. "We return what is yours Paladin," he said, giving the Texan a small but neat bow. "The honor was to serve."
"Y' have my thinks Mr. O'Connor," Ben said just as formally. "I'll make sure th' Pacifica Mer know o' y'r kindness."
"Hey Dad--do you mind of Sean comes to visit us at the Firehouse sometime?" Jay asked.
Ben looked to Liam. "If it's OK with his folks, it's fine with me," he finally said.
"If he wishes to go we can't prevent him," Liam said solemnly. "Some of us choose to abandon the Sea. Maybe my brother will be one of those. I just hope you'll watch after him if he does..."
"Oh I will!" Ben promised.
AT THE FIREHOUSE, SHORTLY AFTER SUNRISE
Ben and Jay were just finishing a huge breakfast back at the Firehouse when Scooter came in, leading three people into the family Dining Room on the second floor. "Fr. Mark, Lieutenant Wolfe and ah.." Scooter said, looking at the one stranger.
"His name is Gianni Monteverde," Wolfe provided, "and he used to be one of the Knights Templar."
"And yet he's not in handcuffs!" Jay snarked.
"I broke him..." Fr. Mark said. The stranger had a good-looking, well-sculpted face with doe-like brown eyes, wavy dark blond hair and a good tan. He was short and stocky but at least as well-muscled as Glenn von Gabler. "I think I may have gotten a new `dog' but at least Gianni can suck the chrome off a trailer hitch!"
"So can I--what of it?" Jay said.
"Didn't need t' hear that Son..."
"Sorry Dad!" Jay's expression said he wasn't sorry in the least.
"I can see you dislike me..." Monteverde said, "and, honestly, because of what Knight Commander Gray did to you I can understand why that might be so. But, please know, my eyes have been opened to the error of my ways! I will spend the remainder of my life trying to atone for my many wrongs!"
"Wow, one good fuck and you're converted!" Jay sneered. "I AM impressed Fr. Mark! Dude--your cock must be AWESOME!"
"It wasn't just one fuck.." the Priest said defensively.
Gianni blushed deeply. "Jay," Ben cautioned, "enough! At least Br. Monteverde isn't responsible for taking any lives--unlike Ethan..."
"This is true,," the devastatingly-handsome blond said. His voice was aristocratic and cultured with just the slightest trace of an accent: Ben's awen told him Gianni had been born and raised in the Italian portion of Switzerland. "One less thing for me to atone for..."
Ben decided to let that pass. "How did things go at the club?" he asked.
"It was pretty much a Dionysian Orgy," Fr. Mark said. "With one exception, nobody suffered any physical damage worse than a slap. There ended up being one marriage proposal, a couple of likely divorce filings. Oh, and three people came out of the closet."
"What was the one exception?" Ben asked.
"Manuel de la Rocha killed himself behind Finocchio..." Wolfe said. "He cut off his cock and balls and bled out behind a dumpster."
"Jesus!" Ben shook his head, saddened for the needless loss of life. "Where are th' rest o' th' Templars?"
"Gone," Wolfe said bluntly. "By the time we got Br. Monteverde to give up what he knew then make it to their cheap hotel, they were gone."
"An', no doubt they paid cash so we can't trace `em that way..." Ben said.
"Unless your awen can give us some clue," Fr. Mark put in.
"Sorry--it doesn't work that way," Ben replied. "If Odin, r one o' th' other Gods, decides I need a kick in th' pants' t' send me in th' right direction, I'll get a hint. So far that hasn't happened."
"You'll let me know if you get anything?" Wolfe asked. "If there's any possibility we can catch those people there are some serious questions I'd like to ask any or all of them down at the station!"
"For all the good that'll do," the Texan replied.
"The odds of the Knights Templar coming back are slim," Br. Monteverde said. "After having been so roundly defeated here in Kings Harbor the organization isn't likely to want to commit more resources to an operation that cost so much..."
"That's nice t' know," Ben replied. "We've had quite enough adventures f'r th' next little while if ya ask me!"
"So--what happened to Ethan?" Fr. Mark asked. Ben related the story to the other men. "Oh God--I'm so sorry!"
Ben walked out briefly then returned with a small box. "I was lookin' f'r th' right time t' give Ethan this..." He opened the box to reveal a very nice, if masculine, diamond ring.
"Looks like you dodged a bullet there!" Wolfe offered.
"I suppose I did..." the big Texan agreed. "Doesn't mean it don't hurt though..."
"What are you gonna do Dad?" Jay asked.
"I'll start by tossing th' mattress on m' bed!" Ben said. "Then I'll get rid o' th' sheets an' towels! I don't want anything he touched left in my house."
"I'll take care of the laundry Sir," Scooter offered. "If you'd like I'll also pack Mr. Gray's personal things. You can burn them or give them away to charity if you'd prefer..."
"No," the Texan replied, "we'll put his stuff in storage. Ethan MAY have survived the fall--"
"I don't see how!" Jay cut in.
"I'm not goin' t' assume Ethan is dead n' gone til someone produces a dead body!" Ben said. "Maybe not even then! Ethan clearly used magic so he may have been able to pull a last-minute escape. If he did survive an' he's dumb enough t' show up here, I'll give `im his stuff back--along with enough time t' run while I get m' gun so I can shoot him!"
"While I agree with the sentiment, you really shouldn't say that in front of a Cop!" Wolfe said. "I'd hate to have to investigate you if he should turn up dead!"
Ben sighed. "You're right BB..." he finally said. "After I let my temper cool a bit I'll get over Ethan's betrayal an' move on with my life!"
"Living well is the best revenge..." Fr. Mark suggested.
"This is true," the Texan agreed. "I WILL get through this--but right now I need a little time t' hurt..."
END CHAPTER 29
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