Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction, which will include t/t and m/m relationships, and probably some sex too. If it is illegal in your area to read this, or if you are not old enough to read this (you know who you are), stop here. Otherwise, please enjoy.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is a companion story to "A Light in the Darkness." The story lines are related and the characters occasionally interact, and the frequency of this will be increasing. My sincerest thanks go out to Darryl AKA the Radio Rancher (darryltheradiorancher@gmail.com) who kindly edited this chapter. And thanks to everyone for writing such encouraging emails.
I am now posting my stories to a Yahoo!Group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jaygordon_1981/ as well. I'm putting them up there a little in advance so I can make final edits before submitting to Nifty, so if you are interested, you can check it out. It's closed membership to avoid spams and flames, so just let me know!
Things That Go Bump, Chapter 20
"Surrender"
Friday.... Sebastian dragged himself out of bed. He wasn't tired, much, he just dreaded another day.... Another day of reports and orders.... Another day of tracking and responding to an increasingly invisible enemy. How nice it would be to just slip away.... Alas, he didn't have it in him, not even for James, to abandon the fight, to abandon a world he still felt must surely abandon him. If he did it, he wouldn't be the man he was, and that's really all there was left to it. James loved him, and he was the stay and fight type. Damn it....
"It's time to get up, baby," he said, rubbing James's shoulder and getting a smile.
"I know.... I just wanted to stay like this as long as we could," James replied, bringing a sigh to Sebastian's lips. Reluctantly, they both got ready for their days, and James gave Sebastian a quick wink over his shoulder as he popped in on Horatio, while Sebastian headed straight for his desk, and a seemingly never-ending flow of emails to be answered, and messages to be read.
No sign of Sekhmet.... No sign of Aethon.... No sign of Sammael.... No new information about Chang's operation.... No idea about what to expect next.... Damn it all! It had been almost a fucking week since they heard anything concrete about their enemies, and that had been to discover they had lost Sekhmet's sarcophagus. Sammael could bide his time, planning and getting his ducks in a row, while all Sebastian could do was prepare for God knows what.... He knew he had to get ahead of this thing, but he had no clue how to do that.
When James popped his head in, in the afternoon to announce that he and Avery were off to train with William, Sebastian knew what he had to do. "I'm coming with you," he announced to James.
"Why," James asked, confused.
"I need to talk to Chase...." James nodded. He knew how frustrated Sebastian had been by his inability to get a handle on Sammael. Together they left the office and met Avery by the door, but when the man moved to question him, Sebastian raised a hand and shook his head.
As they stepped through the door, Sam and William stopped laughing, whatever they were talking about, as their eyes zeroed in on Sebastian, who looked perturbed. "Sebastian," William said, a question in his voice.
"William.... Could you ask Chase to come down here, please?"
"Why," William asked with suspicion in his voice.
"We all need to talk.... About who Chase is," Sebastian said gravely.
William nodded and left with a reluctant glance, but a few minutes later he returned with a smiling Chase, who greeted James, Avery and Sebastian with an excited hello and hugs.
"Since I saw you last, Sammael has made another move.... Sekhmet has joined him, stolen from under our noses.... We just don't know what's coming next, and I need to get ahead of him now.... We've got to do something proactive. So I've come to you," he said, staring at the beautiful blond with something akin to hope, "Chase...."
"Me," the boy asked with a cute laugh. "What could I.... Oh, the voices...."
Sebastian nodded and allowed a pause to hang in the air, before launching into his account, largely giving the same story he had given to the others on Sunday night.
When he finished, both boys looked stunned, but Chase started to laugh uncontrollably, almost to the point of rolling on the floor. "I'm sorry," he said, finally. "That's just ridiculous...."
Sebastian smiled, sighing, "I know it must seem far-fetched, but...."
"Far-fetched? You just told a puny, gay blond teenager in Virginia that he's a prophet, and you think it's far-fetched?"
"And where do you think your voices are coming from, then? Do you think you're mad," Sebastian asked.
Chase got a funny look on his face. "I'd half-convinced myself of that, yes...."
"The power I feel is real," Sebastian said, "at once so unique and so familiar.... I'd know it anywhere...."
"Why are you telling me this, now," Chase asked, hesitantly.
"Because ... things have changed.... Sekhmet is gone, awakened, no doubt.... The dark is rising and I can't get ahead of it.... I need ... guidance. You are the only one left who can give it. I need you to help me."
Chase looked at him helplessly. "They speak to me; half the time I don't understand it at all...."
"Does it help when you concentrate," Sebastian asked.
"Sometimes," Chase responded, "but it's never as clear as when I was there...."
Sebastian looked at Sam, who shrugged. "Will you come with us," Sebastian asked the old man, who nodded resolutely.
"Not without me," William demanded.
"You can come if you want, but it's easier to hear when I'm away from you," Chase said, cutting Sebastian off. Chase blushed as he finished, "Thinking of you, knowing you're there ... makes it hard to concentrate.
James snorted, and when they all looked at him, he shrugged, "What? He said William makes it HARD to concentrate...."
Sebastian rolled his eyes at James with a loving smile before looking questioningly at William, "Anyway! What do you want to do, William?"
"I'll stay and train with Avery," he said, clearly not loving the idea. "If anything happens to him...."
Sebastian put his hand over his heart and nodded, a silent acknowledgment of the sentiment.
William watched silently as Sebastian and Sam helped Chase to the door. Sam was about to begin the complex incantation to open the door, but when the boy reached out and touched it, it opened instantly. Sam looked carefully at the boy before leading him inside. So much of what he had seen lately had taken him by surprise, this made little additional impact.
Behind them the door closed, leaving James and William to practice their wizardry with Avery. In his distracted state, William was not effectively defending against James, who was able to deal some punishing blows. This at last focused his mind on the task at hand. In any case, no one, if not Sebastian, could keep Chase safe.
Meanwhile, Chase was led to the altar, again causing Sam to gasp as he rested his hands on its polished surface.
"Can you tell us anything," Sebastian asked, and Chase shook his head, no.
"The voices are too fast, too loud.... Something's happening, I just can't...."
"It's okay," Sebastian said, stopping him and putting a soft hand on his back. "Calm down.... Quiet your mind and focus...."
Chase sharpened his mind to a point and tried everything to clear his mind, but nothing worked until he tried counting backward. In a few moments, he was able to focus in and listen. "Em.... Amer.... Americ ... danger...."
Sebastian waited a moment, before asking, "He is a danger, or he is in danger?"
"Both.... He is in danger and that endangers us all," Chase said in a hollow tone.
"What can I do," Sebastian asked.
"Nothing.... It's too late...."
"No," Sebastian said, "I talked to him this morning...."
"He is already in the clutches of the beast," Chase said, shaking his head with a quiet certainty. "Go and see...."
Sebastian burst off toward the door and ripped it open, stopping only at the sound of Sam's cry, "Sebastian, stop!" Sebastian grabbed the doorpost and turned, only just avoiding stepping off into empty space.
"So impulsive," Chase said, knowingly. "I'm sorry about your friend, I really am...." Sam helped the boy to the door and he opened it, and Sebastian rushed ahead home without stopping to speak to Avery or James. Chase and Sam filled them in on the details and both men hurried after Sebastian, James worried for his lover and Avery hoping to find out more about what had happened to his old friend.
Back in his stronghold, they found Sebastian logging onto the network. Without thinking, he typed in the message, "Code Black, Immediate Threat of attack or abduction against Consul Americ Bellanuova...."
Immediately, activity began in a flurry as important leaders around the world received the message and came online. When most of the important dignitaries had logged on, Americ's screen flashed to life, surprising everyone. Americ sat stiff in his chair, and the first words he spoke were, "Sebastian, I'm sorry...."
A swift hand smacked him brutally, causing most of the assembled to gasp. Then the camera turned to face an unfamiliar figure, a hauntingly beautiful man with the coldest eyes Sebastian had ever seen. It made him shudder. Sammael, he knew without doubt.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.... Most of you don't know who I am," he said, and Sebastian could feel the eyes boring into him, though he knew they all saw the same image, he felt the special look just for him, both repulsive and, yet, alluring like the siren's song. "I ... am the Enemy.... You know what I want, and I'm giving you the opportunity to give it to me.... If you do so, I will allow this man to go free, without repercussions...."
"My friends, the hour is drawing near when you shall all have a decision to make.... Will you follow Sebastian here, hiding in the shadows and protecting the humans from your own kind, and in doing so run afoul of me? Or will you join me, bringing our kind into the light, and resuming our rightful domination of their pathetic kind? The day is coming, when you will decide, and then you will meet your fate. For now, you have one hour." The screen went blank.
After a long pause, a younger vampire, a governor, asked, softly, "Who ... was that?"
With a sigh, Sebastian shook his head. "That is the enemy, a powerful demon named Sammael.... Known to the humans as Satan...."
The clamor he expected never came, just a stunned silence. No doubt, no question, they had seen the man, had felt it, and known it to be true. "You cannot expect us to stand against him.... Our best chance is to give him what he wants, to follow him.... We're more like him than like the humans...."
"No," Sebastian shouted, pounding his desk furiously. "We are not! We are free beings, we have choices to make, and we have to decide now: do we fight for existence, both human and otherwise, or do we help him to destroy it all? He doesn't want to fight for our supremacy, he doesn't want to lead a dark renaissance.... His goal is and always has been the undoing of order, the reign of chaos, the destruction of all...."
"Why?"
"Pure, unmitigated hatred, absolute and directed to all things, and most of all at God, whom he blames for all.... It's the ultimate revenge.... It makes no sense, he'll destroy himself in the process. No matter. Make no mistake, following him leads to no future.... So we fight, or we die, but joining him is no option...."
"What about Americ," Christen Wheeler asked with a heavy sigh.
"I can't give him what he wants," Sebastian said with a sigh, "without us all paying a heavy price later.... Resheph will bring such savagery.... But for my part, I'd give it to him.... We can't keep it from him forever, after all...."
Pedro leaned in slowly and asked, uneasily, "Is Americ ... worth the cost? I mean, would any of us be?"
"How can you ask that," Avery shouted at his brother, coming up beside Sebastian. "How far will we go? Who will we sacrifice? Of course he's worth it! If it weren't for him," Avery began, but cut himself off. Even in his anger, he knew he'd gone too far.
Sebastian smiled up at him and shook his head, whispering, "It was a long time ago, my friend.... As you wish...." He sent a message to Americ's console, and Sammael appeared on screen.
"You've made your decision," the demon asked.
"I will tell you what you want to know, if you'll agree not to harm Americ any further, no matter what...."
Sammael arched his eyes sagely, and he could tell something was wrong. Nevertheless, he agreed. "Very well.... I'll let your man go unharmed if you turn over the head...."
"How do we do this, then," Sebastian asked, averting his eyes.
Sammael sneered, "I'll let your man go, and when you have him, you'll tell me where the head is.... You won't double cross me...."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because if you did ... I'd take everything from you.... Everything...."
Sebastian was chilled to the bone, but he nodded and Sammael waved his hand and Americ disappeared from the little room. After a few seconds, Musa gasped and announced, "He's here, Sebastian!"
"Americ, are you alright," Sebastian asked.
"Yes," the man gasped. "I'm sorry...."
"Enough.... The head is buried in the crypt of a Buddhist monastery, Wat Chedi Luang, in Chaing Mai.... The monks have no idea it's there, but you'll recognize it. The box is ornate and carved in Latin...."
"Thank you, Sebastian! I'll be talking to you soon," Sammael said with a icy smile as he signed off.
Silence reigned as the assembled leaders contemplated their future, however short it might turn out to be. Shorter now, they all presumed. "Well, what now," Pedro asked, exasperated. "Sammael will have his little army, now, and who knows how many will follow them?"
"I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hell was following close behind him," Sebastian mused to himself, loud enough for all to hear. "That is the stake.... I want to remind you all that, should Sammael prevail, there is no good for any of us to come of it.... We'll all burn! But not today. Resheph will remain in his grave...."
"What," Musa demanded. "You heard him, you know what he'll do!"
Sebastian smiled. "What? He asked for the head, and he'll find it.... But the fangs are missing.... So he can come for me, I've got the fangs...."
They all knew what this meant. For now, Samuel's plans would be frustrated, but his fury would be targeted at Sebastian and all those closest to him. James and Avery exchanged a look as Sebastian took a few last questions and shut down the meeting with a deep sigh. Slumped in his chair, he turned to face them. "In the eye of the storm...."
"Nothing new there," Avery answered, trying to sound confident.
"We're all going to have to be more careful from here on out," Sebastian warned.
"How could we be more careful," James said with a dissatisfied laugh.
"No one leaves the house without either Avery or me, or a squad of wizards.... We'll have to call upon darker magicks to ward the house, magicks more powerful than we have dared harness up to now...."
"Darker," James asked, hesitantly.
Avery looked away as he answered, "Black magick.... Blood magick...."
"Sebastian," James said anxiously, raising his voice. "No!"
"We have no choice," Sebastian answered softly.
"We always have a choice," James demanded loudly. "Black magick? What are we trying to win for? If this is what we become, we should just grab a chair and watch Sammael's great and secret show!"
"Blood magick is the most powerful weapon in our arsenal," Avery insisted.
"No, it isn't! It can't be," James answered vehemently. "You said you felt great power in Chase.... Where does his power come from? Not blood! Not hatred!"
Sebastian looked up and shook his head, shrugging his shoulders at Avery. "I don't know...."
"You do know! You do! Both of you do!"
"I can't put my faith in that," Sebastian said. "We've got to act and act decisively...."
James threw up his hands and walked out of the room. "Perhaps you should listen to him," Avery suggested cautiously. "Remember the prophecies...."
"Prophecies.... Angels.... What's it all for? If He wants it done, why doesn't He just come down here and do it Himself?" Sebastian didn't expect an answer to his question, but James hadn't made it very far and returned at just that moment.
"Maybe He wants us to save ourselves? Maybe we need to save ourselves.... Don't you feel the world changing?"
"Honestly," Sebastian asked sincerely, and James nodded. "No, I don't.... Maybe I've been around too long, but it feels like terribly more of the same to me...."
James looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry.... But trust me! It is...."
Sebastian wrinkled his brow at his young love and closed his eyes, nodding. "I do ... trust you that is.... We need to talk to Chase again, tomorrow morning!"
Avery got on the phone with Sam Roth, who contacted Xavier and Aiden, as well as the boys and the Abernathies, to let them know to expect a visit in the morning.
Peter slipped silently out the side door, eluding notice by passing wizards, and into the darkening dusk. He had been slipping away, and only Richard noticed. But he kept it secret, following the boy and keeping tabs on him. Peter was becoming quite the hunter, but his behavior troubled Richard.
Peter targeted not the dregs that Richard and Sebastian encouraged but the needy and the pained. He had a thing for the suffering type. One boy he'd targeted was a gay teen who had been abused by his father, while another was an orphan. Both boys' pain called out like a beacon, and Richard could feel it. Peter befriended each boy, but had so far repressed the impulse to feed. Richard knew this wouldn't last, and he had to be ready to stop Peter from losing his head. He couldn't lose the boy like he had lost his sire.
Richard followed Peter to the park. That was new. Maybe he'd do his hunting here, perhaps a drug dealer or pimp, Richard thought hopefully. But as Peter walked toward the picnic table at the far end of the park, already enveloped in dark shadows, his hopes were dashed. A boy of fourteen sat, his legs splayed, wearing dirty jeans and a tattered shirt. He nodded at Peter with a fake smile.
"20 bucks," the boy said, his voice just deepening but with the hard edge of worldly knowledge. Richard flinched involuntarily at the boy's lascivious smile. He could hear the boy's thoughts as loud as day and he knew Peter got the gist too. 'I'd do you for free if I wasn't so hungry....'
"What's your name," Peter asked smoothly, sliding in next to the boy. "I'm Pete...."
"Andy," the boy said, but Peter knew he was William.
Peter smiled and looked into the boy's eyes, probing deeply this time. The boy had been savagely beaten and disowned by his parents for being gay, put out on the street at thirteen. He'd never make it to seventeen, and he had a rage, oh he had a rage! The pain was buried so shallowly, was so raw. "What will 20 get me," Peter asked, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder and stroking his neck with his thumb.
"Mmmm," the boy sighed, and Peter could feel that he was genuinely enjoying the feeling of the big boy's hands on him. "For you, anything...."
Peter reached across with his left hand and stroked the boy's cheek, lifting his chin to face him. "You're a beautiful boy, Will," he whispered.
"Mmmmy nnnname is Andy," the boy stuttered pitifully. "Yyyou know...."
"I do, but not how you think.... I can feel your pain...."
The boy laughed at him angrily and pulled away. "Get out of here, I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Will," Peter said, rising up and looming over the boy, still a friendly presence, "I can make it go away.... I can make it all go away...."
"You're crazy," the boy said, getting scared and backing away, but Peter grabbed him and held his arm tight. Looking deep into Will's eyes, Peter felt the boy relax and step into him. The boy trembled against Peter's hard body.
Peter leaned in and kissed the boy softly. "I'm sorry for what you've been through, but it's over now," he whispered in Will's ear. As he sank his fangs into the boys neck, he felt Will stiffen and then relax in his arms. Richard was on him in seconds but couldn't pry him from the boy, as the life drained from him.
"Pete, stop! For God's sake, stop!" Richard's cries were in vain, and if he pulled any harder, Peter's fangs would simply rip Will's throat out.
When Will slipped away, Peter settled him gently to the ground and ripped at his throat with his claws, tearing away the bite marks, while Richard looked on, horrified. "What have you done?"
"I took away his pain," Peter said softly, staring off into the dark. A world full of pain. "I took away his pain...." He scarcely noticed Richard's arms wrap around him, though he did feel the man shaking. "Are you alright?"
Richard wouldn't meet his gaze, but managed to cough out, "No."
"What?"
"You just ... killed him. He didn't deserve it...."
"Did he deserve to live a life of endless suffering? Did he deserve to be subjected daily to the pain that was tearing him apart? You and Sebastian think that it's okay to kill to protect others, to kill for the common good! But this was mercy, not vengeance!"
Peter stormed off into the woods and Richard tried to keep up with him, but the boy was freshly fed and strong. At last, he made his way back to the mansion, alone, and slipped inside without being seen. Or so he thought.
"You were out," Sebastian asked from the kitchen, not needing to see him.
Stepping inside to find his master cooking a light dinner for his inner circle of wizards, Avery, the colonel, and Sarah Light, as well as a few others. "I was ... hunting with Pete...."
Without looking up, Sebastian noted, "He seems to be doing a lot of that lately...." Richard grunted and Sebastian arched his eyebrows. "He's behaving himself, isn't he?"
"He's ... covering his tracks," Richard said, guardedly.
"That's good ... but...."
"I'm watching out for him, Sebastian," Richard said, not wanting this to go any further. He knew the elder vampire could read his thoughts in an instant, but he knew Sebastian wouldn't without cause. He didn't want to give him cause, because he knew Sebastian would find his own inner doubt. Richard thought Pete was sliding off the deep end, and he didn't know what, if anything, he could do about it.
Sebastian gave Richard a long look, but nodded. "Let me know if there's anything I need to do."
"I will," Richard said, feeling guilty even as he lied.
Sebastian walked upstairs that evening feeling every bit as old as he was, weighted down by the day. His shoulders were slumped as he tossed his clothes into the hamper and sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay," James asked as he crawled up behind Sebastian and rubbed his shoulders.
"No," Sebastian replied heavily. "I'm not."
James squeezed him and said, "Anything I can do?"
"You're doing it," Sebastian said, smiling weakly. Squeezing James's strong arms, he said, "I always dreamed that when I met you, we'd spend at least a lifetime enjoying ourselves, seeing the world, doing ... whatever we wanted.... Maybe I'd even step down from the Council.... Can you imagine?"
"Honestly, no.... But it sounds like it might be fun for a few decades," James said with a laugh. "But I just don't think you could do it...."
"I suppose not, but it would be nice to have had some peace," Sebastian laughed and lay back into James, letting the boy hold him close. "But alas!"
James giggled at his dramatics and tickled him playfully as they fell back onto the bed and rolled around, playfully wrestling around. James, as always, managed to calm Sebastian and redirect his attention to ... more pleasant pursuits.