The Dragon Eater, page 26
part #1 of The Tharassas Cycle Series
Stuck in this house in the heart of nowhere, he felt restless, trapped. Yes, it’s time to go.
From the Manor House window, he could see halfway across the Heartland below as the valley slowly faded into darkness. Hencha plants filled this side of it, moving like water in the wind under the light of the twin moons. The Elsp wound around the edge of the fields in the near distance on the far side of the foothills they’d spent the afternoon weaving through. Its waters sparkled in the moonlight. He could almost smell the river water.
He shook his head. That’s ridiculous. It’s kilometers away.
Raven took a deep breath of the cool night air. Winter was on the way, the balmy days of summer already giving way to fall. Still, it was warm enough to rough it outside for a bit, at least until he found a town to hole up in while he figured everything out.
He looked up at the moons again. How soon would they meet? Spin would know.
He rummaged through his bag and pulled out the silver sphere. The walls here were thick enough to block out the noise, but he opened the door and looked each way to make sure the hall was empty just in case, and then pulled the heavy wooden shutters closed.
He lit the small lantern by his bedside. Then he sank down on the bed with his back against the wall and his boots hanging over the edge. “Hey, Spin, wake up.”
Spin’s golden lights spun, brightening the dark room. “Morning, boss!”
Raven frowned. “Keep it quiet, would you? People are sleeping. Give me an earpiece?”
A little piece of Spin extruded itself. Raven picked it up and shoved it in his ear.
“What is this place? It’s a lot nicer than your usual digs.”
Raven rubbed his ear. “The Manor House. It’s where Silya’s mother lives.”
“Ah, the screeching, vicious daughter of an aur and a mud mole?”
Raven laughed and then covered his mouth. It was weird to hear his own voice emanating from his familiar. I said that? “Better forget that one, Spin. She’s the Hencha Queen now. And we made up. Mostly.” She had defended him, after all. Several times now.
“Sure, boss. Like that’ll last.” His golden lights spun around him.
I assure you there will be consequences. Raven shuddered. Maybe he could do without her supervision too. He wasn’t too keen on those promised consequences.
“Hencha Queen.” Spin was quiet for a moment. “The link between humans and the hencha plants?”
“You got it.” One thing about Spin — he really paid attention. He? She? He used male pronouns, but what was he, really? Raven liked to think Spin was like him. “Hey Spin, are you … male? Female?”
“Neither, boss. But they programmed me to respond to my users in the way that makes them most comfortable. I like to think of myself as male. I can lower my voice, if you like.” That last part came out sounding like one of the sea master’s dock workers.
Raven chuckled softly. Programmed? “Just be yourself.” He held up the sphere to look it over. How had someone made this? Maybe Aik was right. Technology really was magic. “I have a question for you.”
“You always do, boss. I’m not a freaking encyclopedia.”
“Incyclone … never mind.” If I had a copper for every word Spin used that I didn’t know … “The two moons — Tarsis and Pellin — they’re getting closer and closer every night. When will they … meet?”
“Hmmm. Good question, boss.” His lights flashed. “Can I see them?”
“Oh, of course.” I’m an idiot. He slipped off the bed, opened one of the shutters a crack, and held up the sphere toward the sky. What do you use for eyes?
Spin was quiet for a long time.
Raven tapped on Spin’s metallic shell. “Everything all right there?”
“Yes. That’s enough. Thank you, Raven.”
No “boss?” That’s weird. Raven pulled the shutter closed and returned to bed. “So?”
“Conjunction will happen in about nine Tharassan days.”
Raven grimaced. That was soon. “And will they … collide?”
“Nope. They’re in separate orbits. Pellin will pass in front of Tarsis, but neither will physically touch the other.”
“Ah.” Raven closed his eyes and tried to picture it. He’d seen it somewhere before … in one of those weird dreams.
“Boss?”
“What?”
“Thanks. I haven’t seen the sky like that in a long time.”
Raven scratched his head. How long had Spin lain buried in that field before a quick-moving storm had unearthed him and the hencha had found him? More than a hundred years, likely. Buried alive. Raven shuddered. “Spin, you all right?”
Again, that long silence.
I should leave well enough alone. He set Spin down on the bed covers and pulled out his carry sack. He put his few things into it, as well as the Jel’Faya book he’d nicked in Tri’Aya’s study, something called Highlands Fling. He’d never read that one before, though he’d thought he had all of Faya’s works. Changing his mind, he slipped the book into one of his pants pockets. Just in case Kek — or Tri’Aya — searches my bag
“I miss the stars.”
Spin’s unexpected confession surprised him, reminding him the little guy had been on a starship. “What was it like?” He piled his dirty clothes into the carry sack. They stank to high heaven … how had he ever thought they were clean enough to wear again?
“Flying among them?”
“Yeah.” Raven sank down on his bed next to the familiar, closing his eyes and trying to picture it.
“It’s hard to describe, boss. I was free. Just me and the ship and the crew, soaring through the cosmos …” There was definitely a wistful note this time. “I wish —”
There was a soft knock at the door.
Raven’s shoulders tensed. “Sorry, Spin. Shut down, please,” he whispered.
“Aw boss …”
Raven pulled out the eardrop and watched as it melted back into Spin’s skin. “Now, Spin.”
The sphere’s lights went out without another word, though its darkness seemed almost snarky.
Raven tucked the sphere into his sack, hoping it wasn’t Ser Kek come to check on him. “It’s open.”
Aik popped his head into the room. “Everyone else is asleep. Can I come in?”
Just Aik. Some of the tension fled from Raven’s shoulders. “Please.”
Aik closed the door quietly behind him. “Sorry to bother you. I couldn’t sleep.” His friend looked at the carry sack on the bed. “Going somewhere?” He frowned, and Raven could smell disappointment radiating from him.
“I haven’t decided,” It wasn’t a total lie.
“Right.” Aik’s shoulders sagged like they were carrying the weight of Heaven’s Reach. “Why can’t things just go back to the way they were?” He rubbed his right arm absently.
Raven shivered. It was hard being alone with Aik and not reaching out to touch him. Especially now, when his best friend looked so lost and vulnerable. Be strong, Raven.
He could smell Aik’s desire, his need. And his touch lingered in Raven’s mind. That kiss … “I know what you mean. I miss normal.” In his element, roaming the city and looking for easy scores.
Nothing was normal anymore, and his defenses were starting to crumble. Raven needed Aik — needed an anchor. Aside from Spin, Aik was the one constant in his life, the only one he could truly count on.
But he'd rejected Aik so many times before. I’m a thief, and Aik’s a guard. Does that even still matter?
Aik looked around the small guest room. “Just like mine. Nowhere to sit.”
Raven scooted over on the bed. “Sit next to me.”
Aik hesitated. “You sure?”
“I don’t bite.” Unless you want me to.
Where in Heaven’s Reach did that come from? Though they were, technically, in Heaven’s Reach now … Think about urses. Or hencha berry foldovers. Anything but Aik and Aik’s touch …
Aik sank down on the bed next to him, oblivious to Raven’s confusion. “That was a heck of a day.”
“It’s been a whole godscursed week.”
Aik snorted. He sank back against the wall, his eyes closed.
Aik was beautiful, his muscled arms relaxed, eyes closed on his drawn face, his slightly arched eyebrows — a tired angel. Raven’s gaze fell to his bare right arm — maybe the gauntlet was weighing him down. “You can’t make it appear when you want?”
Aik’s eyes popped open. “What?”
“The — thing on your arm. The gauntlet.” He reached out, then paused, his hand hovering mere centimeters above Aik’s skin.
“Oh. No. It just seems to show up when I need it. Or when it wants to. But I can still feel it, even now.” His eyes met Raven’s.
“May I?”
“Sure?” Aik held out his arm.
Raven touched Aik’s forearm, sending an involuntary shiver up his own arm. The skin was warm, covered with fine blond hair, but there was something else. Something cold, like a fog wrapped around it — Raven could feel it with his heightened senses, but there was nothing there.
Goose bumps rose on Aik’s skin at his touch.
Raven frowned. “There’s something … but I can’t …” He could smell Aik’s unique scent — the tang of leather and the musk of his sweat sharp in his nose. And something else — a deep hunger.
Aik shivered under his touch.
Raven’s pulse quickened. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He wanted to protect Aik the way the guard had always protected him. To hold him tight and tell him everything was going to be fine, but he didn’t know how. I can’t. I shouldn’t.
“Me neither. Not when I touch the skin. But I can still sense it wrapped around my arm tightly, like a cast. … It’s hard to explain. And sometimes I feel these compulsions …”
Both of us are broken. Raven pulled his hand back, biting his lip to distract himself from Aik’s tantalizing closeness. “I wish I hadn’t taken that package. It felt the same way. I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it. I needed to take it.” The words cut him as they tumbled out of his mouth. “And look at me, now. I’m a freak.” Raven held up his arms. Scales covered them from shoulder to wrist, and the change was creeping up the back of his hand too.
“With your gloves on, no one would even know.” This time Aik reached out to touch his arm.
“Don’t.” Raven pulled away as if he’d been burned. “Look.” He pulled off his boots, exposing the roughness underneath. He rubbed his left shin and the skin flaked off, revealing more scales.
Aik’s eyes strayed from Raven’s shins up his leg to his crotch.
“Still very much the same there, thank you.” Raven flushed, his face hot again.
Aik snorted again, then covered his mouth, looking at the door.
Everything was quiet, and no one burst in on them, demanding to know what they were up to.
Raven reached out to Aik, turning his head to meet his gaze. “You’re as scared of Kek as I am, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.” Aik blushed, managing a tiny grin. “And Silya.”
“Her too.” The newly minted Queen scared the hencha berries out of him.
Aik took his hand. “That’s what you’re most worried about, isn’t it? What you’re turning into?” Aik’s eyes bored into his, and there wasn’t the slightest bit of pity there.
Raven bit his lip. “Yeah. Maybe it’s stupid. But it scares me, Aik. What am I becoming? What’s going to happen to me next?” For the first time in his life, he truly regretted something he’d done.
Well, maybe the second. But he must not have screwed that one up too badly — Aik was still here.
As if Aik could read his thoughts, he squeezed Raven’s hand and his gaze bored into him. “I’m not going anywhere. We’ll get through this together.” He glanced at the carry sack. “As long as you don’t run off on me.”
Raven trembled, overwhelmed. The firm foundations of his world had literally begun shaking beneath them. He was out of his depth, a city thief in the country. And here Aik was, offering a lifeline.
Aik pulled him close, his arms wrapped around Raven’s shoulders.
His embrace was warm, safe, real. It felt so good just to be held. Raven closed his eyes, breathing in Aik’s scent. I can’t.
“I will always be here for you, no matter what.” Aik’s breath was hot in his ear.
Raven stiffened. I’ve heard that before.
Aik let him go, frowning. “What did I say?”
He’s so close. “Mar’Orn said that to me. Just before she died.” I shouldn’t.
“Your mother?”
Raven put a scaled hand on Aik’s cheek, the cool skin of his palm touching the warmth of Aik’s. “Yes. But I believe you when you say it.”
Aik grinned, and then leaned forward and kissed him.
Raven blinked as their lips met, but his body responded. A flush of warmth flooded him, and his heart threatened to burst out of his chest as Little Raven sprang to life in his pants. But his mind was not on board.
This will never work. He pushed Aik away again.
Not because he was a thief and Aik was a guard. That seemed irrelevant now, a difference without a distinction. He saw it for what it was, an excuse to keep his best friend from getting too close. He had a better reason. Because I’m not human anymore.
Aik read it in his eyes. Oh, those eyes.
“Rave, I don’t care. About the thief thing. Or about this.” He ran his fingers up the scales on Raven’s arm, and Raven shivered. “You’re beautiful to me, no matter what. You always have been.” He lifted Raven’s scaled hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly. “I just want to be with you.”
Aik was as scared and lost as he was. Raven could smell his fear, burnt and brittle like smoke after a fire. They had that in common — they needed one another — and it was more than everything else that stood between them.
Why didn’t I see that before? His fear melted away, and he pulled Aik to him, their lips meeting again, sending a tingling buzz through his entire body like an electric shock. He tasted his friend’s surprise as Aik’s shoulders stiffened and then just as quickly relaxed.
He gave in. Warmth filled him again, but this time it was different, more than just lust.
Aik pulled off his shirt, and they fell onto the bed together. Aik’s body was on fire, his face a furnace against Raven’s neck, and Raven responded to him like a starving man at a banquet. Aik kissed his skin again, working his way up Raven’s arm to his neck.
Raven shuddered under his tender touch.
The world melted away as they became lost in their hunger for one another. Raven forgot about the egg, about his scales, about the whole of the horrid last three days.
His body practically hummed with pent-up energy. He and Aik moved together, rising above it all, shaking the little bed. Aik was his entire world. Why did I ever resist you?
It was so much better than the last time. They were finally ready. He was ready, and his walls came down as he opened everything he was to Aik.
Time seemed to lose all meaning as they rose and fell together. Aik’s lips set his skin on fire, his touch making Raven’s body tingle. He pulled Aik close, embracing him as they connected, body to body and soul to soul.
They flew through the night, and it was better than Raven could have hoped. He wanted it to last forever, this time out of time, this glorious ascension.
They peaked together, collapsing on the bed in a heap of arms and legs and slick skin.
“Holy … green hell … that was good.” Aik’s skin was warm and slick against his, and he felt closer to him than he’d felt to anyone in a long time. Maybe ever.
He glanced at the door. No one had come to check on them — the place must have thick walls. He reached up to touch Aik’s cheek, frowning when he saw the scales on his arm.
Aik lifted himself up, looking down at him, sweat dripping from his forehead. There was no judgment on his face, only dopey love. He was the most beautiful thing Raven had ever seen. “You still scared?”
“A little.” Raven reached up to touch his cheek. “But as long as I have you, I can deal with it.”
Aik leaned down to kiss him again, and his body responded like he’d been waiting for this his whole life. Well, maybe I have.
It changed nothing, really. The world was still upside down.
But for one glorious moment, he could forget all of that. He was relaxed, safe and at peace, and finally where he belonged.
He would worry about the rest of it tomorrow.
20
Hero
Aik sat up in bed, his back against the sandstone wall, and watched over Raven. His lover was fast asleep in the small bed next to him, peaceful and innocent as a puppy.
He’d finally gotten what he’d wanted, all these long years. Raven had lowered his walls, letting Aik in both physically and emotionally. It had been every bit as good as he’d hoped. Their connection was electric, and his body still hummed with the carnal music they’d made together. He wanted to do it again, but Raven was exhausted.
When he asked Raven to move in with him again, he would say yes. He was sure of it.
Still, in the golden afterglow, he couldn’t sleep. Doubts assailed him in the quiet hours of the night.
He could still feel the tightness of the invisible gauntlet on his arm. Where had it come from? What did it want from him? He had begun to think of it as a living thing, the way it ordered him about.
What might it make him do next? What if it wanted him to hurt Raven?
Like he hurt you so many times?
Aik grimaced. Another thought that was not his own. That scared the hencha berries out of him, and he had no idea what to do about it. El’Oss, help me. Maybe the elder god could do something about his wretched state. I can’t even get the damned thing off. Maybe Raven was right. He needed to tell Silya.
