Beyond the Stone, page 18
***
When they got home, Bane made sure that his mother was comfortable in her bed and that she had her tea. “Now, don’t go putting that pixie dust in the tea, sweet Asher. I think I will finally sleep better without it.” She reached out and patted his cheek. “Sweet Asher of ashes.”
He kissed her on the head, much as she had kissed him, and said, “Good night, Mother.”
“Good night, sweet Asher. Go and have fun with Jackson now, he’s been very patient.”
Bane chuckled and went out to find the man he loved. Eventually, after looking for him downstairs, he found him upstairs sitting in Bane’s leather chair that he kept in his bedroom for reading, not that he did much of that.
Jackson was sitting reading a pornography magazine with the title “His Hot Hole”. Jackson looked up from the magazine. “What fascinating reading material you have, Bane. Don’t you own any books?” he asked, with a smirk.
“Hey, that’s not fair. I have a book.” Bane reached over to his bedside table, grabbed a book from there, and threw it at Jackson.
Jackson picked up the book and looked at it. “The collected Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet?” he asked.
“Yeah, I like a little bit of deep reading.”
“Do you have any other books?”
“Nah, the great thing about that one is that it always reads like new. Tao is deep that way.”
Jackson stood and set the book and magazine on the chair. “You continue to surprise me.”
“So do you. Why would you assume I kept all my reading material under my mattress?’
“Well, you do keep an awful lot of...reading material there.”
“That I do. I have to ask you something.”
“You can ask me anything.”
“Was it you? Who fixed my mom?”
Jackson looked somewhat sheepish. “Well, I was with Myko and Madison the other day , I looked over at your mother and I saw this shining light inside her mind. I went in and saw that they were memories and they had been trying to find their way back inside her mind. She knew they were there but had no idea how to find them. They missed her and I could see them. I just helped them find their way home again.”
Bane looked at Jackson, at this man that held his heart and loved him even more. The fact that he would take the time and effort involved to help his mother meant more to him than he could say.
Instead of talking, he merely kissed Jackson and tried to communicate everything in the kiss. He lost himself in Jackson and felt the heat roll along his skin. Instead of fighting it, Bane just fell into Jackson and the comfort he promised.
Chapter Thirty-One
Bane kissed Jackson with his whole body.
He was completely lost to the sensation of his lips against Jackson’s, of his heartbeat speeding up as Jackson pulled at Bane’s shirt, the feel of Jackson’s fingers running along the skin of his abdomen and chest. Bane relished the feel of hands on him as he ran his fingers through Jackson’s hair, pulled at Jackson’s shirt and felt the heat rising off the skin under it. Bane was heady with it.
“God, I want you,” Bane said, breaking the kiss. He pulled Jackson’s shirt off and began walking Jackson towards the bed. Jackson looked at him with only want and desire and it lit his eyes up so that they shone like brilliant emeralds. He was the most beautiful thing that Bane had ever seen. It felt so wonderful and so wonderfully bizarre all at the same time.
Jackson pulled at Bane’s pants and Bane let him. He was desperate to feel all of Jackson beside him, inside him, on top of him. Bane wanted to lose himself in the promise of Jackson and everything that he had to offer.
They pulled at clothes and kissed, and Bane dipped his tongue into Jackson’s mouth to taste him. Jackson tasted like starshine and magic combined. He had never wanted someone so much as he wanted Jackson.
Then they were both naked and they looked at each other. Bane saw no revulsion in Jackson’s eyes, only lust, love, want, and carnal desire. Bane wanted to give himself to Jackson, every ounce of himself. He wanted it all to be Jackson’s.
Bane rose up over Jackson and then slowly took Jackson into him, sheathing his cock inside of himself and the heat spread through him. He heard Jackson groan every time he slid down and pulled Jackson farther into himself.
He looked down at Jackson and saw that he was shimmering, almost as if he was trying to teleport inside of Bane, as if he wanted nothing more than to lose himself in Bane as much as Bane wanted to lose himself in Jackson.
Reaching down, he took hold of Jackson’s nipples and gave them a few quick tweaks. Jackson gasped and he his eyes widened with longing.. Bane took Jackson’s hands to steady himself and then increased the speed with which he loved Jackson’s body.
He could feel Jackson starting to thrust and welcomed each stroke, relished the feeling of Jackson’s dick growing larger and thicker, filling Bane up completely. Soon, Jackson’s thrusts became fierce, frenzied, and urgent. He didn’t need to tell Bane that he was about to come, that he was about to lose himself inside of Bane.
Bane looked down at Jackson and began to stroke himself and Jackson groaned and gave one more powerful thrust. The sensation of Jackson coming inside of him sent Bane over the edge and he came in arcs that showered Jackson’s chest. Bane lay down on Jackson, letting his cock slip out and just held him. He took comfort from the feel and sound of Jackson’s heartbeat.
“Look at yourself,” Jackson whispered.
Bane did so and raised himself up. He looked at the skin of his arms and his abdomen and saw that the stone had changed again. It looked as if it had started to crack and there was a golden light shining through. As he watched it, the brightness of the light began to dim, but it didn’t go out completely. He glowed with his own subtle light.
He looked down at Jackson again. “What the fuck am I supposed to do now? We can’t break into a government building if I’m lit up like a fucking glow-worm.”
“Well, I suppose there must be a way to turn it off. Concentrate, see if it responds to intent.”
Bane nodded and thought about the light going out, about it being able to hide in the darkness, bending and shifting in the shadows. He heard Jackson gasp and opened his eyes. Looking down again, he saw that the cracks still held light, but now it was black and grey. It still shone, but darkly.
“What am I?” Bane asked, frightened.
“I don’t know, but you’re beautiful.”
“You have to say that, you just had your cock inside me.”
“No, I mean it. I don’t know what you are becoming, but you are beautiful.”
Bane leaned down to kiss Jackson and they watched as the light turned to gold again. “Fuck,” Bane said.
“It’ll take time to practice.”
“We don’t have time.”
“Well, we have to make time. Come here.” Jackson slid out from underneath Bane and had him stand in the centre of the room. Then he turned off the lights. Bane glowed softly, a golden light filling the room with warmth.
“Now concentrate, just like you did before. What did you think of before that turned it black?”
“I thought of the shadows and the dark.”
“You need a stronger visual.”
“What about the nothing?”
Jackson thought about it and nodded. “What do we have to lose? Picture the nothing inside your head and I’ll let you know if it works.”
Bane nodded and closed his eyes again. He pictured the nothing, that great black cloud of terror that he had seen in Myko’s lair, rolling over the hills and crashing into the barrier of magic. He heard the sound of it, the roar of the wind it caused, felt the force of it.
“Open your eyes,” Jackson said.
The light that shone through the cracks of his stone-like skin had turned black as oil. It shone in the darkness, but so did the rest of him. His skin had lost its dusty brown-and-grey hue and had taken on the blackness of the nothing.
“Woah. Is this permanent?” Bane asked.
“I don’t think so, just concentrate on me again.”
Bane did so and the golden light came back, and his stone skin faded from black to grey and brown once more.
“Good,” Jackson said. “We should try that a few more times, just to see if you get it.”
“I have a better idea,” Bane said, and made his way to Jackson with hunger in his eyes, Jackson looking somehow more beautiful when bathed by a soft, golden light. Then his lips were on Jackson’s again and there was no more need for words.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Everyone looked slightly on edge.
I guess you had to look that way when you were planning to start a rebellion, Bane thought.
“Look what way?” Jackson whispered, from beside him.
“Like we’re all going to shit ourselves,” Bane said.
“I fucking heard that!” Madison said. “Please, I think I am going to shit myself.”
“Then do it in a corner, won’t you?” Myko said. “That way, it will at least wait until morning.”
“Gods, you disgust me,” Madison said.
“Yes, but I also excite you a little bit too, don’t I, dear heart?” He laughed at her disgusted face. “I kid, I kid, truly. Are we all here?”
Bane looked around the room. Claude was next to Myko, Lucille and Darcy were holding hands. Eliza held on to Jackson’s arm. Remus and Romilda stood not too far from them with Anika, except that Anika had begun to pace across the floor. Kerkus and Orville remained stationary and looked tense.
“Yes, we are,” Bane said. “So now the eternal question is: how do we do this?”
“Well, I haven’t the foggiest,” Myko said. “You’re in charge of this shindig. You tell us.”
“I’m not in charge,” Bane said, backing away slightly. “You have the wrong man for this.”
“Actually, I think I have the right man and always have. You took care of your mother when she was ill, you survived even though your sisters and brother were taken from you and also your father. You persevered despite not knowing what your powers are, knowing that you were different than everyone else, yet you still survived and even thrived because of it.”
Myko came close to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You are the most courageous person I know. I won’t call you brave. Bravery has nothing to do with it. You merely have a choice. Shit or get off the pot and you got off the pot, my dear friend.”
Giving his shoulder a soft squeeze, Myko said, “So tell us, Bane. What are we going to do?”
Bane looked at everyone else, sure that someone would raise the alarm, tell him that he wasn’t qualified to lead, that he had no idea what he was doing, that there was somebody more qualified. Instead, everyone looked at him as if he did hold all the answers.
Turning to look at Jackson, Bane was surprised to see his lover nodding in agreement. “You have an idea,” Jackson said. “I can see it within you, like a seed struggling to grow. Let that seed grow and the idea will reveal itself to you.”
“This is fucking stupid.”
“No, it’s not,” Jackson said. “Don’t use anger to push everyone out, push this away. You can do this, Bane. I’ve known that you were meant for great things and this is only the beginning.”
“He’s right,” Madison said. “You may infuriate me to no end and piss me off on a regular basis, but I see a strength in you and a courageous spirit. You are meant for more, and this is only the first step.”
She came over to stand in front of him, next to Myko. “Please, Bane,” Madison said. “We have to make Edwards pay. We have to save those people. You will not be alone; we will be with you. Tell us what we need to do.”
Bane thought it was the word “please” that did it. He had never heard Madison say please for anything in her life, least of all to him. Bane turned to Jackson. “Are you sure? We’ll need to plan something; we can’t just go in there willy-nilly.”
Jackson smirked. “You said willy.”
Bane laughed softly. He really loved this man. “Okay all, let’s start planning. We go there tonight before any more people get hurt.”
Jackson and Madison both smiled at him.
***
They planned for a couple of hours.
Bane had taken a few minutes to think of what to do. How did he get to the second to last top floor of the Clocktower unseen? After that, how did they break through walls and then get all those people to freedom? They guessed that there were more than thirty people, mortals and supernaturals alike but they had no way of knowing for sure how many people were there. That was the amount of magic and the number of souls that Myko could feel. How did he get them all out of the Clocktower?
Jackson sensed his franticness. “Just close your eyes and calm yourself, Bane. Try and see your way through the issue. Really look within yourself. You’ll be able to see the way forward and what we have to do. I know you will.”
“Why does this all have to land on my shoulders?” Bane whispered back. “Why do I have to think of everything?”
“You don’t. You just have to give us the idea, the seed that will grow into our plan. You are not alone in this, Bane. I’m beside you and we will see this forward with you, okay?”
“Okay.” Bane was able to breathe clearly after that and the rough, frantic breath calmed to his normal breathing.
Closing his eyes, he tried to do what Jackson had suggested. He imagined himself looking within his spirit, much as they had looked within the mirrored water and seen the nothing and the people that were kept in the cell.
There was a flash of light within him and, though he normally saw all dreams in colour, he saw everything in black and white. There was a mist over everything that shimmered and sparkled. Bane wondered if this was an indication of it being in his memory, rather than something that was currently happening. He didn’t have any experience with this kind of thing, it was more Jackson’s thing, but he had to try.
He pushed forward into himself and tried to see what he could see. He arrived at the base of the Clocktower and saw all of them, all thirteen of them. He watched what they were doing and how they moved and shifted, how they danced. How they interacted with each other and how they moved like the wind.
Bane went through several scenarios like this, trying out every method and every possibility that could happen. He made sure to keep his breathing calm and his soul centred while he did this. Finally, he opened his eyes.
Everyone was looking at him with expectation and, for some of them, with excitement. Bane took in each one of them, looked each one of them in the eyes and could see that, while there was fear, there was also acceptance of what would come.
“So?” Madison asked. “Have you figured out what we’re going to do?”
“Yeah,” Bane said. “We’re going to wing it.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“I can’t believe that after all of the supposedly deep thinking you went through to think up a plan, that the best you could come up with was ‘we’ll wing it,’” Madison said with a touch of sarcasm. “We all stood there watching you for a fucking hour and the best you could come up with was that we’ll fucking wing it.”
Myko pulled a face. “I’m sure the dear boy knows that this is far too important to just wing it, don’t you, Bane? He can’t possibly mean that. Can you?” There was a nervous edge to Myko’s voice.
Bane turned around and said, “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
He heard Jackson laugh and a soft groan from Myko. “I don’t understand why I can’t see what you’re planning!” Myko said. “I should be able to see into your thoughts clear as a bell. I’ve always been able to before.”
“There is a part inside his head where he keeps the really private stuff,” Madison said, sounding just as frustrated. “I figured that out when I ran into the barrier last week. Really threw me for a fucking loop that did. Who knew that he could do that?”
“I did,” Jackson said. “I think it’s kind of hot, actually.”
“So, you know what he’s planning?” Myko said. “You could tell us.”
“No, I can’t. I don’t know what he’s got planned. You all wanted him in charge, so you just got to trust that Bane knows what he’s doing.”
“Thanks, babe,” Bane said.
“This not knowing is driving me bonkers,” Myko said.
“Suck it up, buttercup,” Madison said. “We’re almost there.”
They had chosen to walk there, as the roads were always watched for cars consisting of large groups of people. The patrol watched everything, except for those making it on foot; or in Jackson’s case, anyone able to teleport. There was no real way to track teleporting, otherwise Jackson would have been caught long before now.
They hurried through the dark quickly, having mapped out the path that they would take before leaving. It stayed off the main roads and out of the areas that had the most cameras. There was the problem of a little too much debris on the side streets, but they stepped lively around the obstacles. Myko had thought ahead to use a group locator spell that would make sure they couldn’t get lost, that the magic would gently pull them together and keep them as a whole unit. Claude made a remark about that being rather incestuous but cowered at a dark look from Lucille.
“It’s a necessity, my darling Claude,” Myko had said. “I mean, there are thirteen of us now and each one of us is essential. What would we do if we lost one of us? Or if I lost one of you? I couldn’t stand it. It would rip my soul apart,” Myko said. “This is a necessity, nothing more. It will allow us all to stay together.”
“I love you,” Claude said.
“You’re sweet,” Myko said. Looking at Myko, Bane knew that though he didn’t say the words, that Myko loved Claude too, his taste in men besides the matter. The love and lust that Myko had for Claude was palpable.
They quick-walked and almost ran. All of them felt the unsaid thought that they didn’t have a lot of time. If Edwards would take a girl and experiment on her, there was no telling what he would do. There was also the question of why they were keeping them there and what they were doing to them once they were removed from the room filled with cells. Bane was pretty sure that he didn’t want to find out, but he felt driven to learn the Clocktower’s secrets. Knowing them, it would be the first of many.
