Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 09:53:17 -0600
From: Katya_Dee <concertoind@gmail.com>
Subject: Debts, chapter 11

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction; all the resemblances are just
eerie coincidences. Everything in the story is owned by myself beloved,
everything is copyrighted. Contains descriptive sexual scenes between males
- don't read it if you shouldn't.

Note: This is a 3rd installment in the semi-series. The first story is
Specter's
Gamble </nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/specters-gamble/> and
the second one is The Year of the
Salamander </nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/year-of-the-salamander/>

I would recommend reading those first (at least Specter's Gamble)
otherwise, some scenes and characters are not going to make much sense,
since you wouldn't be familiar with the background and I didn't describe
much of the previous events in this story. Other than that, enjoy! Feel
free to e-mail me.

****

- XI -



            "What do you mean, black streams...?" Magda asked dumbfoundedly,
clutching onto the cloth-covered mirror.

   "I mean black streams," Raven nodded.

   It was 11:15, and they were sitting in the same coffee shop where they
would usually meet. Raven told Magda about the old hag, the cat, and black
streams, leaving out the part with the damn cat following him home and
almost sending him to hell. He had no desire to explain to Magda how he was
able to stop the cat; he didn't feel like sharing with her the fact that he
was in some very bizarre relationship with Julian -- it was none of her
business.

   "Holy hell..." Magda muttered and shook her head. "Raven, I had no idea
about that...!"

   "Figured that much," he nodded and drank his coffee. "Don't worry about
it," he shrugged. "I am good, so it's okay... So, tell me... Will they need
anything else...?"

   "Well..." she shot him a quick look. "They *were *asking if you
reconsidered about the rock..."

   "Nope," he said immediately.

   Even though it would be easy to get the rock now (the blond would simply
give it to him), Raven had some weird, tingling feeling about that rock.
These people were willing to pay an unbelievable amount of money for
something that at first sounded and looked downright ridiculous. Just like
the mirror did. However, in the mirror's case, he almost got killed by very
unpleasant means. He had no idea what that mirror could do, but he had a
suspicion it would be something major. Therefore, he had a feeling that the
damn rock would be something as major, if not bigger. He frowned slightly,
thinking that he'd better tell Julian that he is apparently using some hell
of a magical artifact for a paperweight.

   "Magda, no," he repeated firmly. "Don't even bother bringing this up
again, okay? Just remember..." He looked at her very seriously. "N..." he
said slowly. "O... Just two letters; you can remember that, right? I could
write it down for you if..."

   "Oh, shut up!" she grimaced, and he laughed. Suddenly, she narrowed her
eyes slightly. "What's with you?" she asked, watching him like a hawk.

   "What?" he downed the rest of his coffee, still grinning, and thought of
getting a refill.

  "Did you meet someone...?" she asked with suspicion, and he stopped
laughing.

   "Why?" he asked incredulously. *"What the hell...?" *was the only thought
in his head right now.

   "You look..." she frowned, as if looking for the right word, which was
probably the case. "...complete," she said finally, and Raven just stared at
her.

   *"Complete?!"*

   "Well, of course, I look complete!" he managed to snort finally, ignoring
desperate `Oh, hell, no!' in his head. "I just got a hell of a payment...!"

   "No..." she shook her head doubtfully, her eyes still narrowed in a
suspicious squint. "No, it's not that kind of complete... Not the money..."

   "It's the money," he nodded firmly. "I love it *that *much, believe me!"

   "Huh..." she said, clearly not buying it.

   "I gotta go," Raven said and got up. "Call me if..." he shrugged.

   "Yeah," she muttered and looked into her cup. "Coffee is..."

   "Yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes and threw some money on the table.
"Later, Magda!"

   "Uh huh..." she said, still watching him like a suspicious hawk.

   He walked towards Julian's house (since his car was still parked next to
his apartment building, and some weird proud pang made him decline
Salamander's offer to use his other car several hours ago; he had no idea
why), and was swearing softly through his clenched teeth.

   "Goddammit..." he muttered, talking to no one in particular.
"Complete...? Like hell I do...! She just wanted me to get the damn rock,
that's what it was... What is it about that rock, anyway? Crap, I need to
tell him tonight... Don't forget, don't forget..." he slightly tapped his
forehead with his forefinger. "Remember, before he starts screwing your
brains out, tell him about the goddamn rock...! Complete... Bullshit...! The
rock, dipshit; just remember the rock... Office, desk, green rock..."

   Thinking of the office and the desk immediately brought some other
memories, and he hissed all the way, until he got to the house. He wasn't
surprised at Magda's curiosity, however. They knew each other for the last
five years, and they were rather tight. Friends-tight, that is. He met her
in the same bank she was working (and hating) at now when he was trying to
withdraw some money from one of his accounts. The clerk behind the window
seemed to be brand-new, and he kept screwing up every single possible and
impossible thing. Finally, when Raven's eyelid started twitching rather
violently, Magda came to clerk's much needed aid thus saving the miserable
idiot from something probably quite nasty. She fixed everything quickly,
smoothly, and with great, gloomy `God-I-hate-this-place!' gusto.

   Raven's mood improved somewhat thanks to that, and the next time he
showed up at the bank, he firmly said that Magda and Magda alone would be
the one to help him. Soon after that, they decided to hang out, and unlike
in most cases like this one, their hanging out together never led to
anything more than coffee and bagels (or occasional beer and pretzels). She
never seemed to care much about Raven in other way than just a friend, and
it was just fine with Raven, who, to be honest, never cared much about
females anyway. She did tell him, however (on numerous occasions), that she
had to be the very first one to know if Raven ever gets involved with
someone for real.

   "I call the dibs," she said with great determination. "I am your friend,
therefore, I call the dibs!"

   That was true -- she was his friend. In fact, she was his *only *friend.
She knew who he was, she knew what he did for a living, and she never
freaked out. On the contrary -- she would get him jobs once in a while. It
puzzled the hell out of him at first, but then he decided to accept it as a
gift.

   He finally got to the house, and realized that he didn't have a key. He
frowned and tried the doorknob. It wouldn't budge. Raven sighed and was
about to unlock it in his usual manner (he has done it before; now it would
probably take him two minutes at the most, if that) when he decided to ring
the doorbell first. To his surprise, the door opened fifteen or so seconds
later, and Raven stared at the serious and somewhat snotty face of the man
who seemed to be in his mid-forties.

   "May I help you?" the man said in dignified voice after scanning Raven's
jeans and leather jacket with slightly raised eyebrow.

   "Umm," Raven said, trying to figure out who the hell this guy was.

   "Yes...?" the man raised the same eyebrow slightly higher -- a thing Raven
found quite amusing.

   "Julian didn't mention anything about me?" Raven asked carefully,
figuring that this must be the butler, and man's second eyebrow immediately
flew up.

   "Excuse me...?" he said with expression that all but screamed, `Get the
hell out of here before I call militia, you dirty liar!'

   "I see," Raven nodded with a sigh, melancholically thinking that it was
rather long way from this place to his apartment if he decided to start
walking. "Was he even home when you got here?"

   "Please," the man said with tight dignity and restraint. "Leave the
premises."

   "Look..." Raven said somewhat patiently, but the man interrupted him with
a slightly louder and firmer:

   "Please!"

   Raven sighed again, thankful for a fact that he grabbed his phone before
he left the house, and walked away, perfectly aware of the fact that the man
was watching him warily, making sure that Raven wouldn't try to sneak into
the house and (God forbid!) steal something. Raven snorted to himself.
"Where were you on that Wednesday night, back in August, buddy...?" he
muttered under his breath, getting out of the man's view. "Or on Friday, for
that matter..."

   He stopped several minutes later, sat down on the sidewalk, lit a
cigarette, and whipped his phone out of his pocket.

   "Hey," he said a minute or so later. "Busy?"

   "Not at the moment," he heard a very familiar purring drawl. "How was the
trade-in?"

   "It went fine," Raven nodded with a small smile. "Got paid, everything is
good..."

   "Excellent," Julian purred on the other end of the line. "I could come
back for lunch and..."

   "Umm," Raven said. "Yeah, about that..."

   "What?" Now the blond sounded almost cautious, which Raven found
puzzling. He sounded like someone who expected to hear some bad news.

   "Well," Raven sighed. "I got to your house, since I don't have my
apartment key or my car..." he dragged on his cigarette.

   "I was expecting you to come back..." Now the blond sounded slightly
confused.

   "Did you tell your butler?" Raven asked and shivered in a suddenly sharp
blow of the late December wind.

   "Butler...?" Julian asked dumbfoundedly.

   "The mid-forties-looking guy," Raven said and lit another cigarette,
enjoying the illusion of warmth the glowing tip gave him. "A bit taller than
myself beloved, painfully rigid back, and some seriously impressive eyebrow
skills..."

   Julian remained stunned-silent for several seconds.

   "Please, do not tell me he didn't let you in..." he finally said slowly,
and now, he wasn't purring; Raven could've sworn he heard low growling.

   "Sorry," Raven sighed. "He didn't let me in."

   Julian remained silent for a full minute, and Raven sighed again,
shivering in that damn wind.

   "Look," he said patiently. "Just call him, tell him to let me in, I'll
take my... Oh, wait..." he closed his eyes. "You never grabbed my keys, did
you?" he asked in defeat.

   "Where are you?" the blond asked in the eerily calm voice.

   "Just behind the corner of your house," Raven hungrily dragged on his
cigarette, trying to convince his body it was getting the desired warmth. "I
had to make sure I wasn't in your butler's view... He looked like was about
to call militia, and call me crazy, but I don't have a slightest desire to
spend the rest of the day in jail until you sort this whole thing out..."

   "I will be right there," the blond said in the same calm voice. "Please,
don't go anywhere."

   "I won't," Raven promised. "Not unless your butler sees me that is..."

   "I will be right there," Julian said again, darker this time, and hung up
the phone.

   Raven sighed yet again and shut his phone. He shoved it into his pocket,
and was about to light another cigarette, when he heard:

   "I thought I told you to leave the premises!"

   Well, shit, Raven thought and looked up.

   "I did," he nodded. "I also called Julian."

   The man's face all but screamed out loud, "Oh, please!"

   "Look..." Raven was surprised with the amount of patience it appeared he
had. "Just let me wait for him here, and..."

   "You have some nerve...!" the man said, and Raven frowned at the amount
of hatred in his intonation. "Nobody *ever *comes here for the master; and
nobody ever calls him by his first name... I gave you the warning;
therefore, I am going to call mil..."

   "Don't bother," Raven sighed tiredly and got up, wishing for the blond to
hurry up already. "Leaving, okay? Save your minutes..." he muttered and
walked away, perfectly aware of the man watching and maybe even following
him. He thought of throwing on the invisibility, but then decided, `Nah!
I'll let Julian to deal with him...!'

   He knew that it was nothing but a misunderstanding, but the entire ordeal
infuriated him, to be honest. He knew that he didn't look like someone who
would be friends with the blond *("Friends, right...* *That's what they call
it now...?"), *but goddammit, he didn't look like someone who would live
under a bridge either!

   "I am going to enjoy the show..." he thought darkly, knowing that
Julian's eerily calm voice on the phone was anything but good for the
butler.

   He walked in the bone-chilling wind for at least another block, when his
phone started to ring. He immediately knew that it was the blond.

   "Hey," he sighed into the phone.

   "Where are you?" the phone asked sharply. "If you say `militia,' I swear
to God..."

   "No," he sighed again. "Not militia... I am a couple of blocks away from
your house... Your butler is a hell of a watchdog," he added after turning
around and facing the damn wind now. "You should give him a raise really..."

   Yeah, he expected that unintelligible string of obscenities, therefore,
he smiled.

   "Just start walking towards the damn house," Julian said a minute later.
"I am driving towards you... Hold on..." he said slowly. "I think I see
you..." More silence. "Yeah, it's you, all right... Be there in a few
seconds," and the line went dead.

   Raven shoved his phone into his pocket, and was beyond relieved to see a
very familiar car. He stopped, waiting for it to freeze right next to him,
and then he pulled the passenger's door open.

   "You have no idea how bloody cold I am," he said and turned on the
heater, keeping his palms right underneath it.

   Julian said something that Raven decided not to clarify, and closed his
eyes when the heater started to pour heat down his trembling from cold
fingers.

   "Just give your staff my picture..." he said a few seconds later. "Or
just come to my place..." he shrugged, and the blond scowled at that.

   "Sorry about that," he said in a very even voice. "I left before anyone
showed up; left the front door unlocked, figuring they would get the
hint..." He locked his jaw tightly.

   Raven didn't say anything to that; he simply enjoyed that wonderful
warmth that erupted from the car heater. Julian brought the car to a
screeching halt, without even bothering to get into the driveway, and then
he got out, slamming the door so hard that for a few seconds, Raven believed
that the window would shatter. It never did, and he climbed outside as well,
following the blond.

   Julian all but kicked the front door open and walked inside.

   "Master Sal..." the very familiar-looking guy started saying, and then he
froze in his spot after seeing Raven.

   "Get out," Julian said quietly, and butler's eyes grew huge immediately.
Raven was surprised with himself when he didn't experience a slightest
desire to say something like, "Oh, it was just a misunderstanding..."
Instead, he kicked off his boots and gave the butler a very nasty smile.

   "Master Salamander..." the butler tried again, and Julian's eyes got so
narrow that Raven started wondering whether the butler was that ballsy or
just suicidal.

   "Get... Out..." the blond said again with great restraint in his voice.
"Do *not*come back."

   "I have been serving you for years..." the butler stuttered, and Julian's
eyes immediately grew darker.

   "That is the only reason I am not hurting you right now," he said
quietly. "Get out!"

   The butler threw a desperate look at Raven, and the dark-haired man gave
him a smile.

   "Told you so," he shrugged lightly, and butler's expression became
terrified.

   "I am so sorry..." he started saying, but the blond cut him short with a
very quiet:

   "Get out...!"

   The man opened his mouth as if to say something, but at the last second,
he wisely decided against that. He walked outside after grabbing a set of
keys off the small table, his hands trembling, and when he was out of the
house, the blond slammed the door shut. Raven listened to his inner self
more carefully, and when the only emotion he found was satisfaction, he just
shrugged and followed Julian into the house.

   "Out of curiosity," he said when they got into one of the rooms, which
had all sorts of daggers, swords, and knives displayed all over it. "How
long has he been serving you?"

   "Ten years," the blond said, and Raven blinked at that.

   "Ten years...?" he thought dumbfoundedly. "And he kicked him out just
like that because of this whole thing...? Holy hell..." He looked at the
blond very thoughtfully.

   "Well," he said carefully, watching Julian weighing one of the daggers in
his hand. "You need to get back to work, and I guess I will..."

   "I'll get back to work tomorrow," the blond said in his normal purring
drawl, and suddenly, he was very close to Raven, that dagger glistening
rather dangerously. Raven's eyes widened just a little, and Julian brought
the dagger closer to his face.

   "I already told you that I am not going to hurt you," he said in a low
voice without blinking. "It will never change. This..." he ran his finger
along the blade. "...is not for you..." He leaned closer just so he could
place one of his tantalizing licks on Raven's earlobe. "It's for me," he
finished and pulled away slightly, handing Raven the dagger.

   Raven just looked at the blade without taking it.

   "You enjoy hurting me," the blond purred. "I know it..." He leaned just a
little closer. "You enjoy it as much as I do, Raven... We are not that much
different..."

   Raven looked at him without saying anything for a minute or so, then he
shifted his gaze towards the dagger, and let a small smile to snake its way
across his mouth. He took the blade and slowly swung it between his fingers
-- he was quite good when it came to knives and such.

   "I know," he said in a low voice, and ran the blade on Julian's
collarbone, causing the blond to half-close his eyes. Raven licked the blood
off the blade and gave the blond another small smile. "Strip!" he ordered,
and the blond did just that.
****
A little of shameless self-advertising. You can find all of my stories
(including
Debts) here <http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=3895328>