Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:11:34 -0600
From: Katya_Dee <concertoind@gmail.com>
Subject: Debts, chapter 15

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.

****

- XV -


            "I didn't know if she knew about you and magic," Raven said ten
minutes after Julian started driving. "Therefore, I didn't say anything...
Can you get us back via spell instead of driving?"

   Julian threw him a quick look and smiled his usual way, as if
appreciating the fact that Raven kept his mouth shut.

   "No," he said with audible regret. "I am not *that *good, unfortunately."

   "I see," Raven sighed and leaned on the back of the seat. He lit a
cigarette and handed it to Julian. The blond took it with yet another small
smile. "How long will it take us to get back?" Raven asked. "I mean, you
have to be at work tomorrow, and..." he shrugged without finishing the
sentence, knowing that the blond would know the end of it anyway. He was
right.

   "A couple of hours," Julian said with regret. "I will stay awake for as
long as you want me to though," he nodded. "I don't care much about sleep. I
mean, it's certainly nice, but it is not my main priority," he nodded
without taking his eyes off the road.

   Raven looked at the car clock; it read 5:30.

   "Just pull over somewhere," he said in a low voice, causing the blond to
smile yet again. "I want you to be able to function tomorrow morning... I
don't want you to go broke for real," he added, and Julian let out short
laughter.

   ...They got back home a little after eleven, due to the fact that Julian
had to pull over at least three times; one time after Raven told him to, the
second time because he felt like it, and the third time, because of both of
them. The second time was rather amusing. They just started to get into it,
and Raven was halfway through removing blond's shirt with his teeth, when
there was sharp knocking on the window of the car. Julian let out an
exasperated sigh, and rolled the window down.

   "What?" he asked impatiently after seeing some guy in militia uniform.

   "Your license, please," the guy said with restrained intonation in his
voice.

   Julian rolled his eyes and handed him his driver's license. After less
than a minute (as long as it took that guy to triple-read the name), the
trooper started blinking very furiously, as if he was trying to get rid of
something painful in his eye.

   "I apologize," he said too quickly to sound not scared. "I apologize," he
repeated with a furious nod. "Drive safely, master Salamander..." and then
he was gone from their view as if someone pushed some sort of a magic
button.

   Julian closed the window, and it took them at least an hour to get back
onto the road; maybe more than that, Raven wasn't sure. When they finally
got back home, the car clock read 11:17.

   Julian let out a string of unintelligible obscenities, and the only thing
Raven gathered from it was the fact that the blond didn't have his house
keys on him, thanks to Celeste. Raven just laughed when Julian rang the bell
for no apparent reason.

   "When I am around," he said in somewhat composed voice. "You don't need
keys, you should know that by now... Why are you ringing the bell anyway?
There is nobody in the house," he added, and the blond blinked with
self-frustration.

   Raven reached for the doorknob when, suddenly, the door swung open.

   "Tobias..." Julian said slowly with a small frown. "What are you doing
here? It is rather late..."

   Tobias was Salamander's new butler; Julian hired him a little bit longer
than a month ago. He was in his early thirties, had light-brown hair that
started to recede on his temples, matching eyes, and he was very
professional. Julian's surprise at seeing him right now was easily
understood – usually, every single member of the staff would leave at six in
the evening.

   "I was waiting for you, master Salamander," the butler said with a slight
bow of the head. "I realized that you weren't home, and I could not remember
you leaving; therefore, I checked the garage, and saw that both of your cars
were in there. I took the liberty of waiting for you, just to make sure that
everything is all right. I apologize if that displeases you."

   "I see," Julian said thoughtfully. "Everything is fine, you may leave
now."

   "Yes, master Salamander," Tobias bowed his head once more, turned around
to grab his keys, and walked outside, bowing to Raven before he left.

   "Do you think he was lying?" Raven asked when the butler disappeared in
the night. Julian's expression was still quite thoughtful.

   "I don't know," the blond answered slowly. "Probably not... It's just
unusual to see such concern."

   "Yes," Raven said in a low voice. "It is unusual, especially when the
concern is about you, and it comes from someone other than me..."

   Julian smiled at that in his usual way and closed the door after they
walked inside the house. Raven headed straight to the bedroom, concentrating
on sleep, since he was rather tired for several reasons; and Julian
disappeared in one of the rooms for several minutes. He walked into the
bedroom when Raven was about to get under the covers. The dark-haired man
froze in his spot and narrowed his eyes when he saw a slim, curved black
dagger in blond's hand.

   "You are not serious," Raven said slowly. "It's eleven-thirty at night,
and you have to get up at six-thirty..."

   "I will be fine," the blond murmured and handed the dagger to Raven.

   Raven sighed in defeat even though he could feel those exhilarating
sparks start running through him – he loved using blades on Julian, and the
blond was perfectly aware of that. The thief didn't care much about whips,
cuffs of any sort, or electrocuting (even though he would do it if the blond
was in the mood for any of that), but when it came to blades, he would
become insatiable.

   He took the dagger and looked at Julian through his eyelashes, tiny cruel
smile tickling his mouth.

   "Strip," he ordered quietly, and the blond obliged.

   Neither one of them noticed a small black microphone hiding on the side
of the curtain rod.



****



   A couple of weeks later, Julian informed Raven that he wouldn't be home
until at least eleven in the evening this upcoming Wednesday.

   "There is a company thing I need to take care of," he said, running his
fingers through his hair. "If you are interested, I can explain it in more
details."

   "That's quite all right," Raven nodded. "I am not interested."

   Julian hemmed at that and said nothing. He knew that Raven could care
less about his business ordeals and it was fine with him; he never craved
brunet's attention to his work.

   "How's the rock doing?" Raven asked lazily without getting out of bed.

   "Still there," Julian shrugged and buttoned up his shirt.

   "You never researched it, did you?" Raven yawned with gusto.

   "No," the blond admitted. "To be honest, I believe it would be a waste of
time. Even if it is some sort of an artifact, it doesn't matter right now,
since it's locked away. That and your friend never contacted you about it
again, did she?"

   "No," Raven frowned. "In fact, she hasn't contacted me ever since I moved
in with you... I might call her today," he nodded and yawned again.

   "Miss your rush?" Julian looked at him seriously while his fingers
quickly buckled his pants.

   "Yes," Raven said honestly.

   "Well," the blond left his belt buckle alone, since it was fine now. "If
she offers you another job, run a research on the client first, will you? Or
tell me, and I will do that," he nodded slightly.

   "All right," Raven said with a small smile. "Hey, this Friday is the
second Friday of the month..."

   "Yes," now Julian smiled as well. "I remember."

   "Have fun at work," Raven nodded with satisfaction, noting that the blond
looked as impeccable as ever even though he only got three hours of sleep
last night, and was ridden hard to say the least.

   "I will," Julian nodded. "Sweet dreams, Raven..."

   Raven grinned at that and buried his face in the pillow.

   ...Wednesday evening, around 7:30 or so, Raven tried calling Magda again.
He's been trying to reach her since Monday, and he would only get her
voicemail.

   "Hi!" Magda's voice said with gloomy brightness, and Raven cursed softly;
it was the damn voicemail again. "I am obviously not answering, so..."

   Raven sighed and snapped his phone shut. "What's up with her?" he thought
with tight frown. "All of a sudden, she just disappeared... Wonder if she's
all right..." He decided to run to her bank tomorrow morning and see if she
has been coming to work lately. He threw his phone on the bed, and was
thinking whether he felt like running to the store to get more cigarettes,
when there was gentle knocking on the door.

   "Yeah!" he called loudly, wondering if Julian would be able to get back
earlier tonight than he thought. The blond said this morning that he would
try his damn best, and Raven knew that he would. Then he glanced at the
clock and frowned, wondering who was knocking at the door at this hour.

   The door opened just slightly, and there was the butler, his expression
worried.

   "Master Delamorte...?" he said, and Raven blinked at that. He was still
getting used to hearing his last name instead of his first from other
people. However, if you live with Julian, you do not tell the staff to call
you simply `Raven' for various reasons.

   "What is it, Tobias?" he asked with a tight frown. The butler sure looked
uneasy. "And what are you doing here this late?"

   "Master Delamorte," Tobias said again and nervously glanced behind him.
"There is a young woman downstairs, and she is asking for you..." He
stuttered slightly. "*Was*... asking for you," he nodded. "She is injured,
and she is unconscious right now... Right before she lost consciousness,
however, she asked for you..."

   Raven frowned even deeper. A young woman? The only young woman who would
ask for him would be Magda, but how in the bloody hell did she even know
where to look for him...? Finally, he shook his head slightly.

   "When did she get here?" he asked, walking towards the butler.

   "Ten minutes ago, master," Tobias said quickly, stepping aside to let
Raven through.

   Raven walked past him and was on his way towards the living room, when
suddenly, there was a very unpleasant, sharp prick on his neck. He swirled
around, trying to grab hold of invisibility rather automatically, without
even trying to figure out what the hell was going on, but then everything
around him flashed in violent black-and-white, and then the world ceased to
exist.



   ..."Where is your car?" Tobias propped his arms on his sides.

   "Parked in the back," the woman said, studying Raven's unconscious face.
"Give me the syringe..." she stretched out her hand without looking at the
butler.

   He obliged without asking any question. The woman took a quick breath and
pierced her skin with the needle, wincing slightly at the sensation. She
drew some of her blood into the syringe, biting her lip silently, and when
she had enough, she pulled the needle out, and drew another quick breath.

   "Get me his vein," she ordered shortly, and Tobias obliged once again, in
complete silence.

   It took him several minutes to find a vein in Raven's slender arm
finally, and when he did, he looked up at the woman and gave her a sharp,
curt nod. The woman narrowed her eyes slightly, and leaned towards the
unconscious brunet, still biting her lip in hard concentration.

   "Are you sure it's going to work?" Tobias asked tightly while watching
her sink that needle into Raven's arm. "I mean, even with the fact that he
is the main priority aside, that psycho was attuned as well..."

   "It will work," she said slowly and emptied the syringe filled with her
blood into Raven's vein. Then she repeated the whole ordeal several more
times. Finally, she let out a small hiss and handed the empty by now syringe
to the butler.

   Tobias took it without saying anything, shoved it into his pocket,
careful not to prick himself, and stood up.

   "I don't know how much blood he drank from that son of a bitch," the
woman said thoughtfully. "However, I am positive that my blood is going to
be a hell of a lot more dominant than his..." she threw a quick look at
Tobias. "Get him into my car," she ordered shortly, and the butler nodded,
wrapping his arms around Raven's limp frame.

   "How long will it take...?" he asked while carrying Raven towards the
back door of the kitchen.

   "A week at the most," the woman replied. "Once my blood gets into his
system, it's only a question of time when the mirror is going to let me
in... I'll kill him after the ritual," she nodded when she saw a small frown
on Tobias' forehead. "You will need to come back here until I call you," she
said firmly, and Tobias let out a small sigh.

   "I know," he said while the woman opened the door. "It's fine, however...
I am just glad this part is over with..." He grimaced. "If I had to listen
to their fucking one more time, I swear to God..."

   "Oh, please...!" the woman snorted and pulled a set of keys out of her
pocket. "You were getting off on that, and you know it!"

   "At first...?" Tobias grinned. "Hell, yeah...! Lately though..." he
shrugged and lowered the unconscious man into the back seat of the car.
"...it was making me sick... Seriously, they fucked every goddamn night...!
And every night would be different," he nodded.

   "You recorded the whole thing, didn't you?" the woman asked in a low
voice. "You are going to use it whenever you jerk off, since I doubt you
would find anyone who would fuck you willingly..."

   The butler gritted his teeth at that.

   "I have good memory," he said tightly, and the woman let out very short
laughter. "Believe me, however," he nodded. "These two are into stuff that
turns me off, and not on, okay?"

   "What were they doing?" the woman seemed to be genuinely interested, and
Tobias just shook his head tiredly.

   "You don't wanna know..." he muttered. "Or rather, I don't want to recall
it," he said after seeing woman's almost hungry expression. "However..." he
stared at Raven's unconscious body thoughtfully. "That psycho would never do
anything to him if he didn't agree to it..." He glanced at the woman.
"Whenever it came to pain, he..." Tobias nodded at Raven. "...would be the
one to inflict it, and not the other way around... I don't think that son of
a bitch even tried that..." he added thoughtfully, and the woman shrugged
somewhat impatiently.

   "Great story," she said quickly. "Psychotic son of a bitch actually falls
for someone... I should write a script about it, really... If I do it right,
I will be famous for years...! However," she hemmed. "If I succeed..." she
closed her eyes briefly. "I won't need a stupid script," she finished with a
small nod, and opened her eyes.

   "Hurry up," the butler said tightly. "I don't have a slightest desire to
be here again when that fucking blond comes back..." He nervously glanced
around. "I almost crapped my pants two weeks ago," he nodded quickly. "I am
about to leave, and then there is a fucking doorbell-ring... Talk about
fright...!"

   "Right," the woman nodded and looked at her car keys. "Well, good night,
Tobias... I will call you when I am sure my blood is dominant, okay...?"

   "Right..." the butler gave her another stiff nod. "Night, Magdalena..."

   He watched the woman sliding into the driver's seat and shoving her keys
into ignition. He threw a last look at unconscious Raven.

   "Serves you right," he thought darkly. "Whoever who is willing to do
whatever you were doing to that bastard, deserves to rot in hell... And you
were more than willing, all right..."

   He watched the car disappear in the night, and then he quickly went
inside, took his keys, and left the house without leaving any traces of the
fact that he was even here. When he stopped on the Stop sign, which led into
one of the main roads, he became cold when he saw a hatefully familiar car
waiting patiently across the street from him.

   "Shit...!" he thought desperately. "If he ever paid any attention to what
I am driving..."

   That didn't seem to be the case, however; blond's vehicle crossed the
street without as much as pausing by Tobias' car, and the man let out a very
shaky breath, reminding to himself once again to show up for work tomorrow
morning.
****

A little of shameless self-advertising. You can find all of my stories
(including
Debts) here <http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=3895328>