Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 18:23:59 -0800
From: Lael Stalnaker <vanyelashkev@pacbell.net>
Subject: Near Collision: Chapter 11

Usual disclaimers concerning who should read what and
whether or not it is legal for you to do so, so forth
and so on. This is a work of fiction and should be
treated as such.

Thanks once again to Fred, for last chapter's proofing
and to Benji for this one's. I never manage to catch
my own typos and then they come back to bite me in
the ass when I go look at it once it's posted. Arghh!
Special hugs then for, my Chief editor and my (oh god,
where is Benji?! help!!!) Drop of a Hat Editor, both!
Heh, still love ya best, elf!


"Near Collision"
                    By Lael Stalnaker


Chapter 11: Love's Vengeance

  Anteros floated high above West Hollywood. He knew
his target now. Unlike when he had woken in the Void of
the outer plane, the knowledge bloomed within him. The
signal beat within his skull, pulsing a snaring rhythm
relentlessly. His shame from several days ago added a
counterpoint to it. He should have known the dangers
before the granting power ceremony went forward. He
could have lost his bonded, his first mortal love, and
foolishly. Skyler had every reason to be enraged with
both immortals.

  Midnight black wings hardly moved as he hovered.
Anteros shifted the quiver to a more comfortable
position on his hip. This bow felt so right in his hand
again. It seemed ages since the hardwood hand piece had
graced his grip. He checked the chord, looking for
slackness of fraying.  Then Anteros checked the draw,
seeking flaws in the pull of the great bow. He
remembered matches with Artemis where targets were more
than a mile away and moving. Anteros smiled at the
memory. Artemis won, as usual, but by hardly more than
the width of a flea's backside. His aim had not
suffered over the centuries.

  He had fallen back on his old duties as a way to
fight his increasing loneliness. Nothing had managed to
keep his interest once the immortal family broke apart
and scattered. Only his concepts held him in
intelligent form. He nurtured them carefully, gathering
in the power. Only his brother's call had the force and
power to bring him out of his self-imposed exile. The
thought reminded him of his mission.

  Anteros made sure that his body was only loosely
anchored in the here and now. No one would see him,
despite the great black wings. Human eyes would see
what they thought should be there, rather than what
was. Most likely, he would appear as a large eagle or
buzzard. The reality, of course, being far different.
He scanned the land below, searching for the pattern of
his prey. He would find him and then he would pay for
his uncaring crime.

  He changed direction and headed west to the ocean.
The beaches were crowded, but not so packed with
humanity that people blurred into on another. His eyes
blazed as a trace registered within him. Anteros looked
more closely at the water. Surfboards floated on the
tide, waiting for the wave that would carry them in. He
went ridged as he found the sole human that interested
him. He drew an arrow and hovered. Then a different
plan presented itself. The bow remained undrawn, arrow
nocked for flight.

*******

  The hours passed and Jeremy finally called it a day.
The waves had fallen to a disappointing low and the
really cute guys were all gone now. He paddled in,
ignoring the others still out waiting. Then,
inexplicably, the board flipped, dumping him into the
water. He rose to the surface, spluttering on harsh
salt water and turning red to the laughter of the other
surfers. How newbie! He hadn't gotten knocked off his
board since he was 12!

  He grabbed for the board and growled as it shot out
of his grasp. Then, as further indignity, the board
began to crest and flow toward shore... without him.
The line attachment to his ankle had severed. He body-
surfed in, grabbing the board once he came within
reach. He tumbled onto the sand and shoved the board
upright into the beach. He examined the cord closely
and saw a clean cut. He stared in bafflement. There
shouldn't have been anything that could have done that
out there.

  He pulled his board out of the sand and cringed as he
saw the huge gouge in the surface. A buried piece of
glass had carved into the board, deeply etching a
groove into it. He began cursing softly to himself as
his fingered the groove. He lugged the board to his car
and strapped it down. He sighed in relief when nothing
else went wrong with the board. Then he cursed loudly
as the zipper on his wetsuit tore out. He stripped down
and got into his dry clothes. He tossed the wetsuit
into the back seat and started the car. With a
tremendous backfire (first ever for this car), he took
off for home.

  He turned on his radio and then promptly shut it off
again when the only thing he could get was static.
Popping in a tape was an idea, but he stopped short of
doing it, certain that the tape player would just eat
it. His head shook from side to side as he contemplated
the day's misfortunes. It just made no sense. Everything
was fine and then, abruptly, everything wasn't. He
shrugged and hummed to himself. He decided he just
needed to be more careful. That would solve this. His
natural good humor quickly overtook the bad mood that
had been forming. Nothing kept him down for long and
everything had its advantage, if one just looked hard
enough.

 Traffic crawled along Pacific Coast Highway. Jeremy
was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't have just
stayed out in the water. It beat sitting in a
deadlocked situation in a car. He tapped patiently on
the steering wheel, still humming to himself. A shadow
flickered across the hood of his white Camero. He could
have sworn that the wingspread of whatever made that
shadow was impossible. He leaned forward to see if he
could get a look at whatever it was. Honking horns
startled him. Traffic had naturally started moving when
he wasn't paying attention.

  Once he got home, he carefully unloaded everything
and took even more care with anything he did. He saw
all of the mishaps as his own carelessness and
absentminded stupidity. He showered and washed the salt
from his body. His hands roamed over himself, making
sure that now trace of it remained. Besides, he liked
his body. A lot. So did most of the guys he slept with.

  Toweling off, he looked into the mirror. Frowning
slightly, he brushed at the moisture-clogged glass in
front of him. His jaw fell open and a low mewling sound
came out. Deep lines covered his face, making it so
weather worn that he appeared more ancient than any
retirement home resident. His hands crept to his face,
feeling for those horrible lines. His eyes widened as
his hands came into view. They were mere claws attached
to his wrists, the skin paper thin with veins crawling
along the backs with his motions.  His arms hung
loosely, flabby and pale. His chest had lost the
muscled sculpting that he had loved. His heart beat in
his chest like a canary against the cage when the cat
comes to play.

  Jeremy nearly lost consciousness.  His vanity
screamed in his head, denying everything. His hands
proved the lie of the mirror, everything being young
and hard. Just as he was about to calm himself, he
noticed the glowing red spots in the mirror, off to the
side. He whirled around and saw nothing. Glancing back
in the mirror, the red took on the shape of eyes,
staring at him. He shivered with terror. Then he passed
out. Anteros caught the body before it hit the counter
or floor. He laid Jeremy out on the bathroom tile,
smiling just enough to be really frightening.

*******

  Jeremy woke up and immediately shut his eyes again.
He should not be lying on the bathroom floor and he
knew it. He sat up carefully and examined himself.
Nothing was wrong. His skin was firm, tight and tanned
along his muscled body. His hands were normal, still
strong and well formed. He let those hands trail over
his face, half in dread, half in hopes that everything
was OK. His sigh of relief echoed in the bathroom. A
sudden thought brought another wave of terror roaring
through his soul. He carefully lifted his towel with
shaking hands and looked down. His relief again sent a
rush of blood through his head.

  Jeremy levered himself up and looked into the mirror
as his eye came level with the counter. His face was as
he remembered it before the waking nightmare. He got
back up and felt his head for lumps or cuts from his
fall. When he didn't find anything, his confusion grew.
He shrugged, puzzled, but quickly got back into his
usual cocky self. He hummed as he got back to getting
ready for a night out.

*******

  Skyler flinched. Something was wrong. He could feel a
prickling at the corner of his mind. He stopped putting
away laundry and stared off into space. Skyler searched
his mind, tracking the elusive feeling that had
screamed and then faded. When it did not surface again,
he finished the chore and sat on the edge of the bed.
He went within, leaving behind the ordinary world,
knowing that he had better find out what this meant. It
could be related to their common problem.

  He calmed his mind and floated within. Gray space
swirled around him. Ripples in the gray showed patterns
of thought that he snuffed out as they struggled to
rise. When the gray was still, he took himself back to
the moment that the tingling happened. He caught it,
grasping it in his mental hands, stopping time to
examine it carefully. Skyler shivered at the sheer
horror the scream evoked. It had an outside source.

  Skyler turned his focus to where. He shuddered as the
scream elongated and led the way. He flowed out of his
body and let the sensation carry him to the source. He
recoiled strongly when he felt Jeremy. The jolt sent
him back to his body. He shook his head and opened his
eyes. He was more confused than before. Why on earth
would he notice Jeremy after all this time? He took a
deep breath and expelled it forcefully. He got up and
went to the closet. Reaching into the back of the
closet, he pulled down the photo of Jeremy that had
finally migrated there from the dresser.

  He was startled to find that he no longer ached
looking at the photo. Seeing Jeremy's arms around him
brought no feelings other than relief. Relief that
things had ended when they did. That nothing really bad
had happened between them before Jeremy turned away. He
had at least that much to be grateful for. He set the
photo down and backed off from it a ways. He stared
intently, focusing on the smiling face above his own.

  He let himself fall into the photo. He felt the
essence of Jeremy, like pulling to like. Skyler was
surprised that this was as easy as it was. He thought
he would have to make several tries to get even close.
Jeremy was in his bathroom, obviously having just
showered. Skyler blushed faintly, feeling voyeuristic.
Still, he held onto the image. He scanned Jeremy
carefully, hoping to find out what the scream had been
about. He noticed a strange light flickering within
Jeremy. It was a greenish yellow and nestled firmly
within his body. Skyler fled back to himself again.

  He sat watching the photo for minutes, unaware of
their passing. His mind worked and worked at the puzzle
of what had happened. It made no real sense. Even less
sense that he should hear anything. Skyler finally got
up and put away the photo. He smiled faintly as he set
it back on the dresser. The only memories he needed to
attach to it now were good ones, such as the day it was
taken. No reason to shroud all memory away simply
because some were bad. He went back to his routine and
pushed the Jeremy thing to the back of his mind. He
hoped his subconscious would come up with something if
he left it alone.

*******

  Jeremy pulled the shirt over his head and tugged it
down. The fabric clung to his torso and showed his
chest lines to perfection. His pants were clingy,
giving just the right view of his tight bubble ass. His
choice of clothing left little to the imagination. If
anything, it tended to start fights when he wasn't
careful. He felt a little queasy, still unsure of what
had happened earlier. Everything was strange. All of
those things going wrong still bothered him. There are
coincidences and then there is outright wrongness!

  He let it go and checked the mirror again. He
smoothed out his blond hair and made sure that it would
stay where he wanted. He half expected the horrifying
image to reappear. Jeremy laughed at himself. It had to
have been all his imagination. He just couldn't figure
out why he would dream up something like that. He ran
his fingers through his hair one more time and turned
out the light. He left without noticing the twin
gleaming red lights floating in the mirror behind him.

*******

  Skyler found himself zoning out as he ate dinner with
Bryce and Ethan. Joshua had not been home for some
time, saying he had duties elsewhere to attend to.  No
one thought anything of it, as Bryce occasionally left
at odd times on his own errands. The two mortals never
inquired after it, deeming it not their business until
they were told. Skyler shook his head sharply, trying
to refocus on his food. It just didn't appeal right
now. He pushed the plate away and leaned back in his
chair.

"Something wrong, bro?" asked Ethan. Skyler's fidgeting
had been getting on his nerves, by the second.

"Not sure, Ether. Have to think on it more. Sorry about
wiping out dinner," murmured Skyler as he pushed away
from the table.

  Ethan arched an eyebrow at Bryce, who just shrugged
in return. They both watched Skyler leave the room,
nearly knocking his nose into the doorjamb on his way
out. He adjusted absent-mindedly and continued out of
sight.  Ethan stared after him, concern deep in his
eyes. Bryce started to rise to follow him but Ethan
motioned him back into his chair.

"Let him be, Bryce. He said he needed to think, let
him. When he's ready, he'll let us know what's up. He
gets this way sometimes when something is bothering
him," Ethan cautioned.

"He will come to us? You're sure?" wondered Bryce.

  Ethan nodded, "Help me get this stuff put away. He'll
be fine. He just has to worry at something until he is
sure of himself."

  Skyler wandered back into his room and shut the door.
He flipped on the lamp and kicked off his shoes. The
feelings of unease and impending horror had grown
stronger as the evening progressed.  Something was
going to happen and it would not be pretty. He knew it
involved Jeremy. The real issue he was facing within
himself was what he was going to do about the
knowledge. Try to help someone who didn't want anything
to do with him or let the past hold sway over his
actions now. His mind tangled and wove around and
around it. He was increasingly aware of moral dilemmas
that having power were going to thrust upon him. He did
not like this one bit. He sank into the bed and stared
at the ceiling. The bits of glitter sparkled, somehow
seeming malignant and seething.

  Morality won out over wounded ego and hurt feelings.
Skyler simply couldn't let something bad happen to
someone if he could prevent it. Regardless of what they
had ever done to him. Skyler grimaced and sat back up.
The feeling of unease grew. He would have to act soon.
He threw himself off of the bed and ran to the closet.
He snatched the photo out and went back to the bed. He
could almost see the greenish yellow glow surrounding
Jeremy now, in the photo. Skyler propped himself
against the headboard and laid the photo into his lap.
He allowed his head to rest on his chest and stared at
the picture.

*******

 Jeremy pulled his Camero into the curb and parked. He
shut off the engine and checked his hair. Everything in
place, he got out and locked up. He casually checked
out the scene as he stepped around his car to the
sidewalk. It looked like it was a hopping night at his
favorite club. Red gleamed from the side mirror as he
stepped away and into the beckoning darkness of the
doorway.

  Within minutes Jeremy had shucked his shirt and was
dancing. A hot guy, beautiful black hair, ripped body
and piercing black eyes ground his body against his.
They maintained eye contact as the music pounded out
techno at a volume to deafen the unwary. Sweat poured
from Jeremy's body as he gyrated his hips forcefully
into the Latino stud in front of him. Just as he was
going to make a serious move, the guy gave him a
piercing look. Jeremy smiled and leaned toward the guy.
Rage bloomed in those dark eyes locked to his. Jeremy
became confused as the stud turned and simply walked
off.

  Jeremy was thrown off completely. No one had ever
walked away from like this before. Certainly not before
he had said something. He shrugged it off and went
looking for something to drink. He went to the bar and
waved over a bartender he knew. His shock grew as he
was ignored in favor of some dork that had obviously
came up after he had. Jeremy became irritated. What the
fuck was going on? He finally got attention when
everyone else was busy. The bartender spoke briefly
with the bar back and pointed over at Jeremy. The guy
was new to the club and Jeremy didn't recognize him.

"Scott says you need to pay your tab. Or your eighty-
sixed," the bar back said as he watched Jeremy's face
carefully.

  Jeremy felt suddenly unsure. He usually paid his bill
every two weeks and this was the middle of the first.
He made the arrangement years ago and had made damned
sure never to fuck it up. He uncertainty grew as he
fumbled out his wallet to pay. He threw down his Visa
and nodded. He watched the new guy take it over to
Scott for processing. Scott glared at him before
sliding the card down the machine attached to the
register. Jeremy suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
Something was very wrong.

"Scott says this card is not working and punching in
the numbers brings up a hold order. Sorry dude, but it
looks like you haven't paid your credit card bill in a
while. Got anything else to pay with? Oh and no
checks," the new guy stared at Jeremy. Jeremy started
as a red glimmer flickered in the depths of those eyes.
It brought back what had happened in the bathroom.

"Uhh..." Jeremy flipped open his wallet again and dug
around desperately. The cash he had on hand just
covered the outstanding bill.

"Ok. Scott says no more tabs, cash on demand dude."

  Jeremy looked at his now empty wallet. Paying the tab
had drained his available cash supply. He thought about
going to an ATM, but rejected the idea angrily. If he
couldn't get a few drinks bought for him, he had no
busy playing the crowd. He shrugged at the bar back and
walked off. Scott grinned and threw him a towel. The
bar back smiled.

  An hour later found Jeremy sitting in a corner,
absolutely miserable. His frustration was almost more
than he could bear. Any time he approached someone,
they got this strange listening look and then stared at
him. He was getting scared. Each time he opened his
mouth, guys got up and walked away if sitting, or
pushed past him roughly if standing. He had nearly
worked the entire room of available cute guys and even
some he knew damn well weren't. No one would give him
even the time of night. The average guys were looking
mighty tempting, even if they were a come down from his
usual predatory standards.

  Jeremy took his ego in hand and went to grace some
lucky average guy with his glorious presence. His
dismay and shock were compounded, as his horrible run
of luck appeared to be just as bad with this new crowd.
He had never graced any of them with his attentions
before. Jeremy thought that would have gained him some
openings to find someone. Even this group started to
ignore him with minutes of speaking to them. In a way,
it felt even worse.

  Fortunately, closing put an end to his misery. He sat
stunned, for the first time in his life not leaving
with some hot trick for the night. He sat with his head
in his heads, staring down at a glass of water in front
of him. A hand reached out and took the nearly empty
glass. Jeremy looked up and into the eyes of the bar
back. An apologetic grin graced the lips of the guy.
Jeremy felt a tinge of hope.

"So, what are you doing after you leave?" Jeremy asked.

"Nothing important, why, ya got something in mind?" the
bar back looked Jeremy up and down in an obviously
appraising way. Jeremy's neck hair stood up. He was
usually the appraiser. It felt strange to be dependent
on the whim of someone else. His was the only whim that
had ever mattered before this.

"Well, we could go back to my place and party for a
while. If you're up to it." Jeremy fervently prayed
that this guy wouldn't do what all the others had done
all night.

"Yo Joshua! Get that damn glass over here. I wanna get
the fuck outta here before dawn. Get yer ass in gear,
man and quit dickin' around with 'that guy'!" Scott
yelled from the other end of the room. "And you! Get
the fuck out the door. It's after hours and we're
closed. I don't wanna see yer face now that I don't
have to!"

"All right, hold your fuckin' g-string, I'll be right
there!" Joshua looked down into Jeremy's eyes and
smiled. "Meet me around back in half an hour. You can
pick me up there."

  Jeremy nodded like a 16-year-old promised his first
fuck. He knocked the chair over in his haste to get out
of there and to his car. He missed the red flare in
Joshua's eyes once he was up and moving. A feral grin
twisted the handsome face into something that could
cause permanent nightmares. An easygoing expression was
all that Scott saw as Joshua brought over the glass.
The door swung shut.

  Jeremy pulled away from the curb with a squeal of
protesting rubber. He circled the block and went down
the alley. After an hour and a half of nervous waiting,
Jeremy was getting really worried. Had Joshua stood him
up? It would fit the rest of the day. The humiliation
was growing. He had never been stood up in his life!
His reputation would suffer horribly if word got out
about this. Then he stopped his thoughts cold. His
reputation. An icy finger ran down his spine. Just as
he started to examine that reputation, the back door to
the club swung open. Scott and Joshua walked out. They
parted, with one last glare for Jeremy from Scott. Ok,
so maybe he shouldn't have slept with him and then
ignored any further advances from the guy...

  As he started to pursue that thought, his eyes
focused on the curves of Joshua's bubble but. The tight
Levi's clung as tightly as humanly possible and not
have the man singing soprano. The arms that peeked from
under the sleeves were strong and well formed. The
chest on this guy pushed the shirt away with his
strength. The narrow waist accented the broad
shoulders. Jeremy felt his dick harden so stiffly that
he thought it would snap if he didn't get it readjusted
fast enough. He squirmed around hoping that Joshua
wouldn't notice the totally juvenile display.

  Joshua got into the car and smiled warmly at Jeremy.
Jeremy gulped and jerked the car into motion. He nearly
floored the gas as Joshua's hand found its way onto his
lap. He barely missed the side of the building as he
came out of the alley. Joshua leaned over and blew
softly into Jeremy's ear. Jeremy's eyes were looking
wild now, scarcely seeing the road before them. He used
all of his will to get back to his place in one piece.
Jeremy had never wanted someone as badly as he wanted
Joshua at that moment. The red gleam flared with each
lost thought in Jeremy's head.

*******

  Skyler floated above his body. It felt easier this
time. The photo sank from view as he rose out into the
night. The stars gleamed and flickered in the clear
night air. Skyler reveled in the feeling of flight,
though his senses felt different, more distant that
usual. He examined his body and found that he was
nearly transparent in the starlight. Everything around
him was clearer, more defined. The landscape glowed
with inner light, not mere reflection of the starlight
shining down.

  He looked outward and downward. Skyler carefully
pictured the photo in his mind and the eerie glow that
emanated from it. He shivered as he felt two different
sources for it. The fainter of the two came from the
room below, the photo. A stronger source came from off
in the distance, nearer the sea. He knew that Jeremy's
home was in Malibu, near the water, inland about 2
miles. He sent his mind in that direction, letting his
ethereal body flow after his thoughts. The travel went
quickly.

  The sense of urgency pulse within his soul. Whatever
was wrong was happening now. Skyler homed in on the
feel of Jeremy, also looking for that unearthly light
he knew wrapped around the man.  Within scant minutes,
he floated outside of Jeremy's home. The oppressive
weight of impending peril nearly crushed Skyler's will
as he sought his ex. Skyler forced himself into the
walls and through them. When he found Jeremy, his mouth
clenched and his eyes hardened with rage. He flashed in
between Jeremy and the entity that had no business
being there, holding up a hand in warning. He knew that
Joshua/Anteros could see him, though Jeremy hopefully
could not.

********

  Jeremy unlocked his door and led Joshua in. He
flicked on the light as he passed through the front
door. Joshua followed at his heels, shutting the door
behind him firmly. Jeremy turned and faced Joshua as he
reached the center of the living room. He waited
impatiently to see what Joshua would want to do. He
shook his head sharply, thinking for a minute that
another form was there, one that held something, with
wings fanning slowly. His eyes widened and stared, but
the image was gone.

  Joshua stood and simply waited. The fool's need
washed through the room and he was anticipating the
final play of this game. Everything until now had been
warning enough. These modern mortals certainly needed
some stiff lessons in appropriate behavior. Especially
concerning something as sacred as love freely given.
This fool was not thinking of anything but bedding him
and had not thought of love in any of the encounters
with others since he first sprouted hair on his
nethers. His punishment for arrogance was at hand.

  Jeremy grew impatient and took Joshua by the hand. He
led him into his bedroom and shut that door behind
them. He dropped Joshua's hand when they reached the
foot of his bed and began to undress. His erection
still prodded the inside of his pants as stiffly as
when he had first seen Joshua come out the back door of
the club. He stripped off his clothes in a near frenzy.
Once naked, he stood watching Joshua. He became puzzled
as Joshua stood, arms folded and watched him strip. He
was even more startled when Joshua did not undress once
he had finished.

  He stepped closer to Joshua, thinking that maybe it
was a game and that Jeremy was to undress him. As he
reached out to Joshua, his arm was gripped in a steely
hand and he found himself flying onto his bed. His
heart pounded in surprise. He flipped himself onto his
back and flipped his head back to get his hair out of
his eyes. He froze. Red gleaming light poured from
Joshua's eyes.

  Jeremy screamed. The figure at the foot of his bed
terrified him like nothing else on earth. It flickered,
only the red light unchanging. First a solidly built
man, then a figure with huge feathered wings,
stretching from wall to wall, hold a drawn recurve bow.
Jeremy's mind tried desperately to deny either image.
Just when he thought he would mentally snap, another
bizarre thing happened. He could see a faint form
appear between him and the creature. He stared. It was
Skyler, whom he hadn't thought of since he broke up
(dumped) with years ago. He buried his face in his
pillows and just hoped everything would go away. He
peeked out and his wish had been fulfilled. The room
was empty, except for him.

*******

  Skyler interposed himself between Joshua/Anteros just
as the immortal was set to loose the bow. Skyler
whirled his arms and caught the arrow that flew toward
Jeremy. He continued the motion and ended facing the
immortal. Skyler calmly snapped the arrow in half and
tucked the useless pieces into his waistband. He stood
iron backed and folded his arms over his chest, shaking
his head from side to side. Anteros nocked another
arrow, the murderous red in his eyes flaring even
brighter. Black wings beat more rapidly, soon becoming
a blur of feathers and wind that buffeted at Skyler.

  Skyler realized swiftly that Anteros was in a blood
rage and not thinking. He swept the striking wings
aside with his arms, turning to the side while allowing
those murderous biological weapons to continue on past
him. Once he saw the bow being drawn again for another
shot, he took his own offensive action. He pulled from
the ground and drew energy up through his body to his
hands. Once there, he made rings leave his fingers,
lashing out toward Anteros.

  The rings sped outward, expanding and then snaring
Anteros. The wings were crushed down to his body and
then layer after layer. Within heartbeats, Anteros was
cocooned within bright golden bands of light. Skyler
grimaced as the bands contracted and expanded with
Anteros' struggles. He could feel the drain. Skyler
also knew he could not hold the berserk immortal for
long.

  Skyler lashed out with a strand of energy and
attached it to the bands. He looked back, checking on
Jeremy. He sighed with relief once he saw Jeremy
cowering under the pillows, his body shivering. He
couldn't help grinning to himself as he noticed that
Jeremy's usual perpetual hard-on was totally gone. He
looked back to Anteros and gritted his teeth. Skyler
looked upward and pushed himself out of the room,
keeping a firm grip on the energy leash. He shot into
the air, dragging the struggling immortal with him.

  Anteros fought desperately to get free. Never before
had a target escaped him. Not in countless millennium
had another being managed to fight him much less fight
him to a standstill! He bungled his muscles and then
screamed in pain as his wings nearly tore from their
sockets. He spun as his feet left the ground and barely
went immaterial in time to miss getting his head
knocked into the ceiling. The rings still held,
disappointing him immensely.

  Skyler dragged the bound immortal out over the ocean,
up still higher. He could feel the energy draining out
of him at a phenomenal rate. This had to end soon.
Skyler stopped and began to spin in place. Anteros
whipped out to the end of the strand and began to
circle Skyler. Skyler began to push energy into
himself, countering the centrifugal force pulling at
him. Anteros became a blur, a moving ring around
Skyler. He changed the angle and now the spinning
immortal was perpendicular to the ocean. Skyler
suddenly drew all of his energy back into himself.
Anteros shot up into the stratosphere. He began to glow
with air friction.

  Panic broke through the rage clouding Anteros mind.
He could no longer see where he was, things spun so
fast. Then the bonds on him vanished. He found himself
about to leave orbit if he didn't do something
instantly. He let go of the atoms holding his form
together and instantly stopped. The heat built up
flashed and light radiated from the spot where he once
was. He could now see who had thwarted his mission.
Shock, anger, dismay and then grief each had their turn
in his heart as he formed a new body. He gathered air
particles: dust, water, light, air and formed his body
anew again.

  Skyler stood on the air, supported by nothing,
serene. He watched Anteros reform in the high air above
him. No expression marred the placid face. Anteros
circled, then spiraled down to Skyler. Deep shame
etched itself into Anteros face. He came level with
Skyler and then cupped his magnificent wings. He
hovered before Skyler, silent. Skyler nodded to himself
and folded his arms over his chest.

"I seem to remember telling you that no one was to ever
be harmed in my name. I also told you that Jeremy in
particular was off limits." Anteros' face contorted
briefly before becoming as expressionless as Skyler's.

"I do what I must, what my nature decrees."

"Let's get back to our apartment where we can talk
without causing a plane crash. I'll follow you back."
Skyler suggested but really ordered.

  Anteros shrugged and flew off toward land. Skyler
followed closely. He felt more at peace than he thought
possible. Despite the conflict, he felt so calm that
details took on new dimensions around him. The glitter
of the waves in the starlight fascinated him. The tang
of salt in the air, mixed with the smell of kelp, fish
and driftwood as he crossed over the shore. The wind
caressing his barely there skin. The crash and roll of
the waves in the background as they went through the
canyons leading inland. Skyler tensed as Anteros looked
back once, in the direction of Jeremy. He relaxed again
once Anteros turned his head back toward home.

*******

  Ethan looked in on Skyler and almost had a fit. He
shut the door and went out to Bryce. He angrily threw
himself onto the couch. Bryce looked up from the book
Skyler was having him read and watched Ethan fidget.
Ethan finally decided that he had to say something.

"Skyler is in his room staring at a picture of Jeremy
and him! I can't believe that he's doing it. When is
that, that... creature going to just disappear from
Skyler's memory?!" demanded Ethan. His outrage fairly
vibrated the air in the room. Bryce kept his face
carefully neutral and then answered.

"Love is love, Ethan, however misplaced. I am not
worried. I know his love for me comes first," Bryce
tried to reassure Ethan. Ethan's shocked look amused
Bryce.

"But... but, how on earth can you say that?" Ethan was
incredulous.

"Ethan, use your brain. Who better would know his
heart?" Bryce was loosing his battle to not be amused.

   Both men shrank back into their respective seats as
Anteros hurtled through the ceiling and landed in the
living room. His wings folded, and faded from view. His
bow and the quiver of arrows were thrown back at the
ceiling, vanishing just before striking it. Joshua
glared at them, crossing his arms over his chest
defiantly. Bryce gaped at him, having never seen him
return in such a state. Ethan started to get up until
Joshua pinned him in place with a look. Ethan was even
more shocked. Joshua always wanted to be close,
practically needed the proverbial crowbar to remove
him.

  A door slammed from the hallway, announcing the
arrival of Skyler. He strode into the room at a near
run. Bryce blinked. He noticed the broke arrow pieces
in his love's hand. Then he flinched. They could only
come from one other person in the room, and he knew the
arrow was not one of his. Ethan gawked as Skyler walked
directly up to Joshua and nearly impaled him with the
pieces. Bryce jumped up, moving to intervene before
blood was actually shed. He ran smack into Skyler's
upraised hand at mid chest level. Skyler hadn't even
been looking in his direction. Somehow he knew what
Bryce would do and countered it.

"Just what the fuck were you doing 'Anteros'?" hissed
Skyler.

"What my nature and duties decree, 'mortal'," replied
Joshua with equal venom. Bryce and Ethan glanced at
each other before moving into position to separate the
other two.

"I told you when you first barged your ugly uninvited
ass into my room that I didn't want your services. Do I
need to restate it in Greek to get it through your
fuckin' head?" Skyler leaned forward, spittle spraying
Joshua's face. Ethan had never seen Skyler so enraged
that he spat. He cringed as Skyler started up again.

"You're fucking duties are centuries dead, dumbass.
They don't exist any more. They serve no purpose! As
for your nature..." Skyler drew breath to get really
going. Bryce reached across the arm holding him at bay
and gently put his hand over Skyler's mouth. Skyler's
eyes grew wide as he stared at Bryce over the top of
the intruding hand.

"Love, stop." Bryce said simply. Skyler's eyes narrowed
and light began to flicker in their depths. Bryce
yelped as teeth sank into his fingers. He pulled his
injured digits back and blew on the wounded flesh.
Skyler had just missed drawing blood. Ethan took that
opportunity to slip between Skyler and Joshua. When
Joshua started to say something, Ethan calmly planted a
foot onto the top of Joshua's, hard. Ethan shook his
head violently from side to side, hoping that Joshua
could take the hint. Joshua snapped his mouth back shut
and let the air hiss out of his clenched teeth. Ethan
had nailed his arch.

"What do you think you are doing?" Skyler rounded on
Bryce.

"Keeping you from making a mistake you will certainly
regret later. Apparently at risk of limb if not
life..." retorted Bryce as he examined the teeth marks
in his fingers.

"I will not accept that. Joshua had no business going
after Jeremy, much less with this," Skyler emphasized
his point by jabbing the arrow pieces at Bryce. Bryce
paled as the arrow point nearly impaled his injured
hand. He yanked the hand out of reach and stepped back.

"Skyler, do you understand what you hold? It is
dangerous, though not as you think. There is power in
the arrow. Please handle it carefully. The poison can
still effect you," Bryce warned warily.

"What do you mean?"

"The arrow is meant to chastise the wicked. It causes
remorse for the wrongs they do in the name of love. It
does not matter how minor the wrong, the poison will
magnify it to deadly proportions," explained Bryce. He
then realized his tactical error. Skyler's eyes widened
and blazed now. No longer a flicker, the internal fire
was nearing the inferno of rage.

  Skyler whirled back to Joshua only to find Ethan
instead. His anger nearly blinded him until Ethan put a
hand on his shoulder. The contact brought sanity back
to Skyler's whirling mind. He looked down at the arrow
splinters in his hand and spat in disgust. He let loose
the anger inside and poured it into his hand. The arrow
caught fire and quickly burned to ash. Skyler then took
the ash and poured the last vestiges of his indignation
and hurt after the anger. The ash turned to glitter in
the new flame and then faded away.

"Let me make it perfectly clear. I will not accept harm
to anyone that I personally know, by any of you. I will
prevent, by any means necessary, harm from taking
place. Do not test my resolve. Do not think that my
being mortal will make it easy to get around me. Do
anything that harms anyone and you will regret it. I
may be too angry right now to talk to, but talk we
will, once I can hear past the red," Skyler turned on
his heel and walked into his room, carefully shutting
the door. Bryce sighed desolately as he heard the lock
turn. It appeared the couch was once again his.

"Don't even open your mouth, buster," Ethan snapped at
Joshua as he began to say something. "I don't know what
you did tonight, but it apparently was questionable.
Skyler does not get this angry over trivia. Keep in
mind that he IS my brother. While I love you with all
my heart, I will strike you down myself if any harm
comes to Skyler. That includes mental, emotional,
spiritual or just plain physical. You can explain
everything to Bryce. Then you can talk to me tomorrow.
Enjoy your evening boys and hope it is long enough to
sort out what the hell is going on. See you in the
morning," Ethan departed for his own room. Joshua
flinched as another lock turned.

*******

  Ethan sagged against the door. It broke his heart to
have to leave Joshua out there. Still, a night locked
out wouldn't really hurt the fool. He sighed to
himself. Fool, the real fool was himself. How in the
hell had all of this happened? He wished he knew what
exactly had gone on. Ethan wished even more that Skyler
hadn't gotten involved. He couldn't think of a person
more deserving of old-style, ironic, poetic justice
than Jeremy Johnsted! Ethan chuckled at the thought.

  He pulled himself upright and went to the bathroom.
The door at the far end was only ajar, rather than
latched shut. Ethan crept quietly through the bathroom
and peeked into Skyler's room. The light was out, so it
took a few moments to let his eyes adjust. Once there,
he could see Skyler sitting in the dark, staring at the
wall. Ethan scratched softly on the door. By doing that
instead of knocking, the twins had long ago established
the offer to talk without intruding if it was not
wanted. Skyler blinked and glanced over at Ethan. He
smiled wearily and nodded. Ethan pushed his form
through the door, only opening it enough to get through
before putting it back the way it had started.

  Ethan came over to the bed and crawled onto it.
Skyler scooted over and  patted the space he had
vacated. Ethan took it and leaned up against the
headboard. He and Skyler sat silently, their bodies
touching down the length of their sides. Often, when
words would cause more harm than good, they sat this
way, taking comfort in just the presence of the other.
Ethan found himself drifting.

"Just so ya know, Sky, Bryce has company for the night.
I locked Josh out," Ethan offered into the silence. He
smiled sadly as Skyler's head came down to rest on his
shoulder. He let his own head lean onto Skyler's. They
sat that way, in the dark, for a long time. Ethan could
hear Skyler's breath deepen toward true sleep. He
sighed. So much for talking things out. Just as he
neared sleep himself, he heard Skyler whisper.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Well, yeah, I did. I know you. He had to have done
something incredibly wrong for you to be as angry as
you are. I trust you. I trust your judgment. I admit, I
wouldn't shed a tear for Jeremy, but if you told him
no, then he should have honored the request." Ethan
explained.

"Hardly matters. Eventually some kind of conflict
would've come up with something. Maybe you and Bry, or
me and Bry, you and Josh, whatever. It just happened to
be this way."

"Why do you think that?" Ethan was really curious now.

"Though we love them, they're not human. They aren't
mortal. They don't think the way we do. So, you do the
math. What are the odds that one of us would have gone
head to head with one of them at some point? So, it
happened now instead of later."

"Oh... I guess I can see your point. Are you really mad
at Bryce? I can totally understand about Josh."

"Actually, yes. I knew what he was going to do. He
thought he was saving us all a lot of trouble,
diverting me from Josh. I even knew he would do it.
Still, he could have been more careful with his words.
I am too tired to deal with him, so the couch will do
it for me. I used a lot of energy tonight to save
someone that would not have done the same for me. And
yet... it felt so wonderful to be able to do it. Ether,
there is no way to describe it," Skyler said. He twined
his fingers with Ethan's, watching the pattern in the
near black night. He rubbed his cheek on Ethan's
shoulder, getting rid of an itch just as it started.
His eyes really were beginning to shut on their own
now. Exhaustion was setting in, stealing his energy and
leaving a trail of fatigue running through him.

  Ethan waited until Skyler was deeply asleep and then
shifted him onto his pillows. He tenderly made sure
that he would not wake up with a horrible crick in his
neck and scooted off of the bed. He had a lot to think
about. Skyler had made some points that really needed
to be looked at closely. How the hell could they make
this whole thing work if neither side understood the
other. He carefully shut Skyler's door behind him.

  He stripped down and got into his own bed. Ethan
stared at the ceiling, playing connect-the-dots with
the acoustic stuff that they always had up there on
ceilings. He never did understand why they added
glitter to the mix. He let his mind drift, hoping for
an intuitive leap. When one didn't pop up right away,
he sighed. The light went off with a faint thought from
him and he turned onto his side. Everything would just
have to wait for morning.

*******

  The immortal twins sat in the living room, talking on
the ether, no sound coming from either one. The
seriousness of the problems at hand had been impressed
on them both graphically enough not to be shrugged off
as mere mortal silliness. They hashed it out between
them, back and forth through the entire night, puzzling
it out and going over it again. In the end, even they
decided to drop it until they knew more. Morning would
come all too soon and at least one of them worried that
the new day would only continue the prior evenings
battle.

----------------------------------------------------


  Ok, so ends a chapter that I had a hell of a lot of
fun writing. It kept my mind off of other worries. Now
guys, don't get all excited and think I will now be
forever able to gift you with chapters every few days.
Though I would love dearly to be able to spoil you all
that way, let's be realistic. It is the whim of the
Muses as to when divine inspiration strikes. These last
two chapters flowed, and I mean flowed, so fast that it
was almost scary! Let's not count on it being a
permanent thing. I hope that no one gets too hopeful
about what direction the story will take. I do have it
all planned out, so be patient. All will be revealed in
good time.

  Tons of thanks for those that send in their comments.
They are the life's blood of any author, letting them
know their personal baby has been looked at. As
always, drop me a line on how you felt about this
chapter and/or the entire story so far. I can be
reached one of 3 ways: vanyelashkev@pacbell.net , ICQ
#11938988 , or through AOL Instant Messenger at
Screenname VanyelAshkev.