Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 22:47:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Olsen Guerra <ophiucus23@yahoo.com>
Subject: Serpent's Salvation Ch. 3

This work is copywrited and is property of the author. If gay stories
offend you or if they are illegal in your area, leave. Any resemblance to
any people alive or dead, or any event is purely coincidental.

Chapter 3                                  

   He had been awake for almost an hour, carefully keeping his mind
blank. The only sound to be heard was the ticking of a clock like a
metronome.

   Tick...tick...tick.

   If he concentrated on the ticking he didn't have to think. If he didn't
think he didn't have to...

   Tick...tick...tick.

   Time had no meaning. He could have lain there like that for hours.
Days. Aurel would have gladly spent the rest of his life in bed. He wasn't
quite sure when things began to change. A slightly discordant note at
first. A small hiss of breath, a slight rustle of fabric. Each intrusion
into his carefully crafted cocoon was resented, but he couldn't bring
himself to confront the intruder and the emotional fallout that would erupt
when he did. He pulled the jacquard bedcovers more tightly around him,
clenching his eyes shut, praying for sleep and willing away whoever it was
that had invaded his room. He wished they would go away. He wished them to
hell.

   He had just started to think that he had been left alone when he heard
the strike of a match, smelt the acrid tang of the spicy, exotic blend of
tobacco and felt the crackle of the cherry as the cigarette took light.
Aurel cringed. There were only two people in the world he couldn't yell at,
tell off, ignore or beat the daylights out of; and Misha didn't smoke. He
held his own breath at the first inhalation, waiting for the exhale,
knowing what would come after. He wasn't disappointed.

   "I know you're awake Aurel. You have been for the past hour. I used to
think that I had gained a modicum of patience, but I find myself tired of
the wait."

   Aurel just snorted in disbelief and curled in upon himself even tighter.
Seth never lost patience unless someone was being abominably stupid.

   "Aurel. You are being abominably stupid."

Aurel sat up in shock, his huge eyes seeking out Seth in the dim light. The
click of a tablelamp and it's harsh light was another disconcertingly
anticlimactic note. Seth gave him a little frown of distaste as he took in
Aurel's rumpled appearance; the morning stubble, the slept in clothes.

   "You look like I just kicked your puppy. It doesn't suit you at all. And
close your mouth."

   Aurel was amazed to find that his mouth was indeed open and shut it so
quickly that there was an audible snap of teeth against teeth. He couldn't
believe Seth. He had expected sympathy, commiseration perhaps, even
condemnation. He hadn't counted on this. Whatever this was. Tears began to
form in his eyes. He had expected Seth to understand.

   Seth sighed as he extinguished his cigarette and got up from his chair.
He seated himself next to Aurel on the huge bed and gently took one of his
hands in his own. "Aurel, I would be lying if I said I understood."

   Aurel heard a terrible sob and realized with horror that it had come
from himself.

   Seth gathered the bigger man in a fierce hug. "You misunderstand. I am
not making myself clear enough and you have not given me the chance to do
so." They both rocked while Aurel did his best to cry himself out and Seth
did his best to explain. "I do not understand the modern anti-homosexual
fixation at all."

   Seth considered any date followed by an Anno Domini 'modern'.

   "You forget. I was raised in a society that accepted almost any form of
sexual expression. Relationships between men were an honored thing. The
bias and bigotry that stigmatizes it now is a new concept and that is what
I don't understand. You have nothing to be ashamed of. When I said that you
were being stupid I just meant that you were blowing it all out of
proportion."

   "My father..."

   "Your father was an asshole." If Aurel had thought that Seth was through
with his surprises, he was dead wrong. Seth never cursed, at least not in
any language that Aurel knew, and it wasn't like him to speak ill of the
dead. "Vaclav was about his own affairs, his own agenda and maintaining the
status quo. He has nothing to do with you, with the man you have become. He
had little enough to say about your life when he was alive, why should you
grant him the opportunity to hurt you when he is gone?" Seth smoothed
Aurel's mane of bronze hair in a soothing gesture. " Besides, he would have
considered this a mere hiccup compared to the changes you have been trying
to bring about. If he is spinning in his grave it is because of that, not
who you are and who you love."


   "Oh god! The council," Aurel said. Seth's reminder brought the past
night back and Aurel relived the evening's abrupt end in slow motion. The
color drained from his face as he remembered what he had done, what he had
jeopardized, but Seth was quick to reassure him.

   "I made your excuses for you and gave them a good story as well. No one
would dare question me. You were contacted about an unfortunate, but
pressing family crisis and we tabled your recommendations for another
time."

   "That will only add to the rumors."

   "Yes, but they will have nothing concrete."

   "What about the guard? I can't remember at all. Did I hurt him?"

   "No. Mychael said that he was shaken, but unharmed. He was worried about
you in fact."

   "Mych talked to you?" Aurel said.

   "Of course. How do you think I am here? I did not give him a choice I am
afraid. I told him that I could help you, and agitated as he was, he
agreed; despite his reservations. He was frantic, even to the point of
turning to me."

  "It isn't as if Mych-"

   "Please, do not tell an untruth on my account. I know that Mychael
dislikes me. I also know that Mychael and I understand each other," Seth
said, then reconsidered. "Perhaps that is stretching the truth a bit. Shall
we say that I comprehend Mychael well and he would prefer to think that he
understands me."

   "How do you know? I didn't think that you had ever looked inside him.
Frankly, I can't see him allowing it."

   "What makes you think that I can only function with the Sight? You do
very well without it," Seth said. "And it is not a question of him allowing
it. I have not asked."

   "I'm sorry Seth. I didn't mean to offend you."

   Seth smiled slightly. "So quick with an apology. There was no offence
taken."

 
  "I just- I don't know what to do Seth. I can't do this. I can't be with a
man."

   Seth was beginning to get annoyed. He sat up, smoothing his fingers
through his thick black hair.

   "Aurel, the only ones on the council who will care are the same
feeble-minded malcontents who are opposing you in the first place. You know
as well as I that most of our kind are extremely elastic. We have learned
to be as a matter of survival. Immortals with perpetual Victorian values
don't win congeniality awards."

   "No! It's not that. Well, not all of it," He admitted, not wanting to
actually lie to Seth about the reservations he did have.

"Well what is it then?" Seth was definitely annoyed, his black eyes
narrowing in his otherwise smooth face. "You have a mate. A Mate! You
should be singing your praises to the gods for what they have given you,"
Seth said, gesturing towards the heavens. "Most live countless lifetimes
without one and you have been singled out and blessed. Most of our kind
would kill for that kind of bond, male or female. What does it take Aurel?
What is it that will make you happy?"

   "Seth, I...I don't know how to be with a man."

   If Aurel hadn't looked so anguished, so stricken by his admission of
ignorance, Seth doubted that he could have stifled his laughter. As it was
he had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide the small grin there. Aurel
truly looked lost.

   "Aurel, it is all just parts and feeling. There is no mystery to the
male body. You possess one yourself." Seth let his smile show. "As Alex
would put it, it is just tab A into slot B." Aurel began to smile as well,
and then gave a start as he caught himself. Was he insane? This was
serious.

   But Seth had caught that ghost of a smile and pressed his
advantage. "The beast with two backs, getting your dick wet, knocking
boots." He was visibly relieved when Aurel finally did laugh at the
incongruity of Seth; the elegant, sophisticated Seth, uttering such
silliness. "I am glad that you laughed Aurel. I believe that I have
exhausted my poor store of sexual euphemism. If you hadn't I would have
been reduced to rude gestures of the Italian variety." Seth was reassured
moments later when Aurel hesitatingly began to confide in him.

   "I've never even been attracted to a man Seth. I know that you're
considered a handsome man, but I look at you and feel nothing but affection
and filial love. Men who in one way or another could be accounted
attractive surround me, but I haven't felt even a small spark. There's
nothing there.

   "And this man?"

Aurel thought for a moment "I've never seen him Seth. I only know his name
and his scent." Aurel toyed with the bound edge of the burgundy bedcover
while he pondered what to say. "I've only been with women, and that was a
long time ago. I'm sure you know how it is. Sex is interesting at first,
but with our lifespans it eventually becomes mechanic and a bore without a
mate. Honestly, I was never much interested in the first place. It was too
much time and energy to invest in a woman with so little payoff." Aurel
shrugged as if to shrug off all of those long ago trysts. "I thought
perhaps that my true passions lay with politics, that I was unsuited for a
relationship."

Aurel looked up, meeting Seth's eyes with his own unnaturally bright gold
ones. "I was wrong Seth. There is something there, something I can't even
put into words and I haven't even laid eyes on him."

   "But..."

   "I'm scared." Aurel's expression was as stark and blunt as his
words. "I've never even thought of myself in this position. I don't know
the rules of male courtship. I don't even know if he is...homosexual." He'd
finally said it. He had expected to feel something when he uttered it for
the first time. Distaste, relief, a biblical earthquake...something. But it
was just another word.

   "You have to find out then. You are a goal setter. Make a plan of action
and go out there and do it. Wallowing in your own misery is not going to
advance you in the least. You must find him and win him."

   Aurel couldn't stomach the cajoling tone or the happy sentiment. "You
don't understand Seth! I'm vulnerable like I've never been before. A
goddamn stranger holds my life in his hands. A human. I thought I was close
to Misha, close to you and Mych, but he can crush me with a word. Even if
he does want me he might refuse the gift. Can you imagine being offered
your every dream on a silver platter and then having it ripped away along
with your heart? I can. I'm fucking terrified. You don't have a mate
Seth. You don't know."

   "I know." Seth's words were a quiet whisper, but they detonated like a
nuclear bomb.

   "What?" Aurel stopped his seething long enough to look, really look at
Seth, and he immediately grew remorseful. Seth was...sad; his gaze pointed
somewhere inward, a place no one else could hope to touch. He reached a
tentative hand out to Seth, trying anyway, regretting his unthinking
outburst.

   "I must apologize again. I seem to be doing a lot of that lately."

   "No, it's fine." Seth grasped Aurel's hand and squeezed it against his
shoulder where it lay. "It is good to talk of it. My memories of that time
should be celebrated, not mourned. I had a mate once, long ago. He was
everything to me."

   "Your mate was a man." It was a statement that didn't really hold any
surprise.

   "Yes. And we were very much in love. When he died," Seth stopped for a
moment and shook his head, mentally reliving that awful time, "When he
died, I died with him."

   "Oh Seth, I didn't mean to..."

   Now it was Seth's turn to comfort. "Now, now. Don't fret. I am consoled
by the words he gifted me with before he died. He told me that we would
meet yet again in this life. Though that may sound clichˇ by Hollywood
standards, he was a powerful man with immense gifts; gifts much greater
than my own. I knew he spoke the truth and I have waited for that day with
joy in my heart."

   Aurel's curiosity got the better of his polite tendencies. "How long has
it been?"

   "Over Seven thousand years."

   Aurel couldn't wrap his brain around the magnitude of Seth's
suffering. Seven thousand years. Seven thousand years alone. Aurel had
barely managed three hundred and he was whining. He felt unworthy.

   "Do not look so, Aurel. The years have been kind enough to bring me
friends such as you. I have a purpose. My life, if not my soul, is
full. And I do not think that the wait will be much longer."

   For an instant Seth's eyes flamed, and Aurel knew that what he had
always mistaken for black was really an intense midnight blue. "No, I think
that the waiting has neared its end." Aurel knew better than to question
Seth; his word was inviolate. If Seth believed it then it could be written
in stone.

   "Aurel, he was worth it. He was worth every second, every minute of
waiting. I would wait until the end of time if it were required. I think
that you will find that your mate is worth everything as well."

   Aurel was grateful that Seth had shared so much of himself, but he had
to know.

   "Seth...I know that you may think that it's idle curiosity, but-"
   
   "You want to know how he died."

   "Yes," Aurel said, surprised at his own temerity.

   "I understand your curiosity only too well my friend. If I were in your
position I would want to know the truth of it." Seth took a deep breath.

   "If you don't want to tell me, It's all right," Aurel said.

   "It is not that I don't want to tell you, but even now the words are
hard."

   "Then-"

    "He was murdered."

   And that was when Aurel realized that he truly knew fear.

   "Seth! Everyone I know is an assassin's target!"

                                                  ***

   Sebastian's day had gone from bad to worse. Rob didn't say much the rest
of the day but the looks he kept slanting towards Seb made him want to
plant his fist in Rob's pretty little face. The weasel.

   Little things kept going wrong too, as if a gremlin was hot on his heels
ready to throw a spanner into the works at a moment's notice. First that
ruined length of film, then that female Professor that wouldn't take no for
an answer, even when Rob came to his rescue by calling him sweety and
giving him a peck on the cheek. She had barely blinked before inviting them
both out. Rob laughed himself flaccid at the look on Seb's face.  Just who
was that Murphy guy and what would be the best way to kill him?

   By the end of the day Sebastian was beat. The lack of sleep had taken
its toll and he couldn't even give himself an injection of caffeine as a
jumpstart to the day. Bloody allergy. He had settled for root beer and a
sugar high, but the effect just wasn't the same.

   He had also managed to convince himself that the hunted feelings of the
night before were figments of his overactive imagination and
borscht-induced indigestion. Sure, Mr. Draco had scary security, but they
wouldn't have followed him. Kept watch on him. Scared the bejeezus out of
him at 3 AM. And they were just some regular guys, ya know?

   He was still telling himself this as he made his sluggish way to the
SUV, lugging his pack behind him. When he finally reached the vehicle he
gave a dramatic sigh and then cursed. The car would be covered in bird
shit. Something in him almost reveled at the injustice of it all. See! God
is out to get me. Solid proof. Well, not quite solid. A bit goopy and
slimy, but proof nonetheless.

   Sebastian was wrestling with his key in the lock and singing the first
verse of 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park' when he was blindsided by
sensation. He dropped his pack in surprise. So much for figments. He closed
his eyes in resignation and tried to pinpoint the location of his
watchers. Two...no, four.  A slightly different vibe from the two that were
almost out of his range, that's why he missed them at first. They were
different from the ones last night.

   The other two were closer, one on each side, holding their
positions. Waiting. He was about to turn around and do something really
stupid like confront one of them when he felt another.

    A thrill of recognition went down his spine even though he
instinctively knew that he had never met the person who inspired that
reaction. His ring of keys joined his bag on the pavement with a
clatter. Sebastian opened his eyes and whipped around to lock eyes with the
man who had given him such a jolt, ignoring everyone else. He never knew
what hit him.

   Oh Lord. That was Sebastian's last cohesive thought for some time. The
man standing in the quad was overwhelmingly gorgeous. He was one of the
largest men Seb had ever seen; at least 6'7, perhaps more. His body was
beautifully proportioned, perfectly muscled biceps melting into muscular,
tanned forearms dusted with golden hair; amazing pectorals. Seb wanted to
rip the casual pullover away from the stranger's body to bare his
abdomen. It would be cut just a bit, with a delicious innie. Then maybe
nibble down the length of his hip to the crease at the junction of leg and
groin as he slowly uncovered what lay there. Wouldn't that be a hell of an
introduction? Hi, I'm Sebastian. Can I suck your cock?

   And his face...it was indescribable. Not pretty, not quite handsome, but
solid, rugged, fierce and wonderful. His full lips were slightly parted as
if on a gasp and Seb had the urge to trace his tongue along the corner and
then plunge in.

   The feel of this man was different from what he had felt with the
others. Gone was the sullen menace, the aura of barely leashed
violence. There were no slight whispers or stray thoughts clouding his
head, making him wary, just a soul-deep longing. He wasn't like the others,
but he wasn't quite like Seb either.

    Sebastian was hyper-aware of every small movement the man made,
however. Every rise and fall of his chest. The movement of his Adam's apple
as he swallowed. The slow clenching of his hand. Beautiful hands, slightly
callused, sinews flexing in a ballet of movement. Every motion was
cataloged, memorized and stored; memories to be looked at later and
wondered over.

   He was so, so much more than Seb had ever dreamed a man could be. He
wasn't even technically Sebastian's type, but Seb hadn't even known that
this particular type existed. It was as if God himself had cobbled together
a man from the deepest yearnings of his subconscious mind. One look at a
complete stranger and Seb knew he would never be the same again.

   He still felt threatened, but it wasn't his body that he now feared for;
it was his soul.

   He had no idea how long he stood there staring, drinking in the vision,
but he grudgingly broke eye contact when a streak of dark grey entered his
peripheral vision, kicking in his truant sense of self-preservation. He
looked around for one of the absentee guards, finding no one. When he
turned back to the man that had held him so captivated, he was
gone. Vanished. Like a figment

   Stupid figment.

   Sebastian rubbed his face in his hands and sagged against his vehicle as
he was swamped with a feeling of dejection. He really was going mad. The
feeling of pursuit had left as quickly as it had come, leaving him alone
and trembling in a car park with a painfully full erection and a heavy
heart. Instead of the fear he should be feeling he was swamped with a
trembling anticipation and a want that defied all logic. He hadn't even had
the presence of mind to snap a picture. If that wasn't the definition of
insane he didn't know what was.

   "Hey Seb."

   Sebastian's head snapped up to see his friend Rob getting into his own
rental.

   "You know you just sat in a bunch of bird shit, right?"

                                                   ***

   Aurel was almost hyperventilating by the time he got back to the
car. Mych held the door open and helped him in before taking the seat
opposite. Ruvn was up front; Cai and Alex were in the back with them. Mych
nodded to the driver before turning back to Aurel. He waited until the car
was moving before initiating conversation.

   "He knew we were there," Mych said.  Aurel just nodded, still shaken by
the brief encounter.

   "Aurel, are you Ok?" said Alex.

   "We have more important things to worry about Alex. He's fine," Mych
snapped.

   "Fuck you," said Alex. "I have a mate. I've gone through this and I can
tell you that his reaction is definitely not normal. He shouldn't be
freaking out just seeing him, at least not like that."

    "Mych is right Alex. I'm all right. I just..." Aurel paused to put his
head between his knees and take another deep breath. "I wasn't freaking out
because I was near him. I freaked out because I couldn't go to him. I can't
be with him." He raised his head. "I wanted to. I still do." He lowered his
face again. "I think I'm going to be sick."

   "He knew we were fucking there. I told you this was a bad idea." The
look on Mych's face was stoney as he told them what happened, the way
Sebastian had whipped around, seeking them.

   "But how? Did one of you give him a signal?" Alex said, blatantly
ignoring the thunderous look on Mychael's face.

   "Of course not. I would have known if a member of my team had connected
with him. And he isn't one of us," Mych snarled, anticipating Alex's next
question.

   "How can you be sure? You've admitted that you can't even smell
him. None of you could," Cai said. "I even tried. Didn't get a thing." Mych
was about to explode when Aurel cut in.

   "He isn't." They all got quiet as Aurel sat up, obviously more in
control. "I can sense him just fine. He isn't like any of us."

   "Mych, do you have any ideas?" Alex said.

   Mych sighed, unable to maintain his anger. "When they first told me I
had thought, maybe, Vampire, but no. Not possible."

   "Why not?" Cai said. Mych slanted him a look before addressing his
answer to Aurel.

   "You can smell him. The undead have no body odor. What few vital signs
they still possess are almost impossible to detect, even for us. In any
case, they're extremely rare, despite the stories you may have heard. I've
only ever met two. Besides, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that
he's no Count Dracula." He looked at Cai again and smiled without
humor. "He was just standing in the sun."

   Cai colored but said nothing.

   "Hell. I'm sorry. It wasn't a bad idea. I just don't want to admit that
I don't have a clue," Mych said.

   "Join the club. He's no shape shifter that I've ever met," Alex said.

   "Nor I." Aurel had scented him and still didn't know. "I had assumed he
was human. I didn't realize the upheaval that he'd caused with his visit
until this morning."

   "Afternoon."

   Aurel smiled slightly at Alex's correction. "Afternoon then," he
said. "You know, you are all taking this fairly well."

   "Are you demented? I'm not taking this well at all," Mych said.

   "Not that. My, well..."

   "Lifestyle readjustment?" Alex offered.

   "Something like that."

   "You aren't mooning over me, so I'm cool," Alex said.

   "I think my problem stems more from your taste in men." Cai grinned as
Aurel's brows began to gather in a frown.

   "How would you know what my taste is like?" Aurel said.  Cai removed a
small pair of binoculars from his coat pocket and waved them.

   "What can I say? I'm nosey."

   "And what's wrong with my taste? I thought he was quite attractive."
That was the understatement of the millennia. He had never been so overcome
with lust. One glance at Sebastian had blinded him to all. Not even the
fact that Seb was a man could stifle the earnest need he felt just being
near him. He had felt it in every pore. His other half.

   "Well, he was a bit of a geek, wasn't he?"

   "Geek?" Aurel's glare effectively silenced the few chuckles that escaped
suppression.
 
   "Geek? He's doing a series of guest lectures and fieldwork. Did you
really expect him to wear club clothes? And besides, he was
quite...muscular." His face heated at the thought of just how muscular
Sebastian's ass had been. You could calibrate sensitive scientific
equipment using the arc of that perfect, perfect ass.

   "TMI!"

   "What?"

   "T. M. I. Too. Much. Information, "Alex said.

   Aurel couldn't believe that he had said that out loud. He blushed. He
never blushed! But then again, he'd never accidentally commented on the
glory of someone's posterior either. "Sorry." He sounded anything but.

   "No doubt. Stop getting so wound up. You know we're teasing you," Cai
said. But he couldn't help adding, "I guess he's just not my type."

   Just the thought of Sebastian being anyone else's type was enough to
make Aurel's blood boil with barely suppressed jealousy. Something else to
agonize over. Could his mate have a lover?

   Aurel turned on Mych. "What about you? Do you have a problem with it?"

   Mych barely stifled a snort of laughter. "I've no problem with it. In
fact..." Mych quickly caught himself and fell silent.

   "In fact, what?" Cai said.

   Mych sat up abruptly as a thought struck him. "We could be thinking
about this all wrong. Maybe he is human."

   "A human able to get past your men?" Alex said. "Don't get me wrong,
you're a jerk, but you're my kind of jerk. I respect your abilities. No way
is he human."

   "No, hear me out. Humans know almost nothing of us. Why should we know
everything about them? Why couldn't certain myths hold a grain of truth
just as ours do? Witches. Psychics. Hell, he could be a grey alien in
disguise for all we know. There is more under Heaven and Earth and all
that."

   "Great. My boyfriend: space cowboy," Aural said.

   Cai threw an empty water bottle at him. "You know what he meant."

   "Yes, I know. I also know that I should've never gotten cable."

   Cai cocked his head as he studied Aurel. "He's good for you."

   "Is it that obvious?"

   "Blindingly. You were a stuffed shirt. I haven't seen you this loosened
up in; I don't know, a long time."

   "Is that a good thing?"

   "I'm happy for you." Cai studied his fingernails. "Almost jealous in a
way. You and Alex are in a very exclusive club." He looked up. "I've missed
you. The real you."

   "I don't know if I'll have a happy ending Cai."

   "And that's what concerns me," Alex said, turning solemn. "If any of our
speculation is true, you realize what this means?"

   Mych nodded.

   "He's valuable. An asset to the wrong hands, or a way to strike at you
at the very least. He could be in real danger," Alex said. "Too many people
were there last night. Too many of our own people witnessed what happened,
let alone guests that might have caught on. Maybe he isn't detectable cross
country, but boring detective work would find him fast." The fact that one
of their own could have betrayed them remained unspoken.

   Aurel closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of the
seat. "I've already thought of that Alex", he said. "Mych has men
protecting him now. Trusted men. I can't be with him but I won't leave him
alone. I just had to see him at least once."

   "There is another possibility Aurel, and you need to hear it," said
Mych.

   Aurel cocked one questioning brow at him. "This sounds serious."

   "Dead serious. This Sebastian has a gift. He can get in through any
radar. Ours. Yours. I didn't put men on him to protect him, though that is
a secondary consideration. I put them on him to protect you. You're too
trusting where he's concerned. You need to prepare yourself for the fact
that he might be a tool working for the opposition."

Thank you for the kind emails, you have no idea how inspiring just one can
be, so keep sending them. Chapter four is almost finished.