Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 19:58:33 -0600
From: Katya_Dee <concertoind@gmail.com>
Subject: The Year of the Salamander, chapter 29

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All the resemblances are completely
coincidental. All the characters, situations, and everything else in the
story is owned by myself beloved. Contains descriptive sexual scenes between
males. If you are not supposed to read it, do not read it! Feel free to
e-mail me.

   This is a sequel to Specter' Gamble
<http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/specters-gamble/>.  You don't
have to read the first one in order to get this one, but it would make it
easier to understand the characters in this stor



- XXIX -



            *February 13th*



            Gabriel stretched and yawned with great gusto. He didn't get
much sleep last night, but he wasn't complaining in the slightest. The
reasons were totally worth losing a couple of hours of sleep. Here he winced
slightly, realizing that he completely forgot to go through the damn file.

   "Dammit," he grumbled and looked at the clock. It was three in the
afternoon. He sighed and turned towards the computer. Several minutes later,
he was scanning through the names, looking for Evelienne Grey. Another
couple of minutes later, he was reading the file he finally found.

   After half an hour or so, he frowned and scrolled back up to the first
page of the file. He read it again, and frowned deeper. Finally, after
fifteen more minutes, he reached for the phone.

   "Yes," he said a couple of minutes later. "Hello... I am calling from the
First City Bank... I hope I am not disturbing... Great! I have a couple of
questions about a loan Ms. Grey took a year ago. See, I have noticed that
there were no payments made since July, and I didn't see any notes or...
Excuse me...?" he frowned. "I'm sorry, what...? Wait, wait...! No, this is
not a... Hello...? Hello...!" He stared at the phone in his hand, blinking
slowly.

   Finally, he dialed the same number again.

   "Hello," he said a minute later.

   "You, sick bastard!" the woman on the other end of the line hissed, and
Gabriel frowned again. "I don't know what kind of sick pleasure you are
getting out of this, and I don't care! Call here one more time, and I swear
to God..."

   "Wait!" Gabriel interrupted her quickly. "Please, wait! I don't know what
I said, and I apologize for whatever it was, but I have no idea what you are
talking about! This is not a joke, and I am not trying to get any sick
pleasure out of this, I swear! I was looking through the file and I have
noticed that there were no payments made on the loan since July! However,
there are no notes of any kind on the account, so I thought that maybe it
was closed and paid off, and someone failed to file it correctly...!"

   There was silence, and then the woman said tentatively:

   "You don't know...?"

   "Know what...?" Gabriel said and squeezed the phone with suddenly cold
fingers.

   "Evie died on July thirteenth," the woman said, and Gabriel froze in his
spot.

   "What...?" he muttered.

   "She was killed in a car wreck," the woman said quietly. "I am her
sister. I don't know anything about the loan... I mean, I knew that she had
it, but ever since she was..." She choked slightly. "...gone, there was
nothing from the bank... No notes, no calls, nothing..."

   "Died..." Gabriel said, the ringing in his ears crescendo-ing rapidly.

   "Yes," the woman said in the same quiet voice. "I'm sorry for yelling at
you, I thought it was some kind of a sick joke... What was your name
again...?"

   "I am sorry for your loss..." Gabriel muttered and hung up the phone.

   He whipped his own phone out of his pocket and dialed Sam's number with
trembling fingers. He waited until the voice mail kicked in again. He swore
loudly and desperately and dialed Desmond's number.

   "Come on..." he whispered. "Des, come on, answer it...! Come on..."



****



   Desmond narrowed his eyes and looked at the silently vibrating phone on
his desk. "Rayhe," he thought. "You should know better than calling me in
the middle of the day!" He was in the middle of the semi-important test,
therefore, he ignored the phone. Then, three minutes later, the phone
vibrated again. Desmond ignored that as well. Finally, after four more
silent desperate missed calls, he gave up and picked up the phone. He got up
and walked to the window, turning his back towards the class.

   "Rayhe," he said in a low voice. "This is better be important! I am in
the middle of the test, and I..."

   "Evelienne Grey died in a car wreck on July thirteenth," Gabriel said
quickly, and Desmond froze. "I just spoke to her sister," Gabriel continued
as quickly. "Sam doesn't answer his phone... Des, you there...?"

   "I will meet you at home," Desmond said and snapped the phone shut.

   He turned around and looked at the class.

   "I have to leave," he said in a strained voice, and every single pair of
eyes widened at that. "Don't even think of cheating," he said heavily.
"Because I will know..." He looked across the room with narrowed eyes.
"Zabrowski!" he said finally. "You are in charge!"

   "Okay," Richie stood up slowly. "Is everything okay...?"

   "No," Desmond answered shortly and handed Richie the key from his office.
"Collect the papers and leave them in my office..." He glanced at his books
on his desk.

   "I'll get those," Richie said quietly.

   Desmond nodded and walked out of the classroom without saying anything
else.



****



   He got home in the record time of four minutes. Sam's car was sitting in
its usual spot, and the window in his room was still open. Desmond hissed
profanities while he was shoving the key into the keyhole. Finally, the door
clicked unlocked and he burst inside, without even thinking of taking off
his shoes. He ran into Sam's bedroom and swore out loud when he saw that it
was empty, and that the bed hasn't been made. Sam *never *left his bed
unmade; no matter how much of a hurry he was in, he would always cover his
bed – the kid was a clean freak. Suddenly, there was a muffled ringing
sound, and Desmond dove onto the bed, digging frantically through the covers
and sheets. Finally, he found the phone and flipped it open.

   "Hello!" both of them almost screamed at the same time, and Desmond
closed his eyes. "Rayhe, his phone is here and his bed is unmade...  He
never leaves his bed unmade! Where are you...? Okay, see you in a few..."

   He turned off the phone and sat on the bed, thinking. Finally, he turned
the phone back on and started scanning through the address book. He found
the number he was looking for, and pushed the `Talk' button.

   "Sam!" The worried voice on the other end of the line made him burst into
another string of obscenities. "Who the hell is this?" the voice demanded.

   "Goddammit!" Desmond said with feeling and snapped the phone shut.

   Five minutes later, there was banging on the front door. Desmond swore
once again and went into the front hallway. He swung the door open.

   "Where is he?!" they yelled at the same time.

   "He's not with you?!" Another unison.

   "Stop that!" A slight pause after another inevitable togetherness.

   "Shit," Desmond closed his eyes. "I knew that he wasn't with you the
minute I've heard your voice on the phone... Why did I even bother
asking..."

   "Where the hell is he?" Blair looked wild.

   "Oh, I know exactly where he is, but I am just getting my kicks by acting
freaked out!" Desmond exploded. "Do I look like I bloody know where he is?!"

   He whirled around and stormed into the kitchen. Blair followed him and
slammed the door shut.

   "His car is here!" he said loudly.

   "No shit!" Desmond spat. "You've noticed that too, huh?"

   "Goddammit, Desmond..." Blair closed his eyes for a second. "Did he tell
you about..."

   "I knew about the bloody thing since the end of August," Desmond opened
the door of the fridge, looked inside blindly, and slammed the door shut.

   "August?" Blair repeated incredulously.

   "Yes, August!" Desmond said irritably. "And no, I had no idea what to do;
and no, I didn't tell anyone else but Rayhe about it; and yes, I know now
who is behind it; and no, I have no fucking idea where he is! He's been gone
since yesterday!"

   "What?" Blair exploded. "And you only started looking for him now?"

   "I figured he was with you," Desmond kicked the fridge, walked towards
the glass door, and jerked it open. "I figured you came back earlier and
picked him up in your car..."

   "Why... how did you come to such conclusion?" Blair's eyelid was
twitching violently.

   "Because the goddamn dog is gone as well!" Desmond lit a cigarette. "I
figured that since he is moving in with you and taking the dog, he wanted
that damn mutt to get used to the new smells..."

   "Wait..." Blair said in a low voice. "You said you know who is behind
it..."

   "Sort of," Desmond grumbled. "I know what disguise the bitch used, but
that's about it... I don't have a slightest idea who she really is...
Goddammit!" He smacked his fist onto the wall of the house in helpless rage.

   "Do you know anything else about the sacrifice?" Blair demanded.
"Anything...?"

   "It has to be performed at 14:17 sharp," Desmond said in colorless voice.
"February fourteenth, 14:17 sharp."

   "Okay, okay..." Blair nodded feverishly. "That means he is still alive
and we have more than twenty hours... Shit, shit, shit..." he paced around
the kitchen. "Okay, okay..." he muttered finally and whipped out his phone.

   "Whom are you calling?" Desmond asked sharply. "Whom are you calling,
damn you?" He said louder when Blair ignored him.

   "Daniel," Blair muttered.

   "Don't!" Desmond said in a dangerous voice.

   "Look," Blair didn't even glance at him this time. "I don't know what
your problem is with me or the Guardians, but don't you think that now is
not a good time to bitch about something like..."

   "Goddammit!" Desmond crossed the distance between them in one zooming
move, and grabbed the phone out of Blair's hand.

   The Fire Guardian blinked at that, and then his eyes rapidly started
turning yellow.

   "If you don't give that back to me right now..." he started saying in a
very dangerous voice, and Desmond interrupted him.

   "Use your brain, dumbass!" he hissed. "It's not about my problems right
now... I don't give a shit about my problems right now! I would kiss
Salamander's ass if I knew that would help, okay? You gonna call him and say
what exactly? `Oh, Danny-boy, remember that slightly important thing about
the Winter Equinox this year? Yeah, the sacrifice is gone, but it's nothing
to worry about...' Something like that?"

   Blair's eyes darkened ever so slightly.

   "And then what?" Desmond continued. "You seriously believe that he'll
just sigh and say, `Oh, it's okay. Don't sweat it'... Goddammit, Blair! If
anyone finds out that Sam is missing, do you really believe that saving him
would be their main priority? Well, think again!" He shoved the phone back
into Blair's palm, noting the fact that the man's eyes were back to their
original color.

   Suddenly, the tattoo on his shoulder started to itch like crazy. He tried
reaching for it but his shirt was in a way. He growled and ripped the shirt
off, digging his fingernails into the pulsating with the itch skin.

   "Oh, God..." he hissed. "Son of a..."

   "You have the same tattoo as Sam?" Blair frowned.

   "If you will even hint at the fact that you are jealous..." Desmond
hissed through his teeth while he was all but ripping off his skin. "I swear
to God, I will..."

   "Use your brain, dumbass!" Blair snapped at him. "Why the hell would I be
jealous of you? It's not jealousy... You drew this same pattern in the snow
that one night... When I saw it on Sam's shoulder, I remembered immediately,
but I couldn't remember why the hell it looked so familiar to begin with..."
He frowned and walked closer. "I still can't remember..." he muttered.
"Goddamn, where have I seen this before? God, stop scratching! You are
bleeding..."

   "It's itching..." Desmond growled. "It's driving me nuts!"

   "Where have I seen this before...?" Blair muttered again. "When did you
get them?" he asked suddenly. "The tattoos... When did you get them?"

   "January fifth," Desmond said without even pausing to think. "Why?"

   "Hold on..." Blair opened his phone and started dialing some number.

   "Whom are you calling?" Desmond whirled around.

   "Don't even think of grabbing my phone again," Blair said warningly. "I
am not going to mention Sam, don't worry... Felix!" he said into the phone,
and Desmond gritted his teeth. "Hey, a quick question... Yeah, since you are
into history and all... Hey, I am doing this puzzle, and there is a picture
of a symbol in there. I know I have seen it before but I cannot remember the
name of it...! Drives me crazy... It's circle-shaped..." Blair gestured for
Desmond to turn around. "There are lines inside... Umm, different lines...
Kinda snake-shaped, you know...? Oh, and there is a triangle looking thingy
in the center... What...?" He fell silent, and Desmond turned around.
"Yeah..." Blair muttered into the phone. "That's it... Yeah, that's the
right word... Thanks, Felix, bye..."

   "What is it?" Desmond asked quietly, knowing that he was not going to
like the answer.

   "It's the symbol of Satrienne," Blair said dully.

   "Who or what is that?"

   "One of the old gods," Blair said in the same dull voice. "That's why it
looked familiar to me... When I was at school, we had to write some essay on
the history of the ancient world... Mine had to have a symbol and a
description in it... I chose Satrienne. It was a long time ago, so I forgot
all about it..."

   "I had no idea about Satrienne," Desmond said slowly. "How the hell was I
able to draw the perfect symbol?"

   "I don't know," Blair shook his head. "Maybe you dreamt it...? I mean,
sometimes people..."

   Desmond froze.

   "Dreamt it..." he muttered, and suddenly felt cold.

   "What?" Blair frowned.

   Desmond leaned onto the kitchen counter with both hands, his back towards
Blair.

   "Burn it off," he commanded.

   "What?" the Fire Guardian blinked.

   "Burn it off!" Desmond barked. "I don't know how I was able to do it, but
I know that this shit has everything to do with Sam's disappearance... I
also don't know what else it might do, so burn it off...! Now!" he snapped
when Blair just stood there.

   "It'll hurt like hell..." Blair muttered.

   "Really?" Desmond narrowed his eyes. "Then I better learn how to get off
on pain... Burn it...! Goddammit, Blair," he said in a quieter voice. "Do
you really want to risk Sam's life even more by acting like a squeamish
little girl right now...?"

   That did it and Blair's eyes immediately turned bright yellow. He wasn't
pissed this time; he was focused.

  "Ready?" he raised his right hand.

   "No," Desmond said through his clenched teeth and grabbed onto that
counter for dear life. "Do it!"

   Blair didn't say anything else and pressed his hand onto that damn
tattoo. He was wrong; it didn't hurt like hell – it hurt worse. Desmond
screamed out and dropped his head onto his chest, his fingers digging into
the counter. He clenched his teeth, trying to lock his screams in his
throat. It worked, but only partially. Suddenly, there was an incredulous:

   "What the fuck?! Let go of him, you son of a bitch!"

   Desmond unlocked his jaw and screamed out:

   "Rayhe, don't!"

   Gabriel came to a screeching halt, his eyes huge, his expression furious
and dumbfounded at the same time.

   "Des..."

   "Don't..." Desmond groaned. "I need this... God!!" he dropped his head
onto his chest again.

   Finally, Blair lowered his hand, and Desmond collapsed onto his knees,
panting and shaking all over.

   "Des..." Gabriel said very calmly. "Since when are you into this sort of
thing?"

   "Since..." Desmond gasped for air. "Since... Blair, tell him..." he
pressed both of his hands into the floor.

   "That tattoo," Blair said gravely. "It's the symbol of Satrienne," he
finished, and Gabriel was mute.


http://visions.heliohost.org