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The following story contains violence and erotic homosexual situations and content. If it is illegal for you to read this, please leave now. If after reading this disclaimer, you find yourself surprised by the content, you should be slapped.
Chapter 3 Wings of Hope
"Well met Asher." Anthoni bent at the hip and gave me a curt bow.
I plunged into his mind and swam through his thoughts. He struggled against the intrusion but finally gave in. Pulling back from his mind I noticed the affect my mental assault had upon him. Anthony staggered and was noticeably weakened. His skin had lightened in color as if his body had eaten too much of the blood that sustained him.
"You could have asked my intentions." Anthoni's speech reminded me of a different era.
The last time I had heard this particular accent was during a brief stay in Pompeii. They were a remarkable people for their time. They were Romans by conquest, but artists and people of vision by nature. Anthoni was either a resident, or a descendant before the change, which made him nearly 2000 years old. The upturned tilt of his eyes and amber remnants of color in his skin confirmed it. His light brown waist length hair curled about his oval face and beyond his shoulders. He had a short but slender abdomen that expanded into a powerful chest. His body was almost out of proportion. His thighs and forearms were swelling with muscle while his waist was almost non existent.
I looked into his hazel eyes. "You expect me to trust the words of vampire or man?"
Anthoni smiled.
My thoughts wandered back to my time with Kalob in Pompeii. We lay in the steaming Thermae Stabianae, our heads stretched back against the stone of our bath, staring up to a diamond dusted sky. We spent our nights staring at that same sky while laying in each others arms on a cushioned bench in the peristyle. I can still smell the sweetness in the air from the blooming gladiolas of the garden in the center of the room. The night air was damp and we clung to each other more for love than warmth. It was a simple comfort.
A few months later we lounged in what is now called Naples. Vesuvius erupted. A massive cloud of ash blocked the sun and my father's eyes, for three bliss-filled days. We danced in the streets and made love during the daylight hours to spite my father. It wasn't really so much to defy him as it was for Kalob's mourning of his mortal life. I must admit I felt the same loss. Even though my father had never truly noticed me, he was there should I need him. Now both Kalob and I shied from his sight. Daylight was now an eternal stare of disapproval, pain, and regret. We felt the loss of the same piece of ourselves, but defined it differently.
A fluttering tug of my hair interrupted my thoughts as I turned to see David running his fingertips along its length. I smiled as he pulled his hand back to his lap. Blood colored his face and he lowered his eyes to hide his embarrassment.
Rising from my stone throne I stepped toward Anthoni. "I would like you to walk with me in the city. I'll be back in a moment. Please excuse me."
I needed a shirt and jacket. The cooler weather of the season wouldn't truly bother me, but a pale bare-chested man with two huge scars where wings once resided would draw unwanted attention. I turned and merged into stone throne and toward the steps that led to the lower sanctuary. As I descended through the rock I noticed the fear in David's face and gave a small nod to calm him.
This would be the first time we were separated since Seth's death. He sat quiet and vulnerable to the other vampires. I watched the room with my mind's eye. Gabrielle and Jonas stood and advanced on David. They were only a few feet away when I immolated them. I sent a searing fire to their bodies and burned them enough to put them to the floor. They would remain in a half life of suffering. I had warned them, but they did not listen
I had finished pulling out a long leather floor length trench coat when I sensed a change in Anthoni. As fast as thought, I stood in front of David. Anthoni had raced toward him faster than most could see but I was there. I held him immobile with my mind. He floated only inches from me and glared back with raging blood filled eyes. The inhuman screeches coming from what was left of Gabrielle and Jonas filled the room. They were so burned they could not even properly scream their pain.
"Why do you test me Anthoni?" I thrust him backwards through the air and into the stone wall some forty feet away. I was angry and toyed with the thought of destroying them all. It would have been a much simpler solution.
Advancing toward him through the hall, I pressed his body against the stone wall with my mind. The vampires in the room scattered like cockroaches from daylight as I passed. I increased the pressure against him as I moved forward while listening to his pained moans as the weight of my mind began cracking his bones.
The incessant cries from the shivering husks annoyed me instantly.
"Silence!" My voice roared through the hall. White pulses of light consumed Gabrielle and Jonas sending their remains into sprays of ash.
I don't possess the patience I once did.
Releasing the pressure against Anthoni, I backhanded him, sending him flying against the side wall. I turned and went back to David and sat on the large throne brooding. I took a deep breath and let my anger drift away from me.
"I have warned you all, but some still choose to defy me. Know this. The next will live out eternity in a half life, and the burned shell you witnessed moments ago. I will place you so far in the earth, blood will never find you. You will know pain for all time." The hollow echo of my voice seemed too friendly to me considering my current mood. It was simple, and I had no reservations about keeping my word.
"Let me put this in a way you might understand. DO NOT FUCK WITH ME!" I yelled the words and the force behind them shattered the floor. Cracks broke out across the stone where I sat as if someone had hit glass with a hammer.
"I will not hesitate to end your existence. If this idiocy continues I will destroy you all. I am not a Vampire. I am Asher. You are my brother's creations, not mine. I do not possess the sentimental attachment Lucif has for your kind."
The silence was broken with the mentioned of my brother's name. I heard a brief intake of breath from Anthoni. I stood and pulled Anthoni to me from where he lay. I drew his body to me violently with my mind. He flew through the air and into my grasp.
I traced my fingertips along the curve of his bruised neck and the bone of his jaw. My touch took his wounds. In seconds he was completely healed but severely weakened. He would need blood soon.
"You know the name Lucif?" I peered into his oval, almost Mesopotamian brown eyes.
"Please forgive me Asher. Jealousy and sorrow gripped me, and I acted without thinking. I did not know I was still capable of such rash action." Anthoni's voice was warm and subdued as he spoke the words.
I wanted to crush him from existence at that very moment, but didn't. I'm not sure why. It would have been wiser and a much less painful decision if I had.
"Perhaps we will take that walk now. I'm anxious to see the night sky." I let Anthoni's weak body drift gently to the floor. He stood before us of his own volition and stared at the stone beneath his feet.
"We are no longer in Pompeii. Do not bind your actions to old habits." His eyes widened with disbelief.
Though I am sure he wasn't used to subjugating himself in this era. There was a practiced familiarity that his body demonstrated. It told me stories of something remembered and engraved upon his nature. He reacted as one of the many young men for hire that roamed the streets of Pompeii during that time.
He was given the blood and had endured. It was no small feat. A human's mind wasn't built for eternity. My father had given the potential, but it was seldom appreciated. Anthoni was obviously one of those that had taken my father up on his silent offer. For nearly 2000 years he had walked the night and somehow kept his sanity. It was a blink compared to what I had been witness to, but respected the accomplishment. Whether human or vampire, it impressed me.
I curled my arm around David and let the weight rest against his shoulder as my fingertips played across the pale skin of his neck.
"We should dance." I took hold of Anthoni's hand and shifted through the stone and metal that separated us from the club above.
A violent beat shook my chest as the song surged. I don't know why human music has this sway on my heart, but I yearned for it. I pulled Brian, Anthoni, and myself through the floors to a dark corner behind the strobe of light that lit the dance floor.
I could sense many of my brother's works in the club. They crawled along my skin like a thousand insects tickling my flesh. In the other corner, I could also sense them.
They were Druid. My father, for some unknown reason, had given them his favor so that they might take care of his play thing, Earth. There were two of them. Artificial flashes of my father's eyes played across their bodies like bits of borrowed daylight. The blond's name was Bryan, but was called Bry. The brown wavy haired boy was Ty.
The crowd around us parted as a spotlight bathed us in a blue-white glow. "Ladies and gentleman, it's show time!" Jeremy stood on stage and spoke into his microphone.
I smiled and bowed to the audience. The thoughts I had stolen from Seth let me know the procedure. Each night, he would emerge, mesmerize a few patrons, and then send them on their way barely able to remember what had happened. This was a vampire bar, and the few human patrons that visited here knew of our kind.
Passing through the crowd faster than their eyes could perceive, we appeared beside Jeremy. He was the announcer, young in appearance, and handsome. His voice pulled against the hearts of those who heard his words. It wasn't by accident that he held his position. The evoking timber of his voice, blond hair, Greek figure, and Nordic features enthralled even me. His voice didn't heft the aggravating edge of a circus vendor, but one of drama and intrigue. He stood in the shadows shivering and handed me the wireless microphone. The light was still shining where we once stood, but found us as I spoke.
"Good evening. Seth has retired and I am the new proprietor of this establishment. Thank you all for coming. We have a very special show for you this evening. Please welcome Bry and Ty." The crowd erupted in applause as a second spotlight lit their small corner.
Pushing into Ty's mind, I was met with an impenetrable wall. It was solid and flawless and I couldn't glean even the slightest of thoughts. I have to admit my surprise. I hadn't met such a creature in an eternity. His lover, Bry, however, was an open book. He meant to kill me and I couldn't fight the grin that stretched my lips. No Slegna had ever been destroyed, and even with my father's favor, the notion was ridiculous. We Slegna are eternal.
"We are not part of your show Asher. We only wish to speak with you." Ty's words were calm but firm.
The contrast between his lithe form and his strong words was strange. It seemed his voice didn't match his body. He was so wraith like and fragile in appearance, that the confidence in his voice surprised me.
"First, you will entertain the crowd. Then we might speak, that is of course, if you survive." Seeing the tension fill his body I knew my words had an affect, though I couldn't say for certain it was fear.
Angry rolling grey clouds of mist billowed out above the crowd. A storm grew along the ceiling as the clouds seemed to pulse outward filling every crevice. Flashes of lightning curled along the violent grey and thunder shook the room.
"Let the show begin." I pushed my words through the chaotic storm and they echoed back from the walls vibrating the foundation of the building.
A second later the druids stood before me on the stage and a massive breath of tornado like wind blasted outwards. David, Anthoni, and the crowd were thrown back as I stood alone against the gale. I reached out to where Bry stood but felt him shift and cut through me. A pain exploded along my back. I had felt this anguish once before during my fall from Haven, and dropped to my knees. My strength left me and I was helpless. If an end was possible for my kind, I feared I might meet it now.
"Bry, you promised me." Ty spoke the words as white hot pain surged through me and I felt the slow crawling trickle of my thick blood travel down my back.
Darkness filled my sight and the world seemed to tilt as my mind fell into oblivion. 'Is this death?'
My mind drew from a deeper sleep than I had ever known. For a short time I was somewhere else, but I couldn't recall where. I fought to hang onto the fleeting memories, but the images slipped away like water through my fingers. My mind snapped back to attention and my eyes shot open as I sat upright. Across from me sat David, Anthoni, and the druids Bry and Ty.
I stretched out my arms and a yawn extended my jaw in a long lingering exhale. David jumped up from his chair, bounded across the bed and gripped me tightly around my midsection.
I chuckled and rest my hands against his back as he clutched my waist and sobbed. "Silly thing, I am Slenga. We are not.."
My breath caught in my throat as I my wings folded forward and covered David. My wings... It had to be some kind of sick joke. I arched my back trying to get away and my wings shot outward striking the bedside tables. They crashed down the stone stairs into piles of splintered wood and debris.
I pulled my wings in and around David once more. Lifting my hand I shuddered. The shake of my body sent a ripple along my wings and the white feathers danced with the subtle movement of air. I reached out and trailed my finger along the thick ridge of flesh and feather covered bone and felt my own touch. They were real. I was whole again. Sobs shook my chest and for the first time in more than a thousand years, tears fell from my eyes.
The druids stood and moved to either side and brushed away my tears. They moved their fingers to their mouths.
"Don't!" I watched in horror as they slid their fingers along their lips and tasted the sweet of my sadness.
A halo of light shimmered around them and then faded. "We've tasted your flesh, blood, seed, and now your tears Asher." Bry spoke the words like some ancient menacing creature, but his voice was young.
I took a moment to study him. His straight blond shoulder length hair was for the most part swept back from his forehead and tucked behind the ear on one side. The rest hung down lazily and poker straight as if losing the fight against the pull of its own weight. His once menacing green eyes now held kindness as he studied me. His nose was petite and rounded and seemed to fit his face perfectly. His lips were plump but not obtrusive. They rest just above a barely dimpled chin and a jaw that promised a more square line in adulthood. We both knew that that day would never come. If what they said was true, if they had tasted, they would never age.
I was tempted to race back to Haven but the body that clung to my waist gave me pause.
"Please understand Asher. I have given you your wings, not your father's forgiveness. That isn't mine to give. You cannot return. I'm sorry." Ty spoke the words barely above a whisper and I heard as well as felt the pity in his voice.
Looking through the brown wavy hair I saw his dark black eyes staring back at me. What might have once been colored a deep brown were now rich black circles like portals into the abyss. Ty's hair also dusted his shoulders, but possessed a weak curl. It fell about his head at a single length, but did little to hide his features. His nose was more prominent than Bry's in length and ended with a sharp almost elf like point. His lips seemed to have a perpetual upward tilt at the corners and looked as though he might grin even in his sleep. He was lean with taut muscle and only a couple of inches shorter than Bry making him somewhere near six feet tall.
"So then, you had your way with me while I was unconscious." For the first time in my memory my voice was tinged with anger, but also humility.
I had been beaten but not killed. There was no doubt in my mind that Bry had the ability to follow through with his earlier intent to end my life. Thoughts of death gripped my attention and I wondered if it would have been a better gift than my wings. David's silk like hair played between my fingertips and I traced the curls along their length past his shoulders. Perhaps life in this prison did hold some promise.
"We only took what necessity required so we could repair the damage to your body and further our cause. The veil is weakening, and like it or not, we're all stuck here." Ty and Bry backed away from me and stood together at the foot of my bed.
"We have given you another gift as well." Ty's lips curled into a smile and he tipped his head forward in a bow as his falling hair hid his expression. "The sun will no longer burn your flesh. We will leave you to other activities and to rest. Expect us again tomorrow after sunset."
With that their forms bent in the light and disappeared. 'The druids have left the building.' The silly thought made me smile and I couldn't contain my giggle.
My surroundings felt more foreign than I ever thought possible. Each emotion or lack of it, with regard to my surroundings, filtered through to my mind for consideration. My bitterness was swept away as if someone had lifted a heavy load from my heart.
My chest nearly burst with acceptance of the past and new possibilities for my future. I barely recognized the feeling. It was hope. I had lost my will to continue when my Jacob was taken from me, and chose to sleep in the darkest depths of the earth. Now that a life lay ahead of me, I was haunted with the fact that the weakening veil might steal it from me. I suppose life is only worth living when you fear its loss. I needed to find my brother Lucif. Surely he would understand.
As are most authors, I'm anxious to hear your opinions on the story. Feedback fuels me to write, so if you're enjoying the story, please take a moment to let me know. If you hate it, I'm always more than willing to hear that too. You can mail me at gaywriter72@yahoo.com. A special thanks to my editor Dr. Grant. Without you, my scribbles wouldn't be what they are! This is one of a series of stories that all merge together. The Nephillim, The Lycan, The Druid, The Fey, The Grigori, Lucif, and Midnight's Rainbow. Give them a glance when and if you have a moment. Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks!