Don't Fight the Spark

by Kasia Bacon

  "No."

  The vampire's curt refusal made me jolt. At the same time, confusingly, I registered the absence of the parchment in my palm.

  "Not tonight. Lu---Grandmaster Feninghan---has Order affairs to attend to," Revendi said evenly, glossing over his slip. "Come to the Sunken Sailor tomorrow at sunset."

  Everyone in Něssyr knew that the Order kept a private room at the Sunken Sailor for the purpose of conducting business with outsiders. The Assassins maintained powerful protective wards around the Black Fortress. No one gained access through the barrier, except for sworn brothers who sported magically charged tattoos, and trusted Guild affiliates in possession of tokens of passage, known as Order Obsidians.

  I couldn't stop my shoulders from slumping in relief. Clutching at my chest, I mumbled some nonsense in gratitude.

  The alchemist directed a barely noticeable nod to me and flicked his lace-cuffed wrist at the closed door. The heavy, two-winged panels swung open majestically from four paces away.

  I clenched my teeth to ensure my mouth stayed shut.

  "Do not fret, Healer Ẽkana." Revendi's smile showed no signs of prior restraint, this time baring his fangs in all their razor-sharp glory. "The Order always get what we are after."

  Back at the compound, my duties consumed a fair amount of the day. Sweaty and a little flustered, I didn't walk into my rooms until mid-evening.

  Unlit and empty, the place seemed deserted.

  Immediately, worry nipped at my gut.

  "Yüu?" I called into the dimness, trying to quell the surge of panic rising in my chest.

  Did he leave? Is he gone? Is he safe?

  "Here," Yüu's voice guided me to the balcony.

  Out there, among potted plants of flowering yarogon and by the light of a single lamp, I spotted him reclining on one of two 'long sunchairs', as Něssyrians called them. Nursing a glass of wine in his hand, he wore nothing besides the dressings I'd besought him not to fiddle with and a linen bath sheet draped around his hips.

  As tantalising as I found that sight, I crossed my arms, about to lecture him on the side effects of drinking while recuperating and under the influence of Magic. But then I remembered our situation and thought the better of it.

  Yüu arched an eyebrow at me in challenge, clearly awaiting the result of my internal struggle. Seeing that nothing was forthcoming, he reached down to the tray laden with a carafe and another glass. Having filled the crystal one-third full with the ruby liquid, he handed it to me.

  You learned to pick your battles when you loved a fighter. Sighing, I accepted the drink. Besides, I really could've used one.

  Before taking a sip, I gave the wine a quick swirl, admiring its deep colour. The familiar flavour of black cherry, plum and oak burst on my tongue---rich and smoky.

  "Ysêmyrian red," I said in surprise, wondering how the hell Yüu had come by my favourite tipple.

  He gave me that slow, fetching smile of his that could turn my resolve to dust. And, just like every time before, my heart fluttered hopelessly in response.

  "Quit hovering, Ĥaiatto. Sit with me." Forestalling my question, he added, "I'm feeling better. Much better. Will you stop worrying?"

  Sure. Course. What's there to worry about? It's not like one of us is in mortal danger, or anything.

  I stifled a sigh and joined him, claiming the other sunchair.

  For a while we sat next to each other in silence---drinking, breathing in the warm air scented with blooms of the yarogon. Suddenly, a flotilla of glowing paper lanterns in blue, yellow, green and cerise flew across the dark firmament above us, akin to a flock of exotic birds. Many Něssyrians began the celebrations early, eager to send their holiday lights on trial runs over the city.

  The calm domesticity of the scene had hit me as quite absurd, considering that my insides kept twisting in turmoil as if gripped by a pair of pincers since the previous day. I'd have given anything in exchange for certainty that on the next Night of Lights, and every one after that, I'd be sitting next to Yüu, tasting wine and admiring lanterns.

  I sneaked a look at his handsome profile.

  He seemed lost in thought, his brow furrowed and eyes musing on the sky.

  I couldn't bear him being so close and yet so distant anymore. Let alone practically naked in front of me. I swilled down the last of my wine and cleared the glass away.

  "Are you wishing on a star, Yüu?" I perched on his chair and moved in to extract the empty crystal from his grasp. I replaced it with my fingers, lacing them around his.

  His gaze found mine, piercing me with an intent stare as if trying to solve a puzzle. He acted collected, as always, but his golden eyes gleamed with something foreign: resignation and sorrow. "If I could offer a lantern for a blessing bestowed upon me this past year, it would be lit for you," he said. "I'm thankful for every moment you've spent with me. For your every kiss. Every smile you've given me."

  The teasing grin died on my lips. I knew what Yüu was doing: exactly what Rhēn had suggested I did. Saying goodbye. Preparing me. Letting go. Giving up on us.

  Without realising it, I clutched his hand as if it were a lifeline slipping away from me in deep water.

  It must've hurt, yet he didn't appear to notice. "You're everything I could've dreamed of. Everything I've ever needed. Perfect. You're perfect. I want you to remember this. I just wish so damn much that I could love you for a little bit longer."

  I gulped air through my open mouth. Yüu's words, spoken with quiet, sincere conviction, wrung my heart out. How could he make me feel overjoyed and mournful at the same time?

  I hadn't dared hope he'd reciprocated the full depth of my commitment, reconciled to settle for the smallest fraction. But I'd prayed to the gods that he loved me. He'd never admitted so before, and I'd been too proud to ask and too frightened to handle a let-down. The old insecurities of an ignored child---one who'd never delivered on family expectations, proving to be a perpetual disappointment---hid too close to the surface. Like an old wound that still festered deep down, ready to bleed at the smallest scratch.

  What he said had just sunk in: I was good enough for him. He loved me. Me, a Spark and not a Mage. Tall, gangly and awkward.

  I'd have dismissed a similar statement coming from anyone else as an empty utterance. But Yüu? I believed right away because he never said things without meaning them. He spoke only when he had something to say, and throughout the years, I'd learned to listen.

  "Yüu. Oh, Yüu," I blabbered in a daze. My eloquence might've failed me, but the desperate urge to lock him in my embrace and keep him there, free from harm, propelled me forward. Having enough sense to mind his healing injuries, I gathered him to me, keeping my movements slow but steady.

  He rested his forehead against mine, his arms strong around me.

  "Tell me," I whispered, focusing on the sensation of having my chest pressed to Yüu's so closely that even a sheet of parchment couldn't have been lodged between us. "If there were a chance...or even half a chance for us to be safe and together, w-would you take it? Tell me, would you follow me if I found a way out?"

  His answer came in a heartbeat. "I would," he said. "Anywhere."

  To have someone like Yüu not laugh at the possibility, but also admit he trusted me, meant more than a mountain of coin.

  Fighting the prickling sensation in my eyes, I clung to him tighter as he kneaded the back of my neck. And just like that, hope overshadowed the fear and doubt lurking inside me. With Yüu by my side, I could achieve anything. With him around, I'd never feel hopeless, inadequate and lonely. The path I'd started on had to yield results for us. It had to.

  The fragrance of rosemary and geranium from the oil blend he favoured still lingered on his skin and hair. It brought me to the present, filling my nostrils with the familiar scent I'd grown to regard as both relaxing and arousing. My hands started towards his tailbone in a lazy, practised slide almost inadvertently, as if directed by nothing other than muscle memory. Pretty soon, however, r
unning my fingertips over that delightfully bare, silky skin---to the accompaniment of his encouraging mmmhs no less---caused my actions to take on a more urgent and deliberate purpose.

  All at once, I didn't seem to be alone in my desire to progress things. Yüu's breathing hitched. He held me with more vigour. I could feel his heart thrashing against his ribcage, pumping blood quicker and quicker.

  I trailed a path of feathery kisses down the bridge of his nose and upper lip until my mouth met with Yüu's equally eager one. Then I latched on with a moan I couldn't suppress any longer.

  Yüu's kisses were always sweet and gentle to start with. They quickly became testing, inviting more engagement, only to turn bold and shattering in the end. He kissed like he fought: sounding his opponent out, cranking up the challenge, then leaving them breathless, stunned and completely obliterated.

  I welcomed every such defeat delivered by his clever tongue, and this time was no different. Hot-cheeked and a tad winded, I forced myself to break the kiss, at last, gratified at Yüu's growl of protest. "Let me take care of you, love," I panted into his ear. "All right?" And with that, I pushed him backwards onto the chair.

  Showing no signs of resistance, he allowed me to guide him into a half-lying position.

  Once I had him situated right where I wanted him, I drew back slightly, pausing to study the ravishing view sprawled in front of me.

  Oh yes. I knew and adored the wild look glittering in his golden eyes. That tightly-wound hunger. That unconcealed want. The way he observed me with parted lips, his body coiled in anticipation, turned my blood into liquid fire.

  Without stalling anymore, I let my hands wander across his shoulders and chest, avoiding the bruises and trying not to frown at them. I took a brief detour to tease his dark, hard nipples before continuing my unhurried descent south, caressing every single one of his delicious abdominal ripples. By the time I passed his belly button, having arrived at the edge of the cloth covering his groin, the material below tented over a generously sized bulge. Twitching now and again, it taunted me into uncovering it. And in two pulls at the material, I managed to do just that.

  "Ĥaiatto." Yüu let out a lamentable sigh, indicating the ruddy, swollen part of him by pushing his pelvis forward, "doesn't it look in need of immediate attention from a healer to you?"

  I couldn't help but smile at his pitiful display, more than happy to oblige. My mouth had already begun watering. "It is sore? My poor love." I murmured, trapping his granite-like shaft in my hand, bending forward to deliver little licks and open-mouthed kisses to the base and along its length. "Shall we see if I can kiss it better?"

  Taking Yüu's partly-relieved and partly-pained aaaahs as approval, I tried propping myself on my stomach next to him. Since fitting on the sunchair---which turned out not that long after all---proved impossible, I rolled off and dropped to my knees by the side, frustrated with the limited space, but determined to make do.

  Finally, the hot head of his throbbing cock filled my mouth. For a time, I sucked on it, twirling my tongue around the tip, enjoying the texture of the sleek stiffness. Relaxing my throat, I rammed him in a bit farther, and then as deep as I could, welcoming the unrelenting persistence with which the veiny girth claimed the passage and stretched my jaws.

  I loved sampling his heady taste and clean, masculine scent. But what stirred me even more, holding me on the cusp of climax, was his reaction to having my mouth on him.

  His body went rigid under my touch. His pleas and groans above me gained an edge of desperation. His hands, buried in my hair to guide the movements of my head, shivered with strain, alternating between tender strokes and ruthless jerks abundant with male aggression.

  My balls pulled up, tight as you like. The urge to release slammed into me as sudden as it was dire. I tilted my hips forward and wedged my crotch against the armrest of the chair. I needed pressure, any pressure and fast, to stop myself from flooding my robes with my seed. Struggling to curb my arousal, I decided to hurry things along by lending a helping, well... finger.

  I pushed it inside my mouth alongside Yüu's cock to wet it from tip to knuckle, ignoring the increased burn at the corners of my tautened lips. The next moment, I slithered my hand underneath Yüu, feeling around for the right spot. Once I located it, I eased my finger inside.

  "Ĥaiatto," Yüu moaned in warning.

  He liked that---he liked that a lot. The trick had never failed me in the past and sure enough, before I even managed to crook my finger a third time, hot pulses of fluid spilt inside my mouth.

  Yüu's head flopped back onto the sun chair, his eyes misty and heavy-lidded. "Magic," he muttered.

  Intent on catching my breath, I rested using Yüu's uninjured thigh for support, one palm pressed against his groin and the other still trapped under his arse. I could sense tiny tremors rocking his muscles, the last reminders of the pleasure I'd given him. "I didn't use any," I protested weakly, raising my chin to survey Yüu's expression. A twinge of guilt for dosing him with a sneaky top-up treatment that morning stabbed at my conscience. It had likely knocked him out till noon meal.

  "Silly Ĥaiatto," he breathed, mirth lightening his tone. "Don't you see? It's magic every time you touch me."

  I took my turn to tremble.

  The way he looked right then---lying in such a languid pose, unwatchful and unwary to the point of appearing vulnerable---couldn't have slipped any further away from his usual razor-sharp focus and sheltered vigilance. Seeing him like this was a gift, a precious offering he chose no other than me to receive.

  My chest swelled with pride. I'd had little experience with feeling special and wanted, but I reckoned I could get used to the concept in no time at all. "I love you," I blurted out. Only then did I realise to my amazement that I'd hadn't yet shared that information with him. A wave of warmth suffused my neck.

  What I considered an earth-shattering confession seemed to amuse him even further. "I know you do." His voice sounded husky, and the back of his hand felt tender when he brushed my jawline. "I've always known. You've shown me enough times. But I like hearing it, all the same."

  Had it been so simple all the while? It took ages for me to quit gaping. Not for the first time, I mused how much his unflappable logic and assured approach to life differed from my nervous hesitancy and tendency to overthink.

  Since my bony joints protested the hardness of the flooring with increased vehemence, I stood and rubbed at them. "How about we continue this... conversation in bed?" I extended my hand to Yüu, "Come, I'll show you magic all right. Just let me get my hands and knees on some flat surface."

  Yüu sniffed out a laugh and wrapped his fingers around mine, relying on me to pull him up. "Mmm. I can't wait to get you on your hands and knees, either."

  That night we could do nothing more than offer one another unreserved passion and words of devotion. And we did nothing less.

  BROTHERHOOD

  I knew the way to the Sunken Sailor, of course. I'd been there once before, for the gods' sake. But I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere around the old marina.

  Feeling like a bundle of raw nerves, I kept rehearsing the speech I intended to deliver to Grandmaster Feninghan. Murmuring to myself and waving my arms, I looked, no doubt, completely demented. Thusly preoccupied, I lost track of my surroundings.

  As the alleys became narrower, dingier and filthier, the air lost its salt and algae-infused freshness, gaining an unpleasant edge reminiscent of smoke, cabbage and human waste. Only then did I realise that the daylight was running out while I, like a moron, had wandered into the most disreputable and derelict part of the west docklands.

  I couldn't be called streetwise on the best of days, but somehow I sensed the danger before I saw the stocky silhouette emerging from a nook ahead and approaching me with the rolling gait of a sailor. Alas, the alert came a tad too late.

  "Fuck me and tickle my 'airy balls pink! Gaven, look what we've got 'ere. An 'ealer! Green robes on 'im, variñya and all."
<
br />   The low whistle that came from behind me iced over my veins.

  It turned out Gaven's guffaw had a rather nasty ring to it. "Blimey. Strolling right into our hands. Tis our lucky day or what?"

  "Damn right. What d'you reckon the captain gives us for bringing 'im an 'ealer?"

  "Fifty silvers, at least! We haven't had a healer on board since that little shit from Rhénon escaped somewhere around the Northern Isles."

  Fuck and also fuck. Pirates!

  My hair stood on end. All the horror stories I'd heard about abducted healers flooded my panicked mind. Since not many members of my profession willingly accepted employment from corsairs, the latter resorted to kidnapping, trickery and coercion to procure medics for their ships. The practice known as crimping was more common than the Guild liked to admit out loud.

  Cautiously, I turned so I could see both attackers.

  Hands on their cutlasses, they proceeded to come at me from both sides, cornering me within the confined space of the archway passage. The sour odour of their sweat carried in the air and churned my stomach.

  I backed away until my rear hit the uneven surface of a stone wall.

  "Ho! Ain't he a pretty one?" Gaven leered at me. "Bit tall, perhaps, but take a gander at those big eyes and lashes! The captain won't say nay to those cock-sucking lips, either."

  The laugh of Gaven's companion sounded no better. "Aye," he croaked. "I say we should get an 'undred, since 'e's a looker."

  My heart pounded as if it wanted out of my ribcage. I racked my brains for a way out. Physical altercation wasn't my thing. I never even watched the fights on the compound, never mind attempting to overpower a couple of armed thugs. For the first time, I regretted my reluctance to indulge Yüu when he'd insisted on showing me some self-defence moves.

  They pounced on me. Grabbing me and twisting my arms, they kicked my feet so I would lose my footing. The world tilted on its axis and my coccyx met the cobbled ground, sending a gut-wrenching wave of numbness throughout my lower body. I made to open my mouth to cry out for help, however pointless the idea, but the next instant a foul-smelling hood covered my face and head, restricting my ability to breathe. I could no longer see or move my upper body. Light-headed and disoriented, I fought nausea, nearly blacking out from shock, pain and fear.