Lover, Destroyer

by Sionnach Wintergreen

  Kite stood as silent as the falling snow.

  Elarhe gathered himself and departed. As he swung the double doors closed, he saw Kite bow his head.

  ***

  Kite didn’t see them off. Goose said he had left to run an errand early that morning, then left again before Elarhe woke up. Apparently, he had told his goodbyes to Cinder, he had simply ignored Elarhe.

  As Elarhe and Cinder rode outside the castle gates, Cinder said, “He was having a difficult time telling me goodbye. I imagine he feared crying with your farewell. He did care about you. No matter what he says now.”

  “I loved him,” Elarhe admitted, glumly. “We had our problems, but I think we could have worked through them. He just didn’t care about me enough to try.”

  Cinder looked at him with a sympathetic expression that turned into a sad smile. “He gave us presents.” He patted one of the bundles behind his horse’s saddle. “He usually gives good ones for a heartless monster of death.”

  Elarhe blinked his eyes quickly. “He does. He gave me Treasure,” he petted the feliph, shielded from the cold with a spell Cinder had taught him, “and Rose.” He gave Rose a pat on the neck.

  Cinder’s smile managed to grow sadder. “He gave me Song.” He indicated the blood bay horse beneath him with a sweep of his hand.

  Elarhe looked at the bundle askance. “I doubt that’s as good as a horse.”

  Cinder laughed. “Probably not. We’ll see when we stop for lunch.”

  ***

  They stopped at a cave that Cinder knew about. It was big enough for their horses to be out of the snow, too. Cinder stood at the mouth of the cave, casting an illusion to make the cave appear empty, and a shield to keep them safe. Then he started a small fire using his magic.

  Elarhe warmed his hands in front of the fire, awed by Cinder’s powers.

  “I wasn’t thinking. I’ll let you cast the next fire.” Cinder settled back on the packs. He pulled out the bundle of presents. He withdrew one from the sack and laughed. “This one’s for me.” He showed it to Elarhe.

  Elarhe couldn’t tell what was so amusing. “A weird loaf of bread?”

  Cinder put the thing on his head. “It’s a bread hat.” He dug around in the sack. “Maybe he put some cheese in here, too. Hoh! He did.” He pulled a piece of bread off of the hat and threw it at Elarhe. “I guess lunch is on Kite.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “Nothing bad can happen to you if you’re eating bread and cheese.” He munched a piece of cheese and laughed, but his face was tinged with sadness. “We’ve joked about that since the first time I met him.” He sighed and said, sounding as if repeating some refrain, “There should be bread hats and cheese amulets.”

  “When did you two first meet?”

  “When he was just a boy, after he destroyed the city of Lilitine. He was such a fragile-looking little thing. So sad. So haunted.”

  “He destroyed a city?!”

  “He did. The Overfather tricked him, but he did it. He has a kind, sensitive heart. The guilt of that day weighs heavy on him. The shame cloaks him in a blackness even darker than his magic…. He never told you?”

  Elarhe shivered despite the fire. “No.”

  Cinder shook his head with a melancholy expression. “I think the whole thing changed him. He seems to have just been a normal orphaned goatherd, then he developed this strange power, and the Overfather used him like a tool to do something massively evil.” Cinder frowned at him. “You do know he’s the only one of his kind? The Aspects are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. There is no black Aspect. His magic isn’t normal at all.”

  “I knew it wasn’t normal.”

  “His difference, his power, estranges him from other mages. I think he has grown more and more isolated…. Sometimes I think it’s my fault.”

  “How so?”

  “When he was a frightened boy, after the incident, I cared for him. After he received his reward from the Overfather, he bought this castle and the lands around it, began filling it with treasure.” Cinder smirked. “He seemed happy. Manhood often falls on the shoulders of thirteen year olds in the empire. I was offered a teaching position at the Gyre. He didn’t want to come with me, so I left him to his fortune. We stayed in touch—even when I joined the Uprising.”

  Cinder pulled something else out of the sack. “Damn. I was hoping for dessert, but that’s much too small.”

  Elarhe opened the thin sack. “Identification papers,” he said in an awed whisper. Then he grinned. “He’s obviously been talking to Mole. The fake name is ‘Lion.’” He looked through the papers. “And there’s a note.

  I’m certain Cinder and Petal can teach you all you need to know, but in case you decide to join a mages’ academy, the Gyre is near Undertree. I hope these papers serve you well, whatever you decide to do, wherever you go.

  I was wrong to tell you what to do, to impose my will on you. Your life is your own. Go find your future. Fight for it.

  With greatest affection,

  Kite”

  Elarhe pressed the note to his chest. “Cinder,” he said carefully, worried his words would offend the great mage. “I can’t accompany you to Undertree. I have to return to Kite’s castle. I have to talk to him at least once more.”

  Still wearing the ridiculous bread hat, Cinder nodded. “Would you stay with me and finish lunch? Maybe we could do a little spellwork before you go.”

  “That should be fine.”

  “If you ever change your mind, there’s a place for you in Undertree.”

  “Thank you.” He felt like hugging Cinder, but he didn’t. He was sure Mole and Goose had given him more hugs than he needed.

  “No, thank you. I would never be able to eat this whole hat.”

  Elarhe laughed. He felt brighter for the first time than he had in long while. He and Kite would figure things out.

  As Cinder handed Elarhe more of the hat, he said, “You have one of the greatest Aspects, in my opinion. My wife’s a green. Green power flows from the heart. Green is the power of growth, of love.” He cocked his head then. “You’re a lover, he’s a destroyer.… They say opposites attract. Maybe you two can make this work.”

  Chapter 25

  Elarhe found the castle gates open. He wondered if Kite was expecting him. The carriage stood outside the castle doors with the horses in harness. One of the doors was ajar. A feeling of dread built in his chest. He dismounted and left Rose beside the carriage, knowing she was trained to stand still if the reins were over her head.

  He raced up the steps to the castle and walked inside the open door. A small pool of blood greeted him. “Goose! Mole!” No one answered.

  Drops of blood were all over the floor. They formed a line. Elarhe followed the trail of blood up the stairs to the room that had been his. He stood outside the door, terrified of what he might find inside.

  Goose rushed up behind him and pushed past him. She spun around as she seemed to realize who he was. “Squirrel!!!” She gave him a quick hug. “Thank heavens you’re here. Can you heal him—like you healed Cinder?”

  “What’s happened?”

  Goose bustled him into the room. Blood was everywhere. Kite lay on the bed in a pool of it. Goose started crying. “Wren and Ferret took him to Rabbit’s, but she refused to treat him. Nothing I’ve done seems to help. It’s the magic. It’s fouled up everything.”

  “How did this happen?” He rounded on Kite. “Did you try to kill yourself?!”

  Kite’s skin seemed to be sloughing off. Elarhe could see where Goose had tried to remove his shirt and his skin had stuck to it. Large sores all over his body oozed black fluid. He was covered in blood.

  “Not at all. I tried to cure myself. My research,” he coughed. “I don’t want to be a monster anymore.”

  Elarhe sat on the bed beside him. “You’re not a monster,” he said gently. “You never were.” He put his hands over Kite’s body and tried to assess his wounds. His entire body
seemed to be affected. Elarhe wasn’t sure he knew how to save him. “Oh, Kite,” he whispered. “How could you do this to yourself?”

  “This wasn’t the desired effect.”

  In spite of everything, Elarhe chuckled. “No, I suppose not.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Kite’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Elarhe. I’m so sorry for the way I treated you.”

  Elarhe tried to figure out how to work a spell on Kite’s whole body. At a loss, he concentrated on Kite’s head. “Be quiet.” He shut his eyes and focused his powers.

  When he sat up, Kite’s face looked healed, but he had lost consciousness. Elarhe tried to remain calm. He placed his hands over Kite’s chest. He strained to focus his power.

  “What should I do?” asked Goose, wringing her hands too near him.

  Elarhe thought of Rabbit. “Towels. Get some towels.” He didn’t actually need towels, but he did need to concentrate. He took a deep breath and focused on Kite’s chest. He could feel the damaged heart and lungs. Drawing on all he knew of his magic, he healed Kite’s chest.

  But Kite remained unconscious and the oozing sores had returned to his forehead. Elarhe had been trying to remain withdrawn, to concentrate only on the ribbons of light and the body part he was trying to heal. Panicked, he could no longer do that.

  On impulse he leaned down and whispered against Kite’s ear. “You’re not a monster. You’re a difficult jackass sometimes, but you are always my love.” He placed his lips very gently upon Kite’s, shut his eyes, and imagined Kite’s body perfect and whole. He imagined it with all of his love, all of his heart, all of the power he could summon.

  When he had finished, he sat up. Kite looked normal. The sores were gone; his skin looked healthy. But Kite’s eyes remained closed. Elarhe fell on him and hugged him. Tears filled his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Kite. I tried. I’m so sorry.”

  He felt arms lock around him. “I’m the one who’s sorry.” Kite pressed Elarhe’s face into the crook of his neck. “Your magic is beautiful and you’re spectacular. Denying a gift like that is pure evil.”

  “There’s nothing evil about you.” Elarhe pulled up to look in Kite’s eyes. “Cinder told me about Lilitine.” He stroked Kite’s face. “You were a child, Kite. A simple goatherd. It wasn’t enough that you were burdened with so much power—a unique power. The Overfather tricked you.” He bit his lip because Kite looked away.

  “I did it. I’m the one who killed all of those people. It was my magic. My cursed magic.”

  Elarhe held Kite’s face between his hands. “Look at me.” He waited for Kite to comply. “I blamed myself for Aben’s death, but there were circumstances beyond my control.”

  “This isn’t the same thing.”

  Elarhe kissed his forehead. “No, not exactly, but you were just a child. You had no one to protect you until Cinder came along.” He kissed between Kite’s eyes. “No one loved you back then.” He kissed Kite’s mouth. “I love you now.”

  “I’m still cursed,” Kite whispered. “I can feel it.”

  Elarhe continued to plant soft kisses on his lips. “Maybe we can figure out something useful to do with it.”

  “Like what?”

  “Kill worms in the garden?”

  Kite laughed. “You want me to use my dark magic to kill worms?”

  “Or weeds, maybe?”

  Elarhe gasped as Kite’s arms crushed him close. Kite’s mouth covered his mouth and sucked his tongue hard. A rush of blood flooded to Elarhe’s cock. He ground his erection against Kite’s already firm meat.

  “Here are the tow—oh!” Goose clutched the towels close.

  “I brought more,” said Mole, nearly bumping into her. “Aww. Does this mean you two aren’t fighting anymore?”

  “And that Kite’s going to be all right?”

  “Yes,” Elarhe and Kite said in unison. They looked at each other and laughed.

  Goose set the stack of towels on a chair. “I’ll leave this here so you boys can clean up.”

  Elarhe realized then that he was writhing on the bed with Kite in a bunch of blood and muck. He didn’t care. “Thank you, Goose.” He snickered after they closed the door. “But first, we’ll get truly dirty.”

  “What kind of dirty?”

  “I’m going to fist you using your own blood for lubricant.”

  Kite laughed. “That sounds disgusting.”

  “I think it sounds just right for a darkling mage.” He rubbed Kite’s cock, still covered by trousers. “I’m going to own my power Kite. It’s time you owned yours. You protected me. You’re a protector, not a destroyer.”

  Kite peeled off Elarhe’s bloody shirt. “I’ll be anything you want me to be. I love you, Elarhe.” He touched Elarhe’s chest with tenderness. “I love your magic; I love your laugh. I will love you for the rest of my days.”

  “And since I can heal you, just think of the things we’ll be able to do in the dungeon now!”

  Kite laughed. “It sounds like I’m in trouble. But why am I so aroused?”

  Elarhe grabbed Kite’s head and kissed his mouth. He couldn’t have been happier. Although he was no longer a prince, he had everything he could have wanted.

  The End

  A Guide to the Magery of Grandimanderia: The Seven Aspects

  Each Aspect is described by the color of a mage’s unleashed power, which can only be seen by other mages. Red is the primary Aspect. Once a mage has mastered red power, she can, with sufficient training and talent, shift her Aspect (main power) to orange. She would then have access to all of the orange spells, as well as red ones. Her strongest spells will be those from her dominant Aspect.

  Red: grounding (increased concentration), increased strength, mending

  Orange: poison, fog, illusion

  Yellow: shields/barriers, fire, breaking

  Green: wind, encouraging growth, electricity

  Blue: summoning, mind control, acid

  Indigo: teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis

  Violet: equal access to and mastery of all powers

  Glossary of Characters

  Aben—(deceased) Elarhe's friend

  Boar—Darelockian man who works at the mass grave

  Cinder—a blue mage, later an indigo and leader of the Uprising

  Elarhe—former prince of Ayklinn, an illegal immigrant in Darelock, a green magic-user who wants to become a mage

  Farmer Ant—a pedophile

  Ferret—Kite’s groom

  Fortune—one of Kite’s dogs

  Goose—Kite's maid

  Hinge—a yellow mage

  Kite, Lord—a black mage, the only one of his kind

  Omen—one of Kite’s dogs

  Petal—Cinder’s wife, member of the Uprising, lives in Undertree

  Rabbit—green mage, healer

  Rose—a chestnut horse, owned by Kite

  Squid—a flower girl; Elarhe’s friend

  Squirrel—Elarhe’s Darelockian name

  Stem—Cinder's mentor

  Stoat—Kite’s goatherd friend

  Toad—Kite’s footman

  Treasure—Elarhe’s feliph

  Tylam—(deceased) Elarhe's mentor

  Vole—registrar at Darelockian mages’ academy, yellow mage

  Torrent—blue mage

  Wren—Kite’s carriage driver

  Wolf—leader of the Uprising in Darelock