“After a week we were no closer to getting near you,” Lex continued. “I wanted to bust down the front door, but Tara had other ideas. Instead of attacking the monastery head-on, we decided to start digging into things. We went back to the Lusty Armadillo and began to question people about your… the night we were there.” He paused for a moment, playing with the wood grain on the table. “With the small trail of clues Yarick had given us we began to trace your steps. We left the city on the east side and followed the road. It didn’t take us long to find the abandoned wagon in the trees.”
“And I was already there,” Diana chimed in, dropping four tankards onto the table.
“Our meeting was a bit… tense at first, but once we started swapping information the truth began to materialize.” Lex leaned forward, pulling his drink closer to him. “Yarick gave away too much information. He was the one that tipped off the guild about your bounty, but under the guise that you were a killer on the run. Then he drugged you and made sure they knew where to find you.”
“I sent two of my best men to carry out that bounty,” Diana muttered. “I’d known Yarick for months and trusted him fully. He’d been a great asset to the guild on more than one occasion. But it seems he had quite the penchant for fooling people.”
The statement didn’t make Dusk feel like less of a fool, but for a moment it made him feel less alone.
“After exchanging all that we knew, we started working with the guild while we tried to figure out how to rescue you.” Tara took a long gulp from her tankard. “We began checking on you almost every day until we saw you and Yarick get on a boat one morning. After that, you just disappeared. While you were gone a large wagon made its way through town without stopping and went straight on to the monastery. On its way back we captured it and squeezed the drivers for information before finally killing them. It wasn’t until that moment that we understood why Yarick had felt so off. He was part of the Circle.”
“When the drivers said they had transported a large gold mirror all the way from Eblesal all I could think of was the one back in Windshear Pass. I didn’t know what they were planning, but I knew it had to be bad.” Lex sat his drink down, wringing his hands. “Last time we only talked to the grandmaster, but this time with the crystal no longer attached to you, I knew anything was possible.” He paused for a moment, looking up at Dusk. “Once I realized that Yarick had probably taken it from you, I didn’t stop to think. Thankfully Tara and Diana followed me because there were a lot more members than I expected.”
A man in a dusty apron stepped up carrying a tray full of food. Without a word, he placed it on the table and headed back to the kitchen.
“I still don’t fully understand what was going on in there,” Diana added, taking a loaf of bread off the tray. “But I think that will be explained in time. For now, eat.” She tore a large piece off and held it out to Dusk. “You must be hungry.”
After a moment’s hesitation, he took the bread from her and cradled it in his lap. He was too tired to eat. It had been days since he’d had a proper meal, but even the smell of warm bread held no sway over him.
“Would you rather get some rest?” Diana asked after watching him for a moment.
He gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“I’ve had an extra bed brought to your chambers, Tara. Why don’t you take him?”
“Of course.” Tara pushed herself off the bench and pulled Dusk up by the arm. “Come on buddy, it’s gonna be okay.”
Dusk, with some help, made his way across the large circular room and down a short hallway. Tara led him towards the last door at the end. She swung it open to reveal a small stone chamber with three beds against one wall and a glowing fireplace against the other. She placed him in the bed closest to the fire and helped him with his boots and cloak. When she was sure he was all set she brushed his hair softly out of his face with a tenderness she rarely showed.
“Get some rest. I know what you’re feeling and I promise you, it will feel better in the morning. And then the day after. Each day will take a little bit more away until it’s nothing but a dull ache.” She leaned down for a moment. “Everyone makes mistakes and that’s okay. Try to sleep. It will help.”
With that she turned and left the room, closing the thick wooden door behind her. Dusk had heard her words, but they didn’t seem to have any effect on how he felt. However, the bed was soft and with his head sinking into the pillow, he realized he’d gone days without proper sleep. He felt like he should get away from the guild and his friends, they’d be safer without him, but his body wouldn’t move. He couldn’t resist sleep, and it finally took him away from his worries for the night.
Four
The night was filled with strange dreams. Most of them were retellings of the previous day’s events, but tiny details changed each time the scene unfolded. One cycle, Yarick was replaced with Maxon. In another, the dragon’s head came back to life and burned down the temple around them. The very last one was the worst, in which Dusk’s friends never showed up to save him. Instead, he was pulled through the mirror by Tiernan and found himself standing in the ruins of Alamond once more with the large mural of the white dragon on the wall. Before he could say anything he was set upon by the Circle members and tackled to the ground, his arms and legs bound crudely. He yelled out for help, but nobody was coming. Nobody could hear him.
“Dusk!” a voice urged. “Dusk!”
His eyes sprang open and he shot up, colliding with whoever had been shaking his shoulder. His head struck something hard and Dusk hissed through his teeth. He found himself tangled in the blankets and had to unravel himself before he could rub the sore spot on his forehead. His entire body was aching.
“Are you okay?” Lex asked, one eye clenched shut where Dusk had apparently headbutted him.
Dusk nodded, rubbing the lump forming on his head. “I’m… I’m fine.”
“I’m glad to hear you speak.” Lex took a seat on the edge of the bed still blinking his struck eye. “I thought maybe you’d never speak again.”
“I just… need some time.” It was still difficult for Dusk to hear the sound of his own voice. He was so embarrassed and ashamed of what he’d done that he wasn’t sure if he deserved to talk to his friends anymore.
“Take all the time you need. We’re not going anywhere until you say so.” Lex paused for a moment, then reached forward and put his hand on top of Dusk’s. “Listen, I want to apologize to you.”
Dusk gave him an incredulous look. What could he possibly have to apologize for? He’d been more than right the entire time. If Dusk had just listened to Lex in the first place, none of his woes would have ever come to pass.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve made some mistakes too.” Lex took a deep breath. “I was aggressive and rude to you. I’d done nothing but complain the entire journey and then when you finally found someone less sour, I felt betrayed and jealous.” He held up a hand to stop Dusk from interrupting. “Anybody would have wanted someone more pleasant to talk to, I don’t blame you at all. I was so jealous of Yarick and how much time he got to spend with you. I was your first friend on the road and I didn’t do anything to maintain my place with you. Instead, I got angry and drove you away with my bitterness.
“Then, that night we stayed at the brothel, I saw how you looked at that courtesan and I felt so angry.” Lex stopped, looking down at his lap. “I… “
Dusk waited for a moment, but Lex didn’t finish his sentence.
“Anyway, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. You had every right to push me away. If I had been better I might have been able to stop some of the pain you had to endure. Or at least convince you something was wrong.”
Dusk felt another wave of shame wash over him. The apology was nice, but it somehow just made him feel worse. He pulled his hand away from Lex and leaned back against the headboard, his face turned towards the ceiling.
“How can you forgive the things I said?” Dusk asked, almost angry that
Lex was so willing to take part of the blame. “I was so terrible to the both of you and I let Yarick manipulate me into believing neither of you wanted to be near me, much less help me.”
“Dusk, that’s just it. He manipulated you. He did it, not you. You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“But I drove you two away, that was my decision. And it’s my fault Eiran is dead…”
“The courtesan? Why would that be your fault?”
“Yarick killed him. He woke up the next morning trying to find me and Yarick killed him before he could talk to anyone. He was so kind to me...”
Lex was silent for a moment. “It’s not your fault he died,” he said firmly. “It wouldn’t have mattered who you stayed with that night, Yarick would have murdered them. You can’t control what other people do. That’s not your fault.”
“It feels like my fault…”
Dusk felt arms wrap around him as Lex leaned forward and pulled him into a hug. His chin rested on Lex’s shoulder, his soft blonde hair catching the tears on his cheeks.
“It’s not your fault. It’s going to be okay,” Lex cooed. “We’re going to get out of here and away from the Circle forever. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re safe.”
Dusk didn’t have the energy to argue. He just nodded and buried his face further into Lex’s shoulder. They stayed that way for some time, neither wanting to leave the other. When Dusk finally pulled away he used the back of his sleeve to wipe his eyes dry.
“There’s no windows here,” he said, looking around. “Is it morning?”
“Not yet. You were shouting in your sleep, so I came to wake you, but I’ll let you get back to sleep.”
Lex stood up from the bed, but Dusk kept ahold of his sleeve.
“Wait.”
Lex turned back, looking down at him.
“Will you stay with me?”
Lex smiled softly. “Of course.”
◆◆◆
When morning finally came Tara found Lex and Dusk snuggled together under the same blanket in the too-small bed. Lex was laying back against the pillow with Dusk curled over his chest. Dusk hadn’t fallen back asleep, but he’d heard Tara get up and kept his eyes closed so that she didn’t try to move him. He listened as she got dressed, walked over to their bed, clicked her tongue, and then left the room, pulling the door closed quietly behind her.
Dusk wasn’t ready to move yet. Something about laying there with Lex made him feel safe. It was something he hadn’t felt since the night with Eiran. He couldn’t remember a time in his life he’d felt truly secure other than those two instances. It was a feeling he desperately craved, something he wanted to experience on a more regular basis. A wild thought flashed through his head: maybe when he finally found a place to call his own, he could ask Lex to stay. Dusk assumed it would be a small farm of some sort, but would someone with such a rich upbringing be able to live like that? What if Lex wanted to go back to his aristocratic family and take over for his father? It seemed unlikely given what Lex had said before, but then again the journey had been rougher than either of them expected. Even Dusk wanted an easier life, something money could buy him if he saved enough. He wouldn’t blame Lex in the least if he wanted to go back to his cushy life after everything was said and done.
Lex suddenly began to stir in his sleep and Dusk quickly pulled himself off his chest, not wanting to overstep his boundaries. A hand came out to grab him, pulling him back down.
“You’re fine where you are,” Lex murmured, his eyes not yet open. “It’s okay.”
Dusk settled back onto Lex’s chest, now alarmingly conscious of the blood pounding in his own ears. He couldn’t understand why Lex was making him so nervous all of a sudden. There was a weird sensation in his stomach that was new to him, like a flutter. He wondered if he was just hungry.
“Did you get some sleep?” Lex asked, placing a hand on Dusk’s back.
The sensation was electric through his shirt. “N–no. I didn’t fall back asleep.”
“Good thing you can nap whenever you need to, then. We don’t have anywhere to be and I know you’ve got to be exhausted.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Lex opened his blue eyes, turning his head to look down at Dusk. “We’re on your schedule now. Take the time you need and just let us know what we can do to help. Okay?”
“Yes sir.”
“Hey,” Lex said, grabbing Dusk by the chin and turning his face upwards.
Don’t say that anymore. You don’t owe anyone your obedience. You are your own person.”
“Oh… okay.”
◆◆◆
“Well you two looked awfully comfy this morning,” Tara whispered as Dusk sat down at the table with her. Lex was up at the bar ordering food for them all.
“I couldn’t sleep. I kept having nightmares,” Dusk replied, casting his gaze downward as he felt his cheeks grow warm.
“I sleep better next to someone too, nothing wrong with that.” Tara laughed, leaning back in her seat. “But you could have picked a better asshole than that.”
“Talking about yourself again, Tara?” Lex asked, slipping into a chair. “You really should stop being so narcissistic. People are going to get the wrong idea.”
“Is that so?”
“Wouldn’t want Diana thinking there’s something off about you, would we?”
“Keep your fucking voice down!” Tara hissed, glancing from side to side quickly, making sure no one was nearby. She lowered her voice as she leaned across the table, her cheeks were bright red. “Don’t say shit like that! I don’t want to get us in trouble!”
“More like you don’t want her to know you’ve been drooling over her since we met.” Lex laughed, looking to Dusk. “You should have seen her the first time we ran into Diana. She could barely speak a coherent sentence!”
“That’s not true!” Tara crossed her arms and looked away from them, but her cheeks were still blushing.
“No, it’s pretty true,” Diana replied, taking a seat next to Tara from out of nowhere, silent as a shadow.
Tara spun in her seat, turned even more red, and looked as if she wanted to vomit.
“Oh, don’t get so worked up!” Diana smiled. “I’ve known you fancied me the whole time.”
Tara didn’t respond, staring wide-eyed down at the table.
“We’ll talk about it later.” Diana turned her attention to Dusk. “How are you feeling today? A little better I hope?”
“A little.”
“When you’ve recovered we’ll need to have a serious talk about what was going on at the monastery and where the order disappeared to. But for now I want you to focus on getting some rest.” She leaned back and gestured about the room. “You are free to go where you please as long as you don’t leave the sanctuary. Down here the guild can protect you, but I can’t say the same for the streets above. With the Circle involved, there’s no telling who could be after you, and the sheer number of people in the city would make it impossible to find them before they found you. On top of that, not everyone who’s come here to escape the war is the most savory.”
“Can I visit Maribel?”
“The horse?” Diana laughed. “I don’t see why not. Just take someone with you when you go.”
“Okay.”
A man stepped up and placed a few mugs on the table. He ran back to the kitchens for a moment before returning with a large tray piled with food.
“Well, now that we’ve got that settled, please, enjoy your breakfast. If you need anything at all, just let me know. I know we’re called the thieves guild, but we look after our own. Your friends here have earned their keep and they vouch for you. We’re a family here, so please make yourself at home.” With that Diana stood from the table, scooping up her mug with one hand. She glanced back down at Tara and gave her a wink. “And you. I’ll deal with you later.”
As Diana strode away with a smile on her face Tara put her elbows on the table and buried her face in her h
ands.
“For the love of the gods, what have I done?”
“You’ve killed terrible monsters, been an assassin, and worked for the royal family. This is what scares you?” Lex couldn’t seem to believe it.
“Have you seen how fucking hot she is?”
“You know, I hadn’t really noticed to be honest.”
Tara lifted her head and stared at Lex with a look of disbelief. “You have no idea how much that explains about you.”
Five
The next couple days passed without incident. Dusk spent most of his time wandering about the guild, exploring hidden passageways and long winding halls. He got lost more than once and had to ask for help to get back to the main sanctum, but everyone was more than willing to guide him as Diana had said. He didn’t think he deserved such friendliness, but she had made sure everyone knew that Dusk and his companions were honored guests among the guild. Even then, they all appeared genuinely happy to assist him. They didn’t seem at all like the two men that had kidnapped him and tried to take him to Eblesal. Then again, they had been operating under the assumption that he was a murderer on the run.
On the third morning he found himself sitting near the fire with a book in hand. He’d scrounged it up from one of the common areas, unsure if it belonged to anyone in particular. He assumed it was fiction, telling of a woman who waited at the edge of the sea for her long lost lover that never came. When at last she had given up all hope, she cursed him and his family with her magic powers, which lived on through the generations. At first Dusk thought it was a bit silly, but after a while he couldn’t put it down. He needed to know what happened to these people and how they would break the curse on their family.
The Crystal Key: An LGBTQ+ Fantasy Series (The Crystalline Chronicles Book 3) Page 3
