by Mike Shade
It sounded like the Emperor, and the response sounded like the only mage Bram knew.
"And so you cause a war instead of letting one person be used so? Surely it would have benefited the mages as well?"
"Not even one of us. We will not give even one child willingly."
Sereah caught his eye, lips set. "What if he had wanted your Quinn? What is he worth to you?"
Without even a thought he held Quinn tighter against his side, brandishing his knife again. "Stay back!"
The old man nodded. "We all have those whom we love. How could we sacrifice one?"
"I would sacrifice myself for Quinn."
"But I would not send you. I could not. You're mine." Quinn pressed closer, trembling, vibrating.
"But what if my going would save all the others as well?"
Where he came from they were all just cogs in the wheel, a part of the Guard. They would each sacrifice for the good of the Empire. Or at least, that was how it had been.
Bram took another step back, all of it spinning in his mind.
"I'm not a saint, Bram. I'm a man. Your man." Quinn pressed closer, those light eyes worried.
He shook his head. "All I know is you're mine and I'm going to protect you with my life and never let you go."
Everything else was just details.
***
Come on, Bram. Come on. Don't panic.
"Can we go rest? Please, Bram. It doesn't have to be here."
The last few hours had been dreadful -- exciting and horrible and exhausting and overwhelming and Quinn needed to think.
"Yeah, we need to find a cave, someplace defensible." Bram raised his voice. "We're going now. Don't follow us."
"You don't have to go." Sereah stepped closer. "We have shelter. Quinn needs shelter."
Quinn started laughing, eyes dancing a little. "I do?"
"He only needs me," Bram answered, taking more steps back. "And I don't trust you. Any of you."
"Good night. Go. Rest. Please. I'll come back, if I can." Right now he wanted to hold Bram. "I need him."
Bram kept hold of him, walking backward away from the band of mages. He followed easily, trusting Bram more than anyone. Anything.
As soon as the mages were out of sight, Bram turned and headed them downward at a westerly angle. "Can you feel them at all, Quinn? Are they following?"
"I can't tell, Bram, if they're not trying to hurt us."
"So they aren't trying to hurt us?" Bram looked willing to take Quinn's word for it.
"No. No. They're hiding, but I don't think they're going to follow." He squeezed Bram's hand. "Are you okay? I was worried about you."
"I couldn't see. You were gone." Bram growled and moved faster, pulling him along. The knife was still in Bram's hand, too, Bram's knuckles white as he held on tight to it.
"I needed to be sure she didn’t do worse while you were blinded."
He wouldn't let Bram know that the idea that Bram believed he'd done this, started this, had shocked him, hurt him.
"Are you okay?" Bram asked, stopping suddenly, hands moving over him.
He looked up, nodding. "I'm sorry."
Bram stopped, looked at him. "For what?"
"For everything." He sighed, squeezed Bram's hand. "For not knowing what to do when she magicked you, for being the reason so many people died, for being a mage. For everything. Let's go."
"It isn't your fault, Quinn. It's the people you hang out with." Bram winked at him and then hurried along, pointing to a rock formation that looked like it could be a cave.
He nodded, the sinking feeling inside him growing and growing.
"Something's wrong," Bram told him, walking faster.
"With who?" They were almost running.
"I don't know. Something is wrong with this thing between us. It feels like...I don't know, its like when you were hurt but different."
"Maybe it's dying. Maybe you'll find someone better to travel with."
Bram looked at him like he was crazy. "What's wrong with you? What did they do to you?"
"Nobody did anything to me." Except tell the truth. He stopped, looked at Bram. "You believe my kind deserved to die. That it was right that we did."
Bram shook his head. "I don't know. I...My whole life has been about following orders, protecting the Empire, the Emperor. Everything's upside down, Quinn, and you're the only thing that makes sense, that's solid."
"But if you didn't feel this between us, right now. If it died, would you kill me and go home?"
"No. You didn't do anything wrong, Quinn. Hell, you couldn't even kill the men coming after us."
"We didn't do anything wrong. We got children from prison. Old men. That's all I did." He reached for Bram, needed the reassurance.
Bram's arms wrapped around him, holding him close. "I'm trying, Quinn. And I know you didn't do anything wrong, okay? I know."
He pushed closer, hiding in Bram, believing in them.
Bram held him tight. "It's okay, Quinn. I won't let anything happen to you. I won't."
"Don't lose faith in me. I am yours."
"I won't, I won't. You're mine." Those capable hands slid on his back, touched him through his coat.
"Yes." He reached up, took a kiss. "Come on. I need to hold you."
Bram nodded. "The cave is just over there, do you see it?"
They started moving again, Bram quickly navigating the snow-covered terrain.
"Yes. Yeah, I see." Moving felt right, felt good.
It was about a half hour before they got there, and they fell quickly into their usual routine, Bram going in and making sure the cave was uninhabited and starting to collect wood for the fire while he used his mirror to pull out the items they needed from his storeroom. By the time there was a fire, he was wrapped in furs, making chai and rice, sitting on a pillow.
The routine was good, normal. And who would have thought just a few weeks would make being on the run, sitting in a cave in the snow, routine?
Bram settled next to him with a grunt, hand working its way into his blanket, finding skin and stroking.
He didn't ask, just pushed and shifted until he was in Bram's lap. "Hey."
Bram purred, leaning their foreheads together. "Hey."
The kiss he got was soft, clinging. Then with a groan, Bram was pushing into his mouth, tongue hot, good. Quinn relaxed, opening up, letting Bram in, letting them heal and join.
Bram hummed, hands pushing into the blanket and sliding over his body, fingers tugging his nipples, nails scratching over his belly. The energy built, grew, making him gasp, shiver. Press closer.
"Yeah, Quinn. Need you." Open-mouthed kisses slid over his skin, Bram marking his throat.
"Never leave you. Always want you, reach out for you."
"Yes. Yes, Quinn. Always." Bram rolled him onto his back, leaning over him and kissing him hard.
Perfect. They were together, joined. Put back to rights.
And soon they were both naked, Bram's heat pushing into him, filling him up inside. "Mine," Bram whispered. "My Quinn. My love."
He nodded, held Bram's face as they flew, moved. Bram's eyes held his, looked into him, saw him.
The energy between them sang.
It wasn't dying. Quinn wasn't sure it could.
"Love," murmured Bram, hand wrapping around his cock, sending the energy zinging through him like out of control lightning.
He gasped, heat pouring from him, body going tight and hot.
Bram's eyes rolled, a loud moan escaping as he jerked into Quinn a few more times and came.
Quinn nestled into Bram's throat, eyes closed, quiet inside.
Bram's breath slowed, a contented rumble sounding. "I thought I'd lost you for a moment there."
"No. No, I won't leave you." He wouldn't. Even for his own kind.
"No, I know that. But others would part us." Bram kissed him, hard and hungry. "But you're mine and they can't have you."
"No. No, they can't." He wrapped around Bram, pe
tting, humming. "I promise."
Bram settled on him, still buried deep, but somehow not too heavy. "Do you...do you want to stay with them?"
"I don't know. It's all so much, so confusing."
"Yeah. Nothing makes sense anymore."
Quinn nodded, held on tight. "'cept this."
Bram kissed him softly. "This is the best thing ever."
Quinn settled, hands moving slowly, making sure the only magic around Bram was his own.
Bram's fingers slid along his collarbone, touching just hard enough not to tickle. "I suppose we'll need to figure out what we're going to do. We can't stay here, it's too close to the top of the mountain."
"Are the other mages safe here?"
"No. It's not far enough down. Why aren't they in the city in the valley?"
"I don't know. We didn't really talk. I was busy." He grinned, winked.
Bram laughed, fingers finding his ribs. "Brat!"
His laughter rang out, the tickling making him twist. Bram slid out of him, wriggled with him, laughing with him. He ended up on his belly, ass in the air, laughing hard. Bram's laughing mouth slid along his back, down along the crease of his ass.
"So mean." Those fingers found his ring, tugged it, twisted it.
"Mean? This is mean?" Bram twisted the ring again, tongue dragging along his crack.
He shuddered, lurching forward. "Yes!"
"Then I must be mean." Bram's tongue pushed into his hole, so hot.
"Bram!" His cry rang out, deep and echoing in the cave, fingers scrabbling on the blankets.
"That's good, yeah?" Bram did it again, fingers teasing the little ring.
He just sobbed, bucking forward. Bram hummed and kept it up, tongue pushing into him again and again, fingers playing with the ring, with his balls, his cock, warm and sliding and right.
He purred, eyes closing as he rode the sensations. "Hungry."
"For you? Always." Bram growled and bit one asscheek, chuckling before going back to fucking his hole with the hot tongue.
He squeaked and almost -- almost -- pulled away.
Bram's hand turned and wrapped around his cock, pulling on him while Bram's tongue pushed into him, like a fire.
Yes. Yes, please. He needed.
The tip of his cock was squeezed, Bram's thumb sliding through the liquid dripping from it.
Heat rushed through him, balls drawing up tight. "Bram. Soon."
Bram made a noise, the sound vibrating inside him, hand moving hard and fast.
He shot, pouring himself out for Bram.
Bram's hand slowed, his tongue licking instead of stabbing now, bringing him down slowly.
"Love you." He was almost sobbing, nodding.
Bram lay down and pulled him on top of the strong body. "Yeah, Quinn. Love."
He just shattered, cuddling in, letting Bram love him.
"Mine," murmured Bram. "Mine. We'll figure it out."
"Promise me?" He stroked Bram's belly, petting.
"I do, Quinn. Even if it means we go live in a cave somewhere."
Bram kissed his forehead. "But we'll figure it out."
He nodded, found a smile. "We will."
"We should eat, and I should do one last walk-round, make sure we're good here."
"I made us rice with cinnamon and honey."
"Something to sweeten me up with." Bram nipped his nose.
"Something to make you smile."
Bram stopped and looked at him a moment. "Thank you, Quinn. I imagine having you in my life is more than I deserve."
"No. No, Bram. You're a good man. A...my good man."
Bram chuckled and kissed him again. "I'm your man, I'll give you that."
"And good. Real. Decent." He wasn't going to let the damned emperor steal that.
"I'm not so sure about that, Quinn. But I'll try to be that man for you from here on out."
"Hush. Rice, remember? Something warm and soothing."
Bram chuckled and got him sitting on his pillow again, curled up in his blanket. "Shall I feed you, Quinn?"
"Feed me? Do you want to?"
"I want your mouth on my fingers, yes." Bram grinned and poured the rice from the pot on the small burner into a bowl.
He laughed, nodded. He could understand that, even appreciate it. Bram sat behind him, pulled him off his pillow and into Bram's lap. He cuddled in, settled. It was going to be okay. One way or the other.
Surely it would.
Surely.
Chapter Eight
Bram was up with the sun, searching the area around the cave, trying not to think too hard.
It was already fairly warm, it would be a good day to make some progress down the mountain. He knew Quinn would be happier when they left the snow behind them. And he'd be happier when they put more of this mountain between them and the Empire.
He stopped short when he heard footsteps and voices in the trees. He growled and was going for his knife when the two little girls came into view. One was hideously disfigured, face destroyed, eyes gone. The other little girl was wearing red, laughing, carrying a basket with snowberries in it, leading. "Okay, Kitae! Help me find the berries!"
One tiny, trembling hand was held out. The snow over one bush dissolved.
"You did it!"
He slipped behind a tree, watching them. His hands fisted. How could anyone do such a thing to a child?
They were a matched set, hair silver and bright, both of a size. The whole child laughed and chattered, the other following, never making a sound.
He stayed where he was, not wanting to startle them, making sure they didn't wander too close to the cave where Quinn still slept.
Eventually other children found them, some older, some mere babes. Helpless.
Helpless and too many of them scarred or broken.
Bram couldn't believe it and stood there for too long, just stunned. Shocked that anyone would think this was okay. That this was the proper response to anything.
Quinn appeared from the mouth of the cave, blinking and smiling. Bram rolled his eyes at the man's continued lack of self-preservation.
"Good morning, my beauties!"
"Quinn!" The cries were happy and warm, the children swarming Quinn. Odd. He'd never asked about Quinn's life before the Cleansing. Never asked whether Quinn was a father, a teacher.
He moved forward, heading toward his mage and the group of children. "Are these friends of yours?" he asked as he got closer, close enough to see that none of them could be older than fifteen. Most were under ten, surely.
The children went still, some backing away.
"Shh, shh. This is Bram. Bram, these are my pupils, my dear ones. My friends. Children, Bram is my partner, my heartmate. He can make fire like you, Janus, but using two sticks. And he lifts things like you, Oper, but his arms are very strong. Come. Please. Come and say hello."
"Pupils? You were a teacher?" He continued to move slowly, worried that any fast movements would frighten them. He tried a smile for them -- he wasn't used to children at all.
"All adults are teachers."
One of the older boys walked up to him, chin lifted. "Quinn was my mentor in maths."
"In maths?" Well there was a surprise. Quinn's mind seemed so creative. Not that the mage was stupid, but maths wouldn't have been one of the skills Bram would have guessed he had.
Quinn nodded. "Geometry is how the mirrors work, yes children?"
Bram chuckled. "Geometry, eh? And here I thought it was magic."
"Magic is part of everything, right Quinn?" Another girl smiled, nodded, so pale in the snow.
"Yes, lovelies. Can they come in, Bram? Sit by the fire?"
"Where are their parents?" he asked, looking around. The last thing they needed was a bunch of angry mage types thinking he and Quinn were stealing the children.
"Dead, mostly." The first child he’d seen, the little girl in red, the one holding the hand of the horribly deformed child stepped up. "We're all one big family now. All of us."
