by Pelaam
“We’ll be fine.” Midnight offered the reassurance as he closed the door behind them. I hope I sounded more certain than I feel, but we must do this.
Chapter 21
The corridors were empty and silent, and Dru pressed close to Midnight’s side. Her earlier bravado evaporated the farther they went from the library.
“It’s very creepy, Midnight. I didn’t expect it to be like this.” Dru’s voice was a tiny whisper, barely loud enough for him to hear despite her nearness.
“We can go back if you like, Dru. Or maybe just to the end of this hallway.” Midnight nodded to where it seemed to end. “Then we’ll have covered through to here and can tell the others it leads nowhere.”
“Yes. All right. That’s a good idea, Midnight.”
However, at the end of what Midnight had thought a dead end, the walls had been carefully aligned to conceal a set of stone stairs leading down.
“You stay here.” Midnight peered down into the darkness. “I’ll check it out.”
“No!” Dru shook her head insistently. “I’m staying with you.”
“Very well. But stay a few steps behind me. And if at any time I tell you to run, then do so as fast as you can. Don’t look back, and don’t worry about me.”
With great care, Midnight descended the dark stairway. The lights set in the walls were dim and only granted enough light to illuminate a couple of steps at a time, and nothing of what was below them.
The stairs led to a tunnel. Not wanting to return without trying to discover what was at the end of it, Midnight continued to lead the way until a light appeared ahead of them. With one hand on the wall Midnight continued on tiptoe. Dru was right behind him now, her hand in the small of his back.
The warmth where her hand rested contrasted with the chill that permeated through the rest of Midnight’s body. I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a precipice and about to step off into infinity with each footfall.
The pinprick of light expanded as they drew close and Midnight recognised it as coming from a door that was slightly ajar. Peeking through the crack, he couldn’t see anything, nor could he hear a sound. There must be something important here or why else have so much light?
Very gently, Midnight pushed against the door until he could see inside. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at the misshapen figure on the floor before them. With a shock of horror, Midnight realised exactly what he was looking at.
It was a shirtless man, kneeling, his head bent, and long dark hair thrown forward. Midnight thought it long and thick enough that it might have obscured his face, even if his head had been raised.
From thick manacles at his wrists, solid chains stretched his arms out behind him, while another one attached to his neck kept him on his knees.
“It’s a…a man.” Dru gasped out from behind Midnight.
With a grimace Midnight held a finger to his lips, but the man had already heard, and raised his head to peer at them with intensely violet eyes. Although the skin of his back was pale, it wasn’t the same almost deathly white of the Atlanteans, plus he was so much broader.
“Who are you?” Midnight asked as Dru peered over his shoulder. “What did you do to be punished in this way?”
“Name?” The man shook his head. “I have no name. My creator never saw fit to give me a name.”
“Excuse me.” Midnight shook his head. “Your…what?”
“My creator. He regretted my existence. Accused me of crimes I didn’t commit. Why did he give me life only to deny and abandon me? As to what I have done here. I exist. I’m ugly, repugnant to the Atlanteans. But my blood gives them life, so I remain their prisoner.”
“How did you get here?” Dru asked, stepping out from behind Midnight.
“I was following my creator. I got lost at sea. I’d resigned myself to death. I didn’t care if I died. The Atlanteans found me. I thought I had found benefactors and a place to belong. Instead I found myself their prisoner and an existence worse than any hell.”
“Why?”
“Their race is dying. My blood extends their life, but it cannot give them back the ability to reproduce. They need men and women like you. Those who can act as their surrogates until they can rise to the surface and rebuild their race once more.”
“But why do this to you if they need you?” Dru took a step closer to the man, and Midnight reached out to take hold of her arm, uncertain whether the man was exerting any kind of influence on her.
“Even though I can’t resist them. They take my blood whenever they wish. But they hate me because I’m ugly. They hate anything they consider ugly.”
“But…but you aren’t ugly.” Dru shook off Midnight’s hand and closed the distance between her and the man. “You’re not.”
“I have scars and imperfections. Therefore, to the Atlanteans, I’m ugly. They see only their own race as physically perfect and thus superior to any other human. You’ll soon find out, that to them, any creature which isn’t Atlantean is inferior and so exists only to serve them. They’ve been down here so long, that they think they’re their own gods.”
“I knew they were lying when they said the ship couldn’t be repaired. She’s made of sterner stuff than that.” Midnight smacked his fist into his palm. “They just don’t want us to leave.”
“They need you like they need me. At least for now. They aren’t quite ready to unleash their weapon on the world.”
“Weapon? What weapon is that? Do you know?” Midnight asked. “Voltaire is trying to find out what it is.”
“The Leviathan. Part beast, part machine, all deadly.”
“We have to get him out of here, Midnight.” Dru clutched at Midnight’s arm. “We can’t leave him.”
“Oh, I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” At the brittle voice, Midnight turned and tried to stifle a groan.
“Hunra.”
“You really are a curious creature, Midnight-Pendragon. Here in Atlantis, such a trait is extremely dangerous.” Hunra wagged a finger at Midnight. “You never know what you might find. I’m sure the prisoner has given you some extravagant tales of woe and torment. Do please ignore him. He’s a criminal here. A murderer as well as a compulsive liar, and extremely dangerous. Trust him, and you’re dead.”
“They will believe what they choose to believe.” The man lowered his head, but not before Midnight caught a glimpse of utter despair in his eyes.
“It was my fault.” Dru stepped between Midnight and Hunra. “I wanted to go back to my room, Midnight was escorting me. He said we’d gone the wrong way, and I know I shouldn’t have made him come down here. But I was so certain I heard someone crying and I’m afraid I ignored Midnight’s warning and ran down here. And it’s awful and—and he’s dangerous. It’s very reassuring to know you keep your criminals so securely locked away.” Dru draped her arms around Hunra sobbing dramatically.
If the situation hadn’t been so serious, the expression of utter horror on the Atlantean’s face would have been funny, but instead, Midnight was just pleased that Dru’s ploy seemed to have worked.
“Well, yes, thank you, Hunra. I’m sure that we owe you a great deal.” Midnight accepted Dru’s arms as Hunra peeled the other woman away from her. He fixed a smile in place, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt. “Thank you for your benevolence.” He offered a bow and angled his head to try and see the Atlantean’s face.
His fawning words seemed to have worked. Hunra’s corpse-like face now bore a beatific smile. Seems like flattery will get us anywhere.
“Wait for me at the top of the stairs.” Hunra turned to start at the prisoner. “I shall escort you back.”
“Yes, very well. Come on, Dru. The last thing we want is to be fooled by lies.” Midnight tugged his friend’s arm, then Dru slowly moved.
“Yes. You’re right of course, Midnight. Thank you, Hunra.”
“I’ll make sure that Maximus Sa-Ra is aware that you found your way here. It would seem that one of our guards fail
ed in his duty. It could have had dire consequences for you.”
“Well, it didn’t. I’d hate for anyone to get into trouble here because of us. You’ve all been so marvellous to us. We’ll see you later, then.” Midnight kept moving, half pulling Dru with him. “Thank you again. Dru, curtsey.” Midnight muttered the instruction as he reached the doorway.
Throwing an irritated glance his way, Dru obeyed.
“Hurry, don’t dawdle.” Midnight stopped short of an outright run. “We need to get to the others and tell them about…about…”
“Adam.” Dru nodded emphatically as she picked up speed. “We’ll call him Adam. Seems appropriate. First man and all that.”
At the top of the stairs, they waited for Hunra. As soon as she arrived, Dru started to cry again, apologising for what she’d done and leading Midnight into danger. By the time they reached the library, Hunra was comforting her as a mother would a child.
As they went back inside, Midnight shook his head before Hunra and Dru came in. The moment Dru came in she ran to Aurora.
“I was such a fool. I led Midnight astray and we got lost, and it was dark, and we found a man. A really bad man, and Hunra saved us.”
If Midnight hadn’t known the story for himself, he’d have totally believed Dru’s performance.”
“I’m sorry, too.” Midnight hung his head. “I’m afraid I’m no leader. I went in completely to pieces and in the wrong direction. I’m grateful for Hunra coming along as she did. I won’t ever make that mistake again.”
“I must inform Maximus Sa-Ra that these chose to break our rules.” Hunra folded her arms. “They should not have left here without an escort.”
“Oh, but we weren’t told that.” Voltaire came forward, wrapping an arm around Midnight’s shoulders. “You never mentioned not leaving here. Not once. They cannot be punished for breaking a rule they knew nothing about. If anyone did something wrong, then I’m afraid it was you.”
Although it was impossible for Hunra’s face to go any paler, her stricken expression made Midnight want to kiss Voltaire for picking up on the Atlantean’s omission.
“Voltaire’s quite right.” Tresilian came to stand on Midnight’s other side. “All he wanted to do was help a lady in distress. Next time, Midnight, alert Voltaire or me. We’ll take care of things.”
“Yes.” Midnight nodded enthusiastically. “I shall.”
“No harm was done, surely?” Voltaire changed his tone, adding a conspiratorial note. “You found them and brought them here safe. As you can see, the experience has shaken them both. You needn’t worry about them. And now we know about staying here, we’re all very happy to do so. The library is quite magnificent.”
“Well, perhaps that’s so.” Hunra’s smile was uncertain. She pointed to a gong beside the doors. “If you do feel the need to leave, for any reason, sound the gong and it will be answered. You are honoured guests, and there are many dangerous places within the palace in which an unwary visitor may find themselves.”
“We thank you most sincerely, Hunra.” Voltaire smiled widely. “If anyone wants to return to their rooms, we shall indeed ring it for help. The last thing we want is to get anyone in trouble with Maximus or Tullia. We’re all most grateful for your care and consideration.”
“Yes. Of course.” Hunra nodded, then turned and left the room.
A deep sigh of relief escaped Midnight and Voltaire squeezed his shoulder.
“Well done, Midnight. You, too, Dru.”
“Thanks.” Dru looked up from where she’d buried her face in Aurora’s shoulder. She dashed away the tears and smiled. “You caught out Hunra perfectly.”
“Yes, you did.” Midnight looked up at Voltaire. “I’d like to think she’ll be more concerned about saving her own skin. Neither Tullia nor Maximus seem the type to tolerate a failing, even if it’s another Atlantean.”
“No.” Voltaire grinned widely. “I could see I’d put the wind up her as soon as she realised that she’d forgotten to give us the instruction to stay in here. Now, what did you really see?”
“They have a man held prisoner and they torture him.” Dru flung herself back into Aurora’s arms.
“Are you sure?” Aurora patted Dru’s back awkwardly, looking helplessly over at Midnight, clearly unsure what else to do.
“Very sure.” Midnight nodded.
“Look, everyone, look around and select a book. We’ll wait for a while then see if they’ll let us go back to our rooms to continue reading. Then we can all meet in yours, Aurora. After say, an hour?”
“Yes. All right.” Aurora nodded as did the others.
If Midnight was honest, he would be very grateful to spend an hour in Tresilian’s arms. He glanced at his lover whose expression was unreadable, however, Midnight could see a tiny muscle twitching in Tresilian’s jaw. I can’t tell if he’s angry or anxious.
Chapter 22
With a nod to everyone in the library, Voltaire rang the gong. The Atlantean guards answered the summons and escorted them to their quarters. There was no attempt to stop them taking books, not that Midnight even knew the title of his. All his focus was on Tresilian’s hand and the heat at the small of his back where it lay.
The moment they were inside their room, Tresilian locked the door, crushed Midnight’s body against it with his own, and sealed their mouths in a searing kiss. Tresilian kissed him until Midnight saw dancing lights before his eyes and he sagged into his lover’s arms as they finally parted.
Both drew heaving gulps of air into their lungs as Tresilian rested his forehead against Midnight’s.
“Sorry. I was like a cat on hot bricks while you were gone. My imagination was a dark and dangerous place. Then when I thought that woman was threatening harm to you in some way, it was all I could do not to break her scrawny neck.” Tresilian’s hand cupped the nape of Midnight’s neck, the gesture as possessive as it was intimate, and Midnight’s arousal spiralled up.
“Then make love with me.” Midnight ran his hands over Tresilian’s chest, sliding past the toga to touch bare skin. “Let me show you I’m fine.”
With a quick flick of his wrist, Midnight undid the fastening on the shoulder of his toga, allowing the garment to slither to the floor. Tresilian’s eyes darkened with desire, and when he copied Midnight’s action, Midnight was delighted to see that his lover was already fully erect.
“Let’s go to bed.” Tresilian took Midnight’s hand and led him across the room.
Climbing onto place, Midnight settled on his side, facing his lover, but when Tresilian kissed him again, he pressed Midnight onto his back, his greater bodyweight a welcome pressure.
From Midnight’s lips, Tresilian laid a trail of open-mouthed kisses and bites down Midnight’s neck and along his chest. As his lover moved over his skin, Midnight held Tresilian’s head, running his fingers running though soft hair.
When Tresilian teased his nipples, Midnight arched up into the suction, groaning softly. The groan deepened as Tresilian slid a hand between his legs, scratching lightly at his inner thighs, silently encouraging Midnight to spread them wider.
When Midnight parted his legs, Tresilian cupped his balls, rolling and squeezing with such precise pressure that Midnight was quickly moaning and thrusting. Not wanting Tresilian to do all the work, Midnight reached to stroke his lover’s cock. His hand slid along it easily, its juices flowing freely.
“I want you, Tresilian.” Midnight gazed unflinchingly into his lover’s eyes. “I want you inside me.”
“I will be.” Tresilian didn’t look away as he made the promise. “Another time.” He smiled cupping Midnight’s face tenderly in his hands. “Right now, I want to take the edge off the anxiety that’s been eating me alive and make love with you in other ways.” With a kiss to Midnight’s lips Tresilian licked, nipped and kissed his way down Midnight’s body.
In response, Midnight shivered, moaned, or thrilled as Tresilian seemed to know all his sensitive spots. He thrust blindly against Tresilia
n as his nipples were teased with sinfully talented lips. By the time Tresilian reached his groin, Midnight was clutching the sheets and panting harshly.
Tresilian paused and Midnight looked down to see why he’d hesitated.
“You look so…so perfect. I love the way your hair spreads out over the pillow, the way your lips become swollen when I kiss you. The way that you’re all mine, and only mine.”
For a moment, Midnight was lost for words, not knowing what to say, then, with something approaching a low growl, Tresilian lowered his head and engulfed Midnight’s cock in his mouth.
As Tresilian’s warm lips surrounded him, Midnight stifled cry of pleasure. The sensations from such a carnal act still thrilled and excited him. He grabbed handfuls of the sheets and moaned Tresilian’s name. Midnight tried for some control over his body’s reactions, wanting to hold out so that he could enjoy the amazing feeling for longer.
However, Tresilian seemed to be uncaring of how quickly he spilled. Midnight groaned softly as his lover tongued the tiny slit of Midnight’s dick, before sliding down to the root, sucking deeply.
Soon Midnight was thrusting rhythmically and Tresilian simply grasped his hips firmly to keep him still. Midnight tossed his head, panting softly as the erotic torture continued. Tresilian changed his movement again, now sliding up and down Midnight’s shaft, sucking and licking.
When Tresilian shifted one of his hands so that he could tease Midnight’s balls, Midnight groaned aloud at the new stimulation. Unable to move his hips, he settled for drawing his knees up.
“T-Tresilian,” he gasped.
There was no verbal response from his lover. Instead, Tresilian took Midnight’s cock deep into his throat and loosened his hold on Midnight’s hips. With a gasp, Midnight thrust once, twice, and his orgasm hit him full force. He cried out his lover’s name as Tresilian sucked him deeply and firmly, taking all that he had to offer.
Finally, Midnight sagged into the bed, thoroughly drained, while Tresilian smiled down at him.
