Storm Crow

by T. A. Creech

  Flowers? Catli held on to his groan of dismay by the barest margin. The only flowers he dealt with were the ones he needed for healing. He was more interested in how they worked than how they looked. And Zusah would judge on a whole host of details. Texture, shape, likeness.

  Eshe crouched down in the sand, eyes narrowed and mouth a line in concentration. Catli dropped onto his backside in the sand, mind blank at this innocuous piece of wood. He glanced at Alegan. His Bonded had a smile for him, an encouraging expression of soft eyes and openness, different in every way of the broken, injured man he’d found while searching for those Blue Hearts.

  The thought exploded in his mind. Blue Hearts were small and clustered, shaped in an obvious heart. Catli chuckled. He called up fine threads of his fire and guided them through the wood. His power burned away at the excess of the log, little parasites in a way.

  Pieces charred and flaked, blackened as they peeled away from the core of the log. Smooth, dark wood was revealed as he worked, holding the image of the flower in his mind, directing his magic. Catli kept his attention on the power and the work.

  As the last of the smoldering flakes separated from the piece, Catli brushed away the remains littered over the surface and lifted the finished flower out of the ash. It wasn’t perfect. The edges weren’t even and the sharp split from the top to the center was too pointed. The gradient of shading, in a live flower the center was black and faded to an astonishing blue, was stuttered instead of flowing. All imperfections considered, though, Catli was pleased with his effort resting in his palms.

  “Let me see,” Zusah asked, hand out above him.

  Catli handed it over, a nervous wash tingling through him. He hadn’t felt the same since he was a child learning the hard lessons.

  Zusah was careful. The village leader rubbed her fingers over every crevice and rise, gave special attention to the delicate stamen drooped from the center down to the long, pointed base. Catli thought it was pretty good, though he as knew others were far better at intricate work without magic.

  “This is nice, Catli,” Zusah said when she offered the flower back to him.

  “Thank you,” was the only acceptable response.

  Alegan sat next to him and pried the flower out of his hands, a look of awe on his face. “I had never thought to try something like this.”

  “It’s a skill test when we are learning, for precision. Usually the teacher asks for a simple object. I had to make an egg.” Catli bumped his shoulder against Alegan’s when his lover met his eyes. “I passed, though I have a difficult time with curves.”

  Alegan snorted, a wicked grin suddenly there between them. “I am very grateful for your problem.”

  Catli frowned. Then his words clicked in his mind and he grinned to match the other man.

  “All the same, this is lovely, Catli. What type of flower is it?” Alegan asked as the wicked expression turned back to the work, bright and curious.

  “Blue Hearts.” Catli ran his finger along the less than perfect change in the black shading. “As evident by the name, they are blue and shaped like a heart. I use them for lung sickness.”

  “I’m keeping it,” Alegan declared. He tucked it into the space between his folded legs. “We can display it on the kitchen table.”

  Catli didn’t argue with him about it. If the thing made Alegan happy, he could do whatever he wanted with the flower. Besides, Catli was going to bring it home anyway. Why not place the flower where they would enjoy it?

  Movement made him glance up. Zusah had finished her inspection of Eshe’s work, it seemed, and she was addressing the crowd. “Eshe’s lily was better. She wins this test.”

  Alegan’s hand came to rest on the middle of his back, and he huddled closer to Catli. A smile bloomed and he squeezed Alegan’s knee. “I am fine. She was bound to win one.”

  “What’s the last test?” Alegan asked.

  “Endurance.” Catli traded a smile for Alegan’s confusion. “Whoever can sustain their magical working longer wins the third challenge.”

  “Oh,” Alegan murmured. He tilted his head and looked back to Zusah as she waited for the crowd to settle into silence. “Any idea what the working will be?”

  “Something simple. Most likely a fire in the wet sand.” Catli stretched his spine while they waited. He had bent over the log too long. Alegan’s hand rubbed over the notches of his bones, warm and soothing.

  Zusah announced exactly that a couple of minutes later. With a groan, Catli stood up and brushed the sand off the back of his legs. The crowd parted once more, allowing him and Eshe through to the shore, bright sunlight reflected off the dark sand. While the time seemed longer, an hour had passed since the start of the contest. Tendrils of sleep were already nesting against his bones. He wanted his bed, with his Bonded in it, tangled together.

  Catli stopped where seawater never dried on the sand. The waves lapped over the spot at the edge in foamy welcome, kissing his toes before the ocean receded. The big problem with this test was the lack of a time limit. The mages poured their magic into their fire for as long as they could hold it. Sustained expenditures of power were exhausting, even if the work was small.

  Eshe was a couple steps to his left. Catli gave her a quick once over. She looked more worn than he did, sagging into herself and puffy eyes locked on the distant horizon. Well, he would see just how much determination was in her. Catli could hold a spell for days.

  “Begin!” The Latten clapped her hands together once, behind them.

  More threads of magic came to his call with no resistance, but he felt the pull of a deeper draw in his core. The easy well of his power had been burned off, the stuff rolling with constant joy, waiting to be used. He summoned the flame in a quick puff of heat and will, and it crackled to life.

  Catli didn’t bother to watch the flames. When he was using the deeper parts of his magic, having his eyes closed helped him concentrate on the flow. The villagers cheered, once, though in the silence that followed, Catli lost all sense of time again. All that existed was the steady draw of magic from his core, the sound of the ocean literally at his feet, watery touches on his toes. And the nagging of his tired body.

  Zusah’s crow broke through in the end. “Catli wins!”

  Catli’s eyes snapped open and he turned to Eshe first, surprised. His rival was sitting on the ground, head between her upturned knees, and the way Eshe’s whole body expanded and contracted made her seem like she was panting from the effort. The back of her tunic was damp. It didn’t register that he had won until Alegan crashed into his back.

  The whoop of joy was too loud in his ears after the concentration he used for the task, but Catli grinned all the same and spun around in Alegan’s arms. First, he had a matter to clear up. “You are staying here, with me. Right?”

  “Yes,” Alegan answered right on top of Catli’s question. “There is nowhere else I want to be.”

  The fierce ache in his muscles made Catli slump into Alegan’s sturdy frame now that the last worry was gone from his mind. Alegan tucked him into the curve of his body; chin propped on top of his crown and swayed him a little, in time with the crash of the ocean on the shore. He seemed content to keep them right there and Catli was grateful for the chance to stop. Doubtful his legs wouldn’t carry him more than a few steps.

  A discreet noise brought his attention away from Alegan’s careful hold on him. Eshe was standing at a respectful distance off to the side. This close, Catli was even more convinced she was wiped out from the challenge. How she was still on her feet amazed him.

  “I still think you are unfit to serve us,” Eshe muttered, each word pinched at the edges.

  Catli moaned into Alegan’s shirt. This had to be dealt with though. He eased out of Alegan’s hold and turned to Eshe, meeting her eyes, wanting to convey how serious he was. “My whole life has been in service to the village and Toa. I am proud to be Koah. However, there is plenty of room left in my life for someone just for me. Go play your p
ower games with those who want to and leave us be, Eshe.”

  Her mouth opened as if to argue further. Catli braced himself, though he felt weak enough to wilt on the spot. This was not a confrontation he would lose. Eshe was about to learn the hard way.

  “I am taking him home, Eshe. You lost.” Alegan’s arms tightened, threatened to crush Catli in his anger. Catli rolled his nose and cheek against his Bonded’s warm front in an effort to calm him. He grimaced when Alegan’s hold loosened. It wasn’t what he wanted, this slack in Alegan’s arms, but that was the price for Alegan letting go of his anger.

  Alegan sniffed above his head. “Goodbye,” was bitten off and spit out like a foul mouthful of rotten food. His lover turned them away from Eshe, still clutching Catli close, and started them off across the beach. Catli left their path up to Alegan. He didn’t need to see where they were walking. Alegan’s eyes were plenty reliable for him and he placed his trust in Alegan’s keeping. The world would wait until he had rested, Alegan standing guard over him.

  Their bed called.

  Chapter 10

  “Now, you must apply this three times a day for ten days.” Alegan handed over the bottle of medicinal oil and wagged his finger at Launah, a dour old woman with more summers behind her than before her. “If you need more before the end of ten days, you need to let us know.”

  “Young man, I have had more time in a healer’s care than you’ve been alive,” she chastised. Alegan smiled at her musical voice, amused at such a beautiful sound out of such a grumpy person. “I know how to care for myself.”

  Launah spun around in a flounce, impressive with her creaky old knees, and left Alegan standing in the middle of the village with a smitten smile on his face. He loved Launah. She reminded him of Catli, and he wagered she was as soft underneath all the bite as his Bonded.

  In a grand total of four months since Catli had asked him to stay, Alegan’s entire life had changed. These people and the island was his whole world now, their love and care of him bringing him back from the desolated ruin he had been. The sun beat down on him and Alegan lifted his face to its gaze, soaking up the brightness. His heart stilled with peace.

  A dog yapped off to his right and broke his silent enjoyment of the day. Alegan chuckled. The village was busy. He knew better than to seek any kind of quiet moment while he stood in the middle of it. Catli was communing with Toa, more the pity, so Alegan was at loose ends until his lover returned.

  The great azure sky called to him though, with the sun in harmony. Alegan wandered out of the clusters of huts and passed by home, on his way to his favorite spot on the whole island. There was a cliff, surrounded by daisies, facing the other Fire Stars. It was a gorgeous view in the daytime, the dark peaks of the other three volcanoes stabbing into the sky.

  The daisies made him a little sad. They reminded him of his family, of better days he would never have again. Sometimes, in the quietest parts of the night when he couldn’t find sleep and Catli was crushed to his side like they were one being, he choked on his love for Catli. It felt like betrayal of a sort, to still love Gadal and his Bonded. Such a thought was irrational. He knew that, but his heart still broke a little. When the morning found him, Alegan’s imagination subsided in the face of Catli’s affection. Gadal and his girls were gone. Even if they were still with him, they had no malice in their hearts and would never condemn him for Catli.

  Faint rustling over the flowers made Alegan turn his head. Catli, lit from within by the residue of Toa’s power, was trying to walk through the field without damaging the vivid carpet of blooms. Affection tugged at his heart. When Alegan had found this spot and told his Bonded of the reason he loved it, Catli had made sure to take care with the flowers as he walked through the area. His lover was always doing his best to respect the memory of Alegan’s first family.

  “How is the God-Child?” Alegan called to him.

  “Content with the world,” Catli answered, lifting his eyes from the ground. He came to a stop. Alegan wanted to laugh at his lover, just a little, for being so cautious. There was no need.

  Alegan waved him over and waited with barely contained patience as Catli wended his way through the field. The flowers didn’t even move at his passage. He lifted up his hand and pulled Catli down next to him the second their fingers touched.

  Silence enveloped them once Catli was settled, their feet dangling over the edge of the cliff. The day was nice and the breeze kept their feet cool. Sadness slid off his mind, frightened away by Catli’s presence.

  Alegan turned toward Catli when his lover knotted their fingers together and accepted the brief kiss Catli offered him.

  “Why did you look sad when you saw me?” Catli’s thumb rubbed over the length of his thumb. He wore an earnest look, warm amber eyes soft with the question.

  “I was thinking about you and my girls.” Alegan saw no reason to lie about what was on his mind. Catli wanted to know about them and had said so often. His Bonded felt it was better for Alegan to share his memories of them, to keep his girls alive in some way.

  “Sad thoughts, I imagine,” Catli said.

  “Not exactly.” Alegan leaned into Catli’s side and went down with him as he fell back into the flowers. Alegan watched Catli as Catli watched the blue sky while he listened. “Sometimes, I feel guilt for loving you because they aren’t here. I doubt the idea will ever go away, though I do know they would love you if they knew you.”

  Catli rolled over on top of him, bodies flush together. “I will take your word for it, since I don’t know them the way you do. In their absence however, I must love you even harder to make up for the fact you are missing out on theirs.” Catli’s nose scrunched up in a wrinkle. “Does that make sense?”

  It didn’t, not really, but Alegan wasn’t about to pass up on Catli loving him as hard as he wanted. “It doesn’t matter. Your love is perfect just the way it is and I am a fool to pass it up, no matter the reason.”

  The smile Catli bestowed on him was miraculous. His lover was reserved, picky even, with his smile. Alegan cherished every one he could coax out of Catli.

  Kisses were the same and Alegan relinquished himself to the one Catli dropped on his lips. Warmth suffused his whole body, made it tingle in pleasure, as Catli gently pried his mouth open and delved in.

  Alegan’s hands migrated to Catli’s tunic and slipped underneath. His lover was soft and supple, warm. Like he carried the volcanic heat of Toa just below the surface. Catli arched into his hands, tongues twined in a slippery dance.

  The fabric had to go. Alegan needed his Bonded’s touch, unrestrained. He shoved the tunic up and his skull thunked on the earth as he broke free of Catli’s voracious mouth. Catli sat up and finished what Alegan started, wrenching the blasted top off. Alegan reached for his lover’s pants, but Catli batted his hands away. The laces came apart with a hard yank. Catli shoved them off his legs.

  Hands went to the bottom hems of Alegan’s pant legs. He wasted no time in undoing his own trousers and Catli shucked them off of Alegan as he squirmed out of his own tunic, dirt rubbing onto his naked back. Catli stayed on his knees.

  “Do not move,” Catli whispered. He picked up his trousers and fished around in the pockets for a moment, movement wild until he brandished a little vial in the air. The cool glass was dropped on Alegan’s stomach. A laugh escaped him and he shot out a hand to keep the oil on him, instead of falling into the dirt.

  Alegan parted his thighs when Catli reached for his knees. There was no need for Catli to coax him to bare himself. He was Catli’s for the taking, in any way he wanted. Alegan knew the same was true for Catli.

  He held the oil up and his lover yanked the stopper out. Fingers dipped in, came away glistening in the sun, and disappeared below his hard shaft. Rough fingertips soothed his rim for a moment. Catli was polite about that warning, every time.

  One finger eased in with no resistance. Alegan sighed and melted into the touch, the solid earth holding him up. He was sure he would
melt right through the world for boneless contentment with pleasure if the ground wasn’t there. “More,” he murmured. Catli didn’t ask if he was certain.

  The second finger breached him, laced with a faint burn of his entrance. Alegan didn’t like that, but he ignored the slight pain. It was nothing in the face of the ecstasy Catli brought him.

  Catli eased his fingers into delicate twists and parted fingers. The burn faded away on the breeze. A third finger went in with little effort, though Catli kept on stretching him past Alegan’s silent enjoyment of preparation. The part before they joined was something Alegan liked to pay close attention to, though his whole body thrummed with anticipation.

  Oil disappeared from his slack hand. Alegan blinked at the absence, now that the glass was out of his grasp. He’d forgotten it even existed while Catli tended to him. Except for Catli and the dirt he was laid out on, the world had ceased to exist if he gave it a thought. There was only his Bonded and the knowing fingers in him avoiding his pleasure in the quest for better bliss.

  Blunt flesh nudged his rim and then Catli was impaling him on the fiery hot shaft. Alegan gasped, split wide and filling up fast, the moans he had held back spilling into the air. The crushed daisies exploded with their sweet green scent as Catli leaned down, over him. His lover panted into his chest while he worked in steady increments. Alegan manacled his wrists and planted them in the dirt on either side of his waist. He couldn’t have Catli on his knees this time, while they were joined. He needed Catli close, skin to skin, but this would have to do if his lover insisted.

  Alegan clenched around the base of Catli’s prick when hips were flush against his backside. Catli moaned, deep and breathless. He hooked his ankles over Catli’s hips and arched again. Catli tried to rear back. Alegan held his wrists fast and a laugh punched out of him when Catli rolled his damp forehead on Alegan’s chest, locks of dark hair tumbled all around.

  “Just like this,” Alegan demanded.

  His wonderful Bonded nodded against his chest and snapped his hips. Alegan’s breath hitched on a whine. Catli did it again and again, breath peppering Alegan’s skin. His legs tightened around his lover with each thrust.