by Jamie Craig
"Which you did. So stop beating yourself up about it."
"I'm not beating myself up," Jesse said irritably. "I don't blame myself for everything that happens around here. I just wish I hadn't shouted at Michelle."
Gideon rolled onto his side, propping his head up in his hand. "You want me to drop this?" He didn't seem upset, more sleepy and curious than anything else. "Or I could go out after Michelle and say something hugely inappropriate, like...she's smells delicious today. That way, she'll be annoyed with me and not you."
Jesse couldn't help but smile. "I would send you after her right now, except it's still the middle of the day. But if she calls me, you can answer the phone."
"I think I can do that. I'll just tell her you've got your mouth full."
"You can't do that, Gideon. If her head is going to explode, I'd like to be able to see it, not just hear it over the phone." He idly traced his fingers over Gideon's chest. "It's too bad Ethan was waiting for me. I was having a pretty great day up until I saw him."
"Were you able to catch Emma at the Institute?"
Jesse smiled. "Yes. It was good. I wanted to drag her home with me. I don't think she would have protested much. But I think she likes her job, so I did the noble thing."
"And came back to the ex. I hope that teaches you a lesson. Never walk away from a nooner."
"Walk? I limped away from a nooner."
"Even more reason to have pinned her to her desk."
"She actually had me pinned to the floor. And the things she was saying didn't help. She asked if we could use the playroom next time."
The corner of Gideon's mouth lifted. "You better have told her, hell yeah."
Jesse opened his mouth to answer in the affirmative, but he paused, realizing that he never gave Emma an answer. Then he remembered why. And everything that happened between his arrival at the office and that moment was forgotten.
"No, I didn't. I mean, I would have, but she...what she wanted to do didn't quite work."
A slight frown furrowed Gideon's brow. "She knows what's in there," he said. "I showed her everything. And if there's something she wants I don't have..." He stopped and shook his head. "There's nothing I don't have."
"Oh, no, it wasn't that. She wanted us to use the leash on her. It sounded like she wanted to be bound by more than the collar, but I don't know if she meant with the ropes, chains, cuffs, bars...I don't think she knows, either. She also said she wants us to do anything we want to her, which sounds great in theory, but I don't think she means that. And I don't think she knows she doesn't mean it. And then she wanted to watch while we...she wanted to watch while I fucked you."
"So...you're waiting for her to come up with something a little more concrete on what she wants us to do to her?"
"What?"
"You want Emma to be a little more definitive about what she wants," Gideon clarified. "That's why her plan doesn't work."
"Yes, she needs something more concrete," Jesse said slowly. "Did you hear the rest of what I said?"
"She wants to watch. So? I watch you all the time."
Jesse stared at Gideon for several seconds, trying to read his face. Which was as open and calm as his voice. "It's not that she wants to watch. I have no problem with her, or anybody really, watching. It's what she wants to see us doing."
This time, Gideon actually seemed to weigh his words. "Oh," he finally said. "You don't want to. Okay, I get it now. So no big deal. Just tell her that."
"No," Jesse said quickly. "I want to." He stopped and frowned, surprised by his declaration. "I didn't think...I never thought that you'd want to."
"Because I've never let you put anything in my ass before?" His snort turned into a chuckle, and he rubbed his eyes as he rolled onto his back again. "Just because we've never done something, Jess, doesn't mean I've never done it at all. You live a few centuries, you end up trying everything at least once. And sometimes, more than that."
"I didn't assume that you've never been fucked," Jesse said defensively. "You never once gave me any indication that you would enjoy being fucked by me."
"To be fair, you never gave any indication that you were interested in doing it."
Jesse sighed and rolled onto his back. They lay side by side, their elbows and thighs touching. "It didn't seem like I should. Be interested."
The silence that fell between them lasted long enough for Jesse to wonder if Gideon had fallen back asleep. Then came a soft sigh, and hard fingertips began to stroke Jesse's leg.
"I don't want you to ever hold back if there's something you want," Gideon murmured. "You can't spend all your time trying to second-guess me. Or anybody else. You lost six months with Emma because of that. And if you really want this, I don't want you to lose this, too."
"I don't know why I didn't see that coming," Jesse said softly. "Since you've given me everything else I've ever wanted."
"All part of your continuing charm." Reaching across Jesse's body, Gideon grasped his other hand to force him to roll into Gideon's side, slipping his arm beneath Jesse's shoulders to hold him close. "For whatever reason, you never expect anything but the worst. It makes it fun for me to surprise you with the best, then."
"I don't always expect the worst," Jesse said, his arm draping over Gideon's stomach. "You should go back to sleep. There's still a few hours to dusk."
"You do," Gideon argued, but already, his eyes were closed. "But that's okay. I love you anyway."
Jesse didn't need the reminder, but it warmed him anyway. He wasn't tired himself, but he had no intention of moving from Gideon's embrace. Instead, he let his mind drift to Emma's fantasy, and mused on how soon they could make it a reality.
Chapter 17
* * *
Tuesday night came both too soon and not quickly enough. Long before Gideon sat in the car outside Saint Paul Lutheran Cemetery, he and Jesse had gone over and gone over again the plan for the night. They had double-checked all their weapons, confirmed the location with John, repeated the schedule ad nauseum until each step was indelibly ingrained. There would be no room for missing tonight, they had decided. Because if they failed, they would have one less opportunity to stop a potential madman.
They left far earlier than they had the previous time, nearly three hours before sundown, in order to ensure that they didn't miss the grave robber yet again. Jesse wasn't happy about Gideon being trapped in the car for so long, especially in the fading summer heat, but both knew this was the best alternative. They couldn't run the risk of being late. They couldn't run the risk of any part of this going wrong. Besides, that's what air conditioning was for.
He watched the colors of the light change through the painted windows, the black shifting from the dark orange-brown it appeared at the height of day back to its dull ebony as the sun sank below the horizon. Any minute now, he could get out and join Jesse. The cemetery and church had been deserted when Gideon had pulled up, but anybody could have arrived in the interim. Hopefully, Jesse hadn't been interrupted, though Gideon imagined that if he had, he would have come back to the car to inform him of any changes to the plan. That hadn't happened. Gideon had to think positive. Everything was in place.
As soon as he felt the last of the sun disappear, Gideon got out of the car. The cooling summer night slithered beneath his warmed skin, fighting off the suffocating heat that he'd been wrapped in for the past two hours. Gideon rolled his neck, loosening the kinks, before giving the street a quick survey. No cars. No lights on in the church. No sign of anything but them.
He hoped that was good. He really hoped that meant they were only early and not at the wrong cemetery. Considering how bad John had looked, though, Gideon's money was on the former.
Gideon found Jesse pouring what looked to be regular dirt from a deep bowl in a large circle that enclosed five graves. He looked up as Gideon approached, but didn't otherwise acknowledge him until the circle was complete.
"Just in case something goes wrong," he explained, setting the bowl d
own. "This should hinder the ritual. It won't stop him, but it'll put a crimp in his plans."
"Nothing's going to go wrong." He said it with more conviction than he felt. "Are all the weapons in place?"
Jesse nodded. "Yes, everything's set. This area is where all the new graves are. From there, to about there." He pointed. "He won't be interested in anything past that tree over there."
Gideon glanced over the new headstones. The scent of freshly toiled earth made the air smell green, and it brought a sharp edge to his already heightened nerves. It felt like a night to hunt. How many hours had he spent prowling through graveyards similar to this one, when he'd felt the urge to sink his fangs into soft, pliant flesh and tear it from its bones? Tonight, there would be different prey, but the feeling was the same. Most importantly, the result would be exactly the same.
"You need to find a place to hide," Gideon said. "We got to the last site pretty soon after sunset and he was already done. I'll bet he shows soon."
"I found a good spot," Jesse assured him as he began to collect the remnants of his own rituals. "I'll be close enough if you need me. I've set up some wards, one in each direction. If anybody approaches, you'll hear an owl."
"Got it."
There were no large trees to take cover with, but he watched Jesse step carefully over the circle he'd inscribed and approach the church, picking the largest of the bushes hugging its brick wall to hide behind. As soon as Jesse was out of sight, Gideon scanned the vicinity for anything remiss before hiding himself. His spot was a towering marker near the outermost grave. There was already a crossbow in place for him to use, in case he got a clear shot.
Part of Gideon hoped he wouldn't. He was looking forward to tearing this bastard, limb from limb.
Minutes ticked by. The temperature of the motionless air lessened with each passing second, intensifying the aromas of the cemetery until Gideon thought he could taste them, could savor each forming droplet of dew, could swallow the pieces of the night to form something new and thrilling. His blood hummed in anticipation of the fight to come. His finger waited on the trigger of the crossbow. And he watched.
He waited.
He was long accustomed to maintaining a position for hours at a time. Prey worthy to be caught demanded the best of him.
Then he heard it. A soft, almost hollow hoot emanating from the ground itself.
Gideon tensed. He scanned the darkness, searching for any shift or any discoloration to indicate the new approach. The brief thought that it would've been nice to know what direction the threat would come from flickered through his mind, but it was gone before it took root. If it had been possible, Jesse would have done it. Gideon had to work with what he'd been given.
Except there was nothing. The cemetery looked and smelled and sounded exactly as it had a minute earlier. The only human he detected was Jesse, hiding thirty feet away.
He had a perfect view of four of the graves Jesse had noted, but the fifth required Gideon to alter his hiding position just enough to expose him if someone was looking. He didn't want to do it. He had a partial view which should have been good enough, but with the four still abandoned and the alarm already rung, he knew he didn't have a choice.
So he looked.
And there was nothing.
A frown creased his brow. The possibility that John had been lying to them all along was looming larger and larger, and it wasn't making him feel any better about this entire situation. Did they have the date wrong? Were they late? Early? Was this even the right graveyard?
The grass surrounding the fifth headstone darkened, as if a shadow passed over the moon. Gideon glanced up. The pale white crescent sparkled against the deepening black, not a cloud in sight. By the time Gideon looked back at the grave, the grass looked almost black, as black as the turned earth, and the church behind it was partially obscured.
His grip tightened on the crossbow. This was it. He would only get one shot before the grave robber was alerted to his presence.
Though it was obvious from the shadows that someone was at the grave, he couldn't make out the specific details of the form. Focusing on the heart rate helped. It was slower than Jesse's, almost plodding, like its owner didn't have a care in the world. Gideon closed his eyes and listened, reaching his senses out to center his aim. When he opened them again, the crossbow was at the ready.
The bolt whistled through the air.
A sharp blast of wind caught the bolt at the last minute, veering it off-course and toward the bushes surrounding the church. For a split, terrifying second, Gideon feared that it would hit Jesse, but it struck the brick and bounced off, landing harmlessly in the grass. His gaze snapped back to the grave, and now the shadows had solidified, the definite shape of a man crouching at its foot. The stranger didn't look up, didn't even seem perturbed by the fact that someone had just shot at him. But the sudden hiss of a flame coming to life made the shadow glow, followed almost immediately by the acrid scent of burning flesh.
Gideon broke into a run. He hoped Jesse's little dirt trick would slow the grave robber down enough for Gideon to get to him in time.
The night was still, not even a light breeze moving the heavy air. But the candle flickered out, shadows falling over the grave once again. The stranger lit a second match, and the candle caught again. For about two seconds, before it snuffed out, like somebody smothered the dancing flame. The man swore, the word a mere whisper, but loud in the otherwise silent cemetery. Distracted by this third attempt to bring the wick to life, he didn't notice Gideon's approach.
He launched himself toward the man as late as possible, not wanting to disturb even the air to give a warning. His arms closed around him, but the reaction was swift, the stranger squirming to be released, hands and feet lashing out to try and break free. In spite of his preternatural strength, Gideon struggled to maintain a firm grip. It was like holding a man-sized eel, sinuous muscles flexing and twisting until they finally slipped away.
The man fell back to the ground with an audible grunt. Gideon lunged after him, his fist sinking into the soft earth to retrieve the blade Jesse had buried there, but getting the weapon slowed him down long enough for the stranger to roll out of the way.
"I don't think so," Gideon muttered.
"You did not think at all, vampire," the man snarled.
The voice was deep and dark, like something that had just clawed its way out of the bowels of the earth, and the incantation that followed was enough to make Gideon pause. The hair stood up on the back of his neck as he recognized some of the Latin words, and he only barely had time to dive out of the way before the last fell from the stranger's lips.
"...sanctus incendia."
Flames erupted from the ground where Gideon had been standing, golden and scorching as they danced toward the sky. Sparks showered to the grass, but all Gideon noticed was the way the fire separated him from the man, and how the man was now bolting for the church.
"Jesse!" he shouted.
Jesse moved with surprising swiftness, jumping out from his hiding place without hesitation. The man slipped away from Jesse, changing direction without warning. Jesse followed, and Gideon realized that he was leading Jess into the church, out of sight. He tried to shout a warning, but Jesse either didn't hear him or didn't understand. The building swallowed the stranger, and Jesse after. The flames surrounding Gideon died as soon as they were out of sight.
Leaping over the singed grass, he raced around the corner of the building. Jesse had the rear of the church taken care of; Gideon needed to make sure that the stranger didn't have an escape route out the front. The door was locked, but a quick tug snapped the bolt, and the dark interior swallowed him up.
Though the urge to call out to Jess was great, Gideon held his tongue as stepped into the nave, his features shifting to better allow him to peer through the darkness. He stopped and listened. There were two definite heartbeats in the building, but just as it had been outside, one was slower than the other. Both, howe
ver, came from the general direction of the altar at the other end of the room.
He could make out two figures in profile, facing each other, a distance of maybe ten feet separating them. Before he could take another step, the man lunged for Jesse, but he carefully, even gracefully, dodged the attack, ducking behind the altar and out of sight. His sharp ears heard the unmistakable sound of Jesse rifling through his bag and a sharp breath of frustration before there was a brief flash of light and a howl of pain. The man was in a black cloak, and he doubled over, obstructing his face from Gideon's view. The church plunged into darkness again, and Jesse scurried like a shadow from behind the altar.
Gideon crept around the edge of the pews, his tread silent against the carpeted floor. He was reluctant to stray too far from the front of the church, but the wheezing from the stranger gave him courage. Whatever Jesse had done, he'd hurt the man. Now it was just a matter of catching him.
Jesse's steps weren't quite as quiet, and Gideon mirrored them as they approached the man from opposite sides. Jesse had something clutched in his hand, but the man still wasn't moving. Six feet away, Gideon vaulted toward him.
His arms closed around empty air.
Gideon immediately spun around, looking for the man, but he was gone. There was only one heartbeat in the church now--Jesse's was racing with shock. And then Jesse was sprinting down the aisle, like he planned to barrel through the door. Gideon ran after him, reaching Jesse just as he bounced off an invisible wall. Jesse fell flat on his back, the air rushing from his lungs.
"What the...?" His confusion was cleared when he hit the same invisible barrier Jesse had, stumbling backward at the same time Jess staggered to his feet. "What did he do?" he snapped, eyes blazing as he stretched a steadying arm across Jesse's shoulders. "Did he just fucking lock us in here?"
Jesse put a hand out and touched the solid air and nodded. He took a deep, unsteady breath. "I don't know how to take it down."
Gideon clenched his jaw. Without another word, he took off for the opposite end of the building, racing past the pews and around the lectern for the side door Jesse had used to enter. He slammed into the same wall that protected the front.
