by April Kelley
“My kind can restore plants. It’s how we helped your kind in the past.” Talli smiled at him. “The edge of the green, healthy leaf is very sharp.”
The man snorted. “Whatever.”
“You don’t believe me. Just look at the field. You’ll see where I hid.”
The man snorted. “I fucking wish that were true. Then maybe you could save the farm.”
Talli smiled and nodded. “I’d be glad to help.”
The man just shook his head and helped wipe at the cut on his arm gently. “You mentioned someone else was in the cornfield with you.”
“Yes. My friend. He’s curious about your white dwelling.”
“White dwelling?” The man’s eyebrows drew together, as if confused by Talli’s words. “Do you mean the house?”
Talli shrugged, not knowing if that’s what he meant or not. “If that’s what you call the white dwelling then yes, that’s what I meant. That’s not the word we use for our dwelling but I have read this term in a book a few times. I’m Talli.”
“Laith.” The man folded the cloth and put it back in his pocket. He ran a hand up and down Talli’s arm absently. Talli wasn’t sure if he even knew he was doing it, but it told Talli that the man felt the soul bond as well.
“You and your friend know you’re trespassing, right?”
“Trespassing?” Talli didn’t know that word, had never heard it before.
“Walking on land that doesn’t belong to you. It’s against the law.” Laith’s forehead creased as he frowned. “You’re taking your costume a little too far, don’t you think?”
Talli stiffened. “I have no reason to lie to you.”
“Maybe not, but I can already tell you’re not a normal human being.”
“I’m not a human at all. I am a pooka, as I’ve said before.” Talli pointed out the door. “I’ll show you what a pooka does. If you’ll follow me outside, anam cara.” Talli swallowed the lump in his throat at his slip up. The endearment seemed to flow off his tongue naturally.
Laith moved aside, pushing the horse out of their way as he did. He chuckled when the horse blow air at him and made a noise. Talli just stood there frozen in his corner.
“You can go around him.”
“No, thank you. I’d rather not.”
“Why?” Laith turned and looked at him.
“I’m unfamiliar with his ways.” Also, the horse’s size scared him.
“If you’re scared of horses then why’d you come in the barn?”
“I was following you,” Talli said and when Laith’s eyebrows rose and the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile, Talli blushed. Still, Laith didn’t say anything. Instead he just pushed the horse all the way out of the cage they were in and then made a clicking noise in the back of his throat. When he pointed to the cage the horse was kept in, the horse trotted off in its direction.
Laith followed him over, pulling another round striped candy out of his pocket and held it out to the horse, who took it immediately. Laith shut the door, latching it. “There. Now he’s in his stall,” Laith said as he turned. “He’s a big baby. You do get that, right? Spoiled rotten.”
Laith put a hand on the small of Talli’s back, guiding him out of the red dwelling. “May I ask you a question?”
“Since you just did, sure,” Laith smiled down at him.
“Why do you keep the animals in a cage? And why do they not mind staying there? He could have overpowered you easily, but let himself get locked away willingly.”
“That’s three question and again, you’re taking this Halloween costume thing a little too seriously.” Laith let the last part of his sentence fade away as he looked over at the green patch of corn in the field. Laith looked at him, his blue eyes shining as they widened.
“I can show you so you’ll understand,” Talli said and walked over to a small tree planted next to the barn. Its bare branches looked poor and pathetic, but it blended in with the land as a whole. Well, except for the same green part of the cornfield. He touched the tree with the tip of his finger. That was all it took for green foliage to shoot through the brown branches.
Talli moved to Laith again but he backed up. He looked at Talli as if he were some sort of creature again. “Shit, I have to sit down.”
Talli rushed to the big man when he realized he was about ready to fall over. He took Laith’s arm, guiding him down so he could sit. He sat right there in the worn out grass just outside the red dwelling.
“I apologize for shocking you.”
Laith didn’t speak for a long time but just stared at him. When he did speak he said, “This is fucked up.”
Talli sat down in the grass, which came to life around him. The ground was cold underneath him and slightly wet, which wasn’t comfortable, but he still sat there, supporting Laith through his obvious shock.
Laith reached up and fingered Talli’s ears again, only he rubbed it between his finger and thumb. His mouth was open and his jaw slack as he did it. Talli closed his eyes and tried to hold in the moan that built in his chest but failed. Having his anam cara rub his ears, a thing that had always comforted him when others have done it, didn’t provide comfort at all. Instead, his cock grew impossibly hard again.
“You’re not lying.” Laith was so distraught he wasn’t aware of the effect it had on Talli.
Talli cleared his throat, trying to keep the huskiness out of it. “There are many kinds of Faeries. My friend Kele is a brownie and Dasan is a wood faery, which some also call elves. My friend Awan is a sluagh, which isn’t a faery at all. There are several other beings that live in the Otherworld. I read in a book that shifters and vampires live in your world, but I don’t know if that knowledge is true. They are in the Otherworld though.”
Laith just gave him a look that suggested he thought Talli had lost his mind. Talli was beyond caring at that point as Laith had taken his ministrations lower on Talli’s ear. Talli moaned and moved into the touch.
“You like that,” Laith whispered.
Despite the heat that crept into his cheeks, he nodded. “Very much, anam cara.”
“Do all pookas like their ears touch?”
“No, it’s particular to me. I don’t have this reaction to anyone but you.” Talli slapped a hand over his mouth and stared at Laith, gauging his reaction.
Laith let go of Talli’s ear and stood up without a word. As soon as he did, he lifted Talli to his feet. “Look, I don’t know what an anam cara is but we should find your friend before going in the house. The others will want to see you.”
“You’re not shocked anymore?”
“I’m still somewhere between ‘what the fuck are you?’ and ‘holy shit’.” Laith ran a hand through his hair, as if he were nervous. “How the hell am I going to explain finding you? One more mouth to feed. That’s how Wyatt is going to see it. Damn, he’s going to be so mad.”
Talli took a step closer, needing to be near Laith. When Laith’s hand returned to the small of his back, Talli smiled. “Is Wyatt your Oberon?”
“My what?”
Talli had to think of the right word to use. “Your king.”
Laith snorted out a laugh. “Oh, he’d like that, I’m sure. No, he’s not my king. He’s my older brother. Three years separate us in age and he thinks he can still boss me around like we’re kids.”
Talli smiled. “Is he your leader, then?”
“Yeah. Although, even that will boost his ego so high he’d be in your world and mine all at the same time.”
Talli waved a hand, dismissing Laith’s claim. “That is an impossibility. Humans don’t go into the Otherworld for any reason. It is unheard of. Dasan would throw him in the dungeons.”
“First of all, I’m just joking. Secondly, a dungeon? As in you have castles and shit with a prison system underneath?”
“Yes.” Talli pointed to the side of the house. “Kele will be snooping in a window, I would imagine. Best to go searching for him around the house.”
Laith
looked at him. “I still can’t believe I’m talking to a damn faery.”
Talli looked at him, unsure of what to say. Finally, he said the first thing that came to his mind. “Dadga wanted me to come here on this day, at this exact time.” Talli stopped just long enough to pull the hand on his back around. He laced their fingers together. His gaze met Laith’s. “The gods want us to be together.”
Even Dasan and Awan couldn’t argue with that bit of knowledge and he knew they’d argue their case to try to get him to come home. The fact that Laith was his soulmate proved just how wise a god Dadga was and Talli had no problems using the knowledge to prove his point. Dasan and Awan could not make him leave his soulmate.
Laith pulled his hand away from Talli’s. “Oh god, you’ve formed some sort of attachment. Is that like a thing for pookas? You latch on to the first person you see?”
Talli moved away from him. He would have disagreed but he couldn’t get the words past the lump that formed in his throat. He just moved around the white dwelling searching for Kele.
“Hey.” Laith grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. “I’m honestly asking here.” Laith sighed. “I’m not stupid. You might not be human but the look in your eyes…yeah. That’s pretty fucking human.”
“You’re my anam cara.”
“What even is that?” When Talli started to answer, Laith held up a hand. “Never mind. I can’t deal with that right now.”
Talli was about to respond but a strange noise hit his ears. It sounded like wooden planks sliding against each other. And then someone yelled, “What the hell, man? You having a Halloween party in the fucking barn or something?”
“I’ll explain in a minute. Just get Sly and Wyatt, and wait for me in the kitchen,” Laith yelled back at the man who had his head stuck out one of the white dwelling’s windows.
The man grinned and waved at Talli. “Hey there, pretty. Like the costume.”
Talli took a step closer to Laith, opening his mouth to say something and then closing it again. He looked at Laith.
“This asshole is Colton. Colton, Talli,” Laith introduced them, almost as if it were a chore.
Colton grinned and crooked his finger at Talli. Instead of going to the man, he took a step closer to Laith, looking at him. “You can go over there if you want. He’s harmless.”
Talli nodded and walked to the window.
“You got the wrong party, pretty. Probably in town.” Colton looked at his ears, studying them as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world. “Those look so real.”
Colton reached a hand out to touch but Talli stopped him. “Please don’t touch me there. I only like my anam cara to touch me now.”
“Your what?”
“My soulmate.”
“Colton, will you shut the damn window. It’s fucking cold outside.” Someone yelled from inside.
Colton winked at him. “See ya inside, pretty.”
“Talli, if you please.”
Colton chuckled and shut the window. Still Talli could hear him through the paned glass. “Would you fuckin’ lighten up, man? We’re all stressed, not just you. You treating us like we’re children doesn’t help anything.”
The other man, Wyatt, said something but Talli couldn’t hear it. A second later, Laith took his arm, pulling him around the house.
He heard Laith mutter, “Soulmate” under his breath at about the same time Kele came around the corner. Kele waved at Laith absently and nearly jumped on Talli. “My anam cara is here too.” Kele pointed to Laith. “He’s the other one that looks like him.”
“You mean Wyatt, my brother,” Laith explained.
Kele nodded, his hands shook as he laced his fingers with Talli. “Wyatt,” Kele whispered the name as if he were trying it out, seeing what it sounded like on his tongue. Kele squeezed his hand. “What if he doesn’t want me? What if he’s already bonded?”
It didn’t escape Talli’s notice that the questions Kele had were the same ones Talli had.
Laith took that moment to touch Kele’s ear. “Holy shit, you have them too.”
Kele turned, narrowing his eyes at Laith. He let go of Talli’s hand long enough to smack Laith away from him. “Rude.”
Laith’s eyes widened and took a step towards Talli, as if silently asking him for protection. Just the thought of such a big man being scared of Kele, who came up to Laith’s shoulder, made Talli chuckle.
“Sorry,” Laith muttered. Talli looked at him and he was still looking at Kele as if he had two heads. “We should go inside. You two have a lot to explain. You might as well do that with all of us.” The muscle in Laith’s jaw jumped.
Kele leaned in, whispering in Talli’s ear. “You’re anam cara looks angry.”
“I’m not angry,” Laith growled out.
Talli moved away from Laith’s harsh tone. Laith pulled Talli into his side. “It’s a lot to take in.” Talli stood stiffly beside him. “I’m a fucking guy, okay. I express myself through anger.”
Talli just nodded, not sure what any of that even meant.
“You think we’re soulmates, Talli. I just met you like twenty minutes ago. And you’re a fucking faery, which aren’t supposed to be real.”
Talli narrowed his eyes, but otherwise didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until they were at the door of the white dwelling when he finally spoke. But it was to Kele. “I want to go home. At least there I know I’m wanted.”
“You mean Awan wants you,” Kele smirked at Talli.
Talli rolled his eyes. “I regret telling you that. Really, Awan is good for a cuddle. Nothing else.”
“I should have tried him out before. I might have gotten a bit more than a cuddle. Now it’s too late.”
Talli laughed.
“What are you two talking about?” Laith asked.
“Talli and Awan touched each other’s peckers one drunken night not too long ago,” Kele explained, grinning.
“Kele!”
Laith drew him closer, pulling him into his side. “That just made everything weirder.”
“Why?” Kele asked.
“I’m jealous and equally glad you’re kind have penises. All at the same time. And both of those things make me sound like a boyfriend, which is fucked up.”
Kele laughed. “You feel the bond too.”
Chapter Four
Talli had four sets of eyes on him. The men were a couple of feet away, staring at him and Kele. One of them looked as angry as Laith. Talli deduced that the angry one was Wyatt, given that he looked remarkably like Laith, even down to the long blonde hair and blue eyes. The only difference was Wyatt had worry lines creasing his forehead and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Kele.
One of them wore a bathrobe and he coughed every few minutes. His eyes looked tired and his nose was red, as if he rubbed it raw. He had dark hair and pretty, brown eyes. He also had as delicate a bone structure as Talli did, which made him think perhaps one of his ancestors was a pooka.
The man reached out to touch Talli’s ears but Laith smacked his hand before he could get the chance. “Don’t touch him there. It makes him horny.”
Talli’s cheeks heated and he looked away. “I only get that way when you do it.”
The dark haired man reached out again and, again, Laith smacked his hand. “You’ll lose a hand, man. I’m serious.”
The man held out his hand to Talli instead. Talli looked at it and then at Laith. Laith didn’t offer any help at all. “What would you like me to do with your hand?”
The man chuckled and then coughed. “Just shake it.” Talli took his hand. Their palms meshed together. It felt odd and not something Talli liked doing. “I’m Sylvester, but all my friends call me Sly.”
“Talli.”
He held out his hand to Kele next. Kele just looked at it as if it were a strange thing. “No,” he said and folded his arms in front of his chest.
Sly gave him a confused look.
“That isn’t a custom in the Otherworld,”
Kele said.
Wyatt said, “You’re not in the Otherworld.”
“If you keep scowling at me like that, I’ll go back. Just see if I won’t,” Kele argued, the last part sounding like a threat that Wyatt may not take seriously.
“I don’t care if you go. I want you too because then I won’t have to find the money to feed you,” Wyatt said.
“Oh, you’ll care. I’m your anam cara and you’ll beg me to stay.” Kele’s chin lifted.
Talli would have chuckled at Kele’s show of confidence but he was still a bit unnerved at being stared at as if he were on display.
Wyatt snorted. “I doubt that.”
Kele narrowed his eyes but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he unfolded his arms and scooted his chair closer to Talli’s. “I think you’re right, Talli. We need to go home. Dasan and Awan will be worried.”
Talli went to answer but shut his mouth when Colton pulled up a chair next to his and contemplated him for several seconds. “You’re cute, especially with the big ears.”
Talli bit his lip, not sure how to respond to Colton. “Thank you.”
“You don’t look that different then us.” Colton looked down Talli’s body. “What does the rest of you look like?”
“You’re not going to find out, asshole,” Laith growled out.
Colton chuckled and winked at Talli. “Yeah, I think all that soulmate crap you were talking about earlier, is really a thing. Never seen him like this before.”
“Shut up, Colton,” Laith said.
“You’re the worst Anome cara in the world, or whatever the fuck he keeps calling you.” When Colton stuck out his tongue at Laith, Talli chuckled.
“Anam cara, idiot.” Laith looked at Talli and asked, “Is that permanent? Like it’s a done deal now that we found each other.”
Talli could feel his face burning with embarrassment. “We’ll need to bond properly. After that, yes.”
Colton smirked at Laith. “What the fuck do you care. You’re like a serial monogamist anyway. I would think this just made you the happiest homo on the planet.”
“I just met him a few hours ago. Can I take him on a date at least?”
