Devon in Wonderland (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting ManLove)

by Jana Downs

  He glanced over at Devon and noticed him limping to one side from his injured ankle, but he wasn’t complaining. That reminded him to ask Ezekiel to heal Devon’s foot when they stopped for the night. He offered a hand to Devon as he stepped across the narrow gap in the walkway.

  “Thanks.” Devon smiled breathlessly at him as he wiped the dirt from his hands on his faded blue jeans.

  Abraxas licked his lips before averting his gaze. Even covered in mud, Devon was attractive. He had a natural beauty about him with his smaller frame and chiseled features. Strands of his auburn hair fell in front of his hazel eyes as he stared up at him with a smile that had somehow worked its way past Abraxas’s carefully constructed walls. He was attracted to him, there was no doubt about that, but Abraxas had sworn off men since things had ended between him and Layden, and he wasn’t about to start changing that now.

  Abraxas noticed Layden’s penetrating glare from the other end of the cave and quickly dropped Devon’s hand. He still couldn’t believe Layden had become the Azure clan heir. Abraxas had held out hope that despite the abrupt end to their relationship, he was still waiting on him to make his way to the top where he could settle the feud between their families once and for all and they could finally be together, but that obviously wasn’t the case. Instead, he had chosen to take his brother’s place as the new puppet to his family, signifying once and for all that there was no hope of rekindling the spark that had ignited between them in their adolescent years.

  “You okay?” Devon’s concerned tone caught him off guard, before he realized his emotions had manifested themselves into tiny electrical pulses surround his fists.

  “Yeah.” He forced a smile and calmed himself until the magic dissipated. “I’m fine.”

  It was a lie, but he hoped Devon wouldn’t see through it.

  “Good,” Devon said as he smiled up at Abraxas. “Say, I’m getting a little exhausted. Why don’t we take a break? Maybe then I might be able to pick up something about this stone.”

  “I’m pretty tired, too. We’ve already walked over five miles today,” Layden added as he sat down on the rock closest to him.

  “What’s the holdup? Did you find the gem?” Dru called from across the opening they were currently in. Abraxas looked back and made out their shadowy figures as the rest of lights flickered above the other’s heads.

  “Nah, I think we’re going to take a break, though. Devon’s ankle’s bothering him, and I’m feeling kind of exhausted as well. You guys go on ahead,” Abraxas shouted back before seating himself on the floor of the cave across the room.

  “All right, we shouldn’t be too long. I just have one more place I want to look.” Druis and the others disappeared around the corner, leaving Abraxas alone with Layden and Devon.

  The tension was a little awkward as Abraxas avoided looking anywhere near Layden. The anger and tinge of sadness that always seemed to accompany his thoughts of him were only worsened by his actual presence. Then there was his ever-growing desire for the human sitting next to him, which oddly enough only seemed to complicate his emotions more. His desire for Devon was out of left field because he typically had no interest in anyone and yet he had somehow become intensely aware of his presence and charm over the past few days.

  “Thanks for staying with me,” Devon stated, breaking the silence, but neither he nor Layden made any move to respond.

  “You guys don’t have to stay behind. If you’d rather go on with the rest of group, I’ll be fine,” he tried again, this time obviously upset by their silence.

  “No.” Abraxas’s tone came out harsher than he intended as he moved to look at Devon. “I mean, I want to be here.”

  “Abraxas here doesn’t much care for caves anyways,” Layden stated with a bit of bitterness to his tone. “He’s only in here because of you.”

  The corner of Layden’s lips curved upward as he sat smugly in the corner.

  Abraxas cast an eat-shit-and-die look in his direction. God, Layden could set him off quicker than anyone he’d ever known, but Abraxas kept his cool the best he could.

  “What’s your point, water boy?” His warning was clear as he stood up to put more distance between them.

  “My point is, is that you think you’re some big tough bad ass, but really you’re just a wuss too afraid of the dark to go much further.”

  Abraxas raised his eyebrows at Layden’s smart-ass remark. “I’m a wuss? What about you? You decided to stay here as well.”

  Layden’s shrug only pissed him off more.

  “I’m not the one who hyperventilated the last time we went caving!”

  That was it.

  Abraxas raised his fists as the pulsating electricity sparked from his fingertips.

  “Enough!” Devon yelled out as he positioned himself in between the two of them. Abraxas blinked a few times as his command seemingly dissipated his rage, and he lowered his hand.

  What the hell had gotten into him? It wasn’t like him to lose his temper so readily. Sure, he and Layden had a history, but it definitely wasn’t a violent one. He’d never felt threatened by Layden even when they’d had disagreements. He couldn’t figure out why that had changed all of a sudden.

  “Please stop fighting.” Devon’s plea made him hesitate as he contemplated heading after Druis before he did something he regretted.

  “I don’t like to see you upset, either one of you.” Devon turned to look at Layden. “Life’s too short to waste begin angry all the time. I get that your clans have history, but that doesn’t mean you have to hate each other.”

  Abraxas chuckled at Devon’s statement. If he only knew the half of it. He could never hate Layden, not in a million years. To him, Layden would always be that wide-eyed, dark-headed little boy staring up at him with tearstained cheeks as he clutched tightly to his outstretched hand. He smiled in remembrance, forgetting why he’d been so angry in the first place.

  “Devon’s right,” Layden admitted. “I don’t know what came over me. Today has just been a weird day. In fact, this whole week has.”

  Abraxas watched hungrily as Layden ran a hand through his tousled hair, carelessly wetting his luscious lips as he spoke. A wave of desire coursed through him as his heartbeat quickened in recollection of the way he’d felt beneath him. Looking at Devon and him standing next to each other, his mind wandered to images of them both.

  He shook his head, trying to free himself of his carnal desires. Since the trip had started he’d felt like nothing more than a teenage boy with raging hormones all over again. He had to get out of here and clear his head.

  “I feel it!” Devon exclaimed as he practically pushed both of them down and ran toward the far end wall. He and Layden shared a puzzled expression.

  “Feel what?” Abraxas asked as he followed him over to see what had caught his attention.

  “The gem! I can sense it. It’s definitely in this room.” No sooner had the words left his mouth then an eerie fog began to surround them. The temperature seemed to drop below freezing almost instantaneously as the moisture in the room started to condense.

  “Damn it’s cold.” His observation was unnecessary as Layden and Devon had already begun shivering. “What is this? Some kind of test?”

  Layden nodded. “I believe so. You’d expect something as magically empowered as those gems to be protected in some manner. Let’s keep searching. It’s bound to turn up now that we know it’s here.”

  Abraxas nodded, and they began feeling every crevasse of the cavern wall. Minutes turned into an hour and still no gem or sign of the rest of their group.

  “Well, I know it’s in here somewhere,” Devon stated, clearly perplexed by the fact that they hadn’t found it yet. “I can feel its pulsating energy, but it’s almost as though it fills the entirety of the room and I can’t tell exactly where it’s coming from. If I can sit and focus my thoughts more, maybe I’ll get a better idea of where to look.”

  Devon sat down on the large smooth stone located in t
he center of the room as Abraxas and Layden returned to their searches.

  A shrill scream had them both turning back around to see what was wrong. Even in the dim lighting, they could make out Devon being slowly sucked into the stone he was sitting on. The entire consistency of the rock had changed and now it was more of a small liquid pond, floating in mid-air. Layden and Abraxas both lunged for Devon, trying to reach his out stretched hand before it was too late. But there efforts were useless. Instead, they collided with the floating object, headfirst into a very solid barrier.

  They looked on in horror as they watched Devon struggling inside the magical object, clearly under water and unable to breath. Just when Abraxas thought things couldn’t get much worse, they did. A blinding blue force emitted from the pond, throwing Abraxas and Layden’s bodies like rag dolls against the cavern wall.

  A corporeal form began to form right before their eyes, and Abraxas reached for his magically infused dagger. Layden followed suit, prepared to fight whatever beast materialized. A deep chuckle echoed throughout the room, leaving the hairs on the back of his neck standing.

  “Who are you?” Abraxas demanded, his gaze shifting around the entirety of the room, while he focused his attention on the rather human-like ghost materializing before him.

  “I am the original Azure clan heir, and I have been ordained by the Dragon God, Ryujin, to protect the sacred water gem of Raj from ill-intentioned seekers who wish to unrightfully claim it.” A sadistic grin spread across his very blue-colored facial features.

  Abraxas clenched his jaw as he looked for any kind of weakness he could easily exploit.

  “Stupid dragons, you’re forgetting the more important question,” the corporeal ghost said as he stepped to the side, giving both him and Layden a direct line of vision to Devon as he pushed against the invisible barrier, desperately struggling for air. “The most important question is, how do you plan on stopping me before I kill him?”

  Chapter 4

  The sudden electrical pulses in the room had Layden reeling.

  “What do you think you’re doing, Abraxas!” he shouted just in time before Abraxas conjured up enough power to fry them all.

  “What?” Abraxas said, clearly confused by Layden’s attempt to stop him. “We don’t have much time. Let’s fry his ass and save Devon!”

  Layden detected a hint of panic in his voice as his eyes never left the target, but Abraxas ceased his advancement, waiting to hear what Layden had to say.

  “You can’t use your powers. He’s a spirit of water. The electricity will move straight through him and back into us, or worse it could hit the enchantment and kill Devon.”

  The charged atmosphere vanished almost instantaneously as Abraxas reluctantly pulled his stare from the spirit and met Layden’s.

  His expression was filled with fear, something Layden had never seen on his beautiful face until now.

  “Tick, tock,” the spirit’s voice chided, just before he shot a blast of water from his corporeal hands. Layden turned around, too late, as he saw the water hurtling straight for him. He braced for the impact, but was pushed to the ground by Abraxas’s large frame as he sheltered him with his body.

  The water circled around Abraxas’s wrist and ankles before pulling him against his will and slamming him into the far wall. The crunching sound that echoed in the cavern as his skull and back collided with the rock caused Layden’s breath to hitch.

  “Abraxas!” he shouted, scrambling to his feet. This couldn’t be happening. Why did he do that? Why did Abraxas risk his life for him? Layden watched in horror as Abraxas body became limp against the water bonds.

  “Well, that was easier than I thought. I guess you’re next.”

  Layden glared up at the spirit in anger. “You bastard.” He growled.

  The spirit smirked and shot another stream of water in his direction. Layden was anticipating it this time and jumped out of the way just as the stream collided with the dirt ground he stood on moments before.

  Come on, Layden, think.

  His gaze flickered to Devon’s weakening form. He was running out of air and fast. But what could he do? He wasn’t a fighter. That was Abraxas.

  “This is getting boring.” The spirit feigned a yawn.

  Layden took a deep breath. He needed to focus and conjure his powers. He could do this. Abraxas and Devon were counting on him. He clutched his fists.

  “Well, if I’m boring you, why don’t you put an end to this?” Layden taunted, encouraging the spirit to take the bait. The spirit’s eyes narrowed.

  “Are you testing me, boy?” He flicked his tongue against his teeth as he raised his hand and pointed it at Layden.

  “No. I’m daring you.”

  The irritation was obvious on the spirit’s face. He apparently didn’t like being called out.

  “You arrogant little brat. How dare you speak like that to someone as great as me.” Beads of liquid began to pool in his palm as he summoned forth yet another stream of water. There was no running this time. Layden reached up and met the burst of water head-on, outstretching his own hand.

  Water was his specialty. As a descendent of the spirit that stood before him now, Layden hoped he could best him. The water began to circle around his outstretched wrist. He focused his energy. Conjuring water for a water dragon was easy. Manipulating its properties to change its state was complicated.

  Layden felt his draconic powers course through his blood as he grasped the stream.

  “Game over.” A slow grin spread across Layden’s face as he forced his energy out of his hand and into the liquid. A cracking sound erupted from his fingertips as the water began to freeze. A momentary look of shock came across the spirit’s face before his powers reached the corporeal being, turning him into ice.

  Layden watched as the spirit crumpled to the ground, shattering into pieces. The spell was lifted and the enchanted pond fell to the rock floor, releasing its contents and Devon onto the ground. His gasps for air were followed by a loud thud as Abraxas collapsed to the ground in a heap. Layden rushed to his side, checking his vitals and shifting his head in his lap.

  “Is he…okay?” Devon panted, crawling toward them, shivering from the cold. Layden wrapped his arm around Devon for warmth as he curled to his side.

  “I’m not sure. Are you okay?” He looked down at Devon with worry in his expression.

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “Just a little cold.”

  “Mmm.” Abraxas groaned as he came to.

  “Oh thank god,” Layden said, breathless, as tears began to pool in his eyes. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, even if Abraxas was the biggest ass in the entire world.

  “I think I broke some ribs,” Abraxas declared. His voice was raspy as he coughed out the last part and winced in pain. Layden leaned forward to get a better look and noticed the crumpled mess of his lower rib cage.

  The mixture of panic at seeing Abraxas hurt like that had tears falling one right after the other as he smiled down at him. He was going to be okay. That was the important part.

  “Hey now, why the sad face? You know it’d take more than that to kill me.” Abraxas coughed as he reached up to wipe away Layden’s tears.

  “What’s going on?” Druis’s voice interrupted them, and the rest of the group came running into the room.

  “We found the gem,” Devon explained. “It’s over there.”

  He pointed with a shaky finger in the direction of where the enchantment had collapsed, and sure enough there was a small blue stone glimmering in the puddle of water.

  “Awesome.” Dru beamed as he rushed to pick it up. Asher and Ezekiel on the other hand noticed Abraxas’s injuries and came rushing to his side.

  “What happened?” Asher demanded.

  “The Azure clan ancestor was guarding the stone. It nearly killed us.” Layden’s eyes narrowed as he spoke. “I was unaware obtaining these gems was going to be so risky.”

  “Ah! It’s cool. Nothing we can’t handle
.” Abraxas dismissed Layden’s concern as though his near-death experience was some kind of joking manner. “Besides I saw you take down that ghost like he was nothing.”

  Abraxas pushed himself up, clutching his side as he did so. Layden didn’t find this funny at all. Asher held out his hand for Abraxas and helped him to his feet. Layden stood and reached for Devon, draping a warm arm around his shoulders.

  “I think we need to get out of here before he catches cold and so Ezekiel can check out Abraxas’s injuries,” Layden said, still not convinced that Abraxas was okay.

  “Yes. We also need to plan our next move more carefully since I now know there’s potential danger surrounding the other gems,” Druis added. His tone was serious and authoritative as he held up the gem, trying to get a better look at the details.

  “Well, we’ve got one down. That only leaves four more to go.” Cerilius grinned, and Layden found it irritating. How could he be so happy about what had just happened?

  “Whatever.” Layden shrugged, pulling Devon with him as he made his way back out of the cavern. He’d be happy if he never saw another cave again.

  * * * *

  It was nearly nightfall when they finally exited the cave. The ground was partially moistened, Devon noticed, and he suspected it must’ve rained while they were inside.

  “Aw man. All the supplies!” Druis’s aggravation was noticeable as he rushed to the soaking-wet camels where all their camping gear was equally sopping.

  “How do the tents look?” Asher joined him in the inspection.

  Devon sighed. Could this day get any worse? How often did it rain in the freaking desert? Granted they were on the outskirts but still. Devon limped to a semidry place to sit, just grateful to be out of the damp and dingy cave.

  “Easy, Abraxas, you’re going to worsen your injuries if you don’t lie down and let me look at you.” Ezekiel’s motherly tone made Devon smile. He really was a gentle soul.