Talis pulled back in surprise, as if he’d received a shock. They stared at each other for a long moment, and then Artemis hesitantly slid a hand over Talis’s hip and between his crack, fingering him gently.
Talis gasped, eyelids fluttering closed. The hum returned, escalating to a new level. “We are on the correct path.”
Artemis didn’t question him. He felt it, too. “Ever bottomed?”
“No.”
“Lube?”
Erection bouncing, Talis got up on his knees long enough to retrieve the tube from the nightstand. He flipped the top and liberally squirted lube into Artemis’s hand. “Will it hurt?”
With Talis once more lying on his side next to him, Artemis teased the puckered hole with his index finger, feeling the muscles clench against him. “First time is sometimes painful, but I’ll be careful.” Talis was watching him with trust in his eyes. “You didn’t expect this, did you? Always, you’ve topped.”
“You and I are a first. No other phoenix ever found his soul mate. I am content to be guided by the force that created me and allowed me to find you.”
Artemis snickered. “That sounds very new age-y.” He pushed a finger inside Talis and felt him draw away and then stop and push back. Smiling, Artemis crooked his finger and massaged Talis’s prostate.
Delicate shudders went through him. “That… feels wonderful.”
Their desperate hunger for each other had abated during the brief discussion, but now it came back stronger than ever. Talis raised his leg over Artemis’s hip so he could add a second finger, and they moved against each other, breath harsh in the otherwise quiet room. Outside, the sound of waves on the beach contributed soothing background noise that did nothing to slow their hearts. Farther away still, a dog barked once and was quiet.
“I don’t want to wait,” Talis whispered. “I’m coming apart inside.” He looked it, too. His pale skin had lost all color, and sweat stood in his hair, darkening its roots.
It felt as if invisible hands were pushing at them, hurrying them along now that they were so close to culmination. A wildness was in Talis’s eyes that Artemis had never seen. It sent a wicked thrill through him. “Condom?”
Shaking his head, Talis grasped Artemis’s forearms. “No. I want you.”
“We do this face to face,” Artemis said, removing his fingers and shoving Talis onto his back. He could barely contain himself, he wanted to claim Talis so badly.
“Yes… I want to see your face when you come inside me.” He pulled Artemis down between his legs, raising his head to kiss Artemis’s lips.
Artemis felt an unaccustomed power surge through him. If being a cop had fostered his self-confidence and quiet strength, then Talis, the alter ego of a wondrous creature who could heal the sick and dying, had taken him to heights unimaginable, and all because of a love he was only beginning to understand, because love it was. He saw it in every taut line of Talis’s perfect body as he readied for their union, saw it in the depths of amethyst eyes that met his openly, tasted it deep in a mouth that held all the world.
Raising Talis’s legs to his shoulders, he pointed his eager cock at the blond man’s entrance with a steady hand and slowly shoved. Talis opened to him immediately, lifting to meet him. Artemis entered him with an ease that surprised them both.
“First time, huh?” Artemis teased breathlessly as he was fully enveloped. Liquid heat engulfed him, and he sank into it, into Talis, with a sigh, leaning down to capture his lover’s lips.
“First… time.” Talis relaxed and then thrust up again, attempting to start a rhythm.
Artemis let him set the pace, mind spinning. He was dizzy with desire. Sparks of pleasure darted along nerves that sang with need. He slowly withdrew and then plunged again into Talis’s welcoming body.
Wrapping a hand around Talis’s erection, Artemis stroked firmly, twisted over the engorged head, which was fully free of the foreskin, and descended again. Talis arched his back and softly cried out, begging for more.
And then there was light.
Artemis’s jaw dropped as the light began to emanate from Talis, rose-colored and then blue-green-gold-silver, and finally a pure white that fell into the darkness around them, gathering it in until there was nothing but light all around. They swam in it. It caressed their skin, swooped and receded and returned, and there was music in it. Red-and-gold feathers, shining with iridescence, began to sprout along Talis’s shoulders.
The breath caught in his throat, and he had to swallow twice before he could speak. “You’re transforming!”
Talis’s arms encircled him more tightly. “Don’t stop! Mustn’t stop!”
He couldn’t if he tried. His body was in control while Artemis took a backseat, touching Talis here, licking him there, heightening the blond man’s excitement as he became Phoenix, the arms around him now wings, cradling him even as they urged him on. The bird’s familiar smell inundated his senses, making his head spin.
Buffeted by waves of flashing light and dark emotion that could not be contained, Artemis thrust one more time into a body that had become alien to him, unable to stop, unwilling to pull away. Clawed legs gently held him in place as orgasm swept up and out of him and into Phoenix, whose beak opened to emit a sound Artemis had heard once before: the sound of triumph, and he experienced a brief moment when he wondered if now he would die, as Trey and all the others had, and he was aware that Talis/Phoenix was coming, his entire body tense, suspended, held in thrall by the ultimate pleasure…
… and abruptly, Artemis smelled fire and screamed and heard that scream echoed by Phoenix. The wings that had been folded tightly around him, covering him, holding him steady, were flung wide. Phoenix pulled away, pushing frantically at Artemis with his clawed legs to shove him off the bed, so that he hit the floor with a painful thump. Eyes glued to the bird, Artemis backed into a corner, shaking, suddenly chilled despite the warmth in the room, feeling blood drip down his calves from where Phoenix had scratched him.
Phoenix now hovered above the bed, wings spread and beating, legs drawn up, head thrown back, beak open, fire bursting from his chest. The bird screamed again, in terror and exultation, as the flames overwhelmed him.
Artemis began to cry, sobs that shook him deeply, unable to tear his eyes away from the spectacle. No stage show, this time, but the real thing. White light had become red fire, and it was consuming the bird. The room stank of singed feathers and burning flesh. Acrid smoke filled his eyes and throat, making it hard to breathe. Above him, the ceiling went black before bursting into flame and falling away.
Artemis wanted to run but couldn’t leave, not while Phoenix was still alight and writhing in agony, and in that moment of indecision, Talis reappeared, tearing himself free of the dying bird before collapsing on the bed.
Artemis did not hesitate. Scrambling to Talis’s side, he grabbed Talis’s forearms and dragged him off the mattress and back into the corner. Cradling him in his arms, Artemis kissed his cool forehead. “Are you alive? Are youokay?”
After a long moment, Talis jerked and sucked in a mouthful of air. Artemis stroked his pale face, still crying, but this time in joy. “Talk to me, open your eyes and say something.”
The thick eyelashes parted, and amethyst gleamed in reflected light. “What happened?”
He helped Talis sit up, turning and supporting him so he could see. The phoenix was all but gone, his ashes piling up on the bed beneath the little of him that remained. The crackle and pop of the conflagration was dying, and through a hole in the ceiling, stars and a partial moon showed.
Talis clutched at him. “I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t understand.”
“It seems… you split in two. Jesus.”
A wind swept around the room, ruffling their hair and drying the sweat on their bodies, and the ashes began to rise and dance in the air. Tiny bright sparks of light glittered in Phoenix’s remains as the ashes slowly began to coalesce. Artemis leaned his head against Talis’s, and
they watched, huddled in their dark corner, arms around each other.
A form began to take shape. Bones appeared and were almost immediately connected by muscle. Organs solidified, blood began to pump, and pebbled ivory flesh covered it all. Feathers sprouted, red and black, and in an amazingly short time, a new phoenix floated near the hole in the roof. Its beak and feet were yellow, and its eyes were blood red. Its voice, when it spoke, was deep and melodic and neither male nor female.
“I am the last phoenix. I will live until the end of the age of Man and thereafter, return to the heavens and earth from whence we came.” It fixed its red eyes on Talis. “You have done well. I would not have been born if you had not found your soul mate.
“You will remain in your human form. It is my first gift to you. I will take up your duties and much, much more. This world is in great pain and requires healing.”
Artemis wondered how it stayed in the air without moving. The outstretched wings were motionless, but the eyes, they moved, and he guessed they missed nothing.
“I have your memories, Talis. Nothing will be forgotten. The money you amassed as Phoenix is yours, and you may choose three of your many homes to keep. The rest become mine. This is my second gift to you. Is this satisfactory?”
Talis nodded. “What if I hadn’t found him?” His hand tightened on Artemis’s bare thigh.
“The world would have ended in darkness, and sooner than anyone expected.” The phoenix sank to the wreckage of the bed, resting on it with folded wings and feet tucked beneath it. “I am to be a light to all who need one. Dangerous times lay ahead.”
Artemis knew that was right. Humans had all but ruined the planet and were breeding out of control. Finite resources were quickly running out. Not enough food, not enough water, and finally, not enough land. It couldn’t help but end in disaster.
“I have made you both immortal. That is my third and last gift. You alone of all humans know who I am and from where I sprang, and there may come a time when I need your assistance.” The phoenix’s gazed shifted to Artemis. “Are you prepared to work on behalf of your race if I should request it?”
“I… yes, of course.” What the hell, I’m immortal? What does that mean exactly?
“You have powers I never had!” Talis exclaimed excitedly, eyes bright.
“I will need them all in the years to come.” The phoenix ruffled its glossy feathers, and shards of light shot out into the dark room.
Artemis cleared his throat. “I have a question. Actually, I have many, but I’ll ask you only one. For now.”
The phoenix blinked, waiting.
“Talis needed souls to remain human. Will you, too?”
The phoenix did that funny thing with the muscles near its mouth that somehow produced the effect that it was smiling. “You, Artemis, have completed the circle by virtue of the Egyptian blood running through your veins.” In an instant, the bird transformed into a perfect and very beautiful woman with long, shining black hair and red eyes. “Perhaps you would prefer a male?” And she became he, and their breath caught at how glorious he was. “I am man. I am woman. I am nothing. I am all.” Becoming the bird once more, it bowed its head to them both. “The souls that were so generously given to you, Talis, will be restored. The young men will be returned to their homes. I shall see to it. Farewell, until we meet again.” A shower of light brightened the room, and when they could see clearly again, the phoenix was gone.
Chapter Four Artemis
Lift up your eyes upon / This day breaking for you. / Give birth again / To the dream.
—Maya Angelou
“WHATdoes it mean to be immortal?” Artemis asked the question in their king-size bed at the most expensive hotel in Corozal. They were on the top floor, and the balcony doors were open to the warm night. They’d retreated there after deciding the bedroom at the beach house was too demolished to stay in.
Talis lay with his head on Artemis’s chest, one hand loosely folded around Artemis's sleepy penis. “It means someone can shoot you and you won’t die. They can stick a knife in your heart, and you’ll merely laugh in their face.”
“I think if someone were to do either of those things, laughing would be the last thing on my mind.” Artemis wrapped a thick golden strand of Talis’s hair around one finger.
“You will never age,” Talis said, lazily licking around one nipple.
“Then I’m glad this happened while I was still young and good-looking,” Artemis teased. Lifting one leg, he looked at the expanse of unbroken skin. “The scratches you gave me as Phoenix healed, but I couldn’t tell you when that happened.” They listened to the ocean washing up on the sand for a while, and then he asked, “So you’re fully human now?”
“I am, and without powers of any sort.”
“Except for immortality,” Artemis reminded him. “There are people who would do anything for such a gift, but I’m not sure how I feel about the idea of living forever. What if I get bored? What if we tire of each other? What if—”
“Shush. You are my soul mate. I will never tire of you.” Talis sealed his words with a lingering kiss.
When they’d checked in earlier, Talis had asked the desk clerk if Ammon was staying there and, once that was confirmed, asked for him to be called downstairs. They waited for him in the small lobby. Even though it was past midnight, Ammon appeared within minutes, neatly dressed, his black hair combed straight back and tidily in place.
“Why aren’t you surprised to see me?” Talis asked with a smile.
“I live with a phoenix,” the PA answered smoothly. “Nothing surprises me.”
Artemis laughed and leaned against Talis’s left shoulder. “Phoenix no more.”
That got a reaction. Ammon’s dark eyes widened, surprise showing in their dark chocolate depths. “It seems you have things to tell me.”
Talis and Artemis sat on a love seat while Ammon perched on the edge of an adjacent chair, and they proceeded to relate the events of the evening, casually interrupting each other in the way of long-married couples. Talis held Artemis’s hand throughout.
“And so there is a new phoenix,” Talis finished. “A much more powerful phoenix than I ever believed could exist. This one will change the world, if I judge its purpose correctly.”
Ammon had listened with interest, not speaking until they finished. “What will you do now?”
The question was addressed to Talis but generously included Artemis, who smiled wryly and let Talis answer.
“We will live, Ammon. Live and love each other and watch the world spin on its axis, and if this phoenix should have need of us, we will do our best to help.” His eyes flicked briefly to Artemis, who nodded in response. “And now, Ammon, we are off to a shower and much-needed sleep, but I wanted to ask you… will you stay on with me or leave?”
Ammon smoothed white linen pants over his knees. “My duty is to the phoenix, and as you are no longer he… well….” He sketched a shrug and stood. “It has been a pleasure serving you, Talis, but I have a new master and must see to his needs.”
They watched him walk regally away, looked at each other, and laughed together before going up to their room.
In their king-size bed, Artemis taunted Talis’s open mouth with a teasing tongue. “That wild electricity between us is gone, but I still feel a crazy excitement being near you.”
“We will never lose that. We are soul mates.” Talis pressed full length against Artemis. “How tired are you?”
Artemis did a quick mental check of his physical state. “Surprisingly, not that tired.” He laughed into Talis’s silky hair. Talis still smelled of that enticing scent peculiar only to him; losing the half of him that had been the phoenix had not changed that.
“No surprise at all,” the blond man said lightly before wrapping his arms around Artemis. “Tomorrow we will consider our options, but tonight we make love until we are exhausted.”
They did not discuss what their love had set loose in the world. All would be k
nown soon enough.
About the Author
THEO FENRAVEN grew up in rural Ohio, and so his early
writing featured horses, cows, and pirates in tree houses. An occasional cowboy or astronaut sometimes showed up by accident. Then he hit puberty and everything changed. His focus shifted to love, romance, and sex, and it’s pretty much remained there ever since. He currently lives in St. Paul, MN, has an okay job doing relatively unimportant things, and writes every chance he gets. His stories now reflect the drama and adventure of people exploring themselves and others. He apologizes in advance if the occasional cowboy or astronaut show up.
You can e-mail him at:
[email protected],
read his blog at
http://theofenraven.wordpress.com
or
http://theofenraven.livejournal.com,
or follow him on Twitter: @fenraven.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
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Copyright
Phoenix Rising ©Copyright Theo Fenraven, 2012 Published by
Dreamspinner Press
382 NE 191st Street #88329
Miami, FL 33179-3899, USA http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Art by Anne Cain [email protected]
This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the Publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 382 NE 191st Street #88329, Miami, FL 33179-3899, USA
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