Come

by R Phoenix

  “I lied,” Kol’tso said, looking up at him. This time there was very little hiding the feelings in those pretty eyes.

  Leandro blinked, startled into taking a step back. “No, you didn’t,” he said, a little offended that the man could possibly think he could have lied to Leandro — who always knew when someone was being false.

  Kolt’s expression turned a little puzzled and he nodded his head. “Pretty sure I did," he said, deadpan. “I… I came to you for a favor, but I chickened out and then… “ He shrugged. “Everything happened kind of fast, and you got all mad.”

  Leandro’s eyes narrowed. He replayed the previous evening’s events through his mind, and it didn’t take him long to find the point where the little waif had… lied to him. It couldn’t have been much of a lie, or he’d have known. “You said you didn’t have anywhere to go,” he said tersely, focused only on trying to find where he’d erred.

  “I don’t," he said, “Because… because I fucked up.” His arms finally went slack as they unfolded, and his shoulders dropped.

  Leandro took another step back, all too mindful of the suspicions he held. It wasn’t as though he thought Kolt was a threat to him — because he wasn’t — but he didn’t need to be careless. “Tell me,” he ordered. “I can’t grant you any favors unless I know what you’re asking, after all.”

  “I killed someone," Kolt said softly. “I think I’m an incubus, and I… I killed someone.”

  If he hadn’t already suspected Kolt was the murderer, he might’ve embarrassed himself by displaying some modicum of shock. After all, how could anyone suspect this man was a killer? But an incubus… That made the pieces fall into place.

  “Did you mean to kill them?” Leandro asked, more out of curiosity than a need to know — though it would certainly be useful.

  “Of course not,” Kolt said hurriedly, looking somewhat horrified at the notion. “I didn’t even know I could do that," he said. A lot of his tough act fell away from him then. He looked young, vulnerable, scared… and beautifully sinful.

  Leandro hummed. He had every reason to help if he wanted to keep the incubus, and who wouldn’t? His knowledge about them was limited, but he could find out, given enough time. “You don’t have much to offer in exchange for my aid,” he said thoughtfully. “You’d need a lot more than help with the murder. A safe place, a source of energy, clothes,” a wry glance at Kolt’s feet, “shoes that aren’t mine, time to learn to control yourself... You’re asking quite a bit.”

  He’d give it all to Kolt — under the right conditions.

  “I’m… no.” Kol’tso said, looking up at him with big eyes. “No, I just… I — I need this to go away, and I’ll be more careful in the future, I swear.”

  “And what are you going to do with yourself after, hmm?” Leandro pressed. “You said it yourself: you have nowhere to go.” And that had been true.

  “I’ve been taking care of myself for years. I’m fine. I just… I’ll be careful,” he repeated the words, as if that would make them more true.

  This self-sufficiency wouldn’t do. It wouldn’t do at all.

  He needed to have Kolt.

  Of course, he had to consider the possibility that Kolt might be influencing him — that the desire to keep him near was some sort of incubus charm. He dismissed it instantly, though. He was too powerful for some fledgling incubus to ensorcel. No, it was the incubus’ rarity and adaptable beauty that drew him in. Who wouldn’t want to have that at their beck and call?

  “And what if you aren’t careful enough?” Leandro pressed, taking a step closer to him again. “It was an accident the last time. What if you have another… accident, hmm?”

  “It was an accident.” Kolt snapped defensively. “I’m not a monster. I’m just—” He broke off and shook his head.

  “You’re just what, Kol’tso?” Leandro asked, reaching out to touch the fidgeting hands of the incubus.

  Kolt shook his head, pulling his hands from Leandro’s reach and taking a step away.

  “You don’t even know what you’re capable of…” Leandro said. “And making a dead body just… go away? Not an easy feat, Kol’tso. I can only do you a favor like that once.”

  “I’ll be more careful. I won’t feed as much.” The incubus said sullenly, looking down at the ground.

  “Do you even know how you did it?” Leandro asked, almost gently. Something broke in the young incubus then, and he sagged down onto the folding chair at long last.

  “Kind of…” Kolt wavered. “You don’t know what it’s like. It’s not fucking fair,” he snapped hotly then, glaring up at Leandro, as if he had been the one to personally wrong him. “I’m all by my fucking self, and no one to trust or… tell me what is even going on. I just fucked up once. Once. And everyone is talking about what a monster I am, while I should get fucking credit for only fucking up once…!”

  “Shh,” Leandro hushed him, though he didn’t step closer. “You don’t have to be alone, Kol’tso. I take it you fed on me last night, hmm?” He didn’t like the sound of that at all, for all that he kept that from his voice. “I can handle you. Humans…” He shook his head. “Humans can’t. They can’t even give you a place in their society. You think people are talking about what a monster you are now?” He arched a brow. “Imagine what would happen if you did it again, if it became a pattern...”

  Kol’tso rested his face in his hands for a long moment before shaking his head. “I just need this to go away, I can’t… can’t ask for anything else, okay? I already don’t know what the fuck I’m going to give you in return for that kind of a favor, seeing how I’m wearing your fucking shoes," he said, sounding tired and desperate — which was just how Leandro wanted him.

  “You’ve gotten yourself into quite the predicament, pet,” Leandro mused with a weary sigh, looking for a moment as if fixing it would be a terribly difficult task. “You see, as a fae, I’m bound by contracts. But if you have no collateral and nothing to offer in return, I can’t write a contract for you…”

  He could practically see the will to live drain from the incubus, and he wondered if he could make him cry if he pushed hard enough. Would he be pretty if he cried too?

  “Though I suppose... there is a road less travelled. It’s archaic, and not used very often anymore,” Leandro continued, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

  “What?” Kolt asked, after a long moment of silence between them.

  “It’s a type of work contract. The fae once used it quite a bit to help humans get back up on their feet when they were down on their luck and had little to offer. I’d say you qualify for that," he said helpfully.

  He didn’t see tears in those pretty eyes, but there was a sniffle before Kolt spoke again. “What does that mean…?”

  “It means you become my servant until your debt to me is fulfilled,” Leandro said slowly, as though still considering. He offered an almost apologetic look. “As I said, it’s archaic, but it would give me leave to clear this mess up and protect you. I could keep you safe. No one would be able to hurt you, because I’d be bound to protect you as my servant.”

  “I don’t need protection. I just need some help, that’s all. I promise…” Kolt said, his voice a little uneven with all the promises he was making.

  “Oh, Kol’tso, I know,” he said sweetly, crouching down in front of the chair to look Kolt in those pretty eyes again. “But what do you think the otherkin society will do if they find out who the killer in their midst is, hm? Humans are easy to manipulate, but otherkin…”

  Kolt’s expression went dark then, and he pressed his eyes closed. “I didn’t even know there was such a thing,” he murmured. “This can’t be fucking happening.”

  Leandro was certain he heard tears in that voice.

  If he pressed, would they spill? Would he get to see that lovely face streaked with them? It was intoxicating, the idea that he could make the creature cry, without being to blame for it — even though he was pushing for it.

&n
bsp; “It’s a lot to take in, I know,” Leandro said, offering his hand to the incubus. “I can’t even imagine how terrified you must be. I wish I could do more to help.”

  Kolt swallowed hard and drew in a deep breath. “What— What do I do… if I’m your servant?" he asked slowly.

  “It would mostly be for appearance’s sake,” Leandro replied. “You could keep me company, run errands for me, perhaps… Cater to my needs, but I’m no monster.” He took Kolt’s hand into his own. “The contract works both ways. I’d be responsible for you. So I’d take care of your needs too. Which means that you’ll have everything your heart desires. And I’m not exactly hurting here…” he said with a genial smile and a vague gesture towards the casino.

  That aspect of the contract seemed to dry up some of Kolt’s worries, which meant no tears, but he was likely getting something much better than tears.

  “All I really ask is for your loyalty, and that you learn to control your powers. That isn’t too much to ask, is it?”

  Kolt shook his head slowly, swallowing again. “No…” he said timidly, nipping at his lower lip with his teeth. “I guess not.”

  “How about I have one of my girls type up a contract, and we can go over it, hm?” Leandro offered, squeezing Kolt’s hand gently.

  Kolt nodded.

  “Wonderful,” Leandro promised. “I’ll try my best to make this okay again.”

  11

  He’d had a few drinks while they waited. The first one had gone down quickly, because he’d been anxious and felt out of place in the VIP room. He hadn’t quite understood what Leandro had meant with otherkin society but now that he was sitting in it, he was starting to understand. Not everyone blended in with humans, as it turned out, there were all sorts of creatures, big and small, with magic and without, and he felt overwhelmed. Which was what had led to drink number two and three, and he was starting to feel a little light headed.

  “Are you okay?” Leandro asked next to him. The fae had poured him a new drink with the contract, and now he was staring down at the type face, pen in one hand and a fourth half-finished drink in the other.

  “Yeah," he said shortly, as he tried to focus on the words on the page. It was a several page-long contract. It was heavy, and the black ink blurred with the stark white page until all he could see were key words. Most of them were big, expensive sounding words that he didn’t understand much. He felt like he needed a lawyer, but he was certain that was no option.

  He tapped the pen on the page, flipping back and forth between the pages as if he was actually reading anything, when in reality he couldn’t think to save his life. Literally.

  “It’s a pretty standard contract,” Leandro said, petting him on the back gently. “See, here,” he added turning a page back. “It says you’ll fall under my responsibility, and that I have to provide for you.”

  Frankly, he couldn’t give a fuck. He was going to sign it anyway. It wasn’t like he was going to get a better offer, and he was sure that if he needed to, he could get out from under it.

  It was just a contract, after all. Just… his eyes fell on the last paragraph again.

  Forever. It didn’t say forever, but it said indefinitely, which meant forever until further notice. Now… he was sure he wasn’t going to get old. He didn’t want to get old anyway, so what was a few years of being pampered by someone like Leandro…?

  “It… ehm… it looks fine," he said with a small smile. “Are you sure you’re okay with this…?" He winced. “You didn’t exactly ask for a lost, useless incubus to barge into your life…” he muttered, glancing around cautiously, because he wasn’t sure if he wanted everyone to hear him use the word incubus.

  “You aren’t useless,” Leandro admonished him. “And, well…” He shrugged, rubbing Kolt’s back. “You were a pleasant surprise. Having someone to spoil will be good for me. It’s been so long…” He trailed off, eyes distant as though he were thinking of someone else. “Too long.” He smiled. “But consider it a happy accident.”

  He wet his lips and took another gulp of the drink, before he could say something stupid, like convince Leandro of just how fucking useless he was. He should sign the contract before Leandro could change his mind and rescind the offer.

  “If there’s anything,” Leandro continued, but Kolt already turned to the last page, and before the fae could finish speaking he’d scrawled his name on the dotted line.

  Kol’tso

  He’d thought long and hard about the name while he waited and drank. He should’ve probably signed Darren, but he didn’t want to be Darren anymore. Darren had been a dumb human, and Kol’tso… well. He hoped he could be better now.

  Leandro smiled, taking the papers from him and scrawling his own name across the other line. He dated it then pressed his thumb against it, and something tickled Kolt’s skin. “Here,” Leandro said, indicating a spot under his name.

  He had no idea what the difference was. He’d already signed it, but after an encouraging gesture from the fae standing just beside him, he followed the man’s example.

  He pressed his own thumb on the indicated spot, then he felt it again — that subtle hint of… something washing over him. Even though neither of them had touched ink, he could see the whorls of their thumb prints appear on the page, as plain as day.

  “And done,” Leandro announced, turning back to the first page of the neatly stapled documents. “See? That was easy enough, wasn’t it?”

  He nodded wordlessly and skulled the rest of his drink. He didn’t feel much better. He felt numb, and under the numbness, there was still a ton of anxiety in his gut. What if Leandro wasn’t really going to clean up the murder? What if this was all just… dumb? Or fake? Or he really was mentally ill and in need of a fucking lobotomy?

  “Thank you…” he said slowly, glancing up at Leandro. If this was real, he didn’t want to be rude.

  “No need to thank me,” Leandro replied. “I get something out of it too, after all.” The fae smiled. “You’re the most interesting person I’ve met in decades. I can’t wait to get to know you.”

  12

  Leandro lounged on the sofa in the VIP section of the casino, though he paid little attention to what he was watching. That was what his security staff was for, and they knew their jobs and carried them out well. His mind was on other things, to the point that he didn’t even notice Maurice until the shapeshifter sat down across from him.

  He blinked, taking a moment to focus on the man — irritated that he had to drag his attention away from the incubus who was showering just upstairs. “What do you need?”

  A bit of hurt flashed across the sycophant’s face, and Leandro sighed.

  “Maurice, I’m busy.”

  Maurice gave him a pointed look, glancing deliberately from Leandro to the empty sofa next to him then back.

  Leandro let out another exaggerated sigh, but he conceded. “I found him,” he stated after a moment.

  “Who?”

  Impatient, Leandro flicked his hand toward the casino at large. “The creature I couldn’t identify. I found him again.”

  Technically, Kolt had found him, but that didn’t seem like an important detail.

  “Do you know what he is now?” Maurice asked, sitting down across from Leandro.

  “Mine,” Leandro purred. “Completely and utterly mine.”

  He didn’t know what the shapeshifter had expected, but it wasn’t that. Still, there was admiration there, just like there always was, as Maurice pandered to him. There were reasons he kept the man around, after all. He was quick-witted and loyal, and he never failed to give Leandro the proper praise he needed to remain happy.

  “Of course he is. Who could deny you?” Maurice asked, right on cue.

  Leandro smiled. The incubus had no idea what he was in for, not yet. He didn’t realize what he’d done, what he’d signed away. Leandro could do any- and everything he wanted to Kolt, and no one could stop him.

  Not then, not ever.

/>   And indefinitely was a very long time when it came to fae — and who knew how long an incubus lived anyway?

  “He’s an incubus,” Leandro said, lowering his voice. He had to share his delight with someone who would understand, and who better than his favorite shapeshifter? “You’ll get to see him soon,” he offered, already pleased at the idea of getting to show off his new acquisition.

  Maurice shifted forward in his seat in clear anticipation. “They’re cousins, in a way,” he said. “They can shapechange in ways we can’t.”

  “How does it work?” Leandro asked, tilting his head. If anyone knew about the incubi, it would be Maurice.

  “He’ll turn into whatever you want most,” Maurice said, a little wistfully. “He’ll change until he’s the perfect representation of your heart’s desire. As long as he’s only with you, he’ll stay that way.”

  Leandro scoffed. “Of course he’ll only be with me. Do you think I’d allow anyone to touch my incubus?”

  Maurice paused, then asked, “Are you going to let him feed on you?”

  “What kind of a question is that?” Leandro flicked a few strands of dark hair behind his ear.

  “Well, their hungers can be… extreme.”

  Leandro’s eyes narrowed. “Are you implying that I don’t have the ability to properly feed my incubus, Maurice?" he asked, his voice soft and deadly.

  Maurice quickly shook his head. “No! No. Of course not. I’ve just heard they’re insatiable.”

  Scowling, Leandro replied, “If you know so much about incubi, why didn’t you recognize what he was from what I told you?”

  For once, the shapeshifter didn’t instantly back down muttering apologies. “They’re rare, Lee.”

  “Surely they can’t be that rare?”

  Maurice shrugged, but his eyes lifted as he glanced behind Leandro. “Have you ever met one? Or known anyone who has met one? No one I know has.” He paused, then added, “That we know of, at least… They’re like otherkin version of Bigfoot. People claim to have had encounters, but there’s never any real proof. Even in the old days, adulterers would blame succubi and incubi for their misdeeds, because it’s impossible to prove otherwise when they can look like anyone.”