by August Li
“He won’t trouble you again,” the faerie said. “He’s dead.”
“Dead,” Robin repeated. “Titus Lambert is dead.” Slowly the events preceding the dancing and revelry returned to Robin’s memory. “Oh God, Snow! Titus is dead! They’re saying I killed him. What happened? Why do I hurt so badly?”
“You’ve been dancing for three days and three nights in a row, Robin.”
“Three days?” It didn’t make any sense. In spite of his screaming muscles, Robin forced himself to sit up and lean his back against Snow’s chest. He flinched at the guards loading bodies into the back of one of the flatbed steam trucks. He experienced the queer sensation of sitting in warm sunlight, while a hundred yards away drizzle fell from a gray sky. He couldn’t find the place where the dark sky ended and the blue began, or where the light overlapped with the shadow. But as the men hauled bodies from the mud, Robin and Snow sat below a perfect, afternoon sun. Just a few clouds drifted past, softening the glare. Robin rubbed his eyes with his fists, but the unusual vision remained.
“Don’t worry,” Snow said. “They can’t see us.”
“What happened to those people?”
“Your dance partner happened,” Snow explained. “Most of the people of your town followed the sound of his flute. Some of them perished from exhaustion; others disappeared. A few made it back, maybe a quarter of your people, probably less. What were you doing out here?”
“Running away. An assassin, Bunge’s assassin, killed Titus Lambert, and they’re trying to blame it on me. They tried to capture me and take me to him.”
Snow’s arm stretched across Robin’s chest, and his hand held Robin’s neck possessively. Robin felt protected in the faerie’s embrace, and he let his head drop back against Snow’s shoulder and his eyes close. “I can never go back to Enline, Snow. I have to get far away from here. I have to get away, but I don’t have anywhere to go.” A tear slid from each of his eyes. He’d never been so tired. He couldn’t even begin to plan for his future.
“You’re safe,” Snow said, helping Robin to lie down in thick grass softer than any silk or down. He stroked Robin’s hair as he sang to him. His voice brought a smile to Robin’s face as it wiped away all of his unpleasant memories and let him sleep.
THE soft sun still shone when Robin opened his eyes again. He had no idea how long he’d been unconscious. Though he felt better, he made no effort to rise from the sweet grass or untangle himself from the pale arm and leg wound over his ribs and thighs. Snow hummed quietly as he stroked Robin’s chest. Robin wondered if he ever slept. The confusion and despair Robin had felt upon waking the first time melted away as he listened to the faerie breathing against the back of his neck. Surely now that he had nowhere to turn, Snow would offer to bring Robin across the wall, to share his home. He squeezed Snow’s delicate wrist as he smiled with gratitude. He looked at the almost-translucent hair that covered his forearm, amazed at how something so small could contain such perfection. Soon, he wouldn’t have to worry over being caught by Bunge’s men or picking pockets to feed himself or finding places to spend his nights. Snow would take care of it all. Robin would get to appreciate all of his beautiful details anytime he chose.
“Awake?” the faerie crooned, warming Robin’s ear with his words.
“Mmm-hmm. Did I sleep long?”
“A day and a night.”
“Thank you for watching out for me.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to let that horned bastard have you for himself. Really, how dare he?” He chuckled maliciously, and gooseflesh rose on Robin’s arms. For all his kindness, Snow remained dangerous and unpredictable. Still, Robin resolved not to mistrust nor fear him unless given good reason.
“Tell me more about the Other World,” he asked the fey.
“It’s all the same world, my dear,” Snow said. “My lands are similar to these hills, but warmer. It’s always warm enough to sleep in the grass, and there are far more flowers dotting the meadows. My trees have white trunks and pale, golden leaves. No disgusting factories compete with their sweet perfume. The air and water are pure, and the ground and plants untainted.”
“So you always sleep outdoors? Don’t have a house or anything?” It would certainly take some getting used to.
“Oh, I have my halls and palaces beneath the hills, and they’re quite luxurious. Often I just prefer to lie down among the sweet clover and evening primrose.”
“That sounds nice,” Robin said. “In your land, you must be a lord or prince.”
Snow chuckled. “We don’t measure it quite as your people do.”
“But you’re powerful, Snow. You killed that other faerie, and he was terrifying.”
“He was not so much,” the fey said, though he sounded quite pleased with himself. “For a while I thought I’d like to acquire lands near here, some pretty human companions to pass the nights with me.”
“Some?” Robin teased.
Snowdrop ignored him. “But now that your people have devised ways of stealing our magic, I don’t think I should like to spend much more time here. This place reeks of poison and death. All of us might eventually have to retire to our own lands, and leave this place behind. It would be a shame, though. There are pleasant distractions here.” He squeezed Robin and brushed Robin’s hair aside to kiss the back of his neck. A shiver ran from his lips down Robin’s spine, stopping in his tailbone just as Snow ground his hardening cock against it.
Robin circled his hips, rubbing his ass against the faerie’s erection. “In your lands, does no one think it unnatural for two men to make love?”
Snow reached around Robin and found the swell in his pants. He rubbed it with the heel of his hand as his teeth and tongue nipped and flitted up and down the edge of Robin’s ear. “Of course no one cares,” he breathed, “we take our pleasure when and with whomever we like. It’s always confused me, the rules humans apply to such things.”
“It confuses me sometimes too,” Robin agreed, arching his back to press his shoulders into Snow’s chest and his ass against the faerie’s growing bulge. “Damn, I’ve wanted this from you,” he panted, sweating in his clothes. “I’ve wanted you to take me like this since I first saw you. Snowdrop, will you do it? Please, will you have me?”
The faerie unbuttoned Robin’s shirt as he continued to nibble across his neck and ear. When he could pull the fabric away, his lips moved on to Robin’s shoulder blade and back. His fingers found Robin’s hard, red-brown nipple and gave it a playful twist and squeeze. Robin gasped with pleasure and surprise. Then Snow’s hands moved down the gully between Robin’s stomach muscles and wriggled beneath his waistband. A spurt of come shot out of Robin’s swollen cock as the faerie grasped it with his smooth palm. It felt like every drop of blood in his body rushed to fill Snow’s hand. When Snow bit Robin’s back near the base of his neck, denting his skin and sending a jolt of sensuous pain through his body, Robin’s hips bucked and he leaked anew.
“Dear God, Snow!” he squealed, groping behind himself to find his partner’s shapely cheek. He kneaded the thin layer of soft tissue above the sculpted muscle, pulling Snow tighter against him. Their bodies rotated in unison, driving Snow’s dick against Robin’s crack and Robin’s dick into the tunnel of Snow’s fingers. Robin’s other hand fumbled to open his trouser flap and give Snow a greater range of motion. Snow’s wet tongue cooled the burning skin at the side of Robin’s neck as he wrenched his right arm out of his shirt and found the faerie’s ass again. Snow spread and swirled Robin’s fluids over his throbbing cock until he almost came in Snow’s hand. “You make me mad,” he whispered, writhing with need and anticipation. “I’ve never known anything like this. Being with you. God. It’s so good.”
“It’s extraordinary,” the faerie said, abandoning Robin’s quivering, dripping erection to undo his own pants. Robin seized the opportunity to push his trousers to his knees. Kicking, he got them over his feet and off.
“I tried to be with another man,” Robin admitted, “but all I c
ould think about was you.” For a second he realized he might later regret the brazen declaration, but in his acute, lust-fueled state he didn’t care. “I want you so much.” Sprawling on his side, he drew his knee up against his chest to open his body in invitation to Snow. “Take me now, or I’m going to lose my mind!”
The fey chuckled, and Robin felt the sound bounce against every knob of his spine. He shuddered and writhed, senseless with arousal. Snow explored his body leisurely: pinching his foreskin, tugging his balls, and grazing his twitching opening. His cool lips traversed Robin’s neck and back.
“Bite me,” Robin moaned, digging his nails into Snow’s smooth flesh, scratching the back of his thigh.
His teeth closed around the prominent sinew on the side of Robin’s neck, making Robin tremble and flush. “More,” he panted. “More, Snow. Harder.”
“If that’s what you want.” The faerie bit the dense globe of Robin’s shoulder, breaking the skin and leaving bloody crescents where his teeth had been. Robin cried out and thrust into Snow’s fist. All of the muscles of his pelvis contracted, and Robin bit the inside of his mouth to stop himself from coming right then.
“Take me now,” he pleaded again.
Snowdrop clicked his tongue as he stroked Robin with maddening restraint. Robin felt his plump, moist cockhead at the back of his balls. He tried to wiggle down so that it aligned with his opening.
“God, Snow!”
“But it’s so delightful to watch you wriggle and squirm.”
“Alright, damn you!” Robin thrust his elbows back and broke free of the faerie’s embrace. Snow, surprised, fell on his back. In one smooth movement, Robin turned and straddled him, his knees digging into the soft loam on either side of Snow’s waist. His shirt trailed behind him, hanging from one arm. He grasped the fey’s wrists, yanked them over his head, and held them there. Snow’s tongue darted out to mop his upper lip, and his pupils dilated until they crowded out the yellow in his eyes. Black orbs outlined in dazzling green stared up at Robin expectantly. The faerie’s chest heaved, his ribs popping out. Robin took both of Snow’s hands in one of his and pressed them into the ground. With his free hand, he gripped Snow’s shaft and guided it toward his hole. He had the presence of mind to spit on his palm to ease Snow’s girth into his body.
Robin lowered himself down onto Snowdrop’s tip. With only his spit as lube, it burned as it went inside him. He stopped, squeezing his partner a few times with his inner muscles. He held himself above Snow as he balled up the faerie’s shirt to have a view of the wonderful white trail that meandered down his lower belly. He wished he had a third hand to ruffle those soft hairs.
Snow tried to push up into Robin, but Robin lifted his body away. The fey growled with frustration as Robin laughed. His muscles clamped down just below Snow’s crown, and he held them tight as he said, “How do you like it?”
“I—ugh,” Snow moaned, his head thrashing from side to side. He thrust up an inch, and Robin allowed it. His large cock, barely wet, tugged at Robin’s sensitive skin, but Robin didn’t care. He wanted Snowdrop inside him so badly it almost hurt.
“You want it? Me?” he asked, trying to sound authoritative but managing only desperate.
“So much, Robin. I’ll beg—”
“No. I’ll never make you.” Slowly he lowered himself down onto Snow’s cock, relishing the full feeling it gave him. It took time and patience for Robin’s body to soften and open up, and he went slowly so he didn’t hurt himself. All the while, Snow stared up at him with his hands pinned above his head and his trousers constricting his knees. He let Robin set the pace, let him ease into the sensation of being penetrated, though with his power he could have easily taken over. Robin gradually sank down, taking Snowdrop in, until he sat on top of him. He closed his eyes and adjusted to the sense of his partner’s cock sinking fully into him. Then he started to rock his hips, and Snow’s dick rubbed against his gland.
The faerie lay passive beneath Robin, letting Robin set their rhythm. Robin moved slowly, because his body couldn’t take much more stimulation, and he wanted to enjoy the feeling of his Snowdrop inside him. He’d wanted to know that feeling for so long, and he didn’t want to squander it. Snow kept his hands obediently above his head, even when Robin released them to fondle his nipples beneath his shirt. He leaned down to kiss Snow and then whispered into his ear, “Touch me however you want. Put your hands where you want. Move your body.”
“Oh, Robin!” Snow clasped his waist and pulled him down as he thrust up into him. His nails bit the skin above Robin’s hips, urging Robin on. Before long they established a harmonic beat, Robin pushing down as Snow pushed up. Snow’s grip regulated Robin’s tempo, guiding him forward if he slowed or holding him back if he became overzealous. Snow’s cock slammed against Robin’s sweet spot, and he showered the faerie’s pale belly with pre-come as he rode him. Semen glistened like morning dew over Snow’s skin. Robin had never felt anything so gratifying. As much as he wanted his release, he didn’t want his union with Snowdrop to end. He loved the feeling of Snow inside his body, filling and satisfying him as no other ever had.
Snow couldn’t last; Robin saw his lips quivering and his eyes clamping shut. The fey scratched down both sides of Robin’s back as he exploded inside him. Robin bobbed up and down on his partner, his own orgasm clawing to the surface. He took hold of his penis and pulled at it. Snow’s hand covered Robin’s to assist the effort, his thumb working against the sensitive groove beneath Robin’s head, pushing his foreskin back and forth. His cock stayed hard enough to pulse against Robin’s gland as he played Robin’s cock like a flute, fingering the sensitive spots until Robin sprayed his seed across Snowdrop’s pale belly. He threw his head back and screamed the faerie’s name. “Snow, I love you,” he whimpered as he emptied his balls across the fey’s lean torso. Robin barely comprehended what he’d uttered as he fell across his lover’s chest, exhausted and spent.
Snow stroked Robin’s hair, and before long Robin fell asleep against his slender chest. He woke alone, naked in the grass except for the wrinkled shirt that hung from his elbow. His ass was sore, and the bite on his shoulder burned and throbbed. The scratches up his back opened as he sat up and stretched. As he dressed, Robin cursed the faerie. Snow hadn’t even been man enough to tell him goodbye. He decided to have no more to do with him. He’d expected Snow to bring him to his warm, floral lands, but the faerie had just departed, leaving Robin alone with nowhere to turn. What had he expected? He twisted his waist, feeling his bones crack beneath the late-day sun. No, he decided, I’ll have no more to do with that creature. It cares nothing for me, and I must feel the same. To hell with it, where it belongs anyway.
Chapter 9
ROBIN sat on the hillside, watching the research facility through the spyglass Lila had purchased. The rest of Enline, even the station, was practically abandoned as everyone who could possibly afford it fled, but Bunge’s building bustled with activity. An endless parade of workmen and guards carried wooden crates to the fleet of trucks and wagons waiting in the drive. They’d been at it for days. Robin watched the latest caravan move slowly through the empty little town. It disappeared from his vision after exiting through the gate, but he knew where it headed. There was only one thing up the hill in that direction: the trains.
The sun had almost set. Lila would be coming soon with food. Robin collapsed the telescope and slid it into the pocket of his filthy trousers. He’d been wearing the same clothes for over a week, sneaking into town at night and taking shelter in empty basements or barns. The countryside had proven too dangerous, and he couldn’t count on Snowdrop to rescue him again. Robin thought he saw the faerie at the edges of vision sometimes, and he heard his music and smelled his flowers. Once he’d seen Snow standing in the high grass a few hundred yards away, but he’d crossed his arms defiantly and turned his back on him. That had been two days ago, and he hadn’t appeared again. Robin figured Snow took the hint.
Even so, the memor
y left him dejected as he drew his legs up and rested his arms on his knees. After a quarter of an hour or so, he heard Lila picking her way up the gravelly slope. She arranged her skirts, sat down beside Robin, and handed him a loaf of bread. He tore into it and finished half before even greeting her.
“So what news from the real world?” he asked her. “They still looking for me?”
“Not so much,” she said, lighting two cigarettes and handing him one. “Ain’t really nobody left to look. Most everyone’s gone. There’s only a train a day running now and one sitting idle.”
The one Bunge is loading his research and equipment into, Robin thought.
“This town’s done for,” Lila continued. “Papers are saying the wall don’t work. They say the faeries will overrun us. That massacre out on the moor was about the worst anyone’s seen. They’re predicting more of the same.”
“I can’t imagine they’re going to abandon that big, expensive train station,” Robin said.
“They already have, Robin. I heard talk about some inventions that might be able to stop the faeries, but they ain’t ready yet. Everybody’s saying we best be gone before the next full moon.”
“What will you do?”
“Go south, to Halcyon maybe. I can’t stay here. I ain’t had a client in three days. Why don’t you come with me, Robin? We’ll start over someplace new. Better together than on our own, right?”
“Alright, then,” he said. “Why not? I hear Halcyon’s so big and crowded that I doubt anyone will recognize me. It’ll be nice to have a friend.”
She smiled and rubbed his shoulder. “When should we leave?”
“I have to do something, first.”
“What?”
“Nothing to worry yourself about.”
“Robin! I thought we was friends!”
He nodded, though he didn’t know how he’d express his motivations to her when he didn’t understand them himself. He owed it to her to try. “They’ve been loading the equipment from that building there,” he pointed, “into the train you saw parked at the station. I think they’re nearly done. I’m going to get into that train, and find what evidence I can of what they did, and then destroy the rest.”
