* * *
A few days later Alaric was lying on the sofa with Chander sprawled over him reading a book. The television was on but Alaric was trying not to get sucked into whatever the hell Benton was rotting his brain with. Baxter was engrossed as well and rubbing Benton’s shoulders while he barked complaints at the show they were watching. Victor was off cleaning something as it was mid-day.
“Alaric.”
“Yes?”
“Are you watching this crap?”
“Are you insane?”
“I’ve been thinking and I appreciate that you want to make sure I’m taken care of, but I do take a nap every day. You should use that time to go to the compound.”
Alaric weighed his words. Chander did sleep every afternoon and although it wasn’t for more than an hour or two, Alaric could use that time to see to the sentinels. “Are you sure?”
“Of course, I know how dedicated you are to the sentinels and I know Gavrael, Gedeon, and my two jokers have helped you out, but I know you’d feel better if you could check on things yourself.”
“I would,” Alaric agreed. “But you’re the most important thing in my life. The sentinels can wait until you are healthy if that’s what it takes.”
“I appreciate the sentiment and I appreciate that you’re taking your role as my mate seriously but I think you should go.”
“Then I will.”
“Thank you.”
Alaric smiled. “It will make you feel better for me to go too, won’t it?”
“Shit, yeah. Do you know how guilty it makes me feel to know you are here all the time, and all those guys are missing you?”
“He loves to feel guilty,” Benton chimed in.
“No one asked you,” Chander countered.
“He has turned feeling guilty into an art form,” Baxter added.
“I think I’ll go take my nap now,” Chander said. “Want to tuck me in?”
“Gross,” Baxter retorted. “No, I don’t.”
Chander set his book on the table and Alaric helped him off the sofa. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
Alaric led him to their room and grabbed the blanket from the end of the bed and draped it over Chander when he lay down. Then he sat next to him on the mattress and pressed their mouths together. His mate didn’t hesitate to allow him entry, and Alaric stroked his tongue alongside Chander’s. He braced his hands on either side of Chander as the necromancer snaked his arms around his neck. They kissed for several minutes until Alaric’s body began to heat up, and he knew it was time to stop.
“I do enjoy kissing you,” he whispered against Chander’s lips.
“You’re very good at it.”
Alaric leaned back and gave him a wink. He rose to his feet and pulled the blanket up to Chander’s shoulders. “I would offer you the same compliment. Now get some rest.”
Chander yawned. “Go visit your sentinels.”
Shutting the door behind him as soon as he got to the hall, Alaric headed for the living room.
“Chand all tucked in?” Baxter asked.
“He is,” Alaric said.
“How do you think he’s doing?” Benton asked.
“It has only been a few days since we got home from the hospital, but I think he’s doing better since we got here. He’s more positive and his energy has picked up slightly.”
“That’s because you are always sticking your tongue down his throat.”
“I happen to like his mouth,” Alaric replied. “I’m heading to the compound. One of you come and get me when he wakes.”
“On it,” Baxter promised.
Alaric pulled his cloak on and teleported to the compound. After over a month away, the tug on his memory as soon as he arrived was jarring. He headed straight for his office, and it was the same as when he’d left it. Gray furniture and a stack of blank parchment. The good news was there were no new complaints or issues. Gavrael and Gedeon had been there earlier, so that wasn’t surprising.
He took a seat in his chair and began where he’d left off the last time he was in this room—searching the contents of his desk. There were so many mysteries surrounding the sentinels, and he had plenty of time now to read through all the paperwork he’d accumulated over the two millennia they all assumed he’d been here. He started yanking papers out and stacking them. It would all be going back to the condo with him.
While Chander and fellow sorcerers worked to find a cure, Alaric would do some studying of his own. He’d get Baxter and Benton to assist him; goodness knew the two were going to go stir-crazy or melt their brains into gelatin with too much television if they didn’t have a mission. Sure, they helped Chander when he was working but since Evergreen was condensing all the information the Arch Lich needed to make his voting decisions, it left his sentinels at loose ends. And they would only train, as Alaric did, when Chander was asleep. Now that Chander had suggested Alaric come here in the afternoons, he might have to relent and practice with his daggers while Chander was reading. Not that he’d waste too much of that time; he liked to snuggle with him.
Alaric found the drawers of his desk were apparently never-ending, and the pile of parchment was growing exponentially. He might not be able to pull all the contents out in the hour or two he had before Chander woke up, but at least he would be able to get part of his task completed. Looking around the room at the different bookcases crammed with scrolls, Alaric wondered why the spell hadn’t kept him tidier.
It was as if he just dumped crap in here and then never looked at it again. That was probably because the sentinels, except for the four who were mere visitors, didn’t see this room. How it looked didn’t benefit the sentinels, so he’d been unable to dedicate himself to keeping it organized. He’d have to get Victor to advise him on how to better manage all this stuff, he thought in disgust as he got down onto the floor to rip a particularly difficult page out of the back of his bottom drawer.
When he finally got it and put it down onto his stack, he saw it was starting to tip precariously. It was time to start a second pile and so he did. The minutes flew by and so when Baxter showed up in his doorway, he had surprised himself by being able to clean out a good portion of his desk.
“Chand awake?” he asked.
“Just came out of your room whining about how he could really use some coffee.”
“He can keep dreaming.” Alaric handed Baxter a giant stack of parchment.
“What the hell is all this?”
“Two thousand years of being the Lich Sentinel.”
“Shit, you’re going to make us help you go through all this, aren’t you?” Baxter asked.
Alaric flipped his hood over his eyes and grabbed the other two stacks he’d created. “Yep, it’s time to end all the mysteries of the sentinels.”
“If I have to read all this shit, we better find some cool stuff,” Baxter grumbled.
Ignoring the complaining sentinel, Alaric teleported back to the condo. Chander walked right up to him, grabbed the arms of his cloak and pulled him down for a kiss. It was a wonderful welcome and one he looked forward to receiving every time he left.
Chapter 37
The night before Chander’s doctor’s appointment, he was lying in the living room using Alaric’s lap for a pillow. He was reading yet another book in the hope it would help them solve the anomaly mystery. Two weeks out of the hospital and he could report his daily nap was down to an hour, and he continued to gain strength. He’d also grown a pant size and Victor had volunteered to go out and restock his supply of jeans. While he might be a sick necromancer, at least he was less underweight.
“Tell me about your childhood,” Alaric said out of the blue.
Chander looked up at him. “My childhood?”
“Yes, you know everything about me, and I know so little of your life.”
“Everything about you?” Chander echoed as he put his book down and swung his body into a sitting position. “I doubt that.”
“Sure, you do. I was r
esurrected about two thousand years ago, and then had a spell placed on me. My life was a series of endless days until you and your friends broke me free,” Alaric responded.
“Endless days of hunger, pain, and fatigue.”
“I didn’t say they were great, but at least they’re over now.”
“And you think my life story is somehow more interesting than that?” Chander asked as he stuck his foot under his thigh. Alaric pulled Chander’s knee so it rested on his lap and left his hand lying on his leg.
“I know you were an orphan.”
“Yes, the Fate-born leader of the necromancers was given up by his parents.” Chander gave him a wry smile. “Elder Sigimund was Arch Lich at the time, and I understand he was pissed to find out about me. I got the title and spent my formative years being shuffled from the homes of the elders. It wouldn’t do for me to stay too long in any one place—otherwise I might get too attached to one and not the others.”
“So, you wound up attached to no one.”
“Yeah, and to compensate, I had a giant chip on my shoulder. By the time I was a teenager I was a selfish, arrogant prick.”
“That’s not easy to picture.”
“I’m not exaggerating,” Chander said. “The warlocks died. We needed protection, so we stole the dragon emperors who’d been murdered. I decided they should be separated and so they were for hundreds of years.”
“I’ve heard that story, and I’ve been told you take on entirely too much guilt for that decision.”
“You’ve been gossiping with Bax and Ben,” Chander countered with a smile. “But that wasn’t my only mistake. I pissed people off. Arch Wizard Egidius was an ass but instead of finding a way to coexist, I made an enemy of him. A decision that likely hurt me more than anyone. When I grew irritated by the elders and wanted the powers which should have rightfully been given to me when I came of age, I went to him to get the Council’s help and he laughed in my face.”
“He sounds wonderful,” Alaric deadpanned.
“Yes, a real charmer but I wasn’t nice to him, so I likely deserved it. The Council was small then, only four races. I needed all three of the others to help me. Killian led the druids and was a good friend—he was on board. Egidius told me to piss off and when I talked to Magus Superus Jurdann, he wouldn’t go against Egidius. The lines in the sand were drawn and Egidius never let me forget I’d been cruel, and I had the job of Council leader which he wanted.”
“That’s not your fault,” Alaric insisted.
“No, I didn’t even want it, but I had no choice and as the Council grew so did my popularity, which made Egidius even angrier. Then when Killian came to me to tell me his little sister wanted to rule over the druids, I told him not to be stupid. He wanted to step aside so there wouldn’t be competition at the top. I think he thought as a friend I should support him. I wonder how he feels about it now. She’s not popular and the druids aren’t nearly the same without Killian.”
“Perhaps you should consider speaking to him about it when you’re healthy again.”
Chander’s eyebrows went up. “Yeah, Killian is about as stubborn as me. I doubt he’d even meet me to discuss it.”
“Don’t know until you try,” Alaric said with a kiss to the corner of Chander’s mouth.
“Alaric, the man lives in a tree. He’s not interested in being a Council leader.”
“At least you didn’t sleep with him before he moved to his tree.”
“He’s my type too,” Chander replied. “Tall, black hair, leader of his people.”
“That does sound familiar.”
“His eyes even have green in them.”
“I doubt they are close to mine in color.”
“No, I’ve never seen anyone with that kind of electric green.”
“I think you like them,” Alaric said.
“I do. I like them a lot,” Chander replied. “There’s nothing about your face I’d change. All that strength is sexy.”
“If only I’d comb my hair.”
“Hey, you didn’t laugh at my frizzle, so I won’t complain about your hair. Besides if you get any better looking, I’m going to have to make you wear a bag over your head to prevent people from drooling over you.”
“A bit of a jealous streak there, Arch Lich?”
“I never thought I’d be that kind of person, but I’ve decided it’s your fault for looking like that,” Chander replied. “I always figured my mate would be like me, ordinary.”
Alaric looked perplexed. “Ordinary?”
“Come on, most sorcerers and shifters are ridiculously good-looking. Then you look at me. I’m completely unremarkable.”
“I think you’ve spent too many centuries beating yourself up.”
“You sound like my sentinels.”
“Perhaps we just see your true colors.”
“What’s wrong with you being the hot, sexy one?”
“Why can’t there be two hot, sexy people in this relationship?” Alaric asked.
Chander scrunched up his nose. “I think you need glasses.”
“Stop complaining about being called hot and sexy.”
“You’re probably just trying to get me out of my clothes.”
“I will get you out of your clothes,” Alaric said. “I’m fairly confident I’ve figured out what I’m supposed to do after that.”
Chander laughed. “No worries, we’ll figure it out together.”
“No laughing if I stick something in the wrong place.”
“We’re going to have to get you a book with pictures before we get naked together.”
“I think it would be more productive for you to tell me or better yet, show me where you want to be touched.”
Chander kissed Alaric’s naughty mouth. “You better hope the doctor gives us the green light tomorrow.”
“Or what?”
“Or there’s going to be some rule-breaking going on around here pretty soon.”
“I fear for the consequences should that happen.”
“You worry too much,” Chander said softly. “I’m not in imminent danger of having another heart attack just because I want to be intimate with you.”
“I wasn’t talking about that. I have visions of your sentinels slamming into the room and clamping you in iron underwear.”
“They wish. I’d surround us in a magical bubble, and they wouldn’t be able to even touch us.”
“That’s a relief. Iron underwear would probably chafe.”
“Or my dick would break when I got hard.”
Alaric shifted a little on the couch. “I don’t need the visual of you getting hard right now.”
“That’s kind of unfair. You’ve seen me naked and I’ve yet to see the Alaric promised land.”
“A situation which will be remedied when you’re well enough to handle the sight.”
“Shit, if it’s that big, I’m not sure I want you sticking it in my places.”
“Is it possible for me to hurt you?” Alaric asked.
Chander kissed him again. “No, we’ll get it right. No one will get hurt.”
“Perhaps you would prefer to stick it in my places.”
“We can try if you’d like, but I’ve always preferred to bottom.”
“We will absolutely not talk about your past.”
“Fine,” Chander responded. “Think about it this way. I have toys. I use them on myself when I jerk off.”
Alaric lay back against the sofa and closed his eyes. “If you don’t mind, I’d like a few minutes alone to enjoy that image.”
“I’m not going into the other room so you can jerk it on this ugly couch.”
“Pity,” Alaric said before raising his head and smiling.
“However, I might be willing to give you a demonstration at some point in the future.”
“Front row seat?”
“Better,” Chander promised. “I’ll let you touch me while I’m doing it. You can help however you want.”
Alaric p
ressed their mouths together in a firm kiss. “I accept your future invitation.”
Chander was growing hard from the idea of being with Alaric like that. “Okay, subject change or I will need that chastity belt.”
“What do you want to discuss?”
“Have you and the guys found out anything from the papers from your office?”
“I haven’t,” Alaric answered. “But there is still a great deal more to go through. I was apparently quite the pack rat. I’m convinced there has to be something in there that explains some of the holes in the history of sentinels.”
“I need to finish going through that box of Faustus and Domitia’s too.”
“You have enough on your plate,” Alaric said. “And you were working on another project before you became ill.”
“Yeah, I was. I want to figure out a way to give Drystan and Conley back their dragons.”
Alaric’s eyebrows lifted. “Has that been done before?”
“No, no one has ever been able to resurrect a shifter’s beast, but I don’t think it’s impossible. Of course, I have no idea yet how it is possible.”
“Why do you think it’s never been done before?”
“For one, necromancers haven’t resurrected that many shifters. Many of those that are resurrected are brought forth with no memories to speak of, so they might have been shifters but have no clue about it,” Chander explained. “But Drystan and Conley were dragons. I had their bodies, so I specifically resurrected them. I wasn’t able to devote any effort toward doing that with their beasts intact.”
“And now that you do?”
“I think the problem is, no one has taken the time to figure it out but since I have two specific dragons to resurrect, it could work. I believe the real obstacle is that because Drystan and Conley are walking and talking fallen knights I can’t harm them by resurrecting their dragons through them.”
“You need to resurrect their dragons and reunite them somehow?” Alaric asked.
“Or something close to that. But how do I call forth two specific dragons? I need someone on the other side maybe to locate them.”
“A dead person?”
Rise of the Lich Sentinel Page 26
