Darkness

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Torquere Press www.torquerepress.com

Copyright ©2006 by James Buchanan First published in www.torquerepress.com, 2006 NOTICE: This eBook is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution to any person via email, floppy disk, network, print out, or any other means is a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines and/or imprisonment. This notice overrides the Adobe Reader permissions which are erroneous. This eBook cannot be legally lent or given to others. This eBook is displayed using 100% recycled electrons.

Distributed by Fictionwise.com

2

The Darkness by J Buchanan

On the tenth day of the seventh month, he shall take the two goats, and set them before the LORD at the door of the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for Azayzyel. And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer him for a sin-offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azayzyel, shall be set alive before the LORD. And Aaron shall layeth his two hands upon its head, and confess the sins of the people, charge the animal with them and send him away for Azayzyel into the wilderness. ~Leviticus, 16:7-10 Justin drove the narrow winding blacktop of the Angeles Crest Highway. Crumbling cliffs of schist rose to one side. Sheer drops fell off the other. A series of hairpin turns and blind curves and depression era tunnels, it stretched from La Cañada to the Mojave Desert. The speeds obtainable at night, with no traffic and few turnoffs, were an air chewers dream. Like a lover's spreading legs, the highway whispered to the driver to open up the engine and go full throttle. The danger from succumbing to temptation was not so much that the road was bad, although it could be with falling rock and dicey pavement, but that it was so predictable. No Botts-dots, not a cattle grate, broke the winding ribbon of asphalt. The two-lane stretch of blind turns faded into one after another after another on the long, lonely, nighttime drive. Bikes wiped out on a regular basis in spare parts lane. Riders caved to the siren song of the asphalt and pushed their crotch rockets to the limit. Drivers with too much or too little 3

The Darkness by J Buchanan

on their mind had a habit of wandering over the double yellow and slipping off the edge into missing persons reports. The chill of April in the San Gabriels seeped through the hills, carrying with it a light ground fog. The moon, its blue light filtering through the Jeffrey Pine and Canyon Oak, bathed Justin's car. His mind drifted despite the throbbing bass and minor keys of Advent Sleep on the CD player. Slowly, unconsciously, he picked up speed on the empty road. Family sucked. He and his sister had been out to see his dad at the V.A. home after his heart attack. As usual, his dad had torn into Lydia, laying at her feet every sin in creation. Lyd just looked too much like their mom and the old man couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand that his wife had run away and left him with two kids to schlep around from base to base. He couldn't stand that his daughter had run off to become an actress in Hollyweird. He couldn't stand that she'd actually been mildly successful at it, getting enough commercials and spots to do okay without him. Everything she did he hated. Justin was his good son. A solid A-B student, he'd gone to the college his dad had chosen and then on to law school. He took the "good" government job with the attorney general's office because his dad had wanted him to. He never stood up to his father, never disappointed him. He hadn't stood up to him tonight when he was berating his sis for being a whore, living in sin, and hawking a life of corruption and moral iniquity to the world. Holy shit, if he even knew. Don't ask, don't tell had an entirely different meaning in their family. Out in the hall, Lyd 4

The Darkness by J Buchanan

had gone after him for not standing up to their father. "Why didn't you fucking say anything?" "Jeez, Lyd, what did you want me to say to him? Fuck, he's just had a heart attack..." She'd cut him off. "Don't 'Jeez Lyd' me. Precious little Justin, Daddy's golden boy, always sucking up to the Chaplain." Everyone called his dad "the Chaplain," the soldiers on base, his friends, his children. "Don't. Don't do this. Everyone's just upset over what's happened. It'll all be okay." "Oh yeah, it's okay for him to call me trash and tell me how wonderful you are." She was crying. Both of them really did love their dad, even if he was a bastard. "Maybe I should go back and tell him, give him another heart attack? Hey, Chaplain, you know your precious little boy likes to suck other guys' dicks?" "Just fucking go to hell, Lyd." He'd stormed out of the V.A. building then, throwing himself into his Z and heading back toward L.A. He spent the first few miles just screaming in the empty car. Tomorrow he'd call Lyd and she'd apologize and they'd both cry. It's what they always did. Now it was late and he was tired. The glow of his headlights barely illuminated the road under the cotton candy haze. Mile after mile of canyon road hypnotized him. Shooting through a blind curve, somewhere past the turn off to Wrightwood, his mind registered the new rock fall in the road. Suddenly alert he spun the wheel left. Shooting over the painted median, the car went into a skid, wheels spinning in the pebble-sized debris scattered over the highway. The 5

The Darkness by J Buchanan

raking scream of metal on metal as his car threw sparks off the guardrail clawed at his ears. Taillights popped. A gunshot blowout ricocheted off the canyon walls as he careened back across the road. The Z left a trail of blue paint along the cliff face until it drifted to a stop facing the direction he'd just come from. Hyperventilating and near hysterical with the adrenaline rush, Justin fought down the airbag and threw himself out the door onto the pavement. His body quaked in the cool embrace of the mountain evening. Slow minutes ticked by as his mind wrapped itself around the fact that he was still alive and not resting in the branches of a Coulter pine at the bottom of a free fall. The car was a loss, the front fender folded up around the flat. There wouldn't be much traffic 'til morning and that was hours away. Just in case, he flipped on the hazards and popped the trunk anyway to make the Z more visible. Shit, no flares. Justin fumbled with his cell phone and hit the nine key. The "No Service" lit up on the screen. "Fucking Cingular." Tossing the useless phone in the trunk, Justin considered his options. He was near Islip Saddle about mile marker 64 where there was a pull out, trailhead, bathrooms even. It would be safer to wait there than in the car. In the dark, another vehicle could swipe it and send them both over the rail. Scrounging, dropping almost everything he picked up from the post trauma shakes, he finally found the flashlight he kept loose in the trunk. It even had batteries that held a charge. He wished he'd thought to keep a jacket or sweatshirt as well. 6

The Darkness by J Buchanan

The cool damp night air was beginning to seep into his clothes, making him shiver all the more. He concentrated on calming himself as he slogged the halfmile or so down the road toward the trailhead. Things hurt, and he figured he'd have a hell of a bruise where the seat belt had snapped against his chest, but nothing felt broken. It sure as hell could have been a lot worse for him; a high school pal had died on the Angeles Crest, leaving a bloody slick in the road when he'd flipped off a Harley and wound up under the wheels of a pickup. One foot in front of the other was about all Justin could manage. At least the movement was warming him up a bit. As he approached the Saddle, Justin spied four grunting shapes burrowed in the trashcans left by the forestry service at the turn out. Fuck, he hadn't even considered the possibility of cougars or bears when he'd left the car. Cougars were solitary animals. Black bears were shy, tending to run from human contact. The big cats were the real threat. If he kept his head, he'd be okay. Still his body knew it should be afraid. Shaking again, he began to back away as quietly as he could manage, but the gravel under his feet sounded his presence. One of the hulking shadows stood, rocking on two legs, large but not quite bear-sized, and turned toward him. Justin swung the flashlight beam up to blind it, scare it off. The yellow light reflected green-blue off the mirrored membrane in the creature's eyes. A mouth, full of wicked, yellow teeth, slashed a squashed face caked in mud and grime. It jerked its chin, scenting the air, and growled with a 7

The Darkness by J Buchanan

low thunder roll of sound somewhere between a bobcat's scream and the engine of a 747. Every hair on Justin's body stood under the electric sweat of fear. The other three creatures swung their heads in unison toward Justin, their huffing breath excited by their comrade's yowl. Slowly they reared, teeth snapping, filthy matted pelts swaying around their mottled grey-black bodies, talons clawing at the empty air. Ropes of hair fell across their faces, their eyes burning ghost fire beneath it. A warning snarl, long and low and menacing, vibrated through the pack. Justin's palms went slick and the flashlight slipped from his grasp, the beam arching toward Heaven until extinguished by impact. Beyond rational thought, he turned and ran toward the closest cover, away from the things, toward the forest at the edge of the turnout. The ripping screams locked his veins in ice and the thump of the creatures' pursuit echoed in his pulse. Dark whips of scrub pine and chaparral growth lashed his face as he scrambled down a random trail. His breath was heavy in his lungs. His muscles were burning. Justin leapt over a fallen log and came down heavy on the other side. Falling forward onto his knees and hands churning the forest floor for purchase, Justin was driven by the baying behind him. Faltering strides slowed him as he tried to regain balance and run at the same time. The pall of the moon gave feeble light to his flight. Breaking through the forest he stumbled out onto a meadow rise, and sometimes running, sometimes crawling up the slope, he picked up speed. His side burned as he swallowed air. 8

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Justin crested the hill and darted down the path. It turned narrow, skirting just below the ridgeline, hemmed by gnarled pines and overgrown cedar. Fingers of the trees caught his hair and clothing in the blackness, the braying, howling quartet of hellhounds still in pursuit. The mountain rose sharply to his left, and dropped off to his right. The trail only wide enough for one man and treacherous in the darkness, it fell from his feet as it slid off into a slope of a chaparral. Twisting and rolling down the hill, thorns buried themselves in his skin. Justin skidded to a stop at the base. Up again and scrambling, Justin tried to gain his legs and make them move. A dead weight hit his back, sending him rolling in the dirt and weeds choking the bottom of the wash. He scrambled to his feet then dropped screaming as a single black claw pierced his calf. The rancid miasma of garbage and rot choked Justin's throat as the foul things surrounded him. Their shadows blocked the night sky as their blows rained down on his already bruised body. One wound its hand into Justin's shock of brown hair, yanking his head up and back, reflecting back Justin's grey eyes in the pale moons of its own orbs, staring down at him, considering him. Intelligence lurked in that gaze, a feral hatred that crawled under Justin's skin. The largest, with the intelligent eyes, screeched at the other three, barking orders with a halting primal sound. It shook Justin with such force that he thought his head would be ripped from his shoulders. One grabbed his ankle and he kicked at the beast with his other foot as he was pulled taut between the pair. The leader released Justin's hair and he slammed into the ground, the air driven from his lungs. As 9

The Darkness by J Buchanan

the creature dragged Justin, he wrenched himself to the side, grabbing a small tree, screaming, straining to free himself from the thing's grasp. Another of the filthy beasts stalked up and grabbed him across his chest, tearing his hands from the trunk. He twisted and kicked against them, trying to wrest himself from their clutches. He was well muscled, he trained, but the bones of these things were strung with iron straps. No amount of struggling gained him any ground. They loped off down one of the trails, screeching and grunting between them, packing Justin's hundred and seventy pound frame with little effort. Deeper and deeper into the forest, and farther and farther from the road and any hope of rescue, they carried him, finally leaving the trail and entering the wilds where nature hushed—fearful, afraid to alert the presence in its midst. The jerking ride ended when the brutes dropped him across the flat top of a large outcropping of blue veined schist. He groaned with pain and terror and tried to roll from the wilderness alter. The smallest of the four leapt, landing on his chest with its knees, knocking the breath from his body. It slid one black talon under the necklace around Justin's neck, pulling slowly, inexorably until the leather snapped; the seven pieces of horn and the seven milky glass orbs with their centers of blue flashing like so many falling stars as they spun to the ground. Forcing him spread eagle on the boulder, one of his bearers pinned his arms above his head; the other restrained his legs. And as the small one clambered from its perch, it 10

The Darkness by J Buchanan

shoved Justin's shirt above his chest and yanked his pants down to his thighs. Everything from nipples to knees was exposed to the sky. The leader's long, blue-black tongue snaked along Justin's hip, winding between his legs, between his cheeks, probing. Another's wrapped around his flaccid member, the little needle barbs of its surface scouring his sensitive flesh. He screamed. The beast above him covered his mouth with its fetid maw, shoving its reeking tongue down his throat, swallowing his voice. Obsidian talons ripped at the skin above his heart. Razor teeth chewed on his belly. Warm trails of blood slid from his skin and onto the rock below. The more he struggled, the harder the knife blade claws cut into him, the deeper into his body the writhing muscles were thrust: probing, scraping, each searching his insides for the other. A flash of light burned across Justin's eyes, flaring around his body, wicking along the curves of his muscles, engulfing him in negative relief. Jet engine screams ripped the air. The invading tongue was ripped from his throat as the beast's head snapped back, a small-fletched shaft protruding from between its eyes. A shower of oily liquid rained down on his face. Justin's scream cut the air as the other tongue was torn from his body, its barbs raking his insides. Another bolt whizzed above him catching the littlest in the throat, dropping him. Throwing himself to the ground, Justin cowered as two more quarrels slid through the air thunking into their targets with unnerving accuracy. The leader fell, face down, inches from Justin, its filthy tongue lolling in the dust, its dead gaze piercing him. 11

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Alone among the four slain beasts, Justin struggled to his knees, stunned and unable to move, his shirt rent, still naked below the waist, and blood running from his nose and mouth and from the tears in his belly and between his legs. His breath caught and shattered in his lungs, erupting in small gasps as he shook uncontrollably. Then he retched. Emptying his stomach gave him something to focus on, allowed his mind to clear the webs of terror strung inside, allowed him to realize he lived; someone had saved him. He grabbed the waistband of his pants, yanking them up his legs as he struggled to his feet, nerves still vibrating a staccato warning to run. Justin lifted his face toward the light. A man moved toward Justin, impaling him with the crystal focus of shattering blue eyes. A crossbow dangled from the stranger's delicate hand. Nails coated with a fractured frost of silver polish absently grazed his faded blue jeans as he strode forward. The fabric of his white t-shirt stretched taut across his cut chest and a tattoo of a crown wreathed his bicep just below the sleeve. His hair, touched by the breeze, swirled at his collar, black as a cold, moonless night. A glacial smile blew across his face, "I've never seen anyone run like that," and his voice rumbled, echoing like far off thunder. He toed one of the dead bodies. "You'd gone a good couple of miles before they caught you." "Who the hell are you?" Justin scrambled backwards bumping up against the gore-covered rock. "You mean you saw me? You saw them? Why the fuck didn't you do something sooner?" 12

The Darkness by J Buchanan

He tossed his black mane, giving Justin a cool once over. "It wasn't time. I had to be sure." "Sure of what, you nut job? Sure that I'd be raped and eaten?" His inner voice still screamed at Justin to run. Another wintry grin, "Maybe ... come on, you're hurt." He held his hand out, coaxing "there's a storm coming. I don't think you want to be here when it hits. It's going to be bad." "I can't go anywhere, my car..." The man waved the comment aside. "I know. I saw. That was a nasty accident; could have been a lot worse. You need to make your decision now." The fingers of his outstretched hand beckoned. "Come with me before the storm hits." Swallowing fear, Justin took the proffered hand, hissing in pain as he stepped over the dead things. The man swung his shoulder under Justin's arm, lending him support for the walk back. There was a cool comfort to the feel of another body pressed against his own. Justin dropped his head to his shoulder, the weight of it almost more than he could bear. "Give me a moment." His gaze pled for time. "All you have is a moment." The man's scent hinted at the advent of a winter morning. It slid under Justin's senses, breaking through dams of fear. Ice-filled eyes stared into his own, pulling him into their frozen depths. Adrenaline still wound through Justin's system and mixed with the fragrance drifting from the other man. The heat from exertion and fear was dissipating, devoured by the touch of flesh against flesh. As it wicked the fear from him, different shivers flowed under Justin's skin. 13

The Darkness by J Buchanan

After nearly facing death the need to be close to someone, touch someone, confirm he still felt, consumed him. Intensely aware of the body pressed against him, Justin was almost afraid to breathe. The press of the dark haired man's hip, the curl of his fingers against Justin's chest; there was an intoxicating pressure beneath the grip. His own palm was tingling where it rested against a narrow hip. Those eyes; Justin lost himself within their depths. So many secrets were hidden within. Give him one hundred lifetimes and Justin could not find them a Accept, give in, and all would be known. The world shifted imperceptibly beneath his feet. "I'm ready." Justin closed his eyes and raised his lips to meet the cool kiss of his savior. Justin balanced himself in the firm press of their lips before tracing the line of the stranger's cheek to his ear. Each breath was an eternity. The man wove his fingers into Justin's hair, licking along the line of his jaw, kissing down his neck, stopping briefly to ravage where Justin's neck met his collar. His hand caressed the man's abdomen, running lightly over a taut frame covered in thin cotton. Cutting strokes dug under his shirt. Justin gasped as his warm body was exposed to the cold air and that frosted tongue licked his skin. The touch sent little shards of ice burrowing under Justin's skin. The stranger began to bite at Justin's shoulder and his hand slipped between Justin's legs. A cold fire seeped through his pelvis, driving desire through his veins. All tight and hard, khaki covered hips pushed against the other man's palm. 14

The Darkness by J Buchanan

A faint whisper blew through Justin. "For his portion is in heaven, and yours is on earth, for you have become enamored of the dwelling place of your fall." His voice pulsed against Justin's throat. The words made no sense and perfect sense. They promised so many things beyond their meaning. Succumbing to whispered temptations, Justin ground his hips into the grip. He basked in the glory of a thousand fingers of frost brushing his skin. There was nothing he would not sacrifice for the silent promises of rapture. Everything would be given for the taste, for the touch. Strong fingers stroked shivers into his stomach, tracing his hard outline. "Oh God yes," Justin prayed for more. Vibrations of a host of carrion wings broke the air between them. The dark-haired head snapped back. "No, it's not time." Again, the earth beneath his feet shifted by millimeters, "What?" Justin shook his head to clear the fog coating his mind. "Not here, not now," there was an unknowable sorrow washing under the words. "We have to go or it will be too late." He spun, wrenching Justin's body against his own. They plunged into the wilderness. All evidence of his torment disappeared behind them. Justin had no clue whether his companion knew where he was heading. The flight was almost as frantic as his was from the beasts, yet nothing, at least nothing Justin could sense, pursued them. Not until the sky broke clear over the scar of the highway did their pace slow. 15

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Gaining the road a little farther beyond the Islip turnout, Justin could see the flash of red lights up near where his car should be. He tugged on his champion's shirt, and pointed with his chin. "I think the CHP's there, I should go; they'll want to know what happened." The dark-haired man nodded, clicking his tongue against his teeth. "Yeah, why don't you? Hey ossiffer, just after I slammed my car into the cliff, four big hairy beasties with glowing green eyes and really, really big teeth chased me off into the woods and stuck their tongues up my ass, so they could soften me up before they ate me." He snorted. "I'm sure they'd love to hear that story. Might even believe some of it, you know the part before the big furry things. Come on, you don't want to go there." Sauntering off, away from the police, he headed toward a silver Hurricane parked on the shoulder. Justin followed his progress for a moment and then looked back toward the accident scene just beyond his view. He was caught between his desire to be back among normal people and things, even things like cop cars and ambulances, and the fear that the stranger was right, that he wouldn't be believed. "You don't want to go there." The man repeated, throwing the comment back over his shoulder. He halted by the bike. Turning he held out a faded denim jacket. "Wear this; it's going to be cold." His voice brooked no dissent as he slid on a chromed, full frame helmet. "I'll take you to the Wheel. You'll be okay there." Chewing his bottom lip, Justin made up his mind and limped toward the bike. Justin's grey eyes sought out the 16

The Darkness by J Buchanan

stranger's blue as he took the offered garment. "Who are you?" "Brand." He said, flashing another chill grin through the visor, passing a second helmet to his rider. Brand held them at breakneck speed on a wind whipped ride back toward civilization. Several times Justin thought they would repeat his earlier performance. Brand dropped the bike so low on curves that the asphalt nearly kissed their knees and punched through non-existent gaps in traffic. Eyes closed, a death grip around Brand's waist, he only realized they'd reached their destination by the slowing of the bike. The Wheel was a square black concrete box in a run down industrial area off the 10. Nothing of the façade hinted there was anything but another decrepit warehouse lurking along a side road. There was no sign, no marker identifying it, the only whisper of something amiss being the sheer number of cars in the parking lot at this hour of night. The long, dim entry corridor Brand led Justin down was coated in matte black and streaked with a garish interpretation of pandemonium drawn in day glow colors. Grotesque thralls with moon fire eyes and mottled skin, crawled along hillsides of blue rock. Scythe like talons plucked the damned from the earth and pitched them into the molten lava. Across plains of ice, the graves of the dead burst open, spewing flowers of red running purple to the sea. Skeletal arms of men, women, and children were held outstretched, entreating four glowing figures. Justin paused before it. "What the hell is that?" 17

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Brand stopped and turned, "Exactly." His face was poker blank. "What?" "It's the third plane of Heaven, Du'adel." Shoving his hands in his pockets, he flashed his teeth. "Hell." "No shit. And, what are they supposed to be?" Justin pointed to the radiant beings. "Fallen angels." "Like Satan? They don't look like the devil. I mean the ugly things almost do, but not the main guys." Justin fingers traced the face of a blue-eyed figure, his black hair and black banner streaming in the wind. Justin laughed. "This guy, he looks like you." "You mean Lucifer, Sa'tan is a title not a being." Brand corrected. Tapping the figures as he walked back toward Justin, he named them. "The Lords of Hades: Merihim, Prince of Pestilence and Ruler of Storms; Baal, Master of Famine who sees what is unseen; Abrigor, Grand Duke, commander of the legions of Hell he can foresee the future." He covered Justin's hand in his. His hands were still chilled from the ride. "My brother's idea of humor ... using our likenesses for his little art project." "Really, so which one are you?" "Ah, Azayzyel, the first Girgori to fall for refusing Yahweh's command to honor mankind. 'Thou hast created me of smokeless fire, shall I be forced to reverence a creature made of dust?' He was the watcher who taught Adam's children the art of pleasure and war and was blinded to the sight of God for his sins; banished to Du'adel as Sa'tan." Another frosted 18

The Darkness by J Buchanan

smile broke his features. "God's not big on sex for anything other than the whole begatting issue." Justin laughed nervously. "That's pretty much what the Chaplain used to say. You know, your brother is really warped if he painted that." Justin was beginning to think that maybe he should have gone back to his car. Maybe the mural explained why Brand had rescued him? Maybe it was like T.V.—monster hunters and vampire slayers and all? It was more than a little scary that Brand could know and talk about devils and demons like this and that he'd been painted as one. He said the painting was supposed to be funny, maybe depicting themselves as what they hunted was supposed to be ironic or something? Justin took a deep breath; it was too late to go back now. "So, if they're angels, why don't they look like angels?" The dark man leaned against the mural, his hair merging with that of his portrait so that it was hard in the limited light for Justin to tell exactly where the painting left off and reality began. His azure eyes narrowing and his smile dissolving into a smirk, Brand teased. "Just what do angels look like, Justin?" "I don't know," Justin shrugged, "halos, wings, white robes I guess." "And all demons have horns and tails?" Brand leaned close, putting his mouth to Justin's ear. "Do not the faithful forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing men have dined with angels unawares." Brand's low throbbing voice sent shivers crawling through Justin's skin. "I should know that, where's it from?" 19

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Brand turned, his body grazing Justin's, and strode back down the hall. "As recorded in the book of Hebrews." He motioned with his head for Justin to follow. "Want another one?" He shot over his shoulder. "Second Corinthians ... beware for Sa'tan himself masquerades as an angel of light." As they slipped past the girl checking IDs and her twins taking coats and cover, Justin called out, "You're just fucking with me aren't you?" The three sentinels made no objection to being bypassed, only their kohl-rimmed eyes snaking sideways as one to glare at the pair. Brand pushed through the metal fire doors, laughing, dropping down a set of industrial stairs into a frenzied thrash of bodies writhing in near total darkness. The music was some form of industrial noise mixed with unintelligible screams and wails, like the gears of a giant machine rending men limb from limb. An insufferable heat of people packed together besieged the feeble air-conditioning, sucking out the air and making it hard to breath. Inside the club, you couldn't tell male from female, animate from inanimate. All were caught in the roiling cauldron of energy. Justin found his pulse quickening in a fight or flight reaction to the overwhelming sound. The musk of alcohol and sex and sweat coated the insides of Justin's mouth and nose. Above him nearly nude go-go dancers of both sexes thrashed in cages suspended from gantries and walkways left over from the building's factory past. Justin would have felt awkward in his torn shirt and slacks if it weren't for the staggering lack of clothing worn by most of the patrons. What little they did wear was 20

The Darkness by J Buchanan

predominately black, studded, and either PVC or leather. Justin snorted, shaking his head; it was the kind of stuff that could get you arrested if you wore it anywhere else but a club like this. This was definitely not a place he would ever have gone on his own. He'd heard of clubs like this but, ugh, it was just creepy. Disembodied hands groped him as he pushed through the crowd toward the bluish glow of Brand's shirt. The dancing throng did not seem to impede the other man's progress and Justin was having trouble keeping up. Fingers clawed at his skin, pulling him, dragging him down. Just before he slipped beneath the surface, Brand's strong grip seized his bicep and pulled Justin up against his chest. The dark-haired man was trembling his eyes almost the same hue as his shirt under the black lights. A man, his pale skin glowing in the darkness, looked down on them from a catwalk skirting an outcropping in the otherwise open space. "Who is that?" Justin pointed up toward the watcher, screaming at Brand just to be heard. Cupping his mouth over Justin's ear, Brand yelled back his non-answer. "That is who we're here to see." Brand led Justin to a small, dark stairwell at the back of the club, past the bouncer and up into the darkness. The music, throbbing in time to Justin's pulse, seethed through the walls and floor as they entered a small office. A titanium nameplate on the open door stated "Launce Syntyche, Mngr." and Brand tapped it four times as they passed through the opening. The walls were firebrick, the furniture Danish Modern with a high tech edge to the art gracing the room. 21

The Darkness by J Buchanan

A man, thirtyish, entered the room from a doorway opposite, allowing the music to thunder past him, overwhelming the small space. Formless silhouettes churned behind him briefly, then vanished behind the slammed door. Platinum blond with orbs of coal simmering in a squarely handsome face, he glared at them. Ignoring the hateful look, Brand pushed Justin onto one of the chairs and perched himself on the arm of another, crossing his arms defiantly over his chest. The blonde's manner, his bearing, the "high and tight" haircut reminded Justin of his father, career military. However, the Chaplain would never have been caught dead in the skintight black leather pants, combat boots, and red silk shirt that barely constrained the man's seething energy. As he swept toward them, he twirled a fancy letter opener shaped like a stiletto blade between his index fingers, using his thumb to spin it. Four silver rings flashed on each hand. "'Bout time you showed up." His polished voice flared. Brand leaned close to Justin and clicked his tongue against his teeth. In a stage whisper he confided, "My younger brother is always so testy when kept waiting." Had he met them on the street, it would never have occurred to Justin that the two men were siblings; he had trouble accepting it now. Eyes, hair, height, build everything was different. Launce, it had to be him, he acted like he owned the place, was square cut, every feature sharp and angular. His body had hard edges etched into it. Brand's features were finer, smoother, softer, but no less handsome then his brother. 22

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Both, though, had the same restless energy. Even at rest, they were not still. The younger sibling snorted. Launce's platinum hair and ivory skin were set off by smoldering obsidian eyes that regarded Brand and Justin over the spinning blade. "Do you know what you've done? You've upset the balance. Started things I don't think you can finish." Brand winked at Justin, "Upset things? Me?" His cool tone had all the innocence of a fox caught raiding. Shaking his head and spreading his hands, he advanced on his brother. "Honestly, what did I do?" Stepping into the advance, Launce jabbed the tip of the miniature blade under Brand's chin, "You took something that wasn't yours to take." Brand's eyes glittered hard and cold, "What did I take that wasn't mine?" He pushed the offending weapon away. The stiletto arched through the air and impaled the floor between Justin's feet. "That!" "That?" Brand's laughter cracked the air between the three men. "I don't think I took that, I think I saved him. And his name is Justin." Launce seemed to collapse in on himself, his anger melting with him into a steel grey club chair at Brand's feet. "You shouldn't have done it. It wasn't meant to be. The other one was for you." He rubbed his forehead with his fingers, the rings flashing in the light. "Why did you bring him here? I don't want to be involved in this." "You're my brother. I need your help and I can't take him where I have to go. He needs to stay with you." 23

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Justin found himself standing, "No, I need to go home." Brand's gaze slid to meet his. Something within their shimmering depths froze the blood in Justin's veins. "No, you need to stay here where it's safe." Brand's eyes held Justin's for a moment then drifted back to his brother. "You'll make sure he's okay?" "It's not my problem." Brand massaged the blonde's shoulder, a show of sympathy, of camaraderie between siblings. "But, you'll do it for me, right?" He didn't wait for a response. Turning his back on his brother, he shot Justin a cold, hard look, "Do what he tells you and you'll come out okay." The music burst through the door as Brand yanked it open and just as quickly died as it slammed shut. "Don't leave." Launce threw the command at Justin as he darted through the door after his brother. Launce's desk was a huge expanse of burled black wood, what the Chaplain used to refer to as a moat to keep the rabble at bay. It was devoid of the usual workplace clutter, its surface bearing only a laptop, phone and a small stack of business cards in an ornate metal holder. The face of the card was done in greens and blues and gold. A wheel at its center was backed by lightning bolts and covered by stars. There were figures of people and animals on the wheel, some falling off to be crushed, some struggling to stay on and a solitary figure at the top, making no attempt to maintain its position but succeeding anyway. A gilt frame bordered the picture, the figure X at the top and the word Fortune printed at the 24

The Darkness by J Buchanan

bottom. The back of the card was red with Launce's name and title embossed in gold. No number, no address appeared. Aligned along the wall behind the desk were four black and white photos, matted with white linen and bound in thick black frames. The ersatz gallery piqued Justin's curiosity. There wasn't much else to keep him occupied while he waited for Launce. The third still in the display was first in front of him. It was a small photograph, not more than four by four, a grainy distorted image taken from an odd angle, above and behind one of the subjects. Two men stood in an open plaza, hands clasped, seemingly passing something between them, only one of the pair's face partly visible. Justin blinked, the man was tall wearing a sixties' style suit with a crew cut and a hard, angular face. It couldn't be right. The picture screamed cold war spy drama, and he'd only just met him, but Justin would swear that it was Launce in the photo, no older than he was now. He slid his glance to the picture to his immediate right. That, he was sure, was Launce. Same hair cut, short on the sides, too long on top, same burning black eyes, grey on grey camouflage pants, combat boots and a wife beater T-shirt. A modern photo taken somewhere in the mid east. He squatted in a sea of sand, rifle slung between his legs. Tats ran up his bare arms but with the size of the picture, Justin couldn't make out what they were. No, the other picture had to be the brothers' father, had to be. To Justin's left, a casual moment had been captured. Three soldiers stood talking, two shoulder to shoulder facing the third, all faces turned slightly down and away from the 25

The Darkness by J Buchanan

camera. A litter of straw covered the ground and the gaping mouth of a rough barn framed their conversation. The center officer wore a great coat, lapels turned up, square jaw tucked into them and hands shoved in his pockets. The other two wore dough-boy uniforms of World War One vintage. Again maybe great grandfathers, grand uncles, but the closer pair favored Brand and Launce. There was a familial resemblance among the three, two with dark hair, one with light, the unfamiliar man smiling with wolfish features and bridging the gap in likeness between the other two. The picture on the far left seemed the oldest of the set, a spotted tintype. Justin swallowed. Four men sat abreast in the stilted manner of the era. Identical poses, left legs crossed over right, left hands on thighs, right hands gripping the basket hilts of Union Cavalry sabers. All wore similar coats, open to various degrees, silver buttons snaking up the long jacket fronts and flashing at the cuffs. Launce sat at the right, his mouth set hard, a revolver shoved in his belt. Next to him another blond with softer features, youthful eyes hidden by shadow, and next to that man sat the dark-haired man from the previous photo, a sensuous mouth lifted at one corner caught in near snarl. Last in the grouping sat Brand, his black mop of hair stirred by a breeze frozen in time. Shit it was freaking impossible. Maybe reenactments, maybe that was it; there was no way that picture could be authentic. A hand on his shoulder caused Justin to start. Launce was glaring at him with his volcanic eyes, "Do you have any idea what is happening to you?" When Justin shook his head, the 26

The Darkness by J Buchanan

taller man exploded in laughter and advanced on him pushing Justin back with his body. "You live on borrowed time now." Justin retreated until his leg caught the edge of a sofa and he tumbled onto it. "What the fuck's your problem?" "You like Brand?" The blond glared down at him. "You trust him don't you?" Embarrassed that it should be that obvious, he shot back, "Yeah, why shouldn't I?" Launce knelt on the sofa one leg still braced on the floor, his hand clutching the back near Justin's arm. "A little advice for you, as set down in Leviticus ... beware the deceiver for he comes in white." A prickling heat kissed the insides of Justin's stomach, growing stronger the closer Launce came to him. The air was growing hot, uncomfortable, as though the musk from the dance floor below was seeping through the floor. It surrounded Justin. Licking his lips, he fought the cool heat radiating unbidden in his body. He was starting to wonder about things. Things he didn't really want to think about, like what it would feel like to run his hands across those leather jeans and whether Launce's touch would make him shiver like Brand's. Swallowing, Justin breathed, "Were you guys raised in some weird ass cult? Corinthians, Leviticus, that freakish painting on the wall, you spout bullshit from the bible more than the Chaplain, my dad." Launce's words throbbed at the base of Justin's spine. "Don't you believe in God, Justin?" The timber of the man's voice was almost physical in the way it caressed him. 27

The Darkness by J Buchanan

He couldn't tear his gaze away from the intensity of Launce's stare. "Why, do you?" If he looked long enough, Justin was sure he would fall into those black pits and never come back to the surface. He was being pulled down, sucked into the temptations offered there, and he wanted them. His body burned for them. "Unquestionably." The smoky voice whispered that he should give in, let go. Placing his palm on the silk covered chest, Justin spoke more to himself than Launce, "I shouldn't do this." "No, you shouldn't. Do you know that my brother," Launce leaned in until his lips were a breath away from Justin's, "likes you too?" His mouth was hot and hard as he completed the kiss. Trembling, Justin tried to back from the kiss, but he was caught between the sofa's arm and the weight of the other man. Launce's knee drove into his groin, and when Justin gasped from the pain, the man's tongue drove into his mouth. Struggling beneath the assault, his groin riding Launce's thigh, the momentary pain gave way to the friction of leather against cotton against skin. Sex radiated into Justin's palms as he pushed against his assailant. He found his shoves becoming caresses his random struggles focused on stoking the fire building between his legs. Launce pulled back from the kiss, teeth grazing Justin's lower lip, his eyes seething with passion. He leaned harder into Justin's groin, grinding against the younger man's erection, and pressing his mouth against his ear. "Do you want me?" Launce's tongue toyed with Justin's earlobe, "Or do you want my older brother?" 28

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Justin could barely breathe. "I want you." Lust raged through his body. He tore at Launce's shirt, fumbling with the buttons and the slick material, consuming his mouth and neck and chin. "Show me." Launce reared up and jerked his shirt over his head. The man's chest was covered in vibrant reds, vivid yellows, and startling outlines in blue-black ink scarred by a seething swirling panorama of hell on earth. Battles raged in miniature, cannons belched, horses threw cavalry into flaming pits and stinking trenches where death stalked soldiers of fortune as their thousand mile stares marched toward fields of wounded whose claw-like hands reached toward ranks of panzers, raining fire on rice paddies where skulls lay fallow. Military insignia wound their way down his arms, crawling onto Justin's soul as Launce caught him by the throat, forcing his tongue into Justin's mouth a second time. Justin slid to the floor, kneeling before Launce. Caressing Justin's face with the back of his hand Launce leaned forward and kissed him again, his tongue probing and burning Justin's mouth. His other hand slid down the front of Justin's shirt. The fabric, ripped and abused from the earlier attack, melted under the pressure of the caress. Raw heat bloomed under the path of Launce's fingers and Justin felt the color rise in his face. He couldn't believe how much he wanted this man, wanted to taste him, to feel him inside his mouth. Justin's kisses burned their way across Launce's chest and down his stomach, as Launce's hands, the rings clicking as his fingers worked, pulled at the buttons on his leather jeans, shoving them down from his hips. His cock sprang forward 29

The Darkness by J Buchanan

from its confinement and began to throb as the warm air from Justin's mouth slid across its surface. The purple head, the warm brown skin against the tight, white-blond curls of Launce's pubic hair, the little ball of moisture forming at the very apex; Justin's tongue slit the tip, caressed the head and drew the bead of liquid into his mouth. As he took Launce into his mouth, he grabbed the base to hold it steady. He could feel the hot ropes of Launce's veins pulsing beneath his hand. Licking and kissing Launce's cock, he abandoned all to pleasuring him. His mouth was filled with Launce, his tongue dancing across the skin as Launce rammed him again and again. Justin stroked Launce with his hands, urging Launce to orgasm with his lips and fingers. His rod, hard and hot, blood boiling in his veins, Launce thrust himself into Justin's eager mouth. Hands wound into the shock of brown hair, forcing Justin back, as Launce's cock slid between Justin's lips. Justin's mist grey eyes were halflidded in concentration and pleasure. Justin's head was yanked back and held by the fingers wound into his hair, Launce's erection inches from his face. Launce grabbed the base of his cock, his hand closing over Justin's, jerking it with four quick strokes until a molten flow of white hot come splattered Justin's face. Kneeling, Launce's hand caught the back of Justin's neck and drew him into another searing kiss. Launce could taste his own body in Justin's mouth. "It's not over for you, yet." Afterwards, Launce had herded him to his red Humvee parked behind the club, giving him one of his own rust colored shirts to replace the one torn from Justin's body. All 30

The Darkness by J Buchanan

he would say was that they were going to his brother's, and somehow Justin figured he wasn't talking about Brand. What happened at the club hovered unspoken between them. His brother's place skulked behind a rise in the dirt drive as Launce slipped the Hummer next to an older black Mercedes sedan. The gaunt house menaced the forest. Justin figured it had to have cost a million easy. As Justin squeezed out of the vehicle, trying not to ding the door of either car, he noted that the sedan's paint was fading and the once fine leather upholstery was shinny and cracked. A wan yellow porch light illuminated an entrance devoid of all decoration and consisting of not much more than the light fixture and concrete slab, faced on either side by identical walls of glass. The interior of the house was dark. Launce strode purposely up to the door, and threw his fist against the wood. A vague sense of dread, unease, held Justin back at the margins of the pallid circle, the edges of the night. The door was answered by a young man, naked from the waist up. A pair of black silk pajama bottoms hung on his hips and coiled over his bare feet. The rolled down waistband exposed a tuft of tight brown curls that crawled up his stomach, stopping just below his navel. Long, walnut hair, warm sun-kissed skin, doe black eyes grew out of the young man's strong features. "It's Launce ... just who I wanted to see at three a.m.". He flashed a feral smile at the blond then turned his attention to Justin, his gaze slowly devouring his disheveled figure. "Stuff it, pretty boy." Launce flared as he shoved past his brother and was consumed by the dark depths of the house. 31

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Justin, his hands in the jacket's pockets, shuffled his feet. The man just stared at him, his lean arms crossed over his lightly furred chest. The stranger was about Justin's age, but the other had a dancer's body: thin and lithe and agile and strong. A brass pentagram was strung about his throat on a tan leather cord. Finally, Justin stuck out his hand. "Uhmm, I'm Justin. You're Launce's brother?" "Ah," He said, as though Justin had just answered all his questions. "Hello Justin." He didn't take the offered hand. "What are you boys doing prowling around La Cañada at this hour?" The evening began to overwhelm him and Justin shivered in the morning mist. "Uh, I really don't know." The emotional damn broke and words flooded over his lips. "I was, I was in an accident up on the highway and then these things, I was attacked by these things, but they weren't human, and then, then Brand came and killed them. And then we went to the Wheel..." Justin couldn't finish the rest. None of it made sense as the narrative spilled from him. "Oh hell, and then Brand dumped you on Launce," he reached out to Justin, drawing him into the light, "and Launce, because he's Launce, dragged you here." He stepped back and shook his sleep mussed, brown mane. "I have shits for brothers, I really do." His eyes, as he smiled, had something of Launce in them, but with more wealth of character, more human and friendly. From the picture, Justin would not have imagined him so warm. Without wanting to Justin trusted him. "And as Launce has no manners, I'm Jin." 32

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Jin wound his arm through Justin's and led him into the darkness. Flicking on the lights, he released Justin and slunk to the center of the house. It was a vacant, hollow building; the interior of every room was visible from anywhere else, the only structure to it was a closet/bathroom area that nested toward the back center of the house. The rear wall was a series of movable plate glass sheets stretching from floor to ceiling, and on the bedroom side, they were open to the wilderness beyond. Justin guessed that area was the bedroom from the single item of furniture in that quadrant; a large mattress, sand colored sheets crumpled from sleep, a kimono top thrown across the covers, sitting on a platform not more than four inches from the floor. The other living areas were equally sparse. A den to the right of the door held a large low Japanese coffee table, an antique by its looks, and four caramel silk cushions for seating. To the left, the dining area swallowed a walnut table and benches, again most likely antiques. The only art was a fragment of a stone glyph, hung on the center wall, depicting Maat; Anubis weighing the souls of the dead with his scales as Thoth recorded who among them was worthy. Launce had taken up residence on one of the benches, his arms cocked back on the table for support, leather covered legs stretched out before him. His brother, arms again crossed defensively, leaned against the single interior wall. "What the hell are you doing here?" Jin snapped, "More importantly what the hell are you doing here with him." 33

The Darkness by J Buchanan

"You know Brand always dumping his problems on me ... Launce will take care of it." The smaller man licked his sensuous lips. "And, of course, if Launce doesn't want to do it, give it to Jin. Jin will take care of everything." "Fuck you!" Jin barked his laughter, "That is so wrong on so many levels." Justin was famished, he had a headache, he was tired, and he was beyond caring about little things like manners. He left the brothers to their arguing, drifting between them into what passed for a kitchen. The cupboards and fridge held meager rations of expensive party food. What food there was, was nothing you could live on. Finally, Justin settled on Lavosh, some kind of goat cheese, the name of which he couldn't even begin to pronounce, and an imported beer. He didn't want to be near the two of them and their bickering. Drifting along the back wall to the bedroom, he shed the jacket and settled at the edge of the bed to stare out into the darkness. The room stood open to the night, the moon hiding behind the veil of trees and the building blue-black storm clouds. A light wind swirled through the opening carrying the mossy scent of growing things and the hush of pine needles and scrub oak leaves as they whispered to each other. The shadows nursed a serene woodland margin where small wild things moved at the edges of Justin's vision. Their mirrored eyes momentarily caught by the light, revealed them to his sight. He could hear their voices as they chattered, whispering between themselves. Drowsy and soothed by 34

The Darkness by J Buchanan

living things traversing the shadows, Justin's head fell back against the mattress and his grey eyes drifted shut. The air was charged with the tinny smell of the coming storm, it hung about Justin, slid off his skin. Brand stood in the sanctum of the woods, his luminescent stare beckoning Justin. The breeze played with his midnight hair, ruffling it about his collar as he turned and slid through the verdant wall. Justin was on his feet and following. Crashing through the underbrush, he broke out into a mist shrouded clearing where Brand stood, eyes turned to the sky. He held out his hand to Justin. Justin locked his fingers within Brand's grasp and he looked toward the heavens where the black sky heaved, darkening the moon and blocking the stars. The dark man's hand was cold. Little shards of ice drove themselves under Justin's skin, tingling and biting his nerves. The chill touch of Brand's breath next to his ear coursed down Justin's spine, coating his insides in electric frost. "It's started." The beer crashed to the ground when the surge of the Humvee's engine startled Justin awake. Although Justin tried to catch the bottle as it fell, dropping to his knees next to the bed, the contents flowed onto the brown Berber carpet. There was nothing to clean the spill with other than the expensive sheets. Justin swore under his breath, shaking the remnants of the vision from his mind. Jin came to him, knelt down on the floor next to him, smiling. When he smiled all his teeth showed. He was relaxed; tipping the bottle upright, he leaned in toward Justin. "It's been decided, we've decided. You're lucky." Jin pawed Justin's chest, kneading the skin with his fingertips and 35

The Darkness by J Buchanan

leaned to nuzzle his temple, "Are you afraid of me, Justin?" he whispered as he licked the line of his jaw. Justin shuddered under Jin's touch and pulled away. His body responded to the touch, growing hot and hard, but Justin scrambled back into a sitting position, knees spread, his back against the bed. "No." He wasn't sure if he was answering Jin's question or telling him to stay away. "Don't run, Justin, we're all you have right now. You'll need us later." Jin slithered between Justin's legs, taking his face in both hands, pressing his lips to his, forcing Justin's mouth open with his tongue. Snared by the kiss he didn't draw back while Jin's tongue tangled with his own. As the wolfish brunette lowered his face and ran his teeth across Justin's neck, Justin's body arched up, betraying his desire. Justin protested weakly as the hunger hit him fast and hard. "No ... please ... stop..." Justin craved the other man's body, needed Jin inside him. "I like it when people beg," Jin snarled. He ran his warm brown hand over Justin's crotch, squeezing slightly as he did so. Justin was mesmerized by the touch, eyes swallowed by Jin's unblinking stare. Slowly Jin unbuttoned the borrowed shirt, his mouth burrowing into the curve of Justin's neck while slipping the fabric from the paler man's shoulders. The sleeves snaked around Justin's wrists as the garment slid to the floor. Then Jin unbuckled Justin's belt, sliding the leather through the loops so fast it sang. When Jin unzipped his fly and slid his slacks from his hips, Justin gasped and closed his eyes. 36

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Jin felt Justin's body throb in time with his pulse and Justin groaned as his cock was caressed through the fabric of his shorts by delicate fingers. Desire crawled out from the tip, tracking the inside of his thighs, the back of his legs, the ridges of his spine with a clawing heat. The brunette nipped at Justin's chest, teasing his nipples with little bites, and licked at the soft wounds on his stomach. Then he grabbed the waistband of Justin's shorts and pulled them down, freeing his pulsing erection to beg before Jin's greedy eyes. Sliding in through the open door, the breeze caressed the men's skin with invisible hands, adding its touch to theirs, folding them in the scent of the night forest, and whispered in their ears. The cool touch of the night burned on Justin's heated shaft as it played around Jin's grasp. "Beg for me. Ask me to take you." Jin purred against Justin's cheek. "You can't deny your body. It begs for me." Justin slid his mouth onto Jin's. "Please," He pled in a tight strangled voice. Jin's hands inched down Justin's arms and gathered the shirt, freeing Justin's wrists. His feral eyes sought out Justin's, their faces a breath apart, "Do you trust me, Justin?" Justin nodded and Jin kissed him again. As they kissed, Jin wound the material about Justin's arms and chest, binding his arms to his sides. Breaking away Jin slid Justin to the floor then tugged his pants and shorts from his legs, crawling backwards across the carpet. Jin drew a black sash from the kimono flung across the bed, sliding the silk across Justin's crotch and his cock jumped in reaction to the touch. Growling, Jin wound the sash around Justin's sac, and laced it up his 37

The Darkness by J Buchanan

throbbing erection, binding it just below the head, crisscrossing the material back again. Justin sucked in his breath when Jin jerked it tight across the base, tying it off. Rocking back on his heels, Jin slipped his thumbs into the waist of his pants. The black silk fell from Jin's hips with a sigh, winding about his knees. His cock hard and throbbing, Jin slithered closer, shedding the garment as he moved, running his fingers over the tip of his own erection. Gathering some of the glittering moisture leaking from the tip he held it up to Justin's lips. Responding to the musky perfume of Jin's body, Justin's tongue darted forward and tentatively he licked the end of Jin's finger. Jin stroked Justin's naked form and straddling his legs, reached out, rubbing his fingers against Justin's bound and throbbing purple head. Justin struggled in the embrace, trying to free his arms, straining in his bonds, finally succumbing to the futility of the effort, he lay back on the carpet and let the desire cradle his body. Wrapping his tanned, languid form against the pale skin, tasting the desire within Justin, Jin pushed his hips against the bound man's. Their cocks rubbed together, caressed each other. Reaching down, Jin stroked his erection then Justin's, caressing both shafts, rubbing them together. He straddled Justin's snared body, slid his hand behind Justin's neck, and pulled him into another kiss. Justin could do no more than give himself up to the embrace, let himself be controlled, sliding his tongue into Jin's mouth moving his body against Jin's. Jin purred his appreciation and pulled back, his dark eyes radiating desire, staring deep into Justin's soul. "Brand chose well, I think. I see it in your mind. Beg for me again." 38

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Justin spread his legs, staring at Jin, his mind flooding with apprehension and desire. "Please," He implored. Jin, bracing himself with one arm, kneeling between Justin's legs, took his own cock into his hand and stroked it, then flashed a rapacious grin at his willing captive. "Please, what?" "Take me." Jin devoured Justin's mouth as he slid one finger down and caresses Justin's ass, causing him to gasp sharply. "Tell me, Justin, exactly what you want..." The finger circled the entrance and then pressed inward slowly, inevitably, forward. "You ... inside me." Justin cried out at the penetration, burying his mouth in the nape of Jin's neck. There was still pain from earlier, from the tearing withdrawal of the monster's tongue, but he was ravenous with desire for Jin, starved for him. Justin moaned with pleasure. Thrusting his hips against Jin's hand, he begged again, "Please." Jin, growling softly, stroking his tongue in Justin's mouth, positioned himself between the bound man's legs, his erection pressing against Justin's thigh as he withdrew his finger. Sucking in his breath, Justin tightened, waiting, wanting. Jin pushed his throbbing head against the entrance to Justin's body, thrusting against his tight anus, pushing into the tight hole. Justin cried out, arching his back. Jin closed his bright black eyes, biting his lip with the intensity of the contact; he began to thrust slowly, stretching it out, prolonging each incursion into Justin's body before withdrawing. Justin moaned, surrendering to the gratification of Jin's cock inside him. Trussed as he was by Launce's shirt, he 39

The Darkness by J Buchanan

could do little more than lift his legs, urging Jin deeper. Jin grabbed his thigh, lifting Justin's leg onto his shoulder and responded to the silent plea with violent thrusting, causing both men to cry out with pleasure. Justin drove his hips matching Jin's rhythm then increasing it, begging him with his body to continue, to consume him. Face snarling with ecstasy as he came, Jin yanked his cock from Justin's body, causing the man to cry out with frustration. He quickly bent over and fastened his mouth on Justin's bound and weeping shaft, urging Justin to come with a firm grasp and inserting two fingers into the space vacated by his own erection. Jin moved his fingers fast in response to Justin's strangled groans, working his lips, teeth, and tongue over the swollen head of the bound man's cock. He licked and bit wherever the flesh was exposed. As he drew Justin's shaft deep into his mouth, the suction and the strangle hold of the bindings was more than Justin could bear. Out of control, Justin rammed into Jin's mouth, screaming his lust. With a convulsive heave, Justin came, crying out Jin's name. Jin swallowed the seed, licking his lips in enjoyment and then slid up Justin's body until their faces were inches apart. He flicked out his tongue, letting Justin lick off some of his own semen, tasting their mingled essences and wrapped him in his warm embrace. The smell of the woods touched him. A mix of sharp pine, muted musky tones of moss and loam, and far more fragile scents whispered across his skin. He could touch the lemon notes of trumpet vine, bruised pepper of Jacaranda, the sharp bursts of crushed garlic grass and wild mint and taste the 40

The Darkness by J Buchanan

sick, sweet decay as the earth reclaimed its own. Over all, a metallic blanket of ozone ran thick in his mouth. Justin stood next to the silver Honda, engine purring contentedly in the drive. The house squatted behind him, its breath heavy on his back. The forest closed in and a deep primeval voice wordlessly sucked the marrow from his bones. "Do you really want to follow?" Brand's leg grazed his as the dark-haired man mounted the Hurricane. Thunder rumbled in the distance, the leaves snapping against the wind. "You know I do." "Okay then, follow." Brand gunned the engine, the tires squealing as he roared off, leaving Justin in a cloud of smoke and ash. Justin ran after him screaming. "Wait, you forgot me!" Pushing himself until he lost sight of Brand and could run no more, he sank to the earth, pounding his fists against the stone, and shut his burning eyes. The heavens spun above him, the winds thrashing the trees scouring the land of all feature reducing the earth to desert. Staccato hoof beats danced across the barren plain. A blood red charger thundered into view. As the beast bore down upon him, sides flecked with foam and blood, Justin leapt to his feet. The roan reared, pawing the sky, its unhelmed rider impassive in the saddle. An enameled breastplate and gorget seem to clothe him in blood, his pike held guardent in his right hand. He circled Justin four times to the left, his voice taunting, the stallion bouncing and skittering, threshing the sand at their feet. "What are you waiting for? Where are you going? Do you know?" Black eyes 41

The Darkness by J Buchanan

burned, skull-like as he laughed, white blond hair snapping in the wind. He reined his mount with a brutal twist driving his spurs deep and bloody into the animal's sides and tore east into the setting sun. A young knight, approached from the west, coins dribbling from his fingers and falling fallow on the ground. He rode a midnight leviathan, barded in red, five pointed horse-brass stars covering the tack. A deadly cold enveloped Justin. The heavy steps of the black horse seemed to crush his chest with every fall. As the hooves touched the ground night spread from the impact withering the flowers, the leaves dropping from the vine, the grass curled and burnt in his wake. The earth was scorched white in his passing; an ossuary sprang forth in the fields behind him. As the beast passed the knight turned his visor toward Justin, his gauntleted hands supine, and at once a hoard engulfed them. Movie stars sporting Prada, models, their silicon breasts heaving, politicos and dictators clothed in silk all fell to their knees and stretched out their hands. Starving mothers prostrated themselves pushing skeletal infants with bloated bellies toward the pair. Children, the dirt of the slums crusting their bodies, pled with hungry, sad eyes. For all the money the knight gave them, there was nothing to buy. And still they entreated, their voices deafening. As the knight lifted the visor, Jin's wolves' eyes glared out licking Justin's startled gaze and a rapacious smile crawled across the bronzed face. "Do you see how they beg of me Justin?" A voice from within the helm growled. "All that I give them and it is never enough. And they blame me when all 42

The Darkness by J Buchanan

they sow is war. They curse me when all they harvest is death." Jin held Justin's eyes as he moved toward the advancing stars. "Tell me, will you follow when my brother comes?" Justin woke. He was naked under the sheets, the house was still and quiet around him. It was dark but he couldn't have slept all day. Justin was disoriented in unfamiliar surroundings. The bed was empty; he couldn't hear Jin in the cavernous space. He was thankful for that small favor. It was embarrassing what had happened. And this was absolute crazy shit he was caught up in ... those things and Brand like some freaking character off Angel and his two weird ass brothers, and the dreams. And the sex, he'd never acted like that before. It was probably best if he just got the hell out. A cab ride and he'd be home. Throwing off the covers, Justin found the shirt Launce had loaned him and Brand's jacket crumpled on the floor next to the empty beer bottle, and began searching for his slacks. Thirteen minutes later, he'd given up. There was nowhere in the house to hide things; he'd searched everywhere. They were not to be found and neither was Jin. Justin hoped that Jin had done something with his pants, maybe he'd just taken them to be cleaned, but hell his wallet, his cash, keys, credit cards, and I.D. had been in the pockets. He rifled Jin's closet, most of the man's clothes were expensive and impractical, but he finally came up with a single pair of jeans. They were a little snug on Justin. Thankfully, their owner had liked them baggy; he could never have squeezed into something that actually fit Jin's lean 43

The Darkness by J Buchanan

frame. He sat on the edge of the bed, toed into his loafers and pulled Launce's shirt over his head. The house was cold, empty, vacant; the only sound was the wind licking against the side of the house and a distant rumble of thunder. Pregnant clouds covered the moon holding the polluting glow from L.A. close to the ground. There was no phone, no radio, no T.V., not even a clock. It was creepy, extravagant but without comfort, a space but not a home. Justin heard a car roar up the dirt drive. His hope that it was Jin died when he heard a knock on the glass, near the kitchen at the back of the house. Then it peaked again, maybe Launce had come back. He could at least catch a ride home; his landlady had a spare key. He followed his shadow toward the still open wall. He could see a male figure in the darkness beyond. "Hey!" the knocker yelled. The voice was not Launce's. "I know you're here!" The man banged on the glass again. "Come on, we need to go!" Shit. It was probably Jin's boyfriend or something. This ride was going from bad to worse. Justin couldn't just ignore him, the guy had seen him. How could he not in this fishbowl? Bleary eyed, unshaven, wearing the brothers' clothing, Justin bet he made a hell of a picture as he stepped through the opening. Dressed in pale green scrubs, the man's delicate boned face was framed by waves of fawn-colored hair. His bright eyes sometimes brown, sometimes green, sometimes both and neither at the same time, shifting color as the light 44

The Darkness by J Buchanan

rippled across their surface drowned Justin in their depth. The face was familiar but Justin couldn't place him. Justin crossed his arms against his chest, relaxing into the frame. "Jin's not here. Who are you? Should I let him know you came by?" "I'm not looking for Jin. I'm here for you, Justin, and we're late." He snagged Justin's arm and grabbed Brand's jacket from the floor where it had fallen earlier, drawing him out into the night. The house was still open, "Shouldn't we lock the house?" Justin asked as the stranger pulled him around the corner, toward a dun colored Jeep parked haphazardly in the drive. "No need, the house will take care of itself. Brand sent me to get you." He reached out and gripped Justin's shoulder. "I'm Than. My brothers told me about you." Justin didn't want to think about what the brothers might have said about him. Embarrassed, he felt the blush growing on his face and shivered, hopefully the darkness hid it from Than. He changed the subject. "God ... Brand, Launce, Jin, Than," Justin shook his head, "you guys must have gotten beat up every day in school. Did your mother just hate you, or what?" Laughter bubbled up from the man, "Sometimes I think our parents would disown us, if they could." He tossed the jacket into the back and clambered into the driver's side, leaning over to throw the passenger door open for Justin, while trying to turn the key in the ignition with his left hand. The engine sputtered then died as the seat swallowed Justin. On the fourth try it coughed and caught and they roared out 45

The Darkness by J Buchanan

into the night. One hand on the wheel, the Jeep barely under Than's control, they tore through the evening with Hell on their heels. Justin held a death grip on the Jesus bar spanning the glove box. Gravel sprayed from the wheels until they hit pavement, surging deeper into the Angeles Crest, heading toward the highway. Justin felt ill, his stomach flipping when he realized where they were headed. "I don't want to go back." "Sometimes you have to go back to go forward." Than's liquid eyes sought Justin's. "It will be alright. We'll be there with you." His warm smile washed over Justin's fears, it was contagious, and Justin felt himself grinning in response. "We have to, you have to, go back there. Set things back to right." Justin dropped the smile and folded his arms over his chest. "Who says?" "It's just the way things are." The earlier rumbling promise of rain came true as they wound their way into the hills; first small hesitant drops tapped on the jeep's rag top, then larger falls shooting through the headlights, darkening the pavement, shimmering and sliding across the windshield. Justin's mood echoed in the dark drum of rain. The metronome whack of the wipers added a four/four timed backbeat to the irregular throb of the shower and the whine of the wheels on wet pavement. Justin didn't like the non-answer. He turned his face to the window and stared out through the falling crystal curtain at the passing miles. The city faded in their wake. They spun rock at the Islip Saddle as Than pulled a James Bond parking job, sliding to a sodden stop. He killed the 46

The Darkness by J Buchanan

engine and cut the headlights. "Here we are. Back where you started." Justin released his white knuckled grip on the Jesus bar slowly, willing his fingers to give up the anchor he didn't realize they had sought. He knew he was looking at him, he could feel the swirl of Than's gaze as it swept over him in the soft darkness of the jeep. It vibrated with unsounded laughter. "You don't think I'd kill you? Do you, Justin?" Than's hand swept up his thigh, washing his nerves with his touch, as he leaned across the cab toward Justin. Little bubbles of fear danced under Justin's flesh as Than's sensuous lips traversed his collar where his shirt gaped, his hand running across the taut denim. Justin threw himself out of the Jeep, into the rain, slamming the car door behind him. Back pressed to the cool metal, the rain soaked him through, running down his body seeping into his shoes. He felt more than heard Than step from the Jeep. The water beaded on his skin, plastering his clothes to his body, stroking him with liquid fingers. His shaft grew hard, his body was responding, needing, wanting, as Than came around the vehicle toward him. Justin turned away, cooling his fevered head against the side of the jeep. "Why are you doing this?" "It's our nature, what we are." Than's lips skimmed the nape of Justin's neck, his hands coursing down Justin's lean frame, reaching between his legs and stroking him through the clinging denim. "You can't resist Justin. Brand changed things. Change brings consequence." "Am I going to die?"

47

The Darkness by J Buchanan

Than toyed with the rivulets of water plastering the rust silk to Justin's body, tracing the drops down the muscular planes of his back. Finally, "It's not my decision." "But it's decided?" "Men are not slaves to fate Justin. It's how you handle the choices you're given." His breath flowed against Justin's skin as Than placed his lips against Justin's cheek. Justin could feel the swell of Than's cock against his back, his own erection pressed against the sodden jeans. Water coursed between them, mingling the heat from their bodies, chilling the blood in liquid fire. "God, then what am I doing?" Than's delicate fingers flowed into his pants, over the ridges and veins of Justin's cock. "Drowning." He whispered, pushing Justin up against the vehicle, rubbing his body against him. Than's raindrop touch brought a fever to his skin, the kisses along the base of his neck an aching inside. An incurable desire welled up with Justin as he fought with the wet jeans, hands slipping as he tried to unbutton the fly. The denim clung to his hips as he forced the material away from his body, sliding his skin against damp cloth. Than's shaft pressed against his naked backside, rubbing in the cleft as Than's thumb coursed along the thin line of slickness left in its wake. He pulled against Justin's cheeks, his head pressing against the tight entrance to Justin's body. Hands braced against the jeep, legs spread, Justin yielded to the pressure of Than's shaft. Slowly Than entered, hissing as Justin's tight heat enveloped him. Justin cried out at the incursion. Than's cock stretched and pulled his delicate 48

The Darkness by J Buchanan

opening, but Justin's hips pushed to meet Than's own, sheathing the entire length within. Than surged inside him, hand coursing along Justin's erection. Justin threw his head back, the rain running into his eyes and nose and mouth, and let himself slip under the surface of pain and pleasure. At any moment anyone could pull off the road and see them, watch Than as he rammed into Justin, folded over him, gripping his shaft, pounding him in the rain. Their weight thrown forward onto Justin's hands, Than caressed his insides with his thrusts, Justin's shaft with his hand, and Justin's neck and back with his mouth. Responding to his moans and gasps, Than probed deeper within him, his shaft hot from Justin's body and slick with the rain that ran between Justin's cheeks and licked at their thighs. Justin's fingers clawed at the painted surface the heat welling up within him, flowing just under his skin, even as Than's grip seized his pleasure and made it his own. Than swept them to the edge of release and held them there working their bodies slowly, rhythmically, his cock swollen and hard and sliding within Justin's body, Justin's cock swollen and hard and sliding within Than's fingers. Cresting and falling on the edge of passion, Justin cried out as he came, and Than let the sound sweep him over the edge to his own release. Wracked with the intensity of his orgasm, Justin fell across the hood, Than's shivering body collapsed against him, their bodies licked by the tears falling from the sky. Than stepped away, his body shaking, his lingering touch sending chills down Justin's arms. The cool metal wicked 49

The Darkness by J Buchanan

away the fevered heat of their encounter, and Justin braced himself against the rising tide of fear of what was coming. He turned toward Than, struggling to pull up the soaked fabric of his pants. "I have to go back." Tying the drawstring of his pants, he considered Justin from under a wall of wet, blond-brown bangs. "It is your choice, you know?" Justin nodded, "I know." He pushed his own hair from his storm cloud eyes and started toward the forest margin dragging his palm across Than's stomach as he passed. "Wait." Than caught his hand. "You can't walk around here in those." He pointed to Justin's abused loafers as he reached back into the cargo area and pulled forth a pair of hiking boots. "These'll fit. Put them on." As Justin slid his feet into the boots, he realized that Than was climbing back into the Jeep. "I thought you said you were coming with me?" "We are with you, Justin." Than swiped a stray lock of wet hair from his eyes looking up toward the menacing sky as if searching the heavens for a sign. Jellyfish wires tangled in the sky behind a black wall of water, lighting Justin's face with strobes of electricity. "If you're going then it's time." The night along Justin's path was as dark and close as velvet, the clouds rising like volcanic plumes shot forth to cover the moon and hide the stars. Their ripped cotton candy shrouds boiled red and azure, hearts pulsing with a hellish glow as they spit forked tongues at the mountain and each other, the jagged white veins slipping across the sky. 50

The Darkness by J Buchanan

As he walked the forest trail, he came upon the altar and the corpses of the four beasts. The puddles of blood had soaked into the earth, the sole testament to the slaughter swallowed by the ground, and the rain had cleansed them and their skin shone white under the blue-black firmament. They looked as though they were merely resting for a time, like any moment they might wake, called forth by their master on the mountain top, and demand vengeance from the inscrutable sky. Justin shuddered. "You can't be afraid of them now," Brand's voice slashed through the wall of rain as he strode toward him, cutting through the downpour. Justin toed one of the things, pushing it onto its back with his foot. The bloodless body glowed in a lightning flash. "I'm not afraid of it, I'm afraid of dying." "You have nothing to fear from death." "What were they going to do to me?" "Consume you. Discharge the lot that had been drawn for you." Brand shrugged, "I stopped that from happening. But now I have to set it right. You weren't meant to be mine." Their bodies buffeted by the wind as it wailed around them, Justin's hair whipping with the power of the storm, his anger boomed as he drove Brand back against the boulder with the flat of his hand. "You don't have to do this." Brand's icy stare cut Justin. "I must do what I am doomed to do." "I will not let you hurt me." "As I told The Prophet, 'If evil is entailed by destiny then I am powerless to change it and transform it into good, and if 51

The Darkness by J Buchanan

good is so entailed I cannot change it and transform it into evil. So what do I control?'" Brand stepped into Justin's body, their eyes separated by a soul's breath. "I have no choice." "But I do." His fingers laced into Brand's, the frosted polish a will-o-the-wisp in the lightning's blue crackle. Justin's mouth sought out Brand's, parting his lips, his tongue slipping between them. He moved his hands to Brand's hips, tunneling under Brand's shirt, pushing it over his head, throwing it to the ground. Justin's fingers fumbled with the buttons of his own shirt, loosing them, one, two, three, four. Then Justin pulled Brand close and met him with another sizzling kiss, their bare chests brushing against each other. As Justin ran his hand down Brand's smooth, hard stomach and into his pants between his legs the dark haired man moaned, ice fire lighting up his veins. Justin bent his head and his tongue traced the contours of Brand's muscles. He took one nipple into his mouth, sucking gently, teasing with his tongue. Brand's back was to the Sarsen, his hips wedged against the building pressure that was Justin's body. The wind circled them, screaming, as the eye of the storm was caressed by infinite darkness above the tense crash of their skin. Justin's fingers raked the denim from Brand's legs, tearing down his hips, tracking the line of his body. Brand's struggles fed the fury of their building desire as he slid the clinging jeans from Justin's frame, the force of his caresses beating against the fury of Justin's pulse as the tsunami swept them over the edge. Grabbing the dark-haired man's thighs, Justin pulled Brand's legs over his hips. Justin lifted him, slamming the 52

The Darkness by J Buchanan

entrance to Brand's body with his crown, meeting Brand's lips with his own. As Justin drew him down on his erection, Brand's breath slipped between his teeth and he tightened his legs against Justin's body, thrusting against him. Their bodies shook and the fire from the sky blackened, scorching the underside of their skin with rime. The moon dripped blood behind the clouds, hiding beneath the lids of their eyes and the stars fell to the earth burning into their souls, and the heavens rolled back and every mountain and island was moved out of place for a moment that hung suspended before them. Their lust crackled between them, Brand riding Justin in a tempest of passion that swallowed them in an eye of desire aware of nothing else but each other building and building to a crescendo, their blood roaring. Justin trembled as he disappeared inside Brand, sheathed in his tightness. Brand's erection grazed his stomach, leaving a trail of wetness with each upheaval. The heavens trembled within them; the moon sank into shadow and the stars withdrew their shining as their twined bodies rocked and they fell to earth like leaves cast off the vine. The storm fell inward upon them and hid Justin and Brand within its embrace tearing them apart with the force of their release as they shrieked each other's names and the sound dissipated into the darkness. The storm, in its wake, left silence, the profound hush of the mountain not willing to breathe yet. The light of the moon, as it broke through the clouds, slid past them. There was no desire, no longing, all had been washed clean, swept from their twined bodies by the deluge. Justin ran his thumb 53

The Darkness by J Buchanan

over Brand's cheek, the raindrops running like tears from his caress. His touch was cool, refreshing and little whispered shocks of pleasure rolled through Brand's frame. Brand lifted his glacial eyes, searching and found the roiling leaden clouds moving behind Justin's gaze. "You understand that there are no more choices now, brother?" Justin could only respond with a laugh that screamed with the voice of the Santa Ana winds.

If you are connected to the Internet, take a moment to rate this eBook by going back to your bookshelf at www.fictionwise.com.

54