DwtD story
May. 12th, 2007 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrI owed Kitty...for something on which I'm currently blanking...and she wanted 'going through a normal day with Sable & Chris.' Of course, it morphed slightly on me, and I'm not sure the Sable bits quite fit, but she wanted to go through one of their days, and so that is what I did.
413: Will O' the Wisp
7:00 AM – Sable
Sable woke slowly, savoring it. Bit by bit he stirred, feeling first the warmth of his room, the soft sheets and blankets, the softer skin of the fine body tangled with his. When he finally opened his eyes, it was to drink in the sight of Christian still fast asleep, curled up against him.
One of the only times his consort was completely relaxed and unguarded, when he looked gentle and calm, nearly angelic.
Glenys had often said that nothing was more deceptive than her son fast asleep. Sable had agreed – well out of Christian's range of hearing.
Admiring the lines of his lover's body, the swirl of gold and black and silver energies, Sable slowly set to work waking his lover. Usually Christian was up first; those few days when Sable managed to wake up before him, he took full advantage.
Shifting, lying full on his back, he tugged Christian to lie on top of him, then slid his hands along the length of his body, from shoulders to ass. He teased at Christian's entrance, still stretched from last night, pressing lightly. A faint murmur came from the man in his arms, and Sable pressed a soft kiss to his jaw. Withdrawing briefly to slick his fingers, he then pressed one finger slowly in, free hand curling around one hip.
Christian jerked, rumbling sleepily, eyes blinking open slowly, lashes brushing faintly against Sable's skin before he levered himself up a bit. He hissed in surprise and startled arousal as the movement only drove Sable's finger deeper. He moaned low, and Sable drank it down, mouth sliding over Christian's in a slow, deep kiss. "S-Sable…"
"Good morning, beloved," Sable replied, one finger becoming two, his eyes never leaving Christian's face, those blue eyes unfocused, his lover tangled up in sleepiness and lust. Fingers slid over his shoulders, just barely touching him as they tangled in the sheets on either side of him, Christian riding his fingers now, panting slowly as he struggled to wake completely while lost to pleasure, his hardness pressed between them, leaking on their skin.
Christian's voice was low and husky as he spoke, lips just brushing Sable's ear. "Damn it, demon."
Sable chuckled, his free hand smoothing along Christian's skin, turning his head to take another kiss, lick and nibble at those fine lips. "Was that a request or an order, beautiful?" When Christian only swore in reply, he twisted his fingers sharply and then pulled them out.
"Sable!" Christian cried out sharply, struggling to glare and failing completely, muttering soft curses as he slowly leveraged himself up, bracing one hand on Sable's chest as he guided Sable's cock to his entrance, then slowly slid down it with a deep groan.
Rumbling in pleasure at the tight heat, Sable curled his hands tightly around Christian’s hips as his consort began to move, eyes still glazed with lust, slightly dazed with lingering sleepiness, breath coming in quick, needy pants as he rode Sable hard, sliding up and down.
Sable gave a long groan of his own and began to thrust up in time with Christian's movements, one hand digging into a slender hip, the other moving to stroke Christian's cock with firm, hard strokes, crying out when Christian came, spilling heat over his hand, clamping down around his cock, pulling his own climax from him.
Christian collapsed on top of him, muttering softly about troublesome demons. When he sat up some time later, his blue eyes were bright and alert. "Sable."
"Good morning again, beloved," Sable said, dragging him down for a kiss.
"You're always so smug when you wake up first," Chris groused.
Sable smirked, but wisely did not reply to that. "It's almost eight, Christian. You should probably get going, though if you want to stay…"
Christian pinched him and rolled away. "If you behave, you can get a shower with me."
"Define behave," Sable murmured, having no intention of doing any such thing.
10:00 AM – Chris
"Shut up," Chris said, seeing the look on Doug's face. "What's this 'sounds interesting' case you called about last night?" He stifled a yawn and took a seat in one of the chairs usually reserved for clients. His old desk had gone to Doug, Doug's to Zach, and a fourth added alongside Phil's for Myra.
Looking at his agency, his team of detectives, never failed to make him all but burst with pride. All he'd ever wanted and he had it.
Doug sniggered and flipped open his notebook. "It comes from a woman in that little town not far off from Ricky's stead. She called late last night about her son going missing."
"The really interesting part," Phil interjected. "Is that he's not the first disappearance in that area – just the first one to bother them."
Chris quirked a brow at that. He looked up as a mug of coffee appeared in front of him, and gave Myra a brief nod and smile. "Thanks."
"Sure, boss," Myra said, then moved back to her desk, propping her booted feet up on it, leaning back in her chair.
"Start from the beginning," Chris said.
Doug grinned. "I figured as you were running an hour and a half late, you'd want the short version."
"Shut up, imp, and tell me the case."
Snickering, Doug obeyed. "Apparently there is a path from this mountain town to the bottom of the mountain on the opposite side – just at the very edge of Sable's territory in that direction. It's primarily a place for semi-paranormals." Meaning superstitious normals who didn't know quite enough about things to be aware of abnormals and all. "So this path has always been considered haunted. The local legend is that it only appears at night. Apparently a will o' the wisp appears to guide whatever lost person is out and about – if the person is a good individual, the wisp guides them home. If he's bad, it leads them deeper into the forest and they're never seen again."
"This has been going on how long?" Chris asked, amazed he'd never heard the tale before. Then again, such things were often closely guarded. Even in the paranormal world, it was odd for people to go missing in such a fashion. Either the town was guarding a secret…or they had no idea why the wisp behaved as it did. If it really did dispose of 'bad' persons…many paranormals would see no problem with that. In a town of semi-paranormals, there would be a good number of genuine paranormals, though whether they were humans familiar with it all, or actual abnormals, he wouldn't know 'til he got there.
"For as long as anyone can remember. The disappearances don't happen often, this is the first one to vanish in at least a decade, our client said. People returned home happens much more often, as it's apparently quite easy for even those who have always lived there to get lost. The client said many believe the entire area is haunted, not just the strange path."
Chris nodded. "Very likely. What do we know about the wisp?"
"Nothing," Doug said. "I did some preliminary work yesterday and no one could tell me anything, except that it's been there forever. They seem to regard it as some sort of guardian."
"I guess they would," Chris said, finishing his coffee. "Let's go play on the mountain, then."
10:30 AM – Sable
Sable took his seat at the long table in the second-largest of his private dining rooms. People always felt so privileged and smug when they were invited to any of his private rooms. He wasn't sure why, exactly. He owned every room in the three buildings, and a good chunk of other properties in the city – both the normal and abnormal parts. They should be grateful they got to see any of it, not smug.
But they were amusing that way, really. The lower half of the city might know he was a demon lord and therefore controlled everything, but the upper half just thought him a business tycoon with a taste for flashy hotels – and an odd lover.
Thinking of Christian, and recent misbehavior in the shower, made him smile briefly. But as he settled into his seat, he resumed his somber expression. "Thank you for coming to brunch, gentlemen. I hope the Seraphim has met your every need."
"Yes, quite," one of the men murmured.
Sable kept back a smirk, keeping his expression cool.
One of the others spoke up, a trace of smug satisfaction in his voice. "I notice Leslie, Katy, and Melanie aren't here."
So quickly they came to the point. How disappointing. "That is because they are currently enjoying a two week vacation in the presidential suites of the Tantalus," Sable replied, finally picked up the juice his secretary had left for him. He seldom bothered to eat much, but was secretly fond of fruit punch. Christian had said more than once it was yet more evidence Sable was nothing but an overgrown kid.
Sable had decided to prove how very much he was not a child.
He calmly set his glass down, enjoying the mixed emotions flickering across the faces of his various employees – the heads of nine of his smaller businesses, drawing in money from national and international sources.
All of them normal. All of them very stupid.
"I see you're displeased with the arrangements made for the ladies," he said calmly.
"I would think so," another man snapped, face flushed with anger. "What is the meaning of this, Brennus?"
Brennus opened his leather portfolio and spread several sheaves of paper out. "The meaning of this? Only that my ladies are hard, honest workers who do my name and themselves proud. They are reaping the rewards of that hard work. You nine have all been trying to steal money from me, in one way or another."
Around the table, nine angry faces went stark pale.
They all jumped at the sudden sound of rumbling thunder, and turned as one to the open floor-to-ceiling windows to see the sky had become much darker in the past few minutes.
Sable left his papers on the table; they were all copies. "You have until the end of the day to get beyond city limits. The further you get, the safer you will be. If by sunrise you are still where I can find you…well, I shall leave that to your imagination. Suffice to say, you had better be gone."
He walked quietly from the room, laughing softly as he heard them all explode into a nasty argument. Let them fight it out.
Humans, by and large, were stupid. He was a good leader, a fair boss, an excellent businessman – having lived 500 years on earth gave him a serious advantage. If they had kept honest, those men would have retired early with obscenely generous bonuses.
Well, their loss. Sable decided he'd hire more women; they seemed much smarter and more reliable. Hell, without his secretary he would never manage half so well. He should give her another raise.
Chuckling, he made his way out of the Seraphim and back toward the Tantalus. Above him, the stormy skies had tapered off to light gray, a hint of sun peeking through. It was early spring, so the air was crisp, and at this hour most people were working, leaving the streets relatively uncrowded.
He wondered what time Christian would be back for lunch.
11:30 AM – Chris
"There's definitely magic involved," Chris said as he looked up and down the single main street of the small town. Minus a few modern touches, the village looked like something that grabbed up pitchforks and torches to go slay evil lords in dark castles on stormy nights.
Snorting at the idea of that, because Sable would likely just buy them all drinks and con them into the blackjacks tables, he attempted to focus on what was off about the place.
If there was a will o' the whisper guiding people to either safety or doom, then it was definitely the work of a powerful ghost.
Most ghosts were like his father – confined to the place they'd died, or a place of extreme importance. In his father's case, Daniel had been murdered and run away to the house because it was important to him. He'd bled to death there, and become a ghost.
A select handful of ghosts were confined to a more general area – like a section of mountain. This often happened with hunters, hermits, and other such types who tended to wander a territory. In such cases, a ghost could only travel a certain distance from where his body was buried.
Chris frowned, thinking, trying to feel the magic that was so blatantly soaked into the town. He couldn't quite get a hold on it, though. It kept slipping away right before he could grasp it, like trying to hold on to mist.
This was, by and far, the strangest ghost he'd ever encountered.
"What do you make of it, boss?"
"Even Sable isn't this sly," Chris replied, frown turning into a glare. "I can sense it…but only just, and my power isn't banked."
Doug nodded. "I can't sense it at all, except in brief flashes every once in a while. Whoever, whatever, this ghost is – he's powerful."
Chris shook his head. "Well, we'll shelve this part of the investigation for now. Let's see what we can learn about this missing kid."
"Hardly a kid," Doug said with a snort. "He was twenty-three, the only son of the client. Going to school in the city, came home on the weekends."
"What was he studying?" Chris asked.
Doug flipped through his notes. "Business, and apparently was bragging about some extremely promising job prospects."
Chris rolled his eyes. "So he's quite talented or a liar."
"Given he's aspiring to the business world," Doug said dryly, "He could easily have been both."
"True enough." Pulling his sunglasses from where he'd tucked them into the collar of his white t-shirt, Chris slid them on his face and then walked back toward his SUV. "Let's go investigate the school, see if we can get anyone there to talk."
"You are the detective Ms. Fairweather called?" The voice was calm and smooth, elegant, with the hint of an accent Chris couldn't place. He turned around – and caught himself staring.
Only certain, uniquely male traits gave the gender of the individual away. Otherwise, he was completely androgynous. Utterly beautiful. His features were delicate, fine and sharp, skin a pale, dusky color. His almond-shaped eyes looked black, and his hair was the true blue-black of a raven's wing, long and fine, falling to his hips. He wore a long-sleeved dark red shirt, the sleeves coming down so far they covered his hands, the end of the shirt clinging to his hips, accentuating just how slender he was. His pants were simple dark denim jeans, loose without being too big for his frame. Like the shirt, they were overlong, the ends all but hiding his feet, which sported nothing more than a simple pair of black flip-flops. Around his neck, on a simple gold chain, was a small white stone.
"I am," Chris said slowly. Nothing abnormal emanated from the strange young man…but magic worked so oddly here, and was so peculiarly hidden, that he didn't doubt the man could be a low level demon. "Did you know her son?"
The man nodded. "He was…her only son, and her husband died not long after the boy was born. He turned out much like such children do."
"Spoiled, you mean."
Nodding again, making the simple movement somehow incredibly graceful, beautifully elegant, the man continued to speak. "Very much, so. He was studying in the city; that environment only acerbated the problem. His mother…did not like to see her child's faults. She still will not see them. More than likely, the boy simply ran off to pursue his own goals."
Still Chris could not place his accent. He felt he should know it, but couldn’t recall ever hearing it. Something niggled at the back of his hand, but much like the town's magic, it slipped away before he could catch a firm hold. "I see. No one else in town has mentioned that…"
"They respect Ms. Fairweather, and will not speak ill of someone who has vanished."
"You will, though?"
"I believe in not wasting time," the man replied, calmly meeting Chris's eyes.
Chris blinked, feeling…odd. As though he'd seen something, but it had moved too quickly for him to catch what. That seemed to be happening a lot, lately. Scowling, he gave the man a nod. "Thank you. We will certainly look into that possibility."
The man nodded, then turned and walked away. Every movement was refined, elegant. Chris had never met anyone who actually could be described as having poise. Shaking his head, feeling a headache coming on, he yanked open the door of his SUV and climbed inside.
"So off to the school, boss?" Doug asked, climbing in beside him.
Chris shook his head. "Lunch first, then the school. If I have to deal with that many idiots, I get food first."
"And sex?" Doug asked, laughing and ducking out of range of Chris's fist.
1:00 PM – Sable
Sable waved farewell to his secretary as his private elevator chimed, smile widening as he immediately bundled close the man inside, kissing him soundly. "Christian."
"Let me go," Christian protested, squirming uselessly. "I want food."
"Yes, Christian," Sable agreed absently, fingers slipping under the old t-shirt Christian wore, stroking warm skin, pushing until his consort was pressed up against the back of the elevator.
He grunted at the quick, sharp bite given to his jaw. "Did you even hear what I said, Sable?"
"No," Sable answered, and used the moment of aggravated distraction to yank the t-shirt away altogether, immediately attacking the fine, smooth chest now properly displayed, biting one nipple then licking to soothe the sting, catching the fists that came at him and pinning Christian's arms to the wall. "Aggravating case today, beautiful?" he asked, then dipped his head to suck up a mark on Christian's neck – high enough the t-shirt wouldn't hide it.
"I'm not—Sable!—telling you—anything." Moaning low, Chris gave up all attempts at protest as his jeans were opened, underwear pushed aside, Sable's hand wrapping firmly around his cock, stroking it hard.
Hands sank into Sable's hair, Christian dragging him back in for another kiss, twisting and writhing in his arms, begging for more with whimpers and needy moans. "Sable."
"Yes, Christian," Sable said, smirking as his lover came, shuddering in his arms, shouting his name.
He kissed Christian long and slow, laughing when teeth nipped sharply at his lips, pulling away. "You never stay pleasantly dazed long enough, beautiful. Perhaps I'm not trying hard enough. He pulled away just enough to pull out a handkerchief and clean his hands, meticulously putting Christian back to rights.
Minus the t-shirt, which he held just out of reach, grinning.
"What did I tell you about jumping me in the elevator, Sable?" Christian hissed, eyes flashing in that way Sable had loved right from the first. He made a grab for his shirt, but succeeded only in getting groped. Swearing, he stepped away again.
Sable smirked. "That I'd better put carpet down before the next time." He looked pointedly down.
Chris rolled his eyes. "You're twisting my sarcasm to suit your own purposes, demon."
"Yes," Sable said. "It's very nice carpet."
Chris rolled his eyes and then leaned up to give Sable a quick, hard kiss, managing to snatch his t-shirt back as he pulled away. He tugged it back on and smoothed it down.
Sable waited.
Lips twitching in an effort not to smile, Chris stepped close again. "I guess it would be a pity not to make use of it, then," he said, fingers going to the fly of Sable's pants as he slowly sank to his knees.
8:00 PM – Chris
"People are insane," Chris groused. "And stupid."
"I tend to agree," Doug said, "but at least they gave us something useful."
Chris grunted.
Indeed they had.
It had taken them five hours and entirely too much walking, but they had eventually tracked down those persons who seemed to know what mattered when it came to Aaron Fairweather.
Buying drinks, walking miles, buying more drinks, enduring noisy cafeterias and smelly classrooms had, in the end, told them quite a bit about the missing young man.
He was a graduate student with excellent grades. Very good at charming faculty and staff, part of a prestigious fraternity, and a major asshole to everyone else. Information which didn't surprise Chris at all, especially when combined with the fact that Aaron wasn't lying about his promising job prospects.
"So he was going to work for someone who works for Sable."
Doug snorted. "Who doesn't work for someone who works for Sable?"
Chris rolled his eyes, not even attempting to try and argue the statement, especially as right this minute Sable was throwing a welcome party for the latest company to join his fold. He'd pointed out more than once that it was probably illegal for one man to more or less own every business in a city.
He'd given up when Sable pointed out that normals weren't overly fond of demons either, and that what they didn't know would keep everyone more or less happy. Arguing with Sable very rarely accomplished anything.
"What was the name of the guy who was apparently Aaron's big job?"
"Templeton," Doug answered. "Roger Templeton."
Chris grimaced. "Sable, do you know a Roger Templeton?"
Hmm…owns a resort company that's based here. He's recently joined the club. If you need to harass him, he's at the party. Not ten yards away. I thought you didn't want me helping with your cases, beloved.
"Shut up," Chris said. "Do you know his latest projects?"
He wants to put a luxury spa retreat type thing somewhere in the area. I know he's been eying the mountains for it, but not more than that.
Chris smiled. "Like possibly buying out a small village, so he doesn't have to spend so much money on making undeveloped land suitable?"
That would be the shrewd thing to do. Buy up all the property, or scare people away. Except in my territory, of course. I'm the only one allowed to bully people. Anything else, beautiful?
"Yeah. I warned you about leaving marks, you stupid demon." He touched the hickey Sable had left high on his neck. "It would serve you right if it got me a whole list of offers from all these young college students."
I can satisfy a hell of a lot better than those children. They'd better not have made offers.
Chris rolled his eyes. "No, Sable." Not offers so much as phone numbers that Chris had already tossed. "Stop leaving marks. Enjoy your party."
Not coming?
"I have to go tell a client her stupid son was in cahoots with a man who wanted to turn his hometown into a luxury spa retreat."
You get to have all the fun.
Rolling his eyes, Chris cut the connection.
Doug snickered. "Should we go harass Mr. Templeton, then?"
"No," Chris said, tapping his chin. "Resort company…" He steepled his fingers and stared out over the park where they'd stopped to eat their late dinner, not really seeing it. "We need to go back to the quaint little village and tell mommy why her boy vanished."
"These answers are always rather anticlimactic," Doug said with a sigh. "Though I guess we still have to figure out what's doing the vanishing."
Chris shrugged. "For our own gratification, maybe. She asked only that we determine what happened to her 'good boy' and why. We know what – he was taken by the ghost that considers itself a guardian. Now we know why."
8:30 PM – Sable
Finally breaking away from his conversation with Ms. Winnow, Sable crossed the crowded lobby to where Roger Templeton skulked by the bar.
He signaled the bartender, an imp long in his employ, then turned to his unwitting victim with a smile. "How are you finding the party, Mr. Templeton?"
"Your parties are always perfect, Mr. Brennus, and I think you know it." He smiled in what was no doubt a charming manner.
Sable returned it, gratified when Templeton's smile faltered a bit. He loved confusing normals. Abnormals, sadly, always knew when they were in Big Trouble.
Not that this man had necessarily done anything wrong, but a few minutes of work by his secretary had turned up more than enough evidence that it was likely he would do something wrong.
Honestly, he needed to hire people to keep a better eye on all his other people. He just couldn't manage it himself, clearly. Embezzlers, now bullies… Sable sighed to himself and focused on fixing at least one problem tonight. "I hear you're looking to build a resort nearby."
He smiled a thanks as the bartender set his drink down, and Sable sipped at the whiskey as he listened to Templeton ramble about his spa. Sable made a note to give the ideas to Leslie later and see what she could do to improve them – and make them affordable. Rich people were boring. He liked nonrich ones much better. Maybe he could build a fourth hotel with a spa-resort type theme.
Nodding, decided, Sable made a mental note to inform his secretary to schedule a meeting with all the relevant persons tomorrow. He turned his attention back to Templeton. "What location were you thinking of? The mountains around here offer unlimited opportunity, and there's also the river." Ah, maybe he could do something with the river, rather than an entire hotel.
Well, he'd form a committee to decide that. Committees were fun, especially when he Imposed Deadlines and got to watch them panic. He made an additional note to come up with suitable panic-inducing deadlines in the morning.
"Well, actually, I found the perfect location the other day," Templeton replied, eyes gleaming with a look Sable recognized – he'd seen it for far too long in the eyes of the human who'd bound him.
Greed made all creatures ugly. "Do you mean Inglington?" he asked, smiling coldly when Templeton jumped. "You had a partner in that enterprise, didn't you?" Sable flipped quickly through the information he'd coaxed out of Chris during lunch. "Aaron Fairweather, right? I think I heard this morning that he went missing. His mother has been frantic. Is he actually missing?"
Templeton blanched. "I have heard no such thing. Excuse me a moment, would you?"
"Of course," Sable murmured, and sipped his whiskey as he watched the weasel run.
And there was no one around who would tell Christian he'd been Interfering.
Now if only Christian would come home so he could abandon the party and do much more interesting things.
10:00 PM – Chris
"Well, that went well."
Doug grinned. "We haven't been called hacks and charlatans in a long time. It was rather nostalgic."
"Yes, I missed it so much," Chris said, making a face. "She needs to accept her son was an asshole. Man, the shit mothers ignore…except mine."
"Yeah, Glenys always makes it very clear when you're being an asshole."
Chris ignored him. "So let's go wandering in the forest. I want to see this will o' the wisp for myself."
Doug cheered. "I was hoping you'd say that. I've never seen one; the only ghosts I know are those like your dad."
Muttering a few choice comments on how he doubted any ghost could resemble his father, Chris rubbed his sore cheek and wandered away from Ms. Fairweather's house and into the forest, moving randomly in, summoning up enough power that he could see in the dark.
Behind him, Doug moved soundlessly. He was still in human form, but his eyes glowed in a way no human's ever could.
"Are we lost sufficiently yet, you think?" Chris asked after an hour or so had passed.
Doug snorted and didn’t bother with further reply.
Snickering, Chris stopped and leaned up against a tree, folding his arms across his chest. "Maybe it'll come anyway, if only to get rid of us."
"I hope it doesn't slap us," Doug replied, rubbing his own cheek ruefully. "For a normal, she's got a wicked swing."
Chris grimaced. "Just don't mention it in front of Sable."
"It's already gone into the blackmail folder," Doug said cheerfully.
"Shut up, I—look there." Chris stood up straight and pointed.
A few yards off stood a ball of silvery light, moving and bobbing, unaffected by the wind it moved against as it slowly made its way down a path that had not been there a moment ago. It was wide, just enough for two people to walk side by side, not so much as a tree stump in the way.
"Let's go," Chris said softly.
Doug nodded and the two quickly chased after the flickering ball of light.
Chris felt a tingle move up his spine, something niggling at the back of his mind…something about that ball of silver light…and that strange, muted magic was growing stronger.
It grew strong enough to give him a headache as they were finally led to a moonlit glade. Rubbing his forehead, Chris stared in frustration at the flickering ball of silver light. He summoned up all of Sable's power, softly whispering his demon's name.
Realization hit so hard it left him reeling. "No!" He exclaimed. "It's not a will o' the wisp!"
Doug never took his eyes off the flickering silver light.
"Not light," Chris said softly. "Fire." Closing his eyes, he reached out and finally latched onto the powerful magic that had woven a spell over the glade, over the town, over any who entered. It was so carefully crafted, so beautifully made…
With a strained shout, Chris tore down the illusion.
Abruptly the empty glade faded away, to reveal one filled with a small waterfall spilling into a tiny pond…and a beautiful, strange looking house beside it, made entirely of wood, with strange doors and windows covered in paper.
He'd seen such houses only in books…and particularly in a book of supernatural creatures…
Out of the house came the beautiful, androgynous young man from before. The white stone around his neck glowed with silver light. "Show yourself," Chris said. "I do not want to force you."
The young man smiled. "Since I have come here, honored consort of the demon Cadfael, you are the only to discern my true nature. The only one to discover me at all. How did you come upon it?"
"Will o' the wisp look like lanterns," Chris replied. "Once I was able to remember that, it all fell into place. The only thing with such a silver light, and a resemblance to wisps, is…"
"Fox fire," the young man said softly. Silver light shimmered around him, flaring bright and dissolving slowly in a shower of what seemed like starlight. When the light finally faded away, the young man looked somehow more beautiful than ever.
His skin was white, as was his hair, which now reached his knees. On the top of his head were two delicate-looking, silver-furred pointed ears. He wore elegant robes, white embroidered with silver and gold. A kimono, Chris supposed.
And spilling out behind him, just brushing the ground, were nine long white tails.
"A kitsune," Doug breathed. "I don't believe it. I never would have guessed. How in the world did you come to be here?"
The kitsune smiled sadly and looked away, seeing something that no one else could. "I came here with my honored lord about three hundred years ago. His enemies chased him to this land, and eventually killed him. However, before he fell, he grew close to those who eventually founded this village. In keeping with his vow to them, I have ever protected the village and its people."
"You got rid of Aaron because he wanted to turn it into a resort."
"Yes," the kitsune said softly, "though he is not dead. I merely bewitched him, and tricked him into going far away. He will be happy, and never return here. I am harsh, not cruel."
Chris held his hands up in defeat. "I was told to figure out why he vanished. I did. Your business is your own, until such time as you cross Sable. How did you know his real name?"
"I have been here longer than he; I am good at learning things." He pushed back a loose strand of hair, and somehow even that simple movement seemed beautiful when he did it. His fingers were tipped with short, sharp-looking claws.
"You led us here. Why?"
"I wanted to see if you would figure it out, honored consort."
Chris barely repressed avoiding his eyes at the honorific. "What's your name?"
The kitsune smiled. "The townspeople all know me as Takashi. You may call me Yume, the name my honored lord bestowed upon me."
"One more question, if you do not mind."
"You may ask," Yume said.
"How does a kitsune come to have a lord? To the best of my knowledge, they are fiercely independent creatures."
Yume smiled gently and clasped his hands together in front of him, the voluminous sleeves of his kimono falling over them. "How does a half-ghost child come to swear himself forever to a demon lord?"
"Then I am sorry you lost him," Chris said, bowing his head.
"Thank you," Yume said softly, the sad look flickering over his face for a moment. Somehow it did nothing to lessen his beauty. In the next breath, though, he was smiling gently again. "The hour is late, now, but I would be honored if sometime you would come for tea. Both of you, and his lordship would be a most honored guest."
Chris snorted. "You won't think so after the first five minutes. We thank you for the invitation, and gladly accept. If you pick a suitable time, you've only to let me know it."
Yume nodded. "Then I bid you good night." He turned and vanished back into his home, the door sliding closed with a soft clack.
Chris shook his head in amazement and turned away. "A kitsune. Here. Of all places. Let's go home, imp."
"Yes, honored consort," Doug said, laughing hard as they both vanished.
11:45 PM – Sable
"Fascinating," Sable said, absorbing all Christian was telling him but far more interested in the way those lounge pants were barely clinging to his hips, the way his skin was still flushed from the shower, damp hair clinging.
He looked up in time to see Christian rolling his eyes. "A kitsune has lived here this entire time. If he's a ninetail, he's nearly five hundred years old. If he arrived here three hundred years ago, he was already pretty powerful. Such a powerful creature giving up his home to move to a strange land…Fascinating." He dropped his gaze back to the loose pants.
"You are hopeless," Christian groused. "I'm exhausted, I'm going to bed. Keep your hands to yourself until tomorrow, demon." He drew close enough to give Sable a quick kiss, then pulled away and climbed up into their bed, pulling the blankets over his head, calling out a muffled good night.
Sable glanced at the clock and grinned, then went to find something else to do for fifteen minutes. Maybe he'd start that list of deadlines.
Author's Note: I have already been Informed that the Pretty Foxy is to be given a new Love. It shall be done. *long suffering sigh of the thoroughly pwned*
413: Will O' the Wisp
7:00 AM – Sable
Sable woke slowly, savoring it. Bit by bit he stirred, feeling first the warmth of his room, the soft sheets and blankets, the softer skin of the fine body tangled with his. When he finally opened his eyes, it was to drink in the sight of Christian still fast asleep, curled up against him.
One of the only times his consort was completely relaxed and unguarded, when he looked gentle and calm, nearly angelic.
Glenys had often said that nothing was more deceptive than her son fast asleep. Sable had agreed – well out of Christian's range of hearing.
Admiring the lines of his lover's body, the swirl of gold and black and silver energies, Sable slowly set to work waking his lover. Usually Christian was up first; those few days when Sable managed to wake up before him, he took full advantage.
Shifting, lying full on his back, he tugged Christian to lie on top of him, then slid his hands along the length of his body, from shoulders to ass. He teased at Christian's entrance, still stretched from last night, pressing lightly. A faint murmur came from the man in his arms, and Sable pressed a soft kiss to his jaw. Withdrawing briefly to slick his fingers, he then pressed one finger slowly in, free hand curling around one hip.
Christian jerked, rumbling sleepily, eyes blinking open slowly, lashes brushing faintly against Sable's skin before he levered himself up a bit. He hissed in surprise and startled arousal as the movement only drove Sable's finger deeper. He moaned low, and Sable drank it down, mouth sliding over Christian's in a slow, deep kiss. "S-Sable…"
"Good morning, beloved," Sable replied, one finger becoming two, his eyes never leaving Christian's face, those blue eyes unfocused, his lover tangled up in sleepiness and lust. Fingers slid over his shoulders, just barely touching him as they tangled in the sheets on either side of him, Christian riding his fingers now, panting slowly as he struggled to wake completely while lost to pleasure, his hardness pressed between them, leaking on their skin.
Christian's voice was low and husky as he spoke, lips just brushing Sable's ear. "Damn it, demon."
Sable chuckled, his free hand smoothing along Christian's skin, turning his head to take another kiss, lick and nibble at those fine lips. "Was that a request or an order, beautiful?" When Christian only swore in reply, he twisted his fingers sharply and then pulled them out.
"Sable!" Christian cried out sharply, struggling to glare and failing completely, muttering soft curses as he slowly leveraged himself up, bracing one hand on Sable's chest as he guided Sable's cock to his entrance, then slowly slid down it with a deep groan.
Rumbling in pleasure at the tight heat, Sable curled his hands tightly around Christian’s hips as his consort began to move, eyes still glazed with lust, slightly dazed with lingering sleepiness, breath coming in quick, needy pants as he rode Sable hard, sliding up and down.
Sable gave a long groan of his own and began to thrust up in time with Christian's movements, one hand digging into a slender hip, the other moving to stroke Christian's cock with firm, hard strokes, crying out when Christian came, spilling heat over his hand, clamping down around his cock, pulling his own climax from him.
Christian collapsed on top of him, muttering softly about troublesome demons. When he sat up some time later, his blue eyes were bright and alert. "Sable."
"Good morning again, beloved," Sable said, dragging him down for a kiss.
"You're always so smug when you wake up first," Chris groused.
Sable smirked, but wisely did not reply to that. "It's almost eight, Christian. You should probably get going, though if you want to stay…"
Christian pinched him and rolled away. "If you behave, you can get a shower with me."
"Define behave," Sable murmured, having no intention of doing any such thing.
10:00 AM – Chris
"Shut up," Chris said, seeing the look on Doug's face. "What's this 'sounds interesting' case you called about last night?" He stifled a yawn and took a seat in one of the chairs usually reserved for clients. His old desk had gone to Doug, Doug's to Zach, and a fourth added alongside Phil's for Myra.
Looking at his agency, his team of detectives, never failed to make him all but burst with pride. All he'd ever wanted and he had it.
Doug sniggered and flipped open his notebook. "It comes from a woman in that little town not far off from Ricky's stead. She called late last night about her son going missing."
"The really interesting part," Phil interjected. "Is that he's not the first disappearance in that area – just the first one to bother them."
Chris quirked a brow at that. He looked up as a mug of coffee appeared in front of him, and gave Myra a brief nod and smile. "Thanks."
"Sure, boss," Myra said, then moved back to her desk, propping her booted feet up on it, leaning back in her chair.
"Start from the beginning," Chris said.
Doug grinned. "I figured as you were running an hour and a half late, you'd want the short version."
"Shut up, imp, and tell me the case."
Snickering, Doug obeyed. "Apparently there is a path from this mountain town to the bottom of the mountain on the opposite side – just at the very edge of Sable's territory in that direction. It's primarily a place for semi-paranormals." Meaning superstitious normals who didn't know quite enough about things to be aware of abnormals and all. "So this path has always been considered haunted. The local legend is that it only appears at night. Apparently a will o' the wisp appears to guide whatever lost person is out and about – if the person is a good individual, the wisp guides them home. If he's bad, it leads them deeper into the forest and they're never seen again."
"This has been going on how long?" Chris asked, amazed he'd never heard the tale before. Then again, such things were often closely guarded. Even in the paranormal world, it was odd for people to go missing in such a fashion. Either the town was guarding a secret…or they had no idea why the wisp behaved as it did. If it really did dispose of 'bad' persons…many paranormals would see no problem with that. In a town of semi-paranormals, there would be a good number of genuine paranormals, though whether they were humans familiar with it all, or actual abnormals, he wouldn't know 'til he got there.
"For as long as anyone can remember. The disappearances don't happen often, this is the first one to vanish in at least a decade, our client said. People returned home happens much more often, as it's apparently quite easy for even those who have always lived there to get lost. The client said many believe the entire area is haunted, not just the strange path."
Chris nodded. "Very likely. What do we know about the wisp?"
"Nothing," Doug said. "I did some preliminary work yesterday and no one could tell me anything, except that it's been there forever. They seem to regard it as some sort of guardian."
"I guess they would," Chris said, finishing his coffee. "Let's go play on the mountain, then."
10:30 AM – Sable
Sable took his seat at the long table in the second-largest of his private dining rooms. People always felt so privileged and smug when they were invited to any of his private rooms. He wasn't sure why, exactly. He owned every room in the three buildings, and a good chunk of other properties in the city – both the normal and abnormal parts. They should be grateful they got to see any of it, not smug.
But they were amusing that way, really. The lower half of the city might know he was a demon lord and therefore controlled everything, but the upper half just thought him a business tycoon with a taste for flashy hotels – and an odd lover.
Thinking of Christian, and recent misbehavior in the shower, made him smile briefly. But as he settled into his seat, he resumed his somber expression. "Thank you for coming to brunch, gentlemen. I hope the Seraphim has met your every need."
"Yes, quite," one of the men murmured.
Sable kept back a smirk, keeping his expression cool.
One of the others spoke up, a trace of smug satisfaction in his voice. "I notice Leslie, Katy, and Melanie aren't here."
So quickly they came to the point. How disappointing. "That is because they are currently enjoying a two week vacation in the presidential suites of the Tantalus," Sable replied, finally picked up the juice his secretary had left for him. He seldom bothered to eat much, but was secretly fond of fruit punch. Christian had said more than once it was yet more evidence Sable was nothing but an overgrown kid.
Sable had decided to prove how very much he was not a child.
He calmly set his glass down, enjoying the mixed emotions flickering across the faces of his various employees – the heads of nine of his smaller businesses, drawing in money from national and international sources.
All of them normal. All of them very stupid.
"I see you're displeased with the arrangements made for the ladies," he said calmly.
"I would think so," another man snapped, face flushed with anger. "What is the meaning of this, Brennus?"
Brennus opened his leather portfolio and spread several sheaves of paper out. "The meaning of this? Only that my ladies are hard, honest workers who do my name and themselves proud. They are reaping the rewards of that hard work. You nine have all been trying to steal money from me, in one way or another."
Around the table, nine angry faces went stark pale.
They all jumped at the sudden sound of rumbling thunder, and turned as one to the open floor-to-ceiling windows to see the sky had become much darker in the past few minutes.
Sable left his papers on the table; they were all copies. "You have until the end of the day to get beyond city limits. The further you get, the safer you will be. If by sunrise you are still where I can find you…well, I shall leave that to your imagination. Suffice to say, you had better be gone."
He walked quietly from the room, laughing softly as he heard them all explode into a nasty argument. Let them fight it out.
Humans, by and large, were stupid. He was a good leader, a fair boss, an excellent businessman – having lived 500 years on earth gave him a serious advantage. If they had kept honest, those men would have retired early with obscenely generous bonuses.
Well, their loss. Sable decided he'd hire more women; they seemed much smarter and more reliable. Hell, without his secretary he would never manage half so well. He should give her another raise.
Chuckling, he made his way out of the Seraphim and back toward the Tantalus. Above him, the stormy skies had tapered off to light gray, a hint of sun peeking through. It was early spring, so the air was crisp, and at this hour most people were working, leaving the streets relatively uncrowded.
He wondered what time Christian would be back for lunch.
11:30 AM – Chris
"There's definitely magic involved," Chris said as he looked up and down the single main street of the small town. Minus a few modern touches, the village looked like something that grabbed up pitchforks and torches to go slay evil lords in dark castles on stormy nights.
Snorting at the idea of that, because Sable would likely just buy them all drinks and con them into the blackjacks tables, he attempted to focus on what was off about the place.
If there was a will o' the whisper guiding people to either safety or doom, then it was definitely the work of a powerful ghost.
Most ghosts were like his father – confined to the place they'd died, or a place of extreme importance. In his father's case, Daniel had been murdered and run away to the house because it was important to him. He'd bled to death there, and become a ghost.
A select handful of ghosts were confined to a more general area – like a section of mountain. This often happened with hunters, hermits, and other such types who tended to wander a territory. In such cases, a ghost could only travel a certain distance from where his body was buried.
Chris frowned, thinking, trying to feel the magic that was so blatantly soaked into the town. He couldn't quite get a hold on it, though. It kept slipping away right before he could grasp it, like trying to hold on to mist.
This was, by and far, the strangest ghost he'd ever encountered.
"What do you make of it, boss?"
"Even Sable isn't this sly," Chris replied, frown turning into a glare. "I can sense it…but only just, and my power isn't banked."
Doug nodded. "I can't sense it at all, except in brief flashes every once in a while. Whoever, whatever, this ghost is – he's powerful."
Chris shook his head. "Well, we'll shelve this part of the investigation for now. Let's see what we can learn about this missing kid."
"Hardly a kid," Doug said with a snort. "He was twenty-three, the only son of the client. Going to school in the city, came home on the weekends."
"What was he studying?" Chris asked.
Doug flipped through his notes. "Business, and apparently was bragging about some extremely promising job prospects."
Chris rolled his eyes. "So he's quite talented or a liar."
"Given he's aspiring to the business world," Doug said dryly, "He could easily have been both."
"True enough." Pulling his sunglasses from where he'd tucked them into the collar of his white t-shirt, Chris slid them on his face and then walked back toward his SUV. "Let's go investigate the school, see if we can get anyone there to talk."
"You are the detective Ms. Fairweather called?" The voice was calm and smooth, elegant, with the hint of an accent Chris couldn't place. He turned around – and caught himself staring.
Only certain, uniquely male traits gave the gender of the individual away. Otherwise, he was completely androgynous. Utterly beautiful. His features were delicate, fine and sharp, skin a pale, dusky color. His almond-shaped eyes looked black, and his hair was the true blue-black of a raven's wing, long and fine, falling to his hips. He wore a long-sleeved dark red shirt, the sleeves coming down so far they covered his hands, the end of the shirt clinging to his hips, accentuating just how slender he was. His pants were simple dark denim jeans, loose without being too big for his frame. Like the shirt, they were overlong, the ends all but hiding his feet, which sported nothing more than a simple pair of black flip-flops. Around his neck, on a simple gold chain, was a small white stone.
"I am," Chris said slowly. Nothing abnormal emanated from the strange young man…but magic worked so oddly here, and was so peculiarly hidden, that he didn't doubt the man could be a low level demon. "Did you know her son?"
The man nodded. "He was…her only son, and her husband died not long after the boy was born. He turned out much like such children do."
"Spoiled, you mean."
Nodding again, making the simple movement somehow incredibly graceful, beautifully elegant, the man continued to speak. "Very much, so. He was studying in the city; that environment only acerbated the problem. His mother…did not like to see her child's faults. She still will not see them. More than likely, the boy simply ran off to pursue his own goals."
Still Chris could not place his accent. He felt he should know it, but couldn’t recall ever hearing it. Something niggled at the back of his hand, but much like the town's magic, it slipped away before he could catch a firm hold. "I see. No one else in town has mentioned that…"
"They respect Ms. Fairweather, and will not speak ill of someone who has vanished."
"You will, though?"
"I believe in not wasting time," the man replied, calmly meeting Chris's eyes.
Chris blinked, feeling…odd. As though he'd seen something, but it had moved too quickly for him to catch what. That seemed to be happening a lot, lately. Scowling, he gave the man a nod. "Thank you. We will certainly look into that possibility."
The man nodded, then turned and walked away. Every movement was refined, elegant. Chris had never met anyone who actually could be described as having poise. Shaking his head, feeling a headache coming on, he yanked open the door of his SUV and climbed inside.
"So off to the school, boss?" Doug asked, climbing in beside him.
Chris shook his head. "Lunch first, then the school. If I have to deal with that many idiots, I get food first."
"And sex?" Doug asked, laughing and ducking out of range of Chris's fist.
1:00 PM – Sable
Sable waved farewell to his secretary as his private elevator chimed, smile widening as he immediately bundled close the man inside, kissing him soundly. "Christian."
"Let me go," Christian protested, squirming uselessly. "I want food."
"Yes, Christian," Sable agreed absently, fingers slipping under the old t-shirt Christian wore, stroking warm skin, pushing until his consort was pressed up against the back of the elevator.
He grunted at the quick, sharp bite given to his jaw. "Did you even hear what I said, Sable?"
"No," Sable answered, and used the moment of aggravated distraction to yank the t-shirt away altogether, immediately attacking the fine, smooth chest now properly displayed, biting one nipple then licking to soothe the sting, catching the fists that came at him and pinning Christian's arms to the wall. "Aggravating case today, beautiful?" he asked, then dipped his head to suck up a mark on Christian's neck – high enough the t-shirt wouldn't hide it.
"I'm not—Sable!—telling you—anything." Moaning low, Chris gave up all attempts at protest as his jeans were opened, underwear pushed aside, Sable's hand wrapping firmly around his cock, stroking it hard.
Hands sank into Sable's hair, Christian dragging him back in for another kiss, twisting and writhing in his arms, begging for more with whimpers and needy moans. "Sable."
"Yes, Christian," Sable said, smirking as his lover came, shuddering in his arms, shouting his name.
He kissed Christian long and slow, laughing when teeth nipped sharply at his lips, pulling away. "You never stay pleasantly dazed long enough, beautiful. Perhaps I'm not trying hard enough. He pulled away just enough to pull out a handkerchief and clean his hands, meticulously putting Christian back to rights.
Minus the t-shirt, which he held just out of reach, grinning.
"What did I tell you about jumping me in the elevator, Sable?" Christian hissed, eyes flashing in that way Sable had loved right from the first. He made a grab for his shirt, but succeeded only in getting groped. Swearing, he stepped away again.
Sable smirked. "That I'd better put carpet down before the next time." He looked pointedly down.
Chris rolled his eyes. "You're twisting my sarcasm to suit your own purposes, demon."
"Yes," Sable said. "It's very nice carpet."
Chris rolled his eyes and then leaned up to give Sable a quick, hard kiss, managing to snatch his t-shirt back as he pulled away. He tugged it back on and smoothed it down.
Sable waited.
Lips twitching in an effort not to smile, Chris stepped close again. "I guess it would be a pity not to make use of it, then," he said, fingers going to the fly of Sable's pants as he slowly sank to his knees.
8:00 PM – Chris
"People are insane," Chris groused. "And stupid."
"I tend to agree," Doug said, "but at least they gave us something useful."
Chris grunted.
Indeed they had.
It had taken them five hours and entirely too much walking, but they had eventually tracked down those persons who seemed to know what mattered when it came to Aaron Fairweather.
Buying drinks, walking miles, buying more drinks, enduring noisy cafeterias and smelly classrooms had, in the end, told them quite a bit about the missing young man.
He was a graduate student with excellent grades. Very good at charming faculty and staff, part of a prestigious fraternity, and a major asshole to everyone else. Information which didn't surprise Chris at all, especially when combined with the fact that Aaron wasn't lying about his promising job prospects.
"So he was going to work for someone who works for Sable."
Doug snorted. "Who doesn't work for someone who works for Sable?"
Chris rolled his eyes, not even attempting to try and argue the statement, especially as right this minute Sable was throwing a welcome party for the latest company to join his fold. He'd pointed out more than once that it was probably illegal for one man to more or less own every business in a city.
He'd given up when Sable pointed out that normals weren't overly fond of demons either, and that what they didn't know would keep everyone more or less happy. Arguing with Sable very rarely accomplished anything.
"What was the name of the guy who was apparently Aaron's big job?"
"Templeton," Doug answered. "Roger Templeton."
Chris grimaced. "Sable, do you know a Roger Templeton?"
Hmm…owns a resort company that's based here. He's recently joined the club. If you need to harass him, he's at the party. Not ten yards away. I thought you didn't want me helping with your cases, beloved.
"Shut up," Chris said. "Do you know his latest projects?"
He wants to put a luxury spa retreat type thing somewhere in the area. I know he's been eying the mountains for it, but not more than that.
Chris smiled. "Like possibly buying out a small village, so he doesn't have to spend so much money on making undeveloped land suitable?"
That would be the shrewd thing to do. Buy up all the property, or scare people away. Except in my territory, of course. I'm the only one allowed to bully people. Anything else, beautiful?
"Yeah. I warned you about leaving marks, you stupid demon." He touched the hickey Sable had left high on his neck. "It would serve you right if it got me a whole list of offers from all these young college students."
I can satisfy a hell of a lot better than those children. They'd better not have made offers.
Chris rolled his eyes. "No, Sable." Not offers so much as phone numbers that Chris had already tossed. "Stop leaving marks. Enjoy your party."
Not coming?
"I have to go tell a client her stupid son was in cahoots with a man who wanted to turn his hometown into a luxury spa retreat."
You get to have all the fun.
Rolling his eyes, Chris cut the connection.
Doug snickered. "Should we go harass Mr. Templeton, then?"
"No," Chris said, tapping his chin. "Resort company…" He steepled his fingers and stared out over the park where they'd stopped to eat their late dinner, not really seeing it. "We need to go back to the quaint little village and tell mommy why her boy vanished."
"These answers are always rather anticlimactic," Doug said with a sigh. "Though I guess we still have to figure out what's doing the vanishing."
Chris shrugged. "For our own gratification, maybe. She asked only that we determine what happened to her 'good boy' and why. We know what – he was taken by the ghost that considers itself a guardian. Now we know why."
8:30 PM – Sable
Finally breaking away from his conversation with Ms. Winnow, Sable crossed the crowded lobby to where Roger Templeton skulked by the bar.
He signaled the bartender, an imp long in his employ, then turned to his unwitting victim with a smile. "How are you finding the party, Mr. Templeton?"
"Your parties are always perfect, Mr. Brennus, and I think you know it." He smiled in what was no doubt a charming manner.
Sable returned it, gratified when Templeton's smile faltered a bit. He loved confusing normals. Abnormals, sadly, always knew when they were in Big Trouble.
Not that this man had necessarily done anything wrong, but a few minutes of work by his secretary had turned up more than enough evidence that it was likely he would do something wrong.
Honestly, he needed to hire people to keep a better eye on all his other people. He just couldn't manage it himself, clearly. Embezzlers, now bullies… Sable sighed to himself and focused on fixing at least one problem tonight. "I hear you're looking to build a resort nearby."
He smiled a thanks as the bartender set his drink down, and Sable sipped at the whiskey as he listened to Templeton ramble about his spa. Sable made a note to give the ideas to Leslie later and see what she could do to improve them – and make them affordable. Rich people were boring. He liked nonrich ones much better. Maybe he could build a fourth hotel with a spa-resort type theme.
Nodding, decided, Sable made a mental note to inform his secretary to schedule a meeting with all the relevant persons tomorrow. He turned his attention back to Templeton. "What location were you thinking of? The mountains around here offer unlimited opportunity, and there's also the river." Ah, maybe he could do something with the river, rather than an entire hotel.
Well, he'd form a committee to decide that. Committees were fun, especially when he Imposed Deadlines and got to watch them panic. He made an additional note to come up with suitable panic-inducing deadlines in the morning.
"Well, actually, I found the perfect location the other day," Templeton replied, eyes gleaming with a look Sable recognized – he'd seen it for far too long in the eyes of the human who'd bound him.
Greed made all creatures ugly. "Do you mean Inglington?" he asked, smiling coldly when Templeton jumped. "You had a partner in that enterprise, didn't you?" Sable flipped quickly through the information he'd coaxed out of Chris during lunch. "Aaron Fairweather, right? I think I heard this morning that he went missing. His mother has been frantic. Is he actually missing?"
Templeton blanched. "I have heard no such thing. Excuse me a moment, would you?"
"Of course," Sable murmured, and sipped his whiskey as he watched the weasel run.
And there was no one around who would tell Christian he'd been Interfering.
Now if only Christian would come home so he could abandon the party and do much more interesting things.
10:00 PM – Chris
"Well, that went well."
Doug grinned. "We haven't been called hacks and charlatans in a long time. It was rather nostalgic."
"Yes, I missed it so much," Chris said, making a face. "She needs to accept her son was an asshole. Man, the shit mothers ignore…except mine."
"Yeah, Glenys always makes it very clear when you're being an asshole."
Chris ignored him. "So let's go wandering in the forest. I want to see this will o' the wisp for myself."
Doug cheered. "I was hoping you'd say that. I've never seen one; the only ghosts I know are those like your dad."
Muttering a few choice comments on how he doubted any ghost could resemble his father, Chris rubbed his sore cheek and wandered away from Ms. Fairweather's house and into the forest, moving randomly in, summoning up enough power that he could see in the dark.
Behind him, Doug moved soundlessly. He was still in human form, but his eyes glowed in a way no human's ever could.
"Are we lost sufficiently yet, you think?" Chris asked after an hour or so had passed.
Doug snorted and didn’t bother with further reply.
Snickering, Chris stopped and leaned up against a tree, folding his arms across his chest. "Maybe it'll come anyway, if only to get rid of us."
"I hope it doesn't slap us," Doug replied, rubbing his own cheek ruefully. "For a normal, she's got a wicked swing."
Chris grimaced. "Just don't mention it in front of Sable."
"It's already gone into the blackmail folder," Doug said cheerfully.
"Shut up, I—look there." Chris stood up straight and pointed.
A few yards off stood a ball of silvery light, moving and bobbing, unaffected by the wind it moved against as it slowly made its way down a path that had not been there a moment ago. It was wide, just enough for two people to walk side by side, not so much as a tree stump in the way.
"Let's go," Chris said softly.
Doug nodded and the two quickly chased after the flickering ball of light.
Chris felt a tingle move up his spine, something niggling at the back of his mind…something about that ball of silver light…and that strange, muted magic was growing stronger.
It grew strong enough to give him a headache as they were finally led to a moonlit glade. Rubbing his forehead, Chris stared in frustration at the flickering ball of silver light. He summoned up all of Sable's power, softly whispering his demon's name.
Realization hit so hard it left him reeling. "No!" He exclaimed. "It's not a will o' the wisp!"
Doug never took his eyes off the flickering silver light.
"Not light," Chris said softly. "Fire." Closing his eyes, he reached out and finally latched onto the powerful magic that had woven a spell over the glade, over the town, over any who entered. It was so carefully crafted, so beautifully made…
With a strained shout, Chris tore down the illusion.
Abruptly the empty glade faded away, to reveal one filled with a small waterfall spilling into a tiny pond…and a beautiful, strange looking house beside it, made entirely of wood, with strange doors and windows covered in paper.
He'd seen such houses only in books…and particularly in a book of supernatural creatures…
Out of the house came the beautiful, androgynous young man from before. The white stone around his neck glowed with silver light. "Show yourself," Chris said. "I do not want to force you."
The young man smiled. "Since I have come here, honored consort of the demon Cadfael, you are the only to discern my true nature. The only one to discover me at all. How did you come upon it?"
"Will o' the wisp look like lanterns," Chris replied. "Once I was able to remember that, it all fell into place. The only thing with such a silver light, and a resemblance to wisps, is…"
"Fox fire," the young man said softly. Silver light shimmered around him, flaring bright and dissolving slowly in a shower of what seemed like starlight. When the light finally faded away, the young man looked somehow more beautiful than ever.
His skin was white, as was his hair, which now reached his knees. On the top of his head were two delicate-looking, silver-furred pointed ears. He wore elegant robes, white embroidered with silver and gold. A kimono, Chris supposed.
And spilling out behind him, just brushing the ground, were nine long white tails.
"A kitsune," Doug breathed. "I don't believe it. I never would have guessed. How in the world did you come to be here?"
The kitsune smiled sadly and looked away, seeing something that no one else could. "I came here with my honored lord about three hundred years ago. His enemies chased him to this land, and eventually killed him. However, before he fell, he grew close to those who eventually founded this village. In keeping with his vow to them, I have ever protected the village and its people."
"You got rid of Aaron because he wanted to turn it into a resort."
"Yes," the kitsune said softly, "though he is not dead. I merely bewitched him, and tricked him into going far away. He will be happy, and never return here. I am harsh, not cruel."
Chris held his hands up in defeat. "I was told to figure out why he vanished. I did. Your business is your own, until such time as you cross Sable. How did you know his real name?"
"I have been here longer than he; I am good at learning things." He pushed back a loose strand of hair, and somehow even that simple movement seemed beautiful when he did it. His fingers were tipped with short, sharp-looking claws.
"You led us here. Why?"
"I wanted to see if you would figure it out, honored consort."
Chris barely repressed avoiding his eyes at the honorific. "What's your name?"
The kitsune smiled. "The townspeople all know me as Takashi. You may call me Yume, the name my honored lord bestowed upon me."
"One more question, if you do not mind."
"You may ask," Yume said.
"How does a kitsune come to have a lord? To the best of my knowledge, they are fiercely independent creatures."
Yume smiled gently and clasped his hands together in front of him, the voluminous sleeves of his kimono falling over them. "How does a half-ghost child come to swear himself forever to a demon lord?"
"Then I am sorry you lost him," Chris said, bowing his head.
"Thank you," Yume said softly, the sad look flickering over his face for a moment. Somehow it did nothing to lessen his beauty. In the next breath, though, he was smiling gently again. "The hour is late, now, but I would be honored if sometime you would come for tea. Both of you, and his lordship would be a most honored guest."
Chris snorted. "You won't think so after the first five minutes. We thank you for the invitation, and gladly accept. If you pick a suitable time, you've only to let me know it."
Yume nodded. "Then I bid you good night." He turned and vanished back into his home, the door sliding closed with a soft clack.
Chris shook his head in amazement and turned away. "A kitsune. Here. Of all places. Let's go home, imp."
"Yes, honored consort," Doug said, laughing hard as they both vanished.
11:45 PM – Sable
"Fascinating," Sable said, absorbing all Christian was telling him but far more interested in the way those lounge pants were barely clinging to his hips, the way his skin was still flushed from the shower, damp hair clinging.
He looked up in time to see Christian rolling his eyes. "A kitsune has lived here this entire time. If he's a ninetail, he's nearly five hundred years old. If he arrived here three hundred years ago, he was already pretty powerful. Such a powerful creature giving up his home to move to a strange land…Fascinating." He dropped his gaze back to the loose pants.
"You are hopeless," Christian groused. "I'm exhausted, I'm going to bed. Keep your hands to yourself until tomorrow, demon." He drew close enough to give Sable a quick kiss, then pulled away and climbed up into their bed, pulling the blankets over his head, calling out a muffled good night.
Sable glanced at the clock and grinned, then went to find something else to do for fifteen minutes. Maybe he'd start that list of deadlines.
Author's Note: I have already been Informed that the Pretty Foxy is to be given a new Love. It shall be done. *long suffering sigh of the thoroughly pwned*
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Date: 2007-05-13 02:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 02:22 am (UTC)lovely!
Date: 2007-05-13 02:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 02:48 am (UTC)FOXY! *_*
Date: 2007-05-13 03:53 am (UTC)thank you for writing and sharing this with the rest of us. it was a very nice read to start up my day. ^_~
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Date: 2007-05-13 04:05 am (UTC)And of course there were sooo many other pretty shiny details that made me smile and grin and be happy but I'm going to not bumble through naming them out 'cause I'd so forget one. ::loves:: You write so very awesomely and I am totally green with envy and loving it too. ::glomps::
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Date: 2007-05-13 04:07 am (UTC)Eyah! It's a youko! Kitsune, kitsune love! Your description of his human guise is delicious and oh-so-vivid!
I think I speak for all your readers when I say that we like it when you owe Tygati fic ^g^
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Date: 2007-05-13 09:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 05:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 05:42 am (UTC)I <3 this universe.
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Date: 2007-05-13 09:41 am (UTC)hmmm... maybe pretty silver foxy can go have a tea party with pretty, pretty half fae episcopalian priest boy.
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Date: 2007-05-13 12:06 pm (UTC)Interesting that two people now have suggested the half-elf priest. Sadly, he already has someone else.
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Date: 2007-05-13 01:25 pm (UTC)pawn you into making it a threesomewait for the next story to come out and see what happens then. I await it with baited breath and much eating of oreos.no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 03:15 pm (UTC)But I do like the way you think, lady. I almost thirded the half-fae until M said he was taken. I suppose we must trust in the author to deliver the goods on the kitsune when she sees fit. XD
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Date: 2007-05-14 06:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 10:16 am (UTC)Thanks for giving us this, I really enjoyed it.
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Date: 2007-05-13 10:57 am (UTC)I freaking love DwtD. And yay! The kitsune needs a new love! Please, please, please.... please, please... please.
I love your work. I really do. *sighs happily*
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Date: 2007-05-13 01:03 pm (UTC)*does giddy happy dance* KITSUNE!! My love of mythical creatures has been answered, YOSH! *Huggles*
Your discricption just ROCKED, you know. DwtD has got to be one of favorites from you, if only because Lost Gods holds a special place in my heart.
Oh, Oh! Did you know that Kitsune's don't have normal feet? They have fox paws, so if you ever seen someone with reaaaally small feet walk by, It's a Fox. <3
BUT YAH!! *is so very, very happy*
--And thanks for already promising Yume a new love, since I would have just bothered you more than usually until you did. <3
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Date: 2007-05-13 01:08 pm (UTC)Yeah! That means I don't have to bribe you to do it. ^^
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Date: 2007-05-13 01:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-13 01:28 pm (UTC)Also hahaha, poor Meg, tortured by her adoring audience. ;) *loves you*
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Date: 2007-05-13 03:30 pm (UTC)By the by, did you get that song I commented with the other day? 'Cause afeksgkjhsd, if you're ever in a lousy mood you need only play it. XD
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Date: 2007-05-13 06:23 pm (UTC)i'll stop talking now. thank you muches for the fluff/really good story. hm, fruit punch drabble?
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Date: 2007-05-13 11:00 pm (UTC)And squee! Sable! Chris! ♥
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Date: 2007-05-14 12:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-14 01:14 am (UTC)He kissed Christian long and slow, laughing when teeth nipped sharply at his lips, pulling away. "You never stay pleasantly dazed long enough, beautiful. Perhaps I'm not trying hard enough. He pulled away
^Typo=you're missing your closing quotation mark.
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Date: 2007-05-14 03:01 am (UTC)Seriously. That's all I have to say. you made my homecoming that much better (I just got back from college 'bout 5 hours ago :) ). And I can't wait for Yume to be pwned ;D
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Date: 2007-05-14 10:38 pm (UTC)Also, I loved the extended look into Sable's brain. He really is like an overgrown kid.^_^
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Date: 2007-05-14 10:53 pm (UTC)That's what you get for dangling teh pretteh in front of us? ^_^
*snickers* I love the way that Chris and Doug are in their bickering and blackmailing and just paling around. They're funny. And I love the way that Chris and Sable are together. They're sweet and hot and fun. *tackle glomps*
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Date: 2007-05-14 11:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-15 02:58 pm (UTC)Well, not really, but that comes pretty damn close. Best not list the reasons why. ^__^
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Date: 2007-05-15 10:00 pm (UTC)But we likes the reasons why ^___^
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Date: 2007-05-16 02:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-18 05:03 am (UTC)A day in the life of Sable and Chris and a plot.
I soooo loved this. *happy happy sigh*
skip this, this is me being wordy
Date: 2007-05-18 05:58 am (UTC)Sable is shown as a demon doing demony things. Doing evil with evil people, ie. businessmen. Rewarding individuals who keep to the covenant with him (read work contract)and giving hell to those that don't. He intends to use the ideas he stole and make panic just for amusement. = DEMON. Its easy to lose sight of this sometimes.
Chris is in the unique position of a renaissance consort to a doge. The doge can be cruel to any that impede his business but turns a protective loving face to his consort and family while remaining firmly the controlling authority figure. In short(and this is turning out to be anything but), Chris is independent but cossetted and indulged. Controlled but lightly. There is a nice balance and yet in this story Sable is definitely the one around whom Chris's world moves. How many people get a chance to come home for lunch and sex? I think that Chris would find it very oppressive to not have his outside employment after awhile. The dynamic would tip too far. Sable is cautious of being caught interfering. *sweet*
I love Chris' cases. This one didn't turn out as a rescued client conclusion which was nice, not cloying. There was Sable's interference but Chris doesn't know that. And Chris per usual shows his intelligence and skill and solves the case. He's not fluff.
Did I mention the sex. oooooohh. Carpet on the floor for Chris' knees, nice touch. Sneaky demon in the morning and I strongly suspect in about 15 minutes after Chris falls asleep at story's end. Sable with jealous reaction..like Chris would have any libido left. Chris definitely gets action. He's so loved and loved on and in and..
I much liked this day in the lives of Chris and Sable.
You keep introducing characters with such detail that they demand a spinoff. They are too defined and too interesting so that when their story is written the new story with the introduction of their character is already done and the story loses the punch at the beginning of developement. If this is a chapter followed by another chapter, it might be more appropriate but as stand alone short stories written in the same universe, you sabatoge yourself. Don't know if I am conveying well what I mean. Notice that I don't write cause I CAN'T while you do. *sigh*
*places more flowers, the others were wilted cause I wrote too long*