Book of Venoms - 1. Serpent’s Secret

“Scarlet-tailed Serpent: This beautiful, but deadly creature is one of the rarest and most venomous snakes known to men. With its bright, scarlet tail and body as dark as the darkest earth, this reptile lives in the warm desert areas of the eastern kingdoms.

Should any person desire to find this exotic animal, for any reason, they should know that a long and difficult mission awaits them, for there are very few of these vipers remaining. It is believed that shifters who can transform into this animal are just as rare.

Scarlet-tailed Serpent eats various small animals, including lizards, birds, small mammals and even other snakes. However, its potent venom can kill much larger animals and even humans. ‘Luckily’ for the victim, the venom works fast, making death almost instant. Fast and merciless, this snake strikes its prey with such speed and agility that its ruby-red eyes are often the last thing its unfortunate victim sees before its demise.”

--

The air began sparkling with magic and, out of nowhere, cutlery and plates filled with warm food appeared a few feet above the large dining table, crashing on it with a loud clatter.

Wincing at the mess he made, the young aspiring sorcerer who was responsible for the failed spell looked apologetically at his teacher.

“Sorry, Esthor,” he said, holding his wand in one hand and scratching his short, dirty-blond hair with the other.

He just couldn’t get the spell right no matter how much he tried. He’d been practicing for days, but there was always something wrong. Just this morning, he managed to conjure breakfast without breaking any dishes, but the slices of bread were almost burned to a crisp.

“That’s alright, Sawyer, you’ll get it right. I know you can do it,” Esthor replied, giving his student a reassuring smile.

At the encouragement of his boyfriend Rulf, sorcerer Esthor had started giving magic lessons to young, would-be sorcerers. Since the two lived together in Esthor’s home, the sorcerer teleported Rulf’s house right next to his and used it as a magic school of sorts. The project was working out well so far, but as usual, things weren’t all smooth sailing. Some students required much more work than others, and of course, much more patience.

Sawyer was one of his older students - aged seventeen - which was likely one of the reasons he was not quite skilled in sorcery. While most of his other students had started practicing magic since they discovered they had powers, usually within the first ten years of their life, Sawyer didn’t show much interest in pursuing an education in this area until last year. Nevertheless, Esthor was convinced the young man could become a very fine sorcerer one day, especially since he had a very healthy work ethic.

Reading any book on magic he could get his hands on and practicing his spellcasting for hours every day, Sawyer was one of Esthor’s hardest-working students, earning the teacher’s respect early on. In fact, the boy even moved to the Queendom of Alduin for the summer just so he could attend Esthor’s classes.

“It’s nice of you to have that much faith in me, but I’m not so sure,” the young lad said dejectedly.

“Hey, don’t give me that! Remember how two weeks ago you were only able to conjure water and bread? Now you’re giving me a full meal here!” Esthor was quick to point out, gesturing to the baked turkey legs and mashed potatoes on the table. “And you know something else - if all of my students worked half as hard as you do, I’d be thrilled!”

Hearing these words of encouragement, Sawyer couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“Thank you,” he replied, feeling grateful for his teacher being so patient with him. He was sure he was the worst student ever, but Esthor never let him feel like a failure, always managing to turn a negative into a positive. “So you really think I’m improving?”

“I know it. We still have a long way to go, but you’ve made really good progress this summer.”

“I just wish I could stay here, but I have to go back home,” Sawyer spoke from the heart.

His parents, a pair of wealthy merchants, resided in the eastern Kingdom of Thar, near the border with Alduin. When Sawyer told them last year that he’d finally decided to get some sort of magic education, they were more than willing to pay for his lessons with Esthor and accommodation in Alduin. However, the boy knew he couldn’t stay there long, as he had his regular classes and obligations at home. Now that the summer was nearing its inevitable end, he was ready to go back to Thar.

“I know. Whenever you’re able to return, I shall be more than happy to continue with our lessons,” Esthor smiled at the boy, when suddenly a light knock on the door interrupted them. “Come in.”

“Hey, am I interrupting you guys?” a tall, auburn-haired man appeared, a curious smile on his face.

“You’re just in time,” Esthor said, happy to see his boyfriend. “Sawyer made us lunch!”

“Hey, Rulf!” the boy waved at the man merrily. “I hope you’re in the mood for… uh, what did I conjure again? Turkey!” he added, checking the food on the table.

“Sweet!” Rulf nodded, shaking hands with the young student before going over to his boyfriend and giving him a warm hug.

“Just be careful, the plates might be broken,” Sawyer chuckled as they all sat down to eat.

Over the past two months, the boy realized he rather liked being around Esthor and Rulf. Once he got over the initial jitters from being in the company of such a famous sorcerer, he realized Esthor was in fact just a regular person, although very powerful.

Sawyer was also ecstatic that he was in the company of not one, but two shifters! He had briefly met only a few of them so far, and was now thrilled to be spending time with a Lykos and a fairyfly shifter. He would even often opt for late evening classes, just on the off chance that he’d be able to see one of them in their animal form.

Nevertheless, seeing the couple together made him realize how much he missed being at home with his loved ones. He missed his family and friends, but most of all his boyfriend, Castor. They had been together for a year, and now, after two months of not seeing him, he couldn’t wait to return home and hold him in his arms once again.

~~

Almost two dozen hens walked lazily around the fenced backyard behind the house belonging to the Lunaros family. The family farm, located at the outskirts of the small town of Garon's Well, was also home to several pigs, cows and ducks.

Bryan and Alice Lunaros were farmers, making their living off of raising and selling their animals, as well as animal products - meat, milk and eggs. It was not an easy life, but they managed, barely ever complaining about having to get up with the roosters to feed the animals and working hard day after day. This type of life was all they knew and they had learned to appreciate what they had.

After all, they had two sons to support, although not for much longer. Their twins Castor and Cyr, just like any other seventeen-year-old children in the Kingdom of Thar, were now considered adults and would soon have to start working, earning their keep.

Castor was already doing his fair share of work at the farm, enjoying taking care of animals. As he opened the fence that afternoon and spilled corn all over the ground for the chickens to feast on, they all scampered toward him, eager to get as many kernels as they could.

Chuckling at the scene, Castor stood by and watched the chickens hungrily pecking at the corn. He sometimes found it sad how they all come rushing toward him everytime he brought them food, but if they saw his animal form, they would likely all flee in terror. Even the family dog was afraid of it, running away as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Having an animal form can be both a blessing and a curse, the dark-skinned boy recalled the words he once read in a book about shifting, but he disagreed. There is no blessing about being able to shift into a disgusting, venomous snake, he thought. Animals are terrified of me, and humans even more so.

Other than his parents and twin brother Cyr, no one knew about this ability of Castor, and he intended to keep it a secret. Years of having to hide his true nature, the other half of himself, have led him to become withdrawn and shy. Nevertheless, he enjoyed living with his family and working on their farm. A simple life, for sure, but one filled with small pleasures.

Today, however, was an especially joyous day for Castor, as his boyfriend would be returning from Alduin. Having been apart from him for two months, Castor’s heart pounded with anticipation at the thought of seeing Sawyer, touching his delicate, light skin and kissing his soft lips.

By the time he had finished his chores on the farm, he heard his mom calling him from the house.

“Castor, you have a visitor!”

“Sawyer!” the boy immediately exclaimed with glee, rushing inside with a huge grin on his face.

The first thing he saw was an equally happy face of his boyfriend. He somehow looked even better! How is that even possible, Castor wondered, running toward him and getting scooped up and wrapped in a tight hug. Neither of the boys seemed to care that Castor was still dirty - and likely smelly - from all the farm work, or that his mom was nearby, watching them.

“I missed you so much!” Sawyer cooed, wiping the tears of joy from his cheeks.

“I missed you too!” Castor was quick to reply, peppering the blond boy with kisses.

With a smile on her face, Alice Lunaros turned around and went to the kitchen, leaving the two boys alone.

After a while, when they finally managed to get their hands off of each other, the young couple went outside to sit on a bench, enjoying the light breeze and the warm shades of pink and orange that streaked the afternoon sky.

Holding his boyfriend’s hand, Sawyer regaled him with tales of Esthor, Rulf and all the spells he learned - or at least tried to learn - while he was in Thenelle, the capital of Alduin. Castor sat and listened, thrilled to have his boyfriend back and enjoying the look of merriment and excitement in his teal eyes.

“Wow, sounds like you’re doing a great job!”

“I don’t know about that,” Sawyer giggled, “I still have a lot to learn. You know, it was fun, but I couldn’t wait to come back. I really missed you.”

“Aww you softie,” Castor smiled, caressing his boyfriend’s light cheek with his dark fingers and thinking how different they looked. One was as light as the sun, with short, dirty-blond hair, and the other as dark as the night, with messy, black locks. But we fit together so perfectly, Castor knew.

“I have something for you,” Sawyer smiled shyly. “This is something I’ve learned. Now hold out your hands.”

Doing as instructed, Castor held out his palms, waiting in anticipation.

As he took his wand, Sawyer waved it above his boyfriend’s hands. With a magic sparkle, a tiny, delicate bronze chain appeared in Castor’s hands.

“Ohh, I’m sorry,” Sawyer said, looking apologetically at Castor. “It was supposed to be a gold necklace for you.”

“Hey, I love it! I can wear it as a bracelet,” the black-haired guy replied, his face beaming with joy. “Thank you so much!”

After several kisses, Sawyer had started to feel better.

“See? It looks great,” his boyfriend stated with a smile, raising his hand to show off the bracelet on his wrist. The bronze color complemented the boy’s dark skin really well.

As they sat outside, sharing their stories from the last two months that they were apart, a sound of footsteps approaching interrupted them, causing them to look up. Castor frowned when he saw his brother Cyr passing them by, heading toward the house. He was almost an identical image of Castor, although with a slightly shorter hair. Their parents had no trouble telling them apart, and even Sawyer had learned which is which, but others could be easily confused.

“Hey, Cyr,” Sawyer called out, greeting him. He was perfectly aware there was some awkward, silent animosity between the twins, but he was still not sure why. Castor could never explain the reason to him. How could he tell his boyfriend that Cyr was jealous of him for being a shifter? No, I cannot tell him, not yet, Castor thought, always delaying the conversation that could change their relationship forever.

“Oh, you’re back,” Cyr replied, glancing at them with little interest. “How was Alduin?”

“It was great, I learned so much!” Sawyer spoke happily.

“Well, good for you.”

“Hey, are you coming to the campsite tonight? I heard Emeline will bring her lute and play for us,” Castor asked, attempting to strike up a conversation with his brother. Even though Cyr was often cold toward him, Castor couldn’t help his desire for them to get along. After all, they were twins. They’ve been together all of their lives, ever since they shared their mother’s womb.

“I’m not sure,” Cyr shrugged.

“If you want, you can go with us,” Castor suggested with a hopeful look in his garnet eyes.

“I’ll think about it,” his brother said curtly before opening the door and disappearing into the house.

“So, he still has that big wooden pole up his ass?” Sawyer smirked after Cyr left, making his boyfriend giggle.

“Yes… He hasn’t changed at all.” At least I have Sawyer back, Castor thought as he smiled, playfully flicking the earring in his boyfriend’s ear.

~~

The large bonfire burned bright, illuminating the clearing at the edge of a thicket on the western side of Garon's Well. Several logs were placed around it, with seven friends sitting on them, laughing and enjoying one of the last warm summer nights of the year.

Castor and Sawyer sat together, not hiding their affection from their friends. Everyone knew they were a couple and no one was bothered by it. In Thar, just like Alduin and most other countries on the large continent of Escaria, same-sex relationships were considered completely normal.

“I’m glad you came back,” Mary told Sawyer. “Now we don’t have to watch Castor mope all day,” she added teasingly.

“Hey, don’t be jealous of Castor for having a boyfriend,” Emeline interjected, causing others to snicker. “Anyway, shall I play some music?”

“Yes, please,” Sawyer said, enjoying the evening out with his boyfriend and their friends.

“Oh, look who it is! You come just in time,” Mary said, turning to her left and seeing Cyr approaching the group. He wore a blood-red cloak over his dark brown clothes, similar to the one worn by Castor. Sawyer found it funny how the twins barely spoke to each other, yet they still dressed similarly.

Castor couldn’t help but smirk as he saw her scoot to the right, making room for his twin. She has had a crush on the boy for years, but he was either clueless or chose to ignore it. Probably the latter, Castor thought. Cyr is too smart not to notice something like that.

“So, Sawyer, how was the magic school?” a boy named Ulric asked, as the pleasant sounds of music filled the air. “I heard the sorcerer Esthor is a shifter.”

“Yes!” Sawyer exclaimed. “He can turn into a fairyfly, which is a tiny flying insect, smaller than a mosquito. And his boyfriend is a Lykos!”

“That sounds amazing!” Ulric replied. He had heard many stories about these wolf shifters, but had never actually met one in real life.

“I know, shifters are magnificent,” Sawyer nodded, suddenly feeling as if he was an expert on the matter just because he’d spent a couple of months with two of them.

“What if they’re spiders or snakes?” Cyr asked in a calm tone, a smirk appearing on his face.

Castor shot him a nervous look, frightened that his brother would reveal his secret in front of everyone, but the boy ignored him, looking into the fire before him.

“Oh, that’s just horrendous,” Sawyer shuddered. “Who wants to see that?!”

With a pained look on his face, Castor abruptly stood up, startling his boyfriend.

“I… I have to go, I’m sorry,” he muttered, turning away and speeding off before anyone could see the tears welling up in his eyes. He knew it! No one would be able to accept him the way he is, not even Sawyer. Their entire relationship was based on a lie. Well, no more, Castor thought as he ran toward his home. I’ll never allow myself to fall for anyone again.

Sawyer looked at his friends, as confused as they were, before jumping up and running after his boyfriend.

“Cas, what’s the matter? Wait!” he called out, trying to catch up to him, but the boy would not stop or turn around.

When he finally reached the Lunaros farm, Sawyer was met by Castor’s mom, Alice.

“Good evening, Mrs. Lunaros, can I talk to Castor?” he asked politely, still confused about what had happened. Did he say something wrong? Was everything alright with Castor? He just had to know.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, but I think it’s best that you leave him be for now. Go home, get some sleep, and come back tomorrow. Castor will still be here.”

“But is he alright? He ran off so suddenly…”

“He’ll be fine. Please, do as I have advised you,” Alice insisted and Sawyer realized he had no choice.

With his head down and his spirits low, he turned away and left, wondering what had happened that caused Castor to run away from him.

~~

As much as he tried, the young sorcerer was unable to fall asleep that night. The scene at the bonfire kept coming back to him, keeping him awake. Why did Castor leave so suddenly? Was it because of me, did I hurt him somehow? I wish I knew, Sawyer thought, remembering what they talked about.

We were discussing shifters and Cyr mentioned something about snakes and spiders. And I said they were horrendous.

With a gasp, Sawyer sprang up from his bed. Oh Gods, could it be that he is… I need to see him!

Getting dressed in a hurry, Sawyer put on his boots and sneaked out of the house, careful not to wake his family. Once he was out in the street, his slow steps turned into a sprint. He didn’t care it was the middle of the night and that Alice told him to wait till tomorrow. He had to see Castor and clear everything up.

The Lunaros farm looked completely different at night, with no animals walking about, clucking and mooing. It was strange, even scary. Slowing down once again, careful not to make any noise, Sawyer snuck in through the back door, lighting his way with his magic wand. At least he knew how to do that!

However, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw when he entered the hallway leading to Castor’s room. There was Cyr, walking up to his room in his night attire, when a whirlwind suddenly manifested itself in the middle of the hall, with a strange man at the center of it. Tall and dark, the man wore a long, sandstone-colored robe. He was bald, with a large staff in his left hand, with a golden-colored orb on top of it.

“You’re mine!” the man hissed ominously, reaching for the boy. Before he could react, Cyr found himself grabbed by the stranger and pulled into the vortex.

“What is happening?” he yelled, struggling to free himself from the man’s grasp, but it was in vain.

“Let him go!” Sawyer yelled, pointing his wand at the man and firing a feeble white projectile, which was immediately sucked into the twister and disappeared. Before Sawyer even had the chance to fire another shot, the mysterious whirlwind vanished, taking both men with it.

Big thanks to everyone who gives this story a chance! I hope you stick around.