Debts - 20. Chapter 20

- XX -

Julian got to the right house, paid the cab driver, and walked up the steps. He wasn’t surprised that his hands were shaking. It’s been almost two weeks since Raven’s disappearance, and it seemed like Magda managed to melt into thin air – Julian could find nothing. When he got that phone call several hours ago, at first, he thought that it was some demented joke that Magda decided to play on him just for the hell of it. Right when he was about to unleash his dark fury, however, he realized that it wasn’t a joke.

He took a quick breath and rang the doorbell. He waited somewhat patiently, studying the table on the front patio. The table had two ashtrays on it, and both of them were quite full with cigarette butts. Finally, he heard the door chain slide off, and then the door opened.

“I received a phone call from...” Julian started saying, tearing his gaze away from the ashtrays. He looked at whoever opened the door, and then he stopped talking.

At first, he thought that he was seeing things. Then he discarded that – he never saw things. Then he thought that maybe it was some sort of a very bizarre body-double. Then he saw the expression on the man’s face, and the body-double theory disappeared into thin air. The man seemed dumbfounded and downright terrified. This was not a body-double; this was the original. The original, whose death anniversary Julian celebrated for the last four years with envious dedication.

His first (very natural and pissed off) reaction was to hit this bastard with his famous spell and leave him here until he expired. The blond couldn’t believe this. He tricked him?! All these years he was alive and well while Julian thought he finally got his closure? They tricked him, he thought furiously. This bastard and Rayhe. Julian had no idea how they managed to pull something like that off, and right now, he didn’t care. He almost unleashed the spell on the green-eyed bastard, but then he remembered why he was here in the first place. “I owe him, all right...” he remembered Raven saying, and gritted his teeth in helpless, blinding-white fury.

“Where is Raven?” he asked after several minutes of stunned silence. He spoke quietly, and it seemed that he was unable to unlock his jaw. The words sounded strained, to say the least.

“Here,” he heard a painfully familiar voice and shifted his gaze away from the hateful features.

Raven was leaning on the wall behind the bastard’s back. He looked even thinner than he was two weeks ago, and he was rather pale. His eyes, however (oh, those bizarre, incredibly attractive eyes!), were filled with mad happiness. Julian glanced at the still frozen in his spot black-haired bastard, and the man blinked and took a small step aside, his expression puzzled, terrified, and astonished all at once. Julian gritted his teeth again and walked inside the house. Raven buried his face in the blond’s chest as soon as Julian was close enough to wrap his arms around the smaller man.

“This is your mate...?” the hateful apparition by the front door asked in quiet astonishment.

Julian became even more tense than he already was. Mate...? He pulled away just a little, so he could look at Raven. The smaller man raised his head and looked into the blond’s eyes.

“Yeah,” he said softly after several slow seconds of silence.

Julian blinked and stood still for almost a minute. Then he nodded very slowly without saying anything, and Raven gave him a small, relieved smile, and buried his face in his chest once again.

“Holy hell...” the hateful apparition said in a small voice.

Julian pressed his face into dark hair, getting slightly dizzy from the familiar scent, and closed his eyes. He almost decided to finish this bastard regardless of the circumstances. Then, however, he heard once again in his head:

“I owe him, all right...”

He remembered perfectly well his own response to that. “I owe him...” He gritted his teeth, losing count on how many times he did it within the last fifteen minutes. He did owe him, he thought darkly. If not for this hateful bastard, Raven would probably be dead by now.

“Goddammit...!” he thought without opening his eyes.

Now, Julian never cared about noble acts, and if the circumstances were slightly different, he wouldn’t even think twice before sending both of these bastards (Specter and Rayhe) to hell with fanfares playing. The circumstances, however, were such that Julian literally owed the green-eyed son of a bitch, and Julian would never owe anything to anyone. He stood still for several long minutes, and silence in the room was only interrupted by three sets of heartbeats. Finally, the blond raised his head and looked at the not-so-dead-after-all assassin.

“If the circumstances were different,” he started saying quietly. “I would make you suffer for the rest of your life, which wouldn’t last too long... You and Rayhe, since I take it you are still together...”

Raven raised his head and looked at him with a small, puzzled frown. Specter, however, didn’t move a muscle; nor did he shift his gaze.

“However,” Julian continued in the same quiet manner. “I owe his life to you, and I never owe anything to anyone. Therefore, we are even...” he paused for several seconds. “His life is much more important than an old grudge,” he said finally. “I will not do anything to either one of you, and I am not going to pursue the entire matter any further...” he gritted his teeth again. “You have my word,” he finished in a strained voice.

****

Desmond couldn’t believe his eyes. At first, he thought he was hallucinating. Then he thought that it was Salamander’s twin or something (completely unaware of the fact that he was following Julian’s train of thoughts to a t). Then blond’s expression changed from dumbfounded to pure hatred, and Desmond immediately knew that it wasn’t a hallucination, nor was it a twin. “Well, shit,” he thought. Then the blond gritted his teeth and asked about Raven.

Desmond just blinked when Salamander wrapped his arms around the dark-haired man, looking so relieved that it seemed unreal.

“This is your mate...?” he asked weakly, and blond’s expression became very tense all of a sudden.

Raven looked up, looking into Salamander’s eyes for a couple of minutes, and then said:

“Yeah...”

Desmond blinked again when the blond nodded very slowly after the smaller man said that. “I guess this is the first time he said it,” Desmond thought numbly, reconsidering his hallucination theory. All three of them were silent for several minutes, and Desmond was feverishly trying to figure out what the hell he should do now, when the blond looked at him and said that they were even now.

“His life is much more important than an old grudge,” he said quietly, and Desmond just stared at him, wondering whether this was some sort of a cruel trick. However, every single inner alarm of his remained mute. The blond wasn’t lying, Desmond realized in astonishment. “Holy hell...” he thought when Julian finished his little speech with strained, “You have my word.” He slightly narrowed his eyes, saying nothing. The blond buried his face in Raven’s hair for another minute, and then he sighed and straightened up, clearly intending on leaving. Desmond looked at the dark-haired man, wondering how in the world would someone who looked completely normal, end up announcing to someone like Salamander that they were mates. When Julian slowly nodded, accepting the announcement, Raven looked beyond relieved. It was clear that he loved this blond monstrosity. Desmond was still pondering silently when Raven suddenly straightened up, and there was a very confused expression on his face. Desmond frowned at that. Then the smaller man blinked several times very rapidly, and then there was a trickle of blood running from his nose down to his chin.

“If I were you,” Desmond said when Raven’s eyes started to roll back. “I would get him off his feet... He is about to pass out,” he finished with a slight nod.

The blond frowned and looked at the dark-haired man. He wrapped his arms tighter around his smaller frame just before Raven’s eyes closed all the way and he went limp, his head dropping back.

“Raven!” the blond said loudly and harshly, easily lifting unconscious man in his arms. “What the hell is wrong with him?” he barked at Desmond, his eyes getting darker.

“I have no idea...” Desmond muttered with puzzlement. “This is definitely not a drug overdose anymore...”

“What did you do to him?” now the blond sounded very dangerous.

“Nothing,” Desmond said in the same puzzled voice. “He was fine ever since he woke up this morning...”

Julian looked at him without blinking for a minute or two. Finally, he gritted his teeth yet again, accepting the fact that the green-eyed son of a bitch was completely sincere – he didn’t do anything to Raven except for saving his life.

“Raven...” he called again, holding the smaller man tighter. “Goddammit, Raven...!”

Desmond let out a very heavy, slow sigh.

“I can’t believe this...” he muttered under his breath. He sounded defeated. “Just get him on the couch,” he said tiredly, and the blond shot him a quick, tense glance. “I’ll be right back...”

He went into the kitchen, trying to grasp the fact that Salamander was in his house right now, and that Desmond was still alive and unharmed. “I can’t believe this...” he muttered once again while wetting one of the towels in cold water. He went back into the living room and blinked when he saw the blond kneeling next to the couch, squeezing Raven’s unresponsive fingers.

“Or this...” Desmond nodded slowly. “I didn’t think it was possible,” he shrugged when Julian shot another tense glance at him.

He handed the blond the wet towel and folded his arms in his chest, watching Salamander carefully wiping blood off Raven’s face. He slightly frowned when he saw that certain look in blond’s eyes.

“Holy hell...” Desmond said slowly. “You don’t just care about him... You actually love him... Holy shit,” he shook his head and looked at Raven. “He must be one hell of a special guy...”

“He is,” the blond said tightly without looking at him this time. “I can’t figure out why he is unconscious,” he said through his clenched teeth.

Desmond sighed and walked closer. He pressed his fingertips on the side of Raven’s neck and slightly frowned.

“His pulse is normal,” he muttered with puzzlement. “He doesn’t have a fever... He is just out...” he frowned deeper. “Why was he here...? In this city?”

Julian looked like he was debating with himself, which was probably the case. He had the same ‘I-Don’t-Believe-I-Am-Talking-To-Him’ look in his eyes now as Desmond did.

“He was abducted by someone,” the blond said finally in a tight voice.

“To get to you?” Desmond quickly pulled one of Raven’s eyelids back and sighed when there was no response from the eye.

“No,” Julian said as tightly as before. “It is a rather long story... I am not going to go into details; I will just say that it had something to do with a certain spell.”

“Spell, huh...” Desmond said very thoughtfully.

“Yes,” Julian nodded stiffly. “He ended up getting attuned to an artifact that was crucial for the spell, therefore...” he shrugged without finishing the sentence.

“Well,” Desmond said as thoughtfully as before. “Since I would imagine that the caster was quite pissed off after losing him, I’d say his current state is caused by magic.”

Julian glanced at him quickly.

“Maybe,” he muttered and half-closed his eyes, reaching for the streams.

Desmond sighed and went towards the chair. He sat down, watching the blond, and when the front door opened all of a sudden, he blinked and turned his head.

“Took off early today,” Gabriel said when he walked into the house. He looked at Desmond and frowned. “What?” he asked. “You look weird...”

“Hello, master Rayhe,” the blond said quietly, and Gabriel froze in his spot.

He stared at Desmond for several very long seconds, and then he slowly turned around. He looked at Salamander without blinking, his back rigid, eyes disbelieving. Finally, he slowly shifted his gaze back to Desmond. The green-eyed man sighed.

“Raven called his mate earlier this morning,” he said tiredly and glanced at Julian. “That’s his mate,” he nodded.

Gabriel finally blinked. Then he frowned and blinked again, as if translating Desmond’s words into the language that was familiar to him.

“Yeah,” Desmond sighed again.

“You are alive...” Rayhe said very thoughtfully.

“Don’t tell me that you are complaining,” Desmond replied seriously.

“I am not sure I understand,” Gabriel said in the same thoughtful, slow manner.

“I guess his life...” Desmond nodded at Raven who was still unconscious. “Is much more important than...” he coughed. “Than an old grudge,” he finished with a slight nod.

“Congratulations, by the way,” the blond said mildly. “You convinced me four years ago. I am impressed,” he nodded and half-closed his eyes again.

“I need coffee,” Rayhe muttered after several minutes of stunned silence. “Be right back.”

He went into the kitchen looking like someone who was expecting to wake up from an unbelievably vivid nightmare. Desmond looked at Julian again. The blond looked irritated now.

“Goddammit,” he muttered through his clenched teeth and opened his eyes. He looked at Desmond very darkly. “Can you control magic?” he asked unwillingly, as if forcing himself to do so.

“No,” Desmond said, and Julian briefly closed his eyes. “Rayhe can,” Desmond sighed, and the blond opened his eyes and looked at him again.

“How well?” he asked sharply.

“He is not brilliant by any means,” Desmond shrugged. “But he is somewhat decent. Why?”

Julian took a deep breath.

“You were right,” he said in the same unwilling drawl as before. “His current state is induced by magic. I know how to undo it but I can’t achieve that alone.”

“I see,” Desmond nodded, thinking that it explained the tight unwillingness in the blond’s voice. He was actually asking for help. “Yeah,” Desmond thought. “That would make me sound the same way...”

He stood up.

“Be right back,” he said mildly and went into the kitchen.

Gabriel stood in front of the kitchen counter, looking at the coffeemaker as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Desmond glanced at the silent gadget.

“You know,” he said in a low voice. “If you actually turn it on, it might make some coffee.”

Gabriel blinked and looked at him. Desmond shrugged.

“In case if you put coffee in there... And poured water,” he finished with a slight nod.

“This whole thing doesn’t strike you as... Oh, I don’t know... Odd?” Rayhe narrowed his eyes.

“It did,” Desmond nodded. “I opened the door when he rang the bell... Believe me, that was a very unpleasant moment... I guess I adjusted by now.”

“Holy hell,” Gabriel shook his head while Desmond made sure the coffeemaker contained all the necessary ingredients. “When did he show up here?”

“Two-forty-five,” Desmond answered immediately.

Gabriel looked at the clock. It read 3:50.

“Holy hell,” he said again.

Desmond sighed and turned on the coffeemaker.

“He needs your assistance,” he said, and Rayhe stared at him once again. “Something to do with magic,” Desmond nodded. “Just do it, Rayhe...!” he said somewhat impatiently when Gabriel wouldn’t say anything. “The sooner he gets that mate of his up and running, the sooner he’ll get the hell out of here...!”

Gabriel considered that for a second, and then nodded slowly.

“True,” he muttered and went back into the living room.

Desmond threw another glance at the coffeemaker, which started puffing with satisfaction, sighed, and followed Gabriel.