Exitus - 7. Part I, chapter 7

- VII -

Julian was smoking silently, watching smoke rings float lazily above the pillows. He shifted his gaze towards Raven, who kept looking at him for the last ten minutes or so. The blond hasn’t said a single word while Raven was telling his story; he listened with blink-free eyes and rigid shoulders. When the brunet finally finished talking, Julian thoughtfully reached for the pack of cigarettes, fished one out, lit it, and then he smoked without saying anything, the same thoughtful expression remaining on his face.

“When...?” he asked finally, and Raven sighed.

“October thirteenth,” he nodded.

“That’s in one week,” the blond said calmly, and Raven nodded again.

“I know,” he muttered. “Julian, I don’t care what I have to do; I will do anything, but I will stop this from happening...! I don’t care if I have to die...”

Salamander’s eyes darted towards him, and his arm suddenly shot forward, tightly grabbing Raven’s hair with strong fingers of his hand. The brunet winced at that.

“Don’t you dare!” Julian said quietly without blinking. “Do you hear me? Don’t you bloody dare!”

“I hear you,” Raven muttered and winced again.

Julian relaxed his grasp without pulling his fingers out of Raven’s hair.

“You lived in the cemetery for three weeks?” he asked in a low voice, caressing dark, soft strands.

“That’s where you were,” Raven said without a smile, and the blond closed his eyes.

“Black stream,” he muttered after a few minutes, his eyes opened by then, his gaze fixed on Raven’s face. “Just one...?”

“Just one,” the brunet nodded and Julian shook his head.

“That’s impossible,” he said quietly.

“It happened,” Raven nodded again, and the blond let out a frustrated sigh.

“All right...” He straightened up and stabbed his cigarette in the ashtray. “You said something about help,” he frowned, suddenly remembering that part of the story. “Did you find anyone?”

“Yes,” Raven nodded yet again. “I did.”

“Who is it?” Salamander asked with genuine curiosity. “I can’t think of any candidates who would be willing to help bringing me back from the dead,” he said sincerely, and Raven hemmed at that.

“It’s...” he started saying slowly when there was a melodic sound of the doorbell, rolling throughout the house. Raven smiled. “That would be them,” he said and got off the bed, grabbing his pants off the floor.

“Them?” Julian blinked and got out of bed as well.

“Yes,” Raven pulled on his shirt and quickly buttoned it up, leaving it untucked. “Come on,” he produced a small nod and headed towards the door when Julian was fully dressed. He noted a suspicious expression on Salamander’s face, and let out an inaudible sigh.

They went downstairs, and Raven heard the butler’s tightly-patient voice.

“I have not received any instructions regarding guests,” he was saying.

“Then go get it,” a very familiar irritable voice snapped at him. “I didn’t come all the way here to get into pointless debates with some stick-up-the-ass door-keeper!”

“Both masters are resting now...” Butler’s voice became even tighter – a thing that Raven found amusing. “I am not going to wake them up. You will have to come back later.”

“Like hell I will!” The irritable voice replied sharply. “I don’t care if they are screwing upside down right now! Go get them!”

“Please, leave the premises,” the butler sounded like he was about to lose his cool finally.

Raven glanced at Julian and let out another sigh – the blond looked stricken.

“They?” he said with quiet, incredulous disbelief. “You got them?”

“They are the best help anyone could wish for, admit it,” Raven sighed yet again, and Julian just stared at him without blinking, his expression clearly saying, ‘You have got to be kidding me!’

“Either you get your ass moving and get at least one of them...” The irritable voice sounded darker now. “...or I swear to God...”

“It’s fine,” Raven said loudly when he finally made it to the door. “It’s fine,” he nodded when the butler turned around, his posture impossibly rigid. Raven shifted his gaze towards the black-haired man who was fuming by the front door. “Thanks for coming,” he said in a quieter manner. “Where is Gabriel?”

“Finishing up with the cab driver,” Desmond (it was indeed him) answered in a more peaceful voice. He glanced behind Raven’s shoulder. “Welcome back,” he nodded energetically after seeing Julian, who slowly came down the stairs.

“Afternoon,” Gabriel appeared by the door, his expression calm.

Julian slowly shifted his gaze towards the butler.

“It is indeed fine,” he said very evenly. “They will stay here for...” He frowned for a second. “For a while,” he nodded. “Let them in or out...” He closed his eyes. “Fulfill their requests,” he finished in a strained tone of voice.

He opened his eyes and looked at two men by the door.

“Let me show you to your room,” he said as evenly as he could manage.

Desmond fixed a strap of the bag on his shoulder and followed the blond upstairs, ignoring the butler, whose expression was unreadable. Gabriel sighed and shut the door, giving Raven a small smile.

“It worked,” he said, heading towards the stairs.

“Yes,” Raven said quietly, walking a step or two in front of him. “Yes...”

All four of them walked the rest of the way without saying anything else, Julian’s shoulders almost unnaturally straight from tension. He came to an abrupt stop in front of a big white door and pushed it open without saying anything.

“Nice,” Desmond nodded slightly when he walked into the room.

The room was indeed nice – it was quite large, and the décor was impeccable, just like everywhere else in the house. Desmond threw his bag on the floor and let out a sigh.

“Let’s figure this out sooner rather than later,” he said, watching Gabriel set his bag onto one of the chairs.

“That’s the plan,” Julian answered melancholically.

He turned around, clearly intending on leaving, when he thought of something, stopped, and turned his head. This time, there was a small smile playing with his mouth.

“I know, I know,” Desmond waved his hand absent-mindedly. “We will get a brand-new set of sheets before we leave...”

Julian’s smile became smugger.

“That’s not what I was about to say,” he said in his usual purring manner. “What I was going to say...”

“Be right back,” Raven muttered suddenly, hearing his phone ring in the bedroom two doors down the hall.

“I don’t care if you come all over this room,” Julian continued after the brunet left. “Fuck as much as you want...” He quickly glanced around. “...and anywhere you want,” he finished with a small, pleasant nod, clearly enjoying Desmond’s expression.

Desmond threw a quick, dark look at Gabriel, who didn’t even bother to hide his snort.

“Dinner will be served at six-thirty,” the blond said a minute later. “Enjoy your stay.”

He walked towards the door, and then stopped once again, as if remembering about something else.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, throwing a quick glance at both men above his shoulder.

Desmond shrugged indifferently.

“There is a good chance it won’t work...” he replied, his hands in his pockets. “...which means, I will get to see you in the coffin for the second time... That’s too tempting to pass up,” he nodded energetically, and Salamander hemmed.

“I see,” he nodded. “Enjoy your stay,” he nodded again, turning away for the last time.

He left without saying anything else, that small, smug smile never leaving his face. He shut the door and paused for a few seconds, listening intently, his head tilted to the left.

“Damn him...” he heard Desmond say, and his smile became wider.

He almost left when he heard Gabriel’s:

“You are not going to sabotage him, are you?”

He frowned just a little, waiting for Specter’s answer.

“The thought had crossed my mind,” he heard. “More than once... But no,” the ex-assassin sighed deeply. “I am not going to do that... A promise is a promise...”

Julian slightly narrowed his eyes and straightened up, about to leave, when Desmond spoke again.

“Plus,” he said. “I don’t want to feel responsible for Raven’s death.”

Julian froze in his spot.

“What do you mean?” There was clear puzzlement in Rayhe’s voice. “He didn’t get hit...”

“Whoever is going to send that black stream...” Desmond continued in a low voice. “...is going to get both of them...” There was a slight pause. “If Salamander is gone, Raven is not going to last long...”

“True,” Gabriel said thoughtfully, and Julian gritted his teeth, knowing that Specter was right – whoever was going to send that jolt, would get both of them.

“Rayhe, what are you doing?” Desmond said a minute later, his voice somewhat strained. “Rayhe, seriously...”

“You heard what he said,” there was Gabriel’s voice. “No need for a perfectly good advice to go to waste...”

Julian could almost see him shrug right now.

“Rayhe...” Desmond’s voice sounded even more strained than it did less than a minute ago. “Rayhe, you cannot be serious...! Rayhe...! Mmm... Gabriel... Mmm... Okay, okay, right there... Yeah, there...! Ohh...”

“Hmm... That’s a new one...!”

“Hail for discoveries... Don’t stop now...”

“Okay...”

Julian let out a small, inaudible sigh, turned around, and left for real, Desmond’s solemn words still ringing in his head.

****

...“I don’t get it,” Desmond said at eight in the evening after they finished dinner and went outside to the back patio. “I don’t get it,” he repeated thoughtfully with a slight nod, looking at the incredible view in front of him – it seemed like the back yard of the house kept going on forever; it was impossible to see where it ended; it looked more like a park than a back yard.

“What?” Gabriel asked, his gaze caressing the view as well.

“Why we are here,” Desmond crossed his legs and drank some of his coffee. “I don’t get it... I mean, this entire ordeal doesn’t seem complicated in the slightest; all he has to do is to stay home on October thirteenth, that’s all! Why would he need any help?” he glanced at silent Raven.

“Mmm,” Gabriel shook his head. “It’s not that simple... It doesn’t matter if he stays home or even if he leaves the city... The thing is that all the major events are the main priority. The circumstances don’t matter much; that whole butterfly-effect thing is not quite correct... Small stuff doesn’t really change anything; as long as the outcome of the certain event is the same, details don’t mean much...It doesn’t matter how it gets to that certain point as long as it gets there. However...” He glanced at Julian. “The chain of events is different now, since we are here... There is a huge chance that the outcome will not be the same this time. Anyway,” he sighed when the blond didn’t say anything. “The major events will happen regardless of the circumstances... That black stream is going to be sent, no matter what; it will find him regardless of his location.”

Desmond slightly frowned, thinking about something.

“There is a very good possibility that this time, everything will go as planned,” he said slowly, and Julian’s eyes immediately darted towards him. “First time,” Desmond continued without looking away from the blond. “You pushed him out of the way...” he briefly glanced at Raven. “This time, however, their aim might be a hell of a lot better...! Remember, that stream wasn’t meant for you; it was meant for him...” He looked at Raven again, whose expression suddenly became tense. “I mean,” he shrugged. “There is a chance that it will repeat itself and hit you again, but it is rather slim... Plus, according to what Rayhe just said about irrelevancy of the circumstances, that might not even happen on the thirteenth...! It might happen within the next five minutes for all we know...” He stabbed his cigarette in the ashtray and shrugged again. “That’s what I think, anyway...”

“You are right,” Gabriel said slowly, small frown crawling onto his forehead. “Huh, I did not think about that... As I said, the event will happen but the outcome might be different...”

Julian closed his eyes without saying anything. He sat in rigid silence for several minutes. Finally, he let out a deep sigh and opened his eyes. He looked at silent Gabriel, his lips pressed together tightly, as if he were considering something rather unpleasant.

“I will need you to...” He started saying unwillingly without looking away from Gabriel’s face. He stopped talking for a second. “I would appreciate it...” he corrected himself forcefully. “...if you would be close to him the entire time while I am at work...”

“Just so he could get hit instead?” Desmond interrupted him, lowering his coffee cup. “I don’t think so!”

“No,” Gabriel said quietly without looking away from Salamander’s eyes. “That’s not what he wants... He wants me to keep up a barrier; he wants me to shield him... I don’t have to be right next to him in order to do that; I have to be in close vicinity, that’s all.”

Desmond narrowed his eyes, his shoulders slightly relaxing. Salamander slowly nodded without taking his eyes off Rayhe’s thoughtful face. Everyone remained silent for a while. Finally, Gabriel sighed and nodded.

“I will do that,” he said, and Julian straightened up, letting go of his own knee. “I’ll make it as strong as I possibly can,” he continued after a few seconds. “However, there is no guarantee that the stream won’t be able to penetrate it; it was impossibly strong, the barrier might be useless.”

“Yes,” Julian agreed darkly. “But it will lessen the strength of the jolt; if that happens, there is a good chance it won’t be lethal.”

“True,” Gabriel nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I will do that,” he sighed again. “I suppose you will have to figure out a way to keep him shielded during the night as well,” he narrowed his eyes, and Raven gritted his teeth, hating his own helplessness.

“Yes,” Julian said almost immediately. “I thought of that. The barrier will keep itself up without my interference for a few hours before dissolving... That will be enough; sleep is not my main priority.”

“I see,” Gabriel nodded in the same thoughtful manner. “You know...” he said several minutes later. “If I didn’t know any better...” He shot a quick look towards Desmond. “I would say it’s Magda’s game again...”

“She is gone,” Desmond frowned. “I was there; I saw that!”

“No, you didn’t,” Raven said dully, and the ex-assassin stared at him without blinking. “All we saw...” He looked up for a second or two. “All three of us,” he nodded. “All we saw was that huge-ass spider squeezing her, nothing else.”

“That was enough!” Desmond said sharply and lit another cigarette. “Nobody would be able to survive...”

“Not a living thing,” Raven interrupted him. “Magda wasn’t one of them; she was nothing but a spirit. You can’t get rid of the spirit by simply crashing it into pulp!”

Desmond closed his eyes and hissed something in his usual manner. Gabriel bit his lower lip, his expression even more thoughtful than before.

“If it is indeed her doing...” he started saying slowly, his gaze fixed on his lighter. “...then she found a sidekick.”

He looked around and slowly nodded when he saw three identical unasked questions.

“There is no way in hell she would be able to send even a single black stream,” he explained. “Let alone the one so ridiculously powerful.”

“Not unless she possessed someone who could,” Julian muttered gloomily. He glanced at Desmond, whose expression was darker than ever. “I thought that I killed her once as well,” he nodded, ignoring Desmond’s obscenity-spitting whispering. “And if she possessed someone who can control black streams...”

“No,” Desmond said suddenly. “If that was indeed the case, she would’ve killed me first; she wouldn’t start with Raven... She hated me much more than she hated both of you combined,” he looked at the blond steadily. “It’s not her doing; there is a chance that she might be alive and well somewhere in the world right now...” He gritted his teeth at that. “...but it’s not her doing,” he finished with a firm nod.

Julian sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingertips as if trying to get rid of a headache.

“We are going to bed,” he said shortly and stood up after throwing a quick glance at Raven. “Good night.”

The brunet stood up as well and followed Salamander into the house without saying anything. Desmond followed them with his eyes, his expression thoughtful.

“I guess he has no problems with following orders,” he muttered, and Gabriel sighed.

“It wasn’t an order,” he said and stabbed his cigarette in the ashtray. “It was an offer; Raven could’ve declined if he wanted.”

“How do you know?” Desmond narrowed his eyes, and Gabriel shrugged and got up, pushing his chair back.

“I just do,” he said quietly. “Let’s go to bed; I am still experiencing jet lag...”

“Like hell you are,” Desmond nodded and followed him towards the house. “You’ve never suffered from jet lags...! The reason you want to get to bed...”

“Are you complaining?” Gabriel interrupted him seriously even though there was dark laughter splashing in his eyes.

“No,” Desmond answered in the same serious manner. “I am stating the fact, that’s all.”

“Good,” Rayhe murmured and wrapped his arm around his mate’s waist, placing a slow kiss on the other man’s mouth. “Come on...”

Desmond let out a small smile, returned the kiss, and leaned into Rayhe’s touch, following him silently this time.