Exitus - 9. Part I, chapter 9

Another humongous chapter...
 
I might split it in 2...

- IX -

“Want to play cards?” Desmond asked half an hour later when they were sitting in the huge living room, their expressions almost identically tight.

Nex looked at him and smiled darkly.

“Playing cards with a mind-reader?” she asked in a low voice. “No, thank you.”

“How did you know he was a mind-reader?” Gabriel asked her with a small frown.

“I sense others’ abilities,” she answered seriously. “Can always tell who possesses what.”

Desmond crossed his legs.

“I guess now you are going to tell me to stay the hell out of your dreams,” he said with a smirk, and Nex smiled at him again.

“No,” she said quietly. “I am not going to say that...” She paused. “Hunters do not dream,” she said finally, and Desmond raised one eyebrow. She nodded without saying anything else.

“Interesting,” Desmond said thoughtfully. He glanced outside and grimaced when he saw that it started to rain rather heavily.

Nex followed his gaze, and suddenly, her expression became quite eager. Desmond looked at her with a silent question when she quickly stood up.

“It’s raining,” she said, her eyes fixed on the window. “I never miss such an opportunity.”

“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked, and she slowly shifted her gaze towards him.

“I draw life force from all four elements,” she explained. “Rain gives me more than just Water would; it’s much more intense.”

“Handy,” Gabriel nodded, clearly impressed.

“Very,” Nex replied seriously, watching Rayhe’s fingers draw an absent-minded pattern on Desmond’s knee. She shifted her gaze towards the ex-assassin. “I always thought that out of all people, you would be the last one who would change so much, Specter,” she said without a smile, and Desmond looked up.

“I don’t use that name anymore,” he said calmly. “Call me Desmond.”

She looked at him as seriously as before for a few seconds. Finally, she let out a shadow of a smile, and said:

“Desmond...”

She said the name slowly, as if trying to figure out how it felt in her mouth. Desmond looked interested all of a sudden.

“Speaking of names...” he said slowly. “What is your real name...? You never told me that before...”

“You never told me yours until now,” she smiled with the corners of her mouth and glanced at the silently raging water outside. “I might tell you later, I don’t know. Call me Nex; it’s habitual enough, isn’t it?”

Desmond smiled without baring his teeth.

“Absolutely,” he said in a low voice, and Nex never bothered with another facial expression. She simply nodded without taking her eyes off the rain behind the window, and walked away.

“Do you ever miss everything you left behind?” Gabriel asked suddenly, and Desmond looked at him without a smile.

“Sometimes,” he nodded slowly. “However, if I were to go back, I would do it again; I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Rayhe smiled at that without looking away from Desmond’s green eyes, his fingers becoming more insistent on the other man’s knee.

“Why do you think she is here?” he asked after a minute or two.

“I don’t know,” Desmond replied, watching his mate’s fingers on his denim covered leg. “I suspect that whoever hired her is not just some average person though... People would do anything to avoid dealing with Hunters... Plus,” he glanced up when Gabriel suddenly took his hand off Desmond’s knee and stood up. “She is here to talk to Salamander; she sounded like she wanted to warn him about something... Again, people would do anything to avoid doing such a thing...”

Gabriel let out another smile and grabbed Desmond’s arm, making him to stand up as well.

“Something on your mind?” Desmond asked in a low voice, following his mate upstairs.

“A lot,” Gabriel nodded very seriously without letting go of Desmond’s arm. He shot a very quick, somewhat dark glance at the other man, and the ex-assassin blinked several times.

“You packed the handcuffs?” he asked with mild amusement.

“It surprises you because...” Gabriel frowned slightly and pushed open the door of the bedroom when they finally made it there.

He pulled Desmond into the room, kicked the door shut, and turned around with unexpected speed, pushing Desmond into the wall rather harshly. His fingers started swiftly undoing the buttons on the other man’s shirt without pausing or hesitating even for a second. Desmond watched him through his eyelashes, doing nothing to help to get rid of his clothes. Gabriel didn’t need any help, however; he seemed to be very skillful at what he was doing. A minute later, he tossed away the quickly surrendered shirt, and Desmond blinked when suddenly, there was a dully-shining pair of handcuffs appearing out of nowhere, it seemed.

“Metal and me...” Rayhe grinned when he saw Desmond’s expression. “All I have to do is to call for it...”

He slid the metal rings onto the other man’s wrists with the same unexpected speed, and clicked them shut, noting Desmond’s suddenly frowning look.

“What if I say that I don’t want this right now?” the ex-assassin asked evenly, and Gabriel looked at him without a smile.

“Then I will call you a liar,” he murmured, slowly running his palm down Desmond’s flat stomach, heading towards his hips. “I will definitely call you a liar,” he nodded when his fingers started tracing a very prominent outline that formed against denim fabric.

A shadow of a quick smile ran across Desmond’s mouth, and his hips thrust slightly forward when Gabriel’s fingers decided to become more demanding.

“You are mine,” Rayhe muttered, leaning closer and pressing his mouth against Desmond’s with surprising, harsh strength. “You are mine...” he muttered again without pulling away, sending those muffled words down Desmond’s throat. “Say it...!”

Desmond tried pulling away just a little, but Gabriel didn’t let him, snaking one arm behind his head, and burying his fingers in black hair, forcing the other man to remain in his current position.

“Say it,” he repeated without looking away from the green eyes, his lips pressed hard against Desmond’s mouth.

“What is it with you all of a sudden?” Desmond narrowed his eyes, his breathing becoming less and less composed. “Salamander rubbing off...?”

Rayhe brought his other arm up as well, locking his hand on the back of his mate’s neck.

“You are the best assassin out there,” he said in a low voice, without making any retort. “You managed to convince a Hunter to make a truce with you... You could have tamed the entire bloody world if you wanted to... And you are mine; completely and utterly mine... Say it...!”

“I don’t belong to anyone, Rayhe...” Desmond muttered and let out a muffled moan when Gabriel’s hips pressed hard against his. “Not even you... I... Ohh...”

He squeezed his eyes shut when Gabriel started slowly moving against him without releasing his hold on Desmond’s hair and neck.

“Say it...” Rayhe whispered into the ex-assassin’s mouth, completely ignoring his words. “Des, say it...”

His hips increased friction, making Desmond’s back to arch off the wall, his handcuffed arms making their way up and dropping around Gabriel’s neck, capturing him in an unbroken circle. Rayhe slowly ran his tongue over Desmond’s lips without closing his eyes, watching the other man’s expression with great intensity, his hips gaining dominance by the second.

“Yours...” Desmond moaned without opening his eyes, letting that slow tongue into his mouth. “I am yours...”

Gabriel inhaled sharply when he heard that, and his fingers held onto Desmond’s hair even tighter, making the other man wince slightly. Rayhe released his hold, and his hand smoothly slid downwards, making its way around Desmond’s waist, aiming at his belt buckle. He finally closed his eyes, never letting go of Desmond’s lips, his fingers undoing that buckle with hurried ease.

“Yours...” he whispered into Desmond’s mouth, and the other man let out another low moan, swallowing that word immediately.

Gabriel easily pushed jeans down his mate’s hips after he defeated the weakly resisting buckle, and got rid of his own clothes, managing to keep their mouths glued together while doing that. Several minutes later, he pulled Desmond away from the wall and led him to the bed, lowering him onto the covers.

Desmond brought his handcuffed arms upwards, dropping them onto the pillow above his head. Rayhe glanced up and quickly ran his hand over the metal rings. Desmond opened his eyes, looking at him with a silent, hazy question when he felt the handcuffs fall off his wrists.

“No need for them right now,” Rayhe muttered and slowly ran his fingers down Desmond’s face, his gaze fixed on his mate’s eyes. “Mine...” he whispered, and Desmond wrapped both of his suddenly free arms around his neck, pressing harder into his body.

“Yes,” he said in a low, breaking voice, and pulled Gabriel closer, so he could start drinking his mouth again.

Rayhe kissed him slowly, caressing everything he could reach with his tongue, while one of his hands smoothly slid down the side of Desmond’s body, fingers stroking the smooth, warm skin, traveling up, and down, and sideways, making Desmond shiver. Gabriel changed the angle ever so slightly, aiming for his mate’s hips with his own, and they let out a simultaneous moan when Rayhe’s aim turned out to be perfect.

They started slowly rocking against each other, their hips equally demanding, their moans eerily similar. After a while, Gabriel let go of Desmond’s mouth and propped himself up on his palms, watching the other man without blinking, never pulling away his hips or changing the angle. Desmond loved that look – it was pure hunger and greed. He started running his hands over Gabriel’s chest, and fingers of his left hand locked on Rayhe’s nipple, twisting it roughly, making the other man shudder.

“Mmm...” he said when Desmond let go of the sensitive flesh. “Do it again...”

Desmond obliged without saying anything, his gaze hazier than before, and Gabriel’s hips picked up speed, while he closed his eyes for a few seconds and bit his lower lip rather harshly. Desmond’s right hand mimicked its opposite twin, and Gabriel’s eyes flew open when he felt that.

“Yeah...” he moaned and picked up even more speed, still propped on his hands, watching the other man once again, running his eyes towards their hips.

Desmond followed his gaze and bit his lip, imitating Gabriel, unable to look away from the sight that forcefully pushed him closer towards the edge. Several minutes later, he let go of Rayhe’s nipples, and his arms flew up, wrapping around Gabriel’s neck, pulling him down.

“Oh, hell, Gabriel...” he muttered in the same low, breaking voice as earlier, before diving his tongue into Gabriel’s mouth. “Oh, hell...”

They kissed frantically, speed and force taking over their hips, making both of them groan something unintelligible at the same time. Gabriel pulled away when he felt Desmond shake harder underneath him, and propped himself on his palms once again.

“I know that you are close...” he muttered when Desmond let out a protesting moan at Rayhe’s sudden departure from his mouth. “I want to see you come... I want to watch...”

Desmond said something to that – something that was impossible to decipher. His trembling hands quickly slid down Gabriel’s back and pressed hard into his hips, forcing them to move even faster. Rayhe immediately obliged, getting intoxicated on Desmond’s moans that became louder and quicker.

“You are mine...” Gabriel said in a very low voice, and Desmond’s fingers dug deeper into his skin.

“I am yours,” the ex-assassin agreed in a harsh whisper, and those words were the final straw.

He half-screamed, half-moaned, “Yours...!” while his head flew backwards, and he twisted off the bed in a tense, shuddering arch when a thudding, brilliantly-bright release bloomed in every single inch of his body, making him splatter over both of them.

Gabriel whispered something feverishly, digging his fingers hard into the bed covers, swallowing the intense sight underneath him with his eyes. His hips thrust forward with desperate strength, and he groaned loudly when a blazingly-sharp climax overtook him. He managed to keep himself propped up while his body jerked helplessly, mixing his spilled pleasure with Desmond’s splatters.

Desmond’s fingers locked tightly on Rayhe’s rigid wrists, his back still arching, eyes squeezed shut. He whispered inaudible “Yours...” and took a very shaky breath, slowly opening his eyes. Gabriel’s arms shook and he managed to pull one of them off the covers just so he could run his fingers across Desmond’s stomach.

“Such a beautiful mess...” he muttered and collapsed on top of his panting mate, burying his face in the other man’s hair while getting drunk on his scent.

****

Nex kneeled in a large, angrily-bubbling puddle of water, her entire form unmoving, shoulders straight and rigid, a small, frozen smile glued to her lips. Rain gave her the same ecstatic, trembling satisfaction as it always did, sending powerful, cool waves throughout her entire body. Suddenly, her eyes opened, and she moved a thick, wet strand of her hair behind her ear, tilting her head slightly to the right, as if she were trying to hear something better. Her ear was small, pink, and pointy on the very top, making her look even more exotic than she already did.

She listened to something rather intently for a minute or so, and then her eyes darted towards the slightly opened window on the second floor of the house. She stared at that window without blinking, her expression almost hungry.

“Holy hell...” she muttered without looking away, her thin nostrils trembling, as if she were trying to catch some very seductive smell. “This is...”

She stopped talking, closed her eyes, and lifted her face towards the rain, ignoring the pouring water this time. Her full, undivided attention was fixed on that window.

“This is amazing...” she muttered finally without opening her eyes, bathing in the invisible streams of pure sexual energy; this kind of energy gave her a different shade of life force – this one was more basic and primal. It almost felt like a treat – she didn’t get this kind too often. It was much rarer than rain or an earthquake.

“Holy hell...” she whispered again, her eyes still squeezed shut. “This is not Specter...” She slightly frowned without unlocking her eyelids. “It’s his mate...”

She finally opened her eyes, her gaze hazy, and stared at that window without blinking once again.

“Gabriel Rayhe...” she said very slowly without looking away. “Such purity, such strength, such passion and dedication...” She briefly closed her eyes. “Specter...” she murmured softly. “Desmond...” Her mouth twitched in a slight resemblance of a smile. “I hope you know just how much exactly he loves you... Because if you don’t...” She paused for several minutes, her thin nostrils trembling greedily, as if absorbing all those raindrops and scents. “If you don’t...” she whispered again, never looking away from that tantalizing window. “...then you have no idea how much you are losing... Holy hell...” she said somewhat louder, deeply inhaling something only she could sense. “This...” she murmured. “...will keep me going for a month...” She smiled shakily. “At least,” she added with a slight nod a few seconds later, still staring at the window. “Gabriel Rayhe...” she whispered, and this time, there was an unhidden hunger in her intonation. “I would love to make a deal with you one of those days...”

Her dark-purple eyes flickered strangely, making her red pupils to expand slightly. She let out a deep sigh, and stood up in one smooth, undisturbed motion. The rain will stop soon, she thought after glancing at the sky almost indifferently. She turned around and headed towards the house, feeling content. This session was very satisfactory. She made it to the house and stopped under the big awning of the huge patio, making sure it protected her from the rain. She stood still for a few seconds, her gaze sharp and concentrated on an invisible target.

Suddenly, the air around her shifted and shimmered in some strange twist, and she closed her eyes when her wet hair flew above her head in a corona-like wave. The splash of shimmering air was gone as quickly as it appeared, and when Nex opened her eyes again, she was entirely dry – there was not a single raindrop anywhere on her body or clothes. She let out another sigh – this one was smaller, and more annoyed, however. Every time she would use one of the streams to do something for her, she would lose some amount of whatever energy she saved up to that point, which meant that she would have to dive into Air rather soon, making sure that she refilled everything she just spent. Sure, she didn’t have to use the stream this time, it was rather trivial making it to dry her off, but she always hated the feeling of wet clothes clinging to her skin.

“Maybe there will be a hurricane somewhere...” she muttered wistfully, and slid open the heavy glass door that led into the house. “That way I won’t have to spend hours on this...”

Once she was inside, she shut the door and glanced at the big clock on the wall, wondering how long she would have to wait for Julian to come back from that art gallery. She stood still, thinking about the current situation.

The whole ordeal was nothing new – just another wild escapee that had to be captured before things went badly. Nex agreed to this particular Hunt because the payment was exquisite. It wasn’t the money; it was never the money when she would consider an offer. Nex, just like any other Hunter, never cared about something like that. The reason she agreed to run this Hunt was that this particular escapee was a startlingly unique individual. If Nex gets that wild runner, she can have them at her complete disposal before she had to turn them in – that was a part of the deal, and it seemed that the one who hired her couldn’t care less if she only got an empty shell in the end. That was more than fine with Nex, therefore, she agreed.

Yesterday, however, something has changed, and changed drastically. All of a sudden, Nex had to get all the way here just so she could talk to Salamander. She had no idea why, and there were never any explanations. “This is not a discussion,” she remembered. “And this is not a request.”

She shrugged to herself – she was never bothered by too much pride, anger, or anything else that would qualify for emotions. She would wait for Salamander, explain the situation to him, and maybe, after she talked to him, something would become clearer.

She glanced outside, noting that the rain wasn’t coming down as hard anymore, nodded to herself, and turned away from the glass door, about to head back into the living room. Suddenly, she froze in her tracks for several seconds, her gaze fixed on emptiness in front of her, and then she dove into the nearest magic stream, grabbing hold of several smaller elements at once, forcing them into a shield that flew up all around her.

She could never control any of the streams – magical or other kinds – the way anyone with abilities could. Instead, she worked with portions of them, making those portions into anything she wanted or needed. Magic was easier – she never had to replenish anything, since she never had to store anything in those inner cellars of hers. Magic was very useful but it wasn’t vital.

The shield roared to life in less than two seconds – Nex could work fast when she had to. She opened her eyes, enjoying electrical-like tingling in her fingertips, and turned towards the attacker. The only reason she didn’t unleash something right then and there was that she suspected it might be the owner of the house finally coming back. She was right.

“Good afternoon,” she said mildly without lowering the shield.

“What would a Hunter want with me?” the blond asked coldly, his hands glowing with an unpleasant, threatening shadow of blood-red haze.

“I need to talk to you,” Nex replied calmly, perfectly aware of which streams Julian was holding onto right now. “I have been told that there is a chance you might be familiar with the situation by now.”

Julian narrowed his eyes without letting go of the streams. Nex could understand his hesitation – coming back home and finding a Hunter in your living room (one of the best Hunters, for that matter) was not something to be taken lightly by anyone. She briefly wondered what would happen if Salamander and her were to fight each other. She wasn’t sure of the outcome. “Another one I wouldn’t mind making a deal with,” she thought, making sure nothing reflected on her face.

“What situation would that be?” the blond asked as coldly as before.

“Currently, I am pursuing someone,” she wouldn’t let go of the shield. “I have been told that there is a very good chance I might finally get him if I hang around you for a while.”

Julian frowned at that and looked at her thoughtfully for several silent seconds without releasing the streams. Finally, he took a small breath and his hands stopped glowing. Nex slowly nodded and let go of the shield.

“Hunter,” someone said in a rather amused voice, and Nex shifted her gaze. “Really?”

“Really,” she said seriously, looking at a slender man who appeared out of thin air. She immediately knew it was Julian’s mate.

“Whom are you pursuing?” the blond asked shortly, and she looked at him again.

“Someone has escaped from Stratum Five,” she replied without looking away from his cold eyes, and Julian finally blinked with sincere surprise.

“Stratum Five?” he repeated slowly, and Nex nodded. “When?”

“Three days ago,” she replied and walked towards the chair.

She sat down and crossed her legs without looking away from the blond’s eyes.

“Three days...” Julian muttered thoughtfully and sat down as well. “Are you the only one after them?” he shot her a quick look.

“So far,” Nex nodded again. “It hasn’t been widely known yet.”

“I see...” Julian frowned for a few seconds. “It won’t be this way much longer...”

“I know,” Nex leaned on the back of the chair without uncrossing her legs. “However, Reagan...” She paused and let a very small smile form on her mouth. “Wants to keep this under covers for as long as she possibly can... She hasn’t even told any of her Guardians yet...”

“Reagan,” the blond repeated evenly, without making it sound like a question.

“She doesn’t mind if you know,” Nex nodded without a smile this time. “She said...” The redhead paused for a second. “She said that you would be as much interested in keeping it this way as she was. Apparently...” she shrugged. “...you have your reasons. I don’t know what those would be; she never told me.”

“Stratum Five,” the blond muttered under his breath, mostly to himself. He shot a quick glance at Raven. “What would someone from Stratum Five want with... Fuck!” He closed his eyes with sudden frustration, never finishing the sentence, and stood up. “Specter is in the house, correct?” He glanced at thoughtful by now Nex. “I take it, he is the one who invited you in?”

“He is, indeed,” Nex murmured, eyeing Raven through her eyelashes. Then she shot a very quick glance at the darkly fuming blond who headed towards the stairs. “They are busy at the moment,” she said in a low voice, and Julian turned around, his eyes narrow.

“How do you know?” he asked tightly, and she just gave him a lazy smile. “Never mind...” Salamander muttered with a hint of annoyance. Then he looked at her expression more intently. “The sense was that good?” he asked and received another lazy smile.

“Yes,” she answered simply, and Julian let out a quick, annoyed sigh and tapped his fingers on the table next to the staircase.

“Sense of what?” Raven frowned with sincere curiosity.

“She feeds off all kinds of energy,” the blond sighed again and walked back to the chair he just left. “Sexual energy included,” he added with a small nod.

“Really,” Raven muttered, studying the redhead with more interest. “How does it feel?”

She looked at him seriously.

“Exquisite,” she said solemnly, and Raven just hemmed.

“Stratum Five is...” Julian started saying, looking at the brunet intently, but Raven interrupted him.

“I know what it is,” he said and lit a cigarette. He smiled at the blond’s expression. “I’ve been around long enough,” he nodded. “When you are someone like me, and when you do what I used to do, you pick up lots of different information along the way... Stratum Five is where they lock up some nasty individuals who can’t be killed; the only way to get rid of them for good is to lock them up. That’s where Stratum Five comes in handy...” He hemmed. “Didn’t know that someone could be able to sneak out of there without Reagan even noticing it... They must be good,” he muttered thoughtfully, watching smoke rings he kept producing float in the air.

All three of them sat in rigid silence for the next ten minutes or so. Finally, Julian glanced at his watch and closed his eyes, concentrating on Specter’s mind. “If you are done screwing,” he thought without opening his eyes. “Then come down here... Both of you,” he silently added after a second or two.

He knew that Desmond heard him because there was a sudden, very annoyed splash somewhere deep inside his mind. The blond hemmed silently and opened his eyes, noting Nex’s very thoughtful gaze that was concentrated on Raven.

There was a door slam somewhere upstairs, and a minute later, there was a short and irritated:

“You didn’t have to yell!”

Julian looked up with a small, smug smile that made Raven laugh silently – he knew that smile so well.

“I didn’t yell,” the blond said in his usual mild manner. “Believe me,” he nodded.

Desmond didn’t bother with a reply and walked down the stairs, giving a small nod to Raven.

“I take it, you two had your little talk,” he said, throwing his body into one of the chairs, his eyes concentrated on Nex.

The redhead looked at him.

“Started to,” she replied seriously. “But apparently, both of you need to be present as well,” she glanced at Gabriel who sat down next to Desmond.

Desmond looked like he was about to say something in his usual manner but he never got the chance.

“Yes,” Rayhe said before the ex-assassin even opened his mouth. “We do.”

Nex let out a small, polite smile, and shifted slightly in her chair, turning towards all four men.

“Three days ago,” she started saying. “Someone has escaped from Stratum Five...”