Fallen Pride - 12. Chapter 12

Kiorl regarded the beautiful, pale-skinned young demon carefully. Standing under the autumn sunshine in the park, he could have been any pretty, normal boy. Except for those eyes.

Why did Nassau give him my eyes? The question had bothered Kiorl since the first time the panther had seen Lahja awake. Slit pupils were not so unusual in their world, but they were the exact same shade… it couldn’t have been a simple coincidence, and Nassau never did anything without deliberate consideration. But all that wondering wasn’t nearly as important as the question Lahja had asked him.

“Then why did you kiss him?”

The angel had sounded almost like he cared, like the kiss Kiorl had taken from the little human he’d killed had bothered him somehow.

You don’t seriously think he’s jealous, do you? Kiorl’s inner voice mocked him gently. Get over yourself Kiorl. He was sounding more and more like Nassau every moment. You’re standing there covered in someone else’s blood. This is hardly the time for seduction.

Lahja was still waiting for an answer.

“It felt right,” Kiorl replied. The young demon seemed satisfied with his answer, and turned to walk deeper into the park. Kiorl went with him, even though they had no specific purpose in that direction.

But are you satisfied? Kiorl felt his hackles rise along his spine. That was a shitty answer Ki.

It wasn’t a lie.

But it wasn’t the truth, his inner Nassau shot back. You kissed him because that’s just what you do. Your power is seduction, which you’ve failed to mention to him. When was the last time you took a soul without an element of sexual torture?

Shut up.

Oh, very mature.

Kiorl held onto the knowledge that, if nothing else, Lahja had been thinking about the kiss. It could only mean progress of some type. He walked at the angel’s shoulder, watching him taking in their surroundings. The boy watched everything, even the movement of the air, and Kiorl knew he was seeing things in their true nature for the first time.

I taught him that. Kiorl’s chest swelled with pride. If nothing else, I taught him to see properly. Kiaza and his fancy magic ain’t got nothing on me.

And yet, he just watched you kiss someone else. Kiorl’s pride vanished in a heartbeat. Is that really what you want him thinking of alone at night?

Kiorl shook away the nagging guilt, not liking the greasy texture of the feeling in his mind. Softly he turned Lahja’s path towards the place they would need to be in order to cross back into the inner circle. The texture of the air was thinner, as if reality could be stretched to accommodate their passage.

“We have to go back through The Way.” Kiorl fingered the portal stone in one of his many pockets, wishing for a moment he’d brought Lahja somewhere more exotic, somewhere the boy would want to explore with him.

“No...” Lahja shook his head, a visible shiver running through his body. “It hurt; I don’t want to.”

Kiorl chewed his lip, flicking his ears back and forth. He had not counted on the little demon being able to read the signals of his body so clearly.

“Why are you nervous?”

“What?” Kiorl couldn’t help the edge of the snarl in his voice. “I’m not.” He stilled the movements of his tail and ears, though it took conscious effort. “The Way shouldn’t hurt you. You’re a demon. We’re designed to be able to pass through unscathed.” Kiorl paused, wondering how open Lahja was going to be to his suggestion. “I can show you how to use it properly. One day you’ll be expected to do it alone after all.”

“I will?” Lahja looked surprised.

“Yes, we have eternity together, after all. You won’t always need me to hold your hand.” For a moment, Kiorl figured he’d judged his words correctly, but Lahja turned around and walked away. Kiorl didn’t bother to follow him, just relaxed onto the grass, and watched the angel stalk huffily away. Around and above him, shimmering in the air was the faintest hint of his wings.

I doubt he even notices they’re there. I wonder if they’ll ever manifest properly?

Kiorl forced himself to look away. Lahja hadn’t gone out of sight, just stood in the near distance, walking in little wiggly circles, meandering, clearly thinking to himself. The panther folded his arms behind his head and gazed up at the sky. Soft little clouds scudded across his view, the fingertips of trees ringing the blue above. Kiorl hadn’t grown up with a blue sky overhead, and he missed the familiar camp fires of home. He felt the presence of the other demon when he returned to stand near Kiorl’s bare feet, but didn’t look at him.

“Hey kid.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not a kid.”

Don’t sulk like one then, Kiorl added mentally.

At least he doesn’t go get blind drunk when he’s moody. Kiorl sighed. Not your finest moment.

“Alright.” Kiorl wondered how much truth Lahja could cope with. You couldn’t lie to the angel, but Kiorl was sick of half-truths and having his intentions misinterpreted. “I wanted to show you before, on the way here, how to pass safely through the portal and The Way. You should never have gotten hurt at all. Fuck, but Nassau would have been pissed if I’d lost you in there. You didn’t leave me much choice.”

“You’re saying in was my fault?” Lahja’s tone was icy.

“Yes actually.” Kiorl interpreted Lahja’s silence as the boy’s admission what Kiorl said was the truth. “You didn’t give me time to explain. It’s like you think I’m only here to hurt you. The Way is an infinite space, a place to pass between worlds and universes. With the right knowledge and tools, you can get anywhere.”

“I could go home?” Lahja suddenly sounded hopeful.

Kiorl sat up. The boy was watching him with an almost fearful expression.

“No. ‘The right tools’ includes the right sort of blood. We’re demons, we can’t go to heaven; same as angels can’t go to hell. Nassau can go places we can’t, because he’s royalty. Even he can’t go everywhere. Only gods and Them can go wherever they please.” Kiorl shivered mentally. He hated even mentioning the heralds of the gods, the chance they would hear him was too terrifying. “The Way is not without its dangers. If you don’t know where you’re going, you can get lost in there forever.”

“Oh.”

“That’s why I offered you my hand.”

“Oh...” Lahja repeated, “but you know I can’t touch anyone.”

“And I know sometimes you can.” Kiorl bounced onto his paws and stood gracefully. “Kiaza told me about your training. I know the others touch you, and you don’t always hurt them….” Lahja looked surprised, and Kiorl smirked. “It’s like you think we don’t talk. I have lived with them for millennia.” Kiorl resisted the urge to touch the white marks of Lahja’s hand-print on his cheek. “We should be getting back.”

Remember what Nassau said, Kiorl’s inner voice reminded him. You’re supposed to be making a good impression.

Kiorl took a deep breath, hardly believing he was going to utter the words lodged in his throat.

“Lahja, would you hold my hand?”

The angel bit his lip nervously. With the curls of his blond hair falling into his blue eyes, Kiorl could easily imagine how he might look, mussed up and sexy in his bed.

He finds out you’re imagining that and all your good work will be for nought.

Kiorl held out his hand, palm up.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” the angel said eventually.

“You won’t. I trust you.”

“I don’t.” Whether Lahja was talking about Kiorl, or himself, he didn’t make clear. But none of that mattered, because the boy placed his hand in Kiorl’s own, and Kiorl couldn’t help the shudder of pleasure which coursed up his spine and made his ears prick up. “So, where’s the portal?”

“Here,” Kiorl fished out the portal stone, smooth, translucent, slightly egg shaped. “They’re portable.”

Kiorl gripped the stone in one hand, Lahja’s fingers in the other as the stone began to crackle and fill with electric blue energy, the same colour as his eyes. It wouldn’t take long, and Kiorl reminded himself Lahja needed not to be scared this time.

“Look at me!” he demanded. Something in his tone of voice worked, and the angel stared at him. “Everything around us is about to get very strange. Whatever you do, don’t let go of me.”

“OK.”

“I mean it.” Kiorl wished suddenly he had a better hold on the boy. To have stood close together, his arms wrapped around the young demon would have been more secure, and far more pleasurable. “Hold tight.” The portal stone was filling with energy from Kiorl’s hand and it was almost full. “Look at me.” Lahja’s gaze held none of the fear and revulsion Kiorl had seen in him before and his heart thudded in a strange new way. “Stay with me?”

“Yes.”

Lahja reached out with his free hand and placed his fingers exactly over the place where Kiorl wore the imprint in stark white of his hand print on his face. Kiorl felt a prickle, almost painful, at the contact, as though cold fire was seeping through his skin and fur, and he held Lahja’s gaze as the portal stone became full before the sensations of the world closed down all around them.

He had expected Lahja to scream, had braced himself for the boy to pull away, but after a snatched gasp, the boy was silent. He shook gently as they moved in The Way, and Kiorl could tell he desperately wanted to pull his eyes away to look at the billion whirling stars which surrounded them. He doubted the fallen angel had seen them before, concentrated as he was on his own pain and loss. Lahja’s hand was warm in his own, and Kiorl wished he had spare breath to speak the boy’s name and kiss him again.

The path to hell was as clear to Kiorl as a well lain row of paving slabs, and his mind followed automatically, heading for the safety and the familiarity of home. He wondered how long it would take Lahja to learn The Way, and hoped selfishly the angel would want to hold his hand every time they passed through. He directed them to the South portal, the furthest from the house, hoping he would get to walk through hell with the angel on his arm. Kiorl stepped sideways, holding Lahja’s hand tight, and together they arrived in the hot, dry heat of the inner circle as easily as if they had simply been walking.

Kiorl smiled happily, but before he could move, Lahja stepped back and moved away from him. The moment the contact was severed, Kiorl felt a tugging disappointment in his chest, and fought the urge to growl.

“Thank you,” the angel spoke without smiling.

“You’re welcome.”

Lahja put his head on one side.

“What is it you want Kiorl?”

You can’t lie to him, Kiorl reminded himself. He wished he could dispel the image from his mind, sweet as it was. But he couldn’t.

“To kiss you again.”

He’d expected Lahja to hit him again, but the pale demon only frowned.

“Why?”

“I...” Kiorl hadn’t ever considered the question before. “Because you’re beautiful.”

“That’s not good enough.” Lahja looked uncomfortable, and pulled his borrowed cloak more firmly around his shoulders. “Will you walk with me to the house? I don’t know the way.”

“Sure.” Kiorl flicked his tail in annoyance. He didn’t try to touch the boy again as they made their way home.

*

“So, how’d it go?” Kiaza stood in the bathroom doorway, looking sultry and delicious. Kiorl snarled wordlessly as he stripped off his armour pieces, dropping them carelessly on the floor. “You’re not drunk, that’s a start.”

“Fuck off Kia,” Kiorl sighed as he placed the little reliquary on the stone counter by the basin. “I was intending to shower in peace, since you and Jem aren’t currently in it.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” The snake rolled his shoulders, his scales rippling in a manner Kiorl couldn’t help but notice. “Jem is in the den with Sitka. He’s negotiating.”

“Oh really? You finally convinced your boy to share you?”

“Not share me, no.” Kiaza answered with a cryptic smirk. The snake stepped closer as Kiorl’s bloody fingers slipped on his belt buckle again. “Let me Ki, you’re gonna slip and shred your clothes if you get frustrated.”

“Hmph,” Kiorl grunted.

“I know you like this outfit. Don’t pretend not to care.” Kiaza deftly dealt with the belt and began to unwrap the kilt from Kiorl’s hips. “It’s terribly unattractive on you.”

“You don’t care what’s attractive on me.”

“Ki….” Kiaza looked genuinely hurt, and Kiorl was shocked. “I don’t remember a time before you were my friend. How could you say that? Just because I have Jem now doesn’t mean I don’t still adore you.” Kiaza stepped closer, too close to be friendly and casual, even for a demon. “You’re still my favourite feline.”

“You’ve always had a wicked tongue Kia.” Kiorl ran appreciative fingers down Kiaza’s spine, and the snake shivered happily under his hands.

“You got a soul I see. Did you take it, or did Lahja?”

Kiorl tried to remember how Lahja had looked when he’d killed the human, but he hadn’t been paying enough attention. Now he felt guilty about it.

“Do we have to talk about him? Now?” Kiorl grinned at his friend, looping an arm around Kiaza’s narrow scaled waist, bringing the snake’s arousal into contact with his own burgeoning erection.

“I know you want him.”

“Kia….”

“You can’t deny it Kiorl.” Kiaza lent in and kissed him, familiar and delicious. Kiorl wanted to sink into the sensation, but something was nagging at the back of his mind, stopping him from indulging in his most natural desires. “It’s as clear as the mark on your face. You want him like you’ve not wanted anyone in years.”

“Shhh….”

“I know I’m right.”

“Yeah.” Kiorl wondered if they were all going to get used to telling the truth automatically now. “But just don’t say it, and kiss me.”

“You’re all bloody,” the snake pointed out.

“Well, then we’d best get in the shower,” Kiorl suggested with a sly smile.

He was grateful for the hot water, the fact that unlike Kiaza he had the forethought to lock the door with magic, and that his companion decided not to change shape when he came with him, willingly following the big panther into the waterfall. Kiorl knew he wanted Lahja, and if the other demon had been there, old friendships would have meant nothing. He’d have traded snake for angel in a heartbeat.

But you don’t want to be with a figment made to look like him, Kiorl’s mind supplied, sounding so much like Nassau that Kiorl wouldn’t have been surprised to open his eyes and find the Prince in there with them. You’re falling hard there Ki.

Kiorl didn’t bother to respond to the voice in his head, because he was too busy responding to the friend in his arms. Kiorl let the water wash his fur of the human’s blood, wrapped his fingers around Kiaza’s cock, and felt the rush of power when the snake whimpered his name. They brought each other off under the water, and Kiorl knew his old friend wouldn’t mind that he cried Lahja’s name when he came.