The Nekromancer - 37. Chapter 37

Death by ice, or death by crushing. Laying near frozen under a fallen beam, Amnor Sen wished the wood would just drop. Freezing to death was too painful.

His body began sliding suddenly, Amnor Sen's eyes flying open. He saw a long dark face, a mouth wrapped around his ankle, but he couldn't feel any of it, the biting cold not as biting anymore.

"Zepyr…?"

The horse huffed, pulling the bloody and bruised paladin out of the ruined stable.

"Zepyr.. fin Jewemy…"

His mouth felt numb, his words sounded garbled. Amnor Sen could only hope the cleric would find him before he froze to death.

Zephyr dragged the elf to a wall, leaving him beside one of the mangled corpses that littered the area. The next moment, the horse was gone, Amnor Sen staring blearily at a preserved halfling. It was gruesome, but the elf couldn't find the energy to even think about moving away.

"Amnor Sen!"

Gentle hands grabbed him, his body limp as he slid into darkness.

"Cayden Cailean, grant me the power to heal my husband and keep him among the living…"

Jeremy's hands pressed into the blood flowing from the elf, a warm energy pulsing from his hand to seal the wound.

"Will he live?" Jakun asked, lifting the halfling beside the paladin.

"I don't know… he's so cold," Jeremy whispered.

Setting the halfling aside almost reverently, the amurrun turned back to Amnor Sen and Jeremy. He called Anya out, the werewolf lifting Amnor Sen into her arms, before motioning toward the paladin's glaive.

"We need to warm him up," Jakun muttered. "I've seen slaves freeze to death in the winter. If you huddle close, you can share your warmth."

Jeremy nodded in mild confusion, grabbing the glaive. He hurried after Jakun, Zephyr bringing up their rear.

Anya led them to another tavern, Jeremy pushing a coin into the hand of a startled stable girl. They headed inside, the cleric paying another gold for a private room.

Anya settled Amnor Sen on the bed that took up most of the room, Jakun pulling off the elf's boots.

"What are you doing? He needs those to stay warm!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Trust me. He'll be colder with them on," the amurrun said, peeling the paladin's bloodstained chain shirt off.

His fingers fumbled with the gambeson beneath, finally unstrapping the fabric.

"Jakun, we're not-"

"This isn't sexual, it's survival," Anya interrupted roughly. "You want to save your husband, get naked."

"This is ridiculous! I'm all for being naked, but this makes no sense!"

Jakun ignored the cleric, pulling Amnor Sen's pants down. He left the elf's underpants in place, starting to strip himself.

Jeremy shuddered at the sight of the amurrun's bony ribs, his emaciated body on full display.

"You need more food," he muttered, momentarily distracted. "Fine… if you're sleeping with my husband, I'm going to be there too…"

The cleric pulled off his own chainmail, removing his sword belt with it. His gambeson fell with a soft thump, Jeremy's pants following a moment later. He saw Anya vanish out of the corner of his eye, the cleric blinking in surprise.

"She has no body heat," Jakun explained, pulling a blanket out of his bag.

He threw it over Amnor Sen, crawling under it to lay against the elf, their skin contacting as much as possible.

Jeremy sighed quietly, crawling under the other side of the blanket. He wrapped his arms around his husband, starting to shiver himself almost immediately.

"This is just making us cold…"

"It will balance our body temperatures. We're warming him up," Jakun sighed quietly. "Please Jeremy, I know I'm just a slave-"

"Former slave," Jeremy corrected him.

"I know what I'm doing. I survived as long as I did under Loran. I do know a few things."

Jeremy let out a deep breath, his hand running lovingly through Amnor Sen's hair.

"May the Drunken Hero stoke the fire in my belly to warm us all…" he prayed quietly.

Heat flared from the cleric, instantly warming the area around them. He began running his hands over his husband, searching for any more injuries, while continuing to warm him with the spell.

"You know… this is the most you've said to me since we met, I think," he mentioned.

"It was important," Jakun said, his ears flicking.

"You should talk more though. There's no reason to keep quiet around us. And I'm not like this buzzkill here," the cleric added with a fond chuckle. "I'm not going to instantly say no to any of your suggestions."

There was silence for a few moments, the two enjoying the warmth granted by Jeremy's prayer.

"Jeremy… what do you know of Pharasma?" Jakun asked quietly.

"Not much," Jeremy admitted. "I try not to think about death. It tends to either sap bravery or make you do dumb things."

"I think I made her angry," Jakun admitted quietly. "Loran… made me into something. I had a vision and this woman told me I was tainted."

"You are, but it isn't your fault. Honestly, I don't think you are all that evil. Sure, you have done horrible things. But you were forced into them, from what you told us. And you're learning to grow beyond your necromantic beginnings. I know Amnor Sen won't say it, but I'm proud of you Jakun."

"I'll say it…" the elf protested weakly between them.

Jeremy let out a low snort, his arms closing around the paladin in a tight hug.

"Fuck… I'm happy you woke up…" he sighed, nestling his head into the paladin's back.

"I feel like I just went toe to toe with a dragon…" Amnor Sen groaned. "Why is it so hot? And why are we naked?"

"Jakun's idea," Jeremy said immediately. "I was trying to warm you up. You were caught in Ivris' ice blast. Oh… Zephyr is safely stabled."

"Oh…"

The paladin's head swam with the information, trying to straighten it all out.

"Okay… thank you Kitten," he added, smiling slightly at Jakun. "We didn't…"

Jakun shook his head.

"No. I don't want that," the amurrun replied quietly.

"That's what I thought," Amnor Sen nodded slowly. "So… we should get dressed then…"

"Or we can keep cuddling. Now that we're like this, why not stay a while?" Jeremy chuckled.

"We need to leave before Loran sends Ivris after us again," Jakun denied.

"Loran? What does he have to do with Ivris?"

"The ritual I used to summon Ivris came from Loran's spellbook. He still had a copy of it. And Ivris referred to me as a slave. I think he was summoned by Loran last time, and they… decided to work together to get me back. Or maybe to kill me. I don't know specifics…"

Jakun sighed, sliding out of the blanket.

"I will go buy a wagon. If Zephyr can walk unburdened, my tigers can pull it for a while," he added, pulling his clothes back on. "And if… if you would rather travel without me, I would not blame you. I am a magnet for death."

"All the more reason to go with you," Jeremy said, Amnor Sen's jaw dropping slightly. "You're my friend Jakun. And I will do my best to keep you safe. It's time I started embodying more aspects of Cayden Cailean than the drink."

"My husband is growing up…" Amnor Sen said in amazement.

"I'm still drinking though."