Kingsbane

Chapter 2

Siva sat in a chair by the window, smoking a hand rolled cigarette as he watched the storm raging outside. A trash can barreled down the street and the tree in the front yard bent and bowed as if reaching out in an attempt to recapture the leaves it was losing. The wind howled and the rain pelted the gutter, but the tempest in him was enough to rival the weather. Why did it have to be now that he found the person who's soul sang to his heart? And he had to be dying, on top of that.
As lightning lit the room briefly, he glanced over at the young man laying in his king-sized bed. Grayson Kohl. Twenty three years old. Organ donor. 5'9, One hundred and seventy pounds. At least, that was what his driver's license had said. Now, the boy couldn't have weighted more than one-thirty. The sickness must have set in after the I.D. had been issued.
Putting out his cigarette in the ashtray setting on the windowsill, he crossed the room to stand over the slumbering stranger. He did not appear to be sleeping as soundly as before. Even in the dark Siva could easily see something was wrong. Grayson's cheeks were flushed and the sheets were damp with sweat. A fever?
Quietly, he went to the bathroom to fetch a cool rag. When he returned, Grayson's lips were parted and his eyebrows were furrowed. He made a small noise and drowsily tossed the sheets off of him. "Dammit." He murmured, sitting up and resting his head in the palm of his hand. With a sigh he wrapped his arms around his middle and opened his hazy eyes.
"Hello." Siva stood at the end of the bed, rag in hand. "You should lay back down."
Grayson looked at him, and then around the dark room. The moment he realized he wasn't in his own bed, he tried to get up, but his knees were weak. Siva stood where he was as the other man stumbled, not wanting to panic him further. "How did I get here? Why am I naked?"
Siva turned on the lamp that set on the nightstand. "You fell asleep in my yard. I brought you here to ride out the storm. You're clothes were soaked, so I took them off." He replied calmly, as if stripping a stranger was the most normal thing in the world. Still, the way he spoke and the gentleness in his emerald eyes put Grayson at ease. And, perhaps it was just the fogginess of the fever, but his fear was slowly washing away the longer he stared at him.
"You're the guy from earlier."
"Yes. Does your stomach hurt?" He inquired, retrieving a pair of basketball shorts from the top drawer of his dresser and handing them to him.
"It's nothing." Grayson whispered, slipping gingerly into them and swaying slightly.
"It looks swollen."
"Thanks for your help. I should really go now, though."
"It's one in the morning, pissing down the rain, and you've got a fever." Siva sighed, pointing to the bed. "The only place you're going is back to bed."
"Uh-" Was this guy serious? He was a grown ass man, and he was leaving. "Where are my clothes?"
"The dryer." Siva informed, nodding toward the nightstand. "Your wallet, keys, and cellphone are there."
"Well, I-"
"Just let me stop you right there." Holding up his hand, Siva cut off his excusal with an authoritative air. "I can not allow you to leave."
Where usually he would have argued, he relented. This was all probably one of his fevered dreams anyway, and if it wasn't? Well, what did it matter? If this guy was some creepy serial murderer, he was a damn good looking one and at least his death would be far quicker than was previously expected.
"I really should go." He murmured half heartedly.
Siva saw the strength his momentary panic had caused him waning, and approached him. As he went to help him back to the bed, Grayson flinched away. "Easy." Siva soothed in a voice that ran over him like cool water. "I won't hurt you, Grayson."
"How do you know my name?" He whispered, allowing the other man to support him.
"Your I.D." He responded, gently putting him back in bed. Gray blinked slowly, the fever beginning to pull him back into that heavy, senseless fog he abhorred.
"Who are you?"
"Siva, King of Faery and Sovereign of Summer." The man smiled as Grayson eased back into his pillows. "What is the sickness in you?"
"Leukemia." He murmured, body so heavy it was hard to speak. "Like Tinkerbell?"
"What?"
"That kind of fairy?"
"No." Siva chuckled, placing the rag across the man's forehead. "How long do you have to live?"
"Two months."
The words hit him harder than he'd been expecting and the instant grief churned his stomach. Two months was roughly eight days in Faery. If he had to go back, Grayson would be dead before he returned.
"Close your eyes." he whispered, crawling into bed and wrapping his arms around the boy.
"What the fu-"
"Be calm." Siva demanded, his large hands running over his fevered body. "Be still, and quiet."
Grayson obeyed, partly because he was too ill to struggle, and partly because Siva's touch not only aroused him to an alarming height, but it also chased the aches and pains from his joints. He whimpered a little when his swollen abdomen was touched, but Siva whispered in his ear.
"It's okay." He cooed, his hot breath sending shivers down his spine and making him forget all else. "Close your eyes."
"I-"
"I'm going to help you." As the man's fingers pressed into his stomach, he felt the pressure in his spleen release, diminishing the swelling and easing the discomfort. He groaned, the relief too great to contain. The sound made Siva shudder with delight, but he forced himself to behave, knowing Gray was in no shape for the things he was wanting to do to him, not yet. "Give me your trust, and I will bring you back from the dead."
He felt him quaking, felt the tears, hot and wet seeping through his cotton tee. Siva held him there as the boy cried himself to sleep, trying desperately to think of a way to keep the promise he'd just made. Sadly, none of his solutions ended in anything but scandal and dishonor. Would that even be so terrible? He pulled Grayson tightly into his chest and listened to the barrage of rain on the roof.