Kingsbane

Chapter 5

     Sarah had left before he'd gotten up, leaving a Tupperware container of eggs and sausage with a note that read: better fucking eat it. He had. Not because he was hungry, but because he felt like he owed her that much at least. His poor baby sister, as tough as she acted, she was still the same little girl she always had been.
    He was feeling a little better today, and now that he'd just had a transfusion, his energy had returned. He was aware that it would not take long for his diseased body to taint the new blood, so he intended to do as much with the time as he could. And first on the list was to figure out whether his mysterious stalker was a real one.
    As he pulled up in front of the old house, a man he'd not seen before looked up from the weed-eater he was using. He was shirtless, and his long dark hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck. His brown eyes watched him as he got out of the car and he shut his tool off.
    "You Grayson?" He inquired, removing the cigarette from his mouth and straightening. He stood tall and alert, like a solider.
    "Uh, yeah." He answered, trying not to stare at the man's well chiseled body.
"Siva!" The man barked, loud like a command. So it wasn't a delusion. Siva was real. "I'm Rafferty." The man held out his hand. Reaching out, a little shell-shocked, Gray shook he proffered palm. "You'd do well to deny any offer he makes you."
    "Offer?"
    "I knew you'd come back." Siva called, appearing from around the house, a pair of hedge clippers thrown over his bare shoulder and a blue bandana on his head to keep back his pale hair. "How did you sleep last night?" The grin on his perfect face made a blush appear on Grayson's.
    "Good luck." Raff muttered around the butt of his Marlboro, staring the weed-eater again and continuing with his yard work as Siva approached.
    "You look better today." Siva commented, holding out his hand, as if to shake it.     Still a little dumbfounded, Gray took it. The shears fell to the sidewalk as Siva pulled him roughly against his chest. Gray didn't have time to fight the kiss he was suddenly forced into, but once their lips met, he didn't want to.
    Feeling dazed as Siva pulled away at last, he had to let the man steady him. "What do you think you're doing?" Gray mumbled, pushing away and stumbling backwards into the side of his car.
    "Sorry, I couldn't help myself." Siva shrugged, removing the bandana from his head and wiping the sweat from his face with it. "Come inside where it's cooler. I'll fix you something to eat."
    No. He should say no. It was obvious this guy had no regard for boundaries, and zero respect for personal space. If he had any sense at all, he'd turn and get into his car. Drive away, and never come back. But if he was real, that meant the healing power he'd demonstrated the night before last had been real too. Maybe, this man could help him. And if he couldn't? Well, what would it hurt? There wasn't much harm that could be done to him that his own body wasn't already doing.
    "Come with me." Siva held out his hand again, his green eyes mesmeric, his voice smooth and comforting. "Grayson."
    Without realizing it, he began to walk toward the house, ignoring Siva's hand. "Just for a few minutes." He mumbled.
    Rafferty rolled his eyes as Siva flashed him a smile. The man seemed incredibly happy for someone who had just brought misery into his arms. If only Raff had a way to show him, to let him feel the pain he was in everyday. His Bane was long dead, but her venom still ran strong and brutal through his veins. The same fate awaited his king, and the fool would not listen to reason.
    "Want a beer?" Siva inquired, leading Gray into the kitchen.
    "No. Thanks." Gray muttered, "Where you at my house last night?"
    "No." The man answered, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Not physically. Did you enjoy yourself?"
    "I don't know what you're talking about." Gray denied, though he was already aroused just thinking about the wet dream he'd had. "Just what exactly is going on?"
    "Stop making that face." Siva whispered, "It makes me crazy."
    Grayson looked down at the floor. Goosebumps rose over his flesh and he felt like prey. "What are you?" He breathed as the man drew closer again.
    "I told you already."
    "Tell me again." Gray demanded, "And knock it off with the kissing and shit or I'll beat your ass."
    "That's not really much incentive to stop." Siva chuckled darkly, "But, I'll try to contain myself. I'm Siva, King of Faery and Sovereign of Summer."
    "So, you're not human?"
    "Not nearly."
    "And that other guy out there?"
    "Also Fae. General of the Queen's army, actually." Siva responded, sitting down at the kitchen table to keep himself from jumping the boy's bones. "Have a seat."
    "I'll stand. Thanks."
    Siva heaved a great sigh and folded his hands on the tabletop before him. "Forgive me. I will admit that I am a little spoiled and selfish. I'm afraid it is in my nature. Though, there was a time when I was genuinely good and I'd like to be that man again, so, please bear with me."
    Grayson just stood there, looking a bit unsure. Siva went on, hoping to somehow make some headway. "It had become a taboo for a Fae to come to this plain. In older times, we were so much a part of your world that we freely bred and shared with one another. But as time passed, the darkness in the human race began to taint ours, and what was once beautiful and perfect began to wither. So, for the good of both races, the Queen put a curse on us. It was meant to dissuade the Fae from coming to this realm."
    "The kid's bored. Just cut to the chase." Raff sighed, appearing in the doorway. "For every Fae there is a human that will cause unimaginable agony for them. Because Siva stayed so long here, he was unfortunate enough to stumble upon you. He can not be free of you now. Ever. Not even after your death. The pain of your loss will linger like an ever-present knife in his soul. That is the punishment for abandoning his own realm for yours."
    "Go take a shower." Siva sniffed, waving his hand dismissively at the general. "You smell."
    Raff snorted and disappeared up the stairs to his left.
    "Ignore him, he's a bit of a pessimist." Siva sighed, "Please sit down."
    "I don't think I can believe any of this." Gray admitted, though he did sit down at the table.    
    "Perhaps I should have started out a bit slower with you, but when I realized you were ill, I panicked. My sister is a great healer. I think she can save you, but you must trust me, and do exactly as I say."
    "What good would it do you to save me, if I'm supposed to be this awful thing that's happened to you?" Gray questioned, not exactly sure why he was still there. Any sane person would have backed slowly toward the exit the moment this guy started harping about fairy's and shit. But, nope, not him. He sat down and asked for more.
    "Because the pain only comes after you're death. While you're with me, all hurt is gone."
    "I think I should go."
    "Wait." Siva grabbed his arm as he rose. "Grayson, let me show you. I know you want to believe me, I can see it in your eyes. Let me prove it."
    "There's no way this is happening. I'm probably laying in a hospital bed right now, so doped up I'm just dreaming all of this."
    "If that's the case, then why does it matter what you do?" Siva inquired, desperately grabbing at straws. "Stay here."
    Siva raised his hand into the air, and Grayson watched as butterflies appeared from his fingertips and fluttered about the room. Their wings were every color at once and their bodies seemed to glisten like ice. Grayson reached out to touch them, but his hand passed through them.
    The Faery King rounded the table, still clutching his wrist. The butterflies fell to the linoleum floor around them. As they hit, they made a soft tinkling sound and then a flower bloomed in their wake. Soon the entire space was filled with exotic flowers that gave off an euphoric scent. Gray swayed as the aroma made him dizzy and Siva pulled him against him.
    "Breathe deep the ambrosia. Forgot your breaking body, forget the grief, the pain. Grayson, stay here with me and I will shelter you from the cruelty of the world you knew." The Fae tempted softly into his ear. Grayson shivered hand his knees became weak. He had to get away, didn't he? He had to go back home, right? Why? "Give me your all, and I will not fail you."
    "I don't know you." Gray protested in a feeble whisper. "I-can't stay here."
    "I can save your mother the tears, I can save your father the regret, and your sister the sorrow. Let me." Siva hissed, pressing the boy up against the wall, moving his hips against his, his erection evident. Gray's body reacted without his consent. "You've ensnared me. Now tangle me up in your web, sting me as much as you like, let me taste your venom. Use me."
    Grayson exhaled sharply as the Fae's hands shot up his shirt to tease his nipples, and his teeth scrapped and nipped his neck. "Use me." Siva repeated into his jaw as he proceeded to grind his hips against Gray's.
    "Bed." Gray groaned. "Now."
    Siva took him to the floor instead and Grayson was so high on pleasure he didn't care. Everywhere Siva touched burned with a throbbing need. He'd never felt anything like it before and he could not get enough, fast enough. He felt Siva remove his shirt and awaited whatever sweet torture came next. Nothing happened.
    The fog of lust began to lift as Siva leaned over him, staring down at him, his green eyes misty. "Grayson." He breathed, running a hand over his side where his spleen was beginning to enlarge again, and where bruises were forming across his chest and arms. Even his jaw, where he'd been grabbed and passionately kissed was turning purple.
    "Siva?" Gray sat up, only to be pulled into the Fae King's arms.
    "I'm sorry." He breathed. "I do not yet know how to handle fragile things."
    "Don't worry about it. A whisper could bruise me at this point." He sighed, trying to struggle free of the other man's arms. Now that the ecstasy was gone, he could see how foolishly he'd been behaving. Siva didn't let go.
    It should have been strange, awkward at the very least, but it wasn't. The embrace was comforting, and even though his mind was giving many valid reasons to leave it, his body couldn't find an excuse good enough. Was it so wrong to want to stay with this stranger? Was it so wrong to put his complete faith in someone he'd just met? Yeah. Probably.
    Rafferty cleared his throat, appearing once again in the kitchen's doorway. He was dressed in a dapper uniform, his hair slicked back around long pointed ears that Grayson was sure had not been there before. "I'm going back now, Siva. I assume you haven't changed your mind?"
    "Nothing has changed." Siva replied softly. "Go."
    Rafferty nodded and turned from the shameful spectacle. Sverre was not going to be pleased to hear of his brother's plight. And even better, he was the lucky son of a bitch who got to tell him about it. With a sigh, he headed out of the house toward the gazebo, clutching Siva's handwritten plea in his large hand.