Downworld

Chapter 19

It was nearly three weeks after Isamu got to come home when I found myself taking a half day off work. I went back to the castle early with a headache that it was pounding my thoughts into mush. That was not the ideal condition in which to perform my dangerous and probably illegal business practices. If not illegal, they were certainly shady, and of the kind that could give the Silent Lady excuse to kill me if she found out. Not that she was likely to find out, because all the players in the game other than myself were pure human.

The name of this game was money.

I'd started, slowly and carefully, to siphon money out of her profits into investments under my own aliases, rather than her corporate group. She'd never notice, I didn't take much, but over the years, with management, it might be enough to give me an edge in dealing with above. Because in above, money was power. And the only way to destroy downworld was to take down the barriers between it and the above.

Already, the two crossed. The gateway kings and queens needed money to maintain their gateways in the above, to hide them from prying eyes and keep us freaks safe from the hoard of humans who might like to kill us if they found out we existed, and had been feeding on them in one form or another for all of history. The territory lords and ladies, not to be outdone, maintained incomes as well, lest the need arise. My goal was to merge them further until downworld became a blip in the history of above, and to do that I needed money, and other types of power.

But not that day, that day I only needed sleep.

I fell into bed still dressed and -- with some groaning and quiet swearing -- managed to burry myself under the blankets. I'd almost dozed off when the door opened.

'Jay, are you all right?' Malik asked.

'Sick,' I moaned, not moving from under my blanket.

'Yes, I figured that.'

A moment later, I felt him settle on the bed beside me, and his hand started to rub my shoulders, which made me tense up in uncomfortable ways. Sympathy is great and all, but I really wanted him to fuck off and take his nigh invulnerability with him. Having a guy who literally can't get sick -- unless you hold him under a large body of water, but that would be less sick and more dead -- offering you comfort when you're wheezing and dripping and generally feel like shit is not comforting, it's mostly just annoying.

'Go away,' I said, instead of something more forceful.

'It's because you've been working too hard. I wish you would let me ask the Silent Lady to relieve you of your duties. You have enough to do worrying about Isamu without having to go above every day. If you're this rundown after only a few weeks, what are you going to be like in months?'

'Don't.' That would've fucked everything up. Fucking save me from Malik's good intentions.

'You can't say you haven't been more run down since... everything. I know you love Isamu, but you've got to look after yourself too.'

'It's just the flu for fucks sake. I'll be fine in a few days.'

'I'm just saying you've been sick a lot more lately.'

I shifted onto my back, pulled the blanket away from my face and tried not to look as pathetic as I felt. 'Sweetheart, I need sleep. And I don't need to be reminded that some people have fire inside them to burn such things away when I don't.'

'But you could.'

I didn't reply to that. It was not the first time he'd suggested I take some of his energy, though it was the first time I'd seriously considered agreeing. The tiredness I could handle, but the headache stabbing behind me eyes was getting worse. I was having a hard time remembering why I didn't want to, but that was mostly because I was having a hard time thinking thoughts.

'So now you want me to be making life decisions?'

'This isn't a life decision,' he said, looking at his hands.

I tried to glare, then ruined it by sneezing. Malik passed me the box of tissues. 'It would take me longer to purge than to just get over this like normal. I don't see you being able to not let me have more when I'm craving it.'

'Fine, life decision. But I think it's for the best, don't you?' he shrugged. 'I know Tinder regularly takes energy from Kean. He doesn't suffer for it, and I'm much stronger than he is.'

'Thought we agreed that Tinder and Kean are not our benchmark.'

Malik leaned over and kissed me, even though I felt goopy and gross. 'Besides,' he said, trying for unconcerned but failing, 'incubi don't have nearly as long as jinn.'

Yeah, I had thought of that too. If I drained even a little of his energy frequently, I could extend my life, by probably a lot. I supposed it made me a selfish bastard that I didn't want to extend my life, and not just because doing so would shorten Malik's life a little. I didn't want to live longer than I was going to naturally, that would be long enough.

I started to feel like shit not just because I was sick as a dog. I could tell it really bothered him. 'You think about that often?'

'Yes, sometimes. You know how I feel about you; I want you around as much long as possible.'

'You're a sap.' I said, but I was thinking that maybe I owed him this thing.

'Nothing wrong with that.'

I wanted to refuse. I wanted not to become a parasite. I wanted not to have to use him like that. But power was power. Life was life. I would probably need more of both than what I had.

It was what he wanted.

'Fine.' He smiled for a second, before he realized this was a serious thing and schooled his face. 'You're a dork.'

He smiled for real at that. 'You've been spending too much time around the kids.'

'I can call you an asshole, if you like.'

'Just stop stalling.'

'Asshole.'

He just leaned down and kissed me again. So I stopped stalling, and took just a prick of his energy, enough to flush me warm, burn away my damn flu. It actually felt really nice, not angry and itchy like last time, though I guess that was because of the quantity. And the best thing was that the headache and everything else vanished like I'd never been sick at all. Malik flinched, but held himself still -- but for the kissing -- until well after I'd taken the small amount that I was willing to take.

'You look better already.'

'Did it hurt?'

'No.'

'Liar.'

'It didn't,' he protested, 'felt weird though, without... you know, the other thing distracting me.' The seduction thing, he meant.

'Let's try the other thing then,' I said, because at this point, I'd just be a hypocrite to hold onto any of my morals. And I had an afternoon to fill, why not spend it with Malik?