RW1 Ravyn's blood (11 page)

“Do you accept my punishment for your transgression?” His voice was steady, but his eyes were sad. His strength gave Dageus the will to nod.

“I accept your punishment, Anthony.” The earth shook beneath Dageus’s feet, and he staggered. On either side of him, the earth split and rose until he was surrounded. The Ravyn closed his eyes and waited. Without warning, the walls of earth collapsed, ripping a scream from Dageus’s throat.

It took a good twenty minutes before Dageus was able to push his body into a semblance of a standing position after dragging himself out of the pit his brother had created. He groaned at the effort and looked up in dread to gaze into the eyes of his favorite brother.

“Dageus.” Allasandro stepped to the front of the line, and tears shimmered in his eyes, as well as steely resolve. “My brother, do you accept my punishment for your transgression?” Dageus swallowed hard, and his voice, made gravelly by his pain, cracked as he spoke.

“I accept your punishment, Ally-cat.” Flames licked up his legs, and he started to scream.

Chapter Fifteen

Dageus fell to the floor, panting, his body bloodied and bruised now, his soul aching. It was his penance. This one moment of loneliness because he had kept things from his brothers. He should’ve told them his desires. He should’ve told them everything. They surrounded him again, and he winced, sure of more pain to come.

“Oh, brother,” Tony murmured, dropping to his knees.

“Why didn’t you trust us?” Druas asked, hurt in his voice, dropping beside Tony. The other two followed suit.

“I thought it would go away,” Dageus murmured. “I’m sorry, brothers. So sorry.”

He sobbed miserably. They reached for him as one and ran hands across his torn flesh, healing him. He fell against Allasandro’s shoulder and wept. They petted him and calmed him like you would a child.

“Easy,” Allasandro said, stroking his hair.

“Easy. The first fuck-up in brotherhood law is always the worst. It’s all right. We forgive you. Easy, Dageus,” Germany crooned, gently pressing a kiss to his forehead.

They lay together like a pile of puppies for a long while, each absorbing the comfort from the closeness of the others.

“When did you know?” Allasandro asked after the pause. Dageus cuddled against his side, burrowing his face farther into the Ravyn’s ribs.

“I’ve always known. I dreamed of the Master of Haven for a long time.”

Tony looked mildly concerned. His face was a granite line as he pondered the possible meanings of Dageus’s thoughts. “Do you think you were really his lover in another life?” he asked.

Dageus laughed. “I don’t think that I could’ve forgotten that.” He smiled at the thought and pressure of being held in the vampire’s arms.

The brothers looked at one another and exchanged some sort of mental communication, excluding Dageus. He frowned. “What?” He asked. They looked at one another again, hesitating.

“Enough of this idleness,” Tony said, interrupting the direction of the conversation. “We need to train. Come on. We’re all going out on the town later tonight.” They looked at him in question. “We must research this aspect of our brother’s life choice,” he added seriously. Again, puzzlement filled their faces.

Tony grinned and said, “Be prepared, boys. We’re going to a gay bar.” Raucous laughter answered him.

Chapter Sixteen

The next night all the Ravyns and their lord went out. The club’s heavy bass beat made Dageus’s heart pulse in time with the music. He watched his brothers claim a seat near the exit that occupied the outermost parameter of the club. At the center of the club, the human populace pulsed with the beat, the females gyrating against the males in a distinctly provocative way, and the males returned the actions with their own grinding rhythms. It was interesting. The brothers sat and watched the crowd.

In the end, the Ravyns had decided that they would hit a couple clubs before jumping into the homosexual nightlife by going to the gay clubs. Dageus had three real reasons that he was happy with the decision. Firstly, he hadn’t wanted the brothers to do all their Earth-club learning experiences in an environment that was bound to make them uncomfortable. Secondly, he was still roughed up from the penance he’d done before, plus he was stalling. He was still unsure of the brothers’ reactions to his preference.

“It’s like some bizarre mating ritual,” Druas commented as a female swayed dangerously close to the male to her rear, her pert behind a hairsbreadth away from grinding against the male’s obviously aroused form. Tony had to agree.

“This is nothing like
La Petite Morte’s
dance,” he added, though he couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.

The vampires were confusing, dangerous, predatory, nothing like these humans with their innocent grinding and seduction. The vampires provoked both desire and fear, while the humans just provoked innocent lust. Demon dances tended to be rather controlled affairs because of the very visceral nature of the demons themselves. Touching ones partner was almost strictly prohibited. The humans’ lack of inhibitions and conformity was new.

“They’re beautiful, if untrained,” Dageus contributed. As usual, Germany remained out of the conversation, starring off into space, absently sipping at his apple martini. It took Dageus a minute to realize that Allasandro was missing. Tony must’ve had the same thought because he turned to him and asked, “Where the hell is Ally-cat?”

Dageus shrugged. “I’m not my brother’s keeper.”

Tony tensed. “Scan the bar.” He commanded.

Where the hell was he?
He stretched his mind across the sea of people and began tracking the unique mental signature of his brother. He blew out a breath of frustration. It was hard to track in this large of a crowd.

“Woo!” A dozen or so shouts rose above the music for an instant, startling them all. They raised surprised eyes to the center bar near the entrance. A dozen or so girls were gathered around someone lying nearly motionless on the top of the bar.

“What in the world is going on?” Tony asked, motioning their waitress for another beer. He’d had at least three of them so far, and Dageus began to think he was beginning to get a penchant for the stuff. Dageus didn’t know for sure. But he had a gut feeling who was on top of the bar.

* * * *

Salvatore chuckled at Allasandro’s antics. He lay shirtless on the tabletop with a dozen giggling angels taking tequila shots off his tight six-pack. Four of them “held him down” while the others took turns pouring and then licking the alcohol off of his form. The bolder ones dared to push the liquor from his belly button and down to the edge of his jeans. He grinned at his lord.

“Are you next sweetie?” the bartender asked flirtatiously. He was a pretty man with shortly cut black hair and more piercings and tattoos than he normally preferred. He was a dark fae in comparison to the long-haired giggling plastic women that held Allasandro’s attention. Salvatore felt his heart lurch as the bartender’s dark-chocolate eyes regarded him with no small amount of desire and just a dose of cynicism.

He smiled gently in return. “I think not. I’m too old for such nonsense.” The bartender laughed softly at his comment.

“You’re not old, darling, just older than that young buck there,” he said pointedly. His accent was intriguing, a slight drawl so at odds with the surroundings. He shrugged, wondering at his reaction and answering his comment at the same time.
Older than you know, my sweet
. He felt every bit the two thousand years he was. Young for a demon but ancient in comparison to the human who manned the bar like a practiced warrior with an unruly battalion of troops.

“Perhaps I am a one-person sort of man.” He surprised himself by saying aloud. To his shock he continued, “I have no need of a dozen people when I see one I want.” He nearly winced at the half truth. He had a harem at home, and here he was spouting nonsense to a man at a bar. Perhaps Dageus’s preference was disturbing him more than he thought.

The bartender raised an elegantly trimmed eyebrow that had a barbell through it. “One-person-sort of man, huh?” He chuckled. It was sexy as hell. “Now, don’t expect me to believe that mess you’re spouting, honey.”

He felt oddly wounded by him calling him a liar. He felt the demon within him growl in aggravation. He leaned toward him, letting the demonic glow sparkle in his wine-colored eyes.

“Perhaps it is just one person I desire to get drunk off the fluid of my body. Perhaps you underestimate that desire.” The bartender visibly shivered and took a step back. “Tell me, young one, do you take, what is it called, shots, off men who offer you their forms?”

The bartender shook his head. He appeared almost enchanted by the cadence of Salvatore’s voice.

“Hey, my lord!” Allasandro crowed as one particularly bold woman licked his lower stomach and finally unbuttoned his pants. “You have to try this body shot thing! It’s awesome!”

Salvatore’s enchantment was broken, and the bartender slunk off to the far side of the bar to tend to less-intimidating customers. Salvatore sighed in disappointment, unsure of why.

“I think you’ve had enough for tonight, Allasandro,” he said, a command in his voice. The women whined in disappointment and ran hands over Allasandro’s still-bare chest as he pulled away from their embrace. They began to disperse, and Salvatore handed Allasandro’s shirt back to its owner.

“Dance with me later?” The bold, red-haired girl asked with lowered lashes.

Allasandro smiled and kissed her cheek.

“Look me up later,” he whispered. She smiled and flounced off.

“You certainly have a way with women, son,” Salvatore said, openly laughing.

Allasandro shrugged, grinning. “My brothers would have the way, too, if they’d loosen up enough to get into a girl’s head.”

Salvatore shook his head. “I seriously doubt that. You have too much charm for them, my pretty one.” Allasandro’s grin widened. “One day you’re going to meet someone you can’t charm into your bed.”

Allasandro laughed then. “Yeah. Maybe it’ll be one of the gay males we meet at the gay club later,” he joked.

* * * *

“What were you doing?” Tony asked as Salvatore and Allasandro sidled up to their table an instant later.

Allasandro just smiled. Dageus wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were glued to a tall, dark-haired male that was two tables behind him. He had striking blue eyes that were constantly trained on the table where the Ravyns sat when he thought they weren’t looking. His eyes were almost the exact shade of Alex’s. The sharp contrast with the rest of the coloring was very intriguing. Whereas Alex was light haired and light eyed, this male was dark haired and light eyed. Dageus caught his eye, and their gazes clashed. Blue eyes met gold. Dageus’s desire stirred weakly. The man seemed to uncurl from his position in the seat and tell something to his friends, who raised their bottles to him as he passed. His walk was as predatory as Dageus’s own.

He stopped in front of the table of boys and stared at Dageus, completely ignoring the others.

“Dance with me,” he commanded. Desire shot through Dageus at the commanding tone. He remembered how Alex had murmured the exact command. The brothers bristled in indignation on Dageus’s behalf. He raised a hand to still their biting words, as if to say “you wanted to see my lifestyle. Watch.” They settled back and allowed him to escape the confines of the booth. Salvatore nodded his approval. Maybe if they got freaked out the Ravyns wouldn’t demand to hit the gay bar next.

Dageus slid onto the dance floor like a seasoned pro. The tall male who had approached him stalked behind him with the fluid grace of a fellow dancer. The song changed suddenly, and the beat took on a sultry feel, and Dageus slowly rotated his hips in time with the music. The male spun him into a hot near-Latino salsa, and Dageus twisted beautifully, captivating the attention of the room. He felt the heavy gazes of his brothers on his back. The ease with which he danced was surprising. He’d honestly thought the skill he’d displayed on stage would go away once he left the theater but apparently not.