Update

A bit of an update I will try to keep it brief.

I decided to transfer my story from Open Office to Google Documents. I added a chapter in the beginning and plan to do some serious editing to try and weed out some inconsistencies and as much of the grammatical errors as I can on my own. If anyone would like to help me with editing let me know, keep in mind it would require reading a story with both horror and sex. I haven’t got the whole document up yet so it will be a while before it is ready for that! On the bus I am continuing to write new parts but I just haven’t transferred it from my E-Reader yet. My goal is to write a 200 pages so it would be a basic novel. I don’t have any plans for the novel, this is more of a learning experience for me.  Also I need to change Dak’kon’s name because it is borrowed from a video game and I probably can’t do that given that I have never seen it anywhere else. So if anyone has a suggestion. His last name is Sagara and he is of Japanese and Eastern European decent but born in a fictional city kind of New York really but since I don’t know enough about New York it is fictional.

On another note

I mentioned at some point that I was going to make HIIT videos and that I had written a 30 day HIIT challenge. Well I haven’t done it at all. It is just won’t work using my laptop webcam so I have set up my camera instead. I have decided that before I do those videos I am going to make a 7 day HIIT series for my daughter. The videos will be between 10-15 minutes and based on her age (9) and fitness level. I wanted to do this for her because she really has trouble in gym class and she asks me sometimes to find her videos she can do online. I found her some really great child friendly yoga videos but she is very sedentary and needs a bit more cardio/coordination work. I could not find HIIT for kids so I thought I would make it. I have already written up the programs and I am pleased with them. When I told her what I was doing she was very excited. So here is hoping I can figure out this camera thing and get over my intense camera fear.

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Part #13

(Graphic, gay sex scene below. A huge portion of this is just strait up sex. I am not an expert. I am not a man, I am not a man whose had sex with other men. So this is just, fantasy. )

Nikolai woke up first feeling better than he’d felt in months. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He remembered everything up till the point where he’d laid down in the spare bedroom. He couldn’t account for how he’d gotten here though. Had Dak’kon carried him? The last object he’d cleansed had been inhabited by a malignant spirit, that coupled with the months he’d spent in constant war with the demonic energy had drained him like a bath.

His heart began to race when he realized Dak’kon was not beside him. He found the man easily but what he found caused his stomach to drop. Melancholia rose in black filaments from the musician’s skin. Kneeling down in front of Dak’kon he put a hand to the other’s forehead, he was burning up. Nikolai dragged the unconscious man across the floor and heaved him up onto the mattress. “What have you done to yourself?” Nikolai laid a hand over the musician’s heart, the other’s pulse was slow but steady. Before he could do anything Dak’kon reached up and grabbed him by the wrist. The grip was surprisingly firm for someone who’d just been unconscious but it was clearly not designed to hurt him. “Don’t even think about taking this thing out of me. I won’t let you reinfect yourself.” His voice was threatening, though that threat came from a place of genuine concern.

“I don’t think I can remove it, yet. I am going to heal you though even if I have to pin you down.” Dak’kon let his hand fall away.

“Fine just don’t make a fuss about it.” The musician had never really been sick, never broken anything, never been doted over by anyone. He wasn’t a very good patient but at that moment he was in no position to argue.

“You are probably going to have a problem with this then.” Nikolai stated straddling his hips. The red head sat down right on top of his ailing cock. His jeans were unbearable, like a tourniquet, and the friction of the man shifting subtly against the seam made him feel raw and vulnerable. He gritted his teeth in order to stifle back a moan.

The Aasimer’s energy poured into him before he could even form a coherent objection. His muscles relaxed, his head cleared like the parting of clouds after a storm, his temperature dropped slowly on its way to normal. The only thing that did not soften was his cock. He felt good enough to move around, good enough to resolve his predicament. “That’s amazing…” He mumbled clenching and unclenching his fist just to test his strength. He was horny as hell but he was himself more or less.

“Do you really want to masturbate?” Nikolai asked laying down on top of the dark-haired musician. “No…” Dak’kon said pulling the Aasimer down to him. Closing his mouth over Nikolais’, his tongue slipped between the man’s parting lips. The kiss was devouring, unconstrained, and just shy of bruising. Rolling Nikolai underneath him he broke the kiss only so long as it took to toss their shirts off to the side. He seemed intent to draw every last breath from the Celestial, to siphon that breath into his own starved lungs. Their bodies ground together, hips thrusting urgently, erections forced together in a collision of heat and friction. His strangled sex wept and throbbed. Nikolai’s thighs wrapped around him pinning him down forcing them into a frenzied dry hump. He broke the kiss only to latch onto the other man’s neck. Consuming opened-mouthed kisses against the Aasimer’s pale throat and beneath his lips insistence the worried flesh grew red.

Nikolai’s fingers dug into his shoulders, they struggled within each other’s grasp, struggled for dominance, struggled to stop from drowning.

“I have to get out of these pants…damn it…” Dak’kon growled into the red head’s ear. Nikolai unwound his legs reaching between them he made quick work of the fastenings on their jeans. Stripping desperately out of their unwanted clothing they soon closed the gap between them, flesh on flesh.

“I thought you were kidding before Christ man…” Nikolai spoke against his lips before kissing him roughly once more. Dak’kon’s hands slid over the man’s hips and ass. Squeezing the other’s firm, shapely backside he forced their hips together once more. Only this time he could feel the heat and the smooth texture of the man’s cock as it slid against his own. Before the musician realized it he was beneath the Aasimer again.

Nikolai broke the kiss, panting, his kisses traveled lower along the curve of Dak’kon’s neck across his collarbones, down to the man’s broad, smooth chest. He fastened onto the guitarist’s nipple, sucking and flicking until the color deepened and the flesh grew engorged. Then he moved over to the other nipple plying it with a skilled and relentless tongue, meanwhile, his hand slipped between their hips and wrapped around the crown of the musician’s cock. He ran his slightly callused thumb over the head of the dark-haired man’s sex, smearing the moisture gathering at the slit with each pass. The Aasimer’s touch came with a shock of endophin-laden energy, the golden light spilled into Dak’kon’s urethra, into his balls, and back into his prostate, flooding his nerves with a tingly rush. Dak’kon’s hips arched off the bed, pressing into the torment. “You’re cheating…” The musician growled so low it was more vibration than sound. It wouldn’t have taken much for Dak’kon to get off given the need that the sex fiend had planted within him but he was much too greedy for instant gratification and much too generous. He never left his partners unfulfilled.

Rolling Nikolai underneath him again he kissed the Celestial hotly on the mouth. Reaching between their bodies he took the other’s shaft in his hand and began to stroke, slowly at first, with intervals between to massage the sensitive glans. The red head was as excited as he was, overflowing with equal measures of anticipation. Slick from its own juices, Dak’kon’s hand glided up and down the length of the organ fluidly. Not to be outdone Nikolai resumed his former occupation, his hand deftly working the musician’s shaft, sending vibrations along the urethra with his prana, vibrations that settled into the bundle of nerves behind the musician’s scrotum. Dak’kon gasped at the unfamiliar sensation, eyes nearly rolling back, totally overwhelmed he nearly forgot his own ministrations. He felt drunk with the sensations, drunk with a sense of bliss and power. His whole body shuddered, his breathing quickened, and he nearly submitted to the Aasimer’s whims. Dak’kon pinched and coaxed until his fingers were wet with the other man’s essence. His hand ventured lower, slick digits sliding from perineum to anus. Nikolai inhaled deeply.

“What makes you think I am a bottom?” The red head asked his voice rough with need. Dak’kon didn’t stop but continued to work the outer ring till it became soft and pliant.

“Your body.” Dak’kon said working first one finger into the tight orifice and then another. Stretching, massaging, plunging deeper until his guitar-callused fingers hit upon that precise spot. Nikolai rocked into the intrusion, gasping and moaning as his nerves ignited all at once. He worked a third finger in, expertly manipulating the sphincter, urging the muscles to surrender. Three fingers weren’t even close to approximating the size of his cock and they had no artificial lubricant, he would have to improvise.

Dak’kon slid down Nikolai’s body, dropping searing open-mouthed kisses as he went, until his face was between the other’s splayed thighs. Wrapping his left hand around the base of the gardener’s sex for support his lips parted against the other’s erection, taking the head into his mouth. He lapped up the fluid gathered at the slit, probing and prodding the organ to relinquish more. The man did not taste as he expected (an aspect of his heritage perhaps) the other’s precum was remarkably mild with a subtle hint of strawberry. Moaning around the turgid heat encased in his mouth Dak’kon began to work up and down. Nikolai’s hands slid into his hair gripping so that it tugged pleasurably at the nape of his neck. The gardener’s hips inclined toward him, back arching gracefully off the mattress. The red head’s moans were low and primal, encouragements and exclamations growing incoherent with speed. Dak’kon had never done this before but he’d been received enough blowjobs to know what he liked, more importantly he was observant. He’d maneuvered his way about half-way down, sliding up he flicked over the tip with his tongue, sunk down further and slid back up rolling the feverish crown around his tongue. Then instead of engulfing Nikolai again he drug his tongue along the underside of the Aasimer’s sex several times. All the while his fingers were wreaking havoc on the man’s prostrate. Reingesting Nikolai’s shaft he was soon working all the way from base to head like a pro. Nikolai thrashed in the sheets, Dak’kon’s name the only recognizable word among incoherent cries.

Nikolai’s cock pulsed and twitched, he deep throated the man a few more times before letting the other’s arousal slide from his mouth. He didn’t abandon the swollen, desperate organ but rather began working it in earnest with his hand. Sliding back up Nikolai’s body, the red head latched onto his neck, kissing, sucking, licking the blossoming flesh. The musician groaned tilting his head to allow for more of those feverish kisses. His neck was a trigger point and he felt his mind go hazy.

Dak’kon rewrapped his fingers this time taking both of their erections into the same crushing grip. Though his fingers were long he couldn’t encompass them both, Nikolai wrapped his hand around the exposed section and they began stroking in tandem, brutally forcing the already tortured organs together. It was unbearable and both men were close to breaking.

Nikolai’s free arm was wrapped tight around Dak’kon’s back, hips pounding into their joined fists. Dak’kon slid in a fourth finger, at first working them together but then slowly spreading them. Thrusting into the tight muscular ring in an almost semi-circular motion, until he’d worked the hand nearly half-way in. Nikolai was gasping, barely able to breath, driving first forward into the red head’s hand then back against the intrusion. “Cum.” Dak’kon growled into the man’s ear, it wasn’t a request but a demand and one that if he wasn’t careful he might also follow.

Nikolai drove forward harder, faster, until his cock was shuddering almost violently within the enclosure of their hands. The red head’s strong fingers dug into the muscles of his back, his moans distorted and muffled in the juncture between Dak’kon’s shoulder and neck. Their fluids mingled, hands and organs slick, stroking punctuated by the Aasmir’s chi. The red head’s body sucked him in, tremulous against his fingers, he wished it was his cock being milked instead.

With a violent arch Nikolai came all over them both. A hot, white jet, liberally dispensed over their chests, stomachs, and fists. Dak’kon squeezed every last drop, pausing at the height of convulsions, he didn’t let up until he was sure the man was utterly spent. Coating his own cock in the Aasimer’s release he removed his hand and lined his erection up with the other’s well-worked entrance. Sliding his hands under the garderner’s thighs he pressed Nikolai’s legs up and back. He rubbed the head of his ejaculate-slick sex against the other’s twitching entrance. There was no way to completely avoid discomfort given his size but Nikolai was more than needy with desire.

Dak’kon eased in, persistently pushing the man’s limits never pausing long enough to elicit cramping “Fuck…” Dak’kon growled in the other’s ear, Nikolai’s body closed in on him, squeezing so tightly that he nearly lost it then and there.

He rocked his hips forward slowly, watching the man’s body swallow him up centimeter by centimeter. When he was deep enough that he could thrust, he began to move rhythmically, sensually at first, working himself deeper by painstaking degrees. Nikolai kissed him desperately, sucking the air from his lungs and smothering their cries into incoherence. He kissed the man back with equal fervor, tongues twining, mouth’s working against each other in all their irreverent softness.

Nikolai moved in time with him, coaxing his cock deeper and deeper at first and then forcing it inside. It wasn’t long before they were working up to a frenzied pace and with each manic thrust Dak’kon was sure to nail the other man’s prostrate. Nikolai was all angles and lean muscle. He was as strong as he was uninhibited. The dynamic of a power struggle only fueled Dak’kon’s desires. He felt the gardener’s cock go rigid against him, felt the other’s hands squeezing his ass. Dak’kon was up to the hilt now, trapped within that merciless sheath, a sheath slippery with their combined essences. Gripping muscles milked his cock breaking down all bastions of reason, uncertainty and taboo. His hips slammed against the man’s ass without apology, without pause, delirious. He was operating totally on instinct now, no thoughts intervened, there was only pleasure, intense and unremitting.

Dak’kon pulled all the way out and flipped Nikolai over to his knees. Grabbing the man by the hips he began to plow into him from behind. Wrapping his hand around the Aasimer’s cock he started to stroke him off at first out of sync with his own thrusts and then at a blurred and hysterical pace. Dak’kon could feel his orgasm, writhing its way to the surface and this time he didn’t fight against it. His nuts were so swollen and tight they barely moved despite the carnal pounding. His senses seemed to blur into a sort of ecstatic synthesia, their bodies were one machine working to a unified end. The pressure rose up within him until he felt he would split apart at the seams, until it seemed that everything was simultaneously whole and fractured. He slammed into the man’s ass, forcing his cock into that infinite and unforgiving space. He paused there totally engulfed and shot his load deep inside the Aasimer’s body. The force of his orgasm, like the detonation of a bomb, and as he came shuddering and irreconcilable he felt Nikolai’s sex obdurate and shaking in the crook of his hand and just like that the man exploded all over the bed linens. For nearly a minute Dak’kon didn’t move, it was as if he were stricken with rigor mortis, and then everything melted away and the body beneath him collapsed. He didn’t even pull out just lay there on top of Nikolai panting.

Part #12

(demons, horror)

At the designated time they set out. The house was eerily quiet and although they had uncovered several windows everything still looked haunted and grey.

The first room on their tour was Xyvens’. The room was fairly unremarkable but there was evidence that someone was staying there. There was a black winter jacket hanging on the back of the door, a dead cell phone, and a working lap top. Dak’kon checked for an internet connection but there were no viable options. Beside the laptop there was a stack of games and DVDs presumably to stave off boredom. Dak’kon did not look through the titles or the files on the man’s computer. He wasn’t interested in Xyven himself and even if he had been he would have went with a more direct approach. There was no evidence that the demon had been here, no evidence of torment or struggle.

“He has a whole pharmacy in here.” Nikolai was standing in front of the open wardrobe. The shelves were stocked with pills, powders, and phials of fluid. Xyven wasn’t making his drugs here but he had a sizable stash. The bottles all had peculiar hand-written names, they were custom and likely for the man’s personal entertainment. They were organized into categories aphrodisiacs, analgesics, paralytics, hallucinogenics, sedatives, stimulants and so on. Everything was so neatly organized that it would be impossible to remove anything without tipping the man off. This was more than sufficient to get the chef arrested if that had been their aim. What would the backlash be? A bunch of dead policemen? A demon on the loose?

“You were right about the drugs.” Dak’kon said closing the wardrobe door. He didn’t really like the idea of Xyven having access to such an impressive arsenal especially considering the man’s propensity toward non consensual sharing.

“Lets check out the other rooms.”

Strange turned out to be the operative word. All the rooms had their share of curiosities and from the looks of it Xyven hadn’t changed a thing. There were even items specifically marked with “Do not touch” placards. There were marionettes, rows of broken hand mirrors, moment of death photos, boxes with tiny bones and teeth, amulets and hairpins, cabinets with miniatures arranged in various horrific poses. Dak’kon wasn’t easily scared but he had to question the old man’s choice of décor. How many of the items had been cleansed and how many were still cursed waiting for a clumsy touch to activate them? Dak’kon was careful not to touch any of the old man’s effects, the last thing they needed was another pissed off entity running around. Some of the items Nikolai could identify. The stories varied from touching to horrendous. It was becoming increasingly apparent that he wasn’t qualified as caretaker. What the hell had his grandfather been thinking when he’d left him the place? Possibly that he was the only remaining relative.

“I get it now. What I am supposed to do.” Nikolai said picking up a small hand held mirror. Dak’kon watched as the red head suffused the cursed looking glass with a golden light. He watched the glass restitch itself, grain by grain and the metal regain its sheen. When Nikolai was finished Dak’kon took the mirror turning it over in his hands, it looked as it must have in the moment of purchase. Though the most surprising changes took place at a fundamental level just beneath the threshold of human awareness, the object was purified. If Nikolai could do this with all the forsaken items than he could sell the house with a clean conscious. The gardener went through all the objects on the vanity even the ones that came with explicit warnings.

It was obvious by the red head’s expression, by the furrowing of his brows, that it took a good deal of concentration to the perform the ritual.

“I am so hungry!” Nikolai said flopping backwards onto the bed. He stretched his lanky body out to its maximum length.

“I’ll get us some food.” Dak’kon offered he couldn’t be certain if the base ingredients in the kitchen were contaminated but it seemed far more likely that Xyven added the poison later.

Dak’kon settled with peanut butter sandwiches, it wasn’t so much that he couldn’t cook as it was quick. Nikolai did not follow him to the kitchen and by the time he got back the man was sound asleep. Given that they had only just gotten out of bed it was rather odd. Had the red head overused his powers? Had one of the do not touch items posed a particular challenge? Dak’kon sat the plate down on the nightstand and it was then that he noticed something most curious. A mirage of color rose up from Nikolai’s body like waves of heat off tarmac. Red and black and utterly oppressive. Was Nikolai discharging the negative energies absorbed in the artifacts? Curiosity caused him to reach his hand into the field. The hairs on his arm rose up, endorphins cascaded through every inch of his body. His eyes lost focus and started to close but he forced them open and yanked his hand back. So this is what happened last night? He’d become entangled in the other man’s orbit, an unwitting satellite?

“You haven’t been very honest with me Dak’kon.” There in the doorway was a-not-so-obvious, far-more-intimidating version of Xyven. Long tentacles of smoke wafted from the man’s flesh like ephemeral limbs. His yellow eyes penetrated through the fog and held with Dak’kon’s own in unspoken threat. That he smiled only added to the sense of malice. “Such a terrible curiosity you have…all those questions…all that pointless prodding…” The malevolence floated closer. Why had he revealed himself now? Had he been drawn in by Nikolai’s miasma? “Have you guessed my name yet? No, because I am the progenitor. The evolved. The only one of my kind.” Xyven said stopping in the middle of the room. The overhead light began to flicker maniacally and static filled the room, still Nikolai did not wake up. What had Xyven evolved from? And had evolution rendered him superior or inferior to the source? “And what of Nikolai? Do you know what he is yet? Who?” The demon asked pointing toward the sleeping gardener. “I am not here to answer your pointless questions. I am here to feed. He calls out to me. He is mine.” The demon said and Nikolai’s body began to rise up off the bed.

“Feed on me instead.” Dak’kon said standing, eyes looking directly into the demons’ though it gave him a wicked headache.

“I am monogamous once I have chosen a prey. I would follow you all the days of your life. I give you a few years at most. So I ask you human would you die for that Aasimer?” Aasimer? The word meant nothing to Dak’kon but it was a start. It was now possible to work out Nikolai’s powers. The venom with which Xyven articulated the word suggested that Nikolai was somehow opposite.

“Dying is just part of the charm of being human. I’ll take his place.” Dak’kon stated. He didn’t trust the demon to keep his word but he needed time to come up with a plan.

Xyven lowered Nikolai back to the bed. “Put your hand on him…draw the poison into yourself. If you can withstand it then I’ll accept your offer.” Dak’kon laid a hand on Nikolai’s chest, right over the man’s softly beating heart. Black tendrils wrapped around his forearm, there was no pulling away. That he didn’t know how to initiate an energy transfer didn’t seem to matter, the energy was moving of its own accord. What sort of man would he become? Nikolai’s supernatural powers had assuredly slowed the rate of corruption but he was human and humans were fucked up. He didn’t consider himself to be special or exceptional in any respect, he was just a man plain and simple. He felt powerful, horny, sick to his stomach, distant. His pulse echoed in his ears, as percussive as thunder. His breathing grew harsh and uneven. His cock throbbed with intense heat. His balls were tight and full. His jaw clenched. His eyes grew heavy. The room began to swim around him. Phenomena floated in the air, wisps of color, flashes of transparency, fissures in the very infrastructure. The energy surrounding Nikolai cleared at length and took on a golden sheen.

“Don’t worry about him…he’ll be unconscious for a while.” The demon made a come-hither motion and Dak’kon’s body rose up on its own accord and slid jerkily toward the creature.

“Can we do this in a different room at least…” While Xyven was laughing at his request Dak’kon reached into his pocket for the phial and with a hard flip of the wrist the glass burst all over the floor. Purple effluvium rose from the shards and the demon released him and went totally rigid. Dak’kon’s body dropped and it took a moment before he could get his legs underneath him. He had to get Nikolai to safety that was tantamount but if he could get through the mirror himself that was one compelling fucking bonus.

Dak’kon threw Nikolai over his shoulder and bolted for his bedroom without so much as a glance in Xyven’s direction. Adrenalin kept him on his feet, kept him moving though every muscle in his body revolted. The mirror shifted like water in an aquarium and together they passed through to the other side and possibly into a permanent prison.

Dak’kon closed the portal before putting Nikolai down on the mattress. He could no longer see or hear anything occurring in the rest of the house. They no longer had any reliable way of knowing when Xyven was in a state of dormancy. Without windows they couldn’t even determine the weather and if it was possible to drive the car to safety. As long as the poison was inside of him the demon could find him, this was the only place he knew to be safe and it wouldn’t be safe once they ran out of food. They did have an extra piece of the puzzle though Nikolai was an Aasimer and now that the red head was free of the demon’s disease his powers might be stronger.

Dak’kon paced the room, sometimes stopping and dropping to clutch his throbbing head. He was only just able to prevent himself from throwing up at these times. He ached from the inside out. He burned with fever and yet he was still painfully erect. He kept checking the mirror, kept trying to listen through the walls for some sign but all he could hear was his own wild and grasping breath. Sleeping seemed impossible, he was in too much pain to sleep, his thoughts were frayed but persistent. Eventually exhaustion took over and he allowed himself to slide down the wall to the cold wooden floor before he lost consciousness altogether.

Part #11

(I did some edited on Part 10. This chapter is pretty innocent I think unless I forgot something!)

Dak’kon felt a warmth wash over his body when Nikolai hugged him. The hug was unexpected, almost foreign in concept. His relationships had been fragmented at best, sex without love, sex without even a prerequisite connection. He’d never been in love, never even entertained the possibility. Every feeling had been harnessed into his libido, into his music, into some vast, ambiguous space as of yet undefined within him. Though it took him a moment to respond, he did eventually return the embrace. There was something kind of nice about overlapping with another person.

–

Pulling away Nikolai looked intently into his eyes and just like that he was drawn into the cradle of oblivion.

–

Once on the other side Dak’kon’s brain was a bit slow to get working and Nikolai beat him to the punch. “Did you find out anything interesting?”

–

“He talked quite a bit about you actually. He told me that when you came here you had amnesia. Do you remember anything about how you got here?” Dak’kon felt a little bad for putting Nikolai on the spot, it wasn’t like he suspected the man of wrong-doing, he was just trying to piece everything together. For a long time the red head said nothing but it didn’t seem so much an act of defiance as an inability to find the right words.

–

“I don’t really know myself. I remember floating through the mirror, the broken one in the bathroom. A bundle of energy not much larger than a fist. Your grandfather was there and he showed me the picture of a young man. He told me to imagine that form. So I did and I became that person. I don’t remember my true form or anything about my former life. He gave me a name too but only a first one. I don’t know where I came from but every time I look in the mirror all I see is smoke and fire. I think I owe him my life.” Nikolai looked generally tormented and took a seat on the mattress holding his head.

–

For a while Dak’kon said nothing. Nikolai’s story confirmed him as being other, as being supernatural but it did not designate him as good or bad. Based on everything he’d felt and witnessed Nikolai was good, possibly tainted, but who the hell wasn’t?

–

Taking a seat beside the red head he took the man’s hand. The last time he’d held hands with another person was the day his mom died. He’d been there despite her absence in his childhood not just in that final moment but through the treatments as well. What was the point of holding grudges against those too weak to fight? Had his grandfather summoned Nikolai here to save himself or in response to some distress call? Could Nikolai be the key to defeating the entity? Was their really an entity? He’d never actually seen the demon only its off-putting human disguise.

–

“Xyven also said something about healing abilities if that’s the case why did you think you’d died?” Dak’kon asked Nikolai was toying absently with his fingers.

–

“I came here as an energetic being. If I had a corporeal body it probably burned up in that fire. I think that technically meets the definition of being dead. I am probably not human so maybe that definition doesn’t apply but without knowing what I was I can’t be sure. I honestly thought I’d disappear when your grandfather died like it was his magic holding me together when that didn’t happen I realized it was mine. I have only been as far as the garden for all I know I’ll disintegrate if I step foot off the property.” Well that certainly explained the other man’s anxiety about leaving. If Xyven’s time line held then the chef had arrived first, followed by Nikolai, and lastly the demonic entity.

–

“How did you learn to speak the language? And how long after you arrived was it before the statue appeared in the foyer?” Dak’kon asked a wave of calming endorpins flooding through him as Nikolai traced his palm.

–

“I don’t remember much about the time before the demon possessed me, when it was inside it damaged something in my head.” He said looking up now. “Do you think that place in the mirror was hell?” Having seen the mirror himself Dak’kon could understand where the other’s concern originated.

–

“First of all hell is more of a mental construct than a physical location but even if it did exist I can’t find any reason why you would have been condemned there. And anyways why would the old man mess around with something so dark when his whole purpose was to restore the light?” Dak’kon asked and this seemed to settle things well enough with Nikolai. The possibility that the other was a ghost, well that was still up for debate, but an evil entity? He didn’t buy it.

“We won’t be leaving any time soon. There’s about a foot of snow outside now and it looks like it’s only getting worse. As for the ghost thing I don’t think I can completely reassure you, your story is strange, but like I said before everything about you feels real.” He was starting to feel a bit loopy in the head at this point from the prickling sensations. “One more thing before I drop it. Xyven said you were some sort of empath is that true?” Nikolai obviously recognized the word but it was apparent that he had not quite fastened the concept to his identity.

The red head’s fingers wrapped around his more securely. At first all he felt was the warmth and strength of the other’s hand. Then a wave of energy passed through him, causing all the little hair’s on the back of his neck to stand. He’d never experimented with drugs but he imagined this qualified as getting high. His muscles let go, the light in the room softened into a halo of color and everything slowed down to a crawl. Even his thoughts became oddly squishy and opaque, his words dissolved before ever escaping the confines of his throat. His sense of contentment was just one notch away from giddiness. And just like that the demonstration was over and he was left feeling warm and tingly all over.

“How did you do that?” Dak’kon asked trying to gather together the threads of his thoughts but not sure that he really wanted too. Couldn’t he just feel good for a while?

“I just visualize this gold light, an almost liquid really and I imagine it leaving my body and entering into yours.” The experience was a little too similar to the blow job he’d received in the dream. Had Dak’kon simply given a narrative to what was an unconscious surge of energy? He was sure he’d climaxed and that was not a feeling easily mistaken.

Dak’kon had brought this one himself but it further confirmed Nikolai’s more mysterious aspects. Without the man’s memories to draw on it was unlikely they’d ever successfully identify him. What was the red head’s true form? What of the original? Who was the man in the photograph? Just then he had an idea. “Can I take a picture of you?” Nikolai looked surprised by the request but excited too. “Of me really? I don’t mind…” The other man started to fuss a bit with his hair but it didn’t really have an appreciable effect other than to make Dak’kon laugh. He got the impression that this was a new experience for the other man.

Dak’kon snapped a photo using his cellphone, he didn’t even give the gardener the opportunity to put on any of the usual affectations. The image showed up in the phone but there was a weird gold light around it. A second picture repositioning the man in a better angle to the overhead light did not diminish the glow. Shrugging he sent the picture to Kite knowing the man would respond quickly.

“Can I see it?” Dak’kon held the phone up for the gardener’s inspection. Nikolai seemed more amazed by the picture as a concept then by his own physical appearance. “Looks like we’ve got a response.” The response was sloppily typed but understandable. Greetings, inquiries about the house and the weather, and most importantly an expressed interest in the man in the photograph. Dak’kon didn’t respond but he had confirmed that other people could see Nikolai. But could they talk him? All he knew about ghosts and demons came from the movies or else his mom’s strung out ramblings. A junkie with a fear of prescribed pharmaceuticals it had never made much sense to him but then again neither had she. In the movies ghosts rarely used the telephone and even when they managed it, it was always distorted.

“I am going to ring Kite up.” He said not waiting for Nikolai to acknowledge him. Hitting dial he passed the phone over to the perplexed red head. “Just talk to him, see what happens.”

“Is this him?” Nikolai asked pointing to the image on the phone. The man in the photo had chin length, blond hair hidden under a toboggan, green eyes, a healthy tan, and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose (the freckles were not clearly visible in the image). The angle of the photo suggested a selfie. “Hey, I am surprised you called! Is something up?” Kite answered apparently Dak’kon was known for his lackadaisical policy on phone etiquette. Dak’kon motioned for Nikolai to put the phone to his ear.

“I am the guy from the photograph, Nikolai. Dak’kon wanted to see if you could hear me. Can you hear me?” On hindsight Dak’kon probably should have given Nikolai a script.

“Yeah I can hear you just fine Nikolai. Are you helping Dak’kon out with the house? How’s it going?” Kite asked assuming that Dak’kon couldn’t even be bothered to conduct his own phone conversations and not the least insulted by the fact.

Dak’kon took the phone so as not to waste batteries (there was at least a chance of losing power if the weather got worse). The experiment had been successful in more ways than one. First and perhaps most importantly they could make calls. Second Nikolai was tethered to this world in some way. He said thanks before hanging up. Kite texted back a series of quizzical emojis but Dak’kon didn’t respond. “Some amazing social skills you got there Dak’kon.” Nikolai joked even though he was on the other end of the spectrum they were both bordering on dysfunction.

“Funny but noted.” Dak’kon had never given it much thought before but Nikolai was probably onto something. “When the weather clears I say we take our chances and head into town.” He felt a lot better knowing that Nikolai was capable of interaction with the outside world. He also felt slightly less crazy, but only slightly. Nikolai appeared to feel better too, in fact, he looked positively delighted. “How cool was that?!” Dak’kon laughed shaking his head. Just as Xyven had said Nikolai was amazed by the simplest things. Amnesia did quite explain that, as people with amnesia didn’t tend to forget such commonplace occurrences. Apparently the demon had rattled the man’s brain. Was there anything they could do to recover the man?

“I’d like to take a look around the house see if we can find anything. Xyven should be more or less inert around midday.”

For the next hour or so, while they waited for Xyven to settle in, Dak’kon taught Nikolai a couple of chords on the guitar. He was still dodging the issue of their sexual tension. It was hard being so close feeling like he felt and not at all sure how far he could take it

Part 10

(bad language, references to a sexual relationship)

Dak’kon checked his cellphone it was 9:12 am. He had 12 new messages and 2 missed calls. He’d turned the sound off his phone the first night and never bothered to turn it back on. He hadn’t once thought of contacting his friends. Even now he closed the phone without checking his messages. He’d never been much of a phone person and he’d accounted ahead of time for his whereabouts. Most of the messages were probably invitations for sex anyways.

–

Xyven was in the kitchen preparing the days meals, at least theoretically. There had seemed to him a schism in the man’s personality between day and night. If there was ever a good time to approach the man, it was right now and that was precisely what he intended to do. Nikolai was hiding something from him, even if inadvertently, and it was necessary that he have all the facts before attempting to handle, what was at best a completely impossible situation.

–

“I need to talk to Xyven and I’d rather not do it drunk. Will you open a portal for me?” Dak’kon asked turning his attention back to Nikolai.

–

“I can’t stop you can I?” Nikolai sighed out all the air from his lungs, his posture visibly deflated. “Alright but I feel I should at least voice my objections. I have dealt with the demon on a few occasions and he’s clever so I doubt he’d be careless enough to let his identity slip. He has powers too if he decides to pursue you full force there isn’t much chance of escape.” Nikolai made some valid points and yet Dak’kon knew they could not go on living this way. A confrontation was eminent and indeed necessary if he was to learn more.

–

“Probably not but he was pretty chatty yesterday and who knows he might let something slip.” Dak’kon had made up his mind to do this, despite the danger. So far the demon was keeping his distance, toying with him, and he hoped that the charade would continue a while longer. He wasn’t suicidal. Cocky maybe. Curious yes.

–

“How will you avoid breakfast?” Nikolai asked and it was clear from his fidgeting that he was uncomfortable, scared even. He had every reason to be and there was little Dak’kon could do to console the other man. There was no use thinking too much about his own fears, he needed to keep his mind as clear as possible.

–

“I don’t plan to avoid it. I’ll take my time eating it and extract all the information I can from him. There is just one thing I haven’t figured out how to escape if he drugs me again. Do you have anything that could stun him?” If Xyven was a demon it seemed unlikely he would be able to physically overtake him, even if he wasn’t Xyven was a big fucking guy and he’d be no match for the man drugged.

–

“Whose to say he’ll give you the same thing? There is no way to know exactly how long you’ll have before the drug takes effect. I do have something though. Something your grandfather gave me. He didn’t tell me how to make it or even what it was but he said it would buy me time if I ever got caught.” Nikolai walked over to a small table in the corner and opened the bottom draw. After a few minutes of hesitation he came back with a small phial of purple fluid. “All you have to do is break the glass when you want to use it. The demon will be stunned for about five minutes. I’ll wait for you.” Nikolai said reluctantly handing over the flask. Dak’kon held the bottle up to his eyes, the liquid had a curious shimmer.

–

“Wait for me in the bedroom I don’t want to risk him sensing you. I’ll use this at the first sign of drugs in my system. Last time he caught me off guard this time I’ll be careful.” Dak’kon slipped the bottle into his pocket.

—

After getting dressed Dak’kon headed to the kitchen (making sure to transfer the bottle). Xyven was there, right on schedule, fiddling with something on the stove. He’d noted nothing unusual about the man’s appearance and when he entered the man received him without any obvious signs of aggression. The chef appeared to be in good spirits.

–

“Hey, breakfast will be done in a bit. Have a seat.” Dak’kon took the same seat, stealing himself to the uncertainty. He was sitting some sort of record for interest in other people’s fucking business. There was a part of him that just wanted to sit staring silently at the black window but he couldn’t waste his time like that anymore.

–

“Did you ever get out yesterday? You have that sex glow about you.” Xyven said looking up from the frying pan.

–

“Not sex, more like a very intense dream.” Dak’kon was startled by the other’s observational skills but he did his best not to show it.

–

“A dream huh? Every time I spend the night in this place I end up having nightmares.” Xyven commented flipping the fish in his pan over. He still hadn’t figured out if there was actually a human being in the chef’s body or if the demon was just messing around with him.

–

“Yeah what kind of dreams?” Dak’kon asked trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible, the last thing he wanted to do was arouse suspicion by going into full-fledged interrogation mode. Xyven didn’t strike him as the patient type.

–

“There’s this entity stalking me. Whatever the dream I can feel it, right there on the very edge of my perception. Like a malevolence. As the dream continues it gets closer and closer. It’s patient but relentless. By the end of the dream it’s right on top of me and then bam it swallows me up.” The chef said and though he laughed it was empty, and meaningless like an echo. “The thing is sometimes when I am wide awake I look into that mirror in the bathroom and its all black and distorted and I remember that dream.” He continued, fish done he started to plate up breakfast. This time it was Japanese-style rice, miso soup, mackerel, a side of simmered vegetables. Dak’kon was half Japanese on his father’s side but having never met the man he’d never eaten anything like this for breakfast. He wondered absently if Xyven had made this specifically for him?

–

“Looks like the old man got into your head a bit.” Dak’kon didn’t know how long he’d be able to maintain consciousness after he started eating, he had to get to the point. “You ever witness anything else out of the ordinary while staying here?” He asked taking the dishes from Xyven and organizing them around himself.

–

Xyven returned to the stove after serving him. “I told you I didn’t believe in that shit. The weirdest thing around here was the people.” Dak’kon got the feeling the other wanted to say more on the subject but that he required a bit of prodding.

–

“You have a captive audience…so tell me about them.” Dak’kon offered lifting up his first mouthful of food. Once the man got going he would slow down.

–

“I guess you never actually met your grandfather. He was an alright guy. Pretty fucking funny when he was drinking. Bad taste in music though. He performed exorcisms, actually got paid for it too. If he didn’t believe in the shit himself I’d say he was one hell of a con artist. Anyways he comes back from this one job and he’s got this creepy ass stature with him. You know the one in the foyer? After that he became reclusive, sullen almost. He’d disappear for days at a time. Hauled up in one of those secret rooms no doubt. The only person he really talked too was Nikolai.” Xyven grew silent and at first Dak’kon thought he wouldn’t continue.

–

“Nikolai was more of an enigma though. When we first met the guy barely said a word to me. He just kinda of watched me out of the corner of his eye. He came off as being really innocent but I reckon that was some kind of act given what follows. He always spoke about himself in the 3rd person and he was amazed by everyday objects. Once he moved in he never left. Never went into the city. Never called home. Never talked about his past. No last name. Nothing just a blank fucking slate. I guess he had amnesia or something. I asked your grandfather once where he came from and he looks at me and says ‘I found him’. What the hell does that mean he found him that’s not something you say about a grown man, a dog maybe but not a grown man.” Xyven seemed to have warmed to the subject, apparently the issue with Nikolai had been weighing on his mind for a while.

–

“You think the old man abducted him?” Dak’kon asked this was definitely news to him but how could he dispute it given how little he knew about his grandfather.

–

“I don’t know. Nikolai seemed happy here or maybe he was just happy in general. Then one day the guy just up changes his whole persona. He started expressing an interest in me and by interest I mean a sexual interest. The sex was incredible, best I ever had. He had this ability, like some kind of empathic thing. Everything was just amplified I don’t know how to explain it.” Dak’kon picked slowly through his breakfast even though it was delicious. The sensations in his dream had been intense, rivaling anything he’d ever experienced in life.

–

“There was one other thing that struck me as odd. I had seen every inch of that man’s body and he was perfect. No scars. No moles. No beauty marks. Nothing. Like a doll. Except his eye. When we first met he had matching green eyes. Greenest eyes you have ever fucking seen. But then one of his eyes just up and turns black, even the white part. I asked him about it later. You know what he told me? Not a damn thing. It was like that with him.” Xyven said sighing in frustration. When Dak’kon thought back on it he couldn’t remember seeing any imperfections on Nikolai’s body either, though unlike Xyven, he hadn’t seen every inch. There were other things that jived as well, namely the empathic abilities.

–

Dak’kon was half-way through his meal, so far he felt more or less okay. The plan was to leave as soon as he was finished, sooner if he noticed any symptoms. If he got lucky he wouldn’t even need the safety measure. Would Xyven really try to poison him a second time? “And all that wasn’t enough to convince you huh.” Dak’kon said jokingly.

–

“The only thing it convinced me of is that I’d put up with just about anything for great sex.” The sound of meat searing in a hot pan was sobering. He returned his attention to his food.

–

“What about you? Where are you from?” Dak’kon asked did Xyven suffer similar gaps in his memory?

–

“Alabama.” The man did not elaborate, apparently he found talking about himself boring.

–

“What happened to your accent?” Dak’kon asked taking a sip of his coffee.

–

“I lost it, on purpose.” Apparently the man’s past was a bit of a sore point.

–

“How did you get interested in cooking?” The man appeared to have a genuine interest in food maybe the other would warm to the topic of his past if they kept things neutral.

–

“Funny thing really. I used to sell drugs. I didn’t just sell drugs I designed them and I was good at it. My specialty was aphrodisiacs. I was cocky though and that’s how I got arrested. They put me to work in the kitchen. I liked it and after I got out I started looking for work as a cook. Most people were put off by the record. I almost went back to selling drugs just to make ends meet. Then I met this old dude Douglas Hannigan. He was an ex con, he’d turned his life around opened up one of those mom and pop joints. He decided to give me a chance. He was a real hard ass but he was a good teacher. Things were good for a while, I learned a lot from him. He even paid for my education. He was going to leave me the restaurant but then these punks torched the place during the night. If the police hadn’t gotten to them first I would have killed them, kids or not. We started rebuilding the place bit by bit but he never really recovered from the loss, died about two months later unexpectedly. He never got around to making out a will and it turned out that he had some legitimate kids that he was estranged from, they got everything.” Xyven answered never pausing in his recollection. The man was certainly bitter about what happened but it seemed to Dak’kon that he was too resigned to exact vengeance.

–

For the rest of his meal Dak’kon continued to peel away layers of the chef’s life. The man had a younger brother Xerxes, a firefighter still living in their hometown, he was married with two kids. He also had a younger sister Xanthippe she was a meth head and a prostitute. His dad was a drunk. His mom was a heroine addict. He didn’t go into details about what probably was a shitty childhood but it was apparent that Xyven recalled everything with reasonable clarity. He didn’t note in their discussion any of the peculiarities he’d seen on the previous night and Xyven made absolutely no reference to the encounter. At some point during their discussions the chef opened the back door to show him the snow. There was about a foot, that was problematic. Xyven did not react to the sunlight and even offered to help with repairing the house since he couldn’t go home anyways. He asked the man to help clear out the unused bedrooms for all the good that would do.

–

Dak’kon finished his whole meal without getting sick. What was going on exactly? The list of things he couldn’t explain only seemed to increase. Most of it could be unraveled with logic, it was the bits that could not that propelled him on this wild goose chase. The turn in the weather made it unlikely that he would make it to the city anytime soon. His grandfather’s driveway was miles long, wilderness all around. The back roads might not even be plowed. Dak’kon stopped by the bathroom first to brush his teeth before heading to the bedroom. Nikolai was waiting on the bed.

Part 9

(This section contains oral sex, pretty graphic stuff that. Encase you are wondering why Dak’kon does not move in the scene it is because of the paralysis that occurs when under the influence of a sex fiend’s energy)

Once they returned to the room Nikolai began to strip down to his boxers. He almost removed his shirt as well but paused half-way up his chest before letting it drop. “I don’t want to tempt you too much otherwise I’ll never get any sleep.” The red head joked but in truth it was simply too cold to remove his shirt.

“If you never leave the house how do you get food anyways?” Dak’kon asked noting once more the other man’s thinness.

“Well the servants used to bring me stuff and I grow some vegetables in the garden. If you hadn’t showed up I probably would have gotten desperate enough to eat Xyven’s cooking. Though to be fair the man is/was actually a good chef.” Nikolai shrugged climbing into bed. ‘If only the fucker didn’t poison everything.’ He thought bitterly and that thought reflected in his expression.

They talked a little longer before saying goodnight.

The thick blanket did not totally neutralize the cold but he settled the best he could. It wasn’t long before Nikolai had maneuvered closer but he didn’t confront the man about it because the warmth of another body was actually kind of nice.

For the first half of the night Dak’kon’s dreams were pretty predictable, flashes of conversation and imagery all pertaining to recent events. There were even flashes of the kiss, in all its heated and forbidden glory but the dreams were not lucid like the ones Nikolai gave him.

It wasn’t until morning that his dreams took on an altogether different form.

Dak’kon felt a weight shifting at the foot of the mattress. He tried craning his neck to see if Nikolai was still asleep beside him but he could not turn his head. He felt someone tugging at the waist band of his pajamas bottoms. He tried to speak but found that he could not produce words, coherent or otherwise. His every sound was primal, monosyllabic, nonsense. His pulse was rapid with anticipation. He was not afraid. He felt his pants and boxers come off in one quick jerk and the warmth of someone’s breath on his rapidly growing erection. The hands caressing his thighs were not huge like Xyven’s and it seemed to him then that it must be Nikolai. There was indeed something almost reverent and affectionate in the hands sliding over his hips. Those questing fingertips, rough from work, sent chills down his spine. He inhaled sharply but his lungs felt compressed and thirsty and he could not draw quite enough air. His head was a skein of incomplete connections but what he lacked in reasoning ability he made up for in bodily sensations. He felt the other handling his balls, massaging them just so and with what seemed a very clear intent. They grew swollen and heavy, like ripe fruit. The person, whom he designated Nikolai, spread his thighs apart. He did not resist even though everything about the situation was alien and taboo. Dak’kon’s body was malleable to everyone but himself, he was locked in, a prisoner. His breathing grew ragged and he closed his eyes against the darkness.

His assailant (could someone capable of inciting so much pleasure truly be an assailant?) leaned forward inhaling the scent of his sex. The other growled face down in his crotch, the need was animalistic, uncompromising.

One of Dak’kon’s balls was taken into the unseen being’s mouth. Though he could not writhe he was accosted by the need when the other began sucking and manipulating his sac skillfully. Two fingers pressed against his perineum, rubbing it, stretching, ever-so-slightly, the muscles surrounding his entrance. Dak’kon felt full to bursting. His nuts were so engorged that the skin of his uncircumcised cock slid back as far it possibly could. He felt feverish, painfully aroused, bordering on delirious. No thoughts surfaced whatsoever, everything was swallowed in that warm, wet mouth. He felt the first drops of precum hot against his abs and it seemed that he might cum, prematurely, and without direct stimulation. Some force, not his will, kept him hanging on the precipice. He wanted to plead with the person but nothing escaped him but guttural monosyllables.

“I can’t help it I am so hungry.” He recognized Nikolai’s voice, muffled though it was. He could neither give nor deny consent. He wanted it to go further, to keep going, to break his very soul apart. The attention, to his usually neglected sac, was incredible and when the red head started to hum he felt a wash of pure, undiluted ecstasy. He felt Nikolai’s fingers wrap around the base of his shivering cock and he could feel by the other’s grip that it was his biggest erection by far.

Nikolai began licking up the drops of pre cum on his stomach. The way the other was moaning suggested need, desire, unquantifiable lust. The fingers that had been massaging his perineum began cupping his balls, squeezing lightly, practically choking incoherent sobs from him. He felt the man’s moist breath on the head of his highly sensitized arousal and then a warm, slick, probing tongue lapping up every last drop of moisture around the slit. That same tongue, began a torturous promenade around the crown of his sex, starting at the overhang of glans and shaft and up the peach-like indenture. Nikolai was not impatient, Dak’kon was struggling to breathe. When the other swallowed the tip of his cock, he felt himself convulsing internally, he was gasping for air.

Centimeter by centimeter Nikolai worked down the length of his shaft, dragging his tongue along the underside whenever he slid back up. With each attempt Dak’kon’s cock began to disappear into that merciless cavern and then the man would pull out again flicking over the head with a practiced tongue. Dak’kon felt himself unraveling, the war with his body, the inability to thrust, his whole being throbbed and sweltered.

A rush of warm liquid electricity slid down his urethra, his muscles convulsed, his cock wept hotly. He’d never felt this sensation before, this heat, like an echo inside of his erection. He felt fractured, desperate, ravenous. No one had ever managed it, the full length of his cock but Nikolai had worked his way all the way to the base. Hot, wet, constricted. Once Nikolai reached the end he slid back up, slowly, cruelly, stopping at the top to tease the head before plunging down again. He began to pick up speed, Dak’kon felt his sex sliding into the back of the red head’s throat and all the while the man was milking his balls.

“Soon…” Nikolai whispered the words right into the head of his sex, the man’s lips softly brushing against his fevered flesh.

Then Nikolai began to really go down on him in earnest, his moans almost entirely muffled by the massive shaft. That someone would want him this much, be driven to such hunger and such extremes, aroused him and terrified him simultaneously.

His muscles burned, he kept willing them to move, and they kept howling back at him to let out the savage energy contained within. His balls were near to bursting. When Nikolai had him locked in, all the way in, his cock went rigid, painfully, deliriously rigid and the echo within his sex became a scream. His muscles reverberated with a violence he’d never felt before, spasms so deep that they seemed to tear apart the very fabric of reality. When he came it was vicious and transcendent all at once. His cum immediately disappeared down the other’s throat, was swallowed, absorbed, and met with enthusiasm. When he thought himself spent, dry, utterly fulfilled his body was hit by a powerful wave of electricity that seemed to spark every single nerve and he came again, no longer able to recognize the inhuman sound of his own voice.

When Dak’kon woke up absolutely nothing made sense and yet he felt a sense of complete fulfillment, intense, overwhelming fulfillment. He was giddy, saturated by endorpins, unable to string a single thought together much less a sentence He was panting, his lungs raw with hunger. He wasn’t even aware of Nikolai looking down at him. He didn’t open his eyes. It was several minutes before he had climbed down and when at last he was back in his own body and back within the grasp of his own thoughts he began to panic. When he opened his eyes he saw Nikolai looking at him, he did not notice the smile on the man’s face which was one of bewilderment and knowing amusement.

Once Dak’kon realized he wasn’t soaked with cum, there seemed to him only one possibility.

“You haven’t been totally honest with me.” He said forcing Nikolai backwards on the mattress. There was a bit of a struggle because the red head was so thoroughly confused. The struggle caused the gardener’s shirt to slide up his chest, exposing his mid section.

Dak’kon grabbed hold of the man’s boxers and jerked them off. The red head’s morning erection smacked back against his stomach. Nikolai let out a muffled groan. There was nothing wrong with the man’s penis, that was to say there was nothing alien or monstrous about it.

“That must have been one hell of a dream. W-what are we doing again?” Nikolai asked feeling suddenly exposed. Since Dak’kon was still holding fast to his boxers he thought about covering himself with his hands but something in the dark-haired musician’s gaze had stunned him. “I mean I did just wake up…it’s normal.” Was the man mad because he had a boner?

“I thought…” Dak’kon’s brain had stopped working at this point. What the hell was he doing, well he was staring at Nikolai’s cock technically, but why was he doing it? The man’s penis was about 8 inches and perfect. No blemishes, even color, strait up, no bends, cleanly sculpted. All of this information was of course absorbed on an unconscious level. “Did you enter my dreams last night?”

“I don’t remember what I dreamed about last night.” Nikolai admitted sliding up to a seated position he grabbed a pillow for modesty. If this guy was a sex demon then that explained the complicated feelings of attraction he was experiencing. “Did you have a sex dream about me?” Nikolai asked in a tone somewhere between cautious and playful.

“Just get dressed.” Dak’kon sighed throwing the man his boxers. Nikolai stood up, erection still standing proud. He put on his boxers so that the waist band kept it pressed into his body.

“Are you being strait with me about everything to the best of your knowledge?” He asked again the dream had felt too real to deny it.

“I don’t know…my head…is kind of mixed up but if I am lying it’s not intentional.” Nikolai sounded sincere and Dak’kon felt compelled to believe him.

“Okay and yes I think it was you I was dreaming about.” He answered. “And no I won’t describe it to you.” He added grinning uncomfortably at the other man.

Part 8

(First let me say I wrote this chapter when I was in that super tired state where everything is absolutely hilarious. So this chapter is vulgar and immature and ridiculously silly. There is sexual content and a lot of talk about monster genitalia. There is also some bad language. I am not sure I might rewrite it later but either way they are trying to identify the demon and it is a type of sex fiend so the genitalia is actually relevant.)

The room was unremarkable and contained only one arm chair, a lamp, and a stack of books. “These books are they significant?” Dak’kon asked crossing the room. He was grateful that Nikolai had given him an out so to speak.

“I think so Luca (grandfather) was particularly obsessed with them. Problem is I can’t read them. Do you read Romani?” Nikolai asked trying to position himself in a way that did not reflect his self-consciousness.

“A little but I am far from fluent.” Dak’kon said flipping slowly through one of the books. He recognized a few words here and there but it was really the images that caught his eye.

“Have you ever seen the demon? Not the demon as in Xyven but as itself?” Dak’kon asked turning to Nikolai who was feigning casual with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Never in his full form. I’ve only seen hints. Yellow eyes. Wide grin. Long tongue. To tell you the truth the thing that stood out most was his. His. You know. Penis.” Nikolai almost blurted the word out.

“Well I am going to need you to describe it to me.” Dak’kon said, he had legitimate reasons of course, but he still felt rather strange about making the request.

“Really?! Well it was about a foot long altogether. Maybe more and thick like. Well like my upper arm kind of.” Nikolai said wrapping his fingers around the most appropriate section of his forearm.

“Okay go on.” Dak’kon said making a mental note as he flipped through the descriptions in the book.

“Eh well the color seemed normal but considering I only saw it when he was wearing, well Xyven I can’t be sure. Anyways it was kinda of strange. Like a tentacle maybe. Prehensile? It could move around autonomously.” Nikolai clearly felt weird talking about the demon’s genitalia, at least as weird, as Dak’kon felt having this conversation. Kudos to the red head for trying though.

“He could do this really weird thing with his penis. It turned into this weird, sucking tube thing. Like it would totally engulf my entire. You know m-my. Fuck. Cock. My cock. And he would just like suck it dry.” Nikolai said, staring ferociously at the ground.

“He also had this, I don’t know protrusion that he would rub against…like the prostrate…I have a normal cock I swear.” Nikolai blurted out all of a sudden. “I mean it returned to normal after the demon left my body.” So that was what the other was so incredibly embarrassed about.

“You prepared to prove that?” Dak’kon asked unable to contain his laughter even though it was a little bit mean.

“You know what fuck you. Describe your cock to me then…it’s not that easy.” Nikolai said his tone implied jest, not anger.

“Well size-wise I am about the same.” Dak’kon said this very seriously, so seriously that Nikolai’s face contorted into all sorts of comical expressions.

“You are definitely hung…I noticed that before…but I’d have to see it to you know, confirm, science is a bitch. Now go on what else. Are you circumcised or not?” Nikolai asked waving for Dak’kon to continue.

At this point Dak’kon could not help but laugh and soon they were both laughing.

“O-kay okay seriously. Anything else you can tell me. Was their ejaculate? How much? Did you taste it?” Dak’kon showed one of the fact sheets too Nikolai. There were actually descriptors of these things listed but of course the other man couldn’t read the words.

“Now who has a problem with personal space?” Nikolai asked taking a deep breath.

“Yes there was ejaculate. It looked pretty normal to me. The texture was normal too. I am assuming I don’t have to describe ejaculate to you in detail. There was a lot of it though and no I didn’t have a measuring cup but I’d say like ¾ of a cup or something.” Dak’kon was having a hard time listening because he was laughing so hard that he was almost crying.

“As for the taste and I can’t believe I am saying this out loud but it was kind of sweet…not sickly sweet or anything but like mildly sweet. Not saline. It was kinda of addictive, his semen I mean…too much information…but in the interest of sorting things out…are you satisfied? Are you jealous?” Nikolai slipped in that last part kinda of quiet like.

“Kinda of. I mean who doesn’t want their cum to be addictive.” Dak’kon said half-jokingly.

“You have a point but that wasn’t what I meant.” Nikolai grinned. “Seriously I just described this monster’s junk to you in excruciating detail and you’re not even going to show me yours?”

“I am not no because then you’d never stop talking about it.” Dak’kon teased even though he technically forced the other man to do it. “I hate to ask this now but what about the balls?”

“He had huge balls okay it’s a wonder he can walk around but they looked like balls you know? I know you know what they are because yours have to be absolutely fucking huge to keep asking me these questions.” Nikolai answered and it was quite a while before Dak’kon could even form words he was laughing so hard.

“That actually narrows it down thank you.” Dak’kon said showing Nikolai some of the potentials.

“They have pictures in that book Dak’kon. Pictures of monster cocks. Is there some reason I had to describe his genitalia to you? Cough. Closest. Pervert..” Nikolai said glancing at Dak’kon out of the corner of his eye. The fact that the other actually said cough instead of fake coughing set off another laughing fit. It was a while before their laughter died and Dak’kon realized they were both completely exhausted. Laughter was great stress relief.

“Well can you tell by the pictures exactly which one it is?” Dak’kon asked and Nikolai couldn’t because the images were kinda of blurry and lacking detail.

“No I can’t but those appear close. Does it say anything about getting rid of the demon?” Nikolai asked leaning over the book even though he couldn’t read it.

“No this book just describes them. So do you want to pour over this now or do you want to get some sleep? You are really killing me man. I mean that in a good way. If that makes sense.” Dak’kon said he hadn’t actually had this much fun with someone in well, ever.

“It does. I mean I can’t remember the last time I really laughed.” Nikolai said serious for a moment. “Go on look into my eyes will you because honestly I can’t wait to get into bed with you.”

“The only thing we’ll be doing in bed tonight is sleeping.” Dak’kon smiled doing his best to keep the other’s gaze.

(This chapter has kissing and a bit of sexual content. As you know I am writing this for fun, no planning involved, just strait stream of conscious. I tell myself stories throughout the day and this is a bit like that, only I am writing it down and sharing it. I have extremely poor social skills in real life and that bleeds into my characters and their relationships which is why I tend to choose misfits. Anyhow I realize I’ve never described Dak’kon’s appearance (or given him a normal name lol). Dak’kon is 6’3, athletic/fit but not bulky, Japanese/Eastern European, tan, brown eyes, long, thick, black hair with a slight wave, on the sexy side of good-looking, body hair more in line with his Japanese heritage, medium frame size)

“Xyven approached me in the library shortly after you left. He looked…off somehow.” Dak’kon said no sooner than the portal had closed behind him. He wasn’t slurring his words but his pacing was a bit off. Nikolai was clearly troubled by the news and it was a while before the other spoke again.

“We’ll have to reevaluate the schedule.” The red head sighed giving Dak’kon a thorough once over. “I thought you slept naked.” He commented after another pause.

“I don’t feel much like sleeping and even if I did what makes you think I’d jump into bed with you naked?” Dak’kon answered smiling. Was it Nikolai or the alcohol that had taken the edge off his mood?

“It’s called wishful thinking you should try it sometime. By the way have you been drinking?” Nikolai asked indicating the water bottle still in Dak’kon’s hand. It wasn’t so much the inconspicuous bottle that had tipped him off, as the lazy smile plastered on the musician’s face.

“Wishful thinking I’ll keep that in mind. I have been drinking. I wasn’t sure when you were going to show up.” He said his gaze lingering a little too long on the other’s lopsided grin.

“I would have come sooner if I’d known. Did anything happen? What did he say?” Nikolai reached up and squeezed Dak’kon’s shoulder right where it connected to the muscles of his neck. It was meant to be a comforting gesture but it felt a little too good.

“Uh…nothing particularly enlightening. He apparently doesn’t want us redecorating.” Dak’kon’s said shrugging. “There is something I don’t get though. I thought he was tied to the house. I saw him in town when the lawyer went over the will.”

“Did you see him interact with anything? Did he speak to anyone?” Nikolai asked it was apparently the first he’d heard of Xyven’s outing.

“Not that I can think of. He barely left an impression.” Dak’kon sat his bottle down on the table. There was really no use drinking now, though there was something slightly appealing about getting drunk.

“Maybe he can project his image?” Nikolai suggested but it was clear he didn’t have an answer.

“I have seen some things I can’t explain. The way he moved it wasn’t natural. I might be losing mind.” Dak’kon said flopping down on the mattress.

“That is a possibility.” Nikolai offered plopping down beside the other man. “But in that case you’re not the only one.” The red head nudged him playfully.

“So what do we know about this demon anyway I mean really?” Dak’kon asked, he wasn’t looking at Nikolai now. He didn’t even slide over when the red head sat too close.

“He attacks when you’re in an altered state of consciousness. He can infect dreams. He has the ability to possess others and that is what really sets him apart from other incubi the ability to assume and maintain a corporeal form. He consumes sexual fluids.” Nikolai chewed on his bottom lip, apparently that last bit of information was embarrassing.

“What do you mean consumes? Like it gets him off or like its a source of energy?” Dak’kon asked. He was so far down the rabbit hole at this point that there was no coming up for light.

“Both. I don’t know if he’s subject to starvation but I wonder how long he could maintain his hold on Xyven if he were deprived.” Where had Xyven been getting his fluids anyways? The obvious answer, of course, was Nikolai. Though it seemed to him that the red head had been hiding himself for a while now.

“We could just leave then. Head back to my place in the city at least until the winter is over.” Dak’kon suggested. He had no intention of abandoning the house but he wasn’t exactly equipped for this sort thing. At least in the city they could conduct proper research and make contacts. An internet connect could have done wonders for their cause.

“Maybe but you said he projected himself into the city. He might be forced to return here periodically but whose to say he can’t leave? Besides I am not sure if I can leave the house. Maybe I died and maybe that’s why he left my body.” Although it was obvious that Nikolai considered his death a serious possibility, Dak’kon could not help but laugh.

“I just watched you eat a whole pizza by yourself. You are real alright. I can see you. I can touch you.” To illustrate this (though it was unnecessary considering that they had touched many times) Dak’kon mussed Nikolai’s hair. “You need to get out of this place. Interact with people.”

“I want to kiss you just so you know.” Nikolai turned away smiling shyly. “We’ll try it your way but I better not fucking disappear. Now play me something, you kind of promised me and I have entertained your questions enough for the night. Just for like a second I want to be normal.” Nikolai said and there was something sincere and even a little sad in his tone.

“You talk too much.” Dak’kon replied turning Nikolai’s face toward him. His eyes were lowered when he pressed forward. Nikolai met him part way. The kiss started out slow, sensual, exploratory even but proceeded with great desperation. Dak’kon was surprised at how soft the other man’s lips were. Everything about the kiss surprised him, especially the part where he liked it. Though like wasn’t a very adequate description for what was, in fact, an incredible kiss. They parted only after their aching lungs were too spent to continue and even then it was with great reluctance. “You are alive.” Dak’kon took Nikolai’s hand and instead of placing it over his own heart he had the man touch himself. How long had Nikolai been living here like this, long enough for peculiarities and schisms to arise, long enough for desperation to override logic. “Now I believe I owe you a song” Dak’kon said rising.

“Or we could just make out some more.” Nikolai suggested, his voice low, sexy even. Dak’kon was very close to accepting the offer.

It was a bit too soon for him though. He’d never been attracted to another man outside of a vague, casual acknowledgment that some men were fit. Even during his more impressionable years he had been strictly drawn to the opposite sex and it was with the opposite sex that all his youthful experimentation had occurred. He was not prepared just now to alter his identity. He could not deny that he had just kissed another man and that he had enjoyed it to an almost painful degree but he could at least give himself some processing time. Time to absorb, maybe even savor the anticipation and turmoil the incident had caused him. It wasn’t like he was black and white about his sexuality or sexuality in general it was just unfamiliar. It was deeper than that though he was unfamiliar with monogamy, with deep friendship, with anything bordering on meaningful and he didn’t take Nikolai for a one night stand kind of person. The one thing he hated more than anything was leading someone on, since he hadn’t totally shot the man down yet it was clear enough that he was at least entertaining a possibility between them.

“Don’t be so greedy.” Dak’kon teased taking his guitar out of its case.

Dak’kon played several songs, though it was in part to center himself. He even sang. His voice was deep, a bit rough, and his voice bordered on too sexy, inadvertently sexy. When he was finished Nikolai praised him enthusiastically but it was the shifting of a concealed erection that clarified the effect of his music.

Nikolai chewed nervously on his bottom lip and there it was again that feeling of overwhelming awkwardness. A tightening of the chest. An ache that was to Dak’kon utterly foreign. They had chemistry and he was not used to holding himself back.

“Will you follow me? There is somewhere I want to take you.” Nikolai asked shaking Dak’kon from his mental paralysis. “Yeah alright.” He said looking into the other’s eyes for the first time in a while. It was both intoxicating and uncomfortable as hell.

“Trance or vodka it’s up to you.” Were they going to travel to one of the other rooms? Dak’kon had noted the existence of 4 unopenable rooms. So far he’d only seen one. As for the options he wasn’t sure which was better. His buzz had worn off. If he got drunk he was more likely to act on his impulses and less likely to remember the details.

“Trance.” He said after a too long pause. Nikolai clipped his hair back this time maybe because Dak’kon had teased him about the ponytail.

“I almost can’t look at you.” Nikolai said shifting his weight back and forth, so the man was shy when it got real? After looking down several times to collect himself the red head finally focused and with an intensity Dak’kon hadn’t seen before.

Looking into the man’s eyes he found himself slipping underneath a powerful tide. He didn’t struggle.

Part 6

(this chapter is a bit more scary/creepy it also contains a bit of innuendo)

The library was filled wall to wall with books. Dak’kon had no idea what he was looking for, at least not specifically. A random search would have taken months. He needed to find a solution to Xyven’s possession and a means of ridding the house of any and all infestations. He decided to start his search with the heavily dog-eared books on the side table. The books, he soon discovered, were filled with illegible notes and more usefully highlighted passages.

Most of the books pertained to exorcisms and cleansings. There was one book that pertained to demons but it was apparent that his grandfather had never quite figured out what type of demon possessed Xyven. He seemed to have narrowed it down to a genre, sex fiend. Dak’kon was going to have to talk/interact with Xyven again if he was ever going to riddle out the monster’s identity. His grandfather had dedicated his whole life to research and Dak’kon wasn’t prepared to sacrifice that kind of time.

“I took you to be a man of science.” Dak’kon’s head snapped up. It was too early. Xyven loomed in the doorway but there was something wrong with him. The man appeared, almost unsteady, like the flicker of a dying street lamp.

“Well there’s not exactly a lot to do around here for entertainment.” Dak’kon said sitting the books to the side. He was going to play this casual and if possible avoid a confrontation.

“It looks like you’ve been redecorating. I don’t like what you’ve done with the windows.” The demon’s tone expressed displeasure. A displeasure so fundamental that it could even be thought a precursor to violence. What started out as a slow out of sync walk across the room escalated rapidly. Before Dak’kon could even rise from his chair Xyven had crossed the room and was bent over him gripping the chair’s arm rests. The demon’s face was close, too close. Dak’kon didn’t flinch, at least not outwardly. Everything was an act, a machinations, and as much as Dak’kon hated playing games everything depended upon his ability to put up a good front.

“I can think of better uses of your time.” Xyven said his grin was wide, serpentine. Dak’kon caught the innuendo and it repulsed him.

“I don’t think I like what you have in mind.” Dak’kon said eyes narrowing. From this distance he thought that Xyven looked pale, almost waxy. Was the demon forcing himself to be awake? In any case he’d learned something important Xyven did not care for the changes he’d made to the house. Did Xyven have issues with natural light? Or was it change?

Xyven’s laugh was deep and unsettling. “That’s too bad…” The demon said and though he rose he remained close. Close enough that Dak’kon couldn’t comfortably get out of the chair. “I think we’d have fun together but who would be on top?” The question seemed to amuse the demon a good deal. Dak’kon did not humor the demon further by proposing an answer. Any answer, even defiance, would have only served to continue that line of discourse.

Instead he changed the subject. “I thought you’d be headed out by now.” Dak’kon commented doing his best to keep his tone and body language relaxed.

“I have a room here didn’t you know that? The weather forecast is threatening snow figured I’d better stay the night encase the roads become impassable.” Xyven seemed disinterested in this particular line of conversation and answered only to keep up the pretense of civility. “So did you ever run into Nikolai?”

“Sorry I haven’t seen him. I guess he moved on.” Dak’kon responded careful not to rush his words and careful not to break his gaze lest it look like he was being deceitful.

“That is unfortunate.” Xyven said more to himself than to his present company. “We’ll be spending a lot of time together in the upcoming months. I would prefer if we got along. You are aware of my reputation. That is all in the past. I had a difficult upbringing. Got mixed up in drugs. Took a bad course. But I’ve put that behind me now.” Xyven seemed oddly sincere, human almost. What was the game? He’d just seen the man move across the floor with unnatural speed. Was it Xyven that was different? Or was it his perception that was warped?

“I only glanced at your resume. I am not one to belabor the past. We’re cool.” They weren’t cool, Dak’kon hadn’t liked Xyven from their very first conversation. The way he’d spoken about Nikolai, denigrated him. He couldn’t deny that they had similarities. He slept around a lot. He was also very forthright with his lovers about his intentions. It was their similarities perhaps more than their differences that caused his revulsion. He’d never referred to anyone as a slut though, that would have been hypocritical.

“You’re alright Daks heh just don’t read too many of these books they’ll rot your brain same way they did the old mans.” Xyven lifted one of the books off the table and let it fall to the floor with what Dak’kon took to be disgust. There was a threat imparted in the demon’s tone that suggested to him some degree of intimidation. Clearly there was something in these books, an answer, a hint, a potential weapon. “Look I am going to turn in early. See you around.” Xyven really did seem to be feeling unwell. The man’s gait was slightly staccato. There was a sound too like static on an old CRT television.

Dak’kon bid the man goodnight and noted that instead of heading toward the back of the house or up the stairs where the bedrooms were located he headed toward the foyer.

The house had no servant’s quarters, all the staff had slept as guests/residents in the house. That of course included the former chef. Maybe there were some clues in Xyven’s room? It was much too dangerous to attempt entry now, what with the demon semi-conscious and besides he wasn’t even sure which room belonged to Xyven. Dak’kon took the books to his bedroom., they were too important to leave behind.

He had to proceed as planned so as not to arouse any suspicion.

Dak’kon locked the door to the bathroom, a precaution he’d not taken on the first night, A precaution he deduced afforded him only the illusion of security. Nothing remarkable occurred during his shower. It wasn’t until he was finished that he noticed the paint on the window (he hadn’t finished all the windows) had run. Fat, black ribbons stood in stark contrast to the white tiles and that wasn’t the only thing amiss in the room. His image in the broken mirror was even more obfuscated than before. All he could see was heavy, black smoke. So strong was the impression that he even smelled it but a quick survey of the room revealed no flames. He dressed in a blue t-shirt, boxers, and a pair of blue and black checkered pajama bottoms and brushed his teeth feigning ignorance of anything supernatural. ‘Keep your shit together’ He thought and that thought became his mantra.

Dak’kon locked his bedroom door behind him for all the good it did him. Nikolai had not yet reopened the portal and so there was nothing to do but read. He read while drinking vodka from a water bottle. If Nikolai didn’t come through in time he figured he ought to get drunk enough to enter on his own. By the time Nikolai arrived he had a pretty good buzz going.

Part 5

(silliness, supernatural, flirtation?)

“The word is Papillon.” Nikolai said pushing Dak’kon backwards through the mirror.

Dak’kon spilled into his bedroom, a little unstable on account of the trance. It was like walking through an archway, unremarkable in every respect except that it was in all respects remarkable. He could still see Nikolai standing there on the other side, motioning for him to speak the code word. “Papillon.” Dak’kon said feeling as a child during a game of make believe. The mirror returned to its natural/inconspicuous state. Dak’kon immediately regretted his decision. The store was a 30 minute drive one-way. Would Nikolai really be alright? The demon was still in the house presumably dormant inside the statue if the schedule held. The gardener had managed to survive here, though at what cost he could not say.

The charger to his cell had been disconnected, the phone was still completely dead. He’d have to charge it in the car on the way to the store. In the meantime he headed toward the kitchen, he could deposit the leftovers while he was out it was the best way to ensure that Xyven did not find them. Was this really enough to deceive the demon, to keep up the pretense of civility? If Xyven had drugged him merely as a diversion than his disappearance was inconsequential and easily overlooked. If he was Xyven’s intended target than it went without saying that the demon noted his mysterious absence.

The kitchen was empty. The pots and pans had all been cleaned and were piled in the dish rack in a relatively orderly fashion. Opening the fridge it was full of plastic containers, the contents specified on labels in tidy black script. Dak’kon laughed out loud, it was just so fucking absurd. Was he really to believe that a demon was preparing his meals in such a motherly fashion? Was the habitual cooking evidence that Xyven still existed? Had he really just stepped out of a mirror? Should he even be driving in this state? Was he crazy? Why now? Was there some kind of gas leak? If the residents of the manor were fucking with him they were putting on one hell of a good show.

After a bitter internal debate on the state of his mental health, he decided it was better to just go with it. Crazy was relative and he was kinda of curious to see how everything played out. Some kind of repressed death wish maybe.

The trip to the store was surprisingly normal. He was still passable, functioning, coherent. His head was remarkably clear for someone on the cusp of clinical insanity. Was this really what crazy felt like? Was it moments of acute stress and then deceptive normalcy? Loading the car up with nonperishables he decided to make a quick trip to the liquor store and another for pizza. In order to travel through the mirrors he needed to be in an altered state of consciousness and he couldn’t depend on the fact that Nikolai would just appear as needed. It would have taken too much beer to get a sufficient buzz so he went with vodka. Vodka could be concealed in a plain water bottle if need be.

He pushed the speed limit the whole way back. According to his car radio it was only 3:56 Xyven should still be dormant. What about his body though? When the demon returned to the statue where did Xyven go? Was the man slumped over in a closest somewhere like a discarded carapace. That was an unsettling, albeit marginally humorous thought. Was the man simply absorbed into the statue body and all? Or was there some weird Xyven-shaped puppet roaming the house?

Pulling into the driveway he took a deep breath before exiting the vehicle. He could just leave and never return, go back to his everyday life, to the band, and to the relentless parade of one-night stands. That was the life he’d created for himself and as a young, single man it was pretty enviable. So what if he was still technically a struggling musician, music was his passion. As for the one-night stands that was a consequence of his voracious sexual appetite. A condition that had severely complicated his adolescence but not one he’d ever conscientiously addressed. He knew it had the potential to ruin his music career, just as Trent’s (the lead singer of his band) drug addiction was constantly putting their plans on hold. In coming all the way out here he’d hoped to reevaluate some aspects of his life instead he’d gotten swept up into a different sort of drama. A drama he could not really define but one that put him at considerable risk (provided the house staff weren’t totally fucking with him). He wasn’t the kind of man that walked away when shit got complicated, something that could easily be chalked up to a healthy (and perhaps foolhardy) dose of curiosity. Though he did avoid certain complications like relationships. At 23 he’d slept with a lot of women but he’d never once been on a date. That was probably fucked up but he’d always been upfront about his intentions. No strings. Just sex. There were plenty of women who were into that sort of thing despite what the magazines said. Anyway now wasn’t really the time to delve into his sex life or the dream kiss. He couldn’t remember having homoerotic dreams before but that was probably normal. Normal if you omitted the part about having another person inside your head. He wasn’t prepared to acknowledge how the kiss had made him feel.

He’d left the house through a side door in the kitchen but he entered through the front door. Immediately his eyes went to the statue in the foyer. It hadn’t moved. The eyes did not appear to follow him and yet he felt something emanating from the statue, some sort of presence. Could the demon see him now?

It’s only a statue for fuck’s sake. Nikolai might actually be Schizophrenic. Then what about the mirror?

Dak’kon had bought groceries that didn’t have to be refrigerated, anything he left in the kitchen could be contaminated. Furthermore he didn’t want to have to explain the reason why he was shopping processed shit when he had a chef preparing all his meals.

There was no sign of anyone in the house and despite it still being relatively early the house was pitch black.

Dak’kon went strait to his bedroom and the first thing he did was place his hand on the mirror. The mirror was solid and slick beneath his palm. If there was a trick to the mirror he could not figure it out. “Alright Nikolai do I have to get drunk out here or are you going to open the fucking door?” He spoke directly to the mirror, for all he knew Nikolai could hear him.

“What are you doing?” Dak’kon wasn’t a skittish man but the sudden voice behind him definitely got his heart pumping.

“I thought you’d be, you know in there…” He said swinging around to face Nikolai. The red head was wearing nothing but a towel. It was instinct that caused him to look at the other’s exposed torso but interest that caused him to linger. There were definite signs of athleticism in the red head’s physique but also signs of deprivation. Nikolai’s complexion was healthy which suggested, that despite everything, the man probably did spend a sufficient amount of time outdoors. His complexion also suggested something else, the guy wasn’t a natural red head. Judging from the color of the man’s eyebrows he probably had brown hair. The towel wrapped around the other’s hips was tied sloppily and he got the feeling that any movement might shake it loose. “I brought food.” He said meeting the other’s gaze.

“I can’t stay in there all the time it’s not fully equipped.” Nikolai responded trying to peek into the bags Dak’kon had brought home. “I think it should be safe to eat out here but if you’d prefer we can always go back in there. Just let me get dressed okay?” With that the red head turned around and headed back to the bathroom.

While the other man dressed Dak’kon set up the food in the living room. There was an old stereo with a pile of records beside it. He didn’t recognize any of the bands which was strange considering that he was a musician well-versed in a plethora of genres. “He had terrible taste in music.” Nikolai offered apologetically. The red head had changed clothes but really the only difference from before was the graphic on his tee and that he was barefoot. “Lets eat.” Nikolai sat down in front of one of the boxes of pizza and started in, it didn’t seem to matter much to him what he was eating.

“Why do you stay?” Dak’kon asked taking a seat across from Nikolai. He was referring of course to the others continued occupancy in the house.

“Because I have unfinished business. You are a part of that.” Nikolai said pausing his eating only so long as it took to form his words. Unfinished business? That was the sort thing a ghost would say. What kind of unfinished business? Had his grandfather left him a guide? He got the feeling the other didn’t much want to discuss the topic.

He let subject drop and for a while they ate in silence.

“So here is the thing we keep playing 20 questions but I am always under the lamp. Who exactly are you?” Nikolai asked sitting back from the table now that he finished stuffing himself.

“I am a musician. I play lead guitar in a band called Psychophoria. We play mostly hard rock, alternative, a bit of punk.” Dak’kon fell off he wasn’t that great about talking about himself.

“Did you bring anything I can listen too?” Nikolai asked and it was quite clear that he was legitimately interested.

“I didn’t bring any of my stuff but I brought my guitar.” Dak’kon answered finishing off his soda. “I can play it for you if you like but first I thought we’d do some actual work.” He answered and Nikolai slumped in his chair as if to imply fatigue.

“Why are the windows painted black by the way?” He asked again directing the subject away from himself.

“Seriously?! Your grandfather’s mental health started to deteriorate, a consequence of living with the demon for so long. I have been affected too and if you stay here long enough he’ll poison you as well. Now Mr. Strait and Narrow do you have a girl back home?” Nikolai asked

“I am sensing some heterophobia in that last comment. No, I don’t have a girlfriend. Never have either.” Dak’kon answered closing his empty pizza box. Nikolai laughed nearly snorting coke out of his nose.

“Never? Not that I can really talk. The only sex I’ve had is when I was possessed by the demon and I am not sure if that counts.” As soon as the words left his mouth Nikolai seemed slightly embarrassed by them.

“How about we get to started before one of us confesses something embarrassing? I figured we’d start by clearing off the windows.” Dak’kon said rising from his chair.

For the next few hours they worked side by side, listening to bad music, and sometimes goofing off. The paint was caked on heavily, the work was slow-going but definitely worthwhile. At around 9 o’clock they called it quits.

“I’m going to take a shower and then I might hang out in the library for a bit, research. Take this if I don’t come back and it gets too late come and get me.” Dak’kon said passing Nikolai his phone which was an act of supreme trust given the circumstances. Then again his grandfather did have a telephone, he just hadn’t thought to check the line.

“I’ll play you something when I get back.” He offered and Nikolai waved his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright.” Nikolai took the groceries with him.