TITLE: Icarus Manor, chapter 10 AUTHOR: lillywhite1, but you can call me Casey. SUMMARY: In a mysterious mansion in a secluded part of North America, a man discovers that he is far from alone in the world. Here at Icarus Manor several species of non-human description live together to survive in a world that does not know they exist. LAST CHAPTER: The boys head off to the club. Cameo by Cate Blanchette. Surprise visit by Mr. Boyd. THIS CHAPTER: William and Dominic spend some time alone. Sean tries for a midnight reunion with Elijah. PAIRING: DM/BB, hints of EW/SA RATING: R; still setting up the base for the affair. FEEDBACK: is my neutella on a spoon that makes me go all gooey and melty and mmmmm... A/N: Text in asterisks (*) represents italics or general emphasis. This is a book and a work in progress. Be gentle. Comments to cswann1@gmail.com. Chapter 10 Glittering and winking, the city hummed below them. They had left the club behind them and were now perched on a cliff overlooking their domain like kings of old. Mountains rose up near the city as if they were solemn guardians, and a gentle fog was descending to blanket and mute the town in the late hours of the night. It was beautiful, and Dominic was there with the one person whose company he desired most. William. He’d said, “Call me William,” and it was such a short time ago, though it didn’t feel like a short time. Long moments of silence can do that. It wasn’t that Dominic couldn’t enjoy silence, but when you’ve waited for so long for a particular wish to come true, you don’t feel like wasting that precious time with (what could be awkward) silence. All of Dominic’s questions had been answered, but there was a mysterious confusion still lurking around his mind. It was probably the questions he didn’t necessarily want answered still making a nuisance of themselves. He couldn’t see Mr. Bo—William—from where he was crouching in the dirt, but he could feel his presence, and that was enough. Not many people can handle being stared at constantly. Dominic didn’t want to be impolite. It was enough to know that he was standing behind him. “I adore this place.” William said suddenly. Dominic snapped to attention. “It reminds me…of a long time ago. It’s peaceful: Calm. Like nothing unfortunate could ever happen from up here. You’re safe.” William looked at Dominic and smiled. “Which is odd, because most people don’t like heights.” “Most people aren’t like us.” “Aye. They’re not.” “W-william?” “Yes, Dom?” Dominic scrambled for a common interest. “Do you ever wish you weren’t like us? That is, do you ever wish you were simply human?” “No. I did once, but no.” “Why?” “I heard it’s an easy pick-up line.” “What?” Both men smiled at the weak joke. “Seriously?” Dominic’s heart leaped a little as William settled gracefully next to him in the dust and rocks, “I wanted what everyone does. I wanted to stop living in secret. I wanted to belong. I wanted to live a good life without the lies or the second glances. I wanted to be free; to leave that gilded cage behind and quit that cursed manor house forever.” “You’re not free now? You have the money to do whatever you want, and what about all the people you’ve helped? They would have nothing if it wasn’t for you. I would think that you would have a wonderfully light conscience with all the good you’ve done.” “But it’s so selfish, Dom.” William hung his golden head. If Dominic hadn’t known better, he would have thought the man beside him had shrunk. His sadness swathed him in a dense film that separated him from Dominic. “Selfish? It’s the most generous thing that anyone can hope to achieve. You’re like a big brother or a father to so many if not all of your employees.” “I am reminded of a conversation late in the night, surrounded by a glowing garden. Is this déjà vu, or is it just that you will never let me leave this topic of discussion, Dominic?” William sighed, defeated. Again, he appeared so small. “Don’t you think it is odd that you fell at my doorstep at the one moment that you needed someone the most? You could have fallen anywhere, and you would…” William paused, “Doesn’t it seem a little odd to you that the first house you ran into in the hour of your greatest need turned out to be perfect? I don’t assume there are many sanctuaries in the world that cater to paranthropic species.” Quietly, Dominic considered this. Perhaps it did sound like a stretch for a coincidence, but then what else could it have been if not coincidence? Would it be fate? “Dominic, do you like it here at Icarus Manor?” “Of course.” “Would you say you love it?” “Perhaps,” Dominic started slowly, “in fact, I think I do.” “Don’t you feel that it is a little too good to be true that you fell, in your most needy state, on the very doorstep of the one place in the world that would be perfect for you to be?” “What exactly is your point, William?” “That it *is* too good to be true. It is a prison, no matter how lovely. It is a prison I made, and I live in it. All of my employees, they are in the gilded cage, too, Dom. Don’t you see that?” William gestured with his small hands expressively. “If I help them, then they feel obligated to take my offer; the same offer I gave to you. *You* took it. They all take it. Who couldn’t? I save them all, but it’s really at the price of their lives. Some of them have been there even after; serving till after the death of their bodies.” “It’s their choice, William,” Dominic loved saying the name, “What you do…it is wonderful, so is the house.” “It’s horrific,” William’s emerald eyes bored into Dominic’s grey ones as if his point was his silent dying wish and was hiding behind his eyes, “and it’s all because I can’t stand to be alone. I started inviting people into my home to stay, and it became an addiction. Pretty soon I had the funds to take in as many people as I wanted. Then it was like having *pets*.” The last word left a look on William’s face like he had just chewed some bitter bark. He choked on the idea. “After I realized that was what I was doing, I stepped back and kept my distance. I didn’t want pets; I wanted company, but they don’t see it that way. There’s always a barrier between you and your employer, and that *can* be good. It’s definitely good for business. But if you haven’t noticed, my allowance can be very generous, and it’s tax free, so I’m basically paying you to live near me. I’m bribing you to be with me and warm my rather large, but largely lonely house. That creates a wall between people. They feel that if they get too close to me and if something happened, perhaps they would anger me or I could hurt them in some way, they would sour a deal that is better than anything they’ve ever had. They need me too much. “How can you not see that as a trap? It’s good. It’s too good to believe, and they love it. They love it so much that even after a severe demotion, like our poor Sean, they’re still there the next day, broken and desperate to be returned to my good favor.” Dominic shrugged, “You’re our savior of sorts.” William was dumb-struck for a few seconds. His face filled with a sudden panic, and then it evaporated as quickly as it had come. “That’s even worse, Dom. Then it’s *blasphemous* to leave my house. I can’t live up to such a high pedestal.” Dominic smiled, “William, can you never take anything as a compliment?” Mr. Boyd tossed Dominic a small smile, “I learned to be humble the hard way.” Dominic took a chance and lightly touched Mr. Boyd’s hand, “There is a fine line between humility and self-deprecation, and I think you crossed that line a long time ago,” Dominic stood up and stretched exaggeratedly, “Now, let’s do something fun before you talk me into jumping off this cliff.” ~ The tires of the SUV pounded the dirt road into submission as it climbed the mountainside. William had no idea where they were going, but he knew Dominic’s sense of direction told him the manor house was barely twenty miles west of them. He wouldn’t get them lost. Dominic had insisted on doing something fun, but William had no idea what that meant, and he didn’t want to spoil the surprise by probing his mind. It was difficult not to, though. William had to block out everything that Dominic was broadcasting just to keep from being too impolite. The wolf-boy was like an open book telepathically, and now that he was nervous (that was obvious without telepathy), he was practically talking out loud. Up the mountain they surged on. Then there was a clearing, and the road ended. “We’re here.” Dominic said in a mysterious, Mancunian, gravelly voice with just a hint of hilarity. The doors opened and the two thropes stepped out into the starry night. “I’ve wanted to come up here for a long time.” Dominic sighed, “Walk with me?” The wind whipped through the trees as they made their way further into the forest. It took all of William’s willpower not to read Dominic’s mind. The silence was comfortable enough, but the suspense was very present. “Where are we going, Dominic?” William said, brushing a branch aside. They were off the trail now and were simply picking their way through the undergrowth. “Just to meet someone,” Dom sniffed the wind, “I hope.” A melancholy howl rose from the trees some distance away and Dominic smiled when the sound hit his large ears. “They’re here.” He smiled devilishly before howling himself. It started out low, and humanistic, then as his jaw elongated and thick brown hair coated his throat, the howl became, well, perfect. It was long and wolfish and deep. It sent small chills up William’s spine and he let it flow through his immortal body. The bush rustled and the trees bent to let smears of white, grey, black and red materialize in their path, as if they were spirits of the earth. Pointed snouts and sharp ears surrounded them. Yellow eyes gleamed in the moonlight over black, wet noses. William had the distinct feeling that these were not ordinary wolves. They were too big. He glanced over to where Dominic had been, and saw a brown wolf with large ears. He smiled at Dominic. As he kicked at his newly shed clothes, Dominic winked back, and bowed to the other wolves. They nodded their heads, and then all eyes were on him. The semicircle of wolves all stared at William as if they didn’t know quite what to think of him. They were very likely puzzled by the scent that he gave off. There were a few barks and yips, and one wolf came forth. She was large and red with black-rimmed eyes. William knelt in front of her, and kept respectful eye-contact. She came closer, snout inches from his face, and then just when William thought they were going to turn him down, she bowed to him. They all bowed, even Dominic who seemed largely confused. ~ Dominic was even more confused when he saw William get down on his belly in the dirt. He got even with the she-wolf’s nose and touched his nose to her wet, black one. Then suddenly, she burst into a dead sprint, with every other wolf on her tail, except Dominic who stared at William with unease. William put his hand on Dominic’s head, and whispered, “Tag.” Both were off like a shot; Dominic close behind William. Dominic’s four feet pounded on the forest floor. William had an amazing amount of energy. It was practically sparking off him, and Dominic was hard-pressed to catch him. However, they were catching up on a tawny-brown wolf, loping casually, and not really taking notice. Dominic head butted him in the left flank and darted off; William followed him. The tawny wolf started, and then sprang towards a young female wolf hiding behind a sapling. She stumbled, but got a good head start. He caught her too easily; she could not stop giggling. Dominic felt like he could tackle the world at this very moment. He was full of spirit and the very stuff that makes life worth living. He had fun, friends, and perhaps even love. He panted hard as he stopped and watched the large red wolf chase down a smaller whitish male, who was probably her son. And despite the fact that it was a very unorthodox kind of first date, everything was going so well. William was playing with them and he was actually a very impressive runner. He ran better on two legs than most did on four. He had yet to be caught, and the game played on. Dominic followed the pack as a new “it” was made, and their chosen prey had taken off again. It was very nearly perfect, but Dominic couldn’t help but wonder, what William was that allowed him to have such amazing endurance. But then a spry grey wolf ducked around the underbrush and he needed to be off again. It was forty-five minutes till anyone stopped for breath. William had removed his shirt, and with all the sweat and dirt that now graced his slight frame, it was a good thing; both because it saved his shirt, and because he was half naked. The game was winding down on the side of the mountain and Dominic was “it” again. In the clearing the moon shone brightly; his coat giving off a glamorous sheen. He locked eyes with a wizened deep-brown female and bounded at her. As soon as she gave chase, Dominic screeched to a halt and headed right for William who had not been paying enough attention to the game. He had yet to be “it” and Dominic was intent on catching him this time. William hadn’t had time to think of running when Dominic’s weight was firmly planted on him, snout in the dirt. They both laughed. Dominic rubbed his dirty nose on William’s cheek, and he screeched in protest. Dominic leaped off, fully intending for William to chase him down. William tried to wipe the pine needles and dirt from his face and back. He bent close to Dominic, cocked his head towards the one grayish wolf standing on the edge of the cliff, and whispered, “Watch this.” William sprinted with incredible speed toward the wolf on the cliff, who naturally dodged and ran off. But William was still going. Time seemed to slow as Dominic realized there was nothing he could do. William was running full-tilt toward the precipice, and there was at least a two hundred foot drop. But then there was a bright light, like the moon reflecting off of glass, and Dominic lost sight of William briefly as he fell. Dominic rushed to the edge of the cliff and looked down with the other wolves, but before they could glance of poor William’s fate, a gigantic winged thing obstructed their view and swooped past them. It beat its huge white feathered wings and turned to face the pack. It was William. And he was flying. ~ It was late, and Sean still couldn’t sleep. It was very strange because he had worked hard all day and his muscles were aching to recharge. His mind, however, was fully awake and couldn’t stop spinning over and over again on one person’s face: Elijah. After what had happened that day and what Sean had heard him say, all that he had wanted was to put Elijah out of his mind for a while. Too bad now it was nearly two in the morning and Elijah was all he could think of. Why would Elijah say such things about him? He knew Sean wasn’t like that, didn’t he? And surely he had some idea of how much he meant to Sean. Sean would never tell him the extent of how much he cared, but they did have a friendship once upon a time. Sean even remembered the first time they met. Elijah had shown up a rather scared, awkward creature when Sean had been working at the manor house for a year already. They were both so young, but Elijah looked his youth: all lanky limbs and stumbling words. They had formed a strong friendship in what seemed like record time. They walked to the lake after work to swim, and then Sean had convinced Mr. Boyd to put in the salt-water pool to coax the merman to stay. Mr. Boyd had done it without a second’s hesitation, and all Sean had to do was ask. He knew that Mr. Boyd had done it because Sean had grown very attached to Elijah, and Elijah simply needed to have a few changes made to make him feel more at home and to be shown that he was welcome to stay. It was that day when Elijah had walked, blindfolded, still on land-distrusting legs under the dome for the unveiling. When Elijah had seen what Sean had done for him, he turned with that melt-your-heart-to-a-quivering-mass smile and hugged Sean as if to squeeze the life out of him. That was the day that Sean had started falling for Elijah. The world hadn’t stopped. Time hadn’t slowed down. Everything had continued on as if nothing had happened, but that tiny seed of love had been entrenched deep-down in Sean’s chest. It had taken him years to realize, but it was unwavering. If anything, Sean’s love for the blue-eyed merman had grown even more over the time they spent working together. He couldn’t tell Elijah; not after all this time. Sean was too afraid that if he told Elijah, and Elijah rejected him that the feelings wouldn’t dissipate and he would be sentenced to a long, lonesome life. He knew this would be the way because if the feelings had done nothing but grow without encouragement—apart from his own fantasy—all this time, then they wouldn’t go away no matter what Elijah’s answer was. At least this way, Sean had his dreaming to keep his hope alive. But this rejection was more than he could bear. He could almost hear Elijah cutting Sean out and replacing him with Dominic. *You get to be the new beta-male. Top-dog, you might say.* Elijah had laughed at him. He felt ashamed and low and not even deserving of being a topic of conversation, no matter how demeaning. But that wasn’t how it was. He didn’t deserve this. Everyone makes mistakes, even if they don’t come so close to being a murderer. He didn’t care. He deserved to be heard out. Then they could think what they want, but not till he had said something in his defense. Orlando and Elijah had been his friends for so long before this. They knew him. Maybe they could forgive him. Sean picked up his cheap digital alarm clock and checked the time. 2:10 am. Perhaps Elijah was still up. ~ It wasn’t too long before Sean was approaching the front gate to Icarus Manor. The walk wasn’t bad; two miles or so. Sean was glad for the fact that he lived only a short distance from work now that his company car privileges had been revoked. He mourned the loss of his jeep, but he didn’t drive it nearly enough for it to be an inconvenience not to have anymore. Besides, better for his mother earth and father sky this way, as his grandmother would have said. Once at the gate, he swiped his personal key-card and dialed in his password. The gate swung open with little complaint, and he loped up the gravel driveway with minimal sound. Sean closed the front door behind him and immediately went rigid. He sniffed. *Intruder.* He had never smelled this individual in the house before. It was detestable and strangely unnatural. It was musky, but sharper, and it was also quickly disappearing. Sean heard a muffled scrambling noise on the first floor and that was all the direction he needed as he bounded up the stairs. The odor got stronger as he pursued the intruder. He let his eyes grow keen and wolfish along with the rest of his face. His snout elongated and red-brown hair sprouted up and down his neck. His ears grew pointed and sensitive to pick up the offending animal’s track, but it knew it was being hunted. It was being more careful. Sean only picked up on a few stumbles as it ran. He chased it down the corridors and around corners when it suddenly disappeared. He sniffed again with his cold, brown nose: Nothing. There was not a single trace of the pungent musk or a brief sound to spur the chase. Sean grumbled in disappointment as his body shifted back into human form. Then something else caught his attention. At the end of the hall, Mr. Boyd’s office doors were open, and there was a light on inside. In all of the years that Sean had worked here at the manor, Mr. Boyd’s doors were never open this late if ever. Usually, Mr. Boyd liked to work in silence, but that had changed since Dominic moved in. Many things had changed. Nonetheless, it was very strange. Sean crept towards the door with soundless steps. He peered inside expecting to see his boss hard at work at his desk, but instead found the room empty. He wandered further inside looking around, then up. He stared at the beautiful ceiling so brilliantly painted; a wonderful recreation of Michelangelo’s work. Man and angel: Human and nonhuman. Once again, Sean’s thoughts drifted towards Elijah. That was the reason he’d come here so late. He’d come to talk to Elijah, but at the present moment he couldn’t leave this room just yet. He felt the need to stay. Elijah and his wonderfully dark hair and bright blue eyes; His free laugh and the way he handled everyone with the utmost sweetness. It would have almost been diplomatic if it hadn’t been so genuine. Again the familiar sadness descended; the hopelessness; the doubt… *The uselessness.* The uselessness. *The worthlessness.* The worthlessness. *If only there was some way to gain back the respect and power you lost.* Yeah, the respect. I never had any power. *Yes you did. You can have it back, and more.* More? *Yes.* “Wait a minute. Who are you?” Sean said out loud. *I’m just trying to help. I’ve been watching how they treat you. It’s shameful.* “I have a lot to be ashamed of.” *They have punished you enough, Sean. You’re repaying your debt, besides, wounds heal. Dominic is fine. Why should you be continuously beaten for a mistake that has been fixed?* “Yeah, but it doesn’t change what happened.” Sean’s brown eyes scanned the room for the speaker, but found none. *I could help you change what has happened to you.* “How?” *I could help you take back some power.* “I don’t want to hurt anyone.” *Never. You can gain back your power with no one the wiser or poorer.* “It doesn’t sound like a very good idea.” There was movement around the room. There was something else in here with him, but he was more interested in what it had to say than where it was. *The last “good idea” you had was to try and get Dominic out of the way and look how that turned out? Trust me. No one gets hurt. No one knows. You just become a little stronger then you get back what is rightfully yours.* Sean still wasn’t convinced. The voice sighed. *Don’t you see, Sean? They have forgotten you: Orlando and Elijah. Especially Elijah. Don’t you want to make them sit up and take notice? Gain back their respect without having to grovel like an abandoned pup for their forgiveness? You don’t need to ask. They owe it to you.* “They at least owe me a chance to explain myself.” *You’re still cowering. Do you want to have them hang this over your head for the rest of your life?* “No.” *Didn’t catch that.* “No.” Sean said more strongly. *Then don’t give in to their waiting game. You don’t need their pity.* “No, I don’t.” *They don’t even know you did it all just to protect them.* “I wanted to protect them.” *You wanted to protect HIM. Who knows what that murderer might do?* “Elijah. I wouldn’t ever want anything bad to happen to him.” Sean almost choked on the thought. *So to protect him you need the power to do so.* “I do.” *And I know how to help you help yourself, Sean.* “How?” *It’s very rare, and it is only for werewolves. Minerals from the hidden mountains of the Moragh people boiled with ancient herb recipes to make you grow stronger, Sean. A moonstone said to have been selected to adorn the demolished statue of Isis. Buried in Spanish treasure for centuries, its power has only grown with disuse and dust. Pulled from the depths of the ocean by foolish human explorers, it has made its way to you. It is destiny, and all you have to do is wear it.* Sean opened eyes he hadn’t known he’d closed. Around his neck was an amulet with a dark purple stone. He hadn’t even felt the weight of it till now, though perhaps because it was not significantly heavy. The stone had a small spark at the center of it, just barely big enough to notice, like a star in the sky being outshone by the earthly lights. Sean could feel its magic. It was impossible to deny that there was something very attractive about this necklace. *One more thing, Sean. Before the amulet can work on you, you have to whole-heartedly accept the terms of such powerful magic.* “I’m listening.” Sean couldn’t take his eyes off the stone. *You are agreeing to take on the burden of such power for the protection of your friends. You love them, and you want them back. There can be some discomfort in the beginning of the ritual. The amulet can make you only slightly sick. After a small time, the sickness will lift, and you will then begin to gain the power that you need to protect your loved ones. So, do you take on this burden and this pain?* “Yes.” *Do you take this on willingly with full knowledge and promise to never remove the amulet or share this knowledge with anyone else, even those you are to protect?* “Yes.” *Then say, “I willingly take on the burden of this magic” and the spell will begin.* “I willingly take on the burden of this magic.” Then, as soon as the binding words were spoken, a great draft of wind swept through the room and twisted itself around Sean. There was a great commotion of wind and sound that came from nowhere exactly, but was all around the room. Voices speaking in ancient tongues chanted in a dead language; Sounds of medieval metal instruments, crystals tinkling, and small bells chiming filled Sean’s ears. The sounds rose to a fevered pitch. It was very nearly painful when it stopped as suddenly as it had begun. The wind was gone. The voice was gone. The only difference to acknowledge that something had indeed happened was the scattering of Mr. Boyd’s papers around the room, and perhaps the feeling in Sean. Of course, the amulet hung about Sean’s neck. He stooped to reorganize the papers when he stopped himself. He didn’t need to cater to anyone but himself now. He was on his way back up the ladder at Icarus Manor and now was as good a time as any to behave that way. Sean tucked the amulet into his shirt and walked toward the doors to the office with a growing feeling of pride and a completely new feeling of which he was wholly unaware. ~ Please email comments to cswann1@gmail.com.