TITLE: Icarus Manor, chapter 2
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:  Icarus Manor takes in a stray. Most main characters introduced. 
THIS CHAPTER: Dominic meets the boss

PAIRING: Eventual DM/BB
RATING: PG-13; 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. This is a book and a work in progress. Be 
gentle. Comments to cswann1@gmail.com.

Chapter 2

With his hand on the exceedingly tall office door, Dominic had the urge to tell his new 
friends goodbye. He looked at them one last time and memorized Elijah’s beautiful face 
and Orlando’s jittery stance. 

"Don’t be nervous."

"Mr. Boyd’s pretty nice..."

"We’ll wait out here for you."

"Good luck." They both silently encouraged him to go in. Turning the doorknob, the door 
opened with a click. He turned and closed it behind him with a final wink to his friends. 
Then he faced the back of the room. The room was a dark shade of blue with several 
large bookshelves lining the walls like servants pressing themselves behind the curtains 
as not to be seen, but to hear all. They almost reached the ceiling... *oh.*

That’s when Dominic saw the ceiling. It was a perfect recreation of the Sistine chapel. 
Not the entire Sistine ceiling, though. Particular attention was paid to the god figure and 
the human figure about to touch fingers.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?" A thick Scottish accent momentarily stunned Dominic’s ears. He 
paused to understand. Boyd. He should’ve guessed he was a Scot.

"Yes. Very beautiful."

"I, myself, have not been to Italy in many years. When I first saw the ceiling I was so 
amazed I spend the better part of a week looking at it. Especially the hands. Notice how 
God’s hand is outstretched, determined, and patient, but Man’s is slow with a curved 
wrist. You almost wonder if he wants to reach God or if he decided himself to remain of 
the Earth."

The Scottish accent was originating itself from a man seated behind a desk. He wore a 
dark blue suit and rested his chin in his hands. It would have been a pose of carelessness 
and relaxation, but in him it was stiff and contemplative and perhaps a little melancholy. 
His green eyes that were turned up at the ceiling switched quickly and fixed themselves 
on Dominic’s grey eyes.

He was beautiful. Pale glowing skin. Soft green eyes that were honestly striking. Blonde 
hair and darker eyebrows. He had a high forehead giving him a natural authoritarian look, 
but his mouth was a cupid’s bow now fixed in a hardened line. A certain childlike 
disposition showed in his high cheek bones, but from his panther-like movements you 
could tell there was a predator under that boyish exterior. Had you tried to pinch those 
cheeks, you would’ve lost a hand. Slowly, Mr. Boyd raised his eyebrows and Dominic 
realized he was supposed to speak now.

"Perhaps, Man just thinks he should not ascend. Or at least, not yet." He fumbled. Mr. 
Boyd seemed intrigued.

"You don’t suppose that the all-knowing God hasn’t thought of that and encourages him 
despite Man’s doubts?" He sounded mildly offended. Dominic had already managed to 
insult the lord of the manor.

Dominic thought out his next answer very carefully. "Well, perhaps, since the offer of 
God to accept Man is so strong it means that there is something strongly tying Man to the 
Earth. The very act of God’s offer causes Man to think about where he would rather be, 
because if it was not offered, then Man would be fighting desperately to reach God’s 
hand. In the seriousness of God’s offer it causes Man to contemplate his readiness. Then 
only the truly worthy get into heaven. Which I don’t think is a large enough number now 
days. The reach of God today is more desperate." Dominic paused, "Or maybe the act of 
contemplation simply keeps Man out of heaven all together, and all-knowing God knows 
that, and that is his intention." Dominic felt he may have crossed the line with that one, 
but when he snuck a glance at Mr. Boyd, he was slowly smiling.

"Very good, Mr. Monaghan. Very impressive especially on the fly just like that." His 
smile was bright and wonderfully carefree, but then it disappeared in a split second. It 
shone like a faceted gem in a white light for all of a brief moment then the light went out. 
Dominic was momentarily struck by sadness. What must have happened in this man’s 
lifetime that was as devastating as to wrap such happiness in a nearly permanent shadow? 
But the thought was wiped away as the victim in question turned toward him with the 
stern look of a business man.

"Mr. Monaghan–”

"Please, call me Dominic." Mr. Boyd looked a bit taken aback at the interruption, but 
pleased at the informality.

"Dominic, you fell on my front gate unconscious and in need of medical attention. I did 
not give the order to rescue you, one of my staff did. That credit I cannot take unto 
myself. However, I must ask you a few personal questions before you go to see if I can 
help you at all." He paused, making the air ache for his so beautifully accented words. 
Dominic felt a little hypnotized by them, like a small spell. A weak one that only a very 
strong witch could conjure when not meaning to use magic at all. Dominic nodded to 
allow the interrogation, but he was put on his guard. 

"If you were to leave this house, would you have somewhere to go?"

"...No."

"No friends in the area?"

"No."

"No family?"

"Especially no family. I mean, I have family near, but they wouldn’t take me in if I asked. 
And I will not ask."

"I see." 

Dominic hoped he wasn’t being rude to the beautiful man who had so graciously allowed 
him to stay the night, but he had managed to tread on a very touchy subject very quickly. 
Dominic did not want to think about the treacherous clan he had so recently called 
family. They were dead to him now. Even those he still loved and knew he could lean on, 
well; frankly it would be best for them if he never came back. He was alone in the world 
for the first time in his short life.

"Do you have any assets that you can live off of? Any money of your own to support 
yourself?"

"No. I rather lost that when I lost my family." Fuck, that was a nice way to put it. The 
truth was they had robbed him blind before turning him out as cruelly as they had. Yet 
another subject Dominic didn’t want to talk about.

"I can tell you’ve had a difficult time recently, Dominic, and these questions are not ones 
that I want to ask you for my own personal curiosity. But I will tell you more about that 
in a second. One final question – have you any reason to leave this mansion again, or 
does anyone else have a reason to come looking for you and find you here?"

That one left Dominic a bit wary. For the second time in Mr. Boyd’s presence he found 
himself watching his words.

"I have no ties to the outside world, and no one to my knowledge wants me to go back 
there. Now, may I ask what these questions have to do with anything?"

Mr. Boyd looked at Dominic seriously for a second. He seemed to be studying him; He 
was sizing him up as if drawing needed conclusions from their short time together.

"Dominic, I have a very small staff here for my estate. I like to know exactly who is in 
my house and what they are like. I like to know I can trust them and trust the fact that 
they are happy here. All of my employees live on the grounds and leave rarely, although 
they are allowed to leave whenever they like. I don’t allow strangers in the gate unless 
there are...extenuating circumstances. I was a little angry with Elijah when I learned that 
he had let you in the manor without my permission, but I understood why he did it. More 
now than ever, having met you.

"But that is beside the point. All of my employees know the rules and adhere strictly to 
them, as I expect you to if you decide to stay."

"Decide to stay? You are offering me a position?"

"Yes. I don’t know what your particular talents are, but I’m sure we can find you a job 
that you enjoy. No matter what position that is, should you choose to accept it, will pay 
the same as any other job on the grounds. Your pay is I feed you, keep you, and give you 
a considerable allowance. You follow the rules, spend your money however you please, 
and choose to remain here as long as you like."

"Have you ever had to fire someone?" Dominic remained suspicious. This seemed too 
good to be real. There had to be a catch somewhere, probably in the "follow the rules" 
section.

"No, I have not had to fire anyone. Some have chosen to leave; others have lived here till 
the day they died. It’s completely up to you whether or not you stay. You can remain here 
till you acquire enough money and a job outside, and then move out. How does this 
arrangement sound to you?"
Dominic still had his reservations, but if you could leave anytime, then he had no where 
else he’d rather be. 

"It sounds amazing. I think I’ll take you up on it, that is, for a while till I get my 
bearings."

Mr. Boyd managed to look satisfied without really smiling. 

"I’m glad you accepted. Your two new friends, now colleagues, will show you to your 
new room, help you choose a position, and hopefully find you some less laughable things 
to wear." Dominic kicked himself. He’d worn Orlando’s profane PJ pants to meet his 
new boss. It’s hard to look presentable when your clothes are tackle-out. He was now 
surprised Mr. Boyd had hired him at all, unless all current employees had met him in 
basically the same clothing like a strange little ritual. Everyone in the palace had to get 
into Orli’s pants before meeting the boss. Perhaps it was a sign you were committed.

Mr. Boyd stood up with stunning grace and shook Dominic’s hand. He felt a tingle in his 
palm when Mr. Boyd touched him, and took in a deep breath through his nose to learn the 
scent of this new, rather amazing man. Dominic had a very scent-based memory, as did 
all of his family. But he was not prepared for what he took in.

He smelled like chocolate ice cream and cool shade in the summer of Manchester. He 
smelled like the lemon bunt cake that his mother only made at Christmas with the 
powdered sugar on top. He gave off waves of forest pine and birch and hemlock trees that 
surrounded his house. All the trees that he and his sister and brother loved to climb. The 
scent of his father as he tucked him in at night when he was only five years old 
whispering, "I love you, Dommie. Sleep tight now."

The scent of this man, this sublime being with the electric green eyes, perfectly shaped 
lips and high forehead invoked in Dominic all the wonderful memories of his childhood. 
His wonderful childhood that could never be relived except in despair. It was gone. His 
father was dead, his mother was catatonic, his sister bereaved, and his own brother drove 
him away with fangs bared. It was all his fault as well. If he hadn’t wanted so badly to 
move everyone to the States, then they never would have moved to New York. The town 
would not have found out about them and they wouldn’t have burned the house down. 
And his father wouldn’t have died trying to save them all.

The memory was too fresh. His eyes began to water, but he lowered his head. Mr. Boyd 
seemed to understand and ignored his tears.

"Elijah and Orlando are outside waiting for you. You can confide in them. They are very 
good men. However, I should warn you. They’ve been listening in the whole time, and 
Orlando will probably knock you over when he sees you come out those doors." Mr. 
Boyd sighed. "He’s a bit of a firecracker that one." His statuesque face turned toward 
Dominic for a moment, then he walked through a doorway leaving Dominic alone.

Dominic smiled at the statement. A firecracker. Yeah, that was an accurate statement 
especially with his constant temperature ups and downs. Dominic was too deep in 
thought to remember Mr. Boyd’s warning and when he opened the doors to exit; he had 
two bodies crashed on top of him as his back hit the floor. Orlando’s hands were nearly 
burning on the tops of Dominic’s arms and his heartbeat was as fast as a hummingbird’s 
although he didn’t seem like he’d been running a marathon.

Elijah was busy splitting his face with the biggest grin there ever was, and the scent of 
seaweed and sushi faintly enveloped him. Those blue eyes were glittering for all they 
were worth. They were all three laughing in a pile on the floor outside the office doors 
before the actual speaking began.

"Whooo-hoo! We got a new roomie! I say we have a sleep-over, gals! Tonight we’re 
gonna do our hair and eat chocolate till we puke!" Orlando cooed from the floor. Elijah 
got up and offered a hand to Dominic. Dominic barely noticed that Elijah’s bare hand 
was covered in what felt like small, raised lines. 

"Well if by that you mean get roaring drunk and get to know each other, I’m in. Let’s go 
shopping. We need food and Dom needs clothes. When we get back we can get him a 
room and settle him in, but let’s get the essentials first." Elijah was so excited he was 
giggling with every word that he said.

"Clothes first. I’m not shopping in Orlando’s penis pants. I already talked to my new boss 
while wearing them."

Orlando shrugged, "You never know, he might not have noticed. But let’s get going. I’m 
starving."

Dominic ignored the fact that Orlando had eaten four large sandwiches, a massive bag of 
potato chips and six bananas only an hour ago, and he became the third member to the 
strangest group of friends he’d ever had. Things could only go up from here. He was 
feeling positive for the first time in a year, and it felt wonderful.

~

William Boyd sat alone in his library staring at his magnificent ceiling. He sighed at the 
irony of it. Why had he chosen the most obvious painting possible to have in this room? 

“One doesn’t usually hang one’s secrets and most painful memories from the walls.” The 
thought circled above him.

But this one gave him hope. Man so close to God’s fingers. If only he, himself, could 
reach those fingers to bring himself back to a heaven he once knew.

“But that would be doing what you cannot.” 

His heaven lay so far off it was pointless to think about it. He had spent many lifetimes 
pondering ways to get back to his heaven without doing what was required of him. It was 
not as simple as reaching out his own hand to God’s. That was Man’s job, not his. 
Besides, he wasn’t a man. He was not human. It was not as easy for him to get to heaven. 
All Man had to do was die. That was something he was forbidden to do.

“Forbidden...” The word brought to mind the person who had just been in this very room. 
Dominic. There was something about Dominic that drew William close. Something made 
him want to trust the man. There was so much confidence in those stormy gray eyes, no 
fear to be seen anywhere.

“Losing everything you hold dear to yourself has a way of taking fear away.” The 
speaker landed on the desk.

“What are you doing in here?” William swiveled his suede chair around to face the little 
creature that had just alighted. The ugly thing grinned its pointy, misshapen teeth and 
flapped its tiny, leathery wings till they settled on its bony back.

“Just thought you could use some companionship.” It said in slimy tones. “You were 
thinking about the boy, and how sad he is. How his sorrow clings to him like a lost, wide-
eyed child. Not unlike how you were so long ago when we met.” The tiny thing’s red 
eyes did their best to look sympathetic, but failed.

“I don’t care about Dominic. But I have a right to be concerned now that he is under my 
roof.” William thought on. Dominic had failed to see what was so special about the house 
and its inhabitants. He was not terribly perceptive.

“Concern? Yes. Just don’t let it become anything more than that.”

“Who are you to tell me what to do?”

The hideous thing recoiled. “Not tell you. Never tell you. Beautiful you. Just want you to 
be safe.  Stay safe here.”

William smiled on the thing. True it was twisted and loathsome, but it was under his care 
like all the others. It had been with him a very long time. He extended his hand to touch 
it, and it curled its spiky, hairy spine up to meet William’s hand. It needed him.

“Need you,” It said, reading his thoughts as it so often did, “Missed you.” It rested its tiny 
neck in the crook of his fingers. “They don’t need you like that. They don’t miss you like 
this. Not the brown haired boy.”

William’s vision flashed red. He had not thought or said anything about Dominic’s hair 
color. He grabbed the shrieking gargoyle and shook it.

“You were spying!? You were watching!? How dare you meddle in my affairs? You 
could have been seen. You could have scared him to death!”

The animal futilely pulled at William’s fingers, but did not scratch. William’s grip could 
be broken by no man, let alone a beast barely the size of a football. It sobbed and he 
dropped it to the desk. 

“Was worried for you. He is not to be trusted! You don’t know who he is! Sorry. Am 
sorry. So sorry.” 

William’s anger spent, he beckoned to the sneaking gargoyle who scrambled into his 
arms as though it was a child returning to its mother. It took handfuls of William’s suit 
and sobbed into them, till satiated. 

“Cry for you, none of them.”

“Once someone cried for me.”

“But no more. Just me. Always just me. Is safe to love me. Not them.” And although 
William didn’t like the way the monstrosity spoke to him he waited until its rib-cage rose 
and fell in sleep before he stopped petting it.
 
~

Shopping with Elijah and Orlando took over three hours. The time in the market getting 
groceries didn’t last longer than half an hour, but shopping for clothes was an art for 
Orlando. Dominic almost regretted having Orlando along, but the attention was nice for a 
change. He had spent the last year of his life going in and out of favor with those around 
him, and it was mostly the latter. After so many furtive stares and threats to his life he 
was enjoying their three hour shopping trip where both Elijah and Orlando fussed over 
him like two of his Aunts on speed. 

"What about this one! It’s very cute." Orlando gasped and held up a Hawaiian shirt with 
large yellow and pink Hibiscus flowers. Seeing Dominic trying to strangle a scream, 
Elijah took the shirt from Orlando.

"I don’t think Dominic’s wardrobe needs to be louder than a cat drop-kicked into a wall. 
Perhaps we should stick to duller tones in various blues to accent his eyes, Orlando?"

Orlando was momentarily put out, but seized up his energy again at the new suggestion. 
"OH, yes! Those beautiful stormy blues must be shown off. This will not do at all." With 
that, he threw one limp-wristed hand into the air, Dominic blinked, and Orlando was 
gone again.

"How does he disappear so fast? You’d think he’d have made a sonic boom for us to 
follow." Elijah gazed at him curiously as if Dom had missed the punch line to a very 
funny joke, but before he could comment Orlando was back with ten different shirts in 
various shades of blue.

After they had bought out Structure, Barney’s, and Abercrombie and Fitch, they headed 
back to the house. Dominic felt bad about spending so much on Mr. Boyd’s account, but 
Orlando just kept saying, "He told us to get you some ‘less-laughable’ clothes, and I’ll be 
damned if you’re going to shop badly because of your conscience." Orlando had no 
trouble shopping for Dom, especially not when he tried on a beautiful suit at Talbot’s that 
was $600. Orlando rung it up at the register without a care in the world despite Dominic’s 
protesting. 

Back at the manor, Elijah led both Orlando and Dominic down the stairs and into the 
basement. "These were the ‘Servants’ Quarters,’ back a hundred years ago, but now 
they’re where the in-house employees sleep." 

The hallway was dark and rather foreboding. The only windows were at the ends of the 
hallway which were 300 yards apart as Dom could tell from their echoing footsteps. 
Aside from the windows, the only other light was coming from the torches, actual 
torches, on the wall. It was cold, but it didn’t smell moldy. It had been well ventilated 
thanks to the grates overhead. It was mostly made of stone and gave off the distinct 
impression that they were entering the depths of Hell. 

Dominic could hear whispers behind him several times, but always when he turned there 
was nothing there except a gauzy blur in the corner of his eye. It made him terribly 
uneasy. There were people here besides the three of them but he could not smell, see, or 
touch them. All he could do was hear them.

He began to speak up and ask about the whispers when Elijah announced their arrival. 
They stood before one of the many doors in the hallway. Dominic stiffened. He was 
reminded of the more disturbing verses of a song about being checked into a hotel too 
good to be true and never being able to leave.

"Here we are." Sang Elijah.

"Home, sweet home." Orlando chimed.

The room was large. It was supplied with a plain-looking twin bed, a small round table, 
an old, ornate, mirrored dresser, and three chairs. There was a small closet in the nearest 
wall to Dominic and a window above the bed. The sheets and curtains were shades of 
green and blue, with flowers and berries. It almost would have felt like a hotel room if it 
hadn’t been so expensively decorated.

The accommodations were beautiful. It was so much nicer than the old attic he used to 
live in, and he even had his closest friends right next door. It was quite like having a new 
life; a whole new family. At this thought, Dominic sat down on the bed and hung his 
head down low so as not to show his tears to either Orlando or Elijah who had fallen 
silent.

Dominic remembered how it used to be. The days in Manchester, England when life was 
so good to him. He was twelve, swimming in the lake with his sister, as his brother 
jumped from the nearest tree into the shallow end and his mother let out a screaming 
diatribe at the cheeky little boy. Their trips up to the mountains where the car rides would 
last twice as long because no one in the family could stay inside a closed area for very 
long. The lack of weight on his heart that he constantly felt with him now. The 
carelessness that lead him to take his family from their native land to their doom. The fire 
that had cost him his father burned so brightly in his memory. 

Night after night Dominic would dream of the old house smoking and burning as he 
found his way out of the hellish maze dragging his screaming mother. His brother 
holding his sister to keep her from dashing back inside. Their father was nowhere to be 
seen. Dominic had thought that he was right behind him, but when he turned and looked 
around, he was missing. And it was Dominic’s fault. His father was trapped inside as the 
beams caved in. All he could hear was the roaring fire, his mother’s sobs, and his sister’s 
cries. Soot filled the air and his lungs.

If only he had realized that the locals had found out, then he could have saved them all. 
His father would still be sitting in his favorite reading chair every morning with his 
Christmas coffee mug and a grin. It wouldn’t have to be his fault that the pack was falling 
apart due to the lack of a leader. His sister wouldn’t have to spend her days tending to 
their mother who had suffered serious burns and was now beyond all of them. She sat in a 
chair by the window and said nothing. She was a ghost. It was all because of his 
impulsiveness and his fear of ending up a nobody. All that he had brought upon his 
family and himself in the end was pain, and he unconsciously touched the bandage under 
his shirt.

The mattress descended slightly on his left and then on his right. Both Orlando and Elijah 
had come to sit next to him. They each threw and arm around him and hugged him as if 
they were completely unafraid of judgment or what Dom might do if their sympathy was 
unwelcome. It was not unwelcome and they instinctively knew that. Elijah’s slow 
heartbeat mingled in his ears with Orlando’s irregular and quick one. Orlando’s hot aura 
nearly masked Elijah’s cooler one. Their opposing scents became one with Dominic 
between them, and together they created a cell of hope and understanding that only made 
Dominic want to cry more. He felt home for the first time in a long time. He threw his 
arms out to the sides and hugged them back.

"Who’s up for a drink? I could use one." Dom’s sudden speech broke the sad silence and 
the other two nodded. They began to unpack his things.
~
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