The Agency, Volume III Read online

  Before his mind could digest who was with him, he sensed movement, and looked up to see a painfully familiar figure in the chair beside the bed, watching him through gold-flecked green eyes that were, just now, hard and unyielding.

  “Rowan.” Jason felt himself smile, unable to deny the joy and relief he felt seeing his love after even a couple of days without him. “Thank god you’re home.”

  Silence. They stared at each other. Jason’s heart sank.

  The pieces began to come together in his addled mind—the boy, the violin, blood—and he looked away, understanding the expression on the Elf’s face.

  Finally, Rowan spoke. His voice was as hard as his eyes. “This should be good.”

  Jason couldn’t help it; before he could stop himself he was letting the story of the night before tumble out, from the symposium performance to waking up in a hotel bed with bloodstained sheets.

  Rowan listened to him without interruption, allowing him to babble for several minutes, and when his words trailed off into the silence, the Elf sat for a while considering what he’d said in that careful, measured way he always did before reacting.

  Then he said, “So you had to sire this boy because he had a terminal illness.”

  “Yes.”

  “And your estimate was that he had perhaps six months to live.”

  “At the very most.”

  Rowan nodded. “So there was no way in the world you could have, say, brought him back here to be examined first before turning him into a vampire?”

  Jason blinked. The thought of waiting hadn’t even occurred to him.

  Another nod. “I thought not. Jason…do you have any idea what you’ve done?” He didn’t give Jason time to reply before continuing, but despite the calm tone of his voice, there was a slowly creeping edge of anger to the words. “You told me once that siring a vampire is one of the most intimate acts among your kind. More intimate than sex by far. You create a bond between yourself and the newborn and they become something more than a child or a lover. Even if it's only temporary, how do you expect me to feel about that? Is this supposed to be some kind of passive-aggressive payback for what I do?”

  “No!” Jason insisted. “It had nothing to do with you. I didn’t even tell him about you—“

  He cut himself off at the look on Rowan’s face and realized it was a poor choice of words. “God, Rowan, you know I’d never deliberately hurt you.”

  “It was an accident, then? You lay down with your mouth open and he fell on your teeth?”

  “No. I…I don’t know how to explain it.”

  The Elf sat back, folding his hands. “You said the same thing to Beck. Why can’t you explain it, if it was so important? What is this boy that he’s worth such a risk?”

  “I don’t know. When I was healing him, playing, there was this aura, and—“

  Now Rowan’s eyes went wide, and he looked away, biting his lip. His next words were asked in a voice gone suddenly small. “You played for him? The way you play for me?”

  Before Jason could even attempt to come up with an excuse, Alex murmured something and his eyes fluttered open, unfocused, hands groping for the safety of Jason’s body. He made a fearful noise like a young animal crying and began to shake, fingers clenching in the sheets. “Help me…”

  “Shhh,” Jason said, leaning in to speak quietly in his ear. The next few days would be like the worst hangover of the boy’s life, with sounds and sensations amplified a thousand times as his body adjusted to its new abilities. He would, if he was lucky, spend most of it asleep, but before that could happen he would have to feed, or he wouldn’t be strong enough to finish the transformation, and he would never wake. “You’re safe here. Don’t be afraid.”

  Alex clung to him weakly, then started, and turned his head around toward the chair. He gasped.

  Jason knew what he was seeing, and feeling—for a twelve-hour-old vampire, psychically sensing an Elf was the equivalent of running into God at the grocery store. Alex pushed backwards against Jason, trying to put distance between himself and Rowan, and for a moment Rowan did nothing but watch him, his gaze cold and calculating.

  “Who are you?” Alex whispered.

  Rowan’s eyes narrowed. “What are you?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Rowan didn’t push the line of inquiry, but Jason saw analysis flickering across his face before he replied, “I’m Jason’s partner, Rowan.”

  Alex, despite his fear and the tumult of emotions he was obviously feeling, looked back at Jason accusingly. “What?” He twisted back around toward Rowan, stammering, “He told me he had a lover, but he didn’t say partner. I didn’t know—“

  “Calm down, child,” Rowan snapped. Then, he seemed to relent, and his voice softened. “I know you aren’t to blame for this.”

  The Elf pushed himself up off the chair and sat down on the bed beside them, laying one hand lightly on Alex’s forehead, looking through him. “You’re an innocent,” Rowan murmured. “Trying to survive, like we all do.”

  Jason could feel him reaching into the boy, examining him like a rough-cut gem in a jeweler’s hand. Rowan frowned in concentration, rifling through the boy’s memories and his personality, searching for…something. Alex whimpered at the intrusion, but there was no fighting the Elf’s power; Rowan pushed farther in, not bothering with finesse or his usual gentleness, and Jason wanted to say something about him taking his anger out on the boy, but a glance from Rowan silenced him. There was cold fury in the Elf’s eyes, but Jason sensed it wasn’t the betrayal, now, so much as the fact that Jason had turned someone so young without making it clear exactly what was going to happen.

  Jason shut his eyes for a second in unexpected but entirely justified guilt. What had he been thinking? Everyone was right—it wasn’t like him, and it was cruel to have inflicted such a change on someone already so frail. What had possessed him?

  He got his answer a moment later when Rowan sucked in a hissed breath and withdrew from Alex’s mind in a rush, causing the boy to cry out in pain.

  Rowan rocked backwards, and Jason seized his arm to keep him from falling, but Rowan shook his hand off and took a deep breath, then said, resignedly, “All right.”

  “What? What did you see?”

  The Elf shook his head and touched Alex again, who shrank back at first, but Rowan took hold of his mind and held him still, feeding healing energy into him to repair whatever damage his forceful explorations had caused. He was chagrined at having acted in anger, Jason could tell, and took extra care in soothing the roughness of the touch, calming Alex’s impending panic while he worked.

  When he withdrew again, he looked at Jason, and his anger had faded. “I’m not sure,” he answered. “I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s human, but there’s another presence inside him, waiting—he’s not aware of its existence even though it’s been there his entire life.”

  “Is it a demon?”

  “No…whatever it is, it means no harm. It isn’t a parasite exactly, it…it’s as if both of them were born into the same body, and the human has been in control all this time because he was too young, and then too sick, to let the other emerge. But…it’s waking up. And it will prevail.”

  Alex was staring at him wide-eyed. “What…what’s happening to me?”

  Rowan looked down at him. “You’re changing, child. Don’t try to fight it. We’ll take care of you.”

  Jason asked pointedly, “We will?”

  The Elf sighed. “This creature influenced you—you wanted to help Alex, and it saw an opportunity to survive. Perhaps it was the stupidest thing you’ve ever done, perhaps not, but it’s done now, and he’s your responsibility, which in turn makes him mine.”

  Jason reached over and took Rowan’s hand, and the Elf didn’t pull away this time; he looked tired, and Jason wondered for the first time what had happened while he was away. “You were supposed to be on vacation,” he said.

  Rowan half-smiled. “A worki
ng vacation. I went to heal someone, remember?” After a pause, he squeezed Jason’s hand, and said, “I suppose that’s all you were trying to do, too.”

  Alex drew an uneven breath, and Jason turned his attention back to him. “What’s wrong?”

  There were tears in the boy’s eyes. “The two of you. I wish I’d known, I…”

  “It’s not your fault,” the Elf replied.

  Alex smiled sadly. “I don’t think anyone’s ever felt about me the way he feels about you. I guess I thought…I hoped there might be a place for me in his life. Stupid, isn’t it?”

  Rowan actually smiled back. “Longing for love is never stupid. Love is what makes us alive.”

  Alex lifted his eyes to Jason. “Am…am I a vampire now?”

  “Not yet. Almost. You need to sleep again, but first…first you have to feed.”

  Alex went pale. “On blood. Human blood.”

  “Yes,” Jason replied. “This is what you do, now. After today you can drink as I do, from a supply that’s been donated, but this time it has to be fresh from a vein. I have to call Nava—she was going to find a volunteer.”

  But Rowan had other ideas. He shifted position, stretching out alongside Alex, and undid the top two buttons of his shirt, pulling his collar aside and exposing his throat.

  “What are you doing?” Jason demanded.

  “The strength of my blood will ensure he survives the change and it will leave him stronger than a human’s would. Besides, I don’t want some unsuspecting mortal involved in this.”

  He leaned over Alex, ignoring the horrified expression on Jason’s face, and said to the boy, “Drink.”

  Alex’s eyes dilated hugely at the proximity of the Elf’s warm skin, and Jason knew he could hear the rush of blood beneath the surface, calling to the hunger that had been building in him since he’d woken. “I don’t know how,” Alex whispered huskily. “Do I just…”

  Jason tapped on Rowan’s throat lightly. “Here, or here,” he instructed. “Anywhere else and you might hurt him…just relax…your body knows what to do.”

  Alex closed his eyes, his hand sliding around Rowan’s neck, lips seeking the skin over his collarbone, uncertainly kissing a trail upward. Rowan rested his head against Alex’s, one arm winding around the boy’s waist to pull him closer, and Jason felt the dual heat of desire and jealousy—in all the time they’d been together he had never fed on Rowan, not even once, only tasting his blood in the course of lovemaking, never like this. He’d also never seen Rowan touch anyone this way before, the two of them arching against each other, the Elf’s breath coming hard as Alex’s energy hit him. Vampires gave off a distinct aura of sexual arousal when about to feed that helped keep their prey from fighting, and a new vampire without any control over his energy would be unable to moderate it. Even with shielding as strong as Rowan’s it would be impossible to resist…and Rowan was apparently disinclined to try.

  Rowan looked up and locked eyes with Jason, and Jason’s entire body felt like it had been dipped in liquid flame. The Elf flinched and gasped as Alex’s teeth found purchase in his flesh, and Rowan’s eye fell halfway shut, a soft moan escaping his lips—one thing they both knew well was the sweetness of pain that faded into pleasure.

  The sight of Alex’s mouth fixed tightly to Rowan’s throat, and the Elf’s nails digging half-moons into Alex’s arms, was unbearably beautiful, so much so that Jason nearly forgot to pay attention to how much the boy had taken. He could hear Alex swallowing rhythmically, emanating the happy warm satisfaction of a young wolf at its first kill, and he could hear their two heartbeats slowly coming into synch, the signal that it was almost time…soon…almost…

  Jason reluctantly reached over and forced Alex’s mouth away, earning pained sounds from them both as the connection broke. “That’s enough,” Jason commanded, voice rough. “I said, enough.”

  Alex tried once more to clamp his lips back to the two holes he’d made, but Jason took hold of his head and physically turned him away, then hauled the boy away from Rowan bodily, putting himself between them.

  “Sleep,” he said, then turned back to Rowan, but presented with the sight of a bite mark still oozing with blood, Jason’s teeth began to dig into his lower lip, need overtaking reason. Only a century of self-control stopped him.

  Rowan lay on his side, neck bare, the light catching the two berry-bright drops against his skin. Jason moved toward him, and instinctively Rowan shifted onto his back, letting Jason’s body cover his as Jason bent his head, tongue darting out to lap up the blood that had escaped. Its sweetness was dizzying, richer and darker than any he’d ever tasted, but full of sunlight as he had always known it would be. Jason let himself lick the wound clean, feeling the Elf's arms around him, hips grinding into hips, fingers working their way beneath buttons.

  Jason got the rest of Rowan's shirt open and let his mouth travel from the bite down over neck, ribs, and belly, devouring every inch of skin he could, all his exhaustion forgotten, renewed strength flowing through him from even a few drops of the Elf's blood. How had he ever thought he could want anyone else, even for one night? His entire universe was here beneath him, hard and demanding and perfect...so perfect.

  [Forgive me,] he said into Rowan's mind.

  Their eyes met. They couldn't lie to each other this way, even if they had been so inclined. [I forgive you.]

  [I love you. Only you.]

  [Yes.] The Elf's fingers traced Jason's mouth, then along one cheekbone, down over his throat, down to his heart, where he pressed his palm flat. His other hand slid between them, finding him rock-hard, and squeezing. [Do what you like with this...] He tapped on Jason's chest. [But this is mine.]

  [Yours.]

  A faintly mischievous smile. [Good. Now fuck me.]

  Jason chuckled, but then he remembered they weren't alone, and looked over at Alex, expecting to see him unconscious again already as he should have been after feeding. But the boy's eyes were open, fixed on them intently, and at Jason's glance he smiled.

  "Don't stop on my account," he said weakly.

  Jason looked back at Rowan, who was smiling a little wryly. [He'll be asleep in a few minutes no matter how hard he fights it,] the vampire noted.

  The smile widened just a hair and turned fierce. [Let him watch. Let the people monitoring this room watch. I don't care.]

  Jason chuckled, flicking his tongue lightly over Rowan's parted lips. [I doubt the medical staff thought to supply us with lube.]

  Rowan reached into the pocket of his jeans, flicked his wrist, and held up a small bottle. [Don’t leave home without it.]

  Jason seized both his wrists and pinned them over his head with one hand while he took possession of the bottle with the other. [Is it still Beltaine?]

  [The day after,] the Elf replied, busying himself biting down hard on Jason’s neck, eliciting a growl and a momentary loss of Jason’s ability to speak. Jason kissed him, still holding him down, wishing he had his handcuffs. [But for all intents and purposes the holiday is still going on.] Rowan grinned up at him. [Shall we consider this our walk together, Tree or no Tree?]

  The reply, although not verbal except for the eventual screaming, was a distinct, sweaty, four-hour-long affirmative.

  Part Six

  “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  Sara could hear the Elf’s tiredness even over the cell phone, and his sigh confirmed it. “Yes. I’m still technically off work so I’ve been able to keep an eye on them.”

  “I’m talking about you,” she insisted. “You need rest. You needed it before the week even started—what’s the use of being on vacation if you spend it all playing nursemaid for your idiot amori and his pet?”

  Rowan laughed, but she also heard the edge to the sound. “It’s not that bad, Sara. Besides, I’ve got so many vacation days stored up that I can take another week off soon. I need to anyway to come back and check on Aven—how is he doing?”

  “I’m going by to see him this afternoon
. Mellis said he’s moved to his own place. I’m just waiting for it to stop raining.”

  “Is it raining?” Rowan sighed again. “I haven’t been above in three days.”

  “Damn it. Tell the fang-bearer I’m going to kick his ass from here to Pasadena when I get home.”

  “Gladly,” the Elf replied, amused. “Now go back to your blacksmith and enjoy your time away, anama—at least one of us should. I'll see you Sunday.”

  Sara hung up, staring at the phone, wishing there were something she could do; but even had she been back in Austin already she would have been waiting around like everyone else while Jason recovered his strength and the medical staff ran test after test on their new…ally? They didn’t know, yet. Not even Rowan knew what the kid was, and it had Rowan worried, even though he didn’t say so. She knew how to read him by now even if she couldn’t see his face.