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Gohen: Redemption

Beta: Ilye, Fimbrethiel

chapter seven

Erestor closed the door, walking softly across the plush carpet to the sofa where his lover sat.

"You will wake him if you keep looking in on him, Erestor," Maglor warned. The horizon was pale as dawn greeted them, and they had still not come to an agreement.

The younger vampire folded himself elegantly on the couch. He picked up his glass of wine and sipped it thoughtfully. "We cannot simply kill him, Maglor."

Maglor snorted. "Because you are taken with him."

"Of course not. And it wouldn't matter if I were. My feelings have nothing to do with this." Erestor paced nervously, resisting the urge to look in on David again.

"Then what does?"

"Maglor, we have not taken a human life for decades!"

"And I say that we are overdue!" the elder Noldo hissed. "Erestor, he knows! He cannot leave this place alive. It will compromise us." His voice softened, and he smiled indulgently at his lover. "If you will not allow him to die, then we will simply have to relocate. And I know how eager you are to move and reestablish ourselves."

"No, I do not want to move, but I also don't want him dead! That is not how we do things, Maglor," Erestor insisted.

"Don't we, dearest? Come now, do not tell me you have forgotten our dear Antonia Doria!"

"As though I could," the younger vampire spat. "She continues to haunt my dreams to this day."

"But, that is precisely my point. What is one more added the massive body count our years have accumulated?" Maglor leaned close to Erestor and smiled. "You are so fond of him; you can do it. I know you can also make it very pleasant for him to find his end."

Erestor shook his head again. "No. There is something very familiar about him, about his mind and his spirit."

"All the more reason," Maglor insisted. "We know that he can resist us; we know that he remembers when he should not. And now you say there is something more, something hidden? Be done with him, melethron!"

"I would rather not destroy him before we know all about him and what *he* is hiding."

Maglor reclined against the couch, finishing his brandy. "Very well. Then you know what has to be done. And since you are more proficient in this particular art, *you* can find that truth from him." Maglor's pewter eyes skewered Erestor. "But, if he is truly a threat, one of us will kill him. I don't care if you force me to sleep on the couch for a century, he will not add to our unhappiness. We have both taken more than our share of it already."

Erestor climbed onto the bed, moving like the predator he was, carefully easing himself astride David's body. Maglor stood to the side, holding David's hands by the wrists, pinning the Man to the soft mattress.

"David," Erestor crooned, bringing his lips close to David's ear. "Time for you to wake."

The young Man's eyes shot open and he yelped, instinctively struggling against the weight across his hips and the vise-like grip on his wrists. The panic was visible in the hazel eyes as they darted from the pewter gaze to ink-black one. "What?" he asked sleepily.

"If we are to do this," Erestor said, firmly placing his hands on either side of David's face, "then we shall do it on even playing ground. You know too much about us," he continued, leaning close to David. "It is only fair that we should know more of you." Erestor focused his gaze on David's eyes and "pushed" with all his power into the Man's mind. This sort of blatant intrusion was as distasteful to him as it was uncomfortable, but David had already proven resistant to their casual powers, and no lesser strategy would give them answers they could trust.

To David, the vampire's face seemed to swell until it filled his field of vision. The only sound he could hear was Vincent's steady breathing, and a droning hum that he realized was his own voice.

Erestor strained to break through David's considerable mental defenses. His muscles tensed after a minute, and after two, beads of sweat appeared on his exposed skin. His eyes were clenched so tightly closed that Maglor began to fear for his lover's safety. Erestor fought for every inch of ground into David's mind, adamant about discovering the truth behind this unique individual. Any other person's mind would have laid its innermost secrets bare within three minutes. It took Erestor five full minutes to finally begin drawing useful information from *this* mind.

He heard fragments of an argument between David and other men over his night with 'Vincent' and 'Marcus'. He saw images of news clippings and photographs carefully preserved as a record of his own travels. He felt past intrusions into David's mind -- training sessions to hone David's abilities to counter the vampires' powers. More fragments and shards of memory began to form a more complete picture of a Man who had been trained from boyhood to observe and record Erestor's and Maglor's actions and movements. David did not know their true names, thank Eru, and it seemed none of the others in this hazy group did either.

Erestor was beginning to withdraw from David's mind when a ghost of a face flickered across his senses. The shock of it jostled Erestor's concentration, and he recoiled from the mental connection all at once. The force threw him across the room with a shout. That face... impossible! How the *fuck* could these bumbling mortals have possibly made that connection?

Erestor staggered to his feet, clutching his head. The backlash from the sudden withdrawal assaulted him from all sides. He felt nauseous; waves of hot and cold took turns washing over him. His throat felt dry, his tongue swollen. He croaked out in a raspy voice, "Kill him."

"What?" Maglor asked, shocked.

"Kill him!" Erestor repeated, stronger as his body began finally to fight away the backlash. "He knows too much!"

Maglor hesitated, uncertain of what brought this sudden change over Erestor. He released his grip on David's wrists and began to walk across the room. He got as far as the edge of the bed when David's feet lashed out and caught Maglor in the kidneys, sending him staggering. David rolled off the bed on the other side from Maglor, landing lightly on the balls of his feet. His eyes were clear and bright, his movements solid and sure. He had recovered from his mental ordeal with a speed and efficiency that Erestor would have believed impossible. It was almost inconceivable that David would know how to destroy them, but so was everything else about this situation. All things considered, Erestor had to admit that David could pose to them a genuine threat. With that admission came the second admission that Erestor, in this state, would not be able to stand against him.

As the two squared off against each other, forming and reforming opinions about the other's abilities, David suddenly fell backward, landing heavily on the ground. Maglor followed through with his sweep into the back of David's knees, and rolled the rest of the way out from under the bed. He pounced on David's prone body like a panther, straddling the Man's hips and pressing his shoulders to the floor with iron hands.

"Wait!" Erestor called out as Maglor bared his fangs. He staggered forward, looking down into David's face. "Who are they, David? The others, who are they?"

Maglor did not relax his grip, but looked up at Erestor questioningly. "Others?"

Erestor nodded. "I saw them. Heard them. They've been watching us for at least a century. Who are they, David? Tell us now and I will make sure that my lover kills you quickly."

David squirmed uselessly under Maglor's grip. "It's true," he whined, the panic evident in his voice. "My family has been watching you for over one hundred and fifty years. I don't know how it started, I swear. I only know that I was brought up knowing about you, hearing the stories, and looking at the pictures. My father trained me to avoid detection, to overcome your abilities."

"Why?" Maglor growled. "Do you think you can destroy creatures such as us?"

"No!" David yelped. "We only observe! We watch and record! I don't even think we know why anymore. My uncle wants to be sure that you aren't influencing history in your favor. My father believes that it is so you will lead us to the others."

"And you?" Erestor asked, some of the life coming back into his voice. "What do you believe?"

David swallowed, then continued in a calmer voice. "I don't believe there *are* others. I think you two are the only ones. I believe that yours must be a lonely life, but one filled with such wonders and stories that someone like me could only dream of. I believe that I am no longer content observing. I want to know these stories. I want you to tell them to me."

Maglor narrowed his eyes. "I don't trust him."

"What he says about the others is true," Erestor maintained. "We cannot simply kill him. It is likely they know where he is and will come for us."

"Okay, so we don't kill him. We just send him back to these others a piece at a time."

"No, please!" The fear returned to David's voice. "I beg you, listen! I have left them! I have cut my ties to them! I can tell you what I know! I can protect you from them!"

Maglor laughed deep in his throat. "More likely, you are protecting them from *us*! Make no mistake, boy. *We* are the predators here, not your family."

"Let me tell you what I know. Let me help you! All I ask is that you share your stories with me in return."

"You presume to bargain with the wolves?" Maglor taunted.

"There is more," Erestor interrupted. "More that you and I should speak of in private."

Maglor heard the finality in Erestor's voice. Until they knew everything, harming David would be unwise. He sighed heavily and stood up, quickly moving out of striking distance, though he remained alert. He nodded to Erestor, indicating his agreement.

Erestor took David's hand and helped the Man to his feet. "Very well," he said, clearing the last of the uncertainty from his voice. "We'll exchange stories for now. But if anyone else comes near, I will take great pleasure in twisting your head off."


	Navigation multi-story arcs previous next		Gohen: Redemption Beta: Ilye, Fimbrethiel chapter seven Erestor closed the door, walking softly across the plush carpet to the sofa where his lover sat. "You will wake him if you keep looking in on him, Erestor," Maglor warned. The horizon was pale as dawn greeted them, and they had still not come to an agreement. The younger vampire folded himself elegantly on the couch. He picked up his glass of wine and sipped it thoughtfully. "We cannot simply kill him, Maglor." Maglor snorted. "Because you are taken with him." "Of course not. And it wouldn't matter if I were. My feelings have nothing to do with this." Erestor paced nervously, resisting the urge to look in on David again. "Then what does?" "Maglor, we have not taken a human life for decades!" "And I say that we are overdue!" the elder Noldo hissed. "Erestor, he knows! He cannot leave this place alive. It will compromise us." His voice softened, and he smiled indulgently at his lover. "If you will not allow him to die, then we will simply have to relocate. And I know how eager you are to move and reestablish ourselves." "No, I do not want to move, but I also don't want him dead! That is not how we do things, Maglor," Erestor insisted. "Don't we, dearest? Come now, do not tell me you have forgotten our dear Antonia Doria!" "As though I could," the younger vampire spat. "She continues to haunt my dreams to this day." "But, that is precisely my point. What is one more added the massive body count our years have accumulated?" Maglor leaned close to Erestor and smiled. "You are so fond of him; you can do it. I know you can also make it very pleasant for him to find his end." Erestor shook his head again. "No. There is something very familiar about him, about his mind and his spirit." "All the more reason," Maglor insisted. "We know that he can resist us; we know that he remembers when he should not. And now you say there is something more, something hidden? Be done with him, melethron!" "I would rather not destroy him before we know all about him and what he is hiding." Maglor reclined against the couch, finishing his brandy. "Very well. Then you know what has to be done. And since you are more proficient in this particular art, you can find that truth from him." Maglor's pewter eyes skewered Erestor. "But, if he is truly a threat, one of us will kill him. I don't care if you force me to sleep on the couch for a century, he will not add to our unhappiness. We have both taken more than our share of it already." Erestor climbed onto the bed, moving like the predator he was, carefully easing himself astride David's body. Maglor stood to the side, holding David's hands by the wrists, pinning the Man to the soft mattress. "David," Erestor crooned, bringing his lips close to David's ear. "Time for you to wake." The young Man's eyes shot open and he yelped, instinctively struggling against the weight across his hips and the vise-like grip on his wrists. The panic was visible in the hazel eyes as they darted from the pewter gaze to ink-black one. "What?" he asked sleepily. "If we are to do this," Erestor said, firmly placing his hands on either side of David's face, "then we shall do it on even playing ground. You know too much about us," he continued, leaning close to David. "It is only fair that we should know more of you." Erestor focused his gaze on David's eyes and "pushed" with all his power into the Man's mind. This sort of blatant intrusion was as distasteful to him as it was uncomfortable, but David had already proven resistant to their casual powers, and no lesser strategy would give them answers they could trust. To David, the vampire's face seemed to swell until it filled his field of vision. The only sound he could hear was Vincent's steady breathing, and a droning hum that he realized was his own voice. Erestor strained to break through David's considerable mental defenses. His muscles tensed after a minute, and after two, beads of sweat appeared on his exposed skin. His eyes were clenched so tightly closed that Maglor began to fear for his lover's safety. Erestor fought for every inch of ground into David's mind, adamant about discovering the truth behind this unique individual. Any other person's mind would have laid its innermost secrets bare within three minutes. It took Erestor five full minutes to finally begin drawing useful information from this mind. He heard fragments of an argument between David and other men over his night with 'Vincent' and 'Marcus'. He saw images of news clippings and photographs carefully preserved as a record of his own travels. He felt past intrusions into David's mind -- training sessions to hone David's abilities to counter the vampires' powers. More fragments and shards of memory began to form a more complete picture of a Man who had been trained from boyhood to observe and record Erestor's and Maglor's actions and movements. David did not know their true names, thank Eru, and it seemed none of the others in this hazy group did either. Erestor was beginning to withdraw from David's mind when a ghost of a face flickered across his senses. The shock of it jostled Erestor's concentration, and he recoiled from the mental connection all at once. The force threw him across the room with a shout. That face... impossible! How the fuck could these bumbling mortals have possibly made that connection? Erestor staggered to his feet, clutching his head. The backlash from the sudden withdrawal assaulted him from all sides. He felt nauseous; waves of hot and cold took turns washing over him. His throat felt dry, his tongue swollen. He croaked out in a raspy voice, "Kill him." "What?" Maglor asked, shocked. "Kill him!" Erestor repeated, stronger as his body began finally to fight away the backlash. "He knows too much!" Maglor hesitated, uncertain of what brought this sudden change over Erestor. He released his grip on David's wrists and began to walk across the room. He got as far as the edge of the bed when David's feet lashed out and caught Maglor in the kidneys, sending him staggering. David rolled off the bed on the other side from Maglor, landing lightly on the balls of his feet. His eyes were clear and bright, his movements solid and sure. He had recovered from his mental ordeal with a speed and efficiency that Erestor would have believed impossible. It was almost inconceivable that David would know how to destroy them, but so was everything else about this situation. All things considered, Erestor had to admit that David could pose to them a genuine threat. With that admission came the second admission that Erestor, in this state, would not be able to stand against him. As the two squared off against each other, forming and reforming opinions about the other's abilities, David suddenly fell backward, landing heavily on the ground. Maglor followed through with his sweep into the back of David's knees, and rolled the rest of the way out from under the bed. He pounced on David's prone body like a panther, straddling the Man's hips and pressing his shoulders to the floor with iron hands. "Wait!" Erestor called out as Maglor bared his fangs. He staggered forward, looking down into David's face. "Who are they, David? The others, who are they?" Maglor did not relax his grip, but looked up at Erestor questioningly. "Others?" Erestor nodded. "I saw them. Heard them. They've been watching us for at least a century. Who are they, David? Tell us now and I will make sure that my lover kills you quickly." David squirmed uselessly under Maglor's grip. "It's true," he whined, the panic evident in his voice. "My family has been watching you for over one hundred and fifty years. I don't know how it started, I swear. I only know that I was brought up knowing about you, hearing the stories, and looking at the pictures. My father trained me to avoid detection, to overcome your abilities." "Why?" Maglor growled. "Do you think you can destroy creatures such as us?" "No!" David yelped. "We only observe! We watch and record! I don't even think we know why anymore. My uncle wants to be sure that you aren't influencing history in your favor. My father believes that it is so you will lead us to the others." "And you?" Erestor asked, some of the life coming back into his voice. "What do you believe?" David swallowed, then continued in a calmer voice. "I don't believe there are others. I think you two are the only ones. I believe that yours must be a lonely life, but one filled with such wonders and stories that someone like me could only dream of. I believe that I am no longer content observing. I want to know these stories. I want you to tell them to me." Maglor narrowed his eyes. "I don't trust him." "What he says about the others is true," Erestor maintained. "We cannot simply kill him. It is likely they know where he is and will come for us." "Okay, so we don't kill him. We just send him back to these others a piece at a time." "No, please!" The fear returned to David's voice. "I beg you, listen! I have left them! I have cut my ties to them! I can tell you what I know! I can protect you from them!" Maglor laughed deep in his throat. "More likely, you are protecting them from us! Make no mistake, boy. We are the predators here, not your family." "Let me tell you what I know. Let me help you! All I ask is that you share your stories with me in return." "You presume to bargain with the wolves?" Maglor taunted. "There is more," Erestor interrupted. "More that you and I should speak of in private." Maglor heard the finality in Erestor's voice. Until they knew everything, harming David would be unwise. He sighed heavily and stood up, quickly moving out of striking distance, though he remained alert. He nodded to Erestor, indicating his agreement. Erestor took David's hand and helped the Man to his feet. "Very well," he said, clearing the last of the uncertainty from his voice. "We'll exchange stories for now. But if anyone else comes near, I will take great pleasure in twisting your head off."