Sarcasm or Suckage

PROLOGUE



Leonard Abaddon was furious. His son had been poisoned against him and he knew exactly who was behind it. His only question was just who had allowed Dantalion Merihem to escape. He raged for days, tearing skin from bone until secrets were prised out of screaming mouths.

The house of Mastema Corson had been behind Merihem’s flight from Asar. Then they too had fled like the cowards that they were.

Nicor put a hand on his shoulder. “They will all pay, my love.”

Leonard looked into her hazel and crimson eyes end felt something in him settle. His wife was his soul-mate, his other half. “I will rend their hearts from their chests, still beating,” he promised.

“We shall feed their entrails to the Beast of the Fell,” Nicor assured him.

“They have turned my son against me and prepare to take my throne.” Leonard stared out of the window at the hills of his home. The ground was barren and had been for eons. The sky was dark as night even though it was the middle of the day and the lighting speared the earth viciously; he felt like doing the same.

“Samael has not been ours for most of his life,” Nicor’s mouth twisted.

“He will be ours for the rest of it,” Leonard vowed and looked up towards the distant stars. “What is mine stays mine. Or is destroyed forever.”

PART ONE

Jensen got air-sick.

Jared was an utter asshole about it, almost falling off the bed the first time Jensen lurched for the bathroom.” I should call you ‘Princess’ Samael,” Jared called from the bedroom.

“Fuck you,” Jensen groaned and hurled into the toilet bowl, stomach swooping unpleasantly as the ship made a sideways movement.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Jared agreed and the fucker was far too cheerful. Jensen managed to flip him off even as his stomach emptied itself once more.

The door to their room made a noise and Jared got up to press his hand against it. It swished open and Misha grinned at him. “You doing okay?” he asked, his double voice a blade and a rasp. Jensen answered him with a gagging noise.

Misha came into the bathroom and crouched down next to him. Jensen made a pathetic noise when he felt the heat of Misha’s hand settle on his back. “Why didn’t you call me?” Misha demanded and Jensen was about to protest when he realised that Misha was talking to Jared.

“It’s just motion sickness,” Jared sounded defensive and Jensen would have grinned if his stomach wasn’t trying to come out of his throat.

“Space sickness is not the same as motion sickness,” Misha chided and Jensen whimpered again when he stood up, taking all that lovely heat with him.

Jared mumbled something under his breath but dutifully took his place at Jensen’s side, folding those mile-long legs in an intricate knot. “How was I supposed to know?” he asked Misha. “I’ve never been in space before and I’m fine.”

“That’s because you’re a freak,” Jensen muttered and wobbled to his feet once he was sure he was done projectile vomiting.

“And yet, you still love me,” Jared said and he wrapped an arm around Jensen’s waist before helping him to the bed.

Misha was punching something into the keypad next to the door. Jensen’s eyes went wide when a panel in the wall opened and Misha reached in to pull something out. “Awesome!” Jared breathed.

“Yeah,” Jensen agreed and the muscles in his abdomen clenched again making him bite back a groan.

“Here,” Misha held out something that looked like a bullet. “Drink this with a little water, it will make you feel a hell of a lot better.”

Jensen eyed the silver capsule with trepidation. “It’s not going to turn me into metal or anything?”

“Shut up and drink it,” Misha accompanied the order with a glare. Jensen did not pout when he tossed it back with some water from the glass on the stand next to his bed.

The effect was almost instant and Jensen felt everything inside him shuffle back to its original place. His sigh of relief was loud. “If you weren’t straight, I’d kiss you,” he told Misha.

“Kiss me anyway,” Misha grinned and skipped out of the way of Jared’s flailing hand. “Only, once you’ve actually brushed your teeth.” Jensen growled and Misha ignored him. “Just so you know, there’s no real sexual identity preference thing going on Asar.”

Jensen blinked. “What does that mean?” He forgot the awesome medicine and stared at Misha. Jared sat next to him on the bed and put a possessive arm around his shoulders.

Misha’s bright blue eyes danced. “Well, it means that it’s not an issue for men to be involved with men and women with women.” His mouth widened and his grin grew larger. “Or a man with a man and a woman.”

“Whoa,” Jared sat up straight. “Multiple partners are accepted?”

Misha nodded. “Encouraged,” he added. “We Asarians have a voracious sexual appetite and often one partner is not sufficient enough to sate us. Plus, it increases the spreading of the genetic pool so there is no moratorium on the number of sexual relationships at one time a person may have.”

“Does that mean that polygamy is part of the Asarian culture?” Jensen leaned against Jared and wondered what he would have to do to make sure that his boyfriend was not available to anyone else.

“Yes,” Misha perched on the end of the bed. “In fact, a legal joining is much more respected on Asar than on Earth.”

“And that means..?” Jared asked.

“It means that marital infidelity is a punishable offence.”

“Punishable by what?” Jensen enquired.

“Death,” Misha said, utterly serious, and Jared went a little pale.

“So,” Jensen rolled off the bed and went to the bathroom. “If Jay and I got married then he’d be protected from other people…” he leaned against the doorway and waved the toothbrush around, “…you know?”

Misha’s smile returned. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Jay would be protected against ‘you know’ by other Asarians.”

“Asshole,” Jensen muttered and felt his cheeks go a little pink. He brushed his teeth quickly, spat the water out and ran his tongue over his teeth.

“Aw, Jen, you love me and want to marry me,” Jared crooned and leapt off the bed to wrap those orangutan arms around him when he came out of the bathroom.

Jensen shoved at Jared. “I should fucking leave you to the mercies of the Asarians,” he glared but Jared’s face was bright and beaming. “Shut up,” he mumbled.

Jared bent down and kissed his neck Jensen relaxed into Jared’s arms and tucked his fingers into the back of Jared’s denims.

“I’ll just go and ask JD if he’s interested in conducting a wedding ceremony, shall I?” Misha’s drawl made little impression on Jensen as he left the room.

“So, how about that proposal?” Jared murmured against his mouth.

“What about it?” Jensen leaned back and stared up into Jared’s eyes.

“Not exactly the sort of thing to tell the grandkids about, is it?” Jared’s eyes were wicked.

“Grandkids?” Jensen swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. “I hadn’t thought…”

“Well, adoption is certainly an option,” Jared said. “Although, I should ask Misha about whether male Asarians can get pregnant and give birth.” He started laughing when Jensen went white.

“I hate you so much, you dick,” Jensen told him and Jared squeezed him.

“You love me so much, especially my dick,” he waggled his eyebrows and Jensen snorted. “So, Princess Samael, do I get a proper wedding proposal or do you expect me to say yes based on that half-assed attempt to protect my virtue?” Jared stared at him.

“You’re in space, in a space ship, surrounded by aliens and you want special?” Jensen poked his side. “Don’t be pushy, bitch.”

Jared grinned and kissed him again, careful and sweet. His hands slid down to grip Jensen’s ass cheeks and squeezed. “God, I’m whipped,” he murmured and Jensen lifted his hands and plunged his fingers into Jared’s thick hair. He tugged, hard and Jared moaned softly. “Yeah, babe, like that,” and he moved his mouth to the column of Jensen’s neck.

Jensen obligingly tipped his head back, allowing Jared better access. His grip on Jared’s hair tightened as Jared pushed his leg between Jensen’s and pressed his knee to Jensen’s crotch. “Evil fucking bastard,” Jensen breathed and he groaned when Jared’s one hand pressed against his hole from the back.

“I want to do wicked things to you, Jen,” Jared sucked a mark into Jensen’s neck. “Evil fucking things.”

Jensen’s breath hitched as Jared found a spot that made his eyes cross. “Haven’t stopped you yet, Jay,” he gasped and Jared pulled away suddenly and shoved him towards the bed.

“Clothes off. Now,” Jared ordered and Jensen scrambled to obey. The door chiming stopped them both as they pulled their t-shirts off. “Fuck,” Jared whined.

Jensen dropped back onto the pillows and threw his arm over his eyes. “I’m going to die from blue balls,” he told the universe. Jared tugged his shirt on again and went to the door.

It opened to admit Misha, Victoria and JD. “I hear congratulations are in order,” Victoria smiled at them and held out her hands. “I’m very happy for the both of you.”

Jared slanted a glance at Jensen who had put his shirt back on again. “I haven’t said yes yet,” Jared told them.

“He wants a more romantic proposal,” Jensen held out his hands. “I mean, what’s more romantic than space and aliens?”

JD grinned. “Well, I’m fully qualified to marry you two, so when you’ve decided to give in to his highness over here, you come get me, okay?” He nudged Jared with a friendly shoulder, his deep double voice like the sound of fire and sea.

“Is that why you guys have pitched up here and interrupted us?” Jensen glared at them.

“Coitus interruptus aside,” Misha said and stepped quickly behind Victoria when Jared lunged towards him, “we need to get you two into training as soon as possible.”

“Training?” Jared’s eyes went big and Jensen could see him practically vibrating with excitement. “What sort of training?”

Misha grinned. “Remember I mentioned the Asarian fighting techniques?” Jared nodded eagerly. “We’re going to start with that today, you and I.”

“And me?” Jensen asked.

“You’ll be with me,” JD said. “We need to start training you to use the powers you were born with.”

Jensen looked at him. “Are all Asarians born with special powers?”

JD shook his head. “No, it’s mostly the elite, the ruling class that have powers beyond normal. Each of the royal families specialise in a different ability. There are six First Families, Abaddon, Corson, Agares, Merihem, Raum and Surgat.”

“What ability does my family have?” Jensen wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“The Abaddon power is called carnem,” JD’s smile wasn’t pleasant.

“And that’s?” Jensen asked.

“The power over flesh,” Misha said and his eyes went flat.

“That sounds scary,” Jared noted.

JD nodded. “It is.” He watched Jensen closely. “Do you remember what Deumos and Thamuz did to Anderson Cooper and the people in that interview?”

Jensen remembered the blood and skin dripping from Deumos’ hands and just nodded.

“They were your family,” JD told him and Jensen felt ill. “They were the last of the Abaddon’s apart from Leonard, Victoria and now, you.”

“They’re dead?” Jensen asked.

JD nodded. “Leonard had them executed for disobeying orders.”

“He’s pretty ruthless,” Jared noted.

“He made sure that only the weakest of Abaddon were left alive. He wouldn’t tolerate any challenge to his power.”

“So Jen will be able to do what they did?” Jared asked and he looked as freaked out as Jensen felt.

“Yes,” JD said. “Except where they can kill one or perhaps ten at a time, your power as a Second can mutilate thousands.”

“Oh my god,” Jensen felt his stomach twisting again and he wanted to hurl.

“What about you?” Jared asked and it was a fairly successful diversionary tactic because JD looked away from Jensen and focused on Jared.

“What about me?” JD exchanged glances with Misha. “I am the First of the family of Merihem.” JD closed his fist and when he opened it a ball of bright red and gold flame appeared in the centre of his palm and hovered motionless above his skin.

“Now that is epic,” Jared noted.

Jensen stepped forward and held his hand out. He felt the heat before he touched the flame. “Epic,” he agreed and met JD’s gaze. “So your power is?”

“Ignem, the power over fire,”

“There are six cardinal powers,” JD walked to the door and motioned them to follow him. They headed down one of the curved corridors and Jensen focused on JD’s words. “Aerem, is power over Air; terram, of earth; caelum, of the sky; Aqua, of water and then ignem and carnem.”

“That sounds like Latin,” Jensen mused. He’d been on the set of Supernatural long enough to recognize the shape of the Latin language.

JD’s deep dimples flashed. “Just how long do you think we’ve been around, Jenny-bean?”

Jensen scowled. “I hate it when you call me that,” he muttered.

“Why do you think I do it?” JD quipped and Jensen glared.

“So, all these powers, the further away from the main family the less they get?” Jared asked.

“We call them Firsts,” Misha pressed his palm against a door that slid open to reveal the well-equipped gym and pool area.

“So I’m a First?” Jensen followed JD and Misha into a small studio where some practise mats had been set out.

“You’re a Second,” JD told him. “When the First in a family meets the true death then the Second,” he pointed at Jensen, “you, in the case of the Abaddon family, would absorb the powers of the First.”

Jensen’s head was spinning. “How does that work?”

JD gave a small shrug. “We don’t know, that’s how it’s always been.”

“You should ask more questions, man.” Jared suggested.

JD laughed. “You might be right there,” he admitted and leaned down to pick up two sets of gloves. “Jay, you’d better put these on, Misha is a fighting demon.” He tossed one pair to Jared and the other to Misha.

Jared barked a laugh and then sobered when he saw Misha’s expression. “Seriously?” he looked at Jensen. “Misha is a fighter?”

“Mastema is the finest warrior Asar has produced in ten thousand years,” JD watched Misha strip off his loose shirt and Jensen got his first look at Misha’s body.

“Holy fuck!” Jared exclaimed. “How the fuck have you managed to hide those muscles for all these years?” Misha’s torso was rippling with muscle. The tattoo that crossed from the top of his left shoulder down towards the cut of his right hip was an intricate design that looked like living fire.

“Victoria is a Third of Abaddon, daughter to Leonard’s sister, so she was able to hide my true form from human eyes.” Misha’s smile was proud. “She wields carnem, and has great skill at manipulating skin.”

“That’s wild,” Jared said and he couldn’t take his eyes off Misha. Jensen wondered if he should be worried.

“The form of hand-to-hand combat that has developed over time is closely akin to your martial arts.” Misha rolled his shoulders and bent down to touch his toes a few times. Then he started hopping from side to side, throwing air punches and Jensen stared as he began a series of high kicks that pretty much seemed to defy gravity.

“He’s gonna kick my ass, isn’t he?” Jared whispered to Jensen out of the side of his mouth.

“Yeah,” Jensen agreed and watched with appreciation when Jared pulled off his shirt. “You’re still the hottest thing in the room, Jay, even though Misha has all those incredible muscles that we knew nothing about.”

Misha danced over. “Vix and I wanted to ask you to join us in a mutually satisfying relationship,” he confessed to Jensen.

Jensen boggled. “Um…” he gulped, lost for words. Jared settled for a lethal glare at Misha.

“But then we realised that you were involved with Jared, we decided to focus on developing a deep and abiding friendship with you,” Misha hastened to add.

“Deep and abiding…who the fuck talks like that?” Jared asked no one in particular.

“Misha,” Jensen reminded him and Jared nodded.

“Yeah, I forgot what a pretentious asshole he is,” he said and grinned.

“Come on, big mouth,” Misha danced back on the mats and made a ‘come here’ motion with his hands. “Try and take me down.”

Jensen watched and was almost one hundred percent sure that Jared would be able to take Misha. There was some traitorous part of him though, that saw the muscles that rippled across Misha’s torso, and thought that their one-time co-star was going to be no-one’s pushover.

“Maybe we should leave them to their games and start to work on teaching you how to use the powers that you were born with.” JD’s deep voice took Jensen by surprise. He’d almost forgotten the big guy was there.

“What kind of training can you give me?” Jensen followed JD to another room, smaller and enclosed. The one-way glass allowed him to watch Jared and Misha beating the shit out of each other as he and JD discussed his options.

“Well, to be honest, all I can teach you is how to bring the power to the surface,” JD confessed. “The rest is all up to you.”

Jensen wasn’t sure. “This power over flesh isn’t a good thing,” he told JD but sat opposite him on the mat when he indicated.

“All power is subjective,” JD told him. His eyes were a freaky mix of brown and red, and Jensen reminded himself that this was the guy he’d known for years and regarded as close as family. “It’s what you do with it that’s important.”

“Only if I can use it,” Jensen reminded him.

“True,” JD admitted, “but you’re a smart guy, Jen, and I’m sure that you’ll figure this all out pretty quickly.”

“So how does it work?” Jensen asked.

“It’s all about focus and intent,” JD said and held out his hand again. I focus on my hand and want to see the flame there.” The bright fiery globe bubbled into existence once more and Jensen wanted to find out if it was real.

“It’s real fire?” he asked.

JD grinned. “Real fire, real pain, Jenny-bean.”

“Does it hurt you?” Jensen was intrigued.

JD nodded. “All power takes its toll,” he said and there was something a little sad in his voice. “The more you use your gift, the more it takes from you.”

“Like what?”

“When I invoke a big furnace - and I’m talking about taking out the entire state of California here - then I am incapacitated for days. Comatose and vulnerable and that is when the enemy can strike.”

“Is that what could happen to me?” Jensen didn’t like the thought of being unable to defend himself.

JD shrugged. “I’m not sure, to be honest, each power is different.”

Jensen thought about Deumos reaching out and touching Anderson Cooper’s face and literally melting it in her hands. “I need to learn how to control whatever it is that I’ve inherited from Leonard.”

“Yes,” JD smiled at him. “You will need to know how to defend yourself against him.”

“You think he’ll try to kill me?” Jensen felt stupid asking the question considering the last communication he and Leonard had shared.

“He knows only one thing,” JD warned him. “Kill or be killed.”

“That’s pretty sad,” Jensen noted.

“It’s all he’s ever known,” JD admitted. “The way of Asar is that the strongest family rules. He’s taken out those of his own family that could be a possible threat to him. It’s why he’s been the king for so long.”

“Why did you run?” Jensen asked. “Why didn’t you stay, go underground, fight to keep your people safe?”

JD sighed. “It’s something I regret every day,” he admitted. “I should never have left my home, my family.”

“So why did you?” Jensen knew that they’d diverted from their original conversation but somehow he knew that this was an important piece of information.

“I thought that it was the only way that I could help my people.” JD looked down at the small blaze that still danced in the palm of his hand. “It seems that by leaving I subjected them to even more tribulation.”

“Did you know what would happen?” Jensen asked.

“No,” JD shook his head. “I don’t think that anyone could have foreseen what Leonard would do to our world and to others.”

“Then you can’t blame yourself for something that you could not have foreseen, or had control over,” Jensen pointed out.

JD stared at him. “You’re nothing like your father,” JD said eventually and it sounded like the highest praise.

Jensen allowed his mouth to curve in a smile. “Considering what you’ve told me about him, I’m going to take that as a compliment,” he said.

“That would be the right way to take it,” JD told him and smiled back at him. “So, let’s work on getting that power of carnem out of you.”

“Okay,” but Jensen was dubious, “although I’ve got to admit that I don’t really think there’s anything in there to draw out.”

“We’ll see,” JD said and Jensen wished that it sounded less like a threat.

Victoria poked her head in the doorway. “Are you ready for me?”

Jensen looked at JD for clarification. “Verin is more suitable to be here than I am,” he explained. “Because she is a wielder of carnem she will be your focus while I will guide you on how to reach in to find that power and then to control and use it.”

Jensen was doubtful. “I’ve never felt like I’ve got any sort of special powers.”

JD sat on a mat and looked at Jensen. “Asarians are trained from very young to master their robur.”

“Robur?” Jensen lowered himself to a mat opposite Victoria.

“It means ‘strength’,” JD held out his hands and Victoria did the same. Jensen followed suit when JD nodded to him. “It is what we call the power of our blood.”

“Huh,” Jensen said and then watched as JD clasped his hands together, pushed them hard against each other until the knuckles went white. “What are you doing?”

“I’m showing you how to access your power,” JD said. “Once you are more comfortable with it, there will be no need to follow these motions, but for now, I’m going to treat you like a kid.”

Jensen wanted to scowl but realised that he wasn’t in any sort of position to argue. “So I just hold my own hands?” He wasn’t trying to be an asshole but he was totally out of his depth in every way here.

“When your palms are pressed together as tightly as you possibly can, close your eyes,” JD ignored Jensen’s attitude and kept on with the instructions. “You should start to feel a heat there. Focus on that heat until it runs up your arms and through your whole body.”

Jensen sceptically followed JD’s instructions and clasped his hands together, pressing his palms close together. He was aware only of the silence in the small room and then the slightly sweaty feel of skin against skin.

“Close your eyes,” JD ordered and to Jensen’s surprise, it sounded like he was a long way away. He obeyed anyway and then he felt the burning in his hands.

It felt like fire was scratching at the inside of his skin, trying to get out. He rubbed his palms together in an effort to relieve the itch, but it spread, moving up his arms and across his shoulders, up the back of his neck into his scalp.

His entire body felt like it was being engulfed in flames. It wasn’t painful but he wanted to move, get something cool to throw over him so that his skin didn’t feel as though it was trying to crawl off his bones.

“Now, take that heat, that burn and send it down inside you, find a place that you can lock it up in, that will take the heat away,” JD’s words were distant but Jensen nodded and tried to focus on finding someplace inside that wasn’t burning. That would be the place he could send this feeling.

It was almost as though he could see his own organs and blood. He couldn’t even explain it to himself but he could sense where there was a space within, a vacuum that didn’t throb and burn.

He found it beneath his left lung and it waited, black and cool, and he plunged the fiery itch gratefully inside. He opened his eyes and gasped for air and the feeling of being on fire had vanished.

“You gained control exceptionally quickly,” JD smiled at him. For a moment, he was John Winchester and Jensen was Dean, and they were a father and son who had never quite managed to get their relationship right.

“That was fucking freaky!” Jensen exclaimed and he looked over at Victoria who was smiling as well.

“That was pretty impressive,” Victoria told him. “You managed to find your centre remarkably quickly.”

“My centre?” Jensen thought that sounded far too New Age.

“The centre of your robur,” JD nodded at Jensen. “Try and focus on that space that you found and draw the fire back out again. This time, control it. Bring it out in a stream through your blood so that you are the one moving it.”

Jensen frowned. “Bring it back out again?” he asked. “I just got rid of it.”

“That fire within is your power. It’s not true flame like ignem, but it feels like it is burning you from the inside out.” Victoria leaned a little forward and her face was intent. “You have created the conduit with your own energy and now you must learn to make it work for you.”

“Oh my god, you talk like Castiel,” Jensen muttered and Victoria laughed.

“The robur is within you, it’s a part of you, it is you.” JD’s voice was quiet.

“You mean that I just made my own power?” Jensen’s voice was a little high. And he was sure that no one would blame him because his life had taken another turn for the wacky. And it wasn’t on his television show.

“It’s always been there,” JD told him. “You just needed to activate it. Now you need to learn how to use it.”

“Concentrate,” Victoria told him. “Imagine that you’re drawing a string of flame out of that place inside you.”

Jensen closed his eyes and looked inward once more. The space of blessed silence was there. He reached inside and pulled out a rope of power; he pulled it through his veins, a pulsing cord that bounced and bumped against the boundaries he’d set.

He found himself wrestling against it, fighting to keep it steady and he opened his eyes in panic. “I can’t keep it under control!”

“Yes you can,” JD assured him and the complete confidence in his gaze made something inside Jensen settle and regain mastery over the rope of power.

He felt his mental grip tighten and he tugged the robur out of his body into the air. He heard Victoria give a scream and he flinched as the power dissipated.

He looked over at Victoria who was cradling her hand. “What happened?” he demanded.

Misha’s wife wordlessly held out her hand and all Jensen could see was bone. He rolled off the mat and vomited onto the floor.

“Hey!” JD was beside him in a heartbeat and his big hand was a comforting warmth on Jensen’s back “It’s okay, buddy, check it out.” JD drew Jensen back onto his haunches and pressed his face around. “Look, Jen.”

Jensen had scrunched his eyes closed, the image of Victoria’s shredded flesh and open bones would haunt him until the day he died. He opened them again and forced himself to look at the ruin of Victoria’s hand. Only it wasn’t a ruin any more, her hand appeared as perfect as before he’d ripped it apart with his new power.

“What the fuck?” his eyes flew back to JD who was smiling.

“Carnem is a power of healing as well as a power of destruction,” he said to Jensen. “Those who wield any of the robur can do great harm or great good.”

“I can heal myself,” Victoria assured him and her voice was almost unbearably gentle. “Robur is like two sides of the same coin, the power can destroy or it can heal.”

“Oh god,” Jensen hurled himself into her arms and buried his face in her neck. “I’m so fucking sorry, Vix.”

Her arms were strong around him and one hand stroked the back of his head. “I’m fine, its one of the reasons JD wanted me to help you with this. There is not much you can do to me that I cannot heal. It’s why we are both needed to kill Leonard. He would heal himself as quickly as one of us could take him apart.”

“What the fuck is going on in here?” Jared’s voice broke into the room as he shoved the door open and came rushing in, face pale.

“It’s all fine, buddy,” JD assured him but Jensen pulled away from Victoria and stood. He was shaking so hard he could hear his teeth chattering together.

“I’m okay,” he reassured Jared and something settled in him when Jared came over to him and tugged him into his arms.

“I heard you scream,” Misha’s voice seemed strangely calm and Jensen wanted to apologise to him for what he’d done to his wife.

“Jensen has tapped into his robur, love,” Victoria said and she smiled proudly. “He was able to strip the flesh from my hand on his first attempt.”

“That is impressive,” Misha admitted and Jensen waited for his friend to throw a punch for his actions. “Congratulations.”

“I don’t understand you people,” Jensen whispered and he was suddenly very tired. “You’re behaving like me tearing the flesh from Vix’s hand is something good.”

“It is,” JD’s eyes were hard. “Your father, Leonard, is able to do the same with hundreds of bodies at one thought. We need you on our side. You, being a Second, are our only hope of being able to defeat him.”

“If I can’t control it, then what use am I?” Jensen shook his head. “All I’ll end up doing is killing everyone around me.”

“The journey back to Asar is more than enough time to train you in controlling the carnem, Jen,” Victoria put a hand on his shoulder and Jensen tried not to flinch.

“Get some rest,” JD told him. “We’ll get back to work later.”

Misha lifted Victoria’s completely healed hand to his mouth. “I like that idea,” his blue eyes danced.

“Rest, Mastema,” JD frowned at Misha and then his face cracked in a grin.

Jared peered into Jensen’s eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Jensen said. “I’m just really fucking tired right now.”

“Learning to use and control your robur is not easy,” JD led them all out of the gym and they headed back to their rooms. “Remember, what you’re trying to do in three or four months is something all Asarian children learn almost from birth. It takes energy.”

“Are the kids born with their powers at full strength?” Jensen was comforted by the warmth of Jared’s hand clasping his.

“No, as children grow, their power grows with them,” Victoria said. “So by the time they reach their majority then they have full control of their adult power.”

“So basically I’m trying to learn to wield this power that’s already at full force?” Jensen started understanding what was happening to him.

“Yeah,” JD nodded. “It’s why we need to be very careful how we go about it.”

“You picked it all up very quickly,” Victoria said and her tone was admiring. “I think your power is almost as strong as Leonard’s.”

“You think so?” JD glanced at her. “I was thinking the same thing but didn’t want to say it.”

“Is that normal?” Jensen was fading but he wanted to know as much as he could.

“Not really,” Victoria’s smile was warm. “Children usually inherit lesser power than their parents. It was only a moment of power but I could see the strength of it in you.”

“That’s good, right?” Jared asked.

“As long as he is in control of it, then it is fucking fantastic,” JD stopped in front of their door. “Jen, this is a good thing.”

“It didn’t feel good when I saw Vix’s hand,” Jensen sagged against Jared. “God, I’m exhausted.”

“Get some sleep,” JD advised. “We’ll talk more later.”

“Yeah, okay,” Jensen watched Jared press his hand against the door and it opened to his touch.

“See ya,” Misha waved as the door closed behind them.

Jared was almost carrying Jensen now. Jensen would remember to be embarrassed about it later but right now he was only too grateful to sink down onto the bed.

“Man, you’re wiped,” Jared observed and Jensen tried feebly to toe off his sneakers. He pushed Jensen onto his back and tugged off his shoes.

“If this is what using my Asarian power is like, then I’d like to please ask for a refund,” Jensen’s words slurred a little.

“Shut up, Jen,” Jared bent down and kissed him.

“Love you,” Jensen’s last image was Jared’s pleased smile. It was the smile that only Jensen got to see.

Revelation