A Dark Knite

He stood at the top of the mountain feeling more accomplished than he had when he passed his last magical test that gave him his robes. He could see far into the distance from this height, could even see the small village he lived in far away. He smiled to himself and spun around laughing out loud.

“I did it! This is for you Kristopher! I’m coming to find you soon baby! Really soon!”

He sat down on the highest point of the mountain to wait. Tommy had not been wrong about the Unicorns; he wouldn’t be wrong about the Pegasus either. He thought of Kristopher and where he was, what he was doing, and why he hadn’t come home. He knew that Kris loved him, he knew it as well as he knew the magic that flowed through his veins. He also knew that he had hurt Kristopher that last night, hurt him enough to go off alone looking for a way to get what he wanted for them. He should have been with him. Had he done what he should have, he and Kris would have left that next morning together to find a way, a for them to be a real family, because that’s really all Kris had wanted, for them to be complete. To Kris that meant children and if he was honest with himself, he wanted that as much as Kristopher did, wanted it deep down where he hid the things he thought he couldn’t have. He should have told Kris that, he should have let him know how much it hurt him too instead of making Kris feel as if he was all alone; instead of ignoring his lover’s tears.

He wiped away the tears that leaked down his face and smiled through them. He would get another chance, he would; he would have it no other way.

“Why do you cry tears and smile at the same time human?”

There in front of him landed the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. It stood a foot taller than him as he lifted to his feet, sleek black, so black it looked almost iridescent. Its wing span had to be at least twelve feet. It wasn’t often that he was struck speechless, but this was one of those times.

“Do you not speak?” The Pegasus asked him.

“I’m speechless.” He rubbed his eyes. “I’m Adam.” He bowed, albeit late. “I have a request to ask of you sir.”

The Pegasus laughed, “I would think so, otherwise, why would you be up here on this mountain crying and smiling?”

“I’ve lost something, something very important to me and I need to find it, to find him. My lover, he’s been gone for six months now and I have to find him, to make sure he’s okay, that he’s not hurt.”

“It took you six months to look for him? You must not care very much if you waited all this time.”

Adam shook his head sadly, “That’s not the reason. You see, I have this spell book that’s very advanced and it turns its own pages each day to the spell that I’m allowed to try next. I open it and it turns and so therefore, it’s taken this long for the book to turn to the spell I need to locate my love.”

The Pegasus looked at him and snorted. “You expect me to believe that story.”

Adam bowed his head and rubbed the tears from his eyes. If he couldn’t find a way to get this creature to believe him, angel’s blood or not, there was no location spell, no finding Kristopher. “It’s the truth.” He said simply with defeat. “I can tell you about him if you like. I can tell you how I feel when he holds me close, how my heart skips a beat every time he smiles, how I can’t keep my hands off of him when we are alone. I could tell you he’s the best part of me and that without him, I will surely die. I can tell you he’s more important to me than anything, more important even than my magic, for as hard as it would be, I could live without the pulse of that energy running through me, I cannot, I simply will not live without Kristopher. He’s all that’s good in my world; all that I’ve ever wanted and needed.” He looked up at the creature and didn’t bother to wipe away his tears this time. “I could say all of that a more, but that doesn’t mean that you would believe me anymore than you do now. I can only say it’s the truth.” He sat back down on the rock he had been sitting on before and sighed, waiting again for the Pegasus to give him his verdict.

He dropped his arms to his knees and put his head in his hands and gave way to his grief for the first time in six months. He cried for how he had treated Kris that night, he cried for the loneliness that kept tugging at this heart and he cried for the future that had looked so bright and now might not be. He cried until he felt a swift wind. He lifted his eyes and saw as the Pegasus leaped into the air, leaving behind one long black feather. He cried even harder then, as he reached down and picked it up, storing it inside his robes with the Unicorn tail hair.

“Use it wisely Wizard!” was the last thing he heard before the majestic being was out of sight.

***

It took him the rest of the day to get off the mountain and make his way back to the Hermit’s hut. The sun was nearing its setting and he was tired and hungry. He hoped that he found the reclusive man home and maybe Tommy would be there so that he could tell him thank you for his help, even if he did desert him there at the end.

He placed his hand on the door and chanted the friendship spell. The door swung open wide and out came Salish with a grin.

“Been waitin’ on ye laddie! What took ye so long? Pegasus give thee a problem did he?”

Adam smiled at him and pulled him into a hug, even though he knew that that old one liked his privacy, that didn’t mean he didn’t need human contact from time to time. “No Salish, nothing like that. I came here first, as you know, but you weren’t home and so Tommy helped me out. He took me to the Unicorns first and then showed me mostly up the mountain to where the Pegasus was. I have to say that, at first, I didn’t know if the Pegasus was going to give me a feather. Is Tommy here? I would like to properly thank him for all of his help.”

Salish gave him a crazy look. “I don’t be knowing any Tommy laddie. Are ye sure he was here?”

He nodded his head to the affirmative. “Yes, he was right there once I saw you weren’t at home.” He pointed at the rock. “He’s a pixie, about five foot tall, blonde hair, dark brown eyes, kohl lined?”

Salish shook his head again. “I don’t think I’ve seen a pixie out here in years, laddie. Are ye sure ye aren’t mistaken?”

“No, old one, I know a pixie when I see one.” He was confused, he knew that Tommy had told him he was friends with Salish. “He said he was your friend Salish. I don’t understand.”

The old Hermit nodded. “Aye, it’s a conundrum fer sure, laddie. But never mind that now. Let’s get ye fed and rested, so ye can be on yer way.” Salish led him inside and told him to have a seat at the small table.

They talked until it was late and then Salish showed Adam to his bed. He fell asleep almost immediately and dreamed again about the strange winged creature.

When he woke the next morning Salish was gone but had left him a note. ‘Gone looking for wormwood. Was good seeing ye.’

He couldn’t help but smile at the old man’s antics, anything to get out of a good bye hug. He left Salish a thank you note and then closed the door shut behind him. As he walked the worn path through the woods back to town, he couldn’t help but wonder about the pixie. He knew that Tommy had been real, he just couldn’t figure out why the pixie would tell him he was friends with the Hermit and then Salish not knowing him.

“Strange,” he said out loud as he continued on his way home.

In less than an hour, he found himself back at home safe and sound. And all alone again. He wandered into his room filled with all of his and Kris’s things except for the few items Kris had taken with him. He had no idea what would keep his lover from him for so long and still didn’t know how he was going to find his last spell component. He itched to use his magic but knew he would need to be a full power to cast the spell accordingly and didn’t want to waste one tiny speck of it until he had the angel’s blood tucked safely away in his robes. He sighed and left the room, wandering instead into his magic study. This was where he had spent all of his time since Kristopher had left.

Kristopher had left.

He stopped going through the less powerful tome at his desk and sat back in his chair.

Kristopher had left him.

For six months, he had known this, had lived with his lover’s absence all this time, but never once had he thought about the fact that perhaps Kris no longer wanted to be with him and that’s why his lover hadn’t returned. Maybe he had found another. Maybe he had pushed Kristopher too hard that last night. Maybe, just maybe, Kris had found that family with someone else.

Tears stung his eyes as he thought about what that could really mean.

Kristopher had left him. Kristopher may not be coming back.

He tried to pull himself out of his morose thoughts but found that he couldn’t. He was so close, so very close, one component away. He couldn’t give up now. He couldn’t think that he would never hold his love again. But the darkness in him rose up to fight back against the love he knew he and Kris shared. Letting himself go, he fell onto his desk and cried himself to sleep.

***

The winged being sat on the corner of the desk, petting the man’s dark hair.

“Such a pretty, pretty man to be so very sad.” The being whispered. “I could help you, but I’m not sure that would really be what you need, dear Wizard.”

The being pet the dark hair some more until the man stirred and moaned out a name.

“Even in your pain and darkness you call to him. True love it must be.”

With a swish and a stir of air, another winged being appeared. “Are you going to help him?” The second being asked in a soft voice so as not to wake the human.

The first being continued to pet the man’s hair, soothing him while he dreamed of his lost love. “I believe I will.”

“You believe him then? That he only wants the blood to locate his lover and not for summoning? Because if you’re wrong…”

“I do believe him. I can find nor have I found, no malice in his heart. Even now, he cries out in his dreams for his love. He will have his drop of blood.”

The second being shook her head sadly, “I hope that you are right in your assumptions, Thomas, or our Lord will not be so forgiving.” With a flourish of wing and wind, the second being was gone.

***

Adam woke the next morning with a stiff neck and tear crusted eyes. He moved through the house like a ghost, wandering from room to room but never seeing anything. He found himself at Kris’ clothes and pulled one of Kris’s favorite shirts to his nose hoping that he would catch his lover’s scent. However, all he smelled was the soap the shirt had been cleaned with at its last washing.

And then it hit him.

Kristopher had not taken his favorite shirt. He had left it hanging with the rest of his clothes like a note that said ‘I’m coming back’ and that’s when Adam knew. His lover hadn’t left him.

Kristopher was coming home to him.

He busied himself with house chores while he considered how he would obtain his last spell component. He was more determined than ever to find a way back to his life, back to his love.

He went to bed that night with hope in his heart.

***

Tommy was sitting at his kitchen table when he went into his kitchen the next morning.

“Hi!” The pixie waved at him with a grin.

He nearly hit his head on one of the cabinets. “Tommy! Where have you been? You left me on that mountain alone!”

The pixie just grinned. “No I didn’t. I left you on that mountain with a Pegasus. Which is what you wanted.”

He didn’t know if he wanted to strangle the strange pixie or hug him for all the help he had gotten from Tommy. He opted for thanking the pixie instead. “Thank you for all of your help.”

Tommy smiled brightly at him. “You’re welcome. I came to help you some more. You need one more thing for your little spell, don’t you?”

He sat down at the table across from Tommy. “I do. Do you know an angel or where I might find one?”

Tommy only nodded and didn’t speak. In fact, Tommy hadn’t been talking like his normal self.

“Why aren’t you talking a mile a minute anymore?”

“No need at the moment. Come on, let’s go.”

“Where are we going now?” He gathered provisions for three days as the pixie practically flew out the door. “Hey, wait on me!” He rushed out the door and ran into a wall of wiry muscle. “Oomph! What the…” There standing before him was an angel. He dropped his provisions and stood with his mouth hanging open.

“This is who I really am, Wizard.”

Adam was dumb struck. “T-tommy?”

“My name is actually Thomas, but my friends call me Tommy. I hope we are friends Adam.”

He had no idea what to say. Tommy wasn’t a pixie, he was an angel. “You tricked me, I thought you were a pixie.”

“I had to know, Adam, that what you said matched your heart. You must understand. For hundreds and hundreds of years, wizards have sought out our blood to summon horrors. I had to make sure you were not such a wizard.”

“And what have you decided, Angel?”

“Go fetch a vial for your drop of blood, Wizard.”

He couldn’t get to his magic room fast enough. He knocked his potions over in his haste but found a vial and returned outside and held it up to Tommy. “How will I ever repay you for this, Tommy?”

Tommy smiled at him as he cut his finger, placing the drop of precious blood inside the vial and handed it back to him. “Keep it safe until it’s used, Adam, and may your love return to you.”

Dust flew up all around him and Tommy was gone.

He found himself in his magic study without really knowing how he came to be there. He looked at the spell and started putting it to memory now that he had everything he needed to cast it. Kristopher would soon be home where he belonged.

***

It had taken him three long days to commit the spell to memory without use of the book, three days where he went to bed exhausted each night, dreaming of Kristopher in his arms. Now he was ready.

He stood outside under the full moon, the spell just waiting on the tip of his tongue, all the components placed on the makeshift table in front of him as the fire burned beside him. Slowly, one by one, the items were thrown into the ceremonial fire as he chanted the words to the spell. Soon there was only one component left, the precious drop of blood given to him by his friend. He opened the vial and dropped the blood into the fire that had consumed all the others.

“So mote it be.”

The fire turned white hot, then blue and finally back to red and orange. He knew the spell had taken.

He knew this night, he would dream of where his lover was and then he was going to get him.

***

He woke to find himself in a tunneled cave. He could see light ahead and followed it through the dimness. He rounded a turn in the tunnel and gasped at the sight before him. There were piles of gold, gems, rare cloth as well as weapons made from silver, their hilts embedded with gems. He walked through the towering mounds of riches in awe of so much wealth in one place. ‘What is my Kristopher doing here?’

He had no more thought the name and there he was, sitting at a desk of fine wood, embossed in gold and he was talking to a dragon of immense size.

“How much longer must I stay Ormr? I have a need to be home with my love. I miss him so very much.”

A hissing, growling voice answered, “You want your prize, don’t you?”

He watched Kris hang his head, “You know that I do.”

“Stay one more month with me human and I will release you with your wish in tow.”

Kris sighed but nodded his acquiescence to the request. “But only one more, I have been gone far too long, Adam will come looking for me. Prize or no, I must return to him.”

“He is already here in spirit.”

Kris looked around as Adam reached out to him but the vision was fading and then it was gone.

Adam woke knowing the way to the hidden cave.

***

It’s a hard thing knowing where your love is and waiting. But that’s what he did, he waited. One more month, the dragon had said. One more month and Kris would come home with whatever this prize was. You would think after half of a year, four weeks would be nothing, but it was painful and terrible and hard. He had decided the morning he woke after the spell to wait. If Kristopher didn’t come home by week number five, he was going after him, dragon, bargain, or no.

The first week went by relatively fast. He stayed busy working his spells, doing healings for the villagers, putting spells to memory, and tidying up the house for when Kris got home. He cleaned from top to bottom. He cleared out his herb gardens. He cast spells over his magical plants. He visited the old Wizard in town.

The second week went by slower than the first. He didn’t have the house chores to distract him. He had cleaned everything the week before. He became bored with all of his studies and found himself daydreaming of making love to Kristopher more and more. He woke hard each morning from his erotic dreams. He paced. He cursed. And finally he delved into his potions, making up stock, for when someone needed a fire potion or a water breathing potion. It kept him busy during the day.

The third week almost killed him. He thought of nothing other than Kristopher, whether asleep or awake. It came to the point where he almost packed his bag and took off after him, but he talked himself down. He had this week and no more than two after, then he would go if his lover didn’t come home. His dreams at night became more erotic and involved, down to the smallest detail of tasting the sweat on Kris’ neck, of how it felt to slide into him and the feel of Kris’ lips against his own.

If the third week almost killed him, the fourth week was nothing but pure torture. Logically, he knew that he only had one more week but it was that knowledge that kept taunting him. ‘What if Kris doesn’t come home by the end of the fifth week?’ Thoughts of the dragon keeping Kris forever invaded his mind, thoughts of Kris not wanting to come home. He tried his best to stay occupied. He went to see Salish and talked with him about herbal preparations. He went to see the old Wizard in town again. He read his spell book each day and committed each new spell it turned to to memory. But each night, when he lay down, the worry and doubt creeped in. Maybe he should have gone after Kris right away. He went to sleep exhausted and woke up even more exhausted each morning, dreams of his lover tormenting him.

By the fifth week, he looked like he hadn't eaten nor slept in days. He realized that if he had to go after his lover, he was going to have to find a way to rest and eat. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have the energy. So he pulled himself together, started looking after himself better and began resting. He spent the mornings in his magical and herbal gardens. He spent each afternoon in his magic study, going over his potions and spells. Kris was never far from his mind but it kept him occupied and kept him focused.

On the fifth day of the fifth week, company came to visit. Kristopher still hadn’t come home but Tommy dropped in for a hello. He was in his pixie disguise and therefore fit better in the chairs around the small table in the kitchen.

“So, you didn’t go after your lover?”

Adam shook his head sadly. “No, but now I wish I had. I heard him say in the vision I had when I did the spell that he would be coming home in four weeks. It’s been almost five and I’m really anxious and tired of waiting on him to come on his own.”

Tommy assessed him with his look. “Then why did you wait?”

Shrugging, Adam said, “I thought it would be better if he came home to me on his own time frame and not because I went after him.” He smiled fondly, “He can be a bit stubborn at times.”

Tommy chuckled. “Well, I’ll be going now. Duty to uphold and all.”

He thanked the angel again for all of his help and hugged him tightly before he leapt into the air, taking flight. He stood there and watched until he couldn’t see Tommy anymore. He was just about to go in when…

“Who in the hell was that you hugged? And what the hell was he doing in our home with you?” Kris stood with a pack on his back, his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face.

For a moment, Adam thought Kris might not be real.

“Kristopher?”

Kris continued his scowl. “Are you going to answer me or ignore my questions?”

Adam couldn’t help himself, he broke down at started laughing and crying at the same time. He ran to his lover and wrapped his arms around him; as much as he could with the pack on Kris’ back. “Oh my god, it is you! I’ve missed you so much, Kristopher, so very, very much.” And then he kissed him, he licked his way into his mouth and rubbed his tongue against Kris’. He re-learned the feel of Kris’ lips and mapped out all the ridges in his mouth once again. He only pulled back to take a breath, his hands on each side of Kris’ face. He slid them down to Kris’ shoulders and grasped them tight. He began shaking his lover. “Don’t you ever do that to me again!”

Kris put his hands up the push at him. “Adam, no, listen…”

But he was angry now, and shook Kris a little harder. “I can’t believe you left like that and didn’t even leave me a note!”

“Adam, Adam! Calm down, stop…”

He was happy and angry and just grabbed him and kissed him again, a hot press of lips and tongues, tears running down his face, when he heard it. He pulled back, his hands still clutched on Kris’ shoulders. “Was that…what was that?” It couldn’t be what he thought it sounded like. He let go of his lover and took a step back. “What is that, Kris?”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you to stop for.” Kris slid the pack from his shoulders and sat it on the ground slowly. Giving Adam a look of apprehension, Kris unbuckled the top of the pack and the cries became louder. Kris reached in and took out the bundle. He stood and handed it to Adam. “Say hello to your son.”

Astounded was an understatement to how Adam felt as he took the crying bundle from his lover. He pulled the swaddling back to look at the tiny child’s face, its cries becoming louder in volume. He put his finger down to the small hand and it was grasped with strength as the babe continued to vent his frustration. The coppery hair was revealed as the covering moved while the bundle squirmed in his father’s arms.

“He has your lungs.” Kris chuckled, tears in his own eyes as he watched their child with Adam.

“How?” It was a reasonable question, but he could only manage the one word.

“I wanted,” Kris choked up, “I-I know that you’re mad at me for being gone so long and not telling you where I was going. But I knew there had to be a way for us to have a child. I came across a man, and he told a fantastical tale of a dragon living in this series of tunnels and caves. I found them, found the dragon and struck a bargain. I would keep the dragon company for three months and he would magik us a child. But at the end of the three months, he wanted three more.” Kris looked up at Adam. “I couldn’t say no, our want, my want, for a real family was within my reach. He would have asked for more but I missed you and I told him that I wouldn’t stay past seven months, child or not.”

He tried to process everything that Kris had just told him. It made sense with the vision he had during his spell work. But there was one thing he didn’t understand. “You said he was my son, our son?”

Kris’s smile would have rivaled the sun at that moment. “Yes, Ormr, that’s the dragon’s name, he took my essence and yours and made our child.”

Adam started crying without holding back then, lifting the babe to his chest. “What’s his name?”

Kris hugged his lover and child together. “He doesn’t have a name yet. I wanted us to name him together.”

Adam fell to his knees, ever careful of the child, Kris sitting beside him. “I will never be able to thank you enough…”

“Sshhh…” Kris whispered, kissing Adam on the cheek and wiping away his tears. “We’re together now and it’s time to feed our son.”