Chapter 21

“Is this bothering you?” Xavier asked, moving his arm slowly, and looking at the mechanical thumb Edgar had created from nuts and bolts and scrap metal and who knew what else readily supplied by Marcus who seemed pretty much taken with the scientist from Aeria.

Despite being quite passionate about mechanics, at a layman’s level, for sure, Xavier had little idea about how Edgar had managed to bypass the conflict between his flesh and metal. For an entire week, the man had come and gone from Ayn’s home, each time bringing something else and tinkering for hours to get his little project going.

Xavier could forgive the man’s excitement with the so called project that was basically a human hand, turned partially into metal. He no longer felt pain, and his arm was usable, as much as it could be used under the circumstances.

Ayn embraced him from behind.

“The only thing that’s bothering me is that you’re talking too much,” the man said lovingly, as he pushed away the sweaty strands of hair from Xavier’s neck and planting a slow kiss.

He could not deny it. Everywhere Ayn touched, it felt like fire. How had he lived before finding this man he loved so much? A man who was brave and uncouth and born in the heart of the desert, so far away from Xavier’s world that he could have just as well be from a different planet. Yet, the sound of Ayn’s heart, the vibration of his deep breathing, they were all around him, resounding into him, and he knew once again, why he wasn’t lost, but found again.

“Can I fuck you?” Ayn whispered into his ear.

Xavier chuckled. Count on the man to skip politeness. But it was this directness that fascinated and made Xavier yield to Ayn.

“Should you really ask?” he said back, and Ayn’s laugh tickled his ear.

“I suppose I could just bend you over and give it to you hard. I surely know this is how you like it,” Ayn said with satisfaction.

“Oh, you do?” Xavier tried to sound consternated, but he didn’t seem to do such a good job.

His voice was trembling already. He knew his body was taut, stretched with desire, for the man who was pushing his legs apart slowly, apparently having a mind to take his lover through his clothes.

They were standing up, Xavier overlooking the window, trying to gather his wits about him. At least, that had been the case until Ayn had come from behind, tip-toeing, but determined to make his intentions known.

Not that he minded. He could use a small break from the storm of thoughts clouding his mind. Cory was on a crusade, and he knew enough to realize that starting a war with the Trainers meant certain death, not only for the former servant and what he thought he believed in, but for everyone swept into the tide.

But change was coming, and Xavier knew enough politics to realize what that meant. He could not fight it, even if that meant that any future he could have hoped to have with Ayn, lost from the Trainers, in the heart of the desert, but found in love, any future was forfeit.

His lips drew a small moan, as Ayn’s hands sneaked under his shirt, groping his chest. Ayn’s hands were rough, but loving, and Xavier loved that roughness.

“Do you want anyone who happens to pass by to see your face while I give you all my love?” Ayn chuckled in his ear.

“Why not? It appears that the entire settlement is well aware of your stories of sexual prowess,” Xavier teased. “What’s one more notch on your belt?”

“Not fair,” Ayn seemed to pout. “Has Myra filled your head with stuff like that?”

“Ah, no, she just sent me to sleep with bedtime stories, nothing of the kind. But it’s not like I am deaf,” Xavier replied.

“Well, it’s not after you, anyway. C’mon, hop on the bed, it’s not like I want anyone to see you while you come impaled in my dick,” Ayn said, more determined this time, and he began dragging Xavier towards the bed.

“They might still hear me moaning, though,” Xavier joked.

“Then I should shut you up, so that no one hears you,” Ayn kissed him. “Wait, did you just admit that I’m making you moan?”

“I was just stating the obvious,” Xavier still made an effort to play it cool.

“Xav, stop talking. I need you on your knees, sucking my dick,” Ayn growled, but Xavier could hear the amusement in the man’s voice.

“Really? No pity for a man who’s no longer whole?” he joked, raising his arm.

“You’ll never be unwhole to me,” Ayn said simply. “You’re mine, and nothing else matters.”

Xavier needed no other explanations. He let himself to his knees, ready to worship his lover’s manhood, which Ayn hurried to free from his jeans. Xavier felt growing hungry with need as his tongue lapped at the sturdy length presented in front of his eyes.

“By all gods, you know how to drive a guy crazy,” Ayn murmured. “Just hurry up,” he begged.

“My pleasure,” Xavier smirked against Ayn’s hard cock and swallowed the member fast, making sure to drive it home with efficiency.

Ayn cursed, and grabbed his lover’s head, forcing his way inside even deeper, and starting to move his hips.

“Let’s fuck,” Ayn withdrew, much to Xavier’s dismay.

“I thought you were bound to penetrate my throat,” he spoke.

“As much as I like to shoot a fresh load in your mouth, I’d rather have your other hole.”

“Sometimes I think you believe yourself in charge,” Xavier joked, but he didn’t mind being manhandled, as Ayn brought him up from the floor and pushed him on the bed, clearly intent on having him obey, without too much fuss.

Ayn’s eyes were burning in the semidark of the room.

“You know what Cory wants. It means war. Real war,” he voiced his worries, despite his better judgement.

“We’ll talk about that later,” Ayn said shortly.

Xavier gasped when his lover went down on him fast, pulling his cock out and engulfing it in moist heat. He was even less prepared for what happened next, as Ayn undressed him, and then hurried to undress himself as well.

The man moved a bit, away from Xavier’s field of view and returned only to straddle Xavier’s hips, with an intent look in his eyes.

“I thought you wanted to fuck me,” Xavier spoke.

Ayn’s short look made the words die away on his lips. He knew what this was. Ayn didn’t want him to believe that he was less in his eyes. And Xavier also knew that it was taking Ayn’s all his willpower to fight his pride to do this on his own.

Which made him all the more grateful when Ayn slid onto Xavier’s hard member, obviously well prepared for the invasion and surrender of his own body.

Xavier loved everything about his former slave, right now, as Ayn began moving up and down, holding his manhood a bit away with one hand, as if he was trying to concentrate on giving pleasure, not receiving it.

“Come here,” he spoke tenderly, and he used the arm that was still whole to convince Ayn to fall onto his chest.

This way, he could use his hips and contribute to their pleasure, by moving them up and down. Their breath mingled, becoming one.

“You couldn’t let me, could you?” Xavier asked tenderly.

“Not in a million years,” Ayn confirmed, the solemnity of his words, a stark contrast against the ragged moans escaping his mouth. “Fill me up, Xav, and don’t you ever dare doubt me.”

Xavier laughed. It was easy to forget about the storm ahead, as he drove himself deep into his lover’s body, giving him what he wanted. What they both wanted.

Edgar was standing bent over the car engine, while Marcus was gesticulating widely, explaning something. Ayn felt the need to grin. He had to admit that it was funny how much impact the well behaved scientist could have on a man like Marcus. His friend had not hesitated to express his admiration in the words he had known best, which had made poor Edgar blush to the tip of his ears.

“This man,” Marcus bellowed, as he saw Ayn and Xav approaching, and pointed toward Edgar, “has a fucking sexy mind!”

Yeah, that was exactly what made Edgar look like he wanted to start running back to Aeria, or worse, right into the arms of the Trainers.

“Stop teasing the guy, Marcus,” Ayn spoke. “Cory says he has a sweetheart back at home.”

Marcus blinked a few times, then a sly smile lit up his hirsute face.

“That girl can have his body all she wants, it’s his brain I want!”

Ayn laughed wholeheartedly, although he could tell Edgar was about to explain Marcus something obvious, like he could not have the two parts of him separated. But what came out of the scientist’s mouth took them all by surprise.

“I doubt Lena would be interested in my body,” Edgar protested, earning around round of laughter from the locals.

Xav smiled, too, but Ayn could tell his lover had many questions and cared little for happy banter. And he knew why. There was no time for such carefree things.

“Well, if that girl doesn’t want you, there’s always an empty spot for you here,” Marcus opened his giant arms, a gesture that could just as well drive the fear of all that was holy into Edgar.

But the scientist was fast to catch innuendo now and he even seemed more used to it.

“I’m afraid that there would be a crowd there,” Edgar said lightly.

Marcus was laughing so hard that Ayn thought for a moment that his friend was this close to blow a fuse for real.

“What did I tell you? The sexiest mind alive,” Marcus spoke. “What brings you and His Majesty here? Don’t you have more healing to do?” he wiggled his thick eyebrows, only to be encountered by an annoyed huff from Xav.

“We wish,” Ayn snorted. “Now it’s time to bring us up to speed. Where is Cory?”

“He is with Myra and the other women. Apparently, they all want to touch him and make sure that he’s real,” Marcus replied.

“He is learning about the old faith, as well,” Edgar supplied, in turn. “Everything is still very new to us, and learning about it all would take us some time.”

“We don’t have time,” Xav intervened.

Ayn knew what the pursed lips and steel like gaze meant. Oh, he knew his lover well enough now. And it meant that the whole bunch of them needed to shut the hell up and listen to the man. Marcus seemed to sense the change in atmosphere, and Edgar was quick to understand, as well. Everyone fell silent.

“What we need is organization, planning, and someone on the inside,” Xav spoke.

Marcus shifted from one foot to another, and then scratched his head.

“What we need is a fuck load of guns,” the man spoke.

“That, too,” Xav admitted, taking Ayn by surprise.

He was expecting a least a reprimand from Xav for Marcus’s language. But instead, his lover was showing, once more, that he understood the situation and understood it well.

“We need to know how many men, vehicles, weapons, and other logistics we can count on,” Xav continued.

“They’re all scattered across the desert,” Marcus made a vague gesture with one hand. “Do you think you can organize these sons of bitches?”

“They obviously need a motivation,” Xav said with a small frown. “That is where all this talk about The One comes into play.”

“You don’t believe, do you?” Edgar intervened.

Xav shook his head curtly.

“Then maybe you are not the right person to be in charge, with all due respect, Lord Xavier,” Edgar replied in turn.

Marcus was staring at the two men talking, his eyes growing wide, and filling now with something Ayn knew was respect. He was surprised at the scientist’s big mouth, as well. Not that he could not see where Edgar was coming from. And the guy was kind of right.

“I do not wish to be in charge,” Xav replied, without one hint of disdain or disapproval in his voice. “I am merely offering my assistance.”

Both Ayn and Marcus turned to look at Edgar, expecting the scientist’s reply.

“Yet, you are the right person for the job,” Edgar offered right away, and it was clear, to everyone present, that he wasn’t trying to suck up to the former First Ruler of Drena. He was just stating a fact.

“Then we seem to be in a conundrum. I do not have the faith you speak of,” Xav said calmly.

“Do you believe that I am a person in his right mind, Lord Xavier?” Edgar asked.

“Please drop the ‘lord’ part as I find it jarring. Also, it does not sweeten by any means the truths you believe would sound harsh in my ears. Yes, I think your mental faculties are perfect,” Xav said.

Edgar leaned in a short bow.

“I would reject the possibility of a higher being, just like you, if it wasn’t for all the evidence I witnessed. Cory barely received formal education in his young years, and we all know what the training of a servant entails. Yet, he’s reading 20 times faster than me, and has understanding of things that no one else has. Also, he made the pictures in the old book Hector gave me move under my very eyes, predicting the future. I can assure you, I was not imbibed at the moment, and everything happened just as Cory made to appear in front of our eyes.”

Xav seemed to ponder, and Ayn watched him curiously. He had to admit that he could not tell what his lover was thinking right now. And it was true that he had never paid much attention to Myra’s ramblings about a goddess and whatnot. That seemed to be stuff only women cared about. And he had not wondered until now whether he believed in those things or not. What Edgar was saying sounded pretty messed up, but those were things that had just happened, so they weren’t legends mothers were telling children to send them off to sleep.

“While I could come with arguments in favor of other possibilities other than Cory being the emissary of this higher being you are speaking of into this world, I will not do it,” Xav eventually spoke.

“May I inquire why?” Edgar insisted.

“Because while I may not believe in a goddess who lived one thousand years ago, or who knows when...”

“She is eternal,” Edgar interrupted him.

“I still believe in something,” Xav continued, seemingly not at all pissed with Edgar’s interruption. “And sometimes that is all that is needed.”

“What do you believe in?” Ayn hurried to ask.

Xav smirked, and Ayn didn’t need any other explanation.

“I guess I know what you believe in,” he grinned back. “How about we start that organizing stuff? We have our work cut out for us, that’s for sure.”

Edgar nodded gravely, and Marcus clapped his hands in glee.

“I would suggest you all refrain from acting too happy just yet,” Xav suggested.

“Come on, Xav,” Ayn patted the man’s back. “Don’t be a party pooper. We barely wait to kick some Trainer ass.”

“You talk like you don’t know them. Which is true, because you don’t,” Xav spoke. “They will not be easy to bring down, that I can tell you. And I don’t know if weapons or manpower are enough. The toughest thing of all would be to have a man on the inside.”

“How about Lucas?” Edgar spoke.

“He may sound like the obvious choice. But we don’t know anything about what happened to him, and we don’t have any means to get in contact with him.”

“Cory knows a way back inside, through the mines. The maps were drawn long ago, but he has it in his blood.”

“The mines are not Drena.”

“I believe in him,” Edgar said shortly. “If there is someone who can get inside the city, that would be him.”

“I doubt that risking our symbol would serve the cause,” Xav crossed his arms.

“Symbol?” Edgar wondered out loud.

“I know who the people say he is. And I know for sure that he never was an ordinary person. And for the sake of our entire operation, I hope that is the case. But I would rather hold that back as plan B. First, we need to send scouts ahead. And Cory is not the only one who knows a thing or two about getting inside Drena.”

Edgar bowed in respect. Ayn had to say he felt touched. His lover was turning against his old world and he seemed to have no trouble with that. That could only mean that Xav was his, heart and soul.

“You look just like her,” the young woman spoke right into his ear.

Cory smiled.

“I’ve been said that a lot lately. Your name is Myra?” he asked the tall girl.

She nodded with a small smile.

“So how does it feel?” she asked, clearly curious about him.

Other young women and girls stood up, as they entered the place where the female population liked to gather. Cory could tell he was surprised. If in Tresalt, he had seen women praying, studying, and get their hands busy with needlework, the women of Haven were clearly busy doing something else.

Cleaning weapons, counting bullets, organizing medicine. He felt like he was entering a different kind of temple.

“What?” he asked, turning toward her.

“To be the living proof,” she smiled.

“Ah, that,” he smiled back. “I will do my best to live up to everyone’s expectations.”

“You know you have to do more than just try,” Myra placed one hand on his shoulder.

“It is that, or I will die trying,” he said matter-of-factly.

Myra squeezed his shoulder in sympathy.

“Is it true? That’s him?” one girl hurried to them.

Myra seemed to be pretty proud to be the one to introduce Cory to the crowd.

“Yeah, in flesh and blood.”

There was noise growing all around him, and soon there were hands trying to touch him from every corner.

“Hey, watch it, girls, he’s taken,” Myra fended off the attacks for him.

“You don’t know that,” another young woman protested. “Don’t tell me you hurried to claim him.”

“I wish,” Myra snorted. “He’s sworn to some pretty man up in Drena.”

“Don’t tell me that he’s sworn to one of the Trainers,” another girl joked, and everybody started laughing.

Cory could see why Ayn loved his birthplace. Here, everyone was brave, daring to laugh in the face of danger. Because he knew that was the only thing he had to offer.

And in exchange for what?

Yet, somehow he knew. He knew that it was not in vain what he was doing. There was evil rising at the horizon, threatening to engulf the entire continent. He only sensed it in his blood, not really knowing what it was. But the certainty of impending doom had risen with him for several mornings now, and under the blanket of night, it was still there, living with him, almost living inside him.