7. Talon
Chapter 7
Talon
The human was fascinating. Talon couldn’t remember the last time anything had captivated him so thoroughly, especially a mortal. He’d promised him he would track down the mozgoran, but instead he found himself killing time in his apartment, waiting until the human was asleep so that he could enter his dreams and protect him from his own mind.
His anger, his stubborn desire for vengeance, was like an aphrodisiac. Going to the club would mean giving up the chance to slip inside his mind, where his walls were down. He thought Talon was a figment of his imagination there. He let himself do things there. Touching Alex there felt muted, but it was better than not touching him at all. Talon was addicted to the taste and feel of him. He longed to know what it felt like in reality, but pushing too hard would make his human pull away. He had to be patient. The reward would be all the sweeter when it was given willingly.
Alex’s mind was an intoxicating place, filled with blood and fury. He waited as Alex drifted through the shallower pools of sleep. He was late tonight, because he’d patrolled with his squad. That was fine. When he was deep enough, Talon reached for him, and this time Alex reached back, as though he’d been searching for Talon, too.
“There you are,” Alex said, sounding relieved. His fingers sank into Talon’s leather jacket, as though anchoring himself.
Alex’s mind always conjured the VIP room around them. It was the only place he’d ever seen Talon, so it made sense. With effort, Talon could’ve manipulated it, but he’d rather ignore their surroundings and focus on the man before him.
“What a nice greeting, little bird. And here I thought you didn’t like me.”
Alex smiled, soft and dreamy. “You keep the monsters away.”
A surge of inexplicable protectiveness filled Talon. “I always will.”
Alex drew him closer, leaning back against the door. He didn’t seem to mind when Talon lined their bodies up. The sensation was muted, but he drank in the feel of Alex’s hard body against his own anyway.
“Why?”
“You tell me. It’s your dream.”
His brow furrowed adorably. “I don’t know. I don’t know why I see you. But I’m starting to like it.” He sighed sleepily. “And that scares me.” He was always so forthright in his dreams. It was endearing.
“Scares you why?”
“You’re a demon. It’s wrong.”
“Says who?”
He snorted. “The guild.”
“The guild isn’t infallible. They could be wrong about us, you know.”
“I’ve seen things.” His eyes were hollowed. “Demons aren’t good. They can’t be.”
“The thing that killed your family is barely more than an animal, little bird,” Talon admonished. “He’s not like us.”
Alex blinked. “Us?”
Talon smiled patiently. So scatterbrained in sleep. “Yes. Myself and the halflings.” That was what Alex thought he was, anyway. There was no reason to alarm him with the truth.
“You’ve never killed a human?”
Talon hesitated. “Not without reason. Killing for its own sake is boring.”
“Somehow that doesn’t reassure me.”
Talon sighed, fingers idly tracing Alex’s jaw. “Truthfully, I’m old, little bird. There’s very little I haven’t done.”
Alex’s brow furrowed. “Oh.”
“That bothers you?”
A moment of lucidity crossed Alex’s face. He stiffened, scowling. “Of course it bothers me that you’ve killed people .”
Talon didn’t think that was all, but Alex didn’t seem to be in a sharing mood anymore.
“I should stop this,” Alex said, mostly to himself. “Even if it’s only in my head, it’s wrong.”
“Thoughts aren’t a sin, little bird. You can’t sin in the privacy of your own mind.” His argument would be moot if Alex learned that Talon was really here, but he had no intention of coming clean about that.
“Halflings can’t dreamwalk,” Alex said, as though to himself.
“No, they can’t.”
Alex’s arm wound around his neck, reeling him in and burying his face in the curve of Talon’s neck. Talon stiffened in surprise, and then relaxed, wrapping Alex in his arms and letting the human melt against him.
“What’s this for?” Talon whispered, afraid that speaking too loudly might break the spell.
“I just… can’t remember the last time I hugged someone.”
“Oh, little bird.” Humans needed touch, didn’t they? He tightened his hold, reaching up and threading his fingers through Alex’s short hair. Satisfaction curled through him when Alex snuggled closer. “Your guild isn’t taking care of you.”
“They don’t have to hug me , it’s fine.”
“Yes, it is fine,” Talon agreed. “Because I will. Whenever you want. Whatever you want.” He couldn’t deny the possessive little beast within him that wanted to own this human. If he planted the seed that Alex could find whatever he needed with Talon, so much the better. He didn’t want Alex touching anyone else, anyway. “I’m here for you.”
He felt Alex’s lips part against his neck. “Halflings can’t dreamwalk,” he repeated.
“No, they can’t. You’re safe. Nothing can harm you here. Not your nightmares, not your guild’s misguided rules. You can have anything you want in your dreams.”
Alex lifted his head, looking more lucid than ever. The scenery around them dissolved, everything going black and hazy gray. Talon tightened his grip, unwilling to part with Alex so soon, but he wasn’t waking up. The world around them brightened slowly, hues of orange and blue replacing the colorless haze.
Talon blinked in the sudden brightness. They were standing on a beach. The sun was a bright orange orb on the horizon, casting the sky in a volcanic blaze of color. Languorous waves sloshed against the rocky shore. A hollowed-out rock beside them created a natural cove, tall enough for a grown man to walk through to more sandy beach beyond.
He inhaled deeply, swearing he could taste the salt in the air. The sun was warm on his face. For the first time in his very long life, it didn’t burn. It was… wondrous.
“Where are we?” he asked softly. This was a surprisingly visceral dreamscape. Alex must’ve been here before. It was more real than the hazy VIP room had ever been.
“A little place up north. My… My parents took me there as a kid, before…” He turned his head, looking out over the water. “It’s one of the few things I remember. I can’t even picture their faces clearly anymore, but I remember this. The heat of the sun on my skin. The sound of the waves on the shore. The grit of the sand.”
“Why did you bring us here?”
“You said I can have anything I want in my dreams. I wanted to be somewhere else. Somewhere happier.” He slipped his hands under the leather jacket on Talon’s shoulders, pushing it down his arms and off.
With his upper body bare, the sun warmed him like the heat of a fire. He couldn’t stop the way his eyes went heavy-lidded at the sensation, nor the way he turned his face toward it. Alex’s hand gently cupped his face.
“Curious,” Alex said. “I wonder how you’d really react.”
Right. Because he thought Talon wasn’t really here. He was pleased that Alex had the space in his mind to wonder about him.
“It seems we have to touch to keep the nightmares away,” Alex said, taking his hand. “So come on. Don’t let go.”
“Never,” Talon swore breathlessly. He followed Alex out into the shallows. He’d lived by the sea for decades, but he’d never bothered to go into the water. It was surprisingly warm. The waves battered their lower legs, stronger than expected.
“I’d like to come back here one day,” Alex said, staring at the sun hanging on the horizon. “Maybe when the demon is gone. When I can finally put their memory to rest.”
Something tightened in Talon’s chest. He wanted that for Alex, and the intensity of it shocked him. He’d gone so many centuries feeling nothing. This human evoked emotion within him that he’d thought himself incapable of. Alex awakened something in Talon, something he thought had withered and turned to dust long ago.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help you,” he swore, even though Alex wouldn’t know his oath was real.
Alex smiled, his thumb stroking the soft skin under Talon’s eye. “That would be nice. Revenge is lonely.”
“You’re not alone, little bird.” He slid his arms around Alex’s body. “You’ve got me. Even when you don’t know it. Even when you feel alone. I’m here.”
Alex’s arms curled around his neck, bringing their foreheads together. Noses and mouths brushing, it felt more intimate than any sex Talon could ever remember having. Sharing space and breath with another person for the simple act of feeling them there. Alex’s fingers brushed through the hair on the back of his head. His eyes were closed, and a contented smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, more breathtaking than the sunset beside them. Talon drank in the sight, swearing he could look at Alex’s handsome face for the rest of eternity and never tire of it.
And then the light began to fade. Disappointment cut through him, and he clung to Alex tighter.
“No, don’t wake up yet,” he pleaded.
Alex’s vacant gaze met his. His mind was already drifting away. “Duty calls.”
“ No .” Talon crushed their mouths together, and Alex opened for him instinctively. Triumph roared through him at the blatant trust Alex gave him. If he could set Alex so at ease during a dream, maybe there was hope for it in reality, too. “Come back to In Extremis. Come and see the real me. You don’t have to be alone.”
“Not safe,” Alex said. The world was going hazy and gray. They were almost out of time.
“You’ll always be safe with me, I swear. Come and ask me if I’ve found your demon. Come and see me. You have nothing to fear there. I’ll make sure of it.”
“‘Kay,” Alex said. The weight of his arms disappeared from Talon’s shoulders.
“I’ll make you see that you belong with me, little bird,” he growled as the man faded away. “Just give me time.”
And then he was gone.
Talon opened his eyes, feeling bereft and cold. His empty apartment was cavernous and dark. Illogically, he missed the sun. It hadn’t been real, but he couldn’t deny that it had felt so.
Alex’s mind was more of a wonder than he realized. He rolled onto his side, wishing the familiar warmth of Alex’s body was waiting beside him. The real sun was creeping over the horizon, brightening the sky outside the windows of his penthouse, far less warm and inviting than the one in his human’s mind. It would be a long, lonely day for a demon who once valued his solitude.
He hoped Alex remembered what he said. He hoped he came to In Extremis tonight. The only cure for this strange feeling of absence was another hit of the human he so longed for.
No human had ever made him feel this way before. He was desperate to be in Alex’s presence again. From the moment he laid eyes on him, the rest of the world had faded away. No one else compared. His sweet scent was intoxicating, the melody of his voice was hypnotizing, and his stubborn disobedience of the guild’s rules was thrilling.
He just had to have him.
His mind drifted on the fringes of sleep for a while, but the chiming of his phone drew him back to the present. He grabbed it off the bedside table and propped himself up on the headboard.
Have you found anything yet?
Alex was thinking of him. That was good.
Good morning to you too, little bird.
There was a pause. Three little dots appeared on the screen, then disappeared, then reappeared. Talon barely blinked, waiting with bated breath.
What do you do all day? Do you sleep?
Curious.
I sleep, yes. Demons are nocturnal, generally speaking.
Do you dream?
An inexplicable shiver went down Talon’s spine.
If we’re lucky.
What do demons dream about?
Talon considered his answer.
Come to In Extremis tonight and I’ll tell you.
It’s against the rules to go there without backup.
Since when has that stopped you? Come. I have an acquaintance to question about your demon. You can join me. Maybe he’ll know something.
There was another long pause, and then…
Fine. I’ll be there. But it’ll be late. I have patrol.
Anticipation burned through him.
I’ll be waiting, little bird.