CHAPTER TWO
Atticus felt the shift in the air and knew someone was coming. They had a request, a job, a need, and they required the ancient order, and only Atticus remained. The world had been quiet for many years, and his expertise had not been needed.
But as always, people become complacent and careless, and that is all it takes for the dire to rise and destruction to reign.
He waited in the overlook, which gave a gorgeous view of the mountains and the lake.
It was twilight, and the air was cool, and a slight breeze lifted his dark burgundy cape.
His hood stayed in place, hiding his face and maintaining a sense of obscurity.
He'd been waiting for Jean Jacques Batiste for several weeks. The wind had spoken to him and alerted him to a menace that had risen in the west. He wished his brothers were with him, but the last, Alaric, had passed over a century ago. There had been eight in the beginning, and now there was one.
The lower orders would be pressed to expand and take up their duties once the Cultus Mortis was no more. Atticus had been on this earth and performing the rites of the Necromancer for over a thousand years, and in the time had taken very few lovers or confidants and even fewer friends.
He didn't look old; like the vampire, the Necromancer aged very slowly.
He still had the goods and cleaned up quite nicely; perhaps it was time he struck out and tried to find a sympathetic soul, someone to hold dear, someone to hold close.
He would give it serious thought once he finished with whatever it was that Jean Jacque was bringing.
It wasn't long before the light shifted and the air in the overlook accommodated a new form. "Hello, Jean Jacque, it has been a long time." He did not stand and did not look up. The sorcerer came to stand beside him, both looking out at the growing night.
"I would not bother you if it wasn't serious, but you are the only practitioner with the power to put down the blight of the shadows." Jean Jacque explained the situation occurring in the Midwestern town of Mt. Pleasant and waited for Atticus to respond.
The blight of shadows was a powerful evil, mindless and undirected, but with a hunger that sought out the human soul and feasted on their energies and their very lives. It was a sad affair, desperate and sad.
"Do they know that you are here and that I am coming?" Jean had, in the past, set up cleansings for people who had no clue that a necromancer was coming, and the reception he received was less than genial. "I will not come unless the request is from Coven DuCane."
"Yes, they are anxiously awaiting your arrival. Master Louis DuCane and his men are at your disposal, and a room in the watchtower has been prepared for your stay." Jean scrambled to assure him, but Atticus still held some hard feelings over the last favor he'd done for the sorcerer.
"I know I set you up the last time, but this is genuine and has nothing to do with me. This is for the people of Mt. Pleasant and for Coven DuCane." Atticus considered the request for a few minutes, casting a judgmental stare over Jean Jacques.
“I will arrive in the morning.”
"Thank you, Atticus." Atticus cast a suspicious glance over at him before nodding and turning away.
***
"He will be here in the morning." Batiste met with Louis in his quarters. It was late when he returned, and Louis had allowed him into his private quarters. Louis' beloved, Ezra, was asleep in their bedroom, and Batiste could hear his rhythmic breathing, sweet, calm, and relaxed.
Ezra had magical skills, but for all intents and purposes he was human, as were other beloveds at the Palace of DuCane. Their concern over the shadows was understandable. Hopefully life would return to normal before this ugliness touched them.
“What does he require for payment?” Louis was sharp and to the point.
"Nothing. He will come, and when he is done, he will go. It's the way of the master necromancers." Batiste noticed the look of surprise on Louis' face that was quickly suppressed. "He is an ancient; he comes when called and does not accept tribute."
“Then I am honored that he has agreed to help us.”
"Atticus said to keep patrols around the bone yards and pain centers like hospitals and rehab centers and the like.
The presence of many deters the shadows.
Turn on all the lights in town and keep them on all night.
Light, sound, presence will lessen their ability to hunt.
" Louis nodded and picked up his phone, and with that, Batiste vanished from the room.
Louis had already increased patrols and basically filled the town with soldiers and deputies.
He informed Sheriff Keller of Batiste's advice, and the Sheriff made arrangements for floodlights to be positioned in dark zones and in areas of the dead and the vulnerable.
The Sheriff also accepted the Master's offer of protection and moved his mate, Jasper, a human, to the Palace.
Louis then notified his second in command, Ismael, of Batiste's success in securing the services of the Necromancer.
He looked forward to meeting the ancient Necromancer; their paths had never crossed in the past, although he had heard of the Cultus Mortis.
They were silent and invisible until needed, and then they were indispensable.
It would be a great loss if that order were allowed to disappear.
After speaking with his leaders, commanders, and specialists and deciding he had secured his people as best he could, Louis stripped and joined his beloved in bed. He pulled the beautiful man into his arms and breathed in his calming scent.
Ezra was his life, the most important person in his world, and holding him and having him near in times of difficulty always gave him strength and focus.
Louis threaded Ezra's dark curls through his fingers and thanked Fate for deeming him worthy of such a jewel.
He kissed him long and thorough, and Ezra opened his eyes groggy at first, but his excitement grew as Louis' kiss grew more desperate.
"I need you, sweetheart." He whispered and rolled Ezra onto his back and moved over him, pinning him to the soft bed.
The warm, urgent kiss roamed Ezra's face and down his throat to his shoulders.
Louis reveled in the tender, sensitive flesh and adored the sweet sounds of his beloved in the throes of passion.
He moved his legs to wrap around Louis' hips and began to grind his hardening cock against Louis' throbbing length. His baby was the picture of temptation and beauty; he was perfect. Louis' large hands traveled Ezra's body, sensitizing the flesh and bringing Ezra to the edge of desire.
"Fill me, Louis, I need you inside me." Ezra pleaded so sweetly and peppered Louis' chest with hot, moist kisses.
His allure was totally breathtaking, and Louis had zero defenses against the longing and the pure craving he felt for this little man and his gorgeous curls.
He was so gentle and kind and possessed a heart that was large and open to all.
He never stopped counting his blessings where Ezra was concerned. The man was his obsession.
He made sure to prepare him in the most salacious way with his fingers and his tongue and his leaking cock.
Ezra was dripping and ready. Louis lifted him and plunged inside, stretching and filling him with his hard, heated length.
Ezra arched and moaned, gripping Louis by the shoulders and riding his cock in rhythm with Louis' hard thrusts.
Peace, love, contentment all flooded Louis' consciousness as he pounded inside his amazing beloved, his perfect bond, the man who made his life wonderful each and every day.
"I love you, Louis." Ezra panted out the words, and the sentiment earned him ravenous kisses while Louis continued to stretch him wide with his amazing length.
Ezra came first, stiffening and coming, spreading his warm seed between them, adding to the lubrication and the erotica of the moment.
Louis threw his head back and roared, gripping Ezra in a tight embrace and erupting in a climax that made Ezra come again, adding to the warmth and the scent that filled the room and their senses.
"I love you, Ezra. No one soothes me so completely; no one touches me so deeply, and no one but you owns my heart." He settled down upon Ezra, who was holding Louis to his chest, wrapping him in his loving arms, cradling his head, and kissing his forehead.
"Only you, Louis, forever only you," Ezra whispered thoughtfully and with intense emotion that sent a tremble through him. "Only you."
***
Wyatt headed to the dining hall for a cup of coffee and found a seat near the corner windows. There was never a bad view at Palace DuCane; every window showed the beauty of the tended and manicured lawns and gardens.
He settled on a view of the terrace and flower garden, which would be calming and peaceful, just what he needed.
The coffee was perfect as always. How Chef Reid managed to make everything taste like heaven at any hour of the day was a mystery to Wyatt, but he was grateful.
His thoughts soon went to the current crisis befalling the town.
The scourge that was descending upon the county was a terrible thing, but Master DuCane was never defeated, and considering he was nearing a century upon this earth, that was an impressive record.
Wyatt glanced out at the garden when a bright flash caught his attention.
It was like a camera flare, and it shot from the sky toward the Palace wall; the location was Master DuCane's office.
It was quick, but so bright he was still seeing spots. A visitor, perhaps.