10. Sebastian
Sebastian
F or any other witch, trying to improvise this spell with a single piece of rose quartz would have been a futile endeavor.
But Sebastian was a chaos witch, and his spirits loved this kind of shit.
The little guy who had found them in the elevator was particularly excited to wreak havoc on Sebastian’s sister’s spellwork.
He pushed his intention into the wisp of chaos swooping around the elevator, invisible to everyone but Sebastian, for whom it appeared as a pulsing shadow-cloud. The minute, shifting patterns inside the entity was a language Sebastian could decipher. After years of study, it came easily to him.
The spirit lit up with sudden power, the change startling Sebastian at first. Except…yes. Someone was amping up the chaos power in the suspended tin can, and Sebastian had a good idea who.
Justin and Pavel.
He finished up the spell quickly, instructing the spirit as it went to work weakening the magically reinforced walls of the elevator. In a burst of energy, it entered the metal, searching out and untangling the magic preventing them from leaving.
Sebastian ended his trance, his eyes opening in time to find his two mates locked in a hot-as-hell kiss.
“That was easier than I thought it would be.”
The two started, and Justin skittishly stepped away from Pavel. Both were blushing.
“The spell was easy?” Justin asked.
“As pie,” Sebastian answered, “but I meant getting you two together.”
Pavel sighed, rolling his eyes. “Can we go now?” There was something about Pavel’s crankiness that got Sebastian’s engines revving.
“Not yet.” Sebastian grinned, leaning jauntily against the elevator wall. He hoped it looked flirty and not ridiculous.
“When?” Pavel’s tone was deadly, and Sebastian wanted nothing more than to torment the over-serious gargoyle.
“Who can say?”
“Sebastian…” Justin’s soft tone held a hint of warning, but Sebastian heard the smile behind it.
“Could be five minutes. Could be forty-eight hours.”
“Your magic is that unpredictable?” Pavel threw up his free hand, keeping the other one in place, covering his junk.
“I told you, my affinity is chaos.” If they weren’t his mates, Sebastian wouldn’t tell them how his magic worked.
But he wouldn’t have secrets from his men.
“It’s not like an affinity for air or even fire, where the spirits can be destructive but happy to cooperate.
My little guys have to be convinced what I’m doing will cause more chaos.
They like to find a way to do what I ask while also enacting more disarray. ”
“Are you fucking serious?” Pavel growled, and Sebastian’s pants tightened at the sound. The man was stupid sexy.
“Oh, yes.” Sebastian winked. “Chaos spirits and I get along very well.”
“So…what should we do?” Justin’s face betrayed an undercurrent of anxiety.
“We’re going to hang out until my little friend finds his way to sabotage my sister’s spellwork.”
“And that could happen at any time.” Pavel was obviously getting frustrated. Why did that turn Sebastian on so much?
“Yep. Better be ready to go whenever.” He stepped in, closing the gap between himself and his two mates. “Now, wanna tell me what you two were doing when I came out of my trance?”
“Nothing,” Justin said under his breath. Sebastian cackled in response.
“Come on! You two are so deliciously awkward. I love it. Wanna keep going?”
“Listen, witch .” Pavel squared his shoulders, somehow making himself intimidating despite his nakedness.
“You may be my mate and my student, but I am not going along with everything you say without question. I am more than three thousand years old, and during all that time, one thing has been repeated over and over among supernatural creatures. Never trust a witch .”
Sebastian bounced on the balls of his feet, clapping his hands together.
“Oh, you definitely shouldn’t. The reputation is well-earned, baby.”
Pavel grimaced. “I am not your baby . ”
“Why do they say that?” Justin asked. He reached out toward Sebastian, but stopped himself, looking sheepish. It took everything for Sebastian not to wrap his arms around the vampire.
“Occupational hazard,” Sebastian said. “We spend all our time negotiating with spirits. That’s what a spell is, after all.
Offerings and favors and deals. We get used to operating that way, looking out for our best interests and exacting high concessions.
Unfortunately, most witches treat any conversation as an opportunity for negotiation or to make a deal. ”
Pavel’s eyes narrowed as he listened to Sebastian’s words. “Nothing you’ve said has made me want to trust you more.”
“Well, I am your mate. I have a vested interest in keeping you alive and well.”
“But not happy?” Justin asked. His lips curled into the faintest hint of a smile.
“Happy?” Sebastian hummed with energy as he spoke. This was going better than expected, if they were already getting to the deeper issues. Although he guessed being trapped in an elevator together did tend to make people chatty.
“I have no control over anyone’s happiness,” Sebastian continued. “That is in your hands, although I’ll help however I can. But I wouldn’t count on much peace and quiet. Those are in short supply when you’re mated to a chaos witch.”
Justin and Pavel both stared at him.
“What? Do I have a boogie?” Sebastian laughed and did a little twirl, his long hair bouncing as he did. “Chaos follows me, boys. It’s what I get my power from. So strap in. Being with me will never be boring.”
“I’m not going to ‘be’ with you,” Pavel said, his jaw clenched tight. “I am not mating with anyone.”
Sebastian had known Pavel would be the harder sell. That was okay. He could wear the gargoyle down. Sebastian turned to Justin, stepping in closer so the curly-headed blonde twink had to crane his neck to look up at him.
“What about you?” Sebastian asked softly. “Will you refuse your mates?”
Justin’s eyes flitted over to Pavel and then back to Sebastian, and Sebastian could sense his trepidation.
“I don’t want to, but…I don’t have a good track record.”
“That’s okay, sweetheart.” Sebastian leaned in, close enough he could smell the mint on Justin’s breath. “I don’t have any track record at all. We’re a good match. Don’t you think?”
Sebastian’s lips were an inch or two away from Justin’s face now. The vampire closed his eyes and let out a soft whimper.
“I’ll kiss you if you want, Justin.”
“Please.” With one word, Justin surrendered. Sebastian brought his lips in. He tried to keep the kiss gentle, but a retaining wall had broken in Justin. The shorter vampire wrapped his arms around Sebastian’s neck, standing on his tiptoes and pulling the witch down.
Justin’s lips were sweet, so sweet. The taste of mint invaded Sebastian’s senses as Justin devoured his mouth. The pressure of Justin’s slender arm around his neck, tugging with a vampire strength at odds with his slight frame, enticed and invigorated Sebastian.
He couldn’t help but moan into the kiss .
After a moment, Justin pulled back, a look of embarrassment on his face. Justin’s eyes went to Pavel, and Sebastian realized the man in his arms was worried if their maestro would be angry.
But the look on Pavel’s face wasn’t anger. Hunger would be more accurate. His fists were balled, fighting the attraction, but as Sebastian moved toward him, his fingers loosened as he gave in.
“Is it your turn now, handsome?” Sebastian ran his hand down Pavel’s muscular arm.
“Yes.” Pavel’s voice was low and desperate as he forced the word through his tight lips.
Sebastian took in the man’s face, square and tan, his short salt-and-pepper beard giving him an air that could tilt either distinguished or dirty at any moment.
Pavel was still naked, and his thick thigh muscles made Sebastian ache to wrap his body around the gargoyle.
There was something about Pavel’s hips being uncovered, only his dick obscured, that was so fucking hot.
Sebastian couldn’t wait to play more with these two men.
Sebastian leaned in, and as their lips were about to touch, there was a loud noise, the sound of metal twisting and shifting. He reached out with both hands and braced himself against Pavel’s shoulders as the elevator car swayed.
Better go! The chaos spirit’s voice was like a child’s laugh in his mind.
“Shit. We need to?—”
With a loud clank, the elevator jolted and started to free-fall.
There was no time. Sebastian couldn’t cast a spell that quickly. Justin’s eyes went wide with fear, and the expression caused a pang in Sebastian’s stomach. Neither of them could stop the inevitable.
But Pavel could.
In a blink, he was stone, and one of the gargoyle’s muscled stone-gray arms wrapped around Sebastian’s waist. Sebastian let out a little yelp in surprise. He looked over, and Pavel had grabbed Justin with his other arm. Justin’s mouth was open, although he didn’t make a sound.
They were both trapped in the prison of Pavel’s arms, and they weren’t going anywhere. With a roar like a mix of lion and alligator, Pavel shot up. His horns hit the ceiling first, which was no longer protected by the strengthening spell, and punched through it with a frightening force.
As they emerged in the dark elevator shaft, Pavel’s flight swerved slightly as they burst through the wind barrier Sebastian’s sister had erected.
It didn’t stand a chance against Pavel’s strength and speed.
Sebastian thought the gargoyle might exit at the next floor, but he continued, flapping his wide wings as he shot to the very top floor.
And he didn’t stop there. He burst through an emergency hatch to the roof, taking flight over the city.
“Pavel!” Justin cried out, his knuckles white as he gripped tightly to Pavel’s stone arms. “You have to stop! Someone will see us!”
The gargoyle didn’t answer. Sebastian stared into the demonic face of the stone creature. It was still recognizably Pavel, handsome and strong, but now the color of rock, and with the addition of large horns and terrifyingly sharp teeth.
How was it the man was even hotter in his gargoyle form?
Justin continued to protest, but Pavel didn’t register his complaints.
They soared over the tops of skyscrapers, little bits of green peeking out among the city blocks below, the miniature people going about their day like the tiniest reality show.
The sun glinting on the glass and steel of the high rises turned Manhattan into a glittering, gold treasure.
Yes, they were hundreds of feet above the earth, and yes, they might be seen by any number of people, but instead of worrying, Sebastian was going to enjoy the view.
Wasn’t that the whole point of having a mate that could fly?