Firebird- Part Twenty-Seven
Firebird copyright (c) 2006 TA Chase
Part Twenty-Seven:
Rue helped Vlatko on to the bed and then headed to the bathroom to see if he could find anything to use as bandages. What the fuck kind of dream left burn marks on bodies? That’s what Rue wanted to know. He found a first-aid kit. He set it next to their bed and went out to the kitchen, getting a bowl of warm water and a cloth to clean the wound. Heading back to the bed, he stopped when he saw Vlatko had wrapped his arms around the pillow Rue had been using. The big man had his face buried in it as if trying to breathe in Rue’s scent.
“Hey there, I don’t want to have your dreams if you can get injured in them.” He gave a shaky smile.
Vlatko rolled over, grimacing as the sheets rubbed against the wound. “I don’t normally dream even when I sleep, but strange things have been happening since you got here.”
Rue bit his lip, dipping the cloth into the warm water and started cleaning the angry burn. “Maybe I should leave. I’m not stupid. I know I won’t find the files unless you want me to.”
Vlatko started to say something, but Rue placed a finger over his lips to stop him. “We’ve shared our bodies and maybe there’s something more between us, but I don’t expect you to hand over anything that could get you killed. The only reason the I.U.M. hasn’t come after you is because of the information you have. Even if I have to leave you, I want to know that you’re still alive in the universe somewhere.”
“You’ll be leaving soon.” Vlatko took Rue’s hand and pressed a kiss to the knuckles. “She said you would have to go and I would have to decide whether to go with you or stay here.”
“Who said that?” Rue leaned down, brushing a kiss over Vlatko’s lips before he finished cleaning the wound and bandaging it.
“The firebird. She was a woman in my dream. Which might not have been a dream after all.” Vlatko touched the bandage and shrugged. “I’ll have a scar there for life now.”
Rue sat cross-legged on the bed and frowned. “The firebird? The one that lives in the clearing we go to all the time? The same bird that winks at me when I look at her?”
Laughter shook Vlatko’s body. Rue smiled, but he was surprised when Vlatko curled up with his head in the thief’s lap. That position implied a huge amount of trust on the part of the big man. Rue caressed the braids, moving his hands over the uninjured shoulder down the man’s back.
“The same one. If I believed in gods, I would think she was one, but I think she’s just an alien to this planet like us.” Vlatko sighed, his body relaxing with each stroke of Rue’s hand.
“Why did she call you to her?” Rue believed in gods and powerful beings that could ruin his life on a whim. That’s why he prayed to any and all of them.
“I don’t know. Just to show herself to me maybe. She’s lonely.” Vlatko turned his head so he could look up at Rue. “I asked her if my going with you would mean I’d live. She didn’t know.”
Rue’s heart felt like someone clenched their fist around it. “I think you’ll die either way, Vlatko, but imagine what a ride you’d have if you came with me. I can show you things you’ve never seen before.”
“While we’re trying to avoid the I.U.M. and you’re carrying around a gem worth a planet. Every other thief in the universe will be after you once they figure out where you’re at. I’m not sure I want that much excitement. I should be spending my time trying to find a way to stop the deterioration.” Vlatko closed his eyes.
Rue stared down at the man in his lap. Time slowed and Rue knew he had a decision to make. “Rest.” He whispered a kiss over Vlatko’s forehead as he eased out of the bed.
“Where are you going?” Vlatko rested his head on Rue’s pillow.
“I need to think. I can’t do it here. You’re too distracting and I need to have a clear head for what I’m going to do.” Rue waved and headed out of the underground chamber. He knew where he had to go.
She Walks In Beauty
Here’s another one of my favorite poems:by: George, Lord Byron
She walks in Beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
Who Knew?
Okay. so I started listening to 30 Seconds To Mars and I’m in love with Jared Leto…lol. Actually just his voice, though he is rather cute. 🙂Anyway, I’ve been writing like crazy all week. Hopefully, I’ll get one of my stories finished sometime soon instead of working on three or four at a time.
Well, I hope you all have a great Friday. I’m going to be busy all day. This is the only time I have a chance to post something. 🙂
Firebird-Part Twenty-Six
Firebird copyright (c) 2006 TA Chase
Part Twenty-Six:
Later that night—
Something drew Vlatko to the clearing where the firebird had her nest. The darkness didn’t bother him. He could see just as well in the blackness as he could during the day. A step into the clearing and he knew things weren’t the same. Something was different. A person stood under the firebird’s tree. He went on guard.
Rue had been curled up in their bed when he left. None of the planet’s inhabitants would dare to enter the clearing without some sort of offering. It was a woman. She turned, her hair sweeping behind her. Flames of orange, yellow and red flickered around her. She gestured for him to come closer.
“This is a dream, isn’t it?” He moved to kneel in front of her.
Why would you think that? Her head tilted to look at him in a movement he’d seen the firebird make a hundred times.
“Because I would never imagine you as a human if I was awake.”
Her body was covered with veils marked like her feathers. It’s possible I guess. I like your young friend.
“You would. He bares your mark.” He thought about the birthmark on Rue’s back.
He does. Strange, I thought I was the last of my kind. But he doesn’t know the power that lives within him. The expression on her face looked like a frown. It is better that he never knows. The burden of fire is hard and only those born to the knowledge can use it without being consumed by it.
“Why are you showing yourself to me now? I’ve lived on this gods-forsaken planet for years and you’ve never let me know you were more than a bird.” He sat down, careful not to look directly at her. It was like looking at the sun.
The time comes when your friend must leave. His journey is not meant to end here. When he leaves, you must decide whether to stay here or to go with him. Her hand hovered over his head and he could feel the heat wave off her.
“Will I live longer by staying or going?”
A flinch of her shoulders served as a shrug. I don’t know that. My sight is limited by distance and I can’t see all that is to come for you and your love.
“My love?” He had never said those words out loud and certainly not to Rue.
Your voice may be silent, but your heart is not. Not saying the words won’t make it hurt less if something happens to him. She stepped away from the tree, staring up at the bright stars hanging in the night sky. It has been so long since I came here. My tree was just a sapling then and the people who live here were far more primitive than they are now. I miss my world. I miss my people. Her burning eyes glanced back at him. I don’t think you understand how I feel.
He shook his head. “No. I have no people and no home to miss. He’s the first thing I’ve ever thought of as mine in my entire life.” He stood up and joined her out under the stars. “But I do understand feeling alone.”
Without warning, she touched his shoulder with her hand. Fiery pain shot through him. Something told him she was marking him and his healing capabilities wouldn’t stop this from scarring. He fell to his knees, clenching his teeth to stop from crying out, the stench of burning flesh filling his nose. He closed his eyes.
Now you will never be alone, my guardian. You’ll be linked with me no matter where you are in the universe. This place will call you back. Go back to your love. Her hand disappeared.
“Vlatko?” A cool hand touched his forehead.
He opened his eyes to find himself slumped against the bed. Rue was leaning over the side of the bed, staring at him in concern.
“What the hell happened to you?” Rue’s amber eyes studied the burn mark on his shoulder.
“Now I know why I don’t sleep. My dreams are too realistic for my taste.” He winced as he climbed up on the bed.
Great News
Hey everyone, I got the news last night. Angel’s Evolution will be released on January 1. 🙂 What a way to start the new year, huh? LSB releases their books at around 6 pm. So just mark it down on your calandar to stop by then. I’ll also post a link as soon as it goes live.
I can’t wait for everyone to get a chance to read about these guys. And I have to say it’s because of you-my blog readers-that I ended up making AE longer and submitting it. You embraced the story and Angel with open arms. I thank you all for that.
I have to say that the men in my Home books are getting out of hand…lol. I’m working on Tony’s story as well as a third one titled Home For His Heart. And as I was driving to work this morning, I got the opening scene for a fourth book (which will feature two characters we meet in Tony’s book). That book will be tentatively called Like Coming Home and I might have a fifth book, if I can work things out in my head. lol
My short stories are going well and I wrote another scene for my second Dragon book. At some point, I’m going to have to sit down and focus on just one story to actually get it finished or they’ll all get done at the same time…lol.
Hope everyone has a great Wednesday.
Firebird- Part Twenty-Five
Firebird copyright (c) 2006 TA ChasePart Twenty-Five:
Rue wanted nothing, but to keep kissing Vlatko. He knew that the dark man was distracting him from his goal, but he couldn’t make the effort to care. There was something in the way Vlatko touched him as if he were the rarest Venuvian crystal. He pulled back and tugged off his shirt. He made short work of Vlatko’s as well. They gasped as their skin pressed against each other. It was like electricity ran between them.
He moaned into Vlatko’s mouth. His body shivered as Vlatko’s calloused fingers ran over his spine and down over the swell of his ass to grasp his thighs, pulling him closer still. Their erections rubbed on each other through their pants. Rue wanted to feel Vlatko’s cock brushing his, but he didn’t want to lose touch with the man himself. So he continued to rub, rock, kiss and touch, building the pleasure between them until it exploded.
Rue cried out as his back arched and he flooded the front of his pants with cum. Vlatko grunted, holding him tight as the man’s climax raced through him. He slumped, counting on Vlatko’s strength to hold him.
“Why?” Vlatko’s question was soft as if the man didn’t want to ask it, but couldn’t help it.
“Why what?” Rue’s brain wasn’t functioning properly at the moment.
“Why are you still here?” Vlatko pushed up from the chair, carrying Rue with an ease the thief had never encountered before. They moved from the living chamber to the bedchamber where Vlatko set him down on his feet and then kneeled to start undressing him.
Rue stared down at the dark braids cascading around the man’s shoulders. He caressed them, playing with the bells and ribbons Vlatko used to decorate them. His hand rested on the broad shoulder as Vlatko untied his boots and tugged them off. His pants were next and he grimaced at the cool stickiness of his cum drying in the warm air. His breathing paused as Vlatko leaned forward and licked him clean.
His heart stopped for a second as he saw the dark head resting next to his pale skin. Rue cradled that strong chin in his hand and lifted it so that he could gaze into Vlatko’s eyes. There was a hint of vulnerability in the black depths he didn’t remember seeing before. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how strong and wide the walls were that surrounded the killer’s heart.
Vlatko frowned and Rue remembered the question. Why was he still there? He knew how to work the telecommunicater. Vlatko had let him use it to contact Sysu so his accountant knew he wasn’t dead yet and make off with all his money. There had been a few days when Vlatko had left him alone. He could have requested Sysu send a transport and been out of there before Vlatko came back. He tried telling himself it was because he hadn’t found the files yet and he hated leaving before a job was done.
“Maybe I like it here. No need to hide. No worries about someone hunting me. My very own bodyguard who takes his job very seriously.” He ran a thumb over Vlatko’s bottom lip.
Something flashed in Vlatko’s eyes and then the man grinned. “Maybe it’s because you want to figure out where I hid the files. Can’t let the rumors start that the best thief in the universe failed to steal something.”
Vlatko climbed to his feet and stripped quickly. Placing a hand at the small of Rue’s back, he escorted him into the shower. Rue flinched as the hot water plunged down, drenching him. Then Vlatko adjusted the shower heads and moved so that his large body took the brunt of the water.
Rue arched into the soapy hands massaging his back. “You might be right. My reputation would be shot if someone found out that I couldn’t steal those files.”
His voice said the words, but his heart knew better. He stayed because of the man taking care of him with such gentle attention. He stayed because for the first time in his life, Rue had found someone he needed more than the next adrenaline fix. Someone who touched his heart as well as his body.
Happy Sunday
How’s everyone doing? I survived the snow storm. Which gave me time to do more writing. 🙂 Woo-hoo! I figured out where I’m going with Firebird or at least how far I’m taking them on the blog. Did more writing on Tony’s story, plus getting some ideas for the next Home story. Yep..there’ll be at least two more after Tony’s..I think.
I did some work on my shifter short story and some work on the short story that’s part of a duet collection with Paige. Not as far as I would like to be on that one, but things are starting to take shape in my head.
Well, back to the writing board. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.
World AIDS Day
Today is World Aids Day. Take time to stop by and read about the (RED) campaign that Bono has started to help fight Aids in Africa. Check out The Independent which has gone red for the day.It’s a disease that is threatening not only the gay community, but millions of lives through out the world. Men, women and children all suffer from HIV and AIDS. We must figure out what we can do to help support doctors in their search for a cure, but also health workers who are trying to educate people about the disease and aid workers who are trying give sufferers a better quality of life while they battle this deadly disease.
So go RED today and support those who have this awful sickness, whether they know it or not.
Firebird- Part Twenty-Four
Firebird copyright (c) 2006 TA Chase
Part Twenty-Four:
One Week To Go—
Vlatko heard Rue’s shout of triumph come from the hallway. A smile crossed his face. The thief must have figured out how to open the fifth room. Vlatko knew the lock wouldn’t present too much of a challenge for the slender man. Actually the lock wasn’t meant to keep any determined person out. It was simply meant as a distraction. He chuckled as he thought of the other ways he’d distracted Rue the past two weeks.
“Okay, where do you keep the good stuff?” Rue came stalking out of the hallway to glare at him.
“Good stuff? There’s a ton of good things in that room. Didn’t you find your little red stone?” Vlatko leaned back in his computer chair and grinned at Rue.
Rue pulled the stone out of his pocket and rubbed it between his fingers. “Yes, I did. What kind of stone do you think it is? It doesn’t look like any ruby or garnet I’ve ever seen.” With a causal flick, he tossed the stone to Vlatko.
Vlatko caught it and held it up to the light. The light shining through the stone fractured into shades varying from orange to red. A stray thought entered his mind and he remembered a mission he’d gone on.
“I don’t think this is a ruby or garnet. It’s something much more rare.” He set it down on the desk and started typing. A ‘Net page popped up on a different screen. He rolled his chair over to the monitor. “That’s what I thought.”
He gestured for Rue to join him. When the thief got close enough, he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him down to sit on his lap. “The President’s Heart that you stole from the Mitchov delegation is actually a fire opal.”
“A fire opal? Really? I’ve never seen one of those.” Those nimble fingers plucked the gem off the desk and held it up to the light again. Rue’s breathing paused as the stone flared. “Look at that, Vlatko. It looks just like fire.”
Vlatko nodded. “It looks like the bird in the clearing.”
“How much do you think this is worth?”
Vlatko could see the dollar signs shining in Rue’s eyes. He hugged the thief tight. “On the open market, a whole hell of a lot more than the diamond you took out of the Ecofo museum.”
Rue pushed back to eye Vlatko. “You’re fucking with me. I got over 50 million credits for that diamond.”
“One of my missions was to terminate a gems dealer. He was encroaching on the I.U.M.’s own gems trade. I spent some time with him, talking and learning his routines. His one ambition was to find a fire opal. He said that the highest quality fire opals were mined on Earth over a thousand years ago in a country called Brazil. He told me that there were people out in the universe who would give you their entire fortune for what you hold in your hand.” He brushed a finger over the gem.
“You really killed him because he was taking business away from the I.U.M?” Rue sent a questioning glance at him. “Seems a little harsh.”
Vlatko sighed. “I did it because I was told to do it. I was created to do as I was told, not to think about right and wrong. I’ll be honest and say that if I weren’t dying, I’d probably still be working for them. Death has a way of changing things and opening eyes.” He traced the curve of Rue’s hip.
“So I could get at least a hundred million credits for this thing?” Rue settled deeper into Vlatko’s arms, resting that head of shining blond curls on Vlatko’s shoulder.
“A private collector would give you that and more if you wanted. You might want to ask yourself how much would the Mitchovs give you for the return of their treasure.” Vlatko’s hand strayed from Rue’s hip down over the man’s thigh and back up.
“Do you think Mitchov would be willing to buy it back from me?” Rue tilted his hips, trying to entice Vlatko to stroke the bulge in the front of his pants.
“The rumors I’ve heard say that Mitchov needs the Heart to survive. Without it, they’re weak. The I.U.M. can move in and take over. So if you make it to Mitchov without the I.U.M. hunting you down and taking the gem from you, you could make more credits on that sale than anything else you’ve ever done. You might even have enough to retire on.” He gave Rue a sly wink. “Maybe even retire to a non-descript little planet with a boy toy and have sex all day long.”
“Mmm…now that’s a plan I could get behind or in front of.” Rue waved a hand, gesturing to the two of them. “How much would it cost me to keep you as my play thing?”
“We’ll have to see how much you get from a buyer.” Vlatko nuzzled Rue’s neck. “If you head to Mitchov to try and sell the opal there, maybe you can find someone for me.”
“I’m only supporting one boy toy. No sharing for me.” Rue gave Vlatko more access to his skin. “Who do you want me to find?”
“The scientist who created the liquid body armor is a Mitchov. If I could find him, I might be able to get the effects reversed or halted.” Vlatko nibbled on Rue’s earlobe, enjoying the little hitch in the thief’s breathing.
“I’ll remember that when I leave, but right now, I’ve got other things to think about.” Rue spun around and straddled Vlatko in his chair, kissing him while tangling his fingers in Vlatko’s braids.
Remember This Movie?
I watched this again last night. I really liked this movie…mostly jsut the story line. Rutger Hauer is yummy as the knight. 🙂
So yesterday afternoon, I didn’t have access to a computer. I wrote tons of stuff for Tony’s story. I have to type it in to see how many words I actually wrote, but my wrist and hand hurt by the time I got home…lol. 🙂 Noticed I had an age problem going on in the story, so I had to go back and add a sentence or two to fix that problem.
I plan on doing the next scene for Firebird tonight and then some more on the shifter story I’m writing. That one’s moving pretty quickly. It doesn’t have to be done until next April-May, but since it’s in my head and the characters are talking to me, I thought I’d get it finished.
I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday. 🙂
