Beyond the Veil

“What is this?” I asked as I spotted a box of Truly seltzers at the back of the fridge.

“What?” Kaden asked from the shower.

I grabbed the box out and held it up for him to look at. Gazing at me through the steam, his body slick with water, soapy suds sliding down the chorded muscles, he smiled.

“I got them for when the boredom got to be too much.”

“Well, it’s been nine days. I say we crack a couple open. I can only read so much smut.”

I sat the case on the table and pulled open the end, then grabbed two out before popping them open. Kaden shut off the shower and began toweling himself off. I knew he was aware I was watching him.

Since the night he’d came on my underwear, he seemed to be almost showing off for me. As he bent down to pull clothes from the duffel bag, I got a perfect view of his ass. He must normally shave it because the hair has only grown in a little. I don’t mind. Body hair is manly and it turns me on. Thoughts of my tongue flicking against that hole send at least half of the blood in my body rushing into my cock, judging by how lightheaded I got. Thankfully, sitting at the table, it wasn’t noticeable.

I took a swig from the watermelon seltzer, trying not to think about him. Everything is so confusing. He’s so hot and cold all the time and if he is showing off for me, why? Does he just like being watched? Is he into me? If he is, why hasn’t he made a move? Why haven’t I?

“Shit,” Kaden said, standing up and turning toward me. I had to commend myself for my ability to look him in the eye while that thing was swinging around.

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re out of clean clothes.”

“So…what are we going to do?”

“I guess we could clean them in the sink and hang them to dry.”

“Or, couldn’t you just clean them using magic?”

Was it my imagination or did he look disappointed at that suggestion? Was he hoping he’d be able to walk around naked without it being just his idea? I didn’t know but I wanted to ask him something else.

“Why don’t you use magic all the time? I mean, I’m assuming you could cook, clean, shower, all with magic. Why don’t you?”

Kaden walked over to me, standing so close I could feel the heat of his shower leaving his skin. At this angle, though I was looking at his face, I could clearly see his cock just inches from my arm. How easy it would be to reach out, to grip it.  

He took a sip of his seltzer, giving me a moment to admire his body as he tilted his head back. When he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbed and I got an insane urge to stand and run my tongue over it. To devour him. Instead, I just took another sip, wondering if he was going to answer my question.

Kaden sat his seltzer down and moved toward the trash bag we’d been using as a laundry hamper and held out both his arms.

“Ehvom!” he said. The clothes lift from the bag and, as he widened his arms, spread out before him. “Naelcuh meht dunae ehkam meht lemsdueg.” He pulled his hands together and waved them, sending them into the duffel bag. Then, he pulled a pair of my boxers out, a pair of his shorts, and one of his shirts, and got dressed.

I didn’t say anything about him wearing my underwear. Our underwear is so similar, I’m not even sure it’s mine. He walked toward me, bent down, and hugged me.

“What’re you doing?” I asked.

“Smell the shirt.”

I did and it smelled amazing. Like fresh spring air. As he pulled back, I noticed his pupils. They were dilated again, just slightly.

“You’ve seen my pupils dilate when I use spoken incantations, right?” he asked. I nodded. He sat in the other chair and grabbed his vape from the table, hitting it once before handing it to me and continuing, “Using magic is addictive. It’s like a drug. Using it too often…changes you. If you become too reliant on it, if you use up all of yours without letting it recharge, you become a Siphon. A kind of vampire, except they feed on magic because they can’t create any of their own anymore.”

“So why can Peter and the others use magic as much as they want?” I asked as I blew out a hit from the vape. It was starting to taste burnt, meaning it was almost out of juice.

“I can use more than I do, I’m just careful. The pupil has to expand to cover the entire eye before you become a Siphon, but letting it become too close to the edge of the iris is also bad. A lot of people can pull themselves back from that, so they can keep using their powers. And, because they’re in a collective, they share the effects and can use magic even more.”

I lifted my seltzer to take another sip, but realized it was empty. I hadn’t noticed how quickly I was drinking it.

Kaden gave me a small smile then chugged his, grabbed out two more, and handed me one.

“Lets move to the couch,” he said. “We’ll be more comfortable.”

As we walked over, I said, “You know, I think this is the most information you’ve ever offered me.”

“Yeah, I’ve kind of been an asshole to you. I’m sorry.” And he looked it. “I’ve just been dealing with grief and running and now I have to protect you and it’s just been a lot.”

I leaned closer to Kaden, my head spinning slightly from the seltzer. “You’re why you have to protect me, you know.”

He leaned closer to me, his eyes slightly glazed. “Shut up and drink your seltzer,” he whispered.

I tilted my head back and chugged my seltzer, then threw the empty can on the floor.

“So rude,” he said softly, then chugged his own and threw the can down with mine. “Get ready.” He lifted his hand, palm open toward the box and said, “Ehvom!”

Two cans flew from the box, heading for us. He caught his easily, but mine slipped between my fingers and clipped my forehead, then fell into my lap.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry,” Kaden said, moving toward me and touching his fingers to my head.

He was so close to me, I could see my reflection in his eyes. Blonde hair, blue eyes, silver nose piercing.

Kaden licked his lips and, tapping his fingers along the spot the can hit, whispered, “Ehtus, ehtus, ehtus,” and the pain receded, but my head spun even more from the mixture of alcohol and Kaden’s intoxicating presence.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. An electric fire burned in my skin as I felt myself fall into him, irretrievable and at perfect bliss. Until he pulled away, scooching back on the couch.

“I…” I couldn’t think of what to say.

“It’s okay,” Kaden said. “It was just the alcohol and the magic.”

No, it wasn’t, but I just nodded and opened my can, taking another swig, knowing I should stop drinking. Kaden opened his and we sat in silence for a while.

“I think we can leave here in the morning,” he said. “We’ll go  to that alleyway and find somewhere to stay. We just have to be careful of the Magical Police.”

“Wait. There are Magical Police? Why aren’t we asking them for help?”

Kaden closed his eyes as if he regretted saying that.

“We…can’t.”

“But why not? If they’re the police, aren’t they supposed to help us?”

“They are, but they can’t.”

“But why not?”

“Because they can’t!” Kaden shouted, standing up. I stood up too.

“Fine!” I yelled back. “If we’re not going to talk about the Magical Police, maybe we can talk about you.”

“Me?!” Kaden asked, pointing at his own chest.

“Yeah, about your attitude. About how you barely want to share anything, then all of a sudden you’re a fountain of information. About how you kept me locked here for days while you went out doing God only knows what. About how you say Peter killed Emily, but yet the police can’t help us. About how you’ve been strutting around here, naked, but you don’t seem into me.”

“You’re mad that I’ve started sharing information with you?” asked Kaden, rolling his eyes as he took another swig from his can.

“Oh, so you’re just going to ignore everything else I said,” I said, chugging the rest of my can and throwing it on the ground.

“I didn’t share with you at first because I was annoyed about having protect you, which, yes—” Kaden held up his hand to stop me from interrupting him, “—is my fault. I kept you locked up here for your own safety. And we can’t go to the police because I stole magic from my collective, which is illegal. I’d be charged too.”

“Even if Peter killed Emily? Even if you had no choice.”

“I had a choice. I could have just taken my portion and left, but I didn’t.”

That seemed like a weak reason not to go to the police, but I decided to ignore it. To get to the question I really wanted answered.”

“And how about you walking around naked, showering where I can see you, masturbating in plain view?”

“I thought you didn’t have a problem with that, Damien. I never told you to watch me in the shower. I never told you to watch me masturbate. You don’t think I didn’t notice every time you sat there, pretending to read your book with a hard on while your eyes were glued to my dick? You want to watch me? Fine, I don’t care. Watch away. But that doesn’t mean I’m into you and that doesn’t mean you can kiss me without even asking.”

Until that moment, I didn’t know silence could be so loud. I felt like a caught pervert.

“Look, I’m sorry. I really don’t want to fight with you. Believe me, I get it. It’s just the two of us in here, I’m an attractive guy and you’ve got all this pent up energy because you refuse to jerk off. You watching me isn’t a problem. But you gotta jerk off, dude, so you won’t feel like this anymore. Because this—” he wagged his finger between us, “—can’t happen.”

“Yeah, you’re straight, I get it.”

Kaden chuckled. “I’m not straight. I’m bi. But Emily died only a couple months ago. I can’t just forget her and fall for the first cute guy I meet.”

The smile that cracked my face was involuntary as I said, “You think I’m cute?”

Kaden rolled his eyes. “You’re insufferable.”

“No, you think I’m cute,” I said, poking him in the chest.

“Shut up.”

“Admit it, you’re into me. You were showing off your body for me.”

“And what’s the point in having such a great body if there’s nobody to admire it? But I’m sorry, Damien, I don’t have feelings for you.”

“I have feelings for you, though,” I said, and immediately wished I could take them back. I didn’t even mean to say it, especially because of the look of terror on Kaden’s face. I’d really done it now. He was petrified of me because I’m into him and I’d just admitted it.

Suddenly, Kaden lunged at me, shouting something. I was sure he was going to attack me until he wrapped his arms around me. A bubble, clear but visible, wrapped around us a second before wall of fire tore through the safehouse, setting everything ablaze.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

“They’ve found us. Goddamn it! Just hold on.”

I held onto Kaden, my arms wrapped around him, worried the bubble would break at any second, that the fire would descend upon us and we’d die right here, right now.

Kaden was looking around, trying to see something through the flames.

“Ehvom!” he said. Something flew at us through the flames and passed through the bubble. It was a small leather pouch that seemed untouched by the inferno. I recognized it as the pouch Kaden held his phials in, usually tucked into his pocket.

“Look for one that’s clear with sparkling silver smoke inside,” he instructed, “snap it open and dump the smoke on me.”

I did as instructed, finding a thin phial full of smoke. I snapped it in half and held it over Kaden. The smoke trailed along his body, seeping into his skin.

“Hold on to me and whatever you do, don’t let go and don’t lose that bag.”

I shoved the bag into my pocket and wrapped my arms around Kaden as he wrapped his arms around me.

Then, Kaden started flying. I was so surprised, I wrapped my legs around him too. Clinging to his underside, we flew toward the door of the safehouse, straight up the well, and into the night air. As we turned and started soaring over the trees, I caught a glimpse of Peter, Natasha, and Natalia, the two twins blasting fire into the well.

As we rose higher, the bubble around us vanished, leaving us exposed.

“I didn’t know you could fly!” I shouted over the roaring wind. Whether Kaden heard me or not, I wasn’t sure. I was sure, however, that he heard my terror-filled shout as the first fireball missed us by inches.

Kaden dipped us down under the tops of the trees and dodged branches, though how he could see in the darkness, I wasn’t sure. But judging by the way fireballs were being blasted through the branches, the evil trio was hot on our heels. Kaden bobbed and weaved, dodging trees and blasts of fire alike, until I screamed, feeling one of the fireballs collide with the back of my calf. Kaden looked down at me and didn’t see the branch right in front of us.

He smashed into it at full speed and we lost altitude immediately. Kaden spun in midair so I was above him and we landed, hard, me on top of him.

I rolled off him and looked around. We landed on top of a small hill, the only spot around free of trees, the full moon hanging above us, lending its light.

Peter, Natasha, and Natalia came out of the darkness as though forming from the black itself.

“End of the line!” Peter said.

Kaden sat up and yelled, “Ehvom!” waving his hand. Natasha was ripped into darkness as though pulled on by an invisible fishing line.

Like a blur, Natalia ran after her.

“Fuck you, asshole!” Kaden shouted. I looked at him. His pupils had expanded so much, only a sliver of his iris was visible. Is he about to turn into a Siphon? He shouldn’t use anymore magic.

As Peter began to walk up the hill, I reached into my pocket and grabbed out a random phial. Seeing what was in my hand, Peter shouted something and was suddenly moving so fast, I could only react on instinct, throwing the dull, slate-gray phial at him.

Time seemed to slow as it twirled in the air.

“Techetorp ehm!” Peter yelled, holding his hands up. A forcefield appeared around him and the phial smashed against it. A wave of energy erupted from the shattered crystal, blasting Peter backward into the trees, and Kaden and I backward off the hill.

“Ehvom!” Kaden shouted. I felt myself pulled toward him and he wrapped his arms around me before shouting, “Netfosruo genidenal!” and we landed gently on the ground, me on top of him once again.

“We can’t stay here,” Kaden said, getting up. As I put weight on my leg, I almost cried out in pain, but Kaden clamped his hand over my mouth.

“Where does it hurt?”

“Right calf.”

He bent down and looked at my leg, taking in a sharp breath.

“Can you walk?”

I tested it. It hurt so badly, but I could manage it. I nodded at him and we took off.

“I’m sorry I can’t do anything for it, but—”

A whip made of shadow erupted from the darkness, wrapped around me, picked me up, and slammed me into a tree once, twice, three times, and I blacked out.

Laying on the ground, I opened my eyes, unsure of how much time had passed. I could hear the sounds of fighting, shouted incantations, a scream.

Next thing I knew, I was being lifted and someone was carrying me, running full force through the woods. Time passed in disjointed segments as we ran.

All I could do was lay my head against the chest of the person carrying me, unsure of who it was until the smell of fresh, spring air caught my nose.

When I was finally set down, the world spun beneath me. I was vaguely aware of wet on the side of my head. Of Kaden’s fingers pawing through my hair. Of a voice, not Kaden’s.

“That’s really bad,” the voice said. “What happened?”

“Natalia slammed him into a tree. Is his skull fractured?”

“I don’t know, but he’s lost a lot of blood.”

“Can you help him?”

“I’ll do what I—”

I blacked out again.

When I came to, my eyes fluttered open to see quite possibly the most beautiful man I’ve seen in my life.

His skin looked soft, but almost shiny, as though he were a polished doll. A small, pointy nose sat below a set of soft purple eyes, with thick, coiffed white hair hanging down to his eyebrows. He smiled at me, his teeth so brilliantly white, it was almost blinding.

He wasn’t, he couldn’t be, human.

“Welcome back, Damien,” he said in an English accent.

“What are you?” I asked, then I realized how rude that was. “I-I mean—”

“It’s alright, darling,” he said to me. Then, he looked across me and muttered something that sounded like, “Mortals.”

I heard a chuckle to my left and glanced over to see Kaden, a cut on his face and a small burn on the side of his neck.

“He’s a fairy,” Kaden said.

I looked back at the fairy, surprised by how…human he looks, though there’s something distinctly not human about him. There’s an almost glow to his skin, as though it’s reflecting the light around us.

“What’s your name?” I asked him.

“Roger.”

“Wait, you’re a fairy named Roger?”

“Well, technically, my name is—” Roger opened his mouth and somehow made tinkling sounds in the back of his throat, similar to windchimes, “—but humans have difficulty pronouncing our true names, so we adopt human ones. I’ve always fancied the name Roger.”

To be fair, it did sound better in his accent than in an American one.

“He healed you,” Kaden said. When I looked back at him, I noticed his pupils had grown past his iris, the blue color completely gone. A sheen of sweat covered his body, which was shaking as though he were cold, though the room we were in was warm.

“You’ve used too much magic,” I said.

“Indeed,” said Roger. “He’ll be alright. He just needs a couple of hours to let it work through his system.”

“How did you heal me?” I asked Roger.

“With fairy dust,” he said, wiggling his fingers, his eyes wide, then he started laughing. “Not really, but I like to poke fun at those who’ve just come beyond the veil.”

“Wait…isn’t that a lie? I thought fae couldn’t lie.”

Roger narrowed his eyes at me, his lips pressed into a line.

“I’m going to forgive you, just this once, for using that word. Fae is a slur against the fair folk. We’ve reclaimed it and only other fae may use it. It’s like someone saying ‘faggot’. In any case, Damien, you’ll soon realize that what the mortal world believes about magical creatures is often erroneous.”

“You’re going to say something about me using that word, but then use a slur yourself?”

“Oh, darling, all fairies are pansexual. I’m just as much of a faggot as you are.”

He winked at me and I felt like my heart was melting.

“Stop doing that,” Kaden said, drawing my attention back to him. “Be very careful when talking to fairies. They’re masters of seduction. You’ll feel like you’re falling in love with them, but it’s not real.”

“All the same, I do require my payment,” said Roger.

Kaden and I spoke at exactly the same time.

“I don’t have any money,” I said.

“I’ll pay it,” he said.

“Oh, it’s not money I want,” said Roger, his eyelids dropping as he gazed at me. “It is but a kiss.”

“I said I’ll pay it,” Kaden insisted, but Roger didn’t turn his gaze from me.

“It’s not a big deal,” I said. “A kiss for saving my life? Seems like a fair trade.”

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and looked around. We were in a bedroom, the three of us sitting on the bed. Realizing I was sitting here, between two insanely attractive men, I started to feel warm around the neck.

“You don’t know what it really—”

“Kaden, stop,” said Roger. “He was who the services were rendered to, it’s he who must pay the piper.”

Kaden turned his eyes down. That was…intriguing. Why does he care who I kiss?

“It’s fine. I’ll do it,” I told Roger, who smiled gorgeously at me.

As Roger leaned toward me, Kaden turned his head away.

My lips met Roger’s. Instantly, I felt as though all the air was sucked from my lungs, as though they were collapsing, shrinking, being compressed until they were raisins. It was so painful, I wanted to shout out but I couldn’t move. When he finally broke away from me, I felt like I was emerging from icy water, my lungs expanding gratefully with a fresh breath of life.

“What the fuck was that?” I asked.

“I just wanted to taste you,” he said. “Very interesting.”

“How so?”

“That thing about fairies not being able to lie stems from one of their abilities,” said Kaden. “Fairies can tell when anyone lies to them, so it’s impossible to lie to each other. When you kiss a fairy, they can see into your heart. They can tell your fears, your strengths, your weaknesses…”

“Your secrets,” said Roger. “Secrets give you the most power over another person. And now, I know yours.”

He looked to Kaden with a knowing expression on his face. But how can anything that happened between Kaden and me be powerful for him? Kaden knew I have feelings for him.

I was starting to realize I knew less than nothing about the magical world.

“So what do we do now?” I asked Kaden.

“You’re safe here for a few days,” said Roger. “After that, you’ll need to move on. Harboring Kaden when the Krashen collective is after him is dangerous enough. Add an unregistered mortal to that, and I might as well be put in prison.”

“Krashen collective, unregistered mortal?” I echoed.

“Krashen is Peter’s last name,” said Kaden. “And, yes, now that you’re beyond the veil, we need to get you registered. Technically, it’s supposed to be done within seventy-two hours after you’re made aware the magical world exists, but we missed that window by a lot. We’ll do it sometime tomorrow. Tonight, you need to rest. And so do I.”

Roger stood and walked towards the door as Kaden lay beside me, still shivering. I watched Roger as he left, stopping at the door to look back at me and give a wink. That same heart-melting feeling appeared, but it was twinged with suspicion. After what’s happened, I’m not sure I’ll trust a fairy.

The screech of an owl turned my attention to the open window where a blanket of stars, brighter than I’d ever seen in the city, lay across the heavens. I settled down next to Kaden and stared at them, wondering where we were, but knowing I should give Kaden time to recover.

Sometime later, I felt Kaden wiggle close to me and wrap his arm around my waist. With his presence pressed against my back, I felt at ease. Kaden’s shivering subsided, I shut my eyes, and fell asleep.

I awoke when I heard pounding on the door.