The Book of the Blue House

Nine

the nature of connleth

Now I have said until you that soon the Age of Love will begin, and I proclaim to you that it is being born even now. But you must understand that now and for several centuries upon century since the Third Creation began, we have been in the Age of War. A new age is born like a mountain, or like anything, in blood and strife and violence, and so shall this be. Take courage and stand firm. The Age of Love dawns, but these calamanites are the birth pangs.

Ifandell Modet- The Blue Temple Sermon

In the middle of the night, Derek Annaker left the room to go into the sanctuary and gather a candle, oils and incense. He worked the few rites he remembered, for he was only a priest of the first grade, and returned to the room where Anson slept. In the night there was no talking, only the movements of love and desire, and when they had stopped for a while, Derek worked the old spell of protection over the prince, and they slept again.

The first think Derek did after departing from Anson was go to Cal. He did not hang around, lovesick, as he would like to, to make sure the prince was properly cloaked and clothed or wave him away from the Temple. And, at any road, Anson had left before dawn to meet with his friends who had gone to the Grove so that they could all ride back to Rutupiae before daylight.

Derek enter Cal’s room through the bathrooms. Cal was asleep in his large room, and asleep alone, or rather there was a wide space between him and Sara who stayed with him this night, and clearly nothing had taken palce between them. Cal blinked at him and yawned, and while Sara slept, Derek whispered everything Anson had said and told him to go to to the prince that night, and then, kissing Cal on the cheek, Derek went to the showers before returning to Conn.

In the showers he thought of those night when he and Cal had been together, in their training, sometimes riding twin boys or cousins long into the night, both of them sweating and straining, exalting in the strength of their bodies and the force of their need while boys screamed under them. They had both been with Anson several times together, and those nights were not full of frantic fucking. They were slow, and in the dark or in the deep golden light of brass lamps, the Prince seemed to teach them as much as they taught him, perhaps more even. Derek had often wondered if Anson had ever been concsecrated at a Blue House as a Blue priest, for such things were done. When he looked back on those nights and days he realized that part of what bound him to Cal was the nights they had both spent in bed with Anson, the Lion of Ondres who, young as he was, was still at least a decade older than them, the first man whose large hands had stoked true desire in them, taught them to pace their lust, and held their faces, looked into their eyes in the moments of climax, and told them there was no shame.

Often after a night with a man he was exhausted and ready for sleep, but now he was aroused again in the shower water, and touching himself. As if he knew, the curtain opened and Cal came in,

“Where is Sara?”

“Sara heard us whispering. She has gone to her brother’s.”

“Really?”

“Don’t feel too bad,” Cal smiled. “There’s a whole empty suite of rooms where Gabriel used to sleep.”

Cal fell to his knees and then, after moments in the shower, limbs tangled, the two of them fell into bed, and the love that had begun last evening, Derek continued early that morning until he and Cal fell asleep, exhausted in each other’s arms.

When the winter sun was finally rising, Derek supposed he should remove his hot body from Cal’s, but it felt so right, and he and Cal hadn’t been together for so long. It was an hour and two orgasms later before Derek finally departed from Cal who lay on his back in a daze, smiling fondly and almost stupidly as he departed. Derek came to the kitchen and tipped the jug of orange juice to his mouth, drinking and wiping the back of his hand over his lips.

Coming into Lorne’s room he saw, in the grey morning, Lorne’s large form asleep, but no Conn. Who he assumed to be Conn turned out to be pretty little Quinton. Well, now, there was something. Derek went down the little hall and saw in his bed, not Conn, but Jon splayed naked on top of Nialla. His cock rose and he thought of pressing himself inside the little man, giving him a rude surprise. That was one of those thoughts that would have to remain a thought though, and Derek scratched his head, for Conn was nowhere to be seen. But then, when you had spent not only a few obligatory hours, but the entire night with the Prince, and then made love through all the early morning with Cal, one could not very well complain about not knowing where his lover was.

Derek wondered, “Is he my lover?”

Anson had called him such, but was the Blue House meant for things as fragile as lovers? If Derek was not only serving in the sanctuary and the Rooms, but merrily plowing Cal and remembering the old time, thinking this very moment of fucking Jon, was he really fit to be Conn’s lover? And it turned out Conn was… that he possessed the Old Blood. Akkrebeth had said so. Well, then, maybe he would be like Akkrebeth. For Akkrebeth was Anson’s true love and yet, he did not begrudge these other things Anson did. Did he? And then, Akkrebeth was such a mystery, and Conn was a boy of seventeen.

But still a mystery. There is so little I understand about him, really. If I think about it.

Derek yawned. His mind was thick and cloudly and the night was catching up with him. He could not think about this now, Could not think straight. He would sleep now and speak to Conn when he awoke. Whenever that was.

That night, Connleth had been sitting on a low stoolrubbing Quinton’s leg hard the way he had done with animals in the barn back home when their limbs were sore.

“That’s it,” Quinton said, his eyes closed. “That’s it.”

Connleth did not need Quinton to explain that even when it hurt it felt good and he told Matteo, “Don’t worry, you can have your old job back soon.”

Quinton, whose eyes had been closed in pain opened them and smiled. How handsome he is, Conn though. He looked like a boy almost, but a boy with a beautiful face. He understood why men wanted to come to the little dark haired young man.

“I’m pretty sure Matt’s fine with you helping him a little. The poor thing. I’ve got him rubbing this bum leg all the time.”

There was a tight blue bandage around his knee and his upper calf and Quinton said, “Conn, may I ask you a question?’

“Yes.”

“Do you think you will become one of us one day?’

“I don’t know,” Conn said. “I hadn’t thought about it, not really.I’m happy as things are now.”

Quinton nodded and said nothing, but Gabriel was there and now Conn, as he massaged Quinton’s leg and Quinton closed his eyes, realized he was the only one in the room who was not a Blue, for even Matteo was now.

“You know where Derek is tonight,” Gabriel said.

“Yes,” said Conn. And then he looked from Quinton to Gabriel and said, “I feel like the two of you have something to say.”

“We do,” Quinton said, and he did that thing where, no matter how merry and boylike he seemed, when he sat up and his face turned a certain way he was suddenly lordly, with his brown locks hanging over his brow, his eyebrows straight on either side of his noble nose.

“It may not be the best thing to set your cap only on Derek is all,” Quinton said. “Matteo is training to be a Blue so we have an understanding. He is mine and I am his, but we belong to all the men that come to us, and we belong to the men we take pleasure with as well. We do not own each other.”

“It seems strange,” Gabriel said, “that Derek should be free to do as he would and you be simply waiting for him. It could turn out well, but such things usually do not. It is unequal.”

Conn turned red and said, “I am not totally without… other experience.”

“Yes, Lorne,” Quinton brushed aside what Connleth thought was a secret. “But that was once. Derek has other loves and so should you.”

“Quinton!” Gabriel said.

“It was what we were leading up to,” Quinton said. “Why mince words? If what you have is what you want that’s fine,” he said to Conn, “but if you love others and have affection for them, there’s no point in you just waiting for Derek because he’s not waiting for you, and I don’t want to see someone like you make the mistake of thinking he is.”

Conn, still massaging Quinton’s leg,” could not believe he was hearing this, and he didn’t know how to respond except Quinton said, “Ouch! Ease up.’

“Oh!” Conn stirred. “I’m sorry. I just…”

“I made you uneasy,” Quinton apologized. “But I was serious. We all love you here, Conn.”

“I’m not…” Conn began. “I’m sorry, but I’m not as free as you think, and if you want me to… Are we all supposed to sleep together tonight?”

Quinton bursts out laughing and Gabriel began to giggle, but Conn notice Matteo just looking awkward.

“No,” Quinton said, gently. “Not all of us. Just Matt.”

Matt’s eyes bulged out and Conn realized his did too.

He looked to Gabriel, but the red haired man looked serious.

“You two are of an age.”

“But….” Conn looked at Quinton. “You love him.”

“Yes,” Quinton said. “Yes, I do. And because I do I will do what Derek was never big enough to do. I love Matteo. More than you know. He is worth being loved. But we are Blues, owning one exclusive man or being owned by one is not what we do, not while we are in our active years. You are a good man, Conn. I have much affection for you. You are so kind and I know that you love Matt and I know he loves you. You all are dear friends, so,” he took Conn’s hand and he took Matt’s hand and joined them together. “Go to the rooms we stay in, No one else will be there. Climb into bed with each other and let what happens happen.”

Conn’s cheeks were red, and when he darted his gaze toward the tall and gruff Matteo, he saw on the boy’s rough features that he was red and shy as well. He understood then that Quinton had seen something and known that Matteo would always be too shy to ask Conn, and Conn realized he would always be afraid to ask Matteo.

“Boys,” Gabriel stood up, “Stop looking at the floor and go spend some time together.”