Threshold Of Sin

Threshold Of Sin



Chapter 1



Connections.



The sun was shining its last amber rays through the open curtains as Kieran found himself sitting on his new couch. It was exactly the same as the one that had previously populated the room, but without the conspicuous blood stains. A wine glass was cradled between his fingers, the delicate crystal refracting the light into glittering rainbows. Thin fingers twirled the liquid slowly, sloshing the red wine from side to side. The delicate scent of the wine dispersed through the room, flooding his hyper aware senses.



His sleep had been fitful after returning his fledgling to his house. To keep his nerves in check he had taken more of his pills than usual. He hadn\'t needed this many pills since he had first started taking them. Ever shadow had held a hidden message, a meaning beyond what one would normally see. It had been terrifying. After a few hours of semi-conscious sleep Kieran had finally given up on the idea of sleeping altogether.



Resigned to the idea of explaining the fate he had condemned the innocent boy to Kieran had decided to sit up, curling into his comfortable couch with a glass of wine. Normally there could be nothing more relaxing for him, but ever nerve was on hyper alert. His mind and body were making a unified effort to listen to his house for any signs of movement. He was silently dreading the confrontation between Dylan and himself.



A rustle inside the bedroom down the hall, the wisp of rustling silk and satin alerted Kieran to the fact that his new charge was awake. He waited tensely as quiet footsteps padded up the hall and into the living room. When the footsteps stopped in the doorway Kieran turned away from the shining light to the boy standing behind him he beckoned him in.



"I thought vampires couldn\'t go into the sunlight?" Dylan asked in a quiet confused voice, his brows wrinkled in confusion.



"Myth, as you can see I can go out in the sunlight all I want. It just gives me a slight headache. Light sensitivity issues." Kieran replied putting his wine down on the glass coaster settled on the coffee table.



Dylan wandered over to the couch and sat down on the floor in front of it. Leaning against the cool leather he buried his face in his hands. He knew when he got home that he was going to be in huge trouble with his father. He\'d disappeared for not just a day, but a night and the next day again. He was terrified of going home and getting in trouble. On the other hand he was also terrified of how much longer he was going to be able to handle the cravings he was having around him. He wasn\'t sure he could handle it.



"So I guess you have some questions that you want answered" Kieran asked lightly, trying not to pressure the boy into doing anything else he didn\'t want to do.



"Some..."



"No, I don\'t sleep in a coffin. I can eat like a normal person, it\'s just a hassle sometimes. I like the smell of garlic, and I particularly love Italian food when I do have to eat." Kieran stated in a tired voice trying to get the common misconceptions out of the way before they got into things. It was bad enough being a member of the undead without having to face the stupid comments people came up with.



"Oh, right. I\'m kind of...hungry" Dylan admitted, his voice soft and hesitant as he voiced his need "What do we eat?"



"Well, normally I pick someone up on the street. In this town it isn\'t exactly hard to find a willing meal. Even if they don\'t understand what kind of meal they are going to be." Kieran answered "For your first meal though I don\'t think it\'s wise to test your control too much. I think for your first meal the blood of your sire will have to do."



"Sire?" Dylan asked "Like, father?"



"Sire is what you would call the vampire who turned another. I am your sire, and you are my fledgling."



"So I have to drink your blood?" Dylan asked in a a wavering voice, uncertain about the entire thing.



Nodding Kieran lowered his arm to the boy crouched in front of him, offering his blood to his charge. Dylan stared at the offering uncertainly, his eyes fixated on the vein in his arm, His eyes watched the blood under his skin moving slowly inside his body. The movement was slow, hard to notice since a vampire\'s heart beat was so slow it was hardly noticeable. When the room had been filled with only silence and weight filled stares Kieran sighed, a gentle exhale of air passing through lips.



Lifting his wrist to his lips Kieran sunk the sharp points of his elongated canines into the soft skin. His flesh gave way easily to his wicked sharp teeth and the crimson liquid dwelling beneath the supple skin was realized to flow freely. Blood ran slowly in glistening rivulets down his arm, enticing the senses of the boy huddled on the floor. Wide green eyes stared blankly at the crimson liquid dripping down the pale skin. After a second of staring hungrily the slim boy latched onto the wound, digging his teeth in to make the blood flow more freely.



Dylan\'s green eyes slid up Kieran\'s body, locking onto the silver of the other vampire. Kieran hummed quietly in bliss. The feeling of connection between them was like a warm encircling band. A tangible link that swirled around their bodies, dipping into their blood stream and completing the circuit at the point of impact. Dylan was drawing not only his blood into his body, but his very being. A faint moan of content and happiness eased its way between Kieran\'s lips causing Dylan to draw back.



A red tinge coated Dylan\'s lips, as excess blood slipped from between gently parted lips. Two sharply pointed, elongated fangs peaked out from under the confines of his top lip, resting gently on the bottom. The haze of his first feeding hung heavy in the fledgling\'s eyes. The glazed look slowly faded, taking the euphoria of a full stomach with it. Emerald green eyes widened and latched onto Kieran\'s wrist where the last traces of the self-inflicted wound were already fading. The only remaining hint at the feeding that had taken place was a dried trail of blood streaking down his arm in a maroon smear.



Dylan backed up a bit, his eyes wide in incomprehension. "I....I....Kieran?" Dylan asked emerald orbs glittering with tears.



Kieran reached out and drew the boy into his arms, enveloping him in his slight figure as if to shield him from the horror that was to come. "I know." Kieran whispered rocking them gently and humming soothingly.



"Why" Dylan asked, his voice straining as he tried to speak through the thickness in his throat "Why did you have to save me? Why?"



"Because someone as lonely and hurting as you are needs to have a chance to live before it all ends. I never had that chance, I was a fool and I lost everything to my idiocy. Even my very mind." Kieran replied, his eyes taking on the look of one stuck far ago in the past. His gaze grew haunted as his mind delved into a past best left forgotten for the limited sanity of one who couldn\'t bare to slather his soul with more regret.



"I don\'t want to live. It\'s too hard," Dylan whispered brokenly.



"Everything is hard, living, dying, even breathing can be difficult to an oxygen starved lung." Kieran replied "But this isn\'t living. It\'s merely existing"



"I don\'t want to be here then"



"Stay, please?" Kieran asked, his voice thick with emotion.



The day was too much for him, and he wasn\'t sure how much longer he could handle it. Everything was too overwhelming, and tears gathered in his eyes as he faced the prospect of having destroyed something he had tried his hardest to save. It was heartbreaking for him, knowing that he had inadvertently sentenced someone to the same dreadful fate that he himself had cursed the fates for providing.



Lust shone in Dylan\'s eyes, a feeling that had been there from the moment they had met. Kieran was incredibly sexy, something that the movies and literature had gotten right about vampires. The creation of the bond had only wound the two of them tighter, strengthening the feelings of lust. Everything had changed from the moment the two of them had met. Dylan had been on his way for a date with death, determined to feel the icy kiss of eternal sleep. Now he was nothing but a a slave to the the desperate need to feed off the life of others, living like a leech to keep himself in a state of undeath.



It was all too much for Dylan to handle and he fell silent to the others question allowing himself for once to just be held by Kieran, a man he had only just met. It had been such a short time to know each other, but the scale of the events that had transpired between the two of them had formed the strongest bond that he had ever had with someone else. Not just the blood bond, but something deeper and much more emotional. It was because of one thing; Kieran had accepted Dylan and even embraced him for what he was.



In his entire life Dylan had been met with nothing but contempt and condemnation for what he was. For the fact that Kieran had embraced him he was eternally grateful.



Kieran buried his face into Dylan\'s neck, his long white hair hanging around them like a shining curtain. Emerald green eyes fell shut as Dylan fought against the power of the lust raging through his body. His frame tensed inside Kieran\'s hold as he held himself back from doing anything. The temptation to act upon his whims when held in the firm but gentle embrace of such a sumptuous creature was immense. Feeling the emotions running rife inside the body of the vampire in his embrace Kieran smiled and dragged his fangs across the silken skin of Dylan\'s neck.



"W-What are you doing?" Dylan stuttered, a shiver running through his body.



"Playing" Kieran replied in a husky voice.



Dylan twitched in reply to the inflection behind the words and let his head fall forward against the top of Kieran\'s head, nestling into the head of soft hair. Inhaling the unique scent of a herbal shampoo he smile and made up his mind. Unable to contain himself any longer he leaned down to claim Kieran\'s lips with his own. Tangling his fingers in the silvery curtain he deepened the originally chaste kiss, slanting his head sideways.



Kieran\'s tongue slipped between his lips to lick at Dylan\'s lips requesting entry. When his mouth opened Kieran delved his tongue inside and explored the moist cavern, questing his tongue around and exploring every crevice. Dylan\'s body pushed against Kieran\'s, pushing them onto the floor where their limbs became entangled. Pinning Kieran to the floor, and holding the man to the floor by his wrists Dylan entangled their tongues and started a fierce battle.



A duel for dominance began as Kieran and Dylan\'s tongues tangled and untangled. Kieran won the battle and cemented his victory by sucking the others moist organ into his mouth and nipping it gently with his canines. They stared at each other, their eyes flashing with a hunger that had everything to do with carnal sin, darkening with a primitive emotion descended from the first man. An emotion that had no name.



Dylan pulled back and ran his fangs along neck the man below him dragging the sharp point over his collar bone. Moving lower he let his fingers wander away from Kieran\'s wrists to slide under the concealing fabric of his white shirt. Fingers ran across cool, lithe flesh. Nimbly they ran their way up to the pebbled nipples on his chest and circled tenderly around them, caressing the skin with feather light touches. A low moan emerged from Kieran\'s lips as he reveled in the sensations running through his body.



It had been far too long since Kieran had felt this kind of tender touch. For too long his memories had lain tangled with the feel of slick flesh on flesh. Now he was being touched in that way again, and his memories were staying buried where they belonged. It was a bliss of the kind that Kieran had never thought he\'d feel again. He was in mental euphoria when the warmth that had surrounded his body drew back and the touches left him.



"This isn\'t right." Dylan blurted, his eyes wide and pupils dilated.



"Oh shut up and kiss me!" Kieran growled in a sudden mood swing.



Dylan shook his head "No, no I\'m going" he stated standing up and heading for the door.



Kieran sighed. "Kitty, please stay," he begged "I\'ll behave, I don\'t wan tyou to go out there. It\'s so dangerous for you right now. If you don\'t want to be around me say so and I\'ll sort it out. I owe you after I condemned you to this. I can go to my brothers house while I try to find you a place nearby where you can live. Just please stay here and be safe. I don\'t want to be the cause of your death."



Dylan opened the door "I-I\'m sorry Kieran. I\'ll be in more danger if I don\'t go home right now. My father....he\'s...never mind. It\'s not important. I have to go."



"Okay, if you feel you must go then go. If you need me then all you have to do is think of me and I\'ll be there for you." Kieran replied, his face scrunched up in concern.



- 0 -



Heading home Dylan blinked tears out of his eyes. He was scared of what he was going to find when he got home. He\'d been away for far too long, and his father had a terrible temper. His eyes scanned the people passing on the street, wondering how many of them were vampires like him. Often before he had come across other supernatural creatures, catching snippets of their thoughts. He\'d talked to some of them, but most of them had thoughts so dark it didn\'t seem like a good idea to talk to them, even for a suicidal man like himself. He wished to die, not be brutalized to death.



He was also frustrated with himself for indulging in the moment of weakness back at Kieran\'s house. He couldn\'t believe he had let himself fall all over the man who had both destroyed and saved his life. It was true that there was a deep yearning for him, a need that was there on a deeper level than just lust. He needed to be loved and appreciated. His soul was crying out for someone to claim it, and to keep it safe.



For as long as he could remember he had always been fighting an uphill battle. Even when his father had promised his love and devotion he had never really meant it. His mother had been some two bit whore who been locked up since just before his birth for drug trafficking and prostitution. She\'d get out every few years, but before he knew it she was back in the slammer, and he was left high and dry. Even his siblings couldn\'t love him the way he needed. They\'d never allowed themselves that kind of devotion. It was too dangerous with a man who was easily jealous.



His father had always said that he had looked just like his mother, more so than his sister who looked to much like their father. He\'d loved that, it had made him more the victim of their father than his brother and sister. He\'d always punished Dylan for the crimes of his mother. When it seemed as though his father hated him for it he\'d suddenly turn around and reward him for his looks.



Turning the corner he found himself confronted with the sight of home, the building towering over him ominously as he stood in the shadow of his apartment complex. The grey brick building looked even more dreary late at night than during the day. Opening the door and heading up the three flights of stairs to his apartment Dylan dragged his feet slowly, trying to both prolong and shorten the trip. His fear spurred him to get home as fast as he could and get his punishment over with, but at the same time it encouraged him to go slower and make the punishment further away.



As he walked through the heavy door into the living room of his house he was greeted with a slap across the face, a sharp blow of flesh colliding with flesh. A gasp escaped Dylan\'s lips as his head snapped to the side. Dropping to the floor he sat down and apologized profusely. His attempt to placate his father was unsuccessful as another blow landed on his face, splitting his lip and spilling his blood. Licking the blood away his eye fluttered as he enjoyed the taste of his blood.



He didn\'t even dare look up as the sound of leather moving through fabric assaulted his ears. The rasping sound was unbelievably loud to his new sensitive hearing, and he was unable to stop the violent flinch that ran through his body at the sound. Sitting perfectly still he held his body rigid against the blows that rained down on his skin. The belt was harsh, and the slicing sound it made as it flew though the he air was terrible. Each \'snick\' was another indicator of a blow. The anticipation of just that noise was torture.



His body was super sensitized as he healed over each blow, the new slice of skin was softer and more supple than the last. Crying out Dylan\'s mind strayed to Kieran and how much he wished that he had listened to the other man\'s advice and just stayed with him. He was an idiot. Tears streaked down his cheeks as he bore the brunt of his fathers anger.



"Where were you boy?" Dylan\'s father asked in the raspy voice of a heavy smoker.



"I\'m sorry dad, I was - I was out on the streets and I got hit on the back of the head in a fight, and I passed out. I just woke up, I swear!" Dylan lied, hoping that he would buy the lie. HE had gotten into that situation before, and simply used his psychic powers against his attackers reading what they were going to do and avoiding it, but sometimes they managed to get away from him. When too much was going on all at once his control was stretched thin trying to read everyone\'s mind. He\'d been punished for being attacked and disappearing for a day or so. He only hoped his father would buy it again and leave it at that.



"What have I told you \'bout fighting, boy?"



"N-not to unless I\'m gonna win sir." Dylan replied, stuttering his answer in his fear.



"Exactly" replied the rasping voice as the blows began raining down on Dylan\'s abused body again.



As Dylan lost all sense of time, and his body became nothing but a dull ache he drew back mentally, wishing that Kieran would come like he promised. \'Kieran\' he thought desperately \'I need you.\'



- 0 -



Kieran swished the wine glass between his fingers, the ruby liquid inside twirling in a graceful dance. If vampire could get drunk then by rights he would have found himself passed out cold on a linoleum floor in a strange place. In his human life that had happened more than once, a circumstance he was almost glad to banish forever. The wine had taken the edge off of his stress, not with the alcohol content as it would with most people, but rather with the familiarity of the action.



Since Dylan had left he had done nothing but sit in the now dark room and stare into space, a glass of wine in hand. Lucky for his furniture the enhanced senses of a vampire allowed Kieran to pour himself a new glass, even in the heavy darkness of the room. The moonless night left the city a cold place, dark and glittering, painted with scatterings of light, like glitter upon a blanket of black paint.



Even deep inside the brooding that occupied his head Kieran couldn\'t mistake the calling that flooded through the bond. Emotion and words flooded through Kieran\'s mind as he got the message he was needed. Throwing the wine down his throat in one swift movement Kieran put the empty glass down on the coffee table. Gathering his jacket and shoes he swiftly readied himself for the oncoming confrontation.



The emotion behind the desperate call for help was what spurred Kieran to be so speedy. If he were too late in arriving he was afraid of what he might find. The infinite possibilities streamed through his head; Dylan might have murdered someone, taken his first life out of unsatiated hunger. Or perhaps he was cornered in a fight for his life with a group of violent youths. Or...perhaps it was his father. He\'d mentioned something earlier about it, but Kieran was loathe to chalk it up to that without proof.



Running through the sparsely populated streets of the city Kieran rushed to try and make it to Dylan on time. People glared at him as he rushed by, barely missing a few late night stragglers as they stumbled out of pulsating bars. The nightlife was in full swing, and the evidence of it was on every street corner in this area of town. The streets grew in population as he rushed further and further into the bad part of town. The area in which he spent half his time.



Finally he found the building in which he could feel Dylan\'s presence. It was even more sterile and ugly looking than half of the other buildings in the area. Wrinkling his nose in disdain at the coldness of it he entered the complex, breaking the lock on the security door to gain entry. In his head he made a mental note to get that replaced, it was only fair since he broke it.



Moving swiftly he took the stairs two at a time, sprinting up them and trying to tune out the snippets filtering through the painfully thin walls. Even with human sense the sounds and smells would have assaulted the senses here. Blood permeated the building, the blood of many nameless face. Underneath that scent was the smell of Dylan\'s blood and like a greasy black oil was the feeling of fear. It was so thick it was an almost tangible feeling, so thick that it slowed him down, like trying to run through water.



Whimpers filtered through the wall on the second floor, along with the scent of illegal drugs. A heavy scent that was only noticeable when your sense were strong enough to allow a more diverse palette. A baby wailed its needy scream as it lay ignored, somewhere in the recesses of the floor. An angry husband yelled his misgiving to a wife who was desperately trying to placate him



Ignoring the noises of the darker life going on all around them Kieran made his way to the third floor, the bond drawing him out of the stair well and onto the floor. He thought about what he had seen, smelt and felt in the building. No matter what Dylan had to say about the situation, there was just no way he could allow the boy to continue to live there, it just wasn\'t possible. He shouldn\'t have to live in a building rife with the seedy black underbelly of society.



Finally he isolated the exact apartment that the boy was in and walked in through the unlocked door. Dylan was laying in a ball on the floor. His shirt was a ripped mess, stained with blood. His body though was already free of wounds, and it appeared that Dylan was fighting off the ghost of the wounds more than the wounds themselves.



"Dylan, who did it?" Kieran asked, his voice low and sharp. Whoever had done this to him was going to pay. It didn\'t matter who had done this, or how important they were. It could have been the Queen Of England, or the head of the Mafia for all he cared. All that mattered was how angry he was feeling at the sight of his fledgling lying, curled up on a dirty carpeted floor.



No one had been there to take the revenge for him when he had found himself in a similar situation, and now he was going to give Dylan the satisfaction one got from seeing their tormentor brought to justice for their crimes.



Dylan just stared with disbelieving eyes.



"WHO DYLAN?" Kieran thundered, forcing the words out as he tried to hold his deep anger in check.



"Dad" he replied his relief evident in his voice as he shut his eyes.



"Dylan you worthless rat, who are you talking to? I thought I told you not to talk to anyone." Called a cold sneering voice from another room.



Kieran looked up from the harried figure on the floor and headed through the door and into the dining room, where a portly man was eating a greasy mess. It looked as though it might have been meant to be some kind of meatloaf, but the mangled greasy ball laying on the plate in front of the man looked more like he had regurgitated the mess than made it.



Sizing the man up Kieran\'s lips tilted down at the corners in disgust. He had a beer belly, and the white singlet that clung too tightly to the portly figure had stains of blood and various meals splattered across it like modern art. He had Dylan\'s green eyes, and there the comparison stopped. He had greying brown hair and the grainy face that came from poor shaving routine.



"You\'re Dylan\'s father?" Kieran asked disdainfully.



The portly man glanced Kieran up and down and nodded his agreement. "Who the hell are you, and what the hell are you doin\' in my house?" he asked harshly.



"You did that to Dylan?" Kieran asked, his tone as cold as ice.



"Yes."



"My Dylan?"



"He\'s my bloody son I can do what I want smart ass!" bellowed Dylan\'s father.



"You will pay," Kieran whispered menacingly.



"He\'s my son,"



"He\'s my ward, my kitty, and my property," Kieran growled launching himself across the room and latching onto the man\'s throat.



Dylan walked into the room and stopped, sinking to the floor silently as he watched the horror unfolding in front of him. Kieran drained the man dry, ripping at his skin and slicing it open with his sharp nails. Cuts blossomed like roses all over the mans body, bleeding many crimson tears. Screams ripped themselves from the mans throat as he jerked and thrashed trying to throw Kieran off.



Using his inhuman strength Kieran held on, fighting the portly man until the end. Finally the disgusting man was drained dry, and his vicious soul no longer tainted the world with its rotten blackness.



"Glad that\'s over..." Dylan joked, his mind whirling as he tried to comprehend what had happened.



Wiping his mouth Kieran turned to face Dylan "Why didn\'t you tell me? I could have helped you earlier"



"I didn\'t see how it was relevant."



"You didn\'t..." Kieran trailed off wearily "come home."



"Home...I am home..though now...I guess I have none."



"Come home with me, my home is your home." Kieran replied



"When did that happen?" Dylan asked with wide eyes.



"You became mine when I turned you."



"You don\'t own me..." Dylan replied indignantly



"Yes kitty," Kieran answered playfully



Dylan twitched and ignored him, leaving to head back to Kieran\'s place. Kieran just smiled and silently followed him.