Sugar Hearts

Hey! Many thanks to Girl in a Tree, FlamesEmbrace, Pudding333, Rin-chan, and RooYooWolf for their lovely reviews. Your kind words are the best inspiration that my muses could have! I\'ll try to work in a good physical description of Pepper in a coming chapter.

Sugar Hearts

Chapter Six

Marzi touched his fingers to the window, tracing the feathery patterns of frost that had spread across it like the imprint of icy wings. As if the winter had sent some angel to rescue him, but instead, it had smacked against the glass and tumbled to the street far below, where its body now lay buried beneath drifts of snow. Moved to pity for the imaginary creature, Marzi wished he could say a prayer for it. But all he could remember were the last lines of a mockery he had invented when his teacher tried to make him recite the Lord’s Prayer. “Kingdom come, thy will is none, on earth as there is no heaven.”

“Sir?”

Turning from the window, Marzi saw Sylvia standing behind him. Wearing black leather gloves, dark glasses, and the same suit she’d been dressed in when she first summoned him to meet Kale, she looked more like an FBI agent than a healer. But a healer she was. And one of the best, judging by the faith Kale put in her.

“Sir?” she repeated.

Marzi smiled at her. Maybe it was just because he missed his sister, but something in Sylvia’s earnest, businesslike manner reminded him of Pepper. “I keep telling you, Sylvia. You don’t need to call me ‘Sir’.”

“He wouldn’t like it if I didn’t.”

As far as Marzi could tell, Sylvia always referred to Kale as ‘He’ or ‘Him’. If backed into a corner, she would say ‘My Employer’, but that was as intimate as it got. The omission intrigued Marzi. “Aren’t you allowed to call anyone by their given name?”

“It’s not a matter of permission,” Sylvia explained. “Names have power. To speak one is to bind yourself to that person. And to bind them to you.”

Marzipan Penicandey. Marzi could hear Kale saying it, each syllable precisely spoken, like the links in a chain. Yes. Sylvia was right. Names did have power. “And you don’t want to bind yourself to Kale?”

“Fear binds me to Him. No names are necessary.”

“And me?”

But Sylvia didn’t answer. Instead, she pulled off her gloves, and reached toward him. “May I?”

“Of course.” By now, Marzi knew the routine. Gathering up his long, brown hair, he lifted it away from the back of his neck. Then he allowed Sylvia to place her hands on the pair of broken wings freshly tattooed there.

“This seems to be healing nicely. Let’s check on the rest of you.”

Marzi braced himself. But even after experiencing it several times, he was never quite prepared for what came next. Beneath Sylvia’s hands, the back of his neck started to tingle. Then a surge of energy shot down his spine. For a moment, it filled him, burning inside every cell and nerve with unimaginable intensity. But, just as Marzi was sure that his flesh would be scorched to ash, the energy withdrew, concentrating itself into seven swirling vortexes along the center of his body. His seven chakra points, Sylvia had explained, after the first time. Apparently she could tell more than any medical doctor by observing the way energy passed through them. Marzi, however, was in no position notice such subtleties. To him, it felt as if her magic had ignited seven bright suns.

Then, just as quickly as it had flowed into him, the energy flowed back out. Sylvia removed her hands from the back of his neck.

“You’re in perfect health,” she congratulated. “I’ll go tell Him. He’s looking forward to taking you out tonight.”

“Really? Great!” During his recovery, Marzi had not been allowed to leave the room where he’d first awakened. Of course, Kale ensured that everything he asked for was sent to him, but Marzi still felt restless. If he’d wanted to live in a gilded cage, Pepper would have been happy enough to provide one of those. “Did he say where?”

“I’m afraid not,” Sylvia admitted. Then she began to put her gloves back on. But, before she could replace the second one, Marzi gave into an impulse and caught her hand in his. Teased the back of her palm with a quick caress.

“Call me ‘Marzi’?” he dared her. “Just once?”

She looked at him, and Marzi could only guess what lay behind the darkness of her glasses. “No offense, Sir. But I’d rather be rolled in rusty nails.”

With that, Sylvia pulled her hand free and slid it into the second glove. Then, turning her back on him, she left the room.

Her report must have been brief, because it wasn’t long before Kale showed up. Moving across the room with unearthly grace, he sat down on the bed, and placed two boxes on its mattress. Then he beckoned to Marzi. “Come here, Marzipan Penicandey. You’ve been so patient these last five days. I bought you a couple of things to reward your good behavior.”

Pleased by the compliment and eager to see what sort of gifts a man like Kale might give, Marzi hurried over. But he wasn’t quite so rash as to snatch up one of the boxes before Kale gave him permission.

“Go ahead,” Kale assured. “They belong to you.”

Grinning, Marzi picked up the smaller of the two boxes – about the size of a cigarette package, but hinged, and covered with black velvet. When Marzi flipped it open, his breath jumped in his throat. Inside, resting on more black velvet, was a beautifully shaped crystal heart, strung on a silver chain. As Marzi lifted it from the box, a slight yellow glow seemed to awaken within the heart. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Put it on.”

Obediently, Marzi undid the silver clasp, and then fastened the necklace around his throat. The crystal felt cool against his bare chest, despite the increasingly bright light emanating from it. “Is it magic?” he asked, his voice soft with awe.

“Yes.” Kale reached out, running his fingers across the crystal heart, and the yellow light turned to a twisting inferno of orange, red, and black. But as soon as his touch slipped away, the pure yellow glow returned. “Think of it as a magical mood ring. Now that it’s yours, I want you to always wear it, so I can know your emotions. There should be no secrets between us.”

Raising his gaze from the crystal heart, Marzi looked into the equally bright fire of Kale’s green eyes. “I will do as you wish. But if you want to know what I’m feeling, you just need to ask me.”

Kale’s lips curled, like molten iron being poured into the mold of a smile. “You say that now. But my experience has been that men get strange ideas about hiding their thoughts to protect or please the other person. I don’t want any of that dishonesty to taint what we have.”

Still smiling, Kale hooked a strand of Marzi’s hair, and slowly coiled it around his finger. And Marzi felt as if a burning thread had been pulled through the entire length of his body. It was all he could do to keep his knees from buckling and dropping him at Kale’s feet.

“I only want to be sure of your emotions so I can try to please you,” Kale promised. “Surely there’s no harm in that.”

“No,” Marzi croaked. “No harm in that at all.”

Then Kale released the strand of hair, and stability returned to Marzi. But his hands still trembled slightly as he lifted the second box. This one was larger, and heavier, with no velvet exterior. And, upon opening it, Marzi could tell that it didn’t contain jewelry. “Oh!” he gasped.

“Do you like it?”

Cautiously, Marzi lifted the gun, watching the light skitter across its silver frame. It was small – less than five inches long. Almost like a toy. But Marzi knew that Kale didn’t deal in toys. “Is it loaded?”

“Not yet. However, as soon as I teach you to use it, it will be.”

Reassured that he wouldn’t accidentally shoot anything, Marzi wrapped his hand around the gun’s grip. Caressed its trigger with his finger. Private ownership of guns was outlawed in Chicago, and in any case, Marzi had always considered himself as more of a lover than a fighter. He’d never held a gun before. But now, as he took aim at a vase on the bedside table, imagining the destruction that could be wrought by a single twitch of his finger, a strange mixture of excitement and dread filled him.

Kale seemed pleased by his reaction. “I promised that I would give you power, didn’t I? Not all power is rooted in magic. In fact, of all those in this city who wield magic, there are very few who could stand against what you now hold in your hand.”

Marzi pulled the trigger back, and the resulting click sent shivers down his spine. “Bang,” he whispered. “Fuckin’ bang.”

“I’m glad that you like my gifts. Now, Marzipan Penicandey, why don’t you get dressed so we can go out?”

“Right!” Hurriedly, Marzi changed into some of the clothes Kale had bought him. Then, almost as an afterthought, he slid the gun into the pocket of his pants. He couldn’t use it yet. But he could get accustomed to carrying it.

While Marzi was getting dressed, Kale sat on the bed, waiting in patient silence. But, as soon as Marzi finished, he rose, and walked over to him. Marzi flushed as Kale seemed to appraise him like a recently purchased piece of art.

“Very nice,” Kale complimented. Smiling, he straightened Marzi’s shirt -- which was, true to form, hanging completely open. “I like your inability to use buttons.”

“I can–“ Marzi started to protest. But the words burst on his tongue when Kale slid his hand beneath the shirt’s cool silk. Marzi’s eyelashes trembled, caught in the storm of his arousal, and he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. Every other sensation vanished. All he could feel were Kale’s fingers skimming across his chest. And when one of those fingers strayed too close his nipple, Marzi could no longer contain himself.

“Fuck me,” he begged.

“Not yet,” Kale murmured. “Soon, perhaps. But not yet.”

Then he turned and walked out of the room. With a moan of frustration, Marzi hurried after him.

Together, they walked down through the twisting maze of Kale’s house. Although Marzi’s room had been kept at a normal temperature, the air everywhere else felt considerably hotter, and hissed from the vents like the breath of some sleeping monster. Marzi remembered Sylvia telling him that she lived with Kale, and he wondered what her room was like. He wondered if she undressed before going to bed, or if she slept in the dark glasses, suit, and gloves, to prevent herself form accidentally whispering names in her sleep.

“Kale?”

“Yes?”

“What’s your full name?”

“I wish I could tell you. My first name was given to me by my father, and is a human name. But my last name was given to me by my mother, and it is not meant for mortal ears.”

Descending even further, they reached Kale’s underground garage, where a Kale’s driver and limousine already awaited them. As Kale’s driver held the limousine door open for them, Marzi marveled at the car’s luxurious interior. Then, after they had both slid inside, and made themselves comfortable, Marzi glanced over at Kale. A man like that must carry such heavy burdens. Besieged by the law on one side, and by his rivals on the other – an existence full of threats, plans to seize his power, and attempts on his life. No wonder he needed one person he could trust. One heart in which he could rest. And a feeling of satisfaction filled Marzi. Long after he had given up hope, he had finally found it again. His place in the universe. Someone who needed him.

The limousine rolled out of the garage, and down a winding driveway, before turning onto the street. For awhile, Marzi was too lost in his own thoughts to pay much attention to the passing scenery. But then some half-glimpsed building caught his attention. Looking out the limousine window, Marzi recognized the familiar neighborhood of Lakeshore Drive.

Most of the shops had closed for the night, and the empty sidewalks were already covered with a light layer of snow, as if human feet had never touched them. Everything looked slightly unreal, like they were driving through a diorama rather than an actual part of the city. Then Marzi spotted Sugar Hearts. As they rolled past, he couldn’t see the kitchen window, but he suspected that it was lit. Pepper would be inside, melting her sugar, chanting her spells. Did she miss him? Or was she glad that nothing remained to interrupt her routine?

The light inside the limousine seemed to grow dimmer, and when Marzi glanced down, he saw that the yellow glow emanating from his necklace had transformed to a deep blue.

The change was not lost on Kale. Reaching out, he brushed his fingers against Marzi’s cheek, his touch like the flicker of a snake’s tongue. “Your sister?”

“I miss her,” Marzi whispered, not daring to meet Kale’s gaze. Ashamed of being sad amidst everything Kale had given him.

Kale’s caress slipped from Marzi’s cheek and trickled down his throat, drawing shivers of desire from Marzi. “She’s human. She’s failed you in the past. And, like all humans, she will fail you again.”

Almost involuntarily, Marzi raised his eyes to look at the man beside him. Dark shadows seemed to stretch across the seatback behind Kale like murky wings. “I—“

“She will fail,” Kale repeated. “As all humans fail each other. But I am more than human, Marzipan Penicandey. And I will not be weak.”

Then Kale pulled Marzi into fierce kiss. And Marzi hurled himself into Kale’s embrace, all thoughts of Pepper banished, as the crystal heart burned with fiery red light.