Sequel

I almost regret breaking them up. But they can be together later, if Rel is so inclined. If things don't work out with Muan. I see Tusto as a well loved sort of guy, a bright personality. That cool guy who has everyone's backs.

The two days of quiet was me writing my essays for university. Now I've got a free weekend! Except my brain is pretty dead so I'm not entirely certain if I will be able to update a lot.

All the one shots people have been asking for. And I'm tempted to do them all plus one. Geh.

Read, Review and Enjoy.




Rel went to bed shortly after the bath. He felt exhausted. Bone weary and emotionally exhausted, he unconsciously reached between worlds, slid into the comfortable, stable world. He opened his eyes and Tusto grinned at him. His lover, his mate, his one and only in this world.

Daemon.

The odd sparkling Rel always felt around Tusto, the perfect features and teeth. Rel had dismissed it as Tusto being special, having power like he had power. Rava to his Ayato, he had always thought.

“Hey,” Tusto murmured.

“Hi…” When this hadn’t been real, it had been something indefinable. Something pleasant at moments. But now that Tusto was real, now that Rel knew that Tusto was real… it felt. Strange. Wrong even, “shadow daemon.”

Tusto sighed out, “yes, this village is where the shadow daemon put those born outside of the … race… I am a complete daemon, an oddity and a rare specimen. If not for you, I would have joined the ranks of those who serve the gods.”

“I’ve held you back.”

“No,” Tusto shook his head, “never. I would do it all over again and I likely will.”

“What?” Rel muttered, startled as Tusto stood and walked away. Rel shoved off of the hard pallet he always appeared on, “what do you mean, you likely will do it all again?”

Tusto approached the door of their room and leaned on the doorframe, sighing again, “I have to let you go. You. Out there. There’s someone out there for you. He could do you good.”

“But-” no, no. No.

“It’s not goodbye, not so long or fare well. Just… see you when you die.”

“When I die? I’ve been gifted to you?”

“No. You’ve been gifted to my lord, Rahl-ta. When you die, you’ll likely come here and when you do, I’ll be waiting.”

“But. You’ll forget. You always forget. Like our anniversary!”

“I can’t forget this. Sold a contract to Ill. I serve her, working the well of souls until you come back. Then. Then we’ll see.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you,” Tusto pushed off the doorframe and grazed his fingers over Rel’s cheek before shaking his head, “but you can’t stay here. You can’t continue to come here. It’s not safe, not with your powers fully awakened now. Why did you even come? Why risk the trip?”

“Someone is missing.”

Rel remembered, out of the blue, recalled what he had been thinking as he fell asleep. Where was Mik?

“Missing? In the underworld? There are seventeen levels to hell and talk of adding another. Rel, m’love, you’re going to have to give me more than that.”

Sex. He wanted sex with Tusto. Now. Gods…

Why couldn’t he crave Muan like that? Because he had given himself over to Tusto? With it over… could he have Muan the way he did-

Tusto snapped his fingers, “m’love, you have to focus. Who are you looking for?”

“Who am I…” Rel had to think, and think hard to recall.

He was in the underworld, the place that was notoriously hard to get into or out of for anyone with even the smallest amount of power. Because the gods didn’t want some upstart with power thinking they could walk in and out of the underworld however they pleased. If he didn’t focus, keep himself together.

His soul would shatter. Creating tens of souls like his own, damaged the way he was at that very moment.

Soul. Soul.

He was looking for a soul.

“Mik! His name was Mik,” Rel stumbled out, “uhm. Someone called him… called him. A key.”

Tusto’s features darkened, “a key, did they call him a key, or the key?”

“Uhm,” Rel frowned, trying to think, “Una called him the key.”

“Una.” Tusto spat out the name, “wish I could get my hands on that damnable soul.”

“Eh…. He’s an immortal…”

Tusto considered the information for a moment, “wonder what kind of a contract would get me on the surface…”

“Tusto. Focus.”

“Oh, you’re not distracted?” Tusto murmured, “it is a very,” a waggle of his fingers, “airy sort of day. You know. Like the day we met?”

“The key.”

“Not here. The moment the key is returned to the well of souls, it is extracted and the extraction sets off alarms all across the seventeen hells. Everyone knows when the key arrives to keep it in the proper play. Once extracted from the well, the key is delivered to the one who has it in hand. Who is Tahl-ra at the moment.”

“Illuva.”

“Tahl-ra still has the key in hand. For the key to change hands it has to… well… you know what, I don’t actually know how the key changes hands. But it hasn’t changed yet. Something about a commitment to the god and then the death of the key. But he’s not dead.”

“He’s not there, so he has to be here. In the underworld.”

“He’s not there. Are you sure?” Tusto didn’t look like he believed Rel.

“Yes. He’s not there. We had a funeral and everything and he’s not there. It’s just. It’s not. With the.” Rel huffed out, frustrated, “I know he’s not there. He’s not on the living plain of existence. So he’s here.”

“Here in the underworld?”

“Yes, where other here could I mean, Tusto?” Rel snapped.

“Damnable damns,” Tusto snapped back at Rel, “a soul can enter the underworld without entering the well of souls. It happens rarely. Even pieces go into the well of souls but every once in a while someone gets spat back out. A living death.”

“So find him.”

“Did I mention there are seventeen levels of hell?”

“Did I mention I’m not sleeping with you again until you find him?”

“Seventeen levels of hell,” Tusto muttered, “he’ll be an old man before I get him back to his body.”

“So…” Rel opened his mouth, but what came out of his mouth sounded like the murmuring of a whisper. He smacked his lips together and frowned at Tusto.

The daemon was pale and silent for a long moment before he gave himself a shake, “I. Can help you out there. Strangely.”

“Why can you help me now but not before?”

Tusto pressed his lips together, “It would take far too long and fourteen languages of sixteen daemon races to explain to you what just happened and… I don’t think you have the time.”

“Well try.”

“Your feet have disappeared,” Tusto muttered, pointing downward, “I’ll look for him. You just worry about keeping yourself together.”

Rel looked down as his knees disappeared. His head felt light and he seemed to have trouble recalling how to get back.

Back. Back. Back. Back. Back.

He closed his eyes and reached for his body and found the world resisting, like pulling himself through warm taffy. But he dropped into his body with a sigh of relief and slid towards sleep, even as everything tingled and a warm hand settled reassuringly on his shoulder.

Back in real life. Back in the real world.

Thank the gods.


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