You break into sobs as Martin and you reach the exit of the cave. Twisting out of his grip, you turn and fling your arms around him, burying your face in his neck. “Don’t make me leave,” you choke out.
“This isn’t life, Grant.” Martin kisses your neck. Then your lips. Your cheeks. And with each kiss, it’s like he spreads calm through your whole body.
You tremble when he kisses you. Close your eyes and try to focus on the touch and feel of the man you love and not the hopeless sense of loss that permeates your very being. “It’s not fair!” you choke out. “We didn’t have enough time…not nearly enough time. Why do I have to lose you?”
The next kiss to your lips is hard; almost hard enough to bruise. You welcome it, hoping that you’ll be able to taste him long after it’s over and done with. Wanting to carry the taste of Martin with you for as long as possible. “There will never be anyone else who can replace you and Paul,” you declare.
“Go.” Martin shoves you, hard, and you stumble out of the cave and into the sunlight, box clutched to your chest.
Loneliness stabs violently through you and you let out a choked sob; then another and another one. Crying too hard to see properly, you turn and stumble towards where you think at least one of the others might be.
Gentle hands reach out to steady you and Dorian Hook’s calm, reassuring voice says, “I know how much it hurts. It’s always painful to lose someone you love.”
The understanding just makes you cry harder, but you let the man lead you forward. Through blurry eyes, you can see Anubis standing there. A sympathetic look passes over the guardian’s face as he reaches out and takes the box from your hands. He doesn’t say anything, though, perhaps sensing that nothing he says has any hope of making things better.
Dorian stands you on the other side of Anubis and something about the guardian being next to you gives you strength. Tears are still trickling down your cheeks, but you start to choke them back as you anxiously look towards the other cave; in turns hoping that Ray and Walter will exit now and hoping they will fail. Your skin where Martin kissed you feels heated and you hope the sensation lasts for a long time.
All too soon, you see movement and Ray and Walter leave the cave. Walter has one arm wrapped around Ray’s shoulders and his other is clasped to his neck. You can see crimson rivulets of blood trickling through his fingers. “He’s hurt,” you say dumbly.
Ray is shirtless, but carries the clothing in his hand, wrapped around something that’s staining the white material black. You watch numbly as he turns to inspect Walter’s wound and the other man gently waves him away.
The two men approach the three of you, Walter casting a glance back over his shoulder and then focusing on Anubis with a frown. “She’s the guardian spirit of this place. Isn’t she?”
Anubis nods and, with a note of sympathy in his voice, says, “But I don’t think she remembers anything of that now. I doubt she knows anything other than suffering and pain right now.”
“Do you know what this is?” Ray holds up his wrapped item.
“A heart. Cleaved in two.” Anubis holds up the box. “Split into two hearts with a poisoned blade.” He crouches to place the box on the ground, then stands and holds out his hands, taking the shirt from Ray’s hands.
“A heart?” you repeat.
Anubis nods as he crouches down and opens the wooden box. What he takes out does look like a heart, but it’s a blackened, charred thing, leaking pus that seeps into the grass beneath your feet and causes smoke to rise from it. He places it on the ground and then carefully uncovers the second one from where it’s wrapped within the shirt.
Walter is looking back over his shoulder again. “Why isn’t she following us?” he mutters.
“The land is actively trying to protect itself from further harm,” Anubis explains. “They’re prevented from leaving the caves at the moment.”
“They?” Ray frowns.
“Martin and Paul are trapped here,” you whisper.
“I’m sorry.” Ray’s voice is low. Warmed through with sympathy.
You say nothing, instead wrapping your arms around your own body and closing your eyes for a second, imagining that you’re safe in Martin’s arms. That you’re with the man you love.
When you open your eyes again, it’s to see that Anubis has a hand placed on each heart. His eyes close and then he suddenly stiffens up, body twitching like he’s being electrocuted. Cuts and bruises begin to appear with alarming frequency over his bare skin.
Dorian crouches down and places a hand on Anubis’ shoulder. A split second later, his whole body stiffens and then his eyes roll back in his head and he slumps to one side, falling.
For the next several long moments, the three of you watch. You don’t know what Walter and Ray think, but this is like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
A loud, steady beating comes from the hearts and you watch as they spin with increasing frequency, finally merging into one blur. And then the spinning stops, leaving one heart: red and with not even a hint of corruption.
A rumbling catches your attention and you turn your eyes towards the caves as they sink back under the ground, leaving…leaving….
You stare for a second, unable to believe your eyes, and then you’re running. Running at Martin and Paul. And they’re coming to meet you. And the three of you crash into each other, hugging and touching. Laughing and crying. For a while, the three of you are so tangled in each other that you have no idea what’s going on around you.
And then the sound of a throat clearing draws your attention to Ray. He’s watching you with a grin. “Sorry to interrupt, but as the curse is broken and things are back to, I guess, normal, Walter figured we could all go back to our house and rest up. Get something to eat.”
“You go on,” Martin says to Ray. “I know the way. Me and Grant need to have a bit of a conversation before we join you.” He gently squeezes your waist.
You wince, remembering your actions from the cave, and glance at Paul.
From the look on his face, you can tell your best friend is fully aware of just what the conversation will entail. He shakes his head and looks to Ray. “Can I catch a ride back with you? I don’t think I want to be around to listen to this conversation.”
“Sure.” Ray motions for Paul to follow him and the two head back to the others.
Martin waits for them all to leave, arm wrapped securely around your waist, before he turns to you with a serious look on his face. “You have any idea how reckless you were inside the cave?”
Flushing, you look down, unable to help but mutter, “I didn’t think I had anything left to lose.”
“Yeah, well, if we’d died, you would have ended up joining us. And that’s not acceptable.” Martin’s hands are busy as he speaks. He undoes your pants and yanks them and your underwear down to your ankles. Then, he props his foot up on a large rock and drapes you over his raised knee.
You have a split second to realise the position you’re in and then he’s peppering your backside with firm, hard smacks, his hand falling in random patterns all over your bottom, making it impossible to predict where the next smack will fall.
“I’m sorry!” you burst out.
“No, you’re not.” Martin smacks you harder and faster. “You’re not sorry you fought me on you leaving the cave, so don’t even try to lie about it.”
“You’re right!” Your voice comes out in a loud, high-pitched whine. “I’m not sorry about that. But I am sorry that you’re pissed at me!” You can’t help but squirm in place, the sting of the smacks making it impossible not to react. “I was so scared I was gonna lose you. You don’t know what it’s like.”
“Don’t I?” Martin pauses and runs his hand gently over your stinging bottom for a few moments before he resumes smacking, harder than before. “Maybe I never had anyone before you and Paul, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone I love. I had family before. People I lost when I died. But I could have lost myself with that disease. I could have killed you. And I couldn’t live with that. Do you understand that, Grant? Even if you’d saved me, I would have died from losing you.”
“I feel the same!” It seems like you’ve been crying all day, that your tears should have dried up by now, but a fresh wave fall. “I wouldn’t have carried on if you…if you’d died. I would have gone right out and done something that would have killed me.” Your confession is broken up by sobs and quiet gasps as the smacks continue and when you speak the final word, you slump and begin crying hard; harder than any storm of tears you’ve experienced so far.
A few moments after you break, Martin guides you into his arms, hugging you tightly to himself. He strokes your back and he strokes your hair and he whispers soft, loving words in your ears that you can’t decipher but that make you feel so much better anyway.
This storm of tears is over quickly and you sniffle softly as you cling to him. “I love you so much,” you whisper hoarsely.
His brush of lips against yours is brief and tender. “I love you, Grant. So much.” He holds you a few more moments and then carefully tugs your underwear and pants back into place. “Are you ready to go now?”
“As long as I’m with you?” You grin tearfully at him. “I’ll follow you anywhere.”
The End