“No.” You take a step back, moving away from the cave. It’s hard. Like you’re moving through thick liquid instead of air. But you move away from it. You step closer to Anubis and his lover and with each step you take away from the cave, the movement gets easier.

Anubis raises his eyebrows. “No?” he repeats.

You meet his eyes. It’s hard, but you force yourself to look into them. To meet the windows into infinity. “No,” you repeat. “Not without a promise. A bargain. You have to promise me that Paul and Martin won’t die. That I won’t lose them. Otherwise I won’t go and get what you need.”

“Do you understand what refusing will cost you?” Anubis asks. “What it will cost everyone here in this land? And the corruption will spread. It’s an infection. It has to be cut out, so the healthy flesh can grow back.”

“I don’t care,” you answer. “My life won’t be worth living if Paul and Martin aren’t in it. I can’t live without them.”

Anubis starts to speak, but the roar of a car engine drowns out his words. You raise your eyes to look past the two men, past the car Dorian drove you to this place in.

The vehicle approaching the site is the one you left parked outside Walter and Ray’s home. You stand there, staring at it, mouth open in shock. Martin’s coming? But you left him injured and at the mercy of the other dead….

The car parks and the door opens and Paul climbs out. He shuts the door and glances uncertainly at Anubis and Dorian, then walks towards you. The next moment, both of you are hugging, holding onto each other tightly.

“How did you get here?” you whisper, unwilling to let go of the other man.

Paul’s answer is mumbled into your chest. “I hid in the backseat when you drove away from home. And then I followed you guys in the car. But I kind of got freaked out. It still feels bad here,” he admits in a hoarse voice. “I was scared.”

“You know what’s going to happen?” you whisper. “What doing this is going to cost?”

He pulls back enough to look into your eyes before nodding. “I…I can feel it,” he admits, his voice barely above a whisper. “That dark corruption. It wants to drag me down. Pull me away from you. Turn me into….” He cuts himself off and hugs you tighter. “I don’t want to carry on living if that’s what I’ll become,” he whispers. “I’d rather die for good than turn into something so dark and twisted.”

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to let you go.” You can’t even bring yourself to let go of him physically now.

Paul gives you a trembling smile and swipes a hand across his eyes before taking a deep breath. “I know it’s difficult.” He looks past you, towards the cave. “Is that where we need to go?”

You want to say no. You want to take his hand and pull him away from here. Into the car. Drive home and hope you can keep reminding Martin of who you are and what the three of you mean to each other. But you find yourself nodding. You breathe in deep and you look over Paul’s head, towards Anubis. “You’re ripping two good men away from the living.”

Dorian steps towards Anubis and rests his hand on his partner’s shoulder, even as he addresses you. “Anubis isn’t responsible for this curse.”

That reminder turns you cold inside. You can’t bring yourself to respond. Instead, you grasp Paul’s hand and lead him into the cave.

It’s cold inside the cave, enough to make you shiver. Your clothes don’t offer much protection; the only source of warmth comes from Paul’s hand, gripped tightly in your own. The only sound that reaches your ears is the noise of you both breathing in and out in sync.

You walk in silence, holding onto Paul’s hand, as light forms ahead of you. After a few more minutes of walking, the cave opens up into a large, spacious cavern. Water drips down the back of your shirt and you shiver, your grip on your boyfriend’s hand tightening.

Martin is standing in the cavern. His rifle dangles from his hand and his clothes are torn and bloody. Bruises and cuts mar the skin you can see. He stands with his back to you, hunched over, muttering something over and over under his breath that you can’t quite catch.

He's standing in front of a raised rock, on top of which sits a plain, dark wooden box.

Paul pulls his hand free of yours. “Martin.” He starts towards your other lover.

The instinct to pull him back and out of danger is strong. But Anubis told you to bring the box straight to him.