Soran had a hard time dealing with the strange looks the residents of Moltare kept tossing him and Rowan. What the hell was wrong with these people? Instead of gaping like idiots, they should be kissing the feet of their rescuers. If we didn’t come along, they’d still have an evil cult and a bad-assed demon to contend with!
Eremis had mentioned that the folks of Moltare were very religious, but he never said anything about bigotry. Anger welled up within Soran once he finally realized what caused the disgust he saw in their eyes. Obviously, it sickened them to see a couple of guys getting a little too close. No wonder Eremis had kept his distance from Cas since entering the village! Soran had a feeling the demon boy wasn’t too happy about that and didn’t blame him one bit. Rather than act so damned ashamed about their relationship, the healer should be proud to show off the person who’d won his heart!
He stuck his tongue out at the barmaid who scowled at him when she passed their table then rested his aching head on Rowan’s shoulder. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth after the elf’s arms wrapped around him to pull him closer. He could feel numerous eyes upon them right now. Although he was very tempted to really shock the hell out of them by kissing Rowan passionately, he held back because of Eremis.
When he spotted Alexander approaching with Jeremy several feet behind him, Soran lifted his head off Rowan’s shoulder and yawned. The herbal medicine Eremis gave him eased the pain in his arm but left him feeling rather drowsy. He gulped down some java while listening to Rowan fill Alexander in on their mission to Dara. After seeing how great the youth handled himself in the battle with the demon, Soran hoped he’d accompany them for the rest of the trip. There was a lot of road to cover between here and Dara, and only the gods knew what they might encounter along the way. It’d be nice having another capable fighter with the group.
Soran gave Alexander a warm smile that widened when Rowan stood and lifted him into his arms. He planted a quick kiss on his lover’s cheek, amused by the thought that half the people in the inn were probably about to have a heart attack from viewing such lewd, unacceptable behavior. As Rowan carried him up the stairs, he smirked at Jeremy who gave him the standard glare then waved at Cas. His blood brother looked about ready to mimic Rowan’s action by tossing Eremis over his shoulder and carting him up to their room.
Once the elf set him down on the bed, Soran unbuckled his sword belt, placing it on the small night table before he tugged off his boots. His green eyes widened in surprise upon hearing Rowan say he had something for him. Anxiously, he tore open the package handed him.
“Happy birthday,” the elf said. “I bought them not long ago, after your first successful job. I have a couple different kinds of locks back home, too, if you want me to show you how to use them.”
Soran stared at the lock picks for a moment then ran his fingers over each one as if it were made of gold. He’d forgotten how nice it felt to get birthday presents since he hadn’t gotten any for the last 6 years. “But you already bought me two horses, Ro!” The elf answered him with a shrug that made him grin. He set the picks aside then embraced his teacher, their lips meeting for the passionate kiss he’d wanted to indulge in for quite some time now.
“What about your injuries?” Rowan asked, pulling back, his eyes filled with concern.
Soran’s hands slipped under the elf’s shirt, slowly pulling it off over his head before pushing him down on the bed. He untied the laces of his pants then straddled him. “My arm and head are a tad sore, but everything else is fine.” He slid down on top of Rowan, crushing their bodies together. “I’m sure you can feel that certain things are working properly but need immediate attention.” After sharing another heated kiss with the elf, his mouth slowly moved down his chest. “Now it’s my turn to give you a present, my love.”
*******
Jeremy bit back a nasty comment as he watched Rowan carry Soran up the stairs. Once the pair disappeared from sight, he lit up a cigarette then moved up alongside of Alexander. “I won’t pressure you for an answer about teaching me archery cause I know you need time to think things over, but I really hope you decide to accompany us to Dara. It’d be nice to have someone to hang out with since the others tend to ignore me for some reason.”
He purchased a tall mug of the watered down wine from the barmaid, then cocked his head at Alexander. “I guess we should turn in too since dawn’s right around the corner.” With the wineglass in one hand and the cigarette in the other, he led the way up the stairs to the room they shared. He plopped down on one of the beds, staring off into the distance as he sipped the weak wine.
“How about a little small talk before we hit the sack?” he asked after blowing a stream of smoke toward the open window. “What do you think about our little group of adventurers so far, and how’d you like that demon? Pretty frightening huh?”
*******
As much as Eremis wanted to get closer to Cas, he kept his distance, especially since some of the villagers began to recognize him. Like Jaob, the animal healer he’d been apprenticed to, his parents only visited the town square once a week to deliver corn that would be shipped to the larger cities. The town folk that did remember him where surprised to see him because they’d heard he’d helped himself to one of Jaob’s horses and left his farm in the dead of night without so much as a farewell.
“Your parents weren’t too pleased to hear about you taking off like that,” Mayor Dougal told him before they left the cult’s temple. “Your poor mother broke down in tears, and kept asking what kind of a son did she raise. I think your daddy woulda tanned your hide if he could’ve gotten his hands on you at that point. You should have sent word to your folks, lettin’ them know you were all right rather than making them worry this past year.”
Somehow Eremis managed to keep the guilt brought on by the mayor’s words down to a minimum. Leaving Moltare the way he did was a split second decision. If he had paused to think about it, or consulted Jaob or his family, they would’ve convinced him to stay even though there wasn’t any need for another healer in the village. Although he knew he’d never be content spending the rest of his life tending to farm animals, he would have stayed just to please his parents.
Taking care of the injuries suffered by Xue and Soran helped take his mind off his family. He joined a rather cranky Cas at the table after making sure his patients swallowed the herbal capsules he gave them to ease their pain. His shoulders slumped while he listened to his lover moan about not being able to hold his hand. Why couldn’t Cas understand that he just didn’t want to have to put up with everyone staring at them and whispering behind their backs? And, he certainly didn’t want word getting back to his parents that he’d been snuggling up to another male.
Once they were in the privacy of their room, with the door securely bolted, Eremis’ attitude changed completely. He pulled Cas into his arms, smothering his lips with heated kisses for several minutes before pulling away to gaze into his eyes. “Now that we know what caused those senseless killings, and eliminated the threat, there’s no need for me to visit my folks tomorrow. I’ll write them a note at breakfast and ask someone to deliver it to their farm after we leave Moltare.”
He grinned while pulling Cas toward the bed. “Now where were we before we got interrupted by all that commotion outside?”
