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He Who Would be Master: Chapter 8 (Angel's Eyes)

Saturday morning found Angel without a wink of sleep, lying in bed and hating the sun for rising and birds for singing.

And himself for being in love.

What if it isn't love, though...?

Sunday was horribly uneventful. The mundanity of it was like a bad smell, that you'd been used to and forgot about, but then left for awhile. When you came back to it, the stink was there, ready to remind you of just how bad it is.

Mr. Callahan's boozy B.O.

Mother's cheap perfume.

The twins' sickly sweet scented toys.

Angel's stomach churned in a way too lazy to be full-on nausea.

Never before did Angel feel so alone. He wanted nothing more to do with most of his old friends. His only new friend was MIA for a week. No one else wanted anything to do with him. It was just Angel...

How did he handle this feeling before?

Ah, that's right.... I'd go and beat someone up.... It wasn't a good way to connect, but at least it was a connection. But I can't do that now. It would make m'man unhappy... My... My boyfriend...

Angel allowed himself a small smile whenever his thoughts turned to Othello. He'd touch a thigh, remembering what his skin felt like when Othello had touched it. He'd brush a thumb to his lips, remembering the way Othello tasted. If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could still feel Othello's cock on the inside. It might've hurt after, but while Othello fucked him, it felt incredibly good. Othello had hit him so deep, Angel could have sworn he'd tasted each charge in the back of his throat. He'd inhale deep and try to catch a whiff of his man. He'd turn sharply at what he hoped (but never actually) was Othello's soft, deep voice...

He did this and was face to face with Lothario, and was reminded that it was Monday morning, the start of the new school week.

"Where's Othello?" Rio asked, already looking a bit ragged.

"Why should I know?" Angel asked, wanting Rio to buzz off.

"You're dating, right? Or you're at least fucking," Rio folded his arms over his chest.

"I haven't seen him sine Friday afternoon," Angel said, confident that someone had seen him since. Let that person handle Rio.

"Well that's something," Rio relaxed a bit, "We haven't seen him since Friday Morning."

So, he hadn't been home all weekend?

"Shit... I knew it!" Rio chewed a nail. "He's relapsed entirely!"

"Relapsed...?" Angel snorted. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Rio gave Angel the bug-look for awhile before answering: "Tell told you he was... not right, right?"

"Fuck you. He's fine," Angel growled.

"No," Rio stated simply, "He is not."

"He's_fine._" Angel insisted. "Just because you don't understand--"

"He's disappeared like this before, and every time he does, he has a nice long stay in the hospital." Rio stated.

"He's... In danger...?" Angel's eyes went wide as Rio's implications germinated.

"That's right," Rio muttered. "He nearly died last time. If you know anything, please, tell me, Angel."

Othello... Dead? The thought didn't seem possible. Didn't seem right... But then he remembered the things he sees; he remembered the light-creature from the club. He remembered the stories Othello told about his "condition".

They were after him. The Spirits wanted Othello. They wanted to.... Throw him out of trees, to bite him, to drag him into dark places and... and...

"I've seen the things he sees..." Angel muttered.

Rio took a deep breath almost like he was going to start yelling. If he had, Angel was ready to deck him.

But instead, Rio let most of the breath out and at the end of it, hissed out through pursed lips: "What are you talking about...?"

"I saw some of 'em." Angel said softly. "Spirits."

"'Spirits'?" Rio mocked. "Ghosts?"

Angel shrugged, feeling like a hole was just punched in his logic somwhere. "That's what they called them." Angel said.

"Who?" Rio asked, catching Angel off guard.

"Didn't 'Thello tell you about Be Tempted?" Angel's heart started pound, and he couldn't figure out why.

"Othello doesn't tell us anything." Rio scowled, and suddenly, Angel could see envy in Rio's narrowed eyes.

Angel chuckled. "Even with you guys around him, he's all alone too?" It was a... a revelation. Even amongst his own family, 'Thello was on some other level. In a place where only 'Thello could be. Angel wanted now, more than ever to be there with him.

"He's NOT alone!" Rio barked. "He just needs help. When he gets it, he'll be happy, and good, and we can both forget about the fairies!"

Angel looked up, knowing Rio had just said something curious, but he couldn't figure out what it was. "But, Rio," Angel started after giving up. "What if they're real? What if he's right?"

Rage lit behind Rio's eyes, but then Rio turned and walked away without another word.

Though he was gone, Rio's words swirled around Angel's head like cigarette smoke. Othello was in trouble, and Angel had let him walk into it. Angel knew that Ames and the others were bad for his Man, and yet...

Angel was suddenly hating himself again. But at least he could try to make it right.

After school, he went straight to the the warehouse district. Be Tempted was closed and locked, but Angel was determined. He banged on doors and windows, shouting his and Othello's names. Finally, frustration gave way to hopelessness, desperation. And with it, demanding became begging. It was then that the door opened and J, the bouncer ushered him in.

Once the door was closed behind them, J held Angel tightly. It was just in time to hold Angel together as he fell apart under the loneliness and desperation. He let the bigger man hold him and imagined that this might be what it was like when Mr. Callahan held the twins. He was proud of himself for not crying, but he simply felt heavy.

J propped him up and brushed the hair out of his face. "It's about time you remembered your manners..." J whispered

"Where've you taken him...?" Angel pleaded quietly. "Where's 'Thello?"

J's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean...?"

Angel looked for the tell tale signs of bullshit from J and found nothing. "Ames took Othello away on Friday. No one's seen him sincce. I-I just thought..." Panic started fizzing in his chest. "Where did Ames take him, if he's not with you?"

J's face twisted into something savage with anger. "I'll kill that bastard..."

Angel stood dumbfounded. "Who...?"

"Ames! I'll murder him for this!"

"Wait... I-isn't he your..." Angel said scowling. "You can talk about your Man like that?!"

J glanced at him. "Oh, you will too, especially when he starts taking risks without you to watch his back!"

"So..." Angel began, brushing the notion aside, "You can find 'Thello?"

"Ah, no," J seemed to deflate. "Ames went to one of his hide-aways. I don't know where it is... Or even if it can be reached by normal means." Explaining simply renewed J's annoyance at the situation. His foot tapped with steadily increasing tempo. "Fucking dip-shit..."

"So, if you can't do anything what about that--" Angel was going to ask about that Ninja-Lady, Norn... But if Othello ever found out he was saved by that woman...

"Don't say her name!" J hissed, pursing his lips, "If she finds out, she'll destroy him, and I need to get my hands on that guy first!"

"So, what do we do?" Angel whispered as if the Lady might be hiding in the shadows.

J paced around, stomping seemingly working off his tension. Then he rounded on Angel, considering the young man.

"Othello has officially gotten a two day head start on you," J growled annoyed.

Angel gulped, annoyance raising up in him now, like some contagious bug. "Head start?"

"Yeah!" James walked back over and dropped a heavy hand on top of Angel's head. "He's out there, right now, becoming a better Man!"

Neil's words rang in his head again and he felt the blood drain from his face. "Wait, so... So what can I do?" Angel asked. "If he... What if he gets that he's too good for me?" Giving voice to his deepest fear felt a bit like swatting at a cloud of flies, instead of ignoring them.

"You just have to keep up, right?" J grinned brightly at him. "The Ideal warrior needs his ideal steed; the ultimate hero needs the ultimate sidekick, and..." He whispered with a glint in his eyes. "The god of Domination needs his submissive High Priest."

"H-high... What...?" Angel asked, thinking backwards, "Wait-- GOD!?"

"Not here, little lost Angel..." J was suddenly grabbing him in a headlock. The older man's stink was suffocating, but not bad in itself. The bicep curled aganst his cheek and made his jaw ache, a bit like he'd shoved his head in a vice. "No 'god' here. Just me... Call me the Devil..." Angel's breath was cut off entirely as the bigger man started dragging him from the room. "Welcome to Hell, boy!"

That first day was the tour. J led Angel through a hall that looked like a large reptile house. Through the glass, Angel saw things in Be Tempted's basement not meant for young eyes.

He saw men being flogged, reduced to simpering clumps of meat at feet of men and women in suits. He saw the Doms pampered by single-minded subs. Many of whom wore the badges of their abuses on naked flesh. Burns, scratches, piercings and fresh tattoos were all present.

There were all manners of groping and rigging and kissing and hitting and even a little cuddling here or there, but there was no actual fucking. In fact, no one was even totally naked.

"What is this place?" Angel whispered in mystified horror.

"The Guild. A specialized organization within the Consillium, owned by the Mysterium, operated by our Lady," J smiled. "This is the real reason behind Be Tempted's success."

"Mysterium...? Consilium?" Angel looked at the bigger man, totally confused.

"The important part is that this is an open forum, for Masters and slaves to be properly trained," J patted Angel's shouder.

"Why?"

J rubbed his beard, regarding Angel, seeming to ponder exactly how to answer. Finally, he smiled and responded: "Because not everyone was cut out to fit the picturesque model of 'equal relationships'."

Something went click in Angel's head. "So... These people are like me... and those..." He pointed to a line of collegiates people, taking turns whipping a gagged man. "Those are like Othello...?"

"Angel, don't kid yourself; those people will never match up to your Man."

Angel turned to him, startled. "Why not?"

"Because he's YOUR Man," J said softly. "You chose him, and he chose you."

"I thought you were going to say omthing again about 'god of Domination'..." Angel chuckled nervously.

"Well, yeah, that too." J laughed. "But if you believe that, then believe that whatever brought you to him must be special. That you are special."

Angel let the notion sink in. "He thinks I'm special..."

"The two of you are ahead of the game, my boy," J went on, "Most of these people haven't found their other halves."

"Othello's other half...? That's not me, J..." That prospect was an intimidating one. "Othello is huge... and he's got so many sides... I'm just me, I can't be the other half to all that..."

"Perhaps. But that doesn't mean it is in your interest to not try."

"How...?"

"Do you remember what I taught you?" J asked.

Angel nodded. He still remembered what this man had drilled into him.

"Down, Angel." J instructed.

Angel sunk to his knees. It felt odd this time. He felt self-conscious. Last time he was here, it didn't feel odd at all.

"Think of your Man, Angel... Think of him standing over you like this..."

Angel started to shake. As much from nerves as a growing excitement. This was hot. J's leather pants left little to the imagination. Angel remembered the smell of Othello's underoos. The part of him that was imagining Othello right now wanted to push his mouth and nose into that crotch and breathe deep.

"Now, imagine that he's disappeared, forever."

"What...?" Angel blinked. "What do you mean?"

"He's dead, Angel," J. said, "Gone forever. What do you do?"

"That couldn't happen." Angel said firmly.

"And why not?" J. crossed his arms over his chest. "You've seen what it is he's afraid of. Those things will get more ferocious towards him. They are coming for him, Angel! He could just be GONE!"

Angel saw the light-creature Arcadia in his mind. He imagined the dancer grabbing Othello, then vanishing right brfore his mind's eye.

"No way," Angel said stubbornly. "You need him, right? Won't you protect him?"

"No." J. said. "We will teach him. Train him. But if he has to be so sheltered, he'd be useless to us."

"Wh-What the..." Angel grit his teeth as he stood up, about the same height as J. "Then what the hell do you need him for?!"

"We need him to put this land right. To fight and win," J answered. "We need him to fight a war that we can't. A war not meant for us humans."

Angel scowled as anger started to burn and boil in his chest. "Start making sense."

"Or what?" J. smirked.

That was a good question... "H-help me understand. Please."

"That's better..." J. pat Angel's head. "Othello is going to war to settle the spirits of this city. They are warring amongst themselves."

"Why?" Angel asked.

"Because something happened here to remove the ruling Pantheon. Their order and ecology have collapsed." When Angel scratched his head, trying to remember what the bigger words meant, J. summarized: "Their world ended, and the survivors are fighting for control, and that fight is affecting our world."

"So... Othello is what?" Angel's face scrunched up with thought, "He's like their referee?"

"No, he's our Ringer." J smiled. "A force for the human side."

After the words sunk in, Angel felt a the black sort of rage suddenly flare up in him. This was the sort of anger that broke things and put people in bed for a long time. The sort of rage that gripped his muscles and forced them to act. And act they did, thrusting Angel's fist into J's nose. "BASTARD!!"

Wnen Angel pulled his arm back, J's nose was bleeding, but other than that, seemed unphased.

"You can't!" Angel roared. "You can't just throw him to the wolves like that! I won't let you!!" Angel punched again. This time, J. grabbed his wrist before he could draw it back. "Let me go! I'm gonna fuck you up, so let GO!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" J. roared louder. "What would he say if he saw you now?!"

Angel froze, breathing hard. "It's not right... Why are you doing this?!"

"Because we need to, or this whole city - no, the whole wrold will go straight to shit. Do you understand? Kaard is our hope. This fight is his purpose."

"You can't decide that!" Angel yelled.

"No. But I know he will."

Angel sagged, staring at the older man. "Why..."

"Angel. You need to choose right now," J rumbled, "Can you be by his side, to protect him, no matter what he chooses? If not, then you have no right to be by his side!"

"It's not right!" Rage was giving way to frustration. "he's just a kid, like me!"

"How do you not get it?" J's grip tightened. "He's not like you. He never was. He never will be. No matter how much either of you want it to be true; he's more than Othello Montague!"

"H-he's going to get hurt..." Angel's voice was starting to break. "he's going to suffer and there's nothing I can do about it...?"

Thick arms wrapped around him, and Angel's face was pressed into a thick hard chest. He wished it were under better circumstances; it would have been hot. "You can be with him, Angel... that's all... I'm sorry, but it means more than you can imagine to have someone at your side who loves you..."

"How much time does he have...?" Angel asked, sagging against this man.

"His power will mature when he reaches the age of majority," J said softly. "His eighteenth birthday."

"So he only has a few weeks..." Angel muttered, remembering the fight Othello had with his mother.

"Weeks?" J. demanded, "I thought he was a junior!"

"No... he was held back a year..." Angel looked up at the alarm in the older man's voice. "Why? What's going to happen?"

J's face showed clear alarm. "Which means we have a year less than we thought we did! Lady!"

"I heard..." The ninja-Lady said behind Angel. "He'll be ready, don't fret... We'll just have to fetch him. Excelerate his teaching."

"A-about that..." J. shifted as he let go of Angel. "Ames took him."

Norn smiled, like a cat might at a mouse. "Where?"

"He... Didn't say... He'll be gone until the weekend--"

Norn was gone so suddenly and silently that Angel wasn't sure she'd ever been there. "Who... Wait, wasn't someone just here..."

"Don't worry about it," J. pet Angel's hair, the picture of anxiety.

"Right..." Angel muttered.

* * *

Angel caught the bus home. J. had said nothing more after his talk with... Who was there? Maybe J was talking to himself just then...

He grabbed a burger for himself on the way and hid out in his room, locking the door. His thoughts went to Othello and stayed there.

His Top-Man was being put in harms way... Did he know? Was he just being used by the Be Tempted people? He made up his mind to tell Lothario. Msybe his Man's family could put a stop to this. Yeah, Mrs. Montague was a fucking COP! Surely she could do something!

* * *

But Rio wasn't at school. None of Rio's friends would give him the time of day, and he couldn't beat it out of them anymore. Not that he made a habit of tussling with Rio's friends, but still...

He went to the Montague house after school...

...And found it surrounded by people, engulfed by flames and smoke.