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Keldwyn's hand slid along Uthe's throat, inside the tunic neckline to rest on his shoulder and bare skin. What thoughts were going through the Fae's mind? Despite his earlier reaction to Uthe trying to feed on him, Keldwyn didn't seem to view what they were watching as an abomination. Not if his slow, sensual pace along Uthe's skin was any indication.
The needs of the body were one thing. Like food or water, they had to be sated. Whether with decadence or sparse rations, it didn't matter. But the needs that rose in his heart and soul under Keldwyn's attentions, those were things far more specific and complex, responding only to certain stimuli. They were needs that had been dormant until now, roused by the touch of one enigmatic Fae Lord.
Though he knew he should get up and go seek blood, the rest had helped. His hunger would keep. He escaped the troubling thoughts by dozing off once more. When he next woke, it was a couple hours before dawn. Keldwyn had remained in the same position. Uthe pushed himself up off the cave floor. "You should have moved me," he said. "You have to be stiff."
At Keldwyn's grin, Uthe couldn't help a chuckle. "It has been a while since I've been subjected to soldier's humor, my lord. I am slow to protect myself from gutter wit."
"Well, you did just wake up. Otherwise, I expect you would have been more prepared." Keldwyn rose with no obvious signs of having been in the same position for hours. Uthe wondered how long he could stay motionless. Vampires were good at it for limited periods, but the way Keldwyn could blend into his environment suggested he could be a statue for as long as he wished.
"When did you last eat?" Uthe asked. Being in the company of vampires, and having a servant like Mariela who cared for her own needs within the ample provisions of Council headquarters, it had been a while since he'd traveled with a companion who might need regular meals. The last time he'd seen Keldwyn eat had been in Savannah.
"A couple days ago. I do not need to eat that often, though I do enjoy it. I can draw nourishment from the elements." Keldwyn placed a hand on the rock beside him. "There is an energy in everything of the earth, and I can draw in small samplings of those things to keep myself well-fortified. As well as use them for magic."
"Well that's awfully handy," Mordecai said, ducking into the cave. Back in wolf form, Rand trotted in to his left and stretched out on the far side of the cave, eying their guests. "I was going to ask if you wanted me to catch you a rat while I'm doing the same for Rand, my lord. They're tasty. The bones can be seasoned like crunchy noodles. I miss Chinese takeout, though Rand doesn't like the fortune cookies, not since he got one caught in the roof of his mouth." Cai shot the wolf a fond look. "He and I had to have a bloody wrestling match to get it out. When he's in this form, sometimes he can be more wolf than man."
"I appreciate you thinking of it," Uthe said gravely. "But we need to be on our way."
"So you're off to the sorceress's cave then? It's close to dawn. Not that that seems to bother you much, not from what Rand saw yesterday, you walking in the sunlight as you were like a human. Does Deathbringer here give you that ability? His lordship, I mean," Cai added at Keldwyn's narrow look, though his eyes sparked. The vampire enjoyed yanking chains. But he'd said death meant little to him.
Uthe was surprised Cai hadn't brought it up before now, since a vampire who could walk in sunlight would be a subject of great curiosity to most their kind. But it was clear the excess of solitude had made the vampire peculiar even beyond usual vampire eccentricities. "Something like that."
Cai shrugged. "I know the risk of death might be preferable to spending the daylight hours in my company, but if you wait until nightfall again, Rand and I can back you up."
"Our quest has some urgency to it. Once I'm inside the sorceress's cave, it may take me time to discover what I'm seeking. But we appreciate what you've already done for us."
"All right, then." Cai accepted his judgment without argument. "Once the sun goes down, we'll come check on you, see if you need help."
"Why would you help two strangers?" Kel asked.
Cai blinked. "Because you're here to do good. Fatima said so. Rand also has a nose for these things. Even I could tell you were honest and right when you came into range. I'm no slouch at character assessment myself. Plus, if I get a chance to kill every one of those fuckers, I'll be taking it. Whoever follows you to that cave had a hand in hurting Fatima. I enjoy my killing, but I like it to be righteous."
"'Truly a fearless knight and secure on every side is he whose soul is protected by the armor of faith just as his body is protected by the armor of steel... He need fear neither demons nor men.'" Uthe quoted St. Bernard. "I do take your meaning. Though righteousness is in the eye of the beholder."
"'Good... Bad... I'm the guy with the gun.' Army of Darkness, Bruce Campbell." Cai grinned. "And I'm officially designating myself beholden. She took care of my wolf, so I'll be happy to wreak vengeance on her killers."
* * *
Over the next hour, Uthe and Keldwyn moved swiftly toward the sorceress's home with minimal conversation. The closer they drew to their destination, the more their unseen followers closed the distance between them. They were both on alert for possible attack.
"I want to take out my sword," Uthe muttered. "Which doesn't make a lot of sense, since my strength and speed as a vampire are far more useful against the current weapons of men."
He knew why he was uneasy, however. The sibilant voice had been silent since they left Cai's cave. Over the years, Uthe had learned to muffle it like a distant conversation when he didn't want to hear its ruminations, but even then he always had a sense of it, like detecting the breath of someone else in a dark room.
The other voice, the rough one, spoke far less, but he usually had a humming awareness of its presence also. Nothing today. If he hadn't had the blood link with them, he would have thought they were entirely gone, but that at least was still there. He just didn't feel any stirrings on the other end of that connection.
The Fae Lord was studying their surroundings in a way Uthe recognized, a fellow soldier evaluating the terrain, the advantages and disadvantages. "What are you expecting here, my lord, so I shall be prepared for it?"
"In an ideal world, there would have been a woman wizened in face like a raisin, possessed of a tongue that could compete with a razor blade. She would have insulted us, then offered us her hospitality. She made an excellent tea with secret ingredients she would never divulge. The first time I drank it, she told me halfway through the cup that it would make my man parts fall off."
"I understand why she had your affection. In this not-so-ideal world?"
"We are about to find her body." Uthe sighed. "Since she enacted a protection spell at her death to protect the contents of her home, I believe that means she left me what I came here seeking. Those following us know it. Once we have it, they will attack. While they may be humans, I suspect what sent them is not. We need to stay alert."
Keldwyn put out a hand. "You promised me the rest of it today."
"Once we're in the cave."
"Understood. But I will know now what may have sent them. My magic can help you better if I know what I face."
That made logical sense. At this point, Uthe wasn't certain why he was withholding information from the Fae Lord, except old habits died hard. Like the desire to hold a sword in the face of an unknown threat.
"A demon," he said. "Powerful. Upper echelon."
Keldwyn's gaze widened enough to show his surprise. "Your not-so-ideal world is truly grim."
Uthe lifted a shoulder. "I did offer you the option of waiting upon my return, my lord."
Keldwyn's expression turned to one of mild offense. "I am merely annoyed that your sorceress isn't here to offer us her emasculating refreshment. I'm parched."
"You would have made a decent Templar, my lord, at least in your courage. I've yet to see your fighting skills."
"I expect that will change shortly."
Uthe nodded. "Be on guard."
The two males
