William had lived in London all his life, but he had no idea that such places or such people existed. They went into alleyways that stank of human effluence. They entered buildings where children, like rats, scuttled away from them at their approach. They were welcomed into houses where women seemed to pollute the very air with their corruption. Everywhere they went, Liam kept a hold on William, sometimes just a hand on his arm, sometimes a firmer grip, leading him, directing him. Only occasionally did he leave William in some safe corner while he disappeared with some of the children or perhaps one of the low women that pawed at his fine clothes.

They didn't stop anywhere for long; Liam always keen to move on when they had stopped for any time. He grew more magnificent as the night wore on. William's energy flagged in comparison. He watched Liam laughing with thieves and beggars, watched him flirting with the whores, watched him play with the filthy urchins, and still they moved through the long night.

Finally, in a daze of exhaustion, Liam led William back to the mansion and repeated his ritual of locking up. He took William by the shoulders and guided him up the stairs. When they reached Liam's rooms, William was too exhausted by all he had seen and heard to be the slightest bit surprised by there being a hipbath in the room full of hot, soapy water. Liam sighed with pleasure. 'Ah, my women know how to please me, that they do. 'T's well for them, for I did not get satisfied by them earlier.' He began to strip off his filthy clothes. William hovered. They had watched a woman bathing herself that night: it seemed unnecessarily coy to turn away from Liam's body. 'Did you enjoy that, William? I think you liked the bath the best of all I treated you to tonight.'

'I'm not sure enjoy is the word I would use. I think, as ink spilt on a page, I am slightly ruined.'

Liam paused with his hands on his britches. Slowly, he unbuttoned them and stepped out. His nakedness was magnificent. William only blinked and held Liam's gaze. 'You had never seen a naked woman, I'm thinking.'

'No. You are right. As usual, Liam, you are right.'

'Huh. You challenge me?'

'Do I?'

Liam climbed into the bath with pleasure. 'Come and wash my back, please. It's the least you can do.'

'For what I have been forced to witness tonight?'

'No, because I kept you safe, Will, and did not let any of it touch you.'

'My body, perhaps.'

'Stop being such a woman and wash my back. Now.'

Not because Liam ordered it, but because he could of his own free will, William came forward and took the offered washcloth. He knelt alongside the bath and began to scrub over the flawless skin. 'What did you think, William, when she spread her legs for you to see?'

'I don't want to think about it.'

'Ah. Why? Did you prefer that little boy who. danced for you?'

'Don't do this, Liam, please. I need time to think about all I have seen tonight.'

'Very well. But remember, Will, it is all about power. I did not create any of that, did I?'

'No, I suppose not.'

'It was there all the time, but you never knew.'

'Yes, I suppose so.'

'So, what is more wrong, William? That you hide in your comfortable little life not knowing what it is built upon, or that I open up the sewers and know where the evil lies?'

'Are you evil, Liam?'

Liam turned his head at this challenging question, and their faces were only inches apart. 'Do you think I am?'

'I think you made me think of evil, when I looked on you tonight, yes.'

'Was that me, or what I was surrounded by? Where lies the real evil, boy? Think on that, and while you do, think on this..' He lifted his wet arms from the warm water, clasped William firmly around the neck and opened his mouth against William's resistant lips. William struggled, but he was held too tightly. He tried not to kiss back, but the cold lips on his were insistent. He refused to open his mouth, but he had to breathe, and Liam's tongue slipped in on William's small intake of breath.

William tried no more; he just kissed back: his first adult kiss. He rose up on his knees, and Liam twisted in the water, pulling him closer. What had been a rough, insistent kiss became softer, more urgent from both of them. Finally, William lifted his arms, too, and entwined them in Liam's hair, and he knew that he would never be able to deny again the passion he felt for this man. He knew that Liam felt it; he knew that his heart was as open to this bewildering man as his mouth was. Finally, it was Liam who drew away. He leant back against the rim of the bath, looking at William through narrowed lids.

Suddenly, he looked down as if shy. 'I just wanted to show you how powerful you are compared to them, Will. Did I do so wrong?'

William sat back on his heels. 'I have no memory of what is right and what is wrong now. I have just kissed you. There is no certainty left.'

Liam looked up with a flash of something strange in his eyes. For a moment, William thought that it looked like triumph, but that seemed inappropriate. He climbed out of the bath and began to towel himself dry. 'I must sleep now, Will. I will come for you tomorrow. I will show you something new.'

'No. I mean.. Why do I have to go?'

'You would stay here for the day while I sleep?'

'Well, no. But I thought..' William didn't know what he thought, except that he wanted to kiss Liam again. He took a hesitant step toward him. 'I thought we could..'

'I am tired, Will; I'm full, and I want to sleep. Goodnight.' He turned on his heel and went into his room. Just before he shut the door, he said in an amused voice, 'Help yourself to my bath. I may have cooled it too much for your taste, but I think you should bathe before you make an appearance at your mother's house.'

William glanced down at his hands. They were black, literally, soot and grime coating them. He couldn't look at his face - there being no mirrors - but he suspected it would be as bad. As memories of the filth they had seen that night washed over him, he stripped and climbed into the water. He tipped his head back and tried not to let tears of exhaustion and confusion undo him. As he bit his lip in an effort to remain in control, he sensed once more that someone was watching him. He opened his eyes and looked over at the bedroom door. Naked, aroused, Liam leant in the doorway, watching him. Their eyes locked for a moment. Liam pursed his lips, raised one eyebrow then slipped away into the gloom.

Utterly unable to control the tears now, William let them flow freely. Quite what he was crying for he didn't know - he had seen enough that night to make stronger men than him cry a lifetime of useless tears.

He washed as best he could, dressed, and went out into the dull sunshine of another London day, the events of the night a blur in his mind.

When he got home, he bathed again in clean water that had not had a large Irishman in before him. Of all the things that seemed unreal about that night, this simple fact - that he had bathed in someone else's bathwater - made William dizzy with confusion. Not the fact that he had kissed another man, not the fact that he had wanted to stay and do more with another man, but the fact that he had shared that man's bath water unsettled him.

He suddenly laughed at himself and enjoyed the feeling of doing that so much that he did it again. He climbed naked and clean into a fresh bed and, for the first time in his whole life, felt that life had dealt him a pretty generous hand.

He was just drifting off the sleep when his mother came hesitantly into the room. He sat up then slid back down when he remembered he was naked.

'Are you unwell?'

'No, Mother, I am just tired. Do you mind terribly, but I really do need to sleep.'

'Oh. Well, have you eaten?'

William wrinkled his brow, not at the simple question, but at the odd words of Liam's that only then registered in his mind: "I'm full, and I need to sleep." William huffed slightly. Liam hadn't offered him anything to eat, even though he would not have eaten anyway in any of the places they had seen that night.

'William, darling?'

His mother had not called him that in a long time, and he tipped his head on one side, looking at her. He smiled. 'I'll eat later, Mother. Leave me be, now. I'm weary, and I must sleep.'

She nodded and left. William smiled and stretched pleasantly in the bed. Power. It was all about power.

***************************

William went that afternoon to stand outside Liam's house. He looked it over carefully, sure the man was inside. He tried to work out which his room would be and thought he found it. He concentrated all his efforts on that small boarded-up window, wondering if he thought hard enough, whether Liam would sense him and come down. He could have just gone in but something about his disturbing reception the previous evening put him off. Whether this had been his confusion over the odd appearance of the women, or the thought of Liam with some London whore, he did not question too closely. He thought about the noises he had heard - since last night, the rapid thump, thump, not such a mystery. What if Liam were in there now with another common whore? What if his body lay hot and sweating over that. squishy place? William felt bile rise in his throat. He switched to thinking about Liam's mouth on his, instead. Liam had started the kiss. Liam wanted him. He would not sully this by taking a woman behind his back..

William cursed and stomped back home. He spent a useless hour or two trying to write but could not equate what he felt for Liam with any of his usual style of poetry.

Eventually, the sun set, and eight o'clock arrived. This time, Liam arrived alone, and William joined him in the street almost shyly, not daring to catch his eye at first. Liam glanced around then said, 'We have a lot to do tonight, boy, but first..' He grabbed William's arm and herded him down the basement steps and into the lee of the kitchen door. He pushed William against the wall and covered him with his dark presence. He rubbed himself on William's body. 'I've been dreaming of you, William. Did you enjoy sharing my sleep?'

'I didn't get invited, so I don't know.'

Liam's eyes flashed. 'Ah, little rabbit turns again. I love it when you do that.'

'Why do you call me that? Don't.'

'No, you are right. But, oh, Will, I need this..' He bent and tickled William's lips with his own, then with his tongue.

William laughed, and on that soft sound, Liam entered his mouth. William felt utterly possessed; every inch of his mouth was taken and explored by that experienced tongue. He felt Liam pressing hard into him and then, shockingly, his hand was captured and pressed against Liam's very hard groin. William's hand shook a little, but he allowed Liam to work his palm against his bulge, allowed him to open himself up and slip his warm hand down inside the soft nest of curls. Liam's kisses became frantic. He bent his leg up and seemed about to climb down William's throat but suddenly pulled away, tearing William's hand out and bending over sharply at the waist. 'Fuck.'

William, concerned, but a little shocked at the language, put a hand on his back. 'What's wrong? Are you all right?'

Liam straightened and chuckled. 'Aye, Will. You excited me more than I anticipated. I did not want to embarrass meself and have to go home to change. We have a lot to do tonight.'

'Oh. I thought we could..' He wanted to add, "Some more of this," but didn't have the confidence to admit this need to Liam. He glanced down as Liam refastened his britches. His hand tingled where it had felt that cold shaft. As they walked along together in the dark, William following puppy-like to Liam's dark intent, he thought about the feel of that mysterious place. He pictured them lying somewhere on a large bed, naked, together, exploring and enjoying sensual touch. Beyond that, he did not have the knowledge or desire to go, but almost chaste, brotherly, noble love and physical worship tugged at his mind, making him dizzy to taste its delights. When he sensed people looking at them, he felt a surge of pride wash through him that this man loved him. What those same people would have thought had they known what intimacy now lay between them was a fleeting worry that William did not let distract him from his adoration. Scandal, ruin, imprisonment, disgrace - the words flitted around in his brain with no more power to hurt him than the people themselves, now that he was with Liam. What hypocrites people were; if only they knew what William now knew about life. Liam was right. It was all about power, and the power of being above society's hypocrisy seduced William just as effectively as Liam's hand tucked in his arm, Liam's hand caressing his warm skin as they walked along, Liam's voice, Liam's strong body with its power flowing from it, Liam's presence. Liam. Liam. Liam. William wanted to run; he wanted to shout. He did not know what to call this sense of power, but Liam loved him, and all else was naught compared to that wonderful, blessed fact.

Before he had the sense to protest, William found himself back in the same grimy alleys they had passed through the previous night. This time, Liam led him to the shelter of a doorway and pointed toward a squalid house. There was no light; it was filthy and rancid in the street and an air of deep neglect hung over all the low buildings. 'Why are we here?'

'Shhh and watch.'

'What.?' A woman emerged from the house, carrying a bundle. She put the bundle down, and it walked, appearing to be a tiny child, still tottering, no more than two or three. William frowned. 'W.?'

Liam suddenly took his arm, and they silently followed the two figures in the gloom. They rounded corners and went down alleys almost worse than the ones they had left. Drunks rolled and urinated in the open. Children begged. William shuddered in disgust and felt grateful for the feel of Liam's hand on his. Finally, the woman rounded a corner into a more prosperous-looking street. The child began a pitiful mewing and tried to tug at the hand holding it securely. Liam nudged William. 'See? Childhood's natural understanding of power. She knows she has none, and she complains at the injustice.'

'Liam, I'm not sure..'

The woman stopped at a door and knocked furtively. Liam hastened William into the shadows, stopping his complaint with a cool hand over his mouth. An old woman came to the door and eyed the younger one for a moment, then reached into her pocket and appeared to hand over some money. In exchange, she was handed the wriggling, crying toddler.

'Come now - to the front of the house.'

'Liam, why is she.?'

Liam grabbed William around the waist and propelled him over a small wall; then straightening both their clothing and smoothing their hair, he sauntered up to the impressive front door. It was opened by a house servant, and Liam showed a small card. The man nodded and let them in. William felt incredibly nervous, but Liam seemed quite at home and made his way into the drawing room. A group of men stood around a small fire, drinking, chatting, and looking at pictures and small intricate antiques.

'Liam, what is this.?'

'Shh. Well, my friends, here we all are. I trust you are well?'

An older man came over and clapped Liam on the back. 'Rory, it is a pleasure to see you again. Who is your young friend?'

Before William could reply, Liam said cheerfully, 'This is Samuel, a very good, very new friend of mine.'

'Ahh, well, welcome, Samuel; I am glad to see our select numbers swell.'

'What is this place?'

The man looked surprised. Liam laughed and clapped William a little too hard around the shoulders. 'He's nervous. Maybe we could sit a little to one side tonight. You understand. first time and all..'

They were waved over to a small couch in the gloom of a recess. William refused to sit. When the man wandered away, he hissed, 'Now. Tell me what this is all about, Liam. Who are these men? Why are we here? What has this to do with the little. oh, my God.' He turned as the little girl was brought into the room. She appeared to be drugged, for she could not stand unaided. She was no longer dressed in the rags she had been in with her mother, but had on an array of silk underwear and feathers in the worst parody of a cheap whore that William had ever seen. Her tiny pale face was rouged and powdered, and the smell of scent wafted to William as she was carried past him.

He sank to the couch, but then stood up, agitated. Liam held his arm so hard that William thought it must have been bruising.

'I will not be a party to this, Liam; let me go.'

'To do what, little one? There are eight of them and only one of you. Are you a fighter?'

'I don't care. Oh God! No!' The child was being passed among the men and.. William could not bear to watch and turned his face with an agonised expression to Liam. 'Two of us. There are two of us. I implore you, Liam, do something. Help me.'

'Ah. That is an interesting definition of power, William. Would you like me to put a stop to this?'

'Yes! Yes! That's what I've been saying.'

'How much do you want it?'

'What?'

'Do you want I should kill them. I could, if that is what you want.'

'God, no! What are you saying? Are you mad? Can you stop this, though; can you?'

'Just stop it? You don't want their deaths?'

'Liam!'

'All right, William. It will be as you ask.'

Before William could even begin to intervene, eight men were either unconscious on the floor or wishing they were. William had never witnessed violence. It revolted him at first; then it made him shiver; his ears began to buzz; his blood pounded in his ears; things rose, flushed and hot. He blushed but could not take his eyes off the flowing magic that was Liam. He spun; he kicked; he twisted; he threw, and he dodged in a blur of black power, and his power called to William through the gloom. He wanted to be as Liam was. He wanted the power to help as Liam could; he wanted to be a dark, avenging angel, as Liam was.

When it was over, when Liam stood laughing by the fireplace, William staggered over one of the men to the child who lay insensible on the floor. 'What shall we do? Oh, God, what is this that I am here, doing this?' He made to pick the child up, but as he did, he saw movement and looked down at the seething mass that was her hair. He reared back, revolted and began to rub his hands in distaste on his clothes. Liam laughed. He was leaning over one of the men, wiping at some blood on the man's face. 'Do you no wanna hug and pet your little prize then, Will? Does the urchin revolt you?'

'She can't help. yes, she does. Can we go?'

'Aye, of course we can. I am warming, Will; my heart almost beats, and I long for you to watch me again.'

William was silent at this odd speech. He wanted to put his hand to Liam's chest and reassure him that his heart beat powerfully. He wanted to slide his hands over that smooth chest. When they reached the garden, William began to turn back, doubtful at leaving the child, but Liam grabbed hold of his arm and began to swing him around, dancing through the dark, whooping with power and the fun of his life. William tried to suppress the unseemly display, but then allowed Liam to propel and play with him. The sensation of spinning in the dark was intoxicating; it made William's head spin again and to each spin, Liam whispered intently, 'Power, power, power,' until William was dizzy with Liam's presence.

Finally, panting, William pulled away, laughing. Liam snatched him back and pressed him against the wall. 'Kiss me, Will.'

'Oh, yes..' He tore at Liam's mouth, aroused beyond caring whether they could be observed. What did that matter? Liam was power, and nothing could defeat him. He pulled away then came back to the sensuous mouth. Liam cupped William's backside and pulled them together so their erections rubbed against each other. William groaned, and as his eyes dilated, he murmured, 'Can we go home, Liam? I w-want you.'

'Do you? Well, maybe you can have me one day, Will, but not tonight. We have more to do.'

'More people to save?'

Liam laughed uproariously. 'Yes, quite right. More people to save. So, let's get saving, shall we?'

William nodded faintly. He wanted to go back to Liam's bed and.. Once more, he could not complete the act in his head, but each time he thought of it, it progressed infinitesimally in his mind. Now, after Liam's display of his power, William thought he might even like to place his lips reverentially to Liam's penis, to worship at that core of his masculinity, but that was so shocking a thought that he was almost glad Liam prevented it and dragged him on through the dark night.

They came to the river, and Liam pushed him into the dark under one of the bridges. William looked around nervously. Only a fool came to these places after dark. He had heard of men's throats being slit for the shoes they wore, and even with Liam's imposing presence, he fingered his purse anxiously. After a few minutes, they heard the sounds of a struggle, suppressed cries, grunts, and then a dragging sound. Liam grinned at William, and his teeth stood out unnaturally white in the dark night. 'Time to choose again, Will.'

'What do you mean?'

'Can you hear the soft grunts?'

'No. Yes. What's this all..'

'Take a look, Will. They won't hear us; they are too engrossed in her.'

'Oh, God, no!' William pulled away and went further under the dark bridge.

Three men knelt on the ground around the body of a woman. William could not tell if she was still alive, for she seemed as still as the dead. It was only when he slid silently to the side, where the light from one small lantern shone on her face, did he see that she was very much alive, but that fear and pain held her captive in their twin embrace. He sucked in his breath at what the men were doing to her, and as one, they turned their heads to look at him. He blinked and felt that time stood still. He felt no fear. He did not have power, but Liam did, and as he was with Liam, he felt powerful, too. He held out his hand in the dark and felt Liam's cold one come to his. 'What will it be, Will? What do they deserve for this? Shall I end this for her.'

'Yes.'

'Shall I make it quick and easy for them?'

'No.'

'Oh, yessss, shall I make it hurt?'

'As they have hurt her, yes.'

So, Liam did. The men who knelt to the woman in the dark discovered what it was like to be penetrated. They discovered the smell of fear; they found out how their bodies betrayed them when the pain became intolerable.

William, who had helped the woman out from the scene of such violence, saw only part of what Liam did to her attackers. He only heard a few muffled screams, and when he deposited the woman near a more populated part of the riverbank and tried to return, he found his way blocked by the dark presence that was Liam. Liam pressed him to the slimy wall of the bridge and kissed into William's hair. He rubbed them together once more. William groaned. 'Please, Liam, I think I shall die if I cannot lie with you now.'

'Does this excite you, my love? Did you feel the eroticism of the power you had over them?'

'I don't know. I only know I want you, Liam. I feel..'

Liam stifled him with a kiss, and William smelt the power rising off Liam's clothes like steam. He pulled his mouth away. 'Can we go home now?'

Liam laughed. 'You should,' and with that, he made another of his startling exits, leaving William alone. He looked around at his surroundings and knew that he should feel fear. but Liam was gone. He knew he should be cautious returning home. but Liam was gone. He knew he should avoid the dark places and seek the light, but Liam was gone, and none of it mattered. Liam was his courage; Liam was his strength, and Liam had become the focus of his existence. He made it home and remembered not one moment of the journey. He went to his rooms and shed his filthy clothing. He stood naked by an open window, crying for the shadow that had promised to be his but would not come to him.

*****
Part 4:

William lay in bed holding himself. It was a poor substitute, but his penis was as Liam's, and it comforted him. He ran his hands over his chest. It was not as broad, but it was smooth, and he could thus feel Liam under his hands. He turned on the pillow and saw dark eyes next to him, loving him, imbuing him with their unearthly power. He fell asleep to thoughts of his life with Liam and woke late in the afternoon, burning to be with him.

When he got to the house, he pushed in through the rear door as he had before. Immediately, he felt something was wrong. There was no evidence of occupation - but there had been none before. There was just a subtle shift in the atmosphere that told William that whatever had been here was here no longer. Liam was here no longer. He flew up the stairs and into Liam's room. It looked carelessly left. No one occupied any of the other rooms either. He went meticulously through each one, looking for the note he felt sure Liam would have left for him. Liam loved him; how could he leave without even a note?

There was nowhere William could go to burn off the agony that tore at him. He had come to the house pumped up on adrenalin, testosterone awash in his body, confused, burning, needing something that only Liam could supply; but he had found sterile emptiness. He howled out his frustration and began to break things, smashing a chair into a wall, the unexpected feel of the violence making his blood sing in his ears. He began on the bed, shredding the sheets as best as his feeble strength would allow.

'I'm glad now that I stole the best set when I left.'

William whirled around, white fragments floating down around his head. The dark shadow he had come to want more than his own life leant casually in the doorway, watching him with interest. 'Do finish, Will; I will have the benefit of that passion later.'

William came up to him and hit him across the face. He fell back in pain, holding his wrist in wonder. It had been like hitting marble, and he feared his wrist was broken. Liam took it in his cold hand. 'I will tolerate that, Will, for again, the passion excites me, but do not think you can transgress like that again.'

'You left without a sodding note, Liam. I've been thinking of you all day; Christ, I even dreamt of you, and you left without a note.'

Liam chuckled. 'I think you could call me a kind of walking note. I'm here, am I not?'

Tears sprung to William's eyes. 'What is this? Do you love me? Is this love? What are we doing? What am I doing?'

'Hush. Too many questions. Questions are for those that still require answers, my little study. Come and kiss me. Let that be enough of an answer for you.'

William came willingly to the strong arms. He tried to make Liam his through the kisses. He pushed his tongue into Liam's mouth as he had felt Liam do to him. He eased his hand voluntarily in between them and began to squeeze and release Liam's balls, just as he had done to his own the night before. Liam groaned into the kiss, and William felt his heart soar. He jerked his head away and tried to pull Liam to the shredded bed. 'Please. I don't know exactly what or how. but I want you, Liam, as I have never wanted anyone. I burn for you, somehow, as if you were in my blood.'

Liam pursed his lips and allowed himself to be pulled to the bed. Fumbling, almost sick with tension, William began to unbutton Liam's coat. It was too slow; he left it and sank to his knees, working urgently on the buttons of Liam's britches. Liam lowered his head and watched the bitten fingernails working him with such eagerness. William opened the front of Liam's clothes and revealed the thick shaft and soft patch of curled hair. He laid his forehead on the hard shaft as if seeking benediction in the fluid that leaked from it. He nuzzled into the musky, male smell, mewing slightly in his need. His mouth began to water with need, and he flicked his tongue out to taste the cool skin. It set him on fire, and he began to lick frantically up and down the silky column as a puppy with his first bone.

Suddenly, he was lifted by the shoulders of his coat. Face to face ith Liam, he cried out at the loss of the pleasures he had anticipated. Liam tipped his head on one side and said softly, 'How much do you want it, Will?'

'Oh, God, do you not know that I love you?'

'Who speaks of love? I speak of want, Will. It is something so much more powerful than love. How much do you want me?'

'Enough to die for you. You must know that.'

'Ahh. now we come to the cusp of the pretty pattern we have made. Enough to die for me?'

'Yes.'

'Enough for others to die?'

'W-what..' William took a deep breath, trying to quieten his heartbeat, afraid it would give away his fear. 'What do you mean?'

'Come.'

'NO! Not out again. In. Here. Liam! I need you. Please!'

Liam allowed no refusal. He dragged William out of the room, buttoning himself up at the same time. He pulled him out of the door and set him on his feet. 'Now, keep up.' William had to run for fear of losing him. He began to breathe heavily, but Liam had no mercy. William expected him to return to the dark sections of the city, but Liam went to its heart; he sought out the theatre district and pulled William into the shadows of a building. He turned on William and began to rain kisses over his face, his neck, his hair. With a mischievous look, he fell to his knees and pressed his face into the front of William's britches. William flung his head back with a gasp of shock at the pleasure that washed through his body. He felt an orgasm surfing toward him and began to cry when the face was pulled away. 'Soon, my little pet, soon. Now, look.'

Liam took his shoulders and turned William toward a door. He saw that it was a stage door at the back of a theatre. A man came out in odd attire, and befuddled though he was by the blood roaring through his loins, William recognised the man who had ruined Hamlet for him in that previous lifetime he could hardly remember.

'If you let me kill him, I will put my face to you again, Will. If you let me kill him, I will unbutton you. If you let me kill him, I will take you in my mouth. I will take you in my mouth, Will. My tongue will bathe you.. What? You resist? Still, you resist? I had not anticipated such delight.' Liam turned William to face him and regarded his pale, sick expression. He smiled. 'Will, if you let me kill him, I will love you as you need to be loved. We will never be apart; we will set the world on fire with our poetry.. If you let me kill him.'

William's body sank against Liam's. He pleaded to be released from the passion. but only in his head. Into the dark night, he said, 'Yes.'

He did not know if he heard the man die, but he heard a crunch as if Liam bit into a sharp, green apple. He heard swallowing and the sound of the apple being enjoyed. He kept his eyes closed and thought about the love they would share. All sound then ceased, and when William looked up, he was alone with a dead body that looked obscene in its pale stillness. William vomited and cried out for the love that he had been promised.

*********************

William's fever became physical, and he lay in his bed, burning up, thinking about death. His throat was parched, but however much water he drank, it was never enough. His body was coated with sweat, and every drop condemned him in his mind as a murderer. He cried buckets of useless salt into an uncaring night, and every drop condemned him as a hypocrite - for he did not really care. At that moment, in that bed, he would have murdered his own mother for Liam's touch. He would have died himself for Liam's love. He rose again in the late afternoon and went out as soon as it was dark. The darkness embraced him, hid some of the sin that hung around him. He went toward the old house again, going through the park to avoid better-lit areas. He was just going toward the gate when he saw them. all three of them. Once more, time slowed for William. The family were moving out of time; they appeared to flow over the ground, life and energy sparking off them. Unnaturally pale in the night, they glowed, flowed with the subtle currents around them. William stood back. The women were incredible. They exuded strength just as Liam did. Intent on their passage, they passed William as if he were merely one of the ornamental railings. William felt the ground tremble as they went but realised, with a shudder, that it was merely his own knees trembling. He began to run, following the dancing figures. They did not slow their pace at all. After a short time, he lost them but one agonising dash more, and he caught sight of Liam's back entering an elegant house just ahead of him. He ran to the door and hammered on it. He cried Liam's name; the door swung open to receive him. He fell inside and strong arms caught him. 'Silly rabbit. Now I'll 'ave to eat you, too.'

William sank to the mat, and the unnatural exertion, coupled with his fever, sent him into a deep faint.

**********************

He was in a state of semi-wakefulness. It was a terrifying state that he had experienced before: he could hear everything, but he could not move or will himself fully awake to end the paralysis. When this had happened before - often after a fever - he would allow himself to go back to sleep, and then seemed to wake naturally. This time was different, for this time, he was not alone. Strong arms held him, and he could hear the sounds of voices.

'Can I keep 'im?'

'No, Drusilla. You would squash him in a few hours, and I do not fancy clearing up the mess.'

'Let her be, Darla. She will amuse us with her play.'

'That thing is not amusing, Angelus. It wasn't when you first brought it home, and I have surprised myself how I have restrained from killing it.'

'I know. It's pitiful mewing has almost done me in.'

'So, what are you going to do with it now? You played with it; you tidy it away.'

'Shall I turn it? A mewing poet demon?'

'Don't you dare. I cannot stand it now; eternity with it would be worse than hell. Besides, its soul is full of you.'

'What?'

'His soul. It oozes you; do you not smell it?'

'I thought that was his fear.'

'No, it's his disgusting passion for you. If you turn him that will be the last thing his soul was filled with. It will haunt you for eternity.'

'Yes, but his soul won't come back, so I don't see the problem.'

'Do as you wish, Angelus. I have stepped in more attractive things, but you always did enjoy odd toys.'

'Don't look at dear Drusilla like that. Look, she's feeding her baby. How amusing.'

'That's the first tit he's had in his mouth, I'd bet. Pity for him he can't enjoy it.'

'I don't think our William is much into tits, my love.'

'No, he liked your hard nubs though, I'm thinking. Don't, Angelus, put it away - I'm in no mood for sucking you tonight. Clear that mess away however you like, but I want it gone from this house when I wake. Drusilla! Come. I require you tonight.'

'Maybe I should just eat him.'

'Do it while he's like that then, for even he would not consent, and I do NOT want to be woken by his laughable attempts to fight you off.'

'I could get him to consent.'

'Angelus, are you making a bet with me?'

'What would the prize be, my love?'

'What is always your prize?'

'Ahh, then I must ensure that I win.'

'See that you do then. Dru. I have called you twice. A third time of asking would be unfortunate for you.'

William decided that this paralysis was not as before - that he was not really hearing, unable to move. He reasoned this was a nightmare brought on by passion and fever. He felt his head hit the floor, and he knew no more for some time.

He awoke to more strong arms, but this time, they were naked, and they were Liam's. He groaned and turned to him, snuffling slightly. 'What happened? I've had horrible dreams, Liam. I feel sick.'

'Shh, love, do not fear; I am here.' There was a slight giggling at this, and when William tried to sit up, Liam said contritely, 'Sorry, only it seems I'm a poet, only I don't..'

'Know it?'

'There you go. Feeling better already.'

'You left me again. You promised you would love me if I let you. but you left.'

'Oh, little one, I realised what I had done. Do you think such a thing is easy to commit and then fall into the arms of the one you love as if nothing had happened?'

'So, you do love me? Only I had this dream, and it was your voice but..'

'Shhh, I have strange dreams, too, Will. One day, I may share them with you. Would you like that?' Liam sat William up in the bed and laid a hand on his cheek. He smiled softly. 'Now, I'm thinking... there's us. there's a bed. and there's this..' He took William's hand and pressed it to his front. 'Do you feel the flesh beneath the cloth, Will? So hard. Hard for you. I want you now. You have come such a long way for me, and I want you now. Shall I show you the last thing that I have to show you? Shall I give you my last gift?' He knelt up and began to slowly unbutton his britches. The material fell away to each side, and they slid off his hips to pool around his knees.

Erect, impossibly swollen, Liam's penis swayed in front of William's face. He put a hand to William's hair and twisted it into his fingers, gradually pulling the pale, sick face toward him. 'Smell me, Will. This is the smell of a man - the closest you will ever be to it, anyway. Touch me now. Just here, on the tip, where my fluid runs for you.' Liam arched back at William's soft touch. He swore under his breath and hissed, 'More delight than I anticipated. A pleasurable bet, after all.'

'What do you mean?' The petulant tone drew Liam's gaze back to William's face.

'Nothing, lover of mine. Your tongue - I need your tongue on me now. I am cold, and I want your heat.'

William regarded the swaying shape. He leant forward as if to obey, but something made him hesitate, and instead, he put a hand to the tip and eased the foreskin off. Liam snagged his hands even more firmly in the soft brown hair and moaned his encouragement to this exploration. William allowed his face to be pressed tightly into Liam's groin. He could smell him intently; a scent that smelt as his own arousal did at night when he longed to hold himself but feared the retribution that would follow such wicked acts. He felt no such fear now. The scent intoxicated him as the heady scent of fine wine, and he wanted to drink its source. He placed the tip of his tongue to the glistening stream and let it bubble and pool down into his mouth.

Suddenly, Liam pushed William onto his back and fumbled with his fastenings. He cursed and just ripped them open. William moaned when his own erection sprung free, and he expected Liam to bend and put his tongue on him, too. He cried out when Liam flipped him over and heaved him up, so his backside stuck up naked toward his face. He tried to pull away, protesting, but Liam only murmured his appreciation and bent his face to that delight instead.

William had never been licked anywhere before - being licked on his anus slightly undid him. When Liam began to bite softly around the virgin hole, William thrashed his head on the bed and begged for more. He heard a soft chuckle, and the licking became pressure as if, with just a little encouragement, William would feel that soft tongue inside him. 'Do you want me, Will?'

'Liam! Please, I don't know anything about what we are doing, but I want you to push something into me. Please.'

'Your poetry deserts you, Will. Perhaps you took up the wrong profession; did you no think of that? Now, again, do you want me?'

'I want you more than I want myself.'

'Ahh, that is pretty. I'm liking that. So, again, how much do you want me to do this, Will. like this?' He eased a finger into Will and just tempted and teased the sensitive walls around the edge of the wet hole.

William began to cry, deep sobs of frustration making his body shudder. 'I want you more than life itself, Liam. I love you. I love you.'

His backside was lowered, and William found himself pulled back into Liam's embrace. An icy touch on his ear, and Liam's tongue began to explore there instead. 'Do you mean it, Will?'

'God, yes, Liam. I love you.'

'No, do you love me more than your own life?'

'Yes. Whatever that means. I don't like my life much, so being with you is all I care about.'

'Will you come on a journey with me?'

'A journey? I just want to do this..'

'No, we must go on a long journey, Will. Together.'

'India?'

Liam chuckled against William's ear. 'No, precious one, not India. Farther.'

'China?'

'Farther.'

'Is there farther?'

'Will you come? I have prepared a place for you. Promise me you will come, and I will show you where.'

'How long will the trip take?'

Liam laughed. 'It will continue my eternity. Is that long enough?'

'I don't understand what you mean. But I can't leave M..'

'You said I was more important than your life.'

'You are. Liam, can't we just.?'

'Yes, kiss me, Will.' He turned William in his arms and rained kisses down on him. He laughed and nuzzled and bit and licked and played with him as if he were a delightful new toy. William rose to the adoration. This is what he had dreamed of. The other.? The entering.? That was something he wanted but didn't want to. want to want. But this? This was true love. This is what would give his life true meaning. He rose to Liam's mouth and whispered, 'I love you; you are my life.'

Liam placed his mouth to William's neck. 'If I take my life from you, will you say no?'

'What? I don't..'

'Say yes, William, invite me in, and you will never be apart from me. You will be part of me more profoundly than you can understand. I need you, so I can live. I love you. William, I love you.'

'Oh, God, take me. Liam, just take whatever you need from me, but love me, please.' He felt the sharp piercing of his skin. He felt himself floating away on a peaceful tide that was Liam's love for him.

********************

'You did it.'

'I sure did.'

'Don't sound so gleeful, Angelus. I shall have to punish you for this.'

'After I've had my reward, my love. He welcomed me at the end.'

'Hmm. He didn't know you were going to turn him.'

'Hardly, he thought I was going to fuck him.'

'Would you have?'

'Darla, I'd rather stick it in dog shit.'

'Hmm. Maybe that should be your punishment for this then.'

'Err. that thing or the dog shit?'

'I'll leave you worry about it. So, are you going to stake it? Look, it's awake. It'll need feeding or staking. You decide.'

**********

William drifted back to hell. He'd been there for sometime, and it was beginning to seem familiar. It wasn't the pain - although that was intense all over his body - it wasn't the fear - although that was acute and had already made his wastes flood from his body. It was the realisation that, as hell actually existed, all the rest existed as well: heaven, God, redemption, salvation, endless happiness. just as he had lost any chance to ever have any of those things again.

He had been visited by many people as he lay huddled naked in the dark, the demon in him gradually swelling and eating him alive from the inside. They came in a slow progression, some mocking, some sympathising. The young man with the dark beard and intense blue eyes had merely looked sadly at him and moved on, but strangely that visitation upset him the most. Some of the progression puzzled him. The young blond girl with the strange, indecent clothes terrified him, and he could not look in her eyes. He cried out in his blind panic for Liam, for he knew that Liam would be at the end of this strange journey.

William wanted the place Liam had promised him.

************************

He opened his eyes to find himself in the dark. He lay in old bodily fluids. He was cold. He was naked. He huddled into himself and felt his flesh; it was not as it once had been. He heard a sound, looked up and saw Liam. He could not stand, so he began to crawl toward him. Everything that he had been still yearned toward Liam, but now, everything that he innately felt he had become yearned toward him also. What was that old, pale love he had thought defined him? He had loved Liam with the purity of his soul; now he loved him with a fury and a passion that burnt. All this pain, all this long, hideous journey that he sensed he was never to return from - it had all been worth it for Liam's love, and now, in this body, he could love him as passionately and as violently as he wanted. The crawling was embarrassing, painful. Why did he not come over and lift him up to that place he had promised for him? He reached the elegant boots, and they wavered in front of his new, still unfocused eyes. 'Liam? My love?'

The dark presence backed off and folded his arms, tipping his head on one side. He began to laugh. 'Hello, Will.'

William tried to speak more fluently but could only croak. 'Help me.'

The laughing became slightly manic, and spit sprayed out into the air. The darkness turned on its heel and began to leave, but paused and said gleefully, 'Oh, by the way, William. I've been thinking about nothing else, and I think I've finally got it.. "If I cannot have your love, I think that I will die. And your scorn will spark alight my funeral pyre. which is a bit of pisser now I'm a vampire." What do you think? The rhythm is kinda wrong, but hell - who cares?'

Still giggling, he snatched open the door, hesitated one more time and said with a click of his fingers - as if remembering something important. 'By the way, my name is Angelus. I suggest you make an effort to remember that.'

*************

He lay huddled still in the corner of the dark space. The progression had begun again. First the young man with the eyes who said he had been lost, was now found, but was still lost. It upset him just enough to be unnerved when the others began to arrive. She came first: the small blond who was not a mother but something evil. She spoke things to him that should not be said, and he cowered before her power. Then Drusilla. She always came next. He could cope with her, for she only called him her silly rabbit and played with him, but she heralded in the next one: the other blond who so confused him. She never stayed long, as if she realised it was not her time, but that was the part he feared the most, for in the space of her leaving, he had the anticipation of. his arrival. and he always came.

He hunched himself in tighter and waited for the footsteps. He waited for the slight swish of air that heralded his arrival, and there he was. He knelt to him and began to laugh. 'Do you still love me, Will?'

He did not reply. It was best. The dark figure rose and began to leave. As he reached the door, he turned and smiled. 'Remember, you wanted the journey. You begged me for it. You welcomed me in. I told you: I am always invited.'

He waited until he could hear the voices no more.

He rose in the short respite before they began again.

Then Spike went in search of the school's rats on which he now fed, wondering if Buffy would come for real one day, wondering if there was anything real anymore in a place where all was confusion.

*****