Mac Tire � Son of the EarthPart 17 � AftermathMorne and Cormac were waiting impatiently on their mounts, ready to set off. "Where is Lij?" they asked as Dom strode angrily across the courtyard. "He appears to be otherwise occupied." Dom snarled as he passed them, heading for the stable. The two riders looked at each other. What now? Dom leapt on his horse and rode off in a fury. He was at the outskirts of the first tiny settlement when the pains struck him, and sent him into an agonizing collapse on the cold earth. He was carried back to Tara on a litter, with a local healer who accompanied him, shaking his head and prophesying glumly that he would be dead within the hour. Lij lay on the bed for some time, looking at Nekeb's face, peaceful in death. He wondered how he could inter his friend in a fashion that would allow him into the Otherworld, but could find no answer. Nekeb's body must be preserved, otherwise there could be no existence for him in the life to come, and Lij knew that here, in this wild land, they buried people in cold earth or burned them. Neither of these methods was acceptable. He would have to think. But Lij's mind was clouded with grief. He had seen Dom turn on his heel and rush out. Surely Dom must know that there was good reason for Lij kissing another? Why did he not return to confront his...spouse? Because you are his spouse no longer... fool! Lij wiped his eyes, and rose from the bed. He would go and find Dom; explain to him. Ask his opinion on what to do for Nekeb. He pulled on warmer clothing and opened the door. There were two guards standing outside. Lij went to pass them, but they prevented him. "You must stay within this room, my lord," one of the men said brusquely. "You cannot leave until permission has been granted." Lij stared at him. "My friend lies in there, dead. I would find the Lord of Galnach and ask..." The man interrupted him, shifting on his feet as if he would strike Lij if he was allowed to do so. "The Prince lies in a dun at the bottom of the hill, very sick, my Lord. You may not visit him." Lij leant back against the wall, as his legs threatened to give way under him. "Sick? Is he...will he...?" The other guard took Lij's arm and led him gently back into the room, and sparing a swift glance at the occupant of the bed, placed Lij in a chair. The two men stood before him. Both men thought that he did not have the appearance of a killer, but that meant little - appearances could be deceptive. The younger of the two cleared his throat. Lij looked up at him, his eyes pleading for information that his lips could not frame. Dom, my love. Oh, gods of my fathers...Dom! "There is uproar and confusion in the castle keep, my lord. The king is dead from poison. The Lady Ede, Lord Cormac, Lord Morne and your...the Lord of Galnach, the ollave, lie stricken from the same cause. Your servant, too, you say, is dead. Only you are well. Only you rose from the midday meal... unaffected. Questions are being asked, my lord. You will remain in this room until decisions have been made...and causes revealed." Lij sank back in the chair, struck dumb. Connor dead...Nekeb dead...all the others sick from poison. He could not believe it. "Dom...is he sick unto death? I must see him, I must!" Lij tried to rise from the chair, but the older guard held him down. "You cannot leave this room, my lord. Those are my orders." The man glanced at the bed. "I will make arrangements..." "No!" Lij shouted furious at the interference. "You will not touch him! He is not to be buried or burned. I command you to leave him." The men moved back, uncertain as to what to do. They were not confronting a pretty boy now, but a commander and ruler of nations. They both felt the force of his authority. "Where is Cassawn - is he with Dom?" Lij swallowed his fear and anger, and spoke more calmly. Think, you fool! Think! "No, my lord. No-one except the King's guards has been allowed to leave the keep since the...since Connor died. Cassawn is in the servant's hall with all the others." Seeing a way to excuse themselves from both Lij's presence, which was disturbing and from the problem lying on the bed, which would prove...a trifle difficult as the days progressed, they offered to send someone to fetch the man. Relieved, they left together, telling Lij firmly that he must stay inside the room until further orders were given. Lij sat in the chair. Dom. His Dom. Dom. His mind was in turmoil. What had happened here? And why would he be thought to have had anything to do with it? After a few minutes, Cass opened the door. *** Dom could hear voices in the room, but they were hushed. The pain, thank Dhia, had eased, and the voidings had subsided. He felt weak, but in control of his body. He tried to rise, but a firm hand pushed him down. A familiar voice sounded in his ear. "Keep still, my Lord. You are a fortunate man." It was Brian, captain of the guard. Dom opened his eyes. "Lij?..." he managed. Brian huffed, impatiently. "The Lord of Egypt has not been...affected. He is well, but his servant is dead, I understand." Dom's mind failed to grasp the whole of what was being said to him. Lij was well, that was all that mattered. Then he blinked as the man's words sank in. "Nekeb, dead?" Brian sat by the bed. "Yes, my Lord. Connor, too is dead. And the others as sick as you have been." Brian talked on. Dom struggled to understand; his mind seemed formed of thick honey, sluggish and unresponsive. "Is there any reason you know of why the foreigner would want our people dead?" Dom raised himself on one elbow, and stared at the guard. "What do you mean, man? Lij want them dead? Why?" An old white haired man came to the bedside and glared at Brian. "You are discomfiting my patient, man. Get out," he said, with all the authority of his advanced years. Brian withdrew from the room, muttering and Dom lay back on the pillow and closed his eyes again, his mind a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. "Drink this," the voice said, presenting a cup to Dom's quivering lips. Soon he was asleep. * "I know nothing, my Lor...Lij," said Cass heavily, looking down at Lij trembling in the chair. "I will try for more information, later. First we must..." The former guard waved his hand in the direction of the bed. "We cannot leave him here, Lij. You know that." Cass sat down in the chair he had pulled up in front of Lij, who although calm, seemed still to be greatly affected by both Nekeb's death and the news of Dom. "I cannot think, Cass. My mind feels like a bundle of flax. I will not have him buried for worms to deprive him of his chance of the After-Life. I will not!" Lij got to his feet and went over to the bed, taking Nekeb's hand in his own. "He was a faithful and loving friend. I cannot consign him to oblivion." He glared at Cass, who came slowly to the bed and looked down at the dead man who had lately become his friend. Nekeb had been a handsome man in life. In death he looked at peace. As do all men, I suppose, thought Cass. Certainly he had seen many dead people during his life. Some had died agonizing deaths, but washed and tended, all seemed to take on a semblance of repose. He remembered lying his old grandfather in the....suddenly his face broke into a grin, and Lij stared at him in amazement. "Of course! How stupid I am not to have thought of it immediately! There are peat beds close by - I had forgotten." Lij nodded. They had passed them on the road to the hill. Long and deep and ancient, they provided fuel for Tara's fires. "But how will this help...?" Cass nodded. "It will help. Peat is a preservative. My grandfather was buried in the peat beds of Monaghan. His father before him, and his...Sometimes folks forget where they bury their dead and have uncovered some poor warrior's resting place after generations lying there in peace, to find he is still as fresh and whole as the day he was interred. Nekeb will rest intact in the peat until the end of the world, Lij; I promise you..." Lij looked over at Cass, tears hanging on his eyelashes. "You say truth?" Cass nodded. "It is the truth, I swear. But we must do it...soon." * Lij and Cass surveyed their handiwork. Nekeb had been washed, anointed and otherwise prepared. He was dressed in Lij's purple silk robe, with the fine woollen cloak wrapped around him, and Lij's pectoral and scarab ring adorning his body. Lij thought deeply, and went to the chest by the wall. He took out his crown, and placed it on Nekeb's fair head. Cass stared at him; he knew how much this object meant to the Egyptian king. Lij smiled wearily. "A man does not need a crown to be a king, Cassawn. I have discovered that of late. Take him, now, if you please." Cass went to the door, and Lij heard him plead with the guards for Lij to be allowed to accompany his friend on his last journey on earth without success. Cass came back in and just sighed at Lij across the bed. "Come, let us cover him." Wrapped in the embroidered bed covering, Cass carried Nekeb out. Lij could hear a guard offering to help with the burden, and Cass accepting. The door was closed by the other guard and Lij was left alone. He sat in the chair again, one of Nekeb's old sandals in his hand, and after a few minutes he glanced up as the door opened. There stood little Orla, a tray in her hand. She was pale and had obviously been crying recently, as her eyes were red. She put down the tray and advanced to stand in front of the chair, head bowed. "I am scalded, so I am, with sorrow. It was me brought the...those...things ...and they killed him." She gestured to the tray. "I have eaten some of that and drank of the wine. I waited some minutes, in case..." Lij looked up at those words to see the tears stream down the grubby face. "I am sorry....I.." she sniffed, as Lij stood and then bent on one knee in front of the distressed child. "Oh, my dear..." whispered Lij as the little girl folded into his arms with a sob. "There, there!" said the father in him, huskily. "There, there." * Orla sat on Lij's lap whilst the Lord of the Two Lands, Son of the Sun, God on Earth, wiped the girl's nose and dabbed at her eyes with a small cloth. He was a man used to dealing with upset children and he had been telling her of Titi and Jed and life at home in the warmth of Egypt. She listened intently, her mouth open as Lij described lions to her. "Cats as high as this table, you say?" said she, her eyes as round as saucers. Lij nodded. "And as long as the bed, if you count the tail!" Orla laughed delightedly. "How I would love to see one! Do Jed and Titi play with them?" Lij explained the nature of the beast. She scowled. "Do you have smaller cats, Lij? Ones you can play with?" He had given her his name, and told her to use it. He was just telling her of the palace cats when she gasped and jumped off his knee. "I am supposed to be taking food to the Lady Ede! She'll have my guts for garters if I'm late, so she will! Not that she's eaten much recently." Orla smirked. "I expect she thinks someone will try to poison her ...again..." The girl stopped suddenly - remembering. She squared her shoulders and pointed at the tray. "Now eat that up," she commanded. "No good will come of starving yourself into a decline. I'll come back later to make sure." She shyly kissed Lij's cheek, and went out. Lij rubbed the spot where she'd kissed him, and sighed, and picking up the plate, ate a little food. A servant came with another bed covering, as fine as the first, and watched as she stripped the bed and re-made it with fresh linens and blankets. When she had curtseyed herself out, Lij went to the bed and lay down upon it. He did not think he would sleep, but he did. * He was woken by the door slamming shut. He opened startled eyes to see Dom leaning against the door, his chest heaving. He sat up staring at the breathless man. "Dom? My love? Are you well?" Dom prowled slowly over to the bed, and pounced upon it. "I am well, mo chridhe. I have slept and now I am awake. I have come to tell you all...I can no longer keep it secret. I will open my heart to you, my only love..." Lij pulled him down into a kiss. "Later...first..." Dom's lips first met his with the touch of feathers, but deepened suddenly into blind want. "Lij...please let me touch...!" "Yes! Yes, oh gods, Dom. I need you so. I have wanted to feel your body so much...more than food or breath or..." The taste of Dom's mouth on his was driving Lij wild. He was as hard for his lover as he had ever been. With a stifled cry he pulled away to drag the blue robe over his head, and Dom made a feral sound in the back of his throat, and rose quickly to remove his own clothing. He stood beside the bed, his lithe but well-toned body shimmering from the pale light entering through the window, his proud erection so hard it quivered against his taut belly. He reached down and stroked himself twice, staring at Lij, his eyes smoky with passion. "I want you in me, my Lij. I want to come screaming your name. I want your teeth in my flesh, your fingermarks on my skin. I want you." Lij's breath stuck in his throat. His heart was thumping like a hammer on rock, He needed to take Dom..."Now! Come to me, love!" Dom crawled onto the bed and lay beside Lij, winding his strong arms about him, and kissing his face and mouth with hot, trembling lips. Lij could taste fruit on Dom's mouth, and wondered where he had got strawberries at this season. He bit down upon the swollen lip, and Dom moaned hard. "Put your hands on me, anamchara." Lij pinched the nipples thrusting their hard points at him. "Lij, please...please..." Lij knew what Dom needed better than he did himself. He twisted hard. Dom panted. "More!" Lij reached down, and cupping the engorged cock, pulled it hard a few times, digging his long nails into the weeping flesh. "Yes! Oh, Dhia...yes. More! Take me, Lij, I can't...please...oh, gods!" He lay on his back and pulled his shaking knees up, allowing Lij access. His face was flushed red, his chest dappled with rosy want. Lij looked down into his beloved's face, saw his mouth wet with desire, and swiftly moved to enter his desperate body. With an exultant cry he slid himself home, his eyes darkening with lust, and Dom reached up, encircling him with his arms. Lij thrust into Dom as hard as he could, knowing that this was what Dom needed, now. He would feel the effects of this pounding for days. Lij smiled to himself, as the passion rose in him like a flood, and he leaned forward biting Dom hard on the neck, marking him as his. Dom moaned loudly, and grasped his knees, opening himself for Lij as much as he could, his body moving in time with Lij's desperate thrusts. "Love, love, love..." he chanted, like a prayer. Lij could feel himself unravelling, but he wanted to hold back for Dom. He saw in his lover's face the signs of impending climax. His lips were full and ripe, his face flushed, and the sweat ran down it, mingling there with tears. Suddenly the grey eyes opened wider and his mouth formed a perfect O as he convulsed and spurted warm and creamy onto his own chest. Lij could hold out no longer. His knees threatened to give in. Dom had let go of his legs and they lay slack with repletion on either side of Lij's taut frame as he gave himself up to his climax. Dom gazed at him as he came, his mouth twisted in that beautiful grin that had first caught at Lij's heart. "Muh hraw!" Dom breathed as Lij cried out with his release and fell, boneless onto Dom's damp chest. They lay, weak but joyful, holding each other, murmuring love words into each other's ears. Lij wanted so much to hear what Dom had to tell him, but knew that this moment of reconciliation could not be rushed. Dom snuggled down, his fair head resting in the crook of Lij's neck as he fell asleep. Lij sighed in contentment, and closed his eyes. This was all he needed to survive in this alien land - his Dom at his side, loving and beloved. Lij felt the draught from the window fan his cheek, and he opened his eyes. The room was as it had been when he first lay down upon the bed. He was dressed, and alone. There was no Dom. There never had been any Dom. It was a dream. There was a dampness at his groin. Lij reached down, and groaned in distress. He could not bear the loneliness...the isolation. The parting from his beloved children - from all that he had come to love and to know and feel because of Dom. There was only the empty bed. The empty life. He turned on the pillow, and pulling his knees up to his chest, and wrapping his arms around himself, gave his heart up to grief. |