Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 18:37:22 -0500
From: Jason Gordon <jaygordon_1981@hotmail.com>
Subject: Devils Gambit 06

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction which will include t/t and
m/m relationships, and probably some sex too.  If it is illegal in your
area to read this, or if you are not old enough to read this (you know who
you are), stop here.  Otherwise, please enjoy.


			The Devil's Gambit, Chapter 6
				"The Past"


    Tom looked around and everyone looked surprised.  Felicia shrugged and
he followed the man to an office, where the crisp-looking middle aged woman
had shod her robes.  "Please, take a seat, Professor Corman...."  Tom sat,
and she continued, "So, did you really save Peter's life?"

    "Yes, I suppose so....  I found him bleeding and held my hand on the
wound until help came.  I paid for his medical care.  I brought him into my
home...."

    "You're aware how that might look...."

    "Judge, I'm not sure we should be having this conversation...."

    "Don't be silly," she said with a laugh, pouring herself a glass of tea
and offering Tom one.  "You're not a party to any cases of mine -- you
aren't seeking custody, Peter is -- and I can see that you only have eyes
for one man...."  Tom blushed, and she said, "All I mean is that you took a
risk for these boys and I admire that....  I wish someone had taken a risk
for my son...."  Tom sat back and waited for her to continue.  "He's like
you, gay, I mean....  He ran off to college and really blew it, trying to
exercise his freedom.  Now he's back here, working a dead end job until he
can pay off his credit cards.  Then we'll talk about trying college
again....  But in any case, he could have used a good steady example...."

    "Is that what you wanted to tell me," Tom asked, not meaning to sound
rude, but feeling intensely uncomfortable.

    "No," she laughed.  "I wanted to ask you if it's true that occult
activity may be involved in the parents' case, and I can't talk to your
handsome policeman about that...."

    "Perhaps I shouldn't...."

    "Thank you, for confirming I mean....  There was a case a few years
ago....  A thirteen year old boy -- the little brother of a friend of my
son's -- was found murdered in the woods, symbols carved on his body....
No one was ever caught...."

    Tom sat back thoughtfully, before saying, "In the course of my studies,
I've spent a good deal of time researching the ... occult....  I could
perhaps take a look at the file in the boy's case and give ... whoever, my
opinion about whether its real ritual abuse....  Real cases are rare, never
documented...."

    The woman nodded.  "I'd appreciate it....  I'll have to get that
information through back channels, so it'll take a few days...."

    Tom stood and shook her hand, and quickly took his leave after giving
her his card.  Then he huddled his men together, packed them into the car,
and drove back to his place.  Aiden gave him a kiss, then ran to work for
the rest of his shift, while Peter and Tom gave David a rundown of the
house and let him pick a room.  David had packed some clothes, but they'd
have to go get the rest when Tom went back to meet with the judge in a few
days.

    That night, Aiden called after the brothers were in bed and came by to
spend the night.  He knocked softly on the door and Tom dragged him inside,
pinning him to the door with a kiss.  "I'm glad you came...."

    "I didn't figure you'd want to come to my place with the guys here on
their own for the first night...."

    "Still...."

    "Why sleep alone when you don't have to," Aiden asked with a wink.
Soon they were cuddled under the covers and falling asleep.  That night,
Tom had a dream unlike any other.  In his dream, he woke up in Aiden's arms
and found a slightly luminescent Jamie sitting on the side of the bed next
to Aiden.  He looked at them with a sad smile, and stroked Aiden's hair.

    "Jamie, I'm sorry....  I...."

    "Tom, shush....  Everyone is right....  This is what I want for you."
Looking at Aiden, he said, "I couldn't have hoped for better....  Listen,
I've come to tell you something, and I need you to remember what I say,
word for word....  Promise me, you'll remember....  Write it down as soon
as you wake up?"

    "I promise...."

    "I am a son of God, I am a child of Light, I am one too strong to
fight.  The Lord has appointed a thousand of his chariots to go out before
me, his four guardians arrayed by my side.  The morning star is cast down
before me, the wicked tremble and crouch down, the noonday demon is
stricken, the accuser is held at bay.  Evil ones, bow down before the
servant of your Maker, one who dwells in the presence of the Most High, and
fear the mighty power of God, who stands in his place...."

    "What?" Tom asked.

    "Tom, it's a spell..." Jamie answered.

    "What's it for?  How does it work?"

    "I can't say....  You'll know, but you must remember...."  Leaning over
Aiden, the spirit whispered, "I'm sorry, Tom, I've got to go....  I love
you, and I know you'll always love me...."  With that, Jamie gave him a
kiss as soft as the wind and he was gone.  Tom's eyes snapped open and he
reached for a pen and paper from the nightstand and wrote out Jamie's
message word-for-word, as best he could, wracked by sobs.  He put the paper
down and rolled onto his side, crying into the pillow.  Suddenly, a sleepy
Aiden rolled over and put an arm around him, cuddling.

    "What's wrong?" he mumbled through his sleep as he squeezed Tom
tightly.

    Tom put his hand on Aiden's hand resting on his abdomen and whispered,
"Nothing, now, baby," wiping away tears.  Soon he drifted back into a deep
sleep, and he woke up later in the morning than he usually did, still
snuggled in Aiden's warm embrace.

    He hurried to shower and get his things ready for class, then he woke
Aiden to give the man time to get home and back to the station.  They found
David watching television with Peter, huddled under a big blanket.

    David smirked and rolled his eyes at Aiden, laughing "Hi guys!"

    "Wash your mind out with soap," Tom retorted with a laugh.  "So what
are you guys up to, today?"

    "I don't know....  You've got to teach today?" Peter asked.

    "Yep, but I'll come home as soon as I'm done....  We need to get David
transferred to school, here, this afternoon, so I'll be here to pick you
guys up at 2:15...."

    "Okay!"

    "Oh, and stay inside....  It might not be safe with, well you know,"
Tom said to Peter, not knowing what David knew.

    "We will," Peter answered.

    Tom pulled out a twenty and handed it to Peter.  "Order some lunch....
Pizza and Chinese menus are on the refrigerator...."

    When they were alone, David asked, "So they are cool?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "They don't, you know ... want something in return for all the stuff
they're doing for us?"

    "Dude, no!  They're just trying to help....  Not that I didn't think
that at the beginning, too....  I would've, because Tom is cute, but he set
me straight...."

    "Eww!  I mean, I guess he's not nasty or old, but...."

    "He was nice to me....  You don't know what I've had to do since I've
been on my own," Peter said, moving away from his brother.

    "Nothing could be as bad as Carter," David said feeling certain.  But
he could tell by the look in Peter's eyes that maybe he didn't know.  "I'm
sorry, Peter...."

    "Me, too, buddy....  But these guys are totally cool, and they'd do
whatever it takes to keep us safe, I promise you that...."

    "I guess they can, too, because dad's been shaking in his boots about
Tom...."

    "You know, Tom saved my life...."

    "Yeah, he kept you from bleeding to death...."

    "But there's more....  In the hospital, I was slipping away, then I
felt him put his hands on me and I could feel the warmth and power flowing
into me....  I could see him and I could see angels ... thousands of angels
by his side....  One of them brought me back to my body and helped to put
me back together...."

    "I didn't know there was any other kind of wizard," David said, in awe.

    "I know....  While I was in the hospital, Tom came face to face with
the demon, unarmed and outside, and he came through it....  He even came
back and protected me...."  David shook his head and sat deep in thought.
"So, how's it been since I've been gone...."

    "Well, not very different....  Carter... well, you never knew, but he
was ... hurting me even before you went off to college....  Dad started
using me for bloodletting rituals...."

    Peter's hands balled into white-knuckled fists.  "He strapped you into
the shackles?"  The boy nodded and Peter looked up at the ceiling in a
fury.  "I should never have left....  Fucking damn it!"

    David put his hand on Peter's shoulder.  "If you didn't we'd both still
be there....  Things got worse, but now it's over...."  Peter sighed and
nodded heavily.  David got involved in something on television and Peter
wandered the house, finding Tom's large library and office and began to
browse the books.  He picked up an introductory philosophy text, knowing
Tom taught the subject, and sat in an armchair reading until David called
to him.

   "Up here, bro!"

    "Cool!" David exclaimed on seeing the floor to ceiling shelves of
books.  "Anyway, I'm hungry!"

    Peter walked with David to the kitchen and they decided on Chinese and
placed their order.  Thirty minutes later, the bell rang and Peter went to
the door in his shorts and t-shirt.  Opening the door, he stood dumbstruck
by the hunky Billy Thompson.  The boy stared back likewise, expecting his
crush to answer.  But this was even better in his eyes, which took in every
inch of the short slender blond.

    "I ... um, I ... is this the right house?  I ... this is Professor
Corman's...."  But even as he said it, he could remember the interior.

    Peter blushed for no reason, and looked away.  "My brother and I are
staying with Tom for a while....  He was nice enough to give us a couple of
rooms while our family works some stuff out...."

    "Cool!  So ... here's your order...."

    Peter handed Billy the money, feeling cheesy as he made sure their
hands brushed.  "Hey, what's your name?"

    "Billy...."

    The young man turned to go, and Peter, not knowing where he was getting
the nerve, said, "Billy?"

    "Yeah?"

    "I don't know many people around here, and ... you seem like a nice
guy....  If you every want to hang some time...."

    Billy smiled and waved, "Sound's fun....  I've got your number!  I'll
give you a call soon....  I work and go to school, but maybe this weekend
we can get together!"

    As he closed the door, David called from the couch, "Take a cold
shower, Sally!"

    "What?  He's cute!"

    "Whatever!  Bring me my lunch!"

    They laughed and talked as they ate their lunches in front of the
television.  Then David cleaned up and they both got changed in time for
Tom to pick them up.  As they got in the car, Tom could tell David was
warming up to him, as the boy joked, "Hey Tom, I thought Peter was going to
have the Chinese delivery boy for lunch today...."

    Tom burst out laughing, and Peter blushed and shrugged, "Who could
blame me if I did?  By the way, Tom, I think we're going to be hanging out
this weekend some....  He said he'd call...."

    "Billy's a nice boy....  He was in one of my classes...."

    "I just ... you know I didn't want to have him around if it makes you
and Aiden uncomfortable....  I don't know who knows about you guys...."

    "Thanks, Peter....  We're definitely both 'out' but like I said before,
I don't want it to be a big issue on campus....  But Billy's okay, so I'll
trust that you boys can entertain yourselves so that he won't be worried
about me...."

    David laughed in the back seat, but stopped laughing as they pulled in
front of a hulking old building.  "What's this place?"

    "Saint Sebastian's High School...."

    David and Peter, awed by the fancy building, got out and gawked as they
walked through the front door to the office.  "How can I help you sir?"

    "I'd like to speak to Dr. Franklin, please...."

    "Who may I say is calling," the woman asked with crisp professionalism.

    "Professor Thomas Corman, from the university...."

    "Professor Corman!  Dr. Franklin is expecting you...."  She stood and
opened the door to a nicely appointed office, paneled in mahogany.  A
well-dressed young man, a few years older than Tom, stood to greet them.
He gave Tom a warm hug and shook hands with the younger men.

    "It looks like the position is suiting you, Alasdair," Tom said with a
smile.

    "Life is good," the man said in a thin British accent with a glowing
smile.  "So, what can I do for you, Tom?  You've never asked for a favor
before, at least not from me...."

    "Alasdair, I'd like you to meet Peter and David Dawson....  Peter,
David, Alasdair and I have been friends since Paris...."

    "Ah, Paris," Alasdair said with a knowing grin, patting Tom on the back
and motioning them into chairs.

    With a slight blush, Tom began, "In any case, the basic facts are
these: Peter was a freshman in college, his brother a sophomore in high
school.  When their parents found out Peter was gay, they cut him off and
put him on the street, basically.  Both were abused continuously,
physically by their parents and sexually by an older brother....  I have
invited Peter into my home after I found him bleeding to death in the
street, and he has gotten temporary custody of his brother -- hopefully to
be extended soon....  I have legal papers signed by a judge...."  He handed
the papers to Alasdair, who didn't look at them, but was instead fixated on
the brothers.

    "So you'd like us to take David on?  You know that admission here is
highly selective....  Tell me about yourself, David...."

    The boy blushed at being put unexpectedly on the spot.  "I get... got
good grades, I play sports, I'm a state championship wrestler in my weight
class," he added.  "I'm not sure what else to say....  I'm nothing special,
I'm just an average boy...."

    Alasdair looked at the boy, and said, "I'm sure that's not true....
Given your excellence in wrestling, I'd speculate you're not bad on the
field....  And by good grades you mean...."

    "Straight A's," Peter announced proudly.

    "Until recently," David said, glumly.

    "Well, that's not surprising, given....  Dr. Franklin, my brother and I
were victims of Satanic ritual abuse for most of our lives," Peter said.
Franklin looked to Tom, who nodded with deadly seriousness.

    "I was attacked by a powerful demon, myself, for helping them," Tom
announced, causing all eyes in the room to widen -- Alasdair at the news,
and the brothers at his openness.  "Alasdair and I met in Paris during my
'mystical' journey...."

    "Is that what they're calling it these days, Tom?"

    "I'm not talking about THAT, right now, so harness your ego before we
suffocate!  Besides, hopefully David will be a student here, so let's keep
it PG-13, Alasdair!"

    "Alright, Tom....  I can make the decision on my own to admit him, but
not to finance him.  That'll go before the board.  I'll need his records
and he'll need to take our exam, but some of the details of his troubles
will help me make the case to fund him...."

    "Thank you, Alasdair....  And just so you know, whatever they won't
pay, I will, even if it means full tuition...."  Alasdair raised his
eyebrows and nodded.  Picking up his phone he called his assistant.
"Marsha, will you get a student volunteer to give a tour to David and
Peter?"  Turning to the brothers, he said, "A student will be around to
show you around campus.  I'll get a test set up for you tomorrow, David, if
that's alright?"  The boy nodded and the brothers went out to meet their
student guide, a young lady who shared an instant mutual attraction with
David.

    "It's been too long, Tom...."

    "I know...."

    "So, who is he?" Alasdair asked.

    "Who's who?" Tom replied.

    "Who's the guy who's brought you back to life?" Alasdair asked again.

    Tom smiled.  He'd been dead to the world for so long, it must be a dead
giveaway.  "His name is Aiden O'Connel....  He's a police officer....  He
helped me save Peter...."

    "So you saved Peter...."

    "I used the healing prayer from the Synagogue Codex...."

    "Good Lord," the man exclaimed.

    "Indeed," Tom said.  "But seeing him there, holding him, bloodied, in
my arms....  It brought back memories of Jamie....  I couldn't save Jamie,
but I could save this boy...."

    "And now you've got two teenagers and a boyfriend....  One never
knows," he mused, "how things will turn out...."

    "No, no indeed....  Speaking of which, how's Rachael?"

    Alasdair smiled and said, "Pregnant...."

    "Congratulations!  When?"

    "The baby is due in December...."

    "Boy or girl?"

    "Boy...."

    "Wow!"

    "She'd love to see you, you know....  She ... we've missed you...."

    "I know, and I'm sorry.  I'll be spending the next decade making it up
to everybody...."

    "You've got nothing to apologize for....  I can't imagine what you've
been through....  But why don't you bring Aiden around sometime, the Dawson
brothers, as well...."

    "Alright," Tom said with a smile.  "If you're sure...."  They nodded
and made soft plans.  To tell the truth, he always felt weird around
Rachael, who loved him like a brother....  Given his history with Alasdair
-- and knowing that she knew, even if she didn't seem to have a problem
with it -- just felt weird.  His mind wandered to Paris, where he'd met the
dashing young Brit in a posh bar frequented by those at the border of the
magical subculture.  Alasdair, with his sweeping auburn hair and regal
bearing, who at twenty-three made even tweed jackets look sexy, had been
studying at the Sorbonne that year.  Away from his life as a buttoned up
Brit, he was living life to its fullest in Paris.  Somehow they had begun a
conversation about magic, but as the liquor flowed, Alasdair bragged about
his Parisian conquests of some of the world's most eager co-eds.  They'd
become friends and over the course of weeks, Alasdair tried to pry open the
details of Tom's own conquests.

    One night he had gotten fed up with the denials.  "Come on, a young
American stud like yourself should be getting his fill in Paris!"

    Tom was sitting at Alasdair's window, staring out at the starry sky
above the city.  "I'm shy," Tom said simply, grinning over his shoulder at
the cute Englishman.

    "Bollocks!"

    "I am....  It's especially hard because I have no clue as to who will
be interested...."

    "If it has two legs and breasts and is under twenty-five, it's probably
interested...."

    Shaking his head, Tom said, "Alasdair, I'm gay!  That means, one in ten
guys might be interested, but ninety five out of a hundred guys I might
come on to will probably beat the shit out of me."

    "Ahh...."  After a brief but not uncomfortable silence, Alasdair walked
up behind Tom and put a hand on his shoulder.  Tom leaned back onto him,
resting his head on Alasdair's chest.  "So what's it like?"

    "What's what like?" Tom asked with a sigh.

    "Having sex with a guy?" Alasdair asked, curiously.

    "How would I know?"

    "You're fucking with me, right?" Alasdair exclaimed.

    Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe Alasdair was sending him signals,
but Tom had gotten the courage to respond, "No, but I would gladly
learn...."  Alasdair ran his hand from Tom's shoulder down the front of his
shirt, running his hands over smooth muscular flesh, as sensually as he
would any of the women he made love to.  Then he turned Tom around and
pinned him to the wall, kissing him passionately....  They barely left the
apartment over the next few days.  During his time in Paris, they must have
spent the night together at least once a week, even after those passionate
first weeks ended.  But Tom had never had any illusions -- even if Alasdair
had some feelings for him and always would, perhaps, they'd never be true
love.  Alasdair loved women; however much he loved being with Tom, that
never would change.  Alasdair did teach him about friendship and sex and
longing -- he was his first.  Jamie taught him true love -- he was his
second.  And Aiden -- time would tell, but the sparks were already flying.

    "Tom?  Tom?  I lost you there for a minute...."  Alasdair smiled
wickedly as Tom blushed.  "Thinking about old times, then?"  Tom stood and
straightened himself, smiling, but saying nothing.  As they emerged into
the outer office, the brothers were just returning, and Tom smiled at the
way the girl was touching David as she talked -- a hand on an arm, a
playful pat on the chest.  She passed him a note with her phone number as
Peter rolled his eyes in Tom's direction.

    "A man after your own heart, Alasdair," Tom mused quietly, causing the
man to laugh heartily.

    "So it would seem!  Expect a call from Rachael, Tom....  Gentlemen, if
you'll excuse me, I'm about to oversee a mass exodus...."  With that, they
hurried to their car and got out of the lot before students were released.

    On the ride home, David piped in from the back seat, "So that school
might not be so bad....  They've got a pool and a fancy gym and all kinds
of sports....  Plus they've got an amazing library...."

    "And pretty girls in plaid skirts?"

    "There's that," he added with a blush.  For retribution, he retorted,
"So, there is a rated R -- or is it Rated X -- version of your stay in
Paris?"

    Tom, in no mood to explain that, dodged, "Alasdair likes to give me a
hard time about Paris....  How was it he described himself in those days, a
'pussy-hound'?"

    "I wonder if he could offer private lessons in that discipline," David
asked with a laugh.  Before heading back to the house, Tom drove them down
to the Best Buy and took them back to the computer section, where he told
them to pick their favorite color of netbook, which he purchased.  Peter
picked out the red, while David took the white.  On the way home, he
explained, "You're both going to be back to school soon, and you'll need
your own computers to get your work done and email friends.  We have a
wireless network I'll help you set your computers up on...."

    "Thanks!" David exclaimed, "But you really don't need to do all
this...."

    "Of course I don't need to, but I want to....  You guys deserve a real
chance, and I need to move one with my life and helping you guys out and
having people around....  It's nice....  All my family are gone....  I'm
left with a lot of money but nobody....  David you don't know, but for the
last nine months, I've basically been a shut-in ... leaving my house only
to go to work....  My partner and I were attacked and he didn't make
it...."

    "I'm sorry," David said with feeling.

    "I ... only mean to say, I'm thankful to have you guys and Aiden
around...."

    When they got back to the house, they unpacked their computers and Tom
helped them set them up.  Peter went to get his email set up and see if he
could get in touch with a few friends.  David put his computer on the
coffee table and walked over to the writing desk and picked up the picture
Tom had shown Aiden just a few days before.  "So this is him?" David asked.

    "Yeah, that's him...."

    "You really loved him," David said more than asked.

    "Yeah....  I would have traded myself for him a hundred times over....
But it doesn't work like that...."

    "Hmmm...."

    "What, buddy?" Tom asked.

    "I'm glad you're here....  No one else could do what you are doing,"
David whispered.


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


More to come soon.  Thanks to Tarton and Darryl the Radio Rancher for
reading and commenting on an earlier draft.  If you enjoyed this story, you
might consider my other on-going stories at Nifty, Fantasy/SciFi, Things
that Go Bump and A Light in the Darkness.

Or, better, send me a note and join my Yahoo!Group,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jaygordon_1981/

jaygordon_1981@hotmail.com