Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2023 00:32:50 -0500 From: Fang Saito Subject: Welcome to Avernus - Chapter 12 This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected under copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproduction is allowed without the author's consent. Conversations and feedback are appreciated to Greyson B. via email at hokkaidohotel86it@gmail.com. I love hearing from readers. As always, special thanks to Johnny Kape for the excellent editing assistance he has been providing me. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting https://donate.nifty.org/. A special thanks to the special individual who helped me out with a birthday coffee. Extra hugs to you, my friend! You can also consider buying me a coffee or two if you want to support me as well. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GreysonB. Thank you to everyone who wrote to wish me a happy birthday. It really perked up my weekend. You can find my other Nifty stories at: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/cadence/ https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/a-ghost-finds-a-body/ One last note. I've had a few people ask for a mailing list to notify them when a new chapter is posted. If you would like to be added, feel free to write and let me know to add you! Welcome to Avernus Chapter 12 Barely ten minutes after Boots left, the doorbell rang, letting me know Wren was here. I swear, they had to have passed each other on the street. He looked as hot as ever, wearing a pale shiny grey calf length skirt over knee length, light tan boots, and a white, tight fitting knit sweater. I know I was doing a poor job of hiding my infatuation, so I decided for once not to try. "Come on in. That outfit is nice," I said. "Did you wear it to distract me?" He laughed, with no mesmir to make it feel fake. "No, I did not take your preferences to heart when my sister and I chose what to wear today." "Do you two always wear matching outfits?" I asked out of curiosity. "Do you ever wake up and decide to have personal days? Or maybe disagree on what to wear, so do your own thing?" "Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "I cannot recall the last time we have chosen to wear separate outfits. It's just a thing we have always done." Then he smiled and directed us over to the couch in the living room. We sat, and he said, "Surely my fashion is not why you so desperately called me over. The sun had barely set before you sent your text." "I need advice, or maybe even help," I said. "Dom is fucking with me, and I don't know what to do about it." "'Dom', is it?" Wren asked in mild surprise. "That must have been some zoom call." "He's moved into the realm of a personal enemy," I deadpanned. Wren's eyebrows raised. "Do tell. I was under the impression that the meeting went well." "Oh, the meeting went fine," I said, and I was unable to keep the anger out of my voice. "But the bastard didn't keep his word. He promised to get the mesmir off my mom." "Did he not? I heard about that, and Dom said that he did as you asked." "Yeah, she was back to normal when she came home. I even got to see some woman supposedly remove the mesmir. It was a long night, filling her in on everything." "Oh, Jason," moaned Wren. "Was that wise?" I ignored the question. "But the next morning, she was right back on the bullshit! Controlled by the mesmir, just with a new cover story!" Wren sat and looked at me for a moment as I fumed. Apparently I was more pissed than I realized. Finally, he said softly, "That wasn't Dom." "What the hell do you mean? What, did someone randomly go behind everyone's back and put her back under? Or did he break some law by freeing her, and some `Vampyre police' put it back on her?" Smiling sadly, Wren said, "No, sweety, she chose it." "What do you mean?" I asked angrily, scooting away from him. "What, did she go find some Vampyre and beg to forget everything? That's bullshit." "She did not need to do something so drastic. And she wouldn't have done it consciously," he said, speaking softly to try and calm me down. I didn't think he was trying to use mesmir on me, but I went on my guard just in case. "There is a very mild mesmir over the entire town. Not enough to fully control anyone. Just enough to make our attempts at mesmir easier, and to ensure they hold better. I cannot say for certain, of course, but likely her subconscious retreated, and she effectively surrendered herself to the mesmir that had already been there." I scoffed, skeptical about the whole thing. "So what, once someone has been mesmirized or whatever, it's there forever?" "Yes, and no. It's complicated. The bottom line, however, is that your mother was released, and no Vampyre has done anything to her since then. Consciously or not, she chose this. Lifting it again may do very little, if she chooses to retreat back to its mental safety again." "Oh," I sulked. Wren perked up, his attempts to distract me obvious. "Care to show me the house?" He complimented the basement, noting the possibilities that such a space could provide. When we got upstairs and he saw the work area, he noticed Mom's models. "Cosmos Emptor?" he said with a grin. "Have we changed our mind on our chosen army?" "Definitely not," I said in mock defiance. "Those are Mom's. It's probably thanks to your mesmir, but she's decided she's interested in the game." "Does that surprise you?" Wren said with some surprise of his own. "It's not exactly a kids game. Plenty of adults play, and plenty of women play, as well." "Yeah, I know," I muttered. "It just doesn't seem like something my mom would be into." "What, she is only allowed to like sewing and gardening?" he said with a grin. "Shut up," I laughed. "And what do we have here?" he asked as he opened my bedroom door. "Aha! The scene of the crime!" "No crime's been committed in here," I said as I tried sliding past him in some weak effort to block access to the room. "Not yet, maybe," Wren said as he pulled me in for a kiss. I let myself be pulled in. He was a couple of inches taller, so it wasn't much of a reach for either of us. My own warm lips met his cold ones, and the sensation was electrifying. My knees melted but it didn't matter, as he easily held me up. I had thought about this. Hell, I'd dreamed about it. Now it was here, real, and even better than the first time we kissed. As before, the longer we kissed, the warmer he became. The back of my knees bumped against the edge of my bed, and it woke something up in me. "Wait, wait," I said, shaking my head slightly and trying to regain my senses. "Stop, Wren. Please stop." "What's wrong, sweety?" He asked. I could tell it frustrated him, or maybe disappointed him. But still, he let go and took a step back. The perfect gentleman. "I need to ask you something first," I said. He looked at me curiously, so I took a deep breath, steeling myself to ask the question, even through my embarrassment. "Do you actually like me? Or is this just feeding?" He looked at me curiously, almost with amusement. Before he could answer, I jumped back in, trying to explain. I spoke quickly, almost tumbling over my own words. "I mean, if it's feeding, that's cool, I guess. It's still hot. But like you said, you know I like you. I just want to know if you like me, too." Wren looked at me, an amused look on his face. I started feeling really embarrassed at my admission, and collapsed to sit on the edge of the bed. He stood there, studying me for a minute. I couldn't take the scrutiny and looked down, away, anywhere that wasn't at him. Finally, he said softly, "You really are so adorable." I winced, ready for anything from condescension to laughter. "Yes, I really do find you fascinating. Do I like you in a romantic way? Yes, but it is Ludus, not Eros." "Huh? What does that mean?" "It means that I find you to be cute and sexy. You are interesting, and I want to tease you mercilessly. But it's not something that makes me want to exchange rings and devote my heart for a lifetime." "Oh." I wasn't sure what all that really meant. Or maybe I did. "So basically, you want to boink my brains out and don't want me hurt, but we're never gonna be boyfriends." He laughed. "Something like that. Or at least, that's the way it is now. Maybe something more intimate could grow. Who can tell what the future may hold?" He looked at me, then moved over and sat down next to me. "So is this a problem?" "No, I don't think so. I just needed to know where I stand." "So is it okay if I do... this?" He laid his hand on my leg, barely above my knee. Slowly, he started sliding it up my thigh. "N-n-no," I managed to get out. "It's fine." I tensed up as his hand moved further north. My cock had been hard, then gone to a semi, which caused some precum to leak a bit. Now I was getting hard again, fast, and I could feel the wet spot in my underwear pulling at my skin. I needed to adjust, but with Wren's hand on my leg, I was frozen in place and couldn't move. As he reached to mid thigh and began sliding his fingers to the inside of my leg, a shudder went through me. Wren chuckled, then turned to me and placed his other hand on my chest, pushing me onto my back. I let myself lay back, but definitely did not relax. I tensed further as he ran his hand, fingers splayed wide, slowly down my chest to my belly. Meanwhile his other hand was moving up my thigh, grazing the inseam of my jeans, then sliding up, around my cloth covered cock, to meet his other hand at my belt buckle. I moaned in frustration and desire as my belt was loosened, followed by my pants. It was too much, too fast. Sure, I'd shared a few kisses here and there. Three, to be exact, before Wren. One was even with a girl. I even did some feeling up with another guy I thought was super hot. We both ended up cumming in our pants and got super embarrassed about it, once we came down from our sex high. But now Wren was going all the way. I felt when my cock hit the open air of the room, the head releasing from the waistband of my underwear to slap against my belly. Then Oh My God! I felt his breath on my penis, and then, well, I had never imagined something could feel so warm, and wet, and smooth. I held my breath as I felt his tongue wrap itself around the head, then down the underside of the shaft, while simultaneously the tip of my cock slid across the roof of his mouth. I had been worried that his touch would be cold like it always is. Like it had been just moments before. His fingers on my jeans had been cold enough that I could feel their temperature through the denim. But this! This was like fire. Like a heating pad wrapped in the silkiest, smoothest feeling. I moaned out loud as both his hands slid up under my shirt and hoodie. Wren was on his knees now, his mouth doing absolutely amazing things to my cock. Things I had only imagined. Things that had never occurred to me to imagine. I shivered at the sensation of my shirt being lifted, exposing my upper body, while his torso forced my legs further and further apart. I whimpered as his fingers found my nipples and began teasing them. They were twisted and pulled, and I started thrashing my head from side to side, as my nipples were simultaneously hurt and made to feel amazing. Just as I thought I couldn't take anything more, a new sensation took over the head of my cock, with a suctioning, massaging pressure, twisting and massaging the head in a way amazingly similar to what his fingers were doing to my nipples. I couldn't think. But the only thing I could imagine was that I had slipped far enough that my cock was in his throat. I could feel his lips pressed hard into my pubic hair. I could not have gone any deeper into his mouth. The feeling on the head of my cock became too much. I yelled out and exploded with an orgasm heavier than anything I ever thought possible to experience. I must have passed out, because I woke to hearing Mom calling me from downstairs. Wren was nowhere to be found. Checking my phone, I saw that it was nearly 9. She scolded me for not having fixed dinner, but was impressed when I told her that Boots had come over, and we had done homework and eaten. I'd cleaned up, which is why she thought I hadn't eaten. I asked her about Boots spending the night Friday, before the rest of the guys came over Saturday. She grinned and started teasing me about how adorable he was. At Mom's insistence, Boots came home with me after school Friday. We ended up driving to Ticonderoga, 45 minutes away. We hit up a Walmart there for snacks, groceries, and all sorts of other shopping. We found this awesome TV up there that was a 55 inch screen for dirt cheap. "Oh em gee, this would be so awesome for the basement," I said with a silly grin on my face. "Or in my bedroom!" She gave a good laugh. "And how exactly would we get it home, young man?" "Would it fit in the back seat?" I asked. "Maybe," she said with a grin. "But where would Boots here sit?" she asked, throwing her arm around his shoulder. I looked over at Boots. "He can sit in my lap!" Boots blushed and froze. I could tell he wanted to pull away from my mom's arm on his shoulder, but was afraid to. Fortunately she pulled away, and he was able to move back. "Save it for the bedroom," laughed Mom. "Besides, I thought you trusted your ol' Momma?" She pulled me into a side hug, much like she had just released Boots from. "We should have a box sittin' on the front porch when we get home." I looked up at her with excited disbelief. "A big box?" She laughed, stretching out the word as she said, "A bi-i-ig box! You boys are gonna have your work cut out for ya tonight." We ended up picking up some extra bedding that she didn't explain, and got me a new sleeping bag, something that would help if I decided to go camping during the cooler months. She said it would also help with the concrete floor in the basement. When we got home, there was certainly a big box sitting on the porch, but that wasn't all that was there. I don't know how the hell this shit wasn't stolen. The giant box was a whole ass futon, a couch that folds out into a bed. Turns out that's what the bedding was for. But behind that box, sitting right out on the porch, was a 40 inch TV, and another, that was a 60 inch. Both of the TVs were just sitting there in their regular boxes, with a shipping label slapped on them. There was no attempt to cover them up or hide what they were or anything. As we were bringing the stuff in, Mom kissed my cheek and told me the smaller TV was for my bedroom, while the big one was for the basement. I was kind of in awe. I mean, yeah, they were an off brand, but still, how could we afford all this? I had to ask. "It's all okay, baby. You let me worry about our finances," she said with a smirk, as if I had asked something silly. "Let's just say, everythin' with the lawyers yesterday went real well!" It took a lot of work, but me and Boots had a blast putting everything together, assembling the futon, and getting the TVs set up. I kept my new TV down in the basement for now, figuring we might like having a second screen for something. Boots figured we could hook up a laptop to the big one and play movies on it, and use the second one for video games. He said Liam had an old Gamecube, and Wheeler had a Playstation. We texted them, and both agreed to bring their systems over the next day, with a selection of multiplayer games. The evening got pretty awkward later on. As we were cleaning up from dinner, Mom pulled me aside for just a quick second and whispered to me, where Boots wouldn't notice. "You guys try to keep it down tonight, alright? I don't want to know anything about it, but there's an extra bag on your desk upstairs. Make sure you're the one that opens it, and not your new friend, yeah?" "Mo-om, what did you do?" I moaned, looking nervously over at Boots. "Just lookin' out for my boy!" she whispered with a grin. As soon as the kitchen was picked up, I told Boots to go ahead and head back down, and I ran upstairs as fast as I could. Sure enough, there was a shopping bag on my desk. I don't know when she had slipped away from us, but I'm sure my face turned a dozen shades of red when I opened it up and saw a box of condoms and a package of KY. And not just like a little box. Oh, no. It was like a massive 20 pack! Before Wren last night, I was a fucking virgin. Now Mom's wanting me to sleep around? Please let me die! At least nobody was here in the room to see my reaction when I opened the bag. Eventually we crashed in the basement. I had brought my laptop down and we were hanging out on the couch watching a movie. The new TV was crazy huge. It was bigger than the one in the living room even. Finally I started telling Boots about how things had been back in Alabama, not having anything really of my own, not having much room, and how absolutely poor we were. I told him about how much time I spent over at Alen's house, and how Mom was going so overboard on this whole weekend because I'd never had the room and freedom to host friends. It got him to open up and admit that was kind of how things were for him now. He stayed out in the streets as much as he could, because it was usually better than being at home. We swapped horror stories about our dads. Eventually I slipped my sexuality into the conversation, by talking about how my dad hated having a faggot for a son. Boots hesitated, then admitted that he was gay, too. We spent the evening hanging out and getting to know each other better, but I didn't have the guts to try anything with him. Or maybe, it just didn't feel like the right mood. I don't know. Part of me was disappointed we didn't do anything, but a bigger part was kind of relieved. We got up the next morning and started what turned into 24 hours of pure chaos. Everybody came by noon and dumped their stuff, then we all grabbed our boards and roared around most of the day. We hung out, pulled tricks, and scared one of two drivers when we got too near their street for their comfort. Finally I got a text from Mom around 5, asking what kinds of pizzas we all liked. Nobody had any real complaints on toppings, so we headed back to my place in time for pizzas to show up. I'd gotten a few compliments earlier when gear was dumped, but now that we were really sitting down and settling in, everyone was excited about the place. "What's down there?" Taki asked, gesturing at the two doors at the other end of the basement. I looked where he was pointing. "Left is the laundry room. The right one is the bathroom. Then there's a toilet upstairs by the kitchen, and another bathroom at the top of the stairs on the second floor." "So no pissing in the bushes!" yelled out Wheeler, pointing around at everyone. "Is there a story there?" I said with a laugh. "There's always a story there," laughed Liam. Looking around at all the empty space, Taki said, "Dude, you're not even using half the room down here. What are you gonna do with the rest of it?" "No idea," I said. "I'm sure my mom will make that decision." We ended up swapping our ideas, and the Gamecube was hooked up to the big TV. There were six of us, and he had several four-player party games. The smaller TV ended up with the Playstation, and a selection of one-v-one fighter games. The pizza was gone within an hour, and around 10, Mom came down with a giant tray of sandwiches, pizza rolls, and tater tots. We'd already been making runs upstairs to get drinks out of the fridge. Wheeler and Liam ended up crashing fairly early, a bit after midnight, and the rest of us called it a bit after two. We pulled the coffee table out of the way, and pulled out the futon. Scott called the couch, and I let Boots have the futon. Me and Taki unrolled our sleeping bags and joined the other two on the floor. Me and Taki spent probably another hour chatting quietly about all sorts of bullshit, before I finally fell asleep mid sentence. The next two weeks went by without any new tricks. I was finally able to settle into more of a routine. I was figuring out my teachers, finding out what nights were best to go to the store, and finding times to meet with Wren. We kissed a few more times, but didn't fool around again. I couldn't get a read on Boots. We started hanging out more, especially after the rest of the crew went home once the sun set and it started getting colder. It wasn't pity for him. It was more like I was proud that I could do for him, what Alen had been doing for me back home. He even spent the night a few more times, and I gave him a few opportunities to open up and maybe make a move on me. Either he wasn't interested, or I was being too subtle with my hints. But just in case he wasn't interested, I didn't want to make the first move. Especially if he thought he owed me or something. Then, one day just as I was walking out of my last class, I received an email. "You have an appointment at 7 this evening." Fuck, it was Dom again. I had let my hopes build, not having heard from him in two weeks. Even Wren hadn't dropped his name lately. What the hell could he want now? Unlike last time, this email didn't hint at a reason. It merely mentioned that Dominic Tsui had "important topics" that he needed to discuss with me. I apologized to Boots and told him something had come up and we wouldn't be able to hang out. However, since the next day was Friday, I asked him if he wanted to come over for the weekend. We even discussed having one or two of the guys come over Saturday if he wanted to do something with them. At 6:55 I loaded up the Zoom link. No way would he ever accuse me of avoiding him or making him late. I wondered what he could want. Was he going to try and push me for an answer on the whole Assecla thing? I didn't mean that I needed weeks to decide. I needed years! Was it going to be about Mom? He could have brought that up any time, and not waited so long. Or was it going to be something new? The screen loaded before I was ready. I wanted more time to think. More time to stress over what was coming, maybe. He looked good tonight. The shirt he was wearing was black and shiny, but had these bright Christmas red piping that really stood out. His hair was loose and smooth, like it was recently brushed. It made it more obvious how long and shiny it was. His looks were distracting tonight somehow. I almost missed that he had spoken to me. "Good evening, Jason," He said in a pleasant voice. "Huh? Oh, um, hi." "Is everything alright? You look a little flushed." "Yeah, I'm good," I said, getting ahold of myself. "What's going on? Has something new happened?" "More like, more of the same," Dom said. He spoke lightly, but he added an edge to his voice when he asked, "Have you thought any more about our situation?" "Seriously, dude? You're like, ancient. What's another couple of years to you? Let me finish high school or something, at least." He sighed. "There is a timetable on this. You say I should wait a few years. I say, you should have been here a few years ago. Even now, you may be a few years too late." "Alright, then no." I froze at the brazenness of what I had just said. I didn't even know if I meant it. But I would die and go to hell before I'd let somebody push me around. He wasn't my dad. There was silence as I waited for his reaction. He seemed to be deciding how to answer. I thought he should be fighting against anger, but he didn't seem upset. He didn't seem to be having any emotion. Finally he took a breath and spoke. "You need to understand that this is as much for your benefit and safety as it is for mine." Dom got a look on his face. It might have been concern, or pity. "I have enemies, and they know about you." "Excellent," I said sarcastically. "So by trying to use me for your own plans, you sicced your enemies on me? Thanks." "Sadly that is the life we live." I didn't have an answer for that. "That's just cold, my guy. I was hoping this call was going to be about something else. Hell, at this point, I would rather you have threatened to take back all the money you've been throwing our way." "Jason," he sighed, shaking his head. "I have money. Do you need more? Is that what it would take to make you say yes? Would you like a million dollars? Two million? How about ten? You can send your mother to live happily and safely with family. I will give you whatever promise you wish that I will allow you the freedom to explore your higher education through online programs or even private tutors, if that is your wish." He paused, giving me time to think through what he had said. I got what he was saying. I really did. I really only had two issues. Guess it was time to lay them out on the table. "Fine," I said. "Two questions. And I think that considering all this, they deserve real answers." "Alright," he said, expectantly. "One, what am I looking to be giving up if I say yes and do this? What issues, exactly, am I looking at here? I already got told about the slow aging, and how I'm not going to be able to buy a drink for the next 50 years. But what else, really?" "Hmm." Dom looked thoughtful. "If you are referring to physical side effects, there are few. And even the problems you see, have historically been considered benefits. Beginning so young, you could possibly expect to look in your late 20s at the next turn of the century, and could even expect to live past 300 years, unless something cuts it short." "So nothing else?" I asked. "I suppose you could find yourself in an unfortunate position if you were, say, to forget your enhanced strength and assault a mortal. Or to be assaulted yourself, and be exposed when you near-instantly heal from a stab wound or a gunshot." "Yeah, I guess that could be weird," I said. "But this seriously can't wait til after high school? I don't want to get to graduation and I'm still a skinny shrimp compared to my friends." "If I thought it could wait, it would of course be preferable. But as I say, even now it could be too little, too late." "Well in that case, why do it at all?" "Because I refuse to go down without a fight!" he said enthusiastically. "And from what I have seen of you thus far, you wouldn't either." "Fuck no. Scorched earth, baby." He laughed at that. "Was that the second question?" "No," I said. "I want to know what the rush is all about. What are these enemies I'd be taking on. I'm assuming that your enemies would become mine?" "Sadly there is no way around that. They would become, as you say, your enemies as well." He looked at me through the screen. He may as well have been staring me down in the same room. "But Jason? I would ensure you were well armed, and well protected." I thought about that, then said, "Right now, I'd rather be well informed." Dom sighed, sitting back in his chair. He paused, and I got the impression that whatever he was about to say went against his preferences. Nevertheless, he did finally speak. "When the Vampyre treaty that held me within China ended twenty five years ago, I was not the only Vampyre released to come back to the West. There were few Vampires in China, and I did not dare make things more difficult for myself by making any progeny. However, I had to make... allies. Not allies of convenience. In fact, they were decidedly inconvenient." "Who was?" "The Jianshi," he said, as if uttering a curse word. I ignored his attempt at being spooky. "I'm lost, and you can ask Wren or Garrett. I don't react well when I'm lost. Who are the Geo-whatever?" "The Jianshi are China's answer to the Vampyre. They aren't created from a living mortal like the Vampires of Europe, or the Asanbosam of West Africa. Instead, they are souls pulled back from the immaterial and forced back into their corpses. In general, they fear and hate the living." "Sounds like they are great entertainment at parties," I chuckled. "They feed on fear and nightmares. And the easiest way for them to find those nightmares for them to feed from, is to generate them themselves." "Definitely fun." "They rampaged across the frontier of this land before this new country was founded. They were the cause of the treaty that locked me inside the borders of China, for it locked them there, as well." "And what, they're here now?" He looked down, and whether his look of shame was real or acting, it was convincing. Then he looked back up and said, "For my own survival, I had to make alliances. Promises. They are here, now. Collecting on those promises and more, no matter the casualties." He locked eyes with me through the screen. "Jason, I need your assistance. They must be stopped."