Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2023 04:12:41 -0500
From: Fang Saito <hokkaidohotel86it@gmail.com>
Subject: Welcome to Avernus - Chapter 14

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Welcome to Avernus

Chapter 14

	Wren told me to meet him at the game store at sunset. He wanted to
take me personally to go meet Dom. It was kind of cute, him going from
standoffish and bored acting, to suddenly being all protective. It made me
wonder if he was really, how did he put it, Eros or whatever he said. I got
the impression that having to admit he wasn't some thousand year old
superstud opened something up with him. Maybe it let him admit he was still
human, you know? Add to that the fact that I can tell when he is using
mesmir to "fancify" himself up, and now he's starting to show his true self
to me more often.

	I decided it was close enough to sunset, so I walked across the
store over toward that "Do Not Enter" door on the other side of the sales
counter. The guy at the counter gave me a questioning look, but didn't say
anything as I opened the door. It was a long hallway, pretty wide, enough
for probably three people to walk side by side pretty comfortably. It was
cinder block walls, painted with a thick, white paint. The ceiling looked
concrete and felt kind of low, but that was probably because of the
dimensions, not that it was actually short. Every dozen feet there was a
long fluorescent light fixture attached to the ceiling.

	There was nothing on the walls, no markings, no signs, no pipes or
cables. Nothing to break up the monotony as I headed down the hall. And I
meant down, as the hall sloped slightly. After fifty or so feet, I was able
to see a change up ahead, where there was a cross hallway to the left and
right, and the ceiling changed over to those ceiling tiles I remembered
from before.

	With no warning, the lights started flickering, lowering and
flashing sporadically as if their connections were loose or all the bulbs
were starting to go at once. But even with the lights that were working,
everything dimmed. It was almost like the very concept of light wasn't
working as well as it should. Then, like you see in all the horror movies,
the furthest light I could see went black. Then the next one. On and on,
one at a time, lights went out and the darkness approached. My heart was in
my throat. There was movement in the darkness, fluttering, crawling,
slithering. A sound accompanied it, wings, scales on concrete, hissing and
thousands of tiny running footsteps.

	It wasn't a thought that went through my head, more like a sense, a
concept. I closed my eyes and, I don't know, I pressed. I concentrated. I
don't really have a work for it, but basically I fought with my mind. Then
I opened my eyes.

	The lights were on as normal. No bad bulbs, no encroaching
darkness. And ahead there was still movement, but it was a dozen or so
people walking quickly toward me. They were all, for the most part, dressed
in black. One or two I thought I recognized as having seen them in the
store, but I wasn't sure. They stopped a few feet away from me, all but
one. He strode forward until he got right up in my face.

	"You shouldn't be here, kid," he said to me.

	He was trying to sound all Goth and creepy, but having fought off
the mesmir, it sounded so fake. I tried to keep a neutral face, but I
couldn't manage. The best I got was to only project an amused smile. Hey,
at least I didn't laugh. He looked somewhat confused.

	"I suppose we will need to correct this situation," he said, trying
to recover the upper hand. "Maybe we should have a little fun with you,
before we make you disappear." He flashed fangs at me. I could tell they
were real. This was his first act that didn't come across like some silly
cosplayer. I really had no choice but to shrink back. He grinned, and this
time, he didn't need mesmir to weird me out and appear dangerous.

	"I think we have time for a bit of a snack before starting our
evening."

	Without warning, and too fast for me to react, he suddenly had me
slammed against the wall, his mouth millimeters from my neck. Stars flashed
like strobe lights as the back of my head cracked against the cinder block
wall and I cried out from the pain. I could feel the raw energy coming off
this guy, especially as he heard my cry of pain.

	"Gregor, no!" someone cried out from the group behind my attacker.

	The pressure on me relented as he pulled back and turned to look at
who had spoken. When I could, I looked as well. To my surprise, Montgomery
stepped out of the group. He was such an ass the first time I met him, I
half expected him to be up for a bit of bullying, maybe even some feeding.

	"You don't want to do that," Montgomery said. "He belongs to
Dominic Tsui."

	Ah, there it was. He was just recognizing someone else's
power. After all, he was part of that stupid "apology committee"
nonsense. But then he added, "Plus, he's cool. He watched out for our stuff
yesterday when we were all called away. So back off, already."

	Gregor let me go, but maybe it was a little too quickly, because
the moment he did, my vision swam and almost fell over. I had to turn and
put a hand out to the wall to keep from falling. Then there were a dozen
variations on "Ugh" or "Gross" as I puked up my dinner all over the
floor. Everybody jumped back, trying not to get splattered. I hit my own
shoes, but I also managed to get the pants and shoes of Gregor. Maybe that
was a bit on purpose.

	"That's your own damn fault," Montgomery said angrily when Gregor
started cussing and muttering threats. As he moved forward, gingerly
stepping around the worst of it, he picked me up like I weighed nothing. As
he turned to go back down the hall, he turned to my bully and said, "Clean
this shit up, since you caused it."

	He carried me off in his arms, as if I was some little kid. I would
have been embarrassed if I wasn't ready to pass out. In fact, I think I
might have, because next thing I knew, I was laying on a couch, looking up
at half a dozen people, including Dom and Wren. It might have even been the
couch I woke up on last time, with Wren. Montgomery was in the process of
telling the others what had happened, when they noticed me stirring.

	Montgomery stopped talking when Wren looked down at me and said,
"What were you doing in the tunnels, Jason? I asked you to meet me at the
store." He sounded angry, but it may have been concern instead. I was just
used to hearing anger from people, so yeah.

	"I knew what was down that hall, so what's the big deal?" I
muttered, a little annoyed, and a lot embarrassed. "I'm either a part of
your world, or I'm not, right?"

	Dom spoke up from behind the others. He was standing back, like he
was trying to keep away from me. "That may be, Jason. But not all of our
community knows you. Some wayward Vampyre might react unkindly to finding a
mortal traipsing through the Warren."

	"Fine, I get it. I fucked up," I muttered.

	"Or perhaps someone should go remind Gregor about what happened to
Solomon," muttered Wren.

	Whatever his actual intentions with that comment, everyone went
silent. Of course, to me that bat-guy was a monster. To everyone else
around here, he was one of their people. I knew that, sort of. I kind of
felt like I needed to change the mood of the room, before I found myself
facing a room full of predators pissed off at me for killing one of their
own.

	"So guys, are we still doing this, or should I just go home?" I
still felt kind of nauseous and I was ready to move on.

	Dom cleared his throat. "Yes, hmm. We should move forward. Who will
act as witness?"

	Wren instantly raised his hand. "I will." He had a solemn look on
his face, but when he looked my way, he winked.

	It was quiet for a moment, but then a woman I didn't recognize
spoke up from the back of the room. "I will stand as witness as well."

	There was a collective reaction from the others, gasps, a few
groans of either disappointment or frustration, along with a lot of
shuffling feet. I tried to get a better look. She was an older lady, like
grandma old. Asian, probably Chinese, given Dom and a few of the others I
had seen around. She was pretty tiny, under five feet, but carried herself
like she owned the place. Like, people moved away from her, giving her
room. Dom had a surprised look on his face, but quickly covered it, nodding
solemnly.

	"Hold on, I'm saying yes, obviously, but I have a couple of
requests."

	God, I felt like I was on a stage under a spotlight, when everybody
turned to look at me. It made me feel childish, to be asking for stuff at
this stage. I shrunk back.

	"Never mind," I muttered, embarrassed. "I'll deal with it later."
With more confidence, I sat up straighter and asked, "So how does all this
work?"

	"Fortunately, most of the work was already done," said Dom, "with
your ancestor, a man named Willem Jansen. He was a good friend, and I made
him into my Assecla in 1588. All I truly need to do at this point is to
reconnect with the blood of your ancestry."

	"Any chance this is going to risk turning me into a Vampire as
well? Or that you are going to try to drain your power back out of me?"

	"No," smiled Dom. He seemed amused by my question. "Those are both
completely different processes. Both of which would involve draining your
body of all its prima vitae, that being your blood." More seriously, he
said, "No, I will only be taking a small amount of your blood."

	"What about this fucking headache," I asked. "Should we deal with
me being slammed into a wall first?"

	Wren piped up at that one. "In about ten minutes, your head will
fix itself. Don't worry, you'll like this."

	Dom came over to the couch, kneeling down in front of me, asking me
to lay down. That was easy to do, since I still felt sick as all hell. Wren
and the lady came over to the couch as well, standing on either side of
Dom. They looked at one another, as if sizing each other up. Finally the
lady moved away, moving to the back of the couch. Dom closed his eyes and
began mumbling something under his breath, while Wren moved behind him,
placing his hands on Dom's shoulders. Meanwhile, the old lady leaned down
and put her hands on my chest. I flinched at her touch, not because it hurt
or even felt weird. It was just that I didn't know her, or what she planned
on doing. I was surprised when I felt a little jealous that Wren hadn't
chosen to be over with me, instead of her.

	After a few minutes, Dom began to lean forward, still
muttering. Wren looked down at me, smiled slightly, and whispered for me to
close my eyes. He then closed his eyes as well, with a look on his face
like he was concentrating on something. I looked up at the lady standing
over me from the back of the couch, and she had her eyes closed also, with
a similar look of concentration. I closed my eyes, almost immediately
feeling like I was going to sink into the cushions and pass out.

	I was too relaxed and half asleep to react when I felt my head
turned to the side, into the back of the couch. I winced as I felt a sharp
pain on the side of my neck. But the pain instantly vanished, to be
replaced with this pleasant tickling sensation, almost like a water faucet
flowing on my neck. The next thing I knew, I felt all my muscles contract,
from my stomach down to my knees, and my cock went from soft to hard and
throbbing, filling my underwear with a load of cum out of nowhere. My groin
kept convulsing as my cock tried to orgasm over and over, with no
stimulation at all. I cried out in sheer ecstasy. I started humping the
air, straining against the feelings flowing through my body.

	I have no idea how long the feeling lasted. Eventually my body
relaxed, and I felt the pressure holding my head to the side relax, along
with the feeling on my neck. I got my breathing under control, then slowly
opened my eyes and sat up. So far, so good. I was feeling a bit better,
despite feeling how sloppy my pants felt. Everyone was backing away,
watching me, as if waiting to see what I was going to do.

	"Well that was interesting," I said with a bit of a grin. "So
what's the next step?"

	Dom chuckled. "That's it, young Mr. Docker. I told you, most of the
work was already done, many years ago."

	I looked at Wren, who nodded. He was already smiling. Then I did
jump a bit, as the woman I had forgotten was behind me spoke up. She spoke
with a heavy Chinese accent. "Yes, the connection is there."

	"How do you feel," asked Wren.

	"Um," I had to think about it for a moment. "Actually, really
good." I don't know why I was surprised. Wren had said I would feel good in
a few minutes.

	"Excellent," exclaimed Dom. He seemed to be in a really good mood
now. Maybe he was feeling the thrill of having all his old power back, or
maybe he'd had a similar reaction to what I had felt.

	"Now that this is done and our power is back under control," said
Dom, "Jason, would you care to have dinner with me?"

	"Uh, only if I can run home and change first," I said with a blush.

	"I'll take him," volunteered Wren. And very quickly, I noticed. I
smiled at that.

	"Very well," said Dom, frowning slightly. "Shall we say, in two
hours? At the hotel?"

	"I'll have him there," said Wren.

	He reached forward, offering me his hand, helping me to my
feet. The party broke up, and Wren led me down another tunnel. I thought we
were going to have a bit more of a walk, but he pulled me into an alcove,
where he hopped into a small electric cart. It looked like a golf cart, but
was lower to the ground, and only wide enough for a single wide
seat. Fortunately it had a second seat behind the driver, facing
backward. He took off down the tunnel, and I was reminded of the ride
through the DC airport, riding backwards on their cart.

	"How come you don't just have wider tunnels, and use a regular golf
cart?" I asked as we zipped along.

	"These tunnels are hundreds of years old, and only slowly get
updated," he answered back. "They only got updated with blocks and cement
in the 50s. Before that, they were stone and dirt. Avernus has been here
quite a while."

	Very quickly we were in sections where the lights appeared to be
motion activated, with new lights snapping on as we approached, and going
dark as we left. Riding backward, it was pretty creepy watching the lights
vanish one by one. It gave the impression of what happened near the store,
when the group of Vampyre were using mesmir to make it appear that the
darkness was swallowing the light. I shuddered at the memory, and the
reminder I was seeing over and over, as every new light winked out.

	After a few turns down different tunnels, I was surprised when we
ended, not at a sloping tunnel like before, but at a set of wooden
stairs. They looked a bit dark and dusty, as if this area was rarely
visited. The tunnel continued on, even after our stop. Wren parked the cart
next to the stairs, and there was this feeling of anachronism when he
plugged the cart into an outlet at the base of the stairs. I was able to
see that there was an industrial extension cord running down the underside
of the stairs from the top.

	He led me up the stairs to a short landing. The landing was barely
three feet by five, concrete flood and concrete walls on three sides, the
fourth side open to the tunnel a few feet below. The whole area was painted
black and had almost no lighting. There was a little metal teardrop flap a
bit shorter than eye level, hinged on a screw. It reminded me of the covers
used on some apartment doors to shield the peephole in the front door. Then
I realized that was exactly what it was. Where were we?

	"Now Jason, don't get upset until I have a chance to explain.,"
whispered Wren.

	"Explain what?" I asked. "What exactly is it you think is going to
upset me? Where are we?"

	"Well," Wren paused, then sighed, slumping his shoulders. "Here."

	He reached forward, swinging the cover to the side to reveal a
peephole, just as I had guessed. It was obvious he was leaving room for me
to approach the door, so I did. I was nervous as hell, with no clue what to
expect. I looked through the little hole, and saw... Nothing. It was black.

	"What the hell?" I said, stepping back. "I don't see anything."

	"Ah, yes. Of course you wouldn't, without any lights," said
Wren. "Sorry about that. Here, let me see if I can do something about
that."

	He reached over, and flipped three latches, spaced along a thin
line on the interior wall to the right of the peephole, one just above head
height, one about my belly, and other about knee level. From there, I
realized on the far left side were a set of hinges, and a thin portion of
the wall swung in as a door. The door was really narrow, probably two and a
half feet wide and six feet tall. I couldn't see into the room yet, since
the alcove we were in was not lit well at all. Wren slipped partway into
the door, reaching along the inner wall. Then I heard the soft click of a
wall light switch, and Wren entered all the way in. I opened the door a
little wider and was able to see into the room.

	"What the fuck!" I yelled out. "Have you always known about this,
you asshole?"

	I pulled the door shut behind me, then turned around, looking for
the seam in the wall. I was barely able to make it out, but realized that
the door couldn't really be pulled fully flush from this side. So I looked
for the peephole. It took me a minute to find it, since it was hidden in
the patterning of the wood grain covering the walls. Well, that was
definitely getting puttied over. Assuming I didn't weld the whole fucking
door shut. Maybe I'd just go ahead and burn the whole place down, while I
was at it.

	I turned back to Wren, who had gone over and sat down on the
couch. "And here I thought that fucking monster was like mist and smoke,
and just drifted away!" I was pissed now. "But all he had to do was throw
up a little smoke to hide what he was doing, and walk through a door in the
wall? Why are you showing me this now?"

	"You needed to know," said Wren. "You're all in, now."

	"No, asshole! I mean, why are you only JUST NOW telling me there's
a fucking Vampyre door into my FUCKING basement!"

	Wren was silent at that. Finally he said, "I'm sorry." He at least
had the decency to look upset about it. "It's difficult, being Vampyre. You
have to keep secrets from everyone who isn't like you. And sometimes even
from other Vampyre. I'm not a fan of it being here, to be honest. But here
it is."

	"I'm going to go change clothes," I said grumpily. "Since you know
everything else, you probably know the effect all that shit had on me."

	Smiling, Wren said, "Yeah, probably one in three that get fed on
end up having an orgasm. I figured you would be one. Want some help."

	"I don't know," I said as I started up the steps. "I kind of want
to stay mad at you. Besides, my mom might be upstairs."

	"What's that going to matter," said Wren, hopping up and following
me up the stairs. "She'll explain it away with the mesmir. Come on. Let me
make it up to you."

	Mom was upstairs at the work table when we went up. "Oh, honey, I
didn't know you were gonna have company over. And such a pretty little
thang!" She reached out to shake hands with Wren. "Hi there, I'm Jason's
mom, Renee."

	Wren offered his hand. "Hi, Renee. I'm Wren. Wren Stormbreak."

	"My, what a fascinatin' name! Well, what are you two getting' up
to? You need anything to drink? Should I whip up some cookies?"

	She quickly started cleaning up the brush she was using and closing
the pot of paint she had been using. Just as quickly, she excused herself
and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

	"See what I mean?" I asked as I opened the door to my
bedroom. "She's never been like that."

	"Maybe she's just as happy as you to be out from under your
father?" Wren came into the bedroom behind me, shutting the door.

	"I'm going to rinse off in the shower," I said, starting to strip
off my clothes, throwing them in the hamper.

	"Should I join you?" asked Wren with a smile.

	I sighed. "As much as I like that idea, I really want to be
quick. Plus I still kind of want to be mad at you."

	"Are you really mad?" Wren asked, showing a good bit of
nervousness.

	I looked away, stripping off the rest of my clothes and not really
caring that I was naked in front of Wren. I wasn't in the mood for
playfulness.

	"I'm disappointed that you kept it a secret from me. But I get
it. I guess you needed to know how I would react, and what I would do,
before you could tell me." I turned to give him a once-over. "I'll get over
it, I promise." I stepped into the bathroom, but before I turned on the
shower, I called out, "I like you too much not to forgive you too easy!"

	Wren was sitting at my desk when I got out of the shower, playing
on his phone. I came into the bedroom still toweling myself off. I thought
about trying to be all shy and embarrassed. Hell, Wren was absolutely
stunning, and I didn't feel like I had any right to think I was anywhere in
his league. But at this point, I was kind of beyond caring.

	Plus, I was thinking too much about what was about to go on with
Dom. I kind of stopped at that. It had really happened. I was his
Assecla. I was Vampyre now. Thinking back to just an hour or so ago, I
realized that I straight up had a concussion. Maybe even damage to my
skull. I had hit that wall pretty hard. And now? Nothing. I felt great.

	I was smiling by the time I finished drying off and went back in to
hang up my towel. Walking back into the bedroom, I saw Wren looking over at
me. I got the impression that he liked what he saw.

	"Alright, alright," I said. "I give up. You are forgiven."

	He chuckled at that, setting down his phone. "I know," he said with
a smirk. "I'm too pretty for you to hold a grudge."

	I laughed, knowing he was teasing, so I decided to tease
back. "What was that Greek stuff you said the other day? The part where you
said you only thought I was worth banging?"

	"Ah, I believe you are referring to Ludus and Eros."

	"Explain those to me again," I said. "And go slow. I'm just a dumb
kid, right?" I said with a smirk to match his own.

	Laughing, Wren said, "I suppose I can do that, while I enjoy the
floor show of watching you put on that absolutely hideous pair of
underwear. Babe, we've got to fix your wardrobe." I laughed and flipped him
off.

	"Ludus is playful love. It's quick crushes, puppy love, the amorous
play of the first few dates with someone when you are lusting after the
idea of who you see, even when you don't really know them yet."

	"Alright," I said. "And that's the one you said you were feeling,
right? The one that makes me `mister right now'?"

	"Something like that," said Wren. "The other was Eros. Eros is
passion, it's lust, it's a desire to lose all control. Eros is a desire to
lose yourself in the person you are with."

	"And that's not what you are feeling?" I laughed. "You aren't
feeling passion and lust with me?"

	Wren picked at the hem of his skirt. "Eros isn't just about the
physical pleasures though. It's more about the rush of romance, the desire
to take one and one, and make a whole new, larger one." He sighed. "Jason,
you're hot. You are kind, and definitely interesting and intriguing. You
are fun to feed with, and I love being with you. But Eros is about getting
lost in the relationship you are forming with a person."

	He was quiet for a minute, and I took the time to think about what
he was trying to say while I finished getting dressed. Maybe it was like he
said. Maybe we could fool around, but shouldn't try to be a "thing". After
all, he was something like fifty, and I was fifteen. Sure, he looked my
age. And I guess because of that, I couldn't think of him like he was an
old man. But maybe he looked at me like I was a little kid. That made me
sad. I perked up a bit when he spoke up, even in my frustration.

	"Who knows though," Wren said. "After all, you are Vampyre now. You
are young now. But in a hundred years, we will both still be young."

	That reminded me of something I had questions about. "Hey
Wren. Does being an Assecla block me from being made into another form of
Vampyre? Like, could I later be turned to being a Vampire or something?"

	Wren got a thoughtful look on his face, then said, "Not
accidentally. Someone would need to remove the bond that you have to your
current Vampire, before a new bond could be put over you."

	"Does that mean that another type of Vampyre could be reversed?
Like, if being an Assecla could be reversed, could, say" I stalled, then
continued, "a Succubus be reversed as well?"

	I looked over at him out of the corner of my eye, and Wren was
smiling. My heart melted, he looked so gorgeous. "No, Jason. I could not
become mortal again. And neither could you. If your bond to Dom is ever
broken, it would need to be replaced immediately, or you would die. Just as
Dom trying to take his power back would have destroyed you. Being an
Assecla, being Vampyre, is now a part of you."

	"Wow, that's definitely a downside that somebody forgot to fucking
mention to me," I said, a bit spiteful and kind of pissed off all over
again. "You mean that if someone attacks and kills Dom, I die right then,
too? Nobody thought to mention that to me, all the times I asked, you, Dom,
fucking ANYONE, what the pros and cons of this shit were?"

	Wren looked worried. "You're right. I took it as such as given, I
didn't even think to mention it. I'm betting Dom took it the same way. It's
the same with any deep bonds between Vampyre." He looked down at his
lap. "I apologize, Jason. It wasn't something I was hiding. I honestly
didn't think to mention it."

	"Well let's go," I said, grabbing my jacket. "Let's go find out
what else Dom might have `forgotten' to mention."

	We traipsed back downstairs to find my mother in the
kitchen. Fuck. How the hell did I forget about my own mother being in the
house? And I could definitely smell the unforgettable scent of cookies
baking in the oven. I sighed and hung my head. I wanted to go yell and fuss
at Dom. I wasn't in the mood to be nice, or sociable. Fuck the world,
right?

	"Hi, Mom," I said, sitting down at the kitchen island. I gestured
for Wren to take the seat next to me, glaring, to make sure he saw it
wasn't an offer.

	"Oh, there you are," she said with a sly smirk. "I hope you two
weren't up to too much no good up there!" She playfully swatted my arm with
a dish towel.

	"No ma'am," I said. "We weren't doing anything like that." Knowing
how me and Wren usually were, it was kind of a pleasant surprise that I
wasn't lying to her.

	We stayed long enough to have a few cookies and be polite, then I
told Mom that we needed to go out and take care of something, but that I'd
be back before 11. She kissed me on the cheek, then swatted me playfully on
the butt, telling me to behave. She didn't seem to notice at all when we
went down to the basement, rather than out the front door.