Page 18 of Dark Stars

Bobby made a sweeping motion with his hands, and Alejo nodded in understanding. They stayed where they were, watching the figures work, until they finally left an interminable amount of time later.

By the time he was comfortable leaving their hiding place, certain they would not return for the keys they forgot or whatever, nearly an hour had passed.

"Gonna be a long day,"

Alejo muttered.

"So what now?"

He crept out of the tree line and toward the altar.

"So how do we do this?"

Bobby grabbed his arm lightly, pulling him to a stop.

"Let me check for any traps."

He put out small feelers, barely there at all, testing for traps on various planes. He found a couple on the mortal plane, half-hearted things clearly done as a matter of habit but not with any earnestness.

"There. All clear. Sloppy work."

"Well, I mean, until just hours ago, they'd been hiding them in plain sight pretty effectively,"

Alejo said.

"Yeah, true,"

Bobby said with a grimace, still annoyed at himself for missing something so fucking obvious.

"All right, let's get this done. Thankfully, it doesn't take much, just burning all of this away will do the job. Without the pieces on this plane, the ones formed in the primordial dark will just break apart into nothing."

Alejo grinned.

"I can handle that."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter, a zippo made of matte black and shimmering with inlaid arcana.

"Can burn anything, anywhere, with very few limits. Present from my father. He laid the vodun spells himself, gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday."

Leaving him to burn the part on and in the ground, Bobby scaled the tree that the dangling sections were secured to and cut them down.

Several minutes later, the whole mess was nothing but ashes.

"One down, twelve to go,"

Bobby said.

"The more we destroy, the more attention we'll draw. Those guys that were here will probably come rushing back."

"So create a trap of your own. Maybe get them stuck here? We can't prevent whatever communication is happening now, but once they step into the trap…"

Bobby kissed him, quick and sharp.

"Perfect. Stand over there."

Once Alejo was out of the way, he drew up the faintest tendrils of power, weaving them into a delicate trap that would enshroud all who stepped into it, rendering them unable to leave, unable to speak, for twelve hours. Without the ability to speak, their arcana would be hampered significantly, and they wouldn't be able to warn anyone. The distraction caused by trying to find them would cause further confusion.

"All right, let's go. Three miles to the next one."

Thankfully, the weather was nice and the woods peaceful, even if he could feel a low thrum of discontent. Fireflies traveled with them for a little while, until the last dregs of night had faded and the sun took over completely.

They paused at the two-mile mark to eat, because despite all the food he'd already eaten, Bobby was still hungry.

"How do you keep from starving to death?"

"Normally I have more options than food for replenishment when I really need it. Most of the time, the energy I expend is minimal and I don't even really need to eat. Jones is always giving Harold and me shit because no matter how much we eat, it's never enough, and we never gain anything. Harold can eat enough for twenty, and the bastard is still just this side of skin and bones."

"That seems stressful, not to mention expensive."

Bobby smiled.

"Well, thankfully, between the three of us, there's never a lack of funds. Harold has wealth of his own from the work he does, and when you're older than dirt like me and Jones, building money is child's play after a point."

Alejo gasped and pressed his hands to his chest.

"I get to be a trophy boyfriend?"

Bobby rolled his eyes and threw the empty wrapper of his protein bar at his head.

"Let's get back to work, trophy."

Giggling, Alejo cleaned up their snack, slung his bag onto his shoulders, and led the way back to the crude path they'd been following.

"Trap was just sprung,"

Bobby said.

"Surprised it took them this long to get back to it. But I guess we did give them quite some time to get away. Hmm. Hang on a moment."

He went over to a tree right at the edge of the path, pressing a hand to it and asking nicely if the tree would let him know should someone else pass by, someone who tasted of the Deep Dark, because he was trying earnestly to get rid of them.

The tree agreed, feeling relieved, which it probably was, as all this primordial dark skulking about the place was never a good thing for nature, not in the quantities being threatened.

Every hundred feet or so, he repeated the request, until he had an entire network of trees, passing word from one to the other, to tell him where interlopers might be.

"Didn't know you could talk to trees."

"I try to leave most of nature alone,"

Bobby replied.

"Normally, they'd prefer it, for all that I have some leeway, given my bond to fireflies. I'm the monster content to leave them alone, but a monster all the same. Still, there are worse monsters in the woods right now, so…"

He shrugged.

Alejo took his hand, squeezing it gently as they resumed walking.

"You are definitely the best monster. I still can't believe…"

he shook his head, laughing softly.

"Just what, forty-eight hours ago? Seventy-two? Somewhere in there. I was still bound to a demon. I was certain I'd die before anyone could save me. You did it like it was light work."

He frowned.

"At great cost, though."

"I am older than most demons, and on par with Leviathan. He's not as clever as he thinks he is, believe me."

"Still can't believe you gave him your blood. In exchange for me. One of those is infinitely more valuable than the other."

"Yes, you,"

Bobby replied quietly, stopping to draw him in close, cradling Alejo's head between his hands.

"You are worth more than every star in the sky, and certainly worth more than my blood. Leviathan thinks he got one over on me, but I promise you, one day far from now, he will use that blood, and he will find it biting him instead of his victim. By the terms of the bargain I could not lay traps or anything in it, but it's still my blood, I'll know when he tries to use it, and all he'll get is disaster."

He kissed Alejo softly, then reluctantly let him go.

"Come on, I think we're close."

The second rune circle was as easily destroyed as the first one, and also lacking in any sort of protections or traps. Cocky, lazy, or inexperienced? He supposed they'd find out soon.

"I thought they'd be more difficult."

"We're going counterclockwise, which makes it easier. The last few will damn near break themselves."

"So why would we ever do it clockwise?"

"Because while the breaking would be more difficult, it would go unnoticed much longer. We started at the six o'clock mark and are going backwards, which means they'll notice much faster. Goods and bads for both. As long as we can stay ahead of them, leave them confused, we have the advantage. My only fear is that once they realize what's going on, which will be right about now, they're going to be waiting for us at the final mark, and I don't know what power they may be drawing from the Lord of All."

"Can't wait."

Alejo dug out further snacks as they returned to the trail and continued their hike.

"So another three miles? My legs are going to fall off."

"We'll stop for a real rest after we get the third one."

"Is that safe?"

"They won't be able to comb the entirety of these woods, even knowing we're somewhere between the third and fourth circles. Even with arcana, not when they're up against mine. We can afford a few hours rest."

"Should have brought more food."

"We'll manage."

Certainly if it came to it he could ask the dark for help in bringing food to them, though that increased the risk of being noticed. Then again, by now that was almost a moot point.

They walked the next three miles with minimal breaks. When they neared the third circle, Bobby finally felt the presence of arcana.

"I feel traps. Stay here a minute."

"Okay."

Silently requesting the dark keep him hidden, Bobby crept closer to the man-made clearing where the circle was located.

What he tasted, as he drew closer, was yet another relative. The Unnamed Darkness itself, one of the offspring of Azathoth. So Azathoth had his children doing the grunt work, and a thin sliver of the Unnamed Darkness's power had been given to the little cultists.

Well, if you were going to steal power from the Lord of the Flickering Lights, the Unnamed Darkness was a good lackey to put to work. But as ever, they simply handed off a speck of power, all that humans could handle, to leave the work to others.

Unwinding the nasty little trap actually took a modicum of effort. Whoever had laid this either actually cared about their job, or several of them had hastened here to set the trap up after the destruction of the previous circles. More than likely the second one, but he supposed there could be a cultist flitting about who actually took pride in their work.

Well, too bad, so sad. Gonna have to try harder than that.

"Alejo, all clear."

Alejo joined him in the clearing, and just minutes later the third circle was ashes in the wind.

"Let's go."

They walked another mile and a half before calling a halt. Nine miles the previous day, and nearly another nine today. Alejo looked exhausted beyond measure, but Bobby didn't press him on it, knowing exactly what kind of stubborn reply he'd get.

Instead, he got their sleeping bags out, and settled beneath a low-hanging tree, asking both it and the darkness to shroud them from view. Once that was done, he set a few discreet traps.

"Should have brought a tent,"

Alejo murmured.

"Might have been worth the extra weight."

"Too easy to get trapped inside, harder to spot oncoming threats. If inclement weather pays a visit, I can handle it. Though I don't smell rain, so I think we're in the clear on that front."

Despite all the walking they'd done, it was not quite eleven in the morning. Given they'd started at four, that was pretty good time all told, especially considering they'd already walked nine miles through dense forest.

Alejo had gathered up some leafy branches and stacked them up to make better padding for their sleeping bags, getting them well clear of the cold ground. Bobby dug food out of his bookbag, gave some of it to Alejo, and then wolfed the rest down.

When they were done eating, he drew Alejo to sprawl across him and curled his fingers into the nape of that soft hair before giving him a lingering kiss.

"Get some rest, hmm? We still have roughly thirty miles to cover, not including any detours and whatnot we might have to take to avoid suspicion."

"Really wish we had four wheelers or something right now,"

Alejo grumbled.

"That would be delightful."

Alejo kissed him again, and Bobby could not resist the urge to flip them over and pin him down, devour that mouth like it was his sole chance of salvation.

"Never fucked in the woods before,"

he said breathlessly.

"What a travesty."

Bobby mouthed at his neck, diligently sucking up a mark, even as his hands slid down to get Alejo's jeans open. Access granted, he shoved a hand past fabric and pulled out his cock, already hard and wet.

Tearing away from Alejo's throat, he shifted down and licked the wet tip, smirking at the breathy groan that immediately gained him. Wasting no time, he swallowed Alejo down like a monster on a mission.

"Flick!"

Alejo wailed, scrabbling at his head, gripping his hair, and after a look where Bobby silently granted permission, fucked his mouth with shameless abandon. It was a quick and dirty blowjob, because this really wasn't the time or place, but Alejo didn't seem to have any complaints.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. I'm gonna—"

Bobby took him all the way down, swallowing as Alejo spilled down his throat, until every drop was gone and he started to squirm from overstimulation. Pulling off gently, Bobby sat back on his heels and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, taking in a flushed, ruffled Alejo with pleasure.

"Come he—"

Alejo yawned.

"Come here."

"Later,"

Bobby said.

Alejo pouted.

"I'm not going to enjoy a blowjob like that and not—"

another yawn, this one so strong his eyes watered, and Bobby could practically hear his jaw cracking with the effort. "Damn it."

"Get some rest,"

Bobby said, and he didn't even have to use arcana to push him that last little bit. Silly human.

When Alejo was fast asleep, bundled up against the cool, almost chilly air, Bobby stretched, drank some water, and went to do a bit more exploring.

He was heading back to their sort-of campsite when he felt it. Dark Young. Were they hoping for a round two? They were trying to remain stealthy, but the forest felt them and thus, so did he.

As they drew closer, he enfolded himself in the accommodating dark. Two…no, three of them…and there was something different about them. They'd been altered somehow.

When they finally drew close enough he could see them, the difference became obvious. They'd been given the blood of Azathoth. What a fucking mess this was. Azathoth at the root of it all, Shub-Niggurath his little front for the cult, and the Unnamed Darkness assisting as well. The entire fucking family was trying to use him, gain power and followers they'd never have had otherwise.

He hadn't bothered any of them. All he'd ever wanted was to live his life, strange and incomprehensible to his relatives though it might be. And they thought they could just use him like any other human. Take what was his, take what he'd always freely offered to his relatives. Well, to his mother and grandfather, because the rest of his family didn't even like him so he'd assumed they didn't care. If they'd just asked, he would have worked something out.

But he knew better than to expect primordial beings to think like mortal ones. Hell, even mortal beings were all too often willing to just take.

Well, if they wanted to play, he'd play, just like he had with the last batch down in the caves. Thank goodness Alejo was asleep.

Sinking fully into the dark, he let go of his human form, sighing happily as his tentacles stretched and writhed. The forest filled with alarm and disgust, and he soothed it as best he could, even as fireflies came out to flutter and twinkle in the space between the mortal plane and the great, eternal dark.

Like starving wolves, the Dark Young rounded sharply from their prowling to focus on him, hooves sparking where they struck stone, their eyes glowing red from the effect of consuming the blood of the Daemon Sultan himself, and the acid that dripped from their maws was black and oily, rather than the usual watery yellow-green.

This might be a problem. He could deal with his cousins when they were only themselves, in larger quantities than the seven he'd face in that cave. But these three… they were hopped up on every good street drug all at once, with a side of a crate of energy drinks for good measure.

They tried to flank him, and unfortunately, it largely worked. But he had hundreds of eyes and uncountable tentacles, and a reason to fight against even Azathoth himself that the hunger-driven fools would never understand.

Still, it hurt. They ripped and shredded, tore tentacles away entirely, sank venom-dripping fangs deep into his body, leaving him screaming and writhing, even as he continued to fight back. They were stronger than usual, faster, meaner, which would be impressive if he didn't hate them so fucking much.

He managed, finally, even as he bled and screamed, to get one wrapped up—and then ripped it apart, first in halves and then into more pieces. That startled the others enough they paused for the barest moment, but then they renewed their attack, howling long and loud.

Which brought more. Damn it. He'd thought these three were it, for surely Azathoth would be more sparing with sharing his blood, his power.

Instead of just two now, suddenly there were five, making the fight not just difficult, but close to impossible. He managed to get another one, but before he could rip it apart, one of them managed to get to his throat, biting down hard, injecting venom at the worst possible place.

Ctheldush screamed, the sound rippling out, shattering the air like glass, making the dark ripple and wrinkle.

"Flick!"

No. No, no, no!

With another scream, he finally shook the others off long enough to kill the one he still held, then turned to the next.

But now there were insects everywhere, slow in numbers at first but growing exponentially. All manner of types, shapes and size. Cockroaches, centipedes, weevils, flies, wasps, moths, and more. They swarmed as though possessed by a pied piper, enfolding the Dark Young, sending them flailing and panicking.

It was all the opening he needed. He snatched up two that time, tearing them apart like paper. Four down, two to go.

One of them tried to lung for Alejo, standing in the mortal plane but just barely visible on this one, as though he stood at the threshold like the fireflies and insects.

Snarling, Ctheldush lunged forward, slipping out of the primordial dark and halfway into the mortal plane, snatching the cretin up and tearing him apart just like his siblings.

The last one fled, dripping blood and shedding insects, and was gone in the next moment. Well, fool them, because whoever he reported to would just declare him useless and eat him. Good riddance.

Alejo stared wide-eyed.

"Bobby? Oh, god, I think you're bleeding."

Bobby warbled a weak laugh and tried to push out reassurance. Yes, he was injured, and rather badly, but his mother had done worse to him wholly by accident, unaccustomed to having something so small and frail around.

His healing would go faster if he had something to consume. Like the corpses of his worthless cousins. But that would mean ingesting the blood of Azathoth, which certainly would give him some perks, but would also mark him, and make maintaining control a bit more difficult for a time. Still, he'd heal instantly and be much stronger for days, wouldn't need to eat for months.

Pain pulsed through him anew, and Alejo's worry was palpable, as sharp and unpleasant as eating something spicy when you'd expected sweet. With a silent fuck it, he reached for the corpses of his cousins and pulled them to his enormous maw, tearing and crunching them into pieces barely small enough to swallow, more interested in doing this quickly than responsibly.

They did not taste delicious, but he'd hardly expected them to. This was work, not pleasure.

He consumed them one by one, bite by bitter bite, until all five were nothing but food in his belly. After that, he crawled the rest of the way out of the primordial dark, returning entirely to the mortal realm, and then over to their makeshift bed.

Satisfied all was well and he would heal, Bobby finally passed out.