Page 14 of Heart Shaped Wreckage (standalone)

LANDON

Iwould have fallen off the sheer drops in this stupid cavern many times if the light of the seeking stones hadn’t guided me. I could feel them pull me one way or the other, and I gave my trust over to them.

It was hard for Heath to let me go in here alone.

I could feel his concern, and the way he looked at me…

It was not the look of someone who was just a friend.

It had this heat to it that made my skin electric as I stared at him.

I could look into those gorgeous eyes of his all day.

That strong cheekbone and stubble were something that made my heart pound and my dick swell with all the promise I knew we had between us.

He felt the same. He was also hiding secrets from me. But they weren’t mine to force him to tell. He said he would when the time was right. But I wanted to know everything there was about him. I had to put my trust in him. I had put my trust in him, and he had already saved my life.

‘Old one,’ they had called him. How old?

I was assuming ancient. I mean, he acted like he knew angels.

‘Wings that beat no more awakens the beast within.’ Was that Heath?

Was he the beast? Did he once have wings?

Maybe an angel or… Perhaps he was once in the X-Men.

I knew that was stupid, but I was trying to keep my mind busy because I was absolutely terrified of being in here alone.

It was so dark I couldn’t see an inch from my face if it hadn’t been for the stones.

Their purple light made it even more eerie.

I made my way across a very narrow ravine and through a stone arch into a room that held a dim light up ahead. I walked towards it. Purple, like the light of my stones, seemed to float in the air.

No!

I stopped in my tracks and almost ran back the way I had come, but I had come so far, and we needed these stones. It didn’t hover. It was held in another clasped hand.

“Greetings, stone seeker,” the cold voice whispered.

I knew that voice. It belonged to me. But it didn’t sound very friendly. It sounded cold and sad.

The light from the purple stone grew brighter as whoever held it opened their hand, and my stones pulsed in response. The other me, an exact duplicate, stood there with the purple stone in his hand.

“To receive the stone, you must answer two questions. If you fail, the stone's power will end, and you will be plunged into darkness.”

“Is there another option. I’m not a huge fan of my odds.” I tried to make light of my fear, but my knees were actually shaking. “I don’t know much, right now.”

“Everything you need to acquire the stone is already inside you.” The other me smiled coldly. “But if you fail, I promise that you will stay here with me forever until a new seeker of the stones is named.”

“That’s not very comforting,” I laughed without any mirth.

“Your first question is – who are you?”

“That’s not fair, I have magical amnesia!” I blurted angrily.

“Life is not fair.” The other me smiled. In the purple light, I looked pretty fantastic, actually.

“Who am I?” I tried to think and held the stones aloft as if they might help me find the answer.

I was Kevin, because that is who I chose.

But that was not the answer. I knew that.

I tried to think, to break through the walls that held my identity in place, when I realized that my identity is not who I truly am. Who was I?

I made a list, mentally, of everything I knew to be true about myself, and took a deep breath.

This could go so badly, and I did not want to be lunch for the other me as he devoured my soul.

I was sure that was what would happen. He’d turn into some magical monster, maybe a magical talking chihuahua, and eat me alive before my screams could ever reach Heath.

He would fail without me. It would take both of us to complete the stupid prophecy.

Heath would be lost. He would fail and possibly die.

Who was I?

“I am Kevin by my chosen name, but that is just a mask – a name I chose. But my other name, the one that’s lost, is not one I chose; it was given.

It is also not who I am. I am kind and caring, and scared of almost everything, yet I find the courage to keep going.

I am the stone seeker, the prophecy named, and the one who will see this quest through to the end.

I am determined and stronger than I think I am.

I have magic coursing through my veins, though I have yet to master it. I am learning as I grow.”

“Is that it?” The other me sneered.

“No. Even though it seems stupid, it is true. I care for Heath as much as I could care for anyone. I… I love him for what he has done for me. I love him because I do. I am love.”

“A correct answer from the moron with the stones. I’m impressed.” The other me was really not very pleasant. I was starting to think he wanted me to fail.

“I am too, actually. I was sure that you were going to eat me.” I tried to make light of my fear.

“Who knows the future?”

I really did not like the way he said that. “What’s your second question?”

“What do you want?”

“That’s loaded right now. Jesus. Uh… let me think. That is the actual question, right?”

He nodded and grinned as if he expected me to fail.

Shit. Was I going to fail? Did he already know the outcome?

What did I want? I had made the right assumptions about the first question.

I just had to think about what the truth was of what I wanted.

I wanted to know who I was. Didn’t I? But what if the truth only made me sad?

Was I happier being Kevin instead of whoever I had left behind?

I mean, we had been running from angels and talking to weird beast gods for the last twenty-four hours, but I had been with Heath, and it had been ok.

I mean, scary – oh hell yes. It had been terrifying.

But knowing who I was… It wasn’t what I really wanted, was it?

I mean, it would be helpful to know if I had a life somewhere, but I was right where I needed to be.

I was with Heath, and I couldn’t think of another person that I would ever want to be with.

There could never be anyone else that I wanted to look at me lustfully when he didn’t know I was watching.

It made my heart beat faster and my blood flow like the Nile.

“That’s it? This is the final question?”

“Do you have your answer, forgotten one?”

“Yes. I want to love and be loved in return. I want to give myself completely and to receive that same kind of giving from another. For me, now, it’s Heath.

I hope that what we have can survive this.

I mean, neither one of us has actually said anything so…

But I think it could happen. I want to be happy and to put my happiness into the world to make it a better place. Love is always the answer.”

He sneered and stepped forward, and I almost ran away. “Take the stone. I thought you’d be foolish, but even though you have no idea who we are, you know enough to carry the stones. They are a heavy burden. I would never wish them upon anyone. Especially you.”

The other me began to turn into someone else. An old man who looked like he could barely walk. Well, that’s because his flesh was disintegrating in front of my eyes, and he was totally bone on bone.

“Take them.” He made it to me, and his bony hand placed the stone in mine before a wind came through the cavern, and I got a mouthful of bone dust.

“Fucking gross.” I gagged.

The stones pulsed and glowed brightly as I held them in front of me. Their energies intermingled and the light began to change and pulse with an otherworldly glow. Golden light sprang forth from my hand and lit the cave brighter than it ever had.

I turned to walk back the way I came, and the cave shifted. It was like a small earthquake or something. Then I heard the sound that froze me in my place for maybe a moment too long. Falling rocks behind me. I turned, and the ceiling of the cavern started to fall.

I ran like the devil was at my heels as I clenched the rocks tightly within my hand. Golden light sprang from the cracks of my fingers as it led the way.

My feet felt like they were made of lead as I pushed myself to go faster. Rocks fell behind me, and I could hear the crashing growing louder and closer as I ran back over the narrow ravine and threw myself out of the cave entrance.

Heath’s strong arms caught me in his embrace as the entrance to the cavern closed shut with a loud bang. The rocks settled around our feet as he held me.

I threw caution to the wind and jumped up onto him and wrapped my legs around his waist. His face was so close to mine. I slowly placed my lips against his, and I gave myself over to the carnal passion that I had been waiting to show.

His tongue slid against mine, and I breathed his breath as my free hand grabbed onto the back of his hair and held it in my fist. His lips burned with the same passion I felt as I writhed against him, wanting more – needing more. Our kiss was one for the ages and then…

“MAGNUS! I HAVE FOUND YOU.” How was he so fucking loud?

Heath pushed me off him and held my hand tightly. “Do you trust me?”

“Always.”

He pulled me, and we ran as the winds came in a fierce torrent. We dived into the shifting sand, and the currents pulled us quickly under.

“Let go,” Heath screamed.

“I’m not letting go of you.”

“Not me. Just don’t fight the sand. Let it pull us under. It’s another portal.”

I did, and we slid underneath the grains.

One day, I will tell you how that felt and how much sand I had to pull from some pretty embarrassing places.

I grasped the stones tightly as I lost the ability to breathe.

But his hand was there the whole time, and I clung to it as I worried about asphyxiation.