Page 49 of Inferno
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ten minutes later, Nerik was packed and dressed for travelling. He gave Yorin a kiss goodbye – a chaste one, given their audience – and then led the unicorn off up the road, deeply regretting the time he wouldn’t be able to spend with Yorin as a result. And visiting the infernal colony? The thought made him shudder in revulsion – at the same time as he knew perfectly well that he was going to go and make a new spark with them, just like he always did. So far, Mico had said little to him aside from her name, so it startled him when he felt a gentle nudge at his mental barriers.
Fantastic. The pompous equine wanted to talk. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Nerik let his mental barriers down.
I apologise if this is a rude question,Mico said into his mind,but I do not understand why the young human was there. Or why he has been told about the peoples of Chalandros. I was under the impression that such information is a closely guarded secret.
Great. Now he was going to get lectured by a unicorn, as well as by Stanley, and in addition to the regular ear-bashings he got from Gosta. Fuck his life. Really. “It is a secret,” Nerik replied, feeling unbearably weary. “But Yorin is my boyfriend.” He felt a flush of warmth at knowing it was true now, followed by a sinking feeling as he remembered how long it was going to be until they saw each other again.
The announcement was met with silence, and then…I do not understand. He is a male. You are a male. Am I misunderstanding the word? You would be aware that unicorns don’t form pair bonds in the same way as bipedal species. And I had previously understood that infernals do not either-
“Yeah, yeah, I don’t need a history lesson,” Nerik interrupted Mico. “Things change on this side of the gate, okay? Living with humans so much means that we have to adapt to their ways.” It was the easiest way to explain his current situation. “So yes, we’re both male, but humans sometimes engage in same-sex romantic relationships.” Gods, it sounded so clinical when he put it like that. “The hadathmet occasionally do the same thing. And so do the merians.”
More silence, and then Mico seemed to brighten.I think I understand. This is like when Lady Gadflin-afo-ratea asked Lady Ell-de-Roto to help her raise her foal, instead of Lord Alamin-de-Roto.
“Yes, exactly. She preferred the company of another female.” While not engaging in romance in the sense that humans knew it, unicorns did frequently form close friendship groups of two or three individuals for the sake of raising foals. The choice of companion was often based on status, rather than personality, but in this case, it sounded like the mare in question had bucked the trend and chosen her own companion. “And I happen to prefer the company of another male.”
Well, then, I sincerely apologise for interrupting your courtship,Mico said.It is unfortunate that we cannot coordinate our arrivals. We were simply told to come one at a time, every two days at the most.
“Yeah, I know,” Nerik said, trying not to sound petulant about it. Already, Mico had been far more humble and amiable than most unicorns, and she was trying to offer a genuine apology. Throwing it back in her face wouldn’t do either of them any good. “It’s not your fault. But look, we’ve got a long walk ahead of us, so how about I tell you a bit about how things work on this side of the gate? And then, if it’s not too traumatic for you, you can tell me about how things are going back in Chalandros.”
◊ ◊ ◊
Yorin watched Nerik lead the unicorn away up the road, feeling a pang of worry about his… Well, Nerik was his boyfriend now, wasn’t he? They hadn’t explicitly discussed where they stood with each other, but spending half the afternoon in bed was a fairly sure indicator. But given how Nerik’s last trip up the mountain had turned out, Yorin hoped that he’d take extra precautions this time, if the weather took a turn or anything else unexpected happened.
Gods, he was going to spend the rest of the day and all night worrying about him.
He turned around, meaning to gather his things and head home, but instead, he came face to face with the other person who’d been privy to their farewell – this one with fur and a tentatively wagging tail.
“Oh! Right,” he said in surprise. With all the other chaos going on, Yorin had temporarily forgotten about the fire-dog, who had been sitting quietly and calmly beside the gate. He glanced up the road to where Nerik was just disappearing. “Shouldn’t you be going with Nerik?” he asked Zandro. Nerik had said that the dog could understand everything Yorin said, but he didn’t have a clue how Zandro was going to answer him.
Zandro shook his head, and Yorin could only assume that he meant it as a reply to the question. He heard a faint buzzing sound and looked around, wondering if there was a bee or a dragonfly nearby. Zandro yipped at him.
“What? I don’t really know how I’m supposed to look after you. Or if you even need looking after. Nerik said you’re intelligent, like him or me. Is that right?”
Zandro nodded. The buzzing came again, and with it, a strange pressure inside Yorin’s head. His eyebrows rose as a theory formed in his mind. “Are you trying to talk to me?” he asked Zandro. “Sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to work. I’m human. Humans aren’t telepathic.”
Zandro gave a faint growl, then snapped at the air. His bright brown eyes bored into Yorin’s. The pressure came again, increasing in strength until Yorin flinched and pulled away. “Ow! Gods, what are you…? I’m sorry, I just don’t think humans work that way.”
Slowly and gently, and yet very firmly at the same time, Zandro stepped forward and took the edge of Yorin’s coat in his teeth. Then he pulled Yorin down, so that he was crouching eye-level with the dog. “You’re really going to insist on this, aren’t you?” Yorin said, feeling miffed. “Okay, well, at least let me get comfortable. Or better yet, let’s go around the back, where no one’s going to think I’m a lunatic for talking to a dog, if someone happens past.” He led the way through the gate and around the back of the house, faintly surprised when Zandro didn’t protest. He took a seat on a section of the fallen log, making a mental note that he really should start cutting some of it up for Nerik. “Okay, you want to talk to me telepathically, is that right?” he asked Zandro. The dog nodded. “And you’re sure humans can actually do this?”
The dog nodded again, more eagerly this time.
“Okay. Can you give me any hints about what I’m supposed to do?”
In response, Zandro threw himself onto the ground, rolling over, legs splayed in the air, tongue lolling out. Yorin assumed – more due to his pride than any practicality – that the display was not meant to be taken literally. “You want me to… relax?” he hedged a guess.
Zandro shot to his feet, tail wagging furiously. Was it odd that they were making such progress in understanding each other, even when Zandro couldn’t yet ‘speak’? Maybe Yorin had just been living too close to the gate for too long, so that odd things now seemed normal. Or was there some subtle magic at work, twisting his thoughts to bend to Zandro’s will? He’d heard rumours over time of demons that could brainwash people, or hypnotise them into doing what the demon wanted.
Nerik’s not a demon, he admonished himself, dismissing the notion. He was wary about the effects of magic, and in his mind, that caution was entirely justified, but rationally, the more likely scenario was simply that he was accustomed to dealing with odd situations. There were dragons flying over Minia on a regular basis now, after all.
“Okay, I’m relaxing.” He took two long, slow breaths, clearing his mind and relaxing his body. The buzzing in his head came again, but this time, it seemed to take on more substance, like music that he could almost hear, the tune just out of reach. This time, instead of fighting the sensation, Yorin went with it, listening carefully, trying to tease out words from the noise.
The buzzing changed tone, becoming light and ethereal, then deep and earthy. Yorin followed it each time it shifted, keeping his eyes on Zandro.
Then suddenly, the buzzing stopped. But rather than the silence of his own mind, Yorin felt like he was standing in a large cave, the space seeming to echo around him. A sense of anticipation filled him.
Hello?Yorin thought, attempting to aim the words at the dog.