Love and War

But Keary was faster.

"Oh yeah?"

The world whirled, and Cardin found himself face-to-face with the carpet, his arm twisted behind his back, and Keary pressing down on him. The dark-haired boy had caught the hand that reached toward him and used Cardin's momentum to spin him around, tripping the blonde's legs and buckling his knees with his own, pinning him down. All of this ensued in a blink of an eye, leaving Cardin stunned. Before he could fully grasp what was happening, he heard Keary's harsh whisper in his ear.

"So they told you about the morningstar." His breath was hot on Cardin's face. "Of course he wasn't there. If he was, you wouldn't be alive here right now. Because if someone like him, someone like me, were to come across someone like you on the field… he would devour you."

Then, grabbing a fistful of golden hair to force Cardin's head back, Keary kissed him. The blue eyes flew wide open.

But this wasn't a kiss of affection. It was a merciless, silencing kiss, Keary's tongue brutally invading deep into Cardin's mouth as his weight bore down on his captive.

Involuntarily, Cardin's mind flew back to the other kisses they had shared. The dark-haired boy had been gentle, sensuous, at moments hesitant, his warmth and tenderness engulfing Cardin and setting his body alight.

But this? This was a different creature. This was savage.

He struggled, straining in vain to break away, but Keary's hand was clamped at the back of his head, holding him helpless, suffocating him, ravaging him.

No! This isn't what I want! This isn't him! This can't be him!

Screwing his eyes shut, Cardin bit down. Hard.

With a yell, Keary jolted back, his grip on Cardin loosening just a fraction. The blonde used the momentary opportunity to wrench free, shoving blindly against his oppressor to put distance between them. They both sat sprawled and panting on the ground, hands to their mouths, silver and cerulean smouldering. Keary tasted iron.

Cardin was shaking so badly it took him a few tries before he could get to his feet. Unsteadily, he stumbled toward the stairwell, the only thought on his mind to get away from this person whom he didn't recognise, this stranger, this… monster. But Keary's cold voice sliced through his escape.

"Where do you think you're going? The job isn't finished."

He stopped short. His whole body was trembling violently, but he managed to look back. "What?"

Wiping blood from his lip, Keary raised his piercing gaze to the blonde, his face a mask of icy calm.

"The job. Hitting the delivery was just the first part. I was also tasked to hit their newest laundering front… the bar I played at the other night."

"What… what are you talking about?"

"It belongs to Edith," the dark-haired boy continued. "Up until recently, she didn't have anything to her name but her ex-husband's alimony and a family that estranged her due to her divorce. She's been dreaming of having an establishment of her own for the past… what? Five, ten years?" Slowly, he rose. "She has no idea what it's being used for. That's on her husband, the second one. I was going to do it myself, because, well, how many people would it take, to destroy one bar?"

Cardin swallowed. He knew what was coming.

"Since you're so eager to be a part of this operation, you can take care of it. Shouldn't be a problem for you… right?"

As he stepped up close to Cardin, the blue-eyed boy had to fight all instincts that screamed at him to turn and bolt. The expression on Keary's pale face was unnaturally emotionless, the looming darkness of the pupils in his silver eyes the only indication of the wrath that raged within him. When he next spoke, his words were carried on a low, brittle breath.

"Can you do it? Burn down the dreams of an innocent woman? Because this is the kind of thing you'll be ordered to do, and worse, if you become one of us."

Cardin clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering, but struggled to answer. "I– I–"

Not giving him time to gather himself, Keary abruptly turned his back, crossing to the other side of the room. "If you can't do it… pack your things. I'll get Nigel to set you up somewhere else." He paused at the window on the far end. "You can build a normal life of your own from there."

...