Chapter 51 - Well Matched

  The sunset bell’s ring is muffled inside the apartment. The sound of it catches Alex a bit off guard as it interrupts the conversation. “Whoa, has it really gotten that late already.” He asks, looking around.

  Uril chuckles. “Yeah, but does it matter?” Uril sits back on his cushion to relax. He tips his head to regard Alex with a curious look.

  Alex frowns. “Of course. I have to be back at the courier depot early again. I’ll have to sleep.” He says, but his certainty in that wavers as he sees Uril snicker and quirk a brow.

  Thinking it over, Alex’s frown deepens. He feels like something isn’t adding up. Alex mentally replays the last few days, and then it clicks. “I don’t need it, do I?” He says aloud, but more to himself as he puzzles through the events.

  “On my way here, I stopped to sleep maybe three times. But those were always after I’d run myself to exhaustion, and I didn’t have easy access to food.” He muses, tapping a finger against his leg as he thinks. “Then once I got here, I had a decent rest in the hostel, and basically a nap last night. But even with barely sleeping and doing the courier work today, I’m not tired.”

  Uril grins. “Humans always struggle with that after coming here.” He says in a teasing tone. “This city is made to mimic the mortal realm, or at least as close as people with no real memory can manage. So it’s easy for folks like you to slip back into patterns that feel natural for you.” He chuckles. “But, you don’t have to follow that pattern. Sleep when you’re tired, eat when you’re hungry.”

  Corvus chimes in, still wearing his human guise as he sits comfortably on one of the other cushions. “He is correct. There is no distinct need to follow the daily cycle that seems second nature to your kind. It may be a comfort, but your soul does not require that amount of rest or sustenance. A good meal every other day, and a decent rest every three, will more than suffice.” He pauses for a breath. “Acquiring Animus again would see that requirement removed entirely.”

  Not to be left out, Hara adds her thoughts as well. “Hara like sleep. Sleep is good.” She says in the midst of a jaw-cracking yawn. “Hara also like tasty food.” She lifts her nose and sniffs. “No smell food here though.” She says disappointedly.

  Uril gives an apologetic shrug. “Sorry pretty girl, I don’t usually have much need to keep food here.” He then shoots a coy grin at Alex. “That kind anyway.”

  The heat that creeps up Alex’s cheeks tells him that his blush is back in full-force. He doesn’t miss Uril’s meaning and he turns away, a bashful smile spreading. “I guess that means we’ve got plenty of time.” Alex says, unable to keep his eyes from darting back to Uril’s.

  The concept of having some type of relationship is utterly alien to Alex. And for it to be with someone like Uril’raya, doubly alien. It leaves him uncertain, nervous, worried that he wouldn’t know what to do, but also excited and hopeful. Two days ago, Alex hadn’t even given a thought to attraction like this.

  Alex smiles to himself, thinking how lucky he is to have a city to explore during the day, and these new experiences to explore by night. So absorbed in his own thoughts, Alex didn’t realize he’d lapsed into an introspective silence. He’s startled out of his reverie by Uril’s soft lips meeting his own again. A soft sigh escapes his lips with a flutter in his chest.

  The kiss is brief, but sweet. As Alex returns his focus to the present moment, Uril sits back again with a satisfied smirk on his face. “I get it, this is new to you. I can see that written all over your face.” The goat winks. “We can go as slow, or quick,” he waggles his brow, “as you want.” The reassurance, laced with teasing, soothes some of Alex’s apprehension.

  Then Uril’raya’s expression grows a touch more serious. “I just hope what I am, and what I do, aren’t going to be a problem for you.” He says, a flash of concern and worry crossing his normally self-assured expression. “I’m a sexual creature, and I’m promiscuous. Sex is my livelihood." He pauses to judge Alex’s reaction, and seeing that Alex is simply listening attentively he continues. “But if you want me to make a commitment for you to be my only relationship, that I can do.”

  Alex chews his lip a bit. Jealousy isn’t something he has experience with either. Hearing about Uril’s day hadn’t stirred any ill feelings. And now, with this tentative relationship, he still doesn’t think it matters. “I don’t think it’ll bother me. And I’m so new to all this that I don’t want to impose anything on you. I just know that I want more of this, with you.”

  Uril’raya grins. He hadn’t expected a bad reaction from Alex, but it’s still better to have it out in the open rather than cause problems later. “Sounds good. And that goes both ways. If you want to experiment with someone else, I’ll be fine with that too.” Uril agrees, then has to chuckle as the confused look spreads across Alex’s features.

  “What do you mean by that?” Alex asks, his brain taking a moment to fit the pieces together before his eyes widen. “Oh.” The blush follows quickly. “I hadn’t… I wasn’t even…” He stammers, trying to parse his words until Uril puts a hand on his knee.

  “I know you weren’t asking for that. But like you said, you’re new to all this. You even said before that you don’t even really know what you like.” Uril gives Alex a reassuring smile. “So if ever you wanna test the waters with a girl, a different type of demon, or even another human, I won’t stop you.” His smile turns teasing again as he finishes. “As long as you tell me how it goes.”

  Alex’s blush darkens along his cheeks and he can feel the heat of it rising in his ears. Rather than melting into a stammering mess again, he finds his resolve and nods. “I can do that.” As the hours grow later, other events are in motion. Some small, some large, but all significant.

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  Sequestered within the very heart of his citadel, The Cultivator presses his hands against a crystal lattice. Every time the wellspring of power from his Animus is nearly full again, he dumps the full capacity of his spirit into the mechanisms that he and his few chosen helpers created. With each infusion of power, another of those blasts race outward from the Burden of Intent. He’d long ago lost count of how many cycles he’d gone through, his entire focus is completely absorbed in the cycle. His lips move in a voiceless litany that he’d maintained since he started the process. He’d gone horse hours ago, but the mantra continues.

  “I am The Cultivator. I am The Verdant Sage. I am The Creeping Growth. All are me, but I am More.” Over and over, his lips form the silent words. His three Titles resonate within his soul, each unique but closely tied to the other two. They blend at the edges, but never mix. At the center, a seed of a fourth Title provides what he hopes will be the emulsifier and catalyst to bring the rest together. It just needs the proper fertilizer.

  The Cultivator can vaguely sense the chamber outside. The runes he’d painstakingly carved into every inch of the cavern thrum with the stored energy he’d been pushing outwards. He can also feel the efforts of the various Apex probing the outer edges. Some simply monitor, others gnaw like rats trying to chew their way into a grain-silo. But none dare venture into the chamber again. The Cultivator doesn’t fear them damaging his mechanism. He’d built so many redundancies into it that even if only a tenth of the runes remained, it would still function.

  Another pulse of power radiates outwards from the citadel. The wave crosses the space to the outer walls of the chamber in barely a heartbeat, slamming into the runed inner surface of the sphere. The runes hungrily devour the energy, pulling it deep into the interlocking enchantments that will serve as his crucible. Crucible, or pyre.

  Corvus had been right, and he knows it. He is a coward, and always has been. But cowardice often fosters cunning and desperation. All of The Cultivator’s preparations had been meticulously crafted, checked, double-checked, and then checked tenfold more. Every variable that his fretful mind could conceive of had been accounted for. He’d been utterly obsessive in his planning. But even with knowing all the preparations were nearly perfect, he still hadn’t been able to take the final set to activate the mechanisms. Not without one last nudge.

  That’s why he’d needed Corvus. The Guide had given him just that last little push, the confirmation that he needed. Break the spell, accept his nature, start the machine. Because without the threat of the other Apex rushing towards him, he knew he’d never have taken the final step. Now though, the mechanism’s momentum won’t allow him to stall.

  With each pulse, the runes on the outer chamber’s walls absorb the energy a little more slowly. Soon the pulses would leave energy lingering in the air by the time the next one arrives, and then the whole chamber would grow saturated. Only then would the rune-work enchantments activate.

  Meanwhile, on the other side of the chamber’s outer surface, Gravitas is getting bored. “Ugh, how much longer is this going to take?” She complains to the implacable crow, still sitting in mid-air as if on a throne.

  Corvus examines her, and the view into the chamber with the pitch-black crow-eyes. “The runes fill only a bit with each pulse. Their capacity is truly monstrous.” He comments, rubbing the side of his beak with a finger. “We have a bit of time before things become critical.”

  Gravitas grumbles and huffs, petulantly kicking a rock down the tunnel. “Fine. I can be patient.” She schools her expression then leans against the side of the passage. “In the meantime, how’re things going with your little pet human?” She asks, a mocking grin spreading on her lips.

  The Carrion Lord doesn’t rise to her bait, ignoring the jab towards Alex. “He is progressing. Arriving in New Europa has removed the executioner’s blade from his neck.” Corvus calmly replies.

  The succubus nods along, that grin never leaving her face. “Oh how good for you. I hope you don’t mind too terribly, but I’ve sent a lil agent of my own to keep an eye on him.” She coos, trying again to antagonize the crow. It’s petty and she knows it, but needling at Corvus is just too fun. Even if it shows her hand a bit.

  Corvus just nods. “You speak of Uril’raya. Yes, he did make quite the appearance.” The Carrion Lord’s expression remains unreadable, but the ever so slightly higher inflection in his voice makes Gravitas pause, withholding the next jibe she’d planned.

  Instead, she pushes off from the wall and stalks closer. “Oh how lovely.” She smiles. “And just how is my boy doing? I do hope he didn’t cause too much trouble.” She says, voice dripping sarcasm thick as honey.

  The crow’s eyes crinkle at the edges, the closest he can get to a true smile in his natural form. “He is a remarkable agent. Very capable with social manipulation. I must applaud you for acquiring such valuable potential.” He says, watching the way Gravitas preens at the praise. “The outcome of their encounter surprised even me.”

  “Do tell.” Gravitas says, leaning in a bit more. She’s clearly preparing to gloat about swaying Alex from his trajectory.

  Corvus’s gaze grows vacant for a brief moment as his focus fully enhabits the splinter for a moment, absorbing its memories. “They are now courting.” He reveals, the smile in his eyes unmistakable and unfiltered.

  The passage goes quiet between the thrumming pulses of power still radiating outwards from the Burden of Intent. Gravitas blinks, her head slowly tipping over slowly as her brain misfires. After another pulse thunders against the chamber’s outer walls, she finally gets her mind back in gear.

  “WHAT?!?” She exclaims, shaking off the stunned silence. “They’re cour… Dating?” If it’s possible at all, Corvus’s ‘smile’ just gets bigger. “Are you bloody serious?” The indignant succubus scoffs, having never anticipated Uril taking that step again after he’d been burned before. And particularly not with Corvus’s little pet of all people.

  “He works for me! I sent him to spy on you and your little pet, and they’re DATING?” She splutters, throwing her arms up in the air. “And you’re fine with that?”

  Corvus chuckles, then gets up from his ‘seat’ and steps closer. “Oh, I’m well aware, as is Alex. Uril’raya himself admitted as much when asked. Though Alex did need to ask the proper question to get him to divulge that detail.” The crow answers, feeling the need to not throw Uril to the wolves, not completely.

  Gravitas’s mouth opens to retort, and then she closes it. She stands up straight again, a mix of emotions flickering over her expression. Then she deflates a bit, settling back into a more casual posture. “Huh.” She finally says, then runs her fingers through her crimson hair. “So Uril told them he works for me, Alex is fine with that, and now they’re dating?” She muses aloud, examining the resonance with her Title.

  The feeling that Alex would be significant somehow hasn’t faded, nor was she being pulled to act again. So with the moment of introspection to reassess, Gravitas shrugs. Then her expression splits into the grin of a socialite with a new piece of juicy gossip to sink her teeth into. “Sooooo… Are they cute together?”

  Corvus lets out a crowing chuckle. “They do seem well matched.”