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The world was dark when Brett opened his eyes. It took him a second to adjust, and another second to remember where he was, and when he did, he quickly stumbled to his feet. There was no one around to stop him; only the cold dead air. He glanced around suspiciously, then bolted.
Maybe today he’d make it out of here, he thought as he propelled himself towards the light.
He didn’t belong here. He belonged to the world above, and that world beckoned to him now, calling his name. There—the opening. Just a few steps away. Just a little more strength and--
And nothing.
The thin silver chain encircling his wrist glistened in the sliver of sunlight. It trailed down the stairs, to the center of darkness. Brett gave it a hard tug, so hard that it cut into his skin and left a sharp line of red, but to no avail. His shoulders slumped in despair. There would be no escape.
*
Brett found Eddy seated lazily upon his throne, his head propped up by his arm. He watched Brett approach with a mix of amusement and exasperation, as if he were observing a kitten who’d made a mess. Brett frowned and extended his arm. The chain clinked as it dragged against the floor. “I hate this. Take it off.”
Eddy noticed Brett’s wrist first. He furrowed his brows and gently took Brett’s hand. “Now look what you’ve done,” he admonished with a tsk of disapproval. “Does it hurt?”
Brett stood stiffly before Eddy, but his frown looked more like a pout now. “What do you think, asshole? And I didn’t do it to myself. Your stupid chain did this. Why don’t you just let me go?”
“Because I love you,” said Eddy. He brought Brett’s hand to his lips and kissed Brett’s delicate wrist where the chain had left its mark. The wound healed, leaving behind nothing but unblemished, pale skin.
This isn’t love, Brett thought. But he’d already said that yesterday, and the day before that, and there was no point repeating it again now. He pulled his arm free and declared, “I’m going back to my room then.”
“Are you cold?” Eddy asked suddenly.
Brett rolled his eyes and asked again, “What do you think?”
It was the underworld, after all, an icy cavern devoid of sun. That, and he hadn’t eaten for near three months. It wouldn’t kill him, but he was sapped of energy.
Eddy reached for his hand again and pulled him back firmly, until he’d tumbled into Eddy’s lap. “Just rest for a second, then,” Eddy murmured, wrapping his arms around Brett. “Does this help?”
“Not at all,” Brett replied haughtily. But his body was more honest. With a light shiver, he curled up into a ball and snuggled close to Eddy, resting his head on the latter’s shoulder. Odd that the god of the underworld would emanate warmth, as if he were made of flesh and blood, but Brett couldn't complain.
“Don’t you have things you need to do? Sort souls or something? Punish the bad mortals? Can you just fool around like this all day?” he asked, yawning. He was tired all the time these days. He wished he could eat something … those pomegranates by the river, for example...
Eddy laughed softly. He stared down at Brett, his soulful, dark eyes brimming with quiet adoration. “I’m not fooling around, Brett.”
Brett blushed and looked away. “Stupid.”
*
It was those eyes that had tricked Brett into letting down his guard.
The pretty nymphs in the river had warned him, “Beware of that one, the man who stands in the shadows of forest.”
But Brett hadn’t listened to them. He said to them, Eddy doesn’t seem so very dangerous.
Eddy had appeared on a warm, sunny day, when Brett was playing his lute under an olive tree by the gurgling stream. (Up there, the days were always warm and sunny, unless the gods were having a spat. How Brett missed it…) When Brett had finished and opened his eyes, he found the handsome stranger standing a few feet away, staring at him with a gentle look in his eye. “Your music, it’s beautiful,” he’d said. Brett could tell he meant it, and that pleased him.
“Thank you,” he’d replied, with a bright smile.
Maybe that was why he hadn't shooed the man away when he reappeared time and again. What was there to be wary of, he thought, when he was simply enjoying Brett’s music? And who really could resist a fan, particularly when the fan was of the tall, dark, and handsome variety…
“But who are you really,” Brett finally asked one day. “And why do the nymphs swim away when you appear?” Why do they warn me about you?
“I don’t know. They don’t like me, I suppose. Not many people do.”
Eddy had looked so sad when he said this that it tugged at Brett’s heartstrings. Forgetting the nymphs for a moment, he wandered close and uttered shyly, “It’s all right. I like you!”
Eddy peered at him. “Do you really?” He closed the distance between them and placed his arms around Brett’s waist. “No take backs,” he whispered against Brett’s ear.
Brett’s blood rushed to his head and he suddenly felt short of breath. Eddy’s body towered over him, and seemed to engulf him. “No take backs,” he agreed, though he barely knew what he was saying.
Then? His vision went black and he slumped into Eddy’s arms.
And now here he was.
*
“What do I have to do before you let me go? You can’t keep me here forever. My mother will find me.”
“She hasn’t found you yet.”
“But she will,” Brett insisted. “And then you’ll be sorry. So we might as well make a deal. Tell me what you want from me and let me go. I won’t tell anyone, promise.”
Eddy studied him for a moment, eyes glittering with amusement. “All right. A kiss, then?”
“A kiss?” Brett perked up, thinking his ears had deceived him. “That’s all? Could’ve told me earlier.”
“A real kiss, though…”
There was something suggestive in Eddy’s voice that embarrassed Brett. A blush crept up his cheeks, where the skin, after three months of captivity, had turned near translucent. The dash of pink across his small, pale face was oddly seductive in its innocence, and Eddy’s eyes darkened with lust.
“Well? Have we a deal?”
Brett bit his lower lip indecisively, then nodded. He uncurled his body and swung his leg over Eddy’s lap so that he was now straddling the other man and they were face to face. Hesitantly, he circled his arms around Eddy’s neck, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to Eddy’s for a soft, chaste kiss.
“Is that…good enough?” he asked, as he pulled away.
Eddy tightened his hold around Brett’s waist and drew him back. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” Brett whispered shyly. “It’s not as if I’ve ever…”
Eddy chuckled. “You could try again. Close your eyes and part your lips…”
“Oh…okay...” Brett’s eyes fluttered shut obediently and he leaned forward again, his lips just slightly parted, allowing Eddy’s tongue to slip in and draw out from him soft moans of pleasure. “Eddy,” he whispered as he fought for breath, but Eddy wouldn’t let him go and he had no choice but to arch into Eddy’s fervent kiss helplessly, a kiss that seemed to last an eternity…
“Is that…better?” he asked breathlessly, after Eddy finally released him, his lips red and swollen.
“Better,” Eddy agreed. “But best if we practice some more.”
*
“Wait, you said you’d let me go after a kiss!”
Eddy set Brett gently on his bed.
“I lied.”
“Hey!”
But then Eddy did something with his tongue and Brett thought, well, maybe this isn’t the worst thing in the world…
*
When Brett’s mother found him, Brett was nestled in Eddy’s arms strumming halfheartedly at his lute.
“My son, if you please,” the goddess demanded.
Brett jumped to his feet with a chagrined look on his face. Eddy snapped his fingers with a small sigh, and the chain around Brett’s wrist disintegrated.
“I guess this is goodbye.”
“I…” Brett felt a sudden onset of sorrow. He hesitated, then motioned for his mother to wait one second. He bent close to Eddy and whispered, “Um. Since you’re so bored all the time…you can come visit me once in awhile. Up there. I’ll probably just be by the olive tree, or whatever.”
Eddy’s lips curved into a smile. Ignoring the goddess’s indignant gasp, he pressed a kiss on Brett’s mouth. “We’ll see,” he said.
Perhaps Brett didn’t know it yet, but he would have to visit Eddy too. For he knew that Brett, in his hunger, had stolen six pomegranate seeds, and though the seeds were small, they came at a price …