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“The report said there was a whole nest of leeches ‘ere, it did,” the brawler in their small patrol said, “those feral ‘alf decayin’ ones.” Geoffrey McCullum raised an eyebrow and kicked at the remains of what appeared to be a malformed blinker Skal.
“Looks like something got to them first,” the leader of the Guard said, “we’ll head out for now and regroup before sending in some more scouts.” The small team had been searching through the sewers near Sean Hampton’s shelter for the better part of the night. The Sad Saint had claimed crazed Skals have been encroaching the shelter and caused the peaceful Sewer Skals to flee to another hideout.
It had been lucky that Reid had introduced McCullum to Old Bridget a few weeks back and even luckier that Old Bridget had eventually come to accept the Leader of the Guard’s offer of protection (so long as they remained in the sewers and were harmless to the populace above). If anyone could have convinced them both to make a sort of peace treaty, it was definitely Dr. Jonathan Reid. Otherwise, there was no way Priwen wouldn’t have set up base in the Sewer Skal hideout to wait for them to return only to slaughter them all.
That sweet-talking leech. Months had also passed since McCullum and Reid’s alliance blossomed into something more. Something beyond friendship. At first, McCullum insisted to himself that his feelings were the result of some sort of leechy trick, but he was immune to vampire mesmerism. He had then become somewhat horrified that he had, in fact, fallen for the West End doctor, and all it took was just a few moments of eye contact in Swansea’s office. He would still punch anyone if they said it was love at first sight. It most certainly was not!
They kept running into each other after that encounter in Swansea’s office. At the theatre, as he watched Reid and Doris Fletcher below, he couldn’t help but admire Reid’s flare for the dramatic. At the attic of Pembroke when he was on his knees, thoroughly beaten, he had just been in denial, as if killing Reid would confirm that he did not have these feelings for the other. At the cemetery, when Reid had asked him for some of King Arthur’s blood, he couldn’t help but love Reid’s tenacity. They had spoken some more after that, and he felt his heart skip a few beats as Reid insisted that he never viewed them as enemies even after all McCullum had done to the other. After that it was just on the streets of London, clearing out the remnants of feral Skals, Vulkods, and the occasional rogue Ekon.
Reid had become a near constant companion. A shoulder to lean on. Someone who would willingly listen to him and his troubles without fear of being judged unlike with his men.
If anyone were to ask, McCullum would stand by his words that it was Reid who made the first move. Though between the two of them, the leader of the Guard was the one who pulled the good doctor into a deep kiss after a good while of suppressed feelings and denial. The knowledge of his kiss and his feelings being returned then were more than he could hope to receive.
They had been sitting together in Reid’s office in Pembroke with McCullum watching over Reid as the doctor patched him up after they cleared out a few sewer beasts in the streets of old Whitechapel. The lingering touches had sent sparks up his arm and down his spine before he finally found the courage to pull Reid towards him and press their lips together. They had been meeting even more frequently since. Though thinking of it, where was his leech now anyway?
“Sir? Did ya hear me?” the brawler asked.
“Huh? What?”
“I said, me and the lads are gonna head back to base. Should I put in the orders to form a scouting party?”
“Aye, though I want to look around a bit more in case some of the Skals escaped,” McCullum replied before they parted ways. He started walking towards the Night Shelter though looked up when he felt a drop of water hit his forehead.
‘Feck, a storm’s coming,’ he thought to himself as he watched the dim light of the sunrise fade once more with the incoming dark clouds. Summer storms could be unforgiving, and he’d rather not be caught outside during one. He was almost at the Night Shelter; he can wait the storm out there. His mind soon changed however as the rain started pouring and the sky flashed with lightning. He was definitely not going out by lightning! Luckily there was an abandoned building nearby and he legged it just as the wind picked up.
He swore softly, already drenched from his short time outside. He could only hope the patrol he was with found sufficient shelter. Though what was this place? The ground floor appeared to be some old stores, long since left behind given the thick layer of dust. McCullum looked around for anything of value though came up empty-handed. Looks like someone already looked through the place a while back. He made his way up the stairs, noting how the dust appeared disturbed and even cleared in some places. A squatter?
McCullum readied his crossbow and looked around the first floor. A small wood stove appeared to be burning low with a filled teapot. A squatter then. He went over to inspect the teapot, finding a rather expensive looking tea set on the table next to it which was still filled with amber coloured liquid, albeit cold now. The tea set stuck out like a sore thumb. No one would own such a thing in this area, unless they stole it. But wouldn’t they immediately sell it for what it was worth rather than use it? He narrowed his eyes and looked around the area for any tripwires or makeshift pressure plates. A rogue Ekon’s hideout?
Seeing no obvious or even slightly hidden traps, McCullum slowly made his way to the second and final floor. Half the roof looked to be missing though it seemed that someone had tried to repair the worst of the damages. Rain and wind were still getting through the cracks. The hunter frowned and raised his crossbow, cursing how dark it was from the storm clouds overhead. A flash of lightning lit up the small space, revealing a bed tucked away in one of the only sheltered spots and a lump on said bed. He wasn’t alone.
McCullum looked around for more traps. Finding none, he slowly approached, noting the lack of breathing coming from the tucked in lump.
The hunter reached for the thin blanket and was about to pull it back to inspect who was sleeping in the bed only to be knocked to the ground and pinned. Another flash of lightning revealed snarling fangs mere inches from his face. Dammit! He couldn’t move! Was this it? The leader of the Guard of Priwen, dead from a stupid rookie mistake.
“Geoffrey?”
McCullum stopped squirming at the voice and was soon helped up. “Reid? What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same about you,” the doctor said. The doctor appeared weary and a bit disheveled. His suit jacket was hanging from the bed’s baseboard, and he had removed his tie and shoes. “Apologies, you did take me by surprise.”
McCullum snorted, crossing his arms. “It was my fault for waking you. I was following a lead on some rabid Skals then the storm broke out,” he explained.
“If it was the same lead, then they must be the ones I cleared out last night before retiring for the day,” Reid said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Geoffrey! You’re soaking wet!” he said, as if seeing the other for the first time. “You’ll get sick like this.” Without warning, Reid was dragging the hunter back downstairs and was working on stoking the fire in the wood stove. “Stay here and warm up. I have some dry clothes that you can change into.”
“I don’t need ya mother henning me, John,” McCullum protested but let his lover do as he pleased. The hunter removed his wet jacket and grumbled when Reid came back with a clean shirt and pants for him. McCullum took the time to change out of his wet clothing and sighed when his lover further insisted on drying him off with a washcloth.
It wasn’t long before McCullum was wrapped in a thin blanket with a hot cuppa in his hands on the sofa that had seen better days. Reid soon joined him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as if that would warm him up faster.
“I take it then this is your hideout?” McCullum asked, blowing softly on the surface of the tea.
“One of them, yes. I don’t often use this one but with the shortened nights of summer, I would not have been able to make it back to the West End on time last night,” Reid replied, “I apologize for the state it’s in.”
“Stop your apologies; I’ve slept in worse. Though you do have shite survival instincts for an Ekon. Where are your traps? You’re lucky it was me and not some other manic hunter.”
Reid chuckled, a sound that McCullum couldn’t seem to hear enough. “Poor survival instincts, says the man who willingly wandered into the territory of a vampire and chose to wake said vampire up.”
“Ah lay off me, Reid. You’re lucky I love ya,” McCullum replied. He closed his eyes as Reid planted a soft kiss on his temple.
The lightning and thunder continued overhead with the rain and wind sounding like they would not stop any time soon. McCullum finished his tea and couldn’t help but smile when he noticed his lover dozing off. “Shite, it’s late for you isn’t it? I could do with some sleep myself too,” he said.
“Mh… The bed will be a bit crowded, but we can make do,” Reid said, rubbing his eyes once more and leading them back upstairs. McCullum let himself get pulled on top of Reid but shifted until he was comfortably resting his head on Reid’s chest and wrapping his arm around the Ekon’s waist.
“Sleep well, Geoffrey,” Reid said, purring softly at the proximity and affection of his lover. McCullum felt another kiss on the top of his head. “Mh… Sleep well, John,” the hunter replied, tilting his head to place a kiss of his own on the corner of Reid’s mouth.
Perhaps it was love at first sight after all.
June 2022