Telling the Truth Is an Important Prerequisite for Making Important Decisions
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“I love you, Drew.”
“I love you too, Frederick,” Drew said, between kisses, tasting nothing but Frederick. “I love you so much.”
Frederick kissed him again, then started to move down, hands everywhere, touching Drew everywhere. “So much,” he whispered, kissing down Drew’s neck, hand on Drew’s dick.
Drew lay back and let Frederick do it, loving the feeling, loving the touch, loving Frederick, loving the dream. It was just a dream. It wasn’t real, not Frederick’s hand or his mouth or his body or…
“St-stop…” Drew gasped. “Frederick…Lyren, stop.”
Frederick stopped, looking up at Drew. “What’s wrong?” he asked, in Lyren’s melodious voice. “Do you not like this?”
“It’s not real,” Drew panted. “It’s a dream.”
“Dreams can be real,” Lyren countered. “If you let them be.”
“B-but…” Drew pushed back, sat up. “It’s not really Frederick. It’s you, not him.”
Frederick nodded, featuring sharpening, changing until it was Lyren sitting in front of him. “Sorry,” Lyren said. “I know I’m not what you want. I just thought the dreams would make you happy.”
“They do, but…” Was it even true that Lyren wasn’t what Drew wanted? Drew suddenly wasn’t sure. “I just…I don’t want to pretend. If it’s you, I want to do it with you, Lyren.”
“All right,” Lyren said, approaching Drew, slowly putting a hand on his chest. “If that’s what you want.”
“F-for real,” Drew told Lyren, hand touching Lyren the same way. “Not in a dream.” He was tired of pretending.
Lyren looked at him for a minute, then smiled. “Okay,” he said.
And Drew woke up, eyes opening in Hope’s bed, the room dark. He could see well enough, though there was no lamp. Hope was snoring on the floor. Lyren was sitting beside him on the bed, petting Drew’s hair. “Are you sure?” he asked.
Drew nodded, and he pulled the blanket off, sliding his smallclothes down and past his feet, boner slapping his belly. “I want you for real.”
“As close to real as I can be with no body,” Lyren corrected, sliding over, on top of Drew. For someone with no body, he had weight to him.
“You’re real,” Drew told him, running his hand down Lyren’s smooth skin. He wanted to kiss him. “You’re real.”
“I’m tricking your body into thinking it can feel me,” Lyren told him, touching Drew’s face.
“It’s working.” Drew leaned up and gave Lyren that kiss. Lyren kissed him back, and they stayed like that for a while, touching each other everywhere. Drew put a hand on Lyren’s dick, but then glanced over at Hope.
“It’s okay,” Lyren said. “He won’t wake up. He’s having a good dream.” He wrapped a hand around Drew’s boner, heat emanating from him.
“He’s dreaming about m-me, isn’t he?” Drew asked, arcing his back in pleasure.
Lyren smiled, kissed Drew, tongue slipping into his mouth. “Of course.”
Drew didn’t have it in him to care beyond that. He gave Lyren a squeeze, received one in exchange, felt Lyren’s hand on his chest, something caressing both his sides, his face. “Wh-what’s touching me?” Drew asked, breathless. In the dream it had never occurred to him to question when something touched him, no matter how many hands Lyren seemed to have.
“Do you want to see?” Lyren asked, pulling up a little. He smiled. “I don’t want to scare you.”
“You don’t scare me, Lyren,” Drew said, flushed. He was curious now. “What is it?” Maybe Lyren had extra arms or something. He wasn’t human so it wasn’t like he had to look like one.
Lyren nodded, and slowly into view came some…thing. Drew couldn’t tell if they emerged from his arms or his sides or back, but Lyren had half a dozen appendages that wriggled, moving constantly, touching Drew. They looked kind of like…“Tentacles?”
“If you want to call them that,” Lyren agreed. “I didn’t want to alarm you by showing them to you. I can hide them again if they bother you.”
Hesitantly, Drew reached up and touched one, finding it to have the same texture, the same feel as the rest of Lyren. “No,” he said, smiling at Lyren. “I like them. They’re part of you.” Yes, they were weirder than Drew had been expecting, but he found that it didn’t bother him.
“I’m glad,” Lyren told him, leaning down to kiss Drew again, the tentacles touching him all over now. He went back to stroking Drew with his hand, one of the tentacles helping out. Drew stroked back, not worrying about making noise since he knew Hope wouldn’t hear him anyway.
The tentacles wrapped around his arms and legs, holding Drew in place, massaging him. And then one slid between his legs, prodding around, playing with his hole. Waiting. Did Drew want that? Did he want something up there? Lyren wouldn’t hurt him, he knew that. It wasn’t like it was his dick. But did it really matter? He wasn’t Frederick. It wasn’t who Drew wanted, he wasn’t…
But Lyren cared about Drew. Drew knew that for sure. And Drew cared back. And he wanted it. So Drew made up his mind, knowing Lyren could read it.
Sure enough, the tentacle penetrated him immediately, sliding painlessly inside, spreading warmth. Drew gasped at the sensation, which was so much more than he’d expected, so much hotter, so much fuller, so much…
Drew came with a cry, pulsing with heat as Lyren overcame him took him. He rode a cascade of heat for eternities until it ebbed, and then he was back in the bed, Lyren holding him in place, arms and tentacles wrapped around him. Stroking his hair. “Did you like that?”
Drew nodded blearily. “Did…you?” He didn’t know if Lyren could enjoy it like that. Could he have orgasms with no body?
But Lyren smiled. “I did,” he promised. “I can do a lot like this. I’m glad you wanted this. I did too.”
Happy, Drew lay there for a while, enjoying the glow. Beside him down on the floor, Hope gave a soft cry and came as well, rolling over in his sleep and hugging his blanket. Drew giggled. “Guess we’re all having a good night.”
“I guess so,” Lyren said, holding Drew.
Drew smiled at him, but reluctantly sat up. “I’m going to go clean off real quick.” He’d learned that he didn’t like waking up with the remnants of dried cum on his belly, even if he wiped it off. Besides, he was all sweaty.
So Drew got up, wiped himself off with his dirty shirt and got his smallclothes on, going out to the water trough in the courtyard to rinse his front.
He was shivering by the time he was done, but Lyren put a hand on his shoulder and that warmed Drew up. “Thanks.”
“Always,” Lyren promised, smiling.
“Chilly to be dressed in so little.”
Drew looked up, alarmed, but it was just Magnus, smiling. He came over to the trough, washing his face. Drew nodded. “I’m okay. Just needed some water.”
“All down your belly?” Magnus asked, grinning. “You and Hope having some fun in there?”
Drew forced a chuckle, though worry struck him like a hammer. “Yeah.” He held a finger to his lips.
Magnus snickered, doing the same. “Goodnight, kid.”
“Goodnight,” Drew said, hurrying away.
Once they were back in the room, Drew took Lyren’s hand. It seemed so real even if it wasn’t. “He’s going to say something,” Drew whispered. He didn’t think it was important enough to keep secret. He’d tell someone eventually, or make a comment or a joke and someone would figure it out, or…
“Maybe,” Lyren agreed. “But there’s no point in worrying about something that you can’t control.”
Drew just got into the bed, not able not to worry, mind racing. Lyren held him from behind, and Drew turned to face him in the bed. “Lyren?”
“What is it?” Lyren asked, kissing Drew’s nose.
Drew smiled. He liked it when Lyren kissed him. “Why did those sorcerers put you here? You said you were a prisoner.”
That meant Lyren had done something. But he’d said the people who’d trapped him were evil. But with the powers Lyren had, mind control and changing dreams and memories, Drew could easily see how Lyren could have been the bad guy. And that worried Drew. If Lyren was dangerous…
Lyren just looked sad, and he touched Drew’s face. “Oh, Drew,” he sighed. “I wish I could lie to you.”
“Was it something bad?” Drew whispered.
Lyren nodded. “I killed a bunch of people.”
“How many?” It was a stupid question. It didn’t matter how many.
“Thousands.” Lyren closed his eyes. He looked so hurt.
“But…” Drew felt sick, wishing that Lyren would let him feel cold. “You said the people who trapped you were evil.”
“They were. We were at war. Everyone is evil in a war. We…” Lyren paused. “I don’t want to make excuses.”
Drew shook his head. He didn’t want excuses. “Tell me what happened,” he pressed. Lyren wouldn’t just kill thousands of people. There had to have been a reason.
Lyren let out a sigh. That sad smile returned as he opened his eyes. “Okay. The war had been going on for over a hundred years. Between humans and gods and demons and…everyone. It started when this man named Nathen decided he wanted to kill everyone. He was a god, so stopping him was our responsibility. To do it, we had to destroy an entire city.”
“That’s terrible,” Drew said, not able to imagine. Destroying a city, to kill one man? Why?
“It was,” Lyren agreed. “He’d killed our families, our friends. He was going to destroy the world. We told ourselves it was worth it. That it would end the war. But it didn’t. There used to be a tower, right here where this inn stands. It had stood since the beginning of time, an anchor between us gods and the world. After we killed Nathen, after we killed all those humans, two humans came here and destroyed the tower and its guardian.”
“How did…”
“Nobody knows,” Lyren said. “But they did. It was a declaration of a war that was never going to end. I just…wanted it to end. I was tired of fighting, of killing people. And I thought…”
“You thought what?” Drew asked, when Lyren didn’t finish.
“The humans wanted a god. One god. They started worshipping Nathen. He was a monster, and they worshipped him. I thought…if they wanted a god, they should have one who wasn’t dead, and who didn’t want to destroy them all.”
Drew understood now, and that understanding pressed on him. “So you did it.”
Lyren nodded. “I just wanted them to stop fighting. I thought if I gave them what they wanted, if I became the god they needed…so I gathered followers and I brought them here. I was going to rebuild the tower. It was going to be…it was going to be so good. But…” Lyren looked like he wanted to cry. “Nathen’s followers found us. They didn’t want peace.”
Drew felt a tear slide down his cheek. “They killed them, didn’t they?”
“Yes,” Lyren choked. “All of them. They wouldn’t stop. I tried to make them stop, but they wouldn’t. All my people, all the people who followed me. I asked them to come, and they…” Lyren stopped.
Drew gave him a minute, aching. “Why didn’t they kill you?” he asked quietly.
“They tried. But gods are hard to kill and blood is powerful. I was attacking them like…” Lyren shook his head. “They rebounded the power and sealed me. They would have come back to kill me later, but I…I took all of them with me. Their bodies are buried with mine, but they died and I didn’t.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lyren. Drew said, touching Lyren’s face. He couldn’t even imagine.
Lyren shook his head, still smiling sadly. “I deserved it. I got everyone killed. It was my fault.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Drew couldn’t quite grasp it, the magnitude of what Lyren was saying. That many people dying. It must have been so… “You were just trying to help, Lyren.”
Lyren nodded. “And look where that got me. And you know the hardest part to swallow? Nathen came back to life. He was here in this inn just a while ago. He’s going to kill everyone again and nobody even knows it yet.”
“No,” Drew said, feeling his heart race. That was too much, that was…if that person was going to come back then… “I’m going to let you out.”
“No,” Lyren said, serious. He held Drew’s hand. “No, Drew. Don’t.”
Drew shook his head. “You don’t deserve to be trapped like that.” Drew believed that. He’d been thinking at first that he’d let Lyren out so Lyren’s power could help him. But now he had a real, unselfish reason to do it. Someone like Lyren didn’t deserve to be trapped for eternity, and besides, if that Nathen person was really back and running around, someone needed to stop him. And Lyren had done it once.
Letting him out was the right thing to do. No matter what it took.
“Yes,” Lyren insisted. “I do.”
“No.” Drew shook his head. Lyren was wrong. “I’m letting you out. You can’t stop me, Lyren.”
“You know what that’s going to mean,” Lyren whispered. “I don’t want you to become a killer for me.”
“You became one for all of us, though.” Drew smiled, and he kissed Lyren. He knew this was the right decision, he could feel it in his belly. “It’s okay.”
Lyren sighed, smiled fondly at Drew. “What I am to do with you?”
“I’m your high priest, aren’t I?” Drew asked. “Let me help you.”
Lyren shook his head. “I want you to sleep. Think about it carefully for a few days. It’s a bad idea—you’d be destroying your own life. You don’t recover from killing someone, even for a good reason. It weighs on you forever.”
And Drew couldn’t imagine the weight Lyren must be carrying. He sighed. “Okay. I’ll think about it for a bit. But I already know it’s the right thing to do, Lyren.”
“I wish I was as sure as you, Drew.” Lyren sighed too, and he kissed Drew on the mouth this time. “Okay. Go to sleep, please?”
Drew nodded, resting his head against Lyren’s chest. “If you give me a dream, make it about you, okay?”
“Okay,” Lyren said quietly, and that was the last thing Drew heard before he fell asleep.
And the last thought Drew had was that he knew he was right. Letting Lyren out was right.
Because the world needed him. Because Drew needed him.
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How Best to Use a Sword 