Hell's Pawn (40 page)

Authors: Jay Bell

BOOK: Hell's Pawn

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J ohn brought a shaking hand to his mouth, kissed the tips of his fingers, and pressed them to S co ’s lips in the photo before continuing down the stairs. He and S co had seen so many interesting times together. There were wars, as there always were, but there was also a subtle change. R eligion once again became a comfort in those hard times. Not just one faith, but all of them, for believers began to open their arms to each other, to embrace the ideas and opinions of their fellow human beings. As one pope famously said during this period, you can never have too much of a good thing. There were still divisions among people. There always would be, but no longer were they created by the spiritual institutions meant to provide hope.

J ohn reached the bo om of the stairs, gripping the banister with gnarled fingers until he caught his breath. His body was giving him a harder time than usual today. He could hear S co ’s voice in his mind, crystal clear even though it had been two years since he had passed, chiding J ohn for not ge ing enough exercise. He would be right, of course, as S co always had been. L ately J ohn had been content to sit and think of the past, often drifting off to sleep no matter the hour.

J ohn gathered his strength and moved to the couch, sighing with relief when he was finally seated. His old bones shifted and se led, grateful for the comfort the thick cushions provided. O n the coffee table was a scrapbook, the corners of the pages curled from so much use. John pulled it onto his lap and opened the worn cover.

I nside was everything he had been able to find. A newspaper clipping for Dante Stewart’s obituary was on the opening page, the first piece of evidence John had found that proved he wasn’t crazy. S co hadn’t known back then, but had humored J ohn when they took their trip to Dublin. J ohn spent an entire day at the public library, searching through old newspaper obituaries until he found it. Dante S tewart had died on O ctober 16, 1983, in what the paper described as a “violent incident outside a pub.” S co had blocked him from the librarian’s sight as J ohn tore Dante’s obituary out of the paper. A few days later, they visited the home of Dante’s mother.

That had been awkward. J ohn had been a toddler when Dante died, and despite lying about his age, it wasn’t easy to convince his mother that they once knew each other. He didn’t dare explain where they had met, but he knew enough of the I rishman’s quirks to convince her in the end, even though she remained puzzled.

B efore J ohn left, she gave him a photo of Dante, which was now in the scrapbook next to the obituary. Dante was younger than J ohn had ever known him, his constant stubble absent, but the ornery eyes were unmistakable.

J ohn turned the pages. L i le else was as personal as this first page. There were clippings about religion and mythology, an excerpt from Milton’s
Paradise L ost
that mentioned R immon, and different artistic interpretations of an incubus—anything J ohn could find to help remind him of the memories he had made. W hen J ohn had finally told S co everything, years later of course, the scrapbook was his biggest piece of evidence. J ohn was never completely sure if his husband believed him, but S co loved him enough not to say if he didn’t. J ohn supposed that S co was seeing all of it for himself now.

Toward the back of the scrapbook was a photo of B olo. Not the E nglish S hepherd, naturally, but a yellow lab they had named M arx. I n the sixteen years that M arx was a part of their lives, J ohn was reminded of B olo nearly every day. He often wondered if the dog hadn’t found his way back to him, as Rimmon once promised he could.

J ohn sighed and closed the scrapbook, which felt too heavy on his lap now. The morning sun had slowly moved across the floor and reached part of the couch. J ohn set the scrapbook aside and stretched out, laying his head in the warmth of the sun and pulling his favorite quilt over the rest of him. Funny that he should still need a blanket, even in the middle of summer.

For a moment, as he was dozing off, J ohn thought he heard S co ’s voice calling him, could feel his husband’s fingers interlocking with his own. W ith his touch, J ohn didn’t feel old anymore. The aches and pains had gone as memories returned clearer than ever. B uildings made of light and sound, gods he had once fought alongside, and the friends that had journeyed with him through colorful realms. He could see their faces now and hear their voices, because they were all around him, everyone he had missed from this life and the other, welcoming him home again.

Also by Jay Bell:

Something Like Summer

L ove, like everything in the universe, cannot be destroyed. B ut over time it can change.

The hot Texas nights were lonely for B en before his heart began beating to the rhythm of two words; Tim W yman. B y all appearances, Tim had the perfect body and ideal life, but when a not-so-accidental collision brings them together, B en discovers that the truth is rarely so simple. I f winning Tim’s heart was an impossible quest, keeping it would prove even harder as family, society, and emotion threaten to tear them apart.

S omething L ike S ummer is a love story spanning a decade and beyond as two boys discover what it means to be friends, lovers, and sometimes even enemies. This full-length, gay romance novel is available in paperback, Kindle, Nook, and other eB ook formats.

For more information, please see:

www.jaybellbooks.com

Also by Jay Bell:

The Cat in the Cradle

Dueling with mad magicians, ba ling possessed beasts, and surviving endless hostile landscapes? Easy. Loving someone you weren’t supposed to? That was hard.

A faceless killer terrorizes the Five L ands, one set on killing the ten O ligarchs, masters of elemental magic. I t is from this murderer that Dylan, son of the B lue O ligarch, is forced to flee. O nly Tyjinn, a brash and unpredictable bodyguard, stands between Dylan and certain death. R ather than play it safe, Tyjinn makes an unusual proposal; to hunt the hunter. This isn’t the only unorthodox idea he puts forth as an a raction blooms between the two young men. I n the midst of uncountable obstacles and unforgiving odds, can Dylan really afford to recognize his own feelings?

The C at in the C radle is J ay B ell’s debut fantasy novel. The novel takes the reader on an exploration of the Five L ands and the different realms of the strange and fantastic O ligarchs. E ach O ligarch possesses a different colored loka that enables them to wield a unique style of magic. Dylan, aided by his talking cat Kio, must prevent the lokas from falling into the hands of a power hungry killer before the Five L ands is brought to its knees.

The Cat in the Cradle features 25 original illustrations, one for each chapter.

For more information, please visit:

www.jaybellbooks.com

-Table of Contents-

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight