Like Flies in Amber 2/2
PART TWO
“Luhan?”
“Hm?” Luhan and Lay were seated on the back porch of the mansion overlooking the vast gardens. Lay was sitting in Luhan’s lap, his arms wrapped around Luhan’s neck and his knees hanging over the edge of the seat.
Lay pressed his face into the warm column of Luhan’s neck. “How is Suho?”
“He’s…odd. He told me that he’s here to collect plants for several of the magic schools down by the coast. And yet, for the six days he’s been here, he’s only gone down to the village.”
Lay tensed. “Does he suspect us?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t said what he’s thinking yet.”
“Master Luhan, Master Lay?”
Luhan idly turned his head to the side. “Yes, Liyin?”
“Master Suho is heading this way, he was saying that he wished to speak with you.”
Luhan raised an eyebrow. “He’s back early.” Lay got off of his lap without prompting and pressed a quick kiss to Luhan’s lips before taking off and ducking into the gardens. Liyin and Luhan watched him go in silence, a soft smile tugging at both of their lips as they watched Lay’s blonde head weave in and out of rows of plants.
They remained that way for a few moments after Lay had vanished from sight, until Liyin broke the moment. “Master?”
“Hm?” Luhan turned back to Liyin.
Liyin twisted her hands in her apron nervously. “Um…down in the village. They’re talking about you and Lay again.”
Luhan scoffed. “I was expecting it. The rumors will die down soon enough, once people move on from Lay’s death.”
“That’s not why I mentioned it.” Liyin straightened her back and forced her fingers to be still. “Excuse my forwardness, Master Luhan, but Lay did have close friends in the village…before all of this happened. Don’t you think that he might like to see them again?”
“Has he expressed that desire to you?”
Liyin shook her head.
“Well, whether he wishes to see them or not, he can’t. He’s supposed to be dead. All of our efforts will go to waste if he exposes himself, and he knows that.”
“It just…it seems unfair. Perhaps they don’t even have to meet. Lay might just want to see their faces.”
“Lay and I understand the consequences of what I chose to do, Liyin.”
Liyin nodded, her shoulders slumping slightly. “I understand, Master.”
“I will take your words into consideration. Now, if you don’t mind, could you request one of the gardeners to pick some of the red and yellow roses growing in the garden? I’m going down to the cemetery tomorrow.”
“As you wish, Master.” Liyin turned on her heel, only to stop and bow politely to Suho as he appeared in the doorway.
“Hello.”
Liyin nodded quietly to him and walked away. Suho glanced over at Luhan and then back at the entrance to the house. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting something.”
“Not at all.” Luhan straightened in his seat and turned to face his cousin. “She mentioned that you have something to tell me.”
“Ah, yes.” Suho drew a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Luhan. “The school has asked me to stay here a little while longer to aid an alumnus working at the local hospital. It would appear that I have to stay for several more weeks.”
“I see,” Luhan said slowly.
“There’s a family down in the village who are willing to accommodate me,” Suho said hurriedly. “I’ll take my belongings down to them tomorrow. It’ll be much more convenient as well, since this mansion is a bit…removed from the town.”
Luhan nodded. “Of course. I wish you well with your work down in the village; feel free to come calling if you have time.”
Suho nodded and bowed. As he straightened up, Luhan eyed him critically. Suho seemed even more beautiful than the day they’d first met: rosy light from the sunset bounced off of Suho’s cheeks as he stood on the porch, breathing a little life into his pale skin. Pink highlights shone softly in his hair, and the warmth of his brown eyes came out in the light.
“Luhan?”
“Hm?” Luhan realized he’d been staring, and quickly pulled himself together. “I’m sorry, I was lost in my thoughts. By the way, how has your plant gathering been going?”
Suho smiled at him. “It’s been going well.”
Luhan tilted his head to the side, eyeing Suho with a calculative curiosity. Suho felt small beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
At last, Luhan broke the tension and turned his eyes to the vast expanse of the mansion grounds. “Well, if you need further fortification to your collections, feel free to ask the gardeners if they would be willing to harvest some of the plants on the mansion grounds for you. I’m sure we can spare a few for the schools.”
“Thank you very much, Luhan.” Suho bowed again. “Um…also. Earlier today, I went by to pay my respects to Lay. There’s a crack in his gravestone…you might want to get it filled.” He turned away and left the porch, heading back inside the house.
You little liar. Luhan crossed his legs and stared out across the gardens unseeingly, his mind racing through possibilities. What exactly are you up to, Kim Suho?
“A crack…” Luhan hadn’t noticed a crack on Lay’s tombstone when he’d performed the ritual. He would go check on it tonight; a cracked stone wasn’t anything a little magic couldn’t fix.
Later that night, Luhan left the mansion to go visit the graveyard. He walked briskly down the rows of tombstone with purpose, until at last, he reached what he was looking for.
He crouched in front of the stone, his eyes scanning for any damages or marks in the bright moonlight.
At last, his eyes spotted a faint crack running through Lay’s name. Frowning, he pressed his hands over the stone and called upon his magic. His magic built up in his gut, just as usual, but when Luhan tried to finish the spell, nothing happened. Frowning, he tried again. And again. And again. After the fourth try, he sat back on his heels, staring at the tombstone in wonder. Then, with a heavy sigh, he got up and wiped the sweat off his forehead, leaving the cemetery as if nothing had happened.
He failed to notice the cloaked figure watching him leave from behind a tall marble statue of an angel, near Lay’s grave.
Despite his worry over Suho’s true intentions, Luhan was rather relieved when Suho left. He was glad that he could be in Lay’s presence whenever he wanted, and that Lay’s hair was no longer that rather disheartening shade of blonde. Even though Lay looked incredibly handsome at all times, Luhan really did prefer his lover with darker hair.
Luhan brought up what Liyin had mentioned to him a few nights after Suho had left. “Lay?”
“Yes?” Lay nestled closer into his chest beneath the sheets, rubbing their entangled legs together.
Luhan smiled fondly and began running his fingers through Lay’s hair. “Liyin mentioned something to me the other day…”
“What is it?”
“She said that you had several close friends in the village.”
Lay went rigid. “Well, of course I did. I spent a lot of time there.”
“She said that you might want to see them again.” Luhan’s eyes darkened with seriousness, but his fingers kept up the steady, soothing rhythm through Lay’s hair.
“I…” Lay bit his lip and glanced up at Luhan from beneath his eyelashes.
“I’m not mad, you know. I can understand.”
“Well.” Lay settled back into Luhan’s chest and stared thoughtfully up at the ceiling. “We…we already said our goodbyes, you know? After I got worse and worse, I just knew when I went down to the village for the last time, that that would be it. We’ve already had our closure. To see them again, and to know that I’m no longer sick and that we could be together again…it’s too painful. I don’t want to see them.”
Luhan nodded in agreement. “If you ever change your mind though, Lay, just tell me. I can show them to you.”
“Thank you.”
Luhan didn’t say anything when he felt a tear drop land on his bare chest, and simply held Lay closer.
Even though Suho had gone down to the village several weeks ago, he still came by every day to visit. It was good, because it was easier for Luhan to keep tabs on him that way. It was bad, because every visit was a chance for Suho to find Lay.
“You know that he’s attracted to you, right?”
“What?” Luhan stared at Lay as if he’d grown a third head. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“He stares at you like he wants to eat you up,” Lay poked moodily at his rice, and Luhan tried not to laugh at his sulky lover.
“Don’t be silly. He’s trying to find out if I’m a necromancer or not, why would he be attracted to me?”
“You really don’t see it, do you? He looks at you like you’re a god, Luhan.”
Luhan puffed out his chest. “Maybe because I am one!”
Lay rolled his eyes and smacked Luhan’s chest. “You’re so embarrassing.”
Luhan chuckled and turned back to his food. “I still think you’re wrong.”
“He’ll tell you before he leaves. I’m sure of it.”
“Why did you even bring this up? Supposing that you are correct, I don’t plan on accepting any proposals or confessions from him.”
Lay’s eyes brightened slightly. “Really? Why not?”
“He’s a nuisance here. He threatens our safety. And as beautiful as he may be, but he’s no match for you.” Luhan leaned over and brushed their shoulders together.
“Well, I suppose he’s rather good looking,” Lay mumbled into his rice, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
“Now I’m getting jealous,” Luhan teased gently. “I agree with you that he’s gorgeous, but don’t worry, Lay. We only have each other.”
Lay gave him a soft smile and lifted up some of his rice and brought it near Luhan’s mouth. “Open up.”
Luhan willingly opened his mouth and let Lay feed him.
A polite tap sounded on the dining room door. “Hello?”
Luhan and Lay froze in shock, and then Lay grabbed his bowl and chopsticks and bolted out of the room, leaving Luhan seated in shock by the table. The door swung open just as the corner of Lay’s shirt whipped through the door into the servant’s passageway.
If Suho noticed that the door to the passageway was hanging open on its hinges, he didn’t say anything. “Hello.”
“Suho!” Luhan quickly stood up and brushed off imaginary rice grains from his pants. “What brings you here so late?”
“I apologize for the hour,” Suho said, bowing his head. “But…I really need a book from your library.”
“Which one?”
“I need to look for one.”
“What about?” Luhan folded his arms. “Few people earn the right to enter the Xiao library, Suho.”
“Have I not earned that right?” Suho lifted his head and looked at Luhan openly.
“No, you have not,” Luhan said simply, “So I will not allow you to go there. Tell me what you need, Suho, and I will get it for you. But you may not set foot in that room.”
“What do I have to do to deserve access to the library?”
“First of all, being honest with your intentions would have helped.”
“What?”
Luhan raised an eyebrow when he saw a heavy blush settle on Suho’s face. “The first week you stayed here, you said that you wanted to collect plants from the area. Yet every day you went down to the village and returned empty-handed. You didn’t even ask the gardeners for a supply of plants to make yourself seem the slightest bit believable. How can I let a man who does not do as he says access the precious Xiao library? You will have to have me regain trust in you for you to set foot in those doors.”
Suho bowed his head once more. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t know what your true intentions are or were, and I don’t care because you will be leaving Linenwood Valley in two days. But Suho, if you ever wish to return here, know that I am not a fool that will play into the first trap that is set before me.” Luhan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, relaxing his shoulders and uncrossing his arms. “Now, you can tell me what subject you need a book on, and I can fetch a variety of choices for you. Or, you can leave here empty-handed. It is your choice, Suho.”
At that moment, a loud clap of thunder sounded, and the sound of heavy rain drops pummeling the rooftop filled the house.
Luhan sighed through his nose. “Well, you can’t go back to the village in that storm. Stay here the night, Suho, I’ll have a room prepared for you. And let me know if you want those books.” Luhan swept out of the room, leaving Suho to stand in quietly in his tracks.
Junmyeon let out a shaky breath once Luhan was out of sight. So he knows. Junmyeon had thought that it was a little too good to be true when he saw no signs of Luhan monitoring his movements.
But the issue of the necromancer remained. He had narrowed it down to three suspects-one of whom was Luhan. But there was a missing piece to the puzzle-what was it? Perhaps, if he could access the fabled Xiao library, he could find a clue.
“Master Suho?”
Junmyeon flinched, and then turned around to face a valet who was pinning him down with a rather disapproving glare. “May I show you to your rooms, sir?”
“Of course.” Junmyeon straightened his spine and sent the man a haughty look in return. “Has Luhan already dined?”
“He has, sir. However, if you are hungry, I will send down to the kitchens for some food.” The valet led him through the mansion, and then stopped in front of a door. “Do you require anything else, sir?”
“I was wondering if I could speak with Luhan again.”
The valet’s expression stiffened, and he eyed Junmyeon with a tangibly frosty glare. “The Master has retired to his rooms and requested that we not disturb him for the rest of the night. You may speak to him tomorrow morning.”
“I see. Thank you very much.”
The valet nodded, and Junmyeon entered the room. Once the door was shut behind him, a small smile wormed its way on to his face. If Luhan wasn’t going to be disturbed for the rest of the night, now was Junmyeon’s chance to sneak down into the library. He had snuck around often enough; Luhan wouldn’t even guess that he’d left his room.
But first, he would have to wait for his meal to arrive. There was no sense in trying to do his research on an empty stomach…and while he waited, he could try and figure what sort of clue he might be looking for.
Junmyeon walked over to the pristinely-made bed and sat down carelessly, the muddy cloth of his pack sullying the soft sheets as he set it down. He opened the mouth of the bag and pulled out a slim portfolio; at the beginning of his search, the portfolio had been quite fat, and full of numerous suspects. Now, Junmyeon opened the folder to reveal three different files.
He took them out of the portfolio and spread them out across the bed. The first had a picture of what appeared to be a rather pretty young man with his arm wrapped around another young man’s waist. The prettier man was actually a woman by the name of Liu Amber-she was a suspect, because the man she was hugging in the picture had been her fiancé, Henry Lau, who was buried in the Linenwood Valley cemetery. Junmyeon had been to the grave already and had found nothing out of the ordinary. He’d also met Amber in person; Amber was a hedgewitch who sold potions from a little stand in the main square, but Junmyeon was certain that she held a far greater capacity for magic, and that she was not what she seemed.
He moved over to the next file. On the front of this file, a handsome, tall man with protruding ears was grinning broadly next to a pretty woman who was older than him by a few years. This was Park Chanyeol and his sister Yura. Chanyeol didn’t actually live here in Linenwood Valley, but Yura’s grave was here. Junmyeon had visited the grave and found a series of peculiar runes scorched into her headstone. However, as far he could see, the runes had been for withstanding erosion and effects from the elements…but still. Chanyeol was a powerful sorcerer, and it seemed that he’d had a very strong bond with his older sister. His mother had also committed suicide after Yura’s death. Junmyeon wouldn’t put it past the powerful Chanyeol to have committed a necromancy ritual to bring back at least one, if not both, family members.
The last profile had a picture of Luhan and a boy about year younger than him. They were hugging each other tightly in the picture, and if you looked closely, you could see Luhan holding a bunch of flowers behind the other boy’s back. The picture had been taken several years ago, when they were both in their late teens. The boy Luhan was hugging was his childhood friend, whom he was rumored to have had a sexual relationship with. The friend, Lay, had died of leukemia recently. Junmyeon had gone to the grave and found the fine crack running through Lay’s name, but he wasn’t sure if that was enough to suspect Luhan or not. After all, gravestones got cracks in them all the time…but the fact that Luhan, a powerful sorcerer, had been unable to fill the crack was what had him suspicious. Junmyeon himself had tried to fill the crack, to no avail. The grave had given off no special aura, but Junmyeon knew his limits. It shouldn’t have been a difficult task…and yet, no matter how much Junmyeon tried, he hadn’t been able to fill it.
A knock on the door startled Junmyeon out of his thoughts, and he hastily turned the files over so that they were face down before opening the door. A servant stood outside with a steaming tray. “Leave the tray outside when you are done. Another servant will come collect it in the morning.”
Junmyeon took the tray and bowed politely. “Thank you very much.”
“Good night Master Suho.”
“Good night.” Junmyeon nudged the door shut with his elbow and went back to the bed. He took the cover off of his dish and began picking at his food with a pair of metal chopsticks as he thought over who the necromancer could be. He was running out of time, he was running out of excuses to stay in this blasted village. But he had to find out who the necromancer was and destroy them, in accordance with his Wizarding Oath. He wasn’t sure why none of the various witches in Linenwood Valley hadn’t responded to the sense of dark magic; but then again, perhaps they had felt nothing. Junmyeon had always had a much more sensitive intuition for dark magic than other wizards because of his traumatic childhood.
Junmyeon finished eating his food and set the tray aside. Perhaps there was some kind of ledger in the Xiao library; he could browse through the titles and see if there were any other traces that a necromancy ritual might leave.
Junmyeon picked the files up and shuffled them into order in his grasp as he sent his senses out to survey the mansion. So far, it seemed as if Luhan hadn’t put up any kind of barriers or warding on any rooms.
What an idiot. Did he truly believe that Junmyeon was spineless and wouldn’t take this chance to enter the library?
Junmyeon poked around, and found Luhan’s presence in one of the bedrooms. There was another presence with him, and Junmyeon frowned. There was something odd about that second presence…but he couldn’t pin down what it was. Shrugging, he retracted his powers to a smaller radius. It didn’t matter whether Luhan was spending time with a lover. It would just give Junmyeon a little more time to make it down to the library.
Junmyeon stepped outside and placed his tray by the door. Then, he carefully shut the bedroom door and set off down the hallway, cloaking himself in a spell of invisibility. He walked through the quiet halls of the mansion, unafraid of being seen, determinedly heading deeper into the mansion towards the library. He’d never been allowed near the library, but he could sense its location, as if a beacon of light was shining in his senses. He kept a tiny part of his senses around Luhan’s location, just in case something happened.
At last, Junmyeon arrived in front of a set of ornately engraved wooden doors. A plaque above the doors stated Library.
Junmyeon smiled slowly, and pushed against the doors.
The moment he set foot in the dark room, a series of lamps sprang to life in succession, filling the vast library with light. A broad table covered in loose papers came into a view, and a small loveseat sat in front of a merrily crackling fireplace. Beyond the loveseat lay a maze of dark, looming shelves.
Junmyeon nearly fell to his knees in awe; there were so many books! So many shelves, so many titles to be explored…He forgot what he was supposed to be doing for a few moments and simply sat in awe.
Luhan had just pressed a soft kiss to Lay’s collarbone when he felt it. He drew back with a gasp, and Lay put his hands on his shoulders to keep from falling off of Luhan’s lap. “What is it?”
“He’s gone to the library. I was such a fool, I didn’t think he would dare…” Luhan gently slid Lay off of his lap and pulled a robe over his night clothes. Lay looked at him with fear in his eyes. “What happened, Lu?”
“Suho went into the library,” Luhan said shortly. “There’s-we could still salvage this, as long as he doesn’t spend too long in there.”
“What happens if he finds out?” Lay got to his feet and hastily pulled a robe on.
“I’ll have to fight him. You stay here, Lay-“
“No. If you’re going to fight him, then I want to come too.”
“What good can you do, he’s a wizard!”
“If you lose though…”
“I won’t lose. I won’t lose everything I’ve worked so hard to gain.”
“If you lose, I want to die in your arms,” Lay said softly.
Luhan sighed, and then reached out to press a kiss to Lay’s fingers. “Alright, go down to the library. But I’m going there by magic.”
Lay nodded, his face pale. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll take the servant passages.”
Luhan pressed a soft kiss to his lover’s lips. “I love you, Lay.”
“I love you, too.”
And Luhan vanished into a wisp of black smoke.
At last, Suho came to himself. He sighed and forced himself to look away from the bookshelves, and instead approached the table. It was covered in loose papers; he flipped through a few of them, and saw that most of them were full of accounts, documents of plants, and inventory sheets. There was nothing of use here.
Junmyeon passed the table and paused by the loveseat. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary here either; he surveyed the folded quilt and the carefully arranged pillows. He vaguely wondered if Luhan brought his lover down here, and then shook his head. Now was no time to be thinking about such frivolous things-he had to find the missing piece to his puzzle.
And yet…something about the loveseat drew him to it. He walked forward and sat down on the well-worn cushions, placing his stack of profiles in his lap. He leaned his back against the plush pillows, and blinked in surprise when he noticed something poking out from beneath the soft quilt. He shifted the quilt to the side, and narrowed his eyes when he saw a slim black book with silver engravings on the cover. He reached out and picked it up…
Only to nearly drop it in surprise when Luhan materialized in front of him.
Luhan looked furious, his beautiful doe-like eyes nearly aflame with rage. “What are you doing here?”
Junmyeon shivered, and then forced himself to stand strong against Luhan’s murderous aura. “I can explain.”
Luhan’s eyes flickered down to the book in Suho’s hands, and he felt a chill run down his spine. If he’d been any later…
Then he looked down at the papers in Suho’s lap, and he felt his blood run cold. There, on top, was a picture of himself hugging Lay.
But Suho hadn’t opened The Book yet. There was still hope. “I don’t want to hear your excuses, Suho. I have been nothing but kind to you-I gave you a roof over your head, even when you lied to me. I have offered you invaluable assistance during your stay here, especially with your work in the village. And you thank me by sneaking around inside of my house and setting foot in this library?” Luhan held out his hand. “Give me that book, and get on your feet Suho. Go pack your bags. You are not welcome in the Xiao Mansion anymore.”
Junmyeon gulped when he saw Luhan’s eyes flicker down to the files in his lap. There was no way that Luhan had missed it. “But Luhan, I was just…it was so urgent, I had to come down here myself.”
“What was so urgent? I told you that if you wanted any titles from my library, you were to come to me.”
“I was so ashamed though,” Suho hung his head.
“Oh drop the act! I know who you are, Kim Junmyeon. You’re no cousin of mine! I’ve known exactly what you’ve done, where you’ve been, what you’ve actually been doing in Linenwood Valley! I allowed you to stay here, because you seemed to have no malicious intent. But now, I don’t know what to think.”
“You’ve allowed me to stay here?” Junmyeon felt an angry fire start to burn in the pit of his stomach, and he got to his feet, nose to nose with Luhan. “I’m a powerful sorcerer in my own right, and you’ve allowed me to stay here?”
“Give me that book, Junmyeon,” Luhan growled, his hands tightening into fists. “Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
“What’s so precious that’s in this book, that I can’t see it?”
“Every title in the Xiao library is to be protected with the utmost care.” Luhan reached out for the book, but Junmyeon held it to his chest. “You have no right to be holding that. Give it to me, Junmyeon, and get out of this house.”
Junmyeon smirked at him, and Luhan scowled. He called on his magic to hand him the book, only for Junmyeon to retaliate in kind, and the book fell to the ground, the front cover falling open to reveal the contents of the book.
Junmyeon stopped short in shock, and Luhan felt his stomach fall to the ground.
By the time they’d both recovered, Junmyeon had put up a magical defense, preventing Luhan from attacking him. “So this is what you’ve been hiding,” he murmured. “I had hoped that it wasn’t you…”
“This was your true intention then. To find the necromancer in Linenwood Valley?”
“It was.” Junmyeon chuckled mirthlessly as he and Luhan circled around each other, both looking for an opening to attack. “Your friend was very handsome, you know? I wouldn’t mind taking him as a lover myself.”
“You’ll never get a chance to lay a hand on him!” Luhan flicked his hand, and a burst of fire exploded on Junmyeon’s shield, weakening his defenses for a few moments. Junmyeon tightened his magic, and then smirked.
“Won’t I?” He reached a hand out, and a section of the wall grinded to the side, revealing Lay watching them with wide eyes. Before he could act further, though, Luhan had already whisked Lay away, cloaking him in a complex spell of invisibility and concealing his presence from Junmyeon.
“You won’t.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that you decided to sleep around with your best friend? Especially since he had another lover in the village. Jessica is quite distraught, by the way, Lay. She isn’t dealing with your death very well.”
Luhan didn’t answer him and instead threw another attack. He continued to bombard Junmyeon with attacks in the hope that it would cause his shield to weaken, and that at least one would slip through.
They both were trying to get closer and closer to the book. Luhan gasped in shock when the book suddenly vanished off of the floor when Lay darted forward and grabbed it.
Junmyeon followed the presence of the book, and he shot a blast of lightning towards its presence, knowing that only Lay could have the book in his hands.
Luhan threw up a shield in front of Lay just in time, and the lightning glanced off and hit the table full of loose papers, setting them aflame. “Lay, hide the book. Hurry!”
“I don’t think so!” Junmyeon threw up a ring of ice six feet thick around the three of them. “Give me that book, Lay.”
“Why should I?” A soft, smooth voice spoke from Luhan’s right. “You want to kill us.”
“Of course I do. I, unlike Luhan, haven’t turned my back on the Wizarding Oath we took.”
“Isn’t there someone you want to bring back? Wouldn’t you like to know how?”
“The only thing I want that book for is to destroy it and purify it,” Junmyeon said shortly. “Give me the book, Lay. You and your lover stand no chance against me.”
Suddenly, the wall of ice surrounding them was doused in fire, and the walls melted down in a wave of wave of water that soaked the plush carpeting of the library floor. “Go Lay!”
Lay flashed back into appearance for a brief moment, and Junmyeon caught a glimpse of his handsome features twisted in fear for a few seconds before he vanished once more. Junmyeon felt the presence of the book fade away as Lay took off, and he sent out a summoning spell towards the presence, only for it to get cut off as Luhan seized and it twisted it around, causing a shelf of books to lift off the ground and come flying towards Junmyeon.
“What happened to ‘The titles of the Xiao library must be protected at all costs’?” Junmyeon questioned as he blasted the shelf into pieces.
Luhan ducked to avoid being struck by a piece of wood and remained silent as he shot attack after attack at Junmyeon, focusing all of his energy on destroying the wizard before him.
Luhan yelped and fell to his knees when darkness fell across his vision-Junmyeon had surrounded him with a blinding spell. He howled with frustration and reached out with his magical senses, frantically searching for Junmyeon. He had to find him before he got to Lay!
Meanwhile, Lay was dashing through the library shelves, desperately running for the secret back entrance. In the far corner, behind the shelf of cookbooks, there was a wrought iron door that led outside to the gardens. His pulse pounded in his head as he raced towards the shelf and put his hand on the doorknob-
Only to get bodily yanked away from the door and thrown against a bookshelf. Lay sprang to his feet again, only to watch as the doorway melded with the rest of the wall.
“Well, hello there, Lay.”
Lay flinched and whirled around to face Suho-no, Luhan had called him ‘Junmyeon’. Lay felt a brief surge of annoyance at his lover for keeping him out of the loop, but then his annoyance turned to fear when Junmyeon began to walk towards him.
Lay backed away, only to trip and catch himself on a bookshelf before he could land on his back. In a flash, Junmyeon had caught him from falling, and Lay’s breath hitched in fear as he found himself pressed tightly against the very man who wanted to kill him.
“Give me the book, Lay.”
Lay tightened his grip on the book in his hand and clutched it to his chest. “No.”
Junmyeon raised an eyebrow. “No?”
“No.” Lay curled in on himself in fear. “I-if…isn’t there a way you can spare Luhan’s life? I’m the abomination-I was the one he brought to life. Please, kill me, but don’t hurt him!”
Junmyeon laughed softly. “You must love Luhan very much. But, unfortunately, I can’t let Luhan live. He committed the act of darkness, and so he too must die.”
Lay let out a sound of grief. “You…You truly can’t spare him?”
“Enough pleading, Lay. You can give me the book, or I can take it from you by force.”
Lay shook his head resolutely, and Junmyeon sighed deeply.
Suddenly, Junmyeon caught his chin in an iron grip, and Lay’s eyes widened in surprise when he felt a soft pair of lips pressing against his own. He shoved Junmyeon away, only to freeze in fear when he felt Junmyeon triumphantly tear the book out of his grasp.
Luhan materialized beside Lay and pulled him to his side. He let out a feral growl and stretched out his hand to attack Junmyeon-
Only to collapse to his knees and scream in pain when a stab of fire burst in his chest. He vaguely registered Lay collapsing on top of him as he screamed again, his fingers coming up to claw at his heart in agony.
Junmyeon stood over the two lovers, calmly holding the burning book in his hands. “Xiao Luhan. I accuse you of having committed the Dark Act of necromancy to bring your friend back from the dead, and for this, you must die.”
Luhan looked up at Junmyeon through blurry eyes as tears of pain dripped down his face. He turned his head to look at Lay, who was lying beside him. Lay’s face had gone even paler than normal, and his breathing was slowing down bit by bit, until at last, his chest stopped moving up and down.
Luhan felt his consciousness leaving him bit by bit. His final emotion was relief: at least Lay hadn’t had to die a painful death for the second time. His eyes were branded with the image of Junmyeon standing in front of the burning library, and his hand briefly tightened around Lay’s fingers before he closed his eyes for the last time.
The book burned down to a small pile of ashes, and Junmyeon flung the ashes over the two bodies in front of him before teleporting out of the mansion. Even in the torrential rain, the mansion burned on, taking the Xiao brothers, and all of its other inhabitants in the fire. He couldn’t spare the servants, as much as he wanted to-there was no doubt that they’d been in on the knowledge of Lay’s existence.
“Everything in my power…” Junmyeon murmured softly. He looked out on the Xiao estate, and then flicked his fingers, bathing the entire property in magical fire, burning away the traces of darkness lingering in the soil. Luhan had undoubtedly used his own plants and herbs to commit the ritual.
Five days later, Junmyeon stood in the Linenwood Valley Cemetery for the last time. He bowed his head solemnly in front of the two lovers’ gravestones with a feeling of leaden regret sinking down into his bones. The crack on Lay’s grave was filled once more, leaving the marble headstone in pristine condition. Luhan’s headstone stood solemnly beside it.
Xiao Luhan. There was no epitaph, just a simple date and a silver filigree rose inscribed on the grave.
Junmyeon reached out and touched the stone. A flare of power coursed through his body, and when he stood back, a stark mark of purity had been engraved in the stone below Luhan’s name.
Let Luhan’s death be a lesson to any future necromancer in the area. Junmyeon had purified the entire town from the darkness with a series of rituals. The Xiao property had been reduced to ashes. This town would not forget the effects of Dark Magic any time soon.
Junmyeon got up from the ground and closed his eyes. A small bouquet of pink carnations and chrysanthemums4 appeared in his hands. He laid the flowers in front of Luhan’s grave, and then cloaked the two graves in a spell that would protect them from the elements.
He turned away and left the cemetery without looking back. His journey was far from over-now, he had to go and track down Luhan’s parents. Perhaps they held the key to finding the remaining copies of The Book of Necromancy. Those books had to be destroyed, and their darkness had to be purified and removed from the Earth.
Junmyeon walked down into the town and headed to the train station platform. The area was completely empty, and Junmyeon heard the approaching whistle of the train getting louder and louder.
“Everything in my power…” Junmyeon murmured softly.
The train tracks rumbled with the force of the charging train.
“Everything.”
The train pulled into the platform, and Junmyeon stepped up into the open door. He collapsed into the first empty compartment he could find and closed his eyes. He hadn’t slept very much, being caught up in coming up with a story to explain away the fire that had burned down the Xiao property, and then all of the purifying rites he’d done around the village.
He dreamt of two friends, slowly falling into a forbidden love, and becoming trapped in one another like flies in amber. The boys grew up slowly, until one friend finally fell to the tenacious grasp of his illness. The remaining friend went nearly mad with grief, and brought the sick boy back to life. The lovers lived happily for a time, until an intruder came and destroyed everything they had worked for. They died in each other’s arms, both clinging to the small relief that they had died together.
Junmyeon woke up with a start, his eyes full of tears. He sighed deeply, and then brushed them away with the rough sleeve of his coat.
His heart hardened with resolve as the last extraneous moisture was wiped off of his face. He got to his feet and picked up his pack, his legs swaying slightly with the movement of the train as the car ground down to a halt. He stepped out of the compartment and on to the next leg of his journey-and he wouldn’t stop, unless death found him first, or until the world was rid of the Dark Arts.
Fin
End Notes: 1) Lay’s epitaph is a quote by Shelley. 2) Orchids mean "I will always love you”. 3) Lay reads Luhan Shakespeare Sonnet 53 in the childhood memory. 4) Pink carnations signify remembrance. Chrysanthemums signify grief and lamentation in Asian cultures, but also truth in Western culture.
a/n: I hope that you all enjoyed this story, despite it's shortcomings! I know that people acted illogically at times and there are some unexplained things, but feel free to ask me questions! Despite its faults, I'm very proud of this work :) Comments are always appreciated, and thank you all so much for reading!