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Dark Angel's Fire
by Megaera

Part IV
Death or Dishonour

"Those samples you sent us Sir." The young scientist sounded nervous.

The Cigarette Smoking Man gave him a thoughtful look and took a long draw on his cigarette. "Go ahead."

"Sir. I don't know exactly what they are!" He received a quizzical look.

"One isn't human, the other might have been human once, but it's been altered almost beyond recognition. There are new base pairs in the DNA that we've never seen before. And there's evidence that the alterations are deliberate and ongoing."

"Tell me about the second sample. The non human one?" The Cigarette Smoking Man frowned. "You've studied the technical reports that our alien... allies have provided. Isn't it comparable?"

The scientist shook his head. "Sir, I thought the alien material scared me until I saw this! The complexity is terrifying. Even our alien friends are in the Stone Age compared to this. We don't even know how to study it, none of our techniques give accurate results. I'd guess that the DNA strand is at least a million times more intricate than our own. There's also evidence of more than two DNA strands. Can I speculate, Sir?" A nod. "The human was deliberately infected by the owner of the non-human DNA as part of some hybridisation experiment!"

"Send half the sample to our allies. Let's see what their reaction is."

xx

Alex and Mulder were on vacation. Well, sort of. They had both been sent to New York for a week to attend a conference on "Criminal Psychology and Cults." Somehow a superior had remembered their experience in that area, and had decided to get them out of his (thinning) hair for a while.

Alex leaned back in the comfortable chair and raised his glass in salute. "Thanks Skinner. It's about time you did us a favour." Dressed casually, he stretched out his long legs and gave his partner a serene smile. With only one or two discussions to attend each day, there was plenty of time for relaxation and sightseeing.

Mulder smiled back at him in lazy contentment. "Fancy seeing some of the city this afternoon, Alex?" he said.

"Sure. Why not?" The younger man rose eagerly to his feet and followed Mulder out into the bustling city streets. They spent hours wandering past expensive shops, museums and long skyscraper lined streets. It didn't really matter. It felt so good to be with Alex, close to him, with no worries or hidden agendas. The younger man slid his arm round Mulder's waist at some point, and leaned into him as they walked. That felt good, too.

"Hey! Look at that!" Alex pointed towards a little shop. Mulder followed his gaze and felt a flicker of interest. One of those traditional old occult supply shops.

"Need some eye of newt, Alex?"

His partner grinned. "The only thing I want, you're going to give me tonight anyway!"

Mulder swallowed. He was finding it difficult to think past the suddenly tightness in his crotch. Alex headed towards the door of the shop, tugged at Mulder to follow, then went in. God, he was so beautiful.

Mulder blinked as he went in the dark and slightly dusty shop, then his eyes adjusted. An old woman sat near the front of the shop, she watched him with a bright bird like gaze, then her eyes flickered to his partner.

"Two beautiful young men! It must be my lucky day."

Mulder smiled. "Mind if we look around. I've never been in a place like this before!" The woman rose, gestured grandly towards the shop, and sank back onto her perch. Alex began to poke at something in a box on the counter, with his finger, a cloud of dust rose, and he sneezed explosively. Mulder turned away quickly, before Alex could see the laughter in his eyes. Then an old book, open on a nearby table, caught his eye. The book was pretty old, and was filled with slightly off centre, hand printed woodcuts. The one he had seen showed a large demon standing over a group of cowering peasants, grovelling at his feet. He flicked to the front cover, and looked at the title. Fraser's Demonologie.

"How much is this?" he asked, bringing the book to the front counter. Alex eyed him suspiciously, was Mulder seriously going to spend his money here?

"Three hundred dollars", the old woman said sharply. "But surely, a young man like you doesn't want to get involved in black magic!"

Mulder grimaced. "It's a bit late! I'm always getting into trouble. A bit of extra knowledge wouldn't hurt." He flung down three hundred dollar bills on the counter and slipped the small book into his jacket pocket. The two of them began to head out of the door, Alex shaking his head.

"Wait!" The old woman said. "I want to read the cards for you." Alex's eyebrows shot up and he rolled his eyes dramatically, out of sight of the woman. Mulder glared at him, then returned to the counter. The old woman pulled out a pack of well thumbed cards, and began to lay them out in a pattern on the wooden surface. She turned over the central card.

"This is you. Justice!" Alex's eyes widened. She studied the spread of cards. "The empress is prominent. You will have an encounter with a beautiful woman. In the past, your cards show the moon, card of deception, and at present, the Tower struck by lightning—an enigmatic card. Sometimes it means disaster, but at other times, the overthrow of a powerful enemy. Your future is strangest of all. The Devil, card of darkness and mystery, but in this case influenced by the card of the Lovers. A very strange grouping of the cards. You must take care!" Mulder nodded.

xx

"You took her seriously, didn't you?" Alex shook his head as they lounged in the hotel bar. They were waiting for the last debate of the day, a free for all on the beliefs of cultists. Alex leered at his lover with brightly intelligent eyes. "So you're going to have a disaster with a woman! I can't wait!"

"After all the supernatural things you've seen over the past eighteen months, you still think it's fraud?"

Alex shrugged. "Some of it is, Foxy. Just don't take it too seriously." Alex's face softened. "Life's too short. Enjoy it while you can!"

Mulder smiled. "I was planning to," he murmured, and his fingers lingered for a moment on Alex's arm.

xx

The guest speaker for the next part of the conference was a smug, arrogant and thoroughly irritating doctor of psychology called Sam Duncan. He proceeded to savagely criticise all criminologists who advocated non-traditional explanations for cult behaviour. Then he dropped his bombshell. "Do you realise that the F.B.I., the premiere law enforcement organisation in the world, has just opened an Occult Investigation Bureau. They're actually taking ghosts and goblins seriously!"

Alex grabbed at Mulder before he could make a fool of himself. Mulder shook off his lover's restraining hand and rose to his feet. "I'm the head of that bureau! What exactly are your criticisms of my department?"

For a moment, Duncan was nonplussed, then his gaze took in the younger man standing before him, and he smiled tightly. "You honestly believe in the supernatural? You'll publicly say that?"

Mulder froze, sensing the trap. "I believe there are things we can't explain", he said cautiously.

"Well then. I'd like to issue you with a challenge. In my home state of Mississippi, there have been legends of mysterious creatures seen in the woods for centuries. We have a group of cultists under scrutiny at the moment, who claim to be the servants of these so called dark powers. I'll investigate them using traditional methods and you can look into the occult aspects of the case."

Mulder gave him a blistering glance. "Sure. Make it an official request and we'll be happy to hunt down your monsters!"

xx

Mulder was still smouldering with anger an hour after the debate, in the bar. "Bastard! Putting me on the spot like that! Some people just like to trash the F.B.I." He took a long gulp of scotch.

Alex shook his head. "I don't think so, Foxy. I think you were set up! He had to know from the guest list that we would be at the debate. All he had to do was get into a public argument with you. Easy enough to plan. The big question is why?"

Mulder lifted his face to look into his lover's eyes, then shrugged. "We don't have a choice then. We accept the case. I don't want to be looking over my shoulder for an ambush, I'd rather be prepared."

You're so comforting, Foxy

Mulder suddenly looked straight into his eyes. "Fancy an early night, Alex?"

"Yeah Foxy. But I get to choose the entertainment. Just give me five minutes, then come up to the room."

Mulder pretended to look startled. He had suspected from the moment that Alex had upgraded their room, that he was planning one of his surprises. The younger man delighted in broadening his more conservative lover's mind. Now he had a hot tub, room service and a rather poorly hidden bottle or two of champagne to play with. Mulder could think of a surprising number of variations on that theme, that his lover probably didn't expect. Still, when Alex got enthusiastic, it was always worth indulging him.

When he slipped into the room, the lighting was subdued. "In here!", a voice called. Ah yes, the tub! Mulder casually slid off his clothes and walked into the room where Alex was waiting. What a view, and Mulder wasn't thinking about the view of the New York skyline. Alex was reclining in the bubbling water. His emerald eyes were smouldering with pure lust. One hand stretched out towards him, proffering a long stemmed glass of the champagne. He accepted it and slid into the water, which seemed to be at blood heat. Alex's long fingers stroked his chest, then he raised the glass. "To Kulain, who made all this possible!"

Mulder returned the toast, and sipped the chilled drink, letting the bubbles tickle his throat, and surrendering to the intoxicating flavour. The bubbling water was relaxing, and the feel of it against his skin was utterly sensual. Lips parted in desire, he regarded Alex through half closed eyes. The young man slowly began to move towards him, and slid his arms round Fox's neck, then his lips moved in for the kill. Oh yes. This was worth the wait.

Alex began to plant little kisses along Mulder's neck and shoulder. His lips lingered against the old bite scar that Kulain had left on one spectacular occasion, on Mulder's neck. Oddly enough, Alex had one to match, and he didn't regret a single moment of that conquest of his body. Their lover was rough on occasion, when the phantoms that troubled his mind came to the surface. And sometimes he was so restrained, it was easy to forget what he was. Alex continued to gently suckle the mark, until Mulder moaned in longing, then let his lips stray downwards. His head dipped momentarily under the water, to suck something more sensitive, that was making its' presence felt against his belly, as he pressed himself against Mulder.

Mulder was beginning to feel hot, and it wasn't because of the water temperature. He could feel the water swirling past his body, caressing him intimately. Alex was doing something incredible with his tongue, then the younger man turned in his embrace and lowered himself onto Mulder's swollen cock. He had deliberately not opened himself too far, and the agent felt as though he were being held in a tight fist, as Alex began to groan and push himself further down onto his lover.

"I'm in control", Alex hissed. "You're mine!"

Mulder laughed in his ear, and pulled Alex towards him, his arms supporting his lover as Alex began to move. As his motion became more frantic, it was more difficult for Mulder to hold still. He was so close to orgasm from his engaging young lover's actions. Then Alex froze!

"Don't you dare come, Fox Mulder!" His lover's voice was hungry with desire. "Self control, Foxy. Makes it better. I promise you!" Slowly now, he began to move, tiny, exquisitely sensual movements that tormented Mulder more than anything else he could think of at that moment. Alex prolonged the sex, long past the moment Mulder thought he would scream his loss of control. Alex's body stilled, whenever he felt Mulder's body begin to reach for orgasm. Alex leaned back voluptuously against Mulder. "You like that, don't you Foxy!"

Mulder was going out of his mind. He had heard the rumours that tantric self control was supposed to enhance sex. Apparently, the stories were true!

Finally, Alex's incredible self control deserted him, and he started to thrust back hard, again and again, then his muscles tightened unmistakably in orgasm, and Mulder felt himself erupt into the warm body with a rocketing force that made him think he was in orbit. When he became aware of his surroundings again, his head was resting against a warm, secure shoulder, and two strong arms were wrapped round him. He was on the bed.

"Shhh Foxy." Alex's beloved voice murmured in his ear. He didn't really want to move anyway, so he just leaned into that wonderful embrace. A slightly relieved laugh. "You've never passed out from our sex before, have you? Maybe I should be adventurous more often!"

Mulder let his arms close around Alex, and nuzzled his neck gently.

"Mmmm, my turn next, Ratboy", he said sleepily, then drowsed, secure and happy in Alex's watchful protection.

xx

The young scientist came slowly into the Cigarette Smoking Man's presence. He looked a little shellshocked. "I have the alien analysis on the DNA samples that you requested."

The Cigarette Smoking Man eagerly lifted his eyes from the rather dry report he was reading. "Go ahead!"

"Our friends became quite excitable when they scanned the sample. They claim to have seen only one like it before. They seemed to be quite superstitious about it! I was told that their last sample belonged to the Destroyer of Worlds, whoever that is. They think that this creature is back. The only thing is... that sample was a female's."

xx

The hammering on the door roused Mulder from the delectable warmth of a pair of arms entwined around him. He lifted his head muzzily as the volley of sounds continued. Alex muttered curses under his breath, and stumbled towards the door, wrapping a hotel robe around him as he went. "Who is it?", he grumbled.

"Open up. Police!"

Stunned green eyes fixed upon his, as Mulder hurriedly pulled on his pants. Alex opened the door. Four beefy cops charged in, and Mulder was immediately grabbed, and slammed up against the wall. Alex yelped as he too was seized and his arms were roughly cuffed behind his back.

"What the hell is going on?" Mulder yelled. A big officer in a dark trenchcoat entered the room. "I'm Lieutenant Carlyle. You're both wanted for questioning in the murder of Dr. Sam Duncan. Read them their rights!"

"What!" Mulder looked astounded. "But why would you suspect us?"

Carlyle looked around, at the all too clear evidence of their sleeping arrangements, and sneered at him. "We checked you out on the police computer. You seem to be connected with a lot of unexplained deaths! Two in Florida, and in Washington: an unidentified creature ripped apart in New York. All of them vicious, violent homicides"

xx

Later, at the police precinct, Mulder irritably shook his head. "You're accusing us of murdering the doctor with little or no real evidence. It's all circumstantial." He stared out of the dingy office window, at the rain.

The lieutenant flung down a set of crime scene photos. The body of the psychologist had been decapitated. Something had shredded the body, slicing into it repeatedly, so that blood spattered even across the ceiling. The torso was in tatters.

"I have a report here, Agent Mulder, of an incident that took place over a year ago, in your apartment in Washington. You and two of your colleagues were attacked by a group of armed men. Apparently they were ripped apart by someone with incredible strength. One was beheaded. Now isn't that a coincidence!"

"Yes, actually." Mulder shook his head tiredly. "That was Agent Lane. He's an expert in unarmed combat!"

"So I read. But I find it strange that such an inexperienced agent is so accomplished. The man has only six weeks of unarmed combat training, due to accelerated promotion on his F.B.I. course at Quantico. His records certainly don't show any other combat experience. A degree in Comparative Biology, and then a few years work as a librarian." Mulder blinked in surprise. He knew Kulain had faked his records, but the details implied a sense of humour which he didn't usually display, even to his partners. The detective continued, "Agent Lane is on his way here from Washington. Fortunately for him, his alibi is unbreakable. Unlike yours, Agent Mulder. You claimed to be in your hotel room with Agent Krycek the whole time." The Lieutenant leaned forward. "We have a witness, Agent Mulder, who claims to have seen your partner enter the apartment. Did you take the doctor's public humiliation of you as a personal attack?"

Mulder and Alex sat in the Lieutenant's office, after hours of questioning. He had released them, while his investigation continued, but plainly believed them guilty, and they were awaiting Kulain's arrival. "Tell me one thing, Agent Mulder. Why are you carrying round a book on demons?"

Mulder smiled softly. "Call it an on the job training manual!"

Carlyle glowered at him. "You're a real piece of work, Agent Mulder. Are you trying to convince me you believe that pile of crap?" There was a timely knock at the door.

"Agent Lane is here Sir." A young officer showed Kulain into the little office. Carlyle looked up from the report he was writing. And froze into immobility at the sight of Kulain. Their dark lover was dressed impeccably, with dark glasses covering his inhuman eyes. He seemed to find that more comfortable, on occasion, than pretending to be human. At the best of times, Kulain looked dangerous. Today, with concern for his partners motivating him, he positively exuded menace. Carlyle swallowed visibly.

Kulain didn't hesitate to denounce Carlyle's tactics. "My two colleagues are respected and valued operatives of the F.B.I. It's absurd to accuse them of murder. What proof have you got?" His tone was malevolent.

Carlyle visibly deflated under the tirade. He held up a hand wearily. "They're free to go, Agent Lane, for the moment. But I'll require them to be available for questioning later."

"That's not good enough!" Mulder spoke out unexpectedly, and three pairs of eyes fastened on him. "I want to examine the body for myself. Maybe we can help to solve your case, then we'll be able to prove our innocence."

"Alright!" Carlyle said. "I'll take you to the morgue. You can see the evidence for yourselves."

As he turned to make the call, Kulain idly picked up the little book on demons. He flicked through it with an amused expression on his face "Not always accurate, but some interesting ideas", he said softly. He placed the book down, open on the table and turned the page so that his two human partners could see the illustration. At least two hundred years old, and the drawing could have been done yesterday. It depicted Kulain's face perfectly. Mulder hastily shut the page as the Lieutenant turned back towards them.

xx

The body, or what was left of it, was stretched out on a mortuary slab, covered, but still oddly misshapen. Alex swallowed when it was uncovered. Violent death he could handle, but the weird cases could still get to him.

"The body appears to have been mutilated after death, but while the blood was still liquid", said the Lieutenant.

Kulain regarded the misshapen head. "There is something I can do, Mulder, but you'd have to want answers very badly!" A flicker of some odd emotion crossed Kulain's face.

"If you can do anything, Kulain, please! They think we sneaked out of the hotel to kill him. They have no other suspects, so they desperately want to pin this case on us."

Kulain's eyes turned towards the Lieutenant. He drew off his dark glasses and watched the detective with demon eyes. Carlyle recoiled in disbelief. Mulder sensed Kulain's mood lift a little at the diversion. Then Kulain reached out towards the head of the corpse. He gripped the hair and lifted it, staring into the glassy eyes of the dead man. A momentary look of what could only be described as apprehension seemed to show in his face. It was gone in a heartbeat, before Mulder could even be sure he had seen it.

Kulain knew how much of a risk he was taking, when he chose to perform the ancient ritual of raising a spirit. But without this, he feared that the laws of this world would condemn his lovers to the pain and misery of imprisonment. He decided the risk was worth it. He believed himself strong enough to withstand the call of the blood magic. The need that would come to him, take him over and demand that he rend, tear and butcher defenceless humans. The power of the dark side of his mind.

Death!. Kulain called upon the ancient darkness. His voice, as he pronounced an incantation, took on an odd, sepulchural quality. The eyes of the corpse burst into blazing yellow fluorescence, and stared back at Kulain with venomous hatred.

"Kulain!" That terrible dead voice would haunt all of the humans, including a terrified Alex, until the end of time. "Why does the Dark Lord call me? What is it you want?" Carlyle made a whimpering noise somewhere in the background, Alex felt like joining him.

"I need to ask questions of this body"

"You call upon the ancient darkness!", the spirit hissed. "Then pay the price."

You!

Kulain remained immobile for long moments. "Ask your questions, Mulder," he said very quietly.

Mulder moved forward reluctantly, until he was facing the head. The cold fire died from the eyes, even as he moved. Then life and human intelligence flooded into them. Duncan immediately began to scream in terror and despair. "Be still!" Kulain shook his grisly trophy. He lifted the snivelling thing and stared into hopeless eyes. A look of fear crossed the things' bruised face. "Answer him!" Kulain growled.

Mulder nervously began his questioning. The whines of the thing gradually gave way to a stuttering and half incoherent account of the murder. How he had opened the door to Mulder, agreed to continue their debate, but then the man had altered his shape, and become something not quite human. Something that bled green... Its' voice trailed away. Kulain set the thing down again on the slab, and looked at the scared humans in front of him. Mulder was pale but composed. Alex was shivering, and looked ready to bolt. And the Lieutenant was gone. At some point during the interview, he had disgraced himself, and had fled, leaving a wet trail on the floor.

Kulain felt the darkness begin to fill him, shot through with golden lightning

The head began to glow again, and Duncan's voice raised in sudden dread. "No! It's coming for me!" And the most ghastly screaming Mulder or Alex had ever heard, burst out of it.

Alex finally cracked. He lunged forward, grabbing at Kulain's arms, pummelling him and screaming wildly at him. "Make it stop! Please! Make it dead again!"

Mulder saw that odd look, almost of pain, cross Kulain's face again, as he fielded Alex's desperate storm of emotion. What happened next was so unexpected that Mulder had no chance to react.

Kulain's hand drew back, and he slapped Alex explosively across the face. The younger man was flung backwards with the force of the blow, impacting against Mulder, knocking them both to the floor. Dazed, Alex lifted his head, his hand sliding up to his bruised mouth, staring incredulous, at the blood staining his fingers. Then the young man's face seemed to crumple, and he began to sob hopelessly at the betrayal of the being whom he idolised. Moving back, away from the lover who had just broken his heart, Mulder pulled his beloved Alex into his arms protectively, and glared at Kulain.

A blaze of ghastly yellow light suddenly engulfed the head of the corpse, burning incredibly bright, so that it was consumed to ash in seconds. Then the fire leapt, struck Kulain, momentarily engulfing him. Both humans heard the demon scream in torment. Then the fire was gone.

Kulain lifted his bowed head, stared at Mulder and smiled malevolently. And Mulder realised what had changed. Kulain's always-green eyes burned that same sickly yellow. He reached out stiffly, as if unused to the movements of his body, and dipped his fingers in the bloody fluids that had leaked from the head. Then he raised his hand and licked the vile mess with evident relish. Kulain raised his head and laughed contemptuously. Alex huddled in Mulder's arms, and watched Kulain from a tear stained face. Golden eyes moved dismissively over the two humans. With a chuckle, the being formerly known as Kulain moved towards the door. With a frown, the dark one adjusted it's new body, so that shimmering darkness cloaked it, and left, in search of the infernal pleasures so long denied it.

The two human lovers who Kulain had driven away, when he sensed the threat to them, clung to each other in misery and grief. Their dark angel had been possessed by evil, and neither of them knew how to bring him back safely.

xx

Chapter 2

"You should have gone to a doctor, Alex!" Mulder gently tended his lover's split lip. He looked sadly at the swollen and bruised flesh at one side of Alex's mouth.

"He could have healed it in a few seconds," Alex whispered.

Mulder grabbed Alex's shoulders and shook him. "He's gone! He dumped us and went off somewhere!" A familiar ache rose up inside him.

"No!" Alex sobbed in denial. "You heard him scream. I don't think he would deliberately hurt me. He just wanted me away from him." Mulder closed his eyes tiredly. The past week had been a living hell. Kulain had vanished, and left them in limbo. Both agents had been accused of murder, and further trouble had come, with the temporary disappearance of the detective in charge of the case, Carlyle. He had eventually been found, but claimed nervous exhaustion, and was off the case.

"When did I ever understand Kulain?" Mulder muttered under his breath. He was half convinced that Alex was right. That golden power had infected or possessed Kulain somehow. In a year and a half of their strange relationship, Kulain had never been deliberately cruel with either of his humans. Some time during that period of ecstasy, Alex had become dependent on his dark protector. As for himself, Mulder had surrendered some part of himself to Kulain long ago. Being without him was like having a part of his soul sheared away. He and Alex clung together for mutual comfort, but cracks were already appearing in their relationship. Kulain had been their stability. Mulder finally made a decision. "Alex. You've got to go back to New York. I want you to look into the murder. Try to find Kulain. I need to know if there's anything left of the person we knew."

Those emerald eyes seemed to look into his soul. And something Alex saw there made him feel a tiny flicker of hope. "Yeah, Foxy. Whatever you want. You've got a plan, haven't you?"

"There's something I can try. But it might not work! I'd rather we weren't together in case the Bureau decides to pick us up for questioning." He hugged the younger man. "Never forget how much I love you Alex!" Alex's arms tightened around him, and for a little while, that evening, the two agents grasped at the illusion of security, knowing how precarious their lives had become.

xx

Mulder had studied the little book on demonology for three straight days, and felt as if he could quote long passages verbatim. Despite the picture of Kulain in the small book, there was little written about him. But there was a ritual in the book designed to "open the gates of knowledge." If ever he needed knowledge, it was now! He just knew Alex would have laughed to see him sitting naked, cross legged in front of a chalk circle, burning a couple of candles and chanting foreign words. But he was under no illusions as to how dangerous demons could be.

He finished the ritual, and sat back on his heels expectantly. He wasn't disappointed. The air around him began to shimmer and a blue glow appeared. "Ask your question!" a low pitched, resonant voice spoke from the circle. "The price is a drop of your blood."

Mulder picked up a small paper knife and jabbed the point into his thumb. "How do I help Kulain?" he said, letting the blood drip down his fingers, into the circle.

Soft, malicious laughter. "Only one can help Kulain now. Amara! If she will!"

"Wait!" Mulder cried out, as the light began to fade.

"More blood!" it hissed. He complied. "You must enter the realm of Hell! She dwells in a place that can only be accessed through that Dominion."

Mulder let another drop of blood fall. "How do I get there?"

"Cross the circle!" came the reply. Aware that he was probably doing something supremely stupid, Mulder rose to his feet, and stepped over the fragile protection of the chalk circle. Agony blossomed in his cut hand, as something seized it and sucked at the wound. Then he was falling through Forever. The pain blazed up, and his fall continued into unconsciousness.

Mulder's head was aching. Awareness was slow to return. There was something wrong with the light, it shouldn't be blue! He groaned, then opened his eyes. And he flinched in dismay. Ash sat, less than a foot away from him, a lazy, contented smile on his face. The last time they had met, Ash had been screaming curses at him. The demon reached out a taloned hand and gently stroked Mulder's face. "So beautiful, but so foolish!" He gripped Mulder's cut thumb, raised it to his cut mouth and sucked it again. "You once offered yourself to me this way, Fox Mulder. Do you remember?"

"Yes!" Mulder retorted, "But you used trickery to get the offer." He jerked the hand away.

Amusement flashed into the demon's beguiling blue eyes. "You'll give me what I want willingly, Agent Mulder, because I have what you want. Knowledge of Amara!"

With a sinking feeling, Mulder realised that Ash was right. He didn't know how to find the being he sought. And he could see, in the shadows, demons watching him, drawn by the scent of blood. They were just waiting for him to leave the zone of Ash's protection. And many had that same ghastly yellow glow to their eyes. He knew instinctively that his death would be hideous, if they touched him.

Ash had Mulder in his power, and he would have his measure of revenge, before their transaction was over.

"Well?" Ash's voice was smoothly sensuous. "Will you leave and take your chances? Or accept my offer of protection until I can lead you to her?" He was evidently enjoying Mulder's distress.

Mulder felt desperate. To choose Ash, and his dark pleasures, and betray his partners, giving him his one hope of saving Kulain. Or to waste his life in a futile attempt to escape the lurking demons in the labyrinths of Hell.

With a resigned sigh, Fox Mulder closed his eyes and turned his face away from Ash, so that the demon wouldn't see the tears that trickled down his face. Offering himself. "Just get on with it," he whispered, "That way, it'll be over quickly."

Ash laughed in triumph. "Oh no, little human! Never quickly!" He reached out a long fingered hand and slid it along Mulder's naked back, then moved in closer to taste the human's skin. He had wanted this one for so long, he wasn't going to waste a moment of their time together. He let his touch range over the human's body, searching every inch of it for the sensitive places that would bring the most response from his young prize. Several times, he was rewarded by soft moans from the human. He was content, for the moment to let his body wake to lazy arousal. His pheromones would affect the human gradually, making his body and mind compliant and willing. And they did.

Mulder felt Ash's fingers touching him. He didn't want this, was so afraid of this. Yet those fingers began to win a response from his reluctant body. Hating himself, when the heat spread down to his betraying cock. Hearing Ash laugh in triumph. The demon's touch felt so good. No one was supposed to make him feel this good except his partner. Odd that he couldn't seem to remember who that was. Dreamily, he yielded himself up to the bliss of those caresses.

The human began to push his body back against the hand that was stroking his spine. Ash looked at the human's hugely erect cock, a sign of his desire. Eagerly then, Ash slid his fingers to the ravishing buttocks and , lubricating his hand, slipped one finger inside Mulder's body. The human bit back a scream, arching against Ash in total surrender. He worked on the human a little longer, until he judged that the time was right, then began to drive home his big penis. He didn't want to damage the human, this early in his conquest, time enough for that later. Much, much later. After all, human delicacies were quite rare in this place.

It had been quite a long time since Ash had been able to indulge his lusts, so his thrusts into the human were quite energetic and assertive. But he made sure that he worked the human up into a frenzy of need, before indulging him with an orgasm. He momentarily enjoyed the feeling of the body bucking and writhing beneath him, then howled in fulfilment as he shot his seed into the human's hot depths.

Mulder lay, sprawled on the floor, an utterly sated look on his face. Ash gently tilted the chin up to look into vacant eyes. A smile of adoration appeared on the beautiful face. Ash laughed in amusement. Did Mulder really think Ash would do anything to help Kulain. Much more pleasing to steal his lover's heart and soul. With Mulder close to him, filled with his essence, he probably wouldn't even remember his own name. Let alone remember who Kulain was. Chuckling to himself at the success of his deception, Ash once again reached for his adoring young lover, and drew his head down, it was time for Mulder to show exactly how talented he was with that delectable mouth.

xx

Alex was in trouble again. He had only been in New York two days and had made virtually no progress in his investigations. The only thing he had found out was that the Cigarette Smoking Man had been in town. Alex was beginning to suspect that his earlier uneasiness about the murdered man had been accurate. The good doctor had been used to set up the two of them. He could guess, now, exactly who it was, who was pulling the strings! That was when things went wrong. He had no warning when the police came, but they had been tipped off about his movements in the city. He found himself once again arrested, and taken in for questioning. A small drop of blood had been found at the crime scene, and matched to his DNA records which were held on a computer, by the F.B.I. So he must be guilty!

He was allowed one phone call, and desperately rang Mulder's apartment, and mobile phone. Nothing! It was as if his lover had disappeared off the face of the Earth! Eventually he got through to Scully, who promised to look for Mulder. He was still worrying when they came to take him to court. He sat, disbelieving, before a judge, and heard himself remanded into custody in the state penitentiary.

Mulder where are you? I need you so much! I can't do without you, and Kulain!

xx

He hungered for the taste of hot blood between his lips. The feel of a sweet body beneath his as he bit into the warm neck. The hunt—running down the prey and slicing it into ribbons with his claws. But there was also the need for caution. There were other hunters in this place who could interfere with his fun. Yellow eyes watched from the shadows of an alleyway, as the two men exchanged money for white powder. Such transactions were common in this part of the city. A lunge forward, inhumanly fast, and he eviscerated one fool, his talons carrying forward the motion, to spear through the other prey's neck. Then catching the hot spurts of blood on his tongue, over far too soon to provide satisfaction. Searching then, until he found an abandoned building, resting there through the nauseating heat and light of the day. Until the time came to hunt again.

xx

Hazel eyes looked up at Ash in worship. He gestured for his human to position its' body, then with scant regard for its' comfort, drove himself into it, plundering the willing body again and again. Mulder was before him on hands and knees, eagerly accepting the invasion of his body. The human pushed himself back, meeting Ash's thrusts avidly. Lust burned in the demon as he watched the human's response. Then, once again, his hunger became too much, and he bit deep into the warm back, leaving a double set of teethmarks to scar the young body. His talons cut deep into the shoulders as he finally came, moments after the human. The brown eyes regarded him with hurt reproach. With a sigh, he reached out and healed the marks of his possession, he wanted to keep the human in good condition for as long as possible. But it would have been so much more fun to feel the blood running across his skin as he took Mulder again.

Mulder groaned in satisfaction as his lover's big cock slipped out of him. Ash always made him feel so good. He couldn't remember anything else ever feeling so right. The warmth of those arms, those fierce kisses that often drew blood, which Ash was quick to heal, the feel of the huge cock inside him. It was a paradise that filled his every waking moment. It was the dreams that haunted him. Strange, oddly familiar faces moving through his subconscious, two of them. Sometimes he dreamed that they were loving him, with a gentle passion, different to Ash's. Other times, terrible things flashed through his mind, monsters and violent men. When that happened, he huddled closer to Ash in the bed, shaking with fear. He tried to explain to Ash, but the demon had laughed dismissively. "Only dreams, little Fox. Let me give you something to help you forget." And in the protection of those arms, it was easy to drive away the nightmare.

xx

Alex was in trouble. Young, handsome, and in prison. Not an ideal situation to be in. Scully was doing her best to try and find the killer. He knew he could rely on her to do her best. But it was getting increasingly hard to watch his back in here. Somehow, it had become general knowledge that he was F.B.I. and several of the larger, meaner, inmates were beginning to cast covetous looks his way. He was under no illusion as to what they wanted. If he had to, he could use his demon given abilities to defend himself, a swipe of a taloned hand would be just as effective as a knife. But if he did that, he would give the police the final piece of evidence they needed to put him on death row.

He lay on his side that night, facing the wall so that his cellmate wouldn't suspect his tears. And he cried silently into the pillow.

Mulder! Where are you? Why have you left me alone? Please come back to me, I love you so much. Mulder, I need your arms around me so much.

And a finger of ice seemed to slide into his brain, familiar and haunting. A coolness spreading like a sedative into his brain, sending him tumbling into sleep. And at the edge of his consciousness, words. CALL TO HIM.

xx

That night was worse than any other. Ash had left Mulder alone, dealing with some trifling problem among his minions. Lonely and aching with desire, he finally slipped into a restless dream. It started innocently enough. A young man lay sleeping on a narrow bed. He moved restlessly, and the sweet face distorted in anguish. "No!" The stranger jerked awake, tears streaming down his face. An apprehensive glance at his cellmate, to see if the nightmare had disturbed him. It hadn't. Intensely green eyes filled with misery, and the young man buried his face in his pillow, chest heaving as grief consumed him. Mulder felt a wave of pity for the stranger, he looked so vulnerable and lost. He wanted to reach out, and draw the shaking body into his arms, and soothe away the hurt. "Mulder!" The young man whispered, "Come back to me. Please!" He lifted his arms into the night, towards Mulder. Who jerked awake, shaking with a fear he couldn't explain. A sense of wrongness that was almost overwhelming. Ash would come back soon. Mulder would beg to be held, to be given the bittersweet consolation of Ash's cruel desire. He would forget a pair of utterly green eyes begging him for something he couldn't quite understand. Wouldn't he?

Ash was in a foul temper when he returned from his errand. Mulder took one look at him and decided to wait until later to speak with his lover. Ash grinned nastily when he saw the lowered eyes and carefully neutral expression on his little human's face. He moved towards Mulder and caught hold of him, ignoring the whimpers the human made. He gestured to the human to prepare himself, and ruthlessly used him, to get rid of his frustration. Leaving Mulder crying, he left again afterwards. He was growing tired of the human now anyway. Time to lure another unsuspecting prey into his power.

Huddled on his hands and knees, even after Ash had finished, Mulder bowed his head in despair. When had everything gone wrong? Was it his fault? Ash tended to hurt him more and more often now. He twisted awkwardly to look at the scars his lover had left. At least a dozen bite marks on his back and shoulders, bruises, long deep scars left by his talons in the heat of passion, along Mulder's flanks. He frowned in puzzlement, momentarily jolted out of his misery, by something inexplicable. He could remember every bite and scratch, but he couldn't remember how he had come by the recently healed, long curving scar across the ball of his thumb. His mind, always naturally investigative, began to worry at the problem. It looked like it had been made by a knife, though not a particularly sharp one. On his left thumb, as if made by something held in his right hand. Was it possible that he had done it himself? But where and when? Obviously, before Ash had been his lover. He stopped, then at the incongruity of the thought. Hadn't Ash always been his lover?

No!

His instincts screamed out at the thought. Then was it possible that the man he had seen in his dreams was real?

Yes!

Alex! My love!

It was as if that thought opened the floodgates, and memory came flooding back. He was in Ash's power, and the demon had promised to take him to... Amara, if Mulder had sex with him. That was the last coherent thought Mulder could remember before today. He stared again at his thumb. He had cut it on the day he had performed the ritual, and it looked as if it had been healed for many weeks. How long had he been here? The raging anger washed away the last of his docility.

xx

Alex woke the next morning feeling as if his head was about to split open. He had an incredibly blinding headache, and he just wanted to curl up and die. Quickly if possible. There was no chance of that. He and the other prisoners worked on the prison land every day except Sunday; the warden being a pious man allowed them that much rest. He dragged his reluctant body upwards and tried to ignore the pain as he performed his morning cleaning rituals. Gradually, it seemed to ease a little, which was a relief, as the hot sun beating down on his back would surely not do him any favours in the fields.

He was right, the sun did aggravate his headache again. Which was probably why he was so careless. Why during his rest period, he stupidly forgot to check behind him as he leaned against the trailer. Two pairs of strong arms seized him , and he was yanked backwards, behind the trailer, out of sight of the patrolling guards. A cool blade was pressed against his neck.

"Shall we kill you, G man? Or maybe there's something you can do to please us. To make us let you go, maybe just a bit damaged." The knife drew back a little. Incredibly fast, Alex felt himself shift, and let the surge of fire inside him take over from the fear. Green adamantine talons took out the thug's throat in a single swipe, the knife fell to the ground. The second heavy stared in disbelief and gave a yell of terror. Then Alex lunged forward, his need for revenge against all the indignities that had been forced upon him, was almost overwhelming. He punched the thug, breaking his jaw shatteringly. But some fragment of humanity stopped him from following up on the attack

Too long living with Mulder!

Alex heard the yells of the prison guards, and realised what he had done. Appalled, he took the only course open to him, and lunged at the prison fence. His claws cut through it like butter. Then he was running, desperate to escape. Knowing that if he was caught again, he had signed his own death warrant.

Several of the guards began to shoot at him, though by this time he had put some distance between himself and the fence. When it came, the agonising fire that exploded in his back and chest was totally unexpected. Spinning him round, and knocking him to the ground. He gaped at the exit wound, inches across, in his upper chest. But somehow, the inhuman strength was still there, and he managed to pick himself up, and keep on running, clutching at his chest to vainly try and stop the bleeding.

xx

Ash returned many hours later, eager for a return encounter with Mulder. Perhaps he would keep the little human around a while longer. There were still areas to be explored in the human's tolerance for pain. He was still so innocent in that area. The thought sent a rush of blood to Ash's cock. He could think of something delightful to do already. He stopped, nonplussed. Mulder had made a makeshift robe out of some lush fabric, and had clothed his previously long-naked body. Brown eyes glared at Ash in burning hatred.

"You son of a bitch! How long were you going to keep me here as your sex toy? Make me forget about finding Amara? Well, you've had everything you're going to get from me. I won't let you touch me again!"

Ash moved forward, astonished. He hadn't suspected how resilient the human was. He wouldn't err again. Mulder backed away as Ash moved towards him. But even he didn't have the reflexes to match a demon. One hand shot out to grab Mulder's wrist, the other slashed across the human's face, lacerating Mulder's cheek. Mulder's other hand had been hidden behind him, and he unexpectedly swung at Ash, who laughed. Mulder's puny human strength was no match for him. Then he saw, too late, what Mulder held, concealed, in his hand. The steel knife Mulder had found when he searched the place. It sliced in an arc across Ash's throat, and slit it wide open. With a hiss of disbelief, the demon toppled backwards, and lay still on the floor, his glowing blue eyes dimming into darkness.

Smaller demons boiled out of the crevices around the cavern, leaping onto the body in a feeding frenzy. Backing away while they were distracted, Mulder turned and ran. He could at least die trying to find his goal. Better that than surrendering himself again. As he ran through miles of narrow twisting tunnels though, he was unaware of the instinct, cool as ice, that drew him always to take the left hand passageways. Finally, he emerged from the darkness, into a vast, almost familiar cavern, filled with the most awesome sight he had ever seen. A mile high, spinning, black diamond shape filling half the cavern. He stopped, dizzy and inexplicably exhilarated by the sight, and tried to catch his breath. He swiped at his aching cheek, and blinked as his fingers came away wet with blood. He realised how much danger he was in then, the demons would scent the blood and come for him.

He continued to descend towards the great diamond, instinctively. It seemed to be pulling him, and he didn't have anywhere else better to go at the moment. It was quite a long way to the base of the shape, and Mulder was beginning to tire, long before he reached it. He didn't know why it was so important to go on, but he had to make it there. The cool pull went on.

xx

The Cigarette Smoking Man stared, astonished, at the ruin Alex Krycek had left of the thug. What a weapon he would make! If the truth be known, the thug was his agent, who had been ordered to hurt and humiliate the young agent. The other one of his men was terrified, and indicated how Alex had changed into a monster before he had escaped. Of course, he had to write it down, as his jaw was a ruin. The most interesting news was that the sheriff had found a lot of blood, indicating that Krycek had been shot. The Cigarette Smoking Man's men began combing the area, trying to capture Krycek, before the authorities. The drop of Krycek's blood his associate had left at the doctor's office had been a stroke of genius.

xx

Alex could hear the dogs, getting closer, somewhere behind him. He was weakening rapidly now. It was becoming so hard to set one foot in front of the other. He stumbled and fell to his knees. The dull ache in his chest made it so hard to breathe, each time he sucked in air, it was like breathing white hot flame. His strength was gone, he couldn't even gather the energy to stand up. Then ice cold frost seemed to touch him, for a second, blissfully counteracting the pain. A voice, gravelly and strong, echoed inside his head.

TRUST ME. STEP FORWARD INTO THE LIGHT

Alex screamed. Each word was clearly inserted into his head, precise and cool. And it felt like a knife ripping into his mind. The human brain had never been designed to interact so closely with that awesome, icy power, so its words caused profound agony to Alex. Blood began to trickle from his nose and ears. Again the torment of that voice.

ENTER THE GATE!

The air in front of Alex thickened, and a gaping rift in reality hung suspended in the air, in front of him. The dogs were very close now. In desperation, Alex dragged his pain filled body towards the rift, and began to step through it. The deputies burst into the clearing, and recoiled in terror. Alex's strength gave out, and he fell, unfeeling, into the light.

xx

Mulder had reached the base of the Sith. He didn't know how, but the name of it was there, inside his head. Where the shape met the floor of the great cavern, was a shimmering rainbow rift, leading... Somewhere. Or perhaps everywhere. Mulder irresistibly went up to it. A way out! Or perhaps a way to end his present misery. Body and mind beginning to go into shock at the abuse he had suffered, he stepped through it.

Emergence.

The place the human found himself in wasn't hell, at any rate. He was high above what had once been a vast and beautiful city, before some long ago catastrophe had made it fall into flame scarred ruins, half overgrown with vegetation. With nowhere to go, Mulder listlessly sank to the ground, watching the colours play across the surface of the rift. Darkness flared inside the fissure, and incredibly, a figure emerged. A familiar, beloved body, falling through it, landing on the ground next to it, and lying unmoving in a broken heap.

He didn't remember crossing the space separating them, but then Alex was cradled in his arms. His hands pressed vainly against the large wound in the chest, feeling the faltering, diminishing breaths. He leaned down, sobbing, to kiss the dying man's forehead, then a barrier in his mind seemed to give way, and flinging back his head, he howled his pain and despair to the skies.

"There's really no need for that!". The voice was filled with patient amusement. Tortured eyes lifted, to see a small woman with albino pale hair, watching him closely. She smiled at him then, and there was such kindness in her face that he couldn't lash out in pain, though he wanted to. Small fingers reached out to touch his bloody cheek, and the lacerations were just gone!

Mulder stared with awe and dawning hope. She touched Alex. A familiar glow, like the times Kulain had healed. It was like a wave rushing out from her hand, causing skin, bone and muscle to heal itself impossibly fast. He felt the body in his arms come back to life. Colour flooded back into Alex's white face, and green eyes opened, hesitant and vulnerable. Mulder buried his face in Alex's hair, tightened his arms around the young man, and sobbed his name.

"Oh, Alex love. I thought I'd lost you!"

Alex clung to the reassurance of those familiar arms around him. He returned the embrace, then lifted his head to look at Mulder. The older man looked exhausted, and his eyes were haunted. Long parallel scars ran down his cheek. And he appeared to be dressed in a curtain!

Alex laughed tenderly, and saw a delightful look of consternation on the beloved face. "Time seems to have affected your dress sense, Foxy!" He grinned at his lover, and Mulder returned the smile uncertainly, as though he had forgotten such a thing as humour had ever existed.

Both men turned to their saviour. The small woman was smiling at them, as though she knew exactly what they were thinking and feeling. She shook her head at the foolishness of young men. "I suppose you'd better come with me down to the Tower. Having the gate nexus here is so inconvenient!" She frowned. "You can tell me why you're the first visitor to Kavala for a thousand years and more. Then perhaps I can get rid of you!" Her eyes sparkled with good humour, taking the sting out of the words.

And the small goddess offered her guests the hospitality of her home, amidst the ruins of the city she had founded, countless millennia before.


Chapter 3

He hunted eagerly in the night, seeking the heat of blood between his claws, the wildly bewitching feel of the chase. The best prey were young, strong hunters themselves. Already, they were beginning to whisper about him in the streets. The Dark Huntsman, who stalked the city, taking only the careless and foolhardy. And yet something inside him searched for a pair of challenging brown eyes and their sweet, green companions.

xx

Less than an hour ago, Fox Mulder and his lover Alex Krycek had been fighting for their lives against their many enemies. Now there was rescue of a kind, and a respite, in which both men could take stock of their situation.

The little woman had showed them into a strangely exotic room, decorated in plain but good taste, mostly using natural materials. A large, luxurious bed occupied one room, and to Alex's delight, the neighbouring chamber contained a large pool instead of a bath. The water seemed to be heated by a hot spring and the water trickled through the room in a comforting chuckle. Grinning with delight, the younger man rapidly stripped off his clothes, and dived into the shoulder deep water. Laughing, he surfaced, and called to his lover, "Hey Foxy, you gotta try this, our own hot spring! Very Japanese!"

Mulder closed his eyes and turned away in torment. He loved Alex so much, but how could he admit what he had done for the past few weeks. What Alex would see marking his body, the moment he took his makeshift robe off. He fled into the bedroom, and ended up on the bed, huddled up, trying not to think about it. Alex would feel disgust. And rightly so. He had been so stupid, letting Ash near him. The tears began then, hot betraying tears that began to soak into the covers beneath his cheek.

"Foxy?" Alex's voice was filled with gentle concern. The younger man reached out with his hand, to pull Mulder against him. "You don't need to worry. Really! I'm not planning to die just yet!"

The feel of a hand against his shoulder.

Ash, grabbing at his shoulder and pulling him down, then making him...

Mulder screamed. With all his strength, he lashed out at the intruding hand, and flung himself away from Alex. He fell over the side of the bed, then fled on hands and knees, curling up in a foetal position in the corner, hands defensively over his face.

Alex stared at him, hand still outstretched. Very slowly, the younger man sank down onto the bed, not making a move towards him. Green eyes were filled with loving anxiety. Slowly, as Alex made no move to approach him, Mulder began to uncurl his body. The terror began to recede. And with it, the gut clenching panic he had felt when he was touched. Even after his death, Ash was still playing games with Mulder's mind. Or that's how it felt.

"I guess we need to talk", Mulder whispered to Alex. His throat felt hoarse, as if he had been screaming for hours.

"Yeah Foxy." Alex leaned forward on the bed, until he was resting his elbows on the top of it, propping his chin up. "I didn't mean to scare you like that." He kept his voice very low and soothing. "I guess you've had a hard time of it lately."

"You could say that!" Mulder sounded shaky. He wanted to laugh at the unintentional double entendre, but he felt too close to crying. Slowly his body began to uncurl. "May as well get it over with!" And he stripped off the stupid rag he had been wearing. He slowly turned his back to Alex so his lover could see the depths of his betrayal, and closed his eyes, waiting for condemnation.

Alex drew in his breath in shock. Mulder's back was a mass of bite and scratch scars, overlain by bruises old and new. "What happened?" Again that unexpected compassion in the beloved voice.

"Ash!" The name was so hard to get out. "I let him do it! I had to find help for Kulain. But he wouldn't stop.... He messed with my head and I don't know whether I'll ever feel clean again!" His voice had risen to a wail of despair. He buried his head in his hands and cried. A hand reached tentatively towards him, and tangled itself up with his. He gripped Alex's hand like a lifeline, then flung himself desperately into the welcoming arms, and quietly, hopelessly, cried.

The storm of tears gradually calmed, as exhaustion caught up with Mulder. Eventually he slept, still curled up tightly, head resting against Alex's chest. The younger man stroked his hair gently, comfortingly, as he slept. Alex wasn't used to Mulder feeling so vulnerable, so fragile. He felt a cold hatred for the being who had so hurt his lover.

Mulder woke just after dawn. His head felt fuzzy, as if it was full of cotton wool, and there was a dull ache behind his eyes that had probably been caused by too much crying, last night. Carefully, he slipped out of the bed, away from the warmth of Alex's arms. He should have known Alex would always support him, but right now he couldn't seem to think straight. He needed to be alone. To try and sort out the confusion in his head. He was halfway down the ruinous street, before it occurred to him that maybe clothes would be a good idea! His body had grown accustomed to nudity, in Ash's company, and the climate here verged on the tropical anyway. He re-entered the tower.

Laughter echoed through the marble halls.

Mulder turned, and found himself face to face with Amara. She gave him a disturbingly appreciative look, then gestured with her hand to a small room off the main corridor, that proved to be full of strange artefacts. It included, to his relief, a number of vaguely tasteless coveralls. Orange wasn't exactly his colour. Still. Better than being naked. Less... exposed.

Amara smiled at him when he emerged, and beckoned for him to follow her. She led him down a number of passageways, and they entered a small, beautiful garden, overlooking the ancient ruins below.

He sat next to her, just enjoying the scene, for a while. Kind eyes watched him. It was strange, but in her company he felt a kind of peace, as if nothing could hurt him in that place. Her hand reached out then, and brushed aside the tousled hair that was falling into his eyes.

"Who are you really?" Mulder needed to know the answer to that question, before he could completely trust her.

Silence.

"I have many names, Fox Mulder. But I think you know who I am."

"Ash was afraid of you!" Mulder lowered his eyes briefly. "I read a book on demons that mentioned a bright lady, most dangerous of all demonkind. I think I believe it now!"

"I will not harm anything of Kulain's." Her tone was firm and reassuring.

"Can you help him?" A half-despairing plea.

"If I wished to. But you know everything has it's price with us!"

Mulder suddenly tensed, terrible, haunted eyes stared at her.

Delicate laughter. "You're the wrong sex to interest me, Fox Mulder, but your loyalty to Kulain is impressive. I plan to claim a favour from Kulain after I aid him." She rose. "Stay here if you wish. I find it a calming place." And she left, small, graceful and sweetly beautiful. And utterly deadly.

xx

Alex woke alone. When he realised it, he ran into the pool room, then outside, looking for Mulder. But the agent was nowhere to be seen.

"It's alright." Amara walked towards him. "He just needs some time on his own."

"Where is he? I've got to go to him."

And suddenly, he couldn't move. His body was frozen and he couldn't even turn his head. Silver eyes gleamed with light.

"You don't listen, Alex Krycek!" A small movement of her hand, and his legs folded under him; he found himself sitting cross legged on the floor in front of her. A long fingered hand tilted his chin upwards. "I can heal your partner's body Alex, but not his mind. Do you not understand how close he is to insanity right now? I can see into his mind so I know this." She saw from his anxious expression that she was understood. "He needs Kulain more than you can ever know. They exchanged more than just kisses when Kulain entered your world, they hold half of each other's souls. One suffers without the other.

Seeing the forlorn look in his eyes, she smiled. "And he gave the other half of his soul to you, Alex Krycek. So what has he left for himself?"

xx

Mulder wandered back to the pool room, hours later. He felt slightly better. There was a little hope now, more than he had felt last night. Stripping off the stupid orange thing, he dived into the blissfully hot water, swum strongly into the middle of the pool, and floated, relaxed, on his back. The pleasure of the heat sinking into his body made him feel drowsy and vaguely aroused.

"Hi, Foxy." Alex sat on the edge of the pool. Mulder smiled sleepily, drifted towards his partner, and reached his hand out to hold Alex's. Amara was right, Alex realised, Mulder's reactions were subtly wrong, too controlled and serene for a trauma victim. He could vouch for that. Mulder was repressing whatever had happened to him.

"C'mon, Foxy, I've got us something good to eat." Mulder grinned and unexpectedly yanked on Alex's arm. The younger man squawked as he toppled into the pool. Then Mulder grabbed him and kissed him with a fierceness that took his breath away.

"I need you Alex. Tonight. Make me forget!"

xx

Alex was very gentle. Featherlight kisses brushed Mulder's face and neck. Alex began to stray downwards with his mouth and fingertips, when he felt Mulder beginning to stir in arousal. Mulder moaned, as the younger man worked him up into a fire of sexual desire. He reached up, and pulled Alex's head down towards his cock. Alex obligingly ran his tongue along the length of Mulder's erection, from tip to base, then his fingers began to explore the sensitive skin of his lover's balls and perineum. He heard Mulder's breathing quicken, and taking the head of Mulder's cock in his mouth, sucked hard, evoking a wild scream. Mulder's hips lifted from the bed, his body arching against Alex. The younger man maintained the rhythm of his mouth, which was triggering such a response in his lover, and gradually stepped up the pace of his movements. He slid a finger slowly down between Mulder's buttocks, to tease him open.

He felt Mulder moan, his hips thrust upwards again, and glanced at his lover's face. Which was white and panicked. His fists were clenched so tightly at his side that fingernails drew blood from his palms. And yet his body's sexual response betrayed him. Shocked, the younger man stopped what he was doing, and moved up Mulder's body so he could look into hazel eyes.

"Foxy?"

"Don't!" A whimper. "Just don't touch me there. Please!"

"Foxy, do you want me to stop? I'll do anything you want!" Alex felt stricken. Brown eyes looked vulnerable and confused. A finger slid up towards Alex's mouth, slipped between his parted lips, let itself be sucked softly, and gently tugged on his bottom lip.

"Just this tonight, Alex. Please!"

So Alex proceeded to give the slowest, longest and most erotic blowjob he had ever given in his life. After which Mulder cried softly in his arms. His body sated, but needing something more than Alex could give him, to fill the emptiness inside his mind.

They were still lying, entwined in each others arms the next morning, when Amara walked in. She grinned at the astonished humans. "Time to go, boys! The gate is up and running."

In a rush, Alex pulled on the clothes she had brought him, and found himself wearing another awful set of coveralls, this one in daffodil yellow! He and Mulder caught sight of each other at almost the same time.

"Shit!" Alex burst out. But the sudden, rare laughter in Mulder's face was worth the discomfort to his eyes. Still smirking, he linked arms with Alex, and the two of them followed Amara up the hill to the gate.

xx

It shimmered an intense blue-green colour. "Step through," Amara said. Alex put his arm reassuringly round Mulder's waist.

"Together, Foxy!" Mulder tentatively returned his smile, leaned against him, and they stepped back into their own world.

Following them, Amara paused on the brink of the gate. She contemplated the home she had made for herself over a millennium ago. And sighed. The temptation was, as always, too great. Just this once, Again, she would indulge herself in her greatest passion, the exhilarating rapture of using the ultimate power. She reached out and tapped the energy of the gate. Power raged through her body, beginning to alter the matter in it to transparent energy.

Lightning speared down from her hand into the ground beneath her, ripping a channel into the core of the world. Holding phenomenal energies at bay with her mind, she released the gate energy in a blast that surged outwards from her, across the face of the world. Then released the core tap, feeling the imbalance tilt the world towards oblivion. She stepped through the gate, and the useless world shattered, satisfyingly, behind her. Its destruction would be witnessed as an unexplained supernova, 500 years later, on Earth. An instruction to Sith sealed the gateway of that world forever. She sighed, in the aftermath of the sexual release annihilation brought.

So walks the Destroyer of Worlds.

xx

Amara looked flushed and happy, when she followed the two humans out of the rift, in, of all places, Fox Mulder's apartment. The rift sealed itself in fiery incandescence, moments later.

Mulder picked up the phone and dialled Scully's number. After a few rings, it was answered.

"Scully?"

A gasp. "Mulder? Is that you?"

"Yeah! I'm at my apartment with Alex. I need you to bring Skinner to meet with us. "

"We'll be there in an hour. He's been as worried about you as I have." She sounded relieved. "Good to hear your voice, Mulder."

xx

Alex squeezed Mulder's shoulder. "Go get changed, love. You need to meet Skinner in something better than orange!" Mulder raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I know. Me too!"

Mulder changed into a t-shirt and jeans, and sat on the couch, leaning his head back. Letting his mind drift. Amara was poking, with a bemused expression at something dubious in a corner of his fridge. He let his thoughts wander aimlessly, then drowsily felt his mind being pulled along, like a piece of wood drifting in a stream. Amara lifted her head to stare at him with silver-grey eyes.

He was floating along a dark alleyway, suspended about six feet above the ground. He reached out his hand towards the distant street lights, and saw the light gleam on his long, green talons. There was movement at the end of the alley, and he moved, swift and silent, towards it. A flash of talons arching downwards, and hot blood spurting, a hot iron flavour, gushing...

With a cry of horror, he awoke. Alex was sitting next to him, gripping his shoulders, shaking him and screaming his name. When he saw the life return to Mulder's eyes he breathed a sigh of relief. Amara withdrew her hand from his forehead, her touch almost a light caress. Scully and Skinner were standing in the doorway, evidently perplexed and alarmed by his behaviour.

"What happened?" Mulder felt bewildered, yet at the same time, something inside him felt oddly hungry, craving something he didn't know he had lost.

Amara looked amused. "Your mind touched Kulain's for a moment. He is quite close now. His need draws him towards you, and he would follow you half way across this world. You wanted a way to track Kulain, Alex. Well now you have it. Mulder could track Kulain with his eyes shut!"

Skinner felt annoyed by the things Mulder and Krycek tried to tell him. He had known what Kulain was for a long time, and was not above taking advantage of the fact. Kulain had accepted this as part of the price he must pay to live with his lovers. But to tell Skinner that his operative was killing for pleasure, even if he was ill. He couldn't condone anything so evil or morally repulsive. But he would help to capture Kulain, if only for public safety. Scully just looked worried for her former partner. She knew him so well after years of working together, and she could tell that Mulder's problems were far greater than he was admitting.

Amara enjoyed getting the upper hand in the discussion. She merely looked at Mulder, after Alex and the other two agents had discussed all the possibilities. "Do you want to find him?" Mulder nodded. "Then trust me and close your eyes." Mulder grimaced. He wasn't sure whether he had any trust left to give. But the need inside him, the craving for a certain body against his, for a certain kind of oblivion... His eyelids slid shut.

Ice seemed to mingle with Mulder's blood, from the cool fingers touching his skin, words of instruction filling his mind. It was as if he was doubly aware, both of his surroundings, and a dark place down on the city streets. He rose to his feet and walked to the door. Wide, strangely indifferent eyes swept past the two humans. He looked as if he were in a trance, but he barked out a stiff order for them to follow, and ran down the stairs.

Mulder took off, in a long striding, loping run, pulled by the trace of Kulain's presence, like fire in his mind. Alex followed him, shifting slightly to tap into the welcome inhuman strength. They were joined a moment later by the small, but lithe Amara. All three were moving at a pace faster than humans could easily maintain. It was Alex's first clue that Mulder had been affected by Kulain as much as he had. Scully and Skinner followed in their cars.

Touching Kulain's mind was both frustrating and exhilarating for Mulder. He could feel new strength in his veins, but also the terrible darkness that had invaded his lover. With his new terror of cruelty, it scared him so much. Tracking the dark spot in his mind was easier than he had anticipated. He ran, following the need to its conclusion, and faster than he would have believed possible, he slowed, seeing movement ahead, in the night. Slowly, he moved forward, about half a minute ahead of Alex.

Something snarled, pitiless and bloodthirsty, then, faster than he could react, a dark figure lunged at him out of the night, and bowled him over, so that he crashed to the alley floor, a weight settling on his chest. Golden eyes. A momentary feeling of deja vu filled his mind, accompanying the fear, breaking the trance. He saw the talons poised to strike, and a shard of pain seemed to penetrate his heart. Not physical damage, but the sight of the being he loved so wanting to hurt him. A tear ran down his cheek, and he turned his head, so that the claws could access his neck more easily. He wanted the pain of weeks and months to end now. Nothing mattered any more, not even Alex. The claws raised to strike, He wanted to close his eyes then, so he wouldn't see the downstroke. But some part of him wanted to see the beloved face one last time before the end. The talons arched down, and hesitated... Kulain's head moved forward into the light, and he shook his head, as though his vision was impaired. A golden eyed gaze met Mulder's, then Kulain's lips lowered to lick at Mulder's neck, and he felt the sharpness of teeth grazing his skin.

OH NO! NOT THAT. NOT FROM YOU. NOT BLOODSEXBRUTALITY. PLEASE

"No!" A scream from Alex, and the demon's head jerked up. The night filled with white fire, blazing in strands through the air, wrapping round the demon, tightening around his arms and legs, even as he turned to flee. The light changed, became something else, matter condensing from energy, enfolding Kulain in strange restraints, bringing him to his knees. Like cuffing a suspect in a way. Amara walked forward to inspect her catch. She caught hold of the dark hair of the kneeling demon, and jerked his head up. "You have been busy, haven't you, Kulain!" He snarled, and fought wildly against his bonds. She pressed her hand to the centre of Kulain's forehead and again that white fire blazed around her hand. This time even Mulder and Alex felt a shock of fire blaze inside them for a moment, through their link with Kulain. The golden poison was driven from Kulain's body, even as the two other agents arrived on the scene. Mulder felt it go, that nauseating filth that had held their lives hostage. A dark head fell forward, eyes not yellow, but not green either, just a dull, unrelieved black.

Mulder felt empty. He ignored Alex's outstretched hand, moved forward to stand next to Amara, and pulled out the switchblade he had concealed in his pocket. He saw Alex lunge forward, suddenly desperate, as he saw Mulder press the blade against his wrist. And Amara caught hold of him, holding him away. She at least understood. Then blood began to gush from the cut. He pressed his wrist against Kulain's mouth, and the demon began to drink. As the blood flowed from him, it seemed to be filling up that empty place in his mind as well. By the time the demon drew away, Mulder was swaying on his feet, face grey. He leaned forward and bit into the fold of skin at the base of Kulain's neck, and eagerly lapped the dark blood that flowed there. Skinner and Scully were watching him in disbelief, too far away to stop him in time. The instinct that had made him act so strangely finally became appeased. The need to anchor Kulain to him, and to feel the hot intimacy of their blood mingling. Pulling away from Kulain, he turned to the three humans, more or less sane again, and his own eyes momentarily gleamed with slit- pupilled satisfaction, before he fainted.

xx

Alex sighed as he looked at his lover, asleep in the hospital room. Scully had insisted on a full range of checkups, muttering something about cross infection, and of course, his wrist had to be stitched up. Amara had warned him that Mulder was living close to the edge, but he hadn't thought Mulder would really act on his feelings like that. Dark eyes opened, and he moved to sit on the side of the bed, reaching out to stroke the pale face gently. "How do you feel Foxy?" Alex tried to project reassurance, and love.

Mulder looked suddenly amused at Alex's careful tone. "I'm not going to kill myself, Alex! It wasn't about that. Didn't Amara tell you?" Alex looked blankly at him. "Kulain's linked to me, we've always known that. She thinks an act of intimacy would bring his mind back to us." A trace of exhilaration showed in his eyes.

"Since when was sucking each others blood an act of intimacy, Mulder! How the hell could you do that? Maybe it's better if you stay in the hospital, if that's what your mind is conjuring up!" Alex growled the words. "His mind is gone, and there's nothing we can do to bring it back." His own pain made him hit out at Mulder. He walked out of the room, before he could say something he would regret even more. The last thing Alex saw was a slow tear creeping down Mulder's cheek as he stared after his lover.

xx

Weeks of psychological testing followed, both for Mulder, and for Kulain, who were both in protective custody in the hospital, thanks to Skinner. Mulder wouldn't, couldn't admit to his own traumatic experiences with Ash, and his depression continued. And Kulain was totally unresponsive, impassive, emotionless; the doctors couldn't find out how to fix his mind, and if Amara knew, she wasn't saying. Kulain was kept apart from Mulder for six weeks in all. No one wanted a repeat of Mulder's suicidal inclinations. Finally, one Spring morning, Mulder took things into his own hands, and stole the pass key to Kulain's room.

xx

Mulder stared at his former lover through the observation hatch. Kulain was sitting on a narrow, built in bench at one end of the cell. He had his wrists imprisoned behind him, in Amara's strange restraints, and he was leaning his head back against the wall.

Mulder opened the cell door, and walked in. Dark eyes, vacant of personality and life seemed to suck the warmth out of the air around them. Such a distant, inhuman look. Mulder moved towards Kulain, and cautiously sat on one end of the bench, he didn't look at Kulain. Mulder couldn't face the ruin his life had become without Kulain or Alex. Not yet.

"I had to come and see you Kulain. I've been so worried about you." Well it was a start. He took a deep breath and went on. "I went looking for someone to help you." The hot tears started to flow. "Ash got me! He hurt me so much!" Push past that memory.

His hands fumbled at his collar and he pulled open his shirt, slipping it onto the floor. He turned so that unfathomable, dark eyes could see the terrible scars. A penance for his betrayal. Then irresistibly, knowing how dangerous Kulain was at the moment, but no longer caring, he moved closer. He slid his hand up across the familiar chest. Kulain didn't move. So tentatively, Mulder leaned forward and kissed the full lips, pouring out all his love and despair in a single gesture. No response. Not at first. With a sinking heart, he started to move away, then his eyes saw the erection that had begun to rise in Kulain's lap.

The need to reach out was overwhelming. He slipped to his knees before Kulain, and awkwardly unfastened his zipper. Then he lowered his lips to the tip of the swelling cock, and began to lick and suck it. His fist closed over the base of it, and he began to squeeze in a rhythm matching the motion of his mouth. A glance at Kulain's face told him that Kulain's face was no longer blank. A look of ecstasy was displayed on the strong face. The demon threw back his head, gasping. Then Mulder swallowed as much of Kulain's erection as he could, and his lover arched against him, coming hard, shooting semen into the back of Mulder's throat.

Moaning himself, Mulder felt his own body reacting to the closeness of his lover. Overpowered by his desperate need, he flung his arms around the hard muscled torso, his head against the warmth of Kulain's body. He was lost. This was what his body and soul had desired for so long. Maybe he was suicidal, for without Kulain, he wanted to die. He sobbed softly into the soft fabric against his face. Then, he surrendered to the demands of his own treacherous body. Pulling off the rest of his clothing, he sank on hands and knees before Kulain, offering willingly what Ash had taken so often, and so cruelly. Hoping for some part of oblivion.

"No!" A voice so creaking and disused that it was barely understandable. "Do you think I would hurt you like that?" Mulder raised his eyes from his lowered position. "Never, little Fox!" Kulain moved closer, eyes deepening in colour, to a glowing green. He kissed Mulder, kneeling next to him, and looked sadly at him. "I'm sorry. I can't hold you." He indicated his bound wrists.

Mulder didn't care. Between one moment and the next, he was pressed hard against his lover, covering his face with kisses, snuggling into the warm presence, burrowing against him. Body and soul forever lost, and not wanting to be found.

xx

Alex followed Scully and Amara reluctantly into the cell block. He didn't really want to see the wrecked mind that had once been his adored lover. He knew that Mulder felt differently, would never give up hope. But when had life ever gone smoothly for Alex Krycek? He had even fucked up his relationship with Mulder, flinging anger at him when he should have given support.

So when Scully entered the cell first and gasped in astonishment, the wild beating of his heart came as a surprise to him. He lunged past her, moving in a protective instinct. And stopped dead. Mulder was sitting on Kulain's lap, clothes disordered, arms twined around Kulain's neck, and long legs awkwardly astride his body. Snuggled into him, as if he wasn't one of the most dangerous beings alive.

"Mulder!" Scully shouted , and the agent began to stir, rubbing his head, cat-like against Kulain's chest. Amara smiled. Green demon eyes lifted up, to transfix Alex, and the trace of a tired smile flickered across Kulain's beautiful face. A look meant for Alex alone. Alex forgot everything, his anger, his loneliness, even his wariness, and flung himself forward, joining Mulder in his own form of worship, kissing and touching Kulain. Seeing Kulain, with his two humans, Amara moved forward and drew away the strange energy bindings imprisoning the demon. His arms went up around Alex and Mulder, and the two lost and lonely humans once again found the centre of their universe.

Amara drew Scully away so that the three could have privacy for their reunion. Her eyes gleamed at the feel of soft and beautiful fingers clutching her arm. Things were looking up!

xx

Much later, in Mulder's apartment, both humans nestled against Kulain. Mulder rested his head against Kulain's chest, clinging to him, and Alex leaned in to one shoulder, letting Kulain gently stroke his hand through dark hair. Alex was watching Mulder, and the older man lifted his head, as if he could sense the scrutiny. Alex had often checked on Mulder's condition in his hospital room, but they hadn't talked since the awful night of their argument.

Alex looked into dark eyes. "I'm sorry Foxy. You were right." He bowed his head in shame. And Fox Mulder reached out and hugged him tightly. "You idiot! Don't you think I know how much you love me!" Alex kissed him and kept on kissing. Working his way over Mulder's chest. Mulder had always been able to set him on fire, and how he loved to burn! Then Kulain moved his powerful body, positioning behind a willing Alex, both of them knowing what their bodies needed. Alex clutched at Mulder as Kulain entered him.

"Oh god yes!" Alex cried out wildly as the demon's large cock worked its way slowly inside him. He began to moan, until Mulder seized his head, and covered the younger man's lips with his own, giving him a long, sensual open mouthed kiss. Alex wrapped his arms around Mulder, holding on to him as Kulain's powerful thrusts pounded in to him. Each time he was filled, his prostate scraped, there was an explosion of fire inside him, and Alex began to scream in ecstasy.

"Hold me Foxy! Oh! Yes! More!" Alex shrieked as he came, his hot cum shooting onto Mulder's chest. Kulain jerked suddenly and groaned as his own seed filled the human. He withdrew from Alex, who sagged forward against Mulder. Not for the first time in Kulain's arms, he had fainted with the force of his own orgasm. Mulder lovingly stroked the young face, so innocent in appearance, in the total relaxation that followed sex. Mulder gently lay Alex down on the bed. He found it so arousing, watching Alex taking his pleasure, being fucked by Kulain.

Kulain was watching him. He reached out a hand to the human, and Mulder gripped it tightly. "You've been through a lot Fox." The familiar voice was kind. "Do you want me to touch you?"

"Yes!" Mulder whispered. Kulain drew him close, and kissed the trembling human on the shoulder. Lips moved down to lick away, Alex's semen. Slowly beginning to work lower. A hand reached down to grasp Mulder's growing erection, and he sighed as Kulain's hand began to slide up and down it. A touch so light and sensual that Mulder began to relax into that indescribably good feeling it generated.

"Lie back. Let me take care of you," Kulain murmured. It was so easy to obey, to let those expert fingers work on his yearning body. The feel of Kulain's mouth closing over his cock, sucking the head, then taking him all in. He clung to his lover as he was licked, teased and drawn out, brought to the edge of ecstasy . Kulain's tongue flicked lower, teasing the sensitive skin round his balls, then gliding lower. Even as he realised what Kulain's intent was, his body was arching into the probing, penetrating tongue, screaming, surrendering to him finally. Coming in long, shuddering peaks, as the tension in his body was finally released.

He was cradled afterwards in his lover's powerful arms, tears sliding down his face. A hand brushed them away, soothing and kind. "I love you little Fox." Kulain's voice was soft, as lips brushed his forehead. "Always!"

Alex stirred, smiled in lazy afterglow at Mulder. "You O.K. Foxy?" Mulder pulled Alex against him, smiling. For the first time in ages, Alex saw that he looked relaxed and happy.

"Death by licking! Oh yeah!" Mulder purred. He leaned back against Kulain, safe and secure, enclosed in the protective circle of two beloved bodies close to his. Tonight they would keep the dreams away. Kulain smiled lazily at Alex and let his two humans nestle close to him and each other, as they drifted into sleep.

Kulain had spent a considerable amount of time, in sweet and erotic lovemaking with Alex and Mulder. The latter of his two humans was so mentally and physically scarred that it would take many months of patience to repair the damage Ash had done. But tonight had been a start. Humans could be so fragile, and somewhere, a most uncharacteristic urge for his species had awoken. He wanted to protect and care for them. And more. His pair were sleeping now, entangled in each other's arms.

He rose from the bed, and moved towards the shimmering fire that had appeared in the mirror. Amara watched his sleek movements as he approached. "You're well now Kulain! I claim a promise from you, my dear one. Don't leave me alone again. A world without you is a lonely place."

Kulain smiled without malice. "A world you leave intact is a lucky place, shakushu. This world is more amusing than many I've visited. I don't want you to conquer it. Try its delights, you may be surprised!"

"Those two mean that much to you, then? The older one gave you of his blood, to bind himself closer to you. And you let him take from you. But they seem such short lived creatures."

Kulain grinned malevolently . "Why don't you come with us? We have some enemies to catch, the ones that got us into this mess in the first place. I think it's time we educated them about our kind."

Amara inclined her head, acquiescing. "It would be good to hunt with you again, my beloved one."

xx

Chapter 4

"Last time you brought us a demon Mulder! This time you've brought us a murdering fugitive from justice who can slice people open with his bare hands, and disappear into other dimensions when he pleases." Frohike looked wary.

Alex Krycek grinned. "Not quite. The Gate had nothing to do with me, a friend did it."

"We never did find out who!" Mulder said thoughtfully. Alex leaned back langourously in the chair. Mulder stood behind him, hands resting affectionately on his shoulders.

"You flirting again, Mulder? You sure do like it dangerous!" Langly shook his head.

Alex caressed Mulder's hand, let his fingers entwine with Mulder's, with the familiarity of long time lovers. He brought Mulder's hand to his lips and gently kissed his fingertips.

"I'm just getting the results of that search!" Byers said. "Sam Duncan—Doctor of Psychology. Graduated New York 1970. Spent time working for the CIA, and set up a private facility in Mississippi in 1978. This is odd! His hospital received 50 million dollars of Federal funding in the last two years, but no details are given on the project. Lots of bulk purchases registered to the facility, including lab equipment, chemicals, weapons shipments on a huge scale and three helicopters. Not exactly what you'd expect for a clinic that specialises in criminal psychology."

"This is no hospital Mulder! I think we've uncovered one of the governments secret experimental facilities!"

Alex felt Mulder tense. "We have to go there Alex. This may be the key to proving your innocence!"

"Yeah, but this time we take reinforcements. You think Kulain'll want to be left out of this one. Or a certain lady?" Alex looked so concerned for him that Mulder leaned on the arm of Alex's chair, and his lover slid an arm around the older man's waist.

"Tell me something, Mulder." Frohike said, "Your demon friend know you play around?" He nodded towards Alex. The two lovers grinned at each other.

"Er... he sort of joins in," Alex said slyly.

"Was the stay in a mental hospital a very long one?" Byers said.

"Attempted suicide by vampirism, wasn't it? You make us look normal Mulder!" Two sets of eyes glared at him, which didn't bother him in the least.

xx

"Mulder," Alex murmured in his lover's ear, much later that night, "I do believe you're an exhibitionist. You enjoyed flirting in front of them!" Mulder kissed Alex enthusiastically for a few moments, then rested his head against the muscular chest. He could hear the distant, soothing sound of Alex's heartbeat, as he lay draped across his lover's body, in the aftermath of sex. They were curled together in a berth on a train heading towards Mississippi. Kulain and Amara were sharing the next door cabin.

"You think there's anything between them?" Mulder said softly. Alex knew immediately what he meant. He stroked Mulder's silky brown hair, and continued the caress, trailing his hand down Mulder's spine. Feeling the slight roughness of scar tissue beneath his stroking hand.

"I think whatever Kulain does in his sex life, he has enough left over for both of us, Mulder! He could probably fuck all three of us into exhaustion and still want sex! Every night!"

"I wasn't thinking about sex Alex. I love him, and I don't want to lose him again."

His partner sighed. "Leave it alone Mulder. If he doesn't say anything, then neither should we." He saw how insecure Mulder looked, and hugged him close. "If I get a chance, I'll ask him. Alright." Mulder acquiesced, and lay as close to Alex as was physically possible, finally tiredness drawing him down into sleep.

xx

Mulder's screams woke Alex from a deep sleep sometime in the early hours of the morning.

"No, no, no, no, no! Please Ash, don't!" Mulder fought against Alex as the younger man tried to wake him. His face was twisted in the most pathetic and terrified look Alex had ever seen. He flung his hands outwards to hold off something dreadful, and began to whimper pitifully. Then finally Alex's efforts seemed to pay off, and brown eyes flew open, seemed to realise where he was. Mulder's face crumpled, and sobs wracked his body as he clung to Alex.

Gradually, his body stilled, as Alex soothed him. The haunted look was back in Mulder's eyes, when he finally lifted his head, to stare at Alex, resting his chin on Alex's chest.

"Bad, huh?" Alex soothed him.

"Oh yeah!" A renewed sob.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alex prompted. Mulder had never told anyone the details of what had happened to him, though some of them were obvious.

There was a dreadful note of fear in Mulder's voice. "I keep getting that dream. The first time he raped me. The first time I didn't want him, but he took it anyway! Then, after a few times, I stopped fighting. And just let him use me... Why didn't I remember that before? He even made me forget my own rape..."

Alex was staring at him in horror. "I didn't realise! Foxy..."

"It's alright now. I killed him, and I'm here, and I'm not going to let him win!" He laid his head back down on Alex's chest, clutching him just a little bit tighter. "Hold me tonight Alex."

xx

The news came through that morning, even as Alex and Mulder were having breakfast in the dining car. A call came through on Mulder's mobile phone, and he answered, face relaxing as he heard Skinner's strong tones on the other end of the phone. A startled look came over his face. "What! You're joking! Everything he did! Yeah, I'll tell him. Do I mention how annoyed you are about it? Sure, I'll pass that on. Bye."

Alex raised a questioning eyebrow. Mulder grinned, his former quiet, introspective mood forgotten. "Kulain's government friends have instructed the F.B.I. to forget everything he did on his killing spree. Apparently, he called them and made them some sort of offer last night that they couldn't refuse! Skinner is as pissed as hell about it!"

Alex returned the smile. It was about time something went their way. "I'd love to know what he offered them!"

"Would you indeed?" Kulain slipped into the vacant seat next to Alex. "A permanent gate for their use actually. I can't discuss the other details."

"Skinner told me to give you a message," Mulder said. "He thinks you're one hell of a manipulative bastard, and you'd better find a way to get Alex off the hook, or he'll never forgive you."

Kulain laughed. "I plan to do just that," he said in amusement.

A sudden silence from the other end of the dining car caused the two humans to turn and stare. Amara walked towards them, long pale hair plaited close to her head this morning. What was causing the stir was the skin tight, grey cat suit she wore, that enhanced absolutely everything; the effect was exquisite. She sat next to Mulder, the focus of most male and female eyes in the car. "Um, not exactly inconspicuous," Mulder murmured.

Alex laughed. "Who's going to remember your face now Foxy? No one's looking at you!"

Amara positively purred, evidently enjoying herself, and it didn't escape both men's notice that she looked very pleased with Kulain too.

"So what's the plan when we get to the hospital?" Alex said. "We'd better have something worked out. Kulain may be back in the F.B.I. but I'm a fugitive, and Mulder is on suspension until this case gets sorted out."

Mulder frowned. "Kulain will have to do the official business. I can go with him as an observer. Alex, you and Amara will have to try and get in to the closed off part of the site, and see what you can find."

The small woman looked curiously at Mulder. "You seem to give orders very readily, Fox Mulder." Kulain reached forward and gripped her hand. Grey eyes turned to look at him, and the two humans could almost feel the challenge between them, though not a word was spoken. Finally, she nodded in agreement, gave a sly glance at Mulder. "Very well, dear one, but I hope you know what you are doing." Mulder's eyes went very wide when he heard the endearment she used. For a moment, he sat, stunned, then fled from the dining car, desperately needing to be alone. With a small smile she rose from her seat, and strolled towards the observation car.

Alex stared after her for a moment. "She did that deliberately, didn't she?" he accused Kulain. "Why? What game are you playing with us? Mulder can't stand much more pain in his life!"

Dark green eyes looked into his, for a moment so far from humanity that Alex shivered, bowed his head. A hand reached out and gripped his chin gently, forcing him to look at his lover. "What do you expect from me, Alex? Humanity? You're forgetting what I am. I play my games to win, and you're in the middle of one now!"

Alex couldn't drop the subject. "Do you love her? Please tell me. We need to know. You're destroying Mulder with this."

"Yes I love her!" Kulain's voice was cold as ice. "And she's in the centre of a far bigger game than you could ever imagine." His voice softened. "Trust me just a little longer Alex. I promise you, I mean no harm to you or Fox. But if I lose the game, the consequences would be terrible for you." His face became shuttered, and Alex realised that the little woman was making her way back towards them.

Judging it prudent to make a quick exit, Alex went in search of Mulder. He found the agent huddled in their berth, staring silently out at the moving countryside, and the sluggish movements of the great river as they passed it by. Alex enfolded Mulder in his arms. "He asked us to trust him just a little bit longer, Foxy. I think he's worried about something, but he wouldn't talk in front of her."

"Remember my old demon book?" Mulder said quietly. Alex nodded. "Well, it said that the most feared of all the demons was the one who looked the most harmless. A small woman as pale as moonlight. It called her She who destroys. Even the writer of the book was cagey, but he advised anyone who met her to tread carefully. She scares me, she's so unpredictable."

xx

When they arrived at the hospital, late that afternoon, Kulain and Mulder were allowed into the Director of the hospital's office without an appointment. Cold eyes appraised the two visitors, then the Director smiled without humour, "We know about your alleged part in the murder of Sam Duncan. I can't say I'm happy to be playing host to you, Agent Mulder. However, we have nothing to hide here. Please feel free to look around. But I must ask you not to go into restricted areas of the hospital without an escort. We do have large numbers of the criminally insane here, and we wouldn't want to have an accident, would we!"

The two of them started on the ground floor of the huge complex, and started to hunt for and small clue that could point towards the truth. "He was a fool to let us just wander around," Mulder said to his partner. "We could find anything!"

Kulain shook his head. "He doesn't care what you find, Fox. He thinks you're going to be taken care of, one way or another!"

They passed a white door bearing a biohazard sign. Mulder did a double take. "Kulain, what does a mental hospital need with a Gene Science Laboratory? I want to look in there." He opened the door, and came face to face with a young looking scientist who took one look at them, and opened his mouth to raise the alarm. Suddenly the air in the laboratory became icy cold, and Kulain allowed shimmering darkness to flow down his body, shifting to show the scientist his demonic form. The man's cry died stillborn in his throat, he cowered in terror at Kulain's feet.

Kulain reached forward and grabbed the man by the throat. "Tell me what you do in this place, little human!" He inserted menace in his voice. "Quickly!"

"I study DNA!" The man whimpered. "I get samples and I analyse them. I liase with our allies and try to make sense of what they tell me.."

"What allies?" Mulder said.

"The aliens! The ones downstairs!" Mulder gasped. Then the scientist stared at Kulain, eyes narrowing. "You're the one aren't you. The one they fear! One of the Destroyers!" Mulder's head swung back and forth between Kulain and the geek. "I did the analysis on your hybridisation experiments. I had to work out what you were turning your humans into!" In a single movement, Kulain snapped the scientist' neck.

Mulder stared at his lover, stunned, shaking his head in denial. "No! Oh no...!" He began to back away, but Kulain moved faster than he would have thought possible. He caught Mulder's head, and sent his mind spearing into the human's consciousness. There was a brief resistance, but Mulder had long since surrendered himself to his lover, he had no defences against this. Kulain gently erased the last few moments from Mulder's mind, let the limp body sag against his, holding him with incredible tenderness. "Oh little Fox," he murmured into the dark hair. "I wish I could explain it to you. Just trust me."

After a few moments, he felt the human stir, hazel eyes stared at him, dazed. "What happened...I don't remember."

Kulain gave a slightly twisted smile. "He hit you on the head, you must have blacked out for a moment. I had to kill him though."

Mulder shook his head, trying to focus his thoughts. "Did he say something about aliens?"

Kulain nodded. "Just before he hit you. I think we should try to go to the lower levels. I think it might be the place they keep their secrets."

Mulder laughed. "How come I always end up sneaking through some underground tunnel, or cavern or basement, when I'm with you!"

"I've been taking rat lessons from Alex," Kulain said wryly.

xx

It was relatively easy to get to the basement levels. Kulain displayed his latest talent, zapping the electronic keypads at each door with something resembling that dark energy Mulder had seen swirling round the Sith. Idly, Mulder wondered if there was a connection. Then they heard the sound of marching booted feet approaching. A quick glance around the corner showed Mulder a group of soldiers with semi-automatic weapons approaching.

"Shit! They're headed this way! We've got to hide! If they find us now, we'll never find out the truth." Mulder grabbed at Kulain's arm and pulled him away.

The two partners ran down the corridor, turned left at the end, and found themselves facing a dead end, their way barred by a huge metal door, inches thick. The sound of the approaching sentries grew louder. Frantically searching for a way out, Mulder's eyes fell on the metal grate set at knee height into the wall. "Get that open!" he hissed at Kulain. The demon blinked in surprise, then long, talons curled round the edge of the grill, and pulled it effortlessly off the wall. There was just enough room for someone to enter the air-duct system. Wriggling desperately, Mulder forced his body into the cramped space, then dragged himself clear on elbows and knees so that there was room for his partner. With a grin of amusement, Kulain tugged the grill back into place behind them. Then both agents froze into stillness, as they heard the sound of voices outside.

Soon, the noise moved away, and there was silence outside. Mulder pressed his head against the cool metal for a moment, letting the frantic beating of his heart slow. Then he glanced around him. The shaft led forward into gloomy distance, and somewhere ahead, he could hear the sound of machines, making deep, rhythmic echoes through the ducting system.

"You like to live an interesting life, Fox Mulder!" Kulain spoke softly. He was smiling, in a way that sent an arrow of lust straight to Mulder's groin. Mulder made himself turn away from those devastating eyes, forced down the desire that was threatening to overcome him. "I think we can get into the restricted area through this system," he said hoarsely. He started to crawl awkwardly through the ducting shaft, leaving Kulain to follow behind him.

Mulder was right; after what seemed like hours of crawling the agent found himself overlooking a vast room, through another grill. He gasped in disbelief at what he saw. An alien ship sat on the concrete surface, surrounded by dozens of those creatures he called Shapeshifters. All of them seemed frantically busy, loading up metal cylinders onto the ship. At intervals around the room, soldiers in fatigues stood fully armed with automatic weapons. But whether to protect the aliens, or intimidate them wasn't clear.

"Something interesting?" Kulain said softly.

Mulder turned to his partner. "Yes! We just found their ship! I knew there was more to this place than we could imagine." Kulain moved forward to look through the grill with Mulder. And suddenly, the human found himself being pressed against the smooth metal by the weight of his lover's body half on top of him. The space around them was too small for him to move away, no matter how much he wanted to. But he didn't want to! He wanted more of that warmth against him. His head arched back, and a low moan escaped his lips, as he pressed himself against Kulain. Why could Kulain always do this to him, even at the most inopportune moments? Even when he had one of his own kind to amuse him? The thought of Kulain and Amara together intruded into his mind. Pale hair would tangle with dark, as the two of them made love, his strong arms would hold her, in gentleness and in passion. A sense of misery overwhelmed him.

Mulder dragged his shattered thoughts together eventually, and tried to pull away from Kulain. He didn't want to be so close, to be reminded of what he was surely going to lose. He found that in the claustrophobic space he couldn't move, couldn't stop the disturbing feelings. An unwelcome, horrifying flashback... Ash had held him down... He whimpered in terror.

He was suddenly free. Dark eyes watched him with compassion. "If you don't want me to touch you, just tell me. I prefer willing and enthusiastic partners. Or hadn't you noticed!" 'There was a trace of bitterness in Kulain's voice.

Mulder closed his eyes for a second. Kulain had never harmed him, had always made sure he enjoyed their lovemaking. "It was just Ash again," he whispered, "Messing with my head again!" He turned to lie on his back, so that he could more readily look into his lover's face. "I'm so sorry!" He covered his face with his hands, trembling uncontrollably. And Kulain moved towards him, pulled Mulder into his arms and held the shaking human until the terror faded.

The two of them lay closer, after that, positioning themselves so that both could see the aliens below. They couldn't leave the shaft until the activity died down outside, so waiting was their only option.

"Alex said you love her..." Mulder heard himself say the words in disbelief. The thought had been running around in his head since Alex had told him, but he hadn't intended to press Kulain on the subject.

Green, demon eyes gleamed in the near dark. "I thought you might trust me a little more, Mulder!"

Mulder shivered. "If you want me to, I'll stay away. I'll do whatever you want... But please don't stop loving me.." He realised with shock that he was begging.

Kulain's reaction was unexpected. He smiled in amusement. "You little fool! Do you want to know all my secrets at once?" A hand reached out to pull at Mulder's zipper, and draw out his suddenly treacherous cock. "If you must know, it's not that kind of love! Amara and I have never been sexual partners and we never will be. She prefers women, and I prefer you!" Mulder listened in a daze, which rapidly turned into something else as Kulain's mouth began to apply pressure to the end of his cock. Warmth and swirling spirals of pleasure were working their way down his shaft, and he couldn't think anymore. There was only the fire in his body as it surged against that innovative mouth, letting himself be carried away by the sensuality of Kulain's touch. Kulain fumbled awkwardly with something in the cramped space. His trousers were tugged lower. Then a finger was slipped between his buttocks, and he was gently teased open, as slickness entered him. Momentarily, he tensed, then made himself relax, spreading his legs wider in response to that exquisite invasion. It was going to be alright. Kulain wanted him, not the dazzling Amara.

The slick fingers began to work their way inside him, opening him slowly, gently, utterly erotic. He tried to stifle his moans, jammed his hand in his mouth to stop himself from betraying their location to the world. The continued motion of fingers and mouth was so incredible, probing into intimate and secret parts of his body. His hips lifted again and again, thrusting uncontrollably into his lover, as Kulain's explorations found his prostate, and set up a steady rhythm, in time with his mouth. Mulder's senses overloaded, he came explosively, pumping his cum into the depths of his lover's dark mouth. He only realised afterwards, that he had a fresh bite mark to add to his growing collection. He had bitten into the fleshy part of his hand to stop himself screaming when he had orgasmed. Tenderly, Kulain drew the damaged flesh close to him, kissed it. Or perhaps gained some darker pleasure from letting his mouth brush against the bloody crescent. Then he healed it with another kiss.

"Shit!" Mulder whispered. "We pick the oddest moments to work on our relationship!" He lay back langourously, enjoying the softness of Kulain's hand stroking his hair.

Kulain's smile was satisfied. "Isn't fucking an F.B.I agent in a ventilation shaft an acceptable act? Human behaviour can be so complex. But you seemed to enjoy it!"

"Oh damn! You've been watching Jerry Springer again, haven't you?"

xx

Alex had spent the last ten minutes patiently cutting through the razor wire that surrounded the large complex of hospital buildings. The place was more like a prisoner of war camp, than a hospital. There were even guards patrolling every fifteen minutes, so he had to time his entry carefully, and leave time to disguise the hole he had cut in the fence. Finally, he wriggled his way carefully under the wire, and held it open so that Amara could pass through. It was more than a little muddy. A look of disdain crossed the beautiful face. Not a natural born rat like him then. In fact her only concession to clandestine activities was to bind her pale hair in a rather odd looking woolly hat. She didn't seem to have much colour sense that he had noticed. He wouldn't be caught dead wearing pink/puce.

Amara walked up to the fence, not seeming to care that the guards might return any minute. She extended a hand towards the wire. What happened next seemed totally bizarre to Alex. The air seemed to shimmer in front of her outstretched fingers, then reality just seemed to warp. The gap between the metal links of the fence expanded, as if the fence was made of elastic that was being pulled. Amara stepped through the gap, and looked down in amusement at the agent sprawled at her feet, stunned, still holding the wire up like an idiot. Alex glared at her, which seemed to give her a great deal of satisfaction. However one thing he had learned, working with more than his fair share of supernatural beings, was that it wasn't a good idea to annoy them. He prudently kept his mouth shut, which Mulder would never have believed!

The two of them hurried towards the building which seemed to be the focus of much activity. Machinery could be heard inside, and it seemed to have twice as many patrols as any other part of the site. Sneaking round the side of the building, Alex could find no way in that wasn't heavily protected.

"Can you do that trick of yours on this wall?" He gestured towards the bricks. With a look of contempt, the small woman motioned with her hand, and the wall warped outwards, cracking open to form an entrance of sorts. This time, when the odd twisting of the air stopped, the damage it had done was a little more conspicuous.

She shrugged, not at all apologetic. "Wire is more easy to flex than brick," she said. That unfortunately didn't give the two of them much time to search before the guards noticed a large hole in their wall.

Entering the building, Alex found himself inside a small office. He quickly searched it, shoving a few interesting items in his pocket, a handful of loose documents, carelessly left in the open, and two computer discs. Then they crept into the corridor. At least, Alex did. There was a sort of arrogance about Amara sometimes, that made Alex more than a little nervous. They headed towards the machinery noises, and eventually found themselves in a storage area full of metallic grey cylinders.

"What the hell is this?" Alex was perplexed. He fiddled with the catch on one, and managed to prise it open. And found himself looking into the face of a young woman, who had tubing running into her mouth, and was covered with some sort of slimy green discharge. Amara came closer, inspected the curious cargo of the cylinder. "Cold storage of bodies," she said softly. "Now why would they want to do that?"

"It makes them easier to ship offworld!" The cold voice behind him made Alex whirl, as he went for his gun. Too late, he found the business end of a machine pistol inches from his eyes. The group of soldiers behind the General fanned out to either side, so that at least ten guns were aimed at the two intruders.

"I'm General McGahan. You appear to have broken into this government facility. You're under military arrest. Try to escape and we'll shoot to kill."

Alex made a poor attempt at humour. "We just came in through the hole in the wall, after it fell down. Shoddy workmanship you have here. I understand the C.I.A. built it!" A soldier clashed the butt of his machine gun against Alex's temple, and his knees buckled, as white hot pain stabbed into his head. It was Amara who caught him. With surprising strength, her arm went around him, supporting his treacherous body, as his legs threatened to give way again. Cool eyes appraised the General.

"Why are they in stasis? Your allies don't need human specimens, they've been familiar with your species for millennia."

The General's eyes narrowed. "You seem to be remarkably well informed about our business here. Bring them!" He issued the order to his men, then turned and headed down the corridor. Jabbed with the guns, Amara supporting him still, Alex painfully stumbled in the direction the soldiers indicated. The sounds of machinery grew louder, then they eventually emerged in a huge chamber, at the centre of which was a large spacecraft.

A dozen alien eyes turned to look at the interlopers. And the General became positively effusive, full of apologies to their allies for the lapse in security. One alien, somehow more severe looking than the others, came to stare at them. "Place them in stasis, they will serve us well on the home journey." With an disdainful smile, the alien turned away. Alex tried to lunge at him, to rend him with demon claws, but a weird coolness, with a flavour of amusement, began to fill his mind. Stopping him from changing. Startled, he glanced at Amara, to see her smiling at him in amusement.

"Wait!" her tone was soft.

xx

Mulder had been watching the scene below with something close to boredom, until suddenly he saw who had just been brought into the room by the soldiers. He felt Kulain tense, then quite clearly, the small woman lifted her head, and momentarily looked straight at them. "What do we do?" Mulder whispered. In response, Kulain gently loosened the grill, and slipped out of the duct, moving rapidly to hide behind more of the stacked cylinders. Mulder followed. The two of them managed to make their way down onto the floor, just opposite the ship entrance. Amara turned slightly, and Mulder saw she was supporting Alex, who was white faced, blood trickling down his face. Once again, she looked directly at Kulain and gave a slight nod.

The demon grabbed one of the cylinders, and with incredible strength, flung it at the group of soldiers. Three of them went down like skittles, the rest opened fire in all directions, nerves, and a fear of the aliens doing far more damage than Kulain could have alone. Many of the bounty hunters returned fire, and both sides were decimated. Amara let go of Alex, who swayed dangerously, but didn't fall. One hand pulled off the stupid hat she wore, letting her white hair flow free. She moved forward into the centre of the chamber.

There was utter silence from the group of aliens. Amara smiled malevolently at them. The leader stepped forward again. "So! The Destroyer of Worlds walks again! This world is ours! We'll annihilate you before we give it up!" Every single alien weapon in the room was aimed at her, and on the leader's signal, they were all fired.

Kulain swore. "Fox, get Alex now!" The urgency in his voice made Mulder run to his lover, risking himself in the process. His arm went around the younger man, and he started to pull him towards the room exit. "To me!" Again that note of tension in Kulain's voice. Mulder obeyed. Kulain caught up his two lovers, enfolding them in his arms. Alex moaned, his head slumping against Kulain's chest. Black fire surged up around the three of them. Mulder felt himself being enfolded in shimmering darkness, as close as a second skin, distantly erotic, so redolent of Kulain's presence. Amara glanced at the three of them, smiled openly; Mulder saw that her expression was joyous and... god... aroused. She was getting off on this! The alien weapon fire hadn't affected her in the slightest. She laughed softly. "All who challenge me perish!"

Amara flung her arms wide ecstatically, and her hair seemed to stream out around her in a cloud, swirling and shot through with sparks.

COMBUSTION

Amara became the centre of a firestorm. A vast fiery wave leapt out from her, consuming everything in its path. The whole world seemed to disintegrate around the two humans, as they were wrapped in Kulain's protective shield. The air burned, the very rocks beneath them burned. The ship, the hospital, land for a two mile radius around her, all was turned into incandescent flaming white hot gases that pulsed upwards miles into the sky, in a vast mushroom cloud. Cooler air and dust rushed in to the spot vacated by the vaporised hospital. A glowing crater, half a mile wide was the only indication that the place had ever been there. With a giggle, the normally cool Amara walked towards them through the dusty air. It didn't escape Mulder's notice that she levitated herself over the glowing rocks. Or that, incredibly, he and his lovers were also suspended at a safe distance above the fiery rocks.

She licked her lips, slid her hands across her body voluptuously and sighed. "Was it good for you too?" she purred at Kulain. "You were right. This world is fun. I think I will keep it safe." Then one finger extended and opened a gate in front of her. She stepped through and vanished. Kulain sighed tiredly, and took his humans through his own gate, back to Washington. They reappeared in Skinner's office, much to his secretary's terror.

While Kulain silently tended to Alex, Mulder was left to explain the sudden detonation of a nuclear sized blast in rural Mississippi.

The aftermath was a declaration by the government that nuclear terrorists had deliberately blown up the hospital to demonstrate "the evil of nuclear weapons", though it was harder to explain the total lack of radioactivity at the site. And Kulain's government friends thought much more carefully about how to keep him and Amara happy.

The papers Alex had shoved in his pocket were inconclusive, except for one reference to Sam Duncan. The good doctor had been providing the aliens with human specimens chosen from his patients. Until he had an attack of conscience and tried to get the F.B.I. to investigate. There was enough evidence for the case against Alex to be reviewed. It all came down to the one drop of blood the alien assassin had left behind to incriminate him.

xx

The Cigarette Smoking Man eyed his unexpected guest with interest. Agent Lane, as he was officially known. An enigmatic and incredibly dangerous figure. Many attempts at surveillance of this man had failed, as electronic surveillance equipment tended to short out after a few minutes in his presence. It was known that he had an unconventional personal life involving, of all people, Mulder and Krycek, and had some unusual abilities. For one thing, he had taken out The Cigarette Smoking Man's assassins in an incredible bloodbath. He was well connected in the Pentagon. And all plots to get rid of him had failed. Which was why it was so astonishing to have Lane here in his office.

"How can I help you Agent Lane? This appointment is so unexpected, I wasn't prepared for your visit at all."

Kulain scowled. "You've been spying on me!"

"But I spy on everyone. Besides, you seem to have the ability to destroy all of our surveillance equipment."

"You tested my D.N.A." Kulain said softly. His opponent's interest abruptly sharpened.

"Yes Agent Lane. Before you destroyed my labs. It was rather interesting to find out you aren't human, though I don't know what exactly you are."

Kulain obligingly shifted, showing his enemy more than he wanted to see of the supernatural. White faced, the Cigarette Smoking Man stared at the demon facing him.

"You tested some other blood," the demon growled.

"I see!" The Cigarette Smoking Man suddenly knew why Lane had come. "Do your lovers know what you've been doing to their genetic code?" he said softly. "At least I'm not trying to turn them into monsters!"

Kulain scowled. "I propose a deal," he said. "Stay away from me and my property, and I'll not interfere in your dealings with the alien filth. And no-one tells my humans about my little adjustments!" A sudden malevolent smile. "You've seen what my kind can do when we're angry!"

The Cigarette Smoking Man smiled. "We have a deal Agent Lane. A most satisfactory one." He picked up the phone and sent the order. The computer that had so conveniently identified Alex Krycek's DNA would have a malfunction, and all test results would be invalid.

xx

Alex had gone to see the Review Board, to see whether he would be reinstated as an F.B.I. agent. Mulder had already been restored to his former job in the Occult Investigations Team. So the outcome was fairly certain. He still felt unsettled though, and wandered into the bedroom, where Kulain was lazily reclining on the bed. Shafts of sunlight streamed through the blinds, patterning his naked body with shadow. Intense green eyes watched Mulder's restlessness. "You're worried about him." A softly spoken statement.

"Yes." Mulder moved towards the bed, and sank down next to his lover. Kulain lifted a sensuous hand, and stroked the side of his face. Mulder leaned into the caress, kissed the straying fingertips.

Kulain's smile deepened. "Perhaps you'd like me to take your mind off Alex for a while? Use up some of that excess energy."

Mulder grinned back at his lover. He slowly undid his shirt buttons, then his belt, letting his clothes slip to the floor. Watching Kulain's cock stir in arousal as he contemplated his human lover's deliberately seductive movements. Naked and curiously vulnerable, Mulder blushed under the intense scrutiny, and lowered his mouth to suck on Kulain's hard-on.

His human's enthusiasm was quite delightful. The beautiful face was flushed with desire, the moist, full lips were eagerly devouring him. Alex had taught Mulder quite a lot about oral techniques recently, and he was becoming quite deft at it. He was much more confident now, the damage Ash had done to his mind was almost healed, apart from a few bad dreams. Perhaps it was time to test whether trust had been rebuilt between them yet.

Kulain gently stroked Mulder's hair. The agent lifted his head and smiled beatifically at his lover. "You seem to be enjoying that." Kulain murmured softly. Mulder's face brightened, and Kulain traced a finger across the human's wet mouth. "When we were in Mississippi, you enjoyed something else we did together..."

Mulder remembered. The feel of Kulain's fingers sliding inside him, working their incredible magic within him. He moaned in desire. It had felt so good, had been so long since he had let anyone that close to him. Even with Alex, the thought of being entered had made him feel so scared. Kulain's touch was gentle. He sat up, and drew Mulder closer to him, enfolding the human in a protective embrace. The human leaned against him trustingly. "Nothing you don't want, little Fox." He let his fingers slide down over the human's back, feeling the horrific damage Ash had done. Then he spread lubricant on his fingers, and let his fingers begin to work on the tight entrance. Mulder groaned as he was entered, cautiously probed, spread carefully, and the talented fingers started to drive him out of his mind.

Kulain felt Mulder gradually relax into the movements of his hand, his body beginning to react to the hot pulse of arousal within him. Slowly teasing the human, feeling his lover's growing enthusiasm. Soon, the agent was moving his body frantically, making small sobbing cries, pleading with him not to stop. Kulain let Mulder enjoy the foreplay for a little longer. Then he withdrew his hand. Hazel eyes looked bewildered for a moment, then he pulled the human's body against his and gave his Fox a searing kiss, which was answered fiercely.

"I need... more." Mulder begged him. Kulain smiled. Things were progressing most satisfactorily.

"I want to be inside you, Fox" Kulain smiled gently, stroking the suddenly tense muscles. "You're on top Mulder. Whatever you want is up to you!" He leaned back sensuously. Mulder stared at the beautiful upraised cock, then abruptly lowered his mouth again and began to enthusiastically lick it all over. Kulain leaned back to enjoy his little human's ministrations. Hesitantly, Mulder kneeled astride his lover's body, then began to lower himself onto Kulain's cock. Feeling his body beginning to stretch wide open, as he worked it's thick length into him. Until finally, he was filled. He rested motionless, eyes closed, exploring the sensations of his own treacherous body. There was no fear or pain. Not like the last time... In fact it felt incredibly good. The slow sexual throb inside him. Instinctively he reached for that ecstasy, beginning to move his body in time to its rhythm. He heard Kulain groan in pleasure, and his eyes flew open. Strange how good it felt, to control the incredible, powerful being who was his lover. To bring him to gratification, with a simple movement of his hips. He was moving rapidly now, thrusting himself down hard, again and again.

He was close now, it had been so long, and it felt so good. With a scream, Mulder came, his body jerking uncontrollably as his semen jetted out of him in white spurts. And fell forward on top of Kulain, clutching at him weakly.

Kulain was still rock hard inside him.

Before the human had time to draw his shattered mind together again, Kulain flipped his body over so that he was on his stomach, then began to drive himself into his lover's open ass. Mulder tried to open his mouth to protest.

No. This isn't being in control...

And his body betrayed him, pushing upwards to meet those oh so arousing thrusts. He was coming again, already. And this time the demon gasped as he felt Mulder's internal muscles contract, and hot cum spurted into his human. Mulder moaned softly in disappointment as his lover withdrew. Kulain pulled Mulder into a comfortable position in his arms. Perplexed, the agent stared at Kulain.

"That was a dirty trick!" Mulder softly punched Kulain's shoulder in mock anger, and his lover grinned.

"You liked it!" There was no denying it. Kulain looked momentarily regretful. "Before our... recent problems, you loved to do that all the time. I hoped that you were ready to try again."

Mulder felt a moment of distant annoyance, then relaxed. "I trust you! Always! I guess I am ready to get a bit more adventurous now..."

"Wow! That sounds like my cue!" Alex was watching from the doorway. With a smile he came forward, slithering out of his clothes as he came. "By the way, you're looking at an innocent man, according to the review board."

"I bet you were surprised to find that out about yourself," Mulder retorted. Alex blinked in surprise, Mulder sounded so much like his old, cheerful self. Mulder and Kulain exchanged conspiratorial glances.

As Alex approached the bed, two sets of hands grabbed him, and he was dumped on his side between the two of them. Mulder lowered his lips, and began to attack Alex's cock, whilst Kulain began to explore him with probing, searching fingers. It didn't take long for the two of them to prepare his willing body. But it took most of the next three glorious hours to finish what they had started.

xx

Mulder leaned over to kiss his exhausted lover's sweat slicked forehead. Alex had really been quite surprised by what Mulder had made him do. A repeat of his adventurous sex with Kulain. Of course Kulain had made a few demands of his own. Alex was definitely not innocent when it came to sex. Mulder smirked at the thought of ganging up on the younger man again. A dark corner of his mind had quite enjoyed hearing Alex pleading for orgasm. He drowsed, curled up next to his lovers, feeling oddly energised.

xx

Kulain felt the call in the back of his mind, and a little irritated, went over to the bedroom mirror. Amara's lovely face appeared in its depths. "What is it?" He let his impatience show

She smirked, knowing what he had been up to. "Now that you've finished playing with your pets, we have business to discuss. Your government has offered me a place at this Quantico facility, they seemed quite interested in my psi abilities. I gather you told them I knew how to train that ability in their agents."

Kulain shrugged. "You'll like it there. There are always a lot of attractive women to keep you busy." A questioning noise from behind him made Kulain turn. Mulder came over to him, eyes wide with surprise at the woman's face floating in his mirror. He slid a protective arm around his Fox in reassurance, drew the human down towards him. Mulder's arms hugged him close.

Amara looked amused. "I'm no threat to your little pets Kulain. They're really quite pretty, both of them." She laughed. "Perhaps we should do a swap sometime, I have a rather nice blonde... And besides, if I'm staying here, I might decide to start a family. He looks healthy enough to serve me well." Mulder's eyes went wide with outrage, and he opened his mouth to protest vehemently at the thought of HER using him as a sperm bank.

Kulain glowered at her. "Never! You think I want my lover to give you children. Mother, you're warped!"

Mulder decided some things he really didn't want to know after all.

xx

Megaera@Megaera.demon.co.uk

Part V: Shadow of his Wings

31st October 1998
Feedback to Megaera@Megaera.demon.co.uk
FEEDBACK is life
NC-17
DISCLAIMER All X Files Characters belong to Chris Carter and Fox, I've just borrowed them for a while. I am not making any profit out of this, it's just for entertainment. The character of Kulain is mine but you can use him if you like, Mr. Carter.
COMMENTS This story is set in an Alternate Universe where demons can interact more freely with humans and can shapeshift. If you don't like my laws of physics, go find your own.

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