Stolen Heaven part 8 The helicopter flight was short, but long enough for Derek to lose himself in thought. A lapis winged scarab pendant -- not an entirely unique Egyptian artifact, but it would depend on what the inscription was on the flat side of the beetle itself. He had a terrible sinking feeling that he knew this artifact -- and its owner -- quite well... ...It was 1977 and he and Arkadi had been together for four years now. Now that he was no longer a student (although he was planning on attending graduate school in the fall) they no longer had to hide their relationship, and he had been spending a lot of time in Arkadi's company. They had gone out to dinner and come back to Arkadi's home for a night of intense sex, Arkadi tormenting Derek nearly to the breaking point before he finally allowed him to come. Derek couldn't believe how good it felt to give up all control to someone else, to literally put his life in someone else's hands -- someone he trusted to never do something to truly hurt him. Arkadi had left him lying semi-conscious on the bed after he untied him and made sure their activities had caused no real damage, then headed for the bathroom to shower. "I'll be back soon, Derek -- if you want to join me, you know where I am," he purred in Derek's ear before he left. Derek groaned and turned his head to watch his lover disappear into the bathroom, then said, "I don't even think I can *stand* and you want me in the shower?" He laughed softly and added, "What are you, some kind of incubus?" Arkadi's laugh floated out to Derek and he smiled slyly -- maybe his lover *was* an incubus -- he never seemed tired after these sessions, while Derek was sometimes exhausted beyond the ability to move. But then again, it was glorious sex, so who cared what his lover was? He rolled over slowly, settling comfortably on Arkadi's side of the bed, smelling his scent on the pillow and revelling in the afterglow, when the candlelight glinted off an object on the nightstand. Curiosity aroused, he pushed himself upright and looked at the item, realizing it was an Egyptian winged scarab pendant, gold with wings inlaid with lapis lazuli. His blood suddenly ran cold but he forced himself to think before reacting -- perhaps it was a replica or-- He turned the pendant over and looked at the heiroglyphic inscription: a prayer for protection against evil beings. But... He heard the water stop and the sounds of brisk towelling in the bathroom, nearly threw the pendant back on the table but stopped himself. Where a moment ago his blood was ice, now it was fire. Fury made his pulse thunder in his ears and he forgot all about the wonderful heaviness in his limbs. When Arkadi came out of the bathroom, he was standing, holding the pendant up by its chain. "You *lied* to me!" he growled at his lover. "What?" Arkadi asked, then the movement of the pendant caught his eye, the flickering candles reflecting in the gold. "Oh, come *on*, Derek," he said, advancing on his lover. This was a problem... "You told me someone had stolen it when they broke into the storeroom! You didn't tell me *you* were the thief!" Derek continued, raising the pendant up when Arkadi grabbed for it. "It was pretty -- I wanted to... I wanted to give it to you," Arkadi said softly _Oh, that sounded convincing,_ he immediately thought as Derek's expression grew angrier. "You *stole* it! What else have you stolen?!" "Derek, stop. I'll put it back, okay?" Arkadi said, trying the part of the desperate lover now. It was too soon, and he hadn't found anything of true use yet! "Damn it, Victor, this isn't something you can just undo by returning it! You lied to me about it," Derek said, his voice slightly less steady. Arkadi took another step closer and he backed up, realizing he was out of room. "Derek, I'm sorry," Arkadi was saying. "Come on -- I need you!" Another step closer and Derek gasped as Arkadi finally succeeded in grabbing his wrist, closing his hand and digging his fingers into the pressure point. The pendant tumbled from nerveless fingers and he noted its location then looked back at Derek. And smiled. He was no longer taller than his lover, but he was more solid than Derek's slender build and he knew how to use that to his advantage. He brought his free hand up to close around Derek's throat, then pushed Derek backwards so that they both fell on the bed, Arkadi on top trapping him. Derek gasped in horror as Arkadi brought him down, tried to struggle to no avail as the hand around his throat tightened. A knee forced its way between his legs and he was suddenly all too aware that they were both naked. Arkadi smiled down at him and kissed him brutally, breaking the kiss the instant he felt Derek beginning to respond. Lightheaded, Derek moaned, and then the hand about his throat released him too. "My sweet Angel, you know I *own* you, body and soul. Forget the fucking scarab -- I'll put it back tomorrow -- but know that if you don't let it drop, we are *through*." "Victor...you *lied* to me," Derek whispered, the anger fading now and pain settling in. "The kind of relationship we have -- I -- *need* to know I can trust you!" "And now you never will, is that it?" Arkadi asked angrily. "And you've *never* lied to me?" "You're not the one who ends up tied down and helpless..." Derek answered, immediately aware it had been the wrong thing to say. Arkadi's hand fastened on his throat again and squeezed much harder this time. He leaned right into Derek's face and hissed, "Right now I could choke the life out of you, and you would come as I did it, Derek. I could take those candles on the nightstand and pour their melted wax on your inner thighs and you would be as hard as a marble herm. I could throw you on your stomach and ram into you dry, and you'd spread your legs and impale yourself on me. You *belong* to me -- you wear my collar, you are my slave. And you *love* it. "But, if you're going to damn me for one little human failing, then we *are* through." Suddenly he rolled off Derek and stood. And the smile he gave his lover -- his ex-lover -- chilled the younger man to his soul. "And know this, Derek, you will *never* find another lover like me. There is no one in this world who understands your needs the way I do -- you can search to the ends of the earth, my Angel, but you will never find someone who can satisfy you like I can. Now, get your things and get *out*." Trembling, realizing that Arkadi's words could be taken as an actual curse, Derek grabbed up his belongings, threw on the barest minimum of clothes to be legal, and fled the house; not looking at Arkadi at all in fear of actually *seeing* what he could have sworn he had glimpsed out of the corner of his eye: in the flickering candlelight, he thought Arkadi's shadow had wings... "Didn't you hear me, Derek? I said we're here!" Nick's voice filtered through the memories. Derek shook his head to clear the cobwebs and looked around. "Come on, we've got to hurry!" Rapidly remembering where he was and what they were doing, Derek wasted no time climbing out of the helicopter and heading for the Ford Explorer. Nick shook his head and followed, taking the keys from his Precept when they reached the vehicle. "No, I don't think you're driving right now -- if you space out again you'll wreck the car," Nick explained when Derek frowned at him. "You sure you're okay?" Derek nodded, climbing into the passenger seat while Alex climbed into the seat behind him. "Sorry -- I was...lost in thought." "You sure as hell were -- good thing you weren't playing copilot." "Sorry." As Nick guided the Explorer out into traffic, Alex asked from the back seat, "Did you pick anything up?" "No, I didn't. Hopefully we'll get something from the library where he was taken," he answered, although part of his mind was terrified to think of *what* he might pick up. _Philip, please be strong!_ he thought, hoping to will his strength to his friend. A short while later they arrived at the University of San Francisco and parked, then ran to the library, arriving only a few minutes after the normal closing time. After a minute or two, the door opened, and a woman asked them, "Yes, may I help you?" Alex nodded and said, "Yes. I'm Alexandra Moreau -- I spoke on the phone to the head reference librarian, Mr. Morrison. He--" "Yes, he told me you would be coming. He's my boss -- I'm the reference library assistant, Persephone Marino. Please, come in." Once they were inside, she continued, "The library isn't open to anyone other than students and people connected to the university, but I understand that your Foundation has made donations to us, so..." She trailed off, realizing she was wasting time and said, "Please, follow me, I'll bring you to Mr. Morrison." A moment later, Alex was shaking the head librarian's hand and thanking him for letting them in after hours. He nodded and said, "It's the least I could do -- Father Callaghan disappears, possibly right out of our library, and no one even notices. Ms. Moreau, Dr. Rayne, Mr. Boyle, if there's *anything* we can do to help, please let me know. Follow me, I'll bring you to the table he'd been using." Derek nodded, then as they were following asked, "Did you block the area from other patrons after his disappearance?" "I'm afraid we didn't -- not until after Ms. Moreau called and we realized he hadn't signed out of the building. I'm sorry." "That's all right -- you did the best you could," Derek said, frustrated by the skill of the kidnapper. "There should be one other person coming as soon as he can -- Detective Frank Carmack of the SFPD. Could you make sure he's brought to us as soon as he arrives?" "Yes, of course," Morrison said, stopping at a table that was empty except for a legal pad, a pencil, and two old books. "This was where he was working -- he had a print-out of the books we have, but I don't see it anywhere. Dr. Rayne, I've got to get some work done, but I'll be nearby -- if you need me, I should be in hearing range. If the detective arrives, I'll bring him to you." Derek nodded his thanks, and Morrison hurried off, then Derek looked at the pad and frowned -- there was nothing written on it. He had been hoping that perhaps there was some clue, but after rubbing a finger gently over its surface decided that even the previous page (which was missing) hadn't been written on hard enough to leave an impression. He looked at the labels on the books, then turned to look at the stacks, locating the shelves where those books would have come from. While Alex and Nick looked around for signs of a struggle or anything that Philip may have dropped, Derek made a beeline for the shelf the two books had been pulled from. Remembering his vision, he reached up to the top shelf, letting intuition guide his hand. He pulled down the first book he touched, glancing quickly at the cover and frowning. _Angels in Art,_ he thought. _It makes sense -- if we can't find any clues in writing, perhaps some older artwork might help..._ He flipped the book open to a random page, smiled humourlessly when he realized it was a Dore engraving of the War in Heaven, then stepped back involuntarily as something fell out of the book. Hands suddenly trembling, he replaced the book on the shelf, then dropped to one knee to pick up the item before anyone else saw him. He straightened and looked at it, realizing it was a matchbook cover of thin black card, with iridescent pewter lettering declaring that it had come from The Power Exchange Mainstation on Otis Street. He opened the matchbook cover and found a piece of yellow legal paper, folded so many times that it was smaller than the matchbook. He put the matchbook down on one of the shelves and took a few steps down an aisle where neither Nick or Alex could see him, then unfolded the sheet of paper. The only thing on the sheet was an address, written in Arkadi's neat, powerful handwriting. Derek nodded to himself, memorizing the address and already planning the drive, then folded the paper back up and stuck it into his pocket. A moment later, Nick went to report their lack of success at finding any clues, but after a quick search of the area, realized he couldn't find Derek anywhere. "Oh shit," he muttered, looking around the area where Philip's books had come from, "Alex, now we're missing Derek, too!" "We-- what?!" Alex said, rounding the corner. "You're kidding..." "No, I'm not. God, I *hate* it when he does this!" Nick said, looking at the shelf again in hopes that he could find *some* clue. "Hey, what's this?" He pulled the matchbook out from where Derek had put it and held it up for Alex to see. "Think this is where he went?" "Maybe he got slowed down by Mr. Morrison or ran into Frank," she said hopefully, "We've got to get out to the Explorer before he does!" She paused long enough to grab Philip's pencil and pad, then followed Nick down to the librarian's office, just in time to hear him say he hadn't seen Derek leave, either. "That's all right, Mr. Morrison," Nick said reassuringly, "He's a bit impulsive -- tends to rush off like this on his own quite a bit. If it's okay, we're going to see if we can stop him -- when Detective Carmack shows up, can you show him where we were, and tell him we'll call him as soon as we can?" "Yes, of course," the librarian answered, although Nick and Alex were already rushing to the main entrance. When they got outside there was no sign of the detective's car, and when they got to where the Explorer had been parked, Alex heard Nick muttering some very choice phrases about Derek's impulsiveness and sneakiness. "You're getting rusty," she observed, "I thought SEALs were supposed to be able to find even the best sneaks..." "That's not funny," he muttered, kicking a pebble viciously. Now that they had been stopped dead in their tracks he had time to think, and to worry. "There is something seriously not right going on here, Alex. Why the hell would he run off like that and leave us here?!" "I don't know," she answered, "But you're right. There *is* something funny going on. I can't tell what it is, but I'm getting a really creepy feeling about this whole thing." "Wonderful. Well, I guess we go back to the library and wait for Frank, so he can drive us to this Power Exchange place," Nick sighed. "Either that, or we walk..." "We'd better wait for Frank." --==**==-- But oh, how fall'n! How changed From him who, in the happy realms of light, Clothed with transcendent brightness, didst outshine Myriads though bright!" --Milton Philip lay in the warm, comfortable bed shivering. He had tried to sleep, but Arkadi's words echoed through his head the instant he tried to relax, the instant he tried not to think about anything. The only thing that would keep those terrible words quiet was prayer -- which, to Philip, was nearly as easy as breathing, usually. Now, however, even that simple comfort failed him as prayers for Derek reminded him of the damning information. The war within his mind was all the more difficult because it was not only against Arkadi's words, but also against his own fears and doubts... _If Arkadi's not lyin',_ he thought, realizing he couldn't escape it, _then it *must* have been a while ago -- before Derek joined the Legacy. He'd *never* do somethin' like that with an enemy of the Legacy as long as he was a member..._ The voice of doubt whispered to him: _Then why did he seem so sad when Nick threatened Arkadi? He's a member of the Legacy *now*..._ _I don't *know*!_ Philip thought, trying to silence the doubts. He loved and trusted Derek, but now part of him was seriously beginning to doubt if he *should* trust him. Of course Derek hadn't told him about that part of his past -- he probably wanted to forget it. But the doubt still nibbled at the back of his mind, wondering if that was the true reason he had never brought it up... _The Nephilim were the children of fallen angels -- angels who fell through lust,_ Philip's doubt reminded him. _Remember the cursed scroll, the Mark of Cain -- remember what the Tribunal said. Maybe he's just been hiding his true nature all this time._ "No, I *won't* b'lieve that!" Philip said firmly, forcing his mind to return to his prayers. Some time later he fell into a fitful, restless sleep, tortured by dreams of Derek leaving him and the Legacy to be with Arkadi. The sound of the door closing startled him awake and he sat up suddenly, trying to look around the room in the darkness. "Who's there?!" he hissed, not sure if he was alone. When there was no answer, he reached for the lamp, his hand coming into contact with something on the nightstand before he found the switch. He turned the lamp on to see a thick photo album next to it. _Oh God..._ he thought, hands suddenly trembling. Even as he told himself he didn't want to see what was in it, he found himself opening the book to a random page. "Sweet Jesus..." he breathed as he focused on the picture before him. Even as a priest, living in San Francisco had exposed Philip to some of the less commonplace sexual practices. He was fully aware of what went on in the various bars and clubs in the Castro area, and knew some of the more vanilla gay sex from first hand experience. However, this picture was far from vanilla, and it wasn't some unknown couple in an ad for a club... He realized from the heat in his face that he must be blushing, but the sight of a younger Derek in the throes of ecstacy was compelling. The picture showed Derek, his body arched back in orgasm and his lips parted in a moan of pleasure, straddling Arkadi and impaled on his cock. Philip tried to close the book and found he couldn't -- he blinked and tried to look away as the other details of the picture began to filter through his mind: the marks on Derek's back and thighs that were obviously from some kind of whipping, the black leather collar tight about his beautiful throat, the fact that his hands were bound together behind him -- and the clamps on his nipples! "Oh my God!" Philip gasped, finally managing to slam the book closed and wishing fervently he'd never opened it. It was too warm in the room all of a sudden, and there seemed to be no air. "Beautiful, isn't he?" Philip yelped and jumped to his feet as Arkadi's voice startled him. He spun around to see the man standing on the other side of the bed, realized he must have been watching him look at the photo. "How long've you been here?" he blurted accusingly. "The whole time, Philip. I see you *liked* the picture," he said smugly, motioning towards Philip's partial erection. "I liked th' look on his face, not what you'd done t'him," Philip growled in answer. He looked nervously at Arkadi, realizing the man was dressed in a black silk brocade robe trimmed in deep purple, and little -- if anything -- else. _Uh oh..._ he thought, beginning to back away. _Maybe he's left the door unlocked!_ Arkadi smiled as Philip suddenly rushed for the door and found it unlocked. He swung the door wide -- and nearly ran into Josef. Large hands fastened on his shoulders, and Arkadi walked around the bed to stand right behind him. "Take him to the playroom, Josef," he instructed, standing so close to Philip that his breath tickled the priest's ear. Philip turned back to Arkadi and the fear in his eyes sent a shiver of excitement through the older man. "No!" he yelled, even as Josef pulled him out of the room and forced him down the stairs. Arkadi followed, thinking, _I hope you show up soon, Derek, or your pretty priest will receive an interesting lesson or two in suffering._ To be continued in part 9 Poltergeist: The Legacy is (c) 1997 MGM/UA and Trilogy Entertainment. This story is not intended to infringe on these copyrights. Stolen Heaven is (c) 1997 Penemuel