World of Night

Hide It All

“This is madness, Dom!“ Marton gestured angrily at nothing and everything around him as he followed Dominic through the empty house.

“Oh shut up, Grumpy,” Dominic grumbled, “You should be grateful.” the blond turned around and glared at Marton, “After all I managed to get us out of that cave of lunatics! I’m the one who saved both of us!”

“Saved us?” Marton asked angrily, grabbing Dominic and pressing hi against the nearest wall, “Saved us? Just because you found a troll stupid enough? What if we really were safer in the caves?”

Dominic rolled his eyes, pushing the Kiwi off him, “Marton, they only said that to make us stay! Can’t you see? They didn’t want us to escape. We could tell people! They were afraid of what might happen if someone found out about their crazy underworld!”

“What if you are the one who’s wrong?” Marton yelled back “The attack in the subway, the worm… What if these things just happened because someone knew?”

“Bullshit.” Dominic insisted, glaring angrily at Marton, “They were just trying to get rid of us.”

“Get rid of us?” Marton repeated incredulously, “How can you say such a thing? They risked their lives to safe your from the worm!”

“They wouldn’t have had to save me if they hadn’t abducted me in the first place!” Dominic refused to budge.

“Why?” Marton asked, mimicking Dom’s stare.

“Why what?”

”Why were you so obsessed with coming back?”

“very well,” Dominic sighed, briefly looking at the floor, “I will tell you if you agree to help me.”

“With what?”

“I’ll tell you if you agree.”

Marton sighed exasperatedly. “Okay, I’ll help you.”

“Great! Let’s see if there is somewhere in this house where we can talk.”


~***~


“They’re gone!” Karl panted as he stormed into the living room, where David was just trying to do a jigsaw. “They’re gone!”

With obvious annoyance David put a piece of the jigsaw aside. “Who is gone Karl? And where?”

“Dominic and Marton, they’re gone!”

“What?!?” David yelped, pieces of jigsaw tumbling all over the carpet as he jumped up, “Marton? Gone? Where to?”

Karl leaned heavily against the doorframe, still gasping for breath. “They’ve gone to the surface.”

For endless seconds David just stared at Karl before breaking into uproarious laughter, “Surface? Karl, you are a clown! They can’t have, they don’t know how to use the portals!”

“Apparently they convinced one of the trolls to work the spell for them.”

David’s laughter froze. “What? You’re joking, right? You don’t mean that!”

”I do.” Karl answered with a sigh, “They’re gone.”

David stared blankly at him, slowly shaking his head a few times, “The authorities up there, they must know that they disappeared, if they suspect that they were with us…”

“Yeah…” Karl muttered darkly, “Exactly…”

“Oh shit…” David whispered, labouringly swallowing the lump in his throat.


~***~


“For fuck’s sake, Sean!” Viggo huffed irritatedly, punching his pillow, “Could you just for once lie still? I’m trying to sleep!”

“I’d lie still if you wouldn’t start snoring every time I’m almost asleep!” Sean retorted.

“I don’t snore!”

“You do!”

“Don’t!”

“Do!”

“Not!”

“Stop it you two!” a muffled voice yelled, accompanied by loud hammering against the wall, “Some of us are trying to sleep!”

Sean snorted at Elijah’s outraged yell and rolled onto his side, facing the wall. He could feel Viggo glaring at his back. “What?” he snapped angrily without turning around.

“I’m sorry.” Viggo said quietly, staring at Sean’s impassive back, “I didn’t mean to pick a fight.”

“You never do.”

“I already said I was sorry,” Viggo was beginning to lose his patience, “I’m not used to sharing quarters.”

”Bed.” Sean corrected dryly, still staring at the wall.

“Okay, okay,” Viggo relented, propping himself up on his elbows, “I’m not used to sharing a bed.”

“You are the one who told that poor old man that we were an item!”

“That poor old man is called Ian and he would have given us over to the police if I hadn’t told him that!”

“You don’t know that!”

“I do!”

A frosty silence hung in the room as Viggo rolled onto his back, heaving a sigh.

“And stop hoarding the blanket!” Sean snapped, turning and grabbing the blanket from Viggo.

“How many times do you want me to apologize?” Viggo asked, “I have hardly done anything else since we sort of stranded here.”
“You know,” Sean said suddenly, turning to stare into Viggo’s eyes, “We could leave…”

“And go where?” Viggo asked a little breathlessly, “I’d doubt we’d manage to make it to that safe-house of yours.”

“But if we did,” Sean insisted, “If we did, we could go to my people… we would be safe with them.”

“You never told me who your people are.” Viggo said thoughtfully.

“You never asked.” Sean’s face was so close to Viggo’s that the American could feel the other man’s breath ghost over his skin.

“I’m asking you now.”

”But now is not the time. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” Viggo answered instantly, to his own surprise, “I don’t know why but I do.”

“Good.” Sean grinned, kissing Viggo chastely onto the mouth, “Will you try to return to my people with me then?”

“Yes,” Viggo’s hand entangled itself in Sean’s hair, gently caressing the blond strands, “I have nowhere else to go, I will follow you.”

Sean merely grinned, once more moving in to kiss the American.
Minutes later Elijah and Billy punched the other side of the wall again, though this time for entirely different reasons.


~***~


“Well’” Marton asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest and glaring at Dominic.

The blond sighed, shaking his head. “You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”

“Why should I? I promised to help you, yes, but I want to know what this is all about.”

Dominic nodded gravely, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. “Do you remember the night we were over at Orlando’s and Eric’s?”

A curt nod, followed by raised eyebrows.

“You wanted to watch TV when we returned. You were quite drunk at the time.” he added as he saw Marton’s doubtful glance.
“Anyway, you fell asleep during the news.”

“Dominic…”

“No, wait!” Dominic held up his hands, “I know it was two days ago but there was an explosion in Baker Street.”

”Yes?” Marton was obviously getting more and more impatient.

“I have to go there,” Dom explained, “You see, the house that was blown up belonged to Lieutenant General Ian McKellen. He was a source of mine.”

Marton’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. “Source? What kind of source?”

“A source of information.”

“What would you need a source of information for?”

Dominic glared at Marton. “I am, was,” he corrected himself, “A free-lance writer for the Times before these lunatics took me. I had a normal life, you know."

Marton remained silent, waiting for Dominic to go on.

“I am afraid that the police will allow evidence to… let’s say disappear.”

Dom did not even have to look at Marton to know that the older man did not believe him.

“I was on to a really big story,” he continued hastily, “Funds disappearing in government ranks, strange loss or change of personnel without explanation whenever I asked too many questions, false messages and such things.” he shrugged as Marton sat down with a sigh.

“Let me guess, the ones responsible are the Illuminati?”

“Very funny.”

“Oh, the Freemasons, perhaps?”

Dominic glared.

“Okay,” Marton sighed, “So this General was one of your sources?”

“Lieutenant General, yes.”

“That’s pretty hard to believe.”

“I know.”

“What do you think you’ll find there? If the police are really part of some big conspiracy they’ll have searched the ruins thoroughly.”

“I don’t know,” Dominic shrugged, “But there has to be something. I don’t believe that the explosion was an accident. Will you help me?”

“I must be crazy,” Marton grumbled, “I’ll help you.”


~***~


“Do you think this is the portal they used?”

“No,” Karl shook his head, brushing dust off his trousers as he stepped from the portal, “They used one of the Trollports.”

“Trolls?” Harry growled, “One of the trolls helped them?”

Karl nodded.

“Stupid Greenies!”

“Harry!” Craig glared at his lover, “They may be a little thick at times but they’re still our allies!”

“Yes love.” Harry grumbled, looking quizzically at Karl and David, “Where do you think they might have gone?”

“Dom wanted to return home right from the beginning,” Karl sighed, “He just tried to hide it from us but the wish was always there.”

“Do you know where he used to live?”

“No.”

“So you rushed into the upper world without knowing where to go,” Harry summarized. “Great. That’s really helping a lot.”

“Wait…” Craig whispered hoarsely, grabbing Harry’s shoulder for support.

“What’s the matter love? Are you alright?” Harry at once embraced him, steadying the younger man.

“I… feel something.” Craig gasped, eyes rolling wildly in their sockets. With another pained gasp he collapsed against Harry, the vision just as suddenly gone as it had come.

“Do you really think it wise to take him along?” David asked, blue eyes worried, “It would draw far too much attention if he had a vision in a crowded place.”

“I’m not leaving him anywhere.” Harry growled.

“And we need both, Harry and Craig,” Karl finished.

“Well….” David acceded with a sigh.

“I don’t like going anywhere with you, either,” Harry growled, “But it seems that wayward charge of Karl’s” he added a glare in the right direction, “Has left us no choice once more.”

“If you’re done fighting,” Craig interrupted them tiredly, “It might interest you what I saw.”

Three sets of eyes fixed on him with varying degrees of curiosity.


~***~


“Morning.” Elijah grinned lewdly at Sean and Viggo, “Slept well?”

“Very.” Sean smirked, sitting down at the kitchen table, Viggo always staying at his side.
Billy grumbled something unintelligible but clearly unfriendly as Viggo reached for the cornflakes.

“What was that?” the American asked.

“Nothing,” Elijah grinned around a mouthful of bread, “I think he wants to say that he didn’t sleep as well as you two did.”

Billy grumbled again, once more disappearing behind the morning paper.

“Morning.” Peter yawned as he tapped into the room in his usual dress of shorts and t-shirt. “Oh, you’re already up,” he grinned almost sheepishly at Sean and Viggo, “Could you try to be less vocal? Some of us are trying to sleep, you know?”

“Sorry,” Viggo mumbled, stealing the strawberry jam from a protesting Elijah, “Where are Hugo and Ian?”

“Already off to work.”

“Oh.” Sean frowned as he noticed that Billy had not only lowered the newspaper but was also staring at them. “Billy?” he asked carefully, “Is something wrong?”

“Yes.” Billy studiously folded the paper and set it aside, his gaze wandering between Sean and Viggo. “Why are you here with us?”
Sean glanced briefly at Viggo before once more telling the story they had agreed on.

“I did not mean that,” Billy clarified, “I meant your real reason. The truth. Why are you running away? And who is looking for you?”

“But we already told you,” Viggo interrupted before Sean could speak again, “We are an item and running from his family. His brother even threatened to kill us.”

Billy sighed, tapping his hands on the table, “I will only tell you once more.” the Scot said sternly, “I want the truth.”

“But…”

Peter and Elijah were looking on with undisguised curiosity as Viggo finally relented.

“I was working for a company,” he explained, “Which company doesn’t matter. Someday I was assigned to work with one of the company’s… subjects,” he smiled apologetically at Sean, “That was when I found out that the company tested certain… drugs on humans.”

“What?” Elijah yelped, staring incredulously at Viggo, eyes wide as saucers. Billy only looked more serious.

“And he,” the Scot nodded at Sean, “Was one of these humans.”

“Yes.” Sean’s voice was strangely flat.

“So what happened?” Billy asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.”

“I took the first chance to get Sean out of there as soon as I noticed what I had gotten into.”

“Before or after you got together?” snickered Elijah.

“Lij!” Billy glared at his boyfriend.

“Before.” Sean grinned.

“Very well,” Billy sighed, “Let’s for just one moment assume that what you say is true – and I’m not saying I believe you,” he added quickly, “Then what is this?”

Sean gulped as he stared wide-eyed at the page of the newspaper Billy had flipped open. Somebody had even put his and Viggo’s picture under the headline that glared at them:
“Murderers Loose on London After Robbing Factory”.


~***~


Slowly Peter let his hand sink after placing the receiver on its cradle once more, swallowing a painful lump in his throat before he turned to look at the men at the kitchen table. All four were staring back at him. Sean’s and Viggo’s hands were entangled on the table.

“That was Hugo,” Peter said slowly, his voice raspy, “He and Ian just read the newspaper.”

“And?” Sean whispered.

“Well,” Peter looked anywhere but at Viggo and Sean, “They want us to keep you here till the police arrive.”

“The police?” Viggo’s chair clattered to the floor as he dragged Sean with him, “When will they be here?”

“I don’t now,” Peter shrugged, “10, 15 minutes maybe.”

“Oh shit! Sean, you said you know someplace where we would be safe, how far is that place?”

“Not too far,” Sean pulled a pullover over his head as he ripped the phone cable from the wall, “Will you help us?” he looked pleadingly at Billy, Elijah and Peter.

“You really told us the truth?” Billy asked finally. Viggo nodded.
“Okay.” a heavy sigh. “You are sure that you have a place to go?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” Peter nodded, adjusting his glasses, “You go dress, grab some money and disappear. When the police show up we’ll tell them that we haven’t seen you yet today.”

“Of course you’ll have to leave your bedroom window open..”

“We will!” Viggo yelled over his shoulder, already dashing out of the room.


~**~


“You don’t really thing that we’ll find anything there, do you?” Marton asked, scratching his head as he stared at the still smouldering ruins of what had once been a house.

“I don’t know. I hope.” Dominic shrugged, frowning at the yellow tape securing the ruins, “I guess we’ll just have to try.”

“You do know what the words “police line do not cross” mean?” Marton asked dryly.

“Do you see any policemen round here?”

“No, but the place could be under surveillance.”

“And why should it? The house was blown up two days ago.”

“What if they think that the once who did this might return to the crime scene?”

“This late? No,” Dominic shook his head decisively, “I don’t think so. Come on.”

Marton pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head as Dominic tried to look innocent as he ducked under the tape and entered the ruins.


~***~


“Are you sure we’re right here?” David asked, doubtfully looking around.

“Yes,” Craig insisted for the umpteenth time, “They’re near, I can feel it.”

Harry mumbled something unintelligible under his breath as they trudged on through the dirty streets.

“Doesn’t seem like he’s done too well.”

”Do you have any idea who the second one is?” Karl asked Craig.
“No, but I sense that there is someone with him, someone he cares about.”

Karl nodded, ignoring the next string of mumbled curses and growls from Harry. “So you think he picked up someone?”

“We have no idea where he has been these last few months, how do we know the one he picked up is a friend?”

“Stop fighting!” Craig hissed, glaring at Karl and Harry, “The most important thing is to get Sean back. Alive and unharmed.”

“Marton.” “Dom.” David and Karl said at the same time.

“We all have our priorities.” Harry grumbled.


~***~


“Over there!” Dominic yelled, pointing at a subway station, “We have to catch a tube, it’s the only way to lose them!”

Yells and Screams followed them as they rushed down the stairs and jumped over the security fences.
“There!” Marton pointed at the stairs to platform 8, “The green line! The tube’s just coming in!”

They pushed through the crowd as the train came to a halt with screeching brakes.
Marton sighed with relief as the doors swished shut and the train started to move. The last thing he saw were police officers streaming onto the platform.
Dominic shook his head, placing his hand on Marton’s arm.

“Where do we go now?” the Kiwi asked softly, “They’ll be looking for us all over London!”

“Yes.” Dom whispered, “But at least our little excursion was successful.”

“You found what you where looking for?”

“No,” Dom said evasively, “But I found something.”

“That won’t help us if your little excursion gets us into prison!”

“Quiet!” Dominic hissed over the noise of the rattling train, “There are too many people around!”

“Do you have a place where we can hide?” Marton asked.

“Do you?”

“No.”

“Maybe one of my sources can take us in. I just have to make a few calls.”

“As long as we aren’t blown up, too.”