Kraken (9 page)

At the base of his mantle, above the mass of arms and tentacles Will could see a siphon protruding, translucent and delicate. He reached a finger out and touched it gently. Cy’s grip on Will’s legs tightened, and Will quickly let go, afraid he’d hurt Cy. Suddenly Cy grabbed him and pulled Will closer, grabbing his hand gently with one suckered arm and bring it back to his funnel.

Will grinned. “Oh, so you like this, huh?” He ran his finger around the softly fluted entrance to the siphon, then touched it between his thumb and forefinger, feeling the changes in thickness in the fragile flesh. Cy ran an arm up his legs, and caressed his dick, giving Will the courage to push one finger in more deeply, lightly stroking the interior surface. Cy’s arms were squirming now, flailing gently around Will’s legs, and Will felt a sense of joyous power that he could reduce Cy to this state with only his touch.

Cy broke away from Will’s reach, as if it was too much for him to take. Will saw a flicker of pale flesh as Cy dived deeper into the cool waters of the harbor. Looking around, he shivered as he saw how far out from shore they had drifted, and nearly shrieked when Cy’s long tentacles touched his belly without warning, but then Cy was there again, human, holding Will in his arms, and kissing him ruthlessly.

Will finally rested his head on Cy’s shoulder. “I’m exhausted. Please can we go in?”

“Anything you want, my love. Maybe a nap, huh?”

“Mmmmm. Sounds so good.”

Cy flipped onto his back, pulling Will close to his chest. Will felt him change, effortlessly, shifting back and forth between human and cephalopod with every other stroke. Will felt warm thrusts of water coming from Cy’s siphon as he gently jetted them in to the shore.

“Lost my clothes,” he murmured.

Cy hugged him tighter. “Not important. I have some you can use.”

Will closed his eyes and relaxed in his arms.

“Time to get up, sleepyhead.” Cy nudged Will awake. “Drinks. At Aidens’s.”

Will stretched and groaned. The cotton sheet caressed his skin, cool and delicious. He pulled the pillow over his head.

“Don’t wanna,” he muttered, his voice muffled even to his own ears.

The sheet was ripped off the bed, and Will felt the edge of the mattress dip as Cy sat, kissing his chest.

“We have to go. It’s neighborly. And I want to show you off.”

Will rolled over, away from Cy, lying face down on the bed. He was so tired, he felt he could sleep till the ice caps melted and Cy’s house became an island.

The soft touch on Will’s leg made him smile, then a tentacle tip stroked his foot, leaving his leg twitching and flailing. Cy’s human arms were there, suddenly, holding Will in place while the tentacle mercilessly tickled his soles.

Will shouted, and tried to strike out at Cy, but his hands were tangled in the pillowcase. He finally freed one, but when he hit one of Cy’s arms it yielded softly under his fist.

“No, stop,” he gasped.

Cy was relentless.

“Stop, I hate this, please, I hate it.” Will’s breath left him as he squirmed, until reflex made him cough, not able to get enough air in. His body jerked in Cy’s grasp for long minutes, and Cy pulled him upright and cradled him against his chest. The room swum in his vision, as Cy whispered in his ear.

“Sshh, it’s okay. No more tickling.”

Will’s breath came in gasps for another minute, then he glared at Cy. “You fuck.”

He pulled away and swung his legs over the bed, sitting forward with his elbows on his knees, filling his lungs, until he could talk normally.

Cy got up and opened the closet door, riffling through the hangers.

“Please don’t do that again.”

“Then do what I say next time. And you’re awake now, right? Mission accomplished. Come on.”

Cy pulled dark jeans and a black shirt from the wardrobe, and threw then across the room, hitting Will in the chest. He leaned against the bathroom door and crossed his arms, pointedly looking at Will.

Will caught the clothes with his hands, then waited for a beat. It became apparent nothing else would be forthcoming. “Underwear?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“Why can’t I wear underwear?”

Cy shrugged. “Just because.”

“Well, move then, let me get into the shower.”

“Nope. No shower.”

It was easiest just to put on the damn clothes.

Cy kept hold of Will’s hand, as they walked up the track through the fern forest, while he ran his tentacles up and down Will’s back under his shirt, making Will shiver as they walked. On the other side of the ferns Cy headed south, stepping over fallen logs and low branches.

“There’s no track here?” asked Will, as they made their way slowly through the brush.

“Didn’t used to be any point. There wasn’t anything here. And I don’t think Aiden’s clientele are the kind for hiking. He doesn’t own this bit of land, anyway.”

“Who does?”

“Oh, some firm of lawyers. They own a whole bunch of the interior, although they might not even realize it now. Back from when the mine was operating over the other side of the island.” Cy gestured vaguely with his hand. “It didn’t produce enough, though. It’s been abandoned for decades. No, longer; over a century, now. It’s kind of spooky. Long tunnels going into the hillside. And deep, deep holes going straight down, full of water. There was a pumping station, but it couldn't keep the sea out. The sea always wins in the end.”

Abruptly they were in a large clearing, a huge yellow earthmover off to the left at the bottom of a slope of felled trees.

Twenty feet away a man in a tan suit examined a tablet in his hands, picking his way absent mindedly around tree stumps. Will recognized his rescuer from Redport quay. Aiden obviously wasn’t surprised to see Will and Cy. He greeted them with an easy wave, then gestured with his thumb and pinkie to his ear, in the timeless code for a telephone call. He paused a moment, obviously listening. Even wearing business clothing in the middle of a forest Aiden seemed at home. His dark brown leather boots seemed to somehow join the suit to the rugged terrain. Will felt sweaty and ungainly, and he flushed as he remembered Aiden’s form pressed against his back on the boat. Will felt Cy’s soft, suckered arm leave his back as Aiden walked over, cradling a Bluetooth earpiece in his hand.

“Nice to see you again, Will. And Cyrus too, of course. I didn’t realize you two knew each other. I’m sorry about the phone call. It’s the best reception, just here. Put up my own tower.” He nodded back in the direction they had come. “Just a small one. Can’t talk people into a place if there’s no coverage. And the freight lift, of course. That’s just down there past the earthmover, goes right down to the water’s edge. People won’t carry their supplies up this hill.” Aiden’s eyes slid off Cyrus, onto Will. “I’m glad you took me up on my offer, Will.”

Cyrus looked across at him. He didn’t seem happy. Will looked down awkwardly, feeling Aiden’s gaze lingering on him. It didn’t seem right, to be wondering what one man’s lips would feel like against his, while staying in another man’s house. Even though there was nothing romantic between him and Cyrus, it was still kind of . . . slutty. Wait, no,
was
there something romantic between him and Cyrus? Did
Cyrus
think there was? Will realized he had no idea what Cy’s expectations were. And Aiden was way out of his league anyway. It was nice to imagine, though.

“You in the market, Will? Might be nice having a place so close to your friend.”

“No,” Cy broke in. “Will’s living with me, now.”

Will opened his mouth to qualify he was only there for a week, but Cy gave his hand a warning squeeze.

“Oh,” said Aiden, looking between them. Will found the courage to look up into his face, but couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. “Oh, well, you should think about it, as an investment, even. Not many new developments for sale around here. Let me show you around. Not much to actually
see
yet, of course. A vivid imagination may be required.”

Will had no clue what to say, but Aiden didn’t seem to notice, or at least was polite enough to ignore the awkwardness. Aiden walked Will and Cy through the layout, striding through the tree stumps, drawing pictures with his words. The pool here, tennis court here, three rows of nested condos. He was good, Will had to give him that. For a moment he wished he had the cash to buy into Aiden’s island suburbia dream.

“Come and have a beer, check out what the larger houses will look like. That’ll be stage two, of course. Mine’s just the prototype.”

Through a picturesque scattering of nearby trees Will could see glass and aluminum, and hear voices, with an occasional laugh. Aiden paused for a moment, his body uncharacteristically still. “Cyrus, I just wanted to say how sorry I am for your loss.”

Cy grunted an acknowledgement. “Nothing for me to be sorry for. He should have known better.”

Cy’s loss? What loss?

“And it it looks like Will even fits his clothes. Isn’t that handy for you?” Aiden’s face was still implacable.

“Wait, what? Do you mean Cameron? I’m wearing a dead man’s clothes?” Will started to pull shirt over his head, until Cyrus’s hand tightened uncomfortably on his arm. Will let his hands drop and looked up into Cy’s face. “You were Cameron’s partner?” Will’s voice seemed to be going into uncomfortably high territory, where only beagles and moths could hear him. “Why didn’t you mention it at the store?”

“It’s not relevant. He left. That’s it. Now keep your clothes on and behave. We’re in public.” Cy’s voice was low and quiet.

“What the h— ?”

“I’ll, uh, leave you to it then,” said Aiden. He crossed the deck at the front of his house, going inside to join the guests.

Cyrus faced Will, raising a hand to stroke Will’s cheek. “
He
left
me
, Will. He left and he didn’t even leave a note. I don’t know if he was coming back to me when he died, or not. His mother still lives on the island, so maybe he was going to see her. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you they were Cam’s clothes. I was upset and I didn’t want to talk about it. But, you know, maybe it was for the best. Here you are! You came back.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe how lucky I am. Forgive me?”

Will knew his qualms were irrational. He’d been seeing Parker, after all. And he and Cyrus weren’t dating, or anything. It just felt like . . . something he should have known.

“Come on,” he said, at last. “You dragged me here. We’d better go inside. But look, don’t abandon, me, okay. I don’t do well at parties.”

The house was like a tasteful, expensive, oversize shipping container. Warm dark natural wood made a rail-less rectangular deck around the outside, almost at ground level, and vast bi-fold doors opened out onto it on every side. Will could see a floating staircase going up to the second story.

The whole ground floor was open plan, so Will could see the ten or twelve people present all turn to look at him as they approached, and all fall silent.

He leaned over to Cy. “Oh my gods, it’s pod people,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.

Cy’s warm arm wrapped around Will’s shoulders.

Aiden filled the emptiness, walking over with a glass of clear liquid and handing it to Cy. “Everyone, this is Will. Will, everyone. You all know Cyrus, of course.”

Will toed his shoes off at the door, then Aiden ushered Will effortlessly through the sparse crowd, dropping a few names on the way. Will made no attempt to remember them: he knew it was a fruitless task.

“Ella, get my friend Will a drink, would you?”

“Oh, no, I— “

Cy squeezed his arm again. “No, go ahead. I’ll drive.” He cracked a smile.

Aiden’s kitchen counter was a forest of bottles. A young blonde woman in a blue-checked shirt smiled warmly at Will.

“Hi Will, nice to meet you. I’m Ella. White or red?”

“Um, white, I guess. Whatever Cy’s got.”

“Oh no, Cyrus only drinks water. He’s our resident teetotaler.” She grinned up at him. She pressed an overlarge wine glass into Will’s hand, the bowl half full of a delicate straw-colored liquid. He sniffed at it, and the scent of summer and cut lawns and warm earth filled his head.