Caomhnóir - 15

Thom paced the backyard patio, two thoughts fighting for supremacy in his mind. The first was the one which always overrode any other when Keegan was gone. Would he come back whole and uninjured? And, this time, would he come back at all, considering who his foe was? No matter how often Keegan assured him that what he did was much safer than even Thom’s job when it came down to it, Thom would never stop being afraid for him.

And now there was another worry piled on top of that.

Even though Thom was certain that Darius had been lying, there was still the niggling thought that there could be some truth in his words. What if Keegan did indeed have someone he cared for or loved in each century in which he spent his years away from here? Until last night that idea had never even occurred to Thom. He took Keegan’s love, which he thought was deep and abiding, and gave it back in kind.

Thom had been faithful to Keegan from the moment they had admitted their love for each other. Despite Keegan’s half teasing words that Thom was free to sleep with any women he wished to, to relieve his physical needs, Thom had never even considered doing that. For him it was Keegan or no one.

“But what about you,” Thom muttered, staring up at their bedroom window. “Do you have many lovers, one in each century, all of them as important to you as I seem to be?” He turned away, staring up at the dark, cloud-filled sky above him. “Nine centuries,” he murmured, still talking to himself. “In all that time, there have to have been other men who loved you and received your love in return.”

A stiff wind sprang up, filled with winter’s chill, and he wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. “Damn you, Darius,” he cried out angrily. “Damn you for making me doubt him.”