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Jamie and Paul walked hand in hand throughout the gilded interior of Saint Mark's cathedral.
Paul arched his back as far as he could to better see the majestic frescos of saints and angels on the rotunda, the splendid apses, and the huge high altar. He leaned back so far he almost fell backwards into Jamie's arms.
"The creativity, the inspiration, and piety which went into the making of this cathedral," Paul cried.
"The back breaking work!" Jamie said, putting his arms around Paul's waist.
"Fie, Paul," Bianca laughed, "I knew artists and the artist's apprentices! Neither were all that pious."
"None of them?" Paul asked disappointed.
"I'm sure a few were," Henri consoled him.
"Boys," Bianca said mischievously, her high heels tapping in the cathedral, "Do you have your masks ready for carnival?"
"Oui," Jamie said, putting his jeweled and feathered half mask on his face. Paul slipped on his plain white porcelain mask.
"Come then, children," Bianca thrilled, hurrying out of the church, her boys in toll.
They entered out of the church. A young man was selling fried meat. Paul and Jamie couldn't help looking at him from the corner of their eyes.
"I know exactly what you are thinking of," Bianca fussed, "Ah, boys they are nothing mais bottomless pits, I swear." She reached into her little purse hanging on a string from her waist. "Wait," she said to the vendor, "Before I purchase this tell me the source of this meat."
"Chicken, my dear lady," the vendor swore.
"Chicken," she said archly, raising a suspicious eye brow, quickly looking into the young man's mind, "Ha, it is a strange kind of whiskered chicken whose last words were meow! Off with you boys, you shall not dine here. We'll find a more honest man." Siding to Henri, she whispered, "remind me to pay a visit to yon man later. Chicken indeed."
They joined the carnival goers, dancing with a multitude of mortals in the streets. Ribbons and flowers fell every where. Later they watched the lit up barges racing down the Grand Canal from their rented gondola.
Henri rowed their gondola down the canal, smiling at Jamie's and Paul's hand being held so tightly together.
"You know boys you cannot go back to New Orleans," Henri said seriously.
"Mais, my brother Louis, I must go to him Let him know I'm alive," Paul said surprised.
"It's better off for both of you and for those in your past to think you both are dead. Armand is a predatory vampire of the first rank. Jamie and Paul, I have no doubt he would love to revenge himself by killing you both for the injury Lestat gave him by his falling fatally in love with Louis."
"Paul while you were convalescing. I received a letter from my spy. She wrote me there had been a crack down on slaves and free people of color who practiced voodun. Under torture voodun priests have been forced to say that human sacrifice is a part of their religious ritual," Bianca said seriously, "Your friend Doctor Rodin de Bones was almost taken into custody, mais for Louis. Louis chased the police away."
"The monsters, the hypocrites. Human sacrifice is no more a part of our religion than it is of their Catholic faith," Jamie said hotly, "In fact, the Catholic faith, isn't it based on a man's life being sacrificed? How dare they slander through the work of torture a perfectly legitimate faith."
"It's racist propaganda. The authorities see a growing tolerance amongst the white population for voodum. White women have been going to priestesses for charms. Powerful men in the community feel these priestesses are tempting white women to desert their faith, and to indulge in orgies. The masters are starting to fear the spread of voodun will result in a slave uprising, so they are bringing up false charges against priests. Jamie, your Angelique de Saint-Ange, she has been hung for talking about freedom for slaves. The police trumped up the charge of murder against her, claiming she murdered a child during a voodum ceremony."
"Isn't it ironic? The Romans used the same type of propaganda against the early Christians," Paul said sadly.
"This fear amongst the white population goes in spurts. Once they feel they have made enough examples of priests to the slave and colored population the violence will lull down. They do tell the most lurid tales. All about voodoo dolls, orgies, zombies, and the slaying of children."
"It' s exploitation! There are no orgies in our ceremonies anymore than there were orgies amongst the early Christians. Our religion employs voodoo dolls, mais what other avenue can a wronged helpless slave go to for justice other than to the supernatural? Voodoo dolls are not typical of real voodum. The use of voodoo dolls grew out of the frustration slaves felt for their inability to run and manage their own lives," Jamie said. "Our religion is no different from any other. We pray to God for good weather, just like any planter does. We are not immoral."
"You are right. Henri and Bianca, we can never go back to New Orleans'," Paul said.
"Why would you want to anyway? Look at all this glamour," Bianca said cheerfully, "Italy is the hot bed of sodomy, here men openly hold hands. No one bothers to care! The two of you openly can be lovers here And I think my boys," Bianca said her eyes twinkling like glitter, "I should give you a good show of what Venice is all about. We're notorious for our brothels. Tonight, I will take you to a place where you can exercise your pleasures."
"Ah Bianca. You speak foolishness," Henri reproved her.
"Non, I speak wisely and well. It will teach you boys how to make love to each other all the better."
"I think, I 'd rather not," Jamie said snuggling closer to an appalled Paul.
"Why not?" she said greatly annoyed.
"It seems too much like slavery to me. Most of those boys are enslaved to be whores due to their lack of education, good names, family, and resources," Jamie said honestly, "And please do not take offense Bianca, I myself feel much enslaved to my present life of idleness because of my lack of education."
"Here we are equal, for I neither know how to read nor how to write Italian," Paul said, "Living in Pairs is out of the question."
"Ah, not only because of Armand, mais because of the inherent danger left over from the revolution. I heard the Catholic Church which was outlawed by the Grand Assembly will be reinstated back to France soon."
"At last," Paul said piously, crossing himself.
"Do not be too jubilant. The country is as intolerant as ever under Napoleon as it was under royal rule. Oui, he is allowing the churches to reopen, mais on his terms. After the revolution there were too many beggars out in the street with no religious shelters to take them in. The priests must put France first, and become more interested in charity and social work, rather than pomp and show. The priests also have to preach the superiority of Napoleon and France over other courtiers to install feelings of nationalism in every French man's breast. Now every crime a man commits is a crime against the people, and the people is Napoleon. De Sade was sentenced to be hung and his valet beheaded for committing the act of sodomy."
'I heard of that trial. I don not believe that de Sade deserved death, yet I do deplore what he did. He fed four female prostitutes, without their knowledge, Spanish fly hidden in the makings of candy to lower their resolve not to have anal sex with him. One girl became dangerously ill from the candy. I can't say giving a drug secretly to a whore to induce her to perform acts against her will is undeserving of some sort of punishment."
De Sade and his valet were hung in effigy. The Marquise is imprisoned; his valet volunteered to be jailed with him. It's a man's world boys everyone know the power and value of a woman is through her cunt. I suppose that is why I prefer the love of women to the rule of men. Even my dear Marius. I must say I resented him when he proposed to kill me," she laughed. "for poisoning people. What a cher hypocrite, and he put me on the devil's road, and what pray tell me, what do I do every night. I kill! Ah, he just wanted to show off for my brother Armand, bullying me, frightening me to death, to show Armand he has power over frail, mortal evil doers. What a performance. Lucky for me after scaring me half to death, he instead murdered my protectors. Those very men who supposedly threatened me into poisoning their rivals, ha! I practiced the fair art of poisoning for the money. It was ever so pleasant to do work which didn't involve my being on my back. I had to stop being a practitioner of herbs when Marius became my protector. The problem with ruling over men with your cunt is age brings ruins a woman's rule. The most beautiful of women age and become unwanted drabs. For this. I forget my resentments of Mairus, and I praise Marius. He killed me young before I met my final fate of being abandoned by my fame."
"I read my my brother Louis' essays by De Sade," Paul confessed, "de Sade wrote that if virtute was dismissed from the human race, if lust was decriminalized there would be no such thing as rape. For it is virtute which makes a man, child, or woman feel raped, and not the honest cock penetrating him or her. Women without virtue would take a man's use of her, even his beating of her, as a compliment, treasuring his brutality with ready compliance, making the pain be a sublime delight. Children would be taken away at birth, so women could enjoy the life they truly were met by nature to live, a life of litcitiousness, their legs open to all men, and to be owned by no one mais the state. Children would be brought up by the government, and their bodies free to exploration of the passionate needs of adults. They would be brought up without shame, so they would never have any reason to be ashamed."
"I suppose it was virtue which made me feel humiliated when I was being sold, and a man was pawing me. A man who bought me. If I had been without virtue, I would have wiggled myself at him, and enjoyed the flattery of his attention. It is strange the Catholic church and De Sade agree about the nature of women. That women are naturally prone to be creatures full of nothing more than lust. Non, what De Sade suggests is that we escape one fascism that being the Catholic Church at its worst, with another kind of fascism, that of the state. I admit, I prefer virtue over licentiousness. I prefer not to go to the houses of pleasure."
"I have to smile though," Henri said, "I think the justices were less worried about de Sade making a girl ill, and more worried about him attempting to commit sodomy with women. Sodomy used to be immoral because God said so. Now it is immoral for French men to "steal" their reproductive semen by committing sodomy. Semen which rightfully belongs to the government, wombs, and to Napoleon."
"Listen to me, the two of you are too young to be faithful to one another," Bianca said nervously, glancing at Henri "Boys, we must discuss with you about whether or not you would like to join us on the Devil's Road."
"Bianca knows of a powerful vampire, he can be entreated to bring you both into into our world," Henri said
"Think of it boys no more would you have to fear any mortal," Bianca urged.
"I would think long and hard on this boys, I feel war in the air. Napoleon has declared war on Austria. There are rumors he means to make himself king of Italy."
"Become one of us. You can leave all this nonsense, this garbage behind you. Let mortals go down their paths of destruction. Become one of us. Look at it," Bianca gestured, "here the night sky glimmers with stars and fireworks. Everything is festive and gay. Mais, you still have hungry mortal children in the street, ragged women, desperate men. What can anyone do about it? Leave it behind you and lock the door on your way out. Enter into the glory of the evening twilight. Live in the blessed dusk."
"What do you say my love?" Jamie teased, "Do you fear growing old with me?"
"Non, Bianca, I must say non," Paul said.
"Ah, you declare yourselves too quickly, You'll change your minds. You both are naive. You don't know what's going on."
"Mais, Bianca we are not innocents. I swear we are perfectly aware of what is going on," Jamie said seriously," 'And that is why we want to remain as we are"
"You really are refusing me?" Bianca said surprised, "knowing what you know of humanity, and you refuse me! I guess you know what you are doing."
"Oui, we do," Paul said, putting his head on Jamie's shoulder.
"Do you still hear those voices of saints?" Henri worriedly asked.
"Non," Paul blushed, "I can guess at their origin, part of it was because of your visitation when I was five years old, the other part was guilt. I thought I was going to be God's messenger for what was like all of my young life when I started to, to, be curious about my brother, Louis. I had a dream about him, it was a frightening dream, it caused me to be aroused and to pollute my bed clothing. I didn't understand myself. I channeled my sexuality into religious devotions. When I fell in love with Jamie, at first, I freely admit, I was only in lust with him. I punished myself by hurting myself because I knew I wasn't being fair to you Jamie. Later, I did fall in love with you. When you and I started being together, I no longer was curious about Louis," Paul admitted humbly.
"Paul, I wish I had been there to talk to you about the feelings you had for your brother. It's natural for a very young man emerging into sexuality to be curious, and easily aroused, if you had the opportunity to talk to someone you would not have been so traumatized by your sexuality and your spirituality," Henri said.
" I see it now for what it was. It was a boy's crush," Paul said.
"Now, Henri, we must tuck these children in so we can do our adult fun," Bianca teased.
"Oui, mademoiselle," Henri said gliding the gondola to their town house.
Paul and Jamie went up the stairs, leaving their friends to their hunt. Paul opened the door, then hurried inside, fumbling about to light a candle. He lit the way, walking along with Jamie to their bed.
"Tonight, forget all about the past nights," Paul said undressing himself till he was trembling and naked, "Those nights, shameful nights. I did not touch or kiss you back. Those nights I wish they never happened."
"Those nights gave me someone to love, Paul," Jamie said, taking his hand.
"I was a stupid, ignorant child who couldn't get past your skin. I made you serve me. Tonight I serve you. I'm going to let you fuck me, mais first I'm going to put your cock in my mouth where it will melt. Shall I suck it? Lick, and lick, and suck it? What will happen? See how it hardens, ah, the length of it. Let me expose my, my ass hole to you, let me tickle your balls so smooth and rounded."
"Paul, where did you learn to talk like this?" Jamie cried, pushing Paul's head off of his swelled up cook.
"Don't you like it?" Paul yelled embarrassed, "I mean, I asked Bianca for help. I'm so stupid at what I'm supposed to do. I thought this would make you happy."
"Does it make you happy?"
"Oui, when I say let me lick your ass, how splendid that you have a a prick worthy of fucking my ass it just means: lick my ass; I love you, fuck me hard; I love you, bite my nipples; I love you. Do you understand? I'm not ashamed to say these world to you."
"Put your fuck in my mouth then let me taste you, darling, I love for you to tickle my ass and finger it," Jamie whispered, pulling Paul to kneel up on top of the bed, licking at his slender, ivory thighs, abdomen and balls, peeling back his foreskin sliding it up and down in the rounded head of his cock.
Shaking, swallowing his shyness down, Paul touched Jamie's dark cock, running his hand on the skin, pulling back the foreskin as Jamie did with him.
With his other hand he pulled, and fondled Jamie's balls, his breath, going faster, and faster.
"Frig me," Paul breathed into Jamie's ear, "Frig my ass. Prepare it Wet your fingers with my kiss, then penetrate me."
Jamie brought his fingers to Paul's mouth for him to suck, frigging Paul's cock all the time. Once his fingers were wet, he teased and toyed with Paul's ass, thrusting through the round muscle, pushing his finger in up to his knuckle, twisting his finger around, pulling it in and out.
"Ah, my lover. I'm dying. I want you," Paul whispered, caressing the hard rounded firmness of Jamie's ass.
Jamie licked and teased first one nipple then the other nipple, giving it little bites. He gently pushed Paul's head down, wondering what Paul would do. Paul took the delicious cock into his mouth, his lips compressed going up and down the boy's shaft, using his hands to masturbate the base of his cock because he couldn't fit the whole thing down his throat.
"The heat, the fuck of you," Jamie breathed, playing with Paul's hair.
"Fuck me, fuck me," Paul murmured between sucks and licks, he pulled away from Jamie's cock, pulling apart his butt cheeks for Jamie to see him exposed and venerable. Shivering at the feel of Jamie's tongue running down his spine to his crack, the wet tickle of his tongue against his anus, Paul gasped.
Jamie deeply breathed in he salty musky boy smell of Paul's ass, licking, probing his hole with his tongue, perpetrating inside deeper with each thrust of his tongue.
Pulling away, clinching his ass, Paul leaned forwards his bottom in the air, "Fuck it, you know you want it."
"Paul I don't want to hurt you," Jamie pleaded.
''Haven't I hurt you in the past?' Paul begged, "Please fuck me!"
Jamie nipped at Paul's buttocks, making Paul whimper at the delicate taste of pain hissing throughout his body, and the powerful heat in his balls. He ached to be fucked.
Gently applying grease on Paul's ass, he rubbed his cock between his buttocks into the heat of his body entering by inches till he was at the hilt.
"Ah monsieur, lover, saint, rescuer, harder, harder, I'm not an infant, harder." Paul gasped.
Jamie placed his hand on Paul's cock, frigging it, bringing Paul to cum inside of himself, and outside also. Jamie pumped his seed into Paul's delectable ass.
Collapsing, laughing in a tangle of arms, legs, and limbs they held each other, snuggling, kissing until their proximity provoked more penetrations and more.
Later after they could make love no more, Paul pulled on his shirt. "Jamie do you want to go to those houses?' he asked seriously.
"I haven't the strength mon amour," Jamie groaned.
"I don't mean tonight!" Paul said embarrassed, "I mean Jamie you were practically given to me. I can not mais feel perhaps the only reason you love me so, is because I am the only boy you have known."
"Paul do you want to go to these houses?" Jamie asked, propping his head.
"It would be like biting into a wax apple, beautiful, but without flavor, to be with another boy," Paul said seriously.
"Come with me, Paul," Jamie said, putting his shirt on, taking his hand, "Come with me out to the gallery."
"What with my legs hanging out," Paul teased.
"No one will see us out there. Come out with me," Jamie teased back.
Opening the door to the gallery, they silently looked up into the night sky which was alive with the explosions of fireworks. red, green, blue, gold sparks soaring above them, reflecting off of the waters, making the dark waters reflect the spectacular colors. Gondolas with their lanterns glowing like gold lazily went by. There was still the happy shouts and the music of carnival in the air. They knew Henri and Bianca were out there hunting, mais they didn't care. Human life without death was no real life at all. Death was a birthing process into another world of mystery.
Jamie studied Paul under the flaring sky. Paul was a sturdy youth of fifteen with his hair as bright as sun shine, a delicate face, his eyes clear as the blue sky. He was such a child still. Just looking at him brought tears to Jamie's throat.
Paul looked up at Jamie. Jamie was such an exotic looking seventeen year old with his brown eyes with explosions of gold specks in them, his honest face, and his slender, muscular body. He was such a boy, too.
"Paul, I may be too young to ask you this, you may be too young to hear these words. Perhaps it is wrong at our age to feel we are in love. Mais, listen to me, Paul there is no advantages to you being with me. I cannot give you children, I cannot be a husband or a wife to you, I cannot be a person people would find to be socially acceptable to be at your side. It's a crime to be with me. All I can do is love you. And I will love you forever. Will you love me back?"
"I will," Paul said simply. | 