Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

Anzel had taken delight in finding clever ways of delivering excruciatingly painful beatings that didn't leave marks, at least not marks that wouldn't fade in time. Ren jumped as Anzel whirled and stopped in front of him bringing the paddle down to smack loudly in his hand.
    The shame and anger Ren felt over his fearful reaction caused his stomach to churn. Never in his wildest imaginings had Ren thought to be reduced to this, this mewling creature he had become. But the pain was so frequent and so fierce that he cringed from even the kindest of touch. Not that one ever found kindness here in this hellhole!
    Slowly, Ren felt himself slipping farther and farther into that quiet space where nothing and no one existed save Con. When the pain became more than he could bear he would let his mind go back to that night and their kiss. Sometimes that memory was the only thing that kept Ren from going insane.
    "Pay attention boy!" Ren felt the paddle fall across his shoulders with such force that the air was forced from his lungs and stars danced before his eyes. He felt Anzel grab his hair and pull his head up and then he was staring into the flushed and angry face of his tormentor.
    "Now listen to me you little bastard! You'll go to my brother's palace and ingratiate your pathetic ass back into Constantine's good favor. Do you hear me? You'll do whatever it takes to get him to trust you. The gateway between our realms is locked and he's the only one who holds the key! You'll have three days once they haul your pathetic ass off that mountainside to get that key from him."
    Ren licked his lips. "Three days? But that's not enough time! What if I can't? What if he won't give me the key?
    With a roar, Anzel let go of Ren's hair and slapped him across the face so hard Ren felt his ears ring. Dropping the paddle, Anzel grabbed Ren's head between his two hands and pulled his face close to his. Through gritted teeth, Anzel spoke the words that made Ren's heart grow cold.
    "If you fail, the beatings you've had these past few months will seem like child's play compared to the pain that the my guards will inflict. How long do you think that ass of yours will survive being passed around among my men? And don't think you can run from me! There's nowhere, NOWHERE you can hide that I won't find you! And when I do, you'll curse the day that whore spat you out of her womb!"
    Anzel threw Ren aside and swept from the room, barking an order to the guards to lock Ren away until it was time to deliver him to Gael. Ren felt the soldier's hands grip his arms and let himself go limp. Tears flowed down his face as he prayed once more that somehow death would find him and stop the nightmare his life had become.
    Ren looked at the palace in the distance. Once he was there, he was to open the gate and stand by as an assassin sent to ensure Lord Anzel's rise to the heavenly realm took away the only part of himself that had ever been good and true. Con…he was to betray Con. Ren dropped his head back down onto his knees and wept. Fear and despair raged within him and the decision to carry out Anzel's orders once more hung over him like a death sentence.
    ****
    Con stood staring out the window located behind his desk. From this height, the soldiers sent to retrieve Ren looked like little more than ants crawling along the mountaintop. The decision not to accompany his men had been a relatively easy one for Con. He knew that in order to avert any crime that had been planned, it would be important to re-establish his authority over Ren immediately and in order to accomplish that he had to be in firm command of his emotions.
    Con knew that had he gone down the mountain with the soldiers nothing on earth could have prevented him from scooping his boy up into his arms and kissing him until both of them were breathless. Even now he could feel his heart beat faster at the mere thought of it. Ren, I missed you so much. Will you believe that? Will you believe me when I tell you how much you mean to me…how much I have come to love you?
    Con shook himself hard and drew his thoughts back to the problem at hand. He knew that Anzel had not released Ren on a whim. He was curious as to what story Anzel had cooked up for the boy in order to convince him that Ren wasn't still under Anzel's hold! He also shuddered to think of how Anzel might have forced Ren into doing his bidding. The thought of his boy suffering caused the bile to rise up in Con's throat.
    Con couldn't