Flight of the Falcon (Byrdes of York #1)

11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Hugh

H e and Falcon had heard nothing new from anyone during the rest of the day and Hugh returned back to his place to get ready for their date that night. He was looking forward to getting to know Falcon better, having been attracted to him right from their first meeting.

He showered and shaved before carefully choosing an outfit. Dressed in dark wash denim jeans paired with a jewel green Henley long sleeved shirt, he pulled a lightweight jacket on before jogging down the stairs to the outer door.

Falcon was waiting for him on the street and Hugh checked him out as he was being checked out in turn. His date was wearing a pair of crisp chinos and a dark blue t- shirt. Hugh smiled at him and they fell into an easy step as they began walking towards St Helen’s Square in the Georgian heart of York.

“Thai okay?” Falcon asked. “Yeah, love Thai.”

They crossed the square, passed the famous Betty’s Tea Rooms , now closed, and headed towards the grand Mansion House, turning left as they approached. Ahead of them was a small Thai restaurant.

“This okay?”

“Looks great.”

Falcon opened the door, allowing Hugh to enter first, before following him into the small restaurant. It was still early, so there weren’t too many diners yet.

“Falcon.” A small Thai woman approached them, smiling widely. “Good to see you again.”

“You too, Pom. This is Hugh, my date. Hugh, Pom,” he introduced.

“You want sit in the window?” Pom asked Hugh as she gathered a couple of menus.

“Sure,” Hugh replied, making his way over to the four-seater table in the corner near the large window. Falcon took the menus from Pom. After ordering a couple of Singha beers, they began perusing the menu.

“What’s good?” Hugh asked.

“Anything, really, though I’m a big fan of Pad Thai myself. Depends on how spicy you like it.”

Hugh looked at him, one eyebrow raised. Falcon just laughed before returning to his menu.

Pom arrived back with their drinks and they both ordered the sharing platter to start followed by Pad Thai. Once they were left alone a comfortable silence fell over the table and Hugh found himself people watching through the large picture window.

“How long have you lived in York?” he asked Falcon, turning back to his dinner companion.

“Ever since Francis rescued us, so about twenty years now.”

“Rescued you?” Hugh asked, hoping Falcon would respond this time. Falcon cocked his head to one side, reminding Hugh of the birds that had sat on the windowsill of the bedroom he’d been held captive in.

“You don’t know? It never came up in your research?”

Hugh shook his head. “All the info I had said you and your brothers had been fostered by Francis Byrde before he adopted you, and that you all remained close. So much so that you and the others rented the shops in the arcade together. I didn’t see anything about any rescue.”

Falcon sat back in his chair, just as Pom approached with their starters. “Okay?” she asked.

“We’re fine, Pom, thanks for asking.”

She nodded and left the starters with them. Distracted for a moment by the food, the two of them filled up their plates and began sampling the offerings.

“You know I can connect psychically with birds, use their eyes as if they were my own and even communicate with them?”

Hugh nodded, wondering where Falcon was going with this. “My own powers are a lot less than that,” he answered. “As you saw the other day, I can sometimes get feelings about what has happened in a room and occasionally I get visions. Other than that, I can spot a spell trap a mile off, but it sounds as though you have a lot more powerful powers than I do.”

“You could say that.” Falcon sighed and drank his beer. “When I was a child, I was held in a facility for children with psychic powers. We were all orphans and had been signed over to the facility. I was 7 or 8 when I first went there. They… they experimented on us with drugs…”

He trailed of, and Hugh reached over to grab his hand, hardly believing what he was hearing.

“On children?” he asked, horrified.

Falcon nodded. “There were six of us when I first went there. The rest were older than me and then others came in, including those who became my brothers and sisters. Some of the older ones never came back. I can’t say for sure, but I think they died due to the experiments being carried out. They were trying to understand our powers and used drugs as a way to enhance them or block them, whichever way they wanted to go.”

“That’s…” Hugh trailed off, not sure what else to say. He squeezed Falcon’s hand again in sympathy.

They paused talking once more and concentrated on eating for a while. Thoughts were swirling round in Hugh’s mind. Who would do such a thing to children? It was bizarre.

“What happened?” he asked eventually.

“As we grew up, we were put on different drugs and our reactions were tested. In many ways we didn’t question what was happening to us. We had no access to the outside world and thought that it was natural. That’s just how the world was. Then Robin arrived and things got worse before they got better. He was only 3 when he came to the facility and he wouldn’t stop crying for a long time. He didn’t understand that his parents were gone, and this was now his home. They gave him a new drug and it affected him badly.”

Falcon swallowed and Hugh could see the tears welling in the corner of his eyes. “You don’t have to go on, Falcon, I don’t want to push you.”

“No, you should know. The drug they gave him did something to his circulatory system and he lost all feelings in his legs. Then he got sepsis.” He took a sip of his beer.

“They had to remove his legs below his knees, that’s why he has prosthetics now. A couple of years later, Francis came to visit the facility. He’d heard about it through his work with paranormal agencies and physic organisations and wanted to see what it was about. I think he originally thought it was a lot more beneficial than it was. He was horrified when he found out what was going on and used his influence with the government of the day to get the facility closed down. Robin and our baby sister Chyna were the youngest, I was 16 and Jenny was 17. We’d begun to dread what would happen when we got older as none of the older children had ever come back.

“Anyway, Francis rescued us, took us to his home in York and basically treated us as his children from then on out. It was a massive learning curve. TV, computers, smart phones, school – none of us had ever seen any of that, never mind had any contact with other children outside of the facility.”

He fell silent again and Hugh kept hold of his hand, trying and failing to get his mind around what Falcon had told him.

Pom approached quietly and after tidying their starter dishes away, returned with their main courses. It broke the tension between them and Falcon smiled at him.

“It was a long time ago,” he said as he dug into his meal. “Eat, Hugh.”

Hugh nodded and they spent the rest of the meal talking about lighter subjects such as their likes and dislikes, including music, film and books. Both were great readers and found they had some favourite authors in common.

By the end of the meal the atmosphere between them was much more relaxed again and Hugh smiled at Falcon across the table. This gorgeous man with brown eyes that seemed to see into his soul, looked back at him and gave him a flirty grin. All thoughts of the heavier subject from earlier fled his mind.

“Are you ready to go?” Falcon asked, having paid the bill.

“Whenever you are.”

They got up and after thanking Pom for the service, left the still fairly quiet restaurant heading towards Stonegate and the arcade.

“Nightcap at mine?” Falcon asked and Hugh agreed.

When they reached the bookshop, Falcon let them in then locked the door and reset the alarm. He led the way up the stairs and Hugh followed him into his flat. It was the first time he’d been in his home. The entrance opened up into a large, open-plan room, with a kitchen off to the left and several sofas spread around the area.

Falcon moved to a small bar in the corner and poured them both a glass of whiskey. Hugh found himself drawn to the wall opposite the windows where there hung lots of photos in frames. Many of them were of Falcon, his brothers and sisters and Francis.

He felt Falcon behind him and turned round to accept the drink.

“They date from when we moved out of the facility,” Falcon said, pointing at one photo. In it, Falcon looked young and the others were crowded around him. He held a young boy in his arms. Robin, Hugh surmised. Jenny had a little dark-haired girl in her arms, and they were all squinting at the camera, not sure what was happening.

Other photos showed them more relaxed. There were wedding photos for Jenny and graduation photos for Robin and Ollie. There were even photos of them all grinning in front of the arcade shops, with workmen in the background.

Hugh leaned back slightly against Falcon, whose arms came round him as he began to kiss Hugh’s neck. Hugh arched back, moaning at the feelings coursing through him, before turning in Falcon’s arms.

They exchanged kisses, and as they became more passionate, Hugh held on to Falcon tightly. He could feel the other man’s erect length pressed against his own and he drew in a breath.

“I want you,” Falcon said as he nipped down his throat, before returning to his lips. “Bedroom?”

Hugh could only nod before he took Falcon’s hand and let himself by led to the other man’s bedroom.

Falcon

Falcon woke feeling sated and content. He could hardly believe his luck. Hugh was an amazing lover and so generous. He smiled as he watched him sleep in his arms and couldn’t help himself as he pressed kisses to his forehead.

“Mmm.” Hugh’s voice was barely a whisper. “Good morning.”

Hugh opened his eyes blearily. He smiled, scrunching his face at the sunlight coming in through the windows.

“What time is it?” he asked as he disentangled himself from Falcon’s arms and sat up in bed.

“Just after 7.30am.”

Hugh yawned and stretched, showing off his muscles as he did so. Falcon watched appreciatively. They’d spent the rest of the weekend in bed, getting up only to eat and shower. It had been an intense time, and he could feel that he was already falling for the other man.

“Isn’t today the day your friends are coming?”

“Yep, got a text from Percy last night. They’ll be here by 9 am,” confirmed Falcon. “Guess we better get up and get ready. Join me in the shower?”

Falcon grinned and bounced out of bed. Really Hugh had the best ideas. He entered the en-suite bathroom and got the shower running before taking care of business. Hugh joined him in the large walk-in shower. Falcon hadn’t skimped when he’d fitted out his apartment. The shower was one of his luxuries.

“Hmm,” he murmured as Hugh moved behind him and ran his hands down his body under the running water before reaching for the shower gel and pouring some on his hand. Falcon sighed as Hugh began to wash him, showing him great attention.

Falcon turned around and began soaping up the other man as well, returning the favour. He groaned as Hugh’s hands reached his already erect cock and squeezed it. He thrust into the other man’s soapy hand and moaned.

“That’s it,” Hugh said as he pumped him harder. “Give me all that you have.”

Feeling his orgasm building, Falcon thrust harder, moving his hips back and forth. Not able to stop the sounds leaving his mouth, he let out a low groan as he came all over Hugh’s hand and stomach. He let himself be held up by Hugh for a couple of minutes whilst he got his breath back then attacked his lips with a passionate kiss.

Returning the favour, he revelled in the feeling of the man in his arms.

Finally sated, they finished getting clean before shaving and dressing. Hugh had brought a bag over to the shop only the day before, so he had plenty of clothes and toiletries at Falcon’s place.

Just after 9am, Abbie led two men back to Falcon’s study where he and Hugh were waiting for them. Falcon got up, a huge grin on his face, as he welcomed them both with a warm hug.

“Percy, Andrew,” he murmured. “It’s been too long. How’s Pollie? The baby? The others?”

Percy laughed. “Everyone is fine.” He grinned. “Baby Emma continues to grow and is a joy.”

“Except at 3am in the morning when it’s your turn to get up to feed her,” Andrew joked, extending his hand to Hugh. “Andrew Bryce, and this is Percy Smythe. At your service.”

Falcon poured coffee for everyone as Hugh shook hands with the two men and they exchanged pleasantries. Once they were all sat around the room, Andrew looked at Falcon expectantly.

“What have you become embroiled in now?”

Falcon laughed. Nearly every time he met members of the coterie, he’d been involved in some investigation or other for his father. He’d have thought Francis would have been here this morning, but he’d sent his apologies. Falcon frowned slightly; he hadn’t been able to find out what his father was up to, just that he was following up a couple of questions after John’s death.

“Is everything okay?” Percy asked from where he was sat next to Andrew. “Shall I?” Hugh asked Falcon and he nodded.

Hugh then told them why he’d been sent to York, about Ian Swales taking over for his brother, who was still missing, and about his kidnapping. Falcon then joined in and between the two of them brought the coterie members up to date.

“Wow!” Andrew exclaimed. “When you fall into something you really fall.”

“You could say that,” Falcon agreed. “We’d love it if you two could come with us and look at the spell traps Hugh found. Though we can see them quite clearly, we don’t have the skills to do anything about them. We’re hoping you can help us untangle them.”

“One of them is newer than the others,” Hugh put in. “The other two feel as though they’ve been there for many years.”

“I’m fascinated by this ‘gentleman’s club’ type room you found under there,” Andrew said. “I’m looking forward to seeing that.”

“And what’s in the other room. We only glimpsed in, not wanting to set off any other spell traps, but we saw a dark sarcophagus. No telling what…” Hugh swallowed. “… or who is in there.”

“We need to find out who created the room as well. How does it connect to the Romans, specifically the Ninth. If it does at all. I’m not convinced on that.”

“And the man who approached you – Father McKenzie. He’s dead, you say?” “Yes, murdered. Francis is off following up some questions, but he hasn’t shared anything with me yet.”

“I hope he’s okay,” Andrew replied. “Your father has always been a great friend of ours.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Falcon replied. “I probably worry too much.”

He felt Hugh’s fingers squeeze his as he leant across and kissed his cheek. “He’ll be okay, Fal. As you said to me yesterday, he can look after himself.”

All Falcon could do was nod, but he found it hard to ignore the jittery feeling in his stomach. He swallowed. He was sure something bad was going to happen soon.

“So,” Percy began, “how do we get in these tunnels then?”