"If there's one thing I've learned from loving you, it's that nothing can ever be sacred, and nothing is ever safe."

SACRED
Prologue: Escape

It's dark here. It's cold here. It's lonely here. And you know what? I don't care. I'm numb. I'm dying. Just like I wanted. But not in the cold. In the fire. The fire was where I was supposed to die. In the fire. With my family. My mother. My father. My two brothers. My sister. They're dead. Why did I live? Because. I was the one who wanted it. I wanted death. They didn't. I was punished. I'm still being punished. No one matters. I don't matter. I miss the fire. It always worked before. It failed me. When I needed it. The fire mattered. It killed. No one knew. I got away with it. Then that fire. I was supposed to die. And it failed me. I was caught. But I didn't care. I still don't.

...My name is Blaze. I have no real name... at least... I don't think I do. That's all anyone ever called me before. I'm an arsonist. Arsonist... I killed so many people with fire. And, oh, how I loved it! Watching their skin blacken, watching them turn to ashes. I burned homes. I watched lives, photos, diaries, toys, clothes, antiques, and money go up in smoke. I laughed, then vanished before anyone ever found me. The fire burned all the evidence. That's another reason why I was so good at what I did... the fire was truly mine. I controlled it. It was like the fire was my blood... it came when I wanted it to, it died when I wanted it to. No amount of water could ever douse it. It incinerated skin and bone within moments. Wood, brick, concrete... nothing stopped my fire! It was invincible! And the authorities, looking around for matches or lighter fluid. But all I had to do was wish for my fire. There it was. No matches, no lighter fluid, no dropped cigarette, no dangerous fumes, nothing of the sort. No evidence.

I would pick a house I walked by every day, sometimes one I passed only once. Just an eighteen-year-old kid walking down the street. Then suddenly, there it was. The fire engines arrived, always too late. They questioned all the witnesses. All... except for one. Me. It was all so amazing, so enthralling, the death, the smell of burning flesh... and the fire. It died mysteriously, right before the firemen came. That's when I'd vanish, unnoticed. It was a thrill... oh, how wonderful I felt! Never guilty. I never felt guilty. Sometimes, I got to know the people before I burned them. And I'd let them see my face as they burned. I loved betrayal.

Then, they caught me. I don't remember why, but that night, I wanted to feel the true pleasure of it. I wanted to burn. To death! I wanted to feel what my victims felt. So, I went to bed, and while I was lying there, I set the sheets on fire. The fire spread to the floor. From there, the walls caught on fire, then the furniture. My own belongings went up in flames, but I watched them burn apathetically. Pictures of old girlfriends, my family, and my old friends burning. The photos of myself didn't burn. My sheets and bed were on fire, and I could hear my family screaming downstairs. Screaming... no, shrieking. Shrieking with horror as they realized there could be no escape. And I laughed. I laughed at the screams of my own family, the family that never even bothered to talk to me. The family that couldn't even give me a name. I remember the floor caving in. I remember falling through the burned floor, crashing to the lower floor of my house. That's where I watched my mother, father, and siblings burn. They were saying something to me... I think it might have been my real name. It doesn't matter now. Nothing matters. The fire is all I had... and it failed me...

They found me. I confessed, not only to setting my own house on fire, but to all the other fires. I laughed as they told me I'd be imprisoned. They put me in this cave, lit by eery blue light. They told me to survive on my own... and I have. Every once in a while, they'll send someone else down here for some crime. And I'll seduce them. My hand against their heart, I'll burn a hole right through their chest. And then... I gradually cook their flesh and eat that. Call me a cannibal all you want. We'll lock you in a cold, dark cave for a while and see if you don't do the same thing. Or maybe you'd rather die... then your friend will take advantage of you. Trust me. But I digress. I didn't take them the day they came. No, I did it gradually... I waited until they offered themselves to me. Then I looked them in the eyes as their heart burst into flames beneath my hand. How wide, how scared the eyes were!

You see, it's so easy to seduce with my looks. I look innocent. Wavy silver hair, soft blue eyes. I just give them the sad, puppy-eyed look, and they melt. They always asked how I ended up there, then they'd take me in their arms. I'd run one finger down their back, leaving a burn they didn't feel. I marked my target. Then, for several weeks, I'd move in a little closer. Until one night... things got... a little hot. And then they'd get hotter. I loved it when they said something about how I was "such a nice, sweet boy." If they do, I kiss their dead mouths. They're my favorites. ...What was that? Did you just ask if I feel anything toward them? No. Nothing at all. They're criminals... so don't think of me as killing innocent people... you can think of me as sick- minded, if you want to. I am. I'm a very sick person. I laugh as people burn. I laugh as they die beneath me. I laugh as they fall for me. I've never fallen in love in my entire life. I do wonder, sometimes, what it's like. I wonder if I'm even capable of it.

Or maybe my heart is made of this fire.

Trapped here behind these bars... I could burn them down. If I wanted to. If I had a reason to. I'm trapped in this cave, with its ever- expanding tunnels. I never get bored; there's always something to do. I look for a way out. To just burn down the iron bars... oh, that would be too easy. Demeaning. I want to find the real way out. Maybe it leads to some other town. Some other town with new people. Some other town, full of victims for me. For my fire...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Heads up, arsonist." the guard muttered, walking into the glow of the eery light. I looked up from where I sat against the wall. This particular guard only came down here for one reason... I had myself a new victim. And from the looks of it, a pretty one. Reddish brown hair tumbled down his back, braided in places. His strange, almost red eyes were lowered, so I couldn't look into them and see what he was thinking. His dark skin was bruised in several spots, the most prominent being the one on his cheek, just at his lip. I could see bruises on his knuckles... he'd fought back. He was dressed in black leather. A midriff top and leather pants, along with black boots. His ear was pierced... three times. His navel was pierced, as well. I couldn't help smiling. I'd have fun with this one... I might even sleep with him several times before that fatal touch. He sat delicately by the wall, his legs tucked up beside him, his hands in his lap. The guard turned and left. I wonder if he knew I saw him brush the boy's hair with his fingertips. Hm. I crawled over to my new victim slowly.

"Who are you? What's your name?" I asked sweetly, and he looked at me. His eyes were such a strange color. He was perfectly silent, and perfectly still. It didn't take much to know that he didn't trust me. He wasn't going to be like my other casualties. Not at all. It was there in his eyes. He knew I was down here for a reason. He knew I wasn't as innocent as I acted. He knew. He saw right through me. It sent a strange little shock through my body, to know that I couldn't fool him. I'd been here for five months, and no one... no one had ever looked at me like that. I looked around, pretending to be disturbed by his lack of emotion.
"You... don't like me, huh?" I asked. He glared right into my eyes, and I did something I never expected I'd do. I recoiled. He looked at me, unblinking. I looked back, still trying to fool him. "...What? What's wrong?" I asked, beginning to pout a little. He smirked.

"You think I can't look in your eyes and tell you're pure evil?" he asked. A tremor went through me. Pure evil? Ha... hahaha! To think I could reach that status! It was my wildest dream! Had I achieved it? No. Not yet. This pretty boy was overestimating me. I reached forward and touched his lips. So soft... Oh, he was beautiful. I touched the bruise. He didn't even react to my touch. Good Lord, I'd found someone as cold as I was. I'd have a challenge with this one! My heart raced at the prospect of watching him die. I couldn't wait. The thought made me almost giddy. Pure evil... yes... I'd be pure evil if I took him...
"Tell me your name." I said, dropping the sweet tone. He smirked and shook his head, leaning back against the wall. "Tell me, dammit!" I yelled. He was silent. He didn't even flinch. "I could kill you with my thoughts. I could burn you alive!" I yelled louder, but he remained motionless. My eyes narrowed, and a wall of fire erupted beside him. Even then, he didn't bat an eyelash. I made the wall grow. His breathing didn't even speed up. He didn't show any fear at all. I recognized defeat, and I let the fire dwindle away.

"...Zare Legend." he said apathetically, still not looking at me. "...It's my name. That's what you wanted, isn't it?" he asked listlessly, smirking. I could only nod, after all, it was the truth. I was silent. Maybe he'd tell me more. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "...You want to know more? Fine. I'm what you could call an 'innocent thief.' I robbed... but only because I was threatened with death. But no one in the courts would believe that, and I sure as hell couldn't prove it. So look who I got thrown in here with." he said. He was the first person who ever told me why they were imprisoned here. And behold!-he was innocent. At least, according to himself, he was innocent. He kept looking at me. "There, now you know who I am and why I'm here. Your turn." I stared at him. Now he wanted to know my story? I didn't understand him.

I wanted to. He was an enigma to me. I needed to understand this new victim, and why he was so different fromthe others.

"My name is Blaze," I said calmly, sitting as close to him as I could. "And I'm an arsonist." It was so practiced. I'd said it a million times in front of courts, as well as my prey. I reached over, touching the skin of his stomach. No reaction. My hand slid to his arm, and up to his neck. He didn't move. "...You..." I whispered, my hand on his face. His skin was so soft... and he was so beautiful. But he was just like a porcelain doll... he showed now feeling toward my touch at all. I was wrong. He wasn't as cold as I was. He was colder. Innocent evil.
"...You want me to sleep with you. Is that it? Is that what you want?" he asked, emotionless. I snapped my hand away. Yes. Yes, that was what I wanted. My hand slipped back to his face, and I tilted it until my lips met his. Ah, seduction. This was nice... our lips meeting, separating, only to meet again. Yes. Yes. I wanted to sleep with him tonight. No playing with his mind... I wanted him tonight! He was too smart to be this willing for very long.

I pulled back only for a moment, then lied down. He gave me that smirk again, stretching out beside me. Wordlessly, I unzipped his leather top. His eyes were blank, but his body was willing... so, so willing... He unzipped my pants, smiling the whole time. I gasped as he wrapped one leg around my hips and pulled my pants down a little. Not far enough... but he went slowly, inching them down a little more every few seconds. I locked my lips against his throat, tangling my fingers in his hair. I wanted him. I'd never really desired anyone else. Never. But him... he was different... the desire to burn him came back, stronger than ever. Oh, how delicious his pain would be. But I wouldn't feed on him. I'd starve. I'd burn his entire body to ash, and then save the ashes. When I escaped, I'd scatter them somewhere beautiful... beautiful...

"Beautiful..." I murmured, my tongue flicking over his nipple. He gasped, but it was all show. He felt absolutely nothing for me. I pulled his shirt completely off, and he did the same for me. In fact, he did me the favor of removing my pants, as well. He gave me that gorgeous smirk of his and rolled away from me. "Oh, you goddamn tease," I groaned, nuzzling up against his back. I wanted more. I wrapped an arm around his waist, toying with the piercing. He sighed softly, reaching down and taking my hand. He was... oh, good Lord, a show of emotion! He looked tired. "...Go to sleep." I said, holding his hand tightly. He murmured something softly as his eyes fluttered shut. I tucked my other arm under his head.

I was having fun with this one.

Too much of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I suppose it was a few days later-I didn't keep track of time-when I had the Fever. My whole body seemed to be on fire. If I touched something, it melted. I felt sick... my mind was blurry. I crawled around aimlessly, sending the room into a smoking haze. I felt nauseous, and I threw up a lot. I kept talking to Zare... telling him to stay away from me, that I was dangerous. What was that you asked? Was I worried about him? ...Yes. By now, I'd known him for several days... and I loved him. He was still a poker-faced kind of guy... until we made love. Then, he was always desirous, touching me, caressing me... I still planned to kill him, I still wanted to see him burn. But until the craving for his death became unbearable, I was content to have him with me. But this misery... oh, it was horrible! I couldn't stand up. I crawled. I often ran into walls... I couldn't see where I was going.

I could smell Zare's flesh, though, for some reason, and I stayed away from that scent. If I hit a wall, I fell to the ground, sobbing madly. Yes, I cried. For the first time in my life, I wasn't laughing. I was crying. And the strangest thing is... if I hadn't been afraid of hurting him... I would have crawled into Zare's arms and just fallen asleep. But I couldn't. Finally, I just collapsed on the floor, crying wretchedly. My vision was all red. No images, just... red. Then, I caught the scent... warm, perfumed scent of skin. Zare. He was near me... too close... but where...? He seemed to be all around me. What if I moved and touched him?! I wanted to get away... no, no, I couldn't hurt him! No! Not yet! I suddenly felt him getting closer.
"G-get away, Zare, I'm too hot..." I murmured, but I felt his cool fingers against my cheek. I jerked away, despite how good the cool skin felt. Without seeing him, I knew he was smirking. He always smirked.

"...You have a fever, you idiot. Lie down." he said, pushing me back down and rolling me onto my back. How could he touch me...? Steam rose from my body as I poured sweat, and eventually I felt his gentle touch on my hair, stroking it with his fingertips. I lifted my head, struggling to see. I heard him move, and when I lied my head back down, it was in his lap. I groaned softly as he petted my hair. This was far better than anything anyone had ever done for me. Even the fire wasn't this warm. But there was more. This... this was Zare. Zare, touching me so lovingly, so honestly. So sincerely. This real, soothing touch... was Zare's! He was touching me... even though I knew it hurt. Even though he was getting hurt, he stayed by my side. My heart, which had been surrounded by a wall of impenetrable flames, seemed to soften. The fire was extinguished.

He lied by my side, and pulled me against him. I placed my hand against his chest, feeling his heartbeat. "Are you going to kill me now that I've shown some weakness?" he asked listlessly. But I shook my head. I drifted off to sleep in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I felt much better in the morning, though I can't very well say the same for Zare. He was covered in burns, including a dark one on his chest, just above his heart. Nothing damaging, however. I silently lifted his hand and caressed his burned fingertips with my lips. He looked at me, the familiar blank, careless stare. We were perfectly silent then. For hours, we sat like that, slipping into each other's souls. We broke barriers we'd set up years ago. We tore through each other's veins like fire, seeking the core of our very being. We stared into each other's eyes. I'd never been so still, so silent, in my entire life. And his eyes, still so cold, finally showed signs of melting. They seemed soft, if only around the edges. I held his hand to my lips that whole time. After what seemed an eternity, he smiled softly... so softly.

He whispered my name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...I think we were in there for a month together. There were two other convicts sent in with us during that time, and I killed both. Zare wasn't the slightest bit queasy about resorting to my diet... whether that surprised me or not, I'm not sure. He still maintained his cold outer appearance, but I could see under it. And for the first time in my life, I cared about someone. I became a child again when I was with him... innocent. Pure evil... I could never be 'Pure Evil' if I had Zare. He was the one thing I truly loved. And I'd never let go of my love for him.
We explored the tunnels together. He often suggested that we should split up and explore them two at a time, but I refused. Why should we leave each other? Why should we even consider it? I usually lead the way... he'd give me little 'surprises' as we walked. He'd nibble on my earlobe or kiss my neck if I stopped walking. How sweet... he was very sweet to me when we were alone.

In the dark tunnels, twisting and turning, we found our way out. Into the light... and then we did separate. I don't quite remember why... but we did.
"Zare... I won't start any more fires." I promised. He kissed me one last time, then turned away.
"If you do... just call for me." he said, as he left me forever.

...Or so I thought.