Well, I promised shorter chapters and more frequent updates, so here's the next one. Short, to the point. Expect lots of these for a while. And as always, reviews are welcome.

Diclaimer: Lucian is mine! Teresia is not.

Soon the Moon Will Smoulder

Chapter 7: So Alive and Stlii Aching For More

Lucian stumbled through the front door of the manor, quietly closing the door behind him; he had no conception of the time, but judging form the purple color of the sky, he could only assume that it was approaching dawn. Had he really been gone so long? God, he was tired…

He slowly made his way to the staircase, not having the energy to pick his feet up and, with a bit of a struggle, managed to climb the stairs. His body was hardly functioning at all and every thought in his head became muddled in a rush of exhaustion and vague recollection of what had passed between he and La Cabarrus over the past hours of the evening and the early morning. What had they done? Oh, he didn't know at all…

Sluggishly dragging his feet down the hall. He managed to make it to the door of his room and unceremoniously pushed it open and stumbled inside, forgetting the need for silence as he carelessly slammed the door behind him. He dropped upon the bed and closed his eyes, his breath coming shallow and even for perhaps the first time in several hours.

His intentions of falling asleep immediately were quickly destroyed as Teresia's lessons played through his mind. She had said that in order to achieve what he wanted, he could under no circumstances be tied to the lust and desire that he would inflict upon others, and to effectively accomplish this, he must receive no pleasure through the act. La Cabarrus had agreed to help him with this, a feat that she deemed accomplishable through only concentration and repetition, and had arranged for further meetings every other night until the boy was completely removed from pleasure and the natural connection that comes with intimacy.

Of course, Lucian was not looking forward to this; though the evening had been excessively long and extremely tiring, it had been sublime, relieving, and very pleasurable, a release from the tension that constantly nagged at him. The very thought of turning the divine feeling of being one with another into little more than a menial job made him sick, especially when the aftereffects of their lovemaking coursed through his body, making him numb to everything but the dull tingling and the extreme sense of euphoria. He had never been so happy, so relaxed; Heavens it was wonderful…

But naturally, La Cabarrus was quick to inform him that it was this very feeling that spurred lust and yearning, a sort of addiction to the feeling and forced him to crave more at any cost; were he not to fall slave and be destroyed by it, he must sever all attachment to the glorious feeling. If this were the cost of his desired power over others, then it was a small price to pay. After all, the lust for power was an adequate substitute for the lust for flesh…

Lucian had only to meet with Teresia twice more before the thrill of becoming intimate had worn off entirely and was replaced by a dull, rhythmic sense of routine. It had reached the point where the boy rolled his eyes in frustration when the Spaniard commanded, "Again," reacting in a nearly identical fashion to a child being pulled away from something amusing by a meddlesome parent commanding that the dished be washed. It was quite a chore, and becoming quite the boring one at that. But still he stayed, hoping that Teresia still had something worth to be taught.

It was only when he realized that the Spaniard's commands of, "Once again," were for her own pleasure that he now felt to be in full control of the situation, entirely dominant, that La Cabarrus had fallen prey to the very lust that she had warned him to avoid; she was of no further use to him. She had taught him what he needed, warned him that his weapon could become his enemy if he were not careful, provided him with invaluable information regarding his father, but she was now of no use; later, perhaps, but no longer now, and that is what mattered.

He indulged the Spaniard for a few moments more, but as she lay in his arms, gently running her hand over his chest, she softly commanded, "Again, amante," and the golden boy tensed. Quickly releasing her, he slid out of bed and rummaged through their discarded clothing, carefully picking out his own garments and pulled on his pants.

Propping herself on her elbows, Teresia looked in minor shock at the boy as he left her side. "Lucian? What's wrong?"

"I am done with you, La Cabarrus," he whispered passionlessly as he pulled his shirt over his shoulders and swiftly did the buttons

"What?" Teresia sat up. Pulling the sheets up to cover her chest. "You can't…"

"You had me for a little while, now I've got to go. It's getting late."

"But Lucian!" She wouldn't let him go. No man left Teresia Cabarrus alone like this! Who did he think he was?

"I have nothing more to learn form you, Señora. You have taught me what I must know, and for that I am eternally grateful, but unless you have been keeping something from me, I am done with you."

"What is it, Lucian?" Teresia cried in a final, desperate attempt to get the boy to stay. He held all the cards, had nothing more to gain from her, could destroy her if he so wished, and it terrified her. His father had done the same to her so long ago… "Was it not good enough for you? Did I not pleasure you to your liking?"

Lucian smiled softly, nearly sympathetically at the frantic woman. Caught in her own trap…so this is what could happen to him were he not always on his guard. "No, Teresia. I felt nothing," he said quietly as he approached the bed, took her in his arms, gently kissed her, "and it is for that I have to be thankful to you. I promise, one day, when I am able, I will return the favor."

"Repay me now and stay with me!"

Smiling softly, kissing her again, he smoothly drawled, "Do not waste this favor on something so fleeting and meaningless as passion. You want Lord Blakeney, do you not? You may well fit into my plan, Señora, and if you are patient, you may well have Sir Percy as your own." He slowly released her, caressed he cheek as he turned away. "Goodbye, Señora Teresia Cabarrus."

"Goodbye, Monsieur Lucian Chauvelin." As the boy turned and left her flat for the last time, Teresia could not repress a shudder as she thought that she had somehow aided in bringing a monster into the world.