Title: Lawbreaker's Eyes

Author: I_nv_u50

Rating: PG13 for some blood… I'm beginning to see a pattern O.o;;

Disclaimer/Claimer: Characters so far are mine, but the world is Mercedes Lackey's. Does that count as fanfiction? I'm still gonna go with yes…

Warning: Slash (m/m) ahead.

Author's Notes: Here's the sequel to Murderer's Touch :D it's probably better to read that one first if you plan to read this, so go look for it if you haven't already!! :D Anyway, I'm not really happy with this title, so it might change, but it might grow on me as well… I guess we'll see.. it'll do for now ^^

psycho tabby cat  ~  This should answer your question… at the end tell me, did you really not see this one coming? XD it's all part of the sneak trade, I guess :D gotta find something to keep people coming back to find out :D as for HP, there'll probably be some updates there once I reread the fifth book… which will be, roughly translated, a week or so… maybe :D cuz Draco's a prick XD lol not get distracted? :D I'm betting it didn't work . anyway, so here's the sequel, I hope you like it ^^

Fireblade  ~  lol Thanks ^^ Hope you like this one as well ^^

etcetera-cat  ~  Jolly good then, ol' chap :D I suppose that makes sense O.o;; it's hard to break boxes… unless you purposely go on a ranting rave and rip anything you can find :D me though, I prefer the bubble wrapping XD … yea… go me :D I hope you enjoy this story as much as the last one :D

ola  ~  It's about time, isn't it :D Hope this was quick enough for you O.o;; I actually had it ready to go on Monday, but I wanted to see if I could get the second chapter done quickly as well… since that didn't show any signs of happening, I posted this anyway :D I guess chapter 2 will be up by the weekend sometime O.o;; heh. That was the proudest moment of the last chapter :D worked in kind of well, didn't it? It took me ages to think of how I could wrangle the title into the story somehow ^^ that whole 'asking' thing was straight from the interview piece… which reminded me just in time, otherwise it would have been another shy piece like the first kiss… ah well.. it's all good :D I hope you enjoy this story as well!! ^^

colie  ~  thanks ^^ and thanks for all your reviews of the originals, your replies will be in the next chapter that goes up ^^ I'm glad you enjoyed it, I hope you stick around for this story as well ^^

SkyeLight2X1  ~  Yep ^^ Here's the sequel ^^ lol… you're pretty much correct… 'cept there's not gonna be so much brynn/kylan in this one ^^; they'll still be around, but there's a new kid on the block :D … so to speak O.o;; I hope you enjoy this one as much the last one ^^

Cathryn M. Guthrie  ~  heh ^^ sound busy :D hope this is up fast enough for you :D geez you people are pushy XD but there, I don't mind. So by all means, carry on being pushy ^^ I'll check out your story as soon as I've posted this O.o;; looks like you updated :D quick worker, I'm jealous :D I hope you like this one as much as the last one ^^

Maischeph-Vanscrilla-Black  ~  lol Thanks XD when you mutter, do you do it aloud? Cuz I get weird looks when I do that T.T So anyways, here's the sequel ^^ Hope you enjoy it as much as the last one ^^

When all is said and done… (laughs and points) whee!! Song quote!! Special cookies to the person to first guess where its from (if anyone cares . XD) … although I suppose I should have picked a harder one to guess… chee, I wonder XD Anyway, here's the sequel… Read, Enjoy, and please review!! ^^

He woke up slowly, his mind disorientated and dizzy, and having no idea what was happening to him. That alone should have been enough of a hint to tell him exactly what was going on.

He struggled to lift his head, struggled harder to open his eyes, and when he finally managed to do a both, a strangled whimper of pure pain escaped from his tightly clamped shut lips.

He froze, listening hard, his heart thudding painfully as he tried to detect if he had been heard. If anyone knew he was awake… He'd never make it out alive. He'd probably never make it out at all.

After concluding that nobody had heard him, he managed to struggled into a half sitting position, trying to keep his pants of effort as quiet as possible. Apparently, it didn't work.

"They caught him, you know," a voice spoke out of the darkness.

Thaelin held back another whimper. It wasn't good to show too much fear.

Footsteps approached, and Thaelin blinked up, straining his watering eyes to see further into the dark than he knew was possible.

Cyril knelt beside him. "I caught Kylan. They took him away less than half a candlemark ago." A soft, breathy laugh. "He told me to save you."

Thaelin stayed still, unsure about what the other boy wanted him to do.

Cyril stared at him a second longer. "Do you want to be saved, Thaelin? Do you really think it's possible?"

Thaelin kept his mouth shut; not that he had a choice.

Cyril continued, his dark eyes thoughtful. "Can any of us be saved? You've never killed anybody at least. You might stand a chance. I can't believe I'm listening to that traitor. When did you find out he was sleeping with the Herald?"

Thaelin blinked up silently for a few moments, then realized Cyril was obviously expecting an answer. He shrugged, and tried to speak, but coughed up more blood instead.

Cyril lightly brushed the sweat and blood soaked hair away from Thaelin's eyes. "Strange," he murmured quietly. "You can hardly see the blood in your hair, it's so dark. And yet I know there's blood there because I can feel it. It feels different from sweat, did you know that, Thaelin?"

Thaelin made a slight head shaking movement, hiding his wince.

Cyril sighed. "No, of course not. You've never cut people until they died. Well, come on then," and the other boy stood up without the slightest bit of noticeable effort. "Would you like to be saved or not?"

Thaelin strained his body again and managed to sit up completely, tilting his head back because it eased his aching neck just a little. Cyril continued to stare down at him, and then sighed.

"All right. But once we get onto the roads, you're on your own, understand? They'll kill me if they find out I helped you escape. They'll probably kill me anyway…" Cyril trailed off, sounding alarmingly intrigued by the idea. The other boy shook his head and bent down slightly, gripping Thaelin's torn and tattered shirt to haul Thaelin up.

"Right. When we get outside, ignore the screams. There's nothing you can do to help him."

The moment Cyril said that, Thaelin imagined he heard a scream, and since it sounded far too similar to voices he had heard screaming in the past, he ignored it. He tried to grin instead.

Cyril rolled his eyes. "All right, put on your happy mask. Just don't expect to be able to talk for a while," his cool fingers lightly caressed Thaelin's smoldering cheekbone. "They broke your jaw. You look dreadful, actually."

Thaelin made a soft sound, and Cyril allowed a small smile to cross his features. "Whatever, Ael."

Cyril didn't talk again, although whether this was because he didn't want to or he couldn't, Thaelin wasn't sure. All Thaelin knew for sure was that the usually quick trip to the main road seemed to take forever, and it appeared even longer once, sure enough, screams became audible in the distance.

He turned slightly to glare accusingly at Cyril.

Cyril didn't have the decency to look abashed, and merely shrugged, shifting Thaelin to his other arm. "What would you have liked me to do, Ael? Take on Faris, Taevan and Kadin? You know they would have killed me. Besides, his Herald is on his way to help him." Cyril spat out the last bit scathingly, anger clear in his voice.

Thaelin felt some sympathy for the other boy and rested his head against Cyril's shoulder momentarily, lifting it up once his neck started hurting at the angle again.

Cyril gave him a queer little smile and remained silent.

They eventually reached the shadows on the wall of a rundown looking warehouse, and Cyril carefully propped Thaelin up against it, glancing back the way they had just come. Then he blinked. "Lord and Lady…"

Thaelin turned his head with more effort than he felt was worth the curiosity, but once he had, he was almost glad he had. There was a huge bonfire near the main grounds of the main house.

Cyril glanced at him again, plainly torn between himself ad safety. Thaelin watched the other boy carefully.

Cyril sighed and stepped closer. "I'll miss you, I think. You meant more than the others, Ael. But don't you dare come back. Ever. I don't need to tell you how stupid that would be." Cyril paused, and looked away, his throat swallowing reflexively. Then he turned back, and gently swept his lips over Thaelin's more uninjured cheek. "Goodbye," Cyril breathed, his breath hot against Thaelin's skin, and then the other boy was gone.

A few days later, when Thaelin could almost move normally again, he decided to move further into the city. If they found him… And they eventually would, he didn't want to be too isolated. It was very likely that his life depended on how many people heard him screaming for help.

He could walk on his own now, but he held no illusions that he was healing. His bruises were fading, yes, and his legs could support his weight again, but his ribs flared with white fire every time he moved too much or breathed too hard, and he was beginning to doubt that his jaw would ever be the same again.

Slowly, steadily, he crept through the shadows, grateful for the daily bustle in the streets that allowed him to move relatively unseen and unheard through the roads. It was hard enough trying to steal from people behind their backs while he was injured, but if the roads were empty and he had no place to run or no one to duck behind… That would just be suicide.

He grinned to himself weakly, trying to keep his spirits up. He had managed to steal some food that afternoon, along with a bolt of cheese, and he had already settled in a shadowed doorway to eat it.

He had to use his hand to help him chew, physically move his jaw up and down while he ate. He left the crust on the step beside him. It hurt enough anyway, and his eyes began watering involuntarily whenever he had to carefully close his mouth. Most of his food went half chewed at best anyway.

But tonight it seemed to hurt more. Thaelin gave up after two swallows and huddled down by the bottom of the door, ignoring his persistent stomach. He rather thought his jaw was going to stay like t was, because there was no way he could afford to see a Healer. But it hurt.

Lifting a shaking hand, he carefully traced the swelled line of his jaw, his fingertips barely touching the flesh.

Because thinking about his own problems made him depressed, he thought about other people instead. He hoped Kylan was all right. Kylan was with his Herald lover, with his new life at the Palace, because that was where all the Heralds stayed. Thaelin entertained himself for a while, thinking about all the parties and all the food and all the other benefits Heralds had. He supposed it wasn't too hard, being a Herald. All they did was judge a few things and stuff like that. The 'stuff' was rather vague in Thaelin's mind, but he knew it couldn't be all that important. And now Kylan was living that life… If he had lived. Thaelin rather thought he had. Kylan would be harder to kill than that, and he had a Herald who, in the brief moment Thaelin had seen him, proved he would do anything for Kylan. Thaelin smirked and remembered the hit. It had hurt, but he was used to worse. Much worse. So was Kylan, and Thaelin ahd no doubt that if the Herald ever hit Kylan, his friend would leave. Kylan was like that. Kylan had probably been his best friend when he had joined the band… Until he had met Cyril.

Cyril was special in his own way too, Thaelin supposed, shifting until his ribs were more comfortable. Havens, Cyril might even be more important than Kylan in some aspects. Thaelin smothered a grin at the memory that inevitably came when he thought about Cyril.

It had been their first night together, their first night together after the same assignment. Thaelin had been supposed to rob the house while Cyril killed the lord's mistress, who had been conveniently in the same room as the loot.

There had been a lot of blood. He remembered it like it was yesterday, even though it had been a little over three years ago. And Cyril had waited for him, keeping watch until Thaelin had all the stuff the masters had wanted.

And then they had sped, exuberant in their success, half giggling in their silent gleeful hysteria, ad half shooting knowing glances at each other, which caused both of them to crack up further. That had been before Cyril had changed, and Thaelin had fancied himself in love.

He still loved Cyril, he knew that. Just like Cyril loved him. But Cyril had withdrawn into himself about a year ago, only, it seemed, wanting to hurt. Thaelin had no doubts that the dark eyed boy loved him. Cyril wouldn't have saved him, otherwise. And that was enough for him.

He sighed softly, half in pain and half in contentedness, and footsteps approached, making him stiffen up instinctively, which made his ribs flare painfully, which made him make a soft sound of pain.

The footsteps stopped. "Who's there?"

Thaelin didn't answer. He couldn't have moved his jaw even if he had wanted to.

Another voice joined the first. "Answer us, halfwit. Who's there?"

Thaelin began to feel somewhat cornered, and since he couldn't move or speak, simply stayed silent, a habitual grin spreading across his face like well worn armor.

"Don't think we won't find you. We will. We know you're there, and we know you're not supposed to be. If you think you can escape, you're wrong. We're going to beat you up, and we're going to have fun doing it."

Thaelin felt his grin grow bigger, full of irony. Beat him up indeed. Didn't anybody realize that it was no fun beating people up if they were already too bruised and battered to care?

"We'll give you one last chance to answer us," the first voice called again, starting to sound angry. The words slurred a little.

'Great,' thought Thaelin, almost shaking his head at the quirk of fate. They were drunk, or at least well on their way to being slightly tipsy.

Heavy footsteps approached the stairs Thaelin was huddled on, and he curled into himself tighter, preferring to pretend he wasn't there at the moment. They would find him, he knew, and he'd probably be dead before dawn, because drunk people don't pull punches even when they meant to. And there seemed like there was more than one anyway.

A whimper escaped as the footsteps started up the stairs, and there was a brief exclamation of triumph before Thaelin felt himself being pulled down off the stairs and out of his protective huddle. He dropped to a crouch automatically, trying to ignore the pain in his ribs and his jaw, biting his lip and grinning understandingly as they laughed at him.

That was all right. He could see the funny side as well.

A heavy fist hit him on the back of his head while he was occupied with the two laughing in front of him, and he fell to his knees in surprise, gasping in pain as his ribs flared with a blinding white pain again.

"Look at his face," one of them joked to another. "We could try to make it –"

What they could make it, Thaelin never knew for certain, because there was a deafening chorus of bells –

Bells? This late at night? –

and a white horse appeared in front of him, rearing and striking out at the drunkards, chasing them away until Thaelin and the horse were the only ones left on the abandoned street.

He glanced around, still holding a hand to his fiery ribs, and then grinned at the horse gratefully.

"Thanks," he started to say, and then she turned to face him directly, and he saw her eyes.

He saw a new world, unbelievable in it's magnitude of emotions, indescribable in it's vastness of utter love, and he embraced it to him, captivated and enthralled with the mere idea of being with her forever.

And then he blinked, and it faded away, but she was still standing in front of him, those wondrous blue eyes still drawing him to her, her ears pricked.

:Thaelin, you are my Chosen. I Choose you. My name is Jesalis, and you will never be alone again.:

Extra AN: Honestly. Who never saw that coming? :D It was surprisingly hard to write him getting chosen… I kept wanting to impart some of lavan's choosing, because that was the only one that made me cry in and of itself (all right, so I cried during magic's pawn, but that was mostly because 'lendel died T.T) … Anyway, after that bit of random fact, I hope you enjoyed it ^^ Please review!! XD