Literary Lovers Mash-Up: Magnus Bane & Dorian Gray

We are sharing entries from our second-annual Literary Lovers Mash-Up Writing Contest — which offered you the chance to combine two romantic heroics from different books. We’ll be featuring all of the qualifying stories over the next few days, so check back periodically for all of these great submissions! Participants will also be receiving a set of Novel Novice bookmarks!

Today we have Lauren C.’s story, featuring Magnus Bane from Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices Series) and Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian Gray:

He barely felt the young man’s hand fall upon his thin shoulder blades, for his touch was as light as that of a butterfly. Magnus Bane turned his head curiously so as to identify the perpetrator of such a forward gesture but his curiosity quickly turned to breathless admiration. The young man he now faced was as beautiful as Adonis. He wasn’t the kind of man Magnus usually felt attracted to: his hair wasn’t dark like the night; instead it was gold and shone under the stark lighting of the Club. Although, his eyes were as blue as sparkling sapphires, the kind of eyes that poison your heart with lies as they plead you to believe that they are windows to an honest soul.

However, to say that these eyes fooled the experienced warlock would be wrong. He could see sin and darkness in those eyes, something ugly that betrayed the prince like demeanour that the young man had seemingly taken much care to cultivate. Yet, despite these signs of a twisted heart, Magnus could not help but feel even more drawn to the young man.

With their eyes alone they came to an unspoken understanding, for they both had darkness within them that they did not wish to explain.

The young man looked down at his finely polished shoes and seemed to laugh silently as the dawdling seconds wandered away from their grasp, before looking up at Magnus once again.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before, do you mind me asking for your name?” Magnus could not help but focus upon the boys sensuous lips as they carefully formed each and every word, just as hands caress the cheek of a lover, that tongue rolled those words with an amorous passion.

He found himself answering without thinking, in a breathy but steady voice that matched the young man’s own tone. “Magnus Bane, and yours?” The question hung in the air like a feather lingering on a breeze. The young man smiled with those, oh, so gorgeous lips.

“My name is Dorian Gray.” Then Dorian moved his fine slender hand to Magnus’s lips and pressed them together. Heads turned and Magnus blushed. “I wouldn’t ask anyone here for their opinion on me.” He said in a rather loud and bitter voice whilst his eyes grew dark as they flickered between Magnus’s own and those of the staring intruders that had paused their conversations and games to judge the young man. Then he leant closer to Magnus and whispered, “They are all rather biased you see. You would be better off learning of my character for yourself.” The smile was no longer sweet, but tainted by a cruel edge.

Magnus knew of the dark rumours that circled Dorian Gray; he could see the truth of them in the man’s eyes. This man was no innocent, but neither, he reflected, was he. So he ignored the glares and whispered back. “I would be delighted to do so.”