The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans (22 page)

Julian
grinned, feeling a relief wash over him. “Good,” he said firmly.
“I’d hate to have lost it.”

“Me,
too,” said Alex, and they shared a moment of sweet sentimentality. Alex
was always willing to give Julian his affection and attention, if only for a
moment, no matter who was there to see.

“Go
on, finish my amulet,” said Julian after another kiss. Alex chuckled and
dropped a last kiss on Julian’s hair, then moved back to his bench. Julian led
Geoff over to the collection of plants scattered around the room’s one window.
Each one was positioned to get the amount of sun it needed and still be within
easy reach for care and harvesting.

“All
right, see if you can listen without putting in power,” said Geoff.
“I mean, it won’t be a big deal if you can’t, you just need to be more
aware of it. You’ll have to start keeping a pocket full of boiled sweets, or
something.”

Julian
groaned. “I can’t imagine eating more!” he protested. He already felt
like he’d tripled the amount of food he ate since his talent was discovered.

“Well,
then,” said Geoff, with an expression that dared Julian to manage the task
set before him.

Julian
harrumphed and went over to the first plant. He concentrated on listening, and
this time he could feel it when the power started to leave him. Geoff was
right, it was just a little trickle, but he could imagine if he’d been putting
that trickle out all day, every day, that it might have affected him for ages
and he’d never known. “All right, you were feeling over-harvested when I
saw you last,” said Julian, trying to stem the flow of energy.

The
plant actually protested when the trickle stopped, and Julian laughed.
“Oh, so that is the reason why you like me so much,” he said, and
found that it was harder to feel what was going on without it. “You’re
right, I think I do it to make it easier to understand them.”

“Go
on, you’ll have another dish of bread pudding after,” said Geoff.
“Doctor’s orders.”

“Yes,
yes,” said Julian, but he didn’t really mind. It was really good bread
pudding. He let the trickle start up again, and the plant basked in it. His
feeling of vague contentment intensified and grew clearer, that it had plenty
of water and sunshine and was getting ready to put out some new shoots. Once it
had expanded, it wouldn’t mind the pruning so much, but at the size it was now
Alex had taken one leaf too many.

“I’m
glad you’re feeling better,” said Julian, sending it a last little burst
before moving on to the next one. This time he tried extending just his strange
senses without any power at all, and while he was training to get a proper feel
of things, the plant didn’t seem bothered by the lack. It was feeling robust
and hale, but wanted a bit of water on the left where its soil was uneven, so
Julian found this room’s watering can and gave it a little trickle.

“It’s
harder, but I can still figure some things out,” said Julian, moving on to
the next. He went through all the plants in the room, experimenting with the
power expenditure, and by the end he at least was pretty sure he’d at least
know when he was doing it. “So, Doctor, will I live?”

Geoff
laughed, and his own little trickle of power stopped before he pulled his hand
away. “You’re doing much better, though now we both need a snack.”

“Come
on, let’s see if Jones and Murielle can wait long enough to stuff you with some
more sugar,” said Julian, dragging him back out of the work room to find
the two of them had found the playing cards.

“I
take it you won’t mind if the patient and I have another snack?” said
Geoff, amused.

“Nah,”
said Jones. “Just don’t eat too slowly, that’ll give her time to finish
kicking my arse.”

“You
could still win,” said Murielle innocently.

“No
one believes you when you say that,” said Geoff with a laugh. “Oh,
tha-uh. That’s great,” he added, when two more bowls of pudding appeared,
along with two more cups of the herbal tea.

Julian
giggled. “Smooth,” he said, grabbing his and sitting in the big chair
again. Geoff took the other end of the couch from Murielle and her card
sharping, though of course she never actually played for money with anyone.
Just pride.

“Don’t
bruise his ego too much,” said Julian. “Mmm, this is so good, Alys. I
do love pears.”

“Victor
sent me a message that he’s sent some pears to Saveur, too,” said Alys,
“if you’re a good boy, I’ll order a box of goodies for you during your
confinement.”

“I
won’t be completely confined!” protested Julian. “I get to go to the
Temples and plant things. Plus, Mary Margaret said she’d come here and give me
a few lessons.”

“Well,
then, best study up if you want your chocolates,” said Alys, sounding very
amused.

Murielle
grinned. “I love the stuff they make for you at Saveur. Ellen still gives
me a discount whenever I go in if she’s there.”

“She
does for us, too, because we’re suppliers,” said Julian. “It makes
Alys quite smug.”

“Nothing
wrong with a good bargain,” said Alys. “Drink your tea.”

“Yes,
ma’am,” said Julian, laughing. “I’m about to float away on a tide of
restorative beverages.”

“You’ll
be grateful for it when you don’t have a reaction hangover tomorrow,”
Geoff assured him. “The teas help blunt the effects of the potions, too,
so it’s not as much of a shock on your system.”

“All
right, all right, I’m drinking, see?” said Julian, making a show of taking
several large, careful sips, until the cup was half empty.

“Good
lad,” said Alys, and a plate with a single gingered pear truffle on it
appeared next to him.

“You’ve
been hoarding them!” said Julian with a laugh.

Lapointe
looked over rather greedily. “I don’t suppose drinking my tea will get me
one, too?” she asked.

“Asking
will get you one, you’re a guest,” said Alys, and a little plate appeared
next to each of them, though they all had different things. Lapointe’s was
lavender, Geoff’s was summer berry, and Jones had one of the cardamom truffles
with its topping of crunchy cacao nibs.

“You’re
awesome,” said Lapointe, quite heartfelt. “This makes it worth the
delay getting home.” She put her cards on the table face down and turned
her full attention to eating the chocolate.

Jones
looked amused, but followed suit.

“I’ll
save mine for after this,” said Geoff, digging once more into his bread
pudding.

“Good
idea,” said Julian, doing the same. He drank the rest of his tea and
another cup besides before he was done, and found that the truffle made a
perfect end point for his extra treat. “Oh, you do spoil us, Alys.”

“As
long as you know it,” said said tartly, and their plates vanished, along
with everyone’s cups but Julian’s, since Lapointe had finished trouncing Jones
once their chocolates were gone.

“I
think that’s all our unfinished business?” said Lapointe, standing.
“You give your patient another feeling up while I let Alex know where
we’re going.”

“What
time should I be here?” asked Jones, while Geoff came over and held out
his hand for one of Julian’s.

“Oh,
I’m not sure,” said Julian, putting his hand in Geoff’s. “We didn’t
give Father Stephen a specific time, let me ask them once they’re done and text
you?” He added disgustedly, “If they can’t fix it tonight, I can’t
leave the flat, anyway.”

“True
enough,” said Jones. “You aren’t early birds, anyway.” He stood
and straightened himself, checking around to make sure they weren’t leaving
anything behind that didn’t belong.

“All
set?” said Lapointe, coming out of the lab.

“All
set,” agreed Geoff, dropping Julian’s hand. “You’re doing well, but
do try to watch the power leakage.”

“I
will, thank you,” said Julian.

Alex
emerged from the work room with his flute. “And here I am to pipe you out,
since I need to add James and Jacques properly to the wards.”

“How
fancy,” said Murielle with a laugh.
 

They
waved to Julian and let Alex lock them out, first physically, then magically
with his flute. Julian reflected that they were lucky to have friends that
understood the reason for their rather paranoid rules for who could go in and
out of the wards. Some people might get offended, but Lapointe, Jones, and
Geoff all praised them for their sensible security precautions.

He
just wished they weren’t necessary.

CHAPTER 12

Julian
escaped for a bath while the Guardians and Alex did more work on the amulet,
and then was given yet another snack, this time some leftover chicken with more
of the squash and cheesy potatoes from earlier. Everyone got a plate of food;
even Nat and Alys joined them at the kitchen table, so it was less like
stuffing himself for his health and more like an extra meal.

“…and
that’s why we use them together, but never with tea,” Jacques was saying.
He and Alys had spent the whole meal comparing their strengthening recipes and
exchanging herb-lore.

“You’re
dying to take notes, aren’t you?” teased Julian, giving Alex a poke in the
side.

Alex
laughed. “I am, a little, but it’s not as applicable to my work as you’d
think,” he said. “With potions, the magic makes things edible that
would otherwise be poisonous or just not food.”

“And
it brings things into harmony,” added Alys. “Food is just food, even
with a bit of extra love added, but potions turn separate parts into a whole
new thing that the body absorbs in its own way.”

“You
can still screw them up by using incompatible ingredients,” said Alex.
“Though it’s still generally not harmful, just weak and ineffective.”

“So
more like Armistead than Fischer?” said Julian with false innocence.
“Did you finish my amulet?” he asked, giving Alex puppy eyes.

Alex
chuckled. “Almost. Sort of. We’re actually working on a second one that
your Guardians will help power, that you’ll trade for your usual one when this
is over.”

“We
can’t permanently protect a temporary Charge,” said James, “so Alex
is helping us extend our temporary reach.”

“We
trust you and Alex not to abuse it,” said Jacques. “Plus, we’ll help
strip it of power at the end.”

“And
then I’ll put it in my little safe, in case we need it again,” said Alex.
“Which reminds me, I’m going to need another contribution from you.”

Julian
giggled. “More hair or something else?” he said, touching the back of
his head. “I’m going to have to go see Michelle soon to fix the mess you
all keep making.”

“Blood,”
said James. “We’ll all contribute after dinner.”

“Well,
second dinner,” said Julian. “Supper?”

“Food,”
said Jacques, amused. “Finish yours, we’ll have pudding after
bloodletting.”

“I’ve
made something special, I’ve been reading on that electronic tablet thing you
gave us,” said Alys, “and I wanted to try something new.”

“Ooh,
that sounds excitingly ominous,” said Alex. “Is that what smells so
amazing?”

“Possibly,”
she said.

“I’m
meant to get a delivery of some wood tomorrow,” said Nat. “Will
anyone be home, or should I have them leave it down in the parking garage until
you can clear it?”

“Depends
on when it gets here. Don’t you usually do that yourself?” asked Alex
curiously.

Nat
nodded, “Aye, but it’s special circumstances, isn’t it? Your Guardians are
better’n me, and I’d hate to miss anything. Brownies aren’t much for
subterfuge.”

“You
do your share of sneaking around,” said Julian with a fond smile.
“But you can keep the wood hidden downstairs if no one’s home, can’t
you?”

“That
I can, I’ll send you a message if it arrives without you, then.” Nat had
another bite of his potatoes and grinned. “It’s nice, having an excuse for
this sort of food sometimes, makes me feel right powerful.” He waggled his
eyebrows at Alys.

“Oh,
you,” said Alys, fluttering her eyelashes at him and grinning fondly.

Julian
took a big drink of tea and tried very hard not to visualise anything. At all.
He concentrated on finishing everything on his plate, and on feeling the tiny
potential in each little bit of dried herb without having to put his power into
them to get feedback. “It’s all really good. I think your jar of savoury
is getting old, though, it doesn’t feel the same as the rest.”

Alys
chuckled. “It is, I believe your Emmy’s sending over some fresh for me to
dry myself. The jar’s nearly empty, anyway.”

“Ooh,
I love drying herbs,” said Alex. “Will you hang them in here?”

“Nah,
you’d only get hair in everything, you great beech tree,” she said. “We’ll
hang them in our room, Nat don’t mind.”

“Smells
nice,” agreed Nat, busy with his chicken.

They
talked about ways of drying and preserving herbs for the rest of the meal, and
then it was time to go see what had become of their hard work for the evening.
Julian’s keep-safe was laying in a pile of silk in a copper bowl, set to one
side. His old amulet was looking rather rough around the edges, and Julian
resisted the urge to touch either one of them. “Do I need to contribute
for those, too?” he asked, fingers trailing along the counter next to
them.

“Later,”
said Alex. “We’ll both contribute to re-consecrate the keep-safe charm,
and I’ll be making your amulet over from scratch.”

“All
right,” said Julian, feeling relieved. He didn’t mind the old amulet going
to the scrap heap so much if his charm would come back to him; he felt
vulnerable and naked without it, even inside the house wards.

Horace
flew up and perched on Julian’s shoulder, chirping happily. Julian could feel
his concern, and his happiness that Julian was safe and sound. He also felt
like he had a secret, which probably meant another message for later. Julian
rubbed his cheek against Horace’s head affectionately, and then joined the
other three around a small glass bowl.

“We’ll
each contribute three drops of blood,” said Alex, “and the spell on
the bowl will keep it fresh and ready for when I actually cast the metal.”

“And
I’m first?” guessed Julian.

“You’re
first, I’m last,” confirmed Alex. “Pin or knife?”

“Oh,
um, a pin please,” said Julian. Alex handed him a long, sharp pin, and
Julian took a deep breath and poked his finger. It hurt, sharp and sudden, but
it wasn’t any worse than pricking himself on a thorn, and considerably less
painful than a scraped knee or sprained ankle. He dripped in the required three
drops, adding a little of his own energy on purpose this time, and then handed
his finger to Alex for cleaning and bandaging.

James
and Jacques actually gave theirs at the same time, using their Guard-Knives to
nick their fingers, then bandaging one another. Alex took the same pin Julian
had used and went last, adding his three drops of magic-laced blood, and then
getting Julian to do the honours with the sticking plaster.

“There
we go, not painless but easy enough,” said Alex. “That’ll sit until
I’m ready for it, do you want to stay here and read while we work, or go to bed
early?”

“Bed,”
said Julian apologetically. He snuggled up and whispered in Alex’s ear,
“But you could wake me when you join me.”

Alex
blushed and smiled, giving him a sweet kiss. “I’ll do that, love,” he
said warmly.

They
shared another, longer kiss, and then Julian took himself and his bird to bed,
along with a pair of fresh cream puffs from Alys, who wouldn’t let him go
without yet more sugar. Horace did indeed have another note from Alex, this one
short and fretful but full of love and determination. “I’ll write
tomorrow, I think,” said Julian, tucking the note back in Horace’s chest.
“You keep that safe for me?”

Horace
chirped, hopping over to turn out the beside light while Julian snuggled down
into bed. He came back and cuddled up, his cold body warming quickly under
Julian’s hand. “Thanks, Horace,” said Julian, sending love to the
construct. He was a little disappointed he didn’t have Alex to hold him tonight,
so he was grateful for Horace’s affection and attention.

Julian
dozed off still gently stroking the metal feathers, and woke to find Horace
replaced by Alex’s hand, tangling with his own. Alex spooned up behind him and
kissed along his neck, his body radiating heat and his touch full of affection
and desire.

“I
was so worried I’d lose you, my love,” said Alex.

Julian
twisted around to claim a proper kiss, and was pleased to realise that Alex had
forgone pyjamas for now. “I’m still here,” Julian assured him.
“But I seem to be overdressed.”

Alex
grinned and kissed him again, and between them they got Julian’s clothes off.
“Can I have you?” asked Alex shyly. Julian loved how he treated it as
a great favour every time they made love, hardly ever taking his right to
Julian’s body for granted. No one was perfect, of course, but Alex was good at
appreciating what he had, at least when he wasn’t too distracted by work.

“Please,”
said Julian, kissing him hard. He shivered at the feelings that echoed back to
him in the kiss: fierce love that was nothing at all like the cool appreciation
of a plant or even Horace’s warm affection; an almost desperate worry over
Julian’s safety; and a shining admiration for Julian’s resilience. It was all
coloured by Alex’s simmering desire, but the love rose above all of it, first
and last in the emotions that washed over Julian when Alex opened to him.
“Oh, oh, please,” he said again, feeling twice as desperate to have
Alex inside him.

“Yes,
love, of course,” said Alex, his voice low and soothing, mistaking
Julian’s desire for the same sharp need to remind themselves that they were
alive that was prickling at Alex now. “Soon, I’ll have you soon.”

“Please,
need to feel more of you,” said Julian, kissing him again. He fed a little
trickle of energy into Alex as he ran his fingertips over the long stretch of
Alex’s lean body, and Alex shivered and let out a little moan.

“When
did you learn to do that?” asked Alex. He curled back under the covers
with the lubricating potion in hand, and kissed Julian passionately.

Julian
blushed and kissed him again. “Well, Geoff showed me, but I don’t think he
meant it for this,” said Julian, repeating the trick. “He was
teaching me to pay attention to my power output.”

Alex
gave a low, sensual chuckle. “I approve of this non-medical use of your
knowledge,” he said. This time when their mouths met, Alex pushed a tiny
bit of power into his mouth and fed it to Julian along with the kiss.

Julian
moaned, feeling a rush of magic and desire. “Oh, you can, oh,” he
said. “Why didn’t you ever do that before?”

Alex
looked sheepish. “Not all non-mages like it,” he said, “so I
usually don’t, even though it’s amazing.”

“I
like it a lot,” said Julian, and then he grinned. “I suppose I’m a
mage now, anyway, of a sort.”

“You
are,” said Alex seriously. “You get more magical every day, and not
just with plants,” he said. He got his fingers slick and fed Julian
another of those heady, power-laced kisses as he slipped one inside. Julian
could feel the love and desire that Alex had put in the potion when he brewed
it, and he shivered as Alex added a little tingle of power along with his
finger.

“Oh,
god,” said Julian, “that’s, wow.” He wanted to have more to say,
wanted to tell Alex he could feel that he’d made the lubricant after they were
together and had Julian in mind when he’d made it, wanted to tell him how good
it all was, but he couldn’t seem to string together two coherent words.
Julian’s world narrowed to Alex’s kisses and Alex’s fingers, and the magic that
was building between them.

“Give
it back to me, now, love,” coaxed Alex, and Julian ran his hands over
Alex’s body, feeding warmth and magic back into him, completing the circuit.
Alex moaned, and Julian found the bottle and slicked lubricant over Alex’s
cock, teasing his power along the length. “Not, oh, not too much,”
gasped Alex with a laugh. “Don’t want to finish too soon.”

Julian
giggled and wiped his hands, moving them up to tease at Alex’s nipples, hips
rocking in time with the movement of Alex’s hand and those teasing, tingling
fingers. “R-ready,” he stammered, “Need, oh, need you,
p-please.”

“Need
you so much,” agreed Alex, pulling his fingers out, leaving Julian empty
and bereft.

There
was a moment of awkward shifting and then Alex was inside him, and this time
they didn’t even need to think to share their magic, to find the perfect motion
of bodies and energies. Julian drank in the feeling of being so very loved,
drank in the warmth until he was hot to his core in the best of ways, and he gave
back all the wonder, magic and love he’d found with Alex.

They
found their peak together, linked as they were by the energy flowing between them.
It felt amazing to give and take in a burst of pleasure so intense that for a
moment Julian wasn’t sure what was his, and what was a reflection from Alex.

“Wow,”
said Julian, drifting down into the warm afterglow.

Alex
grinned down at him. “Wow,” he agreed. “That was amazing,
love.”

“Really,
really amazing,” said Julian, still breathless. “I am going to send
Geoff chocolates and never, ever tell him why.”

Alex
laughed and kissed him again, this time with only the usual exchange of warmth
and affection. “That sounds like a perfect plan,” he said.
“Though he might guess.”

Julian
giggled and blushed. “He’ll only be more jealous of me for snagging
you,” he said. “We’ll tell him it’s for helping save my life,
then.”

“Yeah,
we will,” said Alex, and Julian felt that ache of worry and sadness swell
up.

“Hey,
none of that,” said Julian, pulling him down for more kisses. “You’re
safe and alive, I’m safe and alive, and James and Jacques are going to give us
so much shit in the morning about this we’d better enjoy it now.”

Alex
laughed, surprised out of his concern, at least for now. “Yeah, they
really are,” he said. He dipped his head down for another kiss. “But
it was worth it.”