The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans (24 page)

They
spent a pleasant morning that way, with everyone putting in their opinions on
what should go where. They decided to terrace part of the garden, which meant
more supplies and work tomorrow, but Jones promised to wear more suitable
clothes so Julian wasn’t too worried. All of the path stones got placed, and
Julian sprinkled grass seeds around them and under the benches, then secreted a
few shade-loving flowers in the space beneath each bench. They were grateful to
be out of the bright sunlight, and Julian made sure to give everything a good
water after he sent Horace off to find Alex for lunch.

“That
was very good progress for a morning,” said Father Stephen, leading them
to a room where they could clean up before lunch.

Brianna
took it upon herself to wash Julian, Jones and Father Stephen’s feet, while the
Guardians took over the sink to wash their hands. Stephen returned the favour
for her, and then they all finished cleaning up and headed to his office.

“Is
that a Temple thing, the foot-washing?” asked Jones, curious.

“More
of a kindness,” said Father Stephen. “But yes, after all, one of our
missions is to help cleanse those in need of our assistance.”

“I
suppose that’s true, so it’s more symbolic. Alys said she can get dirt out of
my shoes, too, so if anything happens I won’t be stuck running barefoot,”
said Julian.

He
felt a little wash of approval from the direction of his Guardians. “All
right,” said Julian, “that’s just weird. Are you guys, I dunno,
touching me with your magic somehow?”

“In
a way, we do have protections around you, why?” asked James.

“You
approved of my comment, and I could kind of feel it, like I do with my
plants,” said Julian. “It was weird.”

Jacques
chuckled. “You definitely sense along magical currents, then,” he
said. They paused outside Stephen’s door, and Brianna and Jones ducked inside
to gather the lunches. “Here, close your eyes and try to feel the magic
around you, like you do plants.”

“All
right,” said Julian dubiously. He closed his eyes and breathed in,
smelling clean soap and a bit of incense. He could feel James and Jacques both
anticipating something, and when he followed those feelings back to himself he
could also feel a sort of determination that hovered between himself and the
world, stringing between him and the Guardians and pooling around all three of
them. He opened his eyes, with those fluid emotions fixed in his mind, and
stepped away, then closer, feeling the motion of the magic around him.
“That is so, so weird.”

“What’s
weird?” asked Alex, and Julian felt little tendrils reach from him to the
amulet to cradle Julian in warm, protective love.

“He’s
learning to feel magic,” said James, sounding immensely proud.

Father
Stephen smiled, and there was another little thread of warmth that joined the
cocoon around Julian. “Congratulations, my boy.”

“That’s
really wonderful,” said Alex, slinging an arm around his waist and kissing
his hair. “Do I feel nice?” he asked.

Julian
was reminded of asking Alex that same question in Nobu, and the warm glow he’d
gotten from Alex’s answer. “You do, like a warm blanket around me,”
he said, kissing Alex. “James and Jacques are more like, I dunno, armour,
determined but not so loving.”

“Not
that we don’t like you,” teased Jacques, grinning.

“We
just don’t like-like you,” finished James, trying not to laugh.

“Where
are we going with these?” asked Jones, hefting the box of lunches. Brianna
held a tray with a big teapot, seven cups, and a decorative tin.

“Oh,
good, you got the tea,” said Father Stephen. “We’ll get hot water at
the dining hall, as well as a meal for Brianna.”

“We’ll
bring you food tomorrow,” said Julian, “but Alys didn’t know you’d be
helping today.”

Brianna
grinned. “It’s fine, though I can’t say I’ll mind getting real
brownie-made food tomorrow. Our meals are good here, they don’t deny us all the
pleasures of the flesh.”

James
snorted, but didn’t comment, and Julian had to laugh.

“I’ll
keep that in mind next time we order from Saveur,” said Julian.

Father
Stephen chuckled. “Now that is a temptation,” he said. “We do go
in for moderation, but that just makes the treats last longer.”

Alex
laughed. “Well, then, we’ll have to get Jones to make a special stop
tomorrow,” he said. “Or maybe tonight, I’ll call after lunch and see
if they can get an order ready.”

“I
could do it on my way home,” said Jones. “That way Julian isn’t at
risk while you run in.”

“Aww,
but then I’ll miss the free samples,” said Julian with a fake pout.

They
got settled on benches in the small dining hall, with Father Stephen at the
head of their table in a chair to keep from overcrowding. James got hot water
for their tea while Brianna got her own lunch and Jacques acquired glasses of
cool spring water for all of them, and Alex passed out the rest of their food.
Alys had packed two cloth serviettes for everyone so they could spread one out
to eat off of, and still have one for the usual. They got their food laid out
and tucked the lunch boxes away, passing around the water and tea as they were
ready.

“Oh,
it’s like a picnic,” said Brianna delightedly, coming back with her own
meal of steaming chicken and dumplings, fresh herb bread with butter, and a
little round cake dripping with honey for a sweet.

The
lunches were mostly the same, though Father Stephen and Jones had the smallest
portions. There were sandwiches of roast beef that he recognised as Alys’
though he’d no idea when she’d had time to make a roast, with thick-cut
tomatoes and spicy mustard, and baby spinach instead of lettuce. Each of the
magic users had two of those wrapped in paper and cut into neat quarters for
eating. Then there was a delicious potato salad that with an herb-and-mayo
mixture coating chunks of unpeeled potatoes, chopped black olives, and diced
red onions. Two apples rounded out the food, though she’d only included a knife
in Jacques’ box, which amused everyone, including him, and led to him offering
to chop apples for anyone who wanted them.

There
were honeycakes as well, though they all agreed they’d save those for a tea
break later in the afternoon, since she’d included a spiced caramel sauce to
dip the apples in.

“That
is a lot of food,” said Brianna dubiously, looking at the pile in front of
James.

Father
Stephen chuckled. “Since you’re not using magic to help, you’ll get a more
modest portion,” he said. He’d been given only one each of the sandwiches
and apple, as had Jones, which still made a substantial meal.

“I
think that’s a comfort,” she said, “though I admit it looks really good.
What’s the sauce?”

“Here,
try some,” said Julian, dipping in one of his Jacques-sliced apple bites
and handing it over. “It’s spiced caramel, so, basically we’re
spoiled.”

She
tried it and mmmmed. “Yeah, wow, you really are.”

They
talked about food while they ate, and then the plants and work ahead of them.
The topic of the case was off-limits by some tacit agreement, which both
worried Julian and relieved him of the burden of discussing it all yet again.
Still, he felt pleasantly recharged when the food and tea were gone, even if he
did once again feel like he’d eaten enough for any three of his old self.

“You’ll
get used to the portions,” said Alex, seeing his face. “I came into
my powers as a teenager, so you can imagine how much I had to keep up with both
that and growth spurts.”

Julian
nearly snorted his water at the image. “Did you ever stop eating?”

“No,”
said James. “I swear, I had to sneak food between classes to keep from
fainting with hunger.”

“I
had to get a special pass to sometimes eat during class, if I’d had magic
lessons,” said Jacques wryly. “It was ridiculous.”

“I
won’t feel so bad about keeping up now, then,” said Julian. He added for
Brianna’s benefit, “But you see why we all got packed lunches.”

“There’s
herbs for strength and magical renewal, especially in the roast,” said
Jacques. “And ginger’s good for energy, too, in the apple dip.”

“And
you’ve got a house-brownie that does all this for you?” asked Brianna,
eyes wide.

Alex
looked smug about this. “We do, a pair of them, Nat cleans and does all
the repairs, and has been slowly improving basically everything in the house,
and Alys cooks for us and does the laundry. They made a deal with me when they
moved in, and I keep up my end.”

“When
he doesn’t, they play pranks,” added Julian. “I had to agree to the
deal when I moved in, too.”

They
packed everything away for later, and added a second cake from the dining hall
for Brianna to join in their tea, then stashed it all back in Father Stephen’s
office.

“How’s
your work going?” asked Julian, grateful when Alex elected to come see
their progress.

“Really
well,” said Alex, sounding relieved. “They’ve got a nice lab set up,
and they sent someone around with the relief officers this morning to collect a
little sample from each of the apprentices, so we can personalise their
protections. Between the four of us, we’ll get them done today.”

“That’s
really good of you,” said Julian, going up on tiptoes to kiss him.
“And they’ll still have police, right?”

“Right,”
said Alex. “Tomorrow we’re going to go consult with. Dr. Chesterfield on
the apprentice who was attacked, so I won’t be with you, but you’ll be safe
here.”

“Good
thing I put Jones to work today with the heavy lifting, then,” said
Julian.

Jones
chuckled. “I can come back here while they all meet up, I bet they’ll be
all day. Even if they solve it, they’ll still have theory to discuss until the
end of time.”

“You
can,” agreed Alex. “No sense making you wait around the hospital when
you could be slaving away for Julian.”

“For
the Temple,” corrected Father Stephen. “And his service is very much
appreciated.”

Jones
ducked his head and smiled. “You’re quite nice to me, it’s no problem to
help.”

“You’re
winning him over,” teased Julian. Jones had been polite but reticent for their
many visits at first, but slowly the kindness of everyone there had drawn him
out.

“We
do good work here,” said Brianna proudly. “We should win him
over.”

Jones
chuckled wryly. “You do, I don’t think I realised how much the Temple
offers the community. I thought it was just somewhere posh gits came to feel
better about themselves.”

That
got them all laughing. “And now you know better,” said Alex.

“You
can feel better here even if you’re not a posh git,” added Julian, trying
to keep a straight face. “Less fortunate gits are also welcome.”

There
was a little more teasing, and then they threaded their way through the plants
lining the corridor so Julian could show Alex what they’d done so far. Alex
walked the path from one end to the other, then looked back at the room and
smiled. “It’s already got a very welcoming atmosphere,” he said.
“What else is going in?”

Julian
told him about their idea for terraces, and Horace swooped and twittered,
clearly enjoying the sunlight, which glittered off his metal designs
beautifully. For a moment he could forget why he was there and not at the
nursery, and just enjoy the work he was learning to love. “Mary Margaret
chose most of the flowers, and we’ll send back anything that doesn’t get
used,” he finished, giving Alex a kiss. “Now, stop avoiding your
other mages and go work,” said Julian, shooing him across the short path.
 

Alex’s
long legs had no problem with the wider-spaced stones that gave a quick way
across without having to step on the bare earth that would eventually be grass
and wildflowers. “This is clever,” he said, “I hope it works to
keep your grass from getting trampled.”

“As
do we all,” said Father Stephen. “We’ll send your bird to find you
for tea in a few hours.”

“Thanks,”
said Alex. He took a moment to get his bearings and headed off into the Temple.
He was whistling as he went, and Julian had a feeling he was sneakily using his
magical senses to find the other mages instead of trying to remember the way.

Not
that Julian blamed him.

“All
right,” said Julian. “What can we do today while we wait for the
things we need for terracing?”

They
got back to work, mostly rearranging and sorting, though Julian planted a few
more things and scattered wildflower seeds in with the grass seeds, and then
watered everything before they declared it a good day’s work and sent Horace
off to find Alex.

“Is
there a wish tree here at the Temple?” asked Julian, settling into a chair
in Father Stephen’s office.

“There
is, it’s quite old. It’s in one of the open courtyards, we can visit
later,” said Stephen.

“The
wards do cover those courtyards,” said James. “But not a long visit,
still.”

Julian
sighed, but nodded. “Not a long visit, I promise.”

“What
are we visiting?” asked Alex, looking tired as he followed Horace into the
room. He had his bag with him, though, so Julian had hopes that his task was
done.

“The
wish tree,” said Julian. “Father Stephen says that have a nice old
one here.”

“We
could make a wish,” said Alex, plopping onto the chair next to Julian.
“Are we eating in here?”

Julian
chuckled. “Thinking with your stomach again,” he teased.

“We’ll
eat in the dining hall again,” said Father Stephen, which prompted a
gathering up of the necessary items. “I’ll call in our supply order and be
along, I have to see if we can get everything by tomorrow morning.”

“If
not, I’ll take the day off and read up on terracing,” said Julian with a
chuckle. “I haven’t done much of this sort of thing yet.”