A smile curved AJ’s lips as he led Brian further into the island. He knew that when he’d mentioned privacy, Brian had thought he’d meant something naughty. As much as AJ liked that thought, he knew that they had to better spend the privet moment together. Sex could be squeezed in here and there when they wanted. AJ was inventive when it came to that. But this kind of conversation, well, they wouldn’t have a lot of chances to have this much quiet time.
In the middle of the forest there was a grotto that AJ had always loved. The ground was soft, thick grass. The trees made a nice ring around it, letting in only bits and pieces of sunlight through the treetops like patterns through lace.
When they stepped under the canopy, AJ heard his lover gasp. He could understand the reaction. No matter how many times he saw this spot, it always struck him in his heart as beautiful. On a sigh of content he lay down in the grass and stretched himself out. “Get comfy, baby.” He said. Looking at Brian, he smiled gently. “Let’s talk.”
Brian sat, adjusting until he was comfortable. “Ok.” He said finally. “What do you want to talk about?” There was confusion on his face. It was obvious that he hadn’t expected this. But he was too good mannered to say anything like that. Instead he was polite, waiting to see what AJ had to say.
“I imagine you have a ton of questions. I remember after everything settled down, when Howi and I were hiding, I had so many questions I thought I would explode. He just wasn’t in the mood to answer them, so for my first hundred years, I kind of fumbled around.” AJ turned his eyes to his lover. “I don’t want you to have to do that. So, I figured we’ll talk. You can ask your questions, and when you’re done, there are some things I can tell you.”
Surprise lit Brian’s features. Then he settled down into a smile. “Sometimes you read me better than I can.”
“Benefit of knowing my partner. Now, don’t stall. What’s the first thing that comes to mind?”
Brian bit his lip and his eyes got a faraway look. Then he shook his head and focused on AJ again. “What did Howie do to me? I, well, I didn’t understand it. I mean, in theory, I know what he did, but, well, I don’t remember a whole lot.”
The corners of AJ’s eyes tightened as he closed them. For a moment he silently lay there. When he spoke, Brian could hear the tightness to his voice. “I was hoping that Howie had at least had the decency to tell you what he was doing. You said you understood the risks, he said that you did, but you didn’t understand. God, you had no idea.”
AJ cleared his throat and took a deep, calming breath before he continued. “Ok, ok. Why don’t you tell me what you remember? That’ll help me fill the gaps in for you.”
“Well, after I slipped away from you an talked to Howie, he led me into the house…”
….flashback time….
For a moment the two stared at one another; then Howie let out a gusty sigh and smiled at him. “Well, let’s get to this, then.”
He took Brian’s arm in his, leading him into the house. Nerves ate at Brian’s stomach. He knew that this was what he wanted to do, more than anything else. He wanted to be able to help his love, to stand by his side as an equal. Not to be a liability in a situation, but maybe an asset. That was, if this didn’t kill him.
“Have a seat. It’s not necessary, but if you stretch out comfortably on the bed it’ll make it a little more relaxing on us.” Howie said, gesturing to the bed. Gnawing on his lip, Brian went and stretched out on the bed. This new thing inside of him seemed to pulse each time that Howie came close. Brian closed his eyes for a moment, marveling at the feeling of his magic. His own magic!
There had been pain involved, when AJ had released those memories. It had hurt so much to know that this had been inside of him, and had been locked away because of a small man’s fear. But all he could do now was marvel at the sensations that it put inside of him. To find out that he had this, it was amazing. To regain those memories! An in the back of Brian’s mind was the thought that maybe, when Howie did his work, that there would be a chance his strength would come close to that of his lovers, so that they would be able to stand side by side as equals.
“You ready for this, Bri?”
Howie’s words snapped him back to reality. He nodded at his friend. As he watched Howie close his eyes, he asked him “What are you doing to do?” But either Howie was ignoring him, or he didn’t hear him. But suddenly, that new core in Brian started to hum and pulse. The instinct to defend was automatically triggered, and it took all of his control, which wasn’t strong yet, to hold it down.
Something touched him, then. Not on his skin, but inside of him, in that very core part. Brian’s back arched as the feeling spread through him, first to his mind, then through every inch of him. God, God! Every part of him was suddenly burning, changing. That core of him grew, filling him with light and sound, expanding and growing until it consumed every inch of them. Then, in the space of an instant, it all stopped. Everything drew back inwards, settling down where it should, and Brian was able to get a shield in place.
He was reeling, his mind trying to process what had just been done. Whatever Howie had done to him had been monumental. Physically, he didn’t feel any different. But magically, well, it was like this new strength he’d been shown he had, had suddenly almost doubled in size. That was staggering!
Something triggered that sense in Brian again, and he lost himself in analyzing it. There was a definite feel of AJ to this sensation, yet at the same time it triggered that defense yet again. Brian was still fighting to control it when there was a bang in the room, followed by Howie’s quiet “Shit.” Then everything went insane.
…End flashback…
“After that, well, you know the rest.” Brian finished. He was fiddling with a piece of grass, tying it into knots as he spoke. He looked up when he heard AJ sigh. “Yeah, next was my tantrum. Ah well, he deserved it.” The humor in AJ’s voice had an edge to it that told Brian his lover was more agitated than he wanted to let on. “So, Howie didn’t tell you what he did to you?”
“No, not really.”
“Go figure. Howi’s great about that kind of shit. Ok, so first and foremost, I think you deserve to know what exactly it was he did. Not so you can do it yourself to someone, but so you understand what it was he did to you.” The look AJ gave him was serious. Brian nodded, understanding the warning. “I won’t make anyone else like me, Alex. Don’t worry.”
“Good. Now, it’s really a simple process. You know the elements; earth, air, fire, water. Those are your basics. But another one is spirit. Using spirit is difficult, if you don’t understand it. But, using spirit, Howie would weave it around you, and sink it into your body, until it touches the core of who you are. The center of your magic and your soul. There, you use the persons own magic to help the weave flow through their body, changing things as it comes across them. You then add earth to your mix, because at the base of it all, humans are a part of the earth and it’s a part of them.”
“How are we a part of earth?”
“Earth is made up of millions of cells, just like we are. When you get to the core of all things, there are cells and organisms and such, little particles that make up everything. Even dirt. At the same time, everything has its own spirit inside of it. Even the trees have spirit. By combining the two weaves, and incorporating them inside of you, Howie showed them what needed to be done. In essence, as they travel through you, they heal all the parts of you that aren’t healthy, bringing them to their natural state.
“As your body brings itself to optimal health, the magic flows to your brain, your mind. It ties in there, attaching to you on the minutest level. Your spirit anchors itself in your body, and draws on the magic there to keep it whole. I’m not sure if I’m explaining this right, I hope it makes sense. Some of it I’ve just taken for granted over the millennia, so it’s hard to put into the right words. At the base of it all, this magic stays inside of you no matter what, constantly healing you when anything happens to your body. It takes what’s in us that already helps us heal and accelerates it, so that it kicks in any time something happens to us. When we’re cut, our body and our magic automatically start to heal it.”
Brian’s jaw dropped open, amazed at what he was hearing. “You’re saying my body will heal from anything?” he asked, shocked. AJ nodded at him. “Yep, pretty much. An I do mean anything, Bri.”
“I can understand the cuts and such like that, but what about a broken arm? That’s bone, not skin cells and such.”
“But don’t you see? Even our bones are made up of earth. So when they break, our magic knits them back together, healing the area that was broken. You could cut off your hand, and it would grow back, Brian.”
Those words set Brian back. He couldn’t believe it. “Grow back?”
AJ shifted in the grass, sitting up and leaning back on his arms. “It’s just a matter of the magic repopulating the growth of your cells and the organisms in your body.”
“That just seems, impossible!”
Staring at Brian’s face, AJ grew thoughtful. He remembered the way he had felt upon discovering all of this. He also remembered the ways he had tested it because he hadn’t believed it. The thought of Brian doing to himself the things that AJ had done when he’d tried to figure all of this out had AJ shuddering. Even knowing that his lover would heal, he didn’t like that idea. So, there was only one way around it. Taking a leaf out of a book he knew, he looked around the glade for a moment before spying what he wanted. “Here, watch me.” He said.
With air he floated a rock over to himself. It was about the size he wanted. Using air, he started to shave it down, sharpening one edge of it as Brian watched him in fascination.
“There’s never anywhere you are that won’t present a weapon to you, Bri. An magic isn’t always the best weapon, especially against Roth. He expects that. But it’s been so long since he’s been mortal, and he hates them so much, that sometimes he forgets about mortal weapons. Though they don’t stop him, they can slow him down and distract him, giving you the edge you need.” As he spoke, AJ honed the edge of the rock to as sharp as he could make it. Once he was satisfied, he took it in his hand and studied it. “Now, I want you to make a promise.”
“What?” Brian asked.
“Promise me that, no matter what, you’ll stay right there. You won’t touch me.”
Caution filled Brian’s eyes, alongside worry. “What are you going to do?” His eyes flickered to the rock, then back to AJ.
“Just promise me.”
“What are you going to do, Alexander?”
“Promise me.”“Tell me, first.”
AJ let out a gusty sigh. Of course his lover was going to be difficult about this. So AJ stood and backed away a few. “I know from experience that some things are better learned when seen, not just told. Some of this you won’t believe until you see it, and with Roth coming out of the woodwork, we don’t have time to take it slow for you to learn.”
“AJ, what are you doing?” Brian stood too, reaching hesitantly for him. But AJ put his hand on the tree next to him, offering a prayer in the old language, asking the tree forgiveness for what he was about to do. Then, without preamble, using magic to help the process, AJ lifted the rock with his other hand and slammed it against the one that was connected to the tree. Agony exploded through him as his hand fell to the ground, leaving behind a bleeding stump.