AJ coughed, expelling water from his lungs. He continued to tread water as he looked around. There were the ruined remnants of the boat floating around. Running a hand over his face to wipe away the water, he looked up and watched as the last of the dark clouds vanished from the sky. The storm had left as quickly as it had come in.
He scanned around him, trying to find Howie and Brian. When they’d been sucked under water, they’d lost grip of one another with the current pulling them. Loathe to call out until he knew where the hell Roth was, AJ simply tread water and looked. There was no sound, no indicator that Roth was still there. Most likely he had already gone, simply wanting to do the most devastation possible before he moved off to wherever he was going. His goal would have been to slow them down.
Realizing that, AJ relaxed enough to call out “Marco!”
From the floating pieces of their boat came a cry of “Polo!” That was Howie’s voice. Thank God. AJ swam through the now still water, scanning the area until he caught sight of Howie holding on to a floating board. Man, did he look pissed. But, where was Brian?
When he reached Howie, AJ grabbed the other end of the board and used it to hold himself above water. “You see Bri?” he asked, wasting no time. Worry was on Howie’s face as he shook his head no. Aside from their small area of wreckage, there was nothing on the ocean for miles and miles. But AJ refused to let the panic sink in.
He closed his eyes and extended his senses, much faster and more in tune than Brian was. He felt Howie’s glowing presence beside him, and the life of the animals in the sea, but no Brian. AJ snapped his eyes open. Howie’s eyes met his, and the same panic he felt was reflected back at him.
“Brian? Brian!” AJ shouted, pushing away from the board. He paddled around in the water, searching frantically. “Brian!”
“Alyck.” Howie called softly. There was worry and pain in his voice. Panicked, AJ spun back around, terrified of what he might find. All he saw on Howie’s face was the concern, and a sympathy that AJ didn’t want. “Alyck, he’s not here.”
“He has to be here somewhere!” AJ shouted.
But Howie was shaking his head. He understood AJ’s fear. He shared in it. But his mind was too practical. Already he had come to the only conclusion that there was. It broke his heart; for Brian, for AJ, and himself as well. He could see when AJ started to come to the same conclusion. Pain contorted his features, and his eyes closed. Howie reached a hand out toward him, wanting to pull him back over and offer any comfort he could.
The instant his hand connected with AJ’s arm, AJ flew backwards in the water, and the air started to crackle with the amount of magic he was holding. When his eyes opened, Howie swore they almost glowed. He felt a real tremor of fear run through him. Even in all the time they’d been together, and all the hardship they’d seen, he had never seen AJ this mad.
Pieces of the broken boat started to slide toward AJ. They swirled through the air around him. Howie had to let go of his board and paddle backwards to be out of the way. He watched in awe as piece by piece, AJ reconstructed their boat. He rose up out of the water until he stood on it like it was solid ground.
Within a minute, the boat was back together, floating on the water. Every piece of it had been put back where it belonged. How he made them hold together, Howie had no idea. But he watched AJ float himself upwards, then step lightly onto the deck. Quickly, Howie did the same. He had a feeling that if he hadn’t moved that quickly, AJ would have left him behind, because no sooner had Howie’s foot hit the deck than the sails filled with air and the boat was speeding across the water.
“Alyck.” AJ stood at the bow of the ship, his arms spread wide, filled to the brim with his magic. He didn’t respond to Howie’s voice.
“Alyck.” He tried again. “Let’s talk, make a plan…”
“I have a plan.”
The sound of AJ’s voice gave Howie a chill. It was as cold and hard as ice. Cautiously he stepped forward. “What are you going to do?” he asked, switching to Greek. For a moment, he didn’t think AJ would respond. Then, “I’m going to kill him.” The simplistic way he said it, as if it was a forgone conclusion, was terrifying.
“We’ve got to be practical about this, Alyck. He expects you to barge in there to save Brian. We have to plan.”
“You can plan.” AJ turned his head so that he was staring straight at Howie. His face was hard, like it was carved from stone. “I know what I need to do. I’m not foolish enough to go in alone.” He turned to face the horizon again. “I’ll gather what’s left of us that he hasn’t destroyed, and together, we will destroy him. For every day he hurts Brian, I will make him suffer. Even if it kills me.”
….
Slowly, an awareness of the world came back to him. Light shone through a window and down onto his face. That was what woke him. Slowly Brian opened his eyes, blinking at the brightness of the sunshine. God, what the hell had happened? The last thing he remembered was that storm, and suddenly being lifted from the water. Then something had either knocked him out, or he’d passed out. But that didn’t make sense. What was strong enough to knock him out that his body and magic wouldn’t instantly start to heal?
As his vision adjusted to the light, Brian took stock of where he was. He was in a bedroom, that much was obvious. He was lying on a large, four poster bed, with the drapes pulled back and tied off with sashes. But he didn’t recognize the bed, or the room around him. There was artwork everywhere; abstracts that left him with an uneasy feeling inside. The color theme for the room was all reds and blacks, adding to the darker atmosphere.
Against the far wall was a large armoire, made of a dark, obviously aged wood. The piece had to be an antique. There were others like it in the room. A desk that looked like it was from the Renaissance period. A chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Whoever owned this room had wealth to spare, and an eclectic taste.
Brian sat up slowly and carefully. He felt the silk sheets rustle against his skin, drawing attention to the fact that he wasn’t wearing any clothes. Jesus! What the hell was going on?
“Welcome back to the world of the living.” A smooth voice said. Brian spun, his mind clicking over to panic. He recognized that voice. The fear was confirmed when he saw the man step forward out of the shadows. Roth. “I do hope you find your accommodations pleasing.”
“Not particularly.”
A flash of annoyance came and went across Roth’s face. He strolled closer, trailing a hand across a dresser as he went. “I am terribly sorry to hear that. It was my intention to make you as comfortable as possible during your stay here.”
“Clothes might go a long way towards that.” With one hand Brian gestured down at himself. He was watching Roth carefully, so he saw the small smile that flickered for a moment. Even as he spoke so casually, Brian could feel the panic swirling inside of him. So many questions begged to burst forth, but he held them in. Something about this man was intimidating. Despite the coldness that emanated from him, he seemed curiously mannerly.
Roth reached into the dresser he stood by. After rifling around for a moment, he pulled out some things and carried them over to the bed. Unable to help himself, Brian recoiled back from him when he stopped by the edge of the bed.
A smile curved Roth’s lips as he laid the clothes on the edge of the bed. Respectfully, he stepped backwards, taking a seat in one of the wingback chairs. “I am not here to hurt you, young one.” His voice was gentle, and kind. Brian didn’t buy it.
He pulled the shirt on first, buttoning it up the front. It was white, with comfortable looking black slacks. Those went on next. As he pulled them up, Brian rolled his eyes. “Oh, really? Well, that explains why I my friends and I were attacked by a magically made hurricane, forced into the churning ocean, and why I was then taken from that ocean and knocked out, to wake up in a room I don’t recognize with a man I have no desire to see. Makes perfect sense there, Roth.”
Something gripped Brian around his throat, pulling him out of the bed to dangle in the air before Roth. Instinctively, Brian brought his hands up to try and release the pressure around his throat. He stared, wide eyed, at the man below him. Roth was still relaxing in his chair.
“First things first, youngling. My name is Rothalo, not Roth. I know that Alyck insists on calling me that, but let us not follow his bad example.” Here he flashed him a grin, as if they were sharing a joke. “Second, when you are in my home, you will act with proper manners. There is no excuse for rudeness.”
The pressure around Brian’s throat released. He thumped back to the ground, sucking in air. With as much dignity as he could muster, he braced on the other chair and climbed to his feet. “So,” he gasped out. “Are those all the rules I need to know?”
“Mm, yes, I believe so. Oh! Also, dinner is served promptly at seven each night. Do not be late. Other than that, no, I have no other rules. I hope you will find your stay here comfortable. This is the best guestroom in the entire house.”
“A fancy cage for a prisoner.”
Roth actually looked shocked. “Prisoner?” he asked. “No, you have me wrong. You’re simply a guest in my home. You are not my prisoner.”
“So I’m free to leave at any time?”
“Of course! I sincerely hope you’ll stay. I haven’t had company to stay with me since the last time that Alyck left.” That last comment was thrown out casually, but it caught Brian’s attention, which he guessed was Roth’s intention. “Alex stayed here with you?”
“Is that the name he still uses?” A smile curved Roth’s lips, making him even more handsome. “Well, to me he will always be Alyck. Yes, he stayed here. In this very room, actually. For, oh, about a decade I think. He came under his own steam, and left of his own free will.”
Brian stared at him in shock. AJ had stayed here? Here? Willingly? There had to be some catch to this. When talking about Roth, it had been easy to see how much AJ hated him! What would have possessed him to spend a whole decade staying here?
“I had hoped that in all our time talking, I would be able to persuade Alyck over to my way of thinking. I believe he hoped to convert me as well.” Roth chuckled dryly. “As you can see, we both rather failed at that.”
“Maybe that’s because your plans are to murder the world. Alex isn’t fond of death and destruction. No offense.” It took everything Brian had to keep the sarcasm from those words. If Roth noticed, he paid it no mind. No, instead he was smiling. “Dear child, your friend has caused his fair share of destruction and death. No one gets to the age he is at, and with those kinds of powers, without causing some damage. We’re all guilty of it.”
“Alex would never intentionally hurt someone.” That much, Brian was positive of. “If he did anything, I imagine that it was unintentional.”
“Some of the worst pain comes from the best of intentions.”
“I don’t need to stand here and listen to you insult him.” Brian straightened his spine. “Thank you for your hospitality, but I really must be going.”
“So soon?” Roth rose to his feet, holding a hand out toward him. “Please, stay for dinner.”
The idea of sitting at a table with this man sickened Brian. To eat with someone who was pure evil, hell-bent on taking the world and destroying it, simply because he wanted to. But another part of his mind paused, thinking this through. To stop Roth, they needed to know things. Maybe, by eating with him, he could find out more about him to be able to take back to AJ and Howie. Was pride really worth it to sacrifice what could be important information?
“One meal sounds wonderful.” Years of training kicked in so that Brian found it easy to follow Roth’s manners rule. “I would greatly appreciate a meal before I leave.”
Roth clapped his hands cheerfully. “Wonderful! Let us find our way to the table. There is so much I want to talk about with you!”
“And I with you, Rothalo.” Brian replied honestly.