The dining room was just as beautiful as the rest of the house. Brian sat in a high back chair that looked like it was very gothic styled. The table was long, with a chair at each end, and four on either side of it. The colors here were the same as in the bedroom. Reds of varying shades, and black. They suited the man who sat at the head of the table, smiling politely at him over a glass of wine.
What the hell was he doing here? All they had discussed so far were normal, casual things. What good was this doing him? Brian cursed silently to himself, wishing he had been smart enough to leave when he’d had the chance. There was nothing he could learn about Roth that AJ and Howie probably didn’t already know.
In the back of his mind, Brian admitted to himself that the reason he’d stayed hadn’t been to gather information to help them. It had been Roth’s comments about AJ staying there that had intrigued him. Why had AJ never mentioned that he’d stayed at Roth’s home? For a whole decade!
Dinner was served, pulling Brian from his dark thoughts. He enjoyed a delicious steak and salad in complete silence. It wasn’t until they were both done, the plates cleared, that Roth gestured for Brian to follow him. They went to Roth’s study where he had a fire blazing. After pouring them each a snifter of brandy, Roth took one of the seats by the fire, indicating that Brian should take the other.
“I see so many questions swirling in your eyes, young one.” Roth said, swirling his drink in his glass. “Please, relax. Ask me what you wish to know.”
The open invitation left Brian surprised. He stopped to think about what questions would be best to ask, but the question his heart wanted to know slipped from him. “Tell me about when Alex stayed here with you.”
“Ah, yes, I thought you looked bothered by that. What is it you wish to know? I told you how long he stayed here for. After about a decade of being together, we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.”
“Where is here?” Brian asked.
Roth looked shocked for a minute. “Oh, where are my manners? I am terribly sorry! To take you away, and not even tell you where you are! You must think me a horrible person!” That was an understatement, but Brian held his tongue. He would never get any of the information he wanted if he was a jerk. Still, it took a lot to school his voice so that it sounded polite enough for him to respond with “Not at all.”
“Well, you are a generous soul. We are in Sicily. I’ve maintained a home here for a few centuries. I have always enjoyed Sicily, the beauty of it all.”
So, they were in Sicily. Well, hell, that was a pretty distance from where they had been. How on earth was he going to find AJ and Howie again? It struck Brian that, seeing as AJ had been here before, most likely his lover would know where to find him. He wasn’t sure if that thought pleased or annoyed him. “I have always wanted to visit Sicily.” Brian said.
“We’ll have to arrange for a tour, if you decide to stay that long. This is a beautiful place. But, I digress. You wanted to know about the time that Alyck spent here with me. Are you quite sure, child, that this is a tale you want told? There are things here that I doubt your lover would want exposed to the public light. Neither him nor I come off as very good characters in this story.”
“Please.” Brian found himself saying. “I’d like to know.”
Roth settled back in his chair and turned toward the fire. “Well, it was the year 1898, if memory serves me correctly, and usually it does. Now, keep in mind, Alyck and I have met up a few times through all of these years. This was not our first meeting, though for a while it was the friendliest. I was here, at home, when young Alyck knocked on my door, so to speak…”
…..flashback….
The front doors in the grand entryway of Rothalo’s Sicilian home burst open just as he was descending the staircase. He didn’t bother embracing his power. Rothalo had known he was coming for the past fifteen minutes. So when the doors flew open, Rothalo simply smiled. “Hello, and welcome, Alyck!” he called out, using the old form of Greek.
One look at Alyck’s face warned him that he needed to tread lightly. The strange currents in the lads magic made more sense now. Something was disturbing him, down to his very soul. That was a dangerous way to be for a person who has such a strong power over the elements.
“I have nowhere else to go.” Alyck said bluntly. He still had not moved from the doorway. “I come seeking sanctuary, such as it is.”
“My doors are always open.” Rothalo reassured him. He glided down the staircase and over to Alyck, taking his arm and leading him inside. With just a thought, Rothalo closed the front doors. He continued to lead Alyck, taking him back to the backyard patio. Like no others ever could, Rothalo understood the connection that Alyck held to nature. The smaller magicians felt it, but just barely. The stronger your power, the more your body craved to connect with nature. To feel the sun or the rain on your skin. To breathe fresh, unpolluted air. Swim in water that hasn’t felt man’s chemicals. Even to just walk with your toes digging into the dirt.
Once they were settled in chairs, Rothalo looked Alyck over, studying him from head to toe. It was obvious that Alyck had been on a ship again. He was barefoot, with callouses along his hands and feet. He wore a typical set of shirt and trousers, both sashed at the waist, which was common among sailors. Another sash was tied around his head.
“What is troubling you, young Alyck?”
Alyck laid his head back against his chair and let out a gusty sigh. “I am so tired, Roth. Just so tired of watching it all. Tired of watching men grow and change, and yet at their core, they stay the same. I’m so tired of watching men die simply for the crime of being different.” Alyck pulled a pouch from his pocket, loosening the drawstrings to open it. Rothalo watched him, and when Alyck had the cigarette in his mouth, Rothalo held his hand out, a single flame coming from the tip of his finger. Alyck smile appreciatively and puffed his cigarette to life.
Once he had blown the fragrant smoke out, he spoke again. “I’ve been over there, with the Indian wars going on. Simply because these people are Indians, this country wants to wipe them off the face of the earth. Because they speak different, look different, live different.” Alyck closed his eyes and continued smoking. “The way they live, their villages out in nature, unencumbered by what society dictates, is so refreshing. I’ve been living with them for the past nine, ten years. They are such a peaceful people. I have lived with many different tribes, and enjoyed what I learned from each one. But these, these people come, and they destroy what they find. They destroy everything.”
Rothalo reached a hand out, clasping on to Alyck’s arm. “If you allow these images of slaughter to dwell in your mind, you will go insane, Alyck.” He leaned back again, breathing deeply. “But surely you must see now, how right I was. You have seen for yourself what these humans do to one another with their wars. They are destroying our world, you mark my words, Alyck. It is as I’ve told you for centuries.”
“I know, Roth.” It was a testament to the pain that Alyck was in that he didn’t argue with him. There had been so much death, so much loss for him. His heart was broken, his spirit pushed down. Life had lost its pure light to him, and taken on a gray cast. “I tried to find Howi, to go to him and talk. But wherever he’s disappeared to, he’s hiding well. Though I know we don’t get along all the time, you were the only person I could think of to come to.” Here Alex looked over at him as he ground out his cigarette. “You are the only person with the strength to stop me from being stupid if I start to get out of control.”
“Of course, my lost one. I but wish there was more I could do for you.”
“I wish there was too, Roth. But I feel hallow, empty. As if a part of me has broken, and I have no idea how to fix it. I feel like a child, terrified of the dark, with no one there to comfort them through the night.”
Rothalo swung his legs over the side of the chair and moved until he was kneeling before Alyck. He took hold of his hands, staring up into his eyes, putting everything he had out there to be seen. Then he brought a hand up, cupping the side of Alyck’s face, magic tingling along his palm. He felt Alyck’s magic pulsate in response, then start to mesh with his own. When Rothalo leaned in to kiss him, it was like nothing ever before.
For Alyck, it was like food to a starving man. A balm on his soul. After seeing so much death and destruction, he needed this reminder that he was alive, that he could feel things still. When Rothalo stood, and scooped Alyck into his arms, Alyck did not protest. Instead, he snuggled in close, relishing in it. “Let me take care of you, Alyck. Let me be the one to comfort you through the night.” Rothalo whispered as he carried him up the stairs. With a sigh, Alyck let himself go. “Yes.” He whispered.
….end flashback….
Brian stared in shock at Rothalo. That had not been what he had expected to hear. His mind rebelled against the idea of this man and his Alex lying together in bed. Loving one another. Needing one another. Why had AJ never said anything about this in all the time they’d been together? Granted, it hadn’t been long since Brian had found out the truth about everything. Even less time since he had been made immortal. But, when telling him about Roth, this was something that should have been told!
Logically, Brian knew he couldn’t be mad at AJ for sleeping with someone in his past. Hell, it had happened before Brian was even born! But to find out that, of all people, it was the one man they were set to kill; the one who had tried to kill Brian when he set their house on fire, and who openly admitted to trying to kill AJ with the top of Mt. St. Helens! How could AJ have even come to this man’s house to begin with?
A part of Brian argued that he was here, and that it was of his own free will. Roth had offered to let him leave, but Brian had stayed anyways. For information. All because Roth had mentioned that the room Brian was in was the same one that Alyck had stayed in. Why on earth had Roth bothered to mention that? In a flash, Brian realized that he had been an idiot. Roth had said that purposely, to make him curious enough to stay.
As Roth sat silently, Brian stared at the flames, letting his thoughts take this further and further, trying to figure it all out.
Why would Roth want to keep him there? The only logical explanation for that one was that he wanted AJ to show up. This must mean that he had a plan for him. One that required Brian, obviously. Otherwise, Roth would most likely have killed him by now. Plus, when they’d tested Brian’s strength, they had told him that he was almost as strong as AJ. Which mean that he was close to Roth’s strength, as well, and he must know it..
What it boiled down to was one thing. Brian needed to leave, before AJ got there and walked right into the trap that Roth was laying.