The trio had reached the boat again. Isleen had packed quickly and easily, needing no time at all to prepare herself. The only time she had indulged in was to dress AJ. On that, she would not bend. Using magic, she had taken cloth and measured him, then cut the material. As they walked back to the boat she sewed, both magically and manually.
As they climbed onto the boat, she cut the very last stitch. “Here, Alyck.” She called, tossing the clothes to him. Though she smiled at him, he said nothing in return. He simply stripped out of what he was wearing and replaced them with the sea pants and shirt she had made for him. He picked up the last piece of material she’d discarded and stared at it for a moment. Then he tore it in half, length wise. The smaller strip he tied around his head, keeping his hair back from his face. The other he belted around his waist, holding his shirt and pants tight to his stomach. Isleen thought to herself that he looked like a pirate.
No sooner had he finished dressing than the boat started to move toward sea. No one had told her where they were going. She had absolutely no desire to ask Howi, and Alyck, well, she doubted that he would answer her. He was so lost in himself, in that vast ocean of grief he was carrying. Every time she got close to him, her knees wanted to buckle under the strength of it. How was he still on his feet?
The boat was moving quickly; already Ireland was growing to be a distant island behind them.
A strange noise caught Isleen’s attention, and she turned to see Howie holding something in his hand, staring at it in confusion. When he opened it and put it to his head, she realized that it must be one of those cell phones she’d heard of. It would have amused AJ to realize that Isleen had lived so far removed from the rest of civilization that she had never seen a cell phone before.
Shock contorted Howie’s features. “Oh my God.” He whispered. A pause, then “Yes, yes, of course. Sweet Jesus.” Then Howie was rushing past her, paying no attention to her staring. He hurried to the front of the boat where AJ stood.
“Alyck!” he called.
Staring out at the ocean, AJ ignored him, wishing that he would go away. Would Howie never stop pestering him about his plans? Soon enough they’d all know. Everyone would know.
“Alyck, the phone, its Brian!”
AJ’s magic faltered. The boat slowed, moving of its own volition now. In shock, AJ turned toward Howie. He saw the cell phone in his friend’s hand. Could it be? Was it true? AJ’s hands shook as he took the phone and held it to his ear, too afraid to hope, but unable not to. “Hello?” he whispered.
“Alex! Oh, God, baby, I finally got you!”
A sob built in AJ’s throat, sticking there. His legs gave way beneath him, so that he sunk to his knees. He never let go of the phone. “Oh, baby, Brian.” He managed to choke out. “You’re alive. Praise the Gods, you’re alive!”
“Alex, listen to me. I’m fine, ok? I want you to know that right now, I am fine. He hasn’t hurt me, hasn’t tried to kill me, none of that. I. Am. Fine. Do you hear me?”
AJ nodded, then realized that Brian couldn’t see him. “I do. Gods above, I’ve been so scared. Has he done anything to you? Where are you?”
“He hasn’t done anything, Alex. We’re at his villa in Sicily. He’s just been, talking, with me.” The slight hesitation in Brian’s voice caught his attention. The thoughts clicked together in his mind, a benefit of knowing how Roth’s mind worked. AJ’s eyes slid closed, and his voice was full of pain when he whispered “He told you.” There was no need to clarify.
Silence, then “Yes.” There was a rustling sound for a minute. “Look, Alex, where are you? I’ll find my way to you. He says I’m free to leave any time I want to.”
“We’re almost to you, baby. You just stay put, I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
“Alex.” Another hesitation. “I don’t want you to come here. This fight between you two, it can’t be over me. I won’t have people’s lives destroyed because you two are fighting, with me as the pawn.” Each of Brian’s words was like a knife in AJ’s gut. He was doubled over with the pain of it, almost gasping for air.
Vaguely he heard a thump somewhere on the boat, but he paid it no mind. “Brian.” He said the name softly, all of his pain leaking into that one word. “Do you think I’d risk doing something like that again? Has your opinion of me changed that much?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Grief threatened to overwhelm AJ. The phone almost slipped from his fingers. Then he heard “No.” spoken in a soft voice. “No.” Repeated again, this time much stronger. “No, Alex, it hasn’t.” Brian’s voice was firm now, and full of that love that made AJ’s heart soar. “I’m sorry, for thinking like that about you. But, can you guarantee that Roth will feel the same? He won’t hesitate to wipe out anything in his path.”
“You say that he said he’ll let you leave?”
“Yes, but…I don’t know. Something tells me there’s a catch to it. I don’t trust him, baby. Something about him makes my skin crawl.”
“Trust me, I know. You stay put there, baby, I’ll figure out something. I’ve got help, and I can get more on my way to you. Can you hold out for one more day? That’s all I need, just a day.”
Something in the background was making noise, and then Brian was speaking, his voice flat. “Rothalo wants to talk to you.”
Adrenaline coursed through AJ’s veins. He felt his anger return, a white hot light inside of him. “Put him on, Bri. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
There was some shuffling as the phone was obviously passed from one hand to another. Then Roth’s silken voice came over the line, amusement in each word. “Well, hello my darling Alyck. Fancy little pieces of equipment these are, don’t you think?”
“Cut the chit chat, Roth.” AJ snarled. He braced one hand on the deck, trying to keep his temper under control. “What do you want?”
“Tsk, tsk, Alyck. You would think that you would be more mannerly to me. After all, your most precious possession is in my care, now. How he is treated is entirely dependent on you.”
“Harm a hair on his head, and so help me, I will make you suffer for the rest of your eternity.” AJ swore. Laughter echoed through the phone. “You doubt me, Alyck? Such a pity. This child is beautiful. It would be a shame to mar that face. You haven’t forgotten what I learned to do, have you, Alyck? I can hurt him in ways his body can’t heal. I can kill him, without ever laying a hand on him. He would do it himself, smiling all the while.”
AJ’s temper almost overtook him, but he held it down with sheer will. In a blinding instant, he realized that Roth wanted his temper to fly. He was goading him, trying to make him furious. So that he wouldn’t think clearly. It would give Roth the edge. Realizing that gave AJ infinite more control over himself. He found the calm within, letting it seep through him. “I will not play games with you. He says you claim he’s free to go. So, let him go. Send him on his way.”
“Yes, I did tell him that didn’t I? Pity he has yet to learn how to recognize lies. I rather fancy keeping him here. He really is a delicious specimen. I have been, alone, for so long.” The threat in Roth’s voice had AJ clenching his fists.
“Let him alone, Roth. I’m on my way to you, just like you want. I’m coming for you. You don’t need to hold him hostage. Let him go, I’ll still come for you. I will hunt you down like the dog that you are, I swear it.”
A muffled cry in the background had AJ going perfectly still. He clutched the phone tightly, listening hard. Then suddenly everything was louder, and he knew that Roth had put him on speakerphone. “Have you forgotten who you’re messing with, Alyck? Time and time again you have ruined what I have sought so hard to build! You destroy everything that I try to do!” There was a grunt, more shuffling. “Do you remember Isadora?”
The name had AJ”s stomach clenching. Pain rocked through him, threatening to take him under. Isadora. “Yes.”
“She was mine, Alyck! Mine, and you stole her from me. Used her like a whore, and cast her aside!”
“Dammit, Roth, that’s not what happened and you know it!” AJ said, his pulse beating frantically. Oh please he prayed. Please don’t let him do this. Don’t let him do what I think he’s going to. Please, Gods above us! Please! “I never touched her, not once!”
“Lies!” Madness was evident in Roth’s voice now. “You ruined her! Did you think I would forget about it? Did you think I would let your transgressions continue on?” Suddenly calm again, Roth chuckled. “Your lover looks so beautiful here, on his knees, staring up at me. Is his mouth as beautiful as it looks?”
Unable to help himself, AJ quivered with the rage inside of him. “Roth, I swear to you, I never touched her. Don’t do this. Don’t do this to him.”
“Alyck, Alyck, Alyck. It’s not me who’s doing this to him. You are the one who sealed his fate. Remember that.”
There was an audible click, and the call was gone.