Not long after that, AJ sent the other two to bed. “We’ll be getting a pretty early start, I want everyone well rested.” He told them. “It’s been a long day. Go to sleep.” Privately, he sent to Brian ‘Sleep, song of my heart. Your day has been longest of all. Sleep, it is the mind’s best healer. I wish to stay awake and think of what needs be done.’
‘You’re not still upset with me?’
Despite Donnelly looking on from his sleeping bag, AJ rose and walked to where Brian stood by their makeshift bed. Without hesitation he embraced Brian tightly, both in his arms and with his love. ‘No matter what, I will never stay mad with you, song of my heart. You are my very life. How can I stay mad when all you were doing was defending my honor in this?’
‘Well, you were right, I let him goad me. I let him get to me in a way he never should have been able to. The only thing I can say in my defense is that I’m feeling a little raw on the inside. I am sorry, Alex.’
‘I know. I am, too. I never should have blown at you to like that. I think I’m still a little raw inside too.”
The two shared a kiss before separating. While the others settled down to sleep, AJ went back to the deer and set himself to the task of taking care of it. He worked quietly throughout the night, letting his mind run to the tasks ahead of him. There were just a few things he needed to tie up on the off chance that he might not come back to this world. That was a possibility that he had to think about.
By the time morning rolled around, AJ knew where he was going to go. It was just a matter of packing them all up and getting there. So when he was finished with the deer, AJ washed up and then gathered all their stuff together, making sure everything but what the two were sleeping with were ready to go. Once all that was ready, he took a seat by the fire and set about carving some wood.
It didn’t take long, just until the sun was peeking up at the horizons edge, before Brian stirred. On silent feet he came over, squatting down behind AJ and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “Morning.” He whispered in AJ’s ear.
Smiling, AJ leaned back against him. “Morning. Sleep well?”
“Would’ve been better with you beside me.”
The smile on AJ’s face grew. He turned his head, stealing a brief kiss. “I needed the thinking time, song of my heart. I needed to figure out a few things, get some stuff squared away.”
“I take it this means we’re all planned to go?”
Before AJ could answer they both heard a grumble from the direction of Donnelly’s bedroll. Looking over, AJ saw the man stick his head up a little, his face bleary with sleep. “What on earth are you two doing up at this ungodly hour?” he grumbled. “Some of us are still trying to sleep.”
“You won’t want to sleep much longer.” AJ announced cheerfully. “Sun’s coming up and clouds should be rolling in soon. We’ll be getting a downpour within the hour.”
Balefully, Donnelly looked up at the slowly brightening sky. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. His eyes went distant for a minute as he sensed the air around them, then cleared to look at AJ again. “I don’t feel anything and the sky is clear as a bell. I don’t even feel it in the air.”
AJ raised his hands in front of him and pressed them palms together. “You have much to learn, young grasshopper.” He said, affecting a Chinese accent that had his friends laughing at him. Returning his voice to normal, AJ gestured to the horizon. “Off in the distance is a small storm system that was due to hit here in another day or so. I’ve…sped up the process so that we can have some cloud cover to travel with. Easier than maintaining a shield the whole way.”
With a wide yawn, Donnelly apparently gave up on sleep and sat up in his sleeping bag. “Where’re we off to, then? I mean, what’s the plan?”
“The plan, right now, is to head to Paris and speak with some friends of ours.” In an aside to Brian, he added ‘Geoff and Richard were supposed to still be with Marzio and Sofia. I need to speak with them, let them know what’s going on, let them know we may not come back.’
‘Good idea. I hate to think of us not making it back, not seeing them again. I like them, Alex. They’re good people. It’s easy to see why you made friends with them’ Brian’s mind voice was tinted with that inner smile, like a ray of sunshine inside.
“Who are these friends, if you don’t mind my asking?” Donnelly interrupted their private interlude.
Shaking his head, AJ looked back over at his new friend. He had to remind himself that there was so much that Donnelly didn’t know. “They’re immortals, like Brian and I used to be. Made a long time ago.” At the surprised look on Donnelly’s face, AJ explained a little further. “Marzio was made by another magician a long time ago, but his maker was murdered. Him and I met a few times, were friendly, and one time he brought me a beautiful girl who’d had a weave of spirit and earth in her and it was draining her strength away; killing her. I removed as much of the weaves as I could, I wasn’t as strong then as I am now, and when I couldn’t get the rest, I took a risk and made her immortal. It worked. They’ve been together since then.”
Pausing, AJ smiled at that memory. It had been one of the better things he’d done. Those two were perfectly suited to one another. After a moment, he continued his explanation. “Richard and Geoff will be there too. I’m not their maker, they had separate makers, but they’re good friends. I’ve helped them out of a few jams. These four are the only remaining immortals left on this earth and they are very good friends of mine.”
“Remaining? There were more of you? How on earth did you become immortal? You said they were just…made?” The questions seemed to pour from Donnelly. He flushed, seemingly embarrassed by the flood.
AJ and Brian, however, smiled indulgently at him. They knew it was a lot to take in. Better to explain now and answer his questions while they were here than later when they were busy. “There is a certain weave that is laid on a person that turns their body immortal, yes. It is dangerous, though.” AJ explained to him. “If a person doesn’t want it with all their heart, even if they’re not quite sure what it is they want, then it can kill. And yes, there used to be more of us.”
Here he had to pause. Sensing his discomfort, Brian picked up the tale. “There were two more, but they were killed in the war with an evil immortal mage. A war we just recently finished. One, Isleen, died by the monsters this evil mage brought, monsters that can take even an immortal soul. The other, Howi, sacrificed his life so that this mage could be killed.”
“They were great people.” AJ said hoarsely. He looked down to his lap. “Howi was my maker, my friend, and many other things to me. His loss, his and hers both, are terrible.”
For a moment there was silence. Then, almost as if he was afraid to break that silence, Donnelly spoke quietly. “If they’re immortal, how can they be killed?”
AJ cleared his throat, pushing away his grief, before he answered. “There is a way to rip at their very center, thus destroying that weave that keeps them alive. Immortal isn’t the best word for it, really. They can die. We can die. It’s just, very difficult. It takes a strong mage to do so. A weak mage cannot kill a strong mage unless the weak one links with others.”
“Are all the immortals mages, too?”
“Not necessarily. It’s true, immortality brings the magic out if it’s there, but it’s not a requirement. Marzio and Sofia have almost no magic, except Marzio is the best I know at sensing and masking magic. Geoff has almost no magic in any element except water. His control of water is almost as strong as mine was. Richard can only really sense others around him and their magical presence, but he can’t even light a candle.”
As he’d spoke, AJ had finished carving the wood in his hands. Now he took little bits of leather and such and bound them together. They drew Donnelly’s eye. “What’s that?” he asked curiously.
Holding it up with a grin, AJ looked at his friends. “This is an instrument from my childhood. Now they are called, oh, Pan pipes or something like that.”
“Pan pipes? Wait…when were you born?”
A chuckle tickled the back of AJ’s throat. ‘I think we’ve spiked his curiosity, heart song.’
‘He is as full of questions as I was. Best to answer now, though, while we’re waiting for your storm. Not really anything better to do. Plus, I always like hearing about your life.’
“Brian asked me the year I was born as well. You know, I don’t really know exactly. In my little village, calendars weren’t exactly something we had. But it was in Ancient Greece. I was twenty three when I was made immortal, and not long after I was made I fought in the Trojan Wars. That was around, oh, somewhere in the 12th century I think, BC.”
A soft kiss was pressed to the top of AJ’s head. “Why are they called pan pies, heart song?” he asked softly.
“They’re named after, Πᾶν, or Pan, as you’d know him.” AJ answered with a grin. “He was the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature, mountain wilds, hunting, theatrical criticism and rustic music. He was also the companion of the nymphs. He was considered a very erotic God, though most of them were.”
AJ held up the pipes in his hand. “The legend says that there was a nymph named Συριγξ, or Syrinx. She was a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. One day, pursued by Pan, it’s said that she ran to the river’s edge and asked the river nymphs for assistance to escape. They transformed her into hollow water reeds to hide her. These reeds made a haunting sound when Pan’s frustrated breath blew across them. In anger, he cut the reeds to fashion the first set up pan pipes, which we all knew as syrinx.”
Because he enjoyed it, AJ brought the pipes up and played a soft, haunting melody for them. But after a few songs, he felt the storm hit the edge of his senses and knew they needed to get ready to go. Everything was already packed but for the beds, so AJ simply stood and gestured them up. Brian instantly moved toward the beds, rolling them up and tying them off.
AJ grabbed something from the ground that had been beside him, tossing it to Donnelly. “Here; this’ll keep you warm.” It was a jacket, made from buckskin. AJ had worked until it had a beautiful smooth look to it, something that wouldn’t be noticeable where they were going. It would be considered fashionable. But it was also warm.
It didn’t take them long to put the fire out, pack up the beds, and then AJ had them on the blanket and they were rising into the sky, above the clouds that approached.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Their flight to Paris didn’t take long with the speed that AJ set. Within a short time he had them at Sofia and Marzio’s flat, landing quietly on the roof. Already he’d sent the little pulse, warning them that it was him so they wouldn’t panic when they felt someone coming. Because of that, their four friends were waiting for them on the roof.
The instant they were on their feet, he and Brian were surrounded by their friends, being hugged and kissed and exclaimed over.
“It is good to see you, my friend!” Marzio exclaimed, holding AJ by the shoulders. His eyebrows furrowed down. “There is something in you, something that worries you. Cosa c’è?”
Leave it to Marzio to cut straight to the point. “That’s a story best left for indoors, my friend.” AJ said softly. “There’s much to tell you all.”
“Well, let us go get comfortable then. Come, come into my house!”
About then was when Donnelly was noticed. Geoff was the one to spot him, standing awkwardly off to the side. “What’s with the cop?” He asked with a jerk of his thumb toward Donnelly.
“Another part of the tale, Geoff.” Brian said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “There’s plenty to tell, trust us, but it’ll be easier if told in order.”
Sofia smiled brightly at them all. “Well, any friend of Alyck and Brian is a friend of ours. Come, little one. Come with us. We will make you comfortable.” She held a hand out to him, the smile still on her face.
In a short amount of time they were all settled in the living room, arrayed around on the furniture. AJ looked from one face to another, feeling his heart swell with love for these people that had become his family. He loved them all in different ways. They were all dear to him. With this last war with Roth they had also all been through so much.
“It’s a long tale.” AJ said to them again. He settled back on the floor, leaning in to Brian’s legs. Brian sat behind him on the couch. Soothing fingers ran through his hair, relaxing him enough that he felt free to talk. “It started when we were taking Kevin and Nick home…”
It took almost an hour, but AJ told them everything that had happened since then; every little detail. When he was done, all eyes were on him, and all were wide with shock. It was Brian who spoke into the silence. “We wanted to let you all know what was going on. There’s a chance we might not be able to make it back; make it home. We didn’t want your hearts to fear for us and wonder what happened to us.”
“Also.” AJ added in. “to remind you of your promise to me, Sofia, Marzio, that my islanders will be cared for in my absence.”
The couple nodded, clasping hands. But Richard and Geoff had serious looks on their faces. “We’re coming.” They said together. Geoff raised a hand at AJ’s protest. “We have no ties to this world, AJ. No partners, no family, no obligations. Aside from Sofia and Marzio, you two are the only ones that we have in our lives. This is right for us. This is what we should be doing. We’re coming, even if we have to follow and sneak in with you.”
Could he deny them? Should he? ‘I don’t want to condemn them to this world if we can’t come back over.’ He sent to Brian. ‘This isn’t their world we’d be heading to. This world here is. How could I bring them over?’
‘They are grown men, Alex. This is their decision. If they choose to come and are firm in it, we should welcome their help.’ Brian pointed out practically.
Looking into their eyes, AJ nodded. “So shall it be.” He said to them. “We welcome your help.”