They didn’t waste much time once their conversation was done. AJ and Brian were conversing back and forth in their bond while they gave Flreu time to compose himself again. But once his Grandfather was back under control, AJ didn’t hesitate to start asking some important questions. “You said that the gateway is here, correct?”
“Yes. We stand guard over it here.”
“How does it work? Can I just, pass through? Is there anything I need to do? Will I be able to come back again?”
Flreu settled back on his hands. He gave AJ a deep look. “There is a key to let you from this side to the other. We don’t know if it will bring you back over, though. That has never been tested. That was not the duty of us.”
Hmm, a key. “Where is this key?” AJ asked, tapping a finger on his leg in thought.
“I gave it to you many, many years ago, Grandson. The gwt’a’leeli.”
AJ looked up in surprise. Over the bond he felt Brian’s question and responded without thought. ‘The gwt’a’leeli is a red gem like nothing I’ve seen. I’ve never been able to find another it’s equal. It’s large, shaped into a perfect sphere, yet flawless. You look in it and it’s almost like you can see light flowing around inside of it.’ Out loud, he said to Flreu “That’s the key? But you gave that to me a long time ago!”
“I needed it to be safe and I knew that there was danger for it being here. So I sent it with you. I knew that you would keep it safe for me. Was I wrong?”
“No, Grandfather.” AJ shook his head, amazed. “It’s in a secure place. But it’s over in the states. I’ll have to go get it.” Which meant even more time wasted traveling to the states, retrieving it, and coming back. Not to mention that he would have to be the one to personally get it. By doing that, he would be spotted. The people at the bank knew him and though he trusted his valuables to them he knew that many people would see him going in and out of the bank, which would end up hitting the press, which would put him back in the spotlight. Even more so if Brian was with him, which he undoubtedly would be.
They needed to hurry, to try to get the key and get back as quickly as possible. The longer that Kevin and Nick were in the clutches of these people, these creatures, the worse that it was. Who knew what would happen to them. What these, things, would do to them. “So, we’ll go get the key, come back and leave. While we’re gone, can we count on you to make preparations for us? Supplies, maybe draw out some maps?”
Looking up to the sky, Flreu seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then his voice filled the air, soft and thoughtful. “The moon was full last night. The gateway won’t be able to open again until the moon is full once more.” He dropped his eyes back to them, sadness evident there. “You have a month to prepare.”
A month? That meant that Kevin and Nick would be stuck with these assholes for a whole month before AJ and Brian would even be able to arrive in this other world? “A month?” Brian hissed out, echoing AJ’s feelings. “But who knows what’ll happen to them by then!”
“I am sorry, Grandsons. Truly, I am.” And Flreu looked it, too. His heart was in his eyes. “Hold on to the thought that this note indicates that they will not be killed. Hold that in your hearts and trust that you will find them in time.”
“Just trust that these super evil assholes won’t harm my cousin or my best friend?” Furious, Brian rose to his feet, anger quivering through him. Magic tingled on his skin. Echoes of that rage were feeding across the bond. Feeling that, seeing it, AJ reached a hand out to his lover, only to have Brian back away from him. “No, Alex! We’re just supposed to wait around for a month and hope to God that these bastards will keep them alive? There’s more to worry about than death! There are things that can be done that are worse than death!”
AJ shared a look with Flreu, warning him to stay down and stay silent. It was better that Brian get this out now so that it wouldn’t eat at his heart. Emotions were better when they were explored and put out in the open instead of being bottled up inside. So AJ sat back and let Brian pace and rage, keeping the weaves for a shield ready so he could slam them over Brian if it looked like his lover was going to lose control.
“Not only that, but you tell us there’s a chance that if we save them, we won’t even be able to come home!” Furious, Brian paced away, then swung back around and glared at them all. “Does that mean we won’t even be able to send them back here? Will they be stuck there? Will we all? That’s saying we’ll even be able to win! Dammit, we just got done with one war. We thought they’d be safe now! I can’t bear it that they’re going to be hurt because of us.” Here Brian froze, his voice breaking. He brought his hands up to cover his face.
The anger had melted out of their bond, replaced with a soul wrenching sadness that AJ couldn’t help but respond to. In one fluid move he rose to his feet. Without hesitation he stepped over and wrapped Brian not only in his arms, but with his love as well. ‘Oh, song of my heart.’ There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say to make this better. There was no use denying that their friends might be hurt. That was a distinct possibility, almost inevitable.
Opening the bond wide, AJ let his and Brian’s minds mesh together, their hearts joining for a moment as they shared their pain and grief. In that sharing, the found a slight balance, a peace between themselves that allowed them to control the pain. There were no words, but they didn’t need them.
When they pulled apart, Brian didn’t apologize for his actions, which AJ smiled at. Emotions were not to be apologized for when they were justified and had harmed none. It was good to see that Brian understood that.
“While we’re over there, I’d like to see my family.” Brian said softly. His eyes, with their glowing rings, seemed to have aged a little. “If I might not be able to come home, this’ll be my last chance. I want to be able to talk with them, to maybe explain a few things or gain some understanding. I’m not sure. But I can’t let them think I just disappeared or died. They deserve better than that.”
“I understand. So shall it be, song of my heart.” AJ whispered.
Flreu moved soundlessly, standing before them. They each took one of his hands, creating a ring. “I will prepare all I can whilst you are gone, Grandsons. Know that you do not go alone into this. You will bring the key, the only key that leads us home. Take comfort in the knowledge that every magical being that exists will go with you. We will all go home. This may be our last chance. Any who wish to stay, may. But I believe all will feel as I do. As the entire family of elves do. We want to go home.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So it was that Brian and AJ found themselves yet again in the United States hours later. Using magic to both hide themselves and to travel, they made their way to Austin, Texas. The location of AJ’s bank surprised Brian, but he kept quiet about it and kept himself concealed across the street at a diner while AJ went inside to retrieve the key.
First the two had made a short stop, AJ casting a glamour over Brian to hide who he was before sending him into a store to purchase them some new clothes with the little bit of cash on hand that they had left. So when Brian settled at the diner and AJ headed to the bank, the two blended in perfectly. Brian was wearing just simple slacks and a t-shirt with sneakers and a ball cap while AJ wore something that was uniquely ‘AJ’. Dark blue jeans, slightly on the baggy side, held up on his hips with a belt. A black t-shirt with skulls and roses on it.
They’d worried about how to hide his hair for a while, but AJ finally figured out something that would work since no one would be touching him. He put on a simple black fedora to cover the top of his head, then wrapped a black and white decorative scarf around his neck. Below that scarf they braided his hair about halfway down, then lifted the bottom half up and bending it up a little and tying it off so that it shortened his hair some. Over all that he put on a gothic styled long black duster jacket that trailed down to his ankles, effectively hiding his braided hair.
Naturally, the jacket was a perfect style for AJ. Black leather, with bright silver buttons on the front and on the pockets, with silver hoops on the back from shoulder to waist that were tied off with a thick black string. All in all, he looked like AJ was known to look, in full gothic regalia. It also hid his hair perfectly and even hid his ears. All he had to glamour for his face was his eyes so that they wouldn’t have their rings.
Brian enjoyed a cup of coffee and a plate of scrambled eggs while he waited. They’d so lost track of time in all their travels that it was almost breakfast here in Austin. He took his time, enjoying the food and the beverage, as well as watching the people around him. It was a soothing way to pass the time and helped him find his calm again. Ranting and raging with AJ and Flreu had been helpful toward purging himself, as had the joining between them. But he’d still be floundering just a little. This, though, helped ground him. He was doing something, not just sitting and listening to horror. Though they had a month left until they could leave, there were plenty of things to keep them occupied until then. So long as he was doing something, he knew he’d be able to maintain himself.
It didn’t take long before AJ was strolling out of the bank. Seeing him, Brian quickly settled his tab and met AJ outside as they’d planned. They weren’t going to stay here for long out of fear that the media might catch wind of AJ being there and descend upon them. ‘Everything go well?’ Brian sent out as he stepped into the warm morning air.
AJ didn’t turn his head, didn’t break stride, or do anything else that would indicate that he was meeting with someone, but he sent back ‘I got the stone. But we need to leave fast.’ There was a note of urgency to AJ’s mind voice that had Brian automatically on alert. He maintained his pace, but let his senses extend a little, keeping a watch on the area around him. Unobtrusively he cut back along the path they had to a small abandoned warehouse they were going to meet in. ‘What happened?’ Brian asked him worriedly.
‘They were surprised to see me, but not for the reason you’d think. They were surprised I was able to arrive so quickly after calling them. Seems that ‘I’ had called earlier to make sure that they’d be able to open my lock box for me so that I could remove a few items.’
Jesus! That meant someone was still on this side, trying to make it impossible for them to cross over the boundary. If they’d been any slower and whoever this was had gotten there first, they’d have lost their only way to cross from one world to the next and their friends would have been lost.
Quickening his step, Brian made sure it was clear before ducking into the darkened entrance of the warehouse. Though he sensed AJ ahead of him, he kept their conversation purely mental. ‘We need to get out of here before whoever it is shows up and finds out that we were here first.’
‘Exactly. Let’s just get to your parents and lay low for a little while. You figure out what you’re going to say to them yet?’
That had been one of the things Brian had been thinking of in the back of his mind. He sighed as he stepped up to AJ, their arms wrapping around one another. Even as Brian shielded them from sight and AJ used air to lift and float them outside and into the sky, Brian answered him. ‘There must be a part of them that knows something. The magic I did as a kid, before Uncle made me lock it away, well, they had to have seen it. So a part of them has to know there was something different about me. I want to give them the truth. I love them, and they love me. I don’t want to dishonor that love by lying to them.’
AJ’s mental smile was like the light of the sun in Brian’s mind. He let it fill him as they flew along. Trusting AJ to keep them safe, Brian only bothering to pay attention to keeping his shield maintained and that didn’t even require much attention. That minimal of magic was as easy as breathing for him. So most of his attention was internal, feeling the love from AJ and sending love back to him. Carrying on a whole conversation without a single word, neither mental nor out loud.
As close as they were at the moment, Brian felt the trigger against AJ’s more sensitive magical senses before he felt it hit his own. But by the time he’d even processed the thought and had prepared to try and seek it out, AJ was slamming a shield over him and over their bond. Abruptly they were sinking down to the ground, sheltering in a patch of forest that Brian recognized to be at the back end of his parent’s property. A sick feeling welled up inside of him. Something was wrong. Dear God, not again. Not his parents.
Prayers built in his mind. Not his parents. Not them too. If they had been taken like Nick and Howie, he didn’t know how he’d be able to bear it. He would have dove toward the house if AJ’s arms had been around him like a vise, forcing him to be still.
‘I want you to stay here, Brian.’ AJ’s mental voice said with just that edge of command to it.
Almost instantly Brian was shaking his head. Stay here? What on earth was AJ talking about? No, he had to go in there! Why would AJ want him to stay here? ‘Let me go. It’s my parents, Alex, let me go in and make sure they’re ok!’
‘No. I want you to stay here.’
‘You need me to come in with you. If you find them in there and they see you, they’ll freak out as to why you’re there at night time. If it’s me, they won’t be so upset. Plus, they’re my parents! Mine! I need to make sure they’re ok, Alex. So let go of me!’
If anything, AJ’s grip grew tighter. “Don’t make me do this, Brian.” He whispered into the quiet of the air. “Please. Swear to me you’ll stay here and I’ll trust you. Don’t make me force the issue.”
The panic in Brian was reaching new highs. Somehow he managed to force it down enough to turn icy eyes to AJ, not realizing that they were glowing darkly like the sky preparing for a thunderstorm. “You may be my heart song and the trulion, but this is family. Would you stay if you were me?”
AJ’s face softened. His eyes, the glamour gone to reveal their glowing depths, showed an internal heartache that Brian felt echoed on their bond. “I wouldn’t.” AJ whispered. “But I only wanted to shelter you, song of my heart.” That frayed the edges of Brian’s control. Gods above, it was that bad? He couldn’t sense anything with the shield AJ had over him. Maybe he didn’t want to. Maybe AJ was right and he should wait here. But no, he owed them more than that.
So, with every ounce of will he possessed, Brian straightened his spine and prepared himself to see the worst. Images played their way inside his mind, possibilities of what he might find. Knowing had to be better than wondering. Were they kidnapped? Had they been beaten? Was there monsters in there, holding them hostage? “I have to at least see.”
“Ok.” AJ leaned in, pressing his forehead to Brian’s for a minute, letting their hands touch, the tattoos pressing against one another for a moment. The contact surged through them. “But I want one promise from you, Brian.”
“What?”
“That you do the one thing I have never asked from you.” AJ’s swirling eyes locked onto Brian’s with an intensity that was startling. “If I give you a command, a clear order, I want you to swear you will obey me. If there’s something waiting for us, I want you outside the ring I’ll make, outside the house. I need to know that I can make an order and not need to watch if you’ll obey.”
He was right, this was something he had never asked of Brian before. Mostly because there was no need. AJ knew that in the heat of battle or things like that, Brian would automatically defer to him. But it must be important if he was asking it now. To make sure that AJ understood he meant it, Brian swore the oath mentally. ‘You have my word of honor that while we are on this property I will obey your commands without question. This I so swear.’
‘Thank you.’
Trembling with his fear and his nerves, Brian kept his hand clasped around AJ’s when his lover let him go. Together, the two headed to the house, each one worried about what was inside.