It wasn’t that much later that Howie and AJ returned. To the amusement of everyone present, AJ didn’t waste time in dragging Brian upstairs with him. The two didn’t return downstairs for a few hours. When they did, it was to plenty of ribbing and laughter. Neither cared. They felt much better.
AJ had brought something in from the car with him when he’d brought the stuff in that he and Howie had bought. Because of rushing upstairs, Brian hadn’t noticed it at first. But in late afternoon, after they’d had a few hours to all just sit and talk about things that weren’t magical or life threatening, just normal friendship things, AJ decided to show Brian what he’d brought in.
They’d been sitting in the backyard, watching the sunshine and talking together when AJ had escaped inside for a few. No one thought anything of it until he came back out carrying a few things that Brian recognized. He groaned from his spot on the ground. “Seriously, Alex? Can’t we treat this like a little vacation or something?”
“Nope.” AJ said, grinning. He tossed a bundle to Brian, who caught it in one deft move. “You practice every day until you can do it in your sleep. Like you told me, Bri. We only got so much time. I intend to get you as talented as possible as quickly as possible.” While he spoke AJ was pulling the two baldrics over his head, adjusting the scabbards and testing the blades, loosening them enough to make them easy to grab.
Nick leaned over from Kevin’s side to get a closer look at the sword in Brian’s hands. “A sword? You know how to use a sword? That pretty fucking cool, Rok.” He said, sounding impressed. Brian elbowed him on his way to his feet. “Pretty fucking cool, huh? Your ass aint the one getting beat on to learn.” He joked good-naturedly. Howie gestured to Nick and Kevin and got them seated on the porch, out of the way, so that they could all watch.
Rolling his eyes, AJ gestured his lover forward. He kicked his own shoes off, letting his toes curl in the grass. “Bitch, bitch, bitch. Let’s quit talking and get to action.”
“Hey Alex?” Brian called out, stepping closer.
“Yeah?”
“Shove it.” With that Brian drew his sword and moved quickly into the familiar forms. They were far enough into the yard that they wouldn’t be a danger, so he didn’t hold back as he flowed from one move to the next.
AJ had his two scimitars out in an instant, parrying Brian’s thrust and countering with a few offensive moves of his own. Fighting with two swords was the most comfortable for AJ, but Brian wasn’t used to defending against the two. Nor was he used to fighting in restricting jeans. It made his reaction time a little slower, but he quickly started to get into the swing of it. AJ loved that about Brian. His lover was a quick study.
Inspired, AJ sent a quick little flare of magic toward Howie, knowing his friend would understand. He watched as Howie hopped off the porch, coming up to their side, and waited until he was close enough before he tossed him one of his swords. Howie caught it easily and moved in.
Their friends on the sidelines seemed to decide that the way to deal with this was to take it all in stride. Howie had explained to them that Brian was learning from AJ the art of sword fighting and that it was something you had to do daily if you really wanted to learn. So they watched now and allowed themselves to be amused while at the same time reminding each other that if they saw blood, there was no way it was going to be fatal and that the cuts would heal quickly. They called out to them, cheering when Brian got under someone’s guard, or when he scored a hit; they booed when either Howie or AJ got under Brian’s guard.
Suddenly all three men froze in mid move. Their heads shot looking wildly around for just a split second. Then they were moving quickly toward the porch.
‘Keep magic at a minimum!’ AJ shouted mentally to Brian. ‘Even with this place shielded, the town might see a great big ball of fire.’
There was no more time for conversation after that. The very ground seemed to open up at the far end of the lawn, spewing forth things that would give Kevin and Nick nightmares for years to come. AJ recognized them instantly and started to curse steadily under his breath. He hopped off the porch and wished to himself that they’d had another sword for Howie so that he could have his extra scimitar back.
“Get them under the table, Howi, and make a shield.” AJ snapped out. “I need you to be the defense over them.”
“Then take this back.” Howie called, tossing the sword. AJ turned in just enough time to catch it, his grin sharper again.
Turning back toward the creatures coming at them, the ni shia as they were called by the elves, AJ mentally called Brian to his side. “These creatures have magic.” He warned them both. “But only over themselves. They can’t extend it to us.” That was all the time he had for warning.
Black in color, from head to toe, these creatures wore no clothes. They were sexless shapes, vaguely resembling a human’s body. They had no eyes, no mouths. How they saw was a mystery. How they moved the way they did, no one quite understood. But they could twist and bend themselves as if they were boneless. Talented at fighting, they were dark assassins. Once before had AJ met two, and it had been a close match that had almost cost him his life.
Five came out of the ground, followed by twenty Krutas. Shit.
AJ didn’t wait for them to come to him. He raced down the lawn, meeting them halfway, blessing the fact that Kevin’s property was huge. It would give them more space to defend, and to keep the creatures back. What got through he would have to trust to Howie. He heard Brian moving beside him, but there was no time to think about what his lover was doing. In this battle, he was mostly going to be on his own.
The first ni shia came up to AJ as if there was no other concern for him in the world. His hands were his weapons; he had no need for swords. He slipped under AJ’s first attack easily, snaking under to try and swing a leg in an attempt to take AJ’s legs out from underneath him. Pushing his sword tips into the ground, AJ braced on them and lifted his legs at the last second, driving them forward into the creature’s head, knocking him off balance. In a move quick as lightening, AJ pulled his swords out and swung them cross ways, decapitating the creature.
He didn’t waste time looking once he saw its head separate from its body. He barely spared a glance for Brian, who was battling with a ni shia on his own. His lover was alive, he knew that much. Uninjured as well. All that was in the bond was determination. So AJ moved straight into the next. The Krutas tried to bully past him, while the ni shia was distracting him, and he slammed a wall of air up almost too late. Luckily it caught them and made them stumble back.
AJ turned into a whirlwind of movement. His scimitars flashed around him, scoring hits here and there before the Krutas became smart enough to try to back away from his blades instead of surrounding him. He saw five of the Krutas nearby start to fall to the ground, clawing at their skin. In the air he could feel Howie’s magic that he sent forth, igniting fires inside of the beasts, burning them from the inside out.
It was enough of a distraction that AJ and Brian could focus on the ni shia. They found themselves herded together so that their backs touched, blades flashing through the air. Instinctively the two opened their bond as wide as they could, something they only really did during their lovemaking.
That wide, the bond allowed them to share senses. To become a part of the other person so that AJ knew where Brian was going to move without looking. He sensed it, and would move accordingly. When AJ dropped down for a low parry, Brian knew and swung the blade over AJ’s head, slicing through a ni shia’s arm.
Two more creatures went down, leaving only two. Those two worked together, slipping and sliding around the attacks and blocks that Brian and AJ threw up. Without speaking of it, just a general impression between them, Brian dropped to the ground and spun slightly, putting his back toward the ni shia that he had been fighting.
AJ placed his hands on Brian’s back and in a move so fast it was barely visible, he flipped is body over, landing his feet on the creature’s chest. He allowed his momentum to carrying them both down, his scimitar already ready, burying it into the things face the instant they hit the ground while his other sliced its throat.
Brian used the element of surprise to dart up, burying his claymore at an upward angle into the ni shia’s chest and out the back of its neck. The two men didn’t waste time over the dead bodies, but were instantly up and after the Krutas that had made it past the magical attacks Howie was throwing and were almost to the porch.
Like avenging angels the two men moved up behind them, wasting no time in dispatching those that were left. Compared to the ni shia it was almost too easy.
Though it had seemed like hours, only twenty minutes has passed since they’d first started fighting. The corpses of the beasts and creatures littered the ground. Brian put his sword point in the ground and rested for a moment, panting slightly. AJ looked up to the porch, seeing Nick and Kevin huddled together under the table, Howie standing on top of it. A solid shield was visible to his eyes around the table, protecting them.
He scanned the area around, checking for more danger. When he was sure there was none, when nothing leapt to his senses, only then did he move. He bent down, grabbing the shit of the nearest Krutas and using it to wipe his blades clean. Once they were, he sheathed them. Then he set about gathering bodies. They would have to be disposed of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It took the better part of an hour to get all the bodies piled together. AJ had told Brian to go take care of his cousin and his friend, citing that they would need him. He knew that Brian understood him well enough to know that AJ also wanted to be alone. Howie respected that too. They gave him the privacy he craved.
Physical labor is a good way to work your body and let your mind wander free. There was so much that AJ wanted, needed, to think about. Doing the menial work allowed him that time to think and clear his head. Plans needed to be changed, that much was obvious. If they had managed to get through, even with shields up, that meant that Twyla was teaching Roth new tricks. How that worked with Twyla still simply a spirit, he didn’t know.
But it was obvious that he was doing something. That meant that AJ needed to adjust his plans and do something different to care for Kevin and Nick. The only safe place for them that he could think of was with the elves. They had mortals in their halls occasionally. Humans who had been guests there. It was the only way to keep them safe that he could see. He didn’t bother thinking about if they would want to go or not. It was for the best, and they would do what was right.
With a few weaves of most of the elements, AJ incinerated the bodies and managed to cover up the smoke, dissipating it into the air around them so that no one would notice what he had done. It took only moments and there was nothing left but a pile of ash. Only then did he turn to go join them all on the porch. His decision was firm in his mind.
‘Get your thoughts squared away, heart song?’ Brian asked him.
AJ connected eyes with Brian and offered him the barest hint of a smile. Brian was squatting by Nick, patting his knee and talking to him in a low voice. Howie and Kevin were off to the side a little, talking in tones that suggested calm. ‘Yep. You guys get them calm?’
‘Pretty much. Nick sure takes these things in stride. I have to say, there’s more steel in this kid than I ever thought there was.’
‘Kid?’ AJ chuckled, taking the last few steps to the porch. ‘A few months ago he was only ‘kid’ to you when you were joking around. You suddenly grow older on me, Bri?’
‘Maybe not physically, but I feel like my mind has aged years. What’re we going to do, Alex? We can’t leave them here. The attacks will just keep coming and coming until the elves are overwhelmed. There’s got to be something we can do.’
“There is.” AJ spoke out loud as he stepped up to the porch. All eyes were instantly drawn to him. He had no idea the image he presented. Barefoot, splattered in blood, parts of his hair growing hard from the dried blood. It was flickered over his face, his arms. It spoke danger to anyone with eyes. “You two need to pack a bag, just one, with your essentials. You’re coming to stay with my grandfather for a while.”
“The hell we are.” Kevin cried, stepping toward them. His words honestly surprised AJ. “We have family around here, AJ. What are you going to do, bundle all of us up? Brian’s parents? My parents? Nicks? We’ll stay here and be near them.”
“We really should stay. I mean, you said the elves will protect us.” Nick chimed in. His eyes were wide with worry. “I don’t want to leave my home. If he takes us, well…we’ll survive. Brian said he wouldn’t kill us.”
“That’s right.” Kevin spoke in his firm voice. He was going to stand firm on this. “I believe in their protection, after everything you’ve told me. If, even with all that, we’re captured, we can stand pain long enough for us to be set free.”
AJ felt his jaw drop. A part of him knew that they were in denial. They’d been told so much over the last twenty four hours, and now to witness this must have finally put them in total shock, and with that, denial. But he didn’t have time to waste to argue with them. This needed to be done, quickly, before anyone else showed up. Anyone else that they might not be able to deal with.
One idea came to mind. The more it took root, the better he believed it to be. Words weren’t working with these two. Descriptions of what awaited them if they were captured weren’t working. So, he would show them. The thought sickened him, but at the same time he knew it was what he had to do. Shock had them both in a strong grip that wouldn’t be easily broken.
“Step close.” AJ said softly, gesturing to Kevin. After a moment his friend moved forward, taking the seat next to Nick when AJ gestured. Next he gestured Brian backwards. Squatting in front of his friends, AJ wished that he could steel his heart. But to do what needed to be done, he would be living this with them. Seeing what they saw. Feeling what they felt. It would be derived from his own experience, his own emotions. That meant letting those come to the forefront.
“You don’t understand what it is that waits for you. What he would do.” AJ began. He held up a hand when they made to interrupt. “You think you know. After hearing Brian’s tale, you think you know, but you don’t. Not really. You can’t know just by mere words what this man is capable of. What he would do. But I can make it clear. Do you two trust me?”
There was a moment hesitation as he threw that last question out, surprising them. But they nodded, and their eyes were honest.
Hating himself, AJ took a deep breath and sighed. With that sigh he opened his magic, and unlocked things that he kept closed tight. With just the barest breath of spirit, he touched a finger to Nick’s right temple and Kevin’s left temple. The magic jolted through the three, pulling gasps from them. Since words had not worked, AJ used magic to show them what Roth would do. His heart broke a little more under the weight of it.