Changing His Reality

by Sophie Martin

  “It's okay, sweet, he doesn't mean anything by it.”

  “He insulted you, Jiminy. I told you it was not a good idea.”

  “It wasn't an insult, sweet, just teasing. He calls me fairy and I call him a tomcat or pussy. Just a normal teasing between friends. Isn't that right, Ty?”

  “Sure thing, bro,” said Tyler, suddenly out of his depth. It seemed his friend found himself a boyfriend during the month he was gone. “Must be something in the air,” Ty thought. Finally he shook off his shock and invited them both in. “Why don't we continue this fascinating conversation inside?” he offered. Seeing the state his friend seemed to be in, Tyler resigned himself to not continuing what he started with his men.

  Judging by a gentle flutter of Jim's shirt on his back, the fey was deeply emotional right now and only tried to look composed. For the boyfriend's sake, if Tyler were to guess. Whatever the reason, Tyler knew something important had to be going on for Jim to visit him without announcing himself first.

  All three of them entered the kitchen where Toby and Jason managed to compose themselves. They had apparently heard him inviting someone inside and made an effort to look presentable. No dishevelled clothes or mussed hair. Tyler sighed inwardly. He knew he should probably be concerned with the reason that brought Jim to his door, but he couldn't help but bemoan the loss of opportunity at being intimate with his men. A sudden gasp sounded, and Tyler looked at Toby. The man’s eyes were wide. The boy rushed toward the newcomers suddenly and approached Jim.

  “Wow, you must be Timmy’s brother. You really do look alike,” Toby said with an awed expression on his face. Jim looked at Tyler for help. He wasn’t very good at social situations. Tim was the more confident and calm one. Jim becoming flustered way too easily. Knowing it, Tyler intervened.

  “Jim, meet my good friend, Toby. Toby was held by the same man who kidnapped your brother. Toby, this is, as you already guessed, Jiminy Jones, Tim’s twin brother.” Jim outstretched his arm for a handshake, but instead Toby surprised everyone by coming closer and hugging him.

  “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t help Timmy. I hope you find him soon. He doesn’t belong in such an awful place. He is too nice and kind.” Toby almost wept the last words. Jim was stiff in Toby’s arms at first but then relaxed, and pushing him gently at an arm’s length, asked with a little smile, “Are you sure we’re talking about the same person? ’Cause the brother I know is surly and ornery like hell and can curse better than a sailor.” That caused a smile to show on Toby’s face.

  “Well, you do have a point there. He sure taught me some great new swear words when we were in that warehouse.” The exchange made the tension in the room diminish. Well, at least partially. The man that had to be Jim’s new boyfriend still looked like he didn’t want to be there. Jason apparently noticed that as well, as he walked to him with his hand outstretched.

  “Hi, I’m Jason Thorne, and this is my house,” he said with once again his characteristic blank expression on his face. The change was somewhat terrifying. Tyler already got used to Jason’s more feeling self, so to once again be met with the robot-like stranger from that first night in the warehouse threw him for a loop. The other man measured Jason with a steady gaze and must have finally decided to be civil, as he returned the handshake and answered gruffly, “Dominic Sawyer.”

  He didn’t add anything else. “Great, a chatty one,” thought Tyler with a heavy dose of sarcasm. He was irritated, he was nervous, and he was worried. So sue him that he wasn’t in a mood for polite conversation.

  “So, can we sit down and talk? Jim, I know you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. So why don’t we sit at the table, drink some coffee, and listen to what brought you here, hmm?” Tyler knew he didn’t sound like a great host, but he wanted to deal with whatever it was that was keeping him from his men so that they could go back to what they were doing before his friend’s sudden appearance.

  * * * *

  They all sat at the table with mugs of tea and coffee in front of them, ready to hear what Jim had to say. Tyler noticed that the nervous flutter of Jim’s shirt was back. It was an obvious sign of distress, that his friend couldn’t control his wings.

  When he first learned that some of the fey had wings, Tyler was absolutely flabbergasted. He would never suspect that part of legends were true. But there they were! Wings! Jim showed them to Tyler once. He said it wasn’t usually done. They weren’t supposed to expose their wings to anyone but their own kind. But as the twins didn’t belong with their kind anymore. Jim said “screw the rules” and showed Tyler the secret. Tyler thought they were incredible. When opened, they looked like a cross between dragonflies’ and butterflies’ wings. In a word, they were beautiful. Still, when closed, they moulded to the fey’s back so perfectly that they were practically invisible under clothes.

  And that’s how Tyler knew his friend was nervous. Jim would never allow himself to expose his wings publically, and the tiny flutter or shudder of his shirt at his back was doing exactly this—endangering his secret.

  But Tyler apparently wasn’t the only one who noticed it as Jim’s supposed boyfriend touched his hand to Jiminy’s back in an innocent (on first sight) gesture of comfort. It did its job. Jim calmed somewhat and shot the man a grateful look.

  “Okay,” said Tyler. “Spill. What brought you here?”

  “Yes, well.” Jim was visibly unsure of how to start. Finally he turned to Jason. “I’m sorry for invading your home’s peace in this way, but I was desperate.” He paused, as if not sure how to continue and how much to tell everybody. It was Jason who put him at ease though, still with the same emotionless expression.

  “So I understand that you’re the fey looking for his missing brother, right? The one that was kept by the same vampire that captured Tyler and held Toby?”

  “Vampire?” asked the man who introduced himself as Dominic. “There are vampires?”

  “Well I told you, sweet,” said Jim, turning to his assumed boyfriend.

  “‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ Yeah, yeah I know,” finished the man along with Jim. “But vampires? Seriously?”

  “Well, what can I tell you. That’s the first I’ve heard of one too. Some elders said they met them centuries ago, but…”

  “Let’s not discuss existence of vampires now, okay?” said Tyler somehow impatiently. “Let’s get back to the reason you’re here.” Dominic shot him a dirty look, but Jim ignored his curt way of speaking and answered.

  “Yeah, right. So we came here because we think we found Tim. And we need your help, Tyler, getting him out.”

  There was a heavy silence before Jason asked.

  “Would you care to elaborate?”

  “Um, yes.” Jiminy looked slightly uncomfortable talking to Jason, so he turned back to Tyler and continued. “With Dominic’s help, I was able to narrow the possible places where Tim can be kept to three. But during our investigation, we came to believe that the local police is somehow involved in this whole dirty business. So we can’t go to them, obviously. And I’m no fighter, so Dominic would have to go on his own, and it’s dangerous. So I thought with your help you could shift in the middle of this whole mess and simply scare the living shit out of them. That would provide distraction, and Dominic could then grab Tim and get away.” Jim looked at Ty with hopeful eyes.

  Tyler was rendered speechless. He literally had no words. Fortunately Jason once again took command of the situation.

  “Jim,” he said. “I’m sure you fear for your brother and want him home as soon as possible, but I’m afraid it’s not as easy as you seem to think. First of all, I don’t know if Tyler mentioned it to you, but he was captured when in his tiger form. We are talking several different paranormals here, jumping him all at once. Second, if you don’t know in which of these three places your brother is, then creating chaos in one of them would only alarm the others, and if your brother wasn’t in the first o
ne, the other two would be prepared for your arrival. I think you need a better plan.” Jason finished, and Tyler noticed that his expression melted somehow and from icy turned to a simple frown. It was a good sign, as far as Tyler was concerned. Anything was better than the stony face, at least in Tyler’s book.

  “Oh my god, you’re right, you’re so right. I’m sorry, Ty, I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s just I’m so desperate to get Tim back. I can sense there is something wrong with him, and it only increased lately. I don’t know what it is, but of one thing I’m sure. We don’t have much time. I just…I can’t send Dominic alone there, and I couldn’t think of anyone else but you, Ty. You’re so fierce and all, and I’m just so lost right now…” Jim was close to hyperventilating, saying it all on one breath, and there were tears filling his eyes. Dominic pulled him closer so that Jim’s face was hidden in his shirt and started murmuring something to him, clearly trying to comfort the man.

  “I did not say we won’t help you, Jim.” Jason spoke again. “I only said you needed better plan. Let me talk to Tyler and Toby alone for a moment, and we’ll be back with you in just a minute. Maybe we can give you some better solution then. Jim nodded, not turning his face away from Dominic’s shirt, and Jason ushered both Toby and Ty to the living room. He closed the door, and gesturing to the sofas, sat on one of them.

  “So what do you think?” he asked both of them. Tyler was first to answer.

  “I want to help him. Tim is my friend as well, and I really want to help get him back. I simply don’t know how. I’m not a soldier, a policeman or a spy—as my stunt with the vampire proved. I’m a computer geek and know nothing about fighting. I’m at a complete loss.”

  “That’s understandable,” Jason said, leaning forward and patting his knee. “I knew you’d want to help I just needed you to voice your opinion. I think we could use some of your computer skills to learn more about those places they think Tim might be kept in.” That statement made Tyler gape at him, open-mouthed. He had no idea why he himself didn’t think about it. “And what about you, Toby? What is your opinion?” Toby thought on it for a moment before he answered.

  “I want to help as well. I met Tim and think of him as a friend as well, even though we didn’t spend much time together. He was good to me, though, and I want to help him. I think I could be useful recognizing some of the people who were making business with my old master. I could provide you with some info. Not much, but a little is better than none at all, isn’t it?” He said it in a quiet, measured voice.

  “You’re absolutely right, Toby.” Jason graced him with a bright smile. “And I think your idea has its merits. Scientia potentia est, or ‘knowledge is power,’ as Sir Francis Bacon said. The more we know about our opponent, the better we are prepared to deal with him.” Jason took a deep breath and straightened, his face calm and serious. “This being said,” he continued after a moment, “I believe I have the first outline of a plan. Let’s join your friend and his boyfriend so we can all go over it and work out some of the details. What do you say?” He asked, and both Ty and Toby nodded their agreement.

  They entered the kitchen to see that Jim managed to calm down somewhat and was sitting there drinking tea, his hand interlaced with Dominic’s for support. All three men sat at the table once again, and Jason—who apparently was their spokesperson now—did as promised and outlined his plan. It wasn’t anything spectacular or well thought out, but it was the only plan they had, and they knew it. Jim and Dominic agreed with Jason’s idea, and so the preparations began. They decided to get as much information as they could before they started to introduce their plan. It was dangerous but—unbeknown to his friend and Dominic—they had a secret weapon, Jason and his ability. Tyler counted on it not being necessary to use, but he knew better. These were some dangerous people they were all going against, and Jason’s powers could and probably would come in handy.

  Without further deliberating on it, Tyler got to work on his laptop, trying to find all there was to be found about the places Jim and Dominic pointed them to.

  Chapter Seven

  Jason wondered how it came to him becoming a spy. Or rather a secret agent—as Toby and Jim started calling him. Sure, he knew he had some freaky-deaky powers that he used to never use. Sure, the situation that Tyler’s friend found himself into was calling for an intervention. But still, Jason was an animal shelter worker, not some hero. He knew next to nothing about being a secret agent, and what he did know came from James Bond movies. And he suspected that Agent 007 wasn’t the most reliable source as to how spies operated.

  Despite that, though, he knew he couldn’t say no to the desperate man fearing for his brother’s life or to Tyler. Tyler was trying to not show it, but with his newly found emotions, Jason felt his worry for the missing fey. And not even knowing when, somewhere along this month they spent together, Jason started to care about both Tyler and Toby. He didn’t know how it happened, with his feelings so fresh after years of not having any, but it did. So now Jason found himself diving headfirst into a possibly deadly situation just so he could ease Tyler’s worry.

  Ty did his job excellently well, and they narrowed possible locations were Tim could be held to one. Officially it was an office of an escort agency, unofficially there were rumours about human and paranormal trafficking and the brothel catering to various paranormal species’ needs. They were all worried. It was hard not to be, after what they heard. But it gave them all the more determination to go in and save Tim if he was truly being kept there. Now it was time to enter phase one of their plan. Jason took a deep breath, and releasing it, he felt emotions once again leaving his body as if preparing for what he might be forced to do. It wouldn’t help him, feeling doubt or other unnecessary emotions, to do what needed to be done.

  Jason turned to face Toby and Dominic, feeling that his face was once again stone cold.

  “Are you ready?” he asked in an emotionless voice.

  “Yes,” said Toby, who didn’t seem to be fazed by the change that occurred in Jason.

  “Yes.” Dominic’s answer was grumbled, and he looked mightily uncomfortable when he met Jason’s gaze. Jason levelled him with what he knew had to be sociopathic-looking eyes.

  “Just remember to play your role, and don’t focus on anything else. Understood?” He asked Dominic with a little bit of force behind his question. It seemed to do the trick.

  “Yes, Sir.” The big man answered, straightening as if he gathered all his strength. It was obvious that he had some kind of military or law enforcement training by his reaction.

  Very well. Jason opened the door to their hired car and exited it nodding shortly to a driver—Tyler demanded to come as a backup if they had to run away quickly. He insisted to be a driver and keep the motor in the car running. Jason agreed. He didn’t see any harm in that, and if it helped his man feel useful, then all the better.

  Jason opened the back door and took a leash attached to the collar Toby wore. The boy insisted on it, saying that it would look less suspicious if he pretended to be an equally prized possession as he was to the vampire. He said that some people in there might know him and they will only focus on how Jason managed to acquire something that the vampire guarded as the apple of his eye instead of becoming suspicious for different reasons. Jason had to give it to him. The kid took in on how these kind of people dealt with business and was probably more cunning than the rest of their team altogether. Jason suspected that’s what came with spending most of your teenage and young adult years being a human trafficking vampire’s pet.

  Jason tugged slightly on Toby’s leash, and the man followed him—eyes downcast, his whole posture screaming submissive. Dominic flanked them, eyes scanning their surroundings—perfect guard of a dangerous man. They neared the entrance, and Jason whispered in a lowest voice so that not even Dominic could hear him. “All the people in that building will recognize me as a regular patron, the most respected one who they wouldn’t want to anger. Only Tim
, the fey, will be able to see my true self.” He barely finished when they were coming through the door.

  They entered a tastefully decorated reception area where a few guards resided along with an impeccably dressed man who could be in his forties. Short, dark-haired, and elegant looking, he could have been a concierge in a five-star hotel. As soon as the man noticed their arrival, his eyes widened and he hurried to welcome them.

  “Oh, our dear, dear Mr. Z. We did not expect your arrival for another week or so. What brings you to our humble abode?”

  “Well.” Jason scrunched his face in distaste. “Do I really have to announce myself to use your services?” he asked in a dangerous tone.

  “Of course not, Mr. Z. Of course you can come whenever you wish. I was just surprised, is all. And unfortunately, your usual is not ready for you, Sir. You know, as our most prized patron, we pay much attention to prepare everything to your liking, Sir.” The man seemed to bend backwards to kiss Jason’s ass, and it made Jay mildly curious about the identity of the man he was pretending to be. But it was a mild emotion and easily ignored. It seemed like a good thing, not having his emotions for this mission.

  “It’s as well, anyway. I had a few stressful days and need to unwind. I find myself in want of something new. Some novelty to entertain me.” Do you have anything that could interest me?”

  “Novelty, Sir?” there was a calculating glint in the man’s eyes. “Yes indeed, we do have something rare and unusual at our disposal, but it is not a thing of your normal tastes.”

  “Oh.” Jason’s brow lifted in a faked interest. “You intrigued me, do tell.” The man shot a cursory glance at Toby’s downcast face, dismissing him immediately as not a threat, and then at Dominic, who seemed intent on scanning their surroundings and not paying attention to their chat.