* * *
I stared at the military cellphone that John had given us yesterday, willing it to ring, beep or whatever it was supposed to do. I needed news about Leigh fast, or I was going to go insane. The look in his eyes from that day was all I could see. He was Grandpa’s son, my uncle, and I knew he needed me.
I took a deep breath, pushing down my anxiety as Cyn kissed my cheek on his way to the mirror. He attempted to fix the collar of the jewel-green Polo shirt Art had given him—it brought out the color of his eyes strikingly—and it looked perfect with the slick kakis and tan loafers he was wearing. Today Art was taking us to the land he acquired in Montana, where the city would be built, and the waves of excitement were rolling off Cyn in an almost overwhelming way. I loved seeing him this happy to see something his brother had achieved. He looked at me through the reflection as my amusement reached him.
“Is this not the proper way to use it?”
He asked, innocently and I grinned. Half his collar was sticking up, and the other was half bent. I stared at him for a second, wondering how it was possible that this man who stood in front of me, the fiercest Warrior I had ever seen—even after watching The 300—a High Priest with the ability to handle all sorts of magic, and command nature itself, could also be so freaking adorable.
"Not quite." I reached for him and fixed it. My eyes roamed the shirt, and I shook my head, unfolding the collar and letting it stick up all the way. It looked good on him, I decided, and it reminded me of his Priest coat. "There. Now you look like a sexy-modern High Priest."
He chuckled kissing my lips. “I rather like this shirt, my Goddess. It is extremely comfortable.”
I smiled. "I know. It was Grandpa's favorite thing to wear. He had them in every color that existed. That, and cargo pants." We chuckled. My hands traveled up his chest over the soft cotton, reaching his head and my fingers slipped through the top of his hair, causing it to fall to the side—I loved his hair, he reminded me of Chris Hemsworth as Thor sometimes. "You know, you look awfully sexy in these clothes."
His right dimple came out to flirt with me as my arms wrapped around his neck. I loved it when it did that, the little rascal. Cyn dipped his head, kissing my lips softly while his hands gripped my waist. A portal opened behind us.
“Holy Guacamole! Cool it already, will you? We know you are infatuated with each other, and you have to touch all day long, but dude, if I wanted to watch porn…”
“Lia…” Art warned interrupting her.
Her eyes widened as she pressed her lips together stopping herself from finishing the sentence, but it was like watching an explosion about to happen. If there was something I was absolutely certain about, was Lia could hold anything back except her tongue. Apparently, Art knew it too.
He sighed. “Fine, finish it.”
“I’d put a mirror on my ceiling.” She ended with an exaggerated wink.
We laughed so hard I snorted and then all eyes were on me. The snort came again, and we lost it. I wiped the tears from eyes while Art shook his head chuckling.
“I like your shirt, brother. It is quite interesting,” Cyn said as he stared at the t-shirt.
“Yeah, it’s really cool,” I added, just as Eisha and Kevan appeared in front of us.
“My man has excellent taste in cloth…” Lia trailed off, her eyes widened.
Mine did too, and we did a double take. Kevan and Art were wearing the same shirt, and it wasn't a simple shirt either. It had a diagonal black stripe, dividing it from his left shoulder to his right hip. On one side it was white and on the other a light gray. It was fitted to their muscles, modern and out of the norm for sure.
"Well, this is awkward…” I said.
“Should we play who wore it best?" Lia added at the same time.
We barely repressed the chuckle when Art grunted, and Kevan frowned. They both opened portals and disappeared through them to change. We all looked at each other trying not to laugh until the archways appeared again, and the men returned wearing a plain black t-shirt—both of them—and faded jeans.
We lost it. Art growled. “Can we just go?” I nodded, wiping the tears again. Kevan didn't seem too happy either, but he remained silent while him, Cyn and Art stood together. The girls and I stepped closer to each other. "Remember, we are going into the bathrooms of the Glacier Park International Airport. Just visualize the picture I showed you, and you'll land there."
I nodded, holding my staff and looking at the picture of the disabled access stall, which was big enough for the three of us. I silently prayed it wasn't being used, but Art explained those bathrooms were at the end of the terminal and they were rarely used. It was where he and Lia always crossed over.
"See you there." I blew a kiss to Cyn, and we disappeared. We stared at the empty stall the next second and my gaze focused on Eisha.
"Is this how your necklace works? Like you blink, and then you are on the other side?"
She shook her head. "No, it is as though I stood in the middle of two places, and all I am required to do is take a step towards where I want to be—as though the veil between the two locations has opened for me.
“Huh, I wonder why is different for us.”
"Well, if I had to guess," Lia said walking to the door. "I'd say it's because Eisha is using the magic of the Astral Plane mixed with her ability to cross over, but you already have magic inside you, that combined with the connection you now have to the Astral Plane, and your staff plus the stones, is like the ultimate power."
We walked out, my staff disappearing as I looked around. The restroom was indeed empty. We inspected ourselves in the mirror fixing our hair. Lia pulled out a pink lip-gloss and applied it handing it to us.
"Look at it this way, Art, the others and I are traveling Coach, Eisha is traveling in Business Class, and you are relaxing your lazy ass in the large first class seats, we all want to be in, capisce?"
We chuckled making sure we were presentable one last time. Eisha looked gorgeous in the blue, cap-sleeve blouse I lent her, while Lia wore a red, deep V-neck shirt and I had a cute, rose-pink ruffled blouse. We all had dark jeans and flats on. I liked chatting it up in the restroom with them. It felt so normal. When we walked out, the guys were standing in front of the door, restless.
“What took you so long?” Kevan and Art asked in unison, then gave each other the evil eye.
Lia walked to Kevan. "We are girlfriends, and we were in the restroom, do the math." She slapped his cheek playfully and went to Art as he took her hand. Kevan chuckled, and we began to walk through the terminal.
As we walked towards the exit, I had the strange feeling someone was watching me. I turned in the direction of it, but I could only see two guys with their wives and kids, in the multitude of people walking from and to their gates. They laughed as one of them took pictures of the kids playing, probably waiting for someone's flight to arrive. My lips curved into a smile at the image of the families, and I looked straight ahead as Cyn opened the door for me. The feeling returned, but when I turned back, the families were walking away. Shrugging it off, I stepped outside.
“Dude!” The excited voice brought our attention to a blond guy who belonged in a surfboard ad.
“That is Peter, surfer dude,” Lia whispered in my ear as Art man-hugged the blond guy. “And that is Max aka, preppy dude.” I chuckled at her references as the other guy stepped forwards, offering the same greeting to Art. Art turned to look at us.
"Guys, this is my brother Cyn and his wife, Bri. My friend Eisha and her boyfriend Kevan, and you remember Lia, my fiancé."
The guys' eyes widened. "No way! You put a ring on it?" Surfer dude said, and we all chuckled.
“Of course I did, I was afraid you were going to steal her from me.” Art joked.
“Nah, our thing is just platonic,” Surfer dude answered with a wink.
“Keep dreaming.” Lia laughed, kissing his cheek.
He sighed. The guy had a serious crush on her. Both congratulated Lia
and Art before they shook our hands.
"It's our pleasure to meet the professor's family and friends. This is Peter, and I'm Maximilian, Max for short. We are his students and accomplices in this endeavor."
"And his friends. We are friends too," Surfer dude added, and Art playfully pushed him.
"He's more like my stalker, but he's fun to have around."
They guys laughed, and I smiled. Art's behavior with them was almost like an older brother playing with his siblings. The look of admiration and respect they had for him was heartwarming. Cyn and I exchanged a glance, and I could feel how much he loved seeing this side of his brother.
“Well, are you all ready to see the marvelous mess the project is?” Peter asked fixing the plaid shirt he had tied around his hips.
"Very much so," Cyn answered excitedy.
“Where are you all from?” Peter added, looking at Cyn. “Your accent is much stronger than your brother’s. His is barely there anymore, and I always forget to ask.”
“Ireland,” Cyn answered amused.
“Dude! We’ll definitely have a couple of Guinness Draught to celebrate, after we are done today. I know an awesome, Irish pub in the city.” We all chuckled as they guided us towards two red SUV's.
* * *
My jaw dropped as we stepped out of the cars. The magnificent sight of the mountains, with already partially white peaks, a crystal clear lake that reflected the sky, and thousands of acres of vegetation as far as our eyes could see stood before us.
The mixes of blues, grays, reds, and greens with the crisp weather were awe-inspiring.
"Welcome to the City of Heaven," Art announced, arms wide as he walked backwards through the terrain. My gaze fell on the rest of us. Their lips were stretched wide as they took it all in.
"Sorry for the mess," Max added. "This is the beginning of the construction as you can see. "We just finished leveling the land. The mountain that surrounds us, rocks trees and the lake will remain as you see them now. We are using as much of the current landscape as we can. Normal construction procedures wipe everything out then bring back trees and plants to decorate the development; we are doing it backwards if you will. Building around what is already here. It's our way to honor the beauty and purity of this place. It was the most important thing for Clark, respecting the nature of it, and we agree."
“Wait until you see the area we preserved for the community park,” Peter added. “It’s huge! It has a waterfall and everything, dude. It’s freaking mind-blowing! It will take your breath away.”
I didn't think it was possible for Cyn's lips to stretch any wider. His eyes shone as he looked at everything. A few boulders that had been set aside for reuse were along the immediate area where we stood, while the construction crew continued to work on the land. Max gave each of us hard hats taking us deeper into the site. The machinery around us was massive, and it moved slowly, lifting, excavating, and dropping large cement piping into the ground. We were in the epicenter of the construction, with bulldozers, rollers, forklifts and even a crane, which was moving a large iron beam. Yet, somehow, it didn't take away from the beauty of this place. An older version of Peter walked towards us, removing work gloves from his hands while Max left the group, to step ahead of us with Peter.
“Hi, I’m Jason, Peter’s older brother, and the owner of Extreme Construction and Design Group. That is my crew back there." He shook Cyn's hand and mine. "I just wanted to say it's an honor to participate in this project. Your brother is brilliant, and his buildings around the world are highly regarded by anyone that knows anything about design."
Art shook his head and plunged his hands into the pocket of his jeans, obviously uncomfortable by the praise he was receiving. Cyn's gaze found mine, and he held my hand tighter, his eyes finally settled on his brother. He grinned at Art, then brought his attention back to Jason.
“My men and I are working pro-bono, and to be honest, we are glad to put in all the hours we can, just to say one day that we were part of the city that changed the world.”
“I appreciate that, Jason. It means more to me than I can say.” Cyn answered as a vast wave of pride rushed through us.
"He kept this a secret from us until yesterday, and it was an amazing surprise. I can hardly believe we are here," I confessed, and my gaze went to the lake once again. It looked like a mirror, reflecting the sky above it.
"Pleasure to meet you, Jason," Kevan said stepping forward. "I'm Kevan, I will be funding the project from now on. You are getting a massive cash infusion soon, so you and your men won't have to work pro-bono anymore. I'll be glad to pay you whatever your fee is for all your work here."
Jason's eyes widened. "Clark found the funding he needed, thank God for that!" he patted Art's back ecstatic. "We are already running out of the materials he gave us to begin. Are you sure you want to pay us? You can use that money for more cement."
Kevan chuckled. "No worries. I gave him a million and half yesterday, and there's plenty more where that came from since I'm using my inheritance. I'm glad to pay you, guys. You deserve it. I have overseen a few projects myself, and considering you began only a month ago you are way ahead of where should be by now."
“Well, not to toot my own horn, but my men are beasts in the construction world.” We laughed.
“I already put that money to good use.” Art interceded. “You should be receiving the rest of the piping and beams you needed this week, along with a the first batch of framed glass panels.”
“Awesome!” Jason shouted fisting the air, behaving more like his surfer brother every minute. No one could deny they were family.
"Watch out!" Someone screamed ahead of us as a boulder came loose from the mountain crashing onto the crane.
Time seemed to slow as Art reacted faster than even Cyn or I could. He ran full force as the crane tilted. The wire swung widely, while the massive iron beam it held, flew towards Max and Peter. Art jumped on a boulder and propelled himself up, turning in the air, his swords materialized a second before he threw them at the crane. The blades sliced through the wire like butter, cutting it clean. The beam fell, slowing its trajectory towards the guys but not enough. As Art landed, pushing the guys out of the way, the beam crashed on top of his back and over part of Max's leg. A guttural scream of pain escaped out of him.
“No!” Lia screamed, as we all ran towards them.
My Spear of Light materialized, and I used the energy to lift the iron beam off them, throwing it a good thirty feet away. We kneeled over them as Lia frantically checked Art. He was unconscious from the hit. She screamed again, crying as the construction crew stared at us shocked. Peter sat on the ground, stunned silent as his eyes volleyed between Art, Max and me. They widened when Cyn's hand began to glow white over the center of Art's back, but he didn't dare to speak.
“He is all right just unconscious from the trauma,” Cyn said, and Lia finally breathed. They turned Art to lie on his back, and she placed his head on her lap while the tears still slid down her face.
Max screamed again, his hands trembled in agony reminding us he was here, but we were the only ones who might have forgotten, because Kevan was already working on him. His face was distorted as though he could feel the pain Max was going through, yet his eyes remained closed while his hands glowed a bright blue, moving slowly over the leg. It seemed like he was scanning it. My heart raced as I looked at him. The sight of the leg was frightening. It was concaved in some places including the knee, deformed as though the beam had destroyed it.
"His leg is broken in twenty different places, and part of his knee is pulverized," Kevan said opening his eyes and looked at Cyn. "Is there a spell you can use to take the pain away from him? I think I can heal him, but this is going to hurt him like a mother-fucker."
"Kevan!" Eisha chided, and he cringed.
“Sorry. It’s going to be extremely painful.”
“Heal him?” Peter whispered looking at Kevan then Max. “What do you mean heal him?”
> "We shall explain shortly, Peter. Nonetheless, at this moment, it is of the utmost importance that we heal your friend."
Peter frowned. "Why is he speaking that way?" He mumbled but shut up as Cyn closed his eyes placing his luminous hands gently over his friend's leg.
“Na leig pian leatha”—Let no pain come to him.
Cyn nodded, and Kevan's touch returned to Max. His face relaxed for a second before it became intense and the healing energy began to visibly flow out of him, in a blue stream wrapping around the guy's leg.
The minutes passed, as everyone remained silent. Cyn and I scanned the faces of the people gathered around us, they all held a mix of fear, shock, amazement, and wonder as they witnessed the healing. My gaze connected with Lia who's hands were still holding an unconscious Art to her, while her eyes blazed a light blue, using her ability to see the essences of everyone involved. We had no idea what would happen after this, but it wasn't like we could erase their memories. My eyes flew to Cyn in question, and he shook his head. I sighed, not knowing what all of this meant for us. These people had seen too much. Most of us had to use our magic, and I wasn't sure what their reaction would be. I guessed we would cross that bridge once we got there.
Slowly, the form began to change as the bones on Max's leg started to restore and go back into place. Kevan's hands trembled, and it seemed like his light was dissipating. My gaze shifted to his face, and I could see the veins popping on his forehead, beads of sweat glided down his skin with the strenuous effort he was making. The leg was mostly mended, but Max's knee still seemed shattered beyond repair.
Grandpa’s voice suddenly came to me, and I began to sing his lullaby, reaching out to Kevan, and holding one of his hands.
* * *
“Open up your soul, my Bri, let the light shine bright,
Lend it to the ones you love, the ones who help you by.
Nothing shall stop your might, once you reach inside,
Use the light to help them now, use the light to guide.”
Absolute Magic Page 18