by Crook, Amy
Geoff took a moment to get a baseline reading, then let Julian lead him in to find the butterfly fairy resting happily among the little purple flowers. The wells around the edges of its flowerpot were full of honey, milk, tea and caramel sauce. “I see Alys is taking good care of you in my absence,” said Julian with a smile.
It bobbed up, grinning, and then swooped down for a sip of the gingery sauce. Julian could understand it better today, feel its pleasure at the sweet sugar and earthy ginger, and at being included in their feasts still. The plant itself was doing quite well, though it was feeling a little dry and hoping for some extra nutrients. Julian made up watering can with some mundane liquid fertiliser in the water, then gave it a little charge of magic before pouring it onto the soil under the plant. It drank it in happily, and Julian imagined it would be wriggling its roots out of pure enjoyment if it could.
He stopped when the plant knew it was enough, and sent it one last wave of pride that it was growing so well.
“Hm, you’re putting out more than I’d expect,” said Geoff, “but no more than you can replace under normal circumstances, I think.”
“Well, we’ll check the window box next,” said Julian. He went over to the window and lifted it, glad that Alex’s wards kept the wind out. “How are you all doing today? You’ve had some visitors, I think.”
He got happy feelings from them all that they’d been doing their jobs, that some butterfly fairies had been by and given their blessing, which the ward-thistles considered protective, and the lucky clover considered fortunate. The fairy flowers felt they’d been the most useful, of course, and all of the plants were feeling strong and satisfied. Julian gave them each a little sprinkle of the the charged water to help stave off the summer heat and finish off the batch, then closed up the window and looked over at Geoff. “Well, how’d I do?”
“It’s interesting, I think you give them energy when you’re feeling them out, as if I was doing this instead of just passively listening,” said Geoff. He did something, and Julian felt a little tingle of warmth at the place his hand touched, just a tiny tickle of power feeding into him. “I can listen better when I do, but if I did this all the time I’d be perpetually drained.”
“Hm,” said Julian, giving a little shiver as the trickle continued. “Well, the plants are always happy to see me, so I guess they like it?”
Geoff chuckled. “I guess they do.” They had an awkward moment getting turned around without losing contact, and then they trooped into the office where Alex had his little stash of work-related plants. He used to only keep live plants in stasis cubes, but Julian’s talent and interest allowed him to have a few growing things that he wasn’t able to kill off by accident.
“Are you manhandling my boyfriend?” said Alex with a chuckle.
“No, but I’m feeding him a little energy,” said Geoff. “Did you know he actively puts power into plants whenever he’s listening to them?”
“Maybe that’s why you’re always cold, silly,” said Alex affectionately, coming over to give him a kiss. “We think we know how to save your keep-safe, by the way.”
Julian grinned, feeling a relief wash over him. “Good,” he said firmly. “I’d hate to have lost it.”
“Me, too,” said Alex, and they shared a moment of sweet sentimentality. Alex was always willing to give Julian his affection and attention, if only for a moment, no matter who was there to see.
“Go on, finish my amulet,” said Julian after another kiss. Alex chuckled and dropped a last kiss on Julian’s hair, then moved back to his bench. Julian led Geoff over to the collection of plants scattered around the room’s one window. Each one was positioned to get the amount of sun it needed and still be within easy reach for care and harvesting.
“All right, see if you can listen without putting in power,” said Geoff. “I mean, it won’t be a big deal if you can’t, you just need to be more aware of it. You’ll have to start keeping a pocket full of boiled sweets, or something.”
Julian groaned. “I can’t imagine eating more!” he protested. He already felt like he’d tripled the amount of food he ate since his talent was discovered.
“Well, then,” said Geoff, with an expression that dared Julian to manage the task set before him.
Julian harrumphed and went over to the first plant. He concentrated on listening, and this time he could feel it when the power started to leave him. Geoff was right, it was just a little trickle, but he could imagine if he’d been putting that trickle out all day, every day, that it might have affected him for ages and he’d never known. “All right, you were feeling over-harvested when I saw you last,” said Julian, trying to stem the flow of energy.
The plant actually protested when the trickle stopped, and Julian laughed. “Oh, so that is the reason why you like me so much,” he said, and found that it was harder to feel what was going on without it. “You’re right, I think I do it to make it easier to understand them.”
“Go on, you’ll have another dish of bread pudding after,” said Geoff. “Doctor’s orders.”
“Yes, yes,” said Julian, but he didn’t really mind. It was really good bread pudding. He let the trickle start up again, and the plant basked in it. His feeling of vague contentment intensified and grew clearer, that it had plenty of water and sunshine and was getting ready to put out some new shoots. Once it had expanded, it wouldn’t mind the pruning so much, but at the size it was now Alex had taken one leaf too many.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” said Julian, sending it a last little burst before moving on to the next one. This time he tried extending just his strange senses without any power at all, and while he was training to get a proper feel of things, the plant didn’t seem bothered by the lack. It was feeling robust and hale, but wanted a bit of water on the left where its soil was uneven, so Julian found this room’s watering can and gave it a little trickle.
“It’s harder, but I can still figure some things out,” said Julian, moving on to the next. He went through all the plants in the room, experimenting with the power expenditure, and by the end he at least was pretty sure he’d at least know when he was doing it. “So, Doctor, will I live?”
Geoff laughed, and his own little trickle of power stopped before he pulled his hand away. “You’re doing much better, though now we both need a snack.”
“Come on, let’s see if Jones and Murielle can wait long enough to stuff you with some more sugar,” said Julian, dragging him back out of the work room to find the two of them had found the playing cards.
“I take it you won’t mind if the patient and I have another snack?” said Geoff, amused.
“Nah,” said Jones. “Just don’t eat too slowly, that’ll give her time to finish kicking my arse.”
“You could still win,” said Murielle innocently.
“No one believes you when you say that,” said Geoff with a laugh. “Oh, tha-uh. That’s great,” he added, when two more bowls of pudding appeared, along with two more cups of the herbal tea.
Julian giggled. “Smooth,” he said, grabbing his and sitting in the big chair again. Geoff took the other end of the couch from Murielle and her card sharping, though of course she never actually played for money with anyone. Just pride.
“Don’t bruise his ego too much,” said Julian. “Mmm, this is so good, Alys. I do love pears.”
“Victor sent me a message that he’s sent some pears to Saveur, too,” said Alys, “if you’re a good boy, I’ll order a box of goodies for you during your confinement.”
“I won’t be completely confined!” protested Julian. “I get to go to the Temples and plant things. Plus, Mary Margaret said she’d come here and give me a few lessons.”
“Well, then, best study up if you want your chocolates,” said Alys, sounding very amused.
Murielle grinned. “I love the stuff they make for you at Saveur. Ellen still gives me a discount whenever I go in if she’s there.”
“She does for us, too, because we’
re suppliers,” said Julian. “It makes Alys quite smug.”
“Nothing wrong with a good bargain,” said Alys. “Drink your tea.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Julian, laughing. “I’m about to float away on a tide of restorative beverages.”
“You’ll be grateful for it when you don’t have a reaction hangover tomorrow,” Geoff assured him. “The teas help blunt the effects of the potions, too, so it’s not as much of a shock on your system.”
“All right, all right, I’m drinking, see?” said Julian, making a show of taking several large, careful sips, until the cup was half empty.
“Good lad,” said Alys, and a plate with a single gingered pear truffle on it appeared next to him.
“You’ve been hoarding them!” said Julian with a laugh.
Lapointe looked over rather greedily. “I don’t suppose drinking my tea will get me one, too?” she asked.
“Asking will get you one, you’re a guest,” said Alys, and a little plate appeared next to each of them, though they all had different things. Lapointe’s was lavender, Geoff’s was summer berry, and Jones had one of the cardamom truffles with its topping of crunchy cacao nibs.
“You’re awesome,” said Lapointe, quite heartfelt. “This makes it worth the delay getting home.” She put her cards on the table face down and turned her full attention to eating the chocolate.
Jones looked amused, but followed suit.
“I’ll save mine for after this,” said Geoff, digging once more into his bread pudding.
“Good idea,” said Julian, doing the same. He drank the rest of his tea and another cup besides before he was done, and found that the truffle made a perfect end point for his extra treat. “Oh, you do spoil us, Alys.”
“As long as you know it,” said said tartly, and their plates vanished, along with everyone’s cups but Julian’s, since Lapointe had finished trouncing Jones once their chocolates were gone.
“I think that’s all our unfinished business?” said Lapointe, standing. “You give your patient another feeling up while I let Alex know where we’re going.”
“What time should I be here?” asked Jones, while Geoff came over and held out his hand for one of Julian’s.
“Oh, I’m not sure,” said Julian, putting his hand in Geoff’s. “We didn’t give Father Stephen a specific time, let me ask them once they’re done and text you?” He added disgustedly, “If they can’t fix it tonight, I can’t leave the flat, anyway.”
“True enough,” said Jones. “You aren’t early birds, anyway.” He stood and straightened himself, checking around to make sure they weren’t leaving anything behind that didn’t belong.
“All set?” said Lapointe, coming out of the lab.
“All set,” agreed Geoff, dropping Julian’s hand. “You’re doing well, but do try to watch the power leakage.”
“I will, thank you,” said Julian.
Alex emerged from the work room with his flute. “And here I am to pipe you out, since I need to add James and Jacques properly to the wards.”
“How fancy,” said Murielle with a laugh.
They waved to Julian and let Alex lock them out, first physically, then magically with his flute. Julian reflected that they were lucky to have friends that understood the reason for their rather paranoid rules for who could go in and out of the wards. Some people might get offended, but Lapointe, Jones, and Geoff all praised them for their sensible security precautions.
He just wished they weren’t necessary.
CHAPTER 12
Julian escaped for a bath while the Guardians and Alex did more work on the amulet, and then was given yet another snack, this time some leftover chicken with more of the squash and cheesy potatoes from earlier. Everyone got a plate of food; even Nat and Alys joined them at the kitchen table, so it was less like stuffing himself for his health and more like an extra meal.
“…and that’s why we use them together, but never with tea,” Jacques was saying. He and Alys had spent the whole meal comparing their strengthening recipes and exchanging herb-lore.
“You’re dying to take notes, aren’t you?” teased Julian, giving Alex a poke in the side.
Alex laughed. “I am, a little, but it’s not as applicable to my work as you’d think,” he said. “With potions, the magic makes things edible that would otherwise be poisonous or just not food.”
“And it brings things into harmony,” added Alys. “Food is just food, even with a bit of extra love added, but potions turn separate parts into a whole new thing that the body absorbs in its own way.”
“You can still screw them up by using incompatible ingredients,” said Alex. “Though it’s still generally not harmful, just weak and ineffective.”
“So more like Armistead than Fischer?” said Julian with false innocence. “Did you finish my amulet?” he asked, giving Alex puppy eyes.
Alex chuckled. “Almost. Sort of. We’re actually working on a second one that your Guardians will help power, that you’ll trade for your usual one when this is over.”
“We can’t permanently protect a temporary Charge,” said James, “so Alex is helping us extend our temporary reach.”
“We trust you and Alex not to abuse it,” said Jacques. “Plus, we’ll help strip it of power at the end.”
“And then I’ll put it in my little safe, in case we need it again,” said Alex. “Which reminds me, I’m going to need another contribution from you.”
Julian giggled. “More hair or something else?” he said, touching the back of his head. “I’m going to have to go see Michelle soon to fix the mess you all keep making.”
“Blood,” said James. “We’ll all contribute after dinner.”
“Well, second dinner,” said Julian. “Supper?”
“Food,” said Jacques, amused. “Finish yours, we’ll have pudding after bloodletting.”
“I’ve made something special, I’ve been reading on that electronic tablet thing you gave us,” said Alys, “and I wanted to try something new.”
“Ooh, that sounds excitingly ominous,” said Alex. “Is that what smells so amazing?”
“Possibly,” she said.
“I’m meant to get a delivery of some wood tomorrow,” said Nat. “Will anyone be home, or should I have them leave it down in the parking garage until you can clear it?”
“Depends on when it gets here. Don’t you usually do that yourself?” asked Alex curiously.
Nat nodded, “Aye, but it’s special circumstances, isn’t it? Your Guardians are better’n me, and I’d hate to miss anything. Brownies aren’t much for subterfuge.”
“You do your share of sneaking around,” said Julian with a fond smile. “But you can keep the wood hidden downstairs if no one’s home, can’t you?”
“That I can, I’ll send you a message if it arrives without you, then.” Nat had another bite of his potatoes and grinned. “It’s nice, having an excuse for this sort of food sometimes, makes me feel right powerful.” He waggled his eyebrows at Alys.
“Oh, you,” said Alys, fluttering her eyelashes at him and grinning fondly.
Julian took a big drink of tea and tried very hard not to visualise anything. At all. He concentrated on finishing everything on his plate, and on feeling the tiny potential in each little bit of dried herb without having to put his power into them to get feedback. “It’s all really good. I think your jar of savoury is getting old, though, it doesn’t feel the same as the rest.”
Alys chuckled. “It is, I believe your Emmy’s sending over some fresh for me to dry myself. The jar’s nearly empty, anyway.”
“Ooh, I love drying herbs,” said Alex. “Will you hang them in here?”
“Nah, you’d only get hair in everything, you great beech tree,” she said. “We’ll hang them in our room, Nat don’t mind.”
“Smells nice,” agreed Nat, busy with his chicken.
They talked about ways of drying and preserving herbs for the rest of the meal, and then it was time to go see wh
at had become of their hard work for the evening. Julian’s keep-safe was laying in a pile of silk in a copper bowl, set to one side. His old amulet was looking rather rough around the edges, and Julian resisted the urge to touch either one of them. “Do I need to contribute for those, too?” he asked, fingers trailing along the counter next to them.
“Later,” said Alex. “We’ll both contribute to re-consecrate the keep-safe charm, and I’ll be making your amulet over from scratch.”
“All right,” said Julian, feeling relieved. He didn’t mind the old amulet going to the scrap heap so much if his charm would come back to him; he felt vulnerable and naked without it, even inside the house wards.
Horace flew up and perched on Julian’s shoulder, chirping happily. Julian could feel his concern, and his happiness that Julian was safe and sound. He also felt like he had a secret, which probably meant another message for later. Julian rubbed his cheek against Horace’s head affectionately, and then joined the other three around a small glass bowl.
“We’ll each contribute three drops of blood,” said Alex, “and the spell on the bowl will keep it fresh and ready for when I actually cast the metal.”
“And I’m first?” guessed Julian.
“You’re first, I’m last,” confirmed Alex. “Pin or knife?”
“Oh, um, a pin please,” said Julian. Alex handed him a long, sharp pin, and Julian took a deep breath and poked his finger. It hurt, sharp and sudden, but it wasn’t any worse than pricking himself on a thorn, and considerably less painful than a scraped knee or sprained ankle. He dripped in the required three drops, adding a little of his own energy on purpose this time, and then handed his finger to Alex for cleaning and bandaging.
James and Jacques actually gave theirs at the same time, using their Guard-Knives to nick their fingers, then bandaging one another. Alex took the same pin Julian had used and went last, adding his three drops of magic-laced blood, and then getting Julian to do the honours with the sticking plaster.
“There we go, not painless but easy enough,” said Alex. “That’ll sit until I’m ready for it, do you want to stay here and read while we work, or go to bed early?”