by Crook, Amy
“As much as I can get away with, yes,” said Father Stephen. “At least today I have the excuse of planning, though I don’t know how long I can keep using it.”
Alex laughed. “Planting is better than meetings, I bet,” he teased. “I’m off to the mages, if you can direct me? And send Horace to find me for lunch, Alys sent enough for everyone except your poor acolyte.”
“She’s even got one for you,” said Julian, pointing to the labelled box that said “Stephen.”
“She’s a very kind fairy,” said Stephen. “Perhaps some of your luck with the fae will rub off on us. We did order the fairy flowers as you suggested.”
“Good,” said Julian. “They’re nice for humans, too, anyway.”
Stephen waylaid a passing acolyte to direct Alex, and they left their lunches in Stephen’s office before heading over to the garden plot. The August sunshine streamed in through the skylight, and there were stone benches and boxes of plants outside, just waiting to turn the plot of earth into a proper luck garden. Julian’s one lucky clover stood proudly, and Julian could feel its satisfaction with its new home. He slipped out of his shoes and went over to the plant.
“I can see you’re doing well today,” he said, and he got a mental picture of a cool shower and lots of warm sunshine. “Someone watered you.”
Stephen chuckled. “Just a touch,” he said. “I didn’t want to make mud for the day’s work.”
“The plant appreciated it,” Julian assured him. “Now, why don’t we put the benches like this,” he said, moving around the room and pointing, so that there would be two on the left of each doorway. “Then we can put the path stones like this.” He walked from the doorway to the left around the imaginary benches, then turned to cross the whole room in a gentle curve, and walk past the other benches to the opposite door. “And then we can add a stone to the middle of each curve, so impatient people can hop across without crushing the plants.”
“I approve,” said Stephen.
“I’ll need a hand lifting the benches,” said Jones.
“I can help,” said Jacques. “As long as Julian stays inside.”
“It’s a deal,” said Julian. “But let’s clear off the benches first, so that way you’re only distracted for a few minutes.”
There was a flurry of activity; first Father Stephen insisted on washing Julian’s feet and giving him a short blessing, and followed up with the same for Jones. The Guardians stood at each end of the hallway while everyone else moved plants to the floor and into the room to keep from clogging up the hallway. At some point Brianna showed up and began helping, and they made short work of it with so many hands. Jacques and Jones got the benches securely settled in place, and then Jones offered to start placing stones while the rest of them planted.
They spent a pleasant morning that way, with everyone putting in their opinions on what should go where. They decided to terrace part of the garden, which meant more supplies and work tomorrow, but Jones promised to wear more suitable clothes so Julian wasn’t too worried. All of the path stones got placed, and Julian sprinkled grass seeds around them and under the benches, then secreted a few shade-loving flowers in the space beneath each bench. They were grateful to be out of the bright sunlight, and Julian made sure to give everything a good water after he sent Horace off to find Alex for lunch.
“That was very good progress for a morning,” said Father Stephen, leading them to a room where they could clean up before lunch.
Brianna took it upon herself to wash Julian, Jones and Father Stephen’s feet, while the Guardians took over the sink to wash their hands. Stephen returned the favour for her, and then they all finished cleaning up and headed to his office.
“Is that a Temple thing, the foot-washing?” asked Jones, curious.
“More of a kindness,” said Father Stephen. “But yes, after all, one of our missions is to help cleanse those in need of our assistance.”
“I suppose that’s true, so it’s more symbolic. Alys said she can get dirt out of my shoes, too, so if anything happens I won’t be stuck running barefoot,” said Julian.
He felt a little wash of approval from the direction of his Guardians. “All right,” said Julian, “that’s just weird. Are you guys, I dunno, touching me with your magic somehow?”
“In a way, we do have protections around you, why?” asked James.
“You approved of my comment, and I could kind of feel it, like I do with my plants,” said Julian. “It was weird.”
Jacques chuckled. “You definitely sense along magical currents, then,” he said. They paused outside Stephen’s door, and Brianna and Jones ducked inside to gather the lunches. “Here, close your eyes and try to feel the magic around you, like you do plants.”
“All right,” said Julian dubiously. He closed his eyes and breathed in, smelling clean soap and a bit of incense. He could feel James and Jacques both anticipating something, and when he followed those feelings back to himself he could also feel a sort of determination that hovered between himself and the world, stringing between him and the Guardians and pooling around all three of them. He opened his eyes, with those fluid emotions fixed in his mind, and stepped away, then closer, feeling the motion of the magic around him. “That is so, so weird.”
“What’s weird?” asked Alex, and Julian felt little tendrils reach from him to the amulet to cradle Julian in warm, protective love.
“He’s learning to feel magic,” said James, sounding immensely proud.
Father Stephen smiled, and there was another little thread of warmth that joined the cocoon around Julian. “Congratulations, my boy.”
“That’s really wonderful,” said Alex, slinging an arm around his waist and kissing his hair. “Do I feel nice?” he asked.
Julian was reminded of asking Alex that same question in Nobu, and the warm glow he’d gotten from Alex’s answer. “You do, like a warm blanket around me,” he said, kissing Alex. “James and Jacques are more like, I dunno, armour, determined but not so loving.”
“Not that we don’t like you,” teased Jacques, grinning.
“We just don’t like-like you,” finished James, trying not to laugh.
“Where are we going with these?” asked Jones, hefting the box of lunches. Brianna held a tray with a big teapot, seven cups, and a decorative tin.
“Oh, good, you got the tea,” said Father Stephen. “We’ll get hot water at the dining hall, as well as a meal for Brianna.”
“We’ll bring you food tomorrow,” said Julian, “but Alys didn’t know you’d be helping today.”
Brianna grinned. “It’s fine, though I can’t say I’ll mind getting real brownie-made food tomorrow. Our meals are good here, they don’t deny us all the pleasures of the flesh.”
James snorted, but didn’t comment, and Julian had to laugh.
“I’ll keep that in mind next time we order from Saveur,” said Julian.
Father Stephen chuckled. “Now that is a temptation,” he said. “We do go in for moderation, but that just makes the treats last longer.”
Alex laughed. “Well, then, we’ll have to get Jones to make a special stop tomorrow,” he said. “Or maybe tonight, I’ll call after lunch and see if they can get an order ready.”
“I could do it on my way home,” said Jones. “That way Julian isn’t at risk while you run in.”
“Aww, but then I’ll miss the free samples,” said Julian with a fake pout.
They got settled on benches in the small dining hall, with Father Stephen at the head of their table in a chair to keep from overcrowding. James got hot water for their tea while Brianna got her own lunch and Jacques acquired glasses of cool spring water for all of them, and Alex passed out the rest of their food. Alys had packed two cloth serviettes for everyone so they could spread one out to eat off of, and still have one for the usual. They got their food laid out and tucked the lunch boxes away, passing around the water and tea as they were ready.
“Oh, it’s like a picnic,” said
Brianna delightedly, coming back with her own meal of steaming chicken and dumplings, fresh herb bread with butter, and a little round cake dripping with honey for a sweet.
The lunches were mostly the same, though Father Stephen and Jones had the smallest portions. There were sandwiches of roast beef that he recognised as Alys’ though he’d no idea when she’d had time to make a roast, with thick-cut tomatoes and spicy mustard, and baby spinach instead of lettuce. Each of the magic users had two of those wrapped in paper and cut into neat quarters for eating. Then there was a delicious potato salad that with an herb-and-mayo mixture coating chunks of unpeeled potatoes, chopped black olives, and diced red onions. Two apples rounded out the food, though she’d only included a knife in Jacques’ box, which amused everyone, including him, and led to him offering to chop apples for anyone who wanted them.
There were honeycakes as well, though they all agreed they’d save those for a tea break later in the afternoon, since she’d included a spiced caramel sauce to dip the apples in.
“That is a lot of food,” said Brianna dubiously, looking at the pile in front of James.
Father Stephen chuckled. “Since you’re not using magic to help, you’ll get a more modest portion,” he said. He’d been given only one each of the sandwiches and apple, as had Jones, which still made a substantial meal.
“I think that’s a comfort,” she said, “though I admit it looks really good. What’s the sauce?”
“Here, try some,” said Julian, dipping in one of his Jacques-sliced apple bites and handing it over. “It’s spiced caramel, so, basically we’re spoiled.”
She tried it and mmmmed. “Yeah, wow, you really are.”
They talked about food while they ate, and then the plants and work ahead of them. The topic of the case was off-limits by some tacit agreement, which both worried Julian and relieved him of the burden of discussing it all yet again. Still, he felt pleasantly recharged when the food and tea were gone, even if he did once again feel like he’d eaten enough for any three of his old self.
“You’ll get used to the portions,” said Alex, seeing his face. “I came into my powers as a teenager, so you can imagine how much I had to keep up with both that and growth spurts.”
Julian nearly snorted his water at the image. “Did you ever stop eating?”
“No,” said James. “I swear, I had to sneak food between classes to keep from fainting with hunger.”
“I had to get a special pass to sometimes eat during class, if I’d had magic lessons,” said Jacques wryly. “It was ridiculous.”
“I won’t feel so bad about keeping up now, then,” said Julian. He added for Brianna’s benefit, “But you see why we all got packed lunches.”
“There’s herbs for strength and magical renewal, especially in the roast,” said Jacques. “And ginger’s good for energy, too, in the apple dip.”
“And you’ve got a house-brownie that does all this for you?” asked Brianna, eyes wide.
Alex looked smug about this. “We do, a pair of them, Nat cleans and does all the repairs, and has been slowly improving basically everything in the house, and Alys cooks for us and does the laundry. They made a deal with me when they moved in, and I keep up my end.”
“When he doesn’t, they play pranks,” added Julian. “I had to agree to the deal when I moved in, too.”
They packed everything away for later, and added a second cake from the dining hall for Brianna to join in their tea, then stashed it all back in Father Stephen’s office.
“How’s your work going?” asked Julian, grateful when Alex elected to come see their progress.
“Really well,” said Alex, sounding relieved. “They’ve got a nice lab set up, and they sent someone around with the relief officers this morning to collect a little sample from each of the apprentices, so we can personalise their protections. Between the four of us, we’ll get them done today.”
“That’s really good of you,” said Julian, going up on tiptoes to kiss him. “And they’ll still have police, right?”
“Right,” said Alex. “Tomorrow we’re going to go consult with. Dr. Chesterfield on the apprentice who was attacked, so I won’t be with you, but you’ll be safe here.”
“Good thing I put Jones to work today with the heavy lifting, then,” said Julian.
Jones chuckled. “I can come back here while they all meet up, I bet they’ll be all day. Even if they solve it, they’ll still have theory to discuss until the end of time.”
“You can,” agreed Alex. “No sense making you wait around the hospital when you could be slaving away for Julian.”
“For the Temple,” corrected Father Stephen. “And his service is very much appreciated.”
Jones ducked his head and smiled. “You’re quite nice to me, it’s no problem to help.”
“You’re winning him over,” teased Julian. Jones had been polite but reticent for their many visits at first, but slowly the kindness of everyone there had drawn him out.
“We do good work here,” said Brianna proudly. “We should win him over.”
Jones chuckled wryly. “You do, I don’t think I realised how much the Temple offers the community. I thought it was just somewhere posh gits came to feel better about themselves.”
That got them all laughing. “And now you know better,” said Alex.
“You can feel better here even if you’re not a posh git,” added Julian, trying to keep a straight face. “Less fortunate gits are also welcome.”
There was a little more teasing, and then they threaded their way through the plants lining the corridor so Julian could show Alex what they’d done so far. Alex walked the path from one end to the other, then looked back at the room and smiled. “It’s already got a very welcoming atmosphere,” he said. “What else is going in?”
Julian told him about their idea for terraces, and Horace swooped and twittered, clearly enjoying the sunlight, which glittered off his metal designs beautifully. For a moment he could forget why he was there and not at the nursery, and just enjoy the work he was learning to love. “Mary Margaret chose most of the flowers, and we’ll send back anything that doesn’t get used,” he finished, giving Alex a kiss. “Now, stop avoiding your other mages and go work,” said Julian, shooing him across the short path.
Alex’s long legs had no problem with the wider-spaced stones that gave a quick way across without having to step on the bare earth that would eventually be grass and wildflowers. “This is clever,” he said, “I hope it works to keep your grass from getting trampled.”
“As do we all,” said Father Stephen. “We’ll send your bird to find you for tea in a few hours.”
“Thanks,” said Alex. He took a moment to get his bearings and headed off into the Temple. He was whistling as he went, and Julian had a feeling he was sneakily using his magical senses to find the other mages instead of trying to remember the way.
Not that Julian blamed him.
“All right,” said Julian. “What can we do today while we wait for the things we need for terracing?”
They got back to work, mostly rearranging and sorting, though Julian planted a few more things and scattered wildflower seeds in with the grass seeds, and then watered everything before they declared it a good day’s work and sent Horace off to find Alex.
“Is there a wish tree here at the Temple?” asked Julian, settling into a chair in Father Stephen’s office.
“There is, it’s quite old. It’s in one of the open courtyards, we can visit later,” said Stephen.
“The wards do cover those courtyards,” said James. “But not a long visit, still.”
Julian sighed, but nodded. “Not a long visit, I promise.”
“What are we visiting?” asked Alex, looking tired as he followed Horace into the room. He had his bag with him, though, so Julian had hopes that his task was done.
“The wish tree,” said Julian. “Father Stephen says that have a nice old one here.”
“We could make a
wish,” said Alex, plopping onto the chair next to Julian. “Are we eating in here?”
Julian chuckled. “Thinking with your stomach again,” he teased.
“We’ll eat in the dining hall again,” said Father Stephen, which prompted a gathering up of the necessary items. “I’ll call in our supply order and be along, I have to see if we can get everything by tomorrow morning.”
“If not, I’ll take the day off and read up on terracing,” said Julian with a chuckle. “I haven’t done much of this sort of thing yet.”
“We’ve made a very good start,” said Father Stephen. “Go on, I’ll just call it in now,” he said. He picked up the phone and they all filed out, Jones with the box of goodies and Brianna with the tea tray.
The dining hall was empty this time, but there was hot water for the tea and plenty of places to sit, so it was perfect for their needs. Julian remembered to put in a call to Saveur, and they promised to make up some boxes of treats for him and have them waiting for Jones, to be billed to the St. Albans accounts. Father Stephen joined them in time to pour the tea, and they all settled in for their snack.
“It seems rocks and dirt are an easy delivery,” said Father Stephen cheerfully, “so we should have what we need tomorrow. I’ll arrange for two more stout lads to help, perhaps?”
“That’s a lot of people in that little room,” said Julian dubiously.
“Ah, well, I have meetings I can’t get out of,” said Stephen sheepishly, “so I thought perhaps I could give their service in my stead.”
“Will you still eat with us?” asked Alex. He’d already messaged Alys about Brianna, but they’d need to let her know if there were going to be yet more box lunches needed.
“I probably can’t,” said Father Stephen. “Perhaps tea, though, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble?”
“You just want to get chocolates,” said Alex, but he was already sending Alys a message. “I won’t be here for lunch, either, but I’ll try to make it back in time for tea, too.”
“I’ll bring the proper clothes for hard labor,” said Jones wryly. “And I’ll ask Uncle Josh how he did the terraced bits in our garden, he’ll give me all the advice I could possibly need.”