The tall guy broke in. “Why don’t we just take the house from him?”
Which was rather what Sean had been wondering, but Scarlet strode over to the man and slapped him hard across the face. “The house doesn’t matter. It’s the magic. He broke the magic that made us come here and sleep -- magic the elder didn’t even know was happening to us. He makes the magic that hides this house, and he can take it away. But the old woman can fix him good just because she’s got guns and people. So we need each other here. The only way we’re going to be okay is if we are together now. His people. Us. The house and the magic. I don’t know how to make it any clearer for you idiots. And if he says we gotta do it inside the law, we’ll do it. Each one of you is going to get a job and put money in. And he’s gonna help us work out what this is all about. What made us wake up different people, and who did it.”
There were mutters of agreement, and eyes turned to him.
“Very well,” Sean said. “We will have a lot to discuss. But you’re right. I do want to know what happened and why the vampires were created, because it was done deliberately, using occult methods. And ...” He looked to Thane. “And I do think if someone is using magic in this way, this scale, they will draw outside attention eventually. The whole point of the accord is to ensure nobody draws attention into our world, and whoever this person is, they’re flouting that intention. They’re very dangerous. And the vampires deserve to know who’s doing this to them and why.”
“He’s right,” the big guy with the mohawk called out, and there was general agreement in the room. “I want to know what the hell this is all about. And we need one of their lot, a witch, to get that truth for us.”
Scarlet all but swelled up with satisfaction at the result. “Right, then,” she said. “Let us begin.”
She began to assign tasks, with one eye to Sean for his agreement. Some were assigned to seek employment, others to investigate the house and begin to make it habitable. Pooling resources to stock up on food, bedding, and other necessities quickly revealed that Sean was the only one with more than a few dollars to his name.
Drained by his rampant spell, sleepless and aching, he still had to adapt the command amulets to a new function, allowing people to venture out and still be able to find their way back to the house. And because these devices could easily be stolen, that meant a guard had to be placed on the property to ensure only one of their number gained entry.
It was a sudden and giddying change. Thane arranged the connection of the power and phone. It was quickly apparent that Sean would need to set up the sale of his apartment as rapidly as possible to cover the initial costs of a stolen house and bevy of vampires. His mind was crowded with pressing fears and concerns, and he still had to work out what had happened to Laura and Kevin.
Chapter Five
Sean managed to track everyone down using Rhea’s cell phone, and they assembled, somewhat nervously, at a diner downtown. Sean got Thane to go back to the house to keep an eye on things, but succeeded only when the others promised to escort him back to the house personally. He understood the slight panic in Thane’s eyes. They had almost been separated, perhaps forever, and their enemies were still out there. But he tried to make light of it.
“I don’t trust your Scarlet yet, Thane. Please, I need to know someone is on the inside, that the house is secure. That someone is watching those vampires who truly knows that I don’t want anyone to be hurt, for any reason. Not even the sorcerers they’re so angry with right now.”
Finally he managed to send Thane on his way.
“You’d think I was a six-year-old inclined to get lost on the way home,” Sean muttered as he slipped into the booth the others had already claimed.
“Or perhaps that you’d recently severely pissed off a cabal of sorcerers,” Laura replied.
Sean peered around the booth, but was reasonably satisfied that they could not be overheard. He began pouring himself coffee from a serving thermos into a cup that was standing ready. He was going to need a gallon or two just to get through the day. But Laura stayed his hand. She pulled a paper packet from her tote bag and tipped out a smattering of dried leaves into his cup, then poured hot water from the other jug over the top. Sean accepted the tisane tentatively. It smelled strongly of astragalus and fennel. Healing herbs, and there was no doubt he could use that.
“So this is my solution,” Laura said, pulling out an archaic-looking roll of paper. “Our own coven. It protects our status until arrangements can be made to peer evaluate the legitimacy of our group. Kevin has already signed up, so with your and Rhea’s signature, we’ll have the minimum number required.” She passed the contract over the debris of a breakfast in progress. “I had to get a few very important witches out of bed in the middle of the night to make this work.”
“I don’t mean to be rude,” Sean said, his eyes skimming over the arcane text, “but do Rhea and Kevin count?”
“Any coven, cabal, or convocation may have up to fifty percent of their members as believers but not practitioners, and you know Opal has a few more than that in her lot, especially now we have gone. Perhaps we should turn her in?” Laura grinned evilly at the thought.
Sean sighed, looking to Kevin and Rhea. “Both of you would be well advised to stay out of this. There is really no telling what’s going to happen in the next few days.”
“Are you kidding?” Rhea said, reaching for the papers. “This is by far the coolest thing that has ever happened to me. It’s a part of the world I never knew existed, and I am not to going to just walk away from it.”
Well, Sean was by now pretty well versed in the pointlessness of arguing with Rhea. He cast a look at Kevin, who was tucking into a plate full of eggs benedict. “I’m with her,” Kevin said with a vague gesture of his fork. “And I want to live in the invisible house. I’ll pay you the same rent I do now just to not have to put up with any more junk mail.”
“I really don’t think you understand the seriousness of the situation.”
Laura just offered him a ballpoint pen. “I think you underestimate us, Sean.”
“But there’s no telling how dangerous the vampires will be, whether Scarlet can control them, whether she’ll really follow me, and whether they, even with the best of attentions, can adapt. We need to find a source of blood for them that doesn’t get anyone hurt -- and rather quickly. We need get some income into the house, also quickly. And I have to sit down with every occult reference I can lay my hands on and find some way to keep us all safe if the sorcerers decide to go all in on getting their place back.”
“I’ve already offered you some money,” Kevin said sanguinely. “And I have plenty more. Nothing much fun to spend it on, before now.”
“I’ve kept a few hundred undergrads and a gaggle of tutors under control all year,” Rhea said. “How hard can vampires be? And I know plenty about living on the cheap and getting part-time work in this city, under the table, if needs be.”
And then Laura. “And you’re going to damn well need me, Sean. So it’s settled. All we need is a name.”
“What about the Big Magic Rat Coven?” Kevin said flippantly. “We could make him an honorary member.”
* * * * *
And indeed the new coven members seemed most enthusiastic about the whole endeavor, despite the clear and immediate danger of the sorcerers outside the gates and the vampires within. Sean developed the distinct impression that while he had assumed he was the only person who struggled with a feeling of purposelessness and loneliness, each of his friends had latched on to the idea and mission of the new coven with conspicuous alacrity.
While he had Laura’s car available, they began to move some things from Sean’s place to the house. Something of a commitment, given that if the spell failed, he would be found squatting, fully installed in what was essentially university property. So they parked and got out with boxes, bags, and, in Rhea’s case, a potted fig tree.
He let them demonstrate to their satisfaction t
hat there was no house missing from the street and no place to insert one, before handing out the amulets. This revealed the iron gate from which the commercial sign had already been pulled down. The large young man with the mohawk was sitting out on the front porch with his feet up on the balustrade. He waved at them cheerfully.
They were about to open the gate when McIntyre, the psychology dean, turned the corner of the block. Sean gaped, wondering just how he fit into the milling conspiracies. McIntyre waved and crossed the street.
“Dr. Watkins,” he said by way of greeting.
“Professor McIntyre. You know Rhea, and perhaps Dr. Kevin Carter from chemistry, and this is Laura Horton.” Sean felt his smile freezing somewhat on his face.
“Moving house?” McIntyre inquired with amusement.
“Dr. Watkin is moving in with his partner,” Rhea said cheerfully. “We are, um, helping.”
They all cast guilty glances at the house he presumably couldn’t see, and hovered ambiguously near the car.
“Yes, that does ... I mean, I had heard that you two ...” McIntyre said with an eye on Rhea.
“Oh, that.” Rhea shifted the potted plant to sit under one hand so she could see the dean properly. “That was just a joke that got a little out of hand. Dr. Watkin and I happen to agree on which is actually the fairer sex.”
She gave him a big wink and a pat on the side of the arm with her free hand. McIntyre seemed to relax.
“Perhaps I can give you a hand?” he offered amiably.
“Oh, no, it’s all right,” Sean said. “But thanks.”
“Well, okay, then. I’ll see you after the break.” After a few steps, he turned back. “There may be a position coming up, you know -- tenure track. I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
As McIntyre headed off down the street, Sean hurriedly ushered everyone through the gate. “Who’d have thought it,” he muttered. “But that’s actually the last thing on my mind.”
* * * * *
The only way to really get some time alone was to go up to the loft. After all, he’d thrown the spell together in a state of panic, and now they were all depending on it. He exhaustively traced every line and strand. He repaired every weakness and added redundant structures. As an afterthought, he brought up a plastic furniture cover and stapled it down around the pattern to protect it from any tampering.
When it was done, he sat on the floor, his back against the insulation rolled along the walls. Now the vampires were under new management, it was safe to release the binding. The solution had, it seemed, presented itself. Thane wouldn’t have any reason to respond with violence.
It was cowardice that made him avoid Thane. If Sean saw him again, even for a moment, he knew he wouldn’t have the strength to do this -- to do what was right. It was a horrible cliché, but it was true. I love him, so I have to set him free.
Of course, it meant he was going to lose Thane. Without the Drull binding, his interest in Sean would fade away, and he would be just another of Scarlet’s followers.
Clenching his hands together, Sean sighed. It was cold in the loft. “It is better to have loved and lost,” he told himself. “Even if it was fake in the first place.
“Leave me. I release thee. You need not abide with me. No more a concern for you -- not worthy of your love.”
He sat there for a long time, feeling the cold all around him as the darkness started to fade. Finally he went down the stairs, past the living room, to the kitchen. The room was warm and moist, and the whole crew minus Thane and a couple of the other vamps were in there, seated around the room on chair, tables, and the counter.
“... small amounts of blood every few days,” Scarlet was explaining to Kevin, who was actually taking notes. “And with the supplies we found in the refrigerators out back, we have some time to work something out.”
“Hey, Doc,” Rhea said, still apparently groping for the best way to address him. He sure hoped that one didn’t stick.
“I’m all in,” Sean said. “Is there somewhere I can put my head down?”
“We gave you the bedroom on the first floor at the back,” Laura said. “Perhaps you ought to eat something first. I’m making macaroni and cheese.”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
He found the room they meant. It was about the size of his entire apartment, with a big bed below the window. He had a brief thought that he should move it because Thane wouldn’t like that. Then he realized that it soon wouldn’t matter.
He closed the curtains and stripped off his clothes stiffly. The adhesive bandage over his shoulder was stained with rings of brown, dried blood. He peeled it off carefully. The skin underneath looked pallid, but the bite marks were clean and healing swiftly. He turned off the light, set his glasses on the table, and slid into the bed. Physically, he actually felt stronger now, but he was more than done with this day. He just wanted to close his eyes and shut it out for a while. The house already had that feeling of a place that was never going to calm down, so now was as good a time as any to shut himself away and try to catch up on his backlog of unconsciousness.
He felt a little like he was sitting in the first car of a roller-coaster and the ride was about to start. It would have been good to have someone on the seat next to him. He could still hear the others laughing, grappling with their problems already -- making plans. He should be there, but he couldn’t muster the strength. It had been a long time since he’d slept; tomorrow would be soon enough. But in the back of his mind, he was afraid of a dark god appearing in his dreams.
A whisper of sound made his eyes spring open. Some instinct in the back his head was still expecting danger from every angle. It was Thane. Even a silhouette, further foggy with his glasses on the table, was enough to make Sean’s heart ache. Thane stood there just a minute, poised on the threshold.
After a suspended moment, he stepped inside. Sean lay, curled on his side, watching. Thane walked over, silent, ambiguous, and crouched by the side of the bed right in front of Sean. He reached out one hand and laid it on Sean’s cheek.
“I did feel it when you released the binding,” Thane said.
“I understand,” Sean said. The compulsion was gone. There was nothing between them now but Sean’s own lingering infatuation. It felt real enough to hurt, though. It felt like love. It felt like the moment before a broken heart.
“I don’t think you do.” Thane leaned in and kissed him, softly, their lips crossing each other.
“Thane, you don’t have to --”
“It didn’t change anything. I have to think that love, real love, isn’t something you can just unmake. Lose it, sure, destroy it, people do that every day. But just make it as if it was never there -- that’s just not possible. I’m keeping this, Sean -- keeping this feeling. What about you? When are you going to believe you deserve it?”
It didn’t seem possible. Sean searched Thane’s dark eyes and found nothing there but sincerity. Thane’s hand stroked down his neck, under the blanket, but Sean felt cold and made no move. Somehow it seemed like this must be some immense, horrible joke. How could love caused by a spell endure when that spell was gone, like some kind of romantic jelly mold? Even if it did, it might be some temporary effect, some deceptive momentum.
“What is it? Why don’t you believe me?” Thane watched him implacably, patiently.
“Thane, you’re a beautiful and, by whatever means, powerful young man. What would you see in me?”
“Apart from the fact that it’s for me to know that, and feel it, and -- if you have any faith in me -- you to believe me? You are a good man. You came to see something more than a monster, a medical curiosity, in me. And, look, a professor, a witch, a leader of a clan, and a member of what I think will prove to be a powerful coven -- a good man. You need to see yourself as I do, just for a moment.” Thane looked down at him. “You’re not really hearing me, I think. It’s been a busy few days for both of us. Just move over there. Y
ou want me here; I want to be here. What more is there to know?”
“Oh, gods, Thane. What is there to know? So many things that I feel them pressing down on me like I’m being crushed by rocks, and people just keep adding more to the pile. I mean, for a moment in the basement, you were actually someone else, Thane. I don’t think I can just leave that alone. It’s the beginning of understanding what happens with your ... condition. The person you were might still be in there, somewhere.”
Sean’s disordered thoughts straggled to an uncertain close. His head was a mass of ends sticking out in all directions.
“You’re the kind of person that needs to understand things, Sean. I get that. I’ll help you. And I’ll have to take whatever consequence comes. It’s not like I don’t want to know, too.” Thane slid his hand over Sean’s stomach. “But you have to understand that while in some ways everything is very complicated, in other ways it’s all very simple. You have to understand that I’m real, and I’m here now. And I want to live, a full and real life for as long or as short as I have it. And I want to do that with you. Can you let go of our future and whatever it might or might not involve, let go of all of that to just fully, properly, and for once have this now?”
Looking into Thane’s dark eyes, Sean found that he could. The tangle of his thoughts fell loose and free. His fears for the future, the whole world outside of this room, fell away.
Thane sighed and smiled. He stood, starting to shrug back the leather jacket he never seemed to be without.
“No, why don’t you leave that on,” Sean said, easing back the covers in invitation.
Sean reached out, just managing to hook his fingertips over the waistband of Thane’s jeans, sitting loosely across his hips. The button above the fly even turned out a little, as if waiting for him as he released it. The short zipper dropped down, and beneath it no undergarments stood in the way. Yes, Sean couldn’t help a small thought at how unsanitary that habit was, but he managed to push it out of his mind.
The Wicca-Man: Tongue-Tied Page 10