by Casey Wolfe
“What in the world are you even doing?” Shaw inquired, pulling a bottle of paint out of the bucket.
“I thought I was making charms.” Rowan hadn’t meant to sound coy, but it was worth it to see Shaw’s expression. With a chuckle, Rowan went back to gathering things.
He started to idly hum a tune, sifting through a drawer full of crystals and stones. Meanwhile, the parchment he’d written on earlier hovered over to him, allowing him to reference it.
Satisfied, he snapped his fingers, a Bunsen burner coming to life. Various roots and flowers came out of their tins and floated into the beaker of water already set on it. “Tea?” he asked Shaw, finding the man positively speechless as he watched the goings-on.
Admittedly, Rowan hadn’t been able to help himself. He had been pissed at Shaw, no doubt about it, but after talking with him again, Rowan realized Shaw’s deception hadn’t been out of malice. Whatever it was Shaw was hiding, Rowan could understand his hesitance. It wasn’t like they’d known each other long enough for Shaw to trust him with obviously sensitive information.
Rowan was willing to give him another chance. To say he had a great time with Shaw was an understatement. And, if he were being honest with himself, Rowan sensed something about him. He wanted to keep Shaw close, if only to figure out what this was between them.
The beaker chimed, letting him know the tea was ready. It wasn’t the most traditional system to make tea, but Rowan had never seen the point in trying to install any type of stove in order to put a kettle on. The beaker and burner did its job, and it doubled as a way to brew his experimental potions.
“Tea?” he asked again, gesturing to where the liquid was straining into a mug on its own. “It’s herbal.”
“Sure?”
Rowan passed the first cup over to him, placing another down for the enchanted objects to strain a second.
“That’s a neat trick,” Shaw mentioned, blowing on his mug.
Rowan shrugged. “Honestly, I get myself so engrossed in work that it’s just easier to get my things to whip up tea mostly on their own so I don’t have to break my concentration.” Rowan’s lips twisted into an amused grin. “Basically, I’m lazy.”
Shaw chuckled. “Dunno ’bout that one. But can ya enchant my vacuum into running itself?”
“Child’s play.”
“For you, maybe.” Shaw took a sip of tea, humming his approval. “So, what exactly are you planning here?” He nodded his head toward the growing number of supplies.
“Well,” Rowan said, setting his own mug down on the counter, “Orion and Thalanil are bonded, so a lot of theirs will be the same. Would they prefer to wear them? Carry them in their gear?”
“They have mating cuffs already.” Shaw tapped his own wrist. “And Thal likes necklaces. Keenan wears these enchanted gloves”—he wiggled his fingers—“so, maybe a charm that would work with those?”
Rowan nodded.
“And Haxos… I honestly have no idea.”
“Does he wear tail adornments?” It was supposedly a common thing among the centaur herds to braid things into their tails or wear bands at the base like a hair tie.
“Nope, and he doesn’t wear any other jewelry. That’s the problem.”
Rowan chewed on his lip a moment before concluding, “Well, I’ll go with the tail then. It’ll be out of the way, and since he’s not used to wearing anything…” Rowan shrugged. “Worst case scenario: he can send it back and have it changed up the way he wants it, since I’m sure you didn’t tell them you were doing this.”
Shaw looked innocently over his mug. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
“Mm-hmm.” Rowan didn’t believe it for a second, but it was neither here nor there. It was the thought that counted, and Rowan could understand wanting to keep the ones you loved protected.
Getting started, Rowan took the two crow feathers and laid them in a clear space. “Do you know the Elvish word for ‘mate’?” he inquired casually, digging through his paint bottles until he found the gold.
“Sœurâme,” Shaw answered. “Thal calls Orion that all the time.”
“That’s cute,” Rowan said, dabbing a thin paintbrush into the paint. “Well, mate bonds are one of the strongest natural magics there is. Tapping into that increases the power of any spell, and it replenishes itself simply by them being together.” He smiled softly, painting the Elvish symbol for mate across each feather. “I could only imagine a bond like that.”
“Me too,” Shaw answered, just as softly. Rowan glanced up, Shaw licking his lips as he looked away. Rowan felt his stomach do a strange little flip.
Going back to the task at hand, Rowan grabbed the royal-blue ribbon. He cut two lengths, nimble fingers securing them to the base of the feather shafts before weaving them around what remained. “Necklaces, huh?”
Nodding to himself, Rowan reached for one of the stones he had collected. It was a shining fire opal. It was the perfect choice to help channel the magic to the wearer, the added bonus of protection properties already woven into the stone. Rowan marked the circumference with a Sharpie, before concentrating on the stone. The opal split straight down the center, falling away in two halves.
“You do that like it’s nothing,” Shaw said in disbelief.
Rowan shrugged. “For me, it really isn’t. It’s all part of Primal magic.” He took the first opal half and smothered the back in glue. He placed it on the ribbon-covered feather shaft. “Being the same stone,” he explained to Shaw as he applied pressure so it bonded properly, “will allow a natural transfer of energy.”
“Feeding on the bond,” Shaw gathered.
“Exactly.” Rowan applied the second opal, as well. “While those set…”
He summoned the gray and dark-purple ribbons, deciding to start on Keenan’s charm next. The first color was especially useful with glamours, a skill Shaw had specifically made mention of, while purple was perfect for mages. It was associated with channeling magic and building power, which would help aid the spell Rowan planned to put into the bracelet to help fortify Keenan’s mana.
Rowan thought it over a moment before going down one of the rows, opening a drawer where he kept the sheets of leather. “You wouldn’t happen to know how big Keenan’s wrist is, would you?” He returned with black leather and a knife.
“Umm, ’bout the same as mine I s’ppose?”
Rowan motioned for him to hold out his arm, wrapping the leather and marking the length and width he wanted. He purposefully left it a little long, figuring on putting two different sets of snaps so that Keenan could adjust it to fit properly. Next, he sliced small slits down the length, making sure there was enough edge that the leather wouldn’t break.
“So, was this always what you figured on doing?” Shaw asked. He was leaning with his elbows on the counter, watching Rowan intently. Shaw seemed especially absorbed with his fingers.
“Not really. There was never truly a plan. Gram was the one who encouraged me to do enchantment work. Said I had a natural ability and an eye for detail.”
Rowan’s fingers worked deftly to weave the gray and purple ribbons through the slots, braiding them together with the leather itself. Occasionally he still surprised himself at what he came up with. He cut another leather piece to size, adding the snaps and gluing the two pieces together. When it dried, he would finish the edges.
“Why don’t you just enchant premade items?”
“A journeyman can do that,” Rowan scoffed. “I’m a master. I hold myself to a higher standard. As should others.” He met Shaw’s blue-green eyes. “Besides, when you make something yourself, you put more of your imprint on it. And it allows you to customize to whatever you need, to whoever it’s for.” He gestured to what he had done pointedly.
“Fair enough,” Shaw conceded. “I can certainly see the advantages.” He smiled. “And I happen to like homemade things. It was more of a conversation starter.”
Rowan bowed his head to hide his amusement. “If it�
��s conversation you’re after, why not tell me more about your squad. What is it they do?”
“Special Operations Division? It kinda runs the gambit.”
“Like what?” Rowan fished, going to look through another box filled with ribbon.
“Gather intelligence, perform recon, stage rescues, capture high-value assets, even assassination.”
Rowan paused, looking over at him.
“Some things are called ‘black ops’ for a reason.”
Plausible deniability. He hated politics.
“Deploy at a moment’s notice wherever needed… We get trained to do just about anything. Most of the time that involves working completely on your own, with your squad alone to rely on.”
“That’s…” Rowan couldn’t find the words, instead settling on “That sounds like a rough life.”
Shaw raised a shoulder. “Nothing I’m not used to. My folks, well, we were pretty poor in Rouvalon. We moved to Calagon when I was twelve? Thirteen? They had a dream of restarting and finally making it.”
“Did they?” Rowan worked to wrap an elastic band in green and black ribbon, yet his attention was most certainly stuck on Shaw.
“We weren’t starving anymore.” Noticing that Rowan was waiting for more of an answer than that, he added, “My dad worked for a large fabrication plant. Made good money. Mum was always a gardener. It was how we survived in Rouvalon. So, we had a huge garden and whatever we had extra, she would sell at the farmer’s market.”
“What did you do?” Rowan started to run braided strands of leather from the elastic band, placing glass beads periodically.
“Joined the military at sixteen.”
Rowan paused again.
Shaw’s lips pulled up at the corners. “I didn’t want to break my back in a mill or factory all my life, and I suck at gardening. For an uneducated kid from Rouvalon who knew how to scrap? Seemed like my best bet.”
“I suppose,” Rowan replied softly.
After a moment, Shaw said, “They moved back to Rouvalon when Dad retired. Missed home, I guess, I dunno. I stayed behind. I was already with Special Operations and was happy with my position. Our relationship has been a bit, well, nonexistent ever since.”
“Sorry.” Rowan offered him a brief half smile.
Shaw waved it off. “I made peace with it a long time ago.” Changing the topic, he pointed at the charm that was nearly done. “So, Hax is supposed to wear that on his tail, huh?”
“It’s not too flashy is it?” Rowan was concerned the glass beads were a bit much.
“Nah, I think he’ll like it.”
“But it’s not…I don’t know, untactical or whatever?”
Shaw chuckled, an easy smile back on his face. “It’ll be fine.”
“Sure you don’t want one?” Rowan asked as he set it aside.
“I appreciate the thought, but…”
“Well, maybe another time.” Rowan gave him a little smile.
There was noise at the back window and Rowan turned to find Badger dropping down onto the stack of books there. “Hey, Badger,” he greeted casually, starting to clean up his workspace before he got to the actual enchanting itself.
The brown tabby meowed, looking over at Shaw in what amounted to curiosity. Apparently deciding the newcomer wasn’t all that interesting, Badger sat down and began licking at his paw.
“Pretty cat,” Shaw complimented.
“Something of a neighborhood feline it seems. Comes and goes as he pleases.” Rowan pulled the small bag of beef jerky from the drawer, giving it a shake. When Badger meowed and hopped up onto the counter, Rowan chuckled. “I’m pretty sure he just likes the food.” Badger purred and rubbed against his arm, demanding treats. “Yeah, yeah… Pushy thing.”
Shaw chuckled, reaching out and giving Badger’s head a scratch as he chomped on the offered jerky strip. “So, no pets at home?”
“Nope. Not that I’m against the idea,” Rowan was quick to add. “I do practically have a live-in dog.”
That startled a laugh out of Shaw. “I wouldn’t let Caleb hear you say that.”
Rowan’s lips quirked in turn. “Oh, it’s all in good fun.”
Rowan had finished cleaning up, confident that everything he’d glued was set enough to continue. He pulled his cushion out from under the counter, pointing toward the door as he asked, “Flip that sign and lock the door, would you?” Rowan walked around the counter to the uncluttered customers’ side. “I don’t want to be interrupted while I’m enchanting.”
“Makes sense,” Shaw said, doing as asked. “Do you want me to go?”
“You’re fine,” Rowan assured him. He settled onto the cushion cross-legged. It was best to be comfortable for what came next. Rowan laid the charms out in front of him one by one. “I’ll cast a general protection spell on all of them,” he explained. “First, each will get their own personal touch. Could I see that photo again?”
Shaw passed over his phone after bringing the group shot up. Rowan studied them in order to keep their images in the back of his mind while he worked.
Giving the phone back, Rowan took a deep breath and shut his eyes. He took a moment to center himself, opening his eyes when he felt the magic inside him unlock easily at his behest. There was a soft inhale from Shaw, no doubt in reaction to his eyes glowing with magic.
Rowan started with the mated pair, deciding to enchant the charms at the same time so they would be tied as closely as possible. It would be a challenge to imbue them with two different sets of spells simultaneously, but he was confident he could handle it. While Orion’s would call for strength and agility, Thalanil’s would require dexterity and speed, being the squad’s werewolf and sniper respectively. Once the fire opals on both charms glowed a brilliant orange in response to being filled, Rowan sealed them in protection magic before setting them aside.
Next, he picked up the leather cuff meant for Keenan. As a mage, no one knew better than Rowan the things they required. He beefed up the charm with a mixture of spells. They would allow Keenan to better channel his magic and replenish his mana stores quicker and easier. Rowan layered them with a spell to aid in concentration and the same protection one that he had placed on the others.
The charm for Haxos was the most curious one. Rowan knew next to nothing about centaurs, but he figured a little help with moving silently couldn’t hurt. He added on a powerful stamina spell, and sealed it with protection, hoping it would be enough.
With the last charm laid aside, Rowan closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, centering. He gave himself a minute to relax and come down from his power output. Once he felt stable, Rowan opened his eyes, finding Shaw was watching him closely.
“You good?” Shaw asked, reaching his hand out.
Rowan took it, allowing Shaw to help him up. “Perfectly fine,” he assured him.
Shaw grinned brightly. “That was… That was pretty damn incredible.”
Rowan covered up his blush by bending down to gather the charms. He retreated behind the counter, setting them aside to find a box and packing material.
“So, hey”—Shaw began, leaning across the counter—“wanna go with me for an early supper?”
Rowan hesitated, looking over at him. After a long moment, he went back to work. “I’m not sure if—”
“Only food. I promise.” When Rowan bit his lip, Shaw reached over and covered Rowan’s hand with his. “Please? I know I fucked up, but I’d like the chance to make it up to you.”
Rowan met his gaze. Shaw was being sincere.
“At the least, I’d like to be friends.”
Rowan could admit that he was still interested in pursuing a relationship with Shaw, even after the misunderstanding they had the other day. Clearly something was going on that Shaw couldn’t talk about. It was perhaps a little reckless to get himself involved, but after so many years of being buried in his studies, he supposed he owed himself a little risk or two.
“Yeah, okay,” Rowan agreed, turning his ha
nd so their palms touched. “I’m not opposed to seeing where this goes.”
Shaw smiled, opening his mouth to reply, when he yelped in pain, jerking his hand away. Badger had swatted at him, leaving behind nasty looking claw marks.
“Badger!” Rowan admonished. “What’s wrong with you?”
The cat hissed, raising his hackles, before bolting out the back window.
Rowan’s brows furrowed, looking from the window back to Shaw, who was holding his hand. “Are you alright?”
“It stings, but yeah, I’ll live.”
Not accepting that answer, Rowan took Shaw’s hand gingerly to look it over. “Yikes, he got you good… I’m sorry. I dunno what got into him. He’s never acted like that before.”
“Maybe your magic got him spooked.”
“Maybe.”
Rowan wasn’t so sure about that. Badger had been around before when he enchanted things or casually used his magic like he did. To be fair, Rowan hadn’t enchanted so many things at one time while the cat was there. Perhaps all that energy did make him nervous.
“Here,” Rowan offered, his fingertips warming. “I suck at healing magic, to be honest. But little things…”
Unlike his enchanting work or playing around with Primal magic, Rowan had to concentrate on closing the small cuts on Shaw’s hand. The skin managed to stitch together, leaving behind light-red lines that would fade over the next couple of hours. “It might itch a bit,” Rowan apologized, pulling away.
Shaw snatched Rowan’s hand. “Thanks.” He smiled warmly at Rowan, the pair staring at each other for a long while. “So,” Shaw ventured, “about that food?”
Rowan caved. It might have been crazy, but he couldn’t resist. “Let me finish this,” was all he said, ignoring Shaw’s ridiculous fist pump. After a minute, he was handing Shaw the box of freshly made charms, all packaged and ready to ship. “Hope they help.”
Shaw was gazing at it with mixed emotions, but it was clear that he was grateful when he looked back at Rowan. “How much do I owe you?”
He shrugged. “I should have really done a quote with you beforehand, but you were distracting.”