Babysitters Club (Immortal Elements World Series Book 1)

by Emrys Apollo

  “I’ll have hope with you,” Dominic said. Conrad looked up at him and smiled. Dimitri fell over and honked indignantly, earning a chuckle from the brothers.

  They sat in silence for a few minutes. Dominic leaned back against the pillows on the bed and exhaled slowly. He centered himself and felt a bit of peace as he settled down. Conrad slowly got up and made his way over to his little brother. He climbed onto the bed over the opposite side and lay down next to Dominic, his hands folded on his stomach.

  “Briggs committed suicide after telling us about a witch named Grodo,” Dominic said. “She works from the shadows. He got all weird and then he was dead.”

  “And then the building blew up?”

  “And then the building blew up,” Dominic said. William returned right at that moment and both Conrad and Dominic peeked up to look at him. Will had a mason jar filled with a ‘salad’ of dried fruit, which Jon insisted would be good for him. Dominic slowly munched in the pieces of dried fruit as he watched his brother slink off the bed to go make out with his boyfriend not even ten feet away. He didn’t really care. The fruit was yummy.

  Conrad and Will eventually got off the small couch in the corner of the Princess suite, both of them with bruises on their necks, beauty marks that would be taken too soon by immortality’s blessing. Dominic continued to munch on his dried fruit and he was greatly enjoying himself as he listened to his music with one earbud in at a low volume. He watched Giselle as she slept on peacefully, painfully victorious in her fight. You’ll only get stronger, he thought. And we’re all getting stronger with you.

  “I’m gonna go help my brother with the hydraulic fluid for his test,” Will said as he kissed Conrad on the cheek and then gently on the lips, a light smack brightening the air as they parted. “But we should get dinner at Tonio’s tonight.”

  “I want to take a nap with you first,” Conrad said with a slight pout and Will chuckled.

  “Alright, but only for an hour,” Will murmured. Conrad raised his hand and kissed it, and this his raven haired man was gone.

  Dominic watched this as he popped a dried strawberry into his mouth. He felt like he perhaps had a bit more energy from the carbs, but he still wanted to sleep. He tossed a piece of pineapple and a chunk of dried apple after it. Conrad checked on Giselle and then went to his little brother again, this time rubbing his back as Dominic finished eating.

  “Go to sleep,” Conrad said. “When you wake up I’ll feed you.”

  “Aight.” Dominic lay his head down and passed the fuck out, and he dreamt of a witch’s hut in a swamp. A large tree rose up from the ground, safe and dry from the surroundings, no doubt aided by magic. Dominic glanced up at the ornate little home carved into the tree, and his eye caught on someone staring at him through a stained glass window.

  He woke up early in the afternoon. Dominic sat up and coughed. Jon peeked into the room and noticed that he was awake, and about twenty minutes after waking Dominic was greeted with a lovely brunch. He ate quickly and quietly, his eyes on Giselle. He wanted to be near her now at all times, his mind focusing on the worst case scenarios. The taste of hot sauce on his poached egg distracted him long enough that Dominic shook the thoughts away.

  He finished his food and took his own tray to the kitchen to clean up, and then he showered again and changed. Giselle groaned a little as she stirred, and Conrad came in to remove the IV.

  “Her fever’s broken and her magic can burn through the rest,” Conrad said as he removed the needle from Giselle’s arm. Even though she was half asleep she seemed visibly relieved to have it gone. “You got it from here, Nic?”

  “I got her,” Dominic said. “How’s Marcus?”

  “Still asleep,” Conrad said. “Lance is making him chili and cornbread for when he wakes up.”

  “Nice,” Dominic said. He looked to Giselle and wondered what he could possibly make for her…

  Conrad left his little brother and went off to shower and change into more practical clothing, linen joggers and a button up with sneakers. He threw on a blazer and tossed Will the black scarf he’d borrowed once upon a time.

  “I thought we were cuddling?”

  “I want to pick up something for Giselle,” Conrad said. “On the way back from dinner. Can we cuddle after?”

  “Yes,” Will said. “As long as you want.”

  “I thought you only wanted an hour?”

  “I changed my mind,” Will said playfully as he tucked his scarf into his jacket.

  They exited the castle stage left and descended into the Upper Village of St. Leon, a name that was deceiving because it would make for a very large village were it truly one. It was quaint with the wooden townhouses with shops and apartments lining streets, two, three stories, some with painted walls or sweet facades, carved wood fences with sigil and valentine heart shapes and clovers all cut out. The Upper Village was Will’s favorite part of St. Leon, something he shared with his sister. They liked to wander together for hours and shop; they would buy candy and chocolates, cherry drops and truffles. The pair would go buy large sausage dogs in thick buns with caramelized onions and spicy garlic sauce and melted cheddar cheese. Giselle would buy fresh squeezed juice and Will would get a bottle of fresh coffee to take back to his lab when he wanted to work on a longer project. She would sneakily buy him chocolate covered sunflower seeds and have them sent up to his room or his lab by one of the girls, and every time he was surprised and grateful.

  Sheila and Cora were baking cupcakes for her, so Will felt a great need to outdo them. He whispered to Conrad as they descended to Tonio’s, and they shared a cheesy tomato pasta dish with a ton of garlic bread and grilled sausage. Conrad looked satisfied after days of caring for his patient. In some ways it was frustrating to be the doctor for a bunch of unkillable immortals, as he could really only ease their pain and try to speed their healing. But it was more than enough, and he loved it.

  “I like when you and I get to work together,” Conrad said as he played footsies with Will under the table. Will grinned as he rested his chin in his hand. They reached across the little table and held hands, fingers lacing together as they kept teasing and tapping at each other with their feet, like a little dance between them.

  “Me too,” Will said. “The God of Alchemy and the God of Medicine. I think it fits.”

  “Me too.”

  “What should we buy my sister?”

  “So you can one up the girls and be a pretentious snob?”

  “Correct,” Will said with a flash of a smile and Conrad smirked.

  “I’m down. The secret to your sister is beverages. She loves her beverages, you know that.”

  “Giselle does love her beverages,” Will said as he tapped at his chin. “Let’s stop by the cafe up the street and get her one of the big lemonade teas. She likes those, and they’ll put in fresh blackberries if we ask.”

  “Ooooooh, I like that,” Conrad said. “I want that too.”

  “We’ll get three,” Will said.

  In the end, Giselle enjoyed her lemonade tea with her cupcakes, and she shared with Marcus as he sleepily leaned against her shoulder.

  “I’m sorry you got blown up,” she said softly as she unwrapped a vanilla cupcake and handed it to him. It was frosted with vanilla lemon cream and a berry drizzle, and she ate three immediately after waking up. She chugged her drink but it was so magically large that only made a slight dent in its volume.

  “Eh, I think I did okay,” Marcus said. They all sat in the main living room on the third floor, which was the main floor the Elementals occupied. Giselle along and he took a generous bite of cupcake and inadvertently moaned. She held back a laugh and Lance cackled from where he sat on the leather sofa. Dominic braised Giselle’s hair with gentle fingers, stopping occasionally to rub circles into her back. She leaned into him every time he touched her. They were happy together like this, a moment of calm together.

  Marcus eventually went and sat next to Lance on the sofa, and the pair
dozed off together with a blanket Robb tossed over them.

  -

  Marcus woke up in his bed, and he honestly couldn’t remember how he’d gotten there, showered, and dressed in clean clothes. I was really tired. He hadn’t expected that to come from handling the explosion, but he’d also surprised himself with his own calm nature in the face of the flames and the debris flying at him. I handled it. I can handle a lot of things. It had looked more effortless than it felt, and his muscles ached from a lack of magical energy.

  It took Marcus a few minutes to actually sit all the way up. For some reason he found himself craving grilled chicken, and when he finally found the strength it drag himself out of bed Marc went straight to the kitchen. He chopped vegetables and fixed himself a side of broth for his chicken salad with a dressing of garlic, thick yogurt, and dill. It was delicious and the broth calmed his nerves with its heat, and Marc enjoyed the kitchen to himself for a few minutes.

  His mind returned to the enemy as he cleaned up his dishes, and he tried to imagine what someone named Grodo might look like. Probably very unattractive, he thought. That sort of name belonged to a woman who ate kids or something. Marcus had never heard of such a nasty sounding name before. Ugh. He remembered the way Briggs said it, before he shot himself. Marc shuddered as he put the last of his dishes away in the cupboard. He suddenly felt an urge to escape from the massive kitchen, and he was quick to flee back to his room.

  Lance was there waiting for him and Marcus blushed. He practically jumped into Lance’s arms and they curled up on the bed together, the pair of them very much in love and comforted by the other’s touch. Hands stroked cheeks and chins, noses touching as they dozed off with fingers tangled in each other’s hair. Their enmeshed scent was of sandalwood and jasmine and the smallest hint of woodsmoke and pine and citrus. The enemy was out there but for this moment they were safe, and they both relished and it lamented that it was but a moment. The price of freedom was high.

  Their Princess needed them. Eventually it was time to wake, something ticking in the core of their souls. Lance and Marcus woke up together, and they snuggled in for a warm minute more.

  A loud rap at the door caught their attention, and that was the end of that.

  CHAPTER IV

  Giselle pushed the brush through her hair and exhaled in a way that felt too much like a sigh. She put a hand to her chest and rubbed it, forcing her breathing to slow down as she inhaled through her nose. It was something she had to practice with her condition, even after 500 years of life. Her fingers gave her focus as she wove a few braids to get her hair out of her face. She pulled until they sat nicely and her hair fell down her back. At least she had the energy to do this, for she couldn’t do much else.

  She wore black jeans and a soft shirt and a white and blue windbreaker that she struggled to zip up for a minute. A pair of hands took hers and she looked up. Will smiled at her and pushed a vial into her hand.

  “That should help,” he said. “I know it’s early, but I mixed it with strawberry wine.” Giselle nodded and drank the Champion’s Brew. She immediately felt much better and her fingers tingled for a few seconds. Magic sparked between her hands as she held them together and Giselle beamed at her brother.

  “It’s a perfect day,” she said. It was six in the morning, and the sky was thick and heavy with grey clouds extending forever over the horizon in every direction. It was that season in St. Leon, and Giselle loved it.

  “It is,” Will agreed. “What are you studying this quarter?” He sat himself down in a chair a few feet away from Giselle. Giselle glanced out the corner of her eye and saw Lance and Marcus; the pair had been keeping a close eye on her every time Dominic was away for even a moment. She was grateful for them.

  “More history,” Giselle said with a soft smile as her brother leaned in and zipped up her windbreaker a little more. “I’m really excited! We’re covering a bunch of ancient monuments and Trax has been telling me about the known ruins in the Desert of Azaran and…” Will listened to his sister go on and on with a smile on his face, as she did the same when he talked about his alchemy. They made a good pair, and Lance held back a grin as he watched her light up.

  “I’m glad she’s returning to school,” Marcus said with a small sigh. “After everything, she deserves to feel normal.”

  “Yeah,” Lance said. He stuck his head out to peek into the hall before looking back. “Where’s Nic?”

  “Getting coffee from Lucille’s,” Marcus said as he gave Lance a grin. “Nothing but the best for his princess.”

  “When’s he gonna, you know, pop the question?” Lance kept it so low that Marcus almost didn’t hear. It took him a second to process and he shrugged.

  “They’re already soulmates,” Marcus said. “They can’t even be mad at each other for a solid five minutes.”

  “That’s true,” Lance said. But Giselle is definitely as much of a Princess as any other, and I know she wants to marry him. “Little Miss wants her bling, though.”

  Giselle heard that. She turned her little head with all 700 pounds of long blonde waves attached and she made a funny face at him, and Lance made one right back at her.

  “Giselle wants an engagement ring bigger than this castle,” Marcus teased. Will let out a small laugh and from somewhere across the room Dimitri honked, sending everyone into hysterics.

  Dominic walked in then with his arms full of paper trays and he set them down and distributed the iced coffees, a confused look on his face as Marcus and Lance giggled. “Nic, you better have a diamond ring around that straw,” Marcus said as he watched Dominic hand Giselle her coffee. She giggled along with him and Dominic rolled his eyes playfully.

  Dominic handed the few extras to Cora and Clara and Jane as they pranced in and shooed Will away, who ran off smirking to see Conrad in the infirmary. The girls fixed her braids and they wove flowers into them, and when they were done her hair was perfect and her eyelids had been touched by a soft sparkly pink. Jane told Giselle all about the peach pits she’d been collecting so they could add to the orchards, and Clara told Giselle all about the new spells she’d been practicing, and Cora told Giselle all about the shells she’d recently collected. The Princess listened intently while Dominic swiftly tapped a few lines of a poem in his phone and frowned. Lance and Marcus playfully kicked each other and for the moment all was well.

  -

  A storm rolled over the city of St. Leon, and it was glorious. It would be over by the early afternoon only to begin again in the evening, for it was the season between seasons, and this was typical weather for that in St. Leon. The citizens loved it. Every day the air was made clean and bright, and while the storm looked fierce it was far more gentle than it felt.

  Brett took a hit off his vape and passed it to his boyfriend, Matt. The two Elementals sat in a cafe in Portside just as the rain began to let up. This neighborhood was named for the port, and it was known for its classical modern feel. Matt took the pen and quirked a brow.

  “What’s in this?”

  “Pineapple Express,” Brett said. Matt took a hit and exhaled slowly, and he nodded as he handed the pen back.

  “That’s a one hitter for sure,” Matt said as he watched Brett take another before pocketing it. “You good?”

  “I’m a little more tired than I expected,” Brett said as he gave the waiter a coin for another iced doppio in a to go cup. “I was on reconnaissance last night with Noah.”

  “How’d that go?”

  “Well,” Brett said as his drink came surprisingly fast. “It went fine in that nothing happened, but also we found nothing and we’re no closer to finding the Order’s base.”

  “Hmmm.” Matt’s heart didn’t exactly go warm at that thought. He got up and stretched. Brett handed him his iced tea and they took off to go walk for a bit before going home. The rain was stopped for now and the air was crisp and clean.

  “Things will fall into place with time,” Matt said. That was the great truth of the wor
ld. Whatever would come to pass would come, and there was only so much anyone could do about anything. He felt a small drop of rain on his face and looked up. The sky rumbled at him, a warning that in a few hours time it could very well start raining again. The Ice God smiled up at the sky and the clouds decided to abate for a while.

  “Let’s stop at that one soda shop over there and get Princess a cola,” Brett said as he nodded towards the shop across the street. Matt took his hand and they walked over, and in the shop window they could see the candy guy making taffy.

  “She likes the boysenberry,” Matt said. “She’s always buying us stuff, I’m gonna grab her a bag.”

  “I’ll pay,” Brett said. The Elementals were filthy rich between shady weed deals thanks to Robb’s growing, their occasional takedowns of pirates, and Giselle’s ability to (sometimes) make gold appear from nothing. He and Matt shared a smirk as he tossed a gold coin to the shopkeeper and walked out with their stuff.

  Brett took another hit of his vape. He offered it to Matt but got a hand wave. The sky rumbled out a warning and Matt took Brett’s hand again. “Come on.”

  They walked up through Old Town and paused to check out a new fried chicken shop for a minute before continuing to make their way to the Upper Village. Brett had needed some air for a while now, and Matt was always happy to go with him. They quietly chattered to one another as they made the slow walk back towards the castle, their hips occasionally bumping as playful smiles danced on their lips.

  A tingle on the back of Matt’s neck told him they were being watched, and he turned to look at the winding little street behind him as the sky grew progressively darker by the second. “Mattie, we need to get inside,” Brett urged, but he stopped. Concern and then disgust crossed his face, and Matt took a step back, his hand gripping Brett’s tightly.

  A woman in brown sat on a bench just outside a small shop, grey terror in her eyes and a smug little smile on her lips. She emanated an aura so powerful it could be physically seen, and it was pure Chaos. A grin crossed her face and then she vanished like a shadow, her white hair hanging like strings about her face. Her grin seemed imprinted into the air, and Brett shuddered.