Reality Check

by Sophie Martin

  The homeowner and his men were already downstairs with Jason drinking his coffee and staring in space, while Tyler nodded unintelligently at something Toby was telling him. Dominic had a sudden urge to laugh. Sure, he liked his coffee, and at times it was hard to function without it in the morning, but Jason and Ty took it to an extreme. Dominic walked straight to the brand-new coffee machine and proceeded to make himself a cup while Jim, with a big grin on his face, approached Toby and started chatting happily, saving the tiger shifter from pretending he was awake. Dominic sat at the table and nodded in appreciation when Toby, in cooperation with Jim, made several plates of sandwiches and sat one in front of him. They all then sat in silence, some of them eating, others simply nursing their coffees.

  After a few minutes, Dominic lifted his gaze from above a cup to see zombie-like Jack coming down the stairs. The man was apparently a member of no-coffee-no-life club, as he steered straight for the coffee machine. All of a sudden, Eric appeared straight in front of him, so that Jack almost barreled into the god. Jack haven’t even flinched, he simply changed directions to circle the newcomer and went for the machine, pouring black liquid into the biggest cup Dom have ever seen. Eric’s laugh was very melodious when he noticed his son’s and Tyler’s faces.

  “You’re just like your mother. She couldn’t function without coffee when we were together. It was best not to get in her way when she was before her second cup.” The supposed god had a fond, if a little nostalgic, smile on his youthful-looking face. “Speaking of whom, have you called her yet?” A low growl from Ty was his only answer.

  Dom peeked at the other shifter and noticed his eyes flashing briefly to an orangey-golden color. Eric only laughed. “Calm down, cat, it’s such a lovely morning. Why ruin it fighting, huh?” Ty growled again and his eyes did the flashing thing again. Dominic remembered Jim rambling something about his eyes doing the same during their moment of passion. He wondered if he looked equally freaky. It looked like the whites of Ty’s eyes were bleeding out, replaced by enlarged irises that turned to that orangey-gold. Really disturbing, in Dom’s opinion.

  While he was pondering over it, Jason finished his coffee and sat back in his chair, shooting his supposed father a cold, emotionless look seeming to appraise him.

  “I didn’t call Mom. She’s coming here today, though. We arranged it so that I could get to know her fiancé better, and that he could become more accustomed to my relationship with Ty and Toby. So you will have a chance to meet her and prove you’re telling the truth.” Jason spoke calmly and Dominic had a feeling that he was trying to judge the supposed god’s reaction.

  “Fair enough.” Eric nodded. “I hope Ellie won’t be too shocked seeing me here.” He then shrugged and turned to Dom. “Ready for our first lesson?” Dominic grimaced, but nodded, finishing the last bite of his sandwich.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” he said with such a lack of enthusiasm that it made Eric laugh.

  “Wow there, try not to drown me in your flood of eagerness.”

  “What’s there to be eager about?” he grumbled. “I never asked to have this stupid wolf inside me. I could do without it.” Dominic spared a look at Jim and wished he hadn’t said a word. Jiminy looked ashamed, as if it was his fault that Dominic was some freaking shifter with an alpha wolf trapped inside him. Dom wanted to go to his man and reassure him, tell him he wasn’t the one to blame, but before he could do just that, Eric spoke in a serious voice.

  “This attitude won’t endear the wolf to you. He can feel what you feel. Until you properly bond with him, he is a separate entity within you with a mind of his own. That’s, in most cases, the reason for shifters going feral, this disruption between human and animal halves of shifters being. Your main objective right now is to incorporate the wolf with your human soul. You can’t do that if you despise your shifter heritage.” Dominic looked at the man as if he was crazy. Eric rolled his eyes and said, “Let’s go to the back garden, so that we can train in peace and quiet.” Dom shrugged and followed the young-looking god through the kitchen’s back door.

  Jason’s house was at the end of a long street with the closest neighbors living maybe half a mile away. The backyard adjoined a small woodland area. It was rather peaceful and quiet, if one could ignore all the rustling of leaves, birds’ shrills, buzzing of many different insects, and smells. Hell, there were thousands of smells, and Dominic could feel the creature within him stirring excitedly, wanting to investigate and explore. Suddenly, his skin become too tight for his body and started itching like crazy.

  “Hey, Eric”—Dominic rushed the words—“I don’t think it’s such a good idea. I don’t feel so well.” He started scratching his forearms even as he said the last sentence.

  “Oh, crap, I didn’t think about it.” The god slapped his forehead “Is it the sounds?”

  “Nope, it’s the smells. The stupid creature in me is excited like a puppy on his first walk outside,” he said, not stopping the scratching. The being within him bristled at the comparison and Dom could swear he heard a growl and the snapping of teeth inside his head.

  “Right. So we need to isolate you from all the sensory stimulation.” As he finished speaking, all the sounds became suddenly muted and the smells ceased to exist altogether.

  “What the fuck?” Dominic exclaimed. He was grateful that the feeling of his skin being too small for his body had disappeared, but he was startled like hell by what happened. Eric laughed.

  “Where did you think Jason took his abilities from?”

  “Shit, you can change reality as well?”

  “Yep, that’s one of my many talents.” Eric waggled his eyebrows “Others are more interesting, though. Wanna see?” He gave Dom a leer.

  “Man, gross,” Dom exclaimed again and took a step back. “One, you’re Jason’s father and that’s just, ugh.” He made a gesture of putting his finger in his mouth as if trying to vomit. “And two, I’m involved with someone else. And I’m not the cheating kind,” he said in indignation, feeling the being inside him stir once again. It was in a total agreement. It wanted Jiminy and no one else. It wanted to go to their little fey and protect him. It wanted to curl around Jiminy and make sure nobody tried to take the pretty man away from them. Dominic haven’t even realized he was growling until Eric started laughing out loud.

  “Calm down, man. I wasn’t trying to seduce you. It’s good to know that both you and your wolf chose Jiminy as your mate. It’s good that you have a point of connection with your beast.”

  “I’m not…I…we…” His stuttering didn’t seem to bother the weird god as he measured Dominic with a calculating gaze.

  “Okay, enough of playing. It’s time to start your lessons.”

  Dominic groaned inwardly and thought to roll his eyes, but stopped himself in time. He didn’t know the other man but he suspected that when Eric decided on something, it was final. He looked very serious now that he spoke his will. Both Dominic and his wolf knew it wouldn’t be wise to oppose the powerful man. He resigned himself to doing what he was told.

  * * * *

  After Dominic left with Eric Phane to work on controlling his wolf, Jiminy decided to call his brother. He still wasn’t comfortable being parted with his twin for more than few hours. He knew Timmy understood his concern, but was at the same time a bit tired of his overprotectiveness. After all, it was more than two months since his brother returned and it was time for Jim to let him be more independent. Still, he couldn’t help but worry. Timiny’s kidnapping was a traumatic event for both of them and Jim never wanted a repeat performance. Jim managed to stop himself from calling the previous evening, but now, with Dom busy with his training, Jim had nothing to take his mind off worrying.

  So he decided to be cool about it and only call Tim to tell him about the progress they were making, or to share the news about a god being the father of Tim’s savior. It wasn’t overprotectiveness or nagging then. It was simply Jim’s readiness to share this piece of information
with his twin.

  Jiminy went back to the bedroom he shared with Dominic and took out his mobile. He jumped on the bed, scooting back to the headrest. He made himself comfortable and typed in his brother’s number. He waited through several long signals until he was redirected to the voicemail.

  Jiminy told himself it meant nothing. Timmy could have been in the bathroom or shopping and forgot his phone. He could have been in his workshop, trying to catch up on all the jobs they had scheduled. He often wore headphones, listening to music when working. All this didn’t make Jim less worried. He could feel his heartbeat speeding and his breathing becoming labored. He was two steps from going into a full-blown panic attack.

  Jiminy squeezed his phone hard in his hand, closed his eyes, and concentrated on breathing, all the while reminding himself inside his head, There’s nothing to worry about. So Timmy’s not answering his phone, it means nothing. He’s probably busy or in the loo. He might have his phone on mute by accident. He might be sleeping. It doesn’t mean his in danger. It doesn’t mean something happened to him. It doesn’t… His internal ramblings were interrupted by an unmistakable sound of his phone’s playing “One and the same,” the ringtone he set for his brother.

  “Hello?” Jim asked in what he hoped was a calm voice. He wasn’t going to show Tim how panicked he was just few seconds ago.

  “Hello, brother mine.” Timiny’s voice was lazy and satisfied. Like a cat who got to the cream. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

  “Hi, Timmy.” He tried to force himself to sound cheery. “Just wanted to keep you in the loop. You wouldn’t believe what happened when we came here.” His brother’s happy laugh made his fake excitement turn real. Timmy is okay. He’s all right. I was panicking for nothing.

  “Well? Don’t keep me in the dark. Spill,” Timmy said in an amused voice.

  “We met Jason’s father. He just popped out of the woodwork! And he’s a god! Can you believe it? Good that he happened to be here right now, too. It seems Ty can’t really teach Dominic, as their animals are too dominant for each other and he could do more harm than good. So Eric is teaching Dom now. Eric is the father. He said he’s older than the oldest fey alive! Can you believe it? I’ve never heard about any god who could be that old, have you?”

  “Well…” Timiny’s voice turned thoughtful. “There were few that could have been that old, but from what I heard, they all faded.”

  “They did what?” Jimmy really couldn’t understand where his brother found the patience to remember all the boring lessons their parents tried to cram into their heads. Jim learned it all for long enough to satisfy their teachers when they were quizzing them about all the information, and then it flew right out his ears and nose.

  Tim was different. He seemed to remember all the useless info that two twin pixies would never need no matter how much his parents wished it was different. Tim sighed and spoke in that exasperated voice he always had when he thought something should be obvious for Jim. Jim couldn’t care less. If he needed some useless fact, he’d just go to his walking encyclopedia of a brother.

  “Faded, Cricket. They faded. It is when a god no longer wishes to exist. He fades and lets his energy join with nature or spread among other gods, usually his offspring, and make them stronger. I thought all of the original ones, as well as the first and second generation, faded long time ago. They were still around when our forefathers came to the human realm for the first time.

  “Those first fey had to make nice with them and find a place for themselves where the gods did not have a reach. That’s why our kin mostly settled among primitive tribes instead of joining with some higher-evolved civilization, which would have been much more convenient. They didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. It didn’t hurt that those first generations of gods were way more powerful than the most powerful fey had ever been.

  The power of gods diminished with time and next generations weren’t that much more powerful that fey. They were mostly matched in magical powers but still our kin preferred to play nice and stayed to their side of the world. It was all political correctness and courtesy. It all stopped when fey withdrew to their own plane after wars and gods retreated into hiding.”

  Tim cleared his throat after his lecture and changed the subject, “Anyway, I didn’t think any of the Powerful Ones, as our ancestors called those of the first generations, were still alive. I thought they faded way before the industrial revolution, most of them during the middle ages.”

  “Well…” said Jiminy in a relaxed voice, seating himself more comfortably. He could, now that he knew his brother was all right. “It looks like not all of them, or at least that’s what Eric claims. I don’t know if we should trust him, but you did witness Jason’s power. If he truly is Eric’s son, then that power must have come from somewhere, and the most probable answer is, it came from Jay’s father. I don’t know how powerful other gods are, but I’d say that changing reality is a mightily strong power, don’t you think?”

  “Now that you mention it…” Timiny hummed thoughtfully and paused. It was then that Jim heard some other voice and a weird shuffling sound.

  “Timmy…” he started, suddenly unsure how to ask. “Is there…is there anyone with you? Are you all right?” The panic was threatening to come back and Jim had to concentrate on taking long, slow breaths to keep it at bay. Timmy wouldn’t be speaking with him in such a relaxed manner, giving him lectures if he was in danger, would he?

  “Yeah, about that…” Tim sighed and then laughed a bit nervously.

  “What is it, Tim, who’s with you?” Jim was on the verge of losing it.

  “Calm down, Cricket, I’m all right. Everything is fine. But I’ve got a bit of news as well.” He paused again and Jim could almost feel his brother’s nervousness over the line. “See,” spoke Timiny, exhaling loudly, “it seems that Dominic forgot to mention to his family members that we were now sharing his apartment. Remember how he told us that the spare bedroom was used very rarely? Well, it looks like the person who used to crash at Dom’s didn’t get the memo that it was off the table now.”

  “What are you saying?” Jim interrupted when Timiny’s voice trailed off.

  “What I’m saying is, Dominic’s cousin Joel came in yesterday after you left. His human cousin, let me add. And he saw my wings in all of their glory. I wasn’t expecting anyone so I forewent the shirt. I had my headphones in so I didn’t hear the door unlocking. So when he entered the kitchen I was in the middle of singing out loud and dancing. And you know my dance moves…” Once again his voice trailed off and Jim groaned.

  “You move your whole body to the rhythm. Whole body including wings. And you sometimes even fly up…”

  “Yep.” Tim’s voice was equal parts embarrassed and amused.

  “Please don’t tell me he saw you!” Jim begged without much conviction.

  “Okay, I won’t.”

  “Shit, Timmy! At least tell me you didn’t do your famous pirouette.” Timiny’s pirouette involved launching himself in the air and spinning there for a minute before he landed kneeling on one knee like an opera singer finishing his aria, arms wide open and eyes closed.

  “Okay, I didn’t do my famous pirouette,” Tim obediently admitted.

  “Really?” Jim asked with a small spark of hope.

  “Nope,” Tim said with a popping sound. “I only opened my eyes after I heard clapping during the break between songs.”

  “Shit!” Jim knew he wasn’t very original, but what else was there to say? Dominic’s very human cousin saw Jim’s twin brother in his full pixie glory, pirouetting in the air without any explanation of how it was possible except for his wings.

  It was quite incredible, really. Timiny’s ability to fly, that is. From what they learned, no other pixie could use their wings to actually fly. They were more like an additional appendage made exclusively for mating, not serving any other purpose but driving their mates crazy with lust. Tim, however, learned to use them
to launch himself into the air and stay there for a short time. Nobody outside their family knew about it, and Timmy didn’t use that ability often, except when he was deep into the song and was dancing his heart out. Jim sometimes envied his brother this ability to lose himself in the music. He wished he had something that could help him relax like that. But it was no time to think about such things.

  “So,” Jim asked, dreading the answer. “How did he react?”

  “He was impressed with my dancing skills. My singing voice, not so much.”

  “You know it’s not what I’m asking, Timmy. He’s human, for heaven’s sake. They never react well.”

  “Then it looks like Joel is an exception.” Jiminy was surprised at the mutinous note in Tim’s voice. He had never heard his level-headed brother speaking in such a way. “He took it all in pretty well, all things considered.”

  “All?” Jim didn’t like where it was going.

  “Um, yeah.” Tim’s voice turned defensive “I couldn’t keep anything from him, not after I started telling him the truth.”

  “What?” Jim shouted. “What do you mean? Everything? Not everything-everything, I hope? Just the basic everything?”

  “If you mean did I tell him about Dominic being a wolf, then yes, I did. He had a right to know, after he learned all about pixies and how Dominic helped to free me.”

  “Shit!” Jim’s vocabulary was really shrinking, but he couldn’t find a word better depicting his feelings. At that moment, the door to his room opened and in came Dominic, looking pretty wiped out.

  “Eric, let me go,” he said, yawning. “He stated we had enough for now and that we’ll continue after lunch.” He then noticed a phone in Jim’s hand. “Am I interrupting?”

  “No!” Jim rushed to assure him when Dom turned as if to leave. “I was just talking to Tim.”