"Malone annoys you by breathing," Mervyn said, smiling a little. "I'll keep you two separated, don't worry."
"Thanks," Denzil said dryly.
Callisto blinked, wondering why Malone-the-Investigator was so terrible. But it was Denzil, and Denzil was good at rubbing people the wrong way. Covering his mouth with his hand, Callisto tried unsuccessfully to hide a yawn.
"All right, upstairs to bed with you," Denzil said, then pinned Mervyn with a glare. "And we'll be discussing this more later."
"Of course," Mervyn said tiredly. "I do hope he turns out to be what he says he is, for what it's worth."
"I know," Denzil muttered, helping Callisto to his feet. "Come on, Calli, to bed with you."
"Don't call me that," Callisto protested, though honestly he was surprised Denzil hadn't slipped before this. Denzil just grinned and hooked an arm through his, giving Callisto a little support, but not trying to completely support him.
"I'll get Evandie to bring some calming tea upstairs for you both," Mervyn said, following them from the room, but heading towards the kitchen instead of the front stairs. "It will help you both sleep better."
"You'll be resting too," Denzil said, his tone making a statement of the words rather than a question. "Callisto is doing fine; you don't need to rush right back down to your labs."
"Work rooms," Mervyn corrected, even though technically they could almost all be classified as labs. "I planned to, and since Callisto is doing so well, we can leave him to rest without anyone watching over him."
"Of course," Denzil said, rolling his eyes, but Callisto suspected he'd meant to try. "Though I would feel better if he had a way to alert us if he runs into any trouble."
"Ah, that's simple enough," Mervyn said, pushing up his sleeve and unfastening the watch that he almost always wore. He handed it to Callisto, pointing to a button above the winding knob. "Just press that button if you run into any trouble; it will summon the other watch, which I'll get from Evandie."
"Okay," Callisto said, too tired to protest he didn't need it. He'd been fine a few moments ago—but he'd also had a major operation, and he had to stop forgetting that just because he wasn't feeling much pain.
"Don't be afraid of waking one of us, either," Mervyn said sternly, fixing Callisto with a pointed look. "You're not being a bother, and I'd rather know sooner than later if the charm isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing, in any way."
"I will," Callisto said, sighing. He wasn't a child, and he wasn't stupid, despite what Mervyn and Denzil apparently thought. "I'm not—" Callisto bit back the rest of his retort, not really wanting to snap at Mervyn. "I won't do anything stupid."
"I don't think you will," Mervyn said, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I'm letting my tiredness get to the better of me. Go on, get some rest before I keep you down here all night with my nagging." Denzil snorted, but let that go, pulling Callisto towards the staircase. "Sleep well, both of you," Mervyn said.
"You, too," Callisto said, hesitating a step before finally allowing Denzil to pull him up the stairs. The trip up was quiet—Denzil didn't try to strike up a conversation, and Callisto was too tired to try to speak up himself.
Thankfully, the stairs to the second level were shorter and somehow less arduous than the stairs up from the basement. Callisto was only a little light-headed by the time they reached his room. Denzil hovered by the door as Callisto made his solitary way over to the bed, waiting until Callisto sat down before speaking.
"Sleep well, Calli. I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Me too," Callisto said, letting the stupid nickname slide this time. "Thank you, for everything you did."
Denzil smiled, bright and happy, and Callisto was glad he'd given into the urge to say something. "Anytime," Denzil said lightly, then added, more solemnly, "I mean it, Callisto. You ever need anything, just ask."
"I will," Callisto said quietly. "Thank you."
Denzil gave him a last smile before slipping back out into the hallway, presumably to head to his bedroom for some sleep. Callisto sighed, wishing he had the energy for a bath, but that would have to wait until later. Flopping onto his back, Callisto stared at the ceiling about his head for a moment before moving slowly to get beneath the covers.
*~*~*
Mervyn spoke the last few words to the charm's spell slowly and clearly, smiling when the spell took on the first try. He'd had his doubts—there were some nonstandard spell words included—but if the charm worked, he could better build more changes into Callisto's heart charm in the future.
Provided he had to. Hopefully Malone was finding out something about Callisto's attacker. He should be dropping by any day now, Mervyn thought distractedly, examining the long strip of scrap fabric he'd incorporated the charm into. Everything was as it should be, however, though if it worked, Mervyn would just incorporate the spells directly into the charm in Callisto's chest.
Standing from his seat in front of the work bench, Mervyn tucked the charm into a pocket. He took a moment to stretch and try and work out the kinks that sitting bent over the table had given him. It didn't work especially well, but Mervyn was long used to the sore muscles that came from spending too many hours hunched over with no breaks. He too often got completely involved in what he was working on to realize how much time had passed, to the detriment of his posture.
Leaving the work room, Mervyn headed upstairs, wondering briefly what time it was. And where Callisto was—though that really was no mystery. Callisto spent most of his daylight hours ensconced in the library, reading one book after another. Mervyn would be worried that Callisto wasn't resting enough, but Evandie had reported finding Callisto napping on the sofa more than once, and Mervyn had actually caught Callisto at it once himself.
The more challenging question was where Denzil was. He'd been sulking and doing his best to avoid Mervyn ever since Baldric had shown up. Mervyn really shouldn't be surprised; Denzil was always sulky when Mervyn checked up after a new beau, but he absolutely refused to let Denzil walk into another trap like his first city-beau had been. Denzil would get over it, probably more quickly this time since Callisto had asked so nicely.
Dismissing Denzil from his thoughts—Mervyn wouldn't need him for this change, at least—Mervyn headed down the hallway towards the library.
Sure enough, Callisto was half-sprawled across one of the chairs by the empty fireplace, a thick book sitting on his lap and a studious expression on his face. He didn't look up, not even when Mervyn shut the door behind him. Mervyn paused a second to click the lock into place, since he knew Callisto wasn't exactly comfortable with anyone seeing the charm in his chest.
Normally, Mervyn would have Callisto come down to his work rooms for all the supplemental charm work, but he wasn't keen on making Callisto make that trip more than he had to, especially while the charm didn't work as well when Callisto exerted himself.
Mervyn cleared his throat softly, trying to gently alert Callisto to his presence. Callisto looked up slowly, obviously half-entranced by whatever he was reading. "Hello," Callisto said, shutting the book and shifting to sit up from his slumped position in the chair.
"How are you feeling?" Mervyn asked automatically, crossing the room to where Callisto was sitting.
"Good, as long as it don't try to do too much," Callisto said. He rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand for a moment before dropping it back to his lap.
He did look better, Mervyn decided, pulling one of the nearby chairs close to Callisto's seat. Callisto's face had more color than it had prior to the new heart charm being installed. He no longer looked as if he were seconds from passing out, either. He also blushed a lot, which he hadn't before—probably because his body couldn't spare the blood—and Mervyn really shouldn't be noticing that.
"I have a supplemental charm to install for you," Mervyn said, pulling the strip of fabric from his pocket. "It should fix the problem with your heartbeat and make it easier for you to do some exerting activities, like climbing st
airs."
"Okay," Callisto said readily, curiously eyeing the spell marks visible in black against the creamy yellow of the strip of fabric.
"These are a little more complex," Mervyn said, frowning as he tried to think of a simple way to explain them. Draping the fabric across his palm, he held it closer to Callisto to display the spell marks. "This one is mostly to correct the ventricle contraction, but it also strengthens your entire heartbeat and helps keep the rhythm of the heartbeat steady when you exert yourself."
"And this one?" Callisto asked, pointing to the second set of marks, just as elaborate and even longer than the first set of marks.
"That—" Mervyn hesitate, then finally said, "Without going into too much detail, that one monitors some of your body's functions to determine if you're doing something strenuous and increases the output of your heart charm accordingly."
"Okay," Callisto said, frowning as he squinted at the marks. "But it doesn't—it only works a little?"
"Right. There are a lot of internal indicators in your body that would normally push your heart into beating faster," Mervyn said. "This new charm doesn't monitor them all, so it doesn't know to push the output of your heart charm as far as it needs to go for all types of strenuous activities."
"Oh," Callisto said then smiled. "That makes sense. Thank you."
"Sure," Mervyn said, smiling back. Probably somewhat stupidly, but he liked magic, and he liked talking about it. "If you ever want me to explain anything more thoroughly, just ask. I like to talk about magic."
"I will," Callisto said, smile turning shy as he held out his wrist for Mervyn to fix affix the charm around.
"If this works well, with no tweaks needed, I'll incorporate it directly into the heart charm," Mervyn said, carefully tying the strip of fabric into place around Callisto's wrist.
"Okay," Callisto said, holding still beautifully. His fingers didn't shake even a little anymore, Mervyn noted. He murmured the activation for the charm, watching Callisto carefully as he finished. Callisto gasped, then grimaced before his expression cleared.
"How does it feel?" Mervyn asked cautiously, aware that he was still holding onto Callisto's wrist.
"Really good," Callisto murmured, then his eyes widened, and he turned red. Mervyn stifled a laugh. "I mean, it feels normal. Good. Like a real heartbeat."
"Good," Mervyn said, unable to keep from smiling at how easily Callisto flustered. "We should probably test the other part of the spell before we make it part of the charm."
"Okay," Callisto said, and Mervyn belatedly let go of his wrist.
Standing, Mervyn waited for Callisto to follow suit before heading for the back of the library. The library was the main reason he'd bought his house nearly ten years ago. It was two stories, though the upper level was only half the size of the lower, to give a wonderfully high ceiling to the sitting area and fireplace.
"How are you doing?" Mervyn asked as they reached the back of the library, where a tiny wrought-iron staircase curved up to the second floor.
"Good, but I could do this before without any problem," Callisto said, looking up the staircase with a slight frown.
"Well, it wouldn't do to have the new charm negatively affect that," Mervyn said absently, glancing up the stairs himself. "Ready?"
Callisto nodded briefly, taking a deep breath before heading up the stairs slowly. Mervyn waited a few steps before following, not wanting to crowd Callisto, but not willing to risk having him pass out and fall, either. Callisto made it to the top without trouble, and he was smiling when he turned around, which was a good sign.
"Much better," Callisto said, quiet but obviously enthused nonetheless.
"Good," Mervyn said, pleased. It would probably take a few more supplemental charms to get the heart charm to the level where it would be doing everything a real heart would, but that this first charm worked was a wonderful sign. "I think—let's go down, up and down, give it a real work out."
Callisto nodded obligingly, heading back down the stairs with no hesitation. Mervyn followed him down, but then stayed there as Callisto went upstairs and came back down a second time. Callisto moved more quickly, more assuredly, as he did the second climb up the stairs, and Mervyn grinned, pleased beyond measure that he'd managed to so successfully replace Callisto's faulty heart charm. Such health-magic could have many applications, provided the right wizards were creating the charms.
"It's good," Callisto said, stopping at the foot of the stairs. "I didn't get dizzy or light-headed at all."
"You're not out of breath," Mervyn observed thoughtfully. He'd have to have Denzil check on Callisto's blood flow later, but the supplemental charm was obviously doing Callisto no harm, so Mervyn could add it to the main heart charm and have Denzil check out Callisto's blood flow later.
"I feel good," Callisto said, his cheeks turning pink again. Mervyn graciously ignored it, biting back another smile.
"We'll add it to the main heart charm, then," Mervyn said, heading back across the library to where they'd been sitting earlier. "I'll probably have Denzil check your blood flow later, but that's just to be on the safe side."
Callisto nodded, and he fell silent for a minute before asking, "How does Denzil know to do that?"
"Um," Mervyn said, hesitating. Would Denzil care if Mervyn said something. Probably. Would Denzil ever tell Callisto himself? Probably not. "Denzil is training with a fairy who works as a nurse of sorts. She's either adapted her magic to health-magic or more likely managed to learn it from another fairy, and she's teaching Denzil."
"How does she keep secret she's a fairy?" Callisto asked, confusion written across his face as he resumed his seat by the empty fireplace.
"She doesn't. Her bonded wizard died some years ago, and she survived," Mervyn said, and Callisto nodded. Fairies who survived their bonded wizards dying couldn't bond again, though no one was sure why. Mervyn hesitated, then eschewed sitting down for kneeling in front of Callisto. "Remove your shirt, please?"
"Right," Callisto said, flushing again as he hurriedly tugged off the loose shirt he was wearing. "How does Denzil keep secret he's a fairy?"
"He also doesn't, but I don't think people know he's doing more than helping Shalla out. She's an older lady, and he boards with her under the pretense of helping her out with the things she can no longer do," Mervyn explained, digging out the small knife he kept in his boot.
"Who's with her now?" Callisto asked, sitting stock still—even breathing shallowly—as Mervyn examined his chest. The charm. He was examining the charm for the best place to add in the supplemental spell words.
"Her grandson," Mervyn answered belatedly then smiled. "Actually, her grandson is the investigator I have working on finding out more about Baldric and the wizard who stole your heart."
"Is that why Denzil doesn't like him?" Callisto asked, flinching a little when Mervyn sliced through the fabric with the supplemental charm, dispersing the magic.
"Partially," Mervyn said, setting both his knife and the scraps of fabric aside. "He's also a wizard, and he didn't tell Denzil that immediately. Denzil hates wizards, for the most part, though he's got good reasons."
"You're a wizard," Callisto pointed out, shifting a little in his seat. "How does a fairy have a wizard grandson?"
"I did say typically," Mervyn said with a smile. "Shalla's husband was the wizard she was bonded to—they had a handful of children, and I believe some of them took after her with fairy magic and some took after her husband with wizard magic."
"Oh," Callisto said, looking thoughtful. He didn't voice anymore questions though, and Mervyn wondered if he'd ever encountered a wizard-fairy couple. They were rare, these days, but once upon a time such matches had been common—and unforced.
"Ready? This casting will probably take a while," Mervyn said, then deliberately shifted a little closer to Callisto. Predictably, Callisto flushed, though only a little this time.
"Go ahead," Callisto said quietly, jerking in surprise when Mervyn reached
out and touched the metal outer plate of the heart charm.
Smothering a smile, Mervyn shut his eyes and focused on weaving the supplementary spells into the heart charm. It was a long spell, though he'd done longer, and by the time he'd finished the closing on the supplementary spells his voice was hoarse. His arm was also aching a little from being held out in front of him, but Mervyn ignored that, flexing his arms a few times as he leaned closer to Callisto's chest to study the new spell marks.
Callisto tensed up when he leaned closer, and Mervyn really shouldn't be teasing him so much, but he couldn't seem to help himself. The new spell marks seemed to be in order, and Mervyn smiled in satisfaction, sitting back.
The sound of a throat clearing behind him made Mervyn jump and he turned towards the sound, frowning a little.
Part Six
"When did you get here?" Mervyn asked, a little puzzled that Denzil would purposely put himself in the same room as them, since he was supposed to be ignoring them. Or Mervyn, at least. Add to that, he'd ignored the locked door, so there was probably a real reason he'd tracked them down.
"A few minutes ago," Denzil said then paused, deliberately eying the way Mervyn and Callisto were sitting, with Mervyn kneeling between Callisto's legs. "What are you casting?"
"Supplemental spells to fix the heartbeat and strengthen blood flow," Mervyn said, turning back to Callisto. "How is it this time? Same as before?"
"It feels right," Callisto said, and his cheeks were pink again, and he wasn't really looking at either Mervyn or Denzil. Taking pity, Mervyn shuffled back and stood up, giving his legs a minute to get blood flowing through them before handing Callisto his shirt and moving to sit down heavily in a nearby chair.
"Good," Mervyn said, somewhat belatedly as Callisto dressed again. "Denzil, would you mind checking his blood flow? I was going to ask you later, but since you're here now, I can make any necessary tweaks right away."
Denzil snorted, and Mervyn wondered when Denzil would start lecturing him to stay away from his little brother. Probably the next chance he got, Mervyn decided, as Denzil deliberately stepped between the chairs Callisto and Mervyn were sitting in. Callisto immediately offered his hand, and Denzil took it, frowning in concentration.
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