Archon's Hope: Book III of 'The Magician's Brother' Series

by HDA Roberts

  We hadn't said a word since we'd left the dance, hadn't needed to. I found myself just as excited as Cathy seemed to be. She shoved the door closed behind us and looked up into my eyes.

  "I love you," she said, moving in close.

  "Love you too," I said as we came together.

  I have known and experienced many different kinds of Magic in my short life, but what happened that night was the kind of thing that made everything else pale by comparison. It was nothing like what I'd expected it would be. It was so much better, warm and tender, loving and breathtaking. If I lived to be a thousand, I doubted I'd ever know wonder like that again.

  Afterwards we laid in each other's arms, spent and happy, I stared into her eyes and she smiled.

  "I thought for sure we'd get caught," she whispered.

  She'd gotten loud for a while there.

  "Muffling spell," I said with a grin, "Thank goodness they're easy to cast."

  She blushed and nuzzled into my chest.

  "I sort of pushed that on you," she said, "We never talked about... you know. But I was ready, it seemed like the perfect time, you know?"

  "I get it," I said, "and I completely agree, just a wonderful time choice. I mean three months ago would have been fine, too- Ow!"

  She bit me a little under my chin, "Don't be naughty," she said, "that's my job."

  "And wow, do you do it well," I replied, pulling her in tighter to me.

  "Then you're okay?" she said in a small voice, "I didn't go too fast on you?"

  "Definitely not," I said, "and just so you know, there's not really such a thing as too fast for a guy. But I think we did it right. This feels like we did it right."

  "Yeah you did..." she said huskily, licking my neck just a little.

  "I didn't mean that, but good to know," I said, grinning like an idiot.

  We chatted idly, but not for long, we fell asleep and didn't wake up until Bill hammered on my door at half past eight the next morning...

  I'd never heard Cathy squeak so loudly! She pulled the duvet up to cover her head.

  "Matty-" Bill began, barging in, at which point he saw the very distinctive hump under my covers, turned on his heel and ran for it without saying another word.

  "You just know that's going to cost us," I said, peeling the top of the bedding off Cathy's sleep-mussed hair.

  "I'm going to die of embarrassment," she said, yanking the duvet back over her head, "and it's daytime, I'm in your room, and I don't have a uniform! All I have is my dress, and if I walk out of here in that..."

  Yes, really only the one conclusion that could be drawn from that...

  "Still a Magician, you know," I said, feeling and squeezing around until I found her sides, which I tickled until she came out to stop me, at which point I planted a deep kiss on her lips. She relaxed, wrapping her arms around my neck, letting the covers slide away from soft skin.

  "Alright," she said, her face flushed, "What's the plan?"

  I dressed and prepared carefully. I gave her one of my old tracksuits to wear, and then cast an Illusion. It clung to her frame, making her look like Bill.

  "Alright, you know the rules? Don't touch anyone or anything, we're just two guys off to say good morning to our friend Cathy, alright?"

  She nodded, bundling up her dress and shoving it inside my satchel.

  The Illusion didn't have to last long, just until we were out of Kimmel and free of witnesses. We got her back to Curie, I dispelled the image and we kissed one more time, lingeringly.

  "Best dance, ever," I said.

  She smiled back, "See you at Chapel, need to clean up a bit."

  "You have been a very dirty girl," I agreed.

  She flushed, smacked my arm and darted indoors, grinning all the way.

  I smiled again and went back to Kimmel. I'd missed breakfast (hence Bill's abrupt entry). He was waiting outside my room.

  "Please tell me that was Cathy and not someone I need to lie about," he said.

  "Of course it was Cathy, and for heaven's sake, shut up!" I hissed.

  "Alright then, I feel safe saying congratulations, you magnificent dog, you!" he said, smacking me on the back.

  "Mate, keep it classy!" I said, moving into my room so I could get my things ready.

  "Sorry, but damn!" he said, "After all those years of you telling me not to step over the line girl-wise, you go ahead and do that? I'm so proud of you!"

  "Please, I'm begging you..." I said, mortified.

  "I'm your best friend, do you really think I'm going to leave this alone?"

  "Just don't do it in front of Cath, you know she won't like it. And don't mention it to anyone else, either!"

  "Hey, you know I wouldn't do that," he said, his tone serious, the grin evil.

  Sunday had passed in a whirl. Cathy and I spent it together, as you might expect. We played games with Bill, and he managed to make one joke. Exactly one. Cathy gave him a look of such venom that he not only shut up, but he was then silent for a solid hour.

  Cathy and I always sat close to each other, always touching (not like that), always smiling. Bill made gagging noises whenever we got too sickly, and I couldn't blame him. We were getting pretty sickly to the outside observer.

  Cathy wasn't willing to risk any more... night-time rendezvous after Bill's morning interruption and nearly getting caught sneaking out of Kimmel. I told her I was not alright with that, and she swatted my ear before blushing cutely.

  When the Christmas break came a week later, Cathy bawled for a solid hour before her father came to collect her, getting a whole host of unpleasant substances on my favourite jumper. It didn't help that it made me cry a little (alright, a lot. We've already established that she can't cry without making me cry. Yes, I know it's hardly manly).

  Bill had left good and early that morning, his mother had come to collect him, she wasn't a big fan of mine, but then she didn't really like anyone, so I didn't feel too cut up about it.

  I helped Cathy move her bags down to the front drive, and her Father arrived ten minutes after I'd finished. He was a professional chef, a very good one. He had restaurants all over the world, mostly because Ambassador Meredith Amber Campbell (the mother) got posted all over the place, and he used opening restaurants as an excuse to follow her, something I found rather touching. Not that I'd ever tell him that, he was one scary guy. Cathy had his blonde hair, but that was the only similarity. He was six foot four and broad, his body lean with hard-worked muscle; he had hard features, cold eyes and a bulging nose. Thankfully, Cathy took after her mother.

  He got out of his Jeep, took one look at his daughter and his eyes narrowed.

  "Cathy, what's wrong, Honey?" he said, darting to Cathy's side and nearly bowling me over.

  He was also very protective of his daughters (well, daughter, we don't count the other one, who was back in delinquent school again, or was it rehab? I can't keep track, don't really care, Juliana's a bitch; I digress).

  "Nothing, Daddy," Cathy said with a sniff, I offered her a tissue, which she took so she could blow her nose and give him a proper hug.

  "Now, now, come on you can tell me. Graves, good to see you, would you give us a minute?"

  "Sure, Mister Campbell," I said, retreating to give them some privacy.

  "No, it's really okay," Cathy said, "I'm just going to miss my friends, that's all."

  "You'll see them in a few weeks, Sweetheart," he said, squeezing her shoulders before planting a kiss on her head. Scary guy, terrific father, the bane of every boyfriend (the fact that he was an expert with a variety of knives didn't help). And, it had never been explicitly discussed, but I was fairly certain he didn't like Magic. Already a point against me.

  "I know," she said, "I'm just having a bad day, that's all."

  She said this very pointedly.

  "Oh," Warwick- nope can't use his first name even in description- Mister Campbell said knowingly.

  I don't know what that was. Not sure I want to. Cathy once menti
oned using 'Lady-issues' as a way of getting out of unpleasant emotional conversations with her parents...

  Mister Campbell shovelled Cathy's bags into the back of his Jeep while I stood awkwardly with her, who smiled at me, knowing exactly what I was thinking; namely that there was no way I was holding her hand within choking distance of that father.

  We said goodbye in the same we always had, a hug (we'd said our proper goodbyes earlier to avoid any embarrassments) which lasted just that little bit longer than usual. Campbell's a smart man, very sharp. He caught it, and his eyes narrowed just a little as he shook my hand (squeezing harder than usual and making me wince).

  "Speak to you later?" Cathy said to me.

  "You need to ask?" I replied.

  She smiled and they drove away.

  I already missed her.

  Father came to collect me just after eleven and pulled me into a hug that nearly cracked a rib. I floated all my stuff into the car and we were away.

  "You were uncharacteristically un-chatty about that dance," he said with a knowing leer, "You want to tell me what happened?"

  "It was a nice evening," I said, colouring slightly.

  He laughed.

  "You know, that's almost exactly the same thing I told your grandfather after my first dance with my long-time girlfriend. I'd imagine that your 'nice evening' means almost exactly the same as mine did, eh, you rascal?"

  "Father, please, I could die from this!"

  "I just want to say that you've loved that girl since you were fourteen years old; I'm not worried about your motives. Goodness knows you've slow-played it enough to be sure."

  He smiled sincerely, nudging me with his elbow.

  "Your mother would be the first to tell you that you only get a first love once, and that you shouldn't go too far unless you're sure. She wasn't sure, and it was the big mistake of her youth. I got lucky in mine, turns out she was a bit of a psycho in the end, but for a while there, it was magnificent. That feeling you get in your chest, like it empties out when you see her. That's the one you look for."

  I nodded, a little mortified, but listening. Father was usually right about these things.

  "And when I met your mother, damn if that feeling didn't slam straight into me the second I laid eyes on her," his eyes took on a faraway look, "Your first love isn't always your great one, mine wasn't, that was your mother. But you never forget. And you never stop regretting if you screw it up. But I'm guessing it went just fine?"

  "Without confirming anything, yes, it was great," I said, blushing even harder.

  "That's my boy. Just watch out for Warwick Campbell, if he ever finds out, he might be pissed and he has knives."

  I laughed.

  It was a couple of hours to get home, and we chatted companionably, thankfully not about anything else too close to my romantic life.

  "Oh, we have a surprise for you," he said when we were about ten minutes from home.

  "Really?"

  "Yes indeed, we have a cat!"

  "A cat?" I spluttered, "In the same house as Burglar?"

  "That's the thing, Burglar went out to do his business one morning and came back with this cat on his back, riding him like a pony," he said with a snort.

  "You're kidding?"

  "I know, weirdest thing I ever saw. And this wasn't some moggie, either. A really imperious little bugger, turns up his nose at cat food and will sit in front of you while you're eating, swatting at your fork hand until you feed him something proper. Your mother loves him, of course. I wanted to train Burglar to chase him, but I think he works for the cat, now..."

  I laughed again, and we pulled up into the driveway.

  Mother came out of the back door, rapidly pushed past by the mountain of fur that was Burglar, barking the house down as he sprayed gravel everywhere in his haste to get to me. He jumped up and his meaty paws landed on my shoulders; I fell to the ground where I laughed as he slobbered all over me.

  "Ugh, you great lummox!" I said, scratching his ears until he fell over to have his belly rubbed.

  Mother was laughing as she helped me up and pulled me into a hug.

  "Yuk, slobber," she said, wiping her face clear of transferred Burglar spittle.

  There was a much quieter crunch on the gravel and I looked up to see the new cat.

  Which sure did look an awful lot like the cat I'd rescued in Seelie.

  Mother turned and squeaked, jumping back. The cat looked on in an amused way before purring loudly and sliding between my feet.

  "Why is Grommit red?!" Mother squawked loudly.

  "Grommit?" I asked, turning to Father, "Really?"

  "What happened to my cat?!" Mother almost shrieked, "He's was a Norwegian Forest Cat ten seconds ago, they don't have horns! Why does he suddenly have horns?!"

  "Remember I told you I took a little trip off the planet? Remember I mentioned a cat?"

  I leaned over and scratched his ears; his purr doubled in volume. He slid away and trod onto Burglar's back before patting him firmly on the head with a fat paw. My dog stood, struggling slightly under the weight of the cat, and walked him back indoors.

  "What is that thing?" Mother asked.

  "It's called a Warp-cat," I answered, "They can travel between worlds; that's what the horns are for. Don't worry, they're very friendly. Very territorial; he'll keep the house safe and free of ghosts."

  "Ghosts?!" Mother squeaked.

  "Any spirit, really, also smaller goblins and vermin, flesh gnomes, anything that doesn't have benign intentions towards the house and its occupants, they're very loyal creatures."

  "And why is he here?" Mother asked, calming down.

  "He seems fond of me," I offered, "It probably helps that you feed him like he's royalty."

  "Told you we shouldn't have fed the small cougar, but would you listen?" Father said.

  "Aw, I think he's cute, and red is actually a better colour on him. And the horns are kind of adorable," Mother said.

  "Crap, I was this close to getting rid of that cat..." Father grumbled, leading the way inside.

  Chapter 15

  Apart from the fact that there was now a fairy creature sleeping in my dog's basket (a separate one had been bought for him, he still slept in Burglar's, I think on principle), everything seemed more or less normal at home.

  Naturally it wasn't.

  The afternoon I came home, I took Burglar out into the woods. I'd been enjoying the quiet and the gentle scents; the air was crisp and cold, and it was threatening snow. The leaves were gone from the deciduous trees, but there was still a comfortable amount of green from fir trees, holly bushes and live oaks.

  I was approaching the edge of our land when I felt something very... familiar, off towards the centre. It should have been strange, but it wasn't. In fact, what I was feeling was very definitely... me. My energy.

  It was coming from the direction of the small lake we have on the property, and I led Burglar towards it. I should have been more cautious, but I wasn't afraid, why would I be afraid of me?

  What I found was... amazing.

  It was like a little patch of summer right in the middle of our land. It centred on the lake, in which there was a small island. All the plants on the island and for about fifty metres in every direction from the edge of the pond, well into the woods, were in full summer bloom, leaves green and flowers everywhere. The air was warm, like on a summer's day, and the sun even seemed to be brighter.

  And it was all suffused with my energy.

  "He's here, he's here!" said a familiar little voice from above me.

  The three Pixies dropped from the foliage and started buzzing around my head. Burglar jumped up and down, barking madly. The three fairies descended on him and started scratching and burrowing at Burglar's ears and head until he fell over and they continued their ministrations on his belly.

  "You are just the worst guard dog ever, aren't you?" I asked him as he emitted a series of happy chuffs at his treatment.

  "I
trust our alterations meet with your approval, Lord?"

  I turned to see Bayano sliding from the water of the lake.

  "It's good to see you," I said, kneeling down in front of the otter, who sat on his haunches, "but what are you doing here?"

  "This is your home," he said as if that explained everything.

  When I didn't reply, he rolled his eyes, "The People take obligations very seriously. We asked her Majesty how we could serve to repay our debt to you, but she told us that you weren't the kind to accept servants. So she suggested that we might act on your behalf in your land instead. We agreed and came here to start the work."

  "How many of you are there?" I asked, feeling other presences nearby.

  "Those you saved, their families, some of their friends, about thirty Seelie folk altogether," he said.

  "I would never have asked any of you to stay here if you wanted to go home," I replied, a bit worried about the idea of these people being forced there out of obligation.

  "This is a home, Lord, not a prison. You can feel your strength here? That was the work of Mercucio. You had already placed your mark; he and his brother sped the process along so that there would be enough power to sustain us. We have made this place ours and yours."

  "Oh," I said, not really knowing how to reply.

  "If it is insufficient..." he said, looking upset.

  "That's not what I mean. You are all very welcome here-"

  The words came out of my mouth and something immediately changed. It was like... a key turning. There was a subsonic, magical 'thunk', and the energy that was mine suddenly flared, combining with something else, something older and gentler, something born of nature's kindness, if that makes sense. The air grew just that little bit warmer, the leaves a little greener. Bayano's fur was suddenly a little shinier, his eyes a tiny bit brighter.

  Fairy laws of hospitality.

  By rescuing them, I provided an implicit invitation by way of responsibility, an offer of sanctuary and comfort. By welcoming them directly, and meaning it, I'd essentially confirmed that offer, and handed over a couple of acres of my family's land over to the Fae. I could revoke the invitation, if I wished, but that would likely hurt them.