by R. L. King
“Let’s wait until we get back to the Bay Area. I’ve got better facilities for it there, and I might get some insights from studying the notes I’ve got. Do you feel any different?”
He shook his head. “No. Nothing. That weird energized feeling hasn’t come back, and aside from a few bruises and stuff I feel pretty good and definitely normal.” His brow furrowed. “You don’t think it was just a one-time thing, do you? Nothing but a big adrenaline shot, like when mothers lift buses off their kids?”
“I don’t know. I think something happened. Your aura’s changed—it’s darker blue now. It’s not immediately noticeable, but I’m surprised Verity hasn’t commented on it.”
“Huh. Weird.” He stopped, pondering, then gave Stone an odd, sidelong look. “Really weird. I’ve got your blood in me now.”
Stone chuckled. “Not much of it, I’ll wager. I didn’t even notice it missing when I woke up.”
“Yeah, but…” Jason refused to be sidetracked. “I just can’t help wondering whether he’s right—that something in that treatment did take.”
“That you got magic, you mean? That would be interesting, I’ll agree. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ve got a lot of tests to run. We’ll sort it out—don’t you worry. I’m as intrigued as you are, and you know how I get when I’m intrigued.”
“Yeah, I know. Cats are jealous. Anyway…” He looked away. “Thanks, Al.”
“For what?”
“Everything, I guess. Who knows what might have happened to those kids—and to me—if you hadn’t come after me?”
“Well, you’ve got your wife to thank for that as much as me. And Verity, too.”
“I know. Believe me, I know.” He smiled, starting up again and heading for the door. “I got things pretty good, you know that?”
“Yes. I’d say we both do.”
36
When Stone came up from his study of Melvin Whitworth’s research notes, it was after ten p.m. His room was dark except for the pool of light illuminating several books he’d spread out, along with the notepad he’d been using to dash off his thoughts, but he didn’t remember turning on the table lamp.
He leaned back, rubbing his stiff neck. It and his back both ached from hunching over Whitworth’s small, difficult-to-read handwriting. Most of the notes weren’t even in English, but in the strange, shorthand-like symbols the mage had used to encode his thoughts. Stone hadn’t made much headway yet into deciphering them, but the notes contained enough other material to keep him reading, intrigued, far later than he’d expected to. His own notes were nearly as illegible. Mages, on the whole, were worse than doctors.
He stood, stretching, leaving the books where he’d left them. When his stomach rumbled, he remembered he hadn’t eaten anything since the small burger when they’d brought Jason back from the hospital before lunchtime. By now, he and Amber had no doubt already enjoyed their steaks, and had most likely either adjourned to a nearby bar for drinks or perhaps returned to their room for other activities. He wondered if Verity’s presentation was over yet, and how it had gone.
At first, he thought he might call room service and have them bring him something, but then he decided he’d seen quite enough of his hotel room for the day. If the downstairs restaurant wasn’t still open, he could always pick up a pint and an appetizer at the bar.
The restaurant did turn out to be closed, so he drifted into the bar and found a table near the back. He didn’t feel like talking to people tonight, which wasn’t difficult because the place was nearly deserted. He knew from previous experience that it wouldn’t be for much longer, as some of the later seminars let out and attendees flooded the place to drink and chat ahead of leaving for various late-night parties. He should have long enough to finish a beer and a few wings, though.
“Hey, Doc.”
He must have been deeper in his own head than he’d thought, because he hadn’t spotted Verity seated at one of the other tables, even as he passed her.
“Verity. I’m sorry—didn’t see you there.”
“That’s okay. Can I sit with you?” She was alone, holding the remains of some fruity blue drink with an umbrella and a plastic palm tree sticking out of it.
Stone couldn’t help noticing her somber expression. “Er—of course.” He indicated the chair opposite him, using a little magic to nudge it out from the table.
She plopped down, setting her half-finished drink in front of her.
“How did your presentation go?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to—or should—ask, but he couldn’t ignore the very obvious elephant trying to balance on the table between them.
“Not so great, to be honest.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He kept his tone even and understanding. Even though he didn’t agree with her premise, that didn’t mean he was happy about seeing her efforts fail.
“Like I said before, I kind of expected it. People aren’t ready for it.”
“What did they say, if I might ask?”
She shrugged. “Mostly just that, and also what you said. That things are going fine as far as they can tell, that mages deal with stuff like that on their own so there’s no need for formal rules, and that most of them either aren’t powerful enough or just flat-out don’t want to deal with the high-powered mages if they happen to go bad, as long as it doesn’t affect them personally.” She took a long sip of her drink, nearly draining it. “No surprises, I guess.”
“I’m sorry, Verity.”
“I know.” She gave him a wan smile. “I know, Doc. I feel like crap about what I said to you before, back before I left. You’ve always been my biggest supporter—sometimes even more so than Jason. I should have known you were on my side. It was just that, after the whole thing with Sharra, I just—”
He held up a hand. “Shh. There’s no need to explain. I understand. I was never angry with you for what you said to me. I know things have been difficult for you. I could have been more supportive.”
“You shouldn’t have had to be, though. That’s the point. People disagree on things. Even people who care about each other. I’m the one who should be apologizing. And I am.”
“Apology accepted, even though by me none was necessary.”
“Thanks. It means a lot to me anyway.” She stared into the blue dregs of liquid swirling around the ice cubes, and poked at them with the end of the palm tree. “I think you might be on to something, about getting together with mundane law enforcement. Maybe later on, when I get home, we can meet up and discuss it. You know—you, me, Jason and Amber, and maybe Detective Blum.”
“I think that could definitely have possibility. And a much higher chance of success, if I’m being honest.”
“I hope you are.” Her gaze came up to meet his. “That’s one of the things I love about you, Doc. You’re always honest.”
“Not always. But I do try with you. After all, in a way you’ll always be my apprentice, so I owe you that.”
She nodded.
For a while, they both sat in silence, looking at everything but each other. Then she glanced up again. “Doc…”
“Yes?”
“Could we…maybe pretend none of it ever happened? Pretend I never said any of those things to you before? Start over? I know now I made a mistake. It took me a while and a lot of thinking to figure it out, but I know it now.”
The server chose that moment to come by and drop off a plate of wings in front of Stone. He wondered why he’d ever thought he’d wanted them, or even why he thought he was hungry.
“Doc?” Her tone was soft, with just a hint of question.
“No, Verity,” he said, even softer. “I don’t think we can.”
Her eyes widened. He wasn’t looking at her aura, but he imagined it must have flared too. She looked like someone who’d taken the answer to a question for granted, and the only thing left was to actually hear it voiced.
“No?” she whispered.
He shook his head, pushed the plate of wings
aside, and leaned in closer to her. “You’re not the only one who’s been doing some thinking, love. I’ve had a lot of time too, and I’ve come to a conclusion. Not one I’m fond of, but the truth isn’t always pleasant.”
“What…are you talking about?” She’d barely moved since he’d spoken. “What conclusion?”
“That I’ve made a mistake too. A happy one, to be sure—one I thought was good for both of us. But I don’t think it was.”
“You mean…us being together?” She sounded like she’d been gut-shot.
He nodded. “I love you, Verity. I always will. I think I’ve known that since shortly after you became my apprentice. You’re one of my dearest friends, and I hope you always will be. That won’t ever change. I’d die for you without a second thought, if it came to that. But…”
“But…?”
He spread his hands. “But…when our relationship changed…everything changed. Our dynamic changed. Even when we were happiest with each other, there was always…an underlying tension. And I think I know why.”
She still hadn’t moved, except her fingers locked around the plastic palm tree in her drink. “Why?”
Stone took a deep breath. He glanced around the bar, but they still had the place mostly to themselves except for the servers moving around wiping tables, and a couple of older women in long, sparkly dresses walking past, deep in conversation. “Because us being together that way means we’ve both…got to accept things we’re not comfortable with. We’ve been good at papering over it in the short term, but it keeps popping through at inopportune times. And I think it’s only going to get worse if we go on.”
She didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure it was because she didn’t agree…or because she did.
He waited.
When she realized he wasn’t going to say anything until she did, she played with the palm tree some more. The ice in the bottom of her glass had almost all melted now. “You mean…because I’m attracted to women.”
“That…but there’s more to it than that.” He didn’t want to discuss this tonight—hadn’t prepared for it at all—but perhaps that was for the best. He’d always been too much about preparation, and he wasn’t sure it was even possible in this case. He plucked up one of the wings, took an experimental bite, and then tossed it on his own small plate. “You’ve never tried to hide from me that you’re comfortable in a relationship with more than one person at once.”
“Kyla—”
“I’m not talking about Kyla, necessarily. Perhaps that ran its course for other reasons. But…do you want any of these, by the way?” He shoved the plate toward her. “I’m not at all hungry.”
“No, thanks. It’s okay.” But she didn’t push it away. After a moment, she picked up one and nibbled it, hardly seeming to realize what she was doing.
He gave a small, mirthless chuckle. “Most of my friends consider me quite the tomcat—and I suppose in a way I am. I’ve been with a lot of women in my life, and I’m not ashamed of that. But it’s always been one at a time. It’s a quaint old romantic notion, I suppose, but I’m ultimately looking for ‘the one.’” He chuckled again. “And if I’ve got to work my way through a lot of prospects to find her…well, there are worse problems to have.”
Her own smile nudged at the corners of her lips. “You’re a serially monogamous tomcat.”
“Try saying that three times fast.” He shook his head. “And…it’s not just that. There’s something else, something more important. I think you realize it too, if you care to look deep into yourself and admit it.”
“What…is it?”
“A wise friend finally made me see what’s been in front of my nose all this time—and no, it wasn’t Jason, before you ask. People have said I’m too old for you, but that’s not the issue. You’re too young for me. I thought it was just semantics, but I see now that it isn’t.”
She drew breath to protest, then let it out and bowed her head. “I love you, Doc. I hope you know that. That doesn’t have anything to do with age.”
“I do know that. I see it in your aura every time we’re together. I also know that there are different kinds of love, that we sometimes get snarled up even when we don’t realize it. And that even after we finally started seeing each other seriously, you still almost always call me ‘Doc.’” He lowered his voice even more, gentle but firm. “You see it too, don’t you?”
She didn’t want to—he could tell. Her inner turmoil was visible on her face, in her posture, in the way she held her shoulders and the way she tightened her fingers on the plastic palm tree until it snapped. He didn’t look at her aura, and he didn’t need to. He waited.
“I guess I didn’t know love was so complicated,” she said after a while.
“That’s not your fault. You missed out on a lot of the time when most people are discovering that.” He reached across the table and took her hand in a gentle grip. “You’ll get there. You’re already getting there. I think this trip is good for you. You were right—getting off on your own can be very good for introspection. I should do it myself sometime.”
She tossed the remnants of the palm tree aside and picked up another wing. “So…what do we do now?”
“I suppose that’s up to you. I…hope nothing fundamental will change. You’re still my apprentice—even though you’ve passed your training and you’re ready to take on one of your own, you’ll always be that. I still love you. I still consider you one of my dearest friends. None of that has changed from my end.”
She made a sound that was half-snort, half chuckle. “Except we won’t have sex anymore.”
“I’d be lying if I said I won’t miss that. But if it means the tension that’s been growing between us goes away…it might be worth it.” He raised his gaze, meeting hers squarely.
Her tiny smile was sly and sad. “It was damn good sex.”
“It was.”
She took a deep breath, obviously wanting to say something else but unsure of whether she should. Finally, she said, “It’s probably good that I’m still planning to travel for a while. This is a lot to think about. But…”
“But…?”
“You’re always honest with me, so I want to be with you too. In a way, it’s… kind of a relief.”
“How so?”
Her eyes glittered. “Don’t take this wrong, okay? Promise?”
“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to take it, but I promise I’ll view it in the most favorable possible light.”
“Yeah…” She tipped the last of the ice into her mouth and crunched it. “I loved being with you. You believe that, right?”
“Absolutely. I never doubted it.”
“But…that was part of why I had to get away, to think. You’re…” She let her breath out and looked down, struggling with the words.
He waited. He had no idea what she was going to say.
Her eyes came up again. “You’re…overpowering. There’s something about you, about your…presence…that just…takes over everything it gets near. I don’t think you even realize you’re doing it.”
He chuckled. “I’m not sure I should take that as a compliment or a criticism…but I did promise I’d assume the best. So…thank you?”
“It’s a compliment…mostly, anyway. It’s a great thing to have on your side. You’re…I wouldn’t pick anyone else in the world—not even Jason—to be on my side if things got really bad. But…well…sometimes it’s a little hard to shine when you’re lighting the place up so much just by being there.” She spoke the last part quickly, almost as if she needed to get it out before she changed her mind. Then she laughed, a little too loud. “Oh, God, I just realized that sounds like that horrible glurgy song. Trust me, I don’t mean it that way.”
Stone wasn’t sure which song she was referring to, but her message came through just fine. “I…don’t know what to say.”
She gripped his hand and squeezed it tight, her laughter fading. “What it means…Alastair…is that I think you’re right
. It…might just take me a little while yet to finally get my mind around it.”
He turned his hand over and returned her grip with a gentle one of his own. “You’ve got all the time in the world. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
She studied him for several seconds, then erupted out of her chair and threw her arms around him.
“I don’t know if I like this,” she mumbled into his shoulder. “I’m not sure I don’t wish none of it had happened. But…I think it’s going to work out for the best. And…maybe…”
He wasn’t sure he’d heard her last word. “And…?”
The silence hung in the air.
“And…nothing. Nothing at all. It’s all good…Doc.”
Stone held her close, the tension in his shoulders ebbing away as his arms encircled her slim body. He rested his chin on top of her head in the way she always used to teasingly protest.
“Indeed it is, love. Indeed it is.”
THE END
Alastair Stone will return in
Book 23 of the Alastair Stone Chronicles
Look for it in Fall 2020!
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