Finding Insight

by Katherine Kim

  4

  Sebastian turned the engine off and grabbed his jacket. It was plenty warm out, but he knew that Sarah still got cold in the evenings and he liked to be sure he had something to offer her when they were out. It wasn’t much, and it was maybe a little silly, but she seemed to appreciate it when he offered, and it made him happy when she flashed him that little thank-you smile.

  He had a little walk to get to the Apothecary— he’d parked a couple blocks away on a side street— but he didn’t mind. It had been another sunny day in Los Gatos, like many of them were and being outside in the evening was more than merely pleasant. The light fog that greeted the dawn had burned off quickly once the sun was well and truly up, and even at the hottest part of the day it was more perfect outside than it was in. Sarah was still amazed at how warm it was now in April, and Sebastian had to laugh since he totally understood. Los Gatos, California was a far cry from pretty much anything on the East Coast.

  She’d moved from New York City just this past January to sort through her grandmother’s estate, and he had finally gotten to meet her. It was a little bit funny, really, since Sebastian and Kai had grown up in New York, as well, during the school year, and heard stories about Miss Rosie’s granddaughter for years, yet they’d never met until she came out here very much against her mother’s wishes. And now she lived here, in Miss Rosie’s old house, and was learning how to use her powers as a witch. Life worked in odd ways sometimes, but Sebastian wasn’t about to complain.

  Sebastian’s cheerful musings were shoved aside when he turned the corner and saw the boy from the woods not ten feet away, and he did not look happy. In fact, he looked almost sick again. He was in loose jeans, and a grey and blue plaid button up shirt that might have been tucked in before this altercation started. Sebastian was willing to guess that he’d been working at some odd job that afternoon, and was likely trying to head back to his hidden campsite. His whole body radiated nervous tension, and he was leaning away from the man confronting him. He’d have gotten further but for the grip the bigger man had on him. The boy’s face was pinched and ashen with the strain.

  “I said come now,” the taller man said. The guy had to have at least fifty pounds on the kid, and looked like he got regular meals. Muscles moved clearly under the black jacket and dark jeans and it seemed that the black motorcycle boots he wore were less for show than for practical use. There were no bikes parked on this street, however, just a black SUV behind the bully with the engine still running. Besides, the sneer he wore gave Sebastian a few guesses as to what the guy liked to do in his spare time and it had nothing to do with motorcycles.

  He also had his hand wrapped around the kid’s wrist so tightly that Sebastian could see the boy’s skin pinch in.

  “I said no, David. Let me go,” the boy said.

  “And I said you’re coming with me,” the man— David, apparently— growled.

  “I’m not going with you. I don’t feel well already, and I just want to go home.” The boy from the woods tried to tug his arm free but failed to pull it loose of his opponent’s grip. “Leave me alone!”

  “I wasn’t ask—”

  “Hey!”

  Both men looked up and Sebastian got the impression of rage and danger from the bigger man. It was the same sense that warned an animal when another predator was near, and the hair on Sebastian’s neck prickled as it stood up. He wasn’t much of a fighter, but he had a couple of tricks up his sleeve if the man wanted to start a fight.

  “I don’t know what’s going on, but I did hear the kid say no,” Sebastian said. “So let him go and back off.” He took a step forward and the man narrowed his eyes. The boy just looked between them, his own eyes wide. Sebastian took another step and started to snarl.

  “Or I could call the police and report an attempted kidnapping. Does that sound about right?” Sebastian pitched his voice low and pulled a tiny amount of his magic into it to give it some added punch.

  With a growl, the man shoved the boy so he stumbled and fell backward to sprawl across the pavement. Sebastian rushed forward to put himself between the kid and his assailant, but the man spun around and lunged for the door of the SUV and pulled out, almost causing another car coming down the street to slam into him.

  “Jesus,” he muttered, watching the taillights careen around the corner, thankfully in the opposite direction from the tea shop. “Hey, are you okay?”

  Sebastian turned to the boy and crouched by him, offering his hand to help the kid stand up. In daylight he looked far paler than he had in the stillness of the night, and there were dark circles under his eyes. Even his hair looked extra scraggly now, and rather than standing in relatively tidy spikes it slid over his face to hide it when he nodded.

  “Thanks,” the kid mumbled, automatically reaching for Sebastian’s hand to steady himself as he stood. The moment their palms touched the boy sucked in a breath and his eyes went wide just before he started to slump over again.

  “Woah, hey. I got you.” Sebastian caught him around the shoulders before he hit the sidewalk again. “You must be more rattled than you thought. Here, just sit for a minute. My girlfriend works around the corner, I’m going to have her bring a bottle of water or something.”

  A short phone call later and the kid looked much less panicked already, though still very shaken. He was leaning on the side of the corner market, his back against the side of the building and his head tipped into the sunshine with his eyes closed. Still, Sebastian didn’t like how pale the kid’s skin was. His face looked pinched, like the skin was pulled too tight over his face, and he was almost green now.

  “She’ll be here in a minute. My name’s Sebastian Russell.” He held his hand out when the boy opened his eyes again. The boy looked at it for a moment, almost seeming confused, before slowly taking it in his own to shake it. Sebastian didn’t miss the shiver that ran through the boy’s frame when their hands touched, and the deepening of the confusion, but kept his own face soft and friendly.

  “Gabriel Evans. Gabe,” he said, his eyes now firmly fixed on the sidewalk. “Thanks for your help.”

  “Glad I was here. That guy looked like an asshole,” he said. A movement down the street made him smile and wave. “There’s Sarah.”

  “Hey, Seb. Hi, are you okay? Do you need us to get you to a doctor or something?” Sarah’s focus immediately went to Gabe’s thin face when she reached them.

  “This is Gabe, and he got shoved pretty hard. Think you can stand, Gabe?” Sebastian tipped his head at the kid who nodded after he finished gulping half the bottle.

  “Yeah, I’m okay I think. Just shaken up,” Gabe answered. He took a deep breath and seemed to pull himself together by force of will, and then stood. Sebastian reached out and put his hand under Gabe’s elbow, supporting him, and was shocked by how thin the kid’s arm felt. Even the coltishness of youth couldn’t be used as an excuse. Gabe simply needed to eat more.

  The image of Gabe being sick in the bushes flashed through Sebastian’s mind, and he remembered how it seemed like the boy was used to it to the point of resignation. Maybe he was seriously ill? That was the only explanation Seb could come up with, if it wasn’t drugs. Gabe didn’t smell like it though, and Sebastian didn’t think the answer would be so easy, somehow.

  “Come on, let’s get you inside and a nice cup of tea in you. You’ll feel much better.” Sarah sent Gabe a warm smile that the boy probably missed as he carefully didn’t look at either of their faces, and glanced a question at Sebastian. He’d have to answer it later, once he knew more.

  “Oh. No, thank you. I’ll be fine, I was just rattled.” Gabe shook his head and managed a polite smile. “I really appreciate the water, though. How much do I owe you for it?”

  “Nothing. Really, I can’t just leave you out here all bruised and rattled. A cup of tea isn’t going to hurt, right? Unless you’re in a hurry or something?” Sarah tipped her head and raised an eyebrow. “I mean if there’s someone waiting for you or some
thing, they should definitely know what happened.”

  “No,” Gabe’s shoulders slumped for a second before he took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, there’s nobody waiting for me.” He flicked his gaze as far up as her chin. Sarah smiled and Sebastian saw Gabe’s eyes widen. It was pretty stunning when she turned her smile up to full volume he thought, but then Sebastian admitted to being a little biased.

  “Then there’s no reason you can’t let me fuss over you a little. Honestly. I work at the tea shop around the corner and I can get you fixed up in no time. Let’s go.”

  “It’s probably best to just humor her at this point. She’s got that look in her eye,” Sebastian said, leaning over to stage whisper next to Gabe’s ear. “She’ll start with a cup of tea and then by the end of the evening she’ll have adopted you forever.”

  “I heard that,” she called back over her shoulder. Sebastian grinned.

  “You were supposed to,” he answered.

  Gabe shivered and Sebastian had to wonder at the grief that flashed over the boy’s face. It was only a second, but the pain he saw was deep and clearly had Gabe firmly in its grip. Then, it was gone again, hidden behind the mask he showed the world. If Sebastian hadn’t known about Gabe’s living arrangements, or the nightmares that seemed to plague him periodically, he probably would have brushed it off as nothing. Just a twinge of pain from his fall or a flash of anxiety from the apparent kidnapping attempt. But Sebastian had the suspicion that there was a lot more going on here, and he wanted to find out.

  “Come on. Are you allergic to anything? Cause if you have hay fever or something you should tell her now before she pulls out the chamomile tea. Nothing says ‘I feel better’ like itchy eyes and a runny nose.” Sebastian threw an arm around Gabe’s shoulders for extra support and started to guide him down the street after Sarah.

  “I don’t think so,” Gabe said. He sent a confused, wary glance up at Sebastian, and Seb could feel a little more of the tension melt out of the younger man’s shoulders. It was a little like coaxing a frightened puppy out for a bowl of food, and given what Seb had just prevented, he had to wonder how close to true that thought was.

  5

  Sebastian let Gabe lean into him for the entire short walk around the block. It wasn’t far, and the kid was so damn thin that he barely even noticed it and he wouldn’t have said anything even if he’d had trouble since he was pretty sure that Gabe didn’t even know he was doing it. It was almost like he was starved for friendly contact with another living creature and Sebastian had gained his very cautious trust for the moment.

  Gabe was definitely still skittish, though. He didn’t exactly flinch when Sarah talked to him, but he was clearly not very eager to look her full in the eye when they interacted. He stayed closer to Sebastian than to anyone else, and Seb, in turn, kept his hand on Gabe’s shoulders to make sure that the boy knew he was right there.

  Sarah pulled open the front door of The Apothecary Tea Shop and the evening sunshine glinted off the glass panes between the green painted mullions. Gabe’s step faltered slightly, but with a quick glance up and down the street, then back at Sebastian— who pretended not to notice any of it— he stepped inside.

  Sebastian had been coming here since he was a kid himself. Granted twenty-nine wasn’t exactly ancient, but still. With Gabe’s coltish nervousness leaning into his side, Sebastian suddenly felt like a grown up. Nevertheless, he couldn’t imagine someone finding the place anything but pleasant and comforting, and he was sure that Gabe would relax in a minute or two.

  The room was spacious, with low tables and comfortable arm chairs scattered near the front windows and more formal cafe tables and chairs near the wall. A long wooden counter stretched across the shop wall to wall in front of shelves that stretched to the ceiling and contained tins and bins and herbs of every sort. The air was full of the scent of herbal teas that Doc and Sarah brewed to order, both from standard recipes that were on the menu, and specially blended teas that they mixed together themselves in the back.

  Today the scent of lemons hung in the air, bright as the sunshine had been all day. Sebastian picked out rose and lavender and something grassy underneath the wave of citrus, and beneath that, something subtle and earthy and slightly mysterious. Through it all he could sense the faint tingle of magic, and he had to close his eyes for a moment and just breathe in the comfort of a place he knew and loved.

  “Sebastian Russell, you are not about to just stand there like a lump when Sarah says you’ve been in a fight. Get your fur-brained butt over here so I can look at you!” Doc’s voice cut through his moment, and he laughed as she continued. “And bring your friend, too! He looks like he could use a good cuppa something. Sarah’s gone back to get you both fixed up.”

  Gabe shrunk into Sebastian’s side under the verbal assault and Sebastian squeezed his shoulder.

  “Doc, this is Gabriel Wells. Gabe, this is Doc. She owns The Apothecary and generally terrorizes anyone she likes. For our own good,” Sebastian said. Gabe nodded a greeting and Doc peered at him, curious. No doubt she was taking stock of the same signs that Sebastian had noticed, and likely a great many more that he hadn’t. Doc wasn’t technically a doctor of any sort. She was a witch, like Sarah, and a skilled herbalist. She was usually the Villagers’ first stop for a number of medical troubles that would be looked at with suspicion by a human physician.

  “Now you both just come sit over here. Sarah had me make sure there were comfortable seats for you before she went running out the door.” Doc directed them over to the corner in the front, where Gabe hesitated before sinking into the worn seat and shrinking into the back cushion, like he was trying to take up as little space as he could. Sarah popped out with two pots of tea still steeping and a pair of mugs.

  “Today’s blend for you, Seb. It’s lemon balm, mint, and nettle. I think you’ll like it, it’s very springtime. And for you, Gabe, lemon balm and chamomile. You look like you could use a little calming stress relief after all that.” She arranged the tea things on the table in front of them and Doc nodded with approval.

  “Grab some of the pesto sandwiches, Sarah. Oh, and do we have any of the green soup left or did that all go?” Doc asked. Sebastian rolled his eyes and grinned. Gabe tried to shrink deeper into the chair while he protested.

  “Oh, no. That’s okay, ma’am. I don’t need anything. I’m just fine, really, I was just a bit shaken up, that’s all.” Gabe’s protests were waved off with out even a glance while Doc finished talking to Sarah.

  “Now then, Gabe. Tell me what happened.” Doc’s focus shifted to Gabe who cringed away into the chair.

  “It wasn’t that big a deal, really,” Sebastian cut in. “He was getting hassled and I scared the jerk off, I guess,” Doc transferred her attention to him and twitched her eyebrow at him.

  “Well, that wrist looks painful,” she said. She flicked her eyes down to Gabe’s arm where the skin was still an angry red, but she kept her attention directed to Sebastian. “It’s going to bruise. I’ll get him some ointment from the back. You must be glad he didn’t have a gun or something.”

  “Yeah. He was just a bully I’m guessing. Thought Gabe looked like an easy target, maybe. I think he was probably just brave because there were no witnesses, that’s all. Oh wow, that smells great!” Sarah put a plate in front of each of them with a cup of creamy green soup and half a sandwich with thick slices of tomato and mozzarella peeking from the side of the crusty roll, and drips of pesto running down to pool beside the spoon tucked neatly in the middle.

  “You’re in luck, too. We’re now officially out of sandwiches!” Sarah winked at Gabe. “I put the last one in the back for myself. Dig in.”

  “Oh, I can’t… I mean. I’m not sure that—” Gabe moved to dig into his pocket but slowed to a stop when Doc waved her hand at him again and huffed an offended snort at him

  “Don’t be ridiculous. When a shopkeeper offers you a free meal, you take it,” she said.

 
; “But…” Gabe looked at Sebastian for support, but Seb could only shake his head. He recognized the look Doc was giving him and knew that there was no way he’d talk her out of helping Gabe somehow. She loved giving back to the world at large and her community in particular. She called it her responsibility to put her skills to use and take care of those around her since she was a civilized human being. With the pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes, Gabe was clearly in need of someone to look after him a bit. Add to that the odd combination of stubborn pride and serious anxiety, and the odd note of fear that hid behind everything, the kid just pushed all her buttons without even knowing it.

  “Really, I—” Gabe cut himself off when she turned her full attention to him again. This time he swallowed and clamped his jaw shut, but didn’t shrink back. It seemed like a good sign, somehow. She peered at him, looking him slowly up and down, and Sebastian bit his cheek to keep from grinning. He could see what was coming.

  “You have some time tomorrow?” Doc asked. Gabe blinked at her for a moment then nodded.

  “Come to the back door around ten. I could use some help sorting out the deliveries this week. First hour’ll more than cover the meal, then I’ll cut you a check for any hours you spend here after that. That sound fair?” She cocked her eyebrow at him. Sebastian knew, thanks to Gabe’s middle of the night chatter, that he was willing to work in trade for food and cash. He hoped that Doc would keep Gabe here longer than just one day. Something about the boy made Sebastian feel like he belonged here somehow. Maybe it was just the protectiveness he felt towards the area, or maybe he just couldn’t stand the idea of anyone so young living homeless and alone and afraid.

  “I’ll be here, ma’am,” Gabe said. He sat straighter and seemed much less upset at the thought of working for his meal. It was the first time he’d looked even faintly comfortable this evening.