Often times what goes around comes back around and those healthy distances we try to enforce become bindings tighter than when we started. People that we don’t think belong in our lives are suddenly impossible to avoid, and those we want in our lives but were too afraid to admit it find a place beside us as we go.
The truth of the matter is that we want them there, for no man is an island.
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Angelique Laurent was a formidable woman. Standing at four foot nine barefoot, she wore six-inch heels and swept her long curled hair up into a twist that added another two inches to her apparent height. On top of that, she was the kind of woman that a man didn’t just walk away from, which was precisely what I had done. It was also one of the reasons that she’d slapped me every time she’d seen me for the past four years. Christ, but that woman could hold a grudge.
Xelander’s eyebrows lifted, but he didn’t say anything, which was probably for the best considering that the next thing that Angelique did was kiss me on both cheeks. That gave him a momentary coughing spell, and ignoring my brother, I grinned at Angelique. “Hello, lovely. I found you a Gate.”
“You always know how to spoil a girl. You have a companion. That’s new,” she turned to look to Xelander. “Angelique Laurent, Class C Earth.” Class C meant that she was on the third tier of powerbases, and Earth was her specialty, where mine was Fire. Technically, I was a Class B, but the fact that some of my power was rogue and more of it was beyond my reach, I was ranked as a Class C as well.
When Xelander wasn’t immediately forthcoming, she held out her hand in an awkward offering for a handshake. That seemed to knock some manners into my brother, who offered his hand in return. “Xelander Wexforth, MD.” He didn’t offer anything about being my brother, and I found myself at odds over it.
“He’s my brother, Angie. The one I mentioned…”
“Oh. Yes, I see.” She knew, of course. She’d been a lover for a while, and the scar was a rather glaringly obvious subject of curiosity. “It is good to see the two of you… talking.” For a moment, there was a dangerously intense weight in the air, but she smiled to Xelander, released his hand and then turned to me. “It’s your magic holding the gate, right? Felt like yours, anyway. Let’s get that over with and then we can move on.”
I nodded and offered a shrug to Xelander before kneeling and resting my hand flat on the floor near the Gate once more. This time, the general idea was for me to slowly draw my magic back out of the Gate while Angelique transferred her own in. She was Earth, so her alignment would come far more naturally than my own. Green matched green after all.
I felt it when her magic touched the Gate, and with my magic-enhanced vision, I watched the glitter shift from orange to green, shimmering and twisting, the different natures threading around each other in a dance not unlike the… I really shouldn’t go there. Refocusing my thoughts, I watched her magic shift closer and closer until finally the threading was completely green and the Gate was shifted to her control.
My Fire banked within me, settling back behind the scar and returning to the quiet pool of power waiting to be used. It was an odd sensation, something akin to drinking too much hot coffee and not quite burning your throat all the way to your stomach, but too close for absolute comfort. I cleared my throat to distract myself from the sensation and realized that I had closed my eyes at some point.
When I opened them, Angelique was smiling at me like a cat that had found the prized mouse and was now keeping it for a personal pet. Of course she’d gotten quite the rush from taking a Gate, and until she adjusted to the extra sensation, she’d be more than a little giddy. “Oh, I’d forgotten what fun it was to work with you. We should do it more often.”
Xelander coughed again, though he was closer to the door to the outside this time. I felt my cheeks redden at the thought and bounced to my feet. “Wow, will you look at the time? Sorry to dash, but Xelander and I were on our way to lunch… have you got everything here now? No need for us to stay?” I’d forgotten, too, why I had left her: she was probably part nymph.
There came the inevitable rolling of her eyes, and she looked across to Xelander, and then back to me. “He can join too.”
I’m not sure who got out of the building faster, myself or Xelander.
It wasn’t until we were out of the immediate area that he ventured to speak, offering a quiet opinion on what a fascinatingly interesting person Angelique was. I had to agree that it was one way of putting it, but that normally she wasn’t quite so bad. At least not in a more public venue. I opted not to discuss it further, instead asking Xelander if he’d taken the day off, or if he needed to grab something fast for lunch and head back to the hospital.
“No, today is my usual day off. I was originally planning to spend it looking for apartments, but I think you know how things went instead.”
“Oh, well, if it is apartment hunting you want, there’s a few nice places about. My townhouses are all full up at the moment, or I’d offer you one of those. Yes, I’m a respectable property owner now, go figure.” I actually owned more than the handful of townhouses here in Charleston, but the property out of state didn’t matter to Xelander, and I wasn’t about to mention the ones out of the country.
He’d fished a thin apartment guidebook out of his pocket and was leafing through it. “What do you know of… Cotillion? Papillon? The Bell Tree?” Everything but the latter was familiar and when I asked for clarification, he read the blurb. “Executive residential suite overlooking Market Street at East Bay. Private entrance and guest residence.”
I wasn’t familiar with it at all, but we were close enough that I could turn the block and within a few minutes, we found ourselves at the corner of East Bay and Market. Once I saw the building, I recognized it as a posh hotel that had fallen on hard times. When the economy suffers, people don’t have $600 a night for a 5-star hotel. By the looks of it, someone had purchased it recently and turned it into a long-term residential hall.
I parked the rental car and we headed into the building, looking to see if there was a leasing office onsite. There was, but the note on the door stated that should anyone wish to speak with the proprietress, they should direct themselves to the restaurant. So, after exchanging a glance between us, we shrugged at each other and did just that.
The restaurant was classy, the décor made of dark woods and marble trim. I found it both appealing and a little stuffy. It definitely struck me as the type of place that corporate luncheons could be held without any risk of looking too much like a show of one-upmanship. We were seated by a quiet hostess, and at Xelander’s query, the girl assured us that the proprietress would be present shortly.
I was reviewing the menu when I heard a very familiar voice clear the questions that I didn’t know I’d had. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Given that I know one of you, I surmise that it is you who have come enquiring after residence within The Bell Tree.” Bloody Hell. It was Suzu. Bell Tree. I might have known, if I’d been paying attention. Remember my comment about being dense at times? Correct that to most times.
Xelander rose from his chair and took her hand when she approached, and I think I blinked. He hadn’t reacted to Angelique this way. Suzu reached out with her free hand and smacked me upside the back of my head, and ever adroit, my brother turned to me. “Another ex-lover, Teimhean?” It was my turn to choke, and Suzu had the gall to laugh. I’d always loved her laugh, and I doubted that I would ever stop loving it, but at the moment, it grated on my nerves just a little. Not enough to comment on it, but enough to make me give her that warning glance.
“Oh, hush, Jedah. It’s nothing too terrible to be your lover. No, I’m afraid I know your dark-haired companion all too well…” She gave him a good once-over and then nodded. “But please, while I suspect, I do not know for certain. You are?” Of course, that was her gentle reminder to me that I should do the introductions.
“Suzu, meet Xelander Wexforth, my long-missed brother. He’s looking for a place to live, and I’m full up. Xelander, this is Suzu Lachlallan, my best friend, confidante and the closest thing I will ever have to a soulmate in this world.” I wasn’t sure if he could see those delicately pointed ears hiding under the long white tumble of hair, but he’d have to be near blind to miss the teal tips of her hair.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He seemed to take it all into stride, and instead of shaking her hand the bastard brought her fingers to his lips and offered her the first true smile I’d seen in over a hundred years. “It is a pleasure to meet someone who can keep up with my brother. If he has offended your delicate sensibilities in any way…” Oh, dear Christ and bloody Hell again. He seemed completely taken by her, not that I couldn’t understand it.
She didn’t quite blush but gave him a merry laugh. “Oh, I’m not so sure my sensibilities are quite so delicate, but I thank you for your consideration.” He was a consummate salesman and while she might have known it, she seemed completely hooked. “I am pleased to finally meet you, Xelander. Are you just passing through?”
“I moved into the area a month ago, and I’ve been staying at the Rutledge House. Granted, I had no knowledge of Teimhean’s presence, but I am all the gladder for it. We actually turned up here because of your advert, and not the promise of a meal.” I may as well have faded into the background, and surprisingly, I was fine with that. It gave me the chance to watch Xelander, to see how he’d grown and changed through the years.
His hair was still the striking silver that it always had been, a shade that spoke of far more years than seemed on his shoulders, and he was just as tall as I’d recalled. He moved with a quieter grace now, something that spoke of a hint of the unnatural. It wasn’t predatory, just… fluid. No movement was unnecessary, and everything he did seemed to have a purpose. Hell, not even his hair moved without a proper need to do so. I quashed my flash of jealousy and looked to Suzu instead.
Her teal eyes flicked to me, then back to Xelander. “I do have suites available, some furnished, some unfurnished… there is one Executive suite with private amenities as well as a guest wing, and then there is the economy suite which I’m afraid overlooks a bar. It can get quite noisy on weekends, so unless you plan to be elsewhere on a weekend, I wouldn’t suggest it for you.”
He looked thoughtful, and then seemed to some to a decision. “Tell you what; let us have a meal, and if you have a brochure, I can review that while we eat. That will let me choose which apartment I’d like to see, and then we can go from there.”
Suzu waved a waitress over, who handed her two menus, and as an afterthought, only handed one out, offering it to Xelander. “Jedah, for you, vegetable lasagna. I’ll give you a moment to review the menu, unless you are a vegetarian as well, Xelander?”
Xelander glanced at me, curious as to something, but he didn’t speak of it, instead, shaking his head. “No, and since when have you been a vegetarian, Teimhean? And while we’re asking questions… why does everyone call you by the name of Jedah?”
I knew he’d get around to asking me that, and Suzu left me in the uncomfortable moment. “You try living in the modern world with a name that no-one can pronounce, Xelander. At least you can pass yours off as a variant of Alexander. Down here, the closest to anything passable to Teimhean O’Doire ends up sounding like Time-heen Oh Door.” I drawled the mispronunciation in a tolerable facsimile of a Southern accent, and I could tell he was torn between horror and humor.
“When you put it that way, I can understand. But ‘Jedah?’ It sounds like a German vehicle.”
“That car didn’t exist when I chose the name but at this point, changing it would be more paperwork than I am willing to entertain. So, most people know me as Jedah Shestin. Thanks to the Longevity Act, I can sign things either way and it will hold legally.” I shrugged. “But in the end, I don’t much care what I go by, as long as the person talking to me can pronounce it properly.”
Suzu returned to take his order, and her timing was too perfect to be anything other than on purpose. “Now then, what will you have, Xelander?” As if he’d had a chance to review the menu!
“I’ll try the four-cheese ravioli.” How in the Hell had he done that? He’d barely looked at the menu. “Do you serve the same thing every night, or do you rotate?” He took a sip from his water, unfolding his napkin with his free hand and settling it into his lap. She may have outdone him earlier, but he seemed to be holding his own now that the surprise of her had faded some.
She laughed softly, looking to me with that teasing smile of hers. “Oh, I mix it up a bit, but sometimes I find things I like and keep them.” And she’d said I was bad with innuendo. Unless she’d not meant it that way and I was being a dirty minded Irish boy. Which, around her, was entirely possible and even highly probable.
He cast a startled glance at me, trying to gauge my reaction, and then hid behind his water, prompting me to think that perhaps I wasn’t remiss in my judgment of her comment. “Take it easy on him, Suzu. He’s new to this yet.” He flashed me a glance that I thought was perhaps a thanks, and I looked up to the teal eyes of the woman I couldn’t have. “Once he’s been here for a while then you can flirt with him all you want.”
That got them both, and I sat back in my chair with a grin. Mission accomplished, and if I didn’t know any better, there was something of note between the two of them. Oh, it was entirely too early to know if it was anything more than two opposites sizing each other up or not, but there was a good chance that’s what it was. She was, after all, a vampire, and he… well, he’d argue that he wasn’t, but he was a focused Paladin.
“Right. Extra meat for you, Jedah. Won’t be a moment.” Suzu left the table, ignoring the sounds of my protests and Xelander’s chuckles. Bloody woman had just managed to get more amusement out of Xelander than I had heard in years, and put me off my food, both at the same time. Great.
“Now that is an interesting woman, Teimhean. Or would you prefer I call you Jedah?”
“It took you so long to master it; I ought to make you use Teimhean.”
“Jedah it is then.” So why had he asked?
When Suzu returned with the brochures that Xelander had asked for, I snagged the one for the executive suite. The more I read, the more my eyebrows climbed. “Bloody Hell! Listen to this, Xelander: twenty-five hundred square feet of living space, marble bath, hardwood and tile floors… fireplace, harbor view… Christ, it’s a bloody mansion!” I inverted the pamphlet and rested it atop the one that he was trying to read. “Go with the executive suite; I would.”
“Unlike you, I have a sense of moderation,” Xelander replied, moving the offending pamphlet to the table and continuing to read his. “This is almost one thousand square feet. That is more than enough for me.” He flipped the paper at me and moved to take another drink of his water. “That one should be more than adequate.”
I picked up the pamphlet and scanned it, shaking my head. “Sure, it has the hardwood floors, but it isn’t private entry. No parking either, and you’re far enough away from Roper that you’ll want a car. Trust me; parking in Charleston can be a pretty dicey proposition, come the tourist season.”
He looked at me for a moment and then deliberately picked up the pamphlet I’d tossed at him. “When you put it that way, I suppose the executive level does have some merit.” I watched his eyebrow lift, and he looked back to me. “Jacuzzi shower? What in the world is a ‘Jacuzzi shower?’”
“A watery bit of heaven. I had those added, but they have directional jets that offer back massages,” Suzu replied as she brought out our food. “Once you’ve tried one, it is rather difficult to go back to the standard shower head. They have a waterfall mode as well.” I kept my mouth shut, trying to make sure there wasn’t any meat in my lasagna. Satisfied, I dug in, using that as an excuse to not have to speak.
“So then the only issue that remains is that of cost. I would imagine that there is a deposit required, and that an insurance certificate is needed against the loss of the… baby grand piano?” Ah-ha, so he had been reading it after all! He put the pamphlet down and shook his head, lifting his hand to stay any other discussion. “But not now. At the moment, we have food, so let us not be vulgar. After we eat, we can view the options in person and then I will make my decision.”
Suzu nodded and signaled the waitress to refresh Xelander’s water. “Then enjoy your meals, gentlemen, and I will see you after.” She nodded to us both and went to greet another table that had seated while we were discussing residences.
“I still think the executive suite sounds better.” I said, cutting into the lasagna. “Especially should you wish to entertain.”
“Teimhean…” So much for calling me Jedah. “Entertaining in that fashion isn’t the sort of thing that I do often enough to warrant the necessity of a flashy apartment.” He took another sip of his water and set the glass down. “Though, I am reminded that one must keep up general appearances, and there are those who expect a medical professional to keep a certain level of residence.” Rationalization if ever I have heard it! I had to chuckle at the shift of mind, but he had a point. The head of a medical complex shouldn’t be living in a shack.
“You might have to host a few dinners here and there… I didn’t say it was any particular type of entertaining.” I’d managed to get away with not hosting any dinners by the sheer fact that there was nowhere to park, and I couldn’t cook. I always offered to cover the cost of the meals. Of course, I expensed it, and made Ravenswing pay, which amused me even more.
“The idea of hosting a formal dinner isn’t helping. Then again, perhaps with food such as this, I might secure some additional funding.”
I glanced at him, startled. “You aren’t telling me that you’re out of funds, are you?” He was right about the food, though. Suzu was an astonishing chef, and I could tell that she had been the one to cook the food. I wasn’t certain that she had anyone else in the kitchen, for if it was anything like when she’d lived with me, no-one was allowed in the kitchen while she cooked. Then again, she might have made that rule because of my inability to cook, and the proclivity of cooking equipment combusting in my immediate area.
“No, I’m fully invested and not particularly concerned for funding, if that’s what you are asking. My main concern is the propriety of a single-funded medical facility. I don’t want it to appear that I am doing lab testing for Ravenswing Corporation, when in truth, it is the opposite.”
I’d finished my lasagna without as much as a thought to the food. That was unusual, but I hadn’t eaten anything substantial for a while. Well, since she’d left me. Which hadn’t been all that long ago, and that begged the question of how long she’d been planning to leave. I forced my thoughts away from that and looked back to Xelander. “Right, well, all you have to do there is get a few medical fundraisers under your belt, and then you can call yourself a multi-funded practice.”
“And precisely how experienced are you at setting such a thing in motion?”
“Well, now that you mention it, I generally come up with a reason or two to not attend the functions I’m invited to.”
“That sounds more like the Teimhean I know.”
“Gee, thanks, I think.” We both chuckled and it felt good to be so close to him again, like the time that had passed between us had never happened, and we were the siblings we had always been meant to be.