Spell Break: Part 6

Episode 6.  Now, we finally find out some stuff.  

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6

            Kelly had Jason tucked in the guest room and fast asleep by the time that Liam showed up at the house.  With a caution to be quiet, he led Liam out to the back yard.  He left the sliding door open so he could hear Jason, set Nola to the task of keeping an eye on their guest, and settled at the base of the tree.  Liam joined him and for a moment, neither man spoke. They sat in the quiet and absorbed the peace.

            “How is he?” Liam finally asked, his voice low and concerned.

            Kelly sighed.  “Exhausted.  But he’s all right.  The bruises are all but gone.  He’s just tired.  He’s not used to expending that kind of magical energy.  You remember what it was like.”

            Liam nodded.  There wasn’t one practitioner out there that didn’t know what it felt like to push themselves beyond their limits, especially in the beginning.  Using the power well only came with practice.  And it wasn’t more than a week ago that Jason was only using his magic for basic and mundane things.  Even when they’d been practicing, Kelly had made sure he was fully charged before they began and took him directly outside when they had finished.  For him to suddenly be put in a situation where he had to really push himself?  It would take a few days before Jason would be fully recovered.

            “So,” Liam said conversationally, clearing his throat.  “This guy that broke in and attacked Jason?  Wasn’t there to hurt him.”

            Kelly gave a snort of disbelief.  “Bullshit.”

            “No, really.  Mary worked her mojo on him.  I believe that he’s telling the truth.  You know that no one can lie to Mary when she does that thing.”

            Kelly had to concede that was true.  His sister was a master at getting people to talk and tell the truth.  Part of it was the magic, sure.  Truth spells liked her a lot and it was easy for her to wield them. But more than that, his perky, persistent sister had a bit of charm about her, something that made people open up and be honest.  The only people that didn’t work on were those that were hardened to the world.  Then it was all about the magic.

            “What’s his story?” Kelly asked tersely, not wanting to give in quite so easily.  This man had broken in and attacked Jason.  He wasn’t getting the benefit of the doubt from Kelly without a damn good reason. 

            Liam shrugged one massive shoulder.  “He’d been watching the kid for a while, knew he was a practitioner. It would have been obvious with that annoying scrap of an owl hanging around him.”  From somewhere above them, an indignant sort of hoot sounded.  Liam ignored it and continued, “He saw me drop him off in front of the building, knew who I was, and wanted to see what kind of training the kid had.  When he went in, he wasn’t doing anything to really hurt Jason.  Just put him through his paces.  He acted menacing because it’s often when a practitioner is afraid that they’re true colors come out.”

            Kelly nodded but he was still uneasy.  “Why was he watching Jay?  Who is this guy?”

            “Recruiter.”

            Damn.  That one word sent a chill down Kelly’s spine.  He should have known that the more unsavory characters of the magical world would be watching Jason.  There was no coven in Red Rock Creek so the man would have known that Jason wouldn’t have had a support system.  He would have been easy pickings if whatever outfit this guy worked for decided they wanted Jason on their side.

            “It’s still illegal,” Kelly said angrily.  He had to bite back a growl of irritation.  “So is most of what those kinds of people do.”

            Liam nodded his agreement.  “Which is why I turned him over to the Tribunal.  They’ll be in town tomorrow to take custody of him.  They’re going to take Damian at the same time.”

            Goddamit.  Damian.  Another problem that Kelly didn’t want to deal with.  It was harder still because Damian was a big part of his past.  When the man had shown up at Any Beans Necessary, Kelly had known instantly that he’d reached the end of his rope and was determined to kill Kelly.  Damian had been determined to wreak havoc wherever he could, starting with Kelly’s death.  Since Kelly had taken his eye, he couldn’t actually blame Damian for that.  Except that the man should have known that he couldn’t win a fight against Kelly.

            “I think,” Kelly said slowly, the thoughts coalescing in his brain.  “That Damian wanted to get captured.”

            Liam turned to him, his jaw hanging open and the shock apparent on his face.  Kelly gave a humorless laugh.

            “Not consciously,” Kelly was quick to point out. “He thought he wanted revenge.  He did want revenge and taking me out was the first step in that.  But Damian, for all his idiocy, is not stupid.  He knew he couldn’t win.”

            “You knew him, not me,” Liam said.  He shook his head in disbelief.  “It doesn’t matter.  They’re both someone else’s problem now.  It’s the kid that we have to deal with now.”

            They’d get to that in a minute.  First, Kelly needed details.  “Tell me what happened today.”

            Liam nodded.  And began the tale with meeting Jason in Mary’s café.  Kelly gritted his teeth but worked to keep his face impassive.  He knew why Liam started his story there, in detail explaining every word and nuance.  He wasn’t going to give up his crusade to get Kelly to change his mind.  Liam should really know better by now.  When Kelly was certain he was on the right path, there was no dissuading him.  He let Liam tell the story as he wanted and picked out the pertinent details.  Finally, Liam brought his story to a close.

            “He’s got to join a coven,” Liam said.  “There’s no way around it now.”

            Kelly nodded just once.  That was the truth.  Jason needed the protection and support that a coven provided.  Selfishly, he wanted Jason here.  But he wasn’t going to lay that on him.  Not when Jason had made his feelings perfectly clear.  Kelly was determined to make this as easy as possible on the beautiful man.

            “I’ll talk to him,” Kelly said succinctly.

            “Maybe it would be better if I did,” Liam hedged.

            Kelly shot him a look and Liam held up his hands in surrender.  Blowing out a breath, Kelly said, “I am the leader of this coven and I have been his mentor.  The responsibility falls to me.”

            “Yeah, but you’ve been an asshole to him,” Liam pointed out.

            Kelly didn’t rise to the bait.  “We’re both adults.  We can have a conversation.  Feelings don’t enter into it.”

            “Keep telling yourself that, asshole,” Liam grumbled.  “You could just tell him the truth and then fuck him stupid.  You’d both feel better for it.”

            “Enough!” Kelly’s voice held a finality that rang through the yard.  Liam flinched like he’d been hit.  Good.  Kelly was done talking about it.  He wasn’t going to tell Jason about his past.  The man was too sweet to be tainted by the likes of him.

***

            The scream woke Jason from a dead sleep and it took him a second to realize he was the one making the sound.  As soon as he did, the noise cut off.  Panting, he wiped the sweat from his brow and curled onto his side.  The door burst open a second later to reveal Kelly, wearing nothing but boxers and a fireball in his hand, hazel eyes scanning the room for danger.  Jason would have laughed at the sight if he wasn’t so damn tired.

            As soon as Kelly realized Jason was not under attack, the fire went out, leaving the room bathed only in moonlight coming from the big window.  The big man drew a shaky breath and walked closer to the bed.  Jason curled tighter on himself when Kelly sat on the edge of the mattress.

            “You okay?”

            Jason tried not to flinch when Kelly’s hand reached out and settled soothingly on his back.  He forced himself to speak, “Yeah.  Just a bad dream.  Completely understandable considering the day I had today.”

            “Yesterday.”

            Jason’s gaze jerked to clash with Kelly’s.  He gulped.  “What?”

            “You’ve been asleep for twelve hours.  It’s three o’clock in the morning,” Kelly informed him with a gentle smile. 

            Jason rolled his eyes, he couldn’t help it.  “Semantics.”

            Kelly gave a soft chuckle and continued that soothing rubbing on his back.  Jason felt himself relax into the touch.  If he wasn’t so damn tired, he’d tell Kelly to get out.  But the left over feelings from the dream were making him raw enough to want the comforting touch.

            “Want to talk about it?” Kelly asked in the quiet.

            Jason drew a breath.  “I don’t really remember it.  Just the feeling of it…” Jason trailed off and pulled a face.  “Fear like I’ve never known.  Real, true terror.  Even knowing it was a dream, I just keep feeling it.”

            Kelly made a sympathetic noise and kept rubbing.  Jason closed his eyes, savoring the touch even as he knew he shouldn’t.  He felt vulnerable and exposed.  Tomorrow, later today, he’d get himself together and get out of Kelly’s house again.  But right now, in the pre dawn dark, he couldn’t make himself be strong.  Not with that fear still lingering.

            They sat like that for a long while, Kelly rubbing, Jason trying to settle, until finally, Kelly gently lifted his hand and made to stand. Jason’s hand shot out of it’s own volition and caught Kelly’s wrist.  He stared at it like it wasn’t attached to his own arm. 

            “Stay,” Jason said quietly, hating how needy his sounded.  He cleared his throat and managed to lift his eyes to Kelly’s face.  “Please.  Just until I fall asleep again?”

            “Of course,” Kelly said gently.  He moved so that he was leaning against the headboard and took Jason’s hand in a firm grip, gently tangling their fingers together.  Jason listened to the easy, rhythmic breathing emanating from the man and before he even realized it, Jason was lulled into sleep. 

            When Jason woke again, the sunlight was streaming through the open curtains, bathing the room in its warm glow, and Kelly was tightly spooned around his back.  Jason held his breath, not wanting to wake the man.  It seemed, in sleep, Kelly’s body betrayed him.  It acted on Kelly’s desires when his mind wasn’t getting in the way.  The way he held Jason made him feel safe and cared for.  One of Kelly’s arms was under his neck, supporting his head.  The other was wrapped firmly around Jason’s waist and curled up so that Kelly’s palm lay flat against his heart. 

            And there was no mistaking the man’s morning wood, long and hard and pressed firmly against the small of Jason’s back.

            Slowly, cautiously, Jason turned over to face Kelly.  Even in his sleep, Kelly’s hold readjusted itself to accommodate their new position.  Jason stared at Kelly’s face, relaxed and peaceful in sleep.  Jason had always thought the man was fairly good looking, but like this, he was breath taking.  The gentle curl of his lips, like he was dreaming about something nice, was enchanting.  Jason wanted to reach out a hand and trace Kelly’s sleep slacked features but he didn’t dare.

            And then, as if even asleep Kelly was aware that he was being watched, his eyes opened blearily, revealing the hazel that was a little more green than brown.  He smiled softly, sleepily and Jason couldn’t help but return it.  Kelly moved slowly, lifting a hand and acting on Jason’s own desire from moments before.  A feather light finger traced Jason’s brown, the line of his nose, the curve of his cheek.  Kelly’s eyes tracked the movement of his finger.  Jason’s smile grew just a little.

            Kelly’s eyes widened, like he just became aware of what he was doing, and jerked his hand abruptly back.  Jason could see it in his eyes, like a switch being flipped, and he immediately wrapped both arms and a leg around Kelly to keep the man from rolling away.  He held onto Kelly tightly so that his only hope of getting out of bed was to hurt Jason by forcibly moving the clinging limbs.  Kelly went still.

            “Stop, Jay, we can’t.”  Kelly’s voice was sleep rough and a bit pleading. 

            But Jason was done playing games.  “Tell me why.  No more bullshit.  Give me the reason you keep pushing me away when you don’t really want to.”

            Kelly shook his head and started struggling, not enough to hurt but enough to show that he wasn’t happy about being restrained.  Jason tried to hold on.  He was going to get this out of Kelly if it was the last thing he did.  It was obviously eating the man, secrets did that, and he knew that Kelly wanted him.  Jason had given up yesterday and gone home.  But Kelly had come the minute he knew that Jason was in danger.  And that quiet moment they had just shared was enough to prove to Jason that if he could break down Kelly’s walls, they’d be good together.

            “No,” Jason said, firmly but quietly.  “You say we’re friends.  You say you trust me.  So trust me, dammit.  Trust me with this secret.”

            “You want the truth so damn bad?” Kelly bit out.  His tone was menacing and his features were tortured.  “Fine!  I’ll tell you.  I’m a murderer.  I killed my last lover in cold blood!”

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