Page 47 of Incubus (The Incubus Saga #1)

" Now are you going to tell me what we're doing here?" Jim asked once they had crossed through the doorway into their personal pocket in the Veil.

The usual pressure and constriction Nathan felt from being in the Veil seemed intensified, though he wondered if that was because of his dreams and he was only imagining it. He took a few deep breaths to shake the feeling out of his limbs. It only took a moment to spot the item he was looking for.

" That ," Nathan said, pointing to a long somewhat hidden case beneath one of the many crude shelves. "We're here for that."

They had crammed so many things into the storage space that first night when they created it, possessed by some great need to save every small piece of the life they no longer had, that Nathan wasn’t surprised they had both forgotten about this particular object.

Moving to reclaim the case that looked dusty and neglected, Nathan hoped the real prize inside had been well preserved.

He grabbed the handle and pulled it free from beneath the shelf as Jim came closer.

The case was even dustier than it looked as Nathan ran a hand over the black material, coughing and sniffing past the stale smell.

He unhooked the latches and threw the cover back.

“A guitar?” Jim said skeptically.

“ Dad’s guitar.” Nathan ran his fingers along the smooth wood that was no longer perfect but would look sharp and new again after some decent care. He looked up and caught Jim’s eyes that were filled with curiosity. “I want to give it to Sasha.”

Jim had learned just as Nathan had that Sasha often sang and played guitar to make quick cash, only currently Sasha didn't have a guitar with him.

When the idea to give their father's guitar to Sasha had first struck Nathan, it surprised him how excited he was at the prospect.

He had never been one for gifts; he didn't have anything to give.

But he had this, and he knew it was a gift that would mean something, even if given a little selfishly for the chance to hear Sasha sing again.

At first, Nathan thought Jim looked hesitant about the suggestion but, after a moment of staring into the case and looking at the aged acoustic, Jim started nodding.

“Yeah…I think he’ll love it. He's turning twenty-five in a few days, isn’t he?

And you actually remembered that." Jim smiled wide, like such a thing shouldn't be possible.

"Didn't he say there was something important about turning twenty-five? "

"Yeah. Incubus true adulthood, or something.

Sounded like a big deal." Nathan stared down at the guitar.

“You know...I barely remember Dad playing.

Just fragments. Mom singing. Dad playing.

We were real young. I guess Dad didn't play as much when we got older. I have this one memory...Dad’s playing, sitting on the couch or something, and we were supposed to be in bed.

But we woke up and heard the guitar, so we snuck downstairs.

Mom came into the living room, smiling, swaying.

And Dad, he…he was singing and playing right to her.

..right up until she kissed him and set the guitar aside.

Then they started dancing, even though there wasn't any music anymore. I wish I could remember what song he played…”

The feel of Jim’s eyes on Nathan was heavier than any comforting hand. He sniffled, pretending some of the dust was still up in his nose, and closed the case. The guitar would need tuning and some body work, but they had time.

“You think he’ll play for us?” Jim asked as they were leaving.

"Oh,” Nathan said, “I think we can do better than that.”

Nathan cased out several Irish pubs that were near them. His main concern was finding one with live music.

Their staking out of the Veil doorway had revealed at most a handful of light fae passing through, but no dark. Rather than allow any frustration, Nathan suggested they move on to another frequently trafficked doorway and leave Chicago behind with a bang.

It was Sasha’s birthday, after all.

“With a name like Kelly you have to spend your birthday in an Irish pub. Gotta be a rule or something,” Nathan said when they arrived at the bar, pushing past the rush of people that had already started pouring in for the night.

The guitar remained in the safety of their current car’s trunk.

Jim had given Nathan a hinting look when they first parked, but Nathan had shaken his head.

He wanted to get through a few rounds first so Sasha would be more complacent when the time came.

Nathan also liked the idea of getting his brother to loosen up for a night.

Jim had been more even-tempered since their talk the other night, but tonight Nathan planned to do better.

Sasha was positively beaming when they grabbed a table. “I guess this means we have to order a pint of Guinness, huh?”

“At least,” Nathan nodded.

“We drove here, remember?” Jim said, despite his own remarkably relaxed expression. “Someone has to stay sober.”

“That’s what public transportation is for,” Nathan shrugged. They would be leaving Chicago by doorway the next morning so they didn’t need to keep the car.

“Are we allowed to ask for Irish Car Bombs in an Irish pup?” Sasha asked with a sideways smirk.

“I think they’re called Depth Charges in Ireland,” Jim offered.

“Whiskey, Baileys, and Guinness?” Nathan said. “Sounds good to me.” He caught sight of one of the waitresses flitting past them and quickly put in the order. “So. Do you feel any different?”

“Me? Not really,” Sasha said. “It’s not like this epic transformation or anything, I just won’t age past this. Nothing else really changes for my kind when we hit adulthood. Well, except that we can take a mate.”

Nathan coughed into his glass of complimentary water.

“Most wait until they’re in their hundreds for that though, if they take a mate at all,” Sasha added, which at least kept Nathan from choking.

He shot a look of mild irritation at Sasha and chose to ignore the suppressed grin he just knew Jim was sporting. As long as they all had a good time tonight, Nathan was willing to take a few hits to his pride.

An hour later, Nathan had lost count of how many drinks had passed over their table. He poured their newest double shot down his throat and hummed. It burned warmly the way alcohol was supposed to, but not so strong that he wanted something else to wash it down.

“I think I better hit the bathroom quick,” Nathan said, moving to slide out of his chair and giving Jim a long stare.

Jim’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Sasha,” Jim said, grabbing Sasha’s arm across the table in case the incubus tried to go with Nathan, “next drink's on me, okay?”

The incubus laughed and said, “Only if you promise you’ll have whatever I have.”

That ought to be good , Nathan thought.

He made quick work of getting out to the car and removing the guitar from the trunk, feeling pretty good with over an hour’s worth of alcohol in his belly. They had positioned themselves so that Sasha’s back was to the door just for this moment.

“Happy birthday, man,” Nathan said to Sasha as he slid back into his seat. He propped the guitar case against the table between them and waited for realization to strike.

Sasha looked absolutely stunned. He gaped for a solid minute before looking up and catching Nathan and Jim’s eyes in turn. “You bought me a guitar?”

“Hell no,” Nathan laughed, “I’m not spending that kind of money on you.”

“It’s our dad’s,” Jim said. “We want you to have it.”

“Figured you must be missing the chance to play,” Nathan added.

If possible, Sasha’s eyes grew wider and he reached out gingerly to touch the case. “I…I couldn’t accept something like that.”

“Sure you could.” Nathan grabbed the guitar and pushed it onto Sasha’s lap. He opened it up, right in front of Sasha’s eyes, to show him the newly polished and tuned acoustic. “We don’t play, genius. You do.”

“It would just be sitting in our Veil Slip otherwise, collecting dust,” Jim said. “We’d rather see it put to use.”

Sasha’s eyes spoke of further dissenting, but something about what Jim and Nathan were saying, or maybe just the fact that they were so whole-heartedly offering the guitar to him, made him change his mind.

He pulled the guitar free and Nathan moved the case out of the way and set it under the table.

The bar was buzzing around them. As Sasha held the guitar, grinning madly but not yet giving the strings an experimental pluck, Nathan leaned over to whisper in his ear.

“This place doesn’t usually have live music tonight, but the owner said he’d be thrilled if someone wanted to play a few songs for fun.

See over there?” Nathan pointed across the bar to a balding man by one of the registers.

“Just go up to him and say who you are and he’ll get you set up on the stage. ”

Sasha pulled back from Nathan, his mouth completely slack. He glanced nervously at Jim, who was beaming into his newest drink. “You want me to play? Here? Tonight?”

“That was the plan.”

“But Nate…Jim…I can’t, I mean...I’m out of practice and—”

“You’ll be fine,” Nathan interrupted. He didn’t buy for a second that Sasha wasn’t the kind of guy who could just pick up a guitar and play again.

Sasha’s expression soon shifted with a slight glitter to his eyes. He smiled across the table at Jim and then turned to Nathan. "You want me to go up there and sing and play for the first time in months on my own birthday.”

“Yep.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“Eh, it’s why you love me.” Nathan caught himself just as he said that, not meaning for it to tumble out quite that way.

“Okay,” Sasha said, saving Nathan from his tied tongue, “but don’t think I won’t be getting both of you back for this later.”

Jim chuckled happily, and since Nathan’s minor slip of the tongue had been passed over, he felt pretty good about things too.

As Sasha headed off to talk to the manager, Nathan reached over and pulled Jim’s glass out of his hands, taking a long drink from it before passing it back. “Good Long Islands here,” he said.

“Get your own,” Jim shot back, mockingly pouting and clutching the glass close once it was back in his grasp.

“I need a new drink,” Nathan said, feeling his buzz starting to fade despite the heat of his last shot swirling in his belly. “What should I buy Sasha next?”

“Trying to get him drunk? Because I don’t think he needs any convincing.”

Nathan raised an eyebrow. Jim’s eyes already looked glassy. His heritage didn’t seem to include much tolerance for alcohol.

“You know, I’ve heard of this one drink…” Jim said.

“If you say Sex on the Beach to me, Jim, I am punching you in the neck.”

Jim almost choked on his next swallow of Long Island. “I’m serious,” he said. “It's got...Sloe Gin, Southern Comfort, vodka, orange juice, and…something else, I think.”

“Well…that does sound pretty good. What’s it called?”

“A Sloe Comfortable Screw Up Against the Wall .”

“I hate you.”

Thankfully, the screech of a microphone saved Nathan from any more of Jim’s drunken teasing and they both turned toward the stage.

The bar was fairly packed but, even though all eyes turned to Sasha and his guitar, the incubus didn’t look uncomfortable in the spotlight. Nathan had figured that most of Sasha's squirming over playing tonight had been more for show.

“Hey, folks. I know most of you aren’t used to live entertainment this night of the week,” Sasha said into the microphone, his voice loud and clear inside the crowded bar, “but I’m not getting paid so they’ve made an exception. See, it’s my birthday today.”

There was a chorus of loud applause, easily roused from the inebriated patrons, to which Nathan and Jim chimed in readily.

“Yep,” Sasha smiled. “But instead of buying me a few pints and calling it good, my friends decided to force me up on stage to play for you tonight.”

Another chorus of cheers.

“I apologize in advance if I'm a little rusty.”

The first strum on the guitar was experimental, Sasha remembering the feel of his fingers on the strings, and then a gentle riff began and Sasha moved into the opening of a ballad that Nathan thought he might have caught on the radio a few times by one of those guys who, to his credit, had a voice that did some very kind justice to Old Blue Eyes.

When Sasha’s vocals poured out, the smile clear in his voice even as he sang, Nathan knew he had chosen the perfect present.

The song had a sort of lounge quality that suited Sasha’s smooth voice, and it went well with the simple strums of the guitar.

Nathan wasn’t oblivious to the words either, being an obvious love song.

Considering the way Jim nudged him in the shoulder, he was pretty sure his brother had gotten the message too.

“He likes you,” Jim said in a mock conspiratorial whisper. “You like him too. You’re blushing, even. And you weren’t even going to tell me.”

Nathan tried his best to tune Jim out, but he knew his brother’s words were true. Nathan really cared for Sasha, which suddenly made it all seem so real instead of just some crazy thing that was happening.

Nathan needed slow, but Sasha gave him that, stealing kisses that Nathan craved more and more with each one. He was falling into the comfort of it, into easy, into blissful, and he realized then...that he was willing to do anything to keep it.