Page 18 of Resurrection
A man standing beside the car opened the back door and Seiran climbed in, followed by the creature. By the time Gabe dragged himself into the backseat, the creature was sitting on the other side of Seiran, and Seiran was seated in the middle, his back ramrod straight.
The door closed behind Gabe, and Seiran only glanced his way as the man who had held the door for them got into the driver’s seat. “Put on your seatbelt,” Seiran instructed.
Gabe glanced at the creature, who was wearing a belt, and Seiran, both wearing the belt already. The witch must have been talking to him. He reached back and pulled the belt down, having to brush against Seiran’s side to click it into place. It was familiar, the sensation of touching the witch, like he’d done it many times before, but the memories lingered on the edge of his conscious, not close enough to grasp. Gabe stared out the window instead, hoping that the drive would bring back more memories.
The trip took a while and Gabe used the time to study the city they passed, and the long road beyond. The scent of honey and vanilla teased him with an edge of memory, like it was just out of reach. Frustrating, but he didn’t reach for it for fear it would flit away. He concentrated on his breathing, a steady in and out that helped him feel almost normal.
By the time the car pulled up to a gate and a giant house beyond, Gabe felt clear enough to keep the revenant down if it happened to rise. “This is nice,” he said softly.
The fence giving space to a large and somewhat wildly grown garden. It didn’t look unattended, as the grass wasn’t overgrown and crazy, but there were trees of a dozen different types, from citrus to nut to pine, all things that only grew in varied climates. But hadn’t Max said this witch was a Pillar?
Gabe tried to recall the specifics of what a Pillar was. One of the five elements of power, if he was remembering correctly. The Pillars were chosen by the element, as sort of an apex of magic, or at least that was the basics Gabe could remember.
That meant Seiran was the Pillar of Earth, able to grow things year-round in any climate perhaps? There were flowers and cactuses, and an endless spread of strange plant life. “Interesting garden.”
“The fae have gone a little crazy with it,” Sei said as the car stopped in the round drive before the stairs leading to the main door. “Kaine, one of my kids, is sort of playing with his affinity to grow things. The earth doesn’t mind as long as I keep it contained to the yard. The other two have mostly outgrown their need to experiment.”
“Kaine,” Gabe said, thinking about that, “Is part fae?”
“Yes,” Seiran agreed.
The car stopped and the driver got out to open the door. Gabe unlocked his seatbelt and got out first, waiting for the witch and the creature to follow. The house itself seemed illuminated with lights in the windows, and a glow of power. Pillar magic, perhaps? Or something more. The distance from the city allowed the night sky to be filled with endless stars. Crickets danced around them in a noisy array, unbothered by their presence. He wondered what time of year it was. Not winter, obviously, fall perhaps? The trees weren’t changing color, not that he’d be able to use that to gauge time in the witch’s space.
“And the other children?” Gabe inquired. “Are they part fae as well?”
“No. All witch. Their mother is in New York right now. She’s the director of Foreign Magic Relations for the Dominion.”
Gabe wondered if her distance was a temporary thing, or if they were not in any sort of relationship. Though the idea of Seiran in a relationship stirred the jealousy again. He swallowed it down. Max had led him to believe that the witch had been his lover, but enough time had passed that Gabe would not have faulted the man for finding someone else. “Are you married?”
“To their mother?” Seiran laughed. “No. Her wife would gut me. The twins’ birth was an arrangement.”
“And the fae?” Would the fae marry a witch? They were sort of similar in species, though there was a bit of a class war between witches, whom the fae saw as mortal, and the fae. Gabe startled at the memory, realizing somewhere he had a lot of knowledge of the fae.
“Another arrangement,” Seiran said as he stepped up to the door. It opened before he could reach for it, and a big, muscular man stood there, his shoulders broad, blond hair pulled back, expression stern. “I’m fine,” Seiran said instantly.
But the man’s gaze fell to Gabe, and an unfriendly scowl was directed his way.
“It’s fine,” Seiran assured him again, stepping through the doorway. “Gabe, come in,” he added, and Gabe felt the magic of the house jump to him. It was a bit of a quirky sensation, like ghost hands running over his skin to memorize the feel of him. But he followed the witch inside, the creature trailing after them. The large man closed the door behind them.
“He looks strange,” the man said.
Seiran sighed. “Gabe, this is Jamie, my brother. You’ll probably remember him eventually.”
“Remember me eventually?” Jamie’s voice went frigid. “He doesn’t remember you? After all the things he did?”
“What did I do?” Gabe asked.
Jamie opened his mouth as though to fill Gabe in, but Seiran held up a hand to stop him. “No. Let him remember on his own. Max says it will keep the revenant from rising.”
“If the revenant returns, I’ll put that piece of shit back in the ground,” Jamie snarled.
“Sounds like you’ll have to get in line,” Gabe said.
Seiran sucked in a deep breath, then stepped forward to give his brother a hug. “I’m fine. Go to bed. You have to be up early.”
“There’s blood in the freezer,” Jamie said. “You don’t have to feed him. There’s enough for a week, and I can get more.” His glare made it clear that Gabe was not a friend. “I left a new phone for you on your nightstand. Everything is already programmed in. Maybe put the golem in the arboretum? You can ward the area to keep it in there.”
“Thanks. I might do that. Everyone is in bed?”