Chapter 20

 

Julian poured himself a scotch and sat on the sofa. He’d taken the week off work. All things considered, they’d been happy to give him the week off. While he was using that time to find somewhere new to live, and look at cars, he was over living at home. He hadn’t lived with his father since he was a teen at school.

He’d tried to speak to his brother about magic, but his brother’s only comment had been, “What’s the point?”

Kirin did have a point. When no one else knew about or appreciated magic what was the point in learning to do great feats. Kirin had the power—if he worked at it—to cause earthquakes. He could make mountains topple. He could work with animals, heal them and help them. His brother was wasting his talent just because most of the population wouldn’t know magic if it saved their life or their world.

The Albah had magic for a reason. Julian firmly believed that. They had once been angels, or gods, long before they had been cast as demons and witches by more modern religions. Kirin wasn’t interested. He was going traveling with Archie because he wanted to travel and get their father off his back. That was all.

Julian wasn’t going to win that argument no matter what he’d said, so he’d left it. Hoping that being around earth magic would open his brother’s eyes. He hoped Kirin would enjoy his adventure. It would do him good to get out and see the world.

He woke up the laptop and started getting everything ready for the Albah meeting tonight. All he actually cared about was would Leira be here?

She was out of hospital. His father had told him that. Saba had told him when she’d woken, but also that she wasn’t ready to see him. She was no longer a murder suspect either, but a lucky survivor. He’d sent her flowers and a card to her home. He’d wanted to call her, but she hadn’t called him and if she wasn’t ready to see him, she probably wasn’t ready to talk to him either. Dale had said that the Venn women were spending time together and that Leira didn’t want any visitors.

Any visitors or just him?

He glanced over at the seat she’d occupied the last time they’d gathered in this room. While he knew their first meeting wasn’t the way Leira had seen it happening, he was still glad that he’d met her. He wanted the chance to see her without all the drama. Had they only got together because they were fighting a common enemy and they had an element in common, or was there something more?

The laptop pinged. Finley was online already.

“Hey, Jules. Is Quinn around?” Finley had stopped referring to Quinn as Dad years ago.

“Not yet. He should be here in ten.” There was no way Julian was running a meeting as though he was second in command of all the Albah. If anyone should be doing that, it was Finley.

“Shit. I can’t hang around. I have to be on set.”

“Hard life.”

Something flickered through Finley’s eyes. They looked similar, even though all Albah had blond hair and blue eyes, there was something in the set of their jaw. “You aren’t the only one with problems.”

Julian leaned forward. “You got Guardians?”

“You make it sound like a disease.”

“If only it was treatable so easily. Take two pills a day for seven days and that will clear up that nasty rash.”

Finley smiled and gave a short laugh. “Yeah well…no Guardians. Just your garden-variety stalker. I just wanted some advice.”

“You know what he’ll say.”

“Go to the cops.” Finley pulled a face. “If every actor went to the cops for every weird letter they received, the cops would never have time to catch the dangerous people.”

“You sure it’s not Guardians? They aren’t exactly playing by the old rules.”

Finley glanced over his shoulder. “Give Quinn my apologies. Don’t mention the stalker and I’ll call him later.”

“You’re supposed to be here.” Finley was the heir, not him.

“You’re there. And we all know that you are way more responsible than I am.”

“Fin—”

“Enjoy your moment of fame.” Then the screen went blank and his older half-brother was gone.

The front door shut. “Who was that?” Quinn called out.

“Finley, he has to be on set. He’ll call you later.” Would he? Unlikely. He’d tried once and he’d say that was enough.

“I won’t hold my breath. Give me two minutes and I’ll be there,” Quinn said.

Julian sighed. This wasn’t what he wanted. He hoped that his father wasn’t testing him out to see if he’d make a better heir than Finley. How many Albah already thought he’d take over? As Albah called in he greeted them and thanked them for their concern.

Four Guardians were dead and both Albah had survived. To many that was a win. It didn’t feel like one. It should never have happened. Too many had died at the hands of Guardians during the so-called truce.

Saba walked in with Dale. They took seats to the side. Julian looked at Saba and raised his eyebrows. Was her sister coming?

Saba gave a slight shake of her head.

No.

Julian’s hopes—which he’d tried to keep tethered so they wouldn’t soar too high—crashed to the ground. He didn’t bother to pick them up and dust them off. He didn’t know if he should even resuscitate them, but it hurt too much to give up. He needed a plan. He needed to call her and stop pining.

She could’ve called him and thanked him for the flowers. For healing her. He should call her to apologize for getting her caught up in his mess and for almost getting her killed.

Was it her turn to move or his? He didn’t know, because in the past he’d have shrugged and walked away instead of pondering what to do.

He listened with half an ear to what was being said. To the threats that other Albah had received and the updated information on where the newly risen Albanex were hunting. No new leads on who was making them.

His father asked that all previous house fires or car accidents or anything that had once been perceived to be random bad luck be reconsidered as a possible crime. It appeared that the Guardians of Adam had shaken on the truce with one hand while killing an Albah with the other.

Then his father dropped the news that silenced all the chatter and made Julian stop thinking about what he could say to Leira to give him another chance.

“We are at a turning point as a people. If we keep going the way we have been, then it will only be a couple of generations until there are no more males. With no men, half our magic is gone. Lost forever. Already we have only one female fire user. Do we want to breed out and fade away as a historical footnote?” His father had finally said what people had been talking about for years but that no one actually wanted to deal with. “Or find a way to survive.”

Eventually a man with a French accent spoke. “You mean a return to arranged marriages for the men to ensure continuation of the line.”

Quinn nodded. “Yes. Though perhaps something less formal than what we had three hundred years ago. There could be online dating.”

“You have three sons. What do they think?” a woman said.

The sofa Julian was sitting on suddenly became quite hot. He swallowed and could feel the weight of the stares from around the globe on him. He’d always known that one day he’d do the right thing and marry an Albah woman. It was why he’d never gotten too close to the human women. They had been temporary. Right now, he didn’t want anyone else but Leira. “I am in agreement. Although, we could always use modern technology and just have the men donate sperm.”

Several people pulled away from their screens as though he was being disgusting when he was being practical.

“You can’t force people into loveless marriages…men or women. I think we should consider all the options. I don’t think dying out is one of them.” Julian didn’t want his grandchildren to be the last. He didn’t want to be talking about the different types of elemental magic as a thing of the past.

Saba glanced at Dale. They were doing that silent conversation thing that couples do. Dale must be wondering what he’d gotten himself mixed up in.

The woman who had asked what he thought spoke again. “That is still asking a lot. Not all of us have husbands who know what we are.”

Quinn rested his elbows on his knees. “I know that. But I think it’s something we have to think about. If we wait any longer, there will be too few male Albah.”

They had always needed both types of pairings. Human-Albah pairings to stop the bloodlines from becoming too close and Albah-Albah pairings to make sure that there were male children born. Julian would love for someone to do a genetic study on the Albah and find out what was going on, but that would require money and the truth to be public so it was never going to happen.

A young man with long blond dreadlocks was nodding. “I’d be happy to do whatever. I get a little tired hiding what I am, but it’s not easy to meet other Albah when we are so spread out. Didn’t there used to be conventions or something?”

“We stopped gathering because of the risk,” Quinn said. “Take the word back to your families that we’re on the tipping point. If there is interest, then I will set up a meeting for those who want an Albah partner. If the vote comes back that we die out, then is there a need to stay in contact?”

“If we die out, the Guardians win,” the French man said.

There were murmurs of agreement. After recent events, no one wanted to lay down for the Guardians and make their job easy.

If he didn’t fight for Leira, Emily would succeed in death where she’d failed in life, to keep him from being happy and being with Leira. He glanced at Saba. An idea forming.

* * * *

Julian walked into the Silvered Moon, not sure if he should expect a welcome or if Saba never wanted to see him again. It was one thing to be polite in a public meeting but another to be nice to him in private. Now that her sister was out of hospital she didn’t even need his magic.

Saba was moving books around on the shelves and glanced over. “Leira is at uni. She had to see someone about an extension.”

“I wanted to see you.” He hadn’t had the chance to speak to Saba last night. Last night he hadn’t been sure that this was the right thing to do. This morning he’d woken up knowing it was the only thing he could do to put things right. He missed Leira. They had only lived together for a few days but they’d had fun—when they weren’t trying not to be killed.

Saba straightened up. “Oh, how can I help?”

Would she help? Did she really want her sister to be with the man who’d almost gotten her killed? Maybe he was wrong and his idea wasn’t that great. “I think I need a reading.”

“Thought you didn’t want to know what your future held?”

So Leira had discussed him with her sister. What had she said recently? But he couldn’t ask that. He didn’t want to look desperate, even though he was. “I’ve changed my mind. I would like to know. Forewarned and all of that.”

Saba considered him for a moment. “Leira hasn’t called you yet, has she?”

There was no dodging that question. “No.”

“She doesn’t know what to say. She knows that you came to see her. And she liked the flowers.”

“Good.” Then why hadn’t she called? “The whole Emily thing has scared her off, hasn’t it?”

“Maybe, but I know that she has done a reading for herself.”

“And?” What had Leira seen this time?

“And she didn’t tell me.”

“I have an idea.” Saba was going to laugh at him, but he had to try. “I was hoping you’d be able to tell me if it’s the right thing to do.”

“What are you planning?” She lifted one eyebrow and managed to look wary as though he was about to endanger her sister again.

“We were supposed to meet on a train.” He was sure Saba knew that. “Leira thinks we met too soon or something.”

“You want to set up a re-meet, on a train?” When she said it, it sounded terribly lame and not in the least bit romantic. “Yes.” She beamed like it was a brilliant idea. “I don’t need to do a reading to know that is perfect. “I’ll set it up. You just have to be on the train at the right time.”

“You aren’t worried about her being with me?”

She shook her head. “No. It wasn’t your fault and you did everything you could to save her. But I know that you aren’t very good at committing.”

He was never telling Dale anything again. “They were human. I was waiting for…Leira.”

As he said the words he knew that was the truth. It wasn’t just any Albah woman that he’d wanted. He had been waiting for someone specific. For some kind of connection and understanding. Leira was his opposite. They had a magical connection that he could never have with another. They had battled a Guardian together and lived.

Leira had always had faith in her visions; he was going to make their future happen.