The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans (23 page)

“Oh,
yes,” said Julian, wrapping his arms and legs around Alex and giving him
another long, magic-laced kiss. “Definitely worth it.”

CHAPTER 13

Julian
woke to Alex the sound of trying to both hold an angry phone conversation and
not disturb him.

“You
might as well yell,” said Julian, hiding his face in Alex’s hip with a
yawn. “M’awake.”

Alex
stroked his hair. “Sorry, love,” he whispered, covering the phone.
Then his face hardened and he removed his hand and said, quite loudly and
angrily, “You are not welcome in my home, Agent Fischer, and I am
absolutely positive you don’t have a warrant and can’t come in uninvited.”

“Ugh,
him,” said Julian, snuggling closer. “He’s a jerkface.”

“No,”
said Alex one more time, and then he hung up. “One more call, sorry.”
He stroked Julian’s hair. “This one will have less yelling.”

Julian
yawned. “Wha’ time’sit?” he mumbled.

Alex
chuckled. “You’ve got a few minutes if you want to sleep more.” He
found the right name in his contacts and tickled the shell of Julian’s ear
before hitting the call button. “Supervising Agent Mallory? It’s Alex
Benedict.”

“Ooh,
gettin’ someone in trouble,” said Julian with a grin that turned into
another yawn. He didn’t think he could get back to sleep, so he settled in to
listen to Alex threatening to file a formal harassment complaint against
Fischer. Despite Alex’s obvious annoyance, Julian was enjoying the mental
images of Mallory giving Fischer a well-deserved scolding. Julian had only met
Mallory once in passing, but he’d always thought the man had the perfect face
for disciplining his Agents.

Julian
sat up when Alex rang off the call and rewarded him with a kiss. “My
valiant protector. What does Fischer want now?”

“He
wants to rifle through my work room,” said Alex, annoyed. “Can you
imagine how fast a team of techs would mess up my filing systems? Not to
mention the man-hours it would take them to catalog it all!”

“Ugh,”
said Julian again. “Better tell Murielle that Agent Jerkface is on the
rampage again.” He stretched and stole another kiss, then got up and
claimed first dibs on the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and
brushed his teeth just to feel properly human before arming himself with dressing
gown and slippers.

“I’ll
be out in a minute,” said Alex, back on the phone and still in bed.

Julian
interfered and kissed him anyway, then went out to face their houseguests.
“Alex is right, you two are disgustingly perky,” he said. James and
Jacques were already up and getting ready for the day, with a whole arsenal of
weapons laid out on their coffee table that the two men were making
systematically vanish. “Did you shower already?”

“We
did, you guys slept very well after last night’s,” James smirked,
“excitement.”

Julian
blushed red, but he couldn’t hide the giant grin that came with it. “Yeah,
we really did,” he said smugly.

Jacques
laughed. “We didn’t have this problem last time, you might see if Alex can
do something about the way sound carries.”

“Can’t,”
said Alex from the bedroom doorway. “You have to be able to hear us if we
call for help. Is there tea?”

“There’s
breakfast,” said Alys, and they all trooped in and took their seats around
the table. Alys had made a hash of leftover lamb and potatoes fried into the
tastiest little rounds imaginable, along with eggs, scones, and bowls of what
proved to be curried fruit. There was fresh-squeezed blood orange juice to go
with their tea, and even a little plate of kippers that only James and Nat were
interested in eating.

“You
take such good care of us, Alys,” said Julian, after a few delicious
bites. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“You
have good taste in men,” said Alex smugly.

Alys
laughed. “You keep your half of our bargain just as well, the house is
safe and well-provisioned, and you don’t interfere.”

“You
don’t even poke your nose in,” said Nat with a nod. “That’s rare, you
humans are a curious lot.”

“You
say that like fairies aren’t,” said Alex, amused. “Curiosity is a
trait all the races share, I think.”

“Besides,”
said Julian, “you always make the wait worthwhile.”

After
that the talk turned first to more compliments, and then to the mundane details
of their day. Father Stephen wasn’t expecting them at a specific time, but they
didn’t want to dawdle, either, so Julian and Alex ate up. Alex took a shower
while Julian did his rounds of all the plants again, more conscious of where he
put his energy. Julian let the plants have their little trickle on purpose this
time, since it obviously helped them.
 

Julian
did a sketchy wash before his day of getting dirty in the Temple garden and put
on his work clothes. He wore shoes he could slip easily into and out and made
sure that Alys could get the dirt out for him if he didn’t always have time to
wash his feet. “I’m all set,” he said, fingers nervously fingering
the amulet at his chest.

“Jones
is downstairs,” said Alex. “Alys made up lunches for all of us,
including Father Stephen, can you carry the box? That way…”

“That
way everyone who might need them has his hands free to protect me,” said
Julian. “You know, what if I brought Horace along?”

“What
for?” asked Jacques curiously.

“He
could go find someone else if there’s trouble, he’s really smart,” said
Julian.

Alex
looked pleased. “He could, and if we introduce him to the people he’d need
to find, it would be as good as an address. Horace’s magic wouldn’t have any
problem with your confusing corridors.”

“He’ll
like being useful again, too,” said Julian fondly. “Horace, wanna
come on an adventure?”

Horace
chirped happily and flew over to rest on Julian’s shoulder, rubbing his beak
against Julian’s cheek.
 

Alex
grinned. “That’s really smart, plus he can come find me if you guys need
me for anything.” He hefted his satchel, which contained his work flute
and some materials; he was planning to consult with the Temple mages about
protecting the apprentices while Julian worked.

“All
right, that’s everyone. Get your stick and let’s go,” said James.

“See
you for dinner!” called Julian, picking up the box. “One of you will
have to swap out the fairy-offering, please.”

“I’ll
do it,” said Alex. “I think my amulet will protect you, but they’re
better to have on guard if something happens.”

“Thanks,”
said James, looking relieved.

Jacques
opened the door and stepped out, glancing back and forth and up and down.
“Alex next, to do the bowls,” said Jacques.

They
went through the same dance for Alex, and then Julian emerged and James hurried
after him. Jacques had already called up the elevator, and Alex whistled to the
wards one last time before joining them. Julian felt ridiculously exposed, for
all he was shoved in a tiny metal box with three big men, and he was relieved
that Jones had both trunk and car door open for him when they got down to the
parking garage.

“It’s
a good thing elevators are usually warded against tampering,” said Julian,
relaxing a little once he got in the familiar car. He could feel the determined
protectiveness of his own amulet joining up with the one Alex had made for the
car itself.

“You’re
surrounded by Alex’s protections here,” said James, settling in after
their inspection of the vehicle itself.

“Not
quite as good as home, though,” said Jacques, glaring up at the ceiling as
though it was the car’s fault it couldn’t protect as well as the apartment’s
meticulously constructed wards.

Julian
giggled. “It tries, though, it’s a good car and a good amulet,” said
Julian, amused to feel something like pride from the magic surrounding him.

“And
a good driver,” said Jones. “Off to the main Temple, right?”

“Oh,
we got you a parking permit,” said Jacques, digging into his jacket for
the little hanging tag. “So you can be in the garage all day.”

Jones
hung it on the rearview mirror. “Thanks, that’ll help,” he said, and
then he turned his concentration to getting them where they were going. Julian
held his breath again once they left the illusory safety of the building
garage, but nothing happened as they pulled out into traffic. He cradled Horace
against his chest, curled against Alex and watched the city go by outside the
car windows, all of them quiet for the rest of the trip.

“So,”
asked Jones as they all piled out into the Temple garage, “if you’re all
here all day, when will you need me?”

“I
don’t know,” said Julian. “Fancy some gardening?”

Jones
laughed. “I can’t be much help in the dirt with my uniform on, but I don’t
mind lifting and carrying,” he said. He took off his jacket and put it in
the car, rolling up his sleeves and taking the box of lunches from Julian.
“We’ll start with this, I see Alys sent one for me, as well.”

“She’s
a gem,” said Alex happily, and they all headed inside. James and Jacques
found Father Stephen’s office for them, only to have the priest be elsewhere.

Julian
laughed. “Horace can be useful right off, I suppose,” he said.
“Can you go find Father Stephen for us? He knows you, I think.”

“He
does, he spent some time looking at Horace after I replaced his feathers,”
said Alex. “Is that my letter, though?”

“Oh,
yes,” said Julian with a laugh. “Sorry, I left it there for
safe-keeping, here.” He extricated it and handed it over to Alex. “I
meant to write back, but there hasn’t really been time,” he added rather
shyly.

“I
can wait,” said Alex. He stole a kiss, interfering with Julian getting
Horace closed up, and then finally they got the bird launched and flying off to
find the priest.

“So
you still use Horace to write to each other?” asked James curiously.

Julian
smiled. “We just started again, Alex needed to leave me a note a few days
ago, and Horace told me he missed it. And I realised I missed it, too.”

“That’s
very sweet,” said Jacques, and he wasn’t even teasing. Sometimes they
caught him off guard, because they had an appreciation for the affection that
Julian and Alex shared that seemed to come from somewhere Julian didn’t quite
understand. They didn’t envy the relationship, they had what they needed in the
Temple and their partnership. “You’re quite good to each other.”

“We
deserve it,” said Alex, pulling Julian close for a kiss.

“Did
someone lose a bird?” said Father Stephen from the doorway, looking very
amused. Julian raised his hand, and Stephen came over and handed Horace back to
him. “Your clever construct got me out of a very boring conversation, so
thank you.”

Julian
grinned. “We brought him in case I need to call for help, so if there’s
anyone you’d want to have come running, we should meet them before I get
started. Jones is going to help fetch and carry, too, so I’ll have a little
help.”

“I’ve
assigned an acolyte to you today, too,” said Father Stephen. “Brianna
will be assisting us in the planting.”

“Us?”
said Julian, lighting up. “Will you help, too?”

“As
much as I can get away with, yes,” said Father Stephen. “At least
today I have the excuse of planning, though I don’t know how long I can keep
using it.”

Alex
laughed. “Planting is better than meetings, I bet,” he teased.
“I’m off to the mages, if you can direct me? And send Horace to find me
for lunch, Alys sent enough for everyone except your poor acolyte.”

“She’s
even got one for you,” said Julian, pointing to the labelled box that said
“Stephen.”

“She’s
a very kind fairy,” said Stephen. “Perhaps some of your luck with the
fae will rub off on us. We did order the fairy flowers as you suggested.”

“Good,”
said Julian. “They’re nice for humans, too, anyway.”

Stephen
waylaid a passing acolyte to direct Alex, and they left their lunches in
Stephen’s office before heading over to the garden plot. The August sunshine
streamed in through the skylight, and there were stone benches and boxes of
plants outside, just waiting to turn the plot of earth into a proper luck
garden. Julian’s one lucky clover stood proudly, and Julian could feel its
satisfaction with its new home. He slipped out of his shoes and went over to
the plant.

“I
can see you’re doing well today,” he said, and he got a mental picture of
a cool shower and lots of warm sunshine. “Someone watered you.”

Stephen
chuckled. “Just a touch,” he said. “I didn’t want to make mud
for the day’s work.”

“The
plant appreciated it,” Julian assured him. “Now, why don’t we put the
benches like this,” he said, moving around the room and pointing, so that
there would be two on the left of each doorway. “Then we can put the path
stones like this.” He walked from the doorway to the left around the
imaginary benches, then turned to cross the whole room in a gentle curve, and
walk past the other benches to the opposite door. “And then we can add a
stone to the middle of each curve, so impatient people can hop across without
crushing the plants.”

“I
approve,” said Stephen.

“I’ll
need a hand lifting the benches,” said Jones.

“I
can help,” said Jacques. “As long as Julian stays inside.”

“It’s
a deal,” said Julian. “But let’s clear off the benches first, so that
way you’re only distracted for a few minutes.”

There
was a flurry of activity; first Father Stephen insisted on washing Julian’s
feet and giving him a short blessing, and followed up with the same for Jones.
The Guardians stood at each end of the hallway while everyone else moved plants
to the floor and into the room to keep from clogging up the hallway. At some
point Brianna showed up and began helping, and they made short work of it with
so many hands. Jacques and Jones got the benches securely settled in place, and
then Jones offered to start placing stones while the rest of them planted.