20. Patrick

Chapter twenty

Patrick

A llan's mood had plummeted, and if I was being completely honest, so had mine. As far as he had come in his studies and abilities, it hadn't been enough. The boy could pull water from thin air, and make it do the most basic commands, but he lacked the essential source to be able to wield the element properly.

I worried about his safety.

I feared for his life.

One month simply had not provided us with enough time.

But here we were, underprepared and caught with our pants down around our ankles. Exposed, and vulnerable.

But I had no choice.

Ready or not we had to go to the island and meet our fate.

Both of us had packed knapsacks bulging to explosion in preparation for imminent travel, not knowing which one of us, or both, would end up leaving.

I had laid out very specific instructions for Allan on how to care for both Argus and Kaos, as well as trying to teach him how to enter into The Magic Shop and instructing The Owner to let him through to the Council chambers to tell Reginald what had become of me should I be the one to go.

Allan had agreed to do all of it. To babysit the animals and my house. He would stay the entire year and look after everything.

On the other hand, if it was Allan to go, I assured him that I would be waiting at the very spot he left in one year to welcome him back home.

If we both left, we had taken several hours out of our day prior to pack up the cabin, to make sure that it could be left unattended for the whole time, even leaving a note tacked to the front door for Sheriff Stanley.

Of course, we didn't tell him everything, but enough so that he would include my place on his rounds and make sure that no unwanted visitors took up residence, be it the human or animal variety.

In short, we lost an entire day for preparations.

A day we might have used practicing more, reaching further, perhaps piercing the source and unleashing Allan's abilities.

Instead, we stood on the shoreline, the canoe's tip kissing the lake's water. My pack already nestled into the boat, I picked up Argus and placed him next to my satchel.

Allan toyed with a tie on the backpack I had bought him for this.

"Fucking thing." His hands jerked and spasmed, trying to close a zipper whose teeth could barely fit together as the sack was so distended.

"What in hell's name did you pack in there?" I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

But not only did the grey cloudy day reflect our emotional state, the knowledge that unknown destinies awaited, potentially rife with danger, nearly drowned both of us.

"Everything you bought me, and a few extras." Allan whispered.

I unzipped the bag, hoping to rearrange some stuff to make closing it a little easier.

Inside, the spines of several books I had lent him became evident. Tomes I had tried to beat into his head. Literature that would teach him the witchy ways.

But there was also a sprig of buffalo berry leaves, the sheet from the spare room where I had originally wrapped him up after finding him on the island, an incense stick I had made for his cleansing, and a pair of my shorts.

I glanced up at Allan.

He blushed.

"I wanted things to remember you by."

"It's only a year." I said, but as the words left my mouth, I didn't even believe them.

"A whole year! And we don't know who's going. It could be me. And if I'm going to die, I want to have something to remind me of you while I lie on the ground bleeding out." He sniffled, then wiped his cheek with the back of his hand, his eyes glassy and red.

"Come here." I pulled him into a massive bear hug and held him tight. So tight neither of us could breathe. "I know this is scary as fuck. I can't promise you everything will be all right because I just don't know. But I will tell you this… I will wait for you, I will return to the very spot where the Fae take you if you're the one to go. If I go, I will return back to you. Do you hear me?"

He sniffled and sobbed against my chest. "Yeah." The word was unconvincing as it came out as a whisper.

He wasn't confident.

Neither was I.

I let go of him, then grabbed his face and brought to mine, lips connecting, mashing together, parting and allowing for tongues to enter. Then I stopped and rested my forehead against his.

"Let's go."

As we pushed the canoe into the water, Kaos screeched from somewhere above us and lazily followed us as we paddled toward Fae Island.

I pulled the boat out of the water, electing to get my own shoes wet and let Allan's remain dry. As soon as he was able, Allan leapt out of the canoe and assisted me in pulling the nose far enough out of the water so we wouldn't have to worry about it drifting away with the lake's waves.

Still overcast and grey, it was now September, and the leaves had begun to change. Gold, yellow, red, and orange dotted the treetops around the lake, making the scene picturesque and worthy of a postcard.

Allan heaved in a huge breath followed by a monster sigh.

"You okay?"

"No. This feels way too much like a month ago and the beginnings of a wretched idea of a camping trip."

"Despite what happened, it brought you into my life," I said.

He smiled at me, but so much pain and sadness lay behind the gesture.

Kaos swept in, landing in a flurry of feathers and flapping wings, taking perch on my shoulder. Argus jumped out of the boat and took up beside Allan.

I glanced at him, he nodded, and we started up the path toward the spot where his friends and he had camped.

As we entered the clearing, I couldn't help but notice Allan's gaze staring at the place where I had submerged his friends' bodies.

He came and stood beside me, tucking himself in as close as he could get. I wondered if he feared what lay under the sandy soil. I dropped my backpack and once again pulled him in for a tight and, hopefully, reassuring hug. I would protect him from the dead.

We stood there for several minutes, until we heard a rustling of leaves.

I dropped my head into the crook of Allan's neck, knowing this was it.

"Patrick, you bring the one who has sullied our land?"

I released Allan and glanced toward the tall, ashen-coloured, alien-looking Fae who had appeared. Several of them had come. We were vastly outnumbered.

"I did, Sheq'wa-nay. This is Allan. Allan, this is the Fae elder who made the request of your presence in the Fae lands."

Allan bowed his head, as I had instructed him. The elders were to be treated with respect, and they did not appreciate human touch unless they initiated it.

"I apologize for my actions. I did not know or understand the sacredness of this island, and I willingly ignored the warning signs. I take full responsibility for what happened here."

"I see you have trained him in etiquette, if nothing else. But I'm less concerned with manners and more with ability."

"I'm afraid we didn't get far enough. Even though Allan has proven to be an amazing student and has progressed with his element, he has not been able to tap into his source, which means he is incapable of casting any complex magical spells.

"In that regard, I would like to make a trade. You asked for the one responsible for sullying this island, I have brought him, but in exchange for his presence in your realm for one year, I offer up myself.

"I have far more control over my abilities, and as you know, have achieved Magician status. I ask you take me instead of Allan."

"Noble," Sheq'wa-nay said with a nod of his head. His eyelids blinking sideways instead of up and down. The action made him distinctly inhuman. "However, you may have control, but you do not wield the raw power of the young one. Once he masters what is inside, he will be more powerful than any other witch of this world. It is that uncharted ferocity we require. Your request is denied, Patrick. Allan must come with us."

"Then I ask you to let me accompany him. I can help train him, mentor him, and show him the ways of the witch."

"Also denied. Allan must journey on his own."

Allan's head shot toward me, the panic and fear in his wide eyes making my heart ache.

"Please? I can't leave him. I need him. I'm not ready." Allan begged.

"Young one, you will return. But you will also make good on damaging our land. On the sacrilege you created with the inability to control what resides within you. You will show our people respect in your service to them. And perhaps you will learn a thing or two about your abilities. Where do you think magic in this world originated? From us. Although Patrick is talented, he is no match for those among our kind who also wield the elements. You will train in our world under them, and you will be put to battle the demons we face in our realm."

Sheq'wa-nay turned to me. "Patrick, you have done well and have always made good on the human promise to make reparations when required. I hope we never find the need to make such requests ever again." The elder turned away from me and focused on Allan. "We must depart. Allan, come."

Sheq'wa-nay extended his hand and with long ethereal fingers he gestured Allan to follow.

His mouth quivering, and his shoulders shaking uncontrollably, Allan bent and grabbed his backpack, then slung it over his shoulders. He glanced at me, tears glazing his eyes until they at last breached the corners and rolled down his cheeks.

"I'm so scared," he whispered.

I walked over to him and touched his wet cheek.

"I know. I am too. But I believe you will be all right." My heart thumped against the bones of my ribcage. The gnawing angst in my gut made me nauseous. "I will be right here waiting for you." I pulled him in again for another hug—and a kiss—a long one. I wanted to taste him one last time and, hopefully, imprint the sensation, smell, and flavor in my memory.

"Please come with me?" he whispered.

"I can't. You know that. But…" I whispered back. "I big L love you, Allan."

He sniffled and clung to me, desperate and terrified…but he managed to speak his last words to me.

"I big L love you too."

And with that, the Fae reached out and grabbed his wrist, then dragged him into the forest.

As the last stitch of Allan's garments began to disappear, Kaos flew out of the trees and hurtled directly toward where Allan had slowly vanished.

Before I could command her to come back to me, both they and all of the Fae were gone.