~ Chapter Seven ~ #2
“Okay.” Regan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, then his scratchy cheeks. Opening his eyes again, the sparkles had faded and they weren’t as in-your-face as they had been, which was a good thing.
Maybe this is part of what the book was saying? Or I’m going mad.
“If I understand, you’re able to see me a bit differently now.” Lutin rubbed his clean-shaven skin. “I’m guessing it’s your Elemental abilities starting to kick in.”
“But I also saw you as the old man, and on Saturday I watched you shift and become… I don’t know, a bit more like your friend Blaise. In that moment, I was intimidated by you,” Regan offered. “Well, if I’m honest, I’ve found you a bit intimidating since we met.”
Lutin took a deep breath. “Okay. Well, I think you see a bit more of my Fae nature than most people. Which isn’t a bad thing—just means at some level you’ve always been able to access your abilities.
” A smile bloomed across his lips. “And now that you’re seeing some of my aura, you’re tapping into more of your magic. ”
“This isn’t because of the Twins?—”
Lutin’s brows lowered. “The what?”
“Well, I didn’t know what else to call them, so I decided on calling them the Twins.
The children I saw.” He lowered his voice, not wanting anyone to hear them.
He still thought this was nuts—however, if truth be told, he didn’t want to wake the Twins, or draw their attention. “You know, the Elementals.”
“I guess that’s as good a name for them as anything, until they tell you their names.”
“How does any of this have anything to do with the other night?” Regan asked, trying to get them on track and not wanting to focus on this magic business. Yes, he’d been reading and going through Max’s books, but to talk about such things in the open was a different story.
“I don’t know if it does, but I will say this. I think it’s safe to say we both find each other attractive.”
“But… well…”
A charge of ozone filled the space and the lights in the room started to buzz, and from the kitchen or maybe the bathroom Regan heard the water in the pipes.
Not helpful…
“Be very careful with what you say next,” Lutin instructed, glancing around the space. “I believe the Twins are listening and tuned in with your state of mind.”
“No shit. They’ve been tuned in all week.” Regan took a breath, closed his eyes, and focused a moment. “Fine. You’re right.”
The ozone smell subsided and the buzz from the lights stopped and the pipes no longer groaned.
“That’s not fair,” Regan blustered to the house.
There were giggles from around them.
Lutin worked his mouth to keep from laughing.
“Fair or not, I don’t think they’re going to let you hide, or perhaps lie to yourself any longer.
You’re going to need to learn to deal with them and work with them, which I believe you’re on your way to doing.
Have you had any issues since Saturday with them? ”
Regan shook his head. “No, but I haven’t really been doing much.
Work mostly, and reading the books I took from the cabin.
” The light flickered again and a faucet turned on.
His lips pinched down and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine, a bit here and there, but I… they… the Twins, I haven’t seen them since Saturday.
And nothing like this.” He waved his hand around at the space.
“And the moment I show up, your Elementals become more active.” Lutin tapped his lips. “Interesting.”
Regan stood. “Maybe if you leave and we don’t see each other again, they will leave me alone.” The lights grew brighter. “Or maybe not be so… active.” The light closest to Regan sparked and the kitchen sink faucet turned on. Regan shook his head. “This really sucks.”
Lutin sank a bit deeper into the sofa. “Imagine being them,” Lutin started. “They’ve been waiting for you for what, fifty years…?”
“Forty-seven, thank you,” Regan corrected with a huff.
I’m not fifty yet.
“Fine. Fine.” Lutin waved. “And now that you’ve reached out to them and are starting to come into your magic, they don’t want to be ignored any longer. And I’m guessing they don’t want you to lie or ignore yourself either. I believe they know I can help you.”
Regan reflected on Lutin’s words. He may not fully want to accept everything that had happened over the last few days, but there was no point in disregarding what was happening now.
At the very least, working with his magic and the Twins would keep him from having to deal with constant electrical and plumbing issues.
“Okay, fine, but can we focus only on the magic and what I need to do?”
More giggles filled the space around Regan and Lutin.
“Is that a yes?” Regan asked.
“Are you talking to me or them?” Lutin’s devilish grin beamed at him.
The rest of the week didn’t pass without incident.
Regan had to deal with multiple episodes that became harder and harder to brush off.
He even started seeing more and more auras from people he both knew and didn’t know.
Based on the book he had started reading, some of the people he encountered were Witches, more than he thought there should be, and he ran into an Elf and another Fae like Blaise and Lutin.
He didn’t let on that he could tell they weren’t human, but by how they returned his gaze, they knew he saw something.
He didn’t want to believe what he saw so he did his best to ignore them.
By the end of the week, as promised, he returned to the cabin in Boulder Creek on Friday afternoon.
Regan took a half day so he and Lutin could start their magical training early.
He also took Monday off, unsure if he’d need the time to recover.
Honestly, he wasn’t sure what to expect, but he figured none of his planning could hurt.
His boss was a bit annoyed at the late request, but given how hard he worked, they didn’t deny him the time off.
Plus, he was getting to the point where there were days where he wanted to quit anyway, and now he might have the option given his recent inheritance.
And I think they have a feeling they shouldn’t push me.
Regan glanced around the field. A wooden table had been set up about thirty paces from where they stood. “What now?” He brushed off fuzz from his t-shirt as the cool afternoon breeze kissed his neck and cheeks. Lutin suggested he wear comfortable clothing for their practice session.
“We try again.” Lutin pointed to the glass containers resting on the table in Lutin’s grove where they were practicing. Glass, Lutin said, was the best item to use since electricity and water both played nice with it. “Now focus.”
“I wish I knew what to focus on,” Regan groaned. “Telling me to focus doesn’t help.”
Lutin stopped and walked over to him. He was surprised to see him in sweats and a t-shirt today, but comfort and mobility had been the name of the game this afternoon.
Unfortunately, instead of loose baggy sweats, Lutin’s gray sweatpants were a bit more form-fitting and showed off an ample amount of Lutin’s body, pulling Regan’s concentration more than he would ever admit.
I wonder if he did this on purpose?
If Regan’s gaze dropped to Lutin’s gray sweats, he forced himself to concentrate on Lutin’s loose Chip and Dale t-shirt, providing a fun whimsical distraction countering any other thoughts Regan might have.
“Look, it’s not like I’ve done this before,” Lutin grumbled, his air of calm slightly frazzled. “Last week I had you try to call forward the Twins and that didn’t end well. I thought maybe trying to work with the elements themselves might… I don’t know.”
Regan glanced at the ground before them. “Well… what if I try and talk to them? That’s worked this week—well, sort of. I think they listened, or at least nothing blew up. Since we’re in this magical place, maybe…” He shrugged.
Lutin rubbed his chin. “Sure, why not.” He sat down where he had stood and gestured for Regan to do the same. “Have a seat.”
Sitting on the soft grass crisscrossing his legs in front of him, Regan closed his eyes. This did two things: allowed him to focus on the Twins, and Lutin was out of his sight, making it easier to concentrate.
Regan rolled his shoulders and shook out his hands. Despite Regan asking Lutin to keep their interactions professional, part of him was both happy and annoyed to see Lutin kind of ignored the request.
Unless the choice of sweats was unintentional. No guys know what they’re doing when they wear more form-fitting clothing, especially sweatpants.
Focusing on his breathing and pushing all the thoughts of Lutin from his mind, he called forth his memories of the Twins.
Soon, the image of the dark-haired child with dark eyes and blue shirt and gray pants appeared, holding hands with the blonde-haired child with blue eyes and gray shirt and green pants.
“Hello,” Regan offered.
The two watched him. Sparks popped off around the dark-haired child and droplets of water danced around the blonde-haired child. They said nothing, only watching him, both sets of eyes narrowed.
“I like your outfits.”
The blonde child’s lips pulled up in a smile. “You’re old,” they said with hints of laughter.
Regan huffed out a laugh. “Thank you.”
“What happened to you? You went away.” The brunette child scanned Regan up and down.
“I don’t remember playing with you—well, not until last week,” Regan said.
“Sure,” the blonde countered. “All the time. It was a lot of fun.”
“Are you mad at us?” the brunette kid asked.
“No. No. Not at all.” Regan’s voice was as soft and as pleasant as he could make it.
“Why do you want to get rid of us?” The blonde’s lips pouted. “Is it because we play pranks on you? We only want you to have fun and be happy like you used to.”
“And play with us again,” the brunette kid added.
“But I’m not like you and I don’t understand your games.”
“He doesn’t remember,” the blonde said to the brunette.
“I told you.” The brunette huffed as more sparks crackled around them. “I was right. I was right.” They bobbed from foot to foot.
“Maybe you can teach me?” Regan didn’t want this interaction to go like the last one. “But you’ll have to go slow with me.”
“And if we teach you, you’ll play with us like you used to.”
“I can’t promise to play all the time, but I’d like to play again.”
“What about the Fae?” the blonde asked. “We like him and he’s fun, but you’re sad around him and you don’t need to be.”
“That’s complicated.” Regan’s voice broke.
“It’s only complimucated because you don’t understand, cause you’re old,” the brunette countered. “Watch.” The child waved their hands. The blonde joined and soon the sparks and drops of water spun around, creating a current similar to what Lutin created when they walked to the other homes.
A figure appeared, but the shape wasn’t Lutin.
Well, the face and body were Lutin, but not how Regan saw him earlier.
Before him, Lutin stood with long flowing gray-silver hair and a light complexion.
He had foreboding broad shoulders and a built chest with a smattering of gray-silver chest hair.
On his shoulders and in the center of his chest, gray-black intricate tattoos mimicking some of the surrounding flora were unlike anything Regan had seen before.
Beautiful. His pointed ears and chiseled features were highlighted by stubbly facial hair.
His light green eyes continued to be his most striking feature along with his tannish pink full lips.
Bursting from his full head of long hair were antlers.
Regan had no doubt Lutin’s antlers could pierce flesh with ease.
His t-shirt was gone but he still wore his gray sweatpants, now much tighter and more revealing than before.
Gorgeous.
“Lutin?” Regan asked as he stood.
Lutin waved a hand. “I can’t alter my appearance here.”
The Twins laughed.
“This is what you look like?”
The pale skin on Lutin’s cheeks filled with color. “Ta-da.” He forced a smile as his right hand raised, fumbling for something that wasn’t around his neck. His hand dropped.
“See, not complimucated,” the brunette said.
The two giggled and waved their hands again as a portal surrounded Lutin and he was gone.
“Wait.” Regan reached out, but it was too late—Lutin had vanished. “How?”
The Twins looked at each other. “We can show you, if you want.”
Regan’s heart pounded and for the first time in a long time, he was ready to jump and take a risk. “Okay. Show me.”