05-08-2019, 02:54 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-08-2019, 03:07 AM by Aiden Finnegan.)
Sage gave no reply. His expression was distant and his eyes showed the hint of a glaze. Aiden had seen that look many times before, hell, he had even worn that expression more than he’d care to admit, although it was usually due to THC concentrates; okay, maybe shrooms too. Sage was not on any substance, however… Well, no physical substance. Aiden knew it was due to the constant stream of information running through Sage’s mind at the moment. Did he see images or was it all binary? Aiden had never probed too deeply into the matter, aside from the means in which Sage acquired this profound ability.
Ever the gentleman, Aiden reached down and grabbed at Sage’s arm, placing it gingerly into the crook of his own. Embracing the Power, Aiden wove a thread of Air and nudged the doors open. It was highly unnecessary, but he had found himself wanting to handle this magick more and more. He had an adventure to endure and a sister to find, after all. The feeling of that raging torrent of energy was addicting, no matter how much it felt like it would tear him apart. Perhaps Sage felt the same way when he went into these Technomancer trances? Aiden feared he’d turn into a masochist due to this encroaching addiction.
An aged black woman leapt up from her seat behind a counter at the front of the cafe as Aiden and Sage entered the building. Tarot cards flew up from her hands and scattered in all directions. She ran out from behind the counter, scuttling up to the pair of them, adjusting her glasses and squinting at each in turn. A wide smile appeared on her lips as her eyes fixed on Aiden.
“You must be the new owner. Don’t look a thing like our Voodoo Queen. Dunno why she told me you was her twin,” the woman said as she adjusted her coke bottle glasses.
Aiden gave the woman a wry smile, “Aiden Finnegan at your service. Trust me, Rowan is most definitely my twin sister. I know, I know. I am far more attractive than she… But, this situation is temporary, ma chérie, of that I can assure you… My ownership. Not my looks.”
“Oh? We got a jokester on our hands, now do we? You are talkin’ a big game, young man,” The older woman tittered, “You’ll be recovering Madame Rowan?”
“Eventually. I’d be a terrible twin if I were to leave her to the ethers, am I right?”
The woman cackled loudly and smacked Aiden on the back.
“True enough, Master Aiden, true enough. You’re alright, you know that? Call me Maman Marie. I’m the counter girl here at the café,” Marie erupted into more laughter at the word ‘girl,’ her bone-white plaits shaking as her head rolled back into the hearty chuckle. Aiden smiled at the woman. She really was darling. A stray Rowan picked up from New Orleans, no doubt… Perhaps a member of the Voodoo Temple that Rowan had belonged to.
“Just Aiden. Please, don’t call me Master. That sounds… wrong… coming from you.”
Marie gave him a look before continuing on, “Oh, Madame Rowan was always a stickler for propriety. Gives the café an air of charm, she always used to say. I don’t mind any. Go on up them stairs over there, I’m sure Gareth is feeling impatient as ever.”
“Thank you, Maman, of course,” Aiden said as he steered Sage away from her and up the wooden stairs behind the counter.
“Nice arm candy, Master Aiden!” Marie hollered after them. Aiden rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help smirking.
“Thanks! Candy’s name is Sage!” He hollered back down the stairs. A gale of laughter was the only reply. Aiden glanced over to Sage, same dull expression. If he had to become the new owner, he’d give that woman a raise. She deserved it, if only for her quips.
The pair made their way down a long hallway, white paneled and brightly lit with three candelabra, coming up to a large pair of double doors. Gareth waited just in front of them, checking his pocket watch. As they approached, the butler looked up at them and cocked an eyebrow.
“Oh calm down, Gareth,” Aiden groaned, “Had to introduce ourselves to Marie.”
“I suspected as much. She means well, but she loves to talk to anyone that walks past her,” Gareth responded with icy coolness, “Her job is to facilitate our customers, not make friends.”
“Nothing wrong with her methods. She’s charming in her own way. Marie provides a homey atmosphere. Kind of like your Grandma welcoming you to your family home. Am I wrong?”
“No, but your sister is missing. I think the matter more pressing than pleasantries.”
With a pursed lip and furrowed brow, Aiden replied quickly, “Right. Shall we get on with it then?”
Gareth gave no reply, but instead spun on his heel once more and opened the double doors, admitting them into a grandiose parlor. It looked much the same as the rest of the café, although this room was decorated with luscious gold and white wallpaper. Gilded lamps and statues of Saints and Loa were litter atop gilded, wooden tables. Antique French furniture crowded the room and the scent of amber and roses filled the air. Soft classical music sounded from invisible speakers, no doubt hidden behind the Rococo paintings and various potted plants. The entire room screamed Rowan.
Aiden couldn’t help but to smile.
Gareth closed the doors as they entered. Aiden led Sage over to the largest couch in the room and set him down gently. He gave no indication that he was aware of his surroundings. Aiden planted a kiss upon his head before turning to Gareth.
“Where’s the booze? Rowan is worse than I am with the stuff. I know there’s a decanter or something lurking about here somewhere…”
“Oh, do sit down. I trust your tastes haven’t changed?”
“Whiskey on the rocks, Gare.” Aiden hadn’t expected Gareth to wait on him, especially considering the contempt he was so clearly feeling, but Aiden wasn’t about to turn down the implied service.
“Don’t call me that. No more vodka?”
“Nah, it makes me emotional.”
Gareth smirked, “Well, that makes two of us.” He walked to a corner of the room and pulled a drink cart from behind the curtains that partially covered a set of garden doors which lead onto a balcony. Sounds of ice clinking and a bottle opening followed suit. Gareth quickly handed a full glass of Jack Daniels over to Aiden before taking a seat across from the pair. A tray of pre-rolled joints were arrayed upon a silver plater atop the table. Aiden took one gingerly, sparking the thing with a weak flow of Fire. Gareth showed no signs of surprise at the display of Power.
“Are you at all aware of your sister’s activities since she relocated to the CCD?”
“No…. well, not until the car ride over here,” Aiden admitted.
“Bad form, Aiden. She is your twin and she has needed you, yet you have avoided every instance in which she has tried to contact you. You do realize that reaching you has almost consumed her? She had hoped the public rituals would help draw you out.”
“Bullshit. I know her. She was doing that to gain followers. Probably looking for more Channelers. Word is that she was trying to make the café a safe house for our kind. I doubt her efforts to contact me were as consuming as you say they were.”
“I know the Finnegans. Family means everything to you lot. Why Rowan and you were inseparable as youths. Why the schism now? Too busy with your new plaything and your cheap novels to bother anymore?”
Aiden felt heat rising in his chest, his cheeks flushing. Gareth and he grew up together. They had been friends, not the best of them, but still friends nonetheless. Why such animosity now? Was he that entranced by Rowan?
Move on dude…
And how dare he? Who was he to judge Aiden? The joint that was clamped between Aiden’s lips exploded in a bright, blazing fireball as he started to lose control of his anger. The flaming paper and herb floated down to Aiden’s lap as he lept up, swatting to put the thing out. That precious Power fled from his grasp at the sudden onslaught of emotions, singing his pants in the process. Aiden extinguished the embers and sat back down roughly. Angry eyes flared back at Gareth, fist gripping the tumbler of whiskey. Taking a few deep breaths, Aiden regained control of his emotions.
“What do you know of my life, Gareth?”
“Oh, plenty. I’ve known you for… what? Twenty years? And with you being a celebrity… Well, it’s hard not to follow the gossip mongers and the slag rags.”
“I didn’t take you for the type.”
“Seems you don’t know me as well as you thought you did,” Gareth said in his crisp British accent.
Aiden grunted before taking a swig from his glass and rose from the couch, marching over to the drink cart. He refused to let the butler get a rise out of him. Gareth looked askance but said nothing. With a flourish, Aiden poured out a glass of red wine for his old friend and handed it over. Gareth took the glass quickly, murmuring a thanks.
“I remember a few things, although you may have changed over the years. Drop the decorum and the contempt, Gare. As you so politely mentioned, we grew up together. Rowan may have declared me the new owner of this place, but I do not intend to retain it if we can get her back. So please, drop the paid act.”
The butler held the glass to his mouth but took no sip. He stared at Aiden, considering. Aiden returned the stare with an upright eyebrow. After a brief staring match, Gareth broke eye contact and downed the entire glass of red wine in one gulp.
“Do accept my apologies. It’s just…”
Aiden exhaled and seated himself next to Sage once more.
“Stop, Gareth. I don’t want to fight with you. And I know you don’t want to fight with me. I came here because of my sister. As far as I’m concerned, this café is still hers. If she left behind paperwork to legalize the proclamation, I’ll have my lawyers refute it.”
“So what? You think we can’t get her back? Giving up so easily? Then what?”
“Well then, the place is yours.”
“Aiden, I don-“
“We’ll get her back, Gareth, so don’t you worry about that… I just wanted to let you know what my plans were in the worst case scenario.”
Gareth looked down at his feet, shoulders slumping, the wine glass hanging limply in his hand.
“You love her, don’t you?”
The butler gave no response. He ignored Aiden’s words and rose from the chaise lounge dejectedly, shuffling over to the drink cart. Gareth did not pour himself another glass, instead, he grabbed the bottle and placed the glass upon the cart. The dark green glass was up in the air within moments, Gareth taking a few deep pulls from the thing before walking back over to the couch, slumping down into the plush satin lining.
“That’s none of your business.”
Aiden opened his mouth to object, but thought better of it. They sat in silence for a time, Gareth finishing off his cabernet and Aiden picking up another joint and smoking it down to the roach before breaking the silence once more.
“He’s been at it for a while now…”
Gareth looked up, cocking an eyebrow at Aiden.
“What are you talking about?”
“Sage,” Aiden said as he looked at his boyfriend, “He’s got his own talents. Can’t cast spells or manipulate the elements… It’s something more modern. I couldn’t explain it if you asked me, but in short, he’s crept into the information highway.”
“With what? The boy looks downright daft.”
Aiden laughed, “His brain. He’s special. The only man on this planet that can do what he does.”
“So he’s a hacker?”
“Anyone can make it sound dumb, Gareth. Does he have a wallet or another gadget in hand?”
“No. Not that I can see. What? Does he have some kind of computer in his brain?”
“Kind of… You can ask him for yourself… If I can wake him,” Aiden replied as he rested his hand on Sage’s arm. “Babe… Babe… You get anything? Can you hear me, babe? I need you.” He shook Sage gently, gazing intently on that perfect, slim face.
He really was perfect.
Ever the gentleman, Aiden reached down and grabbed at Sage’s arm, placing it gingerly into the crook of his own. Embracing the Power, Aiden wove a thread of Air and nudged the doors open. It was highly unnecessary, but he had found himself wanting to handle this magick more and more. He had an adventure to endure and a sister to find, after all. The feeling of that raging torrent of energy was addicting, no matter how much it felt like it would tear him apart. Perhaps Sage felt the same way when he went into these Technomancer trances? Aiden feared he’d turn into a masochist due to this encroaching addiction.
An aged black woman leapt up from her seat behind a counter at the front of the cafe as Aiden and Sage entered the building. Tarot cards flew up from her hands and scattered in all directions. She ran out from behind the counter, scuttling up to the pair of them, adjusting her glasses and squinting at each in turn. A wide smile appeared on her lips as her eyes fixed on Aiden.
“You must be the new owner. Don’t look a thing like our Voodoo Queen. Dunno why she told me you was her twin,” the woman said as she adjusted her coke bottle glasses.
Aiden gave the woman a wry smile, “Aiden Finnegan at your service. Trust me, Rowan is most definitely my twin sister. I know, I know. I am far more attractive than she… But, this situation is temporary, ma chérie, of that I can assure you… My ownership. Not my looks.”
“Oh? We got a jokester on our hands, now do we? You are talkin’ a big game, young man,” The older woman tittered, “You’ll be recovering Madame Rowan?”
“Eventually. I’d be a terrible twin if I were to leave her to the ethers, am I right?”
The woman cackled loudly and smacked Aiden on the back.
“True enough, Master Aiden, true enough. You’re alright, you know that? Call me Maman Marie. I’m the counter girl here at the café,” Marie erupted into more laughter at the word ‘girl,’ her bone-white plaits shaking as her head rolled back into the hearty chuckle. Aiden smiled at the woman. She really was darling. A stray Rowan picked up from New Orleans, no doubt… Perhaps a member of the Voodoo Temple that Rowan had belonged to.
“Just Aiden. Please, don’t call me Master. That sounds… wrong… coming from you.”
Marie gave him a look before continuing on, “Oh, Madame Rowan was always a stickler for propriety. Gives the café an air of charm, she always used to say. I don’t mind any. Go on up them stairs over there, I’m sure Gareth is feeling impatient as ever.”
“Thank you, Maman, of course,” Aiden said as he steered Sage away from her and up the wooden stairs behind the counter.
“Nice arm candy, Master Aiden!” Marie hollered after them. Aiden rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help smirking.
“Thanks! Candy’s name is Sage!” He hollered back down the stairs. A gale of laughter was the only reply. Aiden glanced over to Sage, same dull expression. If he had to become the new owner, he’d give that woman a raise. She deserved it, if only for her quips.
The pair made their way down a long hallway, white paneled and brightly lit with three candelabra, coming up to a large pair of double doors. Gareth waited just in front of them, checking his pocket watch. As they approached, the butler looked up at them and cocked an eyebrow.
“Oh calm down, Gareth,” Aiden groaned, “Had to introduce ourselves to Marie.”
“I suspected as much. She means well, but she loves to talk to anyone that walks past her,” Gareth responded with icy coolness, “Her job is to facilitate our customers, not make friends.”
“Nothing wrong with her methods. She’s charming in her own way. Marie provides a homey atmosphere. Kind of like your Grandma welcoming you to your family home. Am I wrong?”
“No, but your sister is missing. I think the matter more pressing than pleasantries.”
With a pursed lip and furrowed brow, Aiden replied quickly, “Right. Shall we get on with it then?”
Gareth gave no reply, but instead spun on his heel once more and opened the double doors, admitting them into a grandiose parlor. It looked much the same as the rest of the café, although this room was decorated with luscious gold and white wallpaper. Gilded lamps and statues of Saints and Loa were litter atop gilded, wooden tables. Antique French furniture crowded the room and the scent of amber and roses filled the air. Soft classical music sounded from invisible speakers, no doubt hidden behind the Rococo paintings and various potted plants. The entire room screamed Rowan.
Aiden couldn’t help but to smile.
Gareth closed the doors as they entered. Aiden led Sage over to the largest couch in the room and set him down gently. He gave no indication that he was aware of his surroundings. Aiden planted a kiss upon his head before turning to Gareth.
“Where’s the booze? Rowan is worse than I am with the stuff. I know there’s a decanter or something lurking about here somewhere…”
“Oh, do sit down. I trust your tastes haven’t changed?”
“Whiskey on the rocks, Gare.” Aiden hadn’t expected Gareth to wait on him, especially considering the contempt he was so clearly feeling, but Aiden wasn’t about to turn down the implied service.
“Don’t call me that. No more vodka?”
“Nah, it makes me emotional.”
Gareth smirked, “Well, that makes two of us.” He walked to a corner of the room and pulled a drink cart from behind the curtains that partially covered a set of garden doors which lead onto a balcony. Sounds of ice clinking and a bottle opening followed suit. Gareth quickly handed a full glass of Jack Daniels over to Aiden before taking a seat across from the pair. A tray of pre-rolled joints were arrayed upon a silver plater atop the table. Aiden took one gingerly, sparking the thing with a weak flow of Fire. Gareth showed no signs of surprise at the display of Power.
“Are you at all aware of your sister’s activities since she relocated to the CCD?”
“No…. well, not until the car ride over here,” Aiden admitted.
“Bad form, Aiden. She is your twin and she has needed you, yet you have avoided every instance in which she has tried to contact you. You do realize that reaching you has almost consumed her? She had hoped the public rituals would help draw you out.”
“Bullshit. I know her. She was doing that to gain followers. Probably looking for more Channelers. Word is that she was trying to make the café a safe house for our kind. I doubt her efforts to contact me were as consuming as you say they were.”
“I know the Finnegans. Family means everything to you lot. Why Rowan and you were inseparable as youths. Why the schism now? Too busy with your new plaything and your cheap novels to bother anymore?”
Aiden felt heat rising in his chest, his cheeks flushing. Gareth and he grew up together. They had been friends, not the best of them, but still friends nonetheless. Why such animosity now? Was he that entranced by Rowan?
Move on dude…
And how dare he? Who was he to judge Aiden? The joint that was clamped between Aiden’s lips exploded in a bright, blazing fireball as he started to lose control of his anger. The flaming paper and herb floated down to Aiden’s lap as he lept up, swatting to put the thing out. That precious Power fled from his grasp at the sudden onslaught of emotions, singing his pants in the process. Aiden extinguished the embers and sat back down roughly. Angry eyes flared back at Gareth, fist gripping the tumbler of whiskey. Taking a few deep breaths, Aiden regained control of his emotions.
“What do you know of my life, Gareth?”
“Oh, plenty. I’ve known you for… what? Twenty years? And with you being a celebrity… Well, it’s hard not to follow the gossip mongers and the slag rags.”
“I didn’t take you for the type.”
“Seems you don’t know me as well as you thought you did,” Gareth said in his crisp British accent.
Aiden grunted before taking a swig from his glass and rose from the couch, marching over to the drink cart. He refused to let the butler get a rise out of him. Gareth looked askance but said nothing. With a flourish, Aiden poured out a glass of red wine for his old friend and handed it over. Gareth took the glass quickly, murmuring a thanks.
“I remember a few things, although you may have changed over the years. Drop the decorum and the contempt, Gare. As you so politely mentioned, we grew up together. Rowan may have declared me the new owner of this place, but I do not intend to retain it if we can get her back. So please, drop the paid act.”
The butler held the glass to his mouth but took no sip. He stared at Aiden, considering. Aiden returned the stare with an upright eyebrow. After a brief staring match, Gareth broke eye contact and downed the entire glass of red wine in one gulp.
“Do accept my apologies. It’s just…”
Aiden exhaled and seated himself next to Sage once more.
“Stop, Gareth. I don’t want to fight with you. And I know you don’t want to fight with me. I came here because of my sister. As far as I’m concerned, this café is still hers. If she left behind paperwork to legalize the proclamation, I’ll have my lawyers refute it.”
“So what? You think we can’t get her back? Giving up so easily? Then what?”
“Well then, the place is yours.”
“Aiden, I don-“
“We’ll get her back, Gareth, so don’t you worry about that… I just wanted to let you know what my plans were in the worst case scenario.”
Gareth looked down at his feet, shoulders slumping, the wine glass hanging limply in his hand.
“You love her, don’t you?”
The butler gave no response. He ignored Aiden’s words and rose from the chaise lounge dejectedly, shuffling over to the drink cart. Gareth did not pour himself another glass, instead, he grabbed the bottle and placed the glass upon the cart. The dark green glass was up in the air within moments, Gareth taking a few deep pulls from the thing before walking back over to the couch, slumping down into the plush satin lining.
“That’s none of your business.”
Aiden opened his mouth to object, but thought better of it. They sat in silence for a time, Gareth finishing off his cabernet and Aiden picking up another joint and smoking it down to the roach before breaking the silence once more.
“He’s been at it for a while now…”
Gareth looked up, cocking an eyebrow at Aiden.
“What are you talking about?”
“Sage,” Aiden said as he looked at his boyfriend, “He’s got his own talents. Can’t cast spells or manipulate the elements… It’s something more modern. I couldn’t explain it if you asked me, but in short, he’s crept into the information highway.”
“With what? The boy looks downright daft.”
Aiden laughed, “His brain. He’s special. The only man on this planet that can do what he does.”
“So he’s a hacker?”
“Anyone can make it sound dumb, Gareth. Does he have a wallet or another gadget in hand?”
“No. Not that I can see. What? Does he have some kind of computer in his brain?”
“Kind of… You can ask him for yourself… If I can wake him,” Aiden replied as he rested his hand on Sage’s arm. “Babe… Babe… You get anything? Can you hear me, babe? I need you.” He shook Sage gently, gazing intently on that perfect, slim face.
He really was perfect.
Russian Dolls and Broken Gods, a new Fantasy novel by best-selling author, Aiden Finnegan, out this December! Preorder online and instore today!