Cronin's Key III (11 page)

A soft
breeze gently caressed the long grass of the old battlefield, and
they stood facing each other in the moonlight. “What is it,
Cronin?” Alec asked.

“
Can I show you
something?” Cronin asked. “A memory.”

“
Of course.”

“
It is from my human days,” he whispered, his eyes downcast.
“I have very few memories from that time, but this… well, this I
remember.”

“
Cronin?”

Without speaking another word, Cronin
put his hands up, palms forward. Alec put his palms to Cronin’s,
and he opened his mind.

Alec could
hear an ancient melody, a Scottish song. Cronin was remembering the
music from his human years, and flickers of a village wedding
accompanied the memory. It was evening, there were people at
tables, eating and drinking, a fire for warmth. A man’s voice sang
lilting words in Gaelic, of love and life, as the human Cronin
watched the couple dance. They moved around each other in circles
with only their foreheads and palms touching, their heels kicking
up and toes pointed. Alec had seen traditional Scottish dances but
never like this. Never anything so intimate.

But it
wasn’t just the dancing. Alec could feel the sense of longing
Cronin felt while he watched them. As a human, he wanted to know
what such love felt like. He wanted someone to dance with him like
they danced. And a resigning ache burned in his chest, knowing the
relationship he yearned for was not allowed. Not in those days. A
man couldn’t love another man. There would be no one to hold him,
to look at him like that.

But now there was.

Oh, Cronin…
.

Alec took the song from Cronin’s mind
and played it back to him, and Alec started to move to the music.
He mimicked the dance he saw in Cronin’s memory, and Cronin’s eyes
closed slowly.

W
ith their palms
still touching, Alec moved right, Cronin moved left, so they were
an arm width apart, and they turned in a circle. Then dropping
their hands, Cronin slowly circled Alec, close but not touching.
Alec could feel his presence, his heat, as he moved around him. And
when Cronin was facing him again, they resumed their position but
circled in the other direction. Their foreheads and palms touching,
Alec could feel the swell of love and gratitude in Cronin’s chest.
A love so overwhelming and all-encompassing, it stole Alec’s
breath. Cronin closed his eyes but couldn’t stop the tear that ran
a solitary line down his cheek. Alec tilted Cronin’s face upward
and kissed him softly.

Cronin slowly opened his eyes. “Thank
you, m’cridhe.”

“
Oh, Cronin, my heart.”
Alec pulled Cronin against him and held him close. Still moving his
feet, they danced a slow, slow circle with Cronin’s face buried in
Alec’s neck. The Scottish music still playing softly in their
minds, and Cronin started to cry.

Cronin
didn’t need to speak. Alec could feel his sorrow, his fear, and a
flurry of words swam through his mind. He was afraid; Cronin was
afraid this enemy was too strong. He feared their days were
numbered. He wondered how on earth an immortal was supposed to deal
with death, and he wondered if Alec died, would his own death be
simultaneous. He hoped it would be.

Alec stopped
moving and cupped Cronin’s face in both hands. “No.” He shook his
head. “No.”

“
They hurt you!” Cronin said
as his eyes welled with fresh tears.

Alec looked down at his arm where the
gashes had been but had since healed. “Cronin, my love, I’m
fine.”

“
They hurt you!” he said again. “So it was just claws this
time. Next time it could be a stake to the heart. We have no way to
stop them, and if you were powerless against them, what hope do we
have?”

Alec had never seen him so unsure, so
afraid of anything! “Don’t be afraid.”

“
We were supposed to have
forever,” Cronin whispered.

“
We will.”

Cronin shook his head. “You can’t know
that. You can’t see it. How can we beat something we can’t even
see?”

“
We will beat them,” he
said with more determination.

“
I fear for your life. I fear you will feel pain, that they
will do unspeakable things,” Cronin shook his head before leaning
into Alec’s palm, and again he closed his eyes. “I fear for Jodis
and Eiji. They are my family, and I worry for them. We were
supposed to live forever. One year, Alec. I’ve had you for one
year. A mere blink in time. I want forever,” he growled, angry now.
“It may be selfish of me to ask for it, and for all I’ve done,
maybe I don’t deserve it. But I want forever with you, and I will
kill anyone who tries to take that from me.”

Alec
swallowed the lump in his throat. “Shhh.” He let the Scottish music
play again in their heads. “Dance with your husband.”

Cronin smiled despite his teary eyes.
He held out his hands again to begin the dance and raised his chin.
“It would be my honor,” he said.

“
As it is mine,” Alec
said.

And there in their private field at
Dunadd, they danced.

“
Alec!” Kennard greeted him warmly with a kiss to both
cheeks.
They met in Kennard’s
apartment in London, which was a warehouse-style loft. It was
exquisitely furnished, yet Alec never felt it was a home. Though
Kennard somehow looked in place there—he was dressed in his usual
black jeans, boots, and designer coat; his blond hair styled up
perfectly; his pretty elvish face completed his
just-stepped-off-the-catwalk look.

“
I
am loath to see you
looking so happy,” Kennard said with a sparkle in his eyes. “I was
hoping you’d be swayed by a certain Englishman’s charms, but alas,
your heart is still fated to a Scot.”

Alec laughed, knowing all too well that a fated heart could
never change. Kennard grinned impishly,
shook hands with Eiji and Jodis, saying a brief hello,
but soon turned back to Alec. Cronin was quick to put himself
between them. “Still flirting with my husband, I see,” Cronin said,
laying his Scottish accent on thick. He was in a much better frame
of mind after their quick timeout in Dunadd. “You’d think you’d
have learned by now. Though granted, the Brits weren’t known for
their scholars.”

Kennard laughed loudly. “Need I rem
ind you of the Battle of Floddon?”

Cronin snorted out a laugh. “That was a fixed battle and
you kn
ow it. It cost me forty
gold pieces. But the Battle of Haddon Rig, now that was a fair
fight.”

Kennard’s shoulders shook as he
laughed. “Ah Alec, he’s still a sore loser after all these
years.”

Alec looked between them both.
He could see memories from long ago in both their
minds: a small room with a low ceiling, a lit fire, and their
clothes from the sixteenth century, exchanging purses of coins.
“You took bets on human battles?”

Kennard waved his hand. “We didn’t create
th
e quibbles between our
countries. We simply wagered on the outcome.”

“
You know,” Alec said,
slipping his hand into the back pocket of Cronin’s jeans. “I am
jealous of the history you share.”

Cronin turned a little so he could rest his forehead on
Alec’s cheek. “
We cannot
change what has passed, m’cridhe.”

Kennard
looked at
them longingly and sighed. He no longer smiled. “‘Fly envious Time,
till thou run out thy race.’”

Cronin looked up at him and frowned. “Quoting
Milton?
Such words from you
can only mean melancholy.”

Kennard faked a smile and Alec saw in
his mind when he decided not to bother holding up the façade. He
could also see the look of sadness on Kennard’s face burned all the
way to his chest. “Kennard?” Alec question.

“
It’s just
been some
weeks for reflection,” Kennard said. “Maybe after you’ve lived as
many years as I, Alec, you’ll understand.” Then Kennard glanced at
Cronin. “Or perhaps not.”

Alec felt then, rather than saw it, that it wasn’t sorrow
Kennard felt but loneliness.
You are not alone
, he
whispered directly into Kennard’s mind. Alec showed him mental
images of all the English coven Alec had met, who each idolized
Kennard and of course, Cronin, Eiji, and Jodis.

The difference between being alone and being lonely is an
immeasurable void, Alec,
Kennard replied. It was quickly followed by a pang of
regret for acknowledging his emotions and even a dash of fear for
showing a weakness.

Have you not ever asked a seer to look into your
future?
Alec asked
him.
To see when your fated
one comes along?

No
!
He almost shouted the word in his
head. Then he very reluctantly said,
What if they show me nothing? I think I’d rather not
know.
He paused a moment and
remembered Alec’s words.
You
said when?

“
Kennard,” Alec said, letting go of Cronin and putting his
hand on Kennard’s arm instead. “When I was given these powers, I
swore I wouldn’t look into anyone’s future. It’s not fair or wise
to meddle
with things that
cannot change. But if you want to know, I can show you something.
But only if you want it. It’s something you can’t take back, so you
need to be sure.”

Kennard’s eyes lit up despite his sullen mood. Alec could
see his instant curiosity and excitement, but he caught himself
before he spoke. “Does it breach some code of
ethic
s or rule you imposed on
yourself, you know, to show me such things? If I were to say yes,
that is. Which I’m not sure I am.”

“
I told Cronin,” Eiji said. “I could see his heart would
join another, but not who or when or where
. He was in a similar mood to yours, Kennard,
wondering if he was to walk this earth alone forever.”

Kennard frowned and nodded.

“
It was a long few hundred
years to wait from Eiji telling me to the day I found Alec,” Cronin
said quietly. “Five hundred and eighty-three, to be
exact.”

“
Did it make it easier?”
Kennard asked quietly. “Or worse?”

“
So much better,” Cronin answered. “Just knowing was enough.
It lifted a weight from my heart.”

Kennard licked his lips and nodded quickly. Cronin’s words
were ones he
clearly
understood.

It’s okay Kennard. It’s not something you need to decide
right now
, Alec told
him.

“
I want to,” he said.
“Quick. Before I change my mind.”

Alec could see Kennard was certain. There was no doubt in
his mind at all
. Despite the
words he said, he truly wanted to know.

So Alec
reached into his own mind, into the swirls and flickers that were
of things yet to happen, until he found what he was after. Instead
of showing Kennard images, he showed him emotional charges. He
showed Kennard a portion of how he would feel the day he met his
fated one.

Kennard
was stunned.
“Is that how it feels? Is that me?”

Alec nodded.
“I can’t show you when or where or even what he looks like. I can’t
ruin it all for you. But yes, that is you. And that is not even a
quarter of what you will feel.”

Kennard’s eyes
welled
with tears. Happy, grateful tears. “Wow.”

Alec could feel Kennard’s heart had bloomed in his chest,
just a fraction of what he would feel the day he met his fated one,
but it warmed Kennard through. Alec pulled Kennard in for a hug,
which surprised
Kennard, but
was welcome nonetheless. “See? The whole lovey-dovey stuff between
fated couples that makes you wanna puke isn’t so bad, is it?” Alec
asked.

Kennard laughed and pulled back from
Alec, basically handing him back to Cronin. “No, and I won’t even
mind too much if he’s Scottish.”

Cronin snorted at that. “God
forbid.”

Kennard shot Alec a look. “He’s not
though, is he? Scottish, I mean. He’s English, yes?”

Alec laughed
and shook his head. “I’m not saying!”

Jodis put
her hand on
Kennard’s arm. “I don’t need Alec’s powers to see how happy this
news makes you.”

Kennard took a deep breath and let it
out slowly. He was smiling now, though it was an
at-peace smile. “Thank you, Alec. I was completely unaware of how
much I needed to see that. Or feel it, rather. I didn’t
see
anything.” He purred at Alec. “If you’d like to show me a
little glimpse of what he looks like, I wouldn’t mind.”

Alec shook his head. “No. You’ll know him when you see
him
.”

“
Or
perhaps when I
will see him?” he pushed, his eyes wide and hopeful.

“
Nope.”

Kennard
huffed, but his pout soon morphed into a smile. “I’m still
grateful.” He moved fluidly around his apartment to the living
room, where he waved his hand at the plush leather sofas so Alec,
Cronin, Eiji, and Jodis would join him. “Well, my mood is so much
better. I haven’t even been to my club in a month,” Kennard told
them. “I’ve been wallowing for weeks, until you called, Alec. You
said you needed to talk about something important? I apologize for
monopolizing your time in my self-pity.”