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Chapter 5 Salix Alba 'White Willow'
I was shivering as my eyes opened. I knew where I was, but not why, as the last fleeting memories of my murder returned to me. I sat up, wrapping my arms around my knees, shuddering as my body tried to warm itself. The hard granite altar felt like ice against my skin but I didn't think my body was going to cooperate until I got something to protect me from the bitter cold.
I sat atop the large granite alter at the base of the giant oak, naked and freezing. I looked out as the stars trimmed the dark branches of our grove of sacred trees. The acre sized clearing is home to eight trees. Seven of the trees, a Willow, Apple, Ash, Elm, Yew, Birch and Alder formed a giant circle with an eighth tree in the center. The center tree is a massive ancient oak that now stretched its limbs to the sky like skeletal fingers in the night.
I let my hand wander down my chest, fingering the ashy sealed wound. It looked as though it had been melted and burned, but strangely, wasn't painful to the touch. I felt Kent wrap a large heavy black cloak around my shivering body. It helped, but only slowly. It felt like I had been frozen to the bone. Thoughts of me ended instantly as I saw Brian lying on the ground, motionless.
"What have you done!?" My roaring voice leapt from me like a chorus of anger. This wasn't my voice. The impact sent Kent and Mark stumbling backwards as I climbed down from the altar, and rushed over to Brian.
I knelt at his side and pulled him against me in an awkward embrace. He was alive but unconscious. I could feel his heart beating, and the inklings of his mind rushing to wake. A sob shook my chest as happiness flooded my heart. We were okay. I felt his body rouse as his arms wrapped around me, pulling me in closer.
"Bummer," Brian said groggily, giving me a firm squeeze.
I pulled back from him and studied his face. He was grinning.
"What?" I gave him a curious look.
"I knew it couldn't last forever. You found some clothes," he grinned.
I brushed some of the hair out from of front of his beautiful green eyes and was met with a flash of memories that weren't my own.
"Please Brian, if you feel anything for him at all, we need your help to save him," Kent begged.
Moments passed as the soft autumn breeze hissed through the leaves on the trees.
"What do I need to do?" I heard Brian answer.
I felt a rush through my heart. It was love, though not my own. These were Brian's memories. It was as if I were him, seeing and watching what happened through his eyes. Seeing my dead body on the altar made me shiver. It was like watching a movie through someone elses eyes. None of the feelings, voice, or perception were mine.
"I need you to focus Brian, and repeat my words. I need you to picture, in your mind, the joy and love you feel when you see his face. This is not a time for silly inhibitions. If you cannot do this, tell me now." Kent instructed.
I watched as Brian's eyes traveled up the length of my naked body, pausing a few moments on the wound at the center of my chest, and then taking note of my manhood, ever present, in his field of vision.
Hmm... I guess when your dead, cold weather doesn't have the same affect.
I felt Brian smile and heard him speak, "I'm ready."
As soon as Brian spoke the words a great cracking and crunching sound drew our eyes to the ancient oak that was some ten feet behind the blackened granite altar. The great mass of trunk and root system writhed like some strange wooden liquid as it enveloped and totally encased a willow rod at its base. The bark and wood of the tree took on a luminescent white glow that traveled up its branches and through the giant limbs to its smallest parts. Buds formed and grew into the fresh leaves of spring as we watched amazed.
All around us, the circle of sacred trees performed the same strange transformation. The trees awoke, stretching with a yawn at their anticipated winter slumber, and grew to life. A thousand soft whispers echoed through the night as they spoke. 'Hurry... hurry with your work'
"Kent, we better do as they ask," Mark said moving to the position near my head.
Kent moved to my left. "Brian, I need you, just opposite me, on the other side."
Brian walked shakily. to my right, and waited. Kent reached out his hand and clasped it to Brian's and Mark's. They both took each others hands as well, forming a circle around me. "Repeat my words, and mean them. Let your heart reach out to what you mind cannot understand." Kent instructed.
"We call upon all the gods to aid us in this night's work"
"We call upon all the gods to aid us in this night's work"
"We give offerings to open the circle of life and death"
"We give offerings to open the circle of life and death"
"We beg your guidance in this ancient ritual"
"We beg your guidance in this ancient ritual"
"We ask that you return to us what is needed for the battle ahead"
"We ask that you return to us what is needed for the battle ahead"
Dark clouds rolled across the sky obscuring the light of the full moon as the wind roared to life around us, sending spirals of leaves whipping through the air. The great tree limbs swayed, lashing at the sky like age old wooden whips.
"We ask the gods to return Ty to us, and grant us this favor for the world" Kent called out.
"We ask the gods to return Ty to us and grant us this favor for the world"
"Fill this void of life and spirit so that we all might live" Kent beseeched the gods.
"Fill this void of life and spirit so that we all might live"
The wind stopped, leaving only the brief soft sounds of debris settling against on the ground. Complete silence surrounded us like death's tomb.
"So mote it be!"
"So mote it be"
With the final words spoken, a branch of the great oak tree plunged into Brian's chest. His sharp intake of breath broke the silence as he stood watching it rip out just as quickly. A blinding flash tore down from the sky striking Brian and me.
I jerked my hand away as though I had been burned. I was breathing heavily and felt dizzy. I felt like I was going to throw up.
I dropped my eyes to Brian's chest, noticing the burnt whole in the fabric of his white and blue t-shirt. Dead center was burned ashy flesh much like my own. Brian's emotions were muted, and he seemed to be taking it extremely well. I wasn't feeling quite myself either. There was something extra that hadn't been there before.
"Are you okay?" Brian asked.
"I saw you die. I saw the ritual. I saw your memories," I stared into his eyes. He had helped to save me, and I felt my heart swell. It wanted to scream and smile at the same time. Brian loved me.
"You have some explaining to do," I said, turning my head in the uncle's direction.
"Yes, you most certainly do," a stranger's craggy old voice announced from beyond the circle of trees.
I rose to my feet and helped Brian up. "You are not welcome here," I responded, coldly.
The moon's pallid light peaked through the clouds enough to reveal the members of 'The Circle'. There was one member several feet behind each tree in the ring that surrounded us. They totaled seven members in all. Mark and Kent made quick work of the remaining distance that separated us, and soon stood beside Brian and me.
"Be very careful what you say and do, Ty," Mark whispered, earning a less than pleasant look from me. He had killed me, and that left a strange sad bitterness in my heart.
"Your uncle advises you wisely, young Druid," the old gruff voice answered from the shadows.
"I will allow you entrance into this circle, Galen, but not the others. Come speak with me, please," I retorted sharply, hearing the abrupt intake of breath from my uncles. "Yes, I know your name, though in earnest, I have only heard it spoken in whispers."
"Why the audacity! No circle is forbidden to us!" a somewhat younger, higher-pitched voice spat from the shadows on our left. Each word seethed with anger.
"I would like to see you try," I challenged, as I struggled to keep my voice steady.
The younger man moved forward, only a few steps, before a large heavy branch of the Elm swung hard and low against him, sending him flying backward through the air before he landed with a sickening thud. A torrent of whispers flooded the darkness as I felt the push of the remaining six members against the circle. The trees began to glow and sway, thrashing in response to their advance. The wood creaked and groaned with increasing volume.
"Except for Galen, you may not enter!" A strange mix of voices came from me and crashed against the night, as I raised my hands to the sky. Dark clouds rolled in, covering the moon with amazing speed, as lightning streaked between the rolling black masses. Flashes of light illuminated the area with a strobe of white, as thunder roared in the distance. The trees of our circle glowed even brighter before a myriad of lightning tore down through the sky to my hands, and then outward, striking the earth in front of all the members of 'The Circle' but Galen.
"STOP!" Galen shouted harshly over the howl of the wind and thunder. His voice tore through the night like a chorus, much like my own had. He was directing the command to the other members of 'The Circle.'
I lowered my arms and let them rest at my sides, pulling back the forces of nature. I don't know how I knew I could control these things, but nature was now a part of me. It was as easy and as natural as wiggling a toe. Plush grass beneath my feet, feathery wind across my cheek, and cool moonlight that previously lit my face, were all parts of me, but felt strangely and deeply familiar when I knew they shouldn't. Everything connected in my mind like a thousand tiny silken spider webs.
The blaze of tension increased in Kent and Mark, as Galen made his way toward us. The closer he came, the more I was able to make out his features. He was, indeed, ancient. In his left hand was a long wooden staff that bore too much of his weight as he labored to cross the distance between us. Finally, Galen stopped several feet in front of us. His face had been worn with the passage of time. He was older than what was natural, but still there was the fire of life behind his crisp blue grey eyes. His dark robes hid his fragile form, but it was a deception. There was nothing helpless about this relic of a man.
"Good eve Kent, Mark, Ty, and Brian." He indicated each of us with a nod as he spoke our names and rested heavily against his gnarled wooden staff. I could feel no malice in the man, only a bizarre intrigue.
"Tell me, were you able to call the elements without your voice before your rebirth?" Galen eyed me curiously.
I was preparing to answer 'No', when Brian interrupted.
"Yes, he did that when he killed the werewolf. He never spoke. The tree obeyed him without words," Brian answered softly. I hadn't forgotten Brian was there, but the sound of his voice startled me. His ease and acceptance of what had happened this evening was unsettling. Brian was strangely calm, and it was starting to really worry me. I could feel the contrast in my uncles. Their tension intensified, nearing the level of sheer burning panic.
I hadn't realized it at the time, but it was true. I didn't need the words. It had happened so quickly I didn't noticed. Before I had had a chance to analyze what had happened, I was dead. The dizzying thoughts confused me. Just what the hell is going on?
"Interesting," Galen's voice rasped his reply.
"So, tell me. Were you the one who gave the final order that forced the killing of my godfather?" I took a step away from our group towards Galen.
"Regretfully, yes," he answered, never faltering in his intense, grey-blue eyed gaze.
I took another step toward Galen. "You owe me a debt, old man, but one I will not collect tonight."
Galen stepped even closer, with a stumble, and righted himself with his ancient worn wooden staff. I could now sense that the staff was oak. It was a very, very old piece of wood that supported his weight. I felt his mind seize and his muscles tense as he began to swing the staff forward, in a killing blow, toward my skull. He had moved so fast that it was a blur of intensity. I would have blocked the blow, but Brian moved with incomprehensible speed, and now stood in front of me. The staff struck loudly into Brian's upraised hand, but didn't move through it.
I placed my hand on Brian's shoulder, instantly sending the signal to pause. It was a feeling more than a suggestion, but he didn't advance, though every fiber of his being raging to lash out against the attack.
"Interesting," Galen said for the second time.
"Perhaps you are the one," Galen whispered as his mind and body relaxed, nodding toward me. "Perhaps you are the one as well," he nodded again, indicating Brian, before gently pulling the staff from Brian's hand, and lowering it to his side, letting his weight fall against it.
The illusion was meticulous. The feeble frame, the offset of weight, and the weathered appearance were all deception. This ancient man was anything but fragile or defenseless.
"I will pay my debt when the time is right," he answered before turning and trudging his way out of our sacred circle of trees.
"Yes, you will," I whispered across the wind.
As Galen made his way slowly out and beyond our circle, he turned. The movement was barely perceptible, but I felt it just the same. It pressed against me like the beam of a lighthouse, warning unwary sailors of a dangerous reef behind too much fog. I felt the uncles' eyes watching during this past week, but never as strongly and completely as the gaze Galen now focused upon us. It made me nervous.
"Kent, Mark, tell them the truth. Tell them what you know," were Galen's final words. Just as abruptly, they all seemed to fade from existence. 'The Circle' was gone and there were too many unanswered question.
We headed back home, with both Brian, and me, in the back of the truck. The bumpy ride did little to lighten my mood. Once we were finally in the house, we sat in the living room. It felt good to finally have a little heat against my skin.
"Care to explain just what the hell is going on?" Brian and I sat on the couch in our living room, looking to Kent and Mark for answers.
There were no answers as they glanced at each other, and then back to us.
"Why did you kill me?" Tears formed at the corners of my eyes and started their hot trail down my cheeks. I couldn't get past the betrayal without some kind of explanation. It hurt me deeper than any physical wound ever could. It was the ultimate betrayal of a parent to a child. Even though they were my uncles, they were the only parents I could remember.
"Us," came Brian's muted words as he placed his hand on my knee. His palm felt hot through the long dark hooded cloak that I still wore, but it soothed me. His emotions were rolling through him, but he still had the same unwavering calm. It was beginning to seriously disturb me!
"How can you sit there so calmly?" I searched Brian's emerald eyes for answers.
"I'm alive, you're alive, the werewolf is dead," he said with a weak smile. "What else is there to be frightened of?"
"The veil, and the darkness it keeps from entering this world," Kent answered, reaching out to clasp Mark's hand across the end table that separated them. They sat in their recliners as they had on so many nights, but tonight they sat peering back at us, the TV was off, and I wanted answers.
I was preparing to throw a complete raging fit when Mark finally spoke.
"Ty, your parents were once friends with Brian's. They had maintained the balance throughout their lives and were inseparable. Through them, Kent and I met and fell in love. Kent is your blood uncle. I am Brian's."
"There was an accident during a trip to mediate between the Vampires and Lycanthrope. Late at night, during their second day of travel, there was a head-on collision with a semi, killing all four of them instantly. Kent and I burned their remains, in accordance to the old ways, on the altar we just came from."
"We moved here to the ancestral land, and this house. We tried desperately to get custody of you, Brian, but the law wouldn't have it. We are two gay men who practice an obscure and unacceptable religion. Kent had been stipulated as guardian to Ty by his parents. Paul and Sarah, your birth parents; Brian, had left that bit of work undone. Paul was my brother."
"So, Kent and I cast the spell that would keep you here. The court ruled that your Uncle John and Aunt Laura would be your guardians until you were of the age to choose your place. They are good people, and it was the best we could do," Mark paused, taking a deep breath.
I felt Brian's hand move to mine and grip it firmly. A fleeting glance between us shared volumes. This story had waited too long to be told. I felt the eyes of 'The Circle' peering in from the night as the whistle of wind pushed through the plastic that now covered the gaping whole to my garden.
"This story is not for you," I whispered across the wind. I closed my eyes and concentrated, building the barriers around our house. I felt the warmth of Brian's mind joining mine, as we created an impenetrable wall surrounding our home.
"They won't appreciate being excluded, Ty," Kent finally spoke.
"Then they should have asked," I snapped back.
"Please, continue," Brian asked, meekly. His warm quiet voice calmed me.
Mark continued. "The rebirth ceremony is performed during each Druid's 16th year, when the veil threatens to fall. The select few of age, during that time, are killed and reborn. The veil will fall, and soon. The great ward has run its course, and wavers in strength with each passing day. Darkness is going to cover the world unless you can stop it. You won't be able to do it alone. Yes, you've been granted great power, but you two are not an army, and it's an army you must build. You have one year from this coming winter solstice to complete your task."
"The fact that you two were taken, and returned, in a single ritual, is unheard of. 'The Circle' would never have come. Galen would never have come, had it not meant something paramount. The members of 'The Circle' are not your friends. They are over and above, and used to watching the goings on of the world. That you have caught their eye is not a good thing. The last people 'The Circle' showed such interest in, were your parents. It did not end well for them."
I watched Mark rub a tear from his eye and carefully begin to remove his shoes. He peeled his socks off his feet with a hiss. They were badly burned. I watched as Kent did the same. Their feet were in ruins. My confusion must have shown on my face.
"You warded your room," Kent answered as he dropped his socks to the floor.
"Serves you right you know," I frowned, thinking back to the moments of my murder.
"We didn't intend you harm, Ty. We killed you. It was necessary," Kent answered sharply. Apparently he didn't like my disapproval.
"I'm so sorry, Ty," Mark sobbed.
"You should be!" I felt my anger flare.
"You have no right to speak to your uncle that way, Ty!" Kent barked.
"YOU KILLED ME!" The chorus of voices roared from me. The house shook, causing pictures and nick knacks to fall to the floor. It startled me, but not enough for me to lose my anger.
"We saved you too, Ty. I woke up. You were lying naked on the altar." Brian grinned. "I turned to run, but your uncles asked me to stay and help them save you. So I did."
An instant blush, more anger than embarrassment, flooded my cheeks. "I know Brian, I saw your memories." I snapped at him and regretted it instantly.
I wanted to scream, but the heart wrenching sobs and sorrow that emanated from Mark tore at me. I glanced down to their feet. The flesh was horribly burned, leaving raging blisters, and raw red infection. The ward on my room had done its work well.
I hadn't always been so proficient with wards. I remembered a time when I was barely six years old when Uncle Mark had placed a freshly baked apple pie on the kitchen window sill to cool. I warded the pie against bugs and anything else that might take it from me. A ward is a barrier. It is used to deter or stop whatever may harm the object protected by it. I was young and inexperienced and completely devastated when we discovered we couldn't get to the pie either. Uncle Kent was forced to push the pie from the sill with a broom handle. We buried it in a small grave below the sill, where it remains undisturbed to this day. I had been heart broken. When you're six, dessert means the world. My sobs ended an hour later as Uncle Mark pulled a second freshly baked pie from the oven. That second pie cooled atop the stove, safe from harm.
Remembering the kindness and the love they showered on me over the years, defused my anger. Both Uncle Kent and Uncle Mark were in so much pain. I stood, pulling my hand from Brian's. I had forgotten it was still there. Now it felt so empty. I took a step forward and kneeled at Mark's feet. I reached for his foot and he flinched away from me.
"May I have a look?" I waiting until he gave me a short unsteady nod.
As carefully as I was able, I took his blistered left foot into my hand. It was hot and wet with sickness and pain. I felt ashamed for my outbursts and spiteful words. This was my Uncle Mark. I loved him. I felt the flesh throb in my hands as I delicately turned his foot from side to side. I reached out with my heart through my fingers, and touched the wounds.
I watched as the skin lightened in color from the blistering red, to pink, and finally to its natural color. The blisters were gone and his foot completely healed. I took his right foot and let my love pour out again. In no time at all, I felt Mark's pain completely leave him, as I sat his foot back down to the floor.
I stood and started moving toward my place on the couch beside Brian. I missed the feel of his hand in mine.
"Thank you so much, Ty, but aren't you forgetting someone?" Mark gave me an intense stare, and then an obvious glance at Uncle Kent's feet.
I let my eyes move to Kent's blistered flesh and answered, "Nope," and turned again, taking another step back toward the couch.
"Tyyyy!" Mark growled in that reproaching tone only a parent has.
"Gotcha!" I turned back toward them with a grin.
"He must get that from your side of the family," Mark added.
I repeated the process and healed Kent's feet. "I'm sorry," I rose to my feet and held out my arms. Kent stood and quickly took me in his arms. I felt his chest shudder, and knew if I drew back, I would see tears forming in his eyes. Mark's arms closed around me from behind, as made no effort to hide his sobs. We finally parted and I went back to the couch where Brian was still sitting quietly.
I bent over and whispered into his ear, "Thank you." I drew back far enough to place a quick kiss on his ample lips, and then took my place by his side.
The look of sheer pleasure and then total shock played across Brian's face comically. To which I answered, "Me too," and took my seat beside him again. This whole ordeal began with his admission of homosexuality and it only seemed fair to admit my own.
"So, how is it that I can now heal with a touch, call down nature without words, and see people's memories? How was Brian able to move so fast when Galen attacked me with his staff?" I asked.
As always, at times like this, Mark let Kent do the talking. It seemed odd the way they took their places as man and wife though both of them were very obviously men. It made me wonder how it would be if Brian and I were together, and which role I would play. I would rather be an equal; though, I supposed the uncles were equals in a fashion. Mark had a different kind of strength than Kent. After all, Mark did kill me. I can't imagine what that would have been like, and I hope I never find out. They seemed to balance each other so well.
Kent's voice snapped me back from my mental wanderings. "There are six known gifts given to those that are reborn from nature. A person reborn is given three of these gifts. It is rumored a fourth has been given, but there is no record of it in our families history."
"It seems you've been given Life's Hand, Natures Voice, and the Mind Touch. The healing ability is obvious. Natures Voice, gives you the ability to control the elements without words. Mind Touch, as you have already seen, gives you the ability to see into a person's mind and into their memory."
Kent shifted in his seat before continuing.
"Brian seems to have been given Nature's Fist, Balance, and I suspect Death's Hand. Nature's Fist is what made him able to react so quickly when Galen attacked you. His uncanny calm seems to indicate the gift of Balance. The sixth known gift would be Death's Touch. It is said that this touch starts decay and almost instantly renders the victim dead."
"Each gift is two fold, but until we begin training, I'd rather leave that for tomorrow." Kent yawned and settled deeper into his chair.
Further explanation was going to have to wait until tomorrow. My adrenalin had long since worn off and I was exhausted. I had killed two men, died, been resurrected, met Galen and 'The Circle', gleaned memories, and just healed my uncles by touch alone. A yawn escaped me as I stood up and looked at Brian.
"Ready for bed?" I asked and paused, surprised by my own words. That wasn't what I meant. My face flushed for the third time tonight.
"You know what I mean," I sputtered, seeing a grin stretch Brian's lips.
I glanced at my snickering uncles and smiled. Brian followed me upstairs. I removed the heavy cloak. Yes, I was buck naked, but apparently Brian had already seen all of me, so why bother with modesty. Nudity had always been common in our home. Modesty only seemed to exist for me when I was attracted to the one looking, and right now, I didn't have the energy for it. I climbed between the cool sheets. Wearing only his briefs, Brian climbed in beside me. Had I even the slightest ounce of energy, the last thing on my mind would have been sleep. Brian nuzzled into the back of my neck, and wrapped his arm around me, as I pressed against his warmth. I felt safe, and exhausted. My questions would have to wait until morning. I pulled Brian's arm in tighter around me, and drifted off to sleep.
Many thanks to Sterling for his AWESOME editing. Without him, this story wouldn't be what it is. If you have any questions or comments, please add them to e-discussion(www.gayauthors.org), or email me at gaywriter72@yahoo.com.
Take care!