Needing is One Thing

Chapter 7. I've just got to see it for myself (NSFW)

I cannot remember the last time I felt this happy, or this free, James reflected. Some would have been terrified, second-guessing the choice he made but to James, it just felt right. He kept seeing Mika's smile in his mind, reliving the moment the magic built that link between them. Erik and Matthew were right. Mika had magic, dormant though it was, and demon magic at that. She inherited more than Harry's home and money.

He told his brothers what he had done when they returned from shopping that morning. Sam was surprised, a little concerned. "It's your life," he'd said. Erik had nodded. He wasn't surprised since James had come to him in the night to talk while Damien slept. Matthew was serious when he heard; he had congratulated James but remained quiet. And Damien? James' youngest brother grinned and gave him a brief hug before helping to put the groceries away, startling and comforting him.

All told, they accepted his decision. To celebrate, they planned an elaborate dinner, Matthew agreeing to make dessert. Still, it would be awhile before Mika made it home and they wanted to get as much practice in as they could while the sun was still up. Malix was still a threat.

Now James was training with his brothers in the backyard again and Mika was running late. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, thankful he'd removed his sweater and the others stripped off their jackets. It was getting warmer and he loosened his collar and tie, rolling his cuffs as high as he could to try and stay cool.

The boys were working with their powers this time, paired up with Sam watching and directing them. They were lucky that the yard was so large and backed up against the forest preserves that ran along the river. It gave them plenty of room. The homes were spread out in this neighborhood, the property lines fenced in the distance among the trees. The elite liked their privacy, so they didn't have to worry about being seen.

It was for the best as James dashed out from behind one of the trees, dodging knives and firing a silent barrage at Matthew. His brother rolled out from the stand of bushes James tried to pin him down in and ran for a tree of his own.

Matthew summoned another knife and whipped it at him as he narrowly dodged a shot, James turning out of the way of the blade and letting it fly past him, the breeze of its passing flapping his tie. A hand snatched it from the air and Sam let the momentum follow-through, swinging around and rolling his wrist to fling it straight back at Matthew. It peeled away into a spiral of smoke a foot before it struck him.

"Hey!" Matthew yelped as he dismissed it. "What happened to watching us?"

"That was a little closer than I like," Sam chided.

"Oh, come on!" the younger brother rolled his eyes. "You try fighting Yukio over here without any sound. It's weird."

James chuckled and dismissed his handguns. Erik had worked with him this morning on the summoning spell, manipulating the magic a little. Essentially, it gave James a silencer for his guns. It was effective, providing him with a combat advantage and some subtlety here in the human world, not to mention enabling him to practice without having the neighbors call the police every time he fired a shot.

"Weird or not, your reactions need work." Sam folded his arms.

The boys heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway. All heads turned to James who motioned to them to continue while he walked back into the house. He would greet Mika first, maybe even have a chance to say "Hi" to Suzu and Naomi. His brothers would give them time before starting on dinner.

As he hurried, James ran a hand through his hair and straightened his glasses. He paused just long enough to check himself in the mirror in the hall. Debating whether he should button his collar back up and fix his tie, he remembered how Mika had reached for it when they were in the library together. He left it as-is with a smile.