Smokin?. Smokin?. We?re cookin? tonight, just keep on tokin?.
The hit from Boston fluttered from the cell phone in the man?s pocket before a hand sank into a jacket pocket to produce the object, while light grey eyes searched the screen before answering. ? ?s John.?
?Hey man, it?s J. Listen, about the book you got?? James trailed off as his palm smeared over his face, still lingering in shock.
?Yeah?? Smoke trailed from John?s mouth and fingers, ashes from the cigarette scattered on the ground.
?Did you read any of it? Do you know anything that?s in there? What about--,? he hesitated a half a beat, ?What does Philip know??
?Hey man, Phil doesn?t know anything. He?d get in a lot of trouble if any of this was traced back to him. He was sent out here to keep an eye on the Guiscard's archives after I took it. He just said that there were some books out here that we?d probably not want anyone else to have. I didn?t ask how they got them. I just went looking for them.? It was a skilled balancing act to be best friends with two fae from opposite sides with you in the middle. Defending it was one of the few things that could get John to speak at length.
James frowned, silent as he considered his next statement.
?I just opened it long enough to see Grandpa Denny?s handwriting.? Assuming his cousin?s silence was due to not answering the first question. John might have been older, James might have been the youngest cousin of them all, but he was the future of the family. Respect was paid in the quiet response.
?Yeah, its a journal from the 40s. His journal.? James wasn?t known for this much silence unless he was assessing a situation. Or in shock. It was hard to say which was the current case.
?Is there something wrong with it?? There was a lot John did not understand, the concern in James? voice was one of them.
?I?..I don?t know honestly.? Admitting with a nervous laugh that tripped out. ?I don?t think anyone else in the family knows about this. They never mentioned that a journal of his was stolen, and this definitely would have come up in my lessons.?
?Hnn.? Curious, but John voiced nothing further.
?I?m telling you because you?re the only one who knows about the book. It may need to remain that no one beyond you and myself knows what?s in it. Though I?m certain the Guiscards have already read it, memorized it and have passed the information on amongst themselves. But for now, it is just you and I. Do I make myself clear??
?James, you do not need to tell me what is in the journal if it is information you do not wish to share. I am not next in line. Trey is.? John in fact, was the last in line. And it suddenly sounded as though James was going to give him information that he did not wish to know.
?I know who is next in line just?.? A sound of frustration echoed the walls of the room he was in before his fist slammed into the table. ?Listen to me.? A moment taken to calm himself and he stepped away from the open book on the table in front of him. ?Did you know he had a brother??
?I did not.? John frowned at the sounds of the other end of the line before his brow knotted at the question issued.
?A twin brother.?
?......?
?Named Paul.?
Losing the cigarette from his mouth, John was soon crushing it out with the toe of his work boot.
The staccato explanation from James soon shifted to a wealth of information as he could tell the silence from John was not disinterest, but quiet observation.
?He was an elemental as well, but not water like Grandpa Denny. He was earth. Earthquakes, sinkholes, that kind of thing. There?s still a lot that I don?t know, but this is what I?ve pieced together from this one journal. I?m telling you this because I have to ask you to see if the Guiscards have anything else where you found this one. I?ve never seen anything with Paul?s name. More pointedly, I?ve never seen anything that Paul has written. Do you see what I?m getting at??
?Yes. This may take me longer to find.?
?I understand. I know that what I am asking for will not be easy to find, but lucky for us that is right up your alley. I?ll see if I can pick out anything more helpful in this journal and pass it along. I just?..? A rough exhale followed. ?We need to know more about him.?
John, who wasn?t known for pressing for information did just that in his own quiet way.
?There is something that you are not telling me.?
?Paul drowned.?
The hit from Boston fluttered from the cell phone in the man?s pocket before a hand sank into a jacket pocket to produce the object, while light grey eyes searched the screen before answering. ? ?s John.?
?Hey man, it?s J. Listen, about the book you got?? James trailed off as his palm smeared over his face, still lingering in shock.
?Yeah?? Smoke trailed from John?s mouth and fingers, ashes from the cigarette scattered on the ground.
?Did you read any of it? Do you know anything that?s in there? What about--,? he hesitated a half a beat, ?What does Philip know??
?Hey man, Phil doesn?t know anything. He?d get in a lot of trouble if any of this was traced back to him. He was sent out here to keep an eye on the Guiscard's archives after I took it. He just said that there were some books out here that we?d probably not want anyone else to have. I didn?t ask how they got them. I just went looking for them.? It was a skilled balancing act to be best friends with two fae from opposite sides with you in the middle. Defending it was one of the few things that could get John to speak at length.
James frowned, silent as he considered his next statement.
?I just opened it long enough to see Grandpa Denny?s handwriting.? Assuming his cousin?s silence was due to not answering the first question. John might have been older, James might have been the youngest cousin of them all, but he was the future of the family. Respect was paid in the quiet response.
?Yeah, its a journal from the 40s. His journal.? James wasn?t known for this much silence unless he was assessing a situation. Or in shock. It was hard to say which was the current case.
?Is there something wrong with it?? There was a lot John did not understand, the concern in James? voice was one of them.
?I?..I don?t know honestly.? Admitting with a nervous laugh that tripped out. ?I don?t think anyone else in the family knows about this. They never mentioned that a journal of his was stolen, and this definitely would have come up in my lessons.?
?Hnn.? Curious, but John voiced nothing further.
?I?m telling you because you?re the only one who knows about the book. It may need to remain that no one beyond you and myself knows what?s in it. Though I?m certain the Guiscards have already read it, memorized it and have passed the information on amongst themselves. But for now, it is just you and I. Do I make myself clear??
?James, you do not need to tell me what is in the journal if it is information you do not wish to share. I am not next in line. Trey is.? John in fact, was the last in line. And it suddenly sounded as though James was going to give him information that he did not wish to know.
?I know who is next in line just?.? A sound of frustration echoed the walls of the room he was in before his fist slammed into the table. ?Listen to me.? A moment taken to calm himself and he stepped away from the open book on the table in front of him. ?Did you know he had a brother??
?I did not.? John frowned at the sounds of the other end of the line before his brow knotted at the question issued.
?A twin brother.?
?......?
?Named Paul.?
Losing the cigarette from his mouth, John was soon crushing it out with the toe of his work boot.
The staccato explanation from James soon shifted to a wealth of information as he could tell the silence from John was not disinterest, but quiet observation.
?He was an elemental as well, but not water like Grandpa Denny. He was earth. Earthquakes, sinkholes, that kind of thing. There?s still a lot that I don?t know, but this is what I?ve pieced together from this one journal. I?m telling you this because I have to ask you to see if the Guiscards have anything else where you found this one. I?ve never seen anything with Paul?s name. More pointedly, I?ve never seen anything that Paul has written. Do you see what I?m getting at??
?Yes. This may take me longer to find.?
?I understand. I know that what I am asking for will not be easy to find, but lucky for us that is right up your alley. I?ll see if I can pick out anything more helpful in this journal and pass it along. I just?..? A rough exhale followed. ?We need to know more about him.?
John, who wasn?t known for pressing for information did just that in his own quiet way.
?There is something that you are not telling me.?
?Paul drowned.?