L iam had spent his time since Aiden's revealing
visit on research into the man's early years. It
was easy when you were Wahjee; well it was easy
when you were Wahjee with talent and had some help
from an unexpected source. He knew that the birthday
night wasn't going to be all that Daniel and gang
thought it might be.
Watching from his room at Lisa's through his
abilities as Wahjee, Liam felt rather than heard the
outrage Aiden was feeling. He had to commend the
man. He never used an ounce of his Wahjee abilities
or even a touch of magic. Had they done something
like this to him, he would have had a box of toads
hopping around the apartment.
He rolled his eyes when Aiden was dragged to a
funeral home and chucked in a coffin. It was at that
moment; Liam could tell his lover was about to
explode. He waited for everyone to leave the room.
He knew their schedule; they were bringing in the
cake. It was then that Liam popped Aiden out of the
224 Magical Moonlight
coffin and into the apartment. "Hey." He said
wrapping his arms around the confused man.
"Magic, loft, no." Aiden began.
"Magic, loft, occasionally." Liam grinned.
"Thirty is a birthday that kind of marks a rite of
passage. I want this to be special for you."
"Finding myself in a coffin isn't special enough
for you?" Aiden huffed. He strode into the kitchen
looking for a bottle of water. "What's all this stuff?"
he asked surveying a table full of carefully wrapped
gifts."
"Your life." Liam bounced over to him and
handed him a bottle of cold water. "Now sit down and
humor me."
"Will it get me laid later?" Aiden huffed, Liam
always made him smile.
"Many, many times." Liam took his hand and led
him to the sofa. "This is about your life and in a way
it's about another persons as well. I took the liberty of
borrowing, with her permission, this book." He
handed Aiden a well-worn book.
"With whose permission?" Aiden asked, turning
the book over and over in his hand.
"Your mother."
"I'm not reading anything that bitch has written."
Aiden threw the book on the table.
"Fine, I'll read it. I went to a lot of trouble to get
her to admit this even existed and to let me read it.
You do know she's quite powerful; you get your own
powers from her side of the family. If she didn't allow
us access, there isn't a chance in hell you could even
ER Bryant 225
open the cover." He looked at Aiden who was sitting
on the sofa, arms crossed tightly on his chest, bottom
lip out in a definite pout.
Ignoring him, though he couldn't help but smirk
slightly, Liam sat as close as he could to Aiden, so
close that Aiden was forced to put one of his arms
around Liam's shoulder.
1970 - April 5th
Aiden was born an hour ago. He's everything I
dreamed of in a baby. Jack of course, has no idea the
strength my child has. And he never will, at least not
while I have a breath in my body. Aiden will be the
good in the Mac Ruaidhri clan. Jack can never find
out.
I know that in order to keep Aiden's abilities to
myself, I am going to have to make some hard
decisions. I love this boy with my whole heart and
soul. I will die before I will allow Jack to turn him to
the dark side so my tears will remain hidden as he
grows. I can't allow Jack to know how much Aiden
means to me.
This will be my gift to my child, should he want
to receive it.
Aiden, your birth was an easy one, you were
placed on my chest, moments after you took your first
breath and I looked into your eyes, seeing all my
hopes for you reflected there. You have flashing green
eyes and the most beautiful hair, thick and wavy with
a hint of red that surely comes from my side of the
family. I know that you will be even more powerful
than I had imagined. I have to put a small spell on
226 Magical Moonlight
you, just to make sure you don't show your father the
strength you have inside your sturdy body.
Liam reached out and patted Aiden's knee before
continuing:
1971 - April 5th
My darling baby, you are one-year-old today.
How you've grown. I made you your first and I'm
afraid your last birthday cake. It was a mistake to
show Jack this love I have for you. I thought he'd be
away long enough for you to enjoy the blue bear. I
love you dearly and I will not have him attempting to
harm you before you are able to defend yourself. I will
never put you in this position again. Tonight when I
placed you in your crib, my heart broke, for I'll never
again see the joy you'd shown at the sight of your
birthday cake. My birthday wish for you is for you to
grow strong and be filled with goodness and light.
1972 - April 5th
My brave boy, having to be with that bitch of a
mother in law, but I'm ill with this next pregnancy and
can't cope with life itself. At least she's blind as a bat
and will not notice your powers. They are developing
nicely and though I have you in a binding spell, I
know they are stronger on this anniversary of your
birth. Perhaps with the birth of your sister, it will take
some of the attention off of you. Your father
occasionally looks on you with suspicion. It's
sometimes all I can do to deflect his thoughts. I was so
surprised when I called to talk to you tonight, that you
were able to project your thoughts to me. Much as I
would love to help you develop this talent, I must
ER Bryant 227
suppress it for now. We can't allow any Mac Ruaidhri
to know. My birthday wish for you is to grow strong
and be filled with goodness and light.
Aiden pulled the book from Liam's hand and
began to read the words himself. His heart was filled
with something he'd never expected to feel. He'd
always wanted his mother's love and had been
envious of Daniel and Lisa. He had to read for himself
what she'd written.
1973 - April 5th
Aiden, you are three today. Imagine that. You are
tall and so very strong. I tucked you into your bed
tonight without the kitten I know you wanted. You are
Wahjee after all and all Wahjee should have a familiar
by the age of three. But of course, with the Mac
Ruaidhri's as evil as they are, I don't dare allow it. It
would be too easy for them to work their blackness
through your golden kitten. My birthday wish for you
is to grow strong and be filled with goodness and
light.
Aiden looked at Liam and then at a parcel on the
table that began to wiggle and move. "What the fuck
Liam?" he asked. He picked up the box and the top
fell off. Out jumped an orange kitten about 7 weeks
old with a tag around his neck. "My name is Tyrone F
Horn Eye" Aiden burst out laughing. It was a name
from his favorite seventies show, Laugh In. Liam
hated that show, but Aiden had all the seasons on
DVD and watched them to relax. The kitten jumped
up on Aiden's shoulder and settled down, draping
himself there like it was his favorite perch. "So I now
228 Magical Moonlight
have a cat and a Wah cat no less. I want to hear how
you managed that." Aiden grinned. He never thought
of himself as a pet person, but Tyrone seemed
somehow right.
1974 - April 5th
Aiden began to read; each birthday there was an
entry. Some of them were long and some were short,
depending on what was happening in their lives. With
each birthday, another gift he'd wanted appeared on
the table in front of him. There were transformer cars
and books. On his eighth birthday, another of the gifts
began to wiggle. "Fuck Liam, not another cat." He
sighed and reached forward.
"I believe you were after a big assed dog that
would perhaps eat your father." Liam giggled. "Meet
your dog." The dog wagged his tail and jumped up on
Aiden.
"Uh Liam, he's got giant feet for a puppy." Aiden
leaned down and patted the dog on his head. "What in
hell is he and what's his name?"
"He's a poodle." Liam admitted. "I thought
maybe you might have a name for him."
"I was going to call my dog Killer." Aiden looked
at the puppy. "I'm not some kind of a fag that wants a
fucking poodle."
"He's a standard poodle. He'll end up about a
hundred pounds and he's real smart, aren't you
Killer." Liam scratched him under the chin.
"A fucking poodle Liam?" Aiden shook his head.
"You do know this isn't going to work don't you. I'm
not capable of looking after Ty here much less Killer.
ER Bryant 229
I do work, long days by the way. I don't want to come
home to dog shit and piss all over the apartment. Even
if I did agree to keep him." Killer was now on back on
Aiden's lap. Ty leaned down and patted the dog's foot
that was sticking up close to him.
"I have that covered." Liam laughed. "I made him
a run out on the roof. He can do his business there and
the best part is, no more unwelcome guests in the loft.
Between him and Ty, no one would dare come
through the door unless they were invited."
Aiden decided to ignore the now sleeping dog and
continued to read.
"I didn't know how to do much about your
penchant for masturbation, so I got you some stroke
books." Liam said when they'd reached his eleventh
birthday.
Aiden snorted with laughter. He leafed through to
the last page.
2000 - April 5th
Today Aiden's friend came to see me. He knew
about this book. I suppose it's because he's Wahjee
and that he loves my son. Aiden, if you've read these
pages I want you to know. There isn't a day that goes
by that I don't think about you. Liam tells me that you
have not only become what I wished for you each
birthday, but much more. I am so proud. My birthday
wish for you is to grow strong and be filled with
goodness and light.
Aiden was silent for a few moments. "I'm going
to read this again." He whispered.
230 Magical Moonlight
"All the way through, there's some interesting
stuff when you were in your teens. And once you left
home, she never missed your birthday. Your mother
has always loved you. She just wasn't able to show
you. Not because she didn't want to, but because she
was protecting you."
"But why let you have this now?"
"Maybe because Jack is damn near dead. Maybe
she feels safe." Liam shrugged. "I think it's something
you should talk to her about."
"Not today." Aiden sighed. "Liam, when I was
eight, a dog was a great idea. What in hell am I going
to do with him at thirty?" he'd been rubbing the dog's
tummy while it slept on his lap. Ty was now draped
around the back of his neck. Aiden turned to Liam,
"Really the only thing I needed was this." He held up
the book.
"Killer is cute, can't we keep him?" Liam asked,
batting his eyelashes.
"We?" Aiden snorted. "You don't even live
here."
"That's not my fault. That was your decision, not
mine." Liam stood up. "Let's take Killer up to the
roof. And don't worry, I made sure that the outside
stairs are safe and that the puppy won't fall through."
"I'm worried about you and I falling through."
Aiden eyed the long window that led to the iron railed
fire escape. It went both up to the roof and down to
just above the bottom floor. "What's to stop Killer
from going down instead of up."
ER Bryant 231
"He's smart and Ty won't let him. Ty's in charge
of his training."
"Maybe it's escaped your notice, but Ty is a cat, a
small cat." Aiden smirked. The cat was still perched
on his shoulder.
"Watch. Oh, I had to put up a kind of ramp for
now. Killer is too short for the steps, but he'll grow
fast."
Aiden and Liam watched as the puppy sniffed
around and then walked up the short ramp to stand at
the dog door Liam had built into the window. Ty
jumped down from Aiden's shoulder to land behind
Killer, he stuck on paw out nails extended and the dog
jumped through the door. Ty following, he and Killer
ran up to the roof.
Aiden stepped through the window and then
turned to hold out his hand for Liam. "Maybe we
should put a door here instead."
"We can do that." Liam mumbled a few words
and there was a door in place of the window.
"Magic, loft, no." Aiden said shaking his head.
"Ahhhh, it's your birthday." Liam whined in
imitation of Daniel.
They reached the roof and looked around. Liam
had put in a grassy area. There were a couple of lawn
chairs and some interesting things for the animals to
investigate. Aiden noticed that the red head had
thought of placing a fence around the roof in case
Killer was tempted to jump over the side. He knew Ty
would be fine. The cat was one he recognized from a
line of Wahjee familiars. He'd known a number of
232 Magical Moonlight
others with cats from this particular strain. "How did
you manage to get one of the Wah cats?" Aiden asked.
"I thought they were spoken for at the birth of their
owners."
"They are. You have the one that was to be yours
as a child. Of course not actually the one, but you
were still on the list, if there's a list. I don't know how
this kind of thing works."
"Why don't you have one?" Aiden asked.
"Not everyone gets one. Your mother made sure
you were going to get a Wah cat, mine didn't." Liam
shrugged. "I'll share Ty." He had to giggle. "I sort of
do have one. I have a turquoise and white stuffed cat. I
pretend he's a Wah cat. I've had him forever."
"I don't think they share well." Aiden laughed. "I
can't believe I have two damn animals in my life. You
certainly make things interesting Brat." He did recall
seeing the turquoise cat off and on. In fact it was
almost unnerving when he popped into Liam's
bedroom to see its glittering eyes watch his every
move from its various perches.
"I aim to please." Liam pulled Aiden down onto
the sturdy lawn chair and then sat on his lap. "Look,
you can actually see a few stars if you squint in the
right way."
"I only see one." Aiden was gazing at Liam. He
wiggled his eyebrows making Liam laugh. "I have to
admit this was a damn good birthday, or parts of it
was."
"Hey you didn't get any cake."
"After seven - carbs." Aiden began.
ER Bryant 233
"Shut up, it's your birthday." Liam kissed him.
"Should we go to the cake or have the cake come to
us?"
"I suppose I won't hear the end of it, we might as
well find the gang." He looked over at his new
roomies and said. "We're going out - the two of you
behave. Ty, keep an eye on Killer and remember he's
young and a dog." Ty was the same age as the dog,
but he was a Wah cat after all.
"Shit, they brought the cake back to Lisa's."
Aiden and Liam stood on the porch after Liam had
magicked them to the cake.
"Might as well get it over with." Liam walked
into the house, his hand in Aiden's. "Hey guys, hope
you saved us some cake."
"WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GO TO
ASSHOLE." Daniel shouted.
"You didn't invite Liam. I had to find him."
Aiden drawled and walked inside. "Nice cake Rick."
"It isn't everyday someone turns thirty." Richard
laughed. "Liam, after licking the icing bowl and eating
the left over cake batter, I'd think you'd be tired of it."
"No way, I love it." Liam sat at the table, his eyes
on the cake. "Come on Aiden, sit down. The birthday
boy should cut the cake."
Aiden rolled his eyes, but he had to admit, after
Liam's birthday surprise, he was rather enjoying the
attention. He had been loved all these years, somehow
knowing that, made him accept the love from others
much easier.
234 Magical Moonlight
Daniel watched, eyes closed in slits of anger.
Evan was happy to find plates for the cake. Bob was
looking for ice cream.
"Where did the girls go?" Liam asked.
"They figured Aiden had disappeared for the
night, they went home." Evan answered. "But I knew
that he was going to find his Liam."
Liam glowed with the words. "Aiden always
knows where I am."
"That's because you're a fucking stalker." Daniel
mumbled.
Liam grinned at him and stuck out his tongue
before turning to his plate. "Hurry up and cut the
cake." Liam urged Aiden.
"Don't you have to fit into a tux tonight?" Aiden
laughed as he leaned forward to cut the cake. "Dakota
is going to want her date to look good."
"I always look good." Liam smirked. "I still think
you'd look amazing in a tux, especially if you showed
up at the prom."
"Not going to happen Brat, Aiden doesn't need
that kind of shit and publicity. He does work you
know." Daniel glared.
"No shit." Liam leaned his head against Aiden's
shoulder. "You would look amazing." He whispered
loud enough for them all to hear.
"You'll do just fine with Dakota." Aiden said. He
forked up a piece of cake and placed it in Liam's
mouth. "One for the road."
The next day as Liam was getting ready for the
prom, he began to feel uneasy. He wasn't sure why,
ER Bryant 235
but with each advancing minute, the uneasiness
increased. He called Dakota but she was full of bubbly
excitement about the upcoming night, so he didn't say
anything. Whatever it was had to be nerves, or at least
that's what he put it down to.
He spent the day getting ready. Not so much for
Dakota, but for his anticipated night with Aiden. He
knew that while the man had no intention of showing
up at the dance, he'd still plan something great for the
rest of the evening. He and Dakota spent the day
having pedicures and manicures and generally being
pampered. But try as he might, he just couldn't get rid
of the feeling of impending doom. Even the weather
wasn't cooperating. Heavy clouds dark and forbidding
rolled around the skies, making the day seem grey and
heavy. The air smelled of city fumes that couldn't
escape because of the cloud cover and everywhere he
went, tempers were frayed.
But it was prom day and Liam was determined
that his best friend would have an amazing time. He'd
actually convinced himself that it was a fitting end to
the school year, being with his best friend. After all
that's how they'd begun, as two kids attending
kindergarten hand in hand.
The evening for Liam seemed to happen like a
slow motion movie. He picked Dakota up and they
arrived fashionably late at the hotel where the dance
was being held. He parked close to the hotel entrance
and walked her inside. The atmosphere was heavy
outside, but it didn't carry into the brightly lit hotel.
236 Magical Moonlight
Once inside it was easy to forget and let the magic of
the evening overtake the two of them.
They danced and laughed for almost two hours
when the music seemed to fade and Liam turned to see
Aiden walk in, as handsome as he'd imagined. No one
noticed red glowing eyes that sparkled like rubies here