T he next couple of weeks seemed to escalate with
violence against gays along Davie and Denman
and especially along the Stanly Park stroll, a piece of
land leading into the heavy primeval forest that was
part of the park. It had become bad enough for Aiden,
who normally ignored human in fighting, to take
notice. At first he thought it was the weather generally
pissing off everyone. Incessant rain tends to do that.
"Aiden, I don't want you going out there." Liam
stood in the front of the heavy apartment door. Aiden
was dressed all in black from head to toe. It wasn't
club clothing, but rather what he referred to as ass
kicking clothing, though he wasn't usually violent.
"I know what I'm doing." He slipped into his
leather jacket. "I won't be late."
"You aren't a fucking comic book hero, you
aren't Fury." Liam's hands were on his hips, his voice
shrill with fear for what Aiden was doing.
"Liam, move away from the door. Miss
Demeanor is my friend. I'm not standing by doing
468 Magical Moonlight
nothing when the punks that bashed her go
unpunished."
"You wouldn't let me join the Davie Devils. You
said they were nothing but wanna be thugs. But it's
okay for you to go there looking for trouble."
"I'm not fucking dressed in a red fucking shirt,
head shaved like some kind of white supremast
asshole. I'm an out and proud gay man who will not
be intimated by these homophobic freaks. I thought
we were finished with this shit when Johnson was
corralled. Apparently not. I'm not looking for trouble,
but I'll tell you this once and only once. I'm not
backing down from it either."
"It's okay for you to walk around like some kind
of super hero, but it isn't okay for me to go out with a
bunch of guys just because we wear red shirts." Liam
slumped, he knew he sounded stupid and he didn't
like it. Though the shirts were hot and had a great
graphic of a faggy devil on the front, his tail on the
back, hindquarters actually, but there was a tail.
Aiden put his hands on Liam's shoulders and
moved him to one side. Then he lifted Ty off of his
shoulder and put him on the counter. Killer he shoved
with his hip, the big dog wasn't all that anxious to
make a point of keeping his master inside. "Killer, get
your leash, you're coming with me."
"Woof." The dog was pleased to be included. He
loved going for walks with Aiden, especially lately.
They got to chase people and sometimes he got to
jump on them, making the people fall to the ground
ER Bryant 469
while he pretended he was a pitt bull. It was a lot of
fun.
"You'll take Killer, but you won't let me go?"
Liam's feelings were hurt.
"Witch boy, I want you safe. I don't want to have
to worry about you." Aiden leaned forward and kissed
him soundly. "Don't wait up."
"You can't tell me what to do, you're not the boss
of me."
"Gee Lia, do you want some cheese with that
whine?" Aiden laughed and left the loft, making sure
to spend a few seconds to put a captivation spell on
the loft door. Liam would have to work pretty hard to
get the door to open, if he could do it all.
Liam kicked the metal door over and over until he
couldn't feel his foot. Then he sat down and screamed,
throwing a temper tantrum the likes of which hadn't
been seen in years.
Ty sat and watched in silence, fascinated by the
almost human reaction. Wahjee were supposed to be
more stoic. He flashed the scene in his mind to Shay's
Wah cat, Doug. They had become close over the last
few months and were rewarded with an answering
amused purrrrt.
Liam finally picked himself up off the floor and
headed for the shower. There was no way he was
going to allow the man he loved to risk his life
without some kind of back up protection. Killer was
good to a point, but he was really just a large furry
pussycat as far as Liam was concerned.
470 Magical Moonlight
Emerging fifteen minutes later dressed as Aiden
had been, in black, Liam headed for the roof. His
boyfriend was good, but he also underestimated his
red headed partner. Liam was of the moon as the
Wahjee liked to say. He'd been born on the night of
the new moon and since then, that shining skyclad orb
had regulated his life. Nothing could stop him when
he was exposed to its light.
Near The Odyssey, Aiden and Killer sauntered
between light and shadow. He nodded to friends and
acquaintances. Watching and seeing everything and
anything. Killer smiled his toothy doggy smile, not
really understanding why everyone backed away. He
was showing his teeth like his red haired master did.
But instead of showing their teeth back at him, they
jumped and cringed, hugging the walls.
Aiden didn't mind, it saved him from actually
having to talk to anyone. Killer may look at first
glance like a curly haired friendly, overly large dog
with a bad haircut that was slowly growing in. But
when he smiled, he lost that huggable look. When
they rounded the corner at the far end of the block,
they had to walk past two bathhouses. Aiden could
feel the hair on the back of his neck rise. Something
was wrong. Killer felt it too. Gone was the prance of a
standard poodle, replaced by the stealthy and careful
glide of an ancestral wolf.
He held back, staying in the shadow of a
downtown city tree. And then they saw it. Two
Wahjee and three humans bent on trouble. Brad
Chambers at the front of the pack, for it was a pack of
ER Bryant 471
predators like any other in the city jungle. Looking for
prey to take down and destroy.
Aiden had other ideas. Three men came out of a
bathhouse arm in arm. Laughing over the antics of the
evening and talking about what they were going to do
next. To Aiden's astonishment, Brad magicked the
group into large heavy Neanderthalic thugs. This was
not acceptable. No wonder no one was able to identify
the bastards who were bashing gays in the city. The
rules about using magic near humans so that they were
aware of it were crystal clear and even Chambers
knew that little fact.
The Chambers gang pounced on three men. Aiden
and Killer quickly followed. The tall pseudo Rage had
the advantage of knowing that the look of the
attackers was merely a façade. He was holding his
own, when all of a sudden Liam was beside him, Ty
on his shoulder. The Wah cat leapt onto Chambers, his
Wah cat abilities more than a match for the evil
Wahjee.
At his home, Shay dreamed a nightmare. He was
dreaming of the fight between Chambers and his gang
along with his father and Liam. Not realizing that his
dream was real, he unconsciously gestured just as
Chambers and the other Wahjee with him joined their
black forces in preparation for killing Aiden. The two
men had raised their hands, a mass of black energy
going unnoticed by Aiden and Liam in their efforts to
ward off the humans bent on doing them harm. But
Killer saw the dark mass. He was a dog after all, a
heredity offspring of wolves who had once walked the
472 Magical Moonlight
very spot he stood on. He leapt toward the two
Wahjee, just as Shay reduced them to the size of mice,
his mouth open, Killer's teeth closed over them,;
ignoring the black swirl of evil, his teeth bit down and
despite the bitter taste, he chewed once and
swallowed.
Shay, in his sleep, crowed in triumph. Phoebe,
who had leant her power to her brother, did the same
as she flipped over and over in her watery home.
Killer tried to spit out the bad taste but only
burped up a black slime that slithered into a grate near
the curb. He whined, looked around and found a
puddle of water to rinse out his mouth.
"What are you doing here?" Aiden asked when he
could catch his breath. Liam had returned from
chasing one of the humans.
"Hey Aiden, thanks for being here." One of the
gays from the baths was nursing a black eye.
"No problem Terry." Aiden glared at Liam to let
him know that it wasn't over. "Hey Jake, you okay?"
He helped another one up off the ground.
"I'll live." The man looked at Aiden who now
had Ty on his shoulder. "Man, is that a cat or what.
Did you see him rake that bastard who had me down?"
he reached over and scratched Ty behind the ears.
"Cool cat Aiden, though isn't it kind of weird to have
him on your shoulder like a parrot?"
"No." Aiden answered as he dusted off the knees
of his jeans. He looked around for Killer who
appeared to be dry heaving into the gutter. "Hey boy,
you okay?" Aiden asked the dog.
ER Bryant 473
"He must have eaten something that didn't agree
with him." Liam rubbed the dog's back. "Hey, did you
see where Brad disappeared to?" Liam asked Aiden.
"Or that other guy he was with?"
"No." Aiden looked around. "Go home brat." He
whispered in Liam's ear.
"Fury needs a sidekick." Liam snickered. "And
not one with fur."
"Fury is a figment of your imagination." Aiden
scoffed as he continued on his patrol. Liam and Killer
had to run to catch up with him. He didn't want Liam
to get over confident, but he'd been glad to see him. If
he'd had to face the attackers any longer, he might
have had to resort to Wahjee powers and that wouldn't
have been smart.
"Yes, but there's always truth in what I draw."
Liam put his hand in Aiden's, pleased when the older
man threaded their fingers together. "You've got to
send Ty home, he's kind of attracting a lot of
attention. I mean cats aren't usually part of your
wardrobe." He snickered at Ty's glare in his direction.
"I suppose we could call it a night." Aiden
glanced down at Killer who looked miserable. "Killer
doesn't look well and frankly, all this activity has
made me horny."
"Everything makes you horny." Liam laughed.
"Home it is Fury." And with that he popped them all
to the rooftop garden. "Sorry I can't do more, some
asshole put limits on my powers once I'm inside."
"Hmmmm, I wonder who that could be?" Aiden
pulled Liam down so they lay on the small plot of
474 Magical Moonlight
thick grass under the moonlight. Ty jumped over to
his favorite spot on the ledge. He liked to keep an eye
on everything when the two men forgot the world in
favor of each other.
Liam rolled over until he straddled Aiden. "Moon
boy remember, I can get the best of you under its
light."
"Duh, why do you think I drag you up here all the
time?" Aiden asked with a laugh before pulling Liam
closer.
Liam laughed and made their clothes disappear,
cool air washed over their bodies.
Seeing that the men were suitably occupied, Ty
jumped down to stand near where Killer sat, huddled
in a mess of dog misery. "Uh dog, you ate two
Wahjee. It isn't an acceptable thing to do."
"I couldn't help it." " Killer was miserable. " "Do
you think the master will be angry?"
"Of course he will be dog. You don't eat people;
for one thing they taste bad and for another, they'll
make you sick for days." " He looked around. " "I, uh,
have had some experience in accidentally eating
things that don't agree with Wah cats."
"What am I going to do?" " Killer whined and put
his paws over his nose.
"Don't eat any more of them for one thing." Ty
said. He leaned back and began to wash the base of his
tale, looking up for a moment as he left hind leg
pointed to the moon. " "I mean they were only small
like a mouse, who'll miss them?"
ER Bryant 475
"Yah, nobody will care." " Killer smiled, feeling
better until his stomach rumbled and he burped.
But they were missed immediately when they
stopped breathing. For Wahjee were all part of one
and even though they strived for good, those that had
turned, affected them all. When Brad Chambers and
his friend died, each and every Wahjee alive on the
planet felt just a little bit of elation. Few knew why,
for the idea of black arts didn't occur to many. But the
ones who had allowed blackness to steal into their
souls, they knew that their number was fewer by two
and it worried them.
Liam and Aiden heard that Brad Chambers, as
well as his friend Jason, were missing. They didn't
really have time to dwell on it because their own lives
were filled with enough drama.
First, there was a dramatically staged take down
of Johnson and his henchmen. Solving a murder or
two that had taken place during the course of the
man's reign was all part of it.
While this was happening, Aiden worked at
opening his own agency. He barely had time to
acknowledge Liam's presence, let alone anything else.
The man was more stubborn than anyone Liam had
ever run into. He refused to use any Wahjee magic or
allow Liam to use any during the set up.
Even Shay and Phoebe were kept too busy to
intervene in their father's lives. Rosalie was proving a
less than ideal host for Phoebe. The baby's forces,
combined with Shay's, were constantly being used to
keep Rosalie from eating the wrong thing or
476 Magical Moonlight
overworking. Only by planting the threat of Aiden and
Liam in Rosalie's mind, did the woman slow down
enough to listen to her inner self, which happened to
be Phoebe.
And now, now there was this. Aiden lay on his
back on the bed. Liam lay beside him, both of the
staring at the ceiling. There were no dancing lights or
even mysterious shadows. Ty sat on top of the dresser
staring down at the two men. Killer, unable to stand
the tension in the room, had retired to the roof top
garden where he stared at the moon, hoping for some
kind of advice.
"Just have it checked out tomorrow. That's all
I'm asking." Liam said more to the ceiling than to
Aiden.
"I don't need this shit right now." For Aiden
knew, without doubt, that the lump Liam had found on
his right testicle was more than just a cyst or scar
tissue.
"I'll go with you to the doctor." Liam offered.
"I'm a big boy. I don't need you to hold my
fucking hand."
"Don't be an asshole just because you can. I want
to go with you." Liam rolled over to put his head on
Aiden's chest. "Whatever it is, we'll deal." He
whispered.
"I'll deal. It's nothing to do with you. It's my
body."
"I'm not even going to comment on that
statement." Liam said as his finger traced circles on
Aiden's bare chest.
ER Bryant 477
A week later they knew that Aiden had cancer. He
was scheduled for surgery almost immediately. It was
then Aiden realized just how strong Liam was,
something he was grateful for. Many times over the
next few weeks he vowed he'd repay Liam somehow.
"Hey, you packed my silk pajamas." Aiden was
looking in the small case he was getting ready for the
hospital.
"Yep." Liam handed him his toiletry kit. "You
know how hot you're going to look against cheap
white cotton hospital sheets dressed in black silk?
They'll be talking about it for years."
"Hello - they're removing one of my fucking
balls." Aiden glared at him.
"All the more reason to say fuck you to the world
and insist on wearing black silk." Liam kissed Aiden
on the cheek. "You are Aiden Mac Ruaidhri and
nothing is going to ever hold you down. You have
more sex appeal in your little finger than 90 percent of
most men. Losing a ball won't even dim the appeal
enough to notice." Liam reached up and patted Ty.
"When you get out of there, I'm taking you to Spain
for a couple of days to recover from the surgery. You
won't be starting radiation for a week or two, you
might as well do it with a nice tan."
"I can't take time off to go to fucking Spain. I
have a company to run."
"You also are a great manager and having an
amazing team in place. Two weekends and five
weekdays away from Mac Ruaidhri and Associates
isn't going to matter."
478 Magical Moonlight
"You think you have an answer to everything. It's
not your fucking body." Aiden knew he sounded like a
child but he couldn't stop himself.
"No, it isn't my body, it's yours." Liam paused;
he moved his hand down to Aiden's balls, cupping
them despite his lover's flinch. "But the problem is, I
love you. I know you don't believe in love, but I do. I
love you and part of loving someone means that
everything they feel, you do. Only you know what,
loving someone so much, you feel what they do even
more. Because not only do you feel their pain, their
sorrow, their fear, you feel your own because you love
that stubborn, annoying, beautiful person more than
life itself. So shut the fuck up. I'm with you through
this every step of the way, just like you'd be with me
if the roles were reversed."
"I don't want anyone to know about this." Aiden
said after a long pause. His arm had crept out from
under Liam to hold the red head close.
"No one will know anything from me."
"I'm serious, this is between you and I." Aiden
sighed. "Liam, I'm not used to sharing my…." He
hesitated. "My pain with anyone."
"I know." Liam reached up and kissed Aiden
tenderly. "I know."
Liam also knew that his lover needed to be in
charge so he didn't argue when Aiden organized their
stay in Spain. Instead he quietly packed their vacation
bags and researched just what Aiden was going to
need for his week of recovery, making sure that
everything was ready. He knew that the plane ride was
ER Bryant 479
going to take its toll on Aiden, but he'd already
checked with the man's doctor, who agreed it was the
best thing for him. Psychological healing helped
physical healing more than people were aware.
While Liam didn't use his Wahjee powers lightly,
he made sure that he had full access to Aiden before
and after the surgery. They didn't talk, there was
nothing much to say. Instead he quietly held Aiden's
hand, letting his thumb rub his feelings for the man
deep into his soul. When he was wheeled down the
hall, Liam walked with him until he couldn't go any
further. And then he stood vigil, inches from the
swinging doors, until he felt the surgery was over.
Only then did he head back to Aiden's room to wait
for his return.
Kimberly knew that Aiden wasn't taking time off
just for a vacation. He'd drop dead from overwork
first. So she knew whatever it was, was serious and
she was going to do her damndest to make sure her
employer and friend was able to take the time without
any kind of interference from work or his friends and
family. No matter what.
"I want to talk to him." Daniel repeated for the
fifth time. He'd already tried to barge into Aiden's
office, surprised to find it locked.
"He isn't here." She said patiently, once again.
"Hey Daniel." Bob said as he rounded a corner.
He handed a sheaf of papers to Kimberly. "These go
in Aiden's office when you have a moment. But could
you look them over first. You know how he hates it
when I over do things."