Jabberwocky - 16. Complications

XVI. Complications

A short time later, fully bathed and dressed, Brandon and Jordan went down to join Sumna and Jassa at the large round table. Naani set down a platter of fragrant bread and honey, a Charion breakfast staple, along with some fresh fruit and milk. There was a small egg for each of them, a rare treat.

Brandon carefully peeled the egg, then stuffed the entire thing in his mouth, relishing the taste. He wasn’t a huge fan of eggs on Earth, but somehow the rarity of Charion eggs enhanced their desirability.

“So, what have we decided?” Jordan asked.

“I think the easiest way for me to gain access to the castle is from the air,” Jassa said.

Jordan gave Brandon a meaningful look.

“We’re still hammering out the details,” Sumna added softly. She looked worried.

“It’s actually quite simple," Jassa said. "I just approach right before dawn while it is still dark and the guards are tired. No one will be looking up, so I just aim for one of the upper towers and dive in.”

“There are guards patrolling those upper towers,” Sumna pointed out.

“I can subdue one or two guards once I get inside,” Jassa said. “Quietly.”

Sumna shook her head. “It’s too dangerous.”

“There isn’t going to be a safe way inside the castle,” Jassa retorted. “There are going to be risks whichever way you choose to go. This one has the less risk.”

“Jassa, someone is going to see you. You’ll get shot.”

“No one is going to see me. It’s going to be dark. Besides, the guards will be expecting approach from the ground, not the air.”

“But how will you be able to see?”

“My night vision is spectacular. Stop worrying so much. It’s simple. I slip in, find a way for you and the others to enter, and we’re good.”

Sumna frowned, then sighed. “Fine, fine. Let me look over the plans with you to figure out the best way in.” She glanced up at Jordan and Brandon. “You guys need to spend some more time with Naani. We would like the two of you to have a stable bond when you enter the castle. Let us look over this for a couple of hours, then we’ll tell you what we think would be a good plan for maneuvering once we get inside.”

“Okay,” Brandon said, feeling uncommonly agreeable. It unsettled him on some level at how compliant and eager to please he felt in Sumna and Jassa’s presence, even though he was suspicious and distrustful when he wasn’t near them. It was like they clouded his judgment when he was around them.

It’s called charisma, Jordan informed him.

I know that, Brandon sent back. They both got up and followed Naani, who took them to a room near the back.

“How do you feel?” Naani asked.

“Fine,” Brandon said.

“Good,” Jordan added, nodding.

“And you slept well? Dreams?"

“Yes on both counts,” Jordan said.

Naani nodded. “The invasiveness of the bond will wane over the next several days, but it will never go away completely. That is why control and mental discipline are so vital. Your minds are connected, but they are still separate; Brandon’s mind and Jordan’s mind. And so I’m going to have you two work on some shielding. Simple thoughts, at first, so you can get a feel for it.”

“Sounds good,” Brandon said, flashing a smile at Naani. Naani automatically smiled back and Brandon enjoyed the warm rush that swept through him, and the resulting jealous pull from Jordan just heightened the pleasure.

“With practice, shielding will become easy, almost instinctual,” Naani continued. “The important thing is not to focus on the thought, obviously, but also not to focus too much attention away from the thought either. What you want to learn how to do is create a kind of 'mind noise' to block whatever it is you are thinking. It doesn’t consist of conscious thought, but just the excess rubbish that the mind always carries around. What you need to do is to make sure your mind is relaxed and not focused on anything. That’s easy for some people, difficult for others. So we need to practice.”

He picked up what looked like a very large deck of playing cards and placed several face down on a table. “Each one of you will pick a card. There will be a symbol on the card. All you have to do is keep your partner from seeing what is on the card. Once your partner is able to describe or draw what is on the card, then your turn is over and your partner will then look at his card. And so on. Don’t expect to master this the first time you try, or even the fifth time you try, or the twelfth time. It will be a little bit easier with time, but the sooner you train, the better off you will be later.”

Brandon glanced at the cards set out on the table, then at the tablet and pencil sitting nearby and finally at Jordan. He raised his eyebrows and Jordan nodded. Brandon reached out and took a card, holding it up so he could see the symbol on the other side.

“A circle,” Jordan said promptly. Brandon frowned slightly, feeling a bit put out, but obligingly turned to card over to reveal the circle. Jordan stared at the cards for a few moments, then picked one up.

Star, Jordan thought when he saw the card.

“Star,” Brandon repeated. Jordan turned over his card and indeed there was a star on it.

Brandon sighed and reached for another card. He had a feeling this was going to be a long morning.

~ ~ ~

About five cards later, Brandon was feeling a little better about his progress. The first three cards had been given up pretty quickly, but either he was getting better or Jordan was getting tired, because it had taken a little bit of effort for Jordan to guess the fourth card Brandon had picked up, and the last one was Jordan’s first wrong guess. Jordan’s cards were still crystal clear.

Jordan watched Brandon pick up another card and tried to read the symbol from Brandon’s mind. But Brandon was producing a lot of “mind noise” that was a mix of song lyrics and mathematical equations and phone numbers and characters from televisions shows he had watched when he was younger. Random things found in his mind that didn’t require much conscious thought like Naani had instructed. Jordan wondered why he couldn’t do that.

“A square,” Jordan finally said.

Brandon shook his head and flipped his card around to show an octagon. He could feel the frustration that Jordan was feeling and wished that he could help somehow. Controlling the flow of information between them required focus, something Brandon knew he lacked. But hiding something from someone else required the opposite… Non-focus.

Jordan picked another card and looked at the image. A series of squiggly lines were on it, reminding Jordan vaguely of a river. Don’t think of wiggly lines, don’t think of wiggly lines, don’t think of-

“Wiggling lines?” Brandon asked, though he sounded somewhat confused. Jordan sighed and tossed the card on the table.

“Patience. This takes time,” Naani said calmly. “Each of you have your own individual strengths. Brandon, hold that card for at least five minutes, let’s give Jordan some more time to try to figure out what you are seeing. You are good at deflecting Jordan’s inquiries, but it takes more effort the longer you hold it off.”

They practiced until Brandon could feel the headache coming off of Jordan and made him stop. Brandon found out that his talent for hiding shapes wasn’t affected by short amounts of time, but if he waited long enough for his attention to wander, the memory of the card would slip in unexpectedly. Jordan had gotten more and more frustrated as the exercise went on, which made it easier and easier for Brandon to see what card he held.

“That’s enough,” Brandon said as the headache started to throb behind his own eyes.

“Agreed,” Naani said, gathering up the cards. “It takes time, practice, patience like everything else.”

Jordan leaned forward, pressing his fingers against his eyes. Brandon pressed a kiss to his hot forehead. Don’t get so worked up baby. You can’t be good at everything.

I know. I just want to be able to get a good handle on this mind to mind stuff before we go storming the castle. You do realize that after our business there is concluded, we are probably going to have to haul some serious ass?

Probably, Brandon agreed. But at least we already know the basics, right? It’s just like learning how to walk or talk. Keep trying until the brain figures it out. Soon it’ll be easy.

Jordan pressed his head into Brandon’s stomach. You’re thinking of something.

I am, Brandon acknowledged. Can you pick it up?

You are wondering if we are doing the right thing.

Well, consider this. We don’t think Sumna and Jassa are doing the best for Charion, because we think they want to kill the child, right?

Yes.

And we don’t think that Keith is doing the best for Charion even though he was the one who Created it in the first place-

Keith didn’t create Charion, Jordan interrupted. Charion already existed. Keith just gave it shape. And he’s a psychopath that enjoys controlling the heart of Charion.

True as that may be, we both think that the two groups who are trying to take care of Charion aren’t the best people for the job. But why do we think we can do any better? Sumna and Jassa probably think they are doing the best thing for Charion and Keith probably does too, in his own special, twisted way. And now so do we. How do we know we’re not just as wrong about this as they are?

Are you doubting our plan?

No. I just want to know that it is the right course of action.

There is rarely a guarantee for what is right and what is wrong. You have a good heart Brandon. Do what it tells you is right.

I’m just worried. Confused.

What do you think Charion would want?

Brandon thought for a moment. Just to be Charion. That is what I want. To just be Brandon.

Jordan leaned up to kiss him. So how we would accomplish that?

Making sure that Keith and the girls don’t use the prophecy to implement whatever changes they want, I guess, Brandon thought. Either that or kill them. And while I wouldn’t mind something bad happening to Keith, I wouldn’t want to hurt Jassa or Sumna. They rescued us and have been good to us. And despite everything, I really do like them.

Me, too. So to accomplish our goal, we need to make sure that neither Keith nor the girls are able to keep the child. Which was our main priority anyway.

Yeah. Brandon nodded, but still looked concerned.

“Come with me,” Jordan said, and it took Brandon just a split second to adjust from mind speak to voice speak. He followed Jordan down to their room in the cellar near the back. Jordan pulled out Brandon’s sketchbook and turned it to a blank page. Brandon noted with a bit of unease that there were not many left.

I want you to draw something, Jordan told him. Can you see it?

Brandon closed his eyes and saw it forming in the blackness behind his eyes like magic. He opened his eyes and focused on transferring the image from his mind to the page. This was not the first time Brandon had drawn something for them to Enable over in Charion. There was the pencil that Jassa had requested, and one night after riding, Brandon had experimented a little, drawing little things, like Charion coins and the unfamiliar plants and insects.

Now Brandon drew, focusing, and when he was satisfied, he looked up at Jordan. “Why do you want this?”

“Better safe than sorry,” Jordan said.

Brandon watched Jordan put his own hand over the drawing, then placed his hand on top of Jordan’s. They both thought of the image that Brandon just drew and Brandon felt something in his brain lock onto the image and suddenly it was so crystal clear, filling his brain and his eyes and his imagination. He felt a vague tug from Jordan and then the dagger he just drew was there, cold and metallic. Brandon drew his hand away and watched as Jordan gingerly picked it up, turned it in his hand.

“What do you think?” Brandon asked.

“It’s a perfect replica. Amazing,” Jordan said. “And it didn’t take that much effort at all. In fact, I brought a little too much energy in and got a little bit of a rebound from it.”

“Rebound?”

“If you exert more energy than is needed, it needs to go somewhere, usually back from the source it came. Mental energy goes back into the mind.”

Brandon remembered the tug he felt and wondered if that was from the rebound or the Enabling Jordan had done.

“It was from the Enabling,” Jordan murmured, sliding the dagger into the hard leather sheath that Brandon had drawn to go with it. He held it out to Brandon by the hilt and Brandon shook his head.

“You keep it,” Brandon said.

Jordan stowed it in Brandon’s knapsack with the rest of their belongings. “I don’t like the idea any better than you do, baby, but we need to be able to protect ourselves.”

“I know. I’m just-“ Brandon ran a hand over his face. “I’m nervous. Scared. We’re not prepared. The girls aren’t prepared.”

Jordan looked back at him, calm. “Sometimes the best plans are those that can't account for the unexpected.” He pulled Brandon to his feet and smiled at him. “Come on, let’s go talk to the girls. Maybe that will ease your worry a little bit. But, no matter what-” Jordan stepped close, gave Brandon a gentle kiss. “I’ll be there to help you out if you ever need it. Okay?”

Brandon gave Jordan’s hand a squeeze. Even if the reassurance did little to comfort him, he appreciated it all the same.

~ ~ ~

Jassa and Sumna were still looking over blueprints and other assorted papers when Jordan and Brandon re-entered the room. Sumna glanced up and offered them a strained smile. Jassa didn’t even look up.

“Sit down,” Sumna invited. Brandon and Jordan sat down on the other side of the table. Sumna ran a hand through her hair, which was mussed and tangled. “We have two objectives going in. Finding Keith and his Enabler. Finding the child.”

Ezekial, Brandon thought and saw Jordan nod almost imperceptibly.

“We think it would be best if we split up,” Sumna continued. “All of us have mental communication to our partners. So it makes sense that two of us, perhaps Brandon and myself could go after Keith, or the other two, like Jassa and Jordan, could go after the child."

“Why those teams?” Jordan asked, his voice neutral.

“Enablers work well with other Enablers, Creators work well with other Creators,” Jassa said.

Dalaja told you that, like, ages ago, Brandon reminded him

Jordan gave him a glare, but Brandon could tell there wasn’t any real heat behind it and he could tell that Jordan's main concern was being separated from Brandon.

“We don’t have a designated entrance,” Sumna said. “We will gather here, out of sight of the guards.” Sumna pointed to a large grove of trees near the gardens. “They are easily accessible, lots of branches to climb. You guys can climb, right?”

“We managed okay in Odwayon, didn’t we?” Brandon said.

“These are not the sturdy, large branched trees of Odwayon. You’ll have to be careful. Once Jassa gets into the palace, she will find and secure an entrance and let us know where it is located. We don’t know what she’ll be coming up against once she is inside, so finding a meeting place beforehand is not feasible. We have a couple of favorable options, here and here,” Sumna added, pointing to the East and South Entrance. “They are less guarded. These are the entrances that Jassa will focus on, but in case something happens and she has to change plans, we won’t be counting on those. Understood?”

Jordan nodded. Brandon could tell that Jordan was taking all the information in, analyzing, planning, looking for holes and problems. Brandon didn’t pry to hard, but from what he could gather, this was the kind of plan Jordan was fond of--the less that was planned, the less that could go wrong.

“Once we are in?” Jordan asked. “One team goes for Keith, the other for the child?”

“I think the Creators should go for the child,” Brandon said. “Keith will be able to sense Creators in the castle, but not Enablers, I bet. If he senses Creators coming towards him, he could get frightened and run.”

Jassa nodded. “Good point. I can do a little to shield our presence, but it’s very minimal. He’ll still know we are in the castle, just not where exactly. But it would be too hard to shield two Creators closing in on him in close proximity. So yes, Jordan and I will go. If his Enabler is nearby, she’ll be able to tell we are coming, but we’ll have to take our chances.”

“We will be in constant communication and expect that you will be as well,” Sumna said. “When we complete what we are supposed to accomplish, then we meet near the Queen’s former quarters. They should be relatively empty and there are several exits to various parts of the palace outside, so it makes for a fairly easy escape. Plus there may be other escapes not marked on the map.”

“Sounds good.” Brandon lied. He didn't want to be anywhere near the Queen's old quarters. “Can we each make a copy of that map? I would hate for one of us to get lost.”

“If you stick with Sumna or me, you won’t be. She knows the castle layout better than anyone, and anything she knows, I’ll know,” Jassa said.

“But what if we get separated?” Brandon pressed. “You told us yourself, if something happens to us, you won’t be coming after us.”

Jassa frowned and started to say something, but Sumna cut her off by placing a hand on her arm. “It can’t hurt. Go ahead.”

Jassa scowled and shook Sumna’s hand off, then pulled out the blueprints, handing them over to Jordan. “Take them. We won’t need them.”

“When do we head out?” Jordan asked, glancing at the blueprints and trying to pretend that he knew what he was looking at.

“Right before dawn. We will need to turn in very early tonight. Any more questions?”

Brandon had a million, but none that the girls could answer, so he kept quiet. His mind whirled with thoughts; Ezekial, Rajar and the knife hidden in their little room. He said nothing.

~ ~ ~

They had an early dinner, and despite the dangerous job that lay in the not distant future, it was a relatively festive mood. Jassa ate a lot of food, with the explanation that doing flying, even a little, made her burn a lot of energy. Naani kept passing around platters of food, offering everyone second or third helpings. Brandon, already full, just sat back and watched the scene; the easy laugh coming from the usually stern Jassa, Jordan’s relaxed posture and the warm crinkle around Naani’s eyes. Sumna had poured wine for everybody and pressed Brandon to join in, but he politely declined when she tried to pour him some wine with honey. He was curious about Charion wine, but he remembered too well how excited he got when Naani gave him the wine before the bonding process. He thought he had been doing well with abstaining from alcohol since the disastrous night at Alexis’ house. Jordan’s disappointment that night and the subsequent shame had made it easier when the siren’s call got too tempting. During their time in Charion, access to alcohol was easy to come by in some cases, harder in others, but there was always too much going on to take the chance. But the fact was that if he got excited by just a few mouthfuls of white wine, which he didn't even like that much, then he obviously wasn’t doing as well at resisting alcohol as he thought he was. And right now wasn’t a good time to pick back up a habit that he was trying really hard to break. There was too much at stake.

So he refused and drank water and reminded himself of the warm, brief flow of pride he caught from Jordan when he first refused the wine when temptation became strong. And with the wine being passed around and drank by everybody, Naani included, and seeing it in the cups and, God, smelling it made temptation very strong. As the meal progressed, Sumna made the offer of wine several more times, her gentle insistence becoming stronger each time until it became almost rude at one point.

“He told you no several times.” Jordan finally intervened when he could see Brandon starting to waver. His tone was polite but firm and he gave Brandon’s hand a slow gentle squeeze under the table.

I’m proud of you, baby, Jordan said. I know how hard this must be on you. I’ll be sure to reward you later.

Reward? Brandon thought.

Jordan conjured up a memory of Brandon, moaning and writhing as he rode Jordan’s cock. Brandon felt his face heat up and anticipation began to tingle in his stomach. The small group finished dinner and Sumna excused herself, stating that she needed to meditate, and Jassa followed soon after. Jordan rested his heavy head on Brandon’s shoulder.

“Tired, baby?” Brandon asked. Jordan nodded heavily and Brandon felt his hopes for a quick, sexy romp in the sheets slip away.

“Let’s go lay down for a bit then,” Brandon said, standing up. “We need to be well rested anyway, and someone will come and get us when it is time to go.”

Jordan looked up at him blankly. He grasped Brandon’s outstretched hands and Brandon was surprised and a little alarmed at how much he had to help Jordan to his feet. Jordan stumbled into him and Brandon suddenly had his hands full trying to steady his boyfriend on his feet.

“Are you okay, baby?” Brandon asked.

No. The response from Jordan was immediate and laced with a kind of detached worry.

“What’s wrong?” Brandon asked.

I don’t…know… Jordan’s mental voice was getting fuzzy and soft as his feet slipped on the floor and his knees stopped working. Brandon struggled briefly to keep him upright, before lowering him to the floor. He brushed back Jordan’s hair, feeling his face, which felt warm but not hot. “Baby, what’s going on?" There was no response, vocal or mentally from Jordan.

“Baby?” Brandon asked again. Panic was clenching in his stomach. Jordan wasn’t responding to anything physically and Brandon wasn’t getting anything from Jordan mentally, which frightened him. Even when Jordan was asleep, Brandon could feel the gentle rhythm of his mind, his dreams. Now he was getting nothing. “C’mon, c’mon baby, wake up, say something. Please?” Brandon asked, gently tapping Jordan’s face.

“Relax, Brandon.” Sumna was suddenly next to him, pulling his hands away from Jordan’s face. “He’ll be okay. Help me lift him.”

“There’s something wrong, he needs help,” Brandon insisted.

“He’ll be okay. Help me get him off the floor.”

Brandon slid his arms under Jordan’s hips and knees as Sumna lifted his shoulders and helped shuffle him over a chaise in the next room. “What is wrong with him?” Brandon asked again, straightening Jordan’s legs and making sure his head was well supported.

“He’s been drugged. Jassa, too.”

Brandon felt his stomach drop. “With what? By who? Was it Naani?”

“No, Naani is out, too. It’s nothing too severe, just a simple sedative.”

“Well, how come I am still awake?” Brandon asked, his mind racing. For that matter, why was she still awake? And how did she know-

“Because, Brandon, you refused to drink the wine I gave you."