The Brotherhood - 21. Chapter 21

The Brotherhood

Chapter XXI

By: X

 

 

I appeared on the other side, utterly amazed at what I saw. It was like staring out into space, or more accurately, standing in space. I was standing on a platform with two ivory pillars on either side of me and about ten stairs in front leading down to a bigger venue. There were no walls I could see, only space with thousands of stars forming hundreds of constellations. Hovering above the whole place was a massive formation of energy, shifting and turning, like liquid spilled on the surface of a table. I was staring at a sea of Naverian Anavi where hundreds of Nave were merged as one.

It was beyond imagining.

I was still holding my breath as well. I’m sure I was afraid that my lungs would implode if I took a breath. Q was halfway down the steps when another hooded figure came running up to him, pointing back at me. I recognized the voice right away.

“What’s he doing here?” Soullen asked.

Q turned to look at me, laughed, and walked back up the stairs. Not the reaction I was expecting. “Jacob, what are you doing here?” He placed one hand on my face and leaned in to look closer. “And why are you turning purple? My god, Jacob, breath!”

With an enormous breath, I bent over, placed my hands on my knees, and breathed heavily.

“Easy. I don’t want you to pass out on me.” He rubbed my back despite laughing at me.

“Why is he here?” Soullen asked again and looked back at the others gathered at the bottom platform before returning his attention to me. “He’s not supposed to be here.”

“Don’t worry about it, Soullen,” Q assured him. “I’ll take care of it.” He kissed me on the head suddenly. “Feeling better?”

I nodded.

“Why did you follow me here?”

“Because…because…” I managed to say between breaths and slowly stood up straight. “Because I couldn’t just let you face this alone.”

“You are too funny; you know that?” Placing both hands on either side of my face, he looked me dead in the eyes. “I’m perfectly fine, Jacob. Nothing is going to happen to me.” He kissed me again but this time on the forehead. “But thank you for caring as much as you do.”

Soullen looked positively annoyed. “Qua’quelle…”

“Soullen,” Q interrupted, “why don’t you go down with the others, and I’ll join you in a minute, okay?”

“But…”

Q just looked at him.

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Did he just walk away pouting?

“Don’t mind, Soullen. He’s just trying to look out for me. At least you two have that in common.”

“Q…” I said as I looked over his shoulder and saw a ribbon of Anavi break away from the collective whole and snake its way down.

Q looked but didn’t seem anywhere near as concerned as I did. “Relax. It’s okay.”

The string of energy expanded and slowly took form as it got closer. “Ah, this must be the Jacob we’ve heard so much about,” it said, offering me a handshake before completely taking human form.

“Um…hello.” He was still glowing when I shook his hand, but within moments, he looked no different than Q in his white hooded robe.

“This is Remus. He’s a longtime friend who served with me in the King’s Royal Guard.”

“Oh, so like really longtime….”

They laughed.

“But it looks like you’re getting a little bit ahead of yourself, Jacob.” At first, I didn’t understand what Remus was saying, but then it clicked that he was referring to my presence there.

“I know. I’m sorry. I just needed to….”

“Make sure Q was okay,” he said with a smile. “I can see how much you care for him. I’m glad. It’s about time too. You have no idea how many times I’ve tried to….”

“Enough,” Q jumped in right away. “Don’t you have someplace to be?”

“As do you, my friend,” Remus countered and slapped him in the back. “Well, I suppose I’ll let you finish up here.” He turned to me and offered me his hand again. “Jacob, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope we get to talk again soon. I have some stories I can tell you about this one.” He melted away into pure Anavi again and floated up towards the others.

“Don’t even think about it,” Q said, swatting his friend like he was trying to clear smoke from the air. “Now, as for you, young man….”

I felt myself shrink in his presence like a little boy about to be scolded by a parent. “I know, I know, and I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I just picture you out here alone with no one to have your back, and I just felt my place was by your side. It was a dumb thing to do, but I ….”

He shut me up by kissing me, and I was happy to go with the flow. This was not the reaction I expected from Q, but it sure beats getting yelled at.

“You’re sweet, Jacob. But you need to trust me when I say everything will be okay. And you definitely need to leave here and head back to the house. Once you’re a Brother, you can come here all you want, but you need to go for now.”

“Where is here exactly? This looks like outer space.”

He laughed. “It’s not outer space. We’re in the Nexus – the hub for all things Brotherhood.”

“Who created this place?”

“We did. A long time ago.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “You did?”

“Yes. It was either this or take up crocheting, and I was never really any good at needlepoint.”

“But I see stars.”

“Each ‘star’ you see represents a house or other location within the Brotherhood network. See that one there?” Turning me around, Q pointed at one of the flickering stars. “That’s our house, and it’s time for you to return. I believe your friends are hanging around the pool, so you can go meet up with them.”

The tiny orb of light moved and came around behind the two pillars and headed straight for us, but when it got between them, it expanded into a portal. Once it settled, I could see through the rippling surface and see Arsen and the gang sitting around the pool, just like Q said. It was like looking at them thru the surface of a pond.

“Okay, I’ll go,” I said, turning back to face him. “I hope I didn’t get you into any trouble.”

“Nothing I can’t handle. Stop worrying about me, okay?”

“I’ll try, but I won’t make any promises.”

Taking my hands, Q kissed them and slowly backed away. “Now go be with your friends. I’ll be back soon.” Like his friend before him, Q melted into a ribbon of swirling light, but before his face was gone, he said those three words I’d always carry with me. “I love you.”

My heart swelled. What more could be said?

I watched as he floated up and joined the rest of his brothers in that pool of Anavi. I stayed for a moment longer, trying to see if I could pick him out, but it was useless. It was like picking out a single drop of water from an ocean. I turned and walked thru the portal, hearing those three lovely words playing over and over in my head.

“And that’s all I have to say about that,” was all I heard Arsen say when I appeared behind them. I was expecting to go thru the mirror again, but that was not the case. I’m guessing Q had something to do with that, but there was no way to be positive.

Everyone except for CJ was gathered around the indoor pool. Troy and Paul sat around in the chairs while Ant and Arsen sat at the pool’s edge with their feet in the water. I had no idea where CJ was hiding. By then, I knew they had the same information I did about the Nave and Skai. I could feel the apprehension and uncertainty in the air; it curled off them like smoke. Believe it or not, it made me feel better knowing I wasn’t the only one with doubts.

“Hey guys,” I said.

I scared the shit of them. That alone was worth the trip to the Nexus.

“Where the fuck did you come from?” Troy demanded.

“Long story.” I waved dismissively and left it at that. I could tell Troy wanted more, but he knew that’s all he was getting. I walked over and sat cross-legged between Arsen and Anthony, but not before Arsen had a chance to slap my ass.

“About time you showed up,” he said. “We’ve been waiting.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I thought it’d be nice to get everyone’s thoughts on what we all just learned. What were you doing anyway?”

“I was with Q still.” I took another look around the room even though I knew CJ wasn’t going to appear magically. Well, considering I just did, I suppose anything was possible. “Where’s CJ?”

“With his Big, I’m sure,” Ant replied.

“Or getting into trouble somewhere,” Paul added.

We all kind of just snickered. I think our minds were anywhere but there.

Ant slapped my knee and arched his brows. “Kind of crazy, isn’t it?”

“Crazy doesn’t begin to describe it,” I said. “I feel like I’m all over the place with this.”

“I know what you mean. Conquers of humanity wasn’t on the brochure when I applied for KU. Although I didn’t read the fine print, I guess that was my bad.” Ant laughed at his joke, and we couldn’t help but join him. “I guess in the end, as long as my family is looked after, what else matters really?”

“I hear that,” Arsen agreed. “Better to be in here with our Brothers than getting caught out there with our pants down when this goes down.”

“Amen to that!” Paul leaned over and gave Arsen a high five. “I sure as hell don’t….”

“Fuck ya, Dudes!” The doors on the other side of the pool room flew open. CJ walked in with his fists in the air and headbanging as if he was jamming out to some serious rock music. “The world can suck my big, white cock!” He was caught up in the same moral dilemma as the rest of us.

We couldn’t help but laugh our asses off.

As he got closer to the pool, CJ stripped off all his clothes until he was butt-ass naked, ran towards us, and did a cannonball into the pool. There was no escaping the wave of water flying towards us, for Arsen and Ant both held me down so I couldn’t get away. We got drenched. Paul and Troy jumped out of their chairs in time to stay dry. Fuckers!

CJ popped out of the water right in front of me. I have to admit he looked cute because he had this little kid smile on his face like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“You little shit!” I feigned anger but could hardly contain my laughter.

Suddenly, CJ got all serious and placed his hand on his chest. “I have to be me.”

I love that kid.

“I knew I’d find you dudes in here looking like someone fucking died. Snap the fuck out of it! We get to be rulers of the world. What he fuck more can you possibly want out of life?”

“Watch your fucking mouth, you whore!” Arsen demanded.

“Suck it!” CJ said and splashed water towards Arsen. “Seriously though, I knew The Brotherhood was the shit, but I had no idea it would be this fucking awesome!”

“This doesn’t bother you even a little bit?” Anthony asked.

“Why should it?” he said. “The Nave want to conquer the human race? Go for it! That’s about seven billion people I don’t know from a hole in the wall, so why would it bother me? So long as I get to be one of the guys calling the shots, I’m in.”

“Fucking CJ,” I laughed.

“What? Am I wrong? Better than the alternative, dude, which is human extinction at the hands of the Skylarians. Fuck that dude!”

And so the debate went on. It’d be pointless to rehash their arguments since it was the same thing Q and I covered in our conversation. CJ was like a mini Q, driving home the indisputable fact that this was going to happen, so get on board or go home. There were still lingering concerns in the end, but we all agreed we would follow The Brotherhood wherever it took us.

“You’ve been quiet, Jacob,” Arsen said. “What do you think?”

I was done beating a dead horse. It was time to let the matter rest and move on.

“I’m seeing Q,” I said before realizing what I was saying.

“Seeing him do what?” CJ asked.

I shook my head. “No, you idiot. I’m seeing Q.” I made a circular motion with my hand to see if he caught on to what I was saying.

No such luck. He started making the same circular motion with his head as if in a trance. “Do what exactly?”

“They’re dating you, simpleton!” Anthony finally exclaimed.

CJ looked at me, then Ant, and then returned his gaze to me. “You slut!”

“Is this true?” Arsen asked.

I nodded.

“You fucking slut!” CJ repeated. Now he wasn’t saying it in a bad way or to be mean. He was pretty giddy about the whole thing. “Who knew you had it in you to bone the big man?”

Ant and Arsen leaned forward and slapped CJ in the back of the head. “Shut up,” they said.

“Since when?” Ant inquired; his eyes locked on me like a hawk.

“Remember when we went to pick up Dylan and stayed at that motel? After that, kind of.” I couldn’t help but remember how Q ignored me after that, but it was only a flash of a memory. “We have been a couple ever since.”

“That explains a lot,” Troy laughed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I fired back, glaring at him over my shoulder.

“How you made it in, sleeping with the big man and all.”

“Fuck you!” I was on my feet, ready to knock Troy on his ass. Ant grabbed me by the wrist. Arsen stood up to hold me back.

“Whoa!” Troy bolted from his chair and stood behind it, throwing his hands up in surrender. “I was just kidding, Jacob! Relax! I thought we were bros.”

“Don’t even joke….”

“Calm down, buddy.” Arsen patted my chest and gently pushed me away from Troy. “Just relax. Nobody here thinks anything like that. Right?”

“I said I was kidding,” Troy insisted.

“Don’t even joke about something like that. Right now, Q is being grilled by the Council of Brothers to ensure that me being here has nothing to do with the fact that I’m ‘sleeping with the big man’ you ass.”

“I’m sorry, Jacob. I had no idea. Honestly, I was just kidding.” Troy stepped forward and offered me his hand. “We cool?”

I hesitated for a moment until Arsen slapped me in the back and pushed me forward. “Yeah, we're cool,” I said, shaking Troy’s hand.

“Is Q in any trouble?” Troy asked. His concern was genuine. “Is he okay?”

Backing away, I took my seat at the edge of the pool in front of CJ. “Q thinks so, but I don’t know.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Jacob,” Arsen said. “If Q thinks he’s fine, I’d take him at his word. I mean, who knows the Council of Brothers better than Q?”

“I guess.”

“But let’s get back to you being with a guy thing.”

I let out a halfhearted laugh. “Does it bother you guys?”

“Personally, I think it’s wrong, and you’re going to hell, you deviant,” Anthony said with a serious stone face stare.

That was enough to break the tension, and we all started laughing.

“Have you been with a guy before Q?” Anthony asked. “I know you’ve been seeing Alex for a while, so….”

“Speaking of Alex, that was a fine piece of ass, dude,” CJ added. “What happened with her?”

“Alex and I are over, obviously, not that it was something that went over well. As for being with another guy, that’s kind of hazy. Alex was out of town once, and I was at this party buzzing hard, horny as hell, and this guy offered up his services. One thing led to another, and…well, you know.”

“Story of my life, dude,” CJ said.

“Why am I not surprised?” I laughed. “It was a one-time thing. I barely remember any of it, and he did most of the work. God, I’ve never told anyone that. Pretty much blocked it out of my memory until now.”

“It’s cool,” Arsen reassured me. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Have you…”

"This isn't about me,” Arsen answered, knowing exactly what I intended to ask. “But it doesn’t bother me either. You should know that.”

“I do.”

“I haven’t.” Troy felt the need to add that in. “Well, aside from the stuff we had to do during pledging.”

“Same here,” Paul added.

“I’ll screw anything.” CJ had an amazingly proud grin on his face.

Anthony started laughing. “Guys, this isn’t a ‘who is or isn’t gay’ contest.”

“He’s right,” Arsen agreed. “In the end, I don’t think it will matter one way or another. I’m sure we’ll be on the same team when it's all said and done.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Paul asked, looking around at the rest of us as if we knew what Arsen was thinking.

“Think about it, guys. The Naverians are a race of - as CJ would say - dudes. If we are given their power and made Nave, all their knowledge, history, ideals, and desires will be downloaded into our brains, making us fully Nave.”

“I see where you’re going with this dude,” Paul mused. “The Nave are into each other. They can have kids with each other too. We’d be just like them.”

“Exactly. Gay or straight, it’s not going to matter.”

“Great…” For some reason, I didn’t think Paul was being sincere.

“Dude, don’t knock it till you try it.” Again, CJ had that same proud grin on his face. “Shit, I’d fuck a goat if it meant becoming a Nave and having their power.”

“Again, why doesn’t that surprise me?” I laughed.

“Well, anyway, Jacob, if Q makes you happy, then I’m happy for you both.”

Everyone agreed, and it felt nice to have their support. Knowing we no longer had to hide behind closed doors was awesome. Before I knew it, Q and I being together became old news, and the conversation went back to what life would be like as a Nave. I just sat back and listened to what everyone was saying. It was a lot of the same stuff we just covered, but everyone was too excited they couldn’t talk about anything else.

I didn’t offer much. My mind kept wandering back to Q and what was happening with him. I would look over my shoulder every once in a while, hoping he’d appear behind me like I did—no such luck.

Eventually, I excused myself and left my friends to get fresh air. I simply walked around the house, enjoying the cool night air and the quiet of my own company. My family crept into my thoughts. I wondered how I was going to break the news to them about all that I had learned and how I was going to convince them to move to this utopia the Nave had planned for our families. I started formulating a list in my head of all my relatives I had to remember to bring along with us. Believe it or not, that’s a lot harder than it sounds. What if I forgot my great great great uncle or something? This, of course, was my adopted family. My real family could still be out there somewhere, and there’s no way for me to warn them…no way to protect them.

“You’ll find them again, Jacob,” a voice said behind me.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Steve walking up behind me. “Hey, buddy,” I smiled, taking his hand and pulling him into a hug. “It’s good to see you again. I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever come around again.”

“I’m not that easy to get rid of,” he said and stood beside me by the fountain. He was positively glowing. Now considering who I was talking about, I should clarify that I mean that figuratively. But he had this confidence that wasn’t there while we were pledging. I understood it was all part of the act, but seeing him like this was nice.

“What are you talking about? I’ll find them again?”

“Your parents, of course,” Steve said simply. “Your biological parents, I mean. Isn’t that what’s weighing heavily on your mind?”

I nodded. “Among other things. Anyway, how can you be so sure?”

“At some point, you’ll be presented with the choice of taking in our Anavi and becoming one of us…becoming a Nave.” He paused for a moment as if waiting for me to connect the dots, but I just stared at him, waiting for him to finish. “The power of the Nave will break down any walls blocking your memories. You’ll have full access again.”

I heard his words, but they took a minute to register. What Steve said made complete sense. I’d seen the power of the Nave, but I guess I never thought that far ahead. I never thought about what it meant to be a full-fledged Nave.

“Jacob?” Steve waved his hand in front of my face and snapped his fingers. “Hello? Eiyr to Jacob.”

The loud snap pulled me out of my daze. “Why didn’t Q tell me that?”

He smiled at me as if the answer was so clear I was foolish for not seeing it. “Isn’t it obvious, Jacob?”

See what I mean?

“One day, Q might very well be the one to present you with the option of being made one of us. When that day comes, he will want to ensure you accept our Gift for all the right reasons. Retrieving your lost memories can’t be your sole motivation for becoming one of us.”

“That makes sense, I guess. But from what I understand, eventually all humans within the Brotherhood will be made, Nave, right?”

“They will be given the option Jacob. You make it sound like we’re going to force this life on our human Brothers. But to answer your question, we’d like all our Brothers to be Nave eventually.”

“So why does it matter what my motivations are if I end up a Nave one way or another?”

He smiled. “If you have to ask the question, you’ll never understand the answer.”

“Ok, Dr. Phil”

Now he laughed. “Is it enough if I say that it matters to us?”

I nodded and left it at that. Admittedly, the thought of getting my memories back once I became Naverian was at the forefront of my mind. “Can I ask you something?”

“Go for it.”

“You’ve been a Nave for over a thousand years or something crazy like that, right?”

“Nearly sixteen hundred years, yes.”

I nodded. The reality of that number still took time to sink in. “Any regrets?”

“None that come to mind. Honestly, Jacob, this is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’m not just saying this to feed you some Naverian propaganda. It’s the truth. Think about it. If it weren’t for their Gift, I’d be long dead and turned to dust by now. The hardest part was outliving those you love. But becoming a Nave meant I could ensure they lived a long and full life. Remember, in my day, life expectancy was not what it is today. Giving my loved ones more time was a true gift for all of us.”

“Yeah, I can see that. How did you explain the whole eternal youth thing while everyone else around you got older?”

“I didn’t have to; I grew older with them until I ‘passed away’ from old age.”

I laughed. “Got it. Was it an easy decision for you to make? To become a Nave, I mean.”

“A lot easier than you’d think.”

“Why is that?”

“When Q revealed his true self, you thought he was an angel, right?”

I smiled sheepishly, feeling a bit foolish.

“Everyone does. How long did it take Q to convince you otherwise?”

“He just told me he wasn’t.” I shrugged.

“Back in my day, they had to convince us they weren’t messengers from God,” Steve laughed. “No matter how many times they told me otherwise, I wholeheartedly believed they were angels from heaven and that I was being tested. In the end, I think the Nave had the tougher job. I think I was convinced they were ‘of God’ until I became one of them.”

“So, you joined because you believed you were doing God’s will?”

“No, other factors were involved, but the thought was always there, no matter how small. It was easy for me when it was time to make the decision.” Steven paused for a moment and then looked me in the eyes. “You’re worried you won’t be able to decide when it’s your time.”

“I don’t know.”

“The Nave will know when you’re ready, trust me. And just because you are ready doesn’t mean you’ll be given our Anavi immediately. Everything has its time, Jacob. Yours will come.” He looked over his shoulder at the house before looking back at me. “Looks like Q’s back.”

“What? Is he back? How do you know?”

Steve looked at me as if to say, seriously?

“Right,” I conceded. “Anyway, thanks for the chat, but I have to go see Q. Don’t be a stranger.” I didn’t get two feet before Steve grabbed my arm and pulled me back to where I was standing. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong, but you must return to your room and change.”

“Change? Change into what? No. I have to go see Q.”

He smiled. “Time to go back to your room.”

Steve slapped my shoulder; the next thing I knew, I was standing in my bedroom.

“The fuck?”

“Oh, there you are.” Arsen walked into our room wearing nothing but a pair of white, very tight trunks. He walked past me and slapped my stomach playfully. “Hurry up and get dressed. Hey, where did you come from anyway?”

“Never mind. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Arsen answered. “We were told to return to our rooms and change into these, so get to it.” He gestured to the pile of clothes folded neatly on our bed. “The Twins will be here to get us in a few minutes.”

“What’s going on?” I asked again as I stripped down to my underwear.

Arsen laughed and put on a pair of silky white pants. “Didn’t I just say I have no idea?”

I had the same clothes Arsen did. And believe me, my white trunks were just as snug. The white pants felt amazing against my skin, relaxed, and very supple. We didn’t get any shirts, just a white hooded robe.

“This material is going to give me a hardon,” Arsen joked. “Come on, let’s go.”

I stepped into a pair of white slippers and walked outside with Arsen to join the rest of the group. The first thing I saw was CJ adjusting his obvious budge.

“Dude, these clothes feel amazing. They’re giving me a major bone.” Unlike Arsen, he wasn’t joking.

Paul slapped the back of CJ’s head. “Put that thing away.”

“It is away.”

“Barely,” I laughed.

Someone coughed behind us to get our attention, and we turned to find the Twins standing by the stairs. They were dressed as we were. We formed a line as ordered and listened to the Twins as they gave us final instructions for the upcoming events. The anxiety level among us shot thru the roof, and I could’ve sworn I heard our collective heartbeats echoing in the hallway. They finally led the way to an area of the house we’d never seen before.

That wasn’t exactly true. I’d passed by this door many times. But that was when it was small and ordinary and never once sparked any interest or desire in me to find out what was on the other side. Tonight, that door…or at least the space that door used to occupy…had changed. It was no longer small and ordinary. It wasn’t even a single door anymore. It was a set of large, double doors that opened inward. They were at least twice my height, rounded at the top, and gilded. I didn’t have to ask; I knew the gold was real. No question. And it had to make the doors heavy as hell, but they slid open seemingly of their own accord.

Single file and silent, we followed the Twins inside.

My mouth dropped. The room was huge, maybe larger than the house that held it and decorated not in color but in opulence itself.

Picture a ballroom, grand and expansive with ornate columns, three in each corner, stretching four…maybe five…stories to the ceiling above. A ceiling the color of diamonds with a scalloped edge where it met golden walls. Walls constructed of thick beveled arches and carved lattice, all wrapped in an ornate balcony of gold and red. Picture six crystal chandeliers, each the size of a small car, dangling from that ceiling in the form of a perfect circle. Light from them shimmered and danced across the space. There was no furniture in the room, windows, or even a staircase leading to the balcony.

Now picture our pledge line…dumbstruck and eyes wide as we took our place in the center of the room. I felt my heart pounding in my chest. This was it. This was the moment we worked so hard to achieve. I honestly couldn’t believe we were moments away from realizing our dream. I’m sure I had to remind myself to breathe a few times.

“Let it begin,” the Twins said in unison.

We knew to turn to our left, place our hoods over our heads and drop to one knee. Anthony was to my left while Arsen was to my right. They both bowed their heads like I did, all of us waiting for what was to come. The lights shut off suddenly, and the room went pitch black. I couldn’t see Arsen or Anthony even though they were only a few feet away from me.

We knelt there in the dark for ten minutes without saying a word. One thing did change, though. We weren’t alone anymore. That huge room we were in was now filled with Brothers. I didn’t see them come in, nor did I hear them, hell, I couldn’t even hear anyone breathing, but I knew without a doubt they were there for the ceremony.

Six columns of light appeared with a hooded Brother standing before us. They were dressed in white like us, and their hoods fell across their noses, exposing only their mouths. I assumed the Brother standing before me was Q, but I couldn’t be sure.

“And so, the six of you begin a new chapter in your lives as you become one with The Brotherhood.” This voice did not come from any of the brothers standing before us but from the darkness. It was one all-encompassing voice. “If you are ready to commit your fealty, devotion, and lives to The Brotherhood, then let all bear witness….”

With that, I offered my right hand to the Brother in front of me as the Twins instructed us. The Brother took my hand and slipped The Brotherhood ring on my finger. The ring was glowing and felt warm and tingly against my skin.

“Now rise…my brothers,” the voice commanded.

As we stood, the pillars of light vanished, leaving us in the dark again. The only light came from our rings. The glow from six rings was not enough to offer much in the way of light, but then the rings on the Brothers in front of us began to glow. Within seconds more rings began to glow behind and to their side. We couldn’t help but look around, and as we did, more and more rings lit up until hundreds of glowing rings surrounded us. It was fucking awesome how the room was illuminated only by our rings. It gave everything around us an eerie and haunting feeling that seemed very fitting for our actions.

“Congratulations,” the Brother in front of me offered.

I turned to catch him removing his hood, and I smiled. “Q…”

“I told you everything was going to be okay,” he smiled back. “You worried…”

I shut Q up by kissing him. It wasn’t planned, and I’m still shocked I did it in front of all my Brothers. But you know what? It felt right.

“Are you going to kiss all your new Brothers like this?” Q joked, placing his hand on the small of my back.

“Only the ones named Q.”

“I guess I can live with that.”

I was going to kiss Q again when Anthony grabbed my arm suddenly. I looked at him, and he was just frozen in place.

“Ant, are you okay?”

He didn’t answer me. He just stared at the Brother who gave him his ring. He had removed his hood and was staring back at Anthony.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” I placed my hand over the one he used to hold on to my arm and rubbed it gently. “Anthony…”

“He’ll be fine,” Q assured me.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Just give him a minute, Jacob,” Q smiled warmly.

Tears started rolling down Anthony’s cheeks, and I began to freak out. Q had this little, devilish grin on his face which wasn’t helping me at all. I was about to say something, but Anthony beat me to it.

“Alessandro…” he whispered. His voice was so soft. If it weren’t for the stillness in the room, I never would have heard him utter that name.

“I will always find you,” Alessandro said.

Releasing his vice-like grip, Anthony flew into Alessandro’s arms and hugged him. The room exploded in cheer. There wasn’t a single person who wasn’t clapping, whistling, or hollering. Typically, when the pledges receive their ring, that’s the queue for everyone to celebrate, but this time Q ordered everyone to wait until Anthony realized who was standing before him.

I must admit Anthony and Alessandro’s reunion had me more than a little misty-eyed. I wasn’t the only one either. Arsen was clearing his eyes while CJ had this shit-eating grin. I think we all had big ass grins - the kind that hurt - on our faces. Anthony was family to us; we couldn’t have been happier for him.

Anthony was thrilled. Aside from calling out his name, he had yet to say anything to Alessandro, but he couldn’t bring himself to let him go. He held on to him for all it was worth. It was like he was afraid Alessandro would be taken away again if he let go. It wasn’t until after a very long and passionate kiss that Anthony finally released his beloved.

“But how?” Anthony asked as he squeezed Alessandro’s shoulders to confirm that he was real.

“I’m attending Cambridge in the UK, and that’s where The Brotherhood found and recruited me,” Alessandro said, caressing the side of Anthony’s face. “I’ve been going thru my form of pledging these last several weeks just like you.”

“He completed his ceremony, and we brought him here today to present you with your ring,” Q said. “We’re just very pleased we could pull it off in time.”

With tears in his eyes, Anthony turned to Q and thanked him. He cleared away his tears and then announced to the room he felt like an idiot for crying.

“Don’t sweat it,” I said and then turned to Alessandro to introduce myself.

“Right,” Anthony said. “I’m sorry. These are my friends….”

He tried to introduce the rest of us, but the poor guy was so overwhelmed that he drew a complete blank and stood there snapping his fingers. Everyone laughed and simply introduced themselves. We exchanged words with Alessandro but didn’t take up much of his time. They had a lot of catching up to do, and I could tell by the look in Anthony’s eyes that he was eager to get Alessandro alone.

CJ, god love him, didn’t get it, and kept asking question after question. As it turned out, Alessandro lived in Spain with his family until he got accepted into Cambridge. He wanted to apply to American colleges, but his father would not allow it. His father was still very bitter about the whole “gay” thing. He feared Alessandro would try to find Anthony once he was back in the states. Talk about taking homophobia to the next level of paranoia.

I finally grabbed CJ by the neck, dragged him away, and told the two newly reunited lovebirds to enjoy each other. I didn’t get too far before Q made an announcement.

“Brothers,” he said, and a hush fell over the crowd within a few seconds. “We have another reason to celebrate. Tonight, one of our Brothers is reborn.”

With that, everyone backed away towards the wall leaving the Inner Circle in the middle of the room. We ‘newbies’ had to be pulled back by the Twins because we had no idea what was happening. Q, Seth, Steel, and Eric formed a circle, slipped their robes off, and let them fall to the ground. Within moments there was an explosion of light so intense I had to shield my eyes. When it finally passed, they stood bare-chested with their glowing wings crisscrossed over each other like X’s; the entire room was filled with their light.

In the center of the circle stood Shaun and Dylan wearing only their white pants as they bathed in their brother’s radiance. Shaun did not have his wings out, but he was wreathed in what appeared to be white fire. Opening his arms, he said something in Nave I later found out meant “welcome, Brother,” and Dylan walked into his open arms. The white fire encompassed Dylan within seconds, and after a moment, it extinguished.

They smiled at each other and kissed. I wasn’t expecting that. It wasn’t a crazy passionate “I want to bend you over the couch kiss” but one you might share with a friend. That’s when I saw a stream of Anavi pass from Shaun’s lips to Dylan’s. As he pulled away, the light finished going into Dylan’s mouth and up thru his nostrils.

Shaun backed away, and everything went dark. The circle’s wings stopped glowing, as did our rings. Seconds passed, then I saw Dylan again but only because he was covered in a faint glow. Throwing his head back slightly and extending his arms to the side, Dylan rose slow and steady into the air. His brilliance got stronger and stronger until there was yet another explosion of light. When it cleared, Dylan remained hovering over all of us with his new ivory wings proudly…deliberately…flapping behind him.

He was Nave.

The room burst into cheers again that night as everyone welcomed the newly born Nave. I got to congratulate and hug Dylan, but I didn’t get much time with him. He was all over the place talking to everyone. It reminded me of a wedding where you spend a few seconds with the bride and groom and never speak to them for the rest of the night. One thing was for sure. Dylan, like Anthony and Alessandro, was delighted.

He did manage to ask me how I liked our ceremony for becoming Brothers. I admitted that it was a lot shorter than what I expected. Someone from behind me told me to “bite my tongue” before someone heard me. I turned to find Mike, of all people, congratulating me on becoming a brother.

Back in the day when he became a brother, the ceremony took nearly two hours to complete. Eventually, it was decided that short and sweet was better. Two hours? Yeah, I wasn’t going to complain. He patted me on the back, told me he knew I had it in me to make it, and then disappeared into the crowd. I realized he was only playing a role while pretending to pledge with us, but this “nice” Mike would take some getting used to.

By this time, the celebration was in full swing. The liquor was flowing, the music bumping, and we were finally Brothers free from the constraint of pledging. I should point out the alcohol was for us human Brothers. I never saw any of our Naverian Brothers take a sip. It’s not that they’re incapable of drinking, mind you. It’s just that they can drink for days and never feel the effect. And really, what would be the point? As it was, the Nave could act as poster boys for not needing to drink to have a good time.

The lights were kept off, leaving our rings the only light source as was tradition. It was like having a bright-ass glow stick on our fingers. I have to say it made for an incredible atmosphere, but what turned the party up a notch was traffic. The party was not restricted to our house. Every house celebrated, and because of the mirrors and the Nexus, we had access to all the other houses within the Brotherhood. We had Brothers stopping in from all across the world, and we, in turn, got to go anywhere we wanted.

The Nexus acted as the hub for the parties, and it was where a lot of Brothers spent their time. I spent over an hour there with Q and the rest of the gang, meeting all kinds of people. Q and I didn’t get much alone time as everyone wanted to visit with Q. I didn’t understand his importance to The Brotherhood until I saw him in his element. I mean, I knew he was the big shot in our house but seeing him in the Nexus with all his Brothers – all our Brothers - brought the experience to a whole new level.

I asked him about his evaluation, and he said nothing but good things. He made fun of me for being so worried that I jumped thru the mirror after him. It was his favorite story to tell everyone. I wanted to slap him upside the head on more than one occasion.

We ended up kissing a lot instead.

That took me by surprise. Q was not at all shy about being affectionate with me. Whether it was rubbing my shoulder from behind, slipping his hand into mine, or kissing me in front of everyone because I said something he thought was “cute,” Q was very open about us. It was a little weird for me only because I wasn’t used to doing this with a guy. Alex and I were always all over each other at parties, but this was different.

Now don’t get me wrong. Q wasn’t all over me like some horn dog or doing anything inappropriate. He was charming and loving. If I wandered too far from him, I felt his eyes following me, looking out for me; never allowing me out of his sight for too long. He was careful not to allow someone to steal away too much of his time before he found his way back to my side. Because of that, the feeling of “weirdness” didn’t last long.

Eventually, we did get separated, though. Way too many people wanted time with Q, so Arsen, CJ, and I decided to do some exploring of our own. We wanted Anthony to come with us, but he remained behind in our house to spend time with his boy. We could only guess where Paul and Troy disappeared to.

Admittedly, I got more attention than Arsen or CJ. Not in a bad way, but everyone wanted to meet the one who finally captured Q’s heart. If there ever was a hardcore Nave wholly devoted to his people and their cause, Q was that Nave. Even in the days of Aquaiia, Q was all about doing whatever it took to look after his people. Many of the Nave closest to Q wanted to see him happy and urged and even pushed him on occasion to find a good Naverian to “settle down with,” as the term goes. He never did.

Fast forward about a billion years, and here comes this white boy from the suburbs who completely swept Q off his feet. Yeah, I was a person of interest to the rest of our Brothers. Everyone treated me with respect. I learned a little more about Q, as they were eager to share stories from his past. Though I could tell they were guarded and careful not to give up too much for fear of annoying Q.

Overall, we had an amazing experience as we partied the night away or the day away, depending on where we were. The three of us ended up visiting over thirty houses, made some new friends, ate some delicious foods, and drank our asses off.

In the end, I was drunker than I’ve ever been in my life, threw up twice, and finally passed out in Sydney, Australia.

Now that’s a fucking party!