Talisman Chapter 3
After a great set at the Rat's Nest, Galen and Flash begin to exhibit strange behaviour. Can Rob figure out how to help them before he falls victim to what's affecting his brother and friend?
Characters used with permission. For Muffy Morrigan's birthday.
Featuring Galen, Rob, Parry and Bobby Emrys, Flash Lynch, Rhiannon, Becci, Sarah and Mike.
xposted at fanfiction.net
Disclaimer: The following story uses characters out of a book series called Custodes Noctis. Used with permission.
Author’s Notes: Written for Muffy Morrigan for her birthday a few months back. Cross posted at fanfiction (dot) net site.
Muffy thanks for letting me play in your sandbox and for betaing your own gift.
Also as far as I know the lyrics in this chapter are made up by me. I have never done well with poetry so I know it's not very good. However it's in the begining stages for Flash as well.
Flashback ahead as well. Let me know what you think.
Talisman
Chapter 3
A few days earlier….
Being left in charge of the Apothecary didn’t happen very often for Flash. Usually if it had to be left with someone it was left in the very capable hands of Rhiannon. It wasn’t like she broke stuff or barely managed to not break something. He wasn’t clumsy by nature and swore often enough to Galen that he was possessed.
Which prompted a very embarrassing, if fake, cleansing ritual. By the end of it he’d heard so much Latin he wasn’t sure what English was anymore, and he was so drunk he couldn’t walk unassisted.
Flash smiled as he sat carefully behind the counter. He had ensured there was nothing close by that he could tip over and break. Because he knew, without a doubt, he’d never hear the end of it.
The door opened and Flash smiled at the new potential customer. Only it wasn’t a customer, but a delivery guy in a bright orange button down shirt and white shorts.
“Hey. I got a delivery for Galen and Robert Emrys?” the man asked.
“Not here but I can sign for it,” Flash said as he stood up.
“Just one box. Be right back,” he said.
“With just enough time for me to find my shades,” Flash said as he shook his head. “Who dresses these guys anyway?”
The delivery man returned a moment later with a medium sized box and a clip board.
“So, what is it?” Flash asked as he signed on the page where the guy gestured.
“How should I know?” he said with a shrug and a slight smile. “Don’t pack ‘em, just deliver ‘em.”
“Right,” Flash said, and handed back the clip board.
He didn’t watch the man leave because Flash couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the box. Curiosity usually got the better of him, but he made himself look away. His eyes darted around the room until they looked out the front window. He knew Sarah was working this afternoon and he thought about running over for a quick coffee. But that was number 2 on Rob’s list of Flash’s no-no’s while watching the store.
Flash looked down at the neon yellow post-it Rob had smacked onto his forehead before they’d left. Actually the one he’d slapped onto his forehead had been florescent pink and Flash had tossed it into the garbage. This one was stuck to the cash register; there was one in purple on the back notice board and another pink one in the employee washroom.
Come to think of it, they had been copied out in both of the Emrys' handwriting, making Flash smile at the realization. He reviewed the list once again.
1 - You break it you bought it. Visa, Mastercard, Discover and Diner’s Club not accepted. Only American dollars or slave labour accepted.
2 - No running for a quick coffee. You’ll never return.
3 - Do not dust. See Rule #1
4 - Do not sweep. See Rule #1
5 - Do not wander about the store to help customers or just wander about in general. See Rule #1
6 - Do help the customers. From behind the counter. From a seated position. Hands flat on the counter. See Rule #1
7 - Do not look in boxes left at the back door if you want to live. See Rule #1
8 - Do not sample the herbs. We need you as semi-coherent as you get so you can help the customers. See Rule # 6 then Rule # 1
9 - Do not scare away the customers with your knowledge of music. They’ve come for the mystical not the musical.
10 - Do not short change us, or dear old Mrs. Williams, at the till. We know where you live and where Mrs. Williams will bury your bones.
With a sigh, he looked over to where Sarah was leaning out the window to take a customer’s order. Today must have been leather day or fetish day. He couldn’t tell from over here, but it was one hell of a leather outfit and he desperately wanted to go over there.
He made himself look away. He only wanted to go over there for her protection. Really. That’s all it was.
He looked around the store again. He felt bored and wished he’d brought his guitar so he could keep working on the piece of music he’d been working on to surprise Galen with.
He started humming the notes he had already written and stared at the box for a few minutes. The humming stopped, his lips pursed as he frowned at the box. Abruptly he stood up with his hands poised to grab the box but he’d stood up too fast knocking the chair back into the display behind him. He cringed as he heard a few things fall over and the sound of glass breaking.
Flash’s chin dropped down to his chest. “Seriously man, I’m cursed.”
Sighing heavily he turned and looked at the damage. Thankfully, there wasn’t any. The items that had fallen were carved seashell-type shiny material on a necklace. The sounds he had heard were them clinking together and not actually breaking. Breathing a sigh of relief, he carefully righted the small stand they were on and turned his attention back to the box.
With his pocket knife, Flash made quick work of opening up the package. He peered down into the box and looked through it. There were boxes labelled with what he thought could be herbs, or assumed that’s what they were. He carefully pulled it out and put it on the counter. Under that box was another. It was blue, as deep as a summer sky, and it sparkled. The words in elegant script said Acme Amulet Association.
He loved looking through the collection in the store and as a bonus Galen and Rob usually let him because they weren’t breakable. He’d liked them ever since he’d been a child and even though he’d not known what they were meant for they’d always intrigued him.
Flash couldn’t stop staring at the blue box and he was opening it before he could stop himself.
He was still humming a tune, an original piece he’d been working on to surprise Galen for his birthday. Flash figured he had just enough time to make it before Halloween. As he got up to the part he kept getting stuck on he just started over from the beginning again. There were a few words, but they’d been not quite right yet, but the first verse he had down. As he began to open the box he sang quietly to himself.
Broken hearts, tears and sorrow
Left to wonder, to steal, to borrow
Family shattered and torn apart
Ain't much left, lost to the dark
He smiled as the words felt kind of right, but not quite there yet. The sheets of music he had at home had power house chords to go with the lyrics. He couldn’t wait to play it for his best friend. He tried the next verse again.
Links to the past gone, future unsure
light comes from the least expected place
Never home, never gone, never doubt
Will it keep, will faith hold out
History revisits with shock and elation
He faltered as it didn’t grab him, making it not quite right yet, although part of it was ok. He still had some fiddling to do with the verses and chorus. He smiled to himself and started from the beginning. This time just content to hum the tune.
He lifted to top off the box and his eyes opened in almost awe as he reached in and ran his fingers over the pieces. They looked like they were mostly iron pieces, probably consecrated iron. Galen had patiently explained to him once, and why it was so important, but he couldn’t remember just then.
There were a few that looked to be gold silver and copper, with slivers of jade, rubies or diamonds in them. He glanced up at the similar ones they had in glass display case that he wasn’t allowed in. When he’d asked Galen about them his friend just shrugged. They weren’t important at all, no specific reason behind them; they held no power or were really even symbolic of anything. Some people would just want them for how they looked.
His attention went back to the box and the amulets in his hands. Hearing a sound, he dropped them and they made a clinking sound as they fell in a heap at the bottom of the box. There was no one in the store and no one around that he could see.
He glanced at his watch and knew Galen and Rob weren’t due back for at least two hours. Flash jumped as the phone rang. Shaking his head he picked it up.
“Apothecary.”
“Hey, Flash,” Galen said.
“Hey.”
“Everything ok?”
“Yes, Galen. Everything’s fine. Nothing’s broken and I’ve not gone crazy like a kid in a candy store. Everything is still the way it was before you left and I’ve not gone for coffee.”
“Ah, yeah. That must be it. We saw Becci on our way out. Leather day. Rob didn’t want to leave her alone,” Galen said with a bit of a laugh in his voice.
“Someone needs to protect that girl some days, dude! You know it!”
Flash laughed a bit. But he knew exactly what they were talking about. “So you really called to check on the coffee bar? Sarah looks ok out there,” he said but felt a bit uneasy about her being out there alone.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Galen said.
“Yeah, yeah of course she is,” Flash replied, feeling a bit sheepish. “I know they can take care of themselves, I really do, but some days I worry someone’s gonna get the wrong idea.”
“Which is why we make so many coffee runs during the day,” Galen said. “Look we’re on our way back already. Should be there shortly, ok?”
“Sure.”
Moments later he was off the phone and peering down into the box again. He frowned a bit as one amulet in particular caught his attention. Pulling it out of the bunch he ran a finger over the design.
It was kind of plain, but there were knots around circles and it struck him just how much he wanted, no, it felt like he needed it.
Before he really realized what he was doing, he was slipping it over his head and looking in the mirror in the display behind him. He stared at where it rested on his chest. Flash ran his finger over the amulet again, feeling how right it felt there. Like it should have been there all along.
Flash smiled at himself in the mirror, remembering something similar he’d seen as a child.
Several years earlier…..
“Alvin? Sweetheart? Come away from the window now, child.”
“But, Aunt Trina,” Flash said quietly. He had to be ready if they came.
“They’re not coming for you,” she said as she came and sat next to him.
“But what if they do? Dad doesn’t like to wait, so I need to be ready.”
“They won’t. Not for a while yet. They need some time,” she said softly and put her hand on his back.
“Why? I want to go home,” Alvin huffed as he turned and sat down properly on the couch. “They made me leave my guitar behind.”
“Well, there is more to life than playing guitar,” Trina said and immediately held up her hand to stop the argument that she’d heard five times already that day. “Not forever, just a few days. Monday we’ll go into town and see what we can do about getting you a guitar. It won’t be perfect, like the one that’s yours, but a temporary replacement.”
Alvin frowned and sighed. “Ok,” he said quietly.
“Now then. Is there anything you’d like to do, Alvin?”
“Name’s Flash,” he mumbled.
“What was that?”
“Flash. My friends call me Flash. Only mom and dad call me Alvin and it’s usually when I’m in trouble.”
“Oh, I see. And how did you get that name?”
Alvin “Flash” Lynch just sat on the couch and shrugged. It didn’t matter how he got it. It was his name. Why couldn’t people call him Flash, it was sooo much better than Alvin. Yuck.
“Ok. Well,” Trina frowned wondering what to do with the sullen child on her couch. “Oh. I wonder.”
Flash turned and looked at her.
“You wouldn’t be interested in that. It’s just silly,” she murmured.
“What?”
She looked at him appraisingly and sighed as he curled in a little around himself. “I have something you may want. It was your great-great-grandfathers.”
“Yeah?” Flash asked, suddenly interested. He had vague memories of an old man telling him stories about sprites and leprechauns. Granted he’d been four when his great-grandfather passed away at the age of 102 and the stories had been a bit odd, but he’d liked them.
“Let me go get it for you.”
A few minutes later Trina returned with something in her hands. “I think he’d like you to have this,” she said as she took his hand and put the item into it.
Flash looked down at it and cocked his head slightly as he stared down at it. The necklace was nothing like he’d ever seen before. It was like someone had taken lines and folded them around other lines. It was strange but he liked it. “What is it?”
“It’s a Celtic knot,” she said with a smile. “There are several different designs and types. Celtic knots are endless knots that are used mostly for decorations. There’s no beginning and no end. And they used to fascinate your great-great grandfather.”
Trina had brought out a couple of books, even telling Flash her favourite stories she’d been told as a child. In the two weeks he was there she had dazzled him with stories of Celtic lore, faeries, wood elves and the likes for hours.
She could also play the piano. True to her word, they’d gone into town and rented him a guitar for the duration of his visit. She’d also sprung for some books that had music for popular songs that he liked. They had played together and she had taught him how to read sheet music for the piano. He could kind of do it, but he was much happier playing the guitar. When his father had finally come for him he hadn’t wanted to leave. Even after things got better with his parents, he’d beg to go and stay with her.
When summer came he went for the full two months with her. By the time he left, he had the basic understanding of sheet music for the piano as well. He’d written his first song with her help. He’d figured it out and played it for her. In turn she wrote the chords for the piano as well, and on her sheet he’d added the guitar notes on little miniature frets.
Looking back, he knew the song was terrible, and he refused to play it, but it was his. He owed a lot to her. The music had made it easy to bond with her, but it was the lore that made his imagination soar. He had books on Celtic lore and had one or two that he’d almost worn the bindings through on. But no matter which stories were his favourites, that he always wanted to reread, he always without question came back to the Celtic knot.
It was with sadness as he thought about his great-great grandfather’s amulet. It had been stolen from his apartment a few years back. He’d drawn a copy of it one night while he was supposed to be writing a new tune for the band and couldn’t come up with anything. He still had that drawing and had been considering having it tattooed somewhere on his body.
He smiled and wondered what his aunt’s reaction would’ve been to that. Getting a tat was marking his skin for life. It was that important to him. He thought he should just get it done and when he showed her if she didn’t approve he could just smile sweetly at her and ask forgiveness. It was easier to do that than ask permission.
He shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at the amulet again. While the design in the reflection was not the same as his lost family heirloom, it reminded him of it.
A customer came in and he took time to help the man find the book he’d been looking for. When he’d completed the sale he bent down to get a bag. The amulet swung out from his neck almost hitting the shelf next to him. Worried something would happen to it made his heart stutter slightly. He didn’t want to lose it like he’d lost his first Celtic knot. Flash quickly took it off and tucked it into his pocket then finished up with the customer. He’d talk to Galen and Rob about buying it when they came back.
Almost an hour later when the Emrys returned to the store Flash had forgotten all about the charm in his pocket. He watched them scour the store looking for missing or broken products and feigned dismay at their shocked teasing that nothing had been broken. Flash told them about the few sales he’d made, then made a dashed out to see Sarah before she closed up for the night.
To be Continued.....
Chapter 4: http://infinit-shadw.livejournal.com/5620.html
Characters used with permission. For Muffy Morrigan's birthday.
Featuring Galen, Rob, Parry and Bobby Emrys, Flash Lynch, Rhiannon, Becci, Sarah and Mike.
xposted at fanfiction.net
Disclaimer: The following story uses characters out of a book series called Custodes Noctis. Used with permission.
Author’s Notes: Written for Muffy Morrigan for her birthday a few months back. Cross posted at fanfiction (dot) net site.
Muffy thanks for letting me play in your sandbox and for betaing your own gift.
Also as far as I know the lyrics in this chapter are made up by me. I have never done well with poetry so I know it's not very good. However it's in the begining stages for Flash as well.
Flashback ahead as well. Let me know what you think.
Talisman
Chapter 3
A few days earlier….
Being left in charge of the Apothecary didn’t happen very often for Flash. Usually if it had to be left with someone it was left in the very capable hands of Rhiannon. It wasn’t like she broke stuff or barely managed to not break something. He wasn’t clumsy by nature and swore often enough to Galen that he was possessed.
Which prompted a very embarrassing, if fake, cleansing ritual. By the end of it he’d heard so much Latin he wasn’t sure what English was anymore, and he was so drunk he couldn’t walk unassisted.
Flash smiled as he sat carefully behind the counter. He had ensured there was nothing close by that he could tip over and break. Because he knew, without a doubt, he’d never hear the end of it.
The door opened and Flash smiled at the new potential customer. Only it wasn’t a customer, but a delivery guy in a bright orange button down shirt and white shorts.
“Hey. I got a delivery for Galen and Robert Emrys?” the man asked.
“Not here but I can sign for it,” Flash said as he stood up.
“Just one box. Be right back,” he said.
“With just enough time for me to find my shades,” Flash said as he shook his head. “Who dresses these guys anyway?”
The delivery man returned a moment later with a medium sized box and a clip board.
“So, what is it?” Flash asked as he signed on the page where the guy gestured.
“How should I know?” he said with a shrug and a slight smile. “Don’t pack ‘em, just deliver ‘em.”
“Right,” Flash said, and handed back the clip board.
He didn’t watch the man leave because Flash couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the box. Curiosity usually got the better of him, but he made himself look away. His eyes darted around the room until they looked out the front window. He knew Sarah was working this afternoon and he thought about running over for a quick coffee. But that was number 2 on Rob’s list of Flash’s no-no’s while watching the store.
Flash looked down at the neon yellow post-it Rob had smacked onto his forehead before they’d left. Actually the one he’d slapped onto his forehead had been florescent pink and Flash had tossed it into the garbage. This one was stuck to the cash register; there was one in purple on the back notice board and another pink one in the employee washroom.
Come to think of it, they had been copied out in both of the Emrys' handwriting, making Flash smile at the realization. He reviewed the list once again.
1 - You break it you bought it. Visa, Mastercard, Discover and Diner’s Club not accepted. Only American dollars or slave labour accepted.
2 - No running for a quick coffee. You’ll never return.
3 - Do not dust. See Rule #1
4 - Do not sweep. See Rule #1
5 - Do not wander about the store to help customers or just wander about in general. See Rule #1
6 - Do help the customers. From behind the counter. From a seated position. Hands flat on the counter. See Rule #1
7 - Do not look in boxes left at the back door if you want to live. See Rule #1
8 - Do not sample the herbs. We need you as semi-coherent as you get so you can help the customers. See Rule # 6 then Rule # 1
9 - Do not scare away the customers with your knowledge of music. They’ve come for the mystical not the musical.
10 - Do not short change us, or dear old Mrs. Williams, at the till. We know where you live and where Mrs. Williams will bury your bones.
With a sigh, he looked over to where Sarah was leaning out the window to take a customer’s order. Today must have been leather day or fetish day. He couldn’t tell from over here, but it was one hell of a leather outfit and he desperately wanted to go over there.
He made himself look away. He only wanted to go over there for her protection. Really. That’s all it was.
He looked around the store again. He felt bored and wished he’d brought his guitar so he could keep working on the piece of music he’d been working on to surprise Galen with.
He started humming the notes he had already written and stared at the box for a few minutes. The humming stopped, his lips pursed as he frowned at the box. Abruptly he stood up with his hands poised to grab the box but he’d stood up too fast knocking the chair back into the display behind him. He cringed as he heard a few things fall over and the sound of glass breaking.
Flash’s chin dropped down to his chest. “Seriously man, I’m cursed.”
Sighing heavily he turned and looked at the damage. Thankfully, there wasn’t any. The items that had fallen were carved seashell-type shiny material on a necklace. The sounds he had heard were them clinking together and not actually breaking. Breathing a sigh of relief, he carefully righted the small stand they were on and turned his attention back to the box.
With his pocket knife, Flash made quick work of opening up the package. He peered down into the box and looked through it. There were boxes labelled with what he thought could be herbs, or assumed that’s what they were. He carefully pulled it out and put it on the counter. Under that box was another. It was blue, as deep as a summer sky, and it sparkled. The words in elegant script said Acme Amulet Association.
He loved looking through the collection in the store and as a bonus Galen and Rob usually let him because they weren’t breakable. He’d liked them ever since he’d been a child and even though he’d not known what they were meant for they’d always intrigued him.
Flash couldn’t stop staring at the blue box and he was opening it before he could stop himself.
He was still humming a tune, an original piece he’d been working on to surprise Galen for his birthday. Flash figured he had just enough time to make it before Halloween. As he got up to the part he kept getting stuck on he just started over from the beginning again. There were a few words, but they’d been not quite right yet, but the first verse he had down. As he began to open the box he sang quietly to himself.
Broken hearts, tears and sorrow
Left to wonder, to steal, to borrow
Family shattered and torn apart
Ain't much left, lost to the dark
He smiled as the words felt kind of right, but not quite there yet. The sheets of music he had at home had power house chords to go with the lyrics. He couldn’t wait to play it for his best friend. He tried the next verse again.
Links to the past gone, future unsure
light comes from the least expected place
Never home, never gone, never doubt
Will it keep, will faith hold out
History revisits with shock and elation
He faltered as it didn’t grab him, making it not quite right yet, although part of it was ok. He still had some fiddling to do with the verses and chorus. He smiled to himself and started from the beginning. This time just content to hum the tune.
He lifted to top off the box and his eyes opened in almost awe as he reached in and ran his fingers over the pieces. They looked like they were mostly iron pieces, probably consecrated iron. Galen had patiently explained to him once, and why it was so important, but he couldn’t remember just then.
There were a few that looked to be gold silver and copper, with slivers of jade, rubies or diamonds in them. He glanced up at the similar ones they had in glass display case that he wasn’t allowed in. When he’d asked Galen about them his friend just shrugged. They weren’t important at all, no specific reason behind them; they held no power or were really even symbolic of anything. Some people would just want them for how they looked.
His attention went back to the box and the amulets in his hands. Hearing a sound, he dropped them and they made a clinking sound as they fell in a heap at the bottom of the box. There was no one in the store and no one around that he could see.
He glanced at his watch and knew Galen and Rob weren’t due back for at least two hours. Flash jumped as the phone rang. Shaking his head he picked it up.
“Apothecary.”
“Hey, Flash,” Galen said.
“Hey.”
“Everything ok?”
“Yes, Galen. Everything’s fine. Nothing’s broken and I’ve not gone crazy like a kid in a candy store. Everything is still the way it was before you left and I’ve not gone for coffee.”
“Ah, yeah. That must be it. We saw Becci on our way out. Leather day. Rob didn’t want to leave her alone,” Galen said with a bit of a laugh in his voice.
“Someone needs to protect that girl some days, dude! You know it!”
Flash laughed a bit. But he knew exactly what they were talking about. “So you really called to check on the coffee bar? Sarah looks ok out there,” he said but felt a bit uneasy about her being out there alone.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Galen said.
“Yeah, yeah of course she is,” Flash replied, feeling a bit sheepish. “I know they can take care of themselves, I really do, but some days I worry someone’s gonna get the wrong idea.”
“Which is why we make so many coffee runs during the day,” Galen said. “Look we’re on our way back already. Should be there shortly, ok?”
“Sure.”
Moments later he was off the phone and peering down into the box again. He frowned a bit as one amulet in particular caught his attention. Pulling it out of the bunch he ran a finger over the design.
It was kind of plain, but there were knots around circles and it struck him just how much he wanted, no, it felt like he needed it.
Before he really realized what he was doing, he was slipping it over his head and looking in the mirror in the display behind him. He stared at where it rested on his chest. Flash ran his finger over the amulet again, feeling how right it felt there. Like it should have been there all along.
Flash smiled at himself in the mirror, remembering something similar he’d seen as a child.
Several years earlier…..
“Alvin? Sweetheart? Come away from the window now, child.”
“But, Aunt Trina,” Flash said quietly. He had to be ready if they came.
“They’re not coming for you,” she said as she came and sat next to him.
“But what if they do? Dad doesn’t like to wait, so I need to be ready.”
“They won’t. Not for a while yet. They need some time,” she said softly and put her hand on his back.
“Why? I want to go home,” Alvin huffed as he turned and sat down properly on the couch. “They made me leave my guitar behind.”
“Well, there is more to life than playing guitar,” Trina said and immediately held up her hand to stop the argument that she’d heard five times already that day. “Not forever, just a few days. Monday we’ll go into town and see what we can do about getting you a guitar. It won’t be perfect, like the one that’s yours, but a temporary replacement.”
Alvin frowned and sighed. “Ok,” he said quietly.
“Now then. Is there anything you’d like to do, Alvin?”
“Name’s Flash,” he mumbled.
“What was that?”
“Flash. My friends call me Flash. Only mom and dad call me Alvin and it’s usually when I’m in trouble.”
“Oh, I see. And how did you get that name?”
Alvin “Flash” Lynch just sat on the couch and shrugged. It didn’t matter how he got it. It was his name. Why couldn’t people call him Flash, it was sooo much better than Alvin. Yuck.
“Ok. Well,” Trina frowned wondering what to do with the sullen child on her couch. “Oh. I wonder.”
Flash turned and looked at her.
“You wouldn’t be interested in that. It’s just silly,” she murmured.
“What?”
She looked at him appraisingly and sighed as he curled in a little around himself. “I have something you may want. It was your great-great-grandfathers.”
“Yeah?” Flash asked, suddenly interested. He had vague memories of an old man telling him stories about sprites and leprechauns. Granted he’d been four when his great-grandfather passed away at the age of 102 and the stories had been a bit odd, but he’d liked them.
“Let me go get it for you.”
A few minutes later Trina returned with something in her hands. “I think he’d like you to have this,” she said as she took his hand and put the item into it.
Flash looked down at it and cocked his head slightly as he stared down at it. The necklace was nothing like he’d ever seen before. It was like someone had taken lines and folded them around other lines. It was strange but he liked it. “What is it?”
“It’s a Celtic knot,” she said with a smile. “There are several different designs and types. Celtic knots are endless knots that are used mostly for decorations. There’s no beginning and no end. And they used to fascinate your great-great grandfather.”
Trina had brought out a couple of books, even telling Flash her favourite stories she’d been told as a child. In the two weeks he was there she had dazzled him with stories of Celtic lore, faeries, wood elves and the likes for hours.
She could also play the piano. True to her word, they’d gone into town and rented him a guitar for the duration of his visit. She’d also sprung for some books that had music for popular songs that he liked. They had played together and she had taught him how to read sheet music for the piano. He could kind of do it, but he was much happier playing the guitar. When his father had finally come for him he hadn’t wanted to leave. Even after things got better with his parents, he’d beg to go and stay with her.
When summer came he went for the full two months with her. By the time he left, he had the basic understanding of sheet music for the piano as well. He’d written his first song with her help. He’d figured it out and played it for her. In turn she wrote the chords for the piano as well, and on her sheet he’d added the guitar notes on little miniature frets.
Looking back, he knew the song was terrible, and he refused to play it, but it was his. He owed a lot to her. The music had made it easy to bond with her, but it was the lore that made his imagination soar. He had books on Celtic lore and had one or two that he’d almost worn the bindings through on. But no matter which stories were his favourites, that he always wanted to reread, he always without question came back to the Celtic knot.
It was with sadness as he thought about his great-great grandfather’s amulet. It had been stolen from his apartment a few years back. He’d drawn a copy of it one night while he was supposed to be writing a new tune for the band and couldn’t come up with anything. He still had that drawing and had been considering having it tattooed somewhere on his body.
He smiled and wondered what his aunt’s reaction would’ve been to that. Getting a tat was marking his skin for life. It was that important to him. He thought he should just get it done and when he showed her if she didn’t approve he could just smile sweetly at her and ask forgiveness. It was easier to do that than ask permission.
He shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at the amulet again. While the design in the reflection was not the same as his lost family heirloom, it reminded him of it.
A customer came in and he took time to help the man find the book he’d been looking for. When he’d completed the sale he bent down to get a bag. The amulet swung out from his neck almost hitting the shelf next to him. Worried something would happen to it made his heart stutter slightly. He didn’t want to lose it like he’d lost his first Celtic knot. Flash quickly took it off and tucked it into his pocket then finished up with the customer. He’d talk to Galen and Rob about buying it when they came back.
Almost an hour later when the Emrys returned to the store Flash had forgotten all about the charm in his pocket. He watched them scour the store looking for missing or broken products and feigned dismay at their shocked teasing that nothing had been broken. Flash told them about the few sales he’d made, then made a dashed out to see Sarah before she closed up for the night.
To be Continued.....
Chapter 4: http://infinit-shadw.livejournal.com/5620.html