The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans by Amy Crook Read Free Book Online

comes from, or where mine does.”
    “Can
you hear it?” asked Julian curiously, trying to stretch that strange sense
of his, poking around inside himself. He could feel what was him better, now
that he was thinking about it, and feel the border between him and the world.
He tried to feel the places he was touching Alex, and he got a warm wash of
affection when he thought about it.
    Alex
nodded, moving Julian’s head with his just a little, which made them both
smile. “There’s always a place where your magic is loudest, though I can
only hear it when I’m touching someone, and even then some people are too
hidden.”
    Julian
pushed away from those points of contact and tried to follow deeper, and he
thought he could feel something behind his breastbone, something that was more
him than anywhere else, but he couldn’t be sure. He made a frustrated little
noise. “It’s like trying to find a cloud in a fog bank,” he said with
a huff.
    Alex
chuckled and kissed him. “You’re a very cute fluffy cloud, anyway,”
he teased, giving Julian a tickle. “It’s something to look for in your
plants next time you’re doing your rounds.”
    “Does
this mean the lesson’s done?” asked Julian, mind turning to other things
he and Alex could do with a free afternoon.
    “For
now,” said Alex, rubbing noses again. “We’ll come back to it, once
you’ve practiced on your plants.”
    “Yes,
teacher,” said Julian teasingly.
    Alex
chuckled and they shared slow, leisurely kisses, taking the time to just enjoy
the moment while they had the chance. Alex would have to go back to work soon
enough, and Julian had more studying to do, but for now they had each other.

 
     
     
    CHAPTER 4
     
    Alex’s phone rang a few days later while he was
busy in his lab, and Julian answered when he saw it was Murielle. “He’s
doing magic,” said Julian by way of hello.
    Murielle sighed. “We have a problem,” she
said. “Ms. Eberly might think Alex is charming, but she’s not willing to
overlook his purchase of the lucky clover, and she’s taking it to my boss.
Apparently I will be sharing this case with Agent Fischer from now on, because
he hates Alex sufficiently to make up for my bias in your favour. Alex’s
favour.”
    “But you know what the clover was for, I mean,
dozens of agents and officers got the charms,” said Julian, bewildered.
“And Alex was with me all night before the murder.”
    “Which you will be telling Agent Fischer when
he re-takes your statement, I’m afraid,” said Murielle. Julian huffed,
which made Murielle laugh. “You sound like Alex.”
    “It’s stupid for me to have to redo the
paperwork. You didn’t even take my statement the first time, Tiny did,”
said Julian. “I bet he wants me over without my Alex, too, just so he can
bully me better.”
    “You’re pretty, but you’re smart,” said
Murielle. “Do you need a ride?”
    “I can take a cab all by myself, Mom,”
said Julian. “Though I suppose I should call you Agent Lapointe for a
while.”
    “Just at the Agency,” she reassured him.
“Leave Alex a note and come over as soon as you can, please. I’m getting a
lot of flak for trusting our trusted consultant.”
    Julian sympathised with the exasperation in her
tone. “As soon as I can, I’ve got to get dressed properly.”
    “Alex’s bad habits are rubbing off,” she
said teasingly, then hung up.
    Julian sighed, taking a moment to write Alex an
explanation and leaving Alex’s phone on top of it. Then he took a quick shower
and dressed, trying to look more formal and adult this time. No waistcoat or
cravat, but nice slacks and a good shirt and jacket rather than his work
clothes. He knocked on Alex’s work room door just in case, but there was no
answer. Julian asked the brownies to make sure Alex got his note, then headed
downstairs to catch a cab to the Agency. At least it was a familiar trip.
    Julian entered the upper offices of the agency with
his head held high,