Published: 23 Sep 2019

Ley Lines

Mark is rummaging through the kitchen for breakfast when Kevin arrives. Mark uses an old-fashioned match to light the gas stove. “The pilot light doesn’t work.”

Rudy shrugs incomprehension, but Mark has turned away to cover a cookie sheet with pop-tarts and stale bread spread with peanut butter before sliding it into the oven.

Rudy politely does not say what he thinks of the pop-tarts, but enjoys the warm, runny peanut butter. “We have peanut butter. But I never had it like this. I hope I remember when I get back.” Mark and Rudy exchange glances. They both understand Rudy means, “If I get back.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Kevin says. “What if it’s like Phillip Windrider says: there are places where there is magic?”

“Like, where? We’re not going to find a kiva in Georgia.” Mark says. “And what made you change your mind? Yesterday you said you didn’t believe.”

Rudy looks from one boy to the other. His right eyebrow rises in question.

“I’ve been thinking.” Kevin says. Not just about this, but about how to get away. “Anyway, I remembered about magic where Ley Lines join.” Mark and Rudy stare at Kevin.

“It’s on National Explorer Channel and they showed one of the books your mother has. If you’d just pay attention sometimes. Here, this is the one.” He pulls a volume from the bookshelf that holds the silver knife.

“Ley Lines are lines of magical force that crisscross the world,” he reads. “Where they intersect are places of great power. The Knights Templar built their fortress-monasteries at intersections.”

He turns to a series of maps, and flips from one to another. “Look, there’s an intersection in Salt Lake City at the Mormon Temple. Notre Dame in Paris sits on another. So does the headquarters of the Federal Reserve in Washington.”

“Magic is strong in these places?” Rudy asks.

“That’s what people believe,” Kevin says.

“Is there one near here?” Mark asks, before Rudy could even think of the question.

“Your mother believes there is. See what she’s written in the margin.” Kevin holds out the book.

“Three lines intersect at the pitcher’s mound of the Braves stadium” Mark reads. “It’s too bad the Braves don’t know how to use them any more. There’s also an intersection where the old AME Church at Tallulah Falls was before it burned down.”

“You’re kidding me,” Mark says. “Magic and baseball?”

“How do you think they won all those division championships?” Kevin counters.

“Base ball?” Rudy’s eyebrows are drawn together; there is a wrinkle on his forehead.

Mark giggles. “Long story, Rudy. Tell you later. But, if she’s right, there may be a place of power you can use. I mean, if you can open a gate?” Power is only part of the equation.

“Yes,” Rudy says. “If this really is a place of power, I can open a door. I learned from a spell book. I remember trying many times, a long time ago. When I finally got it to work, well, there was no place I wanted to go.”

Kevin’s stomach churns. If this is real, there’s going to be no going back. But, I’ve got to figure out how to convince Mark and trick Rudy.

Kevin takes a deep breath and lets it out “Mark, you promised we’d do a camping trip this summer. There are wilderness campsites at Tullulah Gorge State Park. We can take Rudy to the old church. The camping trip will be our excuse.” There’s also the lover’s leap on the trail. If this isn’t real, I mean. I can’t ask Mark, but I can do it myself. Anything’s better than…

“And how are we going to get there?” Mark asks.

Kevin raises a venetian blind and points. His brother’s Mustang is parked by the trailer. “How?” Mark stutters.

“Passed out drunk after he tried to rape me, an hour ago. His girlfriend turned him down, again. He’s still asleep.” Rudy is too shocked by the “rape me” to catch the rest of what Kevin says.

“You’ve just got a learner’s permit,” Mark protests.

“Nope,” Kevin says. He grins and pulls a plastic card from his pocket. “That’s why I left, yesterday. Passed the test!

“Okay, guys, here’s the plan,” Kevin continues. Mark leans forward, eagerly. Rudy notes that Kevin seems to be the dominant partner in this relationship. He also remembers sharing with Mark, and Mark’s use of magic. Mark has hidden strength; interesting, he thinks, before Kevin continues.

“We’re going to pack for our wilderness trip. Mark, you use the backpack I gave you. Also, we need one for Rudy. He’s got to have stuff in case the gate doesn’t take him back to where he wants to go.”

“One of my mother’s boyfriends left a duffle bag,” Mark says. “The zipper’s broken, but it’s got a rubber liner, and I can strap it shut. The handles will work like a backpack. I’ll use it, and give Rudy the one you gave me.”

“Good. Now, gimme your computer, please,” Kevin says. He slides into the chair by the window, punches keys, pauses, and punches some more. Several minutes later, he looks up. “Okay, I have the location of the burned church and a reservation at a campsite – for tonight. Time to start packing.”

Mark thinks, sharing with Rudy was incredible. I’ll never have that, again. Still, Kevin’s pretty special, too. I’ll just have to make do with what I have. Rudy can’t stay here, that’s for sure.

“You are risking a lot for me,” Rudy says. “I can’t ever repay you. But, ‘A kindness is always repaid.’ I hope that works the same here as on my world.” Kevin and Mark exchange looks. “Sure,” Mark says.

While Mark puts clothes and a butcher knife in a backpack for Rudy, and puts his own things into the duffle bag, Kevin grabs two books from the bookcase. He hesitates, and then picks up the silver knife and a handful of candles. From the kitchen drawer, he takes a nearly full box of strike-anywhere matches.

Mark pulls out the bread and peanut butter to make sandwiches.

“Hey, don’t,” Kevin says. “We’ll stop at a convenience store. Here,” he hands Mark one of the books. “Stick this in your duffle.”

Mark looks at the book. Aesop’s Fables. “I’ve got it on the computer.”

“Yeah, well, I want the original, okay?” Kevin says.

Kevin tries to be casual, but Mark sees tension on his friend’s face. Kevin’s up to something. What?

At the gas station/convenience store, Kevin instructs Mark, “Fill ’er up. I’ll go in and pay, and get supplies. Oh, yeah, and put the top down.”

The clerk takes Kevin’s brother’s credit card while Kevin hurries through the store. Peanut butter. Good, they’ve got it in glass jars. All the bread is in plastic. I’ll have to get paper bags to hold it. Vienna sausages. They’re nasty, but the cans open with a tab. Tuna. Need a can opener. Two. One for Rudy. Got to show him how to use it. Cookies. The ones in cardboard boxes. We’ll need … Kevin thinks furiously as he piles stuff on the counter.

Kevin keeps the Mustang reined in and doesn’t go more than a couple of miles an hour over the speed limit. They reach the site of the old AME church just after 3:00 PM. Plenty of time, Mark thinks. I guess, that is. How long does it take to open a gate?

The boys step onto the fire-blackened concrete slab where the church had stood. “Rudy? Is there power here?” Mark asks. “How long will it take you to open the gate?”

Rudy takes Mark’s hand, and then Kevin’s. Through Rudy’s magic, they see the Ley Lines. Three bright lines cross in the center of the concrete slab. The lines are almost 60 degrees apart, making an asterisk. “Wow, your mom is right,” Kevin whispers.

“We understand what’s going to happen, right? Mark, you and I, we’ll run interference. No matter what. Rudy’s going home, right?”

Mark agrees. Rudy kisses first Mark, and then Kevin. “Thank you. I will not see you again in this life, but I will look for you both in another.” His nose wrinkles, and tears run down his cheeks.

Mark and Kevin sniffle. Then, Kevin says, “Do it, Rudy. And, hey, we’ll look for you, too, okay?” The two boys step off the concrete slab.

Rudy stands on the slab where the Ley Lines intersect. He faces east. The sun casts his shadow before him. He begins to chant.

“It’s a vortex,” Mark says. “Like on that TV show…” Rudy turns, waves, and steps into the vortex. In an instant, he disappears.

“Are you ready?” Kevin asks. He picks up his backpack, and Mark’s duffle bag.

“Ready?” Mark asks.

“Ready to follow him,” Kevin says.

Mark hesitates only for a moment before he takes the duffle bag, and grabs Kevin’s hand. “As long as you are with me,” he says, and runs with Kevin through the gate.

Mark and Kevin wake to find themselves in an alley. The sun is bright; the pile of garbage beside them stinks.

“Where are we?” Mark asks.

Kevin looks around. “I hope we’re on a world with a sun that’s too yellow, but I don’t really know.” He looks at Mark. “You said, ‘As long as you are with me.’ What did you mean?”

“I mean, silly, that I love you,” Mark replies. “I love you because you love me, and I know that. No one who didn’t love me would put up with everything that I’ve asks you to put up with.” He brushes his lips across Kevin’s. “I love you, Kevin.”

Kevin freezes. It’s been fantasy. It’s been fun. But it’s never been real. Until now. The sun really is too yellow. And Mark looks different from before we came here. No zits. He hated that he always had zits. He doesn’t realize it, yet. I’m different, too, I guess. No, I know it. I feel different. Aloud, he says, “Mark, I do love you.”

Mark was puzzled when Kevin insisted he pack Aesop’s Fables. The first time he looks into his duffle bag, Mark understands. The computer isn’t there; the book and his clothes remain, along with the mess kit, the blanket from his bed, and some other stuff. Forbidden technology, Mark thinks. And Kevin knew! He planned this. I guess I knew it; I just couldn’t admit it.

“What about money?” Mark asks. He reaches into his pocket. Phone’s not there, either. Wonder if it’s on the ground back at the church. Wonder what people will think when they find Kevin’s brother’s car. Oh, what if my mother makes the connection with the Ley Lines? Hope she doesn’t. We don’t want her or any of her boyfriends to follow us. Holy shit, I just realized. She knew where the Ley Lines are! Maybe it isn’t just a grown-up make-believe thing. Oh, I hope she doesn’t find the way here.

Mark pulls a dozen coins from his pocket. “It worked,” he says. “I mean, this has to be money.” He shows Kevin coins of silver, and copper. Kevin opens his brother’s wallet. The credit card is gone, but where the bills would have been are coins. His own wallet holds others.

Mark looks at the pile of coins. “Put these away before someone sees them,” he says. After the boys stuff the coins into various pockets, he adds, “We’re not rich, but we’re not broke, either. We’re going to need money and a way to make a living.”

Mark’s attempt to earn their supper at an inn by reciting stories from Aesop is a disaster. The baseball cap Kevin passes – it still has a large “A” on the front – is returned with one penny and four florins. Mark shrugs. “I guess we—”

“Those are good stories. It’s too bad not everyone appreciated them. Will you join me for supper?” a teen – the person who put the penny in the cap – interrupts.

“Um…” Mark says.

“Who are you?” Kevin asks, more practically.

“My name is Andy,” the teen replies. “You’re worried, aren’t you? I can tell. I swear amity with you.”

That means something important, Mark realizes. I think we must trust him. “Yes, thank you. Oh, and we swear amity with you, don’t we?”

Overwhelmed by what he feels, Kevin agrees. “Yes, what he said.”

“Thank you, both. I think, though, we should bathe before supper,” Andy says. “Will you join me?”

Kevin hesitates. Supper, he said supper. Now a bath. What have we gotten ourselves into? Bathing – if it’s like in the stories – leads to sharing. Kevin shudders, remembering the times his brother had raped him. I don’t know if we … He swore amity, though. And I felt it. And I felt it when Mark swore, too. Oh, I hope what the stories say about Asking and Telling is right!

In the instant it takes Kevin to think these things, Mark lifts his duffle bag. “Come on, Kevin. We do need a bath!”

The boys bathe with Andy, and then follow him to supper. Kevin is relieved, if not completely relaxed. The bath was all about getting clean, and not at all – well, not much – about touching. Andy washed us both, but it was clinical, almost. As if he were letting us know that touching isn’t the most important thing.

Andy didn’t seem to notice, at least, he didn’t say anything about us not using magic to wash him. We did a pretty good job with the loofas, though. Mark giggles quietly at the memory, and then tucks away the thoughts of magic. I’ll have to think about that, later.

The potboy brings bread and cheese, and then a tureen of stew. Supper is excellent, Kevin thinks. I wonder if it’s always like this?

Just like in the book, Mark thinks. A vegetable stew, redolent with allium and sweet with turnips; bread, hot and yeasty; and apples, crisp and sprinkled with cinnamon. That’s what I missed! Where was the smell of cinnamon? Mark wonders. Must have been the smell of the garbage.

A boy rushes in the door, skips to their table, kisses Andy, and then says, “Save some for me. I’ve got to bathe. I stink of mules.” In a flash, he is gone.

“That,” Andy says into the stunned silence, “is Billy. He’s very good with animals, and has been looking for a mule to replace one we lost on the way here. Billy’s my partner. We’re merchant-traders. We’ve come to Carter to buy cedar.”

“Carter,” Mark says. “Is that where we are?”

“You don’t know where you are?” Andy asks.

“Just didn’t realize we’d come so far,” Kevin fills in when Mark stumbles over his words.

“Oh,” Andy says. “Where are you from?”

“Georgia,” Mark says, recovering his wits. “It’s not likely you’ve heard of it. It’s very small.”

Andy leans back in his chair. “Boys, I think you’re hiding something important. We swore amity. That means we won’t harm one another. It doesn’t mean we have to trust one another with all our secrets. It doesn’t mean we have to tell one another the whole truth.

“Boys, especially boys who are struck early with wanderlust, often fall prey to Evil people, people who are neither honorable nor good. I think you are two innocents, lost in World.”

Andy’s demeanor changes when he says, “I swear in the Light that I am both honorable and Good. I swear in the Light that I will ask nothing froward of you. I swear in the Light that I will keep your secrets. I hope you will offer me your trust. I hope that you will let me help you. You seem vulnerable, as if you were strangers in a strange land.”

“How do you know?” Mark whispers before Kevin can shush him.

“Please do not be alarmed, Kevin. Do you believe I am sincere?”

Kevin thinks about what he feels. “I do.”

“So you know I am bound by my promise. It’s hard to explain, but I think I should help you. Will you trust me?”

Kevin and Mark agree, without words and without knowing all they’d agreed to, to trust Andy.

Before they could say more, Billy bounces into the room, kisses Andy on the top of his head, and then grabs the last of the bread. Andy beckons to the potboy for more.

Andy gives Billy a chance to eat before he says, “Billy, we have guests and new friends. These are Mark and Kevin. We have sworn amity with them, and to keep their secrets.”

“I hope they are fun secrets. It would be nice to know some fun secrets,” Billy says around a mouthful of stew.

Kevin, who had been looking at Andy, feels something pass across his mind. A memory, perhaps, or a fear. It is gone quickly, but Kevin understands. Billy has secrets, too.

After supper, Andy urges the boys upstairs to a bedroom. “We will talk more, tomorrow. You are, I think, too tired, now.”

Mark and Kevin, exhausted not so much by exertion as by overwhelming emotions, agree. They are much too tired to do more than brush their teeth, cuddle, and fall asleep.

Andy wakes the boys. “Breakfast is being served. After breakfast, Billy has to buy a mule and I have to buy more cedar. First thing after breakfast, though, we have some important things to talk about.” The boys dress quickly, and follow him.

After breakfast, the four return to the room. Andy, Mark, and Kevin sit at the table; Billy flops onto a bed.

Mark looks at Kevin and sees agreement. Mark begins. “Kevin and I, we were born on a different world than this one. It’s a world that probably doesn’t even exist in this universe. We’ve been here less than a day.” Mark pauses. Across the room, Billy’s eyes widen. His mouth moves like a guppy in a fish bowl.

Andy doesn’t seem as surprised as Billy. “I’ve heard about people coming to World from other worlds. I had a friend who knew stories about that. I never thought I’d meet someone, though. You really are strangers in a strange land.”

Andy looks at Billy. “Billy, I think we need to help these boys.”

Billy jumps from the bed. “But first, I’ve got to buy a mule. You guys want to come with me? It’s a lot more fun than going with Andy to buy wood.”

“Just be careful,” Andy warns. “Watch what they say and do. They’re not wearing daggers, so they should not be challenged. If they are, claim they’re Valarians. Don’t do anything we’d have to explain to a reeve, okay? Be back by lunchtime; we’ll talk more, this afternoon.”

The boys follow Billy through the streets, Kevin and Mark see what they had not seen the day before: people, dressed in clothes that would have passed muster in medieval Europe or their own time, for that matter; streets lined with shops, with homes above them; and – “Mark! That’s an elf!” Kevin whispers.

Just outside the city walls, a corral holds a dozen mules. “Let me do all the talking, okay?” Billy says.

Kevin feels Billy’s excitement at the bargaining, and feels the response from the man who owns the mules. Billy feels it, too, I think. He’s an empath, and—

Kevin brings his thoughts to an abrupt stop. If he’s an empath, then so am I. I’ve got to tell Mark!

After lunch, Andy leads the boys to their room. “Now, please start at the beginning. Tell Billy and me the story of how you got here, why you came here, and, if you know already, what you want to do now that you are here?”

Mark starts confidently. “Kevin and I were in the coffee house, reading—”

“What’s a coffee house?” Billy interrupts Mark.

“It’s like downstairs, except they serve only coffee and tea, and not ale. We were reading and talking about some stories. A boy who had been listening – we didn’t know he could hear us – walked up and claimed he wrote the stories. He said he came from another world – this world – and that his name was Rudy. He—”

Now, Andy interrupts. “Rudy? Red-headed boy, cute – really cute – who talked like he was a lot older?”

“Uh, yeah,” Mark says. “Do you know him?”

“Yeah,” Billy says. “You never told me about him.”

“I don’t know him, now” Andy says. “But I knew a boy named Rudy in two past lives – we were friends in one, best friends in the other. He is a story-teller. He is always a story-teller and a mage. And, he is always a cute red-head.”

“Do you think it’s the same boy? This guy is a mage,” Kevin says. He feels the emotion, the yearning that Andy feels when he talked about Rudy.

“Could be. Don’t know. Sorry for interrupting. Please, continue,” Andy says.

Now, Kevin feels Andy’s sense of loss, as if something precious had been in his hand, and then slipped away. I hope it’s the same boy, Kevin thinks. And I hope we find him.

Mark continues the narrative. “Rudy said he’d been pushed into our world by an evil mage. He was afraid he’d be stuck there, because there’s not enough magic in our world. We found a place where there is magic. Rudy opened a gate, and stepped into it. As soon as he disappeared, we ran into the gate. We came out in an alley behind this inn. We met you.”

“You really are strangers in a strange land,” Andy muses. “Billy, this is secret. I need time to think about this, and about the best way to help them.” The three boys nod their understanding.

All the boys go with Andy that afternoon to help load cedar planks onto a wagon pulled by four mules. Afterwards, in the bath, Billy tries to isolate Kevin, but Mark intervenes, and scrubs Kevin. Billy and Andy are clean and in the hot soak when Mark whispers to Kevin, “We’ve got to have sex tonight so we can get some magic.”

“Do you think it will work?”

“It worked with Rudy,” Mark says. “He gave me some, and I could use it!”

“I thought that you two…” Kevin begins, before two other boys come in and begin to undress.

“Is that okay?” Mark asks.

Kevin kisses him. “Of course it’s okay. And so is tonight. Come on, we’re clean.”

Kevin is reluctant to have sex while Andy and Billy are in the bed only a few feet away. Andy and Billy have no inhibitions, however. The other boys had scarcely begun when Kevin finds himself erect. He wraps his arms around Mark and whispers into his ear, “You wanna?”

“That is an Asking?” Mark says, and then giggles. “This is a Telling,” he adds, and presses his lips hard against Kevin’s.

The sensation when Kevin came is just as Mark experienced with Rudy: a feeling of something uniquely Kevin plus something of power fill his mouth and his body. I can’t wait for Kevin to feel this, Mark thinks, and once more brings his lips to Kevin’s.

Mark cries out Kevin’s name, softly, when he comes. It’s infinitely better than ever before, he thinks. It’s better even than with Rudy. I guess because it’s with Kevin, and I love him.

Over pottage the next morning, Andy tells the boys what he planned. “I slept very little last night, thinking about you two. I reached a conclusion that my heart and my mind tell me is right. Please, come with Billy and me. Please allow us to help you understand where you are and, perhaps, even why you are here. I will swear with you an oath of fealty, from which you may be released at any time you want, if you will likewise swear.

“I have six wagons loaded with cedar. They are part of a caravan that will leave tomorrow morning for the City of Arcadia. If you will swear, you will accompany us there. I will provide for you and protect you—”

“And cherish us?” Kevin interrupts.

Andy does not hesitate. “If that is what you wish, yes, I will cherish you. That’s not often part of an oath except between best friends, but I would be happy to make it. As long as you are willing.”

Kevin and Mark exchanged glances. Mark speaks first. “Say what you will, I have love and trust for you.”

Neither boy sees Andy’s eyebrows rise at that remark. A powerful oath. And they seem to understand what it means. These are, indeed, strange boys.

“We swear fealty to you, and to cherish you, and ask you to swear the same to us,” Kevin says. Below the table, he takes Mark’s hand. He squeezes it, hard, knowing what he had just said.

“I swear to cherish you, provide for you, and teach you until you ask to be released from this oath,” Andy says. “You already know that my oath binds Billy, as well. Now, will you go with Billy to feed the mules? It’s something you can do to help us.”

Mark and Kevin understand. It’s something we can do to fulfill our side of this bargain. “Sure,” they answer in unison.

That afternoon, Billy manages to get between Kevin and Mark, and offers to scrub Mark. Mark looks at Kevin, who grins. “Hey, Andy, need a scrub?” Kevin asks, signaling his okay to Mark.

Andy nods, and then asks, “Would you share with me, tonight?”

Kevin looks at Mark, who is scrubbing Billy with magic. Both boys are erect.

“Billy wants to share with Mark, for sure,” Andy says. “He’s always had a thing for blue eyes…”

“Yeah,” Kevin agrees. “And Mark wants to share with Billy. I can feel it.”

That evening, Billy and Mark’s exuberant passion spurs Kevin and Andy. All four boys are breathing heavily. After a few minutes pass, and he could again breathe normally, Andy speaks. “Kevin, you said you felt Mark wanted to share with Billy. What did you mean by that?”

“If it’s a strong feeling, I feel what people near me are feeling. I think I’m what’s called an empath. Mark and I talked about it, but, well, I’m not sure it’s real. I think Billy’s an empath, too. I sort of felt it when he was bargaining for the mule.”

It is Billy who answers. “Sharing with an empath is so intense. Being an empath, you know what your partner is feeling, and what he wants, and that can make it so much better. With two empaths, it can be even better!

“It can also make it a little confusing,” Billy says, and then giggles.

“More practically,” Andy asks, “Billy, do you remember what you learned at the Temple? Can you teach it to Kevin? He’ll need to learn how to block, both ways, and how to sort the truth from what people think is the truth.”

“You’ll like the training,” Billy tells Kevin. “Most of it is mind-to-mind, and ends with sharing.”

Kevin’s eyes widen and he sucks in his stomach. “Mind-to-mind? You’ll see things…” He flushes, and cannot continue.

Mark knows what Kevin is afraid of: Billy would learn what Kevin’s brother did to him, things of which Kevin is ashamed. He puts his arm around Kevin and whispers into his ear. “They swore to cherish us. It’s not your fault your brother did those things to you. Billy will know that. He will share your feelings, and know that you are a good person. Please, I believe this. You can tell that, can’t you? Please trust him.”

Kevin shivers, but he recognizes the truth in what Mark says, and agrees.

Billy and Mark took the new mule to be shod. Kevin and Andy are in the shower. “When we told you about Rudy, I felt a great sadness. Billy probably felt it, too,” Kevin says.

“Yes, he probably did. But, he won’t say anything. He and I are bound in this life, and he knows that whatever I feel for Rudy won’t interfere with that. Besides, we may meet Rudy in this life. You said you followed Rudy through the gate. He should be somewhere, maybe near us.”

How much do gates drift, and how fast, Kevin wonders. Should I tell him about that? Is it better for him to have hope, or to know that there may be no hope? I don’t know. I just don’t know.

This book wraps up many of the stories of World, though we hope it is not the last from the fertile mind of David. Let David know you are reading: David dot McLeod at CastleRoland dot net. He deserves your feedback.

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