Spear Through Time

[Aiden Finnegan]

A knock sounded at the door. Aiden looked up from the book in his lap, dropping the highlighter into the spine before placing the book down onto the coffee table before him. He grabbed the green glass ashtray and snubbed out the butt that had been dangling from his lips. His bourbon glass was empty, but he ignored that. Earlier in the day, Cooper had gone back to Suzdal to fetch Dimitri from Aiden’s estate. He moved to the door and gazed through the peephole to confirm that it was his personal assistant on the other side and not some thug from the Atharim or the CCD.

“Take your time boss,” Dimitri called from the other side of the door, “I can’t promise that these beignets will be here by the time you open the door.”

Aiden felt his mouth water at the mention of the pastries. He pulled the door open quickly and smiled, “Should’ve said you were bringing me treats.”

Dimitri chuckled as he handed Aiden a rectangular, purple box. The smell of warm bread and sugar drifted up to Aiden’s nostrils as he looked down at the top of the cardboard, white, elegant letters flowed along the middle and Aiden grunted when he read them.

The Bottom of the Cup Café.

“Gareth sent those. I swear it was not my idea,” Dimitri said seriously, “I thought bringing Sage would have been preferable.”

“I’d get less work done with Sage here,” Aiden replied honestly. His sex drive had been through the roof since returning from Ireland, oddly enough. It was much simpler to satisify himself and get back to his research – although tumbling around with Sage was always more pleasurable. Another few days and Aiden would return to the estate; he would be sure to carry Sage off to the bedroom and keep the man thoroughly occupied for three days straight.

“I had assumed as much. Sage seems to be very much entrenched in his own project. Are you quite sure you want all that computer equipment taking up an entire room? Erm… May I?” Dimitri gestured to the space behind Aiden. He nodded to Dimitri as he stepped aside to admit him.

“And here I thought you’d be happy to see that I seem to be making a serious commitment,” Aiden retorted with a snort, closing the door and following Dimitri back into the living room.

“Edwina has been by almost every day with her swatches and mood boards. She’s in a terrible fury that you’ve taken the piano room away from her,” Dimitri said smartly as he removed his shoes and his light coat. Aiden set the pastries down on the coffee table, moving the ashtray to a side table.

“Well, I’ve made her job easier, haven’t I? Ask Sage if he wants her touch, but I doubt it. He doesn’t pay attention to much when he’s wired in, and that’s what that room is for. If she’s so restless, she can speak with our gardener and collaborate on the veranda,” Aiden said. He pulled out his pack of smokes and lit another one before asking, “Coffee?”

“Black,” Dimitri answered as he took to the easy chair near the electric fireplace.

Aiden disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared within moments, holding two steaming mugs, “I hope you don’t mind the chickory.”

“I’ve never asked for it, but you seem to have given me a taste for it nonetheless,” Dimitri replied as he took the mug greatfully.

“Whiskey?” Aiden asked as he poured a shot into his own cup. Dimitri shook his head.

“I do wish you wouldn’t do that so casually,” Dimitri said with a rasied eyebrow.

“Offer you booze? I know. I’m such a terrible employer.”

Dimitri grunted before taking a sip from his cup. His eyes fell on the purple cardboard box and Aiden nodded. The man gleefully took a pastry before reclining back into the chair.

“Did you find anything useful in the books I sent?” Dimitri asked before dipping his beignet into the coffee.

Aiden shook his head and sunk down into the leather couch opposite Dimitri, “Nothing I haven’t read before.”

“Well, they are the same books that you poured over for Russian Dolls. You’re using the same material for the sequel then? Must be some bit of lore or continuity, I take it?” Dimitri asked as he munched on the pastry, taking small sips of coffee regularly. A slash of light swept across the room, peaking out from the cracked door directly behind Dimitri. Aiden ignored it, hoping that Dimitri would do the same.

“Lore? Yes, you can say that. I needed a bit of a refresher on the Jewels of the Tuatha De – the sacred treasures of Ireland,” Aiden quickly answered before taking a drag of the cigarette held in his right hand.

“I’m familiar. Which one will be the focus of the next novel? You’ve done the spear. Is it the cauldron or the stone?” Dimitri asked in an inquisitive tone.

“The stone has certainly fascinated me recently, but I needed more information on the spear. It may not be the focus of the next novel, but I must know how it functioned.”

“You didn’t find that out in your initial readings? Are all the extra details in Russian Dolls made up?”

“No. I’ve read about all of that, but I couldn’t help but to wonder if it did more than fly and make fire,” Aiden answered seriously, puffing away on his menthol.

“Sounds like you need your boyfriend,” Dimitri mused.

“And why is that?” Aiden asked seriously as the last of his tobacco burned.

“He’s a hacker,” Dimitri said simply.

“I don’t see how that would help a scholarly inquiry,” Aiden answered.

“He is equipped with the necessary skills to harvest information. Surely he has a code or a program to comb through the world’s libraries?” Dimitri half asked.

“I don’t think that’s how it works. Still. He might be able to get me a few of the finer details called out in ancient texts,” Aiden all but mumbled to himself. If the Atharim knew of the Spear, Sage might be able to hack into their files and retrieve the right information. There was something more to the spear, something more than the flames it could conjure. For all Aiden had tried, he could not make it fly – not without filaments of Air.

“It was the key to Lugh’s reign. I need to know why,” Aiden went on before downing the rest of his coffee. Dimitri cocked an eyebrow as he reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled out a worn, leather-bound book.

“Take a look at this then. Your father sent it over recently with a number of weathered texts to add to the library.”