Page 88 of Incubus
“Just for a little while.”
“Because you’re freaking out and probably have been freaking out since whatever’snothappening started.”
Nathan swallowed.
“But I guess it makes sense."
"What does?" Nathan questioned.
"You and Sasha," Jim said. "After all, you did call dibs."
The comment was almost an invitation for Nathan to hook his brother in a headlock. So he did. Easily. Nathan often wondered even before Jim's powers started manifesting if Jim allowed him to win their playful battles. Surely, Jim could escape Nathan's hold. He was stronger. He was many things Nathan wasn't. But he let Nathan pull him forward and mess his hair like they were little boys again.
Whatever remaining tension might have hung in the air, it was gone by the time Nathan let his brother go.
"You think you're real funny, don't you, Jesse James," Nathan said.
Jim formed a gun with his fingers instantly and cocked it Nathan's direction.
Nathan did the same.
BANG.
The sun had risen fully and was spilling its light over both of them, making the blue of Jim's dark eyes sparkle. Nathan could never think of Jim turning against him or turning into something evil when his brother looked at him with all the compassion and desperate affection that could possibly exist between brothers. Jim was justJim.
"You know what we need?" Nathan said. "A night out, just to forget for a while and relax, away from all this mess. Plus...I could use your help with something."
"Oh?"
"I need to get into our Veil Slip."
“What for?” Jim asked with a furrowed brow.
“There's something I want to pick up.”
“What?”
Nathan smirked, glancing back at the car where he could see Sasha still peacefully sleeping. “You’ll see.”
Chapter 34
"Nowareyougoingtotell me what we're doing here?" Jim asked once they had crossed through the doorway into their personal pocket in the Veil.
The usual pressure and constriction Nathan felt from being in the Veil seemed intensified, though he wondered if that was because of his dreams and he was only imagining it. He took a few deep breaths to shake the feeling out of his limbs. It only took a moment to spot the item he was looking for.
"That," Nathan said, pointing to a long somewhat hidden case beneath one of the many crude shelves. "We're here for that."
They had crammed so many things into the storage space that first night when they created it, possessed by some great need to save every small piece of the life they no longer had, that Nathan wasn’t surprised they had both forgotten about this particular object.
Moving to reclaim the case that looked dusty and neglected, Nathan hoped the real prize inside had been well preserved. Hegrabbed the handle and pulled it free from beneath the shelf as Jim came closer. The case was even dustier than it looked as Nathan ran a hand over the black material, coughing and sniffing past the stale smell. He unhooked the latches and threw the cover back.
“A guitar?” Jim said skeptically.
“Dad’sguitar.” Nathan ran his fingers along the smooth wood that was no longer perfect but would look sharp and new again after some decent care. He looked up and caught Jim’s eyes that were filled with curiosity. “I want to give it to Sasha.”
Jim had learned just as Nathan had that Sasha often sang and played guitar to make quick cash, only currently Sasha didn't have a guitar with him. When the idea to give their father's guitar to Sasha had first struck Nathan, it surprised him how excited he was at the prospect. He had never been one for gifts; he didn't have anything to give. But he had this, and he knew it was a gift that would mean something, even if given a little selfishly for the chance to hear Sasha sing again.
At first, Nathan thought Jim looked hesitant about the suggestion but, after a moment of staring into the case and looking at the aged acoustic, Jim started nodding. “Yeah…I think he’ll love it. He's turning twenty-five in a few days, isn’t he? And you actuallyrememberedthat." Jim smiled wide, like such a thing shouldn't be possible. "Didn't he say there was something important about turning twenty-five?"
