FiG-P6-Reaching Out

Collin stared with a feeling of dread at the answering machine.  It stared back with red, glaring numerals.  He fidgeted with the scarf in his hands, plucking at loose strands of soft wool, sparing a glance for the clock.

"It's late," he said to himself, in a rational tone, "Tony's bound to be asleep by now.  No need to wake him..." His gaze returned to the accusing answering machine and then skittered away.  "I don't even know if those are from him," he muttered sullenly.  "Could be a waste of time.  Rhi said I should hurry," his pale blue eyes scanned the rest of the room, alighting on a stack of books on his shelf.  He grinned boyishly, and unfolded his ungainly limbs to pluck a think volume bound in green leather from the top of the stack.  He ran his hands fondly over the cover, tracing the fading lines of the title with one finger.  With slow steps he returned to the bed, inhaling the musty scent of ancient knowledge with pleasure.

Collin loved Mortal Magic.  Much like the Sciences of Man, it had rules.  It wasn't based on the mercurial state of the seasons, or emotions, or earthly energies.  Mortal magic was built on tested theories and established facts, concrete and practical.  If something varied unexpectedly, it was because the equation explaining it had not yet been determined.  The only limitations to its applications lay in the mind and imagination of the user.

Most importantly, it could be controlled.

He'd just use a locating spell to find Frost.  Then, once he knew that his elder brother was safe and sound at home, he'd call Rhiannon back and assure her that all was well.  Simple as pie.  Well, simple as pie made by somebody who could bake.  Collin, much like his brother, had never been particularly good with ovens.

He flipped open the book and found the desired page with practiced ease, clearing a place on the floor with his feet as he did so.  Scanning over the needed diagrams and instructions, he shuffled through a drawer with one hand until he located a piece of chalk.  Folding his long legs beneath him, he settled on the floor, placing the book carefully to the side.  Crisp, steady lines and delicate symbols were quickly sketched out on the wood surface with focused precision.  The framework complete, he sat back and plucked a few hairs from his head.  He placed the black strands into his palm and spat on them, wiping the mixture at the center of the spell circle while muttering an incantation.  An electric spark of power arced through his arm, flowing along the chalk lines and out into the world.  His mind was drawn out with it, scalp tingling as though pulled gently by his hair.

He felt his consciousness expand, stretching along the lines of his worldly bonds.  His mind brushed over Rachel's dreams as she slept in the dorms, and he carefully redirected the spell's energies away from her so he wouldn't disturb her sleep.  The flow spilled out to his Blood-Bonds, spreading like a spider's web with no regard for distance.  He sensed the presence of those in America as easily as Tony in England.  With a note of surprise, he discovered Tony was still awake.  A note of concern fluttered through Collin's mind.  Were there less Blood-Bonds than before?  He stopped himself from counting.  It was probably nothing.  The conversation with Rhiannon had just made him uneasy, that's all.  He reined the energies in, confused.  Normally he had to work at making a spell spread this far out.  His connection with Frost was so deep that it typically took effort to make the power seek anything else.  He frowned internally, concentrating on directing the spell along the desired channel.  For a moment the energy did nothing but pool, stagnant.  Finally, it caught, streaking off to the east like a falling star.  Collin's mind trailed behind it like a comet's tail.

See? he chided himself, relaxing, Everything's going to be just --  The spell's energies rammed into the earth and shattered like it had landed in a minefield.  Collin abruptly felt his mind stretch to the breaking point in several different directions simultaneously.  A rush of images and sensations gyrated through his brain, none of them consistent.  He felt awake and asleep, fevered and healthy, elated and despairing.

Alive and dead.

The spell was rapidly degrading, spiraling into madness and confusion as it spilled from one pool of sensation to the next at dizzying speeds.  Dimly, Collin was aware of tipping forward, his hand grasping, and with the sound of a rushing whirlwind he found himself back in his own body.

He was sprawled on the floor, his right forearm smeared with chalk where it had smudged the circle and broken the spell.  He squinted painfully at the light above him, a pounding headache dominating his thoughts.  He crawled on his knees to the door and fumbled for the light switch, sighing in relief when the room plunged into darkness. He pushed himself up and stumbled across the room, gathering his hat and jacket.

He had to talk to Tony.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

When Collin arrived at the small apartment Tony rented, he was surprised to see his guardian not only awake, but outside in the miserable weather warming up the car.  Tony's muscular frame was wrapped in a slick raincoat, his face half-hidden under a grey cap.  He slammed the trunk closed and turned towards the driver's side when he noticed Collin staring at him from the sidewalk.  Tony blinked for a stunned moment before quickly crossing the distance between them to wrap Collin in a rib-crushing hug.

"Collin!  Thank god!  I was beginning to think you weren't coming. C'mon, get in.  The plane leaves in a few hours."

"Plane?"  Collin wheezed in confusion as Tony released him.  "What plane?  Where are you going?"

"You mean we, don't you?"

"What?  Tony, I've got a huge exam coming up tomorrow, I can't go anywhere right now!"

Tony stared at him, the relief he'd shown at Collin's arrival rapidly fading.  He was silent for a moment.  "...You didn't get my messages, did you?"

Collin fidgeted guiltily, examining the cracks in the wet sidewalk beneath him.  It was answer enough.  The rush of anger that exploded in Tony like a wave of heat from an open furnace.  Collin took a hasty a step back, but Tony's stone-still  exterior looked entirely calm and collected.

"Collin.  Get in the car," Tony said, his voice very, very quiet.

Collin got in the car.

Tony entered a long moment later, put the vehicle into gear, and pulled away from the curb.  Collin meekly buckled his seat belt and leaned as far away as he could get in the small confines of the automobile from the fuming driver.  Tony fixed his eyes on the road ahead.  For several minutes, neither spoke.

"I got a call from one of your Blood-Bonds, recently," Tony finally said.  Collin nodded silently.  His guardian's anger hadn't diminished in the slightest, despite his emotionless tone.  "Turns out, Frost laid off all your Blood-Bonds.  He even gave them the option to rip up their Binding.  Most didn't.  The extended lifespan wasn't something a lot of them wanted to give up.  That same day, Frost held court.  He appointed a successor, resigned, and vanished."

Collin sucked in a shocked breath.

"I checked the accounts and saw that he'd withdrawn a sizable chunk of cash that morning," Tony continued, "The email account had a ticket-confirmation for a one-way plane ride to Stuttgart, Germany."  Tony's eyes flickered briefly in Collin's direction.  "...That was ten days ago.  No other charges have been made to his card since, and none of the Blood-Bonds have the faintest clue where he is.  I tried to call you, to see if he'd decided to visit that Lady friend of his--"

"Rhiannon hasn't seen him," Collin mumbled, numbly.  "She called me tonight, trying to find him.  Said she'd sensed something wrong."

Tony gave him a level look.  "Ah.  So, you'll pick up the phone when Rhiannon calls, but not listen to a single one of my four messages.  If only I was a lovely young woman, maybe I could get a hold of you once in a while," he said shortly.

Collin sunk down in his seat a little more.

"She also speaks German with me," Collin added weakly in his defense.

"Ah.  I need boobs and foreign language skills.  I'll be sure to get right on that," Tony quipped, taking the exit towards the airport with a little more force than necessary.  The vehicle lurched uncomfortably, tires squealing and sliding on the wet street.  Collin gripped the edge of the seat, white-knuckled.

"So, Frost quit being Winter Lord and decided to go on a vacation. Maybe he doesn't want anybody to know where he is.  I'm sure you're getting upset for nothing," Collin said, hoping to turn the conversation away from his poor communication habits.

"This is Frost we're talking about.  Do you really believe that?" Tony asked, skeptically.

"Yes," Collin replied, but sounded forced.

Tony fell silent, and they didn't speak again until they found a space in the airport's parking garage.  Tony killed the engine and unbuckled his seat belt.  He popped the trunk, got out of the car, and pulled out a small duffel bag.  Collin stayed in his seat, staring at his sneakers in the dim florescent lights of the garage.

The driver's door opened and Tony's face appeared.  His anger had subsided, hardening into a firm, resolute energy.  In one hand, he held the car keys, in the other, a crumpled and damp envelope.  He threw both down in Collin's lap.

"In there's your passport and the ticket I got for you.  Now, you can either use the keys and take the car back to make your exam in the morning, or you can come with me and get on that plane to Germany to find your brother.  Your choice."

Collin was silent.  Unmoving.  Tony opened his mouth as if to say something else, but only sighed.  He reached out and gripped Collin's shoulder with one large, warm hand.

"Take care of yourself, Collin," he said, tired and resigned.  Tony withdrew from the car, closing the door gently.  He made his way towards the airport terminal with determined strides, not looking back.

Collin caught up with him before he made it to the door.