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Alex threw his gloves against the side of his stall in frustration. He sank down onto his bench and scrubbed his hands through his sweaty hair before bending over and loosening his skates. The mood in the room was tense, a combination of disbelief that they had lost so badly to the Islanders after they’d been ahead by three and frustration that this had happened to them far too frequently this season. Between injuries and scoring slumps they were quickly whittling away at their chances of getting into the playoffs this year.
“I’d give anything to score a goal,” Alex said vehemently as they left the arena
Ryan threaded his fingers through the hair at the nape of Alex’s neck, his fingertips touching skin and resting there a moment. “It’s just a slump. It’ll end soon.”
“I hope so,” Alex said feeling discouraged then looked over at Ryan and smiled a little. “I’m sorry. I’m being morose.”
“Ooh big word,” Ryan laughed and slung his arm over Alex’s shoulders. “Shake it off Burr, you’ll get it next time.”
Alex lay awake staring up at the shadows on the ceiling long after Ryan had drifted off. His fingers twitched against the edge of the blanket and he glanced over at Ryan, his breathing was deep and even and Alex slid carefully out from under the covers and padded on bare feet to the spare room that they had turned into an altar room. He closed the door softly and turned the lock just in case. The altar where he and Ryan did most of their work was made of polished white marble and stood against an east facing window but Alex ignored it, walking over to a bookshelf to its left. He sat down on the floor and pulled the books off the lowest shelf. He ran his fingers along the wall against the edge of the shelf and pulled out a box the same width as the shelf. He had installed the box in the wall himself without Ryan knowing about it. He had given up black magic when he’d met Ryan but he had kept a few things around, hidden, just in case.
Ryan won’t like this. Alex pushed the nagging thought away and blew the dust off the top of the box. He lifted a worn leather journal that had been his grandfather’s from the box, his fingers tracing over the intricate tooling of the cover. He could feel the power that vibrated through his fingertips, bringing up old memories of the things he had done with magic, of the path to power that Ryan had derailed. He chewed on his lower lip and flipped the cover open.
***
Ryan hadn’t even seen the hit coming, the shock of suddenly finding himself sprawled on the ice the first indication of what had happened. The throbbing pain in his knee the second, and the reason he was now at home bored out of his mind instead of finishing the road trip with his team. Thankfully Alex would be home the next day.
Ryan wandered into the altar room, thinking that he might as well be productive and finish the research he’d started last month. He didn’t use magic much, his parents had taught him that just because he could do something didn’t mean he should, but he liked to keep his skills sharp. He’d been working for an hour when he realized he needed a note from another book. He stood up and stretched before limping over to the shelf, his knee having stiffened from sitting. He found the book he needed and pulled it off the shelf. Something fell down behind and Ryan knelt down, wincing slightly. He pulled the books off the bottom shelf and reached in to retrieve the item. His fingers closed around what was obviously a pen but caught on something that was sticking out a little from the wall. He frowned and pulled on the edge. A box slid out and Ryan’s face paled as he opened it and looked inside.
“Shit.”
It was hell waiting for Alex to get back so he could confront him with this discovery. You don’t know anything for sure, Ryan reminded himself, desperate to believe that Alex hadn’t gone back into the black magic of his family. The box had been moved recently though, the dust giving that away, and Ryan’s hope was a wane creature.
He was sitting in the kitchen with the box open in front of him when Alex got home.
“Hey,” Alex said cheerfully, dropping his bags carelessly on the floor. “How’s—” He stopped short and his face went white as he saw what Ryan had on the table.
“I found this behind the bookshelf,” Ryan said his voice rising with emotion. “What were you thinking Alex? You know how strictly magic is controlled in the league! You know what could happen if anyone were to find out you were using black magic to influence your game! You could be exiled or—”
“I didn’t.”
Alex’s quiet voice broke through Ryan’s tirade and Ryan blinked. “What?” he asked in confusion.
“I thought about it,” Alex admitted. “The night before we played the Jets I took that out,” he gestured at the tome, “but I never started a spell.”
“Why not?” Ryan asked.
“I guess it felt like cheating,” Alex said rubbing the back of his neck and staring at the floor. “And then I thought about you and I just couldn’t let you down like that. I swear, I haven’t used black magic. Not since I met you.”
“Why keep this then? Why have that temptation around?”
Alex smiled wryly. “At first? I wasn’t sure you wouldn’t get tired of me and I needed something to fall back on. After that, I guess I felt stronger to have it near and know I wouldn’t use it.”
Ryan nodded slowly. “I believe you.” Relief flooded Alex’s face and Ryan felt guilty at the nagging doubt that chewed at the back of his mind. “But I won’t have this evil in our home, you have to destroy it Alex.”
The doubt faded a bit more as Alex nodded, a look of determination in his eyes. “You’re right. Let’s do it.”
He strode out of the kitchen and Ryan snatched the tome from the table and hurried after him. They went into the altar room and Alex lit a fire in the copper brazier that stood to the right of the altar, adding purifying agents.
“Let me,” Ryan said, hesitant to give the book to Alex. Even he could feel the pull of the magic hidden within the pages.
“Trust me,” Alex pleaded and Ryan reluctantly passed the book to him.
Alex stood for a moment, his fingers twitching against the aged leather. He took a deep breath and cast the tome into the flames.
They stood, watching Alex’s past burn, until there was nothing left but white ash, then Alex took a shaky breath and looked at Ryan, a slight smile on his face. “Huh. I never thought I’d actually do that.”
Whatever doubts had remained in Ryan’s mind disappeared in the flames along with the tome and he hugged Alex. “You didn’t need it. That was just the last step in proving it to yourself.”
“Thanks,” Alex said quietly. “Hey, so do I get some sort of reward now? Something to keep me on the straight and narrow.”
“Like what?” Ryan asked. Alex leered at him and Ryan rolled his eyes. “You’re an idiot,” he said affectionately. “Come on.” He led the way towards the bedroom.