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Sam was aware that, under normal circumstances, it would have been considered strange to be hyperaware of everything his older brother said or did now that they were in the mid-thirties and mid-twenties respectively.
But these were not, and never would be, normal circumstances. He had forgotten he even had an older brother for fifteen years, and by the time he had remembered, he’d been so far away it might have been the other side of the world, as far as he was concerned. At least that, he’d been able to deal with quickly, and now they were all together again, as they should have been all along.
The point was, there were days when it felt like all he did was watch Dev, make sure everything was alright. He knew Joan felt the same – apparently she’d all but followed him around in the first one or two weeks after the spell had been lifted – and he didn’t even have to wonder about Mum and Dad. It was a miracle that Dad allowed him to leave for the Guard headquarters, if he was being honest.
But even so, he rather suspected he was the only one who had noticed that Dev had been rather jumping the last one or two weeks. Now, while it was probably not a strange thing for someone who carried as much responsibility on his shoulders to grow nervous now and then, this in turn made Sam very nervous – what if someone else was after Dev, like the Army had been before?
When they had been children, before he had been stolen from them, they had had absolutely no secrets from one another. No matter how complicated a question he’d had, Dev had always tried to answer and explain truthfully, and Sam had never seen any reason to hide things from him either. Part of him, it was true, was sort of worried that this would change now because they had been separated for so long, but there was only one way to find out, and so that night, in their room, he quietly began, “Dev, can I ask you something?”
He immediately closed the book he had been reading – not without marking the page, this was still Dev they were talking about – and raised his head. “Of course, Sammy.”
“Is everything alright?”
Dev frowned. “Yes. Why shouldn’t it be?”
“It’s just – you – well – you’ve seemed rather nervous lately, that’s all.”
A pause. Then, “I didn’t realize it was noticeable…”
“Only to me, I think, but I –“ he broke off when he realized he’d been about to say that he knew Dev very well, but that wasn’t true anymore, was it? No matter how many phone calls, they couldn’t replace fifteen years… “So everything is fine?”
“In a way, yes.”
That didn’t really do anything to make him worry any less, which Dev seemed to realize, because he continued, “It’s just… the weeks leading up to Samhain. There’s always something in the air, this time of the year…”
He fell silent, seemingly lost in thought, and Sam tried to remember what he had told him when he’d been a child. He hadn’t understood everything, naturally, and he doubted he would now, but even then, he had known it meant his brother was even more special than he had always believed he was.
“So… there’s magic in the air?” he tried to joke and was rewarded with a small grin.
“You could say that again. Had an incident in the laboratory yesterday… A new member of the Guard thought it was a good idea to put sage next to Fae dust….”
It was just one of these things they had all come to accept into their lives now that Dev had returned, and Sam was only too happy to hear about it. He and Joan might just be doing the paperwork, but he liked to think they were helping their brother, too, in their own way.
After Dev had finished his story, an old impulse from their childhood came back to him and he asked, “Can I see a few tricks, then, if magic is so potent at the moment?”
“Aren’t you a little too old to come a-begging?=
“You showed Joan too.”
He laughed. “I see. Well, in that case…” he tilted his head to the side and thought about it, and Sam was struck with the fact that he must know so many more tricks, these days, since he had left them when he was only eighteen and had studied magic in the interim. “Let’s see, what can we do…”
And a mirage of the United stadion appeared in the middle of the room.
“Oh my god, that’s amazing!”
He jumped up to examine it more closely. “I bet that’s practical when you’re after a suspect… to confuse them, I mean.”
“It’s come in handy once or twice” Dev admitted, smiling slightly at him, and Sam knew that just as he himself, he was recalling countless nights like this when they had stayed up later than they should and he had entertained him.
“Anyway, so… that’s it? You’re nervous because of Hallo- Samhain? But other than that, everything
s fine?” He had to make sure.
“Yes, I promise, Sammy.”
And a promise from Dev, he knew that, was a promise kept.
Even so, he made sure that he could go have lunch with Dev the next day. Joan, who, as she put it, had spent so much time alone with Dev while he was still in the military that it was fair that he should get some meals exclusively with him as well, stayed behind to finish up some paperwork.
Dev was in his office, working away, but that he had come to expect. “Hey.”
He raised his head. “Hey, Sammy.”
“Lunch? Mum will come after me if you don’t have your sandwich.”
As always when their mother was mentioned, Dev smiled fondly and got up. “Of course. Let me just tell Peter we’re on our way.”
Peter Jakes… that was a complicated topic. Sam knew that Joan was struggling a bit when it came to Dev’s number two, mostly because they were so close. But they had all the time in the world to figure that out, thank God.
And so, they walked to the Dragon’s Lair and greeted George, who enthusiastically waved back.
As they slid into their seats, he saw Dev glance around, probably because he was still a little nervous, but when Sam turned his head, everything seemed normal. At least the normal they were slowly all growing accustomed to. Magic users and creatures were hanging about, and some people that Sam suspected were rather like he himself, friends or family of the other group; a few of the creatures especially, it was true, appeared a little jumpy, but he didn’t know enough yet to say whether this had to do with what Dev had told him last night or if that was just in their nature.
Dev shook his head and chuckled. “Sorry, Sam – force of habit – especially during this time, with so many of us in one place… better to make sure.”
He wasn’t quite certain what Dev wanted to make sure of, but whatever it was, he was confident his brother could handle it.
They had finished lunch and were returning to headquarters when a voice called out, “A moment, Captain, please?”
Dev turned around and greeted the vampire (not even Sam could overlook those fangs) with a short bow. “Of course, Mr. Raffles. May I introduce my younger brother, Sam Thursday?”
He smiled as he took off his hat (right, Joan had told him about him – the one who’d come to the bank and sold hats). “Charmed. Captain, I have come to ask if you are aware that this year seems to be one of those years…”
Sam turned to Dev, who clearly understood. “ah. That explains a few things… thank you very much, Mr. Raffles.”
He bowed again. “I am very glad to help, Captain. Ensign Thursday.”
As soon as he had left, Dev turned to Sam. “Small wonder I was nervous… so that’s what’s going on.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked at him, then quietly said, “Totentanz.”
Sam had not spent enough time in Germany to pick up on the language, but he was rather sure this meant… “What? The dead come out to dance?”
“Some of them” he said in the same tone. “It’s difficult to explain… they don’t arrive every year, and you don’t get called every time they do, either.”
After a moment of silence Sam guessed correctly, “You’ve been called before?”
“Once. During my studies. It’s a funny feeling…” There was a faraway look in Dev’s eyes he recalled from when they had been children and he’d invented stories to soothe him to sleep. “You just… know that it’s the right thing to do, and after an hour or two, it’s all over. Anyway, there’s nothing to worry about; no one has ever been harmed through a Totentanz.”
And Sam understood that Dev simply wanted to tell him not to worry if he got called this year, as he had put it.
He still made sure to tell Joan all about it.
She, just like Sam herself, immediately knew what was going on and clicked her tongue. “So that’s why Dev’s been a bit nervous these past few days. He’ll probably get called on to dance or whatever.”
“He says it’s not dangerous.”
“And at least he’s never lied to you” she said lightly “so we know it isn’t.”
And yet, as they looked at one another, they knew exactly what they were going to do.
It didn’t surprise Sam when he woke up a few nights later and Dev was gone. He looked at his watch – shortly after midnight. It all made sense. He quickly got up and got dressed. When he left his room, Joan was already waiting for him. “I saw Dev leave.”
“He alright?”
“Seemed so, just intent on getting somewhere as quickly as he could. I don’t think they’ll be difficult to find, though; look out the window, there are more people about.”
And indeed, Sam could see a few of their neighbours hurrying into a certain direction.
They left as well.
“Why do you think this happens?” Sam asked quietly as they slipped through the dark streets.
“No idea. Maybe even the dead need to have some fun now and then. After you told me, I looked it up and apparently, there’ve been reports about this kind of thing for centuries.”
He nodded. “And Dev’s a good dancer.”
She laughed. “Better than you and your two left feet, at least.”
They arrived at a square near the cemetery. It wasn’t difficult to find Dev amidst the dancers, again with that faraway look on his face. But true to what he had told him, he was clearly not in danger, and nor were the other dancers.
He looked at Joan when they were approached by a man in eighteenth-century clothing and a lady who looked to be in her thirties, but they were pale and quiet, and it wasn’t difficult to guess that they, like half of the others, were…
They had gone so far, however, and so, they accepted the silent offer to dance.
It was strange, and bizarre, and in a way, exhilarating. Sam did indeed have two left feet, but suddenly, it didn’t seem to matter.
He didn’t know how long they danced for, but suddenly –
“Sammy? You and Joanie were called to dance too?”
He turned his head to find Dev looking like he had just woken up from a dream. His dancing partner curtseyed and all but floated away.
He shook his head. “No. We just wanted to come.”
Joan, whose dance had finished by now as well, joined them and hugged Dev. “There you are, big brother.”
He shook his head when she pulled back. “I can’t believe you shared a Totentanz just like that.”
“Get used to it” he said, punching his shoulder. “We should get back though, before Mum and Dad notice us missing… I have a feeling they wouldn’t like to hear about this.”
Dev laughed. “Guess not.”
And together, the three Thursday siblings danced almost all the way home.