The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans by Amy Crook

than this.”
    Julian sighed. “I’m almost sorry I called her,
it sounds like this is all being a huge pain for her.”
    “You did the right thing, and she’d
agree,” said Alex, kissing Julian’s hair. “One more message.”
    The third message was from MacLean, asking them to
bring dessert on Saturday and confirming the time, which made them both laugh
with relief. “At least we’ve got something to look forward to,” said
Julian cheerfully. “I like Thomas.”
    “So do I, he’s very easy on the eyes,”
teased Alex. “But also just too nice to hate.” He paused, then said
in unison with Julian, “Like a puppy.”
    “Jerk,” said Julian, smacking his chest
gently. “But not as big of a jerk as Agent Jerkface.”
    “You sound like a five-year-old,” said
Alex fondly. He never seemed to mind when Julian’s sheltered upbringing showed
itself, which endeared him greatly to Julian and their friends. He snugged
Julian close, then called Murielle back, confirming they’d both be on their way
soon and happy to meet her at the coffee shop for pre-Fischer plotting.
    It wasn’t until they were in the cab that Alex
expressed the thought that had been tugging unpleasantly at Julian’s mind since
he’d heard Lapointe’s message. “I’m worried that the victim was connected
to you and Margaret by the Guild,” said Alex quietly, cuddling Julian
close.
    “Me, too,” Julian confided. “I don’t
want them to keep suspecting you.”
    “At least Mary Margaret’s alibi isn’t under
question,” said Julian, annoyed. “It’s stupid that they don’t trust
me about you.”
    “It’s stupid that they don’t trust us both,
it’s not as if they don’t know me,” said Alex, “but they’re just
doing their due diligence. Well, Murielle is, Fischer’s just a jerkface.”
    Julian giggled. “A jerkface with the face of a
jerk,” he agreed, deliberately juvenile this time.
    Alex rewarded him with a smile. “Just
so,” he said, nuzzling. “Have you thought about what sweets to take
to Thomas’?”
    They talked about that for the rest of the ride,
and went straight to their favourite booth in the coffee shop when they
arrived. Murielle was already there with three cups of coffee and the usual
treats for everyone. “I couldn’t stay another minute,” she said as
they got settled in with her and started with fixing their drinks. “Fischer
and Armistead seem to have formed a two-person Anti-Alex League.”
    “A match made in heaven,” said Julian,
screwing up his face into an approximation of Fischer’s disapproving scowl.
“They both make this face a lot, can you imagine the sex?”
    The surprised laughter was wonderful to hear, and
Murielle’s whole demeanour changed as the tension drained away. Alex said
something else equally horrible once the laughter died down, and then Murielle,
the commentary bouncing around the three of them until they were breathless and
giddy.
    “I’ll never be able to look at either of them
with a straight face again,” said Lapointe, but she didn’t seem to mind.
    Alex smirked. “Good, it’ll make them
wonder.”
    “They deserve it,” said Julian.
“Jerkfaces.”
    Murielle didn’t snort her coffee, but it was close.
    “All right, if we’re done acting like
children,” she said, trying to look stern, “we should talk about the
case.”
    Alex sighed hugely, but he was just playing.
“Yes, Mom,” he said all singsong.
    “So, Mary Margaret’s still not in trouble, right?”
asked Julian.
    Murielle nodded. “She’s still not, nor are
you, we’ve already established that neither of you knew Angel Billings.”
    “I haven’t met any of the other
apprentices,” said Julian. “It doesn’t really work like that, though
Mary Margaret said there’s a big midwinter banquet we could go to if we wanted.
It’s on the solstice, though, so we’ll probably be at Emmy’s or Victor’s.”
    “Probably not Victor’s,” said Alex.
“So boring.”
    “Well,