Wringing Troubled Waters From Stone: One
The last beach trip Logan has been on revealed what Janus Ekans truly was, and how insignificant Logan was beside him.
Logan had naively thought the waves of time had long since washed away any trace of his past... but Janus was back to do what he did best, and unfortunately his superiority wasn’t the only thing he brought with him.
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Not putting a taglist cause I can’t find it at the moment. Uh if you want to be tagged lmk.
Chapter One:
Never more had he hated his office. Summer was raging outside, and here he sat. Inside the baking building. While he generally wasn’t one to slack off, the heat had plummeted his motivation to new lows. But he himself wasn’t the one to blame. It had been the fault of the broken A/C unit, the very one which he had called the building’s managerial staff about, days ago, and the very one that the managerial staff had neglected to fix. As such, the neglect unfortunately led to the minds within the office slowing down to a half or even a quarter of their usual speed. A sigh left his lips as he looked through the blinds on his office space to his employees on the other side of the glass. Through the cracks he could see a number of them had managed to find a rhythm in walking in circles around a fan so each got a turn, and silently he wondered how much arguing had led to their decision. Those who weren’t in the midst of a fan march however (which in all honesty should make them hotter rather than cooler), simply stared at the broken unit longingly. It seemed that yet again the day would be far from productive. A frown of thought formed on his face as he looked to his ceiling, “Would they work if I said they could leave early?” Pros and cons ran through his mind in answer, but before his sluggish mind could settle on an answer the office door flew open.
“Logan guess what!?”
“Patton,” Logan started with a sigh as he looked to his ever-energetic assistant. “There is a phone, you don’t need to shout.”
The man paused in the doorway as if such a thought hadn’t occurred to him before he spoke again, “The newbie is here! Wanna meet him?”
Logan held in a sigh of relief, perhaps a new team member would motivate everyone to do better for first impressions sake. He gave Patton a nod as he rose to his feet and adjusted his gray suit jacket, grateful for the way it covered how sweaty he truly was. As he came out from behind his desk, Patton hopped forward on one leg- it seemed the man truly wished to do anything other than use the crutches he had been given. Logan held in a sigh, but he fully intended to comment on Patton’s behavior and how it reflected the company, but the dryness of his throat, and the plummeting of his stomach stopped any words from leaving his mouth as the newcomer came forward and held out a hand. “Janus Ekans. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ackroyd.”
“He was the best among all the candidates!” Patton smiled. “So, Logan meet Janus, Janus, Logan.”
Logan gave a hard swallow and tried to use his best “unaffected” mask and yet as always, those hazel eyes seemed to pierce it through. And yet he returned the handshake ignoring how his skin seemed to burn as he did. “I hope you can handle the position?” He tried to keep his tone flat, and yet all the tremors refused to be ironed out. Janus acknowledged none of these things with words or even in changing gaze, and yet Logan as the man nodded, Logan felt bare as ever.
“I swear to do my best,” He promised simply. “I may just be a temp, but I don't plan to act that way. So, what would you like me to do first?”
As his hand was released Logan let it fall, eyes darting around the office as he looked for something useless the man could do- something that would keep him far away. When his slacking employees caught his eye. “I’m sure you can tell our air conditioning is broken. Go talk to the building manager and don't come back until you have good news.”
“Understood.” He turned on his heel and walked out without any hesitation, but though Logan’s gaze was fixated on the retreating figure he could still feel Patton’s look of disapproval. “Do you want it fixed or not?” He asked, returning to his desk.
“That’s a bit unfair though,” Patton replied gently.
Logan waved him off without reply.
“I can’t do much with this right now as I am missing a part, but I should be able to have the whole thing fixed by the end of the day tomorrow.”
The look of shock on his face was impossible for Logan to hide but thankfully Janus missed his expression as he walked the man to the elevator. It didn’t make sense. How the hell had Janus managed to get that done within three hours when he had been asking for, for days? If Janus was aware he had just completed an impossible feat, he didn’t show it. Instead, when he returned, he looked to Logan, “I had reviewed your schedule for the rest of the day, and you should leave soon if you want to reach Piyn LLC. in time for your two-thirty.”
“Already?”
“I checked the traffic, seems a gas line or something burst last night. We’ll have to take a detour.”
“Alright,” he sighed. “but you are driving.”
“I am?” he asked in surprise.
“I don’t drive in the rain.”
The conversation in the car was dull and simple as Janus recited what was to be discussed in the meeting and his thoughts on it. It seemed the man was not only skilled and getting people to fix things, but in memorization as well. But even so Logan’s mind was far from the present conversation. “Why are you doing this?” he asked, suddenly turning to face the man.
“Patton said you like to hear meeting details in the car.”
“No not that, I mean- you’re treating me as if we are complete strangers.”
Janus' hazel gaze flickered away from the road to Logan’s face before he spoke. “Because we are. We haven’t spoken since we were kids.”
“We went to the same high school.”
“That doesn’t mean much,” he replied, turning just enough to give Logan a slight laugh. But as the sound hit his ears Logan’s attention was glued to that scar over Janus' left eye. It was a long gash from just over his eyebrow which narrowed until it came to a stop on his cheek. But as if sensing Logan’s gaze Janus sat straight forward again; his scar hidden from view as he stared at the slow-moving cars with a frown. “It has still been a long time,” he continued. “And honestly, we could have gone to different schools and I wouldn't have noticed any difference. So, in that regard, I don't know you.”
“I see...” Logan replied, his mouth moving in what felt like a robotic way. “I suppose you are right.” He too focused his gaze on the road ahead, but he spoke just enough to ask the other question on his mind. “Weren’t you going to be a cop?”
In the corner of his eye Janus gave a noncommittal shrug, “Plans and money change... Anyway, should I continue with the meeting information?”
“Yes.”
Janus did so, but those words were not the ones which had imprinted themselves on Logan’s mind. Different schools. Is that how it had truly seemed to him? That back then they had been so far apart they may have very well been complete strangers- that they hadn’t even met. And yet, if that was true... how is it that Logan had always managed to feel Janus' suffocating presence? He had felt it when he came in second at the spelling bee, he had felt it when he had been passed over for awards, and he had felt it when he would get back a test. Because then it hadn’t mattered to his parents that he had gotten a perfect score, not when the Ekans Boy had gotten the extra credit in addition. It didn’t matter that he was at the top of his class senior year, because the Ekans Boy had graduated early. And then when he had gotten into college, his scholarship hadn’t been high enough. When he came back for vacations even the fucking Dean’s List had meant nothing because the Ekans Boy was already well on his way to pursuing his dream of becoming a detective. Logan had failed in every subject, every competition, every manner of being in his family’s eyes… so he chose not to try. Like the coward he was he ran away from his problems and ran away from that stupid little town without looking back. He had run and then for the longest time he had been naive enough to think that he had been truly freed from Janus Ekans’ influence, so of course now he sat side by side with his rival- with the man who didn’t even know they were rivals. Because he was simply, that perfect.
~~~~
“Morning sir. Coffee? I picked it up from a place Patton recommended. Oh, I also got you a bagel because they were having a promotion.”
“T-thank you,” Logan said slowly in surprise. He had barely sat down at his desk and admired the cool air around him before Janus had appeared before him. “Were you-”
“Able to finish my write up from yesterday? I was. There’s a copy in both your physical and email inbox since I wasn’t sure what you preferred.”
“Email is fine.”
“Good to know,” he acknowledged. “Now, aside from a lunch meeting with the director of ELD and a phone conference with the CEO this afternoon, your schedule is quite free today. As for the lunch, I took the liberty of checking the weather and it’s going to rain, so I’ll drive. But during the meeting would you like me to return to the office or wait in the car?”
“You can eat with us.” Logan replied shortly. “With that you’re dismissed.”
“Thank you, sir. In the meantime, I’ll coordinate your schedule for the next few weeks with Patton. And I’ll come give you notice ten minutes before we should leave.”
Logan made a noise of acknowledgement as Janus left, closing the door behind him, and Logan couldn’t help but wonder when Patton was getting out of his cast. Because of course it was only Janus' second day, and of course he already appeared perfect at the job. But then again Logan supposed that was natural. But after all these years, all he had over Janus was his job. But as he read over documents Janus had supplied, he couldn’t help but wonder if Janus would be better at that too.
A month had passed both terrifically quickly and horrifically slowly. And unsurprisingly at this point, all of that had been the result of Janus Ekans. The man who had made himself indispensable in the office. Somehow, he had arisen from a simple temporary assistant to reorganizing how some departments coordinated with one another to give the smoothest operations possible. And as if that wasn’t enough to bother Logan on a daily basis then everyone reminded him how much of an asset Janus was and that he should hire Janus full time. Logan previously had never been a person to bring emotions into his work, but since Janus' arrival it had become something harder and harder to avoid. His envy had been something ingrained in him since childhood, and it still refused to be satiated. Feelings and work didn’t belong together, but when being forced to face those blonde curls and hazel eyes all day- needing to face that scar he had indirectly caused- how was he supposed to keep them separate?
“Boss, your mother is waiting on line one.”
Logan’s lips dipped into a slight frown as he pocketed his phone. “She called here?”
Janus nodded once, “Yeah. I told her you’d probably be back soon, and she insisted on waiting.”
“In the future,” Logan started moving to enter his office. “You can ignore her calls.” He closed the door behind him without waiting for a response and with a sigh he set his things down. The phone on his desk was blinking. A small little red light to show his mother was waiting. Part of him wanted to decline the call entirely, to completely ignore what she had to say- just as he did when he had ignored her call when he was in the car. But part of him wondered if what she truly had to say was that important if she had taken the next step to call the office. His eyes watched the light blink on and off and on and off, and each time it did his decision on the matter changed… But what if she was calling because something was wrong? He took his gaze off of it for only a moment as he took his seat, but when he looked back the pace of the blinking seemed to have increased. It was getting faster and faster and in his chest his heart banged almost painfully against his ribs over and over and over and-
“Finally, Logan!” his mother’s voice came. “Do you know how long you’ve kept me waiting?”
“What do you need?” He asked her.
“More respect in your tone for one, it is clear you have yet to grow out of that attitude of yours. But I called because I was worried.”
“Worried?”
“I spoke to Cathy next door and she was telling me that that city is crawling with murderers. Do you know how many open cases there are right now?”
“A lot?”
She gave an annoyed huff, “Don’t give me that when I am actually concerned.”
“I am perfectly fine,” he told her simply. “But I need to go. I have another meeting to prepare for.”
“Alright but before you do, you must tell me how you managed to get the Ekans Boy to work for you?” There was more emotion in her tone now- excitement, happiness, intrigue and yet when she spoke of her concern, she had sounded more annoyed than anything. She had probably only called because Cathy had suggested it. She had probably only called to keep up her perfect appearance. And yet in Janus answering the call she had gained a reason to truly care about this conversation.
“He applied and got it. That’s it,” Logan said flatly. “Now I need to go.” She said something else, but he chose not to listen. Instead hanging up the phone with more force than necessary. A sigh escaped him as he sat back in his chair silently fuming at his own stupidity. Why had he ever expected anything different from her?
~~~~
“It’s gonna be a busy one today Boss.”
Logan looked up as Janus entered his office coffee in one hand and a tablet in the other. “How busy?”
“Very. Once ten am hits it is non-stop until after dinner- since you have meetings during both meals.”
Logan took the tablet and scrolled through his schedule with a frown, “Patton can go with me to the dinner. He has a good reputation with those clients.”
“I’ll let him know. Anything else sir?”
“Did you ensure tomorrow’s lunch reservation?”
“That I did. Off topic I have been coordinating your coming schedule, and I couldn't help but notice you don’t leave yourself very much free time. I am well aware of the fact you work during your weekends. Shouldn’t you take a day off?” He pointed to the screen. “If you move this meeting on the 11th to the 15th then you’ll have the 11th off which gives you a long weekend to do something other than work. Maybe you could go to-”
“I don't take vacations.”
“You could try. And I could always move things around anyway and you decide when the time comes. Because you are going to burn out otherwise. It's summer, go to the beach or something.”
“I don't go to beaches.”
“Are you just against the idea of vacations?”
“Yes. I don't like beaches or water. I’m sure you can figure out why. Now go.”
Understanding came to Janus' face slowly before the top of his scar stretched as his left eyebrow rose. “Are you... are you talking about when I drowned?”
“I already asked you to leave.”
Janus didn’t argue; rather he left, leaving the heavy silence in his wake and his words ringing in Logan’s ears. Janus was a deliberate person, that much Logan knew. He was a man who was deliberate with his words and everything he did… So why was the word “almost” missing from his sentence?
“That food was so good!” Patton cheered as they left the restaurant.
“And you ate a lot of it,” Logan nodded.
“Don’t worry I still got room for the boss-assistant lunch tomorrow!”
“I wasn’t worried.”
“Have you decided what you’re gonna do about Janus though? You said initially you might keep whomever on if they did well.”
Logan held in his frustration. It was something he had said, and Patton would be the one person truly affected by the decision. “I won't spoil tomorrow,” he answered finally.
Patton gave a slight laugh as his ride pulled up, “How did I know that’s what you were gonna say?”
As Patton left Logan gave a sigh as he turned to walk back to where he was parked. Because more importantly there was more work to be done. Working late in the office wasn't exactly something Logan enjoyed, but it was certainly something he made the best of. The quiet was calming with the echo of only his feet against the linoleum floor and the sound of the elevator ding were things he could only appreciate when he had the building to himself. The soft hum of the elevator was a comforting sound, and in place of its music he silently wondered what music he should play loudly throughout the office. All his simple thoughts fell to the wayside at the door’s opening, and they were replaced with a single one. Who the hell had trashed the office? Papers were strewn everywhere, tables were overturned, lights were on in some areas and flickering in others- all of it culminating in Logan’s heart jumping into his throat. His hand instinctively went to his phone to call the police when a shout of pain grabbed his attention- and before he could stop himself his legs were moving. His pulse was pounding in his ears as he dashed around the corner, but any adrenaline left him at once as he froze at the sight of someone lying on the floor.
“Don’t!” A familiar voice called sharply as the person pulled himself to his feet, revealing the blood trickling from his face. “ Leave .”
Logan wanted to ask questions- wanted to protest- but no words were leaving the tightness of his throat. Janus however didn't hesitate. He rushed forward and grabbed Logan’s arm in a tight yet cold grip dragging Logan back to the elevators and hit the button- looking behind him all the while.
“What’s going on?” Logan forced out- wishing his voice held more strength than it did.
“Listen to me,” Janus gritted out. “Just go, it's dangerous here. You need to leave and-” any words he was going to say were missed as Logan found himself tackled to the ground. He didn’t have time to register the pain which traveled up his body as something crashed into the wall where they had been standing. The sound pierced his eardrums and pain erupted in his chest as breathing and no longer existed as second nature. “Be quicker on the warning next time!” Janus snapped at the air as he stood up and placed himself between some unseen foe and Logan. “I need you to listen carefully ,” he said after a moment. Keep quiet, keep your eyes closed, and don't move . Got it?”
Logan closed his eyes allowing tears to fall as he took a shuddering breath as fear ate away at his very being. Janus was mumbling words to himself, but Logan brought his hands around his head in a false sense of protection as tried to focus on breathing. The one thing he could at least pretend he had control over. But it was to no avail. Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen which added to his building panic which led to him opening his eyes. Janus was standing on a desk in the center of the room. He held something in his hands but in the flickering light it was impossible to tell what- but it was impossible to miss as he dove to the floor just in time for the desk he had been standing smashed to bits. Was he... fighting the air? He wasn’t able to dwell on it however as a shout of pain left Janus' lips as he was sent flying back across the room into a wall. Logan reached a hand forward as if he could do anything other than curl in on himself and cry. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe- he could only feel the pressure building in and on his chest. At first, he thought of it as nothing more than the fear- than the panic- but it grew tighter and tighter, pinning his arms to his body and wrapping around him- crushing him just like those waves had all those years ago. Something was holding him- something was crushing him- and yet tears and soft pleas were all he could give in protest.
He was going to die.
Vision swam, mixing with the tears and the darkness at the corner of his vision but through he could see Janus rise across the room. The other man’s movements were slow and sluggish, but he moved just the same. A scream for help died within Logan’s throat replaced by a strangled gurgle. His eyes closed in desperation as he accepted his fate when pain flared on his cheek. It was burning, but neither it nor the crushing weight vanishing, were more important as something else became visible. It was large, gray, and grotesque- and more so it wasn’t human . Its “face” held only a mouth and two protruding horns where eyes should be. Four arms were visible but two had fallen to the wayside but two more were still loosely wrapped around Logan’s torso.
“Die already,” Janus' voice grumbled as he stabbed what looked like a sword into the creature’s back, and with a deafening screech it burst into dust.
“Well at least that’s over,” came a voice. One belonging to a smaller and similar version of the now dead creature, save for this one had deep purple eyes.
“That’s all you're gonna say?” Janus asked it in disbelief, hoisting a sword onto his shoulder? “Help him with his injuries.”
The creature rolled his eyes and took its hands out of its sweatshirt pocket as it stepped forward- and Logan shrunk back holding his breath as he did. “You can see me?” The creature asked, its hand touching Logan’s face and sending ice down every nerve.
Janus' attention whipped back to Logan as a string of curses left his mouth, but ultimately, he gave the freezing, shaking, pathetic Logan a forced smile, “Get some rest.”
~~~~
The sound of an alarm shocked Logan awake. His body jerked violently as if he had woken from a nightmare, but he was quick to squeeze his eyes tight. His head held a dull ache, and his body felt sore, but with memories which felt too real to be a dream crashing to the forefront of his mind neither seemed of consequence.
“Sorry, I forgot to turn that off,” Janus' voice came, causing Logan to peel open his eyes and he saw as a blurred hand held out his glasses. Upon putting them on it was clearer to see that he was laying on the bed in an unfamiliar room, Janus sitting in a chair by his side. “How do you feel?”
“What happened?” Logan breathed out in return.
“I’ll answer that later. You need to rest for now.”
“I can rest after I know the answer.”
Janus had the audacity to look amused, “First you should know that the office is closed today. It’s been all over the news how robbers went wild last night. But because of that all of your meetings have been rescheduled outside of your lunch with Patton and I, given it's not pressing.”
“Robbers?” Logan laughed in disbelief as he forced his body to sit up. “I know what I fucking saw- and- and robbers were not it! Tell me what the hell is going on?”
Hazel eyes searched Logan’s face before he frowned. “Let’s just say I deal in things most people can’t see,” he said slowly, running his fingers over the rim of the mug he held. “I fight demons and lesser monsters. There has been an uptick in demon activity in the area with your building acting as a midpoint, so I got myself a job there to gain information. I’ve been staying late every night going through the entire building systematically to search for what the demons could possibly want, but last night one found it’s way inside. That’s what attacked you.”
“Demons?” Logan asked in disbelief.
“Can you think of a better explanation for what you saw?”
“I…” Logan’s hands balled into fists as he swallowed the panic rising like bile in his throat. “Why did I see it?”
“The specifics will worry you more so let’s just say you can see them due to a mistake on my part. You’ll be okay despite it, but you can now see the occult.”
Logan tried to process, giving a deep breath which hurt his chest more than he’d admit. “You’re too nonchalant about this.”
Janus gave a shrug, “I’m used it. You’ll get to that point eventually.”
Used to it. Could someone ever be used to seeing things like that? “When did you start seeing them?”
Janus set his mug down on the side table as he paused as if debating if the question was even worth answering before he spoke. “How much do you remember of that trip to Pike Beach the neighborhood took when we were kids?”
Too much. Far too much.
They had been nine then. And yet despite all these years passing, so much of that day was still clear as day in Logan’s memory. Five families had taken the twenty-minute drive to Pike Beach on the other side of their sleepy little town. There were seven children between them: two thirteen-year-olds, one eleven, the two nine-year-olds, one five-year-old, and a toddler. It had been a hot and cloudless day, so his mother had slathered him in sunscreen while Janus had gotten off with barely any since his mother was focused on her younger daughter. Logan could easily recall how cool and refreshing the water had been, and how much fun making the sandcastles was before his hard work had been ruined as the older children began fighting and the sand sculptures had been destroyed in the crossfire. It was that pointless rivalry between the two thirteen-year-olds which had brought the children to the water as the waves grew.
“There’s supposed to be a sandbar out there,” one had told the other. “It's supposed to be really cool- but I’m sure you’re too scared to come with us.”
“Am not!”
As their endless arguing continued Logan had turned to Janus beside him, “Are you coming?”
His friend had given a frown as his gaze fell to his feet, “Dad said I can't go past my stomach. And Mom says I can’t leave Anna.”
Logan had paused in thought before he had pulled along with him to the water’s edge. “Tell Anna to play in the sand by your parents, and once we’re on the sandbar the water won't even reach your stomach! I promise, my dad took me last week.”
Janus hadn’t been convinced, “I’m not as good a swimmer as you.”
“Just copy me and stay close, okay?”
And just like that they had went. Without considering how the waves were rising, without considering how the wind was picking up, and without considering how the tide was coming in, they went. And by some miracle they had made it. Logan could recall the triumph in his chest as he held up Janus' hand in victory as he declared his friend to be a better swimmer than they both had thought. But the joy was short lived as shouts of worried and disapproving parents came from the beach demanding their return. On the way back Logan had stuck close to Janus as he had promised- but since his friend had his attention, he didn’t hear the screamed warnings.
The sudden and harsh weight forced air from his lungs as pain ripped across Logan’s back. The pressure shoved him down so quickly that water shot up his nose and mouth to where it didn't belong. In reflex he gagged- only swallowing more water at the action but even so he tried to muster the little strength he could and kick to the surface. But the undertow only mocked him as it pulled him farther beneath. Panic paid him no favors as even though desperation kept his brain running faster than usual, his body wouldn’t so much as flinch. He was frozen. Frozen with his visions fading his only thoughts now wishing that he had instead told Janus he would wait with him on the sand. That together they could wait for the other kids to come back- that maybe they could have built a sandcastle in the meantime- that maybe he could- that maybe- that-
Something slammed on his back and water expelled itself from Logan’s mouth and nose. It came again, but the pain meant nothing to the choking feeling he felt as the water left him. He gasped in air when he could and felt as a pair of arms held him close. He peeled open his eyes watching the blurry world as everything sounded as silent as it had under the waves. Until her scream pierced through the cloud vaulting him forward into clarity. He was in his father’s arms, his mother fretting beside him- but Logan’s attention didn’t lie with his parents, it lied with Janus' still form on the beach.
“Janus!” The cry and shout of despair that came from his mother hovering him would be one which haunted Logan to this very day. It was always the same nightmare, her scream- and Janus' lifeless face. Janus was pale. So pale- it didn’t make sense that a person could look that pale in such a short period of time. But then again with the way blood streamed over his face perhaps it… Janus' mother ran her hands over her son’s face wiping away blood as her screeches continued while her husband had shouted at other parents looking for a place to put the blame. Others had shouted back about how ridiculous he was being but another mother- a nurse- had rushed forward and thrown herself down at the dying child’s side. She moved with a purpose, her hands pushing down on Janus' chest firmly before she paused to blow air into his lungs and then resume. Logan could remember eight different sounds from those moments. His own labored breathing, Anna’s soft cries, Janus' mother’s pleading to a higher power, distant sirens, the mocking waves, and the silence in which Janus should be. Janus should be standing up and filling that silence with his attitude, with his laughter- or even a single breath or just anything at all . Anything that proved he was still alive. Watching her perform CPR had felt like an eternity because each time she tried, and Janus failed to breathe it felt like time had been halved. Logan watched her try again and again and again and he had seen the frustration and sadness on her face as she tried everything in her power to avoid declaring what everyone present seemed to already know…
He and Janus should have stayed on the beach- no not just that he should have asked their parents for permission before trying something so stupid. He had just been trying to look cool for Janus when he told him the loophole. He had been trying to look cool for his best friend when he left out the part that he had never been to the sandbar alone. Tears and sobs did nothing to help Logan breathe easier, but he felt his father hold him tighter when began to cry- no- he had already been crying, hadn’t he? Because he had ki-
The strangled gasp which Janus gave was one of miracles. He had coughed and sputtered, spitting up water as his parents held him close. Logan’s mother had wiped at his tears as she assured him that Janus was okay. That Janus was okay and alive. Janus was alive. Janus was alive- but the damage that day had done was irreversible.
Logan had begun to fear water in most forms, and while his parents had been kind about it at first their frustration had grown to anger but Logan had held on hope that his best friend would understand him… but Janus wouldn’t speak to anyone. And he avoided Logan any chance he got without ever explaining why. Logan hadn’t wanted to believe that Janus was just as ashamed of him as his parents were, he didn’t want that to be true. But then when Janus had come out of his shell after over a full year had passed, Logan had accepted reality. Janus had come back to the world back reborn as a golden child to be revered as if proving to Logan’s family it could be done. That their son could be something . Something other than he was… They all kept moving forward and with thick ropes had tried to drag Logan along with them. And yet even as years passed and Logan had loosened his bonds and began to take steps forward on his own it still felt as if everyone- including his current self- had left part of him to stand rooted and alone, on the shore of Pike Beach.
“Enough,” Logan answered finally, his voice quiet. “I remember more than enough.”
Janus gave a slow nod, “Back then when I was forced under the waves, I slammed my face into a rock and well I-”
“You died,” Logan finished for him with as much strength as he could muster. “You said you drowned, didn’t you?”
The surprised yet pleased smile Janus gave in response didn't fit the subject of the conversation, nor did it fit Logan’s trauma. “Correct. Back then I died, but in the moments before I did, I met the spirit of someone else who had once died in the same way, but in his case no one found his body. And soon enough he became a vengeful spirit, and later a demon. So, I made a deal with him and brought us both back. It was hard in the beginning, neither of us knew how to coexist, and deal with the things only I could see, but yes. I’ve been able to see them since I died.”
“And now, you fight them?”
“It wasn’t that linear, but sure. Make sense?”
Logan wasn’t quite sure anything could quite make sense ever again, so instead he asked a question of his own. One which had been on the tips of his tongue since he and Janus had met again. “Do you regret it? Swimming with us that day?”
“No.” The answer came without hesitation, and without any doubt. Without any animosity, without anything which Logan had spent so much of his life holding to. And with the answer it felt as if some part of everything finally let go.
As a few of the long-burdened weights fell from his shoulders, Logan forced himself to maintain his composure. “Good to know.”
Janus gave him a small knowing smile, but he didn't press, “What’s important right now however, is the future. At this point I don’t believe your building is safe. With that in mind I’d like to ask you for permission to stay and continue my investigation. I’m not sure why your building is the center of so much demonic activity, but I intend to find out. So, can I stay?”
Work and feelings had no place together. For his entire life, Logan had found himself feeling envious and inferior to Janus in nearly everything he did. But perhaps Janus had always pushed himself to work hard so he could have a place within the world, within the world outside of what he alone could see. Either way at this point his feelings didn't matter, so Logan swallowed his pride as he forced his body to sit up and outstretched his hand. Feelings didn’t matter, not when Janus was his best chance of staying alive.
~~~~
Chapter One - Chapter Two