Title: Adam of the Wicca ~ Air
Pairing/Characters: Adam, Hermes, references to other Greek Gods
Rating (Word Count): 10 x 100
Warning(s): Magic and wicca, stream of consciousness (on Adam’s part – sort of?)
Author's notes: I’ve had this idea for ages now that with all of Adam’s curiosity about the occult and things off the beaten path, he must have come across wicca at some point, probably has friends who are in a coven. What would it be like for him to become a wiccan initiate? And, then, well, the Glam mods went and named the next four prompts like it was Yule or something and I kinda had to do it. Also, Minxie is a total enabler and I love her for it.

Pre-readers and Betas: Minxie, Aislinn – thank you muchly!

~~~

1.

“Hast thou the courage to make the assay?”

The question echoes through the room, winds its way to Adam’s ears, under the blindfold, into his consciousness.

His lips are dry, his body vibrating with need and desire and, yeah, a little bit of fear, and so much want. He’s studied for this, read the books; carved out time between recording sessions and promotional appearances to meet with everyone, to circle with them and learn. He’s worked for this. It’s time.

“Yes,” he says after a moment. Nervousness like he hasn’t felt since the Idol auditions hits him.

“Then step forward.”

2.

He stumbles on nothing, his feet cold on the stone floor. A step further and the wind picks up. Wind inside a room inside a house in LA.

Another step and another- the path in front of him curves to the left, into darkness. Darker still behind the blindfold. He takes a breath and pushes onward.

Tendrils of cold air tug at his feet, holding him back with each step. He makes himself keep going, one step at a time, even as sweat breaks out across his bare back. Each step takes him deeper into the labyrinth, deeper into himself.

3.

Light pierces the darkness, throwing shadows at his feet. Each shifting strand of light suggests an alternate path, other possibilities. For Adam, there’s nowhere to go but forward.

He continues on, focusing on the light expanding ahead of him, regulating his breathing and his fear.

One more step and the path cuts off. At his feet is a gaping chasm. Birds fly past calling out to him and to each other.

Adam hesitates; he can’t see the bottom.

“Take a step and fall into the glitter,” a voice whispers.

He closes his eyes and steps into the abyss.

4.

He’s caught in strong arms, spun and turned, whirling through the air, towards the sunrise with laughter echoing in his ears. His heart invents a dozen new drum beats before his brain catches up with his body.

He’s flying. They are flying.

“I knew you could do it,” his benefactor shouts over the wind.

Adam laughs and holds his arms out, like wings, like childhood, like wisdom.

“Yes!” the voice shouts, pride and happiness clear in his tone. “Fly with me, beautiful.”

The arms loosen, just a circle of surety around him, and then let go altogether.

5.

Adam dips, his wings unsteady at first, and his stomach curdles.

“Don’t look down! Not yet!” he’s told.

He closes his eyes and focuses all of his energy on lifting his wings up, pushing them down. He’s hunting for a rhythm as old as the wind. Understanding blossoms across his mind, he can feel the air-currents around him. He shifts his wing tips just so, and slides on to the path, settling within the welcoming cries of a flight of bronze-edged hawks.

Alongside him another man-bird grins and tilts enormous wings against the current. “I knew you could do it.”

6.

“How did you know?” Adam asks, heartache piling up in his throat, grief clogging his words.

Hermes smiles. “I’ve always known you.”

The god angles away, golden coronet winking in the sun, then looks back over his shoulder at Adam before dropping towards the earth.

“Wait!” Adam calls out.

“Come,” is his answer.

Adam follows, dropping his chest forward, spiraling down after his teacher and tormentor.

“What? Did you think this would be easy?” Hermes asks as Adam comes alongside him.

“No, but –“

“Not like this?”

“No.”

“Stop thinking. Listen. The wind will tell you everything, if you listen.”

7.

His wings are gone. His body is gone. He can’t breathe. It doesn’t matter. He is breath itself.
All around him light expands. He watches as Apollo drives Helios across the sky with a crack of his whip. Nyx follows in their wake, her cloak of stars spreading out behind her. She smiles at Adam, all of the universe in her eyes.

“Drink,” she says, and the stars are inside him mixing with all of time. Adam throws his head back and laughs.

“Now you understand!” Hermes says.

Adam shakes his head, tears running down his face.

“Exactly,” Hermes replies

8.

A lifetime later, Adam is lying on the ground watching another dawn light the clouds. His stomach rumbles.

“I’m hungry.” And he is. He’s starving. Needing – something.

“Here,” Hermes says and hands him a plate. Smoke coils around the edges and voices call out from the center.

“I can’t eat this.”

A million billion voices chant his name through the enticing smoke.

“Eat that, and you will live forever.”

Adam opens his mouth, tilts the plate to feast on people’s hopes. It lasts a second, a hundred years, and then he’s bent over, retching, purging it all from his body.

9.

“False praise will kill you every time,” Hermes says sadly. He’s holding Adam’s hair, keeping him steady while the last bits trickle out of Adam’s mouth.

Shaken to his core, Adam sinks into the warmth of Hermes’ arms. “What do I do?” he whispers, hope gone with the food.

Hermes kisses his sweaty cheek. “You go on. You sing from your heart and you feed your soul with honest work, real appreciation.”

“I thought I was.”

Hermes nods. “We all do. The trick is to make your way back to the path when it tilts out from under your feet.”

10.

“Come on,” Hermes says, tugging Adam to his feet. “Time to go.”

“Where?”

Hermes pulls Adam into a hug and whispers in his ear, “Wherever your path leads you.”

Without warning Adam’s shoved backwards, into the void. He spins out, clutches at the clouds that slip through his fingers. He cries out, then remembers that he has no control. He stops fighting and lets the currents take him where they will.

In the silence, Adam wrestles with his doubt, clings to faith.

He closes his eyes and breathes.

His feet touch the ground.

The cacophony in his head goes quiet.


~~~

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