Chapter 3
Chapter Three
“I’m sorry we couldn’t be there to help,” Tighe said but Nox waved it off, handing him the kitten.
“You’re here now and I’m fine.” He looked around to make sure that everyone heard him.
Just about everyone was there, except Ingrid and the girls.
They were recovering at home, maintaining their independence from the rest of the team and the wider battle against Dùbhghlas.
That wasn’t at all surprising. The valkyrie weren’t loyal to a single deity but served the gods of war.
It helped that Clancy was on their side but Ingrid and their daughters wouldn’t have intervened on Nox’s behalf if the gods hadn’t favored him.
Both Nox and Nelson knew better than to take that for granted.
“Last night was rough but we’re still standing,” Nox said as he gestured around him.
No thanks to me.
While Nelson understood that he contributed in important ways, he couldn’t help feeling like he’d been more of a liability at Coudersport.
Nox must have sensed Nelson’s disappointment.
“Don’t do that,” he said softly, just to Nelson before addressing the room.
“We pulled together at the cabin and you all dropped everything when you heard I needed help. Thank you.” He nodded at the demon glaring in the corner.
Nelson didn’t know if it was all the warding and white magick or his natural disdain for Nox, but Smoak did not look pleased to be there.
“Don’t even think of thanking me. Niall made me do it and he’s making me stay for this,” he said with a dismissive swat.
Niall smiled sunnily from the sofa. Dubh’s sister, Scurry, was curled up on Niall’s lap and purring loudly. “I barely had to ask this time,” Niall said.
“What was the point of arguing?” Smoak returned, making Nox chuckle.
“Very wise.” He offered everyone a sheepish wince. “I haven’t been acting very wise lately. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been because you’re all so happy. I don’t want to do anything that will change that and I don’t want to lose any of you. Including Smoak.”
“Fuck off with that,” Smoak said and rolled his eyes.
“I will not.” Nox winked at Smoak before a frown creased his brow. “I haven’t had very much time to figure out what I’m supposed to do or how to do…god things. I know I’m not ready but I can’t put off this fight with Dùbhghlas much longer.”
Smoak let out a long, suffering groan from the corner.
“Just be a fucking god. Dùbhghlas sold his soul and turned himself into a demon so he can do all the things that you can do. He’s tortured himself and done unspeakable acts but all you have to do is turn it on.
Stop suppressing what is already there.”
“It’s not that simple!” Nox said, incredulous.
“Sure it is. You used to need a spiritual kick, either with Nelson’s d—”
Nelson shook his head. “Nope. That’s none of your business.”
“Agreed,” Nox said, wagging a finger at Smoak. “Some things are just for me to know and there are things you wouldn’t want us to find out about, I’m sure,” he added with a knowing lift of his brows.
Smoak gagged. “Congratulations, you’ve managed to make paganism prudish and boring.
But my point remains: you don’t need a boot camp or a fucking crash course because You.
Are. A. God. You set your bed on fire when you were a child and you simply decided to catch lightning the first time you saw a kraken. ”
“I’m sorry. He did what?” Nelson interrupted but Nox was suddenly interested in the ceiling and no one else would make eye contact with him.
Smoak smothered an amused snort and waved it off, advancing on Nox.
“No one had to teach you those things because they were already inside of you. Why?” he asked and cupped his ear but he didn’t wait for anyone to answer.
“That’s right! Because YOU’RE A MOTHERFUCKING GOD.
Stop letting Dùbhghlas run the game when you could just snap your fingers and vaporize him. ”
“No.” Nox leaned back, shaking his head.
“I don’t think I could—I wouldn’t—but there would still be consequences and I’m not smart enough to make those kinds of decisions.
I might be a god but I’m also a man who’s been here for less than thirty years.
That’s nothing! How am I supposed to know what’s right for the rest of the world?
” He threw his hands up and they were shaking as Nox laughed.
“It’s a terrible burden,” Merlin agreed sadly. “That is why you have me, and Clancy, and our brave, wise Nelson.”
“And you have us now!” Everly said as he poured himself a cup of tea at the sideboard. “I’m new too, but look at how much you’ve already taught me!” he boasted and Bryn offered Nox an apologetic grimace.
“I had my doubts at first and I might have been rooting against you but you’ve made a believer out of me.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Nox replied with a wink, then smiled warmly at Everly. “Thanks, buddy. That means a lot.”
“Do you think Dùbhghlas was there, that he was watching?” Everly asked, lowering onto the sofa between Arawn and Bryn. Fletcher was sitting on the armrest next to Arawn.
Nelson nodded. “I think that’s a safe assumption,” he said and Clancy grunted in agreement.
“If I had to guess, I’d say the whole thing was staged so that Dùbhghlas would have a front row seat. He knew Nox would be in an isolated place without any hellhounds or Everly to protect him. What better way to assess Nox and see how far he’s progressed as a fledgling god?”
“Probably,” Nox agreed but offered Clancy a sly smile. “I bet he wasn’t expecting us to have three valkyries with us. That had to be a fun surprise for old Hugh.”
That got a chuckle out of Clancy. He rubbed his nose and pretended to inspect the tips of his oxfords. “Ingrid trained them well, didn’t she?”
“I feel like a proud uncle,” Nox said, making Merlin hum in agreement.
“I never thought I’d live to see such a sight but they were truly magnificent! A wonder and a terror to behold!” he said excitedly.
Smoak’s face pinched and he glanced at Clancy with obvious disapproval. “That’s a hell of a secret to keep,” he muttered and Clancy’s eyes widened.
“Isn’t it?” he replied with a heavy dose of facetiousness.
“And for a very good reason,” Merlin stated as he pinned Smoak with a scolding look. “Couldn’t risk anyone leaking that to Dùbhghlas.”
There was a sheepish wince from Smoak. “I might have told him if I’d known,” he admitted. “But the fact remains that he knows now and he’s seen that the sun god can melt giants with his bare hands. He knows what you’re all capable of.”
“He’s right,” Nelson chimed in. “But what can we learn from that fight?” He turned to Merlin.
“What would it take to raise a dozen Fomorians?” he asked and received a delighted gasp from Merlin as he went to one of his rolling boards.
For Nelson, that was his cue to get his pencil and notepad out and prepare to copy.
“That’s our Nelson! Always asking the right questions.” Merlin picked up a piece of chalk with a dramatic flourish, then pointed it at Nox. “What do our texts tell us about the fate of the Fomorians?”
“They were all driven into the sea in the time of Nemed3, with the exception of one boat, carrying thirty Fomorians. History lost track of those surviving Fomorians and we’re just told they scattered,” he explained with a suggestive lift of his brows.
Merlin had been writing down names and dates, but spun, his little fists shaking. “It would be highly unlikely that the Huge Douchebag could have raised Fomorians from the sea. He may have mastered the art of dealing with demons, but to pry a dozen Fomorians from Manannán4? Ha!”
“Manannán?” Nelson parroted and Nox touched the center over his chest, smiling softly.
“He is the son of the sea and the great mist that protects the sacred resting places of the Tuatha Dé5.”
“Alright…” Nelson frowned at his notepad.
He’d scribbled what he thought were the keywords so he could do more research later but he already had a bad feeling about the parts he understood.
“This son of the sea wouldn’t be likely to help so Dùbhghlas found as many as thirty lost Fomorians and turned them into giant zombies. ”
“Fuck!” Bryn said as he scrubbed his face with his hands. “That’s a hell of a hunting expedition. I was trying to figure out how he found the dozen he had at Coudersport, but thirty?”
Marlin made an ominous sound. “That would require a very specific set of skills and I can think of only a few creatures that possess them.”
“Shit!” Arawn popped to his feet and stormed to the decanters. “A hellhound or a valkyrie. We’re the ferrymen of souls and we do not forget those we’ve carried,” he told them and Clancy swore, nodding tightly.
“This isn’t the work of any demon.”
Everyone looked in Smoak’s direction but he held up his hands, shrugging. “My horde knows better and they know how I punish those who defy the sanctity of death.”
“Fair enough,” Nox said, then cleared his throat. “Have you or any of your horde heard of Dùbhghlas adding any hellhounds or a valkyrie to his team?”
“Are there any other hellhounds?” Smoak asked, looking at Nox and the twins expectantly. “I wasn’t aware that there were any valkyrie slumming it in the Beltway but it appears there were three.”
The twins traded looks before shaking their heads.
“We only know of each other but we didn’t associate with any other magickal beings before we met Everly and Nox,” Arawn said.
“We kept to ourselves and minded our own business because that’s what was safest for us.
We didn’t know who else we could trust.”
“Numerous mythologies have hellhounds,” Nox said simply. “Secrecy has always been safest and it’s why we’re still standing here. But Dùbhghlas has somehow managed to find another hellhound or a valkyrie.”
Merlin humped, setting down his chalk. “Find? Do you suppose he just happened to cross paths with one during his travels?” he asked with a dubious sneer. “I do not and I do not think a living specimen would have suited his purposes.”
“So he found a dead one or he killed one,” Nelson summarized, his anger and his need for justice overwhelming him.
“Easy!” Nox whispered as he watched Nelson, then winced at Merlin. “Let’s hope it’s just one. Necromancy is hard and it takes a terrible toll on those who practice it. Dùbhghlas is in deep with the darkness and must have consumed some powerful demons if he’s already this strong.”
That got another scowl from Smoak. “Who allowed him to get that strong?” he asked Nox, but it was an accusation.
“I see…” Nox rubbed his lip thoughtfully.
“Should I cut down anyone who could become a threat to me in the future?” He raised his brows at Smoak.
“I’d have to start with you, obviously, but where would I draw the line?
Do I only strike down those that are powerful now, or do I take a more proactive approach and wipe out anyone whose magickal abilities or ambitions could threaten mine? ”
Smoak gave him a bored, flat look. “The writing was on the wall a long time ago with Dùbhghlas.”
“I saw similar writing in regards to you but I hoped that with time, you could change,” Nox argued but bowed his head.
“I can admit that I waited too long with Dùbhghlas, in hindsight. I had hoped that he would push his luck elsewhere or that some other bit of unfinished business would catch up with him first.”
“We’re beyond that so we may as well turn our attention to what can be done,” Merlin said briskly. “We must find out how Dùbhghlas did it and who or what we are up against.”
“Smoak…” Nox pressed his hands together and batted his eyelashes.
The demon was immune. “You’re pushing your luck.”
Nox’s lip wobbled. “Pretty please? I’m sure it wouldn’t be difficult to send a few of your demon minions to chat up some of Hugh’s demon minions… They don’t have to know why you’re checking on Dùbhghlas or who you’re sharing information with.”
“Very well,” Smoak sighed. “I’ll let you know if there’s demonic gossip about Dùbhghlas and any new nightmares in his entourage. But let’s keep it at that. Consider me a…technical consultant and only contact me when you’re stuck.”
“Deal!” Nox said quickly and pointed at Clancy. “Let’s say we were going to do a training montage. Where would we do it and which version of “Sweet Dreams” are we going with: the original Eurythmics version or the Weezer cover?”
Clancy blinked at him, then looked at Nelson and Merlin. “I didn’t understand anything he said after ‘training montage.’”
“I can’t help you,” Nelson said, shrugging, but Merlin looked thoughtful as he tapped his chin.
“While I do enjoy Weezer…I think the original version is more exciting.”
“You’re right.” Nox nodded and rubbed his hands together. “Now that that’s been sorted, what are we thinking for lunch?”
“I’m out,” Smoak declared before he vanished.
Clancy groaned and rubbed his temple. “Gods help us.”
“Tacos?” Everly suggested obliviously, making Nox cheer.
“I could go for some tacos,” Merlin said as he turned back to his board.
An exuberant discussion followed with the twins arguing about who could eat more tacos in one sitting and Niall and Shelby debating which kind of tacos was superior: street, birria, crunchy, rolled, soft.
.. Tighe informed everyone that he had never tried tacos and the Fomorians and Dùbhghlas were immediately forgotten.
It was now imperative that Tighe received a comprehensive education on the various types of tacos and try as many as possible.
“I’ll find a takeout menu,” Nelson announced, resigned to his other role as errand man.
For reasons Nelson had yet to understand, most magickal people didn’t know how to drive.