Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
It had been a week since Nelson left with the box of crystals for Howard.
They had been the seven longest days of Nox’s life and he had barely slept.
Their last conversation played over and over in his head and Nox ached with more regret each time because Nelson had left believing he didn’t matter and wasn’t trusted.
Nelson was the only thing that mattered now. What would be the point of anything without him? As far as Nox was concerned, he would be nothing without Nelson and nothing would be worth his time or attention.
He could not and would not be the Dagda without his Uaithne.
“Your coffee is getting cold,” Merlin said softly, resting his hand on Nox’s. “You barely touched your dinner last night.”
“Is that so? I didn’t notice,” Nox replied as he lifted his cup and smiled at Merlin over the rim.
The house was still quiet and it was just the two of them in the kitchen.
Unless you counted Dubh and Scurry, who were curled up in a basket in the pantry.
“I won’t waste away without a few meals,” Nox promised.
“I know… But think of what Nelson would say if he knew.”
Nox sniffed hard, nodding. “I do think of him and I know he’d hate this but he’s not here right now and I don’t see my appetite improving until he returns.”
They turned when they heard the front door and Clancy’s determined stride in the hall before the kitchen door opened. “Good morning,” he said with a deferential nod at Nox and a toss of his chin at Merlin.
“I would describe the mood as subdued but perhaps you’ve come with good news?” Merlin suggested hopefully.
Clancy’s glower didn’t look promising as he fetched himself a cup and saucer from the drying rack and joined them at the work table. “I have news… I’m not sure if it’s good news,” he warned.
“Every new bit of information is good, even if we don’t like it,” Merlin said with a nervous look at Nox.
“I won’t blow up or start a hunger strike,” he promised, then gave Clancy an expectant look as he poured. “What is it?”
“Ingrid knows Dùbhghlas’s valkyrie,” he said and Merlin’s cup clattered onto its saucer.
“To the study!” he ordered, snatching Clancy’s sleeve and pushing him toward the door. He grabbed Nox’s wrist. “Come along!”
As if Nox had other intentions or anything better to do.
“You’ll want to look at the Norse texts,” Clancy predicted once they had relocated to the study.
He lowered onto the sofa with his coffee, grimacing as he sipped.
“I shared our concerns that Dùbhghlas might have a valkyrie in his service with Ingrid. She was appalled at first, then she remembered that there was one that had been cast out for heresy. It was decades ago and the name had been forgotten, but Ingrid checked and Hildr’s grave is empty. ”
“Hildr?” Merlin hurried to the proper shelf and hunted amongst the spines. “What kind of heresy?”
“She wanted to bring about a new era of legends with a new pantheon of gods—valkyrie gods—to replace the ones men had forgotten.”
“Controversial, but I don’t think it’s as misguided as the concept of a single god,” Nox argued and was legitimately intrigued by the idea. If it could happen to him, why not a powerful valkyrie?
“Do not tell that to Ingrid,” Clancy said with a loaded look.
“To even seek attention and glory is heretical. Hildr was marked as a traitor—to her kind and their sacred duty—and she was hunted down. Only a few of the old order knew where Hildr’s remains were buried, including Ingrid.
She was there when Hildr was killed and she wants to see her buried again. ”
“She has my blessing,” Nox stated wholeheartedly. “I don’t want anything to do with this Hildr if she’s half as badass as Ingrid.” He shuddered and Clancy raised his cup in salute and probably agreement.
Merlin clicked his teeth. “If she was half as badass as Ingrid, there’s no telling what Dùbhghlas has made of her and what she’s capable of now.”
“Don’t!” Nox held up a hand, sick as he thought of Nelson being anywhere near an undead valkyrie.
“This is a good piece of news that I really don’t like.
What would Nelson say if he was here?” He pushed out a hard breath and focused.
“What can we learn from this, if it is Hildr? Because it seems very likely that it is.”
“Yes!” Merlin tapped on the page of the book he was holding.
“That is exactly what our Nelson would say and we can learn a great deal!” He went to the blank side of the nearest board and swiped a piece of chalk from the tray.
“Unlike most mystical beings, the valkyrie are anointed by the gods after dying in battle. They are humans with no magickal lineage and exist only at the whims of the gods of war. We can easily understand why the valkyrie would take such offense and seek to punish her. But why would Hildr reject her very nature and risk the wrath of her sisters?”
“That’s an excellent question,” Nox said, rolling his hand and signaling for Merlin to get on with it.
He huffed indignantly. “Hildr was a great warrior and had fought bravely in many battles. So had her sister, but she was not rewarded the way Hildr was when she died. Her name is not even recorded, only that Hildr made her disappointment known. She refused to answer when the gods called and hid herself away until their time had passed.”
Clancy sat forward, scowling at the book. “It probably isn’t in there but there were rumors that Hildr had taken a man as a lover. A man who was said to be a warlock.”
“Oh…my,” Merlin said but he didn’t sound titillated. “That is interesting and concerning.”
There was a serious hum from Clancy and Nox groaned at the board. “That is concerning and explains how Dùbhghlas would have found her corpse and guided her back to it.”
In some legends, the valkyrie could be reincarnated alongside their lovers.
Dùbhghlas’s death could have triggered Hildr’s awakening and given him the power to make her into something even more dangerous.
Nox had always hoped that it was possible, for Clancy and Ingrid’s sake and was encouraged.
But it was not great in regards to Hildr, if Dùbhghlas was her mystery warlock lover.
“Let’s say Ingrid did get her wish…” Nox raised a finger, glancing between Merlin and Clancy. “The chances of Hildr being reincarnated have to be slim if she’s sold her soul and defied the will of the gods. Her Otherworld privileges have been revoked if I have any say in the matter.”
Merlin’s brows jumped and he turned back to the board.
“Who can say, really? She has certainly broken her covenant with the gods of war and nature. I would think that the valkyrie in her is truly dead and gone but it would depend on how she was reborn. If Dùbhghlas replaced her soul with demon fire, there’s no telling.
She could be more demon than valkyrie now, for all we know. ”
“We know to keep an eye out for her,” Clancy said. “Whatever she is, she isn’t stronger than she was before. Not if she gave up her soul and honor and she betrayed her divine oath to serve Dùbhghlas.”
“Good point, Darrach.” Merlin made a note on the board under “Weaknesses.”
Nox thought so as well. “Intention always matters in the end.”
“Indeed,” Merlin said distantly as he wrote.
Arawn and Fletcher were the first to come down and were surprised to find the three of them already at work.
“Has there been a development?” Arawn asked, earning a hesitant groan from Clancy.
“We know the identity of Dùbhghlas’s valkyrie and have deduced some…interesting details,” he said with a shiver.
Nox chuckled and waved as Bryn, Everly, and Niall gathered in the foyer.
“She could be doing it for love but you’ll never believe who her dark, dead heart beats for.
Or whatever the undead heart does,” Nox added with a clueless shrug.
“She’s Huge Douchebag’s old lady. And by old, we mean really, really old.
I’ll fill you in over breakfast and Merlin should have a presentation ready by the time Howard gets here. ”
Despite Nox’s concerns, Howard hadn’t accepted his invitation to stay at the townhouse until matters with Dùbhghlas were settled.
Howard said he had a store and employees to look after and that he was not afraid to face Dùbhghlas if that was what fate intended for him.
Nox recalled his conversation with Merlin and appreciated that he was already asking a lot of the elderly man and Heidi.
The store had to be closed so Heidi could play taxi whenever Howard needed a ride over from Adelphi, without Nelson there to transport him back and forth.
Like Merlin, Howard was crafty and could be surprisingly quick for his age when he needed to be. And for what he lacked in speed, strength, and wit, he made up for in knowledge and experience. He was on his way with more books about the valkyrie and a charm to cheer Nox up.
Howard’s presence would help and after another terrible night, Nox took note of how deeply blessed he was to be surrounded by so many good, loving souls. Surely, this was a sign that he was favored and meant to prevail. He had another sign when the doorbell rang and he went to greet Howard.
“You’re right on time,” Nox said as he took Howard’s coat and reached to close the door. “Clancy made scones and they’re just about to come out of the ov—” He paused when he noticed all the crows on the brick wall surrounding his property and scattered on the front lawn.
“I was just about to ask if you had noticed them!” Howard whispered as he peeked around Nox. “Did you summon them?”
“No…” Nox shook his head slowly, enthralled by the sight of so many beautiful black birds. “We should get Merlin to take a look but I think it’s a good omen.”
“Oh, yes! We’d know by now if they meant any of us harm,” Howard said before he dashed off to find Merlin and get a second opinion.
Nox didn’t need one. He felt loved and infinitely larger than himself. Each set of eyes and wings and each tiny heart was an extension of Nox and he had a legion awaiting his instructions.
“Please, help me find Nelson or…help me find Dùbhghlas and put a stop to his crimes before it’s too late.”
He closed his eyes, returning their love and vowing his eternal devotion. When he opened them, he was startled by a chorus of caws and a storm of flapping wings as all the crows took to the air at once.
“What was that?” Merlin asked as he stepped out onto the stoop with Nox. “Good heavens! I’ve never seen so many this close to the city.”
Nox grinned as he leaned and watched them spread in every direction. “Very good heavens,” he murmured, even more reassured than before. He didn’t need any more signs that he was favored and Dùbhghlas’s time was nearing its end. “Hang on, Nelson. We’re coming.”