Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Tighe’s second shower at Castle MacIlwraith was incredible. The water was much warmer in Silas’s shower and Tighe was made to feel like a king again as he was thoroughly washed from head to toe.
“I think I missed this spot,” Silas murmured in Tighe’s ear while stroking his cock with soapy hands.
“You didn’t but I don’t mind.” Tighe felt like he was floating in the steam, his bones melted from a deep scalp scrub. Silas had also kneaded Tighe’s neck and shoulders and the pleasure almost made his legs buckle. “I really like showering.”
“Me too but we should get moving. Everyone else is probably up and in the kitchen and you need to eat.”
“I could eat you,” Tighe said as he turned and sucked on Silas’s lip. He started to lower to his knees but Silas stopped him.
“I’m gonna need some time, Tighe. I’m forty.”
“Forty…?” Tighe said, then laughed when he realized Silas was referring to his age. “How old do you think I am?”
“I don’t know…thirty-four?” Silas answered and Tighe shrugged.
“Then you would not be very much older than me.”
“Are you?” Silas asked as he turned off the water.
“Am I what?”
Silas made a muffled snorting sound and coughed. “Are you thirty-four?” he finally asked.
Tighe shrugged. “I don’t know but that’s close enough, right?”
“Close enough?” Silas blinked back at him. “No, it’s not, but we’ll figure that out too. Somehow. Or we’ll see if Merlin can.”
They dried and dressed and Tighe watched Silas shave before he was led downstairs and down the hallway to the kitchen.
“I think you’ll like it in here,” Silas said as he gestured at a door at the end of the hall, by another set of terrace doors. “It reminds me of an old apothecary but with lots of plants and dried things and plenty of natural light.”
He pushed the door open and Tighe was immediately drawn to the room’s soft, morning glow and the smell of numerous fresh and dried plants.
There were potted plants along the windowsills and bundles of herbs, flowers, and bulbs hung from a rack to dry, and a wide, open pantry boasted shelves of dried herbs, berries, seeds, nuts, grains, mushrooms…
On the counters, bowls of fresh fruits and vegetables were intermixed with mortars and pestles, copper and glass bowls, a few small cauldrons, and glowing, honey-scented candles.
Much of the wood was left unfinished and there were many rustic stone vessels and numerous crystals of all sizes were scattered around the room.
Everywhere Tighe looked he saw something natural, immediately soothing his senses and piquing his curiosity.
“This is nice!” Tighe said, making Nox and Nelson chuckle as they raised their cups, greeting them.
“Come and help yourselves!” Merlin insisted with a wave at the long, wooden work table. There were pastries, cheeses, cut fruit, various nut butters, and honey. “I have some tea ready,” he said as he held up a pot.
“Yes, please!” Tighe said and thanked Nelson when he handed him a cup and saucer. They were very fancy but Tighe could tell by the faded and worn gold trim on the edges and the occasional chip that they were using pieces that were treasured heirlooms. “Thank you!” he bowed his head at Nox.
“I trust you both slept well,” Nox said, grinning over the rim of his cup at Silas. “Although, I did hear someone calling for a ‘fucking god’ this morning,” he murmured and Silas shook his head.
“That’s not really your business, is it?” he said but Nox’s head tipped from side to side as his lips twisted.
“Depends on who you ask and the time of the year. Field, family, and cattle fertility were often the purview of many a deity and I’m the only one in the beltway as far as I can tell.”
“Stop it.” Nelson sighed wearily into his coffee. “You don’t need to play matchmaker here and you’re making things awkward for the rest of us.”
Merlin held up a hand. “I’m not feeling awkward.”
It was a little awkward for Tighe because the conversation had gone way over his head. For the moment, Tighe was enjoying his tea and the warm slipperiness between his cheeks. He always wanted to feel Silas’s cum leaking from his hole, a secret reminder that Tighe had been claimed.
“It’s a lot awkward,” Silas said with a shake of his head at Nox. “Let’s talk about something more constructive. Like: now what?” He nodded at Tighe. “We can’t keep him here forever.”
“We wouldn’t mind,” Nox said but Silas snorted.
“Tighe can’t stay in the suburbs. He belongs in the wilderness, where he’s safer.”
“I’m okay,” Tighe piped up, not wanting Silas to worry or for anyone to argue about him. “I know you’re all trying to protect me and I’d like to help you stop Hugh Dùbhghlas.”
“There you have it,” Nox said and winked at Tighe. “We’re still doing our best to release you back into the wild as soon as possible, though.”
“Good, as long as we’re still on the same page,” Silas said, seeming content as he filled his plate.
“As far as what now…” Nox wrinkled his nose. “I’m not inclined to announce that we’ve found Tighe and are hiding him here.”
Silas shook his head. “No, that wouldn’t be prudent,” he agreed and Merlin hummed thoughtfully.
“I’m afraid there’s little we can do but wait and see at the moment. The proverbial ball is in the Huge Douchebag’s court now and we must wait and see how he takes the news,” he said and covered his mouth as he tittered.
“That’s cute,” Silas chuckled and noticed that Tighe wasn’t following. “A douchebag is a thing that people with vaginas use…to clean them, I think?” he explained but Merlin shook his head.
“These days it is merely a derogatory term. Douching is no longer recommended in that context as it can do more harm than good. Which makes the moniker even more fitting,” he added with a humph, making Silas snort.
“The things you learn over breakfast at Lennox MacIlwraith’s townhouse…” he mused out loud and Nox grinned.
“All matters of human health and wellness are worth understanding.”
“Very true,” Merlin said, then made a dismissive gesture. “We must wait until the Douchebag makes his next move but we needn’t be idle. There’s much we can do to prepare.”
“I like the sound of that,” Silas said, nodding. “What can I do?” he asked and Merlin hissed apologetically.
“By ‘we’ I meant myself and Nox. We should refresh the four corners of the property with newly charged crystals and moonwater and replace the herbs. Nox will need to anoint the beams and sashes again with his fluids and we’ll have to do a great deal of smudging inside and out.”
Silas’s face twisted as he shook his head. “I don’t think I want to know what kind of fluids are involved in this anointing or be present while it’s happening,” he said into his cup before taking a drink.
“It’s mostly blood,” Nox informed them. “Urine and semen are good for marking the lot and keeping other witches out. But for countercurses and hard warding, I use blood and this,” he held his hand up, showing them his palm.
“You can’t see them, but my bloody palm prints are all over the walls of this townhouse and the fence, along with the prints of my father and his father, and his father before him,” he said and Merlin made a pleased sound.
“Nothing gets past that outer wall without Nox’s permission and the Douchebag would suffer greatly in here with all this white magick.”
“Why?” Tighe piped up. “I don’t like the way anything looks or smells here, but this place does feel like a sanctuary, especially this kitchen.”
Nelson choked on his coffee and turned away as he fanned his face while Merlin laughed and patted Tighe’s hand.
“He hasn’t warded this place against you and you have a good, pure soul.
Nox’s father, Lucas, and I went into Hugh Dùbhghlas’s house after he fled to the mountains.
We were there to find more proof of his dark deeds but we also hunted for any hairs we could find and took pieces of his clothes and a picture of him and his mother to make a poppet.
It was burned and the ashes were buried deep at the four corners.
Lucas and I were determined to prove he was practicing necromancy and bring him to justice and took steps to protect Nox in the event of his return. ”
“Some hair, clothes, and a picture? And that works?” Silas asked with a frown.
Nox nodded. “Like a charm. If you know the right kind of Latin and which…fluids to add.” He wiggled his brows, causing Silas to grimace.
“Now I’m glad there aren’t any pictures of me and my mom…” he muttered into his coffee but Nox looked sad as he watched Silas.
“You were raised with love but your mother wasn’t a strong presence in your childhood.
If I were to make a poppet to harm you—not that I ever would!
—I would probably use a photo of…your grandfather or your closest childhood friend, if I had to guess,” he said and Silas’s cup landed on its saucer with a loud clatter.
“I told you to stop!” he rasped angrily but Nox held up a hand.
“I didn’t read your mind. It’s something I’ve sensed since we met and it’s common sense.
Someone taught you to love the outdoors.
I assume it wasn’t your grandmother who showed you how to track and hunt and you’re very good at building things with your bare hands.
Tighe probably knows this as well,” he said, bowing his head at Tighe.
He nodded quickly. “I don’t feel any connection to your mother but you loved an older, wiser man and you miss him.”
There was a faint sniff and Silas laughed softly. “My Pop-pop. I loved my Memaw too, but Pop-pop was my world. My grandparents raised me but I lost them both by the time I graduated from high school.”
“I’m so sorry,” Nox said sincerely. “I was lucky because I had Merlin when I lost my parents. But it must have been tough to be on your own like that, when you were just becoming an adult.”
“It was,” Silas said and shrugged. “I never cared about being popular or having material things, and I’ve never been that ambitious. I just want them to be proud of me.”
Nox laughed softly, his eyes watering. “Oh, you bet they are.”
“Are they?” Silas asked quietly and there was a small smile as he picked up his cup and raised it to Nox. “Thank you.”
Without thinking, Tighe rushed around the island and hugged Nox. “Thank you!”
“I didn’t do anything, really!” he laughed but Tighe shook his head.
“You made Silas happy and I think you helped him.”
“He did,” Silas agreed softly.
“It was nothing!” Nox insisted as he set Tighe away from him. “And now you two know how to make a poppet if you ever have a nemesis,” he said with a teasing grin.
“Me? A nemesis?” Tighe said and Silas laughed.
“Who would make the Easter Bunny their nemesis?” he asked, earning a grunt of agreement from Nelson but Merlin clicked his teeth at them.
“I can think of one person,” he said. “That’s why this is the only place we can keep Tighe until we’ve dealt with Dùbhghlas. I know of no other place that’s been warded this strongly against him.”
“Dùbhghlas had a mother and he loved her?” Silas verified and Merlin nodded. “Don’t think she’d be proud of him if she knew what he turned into.”
Merlin shook his head, his eyes brimming with anger.
“Brighid Dùbhghlas was a powerfully dark witch and a vain, hateful woman. She groomed Dùbhghlas to be evil. There were rumors that she was teaching him how to summon and deal with demons as a child. It couldn’t be proven but I suspect she was sacrificed in aid of his relentless obsession with power and dark magick. ”
“Sacrificed?” Tighe asked and Merlin widened his eyes.
“We can only guess at this point, but Brighid died on the eve of Hugh’s seventeenth birthday. That was a significant age to the Celts and I believe that he killed her in order to bind himself to the darkness and as an offering,” he said in a hushed whisper.
Silas gasped. “Who would do that? Why?”
“That, my lad, is the difference between a white witch and a dark warlock. Hugh grew extremely powerful after Brighid died and that kind of power comes from making a terrible pact. You must sacrifice the one you hold most dear, sever the most precious part of your soul, and commit yourself to the darkness. That can be your only love if you wish to wield it, whereas Nox wields love as his greatest power.” Merlin beamed at him but Nox shrugged it off.
“Fuckery might be my second favorite. What’s life without a little laughter and some mischief?”
“Peaceful?” Nelson guessed.
“Blah!” Nox replied and canted toward Tighe. “Don’t listen to Nelson. He likes to be kept on his toes.”
Merlin hummed in agreement. “The only thing Nelson fears is spare time and idleness, the man was born to hunt and save the day.”
“Like Silas!” Tighe said as he helped himself to more tea.
“Very much like Silas,” Nox said and gave him a friendly nudge. “Fate’s been kind to us, hasn’t it?”
It was impossible not to blush and smile, Tighe’s face was warm as he nodded. “It has been very kind,” he said as he shared a lingering look with Silas.
Tighe was all too aware of how lucky he was as Silas smiled back at him.
He could still feel the traces of their last mating in his tender flesh and damp briefs.
After years of wandering alone, Tighe had found his partner and his purpose.
He was meant for Silas and Tighe would do whatever it took to protect him and make him happy.
Which had him wondering: how can I make a poppet?