Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Later that day, Silas was contemplating a “nap” with Tighe.
He seemed happy as he munched on an apple and read Thoreau but Silas was bored to tears with his book about Iron Age druids.
Nelson also looked bored as he checked his emails and looked over a report but there was little to be done while Nox and Merlin worked outside.
They came in and out of the study through the terrace doors with armloads of crystals, dented and rusty tins, jars, feathers, bits of red fabric…
“That should do it!” Nox said when he posted on the back steps with a shovel over his shoulder. He gave his black Converse a good stomp before coming inside but still left muddy prints on the polished wooden floors.
“Oh, dear! We have tracked in a mess, though,” Merlin noted while dusting off his hands and Nox chuckled.
“Looks like we carried half the yard in with us.”
“I’ll get the Dyson,” Nelson said as he strode from the study and returned a moment later with a cordless vacuum. He turned it on and there was a scream from Tighe as the vacuum’s motor blared.
“What is that?” Tighe covered his ears and ducked, looking petrified.
Nelson turned it off and held out a hand to calm him. “Sorry. It’s a vacuum cleaner. It sucks the dirt off the floor,” he explained but Tighe scowled at it.
“Why? That’s where dirt belongs: on the floor!
” He turned, searching around him. “Why isn’t there any dirt?
Why does everything have to be so clean?
” he yelled and shook his head, upset as he reached for Silas.
“That was almost as loud as a helicopter. I don’t like it!
Why is everything so unnatural?” he whispered, his panic and frustration were like a kick in the gut for Silas.
“I’m so sorry. Come with me.” He steered Tighe toward the terrace doors and led him out into the sunshine. “I’m so, so sorry. The vacuum is really loud but I promise, it can’t hurt you,” he said as he gathered Tighe in his arms.
“Everything is so strange here, Silas. There are so many terrible sounds and nothing smells right.”
“It smells fine to me—like orange oil and incense—but I can understand how it would all be strange and overwhelming for you,” he whispered and kissed Tighe’s hair. “But you see how much easier it is for Nox and Merlin to…ward this place. They can’t ward a forest to keep a warlock out.”
“I know but I miss the woods.” Tighe raised his head, his nose running and his lip wobbling as his eyes met Silas’s. “You said you lived close to the Trail in the mountains. Can we go there after we stop Hugh Dùbhghlas?”
“My place?” The thought of taking Tighe to his home and sharing it with him made Silas lightheaded. “I would love that, Tighe! I’d take you right now if I was sure I could protect you.”
“We can protect each other if we had a poppet,” Tighe stated defiantly.
“That’s a really good idea but I don’t know how to fight a warlock, do you?” Silas asked, chuckling when Tighe shook his head. “I promise I’ll take you anywhere you want once Nox and Merlin are sure it’s safe.”
“We’ll be together? You’ll stay with me?” Tighe said as he glanced behind them at the study.
Silas turned Tighe’s face and cupped his cheek. “I can’t live outside like you, but I can be happy just about anywhere as long as I’ve got a roof over my head and plumbing. The question is: can you stay with me? You’re used to moving every day and sleeping by lakes and in caves.”
“I had nowhere to go before so I wandered, but I want to stay and have a home with you,” Tighe said, then wrinkled his nose.
“Not like this, though.” He tipped his head toward the study and grimaced.
“This castle is too big and too full of strange things. And I don’t like the way it smells here.
I can’t find the scent of anything living, other than us, when I’m inside. ”
“It’s actually a really nice house and I’m afraid to ask what it’s worth. Nox is far more sophisticated than I was expecting. I thought he’d live in an abandoned church, filled with black skulls and disco balls,” Silas confided in a whisper but Tighe blinked cluelessly back at him.
“I have no idea what most of that means but it would make as much sense to me as this place. What is a disco ball?”
“I’ll show you later,” Silas laughed as he kissed Tighe. “I have no idea how long it will take or how we’ll know that you’re safe. But bear with this for me and I’ll take you back to the forest and I’ll never make you leave again. Unless your life is in danger,” he added softly, making Tighe smile.
“I can bear this for you,” he said with a sigh, rubbing the end of his nose against Silas’s.
“Thank you for being honest and helping me understand. Everyone has been kind and they want to help, but they keep telling me that things aren’t so bad and that I’ll get used to this.
You’re the only one who knows how I feel and you know that I can’t get used to this. ”
“You don’t have to.” Silas had to be out of his mind, but his heart was telling him that he’d been waiting for this and it was time.
“Look, my grandparents left me a little money and I’ve been smart with my finances.
What if I retired early and sold my house?
I could buy a patch of land even deeper in the woods and build us a tiny house.
I can put in double doors or a garage door so we can open most of it up so you have plenty of fresh air.
I’ll get a big skylight so you can always see the clouds and stars. How does that sound?”
“Even better than my dreams. We can go inside now,” Tighe said, his smile easier as he leaned back in Silas’s arms.
“Are you sure you’re ready? It sounds like Nelson’s done vacuuming but we can hang out here for a while.”
Tighe looked up at the sky and took another deep breath. “Let’s go back in. They might be talking about the warlock and you don’t want to miss anything,” he said knowingly.
“I don’t,” Silas conceded with a sheepish smile. “I trust them but I don’t like being in over my head. I’m trying like hell to catch up.”
“Anyone would be overwhelmed!” Tighe said, exasperated again. “You’re caught up where it matters,” he added with a firm nod.
“Is that so?” Who cared if Silas wasn’t a god or a witch or a high speed FBI agent? Tighe thought he was good enough and that meant everything to Silas. “Maybe I would rather stay out here with you,” he murmured, lowering his head so he could steal another kiss.
It was a lovely kiss and Silas was just about to suggest they find a more private spot when it began to rain.
“Let’s go!” Tighe laughed as he grabbed Silas’s hand and towed him back up the terrace steps.
“Sorry about the vacuum. Feeling better?” Nelson asked when he got the door for them.
“Much better,” Tighe replied and went to pour himself a cup of tea from the pot on the coffee table. “I made this pot myself!” he boasted before taking a sip.
Silas and Nox traded grins. Both had noticed that Tighe didn’t mind learning how to weigh out herbs and flower petals and use the tap and stove when Merlin showed him how to make tea.
“We’re working on a list,” Nox said as he held up a yellow notepad.
He had kicked off his Converse and was sitting on the desk cross-legged.
“Appliances, electronics, tools… Anything that might be loud or startling for Tighe. That way, you can explain and introduce them to Tighe before he encounters them,” Nox told Silas.
“I already have champagne bottles and canned biscuits. Nelson almost gave me a heart attack when he was making breakfast a few weeks ago,” he said as he cut his eyes at Nelson.
“You should have warned me. I thought a gun had gone off.”
“I forgot,” Nelson said flatly, but his lips twitched as he looked down at his little notepad. He always had it out, unless he was eating, driving, or operating a vacuum cleaner.
“Sure you did,” Nox replied, then became alert when the doorbell rang.
“I smell sulfur and sense a demon outside my gate,” he said as he slid off the desk and signaled for everyone to stay back as he approached the front door.
“Why have you come to my home, Lord Smoak?” he called, sending Merlin scurrying to the corner by the terrace doors.
“I’m ready!” he said as he brandished an elaborately carved staff. It was topped with a large, dark, jagged crystal and Merlin came around and stood in front of Silas, Tighe, and Nelson.
“Stand down, we mean you no harm,” a voice whispered, light as smoke as it swirled around the room. “We’ve come to ask for your help.”
Nox waved for everyone to relax. “Niall is with him and I’m not afraid of Cenn Cruach.
” He jogged to the front door and opened it, laughing as he pulled Niall into a hug.
“How are you, buddy?” He leaned around Niall and said something under his breath that Silas couldn’t make out.
“You can cross,” he called to Smoak, then clapped Niall on the back.
“I thought you said you’d never come to Georgetown. ”
“Trust me, I intended to keep my distance,” he said and Silas quickly noted that Niall looked well.
He also noted that Cenn, or Curn, or Cruach, or Smoak…
Whatever his name was, was in his hot biologist form as he joined Niall in the foyer.
“Something scary happened and we thought that you and Merlin should know.”
The staff lowered as Merlin hurried forward. “What happened? Don’t just stand there, Nox, let them in!” he insisted and raced back into the study so he could shove the staff at Nelson. “Put this away!” Merlin whispered, then spun and clasped his hands together. “Come in and tell us all about it.”