Chapter 6 #2
“Partly,” Salem said. “My eyes… they don’t exactly pass as human.
Being in cat form was easier. Safer.” He gave Aurin a tight smile before continuing.
“I am the son of a cephamorph and the Cat-Sidhe. I had a mother, a female cephamorph, which we know is a rarity,” he said, giving Pania a nod. “An honour to meet another, truly.”
She gave a smile and nod in return.
Salem continued, “My mother was a Mimic cephamorph. As you saw, I have the ability to take many forms. But only in water, and I can take on the form of other sea life.” He let out a sigh that was a little too sad for Aurin’s liking.
“On land, I can morph into a cat, as you all saw. My father... my father, the Cat-Sidhe, was one of the old gods. He was a trickster....” Salem’s brows furrowed and he swallowed hard.
“Cern knew him. He knew of me, and when I’d heard he’d taken up residence in these mountains, I followed. I knew I’d be safe here.”
Before anyone could question his choice of the word “safe,” Aurin elaborated.
“Our kind believed Mimics to be extinct because they were all killed off for the sole reason that they have the ability to change and morph at will to many species. It was seen as a form of deception, and so they were hunted. His entire race, his family, were decimated. He’s the last one of his kind.
So yes, we kept it a secret. I’m sorry if you felt betrayed by my keeping that from you, but I’m not sorry for keeping him safe. ”
Everyone stared, and no one spoke, but Sawyer smiled and slid his hand into Ciaran’s. Keeping your mate, your chosen one, safe was something they all understood.
Of course it was Fray who spoke first. “So, you’re, like, really old.”
Salem smiled. “Yes.”
Fray snorted. “Is that in human years, cephamorph years, or cat years?”
Trust Fray to bring levity.
“All three,” Salem replied with the hint of a smile.
“The son of a god,” Dylan said quietly. “What does that mean?”
“I’m no expert in these things,” Fray said, “but I’m pretty sure it means his dad was a god.”
Everyone rolled their eyes. Except Tobin, of course. He was smiling at Fray as if he hung the moon.
“It means,” Salem said, answering Dylan’s question. “It means I am old. I have been around a long time. I found my home here in Tenebrae Cove long before it was named as such by convict settlers.”
They sat with that for a beat.
“The water,” Tobin said. “You make the water here what it is.”
“Dark and sparkly. And soupy,” Sawyer said. “Is that really because of you?”
“Yes,” Salem replied. “A trait from my father’s side, only it manifests itself differently in conjunction with my mother’s. Given my mixed heritage, it’s an oddity, more than likely.”
“It’s a self-defence thing,” Aurin added. “Keeps predators away, human and otherwise.”
Salem smiled at him and nodded. “Yes. I have my mother’s traits as a Mimic cephamorph, and I also have my father’s traits of being able to take the form of a cat.
With which you’re all familiar.” He shrugged at the two newcomers.
“I can show you two later, if you wish. I only took cat form today for the first time since I was injured by Lusca, so maybe not for a day or two. Morphing into sea creatures is easier on my body. Cat form takes a lot more out of me.”
“She recognised you,” Ciaran said, always the one to keep the conversation on point. “Lusca. When she saw you, she knew who you were.”
Salem nodded. “Yes. I believe so. I’d never seen her before, but I believe she saw who—or, rather, what—I was. She was looking for a... donor, I think. Someone to fertilise her eggs. She originally wanted Tobin but must have thought someone with my lineage would be better suited.”
Fray patted Tobin’s thigh. “Dodged a bullet, baby.”
“Eww,” Dylan said, making a face. “Baby Luscas.” He shuddered, and Hendrix chuckled as he ran his hand over Dylan’s shoulder.
Aurin loved seeing them so affectionate.
“You feel okay now, though?” Kellan asked. Of course Kellan would pick up on Salem saying he’d rather not morph into cat form again just yet. Always the doctor.
“I do,” Salem said. “It’s difficult to know what my injuries were. Apart from multiple and extensive.”
“Cern healed him,” Aurin said. “I watched the whole thing and still can’t really explain what I saw. He coated him in a paste that smelled like... I can’t begin to describe how bad that smell was.” He made a face as he remembered.
“Putrid,” Salem said.
“And he used his metal necklace, his torc, I think it’s called?
” Aurin looked at Salem, and Salem nodded.
“And he chanted for, I don’t know, hours or days.
I can’t be sure. He made some kind of crown with herbs, and he put his hands on Salem’s chest, as if he was using some sort of old healing power.
He said the internal injuries would take time.
” Aurin looked up at Salem, his beautiful face and his striking eyes, and Aurin got a little choked up. “I didn’t think he would ever wake up.”
Everyone was quiet, but Dylan stood up and came over to give Aurin a hug, then pulled back and peered into his eyes. “You okay?”
Aurin nodded. “I don’t know why I’m emotional. I cried so much in the first few days, I didn’t think I had tears left.”
Salem put his arm around Aurin and pulled him close, kissing the top of his head. “I’m fine,” he murmured. “Good as new.”
“You had a celebration last night?” Dylan asked. “Tell us about that.”
Aurin knew Dylan was asking Aurin to focus on the positive, a trick Aurin had used with him many times when Dylan was feeling overwhelmed.
Aurin took a deep breath in and shook off his emotions, giving Dyl a smile of thanks.
“Well, I’m not entirely sure what we can say, given the treaty and all, but Cern never said we couldn’t say, so... ”
“I think it will be fine,” Salem said gently. “As long as it doesn’t get repeated.” He glanced at each of the faces looking back at them. “For Cern’s protection as well as our own.”
“No one will repeat a word,” Ciaran said with authority. “If it falls under the treaty, as I assume this will, then we are forbidden to tell anyone.”
Aurin nodded. “Okay, well, first of all, you need to remember my memories get a little hazy after my second cup of honey mead, so...”
Salem chuckled and rubbed Aurin’s back. “I told you it was potent.”
“Yes, yes, you did.” Aurin grimaced. “Anyway, so first, it might help if I explain a few things. The men that came with Cern to pick us up, they are Faun.”
“Faun?” Ciaran asked.
Kellan’s mouth fell open. “As in... as in half man, half goat?”
“Yes,” Aurin said. “A bit like Pan from Pan’s Labyrinth. They, like us, have a human form, as you saw.”
Everyone was stunned, eyes wide.
“You saw them in their faun state?” Ciaran asked.
“Yes,” Aurin replied. “Only once. Last night. It was a celebration. A festival to welcome winter...” He looked up at Salem to clarify.
“The winter solstice,” he explained. “The change of seasons and fertility for months ahead.”
Aurin nodded. “There was a huge bonfire, and the faun danced and played their flutes, and then...”
“And then...,” Kellan prompted.
“This is where things get hazy for me,” Aurin said, and Salem snorted. “Other forest creatures came and joined in.”
Eyes got wider. Mouths fell open.
“Other forest creatures?” Sawyer asked.
“Yes.” The corner of Aurin’s mouth pulled down. “See, the faun we’d met were all male, as faun are. Well, as folklore leads us to believe. But the female faun are smaller, daintier, kinda pretty, almost. Their hooves were much smaller—”
“Hooves,” Hendrix asked, his eyes comically wide.
Aurin chuckled. “Yes. And their music was much higher; their flutes were different. But the sound of them played together was incredible. And the way they danced around the fire made a beat. I could feel it in my chest. It was incredible.”
Salem nodded. “It was beautiful.”
“You said creatures, as in plural,” Ciaran pressed. “There were more?”
Aurin sighed. “Yes.” He looked up at Salem for some kind of reassurance but only found humour in his expression. “Now, I know I was drunk by then, but I swear, what I saw...”
Everyone held their breaths.
“Forest sprites,” Aurin said. “They looked kind of human but ethereal, almost. And made of moss and starlight. And then there were the bird creatures. They stayed in the trees, but they danced, too, and their eyes shone really weird.”
“Was the honey mead laced with LSD?” Fray asked. “Because what—and I mean this with all my hearts—the fuck.”
Aurin snorted out a laugh. “I know. It’s weird. But I saw them. I danced with them. I drank with them.”
“I knew it,” Sawyer said. “When I went out into the forest, I knew I was being watched. And there were no other sounds of any critters or insects. I knew something was out there.”
Salem chuckled. “Yes, you did.”
Then Sawyer turned to Ciaran. “You knew the forest folk were out there, and you didn’t tell me?”
Ciaran looked immediately guilty. “Uh, no. I knew Cern’s family lived in the mountains—”
“You sprouted some crap about mineshafts.”
“That’s not untrue,” Ciaran said. “Technically. And at that time, you didn’t even know about us. And we have a treaty. I couldn’t tell you outright anyway.”
Aurin chuckled at them. He loved that Sawyer called Ciaran out and kept him on his toes.
“There are forest sprites and fauns in the mountains,” Fray mumbled, still trying to process everything they’d just learned.
“Yes,” Salem replied. “Tobin, you have a telepathic talent, yes?”
“Yes,” Tobin said. “You... you knew? You were unconscious in the trench....”
“You saw into my head once before. I remember that. But I also saw what you and Fray were doing before Lusca arrived. When you were practicing,” Salem explained. “I wasn’t exactly certain, but I could guess.”
“I guess you saw a lot of stuff,” Fray said, making a face. “A lot of sex stuff.” Then he shrugged. “And I apologise for nothing. You are welcome for all of it.”