Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
CIARAN
Holy fuck, he said quickly, grabbing Tobin’s tentacle. This way, if he used his telepathy, he could see what Ciaran had seen. Look at them. Look at them!
Tobin’s eyes went wide, and then he melted. Awww.
Show me, Fray said as he grabbed two of Tobin’s tentacles and held them to his head, as if using them like antennae would help. He gasped and grinned but looked at Ciaran. Are you serious? Is that... Oh my god. Oh my fucking god, they’re perfect.
Perfect, Tobin echoed as he took turns showing everyone what Ciaran had seen.
Two black like Salem, one gold like Aurin, and one that was kinda hiding, Ciaran said as if they needed help deciphering what he’d seen. They could only see two different-coloured eyes peering out from Aurin’s hold. They’re the cutest things I’ve—
Then Ciaran was struck by a jolt of fear, as if someone had speared his chest. Not his own fear, but Sawyer’s.
Sawyer!
He shot upwards like an arrow, aiming for the jetty. He could feel Sawyer’s initial surprise turn into relief but with an undercurrent of unease. Ciaran hauled himself out of the water, taking human form in one fluid, easy movement to find Sawyer and... Cern?
“Oh,” he said, going to Sawyer. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Cern just surprised me, that’s all.”
Ciaran smiled at the old man. “Didn’t know we were expecting you.”
Sawyer rushed to give Ciaran a towel, then quickly wrapped a second one around his shoulders. “He got here just now.”
Cern’s smile was slow and wide. “We have good news, boy?”
Ciaran grinned at him, then at Sawyer. “We do. Four hatchlings.” He held up four fingers, and his smile for Sawyer softened. “And they are just the cutest things I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh,” Sawyer whispered, his eyes glassy. “Oh, I wish I could see them.”
Ciaran put his arm around him. “You will. Soon.” He then realised just how rugged up Sawyer was. “You shouldn’t be out here. It’s too cold for you.”
“Yes, yes, the mere human frailties,” Sawyer grumbled. “I’m all too aware.”
Ciaran looked at Cern then. “About the last time we saw you...”
“Your mate here has already apologised,” he said, his pipe bobbing up and down as he spoke. “Four, you say?”
“Yes. Two black like Salem, one gold like Aurin, and one was hiding, so I couldn’t really see. It’s too early to know if they’ll have Mimic abilities underwater or if they can turn into a cat like Salem.”
“Oh, but they are special nonetheless,” Cern said.
Ciaran could hardly reconcile the images Salem had shown them of Cern in his true form, with the hooves and horns, to the old man in front of him and yet... he could totally see it now.
“You knew the hatchlings were coming today?” Ciaran asked, running his towel over his hair.
“Ah, I know a great many things,” he said. Then his eyes met Ciaran’s, serious and knowing. “Like I know the wee hatchlings would be safer if they were raised in the river by the old hut. In case unwanted visitors come this way in a day or so. Hear what I’m saying, boy?”
Dread poured through Ciaran’s bones, cold and awful. “What do you know? Who’s coming?”
“A little birdie mighta said a thing or two,” he said. “Might be nothing at all, but some folk are best not knowing secrets. It’ll be safer if these little ones aren’t here.”
“Understood,” Ciaran said.
“Who is it?” Sawyer asked. “Is it Hadeom? Is he the little birdie?”
Cern laughed, a rough papery sound, and he pointed his crooked finger at Sawyer. “Something like that,” he said, smirking. Then he turned and began to walk away, holding up his hand as he did. “Get the human out of the wind.”
He ambled slowly into the darkness and disappeared.
“Did he just...?” Sawyer asked.
Ciaran looked out over the water. Over the very still, eerily too-calm water. “What wind?”
And just like that, an icy gust hit them as if someone had opened a door. What the hell? Sawyer pulled the blanket up over his head. “Jesus. How does he do that?”
Ciaran put his arm around him. “Come on. Best do what he says.”
“How are you not cold?” Sawyer asked as they hurried to the police station. When they got inside, he kept the blanket around him despite the heating. His teeth were chattering. “It’s-s-s f-f-freezing.”
“Oh, baby,” Ciaran said, pulling him close and rubbing his back.
Sawyer shoved him off. “You’re cold! Go get dry and changed. Then you can cuddle me.”
Ciaran took him into the small unit where he hit the switch on the kettle. “I’m making you a cup of tea, and then it’s to bed with you.”
“What did he mean by unwanted visitors?” Sawyer asked. “Who? A friend of Lusca, perhaps? Are we having another war? Because fuck, I thought you said nothing happened here.”
Ciaran dropped his wet board shorts and kicked them toward the washing machine, then pulled on some trackpants and a T-shirt. He pulled out two mugs, set them on the counter, and reached for the teabags. “No, I don’t think so. Might just be a fishing boat, but now there’re hatchlings, and—”
“Tell me about them,” Sawyer said, and Ciaran could feel his sadness.
He threw the teabag into the mug and then went to him, taking his face in hands. “Hey,” he murmured. “You’ll see them. I had Tobin take my memory so he could show the others—the den is kinda out of bounds for anyone but me and Kellan—”
“Understandable.”
“Totally.” Still holding his face, Ciaran lifted Sawyer’s chin and kissed him softly. “So he can show you exactly what I saw. Maybe even what Kellan saw. He was in there longer than I was.” Ciaran sighed happily. “Oh, Sawyer, they are amazing. So tiny. So cute.”
Sawyer smiled at him, a little sad but full of love. Ciaran could feel it. “You’d make such a good dad.”
Ciaran barked out a laugh. “Uh, no. I’ll settle for uncle. We will be the best uncles ever.”
“If I was a cephamorph—”
“Sawyer,” Ciaran said softly. “That’s like saying if I was human. We can’t change what we are. And anyway, I love that you’re human. It makes you you. Your humanity is—”
“A giant pain in the arse.”
Ciaran knew there’d be no arguing with him tonight. Instead, he kissed him softly and said, “Let’s have some tea and go to bed. Tomorrow you can ask Tobin to show you.”
He sighed and did a cute little pout. “Fine.”
“Are you feeling warmer now?”
He nodded and loosened his blanket cocoon a bit. “Yeah. Thank you.”
The kettle had boiled, so Ciaran made them tea and handed a mug to Sawyer.
He sipped it and sighed. “Thanks. So what kind of baby shower gifts do we get for quadruplet cepharmorphs who also may be cats?”
Ciaran laughed. “I think we should probably get Aurin and Salem something. Like some ear plugs and Xanax.” He grinned. “Think they’re gonna need it.”
“They’ll each have all eight hands full,” Sawyer said, finally smiling.
Ciaran didn’t want to ruin his mood by bringing up what Cern had said, so instead he added, “Though maybe we could look online for some kid stuff. I mean, they won’t change into human form for a while yet, but it could be fun.”
SAWYER
Sawyer was outside early, waiting for Tobin to make an appearance. Ciaran was going through his inventory and organising his shipping. With everything that had gone down, and now with the hatchlings, it was easy to forget that Ciaran had a business to run.
He tried to be supportive and help when he could because to be real, Sawyer’s policing work wasn’t exactly time-consuming, so sometimes he’d help Otis in the store or Beau and Hudson in their garden.
But he was too distracted today.
“Why don’t you go knock on their door,” Ciaran called out from inside. Then he laughed. “I dare you.”
Sawyer stopped pacing and made a face. “Uh, no thank you. I don’t need to see what they’re doing. Or how they’re doing it.” Because damn. “Nobody needs to see that.”
Then he heard Fray laugh, and when he turned around, he saw Tobin and Fray coming out of Fray’s place and heading toward the café.
“Oh, here they are,” Sawyer said to Ciaran, then headed up toward the café to intercept them. “Morning,” he said as they got close.
“Morning,” Tobin said.
“You’re looking awfully chipper today,” Fray said, giving him a side-eye. “Which is not suspicious at all. Who are you and what did you do with Sawyer?”
Sawyer rolled his eyes and decided to ignore Fray. For now. “So, Tobin, I hate to ask, but Ciaran said he showed you the hatchlings, and I was kinda hoping you could use your... tele... Wi-Fi... I don’t know what to call it. Ability.” There, that was a better word.
“Wi-Fi?” Fray asked, then busted up laughing. “Oh, holy fuck. Wi-Fi.” He held his stomach as he laughed. “Oh, that’s the best thing ever.”
“Shut up,” Ciaran said, walking up behind them. He slung an arm over Sawyer’s shoulder. “He’s excited. Tobin, he wants to see what I saw last night, please. He’s been up since five waiting for you to come out.”
Tobin smiled. “Of course. Can we do coffee first?”
“Absolutely,” Sawyer said, holding the door to the café open and gesturing for them to go first. “Please.”
Fray snorted as we went past. “Wi-Fi.”
Sawyer shoved him, and Ciaran sighed. “I’ll go ask Kellan to join us.”
Oh, yes. They needed to tell everyone of Cern’s words of warning... “Sure. I’ll order you a coffee.”
They took a seat at one of the tables, and Dylan came over with a bright smile. “Everyone sleep okay, or did you spend the night worrying about those little babies like I did? Have they eaten enough? Were they scared? Did they cry?”
Kellan came out from the kitchen area, carrying a tray of plates and condiments. “As I told him, a hundred times, they are as safe as can be.” He slid the tray onto the table. “I checked on them first thing, and they’re all doing well.”
Fray nodded to the tray. “What’s this for?”
Dylan smiled. “You’ll see.”
Sawyer looked up at Kellan. “Ciaran was looking for you.”
“He found me,” he said, nodding toward the door to the back.
Just then, Ciaran came through the door carrying a tray of bread rolls. He was smiling, and Hendrix followed him out, laughing with his mouth full of pastry.
“Compliments of the chef,” Ciaran said.
“The who?” Fray asked.
“Hey, chef?” Hendrix called out.