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That was exactly what Nelson expected and it was easy to track Nox’s confusion and concern as his posture became rigid and he leaned in. Nelson cleared his throat.
“You were doing research?” he prompted.
Julian’s shoulder bounced and he nodded. “For an anthropology paper.”
Nox grabbed the table, visibly reeling. “You took anthropology?”
“Yeah. At Georgetown,” Julian said, forcing a shocked gasp from Nox.
“Not with me,” he countered but didn’t look sure. He raised a brow at Julian, making him chuckle.
“No. I had Professor Clancy. It was years ago, though, so he probably wouldn’t remember me.”
Nox rose, his eyes wide. “You had Clancy?” he asked loudly.
Julian shrugged again and looked at Nelson in concern. “Yeah. Why? Is that important?”
“Possibly,” Nelson said slowly, catching hold of Nox’s sleeve in case he tried to run. “Did he tell you to look into the MacCrorys?”
“Clancy?” Julian’s head pulled back and he laughed it off. “No. I barely talked to Professor Clancy.”
“You didn’t?” Nox asked as he slowly sank back down and Julian laughed.
“I didn’t really talk to any of my professors when I was there. That’s what assistants are for.”
“Of course,” Nox said quickly, sounding relieved. “Clancy keeps a wall between him and his students and he likes that wall tall and wide. Did he say anything to you when you chose the Tuath Dé for your research paper? You should have met with him to discuss that, at least.”
Julian’s eyes flicked upward. “I think… He said that every few years a student would pick the Tuath Dé or the Murrayite theory and that he was looking forward to reading it. But I never finished it. I dropped out.”
A loud breath whooshed from Nox. “Ha! I know what you were thinking,” he said to Nelson accusatively.
“Maybe,” he confirmed but turned his focus back to Julian. “Did you ever see Clancy with any of the MacCrorys or did they ever mention him?” Nelson asked, causing Nox to gasp even louder.
“No way!” he said, appalled as he stared at Nelson.
Julian seemed to agree and chuckled as he sat back, then hugged his chest as he coughed, his thin rasping wheeze alarming Nelson. But Julian carried on. “I can’t see a pampered, elitist like Professor Clancy hanging out with the MacCrorys. They’re way too crude and Ma thinks that public schools and higher education are scams and how the government programs us into Christian sheep.”
“There’s a little bit of truth in that,” Nox conceded but he still looked troubled. “Brian was at your place. Did Ma or Colin ever come up to Georgetown to meet with other members or witches?”
“Oh, no,” Julian said and laughed again. “There weren’t a lot of other members. We had to improvise when you found the girls, but the rave and the ritual had always been part of the plan. That’s when we’d reveal ourselves and the Dagda. Everyone would be with us after that.”
“We only slowed you down when we found the girls,” Nox murmured, staring over Julian’s shoulder. “The first crime scene was a stunt to get everyone’s attention and you needed something that would go viral when you posted the invitation to the rave. The MacCrorys didn’t come up with that.”
There was a weak, scratchy laugh from Julian. “Of course not. I don’t think Ma knows how to drive. Her and Colin barely left the property, let alone New Castle. They sent Brian up here to help me and because they didn’t trust me with Elsa.”
“You had second thoughts.” Nelson could see that Julian was too smart for the MacCrorys and would have quickly outgrown them or lost interest.
“I had second thoughts all the time,” Julian said and became sad and distant again. “But there was no way I could take it back after I told Elsa. I didn’t want her to think I was crazy, so I took her to prove we were real and that I was going to be something. Everything just spiraled from there and we were all in so deep that I had to see it through. Ma promised me that if we did everything right, the Dagda would reward us all and we would rule with Him. But I didn’t care about ruling. All I planned to ask for was Elsa so I had to make it real and the ritual had to work or else I’d lose her forever.”
“Ma’s dead, Julian,” Nox said softly, but Julian jumped and what little color was left drained from his face.
“How?” he croaked and licked his lips.
Nox glanced at Nelson for permission and waited for his nod before continuing. “It looks like she was poisoned. They haven’t confirmed it yet, but I think it was yew needles.”
Julian grunted in agreement. “That sounds about right.” His frown deepened as he rubbed his sternum, mumbling under his breath in Latin.
“I don’t think it was suicide,” Nox said.
