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“Come on, professor. You know the answer to this one. What could be more godlike than a game of who’s having sex with whom and did I kill my father?”
“Did I?” Nox asked immediately.
“In theory,” Lucas said, groaning sympathetically when Nox cried and covered his face in shame. “You killed your father the same way I killed mine, by being the next in line and you were too beautiful and too strong for Him to resist. But the only you that matters in that equation, the Nox I loved and raised, was across the country when I died. I don’t think that part was an accident.”
“He waited until I was away.”
“You would have been with me if you weren’t in California.”
“Why were you alone?” Nox asked and Lucas sighed.
“I should have listened and I forgive them. You’re going to have to forgive them, too, soon. And you have to forgive them soon. You’re going to need them.”
“Who? Clancy and Merlin? Nelson?” But Nox knew Lucas was talking about them. “Why?”
Lucas stood, pushing off his knees and slowly unfolding. Nox wanted to go to him and hug Lucas but was afraid he wouldn’t be able to let go and that he’d forget everything else.
“I wouldn’t know where to begin,” Lucas said with a grimace, acknowledging Nox’s frustrated gasp. “How much time do I have and do I want to waste it explaining what I barely understand? Not when I think you already understand more than I do. You just haven’t wanted to face it but you will soon and you’ll have to forgive them. I’d much rather use the time I have to ask your forgiveness and tell you that I’m proud of you and that I believe in you.”
“I never wanted anyone to believe in me,” Nox muttered and kicked the grass under his sneaker. He sensed a very old, powerful stone nearby and turned. It was nestled within the roots of the great white oak that had grown around it and Nox noted the other stones hidden around the clearing. This was the same stone circle. This was where he’d met the Dagda before.
“A lot of people believe that destiny is a thing you can choose and chase. It’s the other way around. Destiny always chooses and it chases us. The ones who get to pick their own paths are just the lucky unchosen few with incredible talent, timing, or good enough luck to earn the gods’ favor. Sometimes, it’s a combination of the three, but destiny rarely smiles upon those it chooses.”
“Awesome,” Nox said woodenly. He truly was damned.
“It’s not that bad,” Lucas laughed as he came around the fire, staying just out of reach. “I don’t believe it’s your destiny to be sacrificed or to fail. You are so much stronger than any of the heirs before you. Why do you think He’s so enamored with you, but so afraid?”
Nox gave him a dubious look. “Afraid? How do you know He’s afraid?”
“Look at how gentle He’s been,” Lucas said excitedly. “He’s wooing you and He’s not messing around, is He? He’s played right to your heart’s deepest and most human desires because you’re His last hope and His best hope. You’re strong and you’re special and He knows it. Can you imagine if He’d had to settle for this?” he asked, looking down at himself and snorting. “Or your grandfather?” Lucas’s nose wrinkled as he shook his head. “I should have tried because I could fail and he wouldn’t have been as strong with me. You’re way more powerful of a vessel and you already have the charisma and magnetism of a demigod. You’re practically a rockstar in your own right and you’d be a serious threat to Christianity if you were truly divine.”
“Oh…no.” Nox saw the terrible potential and recoiled in horror.
“Imagine: a new sexy, tattooed Jesus who likes to party. The Pope wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“His cult would be big enough to change the world,” Nox whispered.
“Or end it, if the Dagda decides it’s not what He wants. He could take a look around and decide the world needs a reset and unleash nature’s wrath upon mankind.”
“No pressure.” Nox had to sit down, his legs were shaking and he was getting queasy. “Is that the opium wearing off or the existential dread?” he wondered out loud.
There was a knowing hum from Lucas as he lowered to a knee next to Nox. “Probably both. But I believe in you, Nox. And I believe in you and Nelson. Deep down, you already know that’s the answer. You just have to accept that it’s time and believe in yourself.” He caught Nox’s chin and they both smiled at how good it felt. But it was a simple, easy, familiar good. There wasn’t any drunken euphoria and Nox wasn’t dazzled. Instead, he felt like he was home. Nox was as safe and as innocent as he was when he was eight and Lucas was there to pick him up when he fell down. And Nox was loved. Not for his beauty or his strength, but because he was simply Lucas’s boy.
“I already know the answer,” Nox told himself. He’d keep telling himself that until he believed it. “How can you be so sure, though?”
Lucas’s eyes twinkled and he swallowed a giggle. “For once, Merlin’s forgotten something and I think it might make all the difference in the world.”
“Can you give me a hint?” Nox sensed that he was drifting away from consciousness and off to true sleep and mirky, drug-infused dreams.
“Ask Merlin why the Ó Murchadha were chosen all those years ago when the MacIlwraiths had that one magickal girl.”
“The Ó Murchadha?” Nox whispered, his own memory being tickled but he wasn’t ready to dig for it yet. “What about the Badb? Do you know who he is?”
“No.” Lucas shook his head. “I only know what you know and what you’ve seen and what I know and what I’ve seen,” he answered with an apologetic shrug. “I can tell you that he is not the Badb or who he thinks he is, but you already know that. And you know that he must be stopped before he hurts someone else. Including you.”
“And the Badb’s not another one of the Dagda’s tricks or a test?” Nox mused out loud and Lucas made a doubtful sound.
“I don’t think He’d risk damaging or losing His last heir. I don’t think that part is a trick. You truly are His most beloved. Don’t lose sight of that.”
