“We did, indeed.” Merlin turned to his boards. “We know he could have as many as eighteen more Fomorians and he hasa valkyrie, among other undead things… There aren’t a lot of places you can hide with that kind of company and they couldn’t have gone that far without being seen.”
“It’s not like they can board a flight to Fiji,” Clancy said, resulting in snorts and other suggestions for destinations.
“Wherever they are, it smells like hell,” Nox predicted. “So someplace big and probably in the country and isolated. What else? No idea is too silly or too small to mention.”
His mood hadn’t necessarily lifted but he was glad that Smoak had pulled him back from the brink. It was getting harder to ignore the irate god and the temptation to wield the very powers he feared.
Smoak wouldn’t have known that Nox’s panic began to mount as the sun went down. But he had focused that panic into something more constructive, thankfully, and given Nox a reprieve for the night when Merlin came over with a cup of tea.
“I thought you could use this, but what if I put on a pot of coffee and we pulled an all-nighter?”
“That sounds like a brilliant idea,” Nox said gratefully.
“I thought so,” Merlin said as he smoothed a hand over his bald head. “Let’s get takeout too. You barely ate dinner and that Thai place you like is open late.”
“Even better.” Nox’s appetite was nowhere to be found but he could never say no to a big bowl of Tom Kha Gai with extra mushrooms. The soup might lift his spirits and he’d have something useful to do instead of dwelling on things he shouldn’t with no one but the cats for company.
Clancy excused himself from the conversation by the decanters and hurried over to join Nox and Merlin. “Shelby had an interesting idea: we should put the word out to the Parks Service and the ISB. They have eyes and ears all over the wilder parts of the East Coast. He said that Tighe could check with thehiking community too. Apparently, it’s tight-knit and they keep a close eye on what’s going on along the Appalachian Trail.”
“That’s really smart!” Nox said, looking around Clancy and giving Shelby a thumbs up but he waved it off.
“He said it was all Nelson,” Clancy whispered out of the side of his mouth. “That was how they located Tighe’s brother, Eoin?2. Nelson and Shelby worked together and coordinated their sources and the various field offices. I’m retired but I still have friends all over the FBI,” he added and Nox wasn’t faking it when he pumped his fist and cheered.
“We should hear something in no time! It only took a few hours to learn Tighe’s name once we put out that sketch.”
“Possibly…” Clancy said cautiously. “Tighe and Eoin weren’t hiding and Dùbhghlas would only move at night. If he’s smart, and we know he is. He ambushed you at Coudersport because it’s isolated and he knew no one would notice if a reallybigfight broke out.”
“I know but we haven’t had a lot of good news lately and Smoak just hit me with a sledgehammer. That wasn’t a gentle pep talk out there,” he told them.
“What did he say?” Clancy asked and Nox widened his eyes suggestively.
“He reminded me that the worst case scenario isn’t Nelson dying, it’s himundying.”
Merlin stifled a whimper and nodded. “It crossed my mind but I refused to even think about that,” he admitted in a whisper.
“If anyone can outwit and outlast Dùbhghlas, it’s Nelson,” Clancy said, then forced out a heavy sigh. “How much can a man take? And against a powerful demon, Fomorians, and an undead valkyrie,” he said and mouthed an apology at Nox.
“All the more reason to stay focused and work as fast as we can to find him. That was the other part of Smoak’s not so motivational DeadTalk,” Nox informed them.
“Fuck me…” Clancy groaned and rubbed his brow. “You know times are dark when you’re agreeing with a demon.”
There was a serious hum from Merlin. “I know, I find myself agreeing with him and appreciating his contributions and don’t like it. Not one bit.”
Nox smiled as he watched Smoak fawn over Niall with the teapot. “I do. There might even be a chance that we could become friends.”
“A demon and a demigod?” Merlin scoffed. “What’s next? A snake and a mouse? A rabbit and a wolf?”
“Am I the cute helpless thing or the thing with fangs?” Nox asked, not liking the implication that he was helpless. “I could take Smoak.”
They heard a booming laugh from the study but ignored it. “I don’t doubt it,” Clancy said loudly, then shook his head. “Be friends with him if you like but never forget what he is.”
“Agreed,” Merlin said quietly. “He is only loyal to himself and Niall.”
Nox’s head tipped from side to side as he considered. “That’s fine by me and it seems to be working in our favor, but I still think he’s coming around.”
Not only that, he was starting to believe their friendship wasn’t as impossible as everyone made it out to be. And like his relationship with Nelson, Nox suspected that he was always meant to meet Smoak and that their destinies were intertwined. He couldn’t imagine anything that would repulse Smoak more and smiled as he imagined sharing his theory. He also thought of Nelson and this time, his smile spread.
“I can’t wait to tell Nelson about this. He’s going to behorrified.”
