Once again, Nelson was left wondering if his mother had seen something in him or sensed something bigger in his fate. And once again, he was left wondering if she had been wrong and if he had let her down as well.
“You’re strong but you didn’t get that from your father, Nelson. Don’t let him fool you into believing he had anything to do with that.”
Where would it have come from, then? Where was it now, because Nelson wasn’t feeling particularly strong. Even with his new Noxspace, Nelson was still scared—for himself, but mostly for Nox—and he was still so mad at himself for being such a gullible target.
At the thought, a door opened and Nelson listened as someone entered and slowly strolled closer. He braced himself, waiting for a strike to the head or his gut or for something to slam into his kneecap. Instead, the silence stretched and became a different kind of punishment as Nelson’s skin crawled with the knowledge that he was being watched, that someone was there and enjoying his paranoid discomfort.
“I didn’t think it was possible but I might be the first person to actually die of boredom,” Nelson said, receiving a hoarse chuckle. “I was hoping it was you, Dùbhghlas. That weird chicken—or whatever that thing is—isn’t very bright, is she?” He shook his head and huffed in disappointment. “Really thought you’d have better minions.”
“Hildr will be devastated when I share your assessment with her,” Dùbhghlas said with another sinister chuckle. “I have a feeling you’ll change your mind when that hood comes off. You’ve seen how terrifying a valkyrie can be but you’ve yet to see what I can do with a death-spirit.”
Nelson couldn’t suppress a shudder as he recalled the carnage at Coudersport and Ingrid’s, Sigrid’s, and Freya’s gleeful savagery. Like the Badb and so many other mystical beings, valkyrie were agents of the light and the dark. Their natures were wild and unpredictable because they were deeplynaturalat their cores and were connected to nature. They weren’t beholden to humans or their laws and were capricious like the seasons and the creatures of the forest.
“You’re beginning to understand,” Dùbhghlas said, his husky rasp drawing closer. “You’re finally seeing my vision: that death is just the beginning!” he said excitedly and was now so close, Nelson could feel the coldness and smell Dùbhghlas’s decay. “And I don’t just mean a rebirth! Deathitselfcan be another form of gestation that produces a new, darker, and more powerful being. One that can be made even more vile and more vindictive with the proper rearing,” he explained as Nelson’s hooded face was stroked. “What could I make with you?”
“Fuck off,” Nelson said flatly, refusing to even entertain the notion. “You’ll never touch my soul.”
There was a long pause before Dùbhghlas answered with an amused snort. “We’ll see. Hildr still has a lot of tricks up her sleeve and you have a lot of friends, Agent Nelson.”
“It won’t work,” Nelson said simply, attempting a shrug despite his bindings. “You’ve been studying us so you know about the fucking vows. They’re a pain in the ass but this—you—are exactly why no one says shit, not even to each other. The one thing we do know is that we’ll all be together again if we keep our mouths shut and our souls intact.”
Dùbhghlas could torture Nelson any way he wanted but the end result would be the same: Nelson was keeping his soul. As long as he kept it and it was under his control, Dùbhghlas couldn’t twist Nelson into something dark and damned.
“You’re welcome to waste your time trying, though,” Nelson said and smiled when he felt another blow coming. It hit his left cheek with enough force to knock the chair onto its side and send Nelson sliding.
Wooden floors, he noted, laughing despite the myriad of stings and aches and the way his side burned.
Nelson heard the sound of footsteps retreating and a door opening, but his relief only lasted a few moments.
“Do whatever you like with him, Hildr. Just make sure the hood doesn’t come off.”
Chapter Fourteen
It had been a week since Nelson left with the box of crystals for Howard. They had been the seven longest days of Nox’s life and he had barely slept. Their last conversation played over and over in his head and Nox ached with more regret each time because Nelson had left believing he didn’t matter and wasn’t trusted.
Nelson was theonlything that mattered now. What would be the point of anything without him? As far as Nox was concerned, he would be nothing without Nelson and nothing would be worth his time or attention.
He could not and would not be the Dagda without his Uaithne.
“Your coffee is getting cold,” Merlin said softly, resting his hand on Nox’s. “You barely touched your dinner last night.”
“Is that so? I didn’t notice,” Nox replied as he lifted his cup and smiled at Merlin over the rim. The house was still quiet and it was just the two of them in the kitchen. Unless you counted Dubh and Scurry, who were curled up in a basket in the pantry. “I won’t waste away without a few meals,” Nox promised.
“I know… But think of what Nelson would say if he knew.”
Nox sniffed hard, nodding. “I do think of him and I know he’d hate this but he’s not here right now and I don’t see my appetite improving until he returns.”
They turned when they heard the front door and Clancy’s determined stride in the hall before the kitchen door opened. “Good morning,” he said with a deferential nod at Nox and a toss of his chin at Merlin.
“I would describe the mood as subdued but perhaps you’ve come with good news?” Merlin suggested hopefully.
Clancy’s glower didn’t look promising as he fetched himself a cup and saucer from the drying rack and joined them at the work table. “I have news… I’m not sure if it’s good news,” he warned.
“Every new bit of information is good, even if we don’t like it,” Merlin said with a nervous look at Nox.
“I won’t blow up or start a hunger strike,” he promised, then gave Clancy an expectant look as he poured. “What is it?”
“Ingrid knows Dùbhghlas’s valkyrie,” he said and Merlin’s cup clattered onto its saucer.
