“Oopsies!” Nelson whispered and giggled. “Except you’re the one who decided it would be a brilliant move to kidnap the Dagda’s Uaithne and you’re the one who thought a god’s temple would be a smart place to challenge him. You’re fucked, Dùbhghlas, and you did it all to yourself.”
“No! I—” he started but stopped short when Nelson burst into more giggles, growing insensate.
“But you did!” It felt so good to laugh in his face and feel the confusion radiating from Dùbhghlas. “You didn’t steal the god’s gateway, you stole the other half of the god and returned it to where it was born. You didn’t think we’dfeelthat or that this ground wouldn’t tell us you were defiling it?”
“I took precautions!” Dùbhghlas answered, his voice trembling. “I turned this place against him!”
“No, you didn’t. You failed, just like you always do when you fuck with Merlin Oglethorpe and Lennox MacIlwraith. Your plan might have worked if you hadn’t kidnappedmeand went literally anywhere else to hide. You practically begged for this and now it’s time to face the consequences.”
“I will not!”
Nelson was pushed and rushed through another large room before a door was opened and he smelled and felt fresh air and sunlight. “Finally!” he croaked, too overcome to find his voice. He could hear the screams of monsters and bodies being torn and trampled and the ground shook.
I’m alright. Please be careful.
He could only make out the sounds of damned beings suffering and Nelson couldn’t sense anyone he loved in distress or dying. It was impossible to tell with the hood on but Nelson did know that Dùbhghlas wouldn’t be panicking and putting him on display if he wasn’t desperate.
“Move!” Dùbhghlas ordered and Nelson trudged forward when the collar around his neck was pulled, listening and seeking for any hint as to what was in front of him. “On your knees!” he shouted at Nelson over the noise.
Nelson felt the crackle, the instant Nox became aware of them and the god within him ignited. Heat like a massive bonfire spread through the meadow and Nelson heard Dùbhghlas’s startled gasp. Dùbhghlas was shaking and Nelson heard the sound of the pistol being cocked again, not far from his head.
“It’s over, Hugh,” Nox called out and Nelson couldn’t hold back his tearful laugh.
“You’re so fucked,” Nelson said, whistling under his hood. “Be a sport and take this off so I can watch.”
“Release Nelson and surrender and you can survive this,” Nox suggested helpfully, touching Nelson. His Nox was stillin charge and doing his best to do the right thing, even if Dùbhghlas didn’t deserve a scrap of mercy.
Dùbhghlas answered with a hoarse cackle. “Surrender? I don’t think so. Not when I have a few more lessons to teach you.”
There was a blistering hot pulse and several anguished protests from the field that Nelson recognized. “That would be ahugemistake,” Nox warned and his voice rose and carried over the battle.
“Possibly,” Dùbhghlas agreed. “I’m dying to find out.”
Nelson immediately understood what was coming next. His eyes squeezed shut and his heart stopped when he heard a massiveBang!
Chapter Twenty-Two
The cabin’s front doors opened and Dùbhghlas stepped out, a chain hanging from his fist. He gave it a rough yank and Nox clamped down on the wild fury that leapt within him when he saw Nelson. His head was covered by a thick hood that appeared to be heavy, from the way Nelson’s head and shoulders sagged as he stumbled forward. The hood’s outer layer looked like it was chainmail, the rising sun glinting off the links as it swayed with each straining step.
“On your knees!” Dùbhghlas barked at Nelson, dropping the leash and brandishing a pistol with his remaining hand.
Nox used the moment to assess Nelson from head to toe. His trousers were tattered and filthy and his white shirt sleeves were streaked with blood, ash, and grime. The front had been ripped and hung open, revealing a badly bruised and burned torso. But despite Dùbhghlas’s efforts to subdue and torment him, he was still Nox’s Nelson—brave, selfless, andfaithful.He had withstood Dùbhghlas’s cruelty and depravity and now, it was finally time to bring him home and end this nightmare.
“It’s over, Hugh,” Nox announced, scanning the front of the cabin and the woods behind it. His skin prickled and the hairs on the back of his neck stood. There were still things hecouldn’t see, moving and whispering in the shadows as the fight continued behind him. “Release Nelson and surrender and you can survive this,” he offered but there was a rasping cackle from the porch.
“Surrender? I don’t think so. Not when I have a few more lessons to teach you.”
The pistol was raised and aimed at Nelson’s head, igniting Nox’s fury like a struck match. “That would be ahugemistake.” Nox allowed the godly rage to swell within him.
“No!” Clancy’s horrified cry and Merlin’s roared“Dùbhghlas!”split the air as the twins howled and Ingrid let out a thunderous scream.
“Possibly,” Dùbhghlas agreed. “I’m dying to find out.”
“Stad!?1” Nox yelled just as Dùbhghlas pulled the trigger, halting the explosion as the bullet left the chamber.
The bullet hung in the air and the world was frozen around them. Dùbhghlas spit out a disgusted swear when he tried to fire again and found the hammer and trigger locked. He hurled the pistol at Nox before dashing for the door. “Oh no, you don’t!” Nox went after him, streaking up the steps and kicking Nelson out of the bullet’s path.
He grabbed the back of Dùbhghlas’s shirt and heaved him off the porch, right at Clancy and Merlin. “You sniveling pest!” Dùbhghlas seethed as he scrambled to his feet and raised his hands. “I’ll teach you to?—”
