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Cum burst from his cock, deep in Nox’s throat, a bright, blinding rush of love and joy that made Nelson lighter than air. “Nox!” He floated up into the branches, amongst the budding leaves and for just a moment, felt the sun touching his face before he drifted back to earth.
“I told you, you’re brave and adventurous,” Nox said and sounded both sated and pleased with himself as he fixed Nelson’s trousers and his jeans. “That’s one of the other things I love about you.” He leaned close to press a quick, laughing kiss to Nelson’s lips, but he captured Nox’s face, stilling him and becoming serious again.
“I want you to remember that, because we have to go back now. Our best and only cooperating suspect is dying and my gut is still telling me that Clancy is somehow involved in this.”
Nox reared back, blinking at Nelson as he recalculated. “You were love bombing me?”
“What? No.” Nelson shook his head, but Nox snorted wryly and wagged a finger at Nelson.
“That’s why you wanted to take a detour. You weren’t satisfied with Julian’s answers or the way I handled Tony. Now, you’re worried about what we’ll learn if we investigate Clancy and his former students.”
“For a few hours, maybe,” Nelson conceded, but with a shrug. “You needed to catch your breath after Julian and Tony and gather your strength before we have to question Clancy. You just had another scare after recovering from a curse and we don’t know who’s responsible or how they got that close to you.”
“Absolutely not.” Nox looped his arm around Nelson’s and yanked him off the tree. “No more pampering Nox with pizza and dream dates and sex in cemeteries. Stop treating me like I’m fragile. And we’re not making another stop or going one step further until we talk to Clance. Not until you see how ridiculous this is.”
1 Mag Mell (Mah Mell): Another name for the Celtic Otherworld, meaning “plain of joy.”
Eleven
It was almost an hour to the Hoover Building from Parklawn, but Nox was locked on Clancy while they waited for news about Tony and Julian. Nox was going to prove just how ludicrous it was for Nelson to even suggest that Clancy could have been involved.
“That wasn’t cool. His girls are only a few years younger than Alice Hawthorne. And he’d never mess with another professor’s TA. That’s sacrilegious.”
“I’m sorry,” Nelson said as he parked. “Whoever this battle crow is, he knows your family and your history and he knows Julian. Clancy had a lot of students over the years so I can believe he didn’t recognize Julian’s name after he was arrested. But it’s an interesting coincidence and I had to check,” he explained.
“I know, but it’s batshit,” Nox said and laughed. “Clancy wouldn’t let some fake Tuath Dé run amuck in the Appalachians. As an anthropologist, he’d be all over that if he thought it was viable. And he’d want to shut it down as much as I would.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Nelson said, nodding at the windshield. “I’ve always known that he’s hiding something and lying in everyone’s face. But I think I know what that’s about,” he added with a sideways glance at Nox.
“He might be protecting someone,” Nox confirmed so Nelson would knock off the side-eye. “Which is why it makes no sense for him to be involved with whoever this wannabe Dagda is. Clance spent his whole life protecting my dad and swore he’d take care of me. He’d never betray my dad like that. He’s always protected me like I was his.”
Nelson’s cheeks puffed out as he nodded. “My gut has always told me the same thing. Sometimes, it screams that he loves you a little too much and he’s jealous because he can’t devote himself to you like Merlin can.”
“Don’t get me started with those two,” Nox said, slouching in his seat and massaging his temple to ease the ache that had blossomed there. “They used to get along when I was a kid, before…” He closed his eyes, catching a memory as it fluttered amongst the swirling questions and accusations Julian’s revelations and Tony’s poisoning had unleashed. Nox’s thoughts were a muddled mess, but he let them be swept away for a moment and cherished his parents’ and Clancy’s and Merlin’s laughing, loving faces. Gods, how Nox ached for his family. “We used to be happy.” He wiped away a tear and gave his head a shake. “They…broke up after my parents passed. They blame each other for things they had no control over and it’s…bitter and pointless,” he summed up with a shrug. “It’s like the messiest divorce you could possibly imagine and I refused to get in the middle of it or pick a side. Not after losing my other parents.”
“I don’t blame you,” Nelson said, taking Nox’s hand. “I don’t want to believe that Clancy could have been involved with Julian and the MacCrorys but I had to ask. Now, Tony’s been attacked. Clancy knows your schedule and your favorite TA as well as I do.”
“I understand.” Knowing Nelson the way he did, Nox wasn’t surprised that he’d track down every clue. Even the ones he was afraid of. “Hold on.” Nox turned and his eyes narrowed as he replayed Nelson’s part of their encounter with Julian. “You knew about Clancy. You checked his college transcri— Merlin.” Nox slapped himself on the forehead. “Of course, it was Merlin. He would have scoured Julian’s entire history for anything connected to the occult and finding Clancy’s name would have made his twisted little heart so happy.”
“He didn’t seem happy.”
Nox pulled a face. “There is no limit with those two. You want to talk about curses? It’s never been beneath Merlin. That’s why he’s so good at reading them and knows how to take them apart and neutralize them. And I told you, Clancy might look and act like a stuffy academic, but he’s just as dangerous in his own way.”
“Noted,” Nelson sighed, then shook his head. “I don’t understand why the three of you can’t sit down and air it all out. I know they love you and…” He made a low, weary groaning sound as he turned off the engine. “We’re all worried, Nox, but they aren’t helping.”
“Trust me, I know.” He sniffed sarcastically, feeling a whiff of irritation and wishing he could get out of the car without making a scene.
“Can you blame us for being worried?” Nelson asked and raised a brow at Nox.
For some reason, Nox did. He didn’t understand why, though, and shook his head. His heart ached again and he worried if he was somehow responsible for all this sorrow and suffering.
“We can’t air it all out. We all made the same vow and they made promises to my parents. But I’ve never wanted to because—” He grimaced at the tickle of queasy unease. “I won’t live my life according to some prophecy or live in fear of a curse. There are times when I sense they want me to do something—to give them permission to say something—but I just opt out.”
Nelson’s head cocked and he frowned. “You opt out?”
“Yup.” Nox shrugged. “A prophecy is like a journey, a series of events that unfold until you reach a foretold conclusion. But those events can’t unfold if I never open that door and go down that path, right? I can go down the hall and lock myself in the bathroom until it’s too late, metaphorically speaking.”
“I don’t think it’s working. The metaphor or your plan,” Nelson clarified when Nox opened his mouth to ask. “I think there are monsters on this journey and they’ve come to you. One of them might be beating on the door,” he warned.
