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Now, he kept hearing a strange name whispered in his ear, soft and incessant, calling him to Nox. Nelson’s skin burned like he had a fever and his heart thumped out a steady Nox-Nox, Nox-Nox, Nox-Nox.
“Come for me.”
No. It wasn’t at all like fucking. Nelson had come alive with Nox and then, he came. His dream orgasm hadn’t just soiled his shorts, it had shattered Nelson’s psyche. How was he supposed to sit next to Nox in the car for hours and quietly listen to him talk about symbols and rituals? What if he couldn’t look at Nox without seeing him naked or picturing those cocky, smirking lips wrapped around his…
“Jesus! Is this what it’s like?” Nelson whispered in distress. He didn’t understand how other men operated if that was what they thought about all day. To make matters worse, Nelson was hard again. He had never had a spontaneous or self-induced erection in his life and had never masturbated.
What would happen if he woke Nox and told him about the dream and admitted to having improper thoughts? Something inside Nelson warned that Nox would be extremely interested and all too happy to make Nelson’s dream and his visions a reality. That would be like opening Pandora’s box and Nelson didn’t know what that would do to his ability to hunt and give Nox what he needed to find those missing girls.
That was enough to snap Nelson out of it and he sobered quickly. He thought about them and begged all the gods and monsters to spare Mila and Rachel and the four other girls. He thought about how scared they were and wondered how badly they had been harmed. And Nelson vowed that he’d hunt every last one of those monsters down if it was the last thing he did.
“Alright. Time to get up,” he decided and snatched his notepad off the nightstand on the way to the bathroom. He’d pass the hours until Nox awoke working on that list of questions from his dream and studying everything Nox had in his precious bag about the first abduction.
Six
“The purple flowers were meadowsweet, also called ‘queen of the meadow,’ and is highly revered among the druids. It would be almost mandatory at that sort of divining ritual,” Nox explained while Nelson steered the Continental north on Highway 81. They had shared a quick but uninspiring breakfast at the diner before heading to Maryland to retrace Elsa Hansen’s last steps. She was the first abducted victim and Nelson predicted that they’d find the most clues around her disappearance. Aside from the horror at New Castle, Nox felt an overwhelming frustration and seethed at how useless and late he was.
He couldn’t help the unidentified girl on the tree but there was still a chance they could save the others. Nox glanced at Nelson and felt reassured. He wouldn’t be late again with a walking investigative supercomputer at his side. Nox could talk about the spiritual and healing properties of plants all day, but he couldn’t translate them into method and motive like Nelson could.
“And verbena—or vervain—is known as ‘the enchanter’s herb’ and was ubiquitous at both druidic and Roman altars. I’m glad you noticed and remembered to ask,” Nox said, chuckling softly. Nelson had been pacing with a list of questions and tasks on his little notepad when Nox awoke.
“Mmhmm…” Nelson nodded, then snuck a quick look at Nox before facing the windshield again. He had been even more taciturn and was distant, but Nox would catch him staring. A little shock and awe was to be expected after their whirlwind introduction, but Nelson also seemed…rattled.
“Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” Nelson rumbled before his eyes flicked to Nox and then back to the road. “But…did you…do something?”
Nox’s brows slid up his forehead. “Do something? Like what?”
“Nothing.” Nelson shook his head and was quiet for several moments. “Who is Uaithne?”
A shocked laugh burst from Nox as he turned to face Nelson. “Who is Uaithne? Who told you about that and who said it was a person?” He demanded, his heart suddenly racing as he held onto the dashboard.
Nelson frowned and shrugged. “You must have said something and it must have stuck.”
“Oh, no. I would not forget something like that.” Nox’s head tilted as he paused and thought back through everything they had discussed and shook his head. “You must have heard someone say it, though. You pronounced that extremely archaic Gaelic word correctly.” Most modern English speakers wouldn’t look at Uaithne and get anywhere close to “Oof-na.”
“I’m pretty sure it was you.” Nelson nodded tightly, but he was turning a curious shade of pink.
“No. I didn’t,” Nox stated and pointed. “Because I know what a uaithne is. And I would have been…insensate if I had seen any sign of one or any symbology suggesting its presence.” He laughed and it bounced around the cabin of the car because the next part was truly a kicker. “And you are in the presence of one of the only people on the planet who believes the Uaithne was a who. Common interpretation of Dagda lore has it as a harp.”
Nelson’s frown deepened. “A harp? No. You used it like a name.”
“I probably would have because I believe it was a person, but I didn’t.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Nelson said dismissively. “Why do you think it was a person and who was he?”
“Not so fast!” Nox gave his arm a swat in protest. “That would have been a fascinating conversation and I’d like to be a part of it,” he insisted and Nelson threw him a pleading look.
“Can you just…explain the harp?”
“Not until you explain how and when we had this discussion because I’m pretty sure I’d remember.”
“Fine. It was a dream,” Nelson muttered under his breath.
“It was a dream?”
“Yes. Can you explai—?”
