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“Okay,” he said with a casual shrug and pulled the front of his shirt free. He raised it to his neck and a swear slipped from Julian.
“Tuatha Dé Danann,” Howard said as he cast a startled look at Julian and Nelson. “This is no dilettante! He is a—!”
“Calm down!” Nox shushed Howard when he began to splutter and hop. “My friend Merlin designed most of these sigils and the geometry to protect me and some of these are…family traditions,” he attempted.
“Your parents and grandparents had a lot of tattoos?” Nelson challenged, but Howard spun and nodded before Nox could answer.
“Yes! They probably would if they were powerful druids like him,” he said, causing Nox to cringe. “The ancient Celts and Picts were heavily tattooed so it would absolutely make sense for—”
Nox shushed loudly. “Apotropaic magick is extremely common across many ancient cultures and we see it around us all the time!” He said quickly, attempting to change the subject. “Take the evil eye, for example. They’re all over the store and are a fairly typical warding symbol you find in many homes and businesses these days.”
“Yes, but…” Julian pointed at Nox. “You’re like a level 20 moon druid.”
Nox laughed nervously and gestured for him to dial it back. “No way. Maybe a 15 or a 16. I still have a lot to learn, but can we focus on the league and the missing girls?” That seemed to work until Nox dropped into the passenger seat of the Continental and caught Nelson staring. “What?”
“Most people would call us herbalists and what we do as homeopathy,” he said, quoting Nox verbatim again.
“I never said I wasn’t a druid.” Nox batted his lashes innocently, but it didn’t work.
“You’ve been lying this whole time, pretending to be an open book and a teacher.”
“I didn’t lie, I—”
“Manipulating another person’s ignorance and omitting key pieces of information doesn’t make you a good teacher, it makes you a conman, Nox.”
“That’s not fair. What would you have said if I had come right out and said that my family have been secret druids for…forever? Would you have listened and taken me seriously?” He countered and Nelson snorted.
“When haven’t I listened? I’ve trusted you from the beginning, but you haven’t decided that I’m worthy yet.”
Nelson didn’t talk to Nox after that. He was silent for the rest of the drive back to Nox’s and spent the evening with his notepad, flipping pages, scribbling, and murmuring to himself during dinner and had turned in at exactly 9 PM without saying goodnight.
Clearly, Nox owed Nelson an apology and a lengthy explanation.
Thirteen
How much of the truth did Nox owe Nelson? They had only known each other for a few days and Nelson had secrets of his own, but learning that Nox had kept him in the dark about who and what he was exactly had been a kick in the gut. He was trusting Nox to lead him through dark, uncharted territory and learning that his guide was just as much of a mystery had blindsided Nelson at Bippity Boppity Books.
And Nox wasn’t just into witchcraft like the victims, or a druid like those that had taken them and were responsible for Elsa Hansen’s death. He could have been the new Tuath Dé’s high priest and Nelson was beginning to wonder why Nox had been searching for them and what his endgame was. Why was a druid hunting druids? Did Nox have more to do with Elsa Hansen and the other missing young women than he was letting on? Nelson’s gut told him that they were on the same side and his instincts hadn’t been wrong, but could he trust himself when he was running on empty in the dark?
He had “slept” through the night at Nox’s. Nelson’s dream visit to the crime scene in New Castle was a trip to a day spa compared to the night before. He was welcomed back to a lush, loving forest and Nox reveled in Nelson’s return, showering him in adoration and pleasure.
Come for me, my Uaithne.
Nox used his lips and fingers to make Nelson come, then teased him until he was hard again and rode him until dawn’s first light. Nelson awoke feeling refreshed and in a better mood, but he wasn’t ready to forgive Daytime Nox yet. He ate his oatmeal in silence, then drove Nox to Healy Hall for Tuesday’s lectures.
Instead of watching and allowing Nox another chance to mesmerize him with his brilliance and magick tricks, Nelson had opted to wait in the hall. The distance allowed Nelson the space to think without the pounding of the drums, but he was still close enough to feel Nox and know he was safe. He had been resting against the wall, half asleep, when he heard footsteps approaching and cracked an eye open.
“Agent Nelson,” Professor Clancy was smiling and curious as he offered his hand. “I had hoped for a chance to catch up with Nox, but I wasn’t expecting to find you hanging around.”
“Professor MacIlwraith and I are working on an investigation,” he said, making Clancy grin. There was a knowing gleam in his eyes as he leaned back and sized Nelson up.
“I am aware, but there’s not much for you to learn here in this hall, and Nox should be at the podium most of the morning and into the afternoon. His last lecture is at 2:00.”
Nelson shrugged. “Socrates said that learning comes from within.”
“True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us,” Clancy quoted back, pushing his hands into the pockets of his trousers and resting his shoulder against the wall next to Nelson. “But you strike me as a young man who already understands too much about the world and very little about himself.”
“The world has been around for a long time and philosophers and scientists have spent a few millennia analyzing it. I’m fairly new and I’m not that interesting,” Nelson said simply. “It seems like a waste of time, worrying about myself when I could learn something useful.”
