Page 18 of The Night Vision
“This is beautiful. Thank you,” Silas held the skillfully braided arrangement in his palms, touched at the intricate plait and the tight little bow.
Nox hummed knowingly. “Look at that! A posey!” he said, waving for them to follow and Tighe looked confused. “We should keep moving unless we want to fight over Tighe.”
“A fight?” he asked Silas but he shushed and gestured for Tighe to go ahead. He didn't want to alarm Tighe or stop for more questions.
“Nox is joking.”
“A joke,” Tighe said with a feigned laugh. “I don’t understand most jokes but I was worried he might have meant the other guys.”
“What other guys?” Silas asked and Nelson paused, sending Nox and Silas wary glances.
Tighe shrugged. “I didn’t see them, Cranky Frank did. He said they had muscles and tactical gear. Maybe even a gun.”
“Cranky Frank, you say? When was this?” Nelson had his notepad and his tiny pencil out and was taking everything down.
“Frank said it was this morning, a while before we met.”
Nelson looked up from his pad and arched a brow. “Did you get a look at the time, by any chance?”
“Time?” Tighe laughed and shook his head, then frowned at Silas. “Should I have? I never do but I didn’t think it was important.”
“It’s probably nothing,” he said, anxious to keep Tighe moving. “We should stop by your camp and get the rest of your things.”
“My camp? This is all I have,” Tighe said and this time, Nelson blinked at him, looking confused..
“You’ve been out here for months without any other gear?”
“Years... I live on the Trail but what else would I need?” Tighe asked with a shrug.
“I see…” Nelson looked impressed as he carried on and Nox was grinning as he marched behind him.
“It makes so much sense if you think about it, for an Ossory wolf.”
“What’s he talking about? I’m an Ossor,” Tighe whispered at Silas, making him chuckle.
“I barely know half the time, but he’s pretty damn smart about this mythology stuff and everything he’s said has been right so far.”
“I’m not just a mythology nerd,” Nox said, then stopped and took Tighe by the shoulders. “I’m just going to rip the Band-Aid off because I sense that you’re more open-minded than most people and because Icanprove that I’m real,” he told Tighe, causing his eyes to widen.
“A real what?” he asked and Nox grinned.
“I’m a powerful witch and the reincarnation of a Celtic demigod.” Nox held up a hand and Silas and Tighe jumped, swearing as a flame ignited from the palm.
“A demigod? Like Achilles?” Tighe whispered as his finger stretched toward the flame, gasping when it was close enough to feel the heat.
“Part god, part man. Sometimes more god than I’d prefer, but it’s something like that.” Nox smiled softly as the forest grew warmer and brighter around them. “My parents were both descendants of ancient gods: the Dagda and the Badb. You’re descended from an ancient line of Ossors, who were named thusly because they were the original Werewolves ofOssory.”
“Werewolves? The elders used to say our kin could change into great wolves but I’ve never seen it,” Tighe whispered, suddenly pale, but Nox held up both hands.
“There are various ways we can interpret the descriptions of these ‘werewolves,’” he said as they continued to walk and the soft, warm haze around them dissipated. “Some accounts describe shapeshifting, but was it literal or did they shift from civilized men to brutal raiders? Many scholars believe the werewolves were linked to the fianna and merely looked and behaved like wolves. In fact, they referred to their activities as ‘wolfing’ and they were said to keep their hair and beards shaggy and thick like a wolf’s. But they were also said to shave the sidesof their heads and tattoo them, which sounds so metal,” Nox said before waving wildly. “We have to cut my hair when we get home!”
“Sure,” Nelson said as he stepped over a mound of mushrooms growing on a fallen trunk.
Tighe gasped. “Coral tooth! We should take these for our lunch. I saw some sunchokes not too far from here and I’m sure we can find plenty of ramps.”
Nelson started to object but Tighe already had his backpack unzipped.
“Sounds great,” Nox said and gestured for Nelson to relax. “He’s in good hands now and we’ll be home in no time,” he added quietly.
