Page 31 of Back in the Hunt

Nox waved it off. “You’re ahellhound! You’re the tip of the spirit spear and the most fearsome thing in the afterlife! You’re supposed to be frothing and ready tohunt.” he said as he snatched at the air and pumped his fist dramatically. “I’d be climbing the walls on this side of the veil too if I was bred for glory and vengeance. But the spoils are different now. This world doesn’t exist in terms of chieftains and clans and the maps are all set, for the most part. Half of the world are nonbelievers and that’s for the better, if we’re both being honest. Too many still think in terms of one true god and one true people and they’re willing to wipe out generations so their team can inhabit a few square miles of Holy Land for a handful of decades.”

“It’s such a mess!” Bryn concurred, rubbing his temple. “I thought you could settle it once and for all, but a dog is most dangerous when it’s hurt. And I do think you’re right, there are fundamentalists in every religion that would rather see thewhole world burn than arealgod rise and end their cult and their chosen god.”

“Then,wecan have peace?” Nox asked as he gestured between them. “That’s not why you’re here, though.”

Bryn shook his head, ducking sheepishly. “I need help with Everly and my instincts tell me that Merlin isn’t the one to ask for…romantic advice,” he attempted.

A loud laugh burst from Nox and he slapped the top of the desk as he shook his head. “Not if you want to be able to sleep at night! He is absolutely trying to curse you to an eternity of sexual torment.”

“I get why he’d want to get back at me, but why bring Everly into it?” Bryn asked and Nox snorted.

“Have you seen yourself and have you met Merlin? In no way is that a bad setup by his calculations. I bet if you offered him the position of full-time hellhoundrider, he’d ask how much he’d have to payyou.”

“Gross.”

“Meh,” Nox said with a dismissive swat. “He’s pretty attached to Jeff right now so he’s just goofing around when he grabs your ass.”

“Goofing around?” Bryn’s tongue pushed against the inside of his cheek as he recalled the last time Merlin grabbed his ass. “Hemoanedand it sounded real.” He shuddered as he recalled the feel of Merlin’s breath wafting against his bicep.

“You can hit him.” Nox nodded quickly. “Knock him through the study wall the next time he does it and teach the creepy little shit a lesson,” he suggested, his eyes lighting up and watering as he stared past Bryn. “But only if I’m there. It’s my wall and I’ll pay for it, just make sure I get to see it. Bonus points if you give me a chance to record it. Clancy would be tickled to bits.”

“Your family is…so strange.”

Nox hummed happily. “I love that about us and you’ll get used to it. How can I help you with Everly?”

“Right!” Bryn’s cheeks puffed out as he searched for the least uncomfortable way to start. General biology seemed like a good idea. “As far as I can make out, Ev’s kind of like a Gremlin and we don’t want to…feed him too soon or get him wet until he’s had some time to develop his own magick.”

“That’s the gist,” Nox said, his lips twitching. “He died and his soul was just about as weak as a soul could get when you saved him. What was left was stained by that curse when you brought him to us. We weren’t starting from scratch, by any means, because I’d bet that Everly’s always been this pure and gentle. Merlin and I simply cleared away that Abhartach’s stink and healed as many of Everly’s scars as we could. I’ve never felt a soul so lonely, but I patched it with the light of all souls! His aura is so clear and so fresh now,” Nox whispered giddily, knocking the wind out of Bryn and bringing tears to his eyes.

“You did that for him?” He pressed a hand over his mouth to hold back a howl of intense gratitude as it overwhelmed him.

“We were happy to help.” But Nox shook his head, grimacing at Bryn. “I was scared shitless, if I’m being honest, because reanimating a changeling is…scary! I don’t know if I would have if it weren’t for you. I could see how attached you had become and it seemed too…inhumane after he’d spent so long lingering. But playinggodlike that… What didFrankensteinand an entire genre of horror teach us?”

“Everly isn’t evil,” Bryn stated. “He could never be.”

“Of course, not!” Nox agreed quickly. “We didn’t have a recipe or a text we could consult so Merlin and I hedged our bets with all the white magick we could muster. As insurance and to heal and to protect Everly. All the best parts: his honesty, his kindness, his courage, his generosity… He came with all that. Itwas just a matter of what else would get added into the mix. What do we train his little fae battery to run on?”

“You’re teaching him how to be an empath,” Bryn realized but Nox shook his head.

“I don’t have toteach him. The leannán sí arehyperempaths. They feed on emotions and can draw real strength from them. Send a fledgling sí into the brothels or an army camp and you’ll wind up with a succubus or an incubus. And you know how they can be twisted and turned into dark horrors that seek out grief and sorrow. They take whatever you pour into them, rearrange their magickal DNA to match it, then amplify it.”

Bryn nodded slowly. “Ev’s very sensitive to emotions, especially my emotions when you and I are taking shots at each other.”

“You’re trying to be better and you’re here becausehematters to you,” Nox said encouragingly.

“He does,” Bryn agreed. “So, what are you and Merlin teaching him?”

“Pretty basic stuff,” Nox replied and squinted. “Crystals and moon cycles. Merlin taught him how to make some useful salves and I’m helping him learn how to read Tarot cards, but you know how literal Everly is…”

Bryn frowned, slightly disappointed. “That’s it? You’ve been incredibly generous but we can’t hide at your place forever. Everly deserves a chance to have a real life and be free.”

“Stay forever,” Nox said and held Bryn’s gaze so he knew it wasn’t a flippant statement. “I’d fight you for Everly, but he’d follow you to the Otherworld and back.”

“I think he would.” Bryn laughed and blushed. “I’ve never had anyone but Arawn. And then there was Fletcher and I love him almost as much as Arawn. But I’ve never had anyone who was just for me. I know you and Merlin think he’s this hollow thing to be carefully molded, but Everly was already perfect andI was in love with that little slip of soft blue before he woke up,” he admitted. “Saving him was the right call, Nox.”

“I think so too and that he’ll dogoodand make the most of this new life he’s building with us.”

Just the thought of Everly having a home and a family made Bryn weak, he wanted it so badly for him. Even if Bryn wasn’t lucky enough to be a part of it.

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