Page 43 of Back in the Hunt

“I see,” Nelson murmured, writing quickly. “What about the ‘father’ thing? Bryn told us it called itself ‘father.’”

“Right!” Merlin beamed at Nelson. “You always remember the most important facts, even when you don’t know how very important they are.” He allowed Nelson to blush and mutter a denial, then Merlin looked around him. “Neamh-mairbhmeans ‘themadeundead.’ As I said before, we are not hunting for one of Buffy’s vampires. This kind of vampire is made with dark magick, not through the sharing of blood.”

“So?” Bryn asked with a shrug. “We already knew it wasn’t a blood-sucking vampire, like in the movies.”

Nox held up a finger, his eyes twinkling. “That’s a pretty big clue, though! It calls itself Abhartach, a self-made vampireandthe father of themadeundead. Of course, it wants a big family, it was an orphan. Now, it wants to be the one in charge so it can wreak havoc on the people or the world that rejected it. Super basic stuff and poor little guy,” he said sadly, then turned to Merlin. “But it’s telling us itself that it wasmadeundead. It had a creator.”

“It had a creator,” Everly whispered to himself as he looked at Bryn and then at Nox.

Merlin clapped at Nox appreciatively. “It had a creator! And like most created abominations, it has stayed close to the laboratory where it was made. There is no way Hugh Dùbhghlascan deny his responsibility for this and he will be held accountable.”

“His intentions were pretty obvious, too,” Nox said, shaking his head and clicking his teeth. “He didn’t resurrect that monstrosity out of kindness and he didn’t accidentally teach it dark magick and how to suck souls. If it’s as much like Everly as we believe, it absorbed that knowledge and the magick that made it undead. It’s learning and growing more powerful every day and with every changeling’s soul that it steals.”

Everly gulped loudly. “What are we going to do? We can’t let it steal more souls!” He was pulled close and burrowed into Bryn’s side as he rubbed Everly’s shoulder.

“Trust me, I won’t let those souls stay stolen. We’ll put a stop to this Abhartach and send those poor souls on to glory.”

There were chants of glory all around and glasses were raised, but Everly couldn’t ignore the concern building in his gut and making his tummy ache.

“Fletcher will give us more clues about how it was made,” Merlin mused before draining his glass and passing it back to Nox. “Ifhe can find the poor changeling child’s autopsy and records,” he continued as he kissed Nox’s cheek. “Jeff will be here momentarily. Call if there’s any change with Tony.” Nelson obediently offered his cheek before Merlin wished them all a good evening and left.

Nelson claimed the first shift and would keep an eye on Tony while everyone headed off to bed. But Everly could hear Nox pacing in the hall and running up and down the stairs while Bryn showered.

“Let’s get some rest. We can’t do anything else for Tony tonight.” Bryn patted the bed next to him.

“I can help Nox, though. He’s very worried and angry. Nelson said Nox might go nuclear but I didn’t think he could get angry like that.”

Bryn laughed wryly and nodded. “I didn’t think so either and I’m glad he’s handling it this well,” he said with a nod at the hallway. “The only thing that’s going to help Nox is helping Tony. We can’t help anyone if we’re too worn out to think straight. Let’s get some rest and attack this with clearer minds in the morning.”

That made more sense than pacing with Nox and being a pest so Everly climbed into bed and snuggled under the covers with Bryn. “Am I an abomination too?” he asked Bryn softly, afraid he was the last one to figure it out.

“No,”Bryn said firmly as he pointed at Everly. “You heard what Merlin said, he’s the anti-you because you’re good and beautiful. That thing…” he shivered and there was a low growl as he held Everly tighter and nuzzled his cheek. “I took one look at it and I knew it didn’t belong here, that it was vile. Douchebag broke laws of nature and magick when he brought that thing back to life. He should have left it dead.”

“But I was dead and you brought me back to life. Nox said I was practically dead when you brought me here, that I was like that for days.”

“Oh, Ev…” Bryn groaned against his temple. “You didn’tdiedie. You…wanted to and you gave up for a moment but your body held on. You just needed more coaxing to wake up is all. But you weren’t dead. Not like that.”

“Not like that,” Everly repeated and frowned as he calculated. “All those changelings’ souls, we can free them and you and Arawn can take them to glory if it dies?” he asked carefully, trying to understand and find a way to help. He hadn’t been very useful to Bryn and their friends since they had saved him. And Everly really wanted this soul thief to rot in the frozen misery of the Nothing for the rest of eternity.

“We’re not totally sure becausethisAbhartach is new, but that’s how it should work.” Bryn crossed his fingers and whispered a silent wish in Welsh.

Everly nodded. “You all have been right about everything else. I know you’re right about this.”

Bryn laughed softly as he traced Everly’s cheek, stirring Everly’s desire and making his heart tickle. “Not everything and I hope your faith isn’t misplaced. I was very wrong about Nox and Merlin, but we’re facing the unknown and I don’t just mean with the Abhartach. No one knows what Nox is, except him andmaybeNelson. I don’t think Merlin’s totally sure either. We haven’t seen anything like Nox in a really long time and he isn’t in a rush to test out his new powers.”

“He’s very happy with his life the way it is,” Everly noted, smiling. “I would like a life like that and I wouldn’t give it up for anything,” he said and Bryn’s hand paused as it brushed through Everly’s hair.

“You know, I wouldn’t either.” He kissed Everly until he was dizzy, then helped him out of his T-shirt. “I couldn’t understand before but I do now, because I have you. Nox was raised to value love and family and he yearned for those things. All I’ve ever cared about was duty and glory and Arawn. Now, I care about you, then duty and glory and Arawn.”

“I care about you and then Arawn and the others. I just want glory so I can be with you,” Everly informed Bryn, but there was an ache in his tummy when he thought about the other changelings. “They shouldn’t have stolen all those souls. Their lives were already so sad, if they were like me.”

“We’re going to stop them,” Bryn promised.

Everly smiled at him. “And make them pay?”

“That’s right.”

“I want to help this time,” Everly said and Bryn nodded.

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