Page 60 of Sidhe
“Shows how much you know,” Iain snarked back. He left his hand suspended, patiently certain that Solrin would take it.
Finally, Solrin did, rising from his seat somewhat to shake Iain’s hand good and firm before letting go. “Yes,” Solrin said slowly, “there are more older seals, I suppose. I started young.You are also…fairly young.” His green eye swept over Iain gaugingly, sizing him up, Nathan figured.
Iain was far from being a threat and definitely didn’t look like one, and while he was a changeling, he hadn’t shown any evidence of abilities yet. Nathan hoped Solrin picked up on the ‘good guy’ part and nothing else.
“Don’t suppose you wanna help us out here?” Nathan asked Iain. “I’m sure one of us has an extra knife.”
“Sure,” Iain nodded enthusiastically, “I was a boy scout, if you can believe it. Talk about some fucked up shit, like a god damn cult, I swear. Couldn’t get out fast enough, but at least I learned a couple things. I’ll just grab some coffee.” He rose to head into the kitchen where Alex had disappeared to again.
Nathan couldn’t help noticing that Iain tossed an extra smile Solrin’s way before he left, shyly but all genuine. Either Solrin was caught off guard by the gesture or Iain’s grin was just that infectious, because Solrin’s mouth twitched in response.
Maybe all the guy really needed was the chance to make some friends. Iain was a good start. Nathan noticed how tense Solrin was at first having the extra company, but eventually he relaxed and almost would have seemed perfectly normal if not for his formal language and odd appearance.
“So a nachzehrer, huh?” Iain asked curiously, helping Nathan and Solrin pack up the gear once they had finished whittling. “That sounds way messed up.Cool. Don’t suppose you remember where you read up on it?” he asked Solrin with that same shy smile. “I started backwards in the alphabet for shelving. Makes it seem like less work even though it’s the same. Anyway, it would be good to get something about this nach thing in there if you can tell me anything.”
“Yes, I…I believe it was in an anthology about vampire myths, since nachzehrer’s are often more associated with them,” Solrin said. “I may have the book with me. I could…grab it for you?” heoffered a little awkwardly. “I was going to get a jacket since it is still raining.”
A bit of thunder rolled overhead as if to say, no, actually, it’sstorming, but thanks anyway. Nathan had seen a few flashes of lightning too. “Good idea, I think I’ll grab mine. And Iain could use any extra help he can get, right, man?” Nathan winked at the brunette. He wasn’t trying to play matchmaker or anything; he had no reason to assume Solrin was interested in dudes. But two solitary type guys would make pretty good friends, he figured; it certainly couldn’t hurt.
Iain smiled blindingly again, nodding. “Fuck yeah, that’d be awesome, Sol. Oh, and uhh…” he called after Nathan and Solrin as they left the supplies on the table and both headed upstairs to grab their jackets, “you guys be careful when you head out, okay? Nasty day and all.”
Chapter 22
Nathanmadeitbackdownstairs before Solrin to find the bar empty. It was always a little eerie with no one around, Alex still in the kitchen, and everyone else tucked away somewhere. He decided he might as well check in on the other duo while he waited for Solrin.
Nathan’s cell phone started to ring just as he was about to dial, signaling ‘Sasha’s cell’.
“If Jim’s inside my head right now, Iswear,” Nathan said as he picked up the call.
“Huh? No, Nate, listen,” Sasha spoke quickly, “we need you and Solrin to get down here now. We think we’ve found the incubus.”
“You—” Nathan cut off mid-thought, frowning. “But then don’t you want me to stall him or something?”
Sasha sighed helplessly. “I wish we could afford to. Problem is, we’re pretty sure Solrin was right about the two creatures being together. Jim senses the nach here too.”
Fan-fucking-tastic.
As soon as Solrin was halfway down the stairs, Nathan had a bag full of stakes over his shoulder and an ice cream pail full of dirt in his hands. “They got a lead,” he called up the steps, “time to motor.”
Of course Nathan had forgottenhowthey would be ‘motoring’ until he and Solrin were dashing outside in the pouring rain, thunder and lightning littering the sky above them, to reach Solrin’smotorcycle. A good piece of machinery, sure—a ’95 black Low Rider, Nathan was fairly certain—but it was not generally built for two and it was a frickin’motorcyclein the middle of a thunderstorm! Nathan really regretted saying that Jim and Sasha could take the car. Especially since he was the one who had to climb onto the back of the damn thing and hang onto Solrin’s waist.
Thoroughly drenched by the time they reached the building Sasha had told him about over the phone, which of course was well outside the Rushville town limits on the opposite side of the Gatehouse, Nathan was at least slightly appeased to discover that Jim and Sasha were drenched too. They were waiting outside just off the rusty gates of what was literally the proverbial haunted house.
Every town had one, the old rundown place you just never went near, unless of course you were a bunch of teenagers and thought it would be smart to dare each other to spend the night.
Still, Nathan couldn’t help groaning as Solrin parked the bike and they dashed over to join the others.
“Please tell me you’re kidding,” he called over the sound of rain and thunder. “Can you say cliché in big, bold flashing letters?” The place was even up on a hill past the gate, looking huge and black and menacing. “If it looks obvious, it probably is. It’s even storming out!” Nathan held out his arms to indicatethe very hard to miss downpour around them that was way too Stephen King for his liking.
“It’s barely 9AM, Nate, not midnight, if that helps you,” Jim said with a stern glare. His collar was turned up on his jacket, though it was doing nothing to stop the rain from dripping down his neck off the long plastered pieces of his hair. “Besides, the most obvious choice is often theright one,” he said pointedly, meaning they were sure, and considering he and Sasha could both probably sense the incubus being this close, and Jim could apparently sense the nach as well, it had to be right.
“I think we’ve scoured every last inch of the area other than that house anyway,” Sasha added.
Nathan looked to the redhead and allowed a small shiver that he would totally blame on the rain. He always kind of liked the way Sasha looked all soaked like that. Red hair dark as it clung to his cheeks, T-shirt suctioned to his skin, leather jacket quickly becoming more and more worn instead of new.
“And the kicker?” Sasha tried to grin, much as Nathan could pretty much feel his inner turmoil over being so close to the incubus. “We chatted up some of the victims’ friends before heading here. All of the victims had been in that house at some point. Usual teenage bullshit. Might have left a scent or trail or something for the, uhh…creature to follow.” There was a good amount of emphasis on the singular instead of ‘creatures’.
Solrin, at least, did not look at all distrusting or worried. Something in his pale green eye, staring ahead at the house, was intensely confident. “This is the place. Let’s go.”
