Page 22 of Dead Air
Niall had been vague about his sexuality, aside from the occasional request for a hot lumberjack, and rarely discussed his romantic past. Meanwhile, Steven had constructed a solid alibi. His cousin and co-conspirator in past heinous acts, Jeffrey Belmont, was currently posing as Steven and covering his shift on the other side of the mountain. They looked close enough alike to be brothers and campers would verify that a ranger matching Steven’s description was on duty and had helped them fix a tent that had collapsed, chased a skunk out of a women’s restroom, and had scolded a guest for playing music too loud in a camping area after dark.
Poor, unsuspecting Wanda…
She didn’t hear Steven sneak into the house and their bedroom while she was in the shower. He hid under the bed and waited until she was asleep to silently roll out from under it and strangle her. She was wrapped in a sheet and dragged down the stairs to the kitchen and through the garage door into the back of his truck. Once he reached the access road, Steven parked next to an ATV they had hidden in the brush earlier. The sheet was used to tie Wanda to his back like an oversized toddler and he was able to mount the ATV and slowly climb the road to the summit.
Investigators would find that it was impossible for Steven to leave his station, go home and murder his wife, take her body up to the summit, then make it back to work before his shift ended. With Jeff covering for him, Steven had plenty of time to call Al’s number and hang up, dump her body, backtrack down the mountain, and return to work. Niall would be connectedto both deaths and Steven would inherit a small fortune, thanks to an insurance policy and an inheritance from Wanda’s grandmother. He’d split the money with his cousin and they’d be even for a drunken hit-and-run Steven had helped Jeff cover up when they were teens.
Not on Cenn’s watch.
He raced down the mountain in the dark and snatched Steven, Wanda, and the ATV off the trail and carried them high into the air.
“What the—? No, no, no!”Steven shrieked but no one could hear him, tangled tight in tendrils of smoke.“Please! Put me down!”
“Oh, I will!” Cenn promised, his voice echoing inside Steven’s head and making his screams more hysterical. He fought to get free but Cenn had him wrapped up tight as they flew toward a rocky peak, several miles away. “I hope your wife will forgive the messiness of your end and find some comfort in knowing she was there to witness it.”
“No! God, no!”
Cenn appeared in his ancient smoke form, floating alongside them and making Steven insensate with terror. “Pray all you want but no one will hear you!” he laughed just before slamming into the side of a cliff.
Fortunately, Cenn rebounded.
Unfortunately, the ATV and the mortals’ bodies were crushed, the battery giving off a muffledpop!before the whole heap tumbled down the mountainside. Once it had rolled to a stop, Cenn gathered them up and flew over a nearby lake. He used the heat of his demon flame to fuse them together, melting and molding metal, plastic, bone, and tissue into an unrecognizable mass. It was dropped over the deepest part of the lake, where it quickly sank to the bottom.
Rest in one piece.
Steven’s truck was returned to his garage before Cenn went to see how Niall’s evening was going. He raced back to the park but stopped when Niall’s cabin came into view. Music and Niall’s singing called to Cenn but he turned toward the creek where he had possessed Al and the bear, and they had fished earlier that day.
Cenn enjoyed possessing beasts and experiencing the primal rush he found, being that up-close to an animal’s spirit. It had no understanding that its will was being hijacked and Cenn could interact with animals in a way no human ever could. Possessing humans was an entirely different matter and Cenn only did so if it couldn’t be avoided and preferred invading the bodies of those with weak souls and soft wills. That was just as clumsy, muffled, and stifling as wearing an empty mascot’s costume.
Humans like Steven and Al were like empty costumes, with no real purpose, drive, or authentic spirituality. They were flimsy and fake and lived hollow lives. Both were too crude and cruel to have decent friends and had alienated most of their family, save for a parent apiece and one sibling. Cenn considered finding Jeff and punishing him as well, but Steven was his only real friend. Plus, the guilt and paranoia would eat him alive.
Better to let Jeff get caught impersonating a federal agent when his cousin’s disappearance was discovered. He would spend the rest of his life wondering what he had been an accomplice to and where, when, and how Steven had vanished. If anyone noticed the missing ATV and the odd set of tracks on the summit’s access road, it was unlikely that they’d be connected to Steven and Wanda’s disappearance. Her phone was at the bottom of the lake but Cenn made sure to erase all traces of Niall’s and Al’s information from it, completely undoing Steven’s plan.
Except for poor Wanda.
Her soul had been spared, at least. It had found its way to the Otherworld while Steven’s would spend the next eternity drifting in the cold, slow wasteland on the other side of the veil. That was what he deserved and Cenn had protected what was his.
Mine?
The creek was quiet so Cenn hovered over the water, contemplating his actions and what he was doing with Niall. Once again, a solution had presented itself but Cenn had saved Niall. What kind of deal would Niall have made if he was afraid of being tried for three murders? Or for revenge against a violent rapist or to be freed from the pain of a mauling?
He should have let nature take its course but Cenn couldn’t bring himself to push Niall for the trade and he seethed at the thought of anyone else touching his soul. It wasn’t in Cenn’s nature to rush but he was dragging his feet with Niall and growing more possessive by the day. That was highly unlike Cenn and troubled him the most. Why did he suddenly care so damn much about what happened to one measly mortal? The earth was covered with them!
There were other fish in the creek but Cenn was at risk of losing all of his souls and much of his power if he blew this deal with Dùbhghlas. No mortal was worth that much. If Cenn was in his right mind, he would have taken advantage of the various calamities that had befallen Niall and delivered him to the warlock. He’d be back in D.C. stuffing souls in his pockets like candy while Dùbhghlas continued his feud with MacIlwraith and Oglethorpe.
The mystical duo would be a lot harder to get rid of than the others and Cenn knew it was only a matter of days before they learned that Niall was in danger. Events had already been set in motion and they had recently acquired an oracle who was already having visions about Dùbhghlas’s machinations. Hewould see more hints of Dùbhghlas’s plan and Cenn suspected that Niall had been chosen because of his close connection to the oracle’s mother.
As Cenn became more aware of MacIlwraith and the family of mystical and mortal do-gooders the witch-turned-demigod was assembling, the more concerned he became. For himself and Niall. The question ofwhya harmless forest ranger had been targeted had nagged at Cenn because Dùbhghlas was anything but random or careless. Dùbhghlas had been a feared and formidable presence in the Beltway before Oglethorpe sent him packing.
Cenn had flattered himself in the beginning, assuming that Niall had been chosen for his pure, unbendable soul. That would attract any demon and be a true test of his or her talents as a trader and a debt collector. A soul that pure would be irresistible despite the challenge and risk. Failure meant that Cenn would have to admit he had fallen for Niall’s innocent charm and had failed to make a deal, and he sure as hell wasn’t doingthat.
Dùbhghlas had traded well and Cenn couldn’t shake the feeling thathewas bound to get the short end of the stick no matter how the situation played out. That bothered Cenn almost as much as condemning Niall’s soul for eternity. There were ways around it but Cenn would have to sacrifice just about everything.
He’d be starting from scratch as a soulless demon and have only the magick he’d memorized. That was stilla lotbut Cenn would have the strength of a newborn demon and Hugh Dùbhghlas would have all the powers of Cenn Cruach. Clearly, that was unacceptable so Cenn would have to make a decisionsoon.
I could fight him.
That idea wasn’t entirely unappealing. It would have the same effect as reneging and Cenn would ultimately lose his soulsand powers, but Niall would be spared. Cenn would also have the satisfaction of knowing he’d smote the warlock and sent him to waste away in the void. Given the choice, Cenn would rather go out with a bang.
