Page 32 of Dead Air
“How’s this?”
Cenn had already turned to smoke. He raised a billowy hand, lifting it in the dark between them and igniting a speck of blue flame on his palm. His hand and wrist—wisps of gray and black bones and tendons and a film of pale smoke skin—were illuminated by the soft, blue light.
“Oh…wow!” Niall breathed and his fingers were trembling as they extended and touched Cenn’s hand. “It’s solid but…it’s not!” he noted then gasped when Cenn made his hand as hard and cool as stone before returning to smoky vapor. “That’s incredible!” Niall tried to touch the light from the flame but Cenn drew it back, clicking his teeth.
“A demon’s flame doesn’t just burn, it consumes. Only those who bind themselves to darkness can hold it,” he explained and made the glow around his hand bigger, revealing his chest and the lower half of his face.
Niall’s jaw fell and he sucked in a startled breath, his pulse quickening but Cenn only sensed some wariness, mostly curiosity. “It’s all smoke!” he said and Cenn nodded.
He allowed the light to spread around him so the room wasn’t pitch black and Niall could make out the walls and furniture. Cenn was a great deal taller and broader than a mortal man and didn’t want to seem even more overwhelming. “You’re safe and I’ll never hurt you,” he reminded Niall as he brightened the light, revealing his entire face, his horns, and the curling, undulating waves of smoky hair that floated around his shoulders. “This is what I really am,” Cenn said, making his eyes burn and filling the cabin with their blue glow, revealing his entire form.
“Oh.” Niall swallowed loudly and his eyes grew larger as they swept upwards to meet Cenn’s. He nodded jerkily. “I can see how that would be terrifying if you weren’t expecting it,” he admitted but Niall wasn’t scared as he slid off the bed.
Cenn extinguished the flame in his hand and turned the lamp back on. He held still as Niall drew closer.
“I can be terrifying when I need to be,” Cenn warned, earning a distracted nod from Niall.
He touched a strand of hair, then poked Cenn’s sternum. “You’re so beautiful!” he whispered in wonder, surprising Cenn.
“Do you think so?” he asked and Niall nodded quickly.
“I’ve always thought that humans were the weirdest things in nature. We’re pretty poorly designed and incapable of surviving on our own. But you’re…elemental and you feel natural and endless, like touching the water in the creek or the side of a mountain.”
Again, Cenn was struck and could only nod. “Yes… That is exactly what I am,” he finally managed. “All magick is elemental and dark magick is magick at its most elemental. Dark magick isn’t chaotic and destructive because it’s evil, it is those things becausenatureis chaotic and destructive.”
Niall nodded. “I feel almost the same as I did when I was this close to that mama bear,” he said and Cenn laughed as he shook his head.
“This is nothing like that! She was absolutely going to maul you but I jumped inside her head and stopped her.”
“Really?” Niall deflated. “I thought we had shared a moment and she was thanking me for helping her cub.”
“No. She wanted to rip your head and arms off, Niall. Because she’s a bear and she’s chaotic and destructive, like nature. You don’t have ‘moments’ with nature, you just coexist and stay the hell away from bears and their cubs.” Cenn had hoped that Niall would take heed but he let out a disgruntled huff.
“I guess.”
“No, don’t guess. I’ve been inside a bear’s mind on several occasions and they’re not interested in befriending forest rangers.”
“No way!” Niall grabbed Cenn’s hand, seemingly unbothered by the fact that it didn’t have actual skin and was made of smoke. “What’s it like? What other animals have you tried?”
Cenn was relieved that Niall wasn’t afraid of him, but he had adjusted and moved on rather quickly. “What other animals…? Niall, I can be anything I want or control anyone I choose.”
“Right, but there aren’t a lot of things cooler than being a bear. Maybe a whale. How long would it take to swim across the ocean if you turned yourself into a whale?” Niall asked and Cenn stared, momentarily baffled.
“It depends on the ocean and which way one was going. Possibly a month but I wouldn’t turn myself into a whale. I might possess one for a moment or two but I can’t imagine why I’d want to.”
“So you could bea whale!” Niall’s arms waved wildly. “Do you know howbigthey are and all the cool things they must see?”
“There are documentaries about the ocean. We could watch some,” Cenn suggested and Niall brightened.
“I don’t miss TV but I wouldn’t mind that. You know how much I love it up here but I miss the ocean sometimes.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Niall gasped and gave Cenn’s hand a squeeze. “For a date night! Demons do date nights with their boyfriends, right?” Now, he was teasing Cenn because Niall had realized how surreal the moment had become for both of them. “It’s been a while so I don’t know all the rules, but can demons date and do they make good boyfriends?”
Cenn laughed, changing back into his lumberdaddy form so he could hug Niall. He didn’t want to push his luck, Niall had handled everything well so far. “We often do, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. But it depends on the demon. I’ll be a very good boyfriend because you only deserve the best.”
“Was Andy…?” Niall asked in a hushed whisper but Cenn shook his head.
