Page 30 of Dead Air (Moon Murder Mysteries)

“You could have used the door. I’ve been trying to convince them that you’re not as bad as the legends make you out to be.”

Cenn groaned as he clutched his chest. “My sweet summer child.”

“Shut up,” Niall muttered. “Where did you go?”

“Bear watching. Your cub is doing well,” Cenn said to Niall, making his tummy flip. How could Niall stay mad at him?

“That’s so great!” Niall said then mouthed a thank you, too moved to say much more.

Cenn winked at him before nodding at Nox. “I’ve also come up with a plan.”

“Uh oh.” Nox pushed up the sleeves of his gray flannel, baring his heavily tattooed hands and forearms. “Stay on your toes, Merlin,” he said out of the side of his mouth and Niall noticed that Cenn’s focus was glued to the tattoos and his head tilted from side to side as if he was trying to read the odd array of words and symbols.

Some of the writing looked like it might have been in Latin and Niall heard Cenn whispering to himself.

“What is this plan? We won’t be making any deals.” Merlin warned.

“We’ll see,” Cenn said with a cocky grin at the suspicious old man. “I’m going to switch sides and break my deal with Huge Douchebag.”

Merlin drew back, spluttering incredulously. “That deal cannot be broken! You know as well as I do that there is no charm or curse that can break a demonic deal, it is beyond set in stone.”

“There’s always a way!” Cenn said, his grin swinging in Nox’s direction. “It’s an old, old charm that’s never been spoken. It’s never been shared because no one would fear the demon’s deal if they knew how easily it could be broken.”

“Issobel Gowdie!” Nox whispered and Cenn bowed his head.

“You’ve taught him well, Oglethorpe.”

“Ha!” Merlin cut his eyes at Nox. “So well it scares me at times like these.”

“There’s something I’ve always wondered about dark magick…” Nox rubbed his chin as he studied Cenn. “Why are so many of those old demon charms in Old Scots? Are you from the Scottish Highlands, then? Up by Nairn?”

Cenn laughed softly. “You’re asking about the genesis of my magick, a dark art that’s been passed on from one generation of practitioners and demons to the next…

” He nodded and squinted as if he was trying to remember.

“But it was somewhere around those parts, I’d say.

It was long ago, before there was a Scotland, and the names and borders have changed too many times for me to count.

I practiced in Pictish and Roman but Old Scots is the first English I comprehended and it’s the first language my spells were recorded in when they tried Issobel Gowdie for witchcraft. ”

“I knew she had something to do with it!” Nox appeared to be enthralled with Cenn, hungry to learn anything he could from the demon. “So many of those charms share similarities with lines from her testimony. Why did she do it? No one could ever explain why she testified.”

“To make them write the charms . She was illiterate but she wanted to pass them on to future generations of witches. You figured that out and you understand my language almost as well as your ancestors’ tongue. That’s why dark magick works so well for you.”

“Incredible!”

“And your mother’s people were skilled with it, being kin with the Badb.”

A loud gasp spilled from Nox. “How did you know?”

“Because I was there when she joined with the Dagda and I watched each time she aided Him in battle. I was there when the Dagda was laid to rest and I saw how you and your mighty Uaithne stopped His return and consumed His light. I was there before He was born and I will be here long after you and Oglethorpe have gone to rest in glory.”

“ If you can wiggle out of this deal with Hugh Dùbhghlas,” Merlin said soberly. “I still think there’s a chance you’re bluffing or that you’ll stab us in the back. What do you want in return for reneging on your deal and changing sides?”

“Nothing that will cost you anything but friendship and loyalty,” Cenn said, his gaze bouncing between Nox and Merlin. “I want your word that you’ll do all you can to protect Niall and make sure his soul goes on to glory.”

“That’s it?” Nox laughed but Merlin held up a hand, silencing him.

“There’s a catch. We would do that anyway. We rushed up here to save Niall’s soul when we saw the demna aeóir. Why make it a condition of this trade?”

“He might not come back,” Nox guessed and Niall shook his head.

“Don’t go! Don’t do this.” He reached for Cenn, scared of all the things they weren’t telling him. “Whatever you’re planning to do, please don’t! You said there’s always a way, so find another one.”

“I don’t see any other way, unfortunately,” Merlin said with a weary sigh but Cenn waved it off.

“Ye of little faith! He may have caught onto a few obscure tricks and laid a clever trap but you said it yourself: I’m the father of the dirty, underhanded deal and I invented the long con.”

“You’re going to bluff your way out, then,” Merlin accused, making Cenn pull a face.

“Of course I’m going to bluff. He’s probably expecting me to but I have an ace up my sleeve.”

“What’s that?” Merlin asked.

Cenn tapped the side of his nose. “If he knows about the threefold death, he probably knows how to break the deal. I’m going to bluff so he thinks it’s his idea to cancel it.”

Merlin blinked at him. “That’s it?”

“I can be very convincing.”

Nox made a serious sound. “I say the odds are 50/50 that he buys it but I think you can take Hugh in a fight, if he doesn’t.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Cenn said.

“Hey!” Niall protested. “I don’t want you to fight this Hugh Douchebag guy.”

Cenn pressed a finger against Niall’s lips and he immediately felt calmer, sleepier. “I’m not worried about him. Neither should you,” he said in a lulling whisper.

“Stop that!” Niall swatted Cenn’s hand away. “I told you to leave my emotions alone.”

“They were upsetting you!”

“Isn’t that remarkable?” Merlin said to Nox. “Young Niall has tamed the savage beast!”

“You can kiss my ass, Oglethorpe,” Cenn said over his shoulder, then smiled at Niall. “I had a little epiphany while I was out with the bears, reflecting on our episode with Al and Buck.”

Niall shivered and squeezed his eyes shut. “That’s awful, Cenn. How is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“I’m inside his head now and I’m in control.”

There was a dubious hum from Merlin. “I hope so and you’d better do something soon. I fear that the Douchebag is growing impatient with you and could send the demna aeóir to finish the deal.”

“What is that exactly, the demna aeóir?” Niall asked with a pained grimace, not entirely sure he wanted to know.

“It’s Gaelic for ‘demon’ or ‘dead’ air,” Nox said as he watched Cenn.

“It’s almost like a weather phenomenon. Except instead of thunder and lightning and heavy winds and rain, you get a sky full of angry demons.

Dùbhghlas has kept Smoak’s horde of sold souls and demon minions as collateral and he could send any or all of that army to collect him at any moment. ”

“No.” Cenn held up a finger, smiling. “That's one thing that has been misunderstood or has changed meanings over time. You think it’s a phenomenon, but it’s a means by which we travel.

We can move as smoke, slow like fog or as fast as a bullet.

If we wish to go faster, we use the demon or dead air. ”

“Dead air? Like, radio dead air?” Niall asked and Cenn cheered in approval.

“Yes! In radio and television, it is that unintentional moment of silence between sound or picture when nothing is being transmitted. You have those moments of absolute, accidental silence in the natural world, when all things pause to catch a breath and collectively blink. In that speck—that sliver of peaceful emptiness—the veil between worlds thins and we can slip right through and come out wherever we want. That is the demna aeóir, our dead air.”

Nox was riveted, fixated on Cenn’s every word. “How do you find it?” he asked in an awed whisper.

“Not a chance, Junior.” Cenn scoffed as he shook his head. “You already know too many of our secrets. They would literally crucify me in the waste if they found out I told you how to apparate.”

“Surely not?” Merlin asked, confused. “Why crucify a demon? I think it would be more appropriate to hang you like Judas.”

“No one’s sense of humor is more twisted than a demon’s and a hanging would suggest regret. Crucifixions are about atonement for your sins and salvation. That’s something a demon will never find, not even nailed to a cross.”

“Keep your secret, then,” Merlin replied. “How do you propose to find absolute silence here? It’s as loud as a festival out there.”

Niall had wondered as well. The sounds of the twins' horse playing, Dr. Bixby’s and Everly’s laughter, Agent Nelson’s pacing, and Shelby’s low murmurs were a tad unsettling.

Early spring was Niall’s favorite season at Shenandoah because he practically had the summit to himself until the park fully opened at the end of March.

“It is busy up here tonight,” Niall agreed quietly. “It could be hours until it’s quiet enough.”

“Try days. This one snores,” Nox said, pointing at Merlin but before he could defend himself, Cenn snapped his fingers and both of their mouths were covered in duct tape.

Niall covered his mouth with both hands and swallowed his laugh, earning a pleased chuckle from Cenn.

“Good boy. As for the rest of them,” he whispered, then cleared his throat. “I require silence!” he bellowed, his voice shaking the cabin and carrying through the night. Everyone sucked in a breath, blinking in surprise, and Cenn had vanished in that fraction of a second.