Page 32 of Dead Air (Moon Murder Mysteries)

“That’s a pretty big if , isn’t it?” Cenn swelled so he was larger and his eyes burned with fury as he loomed over Dùbhghlas.

“They had little difficulty dealing with your baby Abhartach or the kraken, and your plan to rob MacIlwraith of his destiny backfired dramatically. Instead of framing him with that cult, you helped him consume a god and create a new one. He can throw lightning and he’s mastered dark magick in ways you can only dream.

He speaks my tongue fluently and it doesn’t make him sick because he has claimed the Badb.

She serves him and she , I would not trifle with. ”

Dùbhghlas drew back, shaking his head. “The Morrígan can be reasoned with and serves both the dark and the light. How do you know she serves him?”

“Because he is both dark and light, you old twit!” Cenn was spilling some of MacIlwraith’s most dangerous secrets but he honestly didn’t care who smote whom between the two and Dùbhghlas was shaking in his cosplay rancher boots.

“That mother of his was descended from the Badb. She was chosen by Oglethorpe so his pupil could bend the darkness and the light to his will.”

“She was—?” He was utterly confounded, his panic rising as he considered the consequences and how badly he had miscalculated.

“You see why I’d rather hedge my bets and put my money on the heir of two gods, don’t you?”

“I release you from the deal!” Dùbhghlas said, dropping to his knees. He summoned a blue flame and prayed into it. Despite his immense relief and the desire to crow, Cenn pretended to be amused.

“Do you know that ancient, ancient incantation, Hugh?” Cenn taunted as he circled Dùbhghlas, snickering. “It has never been uttered in the history of dark, demonic magick. Are you sure you can say it correctly? Perhaps you should call MacIlwraith and ask him, I bet he can.”

“I know it!” Dùbhghlas insisted but his hands and his breath shook, causing the flame to go out. He relit it and mouthed the words, practicing them. “The first handis that handles me, let my deed be burnt?—”

“Ah ah!” Cenn interrupted. “‘Let my deed be brunt’, not burnt, you dilettante!”

Dùbhghlas was flustered, trembling as he struggled to keep the flame alight. “The first handis that handles me, let my deed be brunt and return the devil’s will?—”

“For demon’s sake, Hugh. Get your shit together. It’s ‘return the devillis will,’” Cenn sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You will need to step up your game and practice your dark charms before you face MacIlwraith or he will smoke you,” he murmured and clicked his teeth.

“The first handis that handles me, let my deed be brunt and return the devillis will too thee.”

“Finally!” Cenn declared, clapping dramatically at the plume of blue smoke that rose from Dùbhghlas’s palm.

He felt the full might of his demon will infusing his spirit and heard the whispered echoes of his legion of souls returning to his possession.

“Oh! It’s so good to be me again!” Cenn spread his arms, releasing a cloud of smoke and rising into the air as his strength recovered.

“There! I have released you and Gilpatrick is yours! Allow me to make another deal, Lord Smoak,” Dùbhghlas pleaded as he fell forward and stretched his body on the floor, face down with his arms spread wide.

“Be my general and help me defeat them and I will serve you . You may take my soul and all my power when I leave this body.”

“Tempting…”

Cenn was tempted as he pondered Dùbhghlas’s prostrate form and the warlock’s potential.

If given a threefold death, Dùbhghlas could transform into a formidable demon.

He’d already accumulated an impressive clutch of souls by bartering and besting lesser demons.

And Dùbhghlas had learned how to raise a kraken and create various breeds of sídh, like his little Abhartach and numerous sluagh.

Cenn rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Together, we could stop MacIlwraith and unleash a glorious reign of chaos and darkness…”

“Yes, my Lord! We could stop them and I could help you rule!” Dùbhghlas said and attempted to get up but Cenn stepped on his back.

“I like you better there.” He continued to circle Dùbhghlas, weighing the possibilities and imagining how his war on the light would be waged.

“There are so many souls in the Beltway that are just ripe for reaping… So, so many debts—so many souls—to harvest and new deals to sow,” he mused, his excitement rising as he pictured how magnificent his reign would be.

But Cenn knew that Niall would want no part of that.

Niall would never speak to Cenn again if he made a new deal with Dùbhghlas and had a hand in MacIlwraith’s downfall.

It went without saying that Niall wouldn’t approve of Cenn unleashing a reign of chaos and darkness, no matter how glorious it was.

He would insist that Cenn choose between keeping Niall and ruling the Beltway and eventually the world.

“Together, we would be unstoppable. We would crush MacIlwraith and Oglethorpe,” Dùbhghlas vowed.

“You’re probably right,” Cenn said and stopped his pacing.

Dùbhghlas raised his head. “Then, we have a deal?” he asked hopefully.

“I…” Cenn smiled as he pictured MacIlwraith and his minions, dead and burned.

He saw Dùbhghlas, charred and defiled as well and Cenn hummed happily.

The sky was filled with smoke and his children were everywhere, damning and destroying everything they touched.

He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the smell of burning blood and sulphur and heard the distant cries.

The vision brought him to a state of demonic rapture and Cenn savored it for another moment, then shook his head. “I think I’ll pass.”

“What?” Dùbhghlas pushed off the floor and got his knees beneath him, floundering. “What do you mean, you’ll pass?”

“I’m gonna sit this one out, I’ve decided,” Cenn said as he backed into the corner behind the door.

“Wait! Don’t go! What else do you want?” Dùbhghlas shuffled after Cenn on his knees, holding up his clasped hands. “Name your price, my Lord!”

“I already have what I wanted: Niall Gilpatrick’s soul is still his own and I’m free and have my army back.

And I have nothing but time to let this play out and deal with whoever’s left standing.

It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Hugh,” Cenn tapped his brow in salute, then gave Dùbhghlas the finger as he faded into the shadows.

“You filthy motherfucking demon!” Dùbhghlas shouted and scrambled to his feet. He rushed into the corner, spitting mad. “I’ll kill you, if it’s the last thing I do, and I’ll find a way to get them!”

Cenn’s laughter and choking, sulfurous smoke filled the room before he leaped through the ceiling and out into the night. It only took a few moments to find that silent, dead air, and Cenn hurled himself into it, reappearing in Niall’s cabin half a second later.

It was quiet and Cenn was invisible, checking the atmosphere before revealing himself to Niall and Oglethorpe. The others were camped on the lawn in front of the cabin and waiting for news.

“What if they’re fighting?” Niall asked from the sink. He was defrosting several bags of frozen soup and his cobbler starters.

There was a faint humph from Oglethorpe as he reclined in Niall’s armchair with a cup of whiskey-spiked tea. “Then Hugh Dùbhghlas will finally get what he has coming to him,” the old witch said, chuckling.

“We did not fight,” Cenn said, reappearing in Niall’s lumberdaddy form.

Niall rushed across the cabin, throwing his arms around Cenn. “You’re alright!”

Cenn shushed and kissed Niall’s hair. “He fell for my bluff. You’re free and the deal is canceled.”

“How did you do it?” Oglethorpe demanded, hopping to his feet but Cenn shook his head.

“That is something that no man is supposed to know, for very good reason. MacIlwraith would have figured it out, I’d wager,” he said, causing Oglethorpe to gasp as he rushed from the cabin to ask MacIlwraith and inform the others of Cenn’s return.

“Merlin said there was a good chance you wouldn’t come back, that you’d switch sides again if Dùbhghlas offered you something better.”

“He did,” Cenn whispered.

Niall leaned back, his eyes huge. “He did?” he whispered back and Cenn nodded.

“He did offer me something better—everything my demon heart desires. But it wouldn’t have been worth it without you.”

“Me?” Niall laughed and started to say he wasn’t all that special but Cenn cut him off with a rough kiss. He kicked the door shut and clicked his fingers, locking it.

“I would have it all and I would be unstoppable but it would have cost me you. There will be other battles to fight and more power to claim because that is how it’s always been with nature and with men.

But after a thousand lifetimes I’ve learned that there will only ever be one Niall Gilpatrick and there will never be enough time for us. ”

“Us?” Niall nodded jerkily, his eyes watering as they grew bigger.

“I didn’t doubt for a moment that you’d come back.

I couldn’t explain why because I’m just…

me,” he said with a baffled laugh. “ We’re special, though, and I can feel that I was put here for you and so we could do something important together. ”

He was talking about fate and Cenn knew better than to trust it to be romantic or generous. “Possibly. All I know is that we belong together and I’m taking a…fifty or sixty year hiatus.”

“A hiatus?” Niall echoed, unsure if he’d heard correctly and afraid to get his hopes up. “What does that mean?”

“I’m out of the deal-making business for the time being. All I want to focus on is you and making you as happy as a mortal man can be until your human heart stops beating.”

“Really? Won’t that get boring after a decade or so when you’re used to doing dangerous demon things?” Niall worried but Cenn laughed, shaking his head.

“Time will fly and I’ll spend the years wishing for more but I have a feeling that life with you will be anything but boring. You have an uncanny knack for finding danger.”