Twenty-Four
CIARAN
Sawyer had hada bit of a day. With everything going on around him and everything he’d endured since he’d arrived in Tenebrae, Ciaran wanted to be cautious so as not to overwhelm him. He’d taken all the weirdness in stride so far, but Ciaran had to wonder if there would be a line one step too far.
Sawyer had spent the afternoon trying to get his head around what he now knew about Mr Brown.
Cephamorphs weren’t the only other kinds of creatures in the world. Humans were not the superior species, and the histories Sawyer had taken as fact were not as they seemed.
The old gods existed, and they existed still.
But Ciaran could only divulge so much.
He knew if he gave enough pieces of the Mr Brown puzzle, Sawyer would put the picture together. Ciaran’s hands were tied; even though he was Ciaran’s mate, he couldn’t tell him. Not exactly, anyway. He couldn’t tell of the secret pact that had been put into place long before Sawyer ever arrived in Tenebrae Cove.
Sawyer hadn’t got it exactly right, but he was close.
When they got back to the police station, Ciaran put another piece of puzzle down for him.
“Cern’s an unusual name, isn’t it?” he asked, tone casual.
“I just assumed it was one of those weird old names, long gone out of fashion,” Sawyer replied. “Like Auberon, or Bateson. I thought he said his name was Colonel at first.”
“Hm. I mean it’s an old name, sure. But it’s Celtic, I think,” Ciaran had added, like he was discussing the weather. “Shortened, too, for something, I believe.”
Sawyer stopped and stared at Ciaran for a knowing beat, clocking what Ciaran was trying to tell him—that he was giving him information—before sitting at his desk and typing out a quick internet search.
Ciaran watched as he tapped away and read the screen, his heart rate rising with his eyebrows.
“Holy shit. Cernunnos, the god of wild places,” Sawyer’s gaze met Ciaran’s, sharp but with a hint of disbelief. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Ciaran laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. But yeah, how about them apples?”
Sawyer stared at him, unblinking, for a long, drawn-out moment. And then, of course, he went back to the screen to read all he could find. “Well,” he declared after a while. “Looks like I won’t be adding Mr Brown to the list of names I give Hadeom. Jesus. There’s no explainingthat. Not even when I thought he was just a normal, albeit very old, human.”
Ciaran wondered how long Sawyer could keep up the professional charade that nothing was out of the ordinary here. Well, Sawyer could do it indefinitely... but Hadeom would only accept nonanswers for so long.
Then Sawyer opened his email and replied to Hadeom. He typed with no hesitation, no second-guessing, as if he’d made up his mind, and there was no going back.
Update,as requested.
Tenebrae Cove and outlying district: exact population undetermined. No more than twenty, no fewer than ten, myself now included. Inhabitants here are friendly and productive. Crime rate: zero.
Previous accounts of unusual activity unfounded at this time. Will update as new information comes to light.
He hitSend and sat back in his chair, letting out a slow puff of air. “Well, he’s not gonna like that.”
“The ‘myself now included’ was a nice touch,” Ciaran said.
“I do include myself as a permanent resident. I’m not leaving, no matter what he says or tries to imply. I will protect everyone here the best I can.”
Ciaran’s hearts grew warm and full. “And that’s why we’ll be okay,” Ciaran said. He took Sawyer’s hand, pulled him to his feet, and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “I have something I need to grab from my place before we head over to Fray’s. If you’re done here?”
Fray was having a few beers at his place with the boys tonight, and Ciaran figured it would be a good time to tell them about his conversation with Mr Brown. In fact, it had been Sawyer who’d said yes, they’d go. He really wanted Ciaran to be the good leader he’d been before Sawyer arrived, to prove he hadn’t changed that much. When, in reality, everything was different.
But Sawyer was adamant Ciaran could be both a great leader and his mate. He didn’t have to choose.
“I am. Hadeom’s pissy reply can wait.” He turned his computer off, grabbed his beanie, pulled it on his head, and smiled at Ciaran in such a way that it made his blood sing.
