Nautilus Than Perfect by K.L. Hiers

Chapter 14.

OLLIE SCREAMED,wide-awake from whatever spell was holding him down. Blood gushed out from the wound as he grabbed at the dagger.

Jeff kept pushing and pushing, shouting, “Rise, Salgumel! Come! Rain nightmares upon my enemies! Rise, now!”

Chase bolted toward the altar, but his legs felt like they were in water. He couldn’t move fast enough; he was just too damn slow. Anguish tore at his heart and refused to let go of it, his mind overcome by fury and rage and torn apart right down to his core. “Ollie! No! No!”

Merrick was faster, his long tail swinging outward and knocking Jeff several yards away into the trees.

His body made a distinct thunk as it struck the ground.

Chase threw himself at the altar, reaching for Ollie’s hands. “Ollie! God, no!” He tried pressing his hands over the wound, cutting himself on the exposed blade. “Shit! Just hold on! Hang on!”

“Unc…?” Ollie stared up at Chase in total disbelief, his eyes dull and sluggish. He coughed, blood spraying out over his lips, and his head fell back with a groan.

“Hey, hey,” Chase pleaded, wishing he wasn’t so fuck awful with healing magic. He couldn’t think of the simplest spell, and he was watching Ollie die right in front of him. “It’s me. Okay, kiddo? It’s me, I’m here. Wake up, okay? I need you to wake up!”

“Let me,” Merrick said, rushing over to join them, his tail tentacles curling around the dagger and gently urging Chase to back away. The ends of his tentacles began to glow.

“Please…. Merry….” Chase stumbled out of the way, a sob breaking free when he saw Ollie’s eyes close completely. He looked down at his hands, soaked in his blood and Ollie’s, and his grief turned into a blinding rage.

It was over. Ollie was dying, and the ritual would be complete.

And there was nothing he could do.

“Ughhh….” From behind them, Jeff had recovered and was stumbling to his feet. There was no sign of the other cultists.

Chase didn’t know what had happened to them, and he didn’t care. He had spent this entire case feeling useless and weak, and he was sick of it. He was too weak to save the world, much less his own nephew.

Something inside of him snapped.

“Any moment now,” Jeff declared triumphantly, laughing. “Our Lord Salgumel will descend onto Aeon. You’re too late. You’re all too—”

Chase took his gun from his holster and shot Jeff in the knee.

“What the fuck!” Jeff roared in pain, dropping down and holding his leg. “You shot me!”

“Yeah, and I might do it again,” Chase snarled, stalking toward him. “Just had to make sure you didn’t try to wiggle away through a portal.”

“I’m warded!” Jeff screamed furiously. “You can’t hurt me!”

“Ancient wards are great for magic,” Chase agreed, his hands trembling as he reholstered his gun. “But against modern ballistics? Not so much. Be sure to complain to your buddy Salgumel all about it.”

“That’s… stupid! You’re stupid!”

“Says the guy bleeding.” Chase grabbed Jeff by his collar, hefting him up to his feet and slamming him up against a tree. He reared back and slammed his fist into the side of Jeff’s face.

Jeff grunted, his arms flailing outward and trying to fight back.

Chase barely felt Jeff’s fists, so consumed in his anger that all he could focus on was the pain brewing inside of him. He started punching Jeff, over and over, becoming more unhinged with every blow.

“See?” he spat. “I can’t set you on fire, I can’t burn you up, but I can sure as fuck break your face!” He grabbed the sides of Jeff’s head, bashing his forehead right into his nose. He watched Jeff collapse, hissing, “Ain’t magic a bitch.”

The bandage had fallen off Jeff’s face, and the rotten handprint was bared. Chase could see Jeff’s teeth gleaming through the hole, and he lifted his leg, driving the heel of his shoe right down into it.

Howling in pain, Jeff tried to roll away, but Chase wouldn’t let him.

He kept kicking, screaming over Jeff as he shouted, “You piece of fucking shit! Fuck you! Fuck your god! Fuck your stupid rotten fuckin’ face—”

“Hey! Chase!” Someone grabbed his arm.

Chase instinctively jerked back, turning to find Sloane behind him. “Sloane!”

“Hey, hey, take it easy,” Sloane soothed, urging Chase away from Jeff. “He’s done, okay? He’s not going anywhere. It’s over.”

Chase shuddered and looked down at his bloody hands. He couldn’t tell whose was what now, and his knuckles were raw. “Ollie… I….”

“It’s gonna be okay.” Sloane firmly squeezed Chase’s shoulder.

“But Ollie…?” Tears ran down Chase’s cheeks and into his beard as he looked past Sloane to the altar.

Merrick was still there, his tentacles curled around Ollie tight. There was another beast here now, a dragon like Merrick but taller and leaner. It had powerful hind legs, a long neck, and an even longer tentacled tail. Its wings were easily twice as big as Merrick’s and shimmered like diamonds.

Loch. No…. Azaethoth.

His tentacles had joined Merrick’s, and Ollie’s body was glowing with a blinding light. It was all the colors of the rainbow and somehow none at all, so bright that it hurt Chase to look at.

“What are they doing?” Chase demanded.

“Saving him,” Sloane said. “Come on.” He urged Chase to follow him.

“But it’s too late, isn’t it?” Chase wiped his face hurriedly. “The ritual, they got his blood….”

“Have faith, mortal,” Loch said, turning his giant head toward Chase. “The ritual has failed.”

“What?”

“It is his heart,” Merrick replied. “Though stars run brightly in his blood, Oleander’s heart is not whole.”

“The resurrection.” Chase took Ollie’s hand, frowning at how cold it felt. “He gave a piece of himself to his old boyfriend.”

“His heart is broken and not a sufficient source of power for this ritual.” Merrick bowed his head down to nuzzle Chase’s shoulder. “Salgumel will not wake tonight, but….”

“But?” Chase stared into Merrick’s empty eye sockets and over to Loch’s dark depths.

“I don’t know what more I can do for him,” Merrick said quietly. “His soul is already trying to break away from his body.”

Chase felt the start of a scream climbing its way out of his throat. “No,” he grunted, struggling to keep it down. “No fuckin’ way.” He pushed Merrick, barking, “What kind of gods are you guys, huh? You can’t save one fuckin’ person?”

“Elwood, please—”

“No!” Chase threw himself on top of Ollie, shoving all the tentacles out of his way. “No, no, no!” He could see the gash left behind by the dagger, and it wasn’t bleeding anymore.

It wasn’t bleeding because….

“No,” he whimpered, touching Ollie’s hair and face. Fuck, he was already getting so cold. “Do something. Please. Anything! Come on!”

“We cannot,” Merrick said, hanging his head low. “Bringing someone back from the dead is beyond our power.”

“Useless-ass immortal fuckin’ shitheads!” Chase roared. “Come the fuck on! Can’t you wave your little tentacles around and fuckin’ do something? Make some fuckin’ sparkles of starlight?”

“Elwood!” Merrick suddenly snapped. “Your lighter!”

“My what?” Chase stared. “What are you talking about?”

“The fire spell you use to light your cigarette! Ignis vitae!”

“I don’t… I don’t understand!”

“Oleander has not been dead very long!” Merrick urged. “We may be able to bring his soul back to his body before it tries to leave this world! Please, trust me!”

Chase didn’t hesitate. He trusted Merrick completely, and he stretched his hand above his head, snapping his fingers. A tiny flame erupted between his finger and thumb, flickering brightly.

Merrick curled a tentacle around his wrist, gently guiding him down to Ollie’s chest. His tentacle glowed, and at first nothing was happening.

Chase concentrated, using all of his focus to keep the flame going. It was starting to burn his fingers, but he didn’t stop.

Sloane’s hands joined his, prismatic light erupting from his palms and healing the burn. “I’ve got you, Chase. Come on. Just hold on.”

Loch’s tentacles came next, and his wing curled protectively around his mate, glowing brightly. “And I’ve got you, my sweet Starkiller.”

Chase couldn’t take his eyes off the wound in Ollie’s chest, whispering desperately, “Please. Fuckin’ please. Please, please, please.”

Please wake up. Please just fuckin’ wake up!

The gash began to close.

Ollie still wasn’t moving, but the wound left from the dagger was disappearing.

Even with Sloane’s assistance, Chase’s fingers were blistering. He refused to let the spell go, no matter how much it hurt, gritting his teeth as he focused all of his anger and grief into that tiny little flame. It glowed brighter and brighter, fueled by all the power surging around him, and it soon became blinding.

It had to be enough.

It just had to be.

“Uncle….” Ollie’s voice was weak, but he was moving. His eyes were opening. “Uncle Elwood?”

“Ollie!” Chase let the flame go out and grabbed him, hugging him tight and gasping against his chest. “Fuck, kiddo, I thought I’d lost you! I thought you were gone!”

“Erg, I’m okay,” Ollie coughed. He patted Chase’s arm. “I’m okay. Can’t breathe, just….” He paused and started screaming.

“What’s wrong?” Chase looked up to see both Loch and Merrick leering down at them. “Right! Hey. Hey, hey, hey! It’s okay! They’re with me. Everything is totally fine! Okay? The one with the dead eyes is Merrick, and the snaky-neck one is Loch. He’s Sloane’s baby daddy.”

Ollie whimpered and covered his eyes. “Okay, so none of that makes me feel any better. I’m just not gonna look. Nope, nope.”

“Good to see you, Ollie,” Sloane said cheerfully, rubbing his back. “Been a while.”

“Yeah, I’m, uh….” Ollie squinted at Sloane’s stomach. “Congratulations?”

“How did you know that would work?” Chase asked Merrick, touching his snout. “The lighter.”

“I was not entirely sure it would.” Merrick made a chuffing sound. “But we are in a world between worlds. I knew there was a chance that Oleander’s soul would not have time to pass to Xenon yet. Souls are drawn there by the light of the bridge.”

“We just had to make a bigger light to keep his soul back,” Sloane finished with a happy smile. “It’s like when we light candles on Dhankes.”

“Exactly so,” Merrick said. “The ignis vitae is a spark of life. A flame that comforts and calls to the human soul.”

“Even when it’s on its way out,” Sloane added. “It’s part of the ritual to create a ghoul, calling the soul back so it can be bound—”

“Yeah. So cool. So very cool. Can I go home now?” Ollie asked miserably. “I am o-fahfah-cially over all of this shit.”

“We gotta make sure the coast is clear first,” Chase said, helping Ollie sit up and giving him another hug. “Got everybody and their mom out there looking for you. Can’t just pop up with you without an explanation.”

“It could potentially cause mass panic,” Loch chimed in, sounding very pleased with himself.

Sloane gave Loch’s shoulder an affectionate pat. “That’s right.”

“Speaking of panic,” Merrick griped, “I hope no one is upset, but Jeff Martin is gone.”

“That son of a bitch!” Chase growled.

“Well, you were a little distracted making me less dead,” Ollie reminded him, peeking through his fingers. “That Je-fahfah guy is a real prick.”

Chase gritted his teeth. “Hey, Merry, can you track the portal that slimeball used to jump out of here?” He looked around the line of trees. “And hey, what the fuck happened to the rest of his asshole buddies?”

“They’re gone as well.” Merrick shook his head. “There were multiple portals. I do not know how, but the trails are too weak for us to follow.” He bumped Chase’s arm. “Worry not. Now we know he is using these worlds to hide and conspire his diabolical plans. We can start searching them all, one by one.”

“You think he’s gonna try again?” Sloane asked.

“Yeah,” Chase confirmed. “There had to be at least thirty other Salgumel crazy people here. The fuckin’ cult is bigger than we thought. And I’m sure it’ll keep growing.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Well, they just got a giant eyeball of Merrick here wrecking their shit with that godly wrath of his. If any of them had doubts about the gods being real, we just made believers outta them.”

“We may have unintentionally exacerbated the situation.” Merrick bowed his head. “We may see an increase in Sagittarian fervor in the weeks to come.”

Ollie raised his hand. “Look, Mr. Scary God Dude Merrick, I don’t understand anything you’re saying, but seriously, when can I go home?”

“We can return to Chase’s residence and call off the search. We will tell them you were….” Merrick hesitated.

“Just tell them I was on a fuckin’ bender.”

“But that is not what happened.”

“Doesn’t matter what’s true or not.” Ollie shrugged sadly. “It’s what they’ll believe.”

“That is… unfortunate.”

“Life sucks,” Ollie mumbled, tracing the place on his chest where the dagger had stabbed him. There was a thin line, almost silver in color, left behind. “But, uh, I’m glad I’m still around for it to suck. Or, you know, whatever. Thank you.”

“Yeah, thank you, guys,” Chase said, looking to Sloane and Loch. He took Sloane’s hand to shake it. “For everything.”

“Anytime,” Sloane confirmed. “You have any more trouble with the cult, give us a call. I’ll let you know if we hear anything on our end.”

Merrick and Loch bumped their heads together, and their tails wrapped around one another’s in what may have been a godly hug.

“Take care of your mate,” Merrick was saying. “We shall have dinner with the frozen breadsticks soon.”

“Yes,” Loch agreed. “I wonder, did you finally act on your desires with your partner…?”

Merrick jerked back, cocking his head sheepishly. “Is that, is that really relevant right now?”

“Uncle!” Loch’s wings flapped excitedly. “You slut!”

“That language is uncalled for!”

“But mortals use it ironically as a term of endearment!”

Sloane grinned. “Oh, well, I suppose more congratulations are in order, huh? Good for you, Chase.”

Chase wanted to melt into the ground. “Yeah, thanks.” He rubbed his blushing face. “It’s great. It’s really great. Now, time to go. Gotta get Ollie home, you know.”

“Are you changing your name?” Loch asked curiously. “Gordoth the Touched doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, eh?”

“We must attend to Oleander,” Merrick huffed, ignoring the question. “I am expecting us all to remain vigilant from here on out. Though this attempt to raise Salgumel has failed, there will be more.”

“We’ll be ready,” Sloane promised.

“Let’s get goin’,” Chase said, throwing his arm around Ollie’s shoulders and reaching for Merrick. “Ready, kiddo?”

“So ready.”

“Ah, one more thing,” Merrick said, nodding at Chase. “Your hat?”

“Oh yeah.” Chase frowned and looked around at the smoldering brush. “Damn thing has to be around here somewhere.” He spotted a black blob and upon retrieval found it was the burned husk of his beloved fedora. “Well, shit.”

“My dear mate, I’m so sorry.” Merrick grimaced. “I know that hat was quite important to you.”

“It’s okay.” Chase tried to wipe it off, and the burned felt crumbled in his hands. “I mean, it’s not. It’s fuckin’ toast.”

Merrick cleared his throat.

The hat was suddenly gone, and then it reappeared on top of Chase’s head, fully restored. He had to take it off to look at it, and it looked just like it did the day he’d bought it two years ago. Coincidentally, that happened to be the same time he met Merrick. That thought made him smile, and he popped the hat back on his head.

It still didn’t feel quite right, but hey, he’d take it.

Chase grinned, giving the hat a little tip as he said, “Okay. Now we’re ready.”

The search was ended, and Ollie corroborated their story that he’d gotten drunk, wrecked his place, and lost his way for a few days. Milo was the only other person who knew what had really happened. It hurt Chase to tell Ollie’s parents that bogus crap, but Ollie was right.

They didn’t question a thing.

After returning to Chase’s apartment to retrieve Merrick’s car, they drove Ollie home and walked him inside his apartment. Chase offered to stay to keep him company, but Ollie politely declined.

“I just wanna sleep,” Ollie insisted. “For, like, a week. Maybe two.”

“I’m sorry,” Chase suddenly blurted out.

“For what?”

“You know….” Chase gestured vaguely. “You dying. Well, almost dying.”

“You didn’t stab me.”

“But I got you mixed up in all this,” Chase explained. “It’s my fault they found out about you.”

“Oh, right. I mean, well, that’s okay. I mean, you didn’t do it on purpose. And hey, we saved the world, right?” Ollie forced a smile. He looked so much older in that moment. “Guess a broken heart is good for something after all.”

Chase pulled Ollie into a big hug. “I love you, kiddo.”

“I love you too.”

When they parted, Chase saw that Ollie’s apartment had been magically cleaned up. There was no trace of the earlier invasion left now.

“I took the liberty of warding your residence,” Merrick said from his spot hovering by the door. “You will be safe.”

“Thanks,” Ollie said, still hesitating to look directly at Merrick. “Don’t suppose you can whip me up a pizza too?”

Merrick didn’t seem to understand, but Chase quickly said, “Hey, I can order you up somethin’. Whatever you want.” He frowned. “You sure you’re okay bein’ alone tonight?”

“I’m fine. I was kidding about the pizza. Kinda. I don’t think I could eat anyway.” Ollie ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m gonna go sleep. And sleep some more.”

“You need anything at all, you call me, okay?”

“I will.” Ollie headed off to his bedroom, but he paused. “Wait. There’s something that Je-fahfah guy said. When they took me.”

“What?”

“He was arguing with this other guy about looking for the first child of Azaethoth,” Ollie replied. “Said they didn’t need him now since the ritual was gonna work.”

“The first child?” Merrick narrowed his eyes. “You are certain that is what he said?”

“Yeah. I mean, Great Azaethoth had twins, so I dunno what he was talking about.” Ollie shrugged. “I thought maybe you guys might.”

Chase saw Merrick’s hand fidget, and he told Ollie, “Yeah, thanks, kiddo. We’ll look into it. You get some sleep. Call me if you need me.”

“Yeah, I will. Night, Uncle. Night, freaky god guy my uncle is dating.”

Merrick didn’t seem to like that title, but he replied, “Good night, Oleander. Sleep well.”

Chase double-checked the locks before they left and then collapsed in the passenger seat of Merrick’s car with a groan. He was exhausted.

Saving the world was fuckin’ hard work.

Merrick got in behind the wheel and reached for his hand.

“Mmm, are we off duty?” Chase joked, turning his head to grin at him.

“Honestly, right now I could not even be bothered to care,” Merrick said, shyly leaning in to kiss Chase’s cheek. “It has been… a very interesting day.”

“Who you tellin’? Fuck. I’m with Ollie. I think going to bed is a fantastic idea.”

“I can leave you at home to rest if you would like—”

“No, no. I didn’t mean I’d be going to bed alone.” Chase rubbed his thumb over Merrick’s knuckle. “I want you to stay with me again. Please.”

“Oh!” Merrick smiled and ducked his head. “Yes, I believe that can be arranged. I would like that.”

“Me too.” Chase looked out the window as they drove away, his gaze lingering on Ollie’s apartment.

There must have been something telling in his expression because Merrick asked him, “You are worried about Oleander?”

“Yeah.” Chase grimaced. “Poor kid is seein’ fuckin’ crazy shit, gets his heart broken by the schmuck whose life he saved, and then he gets fuckin’ stabbed. He ain’t had it real good here lately.”

“He is in great pain.”

“You mean from the stabbing part or the broken heart part?”

“Both.”

“Right.” Chase looked down where their hands were still joined. “I wish… I wish I could go back to the night I arrested him. I wish I woulda believed him.”

“But you believe him now. And you can offer him the support he so clearly needs.”

“Still kinda feel like shit about it anyway.” Chase grimaced. “And, uh, sorry about calling you a useless whatever-the-fuck.”

“Forgiven, my mate.” Merrick smirked. “If you feel so inclined, there are several ways you can apologize that may be satisfactory.”

“Mmm, I’m definitely inclined.” Chase fought back a yawn. His mind was on board, but his body was not cooperating. He fought to stay awake, asking, “So what’s with this first child of Azaethoth? That’s the Kindress thing, yeah?”

“Yes. The oldest of the gods say that Great Azaethoth’s first child was a being of pure starlight who died before ever drawing its first breath,” Merrick replied with a faint grimace. “In his grief, Great Azaethoth tried to bring the child back to life, but it became a monster. It was corrupted by his pain, his anguish, and soon it tried to destroy the universe.”

“Well… fuck.”

“To save all life as we know it, Great Azaethoth drowned the child in his own tears, for no other substance in creation can harm it. This began the never-ending cycle of the Kindress, a being that is cursed to live and die for all of eternity because Great Azaethoth cannot let him go.”

“So wait, he kills his own kid, brings him back, and just kills him again?” Chase scoffed. “That is seriously fucked-up.”

“This is why Great Azaethoth did not allow his other children or any of their descendants to have the power of resurrection,” Merrick explained. “He feared that others would be trapped as he is, afraid to let their loved ones move on.”

“Yeah, but most normal people’s loved ones aren’t gonna come back from the dead and try to destroy the universe.”

“Which is why humans were allowed to learn the secrets of resurrection. As the very last of Great Azaethoth’s children, you have the least amount of potential for epic destruction.”

“Oh, goody. That was nice of him.”

“You are very fragile compared to them. Sort of… squishy, if you will.”

“Squishy?”

“The Asra, for example, can live for thousands of years. Humans, not so much. It makes sense why he allowed you the opportunity to cheat death when you are given so little life.”

“You’re so cheerful, you know that?”

Merrick narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You are being sarcastic.”

“Me?” Chase grinned. “Never.”

“Hm….”

“So why would the cultists want to find this thing?”

“The Kindress is said to be a god of unimaginable power,” Merrick replied. “I am confident they would attempt to harness that power and use it to wake Salgumel and help him destroy the world.”

“Right. So, that’s bad.”

“Very.”

“Good thing Great Azaethoth is always murdering him, yeah? Nothing to worry about.”

“In theory.” Merrick frowned. “The cultists should have come to the same conclusion, and yet they are still searching for it.”

“Well, they’re a bunch of crazy assholes. The fuck do they know?”

“I hope you are right.”

Back at Chase’s apartment, Merrick tidied up the abandoned mess of files from the case while Chase made coffee. Even though it wasn’t very late, he was tired. He was also certain he had some mate-type duties to perform, and he didn’t want to let Merrick down.

He was still dragging by the second cup, and his head was starting to hurt.

The case wasn’t closed, not by far.

Sure, they had saved Ollie, but Jeff and the other cultists were still somewhere out there and had murder charges to answer for, on top of a whole litany of other crimes.

Then there was the question of the ritual; what if they found someone else with starsight or starlight magic and tried again? Who would be there to stop them?

And that starbaby thing, the Kindress. Why were they searching for something that just kept dying? How could they hope to find it?

“Time for sleep,” Merrick ordered, walking over to him and prying the coffee cup out of his hands.

“But I’m not—” Chase was suddenly in bed, wearing nothing but his shorts, and Merrick was lying beside him. “Shit, that’s still weird.”

“My apologies.”

“It’s okay,” Chase said, rolling over to kiss him. “Ain’t put me off or nothin’ like that. I’m still good to go.”

“You are tired,” Merrick replied, easing Chase back.

“So?” Chase was honestly too tired to fight and flopped over on his back.

“People do sleep in beds together without the risk of coitus, yes?” Merrick smirked, getting settled in the crook of Chase’s shoulder.

“Well, yeah.” Chase frowned. “I just figured, you know, you’d wanna….”

“Because we have had the one evening, you think I have become, what did Loch say, a slut?”

“No!” Chase’s cheeks burned. “I just was making the offer! In case you wanted to!” He sighed. “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“I do not think you could if you tried,” Merrick said, lifting his head for a kiss. His tentacles unraveled and wrapped around Chase’s chest. “Mm, I know you need to rest. We will sleep tonight, and we can engage in physical relations in the morning… if you are lucky.”

“Well,” Chase mused, “I stopped a crazy guy from trying to end the world, resurrected my nephew, and got the god of my dreams here in my bed. Yeah, I’d say I’m pretty lucky.”

“Yes, you are.” Merrick fidgeted. “Although you did not technically resurrect him. You created a beacon that led his soul back to his body—”

“Merry?” Chase smiled fondly.

“Yes?”

“Love of my life, my godly mate?”

“Yes…?”

“Go to sleep.”

“Good night.” Merrick’s tentacles curled around Chase a little tighter. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”