Hammered [3] (41 page)

Oberon is so sweet. He doesn’t leave my side now. He watches me try to sew up the gash in my wet suit with fishing line and hooks, which I’m sure must be about as exciting to him as watching grass grow. Or maybe he’s just waiting for me to stab myself. There will still be some flushing no matter what I do, but not, I hope, to the point where I’m in danger of succumbing to hypothermia. I feel nice and warm now, thanks to whatever Brighid did, but I suspect that once I get back in the river, I won’t be very warm again until we return to the rented truck.

I have killed hundreds of crawdads and felt nothing, but I still feel guilty about the javelina. He will haunt my dreams, I think.

A javelina is a collared peccary, which sounds like pecker, which sounds
exactly
like Beau Thatcher, my stepfather.

I do not normally wallow in symbolism, but perhaps I can save myself a trip to the therapist and indulge myself this once. In an odd way, perhaps the
Baolach Cruatan
has shown me how I can defeat him; if he stands against me, then the thing to do is
act
, not wait and hope he leaves.

When I chose to become a Druid, I picked up the rock. And when I am bound to the earth twelve years hence, I will be able to throw it in such a way that he loses everything, all to which
he clings so tightly—except for his life. He will get to keep his life. No matter how much he squeals, there will be no mercy killing.

It takes two more days to finish clearing the river and return to the rental truck. Sonora is pleased with me, and I am pleased with myself, aside from the fact that I desperately need a hot bath and a whole cake of soap.

“You know what, Oberon? After four days of living on nothing but water and jerky, I think we deserve a steak. A tenderloin wrapped in bacon and maybe a side of bacon for dessert. What do you think?”

He barks enthusiastically, and his tail scythes the air; he clearly believes this to be a fantastic idea.

“And that episode with Brighid and Flidais? Should we tell Atticus about that when he gets back?”

Oberon’s ears droop, his tail goes still, and he barks twice for no.

“Yeah. I’m with you. Let’s keep that bit our secret.”