***
It was a few years late. A light snow covered the ground, and Bo was headed to the normal meeting place. When he arrived, though, no one was there, and he leaned against a tree to wait. The sun began to set, turning the fresh white snow into a pink sea. Bo watched it sink, the snow beneath gradually changing to violets and blues. And when still neither of the Quirkes had shown up, Bo sighed and glanced down at his feet. That’s when he saw the tracks and paid new attention to the village.
There seemed to be a commotion on the Quirkes’ porch. He saw Mr. and Mrs. Quirke in conversation. By the looks of it, Mr. Quirke was trying to calm down a panicking missus, and trying to keep her voice down. “The boy is thirteen years old,” Bo muttered. “Don’t tell me he’s run off again?”
Nonetheless, Bo followed the barefoot tracks deep into the woods. He sped up as he noticed the steps were getting more erratic. The trail led him past his cabin and closer to the heart of the woods, and he began to hear something. Bo paused to listen.
The sounds were a deep grunting and panting. It seemed like a large animal was in distress. Bo looked up and leapt into a tree, bounding from branch to branch until he saw the source of the noise. It was a large deer, stumbling about in the snowy woods with enormous, clunky antlers. It certainly wasn’t anything Bo had seen before, in Ireland or elsewhere. He was tempted to hunt it for a moment when Dayo decided to pop in. “Don’t kill that!” he shouted in Bo’s head, making him grab for his ears.
Dayo! Quit yelling! What is it?
“I know it’s been a while, but do you remember what I told you? About morphers?”
You’re saying this is one of them? Bo asked as he removed his hands and took a new look at the deer.
“Yes. I found a line of ancient morphers in your vicinity. It is a dying breed. Apparently, that little Colette you once knew was carrying the ability.”
Colette? How do you know?
“My visions are sometimes convenient,” Dayo replied.
Dayo. You are increasingly frustrating.
“I know. The life of a prophetic unicorn-dragon is quite a burden at times.”
Dayo, Bo warned.
“I apologize. I remembered her from a vision, and then I had another where I saw you with her another time. I found you knew her then.”
Her name, though? I don’t recall telling you that. Bo watched the deer below smack its head into a tree with its awkward antlers.
“I hear a surprising amount of your thoughts when you don’t pay attention.”
Dayo! You’ve been eavesdropping on my thoughts!?
“I’m sorry. Either way, that is a morpher, not a piece of prey. Do not kill it.”
Where are you?
“Overhead. I was coming to tell you.”
Two hundred years late? Bo thought, glancing down again at the strangely drunken deer-morpher.
“My visions are only sometimes convenient.”
Well, I have the information now. I shall take this from here.
“If you say so.” With that, the old dragon withdrew, and Bo’s head cleared.
The deer gave an elk-like call, making Bo wince. He dropped down from the tree in front of the animal, putting up his human hand to show it he meant no harm. It started at his sudden appearance, tripping and falling to the ground. The two stared at each other as the animal stood again, standing firmly now. Bo could hardly see how a human mind could be thinking in that body.
“Wait,” Bo said a thought coming to him. He felt like a fool for not thinking of it sooner, even after Dayo said it. “Kian?” The deer’s ears perked at the name. “Oh, Kian…” Kian lowered his head and despite not being able to understand him, Bo could somehow feel that he was sad. Sad and scared.
“Come here,” he said. The deer walked unsteadily toward him until it was close enough to touch. He really was uncannily large, his head already higher than Bo’s. Bo opened his arm and Kian stepped into a hug, Bo’s arm stretching around his thick neck. “Don’t be afraid,” he told Kian. “You’ll be all right.”
After a moment, Bo was holding a crying Kian, naked and scared. His legs buckled and he sank to the ground, Bo kneeling to follow and keeping him close. It was freezing outside, and snow had begun to fall again. “See, you’re all right,” Bo said calmly. “Come on, let’s get you home and warm.”
“It’s cold,” Kian said in reply, his eyes squeezed shut as he pressed against Bo.
“I know,” Bo said. “And it’s late. So keep your eyes closed. I’ll take you home.”
“Okay,” Kian said. Bo scooped him up, his cloak covering his left hand, and he was careful not to claw Kian, who passed out in almost the same instant. Bo sped him back down the path, coming back to a normal pace at the edge of the woods. Mr. Quirke was just getting there, carrying a light and a blanket and looking prepared for a search. He spotted Bo carrying his son and a wave of relief played over his face.
“Bo!” he said, his relief echoing into the air. “You’ve helped us again.”
“Mr. Quirke,” Bo said with a nod. Without hesitation, he continued. “I know of your son’s…condition. Now let me ask: do you have the same?” The man’s shoulders slumped.
“Oh. You’ve found out, have you? Well, yes. I’m the same as my son.”
“I take it that you were trying to keep it a secret.”
Mr. Quirke nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Well, if you ever need a place to train him, Mr. Quirke, I know of one. And I’ve trained people in demon-fighting before,” Bo added.
“Call me Ryan,” Mr. Quirke replied with a nod. Bo stiffened and let Ryan Quirke take his son from him and carry the boy home alone.
Bo walked home thinking upon the name that just met his ears. “Ryan Quirke,” he said, nearing his cabin. “Ryan and Colette…you two could have been Kian’s ancestors.” He was silent as he opened the door, and he closed it softly behind him. But I failed you.
As he stretched out on the old bed, he looked around the quiet, decaying cabin around him. He closed his eyes. “One day, everything will come back to haunt me again. Just like one day took the chance of family from the two of you.”
The next day, neither of the Quirkes showed up to walk, and Bo went home. They did not come out the next day either, nor the day after. Eventually, Bo gave up waiting and stayed inside in the evenings until winter was over.
When spring arrived in Ireland once more, Bo went back to waiting again. The Quirkes returned one evening late in the season. Ryan and Kian walked to greet Bo, waving as they joined him. Kian seemed hesitant and avoided his eyes, and Bo assumed that he’d be training tonight.
“Sorry about not being out in the winter,” Ryan said with a guilty smile. “The wife was very strict. After she got over the fact that we were deer, of course.”
“Perfectly fine,” Bo replied, waving him off.
“So,” Ryan began, “where are these training grounds?”
Bo nodded. “This way.” He began to lead the way into the forest.
“Hold on a moment,” Ryan said. Bo glanced back and saw that Ryan was taking off his clothing, Kian following his lead. Bo returned his gaze back to the path. “Sorry,” Ryan apologized behind him. “We’re going to change. You mind if we leave our clothes here?”
“Someone might stumble upon them. Fold them up into a pile and I’ll take them with us.”
“All right, thank you. They’re by this tree,” he replied.
After a moment, a tall deer came up beside Bo on his right, enormous antlers appearing over his head. “Ryan?” The deer dipped its head, its bright blue eye gazing at him.
Kian’s much smaller deer came up on his other side. “Kian.” Kian turned his head to look at him straight on, blinking his large brown eyes.
Bo glanced between the two before turning back and grabbing the pile of clothes with his right arm. With the heap in hand, Bo led the way between the bucks to the training area. He saw Kian looking around once they arrived and assumed he
must have been remembering their two private meetings. Bo stopped and turned around to face the two, taking a few steps back to keep them both in sight at the same time. He set the clothing on the ground next to a tree and said, “All right, this is it. Is it decent?”
Ryan nodded, his odd eyes strangely human even as a deer.
Bo nodded in return and said, “Then I’ll be up here,” leaping into the trees. The two bucks stared up at him for a moment before Ryan shook his head and looked back at his son, bleating to attract Kian’s attention.
The two worked until dusk, practicing charging at trees and each other, after Ryan helped Kian get used to his deer body, of course. Those first few minutes of trotting around at anything above a walk left Bo stifling some laughter.
As the shadows began to take over the ground, the two walked below Bo’s tree toward their clothes. Bo averted his eyes as they changed back and waited to return his gaze to the ground until Ryan called his name. He leapt down and looked back and forth between father and son. “You two were interesting to watch,” he remarked. “Can I ask—I’ve been wondering—what sort of deer are you?”
“A breed called Irish elk,” Ryan answered. When Bo looked confused, he added, “The actual animal has been extinct for a few thousand years. Changelings like us are all that are left.”
“I see.”
“How did you jump so high?” Kian blurted in the following silence.
Bo gave him an amused glance. “You have your skills—I have mine.” Bo waited a moment before making a quick decision. “You two…have you ever heard of half-demons?”
“In myth, sure,” Ryan said.
“If they existed, would you kill them?”
Ryan gave him a curious look. “I don’t know. Why?”
Bo turned his gaze down and brought his left arm out, preparing to be hit and to run. “Because I’m one.” Kian looked at his father, who stared at Bo with shock.
“Well…er…I guess the answer would be a no, then,” he stammered. Bo peered up from below his brow. “What?” Ryan asked. “You saved my son twice. I couldn’t kill you.”
“Well,” Bo said, clearing his throat and hiding his arm again as he lifted his head to look the man in the eye. “I guess we should start back then.”
The three were about halfway back when Bo couldn’t stand it anymore. Both Quirkes were talking about Kian’s training, and Bo had been trying to listen. But a question kept nagging at him until finally he stopped in the middle of the path, the crickets chirping as the other two realized that their companion was stopped, and they halted themselves, turning to face him.
“What is it, Bo?” Ryan asked, waving a firefly out of his face. There were hundreds of them out.
“Ryan, do you know where your name comes from? Why you were named Ryan?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I understand,” he replied, furrowing his brow above his mismatched eyes. Kian glanced between the two.
“Where your parents got the name Ryan. Was there a reason?”
“Well, I suppose so,” Ryan answered, still confused. “My aunt—on my father’s side—she told my mother a story that’s been passed down through our family for generations. My mother fell in love with the sentiment that the name came with, I would think.”
“The story. Can you summarize it?”
“You sure?”
“Please.”
Ryan nodded slowly. “I think…yes. It was about a little girl who fell in love with a boy by the name of Ryan with a deformed face. They grew close until one day the two were attacked by a monster. Then Ryan died protecting the one he loved.”
“An interesting story.”
“Yes. My great-grandfather swore it was true, his great-grandfather having been told by his own mother.” Then, “Are you all right?”
“What? I’m sorry. Am I all right?” Bo asked, shaking his head before looking Ryan in the eye.
“You look pretty pale, there,” Ryan said.
“I always look pale,” Bo replied. He didn’t, as a matter of fact. And at the moment he was feeling rather queasy.
“Maybe we should take Bo home first?” Kian suggested, peeking up at his father.
“No, no,” Bo insisted, waving them off. “I can get home just fine. But, would you two be all right to get home by yourselves?”
Ryan nodded. “Come on, Kian,” he said to his son. Kian gave Bo a worried glance, to which Bo just waved and turned toward his cabin.
“She actually did it,” he muttered once he was alone, walking through the dark woods illuminated by fireflies. “Ryan lives on. But…” he trailed off. “That face. Why is only his left eye blue? Seeing that eye peering at me from that deer’s face was like when Ryan would look at me.” Bo shook his head. “Living so long is ruining me.”
Bo reminisced as he ate his dinner, staring at the old hat on the other chair. It was tilted just how Ryan had had it when he was trying to hide his face. Bo sighed and drank from his flask, staring into the honey-water despondently as he swirled it around. It normally made him happy to have a sweet drink, but today it wasn’t doing the trick.
Maybe I should start drinking. It would make things a little fuzzier, take the edge off my memories.”
But, not for the first time, he struck the idea down. Whenever he thought about it, he thought about what Dayo had said to him so long ago, when he was destroyed inside the first time—“Never forget, even the things that hurt.” Bo shook his head at the thought.
“My story is going to stick around whether or not I forget it for a few hours. And I’ll just feel more guilty when I remember it again. No, it’s best to take this sober.” Even though it meant that he dreamt of Olea and Ryan’s dead faces when he went to bed that night.
Morning came, and Bo trudged through the day, worn out from his nightmares. When the time came for him to meet with the Quirkes, however, he managed to come out of his slump. As he met them and turned while they undressed, Ryan asked, “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine,” Bo replied. The two changed shape and came up beside him, and he went back to retrieve their clothes. He walked between them back to the clearing and leapt up to his watching spot.
After some time, Ryan stood under his tree and stared up at him.
What?” Bo asked the deer below him.
Ryan bleated. “You realize I don’t understand a word you’re saying to me.” Ryan shook his head and stared at him for a moment more before beginning to change back. Bo averted his eyes and the man spoke.
“I wanted to know if you could help train Kian.”
“Train how?” Bo asked, staring at a beetle crawling on the tree.
“You said you’d trained before. I figured you might have some ideas. And you have been watching, so I thought…”
Bo raised his hand to halt him. “All right. I have some ideas. Now, please, change back.” I didn’t like seeing the first Ryan naked as a babe. I don’t want to see the second.
When Ryan bleated up to him, Bo peeked back at the ground. Somehow he looked quite self-content. Bo dropped down and walked past him and over to Kian.
Kian looked at him and whistled. Bo shrugged. “I can’t understand you, remember.” Kian shuffled his feet, hooves pounding the ground. “Well, let’s begin. I’ll go easy on you to start.”
By the end of the training, Kian was exhausted, Ryan was proud, and Bo was yawning. The Quirkes turned back to their human selves and donned their clothes before the three began the walk back, Bo between them. As they walked, Ryan educated Kian on how to maximize the use of his other form.
Meanwhile, Dayo entered Bo’s mind and informed him of a demon relatively near that he couldn’t get to himself.
I’ll take care of it, Bo replied, slowing and falling back from the others. Dayo withdrew, and Bo was left with the task of telling the other two of his near departure.
“So,” he said, interrupting the conversation. They glanced back at him, mildly surprised.
&n
bsp; “What is it?” Ryan asked as they continued walking.
“I’ll be gone the next couple of days. A demon’s popped up a little too close to here for comfort.” The three had stopped walking altogether.
“You’re going to eliminate it?”
“Of course. Like I said, I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
Ryan nodded, but Kian looked reluctant to let Bo go. “But what if you don’t come back?”
Bo gave him a comforting half-smile. Ryan must have told him stories. “I promise. I’m a good fighter; I’ll be back. You couldn’t stop me from coming back here with a thousand demons.” When the boy still looked unsure, Bo stepped up and put his right hand on Kian’s shoulder and showed him his left. “See this?”
“Yeah?”
“This was promised to me by my parents as soon as they decided to birth me. What came with it was the will and the strength to protect the ones I love, to come back to them at the end of the day. Even though, because of it, I haven’t had many I loved, not many to protect. But I will protect you. Understand?”
Kian nodded.
“Good.” Bo hid his hand back under his cloak and removed his other from Kian’s shoulder, taking a moment to ruffle his hair. “I’ll be back in a few days,” he repeated. “I’ll separate from you here,” he said to Ryan, turning his back on them and heading back toward his home.
After a few days, Bo was back. The demon hadn’t been a large problem; Bo had eliminated it. It had even had an overpowering stench that allowed him to track it easily. Bo lay on his bed when he got home as the day was ending. He sniffed the air and wistfully imagined Ryan’s scent was still there. When it wasn’t, though, he sank into an exhausted sleep.
It was evening when he awakened again, and he headed off to meet with the Quirkes. Since it was later than normal, he leapt into the trees and hopped from branch to branch toward the training area. Both bucks were there and tangling with each other with their large racks. Bo sat in the trees and watched as Ryan charged his son down.
Kian fumbled back to his feet and charged back, catching Ryan in the chest. “There you are,” Bo whispered. Ryan stumbled back and happened to glance up at Bo, Kian following his gaze. Kian bleated happily upon spotting him, rearing onto his hind legs for a moment. Ryan looked at his son and began to charge him, and Bo called out, “Pay attention!”
Kian turned to his father just in time to lower his head and tangle their antlers. The two bleated at each other, and Ryan soon overpowered Kian. They untangled, and Kian bleated something at Ryan, who shook his head with a stomp of his hoof before gesturing an excused leave with a wave of his large head.
Kian trotted back underneath Bo and changed back to his human self. Bo self-consciously turned his eyes upwards. “Bo!” Kian called below him, his voice light and happy. “You’re back!”
“You’re naked,” Bo replied.
“Huh? Oh, sorry!” Bo heard shuffling below him before Kian called up, “Okay, I’m decent!”
“Good,” Bo replied, looking down again. Kian beamed up at him. “And I hope you’ve learned not to get distracted.”
Kian grinned wider.
“What, did you miss me that much?”
“Yes,” Kian replied.
Bo gave him an amused smile. Well, I missed you too.
“Well then, maybe you’d like to train with me the rest of the night. Ryan?” Bo turned to the buck for permission.
Ryan looked up at him before dipping his head and moving over to his son. He snorted at him.
“You’re leaving? All right, one second,” Kian said, putting Ryan’s clothes in his antlers. Bo watched as he left.
“You can understand him?”
Kian glanced up at him and nodded. “Yeah, I can. So, how are we training?”
“Human, hand-to-hand. You’ve got enough deer training from your father—let’s see something in your human skin,” Bo said, dropping down. Kian nodded. “Now, let’s start.”